Dought & clear, - Ruling on using the masbahah (prayer beads).

What is the ruling on using the masbahah (prayer beads)?
Praise be to Allaah.
Some scholars say that itis permissible to use the masbahah, but they
say that it is preferable to dotasbeeh on one's fingers;others say
that it is bid'ah (reprehensible innovation).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said inal-Fataawa(22/187): "Some of them
might show off by putting their prayer-mats over their shoulders and
carrying their masbahahs in their hands, making them symbols of
religion and prayer. It is known from the mutawaatir reports that
neither the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) nor his
Companions used these as symbols. They used to recite tasbeeh and
count on their fingers, as the hadeeth says: "Count on your fingers,
for they will asked, and will be made to speak." Some of them may
count their tasbeeh with pebbles or date stones. Some people say that
doing tasbeeh with the masbahah is makrooh, and some allow it, but no
one says that tasbeeh with the masbahah is better than tasbeeh with
the fingers." Then he (may Allaah have mercy on him) goes on to
discuss the issue of showing off with the masbahah, saying that it is
showing off with regard to something that is not prescribed by Islam,
which is worse than showing off with regardto something that is
prescribed.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (al-Liqa' al-Maftooh, 3/30)
was asked whether using the masbahah for tasbeeh is bid'ah, and his
reply was: "It is better not to do tasbeeh with the masbahah, but it
is not bid'ah, because there is a basis for it, which is the fact that
some of the Sahaabah did tasbeeh with pebbles. But the Messenger(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught that tasbeeh with the
fingers is better, as he said, 'Count with the fingertips, for they
will be made to speak.' Doing tasbeeh with the masbahah is not
haraamor bid'ah, but it is better not to do it, because the one who
does tasbeeh with the masbahah has shunned something better. Using the
masbahah may also be contaminated with someelement of showing off,
because we see some people carrying masbahahs that contain a thousand
beads, as if they are telling people, 'Look at me, I do a thousand
tasbeehs!' Secondly, those who use the masbahah for tasbeeh are
usually absent-minded and not focused, so you see themdoing tasbeeh
with the beads, but their gaze is wandering all over the place, which
indicates that they are not really concentrating. It is better to do
tasbeeh with one's fingers, preferably using the right hand rather
than the left, because the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to counthis tasbeeh on his right hand. If a person
counts his tasbeeh using both hands, there is nothing wrong with that,
but it isbetter to use the right hand only."
Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaanisaid inAl-Silsilat
al-Da'eefah(1/110), where he quotes the (weak) hadeeth "What a good
reminder is the subhah [masbahah],"
"In my view, the meaning of this hadeethis invalid for a number of reasons:
Firstly, the subhah [masbahah] is bid'ah and was not known at the time
of the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It happened
after that, so how could he(peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him)
have encouraged his Sahaabah to do something that was unknown to them?
The evidence for what I havesaid is the report narrated by Ibn Waddaah
inAl-Bid' wa'l-Nahy 'anhaafrom al-Salt ibn Bahraam, who said: 'Ibn
Mas'ood passed by a woman whohad a [masbahah] with which she was
making tasbeeh, and he broke it and threw it aside, then he passed by
a man whowas making tasbeeh with pebbles, and he kicked him then said,
"You think you are better than the Sahaabah, but you are following
unjustified bid'ah! You think you have more knowledge than the
Companions of Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!"'
Its isnaad issaheeh to al-Salt, who is one of the trustworthy (thiqah)
followers of the Taabi'een.
Secondly, it goes againstthe guidance of the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr said, 'I saw
the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
counting the tasbeeh on his right hand.'"
He also said (1/117): "If there is only one bad thing about the
masbahah, which it is that it takes the place of the Sunnah of
counting on the fingers, even though all are agreed that counting on
the fingers is preferable, then that is bad enough.How rarely I see
people counting their tasbeeh on their fingers!
Moreover, people have invented so many sophisticated ways of following
this bid'ah, so you see the followers of one of the [Sufi] tareeqahs
wearing the masbahah around their necks! Or some of them counting with
the beads whilst talking or listening to you! Or another one – the
like ofwhom I have not seen for some time – riding his bicycle through
a street crowded with people, with the masbahah in one of his hands!
They are showingthe people that they are not distracted from the
remembrance of Allaah for even an instant, but in many cases this
bid'ahis a cause of their neglecting what is obligatory (waajib). It
has happened many times – to others as well as myself – that when I
greet one of these people with salaam, theyanswer only by waving and
not by saying the words of the greeting. The bad results of this
bid'ah are innumerable, and no one can say it better than the poet:
'All goodness is in following that which went before (the salaf)
All badness is in the innovations of those who came later.'"
And Allaah knows best.

Seven Keys to happiness and success (Married Life)

The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems,
but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect.
In this picture, just look at their condition... no place to sleep,
still they have made some space for the cat and the dog... water
poring from the roof but still each one of them have a peaceful smile
on their face... Simply amazing! Therefore: Success is not the key to
happiness. Happiness is the key to success.
1. Mutual Trust: Key to happiness and success
Mutual Trust is a very important factor for all relationships. When
trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship. Lack of trust
leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and
enmity may result in separation.
A telephone operator told me that one day she received a phone call.
She answered, 'Public Utilities Board.' There was silence. She
repeated, 'PUB.' There was still no answer. When she was going to cut
off the line, she hearda lady's voice, Oh, so this is PUB. Sorry, I
got the number from my Husband's pocket but I do not know whose number
it is.
Without mutual trust, justimagine what will happen to the couple if
the telephone operator answered with just 'Hello' instead of 'PUB.'
Imam Ali (as) says: "The best of belief is trustworthiness, and the
worst of manners is betrayal."
Imam Baqir (as) says:"There are three things that God did not exempt
anyone from doing. Returning the trusts and keeping your pledges to
the good and the evil-doers alike, and being good and merciful towards
parents regardless of their being good of not."
Imam Sadiq (as) says:"Had the killer of Imam Alikept a trust with him
he would have given it back."
Imam Ali (as) says: "Do not betray the one who trusts you even if he
betrays you. He also swore that the Messengerof God told him an hour
before he died: Return the trust, to the good andthe evil-doers, and
whether it is trivial or big."
2. No Pointing Fingers: Key to happiness and success
A man asked his father-in-law, 'Many people praised you for a
successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?'
The father-in-law answered in a smile, 'Never criticize your wife for
her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind
that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a
better husbandthan you.'
We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are
afraid of losing face. Generally, when a personmakes a mistake, he
would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is
the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one
finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.
If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.
Imam Ali (as) says:"Ignore the shortcomings and forgive the mistakes
of others, just as you hope that God will forgive your crimes and
sins." "The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget."
3. Creating Perfect Relationships: Key to happiness and success
A person visited the matchmaker for marriage, and requested 'I am
looking for a spouse. Please help me tofind a suitable one.' The
matchmaker said, 'your requirements, please?' 'Oh, good looking,
polite,humorous, sporty, knowledgeable, nice talking. Willing to
accompany me the wholeday at home during my leisure hour, if I don't
go out. Telling me interesting stories when Ineed companion for
conversation and be silent when I want to rest.' The matchmaker
listened carefully and replied, 'I understand you need television not
spouse.'
There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a
blind wife and a deaf husband, because the blind wife cannot see
thefaults of the husband andthe deaf husband cannot hear the nagging
of the wife. Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and
dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the
excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage
is not a bed of roses. The nightmare begins.
4. No Overpowering: Key to happiness and success
Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another,
ordemands too much. People in love tend to think that love will
conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after
marriage. Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying
which carries the meaning that"It is easier to reshape a mountain or a
river than a person's character."
It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing
the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness.
It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations.
Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One
day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he
was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful,
because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and
the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then
ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with
leather.
Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a
huge amount of money.
Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, "Why do
you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don't you just
cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?"
The king was surprised, but he later agreed to hissuggestion, to make
a"shoe" for himself.
There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make
this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your
heart; andnot the world.
5. Right Speech: Key to happiness and success
There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that 'a speech
will either prosper or ruin a nation.' Many relationships break off
because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other,
we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything
without considering if it would hurt the other party.
A women and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A
worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted, 'Hi, Emily! Remember me?
We were friends in the secondary school.' On the way home, her
millionaire husband teased her, 'Luckily you married me. Otherwise you
will be thewife of a construction worker.' She answered, 'You should
appreciate that you married me. Other wise, he will be themillionaire
and not you.'
A little girl asked her father, 'How did the human race appear?'
Thefather answered, 'Allah (SWT) made Adam and Eve and they had
children and so was all mankind made.' Two days later the girl asked
her mother the same question. The mother answered, 'Many years ago
there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.' The confused
girl returned to her father and said, 'Daddy how is it possible that
you told me the human race was created by Allah (SWT), and mother said
they developed from monkeys?' The father answered, 'Well, dear, it is
very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your mother
told you about hers.'
Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad
relationship. It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed.
6. Personal Perception: Key to happiness and success
Different people have different perception. Oneman's meat could be
another man's poison.
Once Luqman (as), The Wise said to his son, "Oh son! Do not tie your
heartin seeking the pleasure of people. You are not likely to succeed.
Do not pay attention to what people say. Instead tell yourself always
to seek the pleasure of Allah (SWT)."
Luqman (as), The Wise wanted this lesson to be always remembered and
never to be forgotten. Hethought of a way. So, he then told his son to
ride adonkey and the son obeyed. The father followed behind on foot.
They traveled in this way for some distance.
After some distance they came across a group of people. Seeing the son
on the donkey, one of them said, "What an impolite and bad boy. The
old father is walking on foot. The young son is comfortably riding on
the donkey. This is no manner to show respect to one's father."
Father and son heard this. The son came down from the donkey. Luqman
(as), The Wise rode on the donkey.
After some distance they came across another group of people. On
seeing the father riding the donkey, the elder of the group said, "Oh
you old man! This is not the way to bring up a son. You make him walk
in the hot sun, while you sit comfortably on the donkey."
Luqman (as), The Wise paid attention to what the people said. He came
down from the donkey. Both father and son walked on foot. The donkey
walked in front. They went a little further.
People seeing them, said,"How foolish you are? You walk behind a
donkey. Why don't you ride it?"
Luqman (as), The Wise and his son once again accepted what the people
said. They both rode the donkey and went further. They came across a
river. There was a bridge to be crossed. Some people were
sittingthere. They saw Luqman (as), The Wise and his sonriding the
donkey. One ofthem said, "It is very unkind and cruel of you two to
ride on the poor donkey. The little animal can hardly take all your
burden."
So taking this advice Luqman (as), The Wise and his son dismounted
from the donkey. They traveled a little distance further. Looking very
lovingly Luqman (as), TheWise said to his son, "Youhave heard and seen
what the people said. It must have assured you, by now, that whatever
you do or whichever wayyou move, one is not ableto please the people
of the world." You can never have everyone praise you, nor will
everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never
will be in the future.
Luqman (as), The Wise pointed at the flowing river and added, "A
person can build a wall across the river. It will stop the flow of the
water. But it is not possible to shut the mouth of the people from
criticism."
Very clearly, similar is the case in our world today. The tongue has
no bone. It can speak even without thought. There are as many opinions
as there are people in the world. It is very bad to find fault with
the other person, especially when he is doing something good. A person
can feel very hurt when he listensto all the tongues that talk loose.
To avoid getting hurt by loose talk, a person can train himself. He
can discipline himself to think. By thinking he can know what is wrong
and void. When a person is sure that what he is doing willplease his
Master, Allah (SWT) the Almighty, then he must never worry what others
speak. Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if your conscience
is clear.
"We must do what we conceive to be the right thing and not bother our
heads or burden our souls with whether we will be successful. Because
if we don't do the right thing, we will be doing the wrong thing and
we will just be a part of the disease and not a part of the cure." -
E. F. Schumacher
7. Be Patient: Key to happiness and success
This is another story which happened in the States. A man came out
ofhis home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his
three-year-old son was happily picked stone and scratched lines on the
side of the truck. In his anger, the man ran to hisson, knocked him
away. And took the little boy's hands and hit it many times as
punishment, not realizing he was using a wrench. When the father
calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.
Although the doctor trieddesperately to save the crushed bones, he
finally had to amputate the fingers from both the little boy's hands.
When the boy woke up from the surgery and saw his bandaged stubs, he
innocently said, "Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he
asked,"But when are my fingers going to grow back?" The father was so
hurt. He went back to truck and kicked it a lot of times. Sitting back
he looked at the scratches, little boy wrote "I LOVE YOU DAD." Later
then committed suicide.
Think about this story thenext time someone steps on your feet or you
wish to take revenge. Think first before you lose your patience with
someone you love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones and hurt
feelings often can't. Too often we fail torecognize the difference
between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is
greater than revenge.
People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes, because we
human beings are not perfect. But the actions we take while in a rage
will haunt us forever.
It takes 72 muscles to frown - only 14 to smile! So keep smiling,
After all, we only live once.
In the word SMILE:
*.S stands for Sets you free
*.M stands for Makes you special
*.I stands for Increases your face value
*.L stands for Lifts up your spirits
*.E stands for Erases all your tensions
A Smile makes us look younger, while Prayers make us feel stronger.
Think about how special a smile is. It costs nothing, but has the
power to enrich all, who receive it.
A smile is the light in yourwindow that tells others that there is a
caring, sharing person inside.
Even a smile or a kind word is considered charity.
Good Life starts only when you stop wanting abetter One. So, Live like
a Candle, which burns itselfbut give lights to others.

Wonderful Stories of Islam: Be careful what you Plant(Anecdote Illustrating Real Life)

An emperor in the Far East was growing old andknew it was time to
choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his
children, he decided something different. He called young people in
the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step
downand choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going togive
each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to
plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from today
with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story.
She helped him get a pot andplanting soil, and he planted the seed and
watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to seeif
it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began
to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks,
5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about
their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling
didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for
his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their
plants to the emperor forinspection. Ling told his mother that he
wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened,
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He
took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful
in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many
of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him andjust
said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back."What great plants, trees
and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will
be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted
Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards
to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm
a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is
Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He lookedat Ling, and then
announced to the crowd,"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could
he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I
gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed,plant it, water
it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds,
which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees
and plants and flowers. Whenyou found that the seed would not grow,
you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only
one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, youwill reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you willreap miracles.
But
If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you willreap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.
So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap
tomorrow, The seeds you now scatter, Will make life worse or better,
your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will
enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.
Honesty in Islam

Why an authoritarian rule is against Islam

Forcing people to believe in a religion or to adopt its forms of
belief is completely contrary to the essence and spirit of Islam. That
is because according to Islam, true faith is only possible with free
will and freedom of conscience.
In the contemporary world, there are people who envisage or
supportauthoritarianism in the name of Islam. However this is a great
misconception. Islam is areligion which provides and guarantees
freedomof ideas, thought and life. It has issued commands to prevent
and forbid tension, disputes, slander and even negative thinking among
people. In the same way that it is determinedly opposed to terrorism
and all acts of violence, it has also forbidden even the slightest
ideological pressure to be put on them:
There is no compulsion in religion. True guidance has become clearly
distinct from error.(Surat al-Baqara: 256)
So remind them! You areonly a reminder. You arenot in control of
them.(Surat al -Ghashiyya: 21-22)
Forcing people to believe in a religion or to adopt its forms of
belief is completely contrary to the essence and spirit of Islam. That
is because according to Islam, true faith is only possible with free
will and freedom of conscience. Of course, Muslims can advise and
encourage each other about the features of Qur'anic morality. All
believers are charged with explaining Qur'anicmorality to people in
thenicest manner possible. They will explain the beauties of religion
in the light of the verse,"Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom
and fair admonition..."(Suratan-Nahl: 125), however, they must also
bear in mind the verse,"You are not responsible for their guidance,
but God guides whoever He wills."(Surat al-Baqara: 272)
Thus true Muslims will never resort to compulsion, nor any kind of
physical or psychological pressure. Neither will they use anyworldly
privilege to turn someone towards religion. When they receive a
negative response to what they say, Muslims will reply along the lines
of:"To you your religion, and tome, mine"(Surat al- Al-Kafirun: 6)
The world we live in contains societies with all kinds of beliefs:
Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, deist and even pagan.
Muslims living in such a world must be tolerant of all beliefs they
come up against, no matter what they may be, and behave forgivingly,
justly and humanely. This responsibility placed on believers invites
people to the beauty of the religion of God by means of peace and
tolerance. The decision whether or not to implement these truths,
whether or not tobelieve, lies with the other party. Forcing that
person to believe, or trying to impose anything on him, is a violation
of Qur'anic morality. In fact, God issues a reminder to believers in
the Qur'an:
If your Lord had willed, all the people on the earth would have
believed. Do you think you can force people to be believers?(Surat
Yunus: 99)
We know best what theysay and you [O Muhammad] are not a compeller
over them. But warn by the Qur'an whoever fears My warning.(Surat Qaf:
45)
A model of society in which people are forced to worship is a complete
contradiction to Islam. Belief and worship are only of any value when
they are directed to God by the free will of the individual. If a
system imposes belief and worship on people, thenthey will become
religious out of fear of that system. From the religious point of
view, what really counts is thatreligion should be lived for God's
good pleasure in an environment where peoples' consciences are totally
free.
When we look at the history of Islam, the way that Muslims have
translated this importantfeature of Qur'anic morality into the life of
society can be seen quiteclearly. Since the Prophet Muhammed, true
Muslims have always brought with them an atmosphere of freedom and
tolerance wherever they have gone. They have enabledpeople whose
religions, languages and cultures are completely different from one
another to live together in peace and harmony under one roof, and
provided peace and harmony for its own members. One ofthe most
important reasons for the centuries-long existence of the Ottoman
Empire, which spread over an enormous region, was the atmosphere of
tolerance and understanding that Islam brought with it. Within this
multi-national structure, all ethnic and religious groups have been
free to live according to theirown religions, and their own rules.
Barbarism in the name of religion, that is so preoccupying the world
at present, is the work ofignorant and fanatical people, completely
estranged from Qur'anic morality, and who have absolutely nothing to
dowith religion. The solution to these people and groups who try to
carry out their savagery under the mask of religion is the teaching of
true Qur'anic morality.
Islam and Qur'anic morality are solutions to the scourge of bigotry,
barbarism and terrorism,not supporters of it.