بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة
والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد
It was narrated that Ibn `Umar رضي الله عنهما
said: The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ
said: ❝When you enter into `Eenah transactions [1], take hold of
the tails of cattle [2], and are content with farming [3], and you forsake
Jihaad [4], Allaah will cause humiliation to prevail over you [5] and He will not
withdraw it until you return to your religion [6].❞
[Musnad Ahmad (4987) and Sunan Abu Dawood (3462) and graded
as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee in al-Saheehah (11)]
Notes:
[1] “`Eenah” (العينة):
It is an illusionary transaction in which some people engage to conceal the
Ribaa (usury/interest) dealings. The contract appears to be a “buying and
selling” contract, whereas in reality, it is just Ribaa, and the transaction is
just a cover-up.
`Eenah transaction means: To sell something for a price to
be paid at a later date, then to buy it back for a lower price to be paid
immediately; this is a trick used to circumvent the prohibition on lending with
interest. What this ultimately means is that the buyer acquires cash and will
pay back a higher amount after a while, so it is as if it is a loan in the form
of a sale.
Example: a person sells a car for Ten Thousand Riyals to be
paid after a year; but he buys it back from him for Nine Thousand Riyals only
and pays in cash immediately. But the initial buyer still has to pay back the
Ten Thousand Riyals after a year, and the difference of One Thousand is the
Ribaa amount.
So in reality, the transaction is that he lent him Nine
Thousand Riyals, and the second person will return Ten Thousand Riyals after a
year. This is Ribaa. This is why such a contract (`Eenah Transaction) was made
Haraam.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “A time
will come when one will not care how one gains one’s money, by lawful means or
unlawful means.”
[Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (2059, 2083)]
Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله
said:
An example of an `Eenah transaction is if I sell Zayd a car
for Twenty Thousand to be paid in a year’s time, then I buy it back from this
man for Eighteen Thousand; this is Haraam and is not permissible, because it is
using a trick to sell the car in an illusionary transaction for Twenty
Thousand, then I go back and buy it for Eighteen Thousand in cash, so he will
have taken it from me for Eighteen Thousand but he will pay me for Twenty
Thousand and this is Ribaa, so it is not
permissible, because it is an obvious trick. Hence Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنه said: “Dirhams for
dirhams with a sweet dish in between.” This is called the issue of `Eenah
because the man gives cash for cash; al-`Een means cash, gold or silver.
It should be noted that every time a person uses trickery to
do Haraam things, it only leads to bad consequences, because what is Haraam is
evil, and if a trick is used it is more evil, because you have combined the
Haraam action with an attempt to deceive the Lord, may He be glorified and
exalted, but nothing is hidden from Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted,
and actions are but by intentions.
[Al-Sharh al-Mumti` (8/223)]
[Buying cars through banks fall under this transaction,
because the banks don’t own cars, they just lend money to buy cars]
[2] “take hold of the tails
of cattle” meaning: using cattle for farming. Whenever the farmers till
the soil, they stand behind the cattle to drive them.
[In today’s world, we drive our cars to go to work, and
boast about the model and the make]
[3] “and are content with
farming”: This statement and the one before it does not mean that it
is wrong to do farming and to cultivate the land. But it disparagement for those
who are preoccupied with farming and are pleased with it, to the extent that it
becomes their greatest concern, and they give precedence to worldly affairs
over that of the Hereafter, and give importance to personal preferences instead
of seeking Allaah’s pleasure.
Like how Allaah تعالى
said:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَا لَكُمْ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمُ انفِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ
اثَّاقَلْتُمْ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ ۚ أَرَضِيتُم بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ
الْآخِرَةِ ۚ فَمَا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ *
إِلَّا تَنفِرُوا يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا
غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْئًا ۗ وَاللَّـهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾
{O you who believe! What is
the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the Cause of
Allaah (i.e. Jihaad) you cling heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the
life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But little is the enjoyment of
the life of this world as compared with the Hereafter. If you march not forth,
He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by another
people, and you cannot harm Him at all, and Allaah is able to do all things.}
[Surah al-Tawbah (9): 38-39]
Irrespective of how long a person lives and how much he
strives to gain the worldly pleasure and comfort, his life in comparison to the
Hereafter is nothing but very little. Rather, the whole world, from the very
beginning to its very end, is nothing when compared to the Hereafter.
No sane person would give preference to the worldly life
over that of the Hereafter, yet many are deceived by the world and its glitter.
[The meaning of this Hadeeth is not limited to farming only,
but it may also include all sorts of trading and businesses; the greed which
causes one to chase the worldly life, and preoccupies him from the remembrance
of Allaah, and diverts him away from life of the Hereafter, and his main
concern is the comfort of this world and its glitter, and he is not bothered
from where he is earning, as mentioned in the beginning of the Hadeeth.]
[4] “and you forsake Jihaad” meaning: giving up that which brings honor and
strength to the religion, and not striving in the Cause of Allaah with their
wealth, their lives, and their tongues.
[5] “Allaah will cause
humiliation to prevail over you” meaning: Allaah will punish you by
causing humiliation and shame to prevail over you, a just recompense for what
you had done – engaging in usurious transactions, being preoccupied in worldly
affairs and giving it precedence over the life of the Hereafter, and because of
your abandoning of Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah, so you will be humiliated in
front of people.
Al-Shawkaanee رحمه الله
said:
And the reason for this humiliation – and Allaah knows best
– is because they had abandoned Jihaad in the Cause of Allaah, through which there
is honor for Islaam and through which it is made superior over all religions,
so Allaah caused humiliation to prevail over them.
[Nail al-Awtaar (5/246)]
[6] “and He will not withdraw
it until you return to your religion” meaning: the humiliation will
prevail and will not be withdrawn from you till you establish your religion,
the Way Allaah تعالى wanted, and follow His Commandments, and
shun all that He has prohibited, and give precedence to the Hereafter over the
worldly life, and establish Jihaad.
In this Hadeeth there is strong rebuke and clear forbiddance
in engaging in the things mentioned in it, because such actions may or may not
cause a person to apostatize and abandon his religion, but surely it will
weaken his Eemaan, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “until you return
to your religion”.
In another narration the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “Be prompt in doing good deeds (before you are overtaken)
by turbulence which would be like a part of the dark night. During (that stormy
period) a man would be a Believer in the morning and an unbeliever in the
evening or he would be a Believer in the evening and an unbeliever in the
morning, and would sell his faith for worldly goods.”
[Saheeh Muslim (169)]
In this Hadeeth there is also encouragement to strive in the
Way of Allaah, and abandoning it is a cause of humiliation for this Ummah. This
is indeed what is happening right now.
Ibn al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله
said:
The statement of the Prophet ﷺ:
“and are content with farming, and you forsake
Jihaad”, meaning: you are pleased with this world and do not strive
in the Cause of Allaah with your wealth, lives, and tongues (i.e. through
enjoining good and forbidding evil), and you cling to this worldly life but do
not strive in aiding the Deen of Allaah. And majority of the time, this one
(loving the worldly life) leads to the other (abandoning Jihaad). The greed
which causes one to chase the worldly life, and preoccupies (all his time and
efforts) in chasing it, even at the expense of the things which have been made
Haraam (prohinited) by Allaah, then such a person will most probably abandon
Jihaad, because his heart has been diverted away from it.
When these four things, the Prophet ﷺ
said: “Allaah will cause humiliation to prevail
over you and He will not withdraw it until you return to your religion”
meaning: Allaah will punish you by humiliating you. Humiliation is the opposite
of honor and respect, i.e. you will become humiliated in front of others till
you return to establishing your religion upon the way which is pleasing to
Allaah عز وجل. These actions may not remove one from
Islaam, but it does weaken their Eemaan.
And from the benefit of this Hadeeth is: Jihaad is Waajib
(obligatory), because the Prophet ﷺ
warned that when they engage with something other than it and are preoccupied
with it, Allaah will cause humiliation to prevail over them and will not remove
it from them until they return to their religion.
And from the benefit of this Hadeeth is: Do not be too
preoccupied with chasing the Dunya because it will divert one away from the
Hereafter. When one is preoccupied with worldly affairs, no doubt, it will
cause one to divert away from the remembrance of Allaah عز وجل.
We are in a time when people are preoccupied with chasing the Dunya, and are
engaged in usurious transactions, gambling, and arrows (for seeing luck or
decision). This is why there has been an increase in questions regarding shares
and stock exchange which are not permissible, because they are lured towards
seeking a lot of profit through little efforts and in less time. Such
engagement in chasing the Dunya eventually makes one to become materialistic,
and no doubt in this there is great danger for the Muslims, because the hearts
are like containers, if they are filled with something, then there is no space
left for other things. If the heart is filled with the love for this world,
then it is preoccupied from the love of Allaah and His Messenger, and then
chasing the Dunyaa becomes his only concern.
We praise Allaah and thank Him in all circumstances. We
thank Allaah that there are people who do not engage in shares and stock
exchange except after consulting (a scholar), and no doubt, such a thing is a
blessing from Allaah. But by opening these doors for the people (i.e. engaging
in shares etc.) one has indeed opened for them the doors of gambling. Indeed,
there is a great harm for them in this.
And from the benefit of this Hadeeth is: If the people abandon
what Allaah تعالى has made
obligatory upon them - like Jihaad, and they are preoccupied with chasing the Dunya,
then this is one of the causes for the humiliation and defeat (for the Ummah).
In the battle of Uhud, when some of the Companions رضي الله عنهم
wanted to capture the wealth (of the enemies), and they got down from their
spot, fom the place where they were positioned by the Prophet ﷺ,
the victory was changed to defeat. So what about those other than them (those
who abandoned Jihaad altogether)?
And we have previously mentioned in the explanation that
Jihaad (striving in the Way of Allaah) includes all means by which the Deen of
Allaah is defended; Jihaad with weapons, and Jihaad with knowledge. If the
Ummah is in need of the correct understanding of the Sharee`ah, then teaching
them the correct Deen is like engaging in Jihaad with weapons, rather, in some
cases, even better than that. This is because the general people, the Muslims
and the non-Muslims, are all in need of this correct understanding of the Deen.
Rather, the Muslims need to establish the Deen, clearly based on the Book of
Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ.
They are in need of establishing the Sharee`ah of Allaah as per the Book of
Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ.
They are also in need of knowing the limits set by Allaah on how to deal with
the Kuffaar during the times of peace and in war.
[Sharh Buloogh al-Maraam (4/36-39)]
The fifth reason for this humiliation, as mentioned in another
Hadeeth, is abandoning “enjoining good and forbidding evil.”
Narrated Hudhaifah رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you must
enjoin what is reputable and forbid what is disreputable, or Allaah will
certainly soon send punishment from Himself to you. Then you will make
supplication and not receive an answer.”
[Sunan al-Tirmidhee (2169) and graded as “Hasan” by Shaikh
al-Albaanee]
Narrated Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq رضي الله عنه:
You people recite this verse, {You who believe!
Care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly
guided.} [Surah al-Maaidah (5): 105] I heard Allaah's Messenger ﷺ say:
“When people see something objectionable and do
not change it, Allaah will soon include them all in His punishment.”
[Sunan Abu Dawood (4338), Sunan Ibn Maajah (4005) and Sunan
al-Tirmidhee (3057) and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee]
We beseech Allaah that He bestows His Blessings and Favors upon
us, and restores our honor, and cause us to practice the religion the way He
wants and is pleased with. We beseech Allaah that He guides us and helps us in
following His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger upon the understanding of
the Salaf of this Ummah.
Aameen
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