king has a protected pasture. Be aware that Allah’s protected pasture is what He has forbidden. Be aware that in the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Be aware that it is the heart.” Recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim] (*).
However, if a person avoids something unlawful or doubtful by neglecting an obligation or a recommended act, and the sin or shortcoming resulting from that neglect is greater than the sin involved in doing it, then such avoidance is not prescribed. Thus, Abū Tālib al-Makkī and Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī related that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about a man who had left behind money of doubtful lawfulness while owing a debt. The man’s son asked him, “Should I leave this doubtful money untouched and not repay the debt?”
He replied to him, “Would you leave . . .” (1).
(*) Shaykh Nāsir ibn Hamad al-Fahd said (p. 86):
Another omission occurs here. The missing material comprises the remainder of the discussion of the first meaning of siyāha (devotional journeying), namely fasting, and the discussion of its second meaning. He then moved on to doubtful matters, citing the hadith as evidence. This is apparent because he said, “Siyāha has two meanings,” then mentioned the first and supplied a chain of transmission that does not belong to the hadith following it. That hadith is unrelated both to siyāha and to the chain of transmission: it concerns doubtful matters, not siyāha, and is transmitted by al-Sha‘bī from al-Nu‘mān—may Allah be pleased with him—as recorded in the two Sahīh collections, not by ‘Amr ibn Dīnār from Yahyā ibn Ja‘da. This indicates that the omission begins here. The two meanings are:
Fasting: Numerous chains of transmission report that Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Hurayra, Ibn Mas‘ūd, al-Hasan, Mujāhid and others interpreted Allah’s words “al-sā’ihūn” as referring to those who fast.
Jihad: Several hadiths convey this meaning, including the report recorded by Abū Dāwūd in his Sunan from Abū Umāma—may Allah be pleased with him—who attributed it to the Prophet: “The siyāha of my community is jihad.”
(1) A blank space in the original.
Shaykh Nāsir ibn Hamad al-Fahd said (p. 87):
Besides this blank space, the text contains a scribal error. This is clarified by what the shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—said elsewhere concerning this report (29/279):
“An example is the question put to Ahmad concerning a man who died leaving wealth of doubtful lawfulness (1) and an outstanding debt. The heir asked him whether he should abstain from that doubtful wealth out of scrupulousness. Ahmad replied, ‘Would you leave your father’s liability undischarged?!’ Abū Tālib and Ibn Hāmid (2) related this.”
(1) Here he says, “wealth of doubtful lawfulness,” whereas our earlier text reads, “that concerning which there is no doubt”; and the difference between …
(2) Thus in the text. This is a scribal error; the correct reading is “Abū Hāmid,” namely al-Ghazālī. He explicitly names him in this passage (10/644), saying: “As Abū Tālib al-Makkī and Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī related from Imam Ahmad.”