Loving and glorifying theSunnah – III

'Abdullaah ibn Mas`oodreported that the Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Never
has a Prophet been sent before me by Allaah to his people except that
he had, among his people, disciples and companions who followed his
way and obeyed his command. Then there came afterthem their successors
who proclaimed what they did not practice, and practiced what theywere
not commanded to do. )He( who strove against these)people( with his
hand was a believer; he who strove against them with his heart was a
believer; and he who strove against them with his tongue was a
believer; and beyond that there is no grain of faith."]Muslim[
The Companionscomprehended this very well and also kept in mind the
saying of the Prophetwhich was reported by Anas:"He who shuns my
Sunnah is not from me."]Al-Bukhaari[ These sayings made them love the
Sunnah of theProphetsallallaahualayhi wa sallam and spread and
propagateit amongst their successors.
The Companionsfulfilled theirduty and played their expected role in
spreading and propagating the Sunnah of theProphetsallallaahualayhi wa
sallam; they taught it to others with sincerity and advised those who
shunned it to adhere to it, warning them against their actions.
Huthayfahonce saw a man rushing during his prayer and failing to be
tranquil in his bowings and prostrations; so he said to him: "You did
not pray! Had you died in that state then you would have died upon
other than the way ofMuhammad." ]Al-Bukhaari[ He was bringing his
attention to the fact that being tranquil and submissive during
prayers was how the Prophetwould perform them.
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umarwould sit on his buttocks during the Tashahhud in
his prayer, so his son began imitating him; when 'Abdullaahsaw this,
he forbade him from doing so and informed him that this was not how
the Prophetperformed his prayers, so his son said to him: "I saw you
praying this way." His father informed him that his legs were injured
from the time of theBattleof Khaybar, and that he could not therefore
adhere to the Sunnah in this position of prayer. ]Al-Bukhaari[
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umardid not consider this part of prayer a minor or
trivial issue which he could overlook when seeing someone performing
it a way other than that of the Prophet's; compare this to the way
some people consider certain acts of the Sunnah to be minor, thereby
undermining them.
Taawoossaid: "We asked Ibn'Abbaasabout sitting in the position
ofIq'aa' between the two prostrations )which is to sit with one's
buttocks on his heels while bending his toes and directing them
towards the Qiblah(. He informed them that it was the Sunnah, but they
remarked: `We do not see it befitting a man to sit in such a manner.`
But he repeated and emphasised to them the fact thatthe Prophetwould
sit this way." ]Muslim[
This is one of the ways hewould sit, while the other and most common
practice of his was that he would sit on his left foot and have his
right foot raised while having its toes pointing towards the direction
ofthe Qiblah.
These were some examples of how the Companionswould propagate the
Sunnah of the Prophetand they would also openly forbid those who
contradicted the Sunnah, as in the story when Marwaan ibn 'Abdul-Malik
delivered the Khutbah of 'Eed before the prayer, which is directly
contrary to the Sunnah, so a man stood upwhilst he was delivering the
Khutbah and told him that he had opposed the way of the Prophetby
doing what he did. Marwaan paid no attention to what the man said, and
so AbuSa'eedsaid: "This man )i.e., the one who spoke to Marwaan( has
fulfilled his duty by informinghim of the Sunnah and attempting to
forbid him from continuing; I heard the Prophetsay:"He who sees an
evil must change it with his hands)i.e. physically(; if he is unable
to, then he must change it with his tongue )i.e. verbally(, and if he
is unable to, then with his heart)i.e., hating it( - and this is the
weakest level of faith."]At-Tirmithi[
Acts of worship were not the only thing which the Companionslearned
the ways of theProphetsallallaahualayhi wa sallam - he even taught
them their manners. Anassaid: "Once the Prophetcame to our house and
asked for something to drink, so we milkeda sheep for him and I gave
him the milk to drink while Abu Bakr, 'Umar and other senior
companionswere sitting to his left, and a Bedouin was sitting to his
right. When hefinished drinking, 'Umar said: `O Messenger of Allaah!
Abu Bakr is to your left` in an attempt to bring that to his
attention, but heturned to the Bedouin andhanded him the container to
drink from, saying:"It is the rightof those to your right, It is the
right of those to your right, It is the right of those to your
right."]Muslim[
All the Companionsold and young, were keen to adhere to the Sunnah of
the Prophet; it was never reported from a single one of them that they
said about any part of it: "This is only a Sunnah and is not
mandatory… this is only recommended and not obligatory… this is a
minor issue and not a major one, and we should not waste our time in
it… this is a trivial matter" quite unlike what many people say
nowadays about the Sunnah, thereby giving it a low ranking in their
list of importance. Instead, the Companionswould apply anything that
came to them fromtheProphetsallallaahualayhi wa sallam and would
practice it fully and very precisely. Even in matters that were
related to man's natural disposition, such as growing the beard, using
the Siwaak )a special twig that is used as a toothbrush( and so on.
Is it not time for us to apply the Sunnah in our practices and
actions, our families, the way we dress, our children, our homes, our
prayers and all other affairs?

Scenes from the Hereafter

The Exposure
Mankind, from Aadamto the last man to be created, will be exposed
before their Lord-Allaah Almighty- for judgment, as He, The Most
Exalted, Says )what means(:"And they shall be presented before their
Lord in rows."]Quran 18:48[
The Prophetsaid,"Mankind will be exposed three exposures on the Day of
Resurrection. The ]first[ two exposures shall be disputation and
excuses, but at the third]exposure[, the scrolls ]of deeds[ will be
distributed, and then some will take them in their righthands, others
in their left."]At-Tirmithi[
So, the first time, people will dispute with one another: the weak
with the tyrants who hinderedthem from faith, the tyrants responding
that they are, in the final analysis, not to blame, foreach individual
believes or disbelieves by his/her own conscious decision. The
disbelievers will denythat prophets came to them.
At the second exposure, people will acknowledge their wrongs, and will
seek excuses. With the third exposure, the booksof deeds will be
distributed amongst them. Receiving the bookin the right hand
signifies success, while receiving it in the left hand or behind one's
back signifies failure.
Allaah, the Most Exalted, Says )what means(:
"O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with]great[
exertion and will meet it. Then as for he who is given his record in
his right hand. He will be judged with an easy account. And return to
his people in happiness. But as for he who is given his record behind
his back. He will cry out for destruction. And ]enter to[ burn in a
Blaze."]Quran 84: 6-12[
The Questioning
Allaah, the Most Exalted, Says )what means(:"So by your Lord, We will
surely question them all. About what they used to do."]Quran 15:
92-93[ and )what means(:"Then We will surely question those to whom ]a
message[ was sent, and We will surely question the messengers."]Quran
7: 6[
The people will be questioned about whether messengers came to them,
and how they responded to them. The messengers themselves will be
questioned about whether they conveyed the message.
Belief in the questioning and reckoning of the Hereafter instills a
sense of responsibility and accountability in the Muslim. He must be
constantly watching overhis heart and his deeds, and must be prepared
to forego those fleeting, ephemeral pleasures of this world which are
available to him on the path of sin. He must be prepared to undergo
some suffering and hardship in the temporary abode)worldly life(, in
order to avoid the inescapable consequences of evil in the Hereafter.
He must fear standing before his Lord if he desires safety on that
ghastly day. Allaah, the Almighty and Majestic, Says in a Hadeeth
Qudsi )narrationin which the meaning is from Allaah and the wording is
from Prophet Muhammad(:"By My Might! I shall not combine for My slave
two lives of fear, nor two lives of surety."]Ibn Hibbaan[
People will be questioned, on the Day ofJudgment:
1. About faith, as the Prophetsaid:"You will beasked about)the
testimony of faith(: 'Laa ilaaha illallaah )none isworthy of worship
but Allaah('"]At-Tirmithi[
2. About the five-daily prayers: The Prophetsaid"The first thing which
the slave will be questioned about onthe Day of Resurrection will be
his prayer. If it is in order, then he shall have prospered and
succeeded, while if it is impaired, then he shall have failed and be
ruined."]At-Tirmithi[
3. About those under one's care: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:
"O you who have believed! Protect yourselves and your families from a
Fire whose fuel is people and stones..."]Quran 66: 6[
The Prophetsaid:"Every one of you is a guardian, and every one of you
will be asked about those under his care. The man is a guardian over
his family,and will be questioned about those under his care. The
womanis a guardian over her husband's house, and will be questioned
about that under her care. The slave is a guardian over his master's
property, and will be questioned for that under his care."]Al-Bukhaari
and Muslim[
4. About the bodily organs: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:
"And do not pursue that of whichyou have no knowledge. Indeed, the
hearing, the sight and the heart- about all those ]one[ will be
questioned )by Allaah(..."]Quran 17: 36[
5. About delights: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:"Then on that Day
you shall be asked about pleasure)you indulged in, in this
world(!"]Quran 102:8[
6. About intentions: Allaah Almighty Says)what means(:"Whoever desires
the life of this world and its adornments — We fully repay them for
their deeds therein, andthey therein will not be deprived."]Quran
11:15-16[
In a long narration reported by Muslimwe are told that the men whose
cases shall be judged first on the Day ofResurrection shall be a man
who was martyred, a man who acquired knowledge and taught it and who
recited the Quran, and a man to whom Allaah had been generous and
given many varieties of wealth.These men will acknowledge Allaah's
favors upon them, and will claim that they did these deeds for His
sake. They will be exposed as liars, for they did not do these deeds
for the sake of Allaah. The man who was martyred had been fighting in
order to be called brave, the scholar or reciter of the Quran had
acted thus in order to gain a reputation as such, and the benefactor
had sought recognition as a generous person. Since deeds are judged
according to their intentions, these people received what they had
sought through these deeds, and so they will not receive reward for
them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, they will be dragged into Hell on
their faces.
Additionally, there are four questions which everyone must face on the
Day of Judgement. The Prophetsaid:"The feet of a slave will not move
on the Day of Judgement until he has been questioned about ]four
things:[ his life – how he spent it,his knowledge – how he acted upon
it, his wealth – where he earned it and how he spent it, and his body
– how he used it."]At-Tirmithi[
The Reckoning
Allaah Almighty Says)what means(:"Indeed, to Us is their return. Then
indeed, uponUs is their account."]Quran 88: 25-26[ People will be
brought to account for their deeds, as well as fortheir resolved
intentions. The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallm said:"When two
Muslims encounter one another with their swords, the murderer and the
murdered shall be in the Fire."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The murdered individual will also enter the Fire because he was intent
onkilling his brother. However, out of the Grace of Allaah, we are
excused for fleeting thoughts which we do not consciously entertain or
sustain, nor verbalize. Allaah Says )what means(:"Allaah does not
charge a soul except ]with that within[ its capacity"]Quran 2: 286[
The Prophethas said:"Allaah has forgiven my Nation Nation for those
things which their hearts whisper to them."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
There will be some who will enterParadisewithout reckoning. In
theHadeeth narrated by Muslimthe Prophetsaid that the nations of all
the prophets may Allaah exalt their mention were exposed tohim. Hesaw
some prophets with only one or two people, or their family members
with them )i.e. no-one else had believed in them(. Then, hesaw a huge
crowd, and thought that was his Nation. Jibreel)the angel Gabriel(
told him that it was actually the Nation of Moosa)Moses(but he
indicated to him a larger crowd which stretched across the horizon,
and told him that this was his Nation. Hesaid,"…and with them are
70,000 who shall enterParadisewithout reckoning or punishment. They
are those who do not seekRuqyah from others )words from the Quran or
Sunnah said for the express purpose of protection or cure(, nor draw
omens, but rely upon their Lord."]Muslim[
Martyrs of the battlefield who died in the cause of Allaah will also
be exempted from the reckoning. The Prophethas said:"While the
slaves)people( are standing at the placeof reckoning, a ]group of[
people will come with their swords)hanging( on their backs dripping
blood, and they will assemble at the gate ofParadise. It will be
asked: 'Who are these?' whereupon it will be said: 'They are the
martyrs; they were alive, receiving sustenance.'"]At-Tabaraani[

Dought & clear - A brief glimpse at the Ahl al-Hadeeth (Ahl-e-Hadeeth) movement in India

I always go to the mosque now, and it is a mosque of Ahl al-Hadeeth.
The people in my area say that they are more Ahl al-Hadeeththan
Muslims, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said that the groupof his ummah who will enter Paradise is the group
that follows the Qur'an and Sunnah. I would like to know more about
them.
Praise be to Allah.
There follows a brief glimpse at Jamaa'at Ahl al-Hadeeth in India, so
that you may become more keen to stay close to them. It says
inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Muyassarah li'l-Adyaan wa'l-Madhaahib wa'l-Ahzaab
al-Mu'aasirah:
Jamaa'at Ahl al-Hadeeth is the oldest Islamic movement in the Indian
subcontinent. Itis based on calling people to follow the Qur'an and
Sunnah, and to understand them in the light of the understanding of
the righteous early generations, namely the Sahaabah and Taabi'een,
and those who followed them in righteousness. They give precedence to
them (the Qur'an and Sunnah) over any other opinion or practice,
whether that has to do with beliefs, acts of worship, interactions
with others, morals and manners, or politics and social issues, in
accordance with the way of the scholars who combined the knowledge of
fiqh andhadeeth. They are alsoopposed to practices and beliefs of
shirk and innovation, and myths of all kinds. End quote.
Then they said – discussing the ideas and beliefs of Jamaa'atAhl al-Hadeeth:
The belief of Ahl al-Hadeeth is the same as the belief of the
righteous early generations, based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. The
academic and methodological principles of Jamaa'at Ahl al-Hadeeth are
based on:
1.
Tawheed (affirmation of the Oneness of Allah). Ahl al-Hadeeth believe
that Tawheed is the foundation of Islam. They give precedence in their
da'wah efforts to spreading the message of pure Tawheed and instilling
it in people'shearts, whilst explaining the three types of Tawheed,
especially Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (Oneness of divinity), concerning
which many people make mistakes. They also believe in Tawheed
ar-Ruboobiyyah (oneness of the divine Lordship) and what it implies,
that sharee'ah should rule the lives of the Muslims. They are not
content only to affirm and implement the Islamic political system;
rather they believe that the rules and regulations ordained by Allah,
may He be glorified and exalted, should shape the individual's
attitude, conduct and all his worldly affairs, including legislation
and promulgation of laws.
2.
Following the Sunnah.Ahl al-Hadeeth focus on following that which is
narrated in saheeh reports from the Prophet (blessingsand peace of
Allah be upon him) in the light of the understanding of the righteous
early generations. Hence they do not believe in rigid imitation that
calls for adhering to a particular fiqhi madhhab without asking about
the evidence. Rather they call for opening the gate of ijtihaad to
everyone who fulfils the conditions of ijtihaad, and they call for
respect to the mujtahid scholars who follow in the footsteps of the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in
particular.
3.
They give precedence to reports over reason, as they give precedence
to sharee'ah, then they subject reasoning to it, because they believe
that sound reasoning is in harmony with the saheeh Islamic texts,
hence it is not valid to oppose sharee'ah on the basis of reasoning or
to give reasoning precedence over it.
4.
Tazkiyyah shar'iyyah, i.e., purification of the soul in the manner
prescribed in Islam, using all the means mentioned in the Qur'an and
Sunnah. They object to innovated means of purification, whether they
are advocated by the Sufis or others.
5.
Warning against innovation, because they think that innovation is in
fact trying to make up what Allah omitted and introducing practices on
the basis of one's opinion and reason. Hence they advocate adhering to
the Sunnah and avoiding all types of innovation.
6.
Warning against weakand fabricated hadeeths, because these kinds of
hadeethpose a great danger tothe ummah; hence it is essential to
examine the hadeethsthat are attributed to the Prophet (blessingsand
peace of Allah be upon him), especially with regard to matters of
belief and rulings. End quote.
See:al-Mawsoo'ah al-Muyassarah li'l-Adyaan wa'l-madhaahib wa'l-Ahzaab
al-Mu'aasirah, p. 173-185
And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear - He started fasting in London and broke his fast in Riyadh

With regard to fasting, I started fasting in London and broke my fast
in Riyadh. What is the ruling on the time difference?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Your fast is valid, because with regard to breaking the fast, what
matters is the place where the fasting person is when the sun sets;
the time difference does not matter, whether the day is long or short.
InFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah(10/296) it says:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that the fast lasts from dawn
until sunset, and each person who fasts is subject to the rulings on
the place where he is, whether he is on the ground or in a plane that
is in the air.
In another fatwa (10/295):
The basic principle is that with regard to starting to fast,
breakingthe fast and the time of prayer, each person is subject to the
ruling of the land he is in or the air through which he is travelling.
If the plane he is in takes off a few minutes before sunset and the
day continues for him, it is not permissible for him to break his fast
or to pray Maghrib until the sun sets from the point of view of the
air through which he is travelling, even if he passes through the
airspace of a city whose people have broken the fast andprayed
Maghrib, so long as he can see the sun.
Based on this, whoever starts to fast then travels in a plane towards
the west should break his fast when the sun sets inthe place where he
is. Similarly if he travels by plane towards the east and wants to
fast, he should not break his fastuntil the sun sets in the place
where he is. The time difference does notmatter.
And Allaah knows best.