Fathwa, - Reconciling between twodefinitions of Islam

Question
assalamu alaykum My Question: On the one hand we have the definition
of islam from shaykh muhammad ibn abdilwahhab)Rahimahullaah( in usul
al thalatha: ,,Islam is submission to Allah through Tawhid, obedience
to His command, and disavowalof Shirk and its people." And on the
other hand, the prophet sall-llaahu alaihi wa sallam said in the
hadith of jibreel:,,Islam is that you witness that there is no god but
Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and you establish
the prayer, and you give the Zakat, and you fast Ramadan, and you
perform the hajj of the House if you are able to take a way to it."
how is that to understand? please give me a detailed answer. Shukran!
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His Slave and Messenger.
We can reconcile between the two mattersby saying that the definition
ofShaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wahhaabin his book Al-Usool
Ath-Thalaathah)Three Fundamental Principles( is about Islam in general
which is the comprehensive religion of Islam, Eemaan )faith(, and
Ihsaan )perfection and excellence of worship( while the Hadeeth is
about Islam in its particular meaning. Therefore, he said after the
stated definition: "There are three degrees of Islam, which are:
Islam,Eemaan and Ihsaan. Each of them has its certain pillars."
Nevertheless, the definition ofShaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wahhaabis
derived from what was mentioned in the stated Hadeeth and that
ofJibreel)Gabriel(. That is because whoever bears witness that there
is none worthyof worship besides Allaahhas disassociated himself from
Shirk )polytheism(, submitted himself to Tawheed )monotheism(, and
whoever fulfills the remaining pillars such as prayer and the like has
submitted himself to obedience.
It was stated in Sharh At-Tahaawiyyah byIbn Jibreen: "The meaning of
Islam according to Sharee'ah terminology is very close to its
linguistic meaning.Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wahhaab,defined it at
the beginning of Al-Usool saying:"Islam is to submit to Allaah by
affirming that He is One, and to surrender to Him by obeying Him and
disavowing Shirk and its people.That is the meaning of Islam which is
very close to its linguistic meaning whichis submission and surrender.
As for its meaning according to Sharee'ah terminology, nothing is
clearer than the definition which the Prophet, gave by naming these
five pillars because they are the bestproof for one's submission,
surrender and commitment, for whoever adheres firmly to those pillars,
he will surrender to his Lord andwill not disobey Him and he will do
them with clear submissiveness as if he is led by reins."Allaah Knows
best.

Fathwa, - Son's obligation to provide for his mother

Question
Assalamu alaykum, Dear Sheikh, My mother is living with my sister as
it is the tradition in our community. My mother is not willing to give
the inheritance share that belongs to me and is planning to give to my
sister. I had been providing monthly expenses to my mother. Is it
obligatory in Islam for me to give monthly expenses to my mother since
she did not give my right and is living with my sister who is well
off?.When my wife met with an accident, my mother did not lend any
help to us although I have two kids and we were suffering. There were
conflict between my wifeand mother prior to the accident. Considering
all this, please advise if it is obligatory to continue to provide
monthly expenses for my mother.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His Slave and Messenger.
If your mother is in need,then you are obligated toprovide for her.
Providing for her is not obligatory on you only; rather, it is
obligatory on every rich one of her children according to his/her
ability as we havepointed out in Fatwa 90246.
If the mother is not in need, then providing for her is not
obligatory, but treating her kindly is Islamically required in all
cases. However if you provide for her, even if she is not in need for
that, you will gain her pleasure and avoid her evil. Moreover, this
actually entails great goodness in this world and the Hereafter. The
Prophet, said: "The pleasure of the Lord is in the pleasure of the
parent and the anger of the Lord is in the anger of the
parent."]At-Tirmithi[
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 92093.
As for what you have stated that she wants to prevent you from
pursuing your inheritance, then if you mean that she has bequeathed to
deny you the right to inherit, then it is an invalid will that should
not be carried out. But if she wants to distribute her estate in her
lifetime as a gift for her children, and she is completely sane and
not terminally ill, then it is permissible for her to do so on
condition that justice should be observed among them, i.e. it is not
permissible toprefer some of them overothers for no legitimate excuse.
For more benefit, kindly refer to Fataawa 124046, 159237and 94685.
As for the conflict between your mother and your wife, then this form
of conflict occurs frequently. Actually, if thetwo spouses adopt a
wiseapproach, they will be able to get over that problem and find a
suitable solution for it. It is incumbent upon the husband not to
favor his mother over his wife or vice versa. Rather, he should give
each her due.

Fathwa, - Brothers have no right todeny their sister the rightto inherit

Question
A father left behind wife, two sons and a daughter.He had by Hibah
gave his farm land to both sons without giving anything to daughter.
Further he put big house and other commercial land in name of his
wife. He also left big cash in his account. both sons being elder to
the daughter, they did not discuss about inheritance for last 8 years.
She was under good impression that both being religious minds, will
not deprive her of Allah gifted rights on fathers property. Can father
avoid his only daughter from the Hibah and can brothers depriveher of
her of inheritance rights?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His Slave and Messenger.
What that father has done of giving a gift to his sons and denying his
daughter is an injustice in gift-giving which is not permissible. It
was obligatory upon him to treat his sons and daughters fairly when it
comes to gift-giving.
However, as long as that father passed away, then that gift is valid
and takes effect by his death and cannot be annulled unless the two
sons seek to achieve justice in that gift and that would indeed be a
good thing. Zaad Al-Mustaqni' )a Hanbali book( reads: "It is
obligatory to treat children justly in gift-giving according to their
shares of inheritance. However, if some of them are given more or
less, then the parent has to fulfill justice either by annulling the
gift or by increasing the share of those who were given less than
their fair share, but if he/she died before doing that, then it )that
gift( takes effect." ]End quote[
As for the two sons who denied that daughter theright to inherit from
her father, then they have noright to do that; rather, her share is
confirmed bythe Book of Allaah The Almighty and no one has the right
to deny her thatright.
Finally, please take note that the big house which that man registered
in his wife's name should be reconsidered. If she had owned and
possessed it from him before his death, then it is a valid gift that
should be fulfilled. But if she did not possess it before his death
and he only registered it in her name so that she would take it after
his death, then it is an invalid will unless all the heirs agree to it
willingly.
Allaah Knows best.

Contentment is Bliss

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaastraveled to Makkah after he had become blind. Upon
his arrival the people hastened to him and kept on asking him to make
supplication for them, and he did, as Allaah always accepted his
supplication. 'Abdullaah ibn As-Saa'ibsaid, "I came to him when I was
still a young boy and became acquainted with him, so he knew me and
said to me, 'Are you the one whorecites the Quran for the people of
Makkah?' I replied, 'Yes.' Then I asked him, 'You supplicate to Allaah
for all the people, so why do you not supplicate to Allaah for
yourself so thatHe would cure you?' He smiled, and said, 'O son! The
decree of Allaah is better for me than my sight.'"
This is the satisfaction that the Companionsadjusted themselves to,
and the decree of Allaah The Almighty became more beloved to them than
their desires, and sothey loved nothing more than what Allaah the
Almighty had decreed. 'Umar ibn 'Abd Al-'Azeezsaid, "I do not want
anything except what Allaah The Almighty decrees." What confirms the
importance of this satisfaction is that the Prophetwould ask Allaah
The Almighty to grant him satisfaction with His decree, and it is
well-known that the Prophetonly asked Allaah The Almighty for the
highest ranks. Satisfaction is sincerely giving precedence to all that
Allaah The Almighty has ordained, without being hesitant or objecting.
This is exactly what the righteous predecessors sought and strived
for. They were fully content in matters pertaining to their fate and
what Allaah The Almighty had inscribed in the Preserved Slate and
never desired anything contrary to what He had decreed for them.
However, as for matters of religion that pertain toHis orders or
prohibitions, one must always progress and aspire to what is better.
The righteous predecessorswould advise each other to be satisfied and
get used to it as they knew its high rank. 'Umar )Al-Faarooq(wrote to
Abu Moosa Al-Ash'arisaying, "All that is good lies in satisfaction. If
you are able to be satisfied, please do so, otherwise, be patient."
Luqmaanwould advise his son, saying, "I advise you to be endowed with
certaincharacteristics that would bring you closer toAllaah The
Almighty and would keep you away from His dissatisfaction: to worship
Allaah The Almighty Alone without associating any other deity with
Him, and to besatisfied with His decree in anything that you like or
dislike." The one who adjusts himself to this would lead a good life
as distress and worries would not reach his heart. Indeed, how could
that be when Allaah The Almighty has become pleased with him, and
hewith Allaah? Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Whoever does
righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We
will surely cause him to live a good life,{]Quran 16:97[ Some of the
righteous predecessorsinterpreted "good life" asa life of satisfaction
and contentment.
Once, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaabbecame angry with his wife 'Aatikahand said
to her, "By Allaah, I will upset you." She said, "Canyou drive me away
from Islam after Allaah The Almighty has guided me to it?" He replied,
"No." She then said, "Then howcan you upset me?" She meant by that
that she was satisfied with the decree of Allaah The Almighty, and
that nothing could have brought her distress except being driven away
from Islam, and there is no way 'Umarcould ever have done that.
There are three conditions for being trulysatisfied with Allaah The Almighty:
First: Being content at times of both blessings and afflictions alike,
as one believes that Allaah the Almighty chooses what is best for him.
This is what happened with some of the righteous predecessorsas they
were patient and satisfied when they wereafflicted with hardship. When
Sulaymaan ibn Al-Ghaaziwent to condole 'Umar ibn 'Abd Al-'Azeezupon
the death of his son, 'Abd Al-Malik, 'Umarsaid to him, "I seek
Allaah's refuge from wanting something that is contrary to what He
likes,as this does not change the affliction and His good treatment of
me." Itwas narrated on the authority of Ibraaheem An-Nakhaa'ithat
UmmAl-Aswad was paralyzed and her daughter grieved, so she told her
"Do not be sad. O Allaah, if this is something good then please
increase it."
Second: Abandoning disputes unless they are related to any of the
rights of Allaah The Almighty or His Prophet. Having conflict with
others for the sake of one's desires drives satisfaction away,
disturbs its purity and alters its sweetness.
Third: Refraining from continually asking of people. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}An ignorant]person[ would think them
self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by
their]characteristic[ sign. They do not ask people persistently ]or at
all[. And whatever you spend of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of
it.{]Quran 2:273[
Regarding this trait, Thawbaannarrated that the Prophetsaid:"Who will
guarantee me this trait so that I will guarantee him
Paradise?"Thawbaan said, "I." The Prophetreplied:"Do not ask people
for anything."After that, he never askedanyone for anything, even if
his whip fell whileriding, he would get off and pick it up himself
without asking anyone to hand it to him.]Ahmad[
Satisfaction is the Peak ofFaith
Abu Ad-Dardaa'said, "There are four traits at the peak of faith:
patience, satisfaction with destiny, sincerity in reliance, and
submission to Allaah The Almighty." Ibn Al-Qayyimsaid: "Satisfaction
is one of thedeeds of the heart that is the equivalent of Jihaad,
which is one of the deedsof the limbs ]body[, for each one of them is
the peak of Faith."
Deprivation is in fact a Blessing from Allaah The Almighty
Sufyaan Ath-Thawrisaid that if Allaah The Almighty deprives His
servant of something, it is in fact a blessing; whenAllaah The
Almighty deprives His slave, it is not because He is miserly or unable
to give, but because He chooses whatis best for His believing slave,
and for a certain wisdom. Allaah The Almighty never decrees anything
bad for His believing slave, whether that decree brings happiness or
misery to the slave. Thus, even when Allaah The Almighty deprives His
believing slave, it is in fact a blessing, and the affliction is for
his well-being, even if it is inthe form of an affliction. Due to the
ignorance of the slave and his injustice, he considers that bliss is
the only thingto give him pleasure in the worldly life. If man was
truly knowledgeable, he would have considered all that Allaah The
Almighty decreed as a blessing. This was the state of the righteous
predecessors. The slave will never find the sweetness of faith
exceptthrough this. The Prophetsaid:"Whoever is content with Allaah as
a God, Islam as a religion and Muhammad as a messenger, has certainly
felt the sweetness of faith."
O Allaah! Make us satisfied with Your decree and bless our destiny so
that we would not wish to hasten something that You have delayed or
delay something that You have hastened.