Beard of our beloved Prophet?

[kayra]

I seem to remember there was a thread on exactly this subject a few weeks back but I couldn't find it (the search term "beard" pops up in almost every thread!).

A sister of mine has two (or three?) hairs from the blessed beard of our beloved Prophet Don't asked me how - her house is full of the most AMAZING stuff! Anyway, she keeps them locked in a chest, and when she was about to show them to me, she realized the key was elsewhere (in safekeeping), so I never got to look.

My question is (and if I'm right in remembering that there was a similar thread recently, a link will suffice!), what does one do when viewing these beard hairs? Reciting salwat seems appropriate, I suppose, but other than that, is there an adab for viewing such a relic?

Sorry to ask such a stuooopid question again, but basically I was rather relieved that the key wasn't around. On the one hand, it would seem terribly disrespectful to peer at the blessed hairs, nod, then say "Hmm, I see: beard hairs;" on the other hand, getting really over-excited about some beard hairs, although they are the most noble and blessed beard hairs on earth, doesn'T seem quite right either.

Thanking you in advance for not laughing too loudly or obviously

['Abd al-Baari]

Wa'Alaykumus Salaam Warahmatullah,

I think this is the thread you might be looking for; http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...he-Prophet-SAW

[Zubair]

If i'm not mistaken, Imam Ahmed would either kiss the hair or touch them to his eyes. The Tab'in would ask for the Sahabas hands (to kiss) only because they (the Sahabas) had touched the blessed Prophet, nothing wrong with reverence and respect for our noble Prophet.

[kayra]

Wa'Alaykumus Salaam Warahmatullah,

I think this is the thread you might be looking for; http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...he-Prophet-SAW

Yes! JazakAllah Khayr, that was it.

Coming from a Christian background, it's very difficult to "go by instinct" in such situations, because one never knows when instinct is tangled up with childhood memories of things like "visiting shrines" and "visiting relics of saints".

There was a hadith whereby one of the Companions caught the drops that splaished off our beloved Prophet while he was doing wudhu, and wiped the water over his face "for barakah", and our beloved Prophet reprimanded him.

So anyway, I was curious.

['Abd al-Baari]

I've always thought that it was perimissble to seek barakah from the relics of the Prophet sal Allahu 'alayhi wasallam. I tried searching for a Fatwa but only came across one from Shaykh ibn Baaz rahimahullah, in which he mentions; "Seeking barakah from the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was done at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), from things like the water he used for wudoo’, his garment, his food and drink, his hair and everything from him. The ‘Abbaasi (Abassid) khaleefahs and the ‘Uthmaanis (Ottomans) after them preserved the cloak of the Prophet, seeking barakah from it, especially at times of war.

Seeking blessing from things that touched his body, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), such as his wudoo’, sweat, hair and so on, was something which was known to and was permissible according to the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them), and those who followed them in truth, because of the goodness and barakah that are to be found in that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of this."

It would be good if someone could post a Hanafi ruling on the matter.

[kayra]

From darulfatwa.org.au:

Tabarruk

Seeking Blessings from the relics of the Prophet (Tabarruk)

Allah, the Exalted, put a blessing in the self, doings, sayings, and relics of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. The Companions, may Allah raise their ranks, used to seek blessings from the relics of the Prophet during his lifetime and after his death. Following their example, Muslims of today continue to do the same. There are several proofs that make us know that seeking benefit from the relics of the Prophet (tabarruk) is permissible.



Narrations from Bukhariyy and Muslim confirm that during the last Pilgrimage performed by the Prophet (Hijjat-ul- Wada^), the Prophet distributed his shaved hair. He shaved the right side of his head and gave his hair to Abu Talhah al-Ansariyy; then he shaved the left side of his head, gave the hair to Abu Talhah, and told him to distribute it among the people. Some received one hair, others two, and so on.



The Prophet personally handed some of his hair to people near him, including Umm Sulaym (one of the female Companions) and Abu Talhah, for them to distribute among the people. In this way, the hair of the Prophet was spread in the Muslim countries. The Prophet distributed his hair among the people in order for them to seek blessings (barakah) from it. Clearly this indicates the permissibility of seeking benefit from the relics of the Prophet.



The Companions sought blessings from other relics of the Prophet as well. Imam Muslim related in his Sahih that Asma', the daughter of Abu Bakr, showed some people an article of clothing (jubbah) worn by the Prophet which had been at the house of her sister, ^A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet. When ^A'ishah died, Asma' got the jubbah. The Companions sought the blessings from this jubbah of the Prophet by using the water in which it had been soaked to treat the sick and cure his illness.



At-Tabaraniyy and Imam Ahmad narrated from the route of Ibn Hadhyam that he went with his grandfather, Hadhyam, to the Prophet. Hadhyam said to the Messenger of Allah: "I have sons and grandsons, some of whom are pubescent and others still children." Pointing to the young child next to him, he said: "This is the youngest." The Prophet brought this young child whose name was Handhalah next to him, passed his hand over his head, and told him, "Barakallahu fik," which means: 'May Allah bless you.' After that, people started to bring Handhalah a person with a swollen face or a sheep with a swollen udder. Handhalah would place his hand on that part of his head the Prophet wiped, then touch the swollen part and say "Bismillah," and the swelling would be cured.



Imam Ahmad was asked about touching and kissing the minbar of the Prophet for the blessing and about seeking the blessing by visiting the grave of the Prophet. He responded by saying: "This matter is not prohibited," as was narrated by ^Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad, in his book titled Al*^Ilal wa Ma^rifat ur-Rijal. Imam Ahmad also said it was a recommended thing to make tawassul by the Prophet when there is drought.



The aforementioned stand as a few of many documented proofs showing that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, taught there is a benefit in seeking blessings (barakah) from the relics of the Prophets and the righteously pious Muslims and in asking Allah for things by them.



We humbly ask Allah to guide us to the right path and to make us die as pious Muslims.



And Allah knows best.