Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen by Ibn Uthaymeen — Volume 1 (شرح رياض الصالحين) — Page 806

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَابٌ فِي الْأَمْرِ بِالْمُحَافَظَةِ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ وَآدَابِهَا

(from previous page) ⟵ But we are commanded to emulate him, and everything we emulate in him is good. A chapter on the command to adhere to the Sunnah and its manners.

وَأَخَذَ الْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ، أَنَّ أَفْعَالَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ حُجَّةٌ يُحْتَجُّ بِهَا وَيُقْتَدَى بِهِ فِيهَا، إِلَّا مَا قَامَ الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ خَاصٌّ بِهِ، فَمَا قَامَ الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ خَاصٌّ بِهِ فَهُوَ مُخْتَصٌّ بِهِ، مِثْلُ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ ﴾ إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ: وَامْرَأَةً مُؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴾ [الْأَحْزَابِ:٥٠]، فَمَا كَانَ مِن خَصَائِصِهِ فَهُوَ مِن خَصَائِصِهِ.

Scholars infer from this verse that the Prophet’s actions serve as a binding proof and a model to follow, unless evidence specifies them as unique to him. Whatever is proven to be his exclusive prerogative remains so, as in the Almighty’s words: 'O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you,' continuing to the verse: 'and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers' (Al-Ahzab: 50). Thus, what was specific to him remains specific to him.

وَمِن ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا: الْوِصَالُ فِي الصَّوْمِ، أَيْ: أَن يَسْرُدَ الْإِنْسَانُ صَوْمَ يَوْمَيْنِ بِلَا فِطْرٍ، فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ نَهَى عَنْهُ قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنَّكَ تُوَاصِلُ، يَعْنِي: فَكَيْفَ تَنْهَانَا؟ فَقَالَ: «إِنِّي لَسْتُ كَهَيْئَتِكُمْ، إِنِّي أُطْعَمُ وَأُسْقَى»، وَفِي لَفْظٍ: «إِنِّي أَبِيتُ يُطْعِمُنِي رَبِّي وَيَسْقِينِي» يَعْنِي: يُطْعِمُهُ اللَّهُ وَيَسْقِيهِ بِمَا يَمُدُّهُ بِهِ مِن ذِكْرِهِ وَتَعَلُّقِ قَلْبِهِ بِهِ حَتَّى يَنْسَى الْأَكْلَ وَالشُّرْبَ وَلَا يَطْلُبُهُ.

Another example is the continuous fast, where a person fasts for two days without breaking their fast. The Prophet forbade this. When his companions asked, 'Messenger of Allah, you practice it yourself, so why do you forbid us?' he replied, 'I am not like you; I am fed and given drink.' In another narration, he said, 'I spend the night with my Lord feeding and giving me drink.' This means Allah sustains him through His remembrance and the attachment of his heart to Him, to the point that he forgets food and drink entirely.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (26 verbs · 44 nouns)

• أَخَذَ — to take
• اِحْتَجَّ — to argue
• اِقْتَدَى — to follow
• بَاب — chapter
• أَمْر — command
• مُحَافَظَة — preservation