Concepts clarified in the Quran -I

The role of the Quran in shaping the Muslim personality:The treasures
of the Quran are hidden and buried asfar as many Muslims are
concerned, as they have not yet discovered these precious treasures
that Allaah has placed in it.
Besides the fact that a Muslim is rewarded for reciting the Quran and
applying its rulings, it is also the case that the Quran explains and
clarifies the correct way to understand many concepts that people have
misperceived or misinterpreted. For example, it expounds upon the
reality of the concept of loyalty and disavowal, the concept
ofworship, the concept of the conflict between the truth and
falsehood, and many other concepts which all Muslims must correctly
understand and realise.
The great treasures in the Quran:Some people seek to attain the reward
of reciting the Quran, othersmemorise its verses in order to attain
the reward of such memorisation, while others recite it to taste the
sweetness that the soul feels during this. There are others who recite
it in order to search for the lofty manners it calls the people to
possess, and yet others who recite the Quran in order to find therein
solutions to their social or economic problems.
These are all important matters and one must seek to attain all the
abovementioned goals and many more, but what is more important than
that is for one to recite it in order to extract the great principles
that mould the individual's character and aid in correctly nurturing
him.
Many people recite the Quran hastily, or pass over its verses quickly
without pondering over their meaning.
The Quran is of great importance due to many more reasons than those
we mentioned above, and which the Muslims must realise and have clear
in their minds. I willtry to highlight in this sermon some of these
concepts that are instilledin the Quran, so that perhaps we may
realise the importance of pondering upon the Quran.
The concept of worship and seeking assistance:If one ponders over the
saying of Allaah )which means(:"It is You we worship and You weask for
assistance."]Quran 1: 5[ He will realise that it means that worship
and seeking assistance are exclusively for Allaah, andthis is the real
essence of servitude to Allaah. One must wonder when he recites this
verse, which we do more than seventeen times daily, why worship is
designated solely to Allaah, and likewise seeking assistance. This
concept must be clear in our minds: that only Allaah is to be
worshipped; not wealth, not position, not other people, not man-made
laws, or anything else. We must submit our wills solely to Allaah and
humble ourselves only to Him. Also, we must seek only His assistance
as a sign of perfect servitude because regardless of how powerful
human forces are, they remain very limited, while the power of Allaah
is ultimate and unlimited asHe is the All-Powerful andthe
Irresistible.
The concept of abiding by the commands of Allaah and hastening to
fulfil them:The Quran emphasises on the great importance and
thecompulsion of adhering to the commands of Allaah and not
transgressing or disobeying His command.The Jews were commanded by
Allaah to prostrate, as Allaah Says )what means(:"…And enter the gate
bowing humbly…"]Quran 2: 58[ What did they do instead of adhering to
this command? They entered on their buttocks and therefore opposed the
command of Allaah. Therefore, anyone who tries to alter the commands
of Allaah and applies what his desires are dictating to him resembles
these people.
Furthermore, one must hasten in fulfilling the commands of Allaah and
not act like the Jews did when Allaah commandedthem to slaughter a
cow; they kept asking for finerdetails regarding the type of cow to
slaughter while slaughtering any cow would have done. Many Muslims
follow in the footsteps of these deviants by inventing obstacles that
would cause them to not fulfil certain commands that do not happen to
coincide with their desires, and this is nothing but following the
whispers of Satan.
The concept of being distinct in worship:Muslims must be distinct and
not resemblethe disbelievers in any of their acts of worship or
religious rites. In the early stages of Islam, the Muslims would
direct themselves towards Al-Aqsaa mosque inJerusalemin prayer, but
they were later commanded to direct themselves towards the Ka'bah in
Makkah in order to differ from the disbelievers.
The concept of people's ranks:Allaah Says )what means(:"And it is not
your wealth or your children that bring you nearer to Us in position,
but it is ]by being[ one who has believed and done
righteousness…"]Quran 34: 37[
Allaah also Says )what means(:"…Indeed, the most noble of you in the
sight of Allaahis the most righteous of you…"]Quran49: 13[
It is very important for usto know this rule of how people are
measured according to the scale of Allaah. How do people become
loftier than others? How does one possess a higher rank than others?
What are the criteria used to judgethis issue? The Quran establishes
that no worldly matter is of any effect in this regard and that it is
solely based on matters related to the religion of Allaah. When Allaah
favoured Taalootand chose him to ruleover the children of Israel, they
objected and judged the matter with a worldly scale: they protested
that he was not rich, as Allaah informs us when He Says )what
means(:"…They said: 'How can he have kingship over us while we are
more worthy of kingship than him and he has notbeen given any measure
of wealth?'..."]Quran 2: 247[ But Allaah immediately highlights the
correct criteria of judging in the very same verse, saying )what
means(:"He said: 'Indeed, Allaah has chosen him over you and has
increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature…'"]Quran 2: 247[
Therefore, knowledge and a strong body that enabled him to fight the
enemies of Allaah are what made him deserving of this rank, and both
these qualities are matters that are connected to the religion: one is
knowledge regarding it, while the other is the ability to defend and
proliferate it.

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Dought - clear - Was the adhaan revealedby wahy or was it suggested by a sahaabi?.

I think i once read that the adhan )call to prayer(was suggested to
our prophet Muhammed )( by another muslim after he said he didnt want
to use the bells that the christians used or the rams-head)?( that the
jews used to call people to prayer. How does the idea of everything
the prophet ordered being an inspiration that is inspired fit in with
this?
I am not trying to be picky here, but am asking purely to aid my understanding.
Praise be to Allaah.
"Adhaan" in Arabic means conveying; in Islam it means announcing that
the time )for prayer( has come. It was prescribed during the time of
the Messenger of Allaah )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( in
Madeenah. According to the hadeeth of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn Abd
Rabbihi, when the Messenger of Allaah )peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him( decided to use a bell even though he disliked it because
it was like what the Christians used,'there appeared to me ina dream a
man who was wearing two green garments, in whose hand was a bell. I
said, "O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?" he said, "What
will you do with it?" I said, "We will call the people to prayer with
it." He said, "Shall I not show you somethingbetter than that?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Say, Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar … )to the end
of the adhaan(." When morning came, I went tothe Messenger of Allaah
)peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( and told him what I had
seen. He said, "This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up with
Bilaaland tell him what you have seen, so that he cangive the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you." So I got up with
Bilaal and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call
to prayer. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his
house, and he came out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same
as he saw." The Messenger of Allaah )peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him( said: "To Allaah be praise."' )Narrated by Ahmad, 1588;
al-Tirmidhi, 174; Abu Dawood, 421, 430; Ibn Maajah, 698(.
It is clear from this hadeeth:
That the words of the adhaan came in a dreamwhich was seen by a great
sahaabi and approved of by our great Prophet. They were not a
suggestion asyou mentioned, but a dream, and it is known that dreams
are one of the seventy parts of Prophethood, because it was stated in
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet )peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him( said: "Dreams are one of the seventy parts of
Prophethood." )Narratedby Ahmad, 4449(.
Al-Bukhaari narrated a different version: "True dreams are one of the
forty-six parts of Prophethood." )Narratedby al-Bukhaari,, 6474;
Muslim, 4203, 42005(.
The dream here, which the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him( described as a true dream, came fromAllaah and was not a
suggestion from a person. So it was a part of Prophethood becauseit
was approved of by the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him( and was described by him as a true dream. If the Prophet had not
approved of it, it would not have been considered a true dreamand it
would not have been a part of Prophethood. The one who judged it to be
truewas the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him(, and
the one who commanded them to act upon it was the Prophet )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him(, who received revelation )wahy( from
his Lord.
'Umar )may Allaah be pleased with him( had seen a similar dream. Letus
not forget that 'Umar was one of the Rightly-guided khaleefahs
)al-khulafaa' al-raashidoon(, of whomthe Messenger )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him( said, "I exhort you to adhere to my
sunnah )way( and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khaleefahs. Hold on
tightto it with your back teeth." )Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2600; Ibn
Maajah, 43; Ahmad, 16519(.
'Umar's view frequently coincided with the wahyand divine legislation.
'Aa'ishah reported that the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him( used to say, "Among the nations whocame before you there
were people who were muhaddathoon )inspired(. If there is anyone like
this in my ummah, it is 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab." )Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3282; Muslim, 2398(. Ibn Wahb said muhaddathoon means
inspired.
You may ask, why did the adhaan start in this fashion, being seen in a
dream by two sahaabis then being confirmed bythe wahy? Why was it not
revealed directly? The answer is that Allaahdecrees whatever He wills,
however He wills, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps the wayit
happened was meant to demonstrate the virtue of these two sahaabis and
to confirm the how good this ummah is, because among them are some
whose opinions coincidewith the wahy and somewho had true dreams which
confirmed their truthfulness, for the people who have the truest
dreams are the truest in speech as the Prophet )peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him( said.
Finally:
The definition of the Sunnah given in the books of the scholars is
that it consists of everything that was narrated from the Messenger
)peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him(, everything that he "said,
did or approved of."
What is meant by his words and actions is clear. What he approved of
refers to when someone did something in front of him and he approved
of it – this is also part of the sharee'ah, not because that person
did it, but because the Messenger )peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him( approved of it. The Messenger )peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him( never kept quiet about falsehood and he never approved of
anything false or misguided that was done by others. He would
disapprove of it and speak out against it,as he did in the case of the
sahaabi Abu Israa'eel, as was narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas, who said:
"Whilst the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( was
giving a khutbah, he saw a man standing in the sun, and he asked about
him. They said, 'That is Abu Israa'eel. He vowed to stand and not sit
down, not to seek shade, not tospeak, and to fast.' He said, 'Tell him
to speak, seek shade and sit down, but let him complete his fast.'"
)Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6326(.
The Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( approved of
Abu Israa'eel's vow to fast, but he cancelled therest of his vow and
did not approve of it.
So it is clear that the adhaan became part of the religion when the
Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( confirmed what
Allaah had shown the two sahaabis in theirdreams, and commanded
'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd to teach it to Bilaal so that he could call the
people to prayer.Hopefully the explanation given abovewill dispel your
confusion and make matters clearer to you. We ask Allaah to grant
usand you understanding of Islam. And Allaah knows best.

Dought - clear - Ruling on praying at times when prayer is notallowed.

One of my friend, who isvery punctual in offering Namaaz, has seen
offering namaaz sometimes even when the sun is setting. He is of the
view that offeringNamaaz at sun set or sunrise time is not a sin and
it might be just a makrooh. I told him that offering prayer at sun set
or sun rise time is notallowed and it might be a sin also. Because to
have distinction with non-muslims, it has not been allowed to offer
namaaz at this time.
Please tell me whether offering of prayers)Namaaz( at sun set or sun
rise time is makrooh or a sin and why?
Praise be to Allaah.
It is mustahabb to pray naafil prayers at all times, except at the
times when praying is not allowed. These timesare from after Fajr
prayer until the sun has risen to the height of a spear; from noon
time until after the sun has passed its zenith, which is at mid-day
for about five minutes before the sun reaches its zenith; and from
after 'Asr prayer until the sun sets. What is meant is the prayer
which each person does by himself; once he has prayed 'Asr it becomes
haraam for him to pray until the sunhas set, except in specificcases,
when it is not haraam. See Question # 306.
The reason why it )prayer at these times( is not allowed is so as to
avoid any resemblance to the kuffaar who prostrate to the sun when it
rises as a greeting to it and to express their joy, and they prostrate
to it whenit sets as a farewell to it. The Prophet )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him( was keen to put a stop to all things
that may lead to shirk, orthat might involve any resemblance to the
mushrikeen. With regardto the prohibition on praying when the sun is
near its zenith, this is because this is the time when the Fire of
Hell is intensified, as was reported from the Prophet )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him(, so we shouldrefrain from praying at
these times.

Dought - clear - Helping someone who faints during Jumu’ah prayers.

In one of the Friday prayer , a person praying besides me got fainted
and lied down unconsiously.
My question is , what should be done at this moment ? Should we alert
others and cry for help or just wait for the prayer to end .
Please provide the answer in detail.
Praise be to Allaah.
And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings.
This depends on what has happened to this worshipper. If waiting until
you have finished the prayer will cause him harm, then you should stop
your prayer and help him. If waiting until you finish will not cause
him harm then you can help him after you finish the prayer. And Allaah
knows best.
Fatwa of Shaykh 'Abd-Allaah al-Ghadyaan.
In such cases you should act according to what you believe is most
likelyto be the case, with regard to whether waiting until the prayer
is finished will cause harm or not. And Allaah knows best.