An Introduction to Kitab Al-‘Ittisam
(Holding Fast to The Qur’an and The Sunnah)
Imam Bukhari started the kitab (book) of ‘ittisam with no baabs (chapters) and did not include any unlike other kutub (books) in Sahih Al-Bukhari, so all of the ahadith are to do with ‘ittisam.
Imam Bukhari was dealing with the shari’ah of Allah when dealing with this book of ‘ittisam, and so necessarily titled it ‘ittisam which means that the title was taken from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The word ‘ittisam was taken from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The word was specifically taken by him from the surah Aal-‘Imran from ayah 103. He took it specifically from here.
To now know the meaning of this word ‘ittisam we must look to the context in which it was used and this means we have to look at what was said before this ayah, in the ayah, and after the ayah to comprehend this topic properly.
When anything is written, there is a relationship between the beginning, the middle, and the end. The introduction is related to the main plot, and the main plot is related to the end of the story, so we have to go to the Qur’an to understand what is around this word and understand the ayah in context.
So we start to read from ayah 100 of surah Aal-‘Imran. Before starting to understand this topic, we will read the set of ayat insha Allah.
Allah says:
O you who believe! If you obey a group of those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians), they would (indeed) render you disbelievers after you have believed!
And how would you disbelieve, while unto you are recited the Verses of Allâh, and among you is His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)? And whoever holds firmly to Allâh, (i.e. follows Islâm Allâh’s Religion, and obeys all that Allâh has ordered, practically), then he is indeed guided to a Right Path.
O you who believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.
And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh, and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allâh’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islâmic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allâh makes His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided. (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 100-103)
At the very beginning of these set of ayat Allah says, “O you who believe!”
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that a man came to `Abdullah bin Mas`ud and said to him, “Advise me.” He said, “When you hear Allah’s statement,
“O you who believe!” then pay full attention, for it is a righteous matter that He is ordaining or an evil thing that He is forbidding.”
At a glance, we see that in ayah 100 Allah is talking about being turned back to being disbelievers after being believers, that if you were to obey a party of the people who were given the scriptures you would be kuffar after being believers. And in ayah 101 Allah gives a rhetorical question, how could you disbelieve while the revelation is being recited to you? (i.e. revelation is being given to the prophet who is reciting it to you), and the prophet is among you, in your presence, by your side? Did these Muslims do kufr (disbelief)? What happened that resulted in the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, Allah, to reveal such verses addressing the believers in such a manner? Mention of the loss of emaan and the disregarding of the verses of Allah and His Messenger? The Muslim may read over these verses and not realise the significance that Allah has given to them, but brief contemplation on what Allah is saying demands that we go to the sabab al-nuzool (cause of revelation) to find out what exactly happened.
The Ansar were made up of the two Arab tribes Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. In Jahiliyah (the pre-Islamic period) Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were at great war with one another, fighting and killing each other everyday. When they accepted Islam, they became the symbol of Islam, the emblem of emaan (belief).
In a Hadith narrated by Anas, the Prophet said, “…If the Ansar took their way through a valley or a mountain pass, I would take the Ansar’s valley or their mountain pass.” (Bukhari)
Also, in a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, The Prophet said, “If the Ansar took their way through a valley or a mountain pass, I would take Ansar’s valley. And but for the migration, I would have been one of the Ansar.” (Bukhari)
Allah praised the Ansar in different ayat of His book as did His Messenger.
Allah said regarding the Ansar, “Those who gave (them) asylum and help.” (Surah Al-’Anfal: 72, 74), Allah praised the Muslims of Al-Madinah, the Ansar, who gave asylum to their Muhajirin brothers in their own homes and comforted them with their wealth. They also gave aid to Allah and His Messenger by fighting alongside the Muhajirun.
And Allah said, “And those who, before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted the Faith,- love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given, and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that…” (Surah Al-Hashr: 9). Here, Allah referred to the Ansar who resided in the city in which the migration occurred, before the emigrants arrived at it, and who embraced the faith before many of the emigrants. They loved those who emigrated to them and comforted them with their wealth on account of their generosity and honourable conduct. The Ansar did not have any envy for the Muhajirin because of their better status, rank, or more exalted grade that Allah gave the Muhajirin above them. The Ansar preferred giving to the needy rather than attending to their own needs, and began by giving the people before their own selves, even though they too were in need.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A man came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! I am suffering from fatigue and hunger.” The Prophet sent (somebody) to his wives (to get something), but the messenger found nothing with them. Then Allah’s Apostle said (to his companions). “Isn’t there anybody who can entertain this man tonight so that Allah may be merciful to him?” An Ansari man got up and said, “I (will, entertain him), O Allah’s Apostle!” So he went to his wife and said to her, “This is the guest of Allah’s Apostle, so do not keep anything away from him.” She said. “By Allah, I have nothing but the children’s food.” He said, “When the children ask for their dinner, put them to bed and put out the light; we shall not take our meals tonight,” She did so. In the morning the Ansari man went to Allah’s Apostle who said, “Allah was pleased with (or He bestowed His Mercy) on so-and-so and his wife (because of their good deed).” Then Allah revealed:
‘But give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that.’ (59.9) (Bukhari)
Going back to the set of verses in surah Aal-‘Imran, regarding the sabab al-nuzool (the cause of revelation).
Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were brothers who had the same grandfather, Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr. The Jews lived with these two tribes in Al-Madinah. The two Arab tribes, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, were embroiled in conflict with each other. The Jews wanted them to fight amongst themselves for the money that they would make from it secondary to keeping the tribes divided and maintaining their dominance. The Jews shrewdly were supplying the weapons to these two tribes, to kill each other, to go to jahannam. The Jews were the military power with economic means, making money from the weapons they were selling and lending money with interest which the tribes used to buy weapons with. They also had the ‘ilm too, they were the ‘ilm authority. When Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj wanted to know something they would ask the Jews. The Jews were a people who had been sent numerous prophets, and had received revelation, and were thus relied upon by the two tribes for anything they wanted to know.
Allah says,
“so ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures – the Taurât (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know” (Surah Al-Anbiya: 7)
Allah says,
“So if you (O Muhammad SAW) are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto you, [i.e. that your name is written in the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] then ask those who are reading the Book [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] before you” (Surah Yunus: 94)
The above verses clearly show that the Jews (as well as the Christians) were people who had received revelation, and possessed knowledge of previous revelation.
So the Jews had everything. They had the military authority supplying weapons to the tribes, the economics means through making money from the sales of arms and lending with interest, and the authority of knowledge over the tribes.
The Jews gained so much that when the Prophet went to besiege them, they had fortresses which showed what they had amassed of wealth and power.
However, when the Prophet arrived in Al-Madinah, the authority of ‘ilm went from the Jews, there was no more ‘ilm for the Jews. Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj now went to the Prophet.
The first thing the Prophet told the two tribes was what Allah says,
“Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers (Muslims) the Jews and those who are Al-Mushrikûn…” (Surah Al-Ma’idah: 82)
So this power, authority of ‘ilm was gone from the Jews as the Prophet was conveying the knowledge, and the tribes went to the Prophet for the ‘ilm as well as knowing the true feelings of the Jews towards themselves. However, the Jews had left their influence on Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj.
An-Nasa’i reported that Ka`b bin `Alqamah said that Abu An-Nadr said that he asked Nafi`, “The people are repeating the statement that you relate from Ibn `Umar that he allowed sex with women in their rear (anus). He said, “They have said a lie about me. But let me tell you what really happened. Ibn `Umar was once reciting the Qur’an while I was with him and he reached the Ayah:
(Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth, when or how you will,) He then said, `O Nafi`! Do you know the story behind this Ayah’ I said, `No.’ He said, `We, the people of Quraysh, used to have sexual intercourse with our wives from the back (in the vagina). When we migrated to Al-Madinah and married some Ansari women, we wanted to do the same with them. They disliked it and made a big issue out of it. The Ansari women had followed the practice of the Jews who have sex with their women while they lay on their sides. Then, Allah revealed: (Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth, when or how you will,) This has an authentic chain of narrators.
So the Jews had left their influence on the Ansar making them believe that it was not permissible to have sexual intercourse with their wives from the back (in the vagina).
The authority of knowledge had gone from the Jews, they had the military and economic powers left, but now that Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj had become brothers in Islam, they had no more wars. This meant that the Jews had lost the authority of ‘ilm and as Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were now brothers in Islam, they did not war with one another thus not filling the hands of the Jews with money for weapons to use against each other.
And, on top of that, the Muhajirun who emigrated to their brothers, Al-Ansar in Madinah, were well known for their trading abilities, such as Abdur Rahman ibn Auf. The Muhajirun very quickly became rich in Madinah which meant that the Ansar now went to the Muhajirun for money. This is turn meant that the Ansar no longer went to the Jews to borrow money.
It had so become that the Jews no longer had any authority of ‘ilm, no military power, and no economic standing. They had lost everything, they had lost all power.
One day the Ansar (Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj) were sitting, joking and laughing (whereas before in jahiliyah they were enemies fighting and killing each other). The Ansar now brothers in Islam were enjoying each others company when a Jewish man from Bani Qaynuqa named Shaa’s Ibnu Qays who was spiteful and envious of the Muslims and who used to abuse the Prophet much and was full of hatred and envy towards him, Shaa’s saw the unity of the Ansar, their brotherhood and their affairs united under Islam. He did not like this at all, so he sent his slave and said to him to remind them of the days of fighting, specifically about Yawmul Bu’ath (the greatest day of fighting between Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj) and what occurred that day. The ghulam (slave) cleverly started shooting poison about Yawnul Bu’ath. He recited some poetry said by one of the two tribes that day. Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were there and the ghulam injected them with jahiliyah, reminding them with words of poetry said by one of the two sides on Yawnul Bu’ath. The other side retaliating said, our poet said such and such that day. Thus, going back and forward with lines of poetry. Then one from each side (Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj), Aws Ibnu Qubti (or Qayzi) a man from the people of Haritha of the Aws and Jabar Ibnu Sakhar a man from the people of Salama of the Khazraj got on their horses, reciting verses and the tension rose to a dangerous degree. Then one of the two said if you want we can bring the days back, by Allah if you wish we can start afresh, and what can you do? Let’s bring war back afresh back to the old days. They wanted to fight like back in jahiliyah with the same mentality. This ghulam of the Jew had reminded them of that terrible day and they had forgotten everything after that! They did not just want to fight, but with the meaning that your blood is halal for me. Then they said get the weapons… they were showing no mercy, your blood is halal for me, they were serious, let us do it. Then, the ayat of the Qur’an from surah Aal-‘Imran were revealed on the Prophet. The ayat were revealed after this event.
Allah says,
O you who believe! If you obey a group of those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians), they would (indeed) render you disbelievers after you have believed!
And how would you disbelieve, while unto you are recited the Verses of Allâh, and among you is His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)? And whoever holds firmly to Allâh, (i.e. follows Islâm Allâh’s Religion, and obeys all that Allâh has ordered, practically), then he is indeed guided to a Right Path.
O you who believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.
And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh, and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allâh’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islâmic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allâh makes His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided. (Surah Aal-’Imran: 100-103)
What would the Prophet have said seeing such a situation? Where is the Bayah al-Aqabah, to defend me? Where am I, the Prophet? I have the shari’ authority, if you want to fight you have to ask me, I am the shari’ Imam! What about the dam (blood) of the Muslim being haram? All of these meanings had gone, been disregarded in an instant. Do you follow the calls of the days of jahiliyah while I am amongst you and after Allah has honoured you with Islam?
It was after this event that the Prophet said, “is it to the call of Jahiliyah that you respond to while I am amongst you?”
We can imagine the Prophet would have said, where is your emaan? Where has it gone? The Ansar had emaan like mountains. We can imagine that the prophet would of said, has anyone tortured you or threatened you to do this as had been done to Bilal? Are you mukrah (under ikrah (compulsion)) to make kufr? What the Ansar did was beyond belief. “And how would you disbelieve, while unto you are recited the Verses of Allâh, and among you is His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)?” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 101). How could you take the naseehah (advice) from the Yahud? So now you are obeying the ghulam while we told you about them “Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers (Muslims) the Jews and those who are Al-Mushrikûn…” (Surah Al-Ma’idah: 82). Did he order you to fight? No! So how is it that you came to do this? The ghulam wanted this and carried out what he was ordered to do so cunningly. Some people are good at creating this kind of trouble. You took naseehah from him and trusted him? How can you trust them when they killed their prophets? How can you disbelieve? What will you do before Allah? You saw miracles, had the prophet amongst you, saw the moon split into two, and after all of that, this man came and did this. There is no ‘udhr (excuse). How can you make kufr and the light of prophet hood is before you and the wahi (revelation) is being revealed.
Some people said that this situation was specific only to the sahabah, that the prophet was amongst them and to them were being recited the verses of Allah. That, as the prophet is not amongst us and the verses are not being recited to us by the prophet, that we could commit the act that they were about to, make kufr and not be held accountable. If it would mean that the prophet was amongst them, so they could not be excused for kufr, then the people say it would mean that we could be excused if we committed the act that they were about to commit as the prophet is not amongst us to warn us, but this is a terrible saying, one that is totally incorrect. What is meant by “And how would you disbelieve, while unto you are recited the Verses of Allâh, and among you is His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)?” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 101), is that the Qur’an and Sunnah was amongst them. The presence of the prophet strengthened their emaan. The Prophet is not amongst us, but the Qur’an and Sunnah are amongst us and we would have no excuse should we commit the act that they were so close to doing.
After this event was when the ayat were revealed and the hadith occurred. As soon as the ayat were revealed they started weeping and embracing one another. So, the ghulam did what he was sent for, the Ansar forgot everything. They forgot the Bayah al-Aqabah, the Prophet, that the blood of their brothers was haram to spill, everything. As soon as the Prophet recited the verses, they immediately cried and hugged one another.
Next in the set of ayat from surah Aal -‘Imran – Allah says,
“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared (have Taqwa of Allah as is His due)…” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 102)
Ibn Abbas said, when you hear “O you who believe”, listen carefully for it is either a command or a prohibition. There is no doubt that Ibn Abbas would have studied such verses as these.
When “O you who believe” is said, do we believe or think that we are included in this address? We should know that we are believers in Allah and must have yaqeen (certainty). Yaqeen is a condition of emaan. We do not want to find ourselves doubtful of whether we are of the believers, we should not live in such a state. We should have knowledge of this emaan and adhere to it and make sure we stay well upon emaan so as to not find ourselves treading at the side of emaan next to kufr. Every morning, we should wake up and see if we are the ones included in the address “O you who believe”. Are we implementing al-Wala wal-Bara (alliance and disassociation) correctly, are we abiding by the shari’ah regarding our relationships, do we speak out against the evil, kufr and shirk, are we far away from the acts that nullify ones Islam, are we far away from the prohibitions that Allah has set, do we speak the truth about Allah and His Messenger, are our actions according to the sunnah of rasulullah, are we sticking to the haq, do we adhere to the Kitab and Sunnah, are we worshipping Allah as we should be? We need to always be aware, checking ourselves. An individual can commit shirk at any time through many ways. kufr is everywhere. We need to guard our hearts, tongues, and actions and protect them from doing what is wrong. It is narrated that a person may say a word they think harmless but results in them being thrown into the fire for a distance of seventy years. We should check to see if we did anything wrong today and make tawbah. There is also the danger of isolation where one is not with the Muslims who will remind him, exhort him, push him to what is right and being without this results in us falling into sin which is sure to happen and then the kufr is very close by. We must make sure we are of those being addressed when it is said “O you who believe”. We must have yaqeen and be the believers being addressed who fulfil the commands and stay away from the prohibitions, who act according to the law of Allah which has been revealed. A person should not have doubt in the emaan. We must think about whether we are believers because the fitnah (shirk, trials, tribulations) is everywhere, every day.
Some people said it is impossible to fear Allah as He should be feared. Ibn Mas’ood commented on the ayah saying, “That He is obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten and to be appreciated and not unappreciated.” One should always obey Allah and never be disobedient to Him, remember Him with a great remembrance and never to forget Him, and to be most thankful to Him and never be ungrateful to Him for anything.
It has also been said by others, when commenting on the verse, “to be found where you should be and not to be where you should not be.” This means to be in the good places doing good things, not in the majaalis (gatherings) of bidah (innovation), kufr and maseeyah (sin).
Some of the ‘ulama said that as it is not possible to fear Allah as He should be feared, thus the verse has been abrogated by the part of the verse, “So fear Allah as much as you are able.” (Surah At-Taghabun: 16). Ibn Abbas said that there is no verse abrogated in surah Aal-‘Imran. The correct understanding is that the verse has not been abrogated, but that the part of the verse reading “fear Allah as much as you are able” explains the verse “fear Allah as He should be feared”, meaning to do as much as you are able, to fear Allah to the best of your capability.
Ibnu Khuzaymah said that if anyone says that there are two ayat contradicting one another (i.e. that one is abrogated) to bring them to him so that he can explain them and make clear that in reality there is no contradiction (i.e. no abrogation) but rather a lack of understanding which needs clarifying.
Ibn Abbas said that the verse “fear Allah as He should be feared” means, to fight fee sabilillah and not to fear, to be just to your children, yourself and your parents.
To fulfil the command of the verse is not impossible as Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear. Also, the verse is a command, and Allah does not command what is impossible, so the command is possible.
For example, people say where can we go to worship Allah properly the way we should. Allah speaks in the Qur’an about the Earth being vast. So, to do what we are commanded is not impossible as Allah does not command the impossible nor what is more than we can bear, and Allah provides the means for fulfilling His commands
So we need to be away from the sin and away from the wrong. We need to do what is ma’roof (good).
Next in the set of ayat from surah Aal-‘Imran – Allah says,
“…and do not die except as Muslim.” The apparent surface meaning of this verse is to die as a Muslim. That regardless of what someone has done through life, living all the way through their life committing wrongs and sins, but as long as they die as a Muslim then they will be alright. How is it possible that one is the slave of the dinar throughout life, busying their own self with seeking wealth and the dunya throughout life and then dies as a Muslim. There are people who do not give Allah what is due to Him whilst seeking the dunya with every effort yet expecting that they will die as a Muslim. What the verse means is to live as a Muslim and die as a Muslim. It means to preserve your Islam while you are well and safe throughout life so that you die as a Muslim. Allah has made it that whatever state one lives in, that is what he dies upon and is resurrected upon. People give priority to the dunya and money and those things that are wrong, they die thinking and worrying about these things because this is what they chased after and sought through life. So, to die not except as a Muslim is to preserve ones Islam while healthy and safe so Allah causes one to die as a Muslim. To live with Islam so you are always a Muslim.
The best of creation, the Prophets, said to their children what will you worship after me? Their concern and utmost priority was the worship of Allah. The Prophets did business, earned livings, dealt with all their worldly dealings only as a means to worship Allah, with the worship of Allah in mind.
They practically worshipped Allah in accordance with the verse, “And I created not the Jinn and Mankind except for My worship.” (Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 56)
The nature of the wasiya (will) of the Prophets was the worship of Allah.
Allah says,
“And Abraham instructed his sons (to do the same) and (so did) Jacob, (saying), “O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are muslims.”
“Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, “what will you worship after me?” They said, “We will worship your ilah and the ilah of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac – one ilah. And we are muslims (in submission) to Him.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 132-133)
Though Yusuf went through many trials in life such as being thrown in the well by his brothers, taken and sold as a slave boy, put into prison, whether he was in times of hardship or ease he was always worshipping Allah. Allah says what Yusuf said,
“cause me to die as a Muslim (the one submitting to your will) and join me with the righteous.” (Surah Yusuf: 101)
These were the prophets, this is how they lived, this is what they sought and this is how they passed from this life.
Next in the set of ayat from surah Aal-‘Imran – Allah says,
“And hold fast to the Rope of Allah…” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 103)
The way to fear Allah and die as a Muslim is to hold fast to the rope of Allah, which means to hold fast to the Book (Qur’an) and the Sunnah. This means that we necessarily have to be with the jama’ah as it is only the jama’ah that implements the Book and the Sunnah. It is a big sin to be away from the jama’ah. The sahabah understood one to be away from the jama’ah to be committing a big sin and upon a great deviation. We need to look at what the jama’ah is supposed to be, meaning which jama’ah is it important to be with, what is the structure of this jama’ah according to the Kitab and Sunnah. So, to hold fast to the Rope of Allah is to hold fast to the Book and the Sunnah, and in the Book and the Sunnah we find commands and prohibitions, clinging to this rope of Allah leads you to Allah’s pleasure, it is taqwa. The only way to cling to the rope of Allah is to do this. If we do not cling to the rope of Allah which is the Book and the Sunnah, not fulfilling the commands and avoiding the prohibitions, then we will surely make sin and kufr, etc.
To further understand what “hold fast” means, we look at the situation which Allah revealed regarding Yusuf (Prophet Yusuf was an extremely handsome man. The prophet Muhammad said in a hadith reported by Muslim that Yusuf had been given half of the beauty of the world).
Allah says about Yusuf, that the woman sought to seduce him, but Yusuf sought refuge with Allah.
Allah said,
And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him (to do an evil act), she closed the doors and said: “Come on, O you.” He said: “I seek refuge in Allâh…” (Surah Yusuf: 23)
So the woman sought to seduce Yusuf. Allah said that she said, “but he (Yusuf) firmly refused.” The meaning of her saying that Yusuf firmly refused is that Yusuf firmly refused, holding fast to Allah.
She said: “This is he (the young man) about whom you did blame me (for his love), and I did seek to seduce him, but he firmly refused…” (Surah Yusuf: 32)
Yusuf asked Allah to help him refuse. He said if you do not save me from their plot I may incline towards them and be of the ignorant. He was seeking the protection of Allah by holding fast to Allah and within this was his firm refusal of the evil action put forward to him.
He said: “O my Lord! Prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. Unless You turn away their plot from me, I will feel inclined towards them and be one (of those who commit sin and deserve blame or those who do deeds) of the ignorants.” (Surah Yusuf: 33)
So, what happened was that Yusuf sought refuge with Allah from the evil action of this woman. The word that Allah used in the Qur’an that the Aziz’s wife said was fasta’sama (he firmly refused). So, Allah said that she said that Yusuf firmly refused, meaning that he was holding fast to Allah, and asking Allah for protection. She said that Yusuf held fast to his refusal of her action. In doing this, he asked Allah for protection. He sought refuge in Allah from the evil of this woman. Yusuf was clinging to Allah. He was clinging to the rope of Allah and asking Allah to help him to do this.
We should not say, and must know that, we can not do anything without the help of Allah. We should always ask Allah to help us, please Allah help us, protect us please!
There were three brothers from Bani Israel who were called upon to go on jihad. These three brothers had a sister who did not have any one else to take care of her other than by them. They did not know under whose care they could leave the young woman. Then, they thought that the most reasonable place to leave her was with the ‘abid (worshipper) because he was the most trusted man in the town. Barsisa, the ‘abid, was a man who used to be in a monastery devoted to the worship of Allah.
So, they went to him and said, “We are being enlisted to go on Jihad and we want to leave our sister with you. We trust no one in town but you.”
Barsisa replied “Audhu billah, get away from me.” This was an ‘abid who was not married and he did not want to deal with these problems.
The brothers said, “We have no where else to leave our sister but with you. We don’t trust anyone else.”
So, shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “If you don’t accept, she might be left with somebody who might not be trustworthy. You have to step-up and take this responsibility.”
So, Barsisa told the brothers, “Leave her in the empty house.” (which was separate from the monastery where he was staying). The brothers then left her there and went on Jihad.
After that, Barsisa the ‘abid used to leave food at his doorstep and the young woman had to come out of her house and walk all the way to take the food from his doorstep. Barsisa never used to leave from his monastery. Barsisa had never met her and they were not seeing each other either. Days passed by like this.
One day, shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “Somebody might see her when she is walking out. So rather than have her leave from her house, you need to carry it and leave at her doorstep.” So he started leaving the food at her doorstep. This happened for many days.
Again one day, shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “You can’t just leave the food at her doorstep. Somebody might see her when she opens the door and she is very beautiful. You would have to take the food and leave it inside her room.” So, Barsisa would go and knock on the door. She would open the door and he would walk inside and leave the food there. That continued for a while.
Then again one day Shaytan said, “You can’t leave this poor woman alone without giving her any company. Nobody is speaking to her. So she may be feeling very lonely and that might lead to haram. So why don’t you go and talk to her from behind the door.” Barsisa liked the idea and so for a while he would sit outside and just talk to her for hours. Slowly and slowly the relationship was building up and shaytan was finding it easier to drag him to the next step.
Shaytan then came and said, “You can’t just sit there talking to her, people might see you. You need to go inside, just sit in another room without looking at her and talk to her.” So, for sometime that is what he did. Slowly she started getting closer to him and everytime they got more and more closer to the extent that eventually he committed zina (fornication) with her.
So, the ‘abid, the worshipper who devoted his life to service in the monastery committed zina. Because of that, she became pregnant and delivered a boy.
Then shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “Now when the brothers come back and find out that their sister has a child you are going to be in big trouble. The only way for you to put an end to this issue is to kill the baby.” Barsisa followed the advice of shaytan and killed the child.
But it didn’t end there. Shaytan came to him and said, “Do you think that this woman will keep the secret after you kill her own child? The only way out is to kill her.” So Barsisa killed her and buried both mother and child in a certain location inside the house.
Later the brothers came back and inquired about their sister. Barsisa gave some reason and said, “She had passed away and this is where she is burried.” Saying that he pointed to a false grave.
Then Shaytan went to the brothers and made them see a dream. In that dream they were told that Barsisa killed their sister and the proof was that she was buried in a different location (i.e. under the rock inside the house).
When the brothers woke up they started talking to each other and found out that they all had seen the same dream. They thought that there must be some truth in it. So they went and uncovered the grave which Barsisa had pointed to and found it empty. Then they went inside the house and found the rock as mentioned in the dream. On digging underneath the rock they found their sister’s dead body along with that of the child.
So they went to Barsisa and forced him to disclose the secret of what happened. He went ahead and told them the whole story. The three brothers took Barsisa to the king’s court and he was given punishment of execution.
While Barsisa was being dragged to his execution spot, Shaytan came to him and said, “Listen Barsisa I am Shaytan and it was me who was in communication with you since this whole thing started and not your inner thoughts. Now I can get u out of this trouble if you want. I am the one who put you in this trouble in the first place and I can get u out of it.”
Barsisa asked, “What should I do?”
Shaytan said, “Do sujood to me and I will save you.”
Barsisa did sujood to Shaytan (i.e. committed shirk) and as soon as he did so, Shaytan ran away and Barsisa was executed.
This is the fitnah of women and we need to remember that all types of sin, innovation, kufr and shirk can not be avoided except with the help and guidance of Allah. Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, to Him, hold fast to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Ibn Masood said that the rope of Allah is Al-Jama’ah.
Ibn Abbas said that the rope of Allah is the covenant of Allah.
Qatadah said that the rope of Allah is the Qur’an.
All of the three mentioned statements mean the rope of Allah, which is Islam, which means submission to Allah and His messenger, and the only way to do this is to cling to the Book and the Sunnah collectively as one body.
Next, in the set of verses from surah Aal-‘Imran –
Allah says,
“… all together and do not become divided …” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 103)
Allah has given the method of how to hold onto the rope of Allah. Islam is a collective religion, collectively is the only way to implement Islam. We cannot do it alone, it cannot be done alone because Allah said jamee’an (altogether, collectively). The issue of jama’ah is in jamee’an. The ahadith further explain the nature of this jama’ah and how it is to be.
Next, in the set of verses from surah Aal-‘Imran –
Allah says,
“… and remember Allah’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allâh makes His Ayat clear to you, that you may be guided.” (Surah Aal-‘Imran: 103)
This was revealed about the Aws and Khazraj who were at war and had great hatred, enmity and ill feelings towards each other, causing long conflicts and battles to occur between them.
The ni’mah (favour) is Islam by which Allah joined them together “for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together”, and those amongst them who embraced Islam became brothers who loved each other by Allah’s grace “by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)”, having good ties for Allah’s sake and helping each other in righteousness and piety.
Allah says,
…He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers.
And He has united their (i.e. believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allâh has united them. Certainly He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. (Surah Al-Anfal: 62-63)
The Aws and Khazraj were disbelievers before Islam and should they have died while fighting, they would have died disbelievers, they were on the edge of a pit of fire “and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire”. But when they were blessed with Islam “and He saved you from it”, they fought fee sabilillah.
The first ni’mah was Islam “and remember Allah’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together”, the second was brotherhood “by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)”, and the third was Allah showing/explaining Islam (the ayat) for them to be guided “Thus Allâh makes His Ayat clear to you, that you may be guided.”.
Some people do not understand about emaan, kufr, and the meaning of the ayat. Allah does not allow for some people success in understanding the ayat.
