For children, - Sincerity (Ikhlas) in Islam: Shaitan and the Pious Worshipper(Sincere Worship and Faith)

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In the tribe of Bani Israel, there once lived a pious worshipper. One day, the people informed him that at a certain location, there existed a tree that was being worshipped by a tribe. When he heard this, the man flew into a rage, picked up his axe and set out to cut down the tree.
Shaitan, appearing before him in the form of an old man, asked, "Where are you headed for?" Pious worshipper replied, "I intend to cut down the tree, which is being worshipped so that the people worship Allah (SWT) instead."
"Hold yourself till you hear what I have to say," said Shaitan to him.
The pious worshipper urged him to carry on. Shaitan continued, "Allah (SWT) has His own Prophets and if it had been essential to cut down the tree, He would have sent them to perform the task."
However, the pious worshipper did not agree with Shaitan and continued on his way.
"There is no way I shall let you do it," said Shaitan angrily, and he began to wrestle with the pious worshipper. In the ensuing contest, the pious worshipper hurled Shaitan onto the ground.
"Wait! I have something else to say to you", pleaded Shaitan.
"Listen! You are a poor man. If you could possess some wealth by means of which you could give alms to the other worshippers it would be much better than cutting the tree. If you refrain from cutting the tree, I shall place two dinars beneath your pillow everyday."
The pious worshipper said thoughtfully, "If you speak the truth, I shall give one dinar in charity while the other dinar I shall put to my use. This is better than cutting down the tree; in any case, I have neither been ordered to perform this task nor am I a Prophet to burden myself with unnecessary grief and anxiety."
Thus, pious worshipper acceded to the request of Shaitan who left him alone. For two days, he received the two dinars and utilized them, but on the third day, there was no sign of the dinars. Upset and distressed, he picked up his axe and set out to cut down the tree.
On the way, pious worshipper encountered Shaitan, who asked him: "Where are you headed for?"
"I am going to cut that tree." Replied pious worshipper
"There is no way you are going to do it," said Shaitan
Once again they began to contest, but this time Shaitan overcame him and hurling him to the ground, ordered, "Turn back or I shall sever your head from your body."
The pious worshipper said, "Leave me alone and I shall return, but tell me, how was it that I had managed to overcome you on the previous occasion?"
Shaitan answered, "On that occasion, you had set out only for Allah (SWT) and you were sincere in your intention as a result of which, Allah (SWT) subjugated me for you, but this time you were angry for your own self and for your dinars and so I could overpower you."
He (the Shaitan) said, 'By Your Glory, I shall seduce all of them (children of Adam) except Your sincere servants among them'. Noble Qur'an (38:82-3)
Lesson to learn from this Real Life Story, Sincere Worship and Faith:
Before any action we take, we must be clear in our minds that the action is in accordance with the commands of Allah (SWT). This can be done by constant thinking and true understanding of the aim of our life. We have to understand what Allah (SWT) really wants from us.
Say. Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Noble Qur'an (6:162)

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * Her nifaas (postpartum bleeding) continued for nine months and she did not pray during that time

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My friend continued to bleed following childbirth (nifaas) for nine months, and she did not pray during that time except rarely. What should she do now?
If we say that the maximum length of nifaas is 60 days, then she still has six months of prayers to make up. How can she make them up?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We have previously discussed the difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the maximum length of nifaas; the most correct view is that it is forty days. See the answer to question no. 10488.
Secondly:
With regard to the bleeding that occurs after the period of nifaas has ended, if it comes at the usual time of the menstrual period, then it is menses and the woman should not pray or fast or have intercourse with her husband at that time, until her monthly period has ended, as is well known.
If it occurs at a time other than the usual time of the menstrual period, then it is istihaadah (non-menstrual bleeding) and in this case she should fast and pray, and her husband may have intercourse with her. But she has to do wudoo’ for each obligatory prayer after the time for it begins, then with that wudoo’ she may offer whatever naafil prayers she wishes.
For more information please see the answer to question no. 106464
Thirdly:
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed concerning the case of a woman suffering istihaadah if she refrains from praying out of ignorance: does she have to make up the prayers that she omitted? There are two opinions:
1. That she has to make up the prayers.
2. That she does not have to make up the prayers. This is the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If the woman who is suffering istihaadah did not pray for some time because she thought that it was not obligatory for her to pray, there are two opinions as to whether it is obligatory for her to make up the prayers. One opinion is that she does not have to make them up – as was narrated from Maalik and others – because when the woman who was suffering from istihaadah said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “I have been bleeding heavily for some time and it prevents me from praying and fasting,” he told her what she should do in the future, and he did not tell her to make up the prayers of the past. End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 21/102
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is best if you pray what you omitted during the early days, but if you do not do that there is nothing wrong with it, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told the woman who was suffering from istihaadah and who said that she was suffering heavy bleeding during which she did not pray to count her menses as six or seven days and to pray the rest of the month, but he did not tell her to make up the prayers that she had omitted. If she does make up the prayers that she missed, this is good, because it may be that she was heedless in not asking, but if she does not make them up there is no sin on her. End quote fromMajmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 11/276
To be on the safe side, your friend should make up the prayers that she missed as much as she is able to. So every day she should make up whatever she can of the prayers that she omitted during this time, because it seems that there was a kind of heedlessness on her part as she did not ask even though the time during which she did not pray was lengthy, and usually one does not stop praying for so long. Moreover, she used to pray sometimes, which indicates that perhaps she knew that she should be praying.
And Allah knows best.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * She stopped praying when she was sick, then she died; do her heirs have to do anything?

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My mother died, and she owed two months’ prayers because of cancer; she was intending to make them up. She also owes the fast of the Ramadan before the last, when she was healthy. My question is: what is the correct action with regard to her acts of worship? Please note that I have sisters; can we cooperate to make up these acts of worship (on her behalf)? Will the reward of Hajj reach her (if it is done on her behalf), because she did not do Hajj?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
Prayer is one of the greatest pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith). What the Muslim must do is always offer the prayers regularly and on time; this duty is not waived so long as he is of sound mind.
For more information, please see the answer to question no. 95220.
Secondly:
You did not say whether your mother had become unconscious and thus was not aware of anything, or not. However it appears from your question that she was of sound mind at the time of her illness, based on the fact that she intended to make up those prayers. In general, the one who does not pray in the case of illness must come under one of the following two scenarios:
1. He stopped praying when he was sick because he had lost his mind or lost consciousness. In this case he does not have to do anything, in sha Allah, and he is not obliged to make up the prayers when he recovers after that.
2. He stopped praying when he was sick but was still of sound mind; but he stopped praying because he thought that prayer was not obligatory for him in that situation. In this case, perhaps Allah will pardon him because of his ignorance, although what the individual is required to do is to learn what he must know of his religion.
In either case, the prayers are not to be made up on his behalf if he dies after that.
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah(25/257):
If your father was unconscious at the time of his illness and did not understand anything, then the obligation of prayer was waived in his case, and he is not accountable when he is in this state. The condition of being accountable for prayer is that the individual should be of sound mind (and not unconscious), and that was not the case here. But if he was not unconscious and was of sound mind, but he did not pray because he was unaware that it is obligatory for people in his situation to pray according to what they are able to do, then perhaps Allah will pardon him and excuse him because he was unaware of that, and because there was no one who could explain the shar‘i ruling to him before he died – may Allah have mercy on him and forgive him. In either case, it is not permissible for you to offer any of the prayers on your father’s behalf, because one cannot pray on behalf of anyone else. The basic ruling is that prayer cannot be delegated to another person. End quote.
Thirdly:
With regard to making up the fasts, if she did not make them up with no excuse, then it is mustahabb for you to fast on her behalf, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1952) and Muslim (1935) from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If anyone dies still owing fasts, let his heir fast on his behalf.”
For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 130283and 130647
It is permissible for making up of the fasts on behalf of the deceased to be done by one heir for all of the days, or it may be done by a number of heirs.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Question: If we follow the more correct opinion, which is that fasting includes that which is obligatory because of basic Islamic teachings and that which is obligatory because of a vow (nadhr), does that mean that this (making up the fasts of behalf of the deceased) is to be done by one of the heirs only, because fasting was obligatory upon one person only?
Answer: It does not mean that, because the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “let his heir fast on his behalf” include all the heirs. So if we assume that a man has fifteen sons, and each of them wants to fast two out of thirty days, that is acceptable. If there are thirty heirs and each of them fasts one day, that is acceptable, because they will have fasted thirty days. It makes no difference whether they fast on one day, or one fasts on one day, then the second one fasts on the next day, (and so on) until they have completed thirty days.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti‘(6/452)
Fourthly:
If a person performs Hajj or ‘Umrah on behalf of his parents, and he has performed Hajj on his own behalf before that, then the reward of that Hajj or ‘Umrah will reach his parents, and that action on the part of the son will be a kind of honouring and kindness towards his parents.
Muslim (1939) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah that his father (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whilst I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a woman came to him and said: I gave a slave woman in charity to my mother, who has now died. He said: “Your reward is due; you may take (the slave woman) back by virtue of your inheritance.” She said: O Messenger of Allah, she owes one month’s fast; can I fast on her behalf? He said: “Fast on her behalf.” She said: She never did Hajj; can I do Hajj on her behalf? He said: “Do Hajj on her behalf.”
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah(25/257): With regard to your doing Hajj and ‘umrah on behalf of your father, that is part of honouring him and showing kindness to him. And if you give charity on his behalf from time to time, and you offer supplication for him, pray for forgiveness for him, uphold ties of kinship with his relatives, and treat his friends kindly, then that is a way of honouring your father after his death, and you will have a great reward, in sha Allah, for whatever you spend for that purpose.
And Allah knows best.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * She used to pray but she was not aware of the obligation of ghusl after menses

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We would like you to tell us the ruling on a girl who reached the age of puberty but was not aware that it is obligatory to do ghusl after menses in order to be able to pray. She used to pray without realising that it was obligatory to do ghusl, until after that she found out about that ruling. What is the ruling on her past prayers, and does she have to make up those prayers now, after learning about ghusl?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The Muslim is obliged to learn those rulings of sharee‘ah that he needs to know and cannot do without, such as the rulings on purification, prayer and so on, and before all of that he needs to know about the Oneness of Allah (Tawheed), even if that is in general terms, and to know that which nullifies Tawheed and faith, so that he will worship Allah, may He be exalted, on the basis of knowledge.
Fathers and mothers must teach their children what they need to know of Islamic rulings, including the purification and prayer.
This is one of the rights that children have over their parents.
Secondly:
If a person is unaware of the rulings on purification, and he prays with invalid purification out of ignorance on his part, then there is no sin on him and he does not have to make up those prayers that he offered with imperfect purification.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Based on that, if a person does not purify himself as he is obliged to because the text did not reach him, such as if he eats camel meat and does not do wudoo’ after that, then the text reaches him and it becomes clear to him that wudoo’ is required in this case, or he prays in the camel pens, then the text reaches him and the ruling becomes clear to him, does he have to repeat his past prayers? There are two scholarly opinions, both of which were narrated from Ahmad.
A similar case is if he touches his penis then prays, then it becomes clear to him that it is obligatory to do wudoo’ after touching one’s penis.
The correct view in all these cases is that he does not have to repeat the prayers, because Allah pardons things done by mistake or because of forgetting, and because He says (interpretation of the meaning):“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)” [al-Isra’ 17:15].
If the command of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) concerning a particular matter did not reach a person, then the ruling that it is obligatory was not proven in his case. Hence in the case of ‘Umar and ‘Ammaar, when they became junub and ‘Umar did not pray whilst ‘Ammaar did pray after rolling in the dust, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct either of them to repeat the prayer. Similarly, he did not instruct Abu Dharr to repeat the prayer when he used to become junub and remained for several days without praying. And he did not instruct the Companion who ate until he could clearly distinguish the white thread from the black thread to make up the fast. And he did not instruct those who prayed facing towards Jerusalem before news reached them that this ruling (of facing Jerusalem when praying) had been abrogated to make up those prayers.
A similar case is that of the woman who was suffering from istihaadah (irregular, non-menstrual bleeding) and did not pray for a while because she thought that prayer was not obligatory in her case. There are two scholarly views as to whether she is obliged to make up the prayers. The first view is that she is not required to do so – as was narrated from Maalik and others – because when the woman who was suffering from istihaadah said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): I bleed very heavily and that has kept me from praying and fasting, he told her what she had to do in the future, but he did not instruct her to make up prayers from the past.
It is proven to me through the mutawaatir reports that among women and men in the desert and elsewhere there are those who reach the age of puberty and are not aware that prayer is obligatory for them. In fact, if a woman is told to pray, she says, Not until I am older and become an old woman! – thinking that prayer is only obligatory for old women and the like. Among the followers of the shaykhs (i.e., Sufis) there are many groups who do not know that prayer is obligatory for them. In these cases they are not required to make up the missed prayers, according to the correct opinion.
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa(21/101, 102)
And Allah knows best.

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