The Meaning Of “Adhaan”:
{“And (this is an) Adhaan (Proclamation) from Allaah and His Rasool (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to mankind on the Day of the Greatest Hajj, that indeed Allaah is Free from the Mushrikeen and so is His Rasool…”}
The واو in this Aayah is isti’naafiyyah, i.e. it signals the commencement of a new sentence.
Once, Abul Aswad ad-Du’ali passed by a man who was reciting Qur’aan, and he recited this Aayah:
وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ اللهِ وَرَسُوْلِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمَ الحَجِّ الأَكْبَرِ أَنَّ اللهَ بَرِيْءٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
However, this man recited the Aayah as وَرَسُوْلِهِ, and that changes the meaning entirely. The Aayah means:
{“And (this is an) Adhaan (Proclamation) from Allaah and His Rasool (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to mankind on the Day of the Greatest Hajj, that indeed Allaah is Free from the Mushrikeen and so is His Rasool…”}
But the way that this man was reading the Aayah changed the meaning to: “Allaah is Free from the Mushrikeen and from His Rasool (صلى الله عليه وسلم).” Hence, Imaam Abul Aswad ad-Du’ali became furious and said: “Allaah forbid that He declares Himself Free from His Rasool (صلى الله عليه وسلم)!”
He then went to al-Hajjaaj and informed him of this, so al-Hajjaaj ordered that the diacritical marks (fat’hah, kasrah, dhammah, or zabar/zer/pesh, and tanween, tashdeed, etc.) be added to the Qur’aan, and so this is an eternal virtue of al-Hajjaaj, even though the `Ulamaa differed regarding him. Some of them declared him to be a kaafir, others declared him to be a faasiq and others declared him to be a faajir.
Once, a man came to Imaam ash-Sha`bi and said, “O Imaam!” He is saying this to Imaam `Aamir ash-Sha`bi.
“O Imaam! I have taken an oath that if Hajjaaj is not in the Fire (of Jahannam), then my wife is divorced. Is my wife divorced?” Imaam ash-Sha`bi said to him, “O my nephew!” Or: “O my brother, go (home) and enjoy yourself with your wife, for she is not divorced. If Hajjaaj is in Jannah, then no one will enter the Fire (of Jahannam).”
So, he believed that Hajjaaj died as a kaafir. Others, though, believed that he died as a faasiq (a flagrant transgressor, but still a Muslim).
It is narrated from Hadhrat `Umar ibn `Abdil `Azeez رضي الله عنه وأرضاه that he was once giving the Khutbah on the Mimbar, and he began weeping under his beard was soaked with tears and he fell unconscious. When he awoke, he said, “O people! I saw (in a dream) that Qiyaamah was taking place, and the Scale (for the weighing of deeds) was set up, and the Bridge was placed (over Jahannam), and a tall, thin man was brought, and a very light reckoning was taken with him, and thereafter he was taken to the right side. I asked, “Who is this?” They said, “Abu Bakr.” Thereafter, a tall man was brought, and a very light reckoning was taken with him, after which he too was taken to the right side. I asked, “Who is this?” They said, “`Umar.” A third man was then brought and a very light reckoning was taken of him, and thereafter he too was taken to the right side.”
Hadhrat `Umar ibn `Abdil `Azeez did not mention the name of this person, but they said: “Perhaps it was `Umar ibn `Abdil `Azeez himself.”
Continuing, he said: “Then Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived and a tent was erected for him, and he along with (Hadhrat) `Ali رضي الله عنه and (Hadhrat) Mu`aawiyah رضي الله عنه then entered it. Thereafter, (Hadhrat) `Ali رضي الله عنه came out and he was smiling, saying: “He judged in my favour.” (Hadhrat) Mu`aawiyah رضي الله عنه also came out, smiling, and said, “He forgave me.”
Continuing, Hadhrat `Umar ibn `Abdil `Azeez said: “I then passed by a rotten, stinking carcass. I said, “Woe to you! Who are you?” He said, “I am al-Hajjaaj ibn Yusuf.” I asked, “What did Allaah do with you?” He said, “Allaah killed me once, in the Fire (of Jahannam) for every man I had killed, but for Sa`eed ibn Jubair, He killed me 70 times over in the Fire (of Jahannam).”
