Muhammad the Teacher
asking about known things then redefining them differently
the prophet (peace be upon him) used the question technique to teach the companions and muslims in general about islam. he asked them questions they already know the answers for whether to confirm their information, if they give him the right answer, or amend what they have in mind if they give the wrong answer.
as for the questions that they know the answer for but the prophet (pbuh) answered them in a different way than what they have in mind, they are many such as:
on the authority of abu huraira (ra)1 it is narrated that the messenger of allah (pbuh) asked: "do you know who the bankrupt is?" they said: "the one without money or goods is bankrupt." so the prophet said: "the bankrupt is the person from my nation who comes on the day of resurrection with prayer, fasting, and charity, but comes also insulting, slandering, consuming wealth, shedding blood, and beating others. they (victims) will each be given from his good deeds; if his good deeds run out before the score is settled, their bad deeds will be cast upon him then he will be thrown into the fire." [sahih muslim]
in the hadith, the prophet (peace be upon him) redefined the bankrupt to them. when they were asked about the meaning of the word, they answered with the regular expected answer but the prophet (pbuh) clarified to them that that real bankrupt is not the one who does not have money or goods, he is the one that will end with no record of good deeds on the day of judgment even though he did good things during his lifetime, yet he abused, insulted, slandered, consumed the wealth of others, shed their blood and beat them. by this, the prophet (pbuh) gave a new perspective to the definition of a bankrupt according to islam.
narrated abdullah ibn mas'oud that the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) said, "who do you reckon to be the childless among you?" they said, "they are those who do not have any children." no," he said, "the childless are those who have not sent any of their children ahead (i.e. none of their children have died)." he then said, "who do you reckon to be the one who most often throws people down (in a fight)?" they replied, "the one whom men do not throw down." he said, "no this is not him, he is the person who controls himself when he is angry." [sahih muslim]
looking at the previously mentioned hadiths, we can see that the answers were well-known to them, or rather they thought they know the answers to the questions, but the prophet (pbuh) wanted to strengthen and establish the real meanings of the words and expressions according to islam and this is why he used this exciting method by engaging them and letting them interact through asking questions, listening to their answers and then amending them.
there is another kind of questions that the prophet (peace be upon him) asked:
when the listener does not know the answer, then the question is to attract him to know the answer such as the hadith narrated by imam al-bukhari from zayd ibn khalid al-juhani who said, "the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) led us in the subh prayer at hudaybiyyah2 after it had rained on us during the night. when he finished, he faced the people and said, 'do you know what your lord has said?' they replied, 'allah and his messenger know best.' he said, 'this morning my slaves have become divided up into believers and unbelievers. those who said, "we had rain by the favor and mercy of allah," believe in me and reject the stars. those who said that it was because of a certain star, disbelieve in me and believe in the stars." through reading the haidht, it is quite clear that the prophet (peace be upon him) asked them about something they don’t know to encourage them to seek the answer, which what actually had happened.
excitement by using things unrelated to sight and vision
usinglines and drawingslike when the prophet (peace be upon him) drew lines and explained to them the meaning of them, or when he sketched drawings then asked the companions about them while he knew they did not know what he depicted with lines. he (pbuh) did so to attract their attention to what will be said, some might also say they are to outline and explain, but the first aim of drawings was to engage them in what will be said later. an example is the hadith related by imam al-bukhari from abdullah ibn mas'oud (ra) who said: ((the prophet (peace be upon him) drew a square and then drew a line in the middle of it and let it extend outside the square and then drew several small lines attached to that central line, and said, "this is the human being, and this, (the square) is his lease of life, encircles him from all sides (or has encircled him), and this (line), which is outside (the square), is his hope, and these small lines are the calamities and troubles (which may befall him), and if one misses him, another will snap (i.e. overtake) him, and if the other misses him, a third will snap (i.e. overtake) him.))
also, narrated abdullah ibn mas'oud:allah’s apostle (peace be upon him) drew a line for them one day and then said “this is allah’s path”, then he drew several lines (branching off) to the right and to the left and said, “these are the paths (of misguidance) on each of which is a devil inviting people to follow it.” and then he recited (the verse)“verily this is my path, leading straight, so follow it. and do not follow the (other) paths for they will scatter you about from (allah’s) path.”[al-'an'aam: 153] [authenticated by ahmad shaakir in al-musnad vol.6 no. 4142]
an example of drawings is what imam ahmed narrated from abdullah ibn abbas: the messenger of allah (pbuh) drew four lines in the ground and asked, “do you know what this is?” the companions replied, “allah and his messenger know best.” the messenger of allah (pbuh) said, “from the women of paradise four are superior to others: khadijah the daughter of khuwaylid, fatimah the daughter of muhammad, asiyah the daughter of mazahim (the wife of pharaoh) and maryam the daughter of imran (ra).”
the same applies to the hadith narrated by imam al-bukhari from anas ibn malik (ra): the prophet (peace be upon him) drew lines and said: “this is hope and this is his lifespan, at a certain time the nearest line will reach him.”in the narration by al-bayhaqi: the prophet (pbuh) drew lines and aside line, then he (pbuh) said: “do you know what this is? this is like the son of adam and the hopeful and this line is hope. while he is hoping, death overcomes him.”
there are other methods that the prophet (peace be upon him) used in addition to making lines and drawings to attract the attention such as implanting a stick then commenting: narrated by imam ahmed from abi said al-khidri that the prophet (peace be upon him) thrust a small stick that was in his hand and then he thrust another then a third away from them, then he (pbuh) said: "this is the human, this is his lifetime and this his hope. he seeks hope but his lifetime stands between them."
the previous examples reflect clearly that the prophet (peace be upon him) used lines and other tools from nature to attract the attention of listeners and to approximate and visualize the idea or lesson behind the methods used.
these educational methods proved that they are fruitful and effective because the companions narrated the details of these methods,how the prophet (pbuh) talked about them and what he said after drawing them?
finally, all the above mentioned methods and styles which were used by the prophet muhammad (peace be upon them) to attract and encourage muslims to learn were taken from modern and old books and references. they clearly show that islam preceded others in that regard; it also shows the prophet’s concern (pbuh) to employ many approaches to teach the companions and muslims in general. he was careful to attract their attention and encourage them to take part in what was said. this study also represents a rich material in many fields such as the study of humanities and educational, psychological and sociological studies. also, the writer wrote an article in referring to the sunnah3 in upbringing and education, which is further intensified by this detailed study.
excitement through eloquence or carrot and stick approach
excitement can be achieved mainly through visual and aural methods. there is incitement in figures of speech, and this is well known to the speakers of arabic who have an interest in rhetorical styles, but others who are not interested or familiar with the art of the language can see the style as normal.
first type: excitement through matters related to the arabic language
the prophet (peace be upon him) is the most eloquent speaker. narrated abu huraira: the prophet (pbuh) said, "i have been given the keys of eloquent speech and given victory with awe (cast into the hearts of the enemy)…" [bukhari]
the prophet (pbuh) is sent to all the people including arabs, the masters of eloquence and rhetoric. this is why a lot of hadiths (prophetic sayings) include many lingual and rhetoric aspects.
examples:
first: summation then elaboration
when the prophet (peace be upon him) used summation, it was usually to encourage attendees to ask for more details. this is an exciting approach to engage listeners and attract them to what will be said. this is like mentioning a number of attributes or items, then to mention the details of these attributes and items, or when he (pbuh) said general summarized words which would lead the listener to ask for more details.
on the authority of abu ruqayya tameem ibn aus ad-daaree (ra)1 that the prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'the deen (religion) is naseehah (advice/sincerity)'.
in some narrations of the hadith the prophet (pbuh) repeated this statement three times then he was silent.
this incited the companions and led them to wonder saying:
((we said 'to whom?'he said 'to allah and his book, and his messenger, and to the leaders of the muslims and their common folk.')) [related by muslim]
it is clear that in some narrations there are elements of excitement such as:
first: summation to stimulate the souls of listeners and encourage them to ask for more details.
second: repetition of what was summed up. this is why it was said by ibn hajar al-hatimi:
((the style of the haidth indicates that the scholar may summarize the lesson he is going to deliver to listeners, he does not have to explain a lot of details at the beginning to attract the student to hear more and inquire about the unexplained details. this is more engaging and interesting to listeners than being overwhelmed by a lot of information at once.))
an example of this style is the hadith narrated by ibn abbas that the delegates of 'abd-ul-qais came to allah's apostle and said, "o allah's apostle! we are from the tribe of rabi'a and the infidels of mudar tribe stand between us and you, so that we cannot come to you except in the sacred months2. therefore we would like you to give us some instructions which we may follow and convey to our people staying behind us." the prophet said, "i order you to observe four things and forbid you (to do) four things: (i order you) to believe in allah testifying that none has the right to be worshipped except allah; to offer the prayer perfectly; to pay the zakat3; and to give one-fifth of the war booty to allah. and i forbid you to use ad-dubba, al-hantam, an-naqir and al-muzaffat." (these are names of utensils in which alcoholic drinks were served.)
in the hadith, the prophet (pbuh) said: (i order you to observe four things and forbid you (to do) four things)
then he detailed what he summarized at the previous sentence, namely the four things to observe and the four things to avoid.
his sentence (i order you to observe four things), there is summation and also the same about his sentence (and forbid you (to do) four things).
ibn hajar said:
((the wisdom of summation before elaboration is to attract the spirit to listen to the further explanation to absorb and memorize the following details. if the student forgets any point of the specific number of details that he memorized from the teacher, then he will realize that he misses a part of what he heard.))
another example of employing summation then elaboration is the hadith of the pillars of islam. the prophet muhammad (pbuh) said: "islam is founded on five pillars; to testify that 'there is no deity except allah, and muhammad is the messenger of allah;' to establish the ritual prayers; to give zakat; to fast during the month of ramadan and to perform the pilgrimage to the house (in makkah)."
the prophet (pbuh) first summed up the main idea by saying (islam is founded on five pillars), then he elaborated it further by explaining each point of the five such as uttering shahada, praying, giving zakat, fasting ramadan and performing hajj.
second: mentioning the predicate before the inceptive or the object before the subject
setting forth the part of speech that should be delayed or mentioned later and delaying what should be mentioned first cause excitement and attraction of listeners, because it is irregular and unexpected as it does not follow the traditional rules of the language. it is needless to say that such break of rules has to have a reason; it is usually to excite listeners to listen attentively to the lesson. an example is the hadith narrated by abu hurirah that the prophet (peace be upon him) said: "two words loved by the most merciful one, light on the tongue and weigh heavily in the balance; subhan allahi wa bihamdihi, subhan allahil adheem (glory be to allah, and praise, glory be to allah, the supreme)"[sahih al-bukhari; 7:67, muslim; 4:2071]
two words is the predicate, loved by the most merciful one is an adjective, and finally subhan allahi wa bihamdihi, subhan allahil adheem are the inceptive.
al-sharqawi said:
((the prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned the predicate and adjective before the inceptive to influence listeners and to make the statement appealing to them, because what they learn with concentration and effort is more effective than the easy meaning that is obtained without any effort.))
another example is the haidth by the prophet (peace be upon him):
((two habits, whoever maintains them will enter paradise, they are easy and the ones who do them are few. the companions said: what are they, o messenger of allah?
he (pbuh) said: to say alhamduliah, allahu akbar and sobhan allah at the end of each prayer, ten times each. when you go to bed also to say alhamdulilah, allahu akbar and sobhan allah, each of them for a hundred times, the sum will be two hundred times and fifty mentioned by the tongue and two thousand and five hundred in the balance (record of deeds). who among you commit two thousand and five hundred sins? they said: how come the ones who do them are few? he (pbuh) said: satan comes to any of you in prayer and reminds him of such and such, so he doesn’t say them, and he comes to him at the time of sleep and make him sleep so he doesn’t say them.))
preceding and delaying can also be bymentioning the punishment before the guilt.
this is to shed light on the punishment to attract listener to listen to the kind of guilt linked to the preceding punishment. an example is the hadith narrated by abu dhar (r.a) that the prophet (peace be upon him) said: ((there are three to whom allah will not speak on the day of resurrection and will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.” the prophet (pbuh) repeated it three times. abu dharr (r.a) said: “may they be doomed and lost; who are they, o messenger of allah?” he (peace be upon him) said, one who lets down his lower garments (below his ankles) out of arrogance, one who boasts of his favors done to another; and who sells his goods by taking a false oath.)) [sahih muslim]
as we can see, the prophet (pbuh) mentioned the punishment: ‘allah will not speak on the day of resurrection and will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment’.this excited the narrator and made him ask the prophet (pbuh) about the kind of people who will receive such punishment: ‘may they be doomed and lost; who are they, o messenger of allah?’the prophet (pbuh) explained the nature of their guilt that led to the punishment. thus, this style of speech achieved the aim which is to attract listeners to listen attentively to what will be said next and engage them in the intended lesson as reflected in the narrator’s question to the prophet (pbuh).
the same applies to denying faith, or attributing disbelief or hypocrisy,then comes the mention of the sins that made them deserve this description. this is clear in the hadith in which the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ((whoever has (the following) four characteristics will be a pure hypocrite, and whoever has one of these characteristics, has one characteristic of a hypocrite unless he gives it up. if he speaks, he tells a lie; if he gives a promise, he breaks it; if he makes a covenant he proves treacherous; and if he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil, insulting manner (unjust).)) [sahih bukhari]
another example is the hadith narrated abu shuraih that the prophet (peace be upon him) said:
(("by allah, he does not believe! by allah, he does not believe! by allah, he does not believe!"
it was said, "who is that, o allah's apostle?"
he said, "that person whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil.")) [sahih al-bukhari, volume 8, number 45]
in the two above mentioned hadiths, we notice the preceding affirmation of hypocrisy or denying of belief prior to the further explanation of the reasons for these very negative qualities. it reflects a catching engaging style which can be easily noticed by anyone interested in such kind of rhetoric.
second type: excitement through asking questions and requiring answers from listeners
attracting the attention of listeners by asking questions is very important. it is very clear in the sunnah4 of the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him). many of us remember only such style of eloquence in the haidths, namely asking questions, because they are various and diverse in the prophetic sayings. it was found that stimulating listeners and attracting them by asking questions is reflected in a number of cases:
the prophet (peace be upon him) might ask questions in matters that are well known to them (the companions and muslims in genera):
first: to confirm these matters that they know, if they give the right answer.
second: to clarify to them that the true meaning of what was said is unlike what they have in mind, if they give the wrong answer.
third: to attract their attention to things they don’t know the answer to them, by this he (pbuh) encourages them to seek the explanation and learn important things.
examples:
asking questions to listeners to confirm the information they already know:
narrated abu bakr: the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) stated: “time has rotated as same as the first day on which the lord created the heavens and the earth. a year contains twelve months, four of them are sanctified. three are successive: dhu al-qi'dah5, dhu al-hijjah6 and muharram7 and the fourth is rajab8 which falls between jumada9 and sha'ban10.“which month is this?” “allah and his apostle are the most knowledgeable,” we answered.the prophet paused for a considerable while that we thought he would call another name to that month. “is it not dhu al-hijjah?” asked the prophet.“yes, it is,’ we replied. “which land is this?’ asked he.“allah and his apostle are the most knowledgeable,” we answered. the prophet paused for a considerable while that we thought he would call another name to it. “is it not al-balda11?” asked the prophet.“yes, it is,” we replied. “which day is today?” asked the prophet.“allah and his apostle are the most knowledgeable,” we answered. the prophet kept silent for a considerable while that we thought he would call another name to it. “is it not the nahr day12?”asked the prophet. “yes, it is,” we answered. the prophet said, “your souls and estate and honors are sanctified among you as same as the sanctification of this day in this month on this land. you shall meet your lord, and he shall examine your deeds. after me, return not to deviation by beheading each other. the witness should inform the absent. it may happen that an indirect receiver is being more committed than the direct.” [sahih al-bukhari, 5/126]
in the hadith, it is clear the great anticipation they felt when the prophet (peace be upon him) asked them about matters they already knew such as the day, month and place and then he (pbuh) confirmed such well-known information in the same exciting manner. this style was needed to achieve the aim that the prophet (pbuh) wanted to reaffirm, namely the great sanctification (sacredness) of souls, estate, honors exactly like the sanctification of this day (nahr day) in this month (dhu al-hijjah) on this land (makkah).
al-qurtoubi said:
((the question of the prophet (peace be upon him) about the three matters, and staying silent for a while after each question was to stimulate their attention, raise their awareness and prepare them for what he was going to mention to concentrate fully and listen carefully to him, and to sense the great statement that he (peace be upon him) was going to tell.))
ibn hajr commented:
this is why he (pbuh) said after this preparation:
“your souls and estate and your honors are sanctified among you as same as the sanctification of this day in this month on this land…” to exaggerate in stating the sacredness of such things, the things mentioned in the haidth are already known to them but they did not answer because they were afraid that the prophet (pbuh) was going to change their names.
aural methods of attraction in the sunnah1
excitement by repetition of the word
it is well known that repetition establishes the meaning and enables memorization and understanding. repetition can also be used to raise the attention and attract listeners to the answer or what will be said next. it helps them to pay more attention and listen to the teacher. repetition of words was one of the educational methods used by the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) in speech when he was addressing the companions, muslims or people in general.
mother of the believers aisha (ra)2 narrated: "the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) used to repeat the word thrice to be understood properly from him."
if we look through the books on the sunnah, we will find a practical example of this educational method. narrated by abu dhar (r.a) that the prophet (peace be upon him) said: “there are three to whom allah will not speak on the day of resurrection and will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.” the prophet (pbuh) repeated it three times.
this repetition succeeded in achieving the intended aim as the narrator interacted when he heard the repetition by the prophet (peace be upon him) of these words, so abu dharr (r.a) said: “may they be doomed and lost; who are they, o messenger of allah?”
upon this, the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) said, one who lets down his lower garments (below his ankles) out of arrogance, one who boasts of his favors done to another; and who sells his goods by taking a false oath.” [sahih muslim]
there are many examples of repeating words three times, what makes it even more understandable is that the prophet (pbuh) made any asker and inquirer repeat his question three time to raise the attention of attendees to be alert to the answer of the prophet (pbuh), and also to let everyone present listen to the question as some might not hear it from the first or second time.
also, usually the matters that the prophet (pbuh) asked the inquirer or asker to repeat what he said were important issues,so they should be heard and understood by as many as possible of muslims and this is why he asked for repetition from the asker.
an example of this is the hadith narrated by imam muslim from abu hurirah (ra) when he said:
((the prophet (pbuh) said, “o people! hajj has been made obligatory upon you, so perform the hajj.” so a man asked: “is that every year, o messenger of allah?” the prophet (pbuh) remained silent. the man asked again, “is that every year, o messenger of allah?” the prophet (pbuh) remained silent. the man asked a third time, “is that every year, o messenger of allah?” then the prophet (pbuh) said: “if i had said yes then it would have become obligatory upon you [to perform hajj every year], and you would not have been able to do so...”))
the parallel of this hadith is another one narrated by imam muslim from abu hurairah (ra), who said: ((then the prophet was asked:
"o messenger of allah! what deed could be an equivalent of jihad in the path of allah?" he answered:
"you do not have the strength to do that deed."
the narrator said: they repeated the question twice or thrice.every time he answered:
"you do not have the strength to do it."
when the question was asked for the third time, he said:
"one who goes out for jihad is like a person who keeps fasts, stands in prayer (constantly), (obeying) allah's (behests contained in) the verses (of the qur'an), and does not exhibit any lassitude in fasting and praying until the mujahid (striver or fighter) returns from jihad in the path of allah."))
this example is the same as the one preceding it, the prophet (peace be upon him) made the asker repeat his question more than once. but there is an additional element of suspense in the former hadith when the prophet (pbuh) commented after each question by saying:
(you do not have the strength to do it.)
this is to raise their attention and attract them to the answer of their question. it might also imply a kind of encouragement to attain the degree of the person who will get a reward equivalent to the reward for jihad in the path of allah.
repetition can be more than three times, which is unusual. needless to say, it excites listeners more and attract them greatly to what will be said after the many number of repetitions. this does not happen unless the speaker aims to send an important message to the audience (attendees and listeners), encourage them to do a very rewarding act or to warn them against a dispraised act. an example of this is the hadith narrated by abdur-rahman ibn abi bakr from his father that the prophet (peace be upon him) said:
(“shall i not tell you the three greatest sins?” (repeating the question thrice) they said. “indeed o messenger of allah.” he said, “associating partners with allah (shirk) and ill-treatment of parents.” he was leaning (when he mentioned that), and then sat up straight (as if he was alarmed) and said, “and bearing false witness.” [the narrator] said, “he continued to repeat this until we said [to ourselves], “if only he would stop.”) [sahih al-bukhari, hadith no. 2511 & muslim, hadith no. 87]
the parallel of this is the haidth narrated by abdullah ibn-omar (ra) who said:
((the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) recited on the pulpit "and the heavens will be folded in his right hand.all extolment be to him, and supremely exalted be he above whatever they associate (with him)3 !" he said: allah (awj)4 will say: i am the superb potentate, i am the supremely proud, i am the supremely exalted and glorify himself. ibn-omar said: the messenger of allah (pbuh) kept repeating these words till the pulpit shook and we thought it would fall with the prophet (pbuh)))
these two hadiths show that the prophet (peace be upon him) kept repeating these words to attract the attention of as many listeners as he (pbuh) can. this was manifested in the accurate description of the narrator about this repetition.
talking and acting in an uncommon manner
addressing listeners in an uncommon manner is one of the methods of excitement and alertness during delivering a speech or teaching. this can be divided into two points:
first: talking in an uncommon manner:
the speech of the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was comprehensible, intelligible and elaborate. anyone who listened to him could hear him (pbuh), as he was not so loud in a way that would hurt listeners, and he was not too low to be heard as well. his voice was clear and easy to be understood. he (pbuh) also did not like to raise the voice to a degree that would hurt listeners.
narrated al-tabarani based on a weak chain of transmission which was later strengthened by al-soyouti that abi omama said that the prophet (peace be upon him) ((hated to see the man with a sonorous loud voice and preferred him to lower his voice)).
al-manawi explained this hadith saying:
((this shows that the scholar has to keep his gathering or class void of any shouting, loud voices and disorder of students. the scholar should not raise his voice loudly unless there is a need to do so. the son of al-shafai’s daughter said: i have never heard my father debating with anyone with a loud voice. al-bayhaqi said: he means not louder than how it usually is, as his voice should not reach beyond his gathering or class.))
summary
the speaker or reader should talk in a way that he can hear himself and others can hear him too. he should not talk louder than what is needed in a certain situation, and he should not lower his voice unless it is necessary to do so. he should be moderate in the way he talks following the path of the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him).
so, if the speech is not according to this description (moderate voice, not loud and not low) for a certain need, then it would be considered a method of raising the attention and exciting listeners.
an example of this uncommonly way of speaking by the prophet is what jabar narrated that ((when the prophet was giving a sermon, his eyes would turn red, his voice would be loud and he would become angry, as if he was warning an army to be always alert day and night.))
in the hadith, the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was addressing them in a loud voice which is something he did encourage, so how come? it is true that the prophet did not like loud voices, but in this situation it is necessary to do so.
the loud voice, anger and redness of the face do not reflect the nature of the prophet (peace be upon him), it only happened in certain cases for a particular purpose such as in battles or sermons when he was warning muslims against the hellfire for example.
ibn uthaymeen commented on the hadith saying:
((he did so (talking in a loud voice etc) because it is more powerful on the listener in this situation in particular.))
these are stimulators to attract the listener to what will be said, so the hadith contains more than a stimulator or influence.
second: acting in an uncommon manner:
imam ahmed ibn hanbal narrated from abu bakr al-sidiq that:
((the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) woke up one day and prayed fajr, when it was the time after sunrise the messenger of allah (pbuh) laughed then he sat down till he prayed dhur, asr and maghrib prayers and the whole time he did not talk till he prayed isha prayer and then he went to his household.))
the people said to abu bakr:
why don’t you ask the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) what is the matter, he did something today he never did before? abu bakr said: i asked him and he (pbuh) said:
((yes, i was shown what will happen in the present life and the hereafter. the early generation of humans and late ones are to be gathered in one plain, so the people would be horrified by this, and they will hurry to adam as if they would drown in their own sweat. they said: o adam. you are the father of humans. allah [glorified and sublime be he] chose you. plead in behalf of us to your lord [glorified and sublime be he]. he said: i am facing the same situation you are facing… the hadith))
in this example, it is quite clear that the prophet (peace be upon him) intentionally created this interesting atmosphere, as if he (pbuh) was encouraging them to ask him, but they were in awe of asking about the uncommon state of the prophet (peace be upon him) so they sent abu bakr to undertake this mission, because of his rank and nearness to the prophet (peace be upon him). no doubt, they were waiting for the answer anxiously, especially that the time of excitement was a long period, namely from dawn till night, so that everybody can notice and hear about this change to come and know the reason for this unusual behavior from the prophet (peace be upon him).
another example of this interesting uncommon manner is the change of color during talking,
this is also another method of causing excitement and attraction such as the hadith that abu hurirah narrated:
((we were walking with the messenger of allah, peace be upon him, we passed by two graves. he stood alarmed and we stood as well. his color changed and his sleeve trembled. we said to him: what is it, o prophet of allah? he said: do you hear what i hear? we said: what do you hear, o prophet of allah? he said: these are two men who are being tortured severely in their graves for small sins. we said: for what are they tortured, o prophet of allah? he said: one of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine while the other used to go about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends). the prophet then asked for a green leaf of a date-palm tree, broke it into two pieces and put one on each grave. we asked: would that benefit them? he replied, "yes, they will lessen their torture, till they get dry."
another example is the hadith narrated by ali (ra) who said:
((we were sitting in the house of the prophet (peace be upon him), while he was sleeping. we mentioned antichrist at the prophet (peace be upon him), so he woke up and his face was red. he said: what makes me worried about you more than the antichrist is misleading imams.))
these two examples show that the change of the facial color during speech attracts the attention of listeners and raises their curiosity to what will be said.this is why the narrator mentioned this condition of the prophet in both hadiths.
it is also uncommon to call on irrationals or those who are not in our world, namely the dead such as when the prophet (peace be upon him) called the murdered polytheists in the battle of badr, when he threw them in the well (al-qulaib).the companions were curious and they asked the prophet (pbuh): how does he call them while they were all dead?
the prophet (peace be upon him) told them that they (the companions) don’t hear him more than the killed polytheists, which means the dead can hear him as much as the companions can hear him, they just can’t answer back.
also, the prophet (peace be upon him) employed another method to raise the attention of the companion, namely to tell them terms that they might not be aware of. he (pbuh) knew that they did not know the meaning of some of words he uttered so that they would ask him for clarification and explanation of what he said.
it is a very successful method, because if the teacher managed to encourage his listeners to inquire about what he said, then he achieved his mission. what is even more curious is to mention things they do not know or not familiar with such as the haidth about the signs of the hour. the prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned the signs of the hour when he said: "(religious) knowledge will be taken away, ignorance (in religion) and afflictions will appear; and harj will increase." it was asked, "what is harj, o allah's apostle?" he replied by beckoning with his hand indicating killing."
when the prophet said 'haraj will increase', it was not known to them the meaning of this word; this is why they asked about the meaning. in the hadith we can see the shifting from talking to gesturing. also, it was narrated by imam al-bukhari from abu musa the narrator of the hadith that he said:
((haraj means killing in the language of ethiopia)).
imam muslim narrated from abu hurirah that the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
((avoid the lianan “two acts which provoke cursing”. they said: what is the lianan? he (pbuh) said: urinating in the roads people pass by, and under the shadows where they rest.)) [muslim: 269 and others]
the previous example shows that the prophet (peace be upon him) used expressions they do not know to raise their curiosity to ask about what they didn’t understand.
another example is what the prophet (pbuh) said:
((who can do like the person of the one faraq (three saa5) of millet, then he should. they said: o messenger of allah, who is the person of one farq of millet? he said:….the hadith))
the parallel of this hadith is what abu hurairah (ra) narrated that the prophet (peace be upon him) said:
(("seek refuge with allah from the pit of sorrow." they asked, "messenger of allah, what is the pit of sorrow?" he replied, "it is a valley in hell from which hell seeks refuge a hundred times a day." he was asked, "messenger of allah, who will enter it?" he replied, "those who recite to show off their actions."…))
in the above mentioned hadiths, the prophet (peace be upon him) said expressions they did not know. the prophet (pbuh) mentioned them intentionally to encourage them to ask and interact with what is said and this is exactly what happened so this method was fruitful.
third: stimulating sayings and deeds
they are sayings and deeds to excite and raise the curiosity of listeners to be more attentive and alert because they do not expect them from the speaker or teacher.
an example of this method is the long hadith of the angel gabriel:
abdullah ibn omar narrated from his father omar ibn al-khattab: “one day we were sitting in the company of allah's apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. there were no signs of travel on him. none amongst us recognized him. at last he sat with the apostle (peace be upon him) he knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: muhammad, inform me about islam. the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) said: islam implies that you testify that there is no god but allah and that muhammad is the messenger of allah, and you establish prayer, pay zakat, observe the fast of ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (house) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey. he (the inquirer) said: you have told the truth. he (omar ibn al-khattab) said: we were surprised that he asked and then he would himself confirm the answer... "6
as we have seen in the hadith, the stranger (angel gabriel) asked the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) about islam, then the prophet answered him. so, the angel gabriel said: you have spoken the truth. this is a very stimulating and intriguing answer and this was expressed in the narrator’s words when he said: ‘we were surprised that he asked and then he would himself confirm the answer.’ it is well known that any inquirer from the muslims asked the prophet and the prophet (pbuh) answered him and the inquirer would take the answer and follow what was told to him by the prophet (pbuh). but in this case the asker confirmed the answer by saying ‘you have said the truth,’ this proves that the asker knew the answer to what he was asking about.
this surprised the attendees and made them curious to listen to the rest of the dialogue between the prophet muhammad (pbuh) and the inquirer (angel gabriel who appeared in the form of a man and they did not know his identity except after he left when the prophet (pbuh) told them later). so, thanks to this interesting dialogue the attendees were listening anxiously and thinking attentively about the identity of this asker who asks then confirms the answer to what he asked which proves that he knows it already.
al-qurtuby said: ((they were surprised because what the prophet muhammad (pbuh) said was things that can be only known from him, and not from an unknown asker whom they had not seen before. yet, he looked like an asker who knows exactly what he was asking about and the answer to his question. this is why they were intrigued because no one knew these things except from the prophet (pbuh)))
another example is what imam al-bukhari narrated from aday ibn hatim when he said: the prophet (peace be upon him) said:
((save yourselves from the hellfire, then he looked away and waved. then, he said: save yourselves from the hellfire, then he looked away and waved (thrice). the narrator said: we thought he was looking at it. then he said: save yourselves from the hellfire even by giving half a date-fruit in charity)).
visual methods of attraction in the sunnah1
these methods are divided into two kinds; either prior to the educational process or during it. they all aim to attract the attention of listeners to what is going to be said. they are as follows:
visual methods prior to the educational process
they are the methods the teacher uses before starting teaching to attract the attention of his students and make them listen to him. this usually happens when the lesson is very important as it is the case in hadiths or sunnah in general.
abdullah ibn omar said: "my father, omar ibn al-khattab, told me that one day they were sitting in the company of allah's apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. there were no signs of travel on him. none amongst us recognized him. at last he sat with the apostle (peace be upon him) he knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: muhammad, inform me about al-islam. the messenger of allah (peace be upon him) said: al-islam implies that you testify that there is no god but allah and that muhammad is the messenger of allah, and you establish prayer, pay zakat, observe the fast of ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (house) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the journey…" [sahih muslim, the book of faith - kitab al-iman, hadith number:102, narrated by: omar ibnul-khattab]
this accurate description of the unknown man by the narrator shows that their attention was raised because everything mentioned about the newcomer is interesting. this is based on the scene or how he looks, which makes it one of the visual methods for attracting the attention.
the things mentioned in the hadith that caused the attendees to be alert are:
- a stranger appeared in white clean clothes and tidy manner.
- none of them knew this man, because if he was known to any of them, they would have thought that he cleaned himself from the dirtiness of travelling in the desert at his house and then joined them.
- the aspects of traveling do not appear on the newcomer because if he was really traveling, his clothes would have been dusty and his hair untidy.
- the way he entered and greeted the prophet (peace be upon him) caught the attention of the companions (ra)2. they were used to see the crudeness of bedouins of the desert when they came to the prophet to ask him about their matters in an inconsiderate way. these details reveal that the hadith includes a lot of stimulators that inspired the narrator to mention them accurately one by one.
[the man's clothes were pure white and his hair extraordinarily black. there were no signs of travel on him such as dusty clothes or untidy hair. he was very clean as if he was coming from a nearby house to the place they were sitting in. none amongst them recognized him, if he was a citizen in madina, they would have recognized him. if he was a traveler coming from a far distance, his hair would have been messy and his clothes dusty. how did he look that neat, clean and tidy without a traveler or someone from nearby. also, the behavior of the man is peculiar, which made the companions even more observant. he walked through them towards the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him), he sat with the prophet (pbuh), knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs. he sat before the prophet (pbuh) in a polite way, he was sitting like someone who is ready to learn and listen to the prophet (pbuh).]
another example of this visual educational method is the haidth narrated by abu said al-khidri when he said: "allah’s apostle (peace be upon him) sat on the pulpit and we sat around him…" someone might ask: what is noticeable about this as the prophet (pbuh) used to talk to them that way? we may answer that it has always been the case of how the prophet (pbuh) addressed muslims but this was while he was delivering a sermon. so, talking from above the pulpit is natural during the sermon, but here it is different because the narrator mentioned that the prophet (pbuh) was sitting on the pulpit. while delivering the sermon, the imam has to stand this is why when it was mentioned that the prophet was sitting, it attracted the attention of the narrator and listeners and this is why it was mentioned in the narration of the hadith.
a similar hadith is what ibn abbas narrated when he said: "one day the prophet sat on the pulpit wearing a garment and wrapping his head with a dark headband. the prophet (pbuh) thanked allah…"
another example is what muslim narrated in his sahih (collection of authentic hadiths): "when the prophet (peace be upon him) finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit and he laughed. he said 'each of you stay where he prayed, do you know why i gathered you?' they said: allah and his apostle know best…"
these are visual methods of attraction prior to the text of the hadith. they were effective in raising the companion’s attention; this is why they described them accurately before narrating what the prophet (peace be upon him) said. the last hadith included more than method; the narrator mentioned that the prophet (peace be upon him) sat on the pulpit and laughed. these are all ways that would attract the attention of the listeners to what would come next.
visual methods during the educational process
they are visual methods of attraction during the speech or educational process. some might say this contradicts with the nature of visual methods, because they should be used prior to the speech to raise the attention of listeners, but the prophet (peace be upon him) used a number of methods during his speech to the companions to ascertain some important matters. he wanted to direct their attention to what is going to be said or done. some of these visual methods are:
first:
shifting from talking to gesturing
it is well known that words and expressions explain the aim of the speaker than gestures because gesturing might not be understood by everybody when there is no need to use it, but it is more effective and clearer if it is linked to what signifies it, namely linking words with gestures to establish the meaning.
further explanation:
- the gesture might be addressed after a question or request. since the question needs an answer, when the asker and the audience do not hear the answer from the teacher, then the expected behavior is to look at the speaker and this way they will receive his gesture clearly. an example is when the prophet (peace be upon him) pointed at his tongue when sufian ibn abdullah al-thaqafy asked the prophet (pbuh): "what should i be cautious about?"
when the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned the signs of the hour when he said: "(religious) knowledge will be taken away, ignorance (in religion) and afflictions will appear; and harj will increase." it was asked, "what is harj, o allah's apostle?" he replied by beckoning with his hand indicating "killing." [sahih al-bukhari]
- the gesture or hint might be coupled with terms to denote it such as when the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) used the terms: "like this, here, like these two…" this is clear when the prophet (pbuh) said: "woe to the arabs, for a great evil which is nearly approaching them. today a gap has been made in the wall of gog and magog like this (he illustrated this by forming the number of 90 or 100 with his fingers)..."
the previously mentioned examples are some cases when speech shifts to pointing, gesturing or hinting. they are clear and engaging because they are coupled with what denotes them. there are other examples in which gestures and signs are used in a way that are more clarifying than talking such as when the prophet (peace be upon him) said: "i and the caretaker of the orphan will enter paradise together like this, raising (by way of illustration) his forefinger and middle finger jointly, leaving no space in between." [saheeh al-bukhari]. in this hadith, there is shifting from speech to a gesture that intensified the expression “like this”. this finger gesture by the prophet (peace be upon him) expressed the meaning very clearly and abbreviated the usage of words. the expression could not give the same effect without the gesture that clarified the meaning; this is why the usage of the gesture is more beneficent than mere words. we couldn’t have understood what the prophet (pbuh) meant when he said “like this” without the narrator’s description “raising (by way of illustration) his forefinger and middle finger jointly, leaving no space in between.” this illustration by the narrator (ra) is the main point and fruit of this great style. the narrator conveyed it accurately without overlooking any detail by saying “jointly, leaving no space in between”, that means that the caretaker of the orphan will be with the prophet (pbuh) like these two adjoining fingers in the same hand. the narrator’s words “leaving no space in between” denotes that they will share in entering paradise, yet in another narration the narrator said “expanding between the two fingers” which also denotes that although they both enter paradise there is a difference between the prophet’s status in paradise and the status of orphan’s caretaker. the hadith is a parallel to the other hadith in which it was narrated by sahl bin sa'd: i saw allah's apostle pointing with his index and middle fingers, saying. "the time of my advent and the hour are like these two fingers." this denotes that shifting from speaking to gesturing has many significant meanings, as gestures might be clearer and more effective than words. this is why it is appealing and more engaging to the listeners.
second:
changing the posture during speech
the second method is changing the posture or making a sign to attract the attention of listeners for more understanding. for example, the speaker can be in a certain sitting or standing position, and then he changes it and continues his speech to attract listeners and engage them. the change of posture implies the importance of what will be said next to this change. it is quite clear that this is a visual method to attract the attention. we might realize the effectiveness of this method through the narrator’s description of this change and how much it was noticed.
narrated abdur-rahman ibn abi-bakr from his father that the prophet (peace be upon him) said: “shall i not tell you the three greatest sins?” (repeating the question thrice) they said. “indeed o messenger of allah.” he said, “associating partners with allah (shirk) and ill-treatment of parents.” he was leaning [when he mentioned that], and then sat up straight (as if he was alarmed) and said, “and bearing false witness.” [the narrator] said, “he continued to repeat this until we said [to ourselves], “if only he would stop.” [sahih al-bukhari, hadith no. 2511 & muslim, hadith no. 87]
the part that shows the change of posture is "he was leaning [when he mentioned that], and then sat up straight". this change of motion is to raise the attention and attract listeners to what will be said. this is why ibn hajar said: "it is felt that it is important because he (pbuh) sat straight after he was leaning."
the previously mentioned hadiths all contain visual methods of attraction during the educational process or before it to achieve the aim. this is why in this kind of hadiths there is no usage of visual methods after the educational process because it will be aimless. it is worth mentioning that the scholars of hadith took notice of this kind and classified it in a certain hadith category under the sequential hadith…
the visual methods of attraction are used to engage learners and catch their attention through visual gestures. the vision is mentioned first because it is the fastest sense in humans; this is why people realize things faster through the eyesight.
