CHAPTER SEVEN

Flawed Approaches to Dealing with Preferable Acts

There are a number of ways that people fall into error when trying to put into practice acts deemed by Islamic Law to be preferable.

1.Practicing a supposedly preferable act before confirming its validity

Some students,when they hear about a preferable act that is supposedly established in the Sunnah,they hasten to put it into practice before making sure that it is authentic.

Once,I saw a young man walking about with a turban wrapped around his head.In our country,Saudi Arabia,such a turban is very peculiar,so his dress was quite conspicuous and strange.I approached him and asked:“Why are you wearing this turban in stark contrast to the customs of your country?”

He replied:“Because the Prophet (peace be upon him)used to wear it.”He then went on to mention some fabricated hadîth about the virtues of the turban,one of which states that it is the dress of the angels.The truth of the matter is that there is not a single authentic hadîth that extols the virtues of the turban.

Another example of applying a supposedly sunnah act is shaving the moustache.Some students are in the habit of doing this because of certain hadîth that they read without referring to what the scholars have had to say on the matter.

A slightly different case is the tendency some young men have to condemn the practice of standing to greet someone who comes into the room.They do so on the basis of hadîth that allegedly prohibit this practice.

Now,I am not going to say that there is no room for disagreement on this issue,but the prohibition of people standing in reverence to their kings has little to do with a person standing to shake his brother’s hand.

Sheikh `Abd al-`Azîz b.Bâz gave a very good answer to a questioner who asked about this matter.He said:“This is a sign of good manners.As long as standing to greet someone and shake his hand is the custom in your country,then it is simply part of good manners and is not prohibited.And Allah knows best.”

Therefore,before a person practices something he believes to be part of the Sunnah,he should make sure that it actually is.

2.Going overboard in putting into practice an act established by the Sunnah

Once it is established that a given act is part of the Sunnah,it should be put into practice in a balanced and reasonable manner.This is especially true if putting it into practice involves other people.

Take the matter of straightening the ranks of worshippers before performing the congregational prayer.I have noticed that some young people seem to think that straightening the ranks means that everyone should press his heels against the heels of those standing on either side of him.This is clearly going overboard in the matter and causes discomfort for the other worshippers.It also causes the person doing it to take his mind off his prayer.Is this behavior really established by the Sunnah?Let us look at the evidence.

The Prophet (peace be upon him)said:“You should straighten your ranks or Allah will bring divisions between you.” Al-Nu`mân b.Bashîr,the narrator of the hadîth,then observed:“I have seen that one of us would press his heel against his companion’s heel and his shoulder against his shoulder.”Sahîh al -Bukhârî (676).Sahîh Muslim (659,660). When we consider this hadîth closely,it becomes apparent that the case being made with it is unacceptable.

First of all,the Prophet (peace be upon him)did not command us to touch our heels.He only commanded us to straighten our ranks in prayer.This just means that everyone should be in line with each other;no person should not be more forward or more to the back.

Also,al-Nu`mân said:“I have seen that one of us would press his heel against his companion’s heel.”What comes to mind is that the person being spoken about did this at the beginning of his prayer to make sure that he was in line with the people next to him, since the heel is a good way to determine this.Therefore,as long as a person is sure that he is in line with everyone else,then he does not have to keep contact between his heel and the heel of his companion.

A third point is that it is almost impossible to literally place your heel against the heel of the person standing next to you.You actually have to extend your foot outward.The same goes for the shoulder.You often have to lean into the other person.If you lean into the person on the right,you end up widening the gap between you and the person on the left.

This shows us that the hadîth,on the face of it,is not telling us to go out of our way to press our heels together.It is only telling us to avoid gaps in our ranks and that we should all stand in a straight line when we pray.Some people go overboard in putting this into practice and cause a lot of discomfort and consternation for their fellow worshippers.

Another example is an imam who,wishing to apply the Sunnah in prayer,prolongs the congregational prayer inordinately.You might find him reading the chapters al-A`râf and al-Tûr during the sunset prayer,justifying himself with some hadîth that show it was a practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him).By doing this,he places hardship on the congregation and causes some of them to avoid coming to prayer.

It is strange that he justifies himself with what the Prophet (peace be upon him)did on occasion,but neglects the Prophet’s command when he said:“If one of you leads the people in prayer,then make it short,because among the people there will be children, elderly individuals,and those who are sick.”In one narration,he also said:“…and those who have a need to fulfill.”Sahîh al -Bukhârî (88,662).Sahîh Muslim (714,715,716).

We say to such people:Is this what you do in the name of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?Taking the condition of the people into consideration is also part of the Sunnah.Lengthening the prayer is not all that the Sunnah entails.We must be moderate in doing so and consider the needs of the believers.

3.Failure to weight the merits and demerits of doing something

An old saying goes that a man builds his castle while tearing another castle down.A person may perform some preferred act established by the Sunnah,but in the process of doing so,neglect another act which is obligatory.Similarly,a person may avoid something that is disliked in Islamic Law,but in doing so falls into something that is prohibited.This is clearly wrong.

Islam does not encourage divisions.Fostering rancor and hatred are not among its objectives.A person might stress applying a preferred act so much that he causes the people to turn away from him.He might foster hatred between them as well.This is why the people of knowledge have said:“Reconciling the hearts of the people is required, even if it means leaving off an act that is recommended by the Sunnah.”

Let us look at a few examples:

First Example: If someone comes to a group of people who are in the habit of saying “Bismillâh al-Rahmân ar-Rahîm”out loud when performing their audible prayers,then he should do so as well if he leads them in prayer.Not doing so could cause them to disdain him or bring about differences among them.It could lead to an argument breaking out in the mosque. The scholars have determined that it is alright to recite these words out loud if it will foster unity among the people in the mosque.Likewise,if he comes across people who do not say “âmîn”audibly during their prayers,he should do the same,even if he is of the opinion that it should be said audibly.

Second Example: Sometimes,disputes erupt with respect to the number of units of prayer that should be performed for the Tarâwîh prayer in Ramadân.It often leads to heated arguments, lengthy debates,and divisions within the community.The matter however,is only whether performing a certain number of prayer units is preferable or merely permitted.

Third Example: Some people take the issue of shortening the clothes to extremes.Some young people only allow their garments to fall below their knees to the length of four fingers.Some allow their garments to fall halfway own their shins.I do not say that what they are doing is wrong.What I do say however is that if a young man wears a garment of reasonable length that neither falls below the ankles nor attracts undue attention,then this is more likely to be acceptable to the people and have a positive effect on them.

This type of exaggeration that we see in the matter of shortening one’s clothing may be due to a certain way of understanding the Sunnah.It may also be due to a hidden desire to show off.If a person wishes to test his heart in such a matter,he should look towards the preferable acts in the Sunnah that he performs that are not seen by others,acts that require some effort.This would include keeping up the remembrance of Allah and praying voluntary prayers at home.In matters like these,one really feels the effects of practicing recommended acts.

4.Condemning others for not engaging in recommended acts

Some people treat recommended acts as if they are obligatory.If they see someone neglecting one of these recommended acts,they condemn him,though it may be that the matter at hand is one wherein people differ.A good example of this is the practice of sitting for a moment after making prostration before rising to perform the next unit of prayer.Another example is the practice of praying two units of prayer upon entering the mosque at times when formal prayers are forbidden by Islamic Law.Sometimes,those who perform these acts have a tendency to condemn those who do not. This is wrong.These are not Islamic duties.There is room for leeway here.We should focus our attentions on matters of primary importance before attending to these matters where the evidence points almost equally well to more than one opinion.A person who prefers one opinion on these matters should not try to compel others to agree with him. We must research such matters in a wise and insightful manner,without trying to impose our view on others and without becoming severe.