Most Likable Salat

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "The most
likeable Salat of a woman to Allah is the one which she offers in her
house privately and in a dark place." [Ibn Khuzaimah]
Praying in privacy secludes her from distractions and allows her to
focus on her communication with Allah (subhana wa ta'ala). It is also
easier for women not to have to leave their houses or walk through
men. It may be burning hot or freezing cold outside but she does not
have to brave the weather to get the same reward as men. She doesn't
have to drag small children along, nor leave them with baby-sitters
with going back and forth from the Masjid as men are required to do.
The role Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) requires men to play in society is
different. They have to handle the work outdoors and work to provide
for themselves as well as their families. The role Allah (subhana wa
ta'ala) has given to women is to make the home a comfortable and
welcoming place where her children can grow up to love Allah, His
Prophet and Islam, and live peacefully.
This Hadith is a special blessing for women given the nature of their
responsibilities at home and with (especially small) children. All
praise is due to Allah the Most Merciful that He rewards women even
more to do what is more convenient for them and their households.

If a woman marries more than one husband, which one will she be with in Paradise?

Praise be to Allaah.
There are three scholarly opinions on this matter:
That she will be with the one who was best in character and conduct
with her in this world;
That she will choose between them;
That she will be with the last of her husbands.
The best and most correct of these views is the third one, concerning
which there is a hadeeth attributed to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) (marfoo'): "Any woman whose husband
dies and she marries someone else after him, she will be with the last
of her husbands." This was classed as saheeh by Al-Albaani (may Allaah
have mercy on him) in Saheeh Al-Jaami', 2704, and in Al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 1281.
This is by way of general response to the question. A detailed
discussion of the evidence for the three points of view follows:
The evidence for the first view:
Al-Qurtubi said:
Abu Bakr ibn al-Najjaad said: Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Shaakir told us,
'Ubayd ibn Ishaaq al-'Attaar told us, Sinaan ibn Haaroon told us, from
Humayd from Anas: that Umm Habeebah the wife of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "O Messenger of Allaah, if a
woman had two husbands in this life, then they all died and came
together in Paradise, with which of them would she be – the first or
the last?" He said: "With the one whose attitude and conduct with her
was best, O Umm Habeebah; a good attitude brings one the best of this
world and the Hereafter."
(Al-Tadhkirah fi Ahwaal al-Mawtaa wa'l-Aakhirah, 2/278).
I say: this hadeeth is da'eef jiddan (very weak), and has two things
wrong with its isnaad: 'Ubayd ibn Ishaaq al-'Attaar and Sinaan ibn
Haaroon. The former is da'eef jiddan, and the latter is da'eef.
The views of the 'ulamaa':
It was reported that Yahyaa ibn Ma'een said: 'Ubayd ibn Ishaaq
al-'Attaar is nothing (i.e., what he says is not to be taken into
account).
Abu Haatim al-Raazi said: we think that he is a good person, but he is
not very reliable and there are some odd things in his ahaadeeth.
In al-Du'afaa' wa'l-Matrookeen by al-Nasaa'i (p.72), it says: his
hadeeth is matrook (to be ignored, not accepted).
Al-Dhahabi said: he was classed as da'eef (weak) by Yahyaa.
Al-Bukhaari said: he has some some munkar ahaadeeth. Al-Azdi said: his
hadeeth is matrook. Al-Daaraqutni said: (he is) da'eef. Abu Haatim, on
the other hand, accepted him! Ibn 'Udayy said: in general his ahadeeth
are munkar.
(Meezaan al-I'tidaal, 5/24)
Ibn 'Udayy said in al-Kaamil (5/347): this hadeeth is one of his
munkar reports. And he said: most of what he reported is either munkar
with regard to the isnaad (chain of narrators) or munkar with regard
to the matn (text of the hadeeth).
With regard to Sinaan ibn Haaroon:
Ibn Hibbaan said:
His ahaadeeth are very munkar, he narrated munkar reports from al-mashaaheer.
Yahyaa ibn Ma'een said: the hadeeth of Sinaan ibn Haaroon al-Burjami
are nothing (are not to be accepted).
(Al-Majrooheen, 1/354)
al-'Aqeeli mentioned him in al-Du'afaa' (2/171) and mentioned this
hadeeth narrated by him.
= Therefore, this hadeeth is not valid to be used as evidence. It is
da'eef jiddan (very weak), so this opinion does not count.
The second view
which is that a woman will choose between her husbands.
I could not find any evidence for those who state this.
In al-Tadhkirah fi Ahwaal al-Mawtaa wa'l-Aakhirah (2/278), this matter
is mentioned, then the author says: and it is said that she will have
the choice, if she had a husband."
Al-'Ajlooni said: … and it was said that she will be with the best of
them in character and conduct, and it was said that she will have the
choice. (Kashf al-Khafaa', 2/392).
This is the view regarded as most correct by Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
(may Allaah preserve him), as stated in his Fataawaa, 2/53)
The third view
This view is supported by plenty of evidence:
Imaam al-Tabaraani said:
3130 Bakr told us, he said, Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Sirri al-'Asqallaani
told us, he said, al-Waleed ibn Muslim told us, he said, Abu Bakr ibn
'Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Maryam told us, from 'Atiyah ibn Qays al-Kilaa'i
who said: Mu'aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan proposed marriage to Umm
al-Darda' after Abu'l-Darda' had passed away. Umm al-Darda' said: I
heard Abu'l-Darda' say: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: any woman whose husband dies and
she marries someone else after him, she will be with the last of her
husbands, and I would not choose you over Abu'l-Darda'. So Mu'aawiyah
wrote to her (saying), you have to fast, for it is a protection.
(al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, 3/275)
I say: there are two problems with this hadeeth: the fact that Abu
Bakr ibn Abi Maryam is da'eef, and the fact that al-Waleed ibn Muslim
did not clearly state haddathanaa ([So and so] told us) in the rest of
the isnaad.
The views of the 'ulamaa':
Ibn Hibbaan said:
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Maryam was one of the best of the people of al-Shaam,
but he had a bad memory and would narrate things about which he was
obviously confused. The problem is not so bad that everything he
narrated deserves to be rejected (matrook), but neither is he so
trustworthy that what he says can be taken as evidence. In my view his
reports should not be used as evidence if the isnaad is only through
him. (al-Majrooheen, 3/146)
The tadlees (deception) of al-Waleed ibn Muslim is well known. His
tadlees gives the impression that all the narrators are equal, by
inserting the nameof a da'eef narrator between the names of two thiqah
(trustworthy) narrators. Hence the scholars stipulated that the
reports of narrators of this type can only be accepted if they clearly
state "haddathanaa" ([So and so] told us) in every stage of the isnaad
after their name is mentioned.
(See: al-Tabyeen li Asmaa' al-Mudalliseen, by Sabt Ibn al-'Ajami, p.
235; and Tabaqaat al-Mudalliseen, by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar, p. 51)
Imaam Abu'l-Shaykh al-Asbahaani said:
Ahmad ibn Ishaaq al-Jawhari told us, he said, Ismaa'eel ibn Zaraarah
told us, he said, Abu'l-Maleeh al-Raqqi told us from Maymoon ibn
Mahraan from Umm al-Darda' from Abu'l-Darda' that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that a woman will be with
the last of her husbands.
(Tabaqaat al-Muhaaditheen bi Asbahaan, 4/36)
I say, the men of the hadeeth (isnaad) are thiqaat mashhooroon
(trustworthy and well known), apart from Ahmad ibn Ishaaq al-Jawhari,
for whom I cannot find any biographical details apart from the fact
that Abu'l-Shaykh himself stated that this was one of his hasan
ahaadeeth.
If this is indeed the case, then this is the best isnaad concerning
this matter. And Allaah knows best.
Al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi said:
4803 Samurah ibn Hajar Abu Hajar al-Khurasaani went and settled in
Al-Anbaar, where he narrated from Hamzah ibn Abi Hamzah al-Nusaibi and
'Ammaar ibn 'Ata' al-Khurasaani and al-Rabee' ibn Badr; Ishaaq ibn
Bahlool al-Tanookhi narrated from him, he informed us, 'Ali ibn Abi
'Ali told us, Abu Ghaanim Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Azraq told us, my
father told us, he said, my grandfather told us, Samurah ibn Hajar Abu
Hajar al-Khurasaani told us from Hamzah al-Nusaibi from ibn Abi
Maleekah from 'Aa'ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:
"A woman will be with the last of her husbands."
(Taareekh Baghdaad, 9/228)
I said, this hadeeth is da'eef jiddan (very weak); it includes Hamzah
al-Nusaibi, who is da'eef jiddan.
The views of the 'ulamaa':
Imaam al-Nasaa'i said:
The hadeeth (of Hamzah ibn al-Nusaibi) is to be rejected (matrook).
(al-Du'afaa' wa'l-Matrookeen, p. 39)
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
Ahmad said: the hadeeth (of Hamzah ibn al-Nusaibi) is to be rejected
(matrooh). Yahyaa said: he is nothing, he is not even worth a penny.
Al-Bukhaari and al-Raazi said: his hadeeth is munkar. Al-Nasaa'i and
al-Daaraqutni said: the hadeeth (of Hamzah ibn al-Nusaibi) is to be
rejected (matrook). Ibn 'Udayy said: he fabricates ahaadeeth. Ibn
Hibbaan said: he is the only thiqah (trustworthy) narrator who
transmitted fabricated ahaadeeth and it looks as if he is deliberately
narrating them; it is not permissible to report from him.
(al-Du'afaa' wa'l-Matrookeen by Ibn al-Jawzi, 1/237)
Al-Bayhaqi said:
Muhammad ibn 'Abd-Allaah al-Haafiz informed us, Abu'l-'Abbaas Muhammad
ibn Ya'qoob told us, Yahyaa ibn Abi Taalib told us, Ishaaq ibn Abi
Taalib told us, Ishaaq ibn Mansoor told us, 'Eesaa ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan
al-Sulami told us, from Abu Ishaaq from Silah from Hudhayfah (may
Allaah be pleased with him), that he said to his wife, "If you want to
be my wife in Paradise, do not marry anyone after I die, for in
Paradise a woman will be with the last of her husbands in this world.
This is why Allaah forbade the wives of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) to marry anyone after he died,
because they will be his wives in Paradise." (al-Sunan, 7/69)
I say: the isnaad includes Abu Ishaaq al-Subay'i, who is mudallis and
may mix things up, so the report is da'eef.
The views of the 'ulamaa':
See: Man rumiya bi'l-Ikhtilaat by al-Taraabulsi (p. 64) and Tabaqaat
al-Mudalliseen by Ibn Hajar (p. 42).
It was classed as da'eef by al-'Allaamah al-Shaykh al-Albaani (may
Allaah have mercy on him) in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (1281).
A report narrated by Ibn 'Asaakir (19/193/1) from 'Ikrimah:
Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr was married to al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwaam, who was
strict with her. She came to her father and complained to him about
that, and he said: O my daughter, have patience, for if a woman has a
righteous husband, then he dies, and she does not marry anyone after
him, they will be joined together in Paradise.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The men of this report are thiqaat (trustworthy), but there is Irsaal
( a break in the chain), because 'Ikrimah never met Abu Bakr, but he
may have heard this report from Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr. And Allaah knows
best.
Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3/276.
Conclusion
The view that a woman will be with the husband who was best in
character and conduct with her in this world has no saheeh evidence to
support it.
The view that a woman will have the choice of whichever husband she
wishes to be with has no evidence to support it at all.
The view that she will be with the last of her husbands is the view
that is most likely to be correct, because the hadeeth of Umm
al-Dardaa' is likely to be hasan and marfoo' (attributed to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). It is supported
by the reports of Hudhayfah and Asmaa' which are mawqoof (their
isnaads stop at the Sahaabi and are not directly attributed to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). They are fit to
be taken as a corroboration of the marfoo' report and as proof that
there is a reasonable basis for this view.
The hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-'Allaamah Shaykh al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (1281).
In any case, we prefer it to mere opinion.
And Allaah knows best.
O Allaah, bestow Your blessings and peace upon Muhammad and his family
and companions.

Thinking About Another Woman

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "A man who
thinks about the body of a woman under her clothes until he can
visualize her shape, will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise."
[Albahr-ul Raaiq, vol. 8, p. 218]
A woman who keeps herself hidden and covered would hate to be the
object of a strange man's fantasies. There is no police in the world
that can know or prevent a man from thinking about another woman. The
only person who can stop him is himself. The only police that he can
be scared of, are Allah's angels who will carry out His orders of
punishment, since nothing remains hidden from Him.
You are your own police. Let your conscience police you before Allah's
angels have to do the job! Thinking about and imagining the looks of a
non-Mahram is forbidden in the Shariah. So save yourself from unworthy
thoughts – thoughts that will keep you out of Paradise!

Story, - Important thing you have2 know about love

Am a guy of 19yrs still schooling. Am really in love with a girl but I
just dont know how 2 tell her because she was my senior. Later on I
tell one of her friend who told me to just go and meet her and tell
her whats on my mind but I told her i cant but if she could only get
me her number then she agree to do that for me. Getting her number i
just gave her a call and introduce myself to her not realizing she is
already in love with me already. So we start dating each other and we
ar still together till now. The only thing about love is that dont be
scared of someone u love just tell her ur mind.

Story, - The lost Girl - I still love

Friends, it's the incident happened seven years ago when I was
studying SSLC i.e. in 2005. There was farewell party organized for us
by our juniors which was rocking. One could see the sadness of
separation and the stress of exams in their faces very clearly. I
loved a girl of my class very much somewhere in the corner of my
heart. I was fed up of this, I was not at all interested in reading,
and her face was distracting again and again. So I was turning the
pages from slam book. While I was reading the page which my girl had
written I was suddenly flabbergasted and even felt very happy.
Generally other girls had written their opinion about me as good boy,
silent boy and intelligent boy but she had written, 'sweet boy'. And
other girls had written their favorite historical monument as: Red
fort, Golgumbaz, Badami caves but she had written her favorite
monument as, 'Tajmahal'.
This little reason was enough for this idiotic heart to plunge in an
illusion that she loved me. Anyhow valentine day was nearing hence I
decided to propose her on that day. She was with her friends in the
canteen that day. That day she seemed to me like a, 'Red red rose' as
expressed by the English poet Robert Burns.
Taking a deep breath, I gave her a Red Rose but couldn't speak; I was
unable to spell even a word. I knew it before itself hence I had
bought a letter in which I had written everything that I wanted to
convey her. I kept that letter on the table before her and said:
"please read it and give your opinion, if you agree its okay if not
let us be friends." After a couple of days it was really shocking and
miraculous that she gave her consent to my proposal, I was unspeakable
as my heart was full of happiness, and my mind was floating on cloud
nine. I can't forget this moment all my life…
Then who was there to question us, like any other lovebirds we too
wondered together to cinemas, park, and hotels, ate masala dosa,
panipuri, kochori on the roadside and tasted varieties of ice-cream
with different flavors. Usually a guy rides the bike and his girl will
be seated behind but here in our case it was entirely reverse: she
uses to ride the scooty and I would be seated behind as SRK did in Rab
Ne Bana Di Jodi. Tell me friends who will get this kind of
opportunity. I was really fortunate to get this opportunity and those
moments spent on scooty with her are memorable seconds in my life.
Lost in these joyful days I never thought of time, it just flew like a
rocket, board exam was nearing hence she said; 'let us not meet each
other until exams are finished.' Those days there were no mobiles like
we have now, we didn't even have the landline. Suppose we had mobile I
assure you, I would have not cleared my SSLC board exam.
Soon after the exams were completed I was waiting for her at the place
we had decided to meet. The surprising thing was that; instead she
coming there, her friends came to me, and before I could ask, 'what
was the matter?' they told; "Pratima's father got transferred and
hence they moved to Mysore few days back."
As I heard the news from my friends, I felt as if 1000volt current
passed through my body. Coming out of the shock later I asked them;
'have you got address or phone number?' To that they replied; 'no we
don't have phone number nor address, you don't get upset, just forget
her.'
Since that day I'm searching her but all my efforts went in vain. Once
I believed today or tomorrow I would meet her but now I lost the last
ray of hope also. I got all my childhood friends in FB after the long
gap of 9 years whom I never imagined to see even in my dreams. Anyhow
she might be missing to my eyes but she is still alive in my heart.
And I thank God who made all these things happen in my life.

Fathwa, - Proofs for the permissibility for a woman to show her feet

Question:
Could you please provide me with evidence on why it is permissible for
a woman to show her feet. There is evidence in the hadith about
showing the hands and face, but I have not seen any regarding showing
the feet.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
Assalamu alaykum
In the name of Allah the Inspirer of truth.
The reason the feet are also exempt from being covered during salat is
that they has been considered as "that which is normally revealed
thereof" in the following verse of the Qur'an:
"She should not display her beauty except that which is revealed
thereof" (Sura Nur).
The scholars of the Hanafi school have considered that the feet are
also exempt just like the face and hands for the following reasons:
(1) they can easily become uncovered while walking (even if the women
is wearing a long garment), especially in the case of poorer people
(who may not have the means to possess socks) and (2) if the face,
which is more a place of attraction, is exempted by this verse then
more conclusively the feet should also be exempted. Furthermore, there
is nothing categorically related that makes them out to be part of
theawra.
Having said this, covering them in salat to observe the etiquette of
the difference of opinion with other schools who consider them part of
theawra, though not necessary, would be a worthy deed. Likewise, it is
more preferable to have them covered to minimize attraction.
And Allah knows best.

Fathwa, - Are all these"fashionable women's Islamic clothes" consideredmodest by the Shariah

Question:
Are all these "fashionable women's Islamic clothes" considered modest
by the Shariah?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam,
This returns to the `urf (local customs and norms). Something highly
modest in America may not modest by the standards of more conservative
societies.
The Shariah has placed general guidelines for proper dress: it must be
modest, loose (especially around sensitive areas), and must cover
one�s awrah. This is fixed, unalterable guidance.
After this, how this is fulfilled returns to local customs,
environment, and one�s situation, flexible within the limits of the
fixed guidelines of the Qur�an and the luminous guidance of the
Beloved of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Modesty in dress is important for both men and women.

Fathwa, - Is it permissible for a wife to take off her hijab if her husband disapproves of it?

Question:
Is it permissible for a wife to take off her hijab if her husband
disapproves of it?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Absolutely not.
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace)
said,�There is no obedience to creation in disobedience to the
Creator.�[Bukhari and Muslim]

History of the Sunnah -I: At the time of the Prophet

Muslims were, early on, aware of the significance of the Sunnah and
its authority. They, one generation after the other, were keen to
preserve the Sunnah because they saw that as a part of the preserving
of the last revelations man is ever to receive. Their efforts were
unabated, and the remarkable job they did is unparalleled in the
experience of any other religion or civilization.
At the time of the Prophet:
One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that the
Prophetclearly taught the Companionsthe importance of his Sunnah, its
place in Islam and their role in saving it, teaching and conveying it
to others around them and to those who would come after them. In so
doing, hefollowed an effective methodology, which will be briefly
outlined below:
1. Heemphasized the importance of seeking knowledge and teaching
it to others. Hesaid:"Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every
Muslim )male and female(." ]Ibn Maajah[ Also, hesaid: "Whosoever
pursues a path to seek knowledge therein, Allaah will thereby make
easy for him a path toParadise. No people gather together in one of
the houses of Allaah )mosques(, reciting the Book of Allaah and
studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon
them, mercy enveloping them and angles surrounding them, and Allaah
making mention of them to those )angels( who are with Him."]Muslim[
2. Healways had a center for teaching. Most of the time, it was the mosque.
3. Hewas soft in his dealings and always facilitated things and
made them easy for others. Hewas merciful and humble and made himself
readily available.
4. Henever pushed people into anything. Instead, hegradually
taught them and led them to change. Healways motivated them to follow
his example and be their best.
5. Hewould not continuously teach or work with them, but he would
give them enough breaks to avoid overstressing or boring them.
6. Hespoke plainly and clearly and hetalked to people at their
level of understanding and intellectual ability. Whenever appropriate,
hespoke to people in their own dialect for the Arabs had different
dialects.
7. Heused the method of repetition. Hewould repeat whatever he
wanted to stress for three times to insure that all heard him properly
and clearly understood what hewas saying.
8. When questioned, hewould give more than what is expected as an
answer and use the occasion to further clarify things for all, and
teach about other things.
9. Whenever the Prophethad to choose between two ways, hechose
the easier way, which had facility and mercy if there was nothing
forbidden in that, and hekept away from the difficult and harsh ways.
10. Heattached special attention to teaching the women and provided
them special times for questions. Heencouraged them to ask and learn.
11. Heused to do his best in everything, and heperfected whatever he
did, thus setting an example for others.
The era of the Companions and their Followers
The Companionsdid their utmost to convey Islam to the generations
succeeding them in the best and most accurate way possible. They
sincerely loved it, honestly lived according to it and faithfully
preserved it and kept any impurity or irregularity out of it.
Their role in the preservation of Islam was one of utmost importance
to its continuation, but they were highly prepared for it by the best
teacher and trainer, the Prophet. Thus the studying of this era,
especially with respect to the history and authority of the Sunnah, is
necessary to all Students of Knowledge.
And since this article will not provide enough details to properly
cover the subject, it is recommended that the readers consult the
following list of books on the subject:
Studies of Early Hadeeth Literature by M. M. Azami, Sunnah Qabla
at-Tadween )the Sunnah before Writing( by Ajaj Al-Khateeb, The Sunnah
and its Place in Islam by Mustafa As-Siba'ee, Manhajj an-Naqd fi Uloom
Al-Hadeeth )The Methodology of Critique in the Sciences of Hadeeth( by
Noor-ud-deen Etr, Al-Hadeeth wal Muhaddithoon )Hadeeth and Hadeeth
Narrators( by Muhammad M. Abu Zahou, and Hujjiatus Sunnah )The
Authority of the Sunnah( by Houcine Chouat.
Methodology of the Companions in Preserving the Sunnah
Before discussing the Companions' ways of learning, practicing,
preserving and conveying of the Sunnah, it is worthwhile to shed some
light on the main points one needs to understand about the
Companionsand their methodology:
1. The Companionswere fully aware of the responsibility they
shoulder after the death of the Prophet.
2. The Companionsare all trustworthy. Theynever doubted one
another in the matters of this religion and the narration of Hadeeth.
3. The Companionshave developed a methodology for scrutinizing
Hadeeths and narrators, and by doing that have established the rules
of ascertaining narrations for those who came after them.
4. The ability of different Companionsto understand the Sunnah,
memorize it and convey it varied from one Companion to another.
5. The Companionsleft Makkah and Madeenah to many places around
the Muslim world, at the time, for the purpose of delivering the
message and teaching Islam to those who accepted it thus spreading the
Sunnah throughout the land.
It is interesting to note that about 750 Companionsnarrated Hadeeths,
seven of whom narrated a high number of Hadeeths, and about twenty
narrated an average number, the rest narrated a small number.
The seven who narrated a large number of Hadeeths are: Abu Hurayrah
who narrated 5374 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar narrated 2630, Anas
Ibn Maalik narrated 2286, 'Aa'ishah narrated 2210 Hadeeths, 'Abdullaah
Ibn 'Abbaas narrated 1660, Jaabir Ibn 'Abdullaah narrated 1540, and
Abu Sa'eed AI-Khudri narrated 1100 Hadeeths. They understood their
role and were aware of the significance of their ability in narrating
the Hadeeths and did their best to deliver them diligently and
accurately. Muslims of all times are indebted to them.

History of the Sunnah -II: The era of the Companions and their followers

Most scholars group the main aspects of the methodology of the
Companionsin preserving the Sunnah into the following seven
categories: prudence in narrating the hadeeths, verification and
substantiation of the hadeeths before accepting them, critique,
discussions and assessment of the narration, traveling for search and
confirmation of the hadeeths, memorization, practice and writing of
the hadeeths. Some scholars refer to these aspects as 'rulings',
'methods' or 'ways' instead of methodology.
1- Prudence in narrating the Hadeeth:
Because of the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation and a sacred
Source for this religion, the Companionswere very careful when
narrating what the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi sallam, said or did.
This vigilance was illustrated in:
· Avoiding narration unless they had to. 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Abi
Laylasaid:"I have met with 120 Companionsfrom the Ansaar )supporters
of the Prophet(, none of whom would narrate a hadeeth or answer a
question of fatwa unless he absolutely had no choice but to do it. One
would have to go and ask another instead of him, so much so you would
keep going from one to the other until you get back to the first one
you asked."Theyunderstood that they were conveying the message brought
to them by the Prophetand that people see it as such, thus everyone
wanted the other to do that because they may know it better. This,
however, should not be construed to mean they avoided spreading the
message or teaching Islam to others. This prudence indicates they were
fully aware of their role and its significance. They would rather let
others, who may be more knowledgeable, do the job, but once they had
to do, they did it in the best way possible.
· Limiting or discouraging the narration. This attitude was
adopted for the purpose of protecting the Sunnah because it minimizes
the possibility of mistakes or forgetfulness that may otherwise cause
people to doubt the Sunnah or mistrust the narrators. This trend was
strongly encouraged by Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaaband
was accepted and practiced by the Companions. This attitude is founded
on the famous hadeeth narrated by many Companions:"It is sufficient
—for one to tumble into lying - to narrate or repeat everything he/she
hears."]Al-Bukhaari and others[
· Encouraging narration from knowledgeable Companions. To
strike a necessary balance between being cautious and insuring the
transmission of the religion and the spreading of its teachings, the
Companionswho had a great deal of knowledge—like those recommended by
the Prophet—never hesitated to narrate, write or teach the Sunnah.
There are hundreds of narrations that encourage such practice so long
as it is done in the right manner.
· Opting for verbatim narration. Guided with instruction in the
Hadeeth, "May Allaah bless the person who hears a statement from me
and conveys it as he/she heard it," the Companionsdid all that was
humanly possible to keep their narration verbatim of what they
actually heard from the Prophet. There are many reported incidents,
which testify to this fact. Having such natural mastery of the Arabic
– that was common among them—and the fact that theysaw and heard the
Prophetsay, do and explain to them his teachings repeatedly, as well
as their understanding of the need for verbatim transmission of
narrations, all combined to make it easy for them not to cause changes
as they narrate any Hadeeth.
2- Verification of the Hadeeth before accepting it
This is an important tool that the Companionsestablished to safeguard
the Sunnah against any foreign material interference and accidental or
deliberate mistakes. This was a common prac­tice amongst all of the
Companionswhen receiving or narrating the Sunnah. Imaam
Ath-Thahabimentioned this practice, in one of his great books,
addressing the issue of Hadeeth Memorizers. Hesaid that it was one of
the ways used by of the four Caliphsto protect the Hadeeth. For
example, Abu Bakrwas asked to rule in the case of a grandmother who
came asking for her right in inheritance, hesaid that he knew of no
amount due to her neither in the Book of Allaah )i.e., Quran( nor the
Sunnah of the Prophet. But when Al-Mugheerahtold that he has
wit­nessed the Prophetgive one-sixth of the total amount of the
inheritance, heasked him if he had witness to substantiate this claim.
And when Muhammad Ibn Maslamahwitnessed to the truth of that figure,
Abu Bakraccepted it and gave the grandmother exactly that.
In the case of 'Umar Ibn Al-KhattaabAth-Thahabimentioned many
incidents that testify to the fact that healways ascertained the
narration when it was necessary to do so. Henarrated that Maalik Ibn
Awsheard 'Umarsay to 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn 'Awf, Talhah Ibn Az-Zubayr and
Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas:"I ask by Allaah, Who maintains the Heaven and
Earth! Did you hear the Prophetsay: 'I am not to be inherited,
whatever I leave is to be given in charity'? They said:`Yes, Allaah is
our witness."]Ahmad[
After narrating the above incidents among others, Imaam
Ath-Thahabirepeatedly asserted that the verifications were not meant
to doubt the truthfulness of any of the Companionsrather they were
necessary to establish a standard of care and respect for what the
Prophet, sallallaahu alay­hi wa sallam, said or did. Theydid that for
themselves and to institute a tradition to be fol­lowed and honored by
all who come after them.
In summary, it is essential to note the following about this method:
- The purpose was to protect the Sunnah, not to doubt one another. All
of the Companionsare trustworthy as clearly stated in the Quran, and
doubting their trustworthiness can certainly damage one's faith.
- The purpose, also, was to establish a method and set an example to
be followed by the rest of the Muslim nation. The truth, however,
remains that Companionsused to accept narration conveyed by any one of
them. Their request of witnesses or that the narrator gives an oath
that he is saying the truth was to establish the methodology, so that
people would not take narrating a Hadeeth lightly. This fact may
further be supported when considering that:
- Sometimes theyrequired a witness while at others they had the
narrator give oath or reminded him of how serious it is to lie against
the Prophet. This variation indicates that the purpose was actually to
establish awareness of the significance of narrating the Hadeeth
rather than set up a requirement of having more than one narrator as a
condition for its authenticity.
- There are a very large number of narrations, which indicate that in
many cases the Companionshad actually accepted Hadeeth from one
narrator without seeking any substantiation or verification.

History of the Sunnah – III: The era of the Companions and their followers

As a part of our discussion of the Companions'methodology in
preserving the Sunnah of the Prophetwe mentioned thus far two of its
aspects; namely, prudence in narrating the Hadeeth, and verification
and substantiation of the Hadeeth before accepting it. Three more
aspects are presented here.
3. Study, critique, and assessment of the narrations
Of the ways the Companionsused to preserve the Sunnah, properly
learning and studying it, was perhaps the most important. They refer
to this using terms like, "Tadaarus" and "Muthaakarah," both of which
indicate a studying that involves more than one person as well as a
mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas. The results of this "studying
and discussing" were manifold. Learning the Sunnah correctly, free of
mistakes was one of the goals, and so was the firm memorization of it.
And since it was physically impossible for a large number of the
Companionsto have equal time access to the Prophetthese discussions
were the means through which the narrations known to only a few
individuals were passed on to many others, thus expanding the circle
of narrators. Books such as Jaami' Bayaan Al-'Ilm by Ibn Abd
Al-Barrand Al-Jaami' Li Akhlaaq Ar-Raawi by Al-Khateebhave many
authentic narrations from the Companionsbearing witness to the
effectiveness of these discussions in preserving the Sunnah.
Another aspect of the Companions'methodology in preserving the Sunnah
was the critical assessment and evaluation of what they narrated and
taught to one another. Anytime a Companionfelt what he heard from
another had a problem, he or she would critically analyze it and give
his/her opinion about it. A major example of this effort by the
Companionswas demonstrated by Badruddeen Az-Zarkashiwho wrote a book
in which he collected more than seventy narrations in which one
Companion, 'Aa'ishah, the Mother of the Believerswas reported as
having corrected other Companions'narrations based on her assessment
of the narrations in light of the Quran and the Hadeeth.
4. Traveling in search of the Hadeeth
Another great effort they made was traveling in search of the Hadeeth,
for after the death of the Prophetthe Companionsmoved to different
places within the Muslim land, and traveling became an essential
method of Hadeeth collection, authentication and preservation. Here
are a few examples of the Companions'travel for the sole purpose of
confirming certain narrations:
Jaabir Ibn Abdullaahtraveled a whole month to Ancient Syria only to
verify one Hadeeth. ]Al-Bukhaari[
One of the Companionstraveled to visit Fudhaalah Ibn 'Ubaydand told
him that he came not to visit him but only to ask him about a
narration that they both heard together from Prophetand he was hoping
that Fudhaalahhad the complete wording of that Hadeeth. ]Abu Daawood[
One of the Companionsleft his home in Madeenah in order to meet Abu
Ad-Dardaa'in Damascus only to have Abu Ad-Dardaa' confirm a narration
which this Companionhad already heard from the Prophet. ]Ibn Abd
Al-Barr[traveled all the way to Egypt to ask 'Uqbah Ibn 'Amrabout one
Hadeeth. Abu Ayyoob told 'Uqbahthat the two of them were the only
living Companions who have heard that Hadeeth directly from the
Prophetand he wanted to confirm the Hadeeth from 'Uqbah. ]Ahmad[
5-Memorization of the Hadeeth
Muslims – one generation after the other – did all that is humanly
possible to preserve the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah as accurate
as they received it from the Prophet. Beside the extra effort they
exacted to develop the Methodology, the Companionsbenefited from a
talent that came naturally to them, one that was truly befitting to
the main undertaking of that methodology—the verbatim transmission of
the Sunnah. This unique quality of the Companionswas that they enjoyed
powerful memories. It was easy for anyone of them to commit to heart
any number of narrations and retain them as such for a very long time.
This quality was not specific only to the Companionsbut rather was a
common feature of the Arab society as a whole. Many scholars—Muslims
and non-Muslim alike – established the fact that the Arabs of that era
were masters of language, and their society had a profoundly strong
oral tradition. The known narrator of poet­ry, Hammaad, for example,
was reported to have memorized at least one hundred long poems for
each letter in the Arabic alphabet. That is more than 2800 pieces of
poetry. Powerful memory was a source of pride for them and they placed
more con­fidence in it than in writing, they believed that writings
could be tampered with. Some even took this pride to extreme levels,
they would not write anything down for fear that may be taken as
indication of defective memory.
Obviously, the Companionswho had more passion for preserving the
Sunnah than poetry and literature used this powerful quality to
protect and maintain the Sunnah. Imaam Ad-Daariminarrated that the
Companion Abu Hurayrahsaid: "I used to divide the night into three
parts. In the first, I would perform the optional night Prayer, in the
second I would sleep, and in the third I would spend committing
Hadeeth to my memory." Actually, all of the Companionsconsidered this
an honor and a blessing, for they were encouraged to do so by the
saying of the Prophet: "May Allaah make radiant )bestow vigor upon(
anyone who heard what I said and commit­ted it to his memory until he
is able to convey it to another. Perhaps the person who hears it from
him can have a better understanding of it than him." ]At-Tirmithi[
On the other hand, the Prophetalso taught the Companionstwo aspects
that brought a needed balance to the use of memorization in conveying
his Hadeeth, namely the importance of writing, and the need of being
moderate in all matters. This fact complemented their efforts in
establishing a sound and well rounded methodology.
The phenomenon of "Memory Power" continued to be a general character
of the Arab society well into the third and fourth centuries of
Hijrah, the time by which all of the Sunnah was collected into books
and records. But the diminishing of its prevalence in the society with
time did not minimize the role memory played in the preserving of the
Sunnah. "Memory Power," or Dhabt—proficiency in narration, as it later
came to be known—became an essential part of the standards used to
judge authenticity. Judging the narrators memory power is central in
what we know as the science of "Al-Jarh wa Ta'deel."

** Dought & clear, - Was the adhaan revealed by wahy or was it suggestedby a sahaabi?.

** I think i once read that the adhan (call to prayer)was suggested to
our prophet Muhammed () by another muslim after he said he didnt want
to use the bells that the christians used or the rams-head(?) that the
jews used to call people to prayer. How does the idea of everything
the prophet ordered being an inspiration that is inspired fit in with
this?
I am not trying to be picky here, but am asking purely to aid my understanding.
Praise be to Allaah.
"Adhaan" in Arabic means conveying; in Islam it means announcing that
the time (for prayer) has come. It was prescribed during the time of
the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah. According to the hadeeth of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn Abd
Rabbihi, when the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) decided to use a bell even though he disliked it because it
was like what the Christians used, 'there appeared to me in a dream a
man who was wearing two green garments, in whose hand was a bell. I
said, "O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?" he said, "What
will you do with it?" I said, "We will call the people to prayer with
it." He said, "Shall I not show you something better than that?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Say,Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar… (to the end of
the adhaan)." When morning came, I went to the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him what I
had seen. He said, "This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up with
Bilaal and tell him what you have seen, so that he can give the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you." So I got up with
Bilaal and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call
to prayer. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his
house, and he came out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same
as he saw." The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "To Allaah be praise."'(Narrated by Ahmad, 1588;
al-Tirmidhi, 174; Abu Dawood, 421, 430; Ibn Maajah, 698).
It is clear from this hadeeth:
That the words of the adhaan came in a dream which was seen by a great
sahaabi and approved of by our great Prophet. They were not a
suggestion as you mentioned, but a dream, and it is known that dreams
are one of the seventy parts of Prophethood, because it was stated in
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Dreams are one of the seventy parts of
Prophethood."(Narrated by Ahmad, 4449).
Al-Bukhaari narrated a different version: "True dreams are one of the
forty-six parts of Prophethood."(Narrated by al-Bukhaari,, 6474;
Muslim, 4203, 42005).
The dream here, which the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) described as a true dream, came from Allaah and was not a
suggestion from a person. So it was a part of Prophethood because it
was approved of by the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and was described by him as a true dream. If the Prophet had not
approved of it, it would not have been considered a true dream and it
would not have been a part of Prophethood. The one who judged it to be
true was the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
the one who commanded them to act upon it was the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who received revelation (wahy) from
his Lord.
'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) had seen a similar dream. Let
us not forget that 'Umar was one of the Rightly-guided khaleefahs
(al-khulafaa' al-raashidoon), of whom the Messenger(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "I exhort you to adhere to my
sunnah (way) and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khaleefahs. Hold on
tight to it with your back teeth."(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2600; Ibn
Maajah, 43; Ahmad, 16519).
'Umar's view frequently coincided with the wahy and divine
legislation. 'Aa'ishah reported that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to say, "Among the nations who came before
you there were people who were muhaddathoon (inspired). If there is
anyone like this in my ummah, it is 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab."(Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 3282; Muslim, 2398).Ibn Wahb said muhaddathoon means
inspired.
You may ask, why did the adhaan start in this fashion, being seen in a
dream by two sahaabis then being confirmed by the wahy? Why was it not
revealed directly? The answer is that Allaah decrees whatever He
wills, however He wills, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps the
way it happened was meant to demonstrate the virtue of these two
sahaabis and to confirm the how good this ummah is, because among them
are some whose opinions coincide with the wahy and some who had true
dreams which confirmed their truthfulness, for the people who have the
truest dreams are the truest in speech as the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said.
Finally:
The definition of the Sunnah given in the books of the scholars is
that it consists of everything that was narrated from the
Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), everything that
he "said, did or approved of."
What is meant by his words and actions is clear. What he approved of
refers to when someone did something in front of him and he approved
of it – this is also part of the sharee'ah, not because that person
did it, but because the Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) approved of it. The Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) never kept quiet about falsehood and he never approved of
anything false or misguided that was done by others. He would
disapprove of it and speak out against it, as he did in the case of
the sahaabi Abu Israa'eel, as was narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas, who said:
"Whilst the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
giving a khutbah, he saw a man standing in the sun, and he asked about
him. They said, 'That is Abu Israa'eel. He vowed to stand and not sit
down, not to seek shade, not to speak, and to fast.' He said, 'Tell
him to speak, seek shade and sit down, but let him complete his
fast.'"(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6326).
The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of Abu
Israa'eel's vow to fast, but he cancelled the rest of his vow and did
not approve of it.
So it is clear that the adhaan became part of the religion when the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) confirmed what
Allaah had shown the two sahaabis in their dreams, and commanded
'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd to teach it to Bilaal so that he could call the
people to prayer. Hopefully the explanation given above will dispel
your confusion and make matters clearer to you. We ask Allaah to grant
us and you understanding of Islam. And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - The length of du‘aa’ al-Qunoot and reciting it.

What is the ruling on reciting du'aa' al-qunoot and making it last for
more than twenty minutes, which includes du'aa' that resembles how
people ordinarily talk?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Qunoot in Witr prayer is Sunnah and mustahabb; it was narrated from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there are
some hadeeths which give the wording for du'aa' al-qunoot.
It was narrated that al-Hasan ibn 'Ali may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
taught me some words to say in Qunoot of Witr:
"Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa 'aafini feeman 'aafayta wa
tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a'tayta, wa qini sharra
ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda 'alayk, wa innahu laa
yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya'izzu man 'aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana
wa ta'aalayta(O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided,
pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship
among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in
what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have
decreed. For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is
not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is
Your enemy. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted.)."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1425; at-Tirmidhi, 464. Classed as hasan by
at-Tirmidhi and as saheeh by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr inal-Istidhkaar, 2/285
and an-Nawawi inal-Adhkaar, 86
See question no. 14093.
InSaheeh Ibn Khuzaymah(1100) it is narrated that the people, at the
time of 'Umar, used to pray against the disbelievers in the middle of
Ramadan, (saying): "O Allah, destroy the disbelievers who seek to
prevent people from following Your path and who disbelieve in Your
Messengers and do not believe in the Day of Resurrection. Create
disunity among them and instil fear in their hearts, and send Your
wrath and punishment upon them, O God of truth."
Then he would send blessings on the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) and pray for the Muslims for whatever he could of
good, then he would pray for forgiveness for the believers. He said:
And he used to say when he had finished praying against the
disbelievers, sending blessings upon the Prophet, praying for
forgiveness for the believing men and women and asking for good: "O
Allah, You (alone) we worship and to You (alone) we pray and
prostrate; for Your sake we strive and worship. We hope for Your
mercy, our Lord, and we fear Your inevitable punishment, for Your
punishment will surely befall the one whom You oppose." Then he would
say takbeer and fall down in prostration.
Al-Albaani said: Its isnaad is saheeh
Secondly:
Paying attention to the du'aa' that was narrated from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then from his Companions
after him, is better and is preferable and brings more blessings than
making up flowery supplications and invented awraad, for which there
is no guarantee that they will be free from mistakes in meaning or
that they will not be contrary to proper etiquette when calling upon
Allah, may He be exalted, and it will be more likely to keep one safe
from showing off.
Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be
exalted, has given us permission to call upon Him and has taught
du'aa' in His Book to His creation, and the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) has taught his ummah how to offer du'aa'.
The du'aa' of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
is based on three things: proper knowledge of Tawheed (the Oneness of
Allah), proper knowledge of the (Arabic) language and sincerity to the
ummah. So no one should turn away from his du'aa' (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him).
Al-Maawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Haawi
al-Kabeer(2/200): What is narrated from the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) is what is more liked by us than anything
else, but whatever a person says in Qunoot of 'du'aa's narrated from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and otherwise
is good for that purpose.
Both texts were quoted by Shaykh Muhammad Ismaa'eel al-Muqaddim in his
essay:'Oodu ila khayr al-Huda, p. 45-46]
Ibn 'Uqayl al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that
'du'aa's narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) should be what is recited as regular wird, and anything
added to it is by way of a concession. He said: What is mustahabb in
our view is that which was narrated by al-Hasan ibn 'Ali from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "Allahumma
ihdini…" – the well-known hadeeth. He said: If one adds to that the
words narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), "Allahumma
inna nasta'eenuka…(O Allah, we seek Your help)…", there is nothing
wrong with that. End quote.
This was quoted by Ibn Muflih in his comment onal-Muharrar, 1/89
Indeed, some of the scholars spoke sternly about the issue of adding
to the 'du'aa's narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him, to the extent that al-'Izz ibn 'Abd as-Salaam (may
Allah have mercy on him) said – as it says in hisFataawa, 87 –: It is
not appropriate to add anything to or subtract anything from what the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said in
Qunoot.
Quoted from'Oodu ila Khayr al-Huda, p. 45
Thirdly:
There is nothing wrong with adding to the wording narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Qunoot words
that may be appropriate to the situation, because this is the issue of
du'aa' (supplication), and the issue of du aa' is broad in scope, and
adding to it is something that is allowed in Islam. Concerning the
du'aa' narrated from 'Umar, it says: … and he would pray for whatever
he could of good for the Muslims, then he would pray for forgiveness
for the believers.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Majmoo'(3/477-478):
Shaykh Abu 'Amr ibn as-Salaah said: The view of those who say that one
should limit du'aa' in Qunoot to that which is narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is odd (shaadhdh)
and is not acceptable; it is contrary to the opinion of the majority
of our companions and in fact is contrary to the opinion of the
majority of scholars. Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad narrated that the scholars were
unanimously agreed that there is no specific du'aa' for Qunoot… The
author ofal-Haawisaid: It may be done reciting the du'aa' narrated
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or by
saying other du'aa's. End quote.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 34/63:
He may add whatever he wants of du'aa's that are permissible to say
during prayer. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said inash-Sharh
al-Mumti', 4/52:
If he adds to that, there is nothing wrong with that, because it is
the matter of du'aa' (supplication). End quote.
Fourthly:
It is important to note that although adding (phrases not narrated in
the Sunnah) to a du'aa' narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) is permissible according to the majority of
scholars, it is not permissible to take that as a regular practice,
thus neglecting the Sunnah and missing out on the blessing (barakah)
of following the Sunnah as a result of that. Indeed, one should not
always combine the two and regard them as being the same in status.
Rather the worshipper should do that sometimes and not do it
sometimes, according to the situation.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Undoubtedly dhikr and du'aa's are among the best kinds of worship.
Acts of worship are based on tawqeef and following, not on whims and
desires and innovation. The du'aa's and dhikrs narrated from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the best that
anyone can find of dhikr and du'aa', and the one who limits himself to
them will be safe and sound. The beneficial results that they bring
cannot be put into words or fully comprehended by man. Any other
dhikrs may be haraam or they may be makrooh. They may involve shirk
which most people may not realize and which would take too long to
explain in detail.
No one has the right to prescribe for people any kind of dhikr or
du'aa' that is not narrated in the Sunnah and make it an act of
worship that people should perform regularly as they perform the five
daily prayers regularly. Rather this is a kind of innovation in
religion for which Allaah has not given permission… As for adopting a
wird that is not prescribed in sharee'ah and dhikr that is not
prescribed in sharee'ah, this is something that is forbidden. Moreover
the du'aa's and adhkaar that are prescribed in sharee'ah are the best
and lead to achieving all aims and goals; no one turns away from them
and adopts innovated and invented adhkaar except one who is ignorant,
negligent or a wrong doer.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 22/510- 511
Fifthly:
How long should Qunoot be? Is it prescribed to make it lengthy or not?
If we study the hadeeth of al-Hasan ibn 'Ali quoted above, we will
find that the du'aa' that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) taught him is a brief and concise du'aa' that only takes a
few minutes. This indicates that what is appropriate in du'aa'
al-Qunoot is to make it brief and to stick to concise phrases.
It says inMughni al-Muhtaaj, 1/369:
It says inal-Majmoo', narrating from al-Baghawi: It is makrooh to make
Qunoot lengthy, like the first tashahhud. Al-Qaadi Husayn said: If he
makes Qunoot longer than is usual, that is makrooh. End quote.
In fact an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated that
combining the du'aa' of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and the du'aa' of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in
Qunoot comes under the heading of making it lengthy, and one should
pay attention to the people's circumstances and find out whether they
approve of that.
He said: Our companions said: It is mustahabb to combine the Qunoot of
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and that which is mentioned in
the hadeeth quoted above. If they are combined, then the more correct
way is to recite the Qunoot of 'Umar second. And if he wants to keep
it short, he should limit it to what is narrated in the hadeeth.
Rather it is mustahabb to combine the two if he is praying on his own
or if he is an imam of people who approve of making it lengthy. And
Allah knows best.
Al-Majmoo', 3/478
If combining the two du'aa's mentioned, even though they are brief, is
regarded as a kind of making it lengthy, then how about what is
mentioned in your question of making it last for twenty minutes or
thereabouts? What about those who offer du'aa' for double that time or
more, which many imams do who do not care about anything except giving
a performance in front of people, Allah forbid? People have seen
strange things of that nature nowadays.
The best approach in all of that – and Allah knows best – is to be
moderate, for the best of affairs are those that are moderate; and
Islam forbids making things difficult for people, especially if there
is a custom of doing that every night.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen was asked the following question inFataawa
'Ulama' al-Balad al-Haraam(152):
In Ramadan, some of the imams in the mosques make the du'aa' long, and
some make it short. Which is the correct way?
He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied:
The correct way is not to exaggerate or to fall short. Making it so
long that it causes hardship for the people is forbidden. When the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) heard that Mu'aadh
ibn Jabal was making the prayer very lengthy when he led his people in
prayer, he got angry in exhortation in an unprecedented manner, and he
said to Mu'aadh ibn Jabal: "O Mu'aadh, do you want to put people off
their religion?" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6106; Muslim, 465.
So what should be done is adhering to the words narrated (in hadeeth)
or one may add more to that.
Undoubtedly making it very lengthy causes hardship to people and
exhausts them, especially the weak ones among them. Among the people
are those who have work ahead of them but they do not like to leave
before the imam, although it is difficult for them to stay with the
imam. So my advice to my brother imams is to adopt a moderate
approach. By the same token, they should refrain from offering du'aa'
on occasion, so that the common folk do not think that du'aa' is
obligatory. End quote.
See also the answer to question no. 93051
Sixthly:
With regard to what you asked about reciting du'aa' al-Qunoot (in a
manner like reciting Qur'an) and beautifying the voice in it, if he
exaggerates about that and is preoccupied with it and makes it his
main concern, and he uses it as a means of attracting people's
attention to him, or he crosses the boundary between du'aa' and
exhortation or speaks as people ordinarily do, as in the case of the
person referred to in your question, and as is done by many imams who
toy with the people's worship and emotions – if the situation is as
described, then it is objectionable and is disapproved by everyone who
knows the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and is rejected by everyone who has a sound nature.
Al-Kamaal ibn al-Humaam al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
when discussing the mu'adhdhins who used to repeat the takbeers behind
the imam – in his time –
With regard to what you are accustomed to in this city, it is not
unlikely that it is wrong, because it usually involves elongating the
first syllable in the words "Allah" and "akbar", or the second
syllable in the word "akbar", and that is wrong. Even if it does not
involve that, they still raise their voices too much, more than is
needed to convey the words, and they focus too much on their
performance of tunes to show their proficiency in doing so, which has
nothing to do with carrying out the act of worship properly.
It is obvious that the purpose behind this is to impress the people.
It is as if he is saying: Look at my beautiful voice and how I come up
with nice tunes, and that is wrong. I do not think that this would
come from one who really understands the meaning of prayer and
worship!
If this is what he said concerning the mu'adhdhins, then what about
the imams who do that in the prayer itself?! It is no wonder that he
commented further and said:
Similarly, I think that coming up with nice tunes in du'aa', as some
reciters do in our times, is not done by one who understands the real
meaning of du'aa' and asking of Allah. That is no more than a kind of
playing about. If you saw someone making a request of a king and he
put on this kind of performance, with his voice rising and falling as
if singing, he would be accused of mockery and fooling about, because
the appropriate way to ask is with beseeching and humility, not
singing! End quote.
Fath al-Qadeerby Kamaal ibn al-Humaam, a Hanafi faqeeh, 2/225-226
With regard to paying attention to making the voice beautiful, without
exaggerating or pronouncing the letters differently from the correct
Arabic pronunciation, it seems that this does not come under the
heading of blameworthy singing referred to above.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about
this and he replied in detail.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked the following question, as
it says inFataawa al-Balad al-Haraam, 153:
Some imams of mosques try to soften people's hearts and move them by
changing the tone of voice sometimes during taraweeh prayer and in
du'aa' al-Qunoot, and I heard that some scholars disapprove of that.
What is your opinion of that?
His reply was:
What I think is that if this is done within shar'i limits, without
exaggerating, then there is nothing wrong with it. Hence Abu Moosa
al-Ash'ari said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him): If I had known that you were listening to my recitation, I would
have beautified it for you." If someone has a beautiful voice or
recites in a way that softens people's hearts, I do not think there is
anything wrong with that. But exaggerating with regard to that so that
he does this with every single word of the Qur'an, as mentioned in the
question – I think that this is excessive and should not be done. And
Allah knows best. End quote.
And Allah knows best.
See [in Arabic] the essaysDu'aa' al-Qunootby Shaykh Bakr ibn 'Abdullah
Abu Zayd;'Oodu ila Khayr al-Hudaby Shaykh Muhammad Ismaa'eel
al-Muqaddim.

Dought & clear, - Qunoot during salaah.

I would like to about the Qonute in Salat(raising hand after rukoo)
was that the common practice of Prophet Salalaho Alehy Wasalm or was
it exceptional as the situation arouses. Please respnod me cause Ameer
of our masjid said Prophet (pbuh) once asked which of the salat is
best He (pbuh) replied the one which has longer Qonute.
Praise be to Allaah.
Qunoot, according to the definition of the fuqaha', "is the name of a
du'aa' (supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while
standing." It is prescribed in Witr prayer after the rukoo' (bowing),
according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
If a calamity (naazilah) befalls the Muslims, it is prescribed to say
Du'aa' al- Qunoot after standing up from rukoo' in the last rak'ah of
each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allaah relieves the
Muslims of that calamity.
(SeeTasheeh al-Du'aa'by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460).
With regard to saying Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr prayer all the time, in
all circumstances, there is no saheeh report that the Prophet(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) singled out Fajr for Qunoot, or
that he always recited it in Fajr prayer. Rather what is proven is
that he(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said Du'aa'
al-Qunoot at times of calamity with words that were appropriate to the
situation. He said Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr and in other prayers,
praying against Ra'l, Dhakwaan and 'Usayyah for killing the
Qur'aan-readers whom the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had sent to them in order to teach them their religion. And it
was proven that he prayed in Fajr prayer and other prayers for the
weak and oppressed believers, that Allaah would save them from their
enemies. But he did not do that all the time. The Rightly-Guided
khaleefahs after him followed the same practice. It is better for the
imam to limit Qunoot to times of calamity, following the example of
the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as
it was proven that Abu Maalik al-Ash'ari said: "I said to my father,
'O my father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allaah(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and behind Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmaan
and 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them). Did they used to say
Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr?' He said, 'O my son, this is a
newly-invented matter.'" (Narrated by the five, apart from Abu Dawood;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inal-Irwa', 435). The best of guidance
is the guidance of Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him).
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and
peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
(al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-'Ilmiyyah wa'l-Iftaa', 7/47)
If you ask, is there a specific wording for Qunoot during Witr prayer,
or Qunoot at times of calamity?
The answer is: for Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Witr prayer a number of
wordings have been narrated, including the following:
1 – The version which the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) taught to al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased
with him), which is:
"Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa 'aafini feeman 'aafayta wa
tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a'tayta, wa qini sharra
ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda 'alayk, wa innahu laa
yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya'izzu man 'aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana
wa ta'aalayta la munji minka illa ilayk
(O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among
those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on
whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have
bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. For
verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated
whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is Your enemy.
Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. There is no place of safety from
You except with You)."
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1213; al-Nasaa'i, 1725; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inal-Irwa', 429).
It was narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say at the end of Witr:
"Allaahumma inni a'oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu'aafaatika
min 'uqoobatika wa a'oodhu bika minka, la uhsi thana'an 'alayka anta
kama athnayta 'ala nafsika(O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure
from Your wrath and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I cannot
praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself."
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1727; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inal-Irwa', 430; Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1282).
Then he should send blessings upon the Prophet(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) as it was narrated that some of the Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) – including Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Mu'aadh
al-Ansaary (may Allaah be pleased with them) – did that at the end of
Qunoot al-Witr.
(SeeTasheeh al-Du'aa'by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460).
Qunoot at times of calamity (Qunoot al-Naazilah)
When praying Qunoot at the time of calamity, one should make
supplication as is appropriate to the situation, as it was narrated
that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed
some Arab tribes who had betrayed his companions and killed them, and
he prayed for the weak and oppressed believers in Makkah, that Allaah
would save them. It was narrated that 'Umar prayed Qunoot with the
following words:
"Allaahumma inna nasta'eenuka wa nu'minu bika, wa natawakkalu 'alayka
wa nuthni 'alayka al-khayr, wa laa nakfuruka. Allaahumma iyyaaka
na'budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu, wa ilayka nas'aa wa nahfid. Narju
rahmataka wa nakhsha 'adhaabaka, inna 'adhaabaka al-jadd bil kuffaari
mulhaq. Allaahumma 'adhdhib il-kafarata ahl al-kitaab alladheena
yasuddoona 'an sabeelika
(O Allaah, verily we seek Your help, we believe in You, we put our
trust in You and we praise You and we are not ungrateful to You. O
Allaah, You alone we worship and to You we pray and prostrate, for
Your sake we strive. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment,
for Your punishment will certainly reach the disbelievers. O Allaah,
punish the infidels of the People of the Book who are preventing
others from following Your way)."
(Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 2/210; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inal-Irwa', 2/170. Al-Albaani said: This was reported from 'Umar
concerning Qunoot in Fajr, and it seems that this Qunoot is Qunoot
al-Naazilah (Qunoot at times of calamity) as is indicated by his
praying against the kuffaar).
If you ask, can we make du'aa' using words other than those mentioned here?
The answer is:
Yes, that is permissible. Al-Nawawi said inal-Majmoo'(3/497): "The
correct view which was stated definitively by the majority of scholars
is that there are no specific words, rather any du'aa' may be said."
The version narrated from 'Umar is not something that we have to
follow, and the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
not pray using these words, so there is nothing wrong with adding more
to them. Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "There
is nothing wrong with adding more to this, cursing the infidels and
sending blessings upon the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), and praying for the Muslims."
(Qiyaam Ramadaanby al-Albaani, 31).
We still have an important question which is: should Du'aa' al-Qunoot
be said before rukoo' (bowing) or after?
The answer is: Most of the ahaadeeth and the opinion of most of the
scholars state that Qunoot comes after rukoo', but if you say Qunoot
before rukoo' that is acceptable. So you have the choice of doing
rukoo' when you have finished reciting Qur'aan, then standing up and
saying "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd" then saying Qunoot… or saying Qunoot
when you have finished reciting Qur'aan, then saying "Allaahu akbar"
and bowing. Both of these were narrated in the Sunnah.
(Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him),al-Sharh al-Mumti', 4/64)
Note: The questioner says that the best of prayer is that which has
longer Qunoot. Perhaps he is referring to the hadeeth narrated by
Muslim (1257) from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him), which says
that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
best of prayer istool al-qunoot(the longest in standing)."
Al-Nawawi said: "What is meant byqunoothere is the standing,
according to the consensus of the scholars, as far as I know."
So the hadeeth is not referring to Qunoot in the sense of the du'aa'
said after standing up from rukoo', rather it is referring to standing
for a long time.
And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - She prayed naafil after Fajr and it was said to her that this puts one beyond the pale of Islam.

I often used to pray half an hour after Fajr prayer, after reading
Qur'aan, feeling that I wanted to pray to Allaah. But I got a shock
when I was talking to my friend and she said that it is not
permissible to pray after Fajr and that this puts one beyond the pale
of Islam. Is this true? How can that be when I am praying to Allaah?
Please explain that to me.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
One of the greatest acts of worship that a Muslim can do and draw
close to Allaah is prayer. The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Prayer is the best thing prescribed, so whoever
can do a great deal of it, let him do that." Narrated by al-Tabaraani
and classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Jaami'(3870).
But the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us
to offer naafil prayers at certain times. For more details please see
the answer to question no. 20013.
These times include the period from after Fajr prayer until the sun
has risen and become high, which is until approximately fifteen
minutes after sunrise.
InSaheeh Muslim(832) it is narrated that the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to 'Amr ibn 'Abasah (may Allaah
be pleased with him): "Pray Fajr, then refrain from praying until the
sun has risen and become high". The prayer that is forbidden at these
times is naafil prayer for which there is no reason, which the
scholars call al-nafl al-mutlaq (general naafil prayer), such as that
which is mentioned in the question, where a person stands and offers a
voluntary prayer to Allaah after Fajr. This kind of prayer is
disallowed (at this time).
As for prayers for which there is a reason, such as greeting the
mosque, the Sunnah prayer after wudoo', two rak'ahs following tawaaf
and so on, these may be done when the reason for them is present, even
if that is at a time when other naafil prayers are forbidden. See the
answer to question no. 306.
Secondly:
As for your friend's saying that praying at this time puts one beyond
the pale of Islam, this is not correct, and it is speaking about
Allaah without knowledge. It is not permissible for anyone to say
anything about the religion of Allaah that he does not know. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden
are Al-Fawaahish (great evil sins and every kind of unlawful sexual
intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all
kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with
Allaah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about
Allaah of which you have no knowledge"
[al-A'raaf 7:33]
So she has to repent to Allaah.
Offering naafil prayers at this time is not allowed, and the one who
does that is sinning, because he is doing something that the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade, but that
is not kufr as your friend claims.
And Allaah knows best.

Hatred in Islam, Diseases of the Soul, Islam and Hate, Human Vices, Hatred (Nafrat)

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The
kindergarten teacher told each child in the class to bring along a
plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a
name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that
a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of
people he/she hates. So when the day came, every child brought some
potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2
potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
The kindergarten teacher then told the children to carry with them the
potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for
one week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to
complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes.
Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After
1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The kindergarten teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the
potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations
and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through
having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. Then
the kindergarten teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
The kindergarten teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you
carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred
will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever
you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just
one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred
in your heart for your lifetime?"
Moral:Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you
will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best
attitude to take. "Learn to Forgive and Forget."
Remember what Allah (SWT) teaches us in Surah Al-Araf (7:199-200):
"Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the
ignorant (don't punish them). If a suggestion from Satan assails your
mind, seek refuge with Allah; surely He is Hearing, Knowing (all
things)."
In these verses of Noble Qur'an, Allah (SWT) comforts the Prophet
Muhammad (saw) and directs his mind to three Precepts:
1.To forgive injuries, insults, and persecution.
2.To continue to declare faith that was in him, and not only to that
was in him, and not only to declare it, but to act up to it in all his
dealings with friends and foes.
3.To pay no attention to ignorant fools, who raised doubts or
difficulties, hurled taunts or reproaches, or devised plots to defeat
the truth: they were to ignored and passed by, not to be engaged in
fights and fruitless controversies, or conciliated by compromises.
Of all the things we can give other people in life, forgiveness is one
of those that require the most effort. This phrase seems to make the
process of forgiving easier for me: "To bear a grudge against someone
is like burning down your house to get rid of a rat."
People say or do things often inadvertently and mostly out of personal
insecurity or ignorance. You may be just the punching bag for the day.
Maybe the other person is envious or afraid of you. Most of the time,
these people have their own demons to grapple with.
Don't let their words and actions wear you down. They can only have a
moment's effect on you. Then, depending on how you deal with the
situation, they can continue to haunt you, or vanish like ashes in the
wind.
But only you can make that decision. Discouraging and spiteful words
and actions from other people can only have the desired effect if you
want them to. Give yourself the pleasure of a free spirit.
Forgiveness is something we "give other people", but forgiveness,
really, is a gift to ourselves.
When we wreak vengeance on people whom we think have done us an
injustice, we invariably end up bitter and resentful. Worse still, if
our vindictiveness provokes retaliation, we might start a cycle of
vengeance. And when you bear hatred within your heart, what you're
essentially doing is destroying your own state of mind and potential
to be happy.
Each day yields opportunities for us to let go of or hold on to
grudges, although the severity of each situation may vary. Are you
better off holding on to them, or letting go?

Hatred in Islam, Diseases of the Soul, Islam and Hate, Human Vices, Moral Virtues and Vices

Hatred is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or
antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon, generally attributed to
a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object.
Hatred is also among the most common emotions that human's experience.
It can be based on fear of an object or past negative consequences of
dealing with that object. Hatred is often described as the opposite of
love or friendship.
Often the verb "to hate" is used casually to describe things one
merely dislikes, such as a particular style of architecture, a certain
climate, one's job, some particular food, or people who claim to hate
something when they in fact merely dislike it.
"Hatred" is also used to describe feelings of prejudice, bigotry or
condemnation against a person, or a group of people, such as racism,
and intense religious or political prejudice. The term hate crime is
used to designate crimes committed out of hatred in this sense.
Religion Islam has been accused unjustly of being a religion of hate
by those who never made a true effort to understand even the basic
teachings of Islam. We all know that ignorance is the worst enemy of
the truth, and Allah (SWT) asked us to learn the truth as there is
nothing after the truth except falsehood.
This then is Allah, your true Lord; and what is there after the truth
but error; how are you then turned back? Noble Qur'an (10:32)
Let us present the simple truth about Islam and the Noble Qur'an that
proves that Islam is not a religion of hate but rather a religion of
love, tolerance, understanding, and social justice.
Many people are not aware that Islam is the religion of Prophet
Abraham, not the religion of Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Abraham, being
the founder of Islam, with all its beautiful and peaceful teachings
and rituals, passed his religion to all the prophets who came after
him, including all the Israeli prophets, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus
and Prophet Muhammad. Those attacking Islam, out of ignorance, or
deliberately, are attacking Prophet Abraham who is their prophet as
much as the prophet of the Muslims.
Noble Qur'an explains clearly this fact,
And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving a is due to
Him; He has chosen you and has not laid upon you an hardship in
religion; the faith of your father Abraham; He named you Muslims
before and in this, that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to
you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people... Noble Qur'an
(22:78)
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright
(man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. Most surely
the nearest of people to Abraham are those who followed him and this
Prophet and those who believe and Allah is the guardian of the
believers. Noble Qur'an (3:67-68)
Then We revealed to you (O Muhammad): Follow the faith of Abraham, the
upright one, and he was not of the polytheists. Noble Qur'an (16:123)
In that simple sense, how can Islam which is the religion of Abraham
promote hate when it is the same religion passed down to the Jews and
Christians before reaching Muslims? How can the Jews and Christians
claim different standard when we are talking about the same religion
with different names but all go back to Abraham.
Noble Qur'an, the final Testament, made a special mention of the
relationship that controls the social and daily life with other people
including but not limited to Jews and Christians. In it Noble Qur'an
urges the Muslims to be loving, caring, friendly, patient, tolerant,
advocates of freedom, democracy, and social justice. Islam never
advocated hate or promoted it. People, who promote hate, do so on
their own terms and misunderstanding. By doing so they do not
represent Islam or the teachings of Islam in the scripture.
We need to remember that hate is a man made crime that we should not
blame on any religion. Any claim of hate in a religion is no more than
man made innovation that has nothing to do with God or His scripture.
Planting hate only produces hate. Planting love, will produce love.
Our God is Almighty, all loving.