Comparison of Jews, Christians and Muslim in Hadith
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Could you kindly Sir explain the meaning of the following narration!
Translator: M.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/010sbt.html
Volume 1, Book 10(Times of the Prayers) ,
Number
532:
Narrated
Salim bin `Abdullah:
My father said, "I heard Allah`s Apostle saying, `The period of your stay
as compared to the previous nations is like the period equal to the time
between the `Asr prayer and sunset. The people of the Torah were given the
Torah and they acted (upon it) till mid-day then they were exhausted and were
given one Qirat (of gold) each. And then the people of the Gospel were given
the Gospel and they acted (upon it) till the `Asr prayer then they were
exhausted and were! given one Qirat each. And then we were given the Qur`an and
we acted (upon it) till sunset and we were given two Qirats each. On that the
people of both the scriptures said, `O our Lord! You have given them two Qirats
and given us one Qirat, though we have worked more than they.` Allah said,
`Have I usurped some of your right?` They said, `No.` Allah said: "That is
my blessing I bestow upon whomsoever I wish."
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Answer:
Comparison of Jews, Christians and Muslim in Hadith
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
If the mission that man was sent on would take a day to
complete, in the above narration the Messenger of Allah (saws) compared the
time and work done by each Ummah of believers to the time and work done by a
worker in a day; and the reward that will be given to the workers of each Ummah
to the reward given to a worker for a job.
The people who believed and followed the Torah are
compared to the first group of workers, they obeyed and followed it if from
dawn to mid-day (when compared to the length of a day), and the reward for
their work was compared to a Qirat or measurement of gold for their job.
The baton was then passed to the second group of people
who believed and followed the Injeel, who followed it from mid-day to ‘Asr’
time, and their reward was compared to a Qirat or measurement of gold for their
job.
Then the same baton (and same mission) was passed on to
the people who would complete the project and the mission that man was sent on:
the people of the Quran. The time they
acted upon it till the completion of the mission is compared to the last part
of the day, from ‘asr’ time to ‘magrib’; but because they were given the job to
complete the mission and proclaim the Message to all the peoples of the world,
their reward would be double of the earlier generations.
In another narration, the Messenger of Allah (saws)
related his example compared to all the Prophets who were sent before him to
basically signify that the mission that all the Prophets were sent on was one
and the same, one liking to the other, until finally as a completion of the
project, Allah Subhanah, in His Supreme Grace and Mercy, sent His Last and
Final Messenger and revealed His Last and Final Revelation.
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "My
similitude in comparison with the other Prophets before me, is that of a man
who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick
in a corner. The people go about it and
wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its
place!' So I (Mohamed (saws)) am that
brick, and I am the last of the Prophets!"
It is only natural and accepted that the one who finishes
the mission and the project has more responsibility and thus deserves more
reward if he brings the project to a successful completion! The Messenger of Allah (saws) in the above
narration gave the good news to the believers and the Ummah, that it is this
Ummah, the people of the Quran, who have been appointed to fulfill this mission
and bring it to a completion. Thus they
should realize the responsibility laid upon them, and if they bring it to
completion successfully, theirs will be a double reward in the Presence of
their Lord Most Majestic.
Wisdom and logic and justice dictates that the bigger the
job and the responsibility, the bigger will be the reward. Although it is not
specifically declared, it goes without saying that justice and wisdom again dictates
that the ones who fail to fulfill this big responsibility, their punishment too
would be double the punishment!
The hadith is more than an explanation of what Allah
Subhanah has declared in the Glorious Quran:
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 62:
62 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish
(Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians, and (all) who believe in
Allah and the Last Day and work righteousness shall have their (due) reward
with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in
Islam,
Burhan
