Reply to the doubt: The Messenger of Islam spat in his garment

 

In a sound hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Yusuf told us, he said, Sufyan told us, on the authority of Humaid, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, he said, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, spat into his garment. http://hadith.al-islam.com/display/display.asp?hnum=234&doc=0&image In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of God O Allah, bless our master Muhammad among the first, and bless him among the last, and bless him, O our Lord, in the highest assembly until the Day of Judgment. By Allah, this is a doubt that does not deserve any attention, let alone a response, because the one who raised the doubt, with his usual intelligence, thought that this was a habit that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was accustomed to, and he did not know that this only happened in [ a special case ], which was during prayer . Abu Dawud included this hadith in his Sunan under the chapter “ On the undesirability of spitting in the mosque .” So this is a special case, and its reason goes back to the undesirability of spitting towards the Qiblah. It is undesirable for the worshipper to spit towards the Qiblah, because he is facing Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Is it proper for a Muslim to spit towards his Lord - the Mighty and Sublime - while facing Him in prayer, let alone the fact that he is not obligated to spit on his clothes, meaning that he has a choice between: First: spitting to his left. Second: spitting on his clothes and then rubbing them. So this is not an obligation to spit in one’s clothes only. Now let us review the evidence: Muhammad ibn Bashar told us on the authority of Muhammad who said: Shu’bah told us who said: I heard Al-Qasim ibn Mihran narrating on the authority of Abu Rafi’ on the authority of Abu Hurairah on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: When one of you prays , he should not spit in front of him or to his right, but to his left or under his feet, otherwise the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, spat like this into his clothes and rubbed them . [1] Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah told us, Ismail ibn Ulayyah told us on the authority of Al-Qasim ibn Mihran on the authority of Abu Rafi’ on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw phlegm in the direction of the qiblah of the mosque, so he turned to the people and said: What is the matter with one of you who stands facing Him, meaning his Lord, and spits in front of Him? Does one of you like to face Him and spit in His face? If one of you spits, let him spit to his left or say like this into his clothes. Then I saw Ismail spitting into his clothes and then rubbing them . [2] Abdullah told us, my father told us, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Al-Muthanna told us, Hamid told us, on the authority of Anas, who said: He saw phlegm in the direction of prayer in the mosque, and it was difficult for him until he recognized it on his face, so he scratched it and said: When one of you or a person stands up to pray, he is communing with his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic , or his Lord is between him and the direction of prayer, so let him spit when he spits to his left or under his foot, and he gestured like this as if he was in his garment. He said: We used to say to Hamid, and he would say: Glory be to God, who is he? He meant the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and he did not tell us more than that . [3] So we know that spitting in the garment during prayer is an accident, meaning that the servant does not spit in every prayer, but this is only if the matter requires that he spit in his garment out of respect for his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic. ( His future ) meaning the one who is facing God Almighty, and what is meant is that he is facing and approaching God Almighty, so he is like the one facing Him Almighty, so it is necessary to magnify that direction in that situation. His saying ( that he is facing) Based on the passive voice . [4] However, spitting is pure and nothing has been reported to indicate that it is impure. The evidence is that the person praying may spit while praying and his prayer is not invalidated . It also indicates that spitting is pure, as are phlegm and mucus, contrary to those who say: Everything that the soul finds disgusting is forbidden. And God Almighty knows best . [5] So what is the problem now??! Is the problem that the Messenger taught us how to behave with our Lord Almighty in prayer and that it is not permissible for a Muslim to spit in the direction of the Qiblah because in this case [ prayer ] he is facing his Lord Almighty, so it is permissible for him to spit to his left or into his garment??! It is known that the cleanliness of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, made you anxious; so you stayed up nights searching for a loophole to rely on in your claim, but every time we turn you back on your heels in disgrace. This is considered implicit proof of your inability to deny the truth of the cleanliness of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. It is a matter that has become taken for granted and you must accept it as a bitter reality for you . Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings, ــــ [1] Narrator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani - Source: Sahih and Da’if Sunan al-Nasa’i Grade: Al-Albani’s verification: Sahih , Sahih al-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb (1/114/180) // Sahih al-Jami’ (644) // Hadith No.: 309 - Part: 1 - Page: 453 [2] Narrator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani - Source: Sahih and Da’if Sunan Ibn Majah Grade: Al-Albani’s verification: Sahih , Sahih al-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb (280) Hadith No.: 1022 - Part: 3 - Page: 22 [3] Narrator: Shu’ayb al-Arna’ut - Source: Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal bi-Ahkam Shu’ayb al-Arna’ut Grade: Its chain of transmission is sahih according to the conditions of the two sheikhs Hadith No.: 12982 - Part: 3 - Page: 188 [4] Sharh Sunan Ibn Majah by al-Sindi, Chapter on establishing prayer and the Sunnah in it , the chapter on the one praying who spits. [5] Awn al-Ma’bud with explanation of Sunan Abi Dawood, the chapter on purification, the chapter on spitting that gets on clothing. It was reported in the hadith that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said : If one of you sneezes during his prayer, he should not spit in front of him, for God is before his face, nor to his right.  His statement: for God Almighty is before his face means: he imagines that he is standing before his Lord, so it is not appropriate for him to spit in front of Him. Rather, he should spit under his left foot, or spit into his garment. He indicated with this that the one praying should remember the greatness of God, as if he is standing before his Lord, and remember the humiliation and smallness of his own self. God is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs, regarding you, O worshippers of the Cross. May God reward you, my honorable