A Muslim feels no anger towards any nation en masse, he intellectually stands only against those individuals involved in persecution

Allah reveals in the Qur'an that Muslims must always espouse love,
justice, peace and friendship. As our Lord reveals in the verse "
those who give in times of both ease and hardship, those who
control their rage and pardon other people – Allah loves the
good-doers –" (Surah Al 'Imran, 134) Muslims behave with
forgiveness, affection, compassion and justice, not with anger.
Islam will progress with love, wisdom, science and inculcation;
attempting to slaughter children and women just because they are Jews
and calling them cursed as a whole is cruelty.
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on A9 TV dated
September 12th, 2011
This applies to relations between communities as well as individuals.
What Muslims must do, even in the event of injustices, disagreements
or tensions, is always to be fair and affectionate. Even during
war, Muslims possess the moral virtues to feed their prisoners
before themselves.
Allah reveals in one verse:
You who believe! Show integrity for the sake of Allah, bearing
witness with justice. Do not let hatred for a people incite you
into not being just. Be just. That is closer to taqwa. Have taqwa of
Allah. Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 8)
It is essential to love and fear Allah in order to be just. Muslims,
who know that Allah loves justice, are protective towards people
because of their profound love of Him. Muslims are able to forego
their own rights, even when they are in the right, and are
forgiving under all circumstances. Bearing grudges and being filled
with hatred is a vice that no Muslim can harbor.
When it comes to relations between two communities, the important
thing is to be on the side of peace. The best thing is to be open to
reconciliation and forgiving. It is important to set aside past
conflicts, injustices and wrongs and to develop a climate based on
love, peace and friendship. Those who revolve around anger and
hatred, instead of peace and friendship, can never find a friendly
country. Because there have been disagreements and disputes, either
great or small, between all societies. It is impossible to
establish good relations with any country if one acts in the light
of these. If one adopted such a false logic, then neither the USA,
Russia, Italy, Great Britain or France could be regarded as friends.
There is a reason for each one to be treated with hostility. And in
such a climate of hatred and enmity, those who incite such hatred
will always lead troubled and painful lives.
A whole nation cannot be punished for a crime committed by some.
Armenians are our brothers whom we've known to be "the Loyal
Nation".
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on Kocaeli TV and Aba
TV dated December 4th, 2010
The important thing is to emphasize love, compassion and
forgiveness, rather than keeping these disagreements in the
forefront of one's mind, and to establish a climate in which all can
live in peace and beauty. And that is only possible if people
exhibit patience and moral virtue and live by love and fear of
Allah and the moral virtues of the Qur'an.
In the event of oppression of any kind, one cannot hold an entire
nation responsible for that without discrimination. It is only
those who persecute Muslims who must be held responsible for that
persecution in the Sight of Allah, and these people must receive
the punishment deemed appropriate by the law. For instance, it is
incompatible with the Qur'an, and also with logic and reason, to
hold all Americans responsible for persecution carried out by one,
or to declare that all Jews are monsters because of the crimes of
one Israeli. Little children, immaculate young girls, mothers and
the elderly are obviously not to be held responsible for what a few
mindless people do under the influence of Darwinist and materialist
ideology. It is only those who perpetrate oppression who are
responsible for it.
A Muslim feels no anger toward any nation en masse, he
intellectually stands only against those individuals involved in
persecution
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on A9 TV dated October 7th, 2011
Our Prophet (saas) has imparted the glad tidings that war and
conflict will come to an end in the End Times, through the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) and Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh), that weapons will be
abolished and that the wolf will live peacefully side by side with
the lamb. In these days, the eve of these tidings being made a
reality, all Muslims have a responsibility to describe the beauties
of Islam with patience and kind words, using gentle language and
setting out scholarly and scientific proofs; they must strive to
eliminate all disagreements between people by encouraging love and
work with all their might for the establishment of brotherhood and
friendship. Allah will bestow great success on those who strive
sincerely, insha'Allah. By the leave of Allah, this excellent effort
will receive the most excellent reward in the time of the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) and Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh), and the world will be a lovely
place of peace and friendship, the like of which has never been
seen before.

Determined prayer is thekey to destiny

There are various elements in life you come face to face with every
day and that you imagine you know and understand very well; so much
so that you imagine it would be impossible to understand the
majority of them any better than you do already. But that is not
always true. Sometimes you may hear a different account or witness
something that leads to a brand new door, a new horizon you had
never contemplated before, opening up on a subject you thought you
knew so well. Your whole perspective changes, not only momentarily
but fundamentally. You acquire a new perspective on that long
familiar subject, as if you were encountering it for the first time.
One of these subjects about which one constantly acquires a new and
more profound conception during the various stages of one's life is
'prayer.' A believer knows that Allah will heed all prayers, and
trusts in that truth with all his heart. But the more a person's
closeness to Allah, depth of faith and understanding of destiny
grow, the more his perspective toward prayer deepens and is
perfected. Although he knows the verses of the Qur'an very well, the
spiritual power that Allah instills in his heart through those
verses constantly increases whenever he reads them again. And for
someone who is determined in faith, this situation is repeated
constantly until the end of his life.
One piece of knowledge regarding prayer that will again be
instrumental in the opening of his heart when he hears it is that
prayer 'is the key to destiny.' This is part of the law of Allah.
When Muslims beseech Allah with love and passion, by His leave,
what they desire will come about.
This is a secret mystery of Allah that very few people are aware
of. When one prays, Allah's destiny goes into motion. Mass prayer
especially has a particular power; when Muslims request something
determinedly and en masse , and when they embrace natural causes,
then by Allah's leave, something that people thought would never
happen does in fact come to pass. Allah has created the world by
that law.
Allah is He Who heeds every prayer
Allah has cited many examples in the Qur'an so that people can
understand this secret of destiny: the Prophet Jonah (pbuh)
frequently prayed to Allah from inside the stomach of the whale,
and Allah rescued him in an incomparable manner. When the Prophet
Moses (pbuh) and his people were trapped between Pharaoh's army and
the sea, the Prophet Moses (pbuh) prayed to Allah in full
submission, and Allah created a miraculous escape for him and his
people. Rasulullah (saas) placed all his trust in the infinite
might of Allah when he and a friend were in the cave, and Allah
spared him from the traps of the unbelievers and granted him
victory. In the same way, when the Prophet Joseph (pbuh) was thrown
down the well, Allah in His infinite mercy sent him help. Allah
again manifested His infinite mercy when the Prophet Abraham (pbuh)
was about to be cast into the flames, and made them cool for him.
The Prophet Zechariah (pbuh) prayed to Allah, and despite their
advanced age, he and his wife were blessed by Allah with the birth
of the Prophet John (pbuh).
Some of the verses of the Qur'an that reveal how Allah heeds the
sincere calls of His prophets are as follows:
Jonah too was one of the messengers. When he ran away to the fully
laden shipand cast lots and lost. Then the fish devoured him and he
was to blame. Had it not been that he was a man who glorified Allah,
he would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are
raised again. So We cast him up onto the beach and he was sick; and
We caused a gourd tree to grow over him. We sent him to a hundred
thousand or even more. They believed and so We gave them enjoyment
for a time. (Surat as-Saffat, 139-148)
And when the two hosts came into sight of one another Moses'
companions said, "We will surely be overtaken!" He said, "Never! My
Lord is with me and He will guide me." So We revealed to Moses,
"Strike the sea with your staff." And it split in two, each part
like a towering cliff. And We brought the others right up to it. We
rescued Moses and all those who were with him. Then We drowned the
rest. There is certainly a sign in that yet most of them are not
believers. (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 61-67)
If you do not help him, Allah did help him when the unbelievers
drove him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to
his companion, "Do not be despondent, Allah is with us." Then Allah
sent down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you
could not see. He made the word of the unbelievers undermost. It is
the word of Allah which is uppermost. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
(Surat at-Tawba, 40)
When they declared, "Why! Joseph and his brother are dearer to our
father than we are although we constitute a powerful group. Our
father is clearly making a mistake. Kill Joseph or expel him to some
land so that your father will look to you alone and then you can be
people who do right." (Surah Yusuf, 8-9)
But when, in fact, they did go out with him and gathered all
together and agreed to put him at the bottom of the well, We then
revealed to him that: "You will inform them of this deed they
perpetrate at a time when they are totally unaware." (Surah Yusuf,
15)
Some travelers came that way and then dispatched their water- drawer
who let his bucket down. He said, "Good news for me, I've found a
boy!" They then hid him away among their goods. Allah knew very
well what they were doing. They sold him for a pittance, a few small
coins, considering him to be of little worth. (Surah Yusuf, 19-20)
The Egyptian who had bought him told his wife, "Look after him with
honor and respect. It's possible he will be of use to us or perhaps
we might adopt him as a son." And thus We established Joseph in the
land to teach him the true meaning of events. Allah is in control of
His affair. However, most of mankind do not know. And then when he
became a full-grown man, We gave him knowledge and right judgement
too. That is how We reward all doers of good. (Surah Yusuf, 21-22)
They said, "Who has done this to our gods? He is definitely one of
the wrongdoers!" They said, "We heard a young man mentioning them.
They call him Abraham." They said, "Bring him before the people's
eyes so they can be witnesses." (Surat al- Anbiya', 59-61)
They said, "Burn him and support your gods if you are resolved to do
something." We said, "Fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham!"
They desired to trap him but We made them the losers. (Surat al-
Anbiya', 68-70)
And Zechariah when he called out to his Lord, "My Lord, do not leave
me on my own, though You are the Best of Inheritors." We responded to
him and gave him John, restoringfor him his wife's fertility.They
outdid oneanother in good actions,calling out to Us in yearning and in
awe, and humbling themselves to Us. (Surat al- Anbiya', 89-90)
Then and there Zechariah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord,
grant me by Your favor an upright child. You are the Hearer of
Prayer." The angels called out to him while he was standing in
prayer in the Upper Room: "Allah gives you the good news of John, who
will come to confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader and a
celibate, a Prophet and one of the righteous." He said, "My Lord,
how can I possibly have a son when I have reached old age and my
wife is barren?" He said, "It will be so. Allah does whatever He
wills." (Surah Al 'Imran, 38-40)
Some people who encounter similar situations to these cited in the
Qur'an in their own lives fall into the error of thinking that "it
is impossible" for their prevailing circumstances to ever change.
Since their attitude is essentially one of despair and lack of
faith, they fail to properly appreciate the might of Allah and do
not pray to Him with a genuine and absolute submission to Him. And
this stems from these people being unaware of the secret of
determined prayer, and being unaware that prayer is the key to
destiny.
Yet if Allah so wishes He can immediately make those things that
people mistakenly think of as "impossible" a reality. In the same
way that Allah sent His help to messengers and true believers in
the past, and that situations regarded as "impossible" were made a
reality, so this also applies to the lives of everyone today.
Praying with absolute faith
Everyone may face situations wherein they may truly want from
Allah but that look impossible to happen. But people must never be
deceived under these circumstances. It is very important not to
forget that prayer is the key to destiny and that when one prays,
so Allah's destiny goes into motion, and thus to beseech Allah with
an absolute faith. In the same way that our Lord smoothed the way
for the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and helped the prophets Jonah (pbuh),
Abraham (pbuh) and Zechariah (pbuh), so all sincere Muslims hope
for Him to respond to their prayers with mercy.
Of course, however, a believer who really wants something to happen
must frequently call on Allah, just like the Prophet Jonah (pbuh)
and must, just like our Prophet Muhammad (saas) and the Prophet
Moses (pbuh), say "Of course, our Lord is with us," without losing
heart under even the most difficult of conditions; he must trust in
Allah's might with a powerful faith, feeling no doubts at all. And
then the secret in prayer will come about and, by Allah's leave,
destiny will begin to work in the desired direction.
The great Islamic scholar Imam Rabbani reminds believers of this
great and certain truth in the following passage:
"To ask for something is to obtain it; because Almighty Allah will
not allow His servant to utter a prayer that He will not heed."
(Imam Rabbani)

How does bacteria communication affect the climate?

Bacteria are a group of living organisms that reproduce fast,
compared to plants and animals, and have great importance for
balancing the world of living things in terms of their biochemical
traits. They can live almost anywhere. Therefore, their population
is greater than any other organism. The most important fact of all
is that they have important effects on vital matters such as climate
due to their dense population.
The bacteria community that affects human life in a number of ways
has many amazing characteristics. The communication system they
use is one of these. These beings, which use sonar-like systems to
see their enemies and food, use "conversation balloons" to
communicate with one another. Scientists from the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) discovered that the communication
among bacteria has a quality that protects the balance of the whole
world.
Bacteria Communication That Affect the Earth's Climate Begins In the Oceans
Small sea plants (phytoplankton) are eaten by zooplankton, which
are small sea creatures. These particles are sticky and they form
heavier particles by coming together. Bacteria unite over these
tiny carbon- rich pieces and move towards the depth together with
these pieces. This may seem like a very ordinary situation.
However, this small movement has an amazing aspect.
Bacteria, which have no mouth and ears, send forth chemical signals
to find out whether there are other neighboring bacteria around
them. If there are adequate bacteria neighbors nearby, carbon
molecules inside these particles come together to secrete an enzyme
that breaks these molecules into smaller particles. The type of
carbon inside the particles is the same carbon dioxide is found in
the atmosphere, so it is a greenhouse gas, which is a temperature
trap. This communication among bacteria is created in a way that
this poisonous gas will be released to the depths of the ocean.
This system does not exist in shallow depths.
This poisonous gas that can easily mix into the atmosphere from
shallow waters is carried to the depths with a planned communication
system and thus prevents it from reaching the atmosphere.
In other words, millions of bacteria, which we cannot see with the
naked eye work for us devotedly.
It has been known for many years that bacteria have a very important
place in the carbon cycle that has such vital importance for life on
earth. However, this new discovery proves to us once again that the
earth has a perfect creation, which is constantly maintained with
very comprehensive, fine and detailed adjustments. Thus all the
details in front of us are created in perfect harmony with one
another and this balance has not been disrupted for millions of
years. Allah revealed in the Qur'an as follows:
" In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of
the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's
benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky – by
which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about
in it creatures of every kind – and the varying direction of the
winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there
are Signs for people who use their intellect. " (Surat al-Baqara,
164)
Allah's Order is Flawless
- Even if you fulfill all the conditions necessary for life on earth
artificially;
- Even if you can imitate the earth, from the atmosphere to the
number of bugs in the ecosystem, all living species, orbiter and the
sun with all of its properties;
- Even if you put an equal number of plankton, diatoms and
bacteria as the ones on earth inside this artificial environment, the
end this artificial world will face is inevitable.
Even if there were an equal number of bacteria, when there is no
communication among those bacteria, then the artificial environment
you have produced would turn into a deadly gas chamber instead of a
planet full of life. All life would be destroyed in a very short
time by suffocating in this poisonous carbon gas.
When any of the balances on our earth are changed, this scenario
would always be the same. However, we can talk about life on earth,
only by virtue of having all of these balances and fine
calculations at the same time.
Breathing, being able to eat, drink, run and walk now is a proof
that not even one of these millions of balances has ever been
disrupted even for a single moment and continues unceasingly.
All of these qualities point to a perfect creation. The complex
system mentioned above is only a few of the evidences of Almighty
Allah's infinite might and superior creation. In one verse, our Lord's
knowledge and might is revealed as such:
" Say: 'Travel about the earth and see how He brought creation out
of nothing. Then later Allah will bring about the next existence.
Allah has power over all things. " (Surat al-'Ankabut, 20)
Allah's Knowledge of Creation Manifests at Every Spot of the Universe
There are evidences as to Almighty Allah's superior creation at
every corner of the universe. This complex system in bacteria that
we cannot see with the naked eye is one of the most crucial examples
of this. Our Lord manifests in these micro beings and inspires to
them the ability to act with a superior consciousness and perfect
intelligence. A bacterium is able to detect developments, which
people cannot realize or even guess beforehand, by the inspiration
of Almighty Allah and acts more daringly. It is not possible to
explain such flawless details in living beings as a matter of
coincidence as evolutionists claim. This is because it is
impossible to explain that "the first bacterium" formed
coincidentally.
It is a very far-fetched approach to claim that when there was no
sign of life, a bacterium was affected by the conditions in an
uncontrolled environment, began to breathe suddenly, went through
certain changes coincidentally and gained its miraculous features
and current complex qualities.
Science and technology, which advance more with every passing day,
discovered the miraculous qualities of bacteria and proves how
enormous a lie the theory of evolution is. Every quality we face in
these beings proves how perfect the art of Allah is in beings that
cannot be seen with the naked eye and makes us think about these.
Allah ,Who is the Owner of the skies and earth, created the sky, the
earth and everything in between perfectly with a unique creation;
inspired every being to its duty and made His miracles a verse and
mercy for believers. Our Lord's flawless knowledge of creation is
revealed in the verses as such:
" He who created the seven heavens in layers.You will not find any
flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again – do
you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your sight will return
to you dazzled and exhausted! " (Surat al-Mulk, 3-4)
All Behavior of Bacteria Is Controlled by Our Lord
What bacteria want is to maintain their existence with the means
they possess. While these microscopic beings continue their lineage
with this perfect balance Allah created, they also have vital
importance for us "in many ways". A bacteria producing nutrients,
moreover making the nutrient it produced beneficial for man,
imprisoning poisonous gases, and causing various cycles show how
essential and flawless this balance is. There is no doubt that
bacteria could just as easily live inside our food, take its energy
from there and greatly harm us . We may not even be aware of these
bacteria, which are part of our life, throughout our lives. However,
Allah created very flawless and detailed systems for us to see the
evidence of His superior and unique intelligence. This is the
purpose of the benefit bacteria provides.
No doubt, we cannot accept that a unicellular being can act with
consciousness and rationale. Allah is the One Who inspires bacteria
to act consciously and make calculations, Who has knowledge over
all knowledge and Who has the most superior intelligence over all
else. In one verse, it is revealed as such:
" In the alternation of night and day and what Allah has created in
the heavens and the earth there are Signs for people who have
faith. " (Surah Yunus, 6)

Fatwa, - Seclusion of religious women in the home

Question:
My question is in regards to women being commanded to stay in their
houses and the reality faced by religious Muslim women, especially
housewives and mothers of young children, in the West. Itcan get very
depressing to stay at home all the time withyoung children when the
husband is working long hours, however I know of a scholar who doesn't
allow his wife to come to the masjid except once a month or so. This
makes it very difficult for other community women who are in desperate
need of Islamic knowledge from her, and would love to have her teach
them. Also, she is often irritable and complains about her condition
of lonelinessand seclusion to her close friends. How can we advise our
scholar of the importance of allowing his wife to come to the masjid
to fulfill the wajib kifayahof the community, of knowledgeable women
teaching others the basics of Islam? And also it is feared that the
example that the scholar is setting will be followed by other
religious men in the community and thus make all the wives quite
miserable by not meeting their social and religious needs.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed in this question.
Firstly, it is important as you say to organize classes for the women
of the community. This is animportant obligation and thus we should
try to find a way to make this happen. You may suggest having the
classes at one of the homes where there can be complete privacy for
the sisters and with which the Imam and his wife also feels
comfortable. If a class can be arranged in the Imam's own home then
that would also solve theproblem.
The community cannot force the Imam to allow his wife to frequent the
masjid, since he may have valid reasons for not doing so. For
instance, he may not be satisfied with the segregation arrangements
there (unfortunately many masajid suffer from this problem in the US,
and many sisters feel that they cannot gain the peace and tranquility
they seek due to poor or a complete lack of segregation arrangements).
Hence, the educational aspect can be overcome by arranging the classes
elsewhere.
Secondly, the Imam's relationship and interaction with his wife in
this regard is the couple�s personal business and not something the
community has anything to do with. If the wife has a serious problem
with her situation then she may herself approach or consult withher
influential elders or scholars in this regard. They can then deal with
the issue. It is not something members of the community can take into
their hands and pressure or even advice the Imam about, since hemay
have his own valid reasons for doing what he is doing. Entering
intosuch a situation can only harm their relationship. The Sharia
instructs in general not to interfere with couples in their marital
and internal issues.
Finally, to help remove the loneliness of the Imam's wife, this is
certainly something that the sisters of the community can assist in
and will be greatly rewarded for. They can befriend her and make her
feel at home in the community by visiting her home or including her in
properly-organized social get together, so long as her husband
welcomes such interaction. Hence, this should be done on a social
level and not with the intent to interfere.
And Allah knows best.

Fatwa, - Menstruation Question: irregular bleeding, ghusl, and then uncertainty�

Question:
A woman gets her period. It last only one day. After that she
getswhite discharge for a day. Many times she bleeds for only one or
two days, so based on this, she takes a ghusl. But since she was
presuming that her period could start again, she waited towards the
end of a prayer time before making her ghusl. Accidentally, she missed
the prayer. Then two days later, she begins bleeding again, and it
lasts for six days. Considering that her period of purity did not last
fifteen days and consequently she is regarded as having bled
continuously all ten days, does she have to make up the prayer she
missed? Secondly, since she is considered to have had her period for
ten days, do any qadas sheprayed during the two days she thought she
was pure count? She understandably began praying and doing qadas
during these days because she had no way of knowing that her period
would begin again so soon.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
To answer this and othersimilar questions relatingto menstruation one
needs to keep the basic principles of menstruation in mind. Namely:
The minimum period for menstruation is three days. This means that if
blood is seen for less than three days, it does not count as
menstruation.
The maximum period for menstruation is ten days.This means that if
blood is seen for more than tendays, it does not count asmenstruation.
It is not a condition that blood flow be constant during the menstrual
period. What is important is the first andlast days it flows on and
all that is in between is counted as though bloodflowed though really
it did not. e.g. if she sees blood on the first day and then the
fourth day and then no more blood,this will be treated as four
continuous days of bleeding and will all be treated as menstruation.
The minimum length of apurity period between menstrual periods is fifteen days.
Whatever is seen during the menstrual period is counted as menstrual
blood no matter what colour it is.
[Hashiya al-Tahtawi 'ala Maraqi al-Falah, 1:199, Maktaba al-'Ilm al-Hadith]
Based on these above principles the question can be answered as follows:
When the original bleeding happened she assumed that it was
menstruation and hence did not pray. After one day of bleeding and one
day of white discharge she did not see anything.At this stage she can
assume that the bleedingwas abnormal uterine bleeding (istihada) and
just perform wudu and pray. There was no need for her to perform a
purificatory bath as the bleeding did not last three days and so could
not be treated as menstruation.
Then on the fourth day she saw bleeding again. Since there was not a
sufficient purity period between the two sets of bleeding (as in rule
4 above) all four days weretreated as though there was a constant
blood flow (as in rule 3). This being the case she is certainly
menstruating and any prayers or fasts offered since the first day that
blood was seen are invalid.
The bleeding then lasts for a further six days. If the fourth day is
included this takes us to day nine from first seeing the blood. After
this she would be expected to have a purificatory bath and start
praying.
She is not responsible forany prayers offered during the nine day
period and so would not have to make up the prayer initially missed.
Furthermore, any make up prayers offered during the period were
invalid and must be repeated again.
This is a difficult situation for a lady who has make ups to offer.
Some scholars advise ladies to take it easy with make up prayers in
situations like the one described above where the bleeding stopped
after one or two days and one expects it to start again. If however
the lady in question is such that her heart would not sink if she
found out that her make ups were invalid and it would not affect her
resolve to continue making up her prayers then there is no harm forher
to continue making up prayers according to her usual make up routine
during such periods.
And Allah knows best.

Fatwa, - Ghusl at work after menses

Question:
If a woman were to finish her menses while at work and it is
impossible for her to leave the work place to make ghusl is it
permissible to make wudhu and pray without ghusl? If not then how do
Muslim women living in the west deal with such anissue which most of
usare faced with this at some point?
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
In the name of Allah the Inspirer of truth.
It would not be sufficientfor a women to perform salat after just
performing wudu when ending her menstruation. If one has performed
salat after making wudhu only, those prayers must be repeated.
As to the question of how do Muslim women deal with such
situations,what we can say is that their are great wisdoms in the
shari'a and immense rewards for those who persevere in holding onto
their faith.
If a women is in situationthat she is forced to work to earn her daily
bread due to the absence of a supporting father or brother [if
unmarried] or husband [if married] then she should discuss the need of
having to leave early [with or without disclosing the details] with
her supervisor. Thereafter she can make up the missed work the day
after instead of having to make up missed prayers. People take of work
for all sorts of reason and this is as good a reason as any. If the
current employment is not flexible at all in this regard then you
should actively look for another job if you are forced to have one.
Remember we are required make our lifestyle subordinate to our
religion and not our religion conform to our lifestyle. Otherwise
situations of this nature are sure to arise and difficult to overcome.
And Allah makes a path for those who fear Him and He knows best.
Wassalam

Muhammad the Orphan -II

Hepassed his childhood days in a manner quite strange for theArabian
society. Instead of playing with children of his age group, he felt
disgusted in their company and preferred to be in solitude. Allaah the
Almighty had kept him aloof from every kind ofdebasement and
immorality. A few boys of Quraysh forced him to enjoy a marriage
celebration where there was dancing and music. However, as hereached
the spot, he was overtaken by sleep and kept sleeping the whole night,
only to get up when the assembly had dispersed at the end of the
celebration. He was, thus, saved from the undesirable and forbidden
activities of the marriage ceremony.
He was perhaps seven years old when the Quraysh started rebuilding the
Ka'bah, which had suffered damage from a flood. During the
construction work, hejoined the party of workers and helped them by
carrying stones and giving them to the masons. He was wearing an
Izaar)waist sheet( which was causing him some trouble doing the work.
The nakedness of a boy of seven was not then considered something
improper. So, his uncle Al-'Abbaas grabbed hold of the waist sheet and
pulled it so violently that hebecame naked. Hegrew shameful to the
extent that he fell down unconscious. At last, the people felt the
gravity of the situation and put his waist sheet back on, after which
herecovered.
First Journey toSyria
The Prophetwas twelve yearsold when Abu Taalib planned to go with a
merchant caravan to Syria leaving him behind in Makkah. But hewas so
used to the company of Abu Taalib that he could not bear
separationfrom his uncle. Abu Taalib felt moved and agreed to take him
toSyria. When they reached Busrah)which was a part ofSyriain the
vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain(, they met a monk called
Baheerah )his real name was Georges(, who showedgreat kindness and
entertained them lavishly. He had never been in the habit of receiving
or entertaining them before. He readily enough recognised the
Prophetand said while takinghis hand: "This is the master of all
humans. Allaah will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to
all beings." Abu Taalib asked: "How do you know that?" He replied:
"When you appeared from the direction of 'Aqabah, all stones and trees
prostrated themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can
recognise him also by the seal of Prophethood, which is below his
shoulder, like an apple. We have learnt this from our books." He also
asked Abu Taalib to send theboy back to Makkah and not to take him
toSyriafor fear of the Jews. Abu Taalib obeyed and senthim back to
Makkah with some ofhis men servants.
Harb Al-Fijaar )The Sacrilegious Wars(, First Participation inBattle
A great fair was regularly held at 'Ukaath. This fair would organise a
number of programs including horse races, wrestling, demonstrations of
the art of combat and poetic competitions. All the tribes ofArabiawere
highly belligerent by nature and drew swords against one another at
the smallest incident.
Once, in the course of the fair at 'Ukaath, the Hawaazin and Quraysh
tribes challenged each other due to a slight provocation.At the
outset, some wise and sober people stood in the way and put the matter
right. Nevertheless, some mischief-mongers worsened the
situation,which led to a large-scale fighting and killing on both
sides.The war was known as Harb Al-Fijaar because it took place in the
month of Dhul-Qa'dah when fighting was altogether forbidden.
Muhammadwas hardly fifteen when the 'sacrilegious' wars started -
which continued with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human
life for a number of years.This war was based on a series offour wars
in which the first three were small and the fourth war happened to be
more fierce than the preceding one as all the tribes of Qays joined
the Hawaazin tribe while all the tribes of Kinaanah came to the help
of the Quraysh. Thus, this war developed to become a war between the
Qays and Kinaanah tribes. The fourth and last war was so terrible that
some of the chieftains had their feet chained so they would be unable
to flee from the battlefield.
The Prophetjoined this fourth war for the first time armed with
weapons. Among Banu Kinaanah, every tribe had a commander. Zubayr Ibn
'Abdul-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophetled the Quraysh while Harb Ibn
Umayyah was the commander of all the troops of Banu Kinaanah.
Muhammadwas entrusted with the service ofpicking up the arrows for his
uncles. However, hewas saved from combat action. At theoutset Banu
Hawaazin seemed tobe dominating, but in the end, Banu Kinaanah turned
the tables against the Banu Qays and the war ended with a peace
treaty.
Al-Fudool Confederacy:
At the conclusion of these wars when peace was restored, peoplefelt
the need for forming a confederacy at Makkah for suppressing violence
and injustice, and vindicating the rights of the weak and the
destitute. Representatives of Banu Haashim, Banu Al-Muttalib, Asad Ibn
'Abd Al-'Uzzaa, Zahrah Ibn Kilaab and Taym Ibn Murrah were called to
meet in the habitation of an honourable elderly man called 'Abdullaah
Ibn Jada'aan At-Taymi to enter into a confederacy that would provide
for the abovementioned terms.
During his prophethood, the Prophetcommented on it with very positive
words: "I witnessed a confederacy in the house of 'Abdullaah Ibn
Jada'aan.It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in
the period of Islam, I would respond positively to attending such a
meeting if I were invited."

Muhammad the orphan -I

Initially, after his birth, Thuwaybah, the freed slave-girl of Abu
Lahab Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib,suckled him for seven days. She had suckled
Hamzahthe uncle of the Prophetalso. Thus, both Masruh Ibn Thuwaybah
and Hamzah were hisfoster brothers. According to the custom of the
Arab nobles, on the eighth day he was entrusted to lady Haleemah of
the Banu Sa'd clan of the Hawaazin tribe tosuckle him and bring him
up. Thenobles ofArabiawould entrust their babies to bedouin women so
that they would become healthy and strong in the open and free climate
of the desert. Besides this, it would help develop eloquent speech,
because the language of the bedouins was more pure, graceful and
eloquent than thoseliving in urban areas.
Haleemah Sa'diyyah would come to Makkah twice a year to show him to
his mother and grandfather. Haleemah Sa'diyyah suckled him for two
years and he remained with her for four years altogether. His mother
summoned him to Makkah at the end of four years. According to some
narrations, heremained with Banu Sa'd for five years. He was five
years of age, when he was out grazing goats along with his foster
brother andsisters and other boys of the same age when the event of
the opening up of his chest occurred.
According to a narration of SeeratIbn Hisham, Haleemah bint Abu Dhuayb
relates this event in thesewords: "One day both of my children came
fearfully to me andsaid that two cleanly dressed persons seized our
Qurayshi brother and split open his chest. Iwent to the spot along
with my husband )Haarith Ibn 'Abdul-'Uzzaa( and saw that he was
sitting there with a pallid face. Upon inquiry, he stated that two
cleanly dressed persons came to him, laid him down with his face up,
took out his heart, and extracted something from it." Yet, Haleemah
found no trace of any injury or spot of blood. Having thought that a
Jinn had affected the boy, she brought him to Makkah without loss of
time and related the whole eventto his mother. His mother, instead of
being afraid of what had happened, spoke with all theconfidence at her
command that her son would achieve a very distinctive place in the
world, andwould surely remain safe from allcalamities. She related
that whenhewas in her womb, she heard many things from the angels and
noticed many uncommon happenings. Imaam Muslim reports from Anas Ibn
Maalikthat one day when hewas playing with the boys of Makkah, Jibreel
)Gabriel( came to him, split his chest, took out a black spot from it,
and said: "Thiswas the portion of Satan." Following that, he washed
his heart in a tray of gold with Zamzam water and then replacedit.
After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him
to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six.
In respect and memory of her late husband, Aaminah – the Prophet's
mother - decided to visit his grave in Yathrib)Madeenah(. She set out
to cover ajourney of 500 kilometers with her orphan boy, woman servant
Umm Ayman and father-in-law 'Abdul-Muttalib. She spent a month there
and then started her way back to Makkah. On the way, she had a severe
illness and died in Abwa on the road between Makkah and Madeenah.
To His Compassionate Grandfather:
'Abdul-Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah. He had warm feelings
towards the boy, his orphan grandson, whose recent disaster)his
mother's death( added more to the pains of the past. 'Abdul-Muttalib
was more passionate with his grandson than with his own children. He
never left the boy a prey to loneliness, and always preferred him to
his own children. Ibn Hishaam reported:"A mattress was put in the
shade of Al-Ka'bah for 'Abdul-Muttalib. His children used to sit
around that mattress in honour of their father, but Muhammadused to
sit on it. His uncles would pull him back, but if 'Abdul-Muttalib was
present, he would say: 'Leavemy grandson. I swear by Allaah that this
boy will hold a significant position.' He used to seat the boy on his
mattress, pat his back and was always pleased with what the boy did."
The Death of 'Abdul-Muttalib
When Muhammadwas eight years, two months and ten days old, his
grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib passed away in Makkah. When
'Abdul-Muttalib's funeral procession was proceeding, hejoined it with
tearful eyes. However, 'Abdul-Muttalib had entrusted him to his son
Abu Taalib before his death, stressing the utmost care and protection
for the boy. Despite having several other sons, 'Abdul-Muttalib was
wise enough to givehim to the care of Abu Taalib because he and
'Abdullaah, the father of the boy, were born of the same mother. The
assessment of 'Abdul-Muttalib came true and the nephew became Abu
Taalib's favourite.
Support of Abu Taalib
Abu Taalib took special care of hisnephew and held him dearer than his
own sons. He made him sleep on his own bed. He singled the boy out
with great respect and high esteem. Abu Taalib remained for forty
years cherishing his nephew and extending all possible protection and
support to him. His relations with the others were determinedin the
light of the treatment they showed to the Prophet. Ibn 'Asaakir
reported on the authority of Jalhamah Ibn 'Arfootah who said: "I came
to Makkah when it was a rainless year, so Quraysh said: 'O Abu Taalib!
The valley has become leafless and the children hungry, let us go and
pray for rainfall.' Abu Taalib went to the Ka'bah with a young boy who
was as beautiful as the sun and a dark cloud was over his head. Abu
Taalib and the boy stood by the wall of the Ka'bah and prayed for
rain. Immediately, clouds from alldirections gathered and rain fell
heavily and caused the flow of springs and growth of plants in the
town and the country.

Actions that require Ghusl-II

The word Ghusl in Arabic means to wash the entirebody with water.
Allaah Says in the Quran )what means(: "And they ask you ]O Muhammad[
about menstruation. Say: 'It is harm, so keep away from women during
menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure...'"]Quran
2: 222[
Herein, we continue stating other actions thatrequire Ghusl if one is
in a state of major impurity:
·Circumambulating the Ka'bah)The Sacred House in Makkah(
Ibn 'Abbaasreported that the Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Circumambulation
is a type of prayer, but Allaah has permitted speaking during it.
Whoever speaks during it should only speak good."]At-Tirmithi &
Others[
·Touching or Carrying the Quran
The Companionswere all agreed that it is forbidden to touch or carry
the Quran while one is in a state of impurity. There are some jurists,
such as Daawood bin Hazmwho allowed the physically unclean person,
whether because of sexual intercourse or menstruation, to touch
orcarry the Quran, and saw nothing wrong with this. He derives his
support from a Hadeeth in the Saheehayn )the two mostauthentic Hadeeth
sources( in which it is stated that the Prophetsent a letter to
Heraclius, beginning with:
"In the name of Allaah, the Compassionate, the Merciful: )the hecited
the verse which means(:"…O people of the Scripture! Come to a word
that is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except
Allaah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as
lords instead of Allaah. But if theyturn away, then say: 'Bear witness
that we are Muslims]submitting to Him[."]Quran 3:64[
Ibn Hazmconcluded:"This is the letter that the Messenger of
Allaahwrote, containing this verse, to the Christians, and of course
they must have touched it." The majority of scholars answer this point
of his by stating that one is allowed to touch parts of the Quran that
are used in letters, books, Tafseer)Quranic exegesis(, and so on, as
such things are notcopies of the Quran, nor is it confirmed that such
an action is forbidden.
·Reciting the Quran
According to most scholars, one who is physically unclean)because of
sex or menstruation( may not recite any portion of the Quran. This is
based on a Hadeeth from 'Aliin which he stated that nothing kept the
Messenger of Allaahfrom the Quran except being sexually
impure.]At-Tirmithi[
Healso related: "I saw the Messenger of Allaahperform ablution and
recite some of the Quran, after which he said:'This is for the one who
is not in post-sex impurity. If one is in post-sex impurity, he may
not do so, not even one verse."]Ahmad & Abu Ya'la[ Imaam
Al-Haythamistated about this Hadeeth: "Its narrators are trustworthy."
Also, Imaam Ash-Shawkaanistated: "If this)report( is authentic, that
is proof enough that it is forbidden. The first Hadeeth does not
forbid it, for it merely states thatit was his practice not to recite
the Quran while hewas in post-sex impurity. Similar reports do not
even show that it is disliked. Therefore, how can it be used as a
proof that it is forbidden?" Imaams Al-Bukhaari, At-Tabaraani, Abu
Daawood, and Ibn Hazmwere of the opinion that it is permissible for
one who is in post-sex impurity )or in menstruation( to recite the
Quran. Ibn 'Abbaasdid not see anything wrong with a sexually impure
person reciting the Quran.
The Prophetwould mention Allaah under all circumstances. Imaam
IbnHajarstated: "There isno authentic Hadeeth reported by the
author)Al-Bukhaari( concerning the prohibition of reciting by one who
is sexually impure or menstruating." The sum total of what has been
related on this issue informs us on this point, though the
interpretations differ.
·Staying in the Mosque
It is forbidden for one who is physically unclean)because of sex or
menstruation( to stay in the mosque. 'Aa'ishahsaid: "The Messenger of
Allaahsaw that his companions' houses were practically in the mosque,
so he said:"Direct those houses away from the mosque." He then entered
the mosque, but the people did nothing in the hope that Allaah would
reveal to the Prophetthat what they were doing was permissible.
However, when hecame out from the mosque, he said:"Direct those houses
away from the mosque, for it is not permitted for a menstruating woman
or sexually impure person to be in the mosque."]Abu Daawood[
Umm Salamahrelated that the Prophetonce came out to the courtyard of
the mosque and said at the top of his voice: "The mosque is off limits
to menstruating women and those who are sexually impure." ]IbnMaajah &
At-Tabaraani[ Such people can, however, pass through the mosque, for
Allaah Says )what means(:"O you who have believed! Do not approach
prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or
in a state of sexual impurity, except those passing through ]a place
of prayer[, until you have washed]your whole body[..."]Quran 4: 43[
Zayd bin Aslamsaid:"The companions of the Messenger of Allaahwould
walk through the mosques while they weresexually impure." ]Ibn
Al-Munthir[ Yazeed bin Habeebreported that the Companions' doors
opened out into the mosque, and that when they were sexually impure,
they could find no water or any path to water save through the mosque;
then, Allaah revealed )what means(:"…Or in a state of sexual
impurity,except those passing through ]a place of prayer[…"]Quran 4:
43[ ]At-Tabari[

Dought & clear - He wants to work some days of the week and spend the rest in worship.

I know a Brother in Islaam, who left his haraam job, after realsing
the haraam nature of it - Alhamdhu Lillah.
He is now looking for a job that is just sufficient to feed and clothe
his family. He is keen to work only as many days to earn that income.
The rest of the week he wants to spend in the mosque reading
Qu'raanand praying etc..
Is his behaviour permissible? Does Islaamnot say that the daytime is
for seeking sustenanceand the night for prayers.? Is it not better for
him to seek a good job so that the extra money can be given as zakat
to the poor? Doesn't his family have rights over him with regard to
time.
Praise be to Allaah.
The Muslim who is able to earn a living must strive to earn that
whichwill keep him and those under his guardianship, such as his wife
and children, from having to beg, and to earn what he needs to spend
on their maintenance. If he manages to do that, then if he spends the
rest of his time, whether during the night or the day, in worshipping
Allaah by praying, fasting, reading Qur'aan,that is better. There is
nospecific time for worshipin general, but yes, praying qiyaam at
night is better than praying during the day. This does not mean that
there is no reward for praying naafil prayers during the day. He
should start by doing that which is obligatory, whether the obligation
is towards Allaah or towards His creation, then he can use the rest of
his time for doing that which is mustahabb, and if he indulges in some
permissible activities for the purpose of relaxation and recreation,
that is OK.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr

Dought & clear - Guidance is in the hand of Allaah.

How can we reconcile between the aayahs (interpretation of the
meanings): "Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like"
[al-Qasas 28:56] and "And verily, you (O Muhammad) are indeed guiding
(mankind) to the Straight Path"[al-Shooraa 42:52]?
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has created man and given him reason, and He has sent down to
him Revelation and sent tohim Messengers to callhim to the truth and
warn him against falsehood. Then He has left him to make his own
choice.
"And say: 'The truth is from your Lord.' Then whosoever wills, let him
believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve
[al-Kahf 18:29 – interpretation of the meaning]
Allaah commanded His Messenger Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) to convey the truth to all of mankind. Then they have the
choice to do as they wish. If a person obeys, he benefits himself, and
if he disobeys, he harms himself, as Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Say: 'O you mankind! Now truth (i.e. the Qur'aan and Prophet
Muhammad), has come to you from yourLord. So whosoever receives
guidance, he does so for the good of his own self; and whosoever goes
astray, he does so to his own loss; and I am not (set) over you as a
Wakeel (disposer of affairs to oblige you for guidance)'"[Yoonus
10:108]
Islam is the religion ofthe natural state of man (fitrah), the
religion of reason and thought. Allaah has distinguished the truth
from falsehood. He has enjoined all that is good and forbidden all
that is evil. He has permitted good things and forbidden evil things.
There is no compulsion in religionbecause the benefits or harms come
back upon the created being, not upon the Creator. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become
distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taaghoot (false
gods) and believes in Allaah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that will never break"
[al-Baqarah 2:256]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for (the benefit of)his
ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And your
Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves"[Fussilat 41:46]
Guidance is in the hand of Allaah. If Allaah willed, He couldguide all
of mankind, for there is nothing that He cannot do on this earth or in
the heavens. Nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He
wills.
"Say: 'With Allaah is the perfect proof and argument, (i.e. the
Oneness of Allaah, the sending of His Messengers and His Holy Books,
to mankind); had He so willed, He would indeed have guided you
all'"[al-An'aam 6:149 – interpretationof the meaning]
But in His Wisdom, Allaah has created us with the ability to choose,
and He has sent down to us guidance and the Criterion. So whoever
obeys Allaah and His Messenger will enter Paradise and whoeverdisobeys
Allaah and His Messenger will enter Hell, as Allaah says
(interpretation ofthe meaning):
"Verily, proofs have come to you from yourLord, so whosoever sees,
will do so for (the good of) his ownself, and whosoever blinds
himself, will do so to his own harm, and I (Muhammad) am not a watcher
over you"[al-An'aam 6:104]
The Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has no part
in guidance; all that he and the Muslims have to do is to explain and
convey the message, and show them guidance but they cannot force
people tofollow it, as Allaah said to His Messenger(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)(interpretation of the meaning):
"And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of
them together. So, will you (O Muhammad) then compel mankind,
untilthey become believers"[Yoonus 10:99]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And the duty of the Messenger is only to convey (the Message)
plainly"[al-'Ankaboot 29:18]
Guidance to the truth is in the hand of Allaah alone and no human
being has any share in that, as Allaahsaid to His Messenger(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)(interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allaah guides
whom He wills. And He knows best those who are the guided[al-Qasas
28:56]
Allaah guides whomsoever He wills and sends astray whomsoever He
wills. He has told us that He guides those who obey Him and turn to
Him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance
and bestowson them their piety"[Muhammad 47:17]
But whoever disobeys Allaah and turns away from Him, Allaah will not
guide him, as He says (interpretation ofthe meaning):
"Truly, Allaah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever"
[al-Zumar 39:3]
Allaah is Omniscient and knows what has happened and is happening and
what is yet to come. Allaah knows the believers and the disbelievers,
and what they will do, and He knows what their fate will be in the
Hereafter. He has written all that inal-Lawh al-Mahfooz(the Preserved
Tablet), as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And all things We have recorded in a Book"[al-Naba' 78:29]
Allaah has created man with the ability to choose, and He has created
him able to doboth, either believer or disbelieve, as He says
(interpretation ofthe meaning):
"Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or
ungrateful"[al-Insaan 76:3]
Man has the choice in terms of his reason only; if he loses his reason
by which he is able to distinguish between the alternatives of good
and evil, truth and falsehood, then he is not accountable. Hence
according to Islamic sharee'ah, the pen is lifted from the insane
person (i.e., he is not accountable) until he recovers his senses, and
from the child until he reaches the age of understanding, and from the
sleeper until he wakes up. None of these people are accountable until
they gain or recover the reason by which they may distinguish between
the alternatives of faith and disbelief, truth and falsehood, and so
on.
Whatever direction a person takes, there will be reward and
punishment, If he obeys, there will be Paradise:
"Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs
all that Allaah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic
Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds"
[al-Shams 91:9 – interpretation of the meaning]
and if he disobeys, there will be Hell:
"And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what
Allaah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism
or by following polytheism, or by doing every kind of evil wicked
deeds"[al-Shams 91:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
The choice of one of these two ways is something about which a person
will bequestioned by the Lord of the Worlds. Hence it is clear that
faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, is the matter of
personal choice. Allaah has made reward and punishment dependent upon
this choice:
"Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for (the benefit of)his
ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And your
Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves"[Fussilat 41:46]
Whoever loves Allaah and His Messenger and desires good in this world
and in the Hereafter, let him enter Islam, and whoever turns away from
that and is content with this world and has no interest in the
Hereafter and does not submit, then his abode will be Hell. The
individual is theone who will benefit or harm himself. There is no
compulsion to chooseeither. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Verily, this (Verses of the Qur'aan) is an admonition, so whosoever
wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allaah)"
[al-Insaan 76:29]
From Usool al-Deen al-Islami by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri

Dought & clear - He weeps when he hearsQur’aan but he does the secret habit and mistreats his parents. Is he a hypocrite?.

I read on a website about the characteristicsof the beloved prophet
,and this made me cry. I also cry sometimes while praying in the
masjid, especially if the imam has a passionate voice. Despite this, I
fall in sins like masturbation, and talking loudly to my father. I
read on your website about the reasons of such sins and how to stop
doing them. My question is: AmI considered hypocrite by committing
such sins?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We think that your asking whether you are a hypocrite or not is a sign
of much goodness in you in sha Allaah, because when a Muslim fears
that he may fall into hypocrisy, this indicates that his heart
is(spiritually) alive and that he is keen to protect his faith.
Ibraaheem al-Taymi said:Whenever I examine my words against my deeds,I
fear that I am insincere.Al-Hasan al-Basri said of hypocrisy: No one
fears it but a believer, and no one feels safe from it buta hypocrite.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The more faith and knowledge a person has,the more he will fear that
he may be among this class of people (i.e., hypocrites), hence the
leaders and earliest generations of this ummah were so afraid that
they might be among them. 'Umar usedto say to Hudhayfah: I adjure you
by Allaah, didthe Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) mention me along with the people (i.e., the hypocrites)? He
said: No, but I would not praise anyone after you, meaning; I would
not praise people (by saying that they are not mentioned among the
hypocrites). It does not mean that 'Umar was theonly one who was free
of hypocrisy.
Tareeq al-Hijratayn(p. 604)
The greatest of the awliya' (close friends of Allaah) feared this for
themselves.
1 – Ibn Abi Mulaykah said: I met thirty of the companions of the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), all of whom feared
being hypocrites, and none of them ever said that he had faith
equivalent to that of Jibreel and Mikaa'eel.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The most prominent among Sahaabah whom Ibn Abi Mulaykah met were:
'Aa'ishah, her sister Asma', Umm Salamah, the four 'Abd-Allaahs, Abu
Hurayrah, 'Uqbah ibn al-Haarith and al-Miswar ibn Makhramah. These are
among those from whom he heard hadeeth. He also met other more
prominent Sahaabah than these, such as 'Ali ibn Abi Taaliband Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqaas, and he confirmed that they were afraid of hypocrisy in
their actions and nothing to the contrary was narrated from any of the
Sahaabah, so it is as if there was consensus on this matter. That is
because the believers' deeds maybecome contaminated with elements that
undermine ikhlaas (sincerity towards Allaah). The fact that they
feared it does not mean that they fell into it, rather it means that
they were extremely cautious and pious, may Allaah be pleased with
them.
Fath al-Baariby Ibn Hajar(1/110,111).
2 – al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
al-Ja'd Abu 'Uthmaan said: I said to Abu Raja' al-'Attaaridi: Did you
meet anyone whom I met of the companions of the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) who feared falling into hypocrisy? He
said: Yes. Praise be to Allaah I met some of the prominent ones among
them, and they used to fear it a great deal. And he had met 'Umar.
3 – and he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Among those of the Sahaabah who used to seek refuge with Allaah from
falling into hypocrisy were: Hudhayfah, Abu'l-Darda' and Abu Ayyoob
al-Ansaari. Among the Taabi'een there were many who did that. Ibn
Sireen said: There is nothing I fear more thanthis verse
(interpretationof the meaning):"And of mankind, there are
some(hypocrites) who say: 'We believe in Allaah andthe Last Day,'
while in fact they believe not" [al-Baqarah 2:8]. Ayyoobsaid: Every
verse in the Qur'aan which mentions hypocrisy I fear lest it apply to
me. Mu'aawiyahibn Qurrah said: 'Umar used to fear it, so how I can
feel safe from it? al-Hasan spoke a great deal concerning this matter,
as did the imamsof Islam after them.
According to a report narrated by Ibn Haani', Imam Ahmad was asked:
What do you say about one who does not fear hypocrisy for himself?
Hesaid: Who can feel safe from hypocrisy?
Fath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab (1/178, 179).
Pay attention to two important matters:
1 – The hypocrisy that was feared by those imams among the Sahaabah
and those who came after them was hypocrisy in deeds, which leads to
hypocrisyin the heart, which leadsone to Hell – we seek refuge with
Allaah – this is the kind of hypocrisy which is mentioned in a number
of ahaadeeth which warn the Muslim against acquiring its
characteristics, such as the following:
It was narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr said: The Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There are
four characteristics, whoever has them all is a pure hypocrite, and
whoever has one of them has one of the characteristics of hypocrisy,
until he gives it up: when he speaks helies, when he makes a covenant
he betrays it, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he
disputes he resorts to obscene speech."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (34) and Muslim (58).
It was also narrated (2632) by al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah have mercy on
him) who said after it:
What this means according to the scholarsis hypocrisy of action. It
was the hypocrisy of disbelieving at the time of the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Something similar
was narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri when he said: Hypocrisy is of two
types: hypocrisy of action and hypocrisy of disbelief.
End quote.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This goes back to what we mentioned above: that hypocrisy may be minor
or major. Minor hypocrisy is hypocrisy of action, which is what these
people feared for themselves. It leads to major hypocrisy which
isfeared for the one who is overcome by minor hypocrisy to such an
extent that it robs him offaith altogether, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"when they turned away(from the path of Allaah), Allaah turned their
hearts away (from the Right Path)"
[al-Saff 61:5]
"And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance),
as they refused to believe therein for the first time"
[al-An'aam 6:110]
Fath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab (1/179).
Imam al-Nawawi commented on this hadeeth … See hisSharh Muslim(2/46-48).
2 – These prominent figures were the most righteous of people in
heart, and they were those who most respected the sacred limits and
were least likely to transgress them,but because of their great
awareness of theirLord and their fear of Hiswrath, they would regard a
minor sin – if they fell into it – as a major sin. Some of them feared
showing off, and others feared falling short in their deeds lest their
actions contradict their words, and others thought that being
distracted by permissibleinteractions in their homes with their wives
and families even though they focused properly in gatherings of dhikr
was a kind of hypocrisy.
It was narrated that Hanzalah al-Usaydi said: Abu Bakr met me and
said: How are you, O Hanzalah? I said: Hanzalah has become a
hypocrite. He said: Subhaan Allaah! What are you saying? I said: When
we are with the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) he reminds us of the Fire and the Garden until it isas if we
are seeing them with our own eyes, but when we depart from the
Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we
attend to our wives and children and businesses, and we forget a great
deal. Abu Bakr said: By Allaah, we experience something similar. Abu
Bakr and I went and entered upon the Messenger of Allaah(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), andI said: Hanzalah has become a
hypocrite, O Messenger of Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Why is that?" I said: O
Messenger of Allaah, when we are with you, you remind us of the Fire
and the Garden until it is as if weare seeing them with our own eyes,
but when we depart from you, we attend to our wives and children and
businesses, and we forget a great deal. The Messenger of Allaah(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "By the One in Whose hand
is mysoul, if you continued as you are when you are with me, and
continued to remember (Paradise and Hell), the angels would shake
hands with you in your homes and on the streets. But, O Hanzalah,
there is a time for this and a time for that" (he said it) three
times.
Narrated by Muslim (2750).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to the words "we attend to ourwives and children and businesses",
Al-Harawi and others said: What this means is that we get absorbed
with that and get busy with it.
"businesses" refers how a man earns a living.
"Hanzalah has become a hypocrite" means: he was afraid that he had
become a hypocrite, because he felt the fear of Allaah when he was
sitting with the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
andthat was manifested in the way he focused on remembrance of Allaah
and thinking of the Hereafter, but when he departed he became
distracted by his wife and children and earning a living in this
world, and the basic meaning of hypocrisy is showing the opposite of
what one conceals of evil, so he was afraid that he was a hypocrite
because of that. But the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) told him that this was not hypocrisy, and that they were not
expected to be like that all the time. "There is a time for this and a
time for that."
Sharh Muslim(17/66, 67)
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
When it became clear to the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them)
that hypocrisy meant a difference between one's inner thoughts and
outward appearance, some of them feared that if they lost the focus
and presence of mind they attained when they listened to reminders,
after they returned to worldly matters and were distracted by their
families and children and wealth, that this was hypocrisy, as was
narrated inSaheehMuslimfrom Hanzalah al-Asadi … and he quoted the
hadeeth –
Fath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab (1/111).
With regard to your situation, you have to fear more than those pure
awliya' (close friends of Allaah) amongthe Sahaabah, Taabi'eenand
subsequent generations did, because you are disobeying Allaah by doing
the secret habit and by mistreating your parents. Your saying thatyou
sometimes raise your voice somewhat to your father will not excuse you
from the warning of punishment. You are forbidden to sayeven "uff" (a
mild word of objection) to your parents, so how about if you raise
your voice and speak loudly to them? What you must do is beware lest
your sins lead you to a bad end.
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) gave a chapter heading to
the report he narrated from Ibraaheem al-Taymi, Ibn Abi Mulaykah and
al-Hasan al-Basri – whichwe have quoted above –saying: Chapter on the
believer's fear that his deeds may be cancelled out without him
realizing.
And he ended this chapter by saying:
And there is fear for the one who persists in hypocrisy and sin
without repenting, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):"and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while
they know" [Aal 'Imraan 3:135].
End quote.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
What the words of al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) – And
there is fear for the one who persists in hypocrisy and sin without
repenting, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):"and do
not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know" [Aal
'Imraan 3:135]– mean is that if one persists in sin and the various
types of hypocrisy without repenting there is the fear that the one
who does that may be punished by having his faith taken away
altogether, so that he becomes a complete hypocrite and meets a bad
end – we seek refuge with Allaah from that – as it is said that sinis
the way to kufr.
Fath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab (1/181).
Secondly:
We encourage you to continue softening your heart and weeping when you
hear Qur'aan, and listening to exhortations, and at the same time we
encourage you to repentfrom sinful actions and to refrain from doing
the secret habit, and to refrain from mistreating your parents. We
encourage you to hastento apologize to them and to honour them
andtreat them kindly in word and deed. Beware of continuing to sin
without repenting, and remember that the one who truly fears Allaah is
not the one who weeps and sheds tears, rather he is the one who gives
up something for which he fears he may be punished.
What we have quoted toyou of warnings about that is sufficient, in sha
Allaah, to make you hasten to repent and turn to Allaah.
And Allaah knows best.