Should he respond to non-Muslims when they wish him a Happy New Year?.

Is it permissible for me to say to non-Muslims “And the same to you” when they wish me a Happy New Year or say Best Wishes?. Praise be to Allaah. It is not permissible to greet or congratulate the kuffaar on the occasion of Christmas, New Year or any of their other holidays, and it is not permissible to respond to them when they greet us on those occasions, because they are not festivals that are prescribed in our religion, and returning their greeting is an affirmation and approval of them. The Muslim should be proud of his religion and its rulings, and he should be keen to call others and convey to them the religion of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on greeting the kuffaar on the occasion of Christmas and how we should respond when they greet us on this occasion. Is it permissible to go to the parties that they hold onthis occasion? Is a person sinning if he does any of the things mentioned without intending to, and he only does it to be nice, or because of or shyness or embarrassment or other reasons? Is it permissible to imitate them in that? He replied: Greeting the kuffaar on the occasion of Christmas or any of their other religious holidays is haraam according to scholarly consensus, as was stated by Ibn al-Qayyim in his book Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah,where he says: "Congratulating the kuffaar on the rituals that belong only to themis haraam by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival,’ and so on. If theone who says this has been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden. It is likecongratulating someonefor prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and so on. Many of thosewho have no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do not realize the offensivenessof their actions. Whoever congratulates aperson for his disobedience or bid’ah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah." End quote. Congratulating the kuffaar on their religious festivals is haraam to the extent described by Ibn al-Qayyim because it implies that one accepts or approves of their rituals of kufr, even if one would not accept those things for oneself. But the Muslim should not accept the rituals of kufr or congratulate anyone else for them, because Allaah does not accept any of that at all, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): "If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes notdisbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you. . [al-Zumar 39:7] ". . . This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion . . [al-Maa’idah 5:3] So congratulating them is forbidden, whether they are one’s colleagues at work or otherwise. If they greet us on the occasion of their festivals, we should not respond, because these are not our festivals, andbecause they are not festivals which are acceptable to Allaah. These festivals are innovations in their religions, and even those which may have been prescribed formerly have been abrogated by the religion of Islaam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the whole of mankind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85] It is haraam for a Muslim to accept invitations on such occasions, because this is worse than congratulating them as it implies taking part in their celebrations. Similarly, Muslims are forbidden to imitate the kuffaar by having parties on such occasions, or exchanging gifts, or giving out sweets or food, or taking time off work, etc., because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:"Whoever imitates a people is one of them." Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah said in his book Iqtidaa’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem Mukhaalifat Ashaab al-Jaheem: "Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that oneis pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to humiliateand mislead the weak End quote from Majmoo’Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 3/44. And Allaah knows best.

Advice to a sister who is going to get married.

Please advise me. I am a girl who is going to get married, and I want some advice. How should I start my new life in a way that will please Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and so that Allah will bless this marriage?. Praise be to Allaah. We ask Allah to make you steadfast and to cause your marriage to go ahead in a manner that He loves and is pleased with. Our advice to you is to fear Allah in secret and openly, and strive to please Him, may He be exalted, avoid that which incurs His wrath, turn to Him, put your trust in Him, seek His help, and seek His pleasure by pleasing your husband. Imam Ahmad (18524) narrated from al-Husayn ibn Mihsan that a paternal aunt of his came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) concerning some need of hers, and when her need was met, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do you have a husband?” She said: Yes. He said: “How are you with him?” She said:I do not fall short in serving him and pleasing him, except that which is beyond me. He said: “Watch howyou are with him, for he is your paradise and your hell.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 1509 So start your life with your husband by hastening to obey him, and responding to his requests and needs so long as that does not involve any disobedience towards Allah, may He be exalted. Let cooperation in obeying Allah be one of the aims of your marriage. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up atnight and prays, and he wakes up his wife, and ifshe refuses (to get up) he sprinkles water in herface. And may Allah havemercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and she wakes up her husband, and if he refuses (to get up) she sprinkles water in his face.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1308; classed assaheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood Pay attention to the way you dress and adorn yourself; always appear in front of him inthe best way he likes to see you, and you should not stop smiling when you are in his sight. Let cleanliness be your concern; do not let him see the house except in a tidy and clean state, and do not let him smell anything but pleasant fragrances. You should also pay attention to what kinds of food he likes. The man usually comes homefrom work exhausted and he likes to find joy and happiness in his home that will compensate him for his tiredness and exhaustion. That can only be achieved with good management on the part of a righteous woman, who welcomes him warmly and show that she is happy to see him. If he gets angry someday, then hasten to please him, even if you think that you were not in the wrong. Thus you will deserve to be one ofthe women of Paradise. See what he likes and doit, and see what he dislikes and avoid it, so long as that is in accordance with the laws and religion of Allah. Do not argue and debatewith him too much, because that is blameworthy and that does not lead to anything good. If you see him committing a sin, then object to it in a kind andgentle manner, with wise words and reminding him of Allah. If he annoys or harms you, bear it with patience and do not hasten to complain to any of your family members or relatives, because disclosing the secrets of the household and talking about problems to others are things that will upset thehusband and provoke conflict. Pay attention to his parents and sisters, for this comes under the heading of kindness thatbrings a woman closer to her husband. We will conclude with a reminder of the words of the Prophet (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him): “If a woman prays her five (daily prayers), fasts her month(Ramadan), guards her chastity and obeys her husband, it will be said to her: Enter Paradise through whichever of the gates of Paradise you wish.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad, 1664, from‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with her); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 660. We ask Allah to bless youboth and bring you together in goodness.

Dought & clear - , There is no stipulation that Jumu‘ah prayer should be offeredin a masjid or jaami‘.

One of my acquaintence comented that, Juma is only valid in a place where all five daily prayers are being offered in congregation. Praise be to Allaah. There is no stipulation that Jumu‘ah prayer should be offered in a masjid or jaami‘ according to the majority of fuqaha’ of the Hanafi, Shaafa‘i and Hanbali madhhabs, unlike the Maalikis. It says in al-Bahr al-Raa’iq (2/162), which is a Hanafi book: The words “and general permission” mean: The condition of it being valid is that it should be done in the usual manner. So, for example,if a ruler were to close the gates of the fortress and lead his family and troops in offering Jumu‘ah prayer, that is not valid. This is what it says in al-Khulaasah. In al-Muheet it says that if he opens the gate of his palace and gives the people permission to enter, it is valid althoughit is makrooh, because he did not fulfil the rightof the Jaami‘ mosque. End quote. It says in Tarh al-Tathreeb (3/190): Our view (i.e., the Shaafa‘i madhhab) is that establishing Jumu‘ah is not only to be done in the mosque; rather it may be performed in an ordinary building. If they do it in a place other than a mosque, the one who enters that place should not pray during the khutbah, because there is no “greeting” (2-rak‘ah prayer upon entering) for it. End quote. It says in al-Insaaf (2/378), which is a Hanbali book: With regard to the words “it is permissible to performit in various buildings or buildings that are on theedge of the wilderness”, this is the view of our madhhab and it is the view of most of the scholars of the madhhab, many of whom stated it definitively. And it was said that it is not permissible to perform itanywhere except in the jaami‘. End quote. With regard to the Maalikis, they stipulated that it must be performed in the jaami‘, as stated above. Khaleel al-Maaliki said concerning the conditions of Jumu‘ah: [It should be] in a jaami‘ that is built separately. In al-Taaj wa’l-Ikleel (2/520) it says: “In the jaami‘.” Ibn Basheer said: The jaami ‘ is one of the conditions of offering this prayer. Ibn Rushd said: It is not validto establish Jumu‘ah except in a designated mosque. Al-Baaji said: One of the conditions is a mosque that is built specifically for that purpose in the usual style of mosques. End quote. To sum up: Jumu‘ah prayer in the place mentioned is valid according to the majority of scholars, if it is not possible to allocate a specific place for the Muslims to pray and if they cannot go to the nearest mosque or Islamic centre in which Jumu‘ah prayer is offered. And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear - , If there is snow or rain, does that make it permissible to miss Jumu‘ah?.

Did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) ever miss the Jummaa prayer because of bad weather.the weather which is meant is about 20cm of snow. Praise be to Allaah. Firstly: There is no report in the Sunnah that the Prophet(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not pray Jumu‘ah because of rain or snow;rather he did not pray it when travelling. Secondly: It is permissible to not pray Jumu‘ah and prayers in congregation in the event of heavy rain, cold wind or snow which is bothersome to people and makes it difficult for them to go to Jumu‘ah, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (901) and Muslim, according to which Ibn ‘Abbaas (ra) said to his muezzin on a rainy day: When you say Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah, do not say, Hayya ‘ala al-salaah (come to prayer); rather say, Sallu fi buyootikum (pray in your houses). It was as if the people found that objectionable. He said: One who is better than me did that. Jumu‘ah is obligatory, but I did not want to force you to walk in the mud and on slippery ground. [al-Nawawi] said: This hadeeth indicates that Jumu‘ah may be waived because of rain and the like. This is our view andthe view of others. Something different wasnarrated from Maalik (may Allah have mercy on him). And Allaah knows best which is correct. End quote. The Hanbalis regarded snow as one of the reasons that make it permissible not to go to Jumu‘ah or prayers in congregation. Its says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘ (1/495): Attendance at Jumu‘ah or prayers in congregation may be waived in the event of rain, mud, snow, ice or acold wind on a dark night, because of the words of Ibn ‘Umar: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would ask his callerto call out on a cold or rainy night when travelling: Pray where you are. Agreed upon. It was also narrated from Ibn Maajah with a saheeh isnaad, but he did not say “when travelling.” In al-Saheehayn it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that he said to his muezzin on a rainy day -- Muslim added thatit was a Friday -- … and he narrated the hadeethquoted above. And the same applies to snow, ice and cold. This confirms that cold wind on a dark night is an excuse, because it is likely that it will rain. End quote. It is well known that many people are not bothered by snow and itdoes not prevent them from going to work and meeting other needs. For these people, snow is no excuse for them not to attend Jumu‘ah. But if it bothers them and makes it very hard for them to get to the mosque, then it is an excuse. And Allah knows best.