A Gesture of Honoring Guests, Adil Salahi

Opinion, August 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

A Gesture of Honoring Guests

Adil Salahi

Arab News, 8/29/03

Al-Uryan ibn Al-Haytham reports that he was a young boy when he accompanied his father as he visited Mu’awiyah during his reign as caliph. “When my father entered, (Mu’awiyah) said, ‘Welcome! Welcome!’ A man who was sitting with him on his couch asked him: ‘Who is this man you are welcoming?’ He said: ‘This is the master of the people of the east; this is Al-Haytham ibn Al-Aswad.’ I asked who he was, and I was told: ‘This is Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-Aas.’ I asked him in which area would the Impostor appear. He said: ‘I have never seen such people often asking about what is distant and overlooking what is near, like the people to whom you belong.’ He then said: ‘He will appear in Iraq, in a land full of trees and dates.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).

Although many people may consider the important point in this Hadith is the one related to the Impostor, or the Dajjal, as he is called in the Hadith, scholars highlights other points it mentions. Abdullah ibn Amr, a companion of the Prophet who related a large number of Hadiths, mentions here that the Impostor’s appearance will be in Iraq, a country defined in the Hadith as distinguished by its trees and dates. Indeed Iraq is very rich in both.

Abdullah’s reply carries a gentle objection to his interlocutor’s interest in the Impostor. He describes it as inquiring about what is distant, in preference to that which is near. What he means is that people should be more careful about their own end, which is near, as death could occur at any point. As death means an end of what a person can do to improve his lot in the hereafter, it should be the most important concern of any person. This concern should be translated into good actions so as to ensure a better position with God in the hereafter. An event in this world could be very distant, if it occurs after one’s death.

We note in this Hadith how Mu’awiyah, the caliph, honors his guests. Abdullah ibn Amr is honored and invited to sit on the caliph’s own couch in recognition of his standing as a scholar and a senior companion of the Prophet who adopted Islam much earlier than the caliph himself. Al-Haytham, a man belonging to the second generation of Muslims, i.e. the tabieen, is also warmly welcomed because of his standing with his people. And an introduction is made by the caliph to establish a cordial feeling between his guests.

When a person invites his guest to sit on his couch, the gesture is intended to make the guest feel very welcome. If it is made by a person in a higher position, it is a gesture of honor. Abu Jamrah, Nasr ibn Imran, reports that he used to sit with Abdullah ibn Abbas and the latter would invite him to sit with him on his couch. He says that Ibn Abbas once said to him: “Stay with me and I will give you an allowance from my own money. I stayed with him for two months.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).

The gesture made by Ibn Abbas had a scholarly aspect. Abu Jamrah mentions that he offered the pilgrimage and the Umrah in the tamattu’ method, which means doing the Umrah on arrival in Makkah, releasing oneself from the state of consecration, or ihraam, and then re-entering it when the pilgrimage is due. This is the method recommended by the Prophet, although some people preferred different ones. Abu Jamrah says that some people told him that he would have done better following a different method. However, he mentioned the fact to Ibn Abbas and he approved of his action. He then saw in his dream a man saying to him: “May your pilgrimage be accepted as pure and may your Umrah be acceptable.” He mentioned this to Ibn Abbas who commented: “Your method is the one the Prophet has recommended.” He then invited him to stay so as to corroborate this view by mentioning his dream.

Anas ibn Malik was one of the Prophet’s companions and very close to the Prophet as he served him for ten years. He is reported to have said when he was sitting with Al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqeel, the governor of Basrah, that “the Prophet used to delay the congregational prayer when the weather was hot, but when it was cool, he would start the prayer early.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Nassaie).

This Hadith is entered under the heading of honoring people by inviting them to sit on one’s couch. Here Anas ibn Malik is given this treatment by the governor of Basrah. But the Hadith is very significant as it shows how the Prophet used to delay prayer or start it early depending on the weather. In doing so, the Prophet wanted to ensure that his companions would not endure undue hardship in order to offer the prayer with him. Therefore, if either of the two prayers offered in the middle of the day, i.e. Zuhr and Asr, could be more comfortable if delayed in hot weather, he would delay it. When there was no need for that in winter time, he would start the prayer early in its time range.

Seeking to make prayer more comfortable was a permanent consideration with the Prophet. Abdullah ibn Massoud reports that the Prophet made prayer shorter in summer than in winter. Of course prayers continued to be offered in the same number of rak’ahs throughout, but in the summer the Prophet would read shorter passages of the Qur’an, or make his prostration shorter so that the whole prayer would take less time when the weather was very hot. In winter, which is normally mild in Arabia, the Prophet would make his prayer longer, but not too long. Ibn Massoud likened its length to distance, saying that “in summer, the Prophet’s prayer was between three and five feet, while in winter it was between five and seven feet.” Needless to say that this flexibility ensures that people are always more attentive when they pray, and they can concentrate on the meaning of what they read or hear of Qur’anic verses during their prayers.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).