Dought & clear, - The days of Tashreeq

What are the days of Tashreeq? What is special about them and
distinguishes them from other days?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The days of Tashreeq are the 11th, 12thand 13thof Dhu'l-Hijjah. There
are several verses and ahaadeeth which speak of their virtue:
1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And remember Allaah during the appointed Days"
[al-Baqarah 2:203]
These are the days of Tashreeq. This was the view of Ibn 'Umar and
most of the scholars.
2 – The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said
concerning the days of Tashreeq: "They are days of eating, drinking
and remembering Allaah." Dhikr (remembering Allaah) is enjoined during
the days of tashreeq in several ways:
-Remembering Allaah immediately after the prescribed prayers by
reciting Takbeer. This is prescribed until the end of the days of
Tashreeq according to the majority of scholars.
-Remembering Him by sayingBismillaahandAllaahu akbarwhen slaughtering
the sacrificial animal. The time for slaughtering the hadiy and
udhiyah lasts until the end of days of Tashreeq.
-Remembering Allaah when eating and drinking. It is prescribed when
eating and drinking to sayBismillaahat the beginning, and to praise
Him (sayAl-hamdu Lillaah) at the end. According to the hadeeth
narrated from the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
"Allaah likes His slave when he eats something to praise Him for it,
and when he drinks something to praise Him for it." Narrated by
Muslim, 2734.
-Remembering Him by saying Takbeer when stoning the Jamaraat on the
days of Tashreeq. This applies only to the pilgrims on Hajj.
-Remembering Allaah in general. It is mustahabb to make a lot of dhikr
during the days of Tashreeq. 'Umar used to recite Takbeer in Mina in
his tent, and when the people heard him they recited Takbeer too and
Mina echoed with the sound of their Takbeer. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"So when you have accomplished your Manaasik [rituals of Hajj],
remember Allaah as you remember your forefathers or with a far more
remembrance. But of mankind there are some who say: "Our Lord! Give us
(Your Bounties) in this world!" and for such there will be no portion
in the Hereafter.
201. And of them there are some who say: "Our Lord! Give us in this
world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and
save us from the torment of the Fire!""
[al-Baqarah 2:200-201]
Many of the salaf regarded it as mustahabb to make a lot of du'aa'
during the days of tashreeq.
The words of the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
"These are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allaah" indicate
that eating and drinking during the days of Eid are means that help
one to remember Allaah and obey Him; perfect gratitude for the
blessing means using it to help one obey and worship Allaah,
In His Book Allaah commands us to eat of good things and thank Him for
them. So whoever uses Allaah's blessings to commit sin is showing
ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah, so he deserves to have it
taken away from him.
3 – The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade
fasting on these days: "Do not fast on these days, for they are the
days of eating, drinking and remembering Allaah." Narrated by Ahmad,
10286; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inal-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
3573.
See Lataa'if al-Ma'aarifby Ibn Rajab, p. 500.
O Allaah, help us to do righteous deeds and make us steadfast until
death; have mercy on us, O Most Generous Giver. Praise be to Allaah,
the Lord of the World.

Dought & clear, - Calling scholars, teachers and elders “father”

Is calling scholars "father" a kind of imitation of the Christian
Arabs who call their priests "father" or of the foreigners who call
their religious leader the pope (a title derived from the Greek word
for father; cf. papa)?
Praise be to Allah.
There is nothing wrong with addressing a scholar or elderly man as
father, in the sense that his status is like that of a father in terms
of respect, not in the sense of blood ties.
Abu Dawood (8), an-Nasaa'i (40) and Ibn Maajah (313) narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "I am to you like a
father; I teach you."
(Classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood).
In the Qur'an, the word father is used to refer to someone other than
a biological father, as in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"They said, 'We shall worship your Ilaah (God — Allah) the Ilaah (God)
of your fathers, Ibraaheem (Abraham), Ismaa'eel (Ishmael), Ishaaq
(Isaac), One Ilaah (God), and to Him we submit (in Islam)"
[al-Baqarah 2:133].
Ismaa 'eel was one of his (Ya'qoob's) paternal uncles, not one of his
(fore)fathers.
InFataawa Ibn as-Salaah(1/186) it says: Is it permissible according to
the Holy Book and the saheeh hadeeths to call someone "father" other
than the biological father?
He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: Allah, may He be blessed and
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "They said, 'We shall
worship your Ilaah (God — Allaah) the Ilaah (God) of your fathers,
Ibraaheem (Abraham), Ismaa'eel (Ishmael)..." [al-Baqarah 2:133], and
Ismaa'eel was one of his paternal uncles, not one of his
(fore)fathers.
And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):"And he raised his
parents [abawayhi] to the throne"[Yoosuf 11:100], but his mother had
died previously. (The scholars) said that what is meant is his
maternal aunt. This is an example of the word abawayn (parents, lit.
two fathers) being used to refer to someone other than a biological
parent, which is a valid usage in Arabic.
Use of the word in this manner to refer to the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) or a scholar or an old man is acceptable
in terms of linguistic usage and meaning. From the shar'i point of
view, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):"Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not the father of any
of your men" [al-Ahzaab 33:40]. In the saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him said): "I am to you like a
father; I teach you."
Hence some of our scholars are of the view that the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) should not be called the father of the
believers, even though his wives are the mothers of the believers, and
the reason given for that is what we have mentioned. Based on this, it
may be said that he is like a father, but it cannot be said that he is
our father. However, other scholars regarded the latter as permissible
too, and the one who stated this view wrote a lengthy argument to
support it. But to be on the safe side and as a precaution it is
better to avoid that. End quote.
Ash-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that it is
permissible to call him the father of the believers, i.e., in terms of
respect. Seeal-Durar al-Bahiyyah Sharh al-Bahjah al-Wardiyyah, 4/91
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The correct view is
that it is permissible to say that he is the father of the believers,
i.e., in terms of respect. The verse (interpretation of the
meaning):"Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم( is not the father of any of
your men" ]al-Ahzaab 33:40[refers to biological fatherhood. End quote.
So there is nothing wrong with calling him (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) "father", and it does not matter that the
Christians use this word too, because resembling them is only
forbidden with regard to matters that are unique to them, but this
word is something common to all people, Arabs and others, and was also
known before the time of the Christians, as Allah says concerning
Ibraaheem (peace be upon him):"it is the religion of your father
Ibraheem (Abraham) (Islamic Monotheism). It is He (Allah) Who has
named you Muslims both before and in this (the Qur'an)" [al-Hajj 22:78
– interpretation of the meaning].
Allah, may He be exalted, called him the father of the believers.
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in hisTafseer(12/91):
Ibraaheem is the father of all the Arabs. It was also suggested that
this is addressed to all the Muslims, even though not all of them are
his descendants, because respect for Ibrahim is required from the
Muslims as respect for the father is required from the son. End quote.
People still use this word in their speech; they may call a scholar,
teacher or elder "father", and one of these people may say to one who
is younger than him, "O my son," and so on.
Muslim narrated in hisSaheeh(2151) that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said to me, "O my son."
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) included this hadeeth in a
chapter called: Permissibility of saying to someone other than one's
son, "O my son"; doing so is mustahabb.
What is meant by son in this case is like what is meant by father, and
it is no different. It does not mean biological son; rather what is
meant is to show compassion and mercy, which is an acceptable usage,
even if this word is used by (Christian) priests when speaking to
their followers, because it is not something that is unique to them,
as mentioned above.
Shaykh 'Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
Nowadays it is common to use the word father to refer to Muslim
religious scholars who are senior in age, knowledge and status; is it
permissible to use this word, noting that the Christians use the word
father to refer to their scholars who are senior in knowledge and
status?
(He replied:) There is no report to indicate that the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), the Companions, the
Taabi'een or early generations used the word father to refer to the
scholars.
If anyone were to be given the title of father, no one would be more
deserving of that than the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), of whom our Lord said (interpretation of the
meaning):"Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not the father of any of
your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last (end) of the
Prophets" [al-Ahzaab 33:40].
He replied:
Praise be to Allah. We do not know of anyone among the scholars who
was given the title of father; rather in some societies it is
customary to describe an old man as father, whether he is a scholar or
otherwise, so this word is used when addressing him, such as saying "O
my father" or "O father", and when referring to him. There is nothing
to suggest that this is an imitation of Christian usage, because the
Christians use that word as a title for leaders of their religion. As
for your saying that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), depite his high status and virtue, and despite of the great
rights that he has over his ummah is not a father, based on the verse
in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):"Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not the father of any of
your men" [al-Ahzaab 33:40], what is meant by fatherhood here is
biological fatherhood. However fatherhood in the sense of status and
respect is established in the case of the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him), as it says in some modes of recitation
(interpretation of the meaning):"The Prophet is closer to the
believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers')
mothers (as regards respect and marriage) and he is a father to them"
[al-Ahzaab 33:6]. What is meant by fatherhood and motherhood here is
in terms of status, respect and honour. The Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "I am to you like a father," however
he is of even higher status than that, so his rights over his ummah
are greater than the rights of parents and all other people, as he
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:"No one of you truly
believes until I am dearer to him than his son, his father and all of
mankind."Narrated by al-Bukhaari (14) and Muslim (44). And Allah knows
best.
To sum up, there is nothing wrong with addressing a scholar or old man
as father, and this is not regarded as imitating the Christians.
And Allah knows best.

Positive Pride in Islam: Do you want Honor, Power and Glory in this World and in the Hereafter?

Verily, then to Allah belongs all honour, power and glory. Noble Qur'an (4:139)
Therefore, whoever desires (Al-Izzah) honor, power and glory in this
world and the next, let him be obedient towards Allah (SWT).
Imam Ali (as) says, that he is proud that Allah (SWT) is his lord and
that he is Allah's servant.
As Muslims we are proud of our identity, heritage and tradition.
Because we Muslims take pride in keeping our homes, gardens clean, our
places of worship appealing both to the young and old. We Muslims take
pride in respecting parents, elders, assisting neighbors, helping poor
by giving charity. We Muslim Women take pride in observing Hijab
(Islamic dress).
"Pride, the result of not remembering our status in relationship to
our Creator, can take various forms. In each of these it is an attempt
to be god."
The main push behind pride and prejudice is nothing other than the
human being thinking himself to be "god" and that he feels he is
better than others; however, if we keep the relationship between
ourselves and our Creator in mind, and that He is the only one
"entitled" to 'pride', then we bring ourselves back "down to earth"
and appreciate that we are all from the same source, and that even
though we have differences mostly based on incidental issues, the only
source of being "better" than one another (which too cannot be fully
judged) is our awareness, consciousness, and acceptance of God and all
that He gives to us.
Imam Ali (as) says: I wonder at the arrogance of a haughty and vain
person. Yesterday he was only a drop of semen and tomorrow he will
turn into a corpse. Also, it is astonishing if son of Adam is proud,
when his beginning is a sperm and his end is a decaying corpse (dead
body).
The arrogant and proud should recognize and realize his reality: his
origin is a dirty sperm and his end is stinky carrion. Between these
two, man is weak and feeble. Hunger and thirst exhaust him, ailment
and sickness overcome him, poverty and harm afflict him, and death and
wear will inevitably befall him. Man cannot provide benefits and
cannot save himself from misfortunes.
Overconfidence is a bad thing:
Confidence is a great thing. It allows us to get past our doubts and
take action. So why is slightly too much of it so bad? Take a look at
the example of Azazeel.
His name was Azazeel. He is also known as Iblees. He used to pray a
lot and even used to give lectures to the angels. One day there was a
notice in the heavens which said that someone was going to be ordered
out of the heavens. All the angels were worried because they thought
it might be one of them. They all went to Jibreel (Gabriel) who was
one of the most important angels to ask him, whether he could do
anything. Jibreel (Gabriel) said he too was worried because it might
be himself. Jibreel (Gabriel) suggested that they go to Azazeel
because he was very clever.
Azazeel told them not to worry at all, he would pray to Allah (SWT)
for all of them. He forgot himself thinking he was the best and it
could never be him. As a result of overconfidence, he became the
cursed Satan and he was ordered out of heaven.
Imam Moosa Kazim (as)says: "O Son! Don't delay in offering your
prayers. Nor should you be overconfident of the acceptance of your
prayers and feel proud of your efforts at piety. We cannot offer
prayers and obedience to Allah commensurate with His Blessings."
Summary, as human beings and believers, we need to ensure that we do
not repeat the sin which resulted in the fall of Satan - we need to
treat all of the children of Adam as human beings and not be
judgmental of things such as skin color, tribal affiliations,
language, place of birth, economic worth, social status, or even
religion, as these are all merely ways for us to "know the another"
rather than being means of shunning one another. After all, did Imam
Ali (as) not say that, "People are of two types - they are either your
brothers in faith or your equals in humanity."

Takabbur in Islam: Pride in Islam, Arrogance - Kibr is a barrier to Paradise

A proud and arrogant person regards himself better and superior to
others and by assuming vain and wishful thoughts in his mind, adopts
the conduct of Shaitan (Satan) who said: "I have been created of fire
while Adam has been created of earth and fire possesses superiority
over earth." The first sin to have been committed in the world of
creation was arrogance on the part of Shaitan (Satan).
This pride and prejudice on the part of Satan is what caused his
downfall - and has the potential to affect each and every one of us.
Satan felt that his physical makeup of 'smoke-less fire' was of a
loftier composition, and that being made of fire, he had the potential
and was naturally inclined to 'ascend' (just as fire does), whereas
the makeup of Adam was of 'earth', a heavier compound, and that his
natural inclination was to the base, lower desires, and to clinging to
the 'earth'.
Thus, as for it being a vice, there can be no doubt or skepticism.
Proud and arrogant individuals look down upon others and anticipate
others to greet them and exhibit respect and deference towards them,
always nurturing aspects of their superiority and greatness within
their minds. This "puffed up" feeling which imparts a sense of "touch
me not" is called pride (Kibr/Takabbur).
The condition of conceit and of one who considers himself to be
greater than others, so long as it stays inwardly and has no outward
manifestation, it is pride. If it gets out through the senses, it is
called arrogance.
Arrogance is one of the consequences of vanity and self-conceit. When
an individual thinks too highly of himself, it is self-conceit; and
when he tends, moreover, to consider others as inferior to himself,
that is arrogance. In contrast to these states, when one thinks of
himself as small and insignificant, that is called modesty; and when,
in addition to this, he considers others as superior to himself, that
is called humility. In any case, arrogance is one of the most fatal of
moral vices. This is so because arrogance is a thick veil which hides
one's shortcomings from his own view, and thus prevents him from
removing them and attaining perfection.
Arrogance is a mental state causing self-admiration and haughtiness
against others in words or deeds. It is censured and dispraised in
many texts in Noble Qur'anand Sunnah:
Truly Allah knows what they hide and what they manifest; surely He
does not love the proud. Noble Qur'an (16:23)
Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw) says: "He who has in his heart
as much faith as a grain of mustard seed will not enter hell, and he
who has in his heart as much pride as a grain of mustard seed will not
enter paradise." Hence, Pride (Kibr/Takabbur) is a barrier to
Paradise.
A proud man will not tolerate any other to be on equal terms with
himself. In private and in public he expects that all should assume a
respectful attitude towards him and, acknowledging his superiority,
treat him as a higher being. They should greet him first; make way for
him wherever he walks; when he speaks everyone should listen to him
and never try to oppose him. He is a genius and people are like asses.
They should be grateful to him, seeing that he is so condescending.
Virtues are the doors of Paradise, but pride and self-esteem lock them
all. So long as man feels elated he will not like for others what he
likes for himself. His self-esteem will deprive him of humility, which
is the essence of righteousness. He will neither be able to discard
enmity and envy, resentment and wrath, slander and scorn, nor will he
be able to cultivate truth and sincerity, and calmly listen to any
advice. In short, there is no evil which a proud man will not
inevitably do in order to preserve his elation and self-esteem.
Being proud about ones own piety is a major sin. This pride can make
all the prayers and supplications void. If a person understands the
Greatness of Allah (SWT), then he will not be proud and vain at his
exertions at prayer. The endowments of the munificent Allah (SWT) are
so great that it is impossible to count His Blessings.
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as)who cites Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad
(saw) in a tradition in which Hazrat Musa (Moses) son of Imranasks
Satan. "Tell me about the sin which, when a son of Adam commits, you
overtake him." Satan replied, "It is when he is proud of himself,
thinks too much of his good deeds and his sin looks small in his
eyes." It is known that when Satan overtakes someone, the result will
be more sinning.
Imam Ali Reza (as)says that a pious person from Bani Israel offered
intense prayers for forty years. Then he offered a sacrifice to Allah
(SWT) that was not accepted. The person was disconsolate with sadness
for his failure. He cursed his psyche blaming it for his failure. He
received a Revelation that blaming his psyche and accepting the
shortcomings pleased Allah (SWT) more than the prayers spread over the
long period of forty years. For this reason Allah (SWT) accepted his
long years of penance.
Imam Mohammed Baqir (as)says that two persons entered the mosque. One
was pious and the other a transgressor. When they emerged from the
mosque after the prayer, the transgressor was pious and the person
with piety had turned a transgressor. The reason was that the pious
person came out of the mosque with pride at his piety and the
transgressor was penitent at his past misdeeds.
Imam Ali (as)says: "The sin that makes you sad and repentant is more
liked by Allah (SWT) than the good deed which turns you arrogant."