By: Sadaf Ali

Long Article

Email id: sadaf.ronan@gmail.com

Hadith of Jibril (peace upon him)

The hadith of Jibril (peace upon him) indeed expounds on the concept of Islam, Iman and Ihsan. So many scholars in the past commented on this hadith. This hadith was collected by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (no. 8), with his isnad from Yahya Ibn Ya’mar.

The Pillars of Islam

The pillars of Islam are five. When Jibril asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about Islam. He said “Islam is that you testify that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and that Muhammad(ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah and that you establish the Prayer and that you give the zakat (alms), and that you fast the month of Ramadan and perform pilgrimage {Hajj) to the House if you have the means.”

The meaning of Islam is submission and obedience to Allah. The most important pillar of Islam is the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped besides Allah and the testimony that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the messenger of Allah.  These testimonies are interconnected and it is binding on every human or jinn. Because Prophet (ﷺ) is the last prophet. No prophet will come after him. If a person dies not believing in the Prophet (ﷺ) then he will be in the hell fire forever. This testimony means that Prophet (ﷺ) must be obeyed and loved above anyone else.

Allah says in the Quran, “And whosoever desires other than Islam as a religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he will be amongst the losers in the Hereafter.” (3:85)

After the testimony comes the other cardinal pillar which is establishing prayer. It is the first thing that we will question of. The difference between a believer and a disbeliever is prayer. A person who doesn’t pray is considered as a disbeliever. The prayer prevents us from immoral deeds. Prayer becomes oblatory when a person male pr female reaches puberty.

Allah says in the Quran, “Those who are constant in their Prayer.” (70:23).

From Ali Ibn Abi Talib who said, ‘The last words of the Prophet (ﷺ) were, ‘The Prayer and what your right hands possess.” (Ibn Majah – 2698). [1]

Next pillar is the zakah. The meaning of Zakah is purification. It is made obligatory in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ).

Allah says in the Quran , “So if they repent and establish the Prayer and give the zakat, then let them go upon their way.” ( 9:5)

Allah has made zakah compulsory on the rich people. Because of this the rich Muslims can help the poor Muslims who do not have money.

Another important pillar is fasting in the month of Ramadan. The reward of the fasting person gets are very great. Allah answers the prayers of the fasting person. Allah rewards fasting immensely.

The last pillar of Islam is Hajj. Hajj to the house of Allah. This is also obligatory the person who has the means. He should have financial and bodily strength. It should be performed once. In a hadith Prophet (ﷺ), said “Whosoever performs Hajj to this House and he does not utter obscenities and he does not commit sins, then he will return as he was upon the day his mother gave birth to him. (Related by al-Bukhari no. 1820)

The Pillars of Iman

 In English we can translate iman as “faith”. Iman is the mental state of assurance or conviction in which mind accepts and endorses its experience as corresponding with reality. The pillars of iman are six. Angel Jibril asked the Prophet (ﷺ), about iman and he told him that iman is you believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and the Qadr – the good of it and the evil.

The most important pillar of iman is believe in Allah. It is the foundation. Iman in Allah means that we accept that He exists, Rubiibiyyah, Uluhiyyah and in the names and attributes of Allah.

We have to believe in the Angels. They are Allah’s creature. Allah created them with light. They don’t have free will like humans and jinns. There are some who are in charge of bringing revelation.  There are some who are in charge of Paradise and Hell. We also have two guardian angel who are recording our deeds.

Another pillar of iman is to believe in books of revelation which Allah sent with the messengers.  The Quran mentions the Zabur which was given to Prophet Dawud, Torah given to Prophet Musa, Injil given to Prophet Eesa we believe that all these books were revealed and not written by humans. Quran is the final revelation from Allah.

Belief in the Messengers implies that we believe in all the messengers that Allah sent. Allah chose them to guide us from darkness to light. Also believing that Prophet Mohammed(ﷺ) is the last prophet. No prophet will come after him.

Belief in the last day means attestation and affirmation of everything that will happen on the day of resurrection. We should believe in whatever comes to us through Quran and the authentic Sunnah. The belief about the punishment of the grave, the blowing of thr trumpet, crossing the bridge sirat.

The last pillar of iman is the belief in al-Qadr ; the good of it and the evil of it. Allah has eternal knowledge, Allah recorded everything in al-Lawh al Mahfuz fifty thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Everything exists by Allah’s wisdom.

Not accepting any of the above stated points leads to disbelief, and all disbelievers will reside in the hell fire regardless of the good they have done.

Ihasan

The word ‘Ihsan” means beneficence, performance of good it implies the doing of good deeds over and above what is just and fair.

When Jibril Questioned the Prophet(ﷺ) about Ihasan he replied that “It is that you worship Allah as though you see Him. Since you do not see Him, then He sees you.” It means that we should worship Allah and know that Allah is watching us so we should make our worship perfect. If a person is not able to do that then he should realize that Allah is watching him all the time. The first level is better than the second.

The Signs of the Hour

The knowledge of the hour is only with Allah. The hour here refers to the death. The sahabas used to ask the Prophet (ﷺ) then he explained some signs. But he emphasised what have you prepared.

When the slave woman gives birth to her mistress, this implies an allusion to the many conquests and female prisoners of war and that there are from the female prisoners those who will be compelled by their masters, so they will give birth for him. This could also mean that kids will be disrespectful to their mothers.

when you see the bare-footed, naked and destitute shepherds of sheep competing in the construction of tall buildings”.

Means that the poor destitute shepherds will start to compete in building tall buildings.

This hadith is truly combines all the types of knowledge be it science of manners or even civil behaviours. It is the basis of Islam. It is rightly called the mother of the sunnah as it contains comprehensive knowledge from the sunnah.

References

Abbad AI-’Allamah (2020). Explanation of the Hadlth of Jibrll About the Teachings of Islam. 2^nd ed.). Grand Rapids M I, USA. Sunnah Publishing                            

Mughal Munir (2011). Hadith Jibril Lessons for all.

[1]These ahadith were authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami (no. 3873).[1]