The Hijrah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

The Hijrah – emigration of the Prophet, , to Madeenah – constitutes a
wonderful memory honored by many annually. But, itis only the wise who
recognize itsfull magnanimity: as a victory for the believers and
their escape from a life of injustice and subjugation to a free and
respectable one. It marked a newphase in the struggle between Islam
and disbelief, and between truth and falsehood, hence only fit to
signify the start of the Muslim calendar.
And for us to appreciate it so, we must go back in history more than
ten centuries, to the thirteenth year after Muhammad, , was given the
mission of Prophethood. It was a time whenMuslims were permitted to
leave Makkah and escape persecution; many succeeded, managing to
overcome the obstacles put in their way by Quraysh, to hinder them
from reaching Yathrib (the former name of Madeenah). When they
arrived, they found their brothers from the Ansaar (their supporters
among the locals) welcoming them warmly, opening up their hearts and
homes to them. That greatly boosted their morale, so much sothat only
a few believers remained in Makkah, and only because they were
oppressed or captured.
Sensing their vulnerability, the Quraysh believed the situation could
only be restored if they managed to prevent the emigration of the
Prophet, , by any means possible.
As a result, conspirators secretly agreed to eliminate him, , before
he was able to leave for refuge in Madeenah. On a Thursday of the
month of Safar , the disbelievers assembled at Daar -un-Nadwah to
decide on the best course of action. One suggestion expressed the
necessity of killing the Prophet, , while others advocated either
imprisonment or exile.
However, the consensus was to murder him in a manner that the tribe of
the Prophet, , Banu Haashim, could not retaliate. Their strategy was
to handpick the best young man from all the tribes of Quraysh and
order them to strike the Prophet, , simultaneously with their swords,
so that every clan would be culpable for the crime. Clearly, Banu
Haashim could not engage them all in battle and would be obliged to
only accept blood money as settlement. Allaah The Almighty mentions
this, Saying (what means): {And [remember, OMuhammad], when those who
disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict
you [from Makkah]. But they plan,and Allaah plans. And Allaah is the
best of planners.} [Quran 8:30]
The Quraysh, however, were unaware that Allaah The Almighty had
already given permission for the Prophet, , to emigrate; so, while
they were still weaving their plots, he was preparing to travel to
Madeenah. While disguised as a necessary precaution, he, , went to the
house of Abu Bakr unusually at the noon, to inform him of theorder to
depart Makkah imminently.
Fearing that he would not be blessed to accompany the Prophet, , Abu
Bakr sought permission to travel with him and was granted it. He shed
tears of joy; he hired a non-Muslim man from Banu Ad-Dayl, called
'Abdullaah ibn Urayqit, to take care of two camels he had preemptively
readied for the journey and bring them to him three nights later at
the Thawr cave. His daughters, 'Aa'ishah and Asmaa̓ prepared all the
necessary gear and supplies, and put food in a container. Asmaa̔ would
later be known as "the one with two waistbands", as she would tear her
waistband in half, tying abundle of food on one end and a water skin
container on the another, to take to the two travelers.
Then, the awaited moment arrived and the Prophet, , andAbu Bakr set
out to leave through the backdoor of the house. Before that, he, ,
ordered 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib to stay behind in order to return to
people possessions they had entrusted to him. He, , also told the
young man to lie down in his bed, wearing his clothes, inorder to
stymie Quraysh.
Hence, the Prophet, , and Abu Bakr succeeded in evading the
disbelievers, who did not even notice they had left until thefollowing
morning, when 'Ali ibn Taalib emerged from the house. Enraged, they
surrounded him, asking him about the Prophet, , but he pretended to be
astonished and unaware of his whereabouts.
Knowing that Abu Bakr was the confidante of the Prophet, , they rushed
to his house to extract information, only to find he had left, too.
They questioned Asmaa̓ about her father, butshe feigned ignorance. So,
Abu Jahl, one of the chiefs of Quraysh, became enraged and slapped her
face, cutting her ear with her earring in the process.
Having been stonewalled, the Quraysh exerted all their efforts to hunt
down the two men, placing everyone in Makkah underclose surveillance
and announcing a valuable prize for anyone who caught the Prophet, ,
dead or alive. They commissioned experts in tracking and rushed north
in the hope of finding any trail of the Prophet, .
However, the Prophet, , had already outdone them, by having cleverly
taken an unfamiliar and indirect route to Madeenah. He, , headed
south, threading through rugged mountains till hereached an
inaccessible cave called Thawr , where he stayed with Abu Bakr until
the hunt simmered down.
However, a massive manhunt led the Quraysh to that very cave and they
drew quite near to its entrance, so much so that Abu Bakr could hear
their footsteps; so, he whispered to the Prophet, : "What if they were
to look through the crevice and spot us?" Filled with trust and
confidence in the promise of Allaah The Almighty (to protect him and
His Message), the Prophet, , calmly replied: "AbuBakr! What do you
think [can happen to] two with whom the Third is Allaah?"
Needless to say, the firm belief of the Prophet, , in Allaah The
Almighty was verified; the Quraysh ruled out the possibility of them
being anywhere near that place and left without having achieved any
success.
On to Madeenah
The Prophet, , stayed three nights in the cave of Thawr , during which
he received daily reports of the non-believers in Makkah, from
'Abdullaah ibn Abi Bakr . Another man, 'Aamir ibn Fuhayrah, would hide
his trailwhen he would bring sheep, so the Prophet, and Abu Bakr could
drink some milk. Then, at the appointed time, 'Abdullaahibn ̓Urayqit
brought the camels, as per the agreement.
On a Monday night in the month of Rabee'ul-Awwal , the Prophet, , and
Abu Bakr headed to Madeenah, taking the coastal route. They rode all
day long, andAbu Bakr rode with the Prophet, , beside, in front
andbehind him, shielding him continuously, fearing the Qurayshwould
attack. At noon, they stopped to rest, taking shelter behind a huge
rock. Abu Bakr evened the place out for the Prophet, , to lie down. In
the meantime, a shepherd, driving his herd, seemed to be heading their
way; when he came closer, Abu Bakr asked: "Who is your master?" The
slave boy replied: "I am a slave of a master from Makkah." He
inquired: "Do your sheep have milk? " The boy answered in the
affirmative, so Abu Bakr milked some for theProphet, , who was able to
quench his thirst.
However, danger lurked, as a disbeliever had caught a glimpse of the
Prophet, , from afar. Hehastened to Makkah and told people of two
figures he spotted riding on their camels, along the coast. One man,
Suraaqah ibn Maalik, realized he was right to assume they must have
been Muhammad, , and his Companion, but convinced the informant
otherwise, so he couldclaim the prize money for himself. He stayed for
an hour, then sneaked away, so he would not call the attention of
anyone. He took his spear and rushed on his horse to where he thought
the Prophet and his Companion were.
But, when he drew close, his horse stumbled and he fell to theground.
He briefly considered it an ill omen, before mounting his ride again
and rushing forward, only for his horse to trip once more. Suraaqah
became apprehensive, but his desire for the prize money made him
overlook his reservations. But, when he came closer to the Prophet, ,
his horse's hooves sank into the sand until it came to its knees and
smoke rose frombetween them; that is when he realized that the men he
was pursuing were being protected by Allaah The Almighty. Therefore,
he asked them for security (fearing Muslims would take revenge for his
action), promising not to divulge their whereabouts. The Prophet, ,
wrote him a note, granting him that and Suraaqah, on his part,
fulfilled his promise and diverted any other person in pursuit of
theProphet, , to look elsewhere, concealing his location, until he
safely approached Madeenah.
On their way, the Prophet, , and his Companion also stopped at the
tent of Umm Ma'bad and asked her for some food. She, however, had
nothing to offer, but a dry boney goat. So,the Prophet, , took it,
touched its udders, invoked the blessings of Allaah The Almighty and
miraculously milked it. And, as they all drank from the milk, this
remarkable incident led Umm Ma'bad and her husband to embrace Islam.
For all its difficulties, the journey finally came to a good end, with
the Prophet, , reaching Madeenah safely, where he was received by the
many Companions who had previously emigrated from Makkah and by his
Muslim brothers who were hosting him in their city.

The world before the Prophet Muhammad

When Almighty Allah sent His lastand greatest Prophet, Muhammad
sallallaaahu 'alayhi wa sallam , , humankind was immersed in a state
of degeneration. The messages of the past prophets had been distorted
and ignored, civilizationwas on the decline and humanity had slumped
into an age of darkness, with disbelief, oppression and corruption
prevalent everywhere. The condition of the world at that time
presented the gloomiest picture ever of human history.
At the time of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, , there existed two
great powers on earth: one in the East and another in the West. In the
East there was the Persian Empire, and in the West, the Roman Empire .
As it might be expected, these two powers were actively hostile and
almost permanently at war with one another. As a result, they were
weak and disunited, though appearing to be otherwise. Despite their
disunity and weakness, they made no serious effort to eradicate the
causes of their instability.
The Arabs were living under no better conditions. They were families
and tribes comprising different attitudes and feelings; but they were
all similar in one respect: they were slaves of habits and impulses.
They used to take pride in invasion and plunder. Moreover, they were
so low in their moral affairs that a number of them used to bury their
daughters alive.
Religiously speaking, the Arabs of that era were mostly idol
worshippers. Some of them used to make their own gods from sweets, and
subsequently, they would eat them when they got hungry. They had
replaced the monotheism of Ibraaheem (Abraham) with the worship of
idols, stars and demons, turning the Ka'bah, which was built for the
One and Only Creator,into a pantheon of idols. In addition, tribal
rivalries and blood feuds ran among them likethe burning desert sands
of Arabia .
The people of Makkah used to practice usury on a large scale with
very high interest rates -- sometimes a hundred percent. When the
debtors were not able to repay -- and that was most often the case --
they were enslaved or obliged to force their wives and daughters to
commit certain sins, in order to be able tocollect enough money to
repay the debt.
Ignorance was not confined to the Arabs alone. On the fringes of
Arabia where the desert gives way to hospitable lands, met the
ever-changing borders of 'world arrogance', the two superpowersof the
age: the Persian and the Roman Empires.
The fire-worshipping Persians, with their strange concept of dualism
were further plagued by the still weirder Mazdakite doctrine (i.e. a
socio-religious movement that flared up in the Sasanian Kavad (488-531
CE) founded by Mazdak son of Bamdad), that advocated communal
ownership and even ruled that women were the common property of all
men. LikeMani a few centuries earlier, who had claimed a new religion
by combining the teachings of Jesus and Zoroaster, Mazdakite's
movement was also a reaction tothe corruption of the traditional
priestly class. Both creeds died away after the execution of their
proponents, who more or less depended on royal patronage. Onthe other
hand, the Sasanian aristocracy aligned with the Zoroastrian clergy was
steeped inpleasures, burdening the oppressed masses with heavy taxes
and oppression.
At the other end was the Byzantine world, which though claiming to
profess a divinely revealed religion, had in fact polluted the
monotheist message of Prophet Jesus with the sediments of ancient
Greek and Roman pagan thoughts, resulting in the birth ofChristianity.
In 381 CE, the Greco-Roman Church council rejected the doctrine of
Arius of Alexandria, to which most of the eastern provinces of the
empire adhered, and in its place the council had coined the belief
thatGod and Jesus are of one substance and therefore co-existent.
Arius and his followers had held the belief in the uniqueness and
majesty of God, Who Alone, they said has existed since eternity, while
Jesus was created in time.
There were colonies of Jews scattered across West Asia and North
Africa to whom several Messengers had been sent by Almighty Allaah.
However, even these divine favors had failed to reform them. The laws
sent to Prophet Moses had been distorted and tampered with.
Further to the east lay the once flourishing cultures of China and
India which were groping in darkness. Confucianism had confused the
Chinese, robbing their minds of any positive thinking. On the other
hand, Hinduism had no universal pretensions whatsoever, and
waspeculiar to the geographical confines of India or more properly
Northern India and its Aryan invaders. Conversion of foreigners was
difficult because one had to be born in a particularcaste and it was
the mystery of 'Karma' that determined one's fate.
In short, wars, bloodshed, slavery, oppression of women and the
deprived held sway everywhere, might ruled over right. The world was
in dire distress but no one seemed capable of delivering it from
darkness. No religion, ideology, creed or cult during those times,
could offer any hope to the agonies and frustrations of humankind.
None of the religions in currency had any universal outlook or
evenpretensions and were limited to insurmountable geographical and
psychological barriers, preaching discrimination and the narrow-minded
superiority of a particular race.
Thus, it was in such a chaotic state of depression that AlmightyAllaah
sent His last great Prophet, with the universal Message ofIslam to
save humankind from disbelief, oppression, corruption, ignorance and
moral decadence that was dragging humanity towards self-annihilation.

Arabia before the Prophet Muhammad –I

The Arabian Peninsula is enclosedin the west by the Red Sea and Sinai,
in the east by the Arabian Gulf, in the south by the Arabian Sea,
which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old
Syria and part of Iraq. The area is estimated between 1 and 1.25
million square miles.
Arab Tribes:
Arabs have been divided according to lineage into three groups:
- Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs whose history is little known,
and of whom were 'Ad, Thamûd, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq andothers.
- Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya'rub bin Yashjub
bin Qahtaan. They were also called Qahtaanian Arabs.
- Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ismaa'eel . They
were also called 'Adnanian Arabs.
When talking about the Arabs before Islam, we deem it necessary to
draw a mini-picture of the history of rulership, princeship,
sectarianism, political, economic and social situations as well as the
religiousdominations of the Arabs, so as to facilitate the
understanding of emergent circumstances when Islam appeared.
Rulership and Princeship among the Arabs
When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds:
crowned kings, who were in fact not independent but were subservient
to Persians or Romans; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the
same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and were
mostly independent, though some of them may have shown some kind of
submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were only those of
Yemen, Heerah and Ghassaan, all other rulers of Arabia were not
crowned.
The tribes dwelling near Heerah were subordinate to the Arabian king
of Heerah, while those dwelling in the Syrian semi-desert were under
the domain of the Arabian Ghassanide king, a dependency that was in
reality formal, rather than actual. However, those livingin the hinder
deserts enjoyed full autonomy.
In fact, these heads of these tribes were chosen by the whole tribe,
which was a demi-government based on tribalsolidarity and collective
interests in defense of land and property.
Heads of tribes enjoyed dictatorial privileges similar to those of
kings, and were rendered full obedience and subordination in both war
and peace. However, rivalry among cousins for rulership often drove
them to outdo one another in entertaining guests, affecting
generosity, wisdom and chivalry for the sole purpose of outranking
their rivals and gaining fame among people -- especially poets, who
were the official spokesmen at the time.
Heads of tribes and masters had special claims to spoils of war such
as a quarter of the spoils, whatever he chose for himself, that which
he found on his way back or even the remaining undivided spoils.
Religions of the Arabs
Most of the Arabs had complied with the message of Ismaa'eel and
professed the religion ofhis father Ibraaheem . They had worshipped
Allaah, professed His Oneness and followed His religion for a long
time, until a time came when they forgot part of what they hadbeen
reminded of. However, they still maintained fundamental beliefs like
monotheism as well as various other aspects of Ibraaheem's religion
until the time when a chief of Khuza'a,namely 'Amr bin Luhai
introducedthem to idol-worship. 'Amr bin Luhai was renowned for his
righteousness, charity and reverence for religion, and was granted
unreserved love and obedience by his tribesmen. Once, on his return
from a trip to Syria where he saw people worshipping idols (a
phenomenon he approved of andbelieved to be righteous since Syria was
the locus of Messengersand Scriptures), he brought with him an idol
(Hubal), which he placed in the middle of Al-Ka'bah (the Sacred House)
and summoned people to worship it. Readily enough, paganism spreadall
over Makkah and then to Hijaz (the region of western Saudi Arabia
bordering the Red Sea). A great many idols, bearing different names,
were introducedinto the area.
Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of
the religion of pre-Islamic Arabs, despite the alleged profession of
Ibraaheem's religion .
Traditions and idol-worship ceremonies had been mostly introduced by
'Amr bin Luhai, andwere deemed as 'good innovations' rather than
deviations from Ibraaheem's religion. Some features of their
idol-worship were:
· Devoting themselves completely to the idols, seeking refuge
with them, acclaiming their names, beseeching their help in hardship
and supplicationto them for fulfillment of wishes, hoping that the
idols (i.e. pagan gods) would mediate with Allaah for the fulfillment
of their wishes.
· Performing pilgrimage to the idols, circumambulating around
them, self-abasement and even prostrating themselves before them.
· Seeking the favor of idols through various kinds of
sacrifices and immolations.
· Consecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle
andcrops to idols. Surprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated
to Allaah Himself, but the misguided people often found reasons to
transfer parts of Allaah's portion to idols, but never did the
opposite.
It has been authentically reported that such superstitions were first
invented by 'Amr bin Luhai.
The Arabs believed that such idols or heathen gods would bring them
nearer to Allaah, lead them to Him and mediate with Him for their
sake, to which effect, the Quran says (what means): "And they worship
other than Allaah things that hurt themnot, nor profit them, and they
say: 'These are our intercessors with Allaah.'" [Quran 10:18]
Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam
(i.e. featherless arrows which were of three kinds: one showing 'yes',
another 'no' and a third was blank), which they usedto cast while
deciding about serious matters like travel, marriage and the like. If
the lot showed 'yes', they would go ahead, if 'no', they would delay
the matter for the next year. Moreover, they used to have a deep
conviction in the tidings of soothsayers, diviners and astrologers.
Such was the religious life in Arabia: an ignominious saga of
polytheism, idolatry and superstition.
However, Judaism, Christianity, Magianism and Sabianism found their
ways easily into Arabia.
The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed through two
phases: First, as a result of the persecution to which they were
exposed at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed their
temple and took most of them as captives to Babylon. In the year B.C.
587 some Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in the northern
areas.The second phase started with the Roman occupation of Palestine
under the leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A.D. This resulted in a tidal
wave of Jewish migration into Hijaz, Yathrib (Madeenah), Khaybar and
Tayma',in particular. When Islam dawnedon that land, there already
existed several famous Jewish tribes — Khaybar, Al-Mustaliq,
An-Nadeer, Quraizah and Qainuqa'. According to some historical
versions, the Jewish tribes were as many as twenty.
Christianity first made its appearance in Arabia following the entry
of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and Roman colonists into the country.
The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) colonization forces in league with
Christian missions entered Yemen as a retaliatory reaction for the
iniquities of Dhu Nawwaas, and started to propagate their faith
ardently. They even built a church and called it the "Yemeni Ka'bah"
with the aim of directing the Arab pilgrimage caravans towards Yemen,
and then made afailed attempt to demolish the Sacred House in Makkah.
The principal tribes that embraced Christianity were Ghassaan,
Taghlib, Tai' and some Himyarite kings as well as other tribes living
on the borders of theRoman Empire.
Such was the religious life of the Arabs before the advent of Islam.
The role that the prevalent religions played was marginal.
To Be Concluded…

The gathering of mankind and the animals .

Dought & clear, - Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, -
What can you tell us about how people will look following the
Resurrection? Will people will be wearing clothes or not? Will the
animals be resurrected after death or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah calls the Day of Resurrection the Day of Gathering because
Allaah will gather His slaves, mankind and the jinn. Allaah says:
"Indeed in that (there) isa sure lesson for those who fear the torment
of the Hereafter. That is a Day whereon mankind will be gathered
together, and that is a Day when all (the dwellers of the heavens and
the earth) will be present"
[Hood 11:103]
"Say (O Muhammad): (Yes) verily, those of old, and those of later times.
All will surely be gathered together for appointed Meeting of a known Day"
[al-Waaqiyah 56:49-50]
"There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most
Gracious (Allaah) as a slave.
Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting.
And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection
(without any helper, or protector or defender)"
[Maryam 19:93-95]
"And (remember) the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away
(like clouds of dust), and you will see the earth as a levelled plain,
and we shall gather them all together so as to leave not one of them
behind"
[al-Kahf 18:47]
Also included in this gathering are the animals. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn
Taymiyah) said:
"As for the animals, they will all be gathered by Allaah, as is
indicated by the Qur'aan and Sunnah.Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
'There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that
flies with its two wings, but are communities likeyou. We have
neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall
be gathered'
[al-An'aam 6:38]
'And when the wild beasts are gathered together'
[al-Takweer 81:5]
'And among His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.) is the
creation of the heavens and the earth, and whatever moving (living)
creatures He has dispersed in them both. And He is All-Potent over
their assembling (i.e. resurrecting them on theDay of Resurrection
aftertheir death, and dispersion of their bodies) whenever He wills'
[al-Shoora 42:29]
The word idha (translated here as whenor whenever) refers to something
that will inevitably come to pass. And there are many well known
ahaadeeth on this topic. On the Day of Resurrection Allaah will gather
the animals, and the scores among them will be settled. Then it will
be said to them, "Be dust!" and they will become dust. At that point
the kaafir will say, "Would that I were dust!" (al-Naba' 72:40 –
interpretation of the meaning). Whoever says that they will not be
brought back to life is making a serious mistake, indeed he is
misguided or is a kaafir. And Allaah knows best.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 4/248
Ahmad (20534) narrated from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wassitting, and two sheep
locked horns, and one ofthem butted the other and defeated it. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
smiled, and it was said to him, "Why are you smiling, O Messenger of
Allaah?" He said, "Because of the sheep. By the One in Whose hand is
my soul, it will settle its score with the other on the Day of
Resurrection."
Ahmad Shaakir said, its isnaad is hasan and unbroken.
Muslim (2582) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "All rights will be
restored on the Day of Resurrection, until even the hornless sheep
will settle its score with the one that has horns."
Al-Nawawi said:
This clearly indicates that the animals will be gathered on the Day of
Resurrection, and that they will be brought back to life like human
beings who are accountable, and like children and the insane and those
who were notreached by the call of Islam. This is what is indicated by
the Qur'aanand Sunnah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when the wild beasts are gathered together"
[al-Takweer 81:5]
If something is stated in a shar'i text, and there isno rational or
shar'i reason not to interpret itaccording to what it appears to mean,
then it must be taken at face value. The scholars said that it is not
a condition of the gathering or the resurrection that there should be
reward or punishment. With regard to the hornless sheep settling their
scores with those that have horns, this is not the retaliation that
comes with accountability, because they are not accountable. Rather it
is simply settling the scores. And Allaah knowsbest.
People will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection barefoot, naked and
uncircumcised. It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "You willbe gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised." Then he
recited, "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is)
a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it" [al-Anbiya' 21:104 –
interpretation of the meaning]. Then he said: "The first one to be
clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibraaheem. Some peoplefrom
among my followers will be taken away towards the left and I will say,
'My followers, my followers!' He will say, 'They kept turning back on
their heels after you left them.' And I will say what the righteous
slavesaid:
'And I was a witness overthem while I dwelt amongst them, but when You
took me up, You were the Watcher over them; and You are aWitness to
all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians
of the whole world).
If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them,
verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise'
[al-Maa'idah 5:117]."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3349)
It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
"The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: 'You will be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.' I
said, 'O Messenger of Allaah, men and women will be looking at one
another?!' He said, 'The situation will be so terrible that that will
notconcern them.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6527)
And it was narrated in the hadeeth that people will be resurrected in
the clothes in which theydied. It was narrated that when Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri was dying, he called for new clothes and put them on, then
he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say, 'The deceased will be resurrected in the
clothes in which he died.'" (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3114; classed
assaheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1671).
This hadeeth may seem to contradict the hadeeth quoted above, which
says that they will be resurrected naked. The scholars reconciled
between the two reportsby noting the following points:
1- That they will be raised in those garmentsbut they will wear
out after the resurrection, and when they reach theplace of standing
they will be naked.
2- They will be raised naked then when the Prophets and Siddeeqs
etc have been clothed, everyone else will be clothed in the same
kindof clothes as those in which they died.
3- Some of the scholars interpreted this hadeeth as referring to
the martyrs (shuhada'), because they are the ones whom the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded should be buried
in the clothes in which they died, so they will be resurrected in
their clothes in order to distinguish them from others.
4- What is meant by clothes is righteous deeds, as in the verses
(interpretation of the meanings)
"and the raiment of righteousness, that is better"
[al-A'raaf 7:26]
"And purify your garments"
[al-Muddaththir 74:4]
What is meant by a person being resurrected according towhat he was
doing when he died is that if his final action was good, then it will
be good (for him) and if it was bad then it will be bad (for him).
This is indicated by the hadeeth of Jaabir who said: "I heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, 'Every person
will be resurrected in the manner that he died.'" (Narrated by Muslim,
2878)
And Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'When Allaah
sends down punishment upon a people, the punishment also befalls those
who were among them, then they will be resurrected according to their
deeds.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7108).
This is also indicated by the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) who said: "Whilst a man was at 'Arafah, he fell from
his mount and broke his neck (or it broke his neck). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, 'Wash him with water
and lotus leaves, and shroud him in two garments, but do not apply
perfume or cover his head, for he will be raised on the Day of
Resurrection reciting theTalbiyah.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1265).
And it was narrated fromAbu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Every wound that the Muslim
receives for the sake of Allaah will appear on theDay of Resurrection
as it was at the time when it was inflicted; blood will be flowing
from the wound and its color will be that of blood but its smell will
be the fragrance of musk." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 237).
Hence it is mustahabb to encourage one who is dying to say Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah, so that these good words will be his last words in this
world and he will be raised saying them on the Day of Resurrection.
See Fath al-Baari, 11/383
The people will be gathered on that Day on another earth, one that is
different from this earth, with specific features that are explained
in the Sunnah.It was narrated that Sahlibn Sa'd said: "I heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, 'The people
will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection on reddish white land like
a pure loaf of bread (made from pure fine flour)." Sahl or someone
else said, "It will have no landmarks for anyone (to make use of)."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6521)
'Afra' (translated here as reddish) means white that has a hint of
redness; or it was said that it is intensely white;or it was said that
it means pure white. A pure loaf of bread means a loaf that is made
from pure flour that is unadulterated.

Does the Mahdi exist at present?.

Dought & clear, - Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, -
Will the expected Mahdi resemble the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)? What about the voices that have emerged in recent
times and claim that he is here and has been born, i.e., he exists at
present?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The appearance of the Mahdi at the end of time, when he will fill the
earth with justice and fairness after it had been filled with
injusticeand wrongdoing, is something that is mentioned in the
saheehSunnah, and some of thescholars of hadeeth said:The ahaadeeth
about the Mahdi are mutawaatir because of their large number, and the
descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings be upon him and our
Prophet) and hispraying behind him is something that is well known.
The name of the Mahdi and the name of his father will be like thename
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the
name of his father; he will be one of the descendents of Faatimah
(may Allaah be pleased with her).
It should be noted that this Mahdi who is mentioned in the ahaadeeth
is not the so-called awaited Mahdi mentioned by that deviant group,
the Ithna''Ashari (Shi'ah) who claim that he entered the tunnel and is
awaiting the order to emerge, and whose name they say is Muhammad ibn
al-Hasanal-'Askari. This is an illusion and a myth, and the refutation
of that is discussed in books, and there is no room to go into it
here.
But we advise you to read Minhaaj al-Sunnah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah and summaries of it such as Manhaj al-I'tidaal by al-Dhahabi,
and Tuhfat al-Ithna 'Ashariyyah by Muhibb al-Deen al-Khateeb. It is
essentialto note that every groupis awaiting a Mahdi suchas the Jews
who are awaiting the Mahdi, but for them he will be the Dajjaal who
will be followed by the Jews of Isfahaan. The Christians are awaiting
a Mahdi which is the descent of the Messiah (Second Coming of Christ).
We Muslims have no doubt about the descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam (peace
be upon him), when he will break the cross and kill the pigs, and will
abolish jizyah and rule according to the sharee'ah of Islam, and at
that time there will beno war.
Throughout history there have appeared liars who claimed to be the
Mahdi. Some historians have counted them and said that therewere more
than thirty ofthem, including Ibn Tumart in Morocco and the Mahdi of
the Sudan, etc.
As for the view that he exists at present and that he has been born,
this is merely a claim that is made by some people, but there is no
evidence for it. It is most likely that it is a myth. The ahaadeeth
that havebeen narrated about theMahdi do not mention where he will be
born orwhen, and they do not tell us to look for him or to bring him
up, rather they say that Allaah will prepare him in a single night and
that the Muslims will swear allegiance to him as their caliph and will
be united behind him.
When will that happen?
Only Allaah knows.
And Allaah knows best.

Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, - The Muslim belief concerning the destiny of atheists in the Hereafter.

Dought & clear, - What do Muslims believewill happen to Athiests in
the Hereafter
Praise be to Allaah.
The athiest is destined toHell fire in the Hereafter.This is mainly
because anathiest refuses the most basic belief which is the existance
and oneness ofAllaah. I ask Allaah to guide us all to the truth and
help us to follow it, for He is the best Supporter and Helper.

A World of Smile

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was
working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One
day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an
elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on
her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck
and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register.
I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As Itook the
money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving
me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her
handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile
just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of
what life isall about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college
student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and
warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and
whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think
about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that
shetaught me.