(Below is an article by Raees Mustafa, it has already been published and read by many, it can be downloaded from raeesmustafa.blogspot.co.uk)
What
did the Prophet (saws) prostrate upon?
Article
By: Raees Mustafa
Introduction
There are
several proofs from holy ahadith, and the actions of Sahaba, that the
Prophet Muhammed (saws), did not prostrate upon the prayer mat, or,
the Carpet, but in fact a piece of mud, soil, clay, called Turbah,
which these days seems apparently that only the Shias follow that
Sunnah. It's quiet remarkable, so see really, that so many
traditions, and informations from books say that Prophet prostrated
upon a Turbah, there are still, people from around the world, calling
the Shias Kafir, and Bidati (a person who does Bid'ah). I hope this
may be a clear answer, to those who reflect such belief, I have also
created a video on this, which I would like you to also have a look.
Kind Regards
Raees Mustafa
References
References for Sunni books saying that
Prophet Muhammed (saws) prostrated upon Clay:
Sunan Abu Dawood Urdu Edition
mentioned in pages 376 and 381:
Prophet had the signs of mud on his
forehead and on his nose, due to the prostration upon clay...
Therefore
celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate
themselves in adoration (Holy Qur'an 15:98)
The
Shi'ah Muslims prefer to prostrate on a small block of earth, called
a Turbah, which is usually made from clay from the land of Karbala in
Iraq.
According
to the Shi'ah Ja'fari fiqh -
which is one of the five main schools of law in Islam - prostration
must be performed on pure earth or what grows on it, provided that it
is not eaten or worn. This includes dust, stone, sand and grass,
provided that it is not a mineral. Prostration on paper is permitted,
because it is made of a material which grows on earth, but not cloth
or carpets.
The
legal scholars of all the Sunni schools of law concur regarding the
validity of prostration on earth and that which grows on it.
Praying
on the earth was certainly the practice of the Prophet (s) and those
around him.
q Narrated
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: I saw Allah's Apostle prostrating in mud and
water and saw the mark of mud on his forehead.
[Al-Bukhari,
Sahih (English translation), vol. 1, book 12, no. 798; vol. 3, book
33, no. 244]
q Narrated
Anas bin Malik: We used to pray with the Prophet in scorching heat,
and if someone of us could not put his face on the earth (because of
the heat) then he would spread his clothes and prostrate over them.
[Al-Bukhari,
Sahih (English translation), vol. 2, book 22, no. 299]
According
to this hadith only
in exceptional circumstances would the Prophet (s) and his Companions
prostrate on cloth.
The
Prophet (s) also used to have a Khumra on which he would put his
forehead for prostration.
q Narrated
Maymuna: Allah's Apostle used to pray on a Khumra.
[Al-Bukhari,
Sahih (English translation), vol. 1, book 8, no. 378]
q According
to al-Shawkani, a famous Sunni scholar, more than ten Companions of
the Prophet (s) have narrated traditions mentioning his prostration
on a Khumrah. And he lists all the Sunni sources recording
these traditions which include Sahih
Muslim, Sahih
al-Tirmidhi, Sunan
AbuDawud, Sunan
al-Nasa'i and
many others.
[Al-Shawkani,
Nayl al-Awtar , Chapter of Prostration on the Khumrah, vol. 2, p.
128]
q a
small mat sufficient just for the face and the hands while
prostrating during prayers.
[Al-Bukhari,
Sahih (English translation), vol. 1, book 8, no. 376 (as explained by
the translator in paranthesis)]
Ibn
al-'Athir, another famous Sunni scholar, in his Jami al-'Usul has
written:
q "Khumra
is [like that] upon which the Shi'ah of our time perform their
prostrations."
[Ibn
al-'Athir, Jami' al-Usul, (Cairo, 1969), vol. 5, p. 467]
q "Khumra
is a small mat made from palm fibers or other material…. and it is
like that which the Shi'ah use for prostration."
[Talkhis
al-Sihah, p. 81]
But why the earth of Karbala?
The
special characteristics of the soil of Karbala (Iraq) were known and
it was an object of special attention during the time of the Prophet
(s) as well as in later times:
q Umm
Salama says: I saw Husayn (a) sitting in the lap of his grandfather,
the Prophet (s), who had a red block of soil in his hand. The Prophet
(s) was kissing the dust and weeping. I asked him what that soil was.
The Prophet (s) said: "Gabriel has informed me that my son, this
Husayn, will be murdered in Iraq. He has brought this earth for me
from that land. I am weeping for the suffering that will befall my
Husayn." Then the Prophet (s) handed the dust to Umm Salama and
said to her: "When you see this soil turn into blood, you will
know that my Husayn has been slaughtered." Umm Salama kept the
soil in a bottle and kept watch over it until she saw on the day of
Ashura, 10th of
Muharram 61 A.H., that it turned to blood. Then she knew that Husayn
bin Ali (a) had been martyred.
[al-Hakim,
al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 398]
[al-Dhahabi,
Siyar a`lam al-nubala', vol. 3, p. 194]
[Ibn
Kathir, al-Bidayah wa'l-nihayah, vol. 6, p. 230]
[al-Suyuti,
Khasa'is al-kubra, vol. 2, p. 450; Jam` al-Jawami, vol. 1, p. 26]
[Ibn
Hajar al-Asqalani, Tahdhib al-tahdhib , vol. 2, p. 346]
q 'Ali
ibn Abi Talib, passed by Karbala after the battle of Siffin. He took
a handful of its soil and exclaimed: 'Ah, ah, on this spot some men
will be slain, and will enter Paradise without reckoning!'
[Ibn
Hajar al-Asqalani, Tahdhib al-tahdhib , vol. 2, p. 348]
It
is not !
But
the Shi'ah prefer to
prostrate on the earth of Karbala because of the importance given to
it by the Prophet (s) and the Imams from his Family (Ahl
al-Bayt).
After the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a), his son Imam Zayn al-'Abidin
(a) picked some up, declared it to be sacred dust, and kept it in a
bag. The Imams (a) used to perform prostrations on it and make
a tasbihout
of it, and recited Allah's praises on it.
[Ibn
Shahrashub, al-Manaqib, vol. 2, p. 251]
They
also encouraged the Shi'ah to perform prostrations on them, with the
understanding that it was not compulsory, but with a view to
achieving greater recompense. The Imams (a) insisted that prostration
before Allah must be on clean earth only and that it was preferable
if it was performed on that earth of Karbala.
[al-Tusi,
Misbah al-Mutahajjad, p. 511]
[al-Saduq,
Man la yahduruhu'l faqih, vol. 1, p. 174]
The
Shi'ah for a long time have kept this earth with them. Then, fearing
that it might be desecrated, they kneaded it into small tablets or
pieces, which are now called mohr or
Turbah. During prayers we prostrate on it not as a compulsory act but
in view of its special nature. Otherwise, when we have no pure soil
with us, we prostrate on clean earth, or something that originates
from it.
It
is a pity that some people maliciously insist that the Shi'ah worship
stones or that they worship Husayn (a). The truth is that we worship
Allah alone by prostrating on the
Turbah, not to it.
And we never worship Imam Husayn, Imam Ali, or the Prophet Muhammad
(s). We worship only Allah, and it is in accordance with Allah's
order that we perform prostration only on pure ear
th.
This
is the reason why Shi'ah Muslims carry small tablets, usually made
from the earth of Karbala, which enables them to do prostration on
this highly recommended object and to follow the sunnah of
the Prophet (s).
Some
more references
Sunan
Abu Dawood, Urdu Edition page 376 and 381 it states:
Prophet
had the signs of mud on his forehead and nose, after prostration upon
it.
Kenzul-Ammal,
Volume 7, Tradition No. 19804, it states:
Narrated
from Umme Attiyah, the Salah of one whom doesn't prostrate upon
Earth, mud or something not eaten and not worn, and also not have his
nose placed upon it, is not accepted by Allah.
Kenzul-Ammal,
Volume 7, Tradition No. 19775, it states:
Ibn
Attiyah narrates, Verily God doesn't accept the Salah of those whom
don't prostrate upon Earth, or something not worn or eaten, and also
have his nose prostrated upon that earth, or soil.
Allama
Wahid-uz-Zamaan, in his commentary of Sahih Al-Bukhari, states about
this tradition:
All
Jurists, unanimously agree, that the Prophet (saws) used to prostrate
upon a Sajday Gah, turbah, and also ordered his companions to do so
too.
Umar
Ibn Abdil Aziz said:
He
used to prostrate on mud, which was supposed to be brought for him,
and Ibn Abi Shaybah narrates from Urwa, that he (Prophet Muhammed
(saws)), considered prostrating upon nothing but a Turbah.
Tayseer-al
Bari Sharh Sahih-Al Bukhari, Volume 1, page 275, published by Taaj
company Limited.
Sunan
Tirmidhi, Volume 1, page 156, translated by Badee Uz-zaman, publsihed
in lahore, states:
Hazrat
Abbas narrates that the Holy Prophet Muhammed (saws) used to
prostrate on a Sajday Gah, a trubah, and not on a prayer mat.
Al-Tabaqat
Al-Kubra, By Ibn Sa'ad , Volume 1, page 352,
Kenzul-Ammal,
Volume 7, page 49, Tradition No. 17896, state:
When
the Prophet would prostrate, he would lift his Amamah, turban, from
the forhead, and then prostrate upon earth.
Same
line:
Prophet Muhammed (saws) asked one of his companions to remove the
truban, from forehead, as the forehead should actually touch the
Turbah.
Sunan
Al-Kubrah by Al-Bayhaqi, Volume 2, page 151, Tradition No. 2659,
Al-Isabah
by Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani Vol. 3 page 465 (Hadith No. 4368),
Osdol-Ghaba
by Ibn Al-Atheer, Volume 3 page 9
The
Prophet of Allah (swt), saw a man praying next to him, and sighted
his truban was blocking his forehead from touching the turbah,
Prophet Muhammed (saws), then removed his turban, to such extent,
where his forehead, was actually touching the trubah.
Ibn
Taymiyyah issued this verdict, in his book Muju Al-Fatawa, and it's
narrated in that book, that it was asked from him, about the
prostration on a prayer mat, in the mosque, and the prayer
performing, that on a carpet, is it an act of innovation or not?
He
replied: Praise be to the lord of the world, as for the salat on the
prayer mat, this is not from the Sunnah, of the Salaf of the
Mohajireen or Ansaar, and nor from the Sunnah of the Taymeen after
them. On whom is the blessing of the favor of Allah, the holy
Prophet Muhammed (saws), him and his companions prayed upon soil in
the mosque! Not even one of them ever took a prayer mat, or carpet to
pray on for their salah. This is narrated from Abdurahman Ibn Mahdi ,
when the carpets and the prayer mats first came to Medinah, then Malik
ordained of confiscating them, and then it was said to him that it
was Abdurahman ibn Mahdi, and he said: Truly know that, verily the
carpet, and the prayer mat, in our mosque is a biddah, and this is
the saheeh, narration, from Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, of a tradition,
Aetakaafal-Nabi, narrated also in Mujmu Al-Fatawa, Volume 22, page
163.
Video
link:
Allah, forgive us all, for our bad sins...
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