Three imams reply to the atheists

"Is there any proof that God exists?" was asked, by an atheist, of
Imam Abu Hanifa and he replied,"Forget it! At the moment,I am busy
thinking about this ship. People tell me there is a big ship, it
contains
different goods on board. There is no one to steer it,no one
maintaining it. Yet, this ship keeps going back and forth; it even
traverses big waves on the oceans; it stops at the locations that it
is supposed to stop at; it continues in the direction that it is
supposed to head. This ship has no captain and no one planning its
trips."
The atheist who posed the question interrupted and exclaimed, "What
kind of strange and silly thought is this? How can any intelligent
person think that some thing likethis can occur?"
Imam Abu Hanifa said, "I feel sorry about your state! You cannot
imagineone ship running without some one looking after itsaffairs. Yet
you think that for this whole world, which runs exactly and precisely,
there is no one who looks after it, and no one owns it."
Hearing the reply, the atheist was left speechlessbut he found out
more about Haqq (The Truth) and proclaimed Islam.
Imam Shaa'fi replied to the question in the following way, "The leaves
of Toot (berries) are all but one. Each leaf tastes exactly the same.
Insects, honey bees, cows,goats, and deer live off of it. After eating
these the insects produce silk; bees produce honey; deer give musk (a
special kind of scent), cows and goats deliver off-springs. Is this
not clear evidence that one kind of leaf has so many qualities, and
who created these qualities? It is the Khaliq (Creator) whowe call
Allah (S.W.T.) Who is the Inventor and the Creator."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal reflected on the question in the following way.
He said, "There is an incredibly strong fort, it has no doors, there
is no way to get in. In fact, there is not even a hole init. From
outside it glows like the moon and from inside it shimmers like gold.
It is sealed from all sides, matter of fact it is air tight. Suddenly
one of its doors breaks down, a living thing with eyes andears, a
beautiful looking animal appears yelling and wandering all over. So is
not there a creator who made it possible for life to take place in
this secured and closed fort? And is not this Creator better than
humans? This Creator has no limit." Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was
referring to an egg which is closed from all sides but Allah (S.W.T.)
The Khaliq (Creator) puts life in it and a chick pops out.

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2e] How the Salaf Observed Ramadhan A Message to Every Muslim On the Occasion of this Blessed Month

2e]
so he would take his lunch along with him (to work) but donate it to
charity on the way. When he returned at night, he would break his fast
with the family and they did not know that he was fasting."
Sufyan Al-Thawri said,"The servant of Allah would do his deeds
secretly, and the devil would persist in tempting him until he
convinces himto do it openly. The devil would then continue to insist
until the person wants to be thanked for the deed. So, it will be
converted from a deed done openly to one done for showing off."
Amusement During Ramadan:
Dear brothers and sisters, Ithink I have prolonged myadmonition to you
to seizethis opportunity. I have taken some of your time, but let us
look together at a very critical phenomenon that we all fall into,
especially during Ramadan. It is the phenomenon of wasting time and
spending it in ways other than obedience to Allah. This indeed means a
lack of awareness and amounts toturning away from the Mercy and Bounty
of Allah Who says,
"But whosoever turns away from My Message, Verily for him is a life
narrowed down, and We shall raise Him up blind on the Day of Judgment.
He will say, 'My Lord, why have You raised me up blind while I had
sight (before)?' Allah will say, 'Thus did you, when our signs came
upon you, forget them; So will you be this day forgotten. And thus do
we recompense him who transgresses and believes not in the signs ofhis
Lord. And the chastisement of the Hereafter is far more grievous and
enduring." [Qur'an 20:124-127]. One feels so much pain in his heart
and is so much dismayed to find Muslim youth filling the sidewalks and
playgrounds during the most virtuous nights of Ramadan.
How so many are the sins and forbidden acts committed during the
nights of Ramadan! Yes, the Muslim must be truly concerned about the
manner in which Muslims spend their time. He must also be disturbed to
find Muslim youth spending their time in ways that arenot pleasing to
Allah. But do not worry. The path to your happiness and that ofyour
Muslim brothers is to call them to apply Islamic teachings (i.e. doing
da 'wah) and to make supplications for them. Yes, da 'wah to those
Muslims who have becomeunaware of their Islamic duties, and guiding
them to the Straight Path. Also, make supplications for them in their
absence that Allah may accept it from you and that they do not become
among those deprived of guidance./

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2d] How the Salaf Observed Ramadhan A Message to Every Muslim On the Occasion of this Blessed Month

2d]
7. Performing Umrah During Ramadan:
It has been established that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "An Umrah
performedin Ramadan is equal in reward to Hajj." [Related by AlBukhari
and Muslim). In another version the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The same
(reward) as performing Hajj with me." So, congratulations to you my
brother (who succeeds)in performing a pilgrimagewith the Prophet
(pbuh).
8. Anticipating Laylat Al-Qadr:
Allah the Almighty says,
"We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power. And
what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of
Power is better than a thousand months." [Qur'an 97:1-3).
The Prophet (pbuh) said, "He who observes laylat al-Qadr with sincere
faith and hope for the reward ofAllah will have his past sins
forgiven." [Related by AI-Bukhari and Muslim). The Prophet (pbuh) used
to look out for laylat al-Qadr and commanded his Companions also to
look out for it. He used to wake up his family members during the last
ten nights in the hope thatthey would succeed in meeting the blessed
night (in worship).
It is related in Musnad Ahmad from Ubada that the Prophet (pbuh said,
"Whoever stays awake in anticipation of laylat al-Qadr, and succeeds
in getting it, will have all of his sins both past and future
forgiven." [AlNasai reported a similar hadith, while Al-Hafidh Ibn
Hajar said that its chain meets the conditions for authenticity].
It has been reported that some of our predecessors among the
Companions and their successors took acomplete bath and used perfume
during the last ten nights (of Ramadan) inanticipation of laylat
al-Qadr, which has been highly honored by Allah.
So those of you who have wasted their time with nothing beneficial,
make up for what you have missed by observing the night of laylat
al-Qadr, as itis reckoned from your age.Good deeds undertaken in this
night are better than (the deeds of) a thousand months, and whoever is
deprived of its benefits hasindeed been much deprived.
9. Remembering Allah,Supplicating and Seeking Forgiveness
Dear brother, the days andnights of Ramadan are distinguished times,
so seize the opportunity by increasing your remembrance of Allah,
andmaking supplications, especially during the chosen periods when
they are more acceptable to Allah. These include:
*. When breaking the fast, since the fasting person'ssupplications are
not rejected.
*. The last third of the night, when our Lord descends and says, "Is
there anyone asking thatI may give;is there anyone seeking forgiveness
that I may forgive?"
*. Asking for forgiveness at dawn, as Allah says, "And in the hours of
early dawn, they (were found) praying for forgiveness." [Qur'an
51:18].
*. Looking out for the chosen hour on Friday when supplications are
answered. This hour is most likely to be the last hour of Friday
(before sunset).
Finally, dear brothers and sisters:
After this round in the garden of Paradise, under the shade of
righteous deeds, I would like to draw your attention to an important
issue. Do you know what that is? It is sincerity. Yes, sincerity. How
so many are the people who fast but benefit nothing other thanhunger
and thirst from their fast. And how so many are the people who stay
awake in worship but get nothing other than sleeplessness and fatigue.
May Allah save you and mefrom that kind of outcome.Consequently, we
find the Prophet (pbuh) stressing this matter when he said, "(Fasting)
with full faith and hoping for a reward from Allah." The Salaf
therefore used to do their righteous deeds secretly infear of falling
into showingoff.
Hence, we find this great Tabi'i, i.e. from the generation succeeding
the Companions of the Prophet, Ayyoub Al-Sakhtiyani, about whomHamad
Ibn Zayd said,"Sometimes, when studying hadith, Ayyoub would be so
moved and he would turn (away) to blow his nose. Then he would say,
'How severe this cold is! Pretending to be having a cold to hide his
weeping."
It has been reported that Muhammad Ibn Wasi' said,"I have known men
among whom there is one whose head would be placed beside that of his
wife on the same pillow, so that the part of the pillow under his
cheek would become wet from tears without his wife noticing it. I have
also known men, who while in the row for prayer, tears would pour down
their cheeks and the one next tothem would not notice it. Ayyoub
Al-Sakhtiyani used to remain awake for the entire night (in worship)
yet he would hide it. So when morning came, he raised his voice as if
he had woken up that instant.Ibn Adiy related that Dawud Ibn Abi Hind
fastedfor forty years without his family knowing about it. His
occupation was embroidery,

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2c] How the Salaf Observed Ramadhan A Message to Every Muslim On the Occasion of this Blessed Month

2c]
and the place. This is the opinion of Ahmad, Ishaq and others among
the distinguished scholars. As we indicated earlier, the actions of
otherscholars also support this view.
b) Weeping During the Recitation of the Qur'an:
It was not reported from the Salaf that they chantedthe Qur'an like
poetry without pondering and understanding (its meanings); rather,
they were moved by the Wordsof Allah, and they in turn changed the
hearts of others with it. In a hadith in AI-Bukhari, Abdullah
IbnMas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said,"The Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) said, 'Recite (the Qur'an) to me.' Then I said, 'How can I
recite to you when it was revealed to you?' The Prophet (pbuh) said,
'I like to hear it from someone else." ' Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said, "I
recited the Qur'an from Surah Al-Nisa' until I reached the verse that
says, 'How will itbe then, when We bring from every nation a witness
and bring you to witness over all of them"' [Qur'an 4:41]. The Prophet
(pbuh) said, 'That is enough.' I turned to the Prophet (pbuh) and
found his eyes flooding with tears."'
Al-Bayhaqi related from Abu Hurayrah that he said,"When the verse of
the Qur'an that says 'Do you then wonder at this recital (the Qur'an)
and you laughat it and weep not.' [Qur'an53:59-60] was revealed, the
Companions residing in the Suffah, (the courtyard of the Prophet's
mosque) wept until tears began to trickle down their cheeks." When the
Prophet (pbuh) heard theirweeping, he wept with them and his weeping
made us weep. The Messenger of Allah said, "The person who weeps
inhumility to Allah will not enter Hell."
Ibn Umar read surah Al-Mutaffifin until he reached '...the Day when
(all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds...' [Qur'an
83:6]. He wept to such an extent that he fell to the ground and could
not move on to the next verses. Furthermore, Muzahim IbnZafar related,
"Sufyan Al-Thawn lead us in maghrib prayer, and whenhe reached 'You
(Alone) do we worship and You (Alone) do we ask for help' [Qur'an
1:5], he began to weep so that his recitationwas disrupted. So he
started from Alhamdulillahagain."
It has been reported that Ibrahim Al-Ash'ath said,"One night, I heard
Fudhayl Ibn Ayadh recitingthis verse of the Qur'an, repeatedly as he
wept, 'And We shall try you until We test those among you who strive
their utmost and persevere in patience, and We shall test your facts
(whether true or false)' [Qur'an 47:31] But he kept on saying the
words of Allah, 'And We shall test your facts' , then he would say,
'And You will test our facts? If You test our facts, You will disgrace
us and expose oursecrets. Indeed if You do that, You will destroy us
and punish us,' and he would continue crying.
5. Sitting in the Mosque Until Sunrise
"When the Prophet (pbuh) prayed fajr prayer, he sat in his prayer
place until sunrise." [Related by Muslim].
At-Tirmidhi narrated from Anas that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever
prays fajr in the congregation and remains seated, remembering
Allahuntil sunrise, then performs two rak"at; it will be for him as
the reward of complete Hajj and Umrah." [Verified by Al-Albani as
sahih].
This is the reward promised for everyday, so how will it be for Ramadan?
Dear brother, may Allah protect you, have a good sleep at night to
assist youin getting this great reward. Also, emulate righteous people
and trainyour soul to strive for the pleasure of Allah. Have high
aspirations to reach the highest of the grades of Paradise.
6. Observing I'tikaf:
The Prophet (pbuh) used to observe I'tikaf during ten days of Ramadan.
But in the year of his death, hestayed in I'tikaf for twenty days.
[Related by Al- Bukhari). Thus, I'tikaf which means staying in the
mosque continuously for a certain period of time, is an act of worship
that embraces many acts of obedience to Allah, suchas reciting the
Qur'an, praying, remembering Allah, supplicating, etc.
The person who has not experienced it might think that is difficult to
bear, butit is easy for whomever Allah makes it easy. Thus, whoever
arms himself with good intentions and true determination, Allah helps
him undertake the task with ease. I'tikaf is stressed more during the
last ten days of Ramadan in anticipation of laylat al-Qadr. It is a
permissible form of seclusion as the person observing it holds himself
in seclusion out of obedience to Allah and His remembrance. He also
cutshimself off from anything that would distract him from the
observance of I'tikaf His heart is set on alldeeds that draw him
closer to Allah and the only desire he has is to do what pleases
Allah.

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