Chapter 2
If someone is asked for knowledge while occupied with other speech and finishes his talk before answering

59- We were informed by Muḥammad ibn Sinân that he was informed by Fulayḥ / another track / I was informed by Ibrâhim ibn El-Mundhir that he was informed by Muḥammad ibn Fulayḥ that he was informed by his father that he was informed by Hilâl ibn Ali from ‘Atâ’ ibn Yasâr from Abu Hurayrah that he said:

While the Prophet (peace be upon him) was addressing an assembly of people, a Bedouin came and asked him “When is the Hour?" However, the Prophet (peace be upon him) continued his talk. Some of the attendants said that he had heard the question and disliked it, while others said that he had not heard it. When he eventually finished his talk he asked, “Where is the man who asked about the Hour?” The man answered, “Here I am, Messenger of Allah.” He then answered, “If trust is wasted, expect the Hour.” The man asked further, “How will it be wasted?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When responsibility is assigned to people who are unworthy of it, then expect the Hour.”

In the title, the words “If someone is asked for knowledge while occupied” essentially refer to the manners expected of teachers and of students. Guidance to teachers is gathered from the Prophet’s mild reaction to the crude inquirer. He let the incident pass without reprimand, apart from merely ignoring the asker until he was finished with what was occupying him, then answered the question with leniency, bearing in mind that a Bedouin is expected to be rough by nature. Further guidance to care for students is found in the fact that he actually answered the question, even though neither the question nor the answer was essential.

On the other hand, it is understood that decent students should not ask the scholar while he is occupied with others, because the first to come has a right of precedence that should be respected. From this, we further gather that order must be observed in instruction, fatwa, judgment, and the like. It is also understood from the Bedouin’s additional question, “How will it be wasted?” that one may ask the scholar further if the answer is not understood, and may continue to do so until the matter becomes adequately clear.

Ibn Ḥibbân based a chapter on this Ḥadeeth and gave it the title “Permissibility of relieving a person from answering immediately”. However, the context of the incident indicates that this is not necessarily applicable to all cases. The Ḥadeeth also shows that knowledge is gained through questions and answers, and that is why it was said that half of knowledge acquisition rests with perfecting the act of asking questions.

Mâlik, Aḥmad, and others based their opinion with regards to the interruption of a sermon on the explicit indications of this incident, thus stating that a sermon is not to be interrupted to answer a question. Conversely, the majority of scholars based their relevant opinion on the conditions surrounding each instance of such a situation. They said that answering is to be deferred if the question is initiated during an obligatory part of the sermon. Otherwise, an immediate answer may be given. Even in the latter case, it is preferable to give special consideration to the nature of the question, according to this group of scholars. If the question is related to an essential matter of the religion, particularly if it is directly relevant to the asker, then it would be preferable to answer then resume the sermon. The same applies if the question is asked between the sermon and the subsequent prayer. If this is not the case, then the answer should be deferred. They also stated that in some cases an event might occur during an obligatory part of the sermon that would necessitate answering immediately. However, in such cases the obligatory part must be started anew after answering, according to the most sound opinion.