9 Manhaj Points from Aisha’s (May Allah be pleased with her)
“ Are you a Haraura?”
مُعَاذَةُ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً قَالَتْ لِعَائِشَةَ أَتَجْزِى إِحْدَانَا صَلاَتَهَا إِذَا طَهُرَتْ فَقَالَتْ أَحَرُورِيَّةٌ أَنْتِ كُنَّا نَحِيضُ مَعَ النَّبِىِّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - فَلاَ يَأْمُرُنَا بِهِ . أَوْ قَالَتْ فَلاَ نَفْعَلُهُ .
Mu’adha narrated: A woman asked ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), should I offer the prayers which I didn’t offer because of menses.” ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “ Are you from Haraura (a town in Iraq). We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and used to get our periods, but he never orderd us to pray the missed prayers or ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “ We did not offer them. “
Bukhari 321
Manhaj benefits for this hadeeth:
1. Haraura was a village near Kufa in Iraq where the Kharijites for the first time appeared. There is a sect of the Khawarij who regard prayer compulsory for menstruating women, therefore when their periods conclude they must make up the missed prayers.
2. Shaikh Muhammad bin Ramzaan Al-Haajiree (may Allah preserve him) said,” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) educated and taught his wife ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about and warned her from desires and fitnah. This is found in another hadeeth collected by Bukhari. ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the verse: ‘ It is He Who sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundation of the Book; and others not entirely clear. So ,as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof seeking for its hidden meanings; but no one knows it hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: We believe in it; the whole of it are from our Lord.” And none receive admonition except men of understanding.[ Bukhari 4547]. This is the approach of people with knowledge. They warn the people from desires and innovation.
3. Warning about innovation and its people is creed and religion, even in the questions related to purification and abnormal discharge.
4. This woman had zeal to understand the affairs of her religion. This is the importance of knowledge- i.e Knowledge before action. For this reason, it’s obligatory for us to seek knowledge. Knowledge built on the Quran, Sunnah with the understanding of the Salaf. Therefore we worship Allah with knowledge, and if there is anything that we are uncertain about we return to the scholars. By returning to the scholars we benefit from their understanding and guidance.
5. Based on ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) words,” Are you a Haruara” we learn that sometimes a person can be judged based on affiliation. This was one of the issues which affected the Khawarij. And consequently Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) doubted this woman, so she asked her in order to know her position towards this misguided sect- Al-Haruara.
6. This hadeeth refutes those people who deny classifying people into the groups and catergories; Sunni and Bid’ee, Salafy and Khalafee ,etc. This classifying of people is built on knowledge, proof, evidences, fairness and Taqwa.
7. This hadeeth shows that it’s a must for a person who is accused of something or if an innovation or misguidance is connected to him to free himself from it. He must defend himself and explain his true stance clearly without any detours and evasions. This resembles what the woman did when she said, “ I am not a Haruara.
8. Even though this woman was ignorant she was tested in an issue of purification which is connected to her prayer. These acts of worship were very crucial in her life. And although she was ignorant about them, she still knew who the Haruara sect was. She knew that sect was misguided, therefore she hurried and freed herself from being among them. She did that because the origin of warning from desires and innovation was a universal methodology and way during her lifetime. The people of knowledge used to warn the people from these desires. The people of knowledge during that time used to talk about these false groups high and low. They did this so the people were on alert about misguidance and its carriers.
9. This hadeeth refutes the people who say the Salafee’s( Ahulus Sunnah) are wrong for warning people about Ahul Bid’a wal Ahwa. They consider Ahulus Sunnah as being wrong for this act with the claim the people need to understand Tahara and prayer… All praises to Allah , the people of the Sunnah, the scholars and students of knowledge explain the important and needed issues to the people for their religion. Furthermore at the same time they warn the people about desires; as desires has a dangerous affect on the people.