Answer to the question: ''Is possessing power, wealth and grandeur incompatible with theessence of Islam?''

Some circles identify being a Muslim with poverty, underdevelopment,
rustic manners, passivity or the state of giving up all mundane
interests. However, this is not true.
When people actually refer to the Qur'an, it immediately becomes clear
that Islam does not suggest such a model. We can see this in the
splendid wealth and possessions that Allah granted to many of the
Prophets. Over the centuries, Prophet Sulayman's (Solomon) (pbuh)
unprecedentedly glorious wealth has become legendary. Sulayman (pbuh),
a Prophet praised by the Qur'an for his exemplary conduct, surely
pursued nothing but earning Allah's good pleasure and had no guide
other than His religion. Indeed, before being endowed with great
wealth, he prayed the following prayer:
He said: "My Lord, forgive me and give me a kingdom the like of which
will never be granted to anyone after me. Truly, You are the
Ever-Giving." (Surah Sâd,35)
If praying for wealth was a practice to be condemned, then a Prophet
praised by Allah in the Qur'an would not have done so. Indeed, the
Qur'an states that Allah answered his prayer. As the verse below
indicates, Allah always mentions Prophet Sulayman (pbuh) with praise:
And to Dawud We gave Sulayman. What an excellent servant! He truly
turned to his Lord. (Surah Sâd, 30)
Prophet Sulayman (pbuh) is not the sole example, for Allah also
granted authority and power to his father, Prophet Dawud (David)
(pbuh), as well as great wealth to Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) and his
family:
Or do they in fact envy other people for the bounty Allah that has
granted them? We gave the family of Ibrahim theBook and Wisdom, and We
gave them an immense kingdom. (Surat an-Nisa', 54)
As we see, Allah condemns any feelings of jealousy over the wealth He
grants to Muslims as a blessing. The Qur'an reveals that the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was also enriched by Allah, for:
Did He not find you impoverished and enrichyou? (Surat ad-Duha, 8)
At this point, the difference between wealth as perceived by believers
and unbelievers arises: believers are conscious that only Allah, the
real owner of property, giveswealth, while unbelievers perceive wealth
as claiming ownership over property and disregard the fact that all
the property and wealth belongs to Allah. This divergence also
emergeswhen it comes to using property: believers spend their wealth
for good causes, whereas unbelieving property owners commonly seek to
"cause corruption in the land." (Surat al-Qasas, 77)
Wealth, glory, and authority are blessings that Allah bestows upon His
servants. The essential feature here is to use this wealth in the
proper way in order to give due thanks to Allah for them, to
constantly remember His favors, and thus to draw nearer to Him and
seek ways to earn His good pleasure. Indeed, Prophet Sulayman's (pbuh)
words below makes his intention clear:
And he said: "Truly do I love the love of good, with a view to the
glory of my Lord". (Surah Sâd, 32)
However, we need to remember that this life isa test sent to us by
Allah. The level of people's commitment and patience shows when they
are confronted with hardships and difficulties, for their reaction
reveals the profoundness of their faith. Thus, Allah may test people
with such difficulties as death, fear, hunger, poverty, and so on both
to reveal their steadfastness and other superior qualities and to
reward them. However, while showingpatience, Muslims must pray
constantly to Allah for relief, increase, and an expansion of
blessings. Furthermore, they have to ask for these blessings not only
for themselves but for allbelievers, and ask for vast resources so as
to glorify Allah's name. Thisis the attitude that most complies with
the Qur'anic stance.
However, it goes without saying that the criteria used to judge people
in Islam is not wealth, for poverty or wealth does not determine a
person's worth in Allah's sight. What matters is that believers spend
their means, whether abundant or scarce, in compliance with Allah's
good pleasure and ask for wealth only to spend for His cause.
Believers do not hoard possessions, for they avoid the fate awaiting
those who do, which theQur'an describes in the following verse:
As for those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in the
Way of Allah, give them the news of a painful punishment. (Surat
at-Tawba, 34)
Believers enjoy spendingin Allah's cause just as they enjoy benefiting
from His blessings. From this stance, praying for wealth, possessions,
and fortune is an act of worship that brings rewards to sincere
believers. Allah promises to increase the believers'property provided
that they thank Him for them and spend it in His cause.

the Signs of the judgement day - , Three questions in the grave.

what are the trials of thegrave that we ask allah (saw) to save us from.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departsand he is placed in his
grave, then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because the
grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter.
It was narrated that Haani' the freed slave of 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan
said: when 'Uthman ibn 'Affaan stood by a grave he would weep until
his beard became wet. It was said to him, "You remember Paradise and
Hell and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?" He said, "The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
'The grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is
saved from it, whatever comes afterwards will be easier for him, but
if he is not saved from it, what comes afterwards will beworse for
him.'" And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "I have never seen any scene but the grave is more
frightening thanit." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2308; Ibn Maajah, 4567;
classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami', 1684).
Secondly:
The two angels who are charged with questioning come to himand ask him
what he used to believe in in this world, who was his Lord,what was
his religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that
is good, but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and
painful beating on him.
If he was one of the righteous, angels with white faces come to
him,but if he was one of the evildoers, angels with dark faces come to
him. This is the fitnah or tribulation that he suffers.
It was narrated from 'Aa'ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to say, 'Allaahumma inni a'oodhu bika min
al-kasali wa'l-haram wa'l-maghram wa'l-ma'tham. Allaahumma inni
a'oodhu bika min 'adhaab al-naar wa fitnat il-naar, wa fitnat
il-qabri, wa 'adhaab il-qabri, wa sharri fitnat il-ghina wa sharri
fitnat il-faqair wa min sharri fitnat il-maseeh il-Dajjaal. Allaahumma
ighsil khataayaaya bi ma' al-thalji wa'l-baradi wa naqqi qalbi min
al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas, wa baa'id
bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa'adta bayna al-mashriqi
wa'l-maghrib (O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness and old
age, and from debts and sins; from the torment ofthe Fire and from the
tribulation of the Fire, and from the tribulation of the grave and the
torment of the grave, and from the evil of the tribulation of wealth,
and from the evil of the tribulation of poverty, and from the evil of
the tribulation of the Dajjaal(Antichrist). O Allah! Wash away my sins
with the water of snow and hail, and cleanse my heart from sin as a
whitegarment is cleansed from filth, and put a great distance between
me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made between the
East and the West)."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6014).
Ibn Hajar said:
The phrase "from the tribulation of the grave" means the questioning
of the two angels.
Fath al-Baari, 11/177.
And al-Mubaarakfoori said:
"The tribulation of the grave" means confusion when answering the two angels.
Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 9/328
Thirdly:
With regard to the questions that the angels will ask in the grave,
this is explained clearly in the following hadeeth:
It was narrated that al-Bara' (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
We went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We
came to the grave and when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat
down andwe sat around him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e.,
quiet and still). In his hand he had a stick with which he was
scratching the ground. Then he raised his head and said, "Seek refuge
with Allaah from the torment of the grave", two or three times. Then
he said, "When the believing slave is about to depart this world and
enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with
white faces like the sun, and they sit around him as far as the eye
can see. They bring with them shrouds from Paradise and perfumes from
Paradise. Then the Angelof Death comes and sits by his head, and he
says,'O good soul, come forth to forgiveness from Allaah and His
pleasure.' Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the the
mouth of a waterskin. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his
hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that shroud with
that perfume, and there comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk
on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any
group of angels but they say, 'Who is this good soul?' and they
say,'It is So and so the son ofSo and so, calling him bythe best names
by whichhe was known in this world, until they reach the lowest
heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is opened,and (the
soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the nextheaven by those who are
closest to Allaah, until they reach the seventh heaven. Then Allaah
says: 'Record the book of My slave in 'Illiyoon in the seventh heaven,
and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will
return them and from it Iwill bring them forth once again.' So his
soul is returned to his body and there come to him two angels who make
him sit up and they say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He says, 'Allaah.'
They say, 'What is your religion?' He says, 'My religion is Islam.'
They say, 'Who is this man who was sent among you?' He says, 'He is
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).'
They say, 'What did you do?' He says, 'I read the Book of Allaah and I
believed in it.' Then a voice calls out from heaven, 'My slave has
spoken the truth, so prepare for him a bed from Paradise and clothehim
from Paradise, and open for him a gate to Paradise.' Then there comes
to him some of itsfragrance, and his grave is made wide, as far as he
can see. Then there comes to him a man with a handsome face and
handsome clothes, and a good fragrance, who says, 'Receive the glad
tidings that will bring you joy this day.' He says, 'Who are you? Your
face is a face whichbrings glad tidings.' He says, 'I am your
righteous deeds.' He says, 'O Lord, hasten the Hour so that I may
returnto my family and my wealth.' But when the disbelieving slave is
about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to
him from heaven angels with black faces, bringing sackcloth, and they
sit around him as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death
comes and sits by his head, and he says, 'O evil soul, come forth to
the wrath of Allaah and His anger.' Then his soul disperses inside his
body, then comes out cutting the veins and nerves, like a skewer
passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in
his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that
sackcloth, and there comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of
a dead body on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not
pass by any group of angels but they say, 'Who is this evil soul?' and
they say, 'It is So andso the son of So and so, calling him by the
worst names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the
lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is not
opened." Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
"for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not
enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle"
[al-A'raaf 7:40]
He said: "Then Allaah says, 'Record the book ofMy slave in Sijjeen in
the lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created
them, toit I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once
again.' So his soul is cast down." Then the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"and whoever assigns partners to Allaah, it is asif he had fallen from
the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him
toa far off place"
[al-Hajj 22:31]
He said: "Then his soul is returned to his body, and there come to him
two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, 'Who is your
Lord?' He says, 'Oh, oh, I don't know.' They say, 'What is your
religion?' He says, 'Oh, oh, I don't know.' Then a voice callsout from
heaven, 'Prepare for him a bed from Hell and clothe him from Hell, and
open for him a gate to Hell.' Then there comes to him someof its heat
and hot winds, and his grave is constricted and compresses him until
his ribs interlock. Then there comes to him a man with an ugly face
and ugly clothes, and a foul stench, who says, 'Receive the bad news,
this is the day that you were promised.' He says, 'Who are you? Your
face is a face which forebodes evil.' He says, 'I am your evil deeds.'
Hesays, 'O Lord, do not let the Hour come, do not let the Hour come.'"
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4753; Ahmad, 18063 – this version was narrated
by him. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami', 1676.
The correct view is that the two angels will only question the
deceased inhis grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and
'aqeedah (belief). This is quite clear.
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the Signs of the judgement day - , Is it true that the Day of Judgement will come on a Friday, 10thMuharram?.

regards to the day of judgement. from what i have read in the
sahih(accurate) hadith itis stated that the day of judgement will come
on friday(10th moharram).My question is if it is friday in saudi
arabia then it will be another day in USA and so on....so basically it
is never friday all over the world at one time...please answer, this
has been troubling me for sometime.
Praise be to Allaah.
Everyone who gives a specific time or date for the onset of the Day of
Judgement is a fabricator and a liar. Theonset of the Day of
Resurrection is the "Hour" of which Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"They ask you about theHour (Day of Resurrection): 'When willbe its
appointed time?' Say: 'The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (Alone).
None can reveal its time but He'" [al-A'raaf 7:187]
But when the Day of Resurrection comes, at the time which is knownto
Allaah, which will be aFriday, then the system of this universe, with
its night and day, sun and moon and stars, will be changed. We do not
know whether the America which exists today will exist then or not,
for Allaah is Able to destroy whichever of these nations He wills
before the Day of Resurrection, for Allaah is Able to do all things.

Maintaining the ties of kinship

various Hadeeth of the Prophet, , call strongly for the upholding of
kinship ties and encourage this by offering worldly and religious
rewards.
There is no doubt that a society whose members maintain family
relations and treat each other mercifully forms an invincible fortand
a fortified castle. It produces close-knit families and a solid social
structure that provides the world with leaders, instructors, thinkers,
teachers, callers and reformers, who carry the torches of guidance to
their nation and all of humanity.
This article focuses on upholding good relations with kindred, which
is among the greatest and noblest morals.
Definition
Kinship ties refer to a person's bond with his paternal and maternal
relatives; and, maintaining them implies being good and kind to one's
relations in both words and deeds. This includes visiting them, asking
after them, supporting the needyamong them and helping them with their
affairs.
There are many virtues of upholding kinship ties, as doing so is:
1- A sign of faith: Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, , said:
"Whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day should behospitable to
his guest; and whoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day should
maintain his kinship ties; and whoever believes in Allaah and the Last
Day, should speak well or remain silent." [Al-Bukhaari] In this
Hadeeth, the Prophet, , referred to three things that make people
cooperate with and love each other: extending a warm welcome to
visitors, preserving the ties of kindred andusing kind words. In fact,
he, , established a connection between these qualities and faith, in
effect, saying that anyone who believes in Allaah The Almighty and the
Last Day does not sever his kinship ties; and, that is because
maintaining kinship ties is a sign of faith.
2- A cause for increased blessings in one's provisions and age: All
people want to have a luxurious and prolonged life, because the desire
for possessions and life aretwo basic instincts in every human being.
Therefore, whoever wants to achieve this should have good relations
with his or her family, as Anas narrated that the Prophet, , said:
"Whoever loves to be granted ample provisions and a long life, should
maintain good ties with his or her relatives." [Al-Bukhaari]. In a
different wording, 'Ali related that the Prophet, , added that if such
aman also "desires to be [..] protected against an evil end [of life],
let him fear Allaah The Almighty and maintain good ties with his
relatives." [Al-Bazzaar and Al-Haakim]
3- A reason for Allaah The Almighty to also maintain ties with a
servant and honor him or her: 'Aa'ishah related that the Prophet, ,
said: "The womb [i.e., ties of kinship] is suspended from the throne
[of Allaah The Almighty], saying: Whoever preserves me, Allaah will
uphold ties with him [or her] and he who severs me, Allaah willsever
the bond with him." [Muslim] Allaah The Almighty positively responds
to this plea, thereby treating with kindness those who keep good
relations with family and cutting off those who do not. And,
certainly, it would be horrible for a weak, helpless slave if Allaah
The Almighty severed ties with him.
4- A factor that enables one to be admitted to Paradise: The Prophet,
, said: "O people exchange greetings (i.e., say: 'As-salaamu 'Alaykum'
(peace be on you) to one another), feed people, maintain kinship ties
and pray at night when others are asleep, so that you may enter
Paradise in peace." [Ahmad, At-Tirmithi and ibn Maajah]
Maintaining ties of kinship does not mean visiting, helping or serving
one's relatives in return for similar deeds on their part. True
upholding of family relations is to do so with those kith and kin who
sever their bondwith us. Thus, it refers to visiting relatives who do
not visit us, and being good to those who wrong us. 'Abdullaah ibn
'Amr ibn Al-'Aas narrates that the Prophet, , said: "A man who
perfectly maintains the ties of kinship is not he who recompenses the
good done to him by his relatives; rather, he is the one who is on
agreeable terms with those kin who have severed [their] bond with
him." [Al-Bukhaari]
In another Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah it was mentioned
that a man came to the Prophet, , and said: "I have relatives whom I
maintain ties with, but they cut me off, and I treat them kindly, but
they deal badly with me. I am gentle with them, but they are harsh to
me.'' The Messenger of Allaah, , replied: "If you are as you say, it
is as if you are feeding them hot ashes; you will have a supporter
from Allaah against them, as longas you continue to act the way you
are." [Muslim]
Imaam An-Nawawi said: "Hotashes are used as a metaphor to demonstrate
that such relatives bear as much guilt as the pain and agony
experienced by the person who eats them. As for theone who treats such
relatives kindly, there is no argument against him, rather they are
the ones who commit a grievous sin by mistreating and harming him."
Moreover, this Hadeeth is a consolation for the many who are afflicted
with rude relatives; in their repayment of evil with good and the
former's meeting their wickedness with goodness, it is evident that it
is only the