Is it permissible to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah for a specific blessing?

Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to
offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The blessings that Allaah bestows upon people are many, and His bounty
and generosity towards them are vast. Ablessing can only be responded
to by giving thanks and appreciating it. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, has enjoined giving thanks to Him, for He is Appreciative
and loves those who give thanks.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So eat of the lawful andgood food which Allaah has provided for you.
And be grateful for the Graces of Allaah, if it is He Whom you
worship"
[al-Nahl 16:144]
"seek your provision from Allaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and
be grateful to Him. To Him (Alone) you will be brought back"
[al-'Ankaboot 29:17]
Part of being grateful to Allaah is seeking to drawcloser to Him by
means of different kinds of acts of worship and to endear oneself to
Him bymeans of good deeds such as prayer, zakaah, fasting and so on.
Another part of being grateful to Allaah is giving thanks to Him by
means of sacrifice rituals, which means offering a sacrifice for the
sake of Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
his commentary on the verse "Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and
sacrifice (to Him only)" [al-Kawthar 108:2]:
What is meant is that prayer and sacrifice are the best of the things
by means of which one maydraw closer to Allaah, and the usage of the
word fa (translated here as "therefore") points to the reason, i.e.,
doing that – prayer and sacrifice – in gratitude for that which Allaah
hasgiven him of al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise) and much goodness. So
he should give thanks to the One Who has blessedhim and worship Him,
and the two greatest types of worship are these two acts of worship;
indeed, prayer is the ultimate act of worship. It is as if He is
saying to him: We have given you al-Kawthar and a great deal of
goodness, and We have blessed you with that because you have been
doing these two acts of worship in gratitude for Our blessing to you;
these are the reasons why We have bestowed these blessings upon you,
so do these two things for Us, for prayer and sacrifice are surrounded
by blessings that come before them and after them. The best financial
act of worship is sacrifice and the best physical act of worship
isprayer, and the benefits that a slave of Allaah may gain from prayer
cannot be compared to any other type of worship, as is known bythose
whose hearts are alive and those of high aspirations. Adding to it the
benefits of offering sacrifice, which is a sign of devotion to Allaah
and thinking positively of Him, and having strong certainty and faith
about that which isin the hand of Allaah is something wonderful, if
that is accompanied by faith and sincerity. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed the command of his Lord and
prayed and sacrificed a great deal toHim; he even sacrificed
sixty-three camels with his own hand during theFarewell Pilgrimage,
andhe used to offer sacrifices on the Eids andat other times. End
quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa 916/532).
If Allaah bestows a great blessing upon a person –and all His blessing
are great – then it is mustahabb for him to give thanks to Allaah for
it by showing kindness to people, so he should offer a sacrifice and
make food and invite hisbrothers and friends, and give charity to
thosewho are in need.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/180-181):
It is mustahabb to give thanks anew when new blessings come, by
speaking words of praise. Gratitude for thatmay also be expressed by
doing acts of worship, which includes offering a sacrifice or inviting
people to a meal. The fuqaha' have mentioned the kinds of meals that
may be offered when blessing are renewed, such as thewakeerah which is
madefor a new home, or naqee'ah which is made on the return of an
absent loved one, and hidhaaq which is done when a child completes a
reading of the Qur'aan.
The view of the Hanbalis,the more correct view among the Shaafa'is, is
that these meals are mustahabb.
Ibn Qudaamah said: These invitations – otherthan the wedding feast
(waleemah) and 'aqeeqah – are something good, but they are like
invitations that are given for no reason; if the person who does them
intends thereby to give thanks to Allaah for His blessing and to feed
his brothers and offer food, then he will have the reward for that in
sha Allaah. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
If one of my children does well in school, is it permissible for me to
offer a sacrifice to celebrate his success, and to give thanks to
Allaah?
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with making food (waleemah) if the children or
one of them succeeds, and inviting one's loved ones and his child's
friends, to celebrate Allaah's blessing and to encourage the child.
Endquote.
Liqaa'aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 161, question no. 1).
Secondly:
It is essential to beware of some beliefs which many people hold, and
say that in order to protect the new house or car it is essential to
offer a sacrifice and sprinkle it with the blood of the
slaughteredanimal, or that evil spirits will not keep away from you
unless you do that, otherwise the blessing will soon dissipate. hese
are jaahili beliefs which do not come from someone who believes in
Allaah ashis Lord Who possesses all powers to bring benefit or cause
harm, inWhose hand is the creation and the commandment, and knows that
it is not permissible to do acts of worship unless they are done for
the sake of Allaah.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked about the belief
held by many people, that offering a sacrifice on the threshold of the
new house before entering it is one of the most important means of
warding off the evil eye, and making the house blessed, and avoiding
calamities and undesirable events.
They replied:
If this custom – i.e., offering a sacrifice on the threshold of the
newhouse – is done in order to placate the jinn and ward off
calamities and undesirable events, thenit is a haraam custom, and is
in fact shirk. This is what seems to be the case with offering the
sacrifice before enteringthe house, and doing it on the threshold in
particular.
But if the intention is to honour one's new neighbours and get to know
them, and to give thanks to Allaah for the blessing of a new home, and
to honour one's relatives and friends on this occasion, and to show
them the house, then this is good and theone who does it is to be
praised for his action. But that is only usually done after the people
have moved into the house, and not before, and the animal or animals
should not be slaughtered on the threshold of the house or in the
entryway to thehouse. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (1/214)
See also the answer to question no. 26952 , which quotes two fatwas
from Shaykh 'Abdal-'Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen concerning
the same topic.
And Allaah knows best.

He put on scented antiperspirant during ihram because he was unaware of the ruling

I did 'Umrah, praise be to Allah, and I ask Allah to accept it. But
before I entered ihram I put on antiperspirant, and it was scented,
because I was unaware of the ruling on that. Do I have to do
anything?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible for the muhrim (pilgrim in ihram) to use perfume
on his body or clothing, because of the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas (may
Allahbe pleased with him) according to which a man's camel threw him
and broke his neck when we were with the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and he was in ihram. The Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Wash him with water and lotus
leaves, and shroud him in his two garments, but do not putany perfume
on him or cover his head, for Allah will raise him on the Dayof
Resurrection reciting the Talbiyah."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1267) and Muslim (1206).
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The scholars are
unanimously agreed that the pilgrim in ihramis forbidden to use
perfume. End quote.
Al-Mughni, 3/147
The perfume that is forbidden to the pilgrim in ihram includes scented
antiperspirant.
But if a person did that out of forgetfulness or ignorance, he does
not have to do anything, because Allah, may He beexalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Our Lord, take us not to task if we forget and lapse into error inadvertently"
[al-Baqarah 2:186]
"And there is no sin on you if you make a mistake therein, except in
regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allah is Ever
OftForgiving, Most Merciful"
[al-Ahzaab 33:5].
See also the answer to question no. 49026 .
And Allah knows best.

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He entered ihram for ‘umrah at the end of Sha’baan and performedit in Ramadan; will he have the reward of ‘Umrah in Ramadaan?

A man entered ihram for'umrah before the adhaan for Maghrib on the
last day of Sha'baan, and after Maghrib it wasannounced that Ramadan
had begun. Will his 'Umrah be counted for him as being in Ramadan or
not? In other words, he formed the intention to enter ihraam before
Maghrib, and he did 'Umrah that night, i.e., the first night of
Ramadan.
Praise be to Allaah.
'Umrah in Ramadan brings a great reward, which is the reward of Hajj.
It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said
to a woman of the Ansaar: "What kept you from performing Hajj with
us?" She said: We only have two camels and the father of her sonand
her son had gone for Hajj on one camel, and he left us the other camel
so that we could carry water on it. He said: "When Ramadaan comes, go
for 'Umrah, for 'Umrah in (that month) is equivalent to Hajj."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1782) and Muslim (1256).
In order for the Muslim to attain that great reward, he has to enter
ihram for 'umrah and perform the rituals in the month of Ramadan. He
cannot enter ihram for it on the last day of Sha'baan, even if he
performs its rituals in Ramadan, and he cannotenter ihram for it in
Ramadan and perform the rituals in Shawwaal.
There are two ways of performing 'umrah that do not bring the reward of Hajj:
1 – Entering ihram for 'umrah at the end of the month of Sha'baan and
performing the rituals after the month of Ramadan begins.
2 – Entering ihram for 'umrah before the sun sets on the last day of
Ramadan and performing the rituals on the night before Eid.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
For the person who does'umrah in Ramadan it is essential that his
'umrah -- from entering ihram until the end of it -- should be in
Ramadan. Based on that, let us lookat another example:
If a man reaches the miqaat in the last hour of Sha'baan and enters
ihram for 'umrah, then the sun sets and Ramadan begins with the
setting of the sun, then he comes to Makkah and does tawaafand saa'i
and cuts his hair, can it be said that he did 'umrah in Ramadan?
The answer is: No, because he started his 'umrah before the month of
Ramadan began.
A third example: A man entered ihram for 'umrah before the sun set on
the last day of Ramadan, and he did tawaaf and saa'i for 'umrah on the
night before Eid. Can it be said that he did 'umrah in Ramadan?
The answer is: No, because he did not do 'Umrah in Ramadan, as part of
his 'umrah was done outside of Ramadan. 'Umrah in Ramadan is that
which lasts from the start of ihram to the end (in Ramadan). End
quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen, 21/352, 353
And Allah knows best.

The reason why it is prescribed for Muslims to perform Hajj once in alifetime

Why should Muslims atleast visit mecca once in their life time?
Praise be to Allaah.
We Muslims feel honoured and proud to be the slaves of Allaah, the
One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor was He begotten,
and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him; He is our Lord and
we have no Lord besides Him. Hence we respond to the commands of our
Lord with the utmost humility and submit to His commands, for we know
that He is the All-Wise and no wisdom is greater than His. We know
that He is the Most-Merciful and there is none more merciful than Him,
may He be glorified and praised. Hence we love Him in a way that
demands that we obey His commands even if that is somewhat difficult
for us. We feel proud, happy and content when we do that which He
commands us to do.
For if a human loves another person, he lovesto serve him and that may
make him happy. Sowhat do you think aboutthe Almighty Lord Who created
us and grants us provision, and everything that we have is a blessing
from Him? And His is the highest description. We owe everything to our
Lord, so we must hasten to do all that He commands us to do, so that
we might give back some small thanks for His great blessings. We can
never thank Him enough, but by His grace Allaah the Most Generous
accepts our small efforts and rewards us for them greatly.
For example, Hajj or pilgrimage. If a Muslim does Hajj in the manner
required by his Lord, then Allaah has promised to forgive him his sins
and admit him toParadise, on condition that he does not spoil this
action by committing any major action that would invalidate it and
earn the anger of Allaah.
One of the great mercies that Allaah has bestowedupon this ummah
(nation, i.e., the Muslims), is that Allaah has made obedience to His
commands and the commands of His Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) subject to thecondition that one be able to do
them. So long as a person is able to do them, then it is obligatory
for him to do what is required of him, otherwise he is not obliged to
do so and he is excused. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope"
[al-Baqarah 2:286] – i.e., He does not ask him to do more than he can bear.
Concerning Hajj in particular, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that
mankind owes to Allaah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's
conveyance, provision and residence)"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:97]
By His mercy He has enjoined this upon His slaves once in a lifetime,
so that it will not be too difficult for them, but Heurges those who
are able to do Hajj and 'Umrah more than once to do so. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Keep on doing Hajj
and 'Umrah, for theytake away poverty and sins as the bellows takes
away the impurity from iron." (Narrated by al-Nasaa'i, 2/4; this is a
saheeh hadeeth as was stated by al-Albaani in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah,
1200).
This great act of worshipwas prescribed by Allaahso that we might
praise Him and glorify Him, andthank Him for His great blessings and
bounty. The purpose of Tawaaf around the Ka'bah is notsimply to go
around these stones! No, rather the reason is that Allaah has
commanded us to goaround it seven times and we obey Allaah by going
around it seven times, no more and no less; rather we do what He has
commanded us and we feel that we are His slaves, humbling ourselves
before Him and praising Him and thanking Him for choosing us to be His
slaves out of all of mankind who worship various gods, and may even
worship themselves or their own desires.
The same applies to all the rituals of Hajj, and indeed to all the
acts of worship that Allaah has prescribed for us. Praise be to
Allaah, Who has honoured us with this great religion.
Moreover, your interest in asking about the Hajj at your young age
indicates that you are keen to learn and find out. We advise you to
learn more about Islam and to read about it, andto find out for
yourself that it is the religion thatsuits the natural inclinations of
man. This will set you on the path towards pleasing your Almighty
Lord, Who created you and Who provides for you, and Who deserves that
you should worship Him alone and none other.
Perhaps you know that our prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) toldus that his fellow-Prophet 'Eesa (Jesus –
peace be upon him) will come down at the end of time and will perform
pilgrimage to this House,and he will declare his belief in Allah alone
(Tawheed). We believe that this will happen as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us, just aswe believe that the
sun rises in the morning. TheProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "By the One in Whose hand is mysoul, the son of Maryam
(the son of Mary, i.e. Jesus) will certainly pronounce the Talbiyah
for Hajj or for 'Umrah, orfor both in the valley of Rawha." (Narrated
by Muslim, 1252). The valleyof Rawha' is a place between Makkah and
Madeenah.
[Translator's note: The Talbiyah is a prayer recited by pilgrims going
to Makkah. It may be translated as follows: "Here I am at your
service, O Allaah, here I am. Here I am at Your Service, You have no
partner, here I am. All praise and blessings are Yours, and all
dominion. You have no partner."]
We ask Allaah to open your heart to true guidance… Ameen.

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