Nasruddin used to stand in the street on market-days, to be pointed
out as an idiot. No matter how often people offered him a large and
asmall coin, he always chose the smaller piece.
One day a kindly man said to him:
- Nasruddin , you should take the bigger coin. Then you will have more
money and people will no longer be able to make a laughing stock of
you.
- That may be true, said Nasruddin , but if I alwaystake the larger,
people will stop offering me money to prove that I ammore idiotic than
they are. Then I would have no money at all.
As Nasruddin emerged form the mosque after prayers, a beggar sitting
on the street solicited alms. The following conversation followed:
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin .
- Yes Nasruddin . replied the beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin .
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin .
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin .
- Yes I like all those things. replied the beggar.
- Tut, Tut, said Nasruddin , and gave him a gold piece.
A few yards farther on. another beggar who hadoverheard the
conversation begged for alms also.
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin .
- No, Nasruddin replied second beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin .
- No. replied second beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin .
- No. replied second beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin .
- No, I want to only live meagerly and to pray. replied second beggar.
Whereupon the Nasruddin gave him a small copper coin.
- But why, wailed second beggar, do you give me, an economical and pious
man, a penny, when you give that extravagant fellow a sovereign?
Ah my friend, replied Nasruddin , his needs are greater than yours.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
M ullah N asruddin - Nasruddin used to stand in the street on market
M ullah N asruddin - Nasruddin was taking it easy
One hot day, Nasruddin was taking it easy in the shade of a walnut
tree. After a time, he started eying speculatively, the huge pumpkins
growing on vines and the small walnuts growing on a majestic tree.
- Sometimes I just can't understand the ways of God! he mused. Just
fancy letting tinny walnuts grow on so majestic a tree and huge
pumpkins on the delicatevines!
Just then a walnut snapped off and fell smack on Mullah Nasruddin 's
bald head. He got up at once and lifting up his hands and face to
heavens in supplication, said:
- Oh, my God! Forgive my questioning your ways! You are all-wise.
Where would I have been now, if pumpkins grew on trees!
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
tree. After a time, he started eying speculatively, the huge pumpkins
growing on vines and the small walnuts growing on a majestic tree.
- Sometimes I just can't understand the ways of God! he mused. Just
fancy letting tinny walnuts grow on so majestic a tree and huge
pumpkins on the delicatevines!
Just then a walnut snapped off and fell smack on Mullah Nasruddin 's
bald head. He got up at once and lifting up his hands and face to
heavens in supplication, said:
- Oh, my God! Forgive my questioning your ways! You are all-wise.
Where would I have been now, if pumpkins grew on trees!
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Birthday of Imam Mahdi (ATFS) is the day of the Oppressed People of the World
The appearance of the Imam Mahdi (as) is Allah'sfavour for the
oppressed and the weak, and is a means of their coming to power and
gaining the promised divine succession of the world. Holy Qur'an says
"We have decided to grant favour to the suppressed ones by appointing
them leaders and heirs of the earth", (Al-Quran: Chapteral-Qasas,
28:5). The appearance of Imam Mahdi (as) means the realization of the
promise Allah (SWT) made to the righteous in Holy Qur'an. "Verily we
have written in the Psalms (zaboor) after the Torah had been
revealed:My righteous servants shall inherit the earth." (Al-Quran:
Chapter al-Anbia, 21:105)
This auspicious occasion of birth anniversary of Imam Mahdi (atfs)
surely revives our hopes for a better future ahead when Imam Mahdi
(as) reappears from the occultation. Additionally, it is a special
reminder to those suffering under oppression and tyranny that
resistance and resilience in the face of injustice will only serve
them in the long-haul. The belief in Imam Mahdi(as) is a manifestation
forglobal community that the battle between truth and falsehood will
culminate in favour of forces of truth once the Promised one returns.
The continuation of the occultation of Imam Mahdi (as) is meant to
preserve the vigilance and advance the cause ofjustice. It is
important that as part of our waiting of Imam Mahdi (as), we
persistently oppose all bullying powers (global, domestic,secular,
religious or in any other form or shape),and remain steadfast during
adversarial times. The global dominance of few arrogant and oppressive
powers has yielded two billion starved people across theglobe,
millions displaced due to warmongering policies and majority of
nations subservient. In such circumstances, the silver lining is the
belief in the eventual global just governance of the ultimate saviour.
It convinces human beings that the world status quomust be denounced
and wait for a turnabout in the living conditions of the humanity at
large. Hence, it is imperative and incumbent upon the well-wishers and
followers of Imam Mahdi (as) to lay the practical groundwork necessary
for his return in addition to the prayers.
oppressed and the weak, and is a means of their coming to power and
gaining the promised divine succession of the world. Holy Qur'an says
"We have decided to grant favour to the suppressed ones by appointing
them leaders and heirs of the earth", (Al-Quran: Chapteral-Qasas,
28:5). The appearance of Imam Mahdi (as) means the realization of the
promise Allah (SWT) made to the righteous in Holy Qur'an. "Verily we
have written in the Psalms (zaboor) after the Torah had been
revealed:My righteous servants shall inherit the earth." (Al-Quran:
Chapter al-Anbia, 21:105)
This auspicious occasion of birth anniversary of Imam Mahdi (atfs)
surely revives our hopes for a better future ahead when Imam Mahdi
(as) reappears from the occultation. Additionally, it is a special
reminder to those suffering under oppression and tyranny that
resistance and resilience in the face of injustice will only serve
them in the long-haul. The belief in Imam Mahdi(as) is a manifestation
forglobal community that the battle between truth and falsehood will
culminate in favour of forces of truth once the Promised one returns.
The continuation of the occultation of Imam Mahdi (as) is meant to
preserve the vigilance and advance the cause ofjustice. It is
important that as part of our waiting of Imam Mahdi (as), we
persistently oppose all bullying powers (global, domestic,secular,
religious or in any other form or shape),and remain steadfast during
adversarial times. The global dominance of few arrogant and oppressive
powers has yielded two billion starved people across theglobe,
millions displaced due to warmongering policies and majority of
nations subservient. In such circumstances, the silver lining is the
belief in the eventual global just governance of the ultimate saviour.
It convinces human beings that the world status quomust be denounced
and wait for a turnabout in the living conditions of the humanity at
large. Hence, it is imperative and incumbent upon the well-wishers and
followers of Imam Mahdi (as) to lay the practical groundwork necessary
for his return in addition to the prayers.
Advent of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS)
Ali and his family were very pious and religious people, they would
visit Islamic Center's and Masjid's every Thursday and Friday, they
would seldom missed any opportunity as far as"rights of Allah" like
performing prayers and other mandatory religious requirements was
concerned but the same could not be said when it came to the rights of
the oppressed. Not that they did not like to help the oppressed
buttheir "hectic schedule" and "low priority" prevented them from
making the necessary effort in that direction.
It was the auspicious night of 15th Shab'an thebirth anniversary of
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS) and Ali was extremely please with
himself as he was able to joined the congregation at the Islamic
Centre to celebrate the occasion and to perform special prayers,
including the supplications invoking Allah (SWT) to hasten the advent
of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS). After staying awake throughout the
night in prayers and assuming close proximity of Imam Mehdi (ATFS), he
peacefully went to sleep.
Ali woke up on a bright, sunny morning and looked out of the window.
It looked like a perfectly normal day, but then he remembered it
wouldn't be as perfect as he would've liked it to be. Just this past
week, the sun had started risingfrom the west and setting in the east.
The meteorologists at NASA kept saying again and again on the news
mediathat it was only the dust from the severe earthquakes occurring
around the world that was causing this outstanding mirage. Thatit
wasn't the only thing making 'top headlines' on the news though. A
powerful man was slowlytaking over the world under the guise of "war
on terror". Could he be the prophesized"Sufiani" Ali wondered, the
evil person appearing before the advent of Imam Mehdi (ATFS) as he sat
in his bedtrying to remember where he had heard about him before. Was
it in one of the Islamic speeches or at "Sunday Madrassa", Yes, he
said tohimself it was at "Sunday Madrassa" that's where he had heard.
But what did they warn us about"Sufiani"? He is a rich, powerful man
with plenty of resources. He will buy the high profile people from the
Muslim Ummah to promote his evil plan while the majority will remain
completely oblivious to what is really going on, their primary and
only concern would be to satisfy their desires whatever that may be,
consumption, sex, love, status, money, etc. In the mean time, Sufiani
and his army shall be pulling the strings and profiting from global
exploitation with no resistance because the masses were simply
mindless zombies.
Ali was just getting readyto get out of bed when he heard a loud voice
saying that the one who will rid the world of injustice has come. Just
as the voice stopped speaking, Ali heard another voice that spoke to
him softly, in a very soothing tone that immediately made him feel
very sleepy. "Go backto sleep" it said. "There isno one here your mind
is playing tricks on you. Think of how tired you are and how warm your
bed is. Go on back to sleep." Like a fool, Ali listened to the voice
and went back to sleep.
The sound of the doorbell woke him up, Alitried to ignore it but the
persistent ringing convinced him that whoever was there was not going
away. Finally Ali dragged himself out of the bed to open the door. He
saw a handsomeyoung stranger staring athim with kindness. The stranger
greeted him in an extremely polite way. Ali usually wouldn't
invitestrangers in his house, but something about thisman made him to
invite him inside. As the stranger stepped in, he said "are you ready
to join me in my struggle to spread justice in this world". On hearing
this, Ali was baffled, confused and perplexed, gatheringenough courage
he asked, "Who are you?" The stranger politely replied, "you always
stood-up whenever my name was uttered as a indication of joining me in
my struggle, on hearing my name you would place your right hand on
your head as a sign of offering your head in my cause" - The time has
come, Islam needs your sacrifice in order to restore the justice and
peace". He further continued "I am preparing an army that will help us
get rid of these evil people, and restore peace and justice". On
hearing his words, rush of adrenaline soared through Ali's vein,
comprehension dawned on him as he realized that he was in the presence
of his Imam. Ali's knees felt weak as relief washed over him.
Ali replied, "O my Imam, I have patiently waited foryou all along
during these hard times and I would be highly obliged to join your
army if you could solve my simple little problems, you see I just
bought my first big house and to pay the"mortgage" for this I and my
wife have to work round the clock. The big house without the furniture
was worthless so we bought new furniture's. In this new neighbourhood
all my neighbours had new latest car so we got new cars. To watch the
annual Hajj Pilgrimage live from Makkah and Ashura live from Karbala
we bought new plasma TV, all this recent expenditures has put us in
tremendous debt. Than we have this"recurring" expense of my children's
that are undergoing graduation, can you help me with thissmall
problem. The Imam stood in silence, he did not speak......
Ali continued......if my problems could be solve, I would gladly
joined you. I know I am sounding similar to my forefathers that left
your forefathers stranded before but let me tell youthat my
forefathers were wrong because they had more time then we have, you
see we are terribly swamp at times for weeks together I don't get time
to see my wife or my children's we just exchange messages on"voice
mails" and"emails". If I had time I would have gladly joinedyou
however I promise you that every evening I will perform additional
prayers for your success, please consider me with you spiritually and
financially. The Imam looked at Ali walked away towards the door
saying, "You are the real cause of my delay, you are still not ready
for my mission".
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar! Ali opened his eyes, he was jolted awake by
the sound of the adhan emanating from his digital alarm clock. He sat
up in his bedand looked around his master bedroom. His heart was still
beating fast as he realized that it was a tragic dream. A dream that
has shattered all his hope, all along he has thought that he was
waiting for his Imam but his dream has proved otherwise. He had
gathered enough "signs on the appearance" of Imam but failed to meet
the "conditions of appearance" he realized how unprepared he was for
his Imam's advent, he cried from the depth of his heart, he fell to
the floor crying in shame andsaying "O Allah let this tragic dream
become wake-up call for my preparation, give me courage and hope to
work for the condition that will result in the final uprising of Imam
Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS)".
visit Islamic Center's and Masjid's every Thursday and Friday, they
would seldom missed any opportunity as far as"rights of Allah" like
performing prayers and other mandatory religious requirements was
concerned but the same could not be said when it came to the rights of
the oppressed. Not that they did not like to help the oppressed
buttheir "hectic schedule" and "low priority" prevented them from
making the necessary effort in that direction.
It was the auspicious night of 15th Shab'an thebirth anniversary of
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS) and Ali was extremely please with
himself as he was able to joined the congregation at the Islamic
Centre to celebrate the occasion and to perform special prayers,
including the supplications invoking Allah (SWT) to hasten the advent
of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS). After staying awake throughout the
night in prayers and assuming close proximity of Imam Mehdi (ATFS), he
peacefully went to sleep.
Ali woke up on a bright, sunny morning and looked out of the window.
It looked like a perfectly normal day, but then he remembered it
wouldn't be as perfect as he would've liked it to be. Just this past
week, the sun had started risingfrom the west and setting in the east.
The meteorologists at NASA kept saying again and again on the news
mediathat it was only the dust from the severe earthquakes occurring
around the world that was causing this outstanding mirage. Thatit
wasn't the only thing making 'top headlines' on the news though. A
powerful man was slowlytaking over the world under the guise of "war
on terror". Could he be the prophesized"Sufiani" Ali wondered, the
evil person appearing before the advent of Imam Mehdi (ATFS) as he sat
in his bedtrying to remember where he had heard about him before. Was
it in one of the Islamic speeches or at "Sunday Madrassa", Yes, he
said tohimself it was at "Sunday Madrassa" that's where he had heard.
But what did they warn us about"Sufiani"? He is a rich, powerful man
with plenty of resources. He will buy the high profile people from the
Muslim Ummah to promote his evil plan while the majority will remain
completely oblivious to what is really going on, their primary and
only concern would be to satisfy their desires whatever that may be,
consumption, sex, love, status, money, etc. In the mean time, Sufiani
and his army shall be pulling the strings and profiting from global
exploitation with no resistance because the masses were simply
mindless zombies.
Ali was just getting readyto get out of bed when he heard a loud voice
saying that the one who will rid the world of injustice has come. Just
as the voice stopped speaking, Ali heard another voice that spoke to
him softly, in a very soothing tone that immediately made him feel
very sleepy. "Go backto sleep" it said. "There isno one here your mind
is playing tricks on you. Think of how tired you are and how warm your
bed is. Go on back to sleep." Like a fool, Ali listened to the voice
and went back to sleep.
The sound of the doorbell woke him up, Alitried to ignore it but the
persistent ringing convinced him that whoever was there was not going
away. Finally Ali dragged himself out of the bed to open the door. He
saw a handsomeyoung stranger staring athim with kindness. The stranger
greeted him in an extremely polite way. Ali usually wouldn't
invitestrangers in his house, but something about thisman made him to
invite him inside. As the stranger stepped in, he said "are you ready
to join me in my struggle to spread justice in this world". On hearing
this, Ali was baffled, confused and perplexed, gatheringenough courage
he asked, "Who are you?" The stranger politely replied, "you always
stood-up whenever my name was uttered as a indication of joining me in
my struggle, on hearing my name you would place your right hand on
your head as a sign of offering your head in my cause" - The time has
come, Islam needs your sacrifice in order to restore the justice and
peace". He further continued "I am preparing an army that will help us
get rid of these evil people, and restore peace and justice". On
hearing his words, rush of adrenaline soared through Ali's vein,
comprehension dawned on him as he realized that he was in the presence
of his Imam. Ali's knees felt weak as relief washed over him.
Ali replied, "O my Imam, I have patiently waited foryou all along
during these hard times and I would be highly obliged to join your
army if you could solve my simple little problems, you see I just
bought my first big house and to pay the"mortgage" for this I and my
wife have to work round the clock. The big house without the furniture
was worthless so we bought new furniture's. In this new neighbourhood
all my neighbours had new latest car so we got new cars. To watch the
annual Hajj Pilgrimage live from Makkah and Ashura live from Karbala
we bought new plasma TV, all this recent expenditures has put us in
tremendous debt. Than we have this"recurring" expense of my children's
that are undergoing graduation, can you help me with thissmall
problem. The Imam stood in silence, he did not speak......
Ali continued......if my problems could be solve, I would gladly
joined you. I know I am sounding similar to my forefathers that left
your forefathers stranded before but let me tell youthat my
forefathers were wrong because they had more time then we have, you
see we are terribly swamp at times for weeks together I don't get time
to see my wife or my children's we just exchange messages on"voice
mails" and"emails". If I had time I would have gladly joinedyou
however I promise you that every evening I will perform additional
prayers for your success, please consider me with you spiritually and
financially. The Imam looked at Ali walked away towards the door
saying, "You are the real cause of my delay, you are still not ready
for my mission".
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar! Ali opened his eyes, he was jolted awake by
the sound of the adhan emanating from his digital alarm clock. He sat
up in his bedand looked around his master bedroom. His heart was still
beating fast as he realized that it was a tragic dream. A dream that
has shattered all his hope, all along he has thought that he was
waiting for his Imam but his dream has proved otherwise. He had
gathered enough "signs on the appearance" of Imam but failed to meet
the "conditions of appearance" he realized how unprepared he was for
his Imam's advent, he cried from the depth of his heart, he fell to
the floor crying in shame andsaying "O Allah let this tragic dream
become wake-up call for my preparation, give me courage and hope to
work for the condition that will result in the final uprising of Imam
Muhammad al-Mahdi (ATFS)".
Imam Al-Mahdi (as): The Awaited Hope for Humanity
The belief in the Mahdi is not only an essential doctrine deep-rooted
in Islamic faith; it is rather an embodiment of human nature
regardless of one's religious affiliations. For it is the universal
desire of humans as a whole to try to achieve or at least witness the
realisation ofthe ultimate objective of their existence, through which
they will achieve perfection and social happiness in its entirety.
Therefore, by reason of inner necessity and inspiration, humans will
see a day when society will be replete with justice.
More importantly, from a religious perspective the concept of the
Mahdi is the culmination of human struggle in their path towards Allah
the Almighty. It is when true Justice will be establishedthrough human
hands but with Divine succour resulting in the prevalence of truth
over falsehood and all its offshoots.
And say: "Truth has (now)arrived, and Falsehood perished: for
Falsehood is(by its nature) bound to perish." (Holy Qur'an, 17:81)
Having identified that the need for the Mahdi is a subject of inner
necessity that is instilled into the hearts of humans, it is essential
to outline the duties of the human race as a whole intrying to achieve
a purgatory state of social felicity in the outward absence of the
Mahdi that would lay a foundation for his imminent reappearance.
However, in the case of such a state being reached, it prompts one to
question the fundamental motive behind the concealment of the Mahdi
despite when the social and political factors are welcoming to his
presence and his precepts. To this we say; Yes Indeed, this is exactly
where the problem lies! The principle reason that is delaying the
reappearance of the Mahdi is that the people aren't ready to
acknowledge the perfect leader and the perfect ideology that is to be
established by him, as clearly mentioned by the Mahdi himself in one
of his narrations;
'If our Shi'a (followers), may Allah help and succeed them to His
obedience, were united in wholeheartedly honouring the promise and
obligation that is upon them, there would have been no delay in
meeting us (i.e. in our reappearance), and bliss and felicity for them
would have hastened by seeing us with full knowledge and certainty of
testifying to our (leadership)'
Therefore, each and every one of us has to be very cognisant of their
acts, in relation to the part we play during the occultation of the
Mahdi. This period has been like none other before nor is the test set
upon the Muslim Ummah and humanity at large like any before. With lack
of direct contact with the divine leader of the time and the many
injustices that have overwhelmed today's society resulting in moral
demise on another side, many seek the help of Allah (SWT) and pray for
the hasty reappearance of the Mahdi and his promised victory. Strong
faith in the promised triumph in the midst of injustice anddarkness is
a means of separating the true believers from the rest. A brief look
into history shows endless of these so-called followers who eventually
betrayed theirleaders and thus put eternal shame and disgrace on
themselves. Aperfect example being the story of the inhabitants of
Kufah in Iraq at the time of the great ancestor of the Mahdi, Imam
Husayn son of Imam Ali (as), for whom he weeps blood each day until
the day of his reappearance.
Certainly those fortunate and blessed individuals who will take part
in this grand culmination of servitude, which will result in the
prevalence of Truth over all forms of falsehood, will be those whose
conviction in the Mahdi and the promised day is resolute. The
believers will be constantly tested by those whose aim is staunchly
fixed in denying the Mahdi, by using arguments such as his age, for
the Mahdi's age is now 1176 years. Many find it difficult to believe
that a human canlive for a period of this length, however, the
impossibility in this objection is relative and its relation is to
some person, place and time. What is impossibility to one person, time
or placemay be very possible to another, as we well know. Moreover, it
should be said that living for such a length of time is neither a
scientific nor a logical impossibility. Today scientists have
succeeded in prolonging the life of certain animals, hundreds of times
beyond their normal life spans by artificially creating conditions
that delay the degeneration of their tissues and cells. The failure of
this being effectively carried out on humans is merely due to the
increased difficulties involved, however, it is inno way an
impossibility, from a scientific point of view, to achieve this in the
future.
Imam Mahdi (as) was born on the fifteenth of Sha'ban in the year two
hundred and fifty five (255) after Hijrah. His birth was kept secret
since the authorities of the time were actively seeking to execute him
should he be found alive.The circumstances of his birth were
therefore, very similar to that of theProphet Moses (as) who was also
been searched for by the authorities of his time, for the Pharaoh was
well aware of the prophecy that a child would grow up to prevailover
him and his evil ruleand would replace this with the belief in the
true One God whose Power, Might and Wisdom is Absolute.
Similarly, the Abbasid Caliphate was well awareof Imam Mahdi (as) and
of how he would fill the world with justice and truth after it had
been filled with injustice and falsehood, from several traditions
originating from Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). These narrations are
present to date in both Shi'a and Sunni books.
"The world will not come to an end until a man from the descendants of
Husayn takes charge of the affairs of the world and fills it with
justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny."
At the age of five, after the tragic martyrdom of his father, the
eleventh divine successor of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) - Hassan son
of Ali , Imam Mahdi went into a minor occultation. Duringthis period,
Imam Mahdi (as) was in contact with his followers through appointed
deputies. This lasted for a period of about sixty nine years. A few
days before the death of his fourth and final deputy Imam Mahdi (as)
informed his followers, through his deputy, that there would be no
more deputies after the death of the current one and after thisperiod
Imam Mahdi (as) would go into a Major Occultation, which wouldcontinue
until the day Allah (SWT) grants permission to the Imam Mahdi (as) to
manifest himself. During this period, none would be able to approach
Imam Mahdi (as) through deputies or through direct contact. In regards
to the duration and the importance of this period, Holy Prophet
Muhammad (saw) was once asked about the nature of the reappearance of
Imam Mahdi. In his reply Holy Prophet likened the time of the
Reappearance of Imam Mahdi to that of the Hour of Resurrection and
then narrated the Quranic verse;
"He alone will manifest it at its proper time. It is heavy in the
heavens andthe earth. It cometh not to you save unawares" (Holy
Qur'an, 7:187)
An important question is raised in relation to this specific period,
by those who doubt or question the existence of Imam Mahdi (as). What
is the benefit of divine Imam tohis followers during his occultation?
In order to answer this question, one should realise that the position
and the role of an Imam is not only to administer the affairs and the
needs of Muslim Ummah, rather he is the link between man and God, the
link between the material and the spiritual worlds. Moreover, his
physical presence or absence has no bearing on his position in regards
to this role. This can be derived from one of the sayings narrated by
Imam Mahdi (as) himself;
'My benefit (to the people) during my occultation is similar to that
of the sun when it disappears from sight behind the clouds.'
Examining the above saying from a scientific approach, we understand
that just like how the Earth is sustained with the Sun's energy and
light irrespective of whether itis behind clouds, similarly, we derive
immense spiritual benefitfrom our Imam regardless of whether he is
physically with us or not. Furthermore, one can also obtain another
important role of Imamate from the saying above. Today, we know that
the Sun is the centre of the solar system and its existence nourishes
and nurtures for the planetary objects around it, similarly Imam's
sole presence, whether active or not, is of paramount importance as it
is the source of life for all as without the existence of God's proof
on Earth the world is tantamount to complete annihilation.
We therefore have to be mindful of what we do and should endeavour in
making our souls pure bynourishing them with theDivine light thus
making our souls the abode for Allah (SWT) and his beloved angels.
Spiritual perfection should be our goal and if there is any doubt as
to whether Imam is aware of our actsand is overlooking the welfare of
his followers, a saying by Imam Mahdi (as) should suffice;
'We have not ignored your consideration, and have not forgotten your
mention; otherwise hardship would have descended upon you andyour
enemies would have exterminated you.'
Imam Mahdi (as) is therefore watching over our affairs and is
patiently awaiting our response to his call. The matter regarding the
return of Imam is not onesimply related to awaiting a time frame
chosen by the Almighty Allah (SWT), rather in accordance to the
narration from Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) , it has a direct
relationship with our own actions, as he says;
'The best of actions is awaiting Al-Faraj (the return)'
The emphasis in this saying is on the word 'actions', because it is in
reference to participating in an actionin order to bring about that
awaited time. From this narration stems the School of Awaiting whichis
a comprehensive study into the necessary approaches and actions of the
Muslim community in order to hasten the appearance of the return.
It is therefore necessary for everyone to work tirelessly for this
objective and to remember that this mission is the only legitimate
solution to theproblems faced by mankind at large. It is
theresponsibility of everyone to remind those around them of this
sacred mission and it is likewise their responsibility to sacrifice
their time, efforts and even their finances for the cause of the
awaited Imam.
It is a frequent saying amongst many Muslims, when they remember
themartyrs of Karbala to chant: "If only we were with you, for surely
we would have been victorious." We today have that option, we have an
Imam in occultation waiting for us to reach out towards him. He is
patiently waiting for that time to come where a small group of people
would truly be of his followers such that he may appear and lead this
Muslim Ummah towards salvation, and yet we as apeople sit and do
nothing.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
in Islamic faith; it is rather an embodiment of human nature
regardless of one's religious affiliations. For it is the universal
desire of humans as a whole to try to achieve or at least witness the
realisation ofthe ultimate objective of their existence, through which
they will achieve perfection and social happiness in its entirety.
Therefore, by reason of inner necessity and inspiration, humans will
see a day when society will be replete with justice.
More importantly, from a religious perspective the concept of the
Mahdi is the culmination of human struggle in their path towards Allah
the Almighty. It is when true Justice will be establishedthrough human
hands but with Divine succour resulting in the prevalence of truth
over falsehood and all its offshoots.
And say: "Truth has (now)arrived, and Falsehood perished: for
Falsehood is(by its nature) bound to perish." (Holy Qur'an, 17:81)
Having identified that the need for the Mahdi is a subject of inner
necessity that is instilled into the hearts of humans, it is essential
to outline the duties of the human race as a whole intrying to achieve
a purgatory state of social felicity in the outward absence of the
Mahdi that would lay a foundation for his imminent reappearance.
However, in the case of such a state being reached, it prompts one to
question the fundamental motive behind the concealment of the Mahdi
despite when the social and political factors are welcoming to his
presence and his precepts. To this we say; Yes Indeed, this is exactly
where the problem lies! The principle reason that is delaying the
reappearance of the Mahdi is that the people aren't ready to
acknowledge the perfect leader and the perfect ideology that is to be
established by him, as clearly mentioned by the Mahdi himself in one
of his narrations;
'If our Shi'a (followers), may Allah help and succeed them to His
obedience, were united in wholeheartedly honouring the promise and
obligation that is upon them, there would have been no delay in
meeting us (i.e. in our reappearance), and bliss and felicity for them
would have hastened by seeing us with full knowledge and certainty of
testifying to our (leadership)'
Therefore, each and every one of us has to be very cognisant of their
acts, in relation to the part we play during the occultation of the
Mahdi. This period has been like none other before nor is the test set
upon the Muslim Ummah and humanity at large like any before. With lack
of direct contact with the divine leader of the time and the many
injustices that have overwhelmed today's society resulting in moral
demise on another side, many seek the help of Allah (SWT) and pray for
the hasty reappearance of the Mahdi and his promised victory. Strong
faith in the promised triumph in the midst of injustice anddarkness is
a means of separating the true believers from the rest. A brief look
into history shows endless of these so-called followers who eventually
betrayed theirleaders and thus put eternal shame and disgrace on
themselves. Aperfect example being the story of the inhabitants of
Kufah in Iraq at the time of the great ancestor of the Mahdi, Imam
Husayn son of Imam Ali (as), for whom he weeps blood each day until
the day of his reappearance.
Certainly those fortunate and blessed individuals who will take part
in this grand culmination of servitude, which will result in the
prevalence of Truth over all forms of falsehood, will be those whose
conviction in the Mahdi and the promised day is resolute. The
believers will be constantly tested by those whose aim is staunchly
fixed in denying the Mahdi, by using arguments such as his age, for
the Mahdi's age is now 1176 years. Many find it difficult to believe
that a human canlive for a period of this length, however, the
impossibility in this objection is relative and its relation is to
some person, place and time. What is impossibility to one person, time
or placemay be very possible to another, as we well know. Moreover, it
should be said that living for such a length of time is neither a
scientific nor a logical impossibility. Today scientists have
succeeded in prolonging the life of certain animals, hundreds of times
beyond their normal life spans by artificially creating conditions
that delay the degeneration of their tissues and cells. The failure of
this being effectively carried out on humans is merely due to the
increased difficulties involved, however, it is inno way an
impossibility, from a scientific point of view, to achieve this in the
future.
Imam Mahdi (as) was born on the fifteenth of Sha'ban in the year two
hundred and fifty five (255) after Hijrah. His birth was kept secret
since the authorities of the time were actively seeking to execute him
should he be found alive.The circumstances of his birth were
therefore, very similar to that of theProphet Moses (as) who was also
been searched for by the authorities of his time, for the Pharaoh was
well aware of the prophecy that a child would grow up to prevailover
him and his evil ruleand would replace this with the belief in the
true One God whose Power, Might and Wisdom is Absolute.
Similarly, the Abbasid Caliphate was well awareof Imam Mahdi (as) and
of how he would fill the world with justice and truth after it had
been filled with injustice and falsehood, from several traditions
originating from Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). These narrations are
present to date in both Shi'a and Sunni books.
"The world will not come to an end until a man from the descendants of
Husayn takes charge of the affairs of the world and fills it with
justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny."
At the age of five, after the tragic martyrdom of his father, the
eleventh divine successor of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) - Hassan son
of Ali , Imam Mahdi went into a minor occultation. Duringthis period,
Imam Mahdi (as) was in contact with his followers through appointed
deputies. This lasted for a period of about sixty nine years. A few
days before the death of his fourth and final deputy Imam Mahdi (as)
informed his followers, through his deputy, that there would be no
more deputies after the death of the current one and after thisperiod
Imam Mahdi (as) would go into a Major Occultation, which wouldcontinue
until the day Allah (SWT) grants permission to the Imam Mahdi (as) to
manifest himself. During this period, none would be able to approach
Imam Mahdi (as) through deputies or through direct contact. In regards
to the duration and the importance of this period, Holy Prophet
Muhammad (saw) was once asked about the nature of the reappearance of
Imam Mahdi. In his reply Holy Prophet likened the time of the
Reappearance of Imam Mahdi to that of the Hour of Resurrection and
then narrated the Quranic verse;
"He alone will manifest it at its proper time. It is heavy in the
heavens andthe earth. It cometh not to you save unawares" (Holy
Qur'an, 7:187)
An important question is raised in relation to this specific period,
by those who doubt or question the existence of Imam Mahdi (as). What
is the benefit of divine Imam tohis followers during his occultation?
In order to answer this question, one should realise that the position
and the role of an Imam is not only to administer the affairs and the
needs of Muslim Ummah, rather he is the link between man and God, the
link between the material and the spiritual worlds. Moreover, his
physical presence or absence has no bearing on his position in regards
to this role. This can be derived from one of the sayings narrated by
Imam Mahdi (as) himself;
'My benefit (to the people) during my occultation is similar to that
of the sun when it disappears from sight behind the clouds.'
Examining the above saying from a scientific approach, we understand
that just like how the Earth is sustained with the Sun's energy and
light irrespective of whether itis behind clouds, similarly, we derive
immense spiritual benefitfrom our Imam regardless of whether he is
physically with us or not. Furthermore, one can also obtain another
important role of Imamate from the saying above. Today, we know that
the Sun is the centre of the solar system and its existence nourishes
and nurtures for the planetary objects around it, similarly Imam's
sole presence, whether active or not, is of paramount importance as it
is the source of life for all as without the existence of God's proof
on Earth the world is tantamount to complete annihilation.
We therefore have to be mindful of what we do and should endeavour in
making our souls pure bynourishing them with theDivine light thus
making our souls the abode for Allah (SWT) and his beloved angels.
Spiritual perfection should be our goal and if there is any doubt as
to whether Imam is aware of our actsand is overlooking the welfare of
his followers, a saying by Imam Mahdi (as) should suffice;
'We have not ignored your consideration, and have not forgotten your
mention; otherwise hardship would have descended upon you andyour
enemies would have exterminated you.'
Imam Mahdi (as) is therefore watching over our affairs and is
patiently awaiting our response to his call. The matter regarding the
return of Imam is not onesimply related to awaiting a time frame
chosen by the Almighty Allah (SWT), rather in accordance to the
narration from Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) , it has a direct
relationship with our own actions, as he says;
'The best of actions is awaiting Al-Faraj (the return)'
The emphasis in this saying is on the word 'actions', because it is in
reference to participating in an actionin order to bring about that
awaited time. From this narration stems the School of Awaiting whichis
a comprehensive study into the necessary approaches and actions of the
Muslim community in order to hasten the appearance of the return.
It is therefore necessary for everyone to work tirelessly for this
objective and to remember that this mission is the only legitimate
solution to theproblems faced by mankind at large. It is
theresponsibility of everyone to remind those around them of this
sacred mission and it is likewise their responsibility to sacrifice
their time, efforts and even their finances for the cause of the
awaited Imam.
It is a frequent saying amongst many Muslims, when they remember
themartyrs of Karbala to chant: "If only we were with you, for surely
we would have been victorious." We today have that option, we have an
Imam in occultation waiting for us to reach out towards him. He is
patiently waiting for that time to come where a small group of people
would truly be of his followers such that he may appear and lead this
Muslim Ummah towards salvation, and yet we as apeople sit and do
nothing.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Does the shaytaan knowthe thoughts and intentions of man?
Does the shaytaan know what crosses our minds of ideas which no one
knows except Allah and thus whisper to us what is in accordance with
our thoughts, or what?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The sound evidence indicates that the shaytaan is close to man,and
indeed he flows through him like blood, so he whispers to him at
moments of heedlessness and withdraws from him when he remembers
Allah. Through this constant closeness he knows what whims and desires
occur to man, so he makes them appear attractive to him and he
whispers to him regarding them.
Al-Bukhaari (3281) and Muslim (2175) narrated from Safiyyah bint
Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The shaytaan flows through man like
blood."
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:They
smell a good smell or a bad smell [meaning the angels, who smell a
good smell when a person is thinking of a good deed, as was narrated
from Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah]. But the devils do not need that [smell] in
order to know;rather they even know what is in the heart of the son of
Adam, and they see and hear what he says to himself. Moreover, the
devil has full control over man's heart, then when man remembers Allah
he withdraws, and when heneglects to remember Him, he whispers to
him.He knows whether he is remembering Allah or is neglecting to
remember Him, and he knows the whims and desires of hisheart and makes
them appear attractive to him.
It is proven in al-Saheeh,in the hadeeth mentioned by Safiyyah (may
Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "The Shaytaanflows through the sons of Adam
like blood."
The closeness of the angels and the shaytaan to the heart of the son
ofAdam is something that is confirmed in many reports, whether the
person is a believer or a disbeliever.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 5/508
The shaytaan is aware ofwhat a person is thinking to himself, and he
knows his inclinations and his whims and desires, both good and bad,
so he whispers to him accordingly.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy upon him) was asked -- in a
lengthy question --: If I intend in my heart to do something good,
does the shaytaan know and try to divert me from it?
He replied: Every person has a devil and an angel with him, as the
Prophet(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "There is no
one who does not have a companion from among the jinn and a companion
from among the angels." They said: Even you, O Messenger ofAllah? He
said: "Even me, but Allaah helped me with him and he becameMuslim (or:
and I am safefrom him), so he only enjoins me to do that which is
good." And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told us that
the shaytaan dictates evils to man andcalls him to evil, and he has
some control over his heart. And he can see, by Allah's will, what a
person wants and intends to do of both good and bad deeds. The angel
also has some control over his heart that makes him inclined towards
good and calls him to good. This controlis something that Allah has
enabled them to have, i.e., He has given some power to the companions
from among the jinn and from among the angels; even the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had ashaytaan with him who
was the companion fromamong the jinn as mentioned in the hadeeth
quoted above.
The point here is that every person has with him a companion from
among the angels and a companion from among the devils. The believer
suppresses his shaytaan by obeying Allah and adhering to His religion,
and he humiliates his shaytaan until he becomes weak and is unable to
prevent the believer from doing good or to make him fallinto evil
except that which Allah wills. But thesinner, through his sins and bad
deeds helps his shaytaan until he becomes strong enough to help him to
follow falsehood and he encourages him to do soand he becomes strong
enough to keep him from doing good.
The believer has to fear Allah and strive to resist his shaytaan by
obeying Allah and His Messenger, and seeking refuge withAllah from the
Shaytaan. And he should be keen to support his angel to obey Allah and
His Messenger and to follow the commands of Allah.
End quote from Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 9/369
And Allah knows best.
knows except Allah and thus whisper to us what is in accordance with
our thoughts, or what?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The sound evidence indicates that the shaytaan is close to man,and
indeed he flows through him like blood, so he whispers to him at
moments of heedlessness and withdraws from him when he remembers
Allah. Through this constant closeness he knows what whims and desires
occur to man, so he makes them appear attractive to him and he
whispers to him regarding them.
Al-Bukhaari (3281) and Muslim (2175) narrated from Safiyyah bint
Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The shaytaan flows through man like
blood."
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:They
smell a good smell or a bad smell [meaning the angels, who smell a
good smell when a person is thinking of a good deed, as was narrated
from Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah]. But the devils do not need that [smell] in
order to know;rather they even know what is in the heart of the son of
Adam, and they see and hear what he says to himself. Moreover, the
devil has full control over man's heart, then when man remembers Allah
he withdraws, and when heneglects to remember Him, he whispers to
him.He knows whether he is remembering Allah or is neglecting to
remember Him, and he knows the whims and desires of hisheart and makes
them appear attractive to him.
It is proven in al-Saheeh,in the hadeeth mentioned by Safiyyah (may
Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "The Shaytaanflows through the sons of Adam
like blood."
The closeness of the angels and the shaytaan to the heart of the son
ofAdam is something that is confirmed in many reports, whether the
person is a believer or a disbeliever.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 5/508
The shaytaan is aware ofwhat a person is thinking to himself, and he
knows his inclinations and his whims and desires, both good and bad,
so he whispers to him accordingly.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy upon him) was asked -- in a
lengthy question --: If I intend in my heart to do something good,
does the shaytaan know and try to divert me from it?
He replied: Every person has a devil and an angel with him, as the
Prophet(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "There is no
one who does not have a companion from among the jinn and a companion
from among the angels." They said: Even you, O Messenger ofAllah? He
said: "Even me, but Allaah helped me with him and he becameMuslim (or:
and I am safefrom him), so he only enjoins me to do that which is
good." And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told us that
the shaytaan dictates evils to man andcalls him to evil, and he has
some control over his heart. And he can see, by Allah's will, what a
person wants and intends to do of both good and bad deeds. The angel
also has some control over his heart that makes him inclined towards
good and calls him to good. This controlis something that Allah has
enabled them to have, i.e., He has given some power to the companions
from among the jinn and from among the angels; even the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had ashaytaan with him who
was the companion fromamong the jinn as mentioned in the hadeeth
quoted above.
The point here is that every person has with him a companion from
among the angels and a companion from among the devils. The believer
suppresses his shaytaan by obeying Allah and adhering to His religion,
and he humiliates his shaytaan until he becomes weak and is unable to
prevent the believer from doing good or to make him fallinto evil
except that which Allah wills. But thesinner, through his sins and bad
deeds helps his shaytaan until he becomes strong enough to help him to
follow falsehood and he encourages him to do soand he becomes strong
enough to keep him from doing good.
The believer has to fear Allah and strive to resist his shaytaan by
obeying Allah and His Messenger, and seeking refuge withAllah from the
Shaytaan. And he should be keen to support his angel to obey Allah and
His Messenger and to follow the commands of Allah.
End quote from Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 9/369
And Allah knows best.
Does Iblees have freedom of will? Why is he eager to mislead people?
After a lot of thinking I began to question the Shaytaan's character.
This question might tendto limits, but I was wondering why, if he
knows his final destination is Hell, does he strive to do evil? -As he
is, afterall, one among the Jinns. Humans divert to evil under the
influence of the Shaytaan, but under what influence does the Shaytaan
do evil? Why? -Does he not know, with firm confirmation (as he has
communicated with Allah) that he is fuel for Hell? As he is a Jinn,
doesnot he, like Humans, have the freedom of choice?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Iblees and other jinn, and humans, have free will and freedom of
choice, to obey Allaah or to disobey Him, as Allaahsays
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve"
[al-Kahf 18:29]
"Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful"
[al-Insaan 76:3]
Allaah commanded Iblees to prostrate to Adam, but he refused and was
arrogant, and was one of the kaafirs. So Allaah expelled him from His
mercy, and cursed him until the Day of Judgement.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) when We said to the angels: 'Prostrate yourselves
before Adam.' And they prostrated except Iblees (Satan), he refused
and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allaah)"
[al-Baqarah 2:34]
"So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together.
Except Iblees (Satan) — he refused to be among the prostrators.
(Allaah) said: 'O Iblees (Satan)! What is your reason for not being
among the prostrators?'
[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'I am not the one to prostrate myself to a
human being, whom You created from dried (sounding) clay of altered
mud.'
(Allaah) said: 'Then, get out from here, for verily,you are Rajeem (an
outcast or a cursed one).
And verily, the curse shall be upon you till theDay of Recompense
(i.e. the Day of Resurrection)."
[al-Hijr 15:30-35]
Then Iblees asked for a respite until the Day of Resurrection, and
Allaah granted him that.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day
they (the dead) will be resurrected.'
Allaah said: 'Then verily, you are of those reprieved,
Till the Day of the time appointed'"
[al-Hijr 15:36-38]
When Iblees was certain that he is one of those who are doomed, as
well as his being arrogant and being ungrateful to his Lord, he
resolved to mislead whomever he could of the slaves of Allaah, so that
they would be with him in Hell.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'O my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall
indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I
shall mislead them all.
Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them.'"
[al-Hijr 15:39, 40]
He is eager to mislead and corrupt, so as to increase the numbers of
his followers and worshippers among the doomed who will share his
fate.
Iblees knows that his destination is the Fire, and he hopes to take
everyone else with him to Hell, out of envy, hatred, kufr and
stubbornness.
He hates mankind, who are the children of Adam(peace be upon him), and
he is hostile towardsthem because he is cursed and has been banished
from the mercyof Allaah because of his refusal to prostrate to their
father Adam. Hence Allaah has warnedHis slaves against him and has
said:
"Surely, Shaytaan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as
an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become
the dwellers of the blazing Fire"
[Faatir 35:6]
Iblees does not need anyone to whisper to him, because he is the
source of all evil.
The believer can be saved from his plots and traps by obeying his Lord
and adhering to Hisreligion, for the Shaytaan has no power over those
who believe, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So when you want to recite the Qur'aan, seek refuge with Allaah from
Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one).
Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust
only in their Lord (Allaah).
His power is only over those who obey and follow him (Satan), and
those who join partners with Him (Allaah, i.e. those who are
Mushrikoon, i.e., polytheists)"
[al-Nahl 16:98-100]
And Allaah knows best.
This question might tendto limits, but I was wondering why, if he
knows his final destination is Hell, does he strive to do evil? -As he
is, afterall, one among the Jinns. Humans divert to evil under the
influence of the Shaytaan, but under what influence does the Shaytaan
do evil? Why? -Does he not know, with firm confirmation (as he has
communicated with Allah) that he is fuel for Hell? As he is a Jinn,
doesnot he, like Humans, have the freedom of choice?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Iblees and other jinn, and humans, have free will and freedom of
choice, to obey Allaah or to disobey Him, as Allaahsays
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve"
[al-Kahf 18:29]
"Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful"
[al-Insaan 76:3]
Allaah commanded Iblees to prostrate to Adam, but he refused and was
arrogant, and was one of the kaafirs. So Allaah expelled him from His
mercy, and cursed him until the Day of Judgement.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) when We said to the angels: 'Prostrate yourselves
before Adam.' And they prostrated except Iblees (Satan), he refused
and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allaah)"
[al-Baqarah 2:34]
"So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together.
Except Iblees (Satan) — he refused to be among the prostrators.
(Allaah) said: 'O Iblees (Satan)! What is your reason for not being
among the prostrators?'
[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'I am not the one to prostrate myself to a
human being, whom You created from dried (sounding) clay of altered
mud.'
(Allaah) said: 'Then, get out from here, for verily,you are Rajeem (an
outcast or a cursed one).
And verily, the curse shall be upon you till theDay of Recompense
(i.e. the Day of Resurrection)."
[al-Hijr 15:30-35]
Then Iblees asked for a respite until the Day of Resurrection, and
Allaah granted him that.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day
they (the dead) will be resurrected.'
Allaah said: 'Then verily, you are of those reprieved,
Till the Day of the time appointed'"
[al-Hijr 15:36-38]
When Iblees was certain that he is one of those who are doomed, as
well as his being arrogant and being ungrateful to his Lord, he
resolved to mislead whomever he could of the slaves of Allaah, so that
they would be with him in Hell.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"[Iblees (Satan)] said: 'O my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall
indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I
shall mislead them all.
Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them.'"
[al-Hijr 15:39, 40]
He is eager to mislead and corrupt, so as to increase the numbers of
his followers and worshippers among the doomed who will share his
fate.
Iblees knows that his destination is the Fire, and he hopes to take
everyone else with him to Hell, out of envy, hatred, kufr and
stubbornness.
He hates mankind, who are the children of Adam(peace be upon him), and
he is hostile towardsthem because he is cursed and has been banished
from the mercyof Allaah because of his refusal to prostrate to their
father Adam. Hence Allaah has warnedHis slaves against him and has
said:
"Surely, Shaytaan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as
an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become
the dwellers of the blazing Fire"
[Faatir 35:6]
Iblees does not need anyone to whisper to him, because he is the
source of all evil.
The believer can be saved from his plots and traps by obeying his Lord
and adhering to Hisreligion, for the Shaytaan has no power over those
who believe, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So when you want to recite the Qur'aan, seek refuge with Allaah from
Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one).
Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust
only in their Lord (Allaah).
His power is only over those who obey and follow him (Satan), and
those who join partners with Him (Allaah, i.e. those who are
Mushrikoon, i.e., polytheists)"
[al-Nahl 16:98-100]
And Allaah knows best.
Ruling on reading stories that contain magic and fantasy
I am a student who is currently in England for my studies but
Alhamdulilah I have no problem in practicing my religion, especially
prayers. I know that reading storybooks involving magic and fantasy
are not permissible especially given that they are a waste of time.
However does reading them take one out of the fold of Islam since
magic is kufr?
Praise be to Allaah.
Reading stories that contain magic and fantasy involves things
concerning which there are some reservations.
Firstly:
They are spreading acts of sihr (witchcraft) and kufr, to the extent
that they become like ordinary behaviour in civilized societies; in
factthey depict such things as essential skills for individuals and
societies that can be learned. They often depict the magician as a
good and decent man who does good and spreads good among the people,
and this is the most dangerous aspect of the matter, where something
evil is presented as something good, where one no longer objects to it
in one's heart and no longer feels that magic and its practitioners
are something abhorrent, and one no longer thinks of the seriousnessof
the sin involved before Allah. So how about when such stories become
widespread andchildren and youngsters turn to them.
These negative outcomes have recently led many western education
specialists to warn against the spread of magic stories in their
societies, and many schools have banned these books from their
libraries. There have been discussions about them in parliamentary
debates in Britain, after they discovered some of the dangers that may
result from their becoming widespread among people.
Secondly:
In most cases, these stories teach their readers about types of magic
and sorcery and depict to them some of the secrets of magic, thatmake
it easy for any reader to apply them and indulge in them. This also
poses a great danger, because it may lead the reader to try to put
into practice what he has read. It is not just the matter of reading a
story for fun; rather there is the fear that some of these stories may
influence their readers so they may be bewitched or harmed because of
reading these incomprehensible words in these stories.
Hence Muslims should beware of allowing theirchildren to read these
stories, and societies should put a stop to the spread of this aspect
of culture; they should focus instead on things that are important and
beneficial in terms of science, arts and literature.
In Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (1/192) it says:
I hope that you can explain the prohibition on using and reading books
of magic and astrology, because there are many such books, and some of
my friends want to buy them, and they say that if they are not used
for harmful purposes, there is nothing wrong with it. Please advise
us, may Allah bless you.
The answer was:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be
to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and
his family and Companions, and those who follow him sincerely …
What the questioner says is correct. The Muslims should beware of
books of magic and astrology, and those who find them should destroy
them, because they are harmful to the Muslim and cause him to fall
into shirk. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Whoever learns a branch of astrology has learned a branch of
magic... And Allah says in His Holy Book about the two angels
(interpretation ofthe meaning): "but neither of these two (angels)
taught anyone (such things) till they had said, 'We are for trial, so
disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)'" [al-Baqarah 2:102].
This indicates that learning magic and practising it is kufr. So the
Muslim must oppose books which teach magic and astrology, and destroy
them wherever they are.
This is what is required. It is not permissible for aseeker of
knowledge or anyone else to read them or learn what is in them. People
other than seekers of knowledge also have no right to read them or
learn what is in them, or to approveof them, because they lead to
disbelief in Allah. What is required is to destroy them wherever they
are. And the same applies to all books that teach magic and astrology
- they must be destroyed. End quote.
To sum up: Just reading these stories is not kufr that puts one beyond
the pale of Islam, so longas that is not done with the aim of learning
magic and practising it. However what is required is to warn against
reading books ofmagic in general and to strive to destroy them if
possible, and to beware of reading them or distributing them.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Alhamdulilah I have no problem in practicing my religion, especially
prayers. I know that reading storybooks involving magic and fantasy
are not permissible especially given that they are a waste of time.
However does reading them take one out of the fold of Islam since
magic is kufr?
Praise be to Allaah.
Reading stories that contain magic and fantasy involves things
concerning which there are some reservations.
Firstly:
They are spreading acts of sihr (witchcraft) and kufr, to the extent
that they become like ordinary behaviour in civilized societies; in
factthey depict such things as essential skills for individuals and
societies that can be learned. They often depict the magician as a
good and decent man who does good and spreads good among the people,
and this is the most dangerous aspect of the matter, where something
evil is presented as something good, where one no longer objects to it
in one's heart and no longer feels that magic and its practitioners
are something abhorrent, and one no longer thinks of the seriousnessof
the sin involved before Allah. So how about when such stories become
widespread andchildren and youngsters turn to them.
These negative outcomes have recently led many western education
specialists to warn against the spread of magic stories in their
societies, and many schools have banned these books from their
libraries. There have been discussions about them in parliamentary
debates in Britain, after they discovered some of the dangers that may
result from their becoming widespread among people.
Secondly:
In most cases, these stories teach their readers about types of magic
and sorcery and depict to them some of the secrets of magic, thatmake
it easy for any reader to apply them and indulge in them. This also
poses a great danger, because it may lead the reader to try to put
into practice what he has read. It is not just the matter of reading a
story for fun; rather there is the fear that some of these stories may
influence their readers so they may be bewitched or harmed because of
reading these incomprehensible words in these stories.
Hence Muslims should beware of allowing theirchildren to read these
stories, and societies should put a stop to the spread of this aspect
of culture; they should focus instead on things that are important and
beneficial in terms of science, arts and literature.
In Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (1/192) it says:
I hope that you can explain the prohibition on using and reading books
of magic and astrology, because there are many such books, and some of
my friends want to buy them, and they say that if they are not used
for harmful purposes, there is nothing wrong with it. Please advise
us, may Allah bless you.
The answer was:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be
to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and
his family and Companions, and those who follow him sincerely …
What the questioner says is correct. The Muslims should beware of
books of magic and astrology, and those who find them should destroy
them, because they are harmful to the Muslim and cause him to fall
into shirk. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Whoever learns a branch of astrology has learned a branch of
magic... And Allah says in His Holy Book about the two angels
(interpretation ofthe meaning): "but neither of these two (angels)
taught anyone (such things) till they had said, 'We are for trial, so
disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)'" [al-Baqarah 2:102].
This indicates that learning magic and practising it is kufr. So the
Muslim must oppose books which teach magic and astrology, and destroy
them wherever they are.
This is what is required. It is not permissible for aseeker of
knowledge or anyone else to read them or learn what is in them. People
other than seekers of knowledge also have no right to read them or
learn what is in them, or to approveof them, because they lead to
disbelief in Allah. What is required is to destroy them wherever they
are. And the same applies to all books that teach magic and astrology
- they must be destroyed. End quote.
To sum up: Just reading these stories is not kufr that puts one beyond
the pale of Islam, so longas that is not done with the aim of learning
magic and practising it. However what is required is to warn against
reading books ofmagic in general and to strive to destroy them if
possible, and to beware of reading them or distributing them.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Abu Huraira: The Beloved Narrator
" 'An Abi Huraira radiyallahu anhu qal, qala Rasul Allahi, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam...."
(On the authority of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, he
said: Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said...)
Through this phrase millions of Muslims from early history of Islam to
the present have come tobe familiar with the name Abu Huraira, who you
expect to find his name in most Hadith, Sirah or Fiqh books.
Abu Huraira (r.a.a) enjoyed a great talent, he was gifted with an
extraordinary long term memory to the extent that he would hear a
discussion or a speech and be able to reproducethe identical
discussion or speech years later without changing or deleting one
single word from it.
This great gift that Abu-Huraira enjoyed could have been the worst
thing that could have happened to him assome people used his well
known and authentic name to make up false Ahadith about our beloved
Prophet, andlink these false Ahadith to Abu Huraira (r.a.a). However,
through hard and sincere efforts put in by some of the pious scholars
who sacrificed their lives to preserve and save our beloved Prophet's
Ahadith (sayings) and save them from any harm by the enemies of Islam
who tried to mislead Muslims by adding to them thing that were never
said by the Prophet of Allah (s.w.t), Abu Huraira's reputation was
saved from their wrong doing until our present day.
Abu Huraira became a Muslim at the hands of At-Tufayl Ibn Amr who was
the chief of the tribe to which he belonged. When he submitted to the
truthfulness of this religion, he accompaniedAt-Tufayl to Makkah and
had the privilege of meeting the noble Prophet (s.a.w.). The Prophet
(s.a.w) asked Abu Huraira what his name was, "Abdu-Shams"(the servant
of the sun), Abu Huraira replied. So he was introduced by theholy
Prophet (s.a.w) to change his name to"Abdur-Rahman" (the servant of
the Beneficent). However, he continued to be known among people as
"Abu Hurrah" (the kitten's father) because of his love for a cat he
looked after and fed, and which used to stick to him wherever he went.
Abu Huraira lived with his mother who was still a Mushrik. He prayed
for her and tried hard to convince her to join Islam, but she
adamantly refused. One day when he was telling her about Islam she
uttered some words about the Prophet which saddened Abu Huraira
greatly. He went to the Prophet (s.a.w), hiseyes full of tears and
told him about what had happened between him and his mother. He also
asked the Prophet to make supplication to Allah (s.w.t) for her to
make her heart respond to Islam. The Prophet responded to Abu
Huraira's request and prayed for his mother. When Abu Huraira returned
home he was delighted to hear his mother, who had just taken a shower,
testifying that there is nogod but Allah and that Muhammad is His
Servantand His Messenger. So he rushed back to the Prophet with his
eyes glowing with joy, and informed him that Allah had answered his
prayers, and guided his mother to Islam. He then said: "O Allah's
Messenger,Ask Allah to make me andmy mother lovable to the believing
men and women" . So he (s.a.w.) said: "O Allah, make this servant of
yours and his mother lovable to every believing man and woman" .
With his great gift and talent, Abu Huraira realised that he was able
to serve this religion a great deal. He realised that, because many of
the early companions who had the most knowledge died in the battles in
Allah's cause, this religion needed people to preserve it, as in these
days the companions used to write only the Qur'an fearing it might get
mixed with the Hadith of the Messenger, if the latter was to be
documented too. Even among those who had a great deal of
knowledge,many of them were occupied by their trades and didn't have
as much free time as Abu Huraira to spend with the Prophet (s.a.w).
Also the fact that he had an extraordinary long term memory meant that
he could hear the Prophet's teachings and be able to ask a writer to
write them later knowing that he will not forget any of them.
Therefore, during the four years Abu Huraira stayed with the Prophet
(s.a.w) in Madinah, he set himself to accompany the holy Prophet to
gain knowledge and memorise his sayings andteachings in order to
preserve the word of Allah (s.w.t) and the teachings of his beloved
Prophet (s.a.w). The Prophet (s.a.w.) himself directed Abu Huraira to
an effective way to memorise his Hadiths, Abu Hurrah said: Allah's
Prophet one day said to us: "whoever spreads his dress until I finish
my talk, and then takes hold of it, will not forget anything from what
he heard from me" .
The fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserve the teachings of the
noble Prophet, meant that he was always close to the Prophet (s.a.w)
in his stay in Madinah, as hehad free time at his disposal, unlike the
Muhajirin he did not work in trade and unlike the Ansar he did not
havea land to look after. This enabled Abu Huraira to stay with the
noble Prophet at Madinah and to go with him on journeys and
expeditions.
He loved the Prophet a great deal, he was never tired of looking at
the Prophet nor was he tired of listening to him. Often he would
praise Allah for his good fortune and say "Praise be to Allah who has
guided Abu Huraira to Islam, Praise be to Allah who taught Abu Huraira
the Qur'an, Praisebe to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurairathe
companionship of Muhammad (s.a.w)" .
Abu Huraira underwent much hardship and difficulties as a result of
devoting his life to knowledge and companionship of the holy Prophet
(s.a.w): "Oneday, my hunger became so severe that I placed a stone on
my stomach. I then sat down in the path of the companions. Abu Bakr
passed by and I asked him about an Ayah of the book of God. I
onlyasked him so that he would invite me but he didn't".
Despite the fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserving the word
of Allah and the teachings of his Prophet, he by no means neglected
his other duties as much of his time was spend in prayers and devotion
to God. He often rotated staying up at night with his wife and his
daughter, as he would stay up for a third of the night, his wife for
another third and his daughter for a third, this way in the house of
Abu Huraira no hour of the night would pass withoutIbadah and Salat.
Abu Huraira's presence was also felt in the battlefield when needed to
protect and establish the religionof Islam by the sword, as he lived
all his life, since becoming a Muslim, as a soldier of Islam not
missing a single battle with the holy Prophet (s.a.w).
After the death of the holy Prophet (s.a.w), Abu Huraira continued his
duties in conveying the teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w). He went on
preaching a great number of Ahadith, which made some of his friends
curious of the large amount of Ahadith that he memorised in such a
short time. Although the fact that he was able to memorise so many
Ahadith was justified by the fact that he was dedicated to staying
with the Prophet and due to the extraordinary ability to memorise
speeches from the first time.
During the caliphate of Umar (r.a.a), Umar appointed him as a governor
of Bahrain where he became quiet rich. Umar, being very scrupulous
about the type of persons he appointed as governors, he was concerned
that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire
much wealth even through lawful means. When Umar (r.a.a)heard about
Abu Huraira's wealth he recalled him to Madinah, thinking that Abu
Hurairahad acquired his wealth through unlawful means.
When Abu Huraira arrived in Madinah, Umarquestioned him about the way
he acquired sucha fortune. Abu Huraira replied "from breeding horses
and gifts that I received" . Umar then ordered him to hand his fortune
over to the treasury of the Muslims. Abu Huraira did as he was ordered
and raised his hands to the heavens and prayed "O Lord, forgive Amir
ul-Muminin" . After a while Umar called upon Abu Huraira and offered
him to regain his position as thegovernor of Bahrain but Abu Huraira
refused the offer. When he was asked by Umar why he refused his offer
he replied "So that my honorwould not be besmirched, and my wealth
would not be taken and my back would not be beaten" . He then added "I
also fearto judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom".
Abu Huraira continued tolive a righteous life, devoting himself to
servethe religion of Islam and being kind to his mother as well as
encouraging others to be kind to their parents. One day when Abu
Huraira's health was deteriorating quickly andhis friends were praying
for him to recover, he looked to the heavens and said "O Allah I love
meeting you and ask you to love meeting me" . He then died in the year
59 after Hijra when he was seventy eight years old.
He died after having accomplished his duty and his desire to preserve
and transmit the teachings of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), leaving
Muslims a great debt of gratitude for helping to preserve the
teachings ofthe noble Prophet (s.a.w)and setting them a perfect
example and platform to follow in preaching and conveyingto the
humanity what he and others had worked relentlessly, facing all sorts
of hardships, in order to preserve. We askAllah (s.w.t) to reward Abu
Huraira and grant him the companionship of the holy Prophet in
thehereafter just as he was granted his companionship in this world.
alayhi wa sallam...."
(On the authority of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, he
said: Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said...)
Through this phrase millions of Muslims from early history of Islam to
the present have come tobe familiar with the name Abu Huraira, who you
expect to find his name in most Hadith, Sirah or Fiqh books.
Abu Huraira (r.a.a) enjoyed a great talent, he was gifted with an
extraordinary long term memory to the extent that he would hear a
discussion or a speech and be able to reproducethe identical
discussion or speech years later without changing or deleting one
single word from it.
This great gift that Abu-Huraira enjoyed could have been the worst
thing that could have happened to him assome people used his well
known and authentic name to make up false Ahadith about our beloved
Prophet, andlink these false Ahadith to Abu Huraira (r.a.a). However,
through hard and sincere efforts put in by some of the pious scholars
who sacrificed their lives to preserve and save our beloved Prophet's
Ahadith (sayings) and save them from any harm by the enemies of Islam
who tried to mislead Muslims by adding to them thing that were never
said by the Prophet of Allah (s.w.t), Abu Huraira's reputation was
saved from their wrong doing until our present day.
Abu Huraira became a Muslim at the hands of At-Tufayl Ibn Amr who was
the chief of the tribe to which he belonged. When he submitted to the
truthfulness of this religion, he accompaniedAt-Tufayl to Makkah and
had the privilege of meeting the noble Prophet (s.a.w.). The Prophet
(s.a.w) asked Abu Huraira what his name was, "Abdu-Shams"(the servant
of the sun), Abu Huraira replied. So he was introduced by theholy
Prophet (s.a.w) to change his name to"Abdur-Rahman" (the servant of
the Beneficent). However, he continued to be known among people as
"Abu Hurrah" (the kitten's father) because of his love for a cat he
looked after and fed, and which used to stick to him wherever he went.
Abu Huraira lived with his mother who was still a Mushrik. He prayed
for her and tried hard to convince her to join Islam, but she
adamantly refused. One day when he was telling her about Islam she
uttered some words about the Prophet which saddened Abu Huraira
greatly. He went to the Prophet (s.a.w), hiseyes full of tears and
told him about what had happened between him and his mother. He also
asked the Prophet to make supplication to Allah (s.w.t) for her to
make her heart respond to Islam. The Prophet responded to Abu
Huraira's request and prayed for his mother. When Abu Huraira returned
home he was delighted to hear his mother, who had just taken a shower,
testifying that there is nogod but Allah and that Muhammad is His
Servantand His Messenger. So he rushed back to the Prophet with his
eyes glowing with joy, and informed him that Allah had answered his
prayers, and guided his mother to Islam. He then said: "O Allah's
Messenger,Ask Allah to make me andmy mother lovable to the believing
men and women" . So he (s.a.w.) said: "O Allah, make this servant of
yours and his mother lovable to every believing man and woman" .
With his great gift and talent, Abu Huraira realised that he was able
to serve this religion a great deal. He realised that, because many of
the early companions who had the most knowledge died in the battles in
Allah's cause, this religion needed people to preserve it, as in these
days the companions used to write only the Qur'an fearing it might get
mixed with the Hadith of the Messenger, if the latter was to be
documented too. Even among those who had a great deal of
knowledge,many of them were occupied by their trades and didn't have
as much free time as Abu Huraira to spend with the Prophet (s.a.w).
Also the fact that he had an extraordinary long term memory meant that
he could hear the Prophet's teachings and be able to ask a writer to
write them later knowing that he will not forget any of them.
Therefore, during the four years Abu Huraira stayed with the Prophet
(s.a.w) in Madinah, he set himself to accompany the holy Prophet to
gain knowledge and memorise his sayings andteachings in order to
preserve the word of Allah (s.w.t) and the teachings of his beloved
Prophet (s.a.w). The Prophet (s.a.w.) himself directed Abu Huraira to
an effective way to memorise his Hadiths, Abu Hurrah said: Allah's
Prophet one day said to us: "whoever spreads his dress until I finish
my talk, and then takes hold of it, will not forget anything from what
he heard from me" .
The fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserve the teachings of the
noble Prophet, meant that he was always close to the Prophet (s.a.w)
in his stay in Madinah, as hehad free time at his disposal, unlike the
Muhajirin he did not work in trade and unlike the Ansar he did not
havea land to look after. This enabled Abu Huraira to stay with the
noble Prophet at Madinah and to go with him on journeys and
expeditions.
He loved the Prophet a great deal, he was never tired of looking at
the Prophet nor was he tired of listening to him. Often he would
praise Allah for his good fortune and say "Praise be to Allah who has
guided Abu Huraira to Islam, Praise be to Allah who taught Abu Huraira
the Qur'an, Praisebe to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurairathe
companionship of Muhammad (s.a.w)" .
Abu Huraira underwent much hardship and difficulties as a result of
devoting his life to knowledge and companionship of the holy Prophet
(s.a.w): "Oneday, my hunger became so severe that I placed a stone on
my stomach. I then sat down in the path of the companions. Abu Bakr
passed by and I asked him about an Ayah of the book of God. I
onlyasked him so that he would invite me but he didn't".
Despite the fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserving the word
of Allah and the teachings of his Prophet, he by no means neglected
his other duties as much of his time was spend in prayers and devotion
to God. He often rotated staying up at night with his wife and his
daughter, as he would stay up for a third of the night, his wife for
another third and his daughter for a third, this way in the house of
Abu Huraira no hour of the night would pass withoutIbadah and Salat.
Abu Huraira's presence was also felt in the battlefield when needed to
protect and establish the religionof Islam by the sword, as he lived
all his life, since becoming a Muslim, as a soldier of Islam not
missing a single battle with the holy Prophet (s.a.w).
After the death of the holy Prophet (s.a.w), Abu Huraira continued his
duties in conveying the teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w). He went on
preaching a great number of Ahadith, which made some of his friends
curious of the large amount of Ahadith that he memorised in such a
short time. Although the fact that he was able to memorise so many
Ahadith was justified by the fact that he was dedicated to staying
with the Prophet and due to the extraordinary ability to memorise
speeches from the first time.
During the caliphate of Umar (r.a.a), Umar appointed him as a governor
of Bahrain where he became quiet rich. Umar, being very scrupulous
about the type of persons he appointed as governors, he was concerned
that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire
much wealth even through lawful means. When Umar (r.a.a)heard about
Abu Huraira's wealth he recalled him to Madinah, thinking that Abu
Hurairahad acquired his wealth through unlawful means.
When Abu Huraira arrived in Madinah, Umarquestioned him about the way
he acquired sucha fortune. Abu Huraira replied "from breeding horses
and gifts that I received" . Umar then ordered him to hand his fortune
over to the treasury of the Muslims. Abu Huraira did as he was ordered
and raised his hands to the heavens and prayed "O Lord, forgive Amir
ul-Muminin" . After a while Umar called upon Abu Huraira and offered
him to regain his position as thegovernor of Bahrain but Abu Huraira
refused the offer. When he was asked by Umar why he refused his offer
he replied "So that my honorwould not be besmirched, and my wealth
would not be taken and my back would not be beaten" . He then added "I
also fearto judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom".
Abu Huraira continued tolive a righteous life, devoting himself to
servethe religion of Islam and being kind to his mother as well as
encouraging others to be kind to their parents. One day when Abu
Huraira's health was deteriorating quickly andhis friends were praying
for him to recover, he looked to the heavens and said "O Allah I love
meeting you and ask you to love meeting me" . He then died in the year
59 after Hijra when he was seventy eight years old.
He died after having accomplished his duty and his desire to preserve
and transmit the teachings of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), leaving
Muslims a great debt of gratitude for helping to preserve the
teachings ofthe noble Prophet (s.a.w)and setting them a perfect
example and platform to follow in preaching and conveyingto the
humanity what he and others had worked relentlessly, facing all sorts
of hardships, in order to preserve. We askAllah (s.w.t) to reward Abu
Huraira and grant him the companionship of the holy Prophet in
thehereafter just as he was granted his companionship in this world.
The Attributes of the Believers as Defined in Surah Al-Mu'minun
One of the pure miracles of the Prophet (s.a.w.) that the Most
Merciful Allah has bestowed uponhim, was aiding him with an elite
community of believers who fully understood the meaningof Iman. The
nature of that early Qur'anic generation of believers was governed by
their righteous deeds and virtuous attributes. Today, the Muslim
societies are starving forsuch qualities and attributes that will
uplift their faith and strengthen their consciousness with the Exalted
Creator. The success of the entire Muslim nation in this life and the
next, is only possible when they truly comprehend the meaning of Iman,
and hence, reflect the noble attributes of the believers.
"Successful indeed are the believers
Those who offer their Salat (prayers)
with all solemnity and full submissiveness
And those who turn away from Al-Laghw
(dirty, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)
And those who pay their Zakat"
These exalted verses are from Surah Al-Mu' minun which takes its name
from the first verse. The name of the Surah reflects its theme and
defines its subject, in thatit begins with the attributes of the
believers and digresses into the signs of Iman in theoneself and in
the universe.
The tone of the Surah is that of declaration and calm argument, of
sentimental logic and of feelings that inspire the thought and the
consciousness. The mood which dominates the Surah is that which its
subject presents, Al-Iman (the Faith). Its opening verse pictures the
seen ofsolemnity and full submissiveness in Salat , " Those who offer
their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness" ,
followed by the splendid description of the believers and the
attributes they possess.
The fact that th e people who have accepted the Message of the Prophet
(s.a.w.) have started acquiring noble qualities of character, is a
practicalproof of the truth of the message. According to a tradition
related by 'Urwan bin Zubair, ' Umar(r.a.a.) who had embraced Islam by
that time, said: " This Surah was revealed in my presence and I myself
observed the state of the Prophet (s.a.w.) during its revelation. When
the revelation ended, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) remarked: 'on this
occasion, ten such verses have been sent d own to me, that the one who
measures up to them, willmost surely go to paradise'. Then he recited
the initial verses of the Surah" [Ahmad, Tirmithy, Nassa'ey, Hakem].
"Successful indeed are the believers". This is the true promise and
the declaration of success to the believers. "It is a Promise of
Allah, and Allah fails not in His Promise" [30:6]. The"Believers" ,
who have attained true success, both individuals and the Jama'ah, are
those who have accepted the Message of Muhammad (s.a.w.), and have
acknowledged him as their guide, and followedthe way of life taught by
him.
This assertion cannot be fully appreciated unless one keeps in view
the background on which it was made. On the one hand, there were the
well to do and prosperous chiefs of Makkah, the opponents of Islam,
whose businesses were thriving and who were enjoyi ng every good thing
of life, and on the other hand there were the followers of Islam, a
majority of whom were either poor from the beginning or had been
reduced to poverty by ruthless antagonism to Islam. Therefore, the
assertion, "Successful indeed are the believers" with whichthe
discourse begins, wasmeant to tell the disbelievers in every age that
the criterion of success and failure that they had in mind was
notcorrect. It was based on misconceptions besides being transitory
and limited in nature, it led toreal failure and imaginary success. On
thecontrary, the followers ofMuhammad (s.a.w.) whom they regarded as
failures were truly successful, because by accepting the invitatio n
to the Right Guidance given by the Prophet (s.a.w.), they had struck
abargain which would lead them to true success and everlasting bliss
in this world, as well as in the Hereafter. Whereas by rejecting the
Message,the opponents had incurred loss and would meet with the evil
consequences both in this world and in the next. This is the main
theme of the Surah and the whole discourse, from beginning to end,
ismeant to impress the same.
The noble characteristics of the believers pointed out in the next fe
w verses are the arguments to prove the above assertion. It is these
characteristics that depicts the Muslim character of the highest
eminence, that of Muhammad (s.a.w.) the best of Allah's creation, whom
Allah described in His Noble Qur'an, "And verily, you [O
Muhammad(s.a.w.)] are on an exalted standard of character" . When
'Ai'sha (r.a.a.) was asked about the character of the Prophet
(s.a.w.), she replied: "His character was the Qur'an", then
sherecited: "Successful indeed are the believers" till "And t hose who
strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawat (at
their fixed stated hours)". Then she said:"That is how The
Prophet(s.a.w.) was" [Nasa'ey].
"Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full
submissiveness". Khashi'un in the Text is from Khushu'' (to bow down,
to express humility) which is a condition of the heart and the body.
Khushu' of the heart is to fear and stand in awe to Allah, and Khushu'
of the body is to bow one's head and lower one's gaze and voice in
Allah's Company. In Salat , one is required to show Khushu' both of
the heart and of the body, and this is the essence of the prayer. When
the Prophet (s.a.w.) once saw a person offering his prayer as well as
playing with his beard, he remarked: "Had he Khushu' in his heart, his
body would have manifested it". Though Khushu' is actually a condition
of the heart, asstated by the above tradition, it is manifestedby the
body as a matter of course. One should neither turn to the right or
left, shift about or incline side ways, but must fix the gaze on the
place where the forehead would rest in prostration. Similarly, it
isdisrespectful that one should stand stiffly erect, recite the verses
of the Qur'an in a loud resounding voice, or singthem, or belch and
yawn repeatedly and nosily. It is also not approved that one should
offer the Prayer in a hurry. The injunction is that each article of
the prayer should be performed in perfect peace and tranquillity, and
unless one article has been completely performed , the next should not
be begun.
Along with this etiquette of the body, it is also important that one
should avoid thinking irrelevant things during the Prayer by purifying
the thought and keeping the mind in full harmony and tune with the
tongue. One should also try the utmost to ensure that the mind and
heart are wholly turned towards Allah in order to sense His Grace and
to worship Him solely.
" And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain
talk,falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)". Literally, Laghw
is anything nonsensical, meaningless and vain, which is no way
conductive of achieving one' s goal and purpose in life. The believers
pay no heed to such useless things and show no inclination or interest
in them. If by chance they see such things being i ndulged in, they
keep away and avoid them scrupulously, and treat them with utmost
indifference. This attitude has been described in Al-Furqan [25:72]: "
.. if they pass by some evil play or evil talk,they pass by it with
dignity".
This is indeed one of the outstanding characteristics of the believer.
There are many thoughts that distract thebeliever from evil vain talk.
His attention is diverted towards the remembrance of Allah and the
contemplation ofHis signs in the universe. He is also occupied with
obligations in Aqeedah such as purification of the soul, holding
steadfast to Iman , enjoining what is good and forbidding what is
wrong, protecting the community from corruption, and the obligation of
exercising Jihad for the sake of Alla h. Hence, He is a person who
feels the burden of responsibility at all times,he regards the world
as aplace of test, and the life is a limited time allowed for the
test. This feeling makes him/her behave seriously and responsibly
throughout life and spends each moment of his/her life on works which
are useful and productive in his ultimateresults. So much so that even
in matters of recreation and sport, he makes a choice of only those
things which prepare him for higher ends in life and do not result in
mere wastage oftime. For him time is not something to be killed but
used profitably and productively.
Besides this, the believer is a person who possesses a right thinking
mind, pure nature and fine taste. He has no inclination to indecent
things and can talk useful and healthy things but cannot indulge in
idle talk. On the authority of Abu Huraira (r.a.a.), the Prophet
(s.a.w.) said: "Lethim who believes in Allahand the Last Day either
speak good or keep silent" [Bukhari and Muslim]. The believer has a
fine taste of humour, but is not given to jesting, joking and
ridicule, nor can he endure dirty jokes. For him a society in which
the ears are never immune from abusive language, back-biting, slander
lying, dirty songs,fortune tellers and indecent talk is a source of
torture and agony. A characteristic of the promised Paradise is:
"NoLaghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor
any sinful speech (like backbiting, etc.)" [56:25].
"And those who pay theirZakat". the word Zakat literally means
purification and development without obstruction. As an Islamic term,
it implies both the portion of wealth taken out for the purpose of
purifying the rest of wealth and the act of purification itself. The
words of the original Text mean that the believer constantly practices
purification. Thus the meaning is not confined to paying off of Zakat
dues only, but it is extended to self- purification which include
purification of morals as well as wealth, property and life in
general. This purification is thus, not limited to one's own self, but
includes the purification of the lives of other people as well. So the
verse means: "The believers are the people who purify themselves
aswell as others". This fact has been stated at other places in the
Qur'an, for instance, "Successful is hewho practiced purification and
remembered his Lord and prayed" [87:14-15]. But this verse is more
comprehensive in meaning because it stresses the purification of both
society and one's own person. This was also confirmed by the Prophet
(s.a.w.) when he said: " To smile in the company of your brother is a
charity. To command to do good deeds and to prevent others from doing
evil is charity. To guide a person in a place were he can go astray is
a charity. To remove troublesome things like thorns and bones from the
road is a charity. To pour water from your jugof your brother is a
charity. To guide a person with defective vision is charity for you"
[Bukhari].
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Merciful Allah has bestowed uponhim, was aiding him with an elite
community of believers who fully understood the meaningof Iman. The
nature of that early Qur'anic generation of believers was governed by
their righteous deeds and virtuous attributes. Today, the Muslim
societies are starving forsuch qualities and attributes that will
uplift their faith and strengthen their consciousness with the Exalted
Creator. The success of the entire Muslim nation in this life and the
next, is only possible when they truly comprehend the meaning of Iman,
and hence, reflect the noble attributes of the believers.
"Successful indeed are the believers
Those who offer their Salat (prayers)
with all solemnity and full submissiveness
And those who turn away from Al-Laghw
(dirty, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)
And those who pay their Zakat"
These exalted verses are from Surah Al-Mu' minun which takes its name
from the first verse. The name of the Surah reflects its theme and
defines its subject, in thatit begins with the attributes of the
believers and digresses into the signs of Iman in theoneself and in
the universe.
The tone of the Surah is that of declaration and calm argument, of
sentimental logic and of feelings that inspire the thought and the
consciousness. The mood which dominates the Surah is that which its
subject presents, Al-Iman (the Faith). Its opening verse pictures the
seen ofsolemnity and full submissiveness in Salat , " Those who offer
their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness" ,
followed by the splendid description of the believers and the
attributes they possess.
The fact that th e people who have accepted the Message of the Prophet
(s.a.w.) have started acquiring noble qualities of character, is a
practicalproof of the truth of the message. According to a tradition
related by 'Urwan bin Zubair, ' Umar(r.a.a.) who had embraced Islam by
that time, said: " This Surah was revealed in my presence and I myself
observed the state of the Prophet (s.a.w.) during its revelation. When
the revelation ended, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) remarked: 'on this
occasion, ten such verses have been sent d own to me, that the one who
measures up to them, willmost surely go to paradise'. Then he recited
the initial verses of the Surah" [Ahmad, Tirmithy, Nassa'ey, Hakem].
"Successful indeed are the believers". This is the true promise and
the declaration of success to the believers. "It is a Promise of
Allah, and Allah fails not in His Promise" [30:6]. The"Believers" ,
who have attained true success, both individuals and the Jama'ah, are
those who have accepted the Message of Muhammad (s.a.w.), and have
acknowledged him as their guide, and followedthe way of life taught by
him.
This assertion cannot be fully appreciated unless one keeps in view
the background on which it was made. On the one hand, there were the
well to do and prosperous chiefs of Makkah, the opponents of Islam,
whose businesses were thriving and who were enjoyi ng every good thing
of life, and on the other hand there were the followers of Islam, a
majority of whom were either poor from the beginning or had been
reduced to poverty by ruthless antagonism to Islam. Therefore, the
assertion, "Successful indeed are the believers" with whichthe
discourse begins, wasmeant to tell the disbelievers in every age that
the criterion of success and failure that they had in mind was
notcorrect. It was based on misconceptions besides being transitory
and limited in nature, it led toreal failure and imaginary success. On
thecontrary, the followers ofMuhammad (s.a.w.) whom they regarded as
failures were truly successful, because by accepting the invitatio n
to the Right Guidance given by the Prophet (s.a.w.), they had struck
abargain which would lead them to true success and everlasting bliss
in this world, as well as in the Hereafter. Whereas by rejecting the
Message,the opponents had incurred loss and would meet with the evil
consequences both in this world and in the next. This is the main
theme of the Surah and the whole discourse, from beginning to end,
ismeant to impress the same.
The noble characteristics of the believers pointed out in the next fe
w verses are the arguments to prove the above assertion. It is these
characteristics that depicts the Muslim character of the highest
eminence, that of Muhammad (s.a.w.) the best of Allah's creation, whom
Allah described in His Noble Qur'an, "And verily, you [O
Muhammad(s.a.w.)] are on an exalted standard of character" . When
'Ai'sha (r.a.a.) was asked about the character of the Prophet
(s.a.w.), she replied: "His character was the Qur'an", then
sherecited: "Successful indeed are the believers" till "And t hose who
strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawat (at
their fixed stated hours)". Then she said:"That is how The
Prophet(s.a.w.) was" [Nasa'ey].
"Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full
submissiveness". Khashi'un in the Text is from Khushu'' (to bow down,
to express humility) which is a condition of the heart and the body.
Khushu' of the heart is to fear and stand in awe to Allah, and Khushu'
of the body is to bow one's head and lower one's gaze and voice in
Allah's Company. In Salat , one is required to show Khushu' both of
the heart and of the body, and this is the essence of the prayer. When
the Prophet (s.a.w.) once saw a person offering his prayer as well as
playing with his beard, he remarked: "Had he Khushu' in his heart, his
body would have manifested it". Though Khushu' is actually a condition
of the heart, asstated by the above tradition, it is manifestedby the
body as a matter of course. One should neither turn to the right or
left, shift about or incline side ways, but must fix the gaze on the
place where the forehead would rest in prostration. Similarly, it
isdisrespectful that one should stand stiffly erect, recite the verses
of the Qur'an in a loud resounding voice, or singthem, or belch and
yawn repeatedly and nosily. It is also not approved that one should
offer the Prayer in a hurry. The injunction is that each article of
the prayer should be performed in perfect peace and tranquillity, and
unless one article has been completely performed , the next should not
be begun.
Along with this etiquette of the body, it is also important that one
should avoid thinking irrelevant things during the Prayer by purifying
the thought and keeping the mind in full harmony and tune with the
tongue. One should also try the utmost to ensure that the mind and
heart are wholly turned towards Allah in order to sense His Grace and
to worship Him solely.
" And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain
talk,falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)". Literally, Laghw
is anything nonsensical, meaningless and vain, which is no way
conductive of achieving one' s goal and purpose in life. The believers
pay no heed to such useless things and show no inclination or interest
in them. If by chance they see such things being i ndulged in, they
keep away and avoid them scrupulously, and treat them with utmost
indifference. This attitude has been described in Al-Furqan [25:72]: "
.. if they pass by some evil play or evil talk,they pass by it with
dignity".
This is indeed one of the outstanding characteristics of the believer.
There are many thoughts that distract thebeliever from evil vain talk.
His attention is diverted towards the remembrance of Allah and the
contemplation ofHis signs in the universe. He is also occupied with
obligations in Aqeedah such as purification of the soul, holding
steadfast to Iman , enjoining what is good and forbidding what is
wrong, protecting the community from corruption, and the obligation of
exercising Jihad for the sake of Alla h. Hence, He is a person who
feels the burden of responsibility at all times,he regards the world
as aplace of test, and the life is a limited time allowed for the
test. This feeling makes him/her behave seriously and responsibly
throughout life and spends each moment of his/her life on works which
are useful and productive in his ultimateresults. So much so that even
in matters of recreation and sport, he makes a choice of only those
things which prepare him for higher ends in life and do not result in
mere wastage oftime. For him time is not something to be killed but
used profitably and productively.
Besides this, the believer is a person who possesses a right thinking
mind, pure nature and fine taste. He has no inclination to indecent
things and can talk useful and healthy things but cannot indulge in
idle talk. On the authority of Abu Huraira (r.a.a.), the Prophet
(s.a.w.) said: "Lethim who believes in Allahand the Last Day either
speak good or keep silent" [Bukhari and Muslim]. The believer has a
fine taste of humour, but is not given to jesting, joking and
ridicule, nor can he endure dirty jokes. For him a society in which
the ears are never immune from abusive language, back-biting, slander
lying, dirty songs,fortune tellers and indecent talk is a source of
torture and agony. A characteristic of the promised Paradise is:
"NoLaghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor
any sinful speech (like backbiting, etc.)" [56:25].
"And those who pay theirZakat". the word Zakat literally means
purification and development without obstruction. As an Islamic term,
it implies both the portion of wealth taken out for the purpose of
purifying the rest of wealth and the act of purification itself. The
words of the original Text mean that the believer constantly practices
purification. Thus the meaning is not confined to paying off of Zakat
dues only, but it is extended to self- purification which include
purification of morals as well as wealth, property and life in
general. This purification is thus, not limited to one's own self, but
includes the purification of the lives of other people as well. So the
verse means: "The believers are the people who purify themselves
aswell as others". This fact has been stated at other places in the
Qur'an, for instance, "Successful is hewho practiced purification and
remembered his Lord and prayed" [87:14-15]. But this verse is more
comprehensive in meaning because it stresses the purification of both
society and one's own person. This was also confirmed by the Prophet
(s.a.w.) when he said: " To smile in the company of your brother is a
charity. To command to do good deeds and to prevent others from doing
evil is charity. To guide a person in a place were he can go astray is
a charity. To remove troublesome things like thorns and bones from the
road is a charity. To pour water from your jugof your brother is a
charity. To guide a person with defective vision is charity for you"
[Bukhari].
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
stories »An unposted letter
You are not mine…
The minutes spent with you… and then you were gone, you disappeared,
you steamed away. Only the thought of the touch of your lips brings me
back to life, your hands call me, your eyes are filled with passion.
And I get so tiny and tender.
I have never felt this way.A man like you has never been a part of my
life, probably because I've never been ready for that.
I feel you with my mind, with every single cell of my body. I can
touch you with my thought. I perceive myself through you when you
gently touch me with your body, when my hands are filled with you and
you penetrate inside of me. We used to form a bright star together, a
star which would burst into milliard pieces, each carrying the
pleasure of our moments.
You are the one and only.
I wake up smiling because your name is gently coming out of my lips.
Sometimes it seems to methat if I open my eyes youwill appear next to
me. I know it's just an illusion and I keep my eyes closed, saving the
memories of these morning visions…I dreamonly of one thing – to wake
up again lying nextto you, to feel you even without touching you and
to admire your body,still unawakened but so beautiful under the rays
of the morning sun. And to seduce you with almost elusive movements,
while takingpleasure in the sensation of your closeness…
You are still sleeping, I'll restrain my hands to saveyour morning
dream. Thelight smile appearing on your face, your eyes still closed,
fills me with delight and I start anticipating how gently you will
look at me.
I want to meet the morning with you. You open your eyes hesitantly.
You are still not aware that I'm here, beside you, waiting for your
embrace. In that wonderful morning, in your joyful astonished eyes
appeared what I came for. For the sake of it I would go through fire,
and rain, and fog……I'm no longer there, I've melted in your eyes lit
upwith happiness.
I waited for you so long….. I waited. I tore my soul, cried while
singing, covered the sky with poems. But only now I realized that
Winter can turn into Summer, that the sun canshine at night, and Stars
can appear in the daytime. And you are no longer mine.
Once more I'll look for you, once more I'll fall asleep and wake up
with your name on my lips, I'll burn sleepless, I'll quenchmy thirst
in the memoriesof our meetings. But no more, not for anything inthe
world will I give anyone that tender-sweet pain of parting, forthis is
my life, my sorrow,my love…
The minutes spent with you… and then you were gone, you disappeared,
you steamed away. Only the thought of the touch of your lips brings me
back to life, your hands call me, your eyes are filled with passion.
And I get so tiny and tender.
I have never felt this way.A man like you has never been a part of my
life, probably because I've never been ready for that.
I feel you with my mind, with every single cell of my body. I can
touch you with my thought. I perceive myself through you when you
gently touch me with your body, when my hands are filled with you and
you penetrate inside of me. We used to form a bright star together, a
star which would burst into milliard pieces, each carrying the
pleasure of our moments.
You are the one and only.
I wake up smiling because your name is gently coming out of my lips.
Sometimes it seems to methat if I open my eyes youwill appear next to
me. I know it's just an illusion and I keep my eyes closed, saving the
memories of these morning visions…I dreamonly of one thing – to wake
up again lying nextto you, to feel you even without touching you and
to admire your body,still unawakened but so beautiful under the rays
of the morning sun. And to seduce you with almost elusive movements,
while takingpleasure in the sensation of your closeness…
You are still sleeping, I'll restrain my hands to saveyour morning
dream. Thelight smile appearing on your face, your eyes still closed,
fills me with delight and I start anticipating how gently you will
look at me.
I want to meet the morning with you. You open your eyes hesitantly.
You are still not aware that I'm here, beside you, waiting for your
embrace. In that wonderful morning, in your joyful astonished eyes
appeared what I came for. For the sake of it I would go through fire,
and rain, and fog……I'm no longer there, I've melted in your eyes lit
upwith happiness.
I waited for you so long….. I waited. I tore my soul, cried while
singing, covered the sky with poems. But only now I realized that
Winter can turn into Summer, that the sun canshine at night, and Stars
can appear in the daytime. And you are no longer mine.
Once more I'll look for you, once more I'll fall asleep and wake up
with your name on my lips, I'll burn sleepless, I'll quenchmy thirst
in the memoriesof our meetings. But no more, not for anything inthe
world will I give anyone that tender-sweet pain of parting, forthis is
my life, my sorrow,my love…
stories »I hate you because I love you, and it hurts of this…!
I hate you so much!
I hate you, because you make me fall asleep in tears every night… and
with each tear I hate you more, because it hurts me more. I hate you,
because you frozen the blood in my veins…and you made the smile vanish
of my face.
I hate you, because any object is reminding of you … and you left my
soul rambling naked. I hate you so much, that your name leaves me
breathless, but when I hear it the hope for tomorrow is taken away. I
hate your shadow – your silhouette is e reflection of everything I
watch with contempt.
I hate you because I fell in love with you! I hate you because I can't
stand without you. I hate you because you steal my heart and you make
it incapable of loving somebody else. I hate you because you are so
far away from me… and the memory is burning me out.
I hate you because my life is senseless without you! I hate you
because everything beautiful is related with you and… with love. I
hate you because
I love you and it hurts of this…!
I hate you, because you make me fall asleep in tears every night… and
with each tear I hate you more, because it hurts me more. I hate you,
because you frozen the blood in my veins…and you made the smile vanish
of my face.
I hate you, because any object is reminding of you … and you left my
soul rambling naked. I hate you so much, that your name leaves me
breathless, but when I hear it the hope for tomorrow is taken away. I
hate your shadow – your silhouette is e reflection of everything I
watch with contempt.
I hate you because I fell in love with you! I hate you because I can't
stand without you. I hate you because you steal my heart and you make
it incapable of loving somebody else. I hate you because you are so
far away from me… and the memory is burning me out.
I hate you because my life is senseless without you! I hate you
because everything beautiful is related with you and… with love. I
hate you because
I love you and it hurts of this…!
stories »Am I jealous or is he a flirt?
I'm trying to find the answer to this question and it's really hard
for me, believe me!
I truly love my husband with whom we've been married for 8 years, the
first 3 of which we spent living separately in different countries.
Now we are already together. In the beginning everything was perfect
and I even feared sharingthis with others because people say "it's too
good to last".
So, I've noticed recently that when we are in a company with
handsomemen my husband is constantly around me and he is very kind and
affectionate to me. I find this normal and I'm quite pleased with it.
I considerthis the right attitude to a wife. I like showing my
feelings towards him in front of people and I'm very happy when they
notice it. The problem is that when we are in a company with
attractive women he changes abruptly – he stops touching me at all,
even keeps a distance, or if I show in some way or another that he is
my beloved husband he is unpleasantly surprised and stands as if
frozen, while his attitude to the other women is more than friendly.
There have been cases when he has spoken to a woman for about 10-15
minutes and haven't even looked at me meanwhile. (to say nothing of
including me in the conversation!). Sometimes I hesitated on leaving
the place in orderto see if he will notice myabsence. I think this
will probably last at least an hour or until he sees some handsome guy
around.
Whenever he meets a woman he will greet her with a hug, in which I
find nothing bad, but after that he will study her from head to toe
while talking to her. Another issue is that when a woman calls him on
the phone he becomes so enthusiastic that you may think this is the
happiest day in his life. However when I call him he gets so awfully
indifferent. And this happens when I'm tellinghim his favorite team
haswon an important game.
After this description of the situation (not mentioning many other
similar cases and the bad thing is unpleasant memories get more and
more) I'm asking you to help me see if I'm too jealous.
I will appreciate this a lotbecause right now I'm onthe verge of a divorce.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
for me, believe me!
I truly love my husband with whom we've been married for 8 years, the
first 3 of which we spent living separately in different countries.
Now we are already together. In the beginning everything was perfect
and I even feared sharingthis with others because people say "it's too
good to last".
So, I've noticed recently that when we are in a company with
handsomemen my husband is constantly around me and he is very kind and
affectionate to me. I find this normal and I'm quite pleased with it.
I considerthis the right attitude to a wife. I like showing my
feelings towards him in front of people and I'm very happy when they
notice it. The problem is that when we are in a company with
attractive women he changes abruptly – he stops touching me at all,
even keeps a distance, or if I show in some way or another that he is
my beloved husband he is unpleasantly surprised and stands as if
frozen, while his attitude to the other women is more than friendly.
There have been cases when he has spoken to a woman for about 10-15
minutes and haven't even looked at me meanwhile. (to say nothing of
including me in the conversation!). Sometimes I hesitated on leaving
the place in orderto see if he will notice myabsence. I think this
will probably last at least an hour or until he sees some handsome guy
around.
Whenever he meets a woman he will greet her with a hug, in which I
find nothing bad, but after that he will study her from head to toe
while talking to her. Another issue is that when a woman calls him on
the phone he becomes so enthusiastic that you may think this is the
happiest day in his life. However when I call him he gets so awfully
indifferent. And this happens when I'm tellinghim his favorite team
haswon an important game.
After this description of the situation (not mentioning many other
similar cases and the bad thing is unpleasant memories get more and
more) I'm asking you to help me see if I'm too jealous.
I will appreciate this a lotbecause right now I'm onthe verge of a divorce.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Khawaja Qutabud-Din Bakhtiar Kaki (R.A) - Sufism Biographies
One of the most distinguished sufi in the Chishtia Order, he was the
chief of Chishti saintsin Delhi. He was born in Ush then an important
commercial town. Qutabud Din was an infant when his fateh Kamalud Din
Ahmad Musa died, and his noblemother became totally responsible for
the upbringing of her orphan son. Learning half the Quran by heart
under Aba Hafs, he committed be memory the remaining 15 parts after he
had settled in Delhi. As he grew in years. Qutabud Din Bakhtiar became
increasingly devoted to Ibadaat and meditation. His mother arranged
his marriage, left for Baghdad where he become murid of Hazrat Khawaja
Moinud Din Chishti. After his pir's departure from Baghdad, Qutabuddin
Bakhtiar also left the place, traveled throught was patron saint of
Multan with whom Qutabuddin Bakhtiar had cordial relations. During
Qutab Sahib's stay in Multan, the city was designed by the Mongol
hordes. Nashiruddin Qabacha then rule of Multan sought Khawaja
Qutabuddin's help against the enemy. Giving him an arrow, theKhawaja
told him to shoot the arrow blindly into the enemy's camp. Qabacha
obeyed, and the following day the Mongol army retreated. He did not
accede to Qabacha's request for hispermanent stay in Multan and
sometime after 1221 C.E., Khawaja Qutubuddin left Multan for Dehli.
Khawaja Qutabpromoted and established the Chishtia silsila with zeal,
energy and endeavour in Delhi and its surrounding areas where eminent
ulema and prestigious divines had settled after migration front the
areas devastated by the Mongols.
Sultan Shamsuddin Altitmush offered high office of Shaikhal Islam to
Khawaja Qutabuddin, which he refused to accept. On his recommendation
Najmuddin Sughra was given the post of Shailhul Islam. After some time
Najmuddin became jealous of Khawaja Sahibs' popularity among the
masses and used the latter's practice of gaining spiritual ecstasy
through samaa as a pretext to incite the Capital's Ulema against
Khawaja Qutab. KhawajaMoinuddin Chishti got scent of Jajmuddin
mischief and rushed to Dehli to investigate into the confrontation,
Najamuddin Sughra did not call on Khawaja Moinuddin as was
traditional. Khawaja Moinuddin as was traditional. Khawaja Moinuddin
called at Najmuddin's house and upbraided him for this rudeness and
misdemeanor. He asked Khawaja Qutab besides hundreds of common people
were so upset at the Qutab departure from Delhi that the was followed,
and the dust on the road where he had passed was collected by rumeous
devotees as a relic. Khawaja Moinuddin wasso moved at such a
spontaneous love and high respect for his murid that the urged him to
return back to Delhi.
The murids were constantly advised by Qutab Sahib to devote energies
for social welfare works and assistthe needy in a selfless way. Once
Baba Fariduddin sought his advice regarding the writing of amulets
(Taweez) for people's benefit. The Qutab replied that the fulfillment
of desires belonged to no-one; the Taweez inscribed with Allah's
Attributes could be written and given to the soliciting persons.
The Shamsi Hauz in Delhi, surviving to this day, is a monumental relic
of Khawaja Qutab's sanctity and super natural power. Potable water was
in short supply in the newly founded capital which was a matte of
great concern to the Sultan. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) appeared in
dream to both the Khawaja and the Sultan indicating a particular spot
upon which was imprinted thehoop-mark of the Prophet's horse seen in
the dream. A tank was dug up at that site and lo the water gushed out
from underground source. It was named as Hauz-I-Shamsi. Khawaja became
known as 'Kaki' as he lived on miraculously received breads alone. The
demise fo Hadrat Qutab Kaki was an event of great significance to the
Sufis. The Khawaja graced with his presencethe Mehfil-I-Samaa at eh
Khnaqah of Shaikh Ali Sijzi. When the Qawwal recited the following
verse, the Khawaja was seized with ecstasy;
"The martyrs of the dagger of tasleem (surrender to Allah's will)
Each moment get a new life form the Unseen World."
He was rushed home in state of trance. Regaining consciousness, the
Khawaja desired the verse to be repeated each time he regained
consciousness which always occurred at the time of obligatory prayers.
He then lapsed back into an ecstatic state. On the fifth night, 14
Rabiul Awwal 633 A.H.(27th Novemeber 1235 C.E.) he departed to his
heavenly abode. He lies buried in Mehroli (near the Qutab Minar), a
suburb of present day Delhi.
chief of Chishti saintsin Delhi. He was born in Ush then an important
commercial town. Qutabud Din was an infant when his fateh Kamalud Din
Ahmad Musa died, and his noblemother became totally responsible for
the upbringing of her orphan son. Learning half the Quran by heart
under Aba Hafs, he committed be memory the remaining 15 parts after he
had settled in Delhi. As he grew in years. Qutabud Din Bakhtiar became
increasingly devoted to Ibadaat and meditation. His mother arranged
his marriage, left for Baghdad where he become murid of Hazrat Khawaja
Moinud Din Chishti. After his pir's departure from Baghdad, Qutabuddin
Bakhtiar also left the place, traveled throught was patron saint of
Multan with whom Qutabuddin Bakhtiar had cordial relations. During
Qutab Sahib's stay in Multan, the city was designed by the Mongol
hordes. Nashiruddin Qabacha then rule of Multan sought Khawaja
Qutabuddin's help against the enemy. Giving him an arrow, theKhawaja
told him to shoot the arrow blindly into the enemy's camp. Qabacha
obeyed, and the following day the Mongol army retreated. He did not
accede to Qabacha's request for hispermanent stay in Multan and
sometime after 1221 C.E., Khawaja Qutubuddin left Multan for Dehli.
Khawaja Qutabpromoted and established the Chishtia silsila with zeal,
energy and endeavour in Delhi and its surrounding areas where eminent
ulema and prestigious divines had settled after migration front the
areas devastated by the Mongols.
Sultan Shamsuddin Altitmush offered high office of Shaikhal Islam to
Khawaja Qutabuddin, which he refused to accept. On his recommendation
Najmuddin Sughra was given the post of Shailhul Islam. After some time
Najmuddin became jealous of Khawaja Sahibs' popularity among the
masses and used the latter's practice of gaining spiritual ecstasy
through samaa as a pretext to incite the Capital's Ulema against
Khawaja Qutab. KhawajaMoinuddin Chishti got scent of Jajmuddin
mischief and rushed to Dehli to investigate into the confrontation,
Najamuddin Sughra did not call on Khawaja Moinuddin as was
traditional. Khawaja Moinuddin as was traditional. Khawaja Moinuddin
called at Najmuddin's house and upbraided him for this rudeness and
misdemeanor. He asked Khawaja Qutab besides hundreds of common people
were so upset at the Qutab departure from Delhi that the was followed,
and the dust on the road where he had passed was collected by rumeous
devotees as a relic. Khawaja Moinuddin wasso moved at such a
spontaneous love and high respect for his murid that the urged him to
return back to Delhi.
The murids were constantly advised by Qutab Sahib to devote energies
for social welfare works and assistthe needy in a selfless way. Once
Baba Fariduddin sought his advice regarding the writing of amulets
(Taweez) for people's benefit. The Qutab replied that the fulfillment
of desires belonged to no-one; the Taweez inscribed with Allah's
Attributes could be written and given to the soliciting persons.
The Shamsi Hauz in Delhi, surviving to this day, is a monumental relic
of Khawaja Qutab's sanctity and super natural power. Potable water was
in short supply in the newly founded capital which was a matte of
great concern to the Sultan. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) appeared in
dream to both the Khawaja and the Sultan indicating a particular spot
upon which was imprinted thehoop-mark of the Prophet's horse seen in
the dream. A tank was dug up at that site and lo the water gushed out
from underground source. It was named as Hauz-I-Shamsi. Khawaja became
known as 'Kaki' as he lived on miraculously received breads alone. The
demise fo Hadrat Qutab Kaki was an event of great significance to the
Sufis. The Khawaja graced with his presencethe Mehfil-I-Samaa at eh
Khnaqah of Shaikh Ali Sijzi. When the Qawwal recited the following
verse, the Khawaja was seized with ecstasy;
"The martyrs of the dagger of tasleem (surrender to Allah's will)
Each moment get a new life form the Unseen World."
He was rushed home in state of trance. Regaining consciousness, the
Khawaja desired the verse to be repeated each time he regained
consciousness which always occurred at the time of obligatory prayers.
He then lapsed back into an ecstatic state. On the fifth night, 14
Rabiul Awwal 633 A.H.(27th Novemeber 1235 C.E.) he departed to his
heavenly abode. He lies buried in Mehroli (near the Qutab Minar), a
suburb of present day Delhi.
Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)
He was at the end of the third decade of his life on the day the
Prophet made public his call to guidance and truth. He was held in
high regard by the Quraysh, being wealthy and of noble lineage. Some
others like him, Saud ibn Abi Waqqas, Musab ibn Umayr and other sons
of noble families in Makkah had become Muslims. He too might have
followed their example were it not for his father. His father,
AbuJahl, was the foremost proponent of Shirk and one of the greatest
tyrants of Makkah. Through torture, he sorely tested the faith of the
early believers but they remained steadfast. He used every stratagem
to make them waver but they continued to affirm the truth.
Ikrimah found himself defendingthe leadership and authority of his
father as he pitted himself against the Prophet. His animosity towards
the Prophet, his persecution of his followers and his attempts to
block the progress of Islam and the Muslims won the admiration of his
father.
At Badr, Abu Jahl led the Makkan polytheists in the battle against the
Muslims. He swore by al-Laatand al-Uzza that he would not return to
Makkah unless he crushed Muhammad. At Badr he sacrificed three camels
to these goddesses. He drank wine and had the music of singing girls
to spur the Quraysh on to fight.
Abu Jahl was among the first to fall in the battle. His son Ikrimahsaw
him as spears pierced his body and heard him let out his last cry of
agony. Ikrimah returned to Makkah leaving behind the corpse of the
Quraysh chieftain, his father. He wanted to bury him in Makkah but the
crushing defeat they suffered made this impossible.
From that day, the fire of hatred burned even more fiercely in the
heart of Ikrimah. Others whose fathers were killed at Badr, also
became more hostile to Muhammad and his followers. This eventually led
to the Battle of Uhud.
At Uhud Ikrimah was accompanied by his wife, Umm Hakim. She and other
women stood behind the battle lines beating their drums, urging the
Quraysh on to battle and upbraiding any horseman who felt inclined to
flee.
Leading the right flank of the Quraysh was Khalid ibn Walid. On the
left was Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. The Quraysh inflicted heavy losses on
the Muslims and felt that they had avenged themselves for the defeat
at Badr. This was not, however, theend of the state of conflict.
At the battle of the Ditch, the Quraysh mushrikun besieged Madinah. It
was a long siege. The resources and the patience of the mushrikun were
wearing out. Ikrimah, feeling the strain of the siege, saw a place
where the ditch, dug by the Muslims, was relatively narrow. With a
gigantic effort, he managed to cross. A small group of Quraysh
followed him. It was a foolhardyundertaking. One of them was
immediately killed and it was only by turning on his heels that
Ikrimah managed to save himself.
Nine years after his hijrah, the Prophet returned with thousands of
his companions to Makkah. The Quraysh saw them approaching and decided
to leave the way open for them because they knew that the Prophet had
given instructions to his commanders not to open hostilities. Ikrimah
and some others however went against the consensus of the Quraysh and
attempted to block the progress of the Muslim forces. Khalid ibn
al-Walid, now a Muslim, met and defeated them in a small engagement
during which some of Ikrimah's men were killed and others who could
fled. Among those who escaped was Ikrimah himself.
Any standing or influence that Ikrimah may have had was now completely
destroyed. The Prophet, peace be upon him, entered Makkah and gave a
general pardon and amnesty to all Quraysh who entered the sacred
mosque, or who stayed in their houses or who went to the house of Abu
Sufyan, the paramount Quraysh leader. However he refused to grant
amnesty to a few individuals whom he named. He gave ordersthat they
should be killed even ifthey were found under the covering of the
Kabah. At the top of this list was Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. When Ikrimah
learnt ofthis, he slipped out of Makkah in disguise and headed for the
Yemen.
Umm Hakim, Ikrimah's wife, then went to the camp of the Prophet. With
her was Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan and the mother of
Muawiyah, and about ten other women who wanted to pledge allegiance to
the Prophet. At the camp, were two of his wives, hisdaughter Fatimah
and some women of the Abdulmuttalib clan. Hind was the one who spoke.
She was veiled and ashamed of what she had done to Hamzah, the
Prophet's uncle, at the battle of Uhud.
"O Messenger of God," she said,"Praise be to God Who has mademanifest
the religion He has chosen for Himself. I beseech you out of the bonds
of kinship to treat me well. I am now a believing woman who affirms
the Truth of your mission." She then unveiled herself and said:
"I am Hind, the daughter of Utbah, O Messenger of God. "
"Welcome to you," replied the Prophet, peace be on him.
"By God, O Prophet" continued Hind, "there was not a house on earth
that I wanted to destroy more than your house. Now, there is no house
on earth that Iso dearly wish to honor and raise in glory than yours."
Umm Hakim then got up and professed her faith in Islam and said: "O
Messenger of God, Ikrimah has fled from you to theYemen out of fear
that you would kill him. Grant him security and God will grant you
security."
"He is secure," promised the Prophet. Umm Hakim set out immediately in
search of Ikrimah. Accompanying her was a Greek slave. When they had
gone quite far on the way, he tried to seduce her but she managed to
put him off until she came to a settlement of Arabs. She sought their
help against him. They tied him up and kept him. Umm Hakim continued
on her way until she finally found Ikrimah on the coast of the Red Sea
in the region of Tihamah. He was negotiating transport with a Muslim
seaman who was saying to him:
"Be pure and sincere and I will transport you."
"How can I be pure?" asked Ikrimah.
"Say, I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah."
"I have fled from this very thing," said Ikrimah.
At this point, Umm Haklm came up to Ikrimah and said:
"O cousin, I have come to you from the most generous of men,the most
righteous of men, the best of men... from Muhammad ibn Abdullah. I
have asked him for an amnesty for you. This he has granted. So do not
destroy yourself. "
"Have you spoken to him?"
"Yes, I have spoken to him and he has granted you amnesty," she
assured him and he returned with her. She told him about the attempt
of their Greekslave to dishonor her and Ikrimah went directly to the
Arab settlement where he lay bound and killed him.
At one of their resting places on their way back, Ikrimah wanted to
sleep with his wife but she vehemently refused and said:
"I am a Muslimah and you are a Mushrik."
Ikrimah was totally taken aback and said, "Living without you and
without your sleeping with me is an impossible situation." As Ikrimah
approached Makkah, the Prophet, peace be upon him,told his companions:
"Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl shall come to you asa believer and a muhajir (a
refugee). Do not insult his father. Insulting the dead causesgrief to
the living and does not reach the dead."
Ikrimah and his wife came up to where the Prophet was sitting. The
Prophet got up and greeted him enthusiastically.
"Muhammad," said Ikrimah,"Umm Hakim has told me that you have granted
me an amnesty."
"That's right," said the Prophet,"You are safe."
"To what do you invite?" asked Ikrimah.
"I invite you to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I
amthe servant of Allah and His messenger, to establish Prayer and pay
the Zakat and carry out all the other obligations of Islam."
"By God," responded Ikrimah,"You have only called to what is true and
you have only commanded that which is good.You lived among us before
the start of your mission and then you were the most trustworthy of us
in speech and the most righteous of us." Stretching forth his hands he
said, "I testifythat there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is
His servant and His messenger." TheProphet then instructed him to say,
"I call on God and those present here to witness that I am a Muslim
who is a Mujahid and a Muhajir". This Ikrimah repeated and then said:
"I ask you to ask God for forgiveness for me for all the hostility I
directed against you and for whatever insults I expressed in your
presence or absence." The Prophet replied with the prayer:
"O Lord, forgive him for all the hostility he directed against me and
from all the expeditions he mounted wishing to put out Your light.
Forgive him for whatever he has said or done in my presence or absence
to dishonor me."
Ikrimahs face beamed with happiness.
"By God, O messenger of Allah, I promise that whatever I have spent
obstructing the way of God, I shall spend twice as muchin His path and
whatever battles I have fought against God's way I shall fight twice
as much in His way."
From that day on, Ikrimah was committed to the mission of Islam as
brave horseman in the field of battle and as a steadfast worship per
who would spend much time in mosques rending the book of God. Often he
wouldplace the mushaf on his face andsay, "The Book of my Lord, the
words of my Lord" and he wouldcry from the fear of God.
Ikrimah remained true to his pledge to the Prophet. Whateverbattles
the Muslims engaged in thereafter, he participated in them and he was
always in the vanguard of the army. At the battle of Yarmuk he plunged
into the attack as a thirsty person after cold water on a blistering
hot day. In one encounter in which the Muslims were under heavy
attack, Ikrimah penetrated deep into the ranks of the Byzantine.
Khalid ibn al-Walid rushed up to him and said, "Don't, Ikrimah. Your
death will be a severe blowto the Muslims."
"Let us carry on, Khalid," said Ikrimah, now at the peak of
motivation. "You had the privilege of being with the Messenger of God
before this. Asfor myself and my father, we were among his bitterest
enemies. Leave me now to atonefor what I have done in the past.I
fought the Prophet on many occasions. Shall I now flee from the
Byzantines? This shall never be." Then calling out to the Muslims, he
shouted, "Who shallpledge to fight until death?"
Four hundred Muslims including al-Harith ibn Hisham and Ayyash ibn Abi
Rabiah responded to his call. They plunged into the battleand fought
heroically without the leadership of Khalid ibn al-Walid. Their daring
attack paved the way for a decisive Muslim victory.
When the battle was over, the bodies of three wounded mujahideen lay
sprawled on the battleground, among them Al-Harith ibn Hisham, Ayyash
ibn Abi Rabiah and Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. Al-Harith called for water
todrink. As it was brought to him, Ayyash looked at him and Harith
said:
"Give it to Ayyash." By the time they got to Ayyash, he had just
breathed his last. When they returned to al-Harith and Ikrimaha, they
found that they too had passed away.
The companions prayed that God may be pleased with them all and grant
them refreshment from the spring of Kawthar in Paradise, a refreshment
after which there is thirst no more.
--
- - - - -
And Allah Knows the Best!
- - - - -
Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Prophet made public his call to guidance and truth. He was held in
high regard by the Quraysh, being wealthy and of noble lineage. Some
others like him, Saud ibn Abi Waqqas, Musab ibn Umayr and other sons
of noble families in Makkah had become Muslims. He too might have
followed their example were it not for his father. His father,
AbuJahl, was the foremost proponent of Shirk and one of the greatest
tyrants of Makkah. Through torture, he sorely tested the faith of the
early believers but they remained steadfast. He used every stratagem
to make them waver but they continued to affirm the truth.
Ikrimah found himself defendingthe leadership and authority of his
father as he pitted himself against the Prophet. His animosity towards
the Prophet, his persecution of his followers and his attempts to
block the progress of Islam and the Muslims won the admiration of his
father.
At Badr, Abu Jahl led the Makkan polytheists in the battle against the
Muslims. He swore by al-Laatand al-Uzza that he would not return to
Makkah unless he crushed Muhammad. At Badr he sacrificed three camels
to these goddesses. He drank wine and had the music of singing girls
to spur the Quraysh on to fight.
Abu Jahl was among the first to fall in the battle. His son Ikrimahsaw
him as spears pierced his body and heard him let out his last cry of
agony. Ikrimah returned to Makkah leaving behind the corpse of the
Quraysh chieftain, his father. He wanted to bury him in Makkah but the
crushing defeat they suffered made this impossible.
From that day, the fire of hatred burned even more fiercely in the
heart of Ikrimah. Others whose fathers were killed at Badr, also
became more hostile to Muhammad and his followers. This eventually led
to the Battle of Uhud.
At Uhud Ikrimah was accompanied by his wife, Umm Hakim. She and other
women stood behind the battle lines beating their drums, urging the
Quraysh on to battle and upbraiding any horseman who felt inclined to
flee.
Leading the right flank of the Quraysh was Khalid ibn Walid. On the
left was Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. The Quraysh inflicted heavy losses on
the Muslims and felt that they had avenged themselves for the defeat
at Badr. This was not, however, theend of the state of conflict.
At the battle of the Ditch, the Quraysh mushrikun besieged Madinah. It
was a long siege. The resources and the patience of the mushrikun were
wearing out. Ikrimah, feeling the strain of the siege, saw a place
where the ditch, dug by the Muslims, was relatively narrow. With a
gigantic effort, he managed to cross. A small group of Quraysh
followed him. It was a foolhardyundertaking. One of them was
immediately killed and it was only by turning on his heels that
Ikrimah managed to save himself.
Nine years after his hijrah, the Prophet returned with thousands of
his companions to Makkah. The Quraysh saw them approaching and decided
to leave the way open for them because they knew that the Prophet had
given instructions to his commanders not to open hostilities. Ikrimah
and some others however went against the consensus of the Quraysh and
attempted to block the progress of the Muslim forces. Khalid ibn
al-Walid, now a Muslim, met and defeated them in a small engagement
during which some of Ikrimah's men were killed and others who could
fled. Among those who escaped was Ikrimah himself.
Any standing or influence that Ikrimah may have had was now completely
destroyed. The Prophet, peace be upon him, entered Makkah and gave a
general pardon and amnesty to all Quraysh who entered the sacred
mosque, or who stayed in their houses or who went to the house of Abu
Sufyan, the paramount Quraysh leader. However he refused to grant
amnesty to a few individuals whom he named. He gave ordersthat they
should be killed even ifthey were found under the covering of the
Kabah. At the top of this list was Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. When Ikrimah
learnt ofthis, he slipped out of Makkah in disguise and headed for the
Yemen.
Umm Hakim, Ikrimah's wife, then went to the camp of the Prophet. With
her was Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan and the mother of
Muawiyah, and about ten other women who wanted to pledge allegiance to
the Prophet. At the camp, were two of his wives, hisdaughter Fatimah
and some women of the Abdulmuttalib clan. Hind was the one who spoke.
She was veiled and ashamed of what she had done to Hamzah, the
Prophet's uncle, at the battle of Uhud.
"O Messenger of God," she said,"Praise be to God Who has mademanifest
the religion He has chosen for Himself. I beseech you out of the bonds
of kinship to treat me well. I am now a believing woman who affirms
the Truth of your mission." She then unveiled herself and said:
"I am Hind, the daughter of Utbah, O Messenger of God. "
"Welcome to you," replied the Prophet, peace be on him.
"By God, O Prophet" continued Hind, "there was not a house on earth
that I wanted to destroy more than your house. Now, there is no house
on earth that Iso dearly wish to honor and raise in glory than yours."
Umm Hakim then got up and professed her faith in Islam and said: "O
Messenger of God, Ikrimah has fled from you to theYemen out of fear
that you would kill him. Grant him security and God will grant you
security."
"He is secure," promised the Prophet. Umm Hakim set out immediately in
search of Ikrimah. Accompanying her was a Greek slave. When they had
gone quite far on the way, he tried to seduce her but she managed to
put him off until she came to a settlement of Arabs. She sought their
help against him. They tied him up and kept him. Umm Hakim continued
on her way until she finally found Ikrimah on the coast of the Red Sea
in the region of Tihamah. He was negotiating transport with a Muslim
seaman who was saying to him:
"Be pure and sincere and I will transport you."
"How can I be pure?" asked Ikrimah.
"Say, I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah."
"I have fled from this very thing," said Ikrimah.
At this point, Umm Haklm came up to Ikrimah and said:
"O cousin, I have come to you from the most generous of men,the most
righteous of men, the best of men... from Muhammad ibn Abdullah. I
have asked him for an amnesty for you. This he has granted. So do not
destroy yourself. "
"Have you spoken to him?"
"Yes, I have spoken to him and he has granted you amnesty," she
assured him and he returned with her. She told him about the attempt
of their Greekslave to dishonor her and Ikrimah went directly to the
Arab settlement where he lay bound and killed him.
At one of their resting places on their way back, Ikrimah wanted to
sleep with his wife but she vehemently refused and said:
"I am a Muslimah and you are a Mushrik."
Ikrimah was totally taken aback and said, "Living without you and
without your sleeping with me is an impossible situation." As Ikrimah
approached Makkah, the Prophet, peace be upon him,told his companions:
"Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl shall come to you asa believer and a muhajir (a
refugee). Do not insult his father. Insulting the dead causesgrief to
the living and does not reach the dead."
Ikrimah and his wife came up to where the Prophet was sitting. The
Prophet got up and greeted him enthusiastically.
"Muhammad," said Ikrimah,"Umm Hakim has told me that you have granted
me an amnesty."
"That's right," said the Prophet,"You are safe."
"To what do you invite?" asked Ikrimah.
"I invite you to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I
amthe servant of Allah and His messenger, to establish Prayer and pay
the Zakat and carry out all the other obligations of Islam."
"By God," responded Ikrimah,"You have only called to what is true and
you have only commanded that which is good.You lived among us before
the start of your mission and then you were the most trustworthy of us
in speech and the most righteous of us." Stretching forth his hands he
said, "I testifythat there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is
His servant and His messenger." TheProphet then instructed him to say,
"I call on God and those present here to witness that I am a Muslim
who is a Mujahid and a Muhajir". This Ikrimah repeated and then said:
"I ask you to ask God for forgiveness for me for all the hostility I
directed against you and for whatever insults I expressed in your
presence or absence." The Prophet replied with the prayer:
"O Lord, forgive him for all the hostility he directed against me and
from all the expeditions he mounted wishing to put out Your light.
Forgive him for whatever he has said or done in my presence or absence
to dishonor me."
Ikrimahs face beamed with happiness.
"By God, O messenger of Allah, I promise that whatever I have spent
obstructing the way of God, I shall spend twice as muchin His path and
whatever battles I have fought against God's way I shall fight twice
as much in His way."
From that day on, Ikrimah was committed to the mission of Islam as
brave horseman in the field of battle and as a steadfast worship per
who would spend much time in mosques rending the book of God. Often he
wouldplace the mushaf on his face andsay, "The Book of my Lord, the
words of my Lord" and he wouldcry from the fear of God.
Ikrimah remained true to his pledge to the Prophet. Whateverbattles
the Muslims engaged in thereafter, he participated in them and he was
always in the vanguard of the army. At the battle of Yarmuk he plunged
into the attack as a thirsty person after cold water on a blistering
hot day. In one encounter in which the Muslims were under heavy
attack, Ikrimah penetrated deep into the ranks of the Byzantine.
Khalid ibn al-Walid rushed up to him and said, "Don't, Ikrimah. Your
death will be a severe blowto the Muslims."
"Let us carry on, Khalid," said Ikrimah, now at the peak of
motivation. "You had the privilege of being with the Messenger of God
before this. Asfor myself and my father, we were among his bitterest
enemies. Leave me now to atonefor what I have done in the past.I
fought the Prophet on many occasions. Shall I now flee from the
Byzantines? This shall never be." Then calling out to the Muslims, he
shouted, "Who shallpledge to fight until death?"
Four hundred Muslims including al-Harith ibn Hisham and Ayyash ibn Abi
Rabiah responded to his call. They plunged into the battleand fought
heroically without the leadership of Khalid ibn al-Walid. Their daring
attack paved the way for a decisive Muslim victory.
When the battle was over, the bodies of three wounded mujahideen lay
sprawled on the battleground, among them Al-Harith ibn Hisham, Ayyash
ibn Abi Rabiah and Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl. Al-Harith called for water
todrink. As it was brought to him, Ayyash looked at him and Harith
said:
"Give it to Ayyash." By the time they got to Ayyash, he had just
breathed his last. When they returned to al-Harith and Ikrimaha, they
found that they too had passed away.
The companions prayed that God may be pleased with them all and grant
them refreshment from the spring of Kawthar in Paradise, a refreshment
after which there is thirst no more.
--
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And Allah Knows the Best!
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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
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Is it permissible to give salaams to someone who is praying?
Is it permissible for a Muslim to give salaams to a Muslim when he is
praying or he is making dhikr or du'aa'?
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, it is prescribed for a Muslim to initiate the greeting of
salaam to his Muslim brother when he is praying, but the one who is
praying should not return the salaams whilst praying, except by making
a gesture in a manner thatwill maintain the validityof his prayer,
because it was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said:
"I asked Bilaal, How did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) return their salaam when they greeted him
whilst he was praying? He said, With a gesture of his hand."
(Narrated by Ahmad, 6/12; Abu Dawood, 1/569, no. 927; al-Tirmidhi,
2/204, no. 368; al-Bayhaqi, 2/262; also narrated by the five).
It was also narrated from him that Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: "I passed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) whilst he waspraying. I greeted him with salaam
and he responded with a gesture." And he said: I am not sure whether
he said "a gesture with his fingers". (Narrated by the five, apart
from Ibn Maajah. Al-Tirmidhi said: both hadeeths are saheeh in my
view).
It was reported that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbidding usto pray two rak'ahs after'Asr, then I saw him praying
them when he prayed 'Asr. She said, he entered and there were some
women from Bani Haraam, from among theAnsaar, with me. He started to
pray them [these two rak'ahs after 'Asr], so I sent a young girl to
him, and I told her, 'Stand beside him and say to him, Umm Salamah is
saying to you,O Messenger of Allaah, I heard you forbidding us to do
these two rak'ahs and now I see you praying them. If he makes a
gesture with hishand then leave him andgo back.' So the young girl did
that and he made a gesture with his hand, so she left him andwent
back. When he finished praying, he said: 'O daughter of Abu Umayyah,
you asked about the two rak'ahs after 'Asr. Some people from Banu 'Abd
al-Qays came to me and kept mefrom doing the two rak'ahs after Zuhr,
and that is what these were.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
These ahaadeeth indicate that it is prescribed to say salaams to a
person whilst he is praying, and that he should respond to the
greeting with a gesture, because this is what the Prophet (peaceand
blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of initiating the salaam,
and he returned the greeting with a gesture only.
Secondly, it is prescribed for the Muslim to initiate the greeting to
one who is engaged in making dhikr or du'aa', because it was reported
that Abu Waaqid al-Laythi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
"Whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
sitting in the mosque and there were some people with him, three
people came in. Two of them came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and one went away. When they came up
to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), they greeted him with salaam. One of them found a space in the
circle and sat down, and the other sat down behind him. The third one
turned and went away. When the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had finished (his talk), he said: 'Shall I tell
you about these three people? One of them turned to Allaah so Allaah
accepted him; the second felt shy so Allaah will feel shy (to punish
him); and the third turned away so Allaah turned away from him."
(Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta', 2/960; Ahmad, 5/219; al-Bukhaari,
1/24, 122; Muslim, 4/1713, no. 2176; al-Tirmidhi, 5/73, no. 2724; Abu
Ya'laa, 3/33, no. 1445).
And in al-Saheehayn it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that a Bedouin entered the mosque and prayed, but he
did not do the rukoo' and sujood properly. Then he came and greeted
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with salaam.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) returned his
greeting then said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-'ilmiyyah wa'l-Iftaa', 7/36
praying or he is making dhikr or du'aa'?
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, it is prescribed for a Muslim to initiate the greeting of
salaam to his Muslim brother when he is praying, but the one who is
praying should not return the salaams whilst praying, except by making
a gesture in a manner thatwill maintain the validityof his prayer,
because it was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said:
"I asked Bilaal, How did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) return their salaam when they greeted him
whilst he was praying? He said, With a gesture of his hand."
(Narrated by Ahmad, 6/12; Abu Dawood, 1/569, no. 927; al-Tirmidhi,
2/204, no. 368; al-Bayhaqi, 2/262; also narrated by the five).
It was also narrated from him that Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: "I passed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) whilst he waspraying. I greeted him with salaam
and he responded with a gesture." And he said: I am not sure whether
he said "a gesture with his fingers". (Narrated by the five, apart
from Ibn Maajah. Al-Tirmidhi said: both hadeeths are saheeh in my
view).
It was reported that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbidding usto pray two rak'ahs after'Asr, then I saw him praying
them when he prayed 'Asr. She said, he entered and there were some
women from Bani Haraam, from among theAnsaar, with me. He started to
pray them [these two rak'ahs after 'Asr], so I sent a young girl to
him, and I told her, 'Stand beside him and say to him, Umm Salamah is
saying to you,O Messenger of Allaah, I heard you forbidding us to do
these two rak'ahs and now I see you praying them. If he makes a
gesture with hishand then leave him andgo back.' So the young girl did
that and he made a gesture with his hand, so she left him andwent
back. When he finished praying, he said: 'O daughter of Abu Umayyah,
you asked about the two rak'ahs after 'Asr. Some people from Banu 'Abd
al-Qays came to me and kept mefrom doing the two rak'ahs after Zuhr,
and that is what these were.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
These ahaadeeth indicate that it is prescribed to say salaams to a
person whilst he is praying, and that he should respond to the
greeting with a gesture, because this is what the Prophet (peaceand
blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of initiating the salaam,
and he returned the greeting with a gesture only.
Secondly, it is prescribed for the Muslim to initiate the greeting to
one who is engaged in making dhikr or du'aa', because it was reported
that Abu Waaqid al-Laythi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
"Whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
sitting in the mosque and there were some people with him, three
people came in. Two of them came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and one went away. When they came up
to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), they greeted him with salaam. One of them found a space in the
circle and sat down, and the other sat down behind him. The third one
turned and went away. When the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had finished (his talk), he said: 'Shall I tell
you about these three people? One of them turned to Allaah so Allaah
accepted him; the second felt shy so Allaah will feel shy (to punish
him); and the third turned away so Allaah turned away from him."
(Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta', 2/960; Ahmad, 5/219; al-Bukhaari,
1/24, 122; Muslim, 4/1713, no. 2176; al-Tirmidhi, 5/73, no. 2724; Abu
Ya'laa, 3/33, no. 1445).
And in al-Saheehayn it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that a Bedouin entered the mosque and prayed, but he
did not do the rukoo' and sujood properly. Then he came and greeted
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with salaam.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) returned his
greeting then said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-'ilmiyyah wa'l-Iftaa', 7/36
Was the adhaan revealed by wahy or wasit suggested by a sahaabi?
I think i once read that the adhan (call to prayer)was suggested toour
prophet Muhammed ( ) by another muslim after he said he didnt want to
use the bells that the christians used or the rams-head(?) that the
jews used to call people to prayer. How does the idea of everything
the prophet ordered being an inspiration that is inspired fit in with
this?
I am not trying to be picky here, but am asking purely to aid my understanding.
Praise be to Allaah.
"Adhaan" in Arabic means conveying; in Islam it means announcing that
the time (for prayer) has come. It was prescribed during the time of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah. According to the hadeeth of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn Abd
Rabbihi, when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) decided to use a bell even though he disliked it because
it was like what the Christians used,'there appeared to me ina dream a
man who was wearing two green garments, in whose hand was a bell. I
said, "O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?" he said, "What
will you do with it?" I said, "We will call the people to prayer with
it." He said, "Shall I not show you somethingbetter than that?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Say, Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar … (to the end
of the adhaan)." When morning came, I went tothe Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him what I had
seen. He said, "This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up with
Bilaaland tell him what you have seen, so that he cangive the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you." So I got up with
Bilaal and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call
to prayer. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his
house, and he came out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same
as he saw." The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "To Allaah be praise."' (Narrated by Ahmad, 1588;
al-Tirmidhi, 174; Abu Dawood, 421, 430; Ibn Maajah, 698).
It is clear from this hadeeth:
That the words of the adhaan came in a dreamwhich was seen by a great
sahaabi and approved of by our great Prophet. They were not a
suggestion asyou mentioned, but a dream, and it is known that dreams
are one of the seventy parts of Prophethood, because it was stated in
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Dreams are one of the seventy parts of
Prophethood." (Narratedby Ahmad, 4449).
Al-Bukhaari narrated a different version: "True dreams are one of the
forty-six parts of Prophethood." (Narratedby al-Bukhaari,, 6474;
Muslim, 4203, 42005).
The dream here, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) described as a true dream, came fromAllaah and was not a
suggestion from a person. So it was a part of Prophethood becauseit
was approved of by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and was described by him as a true dream. If the Prophet had not
approved of it, it would not have been considered a true dreamand it
would not have been a part of Prophethood. The one who judged it to be
truewas the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
the one who commanded them to act upon it was the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who received revelation (wahy) from
his Lord.
'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) had seen a similar dream. Letus
not forget that 'Umar was one of the Rightly-guided khaleefahs
(al-khulafaa' al-raashidoon), of whomthe Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "I exhort you to adhere to my
sunnah (way) and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khaleefahs. Hold on
tightto it with your back teeth." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2600; Ibn
Maajah, 43; Ahmad, 16519).
'Umar's view frequently coincided with the wahyand divine legislation.
'Aa'ishah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to say, "Among the nations whocame before you there
were people who were muhaddathoon (inspired). If there is anyone like
this in my ummah, it is 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab." (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3282; Muslim, 2398). Ibn Wahb said muhaddathoon means
inspired.
You may ask, why did the adhaan start in this fashion, being seen in a
dream by two sahaabis then being confirmed bythe wahy? Why was it not
revealed directly? The answer is that Allaahdecrees whatever He wills,
however He wills, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps the wayit
happened was meant to demonstrate the virtue of these two sahaabis and
to confirm the how good this ummah is, because among them are some
whose opinions coincidewith the wahy and somewho had true dreams which
confirmed their truthfulness, for the people who have the truest
dreams are the truest in speech as the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said.
Finally:
The definition of the Sunnah given in the books of the scholars is
that it consists of everything that was narrated from the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), everything that he "said,
did or approved of."
What is meant by his words and actions is clear. What he approved of
refers to when someone did something in front of him and he approved
of it – this is also part of the sharee'ah, not because that person
did it, but because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) approved of it. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) never kept quiet about falsehood and he never approved of
anything false or misguided that was done by others. He would
disapprove of it and speak out against it,as he did in the case of the
sahaabi Abu Israa'eel, as was narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas, who said:
"Whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
giving a khutbah, he saw a man standing in the sun, and he asked about
him. They said, 'That is Abu Israa'eel. He vowed to stand and not sit
down, not to seek shade, not tospeak, and to fast.' He said, 'Tell him
to speak, seek shade and sit down, but let him complete his fast.'"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6326).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of
Abu Israa'eel's vow to fast, but he cancelled therest of his vow and
did not approve of it.
So it is clear that the adhaan became part of the religion when the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) confirmed what
Allaah had shown the two sahaabis in theirdreams, and commanded
'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd to teach it to Bilaal so that he could call the
people to prayer.Hopefully the explanation given abovewill dispel your
confusion and make matters clearer to you. We ask Allaah to grant
usand you understanding of Islam. And Allaah knows best.
prophet Muhammed ( ) by another muslim after he said he didnt want to
use the bells that the christians used or the rams-head(?) that the
jews used to call people to prayer. How does the idea of everything
the prophet ordered being an inspiration that is inspired fit in with
this?
I am not trying to be picky here, but am asking purely to aid my understanding.
Praise be to Allaah.
"Adhaan" in Arabic means conveying; in Islam it means announcing that
the time (for prayer) has come. It was prescribed during the time of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah. According to the hadeeth of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn Abd
Rabbihi, when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) decided to use a bell even though he disliked it because
it was like what the Christians used,'there appeared to me ina dream a
man who was wearing two green garments, in whose hand was a bell. I
said, "O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?" he said, "What
will you do with it?" I said, "We will call the people to prayer with
it." He said, "Shall I not show you somethingbetter than that?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Say, Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar … (to the end
of the adhaan)." When morning came, I went tothe Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him what I had
seen. He said, "This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up with
Bilaaland tell him what you have seen, so that he cangive the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you." So I got up with
Bilaal and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call
to prayer. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his
house, and he came out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same
as he saw." The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "To Allaah be praise."' (Narrated by Ahmad, 1588;
al-Tirmidhi, 174; Abu Dawood, 421, 430; Ibn Maajah, 698).
It is clear from this hadeeth:
That the words of the adhaan came in a dreamwhich was seen by a great
sahaabi and approved of by our great Prophet. They were not a
suggestion asyou mentioned, but a dream, and it is known that dreams
are one of the seventy parts of Prophethood, because it was stated in
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Dreams are one of the seventy parts of
Prophethood." (Narratedby Ahmad, 4449).
Al-Bukhaari narrated a different version: "True dreams are one of the
forty-six parts of Prophethood." (Narratedby al-Bukhaari,, 6474;
Muslim, 4203, 42005).
The dream here, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) described as a true dream, came fromAllaah and was not a
suggestion from a person. So it was a part of Prophethood becauseit
was approved of by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and was described by him as a true dream. If the Prophet had not
approved of it, it would not have been considered a true dreamand it
would not have been a part of Prophethood. The one who judged it to be
truewas the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
the one who commanded them to act upon it was the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who received revelation (wahy) from
his Lord.
'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) had seen a similar dream. Letus
not forget that 'Umar was one of the Rightly-guided khaleefahs
(al-khulafaa' al-raashidoon), of whomthe Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "I exhort you to adhere to my
sunnah (way) and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khaleefahs. Hold on
tightto it with your back teeth." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2600; Ibn
Maajah, 43; Ahmad, 16519).
'Umar's view frequently coincided with the wahyand divine legislation.
'Aa'ishah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to say, "Among the nations whocame before you there
were people who were muhaddathoon (inspired). If there is anyone like
this in my ummah, it is 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab." (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3282; Muslim, 2398). Ibn Wahb said muhaddathoon means
inspired.
You may ask, why did the adhaan start in this fashion, being seen in a
dream by two sahaabis then being confirmed bythe wahy? Why was it not
revealed directly? The answer is that Allaahdecrees whatever He wills,
however He wills, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps the wayit
happened was meant to demonstrate the virtue of these two sahaabis and
to confirm the how good this ummah is, because among them are some
whose opinions coincidewith the wahy and somewho had true dreams which
confirmed their truthfulness, for the people who have the truest
dreams are the truest in speech as the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said.
Finally:
The definition of the Sunnah given in the books of the scholars is
that it consists of everything that was narrated from the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), everything that he "said,
did or approved of."
What is meant by his words and actions is clear. What he approved of
refers to when someone did something in front of him and he approved
of it – this is also part of the sharee'ah, not because that person
did it, but because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) approved of it. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) never kept quiet about falsehood and he never approved of
anything false or misguided that was done by others. He would
disapprove of it and speak out against it,as he did in the case of the
sahaabi Abu Israa'eel, as was narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas, who said:
"Whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
giving a khutbah, he saw a man standing in the sun, and he asked about
him. They said, 'That is Abu Israa'eel. He vowed to stand and not sit
down, not to seek shade, not tospeak, and to fast.' He said, 'Tell him
to speak, seek shade and sit down, but let him complete his fast.'"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6326).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of
Abu Israa'eel's vow to fast, but he cancelled therest of his vow and
did not approve of it.
So it is clear that the adhaan became part of the religion when the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) confirmed what
Allaah had shown the two sahaabis in theirdreams, and commanded
'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd to teach it to Bilaal so that he could call the
people to prayer.Hopefully the explanation given abovewill dispel your
confusion and make matters clearer to you. We ask Allaah to grant
usand you understanding of Islam. And Allaah knows best.
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