Hajj & Umrah, - Merits of Hajj and ‘Umrah- I

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Ever since Allaah The Almighty commanded HisKhaleel)intimate friend( Ibraaheem )Abraham(to proclaimHajjto the people, hearts have been in longing for this House and location, and crowds of visitors come to it from every distant pass in response to the call of Allaah The Almighty. In this respect, Ibn ‘Abbaassaid,
When Ibraaheem finished building the House, it was said to him )by Allaah(: “Proclaim )Hajj( to the people.” He said, “O Lord, to what extent would my voice reach?” He said: “It is your duty to proclaim, and it is incumbent upon Me to convey )your voice to everywhere in the world(.” Ibraaheem then called, “O people, )the obligatory duty of( Hajj has been enjoined upon you to the ancient House, so come to perform Hajj.” All what is between the heaven and earth heard his voice. Do you not see the people coming from the farthest ends of the earth announcing )with Talbiyah )the Hajj related chant(( their response )to the call(?
The obligatory duty ofHajjwas made obligatory by Allaah The Almighty upon the capable among His salves once in lifetime, as He States )what means(:}And ]due[ to Allaah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allaah is free from need of the worlds.{]Quran 3:97[ The obligation ofHajjis among the indisputably established facts of Islam.
Allaah made the outcome of performing this act of worship the great reward that stimulates the Muslim’s zeal, whets his will power and makes him proceed to it with an expanded chest and energetic determination in the hope of the reward and forgiveness of Allaah and what has been prepared of good by Allaah to the pilgrims of His honorable House. There are many texts about the merits of Hajj and ‘Umrah)lesser pilgrimage(, of which a mention may be made of the following:
Hajjeffaces sins and misdeeds that are committed before it
Hajjis among the greatest means of the forgiveness removal of sins and misdeeds. If one performsHajj Mabroor)which is aHajjthat is accepted by Allaah(, he would return fromHajj)as pure from sins( as a newborn on the day his mother gave birth to him, that is, purity from all sins and mistakes. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrahthat he said that he heard the Prophet,, say:“Whoever performs Hajj, during which he neither has sexual activity )with his wife( nor commits sins, he will return )as sinless( as a newborn child on the very day his mother delivered him.”]Al-Bukhaari[ TheHadeethvery clearly confirms the forgiveness of sins, be they minor or major, according to Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar.
However, this forgiveness is, according to theHadeeth, conditional on abstention from having sexual activity )intercourse and foreplay with one’s wife( and disobedience to Allaah during theHajj.
It was narrated in an authentic Hadeeth that ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aascame to the Prophet,, to embrace Islam and he put a condition that his previous sins should be forgiven for him, thereupon the Prophet,, mentioned to him three things, each of which removes the sins and mistakes prior to it.Thus, it was narrated on the authority of ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aasthat he said,
When Allaah placed the love of Islam in my heart, I went to the Prophetand said, “Stretch out your hand so that I can give you the pledge of allegiance.” However, when he stretched out his hand, I withdrew mine. He said:“What is the matter with you, O ‘Amr?”I replied, “I want to place a certain condition on this.” He asked:“What condition do you wish to place?”I said, “That I should be granted forgiveness.” He said:“Do you not know that )embracing( Islam effaces all the previous misdeeds committed before it as does the Hijrah )emigration( and Hajj?”]Muslim[
Thus,Hajjwas made among the acts of worship that remove all sins previously committed.
The reward of aHajj Mabrooris Paradise
Allaah The Almighty promises His slaves reward for their obedience to Him and made forHajjno reward other than Paradise. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrahthat the Prophet,, said:"The performance of two ‘Umrahs expiates the sins that are committed in the interval between them; and the Hajj Mabroor )that is accepted by Allaah as being performed with sincerity and according to the rules of Sharee‘ah( has no reward other than Paradise."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ However, this reward is contingent on the condition of its being accepted, as not everyHajjwill be rewarded with Paradise. That reward is restricted only to the aHajj Mabroor, and aHajj Mabrooris that which complies with the teachings and principles ofSharee‘ahin deed and belief, and is not contaminated with anything ofShirk, )polytheism( sin, sexual relations or disobedience.
Among the signs ofHajj Mabrooris that the Muslim’s condition afterHajjbecomes better than before it. The evidence for that is the statement of Allaah The Almighty )which means(:}And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.{]Quran 47:17[ Al-Hasan Al-Basrisaid,“)The sign of( a Hajj Mabroor is that the pilgrim returns )from it( having no desire for this world and seeking the Hereafter.”Overall,Hajj Mabroor, as Al-Qurtubiput it,“Is that whose rulings are fulfilled and which is performed perfectly according to what is required from the onecompetent for religious assignment.”
Hajjis among the best righteous deeds
Righteous deeds are numerous and vary in rank and degree of reward and excellence. Since one’s lifetime is very short, the deeds are numerous and he may not know which of them should be given priority, it is incumbent upon the slave to be eager to understand the ranks of deeds to get closer to Allaah with the dearest of deeds to Him, and give it priority over what is lesser in rank and excellence. The Prophet,, put the deeds in order )according to their ranks( in theHadeethnarrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrahwhen the Messenger of Allaah,,was asked about the best deed, he replied:“To believe in Allaah and His Messenger )Muhammad(."The questioner then asked,“What comes next )in goodness(?"He replied:“To participate in Jihaad )religious fighting( in the cause of Allaah."The questioner then asked,“What comes next )in goodness(?" He replied:“To perform a Hajj Mabroor."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
In clarification of whyHajjwas given such preference and rank, one of the righteous predecessors said,“I have reflected on all the righteous deeds and found that the prayers exhaust only the body and not wealth, as does fasting, and found that charity exhausts only wealth but not the body, whereas Hajj exhausts both; thus, I saw it as the best.”Hajjthen is a financial as well as a physical worship.
)To be continued(

Dought & clear, - The best way to call those who do not pray and to deal with innovators

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What is the best way to call those who do not pray? What about innovators?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We should consider the person being called to pray or to do other acts of worship, and pay attention to the most effective means of encouraging him or warning him. The general principle in Islam is to combine both approaches (encouraging and warning). It is also important to pay attention to how receptive or otherwise the person being called is, and whether he will be influences or put off by preaching.
Secondly:
The best way to call those who do not pray can be summed up as follows:
1 – Reminding them of the obligation of prayer and that it is the greatest of the pillars of Islam after the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith).
2 – Telling them some of the virtues of prayer, for it is the best of the duties that Allaah has enjoined on His slaves, and the best way by means of which a person may draw closer to his Lord. It is the first of his religious affairs for which a person will be brought to account. The five daily prayers are an expiation for whatever sins come in between them, so long as he avoids major sins. A single prostration raises a person in status by one degree, and erases one sin… and there are other virtues of prayer that have been narrated. This may open his heart and perhaps prayer may become a source of delight, as it was for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
3 – Telling them of the stern warnings that have been narrated concerning not praying, and the different opinions of the scholars as to whether this constitutes kufr (disbelief) and riddah (apostasy). Islam does not give the one who does not pray the opportunity to live freely among people, because in his case he must he invited to pray, and if he persists in not praying, he is to be executed as an apostate according to the view of Ahmad and those who agreed with him among the salaf (early generations of Islam); or he is to be executed as a hadd punishment, according to the view of Maalik and al-Shaafa’i; or he is to be detained and imprisoned, according to the view of Abu Haneefah. But no scholar says that he is to be left free. So it should be said to the one who does not pray: are you happy that the scholars disagreed as to whether you are a kaafir and whether you should be killed or imprisoned?
4 – Reminding them of the meeting with Allaah, death and the grave, and what will happen to the one who does not pray, namely a bad end and the torment of the grave.
5 – Explaining that delaying prayer until the time for it is over is a major sin:
“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell”
[Maryam 19:59 – interpretation of the meaning].
Ibn Mas’ood said concerning al-Ghayy (translated here as “Hell”): it is a valley in Hell that is very deep and has a foul taste.
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So woe unto those performers of Salaah (prayers) (hypocrites),
5. Those who delay their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)”
[al-Ma’oon 107:4-5]
6 – Explaining the serious implications of the view that they are kaafirs, such as their marriages being rendered invalid, it being forbidden for them to remain with and be intimate with their wives, and the fact that they will not be washed and prayed for after they die. Among the texts that indicate that the one who does not pray is a kaafir is the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Muslim, 82. and he said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives it up is a kaafir.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 463; Ibn Maajah, 1079.
7 – Giving them some booklets and tapes that deal with the subject of prayer and the punishment of the one who does not pray or is careless concerning the prayer.
8 – Forsaking and shunning them if they persist in not praying.
With regard to innovators, the way in which we deal with them varies according to the type of innovation involved. We should advise them and call them to Allaah, and establish proof against them, and refute their specious arguments. If the innovator persists in his innovation he should be forsaken and shunned, if it is thought that this will most likely benefit him. We have first to be sure that a person is an innovator before resorting to these measures, and reference should be made to the scholars. We should differentiate between the innovation and the one who practices it, because he may have the excuse of ignorance or misunderstanding. For more details please seeHaqeeqat al-Bid’ah wa Ahkaamuhuby Sa’eed ibn Naasir al-Ghaamidi.
And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Hirz al-Jawshan

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We are sending with this message a copy of Hirz al-Jawshan and we would like you to give us your opinion on a number of points, namely:
1. Are there any real sources for it in the authentic books?
2. Did the narrators mentioned in this book, namely Ja’far al-Saadiq, Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib and his son al-Hasan, really narrate these words, or are these words those of someone other than them?
3. What is your opinion on reading it without taking it as an amulet fir protection, such as reading it as du’aa’ only, because of what it contains of the names and attribute of Allaah?
4. Is there any sin on me if I memorise it? Is there any sin on me if I burn it to get rid of it?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible to keep this book which is calledHirz al-Jawshan, or to act upon it, or to believe what it says in it. That is for the following reasons:
Firstly: it has no known chain of narration, and it was not narrated by any of the reliable scholars of hadeeth and it was not attributed to any of them.
Secondly: it contains many lies, such as where it says on page 1: “Whoever reads it and carries it when he goes out of his house at the time of Fajr prayer or the time of ‘Isha’ prayer, it is as if he has done great righteous deeds, and as if he read the Torah and the Gospel and the Psalms and the Holy Qur'aan.” But nothing is equal to the Books of Allaah. Then it says: “and Allaah will give him for every letter that he reads two wives from among the hoor al-‘iyn, and He will build a palace for him in Paradise, and Allaah will give him a reward like that of four of the Prophets (peace be upon them), Ibraaheem, Moosa, ‘Eesa and Muhammad.” This is an obvious lie, for the reward of the Prophets will be attained by no one but them.
On page 2 it says: “Allaah will give him a reward like that of the male and female believers among the jinn and mankind from the day He created them until the Day of Resurrection, and Allaah will give them the reward of 900,000 martyrs.” Then the lies increase in the following pages.
Thirdly: on page 5 it says: “This supplication is beneficial for love and acceptance, tying tongues, meeting rulers and emirs and sultans, and to ward off all weapons of iron and lead, and to meet all needs and so on.”
It appears to be a fabrication of the Shi’ah aimed at diverting people from the Qur'aan and Sunnah.
And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

Dought & clear, - Celebrating silver, gold or diamond jubilees

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Some companies or administrations celebrate 25 years since the founding, and they call that a silver jubilee. They also celebrate after 50 years, and call that a golden jubilee, and after 75 years they call it a diamond jubilee and so on. Are these celebrations Sunnah or an innovation?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible to hold parties and give gifts and so on, on the occasion of a number of years having passed since the opening of a store, school or any other kind of venture, because this is introducing innovated festivals into Islam, and because it is an imitation of the disbelievers who do such things. It is essential not to do that and to avoid it. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 2/261
Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd said in his book‘Eid al-Yoobeel(Jubilees), p. 25:
Celebrating jubilees of various kinds and with various aims is a celebration that has been introduced into the religion (an innovation) and is contrary to the command of the Lord of the Worlds, and is an imitation of the disbelievers and venerating that which they hold sacred.
Those who forbid and speak against innovated celebrations -- including celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), the night of the Isra’ and Mi’raaj, the new hijri year, and other innovated celebrations observed by some Muslims which have been introduced by those who seek to misguide others -- their first priority must be to announce the prohibition on celebrating jubilees, whether they are silver, golden, diamond, eightieth, for any length of time, for any place, for any person, for any occasion. Whoever does not do that is confused and contradicting himself, whether he likes it or not, and this comes under the heading of following whims and desires. End quote.
And Allah knows best.

PUBLISHER NajimudeeN M