THE PRAYER THAT WAS GRANTED

He was lame in one foot and like other multi-theists, he worshipped
idols. He had also once been the custodian of one of the idol temples
ofthe city of Medina.
With the spread of Islam, people gave up idolatry and came to believe
in the Oneness of God. However, he continued to believe in idols. With
complete sincerity, he worshipped the idol he himself hadmade. He
prayed to it for his needs.
The young children of hiscity stole his idol many times and threw it
among the rubbish so that he would stop worshipping idols. However he
continued toworship the idols. He would take a great deal of trouble
finding it and then he would take it home, clean and scent it and
start worshipping the idol again.
He used to say to the idol:"If I only knew who takesyou, I would make
him pay for it. But believe me,I do not know who he is!"
He continued in this way worshipping idols until one day he was faced
with a strange scene - he saw that someone had tied his idol to the
corpseof an animal and had thrown it in the middle of a pit!
Upon seeing this, he was taken aback. In fact, he could not believe
such aninsult had been made to his idol. He decided to take the idol
to his home again and apologize when suddenly an idea occurred to him.
He asked himself, "Really, what sort of a god is this idol? Why is it
so helpless and miserable? Why is it unable to defend itself? How can
such a weak thing be my protector?"..and thus he came to realize the
truth and to hate such a weak god who was unable to do anything. He
then reproached himself for having been an idolater. It was then that
the sparkof faith lit up his heart so that while shedding tearsof
remorse, he started repenting. In this way he came to believe in the
unique God and he became one of the most devoted Muslim.
A few years later, when the multi-theists attempted to fight and
destroy Islam, he hurried to help God's religion and thereby left a
splendid reminiscence.
The city of Medina was over-excited. People were getting themselves
ready for a great war with the infidels and multi-theists of the
Quraish in order to give them the punishment they deserved and to
prevent their further oppression.
Each of the Muslim hurriedly tried to be the first to announce his
readiness to help the Holy Prophet of Islam in fighting against the
enemies of Islam.
Amr bin Jamuh, the lame man whom we have already mentioned was, like
other Muslims, desirous of defending Islam alongside the Holy Leader
of Islam. But each time he remembered thathe was lame in one leg, he
became rather annoyed and worried lest the Holy Prophet should not
allow him to go to war.
Amr had three sons who were all ready to go to the battlefield.
However, he himself was sad and said, "Today I must stay at home and
not go to the jihad (religious and spiritual struggle in the way of
God) on account of my lame leg! It will be a dishonor if I die in bed
while I know my jihad is necessary and useful for the cause of Islam.
Why should I not fight for the cause of God and achievethe sublime
honor of martyrdom?"
As Amr was thus talking to himself, a thought occurred to him, which
made his heart tremble with joy and his eyes flash with eagerness. He
seemed to have found the solution to his problem. Limping, he
rantowards his house and called his wife, Hind, in a loud voice.
Hind went to her husband rather amazed and asked, "Amr what is the matter?"
"Hurry up. Hurry up. Bring me whatever is left over from my son's war
equipment. I want to take part in this battle. Hurry up..."
"What are you saying, Amr. God has exempted people like you from fighting..."
"Stop saying that. Do you want your husband to stay at home while your
sons acquire the glorious blessing of martyrdom? I swear by God that
I, too, am longing for martyrdom and wish to defend Islam as my sons
do. Of course, I love you, but I cannot prefer my love for you to my
love for meeting my God. Moreover, though God has exempted me from
fighting, He has not prohibited me from doing so. Now please prepare
my things quickly."
Think over it that by simply granting you the privilege of praying for
His favors and mercy, He has handed over the keysof His treasures to
you. Whenever you are in need, pray, and He gives His favors and
blessings. Imam Ali [A.S.] Seeing that her husband was so determined
to take part in the battle and would by no means change his mind, Hind
did not say anything more and hurriedly got his things together.
However, as she was worried about her husband, she quickly went to the
chief of the tribe and her family to see if they might be able to
convince him from going to the battlefront. She then returned to her
home with them.
Amr was quite ready. He had put on his chain, put his helmet on his
head, drawn his sword out of its sheath and was looking at them.
When Amr observed that his wife had gathered the chief of the tribe to
prevent his going to war,he turned to him with a determined face and
said, "Do not insist. It is useless. I will not change my decision!"
But the chief of the tribe went on insisting that he should not go to
the battlefront. Their reasoning was that it wasimpossible for a lame
man to fight.
The old man was not ableto make them understand that his love for God
and for martyrdom could not easily be driven out of the heart of a
Muslim. Finally, he had no choice but to go to the Holy Prophet with
his family and with the chief of the tribe and to obey whatever
command he would give him.
When they were in the presence of the Prophet, Amr said, "Oh Prophet
of God, my relatives want toprevent me from going to the jihad. They
want to imprison me at home while I am so eagerly desirous of jihad
and fighting for God's sake with this very lame leg."
The Holy Prophet answered, "Oh Amr! God has exempted you from jihad.
Fighting is not a duty of yours."
"I know oh Messenger of God, but I ask that you allow me to fight
against the enemies of Islam alongside you. I beg of you not to
disappoint me..."
When the great Prophet saw that the fire of faith was so enflaming in
Amr's pure heart, he gavehim an affectionate look and then addressing
his relatives and the chief of his tribe, said, "Do not disturb him.
Let him go to the battlefield. Martyrdom is his heart's desire.
Perhaps God will grant him this blessing." And thus Amr went to
thewarfront.
As the battle broke out, all saw Amr attacking the core of the enemy's
army like a powerful, angry lion and shouting,"Where are you, enemies
of God? I challenge you all because I desire to meet my God."
His sons, too, were busy fighting and creating memorable legends on
the battlefield. God witnessed the combat of the brave fighters who
were defending their divine faith. Amr and oneof his sons fought and
fought and were so severely wounded that they finally fell to the
ground while their bodies were covered with blood. Thus they
sacrificed their lives for their truthful faith. Like afaded tulip,
Amr was resting in the middle of the battlefield.
And after a while, the battle ended. The womenof Medina hurried to the
battlefield to see what had happened to their combatant men.
Some had spread the rumor that the Prophet had been martyred. They
were all anxious to knowwhether that heart-rending news was true.
Ayesha, the Holy Prophet's wife, was among these women. As she, was
going towards the battlefield, she saw that Hind, Amr's wife, hadput
the corpses of her martyred husband and son on a camel and was holding
its halter in her hands, but the camel refused to move on!
Ayesha asked her, "What news can you give me?"
Hind answered, "Many thanks to the Gracious God for the Holy Prophet
is safe and sound. I feel no sorrow as long as God's Prophet is
healthy and safe."
Ayesha asked her,"Whose corpses are these?"
"These are the corpses of my husband, my son and my brother and I want
to bury them in Medina. ButI wonder why the camel does not go ahead
and seems to be inclined to return to the battlefield."
No matter how hard Hindtried to make the camel go to Medina, she
failed and instead she observedthat the camel started going towards
Uhud in which place the battle had taken place.
Hind had no choice but to follow the camel and when she reached Uhud
she went straight to the Holy Prophet and told him the whole matter.
The Holy Prophet of Islamasked, "Did Amr not say anything when he was
leaving Medina for the battlefield?"
"Yes, he did, oh Prophet of God. He begged God not to return him to Medina."
"Then his prayers have been heard by Almighty God. Now we will bury
the three of them in Uhud."
After the three bloody bodies had been buried, the Holy Prophet said
to Hind, "In the next world, too, they will be together. How blessed
they are!"
While shedding tears of love for God and for the believers, Hind asked
the Holy Prophet, "Oh Prophet of God, please pray for me so I too
might join them and share in their blessings." And the Holy Prophet
prayed for all of them.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Nothing has been proven about the place where Adam came downto earth

Is it true that Adam (peace be upon him) came down in India and that
Hawwa' came downin Jeddah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is proven definitively in the Holy Qur'aan is that Adam andHawwa'
(peace be upon them) came down from Paradise to earth after they ate
from the tree.
Allah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"Then the Shaytaan (Satan) made them slip therefrom (the Paradise),
and got them out from that in which they were. We said: 'Get you down,
all, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be a dwelling place
for you and an enjoyment for a time'"
[al-Baqarah 2:36].
With regard to the place where they came down on earth, the Qur'aan
does not say anything about it, and there is no saheeh, marfoo'
hadeethin the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) which explains that, although there are some da'eef (weak)
hadeeths, such as the hadeeth that says: "Adam came down in India and
felt lonely…". This was narrated by Ibn'Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq
(7/437) and classed as da'eef by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah
al-Da'eefah, no. 403. There are also other hadeeths which speak of
this matter, but their isnaads are very weak.
The only saheeh reports about this matter are thewords of some of the
salaf, most of which are taken from the knowledge of the people of the
Book which were transmitted during their time. Such reports cannot be
relied upon or trusted, and it isnot permissible to believe in what
they mention of things concerning which our religion is silent. Rather
they may be narrated forthe purpose of story-telling only.
Despite that, the scholarly opinions concerning this matter differ.
Some of them said: Adam came down in India and Hawwa' came down in Jeddah.
Some of them said that they both came down in India.
Some of them said that Adam came down in a land between Makkah and
al-Taa'if called Dahna.
Some of them said that Adam came down on al-Safa and Hawwa' came down
on al-Marwah.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Saddi said: Allah said (interpretation of the meaning): "Get you
down, all" [al-Baqarah 2:36]. So they came down; Adam came downin
India and the Black Stone and a handful of leaves from Paradise came
down with him, and he scattered them inIndia, and a perfume tree grew,
which is the origin of what comes from India of perfume from the
handful of leaves that Adam brought down. Adam only took them because
of his sorrow at leaving Paradise when he was expelled from it.
'Imraan ibn 'Uyaynah said, (narrating) from 'Ata' ibn al-Saa'ib, from
Sa'eed ibn Jubayr, from Ibn 'Abbaas, who said: Adam came down from
Paradise in Dahna, in theland of India.
Ibn Abi Haatim said: Abu Zar'ah told us: Uthmaan ibn Abi Shaybah told
us: Jareer told us: from 'Ata',from Sa'eed, from Ibn 'Abbaas who said:
Adam (peace be upon him) came down in a land called Dahna, between
Makkah and al-Taa'if.
It was narrated that al-Hasan al-Basri said: Adam came down in India
and Hawwa' in Jeddah, and Iblees in Dastumeesaan a few miles from
Basrah, and the serpent came down in Asbahaan. This was narrated by
Ibn Abi Haatim.
Ibn Abi Haatim said: Muhamamd ibn 'Ammaaribn al-Haarith told us:
Muhammad ibn Sa'eed ibn Saabiq told us: 'Amr ibn Abi Qays told us,
from Ibn 'Adiyy, from Ibn'Umar, who said: Adam came down on al-Safa
and Hawwa' on al-Marwah. End quote.
Tafseer al-Qur'aan al-'Azeem, 1/237
But all of these are words for which there is no evidence.
And Allah knows best.

She is asking about the best book on the stories of the Prophets

I need the name of a book that has not been distorted and is
trustworthy, about the stories of all the Prophets.
Praise be to Allah.
In the Book of Allah, mayHe be exalted, you will find the truest, most
beautiful and most trustworthy of stories, because it is the word
ofAllah, may He be exalted,which illuminated the world with its
lessons and rulings. Reading the stories of the Messengersand Prophets
in the verses of the Qur'aan is one of the greatest waysof bringing
benefits and good to the Muslim, let alone the immense reward that is
attained by the one who ponders the Book of Allah, may He be exalted.
Hence we advise you to be keen to pursue this way of goodness, for the
Muslimcan never do without the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, no
matter what other books he reads.
With regard to the books of the scholars about the stories of the
Prophets, the best of them – as it appears to us – are the following:
1.
Qasas al-Anbiya' (Stories of the Prophets) by al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer
(may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 774 AH). This is perhaps the best of
the books of the early scholars on this topic, as it is distinguished
by compiling all of the verses having to do withthe story of each
Prophet in one place, and making connectionsbetween them by commenting
on them and quoting hadeeths and reports that have to do with them. It
is an encyclopaedic and well organised book that discusses the lives
of the Prophets, although it quotes rather too many reports that are
not proven and some reports from Jewish sources (Israa'eeliyyaat).
However for the most part he points out the origin of these reports,
and he states that he only quotes for the purpose of studying them and
highlighting their status. So we recommend you to read this book and
study it. The one who wants to study these stories with the best
annotation should read the book al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah (Dar Hajar
edn., published under the supervision ofDr. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd
al-Muhsin at-Turki), because Qasas al-Anbiya'is taken from the first
chapters of al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah.
2.
al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah min Akhbaar wa Qasas al-Anbiya' (The saheeh
hadeeths that speak of the lives and stories of the Prophets) was
compiled and their isnaads evaluated by Ibraaheem Muhammad al-'Ali
(publ. by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and Dar ash-Shaamiyyahin Beirut,
276 pages). It is a very useful book thatis distinguished by the fact
that it includes many hadeeths that speak of the stories of the
Messengers and Prophets, and the material is organised with comments
in a manner that complements these stories. The author (may Allah have
mercy on him) put a great deal of effort into selecting saheeh and
hasan hadeeths and reports, and avoiding weak and fabricated material.
This may be the best contemporary book on this topic.
3.
Qasas al-Anbiya' by al-'Allaamah 'Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa'di (d. 1376
AH). This is a short book that is taken from his book Tayseer
al-Lateef al-Mannaan fi Khilaasat Tafseer al-Qur'an, in which he
recounts the stories of the Prophets as they were narrated in the Holy
Qur'aan, in sequence, and he follows each story with abrief discussion
of what we learn from it.
And Allah knows best.

Is it proven that ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to the Nile in Egypt so that its water would flow by Allah’s leave?

I want to know the authenticity of the story about Umar writing a
letter to River Nile. It seems to me as illogic, for the Qur'aan and
the Saheeh Sunnah do not teach such thing. Also that for drought,
Salah Ul Istisqa is authentically established.
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated to us via Ibn Luhay'ah from Qays ibn al-Hajjaaj from
someone who told him: When Egypt was conquered, its people came to
'Amr ibn al-'Aas and said to him: O Ameer, this Nile of ours is used
to something andcannot flow unless it is done. He said, What is that?
They said: On the twelfth night of this month, we take a young girl
from her parents, and we placate her parents, then we dress her in
jewellery and the finest garments there can be, then we throw her into
this Nile.
'Amr said to them: This issomething that cannot happen in Islam; Islam
erases that which came before it (of bad customs).
So they stayed for a while, during which the Nile did not flow at all,
neither a little nor a lot, until they thought of leaving. Then 'Amr
wroteto 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, telling him about that. He wrote to him,
saying: You did the right thing. Iam sending you a piece of paper with
my letter; throw it into the Nile.
When his letter came, 'Amr took the piece of paper on which was written:
"From the slave of Allah 'Umar, Ameer al-Mu'mineen, to the Nileof the
people of Egypt.
To proceed: If you only flow on your own initative, then do not flow,
for we have no need of you. But if you only flow on the command of
Allah, the One, the Subduer, and He is the One Who causesyou to flow,
then we askAllah, may He be exalted,to make you flow."
He threw the paper in the Nile and by Saturday morning, Allah had
caused the Nile to flow (to a depth or width of) sixteen cubits in one
night, and Allah put an end to that custom of the people of Egypt
untiltoday.
End quote from al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah, 7/114-115
Similar reports were alsonarrated by Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam in Futooh
Misr,p. 165; al-Laalkaa'i in Sharh I'tiqaad Ahl as-Sunnah, 6/463; Ibn
'Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq, 44/336; Abu'sh-Shaykh in al-'Azamah,
4/1424, via Ibn Luhay'ah.
This is a da'eef isnaad that is not saheeh, and this report cannot be
proven with such an isnaad. Ibn Luhay'ah – whose full name was
'Abdullah ibn Luhay'ah ibn 'Uqbah – is da 'eef ashe used to get mixed
up,and in addition to that he is mudallis. See at-Tahdheeb, 5/327-33;
Mizaan al-I'tidaal, 2/475-484
Qays ibn al-Hajjaaj is sadooq, from the sixth level of hadeeth
narrators (tabaqah) according to al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar; they are the
ones who it is not proven that they met any of the Sahaabah. See:
Taqreeb at-Tahdheeb, 1/25
Sometimes he narrated it as a mursal report and sometimes he narrated
itfrom the one who told him, but the one who told him is majhool and
not known.
So the report is da'eef (weak) and is not saheeh (sound)
If this story were true, everyone would know about it and it would be
well known, and it would have been widelynarrated through confirmed
isnaads, because it is an important and significant event, the like of
which should not be ignored; rather an incident less significant than
this would not be overlooked by historiansand narrators.
And Allah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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