عن عبدِ اللهِ بنِ عُتْبَةَ بنِ مسعودٍ رضيَ اللهُ عنه قال: سمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الخَطَّابِ، رضيَ اللهُ عنهُ يقولُ: «إِنَّ نَاسًا كَانُوا يُؤْخَذُونَ بالوَحْيِ في عَهْدِ رسولِ اللهِ صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم، وإِنَّ الوَحْيَ قَدِ انْقَطَعَ، وإِنَّمَا نَأْخُذُكُمُ الآنَ بِما ظَهَرَ لَنَا مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ، فَمَنْ أَظْهَرَ لَنا خَيْرًا أَمَّنَّاهُ وقَرَّبْنَاهُ، وَلَيْس لنَا مِنْ سَرِيرَتِهِ شيءٌ، اللهُ يُحاسِبُهُ في سرِيرَتِهِ، ومَنْ أَظْهَرَ لَنَا سُوءًا لَمْ نأْمنْهُ، وَلَمْ نُصَدِّقْهُ وإِنْ قال: إِنَّ سَرِيرَتَه حَسنَةٌ» رواه البخاري.
Abdullah ibn Utbah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "Some people used to be dealt with by revelation in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but revelation has now ceased. We now deal with you only according to what is apparent to us of your deeds. So whoever shows us good, we trust him and bring him near, and we have nothing to do with his inner state; Allah will call him to account for his inner state. And whoever shows us evil, we do not trust him and do not believe him, even if he says that his inner state is good." Reported by al-Bukhari.
الشرح · explanation
يؤخذون بالوحي: أي ينزل الوحي فيهم فيكشف عن حقائق حالهم، وذلك في عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. أمَّنَّاه: لم نشكّك فيه أو نتهمه على شيء لم يظهر لنا. سريرته: ما أسرّه وأخفاه.
"Dealt with by revelation": that is, revelation would descend concerning them, disclosing the realities of their state, and that was in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). "We trust him": we do not doubt him or accuse him of anything that has not become apparent to us. "His inner state": what he keeps secret and conceals.
الدروس · lessons
إجراء أحكام الإسلام على ظواهر الناس وما يصدر منهم من أعمال، وهذا من رحمة الله بعباده لأنّ العلم ببواطن الأمور شاقٌ وربما كان مستحيلًا. أنّ من وضع نفسه موضع التّهمة والرّيبة فليس له أن يلوم النّاس في ظنّ السوء به لأنّ الاعتبار بما يظهر من الإنسان خيرًا أو شرًّا. النية الحسنة وحدها لا تشفع في ترك إقامة الحدود والقصاص. على المسلم أن يصلح سريرته وظاهره فهما يكمّلان بعضهما ويدلّ كلٌ منهما على الآخر، فلا ينفع مع فساد السريرة صلاح الظاهر.
Applying the rulings of Islam according to people's outward appearances and the deeds that issue from them; this is part of Allah's mercy toward His servants, because knowledge of the inner states of matters is difficult and perhaps impossible. Whoever places himself in a position of suspicion and doubt has no right to blame people for thinking ill of him, because what is taken into account is what appears from a person, whether good or evil. Good intention alone does not intercede in waiving the establishment of the prescribed penalties and retaliation. The Muslim should set right his inner state and his outward state, for they complete one another and each points to the other; the soundness of the outward is of no benefit when the inner state is corrupt.