Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Regarding the Foolish
A number of hadiths have been reported concerning the foolish and their condemnation, as narrated by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Some of these include:
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “In the end times, there will emerge a group of young people, foolish in their minds, who will speak the best words of creation. However, their faith will not exceed their throats. Wherever you encounter them, kill them; for the one who kills them will earn a reward on the Day of Judgment.”
- The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated: “There will come years of deception during which the liar will be believed, the truthful will be disbelieved, the treacherous will be trusted, and the trustworthy will be betrayed. The foolish will speak about the affairs of the public.” When asked about the foolish, he clarified that it refers to those who are reckless and meddle in public matters.
- The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to Ka’b ibn Ujrah: “May Allah protect you from the leadership of the foolish.” When asked about this, he explained: “These are the rulers who will come after me. They will not follow my guidance nor adhere to my tradition. Whoever believes their lies and assists them in their oppression is not of me, nor am I of them, and they shall not approach my pond. However, those who do not believe in their lies and do not assist them in their injustice are of me, and I am of them, and they will come to my pond. O Ka’b ibn Ujrah! Fasting is a shield, charity extinguishes sin, and prayer is a proof.” He added, “People are engaged in two paths: one who frees himself and another who sells his soul, leading to its ruin.”
- The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared: “Whoever seeks knowledge to contend with scholars or argue with fools or to gain people’s attention, Allah will admit him into the Fire.”
Qur’anic Verses on the Foolish
There are several verses in the Qur’an that address the foolish. Some of these are as follows:
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “And do not give your wealth, which Allah has made a means of support for you, to the foolish.”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “Indeed, those who kill their children out of folly and without knowledge have certainly incurred a great loss.”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “And if the one who bears the right is foolish or weak or cannot give an account, then let his guardian speak justly.”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “The foolish among the people will say, ‘What has turned them away from their Qibla, which they used to face?’
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “And indeed, he used to say, ‘Our foolishness has uttered falsehoods against Allah.’
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “Shall we believe as the foolish have believed? Indeed, it is they who are foolish, but they do not know.”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “And who would renounce the religion of Abraham except one who has made a fool of himself.”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “Will you destroy us because of what the foolish among us have done?”
- Allah, the Exalted, said: “The chiefs of the disbelievers among his people said, ‘We see you in foolishness.’ He replied, ‘O my people, I am not foolish, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds.’
The Concept of the Foolish
The term ‘fools’ is a plural of ‘fool,’ derived from the Arabic word ‘safah.’ Linguistically, ‘safah’ indicates a deficiency or lack of intellect and recklessness. In legal terminology, the term has been understood to refer to lavish spending, with a ‘fool’ being someone who spends their wealth extravagantly, unjustly, and without any benefit. This behavior often arises from emotional states such as elation or anger, which impair one’s rational judgment.