The Upper Hand is better then the Lower Hand and Imaam Sufyaan ath-Thawree on the Filth of the People

From Saheeh al Bukhaaree, Narrated Hakim bin Hizam:
The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand (i.e. he who gives in charity is better than him who takes it). One should start giving first to his dependents. And the best object of charity is that which is given by a wealthy person (from the money which is left after his expenses). And whoever abstains from asking others for some financial help, Allah will give him and save him from asking others, Allah will make him self-sufficient." 1346

From Saheeh Muslim
Abu Huraira is reported to have heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying: It is letter for one among you to bring a load of firewood on his back and give charity out of it (and satisfy his own need) and be independent of people, than that he should beg from people, whether they give him anything or refuse him. Verily the upper hand is better than the lower hand, and begin (charity) with your dependents. 2267

The Advice of Sufyaan ath-Thawree (d. 161) to 'Alee ibn Hasan

The Filth of the People

Sufyaan ath-Thawree said to 'Alee ibn al-Hasan, while advising him, "O my brother! You must take to acquiring that which is pure, and that which you yourself have earned, and beware of eating and dressing from the filth of the people [i.e. living from their charity and hand-outs]. Indeed the one who eats from the filth of the people is like a man who owns the upper story of a building, but not the lower story, so he is always afraid that the lower story will fall down causing his upper story to be demolished.

And the one who eats from the filth of the people speaks from whims and desires, agreeing with the people, out of fear of being shunned by them.

O my brother! If you were to receive anything from the people, you would hinder and prevent your tongue [i.e. from speaking the truth to them], and you would honor some people and treat others with contempt, despite the punishment that will befall you on the Day of Resurrection. For indeed the one who gives you something from his wealth, has indeed given you his filth."

And the explanation of why this is his filth is that the wealth he gives purifies his actions from sins [i.e. and hence becomes filthy for us, just like water becomes dirty in the process of cleaning a garment].

And if you were to accept anything from the people, then if they were to call you to do evil, you would accede to their wishes. Indeed the one who eats from the filth of the people is like the man who has some partners, and he feels that he is bound to them, by an oath. My brother! Hunger and starvation, and engaging in few acts of worship, is better than eating one's fill via the filth of the people, and [hence being able to do] many acts of worship.

And it has reached us that Allaah's Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallama) said, "If one of you had taken some rope and then gathered some firewood [to sell it to the people], until his back became sore, then that would be better for you than being dependant upon his brother by asking for something or anticipating something." [Related by al-Bukhaaree.]

And it has reached us that 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (radiyallaahu ta'aalaa anhu) said, "Whoever among you works, then we commend him and whoever does not work, then we have doubts about him." And he said, "O Reciters! Raise your heads! [i.e. Don't go about with heads bent as if out of humility, for humility is of the heart.] Do not add humility to what is in the heart, while competing with one another for good deeds, and do not be dependent upon the people, for that way has become clear."

And 'Alee ibn Abee Taalib (radiyallaahu ta'aalaa 'anhu) said, "Indeed the one who lives completely from the hands of the people, is like the one who plants a tree upon someone else's land."

So fear Allaah, my brother, being conscious of Him! For no one has acquired something from the people, except that he becomes despised and contemptible with the people, and the Believers are Allaah's witnesses on the earth.

Be careful not to earn through evil ways and then spend that wealth in obeying Allaah, for indeed avoidance of it has been made an obligation and a duty by Allaah, and indeed He is Pure (Tayyib) and accepts only that which is pure (tayyib).

Do you not see that a man who had a robe upon which some urine dropped, so he wanted to clean it but he washed it with some more urine?! Do you think that he has actually cleaned it? Of course not! Indeed dirt and filth cannot be purified except with that which is pure, and likewise the sin can only be wiped out with a good deed. And indeed Allaah is Pure and accepts only that which is pure, and indeed the Haraam is not accepted in any of the actions.

Or can it be that someone commits a sin and then eradicates it with [another] sin?!

[Related by Aboo Nu'aym in al-Hilyah (8/71-72).]

Taken from Words of Advice From the Salaf, published by Salafipublications
http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=6550

What is Salafiyyah? Imām Muhammad Nāsir ud-Deen Al-Albānī

THE REALITY OF THUNDER

TAKEN FROM THE AUTHENTIC AHAADEETH

(Translated by Aboo Talhah Daawood ibn Ronald Burbank, rahimhullaah)

* * * * *

* The thirteenth Soorah of the Qur.aan is Sooratur-Ra`d (the Soorah of Thunder), and it contains the Aayah, the Saying of Allaah-the Most High:

[[Meaning: And the thunder glorifies and praises Him, as do the Angels out of awe of Him. He sends the thunderbolts and strikes with them whomever He wills, yet still they dispute about Allaah. And He is the Mighty One, severe in punishment.]] [Sooratur- Ra`d: (13): 13]

* There is an authentic hadeeth which quotes the reason for the sending down of this Aayah, reported

by al-Bazzaar (3/54/no.2221: ‘Kashful-Astaar’)[and the following wording is his], Aboo Ya`laa (6/87-88/no.3341), Ibn Abee `Aasim in ‘as-Sunnah’, and others as a hadeeth of Anas-radiyallaahu `anhu- who said:

“Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sent a man from his Companions to a chief of the people of Ignorance, calling him to Allaah-the Exalted and Most High. So he (the chief) responded:

‘What is this Lord of yours Whom you call me to? Is he made of iron, or bronze, or silver, or gold?’

So the man came back to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and informed him, so the Prophet

(صلى الله عليه وسلم) sent him back for the second time, and he gave the same reply.

So the man came back to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and informed him, so he sent him for the third time, and he gave the same reply.

So the man came back to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and informed him.

Then Allaah-the Exalted and Most High- sent a thunderbolt (Saa.iqah) upon him, and destroyed him.

So Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

"Allaah -the Exalted and Most High- has sent a thunderbolt upon your companion and destroyed him. "

So this Aayah came down:

[[ Meaning: And He sends the thunderbolts and strikes with them whomever He wills, yet still they dispute about Allaah”” [Sooratur- Ra`d: Aayah 13].’’

Shaikh al- Albaanee mentioned in his checking of Ibn Abee `Aasim’s ‘as Sunnah’ ‘Zilaalul-Jannah’(no.692), that its chain of narration is ‘Saheeh’.

* Also there is something else, an authentic narration in ‘Al Kalimatut- Tayyib’ (no.157) of Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, that Shaikh al-Albaanee declared authentic, from the practice of the Companion `Abdullaah ibn az-Zubayr -radiyallaahu `anhumaa- that he would quote what is indicated in the Aayah when it thundered. The narration is:

“ `Abdullaah ibn az-Zubayr, when he would hear thunder, would leave off talking, and he would say:

( سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي يُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَ الْمَلائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ )

“Perfect is the One Whom the thunder glorifies and praises, and the Angels likewise from awe of Him.”

Shaikh al- Albaanee declared this authentic in its chain of narration, as a saying of the Companion.

Reported by Imaam Maalik (2/992) and from him by al-Bukhaaree in ‘Adabul- Mufrad’(no.723), and they add in the narration that he would say: “This thunder is a severe threat for the people of the earth.”

* Likewise Shaikh al-Albaanee brings a hadeeth (no.1872) in ‘as-Saheehah’ which explains what the thunder actually is, under the heading:

“The thunder glorifies and praises Him.”

Shaikh al-Albaanee brings the hadeeth of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم):

The thunder is an Angel from the Angels who is entrusted with the clouds, [in his hand- or: in his two hands there is a rod of fire with which he strikes the cloud]; and the noise which is heard from it is his striking the cloud when he strikes, so that it goes where he has commanded it.

Shaikh al- Albaanee said that this hadeeth has been reported by at-Tirmidhee, Ahmad, Aboo Ishaaq al–Harbee, at-Tabaraanee, Ibnu Bishraan in his ‘Amaalee”, ad-Diyaa. al Maqdisee in his ‘al-Ahaadeethul-Mukhtaarah’ and others. The addition in brackets was reported by al-Maqdisee and Ibn Mandah in ‘at-Tawheed’ (with the full wording.)

And the hadeeth is a hadeeth of `Abdullaah ibn `Abbaas -radiyallaahu `anhumaa- who said:

“Some Jews came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and said:

‘O Abul- Qaasim! We are going to ask you about some things, if you can respond to us about them we will follow you and attest to you and believe in you’

So he (the Prophet) ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) took from them the promise which Isra.aeel (Ya`qoob- `alaihis- Salaam) took upon himself, that they would say:

[meaning]“Allaah is a trustee over what we say.” [Soorah Yoosuf (12): 66]

They said:

“So what is the sign of a Prophet?”

He said:

"That his eyes sleep but his heart does not sleep."

Then they said:

“Inform us, how is a woman turned into a woman, and how does a soul become a man?”

So he responded:

"The two waters are cast together; so if the fluid of the woman overcomes the fluid of the man it becomes a female, and if the fluid of the man overcomes the fluid of the woman it becomes a male."

They said:

“You have spoken the truth, then inform us about the thunder, what is it?”

So he, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) responded with the previously mentioned hadeeth:

“The thunder is an Angel from the Angels who is entrusted with the clouds, [in his hand (or in his two hands) there is a rod of fire with which he strikes the cloud], and the noise which is heard from it is his striking the cloud when he strikes so that it goes where he has commanded it.””

Shaikh al-Albaanee mentioned that this chain of narration is fully connected, and its narrators are famous and reliable, and that it was reported by an- Nasaa.ee in his ‘Sunanul- Kubraa’.

And Shaikh al-Albaanee mentions a further supporting narration, quoted by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajr in ‘Takhreejul-Kashshaaf’ (p. 91) as being reported by at-Tabaraanee in ‘al-Awsat’ as a narration of Jaabir: that Khuzaymah ibn Thaabit-who is not the Ansaaree- asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) about the thunder, so he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) responded:

It is an angel who has a rod in his hand, when he raises it the lightning occurs, and when it strikes it thunders, and when he has struck then the reverberation is heard.

Then Shaikh al-Albaanee said concerning the main hadeeth:

“And the hadeeth overall is ‘hasan’ at the very least, and there are other narrations, many of them, in this regard. as-Suyootee brought them in ‘ad-Durrul-Manthoor’, so whoever wishes may refer to them”

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