Dought & clear, - He concealed his Islam and was buried in the kaafir graveyard. Is he a kaafir?.

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:-> Let us assume that there was a Christian who became Muslim but he did not tell his family. After a while he died, but his family did not know that he had become Muslim so they held a funeral for him in the church in the Christian manner. I would like to know what is the ruling on that? Did he die as a Muslim or as a kaafir?. Praise be to Allaah. You should note, first of all, that the fuqaha’ are unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for a Muslim to be buried in the kaafir graveyard, or for a kaafir to be buried in the Muslim graveyard, except in cases of necessity. Seeal-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah,21/20;Ahkaam al-Maqaabir fi’l-Sharee’ahal-Islamiyyahby Dr. ‘Abd-Allaah al-Suhaybaani, p. 231-232. If a Muslim dies in a kaafir land, then his heirs, or whoever among the Muslims knows of him, must take him to a Muslim land so that he may be buried there. Taking him to a Muslim land depends on being able to do it. If it cannot be done, then he may be buried in the kaafir land, but not in their graveyards. See:Ahkaam al-Maqaabir, p. 225-226. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This is more important than being distinguished from them in life, by wearing different clothes etc, because there is mercy in the graveyards of the Muslims, but there is punishment in the graveyards of the kaafirs.Al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 94. Secondly: The situation that you asked about is one that happens frequently for many Muslims in positions of weakness in kaafir countries, because they are not able to migrate to a land where they can practise their Islam openly and be safe, nor can they practise Islam openly in the lands where they live, either for fear of aggression from their own relatives, as is the case in your question, or for other reasons. These people will be resurrected [?] according to their intentions, and the ruling in the Hereafter will depend on what they have of faith and righteous deeds, not the ruling on the land in which they died or the grave in which they were buried. It was narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: I heard the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Each person will be resurrected according to the state in which he died.” Narrated by Muslim (2878). It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) offered the funeral prayer and said: “O Allaah, forgive our living and our dead, our young and our old, our males and our females, those who are present and those who are absent. O Allaah, whomever among us You cause to live, cause him to live in faith, and whomever among us you cause to die, cause him to die in Islam. O Allaah, do not deprive us of his reward and do not let us go astray after him.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (3201); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood. Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “O Allaah, whomever among us you cause to live, cause him to live in faith, and whomever among us you cause to die, cause him to die in Islam” – with regard to life he mentioned Islam, meaning outward submission, and with regard to death he mentioned faith, because faith (eemaan) is better, and its seat is the heart, and what matters at the time of death and on the Day of Resurrection is what is in the heart. Sharh Riyadh al-Saaliheen(2/1200) Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about what some people say, that Allaah has angels who move people from the Muslim graveyards to the Christian and Jewish graveyards, and from the Jewish and Christian graveyards to the Muslim graveyards, and their purpose is that whoever met a bad end in the sight of Allaah, although he was outwardly Muslim when he died, or he was a kitaabi (a Jew or Christian) but he met a good end and died as a Muslim in the sight of Allaah, although he appeared to be a kaafir when he died, so these angels move them. Has any report been narrated concerning this or not? Is there any proof for this or not? He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: As for the bodies, they are not moved from the graves but we know that some people who are outwardly Muslims are in fact hypocrites, either Jews, Christians or apostates. Whoever is like that will be with his peers on the Day of Resurrection, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions” [al-Saaffaat 37:22], i.e., those who were like them and their peers. And there may be some who died appearing to be kaafirs, but they believed in Allaah before the death rattle reached their throats, but there were no believers with them and they concealed that from their families, either because of inheritance or some other reason. But they will be with the believers even if they are buried with the kuffaar. As for the report about the angels moving them, I have never heard any report about that. End quote fromal-Fataawa al-Kubra(3/27). And Allaah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

For children, - Charity Stories: Joy of Charity

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:-> Allamah Hilli relates in some of his books that Prophet Muhammad (S)once passed by a Jew who was going to chop some wood. On seeing him, Prophet Muhammad (S) said that the Jew would be bitten by a poisonous snake and die. In the evening the companions saw the Jew and found it strange that he was still alive contrary to what Prophet Muhammad (S) had predicted. So they questioned Prophet Muhammad (S) about his predictions. Prophet Muhammad (S) asked for the Jew to be presented to him so that he could be questioned. When the Jew came, Prophet Muhammad (S) asked him to open the bundle of chopped wood, and out popped a snake. Prophet Muhammad (S) asked the Jew what act he had done on that day. In reply the Jew answered that he had not done anything in particular except that as he was eating some food a beggar asked him for some of it, so he gave one of the two cakes he had without any hesitation to the beggar. Prophet Muhammad (S) then said that the Jew had been destined to die but for the charity he had given which removes seventy evils. The Jew accepted Islam. Indeed charity increases your good deeds and your life.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

General Articles, - Hujjat al-Islam al-Ghazali

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:-> Al-Ghazali, the great Islamic scholar who lived 10 centuries ago, was a great example to all believers with his good moral values and his exemplary life. He trained many students and done great services to the Islamic world. Al Ghazali was born in Tus, Iran in 1058 when there were serious conflicts in the Islamic world and the Andalusian Empire was in a period of decline . In such challenging times, through his books and lectures, he was the means for the enlightening of the Islamic world. Because he had such deep and profound knowledge, he was also known as ‘Hujjat al-Islam” and ‘ Zauniddin ’ which means the ‘evidence of Islam, proof that Islam is the true religion’. Hujjat al-Islam also means the person who memorized three hundred thousand hadiths with the names of the reporting people. When he was still young, he went to Baghdad upon the invitation of the then Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk. The scholars in the court were amazed to see the depth of knowledge and eloquence in explaining matters. Nizam al-Mulk appointed him to the Nizamiye Madrassah to act as the master, a position equivalent to today’s university rectors . During his tenure , Al Ghazali trained many students and selected three hundred of the best and taught them all the necessary knowledge. His students included prominent Islamic scholars such as Muhammad ibn Asad al-Tusi, Abu Mansur Muhammad, Abu Abd Allah Jumart al-Hussaini, and Abu al-Hasan al-Balansi. Al Ghazali is recognized for his vast knowledge not only by the Islamic world, but also by Westerners as well. The knowledge of Al Ghazali was advanced in every aspect compared to the European scholars of his time. For instance, at a time when the Europeans commonly believed that the earth was flat, Al Ghazali asserted that the earth was round, that liver cleansed the blood of toxins and microbes and the ratio of substances in the blood were vital to keep it healthy, the latter two being facts included in today’s physiology books. Not only this;, Al Ghazali wrote about many other subjects in his books, which are around 1,000. His books deal with Islam, Islamic moral values and science in a way that can be clearly understood by people of every age and of every education level. Some of his most famous books are as follows: Ihya Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), Kimya al-Saadat (The Alchemy of the Happiness), Jawahir al-Qur'an (The Jewels of the Qur’an), Mizan al-Amal (Balance of Action), Durrat al- Fakhira (The Exquisite Pearl) , Ayyuh-al-Walad (O my son!), Qistas al- Mustaqim(The Correct Balance) . Europeans studied the books of Al Ghazali’s in a very detailed manner,. and in 1959, upon reading the books of Al Ghazali and being fascinated by Islam religion, four Professors Ordinarius translated the books of Al Ghazali into German and then converted to Islam. AL GHAZALI CALLED ATTENTION TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSLIMS BEING UNITED AND LIVING IN A BROTHERLY MANNER: Another point Al Ghazali paid attention to was the brotherhood, friendship and love between the Muslims. In his famous book, Ihya Ulum al-Din , he explains in the light of the verses of the Qur’an and the hadith, why the brotherhood of Muslims is very important as follows: The Prophet Mohammed (saas) explains: "Muslims are siblings, they do not hurt, wrong or afflict one another.” (Bukhari and Muslim) Don’t get jealous of each other, don’t hold a grudge against each other, don’t say bad things to each other, don’t turn your backs to each other, don’t gossip about each other. Servants of Allah, be brothers. (Bukhari and Muslim; Hujjat al-Islam Al Ghazali, Ihya al-Ulum al-Din, vol. 3, p. 315) The great scholar Al Ghazali explains how the believers should approach each other in these wise words: ... You should always approach them with the compassion that they expect from you. You should see their good sides and ignore the bad ones. When they come to you and talk to you, you should not turn your eyes away from them. (Ihya al-Ulum al-Din, p. 431) Some of the sage advice of Al Ghazali … "Don’t forget that Almighty Allah knows everything you think and say. People see only the outside of each other, but Almighty Allah sees both the inside and the outside of all. Those who know that will be careful with their thoughts and actions. “ "O my lower self, if you are saying ‘I’ll repent and do good things later’, remember that death can come before that and you can only regret. If you think repenting tomorrow is easier than it is today, you are mistaken”. Al Ghazali gave the good news of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) In his works Hujjat al-Islam Al Ghazali explained in detail the qualities of Hazrat Mahdi (as) who is to come in the End Times based on the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saas) and heralded Muslims with the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as).

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M