* What are the situations in which a promise may be broken?

* What are the situations in which a promise may be broken?
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We know that breaking promises is one of the attributes of the
hypocrites, but if a Muslim is unable to keephis promise for some
reason that is beyond hiscontrol, is he regarded as doing something
haraam and as having one of the attributes of the hypocrites, or is he
excused?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly keeping promises and keeping one's word are attributes of
the believers, and breaking promises is one of the attributes of the
hypocrites, as was narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "There are four (characteristics),whoever has them is
a hypocrite, and whoever has one of the four has acharacteristic of
hypocrisy unless he givesit up: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes
apromise he breaks it; what he makes a pledge he betrays it; and when
he disputes he resorts to foul language." Narratedby al-Bukhaari,
2327; Muslim, 58.
The believer who makes promises to people and breaks his promise may
have an excuse or he may not. If he has an excuse then there is no sin
on him, but if he does not have an excuse then he is a sinner.
There is no text – as far as we know – that makes any exception
regarding the prohibition of breaking promises, but it may be that
promises are broken in situations where the believer is excused. For
example:
A – Forgetting
Allaah has forgiven us for forgetfulness whereby obligatory actions
are omitted or haraam actions are committed. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error"
[al-Baqarah 2:286]
And Allaah has said: "Yes." – Narrated by Muslim, 125, from the
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah. According to another version, He said:"I will
do that." Narratedby Muslim, 126, from the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas.
Whoever makes a promise to someone then forgets the promiseor forgets
to do it at the time stated, there is no sin on him.
B – Being forced to break one's promise.
Being forced is one of the impediments that make it permissible for
aMuslim to break his promise, such as one who is detained or is
prevented from fulfillinghis promise, or who is threatened with a
painful punishment.
It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah has forgiven my ummah for their
mistakes, what they forget and what they are forced to do."
Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 2045, and this hadeeth has many corroborating
reports; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami',
1836.
C – A promise to do something haraam or not to do something obligatory.
Whoever promises someone that he will do something haraam for him, or
that he will not do something that is obligatory, it is not
permissible for him to fulfil that promise.
This may be supported by the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah – which is also
known as the hadeeth ofBareerah – which is narrated in al-Saheehayn.
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) had promised Bareerah's
former masters [?} that the wala' of Bareerah [the right to inherit
from her when she died – which is the right of the one who sets a
slave free – Translator] would belong to them even though 'Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) was the one who was going to set
Bareerah free. But she did not keep this promise because they had gone
against the sharee'ah and they knew that the right of wala' belonged
to the one who set the slave free, so how could 'Aa'ishah set her free
and then the wala' of Bareerah belong to them?
Al-Shaafa'i said:
When news of that reached them, the one who had stipulated a condition
that was contrary to the ruling of Allaah and His Messengerwas a
sinner, and there are hudood punishments and discipline for the
sinner. One of the ways in which the sinners are disciplined is that
their conditions are rendered null and void so as to deter them and
others from doing likewise. This is one of the best forms of
discipline.
Ikhtilaaf al-Hadeeth, p. 165.
D – If something unforeseen happens to the one who made the promise,
such as sickness, the death of a relative or breakdown of his means of
transportation, etc.
There are many excuses, which all come under the heading of the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope"
[al-Baqarah 2:286]
And Allaah knows best.

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Dhu al-Qa'dah (Dhul Qa'dah)

Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah) is the twelfth and final month in the
IslamicLunar Calendar, marking the end of the year. This is the last
sacred month in which fighting was forbidden. It is also known as
Zilhaj, Zulhijjah, Zul Hijjah.
Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah): Literally means 'Lord of the Pilgrimage'.
It is during this month in which the Hajj Pilgrimage takes place and
pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Makkah to visit the
Kaaba. The Hajj Pilgrimage is performed on the eighth, ninth and the
tenth of this month. Eid ul-Adha, the 'Festival of the Sacrifice' is
held onthe tenth day.
First ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah): Days of virtue and
righteous deeds
The sacred month of Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah) is one of the highly
blessed months. The pious and upright companions of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (saw) and their first generation followers used to spend this
month in prayers andsupplications, particularlythe first ten
noteworthy days which have also been distinguished in Glorious Qur'an.
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) had said that supplications made in these
10 days get a positive reply from Allah (SWT).
Ibn Abbas says about the Ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah, "Remember Allah
during the well known days," (2:203) thatit refers to the first ten
days of Dhul Hijjah. [This is related by al-Bukhari]
Allah (SWT) swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something
is indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allah (SWT)says in
Glorious Qur'an:"By the dawn; by the ten nights" [Surah Al-Fajr,
89:1-2]. Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier
and later generations said that this refers to the firstten days of
Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: "This is the correct opinion." [Tafseer
Ibn Katheer, 8/413]
Praise be to Allah (SWT) Who has created Time and has made some
timesbetter than others, some months and days and nights better than
others,when rewards are multiplied many times, asa mercy towards His
slaves. This encourages them to do more righteous deeds and makes them
more eager to worship Him, so that the Muslim renews his efforts to
gain a greater share of reward, prepare himself for death and supply
himself in readiness for the Day of Judgement.
This season of worship brings many benefits, such as the opportunity
to correct ones faults andmake up for any shortcomings or anything
that one might have missed. Every one ofthese special occasions
involves some kind of worship through which the slaves may draw closer
to Allah (SWT), and some kind of blessing though which Allah
(SWT)bestows His favour and mercy upon whomsoeverHe will. The happy
personis the one who makes themost of these special months, days and
hours and draws nearer to his Lord during these times through acts of
worship; he will most likely be touched by the blessing of Allah (SWT)
and will feel the joy of knowing that he is safe from the flames of
Hell. [Ibn Rajab, al-Lataaif, p.8]
1. Makkah at the center ofthe earth
2. Makkah during ProphetAbraham (pbuh)
3. Makkah during Qosai, great Grandfather of Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw), year 157 before Hijrah .
4. Makkah during Quraish,year 12 before Hijrah.
5. Makkah during Omayied Era, year 91 Hijrah.
6. Makkah during Abbasied Era, year 310 Hijrah.
7. Makkah during Ottoman Empire, year 1215 Hijrah.
8. Makkah during King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz, year 1412 Hijrah.
The approximate locationof a hundred countries inrelation to Kaaba.
They classified into three categories with respect to their proximity
to the Kaaba.

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The Guard Who FoundIslam

From the magazine issuedated Mar 30, 2009
Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantanamo for
about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with
detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as"the General." This was early
2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stint at Guantanamo with the
463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day
shifts just doing his duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or
walk up and down the cellblock making sure they weren't passing notes.
But the midnight shifts were slow. "The only thing you really hadto do
was mop the center floor," he says. So Holdbrooks began spending part
of the night sitting cross-legged on the ground, talking to detainees
through the metal mesh of their cell doors.
He developed a strong relationship with the General, whose real name
is Ahmed Errachidi. Their late-night conversations led Holdbrooks to
be more skeptical about theprison, he says, and made him think harder
about his own life. Soon,Holdbrooks was ordering books on Arabic and
Islam. During an evening talk with Errachidi in early 2004, the
conversation turned to the shahada, the one-line statement of faith
that marks the single requirement for converting to Islam ("There is
no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet"). Holdbrooks pushed a pen
and an index card through the mesh, and asked Errachidi to write out
the shahada in English and transliterated Arabic. He then uttered the
words aloud and, there on the floor of Guantanamo's Camp Delta, became
a Muslim.

Junaid Baghdadi and Love for Allah

Once at the time of Hajj, there was a gathering inMecca of some
friends ofAllah; the youngest among whom was Junaid Baghdadi (ra). In
that gathering, there was a discussion on the subject of 'Love for
Allah'and as to who is the lover of Allah. Many of them expressed
their views on the subject, butJunaid (ra) kept quiet. He was pressed
to say something.
With his head bowed down and tears in his eyes, he said, "The lover of
Allah is he who forgets his own self, remains engaged in Allah's
remembrance with due regard to all itsrequirements; sees Allah with
the eyes of his heart, which is burnt by the heat of Allah's fear;
Allah's remembrance affects him like a cup of wine, he speaks the word
of Allah as if All-Mighty Allah speaks through his mouth; if he moves,
he does so underthe command of Allah; he gets peace of mind only
through the obedience of Allah; and when such a stage is reached, his
eating, drinking, sleeping, awakening and, in short,all his actions
are for thepleasure of Allah; he neither pays heed to the worldly
customs, nor does he attach any importance to unfriendly criticism by
people."

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