“…if she does not repent before her death, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of tar and a cuirass of scabs.” (1) Reported by Muslim.
(2) In this ḥadīth he censured anyone who rallies to a cry of the Age of Ignorance, (3) and he informed us that some practices of that era will persist among people—thereby reproaching all who do not abandon them. Taken together, these texts show that whatever belongs to the ways and deeds of the Age of Ignorance is blameworthy in the religion of Islam; otherwise, attributing such abominations to that period would not constitute a rebuke. Plainly, calling them “Ignorant” is itself a form of condemnation. (4)
This is like the Almighty’s words: “And do not flaunt yourselves as the flaunting of the former Age of Ignorance” (al-Aḥzāb 33). (5) In that verse is a censure of such display and a censure of the state of the first Age of Ignorance, which in turn entails a general prohibition against resembling them.
(6) The same purport appears in the Prophet’s statement to Abū Dharr—may Allah be pleased with him—when he belittled a man by mentioning his mother: “You are a man…”. (7)
(1) See Sahih Muslim, Book of Funerals, chapter “The stern warning against wailing,” hadith no. 935 (2/644).
(2) The printed edition reads: “in this hadith.”
(3) MSS A, J, D and T read: “claimed.”
(4) It is regrettable that some Arabs today—among nationalists, Baathists and others—are circulating slogans and writings that seek to revive the reprehensible practices of the pre-Islamic period: its idols, customs, markets, and every tangible and intangible trace, under the pretext of preserving heritage or patriotism. This is manifest error, as the author will clarify.
(5) Surah al-Ahzab, part of verse 33.
(6) The printed edition has: “for that is a censure of tabarruj (wanton display) and of the condition of the first Jahiliyya.”
(7) The eminent Companion Abu Dharr al-Ghifari—Jundub b. Junada b. Sakan of the Ghifar—was among the earliest to embrace Islam. He proclaimed his faith publicly in Makka when the Muslims were still practising it in secret, and Quraysh beat him for it. He then returned to his tribe and later migrated to Madina after Badr and Uhud. Abu Dharr was noted for his plain-spoken honesty; the Prophet described him as such and also said: “May Allah have mercy on Abu Dharr; he will live alone, die alone and be resurrected alone.” When disagreement arose between him and the caliph Uthman, the latter, fearing division among the people, sent him to al-Rabadha, where Abu Dharr died in 32 AH; Ibn Masud led the funeral prayer. See: al-Isaba 4/62-64, no. 384 (al-Kunā).