Shame on us

A pupil of Ali (RA) says:"Once Ali (RA) led people in Fajr Salaat. At
the end he turned his face to the right and sat there facing the
people till sunrise. He looked cast down. At last, he turned the palms
of hishands up as a gesture of regret and spoke to the people thus:
'By Allah! I have been an associate of the Sahabah (companions) of
Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam, it's a pitythat nowadays I find
men who do not resemble them in any respect. When the Sahabah (RA) got
up in the morning, they looked disheveled, pale in face and covered
with dust. During the night they would prostrate before Allah Ta'ala
or stand in devotion reciting from theHoly Qur'an. They would spend
the whole night standing. When tired theywould lean to the right
orleft for respite, shifting the weight of their bodiesfrom one leg to
the other.When they recited lines glorifying Allah, they swayed in
ecstasy, as the trees do, when the wind passes through them. Andthey
wept (for fear or loveof Allah Ta'ala) shedding tears so profusely
that their clothes would become wet. Alas! men of today, spend their
nights in utter heedlessness."
From the book "Fadhail-e-Sadaqaa Part II", Translated by Prof. Abdul Karim.
What would Ali (RA) say if he saw our condition today?

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Confused about a fatwaon the ruling on showing pictures of women’s fashions

In your fatwa on the website entitled Putting women's pictures in
women-only chat rooms to learn how to do makeup and other adornments,
it says that itis permissibleto show pictures of fashion outfits in
chat rooms with the head cut off or with the facial features blotted
out completely. I was confused by this. How canthis be permissible
when a man who goes to this page could see it? Does blotting out the
facial features cancel out the fitnah altogether? How many men have
been tempted by a woman's body even though her face is ugly! If it is
permissible, then what is the benefit of the command to wear the
abayah if the body is not asource of temptation and it is permissible
for men to look at it? Aren't all parts of the woman's body 'awrah and
don't men have to lower their gaze and not look at her? What is the
evidence for this being permissible?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We appreciate your concern and your keenness to seek good. We ask
Allah to make us and you steadfast in obedience to Him.
Secondly:
The fatwa you mention has to do with women's chat rooms. It stated
that it is haraam to publish pictures of womenon the Internet, but it
granted a concession allowing posting pictures of "outfits minus the
head, or with the facial features blotted out completely". That is
because of what was mentioned in the question, which is that it isfor
the purpose of learning and benefitting. Undoubtedly the aim of the
fatwa was to avoid fitnah and block the causes that lead to it. If the
pictures of outfits leadto fitnah, such as if they werephysical
bodies or they were provocative pictures, then the answer is that it
is also forbidden to post them.
There is no doubt that men are enjoined to lowertheir gaze and avoid
looking at women, their faces and their bodies, with no
differentiation. And there is no doubt that the woman's entire body is
'awrah as you say. But thepoint that should be noted here is that the
chat room is for women and this means will divertmany...

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Does a person who diedof cancer as a result of smoking attain the status of a martyr?

Does a person who died of cancer as a result of smoking attain the
status of a martyr?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that there are various kinds of
martyrs who will attain the status of martyrdom in the Hereafter; this
is by the grace and mercy of Allah.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "The martyrs are five: the one who dies of the plague, the one
who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is
crushed beneath a falling wall, and the martyr who is killed for the
sake of Allaah."
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn al-Teen said: All of these are deaths which involve hardship.
Allah has bestowed His grace upon the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) by making them means of erasing their sins
and increasing their rewards, and enabling them to attain the status
of martyrdom.
Fath al-Baari, 6/44
If a person dies of cancer, some of the scholars are of the view that
he is included among the typesof martyr mentioned in the hadeeth, on
the basis that the word mabtoon (the one who dies of a disease in the
abdomen) is general and includes everyone who dies of a disease in his
abdomen and that this does not apply to any one specific disease.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word mabtoon means the one with a disease in the abdomen, which is
diarrhoea. Al-Qaadi said: And it was said that he is the one who
suffers from dropsy or oedema and swelling of the abdomen. And it was
said that it refers to the one who suffers somedisease in his abdomen.
And it was said that it refers to anyone who diesfrom a disease in the
abdomen in general. End quote from Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi.
But it should be noted that this suggestion is connected to two conditions:
(i) that the site ofthe cancer be in the abdomen so
that he may truly be said to be mabtoon.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Muhsin al-'Abbaad (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
Does a person who dies ofcancer come under the heading of mabtoon?
He replied:
No, because cancer is not always in the stomach; it may be somewhere
other than the stomach.
Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood (tape no. 230)
As the site of your friend'scancer was in the throat, he is not
included among any of the groups who are regarded as martyrs.
(ii) that the disease should not have been caused by
smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol, or other haraam things,
unless he has repented sincerely from that and has given up consuming
those haraam things.
This condition is general and applies to all those mentioned in the
hadeeth. If a woman is pregnant as the result of zina and dies in
labour, she is not regarded as oneof the martyrs. If a personwho
drowned had boarded the boat or ship in order to commit sin or some
immoral activity, and dies as a result of drowning, he is not one
ofthe martyrs. A person who is killed by a falling wall when he is
committing zina or drinking alcohol is not one of the martyrs. In the
answer to question no. 45669, we have quoted the Standing Committee as
saying that a person who dies as the result of acar accident when he
was inside the car comes under the same heading as one who was killed
by a falling wall, so he is a martyr, by Allah's leave. But this
cannot be appliedto those foolish young men to whom this happens when
they are racing in their cars, or to those who compete in difficult
circumstances in the mountains or in the snow ("extreme sports").
In the answer to question no. 22140 , we quoted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah as saying that ifa person drowns after boarding a ship for
sinful purposes, he is not a martyr.
And elsewhere he said:
Whoever wants to follow a path where the possibilities of being safe
or being killed are equal has to refrain from following it; if he does
notrefrain, then he is aiding in his own destruction so he is not a
martyr.
Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/381
Al-Suyooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Qurtubi said: This and the previous one -- i.e., those who are
killed by a falling wall or drowning --if they did not take risks and
did not fail to take precautions, (then they are martyrs). But if they
did not take precautions and died as a result of that, then they are
sinners.
Al-Deebaaj 'ala Muslim (4/508)....

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Confused about a fatwaon the ruling on showing pictures of women’s fashions

In your fatwa on the website entitled Putting women's pictures in
women-only chat rooms to learn how to do makeup and other adornments,
it says that itis permissible to show pictures of fashion outfits in
chat rooms with the head cut off or with the facial features blotted
out completely. I was confused by this. How canthis be permissible
when a man who goes to this page could see it? Does blotting out the
facial features cancel out the fitnah altogether? How many men have
been tempted by a woman's body even though her face is ugly! If it is
permissible, then what is the benefit of the command to wear the
abayah if the body is not a source of temptation and it is permissible
for men to look at it? Aren't all parts of the woman's body 'awrah and
don't men have to lower their gaze and not look at her? What is the
evidence for this being permissible?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We appreciate your concern and your keenness to seek good. We ask
Allah to make us and you steadfast in obedience to Him.
Secondly:
The fatwa you mention has to do with women's chat rooms. It stated
that it is haraam to publish pictures of women on the Internet, but it
granted a concession allowing posting pictures of "outfits minus the
head, or with the facial features blotted out completely". That is
because of what was mentioned in the question, which is that it is for
the purpose of learning and benefitting. Undoubtedly the aim of the
fatwa was to avoid fitnah and block the causes that lead to it. If the
pictures of outfits leadto fitnah, such as if they were physical
bodies or they were provocative pictures, then the answer is that it
is also forbidden to post them.
There is no doubt that men are enjoined to lower their gaze and avoid
looking at women, their faces and their bodies, with no
differentiation. And there is no doubt that the woman's entire body is
'awrah as you say. But thepoint that should be noted here is that the
chat room is for women and this means will divertmany women from
looking at harmful fashion magazines, and sothey can find what they
need on these websites. But we affirm that if the pictures of fashion
outfits are done in a way that promotes fitnah, then they should not
be allowed and ways must be sought of presenting them without showing
them on bodies.
To sum up: we have to differentiate here between two things having to
do with this issue:
1. The issue of the image itself, regardless of whether it results
in fitnah or not. This is the one for which it is stipulated that the
head be cut off
2. The issue of fitnah, which must be warded offand prevented, if
it is thought most likely that itwill occur.
And Allah knows best.

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