Millions of Muslims prepare for Hajj

Millions of Muslims from around the world have gathered in the Saudi
city of Mecca in anticipationof the start of Hajj - the annual Muslim
pilgrimage.
Taking part in the pilgrimage at least once in one's lifetime is a
major obligation for all able-bodied Muslims of financial means, and
between two and three million people participate in the six-day ritual
every year.
Hajj occurs in the 12th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, called
Thul-Hijjah, between the eighth and the 13th days of the month.
Hajj is, put simply, complex. There are several different ways of performing it.
The explanations that follow are, thus, a simplification of the
pilgrimage, meant to lay things out clearly, rather than
comprehensively.
Start of Hajj, 8th of Thul-Hijjah
The very first rite of Hajj is entering ihram - a pilgrim's sacred
state - when crossing the outer boundaries of Mecca, calledMiqat.
Pilgrims have been arriving in Saudi Arabia for weeks in anticipation
of this day. On the eighth of Thul-Hijjah, pilgrims enter ihram, which
entails wearing plain garments - two unstitched clothes for men, or
any loose-fitting clothing for women - as well as following certain
rules, including not hunting or engaging in sexual activity.
They then set out from Mecca en masse to Mina, whether by foot along
pilgrim paths, or by buses and cars. It is an 8km journey.
The pilgrims will spend the day inMina, only setting out the next
morning at dawn.
Day of Arafat, 9th of Thul-Hijjah
The Day of Arafat is considered one of the most important days, not
just of Hajj, but of the Islamiccalendar. Mount Arafat was the scene
of the Prophet Muhammad's final sermon, and after making the 14.4km
journey from Mina, pilgrims spend the day here in reverent prayer.
Elsewhere in the world, many Muslims choose to fast on this day.
After sunset, its time to move again, this time to Muzdalifah - a 9km
trip - where they spend the night under the stars. Many will also
begin collecting pebbles here for tomorrow's rites, departing again
just before sunrise.
'Eid day,10th of Thul-Hijjah
The 10th of Thul-Hijjah is 'Eid al-Adh'haa, a day celebrated by
Muslims around the world as the greater of the two Muslim holidays.
For those performing Hajj, the day is know as Yawm al-Hajj al-Akbar
(The big Hajj day) and is probably the longest day of the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims start the day in Muzdalifah and begin heading back to Mina
before dawn. Once in Mina, they perform the first Ramy, throwing
pebbles at columns known as Jamarat.
Millions of pilgrims converge at the Jamarat bridge, which housesthe
three columns representing the devil.
The bridge has been the sight of deadly stampedes in the past, with
around 350 people being crushed to death in 2006.
But in recent years, the event has taken place without major incident,
and this year, Saudi Arabia has unveiled an expanded five-storey
structure to accommodate the crowds.
After casting their stones, pilgrims perform the sacrifice.
Pilgrims thus slaughter a sheep, goat, cow or camel - or more likely,
pay for it to be done in their names.
At this point, pilgrims trim or shave (men only) their hair and remove
their ihram clothes. Manywill then proceed to Mecca to perform Tawaf
and Sa'y, first circling the Kaaba seven times, then walking seven
times between the hills of Safa and Marwa.
When all is finally done, they return to their campsite in Mina.
Final days,11th-13th of Thul-Hijjah
With the hardest part behind them, pilgrims will now spend the next
two or three days in Mina.
On each day, they will again perform throwing at each of the three pillars.
When their time in Mina is finished, pilgrims return to Meccato
perform the final circulation ofthe Kaaba, a "farewell" tawaf.
Before heading home, many also go to Medina, the second holiest city
in Islam, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried along with his closest
companions . Visiting Medina, however, is not a part of Hajj.

Al-Ahbaash (the Habashis)–II

5- They deny that Allaah is above His creation. Thebelief of the
Muslims, as indicated by the verses ofthe Quran, the narrationsof the
Prophet sound human nature and clear common sense is that Allaah is
above His creation, over His Throne,and nothing at all of His
creatures' affairs is hidden from Him. Allaah Says (what means): "and
then He rose over (Istawaa) the Throne (really in a manner that suits
His Majesty)". [Quran 7:54] – this phrase appears seven times in the
Quran.
Allaah also Says (what means): "To Him ascend (all) the goodly words,
and the righteous deeds exalt it (i.e. the goodly words are not
accepted by Allaah unless and until they are followed by good deeds)"
[Quran 35:10]
Allaah also Says (what means): "And He is the Most High, the Most
Great" [Quran 2:255]
And also (what means): "And to Allaah prostrate all that is in the
heavens and all that is in the earth, of the moving (living) creatures
and the angels, and they are not proud [i.e. they worship their Lord
(Allaah) with humility]. They fear their Lord above them, and they do
what they are commanded" [Quran 16:49-50].
Many authentic narrations have been narrated from the Prophet on this
topic, for example: the story of the Mi'raaj (ascent into the
heavens), which is authentic, when the Prophet passed through the
heavens oneby one, until he reached his Lord, Who brought him close or
called to him, and enjoined fifty prayers upon him, then he kept going
back and forth between Moosaa and his Lord. He camedown from the
presence of his Lord to Moosaa and Moosaa asked him, "How many
(prayers) have been enjoined upon you?" When he told him, Moosaa said,
"Go backto your Lord and ask Him to reduce them." So he went back up
to his Lord and asked Him to reduce them.
Abu Hurayrah said: theMessenger of Allaah said: "When Allaah created
His creation, He wrote in a Book which is with Him, above the Throne:
'My Mercy prevails over My wrath.'" [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri that the Prophet said: "Do you not trust me, when
I am the trustee of the One Who is in the heaven?" [Al-Bukhaari and
Muslim]
The Prophet said: "The Throne is above water, and Allaahis above the
Throne, and Allaah knows what you are doing." [Ibn Khuzaymah and Abu
Daawood]
The Prophet said to the slave-girl, "Where is Allaah?" She said: "In
heaven." He said: "Who am I?" She said, "You are the Messenger of
Allaah." He said: "Set her free, for she is a believer." [Muslim]
This is the pure belief which was adhered to bythe Muslims: the
companions and thosewho have followed them in truth until the present
day, praise be to Allaah. Because of the great importance of this
topic and the fact that so muchevidence more than one thousand verses
and prophetic narrations– points to it, the scholars have devoted
books to it,e.g., Abu 'Abdullaah Ath-Thahabi in al-'Alu li'l-'Aliy
al-Ghaffaar, and Ibn Al-Qayyim in Ijtimaa' al-Juyoosh al-Islaamiyyah.
6. They speak of some of the Companions of the Prophet in a manner
that is not appropriate.
An example of that is their statement that Mu'aawiyah was a faasiq
(rebellious evildoer). The Muslims should not discuss what happened
among the Sahaabah all; they should refrain from speaking whilst
believingthat all of them were good and had the virtue of having been
companions of the Messenger of Allaah . Itwas reported that the
Prophet said: "Do not slander my Companions, for even if any of you
were to spend (in charity) gold equivalent to the size of Mount Uhud ,
he would never reach their level, not even half way." [Al-Bukhaari and
Muslim]. And Allaah says (what means): "And those who came after them
say: Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethrenwho have preceded us in
Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have
believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful."
[Quran 59:10]
This is the sound belief concerning the Companions of the Prophet .
This is the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa'ah throughout the
centuries. Imaam Abu Ja'faar Ath-Tahhaawi may Allaah have mercy on him
said explaining the beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa'ah: "We love the
companionsof the Messenger of Allaah but we do not go to extremes in
our love for any of them, and we do not disown any of them. We hate
those whohate them, and we do not say anything but good about them
(the companions). Love for them is true religion, faith and goodness;
hatred for them is disbeliefe, hypocrisy and transgression."
Their Jurisprudence Rulings:
This group follows weird jurisprudence rulings, and their rulings go
against the texts of the Quran and Sunnah. Examples of that include
the following:
They permit gambling with the disbelievers in order to take away their
money; they permit stealing their crops and animals, on the
conditionthat this stealing will not cause tribulation; they permit
dealing in Ribaa when dealing with the disbelievers; they permit those
who are in need to buy lottery tickets, which is prohibited.
Other ways in which they obviously go against the sharee'ah include :
They permit looking at non-mahram (marriageable women) woman in a
mirror or on a screen, even with desire; they say that persisting in
looking at a non-mahram woman is not prohibited; they say that for a
man to look at any part of a woman who is not permissible for him is
not prohibited;they say that if a woman goes out wearing make-up and
perfume but she does not have the intention of attracting men, this is
notprohibited; they permit free mixing of men and women; and they have
other odd and outrageous rulings whichgo against Islam and
theyconsider things which are major sins to be permissible. We ask
Allaah to keep us safe from that which will provoke His wrath and earn
His punishment.
Their position towards scholars:
Some of the outrageous means they use to turn people away from the
scholars who have deep knowledge, and put people off from reading
their books or referring to the reports transmitted from them,
include: slandering them,belittling them and undermining them, and
even denouncing them as kaafirs. Chief among the scholars whom they
defame in this manner is the Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah . 'Abdullaah
Al-Habashi even wrote a book specifically about this reforming Imaam ,
inwhich he accused him of being misguided and misled; he attributed to
him words that he did not say, and fabricated other lies about him.
Allaah will deal with him, and it is before Allaah that all disputing
parties will ultimately meet.
They also slander the reforming Shaykh Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhaab
and his call for reform which he undertook in the heart ofthe Arabian
Peninsula, where he called people to follow Tawheed and cast aside
Shirk, to honorthe texts of the Quran and Sunnah and to act upon them,
and to uphold the Sunnah and do away with bid'ah.

Jinn,witchcraft, evil ,- She betrayed her husband and put a spell on him, and he turned against his family .

My son married a bad woman who put a spell on him, as a result of
which he turned against his whole family, and he would not refuse any
demand she made, no matter what it was.
The Society for Enjoiningthe Good caught her with her lover, and it
was proven that she hadcommitted this crime. Yet despite that my son
refused to divorce her and he always defends her.
We entered her house and found some weird things. We found a shoe
placed on top of the Book of Allaah on top of the wardrobe (we seek
refuge with Allaah), and we found other things. She has female
servants from a land where they are known for witchcraft.
This made us certain thatshe had bewitched my son, so we went to one
of the shaykhs to recite Qur'aan over him, and the signs of having
beenbewitched were found on him.
Now he is refusing any treatment and he does not believe us when we
tell him that he has beenbewitched. What should we do? Should we go to
a practitioner of witchcraft to undo the spell?
His father has died and he is now demanding that we give him his share
of his father's estate. Should we give him the money when he is
bewitched and will waste the money? This woman took all his money and
spent it on witchcraft and trickery. And he has children whoare in
need of this money.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
No doubt what has happened to your son is a trial for you, and we ask
Allaah to grant you patience and make you steadfast in adhering to His
religion; and we ask Him to heal your son. It is obvious that he has
fallen prey to the effects of witchcraft so you should not blame him
for the way in which he treats you. No rational person would be
content to learn of any of the things that his wife has done and
remain silent about them. But it seems that the witchcraft has
affected him greatly, to such as extent that he agrees with her and
has turned against you.
In the answer to question no. 11290 we have already explained that it
is haraam to treat witchcraft by means of witchcraft. In that answer
and in the answer to question no. 12918 we have explained the shar'i
method of treating witchcraft.
You can treat your son by reciting Qur'aan over water and giving it to
him to drink without his knowledge. And you have to constantly make
du'aa' whilst using this remedy, that Allaah may relieve him of this
distress and harm.
Secondly:
Whether your son should be given his share of the inheritance depends
on whether he will dispose of the money properly. If the money will
fall into his hands or his wife's hands and they will never dispose of
it properly, then it is not permissible for you to lethim have the
money; you should keep it with you and spend on him and his children
from it. This is a trust which has been given to you, and you should
not be careless about it.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And give not unto the foolish your property which Allaah has made
ameans of support for you, but feed and clothe them therewith, and
speak to them words of kindness and justice.
6. And try orphans (as regards their intelligence) until they reach
the age of marriage; if then you find sound judgement inthem, release
their property to them, but consume it not wastefully and hastily
fearing that they should grow up, and whoever (amongst guardians) is
rich, he should take no wages, but if he is poor, let him have for
himself what is just and reasonable (according tohis labour). And when
you release their property to them, take witness in their presence;
and Allaah is All-Sufficient in taking account"
[al-Nisa' 4:5, 6]
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaanal-Sa'di said:
Sufaha' [translated here as "the foolish"] is the plural of safeeh,
which refers to one who is unable to dispose of money properly, either
because he has no powers of reasoning, such as one who is insane or
feeble-minded, etc, or because he is lacking in wisdom, such as a
child and one who is immature. Allaah has forbidden guardiansto give
such people theirwealth, for fear that they will destroy it and waste
it, and because Allaah has made wealth means of support for His
slaves, in their religious and worldly interests. These people will
not look after it properly and guard it, so Allaah has commanded their
guardians not to give it to them, rather they should provide for them
from it, clothing them and spending on them from it, and taking care
of their religious and worldly needs. And they should speak to them
words of kindness and justice, by promising them, when they ask for
it, that they will give it to them after they become mature and so on.
They should speak tothem kindly to soften their hearts. The fact that
Allaah gives control of the wealth to the guardians indicates that
they are obliged to take care of the wealth of thefoolish just as well
as they would take care of their own wealth, guarding it, disposing
ofit properly and not exposing it to danger.
This verse indicates that the cost of spending on the insane, the
young and the foolish should come from their own wealth, if they have
wealth, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "but feed
and clothe them therewith" (v. 5).
Tafseer al-Sa'di.
This matter should be referred to the shar'i court and proof should be
established that this son cannot handle his money properly, so that
the court will prevent him from accessing it and will appoint a
guardian to look after his money.

Jinn,witchcraft, evil ,- What is meant by the devils being chained up in Ramadaan? .

What do you say about the devils being chained up in Ramadaan?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Bukhaari (1899) and Muslim (1079) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Ramadaan comes, the gates
of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellare closed, and the devils
are chained up."
The scholars differed as to the meaning of the devils being chained up
in Ramadaan.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, quoting al-Haleemi: It may be interpreted at
meaning that the devils are not able to tempt theMuslims as they are
at other times because theyare busy with the fast which controls their
desires, and with reading Qur'aan and dhikr (remembrance of Allaah).
Another scholar – someone other than al-Haleemi – said that what is
meant by the devils is some of them, namely the maarids (strong
devils), who are chained up.
'Iyaad said: it may be interpreted in a literal sense, and that is as
a sign to the angels that the month has begun, and in veneration of
its sanctity, and so as to prevent the devils from harming the
Muslims. And it may be interpreted as referring to the great amount of
reward and forgiveness, and that the devils temptpeople less, so it is
as if they are chained up. Thissecond interpretation is supported by
the fact that according to a report narrated by Yoonus from Ibn
Shihaab which is recorded by Muslim it says "the gates of mercy are
opened". The chaining up of the devilsmay also be understood as a
metaphor for them being unable to tempt people and make their whims
and desires attractive to them. Al-Zayn ibn al-Muneer said: The first
view is most likely to be correct, and there is no need to try to
understand it in anything other than the literal sense.
Fath al-Baari, 4/114.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about
the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
"and the devils are chained up," – yet we still see people suffering
from epilepsy during the day in Ramadaan, so how can the devils be
chained up when some people are suffering epileptic fits?
He replied: In some versions of the hadeeth it says "and the strong
devils (maarids) are chained up" – this is narrated by al-Nasaa'i.
This hadeeth is speakingof matters of the unseen,so we have to accept
it and not discuss it any further. This is safer for aperson's
religious commitment. Hence when 'Abd-Allaah, the son of Imam Ahmad
ibn Hanbal said to his father,"Some people suffer epileptics fits
during the day in Ramadaan," the Imam said: "This is what the hadeeth
says and wedo not discuss this."
Moreover it seems that what is meant by their being chained up is that
they are prevented from tempting people, based on the fact that there
is a great deal of goodnessand many people turn toAllaah during
Ramadaan.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 20.
Based on this, the chaining up of the devilsis something that happens
in a real sense, about which Allaah knows best. This does not mean
that evil thingsdo not happen or that people do not commit sin. And
Allaah knows best.