For children, - Moral stories about making a difference (Starfish Story)

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We are by nature moral story tellers. Our brains are wired to tell moral stories.
Think for a moment about how many moral stories you have already told today: to your spouse or partner; to your children; to your colleagues; or to your friends. Moral stories are the currency of our lives; they are the measure of our days. We are nothing without our moral stories, because moral stories encapsulate our fears, our failures, our dreams, and our desires. We understand and make sense of our own lives by telling moral stories about ourselves and others. Moral stories are the touchstones for our emotions.
Moral stories have a way to connect and stay with us like nothing else ever could. They tap into our inner feelings and make us part of it. The reason why we remember moral stories is because they pull on our emotional strings. They make us think and they make us feel. And it's that feeling that helps us remember.
A moral story, not data or facts, shake us up and make us see other points of view through characters we can identify with. And if a story is really captivating, we continue to think about it, turning it over in our minds, savoring it. Maybe we even begin to think about things a little differently from the way we had thought about them before. Moral stories have the power to move us emotionally; stir us intellectually; and teach us, too.
The following moral stories about making a difference will never fail to inspire us, regardless of how insignificant it may seem in the eyes of others.
Once upon a time, while walking along a beach, an elderly wise man saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young boy, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.
Elderly wise man came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young boy paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean."
The elderly wise man smiled and said, "I must ask then, why are you throwing starfish back into the ocean?"
To this, the young boy replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they will die."
Upon hearing this, the elderly wise man commented, "But, young boy, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young boy listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."
We often think we are too insignificant or too unimportant to make a difference. We couldn't be further from the truth. So, can I encourage you to take the time to do something that will make a difference to someone else's life and it doesn't have to be much and they don't need to know. Just take a moment, do something special, the universe will know and that's enough.
I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do. - Helen Keller
One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something. - Henry David Thoreau

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Welcome to Islam, - * Harvesting the Chaff

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Despite the improvement of the economic conditions of workers in Europe, the socio-economic status of the woman is still critical. The woman still earns half of the salary of the man in most fields of work, if not all. If a woman wants to marry, she has to relinquish her name and the name of her father to become a subordinate to her husband even if in terms of name. In many cases, she has no right to dispose of her property except with the permission of her husband. Many readers will be astonished to know that it is the woman in many cultures who pays the dowry to the man, not vice versa -- although many Westerners nowadays do not follow this practice. Moreover, the man is not responsible for the financial maintenance of his wife.
On the other hand, Islam gave the woman her independent character and identity. She cannot be married except after her permission and consent. She does not change her name, but keeps her father's name and family name after marriage. She has the complete authority to dispose of her property without taking her husband’s permission. She does not have to support herself or her children financially even if she is rich and her husband is poor. If she spends any money, then it is considered as charity given to her husband or a debt that he has to pay back when he has the means to do so.
The status of the Western woman, who still struggles to earn her living in return for mean wages that men would not usually accept, is pathetic.
Because of the deteriorating economic and social conditions, she has become an easy prey to the middlemen of the international prostitution trade. She is also used to promote goods. We always find the photo of a charming woman in advertisements even if the advertisement has nothing to do with women.
The commercial mind thinks actively and employs a group of women in stores and offices under the supervision of a man or two men in order to regulate work and intellectually, physically and sexually dominate the women.Because of these deteriorating conditions, the woman suffers from loneliness, from which she escapes into the arms of any man, who soon gets bored with her and takes another. The woman has to take contraceptive pills early. As a result, officials in the West have found themselves obliged to teach schoolgirls how to use contraceptives. Nevertheless, there are thousands of young girls who become pregnant every year due to their inadequate knowledge about contraceptives. Therefore, mentors and officials instituted programs to teach the use of contraceptives in secondary schools, then in preparatory schools and finally in primary schools when they found that very young girls fall prey to pregnancy the most. Officials are not concerned with the spread of fornication and prostitution; rather, their concern is focused on circulating contraceptives among children.
Western laws had to legalize abortion, even if they did so reluctantly. Cases of abortion spread to the extent that a million cases of abortion take place every year in the US. About the same number of abortions takes place in Europe.
Statistics reveal that most suicide cases take place among young girls who live an anxious desperate life. For the first time in the history of medicine, collective cases of cruel battering of young children have appeared. These cases mostly end up in death or in physical and mental damage.
The woman brought all these calamities and afflictions upon herself through the misfortune of her going out of her home to work in offices and factories. Actually, we are doing the European woman an injustice, because she did not work outside her home willingly. She was forced to go outside her home to work in search of a living after the capitalists demolished the family by taking the father to the furnace of the factories and the cellars of mines. The woman, at that time, had to go out searching for provision. Hands received her and desires exploited her. In order to achieve the goals of the Jews, all means of treachery, apparent and hidden means of crime were used to demolish values and morals and increase the unending greed of the capitalists.

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Welcome to Islam, - * Islam and wife beating

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In the event of a family dispute, the Quran exhorts the husband to treat his wife kindly and not overlook her positive aspects ]Quran 4:19[. If the problem relates to the wife's behavior, her husband may exhort her and appeal for reason. In most cases, this measure is likely to be sufficient.
In cases where the problem continues, the husband may express his displeasure in another peaceful manner, by sleeping in a separate bed from hers. There are cases however, in which a wife persists in deliberate mistreatment and expresses contempt of her husband and disregard for her marital obligations.
Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure that may save the marriage, at least in some cases. Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body, but never on the face, making it more of a symbolic measure then a punitive one.
Following is the related Quranic text )which means(:"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women. Because Allaah has given the one more )strength( than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in )the husband's( absence what Allaah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them )first(, )next( do not share their beds, )and last( beat )tap( them )lightly(; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means )of annoyance(: for Allaah is Most High, Great )above you all(."]Quran 4:34[
Even here, that maximum measure is limited by the following:
1. It must be seen as a rare exception to the repeated exhortation of mutual respect, kindness and good treatment, discussed earlier.
Based on the Quran and narration, this measure may be used in the cases of lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband's reasonable requests on a consistent basis. Even then, other measures, such as exhortation, should be tried first.
2. As defined by narration, it is not permissible to strike anyone's face, cause any bodily harm, or even be harsh. What the narration qualified as light striking, was interpreted by early jurists as a )symbolic( use of Miswaak )a small natural toothbrush(! They further qualified permissible "striking" as that which leaves no mark on the body.
It is interesting that this latter fourteen-centuries-old qualifier is the criterion used in contemporary American law to separate a light and harmless tap or strike from "abuse" in the legal sense. This makes it clear that even this extreme, last resort, and "lesser of the two evils" measure that may save a marriage, does not meet the definitions of "physical abuse," "family violence, " or "wife battering" in the 20th century law in liberal democracies, where such extremes are so commonplace that they are seen as national concerns!
3. The permissibility of such symbolic expression of the seriousness of continued refraction does not imply its desirability. In several narrations, Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam )may Allaah exalt his mention( discouraged this measure. Among his sayings are the following: "Do not beat the female servants of Allaah;""Some )women( visited my family complaining about their husbands )beating them(. These )husbands( are not the best of you;" and also, "]It is a shame that[ one of you beats his wife like ]an unscrupulous person[ beats a slave and maybe he sleeps with her at the end of the day."]Riyadh Al-Saaliheen[
In another narration the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said :..."How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then he may embrace )sleep with( her?..."]Al-Bukhaari[.
4. True following of the Sunnah is to follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, who never resorted to that measure, regardless of the circumstances.
5. Islamic teachings are universal in nature. They respond to the needs and circumstances of diverse times, cultures and circumstances. Some measures may work in some cases and cultures or with certain persons but may not be effective in others. By definition, a "permissible" act is neither required, encouraged nor forbidden. In fact it may be better to spell out the extent of permissibility, such as in the issue at hand, rather than leaving it unrestricted and unqualified or ignoring it all together. In the absence of strict qualifiers, persons may interpret the matter in their own way, which can lead to excesses and real abuse.
6. Any excess, cruelty, family violence or abuse committed by any "Muslim" can never be traced, honestly, to any revelatory text )Quran or narration(. Such excesses and violations are to be blamed on the person)s( himself, as it shows that they are paying lip service to Islamic teachings and injunctions and failing to follow the true Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Why is the Prophet’s grave in his mosque even though it is forbidden to take graves as places of worship?

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The hadeeth says, “May Allaah curse the Jews, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship”. So how come the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is inside his mosque in Madeenah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars have discussed this issue, in the past and more recently, and they refuted those who quote the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is inside his mosque as evidence that it is permissible to take graves as places of worship, or to include graves in mosques. We will quote the fatwas of some of our prominent scholars, which discuss in detail the matter raised in the question.
1 – Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There is a specious argument put forward by those who worship graves, namely the fact that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is in his mosque. The answer to that is that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did not bury him in his mosque, rather they buried him in the house of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her). When al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik expanded the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at the end of the first century, he incorporated the room into the mosque, but he did wrong thereby, and some of the scholars denounced him for that, but he believed that there was nothing wrong with it for the sake of expanding the mosque.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to take that as evidence that mosques may be built over graves, or that people may be buried inside mosques, because that goes against the saheeh ahaadeeth, and because it is a means that may lead to shirk by associating the occupants of the graves in worship with Allaah. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 5/388, 389.
2 – Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on praying in a mosque in which there is a grave.
He replied:
Praying in a mosque in which there is a grave falls into two categories:
(i) Either the grave was there before the mosque, and the mosque was built over the grave. It is essential to shun this mosque and not pray therein, and the one who built it must knock it down; if he does not do so, then the Muslim authorities must knock it down.
(ii) Or the mosque was there before the grave, and the deceased was buried after the mosque was built. In the case the grave must be dug up, and the remains taken out and buried with the people (in the graveyard).
As for praying in such a mosque, it is permissible so long as the grave is not in front of the worshipper, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying in the direction of graves.
With regard to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which is incorporated into his mosque, it is well known that the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was built before his death, and was not built over his grave. It is also well known that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not buried in the mosque, rather he was buried in his house which was separate from the mosque. At the time of al-Waleed ibn ‘Abd al-Malik he wrote to his governor in Madeenah, who was ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez, in 88 AH, ordering him to dismantle the Prophet’s Mosque and add to it the rooms of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). ‘Umar gathered the prominent people and fuqaha’, and read the letter of the caliph al-Waleed to them. That caused them distress, and they said: “Leave it as it is, that is better.” And it was narrated that Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib denounced the incorporation of ‘Aa’ishah’s room into the mosque, as if he feared that the grave would be taken as a place of worship.
Umar wrote a letter to that effect to al-Waleed, and al-Waleed sent word to him ordering him to carry out his instructions, so ‘Umar had no other choice. So you see that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not placed in the mosque, and the mosque was not built over it, so there are no grounds for those who try to quote this as evidence that people may be buried inside mosques or that mosques may be built over graves.
It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May the curse of Allaah be upon the Jews and the Christians; they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” He said that as he was dying, as a warning to his ummah against doing what they did. When Umm Salamah told him of a church that she had seen in Ethiopia and the images therein, he said: “Those people, if a righteous man among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave. They are the most evil of people before Allaah.” And it was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Among the most evil of people upon whom the Hour will come when they are still alive are those who take graves as places of worship.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad with a jayyid isnaad.
The believer should not accept to follow the ways of the Jews and the Christians, or to be among the most evil of people.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 12/question no. 292
And Allaah knows best.

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Rulingsand issues about praying on a chair

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During Taraweeh prayer, some worshippers need to sit on a chair. We know that the rear legs of the chair should be placed in line with the row if the person is going sit throughout the prayer, but my question is: how should it be lined up in the following cases:
1- When the person sit on the chair during the standing only
2- When he sits on the chair during bowing, prostration or the tashahhud
3- When he sits on the chair during various parts of the prayer?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Standing, bowing and prostrating are pillars or essential parts of the prayer. Whoever can do them, it is obligatory for him to do them in the manner prescribed in sharee’ah. Whoever is not able to do them because of sickness or old age, it is Sunnah for him to sit on the ground or on a chair.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Guard strictly (five obligatory) As‑Salawaat (the prayers) especially the middle Salaah (i.e. the best prayer ‑ ‘Asr). And stand before Allaah with obedience [and do not speak to others during the Salaah (prayers)]”
[al-Baqarah 2:238]
It was narrated that ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I had haemorrhoids so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about praying. He said: “Pray standing up; if you cannot, then pray sitting down; and if you cannot, then pray (lying) on your side.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1066.
Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi said:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that if a person cannot stand then he may pray sitting down.Al-Mughni, 1/443
Al-Nawawi said:
The ummah is unanimously agreed that whoever is unable to stand during the obligatory prayer may pray sitting, and he does not have to repeat it. Our companions said: his reward will not be less than the reward for praying standing, because he is excused. It is proven inSaheeh al-Bukhaarithat the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a person is sick or travelling, the same reward will be written for him with regard to what he used to do when he was not travelling and was healthy.”
Al-Majmoo’, 4/226
Al-Shawkaani said:
The hadeeth of ‘Imraan indicates that it is permissible for one who has an excuse and cannot stand to pray sitting, and for one who has an excuse and cannot pray sitting to pray lying on his side.
Nayl al-Awtaar, 3/243
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
The Muslims are agreed that if a worshipper is unable to do some of the obligatory duties of prayer, such as standing, reciting, bowing, prostrating, covering the ‘awrah, facing the qiblah etc, then what he is unable to do is waived for him. End quote fromMajmoo’ al-Fataawa, 8/437
Based on that, if a person offers an obligatory prayer sitting when he is able to stand, his prayer is invalid.
Secondly:
It should be noted that if a person is exempted from standing, his excuse does not make it permissible for him to sit on the chair to bow and prostrate.
If he is exempted from bowing and prostrating in the proper manner, that excuse does not make it permissible for him not to stand and to sit on the chair instead.
The basic principle with regard to the obligatory duties of prayer is that whatever the worshipper can do, he is obliged to do it, and whatever he is unable to do, is waived for him.
Whoever is unable to stand, it is permissible for him to sit on a chair during the standing, and he should bow and prostrate in the proper manner. If he is able to stand but it is difficult for him to bow and prostrate, he should pray standing, then sit on the chair when bowing and prostrating, and he should bend lower for the prostration than for the bowing.
See also question no. 9307and 36738.
Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi said:
If a person is able to stand but he cannot bow or prostrate, the standing is not waived for him; he should pray standing and tilt his head for the bowing, then sit down and tilt his head for the prostration. This is the view of al-Shaafa’i…
Because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And stand before Allaah with obedience” [al-Baqarah 2:238], and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Pray standing.” And because standing is one of the pillars (essential parts of prayer) for the one who is able to do it, so he must do it, like the recitation. Being unable to do other things does not mean that this is waived, as is also the case if he is unable to recite. End quote from al-Mughni, 1/44.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The one who prays sitting on the ground or on a chair must make his prostration lower than his bowing. The Sunnah is for him to put his hands on his knees when bowing, and when prostrating the Sunnah is to put them on the ground if possible; if he cannot do that then he should put them on his knees, because it was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead – and he pointed to his nose – the two hands, the two knees, and the edges of the two feet (i.e., the toes).”
If a person is unable to do that and prays on a chair, there is nothing wrong with that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can”
[al-Taghaabaun 64:16]
and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If I tell you to do a thing, then do as much of it as you can.” Saheeh – agreed upon.
Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 12/245, 246.
Thirdly:
With regard to the placement of the chair in the row, the scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) stated that the one who prays sitting down should have his posterior in line with the row when he is sitting, so he should not be in front of the row or behind it at that point, because that is the place in which the body settles.
See Asnaa al-Mataalib, 1/222; Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj, 2/157; Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat, 1/279.
It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (6/21):
In order for a person’s following the imam to be valid, he should not stand in front of the imam according to the majority of fuqaha’ (Hanafis, Shaafaa’is and Hanbalis).
How do we know whether he is in front of the imam or not, it is judged by where the heels are. If they are standing level at the heel and the toes of the one who is praying behind the imam turn out to be in front because he has longer feet, that does not matter. With regard to those who are sitting, it is judged by where the posterior is. And with regard to those who are praying on their sides, it is judged by their sides.
If the worshipper is going to pray on the chair from the beginning of the prayer until the end, then he should make the place where he will sit level with the row.
If he is going to pray standing, but he will sit on the chair when he bows and prostrates, we asked Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak about that, and he said that what matters here is the standing position, so he should be level with the row when standing.
Based on this, the chair will be behind the row, so it should be placed in such a manner that it will not disturb worshippers in the row behind.
And Allaah knows best.

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