Did Hadith inspire Benjamin Franklin?

I once send an American correspondent a Ḥadīth (sayings of Muḥammad Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم – 570-632). He countered with a quote from the American statesman, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). I later read a booklet of Mr Franklin’s quotes. I was indeed impressed with his wit, but the more I read, the more the resemblance with Ḥadīth struck me. Ḥadīth of course, were uttered 11 centuries before Mr Franklin. Were they the inspiration for his wise words or is it just a coincidence? I do not know, but I thought it an interesting exercise to compile some of his sayings alongside Ḥadīth of similar import.  

Benjamin Franklin	Arabic Hadith	Translation	Reference
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.	عليك بطول الصمت فإنه مطردة للشيطان	Maintain lengthy silence, for that repels the Devil.	Aḥmad from Abū Ẓarr رضى الله عنه]
He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.	من صمت نجا	One who keeps silent is saved.	at-Tirmiẓī from ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Amr رضى الله عنهما
Speak ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody.	من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ، فليقل خيرا أو ليصمت ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ، فليكرم جاره ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ، فليكرم ضيفه	One who believes in Allāh and the Last Day should only speak good or remain silent. One who believes in Allāh and the Last Day should honour his neighbour. One who believes in Allāh and the Last Day should honour his guest.	Muslim from Abū Hurayrah رضى الله عنه
Lost time is never found again.	نعمتان مغبون فيهما كثيرٌ من الناس: الصحة والفراغ	Many people are in deception regarding two bounties – health and free time.	al-Ḥākim from Ibn ‘Abbās رضى الله عنهما
A good conscience is a continual Christmas.	استفت قلبك	Seek the ruling of your heart	Aḥmad from Wābiṣah bin Ma‘bad رضى الله عنه
It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man.	مَا أَكَلَ أَحَدٌ طَعَامًا قَطُّ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ مِنْ عَمَلِ يَدِهِ	No one has eaten better food that what he eats from the labour of his hand.	al-Bukhārī from al-Miqdām رضى الله عنه
Honesty is the best policy.	عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ، فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ	Cling to honesty for honesty guides to goodness.	al-Bukhārī from Ibn Mas‘ūd رضى الله عنه
Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.	الكيس من دان نفسه وعمل لما بعد الموت والعاجز من اتبع نفسه هواها وتنمى على الله الأماني	Intelligent is he who accounts for himself and acts who what will come after death. Helpless is he who lets himself follow his passion and yet entertains false hope in Allāh.	aṭ-Ṭabrānī from Shaddād bin Aws رضى الله عنه
Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.	إنما الغنى غنى القلب ، والفقر فقر القلب	True wealth is contentment of the heart. True poverty is dearth of the heart.	an-Nasāi from Abū Ẓarr رضى الله عنه
Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God.	لا طاعة لمخلوق في معصية الخالق	There is no obedience to creation in disobedience to the Creator.	Aḥmad
If you would be loved, love, and be loveable.	إن الله رفيق يحب الرفق ويعطي على الرفق ما لا يعطي على العنف, وما لا يعطي على ما سواه	Indeed Allāh is most gentle and loves gentleness. He gives upon gentleness what He does not give upon harshness, what He does not give upon what is not [gentle].	Muslim from ‘Āishah رضى الله عنها
Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.	إن فيك خصلتين يحبهما الله: الحلم والأناة	There are two characteristics in you which Allāh loves – forbearance and deliberation.	Muslim from Ibn ‘Abbās رضى الله عنهما
When in doubt, don't.	دع ما يريبك ، إلى ما لا يريبك	Leave what puts you in doubt for that which does not put you in doubt.	at-Tirmiẓī al-Ḥasan bin ‘Alī رضى الله عنهما
A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.	*افلا يرون انا نأتى الأرض ننقصها من أطرافها أفهم الغلبون	Do they not see how We advance upon the land, reducing it from its outlying borders? Are they then going to be victorious? *Qurān, NOT Hadīth	al-Ambiyā: 44
Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them.	صِلْ مَنْ قَطَعَكَ , وَأَعْطِ مَنْ حَرَمَك وَاعْفُ عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَكَ	Maintain ties with those who cut you off. Give from your revered possessions. Pardon those who wrong you.	Aḥmad from ‘Uqbah bin ‘Āmir رضى الله عنه
Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.	من فارقت روحه جسده وهو بريء من ثلاث دخل الجنة: الغلول، والدين، والكبر	He whose soul departs from his body whilst he is free of three things will enter Paradise – cheating, debt and pride.	at-Tirmiẓī from Thawbān رضى الله عنه
No nation was ever ruined by trade.	تسعة أعشار الرزق في التجارة	Nine-tenths of sustenance lies in trade.	Ibn Abid Dunyā from Nu‘aym bin ‘Abdirraḥmān رضى الله عنه
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise	اللهم بارك لأمتي في بكورها	O Allāh! Bless my Ummah in its early morning.	Ibn Mājah from Ṣakhr al-Ghāmidī رضى الله عنه
Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.	استعينوا على إنجاح الحوائج بالكتمان فإن كل ذي نعمة محسود	Assist the fulfilling of your needs by keeping them secret, for everyone with a bounty is envied.	aṭ-Ṭabrānī from Mu‘āẓ bin Jabal  رضى الله عنه

 


سليمان الكندي

Spelling Inshāallāh – another “MAJOR” concern of the Ummah

I have been asked, both in cyber space and real life, why I’m not writing articles. Until such time as Allāh wills me to be up to speed, I thought I might as well reply to text and email queries via my blog. One such query is the spelling of inshāallah. The query is on the below message doing the rounds:

We should not write it as “InshaAllah” or “Inshallah” because it means “Create Allah” (Naoazobil lah) [Sic]. Whether arabic [Sic] or english [Sic]… please write it properly as “In shaa Allah” (In 3 separate words). This means “If Allah Wills” So make sure you forward this to everyone and help them correct their mistake. JazakAllah khair [Sic].

As if the Ummah does not have enough problems, there are those dedicated to finding more problems for us to deal with!

Qarīnah

It is correct that inshā as a maṣdar (root-word) means “to create,” but to pull any word from an Arabic dictionary without further knowledge of at least Arabic grammar results in Fitnah, even if the person is sincere. A basic tool of translation and Tafsīr is Qarīnah (context). Thus Allāh says in al-Baqarah,



“O people, worship your Rabb Who created you and those before you that you may acquire Taqwā.”

The very same words can in terms of literal translation be translated as, “O People, worship your Rabb who created you and [worship] those who came before you that you may acquire Taqwā.”

The dictionary fully supports both translations. It is only because of the monotheistic context of the Qurān that we can reject the second idiotic translation.

Similarly, even if the dictionary says “inshā” is “to create” the Qarīnah of every Muslim is “if Allāh wills.” This is even more so since most non-Arabs never even heard of inshā, before that message got circulated.

Amr

If you were for some reason going to write “create Allāh” in Arabic, and for some reason you chose “inshā” إنشاء   you would not simply grab the word from the dictionary and place it before “Allāh” الله. “inshā” would have to be changed into the Amr or the verbal command form of “inshā” which is “anshi” أنشئْending in a sākin. When any letter appears before “Allāh” , the Hamzah drops, thus it is “wallāhi”  و اللهnot “wa Allāhi” Here too the Hamzah would drop, but leaving a conjunction of two sākins – one on the Hamzah in the end of “anshi” and one on the first Lām of “llāh”. As this is not possible in Arabic, the first Sākin is forced to become a Kasrah. Thus the sentence reads, “anshi illāha” أنشئِ الله  a far cry from “inshāallāhu” Even the final Ḥarkah is different.

Thus is the danger of applying and spreading incomplete knowledge.

My spelling

I don’t see what the big deal is, but I prefer inshāallāh. Yes, it is actually three Arabic words, but as the last two join, it looks cumbersome to leave the first on its own when the Ummah at large has adopted the phrase as a single word in the Latin script. I do not write a capital “A” because the Hamzah of Allāh drops as explained above. It is the Hamzah of shāa, not Allāh.

Bigger picture

• Are they no issues of greater import to concern the Ummah than a transliteration issue?


• What is the state of knowledge of the Ummah when they jump at such half-baked “facts”?


• Muslims have become victims of technology, instead of utilising technology. Most spread every message they receive without verification.


• How about encouraging the use of inshāallāh in an age of increasing westernisation, instead of harping on the spelling of those who still use the phrase?


• The Ḥadīth forbids the phrase when directed at Allāh i.e. in Du‘ā. Thus for example we should say, “I am going to perform Ḥajj inshāallāh,” and pray, “O Allāh, accept me to perform Ḥajj, āmīn,” but never, “O Allāh, accept me to perform Ḥajj inshāallāh/if You so will.” Many people are ignorant of this fact. Why not educate people on what is in the Sunnah instead of sucking rulings from our thumbs?

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Spelling Inshāallāh – another “MAJOR” concern of the Ummah

I have been asked, both in cyber space and real life, why I’m not writing articles. Until such time as Allāh wills me to be up to speed, I thought I might as well reply to text and email queries via my blog. One such query is the spelling of inshāallah. The query is on the below message doing the rounds:

We should not write it as “InshaAllah” or “Inshallah” because it means “Create Allah” (Naoazobil lah) [Sic]. Whether arabic [Sic] or english [Sic]… please write it properly as “In shaa Allah” (In 3 separate words). This means “If Allah Wills” So make sure you forward this to everyone and help them correct their mistake. JazakAllah khair [Sic].

As if the Ummah does not have enough problems, there are those dedicated to finding more problems for us to deal with!

Qarīnah

It is correct that inshā as a maṣdar (root-word) means “to create,” but to pull any word from an Arabic dictionary without further knowledge of at least Arabic grammar results in Fitnah, even if the person is sincere. A basic tool of translation and Tafsīr is Qarīnah (context). Thus Allāh says in al-Baqarah,     

  

“O people, worship your Rabb Who created you and those before you that you may acquire Taqwā.”

The very same words can in terms of literal translation be translated as, “O People, worship your Rabb who created you and [worship] those who came before you that you may acquire Taqwā.”

The dictionary fully supports both translations. It is only because of the monotheistic context of the Qurān that we can reject the second idiotic translation.

Similarly, even if the dictionary says “inshā” is “to create” the Qarīnah of every Muslim is “if Allāh wills.” This is even more so since most non-Arabs never even heard of inshā, before that message got circulated.

Amr

If you were for some reason going to write “create Allāh” in Arabic, and for some reason you chose “inshā” إنشاء   you would not simply grab the word from the dictionary and place it before “Allāh” الله. “inshā” would have to be changed into the Amr or the verbal command form of “inshā” which is “anshi” أنشئْending in a sākin. When any letter appears before “Allāh” , the Hamzah drops, thus it is “wallāhi”  و اللهnot “wa Allāhi” Here too the Hamzah would drop, but leaving a conjunction of two sākins – one on the Hamzah in the end of “anshi” and one on the first Lām of “llāh”. As this is not possible in Arabic, the first Sākin is forced to become a Kasrah. Thus the sentence reads, “anshi illāha” أنشئِ الله  a far cry from “inshāallāhu” Even the final Ḥarkah is different.

Thus is the danger of applying and spreading incomplete knowledge.

My spelling

I don’t see what the big deal is, but I prefer inshāallāh. Yes, it is actually three Arabic words, but as the last two join, it looks cumbersome to leave the first on its own when the Ummah at large has adopted the phrase as a single word in the Latin script. I do not write a capital “A” because the Hamzah of Allāh drops as explained above. It is the Hamzah of shāa, not Allāh.

Bigger picture

• Are they no issues of greater import to concern the Ummah than a transliteration issue?
• What is the state of knowledge of the Ummah when they jump at such half-baked “facts”?
• Muslims have become victims of technology, instead of utilising technology. Most spread every message they receive without verification.
• How about encouraging the use of inshāallāh in an age of increasing westernisation, instead of harping on the spelling of those who still use the phrase?
• The Ḥadīth forbids the phrase when directed at Allāh i.e. in Du‘ā. Thus for example we should say, “I am going to perform Ḥajj inshāallāh,” and pray, “O Allāh, accept me to perform Ḥajj, āmīn,” but never, “O Allāh, accept me to perform Ḥajj inshāallāh/if You so will.” Many people are ignorant of this fact. Why not educate people on what is in the Sunnah instead of sucking rulings from our thumbs?

سليمان الكندي

Jumu'ah - just another entertainment channel?

Brother Ibrahim Musa had interviewed me on Channel Islam International concerning the above subject.

To listen to the interview, click here 

Brother Ibrahim has also transcribed the gist of the interview here

I had given credit to a meeting with Brother Khalid Baig to opening my mind to the pitfalls of using the entertainment medium of TV as a religious medium. However, I had not deemed it appropriate to mention on CII, that the very people who received a thorough and personal explanation on the view of Khalid Baig in that meeting, very mischievously selectively quoted him at a meeting last year, to give the impression that this great thinker is in fact in favour of their participation on iTV ("Islam" TV). I should respect differences of opinion, but to respect dishonesty?

I strongly encourage every Muslim who is interested in honest discourse on the issue, and not just empty slogans of, adapt to the times, etc, to read the book Khalid Baig had advised us to read. Please obtain a copy of Amusing ourselves to death by Neil Postman. 

سليمان الكندي