| Explanation of Selected Hadith |
Abu
Hurayrah (radhi allahu anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) said, what translated means,
“Allah,
the Exalted, is Tayyib (Good and Pure) and He only accepts that which is
Tayyib. Allah has indeed Commanded the believers with what He has Commanded
the Messengers, He said, “0 (you) Messengers! Eat of at-Tayyibat (all things
good and pure), and do righteous deeds. [23:51] and, “O you who believe! Eat
of the lawful things that We have provided you”[2:172]. Then he (the Prophet
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) mentioned a man —who has been traveling
for such a long time, that his hair has become messed up and he has become
covered in dust— and who is raising his hand towards heaven (and praying),
‘0 my Lord. 0 my Lord,’ while his food is from Haram (impermissible
source), his drink is from Haram, his clothes are from Haram and he was fed
(and grew up) from Haraam therefore, how can his pleas be accepted?”
[Related by Muslim]
Status
of the Hadeeth
This
Hadith has a high ranking in Islam. It is cornerstone of the religion as it
involves all the righteous, good deeds that are a means of approach (and
drawing closer) to Allah. This Hadeeth explains the conditions, which ensure
the acceptance of the righteous, good deeds.
This
Hadith encourages Muslims to eat, drink and wear clothing from pure and
permissible sources. It also discourages Muslims from partaking in what is
impure and impermissible; such an evil attitude will lead to the rejection of
their pleas and Du’aa (supplication). Du’aa is one of the greatest forms
and acts of that one can and should perform to please Allah, the Exalted.
“Allah
is Tayyib” - Praising Allah
From Imperfections
Allah,
the Exalted, rejects all misconceptions and ill descriptions of Him, such as
when He praised Himself from having a wife or children:
“And
they say, “The Most Beneficent has begotten a son (or offspring or children)
“Indeed you have brought forth a terrible evil thing. Whereby the heavens
are almost torn, the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins.
That they ascribe a son to the Most Beneficent. But it is not suitable for the
Most Beneficent (Allah) that He should beget a son.”
[Soorah Maryam (19): 88-92].
Allah
has also praised Himself from dealing injustice to anyone: “Surely! Allah
wrongs not even of the weight of an atom” [Soorah An-Nisa (4): 40].
Further,
Allah has praised Himself from slumber and sleepiness: “Neither slumber
nor sleep overtake Him” [Soorah Al-Baqarah (2): 255].
There
are many other Ayat in the Quran that contain praising Allah from all negative
descriptions that are not suitable to His Majesty and perfect Attributes.
“Allah
is Tayyib” contains
praising Allah from all negative descriptions and limitations. At-Tayyib is
the Pure and the Exalted One, and most certainly, no limitations or
shortcomings can ever touch Allah.
Meaning
of Accepting the Tayyib
Allah
only accepts the Tayyib, that is, the good and pure, and this meaning can be
found in numerous ahadeeth of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). This
fact indicates that some sayings or deeds will be rejected, because whoever
says or performs them has fallen into some forbidden actions (which are impure
and evil). This rejection of the righteous deeds can occur as a result of not
fulfilling all the conditions or the cornerstones of a certain good deed that
one performs for the sake of Allah. So, what are the results that this
rejection entails?
Rejection
of a certain deed means that no reward will be awarded to whoever fails to
perfectly fulfill all the conditions that ensure the acceptance of such a
deed. If, in certain situations, one performs an obligatory act of worship
under less than perfect circumstances (which does not include totally
abandoning a cornerstone or a condition of this certain act of worship), he
will have fulfilled the obligation itself, but is given no reward beyond that.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, what translated means:
“A
woman who wears perfume to this masjid will have her prayer rejected, unless
she goes (back home) and performs Ghusl (purification) as if performing Ghusl
from Janabah (impurity).”
[Sahih Al-Jami’]
Furthermore,
rejection of a certain good deed may entail the rejection of the deed
altogether. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, what translated
means:
“Allah
does not accept the prayer from any of you, if he A‘hdath (lost his
ablution), unless he performs Wudhu (ablution).”
[Saheeh Muslim]
The
prayer is not accepted unless Wudhu is performed beforehand and, therefore,
the prayer will still be an obligation if one has no Wudhu, but he still
prays.
Therefore,
what the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) meant by:
“And
He only accepts that which is Tayyib”
is that, the reward will not be granted, the praise will not be directed and
the angels will not be told of one good deed, unless he fulfills all the
conditions of a certain good deed. Furthermore, Allah will not accept the
charity from impermissible means, as the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
has stated, what translated means: “Allah neither accepts the prayer
without performing Tahur (purity, washing up for prayer) nor the charity from
Ghalul (theft, especially from war possessions).” [Saheeh Muslim].
Imam
Ash-Shafi’I (rahimahullah) said that impure or stolen money must not be
spent, even in charity, and must instead be returned to its rightful owners.
The
Permissible Foods
The
hadeeth states, “Allah has indeed commanded the believers with what He has
Commanded the Messengers. He said, “O (You) Messengers! Eat of At-Tayyibat.
And do righteous deeds.” And “0 you who believe! Eat of the lawful things
that We have provided you.”
This
section of the hadeeth contains Allah’s order to eat from He has made
permissible, and to use permissible means to obtain necessities. One must
avoid all impermissible things, as Allah ordained, “He has forbidden you
only dead animals, and blood, the flesh of swine, and that which is
slaughtered as a sacrifice to other than Allah.” [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):
173]
What
Allah has made Haram is much less and is indeed more limited than what He has
made Halal. Therefore, one must always seek the good and pure in what he eats,
drinks and earns. Eating from Haram is reason enough to ensure the rejection
of one’s supplication and his acts of worship.
Conditions
for the Acceptance of Good Deeds
Allah
has commanded Muslims to perform righteous, good “So whoever hopes for the
meeting with his Lord, let him righteousness and associate none as a partner
in the worship of his Lord.” [Soorah al-Kahf (18): 10]
Allah
has also set certain conditions that will ensure the acceptance of one’s
righteous, good deeds. Some of these conditions were mentioned in the above
hadeeth, “He only accepts that which is Tayyib.”
Being
Tayyib is a condition that must exist in every deed, including charity,
“Whoever donates the weight of one date in Sadaqah (charity) from Halal
means, and Allah only accepts which is Tayyib, then Allah will accept it (the
charity) in His Right (Hand) and will then raise it for its giver, like when
one of you raises his camel, until it (the charity) becomes like a
mountain.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
“And
He only accepts that which is Tayyib”, is a general rule that encompasses
all the types of good deeds and sayings that one performs to worship Allah.
Allah said, what translated means, “To Him ascend (all) the goodly words,
and the righteous deeds exalt it” [Soorah Fatir (35): 10].
Remembering
Allah, reading the Qur’aan and reciting various supplications are but some
types of the righteous deeds contained in the meaning of this Ayah.
The
Tayyib of deeds and sayings also include performing the deeds for the sake of
Allah, alone, and not having any feelings of arrogance or worldly purpose.
Also, these good deeds must be performed with perfection and according to the
way Allah has ordained on the believers to perform them.
Conditions
and Ways that will Ensure the Acceptance of Du’aa’
1
-- Traveling for a long time, as in this Hadith, the Prophet mentioned a man
who has been traveling for a long period of time. This means that traveling is
a cause for the acceptance of the Du’aa’ (supplication). Abu Hurayrah
(radhi allahu anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) said, what translated means, “(There are) three types of accepted
supplication, no doubt about that: Du‘aa from one who was dealt injustice,
Du’aa of the traveler and the Du’aa of a parent against his offspring.”
[At-Tirmithi and Abu Dawood]
Traveling
is usually accompanied by hardships and humbleness, and enduring these
hardships may win the traveler Allah’s answering of his supplication.
2
-- Modesty and
humbleness in one’s clothes and appearance will also ensure the acceptance
of his or her supplication. Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, what
translated means: “There may be a person hair is messed up and whose
appearance at doorsteps is not welcome yet, if he swears that Allah does a
thing, Allah will fulfill (his pledge) for him.” [Sahih Al-Jami’]
And
“There may be a person who own two old shirts; nobody cares for him; yet, if
he swears that Allah does a thing, Allah will fulfill (his pledge) for him.”
[Sahih Al-Jami]
The
Prophet used to perform the prayer of Istisqa’ (asking Allah to send down
the rain) with humbleness in his appearance and his speech.
A
nephew of Mutarrif ibn Abdillah’s was once imprisoned. I then went out of
his house wearing old, humble clothes and a stick to support himself. He was
asked, “Why is this (show of humbleness)?” He said, “I want to feel and
look humble, so that Allah may accept my Du’aa’ for my nephew (to be freed
from jail).” [Jami’ Al-U1oom Wal-’Hikam]
3
-- Raising the hands upwards while performing Du’aa’. Prophet (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) said in this hadeeth: “Raising his hands towards
(saying), ‘0 my Lord.” He
also said in another hadeeth: “Allah is Shy and Most Generous. He is Shy
that when a man raises his hands to Him (in Du’aa), He does not allow him to
put them empty in failure.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhee]
The
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) used to raise his hands during the
prayer of Istisqa’. He also raised his hands in Du’aa during the battle of
Badr. There are several ways and methods for raising the hands while in
Du’aa:
a)
Pointing to the sky with the index finger only, as the Prophet (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) used to do while on the Minbar (podium).
b)
Raising the hands while facing the Qiblah (direction of Al Kaa’bah in
Makkah) with the back of the hands. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
did this while performing Al-Istisqa’ prayer.
Raising
the hands with the backs of the hands facing upward. Anas (radhi allahu anhu)
narrated that the Prophet (radhi allahu anhu) prayed Al-Istisqa’ prayer once
and that he pointed to the sky with the back of his hands.
4
-- To insist (on asking for your need from Allah) white making Du’aa, by
continually mentioning Allah’s Lordship, saying “0 my Lord. 0 my Lord.”
This method demonstrates the strong eagerness by the slave for his Du’aa’
to be accepted. Ibn Mas’ud (radhi allahu anhu) said: “When the Prophet
(radhi allahu anhu) used to make Du’aa’, he would repeat it thrice. If he
wanted to ask for something, he would ask thrice, saying, ‘0 my Lord, take
care of (defeat) Quraysh, (his disbelieving tribe). 0 my Lord, take care of
Quraysh. 0 my Lord, take care of Quraysh.”’ [Muslim].
5
-- To eat, drink and wear only from Tayyib sources. This can be understood
from, “While his food is from Haram, his drink is from Haram, his clothes
are from Haram and he was fed from Haram, therefore, how can his pleas be
accepted?” This question in he Hadeeth is meant to show wonder as to how
this man expects his pleas and supplication to be accepted, while he lives on
and by Haram! Saa’d (radhi allahu anhu) once requested from the Prophet
(radhi allahu anhu) that he asks Allah that He makes Saa’d’s Du’aa’
always accepted. The Messenger of Al;lah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam)
responded saying: “Eat from At- Tayyib, and your pleas will be accepted”
Above are some conditions that, if met, will lead to the acceptance of Du’aa’, Insha’Allah. There are many other ways and conditions that need to be met in order for the Du’aa’ to be accepted. In this regard, Ad-Du’aa’, by Abdullah Al-Khudhari, is a beneficial book to read about the subject of the acceptance of Du’aa.
