* Dought & clear, - * Why was Iblees commanded to prostrate to Adam alongwith the angels?

* If Iblees was not one of the angels, why was he commanded to
prostrate to Adam along with the angels?
Praise be to Allah.
Undoubtedly, when Allah, may He be exalted, commanded the angels to
prostrate to Adam, this command was also addressed to Iblees, as
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"…except Iblees (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrate.
(Allah) said: 'What prevented you (O Iblees) that you did not
prostrate, when I commanded you?'"
[al-A'raaf 7:11, 12].
The scholars have spoken about the reason why the command to prostrate
to Adam was addressed to Iblees even though he was not one of the
angels; they stated that the reason for that was that he was similar
to the angels in their outward deeds.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said (1/105):
The conclusion is that when Allah, may He be exalted, commanded the
angels to prostrate to Adam, He included Iblees in that because, even
though he was not one of them, he was imitating them and doing deeds
like their. Hence he was included in what was addressed to them, and
he was condemned for going against the command. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said inTafseer Soorat al-Baqarah(1/127):
If someone were to say: there is something confusing in this verse,
which is that when Allah, may He be exalted, says that He commanded
the angels to prostrate, He says that they all prostrated except
Iblees, and it would appear to mean that Iblees was one of them, but
that is not the case;
The answer to that is that Iblees shared with them their outward
deeds, so the command included him on the basis of his outward deeds.
End quote.
Something similar was also said by al-'Allaamah at-Taahir ibn 'Ashoor
in his tafseer,at-Tahreer wa't-Tanweer(1/409). What we are obliged to
believe is that the command to prostrate to Adam was addressed to
Iblees just as it was addressed to the angels, and this is what the
Qur'an clearly says:
"(Allah) said: 'What prevented you (O Iblees) that you did not
prostrate, when I commanded you?'"
[al-A'raaf 7:12].
As for the reason why this command was addressed to him, Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - She is eighty years old and makes mistakes in reciting Qur’an, and she forgets; what is the ruling on her prayer?

My aunt she is almost 80 years of age and as she recites surahs,she
leaves out a couple of verses. I have tried to rectify her errors but
it hasnt helped as she continues making the same mistakes. I wanted to
know if it's a sin upon her to recite surahs in her prayer making
these mistakes.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Reciting al-Faatihah is one of the pillars or essential parts of the
prayer, which the worshipper must recite correctly. The one who is
excused for not doing that properly, because of a speech defect,
forgetfulness and so on, must recite it to the best of his ability,
and whatever he is unable to do is waived in his case, because Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear"
[al-Baqarah 2:286].
The prayer is not rendered invalid unless the worshipper omits
something from al-Faatihah or changes the pronunciation in a manner
that alters the meaning. This applies if a person is able to recite it
properly. In the case of one who is not able to do that, he should
recite it as best as he can.
If a Muslim is not able to offer the prayer in the perfect manner,
then he must do whatever he is able to do, and whatever he is unable
to do is waived in his case.
Al-Bukhaari (7822) and Muslim (1337) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "If I command you to do something,
then do as much of it as you can.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is one of the most important basic principles of Islam, and is an
example of the power of concise speech that was given to the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). It is applicable to
innumerable rulings, such as prayer of all types. If a person is
unable to do some of the pillars or essential parts of the prayer, or
is unable to meet some of its conditions, then he must do the rest; if
he is unable to wash some of the parts of the body that must be washed
in wudoo' or ghusl, then he must wash whatever he can. If he has
something that will cover part of his 'awrah, or he has memorised only
part of al-Faatihah, then he must do whatever he is able to do. … This
hadeeth is in accordance with the words of Allah, may He be exalted
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Sokeep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can"
[al-Taghaabun 64:16].
End quote.
See also the answer to question no. 5410
What you must do is focus on teaching your aunt to recite al-Faatihah
correctly, if she is not reciting it properly and is able to learn it.
Secondly:
With regard to soorahs other than al-Faatihah, the matter is easier,
especially when one is not able to do it, because reciting something
other than al-Faatihah in the prayer is not one of the obligatory
parts of the prayer. The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
If the imam forgets a verse of al-Faatihah and doesn't realise it
until a long time has passed, then he must repeat the prayer if it was
an obligatory prayer, because recitation of al-Faatihah is one of the
pillars or essential parts of the prayer. But if he remembers that
before a long time has passed, then he should do an extra rak'ah to
replace the rak'ah in which he omitted a verse of al-Faatihah, then do
the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood as-sahw).
But if the verse that was forgotten was from a soorah other than
al-Faatihah, then his prayer is valid and neither he nor those who
prayed behind him have to do anything, because recitation of more than
al-Faatihah is mustahabb (encouraged) but is not obligatory.
End quote fromFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 5/332
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to recitation other than al-Faatihah, if the worshipper
omits anything because he forgot, that does not matter.
End quote fromFataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb, 9/421
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
My mother has high blood pressure, as a result of which she is
half-paralysed and cannot move the muscles on the right side of her
body. Her memory has also become weak, and she has forgotten some
verses of the Qur'an, including al-Faatihah, as well as some of the
adhkaar that are recited in the prayer. Her speech is also affected,
in that she cannot speak except with great effort. My question is:
What is the ruling on my mother's prayer if she forgets some verses or
al-Faatihah or some of the obligatory adhkaar of the prayer, after she
does her best?
He replied:
If she cannot do more than that, then she is excused, because Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Sokeep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can"
[al-Taghaabun 64:16].
"On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear"
[al-Baqarah 2:286].
But she should strive her utmost to recite al-Faatihah and the
obligatory adhkaar to the best of her ability, even if that means that
someone should be with her who can prompt her. With regard to things
that are mustahabb, such as reciting more than al-Faatihah or more
thanSubhaana Rabbiy al-A'la(Glory be to my Lord Most High) when
prostrating andSubhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem(Glory be to my Lord the
Almighty) when bowing, and so on, there is nothing wrong with omitting
that.
End quote fromFataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb, 8/2.
And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Why did Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, test Ayyoob (peace be upon him)?

Why did Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, test Ayyoob (peace be
upon him)? I heard that one of the vulnerable people asked him for
protection and he did not give it to him, so Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, punished him for that. Is this story true?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The apparent meaning of the Holy Qur'an indicates that Allah's trial
of His Prophet Ayyoob (peace be upon him) was not by way of punishment
for a sin or act of disobedience; rather it was for reasons known to
Him, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps one of those reasons is
that it was in order to raise him to high status by virtue of his
patience, so that he might attain thereby a lofty status on the Day of
Judgement.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, praises him for his patience,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):"Truly! We found him
patient. How excellent (a) slave! Verily, he was ever oft-returning in
repentance (to Us)" [Saad 38:44]. This is the context of praise and
commendation, and raising in status, which is different from the
context of rebuke that is mentioned in the story of Yoonus (peace be
upon him), where Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Then a (big) fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame.
Had he not been of them who glorify Allah,
He would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day
of Resurrection.
But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick"
[as-Saaffaat 37:142-145].
Secondly:
In the Prophet's Sunnah there is a report which indicates that Ayyoob
(peace be upon him) was innocent of any sin that could have been a
cause for the sickness that befell him.
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said:
"Verily Ayyoob, the Prophet of Allah, suffered his trials for eighteen
years, when he was shunned by relatives and strangers alike, except
for two of his brothers who were among the closest of his brothers.
They used to come to him in the morning and in the evening. One of
them said to his companion: Do you know, by Allah, that Ayyoob must
have committed a sin that no one else ever committed? His companion
said: Why is that? He said: For eighteen years, Allah has not shown
mercy to him or granted him relief.
When they went to him in the evening, the man could not keep from
telling him about that. Ayyoob said: I do not know what he is talking
about, but Allah knows that I passed by two men who were arguing, and
they mentioned Allah, I would go back to my house and offer expiation
on their behalf, because I did not want Allah to be mentioned except
in a proper manner…
Narrated by Abu Ya'la inal-Musnad, 6/299; Ibn Hibbaan in hisSaheeh,
7/159; al-Haakim inal-Mustadrak, 2/635
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan. Al-Haakim said: (It
is saheeh) according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim,
although they did not narrate it. This was also stated by adh-Dhahabi
inat-Talkhees. InFath al-Baari, 6/421, Ibn Hajar described it as being
the soundest report on this topic. It was classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no 17. Some of the scholars
thought it was flawed. See:Ahaadeeth Mu'allah Zaahiruha as-Sihhah, p.
54. See also:al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah, 1/254-259
Thirdly:
The scholars stated that the wisdom behind the trials of the Prophets
is to raise them in status and enhance their image and reputation.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tests His slaves with good
times and bad, hardship and ease. He may test them thereby to raise
them in status and enhance their image and reputation, and multiply
the reward for their good deeds, as He did with the Prophets and
Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) and the
righteous among His slaves. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "The most sorely tested of people are the Prophets,
then the next best and the next best." Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2398.
So if any of the righteous slaves of Allah is tested with sickness and
the like, this is akin to the tests of the Prophets and Messengers,
and serves to raise one in status and increase the reward, so let him
be an example to others of patience and seeking reward with Allah.
End quote from Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 4/370-371
On our website we have previously discussed in detail the various
reasons behind the trials of the Prophets, and we have quoted the
explanation of this issue given by al-'Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim. And
Allah knows best.

For children, - I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like!

An Angel was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said,
"Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like?"
The Lord sent the Angel to two doors. The Angel opened one of the
doors and looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round
table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which
smelled delicious and made the Angel's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They
appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long
handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to
reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle
was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into
their mouths.
The Angel shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, "You have seen Hell. Now go to the next door."
The Angel went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly
the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the
large pot of stew which made the Angel's mouth water. The people were
equipped with the same long handled spoons, but here the people were
well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The Angel said, "I don't understand."
"It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see,
they have learned to share by feeding each other, while the greedy
think only of themselves."
Moral of the story: Its people's attitude that makes our place of
work, a hell or heaven! 'Help and Seek Help' this makes all the
difference to each individual's life and makes our lives hell or
heaven. Success and happiness is all about effective team-work make it
a great place to work.