Salafi Research Institute SRI
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
We have witnessed many people quote the ḥadith in question that it is meant thereby Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Tamīmī (D. 1206). No one from the Muslim quoted this ḥadith in this context before his birth and no one described it as meaning modern-day Najd until few centuries back. It is time we address this issue with evidences instead of emotions that Allah may guide us to the truth as He, the most highest said: “And do not mix the truth with falsehood nor conceal the truth while you know” [al-Baqarah 2:42]
It is important to note that aḥādith must be understood in their proper context. Usāmah رضي الله عنه said: Once the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stood at the top of a castle amongst the castles of Madīnah and said, “Do you see what I see? I see the spots where afflictions will take place among your houses as numerous as the spots where raindrops fall.” [al-Bukhārī 1878 & Muslim 2885].
Can anyone interpret this ḥadith to dismantle the companions? Can anyone claim this ḥadith is general and applies to everyone in Madīnah at all eras? Can anyone say afflictions in Madīnah constitutes the people therein are evil? Never. Therefore, O seeker of truth, a person is not judged by where he was born, he is judged by what he does. Allah says: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” [al-Ḥujurāt 49:13] and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts and to your deeds.” [Muslim 2564]
You also must understand, may Allah guide us to the truth, that the aḥādith should be understood according to the language they were revealed in. The Qur’ān has the word سيارة, can someone say it means the modern day car? No. Likewise, the land of Baḥrain at the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is not the same one as today. Thus, one must refer to the usage of the word at its time.
The hadith and its narrations
Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “O Allah! Bless us in our Shām, O Allah! Bless us in our Yemen.” The people said “And also on our Najd”. He said “O Allah! Bless us in our Shām! O Allah! Bless us in our Yemen.” The people said, “O Allah’s Messenger! And also on our Najd.” The third time he said “There is the place of earthquakes and afflictions and from there comes out the horn of Shayṭān” [al-Bukhārī 7094 & Muslim 2905]
We as Ahlus sunnah understand a ḥadith by looking at all of the other texts and then deducing the appropriate conclusion. It becomes even more clearer when the explanation comes from the same narrator
Ibn ‘Umar said that he صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “O Allah! Bless us in our Shām, O Allah! Bless us in our Yemen.” then he said it repeatedly, and in the third or fourth time they said “O Allah’s Messenger! And also on our ‘Irāq”. He said “There is the place of earthquakes and afflictions and from there comes out the horn of Shayṭān” [al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī 12/384; Isnād Ḥasan]
Ibn ‘Umar said: I saw Allah’s Messenger pointing with his hand towards ‘Irāq and saying “Ha, the tribulations are here. Ha, the tribulations are here -three times- from where comes out the horn of Shayṭān” [Musnad Ahmad 6302 with Ṣaḥīḥ Isnād]
Ibn ‘Umar said said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “O Allah! Bless us in our Makkah and bless us in our Madinah and bless us in our Shām and bless us in our Yemen. O Allah! Bless us in our Ṣā’ and Mudd (units of measure).” Then a man said “And in our ‘Irāq”. He was ignored. Then he repeated this thrice, every time the man said “and in our ‘Irāq” he was ignored. So he said: “From there will be earthquakes and afflictions and from there will the horn of Shayṭān will come out” [al-Ma’rifah wal tārīkh 2/746-748, al-Bazzār 5881, Al-Mukhalliṣiyyāt 1342, Manāqib al-Shafi’ī 1/51 with Ḥasan asānīd and slight variations]
Sālim رحمه الله, the son of ibn ‘Umar said: “O people of Irāq, how strange it is that you ask about the minor sins but commit major sins? I heard from my father ‘Abd Allāh bin ‘Umar narrating that he heard Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as saying while pointing his hand towards the east: Verily, the turmoil would come from this side, from where would appear the horns of Satan” [Muslim 2905]
Therefore, it becomes clear from the narrations itself that Najd refers to ‘Irāq and that horns of Shaytan does not mean a person as some narrations use the word Sun instead of it (cf. Al-Bukhārī 3273 & Muslim 612). A person may ask, Is not Najd the region in Saudi Arabia? We will answer that from the people of the Arabic language in which this prophetic ḥadith was narrated.
Meaning of Najd
Al-Khaṭṭābī (D. 388) said in A’lām al-ḥadith (4/2330):
“Najd: Eastern region, and whoever is in Madīnah, his Najd will be the suburbs of ‘Iraq and this is the east for the people (of Madīnah) and the foundation of Najd is: What raises from the earth. And Ghawr: what lowers from it (the earth) and Tihāmah is all Ghawr and from it is Makkah. And the tribulations begin in the east and from its region come out Ya‘jūj and Ma‘jūj and the Dajjāl in most of what is narrated in the narrations. ”
Ibn Athīr (D. 606) said in al-Nihāyah (5/19):
“And Najd: What raises from the earth. It is a special word for what is not Hijaz and follows ‘Irāq”
Ibn Taymiyyah (D. 728) said in Majmū’ al-Fatāwā (20/316):
“And it is known that it was in Kūfah where the tribulations and division (occured). What deludes to this is the text and Ijmā’ by the saying of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم “the tribulations are here, the tribulations are here, the tribulations are here, from where comes out the head of Shayṭān”
Ibn al-Mulaqqin (D. 804) narrated al-Khaṭṭābī’s definition word for word in al-Tawḍīḥ (32/358) and said: “and al-Dāwūdī (D. 406) said: Najd is the region of ‘Iraq”
al-’Aynī (D. 855) narrated al-Khaṭṭābī’s definition word for word in ‘Umdat al-Qārī (24/200)
Ibn Ḥajar (D. 852) said in al-Fatḥ (13/47):
“It was the reason for division between the Muslims which is what Shayṭān loves and gets happy with and likewise the innovations started from that place. al-Khaṭṭābī said…” he then quoted the definition
Praise of Banu Tamīm
We know that the ancestry of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Tamīmī goes back to Banu Tamīm. There are narrations showing their virtues. However, it is important to remember that lineage is not the only factor that determines a person’s worth. Rather, it is their actions and their beliefs that matter most. For it is not who we are, but what we do, that matters most. I will be sharing them to remove any grudge one may have regarding this noble tribe.
Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه said:
I have not ceased to like Banu Tamīm ever since I heard of three qualities attributed to them by Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم: “They, out of all my followers, will be the strongest opponent of al-Dajjāl”. ‘Āisha had a slave-girl from them, so he said: “manumit her as she was from the descendants of Ismā’īl”. And when their Zakāt was brought, he said “This is the Zakāt of my people.” [al-Bukhārī 4366 & Muslim 2525]
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Do not say about Bani Tamīm except good” [Musnad Aḥmad 17533 with Sahih Isnād]
Conclusion
Allah said: “And you will remember what I say to you, and I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of (His) servants.” [40:44]
We ask the people who are merely quoting without researching and those that are slandering to actually read his works (like kitāb al-Tawḥīd) and find one thing that goes against the right beliefs and methodology. If you fail to do so, Allah will ask you on the day of judgement about what you did and your limbs will testify against you. You may even lose your good deeds for slander.
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:
“He is not one of us who does not respect the elders and does not have mercy on the small ones and not know the right of our scholars [Sharḥ Mushkil al-Āthār 1328; Ḥasan Isnād]
Ibn ‘Asākir (D. 571) said:
“The flesh of the scholars is poisonous” [Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī p. 29]
He also said:
“Whoever opens his tongue with revilement of scholars, Allah afflicts him before his death, with the death of the heart” [Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī p. 425]
