3. THE BEST PERSON AMONG YOU (خَيْرُكُمْ)
There are many statements of the
Prophet in answering questions of his followers depending on the occasions and
situations, on its necessity, on unknown to the questioners and leaving those
known to them. When he was asked, “What is the best deed?” He answered, “Belief
in Allah and His Messenger, then the Jihād in the Path of Allah, then
the accepted pilgrimage.” Here the Prophet did not mention ṣalāt (the
prayer) and ṣiyām (fasting) in the month of Ramaḍān, as both had been
known to them as being among the best deed.
When the Prophet said, “The best
person among you is the one who treats his family members best” it does not
mean “absolutely the best” with the exception of others. Therefore, “the best”
means “among the best.” The expression فلانٌ أعقَل النَّاس “So-and-so is the most intelligent among people” means مِن أَعقَلهم “is one of the most intelligent among them.”
Having this in mind the Prophet mentions about the best person as
follows:
إن خَيْرَكُمْ قَرْنِى
، ثمَّ الَّذينً يَلُونَهُمْ ، ثُمَّ الَّذينَ يَلُونَهُمْ,
ثُمَّ الَّذينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
(رواه البخاري)
The best among you are
those who live in my
generation, then which follows it, then which
follows it, then which follows it
(Reported by Bukhārī)
It
means that the best people among his ummah are in his generation who
believe in him. They are the contemporary of the Prophet who accompanied him
and believed in him until their death, and are called the ṣaḥābah.
In another versionخير الناس قرني (رواه البخاري) “The best people are
those who live in my generation” (Reported by
Bukhari), but it does not mean that the ṣaḥābah are better than prophets
before them, as in another version the Prophet said:خير أمتي قرني (رواه
اليخاري ومسلم) “The best among my people are those who
live in my generation” (Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim). Therefore, the
companions of the Prophet are better than those of Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) and of
other prophets. Although Muslim scholars do not specify the limit of the period
they say that this period is extended until the death of the last ṣaḥābah,
who treats his family members best.
ثمَّ الَّذينً يَلُونَهُمْ”then those who follow them” are Muslims at the generation of the tābi‘īn who follows the generation of the ṣaḥābah. They
saw the ṣaḥābah, but they did not see the Prophet.
ثمَّ الَّذينً
يَلُونَهُمْ ”then
those who follow them” are Muslims at the generation following that of the tābi‘īn . They are called tābi‘ī
al-tābi‘īn. They saw the tābi‘īn, but they did not see the ṣaḥābah.
These three generations: (1) of the Prophet and his companions, (2) of the tābi
‘īn and (3) of tābi‘ī al- tābi‘īn.
As ‘Imrān ibn al-Ḥuṣayn the
narrator of the ḥadīth was not sure whether the Prophet had said ثمَّ الَّذينً يَلُونَهُمْ ”then those who
follow them” twice or three times,
if it were so, then there will be another generation after that of tābi‘ī al- tābi‘īn ending in about 220 AH.
عَن عُثْمَان بن عَفَّان رَضِي الله عَنهُ قَالَ:
قَالَ رَسُول الله صلى الله
عَلَيْهِ وَسلم خَيركُمْ من تعلم
الْقُرْآن وَعلمه (رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ)
On the authority of
‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān r.a. that the
Prophet s.a.w. said “The best person among you
is the
one who learns the Qur’ān
and teaches.
(Reported by
Bukhari)[1]
-
Al-Ṭībī:
for a person who is involved in learning, the best thing to learn and to teach
is the Qur’ān which is the words of Allah.
-
Ibn
Ḥajar: learning the Qur’ān is the most
distinguished knowledge, so that the person who learns it and teaches it to
other people is better than the person who learns other than the Qur’ān and
teaches it.
-
Al-Munāwī:
As the Qur’ān is the words of Allah, and therefore the best words, it follows
that the person occupies himself with it becomes the best person after
prophets. For this reason a person called Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī says that he has taught the Qur’ān since the
caliphate of ‘Uthmān till al-Ḥajjāj became the governor of ‘Iraq, namely,
between 38 and 72 years.
-
Sahl
ibn Sa‘d said that a woman gave herself to Allah and the Prophet, but as the
Prophet did not need an extra wife, a man asked him to marry her. As a dowry he
asked him to give her a dress, but he did not have it, then an iron ring, and
still he did not have it. So, he asked him whether he had some Qur’ānic verses
with him. When he said so, the Prophet said: “I marry you off to her with what
you have in the Qur’ān (as her dowry).” Al-Bukhārī said that the man was asked
to teach her from what he had learned from the Qur’ān as her dowry.[2]
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ أَطْعَمَ
الطَّعَامَ أَوْ الَّذِينَ يُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ
The best person among you
is the one who feed
people with food (Reported
by Aḥmad)
In another ḥadīth narrated by ‘Abd Allāh
ibn ‘Umar that a man asked the Prophet what kind of (practice in) Islam is the
best.
The Prophet answered:
تُطْعِمُ الطَّعَامَ ، وَتَقْرَأُ السَّلامَ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ
وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ
)رواه البخاري ومسلم(
It is to feed with food, and to spread greeting to
people whom you know and to people you do not
know (Reported
by Bukhārī and Muslim)
Ibn
Rajab says that the ḥadīth combines two good things, namely, feeding
people and spreading greetings, as it combines the good thing through wording
and action. This is the best deed in Islam after fulfilling Islamic obligations
in order to elevate a Muslim to the level of doing good to people.
Ṣuhayb r.a. used to feed people extensively,
and ‘Umar a.s. asked him the reason for such extravagance. He said that
it was because the Prophet had said that the best among Muslims were those who
feed people and answered the greetings.
In a ḥadīth reported by Bukhārī
and Muslim, that Allah forgave a man who was very thirsty. He went down a well to
drink and came out of it. Then he saw a dog eating the soil and lolling out its
tongue of thirst. He said that this dog must have been thirsty like himself.
So, he filled his shoe with water, held it with his mouth, came out of the
well, and gave the dog to drink it. So, Allah thanked him and forgave him. They
asked: “O, Messenger of Allah, do we really have reward in treating animals
well?” The Prophet answered: “For every tender heart there is reward.”
In
another ḥadīth reported by Bukhārī and Muslim, that Allah forgave a
prostitute among the children of Israel who saw a dog on a hot day walking
around a well lolling his tongue out of thirst. So, she took of her shoe,
filled it with water, and gave the dog to drink it, and because of this
kindness Allah forgave her sin for committing adultery.
خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لأَهْلِهِ وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لأَهْلِى (رواه
الترمذي وابن ماجة و الطبراني)
The best person among you is the one
who treats his family members best
(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, and al-Ṭabrānī)
In another ḥadīth on the
authority of ‘Ā’ishah r.a. the Prophet said, “The best person among you
is the one who treats his family members best, and I am the best person among
you who treats his family members best. And if anyone among you dies leave him
alone,” namely, do not mention his bad deed and behavior, and forgiving him
will be among your best behavior.
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ
يُرْجَى خَيْرُهُ وَيُؤْمَنُ شَرُّهُ وَشَرُّكُمْ مَنْ لَا يُرْجَى
خَيْرُهُ وَلَا
يُؤْمَنُ شَرُّهُ (رواه أحمد والترمذي وابن حبان)
The best person
among you is the one whose good
deeds are expected
(by people), and people feel safe
from his bad deeds. And the worst person among
you
is the one whose good deeds are not expected,
and people are not safe from his bad deeds
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Ḥibbān)
In other words, among the best Muslims are those who contribute and give
benefit to people, and do not cause harm or disadvantage to them. On the
contrary, the worst of them are those who cause harm or disadvantage to people,
and do not contribute any benefit to them.
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ طَالَ
عُمْرُهُ وَحَسُنَ عَمَلُهُ (رواه أحمد)
The best person among you is the one
lives long and and does good things
(Reported by Ahmad)
So long as a person is still able to do good things, his long life would
be good. But if he is no longer able to do so, where he is no longer able to perform
prayer, fasting, and think properly, then his long life would become a burden for
himself and his community. The Prophet himself, after performing every prayer, asked
Allah’s protection from cowardice, the most contemptible age, the temptation of
the world and the punishment in the grave. (Reported by Bukhārī)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
خَيْرُكُمْ إِسْلَامًا أَحَاسِنُكُمْ أَخْلَاقًا
إِذَا فَقُهُوا (رواه أحمد)
Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of
Allah s.a.w.
said: “The best person among you in
practising
Islam is the one who has the best
character if
they have understanding (of Islamic
law) (Reported by Ahmad)
In another version, instead of خَيْرُكُمْ إِسْلَامًا “The best person among you in
practising Islam” it is خَيْرُكُمْ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ “The best person among you in Islam”
which have the same meaning. It means that the best person is the one who
understands the injunctions and the prohibitions of Allah and follows the ways
of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Good character would not be
achieved without fiqh (Islamic law), and fiqh could not be
obtained without good character. Whoever obtains one of them has to strive to
obtain the other, so that he will obtain complete moral excellence.
In conclusion, when the Prophet said خَيْرُكُمْ “the best person among you” he did not mean it absolutely with
the exclusion of others, but he meant “among the best persons among you.”
(CIVIC, 7 April, 2017)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
http://www.khaledalsabt.com/cnt/dros/2076
http://majles.alukah.net/t118519/
http://library.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?ID=16&bk_no=49&idfrom=15&idto=15
http://www.alukah.net/library/0/88116/#ixzz4dI80sAQJ
http://www.alukah.net/library/0/88116/#ixzz4dI1k8cem
[2] There are some disputes among Muslim scholars whether
teaching the Qur’ān could be possible as a dowry for anybody else, or this case
was special for the person mentioned above. Is it possible that memorizing some
Qur’ānic verses to be a dowry, or they have to be taught to the bride-to-be?
This was the apparent meaning of the Prophet’s statement زوجتكها بما معك من القرآن (“I marry you off to her with what you have in
the Qur’ān). This happened in Indonesia that the groom‘s memorizing some chapters of
the Qur’ān is considered a dowry. A muṣḥaf (copy) of the Qur’ān given as
a dowry was also common in Indonesia. But according to al-Bukhārī, the dowry is
teaching her the Qur’ān, not just by memorizing it which is the view of Aḥmad
ibn Ḥanbal.
