* What are the situations in which a promise may be broken?

* What are the situations in which a promise may be broken?
-
We know that breaking promises is one of the attributes of the
hypocrites, but if a Muslim is unable to keephis promise for some
reason that is beyond hiscontrol, is he regarded as doing something
haraam and as having one of the attributes of the hypocrites, or is he
excused?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly keeping promises and keeping one's word are attributes of
the believers, and breaking promises is one of the attributes of the
hypocrites, as was narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "There are four (characteristics),whoever has them is
a hypocrite, and whoever has one of the four has acharacteristic of
hypocrisy unless he givesit up: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes
apromise he breaks it; what he makes a pledge he betrays it; and when
he disputes he resorts to foul language." Narratedby al-Bukhaari,
2327; Muslim, 58.
The believer who makes promises to people and breaks his promise may
have an excuse or he may not. If he has an excuse then there is no sin
on him, but if he does not have an excuse then he is a sinner.
There is no text – as far as we know – that makes any exception
regarding the prohibition of breaking promises, but it may be that
promises are broken in situations where the believer is excused. For
example:
A – Forgetting
Allaah has forgiven us for forgetfulness whereby obligatory actions
are omitted or haraam actions are committed. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error"
[al-Baqarah 2:286]
And Allaah has said: "Yes." – Narrated by Muslim, 125, from the
hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah. According to another version, He said:"I will
do that." Narratedby Muslim, 126, from the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas.
Whoever makes a promise to someone then forgets the promiseor forgets
to do it at the time stated, there is no sin on him.
B – Being forced to break one's promise.
Being forced is one of the impediments that make it permissible for
aMuslim to break his promise, such as one who is detained or is
prevented from fulfillinghis promise, or who is threatened with a
painful punishment.
It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah has forgiven my ummah for their
mistakes, what they forget and what they are forced to do."
Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 2045, and this hadeeth has many corroborating
reports; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami',
1836.
C – A promise to do something haraam or not to do something obligatory.
Whoever promises someone that he will do something haraam for him, or
that he will not do something that is obligatory, it is not
permissible for him to fulfil that promise.
This may be supported by the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah – which is also
known as the hadeeth ofBareerah – which is narrated in al-Saheehayn.
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) had promised Bareerah's
former masters [?} that the wala' of Bareerah [the right to inherit
from her when she died – which is the right of the one who sets a
slave free – Translator] would belong to them even though 'Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) was the one who was going to set
Bareerah free. But she did not keep this promise because they had gone
against the sharee'ah and they knew that the right of wala' belonged
to the one who set the slave free, so how could 'Aa'ishah set her free
and then the wala' of Bareerah belong to them?
Al-Shaafa'i said:
When news of that reached them, the one who had stipulated a condition
that was contrary to the ruling of Allaah and His Messengerwas a
sinner, and there are hudood punishments and discipline for the
sinner. One of the ways in which the sinners are disciplined is that
their conditions are rendered null and void so as to deter them and
others from doing likewise. This is one of the best forms of
discipline.
Ikhtilaaf al-Hadeeth, p. 165.
D – If something unforeseen happens to the one who made the promise,
such as sickness, the death of a relative or breakdown of his means of
transportation, etc.
There are many excuses, which all come under the heading of the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope"
[al-Baqarah 2:286]
And Allaah knows best.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Dhu al-Qa'dah (Dhul Qa'dah)

Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah) is the twelfth and final month in the
IslamicLunar Calendar, marking the end of the year. This is the last
sacred month in which fighting was forbidden. It is also known as
Zilhaj, Zulhijjah, Zul Hijjah.
Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah): Literally means 'Lord of the Pilgrimage'.
It is during this month in which the Hajj Pilgrimage takes place and
pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Makkah to visit the
Kaaba. The Hajj Pilgrimage is performed on the eighth, ninth and the
tenth of this month. Eid ul-Adha, the 'Festival of the Sacrifice' is
held onthe tenth day.
First ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah): Days of virtue and
righteous deeds
The sacred month of Dhu al-Hijjah (Dhul Hijjah) is one of the highly
blessed months. The pious and upright companions of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (saw) and their first generation followers used to spend this
month in prayers andsupplications, particularlythe first ten
noteworthy days which have also been distinguished in Glorious Qur'an.
Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) had said that supplications made in these
10 days get a positive reply from Allah (SWT).
Ibn Abbas says about the Ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah, "Remember Allah
during the well known days," (2:203) thatit refers to the first ten
days of Dhul Hijjah. [This is related by al-Bukhari]
Allah (SWT) swears an oath by them, and swearing an oath by something
is indicative of its importance and great benefit. Allah (SWT)says in
Glorious Qur'an:"By the dawn; by the ten nights" [Surah Al-Fajr,
89:1-2]. Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier
and later generations said that this refers to the firstten days of
Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: "This is the correct opinion." [Tafseer
Ibn Katheer, 8/413]
Praise be to Allah (SWT) Who has created Time and has made some
timesbetter than others, some months and days and nights better than
others,when rewards are multiplied many times, asa mercy towards His
slaves. This encourages them to do more righteous deeds and makes them
more eager to worship Him, so that the Muslim renews his efforts to
gain a greater share of reward, prepare himself for death and supply
himself in readiness for the Day of Judgement.
This season of worship brings many benefits, such as the opportunity
to correct ones faults andmake up for any shortcomings or anything
that one might have missed. Every one ofthese special occasions
involves some kind of worship through which the slaves may draw closer
to Allah (SWT), and some kind of blessing though which Allah
(SWT)bestows His favour and mercy upon whomsoeverHe will. The happy
personis the one who makes themost of these special months, days and
hours and draws nearer to his Lord during these times through acts of
worship; he will most likely be touched by the blessing of Allah (SWT)
and will feel the joy of knowing that he is safe from the flames of
Hell. [Ibn Rajab, al-Lataaif, p.8]
1. Makkah at the center ofthe earth
2. Makkah during ProphetAbraham (pbuh)
3. Makkah during Qosai, great Grandfather of Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw), year 157 before Hijrah .
4. Makkah during Quraish,year 12 before Hijrah.
5. Makkah during Omayied Era, year 91 Hijrah.
6. Makkah during Abbasied Era, year 310 Hijrah.
7. Makkah during Ottoman Empire, year 1215 Hijrah.
8. Makkah during King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz, year 1412 Hijrah.
The approximate locationof a hundred countries inrelation to Kaaba.
They classified into three categories with respect to their proximity
to the Kaaba.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

The Guard Who FoundIslam

From the magazine issuedated Mar 30, 2009
Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantanamo for
about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with
detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as"the General." This was early
2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stint at Guantanamo with the
463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day
shifts just doing his duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or
walk up and down the cellblock making sure they weren't passing notes.
But the midnight shifts were slow. "The only thing you really hadto do
was mop the center floor," he says. So Holdbrooks began spending part
of the night sitting cross-legged on the ground, talking to detainees
through the metal mesh of their cell doors.
He developed a strong relationship with the General, whose real name
is Ahmed Errachidi. Their late-night conversations led Holdbrooks to
be more skeptical about theprison, he says, and made him think harder
about his own life. Soon,Holdbrooks was ordering books on Arabic and
Islam. During an evening talk with Errachidi in early 2004, the
conversation turned to the shahada, the one-line statement of faith
that marks the single requirement for converting to Islam ("There is
no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet"). Holdbrooks pushed a pen
and an index card through the mesh, and asked Errachidi to write out
the shahada in English and transliterated Arabic. He then uttered the
words aloud and, there on the floor of Guantanamo's Camp Delta, became
a Muslim.

Junaid Baghdadi and Love for Allah

Once at the time of Hajj, there was a gathering inMecca of some
friends ofAllah; the youngest among whom was Junaid Baghdadi (ra). In
that gathering, there was a discussion on the subject of 'Love for
Allah'and as to who is the lover of Allah. Many of them expressed
their views on the subject, butJunaid (ra) kept quiet. He was pressed
to say something.
With his head bowed down and tears in his eyes, he said, "The lover of
Allah is he who forgets his own self, remains engaged in Allah's
remembrance with due regard to all itsrequirements; sees Allah with
the eyes of his heart, which is burnt by the heat of Allah's fear;
Allah's remembrance affects him like a cup of wine, he speaks the word
of Allah as if All-Mighty Allah speaks through his mouth; if he moves,
he does so underthe command of Allah; he gets peace of mind only
through the obedience of Allah; and when such a stage is reached, his
eating, drinking, sleeping, awakening and, in short,all his actions
are for thepleasure of Allah; he neither pays heed to the worldly
customs, nor does he attach any importance to unfriendly criticism by
people."

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Allah's Signature on Mountains

Unfortunately, today many of the "smartest" people of this world deny
the existence of God. Suppose one of them walks by a mountain and see
that there is a tent on top of the mountain. Immediately he will think
that someone went up there and madethe tent. He won't think that the
tent formed itself. You and I also won't think that some sticks came
and dug themselves on the ground and then a cloth flew to it to form
the tent. We will all think that someone went up there and made it.
That is the mistake. We think that the small and simpletent on the
mountain cannot form itself but we think that the huge mountain
underneath the tent was formed by itself! This is how narrow our
thinking hasbecome.
Verily Allah is the creatorof all things. Allah says inSurah Qaf Al
Quran (50:7)"And the earth! We have spread it out, and set thereon
mountains standing firm, and have produced therein every kind of
lovely growth (plants)."
--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Signs of Allah in Dreams

Islam tells us that a person in the grave is either enjoying a
peaceful stay or going through punishments depending on his/her deeds.
However, many people doubt this fact. This is due to the reason that
when a grave is dug, we do not see any fire burning people or gigantic
snakes biting dead bodies. All we see are bones mixed with soil. Well,
then where is the punishment or peace? Whether we can see it or not,
the promiseof Allah is true. Allah gave us many things to understand
things better. He tells us that there are signs in His creations for
those who think. To understand thisparticular issue (grave) better, we
can examine our dreams. Say, a person is sleeping right beside you. He
is seeing a dream where some people are trying to kill him. They catch
him and starts beating him. Finally, they take out a gun and shoots
him. Youare sitting beside this sleeping individual, but you do not
see any of these things. However, he is experiencing all these things,
it's just youcannot see. The same way, that individual in the grave is
going through all the things that are promised by Allah, it's just we
cannot see.
There are important purposes in dreams for someone who reflects. Such
a person thinks about how "realistic" the dreams are that he sees
while asleep, which in that way are no different in their realismfrom
the moment he awakes. For instance, despite one person's body lying on
the bed, indream he went on business trips, met new people, and had
lunch while listening to music. He enjoyed the taste of his meal,
danced to the music, became excited because of the incidents that
happened, became happy and unhappy, was afraid and felt tired.He could
even have driven a vehicle that he had not previously driven until
that day anddid not even know how to drive.
So, you can experience, see, touch, hear and taste things that are not
only real but also things that are unreal.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

The Third Caliph, Uthman(644-656 A.C.)

"Every Prophet has an assistant, and my assistant will be Uthman."(Hadeeth)
Uthman's Election
When 'Umar fell under the assassin's dagger, before he died the people
asked him to nominate his successor. 'Umar appointed a committee
consisting of six of the ten companions of the Prophet (peace be on
him) about whom the Prophet had said, "They are the people of Heaven"
- Ali, Uthman, Abdul Rahman, Sa'ad, Al-Zubayr and Talha - to select
the next Caliph from among themselves. He also outlined the procedure
to be followed if any differences of opinion should arise. Abdul
Rahman withdrew his name. He was then authorized by the committee to
nominate the Caliph. After two days of discussion among the candidates
and after the opinions of the Muslims in Medina had been ascertained,
the choice was finally limited to Uthman and Ali. Abdul Rahman came to
the mosque together with other Muslims, and after a brief speech and
questioning of the two men, swore allegiance to Uthman. All those
present didthe same, and Uthman became the third Caliph of Islam in
the month of Muharram, 24 A.H.
Uthman's Life
Uthman bin Affan was born seven years after the Holy Prophet (peace be
on him). He belonged to the Omayyad branch of the Quraish tribe. He
learned to read and write at an early age, and as a young man became a
successful merchant. Even before Islam Uthman had been noted for his
truthfulness and integrity. He and Abu Bakr were close friends, and it
was Abu Bakr who brought him to Islam when he was thirty-four years of
age. Some years later hemarried the Prophet's second daughter,
Ruqayya. In spite of his wealth and position, his relatives subjected
him to torture because he had embraced Islam, and he was forced to
emigrate to Abyssinia. Some time later he returned to Mecca but soon
migrated to Medina with the other Muslims. In Medina his business
again began to flourish and he regained his former prosperity.
Uthman's generosity had no limits. On various occasions he spent a
great portion of his wealth for the welfare of the Muslims, for
charity and for equipping the Muslim armies. That is why he came to be
known as 'Ghani' meaning 'Generous.'
Uthman's wife, Ruqayya was seriously ill just before the Battleof Badr
and he was excused by the Prophet (peace be on him) from participating
in the battle. The illness Ruqayya proved fatal, leaving Uthman deeply
grieved. The Prophet was moved and offered Uthman the hand of another
of his daughters, Kulthum. Because he had the high privilege of having
two daughters of the Prophet as wives Uthman was known as 'The
Possessor of the Two Lights. '
Uthman participated in the Battles of Uhud and the Trench. After the
encounter of the Trench, the Prophet (peace be on him) determined to
perform Hajj and sent Uthman as his emissary to the Quraish in Mecca,
who detained him. The episode ended in a treaty with the Meccans known
as the Treaty of Hudaibiya.
The portrait we have of Uthman is of an unassuming, honest, mild,
generous and very kindly man, noted especially for his modesty and his
piety. He often spent part of the night in prayer,fasted every second
or third day,performed hajj every year, and looked after the needy of
the whole community. In spite of hiswealth, he lived very simply and
slept on bare sand in the courtyard of the Prophet's mosque. Uthman
knew the Qur'an from memory and had anintimate knowledge of the
context and circumstances relating to each verse.
Uthman's Caliphate
During Uthman's rule the characteristics of Abu Bakr's andUmar's
caliphates - impartial justice for all, mild and humane policies,
striving in the path of God, and the expansion of Islam - continued.
Uthman's realm extended in the west to Morocco, in the east to
Afghanistan, and in the north to Armenia and Azerbaijan. During his
caliphate a navy was organized, administrative divisions of the state
were revised, and many public projects were expanded and completed.
Uthman sent prominent Companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) as
hispersonal deputies to various provinces to scrutinize the conduct of
officials and the condition of the people.
Uthman's most notable contribution to the religion of God was the
compilation of a complete and authoritative text of the Qur'an. A
large number of copies of this text were made and distributed all over
the Muslim world.
Uthman ruled for twelve years. The first six years were marked by
internal peace and tranquility,but during the second half of
hiscaliphate a rebellion arose. The Jews and the Magians, taking
advantage of dissatisfaction among the people, began conspiring
against Uthman, and by publicly airing their complaints and
grievances, gained so much sympathy that itbecame difficult to
distinguish friend from foe.
It may seem surprising that a ruler of such vast territories, whose
armies were matchless, was unable to deal with these rebels. If Uthman
had wished, the rebellion could have been crushed at the very moment
it began. But he was reluctant to be the first to shed the blood of
Muslims, however rebellious they might be. He preferred to reason with
them, to persuade them with kindness and generosity. He well
rememberedhearing the Prophet (peace be on him) say, "Once the sword
is unsheathed among my followers, it will not be sheathed until the
Last Day."
The rebels demanded that he abdicate and some of the Companions
advised him to do so. He would gladly have followed this course of
action, but again he was bound by a solemn pledge he had given to the
Prophet. "Perhaps God will clothe you with a shirt, Uthman"the Prophet
had told him once,"and if the people want you to take it off, do not
take it off for them." Uthman said to a well-wisher on a day when his
house was surrounded by the rebels, "God's Messenger made acovenant
with me and I shall show endurance in adhering to it."
After a long siege, the rebels broke into Uthman's house and murdered
him. When the first assassin's sword struck Uthman,he was reciting the
verse,
"Verily, God sufficeth thee; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing"[2:137]
Uthman breathed his last on the afternoon of Friday, 17 Dhul Hijja,35
A.H. (June. (656 A.C.). He was eighty-four years old. The powerof tHe
rebels was so great that Uthman's body lay unburied until Saturday
night when he was buried in his blood-stained clothes, the shroud
which befits all martyrs in the cause of God.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Imam an-Nasa’i

Ahmad ibn Shu'aib an-Nasa'i (r.a) – [215 - 303 A.H.]
Imam an-Nasa'i was bornin the town of Nasa' in the Persian province of
Khorasan. After gaining hadith from the teachers his own city, Imam
an-Nasa'i travelled through Khorasan, Iraq, the Hijaz Syria and Egypt
gaining ahadith. Egypt was where Imam an-Nasa'i settled and
established his center for teaching and studies here.
Imam an-Nasa'i was said to have exhausted many of his days and nights
in prayers, repeatedly performed Hajj and also joined the Muslim army
toparticipate in battle. He was very particular of theSunnah of the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), had a hatred for deviation and avoided
the circles of kings and nobles.
Imam Nasa'i's status
Ibn Khallikan writes 'He was the Imam of hadith of his age.'
Daraqutni says 'He was more distinguished than all the muhaddithun of his time.'
He is well known for Sunan an-Nasa'i which is a collection of 5751
sound ahadith. In it he also describes the flaws of a hadith, exposes
any disagreements on the title, names and kunyat of narrators and
clarifies the variations between different versions of a hadith.
His teachers are many, the first being MuhaddithQutaibah ibn Sa'id al
Balkhi. Some others are Ishaq ibn Rahawaih, Muhammad ibn Nasr,
Muhammad ibn Bishr andthe famous Abu Dawud .
His students came from all over the Muslim world,and some of the more
famous of them are Ali ibn Jafar at-Tahawi, Abul Qasim at-Tabrani,
Muhammad ibn Mu'awiyah al Andalusi, Abu Jafar at-Tahani and also his
own son.
Imam an-Nasa'i travelled to Damascus, Syria in 302 A.H. where he
noticed people displaying some hostility towards Hazrat Ali (R.A). He
therefore wrote a book to honor the character of Hazrat Ali (R.A) and
started lecturing from it in a Masjid . He had only read a few lines
when he was accused of being a Shi'i and was beaten badly by a crowd,
such he received severe injuries to his body. In this state he
requested some admirers to take him to Makkah , and it was after
reaching Makkah Imam an-Nasa'i passed away.
Source: Scholars of Hadith by Syed Bashir Ali
May Allah Ta'ala fill Imam an-Nasa'i's Qabar with Noor, Ameen.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Allah's Promise

To those who will come into His Presence as believers, Allah gives the
promise of Paradise, wherein they will remain forever. As there is no
doubt that this promise will be fulfilled, those whobelieve with
certainty will never doubt its truth. Moreover, if they have
surrendered their souls to Him as believers, they know that their sins
will be forgiven and that they will be accepted into Paradise. The
following verse makes this clear:
Gardens of Eden which theAll-Merciful has promised to His servants in
the Unseen. His promise is always kept. (Surah Maryam, 61)
The fact that Allah has promised Paradise to believers brings them an
indescribable joy and enthusiasm. They know that Allah wills Paradise
for His faithful servants, and that He has made them its heirs. Here
is another verse that mentions this promise:
Is someone to whom We have promised good and who then obtains it like
someone to whom We have given enjoyment in the life of the world and
then, on the Day of Rising, is one of those brought to punishment?
(Surat al-Qasas, 61)
If Allah has promised Paradise to any individuals, they will attain
eternal blessings with Allah's permission. And when believers enter
Paradise, they will certainly express their thanks to Allah in this
way:
They will say: "Praise be toAllah Who has fulfilled His promise to us
and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in Paradise
wherever we want. How excellent is thewage of those who work."(Surat
az-Zumar, 74)
Believers who have been given the good news several times during their
earthly lives, and to whomAllah has promised Paradise, will receive at
the end of their lives that for which they hoped. Finally, that
long-awaited moment will come. The place that they have contemplated
throughout their lives, prayed to attain, and striven to be worthy of
is Paradise -"the best place to be," and"the most beauteous of
allgoals." This perfect place was prepared for believers, and its
doors areopened to them.
The following verse gives a unique view about their entrance into Paradise:
Gardens of Eden that they will enter, and all of their parents, wives,
and children who have acted honorably. Angels will enter in to welcome
them from every gate: "Peace be upon you because of your
steadfastness! How wonderful is the Ultimate Abode!" (Surat ar-Ra'd,
23-24)
They will be welcomed into Paradise "with greetings and [words of]
peace" (Surat al-Furqan, 75), and enter there "in peace, in complete
security!" (Surat al-Hijr, 46). There is only one thing left to do: to
discover the beauties of this eternal land prepared for believers and
endowedwith every kind of blessing.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Beautiful Muslim Women in History

What comes to your mind when I say, "A beautiful Muslim woman"? Many
of us may think of a woman in hijab (headscarf)or modest attire.
Hijab is indeed beautiful, but by thinking Islamic beauty is only
because of hijab, we are perpetuating the idea that beauty exclusively
applies to an image.
While our religion teaches us to take care of our bodies and to
maintain a pleasant physical appearance, it alsoemphasizes the need
for every individual to developan inward beauty: a beautythat comes
with knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) and obeyingHim,
and that transcends the mere image of a person. This inward beauty
can actually become so radiant that it manifests in a person's
external appearance. It is for this reason that some of the righteous
people of the past would comment on the physical beauty of those who
prayed during the night or performed other righteous deeds.
OurProphet ﷺ (peace be upon him) mentioned again and again the beauty
of he or she who embodiesgood character. He ﷺ also emphasized to
those seeking marriage to look for the one who is beautiful as a
result of theircharacter andreligion. In this way, Islam defines
beauty as something more profound than just the physical.
Our history is filled with beautiful women, women who were devout in
their service to God and who lived lives of purpose and meaning.
Their beauty is so much more than physical appearance; we see in them
the beauty of character, morals, deeds, speech and lifestyle.
While there are multitudes of incredible women to select from in our
tradition,I have specifically chosen not as well known women who will
shatter our narrow perceptions of beauty and break the stereotypes of
how a "righteous Muslim woman"should or should not be. Here is a brief
glimpse into their lives.
A West African Beauty: Princess Nana Asma'u
We begin with the story of Nana Asma'u, the daughterof Uthman don
Fodio, who was not only a renowned scholar of her time, but a poet, a
political and social activist, and a creative intellectual. She is
considered to be one of thegreatest women of 19th century Islamic
communities. She was bornin 1793 in modern-day Nigeria. A princess
with an impressive lineage,she was named after a hero in Islamic
heritage—Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr, who was a strong woman in her
support of Islam. Shewas raised in a supportive Islamic household,
having not only memorized the Qur'an, but extensively learned the
Islamic sciencesand four languages as well.
Asma'u believed in women having a role in society andshe led the women
of her time by example throughout her life. One of her greatest
achievements was compiling the extensive collection of writings of her
father after he passed away when she was 27. The degree of respect the
scholarly community had for Asma'u is seen here because they chose her
to complete sucha monumental task. Not onlydid this job require
someone trustworthy, but also someone who was familiar with his
writings and was well-versed in the Islamic sciences.
When she was a mother of two and pregnant with herthird child, Asma'u
completed the translation of the Qur'an in her native tongue and also
translated her father's work into the various dialects of the
community. This shows herconcern for her communityand her desire to
bring the knowledge of theQur'an and Islam to her people.
Asma'u saw a dire need for the teachings of Islam to reach the women
in her community and beyond the Sokoto region. She sawthat women were
absent from the circles of knowledge and stayed in their homes as they
tendedto their familial duties. Asma'u came up with a brilliant idea
to not only teach these women but to teach them in the comfort of
their homes. It was then that she gathered knowledgeable women in her
community and trainedthem as teachers. This group, known as jajis,
traveled to neighboring communities to bring Islamic knowledge to
secluded women. This movement was called the Yan-taru movement,
whichmeans "those who congregate together" and"sisterhood". Asma'u
taught the jajis to use lesson plans, poetry, and creative mnemonic
devices in their teachings.
Nana Asma'u, by the grace and guidance of Allah (swt), revolutionized
the way her community learned Islam. She brought the knowledge of the
religion to the people in aneasy to remember fashion and wrote in
their language. Her legacy is a legacy of scholarship and activism,
and her name is still used today in West Africa.
-

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Our attitude towards rumours and news on the Internet

How should we deal with the rumours that appear on the Internet? What
is the Muslim's attitude towards the news that weread here and there,
and what is written in chat rooms, especially since some of it is good
news for the Muslims, but the source is unknown.
Praise be to Allaah.
We live nowadays at a time when many rumours that bring hope are
appearing in the guise of news. These appears on Internet web sites
and chat rooms, so that they may be spread to the people as glad
tidings and so that good-hearted people may accept them as
indisputable facts coming from trustworthy sources. Even if any of
them could be proven, there are still many rumours that can be classed
as no more than fabrications. The one who thinks about this will
understand that many of the global media, including the Arab media,
exaggerate in their coverage of some events and they analyze them in a
subjective manner that shows a complete bias and evident absence of
objectivity, trying to take revenge by adding to the news and
exaggerating, and telling weird news stories. So there is no such
thing as credibility in these media, especially when emotions and
wishes play a part. This is apart from the fact that media objectivity
has become a victim of this current war, and western circles have
rejected the lessons [of objectivity, etc.]that they used to teach
others. But this does not mean that we should dispute the facts or
deny what is taking place in reality, or that we should face this bias
with exaggeration and hopes.
Here we should pause andremind ourselves, and the good-hearted people
who hear this news and tell it to others with good intentions – and
those who fabricate these rumours and take upon themselves the job of
propagating them – of a few facts.
1 – We must be certain about the news we accept,and we should not
accept it simply because it happens to coincide with our hopes and
wishes. We have our own methodology of verifying matters, and we
should beconsistent with regard to what we like and dislike. Itis not
right for us to doubtnews accompanied by pictures from the
battlefield, or to shed doubts on it, when the bottom line is one's
senses. At a time when you see news going around through mobiles from
some internet web sites, there are some people who may accept such
news but it should benoted that there are people who will never
believe it. So they should beware of exposing themselves to being
calledliars. An old proverb says, "Whoever pursues weird news will be
disbelieved."....

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Should the Muslim pay attention to people’s tastes and customs and let his garment hang below his ankles? Is there any isbaal involvedin wearing pants?

Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It should be noted that the rulings of sharee'ah have not come to
humiliate the Muslim or make him a laughing stock among people; rather
they have brought that which is good for all people in their religious
and worldly affairs. If you think about the state of the world you
will find this to be true. Actions that go against Islam havebecome
widespread everywhere on earth. Look– for example –at the effect that
mixing between women and menhas on nations; look at theeffects of
permitting alcohol; look at the effects of wanton display and
unveiling; look at the effects of false freedoms on those nations.
They arethe nations that are most affected by anxiety and depression,
they have the highest suicide rates, they are the nations where
wife-beating and murder of wives is most common, and there are many
other examples. What we say is based on their own statistics. But this
is not the place to discuss that indetail. Rather it is just a hint of
what we want to convey to you and other readers to whom the shaytaan
may insinuate that it is not good to implement some of the established
principles of Islam. We do not think – in sha Allaah – that you are
one of them, but this does not mean that we should not draw
attentionto the matter.
Secondly:
It should be noted that the Muslim should not payattention to people
and their customs when it has to do with a duty that Allaah has
enjoined on him or a prohibition that Allaah has forbidden him to do.
Yes, the Muslim may pay attention to people and their customs with
regard to things that are mustahabb, permissible ormakrooh, but when
it comes to things that are obligatory or forbidden, it is not
permissible for him at all to ignore them for the sake of people.
Some people mistakenly quote as evidence the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah
whichsays that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
refrained from demolishing the Ka'bah and rebuilding it on the
foundations of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him), and they take that as
evidence that one may refrain from doing obligatory duties, but this
is obviously mistaken. If that had been obligatory for him (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), he would not have refrained from it
for the sake of softening people's hearts. Rather it was permissible.
There follows the hadeeth in full,and the scholars' comments on it.
It was narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her:
"O 'Aa'ishah, were it not that your people have only recently left
Jaahiliyyah behind, I would have ordered that the House be demolished
and I would have incorporated into it what was left out of it, and I
would have placed (the door) at ground level and given it two doors, a
door on the east and a door on the west, and thus I would have rebuilt
it on the foundations of Ibraaheem."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1509) and Muslim (1333).

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

If a person sneezes several times in a row, when is it prescribed to say “Yarhamuk Allah” to him?

My brother sneezes 5 times in a row! do i haveto say yarhamukullah
after every sneeze, or can i just wait and say it once at the end?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Saying "Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)" to a person who
sneezes, if he says "Al hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allah)," is a
communal obligation, in the sense that if one person says it, the
obligation is waived for the others. If no one among those who hear
him says it, then all have sinned, because of the report narrated by
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "There are
five things that the Muslim must do for his brother: returning the
greeting of salaam, saying 'Yarhamuk Allah' to one who sneezes…"
Narrated by Muslim (4022)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:Our
companions and others differed concerning visiting one who is sick,
saying "Yarhamuk Allah" to one who sneezes and initiating the greeting
ofsalaam. What the texts indicate is that these things are waajib
(obligatory), and it is said that it is a communal obligation.
End quote from al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 1/443
Secondly:
If a person sneezes morethan three times, you should not say "Yarhamuk
Allah" to him;rather you should pray for well-being for him, because
of what is narrated in al-Muwatta' (1521) from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr
from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "If he sneezes, say 'Yarhamuk Allah' to him;
then if he sneezes, say 'Yarhamuk Allah' to him; then if he sneezes,
say 'Yarhamuk Allah' to him; then if he sneezes, say: 'You have a
cold." 'Abdullah said: I do not know whether that is after the third
or fourth time.
And it was narrated that Salamah ibn al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "The one who sneezes may be told Yarhamuk-Allaah
three times; if he sneezes more than that, he has a cold." Narrated by
Ibn Maajah (3704); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Ibn
Maajah.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:If a person sneezes
several times in a row, the Sunnah is to say "Yarhamuk Allah" each
time until he reaches three. We narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Sunan Abi
Dawood and at-Tirmidhi from Salamah ibn al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased
with him) that he heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) say, when a man sneezed in his presence, "Yarhamuk Allah."
Then he sneezed again, and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "The man has a cold." This wording is the
report narrated by Muslim.
As for the report narrated by Abu Dawoodand at-Tirmidhi, they said: A
man sneezed in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) whilst I [the narrator] was watching, and
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Yarhamuk Allah." Then the man sneezed a second or third time
andthe Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Yarhamuk Allah, this is aman who has a cold."
At-Tirmidhi said: A saheeh hasan hadeeth. End quote from Kitaab
al-Adhkaar, 1/273
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it
obligatory to say "Yarhamuk Allah" to one who sneezes once, and ifhe
sneezes three times to repeat that three times or more?
He replied: If he sneezes three times and you say "Yarhamuk Allah"
each time, then after the thirdsneeze you should say tohim: " 'Aafaaka
Allah (may Allah grant you well-being); because that is a cold, so
say: MayAllah grant you well-being; you have a cold. All you have to
say is: May Allah grant you well-being, and you mayadd: You have a
cold.
End quote from Liqa' al-Baab al-Maftooh, no. 127
And Allah knows best.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Ruling on tankees or altering the order of verses when memorisingQur’an

I have a question regarding tankees. According to what I know, tankees
is when you recite an ayah, huroof, words, and surahs. But, what I
want to know is that is it haraam to MEMORIZE it that way. eg: I used
to memorize the quraan in a madrasah where we memorized this way: for
example, if our teacher gave us ayah 1-5, surah hashr; we would start
memorizing from: (transliteration)"wama qata'tum millinatin au tarak
tumooha qa'imah"(finsh ayah and go to the one before it, we DIDN'T
start from"sabbaha lillahi" and memorized backwards like that until we
reached the first ayah. Ofcourse, when we recitedit to the sheikhafter
memorizing, we said it in order, but is MEMORIZING while displacing
the order"tankees"?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Tankees or altering the order of verses when reciting is haraam,
whether that is during prayer or otherwise.
It says in Asna'l-Mataalib (1/63): It is haraam to switch the order of
verses when reciting, because that undermines the miraculous nature of
thetext and it ignores the wisdom behind the order in which the verses
appear. End quote.
It says in Haashiyat ad-Dasooqi (1/242): Switching the order of
soorahs is makrooh, and switching the order of consecutive verses in
one rak'ah is haraam and invalidates the prayer, because it distorts
it. End quote.
It says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (1/343): It is makrooh to switch the
order of soorahs, such asreciting al-Inshiraah (94), then reciting
ad-Duha (93) after it, whether that is in one ortwo rak'ahs, because
of the report narrated fromIbn Mas'ood, according to which he was
asked about someone who recited Qur'an in the wrong order. He said:
Hisheart is disordered. Abu 'Ubayd explained that as referring to when
a person recites one soorah, then after it he recites another that
comes before it in the order (of soorahs in the Mushaf). This was
mentioned by Ibn Nasrullah in ash-Sharh asbeing similar to the case
with verses, that is, a similar ruling of it being makrooh applies in
the case of switching the order of the verses. It says in al-Furoo'
that there is consensus on this point. Ibn Nasrullah said: If it was
said that it is haraam to switch the order of verses, that would be a
valid opinion. The evidence for it being only makrooh is not clear,
and using as evidence the way the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) learned it is subject to further discussion,
because that was due to need, as the Qur'aan wasrevealed according to
events. Shaykh [Ibn Taymiyah] said: Following the order of verses is
obligatory, because the order in which they appear is based on clear
instructions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him), according to scholarly consensus. End quote.
But if the switching of the order occurs when memorising, not when
reciting or asking someone to listen so as to check one's
memorisation, there is nothing wrong with that. So one may begin by
memorising the fifth verse, for example, then the fourth, then when
one wants to recite them, one recites the fourth verse and then the
fifth, without switching the order. Then when he has memorised the
third, and he wants to recite what he had memorised,he should recite
them in the proper order without switching it. So he should recite the
third, then the fourth, then the fifth. There is nothing wrong with
this; some teachers do it this way and think that it is the best way
of memorising.
To sum up: It is not permissible to recite twoconsecutive verses in
thewrong order, and it is not permissible to switchthe order of words
in one verse.
For more information please see the answer toquestion no. 7189
And Allah knows best.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

The Second Caliph, Umar (634-644 A.C.)

"God has placed truth upon Umar's tongue and heart. (hadeeth)"
'Umar's Life
During his last illness Abu Bakr had conferred with his people,
particularly the more eminent among them. After this meeting they
chose 'Umar as his successor. 'Umar was born into a respected Quraish
family thirteen years after the birth of Muhammad (peace be on him).
Umar's family was known for its extensive knowledge of genealogy. When
he grew up, 'Umar was proficient in this branch of knowledge as well
as in swordsmanship, wrestling and the art of speaking. He also
learned to read and write while still a child, a very rare thing in
Mecca at that time. 'Umar earned his living as a merchant. His trade
took him to many foreign lands and he met all kinds of people. This
experience gave him an insight into the affairs and problems of men.
'Umar's personality was dynamic, self-assertive, frank and straight
forward. He always spoke whatever was in his mind even if it
displeased others.
'Umar was twenty-seven when the Prophet (peace be on him) proclaimed
his mission. The ideas Muhammad was preachingenraged him as much as
they did the other notables of Mecca. He was just as bitter against
anyone accepting Islam as others among the Quraish. When his
slave-girl accepted Islam he beat her until he himself was exhausted
and told her, "I have stopped because I am tired, not out of pity for
you." The story of his embracing Islam is an interesting one. One day,
full of anger against the Prophet, he drew his sword and set out to
kill him. A friend met him on the way. When 'Umar told him what he
planned to do,his friend informed him that 'Umar's own sister, Fatima,
and her husband had also accepted Islam. 'Umar went straight to his
sister's house where he found her reading from pages ofthe Qur'an. He
fell upon her and beat her mercilessly. Bruised andbleeding, she told
her brother,"Umar, you can do what you like,but you cannot turn our
hearts away from Islam." These words produced a strange effect upon
'Umar. What was this faith that made even weak women so strong of
heart? He asked his sister to show him what she hadbeen reading; he
was at once moved to the core by the words of the Qur'an and
immediately grasped their truth. He went straight to the house where
the Prophet was staying and vowed allegiance to him.
Umar made no secret of his acceptance of Islam. He gathered the
Muslims and offered prayers at the Ka'aba. This boldness and devotion
of aninfluential citizen of Mecca raisedthe morale of the small
community of Muslims. Nonetheless 'Umar was also subjected to
privations, and when permission for emigrationto Medina came, he also
left Mecca. The soundness of 'Umar'sjudgment, his devotion to the
Prophet (peace be on him), his outspokenness and uprightness won for
him a trust and confidence from the Prophet which was second only to
that given to Abu Bakr. The Prophet gave him the title 'Farooq'
whichmeans the 'Separator of Truth from False hood.' During the
Caliphate of Abu Bakr, 'Umar washis closest assistant and adviser.When
Abu Bakr died, all the people of Medina swore allegiance to 'Umar, and
on 23 Jamadi-al-Akhir, 13 A.H., he was proclaimed Caliph.
'Umar's Caliphate
After taking charge of his office, 'Umar spoke to the Muslims of Medina:
"...O people, you have some rights on me which you can always claim.
One of your rights is that if anyone of you comes tome with a claim,
he should leavesatisfied. Another of your rights is that you can
demand that I take nothing unjustly from the revenues of the State.
You can also demand that... I fortify your frontiers and do not put
you into danger. It is also your right that if you go to battle I
should look after your families as a father would while you are away.
"O people, remain conscious of God, forgive me my faults and help me
in my task. Assist me in enforcing what is good and forbidding what is
evil. Advise me regarding the obligations that have been imposed upon
me by God..."
The most notable feature of 'Umar's caliphate was the vast expansion
of Islam. Apart from Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine andIran also came
under the protection of the Islamic government. But the greatness of
'Umar himself lies in the quality of his rule. He gave a practical
meaning to the Qur'anic injunction:
"O you who believe, stand out firmly for justice as witnesses to God,
even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether
it concerns rich or poor, for God can best protect both." [4:135]
Once a woman brought a claim against the Caliph 'Umar. When 'Umar
appeared on trial before the judge, the judge stood up asa sign of
respect toward him. 'Umar reprimanded him, saying,"This is the first
act of injustice you did to this woman!"
He insisted that his appointed governors live simple lives, keep no
guard at their doors and be accessible to the people at all times, and
he himself set the example for them. Many times foreign envoys and
messengers sent to him by his generals found him resting under a palm
tree or praying in the mosque among the people, and it was difficult
for them to distinguish which man was the Caliph. He spent many a
watchful night going about the streets of Medina to see whether anyone
needed help or assistance. The general social and moral tone of the
Muslim society at that time is well-illustrated by the words of an
Egyptian who was sent to spy on the Muslims during their Egyptian
campaign. He reported:
"I have seen a people, every one of whom loves death more than he
loves life. They cultivate humility rather than pride. None is given
to material ambitions. Their mode of living is simple... Their
commander is their equal. They make no distinction between superior
and inferior, between master and slave. When the time of prayer
approaches, none remains behind..."
'Umar gave his government an administrative structure. Departments of
treasury, army and public revenues were established. Regular salaries
were set up for soldiers. A popuation census was held. Elaborate land
surveys were conducted to assess equitable taxes. New cities were
founded. The areas which came under his rule were divided into
provinces and governors were appointed. New roads were laid, canals
were lug and wayside hotels were built. Provision was made for he
support of the poor and the needy from public funds. He defined, by
precept and by example, the rights and privileges of non-Muslims, an
example of which is the following contract with the Christians of
Jerusalem:
"This is the protection which theservant of God, 'Umar, the Ruler of
the Believers has granted to the people of Eiliya [Jerusalem]. The
protection is for their lives and properties, their churches and
crosses, their sick and healthy and for all their coreligionists.
Their churches shall not be used for habitation, nor shall they be
demolished, nor shall any injury be done to them or to their
compounds, or to their crosses, nor shall their properties be injured
in any way.There shall be no compulsion forthese people in the matter
of religion, nor shall any of them suffer any injury on account of
religion... Whatever is written herein is under the covenant of God
and the responsibility of His Messenger, of the Caliphs and of the
believers, and shall hold good as long as they pay Jizya [the tax for
their defense] imposed on them."
Those non-Muslims who took part in defense together with the Muslims
were exempted from paying Jizya, and when the Muslims had to retreat
from a city whose non-Muslim citizens had paid this tax for their
defense, the tax was returned tothe non-Muslims. The old, the poor and
the disabled of Muslims and non-Muslims alike were provided for from
the public treasury and from the Zakat funds.
'Umar's Death
In 23 A.H., when Umar returned to Medina from Hajj;, he raised his
hands and prayed,
"O God! I am advanced in years, my bones are weary, my powers are
declining, and the people forwhom I am responsible have spread far and
wide. Summon me back to Thyself, my lord!" Some time later, when 'Umar
went to the mosque to lead a prayer, a Magian named Abu Lulu Feroze,
who had a grudge against 'Umar on a personal matter, attacked him with
a dagger and stabbed him several times. Umar reeled and fell to the
ground. When he learned that the assassin was a Magian, he sid, "Thank
God he is not a Muslim."
'Umar died in the first week of Muharram, 24 A.H., and was buried by
the side of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him).

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

When the Unstoppable Force Meets the Immovable Object

There's a centuries old Chinese story about a man trying to sell a
spear and a shield. When askedhow good his spear was, he said that his
spear could pierce any shield. Then, when asked how good his shield
was, he said that it could defend from all spear attacks. Then one
person asked him what would happen if he were to take his spear to
strike his shield; the seller could not answer. This led to the idiom
of " zìx?ang máodùn ", or "self-contradictory".
Today we would call this a paradox. A modern phrasing of this
particular paradox might be, "What happens whenan unstoppable force
meets an immovable object?"
The scientist and author Isaac Asimov answered this by saying that the
question was essentially meaningless, because a universe in which
there exists such a thing as an irresistible force is, by definition,
a universe which cannot also contain an immovable object, and vice
versa.
I want to look at this paradox from a personal angle, in terms of
challenges in our relationships and at work, and confronting the
myriad obstacles of life.
I believe that – within this worldly plane and subject only to Allah's
decree – the human will triumphs over all. I can become either the
unstoppable force or the immovable object.
Unstoppable Force
Try it. When faced with a challenge, become the unstoppable force.
Don't give up, no matter what. If one approach does not work, try
another. Ignorethose who tell you that what you're doing is
impossible. Learn from failure and try again. When the road is dark,
ask Allah for guidance and feel your way forward. When the path is
obscured with thorns and branches, blaze your own trail. You will find
that through sheer determination, the so-called "unstoppable force"
will crumble before you like a clod of dirt, Insha'Allah.
I've experienced this. By not taking "no" for an answer, I've gotten
jobs when there were no jobsto be had. By being persistent and patient
and never losing hope, I've experienced true love. By never quitting
even when I was tired and discouraged, I've become a martial arts
expert.
I first began practicing martial arts as a teenager. I used to
literally walk across the desert outside Riyadh to get to karate
class, carrying stones in case I needed to keep the wild dogs at bay.
Later, when Ilived in Oakland, I took up a different martial art
called Hapkido. When I moved to Panama I found a Hapkido school and I
rode the bus over an hour each way to get there. The bus had no air
conditioning and was packed with tired Panamanians going home from
work. It was noisy, hot and uncomfortable. People covered their mouths
with cloths because of the smog. The Hapkido school also had no air
conditioning. After class I would wring the sweat out of my uniform.
When I later moved to a house up in the mountains there were no
martial arts schools, so I bought mats, laid them in my living room,
and recruited a few locals to come to my house for training. I even
convinced my gardener to practice with me, on the clock. So I was
payinghim to learn from me, just so I could have a practice partner!
When I returned to California I found no Hapkido school,so I started
my own class, and three years later thatclass is still going strong.
Meanwhile I have earnedblack belts in two other martial arts.
I'm not boasting, I'm simply trying to give you a real-world example.
When you want something badly enough,become the unstoppable force.
Keep moving toward your goal no matter what.
Immovable Object
When you feel like you are under attack, becomethe immovable object.
Duck your head and root yourself like a mountain, and the "unstoppable
force" will break around you like a breeze. Whether you are under
attack for your faith, or being criticized for making life choices
that others do not understand, hold your ground and do not yield an
inch, as long as you are in Allah's path.
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) began preaching in
Makkah, thepeople were idol worshipers. The Prophet used to go to the
Ka'bah, the square mosque which is the oldest houseof worship on
earth, and preach the idea of "Laa ilaha-il-Allah". There is noGod but
Allah. In other words no idol is worthy of worship, no human being
should be deified, no saint or angel should be venerated. Only Allah.
Because of this preachingthe Quraysh (the Arab tribe which held sway
in Makkah, and to which the Prophet Muhammad himself belonged)
persecuted him relentlessly. And yet he persisted, gaining followers,
until the Quraysh became desperate. They met withMuhammad (sws)
privately, and offered to make him king of Quraysh, and to bestow
great wealth on him, on the condition that he stop preaching. He
replied, "…if they should put the sun in my right hand and the moon in
my left, even then I shall not abandon the proclamation of the Unityof
God. I shall set up the true faith upon the earth or perish in the
attempt."
Allahu Akbar! That is the immovable object! I will not detail the
extreme suffering that was imposed upon the Prophet Muhammad (sws) and
his family after that; the economic boycott, the assassinationattempts
and attempted wars of extermination against the Muslims; suffice it to
say that Islampersisted and grew until it became the dominant religion
of the world. All because one man was unstoppable and immovable.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

1a. Blessing and Dissipation

1a.
as we read in Surat al-A'raf, 32:
Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing that Allahhas produced for
His servants and the good kinds of provision?" Say:"On the Day of
Rising, suchthings will be exclusively for those who had faith during
their life in the hereafter�"
The Qur'an gives the example of Prophet Sulayman (as), to whom Allah
gave great wealth. Infact, it describes these possessions, as well as
his opulent palace and works of art, in Surah Saba', 12-13 and Surat
an-Naml, 44.
The important thing here is that Sulayman (as) gave thanks to Allah
amid all of these magnificent possessions, for he knew that they were
a mercy from our Lord. By relating his words: "Truly do I love the
love of good with a view to the glory of my Lord" (Surah Sad, 32), the
Qur'an draws our attention to his deep understanding.
This example shows us that the love of possessions, defined here as
"the love of good," is legitimate as long as it is ameans to praise
Allah. No doubt, believers who havethis kind of love will not hesitate
to use their possessions as Allah directs. Possessions are a blessing
belonging to Allah, and so those who have them will use them as Allah
commands.
But if possessions are not seen as a blessing, dissolution sets in.
The Qur'an gives many examples of how deviators understand the meaning
of riches. One of the clearest examples is that of Qarun, a rich man
who "gloated" (Surat al-Qasas, 76) and said: "I have only been given
it because of the knowledge I have" (Surat al-Qasas, 78). Such a love
of possessions cannot bring people close to Allah; rather, it diverts
them from His way and alienates them from faith. The Qur'an describes
this type of love as:
Truly man is ungrateful to his Lord, and indeed he bears witness to
that. Truly he is fierce in his love of wealth. (Surat al-'Adiyat,
6-8)
So, for this reason Muslimsmust view wealth according to the Qur'an's
criteria and pursue it only to please Allah and serve Islam. They must
desire allof Allah's blessings, because all blessings of this earthly
life have been created for those faithful and sincere servants who
exert every effort to please and serve Allah. Wehave to be continually
thankful for these blessings and follow Sulayman's (as) example:"What
an excellent servant! He truly turned tohis Lord" (Surah Sad, 30).
Those who live according to the real spirit of the Qur'an's moral
teachings and adopt the point of view described above will be deemed
"worthy and qualified" to enter Paradise, which possesses, as one of
its most salient characteristics, eternal splendor and dazzling wealth
and beauty. Peoplewho think and feel like Sulayman (as), who
said:"Truly do I love the love ofgood with a view to the glory of my
Lord" (Surah Sad, 32) amid all of this beauty, are believers.
Since this is how believers will think in Paradise, theirtrue home,
they must establish this point of view in this world, which is no more
than a preparation for the world to come. Far from regarding wealth,
beauty, and splendor as dissolution, believers mustknow that every
blessing is a mercy from our Lord, recognize its value, learn to enjoy
it, and be thankful.
The blessings of Paradise that we will look at in the following pages
must be examined from this point of view./

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

1. Blessing and Dissipation

1.
In the following sections, we will analyze how the Qur'an looks at
Paradise and, based upon these descriptions,"try to imagine this
perfect place. But before we do this, let'slook at a few important
points. In today's societies,many people have erroneous ideas and
impressions in their conscious and subconscious minds. As such
obstacles cause them to formulate a mistaken view, we must describe
some basic Islamic concepts whose meanings have departed from their
original understanding.
With this in mind, we first have to distinguish between "blessing"
and"dissipation."
In the following pages, wewill see that the Qur'an describes Paradise
as an extremely luxurious and magnificent place, and that life therein
is as comfortable and attractiveas it can be.
However, to many people today, such a life is not so much "Islamic" as
it is a natural outcome of being alienated from Allah and religious
moral teaching.
So, because of this erroneous understanding that dominates society,
very many people think that a comfortable, luxurious, and ostentatious
life, and all that goes along with it, are "un-Islamic." They see such
things as expensive clothes, rich food, entertainment, dinner parties,
magnificently appointed houses, d�cor, and valuable art works as
belonging to ignorant people cut off from their religion. They usually
call alife filled with these things"dissolute," and criticize those
who give this society its name as "living undisciplined lives of
dissolution." The word"dissolution" (safahat) comes from the Arabic
safih, and can be translated as "a lack of discipline, overindulgence,
a weakness of mind that comes from living an irresponsible life of
wealthand comfort."
Here, we encounter a falseunderstanding that must be corrected. The
life of Paradise that Allah has been pleased to choose forHis
servants, as well as a life that contains every kind of luxury,
comfort, and ostentation, is also the most beautiful and noble way of
life, one that conforms as closely as possible to religious
moralteaching.
A false definition of dissolution opens the way to misunderstanding.
Dissolution, or rebellion against Allah through a lack of discipline
and overindulgence, is a condition of the human mind. People are not
dissolute because of their clothes, ostentatious houses, aesthetic
environments, or material wealth. Rather, the problem is in their
minds.
The natural result of this situation is this: If people have a
Qur'anic morality and a strong faith, they can live among the richest
opulence imaginable without ever becoming dissolute. On the contrary,
because they view everything they encounteraccording to the Qur'anic
criteria and moral teaching, they see all of the beauty surrounding
them as a blessing. In other words, they realize that all of these
things are gifts from Allah. So, if Muslims know that Allah has given
all of the surrounding riches, beauty, opulence, and magnificence,
naturally they thank our Lord for what He has provided. This is, after
all, why all blessings have been created.
If we applied this general way of thinking to our present society, we
would have to say that those who live a dissolute life and turn away
from Allah's commands have gone astray, because they do not see that
all of their possibilities are blessings from Him. If they saw these
things as blessings, this understanding would lead them to give thanks
to Allah. And then, they would use these blessings as Allah intended
them to be used: avoiding waste and using them in a way pleasing to
Him.
So, wealth can be defined in two ways. Some rich people are believers
who consider all of their possessions to be blessings from Allah,
whileother rich people go astray by considering all oftheir
possessions as their own, forget Allah, and fall into dissolution.
However, the model that Allah has proposed for all of His servants is
wealth, as mentioned in the first model above. Wealth and poverty are
tests for believers. Although some believers may be tested bypoverty,
Allah commands:"We desired to show kindness to those who were
oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders and inheritors" (Surat
al-Qasas, 5). This might happen in the world, but it certainly will
happen in the afterlife.
Therefore, it would be very wrong for Muslims to find fault with
grand, luxurious, and opulent lives. Muslims must not shun such people
and regard them with disdain, because, after all, all material things
in this life (e.g., fine clothes, deliciousfood, magnificent homes and
works of art) were created for Muslims, as we read in Surat al-A'raf,
32:
Say: :->

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Introduction Sunni and Shi'a

Introduction
Sunni and Shi'a:
-
The words Sunni and Shi'a appear regularly in stories about the Muslim
world but few people know what they really mean. Religion permeates
every aspect of life in Muslim countries and understanding Sunni and
Shi'a beliefs is important in understanding the modern Muslim world.
Introduction
The division between Sunnis and Shi'as is the largest and oldest in
the history of Islam.
They both agree on the fundamentals of Islam and share the same Holy
Book (The Qur'an ), but there are differences mostly derived from
their different historical experiences, political and social
developments, as well asethnic composition.
These differences originate from the question of who would succeed the
Prophet Muhammad as leader of the emerging Muslim community after his
death. To understand them, we need to know a bit about the
Prophet'slife and political and spiritual legacy.
The Prophet Muhammad
When the Prophet died in the early 7th century he left not only the
religion of Islam but alsoa community of about one hundred thousand
Muslims organised as an Islamic state on the Arabian Peninsula. It
wasthe question of who should succeed the Prophet and lead the
fledgling Islamic state that created the divide.
The larger group of Muslims chose Abu Bakr, a close Companion of
theProphet, as the Caliph (politico-social leader) and he was accepted
as such by much of the community which saw the succession in political
and not spiritual terms. However another smaller group, which also
included some of the senior Companions, believed that the Prophet's
son-in-law and cousin, Ali, should be Caliph. They understood that the
Prophet had appointed him as the sole interpreter of his legacy, in
both political and spiritual terms. In the end Abu Bakr was appointed
First Caliph.
Leadership claims
Both Shi'as and Sunnis have good evidence to support their
understanding of the succession. Sunnis arguethat the Prophet chose
Abu Bakr to lead the congregational prayers as he lay on his deathbed,
thus suggesting that the Prophet was naming Abu Bakr as the next
leader. The Shi'as' evidence is that Muhammad stood up in front of his
Companions on the way back from his last Hajj, and proclaimed Ali the
spiritual guide and master of all believers. Shi'a reports say he
tookAli's hand and said that anyone who followed Muhammad should
follow Ali.
Muslims who believe that Abu Bakr should have been the Prophet's
successor have come to be known as Sunni Muslims. Those who believe
Ali should have been the Prophet's successor are now known as Shi'a
Muslims. It was only later that these terms came into use. Sunni means
'one who follows the Sunnah'(what the Prophet said, did, agreed to or
condemned). Shi'a is a contraction of the phrase 'Shiat Ali', meaning
'partisans of Ali'.
The use of the word"successor" should not be confused to mean that
those leaders that came after the Prophet Muhammad were also prophets
- both Shi'a and Sunni agree that Muhammad was the final prophet.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

He is asking about al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah?

What is al-'Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah? What is it about?.
Praise be to Allaah.
al-'Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah is a book dealing with 'aqeedah (basic
tenets offaith) which was writtenby Imam al-Tahhaawi and named after
him. Discussing this 'aqeedah means that we must lookat it from a
number of angles.
Firstly:
The author is the imam, muhaddith and faqeeh Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn
Muhammad ibn Salaamah al-Tahhaawi - who is named after a village in
Upper Egypt - he studied with many Shaykhs and learned from them and
benefited from them, and he listed their number as three hundred
Shaykhs.
He was praised by more than one of the scholars:
Ibn Yoonus said: al-Tahhaawi was trustworthy, sincere, a faqeeh and a
man of wisdom, and after him there was no one else like him.
Al-Dhahabi said: the faqeeh, muhaddith, haafiz, one of the prominent
scholars, and he was trustworthy, sincere, a faqeeh and a man of
wisdom.
Ibn Katheer said: He was one of the trustworthy, sincere and a haafiz.
He wrote books which were well-written, comprehensive and of great
value, among which was his great book Ma'aani al-Athaar, which
contains research on fiqh accompanied by evidence and discussion of
controversial matters, and pointing to which view is more correct.
His books also include Mushkil al-Athaar and others.
He died (may Allaah havemercy on him) in 321 AH and was buried in
Egypt,in al-Quraafah.
See his biography in Siyar A'laam al-Nubala' (15/33-37) and
al-Bidaayah wa'l-Nihaayah (11/174).
Secondly:
This 'Aqeedah which waswritten by al-Tahhaawi mentions a number of the
beliefs of the righteous salaf and those who followed them of Ahl
al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, which was approved by the imams of the
Hanafis - as al-Tahhaawi followed the madhhab of Abu Haneefah. He
explained in his introduction his aims in doing that, and said:
"This is an explanation of the 'aqeedah of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ahaccording to the view of the fuqaha' of this madhhab: Abu
Haneefahal-Nu'maan ibn Thaabit al-Kufi, Abu Yoosuf Ya'qoob ibn
Ibraaheem al-Ansaari, and Abu 'Abd-Allaah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan
al-Shaybaani, may Allaahbe pleased with them all,and the beliefs
concerning the fundamentals of Islam, on the basis of which they
submit to the Lord of the Worlds." End quote.
Then he mentioned these basic beliefs, and the total number of things
he mentioned was 105 things believed by Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah in
general.
He started by explaining the Oneness of Allaah, may He be exalted, and
said a little about the attributes of His Lordship(sifaat
ruboobiyyatihi), such as His being alive and self-sufficient, and His
being the Creator and Provider, and he affirmed the attributes of
perfection without discussing how or likening Him to any of His
creation, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "There
is nothing like Him, and Heis the All-Hearer, the All-Seer" [al-Shoora
42:11]. Then he followedthat with a discussion of the obligation to
believein the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and that he was sent to all people. Then he spoke of the
Holy Qur'aan, stating that it is the word of Allaah and not created,
and he affirmed that thebelievers will see Allaah in the Hereafter.
Then hementioned some mattersof the unseen in which Ahl al-Sunnah
believe, such as the Cistern (al-hawd), intercession, the Throne and
the Footstool (al-Kursiy). Then he mentioned the pillars of belief in
al-qada' wa'l-qadar (the Divine will and decree) and what Ahl
al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah believe about this topic. Then hewent on to
define faith and its pillars, and explained that faith may increase
and decrease, and he explained the view of Ahl al-Sunnah in contrast
to the views of the Khawaarij and Murji'ah. He also described what
Ahl-al-Sunnah believe with regard to the noble Sahaabah (may Allaah
bepleased with them), and that loving them is part of Islam, faith and
ihsaan, and that hating them is kufr, hypocrisy and sin. Then he
mentioned some of the portents of the Hour andwhat will happen on
theDay of Resurrection, then he ended his essay with an discussion of
how this religion is the middle path, between exaggeration and
fallingshort.
Thirdly:
It is a book of 'aqeedah that is easy to read and clear in meaning. It
is comprehensive and brief. It sums up the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ah and, for the most part, includes matters on which there
is scholarly consensus and agreement.
Many scholars have written commentaries on this 'Aqeedah and explained
its words and meanings. One of the most famous of them is Ibn
Abi'l-'Izz al-Hanafi, who wrote a lengthy commentary on it; among
later scholars, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh Muhammad
Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on them) wrote
commentaries on it, as did Shaykh Safar ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hawaali
(may Allaah preserve him). The one who wants to understand more of the
meanings of al-Tahhaawiyyah can refer to these commentaries.
Fourthly:
'Aqeedah al-Tahhaawi discusses matters in briefand general terms, but
what made it very famous and popular among the Salafis in particular
is the commentary which was written by Shaykh Ibn Abi'l-'Izz al-Hanafi
(may Allaah have mercy on him), which is the most important and most
detailed of its commentaries. He based his commentary on the books of
Ahl al-Sunnah, especially the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
(may Allaah have mercy on him) and his student Ibn al-Qayyim (may
Allaah have mercy on him).
Fifthly:
Despite what we have referred to of the good features of this
'Aqeedahand its commentary by Ibn Abi'l-'Izz, it also contains a
number of issues which were criticized, because they go against what
the salaf believed, such as his saying, when defining faith: "Faith is
affirming with the tongue and believing in the heart," because
limiting it to that is the view of the Murji'i fuqaha' who excluded
physical actions from thedefinition of faith. The same applies to what
he said after that, "Faith is one and the same, and believers are
equal with regard to the foundation of faith."
It also includes some general phrases that may be understood
incorrectly, and are mostoften used by innovatorsto mean things that
are contrary to the beliefs ofthe righteous salaf, such as his saying,
"exalted beHe above limits and boundaries" and "exalted be He above
having faculties and parts" and "He is not subject to directions
anddimensions which are attributes of created beings." Such phrases
are used by those who misinterpret the attributes of Allaah
(al-mu'attilah) to deny what is affirmed in the Book of Allaah and
the Sunnah of His Messengerof the sublime attributesof Allaah that
befit His perfection, may He be glorified and exalted, such as His
Countenance,hands and eyes. They callthem faculties and parts,and deny
that Allaah possesses them.
Another example is His being above His creation, and His rising above
His Throne in His heaven. They call this "directions and location"and
deny that it applies to Allaah, may He be exalted.
Because of that, it is important for the seekerof knowledge to pay
attention to learning this 'Aqeedah from a scholar of Ahl al-Sunnah
who can explain it, such as Ibn Abi'l-'Izz among classical scholars
and from contemporary scholars who have written brief commentaries on
it, as we have referred to above.
There are many audio commentaries on this book, such as the commentary
by Shaykh Saalih Aal al-Shaykh, andthe commentary by Shaykh Yoosuf
al-Ghufays, and others.
Shaykh Safar al-Hawaali (may Allaah preserve him) has commented at
length on the commentary of Ibn Abi'l-'Izz; you may refer to it on his
website.
And Allaah knows best.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Is it obligatory to obey aruler who does not rule according to the Book ofAllaah and the Sunnah ofHis Messenger (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him)?

Is it obligatory to obey a ruler who does not rule according to the
Book ofAllaah and the Sunnah ofHis Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The ruler who does not rule according to the Book of Allaah and the
Sunnah of His Messengershould be obeyed in matters that do not involve
disobedience towards Allaah and His Messenger, and it is not
obligatory to fight him because of that; rather itis not permissible
to do so unless he reaches the level of kufr, in which case it becomes
obligatory to oppose him and he has no right to be obeyed by the
Muslims.
Ruling according to anything other than thatwhich is in the Book of
Allaah and the Sunnah ofHis Messenger reaches the level of kufr when
two conditions are met:
1. When he knows the ruling of Allaah and His Messenger; if he is
unaware of it, then he does not commit kufr by going against it.
2. When what makes him rule by something other than that which
Allaah has revealed is the belief that it is a ruling that is not
suitable for our time andthat something else is more suitable than it
and more beneficial for people.
If these two conditions are met, then ruling by something other than
that which Allaah has revealed constitutes kufrwhich puts a person
beyond the pale of Islam, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): "And whosoever does not judge by what Allaah hasrevealed,
such are the Kaafiroon (i.e. disbelievers)" [al-Maa'idah 5:44]. The
authority of the ruler becomes invalid and he has no right to be
obeyed by the people; it becomes obligatory to fight him and remove
him from power.
But if he rules by something other than that which Allaah has revealed
whilst believing that ruling by that – i.e. that which Allaah has
revealed -- is what is obligatory, and that it is more suitable for
the people, but he goes against it because of some whims and desires
on his part or because he wants to wrong the people underhis rule,
then he is not a kaafir; rather he is a faasiq (evildoer) or a zaalim
(wrongdoer). His authority remains, and obeying him in matters that do
not involve disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger is obligatory,
and it is not permissible to fight him or remove him from power by
force or to rebel against him, because the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allaah be upon him) forbade rebelling against rulers unless
we see blatant kufr for which we have proof from Allaah.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

The First Caliph, Abu Bakr(632-634 A.C.)

"If I were to take a friend other than my Lord, I would take Abu Bakr
as a friend." (Hadeeth)
Election to the Caliphate
The Prophet's closest Companion, Abu Bakr, was not present when the
Holy Prophet (peace be on him) breathed his last in the apartment of
his beloved wife of later years, Aisha, Abu Bakr's daughter. When he
came to know of the Prophet's passing, Abu Bakr hurried to the house
of sorrow.
"How blessed was your life and how beatific is your death,"
he whispered as he kissed the cheek of his beloved friend and master
who now was no more.
When Abu Bakr came out of the Prophet's apartment and broke the news,
disbelief and dismay gripped the community of Muslims in Medina.
Muhammad (peace be on him) had been the leader, the guide and the
bearer of Divine revelation through whom they had been brought from
idolatry and barbarism intothe way of God. How could he die? Even
Umar, one of the bravest and strongest of the Prophet's Companions,
lost his composure and drew his sword and threatened to kill anyone
who said that the Prophet was dead. Abu Bakr gently pushed him aside,
ascended the steps ofthe lectern in the mosque and addressed the
people, saying
"O people, verily whoever worshipped Muhammad, behold! Muhammad is
indeed dead. But whoever worships God, behold! God is alive and
willnever die."
And then he concluded with a verse from the Qur'an:
"And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Many Messengers have gone before
him; if then hedies or is killed, will you turn back upon your heels?"
[3:144]
On hearing these words, the people were consoled. Despondency gave
place to confidence and tranquility. This critical moment had passed.
But the Muslim community was nowfaced with an extremely serious
problem: that of choosing a leader. After some discussion among the
Companions of the Prophet who had assembled in order to select a
leader, it became apparent that no one was better suited for this
responsibility than Abu Bakr. A portion of the speech the First Caliph
gave after his election hasalready been quoted in the introduction.
Abu Bakr's Life
Abu Bakr ('The Owner of Camels')was not his real name. He acquired
this name later in life because of his great interest in raising
camels. His real name was Abdul Ka'aba ('Slave of Ka'aba'), which
Muhammad (peace be on him) later changed to Abdullah ('Slave of God').
The Prophet also gave him the title of 'Siddiq' - 'The Testifier to
the Truth.'
Abu Bakr was a fairly wealthy merchant, and before he embraced Islam,
was a respected citizen of Mecca. He was three years younger than
Muhammad (peace be on him) and some natural affinity drew them
together from earliest child hood. He remained the closest Companion
of the Prophet all through the Prophet's life. When Muhammadfirst
invited his closest friends and relatives to Islam, Abu Bakr was among
the earliest to accept it. He also persuaded Uthman and Bilal to
accept Islam. In the early days of the Prophet's mission, when the
handful of Muslims were subjected to relentless persecution and
torture, Abu Bakr bore his full share of hardship. Finally when God's
permission came to emigrate from Mecca, he was the one chosen by the
Prophet to accompany him on the dangerous journey to Medina. In the
numerous battles which took place during the life of the Prophet, Abu
Bakr was always byhis side. Once, he brought all his belongings to the
Prophet, who was raising money for the defense of Medina. The Prophet
asked "Abu Bakr, what did you leave for your family?" The reply came:
"God and His Prophet."
Even before Islam, Abu Bakr was known to be a man of upright character
and amiable and compassionate nature. All through his life he was
sensitive to human suffering and kind to the poor and helpless. Even
though he was wealthy, he lived very simply and spent his moneyfor
charity, for freeing slaves andfor the cause of Islam. He often spent
part of the night in supplication and prayer. He shared with his
family a cheerfuland affectionate home life.
Abu-Bakr's Caliphate
Such, then, was the man upon whom the burden of leadership fell at the
most sensitive period in the history of the Muslims.
As the news of the Prophet's death spread, a number of tribesrebelled
and refused to pay Zakat (poor-due), saying that this was due only to
the Prophet(peace be on him). At the same time a number of impostors
claimed that the prophethood had passed to them after Muhammad and
they raised the standard of revolt. To add to all this, two powerful
empires, the Eastern Roman and the Persian, also threatened the
new-born Islamic state at Medina.
Under these circumstances, many Companions of the Prophet, including
Umar, advisedAbu Bakr to make concessions to the Zakat evaders, at
least for a time. The new Caliph disagreed. He insisted that the
Divine Law cannot be divided, that there is no distinction between the
obligations of Zakat and Salat (prayer), and that any compromise with
the injunctions of God would eventually erode the foundations of
Islam. Umar and others were quick to realize their error of judgment.
The revolting tribes attacked Medina but the Muslims were prepared.
Abu Bakr himself led the charge, forcing them to retreat. He then made
a relentless war on the false claimants to prophethood, most of whom
submitted and again professed lslam.
The threat from the Roman Empire had actually arisen earlier, during
the Prophet's lifetime. The Prophet had organized an army under the
command of Usama, the son of afreed slave. The army had not gone far
when the Prophet had fallen ill so they stopped. After the death of
the Prophet the question was raised whether the army should be sent
again or should remain for the defenceof Medina. Again Abu Bakr showed
a firm determination. He said, "I shall send Usama's army on its way
as ordered by the Prophet, even if I am left alone."
The final instructions he gave to Usama prescribed a code of conduct
in war which remains unsurpassed to this day. Part of his instructions
to the Muslim army were:
"Do not be deserters, nor be guilty of disobedience. Do not kill an
old man, a woman or a child. Do not injure date palms and do not cut
down fruit trees. Do not slaughter any sheep or cows or camels except
for food. You will encounter persons who spend their lives in
monasteries. Leave them alone and do not molest them."
Khalid bin Waleed had been chosen by the Prophet (peace beon him) on
several occasions to lead Muslim armies. A man of supreme courage and
a born leader, his military genius came to full flower during the
Caliphate of Abu Bakr. Throughout Abu Bakr's reign Khalid led his
troops from one victory to another against the attacking Romans.
Another contribution of Abu Bakr to the cause of Islam was the
collection and compilation of the verses of the Qur'an.
Abu Bakr died on 21 Jamadi-al Akhir, 13 A.H. (23 August 634 A.C.), at
the age of sixty-three, and was buried by the side of the Holy Prophet
(peace be on him). His caliphate had been of amere twenty-seven months
duration. In this brief span, however, Abu Bakr had managed, by the
Grace of God, to strengthen and consolidate his community and the
state, and to secure the Muslims against the perils which had
threatened their existence.

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

The Sahaabah were the companions of Prophet Muhammad (saas). They are
described in glowing terms by the Prophet (saas) as the following
hadith from Sahih Muslim shows:
Book 30, Number 6159
Narrated Aisha:
A person asked Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) as to who amongst
the people were the best.He said: Of the generation to which I belong,
then of the second generation (generation adjacent to my generation),
then of the third generation (generation adjacent to the second
generation).

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -

The Emperor and the Seed

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to
choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his
children, he decided something different. He called young people in
the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down
and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give
each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to
plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants
that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling wasthere that day and he, like the others, received
a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She
helped him get a pot and planting soil, and heplanted the seed and
watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if
it had grown. Afterabout three weeks, some of the other youthsbegan to
talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4
weeks, 5 weeks went by.Still nothing. By now, others were talking
about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a
failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew
he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling
didn't say anything to his friends, however. He justkept waiting for
his seedto grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their
plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he
wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened,
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He
took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were
beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor
and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him
and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back."My, what great plants,
trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of
you will be appointed the next emperor!" All ofa sudden, the emperor
spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered
his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor
knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor askedhis name. "My name is
Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyoneto quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then
announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. Howcould
he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I
gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it,
water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled
seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me
trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not
grow, you substituted another seed for the oneI gave you. Ling was the
only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed
in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
The Prophet taught,"Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and
righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth
until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e.
wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell)
Fire, and a manmay keep on telling lies till he is written before
Allah, a liar." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

--

- - -
Translate:
http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en&twu=1/
- - - -