FAQ about Islam (Frequently Asked Questions)

Who is Allah?
Allah means God. It is a personal name, which Allah calls Himself in
the Quran. That is where we get it. It can also be foundin an Aramaic
copy of the Bible, and even Christian Arabs say Allah.
Who is Jesus to us?
Jesus peace be upon Him is a true prophet. Sent by Allah like Moses,
Abraham, Lot, Noah, Jonah, Joseph…etc.
Who were Jesus's parents?
Jesus is the son of Virgin Mary, and he had no father. Allah created Jesus.
Can Jesus, or Mohammed peace be upon them be worshipped?
No, Allah does not accept that a cow, a person, an angel, a prophet, a
stone, or anything be worshipped in place of him, or even along with
Him. Worship must be to Allah the creator of them.
Is Allah the same as what Christians call the father?
Allah is the creator who Jesus worshipped. He is the Creator who spoke
to Moses, and split the sea for Moses, and his followers. That is
Allah. But Allah tells us: "Say Allah is one, He is Perfect, He has
never begotten, nor was He begott, and there is no one equal to Him".
Is there a trinity in Islam?
No. Allah is perfect.
Do we believe that Allah created the heavens and earth in6 days?
Yes, but He did not rest on the seventh day, because He did not get
tired. Allah is perfect He does not get tired, nor does He sleep, eat,
go to the bathroom, feel pain, or die for that matter.
Can we see Allah?
Allah is not like the sun. Anyone can see the Sun. But Allah is the
most beautiful. Nothing is as beautiful as Allah. Actually looking at
Allah is the greatest pleasure of the peoplein Pradise. This pleasure
Allah does not give anyone but the believers. So no one will see Allah
before he dies.
Does Allah see us?
Allah sees us, and knows everything about us. He knows usbetter than
we know ourselves. There is nota leaf on a tree that blows away, or
stays in its place except thatHe knows it. There is not a dry spot,
nor a wet spot, nor a grain in the depths of the earth except that
Allahknows it.
Do we have free will?
Yes, of course. Allah does not punish us forsomething we did notdo on
our own. But at the same time, our will is not inspire of Allah's
will. We cannotdo anything if Allah will not allow it. In other words
nothing goes on in Allah's kingdom without His will.
Did Allah create Evil?
evil is the result disobedience to Allah's religious laws which is the
willful sin of the man and jinn; everybody obeys natural laws whether
they will it or not.
Thus Allah created the creatures who do evil,and knew that they would
do evil, and he allows it to happen in His creation, and in this sense
only He is the creator of evil in the meaning that He creates
everything. Allah is all good and everything he does is good, and even
this evil that exists has some good in it in that from the presence of
evil he brings forth good, andHe will judge all with perfect justice
and reward those that do good and punish those that do evil and do not
repent for that evil.
Do bad things happen to the believers (good people)?
Yes, they do. But they appear bad to the believers cause they are
things people don't like. Who likes breaking a leg? However, when a
bad thing happens to a believer this believer is patient. He praises
Allah in all circumstances. He knows Allah does not decree something
unless it is for his own good.
But how can breaking a leg are good for a beleiver?
Because it is a chance for the believer to think about what he did wrong.
Also because Allah forgives much of what we do, but thosethings we are
not forgiven, they are forgiven due to our patience when we arestruck
by a calamity. Allah gives us better reward when a problem strikes us
on earth if we are patient. This reward can be on earth, and itcan be
in Heaven.
Does Allah hear my prayers?
Yes.
Does Allah answer my prayers?
We know that Allah answers all the prayers of the believers. This can
be in 4 ways:
1- Get what we are asking for!
2- Get something as good or better!
3- We get spared something bad that would have happenedotherwise.
4- We get rewarded on the day of Judgment with a much greater reward
than what we were asking for on earth.
When does Allah not answer our prayers?
* When it is bad for us!
* When we ask, but not from our heart!
* When we say: I asked and asked and He did not answer.
* When we eat, drink, and wear unlawful, food, and clothes, and
property that wa earned either throughinterest from the bank, or that
was stolen, or if the food was pork, or the like.
What can I ask of Allah?
Any thing but don't ask Him to do things like make you a prophet.
Cause He has already said that therewill be no more prophets.
You can ask Allah for guidance. Meaning you can ask Him to show you
the correct religion.

What is meant by the devils being chained up in Ramadaan?

What do you say about the devils being chained up in Ramadaan?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Bukhaari (1899) and Muslim (1079) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Ramadaan comes, the gates
of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils
are chained up."
The scholars differed as tothe meaning of the devils being chained up
in Ramadaan.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, quoting al-Haleemi: It may be interpreted at
meaning that the devils are not able to tempt the Muslims as they are
at other times because they are busy with the fast which controls
their desires, and with reading Qur'aan and dhikr (remembrance of
Allaah). Another scholar – someone other than al-Haleemi – said that
what is meant by the devils is some of them, namely the maarids
(strong devils), who are chained up.
'Iyaad said: it may be interpreted in a literal sense, and that is as
a signto the angels that the month has begun, and in veneration of its
sanctity, and so as to prevent the devils from harming the Muslims.
And it may be interpreted as referring tothe great amount of reward
and forgiveness, and that the devils tempt people less, so it is as if
they are chained up. This second interpretation is supported by the
fact thataccording to a report narrated by Yoonus from Ibn Shihaab
which is recorded by Muslim it says"the gates of mercy are opened".
The chaining up of the devils may also be understood as a metaphor for
them being unable to tempt people and make their whims and desires
attractive to them. Al-Zayn ibn al-Muneer said: The first view is most
likely to be correct, and there is no need to try to understand it in
anything other than the literal sense.
Fath al-Baari, 4/114.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about
the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
"and the devils are chained up,"– yet we still see people suffering
from epilepsy during the day in Ramadaan, so how can the devils be
chained up when some people are suffering epileptic fits?
He replied: In some versions of the hadeeth it says "and the strong
devils (maarids) are chained up" – this is narrated by al-Nasaa'i.
This hadeeth is speaking of matters of the unseen, so we have to
accept it and not discuss it any further. This is safer for a person's
religious commitment. Hence when'Abd-Allaah, the son of Imam Ahmad ibn
Hanbal said to his father, "Some people suffer epileptics fits during
the day in Ramadaan," the Imam said: "This is what the hadeeth says
and we do not discuss this."
Moreover it seems that what is meant by their being chained up is that
they are prevented from tempting people, based on the fact that there
is a great deal of goodness and many people turn to Allaah during
Ramadaan.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 20.
Based on this, the chaining up of the devils is something that happens
in a real sense, about which Allaah knowsbest. This does not mean that
evil things do not happen or that people do not commit sin. And Allaah
knows best.

1a] Allaah said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?”

1a]
2 – Allaah said concerningfasting: "I shall reward him for it." So he
connected the reward for fasting to Himself, because the reward for
righteous deeds is mentioned by number, and a good deed will be
rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold, many times. But with
regard to fasting, Allaah connected the reward to Himself without
specifying any number. Allaah is the most generous of those who are
generous, and the gift reflects the generosity of the giver. So the
reward of the one who fasts will be very great, without reckoning.
Fasting is patience in obeying Allaah, patience in keeping away from
the things forbidden by Allaah, and patience in bearing the decree of
Allaah, hunger, thirst, physical and mental weakness. So it combines
all three types of patience,thus the fasting person deserves to be
counted asone of the patient, and Allaah says (interpretationof the
meaning):
"Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full,
without reckoning"
[al-Zumar 39:10]

And Allaah knows best.

1] Allah said, “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?”

1]
What is special about fasting so that Allaah singled it out when He
said, "Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it?".
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Bukhaari (1761) and Muslim (1946) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah said: 'Every deed of
the son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me and I shall
reward for it…'"
Because all deeds are for the sake of Allaah and He is the One Who
rewards for them, the scholars differed concerning this phrase,
"Fasting is for Me and I shall reward for it" –why is fasting singled
out in this manner?
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) quoted the views of
ten scholars who sought to explain the meaning ofthis hadeeth and why
fasting was singled out in this manner. The most important of these
views are as follows:
1 – That there is no showing off in fasting as may happen in other
acts of worship. Al-Qurtubi said: Because showing off may enter into
all good deeds, but no one can see when a person is fasting except
Allaah, so Allaah connected it to Himself. Hence He said in the
hadeeth, "He gives up his desire for My sake." Ibn al-Jawzi said: All
acts of worship can be seen when done, and they maybe contaminated
with some element of showingoff, unlike fasting.
2 – That what is meant bythe words, "I shall reward for it" is: I am
the only One Who knows the extent of his reward and how much his
hasanaat (good deeds) will be multiplied. Al-Qurtubi said: What this
means is that the amount of reward for good deeds may become known to
people, and they will be rewarded between ten and seven hundred fold,
and as much as Allaah wants, except fasting, for Allaah will reward it
without measure. This is supported by a report narrated by Muslim
(115) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Every deed of the son of Adam will be rewarded between ten and seven
hundred fold. Allaah said: 'Except fasting, for it is for Me and I
shall reward for it'" – i.e., I shall reward it greatly, without
specifying how much. Thisis like the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretationof the meaning):
"Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full,
without reckoning"
[al-Zumar 39:10]
3 – That what is meant by"fasting is for Me" is that it is the dearest
of acts of worship to Me. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: The words "Fasting is
for Me" are sufficient to indicate the superiority of fasting overall
other acts of worship. Al-Nasaa'i (2220) narratedthat Abu Umaamah
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "You should fast, for thereis nothing like it." Classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa'i.
4 – That fasting is mentioned in conjunction with Allaah by way of
honouring, as we say, "the House of Allaah," although all houses
belong to Allaah. Al-Zayn ibn al-Muneer said: giving a specific
meaning to something general in a context such as this can only be
understood as being by way of honouring.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth points to thevirtue of fasting in numerous ways:
1 – Allaah singled out fasting for Himself from all other good deeds,
because of its honoured status before Him, because He loves it and
because it is a demonstration of sinceritytowards Him, as it is a
secret between a person and his Lord, which no one can see except
Allaah.The fasting person may be in a place with no other people
around, and he could eat or drink that which Allaah has forbidden to
the fasting person, but he does not do that, because he knows that he
has a Lord Who can see him even though he is alone and Who has
forbidden that to him. So he forsakes it for the sake of Allaah and
fearing His punishment, seeking His reward. Because of that, Allaah
appreciates his sincerity and singled out fasting forHimself from
among all other good deeds. Hence He said: "He gives up his desires
and his food for My sake."
The benefit of this singling out will be seen on the Day of
Resurrection, as Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah said: When the Day of
Resurrection comes, Allaah will bring His slave to account and will
settle any scores outstanding from the rest of his deeds, until when
there is nothing left but fasting, Allaah will settle the matter and
will admit him to Paradise by virtue of his fasting.
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