Dua, - To expect the best from Allah

Whenever we as Muslims talk about Allah we should avoid speaking in a
negative way or assigning negative attributes to Him. In the same way,
we should always have a good opinion of Allah, and this inc
A person making Dua should expect the best from Allah, and anticipate
a response from Allah, whether that response is quick in coming or
not.
Allah has mentioned in many places in the Qur'an that He is the One who answers.
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then (answer them), I am
indeed near to them. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant
when he calls on Me!" [The Qur'an: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186]
"So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered
them), 'Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he
male or female!". [The Qur'an: Surah al-Imran 3:195]
"Verily your Lord has said: "Call upon Me, and I will answer you!"
Verily, those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find
themselves in Hell - in humiliation!" [The Qur'an: Surah al-Ghafir
40:60]
"And indeed, Noah called upon Us, and We are the best of those who
answer". [The Qur'an: Surah As-Saffat 37:75]
The Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] said:
"Make Dua to Allah in a state that you are certain that your dua will
be responded to." [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim from Abu
Hurayrah, Sahih al-Jami #245]
"Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His servant
raises his hands to Him (in dua) to return them empty!" [Ahmad, Abu
Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and others, from Salman al-Farsi, Sahih al-Jami
#1757]
Allah wants to respond to the worshipper even when he has not
requested something, so imagine the situation after the worshipper has
requested something from Allah?
Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of
Allah be upon him] said: "Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, has
said, 'Whatever My servant assumes of Me, that is how I will treat
him, and I am with him when he remembers Me'". [Muslim from Abu
Hurayrah, Sahih al-Jami #8138]
So if a person expects only good from Allah, and is certain that Allah
will not destroy his hopes and desires, then Allah will fulfil his
expectations. On the other hand if he feels that he won't be responded
to, then he will be treated in the same way that he feels. Al-Shawkani
commented on this hadith: In this Hadith, Allah encourages His
servants to expect the best from Him, since He will treat them
according to their expectations. So whoever expects good from Him will
be showered with His Good, and will be shown His Beautiful
Generosity...But he who is not like that will not be treated in this
manner. And this is the meaning of the fact that Allah is with him
when he remembers Him. So it is obligatory on the slave to always
assume the best of Allah. And he should help himself to achieve this
state by always recalling the texts (of the Qur'an and Sunnah) that
show the great Mercy of Allah.
This is why the true Muslim always expects the best from Allah.
The Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] said:
"Let not any of you die except that he assumes the best from Allah".
[Muslim #2877]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Whoever reflects upon this issue deeply will
realist that having the best expectations from Allah is equivalent to
having good deeds, and doing good with one's soul. For only when a
person expects the best from Allah will he perform good deeds, since
he will expect that Allah will reward him for his deeds and accept
them. Therefore, the reason that he performed these good deeds was
because of his good expectations of Allah; so the more a person
betters his expectations from Allah, the more good deeds he does!"
[Al-Jawab al-Kafi p.23]

Dua, - Performing Wudu

Being in a state of Wudu is important to a Muslim, one requires it
when performing Salaah, the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of
Allah be upon him] used to love being in a state of wudu and some
Of the etiquettes of dua is that a person be in a state of Wudu
(Ritual purity) while making dua. This is confirmed in the Hadith of
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari in which he stated that the Prophet [May the Peace
and Blessings of Allah be upon him] after the Battle of Hunayn, called
for water, performed wudu, then raised his hands and said: "O Allah!
Forgive 'Ubayd ibn Amir!" Abu musa said, "I could see the whiteness of
his armpits" [al-Bukhari #4323 and Muslim #2498]

Dua, - Facing the Qiblah

The qiblah, being a blessed place, is a good direction to face when
making dua, this helps you focus when asking from Allah.
The Qiblah is a blessed direction to face, and through it Allah has
caused the Muslims to unite all over the world. By facing the qiblah,
a Muslim turns himself in the direction of the very first place of
worship ever built on Earth - the Ka'bah.
The proof to face the Qiblah when making dua can be found in the
following narration: Abdullah ibn Zayd said: "The Prophet left
(Madinah) to this prayer place, seeking rain. So he made a Dua, and
asked for rain, then he faced the qiblah and turned his cloak
inside-out". [al-Bukhari #6343, Muslim #894]
It has also been narrated that when the Quraysh tormented the Prophet,
he '...faced the Ka'bah and made a dua against them.' [al-Bukhari
#3960]

The biggest problemin the End of the Times: Weakness of Faith

· What should be done to overcome weakness of faith?
· What is the destructive effect of weakness of faith on today's societies?
· What are the views of Mr. Adnan Oktar about weakness of faith and
his suggestions to overcome this problem?
Almighty Allah draws attention to two main points in the Holy
Qur'an. One of them is the weakness of faith in people. Allah
explains in the Qur'an that the real spiritual disease of the
majority of the people is not believing in Allah or not appreciating
Him enough:
" If only we could have another chance then we would be among the
believers! ." There is certainly a Sign in that, yet most of them are
not believers ." (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 102-103)
The majority of the people suffer from weakness of faith, and our
Lord draws a lot of attention to the importance of faith in the
Qur'an:
" They have faith in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and
forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the
righteous ." (Surah Al 'Imran, 114)
The second point that Allah draws attention in the Qur'an is the
Union of Islam. In one verse, our Almighty Lord speaks of the
significance of the Union of Islam:
" Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do right
actions that He will make them successors in the land as He made
those before them successors, and will firmly establish for them
their religion with which He is pleased and give them, in place of
their fear, security. 'They worship Me, not associating anything
with Me.' Any who are disbelievers after that, such people are
deviators..." (An-Nur, 55)
However, some people plead ignorance of these two important points
and claim that the actual point they should be focusing on is the
commands of Islam. Yet, knowing everything there is to know about
the commands of Islam does not mean that that person has a very
strong faith. The commands of Islam include detailed descriptions
of prayers, ablution and other religious practices. However, this
information is not enough to make a person truly faithful.
It takes a very strong faith to perform religious observations with
joy and enthusiasm and solely for the pleasure of Allah and also to
enjoy the beauty of faith. A person with such a strong faith will
perform his duties with joy and will aim at Islamic Union and
communication of the signs leading to faith as much as possible.
Adnan Oktar: When we look at the Qur'an, we see that there are two
main points. One is the weakness of faith, the importance of faith,
and the second is Union of Islam. It is in every page of the
Qur'an. But many people plead ignorance of this fact. They keep on
asking me to talk about the 'commands of Islam'. Ok, let's say I'm
talking about the commands of Islam. Let me give the details of
prayer, the ablution. Will you start doing prayer when I explain
it? Many imams of the mosques, wouldn't do prayer if they weren't
paid for it; they are paid to act as an imam in the mosque. If they
are not doing it in the mosque, they mostly don't do it on their
own time. Many of those people you'd think to be religious are not
actually doing prayer. I saw it with my own eyes, I know it. For
example, a mosque imam, let's say he went on a vacation, -this is
true only for some of them, of course not all of them- he doesn't
wake up for the morning prayer, he just sleeps in. He does it in
the afternoon, he says 'he postponed it'. They are very
indifferent. Those who are listening to me at the moment must be
nodding and accepting my words at the moment. Many people you think
would be religious, even famously religious people, barely do their
prayers. But a person who enjoys the joy of faith, who has a very
deep faith almost as certain as having seen with his own eyes, will
perform prayer with enthusiasm and the sole purpose of his life will
be Islamic Union and communicating the signs leading to faith, for
Allah's pleasure. Their main goal will be that. To strengthen their
faith, miracles of the Qur'an and the miracles of Prophet Mohammed
(saas) should be communicated.(4 February 2012 A9 TV)
It was foretold in the hadiths that heresy would prevail in the end of the times
Prophet Mohammed (saas), in his hadiths about the end of the times,
speaks about the disbelief and weakness of faith of the people as
one of the biggest dangers of the time:
"THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN A PERSON WHO PERSISTS IN HOLDING ON TO
HIS FAITH WILL BE LIKE A PERSON WHO IS HOLDING FLAME IN HIS
HAND."Tirmidhî, Fitan,73; Abu Dawud, Malahim,17)
In the hadiths, it is clearly explained that the antichrist will
target faith directly, leading to a weakened faith in Muslims. Our
Prophet (saas) said that in the end of the times people will
largely lose their faith and that such disease will be the biggest
affliction in the end of the times:
Hz. Enes (r.a.) relates: "Prophet Mohammed (saas) explains: "Before
the judgment day breaks loose, there will be turmoil like the parts of
a night. (WHEN THAT HAPPENS) ONE WAKES UP AS A BELIEVER AND SLEEPS AS
AN UNBELIEVER AND SLEEPS AS A BELIEVER AND WAKES UP AS AN UNBELIEVER.
MANY PEOPLE WILL SELL THEIR RELIGION IN EXCHANGE FOR A VERY LITTLE BIT
OF WORLDLY GAIN."(Tirmizi, Fiten 30, (2196).)
People will live in such times, HOLDING ONTO ONE'S FAITH WILL BE AS
DIFFICULT AS HOLDING FLAME IN YOUR HANDS. Because in those days
believers (will be subjected to so many insults), they will be valued
less than cattle. MANY CANNOT TAKE THIS PRESSURE AND INSULTS. WEAK
ONES WILL YIELD AND TRADE THEIR RELIGION FOR A VERY LITTLE AMOUNT OF
WOLRDLY GAINS. Nights and days will bring such times, one will wake up
and loudly say: 'Who will sell their religion (faith) to us for a very
small amount of worldly pleasure?' Indeed, he will have many
answering his call:"Many will sell their religion for a very small
amount of worldly pleasure."
As can be seen in the above hadiths, our Prophet (saas) does not
mention any problems with the knowledge of people about the
commands of Islam because the current problems today in the
Islamic world, the conflicts, the suffering of people are not
happening due to lack of knowledge of commands of Islam. And it
would be very wrong for people to think that such a situation
results from a lack of education.
The soldiers that are massacring people in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon
are all Arabic people that know the Qur'an perfectly well. Many of
them were educated about the Qur'an and they have read the Qur'an.
If one wishes to learn about the Qur'an or get a copy of the
Qur'an, it is more than easy as the Qur'an is very easily accessible,
available everywhere in every language. It's even on the internet.
However, reading the Qur'an alone is not enough to make someone
believe in Allah. As first believing in Allah very strongly and then
fearing Allah as much as possible is the foundation of a strong
faith. It is stated as follows in the Qur'an:
" You will not guide blind men from their misguidance. You will not
make anyone hear except for those who have faith in Our Signs and
so are Muslims ." (Surat ar-Rum, 53)
Adnan Oktar: People are suffering in Israel, Palestine, Syria. Many
think that it's because of the lack of education. All those soldiers
killing in Syria know the Qur'an perfectly well. They've read the
Qur'an, they know it completely. They were trained in the Qur'an as
kids. So it's not about the commands of Islam. But they have no
belief in Allah. It's very easy to learn the Qur'an, get a copy of
the Qur'an. The Qur'an is everywhere. And it's in every language,
it's on internet too. But reading the Qur'an alone will not make
people gain belief in Allah. First they have to believe in Allah,
and fear Allah. In the verse, our Lord says: "You can only warn
those who act on the Reminder and fear the All-Merciful in the
Unseen." (Surah Ya Seen, 11) When a person doesn't fear Allah,
reading the Qur'an will not have any effect on him. That's why we
focus so much on the signs leading to faith and that's why we are so
influential. But the radicals don't understand it, so they are
trying to stop our efforts. However, as they try to stop us, it's
more publicity for us and we are known even more. (February 4, 2012
A9 TV)
Weakness of Faith is the Main Reason Why the Muslim Societies Are
Suffering Today
Real and sincere belief can be achieved only by being deeply
attached to Allah and following all His orders unconditionally. One
can gain all those admirable human qualities only by following the
orders of Allah. Allah in the Qur'an orders righteousness, justice,
patience, selflessness, loyalty, tenacity, obedience, modesty,
tolerance, compassion, mercy, containing one's anger and many other
superior human qualities. The Qur'an also clearly bans all immoral
acts. Living by these superior moral values means having fear of
Allah and following one's conscience because the more one fears
Allah and follows his conscience the more that person will obey the
orders of Allah. Otherwise, one cannot go on living by the
morality of the Qur'an. Even if he sometimes manages to display
some good moral values, he can completely change as soon as
something happens that will be against him. Therefore, having a
strong faith in Allah is not something very easy to get unless one
is sincere. It is explained as follows in the following verse: " The
desert Arabs say, 'We have faith.' Say: 'You do not have faith.
Say rather, "We have become Muslims," for faith has not
yet entered into your hearts. If you obey Allah and His Messenger,
He will not undervalue your actions in any way. Allah is
Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Al-Hujurat,14).
Today, the reason behind the problems of the Muslim societies is
that they don't have a sincere faith in Allah. Some of the problems
caused by weakness of faith could be listed as follows:
Weakness of Faith is the Reason Why the Muslims are Divided and do not Unite
" Allah loves those who fight in His Way in ranks like well-built
walls." (As-Saff, 4) is the order of Allah in the Qur'an, showing
that Muslims should unite. Therefore fighting against any kind of
separatism and warning Muslims of this danger is one of the most
important duties of Muslims. However, those people who suffer from
weakness of faith, and wish to mere be by-standers say ' I don't
care as long as it doesn't hurt me'. However such a state of mind is
unacceptable. As according to the Qur'an, a Muslim cannot be
indifferent to the current divided state of the Muslims, and should
not ignore the verses of the Qur'an ordering unity and should not
refrain from uniting. The people with weak faith do not really
comprehend the verses of the Qur'an, and that's why they cannot
understand that the Islamic Union is an obligation for Muslims just
like praying and fasting. They also cannot understand that division
is illegal just like eating pork or drinking wine. There is no
difference in between two different kinds of illegal actions
according to the Qur'an. If the Muslims unite, all these pains and
problems in the world will be solved immediately. Allah states the
following in a verse:
"Those who are disbelivers are the friends and protectors of one
another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the
land and great corruption. (Al-Anfal, 73)
Hostility towards the People of Book is another Outcome of Weakness of Faith
The religion with Allah is Islam. Muslims would like all people to
say "LailahailAllah Muhammeden Rasulullah" in other words they
want them to be Muslims and work for that purpose. Allah named Jews
and Christians as People of the Book in the Qur'an and gave details
as to how the relationship between the Muslims and the People of
the Book should be like. Starting with the birth of Islam, Muslims
have made the utmost efforts to love and respect the People of the
Book. After all, the People of the Book, even though parts of their
books were altered later, abide by similar moral values and
concepts with Muslims which are in essence based on revelation from
Allah.
Islam is the religion of peace, love and understanding. However,
those people who are suffering from weakness of faith represent
Islam in a bad light, both to Muslims and the People of the Book.
Islam orders us to make this world a place of 'peace and
well-being', however these people show Islam as completely the
opposite and claim that there is a conflict and war between Muslim
and members of other religions. However, Allah orders Muslims to be
very compassionate and just towards the Jews and Christians who are
called the People of the Book.
Allah ordered Muslims in many verses in the Qur'an that Muslims
should befriend the People of the Book. Allah allows Muslims in the
Qur'an to eat their food and marry a Christian or a Jewish woman.
Allah states the following in a verse:
"Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food
of those given the Book is also lawful for you and your food is
lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers and
chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have
given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking
them as lovers. But as for anyone who rejects faith, his actions will
come to nothing and in the afterlife he will be among the losers."
(Surat al-Ma'ida, 5)
Hostility Amongst the Schools and Bloodshed are the Ideas of People
with Weak Faith
One of the most indicative signs of people with weak faith is that
they want bloodshed and hostility amongst the schools. The hostility
between the Shi'a and the Sunnis stem from hatred in people's
hearts. Those people with such hatred and rage might even say that '
Alhamdulillah, I am a Sunni, masha'Allah I'm a great Muslim, now for
Allah's pleasure, I am going to slaughter all the Shi'a and I will
be rewarded for every Shi'a that I slaughter', which is completely
against the Qur'an. There are Shi'a who have the same crooked state
of mind, as well. However, these people are actually atheists,
full of hatred, looking for ways to satisfy their needs of rage and
they use Islam as an excuse, because a Muslim would never hurt any
living thing deliberately. Good, pious, religious Sunnis and Shi'a
would have never such thoughts, and they know perfectly well that
Muslims fighting each other is illegal and if they do something
like that, they will be committing a sin.
Sunnis and Shi'a should continue with their intellectual campaign
until Islamic Union is established. Of course there are different
schools and different ideas; the important thing is living with love
of Allah and engaging in an intellectual campaign so strongly that
one is ready to sacrifice his wealth and life for Allah's pleasure.
In one verse, Allah draws attention to the importance of the union
amongst Muslims and how Allah will reward them in return:
"Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate.
Remember Allah's blessing to you when you were enemies and He
joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His
blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He
rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His Signs clear to
you, so that hopefully you will be guided." (Surah Al 'Imran, 103)
Adnan Oktar: For example, many people harbor a deep hatred for Shi'a
or Sunnis; Sunnis hate Shi'a while Shi'a hate the Sunnis. Many
people have that problem. Surely, there are millions who are not
like that, but it is a fact that there are many who think along these
lines . Actually some columnists claim that there will be great
sectarian war in the Middle East, and if those people go on with
the same state of mind, the scenario is not very far-fetched. But
the Mahdi system is preventing that and it will continue to prevent
such a thing. No one can plead ignorance of that fact. So it's
wrong for some people to say 'We'll just teach them about how to
practice Islamic observances and then everything will be okay'.
Okay, then try it; there have been religious courses in elementary
schools, secondary schools. Terrorists, anarchists, they have all
received education about religion. The parents of most PKK
terrorists are actually religious people. They know about Islamic
practices, they know how to do prayer. They even mock prayer, they
try to make fun of it. It's because they know how to do it, would
they be able to have fun with it and copy its moves if they didn't
know anything about it? They know about prayer, down to its
slightest details. They know how to fast, charity, all of it. So
it's not about knowing how to practice Islam. They are Darwinists
and materialists. You can read the Qur'an to a Darwinist or a
materialist all you want, get him to memorize it, teach him the
commands of Islam, but that won't have any effect on him. But it's
very easy when a person has faith in Allah. There are no complicated,
complex practices in religion. There is nothing that would require
training a person for months on end. The rules, the practices of
Islam can be learned only in one day. All of them could be learned
by a normal person only in one day, and he can then go on to
practice Islam very easily. At the time of the companions, Prophet
Mohammed (saas) would meet the pagans and they believed in him.
They attended his lectures. After talking to him only one hour, half
an hour, they would leave to go to the battlefield, to work for
Islam. They went to Spain, to so many different places, after
Prophet Mohammed (saas) passed away. They went there with people who
had been just introduced to Islam. So new in fact, they could have
been Muslims for only one or two hours when they did those great
things. There is nothing complicated about Islam. This is why the
government should stop trying to make youngsters conservatives;
instead of that, it should put an end to Darwinist- Materialist
education and spread the signs leading to faith and reinforce
people's faith. After their faith is reinforced, a generation that
loves Allah and that fears Allah will develop. You cannot achieve
anything by conservatism. The Ottoman Empire was conservative and
they came down. Conservatism will not help you. What are you going
to conserve? Which faith? Of course, the Prime Minister cannot say
this and it's very normal for him. He can't say this in a secular
system. But as an individual, I can say it. There is no need to be a
conservative; there is the need to be a good Muslim. It is about
being a good Muslim. The 'Generation 68'. They are the real uptight
ones, they are the real conservative ones. They conserve, preserve
everything, down to the slightest details. They even listen to the
same music, the songs of those days, nothing changes, everything
stays the same, the way they walk, talk, dress, eat. Some cling on
to the conservative days of Abdülhamit and some Abdülmecit. That's
of course very wrong. What they should do is, they should be Muslims
prescribed by Islam. There is nothing complicated about
that.(February 4, 2012 A9 TV)
Hz Mahdi (a.s.), before focusing on the commands of Islam, will focus
on the signs leading to faith and by the leave of Allah, will demolish
the Darwinist-Materialist state of mind and weakness of faith :
Our Prophet Mohammed (saas) said that Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will work to
annihilate materialism, Darwinism and atheism through an
intellectual campaign based on the Qur'an, science, wisdom and
intellect.
Our Prophet Mohammed (saas) said that Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will
intellectually destroy the weakness of faith and lack of faith
through science and intellectual means:
In one hadith passed on Ebu Hureyre through Imam Muslum, Prophet
Mohammed (saas) said to his companions one day:
"… THESE WARRIORS, WHEN THEY GO TO A CITY, THEY DON'T FIGHT WITH
WEAPONS, THEY DON'T USE ARROWS. THEY JUST PRAISE ALLAH BY SAYING LA
ILAHA ILLA-LLAH, ALLAHU AKBAR. After this statement, one of the walls
of the fortresses on the two sides of the city, will come down. Then
they say it the second time. The other wall comes down. At the third
time, the walls will come down for the armies of Islam and they will
enter through these walls and conquer the city." (Imam Sharani,
Death- Judgement Day –End of the Times and the Portents of the End
of the times, p. 445-446)
Bediüzzaman also said that one of the three great duties of Hz.
Mahdi (a.s.) will be 'helping people regain their faith by completely
hushing the materialist and atheist philosophies':
One:Under the influence of science and philosophy, and the spread of
the materialist and naturalist epidemic into humanity, the first duty
[of Hazrat Mahdi (as)] is first of all to save faith as to entirely
silence philosophy and materialistic thinking.Since preserving
believers from depravity [preventing believers straying from the true
path)...(Emirdag Addendum, p. 259)
As can be understood from the hadiths of Prophet Mohammed (saas),
and the statements of Bediuzzaman, Hz. Mahdi (a.s.), by the leave
of Allah, will ensure that everyone understands Allah's existence
and His names better. He will also save people from the deceptions
created by materialism. Also with the technology improving in the
end of the times, science will advance greatly, which will prove
the existence of Allah through science. Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will tell
these truths to people in the most effective way and will achieve
worldwide results.
In a verse in the Qur'an, our Almighty Lord draws attention to
intellectually destroying the wrong ideas:
"Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right
through it and it vanishes clean away!..." (Surat al-Anbiya, 18)
As long as one has a strong faith, it's very easy for that person to
practice religion. There are no complicated or difficult practices
in religion. Islam is a very easy religion that can be understood by
anyone. One wouldn't need a long time to learn how to perform
prayers. The practices in Islam could be learned by a normal person
only in one day, and he can then go on to practice Islam very
easily. At the time of the companions, Prophet Mohammed (saas) would
meet the idolators and talk to them. And they believed in him. They
attended his lectures. After talking to Prophet Mohammed (saas) for
only one hour, half an hour, they would leave to go to the
battlefield, to work for Islam. There is nothing complicated about
Islam. This is why the government should stop trying to make
youngsters conservatives, instead of that, it should put an end to
Darwinist- Materialist education and tell of the signs leading to
faith. After the community increases their faith, a generation that
loves and fears Allah will rise and the ordeal of the Islamic world
will come to an end, by the leave of Allah.
Hz. Mahdi (a.s.), just like as stated by Bediüzzaman, will 'spread
signs leading to faith with books, documentaries' and help people
gain a sincere belief in Allah and abide by the moral values of the
Qur'an.
Darwinism and materialism are the most important factors preventing
people from gaining faith in the end of the times. Therefore,
showing the invalidity of Darwinist and materialist ideologies
through scientific methods, and telling of the signs leading to
faith, will help people gain faith in Allah, by the leave of Allah.
Signs Leading to Faith Help People Gain Faith
Signs leading to faith are one of the most important reasons
helping people gain faith. A person without faith is in deep
blindness and he cannot see the evidences of creation around him.
Due to the structure of the community he lives in, which is distant
to religion, his mind is swamped with the petty details of daily
life and his perception has weakened to a degree that he can no
longer see the innumerable miracles of creation around him. Such
a person, provided he is sincere and follows his heart, might see
the existence and oneness of Allah and His infinite knowledge and
power and that Allah created everything, living or non-living.
Signs leading to faith therefore are crucial in helping those people
who have a conscience, but who had been kept away from the truth due
to atheistic suggestions.
Drawing attention of those blinded people to the signs leading to
faith will help them see many things that they weren't aware of
before, and also help them get rid of the blindness they were
previously suffering from. Opening people's eyes to the miracles of
creation , which may have become an usual sight for them, will help
them gain a deeper understanding, awaken their conscience and
intellectually destroy the atheistic suggestions of the system of
disbelief.
The first thing that a person following his conscience will think
when he clearly sees the signs leading to faith will be 'These
cannot be the products of coincidences, they couldn't have come
about by coincidences'. They will then come to truly understand the
existence of omniscient Allah that created all these and believe in
Him. One verse states as follows:
" Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their
sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth:
'Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You!
So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire ." (Surah Al
Imran,191)
Adnan Oktar: Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will focus on signs leading to faith,
before he gets to the commands of Islam
Adnan Oktar: 'When Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) comes, he won't focus on the
commands of Islam. In other words, he won't teach people how to
take ablution, or the rules of prayer or fasting. Bediuzzaman
says Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) will focus on the signs leading to faith, the
existence and oneness of Allah. 'The most important aspect is faith.
He says that many people think that the most important thing today
is sharia and life. So many people stick to superstitions and judge
people and criticize them saying things like 'Why did you shave your
beard? Your mustache was supposed to have this shape, whatever'. Or
they go on and say that you should pray, and you should pray in
exactly this way. He doesn't believe in Allah and you are talking
about how to do prayer right. Or talking about fasting. Or another
radical goes up to a man and says to him 'What are you doing in a
mosque, you have never fasted during Ramadan'. Just ask him first,
if he has belief. Have you asked? No. Bediuzzaman says "Many people
wrongly think that the most important things are life and sharia and
therefore if Hz. Mahdi (as) lived now (if he was contemporary with
Bediuzzaman), he wouldn't be able to carry out the three duties
because it is not in line with the Adetullah. So probably he will
focus on the most important thing first and leave the others.' So
what is he going to do? He will talk about the signs leading to
faith 24/7. People will ask Hz. Mahdi (a.s.) how to do prayer, and
he will say, 'I don't have any knowledge of it.' What is he going to
say? He will focus on the signs leading to faith, believing in the
existence and oneness of Allah, His Books, His prophets, the
hereafter, heaven and hell. So he will focus on these, the basis of
faith.

The provocation of ''the film about our Prophet (saas)'' is designed to disintegrate believers

The American-produced film with a blasphemous content against Islam
and our Prophet (saas) – surely Islam and our blessed Prophet (saas)
are beyond that – has instantly dominated the world agenda. Some
people have immediately fallen into the trap of this provocative
act. They started engaging in protests, attacked embassies, and
even killed people. They accused governments, states, nations,
races and religions simply because of an ordinary film based on the
distortions produced by an ordinary person. Newspapers, in their own
eyes, disseminated "an aggressive, hate-monger image of a Muslim who
burns flags and engages in ferocious activities." A tremendous
propaganda of "Bloody Islam" has been initiated. For days,
anti-Islamists all over the world distorted these propaganda
materials as they liked and used them for their own benefits.
The provocation accomplished its goal in a short while: as a result,
an ordinary, anti-Islamic producer of a very ordinary film, which is
entirely divorced from facts and based on distortions, has become
world famous. This weird film which is composed of made-up stories
which would otherwise not be heard by anyone if these incidents
have not occurred also became well-known.
Those who, in their own eyes, strive to show Islam as a religion of
blood and vulgarity, have accomplished their stealthy intentions and
those who say "Allah is One" were set against one another.
What is astonishing is that, upon the word of an impertinent
anti-Islamic person, Muslims immediately believed that this movie
was about our blessed our Prophet (saas). This incomprehensible
assertion of an impertinent person was somehow taken seriously.
Muslims adopted this assertion simply because he told so, not
realizing the fact that they have become instrumental in spreading
this provocation. They did not understand that they were fallen into
a trap. They could not realize that the goal of this poor, ordinary
person was to become renowned and to disintegrate religions. The
fact is however, believers had to think in line with the Qur'an and
realize that they have been instrumental in making an ordinary
person accomplish his goal. They had to comprehend that they had
become instrumental in presenting an unknown person like a very
important individual.
Insult belongs to those who utter it. The producer of this movie
told himself in this movie and thus insulted himself.
There is a well-known phrase: insults always belong to the ones who
utter them. The producer of the film made a film about himself. In
his film, he described his own flawed character traits, his
distorted ideas and made all the insults to himself.
It is very striking that Muslims take such a very common person who
has fallen into the situation of hurling insults to himself so
seriously.
But why have Muslims been so rapidly provoked? There are two
reasons of it. First; ignorance and lack of knowledge. Second;
fanaticism, that is bigotry. The fact is however, lack of knowledge
is a concept that also includes bigotry, because in our day many
people assume the bigotry they experience to be Islam. They think
that being a Muslim necessitates feeling rage and spilling blood.
For this reason, they take an impertinent seriously, invade
embassies, murder people, curse countries and nations, burn flags
and continuously mention blood and rage.
These Muslims are even unaware that they, in fact, commit a sin. The
great majority of these people are driven away from the Qur'an by
bigots. The fact is, according to the Qur'an taking the soul of an
innocent soul; declaring religions, nations and races as enemies;
giving the image of hatred and fear to human beings is unlawful.
This way, these people commit sins. Remaining under the influence
of filthy indoctrinations of bigots, they believe the perverted
religion made up by them to be the true religion. However what
matters in the religion that one experiences by living by the
Qur'an is to eliminate the seeds of rage and to treat everyone of
every religion, language, race and nation with love. That is why
these people have the need to urgently try to understand the soul
and essence of the Qur'an.
The goal of the satan is driving a wedge among believers; Muslims
must not permit this to happen
Satan always tries to weaken believers and he commits this by
stirring up sources of disorder that will drive them apart. Satan
have always taken advantage from disbelievers' union, some Muslims'
harboring ill will against the People of the Book (Christians and
Jews), some of whom are described to be "sincere" in the Qur'an,
and such provocations' distancing the members of the three religions
from one another.
That is because satan is aware that union of those who say "Allah is
One" and those representatives of love will lead to an
extraordinary and invincible power in the world. Thus genuine
Muslims must think in compliance with the Qur'an and the hadith of
our Prophet (saas) and be aware of this stealthy plot of satan.
We, as Muslims, must fulfill the requirements our religion of Islam
which commands love, beauty, peace, compassion, democracy and
self-sacrifice.
- We must approach Muslims, Christians, Jews and all human
beings regardless of their religion and race, with real love.
- We must eliminate the corrupted rationale of those
provocateurs who try to plot against Islam and for this end embrace
all Muslims, Christians, Jews and those who side with love and
companionship.
- We must keep in mind that all the conflicts in the world
stem from the disunion of believers. This is related in the Qur'an
thus: Those who are disbelievers are the friends and protectors of
one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in
the land and great corruption. (Surat al-Anfal, 73)
No one can come up and say, "I have made an anti-Islamic film" or "I
have drawn a caricature against Islam" when;
- Believers declare their unity in the face of provocations,
- Good people embrace one another with love and compassion,
- When those who say "Allah is One" unite together as one and
establish a powerful unity.
These people will simply lose their power to engage in such evil
acts in the face of the powerful unity of believers and the
representatives of love. The fear that their unity and power cause
will suffice them.
The greatest revenge against provocateurs is the union of members of
all religions around the world under the umbrella of love and
peace. Establishing this unity is the most urgent duty incumbent
upon us, Muslims, for this is what Allah commands us in the Qur'an.

Hajj, - The First Ten days of Dhul Hijjah

The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are full of virtues and great
blessings. According to a large group of mufassireen (commentators of
the Qur'aan), the ten nights mentioned in Soorah Al Fajr are the
nights of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Allah says:
By the Dawn; By the ten Nights;(89:1-2)
This oath substantiates the greatness and sacredness of these ten
nights in the eyes of Allah. This is an extra ordinary oath; it is
very reliable and significant and the wise men can understand that by
this oath, Allah too attaches great importance and value to the ten
nights of Dhul Hijjah.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam too, has clearly mentioned the
importance and the virtue of these blessed moments. It is reported by
Abdullah Ibne Abbaas radhiyallahu anhuma that the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said, "No good deeds done on other days are superior
to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul Hijjah)." Thereupon,
some companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "Not
even Jihaad ? " He replied, "Not even jihaad, except that of a man who
does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allah's
sake) and does not return with any of these things."
Bukhaari V1 pp132
In another Hadeeth reported by Aboo Hurayrah radhiyallahu anhu, the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, "On no days is the worship of
Allah desired more than in the (first) ten days of Dhul Hijjah. The
fast of each of these days is equal to the fast of a whole year, and
the worship of each of these nights is equal to the worship of
Laylatul Qadr."
TirmiziV1 pp58
Moreover, what other virtue can be greater for these blessed days than
the fact that certain specific devotions cannot be performed but in
these specified days. Allah Almighty has specifically chosen these
days for the fulfilment of two of the most important devotions, viz.
Hajj and Qurbaani.
One may argue and say that there are other forms of devotions too,
which are fixed to specific days and moments; hence what is the
speciality of these particular days ? The answer to this argument is
simple. Although there are other devotions too, which are also fixed
to specific time, such as fasting in the month of Ramadhaan; but one
may, if he desires, fulfil the devotion of fasting in days other than
Ramadhaan i.e. as an optional devotion. On the contrary, the wuqoof of
Arafaat (which is the essence of Hajj), the wuqoof of Muzdalifah,
etc., cannot be performed but in these specified days.
If one was to remain in Arafaat for many months after the 9th Dhul
Hijjah, he will not receive any reward whatsoever and it will never be
considered an act of ibaadah.
Similarly, Qurbaani is performed only in three days one of which is
10th Dhul Hijjah. There is no possibility whatsoever of a nafl
Qurbaani once these days have lapsed, so much so that qazaa Hajj or
qazaa Qurbaani is not even possible. It is because of these
distinguishing characteristics that the ulamaa have stated, in the
light of Qur'aan and Hadeeth that after the days of the month of
Ramadhaan, the greatest days in virtue are the first ten days of Dhul
Hijjah.
The reward of ibaadah in these days increases abundantly and the
results are honoured with specified blessings and mercies by the
Creator.
ACTS OF VIRTUE
There are certain specific acts of virtue in these blessed days of
Dhul Hijjah which are enumerated and explained below:
1. Upon sighting the moon of Dhul Hijjah, those people intending to
perform Qurbaani should neither cut their hair nor clip their nails
until the Qurbaani is performed. This is a mustahab (desirable) act
derived from Hadeeth of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam wherein
he has said:
"A person should neither clip his nails nor cut his hair until he
performs qurbaani".
Ibne Maajah
Some ulamaa have explained the reason and wisdom behind this order of
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam thus that in this month,
hundreds of thousands of people are blessed with the opportunity of
visiting the sacred house of Allah in Makkah.
They enjoy the spiritual atmosphere of the holy places and acquire
maximum benefit from the blessed moments.
Whilst they are there in the state of ihraamcertain acts become
impermissible for them. Amongst them is clipping of nails and cutting
the hair. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam instructed those of
his followers who could not reach the blessed places, to imitate the
pilgrims by not cutting the hair and clipping the nails so that the
mercy of Allahcan enshroud them too together with the pilgrims.
2. These days are so blessed that a day's fast is equivalent to a
year's fast and a night's devotion is equivalent to the ibaadah of
Laylatul Qadr. The indication is towards the fact that we should
endeavor to perform as many virtuous acts as possible in these days.
3. 9th Dhul Hijjah is the day of Arafah in which the main fardh of
Hajj is performed i.e. wuqoof Arafah. This is a great moment for the
pilgrims when the Mercy of Allah descends upon them in abundance and
their sins are forgiven and du'aa accepted. Allah, through His
Compassion and Mercy, has not deprived the non-pilgrims of his mercy,
but rather, shown the way to His Pleasure. The Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wasallam was asked about the fast of the day of Arafah. He
said, "It compensates for the (minor) sins of the past and the coming
year."
Ibne Maajah
Note: One should take note that the sins forgiven are minor sins. The
major sins are not forgiven without tawbah.
4. The reciting of Takbeeraate Tashreeq after every fardh Salaat from
the Fajr of 9th Dhul Hijjah to the Asr of 13th Dhul Hijjah (i.e. total
of twenty three fardh Salaat). It is waajib upon men to recite this
takbeer once after every fardh Salaat audibly. The women should recite
it silently.
5. The Sunnah of Ibraahem alayhi salaam – the Qurbaani. It is to be
performed on 10th, 11th or 12th Dhul Hijjah. One may sacrifice a
thousand animals on days other than these, but it will never be
regarded or considered a Qurbaani.
Here, a believer is taught a great lesson that an action or a place or
a time does not hold any virtue in itself; but rather it is Allah's
command and order that changes the status, level and grade of things.
Regarding Qurbaani, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:
"There is nothing dearer to Allah during the days of Qurbaani than the
sacrificing of animals. The sacrificed animal shall come on the Day of
Judgement with its horn, hair, and hooves (to be weighed). The
sacrifice is accepted by Allah before the blood reaches the ground.
Therefore sacrifice with an open and happy heart."
Tirmizi V1 pp275, Ibne Maajah V1 pp226
May Allah ta'aalaa bless us with spiritual gains and His Pleasure in
these blessed moments. Aameen.

Hajj, - Common Health Issues During Hajj

RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION
People from all over the world bring with them all kinds of
infections, and the unavoidable closeness of the hundreds of thousands
of Hujjaj facilitates easy spread of those illnesses. Fatigue, and
lack of sleep from the physically demanding regimen of Hajjrites as
well as the over-enthusiastic exertions in salah and devotions, lower
one's immunity and resistance, thereby making one more vulnerable to
disease. Acute respiratory infection is very common. Epidemics of
flu-like illnesses are also very common.
The key point here is that nearly all-upper respiratory tract
ijifections (URI) are viral. They will resolve spontaneously, and
require no antibiotic treatment. Patients should seek care only if
they experience symptoms consistent with complications of URI such as
prolonged illness with purulent nasal secretion, fever, and facial
pain; isolated sore throat with fever; shortening of breath;
productive cough with fever or shortening of breath, or the subjective
feeling of a severe illness. Try symptomatic measures to minimize the
symptoms of sore throat or flu, as follows:
Drink lots of clear fluids (water, juice, Sprite).
Take acetaminophen or paracetamol to reduce pain and fever. For a
cough try an over-the-counter cough suppressant. For sore throat:
gargle with salt water; suck on ice cubes or lozenges; drink hot water
with lemon and honey. Wash your hands often. Flu is spread through the
air by coughing or sneezing. It may also spread by hand contact.
HEAT ILLNESSES
Not all types of heat illnesses are mentioned here to avoid confusion
or unnecessary details. It should be made clear, however, that heat
can present major challenges to persons making Hajj, and that they
should take such illnesses seriously.
HEAT EXHAUSTION
Commonly caused by dehydration and loss of body salts. It is
manifested by weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomitting, and
diarrhea. An increased body temperature and pulse rate may be present.
The treatment of heat exhaustion is by resting, getting out of the
heat/sun, sponging the body with water and fanning it, and
aggressively replacing fluids and salts. If not taken seriously, this
can progress to heat stroke. Patients diagnosed as suffering from heat
exhaustion should be admitted to hospital where they are covered with
large sheets of wet gauze and fans used to aid cooling. IV-fluid
should be administered and a fluid balance chart kept monitoring urine
output. Nearly all patients recover and are discharged within 24
hours. Patients must be transferred immediately to the nearest health
care center.
HEATSTROKE
In this condition the body loses its ability to regulate temperature
and the body temperature soars, often to above 106 degrees. Sweating
may or may not be present. The hallmarks of heat stroke are physical
collapse and mental deterioration ranging from confusion to coma. This
is a medical emergency and must be treated aggressively with rapid
cooling and IV-fluids if available. If not, deathor permanent damage
to the kidneys, heart, or liver may result. Emergency treatment can
consist of cooling in whatever water is available or removing
clothingand wetting/fanning the body. If able to drink, give the
victim water, or oral rehydration formula.
All patients diagnosed as suffering from heat stroke should be cooled
on the specially designed MakkahBody Cooling Unit (BCU). This achieves
rapid reduction of the body temperature by evaporation from the warm
skin; the skin temperature is kept at 30-32 C (84-90 F) to enhance
vasodilatation and increase the heat flow.
PREVENTING HEAT ILLNESS
Even marginal dehydration interferes with the body's ability to
regulate temperature. It also makes a mild diarrheal illness more
likely to become serious. In hot climates you should always consume
enough water so that you must urinate every two to three hours. If
your urine becomes dark yellow it means that you are getting
dehydrated or that you are getting jaundiced! Here are some preventive
measures that help you reduce the burden of heat:
* Don't be exposed to direct sunlight but rather use an umbrella or
other protective gadget
* Don't leave your kids is unventilated vehicles
* Drink plenty of water, even if you are not thirsty (preferably Zam-zam water)
* Keep a close watch on children to be sure they do the same
Reduce physical activities by:
* Not walking for long periods. Rather ride any available vehicle
* Trying to avoid crowded places as much as you can and not rush when
performing rites
* In case of weakness (e.g. chronically-ill patient) and if you can't
handle the crowd during stoning, it is permissible for you to go to
Mina at the end of the night to stone the Jamra before the arrival of
the crowd
* Taking enough time for rest and sleep as needed

Hajj, - Blessed places where Duas are accepted

While writing a letter to the people of Makkah, Imaam Hasan Al-Basri
(RA) advised them of the following 15 places in Makkah where duasare
accepted:
1.Inside the Baitullah
2.At Multazam
3.In Arafat
4.In Muzdalifah
5.In Mina
6.While performing Tawaf
7.While performing Sa'ee
8.At the hill of Safa
9.At the hill of Marwa
10.At the well of Zam Zam
11.At Maqam of Ibraheem
12.Under the Meezaab or aqueduct of the Ka'bah.
13.Near the big Shaytan
14.Near the middle Shaytan
15.Near the small Shaytan
In some other narrations places and instances such as Rukne- Yamani,
Mataaf (where tawaf is commenced), near Hajr Aswad and on first
sighting the Baytullah are also mentioned.

Fathwa, - Travel and Visiting Parents

Question:
Is it permissible for a woman to travel alone to visit her parents
(with her husband's permission) when the parents live beyond 48 miles
from her residence?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The majority position is that it is not permitted for women to travel
alone beyond city limits for more than 48 miles, because of the
outward purport of many hadiths of the Beloved Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings be upon him) that no woman who believes in Allah
and the Last Day should do so.
However, as the answers below detail, there is some leeway in this
according to established positions within Sunni scholarship, when
there is obvious need or recognized benefit that cannot be reasonably
fulfilled otherwise.
And Allah alone gives success.

Fathwa, - My youngest daughter is not my ex-husband's

Question:
I am a revert of 2 years. Alhamdullilah! But before I reverted I made
a lot of mistakes. I fell pregnant to a person I hardly knew. After
this fact I went back to my ex-husband and he took her as his own and
thinks of her as his daughter. At the moment she is living half a year
with him and half a year with me. She is only 4 years old. I made a
promise that I would not take her from him until the year 2007. He has
since reverted and has just married again . His new wife doesn't want
our children. My questions are, is he mahram to her? And is it haram
for her to live with him and her half siblings? I would really love to
have her with me, but taking her away from her siblings is a big
worry.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Praise be to Allah.
May the peace and blessings of Allah shower upon our beloved Messenger.
Dear Sister,
I pray this message finds you and your family in good health and spirits.
This situation is a delicate one, so I advise you to proceed with much
thought to everyone's wellbeing.
It sounds like your ex-husband knows that he is not the biological
father of your daughter, but has chosen to take her in anyway. His
attitude is most commendable.
Even though he is not your daughter's biological father, he is still
her mahram provided he had sexual intercourse with you. Thus, it is
impermissible for him to marry her and he must treat her as if she is
his daughter. [Reliance of the Traveller, m6.1]
It is not unlawful for your daughter to live with her stepfather and
half siblings. However, you mentioned the fact that he has remarried
to a woman who does not want your children. Please think of your
daughter's wellbeing. She may be far better off living with you, and
visiting her stepfather from time to time. I would definitely suggest
that she come to live with you by the time she enters puberty.
I also suggest you and your ex-husband take this case to a qualified
local scholar who can suggest an arrangement that is to the benefit of
all. Remember: your daughter's wellbeing is paramount. Since it sounds
like your ex-husband is the only father she has ever known, it may be
wise to encourage her to maintain ties with him, provided that Islamic
decorum is observed.
Please see the following related answer on stepfather-stepdaughter
relationships:
Covering in Front of Non-Muslim Stepfather
And Allah knows best.

Fiqh )Jurisprudence( Matters, - Qualities to look for in a spouse -I

Making sure that Muslims are well-matched in marriage is one of the
most important and potentially difficult functions in Muslim society.
The individual seeking marriage must have his/her priorities straight
and be clear about which characteristics are most important in a
spouse in order to have a successful marriage. There are many
characteristics that are important in a husband or a wife but some are
exceedingly more important than others. Emphasising the wrong
qualities can lead to disaster down the road just as being neglectful
of certain considerations can do likewise. When we come to understand
the goals and priorities of marriage in Islam, we may be guided to the
Islamic methodology of seeking marriage in Islam and stop blindly
following the disbelievers in their ignorant notions of the importance
of 'getting to know each other' and other such concepts which in
reality contribute nothing to and, more often, sabotage a marriage.
Prophet Muhammadtaught us in many Ahaadeeth )prophetic statements(
about the various characteristics which one looks for in a spouse and
their relative importance. Among those Ahaadeeth are the following:"A
woman is married for her religion, her wealth or her beauty. You must
go for the one with religion, may your hands be in the dust! )if you
fail to heed("]Muslim[ And also:"Choose carefully for your seed
)offspring(. Marry those who are equivalent )or 'qualified'( and give
to them in marriage."]Ibn Maajah & Others[
In the following sections, we will discuss, if Allaah wills, some of
the most important characteristics that can be found in the Quran and
the Sunnah )prophetic tradition( related to selecting a good spouse.
Religion
In the previous Hadeeth, the Prophetmentioned various characteristics
that people, by their nature and custom, look for in a spouse. He did
not advocate any of them, but merely stated them as facts of human
nature, except for the issue of Deen, i.e., a prospective spouse's
piety and practice of Islam - their fulfilling of what is mandatory
and their avoidance of what is unlawful. About this characteristic,
the Prophetsaid: "It is )incumbent( upon you to seek the one with
piety". This is an order and quite different from the general
statement at the beginning of the Hadeeth which states:"A woman is
married for..."and separates the issue of 'religion' from the other
mundane issues and puts it in a category by itself. Also, when the
Prophetsaid at the end of the Hadeeth:"…May your hands be in the
dust",invoking this negative outcome on those who disregard his order,
it can only refer to the order to seek the spouse with piety, since
that is the only order in the Hadeeth.
We must be careful not to be superficial in this issue. The mere
wearing of Hijaab )female Muslim attire( for women, or keeping a beard
and praying in the Masjid )Mosque( for men, while obvious requirements
of piety, do not by themselves guarantee it. There are many people
who, at first glance, appear to be abiding by Islam, but, upon closer
inspection, they have an altogether incorrect understanding of it.
'Umar bin Al-Khattaabonce told someone who had testified to the
goodness of a person by the fact that he had seen him in the Masjid
that he did not know him due to him not having had dealings with him
that involved money, as well as not having lived or travelled with
him.
The characteristic of piety applies to the groom just as much as to
the bride. The guardian of the woman should make this his first and
top priority, just as the man looking for a wife should make it his.
The Prophetsaid: "If someone with whose piety and character you are
satisfied comes to you, marry to him. If you do not do so, there will
be trials in the earth and a great deal of evil."]At-Tirmithi &
Others[
Character and Behaviour
In the previous Hadeeth addressed to those in charge of the marital
affairs of Muslim women and girls, the Prophetcommanded them to
facilitate their marriage when they are satisfied with two issues:
the faith of the suitor and his character.
Character is of extreme importance in Islam and goes hand in hand with
faith and piety. The Prophethas even described it as the purpose of
his mission to mankind, as we can see from the following Ahaadeeth:
"I have only been sent to complete good character."]Al-Haakim & Others[
"I am a guarantor of a house in the highest part of Paradise for one
who makes his character good."]Abu Daawood [
"Righteousness is good character."]Muslim[
"The believers with the most complete Eemaan )faith( are those with
the best character."]Abu Daawood[
In the Quran, Allaah establishes the relation of this issue to
marriage, Saying )what means(:"…Bad women are for bad men and bad men
are for bad women. And good women are for good men and good men are
for good women..."]Quran 24:26[
The word 'bad' in the above verse means filthy, unclean and
despicable. It is a very strong word. The word 'good' connotes clean
and pure as well as good.
One of the important issues of character in the mates is the quality
of intimacy. This means to be kind, loving and compassionate. The
Prophetsaid:"Marry the loving/friendly and the child-bearing, for I
shall outstrip the other nations with your numbers on
Doomsday."]Ahmad, Abu Daawood & Others[
Therefore, the prospective spouse must ask and find out about the
other person's behaviour and manners. As a sign also, one may look at
the manners and behaviour of the other person's family, for often )but
not always( the behaviour of people of the same family are similar.
In other words, some characteristics whether good or bad, tend to run
in some families such as anger, politeness, stinginess, generosity,
lying, truthfulness and so forth.
Child-Bearing
The Prophetrecommended men to marry women who are child-bearing. This
characteristic is related to some of the goals and purposes of
marriage that were mentioned earlier such as enlarging the Muslim
Ummah )community(, raising pious families as cornerstones of society,
and so forth.
The scholars mention that a man can look at a woman's female relatives
to get an idea whether she is apt to get pregnant easily and often or
not. This attribute should also apply to the man. For example, a
Muslim man who had a vasectomy before getting married would not be an
appropriate husband for a Muslim girl getting married for the first
time.
Virginity
There are many Ahaadeeth which recommend a man to marry a virgin
woman, such as:"Marry virgins for they have sweeter mouths, more
productive wombs and are more pleased with less."]At-Tabaraani[
Other narrations indicate that she is more likely to be pleased by a
man and less likely to be devious and deceiving. Jaabirmarried an
older and previously married woman, so the Prophetremarked:"Why not a
virgin? You could have played with her and she with you."
The scholars have stressed that this good attribute applies to the
husband just as it applies to the wife. One of them wrote:
"Similarly, it is preferred for a person not to marry his daughter
except to a virgin man if she has never been married before." 'Umar
bin Al-Khattaabonce heard about a woman who was married to an elderly
man, so he said: "O people! Fear Allaah and marry a man to a woman who
is similar to him and marry a woman to a man who is similar to her."
To be concluded

Fiqh )Jurisprudence( Matters, - Improper dress for women and intermingling between sexes

The greatest and most important of all the favors and blessings
bestowed by Allaah is Islaam and the honorable Islamic law, which is
derived from the Book of Allaah and the Prophetic Sunnah. This Law has
outlined all that which is beneficial for mankind in this life and the
Hereafter.
One of the virtues of this Law is that its rules and regulations have
clearly laid out preventions of all evil and immorality, and all the
roads that lead to it which is a protection of the truth and morality.
There are many issues for which this Law has laid out preventative
measures so that people will not fall into evil, for example on some
of the issues of faith, acts of worship and transactions.
However, the most obvious of all of these preventative measures are
those related to women and the limits that Allaah has defined for them
not to exceed. Islaam has clearly laid the guidelines for the Muslim
woman to adhere to so that her personality remains distinct and her
safety, purity, and good conduct are assured.
The correct dress and covering for women and the prohibition of them
intermixing with men are the two most important interconnected
preventative measures that Islaam has laid out. Muslims must submit to
the rulings which oblige women to properly cover in order to protect
their chastity and purity, maintain shyness and protect them from
being harassed or bothered, as Allaah Says )what means(:"O Prophet!
Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to
bring down over themselves ]part[ of their outer garments. That is
more suitable that they will be known ]as chaste believing women[ and
not be abused. And ever is Allaah Forgiving and Merciful"]Quran 33:
59[.
In this verse, Allaah addressed the wives of the Prophet, who were the
furthest from immorality and evil actions; they were purest and most
pious women ever and were honored by the virtue of being married to
the Prophet.
Muslims must also adhere and submit to the rulings which prohibit
intermixing mixing between men and women. There are many Islamic texts
in this regard, such as the Hadeeth which is narrated by 'Uqbah Ibn
'Aamirthat the Prophet, said:"Do not enter into the presence of
women."A man from the Ansaar then retorted: 'What about our in-laws' -
referring to the relatives of a woman's husband such as his brothers,
cousins, and their children, so the Prophet, replied:"The in-laws are
death"]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[ which means that they are more harmful to
women than death is to the soul. The previous evidence came from the
Prophet, whose words were nothing but revelation. So how could anybody
ever accept anyone else's opinion over this?
Why is it that the Prophetlined up the rows of men for prayers in the
mosque separate from the women, and described the rows, as narrated by
Abu Hurayrahby saying:"The best rows ]in the mosque[ are the first
rows, and the worst are the last, and the best rows ]in the mosque[
for women are last the rows, and the worst are the first."]Muslim[.
This affirms the obligation of separating men from women, and keeping
them far apart. If this is the way believing men and women should be
during an act of worship inside the mosque, then how much more so is
it necessary in places outside the mosques, where gatherings might
include evil and sinful people along with the good people?
The Muslim nation must not slight these texts because the evil
consequences which these texts are aiming to prevent society from
still very much exist, and there is nothing that would prevent such
evils from occurring in our time which did not exist at the time of
the Prophet
Moreover, the people whom the Prophetaddressed in these narrations
were the best generation of the Muslim nation according to his own
testimony, as was mentioned in many narrations. So, has the need for
such texts and their warnings vanished in our time? Is it not a clear
fact that in fact we need these texts and warnings even more than that
generation did? This is especially so because of the dangers of evil
in our time becoming more widespread and its means being more diverse.
It is usually the case that people honor any set of laws which they
perceive as being beneficial to them, especially when these laws
prevent evil or harm from befalling them when applied; moreover,
people do not mind if these laws include certain restrictions on their
freedom and impose penalties for those who disobey or transgress the
defined limits. Why is it the case that some of those who believe in
Allaah and His Messenger deal with Islamic Law with suspicion and
uncertainty. Some of these people even go as far as to demand that it
should be abolished, despite the fact that this Law includes all that
which is beneficial to mankind and prevents, or at least reduces, all
that which brings harm?
It is not permitted for anyone to discuss and pass judgment regarding
this issue without having the proper Islamic knowledge to be able to
do so. Nor should they base their discussion and opinion on unfounded
claims with no evidence, or simply argue on the basis of their base
desires. Rather, one should be sincere and free themselves from their
base desires which will divert them far away from the truth. In
addition, one must have a broad knowledge of Islam and possess the
ability to differentiate between authentic and weak evidences, possess
a clear understanding of the relevant evidences as well as the ability
to properly extract Islamic rulings from these evidences; only then
can a person become eligible to discuss this issue.
The outcome of what we say or write is the matter which we must fear
the most, and are extremely wary of its consequence, as the Prophet,
clarified to Mu'aath Ibn Jabalafter he had asked with astonishment:
"Will we be held responsible for all that we say?" The Prophet,
replied:"What do you think makes people land on their faces or noses
into the Hellfire more than the product of their tongues?"]Ahmad, Abu
Daawood & At-Tirmithi[.

Fiqh )Jurisprudence( Matters, - Associating partners withAllaah )Shirk( -I

First: Major Shik
One of the most important things Muslims must know and pay attention
to is the issue of Shirk )Associating partners with Allaah in
worship(, its seriousness and its different types, so that our Tawheed
)belief in the Oneness of Allaah( and our Islam may be complete, and
our faith may be sound.
The word Shirk in Arabic means taking a partner, i.e., regarding
someone as the partner of another. It is used in Arabic when one
wishes to express that he regards two people as equal in status; or
that two people are involved in it.
In terms of Sharee'ha or Islamic terminology, Shirk means ascribing a
partner or rival to Allaah in Lordship )Ruboobiyyah(, worship
)Uloohiyyah( or in His Names and Attributes.
A rival is a peer or counterpart. Hence Allaah forbids setting up
rivals with Him and He condemns those who take them )rivals( as gods
instead of or besides Allaah in many verses of the Quran. Allaah Says
)what means(:"Then do not set up rivals to Allaah )in worship( while
you know )that He Alone has the right to be worshipped(."]Quran 2:222[
And )what means(:"And they set up rivals to Allaah, to mislead
)people( from His path! Say )O Muhammad, to the polytheists(: 'Enjoy
)your brief life(! But certainly, your destination is the
Fire!'"]Quran 14:30[
Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alahyi wa sallam said: "Whoever dies
claiming that Allaah has a rival, will enter Hell." ]Al-Bukhaari[
The types of Shirk:
The texts of the Quran and Sunnah )narrations of the Prophets
sallallaahu alahyi wa sallam( indicate that Shirk sometimes puts a
person beyond the pale of Islam and sometimes does not. Hence, the
scholars divided Shirk into two types: major Shirk and minor Shirk.
Following is a brief description of each type:
1 – Major Shirk
This means ascribing to someone other than Allaah something that
belongs only to Allaah, such as Lordship )Ruboobiyyah(, Worship
)Uloohiyyah( and the Divine Names or Attributes )Al-Asmaa'
Was-Sifaat(.
This kind of Shirk may sometimes be outwardly, such as the Shirk of
those who worship idols and graves, or the dead or even living people.
Other times, it may be hidden, such as those who put their trust in
other than Allaah, or the Shirk of the hypocrites. For even though
their )hypocrites'( Shirk puts them beyond the pale of Islam and means
that they will abide forever in Hell, it is a hidden Shirk, because
they make an outward display of Islam and conceal their disbelief and
Shirk, so they are inwardly Polytheists but not outwardly.
Shirk in the form of beliefs, such as:
- The belief that there is someone else who creates, gives life and
death, reigns or controls the affairs of the universe along with
Allaah.
- The belief that there is someone else who must be obeyed absolutely
besides Allaah.
- Associating others with Allaah in love and veneration, by loving a
created being as loving Allaah. This is the kind of Shirk that Allaah
does not forgive, and it is the Shirk about which Allaah Says )what
means(:
"And of mankind are some who take )for worship( others besides Allaah
as rivals. They love them as they love Allaah."]Quran 2:165[
- The belief that there are those who know the Unseen that only Allaah
Knows. This is very common among some of the deviant sects.
- The belief that there is someone who bestows mercy in a manner that
is befitting only for Allaah, so he shows mercy as Allaah does and
forgives sins and overlooks the bad deeds of his 'worshippers'.
Shirk in the form of words:
Such as those who supplicate to someone other than Allaah, or seek his
help or seek refuge with him with regard to matters over which no one
has control except Allaah, whether the person called upon is a
Prophet, a Wali )righteous person(, an angel or a jinn, or some other
created being. This is a kind of major Shirk which puts one beyond the
pale of Islam.
Also, those who make fun of religion or who liken Allaah to His
creation, or say that there is another creator, provider or controller
besides Allaah are included in this type of Shirk. All of these fall
under major Shirk and are grave sins that are not forgiven.
Shirk in the form of actions:
Such as one who sacrifices, prays or prostrates to something other
than Allaah, or who promulgates laws to replace the rulings of Allaah
and makes such laws the reference which people are obliged to refer to
for judgement; or one who supports the disbelievers and helps them
against the believers, and other acts that go against the basic
meaning of faith and put the one who does them beyond the pale of
Islam.

Dought & clear, - Is it permissible to mention the faults of the Muslims in the presence of people of the Book?

Is it permissible to mention the faults of the Muslims in the presence
of people of the Book?
Praise be to Allah.
I know that a Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim and the enemy
of the disbeliever. But if a Muslim seems to have a bad attitude and
mistreats people, and a disbeliever is the opposite of that, the
Muslim is more entitled to be spoken of well and treated well in all
circumstances.
Allah, may He be exalted, and His Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) have enjoined taking the believers as friends and
opposing the disbelievers in many texts in the Book of Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, and the Sunnah of His Messenger (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him), let alone the words of the scholars
and their unanimous agreement on that. Part of their 'aqeedah (belief)
is taking the believers as friends and opposing the disbelievers.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Awliya'
(friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Awliya' to one
another. And if any amongst you takes them as Awliya', then surely he
is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the
Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust)"
[al-Maa'idah 5:51]
"Verily, your Wali (Protector or Helper) is Allah, His Messenger, and
the believers, - those who perform As-Salat (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and
give Zakaah, and they bow down (submit themselves with obedience to
Allah in prayer).
And whosoever takes Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed,
as Protectors, then the party of Allah will be the victorious.
O you who believe! Take not for Awliya' (protectors and helpers) those
who take your religion for a mockery and fun from among those who
received the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before you, nor from
among the disbelievers; and fear Allah if you indeed are true
believers"
[al-Maa'idah 5:55-57].
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Qur'an calls us to take the believers as friends and to oppose the
disbelievers wherever they are and however they are.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 1/297
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his
religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they
will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the
disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the
blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on
whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs,
All-Knower"
[al-Maa'idah 5:54].
Shaykh as-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The (believers) are very humble when dealing with other believers,
meaning that they love them, are sincere, soft, gentle, compassionate,
merciful and easygoing towards them. But the way they should behave
towards those who disbelieve in Allah and reject His revelations and
His Messengers, is to be stern towards them. The believers are all
united in opposing them and they strive hard in every way to prevail
over them. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):"severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves"
[al-Fath 48:27]. Sternness towards the enemies of Allah is something
that brings a person closer to Him, as he is aware of the wrath of
Allah towards them. However, this sternness should not prevent us
calling them to Islam in a gentle way. In both cases, that serves
their best interests and they will benefit from it.
End quote fromTafseer as-Sa'di, p. 235
Muslim (2564) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not envy one
another, do not artificially inflate prices, do not hate one another,
do not turn away from one another, do not undercut one another. Be, O
slaves of Allaah, brothers. The Muslim is the brother of his
fellow-Muslim. He does not wrong him, let him down or despise him.
Piety (taqwa) is here" – and he pointed to his chest three times. "It
is sufficient evil for a man to despise his Muslim brother. The whole
of a Muslim is sacred to another Muslim, his blood, his wealth and his
honour."
Al-Bukhaari (6011) and Muslim (2586) narrated that an-Nu 'maan ibn
Basheer said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon) said:"The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, mercy
and compassion is that of the body; when one part of it is in pain,
the rest of the body joins it in restlessness and fever."
What the Muslim must do is show care towards his Muslim brother, help
him, meet his needs and conceal his mistakes. If he makes a mistake or
commits a sin, he should offer him sincere advice, enjoin him to do
what is good and forbid him to do what is evil, and he should not
leave him to his shaytaan or his nafs (self) that is inclined towards
evil. If he commits a sin, major or minor, he should not disavow him
or fail to show him the friendship and care that are his Islamic duty;
rather he should disavow his wrongdoing, sin and enmity, whilst
maintaining the basic principle of friendship and love because of the
faith he has. If he gives up his sin and mistake, he should restore
the ties of friendship and support, according to the situation.
With regard to the disbeliever, a Muslim has nothing to do with him
because of his false religion and his being far away from the straight
path of Allah. What comparison can there be between him and a
believer, even if the latter falls short and is negligent?
With regard to speaking ill of his Muslim brother and putting him down
in front of a disbeliever, whether he is of the people of the Book or
otherwise, this is bad manners and is often indicative of a problem
with one's own 'aqeedah. Many Muslims are enchanted by non-Muslims,
because of what they appear outwardly to be, then if they see from
another Muslim something that they dislike, they criticize him for his
shortcomings and think that an non-Muslim is better than him.
But what is enjoined is for the Muslims to conceal one another's
faults, so how can one Muslim strive to expose another in front of the
enemies of the Muslims, whether they are the people of the Book or
otherwise? How can he give the enemies the opportunity to rejoice in
the misfortunes of his fellow believer, or show them his faults and
shortcomings? Rather Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
If a teacher says to the children, "The Jews are much better than the
Muslims, because they give their children's teacher his rights," he
has become a disbeliever!
End quote fromRawdat at-Taalibeen, 10/69
In fact this is the expected outcome of mentioning the bad deeds and
faults of the Muslims in front of the enemies of Allah among the
disbelievers. It ends up with the one who says that preferring the
disbelievers over the Muslims, especially when he starts to compare
them; what usually happens is that he reduces all characteristics to
one, which he exaggerates to the exclusion of others and bases his
judgement of people on that one characteristic.
The wise person should beware of helping (an enemy) against his
brother or being a fitnah to the disbelievers by mentioning the faults
of the Muslims in front of them, because by doing so he is barring
them from the religion of Allah and turning them away from it.
And Allah knows best.

** Dought & clear, - Description of Eid prayer

** What is the description of the Eid prayer?
Praise be to Allaah.
The Eid prayer is one where the imam attends and leads the people in
praying two rak'ahs. 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The
prayer of al-Fitr is two rak'ahs and the prayer of al-Adha is two
rak'ahs, complete and not shortened, on the tongue of your Prophet,
and the one who fabricates lies is doomed." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i,
1420 and Ibn Khuzaymah. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh
al-Nasaa'i.
It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed said: The Messenger of Allaah SAWS
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to come out on the
day of al-Fitr and al-Adha to the prayer place, and the first thing he
would do was to offer the prayer. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 956
In the first rak'ah he should say Takbeerat al-ihraam (say "Allaahu
akbar" to start the prayer), after which he should say six or seven
more takbeers, because of the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her), "The takbeer of al-Fitr and al-Adha is seven
takbeers in the first rak'ah and five takbeers in the second, apart
from the takbeer of rukoo'." Narrated by Abu Dawood and classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani inIrwa' al-Ghaleel, 639.
Then he should recite al-Faatihah, and recite Soorat Qaf in the first
rak'ah. In the second rak'ah he should stand up saying takbeer, and
when he has stood up completely he should say takbeer five times, and
recite Soorat al-Faatihah then Soorat al-Qamr. The Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite these two soorahs
during the two Eids. Or if he wishes he can recite Soorat al-A'la in
the first rak'ah and Soorat al-Ghaashiyah in the second, because it
was narrated that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to recite al-A'la and al-Ghaashiyah in the Eid prayer.
The imam should revive the Sunnah be reciting these soorahs so that
the Muslims will become familiar with the Sunnah.
After the prayer, the imam should address the people. Part of the
khutbah should be addressed specifically to the women, telling them of
the things that they should do and warning them against the things
that they should avoid, as the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) used to do.
SeeFataawa Arkaan al-Islamby Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him), p. 398;Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah,
8/300-316).
The prayer comes before the khutbah
One of the rulings of Eid is that the prayer comes before the khutbah,
because of the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allaah who said, The
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out on the day
of al-Fitr and started with the prayer before the khutbah. Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 958; Muslim, 885.
Another indication that the khutbah comes after the prayer is the
hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The
Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
come out to the prayer place on the day of al-Fitr and al-Adha, and
the first thing he would start with was the prayer, then he would go
and stand facing the people, while the people were sitting in their
rows, and he would preach to them and advise them and command them.
If he wanted to send out a military expedition he would do so and if
he wanted to tell the people to do something he would do so, then he
would leave.
Abu Sa'eed said: The people continued to do that until I went out with
Marwaan – who was the governor of Madeenah – on Eid al-Adha or Eid
al-Fitr, and when we came to the prayer-place, there was a minbar that
had been built by Katheer ibn al-Salt. When Marwaan wanted to ascend
it before he prayed, I grabbed his garment and he pushed me away and
climbed up and delivered the khutbah before the prayer. I said, "You
have changed it by Allaah."
He said, "O Abu Sa'eed, what you knew has gone."
I said, "What I know, by Allaah, is better than what I do not know."
He said, "The people will not sit and listen to us after the prayer,
so we did it before the prayer." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 956.