Adab and Story of Ali bin Abi Talib

 

Adab and Story of Ali bin Abi Talib

Ali son of Abi Talib was in a hurry one morning. He was chasing the time for congregational prayers with the Prophet Muhammad in the mosque but his steps were blocked by the slow steps of an old man walking in front of him.

Ali was worried that he would miss the congregational prayer but he had no choice. He slowed his pace following the old man out of respect for his elders. Until before entering the mosque, Ali knew, the old man did not enter the mosque. He is a Christian.

Then entering the mosque, Ali found the Prophet still leading the morning prayer and bowing to the rak'ahs that could still be hunted. It can be seen that the Prophet extended the time of ruku' about twice the time of ruku' so that Ali could still catch up to the last rak'ah.

After the prayer, the companions who joined the congregation immediately asked the Prophet: what made the Prophet extend the time of bowing'. The Prophet then related that during bowing, he actually wanted to raise his head to stand until Gabriel came and spread his wings over his back for a long time. It was only when the wings were lifted that the Prophet could raise his head.

"Why did Jibril do that, O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet replied that he did not know, but Gabriel immediately came back and explained to the Prophet.

"O Muhammad, actually I spread my wings on your back just because Ali was in a hurry to catch up with the morning prayer in congregation, but was blocked by the steps of an old Christian man who was walking in front of him. Ali did not dare to go before the old man. He respected him for his old age and gave the old man the right to walk. So Allah ordered the angel Michael to curb the speed of the sun with his wings so that the time of dawn would be long. It was all done just for Ali's sake."

Shahdan, the Prophet explained to his companions who were praying at dawn with him at that time that that is the degree of people who honor their parents, even though the old man is a Christian.

The story of Ali who was chasing the time for the morning prayer and was hindered by the old man's steps, is told in the book Al Mawa'izihul 'Usfuriyah [advices of the sparrows]. The saga tells about adab whose value is more important than worship because the Prophet Muhammad was sent to improve that adab, morals. And stories about the importance of adab in Islamic teachings are scattered in the Qur'an and hadith.

One of them is the authentic hadith [sahih] narrated by Bukhari based on the story from Jabir son of Abdullah to Ubaidillah son of Muqsim to Yahya to Hisham. The hadith tells the story of Sahal son of Hunaif ra and Qais son of Sa'ad ra

While the two of them were in Qadisiyah and relaxing, a procession of corpses passed before them. The two of them stood up to honor the corpse but the people who saw the attitude of the two were astonished. According to the people, the body that the convoy was carrying was that of a dimmi [non-Muslim] so they asked Sahal and Qais why they stood up to honor him.

The two men then told the story from Abdur Rahman ra that in fact once upon a time, the Prophet stood and remained silent as he passed in front of him a convoy of people carrying the body of a Jew. The Companions also followed the Prophet's behavior, but after that they explained to the Prophet that the convoy was carrying the body of a Jew.

The Prophet who heard the explanation replied, "I know, but isn't so and so [the dead Jew] also human?"

In a Sahih Muslim hadith, it is narrated that the Prophet explained that death is a thrilling event. Therefore, "When you see a funeral procession, stand up in honor of it until the procession leaves you or until it is placed in the grave."

Another story about adab in Islamic teachings is the story of Juraid. He was an expert in worship and one day while he was praying, his biological mother called him. Juraid because he was praying did not answer his mother's call. His mother then came to him, touched Juraid's head between his forehead and ear. "O Juraid, I am your mother, answer my call."

Juraid certainly heard his mother's call but he chose to continue praying. His mother came back to him and called him. Juraid still continued his prayer. This incident repeated three times, until Juraid's mother left him and prayed to Allah. "O Allah, indeed Juraid is my son. I have called him several times but he refuses to answer. So don't kill him until he gets slander caused by a prostitute."

Some time after the incident, a goat herder and a woman committed adultery not far from where Juraid used to pray. Long story short, the woman became pregnant and gave birth. And when the crowd asked the woman the father of the baby, she said, the father of the baby is Juraid.

The people then went to Juraid's place. They shouted for Juraid but Juraid who was praying did not heed. They went on a rampage and knocked down Juraid's place of worship and after the prayer, Jurayd who met the people was surprised because people had accused him of adultery. "Ask this kid."

Juraid had no choice. While rubbing the baby's head, he also asked as desired by angry people: "Who is your father?" And miraculously, the baby answered, his father was a goat herder.

The story of Juraid was told by the Prophet when he described three people who could talk as babies. The first person is Jesus son of Mary. The second person is Ashabul Ukhdud who is listed in the letter Al-Buruj. And the third person is the baby in the story of Juraid.

Quoted from the hadith, Juraid saw the face of a prostitute as expected in his mother's prayer who was disappointed that Juraid did not fulfill his call for praying. Istimbat scholars agree that prayers must be canceled in order to fulfill the mother's call. Obedience and etiquette to parents must take precedence over worship.

In another hadith, Ibn Hazm even narrates that a person is prohibited from jihad unless he has the permission of his parents, unless at that time the enemy has attacked them. Wallahu 'nature.