General Articles, - Convey my Salam to the Noble Prophet

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Question:What is the ruling of Shari'ah (Islamic Law) on saying, "Convey my Salams to the Prophet (SallAllahu Alaihi wa Sallam)"? Is it an Innovation (Bid'ah) ? Please guide us shedding some light in this context.
Answer:A person is allowed to ask someone traveling to the noble grave of the Beloved Prophet of Allah to give his greetings if he is unable to physically go himself. There is sufficient evidence that the Tabi’un would do this and therefore censoring it is erroneous as the reader shall notice from the below quotes of the great Imams of Hadith.
Shaykh Abdullah Siraajudin al-Halabi Rahmatullahi Ta'ala Alaih writes in his Salah al-Nabiy [Page 154-155]:
[Imam Shams al-Din] Sakhawi [1427 or 8-1497], May Allah have mercy on him, said [In al-Qawl al-Badee fi al-Salah ala al-Habeeb al-Shafee]: on the authority of Yazeed ibn Abi Sa’eed al-Madani who said: I gave my farewell greetings to Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez [d. 720] whilst leaving for the blessed trip to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah] who said: I need you to do something for me. He replied: “Oh Amir al-Muminin, what kind of a need do you ask me to fulfill?” Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez replied: “When you reach Madinah (al-Munawwarah) and you visit the Prophet’s grave, may Allah give him peace and blessings, give him greetings from me”.
Ibn Abi Dunya [823-894] narrated this and Bayhaqi [994-1066] cited it in his Shu’ab al-Iman through the former’s pathway.
Al-Hafiz al-Sakahwi also said: Bayhaqi [994-1066] narrated in Shu’ab al-Iman on the authority of Hatim ibn Wardan who related that Umar Ibn Abd al-Azeez, may Allah be pleased with him, used to send al-Bareed from Shaam to go to Madinah (al-Munawwarah) especially to give greetings to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah give him peace and blessings, on his behalf.
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Taqi al-Din as-Subki [1284-1355] states in his Shifa al-Siqam Fi Ziyarati Khayr al-Anaam:
Here I shall summarize some points given above in the passage by Imam Subki [1284-1355] in his unrivalled Shifa al-Siqam:
1. The report that Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez [d. 720] used to send al-Bareed from Shaam is well-circulated and a popular report .
2. Imam Subki saw this report in Mutheer al-Azm al-Sakin by Ibn al-Jawzi [1116 (ca.)-1201] in his handwriting.
3. Ibn Abi Asim [822-900] narrated it in his Manasik and declared it was an established report.
4. The only purpose of Umar II for sending someone from Shaam [this was in the era of the Tabi’un] was to give greetings to the Noble Prophet at his grave and then return.
5. Asking someone to give greetings to the Noble Prophet has been reported from others scholars too.
6. Abu al-Layth Samarqandi [d. 983] mentioned in his Fatawa, chapter on Hajj, that Abul Qasim said: When I was leaving for Madinah (al-Munawwarah), Qasim ibn Gassan told me that I should give the Prophet greetings from him. He said: I remembered this as soon as I entered the Masjid. Samarqandi thereafter remarked: in this is evidence that whoever is not able to physically make the journey, if he asks someone to convey his greetings, there is hope insha-Allah that he will get the reward of the greetings .
Lastly, there is no doubt that there are angels that carry the greetings to the Noble Prophet from wherever someone sends greetings but that does not restrict one from physically sending his greetings too. Various hadiths describe a single greeting reaches the Noble Prophet several times, Imam Ahmad Rida Khan [1856-1921] showed in his works that it reaches him 10 times [Ref: Inba al-Hay & Saltanat al-Mustafa]!
So what harm is there in sending the greeting through someone physically? The various ways a greeting reaches the Noble Prophet are in order to venerate the great station of the Beloved of Allah . After all, Allah Most High could have had a single means of having the greeting reach the Blessed Prophet but He chose not to. A faithful believer should not feel troubled with this view. Does that person not feel the pleasure of his name and greeting being presented before the Prophet through the angels as well as through someone who endured the pains of travel to reach the Noble Habeeb ? A faithful believer should feel the joy of this in his heart and not any bitterness.
We ask Allah Most High for the sweetness of greetings in our hearts and on our tongues and that He allows us to visit the Blessed Habeeb in order that we may humble ourselves before him and utter our greetings at his gracious door, Aameen!! I pray this suffices the seeker of guidance.

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General Articles, - Infallibility of the Prophets Alaihimus Salam

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It was very agonizing to have an email from a brother in which he asked us to assist him refuting some so-called Muslim ignorants who accused Prophets Alaihimus Salam being Sinful and Polytheists (Ma’azALLAH). As a matter of fact, the insults of the Prophets made by the deviant sects and insolent individuals have encouraged some people to openly slander and ridicule the Prophets. In addition to this, there has arisen a sect which says that the Prophets are sinners and even polytheists and Infidels (May Allah forbid!), believing that the Prophets were polytheists and Infidels and major sinners and only became Prophets after repenting (Tauba).
It is incumbent upon each and every Muslim to affirm faith (have Imân) in all the Prophets, in such a manner that one does not differ between the Prophets in their core Prophethood. Furthermore, one should respect all the Prophets and believe that they are free from any sin, (major or minor) or imperfections; before their declaration of Prophethood or after, is also an essential element in belief. This is the sound position and this is the opinion of the majority of scholars.
The Major and Minor Sins:
It must be known that leaving obligatory (farḍ) or necessary (wājib) acts even once without excuse is considered an enormity (kabīra). Likewise, committing the unlawful (Harām) is also considered an enormity. Leaving the sunna act once without excuse due to laziness or taking the matter lightly is considered a minor sin (ṣaghīra), as is committing a disliked action (makrūh). However, habitually leaving the sunnah or committing disliked actions also becomes an enormity, though they are considered enormities beneath other enormities. This is because major and minor are relative terms, and thus it is said,“The good deeds of the pious are the sins of the intimate (muqarrabīn).”
Sunnah here is taken in the juridical sense where it refers to an action regularly performed by the Messenger of Allāh SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam and left at times in order for it not be taken as an obligation. This is then sub-categorized into the emphasized sunnahs and the non-emphasized sunnahs, the latter being more like the mustaHabb (preferred ) acts, i.e., those performed by the Messenger SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam sometimes or encouraged in general.
Infallibility of the Prophets:
The Prophets (upon them be Blessings and Peace) are all free from major and minor sins, enormities, unbelief, and wicked acts before and after receiving Prophethood (Nubuwwah). However, some slips and mistakes have escaped them.
An example of a slip (zalla) is when Ādam Alaihis Salam ate from the tree, and an example of a mistake (khaṭa’) is when Mūsā Alaihis Salam killed a member of Pharaoh’s people. He did not intend to kill him, but only to strike him with his hand in order to push him away from the Israelite. Thus, the strike was intentional, but the killing a mistake. The killing was also a slip, because every mistake is a slip, but not every slip is a mistake. Therefore, between the two is the universal-particular relationship. A slip sometimes occurs by mistake, sometimes out of forgetfulness, sometimes out of inattentiveness, and sometimes out of leaving the more worthy or preferred action.
Imām 'Umar al-Nasafī states in his Tafsīr,“The Imāms of Samarqand do not use the word zalla for acts committed by the Prophets (upon them be blessings and peace) because a zalla is a type of sin. Instead, they say, “They performed the good act (fāḍil) and left the preferred one (afḍal), and they were lightly reproved for it, because for prophets to leave the more preferred act is equivalent to others leaving an obligation (wājib).”
Another view is that the slip of a Prophet or a Friend of Allāh Most High is a means of closeness to Him. Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī (may Allāh have mercy on him) states:
“Dāwūd Alaihis Salam did not perform an act more beneficial for him than a misdeed. He continued to flee from it toward his Lord until he reached Him. Hence, the misdeed was the cause of his fleeing toward Allāh, away from himself and the world.”
Hadrat Shaykh al-MuHaqqiq Shaykh Abd al Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawi (may Allāh have mercy on him) states in his Ashi’ah al-Lam’at:
“What has been stated in the Holy Qur’an as regards to the ‘error’ of Prophet Adam and Allah’s reprimand shows the high status of Prophet Adam and his closeness to the Almighty Allah.”[Ashi’ah al-Lam’at Vol 1 Page 40]
Furthermore, it is Allah’s will, whoever He reprimands or punishes, even though the error committed by His slave, may not have reached the level in which we may say that it was a ‘sin’. No one has the authority to utter anything. There is a criteria and a standard for respect which is necessary to behold, and this standard of respect is that when Allah has reprimanded some of His Prophets, who are the closest to Him, or when one some occasions the Prophets or the Messengers expressed humility, by which someone may assume a defect in these prophets, then it is not permissible for us that we ponder into this and say the words of reprimand or humility to these noble prophets.
There are a number of explanations for why Syeduna Aadam Alaihis Salam ate from the forbidden tree. One is that he ate from it out of forgetfulness. Another is that he did not eat from the specific tree that Allāh forbade, but from another tree of the same type, assuming that the prohibition of Allāh was only regarding the specific tree, as Allāh said, “but approach not this tree.” He thus chose the less superior or suboptimal (rukhṣa) path, in accord with the wisdom of Allāh in order illustrate the weakness of the human ability and condition and to express the strength of divine forgiveness. This is why a Hadīth states, “If you did not sin, Allāh would bring forth a people who would sin and seek forgiveness and Allāh would forgive them” (Muslim, Tirmidhī).
Also Ādam’s Alaihis Salam offense was in Paradise, which was not considered an abode of accountability (dār al-taklīf ), in spite of the fact that Allāh forbade him from eating from the tree. In other words, he had no knowledge of the consequences for disobedience. Thus his disobedience was not open defiance as in the case of Satan.
Foot Mark of Hadrat Syeduna Aadam Alaihis Salam on
Mount Adam or Adam's Peak in Srilanka... First Foot Mark on Earth!!
Prophets are even protected from Minor Sins:
Imam Qadi `Iyad in al-Shifa' said thatthe Jumhur (Consensus) of the Jurists from the schools of Malik, al-Shafi`i, and Abu Hanifa, agree that the Prophets are protected from all minor sins because one is required to follow them in the minutest matters. It is even reported from Malik that this is obligatory to believe.
Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini's (d. 418) position was thatno sin great or small issues from Prophets whether deliberately or by mistake and this is also our position.[Taj al-Din al-Subki Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Wusta as cited in the Kubra (4:260)]
Imam al-Zarqani said in his monumental commentary on al-Qastallani’s al-Mawahib al-Laduniyya (5:361) [Al-Qastallani’s original text is in parentheses):
(And among his Mu'jizaat is that he is immune from sins) before Prophethood and after it (both great and small, both by deliberate commission and by mistake) according to the soundest view, outwardly and inwardly, in secret and in public, in earnest and in jest, in contentment and in anger. And how not, when the Companions were unanimous in following him and faithfully imitating him in all his acts? (As were the Prophets)
Imam Taj al-Din al-Subki said:
"The Ummah concurs on the true immunity ('isma) of Prophets, in what pertains to conveyance and other, from grave and small, contemptible sins as well as persistence in small sins but there is disagreement over small sins that do not detract from their rank. The Mu'tazila and many others allow them. The preferred view is that they are precluded because we have been ordered to follow them in what issues from them; how then could something inappropriate occur on their part? As for those that deemed it possible, they did not do so on the basis of any textual stipulation or proof."
That is, they only clang to externalities which, if they followed their logical conclusions, would lead them to violate consensus and take positions no Muslim takes, as expounded by `Iyad [in al-Shifa'].
A very Interesting Fact:
It is stated in Radd al MuHtar,“The Prophets are protected from yawning, as yawning is from the Satan. The best way to stop this is that when one starts to feel yawning then he/she should immediately think (in their hearts) that the Prophets never yawned and were protected from it. By going this, the yawning shall immediately terminate.”[Radd al-Mohtar – Vol. 1 Pg. 336]
Any person having a slight Common Sense would be able to conclude that when the Exalted Prophets Alaihimus Salam are protected from Yawing as it is from Satan then how come the Prophets be accused of committing the sins or being the culprits?
CONCLUSION
Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala is the Lord and Creator of the Prophets and they are His beloved. He can mention their mistakes in whatever way He wishes and they can demonstrate their humility to Him in whatever way they wish. We have no right to speak about their mistakes or disrespect and slander them unless we want our record books blackened with sins. Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala has ordered us to respect and revere His Prophets. If a Prophet became a sinner, both opposing him and obeying him would become necessary, and this is a concentration of two opposite things. So, the majority of the Scholars including the Imams of the Four Schools of Law followed what they considered to be the stronger position, namely that Prophets are protected even from minor sins. Beware... Beware.. Beware O My Muslim Brothers and Sisters!! To disrespect any Prophet, to find any faults or defect in them or to be rude or insolent to these Prophets is Kufr (Infidelity).
May ALLAH keep us and our Generations be respectful towards the exalted Prophets Alaihimus Salam and protect us and our Generations for the misguided sects and deviant indivisuals. May ALLAH keep us on the path of those whom HE have favoured and refrain us from the path and even the shadow of those who earned HIS anger and those who are astray... Aameen!

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Women site, - Severity and Violence Lead to Remorse

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In a Hadeeth on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, it was mentioned that some Jews came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said, “As-Saamu 'Alaykum ]death be on you[.” ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, therefore said )to them(, “]Death[ be upon you, and may Allaah curse you and inflict His wrath upon you.” The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“O 'Aa’ishah! Be calm. You should be kind and lenient, and beware of severity and bad words.”She said, “Did you not you hear what they said?” He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied:“And did you hear what I said ]to them[? I said the same to them, and my supplication against them will be accepted while theirs against me will be rejected.”]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
This is how the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught us to avoid severity and resort to easygoingness in all matters; he said:“Leniency adorns anything that contains it, while anything that it is void of is distorted.”
The Meaning of Severity
Leniency means moderateness and kindness while severity is the absence of these qualities in dealing with any matter. In other words, it is extremism and exaggeration that are accompanied by stiffness and rudeness when dealing with others, even if they have behaved impolitely.
Treating people severely creates a desire for retaliation when there is a chance to do so, while kindness reconciles the hearts and makes people obedient.
Deprived of Goodness
The one deprived of leniency and who lives among people and treats them violently would be deprived of goodness, as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“The one who is deprived of leniency would be deprived of all goodness.”
Severity is a disgraceful and evil phenomenon that leads to the spreading of grudges and enmities among people. It creates a desire for challenging others and stubbornness that in turn leads to disobeying orders and directives, even if they are good. Severity in attempting to fix any mechanism leads to its breakage, while severity when facing calamities destroys one’s power and energy.
Violence, Severity and the Mass Media
Many studies and seminars have tackled the effects of violence and severity propagated by the mass media on the behavior of its audience, especially youngsters.
Unfortunately, many of the programs and series that are broadcast today represent the oppression that people suffer at others’ hands, beginning from snubbing, neglecting and ridiculing them up to hitting, cursing, or even committing crimes against them such as assault or murder. This, undoubtedly, affects young people and this effect appears later on in life, as some studies have revealed.
Violence and Severity with Servants and the Weak
An aspect of violence that people see in some communities is that practiced against servants and other weak people, in addition to despising them and burdening them with unbearable hard work, some people may even hit them and abuse them physically and mentally. This is something that should not, for any reason, be spread in Muslim communities. Here is an incident that took place at the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:
Abu Mas‘ood Al-Badri, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “Once, I was beating my slave with a whip when I heard a voice behind me saying,‘O Abu Mas‘ood, you ought to know.’I did not recognize the voice because of my severe anger. When he ]who had spoken[ approached me, I found that it was the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he was saying:‘O Abu Mas‘ood, you ought to know that Allaah has more dominance over you than you have over your slave.’I ]then[ said, ‘I would never ever beat a servant again in future.’” The wording of another narration of this incident reads, “Abu Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said ‘He is free for the Sake of Allaah.’ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said,‘If you had not have done that, you would have been burnt by the Fire.’”
Violence and Severity Against Women
Statistics show that violence against women has become a widespread phenomenon in western countries, which may be due to the corruption and deviation of the methods of upbringing there. There is no doubt that our societies are not free from such strange cases where women and children are exposed to violence. In spite of the fact that these cases are limited in our societies, we should remind people that this is something that is despicable and contradicts the Islamic Sharee‘ah and its moral system.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“I forbid the ]usurping of the[ right of two weak people: orphans and women.”When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was informed that some men hit their wives, he said:“They are not the best among you.”
If women or children needed to be reformed, physical punishment should be the last resort. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Men are in charge of women by ]right of[ what Allaah has given one over the other and what they spend ]for maintenance[ from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in ]the husband's[ absence what Allaah would have them guard. But those ]wives[ from whom you fear arrogance - ]first[ advise them; ]then if they persist[, forsake them in bed; and ]finally[, strike them gently. But if they obey you ]once more[, seek no means against them. Indeed, Allaah is ever Exalted and Grand.{]Quran 4:34[
Even if it reaches this extent, the Sharee‘ah rules that guarantee the safety of the soul and the body and that allow no harm to be done should be observed.
Violence with Animals
Some people who have a corrupt disposition find pleasure in tormenting animals and use violence against them. Islam forbids this. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, once entered an orchard that was owned by one of the Ansaar and found a camel in it. When the camel saw the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, it shed tears, so the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, wiped his tears and asked about his owner. A man from the Ansaar said that it was his, so the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to him:“Will not you fear Allaah with regards to the animal that He has granted you? It complained to me that you keep it hungry and exhaust it.”
In conclusion, it has to be remembered that the lenient person gains safety, while violence and severity only leads to remorse.

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