Carrying the stick is Sunna

The Correction To Some Misleading Answers of Albani On Various Current Topics

Carrying the stick is Sunna

Q. Is carrying a stick a sunnah? Or is it a sunnah of the khutbah only, or exclusively for the Messenger of Allaah (S)?

Albani's answer: It is none of these: to carry a stick is not the Sunnah, neither generally nor during the khutbah. The hadeeth,

"To carry a stick is an example of the Prophets" is fabricated, as I have explained in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-Da'eefah. The Prophet (S) used to have a stick which he would use as a sutrah while travelling or for the 'Eid prayer when there was no sutrah at the place of prayer. Hence, if a person needs a stick, as Allaah addresses Moosaa in the Qur'aan:

... and what is that in your right hand, O

Moosaa! He said. It is my rod, on it I lean, with

it I beat down fodder for my flock, and in it I

find other uses.(Taa Haa 20:17-18)

or due to old age, then it is undoubtedly correct to carry a stick. However, as for an ordinary person, it is in no way from the Sunnah to needlessly carry a stick, especially in an age where many people do without walking, let alone needing to carry a stick, due to conveyance in cars, buses etc, from the means provided by Allaah.
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Shaykh Hisham says:

Carrying a stick, staff, or cane for the adult male Muslim is by general agreement of the ulama one of the Sunan of the Prophets, peace be upon them, and in the Shafi`i and Maliki schools one of the desirable articles of the etiquette of Khutbat al-Jum`a. Imam Shafi`i carried a stick at all times in his life including when he was neither old, nor ailing, nor travelling, as Nawawi relates in the introduction to his al-Majmu`, and they were both more knowledgeable of the Sunna of the Prophet, blessings and peace upon him, than the one who gave the above answer. As for the statement al-tawakku' `ala al-`asa min sunnat al-anbiya' then al-Qari said: kalamun sahih wa laysa lahu aslun sarih: "It is a true statement but without an explicit basis." He continued saying that its implicit basis is the mention of Musa's staff in the Qur'an as well as the mention of the Prophet's staff in several instances in the hadith. `Ajluni mentioned this in Kashf al-khafa'.

The Prophet used a stick in the khutba:

Abu Dawud in his Sunan (Book of Salat) and Ahmad in his Musnad (4:212) narrate on the authority of al-Hakam ibn Hazn al-Kulafi with a good chain that the latter said: "We stayed with the Prophet a few days during which we witnessed the Jum`a Prayer. During the latter the Prophet stood leaning on a stick (`asa) or a bow (qaws), praised Allah and glorified him with a few excellent and blessed words, then he said:

"O people, you will not do, nor will you bear to do all that you have been ordered; nevertheless do as much as you can and be glad."

Also in the Musnad (4:282, 304) on the authority of al-Barra' ibn `Azib: "We were sitting in the mosque on the day of Adha and the Prophet came to us and greeted the people and said: "The first act of devotion (nusuk) on this Day of yours is prayer." After which he went forward and prayed two rak`at, gave salam, and then faced the people and was given a bow or a stick upon which he leaned (for his khutba). Then he praised Allah and glorified Him..." Abu Dawud (book of Salat) through the same authority only mentions the bow.

Also in the Musnad (4:335) on the authority of Khalid ibn Jabal al-`Adwani with a good chain: that the latter saw the Prophet in the Eastern part of the tribe of Thaqif (in Ta'if) standing and leaning on a bow or stick, at the time when he came requesting their support. Khalid said: "And I heard him recite: was-sama'i wat-tariq (Sura 86)."
Why was the Prophet "given a bow or a stick" before the khutba, and why did he lean on one -- or a bow -- when he addressed the people of Ta'if?

Because, as the Mu`tazila writer al-Jahiz explained in his "Book of the Staff," no self-respecting was Arab ever seen addressing people in a public forum except he held a stick in his hand, which adds gravity to his appearance. This is one of the customs of the Arabs which, like the turban, the Prophet retained and made part of his Sunna.

The Prophet deliberately carried a stick during the rites of Pilgrimage:

On the authority of Ibn `Abbas, "The Prophet circumambulated the Holy House on the Farewell Pilgrimage on top of a camel and he was touching the Corner (the Black Stone) with a bent-headed stick (mihjan)" (Bukhari and Muslim, Book of hajj). Muslim reports it also through Jabir, who adds that he did so in order to be seen by the people and to be asked questions, and through Abu al-Tufayl, who says: "I saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) circumambulating the House, and touching the corner with a stick that he had with him, and then kissing the stick."

This example was followed to the letter by Ibn `Abbas who, on the authority of Mujahid, would hit the Black Stone with his stick and then kiss the stick. Ahmad related it in his Musnad with a good chain (1:338).
The Prophet was described on numerous occasions either holding a stick or stressing its symbolism or value: In the following examples, he referred to the stick carried by a Muslim as one of the signs of the approach of the Last Day; made the stick a gift of gratitude from himself and a sign between himself and one of the Companions on the Day of Resurrection; and alluded to the stick as the symbol of the finality of his Prophethood:

Ahmad in his Musnad narrates (3:89) on the authority of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri with a good chain that the Prophet said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, the Hour shall not rise until one of you, after leaving his family, shall hear his own sandal or whip or stick telling him what happened to his family after he left them."

Ahmad relates in his Musnad (3:496) through al-Zuhri on the authority of `Abdullah ibn Unays that after the latter went upon the Prophet's order and killed Khalid ibn Sufyan ibn Nabih, who was gathering a group to attack the Prophet, he came back and the following took place: "The Prophet walked with me then entered his house and gave me a staff saying: "Keep this, O `Abdullah ibn Unays." I went out with it among the people and they asked what was this stick. I replied that the Prophet had given it to me and ordered me to keep it. They said, "Go back and ask the Prophet about it." I went back and said, "O Prophet, why did you give me this staff?" He said, "As a sign (ayat) between you and me on the Day of Resurrection. Very few will be the ones who have a staff on that Day." Ahmad continues: `Abdullah ibn Unays added the staff to his sword and was never found without it until the day he died, at which time he ordered that it be brought to him. It was put with him when he was shrouded and they were buried together. Ibn Hisham also cites it in his Sira (3/4:620 of the Saqqa edition) from Ibn Ishaq's narration. Haytami in Majma` al-zawa'id mentions that Abu Ya`la also narrated it. He said: "On of the narrators' names is missing (one of the grandsons of the Companion), but the rest of those in its chain are trustworthy." This hadith indicates the value the Arabs put on the staff in general.

a. Note that the Prophet gave specific prescriptions concerning found sticks, which shows the profusion of their usage in early Muslim society. The Prophet defended anyone from taking someone else's stick, although it is permissible to keep an unclaimed stick if found. To the effect of the prohibition Ahmad (4:221) and Tirmidhi (Book of Qadar in his Sunan) relate, both on the authority of `Abdullah ibn al-Sa'ib's great-grandfather, that the Prophet said: "Let none of you take his brother's possession whether in seriousness or in jest, and if one of you finds his brother's stick, let him return it to its owner." To the effect of the permission to keep an unclaimed stick, Abu Dawud relates in his Sunan, book of luqata ("Objects one finds"), on the authority of Jabir ibn `Abd Allah, that the Prophet allowed them to keep for their own use the stick, the whip, and the rope or the like if they find one.

Bukhari in his Sahih relates on the authority of `Ubayd Allah ibn `Abd Allah ibn `Utba that when Musaylima the Liar came to Madina, the Prophet went to see him with a stick (qadib) in his hand -- or a palm-tree stalk (qit`atu jarid) in Ibn `Abbas's account -- and spoke to him. Musaylima said to him: "If you wish, we would not interfere between you and the matter of leadership, on the condition that it be ours after you." The Prophet said: "If you asked me for this stick, I would not give it to you."

In the following examples the Prophet carries a stick but without giving it any particular significance:

Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i in their Sunan (Books of zakat), and Ahmad in his Musnad (6:23, 28) relate on the authority of `Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja`i that the Prophet came out ("into the mosque" in Abu Dawud and Ahmad) and saw that a man had hanged a bunch of grapes ("dates of inferior quality" in Abu Dawud and Ahmad). The Prophet had a stick with his hand and he began to poke and jab at the grapes saying: "If he had wished, the giver of this charity could have given better than this. Truly, the giver of this charity shall eat worthless dates on the Day of Resurrection."

Ahmad relates in his Musnad (5:253) on the authority of Abu Umamah: The Prophet came out and met us and he was leaning upon a stick (`asa). We stood up for him and he said: "Do not stand up in the manner of the non-Arabs who adulate each other." Note that the prohibition of standing up was in relation to the intention of worldly praise. Nawawi in his al-Rukhsa bi al-qiyam shows that it is good to stand out of respect for an eder or a scholar. `A'isha said: "Whenever Fatima entered a room where the Prophet was sitting the latter would get up and greet her, take her hand, kiss her, and make her sit in his place; and whenever he would enter a room where she was sitting she would get up and greet him, take his hand, kiss him, and make him sit in her place." It is a sound narration related in Abu Dawud's Sunan (Book of Adab), Tirmidhi's Sunan (Book of Manaqib), and Nasa'i's Sunan. al-Hakim said in the Mustadrak: "It is a sound (sahih) narration according to the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim." al-Zayla`i in Nasb al-raya (4:258) said: "Tirmidhi said: hadith hasan -- a fair narration -- and in some of the manuscripts: hasan sahih." Ibn al-Muqri' narrates it in al-Rukhsa (p. 91 #26).

Bukhari in his Sahih narrates (in the Book of Commentary of the Qur'an and in the Book of Adab) on the authority of Abu `Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami from `Ali, that the Prophet and some Companions were sitting in the cemetary of Baqi` after a janaza (funeral), and the Prophet began to scrape the ground with his staff (mikhsara or `ud). Then he raised his head and said: "None of you is created except his place is foreordained in paradise or in hell." It is also related in Muslim, Abu Dawud (Book of Sunna), and Ahmad in his Musnad (1:132).

Bukhari also relates in the Book of Adab of his Sahih on the authority of Abu Musa that the latter was in the company of the Prophet in one of the gardens of Madina and in the hand of the Prophet there was a stick (`ud), and the Prophet was striking upon the water and the mud with it. A man came and asked permission to enter the garden. The Prophet said, "Open the gate for him, and give him the glad tidings that he shall enter Paradise." Abu Musa said: "I went, and behold! It was Abu Bakr. So I opened the gate for him and informed him of the glad tidings of entering Paradise."

The Companions also carried sticks:

Malik relates in his Muwatta' on the authority of al-Sa'ib ibn Yazid with a very strong chain that he said: "`Umar had ordered Ubayy ibn Ka`b and Tamim al-Dari to pray eleven rak`at with the people, and the imam would read hundreds of verses, until we were leaning on our staffs because of the long duration of our standing, and we did not leave until the first glimpse of dawn."

Abu Dawud in the chapter entitled "Leaning on a staff during prayer" in his Sunan (Book of Salat) narrates with a chain that contains an unknown narrator from Hilal ibn Yasaf that the latter said: We went to Wabisa, and I said to my companion: "Let us observe his dignified appearance." He had a low-top qalansuwa (hat) with ear-coverings and a dust-colored woolen burnus (hooded cloak), and he was leaning on a staff while praying. After we greeted him we spoke to him and he said: "Umm Qays bint Mihsan told me that the Prophet used to lean on a pillar in his mosque after he aged and put on weight."

The hadith whereby the Prophet owned a stick which he called al-mamshuq, narrated by Tabarani on the authority of Ibn `Abbas, contains in its chain `Ali ibn `Urwa, who is "fatally weak" (matruk) according to the Imams of hadith. Yet Ibn al-Athir relates it in al-Nihaya (2:382) and Ibn Qunfudh in Wasilat al-islam (p. 122).

The above is enough evidence, al-hamdu lillah, that the stick is a customary Sunna of the Prophet and the Companions and that no one has authority in our time to deny what all ulama accepted before it. One might wonder why dissent is heard in this area, as in so many other major and minor points which the rest of Muslim scholars have settled once and for all. The following conclusion might shed some light on this strange question.

The third part of the Mu`tazili Imam al-Jahiz Mahbub al-Kinani's (d. 255) book al-Bayan wal-Tabyin is entitled Kitab al-`asa (The book of the staff) and is entirely devoted to the subject of the staff in and before Islam. The author begins his introduction by mentioning the Shu`ubiyya, a movement within the third-century Islamic community which attacked Arab customs and the paradigmatic status of Arabs as cultural examples for the rest of the Muslims. In the name of "equalization" (taswiya), he says, they criticized, among other things, the continued use of the staff (mikhsara) by Arab speakers (khutaba') and in public life. To this he retorts: "Do not give the slightest credit to those who disapprove using a stick, whether to lean upon, or to point at something, or to walk on the ground, or to speak, or on any occasion." (al-Bayan wa al-tabyin, 1313 H, p. 49)

al-Jahiz shows, through many expressions in poetry and proverbs, that the staff was used and honored in virtually every facet of daily life among the Arabs, including fighting and travelling, and that after Islam, carrying the staff came to symbolize being a Muslim. He says, "Many have used this line of poetry to describe Muslim speakers: "When they pound the minbar [i.e. ascend it with staff in hand] they can trace, with the end of their stick, even the defect in one's eye" (p. 50)... and it is said of someone who secedes from the Community, "So-and-so has split the staff of Muslims" (fulanun shaqqa `asa al-muslimin), and it is also called "the staff of Religion" (`asa al-din)" (p. 59).

"The Prophet, Blessings and Greetings of Allah upon him, used to address people carrying a stick, and it is enough of a proof for its great utility and exalted position. The khalifs perpetuated its use, and so did the great Muslim speakers" (p. 69).

al-Jahiz concludes his book by pointing out that the staff and the turban symbolize Islam, and by stressing the tremendous value Allah puts on outward signs: "Allah Almighty said, "Their signs are on their faces from the trace of prostration," and "We have made you nations and tribes so that you may come to know each other, and the worthiest among you are the most God-fearing." Among the Arabs, wearing a turban and carrying a staff are among the "signs." It may be that the speaker of a khutba does not wear a covering (milhafa) nor a robe (jubba) nor an ankle-length shirt (qamis) nor a mantle (rida'), but what he cannot do without is the turban (`imma) and the stick (mikhsara)." (p. 76) And this is the position of the Shafi`i madhhab in the matter, as Imam Ghazali said in the book Jum`a of his Ihya': "It is desirable to wear the turban for Salat al-Jum`a, especially for the Imam," and Imam Nawawi in the book of Jum`a of his Minhaj al-talibin: "It is the Sunna for the Imam during the khutba... to lean on a sword, a stick, or something similar."

And Allah knows best.