So you want to work it out?

It's funny how my mind is proper messed up! Well I say it's funny, but it's not!! I have been living in the UK for over a year now, thus as time went by I became "Englishized". I started this blog with the intention to write articles in English with French translations... I realised it would take me up too much time, so I opt for the language of Shakespear... But then when I went to France recently, I stood up again for my French heritage, and switch to the tongue of Voltaire...

Hahaha, and guess what? I came back to England, and forgot about those poor French people eager to read my blog (now I am joking)!

To proceed; yeh the scholars, mashallah, may God rewards them. Humanity, the muslims, are in dire need to listen to them. Because ut's them who are on the truth.

Few month ago, back in Mauritania, I was reading an explanation of Nawawi's compilation of 40 hadiths by Ibn Daqiq. The hadith is as follow:

While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam ["peace be upon him"], there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him.He sat down close by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, rested his knee against his thighs, and said, "O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam." Said the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, "Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah (prayer), pay the zakah (alms giving), fast during Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the House [i.e., the Ka'ba], if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it)." Said he (the man), "You have spoken truly."We were astonished at his thus questioning him and telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about Emaan (faith)." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate (qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have spoken truly."Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about Ihsan." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "The one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about the signs thereof (i.e. of its coming)." Said he, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings." Thereupon the man went off.I waited a while, and then he (the Messenger of Allah) said, "O 'Umar, do you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion."

This hadith is very famous. it succintly represents the teaching of Islam, vertically and horizontally. What is referred to in this hadith as Islam coulb be translated in practical term as fiqh, or jurisprudence. Of course in order to perform a prayer, you need to know what it is, how it is performed, what cancels it, and so on... Islam requires knowledge, thus you have the prophet sws who is reported to have said that seeking knowledge is a duty to all muslims.

Emaan is what the scholars have defined as 'Aqida, belief.

Ihsan is what is referred to by the scholars of the inward as tassawwuf, or sufism in English.

From this hadith, we understand that those three aspects constitute the religion, the "deen". Whoever has not got in his deen those three aspects has not got a complete deen.

Any way, this is from what I have gathered over the years, and it is quite known to many people, and Allah knows best.

My point is that one can work out things by himself from reading such hadith, for example what I just mentionned above. But normal people like us sometime can't see things in their entirety.

I read Ibn Daqiq as I said earlier. He is amazing. The scholars.. May God rewards them.
He said that this hadith stands as a proof that you need to wear your best clothes when you go and see the scholars!!! I find that comment so obvious after being mentionned, yet so subtle! Did you worked that out yourself?

I thought it would be worth mentionning, especially in those days and age, where people try to deduct islamic laws from hadiths and Quran, not knowing any of the sciences attached to them, like abrogating and abrogated, reasons for the revelation, etc... We sometime think we understand everything there is to understand about something, yet we don't see the obvious.