Unity When Fasting and on the Day of the 'Eed

Unity When Fasting and on the Day of the 'Eed:

Source: Silsilatul-Ahaadeeth As-Saheehah 224 (1/440-445)
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Regarding the hadeeth:
"Fasting begins on the day you all begin to fast, and Al-Fitr (the
'Eed) is the day when you all have broken your fasts." [1]
At-Tirmithee, after mentioning this hadeeth, said, "And some of the
people of knowledge explained this hadeeth, saying that fasting and
breaking the fast are both to be done along with the main body and
majority ofthe Muslims."
And As-San'aanee said, "In it is evidence that proves that agreement
of the people is needed for establishing the 'Eed, and that the one
who is alone in his knowledge of the moon sighting must go along with
the others, andtheir decision regarding the prayer, the breaking ofthe
fast, and the day of slaughtering is binding on him." [2]
And Ibnul-Qayyim, may Allaah have Mercy on him, explained this,
saying, "And it has been said (by the people of knowledge) that there
is a refutation in this for those who say that a person can fast and
break his fast based on calculated estimations, without others having
knowledge of this. And it has also been said that if alone witness
sights the moon, and the judge does not accept his sighting (forsome
reason), then he himself does not begin his fast based on it, nor do
thepeople begin their fasts based on it." [3]
And Abul-Hasan As-Sindee,after mentioning the hadeeth of Aboo
Hurayrahfound in At-Tirmithee's Sunan , said, "And what is apparent
from the hadeeth's meaning is that these affairs are not for
individuals, it is not for people to act alone in these affairs.
Rather, the decision is to be made by the imaam and the main body of
Muslims. It is obligatory for all individuals to follow the imaam and
the main bodyof Muslims. So therefore, if one person sees the moon,and
the imaam does not accept his testimony, then he has no right to go
off on his own in these affairs,rather he must go along with the
jamaa'ah." [4]
I say (Al-Albaanee): This is what seems to be understood from the
hadeeth. This understanding is supported by the way 'Aa'ishah used it
(the hadeeth) as a proof against Masrooq when he did not want to fast
on the day of 'Arafah, fearing that it may actually be theday of
An-Nahr (the 'Eed). She clarified to him that his opinion has no
weight,and that he must follow the jamaa'ah . She said, "The Day of
An-Nahr ('Eed Al-Adh-haa, the day of slaughtering) is the day the
people slaughter, and the Day of ('Eed) Al-Fitr is the day the people
break their fasts."
I say (Al-Albaanee): And this is what is befitting to the gracious
Sharee'ah that seeks to bring the people together and unite their
ranks, keeping them away from individual opinions that split their
unity. So the Sharee'ah does not give weight to the opinion of an
individual regarding acts of community worship likefasting,
establishing the day of the 'Eed, and praying in congregation, even
when the individual is correct as he sees it.
Don't you see that the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them,
used to pray behind each other, while some of themheld that touching a
woman or bleeding nullifies one's wudhoo' , and others did not
understand that? And some of them used to pray the entire prayer
during their travels and others would shorten theirs? Their differing
in these affairs and others did not prevent them fromgetting together
to pray behind one imaam and being conscience of its importance. This
is because they knew that division in the Religion is worse than
differing over some opinions.
Some of them ignored opinions that contradictedthe leader's position
in great gatherings like the one at Minaa, to the point that they
would abandon their own position totally in such a large gathering, to
escape the fitnah that might result in their actions based on their
position. Aboo Daawood narrated that 'Uthmaan, may Allaah be pleased
with him, prayed four rak'ahs (not shortening hisprayer) in Minaa.
'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood detested his action, saying, "I prayed two
rak'ahs behind the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), two
rak'ahs behind Aboo Bakr, two rak'ahs behind 'Umar, and I used to pray
two rak'ahs behind 'Uthmaan in the beginning of his leadership, but
then he began to complete the prayer (praying four rak'ahs), and thus
the paths became divided. I only wish that I could have two of the
four rak'ahs accepted from me." Thereafter, Ibn Mas'ood prayed four
rak'ahs ! So it was said to him, "You blame 'Uthmaanand then you
yourself pray four rak'ahs?!" He replied, "Differing is evil." [5]
And Ahmad narrated this exact account on the authority of Aboo Tharr
[6], may Allaah be pleased with all of them.

What’s the Point in Studying Islam?

DRIVING back from my last final exam of the semester,my thoughts were
quickly arranging themselves into a list of all the 'to-do' things and
'to-read' books that I can now give attention to. But before that, the
elder with whom I was riding home had a very peculiar question for me.
It all began with him simply enquiring about how I did my paper, when
do I have my next semester and then, how long is the course. "Four
years?" was his startled response on being told the course duration.
Then camethe bomb. "Why are you studying this? Will it get you a job?"
I have found myself in this spot a few times before, having to explain
to peoplewhat good a four-year Bachelors degree in IslamicStudies
would do for me. I fail to understand why the answer to this—which
appears as rather obvious to me —is not so easily comprehensible for
others. Clearing my throat, I gave him two answers, one to convince
him and another to convince myself. "Of course, you could get a
job.Any school would be ardent to get me on board as an Islamic
Studies teacher," I said quietly, remembering when a few months back I
ended up in a small school for an interview for an Islamic Studies
teaching job. I hadn't brought along my CV, but on learning that I was
doing a course in Islamic Studies, the school'sowner looked
sufficiently pleased at her discovery and handed me books to prepare
myself for class next day. I never returned the next day, given that I
considered teaching as "not my cup of tea."
Next, I stated the obvious to my relative, who by now appeared
slightly more convinced. "See, when you are studying such wonderful
subjects like Aqeedah, Seerah, Hadith, Tajweed , isn't it great to
derive so much knowledge about Allah SWT and His religion out ofit?"
More often than not, we measure the suitability of an academic program
in terms of profit and loss – financial at that – and/or our own
interests. Will it get me a good job? What does the industry look like
in the next 10 years? Does the subject interest me? Is it my passion?
Talking of interests, Islam is our Fitrah , which we are born with. So
by default, we should be naturally inclined to improve our practice of
the Deen by studying and perfecting it.
As for profit and loss, Ibn Al-Jawzi رحمه الله said: "It happens that
a person has good health, but does not have free time because of his
being engaged in earning his livelihood; or he is rich but has no good
health. So, if these two (good health and free time) are gathered in a
person, butlaziness overtakes him from fulfilling his duties, then he
is a loser. (Know that) this world is the harvest field of the
hereafter; and in it there is business, the profit of which will be
visible in the Hereafter. So, whoever utilizes his free time and good
health in the obedience of Allah, he is the blessed one. And he who
utilizes themin the disobedience of Allah, he is the one who is unjust
to himself, because the leisure time is affected by business and
health is affected by sickness." [Fath al-Bari 11/23]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) made seeking knowledge an obligation
upon every Muslim. (Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi) It is true that gaining
detailed Islamic knowledge is a responsibility of a few in society (
Fard Kifaayah ), and when they (scholars) pursue it, others are not
obliged to. However, it is inthe interest of each one of us to study
the practical aspects of our Deen – be it our Aqeedah (The Prophet
(peace be upon him) preached only matters of Aqeedah for thirteen
years in Makkah, this is how important Aqeedah is!), or Fiqh issues,
such as those related to our prayer (Can we pray Isha after midnight?
Or knees first or hands first in Sujood ?), or just who wouldn't want
to acquire a beautiful Tilawah (recitation) of the Qur'an, knowing
where to pause atthe right places and with the right intonation and
teach it to our children?
These issues are even moreimportant to most of us because our belief
systems,methods of prayer, Qur'anicrecitation, and so on are so
culturally influenced that they may contradict true Islamic teachings.
Therefore, this is all the more reason to strive to correct ourselves.
The contemporary seeker of Islamic knowledge is probably seeing one of
the best times in recent history, as authentic knowledge is now easily
available at the click of a button and just a website away, no matter
in where he or she resides. Every now and then I receive online
invites to 'live sessions' by well-known scholars on Aqeedah, Tajweed
and various other Islamic sciences. The best part is that most of
these are free and short-term, making it easy for busy individuals to
take advantage of them.

The Dead Lamb

Jabir b. Abdullah reported that Allah's Messenger (sallAllahu 'alyhi
wasallam) happened to walk through the market coming from the side of
'Aliya and the people were on both his sides. There he found a dead
lamb with very short ears. He took hold of his ear and said:
"Who amongst you would like to have this for a dirham?"
They said: 'We do not like to have it even for less than that as it is
of no use to us.' He (sallAllahu 'alyhi wasallam) said:
"Do you wish to have it (free of any cost)?"
They said: 'By Allah, even if it were alive (we would not have liked
to possess that), for there is detect in it as its ear is very short;
now it is dead also.' Thereupon Allah's Messenger (sallAllahu
'alyhiwasallam) said:
"By Allah, this world is more insignificant in the eye of Allah as it
(this dead lamb) is in your eye."
(Muslim :: Book 42 : Hadith 7059 )

Ali Ibn Talib and his Love for Abu Bakr – Farewell Speech

"The city of Al-Madeenah literally trembled on the day that Abu Bakr
(radi Allaahu 'anhu) died; in fact;other than the day of the Prophet's
death the peopleof Madeenah had never witnessed a sadder day, nor a
day upon which they had shed more tears. Upon hearing the sad news,
'Ali ibn Abi-Talib (radi Allaahu 'anhu) hurried towards AbuBakr's
house, all the while saying, "Verily we belong to Allah, and to Him is
our return."
'Ali (radi Allaahu 'anhu) then stood outside the house in which Abu
Bakr (raadi Allaahu 'anhu) had died, and made the following long
speech, which he addressed to Abu Bakr (raadi Allaahu 'anhu) himself:
"O Abu Bakr, may Allah have Mercy upon you. You were the closest
companion and friend of the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam); you were a comfort to him; you were the one he trusted most.
If he had a secret, he would tell it to you; and if he needed to
consult someone regarding a matter, he would consult you. You were the
first of your people to embrace Islam, and you were the most sincere
of them in your faith. Your faith was stronger than any other
person's, as was the degreeto which you feared Allah. And you were
wealthier then anyone else in terms of what you acquired from the
religion of Allah 'Azza Wa-Jall (The Posessor of Might and Majesty).
You cared most for both the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam) and Islam. Of all people, you were the best Companion to the
Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam); you possessed the
best qualities; you had the best past; you ranked the highest; and you
were closest to him. And of all people you resembled the Messenger of
Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) the most in terms of his guidance
and demeanor. Your ranking was higher than anyone else's, and the
Prophet (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) honored you and held you in
higher esteem than anyone else. On behalf of the Messenger of Allah
and Islam, may Allah reward you with the best of rewards. When the
people disbelieved in the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam) you believed in him. Throughout his life, you were both his
eyes with which he (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), and his ears with
which he heard. Allah has named you truthful in his book when He said:
"And he (Muhammad (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) who has brought the
truth (this Qur'an and Islamic Monotheism) and (those who) believed
therein (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism), those are
Al-Muttaqun (the pious andrighteous persons)" (Qur'an39:33)
When people were stingy in their support for the Messenger of Allah
(salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) you comforted him.And when people sat
still, you stood side by side withthe Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu
'alayhi wa sallam), facing the same hardships that he faced. In times
of hardship, you were truly a good and noble Companion of his. You
were the 'second of two', his Companion in the Cave; and the one upon
whom As-Sakeenah descended. You were his Companion during the
migration and you were his successor regarding the religion of Allah
and His nation. And truly good sucessor you proved to be when the
people apostatized.
You did what no other Khaleefah of a Prophet did before you. You stood
up firmly and bravely when his other Companions lost their resolve and
became soft. And when they became weak, you adheredto the methodology
of the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). You truly
were as the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:
weak in your body, but strong regarding the commands of Allah; humble
in yourself, but lofty in your ranking with Allah; well-esteemed in
theeyes of people, honored and great in their hearts. Not a single one
of them had any reason to dislike you, to be suspicious of you, or to
hold you in contempt.
The weak and humble you have always treated as strong and honorable,
making sure you gave them what was rightfully theirs. And in this
regard, you have treated relatives and strangers equally. Of all
people, you respect those who are most obedient to Allah and who fear
Him the most. In your overall character, you embody truth and
compassion. Your speech has always been characterized by the qualities
of wisdom and decisiveness. And you have always struck a noble balance
between gentleness and firmness. You have always based your decisions
on knowedge, and once you have made your decisions, you have always
kept a firm resolve to execute them.
Verily to Allah do we belong, and to Him is our return. We are pleased
with, and we submit to, Allah's decree. And by Allah,other than the
death of theMessenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) Muslims
have neverbeen afflicted with a greater calamity than the calamity of
your death. Youhave always been a protector....