1. Important introduction on the importance of seeking knowledge
2. What is the greatest hadeeth clarifying the levels of the religion?
3. List the narrations of this hadeeth and the Companions who narrated it

Introduction

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله، صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليما كثيرا إلى يوم الدين.

To proceed:

A Muslim is required to make use of the time Allāh has granted him. Life and time are blessings, and we will be questioned about them.

Allāh, Exalted is He, says:

The Prophet, salla-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, said:

From the greatest ways to use one’s life correctly is seeking beneficial knowledge, because faith and righteous deeds cannot be correct without knowledge.

Seeking Knowledge Is an Obligation

Seeking knowledge is not optional. It is an obligation upon every Muslim, just like prayer, zakāt, fasting, and Ḥajj.

The Prophet, salla-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, said:

This ḥadīth was narrated by Ibn Mājah and others and authenticated by a number of scholars, including Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr and al-Albāny.

Through knowledge, Allāh raises people in rank. Allāh says:

Because of this virtue, even listening attentively to lessons is considered seeking knowledge, and the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge.

The Greatest Ḥadīth

Explaining the Religion

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allāh be pleased with him, said:

“While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allāh, sallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, one day, a man appeared before us with extremely white clothes and extremely black hair. No signs of travel were seen on him, and none of us knew him.

He sat before the Prophet, sallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, placed his knees against his [(the Prophet’s)] knees, and placed his hands on his thighs, and said: ‘O Muḥammad, tell me about Islām’.

He [the Prophet] said: ‘Islām is to testify that there is god except Allāh and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh, to establish prayer, to give zakāt, to fast Ramaḍān, and to perform Hajj if you are able to’.

He said: ‘You have spoken the truth’.

He said: ‘Then tell me about Eemān’.

He [the Prophet] said: ‘It is to believe in Allāh, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in al-Qadr (divine decree), its good and its bad’.

He said: ‘You have spoken the truth’.

He said: ‘Then tell me about Iḥsān’.

He [the Prophet] said: ‘It is to worship Allāh as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, then He sees you’.

He said: ‘Tell me about the Hour’.

He [the Prophet] said: ‘The one asked knows no more than the questioner’.

He said: ‘Then tell me about its signs’.

He [the Prophet] said: ‘That the slave-woman gives birth to her mistress, and that you see the barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in building tall buildings’.

Then he left.

After a while, the Prophet, sallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, said: ‘O ʿUmar, do you know who the questioner was?’

I said: ‘Allāh and His Messenger know best’.

He said: ‘That was Jibreel. He came to teach you your religion’.

Key Lesson from the Ḥadīth

The religion of Islām has levels, and the greatest ḥadīth explaining them is the long Ḥadīth of Jibreel.

This single narration clearly explains:

• Islām
• Eemān
• Iḥsān

In it, Jibreel, ʿalayhi as-salām, came in human form and questioned the Prophet, sallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, in front of the companions about Islām, Eemān, Iḥsān, the Hour, and its signs.

After he left, the Prophet, sallā-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam, said: ‘That was Jibreel. He came to teach you your religion’.

This shows that these three levels together constitute the religion of Islām.

Who Narrated the Long Ḥadīth of Jibreel?

This ḥadīth was narrated by several companions, including:

• ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allāh be pleased with him. Narrated by Muslim.
• Abū Hurayrah, may Allāh be pleased him. Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

It was also narrated by other companions outside the two Saḥeeḥs, such as: Abū Tharr, Ibn ʿUmar, Anas bnu Mālik, Jareer ibn ʿAbdillāh, Ibn ʿAbbās, and others.

Because of its importance:

• Al-Imām Muslim began his Ṣaḥīḥ with this ḥadīth
• Al-Imām an-Nawawī placed it second in his Forty Ḥadīth
• Al-Baghawī did the same in Masābeeḥ as-Sunnah

This confirms its great status among the scholars.