Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * The Jews have no right to enter the Arabian Peninsula

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It is said that the Jew Labeed ibn al-A’sam was able to able to obtain something from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [for the purpose of witchcraft] by the help of a Jewish slave woman who used to enter the houses of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Does this mean that it is permissible to employ the services of Jews?
What is the meaning of the expulsion of the Jews as narrated in the ahaadeeth? I hope that you could explain the presence of the Jews in Madeenah, as it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) expelled them from the city?
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that the Jews be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, and said that no two religions should co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a shar’i ruling. It is not permissible for any mushrik to remain there. With regard to the presence of the Jews in Madeenah, Khaybar, etc., this was before the command to expel them, as is well known. The command to expel them came during the final illness of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) expelled them after that.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr.

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * To whom is the book Nahj al-Balaaghah attributed?

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I would like to ask how authentic the book Nahj al-Balaagha is and what your opinion of it is?
Praise be to Allaah.
The bookNahj al-Balaaghahis one of the books that are attributed to Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him), but it contains many things concerning which those who claim to be Muslims have disputed. Following the great scientific principle which was followed by the imams of Islam in obedience to the shar’i command to verify reports, we have no choice but to refer to the scholars and specialists to check on the veracity of the things that are attributed to ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), because what is narrated from the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) has an effect on sharee’ah, especially in the case of someone like Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), concerning whom some people have exaggerated or fallen short, but Allaah guided the Ahl al-Sunnah to follow a middle course.
By referring to the words of the scholars concerning this book and comparing its contents with what has been proven with saheeh isnaads from ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), it becomes clear that there is material in this book that contradicts what was proven from him (may Allaah be pleased with him). So we should look at what some of these great scholars have said:
Imaam al-Dhahabi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said in his biography of al-Murtada ‘Ali ibn Husayn ibn Moosa al-Moosawi (d. 436 AH): I said, he was the compiler of the book Nahj al-Balaaghah which is attributed to Imam ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), but the reports contained therein have are no isnaads. Some of it is false and some of it is true, but it contains some frabricated reports of things that the Imam would never have said. But who is the fair-minded man who would look at it in an objective manner?! It was said that it was compiled by his brother Shareef al-Radiy. It includes slander against the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); we seek refuge with Allaah from knowledge that is of no benefit.
Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 17/589
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Most of the khutab (sermons) that the author ofNahj al-Balaaghahincludes in his book are lies against ‘Ali. ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) is too noble and too worthy to have uttered such words. But these people fabricated lies and thought that they were praise, but they are neither truth nor praise. Whoever says that the words of ‘Ali or any other human being are above the words of any other created being is mistaken, for the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are above his words, and both of them are created beings. Moreover the correct meanings that are to be found in the words of ‘Ali are to be found in the words of others, but the author ofNahj al-Balaaghahand his ilk took many of the things that people say and made them the words of ‘Ali. There are some words narrated from ‘Ali that he did say, and some of them are true words that would have been befitting for him to say, but in fact they are the words of others. Hence inKalaam al-Bayaan wa’l-Tabyeenby al-Haafiz and in other books there are words narrated from people other than ‘Ali and the author ofNahj al-Balaaghahattributed them to ‘Ali. If these sermons which were transmitted inNahj al-Balaaghahwere really spoken by ‘Ali, they would have been found in other books that existed before this book was written, and they would have been narrated from ‘Ali with isnaads and otherwise. It is known from those who are well versed in the study of narrations that many of them (these sermons) – indeed most of them – were unknown before this, therefore it may be concluded that they are fabrications. So the narrator should state in which book they are mentioned, who narrated it from ‘Ali, and what its isnaad is. Otherwise, anybody could say something and claim that it was said by ‘Ali. Those who are well-versed in the knowledge of the hadeeth scholars and of reports and isnaads and are able to tell what is sound and what is not sound would know that these people who transmitted reports from ‘Ali are the least likely people to know about reports and be able to distinguish the sound from the unsound.
Manhaaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, 8/55.
Other scholars who pointed out the lies in this book was al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi, inal-Jaami’ li Akhlaaq al-Raawi wa Adaab al-Saami’, 2.161; al-Qaadi Ibn Khalkaan; al-Safadi, and others. The things that have been said against it may be summarized in the following points:
1. There are seven generations of narrators between ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) and the author of this book, and he did not mention any name whatsoever. Hence we cannot accept his words without an isnaad.
2. If these narrators are mentioned, it is essential to research about them and find out whether they are trustworthy.
3. The fact that most of these sermons did not exist before this book was written indicates that they were fabricated.
4. Al-Murtada – the author of the book – was not one of the scholars of reports, rather he was one of those whose religious commitment and competence were debatable.
5. The slander that it contains against the leading Sahaabah is sufficient to count it as false.
6. The insults and slander that it contains are not the characteristics of the believers, let alone their leaders such as ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
7. It contains contradictions and clumsy expressions from which it may be known for certain that it was not produced by one who was prominent in eloquence and fluency.
8. The fact that the Raafidah accept it and are certain that it is as true as the Qur’aan, despite all these objections, indicates that they do not pay attention to verifying sources and ensuring that they are sound with regard to the matters of their religion.
Based on the above, it is clear that this book cannot be attributed to ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), therefore nothing in it can be used as evidence in matters of sharee’ah, no matter what the issue is. But whoever reads it in order to find out what it contains of eloquence, the ruling is the same as that on all other books on Arabic language, without attributing its contents to Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
See Kutub hadhdhara minha al-‘Ulama’, 2/250

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * Where is al-Husayn buried, and how importantis it to know where the graves of the Sahaabah are?

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A questioner says that people talk a great deal and have different opinions about where the grave of al-Husayn is located. Can the Muslims benefit from knowing exactly where it is?.
Praise be to Allaah.
In fact people differed concerning that. It was said that he is buried in Syria, or in Iraq, and Allaah knows best what is true. With regard to his head, they also differed concerning that; it was said that it is buried in Syria, or in Iraq, or in Egypt. The correct view is that the site in Egypt is not his grave, rather that is a mistake and the head of al-Husayn is not there. A number of scholars have written essays on that and explained that there is no evidence for the head of al-Husayn being in Egypt. The most likely to be correct is the view that it is in Syria, because it was taken to Yazeed ibn Mu’aawiyah who was in Syria. There is no basis for the view that it was taken to Egypt. Either it was kept in Syria or it was returned to his body in Iraq.
Whatever the case, the people do not need to know where it is buried or where it is. Rather what is prescribed is to pray for forgiveness and mercy for him, may Allaah forgive him and be pleased with him, for he was killed unlawfully. So we should pray for forgiveness and mercy for him, and hope for much good for him. He and his brother al-Hasan will be the leaders of the youth of Paradise, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said. May Allaah be pleased with them.
If a person’s grave is known, there is nothing wrong with saying salaams to him and making du’aa’ for him, as other graves may be visited, without going to extremes in that or worshipping them. It is not permissible to ask the dead to intercede, because nothing can be asked of the dead; rather we should make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy for them if they were Muslims, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Visit the graves, for they will remind you of the Hereafter.”
If a person visits the graves of al-Husayn or al-Hasan or any other Muslim to make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy and forgiveness for them, as he would do at the grave of any other Muslim, this is Sunnah. But visiting graves to pray to their occupants or seek their help or ask them to intercede – this is a reprehensible action, and indeed it is major shirk. It is not permissible to build mosques or domes etc over graves, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” (Saheeh – agreed upon). And because it was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) inal-Saheehthat the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade plastering over graves, sitting on them and erecting structures over them.” So t is not permissible to plaster over graves, perfume them, place screens around them or erect structures over them; all of that is forbidden and these are means that lead to shirk. And we should not pray at graves because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came before you used to take the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship; do not take graves as places of worship, for I forbid you to do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in hisSaheehfrom Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali (may Allaah be pleased with him).
This hadeeth indicates that it is not permissible to pray at graves or to take them as mosques; and because that is a means that leads to shirk and worshipping someone other than Allaah by calling upon them (the occupants of the graves), seeking their help, making vows to them, and touching the graves to seek their blessings. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against that. Rather graves should be visited in the manner prescribed in sharee’ah only, to give salaams to them and make du’aa’ for them and pray for mercy for them, but without travelling specifically for that purpose.
And Allaah is the Source of strength and the Guide to the straight path.

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * al-Masjid al-Aqsa and theDome of the Rock

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I have recently received an Email advising me of the status of the Masjid al Aqsa and diffrentiating it from the doom of the rock.
Can you please clarify the situation and advise, if the Masjid e Aqsa is different from the Doom of the Rock, why do we see its picture representing Masjid e Aqsa at all Islamic places, and I (and many other muslims) were completely inaware of the difference.
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Masjid al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem) was the first of the two qiblahs, and is one of the three mosques to which people may travel for the purpose of worship. And it was said that it was built by Sulaymaan (peace be upon him), as stated inSunan al-Nasaa’i(693) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa’i. And it was said that it existed before Sulaymaan (peace be upon him) and that Sulaymaan rebuilt it; this is based on the evidence narrated inal-Saheehaynfrom Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, which mosque was built on earth first?’ He said, ‘Al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah].’ I said, ‘Then which?’ He said, ‘Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.’ I said, ‘How much time was there between them?’ He said, ‘Forty years. So wherever you are when the time for prayer comes, pray, for that is the best thing to do.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3366; Muslim, 520.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was taken on the Night Journey (isra’) to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), where he led the Prophets in prayer in this blessed mosque.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allaah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him]
Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsaa (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer”
[al-Isra’ 17:1]
The Dome of the Rock was built by the caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan in 72 AH.
It says inal-Mawsoo’ah al-Filasteeniyyah(4/203): “The name al-Masjid al-Aqsa was historically applied to the entire sanctuary (al-Haram al-Shareef) and the buildings in it, the most important of which is the Dome of the Rock which was built by ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan in 72 AH/691 CE, which is regarded as one of the greatest Islamic historical buildings. But today the name is applied to the great mosque which is situated in the southern part of the sanctuary plateau.”
It also says inal-Mawsoo’ah(3/23): “The Dome of the Rock is situated in the middle of the plateau of al-Masjid al-Aqsa, which is in the southeastern part of the city of al-Quds (Jerusalem). It is a spacious rectangular plateau which measures 480 meters from north to south, and 300 meters from east to west. This plateau occupies approximately one-fifth of the area of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The mosque which is the place of prayer is not the Dome of the Rock, but because pictures of the Dome are so widespread, many Muslims think when they see it that this is the mosque. This is not in fact the case. The Mosque is situated in the southern portion of the plateau, and the Dome is built on the raised rock that is situated in the middle of the plateau.
We have already seen above that the name of the mosque was historically applied to the whole plateau.
This is supported by the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) inMajmoo’at al-Rasaa’il al-Kubra, 2/61: “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa is the name for the whole of the place of worship built by Sulaymaan (peace be upon him). Some people started to give the name of al-Aqsa to the prayer-place which was built by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab in front of it. Praying in this prayer-place which ‘Umar built for the Muslims is better than praying in the rest of the mosque, because when ‘Umar conquered Jerusalem there was a huge garbage dump on the rock, since the Christians wanted to show their scorn for the place towards which the Jews used to pray. So ‘Umar issued orders that the filth be removed and he said to Ka’b: ‘Where do you think we should build a place of prayer for the Muslims?’ He said, ‘Behind the rock.’ He said, ‘O you son of a Jewish woman! Are influenced by your Jewish ideas! Rather I will build it in front of it.’
Hence when the imams of this ummah entered the mosque, they would go and pray in the prayer-place that was built by ‘Umar. With regard to the Rock, neither ‘Umar nor any of the Sahaabah prayed there, and there was no dome over it during the time of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. It was open to the sky during the caliphate of ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, ‘Ali, Mu’aawiyah, Yazeed and Marwaan… The scholars among the Sahaabah and those who followed them in truth did not venerate the rock because it was an abrogated qiblah… rather it was venerated by the Jews and some of the Christians.”
‘Umar denounced Ka’b al-Ahbaar and called him the son of a Jewish woman because Ka’b had been a Jewish scholar and rabbi, so when he suggested to ‘Umar that he should build the mosque behind the rock, that was out of respect for the rock so that the Muslims would face it when praying, and veneration of the rock was part of the religion of the Jews, not the religion of the Muslims.
The Muslims’ fondness for the picture of the Dome may be because of the beauty of this building, but this does not excuse them from the resulting mistake of not distinguishing between the Mosque and the buildings that surround it.
This may be one of the plots and tricks of the Jews, because of their veneration for the rock and their facing it in prayer. Or is may be in order to give importance to the Rock so that they can fulfil their desire to build the so-called Temple of Solomon on the ruins of al-Masjid al-Aqsa. This is by making the Muslims think that al-Masjid al-Aqsa is the Dome of the Rock, so that if the Jews start to destroy al-Masjid al-Aqsa and the Muslims denounce them for that, they will tell them, “Al-Masjid al-Aqsa is fine,” and will show them a picture of the Dome of the Rock. Thus they will achieve their aims and be safe from the Muslims’ criticism.
We ask Allaah to restore the Muslims’ power and glory, and to cleanse al-Masjid al-Aqsa of the brothers of the monkeys and pigs, for Allaah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not (cf. Yoosuf 12:21).
And Allaah knows best.

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