Personal, - * Walking with Bashfulness

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Bashfulness is one of the sublime characteristics with which women in general, and Muslim women in particular are adorned. How beautiful it is when noble morals are adorned with bashfulness! How beautiful it is when bashfulness dominates all the actions of a chaste girl and noble woman!
When one contemplates the state of women today, he wonders at their abandoning this praised value and essential attribute.
The Arabic word for bashfulness isHayaa’and it is derived fromHayaa)life(. Rain is also calledHayaabecause it gives life to the earth, plants and animals. This worldly life and the Hereafter are also calledHayaa. This means that a person who is not bashful is dead in this worldly life and wretched in the Hereafter.
Bashfulness is a sign of goodness that one enjoys and truthful evidence that indicates one's nature as it reveals how upright and well-mannered the person is.
Bashfulness is a moral that urges a person to do every good thing and abandon every evil. It is one of the sublime morals commanded, approved and encouraged by Islam on many occasions.
It was narrated that the Messenger of Allaah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"Bashfulness is a branch of faith."In anotherHadeeth, he said:"Bashfulness and faith are inseparable; when one of them is missed, the other will be missed as well."]Al-Haakim[
The reason why bashfulness is a part of faith is that both ]bashfulness and faith[ call to goodness and bring people closer to it, and both warn against evil and take people away from it. Faith urges the believer to perform acts of obedience and avoid acts of disobedience and evil deeds. Likewise, bashfulness prevents one from neglecting the right of his Lord or falling short in thanking Him.
Bashfulness of the believing woman
The believer's bashfulness never leaves him; it is like one's shadow and body heat because it is a part of his belief and faith. It was narrated that the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"Bashfulness brings only good."In anotherHadeeth)narration(, it was narrated that he said:"Bashfulness is all goodness."
In the Quran, Allaah The Almighty praises the woman who descended from an honorable family, upon whom the signs of chastity and purity were apparent. Mentioning the story of Moosa )Moses(, may Allaah exalt his mention, Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}Then one of the two women came to him walking with bashfulness.{]Quran 28:25[
In Islam, bashfulness is so exalted that it is used as a foundation for a ruling in theSharee’ah)Islamic legislation(. It was narrated on the authority of the Mother of the Believers, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, that she said,"I asked the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, regarding the girl when her family marries her off. Should her consent be taken? The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied:'Yes. Her consent should be taken.'I said, 'And if she is bashful )to express her consent(?' The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:'Then it is her approval, if she remains silent.'"]Al-Bukhaari[

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Personal, - * Our Home: A Haven of Knowledge

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Truly, the Muslim home should be a haven of knowledge and beneficial learning and all its members should love knowledge and exert efforts to seek it, so that they would obtain the highest degrees in the Sight of Allaah The Almighty. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
•}Allaah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees.{]Quran 58:11[
•}Only those fear Allaah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.{]Quran 35:28[
The road to knowledge is the road to Paradise. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“Whoever takes a path by which he seeks )religious( knowledge, Allaah will facilitate for him by its virtue a path to Paradise.”]Muslim[ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also said:“A believer never has enough of the good he attains )i.e. the religious knowledge( until Paradise is his abode )by the virtue of such knowledge(.”]At-Tirmithi[
There is no doubt that knowledge is one of the best things to have. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“Allaah, His Angels and the dwellers of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole and the whales in the sea ask for forgiveness for the one who teaches people beneficial knowledge.”]At-Tirmithi[ This is why Muslim homes in the past were filled with knowledge and its pursuit.
Knowledge is one of the most important requirements in the life of the Muslim family. It is through knowledge that the creed becomes sound, he performs his acts of worship properly and the person becomes enlightened regarding the matters of his religion and worldly life. This is why it is important to pay attention to the pursuit of knowledge and inculcate the love of learning in the Muslim home, so that every family member would aspire to acquire knowledge in whichever field interests them and which would prove most beneficial to others.
For the family to reach the highest level of knowledge and learning, the following should be taken into consideration:
• Having a comprehensive, well-stocked library with books on different subjects, in order to enrich the minds of the family members and clarify the difference between right and wrong.
Such a library may contain books in the following fields:
o Sharee‘ah books such as books of Tafseer, Jurisprudence, and sciences of the Quran.
o Arabic Language and its literature throughout the ages.
o History and Civilizations.
o Encyclopedias in the fields of Biology, Social Studies and Humanities.
o Books and encyclopedias for children.
o Specialized books that enrich the knowledge of the Muslim housewife.
o Medical books and books of hygiene.
• Reading newspapers and journals so that the family members are aware of current affairs, world news and the state of the Islamic Ummah )nation(.
• The Muslim home should have regular academic gatherings among family members where social and scientific issues are discussed. This is useful for all members of the family as everyone passes on their experience to the others. It would be beneficial if one of the family members chooses one of the books of authentic Hadeeths and reads a number of Hadeeths everyday, then explains and discusses their meaning for the benefit of others. Undoubtedly, these discussions enrich all members of the family from a cultural and social point of view and contribute towards building a well-spoken, independent personality.
• Competitions may be held between members of the family in order to develop a healthy spirit of competitiveness and as a constructive form of amusement.
• Gaining knowledge by viewing science documentaries on DVDs and video tapes enhances the comprehension skills and imagination of the child, especially video tapes that present scientific facts in the form of illustrations and animations.
• Studying: Parents should not disregard the importance of studying with their children during the different educational stages. They should help them to the utmost degree possible, as students usually need help, support, advice, stability and tranquility during their study time.
Here are some tips that parents should take into consideration when their children are studying:
• Instilling in the hearts of their children a real motive for studying.
• Finding suitable solutions for their children’s problems before they start studying.
• Providing a suitable atmosphere. The room should be quiet and the light should be from the left side if the child writes with his right hand, but if he writes by his left hand, the light should be on his right. The whole room should be well-lit as this is better for the child’s eyesight. The room’s color should be a light color and it is better to make it light green or light blue. Moreover, the room should be well-ventilated and organized.
• Taking care of the child’s health and nutrition without exaggeration or negligence.
• Encouraging children to take adequate rest and getting them to take a well-deserved break during study time.
• Organizing the study schedule in a way that would provide time for studying new lessons as well as revising old ones. Children should be taught to summarize some of the more extensive subjects in order to save time.
• Knowing the necessary principles of studying such as comprehending, organizing, repeating, knowing the purpose of studying each subject and starting with the difficult ones when the mind is still fresh.
• Fearing Allaah The Almighty is the way to knowledge and great attainment. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
• }And whoever fears Allaah -- He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect.{]Quran 65:2-3[
•}And whoever fears Allaah -- He will make for him of his matter ease.{]Quran 65:4[
Imaam Ash-Shaafi‘i, may Allaah have mercy upon him, complained to one of the scholars about his inability to memorize information during the course of his studies, and the scholar advised him to fear Allaah The Almighty.

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab – a reformer concerning whom many malicious lies have been told

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Why is so much of what is said about Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab so hostile, and why are his followers called Wahhabis?.
Praise be to Allaah.
You should note that one of the ways in which Allaah deals with His chosen slaves is to test them according to the level of their faith, to show who is sincere and who is not. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Alif-Laam-Meem.
[These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’aan, and none but Allaah (Alone) knows their meanings.]
2. Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe,’ and will not be tested.
3. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allaah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allaah knows all that before putting them to test)”
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:1-3]
Those who are most severely tested are the Prophets, then the next best and the next best, as it says in the saheeh hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
If you study the seerah (biography) of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), you will see that he went through severe tests; he was even accused of being a liar, a sorcerer and a madman; garbage and filth were thrown on his back; he was expelled from Makkah; and his feet bled in al-Taa’if. This was the situation of all the Prophets who were rejected before him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him) suffered the same as other sincere scholars and daa’iyahs, but in the end the message of truth that he brought prevailed. How could it be otherwise? How could the light of truth be extinguished? Think about this man and how Allaah helped him to sow the seeds of Tawheed throughout the Arabian Peninsula and put an end to all kinds of shirk. If this indicates anything, it indicates that he was sincere in his call and made sacrifices for that cause as far as we can tell, and of course his efforts were supported and helped by Allaah.
But the enemies of this call have spared no effort to make false accusations concerning it. They claimed – falsely – that the Shaykh claimed to be a prophet, and that he did not respect the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) properly, and that he condemned all the ummah as kaafirs… and other fabrications and lies that were told about him. Anyone who examines these claims will realize for sure that they are all lies and fabrications. The books of the Shaykh which are widely circulated bear the greatest witness to that, and his followers who answered his call never mentioned anything to that effect. If the matter were as they claim, his followers would have conveyed the same ideas, otherwise they would have been disloyal to him. If you want to know more details about this and to clarify the matter, you should read the bookDa’aawa al-Manaawi’een li Da’wah al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaabby Dr ‘Abd al-‘Azeez al-‘Abd al-Lateef, which will answer all your questions, if Allaah wills.
With regard to calling his followers Wahhaabis, this is just another in a long series of fabrications made up by the enemies of his call, to divert people away from the call of truth and to place a barrier between his call and the people so that the call will not reach them. If you study the story of how al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr al-Dawsi (may Allaah be pleased with him) became Muslim, you will see the parallels with what happened in the case of Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab.
Ibn Hishaam narrated in hisSeerah(1/394) that al-Tufayl set out towards Makkah, but Quraysh intercepted him at the gates of the city and warned him against listening to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They made him think that he was a sorcerer who could cause division between man and wife… they kept on at him until he took some cotton and put it in his ears. Then when he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he thought to himself that he would take out the cotton and listen to him, and if what he said was true then he would accept it from him, and if he what he said was false and abhorrent, he would reject it. When he listened to him, all he could do was become Muslim on the spot.
Yes, he became Muslim after putting cotton in his ears. Those who oppose the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab fabricated lies the same way Quraysh did. Quraysh understood full well that the call of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had the power to reach people’s hearts and minds, so they exaggerated in their lies about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in an attempt to stop the truth reaching people. Similarly we see that those who speak against Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab and his followers repeat the same lies that were told against the original call.
You should – if you follow the truth – not pay any attention to these lies and fabrications. You should look for the truth of the matter by reading the books of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab, for his books are the greatest proof that these people are lying, praise be to Allaah.
There is another subtle point that should be noted, which is that the Shaykh’s name was Muhammad, the attributive of which is Muhammadi. The word Wahhabi is the attributive derived from al-Wahhaab (the Bestower), who is Allaah, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower [al-Wahhaab]”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:8]
As al-Zajjaaj said inIshtiqaaq Asma’-Allaah, p. 126, al-Wahhaab “is the One Who gives a great deal. This form (fa’’aal) in Arabic is indicative of something that is done to a great extent. Allaah is al-Wahhaab (the Bestower) Who gives to His slaves one after another.”
Undoubtedly the path of al-Wahhaab is the path of truth in which there is no crookedness or fabrication, and His party is the one that will prevail. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whosoever takes Allaah, His Messenger, and those who have believed, as Protectors, then the party of Allaah will be the victorious”
[al-Maa’idah 5:56]
“They are the party of Allaah. Verily, it is the party of Allaah that will be the successful”
[al-Mujaadilah 58:22]
Long ago they accused al-Shaafa’i of being a Raafidi (Shi’ah) and he refuted them by saying:
“If being a Raafidi means loving the family of Muhammad, then let the two races (of mankind and the jinn) bear witness that I am a Raafidi.”
We refute the claims of those who accuse us of being Wahhabis by quoting the words of Shaykh Mullah ‘Imraan who was a Shi’i but Allaah guided him to the Sunnah. He said:
“If the follower of Ahmad [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] is a Wahhaabi, then I affirm that I am a Wahhaabi
I reject the association of any other with Allaah, for I have no Lord except the Unique, the Bestower (al-Wahhaab)
Those who were called by the Prophet accused him of being a sorcerer and a liar.”
(See:Manhaaj al-Firqat al-Naajiyahby Shaykh Muhammad Jameel Zayno, p. 142-143.
And Allaah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * How could Yoosuf have “inclined towards” the wife of al-‘Azeez whenhe was chaste?

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What is the tafseer of this verse in Soorat Yoosuf (interpretation of the meaning):
“And indeed she did desire him, and he would have inclined to her desire”
[Yoosuf 12:24]?
If Yoosuf (peace be upon him) was chaste and refused to answer the call of the wife of al-‘Azeez, how could he have inclined towards her desires (i.e., how could that have entered his mind)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And indeed she did desire him, and he would have inclined to her desire, had he not seen the evidence of his Lord”
[Yoosuf 12:24]
Her desire was to commit sin, but as for Yoosuf (peace be upon him), if he had not see the evidence of his Lord, he would have inclined to her desire – because of human nature – but he did not, because of the evidence mentioned.
Because he hadseen seen the evidence of his Lord, he did not incline to her desire.
Abu Haatim said: I used to reciteghareeb al-Qur’aanto Abu ‘Ubaydah, and when I reached the verse (interpretation of the meaning):“And indeed she did desire him, and he would have inclined to her desire” [Yoosuf 12:24], Abu ‘Ubayd said: This is to be understood as meaning that he saw the proof of his Lord, and so he did not incline to her desire.
Al-Qurtubi,al-Jaami’ li Ahkaam al-Qur’aan, 9/165.
Al-Shanqeeti said inAdwa’ al-Bayaan(3/58):
This may be answered from two angles:
1 – That what is meant by saying “Yoosuf would have inclined to her desire” is that a thought crossed his mind, but the influence of taqwa (piety) deflected that thought. One of them said: this is the natural inclination and the instinctive desire that is restrained by taqwa. There is no sin in that because this is something that is instilled in man and is not under his control. It says in the hadeeth that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to divide his time equally among his wives and treat them fairly, then he would say: “O Allaah, this is how I divide that over which I have control, so do not take me to task for that which is beyond my control” – meaning the inclination of the heart. [Abu Dawood,al-Sunan, hadeeth no. 2134.
This is like the fasting person’s inclination towards cold water and food, while at the same time his taqwa prevents him from drinking or eating whilst he is fasting.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever thinks of an evil action but does not do it, one hasanah will be recorded for him.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari in hisSaheeh, no. 6491; Muslim, no. 207]
2 – Yoosuf (peace be upon him) did not think of doing anything at all, because he was prevented from doing so because of the proof of his Lord. This view which was favoured by Abu Hasaan and others is more correct according to the rules of the Arabic language.
Then he started to quote the evidence to support the view he favoured. Based on the above, the meaning of the verse – and Allaah knows best – is that if Yoosuf (peace be upon him) had not seen the proof of his Lord, he would have inclined towards her desire, but because he had seen the proof of his Lord he did not incline towards her desire and did not think of it at all. Similarly, just thinking of something without doing it is not regarded as a sin. And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon his noble Prophet.

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