Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me

Anas reported that: "Three men came to the houses of the wives of the
Prophet and askedhow his worship was. When they were informed, they
considered their own worship to be insignificant and said: 'Where are
we in comparison to the Prophet when Allaah has forgiven his past and
future sins?' One of them said: 'As for me, I shall offer prayer all
night long.' Another said: 'I shall observe fasting perpetually, never
to break it.' Another said: 'I shall abstain from women and will never
marry.' The Prophet then came to them and said: "Are you the people
who said such things? I swear By Allaah that I fear Allaah more than
you do, and I am most obedient and dutiful among you to Him, but
still, I observe fasting (sometimes) and break it (at others); I
perform (optional) prayer (at night sometimes) and sleep at night (at
others); I also marry. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah (i.e., my
way) is not from me." [Al-Bukhaari &Muslim]
Anas also reported: "A few of the companions ofthe Prophet inquired
from his wives about his worship when he would be alone. When they
found out, one of them said: 'I shall abstain from women and will
never marry.' Another said: 'I shall never eat meat.' Another said: 'I
will always offer the night prayer and shall never sleep.' Later, the
Prophet ascended the pulpit, praised and thanked Allaah, and then
said: "Whyare some people saying such things? I perform (optional
night)prayers (sometimes) and sleep at night (at others); I observe
fasting (sometimes) and break it (at others); and I marry. So whoever
turns away from my Sunnah (i.e., way) is not from me."
'A few of the companions' in the narration means that there were
between three to nine of them, and their asking: 'Where are we in
comparison to the Prophet when Allaah has forgiven his past and future
sins?' means that since they didnot have this assurance that He had,
then it followed that they wouldhave to exert more effortin order to
try to attain it;however, he explainedto them that one may do the
things that these menwished to refrain from and still be fearful of
Allaah and obtain a greatreward.
The second narration of this story includes different things that the
companions stated that they will abstain from, which proves that they
were more than three in number.
Also, the speech of the Prophet in the first narration reflects that
he spoke to them directly, whereas the second one indicates thathe
spoke generally, without directing his speech to them in particular.
It may be that he first spoke to everybody in the congregation and
explained that such abstention is impermissible, and then spoke to the
men concerned in private, addressing them personally so as not to
expose their identity to others, which may have caused them
embarrassment.
The fact that the Prophet took an oath was in order to show these men
that despite him being forgiven by Allaah, he did not do what they
planned to do, which was to exaggerate in their worship, and that
reward from Allaah couldbe attained without such exaggeration; this is
because he who is moderate in his worship is more likely to
continuewhereas those who exaggerate will eventually become too weak
to continue and give up.
His saying: "…my Sunnah…" did not refer to the Islaamic categorization
which refers to recommended acts ratherthan obligatory ones. Rather,
it refers to his complete manner in life and his approach to every
matter. He instructed them that the one who worships in anyway other
than his is not from him, meaning, that he does not follow him; here,
he was alluding to the methods that monks have, who innovated extreme
ways of worship for which they have been dispraised by Allaah.
The one who worships ina way other than that of the Prophet has not
left the fold of Islam if he did it in ignorance or was mistaken in
his interpretation of the Sunnah, but if he does it due to wishing to
deliberately shun the way of the Prophet and thinks that his way and
method is better, then he has committed an act of disbelief.
The following are some of many benefits that we can extract from this narration:
· The recommendation of imitating the ways of one's seniors and
following in their footsteps, and that if one is unable to find out
about their way of doing things by means of inquiring from men, thenit
is permitted to inquire from women, provided that nobody will be
subjected to temptation.
· The virtue of marriage and an encouragement of it.
· One may do righteous deeds openly and inform others about them,
provided he feels secure from thereby becoming arrogant.
· Deeds that are Islamically permitted maybecome recommended, disliked
or prohibited, according to one's intention.
· Imaam At-Tabari said: "This narration refutes the claim of those who
forbid eating lawful foods and wearing permissible clothing, claiming
that it is better to use harsh clothing and refrain from eating good
food." But, Imaam Ibn Hajar added to this saying: "The fact of the
matter is that the one who gets himself accustomed to always consuming
fine things (i.e., food and clothing) may become too habituated to
them and therefore cannot live without them, and consequently, when he
is deprived from them, he maycommit prohibitions in order to attain
what he is accustomed to. On the other hand, refraining from them from
the perspective of prohibiting them for oneself contradicts the saying
of Allaah inthe thirty-second verse of Soorah Al-A'raaf (which means):
"Say: 'Who has forbidden the adornment of [i.e., from] Allaah which He
has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of
provision?..." [Quran 7: 32]
· The good deeds that arecontinuous are the dearest to Allaah, even if
they are few.
· The method of the Prophet is the very best one, whereby he would
sometimes eat in order to preserve his strength, and fast at other
times; he would also sleep at night sometimes in order to have the
strength to prayat night on other occasions; also, he would marry in
order to fulfil his desires, save himself from following his lusts,
maintain his chastity, andincreasing the number ofMuslims.
· A warning against exaggeration in the matters of the religion
because this leads to one stopping the deeds that he is performing.
Also, one who exaggerates in acts of worship will eventually become
apathetic, which may cause him to stop his obligatory acts of worship
and not only theoptional ones that he performs. Also, one who only
performs the obligatory deeds is also in great danger; if he loses
interest, he may abandon worship altogether; so the best way is to be
moderate.
· Finally, There is an indication in this narration that knowing
Allaah and His rights and commandments is of a higher rank than simply
worshipping Him without it, and that the deeds of the heart are
essential for practicing servitude to Allaah.

Abusing the environment: an Islamic perspective

Islam expresses great concern for the environment. A number of verses
in the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad have addressed this
issue. Islam's solution to environmental problems lies in man's
adaptation of its guidance. Allaah has stated that He made all the
material objects on earth for man's use, not for his abuse.
Allaah Almighty has not prevented humankind from enjoying a luxurious
standard of living, but this should notbe maintained by damaging and
abusing natural resources. This is clearly stated in a number of
verses in the Quran. Allaah says (what means): "But seek, through that
which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and (yet), do
not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good
to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not
like corruptors." [Quran 28:77]
The Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad contains instructions for
Muslims to preserve the environment, which includes not cutting down
trees unnecessarily. In this respect, Prophet Muhammad pointed out
that there are benefits in planting trees,which will last until the
Day of Judgment. This is illustrated in the saying of the Noble
Prophet : "If the Hour is imminent and anyone of you has a palm shoot
(to plant) in his hand and is able to plant it before the Hour
strikes, then he should doso and he will be rewarded for that action."
Allaah has ordained severe punishments for those who damage and abuse
natural resources. He says (what means): "Eat and drink from the
provision of Allaah, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading
corruption." [Quran 2:60]
"Corruption has appeared throughout theland and sea by (reason of)
what the hands of people have earned, so He (i.e. Allaah) may let them
taste part of (the consequences of) what they have done that perhaps
they will return (to righteousness)." [Quran 30:41]
Ibn Mas'ood reports,"While we were on a journey with Allaah's
Messenger he went a short distance from where we had encamped. There
we sawa small bird with two of its chicks and caught them. The bird
was fluttering when the Prophet came back, so he asked, 'Who has
distressed it by taking its chicks ?' Then he asked us to return the
chicks. There we also sawan anthill and burnt it out. When the Prophet
saw that, he asked, 'Who has burnt it?' When we informed him that we
had done it, he said, 'Onlythe Lord of fire has the right to punish
with fire.'
Allaah says in the Quran (what means): "And there is no creature on
(or within) the earth or a bird that flies with its wings except that
they are nations (communities) like you." [Quran 6:38]
We infer from the Prophet's statement and this Qur'anic verse that
allliving things are partnersto man in existence and they deserve our
respect. We must be merciful toward animals and strive to ensure the
preservation of different species.
Islam forbids wasting water and using it without benefit. The
preservation of water forthe nourishment of humankind, animal life,
bird life and vegetation is a practice that gains Allaah's pleasure.
In his article "Islam and the Environment," Arafat El Ashi, director
of the Muslim World League in Canada, [www.al-muslim.org]
writes,"Human life is sacred in the sight of Islam. No oneis permitted
to take the life of another person except as life-for-life."
Under Islam, El Ashi states, "It [is] incumbent on every Muslim to
contribute his/her share in improving greenery. Muslims should be
active in growing more trees for the benefit of all people." Even
during battle, Muslims are required to avoid cuttingdown trees that
are useful to people.
Humankind's stewardship of the earth entails a profound
responsibility. Other living species, as mentioned above, are also
considered by Allaah to be "communities". Creation itself, in its
boundless diversity and complexity, may be thought of as a vast
universe of "signs" of Allaah's Power, Wisdom, Beneficence and
Majesty. The responsibility of humankind is to keep Allaah's creation
undistorted. The environment is a trust presented by Allaah to
humankind and its abuseis a misuse of Allaah's trust.

He did ghusl with the intention of doing it for Jumu‘ah and he forgot about doing it for janaabah; did it remove his impurity?.,Dought & clear,-

There is a person who was in a state of janaabah and he wanted to do
ghusl for janaabah, but he said: I shall wait until the time for
Jumu'ah comes, then I will do one ghusl for both Jumu'ah and janaabah.
That was afterFajr prayer. But when the time for Jumu'ah came, he did
ghusl for Jumu'ah and forgot to intend to do ghusl for janaabah. Then
he prayed for an entire day,until Zuhr on Saturday, and he led the
people in praying Zuhr. Then after Zuhr he remembered. Was his prayer
and the prayer of the people valid? Should he tell the people about
that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is better for the one who is in a state of janaabah to hasten to do
ghusl lest he forget. This has been discussed previously in the
answerto question no. 20847
Secondly:
If a person does ghusl for Jumu'ah and forgets about being in a state
ofmajor impurity, his impurity is removed, according to the correct
scholarly opinion. Al-Bahooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:If he
intends to do a Sunnah ghusl, such as ghusl for Jumu'ah or 'Eid, it
suffices for an obligatory ghusl such as in the case of janaabah and
so on, if he forgot about the impurity which made it obligatory.
End quote from Kashshaaf al-Qinaa', 1/89.
Al-Hajjaawi said in Zaad al-Mustaqni': If he intended to do a
Sunnahghusl, it suffices for an obligatory one. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: For example,
if he does ghusl after washing a deceased person or he does ghusl for
entering ihraam or for standing in 'Arafah, these are Sunnah ghusls.
The sameapplies to ghusl for Jumu'ah according to the majority of
scholars.
The apparent meaning of the author's words (al-Hajjaawi) – which is
our madhhab – is: If he remembers that he had to do an obligatory
ghusl, some of our companions limited it to the case where he forgot
that he was in a state of impurity, i.e., he forgot about being in a
state of janaabah. If he had not forgotten that then it does not
remove the impurity, because the Sunnah ghusl is not done to remove
impurity, and if it was not done to remove impurity, the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Actions are but by
intentions," and this man only intended to dothe Sunnah ghusl and
heknew that he was in a state of janaabah and was aware of that, so
how could it remove the impurity?
This opinion – which restricts it to cases where one forgot – is valid.
The basis for this view is that because the Sunnahghusl is an act of
purification that is prescribed in sharee'ah, it does remove the
impurity. But this explanation is somewhatflawed, because there is no
doubt that it is a ghusl that is prescribed in sharee'ah, but it is of
a lesser standing that obligatory ghusl for janaabah, so how can a
Sunnah action be strong enough to suffice for an obligatory action
that is of a higher standing?
But if he had forgotten, then he is excused.
For example, if he did ghusl for Jumu'ah – on the basis that it is
Sunnah – and he was in a state of janaabah but did not remember that,
or he did not realise thathe had been in a state ofjanaabah until
after the prayer, such as if he had a wet dream and did notrealise
until after the prayer, then his Jumu'ahprayer is valid because the
impurity was removed.
But if he was aware of it and he intended to do the Sunnah ghusl only,
then the view that it suffices is not quite certain.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti', 1/201
Based on that, your ghusl was valid and did remove the janaabah, and
your prayer was valid.
And Allah knows best.

If he has a wet dream in the wilderness, how can he do ghusl when his friends are present?.,Dought & clear,-

one who has a wet dream when he is in the wilderness, in fair climatic
conditions, and he does not do ghusl, because he feels embarrassed in
front of his friends? How should he do ghusl in the wilderness? Should
he take off all his clothes, because that is embarrassing and he is
afraid someone might see him?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If a person becomes junub as a result of having a wet dream or
otherwise, then he must do ghusl. If he cannot find water, or he can
find it but he fears that he may be harmed by using it because it is
verycold and he cannot find any means of heating it, then he should do
tayammum and pray. As for failing to do ghusl and pray when one has
become junub, out of embarrassment or shyness, that is not
permissible, and it is a grave wrong action and is one of the causes
of punishment in the grave. That has been discussed previously in the
answer to question no. 65731 .
Secondly:
There is no need to be naked when doing ghusl; rather what is
mustahabb for the one who is doing ghusl is to cover his 'awrah with a
waist-wrapper and the like, even if he is doing ghusl on his own.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:In the previous chapter
we stated that it is permissible to uncover the 'awrah in cases of
necessity when one is alone, such as when doing ghusl, when urinating
and when being intimate with one's spouse, and the like. In all these
cases it is permissible to uncoverwhen one is alone. But in the
presence of other people, it is haraam to uncover the 'awrah in
allcases.
The scholars said: Covering oneself with a waist wrapper or the like
when doing ghusl is preferable to uncovering oneself, although
uncovering oneself is permissible foras long as it is necessary,when
doing ghusl and otherwise; but doing that more than is necessary is
haraam according to the more correct opinion.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 4/32
Ahmad (544) narrated from al-Hasan (may Allahbe pleased with him) that
he mentioned 'Uthmaan (may Allah be pleased with him) and his intense
modesty, andhe said: If he were in a room and the door was closed, he
would not take off his garment in order to pour water over himself;
modesty prevented him from standing up straight.
Based on that, if a person is in the wilderness and wants to do ghusl,
he should cover the lower part of his body with a waist wrapper or
garment, and hide beneath a tree or far away from where people can see
him, or he should do ghusl sitting, so that his 'awrah will not be
visible; the 'awrah of a man is the area betweenthe navel and the
knee.
Thirdly:
If a person does not do ghusl in this case and does tayammum
instead,his tayammum is not valid and he has to repeat the prayers
that he offered before doing ghusl.
And Allah knows best.