For children, - Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Loving Children

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Once Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was on his way to someone's home; he saw Imam Hussain playing with boys. Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) extended his hands for little Imam Hussain to go up and played with him and made him laugh in front of everybody; then he held him and gave him a kiss.
Once a companion (Sahabi) visited the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when he was engaged in caressing his two grandchildren, Hasan and Hussain. Being surprised at this act, the companion said:
"O Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Do you also caress children, I have ten children but I have never fondled even one of them."
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) raised his eyes and remarked: "It seems mercy and kindness has left your heart."
Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: "A good act is written in the record of virtuous deeds for one who gives a kiss to his child."
Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very kind to children and loved them very much. He used to carry them on his shoulders. The children would become very happy and laugh. Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), too, would become happy at the pure happiness and laughter of the children and a smile would appear on his face.
Every time Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned from a trip, children would be waiting for him and he would hold some of them and ask his companions to hold others. When Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) leaves, the children would be talking about how he held one to his chest and another to his back and how he asked others to hold the rest.
Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to give his Salaam (greetings) to children and would tell his companions (Sahaba): "I give my Salaam to children and respect them, and Muslims should follow my behavior and always be warm and loving with children."
Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to speak about children - boys and girls - and Say: "O Muslims, O fathers and mothers, O my followers, be kind and compassionate towards children, for someone who is not kind to children has no place amongst the Muslims."

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Dought & clear, - *Ruling on writing Qur’anic verses for onewho is sick to wear them

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I hope you can explain this problem. There is a sick person for whom a righteous man wrote some Qur’an to treat him for any sickness. Is that permissible? Is it permissible to wear these verses around one’s neck?
Praise be to Allah.
Writing verses in order to treat the sick is not prescribed and he should not be given them to wear, and they should not be written on his body. All of that is not prescribed. Rather what is prescribed is to recite over him, and blow onto him, and pray for healing and well-being for him. There is nothing wrong with reciting some verses over parts of his body, over his chest or his hand or his head, and praying for him; this comes under the heading of ruqyah that is prescribed in Islam; the raaqi may recite ruqyah for the sick person and recite Qur’an over him so that Allah may heal him.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) performed ruqyah and said: “There is nothing wrong with ruqyah so long as it does not involve shirk (association of others with Allah).”
But if he writes verses to be worn around the neck or on the arm, this is not part of Islamic teaching; the same applies if he writes hadeeths or other words, or prayers or symbols or cryptic writing or letters that are not joined up, and the like. All of that is not permitted; even the Qur’an should not be worn.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allah never fulfill his wish and whoever wears a seashell, may Allah never protect him from what he fears.” Amulets and charms and the like that some people put around the neck of the sick person, or on his arms and so on, are not permissible, but there is nothing wrong with ruqyah.
Similarly, if a person recites into water and then drinks the water, there is nothing wrong with that either. Something of that nature was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as it is narrated inSunan Abi Dawoodthat the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited into water for Thaabit ibn Qays. There is nothing wrong with this.
But as for wearing it, nothing – whether it is Qur’an or anything else – should be worn around the neck or on the arm. All of that is remedies that are not prescribed in Islam. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him).
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb, 1/326

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Dought & clear, - *Is it permissible to givedates and dried yoghurt for zakat al-fitr to people who do not regard them as staple foods?

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Is it permissible to give zakat al-fitr in the form of dates and dried yoghurt even though these are not regarded as staple foods in many countries?
Praise be to Allah.
What should be given for zakat al-fitr is that which is the local staple food. If their staple food is dates or dried yoghurt or raisins, it is permissible to give it. Whatever is not regarded as a staple food is not acceptable as zakat al-fitr. This is indicated by the words of Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): At the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the day of (Eid) al-Fitr, we used to give (as zakat al-fitr) a saa‘ of foodstuff, and our food at that time was barley, raisins, dried yoghurt, and dates.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1510) and Muslim (985).
The Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) gave these kinds of food because that was their staple food at that time.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The more correct view in our opinion is that zakat al-fitr must be given in the form of the usual staple food of the country. This is also the view of Maalik. Abu Haneefah said: One has the choice. One view was narrated from Ahmad that nothing is acceptable except the five kinds mentioned in the texts: dates, raisins, wheat, barley and dried yoghurt.
End quote fromal-Majmoo‘(6/112)
Al-Baaji said inSharh al-Muwatta’: Of what should the saa‘ be? Ibn al-Qaasim said, narrating from Maalik, that it should be the usual staple food of the country. This was also the view of Abu ‘Ali ibn Abi Hurayrah among the companions of ash-Shaafa‘i. End quote.
In al-Mawsoo ‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (23/343) it says: … The Maalikis are of the view that it should be given in the form of the usual local staple food, such as lentils (daal), rice, foul (fava beans), wheat, barley, dates, dried yogurt, and pearl millet. Anything other than that is not acceptable, unless the people use it as a staple food and do not use the kinds of food mentioned above. End quote.
This view was favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), as stated inal-Fataawa al-Kubra(2/157). Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about giving barley for zakat al-fitr, as we have heard from you that it is not acceptable, as appears to be the case. We hope that you can explain?
He replied: You said that you heard from us that giving barley for zakat al-fitr is not acceptable, as appears to be the case, but we said that regarding people for whom barley is not a staple food. That is because the wisdom behind prescribing zakat al-fitr is that it should be food for the poor, and that can only be achieved if it is a staple food eaten by the people. Dates and barley are mentioned in the hadeeth of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) not because there is a connection between them, rather it is because they were the usual staple foods eaten by people at that time. That is based on the report narrated by al-Bukhaari in his chapter on charity before Eid, from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: At the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the day of (Eid) al-Fitr, we used to give (as zakat al-fitr) a saa‘ of foodstuff. And Abu Sa‘eed said: And our food at that time was barley, raisins, dried yoghurt, and dates.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa(18/282)
What the Muslim must do is give zakat al-fitr in the form of whatever is regarded as staple food in his country, so as to fulfil the wisdom behind this zakaah, which is to make the poor independent of means so that they do not have to ask of people on the day of Eid.
And Allah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - *Rights of a female servant over her employers

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We have employed a female servant at home only to work for the day and take care of it as there’s no one at home during day time, in the evening she goes back to her home. She is paid her wages in full and we give her the same food as we eat. Apart from this, she’s is also facilitated in many other things. What I need to know is- does she have some other rights upon us that are not known to us? She is married and her husband is a driver. Do we have to provide her with other things like clothing and the needs of household although she and her husband can themselves take care of these things? Also does she have the right to eat or drink or to do any other activity in our house without taking permission?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Islam encourages kindness to slaves and servants, by teaching that the head of the household should give his servant a share of his food and drink, especially if this servant is the one who makes that food or brings it to his master, and he looks at the food. al-Bukhaari (5460) and Muslim (1663) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When the servant of any one of you brings his food to him, if he does not make him sit with him, then let him give him a morsel or two, or a mouthful or two, for he has endured its heat and preparation.”
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth encourages good conduct and generosity with regard to food, especially with regard to the one who made it or served it, because he is the one who endured its heat and smoke, and felt like eating from it, and smelled its aroma. All of this is understood as meaning that it is mustahabb (encouraged). End quote.
Al-Haafiz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is nothing in the command mentioned in the hadeeth of Abu Dharr (“Feed them as you feed yourselves”??) to suggest that it is obligatory to eat with one’s servant; rather it indicates that he should not exclude him and keep it all for himself; rather he should give him a share of everything, but that is to the extent that will ward off resentment and jealousy (evil eye) on his part. Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from all the scholars that what is required is to give one’s servant the usual staple food that people like him in that country eat. The same may be said regarding bedding and clothing. The master may keep for himself that which is more valuable, although it is better to give the servant a share in that too. And Allah knows best. End quote.
Secondly:
Pardoning and overlooking ordinary mistakes made by servants comes under the heading of good manners. Allah has commanded His slaves to be kind, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):“and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinoon (the good-doers)” [al-Baqarah 2:195].
Abu Dawood (5164) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: A man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, how often should I forgive a servant? And he remained silent, then he repeated the words and he remained silent. The third time he said: “Forgive him seventy times each day.”
According to another version: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a servant who behaves badly and does wrong, should I beat him? He said: “Forgive him seventy times each day.” Narrated by Ahmad (5635); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
Part of the kindness that is recommended is what you are doing of providing her with some household needs. This is not basically obligatory upon you, but if you do something of that nature out of kindness and generosity, then this is a voluntary good deed on your part, in sha Allah.
Thirdly:
The servant should not do any activities that are out of the ordinary in her employer’s house except with his permission, and she does not have the right to dispose of household items or furniture, or rearrange the furniture, except with his permission.
And she does not have the right to take away or give away any household items if it is not customary among the people to give such things, or if the head of the household has not given permission to do that. If she does that, then she has betrayed the trust given to her by the head of the household.
Moreover, she does not have any established rights over you additional to what has been stipulated in her contract or to what is well established according to custom. In such cases, what is established according to custom is like that which is stipulated as a condition.
And Allah knows best.

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