Should he give water toa thirsty man when he fears that he himself may become thirsty in the desert?

If a person is walking in the desert and he has some water, but he
fears that he may become thirsty later on, and there is someone who is
thirsty now, does he have to givehim water or not?
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami was asked this question and he replied:
Two views were mentioned in al-Majmoo', in (the chapter called)
al-Muqaddam, and I do not know of anyone who stated that one of them
was more correct than theother. The one which appears to be more
correct is that he should give water to the one who is thirsty at that
time, if there is the fear that he will die of thirst, because his
death is certain, unlike the one who has the water, who has the chance
of finding more water later on. But if he is in an arid land where he
despairs of finding water and he thinks it most likely that death is
inevitable if he gives away the water thathe has with him, then the
matter is subject to further discussion, and it is more likely that
giving the water in this case is not obligatory. The same applies if
the thirsty person fears that he may lose a limb or become sicketc.
because of his thirst, and the one who has the water fears that he may
die later on, then it is also more likely to be correct that he does
not have to give away the water.

Is it permissible to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah for a specific blessing?

Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to
offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The blessings that Allaah bestows upon people are many, and His bounty
andgenerosity towards them are vast. A blessing can only be responded
to by giving thanks and appreciating it. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, has enjoined giving thanks to Him, for He is Appreciative
and loves those who give thanks.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"So eat of the lawful and good food which Allaah has provided for you.
And be grateful for the Graces of Allaah, if it is He Whom you
worship"
[al-Nahl 16:144]
"seek your provision fromAllaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and
be grateful to Him. To Him(Alone) you will be brought back"
[al-'Ankaboot 29:17]
Part of being grateful to Allaah is seeking to draw closer to Him by
means ofdifferent kinds of acts of worship and to endear oneself to
Him by means of good deeds such as prayer, zakaah, fasting and so on.
Another part of being grateful to Allaah is givingthanks to Him by
means of sacrifice rituals, which means offering a sacrifice for the
sake of Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
his commentary on the verse "Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and
sacrifice (to Him only)" [al-Kawthar 108:2]:
What is meant is that prayer and sacrifice are the best of the things
by means of which one may draw closer to Allaah, and the usage of the
word fa (translated here as "therefore") points to the reason, i.e.,
doing that – prayer and sacrifice – in gratitude for that which Allaah
has given him of al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise) and much goodness.
So he should give thanks to the One Who has blessed him and worship
Him, and the twogreatest types of worship are these two acts of
worship; indeed, prayer is the ultimate act of worship. It is as if He
is saying to him: We have given you al-Kawthar and a great deal of
goodness, and We have blessed you with that because you have been
doing these two acts of worship in gratitude for Our blessing to you;
these are the reasons why We have bestowed these blessings upon you,
so do these two things for Us, for prayer and sacrifice are surrounded
by blessings that come before them and after them. The best financial
act of worship is sacrifice and the best physical act of worship is
prayer, and the benefits that a slave of Allaah may gain from prayer
cannot be compared to any othertype of worship, as is known by those
whose hearts are alive and those of high aspirations. Adding to it the
benefits of offering sacrifice, whichis a sign of devotion to Allaah
and thinking positively of Him, and having strong certainty and faith
about that which is in the hand of Allaah is something wonderful, if
that is accompanied by faith and sincerity. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed the command of his Lord and
prayed and sacrificed a great deal to Him; he even sacrificed
sixty-three camels with his own hand during the Farewell Pilgrimage,
and he used to offer sacrifices on the Eids and at other times. End
quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa 916/532).
If Allaah bestows a great blessing upon a person – and all His
blessing are great – then it is mustahabb for him to give thanks to
Allaah for itby showing kindness to people, so he should offer a
sacrifice and make food and invite his brothers and friends, and give
charity to those who are in need.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/180-181):
It is mustahabb to give thanks anew when new blessings come, by
speaking words of praise. Gratitude for that may also be expressed by
doing acts of worship, which includes offering a sacrifice or inviting
peopleto a meal. The fuqaha' have mentioned the kindsof meals that may
be offered when blessing arerenewed, such as the wakeerah which is
made for a new home, or naqee'ah which is made on the return of an
absentloved one, and hidhaaq which is done when a child completes a
reading of the Qur'aan.
The view of the Hanbalis, the more correct view among the Shaafa'is,
is that these meals are mustahabb.
Ibn Qudaamah said: Theseinvitations – other than the wedding feast
(waleemah) and 'aqeeqah– are something good, but they are like
invitations that are given for no reason; if the person who does them
intends thereby to give thanks to Allaah for His blessing and to feed
his brothers and offer food, then he will have the reward for that in
sha Allaah.

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Can a person be considered as a shaheed if he dies whilst on a business tripby sea?

Can a person be considered as a shaheed (martyr) if he dies whilst on
a business trip by sea?
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked
about a man who traveled by sea for the purpose of trade, and he was
drowned – did he dieas a shaheed?
He replied, yes, he died as a shaheed, so long as he was not
travelling for sinful purposes. For it wasnarrated in a saheeh report
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"The one who drowns is ashaheed, the one who dies of a stomach disease
is a shaheed, the one whois burnt to death is a shaheed, the one who
dies of the plague is a shaheed, the woman whodies giving birth is a
shaheed, and the one who is crushed by a collapsing building is a
shaheed." And people killed in other ways were also mentioned.
Travelling by sea for the purpose of trade is permissible, if one
thinks it is most likely to be safe.If it is not safe then he should
not travel for the purpose of trade; if he didthat [i.e., traveled
when it was not safe to do so], then he has contributed to his own
death, and in such a case we cannot saythat he was a shaheed. And
Allaah knows best

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The reward of patience is praiseworthy

Hazrat Abu Hasan Siraaj R.A. says: I was performing tawaaf once while
on Haj; when I saw a very pretty woman, shining in her beauty. I
looked at her and said:"By Allah, this beauty and fine complexion must
surely be because she never experienced any grief or sorrow."
When I said this she overheard me and said:"Sir, it is that what you
think? By Allah, I am bent down under all the sorrows and grief that
have come my way. My heart and mind is filled with so much grief and
allalong there has been no one can who share these with me."
I asked: "And how is that, lady?"
She replied: "My husband once slaughtered a goat as a Qurbaani
offering, while I was breast feedingmy infant child. My two young sons
were playing around me. When I went to cook the meat, the one son said
to the other: 'Come, let me show you how father slaughtered the goat.'
The other said: 'Well show me.' The first one then made the second
once lie down andcut his throat, as his father had slaughtered the
goat. When he realized what had happened, he ran away into the
mountains; where he was attacked bya wolf and eaten up.
The father went in search for him; searching from place to place until
he died of extreme thirst. In the mean time I was at home frantic with
worry waiting for news of him. I put down my infant child and went to
the door to inquire about anyone who might have news of my husband.
The child crawled to the fireplace where a pot was boiling. The child
touched it and the boiling pot fell upon the baby, burning it to death
in such a ghastly manner that the child�s meat became separated from
the bones.
When my married daughter heard all this, in the house of her
husband,she fell down of shock. Thus I was left alone to bear all
that."
I asked her: "And how, lady; did you manage all these misfortunes with
patience?"
She replied: "Whoever ponders on the difference between patience and
impatience, finds a world of difference between the two. The reward of
patience is praiseworthy; whereas for impatience there is nothing."
Then she recited some lines of poetry before walking away:
Patience did I exercise,
For that was my strongestpillar;
And should impatience have helped me,
Then I would have tried her.
Such patience did I on have that;
Had my trails descended on mountain high,
In broken rocks they would have ended.
Indeed did I control my eyes,
Those tears not fall;
And now within my heart alone,
My tears do roll.
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May Allah (SWT) grant us the ability to be patient! Ameen!

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