1] How did Allaah open the chest of His noble Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings

1]
How did Allah the exalted dissect the messenger's chest (PBUH), when
He theexalted says:
"Have We not expanded thee thy breast?"
Is it true that it was by Gabriel's hands during themessenger's life?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, honoured His Prophets and
Messengers with immense blessings, first and foremost among which, and
the highest in status, was the blessing ofProphethood, as He chose
them to be close to Him and to bestow His mercy upon them.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"but Allaah chooses of His Messengers whom He wills"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:179]
"And also some of their fathers and their progeny and their brethren,
We chose them, and We guided them to the Straight Path"
[al-An'aam 6:87]
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose His Prophet and Close
Friend Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for more
honour and bestowed a high status upon him, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Had not the Grace of Allaah and His Mercy beenupon you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم), a party of them would certainly have made a
decision to mislead you, but (in fact) they mislead none except their
own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allaah has
sent down to you the book (the Qur'aan), and Al-Hikmah (Islamic laws,
knowledge of legal and illegal things, i.e. the Prophet's Sunnah --
legal ways), and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is
the Grace of Allaah unto you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)"
[al-Nisa' 4:113]
As part of this Grace, Allaah opened the chest of His Noble Messenger
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and He referred
to this great blessing in a soorah of theQur'aan that will be recited
until the Day of Resurrection. It is called Soorat al-Sharh.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"Have We not opened your breast for you ((O Muhammad?"
[al-Sharh 94:1]
The opening of the chest of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah
be upon him) points to a number of important meanings:
1 - Allaah opened his heart to Islam as a religion and law, which is
the greatest thing to which the heart may be opened. This is the
interpretation of Ibn 'Abbaas, as reported by al-Bukhaari in a
mu'allaq report in his Saheeh (Kitaab al-Tafseer/Baab Soorat al-Sharh,
p. 982).
2 - Allaah opened the chest of His Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in order to fill it (his heart) with
wisdom,knowledge and faith, as itwas interpreted by al-Hasan al-Basri.
The scholars mentioned in their commentaries on this incident of the
opening of the Prophet's chest, which happened twice during his life.
The first occurred when he was small and living among Banu Sa'd.
It was narrated from Anasibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that that Jibreel came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) whenhe was playing with the other boys. He took
hold of him and threw him to the ground, then he opened his chest and
tookout his heart, from which he took a clot of blood and said: "This
was the Shaytaan's share of you." Then he washed it in a vessel of
gold that was filled with Zamzam. Then he put it back together and
returned it to its place. The boys went running to his mother -
meaning his nurse - and said: Muhammad has been killed! They went to
him and his colour had changed. Anas said: I usedto see the mark of
that stitching on his chest.
Narrated by Muslim (162).
The second occurred on the night of the Isra'.
Abu Dharr used to narratethat the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The roof of my house was
opened when I was in Makkah, and Jibreel (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) came down and split open my chest, then he washed
it with Zamzam water. Then he brought a golden basin filled with
wisdom and faith and emptied it into my chest. Then he sealed it..."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (349) and Muslim (163).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Fath
al-Baari (7/204):
Some of them denied thathis chest was opened on the night of the
Isra', and said that this only happened when he was small and living
among Banu Sa'd. But that cannotbe denied because there are many
reports about it.... All that has been narrated about his chest being
opened, his heart being taken out and otherextraordinary events must
be accepted withoutobjection or trying to interpret it other than what
it appears to mean, because Allaah si Able to do all that and none of
that is impossible. Al-Qurtubi said in al-Mufhim: No attention should
be paid to denials of the opening of his chest on the night of the
Isra', because the narrators are trustworthy and well known. End quote
:->

Can a person start fasting six days of Shawwaal when he still has days to make up from Ramadaan?

If a person fasts six days of Shawwaal after Ramadaan when he has not
yet completed the Ramadaan fast because he did not fast ten days
ofRamadaan for a legitimate reason will he have the same reward as a
person who fasted all ofRamadaan and followed itwith six days of
Shawwaal, i.e. will he be like a person who fasted for a lifetime?
Please explain to us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
The precise rewards for the deeds which people do for the sake of
Allaah issomething which is known only to Allaah. If a person seeks
the reward from Allaah and strives to obey Him, his reward will not be
lost, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"We shall not make the reward of anyone who does his (righteous)
deedsin the most perfect manner to be lost." [al-Kahf 18:30]. If
someone has missed some of the days of Ramadaan, he should fast them
first, then fast six days of Shawwaal, because he cannot follow the
fast of Ramadaan with six days of Shawwaal unless he has completed his
Ramadaan fast.
And Allaah is the source ofstrength. May Allaah bless our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah,

She wants to open a beauty salon and is asking about offering her services to non-Muslim women

I live in the United States and I am planning to open a hair salon,
but I heard that it is not permissible to offer this service except to
Muslim sisters who wear hijab. But in fact the location of this salon
will be in a place where there are no Muslims and the Muslim women who
come to it will be coming from far away, which is another matter
altogether. At the same time I cannot close the door to non-Muslim
women; rather from experience when I was a student in university
studying cosmetology it seems to me that this field is an opportunity
for da'wah because non-Muslim women will ask about why I wear hijab
and sometimes we have a detailed discussionwhich may lead to one of
them being guided, if Allah wills. In addition to that, most of my
neighbours are non-Muslim, as are some of our relatives, and all of
them want me to offer my services to them. What is your opinion?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
For a woman to work as ahairdresser for women is permissible in
principle, solong as that is not accompanied by any haraam things that
usually accompany this kind of work.
See the answer to question no. 120891
Secondly:
If most of the people in the place where you choose to work are not
Muslims and your work will basically be with kaafir women, then it is
not permissible for you towork in the field, because all of the
required guidelines on working in that field cannot be adhered to with
those who do not believe that these things are haraam and do not
adhere to thatat all. Undoubtedly working in that field will be
helping them in not covering and in making a wanton display and
uncovering, and even nakedness and changing the creation of Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of themeaning):
"Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness
andpiety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And
fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment"
[al-Maa'idah 5:2].
Thirdly:
With regard to the issue of mixing with these women and calling them
to Islam, this is a noble and important matter. However, it is not
permissible to participate with them in whatever they do of sins, or
to help them in that. It is not permissible to commit a certain sin
for the sake of a hoped-for or imagined interest. It is possible to
achieve the interest of da'wah by other ways or in other places where
it is not necessary to help them in sin.

Muslims say they do not worship idols. When they go to Mecca, why do they kiss a black stone?

Isn't that like worshippingan idol?
Muslims do not worship the black stone. They regard the stone as a
created thing. The most fundamental principle of Islam is that nothing
or no one is to be worshipped except Allah, the one true God.
Muslims who can afford the journey are required once in their lifetime
to visit the House of Worshipin Makkah. This was the first house built
for the worship of the one true God. It was constructed byAbraham and
his son Ishmael, peace be upon them. The black stone was brought to
them from heaven by the angel Gabriel to function as a corner stone.
It was thus affixed in one corner.
Because Muslims kiss that stone, some observers hastily conclude that
Muslims worship it. A kiss, however, is not an act of worship unless
it is accompanied by an intention to worship. If you kiss your child,
for instance, that does not mean you worship your child.
Some may find it strange that Muslims should treat a stone with
respect. But this is not just any old stone. It is an item out of
paradise.
The act of fixing a stone to mark a place of worship is as old as
history. In the Bible we are told that Jacob, on whom be peace, had
fixeda stone at a place where he saw a vision. He poured oil on it and
calledit Bethel meaning 'house of God' (see Genesis 28:18). He did
this again upon God's instruction (see Genesis 35:1, 14, 15). No one
should understand from this that God instructed Jacob to worship the
stone.