Free your heart from spite -I

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importance of freeing the heart from spite: Slaves of Allaah! Islam
encourages making reconciliation between people in order to maintain
good relations amongst the Muslims, to spread love and to keep the
hearts ofMuslims free from spite. Allaah Says (what means): "So fear
Allaah and amend that which is between you" [Quran 8: 1].
Additionally, Islam ordains all that which spreads mutual love and
frees the hearts from spite, as in the narration of Abu Hurayrah who
reported that the Prophet said: "You will not enter Paradise until you
believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall
Iguide to that which would make you love one another? Spread greetings
(Salaam) abundantly amongst yourselves" [Muslim]
The Prophet was asked: "Who are the best type of people?" He replied:
"A person who is truthful in his speech and Makhmoom in his heart"
People asked: "We know what is truthful speech, but what is a
Makhmoomheart?" The Prophet responded saying: "It is a pure pious
heart that does not have envy, evil or spite." [Ibn Maajah]
Spite has greatly increased amongst people today, resulting inthe
severing of relations and in people holding grudges against each
other. This is in spite of the fact that Allaah has made legislations,
which would prevent this from happening. For example, a Muslim is
allowed to request a fellow Muslim who wants to visit him toreturn at
a later time. In normal situations, peoplewould not appreciate someone
not allowing them entry when they visit them, but since Allaah The
All-Knowing, knows that people might have certain circumstances that
wouldnot allow them to receivevisitors, He legislated this to protect
people's heartsfrom holding grudges due to this. Allaah Says (what
means): "And if it is said to you, "Go back (Or a similarexpression
showing that the occupants are not prepared to receive visitors)" then
go back; it is purer for you" [Quran 24: 28]. This is a way to condole
the person who was not granted permission to enter, lest he feels
insulted or saddened, and a means to protect the hearts from spite.
This is why some of the Salaf used to be happy when they went visiting
someone and were not permitted in, because they sought the consequence
of returning mentioned in the above verse --which is the promise of
becoming purer (i.e. in their hearts).
Having pure hearts that are free from spite is a bounty and a blessing
from Allaah which He grants to the dwellers of Paradise upon their
entryinto it. Allaah Says (what means): "And We will remove whatever
is in their chests of resentment (i.e. ill will or ill feelings
towards one another), [so they will be] brothers, on thrones facing
each other." [Quran 15: 47]
In addition to a pure heart being a blessing and a bounty from Allaah,
it is also a source of comfort. This is why Islam puts great emphasis
on purification of the heart from spite, so that people can live
together in peace and harmony.
The great importance attached to this issue is because it is a
difficult state to achieve all the time. A person may have a strong
will which enables him to wake up in the middle of the nightto offer
optional night prayers, but he may not be strong enough to overcome
some of his bad feelings towards his fellow Muslims.
Undoubtedly, this quality is a praiseworthy one indeed; Allaah praised
the Ansaar (i.e. the residents of Madeenah) for possessing such a
quality saying (which means): "They [i.e. the Ansaar] find not any
[ill] feelings in their chests [i.e. hearts] of what they were given
[i.e. the Muhaahireen-emigrants from Makkah] but give [them]
preference over themselves, even though they arein privation." [Quran
59: 9] When Allaah favored the Muhaajireen with certainthings, the
Ansaar did notfeel any objection to this,nor did they harbor any ill
feelings or envy towards their brothers infaith for being
distinguished with these favors. Instead, they favored them over their
own selves with whatever they had, even if they themselves were in
need of what they offered.
The following great storyreflects the rank of possessing a pure heart
that is free from spite, and that it is a blessing from Allaah. Anas
Ibn Maalik narrated: "We were sitting with the Prophet once when
hesaid: "A man from the dwellers of Paradise will walk in now" so a
man from the Ansaar (i.e. residents of Madeenah) walked in whose beard
was dripping from the effect of ablution and who heldhis slippers with
his left hand. The next day the Prophet said the same thing, and the
same man walked in. On the third day, the Prophet said the same thing,
and the same man once again walked in. When the Prophet left the
gathering, 'Abdullaah Ibn'Amr followed that man and said to him: `I
had a misunderstanding with my father and swore not to stay in his
house three nights, so if you permit me I would like to spend these
three nights with you` The man said: `Yes, I permit you.`"
Anas added: "'Abdullaah Ibn 'Amr told us that he spent three nights
and did not noticethat the man prayed the optional night prayers
during any of these nights, but if he woke up during the night, he
would simply mention Allaah. Nonetheless, I never heard him utter
except good things, so when the three nights finished, I almost
belittled his deeds (as they were insignificant) and I said to him: `O
slaveof Allaah! There was not dispute between me and my father or
anger, but I heard the Prophet saying thrice: "A man from the dwellers
of Paradise will walkin now" and you walked in all three times, so I
wanted to sleep in your place to see what you do in order to imitate
you, but I did not see that you exert extra effort in performing any
extra deeds. How did you reach such status to deserve what the Prophet
said about you?` He replied: `My deeds are nothing more than what you
saw` Thenwhen I left, he called me back in and said: `My deeds are
nothing more than what you saw, but the only thing I do is that I do
not hold any grudge against any Muslim or envy anyone for what
bounties Allaah has granted them`; thereupon 'Abdullaah Ibn'Amr said
to him: "This difficult quality to obtain is what granted you this
rank". [Ahmad]
The keenness of the Salaf tohave pure hearts: It is not an easy task
for someone to maintain a heart free from spite and hold no grudges
against anyone. On the other hand, it is not an impossible mission
either, and can be achieved with training, practice and constant
striving.
The companions were very keen to remove any bad feelings from the
hearts of their brothers towards them. `Aa'ith Ibn`Amr Al-Muzani
reported: "Abu Sufyaan passed by Salmaan, Suhayb and Bilaal and some
other Companions (after the conquest of Makkah, when he was still a
disbeliever). They said to him: "The swords of Allaah did not exact
their due from the foes of Allaah?'' Abu Bakr said to them: "Do you
speak like this to the chief of the Quraysh and their master?'' Then
he went to the Prophet and related this to him. He said: "O Abu Bakr!
Perhaps you have angered them. If so, you have angered your Lord". Abu
Bakr rushed back to them and said: "Omy brothers! Did I offend you?''
They replied: "No. May Allaah forgive you, brother".
[Muslim]
This proves that a person must rush to make amends and apologize for
his actions, if he fears that a fellow Muslim was offended or his
feelings were hurt, to make sure his brother's heart remains pure
towards him. The one who is being apologized to mustaccept without
delay andcomfort his brother, and assure him that he is not holding
any grudge against him and supplicate for him as the companions did
with AbuBakr all.

The Prophetic Guidance on Perfumes

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speech is blessed by sending blessings upon the Prophet how could
Madeenah not have been blessed during his days, while he inhabited it;
he, who refreshed its breeze, perfumed itsatmosphere and renewed its
fragrance; whose scent preceded him to wherever he went and remained
after he had left. It washe who was the one by whom Taybah (another
name for Madeenah) was blessed in his life,and still is after his
death.
Here is Anas ibn Maalik saying, "I have never smelled any ambergris,
musk nor anything [that is] more pleasant than the smell of the
Messenger of Allaah ." Small wonder, for Umm Sulaym would collect the
sweat of the Prophet in a flask and use it as a perfume. In an
authentic narration, the Prophet had a siesta in their house (that of
Umm Sulaym ), and he sweated; so she brought a bottle and kept
extracting his sweat into her bottle. The Prophet then awakened and
asked her: "What are you doing, O Umm Sulaym?" She answered, "This is
your sweat, we take it as perfume to us, and it is from the best
perfumes." By Allaah, Umm Sulaym was truthful; for this was indeed the
best of perfumes.
Despite the scent that was in his honored body, the Prophet would
perfume himself with the best perfume he could find. 'Aa'ishah also
perfumed him with the best of she could find, to the extent that the
shine of perfume was seen in his hair and beard.
The life of the beloved Prophet was between two kinds of perfume; a
moral perfume, whichhe carried in his heart and that flowed in his
blood, which was the perfume of the revelation, the Sunnah (Prophetic
tradition) and the Da'wah (call) to worshipping Allaah The
Almighty.The second was a tangible perfume that emanated from his body
and clothes. One wonders: where are those who are morally and tangibly
perfumed today? Where are those who are outwardly and inwardly, and
secretly and openly imitators andfollowers of our beloved Prophet ?
The best of the creatures of Allaah The Almighty on earth is Prophet
Muhammad whom Allaah The Almighty made an example and guide to people.
Thus, he is an excellent role-model in all things, even in the
simplest matters, and he taught those around him without affectation.
Among the things the Companions learnt from the Prophet and acted upon
was his care for perfume. He always had a fragrant smell about him,
which corresponded with his pleasant speech, that the companion may
associate and be pleased with him, the straying be guided by him, the
ignorant and the seeker of knowledge learn from him, and the seeker of
guidance be enlightened by him.
Why would the Prophet not perfume himself, when perfume was among the
beloved things tohim? Wasn't he the one who said: "Endeared to me of
your worldly life [are] women and perfume." The Prophet was good and
liked what was good, and he paid special care to perfume. He had a
vessel from which he perfumed himself, and it is said that it was a
mixed perfume combined from several materials. It had a strong smell
to the extent that if the Prophet passed by a road in Madeenah, people
would say,"The Prophet passed from here", due to the effect of his
perfume.
Although he was busy with the affairs of Muslims and in Jihaad
(struggle) with word and sword, the Prophet did not neglect to speak
about perfume and what is the best of it. He said: "The best perfume
is musk." His care to be perfumed was not in vain, but as he was
commanded to perform Da'wah (calling to Islam), one of his mainduties
was to seek to impress himself in the hearts of people and to be
pleasing and appealing in their eyes. This was so that they would not
despise him and turn away from him and the truth he came with, and is
very important for every scholar who concerns himself with conveying
the truth to people.
Another cause of the Prophet's laying importance on perfume may be
that he sat with the angels and communicated with Allaah The Almighty
several times in prayer. This was all the more reason for him to
perfume himself, as it was revealed to him(what means): {O children of
Aadam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be
not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.} [Quran
7:31]

The origin of April Fools’ day

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theories have been put forward about how the tradition began.
Unfortunately, none of them are conclusive. Thus, the origin of the
"custom of making April fools" remains as much a mystery to us as it
was back in 1708 CE.
The most popular theory about the origin of April Fools' Day involves
the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century. The theory goes
like this: In 1564 CE France reformed its calendar, moving the start
of the year fromthe end of March to January 1. Those who failed to
keep up withthe change, and stubbornly clungto the old calendar system
and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell
between March 25 and April 1, had jokes played on them. Pranksters
would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of
this prank were thus called 'poisson d'Avril', or April fish—which, to
this day, remains the French term for AprilFools' Day — and so the
tradition was born.
Others say that this started a long time before that, and that it was
initiated during the ancient ages as a part of polytheistic
celebrations on a set date on the beginning of the spring season. Yet
others say that fishing did not yield any catch in the first days of
the spring season and thus this was innovated as a newpractice on the
first of April.
According to legend, the Duke of Lorraine and his wife were imprisoned
at Nantes. They escaped on April 1, 1632 CE by disguising themselves
as peasants and walking through the front gate. Someone noticed them
escaping and told the guards. But the guards believed the warning to
be a " poisson d'Avril " (or April Fools' Day joke) and laughed at it,
thus allowing the Duke and his wife to escape.
"April's fish" was also said to be due to the movement of the sun from
Pisces (February 20- March 20) to the next sign. Some theories believe
that it was given this name after altering the word'passion' (as a
symbol for the torture that Jesus suffered) to 'poisson d'Avr il '.
British folklore links April Fools' Day to the town of Gotham, the
legendary town of fools located in Nottinghamshire. According tothe
legend, it was a tradition in the 13th century for any road that the
King placed his foot upon to become public property. So when the
citizens of Gotham heard that King John planned to travel through
their town, they refused him entry, not wishing tolose their main
road. When the King heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when
the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of lunatics
engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to
cage birds in roofless fences. Their foolery was all an act, but the
King fell for the ruse and declared the town too foolish to warrant
punishment. Ever since then, according to legend, April Fools' Day has
commemorated their trickery.
The first lie on this occasion was recorded in a British magazine. The
April 2, 1698 CE edition of Dawks's News-Letter (a British newspaper)
reported that, "Yesterday being the first of April,several persons
were sent to the Tower Ditch to see the Lions washed." Sending
gullible victimsto the Tower of London to see the "washing of the
lions" (a non-existent ceremony) was a popular prank. It became
traditional for this prank to be played on April Fools' Day. Examples
of it occur as late as themid-nineteenth century In the eighteenth
century written references to April Fools' Day became numerous and
appeared throughout Europe.
One of the most famous incidentsthat happened in Europe on April 1,
was when the English newspaper, The Evening Star , announced in March
1746 CE that on the following day – April 1 st – there would be an
parade of donkeys in Islington, in England. The people rushed to see
these animals and there was a huge crowd. They continued waiting and
when they got tired of waiting, they asked about when the parade would
be held. They did not find anything, and then they finally realized
that they had come to make an exhibition of themselves, as if they
were the donkeys!
The above was just to show the history of this event. However, it is
not important to know what isits real source or how it originated.
What matters to us is the ruling of lying on this day.
This practice certainly never existed in the bright eras of
Islamduring which the Muslims highly cherished the rulings of Islam
and adhered to them as closely as they could. This event was certainly
not initiated by the Muslims, but rather, by their enemies.
The unfortunate part is that many Muslims have made it a common
practice for them to lie to their wives, friends or relativesand cause
them great sorrow and frighten them by lying on this day, claiming
that it is only a joke. Many a times, people have died as a result of
some of these lies due to heart attacks or become paralyzed from the
impact of the lie on them. Some people have even divorced their wives
and others have uttered such lies about a man's wife that he went and
killed her.
There is no end to such tragic stories associated with this day. The
only way one can restrain him/herself from falling in this evil
practice is by remembering the Islamic ruling which prohibitslying
even in jest.

Dought & clear, - Using elastic hair ties that have coloured hairs.

There are hair ties that are made of elastic and contain coloured
hairs or hair that is all the same colour. What is the ruling on that?
Praise be to Allah.
It is not permissible for awoman to attach other hair to her hair
(hair extensions) because of the warning against hairextensions.
Al-Bukhaari (5937) and Muslim (2122) narrated from Ibn 'Umar (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "May Allah curse the one who adds
hair extensions and the one who has them added, the one who does
tattoos and the onewho has them done."
Muslim (2126) narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
forbade women to attach anything to their head.
This is general in meaning and applies to anything that may be
attached to the head. Hence some of the scholars are of the view that
it is haraam to attach string, fabric and the like to the hair; others
are of the opinion that what is haraam is attaching hair to it.
An-Nawawi said in SharhMuslim: al-Qaadi 'Iyaad said: The scholars
differed concerning this issue. Maalik, at-Tabari and many or most of
the scholars said that attaching anything is prohibited, whether it is
hair, wool, or cloth. Theyquoted as evidence for that the hadeeth of
Jaabir which was narrated by Muslim, according to which the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade women to attach
anything to their head.
Al-Layth ibn Sa'd said: The prohibition applies specifically to
attaching hair; there is nothing wrong with attaching wool, cloth and
so on. Others said: All of that is permissible. This is narrated from
'Aa'ishah, but it is not narrated from her in a saheeh report; rather
the saheeh report from her is in accordance with theview of the
majority.
Al-Qaadi said: With regard to tying strings ofcoloured silk and the
like which does not resemble hair, that is notprohibited because it
does not come under theheading of attaching hair extensions and it
does not serve the same purpose as hair extensions; rather it is done
for the purpose of beautification and adornment. In the hadeeth it
states that doing hair extensions is a major sin for which the one who
does it is cursed; it also shows thatthe one who helps in doing
something haraam has a share of the burden of sin with the one who
does it, justas the one who helps in an act of obedience has a share
of the reward. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) issued a fatwa
forbidding doing hair extensions with artificialhair.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: How sound is this hadeeth
and what is meant by it: May Allah curse the one who adds hair
extensions and the one who has them added…"? Does it refer to hair
that is made fromhair that has fallen out (i.e., natural hair), or
hair that is manufactured from fibres and other artificialmaterials?
He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: The one who does hair
extensions is the one who attaches them to the head of another woman,
and the woman who has them added is the one who asks for that to be
done to her. Attaching hair to the hair of the head (hair extensions)
is haraam; indeed it is a major sin, because the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) cursed the one who does that.
The scholars differed concerning attaching something other than hair
to the hair. Some of them said that it is not permissible, because the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade women to
attach anything to their hair, and the word anything is general in
meaning and includes hair and other things.
Based on that, it is not permissible to attach to the natural hair
artificialhair that resembles the hair created by Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted; rather that is included in this hadeeth.This
hadeeth contains a stern warning to the onewho does that, because the
Messenger (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him) said: May Allah
curse the one who adds hair extensions andthe one who has them added."
What is meant by being cursed is being excluded and banished far away
from the mercyof Allah. The scholars have stated that every sin for
which Allah, may He be exalted, has decreed the punishment of being
cursed is a major sin.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb.
If the hair ties asked about here include hair that is mixed with the
hair on the head so that it appears to be attachedto it, then it comes
under the heading of hair extensions which are haraam.
And Allah knows best.