Benefits of Duaa

Numan bin Basheer narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Duaa isibadat." Then
He readthis ayat . (Tirmizi, Abu Dawod, and Ibn-e-Majah)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "In the court of Allah,
there is nogreater thing than duaa" (Ibn-e-Majah)
Abdullah bin Umar narrates from Rasool-Allah ," Amongwhatever has been
descended and whatever has not been descended Duaa is beneficial of
all. Oh people of Allah! Assume Duaa a must for yourselves. (Tirmizi)
Abdullah bin Umar from Rasool-Allah ,"For whoever the door of duaa
opened, for him the doors of mercy are opened. Whatever duaa is asked
from Allah the best duaa is for well-being and safety among them."
(Tirmizi)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Allah isextremely
displeased with the person who doesn't do duaa to Allah". (Tirmizi)
Salman narrates fromRasool-Allah , "Your Rab is modest and kind. A
person raise his hands in HIS court and HE leave them empty, Allah
shies from it." (Tirmizi and Abu Dawood)
Jabir narrates from Rasool-Allah ,"Whoever does duaa to Allah, Allah
fulfills his seeking or in exchange averts misfortune until the duaa
is not related to sin or breaking some relation." (Tirmizi)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Do duaa to Allah with this
confidence that HE will accept it and know this well that Allah
doesn't accept the duaa done with a negligent and careless heart.
(Tirmizi)
Salman Farsi narrates from Rasool-Allah ,"Duaa turns away destiny and
good deeds lengthen age. (Tirmizi)
Umar narrates that,"Whenever Rasool-Allah raised his hands for duaa He
did not put down them down until HE took both hands over his face."
(Tirmizi)
Aisha (Radi Allahu Anha) narrates that,"Rasool-Allah liked duaas that
were inclusive and he left the rest." (Abu Dawood)
Abdullah bin Umar narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Duaa for a person not
present is accepted quickly by Allah." (Tirmizi and Abu Dawood)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Three duaas are such in
which there is no doubt of their acceptance: 1) Father's duaa 2)
Traveler's duaa 3) Duaa of the oppressed". (Timizi, Ibne Majah)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Three types of people's
duaas are not rejected: 1) At the time of iftar the person who has
fasted 2) Adil ruler's duaa 3) The duaa of the oppressed. Allah raises
the duaa of the oppressed on the clouds and the doors of heaven are
opened for it and Allah says, "Oath of MY Majesty and Honour! I will
help and aid you. Even though if the help is after few days."
(Tirmizi)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "When anyone of you does
duaa then don't say "Oh Allah! Forgive me if you want", "Have mercy on
me if you want", "Give me subsistence if you wish" rather believe
completely that HE will do whatever HE wishes. Nobody can force HIM."
(Bukhari)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Allah excepts the duaa of a
person till the duaa is not related to sin or breaking of some
relation and until he does not haste in that duaa. The people (May
Allah be happy with them) asked, "Oh Rasool-Allah! What is meant by
haste?" He replied,"That the person say "I did duaa again and again
but my duaa wasn't accepted and afterwards he becomes hopeless and
leaves the duaa. This is called haste." (Muslim)
Jabir narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Don't do Bad-duaa [against]
yourself, your wealth, or for your children. May it be the moment of
acceptance in the court of Allah and your Bad-duaa be accepted.
(Muslim)
Boraidah narrates that Rasool-Allah heard a man performingduaa like so
*1, so He said, "He [the man] has performed duaa with the Ism-e-Azam
and when Allah is asked through the Ism-e-Azam,Allah grants and when
duaa is performed with it HE accepts it." (Tirmizi and Abu Dawood)
Asma binte Yazeed (Radi Allahu Anha) narrates from Rasool-Allah
,"Ism-e-Azam is in these two ayahs and in the beginning of Ale-Imran .
" (Tirmizi and Abu Dawood)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Saying is dearer to me than
this world and all that is in it." (Mislim)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah ,"Whoever said hundred times
in one day his sins are erased even if they are equal to the foam of
the sea." (Muslim and Bukhari)
Abu Hurairah narrates from Rasool-Allah , "Every Prophet had a special
duaa which is accepted in the court of Allah. All Prophets were in
quick in their duaas. On the day of Judgment, for theintercession of
my Ummah, I have saved my duaa. My duaa will reachto every person in
my ummah, who did not make any partners with Allah. (Muslim)
*1

Hadees |-

431 hadith found in ' The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman) ' of Sahih Muslim.
0001
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya'mur that the first man
who discussed about Qadr (Divine Decree) in Basra was Ma'bad
al-Juhani. I along with Humaid b. 'Abdur-Rahman Himyari set out for
prilgrimage or for 'Umrah and said: Should it so happen that we come
into contact with one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) we shall ask him a bout whatis talked about Taqdir
(Division Decree). Accidentally we came across Abdullah ibn Umaribn
al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque. My companion and I
surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his right and the other stoodon
his left. I expected that my companion would authorize me to speak. I
therefore said: Abu Abdur Rahman! there have appeared some people in
our land who recite the Holy Qur'an and pursue knowledge. And then
after talking about their affairs, added: They (suchpeople) claim that
there is no such thing as DivineDecree and events are not predestined.
He (Abdullah ibn Umar) said:When you happen to meet such people tell
them that I have nothing to do with them and theyhave nothing to do
with me. And verily they are inno way responsible for my (belief).
Abdullah ibn Umar swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): If any one of
them (who does not believe in the Divine Decree) had with him gold
equal to the bulk of (the mountain) Uhud andthen, it (in the way of
Allah), Allah would not accept it unless he affirmed his faith in
Divine Decree. He further said: My father, Umar ibn al-Khattab, told
me: One day we were sitting in the company of Allah's Apostle (peace
be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in pure white
clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel
on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the
Apostle (peace be upon him) He knelt before him placed his palms on
his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam. The Messenger
of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Al-Islam implies thatyou testify
that there is no god but Allah and thatMuhammad is the messenger of
Allah, and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast
ofRamadan, and perform pilgrimage to the (House)if you are solvent
enough(to bear the expense of) the journey. He (the inquirer) said:
You have told the truth. He (Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: It amazed us
that he wouldput the question and then he would himself verify the
truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform meabout Iman (faith). He (the
Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His
angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day ofJudgment, and you
affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and evil. He (the
inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (the inquirer) again said:
Inform me about al-Ihsan(performance of good deeds). He (the Holy
Prophet) said: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, for
though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you. He (the enquirer)
again said: Inform me about the hour (of the Doom). He (the Holy
Prophet) remarked: One who is asked knows no more than the one who is
inquiring (about it). He (the inquirer) said: Tell me some of its
indications. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That the slave-girl will give
birth to her mistress and master, that you will find barefooted,
destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the construction of
magnificent buildings. He(the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said:
Then he (the inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy
Prophet) for a long while. He then,said to me: Umar, do you know who
this inquirer was? I replied: Allah and His Apostle knows best. He
(the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was Gabriel(the angel). He came to you
in order to instruct you in matters of religion.
0002
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya'mur that when
Ma'baddiscussed the problem pertaining to Divine Decree, we refuted
that. He (the narrator) said: I and Humaid b. Abdur-Rahman Himyari
argued. And they carried on the conversation about the purport of the
hadith related by Kahmas and itschain of transmission too, and there
is some variation of words.
0003
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya b. Ya'mur and Humaid b.
'Abdur-Rahman that they said: We met Abdullah b. 'Umar and we
discussed about the Divine Decree, and what they talked about it and
he narrated the hadith that has been transmitted by 'Umar (may Allah
be pleased with him) from the Apostle (may peace be upon him). There
is a slight variation in that.
0004
Abu Huraira reported: One day the Messenger ofAllah (may peace be upon
him) appeared before the public that a man came to him and said:
Prophet of Allah, (tell me) what is Iman. Upon this he (the Holy
Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His
Books, His meeting, His Messengers and that you affirm your faith in
the Resurrection hereafter. He (again) said: Messenger of Allah, (tell
me) what does al-Islam signify. He (the Holy Prophet) replied:
Al-Islamsignifies that you worship Allah and do notassociate anything
with Him and you establish obligatory prayer and you pay the
obligatory poor-rate (Zakat) and you observe the fast of Ramadan. He
(the inquirer) again said: Messenger of Allah, what does al-Ihsan
imply? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you worship Allah as if you
are seeing Him, and in case you fail to see Him, then observe prayer
(with this idea in your mind) that (at least) He is seeing you. He
(the inquirer ) again said: Messenger of Allah, whenwould there be the
hour (of Doom)? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: The onewho is asked
about it is no better informed than the inquirer. I, however, narrate
some of its signs (and these are): when the slave-girl will give birth
to he master, when the naked, barefooted would become the chiefs of
the people - these are some of the signs of (Doom). (Moreover) when
the shepherds of the black (camels) would exult themselves in
buildings, this is one of the signs of (Doom). (Doom) is one of the
five (happenings wrapped in the unseen) which no one knows but Allah.
Then he (the Messenger of Allah) recited (the verse):" Verily Allah!
with Him alone is the knowledge of the hour and He it is Who sends
(down the rain) and knows that which is in the wombs and no person
knows whatsoever he shall earn tomorrow, and a person knows not in
whatsoeverland he shall die. Verily Allah is Knowing, Aware. He (the
narrator, Abu Huraira) said: Then the person turned back and went
away. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:Bring that
man back to me. They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet present
there) went to bring him back, but they saw nothing there. Upon this
the Messenger of Allah remarked: he was Gabriel, who came to teach the
people their religion.
0005
This hadith is narrated to us on the authority of Muhammad b.
'Abdullah b. Numair, on the authority of Muhammad b. Bishr, on the
authority of Abd Hayyan al-Taymi with the exception that in this
narration (instead of the words (Iza Waladat al'amah rabbaha), the
words are (Iza Waladat al'amah Ba'laha), i, e, when slave-girl gives
birth to her master.
0006
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of
Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Ask me (about matters pertaining
to religion), but they (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) were too
much overawed out of profound respect for himto ask him (anything). In
the meanwhile a man came there, and sat near his knees and said:
Messenger of Allah, what al-lslam is? -to which he (the Holy Prophet)
replied: You must not associate anything with Allah, and establish
prayer, pay the poor-rate(Zakat) and observe (the fasts) of Ramadan.
He said: You (have) told the truth. He (again) said: Messenger of
Allah, what al-Iman (the faith) is? He (the Holy Prophet) said: That
you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting,
His Apostles, and that youbelieve in Resurrection and that you believe
in Qadr (Divine Decree) in all its entirety, He (the inquirer) said:
You (have)told the truth. He (again) said: Messenger of Allah, what
al-Ihsan is? Upon this he (the Holy Prophet)said: (Al-Ihsan implies)
that you fear Allah as if you are seeing Him, and though you see Him
not, verily He is seeing you. He (the inquirer) said: You (have) told
the truth.He (the inquirer) said: When there would be thehour (of
Doom)? (Upon this) he (the HolyProphet said: The one who is being
asked about it is no better informed than the inquirer himself. I,
however, narrate some of its signs (and these are): when you see a
slave (woman) giving birth to her master - that is one of the signs of
(Doom) ; when you see barefooted, naked, deaf and dumb (ignorant and
foolish persons) as the rulers of the earth - that is one of the signs
of the Doom. And when you seethe shepherds of black camels exult in
buildings - that is one of the signs of Doom. The (Doom) is one of the
five things (wrapped) in the unseen.No one knows them except Allah.
Then (the Holy Prophet) recited (the folowing verse):" Verily Allah!
with Him alone is the knowledge of the hour and He it is Who sends
down the rainand knows that which is in the wombs and no person knows
whatsoever he shall earn on morrow and a person knows not in
whatsoeverland he shall die. Verily Allah is Knowing, Aware. He (the
narrator, Abu Huraira) said: Then the person stood up an (made his
way). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:Bring him
back to me. He was searched for, but they (the Companions of the Holy
Prophet) could not find him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon
him) thereupon said: He was Gabriel and he wanted toteach you (things
pertaining to religion) when you did not ask (them yourselves).
0007
It is reported on the authority of Talha b. 'Ubaidullah that a
personwith dishevelled hair, one of the people of Nejd, came to the
Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). We heard the humming of
his voice but could not fully discern what he hadbeen saying, till he
came nigh to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). It was
then (disclosed to us) that he was asking questions pertaining to
Islam. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:Five
prayers during the day and the night. (Upon this he said: Am I obliged
to say any other (prayer) besides these? He (the Holy Prophet, ) said:
No, but whatever you observe voluntarily, out of your own free will,
and the fasts of Ramadan. The inquirer said: Am I obliged to do
anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but
whatever you do out of your own free will. And the Messenger of Allah
told him about the Zakat (poor-rate). The inquirer said: Am I obliged
to pay anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but
whatever you pay voluntarily out of your own free will. The man turned
back and was saying: I would neither make any addition to this, nor
will decrease anything out of it. The Prophet remarked: He is
successful, if he is true to what he affirms.
0008
Another hadith, the like of which has been narrated by Malik (b. Anas)
(and mentioned above) is also reported by Talha b. 'Ubaidullah, with
the only variation that the Holy Prophet remarked: By his father, he
shall succeed if he were true (to what he professed), or: By his
father, he would enter heaven if he were true (to what he professed).
0009
It is reported on the authority of Anas b. Malikthat he said: We were
forbidden that we shouldask anything (without the genuine need) from
the Holy Prophet. It, therefore, pleased us that an intelligent
personfrom the dwellers of the desert should come and asked him (the
Holy Prophet) and we should listen to it. A man from the dwellers of
the desertcame (to the Holy Prophet) and said: Muhammad, your
messenger came to us and told us your assertion that verily Allahhad
sent you (as a prophet). He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He told the
truth. He (the bedouin) said: Who created the heaven? He (the Holy
Prophet) replied: Allah. He (the bedouin again) said: Who created the
earth? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah. He (the bedouin again)
said: Who raised these mountains and who created in them whatever is
created there? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah. Upon this he (the
bedouin) remarked: By Him Who created the heaven and created the earth
and raised mountains thereupon, has Allah (in fact) sent you? He (the
Holy Prophet) said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger also
told us that five prayers (had been made) obligatory for us during the
day andthe night. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He told you the
truth. He (the bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you, is it Allah Who
ordered you about this (i. e. prayers)? He (the Holy Prophet) said:
Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger told us that Zakat had been
made obligatory in our riches. He (the Holy Prophet) said. He has told
the truth. He (the bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you (as a prophet),
is it Allah Who ordered you about it (Zakat)? He (the Holy Prophet)
said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger told us that it had
been made obligatory for us to fast every year during the month of
Ramadan. He (the Holy Prophet) said: He has told the truth. He (the
bedouin) said: By Him Who sent you (as a prophet), is it Allah Who
ordered you about it (thefasts of Ramadan)? He (the Holy Prophet)
said: Yes. He (the bedouin) said: Your messenger alsotold us that
pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (of Ka'bah) had been made obligatory
for him who isable to undertake the journey to it. He (the
HolyProphet) said: Yes. The narrator said that he (thebedouin) set off
(at the conclusion of this answer, but at the time of his departure)
remarked: 'By Him Who sent you with the Truth, Iwould neither make any
addition to them nor would I diminish anything out of them. Upon this
the Holy Prophet remarked: If he were true (to what he said) he must
enter Paradise.
0010
It is narrated on the authority of Thabit that Anas said: We were
forbidden in the Holy Qur'an that we should ask about anything from
the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)and then Anas reported
the hadith in similar words.

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Islamic Article |- He feels distressed and sad when he remembersthe past, before he repented

am a born muslim,alhamdulillah.i started practising from last year
until now.i have full beard,i dont smoke,no girlfriend,dontwatch
films.i am always try to spend more times for gaining knowledge.but
recently ifeel depressed,my past memories are killing me,i always feel
scared when talking to peoples,i am getting ill so often,which hurting
me,even when i pray i feel that my prayer,my duaa is not gonna
accept.i am on hardship,difficulties as well.but i dont speak about
this problems to anyone,because i believe that only Allah can help me
out from this problem.i feel like i am doing something seriously
wrong.notice that sometimes i dont pray fajar on time.is it the main
reason?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly, we congratulate you for having repented to Allah; He has
blessed you by enabling you to give up sin and disobedience and a life
of idle pursuits. This great blessing requires you to protect it by
turning to Allah, calling upon Him, beseeching Him and always
remembering Him, may He be glorified and exalted. All of that will
strengthen the heart and make you steadfast in adhering to the path of
obedience, and it will ward off the doubts and hesitations that have
come to you recently.
Secondly, with regard towhat has befallen you recently, there are
several reasons for that:
· Part of it is because you have become very withdrawn after
you were guided, but being guided has nothing to do with this
withdrawal.You could have chosen good people to mix withand make
friends with; in fact even if you mixedwith people who were not like
that, you could have focused on showing them the way to repent and
turn back to Allah. Being religiously committed does not mean at all
thatyou should stay away from people. Even when seeking knowledge, a
person can always look for friends to sit with in the class and who
can help you to revise. This ishow the social nature of human beings
always is, but their aims and behaviour may vary. Undoubtedly keeping
away from the friends you had in the past is a beneficial kind of
withdrawal, and it may be obligatory in some cases. But it will be
helpful to you to replace the friends of the past with other friends
who are righteous and can help you to adhere to the path of guidance,
console you and strengthen your resolve. Allah, may He be exalted,says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And keep yourself (O Muhammad SAW) patiently with those who call on
their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with
glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous deeds,
etc.) morning andafternoon, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes
overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world;
and obey not himwhose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance,
one who follows his own lusts andwhose affair (deeds) hasbeen lost"
[al-Kahf 18:28].
· Part of it may be your thinking of some memories of the past.
This will inevitably happen, because you areat the beginning of the
path and the Shaytaan will never leave you alone; he will put in
yourmind images and scenes and thoughts that you used to be part of,
not solong ago. But be of goodcheer, for this difficulty and these
thoughts will soon disappear, in sha Allah, so long as you remain
steadfast on the path of guidance and adhere to righteous conduct.
· The doubts that arise in your own mind and the thoughts that
come to you from everywhere are the whispers of the Shaytaan that you
must ward off forcefully, seek refuge with Allah from them, and
constantly callupon Allah (in du'aa') and ask Him to make youstrong
and to save you from the Shaytaan and his whispers. Remember that
Allah, may He be exalted, has no need of us and our deeds, and that
Allah accepts our imperfect worship by Hiskindness and grace, and He
will reward for it and multiply the reward, out of His grace, kindness
and generosity. For Allahis Appreciative and Forbearing, may He be
glorified; He accepts a little and gives much. He is as His slave
thinks He is, may He be glorified and exalted, so do not think
negatively of your Lord, for Allah is Most Kind and Most Generous.
· As for your negligence with regard to Fajr prayer, it is
undoubtedly a major shortcoming on your part and is something that you
should hasten to set straight. A good start is indicative of good
progress on the path, so how about if your day begins with
disobedience towards Allah and heedlessness concerning one of His
greatest commands, and one of His greatest rightsover His slaves,
which is prayer offered on time? The Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever prays Fajr is under the protection
of Allah, but anyone who falls short with regard tothe rights of
Allah, then Allah will seize him and will throw him into the Fire of
Hell." Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, 657. So do not deprive
yourself and do not exclude yourself from the protection of your Lord
and His shielding ofHis slave against his enemy. Do not deprive
yourself of all of that by being careless with regard to praying Fajr
atthe beginning of its timewith the congregation in the mosque, lest
your enemy gain power over you when you are the one who is bringing
thatupon yourself if you do that (neglect Fajr).
May Allah make things easy for you, relieve your worry and distress,
and make you steadfast in adhering to the straight path.
And Allah knows best.

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Islamic Article |- Our attitude towards the differences of opinion among the imams with regard to covering the face

There is an important matter that is giving me sleepless nights, which
is: what is the meaning of the differences of the imam concerning a
certain issue? If I say to someone that Shaykh So and so says that
something is haraam, hesays to me that is according to his madhhab or
the madhhab of his country, and we follow a different madhhab that
says it is halaal. This led me to the issue of hijab. For example, my
country follows the Maaliki madhhab, the imams of which say that "that
which is apparent" [al-Noor 24:33] refers to the face and hands. In
addition to that, the face-veil is virtually banned in my country,
i.e., you could never wear it in your daily life, such as wearing it
at work or in school. There are laws that ban it and the gloves.
Although personally I am fully convinced about the face-veil, I cannot
wear it. What is your ruling onthat? Because every timeI listen to
tapes about hijab from Shaykhs fromanother madhhab, I feel that my
hijab is not Islamically acceptable, and I understand from their words
that I am currently unveiled and making a wanton display of myself
(tabarruj) and I am a cause of fitnah among this ummah. What should we
do, as we are confused?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
At the time of the Revelation, the Muslims learned the rulings of
Islam from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
through the verses of the Holy Qur'aan and theahaadeeth of his Sunnah.
Hence there were no differences of opinion among them except with
regard to some minor issues. If that happened, the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) would explain to them what was
correct.
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died and
the Sahaabah spread out to various regions to teach the people Islam,
there appeared some differences with regard to some matters of fiqh
which arose at different times and in different places. These
differenceswere due to a number ofreasons, which we will sum up here
from the words of the scholars:
1- The evidence had not reached the one who held a different
opinion, and he made a mistake in forming his opinion.
2- The hadeeth had reached the scholar, but he did not regard the
transmitter as trustworthy, and he thought that it went against
something that was stronger, so he followed that which he thought was
stronger than it.
3- The hadeeth had reached him but he forgot it.
4- The hadeeth had reached him but he understood it in a way other
than the intended meaning.
5- The hadeeth reached him but it was abrogated, and he did not
know the abrogating text.
6- He thought that it contradicted something that was stronger than
it, whether that was a text or scholarly consensus (ijmaa')
7- The scholar used a weak hadeeth as the basis for his ruling, or
hederived the ruling by means of weak arguments.
For a detailed discussion of these reasons and others, see Raf'
al-Malaam 'an al-A'immati'l-A'laam by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah,
and al-Khilaaf bayna al-'Ulama': Asbaabuhu wa Mawqifuna minhu by
Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen.
We think that what we have mentioned about the reasons for differences
among the scholars i.e., with regardto matters of fiqh, will be clear
to you, in sha Allaah.
Secondly:
What should the Muslim's attitude be towards differences thatarise
between the scholars? In other words,which scholarly opinion should
the Muslim followin matters where they differed? The answer depends:
1 – If the Muslim is one who has studied shar'i knowledge and learned
its basic principles and minor issues, and he can distinguish right
from wrong with regard to scholarly views, then he has to follow that
which he thinks is correct and ignore that which he thinks is wrong.
2 – If he is one of the rank and file, or has not studied shar'i
knowledge, and thus cannot distinguish between right and wrong with
regard to scholarly views, then he must follow the fatwa ofa scholar
whose knowledge he trusts andwho he believes to be trustworthy and
religiously committed, whether he is from his own country or another
country, and differences between scholars will not matter after that.
He does not have to changewhat he is doing because he hears another
scholar issuing afatwa that differs from the one he is following,
unless he realizes that what he learned later onis the correct view,
on the basis of his confidence in the religious commitment and
knowledge of the second Shaykh.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The one who has knowledge of evidence is required to follow the
evidence, even if it goes against some of the imams, if it does not go
against the consensus of the ummah.
The one who does not have any knowledge should ask the scholars,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "So ask of those
who know the Scripture, if you know not" [al-Nahl 16:43]. He should
ask one who he thinks has more knowledge and is more religiously
committed, but that does not mean that doing so obligatory,because the
one who is better may make a mistake with regard to aparticular issue,
and the one who is regarded as less knowledgeable may be right with
regard to it. But priority should be given to following the one who is
more knowledgeable and more religiously committed.
See also the answers to questions no. 8294 and 10645 .
Thirdly:
If you ask about our view on the issue of covering the face, the most
correct scholarly view in our opinion is that it is obligatory to
cover the face in front ofnon-mahram men. Thereis a great deal of
evidence and scholarly views concerning that, as among the Maalikis.
Many of them said that itis not permissible for a woman to uncover her
face in front of non-mahram men, not because it is 'awrah but because
uncovering it runs the risk of fitnah. But some of them think that it
is 'awrah. Hence women, in their view, are forbidden to go out in
front of non-mahram men with their faces uncovered.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from
behind a screen"
[al-Ahzaab 33:53]
al-Qaadi Abu Bakr ibn al-'Arabi al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The entire woman is 'awrah, her body and her voice, so it is not
permissible to uncover that except in cases of necessity, such as when
testimony is given against her, or medical treatment, or asking her
about her health issues. End quote.
Ahkaam al-Qur'aan by Ibn al-'Arabi (3/1578, 1579).
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him), who is also Maaliki, said:
This verse indicates that Allaah has given permission to ask of them
from behind a screen if there is some need, or when they ask a
question about something. That includesall women. Because it is a
basic shar'i principle that the entire woman is'awrah, her body and
her voice – as stated above –it is not permissible to uncover that
except in cases of necessity such as when testimony is given against
her, or medical treatment, or asking her about her health issues. End
quote.
In al-Jaami' li Ahkaam al-Qur'aan (14/227) it says:
For more information onthe views of Maaliki fuqaha' concerning the
obligation for women tocover their faces, see: al-Ma'yaar al-Mu'arrab
by al-Wanshireesi (10/165 and 11/226 and 229), Mawaahib al-Jaleel by
al-Hattaab (3/141), al-Dhakheerah by al-Quraafi (3/307) and Haashiyat
al-Dasooqi 'alaal-Sharh al-Kabeer (2/55).
We have discussed this issue and its evidence in more than one answer
on this site. Please see the answers to questionsno. 11774 , 12525 ,
13998 , 21134 and 21536 .
Fourthly:
With regard to what youmention about the laws in your country
forbidding women to cover their faces, that is something that makes
usfeel very sad, to hear that covering and chastity are being opposed
and wanton display and unveiling are being encouraged everywhere,
especially when that happens in a country that is supposed to be
Muslim.
If the laws forbid women to cover, and you fear persecution because of
covering your faces, then there is no sin on you if you do not do it
in that case, so long as that is based on necessity. So a woman should
not go out of her house with her face uncovered except in cases of
necessity. If she can break the law and put up with a little bit of
hassle, let her do so for there is no obedience to any created being
if it involves disobedience towards the Creator.
And Allaah knows best.