The Story of Jazan

Once Abdullah ibn Masud (ra) was passing by an area in the city of
Qufa. There, a group of wrong doing people have gathered to have a
party. They were engrossed in drinking wine. A singer called Jazan was
entertaining them with songs. Jazan had a very beautiful voice. When
Abdullah ibn Masud heard his voice while passing by,he said in
amazement, "Sobeautiful is his voice. How wonderful it would be if he
had used that voice to recite the Quran!" After saying this, Abdullah
covered his head with a cloth and left that place. When Jazan noticed
Abdullah ibn Masud leaving, he asked, "Who is that man and what was he
saying?" The people in the gathering told him,"He is Abdullah ibn
Masud, a companion of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He said
that your voice is very beautiful. How wonderful it would be if you
had used your voice to recite the Quran!"
Jazan was struck by his comments. He threw awayhis musical instrument
and ran to Abdullah ibn Masud. The two of them embraced each other and
shed tears profusely. Abdullah ibn Masud said tohim, "Why should I not
love the one who loves Allah?" Thereafter, Jazan repented to Allah and
stayed in the company of Abdullah ibn Masud to learn the Quran and
other teachings of Islam. He learned to such an extent that he became
one of thegreat scholars of his time.
Source: Obtained from the book "Tambihul Ghafileen"by Shaikh Abul
Laith Samarkandi.

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News :- Philippine palace spokesman tells China to 'be careful' in Mandarin 2012-07-05 02:33:27 GMT 2012-07-05 10:33:27(Beijing Time) SINA.com

Philippine presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Wednesday
warned China to be carefulwhen making statements about the
Philippines. And he said it loud and clear, inMandarin Chinese, "Xiao
xin yi dian!"
"Can I say to the Chinese 'xiao xin yi dian?' Be a little careful
about your statements," Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing. He
was reacting to a question about a commentary published in China's
state newspaper the People's Daily denouncing the Philippine
provocation to ask for US spy plane deployment in the South China Sea.
He explained that President Benigno Aquino III's remarks were taken
out of context and misinterpreted by the Chinese side and that "we
don't view it as a provocative statement."
"By no stretch of the imagination can you consider the Philippines
anaggressor," Lacierda added.
Lacierda has Chinese blood and can speak Mandarin fluently. His
'Xiaoxin yi dian' warning was, by no means, made to show off his
language skills. But it has become a talking point both in the
Philippines and China.

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What is the ruling on offering congratulations on Friday?

What is the ruling on offering congratulations on Friday, because now
it is the custom in our country on Friday to send text messages and
people congratulate one another on the occasion of Friday by saying
"Jumu'ah mubaarak" or "Jumu'ah tayyibah.".
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There is no doubt that Friday is an "Eid" or "festival" for the
Muslims, as it says in the hadeeth narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas (may
Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "This is a day of 'Eid that
Allah has ordained for the Muslims, so whoever comes to Jumu'ah, let
him do ghusl, and if he has anyperfume let him put some on, and you
should use the miswaak." Narrated byIbn Maajah, 1098; classed as hasan
by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, describing the
special virtues of Friday:
Thirteen: It is a day of 'Eid that is repeated every week.
Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/369
Thus the Muslims have three Eids: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, which
come once every year, and Jumu'ah which is repeatedonce every week.
Secondly:
With regard to the Muslims congratulating one another on the occasions
of Eid al-Fitr andEid al-Adha, this is prescribed and it is narrated
from the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them). This has been
discussed previously in the answers to questions no. 49021 and 36442.
As for congratulating one another on the occasion ofFriday, what seems
to us to be the case is that it is not prescribed, because the fact
that Friday is an Eid was known to the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased
with them), and they were more knowledgeable than us about its
virtues, and they were keen to respect it and give it its due, but
there is no report to suggest that they used to congratulate one
another on Fridays. And all goodness is in following them (may Allah
be pleased with them).
Shaykh Saalih ibn Fawzaan(may Allah preserve him) was asked: What is
the ruling on sending text messages every Friday andending with the
phrase "Jumu'ah mubaarak"?
He replied:
The early generation did not congratulate one another on Fridays, so
we should not introduce anything that they did notdo.
End quote from Ajwabat As'ilah Majallat al-Da'wah al-Islamiyyah.
A similar fatwa was issuedby Shaykh Sulaymaan al-Maajid (may Allah
preserve him), when he said:
We do not think it is prescribed to exchange congratulations on
Fridays, such as saying to one another, "Jumu'ah mubaarak" and so on,
because it comes under the heading of du'aa's anddhikrs, which must be
based on a text (of the Qur'aan or Sunnah) because this is purely the
matter of worship and if itwere good, the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and hisCompanions (may Allah bepleased with
them) wouldhave done it before us. If anyone suggests that this is
permissible, then that may imply that it is prescribed to say du'aa's
and congratulate one another after having done the five daily prayers
and other acts of worship, and du'aa' at these times was not done by
the early generations.

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1a] Is it permissible for women to go to swimming pools?

1a] They replied:
It is not permissible to build a swimming pool forwomen in the centre
mentioned, because warding off evil takes precedence over bringing
benefits.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 26/342-343
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
We live in a residential neighbourhood where there is a women's
centre; at this centre there is a swimming pool for women and a sauna.
Whatis the ruling on women going to this centre?
He replied:
My advice to my brothers is not to let their women go to swimming
pools andsports clubs because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) encouraged women to stay at home. Moreover,if a
woman becomes accustomed to that she will become very attachedto it
because she is subjectto her emotions, and in that case she will
become distracted from her religious or worldly duties and she will
always be talking about these activities in gatherings. And if the
woman does such things that will be a cause of her losing sense of
shame and modesty, and if a woman loses her sense of shame and modesty
do not ask about the evil consequences except for the one whom Allah
blesses by guiding her and enabling her to regain the modesty that was
taken away from her.
I will close my message byrepeating my advice to mybelieving brothers
not to let their daughters, sisters,wives or other female relatives
under their guardianship go to these centres or clubs.
End quote from the shaykh's fatwas for ad-Da'wah magazine no. 1765/54
This is not the only means of losing weight; there aremany permissible
means of doing so and there are other types of exercise that the
Muslim woman can do if she adheres to Islamic guidelines.

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