We begin this week by referring to a Hadith that mentions a letter addressed by Zaid ibn Thabit to Muawiyah, the fifth caliph. We quoted the opening of this letter last week, which goes as follows: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent. To God’s servant Muawiyah, the Head of the Believers, from Zaid ibn Thabit. Assalam alaikum, Ameer Al-Mu’mineen, together with God’s mercy. I begin by praising God, other than whom there is no deity. To start with...” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Bayhaqi).
We highlighted the fact that Zaid, a highly prominent scholar among the Prophet’s companions, addressed the caliph, Muawiyah, mentioning his name first, rather than starting by identifying himself as the writer of the letter. This was accepted by the Prophet’s companions as appropriate.
The Hadith is long, and deals with a question of inheritance where the deceased is survived by neither of his parents nor any children. His closest relatives who survive him are his grandfather and his brothers. Although this is a rare case, it is possible. The Islamic system of inheritance, detailed in the Qur’an, does not mention it. Nor is it mentioned in a Hadith since it did not occur during the Prophet’s lifetime. Hence, the Prophet’s companions addressed it. Their views differed on how the deceased’s estate should be divided. Apparently, Muawiyah wanted to know the basis of these differences. Zaid wrote back to him explaining that. He finished his letter by saying: “And peace be to you, the Head of the Believers, together with God’s mercy, blessings and forgiveness. It was written by Waheeb on Thursday 18 Ramadan, 42H.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Bayhaqi).
This Hadith shows that a letter is treated like a normal meeting, with a greeting of peace at the beginning and another at the end. Zaid ibn Thabit addresses the caliph with all the respect due to him, although Zaid was senior to Muawiyah as a companion of the Prophet, as he belonged to the Ansar and was the man entrusted by Abu Bakr first and by Uthman later with the task of putting the Qur’an together. He was the head of the committee handling this very important task. The fact that he was chosen by the two caliphs reflects his acknowledged eminence as a scholar. However, since Muawiyah was now the caliph, he addressed him with all the respect due to him. His letter shows that it is the proper way to add another greeting at the end. It does not have to be a letter to a person of high position in order to have the two greetings. This could be done in any letter to any addressee.
It is noted that the letter is dated at the end, mentioning the day, date and year, as well as the name of the scribe who wrote it as Zaid dictated it.
Good manners are observed in the Muslim community all the time. While other communities may have their own high standards of good manners, Islamic manners are characterized by the fact that Muslims praise God all the time, thanking Him for every good thing they have in their lives. Muslims acknowledge that whatever they enjoy in life is given to them by God. Hence, they praise Him and acknowledge their gratitude to Him. If a person does not do so, his conduct is seen as strange.
Anas ibn Malik reports that he heard Umar ibn Al-Khattab as he was greeted by someone. Umar replied to his greeting, and then asked him: How are you? The man said: “I praise God to you.” Umar said: “This is what I wanted to hear from you.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and Malik)
Perhaps Umar was testing the man, or making sure that he would give the proper answer. It may be that Umar was aware of something that put him in doubt as to the man’s knowledge of Islamic manners. Hence, he was pleased to hear the man praising God for His blessings, when asked about his condition. This is the proper way Muslims should answer. They remember the many favors granted to them by God. Even when a Muslim is suffering from an illness or a disability, he always praises God, knowing that he is in a better condition than many other people. It is sufficient of a blessing that we have faith and we believe in God. This puts us in a better situation than that of any person who lacks such faith, even though such a person may be extremely wealthy, enjoying good health and high position. No blessing or favor is equal to the blessing of being a person of strong faith.
The Prophet has taught his community the best of manners. Foremost among these is to praise God and express gratitude to Him in all situations. The Prophet also taught us to remember situations that could bring grief or sadness. He was once asked: “How are you this morning?” He said: “I am well, belonging to a community that has not seen a funeral or visited an ill person.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Malik) This means that a community that does not have a death or an illness in its midst one day is in a good situation indeed. God is to be praised for that.
The Prophet’s companions followed his example and related their good situations to their faith. Muhajir, who belonged to the tabieen generation said: “I was sitting with one of the Prophet’s companions, who was of large stature and belonged to Hadramout. When he was asked: ‘How are you this morning?’ he would answer: ‘Well. We do not associate partners with God.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)
The man realizes that the fact that he believed in God’s oneness and did not associate partners with Him is a great blessing. Hence, it did not matter what his physical condition was. An illness or physical disability is of a much secondary importance compared to believing in none other than God. This is what he was keen to stress in his answer to the question about the way he felt on the day.
Arab News Islam 20 June 2003