Explanation of the Seventh Hadīth quoted by Imām Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalānī in the Chapter on Ādāb

🕌 🕌 HALQAH SESSION
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين
وأصلي وأسلم على من بعث رحمة للعالمين
وعلى آله وصحيه الغر الميامين
ومن تبعهم على الهدى إلى يوم الدين
Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh
Honored brothers and sisters you are welcome to this day’s session of the Shar’h
We have taken the Hadīth:
وعن ابن عباس قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:
إذا أكل أحدكم طعاما فلا يمسح يده حتى يلعقها أو يلعقها
متفق عليه

From Ibn ‘Abbās who said: the Messenger of Allāh – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – said:
“Whenever any of you has eaten food, let him not clean his hand until he has licked it, or had it licked.”
(Bukhārī and Muslim) Agreed Upon (its authenticity)
And have explained its commentary

The Seventh Hadīth
The Imām said:
وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:
ليسلّم الصغير على الكبير، والمار على القاعد، والقليل على الكثير.
متفق عليه
وفي رواية لمسلم:
والراكب على الماشي
“From Abū Hurayrah – radiyallāhu ‘anhu – who said: the Messenger of Allāh – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – said:

“Let the young initiate the Salām to the Old, the passersby to the Sitting, and the few to the many”
(Al-Bukhāri and Muslim) Agreed upon (its Authenticity)
And in another Narration recorded by Muslim:
“And the Rider on the one Walking”
As for Abū Hurayrah – radiyallāhu ‘anhu – he was the illustrious Companion of the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – the Mujtahid Imām and Leader of the Huffādh
He was ‘Abdurrahman Ibn As-Sakhr Ad-Dūsī Al-Yamānī
His name before Islām was ‘Abdush-Shams and the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – renamed him ‘Abdullah. He accepted Islām in the year of the Battle of Khaibar which is the 6th year after the Hijrah and spent four years in the Company of the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam. He was a recorder from the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – and took much Ilm from him which Allāh blessed and granted acceptance and dominance throughout our history also took Ilm from Ubayy, Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, Ā’ishah, Usāmah, and others among the Companions of the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam
Imām Adh-Dhahabī – rahimahullāh – mentioned that over 800 Imams took Ilm from him most of whom were Tābi’ūn – Rahimahumullāh
He was known to be fair in complexion and tender looking, strong and disciplined. He lived his first four years in Islām alongside the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – in the Corridor of the Masjid and was among the foremost members of the Suffah
He was blessed with a penetrating insight and a very strong memory that enabled him memorize everything he heard from the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – from immediately he said it, and none of the Companions memorized the like of what he memorized – radiyallāhu ‘anhu from the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – due to his closeness to him and his remaining with him through out the day when other Companions have left for their daily needs and occupations – Radiyallāhu ‘anhu
He passed away 59 years after the Hijrah at the age of 78 during the Caliphate of Mu’āwiya – radiyallāhu ‘anhu. May Allāh unite us with him in the Firdaws, āmīn
In this Hadīth the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – placed the onus of initiating the greeting of the Taslīm upon the young and not to the old as a mark of respect and a recognition of the elder one over the young. This is the Ādāb of Islām
Likewise he mandated that the passersby make the Taslim upon the seated. And the few to the many
The Ulamā explained that this is for the following reasons
1. It is the right of the older to be greeted by the younger as a mark of respect and recognition for Islām commands respect and honor for the elder
2. The passersby makes Salām to the seated because he came upon him and he is new in that place. Likewise as a way of guaranteeing the seated that he is free from the evils of the passersby
3. The fewer initiate the Salām to the more in number because they are more in number and have a greater right to anything for Allāh loves the unity of the Ummah
4. And the rider initiates the Salām to the walker as a way of instilling humility and respect in the rider for the walker. And a way of mending the heart of the walker that he may not be made to feel bad and humiliated by the rider
And Allāh knows best
We shall stop here
Bārakallāhu fīkum
Jazākumullāhu Khayran
Assalāmu Alaykum Awwalan Wa Ākhiran
Alhamdulillāh Awwalan Wa Akhiran