How the Companions Preserved Hadith

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فَغَدًا الصَّحَابَةُ الْكِرَامُ رِجَالُهُمْ وَنِسَاءُهُمْ يَسْأَلُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

So the next morning the noble Companions, both men and women among them, asked the Messenger of God.

عَمَّا خُفِيَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ مَعْنًى

about meanings that were hidden from them,

وَمَا أُسْتُشْكِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ مَرَادٍ

and whatever intended meaning was unclear to them,

وَعَنْ حُكْمِ مَا اِسْتَجَدَّ لَهُمْ مِنْ حَوَادِثٍ

And concerning the ruling on any new events that arose for them,

فَتَجِدُ أَحَدُهُمْ يَسْأَلُ عَنْ الْأَمْرِ الصَّغِيرِ والكبير

So you find one of them asking about small and large matters.

وَتَأْتِي الْمَرْأَةُ لِتَسْأَلَهُ وَتَقَوُّلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

And the woman comes to ask him and says, 'O Messenger of God,'

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ

Indeed, God is not ashamed of the truth.

وَتَسْأَلُهُ شَيْئًا لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ أَمْرِ الدِّينِ لَمَا اِسْتَحْسَنَ السُّؤَالَ عَنْهُ

And she asks him something that, if it were not a matter of religion, would not be appropriate to ask about.

لِأَنَّهُمْ جَمِيعًا عَلِمُوا وَأَدْرَكُوا وَأَيَّقَنُوا أَنَّ مُعَلِّمَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

Because they all knew, perceived, and were certain that their teacher was the Messenger of God.

وَأَنَّهُ الْعَارِفَ بِدَقَائِقِ الشَّرْعِ وَحَقَائِقِ التَّنْزِيلِ

and that he knew the subtle details of the law and the realities of the revelation,

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ شرّفهم وَأَعْلَى مَنْزِلَتَهُمْ بِدُخُولِهِمْ الإسلام

And that God honored them and elevated their station by their entering Islam,

وَأَنَّ كُلُّ مَا يَفْعَلُونَ وَمَا يَقُولُونَ صَغِيرًا أَوْ كَبِيرًا

And that everything they do and everything they say, whether small or great,

يَجِبُ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَلَى وِفْقِ مَا شَرَعَهُ اللَّهُ

It must be in accordance with what God has legislated.

وَيَجِبُ أَنْ يَكُونُوا عَلَى مَعْرِفَةٍ بِهِ

And they must be knowledgeable about it.

وَأَنَّ الاِسْتِحْيَاءَ فِي التَّسَاؤُلِ عَنْ أَمْرِ الشَّرْعِ مَذْمُومٌ

And that feeling ashamed to ask about a matter of religious law is blameworthy.

وَأَنَّ الْعَمَلَ الَّذِي يُجَانِبُ مراد الشَّارِعِ بَاطِلٌ

And that any action that goes against the intent of the Lawgiver is invalid.

فَلا بُدَّ مَعَ إِخْلَاصِ النِيَّةِ مِنَ العِلْمِ

So sincerity of intention must be accompanied by knowledge.

فَالنِّيَّاتُ لَا تُغْنِي وَحْدَهَا إِذَا كَانَ الْعَمَلُ غَيْرُ صَحِيحٍ

So intentions alone do not suffice if the deed is not correct.

فَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ إِخْلَاصِ النِّيَّةِ فِي الْعَمَلِ وَمُوَافَقَتِهَا لِمَرَادِ الشَّارِعِ

Sincerity of intention in action is necessary, and it must conform to the Lawgiver's intent.

وَآمَنُوا جَمِيعًا أَنَّ تَبْلِيغَ الرِّسَالَةِ جُزْءٌ مِنْ وَاجِبَاتِهِمْ

And they all believed that conveying the message was part of their duties.

فَقَامُوا يَنْقُلُونَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ مَا سَمِعُوهُ وَوَعَوُوهُ،

They then began transmitting from the Messenger of God what they had heard and understood.

وَيُوَضِّحُونَ مَا فَقَهُوهُ

And they clarify what they had understood.

فَكَانَ نَقْلُهُمْ لِمَا سَمِعُوهُ وَشَاهَدُوهُ وَتَعَلَّمُوهُ مِنْهُ دَقِيقًا

Thus their reporting of what they had heard, seen, and learned from him was precise.

وَفَهْمُهُمْ لَهُ صَحِيحًا

And their understanding of it was sound.

لِأَنَّهُمْ عَايَشُوا الْوَحْيَ وَعَاصَرُوا التَّنْزِيلَ وَوَقَعَتِ الْحَوَادِثُ بين أَيْدِيهِمْ

Because they lived through the revelation, witnessed its descent, and the events took place before them,

إِضَافَةٍ لِمَا أَكْرَمَهُمْ اللَّهُ بِهِ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ وَالتَّقْوَى

In addition to the piety and God-consciousness with which God has honored them,

وَمَا خَصَّ بِهِ زَمَانِهِمْ مِنْ خَيْرِيَّةٍ عَلَى الْقُرُونِ

and the special excellence with which their time was singled out over the generations,

وَمَا حَبَّاهُمْ مِنْ فَطْنَةٍ وَذَكَاءٍ

And how He endowed them with keen perception and intelligence.

وَقَدْ تَلَقَّاهَا عَنْهُمْ آخَرُونَ هُمْ عَلَى دَرَجَةٍ عَلِيَّةٍ مِنَ الْفَهْمِ وَالْوَعْيِ

And others received it from them, people of a high degree of understanding and awareness.

وَقُوَّةُ الْحَافِظَةِ وَاسْتِحْضَارُ الْمَعَانِيِ

and the power of memory and the ability to recall meanings,

وَكَتَبَ البَعْضُ صَحَائِفًا

And some wrote pages.

وَتَرَكَ البَعْضُ الآخَرُ الْكِتَابَةَ لِدِقَّةِ تَثَبُّتِهِ وَقُوَّةِ حِفْظِهِ

Others abandoned writing because what they retained was precise and their memory was strong.

وَبَلَّغُوا هُمْ بِدَوْرِهِمْ مَا وَعَوُوهُ وَحَفِظُوهُ وَمَا كَتَبُوهُ

And they, in their turn, transmitted what they had understood and memorized and what they had written.

وَهَكَذَا حَتَّى إِذَا تَبَاعَدَ الزَّمَانُ شَيْئًا قَلِيلًا

And so it continued until when time had grown distant a little slightly.

رَأَى الْعُلَمَاءُ وَالْأَئِمَّةُ النُجَبَاءُ أَنَّ الاِعْتِمَادَ عَلَى الْحِفْظِ وَحْدِهِ لَا يكفي

The scholars and the eminent imams concluded that relying on memorization alone is not sufficient.

وَأَنَّهُ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ تَقْيِيدِ السَّنَةِ وَجَمْعِهَا فِي الْكُتُبِ فَتَمَّتْ عَمَلِيَّةُ الْجَمْعِ وَالْكِتَابَةِ وَالتَّدْوِينِ

And that it was necessary to fix the prophetic practice and to collect it in books; thus the process of collecting, writing, and recording was completed.