Should he focus on purifying his heart or ondoing naafil acts?

Which is more important– dealing with feelings and thoughts that
Allaahdislikes, such as destructive envy, hatred,arrogance, showing
off, thinking highly of one's deeds, hard-heartedness, etc., which
form the evil that resides in the heart, or focusing on doing outward
naafil deeds such as prayer, fasting and other acts of worship and
fulfilling vows even though those other things are present in the
heart? Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
Some of the acts mentioned are obligatory, and those which are
obligatory should be given precedence, as Allaah says according to the
hadeeth qudsi narrated from His Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): "Myslave does not draw near to Me with anything
more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined on him."
Then He says: "And My slave continues to draw near to Me with
supererogatory works sothat I shall love him." Outward physical acts
are not valid and acceptable unless they are accompanied by
appropriate actions of the heart, because the heart is like the king
andthe physical faculties arelike his troops. If the king is evil his
troops will also be evil. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "In the body there is a piece of flesh: if
it is sound the whole body will be sound and if it is corruptthen the
whole body willbe corrupt." Similarly the (hidden) actions of the
heart inevitably affect the (visible) physical actions. So precedence
must be given to that which is more obligatory, whether it is called
inward or outward. Perhaps things that are called inward may be more
obligatory, such as refraining from destructive envy and arrogance,
for that is more essential than observing naafil fasts. Oracts that
are described as outward or physical may be better, such as qiyaam
al-layl (praying at night), which is betterthan simply giving up some
thoughts that may cross one's mind such as (non-destructive) jealousy,
etc. Inward andoutward deeds support one another, and prayer keeps one
from doing evil actions and generates fear of Allaah, and has other
important effects. It (prayer) is the best of good deeds and charity.
And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 6/381
So there is no separationbetween correcting what is inward and
correcting what is outward or physical.
The outward acts of worship which a person performs with his physical
faculties – if he does them for the sake of Allaah – will undoubtedly
have an effect on his inward nature.
For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Shall I not tell you of something that will take away the evil
of the heart? Fasting three daysof each month." (Narrated by
al-Nasaa'i, 2386; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Nasaa'i, 2249). The evil of the heart refers torancour, hatred and
destructive envy.
One of the most important remedies for diseases of the heart is to
study and ponder the texts which include warnings to the one who
leaves these diseases to fester in his heart, such as the hadeeth in
which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"No one will enter Paradise who has an atom's-weight of arrogance in
his heart." (Narrated by Muslim, 91).
And the hadeeth according to which Hell will say, "My share is the
arrogant." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4850; Muslim, 2846)
And the hadeeth: "On the Day of Resurrection the arrogant will be
gathered like ants in the form of men." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2492; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2025).
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
disease of the nations who came before you has started to spread among
you: destructive envy and hatred. These are the shavers. I do not mean
that they shave hair but they shave away religious commitment. By the
One in Whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you
believe, and you will notbelieve until you love one another. Shall I
not tell you of something which if you do it, you will love one
another. Spread (the greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves."
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2510; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2038).
Whoever ponders with true insight such warnings about the diseases of
the heart willundoubtedly strive to cleanse his heart thereof, and
will seek help in doing so by doing outward physical acts, praying to
his Lord to cleanse his heart of hatred, destructive envy,rancour and
so on, as Allaah says, describing the prayer of the believers:
"and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed"
[al-Hashr 59:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad.

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.

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Islamic Article |- Fitna Who made you a Qadi/Judge?

We have a lot of sectarian problems at themoment and these are adding
to the confusion of this time. Just imagine that you are an outsider
and you see groups of Muslims attacking each other. It's certainly not
a pretty sight nor does it attract one to the religion.
I am criticised a lot for stepping back and not involving myself and
sometimes not even voicing my opinion. I simply do not wish to be
involved in fighting people or even refuting people unnecessarily.
There are times when people need to be refuted because they are
causing tribulation. But does that have to be done every time we
speak? In every Khutba? Even during Ramadan when we need spiritual
advice instead we a treated to a barrage of abuse aimed at
particulargroups.
I for one agree with the reliable opinion of the Hanafi school and the
reliable opinions of the Maturdi and Ashari school of doctrine. (Most
people are a mix of theseschools of doctrine even thought they claim
to be otherwise!) Yet within these schools sectarianism has occurred
and I refute those who insult their Prophet whether intentional or not
but I do not make it my lives work!
I prefer taking a step back from all this tribulation and refrain from
comment. The average person is now repeating the mistakes oftheir
Imams and purposely chasing those people who they think are wrong. It
is almost relentless and the zeal in which these average people are
chasing scholars for their 'errors' is something repugnant. They also
attack people who know the scholars and their students. In the most
Unislamic way imaginable with swearwords and speech full of hate.
Where has their Islamic manners gone?
No one likes to be told that they are doing a badjob or that they do
not know what to do. Yet groups of people who donot know their own
Aqida correctly are attacking those who know their doctrine much
better than them.
Some groups claim that some things are disbelief when they are clearly
notand it is only their group who think it is! This is problematic
because the Awwam (the average person) should not be doing anything
but concentrating on their worship. This basic fact issomething they
have failed to do. Many do not know what breaks their ablution nor do
they know what breaks their prayer but because they are Muslim they
think thisgives them a divine right to correct scholars.
Who made you a Qadi?
If someone pronounces aword of disbelief then the case is brought
before a Qadi/Judge whoasks the person if he realises the
ramifications of his words. If he does not recant then he is
imprisoned a scholar is brought to him to explain the issues and he is
given time to reconsider. Only when hedoes not after a given period is
the apostate killed. Just like if someone committed treachery to the
Crown who that person be killedif convicted. Now that wedo not have
judges we have people who do their own vigilante style court in which
they apostate who they hate and give excuses to thosethey love!
So when one of their own imams commits apostasy on the pulpit because
he has tried to respect the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and
blessings upon him) by disrespecting the other Prophets. He is given
an excuse but when others do the same, then that person is attacked
and hounded. This happens in more instances than you can imagine.
We have misguided loyalties in that we think we are defending Islam
but instead we are defending the politics of our group and not Islam
at all. We also think that everyone is astray except our group and we
claim to be Ahl-Sunna wa Jammah. Well, your group has only been around
for a hundred or so years, how can it just be you that are right? So
does that mean that there was no Ahl-Sunna until your group came? How
can that be right? The Ahl-Sunna wa Jammah was not a specific group of
people from a certain place. Rather is it the corpus of rulings and
the followers of the scholars from the beginning of Islam until its
end. Those that fit intothe four schools of Fiqh and the Ashari and
Maturdi schools of doctrine.
A popular singer once wrote love is blindness and it truly is when
people are not willing to look at their own errors yet jump upon the
errors of others like lions after their prey. Our love has made us
blind and this misleading others.
What do we do then?
Overlook, like we used to and we refer case or situations to scholars
who will correct scholars.When this is done then the scholar who
corrected him should not make the discussions public. They should
discuss the problem and come to a resolution thenput the issue to bed.
It is sinful for the average person to be debating about issues of
Islamic doctrine, period.
Most of the time it is because the misunderstanding of Islam in the
head of the average person and not because the scholar! When you do
not know the issue do not speak but because our Naafs does not like to
think we do not know anything about the religion that we were born
with, we speak, we scream and weshout.
Your job as an ordinary person is to perfect your worship and try to
implement Islam into your life as much as you can. Your job is not to
post slander on internet sites about scholars. If wehave to then speak
to someone close to the scholar and do it with theappropriate Islamic
manners.
Even if you look at the life of Sheikh Abdulqadir Jilani (may Allah
show him mercy) a Christian woman misled him and he left everything.
So what was the response ofhis devoted students? They did not attack
him for anything. They could have attacked him for various things that
was said to have occurred butinstead they kept calling back and they
kept supplicating.
Eventually, Sheikh Abdulqadir saw the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace
and blessings upon him) in a dream who had interceded for him then
advised him to return to his teachings. Which he did and the Christian
woman, when she realised that he had left her, went after him and
became Muslim. Note thathis students did not attack him but rather
they accepted the situation and tried to help him. (See secret of the
secrets). This is a true murid but I wonder whatpeople now would do?
Would they attack him? Deliver speeches against him? Write books
againsthim? The Awliya sometimes do things thatwe cannot understand
and we should refrain from reacting until we know all the facts.
They said about Imam As-Shafi that he used to perfect his ablution and
he was one of the great scholars of this nation, sodo you think that
you arebetter than him? Are you even present in your ablution? Are you
even doing it right? Is it merely the movement of water over the skin?
If there are scholars who keep making the same 'mistakes' then leave
them to it; that is better for you than attacking them. Some people
are from the family of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and
blessings upon him) and they should be advised inthe most polite
manner possible, and if you cannot do this then refrain.
The disrespect that we have witnessed and experienced from those
overzealous brothers is unimaginable, if I did notknow better I would
accuse those brothers of hating the Ahl Al-Bayt and this claim would
be far from unfounded. We have many issues that arenot dealt with
because ofthis issue such as community problems.
We have women leaving their Muslim husbands to live with non-Muslim
males because he treats her better. We have couples who have problems
with their marriages and there are very little support systems
available to them, apart from government organisations. The illegal
use of alcohol and drugs is rampant amongst our youth, yet who is
doing anything about it? We have men abusing their wives and people
are absolutely silent. Is it any wonder that people are not flooding
into Islam when they see people like us?
I would dearly love to seethe conditions of Muslimsimprove in this
country because we have so much potential. We have so many
opportunities that we have clearly wasted. Why don't we have big open
event about love for the Prophet and invite non-Muslims to it?
We have a responsibility to call to Islam, whether they accept is
another matter but we should be calling. So the average person should
be busy calling to Islam and not calling scholars names. We are not
judges we arejust ordinary people and just by being a Muslim does not
make you an authority on Islam, no one can claim that.

Islamic Article |- Hellfire He wants to commit haraam actions then repent

I was just wondering if some says he will drink and do zinna and do
haram stuff and then he will repent will his repentence be accepted.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
This questioner - may Allah guide him - does not realise that he has
already disobeyed Allah, may He be exalted, by saying this even if he
has not committed the sins that he stated clearly he would commit.
(a)
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allaah,
may He be glorified and exalted, will forgive my ummah for whatever
crosses their minds so long as they do not act upon it or speak of
it."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4968; Muslim, 127.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
(The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) has told us
that Allah forgives whatever crosses a person's mind so long as he
does not speak of it. So a distinction is made between thoughts that
cross the mind and wordsthat are spoken. And he told us that he will
not beblamed for a passing thought unless he speaks of it. What is
meant is unless his tongue utters it, according to scholarly
consensus.
End quote from Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 7/133
(b)
It was narrated from Abu Kabshah al-Anmaari that he heard the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
People of this world are four types: a man to whom Allaah gives wealth
and knowledge, so he fears his Lord concerning it, upholds ties of
kinship with it and realizes that something is due to Allah for that.
This man will attain the highest status. (The second is) a man to whom
Allaah gives knowledge but He does not give him wealth, but he is
sincere in intention and says: If I had wealth, I would have done what
(the first man) did. He will be judged according to his intention and
their reward will be the same. (The third one is) a man to whom Allah
gives wealth but does not give knowledge, so he squanders his wealth
without knowledge and does not fear Allah concerning it or uphold ties
of kinship with it, and he does not realize that something is due to
Allah for that. His will be the lowest status. (Then there is) a man
to whom Allah gave neither wealthnor knowledge, but he says: If I had
wealth I would do what (the thirdman) did. He will be judged according
to his intention, and their burden of sin will be the same.
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2325; he said: this is a saheeh hasan
hadeeth. Also narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4228
This questioner also has to pay attention to the fact that he may not
be able to repent because ofbeing overwhelmed by his whims and
desires, his regarding sin as permissible and his persisting in it. He
may not be able to do that because his time has come and his soul is
taken. Let him listen to the words of Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted (interpretation ofthe meaning):
"And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance),
asthey refused to believe therein for the first time, and We shall
leave them in their trespass to wander blindly"
[al-An'aam 6:110].
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is part of greater understanding: that a man fears that his sins
may cause him misfortune at the time of death and keep him froma good
end. Imam Ahmadnarrated from Abu'd-Darda' that when he was dying, he
would lose consciousness then he would come to and recite: "And We
shall turntheir hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they
refused to believe therein for the first time, and We shall leave them
in their trespass to wander blindly"
[al-An'aam 6:110].
Because of that, the earlygeneration feared sins, lest they kept them
from a good end.
End quote from al-Jawaab al-Kaafi by Ibn al-Qayyim, 167
Secondly:
This questioner has to ask his Lord for forgiveness and repent to Him
for having said this and having resolved to commit sin and persist in
it. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, hasenjoined repentance
upon His slaves. He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Turnto Allah with sincere repentance! It may be
that your Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into
Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise)"
[at-Tahreem 66:8].
Allah, may He be exalted, has told us that He accepts repentance from
His slaves and that He willpardon them; indeed He will turn their bad
deeds into good deeds. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And He it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and forgives
sins, and He knows what you do"
[ash-Shoora 42:25]
"Except those who repentand believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do
righteous deeds; for those, Allaah will change their sins into good
deeds, and Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[al-Furqaan 25:70].
Sincere repentance, according to the scholars,is that which fulfils
the following conditions:
(a) Sincerity in repentance
(b) Giving up the sin
(c) Regretting the sin
(d) Resolving not to go back to the sin
(e) Repenting in time, for Allah does not accept repentance when the
death rattle sounds before the soul is taken, or after the sun rises
from its place of setting
(f) Restoring people's rights if the sin had to dowith the rights
of other people
We give our brother the glad tidings that if he hasnot done what he
intended and spoke of, and he refrained from that out of fear of Allah
and respect for His sacredlimits, then Allah, may He be exalted, will
record one good deed in his record, instead of the bad deed that he
was thinking of doing.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah says: 'If My
slave thinks of doing a bad deed then do not write itdown for him
unless he does it, then if he does it write it down as one bad deed.
And if he refrains from it for My sake, write down one good deed for
him. If he wants to do a good deed then he does not do it, write it
down as one good deed and if he does it, write it down tenfold up to
seven hundred fold."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7026; Muslim, 129.

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