Will a woman be rewarded for her work in the home even if she does not intend to seek reward?

If a woman works in her house without intendingto seek reward for her
work with Allaah, will she be rewarded for her work or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
A woman's work in the home is important work in which she helps to
spread love and mercy inher home, and she plays a major role in
raising her children and helps her husband in his work,da'wah and
pursuit of knowledge.
In this regard, this work is like all other kinds of work: a woman
will not be rewarded for it unless her intention in doing it is
sincerely for the sake of Allaah alone.
There follow some texts which support this view,as well as some of the
comments of the scholars.
1 – al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) included in Kitaab
al-Eemaan (the Book of Faith) a chapter in whichhe listed shar'i
duties, which included seeking reward for doing them.
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"Chapter: what was narrated about actions being but by intentions, and
every person will have but that which he intended. This includes
faith, wudoo', prayer, zakaah, Hajj, fasting and other rulings. Allaah
says(interpretation of the meaning): "Each one does according to
Shakilatihi (i.e. his way or his religion or his intentions)"
[al-Isra' 17:84]. A man may seek the reward of charity forhis spending
on his family. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "But jihad and good intentions."
Saheeh al-Bukhaari (1/29), Kitaab al-Eemaan.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The words "Chapter: what has been narrated…" mean: a chapter which
explains what has been narrated as evidence that shar'i actions are
judged according to intention.
Fath al-Baari (1/135, 136)
2 – It was narrated that Abu Mas'ood al-Badri (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "If a Muslim spends on his family, seeking reward for that
with Allaah, thenit will an act of charity on his part." Narrated
byal-Bukhaari (55), Muslim (1002).
Spending on his wife and children is a man's shar'i duty, but he will
not be rewarded for it unless he seeks reward thereby.
Al-Qurtubi said:
The apparent meaning isthat the reward for spending on them can only
be attained by intending to draw closerto Allaah, whether it is
obligatory or permissible, and this implies that whoever does not
intend to draw closer to Allaah will not be rewarded, but he has
discharged his duty in the case of obligatory spending.
Fath al-Baari (1/136)
Ibn Hajar said:
It may be understood from this that the reward cannot be attained by
doing the deed unless it is also accompanied by the intention.
Al-Tabari said: spending on one's family is obligatory, and he will be
rewarded for what he gives according to hisintention. There is no
contradiction between its being obligatory and its being called
charity, rather it is better than voluntary charity.
Fath al-Baari (9/498)
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Seeking reward thereby means seeking the Countenance of Allaah
thereby. That does not include whatever he spends absent-mindedly
(i.e., heedless of the intention and without intending to seek reward
thereby). Rather this refers to the one who seeks reward. The way to
seek reward is to spend it with the intention of fulfilling theduty of
spending and kind treatment that has been enjoined upon him.
Sharh Muslim (7/88, 89).
3 – It was narrated from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "You will never spend anything, seeking thereby the
Countenance of Allaah, but you will be rewarded for it, even what you
put in your wife's mouth." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (56) and Muslim
(1628).
Ibn al-Haaj al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
He should not neglect to give his wife a morsel or two, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "even a
morsel that he puts in his wife's mouth." He will earn reward even
though there is some pleasure for him in putting a morsel in his
wife's mouth, but he should seek reward in allof that, i.e., in
bringing the food and in giving it to her.
Al-Madkhal (1/224).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
You will never spend anything, seeking thereby the reward of Allaah,
but you will be rewarded for it. The attainment of reward is dependent
upon that, i.e., on seeking the Countenance of Allaah. This is what
matters.
Fath al-Baari (5/367).
Conclusion:
A woman will be rewarded for her work in the house if she seeks reward
with Allaah for that, and is sincere in her intention.
And Allaah knows best.

She stipulated that in order to marry her he has to memorize Soorat al-Baqarah or Aal ‘Imraan or take her for Hajj

I want to know can memorization of Holy Quran or part of it be made
into a condition for marriage as one sister(she is a Hafiz) has put
this condition out to me to either memorize Surah al-Baqarah or Surah
ale-Imraan and her third option was Hajjafter nikah. I can pick either
of the three. If I pick one of the first two what bothers me then is I
wouldn't be doing it for Allah swt it would be exclusively to gain her
hand. Please explain if this is allowed or not.
Praise be to Allaah.
If you want to marry her because she is religiously committed and you
agree to the condition, seeking thereby the pleasure of Allah and to
achieve this aim, and to marry someone who will help you to obey Allah
and you can help her, then there is nothing wrong with that and this
is partof striving for the Hereafter. Allah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and strivesfor it, with the
necessaryeffort due for it (i.e. does righteous deeds of Allaah's
obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allaah Islâmic
Monotheism) — then such are the ones whose striving shall be
appreciated, (thanked and rewarded by Allaah)"
[al-Isra' 17:19].
Al-Nasaa'i (3340) narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: Abu Talhah married Umm Sulaym and the dowry between them was
Islam; Umm Sulaym became Muslim before Abu Talhah. He proposed to her
and she said: I have become Muslim; if you become Muslim I will marry
you. So he became Muslim, and that was the dowry between them. Classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa'i.
So strive to memorise the Holy Qur'aan as an act of worship and
obedience towards Allah, and seeking His reward and His pleasure.There
is no reason not tolet the request of this sister be what motivates
you to do this act of worship, because it is not contrary to
sincerity.This is like those who enter some religious competitions and
let that a motive to memorise the Holy Qur'aan. So there is nothing
wrong with thatand it is not contrary to sincerity.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas were asked:
Taking part in religious competitions that offer cash prizes: are
these prizes halaal orharaam?
They replied: There is nothing wrong with accepting the prizes thatare
donated by people in authority or other doers of good, because that is
encouragement to acquire knowledge and memorise the Book of Allah, may
He be glorified and exalted. In these and similar matters, the
believer should be sincere towards Allah and be happy to have
something that helps him in that, and his motivation should not be
only to get the money. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 15/188
And Allah knows best.

Is exaggerating in beautifying the voice when leading people in prayer regarded as showing off?

Sometimes when i lead the prayer and i try to make my voice good while
reciting quran . and after the prayer i feel that i did exagrate are
sho offed. but i say to my self that this is prophet Muuhammed9sallahu
alaihai wasallam) hadiththat to make voice good.and i dont knwo what
should i do .
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Beautifying the voice when reciting Qur'aan is something mustahabb
that is encouraged in many texts, such as the words of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "Adorn the Qur'aan with
your voices." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i, 1015; Abu Dawood, 1468; classed
assaheeh by al-Albaani.
Al-Sindi said:
i.e., make your voices beautiful when reciting, because beautiful
wordsbecome even more beautiful when recited in a beautiful voice, and
this is something well known.
End quote from Haashiyat Sunan al-Nasaa'i, 2/179
Al-Munaawi said:
By doing it in a beautifulvoice and doing it well, this encourages
people to listen to it and ponderit.
End quote from Fayd al-Qadeer, 4/90.
Being keen to beautify one's voice when reciting Qur'aan is something
that is prescribed in Islam, and it is not regarded as blameworthy
effort or showing off.
This is indicated by the report narrated from Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) listened to my recitation
at night. The next morning he said: O Abu Moosa, I listened to your
recitation last night; you have been given a beautiful voice like the
beautiful voice of Dawood." I said: O Messenger of Allah, if I had
known you were there, I would have made it more beautiful?
Narrated by al-Nasaa'i inal-Sunan al-Kubra, 7/273; Ibn Hibbaan in
hisSaheeh, 16/169; al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan, 3/12; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani (3532).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer said: This indicates that it is permissible to
put extra effort into beautifying one's voice. Abu Moosa had been
given a beautiful voice along with perfect focus,and the gentleness of
the people of Yemen. This indicates that this is something that is
acceptable in sharee'ah.
End quote from Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/63.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This indicates that if a person makes his voice beautiful when
reciting Qur'aan so that the listener may enjoy it andfeel happy when
hearing it, there is nothing wrong with thatand it is not regarded as
showing off. Rather this encourages people to listen to the word of
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, so that the people will feel
happy to hear it.
End quote from Sharh Riyadh al-Saaliheen, 4/662
Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath (9/63):
There is no doubt that people are more inclined to listen to
recitation if it is done in a melodious voice than to listen to one
who does not have a melodious voice, because the melodious voice is
more effective insoftening the heart and bringing tears.
What may be understood from the evidence is that beautifying the voice
when reciting Qur'aan is something desirable; if aperson's voice is
not beautiful than he shouldbeautify it as much as hecan, as Ibn Abi
Mulaykah said. End quote.
And he said: Ibn Abi Dawood narrated via IbnAbi Musji'ah who said:
'Umar used to give precedence to a young man with a beautiful voice
because of his beautiful voice (to lead people in prayer).
End quote from Fath al-Baari, 9/80
Secondly:
If your intention by beautifying the voice is to achieve the
hoped-foraims of sharee'ah, such as obtaining proper focus and
humility in theheart and making the eye weep, or to move the people
when listening to the Qur'aan, this is something that is prescribed in
Islam and is encouraged, and it cannot be regarded as showing off at
all.
But if your aim in doing that is to show how beautiful your voice is
and how good your recitation is so that people will praise you for it,
then this is a kind of showing off and you have to strive against
these thoughts so that your action will be sincerely for the sake of
Allah alone.

--


- - - - -

And Allah Knows the Best!

- - - - -

Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

- - - - - - -

Imaamat and Khilafat

Imaamat and Khilafat
1. There are two types of Imaamats: Imaamat Sugra and Imaamat Kubra.
2. Imaamat Sugra is the Imaamat that is performed in Salaah.
3. Imaamat Kubra is in relation to representing the Messenger of Allah
(sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
4. To qualify in this category of Imaamat it is necessary that one has
the following criteria: He is a Muslim, is free (i.e. not a
slave),male, sane, adult, belonging to the tribe of Quraish and one
who has power.
5. It is not necessary for one to be from the family of the Holy
Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), i.e. Hashmi, or from the
family of Hazrat Ali (radi Allahu anhu) i.e. Alawi, or to be Ma'soom
(immune from sin). It is also not necessary that one has to be the
most virtuousfrom their nation.
6. It is obligatory on all Muslims to obey the Imaam when his orders
are not against the Shari'ah (Islamic Law) because one cannot follow
anybody's orders if they are against the Shari'ah.
7. An Imaam should be made only if he is courageous, a politician and
an Islamic scholar (Aalim) or works with the helpof Ulema.
8. A female or child's Imaamat is not allowed.