Fathwa, - Praying When Pregnant: Obligatory?

Question:
Is it fard upon a woman in her 9 monthpregnancy to pray, as she finds
it very difficult?
Answer:
Wa Alaykum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
It remains obligatory for a pregnant woman to pray: if she can pray
standing, she must; if shecan�t do so without genuine hardship or
unbearable pain, then sitting down on the ground, with prostration; if
she can�t, then sitting with head motions. But she must pray.
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) told us
that the first deed the believer will be asked about on the Day of
Judgment is their prayer

Fathwa, - Women’s prayer different than men

Question:
I�ve heard that there�s a hadith, that says that the prophet (saw)
says ''pray as you see me'', and that this means that men and women
pray in exactly the same way, but I�ve been taught that women pray
differently than men. So I would be grateful if you could clarify this
for me, inshaAllah
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah,
It is true that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said, �Pray as you see me pray.�
At the same time, it is decisively established�as the answer below
shows�that the leading female Companions (Allah be pleased with them
all) prayed differently from the way male Companions (Allah be pleased
with them all)prayed. This returns to how the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him andgive him peace) himself taught the former to pray,
and to the wisdom of the Lawgiver in noting the physical differences
between men and women and thebest expression of modesty, humility, and
reverence before Allah befitting each.
And Allah alone gives success.

Fathwa, - Nifas – Postnatal Bleeding

Question:
In the first link below this email [1], it says that the labouring
women should pray until most of the baby is out. How is this possible
when she would be bleeding at the time of her child's birth? That is,
women bleed for about 40 days after the birth of the baby, and I did
not think that salat was possible at this time since it's similar
to/same as menstruating? I believe we would make up these salats, but
we obviously cant pray when we are bleeding?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
Assalamu alaykum
A woman in post natal bleeding (nifas) is under the same restrictions
as amenstruating woman, namely she is not to pray, fast or have sexual
relations with her husband. This period of nifas commences once half
of the baby exits. Before this, any bleedingseen is to be considered
abnormal uterine bleeding (istihada) and does not prevent one from
prayer and fasting; rather this bleeding has the same rules as
bleeding from anywhereelse on the body, namely that it is impure and
nullifies ablution. Shouldthe bleeding persist to the end of a prayer
time, however, then one is to perform ablution and pray even if one
continues bleeding as one is excused due to ones difficult
circumstances.
One may therefore pray in the period prior to childbirth even if one
has continuous bleeding as one is excused during continuous bleeding
from the normal rules of purification. One's ablution would not be
nullified by the bleeding and nor would one be obliged to wash the
blood from one's clothing if the clothing would just become bloodied
again after washing. One's ablution would, however, be nullified by
the entry of the next prayer time, andone would have to renew one's
ablution to be able to pray in the new prayer time.
As mentioned in the link provided in the question,if one is unable to
perform the ritual ablution one may perform tayammum.
And Allah knows best.

The lineage of the Prophet Muhammad-I

The lineage of Prophet Muhammadhas three versions: The first was
authenticated by biographers and genealogists and states that Prophet
Muhammad'sgenealogy has been traced to Adnaan. The second is subject
to controversies and doubt. It traces his lineage beyond Adnaan back
to prophet Ibraaheem)Abraham(. The third version, which definitely has
some inaccuracies, traces his lineage beyondIbraaheem back to Aadam
)Adam(.
The first part: MuhammadIbn 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib )who
wascalled Shaybah( Ibn Haashim, )named 'Amr( Ibn 'Abd Munaf )called
Al-Mugheera( Ibn Qusayy)also called Zayd( Ibn Kilaab Ibn Murrah Ibn
Ka'b Ibn Lu'ayy Ibn Ghaalib Ibn Fahr )who was called Quraysh and whose
tribe was called after him( Ibn Maalik Ibn An-Nadr )so called Qays(
Ibn Kinaanah Ibn Khuzaymah Ibn Mudrikah)who was called 'Amir( Ibn
Elias Ibn Mudar Ibn Nizar Ibn Ma'ad Ibn Adnaan.
The second part: Adnaan Ibn Add Ibn Humaisi' Ibn Salaman Ibn 'Aws Ibn
BuzIbn Qamwal Ibn Obai Ibn 'Awwam Ibn Nashid Ibn Haza Ibn Bildas Ibn
YadlafIbn Tabikh Ibn Jahim Ibn Nahish Ibn Makhi Ibn Aid Ibn 'Abqar Ibn
'Ubaid Ibn Ad-Da'a Ibn Hamdan Ibn Sanbir Ibn Yathrabi Ibn Yahzin Ibn
Yalhan Ibn Ar'awi Ibn Aid Ibn DeshanIbn Aisar Ibn Afnad Ibn Aiham Ibn
Muksar Ibn Nahith Ibn Zarih Ibn SamiIbn Mazzi Ibn 'Awda Ibn Aram Ibn
Qaidar Ibn Ismaa'eel )Ishmael( son of Ibraaheem )Abraham(, may Allaah
exalt their mention.
The third part: beyond IbraaheemIbn Tarih)Azar( Ibn Nahur Ibn Saru'
Ibn Ra'u Ibn Falikh Ibn Abir Ibn Shalikh Ibn Arfakhshad Ibn Sam Ibn
Nooh )Noah(Ibn Lamik Ibn Mutwashlack Ibn Akhnukh ]Prophet Idrees
)Enoch([Ibn Yarid Ibn Mahla'il Ibn QaIbn Anusha Ibn Shith Ibn Aadam.
The prophetic family:
The family of Prophet Muhammadis called the Hashimite family after his
grandfather Haashim Ibn 'Abd Munaf. Let us now speak a little about
Haashim and his descendants:
1-Haashim: He was the one responsible for giving food and water to the
pilgrims. This had been his charge when the sons of 'Abd Munaf and
those of 'Abd Ad-Dar compromised on dividingthe charges between them.
Haashim was wealthy and honest. He was the first to offer the pilgrims
sopped bread in broth. His first name was 'Amr but he was called
Haashim because he had been in the practice of crumbling bread )for
the pilgrims(.
He was also the first man who started Quraysh's two journeys of summer
and winter. It was reported that he went to Syria as a merchant. In
Al-Madeenah, he married Salmah, the daughter of 'Amr from Bani 'Adi
Ibn An-Najjaar. He spent some time with her in Al-Madeenah then he
left for Syria again while she was pregnant. He died in Ghazza in
Palestine in 497 CE. Later, his wife gave birth to 'Abdul-Muttalib and
named him Shaybah because of the white hair on his head, and brought
him up in her father's house in Al-Madeenah. None of hisfamily in
Makkah learnedof his birth. Haashim had four sons: Asad, Abu
Saifi,Nadla and 'Abdul-Muttalib, and five daughters Ash-Shifa,
Khalida, Da'ifa, Ruqyah and Jannah.
2-'Abdul-Muttalib: After the death of Haashim, thecharge of the
pilgrims' food and water went to his brother, Al-Muttalib Ibn 'Abd
Munaf )who washonest, generous and trustworthy(. When 'Abdul-Muttalib
reached the age of boyhood, his uncle Al-Muttalib heard of him and
went to Al-Madeenah to fetch him. When he saw him, tears filled his
eyes and rolled down his cheeks, he embraced him and took him on his
camel. The boy, however, abstained from going with him to Makkah until
he took his mother's consent. Al-Muttalib asked her to send the boy
with him to Makkah, but she refused. He managed to convince hersaying:
"Your son is going to Makkah to restore his father's authority, and to
live in the vicinity of the Sacred House."
There in Makkah, people wondered at seeing 'Abdul-Muttalib, and they
considered him the slave of Al-Muttalib. Al-Muttalibsaid: "He is my
nephew, the son of my brother Haashim." The boy was brought up in
Al-Muttalib's house, but later on Al-Muttalib died in Bardman in
Yemen, so 'Abdul-Muttalib took overand managed to maintain his
people's prestige and exceeded his grandfather in his honorable
behavior, which earned him deep love and high esteem from the people
of Makkah.
3-When Al-Muttalib died, Nawfal usurped 'Abdul-Muttalib's charges, so
the latter asked for help fromthe Quraysh, but they abstained from
extending any sort of support to either of them. Consequently, he
wrote to his uncles of Bani An-Najjaar )his mother's brothers( to come
to his aid. His uncle,Abu Sa'd Ibn 'Adyy )his mother's brother(
marched to Makkah at the head of eighty horsemen and camped inAbtah in
Makkah. 'Abdul-Muttalib received the men and invited them to go to his
house but Abu Sa'd said: "Not before I meet Nawfal." He found Nawfal
sitting with some old men of Quraysh in theshade of Al-Ka'bah. Abu
Sa'd drew his sword and said: "I swear by Allaah that if you don't
restore to my nephew what you have taken, I will kill you with this
sword." Nawfal was thus forced to give up what he had usurped, and the
notables of Quraysh were made to witness to his words.
Abu Sa'd then went to 'Abdul-Muttalib's house where he stayed for
three nights, made 'Umrah )minor pilgrimage( and left backfor
Al-Madeenah. Later on, Nawfal entered into alliance with Bani 'Abd
Shams Ibn 'Abd Munaf against Bani Haashim. When Khuza'a, a tribe, saw
Bani An-Najjaar's support to 'Abdul-Muttalib they said: "He is our son
as he is yours. Wehave more reasons to support him than you." 'Abd
Munaf's mother was one of them. They went into An-Nadwa House )a place
they used to gatherin to discuss serious matters( and entered into
alliance with Bani Haashim against Bani 'Abd Shams and Nawfal. It was
an alliance that was later to constitute the main reason for the
conquest of Makkah. 'Abdul-Muttalib witnessed two importantevents in
his lifetime, namely digging the Zamzam well and the Elephant raid.
Digging the Well of Zamzam
The well of Zamzam originated for the sake ofIsmaa'eelwhen he and his
mother Haajar)Hagar( were overtaken by thirst, Allaah the Almighty
caused a streamof water to flow in the empty desert. Haajar contained
the flowing water by building a mound around it and it turned into a
well. At the time of leaving Makkah, the Jurhum tribe coveredit with
dust and so, for a long time it could not be traced. When the task of
giving water to the pilgrims was entrusted to'Abdul-Muttalib, he
started searching for it along with his elder son Haarith, but their
efforts proved fruitless.
One day, 'Abdul-Muttalib saw the location of the well of Zamzam in his
dream and started digging for it. There were two idols, 'Isaf and
Naa'ilah kept at that spot.The Quraysh resented thisdisturbance and
became hostile and ready to fight. Although they wereonly two, father
and son, they prevailed over them and continued digging the well.
Realizing his isolation, 'Abdul-Muttalib invoked Allaah the Almighty
that in case He gave him ten sons, he would sacrifice one of hissons
in the name of God. After a short period, the well appeared and he was
also blessed with tensons.