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Fun Islamic Facts
Strange But True....
Did you know that cow's milk has a cure for every illness in it?
Yes, it's true! On the authority of 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:
"Drink cow's milk! For verily it (the cow) eats from all kinds of vegetation, and it (the milk) is a cure for every illness." [1]
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Did you know that one of the Companions was reported to have lived 250 years?
It's true! It has been reported that Salmaan Al-Faarisee (may Allaah be pleased with him) lived 250 years. Some reports even say 350 years. [2] However, this seems unlikely due to the statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):
"The lifespans (of the members) of my ummah are between 60 and 70 (years). Few live beyond this." [3]
A number of scholars rejected the reports about Salmaan al-Faarisee living 250 years, like Ath-Thahabee, since there are no connected chains to any of them. He suggested that Salmaan probably did not live past his seventies [2], and Allaah knows best.
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Did you know that there is a kind of kufr (disbelief) that is obligatory on every Muslim?
Yes, there is. In fact, one can not be a Muslim without commiting this act of disbelief. It is the disbelief that Allaah refers to in the Verse [4]:
( So whoever disbelieves in the taaghoot (those worshipped other than Allaah) and believes in Allaah, verily he has grabbed hold of the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. )
It is a condition for a person's acceptance of Islaam that he disbelieves in everything that is worshipped besides Allaah, as belief in Allaah along with other deities has not caused a person to enter into Islaam. This is the essence of a Muslim's testimony of faith: Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, meaning: "There is nothing worthy of worship except Allaah."
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Did you know that there are Muslims who claim to have the same level of faith as the angels and prophets?
Yes, there are. They are a group of innovators called the Murji'ah. The Murji'ah claim that eemaan (faith) is one level, it does not increase or decrease. Based on this, they claim that a person either has eemaan or not; so whoever has it, he has the same amount of eemaan as the angels and the prophets!
Of course, the Murji'ah's beliefs are rejected by many Verses in the Qur'aan and narrations from the Messenger that prove that eemaan has levels and it fluxuates due to a person's obedience or disobedience. For example, Allaah says [5]:
( Verily the believers are only those whose hearts tremble at the mention of Allaah, and when His Verses are recited they are increased in eemaan, and they put their trust in Allaah )
So the Qur'aan proves clearly that eemaan increases. As for the decrease of eemaan, Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah was asked, "Does eemaan increase and decrease?"
He replied, "Don't you read the Qur'aan: ( So their eemaan was increased ) in so many places?"
Then it was said, "But does it decrease?"
He replied, "Nothing increases except that it also decreases!" [6]
This shows how ridiculous it is to believe that eemaan does not increase or decrease, which implies that the drunk, fornicating Muslim has the same level of eemaan as the righteous Muslims, the Prophets, and even the Angels!
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Did you know that the Prophet's favorite color was green (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)?
Yes, it's true! Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, "The most beloved color to the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) was GREEN." [7]
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Did you know that Imaam An-Nasaa'ee was barred from attending some study circles?
It's true! An-Nasaa'ee went to study under al-Haarith ibn Miskeen in Egypt, but al-Haarith barred him and many others from attendance. Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee said, "The reason for that was that al-Haarith had become a judge in Egypt and there existed some animosity between the two of them." [8]
Ath-Thahabee mentioned that Al-Haarith was afraid that an-Nasaa'ee may have been a spy from the ruler, so he prevented him from attending. [9]
Furthermore, al-Haarith had implemented a number of drastic changes when he took the position, he removed many mu'ath-thins and even barred the followers of ash-Shaafi'ee and Aboo Haneefah. (An-Nasaa'ee was a Shaafi'ee.) [10]
However, an-Nasaa'ee, may Allaah have Mercy on him, explemplified great character and patience by sitting outside the door of the masjid and listening to the class anyway. He wrote many narrations from al-Haarith and included hundreds of them in his books. What an excellent implementation of the statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):
"No servant humbles himself for the sake of Allaah, except that Allaah raises him up." [11]
Furthermore, his way of learning the narrations from al-Haarith by concealing himself supports the permissibility of narrating from someone without their knowledge or permission, since the scholars of hadeeth have accepted this kind of narration from him and others. [12]
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Did you know there was a man who memorized a million narrations of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)?
It's true! His name was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee, also known as Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allaah have Mercy on him. Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee said, "Ahmad ibn Hanbal had memorized one million hadeeth." [13]
This number may shock you, however it is not strange considering he was the called the imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah. Similar numbers have been reported about his peers and contemporaries:
al-Bukhaaree - 300,000
Muslim - 300,000
Aboo Daawood - 500,000
Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee - 700,000
Yahyaa ibn Ma'een - 1,000,000 (written) [14]
Some one might say - How can there be hundreds of thousands of narrations from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)? The answer is from a number of angles:
-1- These numbers are very possible since the Companions used to focus on and talk about everything the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) did, said, and approved of. They also would describe his character and physical characteristics. The shaykh explained that they would talk about what he did from the minute he woke up until he went to sleep, where he went, how he walked, what he ate and drank, how he prayed, what he said to whom, etc. They reported everything they saw from him. [15]
-2- These numbers include narrations that come by way of different chains. One hadeeth may have dozens of different chains, and each one is memorized and considered a hadeeth. Ath-Thahabee said about the 1,000,000 narrations of Yahyaa ibn Ma'een, "He meant with repetition (one hadeeth with different chains and wordings). Do you not see that he (Yahyaa) said: 'If we had not written the hadeeth 50 times we would not have known it.'" [16]
-3- These numbers also include a number of statements and actions of the Companions (mawqoofaat) and their students (maqtoo'aat). [17]
It may also be asked - Is it really possible for one person to memorize hundreds of thousands of narrations? The answer lies in the early scholars' understanding of the word memorization (hifth). Some of them understood it means word-for-word memorization, while others understood that it includes a man knowing exactly where the narration is found in his book, or that he knows of the narration in a general way.
And Allaah knows best.
FOOTNOTES
[1] It was collected by Al-Haakim (#8274). Al-Albaanee called it saheeh in Saheeh Jaami' As-Sagheer (#4059).
[2] See Siyar A'laam An-Nubalaa' (1/555 of Ar-Risaalah).
[3] Saheeh Sunan At-Tirmithee (#3550), and even Al-Mubaarakfooree mentioned what was reported about Salmaan's lifespan in his explanation of this hadeeth. See Tuhfatul-Ahwathee (9/499).
[4] the meaning of Soorah Al-Baqarah (2:256)
[5] the meaning of Soorah Al-Anfaal (8:3)
[6] It was collected by Al-Aajurree in his book Ash-Sharee'ah (#240).
[7] It was collected by Al-Bazzaar in his Musnad with a weak chain, but there are other chains that strengthen it to the level of hasan as Al-Albaanee has explained in Silsilatul-Ahaadeethis-Saheehah (#2054).
[8] Sharh Sunan an-Nasaa'ee of Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee (1/319)
[9] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (14/130)
[10] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (12/57)
[11] From an authentic hadeeth collected by at-Tirmithee in his Sunan on the authority of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee called it saheeh in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee (#2029, 2/390).
[12] Refer to Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, Kitaab ash-Shahaadah (the Book of Testimony), Baab Shahaadatul-Mukhtabi' (the Chapter on the Testimony of a Concealed Person), hadeeth #2638 and #2639.
[13] Taareekh Baghdad (4/419), refer to the introduction of Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40, Maktabah al-Kawthar).
[14] Reports mentioning these numbers can be found in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40-42).
[15] As explained by Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas in his classes explaining Tadreeb ar-Raawee, which took place in the year 1421 at the Haram in Makkah.
[16] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (11/85)
[17] According to al-Bayhaqee, as quoted by as-Suyootee in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/41).
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