Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * The Prophet of Allaah Yahyaa

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Could you give us some information about the Prophet of Allaah Yahyaa (peace be upon him)?
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“(It was said to his son): ‘O Yahyaa (John)! Hold fast the Scripture [the Tawraat (Torah)]’”
[Maryam 19:12 – interpretation of the meaning]
This means, ‘Hold fast the Tawraat’, i.e., by taking it seriously and striving. That is to done by fist understanding the texts correctly, then acting upon them in all aspects, believing in its tenets, regarding as permissible that which it permitted and regarding as forbidden that which it forbade, adhering to its etiquette, learning lessons from its stories, and adhering to it in all other ways. Most of the mufassireen say that what is meant here byal-kitaab(the Scripture) is the Tawraat (Torah).
“And We gave him wisdom while yet a child”
[Maryam 19:12 – interpretation of the meaning]
The scholars have a number of opinions as to what is meant by wisdom, all of which are close in meaning and refer to one thing, which is that Allaah gave him understanding of the Scripture, so that he understood it and acted upon it whilst he was still a child.
“And (made him) sympathetic to men”
[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]
This is mentioned in conjunction with wisdom, i.e., We gave him sympathy (or compassion) from Us.Hanaan(sympathy, compassion) means the mercy, compassion and empathy that was instilled in him. The wordhanaanis widely used among the Arabs to refer to mercy and compassion, for example, they say, “Hanaanak wa hanaaneeka yaa Rabb”, meaning, I ask for Your mercy O Lord.
“and pure from sins”
[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]
This is mentioned in conjunction with the above, and means, ‘We gave him purity’ i.e., he was free from sin and disobedience because he obeyed Allaah and drew close to Him by means of that which pleases Him.
“and he was righteous”
[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]
This means, he obeyed the commands of his Lord and avoided that which He forbade. So he never committed any sin and was never blamed for any such action.
“And dutiful towards his parents”
[Maryam 19:14 – interpretation of the meaning]
The wordbarr(dutiful) refers to one who does acts of kindness, i.e., We made him honour his parents a great deal, i.e., he was very kind towards them and treated them in a gentle manner.
“and he was neither arrogant nor disobedient”
[Maryam 19:14 – interpretation of the meaning]
This means that he was not too arrogant to obey Allaah or to obey his parents. Rather he was obedient towards Allaah and humble towards his parents. This is the view of Ibn Jareer.Jabbaar(arrogant) means one who is very oppressive towards people and mistreats them. Everyone who is arrogant towards people and does them wrong is described asjabbaar.
“And Salaam (peace) be on him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he will be raised up to life (again)!”
[Maryam 19:15 – interpretation of the meaning]
Ibn Jareer said: “Salaam (peace) be upon him means”, may he be safe and secure. The apparent meaning is that “And Salaam (peace) be on him the day he was born” is a greeting from Allaah to Yahyaa, and the meaning is safety and security.
In Soorat Aal ‘Imraan Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“… noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a Prophet, from among the righteous”[Aal ‘Imraan 3:39]
The wordsayyid(translated here as “noble”) means one who is obeyed and followed by a large number of people.
The wordhusoor(translated here as “keeping away from sexual relations with women”) means that he kept himself away from women even though he was able to have relations with them, as an act of devotion to Allaah. That was permissible according to his law, but the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to marry, not to remain celibate…
In the phrase “a Prophet, from among the righteous”, the word Nabi (Prophet) is derived from the wordnaba’, meaning important news, because the Revelation is important news from Allaah. The righteous are those whose belief, actions, words and intentions are correct. Righteousness is the opposite of immorality or corruption. Allaah described Yahyaa as righteous and He described the Prophets in a similar manner in Soorat al-An’aam, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And Zakariyya (Zachariya), and Yahya (John) and ‘Eesa (Jesus) and Ilyaas (Elias), each one of them was of the righteous”
[al-An’aam 6:85]

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * The number of Sulaymaan’s wives

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Could you please inform me on the truth about Suleman (AS...pbuh) having 999 or so wifes and the reasons for this?
Praise be to Allaah.
The highest number of wives of Sulaymaan (peace be upon him) that is mentioned in the saheeh ahaadeeth is one hundred, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari in hisSaheeh(5242) from Abu Hurayrah who said: “Sulaymaan ibn Dawood (peace be upon them both) said: ‘Tonight I will go around to one hundred women, each of whom will give birth to a boy who will fight for the sake of Allaah.’ The angel said to him, ‘Say in sha Allaah (if Allaah wills).’ But he did not say it, as he forgot. He went around to them but none of them gave birth, apart from one woman who gave birth to half a child. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If he had said in sha Allaah, he would not have broken his oath and he would have had more hope of fulfilling his wish.’” (Narrated by Muslim, 1654). According to another report narrated by Muslim, he said ninety women. According to a mu’allaq report narrated by al-Bukhaari in hisSaheeh, in the Chapter on seeking a son for jihad (Man talaba al-walad li’l-Jihaad), he said ninety-nine women.
Perhaps the one who said one hundred was rounding up the figure, and the one who said ninety was rounding it down, as was suggested by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in his commentary on this hadeeth.
But al-Haafiz ibn Hajar narrated in his story of Sulaymaan (peace be upon him) inal-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, vol. 2, from many of the salaf, that the number of Sulaymaan’s wives was one thousand. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said likewise inFath al-Baari, in his commentary on hadeeth no. 3424.
This number was narrated from the Children of Israel [i.e., the Jews], so we neither believe it nor disbelieve it. There is nothing in the ahaadeeth quoted above to either prove or disprove that.
With regard to the reason for that, Allaah gives to those whom He wills among His slaves whatever He wills of worldly power and enjoyment. This is according to His great wisdom and grace. He is not to be questioned about what He does, may He be glorified and praised. He gave to Sulaymaan exclusively great power which He did not give to anyone after him. So it is not far-fetched to suggest that He also gave him this great strength which enabled him to marry this number of women. It should not cross the mind of any Muslim that this matter implies any form of belittlement towards this Prophet, rather it is a reflection of his perfect power, virtue and manhood, and thus he hoped that Allaah would bless him, in a single night, with one hundred sons, all of whom would go out as knights, fighting for the sake of Allaah. But first and last we must believe that Allaah creates whatever He wills and chooses, and none can overturn His ruling or ward off His decree.
And Allaah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - {Islamic history and biography}, - * Who was al-Hallaaj?

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Who was Mansoor Hallaj . What is his role in Islamic History?
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Hallaaj was al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj, who was known as Abu Mugheeth, or Abu ‘Abd-Allaah. He grew up in Waasit, or it was said in Tastar, and he was connected with a group of Sufis including Sahl al-Tastari, al-Junayd, Abu’l-Hasan al-Noori and others.
He traveled to many places, including Makkah and Khurasaan, and India where he learned sihr (magic, witchcraft). He finally settled in Baghdaad, where he was killed.
He learned magic in India, and he was a trickster and cheat. He deceived many ignorant people thereby, and they were attracted by him, until they thought that he was one of the greatest awliya’ (close friends or “saints”) of Allaah.
He is liked by most of the Orientalists, and they think that he was killed wrongfully because, as we shall see below, his beliefs were close to Christian beliefs and he preached a similar message.
He was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH, because it was proven by his own confession and otherwise that he was a kaafir and a heretic.
The scholars of his time were agreed that he was to be executed because of the words of kufr and heresy that were narrated from him.
The following are some of the things that he said:
1- He claimed to be a prophet, then he went further and said that he was God. He used to say, “I am Allaah,” and he commanded his daughter-in-law to prostrate to him. She said, “Should I prostrate to someone other than Allaah?” He said, “There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.”
2- He believed in incarnation and union with the Divine, i.e., that Allaah was incarnated in him, and that he and Allaah had become one and the same – exalted be Allaah far above that.
This is what made him acceptable to the Christian Orientalists, because he shared their belief in incarnation, for they believe that God was incarnated in Jesus (‘Eesa, peace be upon him). Hence al-Hallaaj spoke of divine nature and human nature as the Christians do.
Some of the lines of verse that he composed said:
“Glory be to the one Whose human form manifested the secret of His divinity
Then He emerged among His creation in the form of one who eats and drinks.”
When Ibn Haneef heard these lines, he said, “May the curse of Allaah be upon the one who said this.” It was said to him, “This is the poetry of al-Hallaaj.” He said, “If this is what he believes, then he is a kaafir.”
3- He heard someone reciting a verse from the Qur’aan, and he said, “I am able to compose something like that.”
4- Another of his lines of poetry says:
“People formed different beliefs about God, and I believe in everything that they believed.”
These words imply that he approved of and believed in all forms of kufr that the misguided sects of humanity believe in, but it is a contradictory notion that no sound mind can accept. How can anyone believe in Tawheed and shirk at the same time?
5- He said things which denied the pillars and basic principles of Islam, namely prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj.
6- He used to say that the souls of the Prophets had been reincarnated in the bodies of his companions and students. So he would say to one of them, “You are Nooh”; and to another, “You are Moosa”; and to another, “You are Muhammad.”
7- When he was taken out to be executed, he said to his companions, “Do not worry about this, for I will return to you after thirty days,” He was executed and he never came back.
Because of these sayings and others, the scholars were agreed that he was a kaafir and a heretic, and for this reason he was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH. Similarly, most of the Sufis denounced him and denied that he was one of them. Among those who denounced him was al-Junayd, and he was not mentioned by Abu’l-Qaasim al-Qushayri in his book in which he mentioned many of the Sufi shaykhs.
The one who strove to have him executed and who held a council in which he ruled that he deserved to be executed was al-Qaadi Abu ‘Umar Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him). Ibn Katheer praised him for that and said, “One of his greatest and most correct judgements was his ruling that al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj was to be executed.” (al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 11/172)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Whoever believes what al-Hallaaj believed in and agrees with the ideas for which al-Hallaaj was executed, is a kaafir and an apostate, according to the consensus of the Muslims. For the Muslims executed him because of his belief in incarnation, union with the Divine and other heretical beliefs, such as his saying, ‘I am Allaah,’ and, ‘There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.’ … Al-Hallaaj performed extraordinary feats and various kinds of magic, and there are books of magic which are attributed to him. In conclusion, there is no dispute among the ummah that whoever believes that Allaah can be incarnated in a human being and be as one with him, or that a human being can be a god, is a kaafir whose blood it is permissible to shed. On this basis al-Hallaaj was executed.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/480)
He also said: “We do not know of anyone among the imams of the Muslims who spoke well of al-Hallaaj, neither among the scholars nor among the shaykhs. But some of the people did not comment on him because they did not know about him.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/483)
For more information, seeTaareekh Baghdaadby al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi, 8/112-141;al-Muntazamby Ibn al-Jawzi, 13/201-206;Siyar A’laam al-Nubalaa’by al-Shihaabi, 14/313-354; al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer, 11/132-144
And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.

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For children, - Learning from Infants and little Angels

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"He that seeks guidance, shall be guided to his own advantage, but he that goes astray does so to his own loss. No bearer shall bear the burden of another on the Day of Judgment. And during your worldly life, We do not inflict punishment until We send forth a Messenger to make truth distinct from falsehood." Noble Qur'an (17:15)
Prophet Muham mad (pbuh)said, "No babe is born but upon Fitra (as a Muslim). It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist."
When a child is born; regardless of whether it is a female or a male, white or black or red, American or African or Chinese or Indian or Arab, regardless of whether he/she is rich or poor, son/daughter of a president or of a Shepherd, or whatever the case is; every child is born with such a high NOBLE characters!
Everyone of us has experienced the Noble characters, like the characters of the Saints! But what are some of those characters and what has turned us away from such a high profile?
When we study some main characteristics of the infants, we find their similarities in the Noble people (Saints). If we try to implement such qualities, we should be able to return to our original state. Some of those qualities, we find, are:
*.Closeness to their Nature - They like Milk, not alcohol!
*.Consciousness of Allah (SWT) - Being in the womb was perhaps among the best times we ever had. A child is so much in conscious of Allah that when he/she come into this world, child starts to cry! "...Beware! It is the remembrance of Allah which provides tranquility to the hearts." Noble Qur'an (13:28)
*.Pure hearts - Sinless hearts are pure hearts. When we repent and do good actions, Allah (SWT) erases our sins and makes our heart bright.
*.Seclusion (being alone) - Babies in the wombs are alone, away from this material world and its thoughts. A person who remembers Allah (SWT) in seclusion and his eyes get flooded with tears will be under the shade of Allah, on the day of Qayyamah. We should try to spend some time with our Lord, especially at nights when no one is near us, and remember and thank Him for His favours and ask forgiveness for our sins.
*.Meditation - I believe, babies do meditate, if they don't, how else would they learn this world? Let you observe how they meditate...
*.Observes Silence - They speak as much as it is necessary to speak (babies cry when they need to cry, perhaps not always :)
*.No Anger in them - I don't know if any infant child knows what ' anger' is like.
*.No Worries - "Be aware! The friend of Allah (SWT) has nothing to fear or to regret." Noble Qur'an (10:62) Food is predestined! If Allah is with the believers, why worry then? Smile
Above mentioned are some qualities (there could be more) that we can find in infants, as well as, in an actual Muslim (the Prophets are our role-model). If we implement these qualities, Insha Allah, we will be able to easily and fully follow our Deen: Al-Islam(with its requirements); since if the roots are getting enough nutrition's, the plant grows easily, quickly and properly!

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