232 N~fU ftJ Pagu 702-209
washed away; when he washes his feet, all the sins toward which he has
stepped are washed away" (hadith reported by Abu D awud).- The preoccupations of the two ecologies are eventually bound to meet eveo
though their sources differ. - Hadith reported by Ahmad.
- Hadith reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
- Hadith reported by al-8 ukhari and Muslim.
16. Hadith reported byal-Bukhaci.
1 7. "\X/hen you do something, do it with mastery rlI1 the best possible manner]"
(hadith repo rted b y al-Bukhari and Muslim).
18. H adith reported by an-Nasai.
19. An elevated chair from which the imam addresses the faithful in a mosque.
20. Hadith reponed by al-Bukhari.
21. All the facts narrated here are reported by all of the reference traditionists,
but there are sometimes differences in thdr chronology or the time when
they actually took place: the speech in the mosque, th e transfer to Aishah's,
the prayers in the mosque, etc.
22. Hadith reponed by fI.-talik.
23. This injunction never to lapse into the woTShip of human bdngs explains
why prophets cannot be represented in classical Islamic tradition. P ictures,
like carved statues, arc by essence liable to fix human imagination on an
object or a being that can come to be idealized or worshiped because of, and
through, their representation. One should follow the prophets' teaching and
not thdr persons: they ate paths that guide people and bring them closer to
God. A believer reaches toward God's presence and love, but the Being and
His Presence transcend all that humans can represent or imagine. Faith is
thus a disposition of the heart, not of the imagination and its images.
24. Ibn Hisham, As-SimI, an-NabautiJJab, 6:64.
25. Tbid. (hadith also reported byal-Bukhan).
26. Hadith reported by aI-Bukhari.
27. Hadith reported by at-Tirmidhi.
28. Quran,4:69.
29. Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Naba/}!vah, 6:73 n. 1.
30. Quran, 33:56.
31. Quean, 9: 128.
32. Ibn .I-:lisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawf1yah, 6:75-76.
33. Quran,3: 144.