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Problem of Hadith, “Just now I have seen something which I never saw before at this place of mine, including Paradise and Hell.”

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Darul Iftaa Jordan
An atheist claims that the Hadith of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him): "Just now I have seen something which I never saw before at this place of mine, including Paradise and Hell", and that was during the solar eclipse, contradicts  with the Hadith  that he saw Paradise and Hell during the Night of Miraj, also known as the Night of Ascension. How can this contradiction be eliminated?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

The Hadith referred to in the above question is related by Bukhari in his "Sahih" Narrated Asma' bint Abu Bakr:

I came to `Aisha the wife of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) during the solar eclipse. The people were standing and offering the prayer and she was also praying. I asked her, "What is wrong with the people?" She beckoned with her hand towards the sky and said, "Subhan Allah." I asked her, "Is there a sign?" She pointed out, "Yes." So I, too, stood for the prayer till I fell unconscious and later on I poured water on my head. After the prayer, Allah's Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) praised and glorified Allah and said, "Just now I have seen something which I never saw before at this place of mine, including Paradise and Hell. I have been inspired (and have understood) that you will be put to trials in your graves and these trials will be like the trials of Ad-Dajjal, or nearly like it (the sub narrator is not sure of what Asma' said). Angels will come to every one of you and ask, 'What do you know about this man?' A believer will reply, 'He is Muhammad, Allah's Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) , and he came to us with self-evident truth and guidance. So we accepted his teaching, believed and followed him.' Then the angels will say to him to sleep in peace as they have come to know that he was a believer. On the other hand a hypocrite or a doubtful person will reply, 'I do not know but heard the people saying something and so I said the same.'"

There are several respects indicating that his saying "Including Paradise and Hell" doesn`t contradict with the fact that he had seen them during the Night of Miraj:

First: His seeing them during the Night of Miraj was in Heaven while, during the solar eclipse, he saw them while he was on earth and it was for the first time. 

Second: His seeing them during the Night of Miraj has a special feature that suits the time and place of this miraculous night journey. This instance of seeing differs from that which took place during the solar eclipse and this difference suffices to eliminate the contradiction between the two Hadiths.

Imam Al-Zurqhani (May Allah have mercy on him) says: "What is meant here is "on earth" and the evidence is the Prophet`s saying "at this place of mine" or the difference in time and place." {Shareh Al-Zurkhani Ala Mutta` Malik, V.1:538}. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

  

 

This answer was collected from the official government Iftaa Department of Jordan.

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