Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (2/44)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

the wisdom behind the prohibition of continuous fasting and the harm it entailed for them, but not for him (peace and blessings be upon him).

They argued: His allowing them to fast continuously for this overriding benefit was no more serious than allowing (1) the Bedouin to urinate in his mosque (2), for the benefit of winning his heart and so as not to alienate him from Islam. Nor was it more serious than his allowing the man who prayed incorrectly to perform a prayer which he (peace and blessings be upon him) declared was no prayer at all (3), and whose performer was not truly praying. Indeed, it was an invalid prayer according to his religion. He nevertheless allowed him to continue so that he could teach him after he had finished and the man would accept his instruction, for this is more effective for teaching and learning.

They argued: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When I command you to do something, do as much of it as you can; and when I forbid you to do something, avoid it” (4).

They argued: In the hadith, he mentioned something indicating that continuous fasting was exclusive to him, saying: “I am not like you.” Had it been permissible, it would not have been exclusive to him.

They argued: In the two Sahīh collections (5), ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When night approaches from here, day retreats from here (6), and the sun sets, the fasting person has broken his fast.” The two Sahīh collections also contain a similar report (7) in a hadith narrated by

(1) K reads: “iqrārihi” (“his allowing him”). (2) Narrated by al-Bukhārī (6025) and Muslim (284/98), from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). (3) ʿAyn reads: “bi-salātin” (“a prayer,” prefixed with the preposition bi-). (4) Narrated by al-Bukhārī (7288) and Muslim (1337/130), from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him). (5) Narrated by al-Bukhārī (1954) and Muslim (1100). (6) “Wa-adbara al-nahāru min hāhunā” (“and day retreats from here”) is absent from Q, M and Mb, and crossed out in S. The wording retained from the remaining manuscripts agrees with al-Bukhārī’s text. (7) “Nahwahu” (“a similar report”) is absent from K.

حكمة النَّهي عن الوصال، والمفسدة الَّتي فيه لهم دونه ﷺ. قالوا: وليس إقراره لهم على الوصال لهذه المصلحة الرَّاجحة بأعظم من إقرار (١) الأعرابيِّ على البول في مسجده (٢) لمصلحة التَّأليف، ولئلَّا ينفِر عن الإسلام، ولا بأعظم من إقراره المسيء في صلاته على الصَّلاة الَّتي أخبر ﷺ أنَّها ليست صلاةً (٣)، وأنَّ فاعلها غير مصلٍّ، بل هي صلاةٌ باطلةٌ في دينه، فأقرَّه عليها لمصلحة تعليمه وقبوله بعد الفراغ، فإنَّه أبلغ في التَّعليم والتَّعلُّم. قالوا: وقد قال ﷺ: «إذا أمرتُكم بشيء فأْتوا منه ما استطعتم، وإذا نهيتُكم عن شيءٍ فاجتنبوه» (٤). قالوا: وقد ذكر في الحديث ما يدلُّ على أنَّ الوصال من خصائصه، فقال: «إنِّي لست كهيئتكم»، ولو كان مباحًا لم يكن من خصائصه. قالوا: وفي «الصَّحيحين» (٥) من حديث عمر بن الخطَّاب قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: «إذا أقبل اللَّيلُ من هاهنا، وأدبر النَّهار من هاهنا (٦)، وغَرَبتِ الشَّمس، فقد أفطر الصَّائم». وفي «الصَّحيحين» نحوه (٧) من حديث

(١) ك: «إقراره». (٢) رواه البخاري (٦٠٢٥) ومسلم (٢٨٤/ ٩٨) من حديث أنس ﵁ . (٣) ع: «بصلاة». (٤) رواه البخاري (٧٢٨٨) ومسلم (١٣٣٧/ ١٣٠) من حديث أبي هريرة ﵁ . (٥) رواه البخاري (١٩٥٤) ومسلم (١١٠٠). (٦) «وأدبر النهار من هاهنا» ليست في ق، م، مب. وشطب عليها في ص. والمثبت من بقية النسخ موافق لما في البخاري. (٧) «نحوه» ليست في ك.