2a] The sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) “al-Battaar” and his relics in museums

2a]
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) conquered Makkah, he did not enter the Ka’bah until after he had issued instructions that the images inside it be erased.
It was narrated from Jaabir that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him), at the time of the conquest when he was in al-Bat-ha’, to go to the Ka’bah and erase every image that was inside it, and theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not enter ituntil it had been rid of every image that was inside it.
Narrated by Abu Dawood(4156); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
It is proven in the Sunnah that the handle of the sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was made of silver.
It was narrated that Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl said: The pommel of the swordof the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was made of silver. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i (5373) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is permissible to adorn a sword with a little silver, because there was some silver on the sword of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him).
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (25/64).
Thirdly:
The claims made on that website – that this is the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – may be answered by noting that there is no proof that any of the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) survived for sure. Claims have been made that shoes, hair, garments and precious stones that belonged to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exist in many parts of the world, and every nation claims that it is right and others are wrong. But it has been proven in the past and in recent times that the claims of many topossess items owned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are false, because they are making money out of these claims.
In his book Mafaakahah al-Khullaan fi Hawaadith al-Zamaan, Ibn Tuloon mentioned the events of 919 AH, when someone claimed to have in his possession a vessel and some of the sticks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but then they realized that these were not relics of the Prophet, rather they were relics of al-Layth ibn Sa’d.
Some of the khulafa’ and senior Sahaabah preserved some relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but many of them were lost in the turmoils that befell the Islamic state one after another.
For example, when the Tatars attacked Baghdad (656 AH), they burned the cloak (burdah) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When Timurlane attacked Damascus (803 AH), shoes that were said to have belonged to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) disappeared.
Hence the imams doubtedthat it could be proven that any of the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have survived until now, and some of them are certain that it cannot be proven.
1 – Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, speaking of the garments of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
I say: It is not known what happened to these three garments after that.
Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (6/10) and al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah (4/713).
2 – al-Suyooti (may Allaahhave mercy on him) said:
This burdah was in the keeping of the caliphs who passed it down to one another and wore it on their shoulders in processions, both walkingand riding. It was being worn by al-Muqtadir when he was killed and was stained with blood. I think that it was lost during the turmoil causedby the Tatars. Inna Lillaahiwa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (verily we belong to Allaah and unto Him is our return).
Tareekh al-Khulafa’ (p. 14).
3 – The great scholar Ahmad Timur Pasha said –after listing the relics attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Istanbul:
It is obvious that some of these relics may be genuine, but we do not see any of the trustworthy scholars stating definitely whetherthey are genuine or not. Allaah, may He be glorified, knows best about them. But with regard to some of them, we cannot hide our suspicion concerning them
Al-Athaar al-Nabawiyyah (p. 78)
And on p. 82 he said – after quoting reports of some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) seeking blessing from the hairs of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): :->/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

2] The sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) “al-Battaar” and his relics in museums

2]
I have read of and seen photographs of a sword called al-battar that the prophet salallahu alaihi wa salaam supposedly owned. pictures of the sword can be seen here:
http://www.usna.edu/Users/humss/bwheeler/swords/batar.html the sword is inscribed with the name of the prophets and has a picture of prophet dawood alaihi salam cutting off the headof goliath on it. considering the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalaam forbade pictures of peopleor animals, why would heown a sword that has pictures on it? any response would be appreciated.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
In the books of Seerah it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a number of swords. Some of the scholars said that he had nine swords, but there is no proof of that in the saheeh Sunnah except in the case of only one.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaahhave mercy on him) said:
He (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him) had nine swords: Ma’thoor, which was the first sword he owned and which he inherited from his father; al-‘Adb (cutting or sharp); Dhu’l-Fiqaar, which almost never left his side, its handle, its pommel, its ring, its decorations and the end of its scabbard were made of silver; al-Qal’i; al-Battaar; al-Hatif; al-Rasoob; al-Mikhdham; and al-Qadeeb. The end of the scabbard was of silver.
His sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was acquired as booty at the battle of Badr, and it is the one that was shownin dreams.
When he entered Makkah on the day of the Conquest, there were goldand silver on his sword. [This was classed as da’eef(weak) by al-Albaani in Mukhtasar al-Shamaa’il (87)]. Zaad al-Ma’aad (1/130). See also: al-Taraateeb al-Idaariyyahby al-Kataani (1/343).
The only sword for which there is proof in the saheeh Sunnah is Dhu’l-Fiqaar.
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired his word Dhu’l-Fiqaar on the day of Badr and this is the one that hesaw in a dream on the day of Uhud.
It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1561) and IbnMaajah (2808) and classedas hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
The phrase translated here as “acquired” means he took it in addition to his share of the booty.
Ahmad (2441) narrated – in a report classed as hasan by al-Arna’oot – a more complete account, in which the dream is described:
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired his sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar on the day of Badr, and it is the one concerning which he saw a dream on the day of Uhud. He said: “I saw that my sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was blunted and I interpreted that as some loss that would affect you.And I saw myself with a ram riding behind me andI interpreted that ... ; and Isaw myself wearing a strong coat of chain-mail and I interpreted that as Madeenah. And I saw cattle being slaughtered, and by Allaah what good cattle they are, by Allaah what good cattle they are.” What the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said came to pass.
The sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was called Dhu’l-Fiqaar because it had fine and beautiful engraving on it and engraving may be called fiqrah in Arabic. This was the most famousof his swords.
As for his sword al-Battaar, it is mentionedby Ibn Sa’d in al-Tabaqaat(1/486), but it is mursal – which is a type of da’eef (weak) report – its isnaad includes al-Waaqidi. And there are other ahaadeethwhich are not saheeh.
Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraqi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: In al-Tabaqaat, Ibn Sa’d mentions the mursal report of Marwaanibn Abi Sa’eed Ibn al-Mu’alla who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired three swords from the weapons of Banu Qaynuqa’: a sword called Qa’li, a sword calledBattaar and a sword called al-Hatif. After that, he got al-Mikhdham and Rasoob.
Its isnaad includes al-Waaqidi.
Takhreej Ahaadeeth al-Ihya’ (2471).
Al-Qal’i is named after Marj al-Qal’ah, a place in the desert.
Since there is no proof in the saheeh Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a sword bythis name, how can we believe that it existed in the form described by the one who claims that it is apicture of the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?
Secondly:
There is a description in the Sunnah of the sword of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him), Dhu’l-Fiqaar, but it does not say that it included an image of anyone. How could the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have kept sucha sword, when he is the one who forbade images and ordered that they be erased? :->/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

What does Islam sayabout Domestic violence?

Islam condemns domesticviolence. Once a number of women came to the
prophet, on whom be peace, to complain that their husbands had beaten
them. The prophetannounced that men whobeat their wives are not good
men. The prophet also said: Do not beat the female servants of Allah.
Allah knows that life is not always a bowl of cherries. And so He
stipulates that a man must be kind to his wife even if he happens to
dislike her (Qur'an 4:19). Allah offers a good reasonas to why men
should notdislike their wives. Allah says that He has placed much good
in women (Qur'an 4:19). In this regard the prophet Muhammad, on whom
be peace, said that no believing man should hold a grudge against a
believing woman. So what is a husband to do ifhe dislikes some things
about his wife? This is bound to occur, since no human being is
perfect. The prophet instructed that men should look for the agreeable
traits in their wives rather than focus on their faults. (See Saheeh
Muslim, chapter on advice relating to women).
The prophet also advised men that if they wish to benefit from
marriage they should accept their wives as they are rather than try to
straighten them out and thus end upin divorce. In the following verse
of the Qur'an, Allah warns men that if they retain their wives in
marriage it should not be to take advantage of them. The verse reads:
Retain them in kindness or release them in kindness. But do not retain
them to their hurt so that you transgress (the limits). If anyone does
that he wrongs his own soul. Do not take God's instructions as a
jest(Qur'an 2:231).
Once the prophet, on whom be peace, was asked what are the obligations
of husbands toward their wives. He replied:
Feed her when you eat, and provide her clothing when you provide
yourself. Neither hit her on the face nor use impolite language when
addressing her (See Mishkat, chapter on the maintenance of women).
The prophet equated perfect belief with good treatment to one's wife
when he said:
The most perfect believer is one who is the best in courtesy and
amiable manners, and the best among you people is one who is most kind
and courteous to his wives (see Tirmidhi, chapter on the obligations
of a man to his wife).
Finally, the prophet, the best example of conduct said:
The best among you is the one who treats his family best.
Some of the last words of the prophet delivered during the farewell
pilgrimage enjoins that men should hold themselves accountable before
Allah concerning the question of how they treat their wives. Therefore
his advice to all men, is as follows:
You must treat them withall kindness.

What does Jihad mean?

The word Jihad representsa concept which is much misunderstood in the
West. The concept is explained nicely by the Christian scholar Ira 6.
Zepp, Jr. in his book entitled A Muslim Primer on pages 133-135. We
adapt from his answer thefollowing:
The essential meaning of Jihad is the spiritual, psychological, and
physical effort we exert tobe close to God and thus achieve a just and
harmonious society. Jihad literally means "striving" or "struggle" and
is shorthand for Jihad fi Sabeel Allah (struggle for God's cause). In
a sense, every Muslim is a Mujahid,one who strives for God and
justice.
Al-Ghazali captured the essence of Jihad when he said: "The real Jihad
is the warfare against (one's own) passions. Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi
calls Jihad "the execution of effort against evil in the self and
every manifestation of evil in society." In a way, Jihad is the
Muslim's purest sacrifice: a struggle to livea perfect life and
completely submit to God.
Another form of Jihad is the striving to translate the Word of God
into action. If one has experienced God and received guidance from the
Qur'an, one struggles to apply that guidance in daily life. So the
larger, more prevalent meaning of Jihad is the spiritual struggle of
the soul. In this case, Jihad is always present for the believer
whether there is an external enemy or not. We should never reduce
Jihad to violence.
A third level of Jihad is popularly known as "holy war." The classic
passage is found in the Qur'an:
Fight in the way of Allah those who fight against you, but transgress
not the limits. Truly Allah likesnot the transgressors (Qur'an 2:190).
It is crucial to note here that what is condoned is defensive warfare;
Islam cannot justify aggressive war. Muhammad and the Tradition are
also against killing non-combatants, torturing of prisoners, the
destruction of crops, animals and homes. Adapted from Ira 6. Zepp,
Jr., A Muslim Primer (1992,Wakefield Editions, US) pp.133-135.
Robert Ellwood of the University of Southern California has the
following to say about the Muslim concept of Jihad:
Out of the community ideal of Islam comes the concept of jihad, or
holy war, which is designed to defend Islam and allow itssocial
practice, though notto force individual conversions, which is
forbidden. Since Islam in principle is a community as well as a
religion, presumably only an absolute pacifist would beable to reject
the theory of jihad out of hand, since other communities also fight to
defend or expand their ways of life. (Many Peoples, Many Faiths by
Robert S. Ellwood, 4th edition, Simon & Schuster,US, 1982, p.346)