Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from the Followers of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to Question
The Graduation (Takhrij) of the Hadith "Take the gift as long as it is a gift" To: Suleiman Rabah
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
We ask Allah to extend your health, to grant you success in what He loves and is pleased with, and to bring about victory, empowerment, and the glorification of His Deen at your hands.
I hope you could provide the graduation (takhrij) of this Hadith in terms of its authenticity, strength, weakness, and its use as evidence. Thank you. On the authority of Mu'adh bin Jabal, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
خُذُوا الْعَطَاءَ مَا دَامَ عَطَاءً، فَإِذَا صَارَ رِشْوَةً فِي الدِّينِ فَلَا تَأْخُذُوهُ، وَلَسْتُمْ بِتَارِكِيهِ؛ يَمْنَعُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَالْحَاجَةَ، أَلَا إِنَّ رَحَى الْإِسْلَامِ دَائِرَةٌ، فَدُورُوا مَعَ الْكِتَابِ حَيْثُ دَارَ، أَلَا إِنَّ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّلْطَانَ سَيَفْتَرِقَانِ، فَلَا تُفَارِقُوا الْكِتَابَ، أَلَا إِنَّهُ سَيَكُونُ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَرَاءُ يَقْضُونَ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ مَا لَا يَقْضُونَ لَكُمْ، إِنْ عَصَيْتُمُوهُمْ قَتَلُوكُمْ، وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ أَضَلُّوكُمْ
"Take the gift as long as it is a gift, but if it becomes a bribe in matters of religion, then do not take it, though you will not leave it as poverty and need will prevent you. Lo! The millstone of Islam is revolving, so revolve with the Book wherever it revolves. Lo! The Book and the Sultan (authority) will soon separate, so do not separate from the Book. Lo! There will be leaders over you who will judge for themselves what they do not judge for you; if you disobey them, they will kill you, and if you obey them, they will lead you astray."
They said: O Messenger of Allah, what should we do? He said:
كَمَا صَنَعَ أَصْحَابُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ، نُشِرُوا بِالْمَنَاشِيرِ، وَحُمِلُوا عَلَى الْخَشَبِ، مَوْتٌ فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ حَيَاةٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ
"As the companions of Jesus son of Mary did: they were sawn with saws and carried on timber; death in obedience to Allah is better than a life in disobedience to Allah."
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
It has been said regarding this Hadith that there is weakness in some of the men in its chain of narration (sanad)... and it has been said that it has another narration whose men of the chain are reliable (thiqat):
1- It was mentioned in Jami' al-Ahadith by its author Jalaluddin al-Suyuti (died 911 AH):
- 11863: "Take the gift as long as it is a gift, and if it becomes a bribe for the Deen, do not take it, though you will not leave it, as poverty and need will prevent you. Lo! The millstone of Islam is revolving, so revolve with the Book wherever it revolves. Lo! The Book and the Sultan will separate, so do not separate from the Book. Lo! There will be leaders over you who will judge for themselves what they do not judge for you; if you disobey them they will kill you, and if you obey them they will lead you astray. They said: O Messenger of Allah, what should we do? He said: As the companions of Jesus son of Mary did: they were sawn with saws and carried on timber; death in obedience to Allah is better than a life in disobedience to Allah." (Al-Tabarani on the authority of Mu'adh with the chain: Al-Qasim bin Yusuf bin Yaqub al-Balkhi narrated to us, Ali bin Hujr al-Marwazi narrated to us, [H] and Khattab bin Saeed al-Dimashqi and Al-Hussein bin Ishaq al-Tustari narrated to us, they said: Hisham bin Ammar narrated to us, they said: Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman bin Yazid bin Jabir narrated to us, on the authority of Al-Wadin bin Ata, on the authority of Yazid bin Marthad, on the authority of Mu'adh bin Jabal, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying...)
It was extracted by Al-Tabarani (16599). Al-Haythami said (5/238): "Yazid bin Marthad did not hear from Mu'adh, and Al-Wadin bin Ata was strengthened by Ibn Hibban and others, while a group [of scholars] weakened him, and the rest of its men are reliable (thiqat)." It was also extracted by Al-Tabarani in Al-Shamiyyin (1/379, No. 658) and Al-Tabarani in Al-Saghir (2/42, No. 749). As you can see, some men of the chain are criticized by some Hadith scholars, but some of them are considered reliable by others.
2- It was mentioned in Ithaf al-Khayara al-Mahara by its author Al-Hafiz Ahmad bin Abi Bakr bin Ismail al-Busiri (died 840 AH):
[7571] On the authority of Mu'adh bin Jabal (ra) from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Take the gift as long as it is a gift, but if it becomes a bribe for the Deen, then do not take it, though you will not leave it as fear and poverty will prevent you from that. Lo! The millstone of Iman is revolving and the millstone of Islam is revolving, so revolve with the Book wherever it revolves. Lo! The Sultan and the Book will separate, so do not separate from the Book. Lo! There will be leaders over you, if you obey them they will lead you astray, and if you disobey them they will kill you. They said: What should we do, O Messenger of Allah? He said: As the companions of Jesus son of Mary did: they were carried on timber and sawn with saws; death in obedience to Allah is better than a life in disobedience to Allah."
Narrated by Ishaq bin Rahwayh from Suwayd bin Abdul Aziz al-Dimashqi, and he is weak; and narrated by Ahmad bin Mani', and its narrators are reliable (thiqat), and their wording is the same.
As you can see, some of the narrations are weak, but as for the chain of the narration by Ahmad bin Mani', they are reliable (thiqat).
I hope this is sufficient. Allah is Most Knowing and Most Wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
09 Shawwal 1441 AH Corresponding to 31/05/2020 CE
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