Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (1/103)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate it. Indeed, man is surely most unjust and ungrateful.” [Ibrahim 14:34] And He says: “And if you were to count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate it. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [al-Nahl 16:18]

Thus, Allah has made clear the state of the human being and the way of the Lord in response to this immense blessing.

The servant’s state is that of wrongdoing and ingratitude: wrongdoing against himself and ingratitude for the blessing of his Lord.

As for the way of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, it is that He meets this wrongdoing and ingratitude with forgiveness and mercy. All praise is due to Allah.

In this chapter, the author—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—mentions istinjāʾ (cleansing oneself after relieving oneself) and the etiquettes of answering the call of nature.

His statement: “Istinjāʾ.” This is the verbal noun of istifʿāl derived from najw, which linguistically means cutting. One says, “I najawtu the tree,” meaning, “I cut it down.”

Technically, it means removing what exits from the two private passages with water, stones, or the like. This involves removing that impurity, which explains how the linguistic derivation relates to the technical meaning.

It is recommended upon entering the toilet …

His statement: “It is recommended upon entering the toilet.” The scholars—may Allah have mercy on them—differed as to whether “recommended” is synonymous with “sunnah,” or whether “recommended” refers to what is established through reasoning, while “sunnah” refers to what is established by evidence.

Some of them said: Something not established by evidence should not be described as sunnah, because when you say, “It is sunnah,” you are affirming a sunnah without proof. But if it is established through legal reasoning, consideration, and independent juristic effort, then it may be said to be recommended, because describing something as recommended is not like calling it a sunnah in terms of attributing it to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. (1)

(1) See: al-Hajjawi, Hashiyat al-Tanqih, pp. 84, 88, 89, and 117.

نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ الإِنْسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ﴾ [إبراهيم: ٣٤]، وقال: ﴿وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ *﴾ [النحل]، فبيَّن الله حالَ الإنسان وشأن الربِّ عند النِّعمة العظيمة. فحال العبد: الظلم والكفر، ظلم نفسه وكفر نعمة ربِّه. وشأن الربِّ ﷿: أن يقابل هذا الظُّلم وهذا الكفر بالمغفرة والرحمة ولله الحمد. هذا الباب ذكر فيه المؤلِّفُ ـ رحمه الله تعالى ـ الاستنجاء، وآداب قضاء الحاجة. قوله: «الاستنجاء»، استفعال من النَّجْو، وهو في اللُّغة القطع، يقال: نَجوت الشَّجرة، أي: قطعتها. وهو اصطلاحاً: إِزالةُ الخارج من السَّبيلين بماء أو حَجَر ونحوه، وفي ذلك قطع لهذا النَّجس. وهذا وجه تعلُّق الاشتقاق بالمعنى الاصطلاحي. يُسْتَحبُّ عِنْدَ دُخولِ الخلاءِ .......... قوله: «يُسْتَحبُّ عِنْدَ دُخولِ الخلاءِ»، اختلف العلماء ﵏ هل المستحب مرادف للمسنون، أو المستحب ما ثبت بتعليل، والمسنون ما ثبت بدليل؟ فقال بعضهم: الشَّيء الذي لم يثبت بدليل، لا يُقال فيه: يُسَنُّ، لأنك إِذا قلت: «يُسَنُّ» فقد أثبتَّ سُنَّة بدون دليل، أما إِذا ثبت بتعليل ونظر واجتهاد فيُقال فيه: «يُسْتَحب»؛ لأن الاستحباب ليس كالسُّنَّة بالنسبة لإِضافته إلى رسول الله ﷺ (١).

(١) انظر: «حاشية التنقيح للحجاوي» ص (٨٤، ٨٨، ٨٩، ١١٧).