عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم -وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ-: “إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ، وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ، وَأَجَلِهِ، وَعَمَلِهِ، وَشَقِيٍّ أَمْ سَعِيدٍ؛ فَوَاَللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا إلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا. وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا”. رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ وَمُسْلِمٌ
Lessons from the Hadith
1.The hadith affirms the trustworthiness of the noble Prophet Muhammad. 2. It explains stages involved in human reproduction which are: stage of nutfah (mixed semen of male and female), stage of ‘alaqah (a clot of coagulated blood), stage of mudghah (a lump of flesh) and the stage in which life is breathed into it. 3.It encourages studying of sciences. 4.It emphasises eternal knowledge of Allah. 5.Man should always operate between the hope for Allah’s mercy and the fear of His punishment. 6.Allah is the Creator of everything. 7.Foetus only metamorphoses into a human being after four months. 8.A Muslim should move away from evil acts, lest death overtakes him and he ends up in Hell. 9.We should always pray for a good and auspicious end to our lives. 10.We should not say somebody will enter hell while such a person is still alive for only Allah knows the end of all human beings. , 11.Allah is not unjust with His decree. 12.It is permissible to swear by Allah in order to allay a doubt or emphasize a point just as the Prophet had done. Assignment 1.Hadith Four of An-Nawawi’s collection was transmitted by_______and _________. (a) Bukhari and Muslim (b) ‘Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi (c) Muslim and Nasa’I (d) Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi 2.Angels breathe life into foetus when it __________ (a) 40 days old (b) 160 days old (c) 80 days old (d) 120 days old 3.Hadith ___________of An-Nawawi’s collection discusses human reproduction. (a)One (b) Three (c) Ten (d) Four 4.____________narrated Hadith four of An-Nawawi’s collection. (a) Ibn ‘Umar (b) ‘Abu Hurayrah (c) ‘Umar ibn Khammab (d) Ibn Mas ‘lid 5.Human beings are created from ________ (a) blood (b) lump of flesh (c) semen (d) air 6.In the light of Hadith Four of an- Nawawi’s collection, explain the stages involved in human reproduction.