Hadith: Avoid what I have forbidden you from; and do as much as you can, of what I have ordered you. Indeed, those before you were ruined because of their excessive questioning and disagreeing with their prophets

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Category: Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles . Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence . Significations and Inference .
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عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «ما نهيتكم عنه فاجتنبوه، وما أمرتكم به فأْتُوا منه ما استطعتم، فإنما أَهلَكَ الذين من قبلكم كثرةُ مسائلهم واختلافهم على أنبيائهم».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]
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Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Avoid what I have forbidden you from; and do as much as you can, of what I have ordered you. Indeed, those before you were ruined because of their excessive questioning and disagreeing with their prophets."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that if he forbade us from something, we must avoid it without exception, and if he ordered us to do something, we have to do it as much as we can. He then warned us against being like some of the previous nations, who asked their prophets excessive questions and disagreed with them, so Allah punished them with different types of destruction and ruin. We should therefore avoid being like them, so we will not be destroyed in the ways that they were.

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. It enjoins compliance with the commands and prohibitions.
  2. We are not permitted to do anything of the prohibitions. With regard to the commands, however, we are required to comply according to our abilities. This is because the abandonment of something falls within one’s capacity, whereas taking a certain action requires ability.
  3. It is prohibited to ask a lot of questions. The scholars divided questions into two types, one of which aims at learning things needed in the religion. This type is required, and it applies to questions the Companions used to ask. The other type is such questions that are posed by way of obstinacy and affectation, which is prohibited.
  4. It warns the Ummah of disobeying the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), as happened in the past nations.
  5. When something is prohibited, this applies to any part of it, great or small, for avoiding it requires avoidance of the action altogether. For example, we are prohibited from usury, and this applies to any amount of it, big or small.
  6. We are required to shun the means conducive to something prohibited, for this falls under the meaning of avoidance.
  7. Man has certain capacity and ability, as indicated by his words: “As much as you can.” This refutes the claim by the Jabriyyah (Determinism) doctrine that man has no ability because he is forced to do whatever he does; even when a person moves his hand during his speech, this, according to them, is out of his control and he is compelled to do so. This view is undoubtedly wrong, and it results in great evils.
  8. When a person hears a command from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), he should not ask whether it is obligatory or recommended; for he said: “Do it as much as you can.”
  9. Whatever the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded or prohibited is part of the Shariah, whether it exists in the Qur’an or not. We should observe the Sunnah if introduced something not in the Qur’an, be it a command or a prohibition.
  10. One of the means to ruin is posing a lot of questions, especially about things that cannot be realized, like matters related to the unseen, the names and attributes of Allah, and the events on the Day of Judgment. Do not ask a lot about such matters, lest you ruin your life and become an obstinate and unnecessarily inquisitive person.
  11. The past nations were ruined due to their frequent questioning and disobeying their prophets.
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