For children, - Companion of Prophet Abu Lubabah: Seeking Forgiveness (Al-Istighfaar, Istighfar)

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Abu Lubabah was one of the distinguished companions (Sahaba)of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) and had participated in the battle of Uhud and the conquest of Makkah. One of the sensitive aspects of his life was the incident of his repentance (Tawbah and Istighfaar).
When the tribe of Bani Quraidhah violated their covenant with the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw), the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) initiated a military expedition against them and besieged their fort. Some persons from the tribe of Aus approached him and requested: "Just as you had handed over the fate of the tribe of Bani Qainaqa'a to be decided by the tribe of Khazraj, leave it upon us to decide the fate of the tribe of Bani Quraidhah."
"Will you be satisfied if I were to appoint one person from your tribe to rule in the matter?" the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) asked.
They agreed. The Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) suggested Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, chief of the Bani Aus tribe in Yathrib but the Bani Quraidhah refused to accept him. They told him to send Abu Lubabah to them so that they could confer with him. The Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) assigned Abu Lubabah, who had his house, property and family in the fort of Bani Quraidhah, the task of conducting consultations with them.
As soon as Abu Lubabah entered the fort, men and women, old and young, surrounded him and began lamenting and complaining to him (over the state of affairs) with the intention of attracting his pity and compassion. Then they asked: "Should we submit before the rule of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw)?"
"You could do that," he replied, making a gesture (by pointing to his neck) to indicate that submission was equivalent to death.
Abu Lubabah quickly realized that by performing this act, he had been unfaithful and disloyal to the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw). It was on this occasion that the following verse was revealed: "O you who believe! Be not unfaithful to Allah and the Messenger, nor be unfaithful to your trusts while you know. Know that your property and your children are a temptation, and that Allah is He with Whom there is a mighty reward." Noble Qur'an (8:27-28)
Overcome with shame, he came out of the fort and proceeded straight towards the mosque of Madina and, tying himself to one of its pillars in the mosque, called out: "None should untie me till Allah (SWT) accepts my repentance (Tawbah and Istighfaar)."
Abu Lubabah remained in that state for ten to fifteen days, allowing himself to be untied only for prayers or to go to the washroom.
"If Abu Lubabah had come to me, I would have sought forgiveness for him but since he himself awaits Allah's (SWT) forgiveness, leave him alone till Allah (SWT) forgives him," the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) commented when he came to know what Abu Lababah had done.
Umm al-Momineen Umm Salamahstates: "One day, at dawn, I saw the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) happy and smiling. May Allah (SWT) always keep you smiling! What is the reason for it?" I asked him.
The Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Jibril (Gabriel) has informed me that Abu Lubabah's repentance has been accepted."
"Do I have your permission to inform him of the good news?" I asked.
"You may if you wish," he answered. From inside the room I called out: "Glad tidings, O' Abu Lubabah! Allah (SWT) has accepted your repentance."
The people rushed forward to untie him but he ordered: "I place you under the oath of Allah (SWT) that none, except the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw), should untie me."
When the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) arrived in the mosque for the morning prayers, he untied Abu Lubabah from the pillar which stands even today, in the Mosque of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) and is popularly known as the 'Pillar of Repentance' or the 'Pillar of Abu Lubabah'.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * She thought that she was in nifaas following a miscarriage so she did not fastor pray

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Forty days had passed since I miscarried the foetus in my womb, and the pregnancy had not lasted more than two and a half months. That coincided with the month of Ramadaan, then I did not pray or fast. I did not know anything about Islamic matters, but after that I found out that I was not in nifaas. Should I make up the prayers and fasts that I missed? Now I am confused and do not know what I should do.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If a woman miscarries, the bleeding that follows is not regarded as nifaas (post partum bleeding) unless the miscarried foetus had developed human features such as a head, hand, foot and so on.
The blood that she passes is not considered to be nifaas unless the foetus had human features.
Human features do not appear in the foetus before eighty days of pregnancy, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The creation of any one of you is put together in his mother’s womb for forty days, then he becomes a ‘alaqah (a piece of thick coagulated blood) for a similar period, then he becomes like a chewed piece of flesh for a similar period, then Allaah sends an angel who is enjoined to write down four things, and it is said to him: ‘Write down his deeds, his provision, his lifespan and whether he is doomed for Hell or destined for Paradise. Then the soul is breathed into him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3208.
This hadeeth indicates that a human being goes through a number of stages during pregnancy.
For forty days he is a nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge, for the next forty days he is a ‘alaqah (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then for forty days he is a mudghah (a lump of chewed flesh), then the soul is breathed into him after one hundred and twenty days have passed.
Human features begin to appear at the mudghah stage, not before that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then verily, We have created you (i.e. Adam) from dust, then from a Nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge, i.e. the offspring of Adam), then from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood) then from a little lump of flesh — some formed and some unformed (as in the case of miscarriage) — that We may make (it) clear to you (i.e. to show you Our Power and Ability to do what We will)”
[al-Hajj 22:5]
From this verse it is known that the mudghah may or may not have human features.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a woman sees blood after passing something in which there were human features, then it is nifaas. This was stated by Imam Ahmad. But if she see that [bleeding] after passing a nutfah or ‘alaqah, then it is not nifaas. End quote fromal-Mughni, 1/211.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a woman miscarries something in which human features are visible, such as a head, hand, foot and so on, then she is in nifaas, and comes under the rulings on nifaas, so she should not pray or fast and it is not permissible for her husband to have intercourse with her until she becomes pure or until forty days have passed.
But if there are no discernible human features in that which is passed by the woman, and it is like a piece of meat with no features, or it is blood, then that comes under the rulings on istihaadah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding) and not the rulings on menstruation, and she has to pray and fast in Ramadan, and she is permissible to her husband, because she comes under the rulings on istihaadah according to the scholars. End quote fromFataawa Islamiyyah, 1/243.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
The scholars said: If something is passed in which human features appear, then the blood which is passed after it emerges is regarded as nifaas, during which the woman should not pray or fast and her husband should avoid intimate relations with her until she becomes pure. But if what is passed is not formed, then the bleeding is not regarded as nifaas, rather it is irregular bleeding which does not prevent the woman from praying or fasting or anything else.
The scholars said: The minimum time in which human features may appear is 81 days.
Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Islamiyyah, 1/304, 305
Based on that, the bleeding which you experienced was not nifaas, because the foetus was miscarried before the completion of 80 days, and you should have prayed and fasted during that period, unless your menses came to you.
Secondly:
You have to make up the fasts, and there is no confusion on this issue, regardless of whether we say that you were pure or in nifaas, because the one who does not fast for a reason (such as sickness or menses or travelling) is obliged to make up the fast. You did not fast for a reason, which is that you thought you were in nifaas.
As for making up the prayers, it seems that you are not obliged to make them up, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not tell the woman who was suffering istihaadah and did not pray during the time she was bleeding to make the prayers, rather he advised her as to what she should do in the future.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If the woman who is suffering istihaadah did not pray for a while because she believed that prayer was not obligatory for her, then there are two opinions as to whether it is obligatory for her to make up the prayers or not. The first view is that she does not have to make them up, as was narrated from Maalik and others, because when the woman who was suffering istihaadah said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “I experience severe and painful bleeding that prevents me from praying and fasting,” he told her what she should do in the future but he did not tell her to make up the past prayers. End quote fromMajmoo’ al-Fataawa(22/102). See also the answer to question number 45648.
To sum up:
You have to make up the fasts. As for the prayers, if it is easy to you to make them up, then do that. Otherwise we hope that Allah will pardon you for that. And we advise you to strive to seek knowledge and understanding of your deen.
We ask Allah to help and guide us and you.
And Allah knows best.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * He used not to do ghusl for janaabah out of ignorance; should he make up the prayers?

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When I was in the first year of middle school, one of my relatives told me about madhiy and told me that it is what comes out with desire. When I reached the third year of middle school, I took a lesson about madhiy and how to purify oneself from it. After that, every time I became junub I would wash my penis and do wudoo’ for prayer, because I did not know that it was maniy. When I learned the ruling nearly three years later, I was upset about the prayers that I offered (when I was junub). Do I have to repeat them because of my misunderstanding?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The difference between madhiy and maniy is well known. For more information please see the answer to question no. 2458. What the Muslim is required to do is learn what he needs to know in order for his belief, worship and dealings with others to be sound.
If a person offers many prayers without having purified himself correctly, because he was unaware that purification was obligatory, he does not have to repeat them, according to the correct opinion.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Based on this, if a person did not purify himself as prescribed in sharee’ah because the text had not reached him, such as if he ate camel meat and did not do wudoo’, then the text reached him and he came to know that it is obligatory to do wudoo’ after eating camel meat, or if he prayed in a camel pen then the text reached him (which says that it is not allowed to pray in camel pens), does he have to repeat the past prayers? There are two opinions, both of which were narrated from Ahmad.
A similar case is if a man touches his penis and prays, then he finds out that the one who touches his penis has to do wudoo’.
The correct view in all these cases is that he does not have to repeat the prayers, because Allaah has forgiven things done by mistake or out of forgetfulness, and because He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)”
[al-Isra’ 17:15].
If a person has not heard of the command of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning a particular matter, then the obligation is not confirmed in his case. Hence when ‘Umar and ‘Ammaar became junub and ‘Umar did not pray and ‘Ammaar prayed after rolling in the dust, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not tell either of them to repeat the prayer. Similarly he did not tell Abu Dharr to repeat the prayers when he was junub and did not pray for several days. And he did not tell those of his companions who had eaten until they could distinguish the white thread from the black thread to make up their fasts, and he did not tell those who had prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) before news of the abrogation reached them to make up those prayers.
A similar case is that of the woman who was suffering from istihaadah (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding) and had not prayed for some time because she thought that she did not have to pray. There are two views as to whether such a woman has to make up the prayers she missed. One view is that she does not have to make up the prayers – as was narrated from Maalik and others – because when the woman who was suffering from istihaadah said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “I have been bleeding heavily for some time and it prevents me from praying and fasting,” he told her what she should do in the future, and he did not tell her to make up the prayers of the past.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 21/101
See also the answer to question no. 45648
But you should do a lot of naafil prayers, because the naafil prayers will make up for any shortfall in the obligatory prayers. And you should seek to learn beneficial knowledge, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If Allaah intends good for a person, He causes him to understand Islam.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (71) and Muslim (1037).
May Allah help us and you to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allah knows best.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * Expiation for not praying

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What is 'Kaffara'? What price should have to be given for 'one raka/ oakt salah' as kaffara?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Whoever omits one or more obligatory prayers with no excuse has to repent to Allaah sincerely, and he does not have to make them up or offer any expiation (kafaarah), because omitting the obligatory prayers deliberately is major kufr, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is prayer; whoever gives it up is a kaafir.” Narrated by Ahmad, 22428; al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 462. And he said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.” Narrated by Muslim, 242. There is no expiation for that except sincere repentance. SeeFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 6/50
Prayer is an act of worship that is to performed at specific times, and whoever does not do an act of worship that is tied to a specific time – such as prayer and fasting – until that time is over, with no excuse, then repents, does not have to make up what he omitted, because this act of worship has been limited by the Lawgiver to the beginning and ending of that time.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/322.
But if a person misses a prayer for a valid excuse such as sleeping or forgetting, his expiation is to offer the prayer when he remembers it, and there is no other expiation required, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, let him pray it when he remembers, and there is no other expiation for it but that.”
Al-Bukhaari, 572; Muslim, 1564
And Allaah knows best.

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