Azami 12516

Narrated by Ahmad (22805), Ibn Hibban (1604), and Tabarani in al-Kabir (6/254), all from the hadith of Waki, who said, Rabia bin Uthman Taymi told us, Imran bin Abu Anas told me, from Sahl bin Saad, who said what follows. Its isnad is hasan because of Rabia bin Uthman Taymi, for he is hasan al-hadith.The two can be reconciled by saying that the masjid which was founded on piety, when qualified as being the first one, is the masjid of Quba, because it was built some ten-odd days before the masjid of Madinah. But when the masjid founded on piety is mentioned without qualification, it refers to the masjid of Madinah. Many scholars have adopted this reconciliation or something similar to it.Regarding His saying, "In it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves" [Tawba 9:108], it is reported from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said, "It was revealed concerning the people of Quba, 'In it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves.' He said, they used to cleanse themselves with water after relieving themselves, so this verse was revealed concerning them."This was narrated by Abu Dawud (44), Tirmidhi (3100), and Ibn Majah (357), all through the route of Muawiya bin Hisham, from Yunus bin Harith, from Ibrahim bin Abu Maymuna, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurairah, who related the hadith. Tirmidhi said, "It is unfamiliar from this route." I say, it has two defects. Yunus bin Harith Thaqafi Taifi is daif, and Ibrahim bin Abu Maymuna is of unknown standing. For more, see Minna Kubra (1/91).It is also reported from Uwaym bin Saada Ansari that the Prophet came to them in the masjid of Quba and said, "Allah has praised you well concerning the purification mentioned in the account of your masjid, so what is this purification with which you purify yourselves?" They said, "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we know nothing except that we had Jewish neighbors, and they used to wash their behinds after relieving themselves, so we washed as they washed."This was narrated by Ahmad (15485), Ibn Khuzayma (83), Tabarani in al-Kabir (17/348), and Hakim (1/155), all through the route of Abu Uways, who said, Shurahbil told us, from Uwaym bin Saada, who related it. Haythami said in al-Majma (1/212), "Ahmad and Tabarani narrated it in the three books, and it contains Shurahbil bin Saad, whom Malik, Ibn Main, and Abu Zura declared daif, while Ibn Hibban deemed him reliable."I say, Abu Uways is Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Uways bin Malik, a relative and son-in-law of Malik, about whom there is disagreement, and the conclusion regarding him is that he is truthful but prone to error. As for Shurahbil bin Saad, Nasai said of him, "Daif." Ibn Hibban listed him among the reliable narrators, and the conclusion regarding him is that he was "truthful but became confused in his later years." Furthermore, his having heard directly from Uwaym is questionable, since Uwaym died during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, or, as some say, during the caliphate of Umar. See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (2/158).There are other corroborating reports on this matter from Ibn Abbas, Abu Umama, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Salam, Abu Ayub Ansari, Jabir bin Abdullah, and Anas bin Malim , though none of them is free from weakness. Still, whoever considers the sum of these corroborating reports may judge the hadith to be sahih or hasan, and indeed it is so, since some of them strengthen others. It is established that the Prophet used to cleanse himself with water, but there is no hadith with a sahih isnad specifically establishing that this verse was revealed concerning the people of Quba or concerning the Ansar because they used to cleanse themselves with water, especially since purification can also be achieved with stones, as is established in the sahih collections.So His saying, "In it are men who love to purify themselves" [Tawba 9:108], should be understood to refer to purification whether with water or with stones, in contrast to the hypocrites, who did not purify themselves at all but rather entered the masjids while carrying their outward and inward impurity. Thus Allah distinguished the believers from the hypocrites by their purity.