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:

This is the second lesson in the series Jaami‘ al-Masaa’il (The Compendium of Creed). In the previous lesson, we established that the greatest hadeeth concerning the levels of the religion is the famous and lengthy hadeeth of Jibreel, and we mentioned those among the Companions who narrated it.

In this lesson, we will address an important question:

What have the Muslim scholars said regarding the greatness and centrality of this hadeeth? What statements did the scholars, the verifiers, and the commentators make about it, such that we may truly grasp its status?

Statements of the Scholars on the Status of the Hadeeth

Al-Qaadhy ‘Iyaadh, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, as quoted by an-Nawawy in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim:

This hadeeth encompasses an explanation of all acts of worship, outward and inward. It includes the actions of the limbs, sincerity of the inner states, and guarding oneself from the corruptions of deeds. All matters of the Sharee‘ah return to it and branch out from it.

This is the speech of the scholars, for they are the ones who weigh matters correctly and recognize their true worth.

Likewise, al-imaam an-Nawawy, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said:

Know that this hadeeth gathers together many types of knowledge, sciences, etiquettes, and subtle points. Rather, it is the foundation of Islaam.

Reflect upon this powerful statement: “Rather, it is the foundation of Islaam”.

“Umm as-Sunnah” – The Mother of the Sunnah

Some of the scholars stated that this hadeeth may rightly be called “Umm as-Sunnah” (the Mother of the Sunnah), just as soorat al-Faatihah is called Umm al-Qur’aan.

This was stated by al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, as mentioned by al-Haafith Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari. He said that this hadeeth deserves to be called the Mother of the Sunnah because it gathers together the comprehensive foundations of the Sunnah.

It includes:

• Islaam and its pillars
• Eemaan and its pillars
• Ihsaan
• And the affairs of the Hour

Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eid, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said likewise in his commentary on the Forty Hadeeth, explaining that just as al-Faatihah gathers the meanings of the Qur’aan, this hadeeth gathers the meanings of the Sunnah.

When we say “Islaam”, beginning with the shahaadah that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, countless rulings and narrations fall under these two testimonies. The same applies to prayer, zakaat, fasting, and pilgrimage.

When we say “Eemaan”, it includes belief in Allaah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and al-Qadr, its good and bad. Each of these branches into extensive topics which will be addressed, by the permission of Allaah, in later lessons.

The Best Commentary on the Hadeeth

As for the question: Who explained this hadeeth most thoroughly?

The answer is that the best and most expansive explanation is that of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbaly, may Allaah have mercy upon him, in his book Jaami‘ al-‘Uloom wal-Hikam, which is a commentary on the Forty Hadeeth of an-Nawawy.

It should be noted that an-Nawawy began his Forty Hadeeth with the hadeeth “Actions are only by intentions”, and he placed the Hadeeth of Jibreel as the second hadeeth, due to its immense importance.

Additional Authentic Narrations and Benefits

There are authentic narrations outside of Saheeh Muslim which include beneficial additions to this hadeeth.

Among them is a narration in Sunan Abi Daawood describing how the Prophet, salla-llaahu 'alayahi wa sallam, initially sat among his Companions in such a way that a stranger could not distinguish him from them. Later, at the Companions’ suggestion, a raised platform of clay was built so that the Prophet, salla-llaahu 'alayahi wa sallam, would be recognizable to those who entered.

From this, the scholars derived the permissibility of a teacher sitting in a slightly elevated position for the sake of clarity and recognition, not out of pride.

Another addition mentions that Jibreel, upon arriving, greeted the Prophet, salla-llaahu 'alayahi wa sallam, with salaam.

There is also a narration in Musnad Ahmad clarifying how ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, knew that none of the Companions recognized the man. The Companions looked at one another checking whether one of them knows who this man is, and all their faces indicated: “We do not know who that is”.

A Key Educational Principle

This hadeeth also teaches an important principle: It is permissible for a student to ask a question whose answer is already known to him, if the intention is to benefit others and prompt the teacher to explain the matter clearly.

Jibreel, 'alayhi as-salaam, asked questions while knowing the answers, and he affirmed them by saying, “You have spoken the truth”. His purpose was to teach the people.