Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (1/364)

Tawḍīḥ al-AḥkāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

Glossary of the ḥadīth:
– Qubāʾ: The word is pronounced with ḍamma on the qāf and fatḥa on the lightly-pointed bāʾ. Al-Bakrī notes that some Arabs treat it as a masculine, declinable noun, while others view it as feminine and indeclinable. Al-Nawawī states that the verified opinion is that it is an extended (mamdūd), masculine, fully declinable noun. Qubāʾ is a well-known district of Madinah that was inhabited by a branch of the Anṣār called Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf; in this district stands the mosque about which Allah said: “A mosque founded on piety from the very first day is worthier that you stand therein” (Qur’an 9:108).

– “We follow the stones with water”: They first cleanse their posteriors of excrement with stones and then wash with water so as to achieve complete purification.

– “Allah has praised you”: Al-Miṣbāḥ explains that thanāʾ (praise), pronounced with an initial fatḥa and lengthening, may be used as in “I praised him with good” or “I praised him with evil,” and this was affirmed by several scholars, among them the author of al-Muḥkam. Some maintained that thanāʾ is used only for commendation, but this is debatable, for in al-Bukhārī (1301) and Muslim (949) it is related that the Companions passed by a funeral and spoke well of the deceased, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ said, “It has become binding”; they then passed by another funeral and spoke ill of the deceased, and he said, “It has become binding.” When asked about his statement, he replied, “The one of whom you spoke well—Paradise has become obligatory for him; the one of whom you spoke ill—Hell has become obligatory for him.” The term thanāʾ, therefore, is simply descriptive speech.

Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth:
1 – Allah, exalted be He, praised the people of Qubāʾ—one of the Khazraj clans, namely Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf—in His verse: “Within it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves” (Qur’an 9:108). The Prophet ﷺ asked them about the reason for this praise, and they replied, “We follow up the stones with water when performing istinjāʾ.”

2 – The report proves that removing impurity from the private parts by first wiping with stones and then following with water is the most complete form of purification, for no trace of impurity remains thereafter.

* مفردات الحديث: - قباء: بضم القاف، وفتح الباء الموحَّدة التحتية المخفَّفة. قال البكري: من العرب من يُذَكِّرُهُ وَيَصرِفه، ومنهم من يؤنِّثه ولا يصرفه. قال النووي: الذي عليه المحقِّقون: أنَّه ممدود مذكَّر مصروف. وقباء: حيٌّ في المدينة معروف، كان يسكنه بطنٌ من الأنصار يُقال لهم: بنو عمرو بن عوف، في هذا الحي المسجد الذي قال الله تعالى فيه: ﴿لَمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَقُومَ فِيهِ فِيهِ﴾ [التوبة: ١٠٨]. - نتبع الحجارةَ الماءَ: ينزِّهون أدبارهم بالحجارة من الغائط، ثم يغسلونها بالماء؛ ليحصل كمال الإنقاء. - أثنى عليكم: قال في المصباح: الثناء بالفتح والمد، يقال: أثنيْتُ عليه خيرًا وبخير، وأثنيْتُ عليه شرًّا وبشرٍّ، نص عليه جماعةٌ منهم صاحب المُحْكَم. وقال بعضهم: لا يستعمل الثَّناء إلاَّ بالحسن، وفيه نظر؛ ففي البخاري (١٣٠١) ومسلم (٩٤٩): "أن الصحابة مرُّوا بجنازةٍ، فأثنوا عليها خيرًا، فقال ﵊: وَجَبَتْ، ثمَّ مرَّوا بأخرى، فأثنوا عليها شرًّا، فقال: وجبت، فسُئِلَ عن قوله: وجبت، فقال: هذا أثنيتم عليه خيرًا، فوجبت له الجنَّة، وهذا أثنيتم عليه شرًّا، فوجبت له النار"، ولأنَّ الثناء مجرَّد الوصف. * ما يؤخذ من الحديث: ١ - أثنى الله تعالى على أهل قباء -إحدَى قبائل الخزرج، وهم بنو عمرو بن عوف -بقوله: ﴿فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَتَطَهَّرُوا وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ (١٠٨)﴾ [التوبة]؛ فسألهم النَّبيُّ ﷺ عن سبب هذا الثَّناء؟ فقالوا: إنَّا نتبع الحجارة الماء عند الاستنجاء. ٢ - في هذا دليلٌ على إزالة النَّجاسة من السبيل بتخفيفها بالحجارة، ثمَّ إتباعها الماء، هو أكمَلُ التطهُّر؛ حيث لم يبق بعد هذا أثر النَّجاسة.