History of the Sunnah -II: The era of the Companions and their followers

Most scholars group the main aspects of the methodology of the
Companionsin preserving the Sunnah into the following seven
categories: prudence in narrating the hadeeths, verification and
substantiation of the hadeeths before accepting them, critique,
discussions and assessment of the narration, traveling for search and
confirmation of the hadeeths, memorization, practice and writing of
the hadeeths. Some scholars refer to these aspects as 'rulings',
'methods' or 'ways' instead of methodology.
1- Prudence in narrating the Hadeeth:
Because of the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation and a sacred
Source for this religion, the Companionswere very careful when
narrating what the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi sallam, said or did.
This vigilance was illustrated in:
· Avoiding narration unless they had to. 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Abi
Laylasaid:"I have met with 120 Companionsfrom the Ansaar )supporters
of the Prophet(, none of whom would narrate a hadeeth or answer a
question of fatwa unless he absolutely had no choice but to do it. One
would have to go and ask another instead of him, so much so you would
keep going from one to the other until you get back to the first one
you asked."Theyunderstood that they were conveying the message brought
to them by the Prophetand that people see it as such, thus everyone
wanted the other to do that because they may know it better. This,
however, should not be construed to mean they avoided spreading the
message or teaching Islam to others. This prudence indicates they were
fully aware of their role and its significance. They would rather let
others, who may be more knowledgeable, do the job, but once they had
to do, they did it in the best way possible.
· Limiting or discouraging the narration. This attitude was
adopted for the purpose of protecting the Sunnah because it minimizes
the possibility of mistakes or forgetfulness that may otherwise cause
people to doubt the Sunnah or mistrust the narrators. This trend was
strongly encouraged by Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaaband
was accepted and practiced by the Companions. This attitude is founded
on the famous hadeeth narrated by many Companions:"It is sufficient
—for one to tumble into lying - to narrate or repeat everything he/she
hears."]Al-Bukhaari and others[
· Encouraging narration from knowledgeable Companions. To
strike a necessary balance between being cautious and insuring the
transmission of the religion and the spreading of its teachings, the
Companionswho had a great deal of knowledge—like those recommended by
the Prophet—never hesitated to narrate, write or teach the Sunnah.
There are hundreds of narrations that encourage such practice so long
as it is done in the right manner.
· Opting for verbatim narration. Guided with instruction in the
Hadeeth, "May Allaah bless the person who hears a statement from me
and conveys it as he/she heard it," the Companionsdid all that was
humanly possible to keep their narration verbatim of what they
actually heard from the Prophet. There are many reported incidents,
which testify to this fact. Having such natural mastery of the Arabic
– that was common among them—and the fact that theysaw and heard the
Prophetsay, do and explain to them his teachings repeatedly, as well
as their understanding of the need for verbatim transmission of
narrations, all combined to make it easy for them not to cause changes
as they narrate any Hadeeth.
2- Verification of the Hadeeth before accepting it
This is an important tool that the Companionsestablished to safeguard
the Sunnah against any foreign material interference and accidental or
deliberate mistakes. This was a common prac­tice amongst all of the
Companionswhen receiving or narrating the Sunnah. Imaam
Ath-Thahabimentioned this practice, in one of his great books,
addressing the issue of Hadeeth Memorizers. Hesaid that it was one of
the ways used by of the four Caliphsto protect the Hadeeth. For
example, Abu Bakrwas asked to rule in the case of a grandmother who
came asking for her right in inheritance, hesaid that he knew of no
amount due to her neither in the Book of Allaah )i.e., Quran( nor the
Sunnah of the Prophet. But when Al-Mugheerahtold that he has
wit­nessed the Prophetgive one-sixth of the total amount of the
inheritance, heasked him if he had witness to substantiate this claim.
And when Muhammad Ibn Maslamahwitnessed to the truth of that figure,
Abu Bakraccepted it and gave the grandmother exactly that.
In the case of 'Umar Ibn Al-KhattaabAth-Thahabimentioned many
incidents that testify to the fact that healways ascertained the
narration when it was necessary to do so. Henarrated that Maalik Ibn
Awsheard 'Umarsay to 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn 'Awf, Talhah Ibn Az-Zubayr and
Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas:"I ask by Allaah, Who maintains the Heaven and
Earth! Did you hear the Prophetsay: 'I am not to be inherited,
whatever I leave is to be given in charity'? They said:`Yes, Allaah is
our witness."]Ahmad[
After narrating the above incidents among others, Imaam
Ath-Thahabirepeatedly asserted that the verifications were not meant
to doubt the truthfulness of any of the Companionsrather they were
necessary to establish a standard of care and respect for what the
Prophet, sallallaahu alay­hi wa sallam, said or did. Theydid that for
themselves and to institute a tradition to be fol­lowed and honored by
all who come after them.
In summary, it is essential to note the following about this method:
- The purpose was to protect the Sunnah, not to doubt one another. All
of the Companionsare trustworthy as clearly stated in the Quran, and
doubting their trustworthiness can certainly damage one's faith.
- The purpose, also, was to establish a method and set an example to
be followed by the rest of the Muslim nation. The truth, however,
remains that Companionsused to accept narration conveyed by any one of
them. Their request of witnesses or that the narrator gives an oath
that he is saying the truth was to establish the methodology, so that
people would not take narrating a Hadeeth lightly. This fact may
further be supported when considering that:
- Sometimes theyrequired a witness while at others they had the
narrator give oath or reminded him of how serious it is to lie against
the Prophet. This variation indicates that the purpose was actually to
establish awareness of the significance of narrating the Hadeeth
rather than set up a requirement of having more than one narrator as a
condition for its authenticity.
- There are a very large number of narrations, which indicate that in
many cases the Companionshad actually accepted Hadeeth from one
narrator without seeking any substantiation or verification.

History of the Sunnah – III: The era of the Companions and their followers

As a part of our discussion of the Companions'methodology in
preserving the Sunnah of the Prophetwe mentioned thus far two of its
aspects; namely, prudence in narrating the Hadeeth, and verification
and substantiation of the Hadeeth before accepting it. Three more
aspects are presented here.
3. Study, critique, and assessment of the narrations
Of the ways the Companionsused to preserve the Sunnah, properly
learning and studying it, was perhaps the most important. They refer
to this using terms like, "Tadaarus" and "Muthaakarah," both of which
indicate a studying that involves more than one person as well as a
mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas. The results of this "studying
and discussing" were manifold. Learning the Sunnah correctly, free of
mistakes was one of the goals, and so was the firm memorization of it.
And since it was physically impossible for a large number of the
Companionsto have equal time access to the Prophetthese discussions
were the means through which the narrations known to only a few
individuals were passed on to many others, thus expanding the circle
of narrators. Books such as Jaami' Bayaan Al-'Ilm by Ibn Abd
Al-Barrand Al-Jaami' Li Akhlaaq Ar-Raawi by Al-Khateebhave many
authentic narrations from the Companionsbearing witness to the
effectiveness of these discussions in preserving the Sunnah.
Another aspect of the Companions'methodology in preserving the Sunnah
was the critical assessment and evaluation of what they narrated and
taught to one another. Anytime a Companionfelt what he heard from
another had a problem, he or she would critically analyze it and give
his/her opinion about it. A major example of this effort by the
Companionswas demonstrated by Badruddeen Az-Zarkashiwho wrote a book
in which he collected more than seventy narrations in which one
Companion, 'Aa'ishah, the Mother of the Believerswas reported as
having corrected other Companions'narrations based on her assessment
of the narrations in light of the Quran and the Hadeeth.
4. Traveling in search of the Hadeeth
Another great effort they made was traveling in search of the Hadeeth,
for after the death of the Prophetthe Companionsmoved to different
places within the Muslim land, and traveling became an essential
method of Hadeeth collection, authentication and preservation. Here
are a few examples of the Companions'travel for the sole purpose of
confirming certain narrations:
Jaabir Ibn Abdullaahtraveled a whole month to Ancient Syria only to
verify one Hadeeth. ]Al-Bukhaari[
One of the Companionstraveled to visit Fudhaalah Ibn 'Ubaydand told
him that he came not to visit him but only to ask him about a
narration that they both heard together from Prophetand he was hoping
that Fudhaalahhad the complete wording of that Hadeeth. ]Abu Daawood[
One of the Companionsleft his home in Madeenah in order to meet Abu
Ad-Dardaa'in Damascus only to have Abu Ad-Dardaa' confirm a narration
which this Companionhad already heard from the Prophet. ]Ibn Abd
Al-Barr[traveled all the way to Egypt to ask 'Uqbah Ibn 'Amrabout one
Hadeeth. Abu Ayyoob told 'Uqbahthat the two of them were the only
living Companions who have heard that Hadeeth directly from the
Prophetand he wanted to confirm the Hadeeth from 'Uqbah. ]Ahmad[
5-Memorization of the Hadeeth
Muslims – one generation after the other – did all that is humanly
possible to preserve the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah as accurate
as they received it from the Prophet. Beside the extra effort they
exacted to develop the Methodology, the Companionsbenefited from a
talent that came naturally to them, one that was truly befitting to
the main undertaking of that methodology—the verbatim transmission of
the Sunnah. This unique quality of the Companionswas that they enjoyed
powerful memories. It was easy for anyone of them to commit to heart
any number of narrations and retain them as such for a very long time.
This quality was not specific only to the Companionsbut rather was a
common feature of the Arab society as a whole. Many scholars—Muslims
and non-Muslim alike – established the fact that the Arabs of that era
were masters of language, and their society had a profoundly strong
oral tradition. The known narrator of poet­ry, Hammaad, for example,
was reported to have memorized at least one hundred long poems for
each letter in the Arabic alphabet. That is more than 2800 pieces of
poetry. Powerful memory was a source of pride for them and they placed
more con­fidence in it than in writing, they believed that writings
could be tampered with. Some even took this pride to extreme levels,
they would not write anything down for fear that may be taken as
indication of defective memory.
Obviously, the Companionswho had more passion for preserving the
Sunnah than poetry and literature used this powerful quality to
protect and maintain the Sunnah. Imaam Ad-Daariminarrated that the
Companion Abu Hurayrahsaid: "I used to divide the night into three
parts. In the first, I would perform the optional night Prayer, in the
second I would sleep, and in the third I would spend committing
Hadeeth to my memory." Actually, all of the Companionsconsidered this
an honor and a blessing, for they were encouraged to do so by the
saying of the Prophet: "May Allaah make radiant )bestow vigor upon(
anyone who heard what I said and commit­ted it to his memory until he
is able to convey it to another. Perhaps the person who hears it from
him can have a better understanding of it than him." ]At-Tirmithi[
On the other hand, the Prophetalso taught the Companionstwo aspects
that brought a needed balance to the use of memorization in conveying
his Hadeeth, namely the importance of writing, and the need of being
moderate in all matters. This fact complemented their efforts in
establishing a sound and well rounded methodology.
The phenomenon of "Memory Power" continued to be a general character
of the Arab society well into the third and fourth centuries of
Hijrah, the time by which all of the Sunnah was collected into books
and records. But the diminishing of its prevalence in the society with
time did not minimize the role memory played in the preserving of the
Sunnah. "Memory Power," or Dhabt—proficiency in narration, as it later
came to be known—became an essential part of the standards used to
judge authenticity. Judging the narrators memory power is central in
what we know as the science of "Al-Jarh wa Ta'deel."

** Dought & clear, - Was the adhaan revealed by wahy or was it suggestedby a sahaabi?.

** I think i once read that the adhan (call to prayer)was suggested to
our prophet Muhammed () by another muslim after he said he didnt want
to use the bells that the christians used or the rams-head(?) that the
jews used to call people to prayer. How does the idea of everything
the prophet ordered being an inspiration that is inspired fit in with
this?
I am not trying to be picky here, but am asking purely to aid my understanding.
Praise be to Allaah.
"Adhaan" in Arabic means conveying; in Islam it means announcing that
the time (for prayer) has come. It was prescribed during the time of
the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah. According to the hadeeth of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn Abd
Rabbihi, when the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) decided to use a bell even though he disliked it because it
was like what the Christians used, 'there appeared to me in a dream a
man who was wearing two green garments, in whose hand was a bell. I
said, "O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?" he said, "What
will you do with it?" I said, "We will call the people to prayer with
it." He said, "Shall I not show you something better than that?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Say,Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar… (to the end of
the adhaan)." When morning came, I went to the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him what I
had seen. He said, "This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up with
Bilaal and tell him what you have seen, so that he can give the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you." So I got up with
Bilaal and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call
to prayer. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his
house, and he came out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same
as he saw." The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "To Allaah be praise."'(Narrated by Ahmad, 1588;
al-Tirmidhi, 174; Abu Dawood, 421, 430; Ibn Maajah, 698).
It is clear from this hadeeth:
That the words of the adhaan came in a dream which was seen by a great
sahaabi and approved of by our great Prophet. They were not a
suggestion as you mentioned, but a dream, and it is known that dreams
are one of the seventy parts of Prophethood, because it was stated in
a hadeeth narrated by Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Dreams are one of the seventy parts of
Prophethood."(Narrated by Ahmad, 4449).
Al-Bukhaari narrated a different version: "True dreams are one of the
forty-six parts of Prophethood."(Narrated by al-Bukhaari,, 6474;
Muslim, 4203, 42005).
The dream here, which the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) described as a true dream, came from Allaah and was not a
suggestion from a person. So it was a part of Prophethood because it
was approved of by the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and was described by him as a true dream. If the Prophet had not
approved of it, it would not have been considered a true dream and it
would not have been a part of Prophethood. The one who judged it to be
true was the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
the one who commanded them to act upon it was the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who received revelation (wahy) from
his Lord.
'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) had seen a similar dream. Let
us not forget that 'Umar was one of the Rightly-guided khaleefahs
(al-khulafaa' al-raashidoon), of whom the Messenger(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "I exhort you to adhere to my
sunnah (way) and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khaleefahs. Hold on
tight to it with your back teeth."(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2600; Ibn
Maajah, 43; Ahmad, 16519).
'Umar's view frequently coincided with the wahy and divine
legislation. 'Aa'ishah reported that the Prophet(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to say, "Among the nations who came before
you there were people who were muhaddathoon (inspired). If there is
anyone like this in my ummah, it is 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab."(Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 3282; Muslim, 2398).Ibn Wahb said muhaddathoon means
inspired.
You may ask, why did the adhaan start in this fashion, being seen in a
dream by two sahaabis then being confirmed by the wahy? Why was it not
revealed directly? The answer is that Allaah decrees whatever He
wills, however He wills, may He be glorified and exalted. Perhaps the
way it happened was meant to demonstrate the virtue of these two
sahaabis and to confirm the how good this ummah is, because among them
are some whose opinions coincide with the wahy and some who had true
dreams which confirmed their truthfulness, for the people who have the
truest dreams are the truest in speech as the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said.
Finally:
The definition of the Sunnah given in the books of the scholars is
that it consists of everything that was narrated from the
Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), everything that
he "said, did or approved of."
What is meant by his words and actions is clear. What he approved of
refers to when someone did something in front of him and he approved
of it – this is also part of the sharee'ah, not because that person
did it, but because the Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) approved of it. The Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) never kept quiet about falsehood and he never approved of
anything false or misguided that was done by others. He would
disapprove of it and speak out against it, as he did in the case of
the sahaabi Abu Israa'eel, as was narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas, who said:
"Whilst the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
giving a khutbah, he saw a man standing in the sun, and he asked about
him. They said, 'That is Abu Israa'eel. He vowed to stand and not sit
down, not to seek shade, not to speak, and to fast.' He said, 'Tell
him to speak, seek shade and sit down, but let him complete his
fast.'"(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6326).
The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of Abu
Israa'eel's vow to fast, but he cancelled the rest of his vow and did
not approve of it.
So it is clear that the adhaan became part of the religion when the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) confirmed what
Allaah had shown the two sahaabis in their dreams, and commanded
'Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd to teach it to Bilaal so that he could call the
people to prayer. Hopefully the explanation given above will dispel
your confusion and make matters clearer to you. We ask Allaah to grant
us and you understanding of Islam. And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - The length of du‘aa’ al-Qunoot and reciting it.

What is the ruling on reciting du'aa' al-qunoot and making it last for
more than twenty minutes, which includes du'aa' that resembles how
people ordinarily talk?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Qunoot in Witr prayer is Sunnah and mustahabb; it was narrated from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there are
some hadeeths which give the wording for du'aa' al-qunoot.
It was narrated that al-Hasan ibn 'Ali may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
taught me some words to say in Qunoot of Witr:
"Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa 'aafini feeman 'aafayta wa
tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a'tayta, wa qini sharra
ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda 'alayk, wa innahu laa
yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya'izzu man 'aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana
wa ta'aalayta(O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided,
pardon me among those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship
among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in
what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have
decreed. For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is
not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is
Your enemy. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted.)."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1425; at-Tirmidhi, 464. Classed as hasan by
at-Tirmidhi and as saheeh by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr inal-Istidhkaar, 2/285
and an-Nawawi inal-Adhkaar, 86
See question no. 14093.
InSaheeh Ibn Khuzaymah(1100) it is narrated that the people, at the
time of 'Umar, used to pray against the disbelievers in the middle of
Ramadan, (saying): "O Allah, destroy the disbelievers who seek to
prevent people from following Your path and who disbelieve in Your
Messengers and do not believe in the Day of Resurrection. Create
disunity among them and instil fear in their hearts, and send Your
wrath and punishment upon them, O God of truth."
Then he would send blessings on the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) and pray for the Muslims for whatever he could of
good, then he would pray for forgiveness for the believers. He said:
And he used to say when he had finished praying against the
disbelievers, sending blessings upon the Prophet, praying for
forgiveness for the believing men and women and asking for good: "O
Allah, You (alone) we worship and to You (alone) we pray and
prostrate; for Your sake we strive and worship. We hope for Your
mercy, our Lord, and we fear Your inevitable punishment, for Your
punishment will surely befall the one whom You oppose." Then he would
say takbeer and fall down in prostration.
Al-Albaani said: Its isnaad is saheeh
Secondly:
Paying attention to the du'aa' that was narrated from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then from his Companions
after him, is better and is preferable and brings more blessings than
making up flowery supplications and invented awraad, for which there
is no guarantee that they will be free from mistakes in meaning or
that they will not be contrary to proper etiquette when calling upon
Allah, may He be exalted, and it will be more likely to keep one safe
from showing off.
Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be
exalted, has given us permission to call upon Him and has taught
du'aa' in His Book to His creation, and the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) has taught his ummah how to offer du'aa'.
The du'aa' of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
is based on three things: proper knowledge of Tawheed (the Oneness of
Allah), proper knowledge of the (Arabic) language and sincerity to the
ummah. So no one should turn away from his du'aa' (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him).
Al-Maawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Haawi
al-Kabeer(2/200): What is narrated from the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) is what is more liked by us than anything
else, but whatever a person says in Qunoot of 'du'aa's narrated from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and otherwise
is good for that purpose.
Both texts were quoted by Shaykh Muhammad Ismaa'eel al-Muqaddim in his
essay:'Oodu ila khayr al-Huda, p. 45-46]
Ibn 'Uqayl al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that
'du'aa's narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) should be what is recited as regular wird, and anything
added to it is by way of a concession. He said: What is mustahabb in
our view is that which was narrated by al-Hasan ibn 'Ali from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "Allahumma
ihdini…" – the well-known hadeeth. He said: If one adds to that the
words narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), "Allahumma
inna nasta'eenuka…(O Allah, we seek Your help)…", there is nothing
wrong with that. End quote.
This was quoted by Ibn Muflih in his comment onal-Muharrar, 1/89
Indeed, some of the scholars spoke sternly about the issue of adding
to the 'du'aa's narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him, to the extent that al-'Izz ibn 'Abd as-Salaam (may
Allah have mercy on him) said – as it says in hisFataawa, 87 –: It is
not appropriate to add anything to or subtract anything from what the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said in
Qunoot.
Quoted from'Oodu ila Khayr al-Huda, p. 45
Thirdly:
There is nothing wrong with adding to the wording narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Qunoot words
that may be appropriate to the situation, because this is the issue of
du'aa' (supplication), and the issue of du aa' is broad in scope, and
adding to it is something that is allowed in Islam. Concerning the
du'aa' narrated from 'Umar, it says: … and he would pray for whatever
he could of good for the Muslims, then he would pray for forgiveness
for the believers.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Majmoo'(3/477-478):
Shaykh Abu 'Amr ibn as-Salaah said: The view of those who say that one
should limit du'aa' in Qunoot to that which is narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is odd (shaadhdh)
and is not acceptable; it is contrary to the opinion of the majority
of our companions and in fact is contrary to the opinion of the
majority of scholars. Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad narrated that the scholars were
unanimously agreed that there is no specific du'aa' for Qunoot… The
author ofal-Haawisaid: It may be done reciting the du'aa' narrated
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or by
saying other du'aa's. End quote.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 34/63:
He may add whatever he wants of du'aa's that are permissible to say
during prayer. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said inash-Sharh
al-Mumti', 4/52:
If he adds to that, there is nothing wrong with that, because it is
the matter of du'aa' (supplication). End quote.
Fourthly:
It is important to note that although adding (phrases not narrated in
the Sunnah) to a du'aa' narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) is permissible according to the majority of
scholars, it is not permissible to take that as a regular practice,
thus neglecting the Sunnah and missing out on the blessing (barakah)
of following the Sunnah as a result of that. Indeed, one should not
always combine the two and regard them as being the same in status.
Rather the worshipper should do that sometimes and not do it
sometimes, according to the situation.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Undoubtedly dhikr and du'aa's are among the best kinds of worship.
Acts of worship are based on tawqeef and following, not on whims and
desires and innovation. The du'aa's and dhikrs narrated from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the best that
anyone can find of dhikr and du'aa', and the one who limits himself to
them will be safe and sound. The beneficial results that they bring
cannot be put into words or fully comprehended by man. Any other
dhikrs may be haraam or they may be makrooh. They may involve shirk
which most people may not realize and which would take too long to
explain in detail.
No one has the right to prescribe for people any kind of dhikr or
du'aa' that is not narrated in the Sunnah and make it an act of
worship that people should perform regularly as they perform the five
daily prayers regularly. Rather this is a kind of innovation in
religion for which Allaah has not given permission… As for adopting a
wird that is not prescribed in sharee'ah and dhikr that is not
prescribed in sharee'ah, this is something that is forbidden. Moreover
the du'aa's and adhkaar that are prescribed in sharee'ah are the best
and lead to achieving all aims and goals; no one turns away from them
and adopts innovated and invented adhkaar except one who is ignorant,
negligent or a wrong doer.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 22/510- 511
Fifthly:
How long should Qunoot be? Is it prescribed to make it lengthy or not?
If we study the hadeeth of al-Hasan ibn 'Ali quoted above, we will
find that the du'aa' that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) taught him is a brief and concise du'aa' that only takes a
few minutes. This indicates that what is appropriate in du'aa'
al-Qunoot is to make it brief and to stick to concise phrases.
It says inMughni al-Muhtaaj, 1/369:
It says inal-Majmoo', narrating from al-Baghawi: It is makrooh to make
Qunoot lengthy, like the first tashahhud. Al-Qaadi Husayn said: If he
makes Qunoot longer than is usual, that is makrooh. End quote.
In fact an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated that
combining the du'aa' of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and the du'aa' of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in
Qunoot comes under the heading of making it lengthy, and one should
pay attention to the people's circumstances and find out whether they
approve of that.
He said: Our companions said: It is mustahabb to combine the Qunoot of
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and that which is mentioned in
the hadeeth quoted above. If they are combined, then the more correct
way is to recite the Qunoot of 'Umar second. And if he wants to keep
it short, he should limit it to what is narrated in the hadeeth.
Rather it is mustahabb to combine the two if he is praying on his own
or if he is an imam of people who approve of making it lengthy. And
Allah knows best.
Al-Majmoo', 3/478
If combining the two du'aa's mentioned, even though they are brief, is
regarded as a kind of making it lengthy, then how about what is
mentioned in your question of making it last for twenty minutes or
thereabouts? What about those who offer du'aa' for double that time or
more, which many imams do who do not care about anything except giving
a performance in front of people, Allah forbid? People have seen
strange things of that nature nowadays.
The best approach in all of that – and Allah knows best – is to be
moderate, for the best of affairs are those that are moderate; and
Islam forbids making things difficult for people, especially if there
is a custom of doing that every night.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen was asked the following question inFataawa
'Ulama' al-Balad al-Haraam(152):
In Ramadan, some of the imams in the mosques make the du'aa' long, and
some make it short. Which is the correct way?
He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied:
The correct way is not to exaggerate or to fall short. Making it so
long that it causes hardship for the people is forbidden. When the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) heard that Mu'aadh
ibn Jabal was making the prayer very lengthy when he led his people in
prayer, he got angry in exhortation in an unprecedented manner, and he
said to Mu'aadh ibn Jabal: "O Mu'aadh, do you want to put people off
their religion?" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6106; Muslim, 465.
So what should be done is adhering to the words narrated (in hadeeth)
or one may add more to that.
Undoubtedly making it very lengthy causes hardship to people and
exhausts them, especially the weak ones among them. Among the people
are those who have work ahead of them but they do not like to leave
before the imam, although it is difficult for them to stay with the
imam. So my advice to my brother imams is to adopt a moderate
approach. By the same token, they should refrain from offering du'aa'
on occasion, so that the common folk do not think that du'aa' is
obligatory. End quote.
See also the answer to question no. 93051
Sixthly:
With regard to what you asked about reciting du'aa' al-Qunoot (in a
manner like reciting Qur'an) and beautifying the voice in it, if he
exaggerates about that and is preoccupied with it and makes it his
main concern, and he uses it as a means of attracting people's
attention to him, or he crosses the boundary between du'aa' and
exhortation or speaks as people ordinarily do, as in the case of the
person referred to in your question, and as is done by many imams who
toy with the people's worship and emotions – if the situation is as
described, then it is objectionable and is disapproved by everyone who
knows the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and is rejected by everyone who has a sound nature.
Al-Kamaal ibn al-Humaam al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
when discussing the mu'adhdhins who used to repeat the takbeers behind
the imam – in his time –
With regard to what you are accustomed to in this city, it is not
unlikely that it is wrong, because it usually involves elongating the
first syllable in the words "Allah" and "akbar", or the second
syllable in the word "akbar", and that is wrong. Even if it does not
involve that, they still raise their voices too much, more than is
needed to convey the words, and they focus too much on their
performance of tunes to show their proficiency in doing so, which has
nothing to do with carrying out the act of worship properly.
It is obvious that the purpose behind this is to impress the people.
It is as if he is saying: Look at my beautiful voice and how I come up
with nice tunes, and that is wrong. I do not think that this would
come from one who really understands the meaning of prayer and
worship!
If this is what he said concerning the mu'adhdhins, then what about
the imams who do that in the prayer itself?! It is no wonder that he
commented further and said:
Similarly, I think that coming up with nice tunes in du'aa', as some
reciters do in our times, is not done by one who understands the real
meaning of du'aa' and asking of Allah. That is no more than a kind of
playing about. If you saw someone making a request of a king and he
put on this kind of performance, with his voice rising and falling as
if singing, he would be accused of mockery and fooling about, because
the appropriate way to ask is with beseeching and humility, not
singing! End quote.
Fath al-Qadeerby Kamaal ibn al-Humaam, a Hanafi faqeeh, 2/225-226
With regard to paying attention to making the voice beautiful, without
exaggerating or pronouncing the letters differently from the correct
Arabic pronunciation, it seems that this does not come under the
heading of blameworthy singing referred to above.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about
this and he replied in detail.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked the following question, as
it says inFataawa al-Balad al-Haraam, 153:
Some imams of mosques try to soften people's hearts and move them by
changing the tone of voice sometimes during taraweeh prayer and in
du'aa' al-Qunoot, and I heard that some scholars disapprove of that.
What is your opinion of that?
His reply was:
What I think is that if this is done within shar'i limits, without
exaggerating, then there is nothing wrong with it. Hence Abu Moosa
al-Ash'ari said to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him): If I had known that you were listening to my recitation, I would
have beautified it for you." If someone has a beautiful voice or
recites in a way that softens people's hearts, I do not think there is
anything wrong with that. But exaggerating with regard to that so that
he does this with every single word of the Qur'an, as mentioned in the
question – I think that this is excessive and should not be done. And
Allah knows best. End quote.
And Allah knows best.
See [in Arabic] the essaysDu'aa' al-Qunootby Shaykh Bakr ibn 'Abdullah
Abu Zayd;'Oodu ila Khayr al-Hudaby Shaykh Muhammad Ismaa'eel
al-Muqaddim.

Dought & clear, - Qunoot during salaah.

I would like to about the Qonute in Salat(raising hand after rukoo)
was that the common practice of Prophet Salalaho Alehy Wasalm or was
it exceptional as the situation arouses. Please respnod me cause Ameer
of our masjid said Prophet (pbuh) once asked which of the salat is
best He (pbuh) replied the one which has longer Qonute.
Praise be to Allaah.
Qunoot, according to the definition of the fuqaha', "is the name of a
du'aa' (supplication) offered during prayer at a specific point while
standing." It is prescribed in Witr prayer after the rukoo' (bowing),
according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
If a calamity (naazilah) befalls the Muslims, it is prescribed to say
Du'aa' al- Qunoot after standing up from rukoo' in the last rak'ah of
each of the five daily obligatory prayers, until Allaah relieves the
Muslims of that calamity.
(SeeTasheeh al-Du'aa'by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460).
With regard to saying Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr prayer all the time, in
all circumstances, there is no saheeh report that the Prophet(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) singled out Fajr for Qunoot, or
that he always recited it in Fajr prayer. Rather what is proven is
that he(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said Du'aa'
al-Qunoot at times of calamity with words that were appropriate to the
situation. He said Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr and in other prayers,
praying against Ra'l, Dhakwaan and 'Usayyah for killing the
Qur'aan-readers whom the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had sent to them in order to teach them their religion. And it
was proven that he prayed in Fajr prayer and other prayers for the
weak and oppressed believers, that Allaah would save them from their
enemies. But he did not do that all the time. The Rightly-Guided
khaleefahs after him followed the same practice. It is better for the
imam to limit Qunoot to times of calamity, following the example of
the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as
it was proven that Abu Maalik al-Ash'ari said: "I said to my father,
'O my father, you prayed behind the Messenger of Allaah(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and behind Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmaan
and 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them). Did they used to say
Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Fajr?' He said, 'O my son, this is a
newly-invented matter.'" (Narrated by the five, apart from Abu Dawood;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inal-Irwa', 435). The best of guidance
is the guidance of Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him).
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and
peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
(al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-'Ilmiyyah wa'l-Iftaa', 7/47)
If you ask, is there a specific wording for Qunoot during Witr prayer,
or Qunoot at times of calamity?
The answer is: for Du'aa' al-Qunoot in Witr prayer a number of
wordings have been narrated, including the following:
1 – The version which the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) taught to al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased
with him), which is:
"Allaahumma ihdini feeman hadayta wa 'aafini feeman 'aafayta wa
tawallani feeman tawallayta wa baarik li feema a'tayta, wa qini sharra
ma qadayta , fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda 'alayk, wa innahu laa
yadhillu man waalayta wa laa ya'izzu man 'aadayta, tabaarakta Rabbana
wa ta'aalayta la munji minka illa ilayk
(O Allaah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among
those whom You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on
whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have
bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. For
verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated
whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who is Your enemy.
Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted. There is no place of safety from
You except with You)."
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1213; al-Nasaa'i, 1725; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inal-Irwa', 429).
It was narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say at the end of Witr:
"Allaahumma inni a'oodhu bi ridaaka min sakhatika wa bi mu'aafaatika
min 'uqoobatika wa a'oodhu bika minka, la uhsi thana'an 'alayka anta
kama athnayta 'ala nafsika(O Allaah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure
from Your wrath and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. I cannot
praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself."
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1727; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inal-Irwa', 430; Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1282).
Then he should send blessings upon the Prophet(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) as it was narrated that some of the Sahaabah (may
Allaah be pleased with them) – including Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Mu'aadh
al-Ansaary (may Allaah be pleased with them) – did that at the end of
Qunoot al-Witr.
(SeeTasheeh al-Du'aa'by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p. 460).
Qunoot at times of calamity (Qunoot al-Naazilah)
When praying Qunoot at the time of calamity, one should make
supplication as is appropriate to the situation, as it was narrated
that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed
some Arab tribes who had betrayed his companions and killed them, and
he prayed for the weak and oppressed believers in Makkah, that Allaah
would save them. It was narrated that 'Umar prayed Qunoot with the
following words:
"Allaahumma inna nasta'eenuka wa nu'minu bika, wa natawakkalu 'alayka
wa nuthni 'alayka al-khayr, wa laa nakfuruka. Allaahumma iyyaaka
na'budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu, wa ilayka nas'aa wa nahfid. Narju
rahmataka wa nakhsha 'adhaabaka, inna 'adhaabaka al-jadd bil kuffaari
mulhaq. Allaahumma 'adhdhib il-kafarata ahl al-kitaab alladheena
yasuddoona 'an sabeelika
(O Allaah, verily we seek Your help, we believe in You, we put our
trust in You and we praise You and we are not ungrateful to You. O
Allaah, You alone we worship and to You we pray and prostrate, for
Your sake we strive. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment,
for Your punishment will certainly reach the disbelievers. O Allaah,
punish the infidels of the People of the Book who are preventing
others from following Your way)."
(Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 2/210; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inal-Irwa', 2/170. Al-Albaani said: This was reported from 'Umar
concerning Qunoot in Fajr, and it seems that this Qunoot is Qunoot
al-Naazilah (Qunoot at times of calamity) as is indicated by his
praying against the kuffaar).
If you ask, can we make du'aa' using words other than those mentioned here?
The answer is:
Yes, that is permissible. Al-Nawawi said inal-Majmoo'(3/497): "The
correct view which was stated definitively by the majority of scholars
is that there are no specific words, rather any du'aa' may be said."
The version narrated from 'Umar is not something that we have to
follow, and the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
not pray using these words, so there is nothing wrong with adding more
to them. Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "There
is nothing wrong with adding more to this, cursing the infidels and
sending blessings upon the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), and praying for the Muslims."
(Qiyaam Ramadaanby al-Albaani, 31).
We still have an important question which is: should Du'aa' al-Qunoot
be said before rukoo' (bowing) or after?
The answer is: Most of the ahaadeeth and the opinion of most of the
scholars state that Qunoot comes after rukoo', but if you say Qunoot
before rukoo' that is acceptable. So you have the choice of doing
rukoo' when you have finished reciting Qur'aan, then standing up and
saying "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd" then saying Qunoot… or saying Qunoot
when you have finished reciting Qur'aan, then saying "Allaahu akbar"
and bowing. Both of these were narrated in the Sunnah.
(Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him),al-Sharh al-Mumti', 4/64)
Note: The questioner says that the best of prayer is that which has
longer Qunoot. Perhaps he is referring to the hadeeth narrated by
Muslim (1257) from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him), which says
that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
best of prayer istool al-qunoot(the longest in standing)."
Al-Nawawi said: "What is meant byqunoothere is the standing,
according to the consensus of the scholars, as far as I know."
So the hadeeth is not referring to Qunoot in the sense of the du'aa'
said after standing up from rukoo', rather it is referring to standing
for a long time.
And Allaah knows best.

Dought & clear, - She prayed naafil after Fajr and it was said to her that this puts one beyond the pale of Islam.

I often used to pray half an hour after Fajr prayer, after reading
Qur'aan, feeling that I wanted to pray to Allaah. But I got a shock
when I was talking to my friend and she said that it is not
permissible to pray after Fajr and that this puts one beyond the pale
of Islam. Is this true? How can that be when I am praying to Allaah?
Please explain that to me.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
One of the greatest acts of worship that a Muslim can do and draw
close to Allaah is prayer. The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Prayer is the best thing prescribed, so whoever
can do a great deal of it, let him do that." Narrated by al-Tabaraani
and classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Jaami'(3870).
But the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us
to offer naafil prayers at certain times. For more details please see
the answer to question no. 20013.
These times include the period from after Fajr prayer until the sun
has risen and become high, which is until approximately fifteen
minutes after sunrise.
InSaheeh Muslim(832) it is narrated that the Prophet(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to 'Amr ibn 'Abasah (may Allaah
be pleased with him): "Pray Fajr, then refrain from praying until the
sun has risen and become high". The prayer that is forbidden at these
times is naafil prayer for which there is no reason, which the
scholars call al-nafl al-mutlaq (general naafil prayer), such as that
which is mentioned in the question, where a person stands and offers a
voluntary prayer to Allaah after Fajr. This kind of prayer is
disallowed (at this time).
As for prayers for which there is a reason, such as greeting the
mosque, the Sunnah prayer after wudoo', two rak'ahs following tawaaf
and so on, these may be done when the reason for them is present, even
if that is at a time when other naafil prayers are forbidden. See the
answer to question no. 306.
Secondly:
As for your friend's saying that praying at this time puts one beyond
the pale of Islam, this is not correct, and it is speaking about
Allaah without knowledge. It is not permissible for anyone to say
anything about the religion of Allaah that he does not know. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden
are Al-Fawaahish (great evil sins and every kind of unlawful sexual
intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all
kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with
Allaah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about
Allaah of which you have no knowledge"
[al-A'raaf 7:33]
So she has to repent to Allaah.
Offering naafil prayers at this time is not allowed, and the one who
does that is sinning, because he is doing something that the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade, but that
is not kufr as your friend claims.
And Allaah knows best.

Hatred in Islam, Diseases of the Soul, Islam and Hate, Human Vices, Hatred (Nafrat)

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The
kindergarten teacher told each child in the class to bring along a
plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a
name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that
a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of
people he/she hates. So when the day came, every child brought some
potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2
potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
The kindergarten teacher then told the children to carry with them the
potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for
one week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to
complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes.
Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After
1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.
The kindergarten teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the
potatoes with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations
and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through
having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. Then
the kindergarten teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
The kindergarten teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you
carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred
will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever
you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just
one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred
in your heart for your lifetime?"
Moral:Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you
will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best
attitude to take. "Learn to Forgive and Forget."
Remember what Allah (SWT) teaches us in Surah Al-Araf (7:199-200):
"Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the
ignorant (don't punish them). If a suggestion from Satan assails your
mind, seek refuge with Allah; surely He is Hearing, Knowing (all
things)."
In these verses of Noble Qur'an, Allah (SWT) comforts the Prophet
Muhammad (saw) and directs his mind to three Precepts:
1.To forgive injuries, insults, and persecution.
2.To continue to declare faith that was in him, and not only to that
was in him, and not only to declare it, but to act up to it in all his
dealings with friends and foes.
3.To pay no attention to ignorant fools, who raised doubts or
difficulties, hurled taunts or reproaches, or devised plots to defeat
the truth: they were to ignored and passed by, not to be engaged in
fights and fruitless controversies, or conciliated by compromises.
Of all the things we can give other people in life, forgiveness is one
of those that require the most effort. This phrase seems to make the
process of forgiving easier for me: "To bear a grudge against someone
is like burning down your house to get rid of a rat."
People say or do things often inadvertently and mostly out of personal
insecurity or ignorance. You may be just the punching bag for the day.
Maybe the other person is envious or afraid of you. Most of the time,
these people have their own demons to grapple with.
Don't let their words and actions wear you down. They can only have a
moment's effect on you. Then, depending on how you deal with the
situation, they can continue to haunt you, or vanish like ashes in the
wind.
But only you can make that decision. Discouraging and spiteful words
and actions from other people can only have the desired effect if you
want them to. Give yourself the pleasure of a free spirit.
Forgiveness is something we "give other people", but forgiveness,
really, is a gift to ourselves.
When we wreak vengeance on people whom we think have done us an
injustice, we invariably end up bitter and resentful. Worse still, if
our vindictiveness provokes retaliation, we might start a cycle of
vengeance. And when you bear hatred within your heart, what you're
essentially doing is destroying your own state of mind and potential
to be happy.
Each day yields opportunities for us to let go of or hold on to
grudges, although the severity of each situation may vary. Are you
better off holding on to them, or letting go?

Hatred in Islam, Diseases of the Soul, Islam and Hate, Human Vices, Moral Virtues and Vices

Hatred is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or
antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon, generally attributed to
a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object.
Hatred is also among the most common emotions that human's experience.
It can be based on fear of an object or past negative consequences of
dealing with that object. Hatred is often described as the opposite of
love or friendship.
Often the verb "to hate" is used casually to describe things one
merely dislikes, such as a particular style of architecture, a certain
climate, one's job, some particular food, or people who claim to hate
something when they in fact merely dislike it.
"Hatred" is also used to describe feelings of prejudice, bigotry or
condemnation against a person, or a group of people, such as racism,
and intense religious or political prejudice. The term hate crime is
used to designate crimes committed out of hatred in this sense.
Religion Islam has been accused unjustly of being a religion of hate
by those who never made a true effort to understand even the basic
teachings of Islam. We all know that ignorance is the worst enemy of
the truth, and Allah (SWT) asked us to learn the truth as there is
nothing after the truth except falsehood.
This then is Allah, your true Lord; and what is there after the truth
but error; how are you then turned back? Noble Qur'an (10:32)
Let us present the simple truth about Islam and the Noble Qur'an that
proves that Islam is not a religion of hate but rather a religion of
love, tolerance, understanding, and social justice.
Many people are not aware that Islam is the religion of Prophet
Abraham, not the religion of Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Abraham, being
the founder of Islam, with all its beautiful and peaceful teachings
and rituals, passed his religion to all the prophets who came after
him, including all the Israeli prophets, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus
and Prophet Muhammad. Those attacking Islam, out of ignorance, or
deliberately, are attacking Prophet Abraham who is their prophet as
much as the prophet of the Muslims.
Noble Qur'an explains clearly this fact,
And strive hard in (the way of) Allah, (such) a striving a is due to
Him; He has chosen you and has not laid upon you an hardship in
religion; the faith of your father Abraham; He named you Muslims
before and in this, that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to
you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people... Noble Qur'an
(22:78)
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright
(man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. Most surely
the nearest of people to Abraham are those who followed him and this
Prophet and those who believe and Allah is the guardian of the
believers. Noble Qur'an (3:67-68)
Then We revealed to you (O Muhammad): Follow the faith of Abraham, the
upright one, and he was not of the polytheists. Noble Qur'an (16:123)
In that simple sense, how can Islam which is the religion of Abraham
promote hate when it is the same religion passed down to the Jews and
Christians before reaching Muslims? How can the Jews and Christians
claim different standard when we are talking about the same religion
with different names but all go back to Abraham.
Noble Qur'an, the final Testament, made a special mention of the
relationship that controls the social and daily life with other people
including but not limited to Jews and Christians. In it Noble Qur'an
urges the Muslims to be loving, caring, friendly, patient, tolerant,
advocates of freedom, democracy, and social justice. Islam never
advocated hate or promoted it. People, who promote hate, do so on
their own terms and misunderstanding. By doing so they do not
represent Islam or the teachings of Islam in the scripture.
We need to remember that hate is a man made crime that we should not
blame on any religion. Any claim of hate in a religion is no more than
man made innovation that has nothing to do with God or His scripture.
Planting hate only produces hate. Planting love, will produce love.
Our God is Almighty, all loving.

Makeup, cosmetics, being well-groomed, being clean, wearing nice clothes, modernism and education, in short ‘sophistication’, is a requirement of Islam

Muslims deserve the best of everything. Allah prepares the believers
for heaven, the place of infinite beauties, with the blessings He
gives in this world. And Muslims make sure that the world they live
in is as close to heaven as possible, making it almost a preview of
heaven. They make a great effort to ensure that through their
cleanliness, their beautiful characters and their well-groomed
appearances.
Muslims surely will lead a good, sophisticated life, and will have a
clean, well-groomed look. This is because beauty, being
well-groomed, aesthetics, taste in art are all qualities that Allah
loves. The Qur'an does not ban Muslim women from putting on makeup
or looking well-groomed. Indeed, during the time of Prophet
Mohammed (saas) ladies were always very well-groomed. They were
putting on make up too. In fact, men too, during that time, most
notably our Prophet Mohammed (saas), would apply a type of
eyeliner. Muslim ladies were using blush, eyeliners, lipsticks and
henna on their nails and hands. They were also using special
hairdyes.
Indeed, Prophet Mohammed (saas) encouraged dyeing the hair, and
indeed he dyed his hair, too. The hadiths make it clear that the
hair color he loved the most in women was blonde:
5882- Narrated by İbn Abbas ra:
A man passed by Prophet Mohammed (saas) with his hair dyed with
henna. He said: 'It looks good'. Then another man passed that dyed
his hair with a mixture of henna and ketem (a type of black hair
dye). He said: 'This is better'. Then another man passed by who
dyed his hair blonde and he said: 'This is the best of all'.
(SOURCE: GREAT HADITH COLLECTION, am'ul- fawaid min Jami'il-usul wa
Majma'ith-zawaid, Imam Muhammed Bin Muhammed bin Sulayman
er-Rudani, Iz Publishing/2nd edition, Istanbul 2009, page
257-261-262-265-271-27 2-273)
Women should of course look very well groomed and attractive,
complemented with their noble demeanor. This can be achieved only
with sophistication, and sophistication will lead to respect by other
people. It doesn't take being rich or very beautiful to achieve
that. It is sufficient to have that pure outlook of the Qur'an, with
a desire to look clean, well-groomed and dapper in line with the
pure and clean spirit in the Qur'an. Muslims always carry holy light
on them and looking dapper and well-groomed to complement that
holy light will only add to his prestige and sophistication.
Everyone that sees a well-groomed, sophisticated, confident Muslim
lady will admire their looks, their confidence, their
sophistication and their lives in general.
Makeup is one of the allowed ways of looking well-groomed and
beautiful and it is a blessing from Allah. Allah loves all beauties.
That's why women, flowers, trees, butterflies, birds were created
so beautiful. Allah has adorned heaven with such beauties.
It is usually people with a radical view that try to make makeup
illegitimate. They have lost their sense of enjoying such beauties.
In their dark worlds, there is no place for art, love, happiness,
joy, beauty or aesthetics and therefore they would rather see a
woman ugly than beautiful. According to them, the uglier, the more
disheveled a woman looks, she who is created as the epitome of
beauty, the more suited she is for their darkened worlds.
Therefore their understanding of Islam gives the same eerie image
to the world. In the fake religion of the radicals, the women are
deprived of beauty, left without any possibility of being beautiful,
or getting an education; they were made ugly and pushed out.
According to them, women are insecure beings with no intrinsic
value. What modern, contemporary, educated person would accept a
religion that makes a woman ugly and worthless? Who would want to
represent such a religion? Who would defend such a religion?
Because of this wrong view, Western societies misunderstand Islam
completely and stay away from it: This is nothing unexpected. The
role given to women in this model of the radicals is reason enough
for Westerners to stay away. These superstitions based on such a
dark view, instead of the beautiful religion that Prophet Mohammed
(saas) preached are introduced to the world as the religion of
Islam. That's why the world is afraid of Islam.
These lovers of superstition, in this fake religion they have
conjured up using the name of Islam, have destroyed all the
beauties and gifts with their own hands and lost their ability to
enjoy the beauties that Allah created. As the signs of creation
inspire and cheer up a believer with their incredible beauties, the
radicals lack the ability to enjoy the color or scent of a flower,
the beauty of a fruit, the adorable looks of a puppy or even the
sweeping beauty of a cloudless sky.
Despite that, when they encounter something of beauty they are
immediately reminded of the darkness of their own lives and they
don't feel moved by that beauty but uncomfortable instead. This
usually comes out as jealousy. This is the basis of their reaction to
a beautiful, well-groomed lady. They want that beautiful lady to
look ugly just like the disheveled people around them. They cannot
accept the fact that she is beautiful. They cannot praise beauty
and they can't understand the beauty of praising Allah for such
stunning sights. Therefore, they always respond with hostility when
they see an object of beauty and seek to destroy them.

Examples of the insincerity of those people who are tyring to ban music:

Although they forbid music, they keep watching music channels,
listen to music and have fun.
Those who are against music go to weddings, go on the floor and
dance and sing.
They say music is wrong but they organize competitions with music
and dance halay.
Most probably, when they are alone in their cars, these people are
listening to music.Music has a warming and comforting effect that
helps with preaching. Music puts joy in heart that is in love with
Allah.
Prophet Mohammed (saas) sang songs, attended events with music, and
went to weddings.
It is an outrageous lie to say that music is a sin in all religions.
If the lovers of superstition had their way with art;
There would be no paintings or advertisement billboards anywhere in
the world.
There would be no artwork in texts used to preach the message of Islam.
There would be no illustrations in textbooks.
There would be no paintings, or vases, glass or tableware with
artwork on them in the hotels.
There would be no artwork on banknotes.
The fabulous paintings in the palaces and wall art would not be there.
The anatomy textbooks wouldn't have illustrations that describe the
human body. There would be no pictures, illustrations or beautiful
sights in books prepared to spread the message of Islam.
There would be no art schools like the Fine Arts Academies.
Allah mentions the statues Prophet Solomon (as) had built, but if
the radicals had their way, there would be no statues as well.
No newspapers, magazines, books or internet would be allowed. Such
people would consider watching TV forbidden too.
We would not have recognized the presidents, leaders, celebrities
or artists of other countries.
Mass communication tools, such as the internet and others, are
important tools in the End Times to be used for the spread of
religion. According to the bans of the lovers of superstition, they
would be banned too, and therefore the efforts to spread the
message of Islam would be impeded and slowed down.
Allah orders us "to take lessons from history, go around and see". If
it wasn't for paintings, we wouldn't have known about some
historical remains, we wouldn't have known about the histories of
other countries, we wouldn't have watched documentaries, we would
have only technical knowledge about them but never have an idea of
what they actually looked like.
There would be no documentaries about the signs leading to faith or
history and there would be a huge shortcoming in terms of general
knowledge and ignorance would have prevailed.
It is of paramount importance to know and ponder over the signs
leading to faith so that one gets a deeper faith in Allah. However,
because of the bans of the lovers of superstition, we would have
never known what they really looked like. For example, we wouldn't
have recognized the animals we didn't see with our eyes.

They spread the lie that music, paintings and dancing are forbidden in Islam

Say: 'Who has forbidden the fine clothing Allah has produced for His
slaves and the good kinds of provision?' Say: 'On the Day of Rising
such things will be exclusively for those who had belief during
their life in the world.' In this way We make the Signs clear for
people who know. (Surat Al-Ar'af, 32)
Although beauty, bountiful food, happiness, joy, love, art, dance,
music, entertainment and all such beauties are allowed by Allah,
the lovers of superstition ban them all. When they are asked, 'What
is the source of all these bans?' they either say it is the
traditions or show their fake hadiths as a basis for their actions.
They don't have a single shred of evidence they can show from the
Qur'an.
Music, dance, having fun, being happy, art, science, paintings are
all allowed for Muslims. There is not a single word in the Qur'an
that bans these beauties. They are all created by Allah as gifts,
and surely the lovers of Allah are the ones who deserve these gifts
the most.
Radicals want a soulless, tasteless and unsophisticated world
Now try to picture the world the lovers of superstition wish to live
in. How would it feel without music, art, or science? How could
anyone say that Muslims deserve a world where there is no beauty,
which is completely dark, isolated, dull, and tasteless? And who
could say that Muslims should live in such conditions when there is
nothing in the Qur'an that requires that.
Allah encourages through the Qur'an that the skies and the Earth
should be studied to see the creation artistry of Allah, leading us
to a stronger faith. So how could anyone ban science after that?
How could anyone try to prevent discovery of the evidence of
creation? What could an ignorant world without music, art, science,
bring to Muslims and Islam other than harm?
Indeed, all such wrong practices so far have always led to Islam
being misunderstood. After the superstition- loving, radical state of
mind spread, the Islamic societies which previously brought
science, art and civilization to the world collapsed, shut
themselves away from the world and a dark, isolated, ugly, ignorant,
unsophisticated understanding of religion emerged. The basic
reason why Islamic countries are mostly underdeveloped, mostly
unsophisticated and crude and why Westerners do not value Muslims,
is radicalism.
The people with a radical mindset always live a soulless, tasteless,
raw life. The houses, neighborhoods, organizations and streets of
such people always reflect that cold, soulless, crude view. Such
people are known with their fondness for starting new foundations,
but even there they cannot manage to stay together or produce
anything useful because of the lovelessness in their hearts. These
foundations are shut down after a while, having done nothing. They
always want to keep that dark world alive everywhere they go. They
don't want beauty, color, aesthetics or art in their worlds. They
don't know how to be beautiful or how to beautify things. Allah
loves what is beautiful. That's why Allah created heaven full of
beauties. How could someone that seeks to ban all these beauties in
the world and is proud of doing that, ever enjoy the beauties in
heaven?
Another mistaken idea such people have is that they think it's
acceptable for those people who are away from Allah to enjoy these
beauties but Muslims should not be allowed to have any of them.
However, it is actually the lovers of Allah that truly deserve
those beauties. Allah informs us of this in the Qur'an:
" On the Day of Rising such things will be exclusively for those
who had belief during their life in the world ." (Surat Al-Ar'af, 32)
Another highly interesting thing about most of these people is that
they don't practice what they preach. These people attempt to invent
new rules that have no basis in the Qur'an and try to show it as a
part of Islam. Then they impose it on Muslims, and when they cannot
find any basis for their allegations in the Qur'an, they come up
with more new rules and fake hadiths that are in complete
contradiction with the Qur'an. In their private lives, music,
dance, watching TV, visiting casinos are all ordinary things that
they do with no reservations. However, they try to show off by
putting on a fake appearance to cause division and show themselves
as 'religious'. Their real lives are not like what they like people
to believe.
They listen to music all the time, go to places where there is music
and dance but despite that, they never stop criticizing others.
That's the essence of their insincerity. Most of those people do not
even pray five times a day and do not observe other religious
obligations. All those superstitions they invented are simply
intended to show them as religious; it is purely for public view to
display their so-called piety.
Sometimes they misinterpret Qur'anic verses according to their own
state of mind, change their meanings and seek to justify their
wrong actions by this misinterpretation. They commit sins, but try
to justify it with their strange state of mind. They keep talking
about how much they don't feel like getting up and doing their
prayers, which is one of the greatest gifts in the world, and which
is a means to express gratitude to Allah. Insincerity is all too
common in their religion of superstitions.
More interestingly, some of them are well aware of their hypocrisy
and insincerity. Although these people have a religion of
superstitions that is in blatant contradiction with the Qur'an,
they believe that they are religious. Their eyes are closed. They
are not able to think according to the Qur'an and therefore they
cannot see the truth.
The Qur'an does not ban music, dance or entertainment
Just like the Qur'an does not ban music, dance or entertainment,
Prophet Mohammed (saas) did not do anything that would indicate
something like that, either. The lovers of superstition act
insincerely one more time, some openly lie, and some are unaware of
the truth. Allah allows Muslims to be happy, to feel joy, to
rejoice. Our Almighty Lord says in a verse: " Do not give up and do
not be downhearted. You shall be uppermost if you are believers ."
(Surat Ali İmran, 139) and thus bans Muslims from grieving.
Moreover,
- In the hadiths of Prophet Mohammed (saas), there are plenty of
mentions of the companions that danced and that even Porphet
Mohammed (pbuh) himself encouraged those who were dancing.
- The Torah explains that Prophet David (as) was singing songs of
praise to Allah with his beautiful voice and that he played musical
instruments and Prophet David (as) is praised for that. So, it is
clear that Allah sees it as a beautiful act and because Allah likes
it, Allah gives us the good news of such joys in heaven, too.
- Dance is about rhythm and harmony. Allah created the whole
universe with a rhythm. Birds, insects, even butterflies dance. The
birds make their beautiful music with their tongues. The sound of
the sea, the sound of the wind-blown leaves in a forest, they always
have a rhythm. Allah loves rhythm, dance, music, beautiful sounds.
- Heaven is created with that rhythm, too. In heaven, all the tress,
flowers and animals will dance with joy. One hadith explains it as
follows:
Abu Moses al-Es'ari (r.a.) narrates: He said the following during
the sermon in Basra: "Allah sent a message to the residents of
Paradise: "Did Allah keep His promise to you?" and at that moment,
the residents of paradise will look at all the jewelries, clothes,
fruits, pure spouses, rivers and then they will immediately say,
"Allah has kept His promise to us." The angel will ask three times,
"Has Allah kept His promise to you?" and they see that everything
they were promised came true, they will say, "Yes!". The angel will
answer: "There is one last thing", because Almighty Allah manifests
Himself on His servants, and lifts the curtains in front of their
eyes, and when His servants see Him, all the rivers will gush, all
the trees will sway and make nice sounds, all the mansions, all the
flames will shout out with joy, all the springs will flow even more
beautifully and faster, beautiful fragrances will fill the
courtyards and the mansions, beautiful musk and camphor will travel
around. Birds will chirp, and khuris will fascinate with their
beauties. (Death, Resurrection Day, Resurrection, İman Şarani, p.
370)
- There is folklore and dance all around Anatolia. Horon, halay,
zeybek are all different types of dances in Anatolia. People dance
everywhere in Europe and the USA. A world where music and dance are
banned is not in line with human nature. This would create a huge
distortion in human culture and an amazing gift of our Almighty Lord
would be missing. Trying to ban a beautiful gift that Almighty Allah
praises would amount to failure in understanding Allah and His
amazing art.
- The radical state of mind that bans dance bans music, too. It is
not even possible to picture such a quiet and cold world. Just
imagine; you turn on the TV or the radio, and there is no music, no
harmony. How could anyone want to destroy such a beauty? How could
there be art, aesthetics, beauty or joy in such a dull world?
Those who wish to bring such a dark world to Islam do not know what
they are doing. They do not know that they are trying to destroy the
beautiful spirit of Islam, that they are inflicting the worst
damage onto Muslim societies, that they are taking away their joy,
happiness and creativity. They want people to believe that religion
can be practiced in that blind world. They neither practice religion
as it should be practiced, nor do they serve Islam. They are solely
bringing conflict, dullness, darkness and boredom to the Islamic
world. They are spreading a radical frame of mind that has no basis
in the Qur'an and since they are driving people away from Islam,
they show Islam as a loveless, hateful religion, in effect, hurting
the entire world as a result.
If the lovers of superstition had their way with music;
There would be no compositions from Mozart, Vivaldi, or folkloric
Turkish songs, or classical Turkish songs.
There would be no national anthems, or our national anthem and
Janissary songs.
The Ottomans went into battle with Janissary songs which praised
Allah, and won great victories. The lovers of superstition also
believe that they were wrong.
There would be no musical instruments like the violin, the guitar,
etc., nor the ney which some of those people do actually consider
acceptable.
There would be no conservatories, theatres, or cinema.
As music is so beloved in Europe and the USA, there would be no
music or no music- related art and all those beauties would be
completely ended.
Social events, organizations with Americans and Europeans would be
canceled if there was any possibility of music in those events.
They consider "any person sitting in an environment where there is
music" a deviator, and a person "enjoying that music" an
unbeliever, therefore they wouldn't believe in the words of such a
person, dubbing him an unreliable person. This alone would be
sufficient to prevent building a society based on trust. How could
such a country be expected to have good relations with other
countries?

Story, - Hiding my Heart

I'm a 19 yr. old girl.
I just want to confide something in this site, about my story.
I never had real crush. All of them are actors/singers. It was this
second semester of my 3rd year in college when I started to feel this
kind of emotion. It was because of this man, when I see him. I've seen
him often since I transferred in the university and I don't know why
just now? I can't tell anyone about this matter. I'm a dark horse and
a bit of conservative.
I want to be close to him, I want to talk to him but there's no chance
for that. The worst is he'll be graduating this semester and that
means I will never see him again. I will surely miss the time we
accidentally looked at each other. I will miss the times when we're in
the library. I just can't imagine the next semester without seeing him
again. Only a month is left for that chance.
Upon graduating, he'll soon be back on his own country. Soon he'll
have a family of his own. I have no hopes to be with him the moment he
left this country.
It's so depressing that there's only a month left to see him so I'll
cherish every moments secretly looking at him.
How I wish that the feeling is mutual.
Anyways, I'm still young and who knows, time will come there'll be a
chance for us.

Story, - Right love at the wrong time

this is the first time which i encountered this forbidden love.
i am 20 years old, studying caregiver and had a kid! we're living with
my partner's parents. i came from a broken family. i thought that i
was madly inlove with my partner but i realized one day that im not
when i fall inlove with his bestfriend. i dont know what happen to me
that time but i was attracted to this guy. that time, we were on beach
with our friends, but then this guy who is "right love" talks to me..
we had a conversation that time, and i enjoyed talking with him. when
the day passed by, i found myself thinking of him a lot! im always
sending him quotes which talk about love. and then one day, i was very
surprised when he sent me text. it is a song line from a song
"ipagpatawad mo".. i dont know what i must felt that time but i knew
that he made me so happy..very happy!!
one night, we were on the street having "inuman".. it was very late
that night amd i wanted to go home. he offered himself to walk for me
for home. i felt very happy but there's a part of me thinking of that
there's no hope between us,, and then one day i find out that he is
also inlove with me even im already committed with his BESTFRIEND.
there's no nights that i dont cry, its hard for me to hide this
feeling,, i love him so much,,and he loves me too..
any one could help me about this issue?
cant hold it anymore...
:( i really love this guy very much and i know that he loves me too
even we're complicated..

Fathwa, - Mistake in Answer on Abortion?

Question:
I was directed by a link to an answer on your website entitled
''Abortion of babies with genetic diseases'' and discovered a mistake
in the medical part of the reply. I am concerned that many people will
read this and come to some mistaken conclusions about breastfeeding.
The sentence in question is:
Answer:
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Jazak Allah khayr for your comments. There is no medical mistake in the answer.
The answer refers to the permissibility of abortion in [the generally
very rare] case when
�the milk of the pregnant mother ceases and the father of the child is
not in a position financially to hire a wet-nurse, and there is fear
of the child perishing, then they (fuqaha) have stated that it will be
permitted to abort the pregnancy, provided the period of 120 days have
not elapsed...�
The child in question is not the one the mother is pregnant with, but
a previous baby. The permissibility of abortion has various
conditions:
a) the previous child is dependent on the mother�s milk;
b) the father cannot hire a wet nurse nor provide alternative
nutrition that the child will consume; and
c) there is thus fear that this previous child may perish if the
mother�s current pregnancy continues;
d) this is before 120 days. [After this, it depends on many circumstances.]
As for when alternative nutrition (even other than breast milk) is
available and affordable, then abortion would be haram.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani

Fathwa, - Women: Cutting and Dyeing Hair

Question:
Can a woman cut her hair if her husband wants her to? Would it be a
sin on the husband as well as on the wife? I was told that a woman
should not cut her hair even with her husband's permission. But aren't
we supposed to please our husbands? Whether a woman wears hijab or
not, can she also dye her hair with her husband's permission?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
From a previous question answered by Faraz Rabbani:
'According to leading Hanafi scholars of Syria, including Shaykh Adib
Kallas, there is no harm in a woman cutting her hair, as long as:
a) it remains feminine (and thus does not resemble men);
b) it is not cut with the express intent of imitating non-Muslim fashions; and
c) it is not cut excessively.
The texts in the Hanafi school indicating impermissibility of women
cutting their hair are understood, by these scholars, to be
conditioned by the above considerations.
In the Shafii school, it is permitted to even cut the hair very short
if the husband prefers it that way.'
Wassalam,
SunniPath Fiqh Team

Fathwa, - Women and Hair Removal

Question:
Is it permissible for women to remove facial hair, and hair from the
arms and legs? I am in the beauty business and I do waxing for my
clients. Please tell me if it is permissible in Islam.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
From a previous question answered by Shaykh Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf:
Taking the hadith and the various statements of the Hanafi jurists
into consideration the following could be concluded:
1. It would be permitted for a woman to remove a beard or a moustache
that appears on her face. Even though it is facial hair, but since it
is to stop women from resembling men, it is permitted. This is the
opinion of the majority of scholars, in fact they have said it is
recommended, not just permitted. The same will be to bleach this hair
instead.
2. If the eyebrows are linked in between, it would be permissible to
remove the excess hair from in between to separate them [i.e. the hair
above the nose]. The reason for this is that linked eyebrows are
looked upon as a defect, hence it would be permissible to remove it.
3. A 'few' stray hairs around the eyebrows would be permissible to
remove by clipping them off, if it looks defective, or for married
women creates abhorrence in their husband. This does not mean it is
permitted to remove a whole line or two of fine hair from around the
eyebrows [as is the case nowadays].
4. Dense bushy eyebrows may be trimmed down to a more normal size.
However, one must exercise great caution in this regard, since one
does not want it to fall under the warning of the hadith. If one is
not sure how to determine the normal size they should not act on the
benefit of the doubt, but rather follow the more cautionary approach
and trim less. What so called 'regular' [especially non-Muslim] people
consider nowadays as the norm i.e. eyebrows that are shaped in
particular unnatural or reduced to thin lines can not be considered as
acceptable in Islamic law due to the severity of the hadith.
5. Great caution has to be exercised in this regard, since the hadith
is very strict and there are some Hanafi scholars who have taken more
strict position. For instance, Mullah Ali al-Qari (Allah be pleased
with him) comments [relating from Imam Nawawi] that plucking of the
facial hair is haram (unlawful) for a woman with the exception of
moustache or beard hairs (Mirqat al-Mafatih 8:218). The concessions
mentioned above are for the removal of a defective appearance and not
for purely beautification purpose, hence, caution in this matters is
the way.

How to improve your relationship with the Quran

It is recommended for every believing man and woman to recite the Book
of Allaah, the Noble Quran, often, with due contemplation and
understanding. This may be done by using a copy of the Quran or from
one's memory. Allaah - the Most High – Says )what means(:"]This is[ a
blessed Book )the Quran( which We have revealed to you, ]O Muhammad,
sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam[, that they might reflect upon its verses
and that those of understanding would be reminded."]Quran 38:29[
Are you one of those people who rarely touch the Quran? Or do you read
it daily, but don't find it is having the impact on you that it
should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can
help you connect with the Quran.
1. Before you touch it, check your heart
The key to really benefiting from the Quran is to check your heart
first, before you even touch Allaah's book. Ask yourself, honestly,
why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let
it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammadwas
described by his noble wife, 'Aa'ishahas a "walking Quran": in other
words, he didn't just read and recite the Quran, he lived it.
2. Before you touch it, do your Wudhoo' )ablution(
Doing your Wudhoo' is good physical and mental preparation to remind
you that you are not reading just another book. You are about to
interact with Allaah, the Most Exalted, so being clean should be a
priority when communicating with Him.
3. Start with reading only five minutes everyday
Too often, we think that we should read the Noble Quran for at least
one whole hour. If you are not in the habit of reading regularly, this
is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care
of step one, Insha Allaah )Allaah willing(, you will notice that those
five minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and
maybe even more!
4. Make sure that you understand what you have read
Five minutes of reading the Quran in Arabic is good, but you need to
understand what you are reading. If you are not Arabic, or you don't
understand the Arabic language, then make sure you have a good
translation of the Quran in the language you understand best. Always
try to read the translation of what you have read that day.
Regarding those who neglect the Glorious Quran by not reading or not
understanding it, Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:"And the Messenger
has said, "O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Quran as ]a
thing[ abandoned."]Quran: 25: 30[
Allaah Almighty informs us about His Prophet and Messenger,
Muhammadthat he said: "My Lord my people have abandoned - acting or
listening - to the Quran" and that is because the idol-worshippers did
not pay attention nor listen to the Quran, as Allaah Says )what
means(:"And those who disbelieve say, "Do not listen to this Quran and
speak noisily during ]the recitation of[ it that perhaps you will
overcome."]Quran 41:26[
5. Remember that the Noble Quran is far more interactive than a CD
In an age of "interactive" CD-ROMs and computer programs, a number of
people think books are passive and boring. But the Quran is not like
that. Remember that when you read the Glorious Quran, you are
interacting with Almighty Allaah. He Almighty is talking to you, so
pay attention.
6. Do not just read, you have to listen too
There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Quran, a number of
them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman
or your car's CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in
addition to your daily Quran reading, not as a replacement for it.
7. Make Du'aa' )supplication(.
Ask Allaah, the Most Exalted, to guide you when you read the Quran.
Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allaah, interact with Him by
reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Du'aa'
to
Allaah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.
When you are making du'aa', you have a direct connection with Allaah
Almighty. So when you are saying your du'aa', you shouldn't be
distracted, but instead you should be fully concentrated.
TheProphetsaid:
"Make Du'aa' and be assured of it being answered, and know that
Allaah, the Exalted, does not answer a Du'aa' from a careless heart
which is not concentrating."]At-Tirmithi[