Kindness surely pays back

One day, a poor boy whowas selling goods from door to door to pay his
way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was
hungry.
He decided he would askfor a meal at the next house. However, he lost
his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal
he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought
him alarge glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and thenasked, "How much
do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied."Mother has taught us never
to accept pay for akindness." He said....."Then I thank you from my
heart."
Year's later that young woman became criticallyill. The local doctors
were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called
in a specialist to study her rare disease. After a long struggle,
thebattle was won. Finally business office pass the final bill to
specialist for approval. He looked at it,then wrote something on the
edge and the bill was sent back.
When she got the bill, she feared to open it, forshe was sure it would
take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and
something caught her attention on the side of the bill.
She read these words....."Paid in full with one glass of milk"

Story of a pious woman at the time of Ferawoon

On the Prophet Muhammad's (sul Allahu alayhi wassalaam) Night Journey
to Jerusalem:
The Prophet (sul Allahu alayhi wassalaam) smelled a very nice odor.He
asked Jibril about thispleasant scent and Jibril informed him this
good smell was coming from the grave of the woman whose duty used to
be to comb Pharaoh's daughter's hair.
This woman was a good,pious believer. One day, as she was combing
Pharaoh's daughter's hair, the comb fell from her hand. At this she
said, "Bismillah." Pharaoh's daughter asked her, "Do you have a god
other than my father?" The woman said, "Yes. My Lord and the Lord of
your father isAllah." Pharaoh's daughter told her father what had
happened. Pharaoh demanded this woman blaspheme and leave Islam, but
she refused. At that, Pharaohthreatened to kill her children.
He brought a great pot of water and built a great fire under it.
Whenthe water boiled, Pharaoh brought her children and started to drop
them into that pot one after the other. Throughout all this, the woman
remained steadfast to Islam, even when Pharaoh reached her youngest
child--a little boy still breast feeding--but she felt pityfor him. At
that, Allah enabled this child to speak. He said to his mother, "O
Mother, be patient. The torture of the Hereafter is far moresevere
than the torture of this life, and do not be reluctant, because you
are right."
At this the woman requested Pharaoh collect her bones and the bones of
her children and bury them in the same grave. Pharaoh promised her
that--then dropped her into that boiling water. She died as a martyr.
The good odor the Prophet (sul Allahu alayhi wassalaam) smelled coming
from hergrave is an indication of her high status.
[May Allah make us like these people.]

The Islamic ruling on Valentine’s Day

Introduction
Many people celebrate Valentine'sDay, which falls on the fourteenthof
February every year; they do soby exchanging red rosesand gifts.They
also dress up in red clothingand congratulate one another on this
occasion. Certain bakeries and confectioners produce special sweets
for the occasion which are red in color and have heartsupon them.
Othershops advertise goods that are sold exclusively for this event.
The questions that therefore arise are: What are the Islamic rulings regarding:
1) Celebrating this day?
2) Buying from the shops that have these special items which are sold
for this event?
3) Shop owners who are not celebrating this event selling items that
can be used as gifts bythose who are celebrating it?
The ruling
The Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Legal Rulings
studied this matter thoroughly and ruled as follows:
"The clear evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, and this is agreed upon
by consensus of the early Muslim generations, confirms that there are
only two 'Eeds(days of celebration) in Islam: 'Eed al-Fitr(after the
fast ofRamadhaan) and 'Eed al-Adh-haa(after the standing at 'Arafah
for pilgrimage).
Every other 'Eed, whether related to a person, group, incident or any
other occasion, is an innovated 'Eed . It is not permissible for
Muslims to participate in it, approve of it, make any show of
happiness on its occasion, or assist others to do so, in any way; to
do so wouldbe to transgress the bounds of Allaah Who Says what means:
"…And whoever transgresses the limits of Allaah has certainly wronged
himself… " [Quran: 65:1]
If we add to this that the fabricated 'Eedin question is in fact one
of the 'Eedsof the disbelievers, then it becomes a case of sin piled
upon sin. This is because its celebration entails imitation of the
disbelievers and thereby showing them a form of loyalty. In the Quran,
Allaah has emphatically prohibited the believers from imitating,
loving or being loyal to the disbelievers, in any way. It is also
confirmed from the Prophet that he said: "Whoever imitates a people is
one of them."
Valentine's Day comes under the category of what has been mentioned
here, since it is a pagan and polytheistic holiday. Hence it is not
permissible for anyMuslim who claims to believe in Allaah and the Last
Day to participate in it, approve of it, or congratulate anyone on its
occasion. Moreover, it is obligatory to abandon it and distance
oneself from it in response to the command of Allaah and His Messenger
so that one may thereby be distanced from the anger of Allaah and His
punishment.
Additionally, it is forbidden for a Muslim to assist or helpin this
'Eed , or any other forbidden or illicit celebration, in any way
whatsoever, whether by eating or drinking, selling or buying,
production, gift-giving, correspondence, announcements, or any other
means. All of these things are considered cooperating in sin and
transgression and disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger . Allaah
the Glorious and Most High Says whatmeans: "…And cooperate in
righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and
transgression. And fear Allaah; Indeed Allaah is severe in penalty."
[Quran: 5:2]
Also, it is obligatory for every Muslim to adhere strictly to the
Quran and Sunnah in every situation and at all times, especially in
times of temptation and corruption. It is incumbent that he or she
understand, be aware and be cautioned from falling into the deviations
of those whom Allaah is angry with (i.e., the Jews) and those who
areastray (i.e., the Christians) and other immoral people who have no
fear of punishment or hope ofreward from Allaah, and who give no
recognition at all to Islam.
It is necessary for the Muslim to flee to Allaah, the Most High,
seeking His firm guidance upon the true path. Indeed there is no Guide
except Allaah, and none can grant firmness except Him, and Success is
from Him.

The Muslim's attitude towards Valentine's Day

The Muslim's attitude towards this holiday should be clear:
1- He should not celebrate it, or join others in their celebrations of
it, or attend their celebrations because it is forbidden to celebrate
the festivals of non-Muslims.
Ath-Thahabi said: "If the Christians have a festival and the Jews have
a festival, which is peculiar to them, then the Muslim should not join
them in that, just as he does not join them in their religion or their
direction of prayer."
This is so because the basic principles of the pious predecessors
[As-Salaf As-Saalih] was Al-Walaa' wal-Baraa' (loyalty and friendship
vs. disavowal and enmity), therefore, it is obligatoryfor every Muslim
to follow this principle. He should love the Muslims and should not
follow the non-Muslims; rather, he mustbe different from them. By
doing so, he achieves immeasurable benefits, just as imitating them
causes greater harm.
In addition to this, when the Muslims imitate non-Muslims, this makes
the latter happy and fills their hearts with joy. If any Muslim girl
celebrates this holiday because she sees Margaret or Hilary or whoever
does so, then this undoubtedly reflects the fact that she is imitating
them and approves of their behavior. But Allaah Says (what means): "O
you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as
allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an
ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed,
Allaah guides not the wrongdoing people." [Quran 5:51]
One of the bad effects of imitating them is that this increases their
number, as this makes it look as if they have more supporters and
followers. How can it be appropriate for a Muslim who recites in every
Rak'ah (prayer unit) Allaah's words (which mean): "Guide us to the
Straight Way, The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace,
not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went
astray" [ Quran 1:6-7], to ask Allaah for guidance to the Straight
Path of the believers and to keep him away from the path of those who
have earned His anger and of those who went astray, and then
deliberately follows their path and imitates them?
Statistics indicate that Valentine'sDay is second only to Christmas
inpopularity. So it is clear that the Feast of Love is one of the
festivals of non-Muslims and that it is second only to the festival of
Christmas. So it is not permissiblefor Muslims to participate in
suchcelebrations, because we are commanded to differ from them in
their religion, customs and other things that exclusively belong to
them, as is stated in the Quran, Sunnah (Prophet's tradition) and
scholarly consensus.
2- He should not help the non-Muslims in their celebrationsbecause it
is one of the rituals of disbelief. Helping them and approving of what
they do is helping them to manifest disbelief and make it prevail, and
approving of it. The Islamic religion does not allow a Muslim to
approve of disbelief or help others to manifest it and make it
prevail.
Hence, Ibn Taymiyyah said:"It is not permissible for the Muslims to
imitate them in anything that is specifically part of their festivals,
whether it is food, clothing, bathing, lighting fires, or changing a
custom of daily life or worship."
3- He should not help any Muslims who celebrate it. Rather,it is
obligatory to denounce them, because for the Muslims tocelebrate the
festivals of non-Muslims is an evil action which must be condemned.
Ibn Taymiyah said: "Just as we should not imitate them in their
festivals, we should not help a Muslim to do that as well; rather, he
should be told not to do that."
Based on this, it is not permissible for Muslim businessmen to deal in
gifts for Valentine's Day, whether they areparticular kinds of
clothes, red roses, or whatever. Similarly, it is not permissible for
the one who is given a gift on this occasion to accept it, because by
accepting it,he is showing approval of this holiday.
One Daa'iyah (caller to Islam) said: we went to a flower shop inone of
the Muslim countries and we were shocked to find it completely
prepared for this occasion, with red carpets at the entrance, red
placards and red decorations. We were met by oneof the people who
worked there, and we asked him why they had done so much to decorate
the place for this occasion.
He said that these preparations had begun early, and that there had
been so many orders… Then he told us that he had been amazed by that,
because he was a new Muslim who had left Christianity. He had known
about that before he became Muslim, sohow come his customers were
Muslims and not Christians?
Other shops ran out of red roses, which were being sold at high
prices. When one of the female Du'aat entered upon the female students
who were gathered in the lecture hall, she was dismayed to find them
all carrying something red. One had a red rose, another had a red
scarf, or a red handkerchief, or a red bag, or red socks…
Among the things that have beenseen among the Muslims on this holiday:
a- All the female students agreeing with their friends to tie a red
ribbon on the right wrist.
b- Wearing something red (a blouse, hair clip, shoes…). This reached
such an extent last year that when we entered the classroom we found
most of the students wearing it, as if it was a uniform.
c- Red balloons on which are written the words "I love you". They
usually bring these out at the end of the school day, in an area far
from where the teachers can see them.
d- Writing names and hearts on their hands, or just initials.
e- Red roses are widespread on this day.
Groups of girls entered their lecture rooms on February 14, each of
them wearing somethingred, with red heart-shaped stickers on their
faces, wearing red make-up. They started to exchange red-colored gifts
and kiss one another warmly. This happened in more than one university
in the Muslim world, even in an Islamic university. In other words,
they were celebrating Saint Valentine's Day.
On that day, secondary schools (high schools) were astonished by the
large numbers of female students who brought red roses of the finest
quality, colored theirfaces with red cosmetics, wore red earrings, and
started to exchange gifts and warm greetings, in celebration of this
day.
Valentine's Day has come to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, and
has even reached the heartland of Islam (the Arabian Peninsula). It
has reachedsocieties which we had thought far removed from this
insanity. InRiyadh, the price of roses has risen incredibly, to an
extent thata single rose costs 36 riyals (10 dollars), whereas before
this day it cost 5 riyals. Gift shops and card shops compete in
designing cards and gifts for this occasion, and some families hang up
red roses in the windows of their homes on this day.
In some of the Muslim countries, shopping centers and hotels
haveorganized special celebrations forValentine's Day. Most of the
stores and business places are covered in red. One of the finest Gulf
hotels was full of balloons and dolls. Following the customs of the
Feast of Love and the pagan myths, one restaurant owner put on a
dramatic production with "Cupid", the idol of love in the Roman myths,
nearly naked and carrying a bow and arrow. He and his cohorts were
looking to select "Mr. & Mrs.Valentine" from among the people present.
Less expensive restaurants also celebrated this day in their own way.
Some stores replaced their regular plates with heart-shaped plates,
used red tablecloths and linens, and put a red rose on eachtable for
the man to present to his beloved.
We must oppose these things by all possible means. The responsibility
rests with us all.
4- We should not accept congratulations on Valentine's Day, because it
is not a holiday or an 'Eed for the Muslims. If the Muslim is
congratulated on this occasion, he should not return the
congratulation. Ibn Al-Qayyim said: "With regard to congratulating
others with the congratulations used by the non-Muslims on such
occasions, it is prohibited by scholarly consensus, such as
congratulating them on the occasion of their festivals or fasts,
wishing them a blessed festival, etc.
Finally, we must explain the true nature of this holiday and other
festivals of the non-Muslims to those Muslims who have been deceived
by them, and explain to them that it is essential for the Muslim to be
distinguished by hisreligion and to protect his 'Aqeedah (belief) from
anything that may damage it. This should be done towards the Ummah
(Muslim nation) for the sake of Allaah and in fulfillment of the
command of enjoining good and forbidding evil.