Dought & clear, - Should he focus on purifying his heart or on doing naafil acts?.

Which is more important – dealing with feelings and thoughts that
Allaah dislikes, such as destructive envy, hatred, arrogance, showing
off, thinking highly of one's deeds, hard-heartedness, etc., which
form the evil that resides in the heart, or focusing on doing outward
naafil deeds such as prayer, fasting and other acts of worship and
fulfilling vows even though thoseother things are presentin the heart?
Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
Some of the acts mentioned are obligatory, and those which are
obligatory should be given precedence, as Allaah says according to the
hadeeth qudsi narrated from His Messenger(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): "Myslave does not draw near to Me with anything
more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined on him."
Then He says: "And My slave continues to draw near to Me with
supererogatory works sothat I shall love him." Outward physical acts
are not valid and acceptable unless they are accompanied by
appropriate actions of the heart, because the heart is like the king
andthe physical faculties arelike his troops. If the king is evil his
troops will also be evil. Hence the Prophet(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "In the body there is a piece of flesh: if
it is sound the whole body will be sound and if it is corruptthen the
whole body willbe corrupt." Similarly the (hidden) actions of the
heart inevitably affect the (visible) physical actions. So precedence
must be given to that which is more obligatory, whether it is called
inward or outward. Perhaps things that are called inward may be more
obligatory, such as refraining from destructive envy and arrogance,
for that is more essential than observing naafil fasts. Oracts that
are described as outward or physical may be better, such as qiyaam
al-layl (praying at night), which is betterthan simply giving up some
thoughts that may cross one's mind such as (non-destructive) jealousy,
etc. Inward andoutward deeds support one another, and prayer keeps one
from doing evil actions and generates fear of Allaah, and has other
important effects. It (prayer) is the best of good deeds and charity.
And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him),Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 6/381
So there is no separationbetween correcting what is inward and
correcting what is outward or physical.
The outward acts of worship which a person performs with his physical
faculties – if he does them for the sake of Allaah – will undoubtedly
have an effect on his inward nature.
For example, the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Shall I not tell you of something that will take away the evil
of the heart? Fasting three daysof each month." (Narrated by
al-Nasaa'i, 2386; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa'i,
2249). The evil of the heart refers torancour, hatred and destructive
envy.
One of the most important remedies for diseases of the heart is to
study and ponder the texts which include warnings to the one who
leaves these diseases to fester in his heart, such as the hadeeth in
which the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "No
one will enter Paradise who has an atom's-weight of arrogance in his
heart." (Narrated by Muslim, 91).
And the hadeeth according to which Hell will say, "My share is the
arrogant." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4850; Muslim, 2846)
And the hadeeth: "On the Day of Resurrection the arrogant will be
gathered like ants in the form of men." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2492; classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2025).
And the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
disease of the nations who came before you has started to spread among
you: destructive envy and hatred. These are the shavers. I do not mean
that they shave hair but they shave away religious commitment. By the
One in Whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you
believe, and you will notbelieve until you love one another. Shall I
not tell you of something which if you do it, you will love one
another. Spread (the greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves."
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2510; classed as hasan by al-Albaani
inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2038).
Whoever ponders with true insight such warnings about the diseases of
the heart willundoubtedly strive to cleanse his heart thereof, and
will seek help in doing so by doing outward physical acts, praying to
his Lord to cleanse his heart of hatred, destructive envy,rancour and
so on, as Allaah says, describing the prayer of the believers:
"and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed"
[al-Hashr 59:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad.

Dought & clear, - Does the soul come outof the body during sleep?

Does the soul come out of the person when he is asleep, because
sometimes just before I go to sleep, I feel that my soul is coming out
ofmy body; I do not hear anything or see anything or feel anything at
all for a few seconds, then it comes back and I wake up and am aware
of everything.
Praise be to Allah.
There is clear evidence in the Qur'an and Sunnah which indicates that
the soul is taken when one falls asleep, and that sleep is a kind of
death. This evidence includes the following:
1.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and
those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for
which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed.
Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply"
[az-Zumar 39:42].
2.
And He, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"It is He, Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep), and
has knowledge of all that you have done by day"
[al-An'aam 6:60].
3.
It was narrated from AbuQataadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
when they slept and missed the prayer, the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Verily Allah took your souls when
Hewilled, and He returned them when He willed."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,7474
4.
It was narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) was on a journey during which they slept until the sun rose. He
said: "Verily you were dead and Allah returned your souls to you;
whoever sleeps and misses a prayer, let him offer it when he wakes up,
and whoever forgets a prayer, let him offer it when he remembers."
Narrated by Abu Ya'la inal-Musnad, 2/192; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inIrwa' al-Ghaleel, 1/293
5.
It was narrated from Hudhayfah (may Allah bepleased with him) that
when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wokeup, he
would say: "Al-hamdu Lillahi alladhi ahyaana ba'da ma amaatanaa wa
ilayhi an-nushoor(Praise be to Allah Who has given us life after He
caused us to die, and to Him will be the resurrection)."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,6312. It was also narrated by Muslim in
hisSaheeh, 2711, from al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him).
This evidence was quoted by al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy
on him), who then said:
The verse indicates that sleep is a death, and the hadeeth indicates
when a person sleeps his soul is taken. They both indicate that the
soul that is taken in death is the soul that is taken during sleep.
End quote fromFath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab, 3/325
But the taking of the soul in sleep does not necessarily mean that it
is completely separated from the body, as happens in death; ratherthe
fact that the life remains in the body during sleep indicates that the
soul is still connected to the body during sleep, but the connection
is less than the connection when it is awake. Not every departure of
the soul from the body implies death; rather what happens to the body
differs according to the type of separation.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The taking of the soul from the body does not necessarily mean that it
has departed from the body altogether; rather it may be taken whilst
some kind of connectionis still present, as in the case of one who is
sleeping.
End quote fromFath al-Baari, by Ibn Rajab, 3/326
For other scholarly opinions on this issue, please seeal-Jaami' li
Ahkaam al-Qur'an, by al-Qurtubi, 15/261;Fath al-Baariby Ibn Hajar,
11/114
However what appears to us to be the case is that what you mentioned
in your question does not have anything to do with this issue at all;
the departure of the soul during sleep only happens when one is
actually sleeping, and it does not happen before sleeping as you
mention.
Perhaps what is happening to you is a psychological matter or
excessive preoccupation with death and the like.
We ask Allah to keep yousafe and sound and to put your affairs straight.
And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Will the repentance of one who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) be accepted? And is it better to admit it to the qaadi (judge)?

With regard to the Muslim who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) in secret and conceals that: if he repents
before he is executed, will Allah accept his repentance sothat he
becomes a Muslim, because he had become a kaafir? Or does he have to
announce what he did so that he will be executed before Allah will
accept his return to Islam?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Testifying that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
is the Messenger of Allah is one of the pillars of Islam. The Muslims
arecommanded to venerate and love their Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and he is deserving of that, because of the
lofty status he has before Allah, and because of thefavours he has
done to this ummah, for he was the cause of their being brought out of
their state of ignorance and he was the cause of theirattaining all
that is good. How could any Muslim have the audacity, in spite of
that,to impugn the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?
Hence the scholars are unanimously agreed that the one who impugns the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is a kaafir and
apostate whohas gone beyond the pale of Islam.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Impugning Allah or impugning His Messenger is kufr both inwardly and
outwardly,regardless of whether the one who does that believes that it
is haraamor he thinks that it is permissible for him, or he was not
thinking of the ruling when he did that. This is the view of the
fuqaha' and all of Ahlas-Sunnah who say that faith is comprised of
both words and deeds.
As-Saarim al-Maslool, 1/513
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(40/61):
The Holy Qur'an tells us that it is a grave sin to disparage the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or belittle him,
and the onewho does that is cursed. That is in the verses in which
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, those who annoyAllah and His Messenger (SAW) Allah has cursed
them in this world, and in the Hereafter, and hasprepared for them a
humiliating torment"
[al-Ahzaab 33:57]
"If you ask them (about this), they declare: We were only talking idly
and joking. Say: Was it atAllah and His Ayat (proofs, evidences,
verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger (SAW)
that you were mocking?
Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. If We
pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you because they
were Mujrimoon (disbelievers, polytheists,sinners, criminals, etc.)"
[at-Tawbah 9:65-66].
The fuqaha' are of the view that the one who does any of these things
is to be regarded as a kaafir. End quote.
It also says (22/184):
The ruling on the one who impugns him (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) is that he is an apostate, and there is no difference of
scholarly opinion concerning that.End quote.
If the one who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) is an apostate, then the punishment prescribed for him in
sharee'ah is execution; there is no difference of scholarly opinion
concerning that.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The majority of scholars are agreed that the one who impugns the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is to be executed.
End quote.
See:Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 8/82
Al-Khattaabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
I do not know of any of the Muslims who differed concerning the
obligation of executing him. End quote.
Ma'aalim as-Sunan, 3/295
Secondly:
If the one who impugned the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) repents and regrets what he did, and he comes back to Islam,
thatrepentance will benefit him in his relationship with Allah. So
before Allah he will be a believing Muslim. But with regard to his
execution, the obligation of executing him will not be waived. So he
will be killed as a Muslim, and he should be washed, the funeral
prayer should be offeredfor him, he may be inherited from and he
should be buried in the Muslim graveyard. As for the apostate who did
not come back to Islam, he is to be executed as a kaafir.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
was asked:
Will the repentance of one who impugned Allah, may He be exalted and
glorified, or who reviled the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) be accepted?
He replied:
There is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning that, and there
are two opinions:
(i)
The first opinion is that repentance will not be accepted from the one
who impugned Allah or His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him). This is the well-known view of the Hanbalis. Rather he is
to be executed as a kaafir, and the funeral prayer isnot to be offered
for himand supplication is not to be offered for mercy for him, and he
is to be buried in a place far away from the Muslim graves.
(ii)
The second opinion is that the repentance of one who had reviled Allah
or His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) will be
accepted if it is known that he has sincerely repented to Allah, and
he admits thathe made a mistake and speaks of Allah, may He be
exalted, in a way thatreflects the veneration He deserves. This is
because of the general meaning of the evidencethat indicates that
repentance is accepted, such as the verse in which Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"Say: O 'Ibaadi(My
slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil
deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah
forgives all sins" [al-Zumar 39:53]. There are some of the kuffaar who
impugn Allah, yet despite that their repentance is accepted. This is
the correct view. The repentance of one who impugned the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is accepted, but he must be
executed. This is unlike the one who impugns Allah; his repentance is
accepted but he is not tobe executed, because Allah has told us that
He forgives transgressions against His rights if the person repents,
and thatHe forgives all sins. As forthe one who impugns the Messenger
(blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him), there are two matters to be
taken into consideration:
(a)The first is a shar'i matter, because he is theMessenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Fromthis angle, he
repentance will be accepted if he repents.
(b)The second is a personal matter. From this nagle, repentance will
not be accepted, because it has to do withthe right of a human being,
and it is not known whether he would forgive it. On that basis he is
to be executed, but if he is executed, we should wash him, shroud him,
offer the funeral prayer for him and bury him with the Muslims.
This is the view favouredby Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, who wrote a
book on that entitledas-Saarim al-Maslool fiTahattum Qatli Saabb
ar-Rasool. That is because he has transgressed against the rights of
the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). By the same
token, if he were to slander the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him), he is to be executed and not flogged.
If it is asked: Has it not been proven that some of the people
impugned the Messenger (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him)
during his lifetime and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) accepted their repentance?
The answer is: This is true, but that was during his lifetime
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he waived what was
dueto him. But after his death, no one has the right to waive what is
due to him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). So we must do
what is required if he(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is
impugned, which is to execute the one who impugns him and to believe
that the repentance of the one who does that is accepted with regard
to the relationship between that person and Allah, may He be exalted.
If it is asked: If it was possible that he (the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him)) would let him off if that happened during
his lifetime, doesn't that dictate that we should refrain from passing
judgement on him?
My response is: That does not dictate that we should refrain, because
evil has occurred by his impugning him, and it is not known whether
the effect of that impugningwill be removed; the basic principle is
that it remains.
If it is asked: Wasn't it usually the case that the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) let off those who impugned
him?
My response is: Yes indeed, and perhaps letting them off during the
lifetime of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
was done to serve a purpose, which was to soften people's hearts
towards Islam, as he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) knew
the identities of the hypocrites but he did not execute them, "lest
people say that Muhammad kills his companions." But nowadays if we
know that a specific individual is one of the hypocrites, we should
execute him. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:Refraining from killing a known hypocrite was only done during
the lifetime of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him). End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa ash-Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen, 2/150-152
But… So long as the matter has not reached the qaadi (judge), what is
prescribed is for the Muslim to conceal himself (his sins) and notgo
to the judge to confess his crime; rather he should strive hard to
repent and seek forgiveness, and do a lotof good deeds, so that Allah
will forgive him. Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My
Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous
good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)"
[Ta-Ha 20:82]
"Then, verily! Your Lord for those who do evil (commit sins and are
disobedient to Allah) in ignorance and afterward repent and
dorighteous deeds, verily, your Lord thereafter, (to such) is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[an-Nahl 16:119].
And Allah knows best.

[Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith ] - 11 Precious Stones and Metals & 12 The Beauty of the Dwellings of the Garden

11. In the Qur'an, Allah reveals that there are luxurious items,
various jewels and precious stones in the Garden. "[They are] on
sumptuous woven couches" (Surat al-Wa'qia: 15)ve "They will enter
Gardens of Eden where they will be adorned with gold bracelets and
pearls." (Surah Fatir: 33)These jewels that are mentioned in the
Qur'an and in the hadith in relation to the Garden have been
expressions throughout human history of wealth and splendour. Everyone
appreciates these adornments of diamonds, pearls, rubies,gold and
silver, and takes pleasure in seeing things decorated with them.
They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They
will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green
garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on
couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful
repose! (Surat al-Kahf: 31)
There are some hadith, such as those below thatmention pearls as a
blessing of the Garden:
Those who dwell in the Garden of Eternity will wear crowns encrusted
with pearls, the radiance of the smallest of which will illuminate the
space separating the east fromthe west! (At-Tirmidhi)
'Abd-Allah ibn 'Amr said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah saying that
the [Yemeni]Corner and the Station [of Ibrahim] are two of the
precious stones of the Garden, whose light has been extinguished by
Allah. If He had not extinguished their light,it would illuminate
everything between theeast and the west." (At-Tirmidhi, 804)
Pearls are a good example of the rare value of the blessings of the
Garden. Divers must go down several times into the dangerous depths of
the sea to bring them up, and this adornment is found in only a few of
the many oysters that are collected. Besides its beauty, what gives
valueto this little object is, as we said above, the effortrequired to
obtain it andits great rarity.
"Are these the people you swore that Allah's mercy would never reach?"
"Enter the Garden. You will feel no fear and know no sorrow. (Surat
al-A'raf: 49)
Much time, effort and expense is required in this world to obtain the
pearl, but they are abundant in the world to come. The fact that such
a rare and valuable object of beauty is plentiful will doubtless
produce a particular excitement in the humanspirit. Moreover, the
blessings of the Garden revealed in the Qur'an will have a beauty that
isbeyond our capacity to imagine. The hadith mention a pearl that
illuminates everything between East and West, but we cannot completely
picture the brilliance and splendour of such a pearl in our
minds._______________________________________________
12. Palaces and mansions are among the most beautiful residences in
the world. When people describe the beauty of these residences, they
always mention, for example, their views, valuable furnishings,
beautiful décor, columns, and gilded woodwork.
In the verses of the Qur'an that speak of the Garden, Allah often
mentions such dwellingsthat are pleasing to human beings: mansions,
palaces and pavilions. These dwellings are rare in thisworld, but they
are numerous and in perfectand splendid condition in the Garden and
Allah'sbeloved slaves will live in them.
Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them
timelessly, for ever. That is the reward of those who purify
themselves. (Surah Ta Ha: 76)
Some of the hadith in which the wealth and abundance of these
dwellings are described are as follows:
We asked: "What is the Garden made of?" The Prophet said: "A brick of
gold and a brickof silver, its mortar is of strongly scented musk, its
stones are pearls and emeralds, and its soil is of saffron. Those who
enter it will be in affluent circumstances and will not be
destitute,they will live for ever and not die, their garments will not
wear out, and their youth will not pass away." (Narrated by Abu
Hurayra, at-Tirmidhi)
The walls of the Garden are built of bricks of gold and silver,its
dust of saffron… (Imam Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum ad- Din, vol. 4)
The hadith point out that the dwellings of theGarden are made from the
most valuable materials, and, instead of common gravel and pebbles,
there will be pearls and rubies.