What after Hajj?

Allaah The Almighty Legislated the acts of worship and obedience for
great wisdom and sublime objectives. No wonder, as they strengthen the
faith, purify the soul, correct the attitude and refine the morals. If
acts of worship did not achieve these objectives, then the Muslim
would not benefit from them properly. In such a case, acts of worship
might turn into lifeless rituals that one performs without any actual
influence on his reality and attitude.
This rule applies to Hajj. When the believer performs Hajj properly
realizing its objectives and feeling its meanings, it will be of great
influence upon him in this life and in the Hereafter.
Thus, dear pilgrim, Allaah The Almighty Honored you with the blessing
of visiting His House and Enabled you to perform His obligation.
Therefore, you have to stop and contemplate your conditions, review
the state of your heart and correct the course of your life.
The first thing you have to realize is the greatness of the blessing
that Allaah The Almighty Bestowed upon you when He Facilitated your
affairs and Enabled you to perform this great duty. Certainly, this
necessitates you to praise Allaah The Exalted for this blessing, of
which many people are deprived, despite their longing for it. Praising
Allaah The Almighty for this blessing entails preserving it, adherence
to obedience to Allaah The Almighty and compliance with His religion
and Sharee'ah.
The most important thing that you should maintain after your Hajj is
the issue of steadfastness and guarding this great deed )your
performance of Hajj( against things that could nullify it. You should
ask Allaah The Almighty ceaselessly to Help you adhere firmly to His
religion and Guide you to obey Him, and Make you avoid His
disobedience so that you}will be with the ones upon whom Allaah Has
Bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the
martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as
companions{]Quran 4:69[
Allaah The Almighty Gave people examples illustrating this issue to
warn His slaves of invalidating their deeds and losing them when they
need them urgently. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Would one
of you like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath
which rivers flow in which he has from every fruit? But he is
afflicted with old age and has weak offspring, and it is hit by a
whirlwind containing fire and is burned. Thus Does Allaah Make clear
to you ]His[ verses that you might give thought.{]Quran 2:266[
This example speaks about those who did good deeds and then regressed
replacing good deeds with evil ones. We seek refuge with Allaah The
Exalted from this. In his commentary on this verse, Ibn 'Abbaas, May
Allaah Be Pleased with him, said:"This is an example of a rich man who
does good acts out of obedience of Allaah and then Allaah Sends him
the devil whereupon he commits sins till all his good deeds are
lost."]Al-Bukhaari[
Dear pilgrim, remember that the accepted Hajj has signs. The most
prominent of these signs is the continuity of uprightness and
obedience to Allaah The Exalted. Furthermore, your relationship with
Allaah The Almighty should be better than before. Al-Hasan Al-Basri,
May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was told that the accepted Hajj is
rewarded by Paradise. He said, "The sign of this is to return )from
Hajj( renouncing this world and aspiring to the Hereafter."
I wish that you, dear pilgrim, would finish your Hajj while you
realize that its most important objective is to train the Muslim in
worshipping Allaah The Almighty alone, to comply with His
commandments, avoid His prohibitions and follow the Sunnah of His
Prophet. These objectives are not confined to a certain time; rather,
the Muslim should adhere to them as long as he is alive. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}And worship your Lord until there comes to
you the certainty )death(.{]Quran 15:99[
Your condition after doing good deeds should be like those about whom
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And they who give what they
give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to
their Lord -{]Quran 23:60[
Although they try to get closer to Allaah The Almighty through various
acts of worship, they fear that their deeds may be rejected. That is
why 'Ali, May Allaah Be Pleased with him, used to say, "Be more
concerned about the acceptance of your deeds than about the deeds
themselves. Have not you read the Quranic verse in which Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}Indeed, Allaah only Accepts from the
righteous ]who fear Him[.{]Quran 5:27[?"
Hence, Allaah The Almighty Commanded the pilgrims to seek His
forgiveness after departing from 'Arafah and Al-Muzdalifah saying
)what means(,}Then depart from the place from where ]all[ the people
depart and ask Forgiveness of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah Is Forgiving and
Merciful.{]Quran 2:199[
Finally, dear pilgrim, you stood at 'Arafah, you shed tears and you
showed remorse over your previous misdeeds. Allaah The Almighty
Emancipated you from Hell, so beware of regressing to sins after being
forgiven by Allaah or drawing near Hell after being saved from it.
Be determined to make your Hajj a turning point in your life, reckon
yourself and determine what influence your Hajj had upon your heart,
attitude, words and deeds.
Keep doing good deeds even if they are little, because regular small
deeds are better than interrupted greater ones. You should know that
deeds, which Allaah The Almighty Loves most, are the most regular and
constant ones even though they were little.
We ask Allaah The Almighty by His Names and most beautiful Attributes
to Accept your Hajj, Forgive your sins and Reward you for your
efforts. We also ask Him to Accept our good deeds and Provide us with
steadfastness and uprightness until death.

In Allah’s Hands alone

The true nature of might and power
In an ultimate way, the answer to these and other similar questions is
simple: Allah Almighty has willed it. This is so because nothing can
happen in this world except by the permission of its mighty Creator
and wise Lord, Allah, The Most High.
All of this happens because Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom,
created laws and means )including evil( which allow certain outcomes,
regardless of whether He loves it or not. This does not absolve people
from their intentions and deeds, but quite the opposite. It forms the
crucible and volitional test of human faith. This is known as Allah's
Creative Will or Al-Iraadah Al-Kawniyah.
Allah Almighty also has what is known as the Prescriptive Will,
Al-Iraadah Ash-Shar'iyah—or the Sharee`ah—which prescribes for us what
Allah Almighty requires us to avoid and loves for us to do. Here Allah
Almighty sets forth unambiguously what He detests as evil and what He
loves and aides; namely, good, the righteous, and the good deeds they
do.
Consequently, everything, good or bad, occurs under Allah's knowledge
and happens only by His permission and creation. Making wars,
conquests and the defeat of the weak by the physically strong, all
take place by His permission because that is His Creative Will but at
the intention and choice of man. Thus Allah Almighty Says in the Quran
)what means(:"In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He
wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. ]It is[ the
promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most of the
people do not know .They know what is apparent of the worldly life,
but they, of the Hereafter, are unaware."]Quran 30:5-7[
Reflecting upon history and reality shows us that Allah Almighty has
made us into various competing communities and nations, who vie with
one another for glory. Allah Almighty gives and takes from whom He
pleases, even according strength to those He despises. Yet, as the
preceding verses indicate, material displays of strength are
deceiving. Allah Almighty has created them as an illusion for the
disbelievers and those who have disregarded His signs. Strength in
this world is meaningless in the next, because it cannot be truly
substantial unless it occurs under God's favor.
So it might be a fair question to ask ourselves what do might and
power mean for the Muslim—a person who declares: La hawla wa la
quwwata illa billah, or "There is neither might nor power save with
Allah?"
In the course of our answer to this, we will see that the root of the
oppression that Allah Almighty mentions time and again in the Quran
originates from a crucial misunderstanding of power, the illusion we
mentioned previously. All the oppressors in the world perceive
themselves as strong and the makers of their own destiny as well as
the destiny of others. But the Quran makes clear that everything is as
God wills, and that "indeed, Allah is powerful over all things" ]Quran
2:20[.
So our question develops. What is the nature of power and does Allah
wish us to view it? Then what sort of concepts about power may we have
to correct in ourselves when we answer our question?
Power and Devine knowledge
Consider Ibrahim, Father of Prophets, Friend of God. He approached
King Nimrod, calling him to submit to Allah Almighty. But Nimrod
doubted and disputed him, simply because Allah Almighty had granted
him kingship )2:258(. In arrogance, Nimrod saw his kingdom and control
over other people as a sign that his power made him responsible to no
one. But Ibrahim, peace be upon him, insisted: "My Lord is He Who
gives life and gives death." And Nimrod said: "I give life and give
death."And it was true in a sense. Nimrod could decree the execution
of whomever he wished in his kingdom.
But Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw that Nimrod's argument was sheer
falsehood. "Then, indeed, it is Allah who brings the sun from the
East. So you bring from the West." Nimrod could not answer. Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, knew the flimsiness of Nimrod's arguments, how weak
a web of self-deception he had spun for himself. He recognized the
difference between the violent might and meaningless power of Nimrod,
and the wise and ultimate nature of true power from Allah. Prophet
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, knew true power comes only from complete
submission to God, not from physical outbursts and the compulsion of
others.
The same is evident from the Prophet Muhammadwho said:"A strong person
is not the one who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong
person is the one who contains himself when he is angry."]Al-Bukhari[
The believer does not wish to extend his human limitations onto other
people through needless violence, harsh words, and spiteful thoughts.
Allah Almighty Says )what means(:"And do not turn your cheek ]in
contempt[ toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly.
Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful."]Quran
31:18[
This Quranic verse shows attributes, not of the strong, but the
spiritually weak. Instead, the strong man of God is in selfless
devotion to his Creator. The Prophet Muhammaddid not take his revenge
on the people of Makkah when he conquered it. He did not raise his
voice at those who disrespected him. Instead, he went against most of
the expectations of what the Arabs considered to be actions of the
strong and powerful at that time. In this was a sign of his real
strength.
When we desire to oppose oppression, we must remember that we serve
only the One who has created all things, and not the created things
themselves. We have all heard the expression: "Do not fall in love
with the things of this world." But it is equally true to say: "Do not
fall into hatred of the things of this world."
To succumb to either condition is to abandon our submission to Allah
for surrender to the world and its illusions, which become controlling
over us. It is to lose sight of ultimate purposes and ends, and out of
love or hate, to focus on the temporary and miss the eternal. We lose
ourselves to our own emotions instead of locating ourselves in the
refuge of the All-Merciful.
It is always better to seek to live by Allah's commands than to follow
our false desires. An example of this is the celebrated anecdote of
Ali ibn abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, on the battlefield.
His enemy fell beneath him, open to the deathblow. At that moment, he
spat in Ali's face. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, held his
stroke and turned away, to the astonishment of his opponent, who asked
him why. His action would have emerged not from obedience to Allah,
but from personal anger, making it insincere.
Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, recognized that to strike at that
moment would be to transfer his submission from the Divine to the
dunya )world(, controlled by the actions of his enemy or his physical
emotions. If this story is true, it goes a long way to show the solid
character of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who wanted his heart
to be moved only by Allah Almighty and for His sake alone, not the
deception of this world.
He sacrificed a display of physical strength )at that moment(, so he
might observe the limits Allah had established )not to kill for one's
own whims or motives(. He knew that all power in this world comes from
Allah alone, and this power loses its meaning if it is not used in His
way. Through this type of action, Allah made him and many other
Companions of Prophet Muhammadof the strongest and wisest of His
servants.

Dought & clear, - sacrifice, - His sacrificial animal fell and he slaughtered it before it died; does it still count as a sacrifice?.

The sacrificial animal fell from the roof of our house and we
slaughtered it before it died; is that permissible?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It appears from your question that you slaughtered the sacrificial
animal before the Eid prayer. If that is the case, then it is not a
sacrifice (udhiyah), because the condition of the sacrifice is that it
should be slaughtered on the days of sacrifice, which are the day of
Eid and the three following days.
It was narrated that Jundub ibn Sufyaan (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: I was present on Eid al-Adha with the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When he had
finished leading the people in prayer, he looked at a sheep that had
been slaughtered and said, 'Whoever slaughtered (his sacrifice) before
the prayer, let him slaughter a sheep in place of it, and whoever has
not yet slaughtered (his sacrifice), let him do so in the name of
Allaah." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 942; Muslim, 1960.
Based on this, if this sacrifice was in fulfilment of a vow, then you
have to offer another sacrifice in its stead.
But if you slaughtered it at the time of sacrifice, and you bought it
with the intention of sacrificing it, then it is valid and is a
sacrifice (udhiyah), even if it was damaged as the result of its fall
from the roof. See also question no. ( 39191).
Secondly:
With regard to the validity of your slaughtering it, it is valid if
you managed to do it before it died.
Allaah has forbidden that which has been killed by strangling, and
that which has been killed by a violent blow - which is an animal that
dies from a blow with a piece of wood or metal - and that which has
been killed by a headlong fall - like your sacrifice - and that which
has been partially eaten by wild animals. This applies if the animal
dies, but if people catch up with it before it dies and slaughter it
in the manner prescribed in sharee'ah, then it becomes halaal.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al-Maitah (the dead animals -- cattle
-- beast not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which
Allaah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which
has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allaah, or has
been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been killed by
strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the
goring of horns -- and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild
animal -- unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death)"
[al-Maa'idah 5:3]
Ibn Katheer said:
The phrase "unless you are able to slaughter it" refers to that which
you are able to reach and slaughter in the proper manner when there is
still evidently life in it. That refers to the phrase, "that which has
been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong
fall, or by the goring of horns -- and that which has been (partly)
eaten by a wild animal".
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/11, 12
It was narrated from Ka'b ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that they had sheep that used to graze at Sal' (a mountain in
Madeenah): a girl of ours saw a sheep that was dying, so she broke a
stone and slaughtered it with it. He said to them: "Do not eat it
until I ask the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)."
He asked the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about
that and he told him to eat it. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2181.
And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - sacrifice, - If the sacrificial animal becomes damaged after selecting it.

I bought a sacrificial animal, and at the time of slaughtering it
jumped from on top of the roof. We caught up with it and slaughtered
it before it died. Is that counted as a sacrifice?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If a person has selected a sacrificial animal, then some damage
befalls it that is not caused by any wrongdoing or negligence, then he
slaughters it at the time of slaughtering, then it is valid and is
counted as a sacrifice.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said inal-Mughni(13/373):
If the sacrificial animal is sound and free of faults, then something
happens to it that renders it unsuitable, it should be slaughtered and
it still counts as a sacrifice. This was narrated from 'Ata',
al-Hasan, al-Nakha'i, al-Zuhri, al-Thawri, Maalik, al-Shaafa'i and
Ishaaq. End quote.
The evidence for that is the report narrated by al-Bayhaqi from Ibn
al-Zubayr (may Allaah be pleased with him), according to which a
one-eyed she-camel was brought to him as a sacrificial animal, and he
said: If this happened to it after you bought it, then go ahead (and
sacrifice it), but if it happened to it before you bought it, then
offer another one instead of it." Al-Nawawi said inal-Majmoo'(8/328):
its isnaad is saheeh.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said in his essayAhkaam al-Udhiyah(Rulings on
the Sacrifice) concerning the rulings on selection of the sacrificial
animal:
If the animal has a fault that renders it unsuitable for sacrifice,
one of two scenarios must apply:
1 – That was caused by the owner's wrongdoing or negligence, in which
case it must be replaced with another animal that is the same or more
perfect, because if the damage was caused by him, he must replace it
with another one to be slaughtered instead, and the damaged animal
still belongs to him, according to the sound scholarly opinion; he may
do whatever he wants with it, sell it or whatever.
2 – The fault was caused without any wrongdoing or negligence on the
owner's part. In that case he should sacrifice it and it counts as a
sacrifice, because it is a trust that is in his keeping but it got
damaged through no action or negligence on his part, so there is no
sin on him and he does not have to replace it. End quote.
Secondly:
How is a sacrificial animal selected?
The selection of the sacrificial animal may be verbal, such as saying,
"This is a sacrificial animal."
If they buy it with the intention of offering it as a sacrifice, Abu
Haneefah and Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on them) are of the view
that the selection has been made thereby. Al-Shaafa'i and Ahmad are of
the view that the selection is not made thereby.
The scholars of the Standing Committee are of the view that the
selection is made when one buys the animal with the intention of
offering it as a sacrifice.
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 11/402:
The sacrificial animal is selected when one buys it with the intention
of offering it as a sacrifice or when one selects it. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said
inMajmoo' al-Fataawa(26/304):
If a person buys a sacrificial animal and it gets damaged before
slaughter, it may be slaughtered according to one of the two scholarly
opinions. End quote.
Based on the above, if you bought this sheep with the intention of
offering a sacrifice, then it gets damaged without any wrongdoing or
negligence on your part, then it is counted as a sacrifice, in sha
Allaah.
And Allaah knows best.