The Variant on the Valley of Riches
by
Bassam Zawadi
Note: FIRST READ THIS
ARTICLE (*)
Here is the hadith
which talks about the alleged "missing Quranic verse":
Saheeh
Bukhari
Volume
8, Book 76, Number 445:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
I heard Allah's
Apostle saying, "If the son of Adam had money equal to a valley, then he
will wish for another similar to it, for nothing can satisfy the eye of Adam's
son except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him." Ibn
'Abbas said: I do not know whether this saying was quoted from the Qur'an or
not. 'Ata' said, "I heard Ibn AzZubair saying this narration
while he was on the pulpit."
Volume
8, Book 76, Number 446:
Narrated Sahl bin
Sa'd:
I heard Ibn Az-Zubair
who was on the pulpit at Mecca, delivering a sermon, saying, "O men! The
Prophet used to say, "If the son of Adam were given a valley full of gold,
he would love to have a second one; and if he were given the second one, he
would love to have a third, for nothing fills the belly of Adam's son except
dust. And Allah forgives he who repents to Him." Ubai said, "We
considered this as a saying from the Qur'an till the Sura (beginning
with) 'The mutual rivalry for piling up of worldly things diverts you..' (102.1)
was revealed."
Saheeh
Muslim
Ibn Abbas reported
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: If there were
for the son of Adam a valley full of riches, he would long to possess another
one like it. and Ibn Adam does not feel satiated but with dust. 1413
And Allah returns to him who returns (to HiM). 1414 Ibn Abbas said:
I do not know whether it is from the Qur'an or not; and in the
narration transmitted by Zuhair it was said: I do not know whether it is from
the Qur'an, and he made no mention of Ibn Abbas.
Some of the Prophet's
companions (peace be upon him) weren't sure if the Qur'an's statement, "If
there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a
third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but
dust," was part of it. Some of them even thought that it was.
It turns out that the
statement was nothing more than a hadith. Here are some hadiths which prove
that this is the case:
Saheeh
Bukhari
Volume
8, Book 76, Number 444:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
I heard the Prophet
saying, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valley of money, he
would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except
dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him."
Volume
8, Book 76, Number 447:
Narrated Anas bin
Malik:
Allah's Apostle said,
"If Adam's son had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two
valleys, for nothing fills his mouth except dust. And Allah forgives him who
repents to Him."
Imam Ibn Hajar Al
Asqalani says in Fathul Bari:
فلما نزلت هذه السورة وتضمنت معنى
ذلك مع الزيادة عليه علموا أن الأول من كلام النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم , وقد شرحه
بعضهم على أنه كان قرآنا ونسخت تلاوته لما نزلت ( ألهاكم التكاثر حتى زرتم المقابر
) فاستمرت تلاوتها فكانت ناسخة لتلاوة ذلك
When this Surah was
revealed and expressed the same meaning as it (the Adam statement) they knew
that the first statement (the Adam statement) was from the statements of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Some of them explained it to be part of
the Quran and then its recitation was abrogated when 'The mutual rivalry for
piling up of worldly things diverts you..' (102.1) was revealed." so its
recitation persisted so it abrogated the recitation of that (the Adam
statement). But it's wisdom and ruling was not abrogated if its recitation was
abrogated.
ومنه ما وقع عند أحمد وأبي عبيد في
" فضائل القرآن " من حديث أبي واقد الليثي قال " كنا نأتي النبي
صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا نزل عليه فيحدثنا , فقال لنا ذات يوم : إن الله قال إنما
أنزلنا المال لإقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة , ولو كان لابن آدم واد
لأحب أن يكون له ثان " الحديث بتمامه , وهذا يحتمل أن يكون النبي صلى
الله عليه وسلم أخبر به عن الله تعالى على أنه من القرآن , ويحتمل أن يكون من
الأحاديث القدسية , والله أعلم وعلى الأول فهو مما نسخت تلاوته جزما وإن كان
حكمه مستمرا
And it also occurred at
Ahmad and Abi Ubayd in "Virtues of the Quran" from hadith Abi Waqid
Al Labani who said "We used to go to the Prophet (peace be upon him) if
something was revealed to him so he would tell us, so he told us that day:
Allah says "We have sent down money for the establishment of prayer and
payment of Zakat, and if the son of Adam had a valley full of gold, he
would like to have two valleys." that is the very hadith, and it is
possible that the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed that this is a verse
from the Quran, and it is also possible that it is from the Qudsi Hadith, and God
knows and if it is the first (meaning first explanation that it was part of the
Quran) then it is what was abrogated from recitation even though its wisdom and
rulings are still implemented. (Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, Fathul
Bari, Kitab: Al Raqaaq, Bab: Maa Yataqey Min Fitnatil Maal, Commentary
on Hadith no. 5959, Source)
Again this just takes
us back to the whole issue of abrogation. Or, as the commentary says, it could
be a Qudsi Hadith. Now, for those who don't know what a Qudsi hadith is, here
is the definition:
Hadith Qudsi are the
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as
revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so
named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their
authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.
Among the many
definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid
ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he
says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as
to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which
Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in
dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus
Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording." (Source)
Conclusion
The Quran is
preserved the way God had intended it to be. When we Muslims argue that the
memory of the early Muslims has passed down the Quran, we are obviously not
talking about some divine memory because they were human beings just like us.
Some would naturally tend to forget some verses of the Quran. However, NOT ALL
THE MUSLIMS WOULD FORGET the ENTIRE Quran. That's why every year during the
month of Ramadan, Muslims recite the whole Quran in their Taraweeh prayers.
Sometimes, the Imam would make a mistake, and the people praying behind him
would correct him. This shows that if anyone ever forgot a verse of the Quran,
there would be others to correct him. This is how Allah Almighty preserved the
Quran.
Now, as for this
statement of the valley of riches, it is clear that it was really a Qudsi
hadith. A Qudsi hadith is still a revelation from God but expressed in the
words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). So it is possible that when the
Prophet (peace be upon him) told them that Allah told him this statement, they
mistakenly believed that it was a Quranic revelation. Even if it was a Quranic
revelation, then its recitation was abrogated, and its wisdom is still
maintained.
Feel free to contact
me at b_zawadi@hotmail.com
