Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (5/297)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

It is established in the two Sahih collections that “a prostitute gave water to a dog, so Allah forgave” (1) her for giving it water (2).

They said: Neither of Adam’s two sons was a polytheist. However, one of them did not intend to draw nearer to Allah by offering good things from his wealth, as related in the report. For this reason, Allah did not accept his offering.

Allah Most High said concerning the hypocrites:

“Nothing prevents what they spend from being accepted from them except that they disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger, come to prayer only sluggishly, and spend only unwillingly” [Surah al-Tawbah: 54].

Thus, He made these matters—rather than sins in general—obstacles to the acceptance of what they spent.

The scholars of hadith and the Sunnah (3) said: When faith is negated of someone, it is because he has neglected some of its obligations. The designation of an act of worship may be negated when some of its obligatory elements are absent, for it is no longer complete. This does not necessarily mean that nothing of it remains. Rather, the revealed texts indicate that part of it does remain and that anyone who retains some of it will be brought out of the Fire.

It is well known that acts of worship contain obligatory elements. Hajj, for example, includes obligatory rites such as stoning the Jamarāt. If a person omits one of them, his Hajj is deficient and he incurs sin for the omission, but he is not required to repeat it. Instead, he makes amends by offering a sacrificial animal. If he does not make amends, the obligation remains outstanding. Likewise, faith is diminished by sins. If a person repents, his faith is restored; otherwise, it remains deficient in a manner for which he incurs sin. There are also acts forbidden during Hajj which, if he commits them,

(1) “Allah” appears only in N and M. (2) This hadith is narrated, with some variation in wording, from Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—in al-Bukhārī, 4/173, Book of the Prophets, chapter beginning “Abū al-Yamān Narrated to Us…” Its wording there is: “While a dog was circling a well, nearly dying of thirst, one of the prostitutes of the Children of Israel saw it. She removed her mūq, gave the dog water, and was forgiven because of it.” A mūq is a khuff (leather sock). The hadith is also found in Muslim, 4/1761, Book of Greetings, chapter “The Merit of Giving Water and Food to Animals Whose Lives Are Inviolable”; its opening there reads: “A prostitute…” etc.; and al-Musnad, al-Halabī ed., 2/507. (3) “And the Sunnah” is omitted from H and B.

وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ «أَنَّ بَغِيًّا سَقَتْ كَلْبًا فَغَفَرَ اللَّهُ» (١) لَهَا بِسَقْيِهِ (٢) . قَالُوا: وَابْنَا آدَمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدُهُمَا مُشْرِكًا، وَلَكِنْ لَمْ يَقْصِدِ التَّقَرُّبَ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِالطَّيِّبِ مِنْ مَالِهِ، كَمَا جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ. فَلِهَذَا لَمْ يَتَقَبَّلِ اللَّهُ قُرْبَانَهُ. وَقَدْ قَالَ - تَعَالَى - فِي حَقِّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ: {وَمَا مَنَعَهُمْ أَنْ تُقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ نَفَقَاتُهُمْ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِهِ وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كُسَالَى وَلَا يُنْفِقُونَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كَارِهُونَ} [سُورَةُ التَّوْبَةِ: ٥٤] فَجَعَلَ هَذِهِ مَوَانِعَ قَبُولِ النَّفَقَةِ دُونَ مُطْلَقِ الذُّنُوبِ. قَالَ أَهْلُ الْحَدِيثِ وَالسُّنَّةِ (٣) : وَمَنْ نَفَى عَنْهُ الْإِيمَانَ فَلِأَنَّهُ تَرَكَ بَعْضَ وَاجِبَاتِهِ. وَالْعِبَادَةُ يُنْفَى اسْمُهَا بِنَفْيِ بَعْضِ وَاجِبَاتِهَا، لِأَنَّهَا لَمْ تَبْقَ كَامِلَةً، وَلَا يَلْزَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنْ لَا يَبْقَى مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ، بَلْ قَدْ دَلَّتِ النُّصُوصُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ يَبْقَى بَعْضُهُ، وَيَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ بَقِيَ مَعَهُ بَعْضُهُ. وَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّ الْعِبَادَاتِ فِيهَا وَاجِبٌ كَالْحَجِّ، فِيهِ وَاجِبٌ إِذَا تَرَكَهُ كَانَ حَجُّهُ نَاقِصًا، يَأْثَمُ بِمَا تَرَكَ، وَلَا إِعَادَةَ عَلَيْهِ، بَلْ يَجْبُرُهُ بِدَمٍ، كَرَمْيِ الْجِمَارِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَجْبُرْهُ بَقِيَ فِي ذِمَّتِهِ. فَكَذَلِكَ الْإِيمَانُ يَنْقُصُ بِالذُّنُوبِ، فَإِنْ تَابَ عَادَ، وَإِلَّا بَقِيَ نَاقِصًا نَقْصًا يَأْثَمُ بِهِ. وَقَدْ يَحْرُمُ فِي الْحَجِّ أَفْعَالٌ إِذَا فَعَلَهَا

(١) اللَّهُ: فِي (ن) ، (م) فَقَطْ. (٢) الْحَدِيثُ مَعَ اخْتِلَافٍ فِي اللَّفْظِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ٤/١٧٣ (كِتَابُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ، بَابُ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ. . . .) ، وَنَصُّهُ فِيهِ: (بَيْنَمَا كَلْبٌ يُطِيفُ بِرَكِيَّةٍ كَادَ يَقْتُلُهُ الْعَطَشُ إِذْ رَأَتْهُ بَغِيٌّ مِنْ بَغَايَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَنَزَعَتْ مُوقَهَا فَسَقَتْهُ فَغُفِرَ لَهَا بِهِ) وَالْمُوقُ: الْخُفُّ. وَالْحَدِيثُ فِي مُسْلِمٍ ٤/١٧٦١ كِتَابُ السَّلَامِ، بَابُ فَضْلِ سَاقِي الْمُحْتَرِمَةِ وَإِطْعَامِهَا، وَأَوَّلُهُ فِيهِ: (إِنَّ امْرَأَةً بَغِيًّا. . . إِلَخْ) " الْمُسْنَدُ " (ط. الْحَلَبِيِّ) ٢/٥٠٧ (٣) وَالسُّنَّةُ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ح) ، (ب) .