(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut Tahrir, to the Questions of His Followers on His Facebook Page)
Answer to a Question:
Regarding the Meaning of the Noble Hadith: "Allah will send for this Ummah at the head of every hundred years someone who will renew its religion for it."
To Abu Mo’min Hammad
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
May Allah bless you, our Sheikh, and hasten the victory at your hands... and may Allah benefit us with your knowledge.
Among the famous authentic Hadiths is what the noble companion Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (saw) that he said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا
"Indeed, Allah sends for this Ummah at the head of every hundred years someone who will renew its religion for it." (Narrated by Abu Dawood, No. 4291; authenticated by Al-Sakhawi in al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, 149, and Al-Albani in al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, No. 599).
The question is: What is the meaning of the Hadith? Does the word "who" (man) in the Hadith imply that the Renewer is an individual or a group? And is it possible to identify them in the previous centuries? Jazakumullah Khair.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
Yes, the Hadith is authentic, and it contains five issues:
- From which date does the hundred years begin? Is it from the birth of the Prophet (saw), or from the Revelation (al-Bi'thah), or from the Migration (al-Hijrah), or from his death (saw)?
- Does "the head of every hundred" mean the beginning of every hundred, during every hundred, or at the end of every hundred?
- Does the word man mean one person, or does it mean a group that renews the religion for the people?
- Have there been narrations with a sound basis regarding the enumeration of the renewers during the past centuries?
- Is it possible to know who the Renewer was for the fourteenth century, which ended on 30 Dhul-Hijjah 1399 AH?
I will try as much as I can to mention what I find most likely (al-rajih) in these matters without diving deep into the points of disagreement. I say, and with Allah is the success, and He (swt) is the Guide to the Straight Path:
1. From which date does the hundred years begin?
Al-Munawi stated in the introduction of Fath al-Qadir: "There is disagreement regarding the head of the hundred: Is it considered from the Prophetic birth, the Revelation, the Hijrah, or the death..." What I find most likely is that it is from the Hijrah. This is because it was the event by which Islam and the Muslims became mighty through the establishment of its state. For this reason, when Umar gathered the Sahaba to agree on the beginning of the calendar, they adopted the Hijrah. Al-Tabari narrated in his Tarikh:
"Abdur-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Abdul-Hakam narrated to me, saying: Nu’aym bin Hammad narrated to us, saying: Al-Darawardi narrated to us, from Uthman bin Ubaidillah bin Abi Rafi’, who said: I heard Sa’id bin al-Musayyib saying: Umar bin al-Khattab gathered the people and asked them: 'From which day shall we write?' Ali said: 'From the day the Messenger of Allah (saw) migrated and left the land of polytheism.' So Umar (ra) did that." Abu Ja'far said: "They considered the first Hijri year to be from Muharram of that year, i.e., two months and some days before the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (saw) to Madinah, as his arrival was on the twelfth of Rabi’ al-Awwal."
Accordingly, I have concluded that the centuries should be counted from the Hijri calendar adopted by the Sahaba (ra).
2. As for the "head of the hundred," the most likely view is that it is its end. This means the Renewer is a famous, pious, and pure scholar at the end of the century, and his death occurs at its end, not in the middle or during it. The reasons I prefer this are:
a) It is established through authentic narrations that they counted Umar bin Abdul Aziz at the head of the first hundred, and he (ra) died in the year 101 AH at the age of forty. They counted ash-Shafi’i at the head of the second hundred, and he died in the year 204 AH at the age of fifty-four. If the interpretation of "the head of every hundred years" was taken otherwise—meaning the beginning of the hundred—then Umar bin Abdul Aziz would not be the Renewer of the first hundred because he was born in 61 AH, and ash-Shafi’i would not be the Renewer of the second hundred because he was born in 150 AH. This means that "the head of every hundred" mentioned in the Hadith refers to the end of the hundred, not its beginning. Thus, he is born during it, becomes a famous scholar and renewer at its end, and dies at its end.
b) The evidence that Umar bin Abdul Aziz is the Renewer of the first hundred and ash-Shafi’i is the Renewer of the second is what is famous among the scholars and Imams of the Ummah. Al-Zuhri, Ahmad bin Hanbal, and other early and later Imams agreed that among the Renewers at the head of the first hundred was Umar bin Abdul Aziz (rh), and at the head of the second hundred was Imam ash-Shafi’i (rh). Umar bin Abdul Aziz died in the year 101 AH at the age of forty, and his Caliphate lasted two and a half years. Ash-Shafi’i died in the year 204 AH at the age of fifty-four. Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar mentioned in Tawali al-Ta'sis that Abu Bakr al-Bazzar said: "I heard Abdul-Malik bin Abdul-Hamid al-Maimuni saying: I was with Ahmad bin Hanbal and ash-Shafi’i was mentioned; I saw Ahmad praising him and he said: It is narrated from the Prophet (saw) that he said: 'Indeed, Allah (swt) appoints at the head of every hundred years someone who will teach the people their religion.' He said: Umar bin Abdul Aziz was at the head of the first hundred, and I hope ash-Shafi’i is at the head of the other hundred."
And through Abu Sa’id al-Firyabi, who said: Ahmad bin Hanbal said: "Indeed, Allah appoints for the people at every head of a hundred years someone who teaches the people the Sunan and negates lies against the Prophet (saw). We looked and found that at the head of the [first] hundred was Umar bin Abdul Aziz, and at the head of the two hundred was ash-Shafi’i."
Ibn Adi said: I heard Muhammad bin Ali bin al-Hussein saying: I heard our companions saying: "In the first hundred was Umar bin Abdul Aziz, and in the second was Muhammad bin Idris ash-Shafi’i."
Al-Hakim narrated in his Mustadrak from Abu al-Walid, who said: "I was in the assembly of Abu al-Abbas bin Shuraih when a Sheikh stood up to praise him. I heard him saying: Abu al-Tahir al-Khawlani narrated to us, Abdullah bin Wahb informed us, Sa’id bin Abi Ayyub informed me, from Sharahil bin Yazid, from Abi Alqamah, from Abu Hurairah (ra), that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا
'Indeed, Allah sends at the head of every hundred years someone who will renew its religion for it.' So rejoice, O Judge, for Allah sent Umar bin Abdul Aziz at the head of the [first] hundred, and He sent Muhammad bin Idris ash-Shafi’i at the head of the two hundred..."
Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar said: "This suggests that the Hadith was famous in that era."
c) It might be said that "head" (ra's) of a thing in the language means its beginning; so how can we prefer that the head of every hundred is its end? The answer is that the "head" of a thing in the language is its edge (taraf), and it is also said to be its end. It says in Taj al-Arus: "The head of a thing is its edge, and it is said to be its end." It says in Lisan al-Arab: "The lizard emerged mura'isan," meaning it emerged with its head from its hole, or sometimes with its tail, i.e., it emerged with its beginning or its end. Therefore, just as the head of a thing is used for its beginning in the language, it is also used for its edge, whether it be its beginning or its end. We need a context (qarinah) to prefer the intended meaning in the Hadith for the "head of the hundred"—is it its beginning or its end? These contexts are present in the previous narrations regarding Umar bin Abdul Aziz as the Renewer of the first hundred (died 101 AH) and ash-Shafi’i as the Renewer of the second hundred (died 204 AH). All of this prefers the meaning in the Hadith to be the end of the hundred, not its beginning.
Based on the above, I prefer that the meaning of "at the head of every hundred years" in the Hadith is the end of every hundred.
3. As for whether man refers to one or a group, the Hadith was narrated: "He sends for this Ummah... مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ (man yujaddidu) its religion for it." If man indicated a plural, the verb would have been plural, i.e., "those who renew" (man yujaddiduna). However, the verb came in the singular: مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ. Although the indication of man can carry a plural meaning even if the verb after it is singular, I prefer that it is for the singular here due to the context of مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ. I say "prefer" because the indication of the singular here is not definitive even if the verb is singular. Therefore, there are those who interpreted man as indicating a group and enumerated groups of scholars in every century, but this is a less likely (marjuh) view as I mentioned earlier.
Accordingly, the most likely view to me is that man refers to one person, meaning the Renewer in the Hadith is one man—a scholar, pious, and pure...
4. As for the enumeration of the names of the Renewers in the previous centuries, narrations have been mentioned regarding this, the most famous being the poem (urjuzah) of as-Suyuti, in which he counted up to the ninth century and asked Allah (swt) that he be the Renewer of the ninth. I will relay some of his poem to you:
"So at the first hundred was Umar, the Caliph of justice by consensus and stay...
And ash-Shafi’i was at the second, for the sublime knowledge he possessed...
And the fifth was the scholar, he is al-Ghazali, and counting him is without dispute...
And the seventh, who ascended to the heights, is Ibn Daqiq al-Eid by consensus...
And here is the ninth of the hundreds having arrived, and what the Guide promised is not broken; and I have hoped that I am the Renewer in it, for Allah's favor is not denied..."
There are other opinions that continue beyond that.
5. Is it possible to know who the Renewer was for the fourteenth century, which ended on 30 Dhul-Hijjah 1399 AH?
What caught my attention is what is famous among the recognized scholars: that the head of the year is its end. Umar bin Abdul Aziz was born in 61 AH and died at the head of the first hundred in 101 AH. Ash-Shafi’i was born in 150 AH and died at the head of the second hundred in 204 AH...
Meaning that each of them was born during the century, became famous at its end, and died at its end. As I said, I prefer this interpretation due to its fame among recognized scholars that Umar bin Abdul Aziz is the Renewer at the head of the first hundred and ash-Shafi’i is the Renewer at the head of the second. Based on this, I prefer that the scholar Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (rh) is the Renewer at the head of the fourteenth century. He was born in 1332 AH and became famous at the end of this fourteenth century, especially when he established Hizb ut Tahrir in Jumada al-Thani in the year 1372 AH. He died at its end in 1398 AH. His call to the Muslims regarding the vital issue—the resumption of the Islamic way of life by establishing the Righteous Khilafah State—had a great impact on their lives and their seriousness and effort, until the Khilafah has today become a general demand for Muslims. May Allah have mercy on Abu Ibrahim, and have mercy on his brother Abu Yusuf after him, and gather them with the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and what excellent companions they are.
This is what I find most likely, my brother Abu Mo’min, and Allah knows best what is correct, and with Him (swt) is the best of returns.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
Link to the answer from the Amir’s Facebook page: Facebook
Link to the answer from the Amir’s website: The Amir
Link to the answer from the Amir’s Google Plus page: Google Plus