Hatib Ibn Abi Balta’ah – A Story of Betrayal and Mercy

Yasir Qadhi

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Channel: Yasir Qadhi

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In today's hearts, I wanted to go back to one of the stories from the Sierra. And then look at it from the lens of both law and theology, and to explain to how it's possible for the same story to be interpreted in different ways. And the goal, as usual, is always so that in sha Allah to Allah, we appreciate the diversity of our own scholars. And to understand that this religion is beyond just one group or one opinion, you will always find the diversity. The story today is shallow. That is actually one of the most interesting stories of the Sierra was summarize it. And that is in the conquest of Makkah. In the eighth year of the hijra, our profit system decided to attack Maccha. And

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he didn't explain or he didn't tell the Quraysh obviously, that his attacking is going to surprise attack them. And he told the Sahaba last minute that we're going to be leaving only the core Sahaba. And he made dua to Allah that Oh, Allah protect our plans from being exposed to the Quraysh. We don't want them to monitor we don't want them to know, let it be a complete surprise attack. Because if you have a surprise attack, there'll be minimal casualties, which is exactly what happened. So he made this dua to Allah. And this shows us that no matter who we are, no matter what we're doing, we have to make dua to Allah for success and our plans. So it's so happened that one of the companions

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by the name of how to ibn Abi belta, this person how to was not from the Quraysh, he had migrated to the Quraysh, three Islam, and he had formed a business partnership with one of the sub tribes of the Quraysh. He was what is called the high leaf. In our vernacular, he had a visa to live in Makkah, he is not a citizen, to be a citizen, you have to be oroshi. He has a visa, he has a green card status, right. He accepts Islam, he migrates, but he has to leave some of his children and his wealth, he couldn't bring them with him to Medina, how to participated in every single as well, because what brother was worth the 100 He has been a key player. In fact, the Profit System even sent him as an

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emissary of a envoy, an ambassador to Morocco focus in Egypt, it was how to move the process of chose to deliver the letter to Macaca. So he's a well known companion, now how to wrote a secret letter.

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And he wanted send it to the Koresh. And there happened to be a lady by the name of Sarah, who was not a Muslim, she was a pagan, and she was Acorah she pure through and through Cora she remember this is the time where your blood counts and who you are has a lot. She has a Cora she, she is a Kaffir a pagan, and she had relatives in Medina, and she had a misfortune that she needed money. So she came to Medina to beg her relatives for some money sadaqa they gave her sadaqa how to hurt that sorrows in town. So how to paid this lady Sarah some money and said I have a letter for you. It's top secret sorrow did not know what's in the letter. Take this letter and give it to so and so. Oh,

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Sofia, whatever, give it to the leaders. And here's the money and make sure you tell nobody, only how to and Sarra know of the story. That's it. Nobody knows. Except Allah subhanho wa taala. So Allah sent Gibreel down.

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And Djibouti said Ya rasool Allah, how to wrote a letter, and he handed it to this lady Sarah, and you will find her Abdullah Khalifa you had better catch the letter before it reaches the courage. You can't outwit Allah subhanho wa taala. So the Profit System sent I'll make a dad and as available as one and I've never thought of like core elite like these are Inner Inner Circle all what are she all like this is the inner circle. He sent the three of them he said immediately ride your horses immediately. Get to the relay for your unloaded heavy for the mid 40s Get to the relay for you will find a caravan going back to Makkah in the caravan. There's a lady called Sarah stop her and get the

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letter from her and bring it back to me. These are the instructions. So the three of them marched quickly on their horses. They caught the caravan they took us out out of the caravan surrounded her they said hand over the letter she said I have no letter. So they searched the entire camel all of her bags. And they said we don't find it. Where's the letter? She said I don't have any letter. Or they've never be bothered said Wallah he neither was I lied to nor did the one who spoke to me is known to be a liar. In other words, you have a letter I heard the prophets have some say you have a letter that one who says this is not a liar. Neither did I hear a lie nor is the speaker a liar.

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Hand the letter or else we will search you your persona cover to cover we will you understand this point your body will be searched. And this shows us from this focal hub dry Believe it or not that when it comes to our art and when it comes to covering and what not

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The Muslim and the kaffir have the same level for us we are not allowed to see with lust, we're not allowed to this was only allowed because of the Aurora. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had to threaten and say you'd better give it or else. In other words, there is what we call sanctity. A Muslim should not gaze upon Muslim or Kapha doesn't matter. And of course, if there's a community at stake, then obviously if there's a national crises, if there's a doctor, that's a separate issue, so she said, turn around. So they turned around, she took it out of her hair, it was inside of her hair, even the machinery because we're covered there, her back then. So it was inside, it was inside

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her braid. So she opened her braid and handed it to them. She didn't know what's in the letter. And, you know, she was wanting some money. So she was let go. And this shows us that if a person does a crime, innocently, they are not to be held liable. She did not understand how significant this treachery was. She just was told to keep it secret. So she put it in her hair break. So I didn't know the Allahu and came back, and lo and behold the process and read it and what was in the letter from how to be able to, to Agusan and others know that the Prophet system is going to leave MK Medina to attack and so take preparation to defend and you know, the, this is my warning to you.

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Okay, I lost he's been caught now. We're moving the club, Bob said, y'all rasool Allah, let me execute this Manasa let me execute this one after this traitor. The Prophet said no, call him call him. called How to? Yeah. How to Maha medica LMR felt? Why would you do this your hardship? Why would you do this? Yeah, how to and the prophets, how to set the rasool Allah. I have no desire to return to Cofer. After Allah guided me to Islam. I have no Raghava to return to Gopher, I have no love for returning to gopher. But as you know, I am not from the Quraysh. And I don't have honor amongst them. And I have my children. And I have you know, all my property and my children over

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there. And I was worried that if we are being attacking them, they will protect your relatives because their fellow Quraishi. But they're going to take their anger out on my kids, on my family and on my possessions. So I felt that if I sent this letter to them, they would acknowledge this favor. And I knew Allah will protect you. And because of this letter, perhaps my children would be spared.

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So the Prophet says that I'm said sadaqa helped him health has spoken the truth. This was his reason. He didn't do it out of a loyalty to the Quraysh. He did it because he loved his children. He wanted to protect his children, and he messed up sadhaka how to Romero hottub again, said he had a Sula. Let me execute him. This is a keyboard, we're going to come back to this twice. Or Omar said, Let me execute him. And the Prophet says some debts then said, Yeah, Omar, how do you know? Perhaps Allah subhana wa Taala has looked at the people of butter, how to was a battery, how to participate in weather, and has said to the people of weather do as you please, all of the other sins you have

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done shall be forgiven? How do you know the status of how to how to visit buddy how to visit person to purchase even better. And Allah has looked upon the people of burden 310 310 of the batteries Allah has looked upon them. The highest category of Sahaba are the actionable Bashara, the second highest, the people of butter, the Sahaba are 10 categories are going to have an edge, the highest category, I should overshadow right under them. It is the people of bubble, the people above that occupy an extremely high status. This is one of the blessings right? And so how it was therefore not executed. Now, this is the summary of the story. I've gone into more detail in my co series. Now.

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Today's catheter was not the story, actually, it was about how people have interpreted the story. You understand this as a very, very deep sensitive politically, legally, theologically. There have been entire dissertations and entire, you know, research papers written about this incident. And what I want to convey to you today, there is a spectrum of opinion. The whole point of today's call Tara, how can the same incident be viewed from different angles? And the same incident give you contradictory rulings amongst Onoda Ma? We just understand this point. And perhaps today, I'm not even gonna tell you what my opinion is. Who cares? They're great giants here. So let's begin with

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the first opinion legally speaking. From the fifth perspective, two opinions. The first opinion Imam Shafi and Imam Abu Hanifa. From this we derive they were very clear that the Jasoos what is the Jasoos the spy

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is not to be executed.

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Oh,

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Shafi was explicit, what more evidence do you want, he didn't just betray an Islamic state, he betrayed li Islamic State. He didn't just betrayed some Muslim land, he betrayed the trust of none other than the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and still he was not executed. So from this, the Shafia and Hanafi school derives that the Jasoos is to be punished to zero but not executed, throw him in jail, do something, find him, you know, of course, as Yun has multiple, I don't want to don't wanna get too explicit, but as you it is not execution, as it is not execution. So pretty obvious from their perspective, okay. The exact opposite opinion was derived by many in the humbly school

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and many in the Maliki school, many because there's dissenting and all of these, as usual, usually the humble is typically have a spectrum opinion. So you should know that. So one of the positions of the humbly school and one of the positions of the Maliki school, you may execute the Jasoos, but not as a malted.

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So it's not a head punishment, it is a tie zero to zero means that it's not head, which means it's up to the ruler, he can have a selection, click down menu ABCDEFG, and one of the options is execution. Okay, how did you derive the exact opposite from the other two schools? How did they do that very simple. Or O'Meara, the Allahu unsaid? Let me execute him. And the Prophet system said, he's a battery. Which means what

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if you're not a battery?

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So you get the point here, right? The reason the other the other tumors have say, is that the reasons are O'Meara the Allahu aren't said, I want this execution. And the Prophet system said, How do you know Allah has, I should not translate? How do and actually the Arabic really means that? Don't you know is a better way? Don't you know that Allah azza wa jal has looked upon the people of butter and has said, do whatever you please you shall be forgiven. So the Prophet system used a specific excuse to eliminate this punishment from how to he didn't say turbo, hardtop Yamaha, we don't execute justice. Rather, he said How to is the battery. So the other two month hubs derived

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that Omar's request and the somewhat tacit approval somewhat tacit approval that the process of did not say, no, no, no, we don't execute, rather than give another excuse. Now, you see here illegal if they laugh right here, right. Okay, let's move on. Because there's even more controversy. Now we get to the even bigger issue of controversy, which is quite sensitive. And along with Stan, these things needs to be said, I'll try my best to not be too explicit. Because I want you to think I don't want you to become emotionally well, but to think and use your intellect Allah has blessed you with to reason through and to understand some of the theologians now we get to theology. Now we get to

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Arcada. Some of the scholars of al Qaeda, dare I say, the majority of them have used this incident to derive another fact. And that is, if you see somebody commit an action of Cofer

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don't pronounce Cofer on him.

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Until you verify and find out, an action of Cofer

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does not become Cofer. Until you verify and find out because the Prophet system I mean, what can be greater if you're like go for them to betray the prophecies to them? What can be something that you're literally betraying his trust? You are literally telling the whorish that the Prophet system is about to attack what more betrayal to Allah and His Deen, can you have done this? And yet still, the prophets have said call him and accepted an excuse. So the majority of folk AHA and theologians have said,

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golfer

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that is done via an action. Let me rephrase that. The majority have said, Cofer is in the heart. And you need to verify what is in the heart. And the action should not cause you to think that the heart is feeling Cofer until you verify, don't base it on an action when a person is a Muslim. And he says he's a Muslim, then no matter what that person does, find an excuse. Get some way out and don't say he's a Kaffir until you verify that he actually meant to do this. Okay, this is the mainstream position. There is another position which perhaps I'm more sympathetic to I'll let that away inshallah that's been Tamia in this regard. had been TV and others they argued that not every action

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of gopher necessitates Gopher, some of them do, and helping a dolla cafiero against the Muslim ummah is one of those ambiguous

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Helping and foreign entity against the Muslim Khalifa against what not. It's ambiguous. He said, It been Tamia says this is his opinion, if a person does so, for the sake of this dunya, to get money, to protect his family, for whatever, then this is a major sin, it is not Cofer, this is advantageous position. And if a person does so, in because he actually once the enemies to succeed over the Muslims, then this is Cofer Akbar, you cannot be a Muslim, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, if you want an enemy to succeed over the Muslim civilization, okay, and that is a middle position from this regard. Then you have the other side, which is the most hardline.

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Let's just say there was a movement in 17th century Arabia, that was against the Ottoman Empire. And this movement had its version of preaching to hate and preaching what to *can what not, and they had a very hard line stance about this notion of allying with non Muslims. And they made this a fundamental core of their theology. They called it what out will borrow and this is very common in our vernacular, we hear it a lot lectures about this fact to the motors that this movement popularized the notion of hula and Bora. Now, the founder of this movement wrote a book called that which repels Islam no aka Islam. Point number eight he said, Whoever allies with the kuffar against

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the Muslims becomes a mortal threat. No ifs, ands or buts, unconditional. Whoever allies with

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outer people against our people automatically becomes cool for Akbar, the action is called for Akbar. And we consider this person to be non Muslim. And of course, this particular movement, who they mean when they say non Muslim them and the Ottoman Empire actually right. So any tribe that allied with the Ottomans against them, they consider them to be Hala Dum mortared. Kapha. And so that's how they expanded their territory. So they applied this ruling over here. And if you doubted that that tribe was a cafe do became Cafe as well. Now, all scholars of this movement, how do you interpret the story of how to, Oh scholars of this movement? You are all reading the Quran and

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Sierra you are all scholars of Hadith as well, you have the story of how to been SIBO, Hadith Sahih Muslim, you have the story of how to in every book of Sierra, how could you not see the story? Look here how the same incident can be understood differently. They said, the story of how to is the strongest evidence that the one who allies with the kuffaar becomes the kaffir? How so? Because they said how to said I knew that Allah would protect you.

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So his Eman that Allah would protect because it was the prophet is a special and unique instance that only house it can use. No other person can use this. And the fact that the prophets have said how thrive is speaking the truth. And who else is going to know what is inside how it was called, unless it is an abbey whom Allah has told what is inside the UL. So they took this incident and they said it is an isolated incident. And in fact, it is an evidence that the default is that anybody who aligns with the kuffaar automatically becomes a motivated halala dumb, and how tip is the exception that proves the rule for multiple reasons, as they said, right. So again, you have this interesting,

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controversial view here. Now obviously, this difficult controversy, it came to light 10 years ago with the rise of these radical groups around the world, and many of them employed the most harsh reality of this right. And they ignored the fact that in fact the majority of the Ummah, including Mr. Mushaf very explicitly, and majority of the OMA, they took from how to that which is apparent, and they said how to clearly committed a sin. No scholar, by the way said that how to didn't commit a sin, how to have committed a sin and it is a major sin, but it's not covered. And therefore, if a person does ally with a force, because of a reason of this dunya because of whatever we so this is

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another point. If a person has attacked with a reinterpretation, then we give that reinterpretation some legitimacy in their own mind. They have restructured and they have legitimized we might not forgive them in this world. Maybe how to have should be punished as you but we recognize that a person who claims to be Muslim shall never be expelled from Islam. If as long as they have some weird way of justifying in their own minds. Now again, understand me. That excuse is between him and Allah we might punish them in this world but

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We have to be super careful about expelling people from Islam and Cofer. And one final point we learned from the hadith of health as well beautiful point here. And we should apply this in our own daily lives. And it's a hadith as well of the Prophet system, a person who has done good for his whole life, and he commits a mistake should not be treated the same way who as the person who's done a lifetime of evil, and he only has one good deed for example, right? A person who has participated in every battle, a buddy, a person who is the emissary of the Prophet system. Now he falls into a mistake cannot be treated in the same way that a person whose whole lifestyle is full of evil and

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there is a Hadith that is very important, it is an Agudo within Muslim Ummah, authentic it it has an Hadith our Prophet SAW Selim said that a pedo leader will hate it authority him that cut some leeway to the people of dignity when they slip up. acceptive they do a hell of the punishment of Allah, if they steal, if they that's a hard punishment. The hadith says this. I'll see you later we'll hayati authority him in law who do this is a Hadith that will pay out the people of dignity, the people of status, cut them some slack, if they slip up Subhanallah we look at the past behavior of somebody. And if they mess up one time, the prophet system said show them extra gentleness because you want to

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get them back. And we see the implementation of this in the story of how to that the Prophet system forgave how to and one fight again, there's so much to say here. The group that says how to committed Cofer. They say the fact that I'm gonna milk Bob twice, wanted to execute him. The first time the President said how Tim has spoken the truth. And Omar still said, I want to execute him. It's as if I'm gonna be called understood, they are saying I'm gonna call Tom understood that that might be an excuse in the eyes of Allah is not an excuse in our eyes. So the fact that he came twice is used as a point of contention by the other group bottom line. And to summarize, when you really

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look at how our Allama have justified their positions, you actually learn to respect more opinions. And you see the same evidence can be used by different fuqaha and different scholars for deriving opposite rulings. Therefore my advice to myself and all of you try your best to accommodate and be respectful of all the opinions and even if you disagree with one, understand that there are people that have said this when the issue involves tech fear, when the issue involves expelling people from Islam my practical advice is always follow the most open minded opinion you'd rather keep people in then keep them out. You'd rather allow them in and especially in this case, we find the greater rule

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amount we're on the more open minded and inclusive site and this is the safest thing to do Allah hooter Allah and inshallah we'll continue next week set on wanting to live with a cat in

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