The Miracles Of Our Prophet (saas)

Introduction
Throughout history, Allah sent messengers to all peoples, showing them
how to live a good life in this world and the next. We are told in the
Qur'an that this is a wonderful grace and mercy for all believers:
Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a messenger
to them from among themselves to recite His signs to them, purify
them, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they
were clearly misguided. (Surah Al 'Imran: 164)
We have only sent you as a mercy to all the worlds. (Surat al-Anbiya': 107)
These messengers were a grace to their communities, for they showed
their people the right path, helped them leave the darkness of
unbelief and enter into the light of belief, and proclaimed the
commands of our Lord, Who created the universe from nothing. They told
people that they could have contentment, peace, and security only by
living a good religious life. However, Allah also reveals that
"...most people have no faith" (Surat al-Ra'd: 1). Thus, few people
embraced faith and appreciated what a great mercy these messengers
were for them.
As revealed in the Qur'an, they sincerely desired that people should
come to faith: "But most people, for all your eagerness, are not
believers" (Surah Yusuf: 103). They called their people to truth so
that they could receive blessings in both worlds and live good and
happy lives. They asked no reward for this. Due to their sincere fear
of and respect for Allah and their superior moral character, the
messengers dedicated their honorable lives to this goal. All of the
ensuing difficulties and trials only increased their faith and
dedication. With Allah's help and support, they became examples of
courage; with His permission, they always prevailed. Our Lord says:
Allah has written: "I will be victorious, I and My messengers." Allah
is Most Strong, Almighty. (Surat al-Mujadalah: 21)
In return for their devotion, faithfulness, patience, sincerity, and
trust in Him, Allah imparted a sense of security and contentment to
their hearts, gave them material and spiritual strength, and destroyed
the unbelivers' traps:
We will certainly help Our messengers and those who believe both in
the life of this world and on the Day the witnesses appear. (Surah
Ghafir: 51)
O Messenger, transmit what has been sent down to you from your Lord.
If you do not, you will not have transmitted His message. Allah will
protect you from people. Allah does not guide the unbelievers. (Surat
al-Ma'idah: 67)
Allah tells us that He defended our Prophet (saas) against all of the
unbelievers' traps:
… when the unbelievers were plotting against you to imprison, kill, or
expel you: They were plotting and Allah was planning, but Allah is the
Best of Planners. (Surat al-Anfal: 30)
We learn from several verses that Allah protected His messengers in
every adversity and anxiety and from every trap. He increased His
blessings upon them, provided an escape from every difficulty,
increased their courage and strength, lightened their burdens, and
strengthened their resolve by reminding them of His mercy.
Our Lord supported some of His messengers by allowing them to perform
miracles. These great blessings from Allah had a strong effect on
people, strengthened the believers' resolve and faith, and caused many
unbelievers to embrace Islam.

Fathwa, - Can my aunty's husband (mothers brother in law) be my mehram?

Question:
I have been wanting to perform umrah for 2 years now, but due to
having no living father i don''t have a mehram. i have 2 brothers,
however one is not ready to go, nor can he get time off from
university and the other only did hajj in January, and can not afford
to go again.
So apart from them my last option is going along with my uncle and
aunty. However before getting my hopes up i would like to know is my
mother''s sister''s husband is a permissable mehram for umrah.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
Unlike the Hajj, which is obligatory on every Muslim, male and female,
who is able to perform it; the ''Umra is not obligatory. Rather it is
an emphasised sunna to perform it once in one''s lifetime. (Radd
al-Muhtar, 2:151, Bulaq ed.)
The scholars of the Hanafi school, as well as most other scholars from
all of the sunni schools of fiqh, deemed it impermissable for a woman
to go on a journey of more than fifty miles outside of one''s city
except with a mahram male, meaning either one''s husband or a male of
one''s unmarriageable kin. The Hanafis did not consider the Hajj to be
an exception to this. Since the husband of one's aunt is not a mahram
one may not travel with him to perform the Hajj, let alone an 'Umra.
The scholars of some other schools take a more leniant stance. In the
Shafi''i school a woman may travel without a mahram if the journey is
to fulfill an obligation such as the Hajj. The ''Umra is also
obligatory for the Shafi''is.

Fathwa, - Confusion on Limits to talking to the opposite sex

Question:
I have read up on talking to the opposite sex but have experienced
very different views on this matter. I wanted to know the exact rules
to conversing with a member of the oppposite sex, preferably supported
with quotes from the hadith/quran.
As it stands the situation is; i have met a brother and speak to him
on the intention of inshallah marriage, we regularly chat on msn in
order to get to know one another better. Could you please confirm if
this is allowed as we have heard that it is not allowed unless i have
asked permission from my Wali.
I also wanted to clarify whether it is permissable to talk on the
phone with one another (once again without permission from Wali) and
whether meeting up publicly is allowed (where ther would be many other
muslims present but not a mahram).
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Dear Sister,
I pray this message finds you well.
The Islamic paradigm for gender relations comes from the Qur''anic
verse, "The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another:
they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe
regular prayers, practise regular charity, and obey God and His
Apostle. On them will God pour His mercy: for God is Exalted in power,
Wise." (Al-Tauba, 9:71).
Here, the word used for protectors is awliya''. This word connotes
friendship and cooperation on the basis of faith in Allah and His
Messenger, piety, and righteousness.
The Qur''an also gives us details on how to interact with each other.
For example,
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah
is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing
women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that
they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must
ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over
their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands,
their fathers..." [Al-Nour, 24: 30-31]
Finally, here is an example of a pious young woman:
"Afterwards one of the (damsels) came (back) to him, walking
bashfully. She said: "My father invites thee that he may reward thee
for having watered (our flocks) for us..." [Al-Qasas, 28: 25]
Qur''an commentaries note that the young woman approaches Prophet
Musa, peace be upon him, to make her request. However, she does so
shyly. She speaks directly and courteously.
There are also hadiths on gender interaction, one of the most serious
of which is:
"When a man and woman are alone together, Satan is the third." [Tirmidhi]
Ibn ''Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard Allah''s
Messenger (may peace be upon him) delivering a sermon and making this
observation: "No person should be alone with a woman except when there
is a Mahram with her, and the woman should not undertake journey
except with a Mahram..." [Sahih Muslim, Book 7, Number 3110]
"Tirmidhi reports from al-Mughira that when he got engaged to a woman,
the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ''Look at her,
for it is likelier to last between you.''" [Reliance of the Traveller,
m2.2]
Please keep in mind that these are individual verses and hadiths.
There are many more texts that relate to gender interaction.
The best way to understand how to implement these texts is to look to
the example of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who was very respectful
and cautious in his interactions with the opposite sex. Consult
reliable scholars about the limits of gender interaction. There are a
lot of relevant articles available here at SunniPath. Additionally, I
recommend reading Reliance of the Traveller, a classical manual of
Sacred Law, particularly the chapter on marriage.
Here are some general guidelines to be aware of:
1.It is unlawful for you and the brother to be alone with each other.
You should always meet in the presence of your mahram, unmarriageable
male relative, such as your father, brother, grandfather, or uncle. If
you do not have a mahram, then he should meet you in the presence of
your mother. If none of these people are available, then you should
appoint a wali: an upright male member of the community.
2.Instant messaging is highly problematic and I would advise you to
leave it alone. Essentially, it is cyber khalwa, or seclusion. What
may start out as an innocent enough chat can turn into something else
if you are not extremely cautious. If you have a romantic interest in
one another, online chats should definitely be left alone. The
temptation for prospective couples to engage in romantic conversations
is heightened by the mere fact that there is no supervision.
3.It is crucial to get to know one another. However, this must be done
within certain limits. For example, it is fine for you to get to know
each other in the presence of family members. However, be cautious
about online chatting, as mentioned before. Also, be cautious about
unsupervised telephone conversations. In principle, there is nothing
wrong with talking on occasion, particularly if you have something
important to discuss. However, the limits of propriety must be
observed. If you talk on the phone, it should be with the permission
of your wali. Furthermore, you should avoid talking to him when you
are alone.
4.As far as meeting up in public places is concerned, once again be
cautious. It''s fine to give salaams and inquire about each other''s
health. What you do want to avoid is hanging out or anything that
gives the appearance of dating. On the other hand, if you are
accompanied by a mahram, then seeing the brother outside of the house
should not be an issue.
To sum up, just remember that getting to know the brother is
permissible. What is not permissible is being alone together,
flirting, or any type of physical contact.

Fathwa, - Is it ok to take food for a non-mahram?

Question:
Assalam alaikum wa rahmatullah. I got to know a brother and we became
good friends. When I realized that I didn't want to marry him, a
sister advised me that if we continued being friends then that would
be inappropriate. So I told him and we agreed that we shouldn't really
talk anymore. While we were still talking I used to take extra food
from my home for him because he goes to Medical school near my home
and he doesn't have any halal food options. I thought this was a good
alternative to throwing the extra food out and my brother usually went
with me. My question is : Is it ok to continue taking him food as long
as my brother comes along or should I stop since I'm not considering
him for marriage anymore? JazakAllah khair. May Allah reward you for
your good work Ameen.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Absolutely Most Gracious, the Absolutely
Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah.
May Allah bless and give peace to our Beloved Messenger.
Dear Sister,
I apologize for the delay in getting to your question.
I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits.
Generally speaking, it is a praiseworthy trait to share our food with others.
In particular, both the Qur'an and the Sunna emphasize our obligation
to share our food with those less fortunate in the form of charity and
expiation.
In the collection of Imam Bukhari, we find many reports of the
Prophet's generosity, Allah bless him and give him peace. For example:
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari:
The Prophet said, "Give food to the hungry, pay a visit to the sick
and release (set free) the one in captivity (by paying his ransom)."
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 65, Number 286]
On the other hand, you may want to consider the wisdom of continually
giving food to the brother. Firstly, he's a medical student, so I
assume he is capable of providing for himself. It might be better to
give the food to someone less fortunate. Secondly, if he is still
interested in marrying you, or was interested, then it may stir up
feelings if you keep taking him food.
If you truly feel that the brother is in need of this food, then it is
advisable that you send your brother with the food and avoid going
personally. The adab of interaction between unrelated males and
females dictates that interaction should only be to the extent of the
need.
I pray this answers your question. May Allah Most High reward you for
your generosity.
And Allah knows best.