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Using stories or parables of great saints or people to explain the concepts of Deen

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Muftionline.co.za

Q: My question is about the validity of usage of stories or parables of great saints or people to explain the concepts of Deen to common people. I forwarded the below story to my friends and colleagues: 

A king wanted to build a great palace for which he spared no expense and so made available all his treasures. Anything that did not suit his fancy in the slightest he had torn down and built again. Finally he was convinced the palace had no shortcoming and was the greatest palace ever built.
Overflowing with pride at his beautiful palace the king announced throughout his kingdom that he would reward anyone who could point out a flaw in his new abode. All who would visit could not see any shortcoming in the beautiful building, not that anyone would even dare to point it out to their king.
People kept coming and going for the next few days until a venerable sage close to Allah happened to be passing by and stopped by when he heard the king’s decree. After surveying the palace he came before the king and said, “Your Majesty, I have found two flaws in your palace.” The king was taken aback because an old man apparently found what all his subjects could not, and so he asked what these flaws were. The wise man said, “Your Majesty, one flaw is that this palace will not stand forever, and will end like all things will end one day. The second is that you cannot live in this palace forever for all must die one day.”

The World is a Temporary Home
No matter what high hopes a person has in this world, no matter how many beautiful houses and cars he has he will have to leave everything behind one day. The Messenger of Allah said: Be in the world as if you are a stranger
Excerpted from The Sermons by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi(db)

One person from the Wahabbi sect replied back asking me the following:

  1. Quran and hadith is sufficient for us we do not need such stories to understand deen.
  2. What if these stories are not authentic or are just imagination of some scholars, will we then not be sinners for propagating such false.
  3. Prophet [Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam] in his last sermon advised us to firmly hold on to Quran and Sunnah, then why do we have to propagate such stories.

My Questions:

  1. Do we need to verify the authenticity of such stories even if the message is as per the shariah?
  2. Please explain in great details for me to explain to the others.

Bismillaah

A: 

  1. Mithaals and illustrations have been in vogue in all departments of Deen from the time of the salf-e-saliheen. There is a famous line in grammar (darab zaidun amran) and all know it that this is fictitious. It is only said to illustrate and to explain a law.
  2. The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu anhum) would recite poetry and Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would not object to the recitation of poetry (provided there was no wrong in it). The poetry talks about people, places etc. Many a times there are stories contained in the poetry that are made up. These are quoted and used freely for they illustrate certain points efficiently. Sometimes, they bring out the exact meanings of the lughaat. Sometimes, the poetry illustrates the application. By the same token, incidents are related to illustrate certain morals and values. There should be nothing wrong in doing so. In one instance it was a grammatical law and the other was something much higher and nobler is being illustrated i.e. valuable morals and conduct.

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)


Q: Please provide reference to show that Sahabah (Radiyallahu Anhum) praised the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) thought poetry and used stories of people and places to explain. Can you also provide a reference from hadith to show that fiction or baseless stories is permissible in Islam.

Bismillaah

A: In the very Qur’aan Majeed, Allah Ta`ala has explained around 15 parables each having important lessons and morals. These parables are not incidents of the past. Similarly, Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) in the Ahaadeeth has explained parables with morals lessons. The very same thing is found in poetry, with the difference being that it is in the form of poetry and not normal speech.

There is no additional proof required for the permissibility of poetry being permissible, provided there is no evil contained in the poetry.

 وَضَرَبَ اللَّـهُ مَثَلًا قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ آمِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللَّـهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّـهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ ﴿النحل: ١١٢﴾

ضَرَبَ اللَّـهُ مَثَلًا عَبْدًا مَّمْلُوكًا لَّا يَقْدِرُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَمَن رَّزَقْنَاهُ مِنَّا رِزْقًا حَسَنًا فَهُوَ يُنفِقُ مِنْهُ سِرًّا وَجَهْرًا هَلْ يَسْتَوُونَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿النحل: ٧٥﴾

عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت ذكر عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الشعر فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هو كلام فحسنه حسن وقبيحه قبيح  رواه الدارقطني (مشكاة رقم 4807)

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)

This answer was collected from MuftiOnline.co.za, where the questions have been answered by Mufti Zakaria Makada (Hafizahullah), who is currently a senior lecturer in the science of Hadith and Fiqh at Madrasah Ta’leemuddeen, Isipingo Beach, South Africa.

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