The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to hold a staff, stick, rod or cane at different times and occasions. Ibn Abbas reports: “Leaning on a staff or a stick is a habit of prophets. God’s messenger used to have a staff on which he leaned as he walked. He instructed others to do likewise.” (Related by Ahmad.) This hadith does not enjoy a high degree of authenticity as its chain of transmission includes two reporters who are classified as “less than reliable.” However, there are plenty of hadiths that confirm this habit of the Prophet. We looked at some of these last week, and they clearly indicated that the Prophet used a staff or similar tools on various occasions. We will look today at other hadiths which mention this, but we will highlight their subject matter, rather than the fact that the Prophet used a staff.
Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari reports: “I was with the Prophet in one of the farms in Madinah. The Prophet had a stick in his hand with which he hit the ground in between the water and the mud. A man knocked on the door, and the Prophet said to me: ‘Open the door for him and give him the happy news that he will be in heaven.’ When I opened the door, the man was Abu Bakr. I told him what the Prophet said. Then another man knocked on the door, and the Prophet said to me: ‘Open the door for him and give him the happy news that he will be in heaven.’ When I went to the door I found out that he was Umar. I opened for him and told him what the Prophet said. Then a third man knocked on the door. The Prophet was reclining, but he sat up. He told me: ‘Open the door for him and give him the happy news that he will be in heaven, but after enduring hardship.’ I went to the door and the man was Uthman. I opened the door for him and told him what the Prophet said. He said: ‘I appeal to God for help.’” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi.)
The Prophet was giving these companions of his clear information that God had imparted to him. It is well known that a prophet is taught certain things by God, and what he is taught cannot be acquired by any means other than revelation. Needless to say, what people receive of reward and punishment is decided by none other than God. However, in this case, God informed His messenger of what He had decided in the case of these three closest companions of his. They were so much ahead of everyone else in their support of Islam that God gave them during their life the news of having accepted their efforts and decided that they would be among the dwellers of heaven. In the case of Uthman, he was also told of the trouble that he was to encounter a quarter of a century later.
This hadith should be enough for us to place Uthman ibn Affan among the greatest figures in our history. It gives a testimony by the Prophet of his great standing with God. It also testifies to the fact that he was innocent of all the accusations levelled at him at the time, leading to his assassination. To harbor any ill feelings against Uthman, even for someone in our own generation, or in a future generation, is to stand in opposition to the Prophet and to entertain an opinion other than what God has decided in his case. This is gross indeed.
Another hadith that is concerned with knowledge is reported by Abdullah ibn Massoud who says: “I was walking with the Prophet in some agricultural area in Madinah, and as he walked he leaned on a rod made of palm stalk. He passed by a group of Jews, and some of them said to the others: ‘Ask him about the spirit.’ Some of them said: ‘Do not ask him.’ Nevertheless, they asked him to tell them about the spirit. He leaned on the rod, while I was behind him. I thought he was receiving revelations. He said to them: ‘They question you about the spirit. Say, The (knowledge of the nature of the) spirit belongs to my Lord alone. You, (mankind), have been granted but little knowledge.’” (17: 85)
In this instance, the information under question has been denied. Indeed, the Prophet is instructed to tell his questioners that true knowledge of what they ask about is not given to anyone. Those Jews knew that the Prophet would not be giving them an answer to their question. Hence, some of them did not wish to engage into that useless attempt. They objected to it because they realized that there was no point in putting such a question. Most probably they realized that Muhammad was a true prophet and if they did not wish to follow him, then at least they should not be trying to oppose him. The Prophet did not answer them. He simply recited the relevant Qur’anic verse.
It should be mentioned here that the question about the spirit came up on a different occasion. Before the Prophet migrated to Madinah, the situation in Makkah was one of continuous tension between the Prophet and his few followers on the one side and the unbelievers on the other. The latter realized that no matter how earnestly they opposed the Prophet’s message, it was gathering strength all the time. Hence, they held consultations among themselves discussing the best ways of opposing the new faith. On one of these occasions, some of them suggested that they should send to the Jews in Madinah asking them for advice, since they considered the Jews to be better informed on such matters.
A delegation consisting of Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith and Uqbah ibn Abu-Mu’ayt was sent to Madinah with the instructions that they should ask Jewish rabbis about Muhammad, describing him in detail and reporting truthfully what he said. In Madinah, which was then called Yathrib, the two Quraysh men put their questions to the rabbis and solicited their honest opinion about Muhammad. The rabbis told them to ask Muhammad three questions. “If he gives you satisfactory answers, then he is a Prophet and a messenger of God. If he has no answer to give, then he is fabricating whatever he says. You may do what you like with him. Ask him about a group of young people who had a strange story in ancient times, and let him tell you what happened to them. Ask him also about a man who traveled all over the place and went to the far east and far west. The third question you should ask him is to tell you about the spirit.” One report suggests that the Jewish rabbis told the two Quraysh men that if Muhammad were to give them a detailed answer about the spirit, then they should not believe him. If he refrained from answering this question, then that would confirm that he was a Prophet.
When the Quraysh put these three questions to the Prophet, he did not answer them, waiting for information to be given to him by God. He was later given detailed information on the first two questions, which is included in Surah 18, Al-Kahf, or The Cave, while on the spirit, he was instructed in the way mentioned in the above quoted Qur’anic verse.
