Explain the meaning of the Hadith of the Slave-Woman (Hadithul-Jariyah).
The hadith is classified as inconsistent (mudtarib). This means that it was reported in a number of ways with variations in the text. The scholars of hadith judge the hadith whose narrations, in their apparent meaning cannot be reconciled, as a weak hadith. Nevertheless, even the scholars who deemed it acceptable did not take it to mean that Allah occupies the sky. In explaining the hadith, an-Nawawiyy said that the question “aynallah?” which cannot be taken literally, is a question about the rank not the location. Allah is not bound by locations. (NB, ayna in its literal meaning is a query about location. According to the Arabic language it can also mean a query about status). The question means, “How much do you glorify Allah?” The slave woman’s response “fis-sama’” affirmed her belief in Allah having a high status. It did not imply restricting Allah to a location. It is neither permissible to believe that the Prophet asked her about the location, nor that she meant Allah occupies the sky. In the book Ar-Risalah Al-Qushayriyyah by Abul–Qasim Al-Qushayriyy, Imam ^Aliyy said, “The question of ‘where’ (i.e. location) does not apply to the One Who created the whereabouts.” Abu Hanifah stated in his book “Al-Fiqh Al-Absat”, “Allah existed eternally before creating the places. He existed and no place or creation existed. He is the Creator of all things”. Moreover, Suratush-Shura, Ayah 11 means, “Nothing is like Allah in any way.” The hadith also means, “Allah existed eternally, and eternally nothing else existed.” (Related by al-Bukhariyy and others.)
