#398: Explanation of Hadith 166 Of Riyādus Salihīn

QUESTION

“Assalamu alaikum, please what is the details explanation of the above hadith (below)?

💬Riyad-us-Saliheen 166

Abdullah bin Mughaffal (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) prohibited flicking pebbles by the index finger and the thumb; and he said, “It does not kill a game animal nor does it inflict wound on the enemy, but breaks the tooth and gorges the eye”.

In another narration it is said:

A close relative of `Abdullah bin Mughaffal (May Allah be pleased with him) was hitting with pebbles using the index finger and the thumb; he said: “Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has forbidden it saying that it does not kill the game”. He repeated the act and Ibn Mughaffal said to him: “I told you that the Prophet (PBUH) had prohibited it but you repeated it. I shall never talk to you.”

💎Commentary💎

1. This Hadith exhorts us not to do anything which is likely to harm others.

2. It also tells us that it is permissible to sever connections and speech with the people who disobey the Injunctions of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH).
📢📢📢📢📢📢📢”

ANSWER

Wa alaykum salaam warahmatullaah wabarakaatuh.

Alhamdulillaah, the Hadith to which you refer prohibits what the Arabs used to refer to as ‘Al-Hadhk’ which children and the elderly do in those days. The act of flicking pebbles with the index finger and the thumb. Most children do it for play and fun. Children still do it today.

The Rasūl – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – prohibited doing that due to the harm it can cause to passers-by and the fact that there is entirely nothing beneficial that comes from it.

It is not of those things that can be used as weapon in war neither can it be used to hunt animals for consumption.

What then is the essence of engaging in it?

This shows us that in Islam, everything a person does should have some benefits and the disadvantages attached to it must be highly minimal.

As for the statement of Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal to his relative on the other hand shows us that it is permissible to ex-communicate someone as a punishment for turning away from the Sunnah of the Rasūl – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – as long as it is hoped that that will help him turn away from his deed toward that which is right.

Allāhu A’alam.

Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazākumullāhu Khayran.

📚 IslamNode