Engagment, Dought & clear, – * Engagement according to sharee’ah

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What is the concept of engagement in Islam. Usually an engagement party is one in which the fiance/fiancee exchange rings. Is this the prescribed method in the shariah?.
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Praise be to Allaah.
Engagement according to sharee’ah means that the man asks the woman to marry him. The view of the scholars is that engagement is prescribed for one who wants to get married. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And there is no sin on you if you make a hint of betrothal…”
[al-Baqarah 2:235]
and it was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got engaged to ‘Aa’ishah. (Al-Bukhaari,al-Nikaah, 4793). And inal-Saheehit also states that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got engaged to Hafsah. (Al-Bukhaari,al-Nikaah, 4830).
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged the one who wants to get engaged to look at the woman to whom he wishes to propose. According to the hadeeth, “When any one of you proposes marriage to a woman, if he can look at that which will encourage him to go ahead and marry her, then let him do so.” (Abu Dawood,al-Nikaah, 2082; classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood, 1832).
But in Islamic sharee’ah there are no specific practices that must be followed with regard to engagement. What some Muslims do, announcing the engagement, having a party to celebrate and exchanging gifts, all comes under the heading of customs which are permissible in principle, and none of them are haraam except those which sharee’ah indicates are haraam – which includes the exchange of rings between the engaged couple, a custom which is known in Arabic as “dublah.” This custom goes against sharee’ah for the following reasons:
1 – Some people think that these rings increase the love between the spouses and have an effect on their relationship. This is an ignorant (jaahili) belief and is an attachment to something for which there is no basis in sharee’ah and which does not make sense.
2 – This custom involves imitating the non-Muslims such as Christians and others. It is not a Muslim custom at all. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us against that when he said, “You will inevitably follow the paths of those who came before you, handspan by handspan, cubit by cubit, until even if they entered the hole of a lizard, you will follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else?” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,al-I’tisaam bi’l-Kitaab wa’l-Sunnah, 6889; Muslim,al-‘Ilm, 6723).
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood,al-Libaas, 4031; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood, 3401).
3 – This engagement usually takes place before the ‘aqd (marriage contract), in which case it is not permissible for the man to put the ring on his fiancée’s hand himself, because she is still a stranger (non-mahram) to him, and has not yet become his wife.
Finally, we will quote the words of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) on this matter:
“ ‘Dublah’ is a word that refers to the engagement ring. In principle there is nothing wrong with rings (i.e., they are permissible), unless they are accompanied by certain beliefs, as some people do when the man writes his name on the ring that he gives to his fiancée, and the woman writes her name on the ring that she gives to her fiancé, believing that this will guarantee the bonds between the spouses. In this case this ‘dublah’ or engagement ring is haraam, because it represents an attachment to something for which there is no basis in sharee’ah and which does not make sense. Similarly it is not permissible for the man to put the ring on the woman’s hand himself, because she is not yet his wife, so she is still a stranger (i.e., non-mahram) to him; she is not his wife until after the marriage contract is done.”
Al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah li’l-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 3/914.

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Engagment, Dought & clear, – * His son got to know a girl through chat rooms, and he wants to marry her

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My adult son who is twenty-one years old got to know a girl in another city through chat rooms. They kept in touch through the chat rooms, then he spoke to her on the phone and he liked her and she liked him. The relationship between them developed over a number of months until they agreed to marry, knowing that – according to what he tells me – they have not met. Then he asked me to arrange his marriage to this girl, but at first he did not make it clear to me that he had gotten to know her through chat rooms. At first he went to his paternal aunt who has a job and spoke to her confidentially, and he asked her to say that she knew this girl through one of her female colleagues at school and to get in touch with the girls’ mother and tell her that his family was keen to get to know them with a view to arranging a marriage with one of their womenfolk. His aunt indeed did that, but I absolutely refused to agree to his request to marry her for a number of reasons:
1 – The way in which he got to know this girl was not Islamically acceptable.
2 – He does not know a lot about how she really is. All that he knows about her is through telephone calls only.
3 – He lied to me at first, and went to his aunt about a sensitive subject which should have been kept secret even from the closest of people until arrangements were complete, then it could be announced to others.
4 – We – praise be to Allaah – are a conservative family, and this way of getting in touch with a girl is not in accordance with our principles and values, let alone our traditions and customs.
To sum up, I am very confused about this matter, because now it is affecting his university studies and he has become withdrawn.
Please note that he was previously a high-achieving student. Every time we try to tell him to forget about this matter and to focus on his studies, he insists that if we agree to let him marry this girl it will make him happy again, and that we will accept this girl and like her.
What is your opinion on this confusing problem?.
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Praise be to Allaah.
This problem – and many others – confirm the truth of what many daa’iyahs and reformers are saying about the necessity of being careful about how our sons and daughters are using the internet, and to beware of entering conversations between men and women in chat rooms, because of the very real fitnah (temptation] to which that may lead, with subsequent contact and meetings.
Undoubtedly your son made a mistake by forming this relationship with a non-mahram woman who is not permissible for him. He made a mistake by lying to you and by discussing this matter with his aunt. But we do not agree with the idea of refusing his marriage to this girl, especially if you think that your son is deeply attached to her. That is for the following reasons:
1 – Not every girl who acts in this manner can be judged to be deviant, badly brought up or of bad manners and attitude. This may have been a mistake on her part, as in the case of your son.
2 – What is happening to your son now, with his wanting to be alone and his falling behind in his studies may be because of intense love for this girl on his part. In such cases it may be that the only efficient remedy is for him to marry the one whom he loves. According to a hadeeth narrated by Ibn Maajah (1847), “There is nothing better for two who love one another than marriage.” (This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah).
3 – The fact that your son does not know much about the attitude and character of this girl may be dealt with by asking about her and finding out more about her background.
Hence we think that you should hasten to find out about this girl and her family. If her character is not good, then this will convince your son to stop thinking about her.
But if, after thoroughly investigating the matter, you like what you find out about her and her family, then there is no reason why your son should not marry her, rather this will be the best remedy for him and for her.
This suggestion applies if you feel that he is strongly attached to her and is keen to marry her, as referred to above. But if it is simply the matter of an idea that has occurred to him, and it is not the matter of love or deep attachment, and you hope that he will forget about her, then be firm in your refusal and help him to look for a woman who has good manners and is religiously committed and chaste. There are so many righteous and chaste women who have never had anything to do with men and have never faced temptation.
Turn to Allaah and ask Him to guide you, and seek His help by praying Istikhaarah concerning all the matters in which you want to take a decision.
And Allaah knows best.

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General Dought & clear, - * How did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) braid his hair when it grew long?

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I understand that our prophet braided his hair, is it possible to know how, (for example was it the ponytail that was braided)?
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Praise be to Allah
Al-Bukhaari (3551) and Muslim (2337) narrated that al-Bara’ said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was a man of medium height, broad shouldered with thick hair hanging down to his earlobes.
According to a report narrated by Muslim: I have never seen any man with long hair more handsome in a red suit than the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), with his hair reaching his shoulders. He was broad shouldered …
Al-Bukhaari (5903) and Muslim (2338) narrated from Anas that the hair of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came down to his shoulders.
Abu Dawood (4187) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The hair of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came between his earlobes and his shoulders.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Al-Mannaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Abu Shaamah said: The saheeh reports indicate that his hair came to halfway down his ears; according to one report it reached his earlobes, and according to other reports it came between his earlobes and his shoulders, or it came down to his shoulders. No report has reached us to suggest that it was ever longer than that, and these differences reflect differences in circumstances. These reports reflect different circumstances, and he shaved his head in the case of Hajj or ‘umrah. End quote.
Fayd al-Qadeer(5/74)
Abu Dawood (4191) narrated that Umm Haani’ (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to Makkah with four braids.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What the hadith indicates is that the hair of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was almost shoulder length in most cases, and that sometimes it might become so long that he would braid it. This is to be understood as referring to situations in which a long time passed during which he paid little attention to his hair, such as when he was very busy or travelling and the like.
End quote fromFath al-Baari(10/360)
The hair of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to above his shoulders and below his earlobes. His hair reached his earlobes, and when it grew long he would wear it in four braids. Umm Haani’ (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to us in Makkah with four braids. This is a saheeh hadith. End quote.
Zaad al-Ma‘aad(1/170)
Conclusion:
When his hair grew long because of travel or other reasons, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would put it into four braids, which was in accordance with the custom of the Arabs. So he would put his hair back, then make it into strands and twist them together, then they would become four braids.
However we should note that letting the hair grow long is not in and of itself part of the Sunnah for which a Muslim will be rewarded, because this comes under the heading of traditions and customs. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) both let his hair grow long and shaved it, and there is no reward in letting it grow long and no sin in shaving it. Rather he enjoined us to take care of the hair, and he did not do anything (with regard to his hair) that was contrary to the custom of the Arabs.
If it so happens that customs change in some time or place, and having long hair becomes something that is only for women, then it is not permissible for men to let their hair grow long in that place. And if that becomes a sign of evildoers or fools, then people of good character and dignity should not do what they do or adopt their ways.
And Allah knows best.:
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NAJIMUDEEN M - INDIA,
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PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI