4] Is feeling proud of one’sreligion a kind of blameworthy pride?

4]
Is there anything wrong with a person feeling proud of his religion or
feeling proud of a person who does something good? Because we know
that pride in the heart is something bad.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
With regard to feeling proud of one's religion and of belonging to it,
this is something that is prescribed in Islam and is a righteous deed.
A story from one of the battles illustrates this point: Abu Sufyaan,
the leader of Quraysh, expressed pride in his religion and the
religion of his people – as he had not yet entered Islam. TheProphet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) answered his boast with an
expression of the Muslim's pride in his religion and his affirmation
of the Oneness of the Lord of theWorlds.
Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh (3039) from the hadeeth of al-Bara'
ibn 'Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) that after the battle Abu
Sufyaan ibn Harb started composing rajz verse and saying: "Rise in
honour, Hubal; rise in honour Hubal."
The Prophet blessings andpeace of Allah be upon him) said: "Why don't
youanswer him?"
They said: "O Messenger of Allah, what should we say?"
He said: "Say: Allah is MostHigh and Most Glorious."
Abu Sufyaan said: We have al-'Uzza and you have no 'Uzza."
The Prophet blessings andpeace of Allah be upon him) said: "Why don''t
you answer him?"
They said: "O Messenger of Allah, what should we say?"
He said: "Say: Allah is our Supporter and you have no supporter!"
Allah, may He be exalted, has taught His slaves that true pride and
perfect honour can only be achieved by obeying Allah. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Whosoever desires honour, power and glory then to Allaah belong all
honour, power and glory [and one can get honour, power and glory only
by obeying and worshipping Allaah (Alone)]. To Him ascend (all) the
goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (i.e. the goodly words
are not accepted by Allaah unless and until they are followed by good
deeds), but those who plot evils, theirs will be severe torment. And
the plotting of such will perish"
[Faatir 35:10].
i.e., and whoever would like to be honoured in thisworld and the
Hereafter, let him adhere to obedience to Allah, then he will attain
what he wants, because Allah is the Sovereign of this world and the
Hereafter, and all honour, power and glory belong to Him, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who take disbelievers for Awliyaa' (protectors or helpers or
friends) instead of believers, do they seek honour, power and glory
with them? Verily, then toAllaah belongs all honour,power and glory"
[al-Nisa' 4:139]
"And let not their speech grieve you (O Muhammad r), for all power and
honour belong to Allaah"
[Yoonus 10:65]
"But honour, power and glory belong to Allaah, and to His Messenger
(Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), and to the believers,but the hypocrites
know not"
[al-Munaafiqoon 63:8].
Mujaahid said: "Whosoever desires honour, power and glory"[al-Faatir
35:10] by worshipping idols, "then to Allaah belong all honour, power
and glory.
Qataadah said: "Whosoever desires honour, power and glory then to
Allaah belong all honour, power and glory"i.e., let him seek honour,
power and glory by obeying Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 6/536
Secondly:
With regard to a person feeling proud of himself, ifit is because he
is religiously committed, righteous and pious, then it is good, but if
it is because of anything else, such as lineage, ancestry, wealth,
position or status among people, then this is an act of Jaahiliyyah
and is not permissible.
Muslim (1550) narrated from Abu Maalik al-Ash'ari(may Allah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "There are four matters of Jaahiliyyah in my ummah that they
will not give up: pride in one'sforefathers, slandering lineages,
seeking rain by the stars and wailing (for the dead)."
Muslim (5109) also narrated from 'Iyaad ibn Himaar al-Mujaasha'i
(mayAllah be pleased with that) that the Messenger of Allah (sa) said
one day in his khutbah: "Allah has revealed to me that you should be
humble so that no one will boast to anyone else and no one will
transgress against anyone else."
Al-Majd Ibn Tamiyah (mayAllah have mercy on him) said: Allah has
forbidden on the lips of His Prophet two types of mistreatment of
people: pride and transgression against them and scorn.
Fayd al-Qadeer, 2/217
The guideline with regardto this issue is: whatever is a source of
pride and honour because of religion is part of the religion and is
praiseworthy; any source of pride other than that is blameworthy.

Will the seven whom Allah will shade with Hisshade on the Day of Resurrection be broughtto account?

Is that the seven types of people who will be shaded by allah will
they also go paradise withut account.
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated that 'Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: The Prophet of Allah (blessings and peaceof Allah be upon
him) said: "Seventy thousand of my ummah will enter Paradise without
being brought to account." Theysaid: Who are they, O Messenger of
Allah? He said: "They are the ones who do not ask others to perform
ruqyah for them, or believe in omens, or use cautery, and they put
their trust in their Lord."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5270) and Muslim (321).
These four categories will not be brought to accountand will not be
punished. With regard to other people who are not included in these
categories, they will be brought to account… ThenAllah will forgive
them.
It was narrated from Safwaan ibn Muhriz that aman asked Ibn 'Umar:
What did you hear the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) say about an-najwah (the private conversation that Allah
will have with His slaves on the Day of Resurrection)? He said: "One
of you will draw close to his Lord until He will screen him, then He
will say: 'You did such andsuch,' and he will say: 'Yes'; and He will
say: 'Youdid such and such,' and hewill say: 'Yes,' and He will make
him admit [other deeds]. Then He will say 'I concealed them for you
inthe world, and I forgive you for them today.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2261).
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) said: The Muslims
areunanimously agreed that the Reckoning will definitely take place on
the Day of Resurrection. The way the Reckoning will be conducted for
the believer is that Allah will converse privately with him; He will
make him admit his sins until he thinks that he is doomed, then Allah
will say to him:"I concealed it for you in the world and I forgive you
for it today." And He will give him the book of his good deeds.
As for the disbelievers andhypocrites, it will be called out before
all creatures: "These are the ones who lied against their Lord! No
doubt! the curse of Allah is on the Zalimoon (polytheists,
wrong-doers, oppressors, etc.)." [Hood 11:18]
Agreed upon, from the hadeeth of Ibn 'Umar.
The Reckoning applies to all people except those whom the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said will be exempted. They
are seventy thousand of this ummah, one of whom is 'Ukkaashah ibn
Mihsan. They will enter Paradise without being brought to account and
without any punishment. (Agreed upon.) Ahmad narrated a marfoo' report
from Thawbaan which says that each one of them will have seventy
thousand with him. Ibn Katheer said: It is a saheeh hadeeth, and he
mentioned corroborating evidence for it.
End quote from Sharh Lam'at al-I'tiqaad, 1/38
Shaykh al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said: This is a great
bounty, as the rest of creation will bebrought to account; some of
them will have an easy reckoning and some of them will be questioned
in detail.
End quote from I'aanat al-Mustafeed Sharh Kitaabat-Tawheed, 1/87
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said: What is meant
by making him admit his sinsis that He will make him confess to them.
Some of the believers will be admitted to Paradise without being
brought to account, as mentioned in the saheeh hadeeth aboutthe
seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without being brought to
account and without being punished.
The Reckoning will vary; some of it will be a mere presentation, which
is a brief look, and some of it will be questioned in detail. In
as-Saheehayn it is narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with
her) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "No one will be brought to account on the Day of
Resurrection except he will be doomed." I said: O Messenger of Allah,
Allah says (interpretation of themeaning): "Then, as for him who will
be given his Record in his right hand, He surely will receive an easy
reckoning" [al-Inshiqaaq 84:8]. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Rather that is a mere presentation
and no one will be questioned in detail on the Day of Resurrection but
he will be punished."
End quote from Sharh al-'Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah, 1/113
To sum up: the special privilege that is mentioned in the hadeeth,
"[they] will enterParadise without being brought to account" is
exclusively for those who are mentioned in the hadeeth; people apart
from them will be brought to account.
And Allah knows best.

Is it permissible to say, “By Allah, I shall certainly discipline you, O nafs”?

I have come up with a campaign called "By Allah,I shall certainly
discipline you, O nafs". This is a campaign that promotes
self-development and jihad an-nafs. I am going to set up programs for
purifying the soul, softening the heart and reminding one of death,
and I want to post lectures by trustworthy shaykhs.
Is there anything wrong with saying I shall certainly discipline the
nafs that was created by Allah?
Does the fact that this title contains an oath mean that other
membersare compelled to join the campaign? Please note that I said
that whoever posts a comment on this topic will be regarded as having
joined us in this campaign.
Praise be to Allah.
There is nothing wrong with a person saying to himself, "I shall
certainly discipline you, O nafs" if he is disciplining himself in
accordance with the teachings of Islam. Even though Allah created the
nafs, the main purpose forwhich Allah has prescribed religion is to
discipline the nafs, purify it, and instruct it to do acts of worship
and obedience. To Allah belong the creation and the commandment.
Imam al-Aajurri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If someone were to say: what evidence is there fordisciplining the
nafs? The answer is: The Qur'aan, the Sunnah and the wordsof the
Muslim scholars. End quote from Adab an-Nufoos, p. 9
He also said (p. 17):
How bad is the situation of the one who neglects to discipline his
nafs and train it on the basis of knowledge; and how good is the
situation of the one who pays attention to disciplining his nafs and
knows what Allah has enjoined upon him and what He has forbidden to
him, and is patient in going against the whims and desires of his
nafs, and seeks the help of Allah the Almightyin doing so. End quote.
And he narrated in his book (p. 13) that ar-Rabee' ibn Anas said,
concerning the verse "Ward off from yourselvesand your families a Fire
(Hell)" [at-Tahreem 66:6]: Discipline and train yourselves and your
families to adhere to the commands of Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted.
And he narrated (p. 14) that Sa'eed ibn Jubayr said: that is: proper
etiquette and manners.
Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) said (p. 15): Do you not see,
may Allah have mercy on you, that your Lord Most Generous is urging
you to discipline yourself and your families. Pay heed toAllah and
make yourselves adhere to that.End quote.
Based on that: there is nothing wrong with the phrase mentioned and
there is nothing wrong with giving the group the title mentioned, even
if this phrase was not narrated in this way from some of the Salaf, so
long as it is Islamically acceptable in and of itself and does not
include anything that is not appropriate according to Islam.
If you choose a title that is similar in meaning, suchas
"Self-discipline" or "Training the nafs" and soon, that is also good.
Suchwords were used as book titles by some of the Salaf.
The oath mentioned is not regarded as compelling anyone to jointhe
group; rather he is a member if he accepts the conditions stipulated
in the group.
And Allah knows best.

Answering the telephone whilst praying

They were praying one of the prayers at home when the telephone
started to ring, and it distracted them with its ringing for a long
time. Is it permissible in such cases for the worshipper to take a few
steps forwards or backwards and pick up the receiver and say "Allaahu
akbar" or raise his voice in recitation so that the caller will know
that he is praying – by analogy with(the hadeeth with speaks of)
opening the door to one who knocks or raisinghis voice so that he can
hear you?
Praise be to Allaah.
If the worshipper is in the position that you describeand the phone
starts ringing, it is permissible for him to lift the receiver,even if
he has to move a little way forward or back,or to the right or left,
on the condition that he keeps facing the qiblah and he says 'Subhaan
Allaah' so that the person who is calling will know (that he is
praying). It wasnarrated in al-Saheehayn that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray whilst
carrying his granddaughter Umaamah.When he did rukoo', he would put
her down, and when he stood up he would pick her up again. According
to a report in Muslim, this was when he was leading the people in
prayer in the mosque. (Narrated by Maalik, 1/170; al-Bukhaari,
1/487,in Sutrat al-Musalli, Baab idha hamala jaariyatan sagheeratan
'ala 'unuqihi; Muslim, 543, in al-Masaajid, Baab jawaaz Hamal
al-Subyaan; Abu Dawood, no. 917-920; al-Nasaa'i, 2/45).
Ahmad and others narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) was praying in his house with the door closed. I came (to
the door) and he walked over and opened the door for me, then he went
back to his place." She mentioned that the door was in the direction
of the Qiblah. (Narrated by Ahmad, 6/31; Abu Dawood, 922; al-Nasaa'i,
1/178; al-Tirmidhi, 2/497).
Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever notices something
alarming whilst praying, then men should say 'Subhaan Allaah' and
women should clap their hands."
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.