Ramadan Articles - Gateways of Goodness in Ramadan-I

Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}The month of Ramadan]is that[
in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear
proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights ]the new moon of[
the month, let him fast it.{]Quran 2:185[
Very soon, we are expecting a great month in which Allaah The Almighty
opens the gates of goodness, wherein the reward for good deeds and
mercy are doubled, the gates of Paradise are open, and the gates of
Hell are closed. It is worth making extra efforts to excel in this
month because it passes by in the flicker of an eye. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}]Fasting is for[a limited number of
days.{]Quran 2:184[
Thus, we should invest our best efforts in these limited days by
approaching the gateways of goodness. For instance:
1-Supplicating Allaah The Almighty upon seeing the new moon. The
Prophet,, said upon seeing it:"Allaahumma ahillahu 'alayna bil-yumn
wal-imaan was-salaamah wal-islam. Rabbi wa rabbuk Allaah )O Allaah,
Let this new moon come to us with goodness and faith, safety and
Islam. My Lord and your Lord Is Allaah(."
2-Breaking one's fast promptly: The Prophet,, said:"People will
continue to adhere to good as long as they hasten to break the
fast."]Al-Bukhaari[
3-Supplicating Allaah The Almighty upon breaking the fast. The
Prophet,, said:"The fasting person has an answered supplication upon
breaking his fast."The Prophet,, used to say:"Thahab ath-thama'
wabtallat al-'urooq wa thabat al-ajr in shaa' Allaah )The thirst has
been quenched, the veins have been moistened, and the reward is
confirmed – Allaah willing(."]Abu Daawood, Ad-Daaraqutni, and
Al-Haakim[
4-Praising Allaah The Almighty after eating and drinking. The
Prophet,, said:"Allaah is pleased with the slave who praises Him after
eating and drinking."]Muslim[
5-ObservingTaraaweehprayer)voluntary night prayers performed
duringRamadan( regularly. The Prophet,said:"The best prayer, after the
obligatory ones, is the voluntary night prayers."]Muslim[
6-Performing voluntary night prayer with faith and hoping for reward.
The Prophet,, said:"Whoever performs voluntary prayers in the nights
of Ramadanwith faith and hoping for reward from Allaah, his past sins
will be forgiven."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
7-Keenness on havingSuhoor)pre-dawn meal(. The Prophet,, said:"Have a
pre-dawn meal; it is a blessing."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
8-Walking to the Masjid. The Prophet,, said:"Whoever goes to the
Masjid at dawn or dusk )for prayer(, Allaah preparesa hospitable abode
for him in Paradise every time he does this."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
9-Providing food for the fasting person. The Prophet,, said:"Whoever
provides a fasting person with food to break his fast will receive a
reward similar to that of the fasting person without affecting the
latter's reward."]At-Tirmithi:Hasan Saheeh[ Encourage your
acquaintances to contribute to providing food for fasting people.
10-Supplications in general. The Prophet,, said quoting his Lord:"I am
as My slave expects ofMe, and I am with him when he calls upon
Me."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
11-Supplicating for a Muslim in his absence. The Prophet,, said:"No
slave supplicates for a Muslim in his absence but the angel will say,
'May the same be for you too.'"]Muslim[
12-Feeling the seriousness and danger of sin and believing that you
cannot bear the punishment allocated for it. This will help you hasten
to give up sin and renew your repentance to Allaah The Almighty in
order to change your bad deeds into good ones. AllaahThe Almighty Says
)what means(:}Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous
work. For them Allaah will replace their evil deeds with good. And
ever is Allaah Forgiving and Merciful.{]Quran 25:70[
13-Seeking forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty. The Prophet,, said:"If
anyone constantly seeks forgiveness from Allaah, He will appoint for
him a way out of every distress and relief from every anxiety, and
will provide sustenance for him from where he does not expect."]Abu
Daawood and An-Nasaa'i[
14-Supplicating and asking forgiveness for Muslims. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}And ]there is a share for[ those who came
after them, saying,"Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded
us in faith and put not in our hearts]any[ resentment toward those who
have believed. Our Lord, indeed, You Are Kind and Merciful."{]Quran
59:10[
15-Constantly remembering Allaah The Almighty. The Prophet,,
said:"Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions which are the
purest to your Lord, that exalt you to the high ranks, are more
efficacious than spending gold and silver )in charity(, and are better
for you than you should encounter your enemies whose necks you will
smite and they will smite your necks?''Theysaid, "Certainly.'' The
Prophetsaid:"Remembrance of Allaah The Almighty."
16-Supplication betweenAthaan)call to prayer( andIqaamah)second call
to prayer(. The Prophet,, said:"Supplication between the Athaan and
Iqaamah is surely answerable."]Al-Bukhaari[
17-Performing'Umrah)minor pilgrimage( inRamadanwhen possible. The
Prophet,, said:"'Umrah in Ramadan equals ]the reward of[ Hajj or Hajj
with me."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
18-Reading the Quran frequently and reflecting upon it. The Prophet,,
said:"Read the Quran; it will intercede on behalf of those who read it
on the Day of Resurrection."]Muslim[
19-Observing the obligatory prayers regularly on time. The Prophet,,
said:"When the time for a prescribed prayer is due and a Muslim
performs ablution properly, observes devotion during it and
completesits acts of bowing, this prayer will be an expiation for his
past sins, so long as he does not commit major sins, and this applies
for ever."]Muslim[ Once the Prophet,, was asked what the best deed
was, and he said:"Performing prayer at its due time."]Al-Bukhaari and
Muslim[
20-ObservingFajr)morning( and'Asr)late-afternoon( Prayer regularly.
The Prophet,, said:"Whoever performs Fajr and 'Asr Prayers )regularly(
will enter Paradise."]Al-Bukhaari[
21-Keenness on joining the first row in prayer. The Prophet,,
said:"Were people to know the blessing of pronouncing Athaan and the
standing in the first row,they would even draw lots to secure these
privileges."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
22-PerformingDhuha)mid-morning( Prayer regularly. The Prophet,,
said:"When you get up in the morning, charity is due from every one of
your joints. There is charity in every ascription of glory to Allaah;
there is charity in every utterance of praise of Him; there is charity
in every declaration that He is the only true God)worthy of worship(;
there is charity in every declaration of His Greatness; there is
charity in enjoining good; and there is charity in forbidding evil.
Offeringtwo Rak'ahs )units( of Dhuha Prayer is equal to all this in
reward."]Muslim[
23-Performing the confirmed voluntary prayers regularly. The Prophet,,
said:"A house will be built in Paradise for every Muslim who offers
twelve Rak'aatof voluntary prayers other than the obligatory ones
every day."]Muslim[
24-Performing voluntary prayers at home. The Prophet,, said:"Perform
part of your)voluntary( prayers at your homes and do not turn them
into graves."]Al-Bukhaari[
25-Offering long prostrations. The Prophet,, said:"A slave becomes
nearest to his Lord when he is in prostration. So increase
supplications while prostrating."]Muslim[

Ramadan Articles - The Month of Repentance- II

…Continue
How can Allaah The Exalted not call them to forgive them, while the
most honored, noblest and the most righteous among them, Muhammad,,
who wasforgiven his previous andfuture sins, repented to Allaah The
Almighty everysingle day. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
·}Indeed, We have given you, ]O Muhammad[, a clear conquest. That
Allaah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin.{]Quran 48: 1-2[
·}And We removed from you your burden.{]Quran94: 2[
In spite of that, the Prophet,, used to say as reported
inSaheehMuslimon the authority of Al-Agharr ibn Yasaar:"O people,
repent to Allaah, for I repent to Allaah one hundred timesa
day."]Muslim[
Is it not our right upon ourselves to hasten to draw near to Allaah
The Almighty in this blessed month in which one is in a dire need of
the generosity of Allaah The Almighty? Part of His generosity is that
He The Exalted rejoices at the repentance of the sinnersand loves the
return of the one who transgressed against or rejected His commands.
Allaah The Almighty Says)what means(:}Indeed, Allaah loves those who
are constantly repentant and loves those who purify
themselves."{]Quran 2: 222[
The Prophet,, also said:
"Allaah rejoices more at the repentance of His slave than any one of
you, whose camel runs away from him in a desolate land carrying his
food and drink, and he despairs of finding it, so he goes to a tree
and lies down in its shade, having despaired of finding his camel.
Then while he is like that, it suddenly it appears in front of him and
he takeshold of its reins and says, because of his intense joy, 'O
Allaah, You are my slave and I am Your lord,' making this mistake
because of the intensity of his joy."]Muslim[
Here we have to ask ourselves about the validity of our repentance:
does Allaah The Almighty accept it?
There are signs for the validity of repentance. They are mentioned
inMadaarij As-Saalikeenas follows:
There are certain signs ofsound accepted repentance:
1-One should be better after repentance than before it.
2-Fear should accompany the repentant person for he does not feel
secure fromthe plan of Allaah The Almighty for the twinkling of an
eye. His fear should persist until one hears the saying of the
Messenger )angel( who is commissioned to take his soul:}"Do not fear
and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were
promised.{]Quran 41: 30[ Only then will his fear vanish.
3-His heart stops and trembles with regret and fear. This is according
to the greatness or insignificance of the sin. This is the
interpretation of Ibn 'Uyaynahof the Saying of Allaah The Almighty
)which means(:}Their building which they built will not cease to be a
]cause of[ skepticism in their heartsuntil their hearts are
stopped.{]Quran 9: 110[ He said,"They are stopped by repentance."There
is no doubt that intense fear of the great punishment in the Hereafter
fills the heart with regret and worry. This is the meaning of
'stopping' it. This is the reality of repentance, for his heart is
filled with regret for what he has neglected and fear for his bad end
and punishment. Thus, whoever does not have his heart stopped in the
worldly life out of regret and fear for what he has neglected, it will
be stopped in the Hereafter when the facts are revealed and he
witnesses the reward of the obedient and the punishment of the
disobedient.
4-The other signs of validrepentance include a special unprecedented
anguish that leaves one heartbroken. It can only be felt by a sinner.
It cannot happen due to hunger or pure love, but it is something
completely different thanthat. It breaks the heart completely before
the Lord, humbles it and makes it submissive before Him. All these
conditions are very beneficial and fruitful to him. They are a great
cure for him and will bring him closer to His Master. Nothing is
dearerto his Master than such submission, humility and yielding to his
Master.

Ramadan Articles - The Month of Repentance- I

The month ofRamadanis a great opportunity for returning to Allaah The
Almighty with repentance. It is the month of mercy, erasing mistakes,
expiatingevil deeds, salvation from Hellfire and attaining Paradise.
The fortunate person is he who knows this and hastens to the actions
that draw him near to His Lord by turning to Him in repentance,
seeking forgiveness and feeling regret for all his slips andsins.
If one does not repent inRamadan, then when will he? If one does not
repent when the gates ofParadise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are
closed and devils are chained up, then when will he repent? When
willhe give up committing sins?
It is the month of repentance, forgiveness, salvation form Hell fire
and the Prophet,, said:"May his nose be rubbed in the dust, a man for
whom Ramadan comes and then goes before he is forgiven!"]At-Tirmithi;
Al-Albaani:Saheeh[
Why do we not repent while Allaah The Almighty stretches out HisHand
to the seeker of repentance and opens the door of His repentance to
those whofeel regret )for their sins(? It was narrated on the
authority of Abu Moosa Al-Ash'arithat the Prophet,, said:"Allaah The
Almighty stretches out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of
those whodid wrong during the day, and He stretches out His Hand
during the day to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during
the night. )This will continue( until the sun rises from the
west.["]Muslim[
It was also reported on the authority of Abu Tharr Al-Ghifaarithat the
Prophet,, said:"Allaah The Almighty says: 'My slaves, you commit sins
by day and by night, and I forgive allsins, so seek forgiveness from
Me and I shall forgive you.'"]Muslim[
Remember that the Mercyof Allaah The Almighty encompasses all things.
Isnot He The Exalted, the One who opens the door of repentance before
thehypocrites? He The Exalted Says )what means(:}Indeed, the
hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will
you find for them a helper. Except for those who repent, correct
themselves, hold fast to Allaah, and are sincere in their religion for
Allaah , for those will be with the believers. And Allaah is going to
give the believers a greatreward.{]Quran 4: 145-146[
Allaah The Exalted did not exclude the Jews andthe Christians, who
insulted and slandered Him and says )on their behalf, what means(:}And
the Jews say, "The hand of Allaah is chained." Chained are their
hands, and cursed are they for what they say. Rather, both His hands
are extended.{]Quran 4: 64[
Allaah The Exalted does not exclude them from His mercy that
encompasses all things. He The Exalted Says)what means(:}So will they
not repent to Allaah and seek His forgiveness?And Allaah is Forgiving
and Merciful.{]Quran 5: 74[
He The Exalted Says about the non-Muslims)what means(:}But if they
repent, establish prayer, and give Zakaah, then they are your brothers
in religion; and We detail the verses for a people who know.{]Quran 9:
11[
Is not He The Exalted, the One who calls those who have transgressed
against themselves of thenation of Muhammad,, to humble themselves and
repent to Him saying)what means(:}Say, "O My servants who have
transgressed against themselves ]by sinning[, do not despair of the
mercy of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He
who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."{]Quran 39: 53[ And He called the
people ofImaan)faith( to make repentance; He The Exalted Says )what
means(:}O you who havebelieved, repent to Allaahwith sincere
repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and
admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.{]Quran 66: 8[

Ramadan Articles - Reaping the Benefits of Ramadhan

In the month of Ramadaan it is very important that we spent a few
moments to understand some of the wisdoms and lessons thatwe can learn
from this month of fasting.
Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this month and they are as a
companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Let it not be that
the day that you fast and the day that you break fast be equal."
Meaning, one's behaviour, attitude and outlook are the same whether
one fasts or not,i.e. fasting has no effect upon that person. This is
why we need to reflect on some of these lessons.
LESSON 1: Gaining Taqwaa
Allah legislated fasting for gaining taqwaa,
"O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as ithas been
prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain
taqwaa."(meaning of Soraat ul Baqarah (2):183)
Taqwaa in this case means to make a shield between oneself and Allah's
anger and Hellfire.So we should ask ourselves, when we break our
fasts, 'Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted
that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire or not?
LESSON 2: Drawing closer to Allah
This is achieved by reciting and reflecting onAl-Qur'aan during night
and day, attending the taraaweeh prayers, remembering Allah, sitting
in circles of knowledge and, for those who can, making `umrah. Also
for those who can, making I`tikaaf (seclusion) in the last ten nights
of Ramadaan, so as to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself
in a masjid just thinking of Allah, so as to bring oneself closer to
Allah (SWT). When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why
one might find it heard to read the Qur'aan and come to the masjid.
However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allah and wants to
worship Allah more, because he is not shy from his sins.
LESSON 3: Acquiring patience and strong will
Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur'aan
and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So
when onefasts, and gives up one's food and drink, and one's marital
sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience.
This Ummah needs man and women that are strong willed, who can stand
upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the
enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who just raise
slogans and shout, but when the timecomes to stand upon something
firm, they cannot do so, they waver.
LESSON 4: Striving for Ihsaan (righteousness and sincerity) and
staying away from riyaa' (showing off)
Ihsaan means to worship Allah as if one seeks Him, and even though one
does not see Him, He seesall. Hasan al-Basree said,"By Allah, in the
last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my
hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forth or
stepped back, except thatI have thought before I have done any action,
'Does Allah love this action? Is Allah pleased with this action?' So
when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself
and also staying away from riyaa' (showing off). Thatis why Allah said
in a hadeeth qudsee,"Fasting is for Me and I reward it."(al-Bukhaaree)
Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worshipsaying,
"Fasting is for Me", because no one knows whether you are fasting or
not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity
or making tawaaaf, one can be seenby the people, so one might do the
action seeking the praise of the people. Sufyaan ath-Thawree used to
spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask
him,"Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah? He said, 'No.'
They said, "Is it due to the fear of the Hellfire?" He said, 'No. It
is not the fear of Hellfire that makes me cry, what makes me cry is
that I have been worshipping Allah all these years and doing scholarly
teaching, and I am not certain that my intentions are purely for
Allah.'"
LESSON 5: Refinement of manners, especially thoserelated to
truthfulness and discharging trusts.
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
said,"Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then
Allah (SWT) has no need that he should heave his food and
drink."(al-Bukhaaree) What we learn from this, is that wemust pay
attention to thepurification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "was sent to perfect good
manners." (Maalik) So we must check ourselves, are we following the
behaviour of the Prophet (may Allahsend His blessing and peace upon
him)? For example: Do we give salaam to those we don't know and those
we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islaam, by telling the truth
and only telling the truth? Are we sincere? Are we merciful to the
creation?
LESSON 6: Recognizing that one can change for the better
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)
said,"Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who
repent."(Ibn Maajah) Allah provides many opportunities to repent to
Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become
obedient.
LESSON 7: Being more charitable
Ibn `Abbaas said, "The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace
upon him) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to
be more so in the month of Ramadaan when Jibreel used to meet him on
every night of Ramadaan till the end of the month…" (al-Bukhaaree) The
Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who
gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the
same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting
person's reward." (at-Tirmidhee)
LESSON 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims
The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"…
Those of you who will live after me will see many differences. Then
you must cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided
khaleefahs. Hold fast to itand stick to it."(Aboo Daawood) In this
month we sense that there is a possibility for unity, because we all
fast together, we break fast together, we all worship Allah together,
and we pray Salaatul-`Eid together. Therefore we sense that the unity
of Muslims is possible. It is possible for Muslims to bea single body,
but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His
Messenger.
LESSON 9: Learning discipline
The Prophet (ma Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) made us
adhere to discipline and strictness, strictness that does not lead to
fanaticism or going outside the bounds that Allah has laid down. One
cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be
accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their
lives, because they are people of an important message, which they
mold their lives around.
LESSON 10: Teaching the young to worship Allah
It was the practice of the people of Madeenah, thatduring the fast of
`Aashooraa (which is now a recommended fastof one day) to get their
children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and
thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them
some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast
with their parents. (as mentioned in al-Bukhaaree).
So the young should be brought to the masjid and they should pray with
their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming
worshippers ofAllah. If one does not encourage children to fast when
they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty
days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (may Allah send
His blessing and peace upon him) said,"Command your children to pray
at the age of seven and spank them at the age of ten (if they do not
pray."(Haakim)
LESSON 11: Caring for one's health
Fasting has many medicalbenefits and it teaches Muslims to take care
of their health and too build strong bodies. The Prophet (may Allah
send His blessing and peace upon him) said,"A strong believer is
better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is
good in everyone."(Muslim)

Ramadan Articles - Repentance in Ramadhan

I praise Allah, Who has brought near to us the means of goodness and
has opened the gate of repentance to His slaves, and I send blessings
and peace upon the Messenger of Allah.
I have put together thesefew words for everyone who wants to change
his situation and his actions so as to earn the pleasureof his Creator
and achieve happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. I ask Allah
to make it of benefit to those who read it and tellothers about it,
and I ask Allah to forgive sins both open and secret.
My dear brothers and sisters,
I congratulate you on theoccasion of this blessed month, the month of
repentance, forgiveness and ransom from the Fire, the month of
goodness and blessing, the month of generosity and kindness. I say to
myself, to you and to everyone who is falling short in his duties
towards his Lord (this Arabic poem):
O you who did not have enough of sin in Rajab,
So he continued to disobey his Lord during the month of Sha'baan,
Now these two months have been followed by the month of patience,
So do not let this be a month of sin too.
Recite the Qur'aan and glorify your Lord during this month, striving
your utmost,
For it is the month of glorification and Qur'aan.
The month of Ramadaan has come
So come to Allah, O seeker of good.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"When the
first night of Ramadaan comes, the devils and demons are chained up,
and the gates of Hell are closed and not one gate of it is opened. The
gates of Paradise are opened and not one gate of it is closed. And a
caller calls out: "O seeker of good, come to Allah; O seeker ofevil,
desist." Allah will have ransomed some people from the Fire, andthat
happens every night."(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah with a
hasan isnaad).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Ameen,
ameen, ameen."It was said, "Messenger of Allah,you climbed up on the
minbar and said, "Ameen,ameen, ameen." He said,"Jibreel (peace be upon
him), came to me and said, "Whoever witnessesthe month of Ramadaan and
is not forgiven so he enters Hell, may Allah casthim away. Say Ameen."
So I said Ameen.""(This hadeeth was narrated by Ahmad and is saheeh).
Yes! Ramadaan has come,so turn to your Lord Whom you have disobeyed,
beseeching Him and fearing Him, regretting and weeping,and say,
"O God of the Universe, I am returning (to You)."
"O Giver of all good things, give me guidance,
For there is no good without guidance.
Overlook my mistakes with forgiveness, kindness and mercy,
For no one else can bestow forgiveness." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters, ifyou are not forgiven, if your eyes do not
shed tears and your heart doesnot break before your Lord in this
month, then when?
My brothers and sisters, why do you not shed tears for fear of your
Lord even once? Do you not feel that your heart isclose to your Lord
during this month? Do you not think that this is an opportunity for
you to draw closer to your Lord and increase in humility, repentance
and submission, so that it maybe the true beginning of your returning
to your Lord so that you may be more closely connected with Allah?
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and
bestows on them their piety"[Muhammad 47:17]
O man!
Allah rebukes us and tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
"O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most
Generous?"[al-Infitaar 82:6]
Indeed, O man, what has made you careless about your Lord, so that you
have become so audacious in disobeying Him and transgressing
Hislimits? Is it because you are ignoring His blessings? Or because
youforget that He is always watching over you, and that He is
almighty?
"I am the one who closes the doors, striving in sin (in secret),
Although the eye of Allah is watching me.
How patient Allah is with me, when He lets me off
Although I persist in my sin, and He covers me." [Arabic poetry]
My brothers and sisters! Do not look at how small your sin is, but
look at how great is the One Whom you are disobeying. My brothers and
sisters! Do not let Allah be the one whom you care the least about of
all those who are watching you.
Good news for you
Here I bring you good news from your Lord andHis Messenger (peace
andblessings of Allah be upon him). Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Say: "O 'Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves
(by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful"[al-Zumar 39:53]
And,
"And those who invoke not any other ilaah (god) along with Allah, nor
kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for justcause, nor
commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive
the punishment.
The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he
will abide therein in disgrace;
Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do
righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good
deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"[al-Furqaan 25:68-70]
This is a great blessing and a great deal, for Allah will change your
sins into good deeds! Allah is Most Great. No one misses out on such a
great deal except one who is ignorant or who does not care about this
blessing.
So repent! my dear brothers and sisters, if you want this great deal,
Allah will change your sins into good deeds.
And listen to what your beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to encourage people to repent:
"Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His slave than one of
you who suddenly finds his camel laden with supplies after losing it
in a barren land."(Agreed upon)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah says: "O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your
hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and I do
not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds
of the sky, then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive
you and I do not mind."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah says, "O
My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day, but I forgive all
sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"Allah
stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those
who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth Hishand by day to
accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night. (This will
continue)until the sun rises from the west."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw
a woman looking for her young son among the prisoners of war. When she
found him, she embraced him and gave him her breast. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,"Do you think that she
could throw her child into the fire?"They said, "No." He said,"Allah
is more merciful towards His slaves than this woman istowards her
child."
Allah is Most Great! After knowing of this generosity, can we ignore
the matter of repentance? Can we delay repenting?O Allah, glory be to
You, how merciful You are. Glory beto You, how kind You are.Glory be
to You, how generous You are.
"When my heart grew hard and I did not know where to turn,
I made the hope of Your forgiveness my way out.
I thought that my sin was so great, but when I compared it
To Your forgiveness, my Lord, Your forgiveness was greater.
You never cease to forgive sin, and You never cease
To be generous, out of Your bounty and kindness." [Arabic poetry]
Be frank with yourself
What is keeping you from repenting and following the path of
righteousness? I can imagine you saying, "My family, community and
friends. I am afraid of repenting then going back to my sin. My sins
are so many, how can I be forgiven? I am worried about my family and
my wealth." I say to you: Do you think that you will say that to your
Lord on the Day when you meet Him? No, by Allah! These are imaginary
obstacles which can only be overcome by one who fears his Lord.
"If the soul had great ambitions,
The body would be exhausted by trying to fulfil the desires of the
soul." [Arabic poetry]
Be proud of your religion, and sincerely resolve to do good and to
continue doing so, putting your trust in Allah. And remember the mercy
of your Lord and the vast extent of His forgiveness.
My brother, if the Angel of Death were to come toyou at this moment,
would you be content to meet your Lord in this state? My brother,
please do not run away from yourself or try to avoid checking on
yourself. If you do not check on yourself today, then in your grave
you will regret it, at the time when regret will be of noavail.
A new beginning
Know that repentance is not limited only to this month it may take
place during this or any other month. But why should your new
beginning not take place in the month of goodness and blessing? A man
may be born twice, on the day when he emerges from the darkness of his
mother's womb into the light of this world, and on the day when he
emerges from the darkness of sin into the light of obedience. So be
like this.
I advise you, my friend, to catch up with good people who will benefit
you even after you die byAllah's Leave by making du'aa for you. Catch
up with them and keep company with them wherever they come and go; be
patient with them until you meet your Lord,then it may be said to you
and to them:
"Salaamun 'Alaykum (peace be upon you) for you persevered in patience!
Excellent indeed is the final home!"[al-Ra'ad 13:24 interpretation of
the meaning]
A story and an attitude
There was a man who was with the righteous, then he left them and
started to fall short in his religious commitments. One day he was
going ona trip, and his car overturned on the road. He was
resuscitated, thenhe died.
The sad news came. We prayed over him, and he was taken and placed in
his grave. His grave was filled with bricks and earth, and he would
never come back. Tears flowed and hearts were filled with grief. One
of the righteous people, I think he was righteous, but Allah knows
best and I do not praise anyone before Allah, who was one of his
former friends,sat by his grave with his head bowed, making du'aa for
him.
Thus I knew what kind offriends could benefit a man after his death.
My brother, beware lest you become one of thoseof whom Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) the Daywhen the Dhaalim (wrongdoer, oppressor,
polytheist) will bite at hishands, he will say:
"Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad).
"Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so and so as a Khaleel
(an intimate friend)!
He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Qur'aan) after it had
come to me."
And Shaytaan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need"
[al-Furqaan 25:27-29]
Before the door is closed
My dear brother, before the door is closed, decidefrom now, and do not
delay, the path that you want to follow, which will be your path in
this world and in the Hereafter.
What great joy and happiness is to be found when a person comes back
to his Lord, regretting (his sin) and joining the caravan of the
righteous. By Allah it is joy which no one tastesexcept those who
experience this.
My brother in Allah, if youhave resolved to repent and turn back to
your Lord, then know that there are conditions which must be met
whenrepenting:
1- Regret for what is past.
2- Giving up the sin.
3- Resolving not to go back to it. But if you do itagain, then repent
to Allah again but your resolve must be genuine.
4- The repentance must come before the death-rattle reaches the throat
and before the sun rises in the west.

Those who openly sin – I

It is from the Sunnah of the Prophetthat we take the light of guidance
regarding this crucial issue, which is one that requires urgent
attention due to it being one of the most important matters that will
assist in preserving the Muslim community with regards to its religion
and chastity.
Abu Hurayrahreported: "The Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Every member of my
nation will be forgiven, except those who expose their wrongdoings. An
example of this is that of a man who commits a sin at night which
Allaah then conceals, but, the next morning, he goes and says )to
people(: 'I committed such and such a sin last night' - while Allaah
had kept it secret. During the night Allaah had concealed it, but in
the morning he tore up the cover provided by Allaah
Himself."]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Those who openly expose their sins to others will be deprived from the
forgiveness of Allaah. Imaam An-Nawawisaid: "It is permissible to
speak openly about those who openly expose the sins that they commit,
or innovations they propagate."
Such a person would sit in a gathering and say: "I committed such and
such a sin last night" and then give details, whilst the Messenger of
Allaahsaid:"Refrain from these filthy matters)i.e. sins( that Allaah
has forbidden, and if one of you is tried by committing any of them,
then let him conceal them as Allaah has concealed them for
him."]Al-Haakim[
Why is this? It is because openly exposing one's sins is a way of
slighting the rank of Allaah; it is Allaah who forbade such sins to be
committed and who informedus of this through His Messenger. Thus, the
one who openly exposes his disobedience is expressing indifference
regardingthe legislation of Allaah, the rank of His Messengerand the
feelings of the righteous within the Muslim community. To do this is
therefore nothing except dogged arrogance.
Openly exposing sins and bragging about them is a common practice
amongst people nowadays, and has replaced repenting from them and
concealing them from others. If one sins, he should not even inform a
single person, and must repent and resolve never to commit the same
sin again. One may, however, inform a scholar or a wise friend in
order to seek his help and receive advice on how to refrain from and
resist such sins, as well as to receive guidance on matters that would
protect him from being tempted again and to inform him of deterrents
that would prevent him from falling into the same mistake again.
Another specific permissible reason for one exposing his sin isto do
so in order to seek the Islamic ruling regarding what he has
committed; the proof for thisis the story of the man who had sexual
intercourse with his wife during the daytime one Ramadanduring the
lifetime of the Messenger of Allaah. The man then went and informed
theProphetof what he had done so that he would know what the ruling
was and what he should therefore do regarding this sin. The Prophetdid
not condemnhim for telling him what he had done and instructed him as
to what to do for expiation.
Exposing sins and bragging about them encourages others tocommit them
and imitate the sinners. The prohibition of openlycommitting sins is a
great wisdom, because Allaah knows that such acts move others and
motivate them to indulge in the same evil; it also makes sinning more
attractive to people, decorating it in their eyes. This is why openly
exposing one's sins isso perilous.
The Islamic scholarsmentioned many rulings related to those who openly
expose theirsins to others, such as the prayer behind such people to
be disliked)i.e., such people may not lead congregational prayers(.
Some scholars even went as far as to state that one must repeat his
prayer if he prays behind such a person. Ibn Abu Zaydwas asked whether
or not a sinner can lead people during congregational prayers, to
which he answered: "If he is one who openly and persistently exposes
his sins to others, then he may not." This means that he should not be
given the opportunity to lead to begin with, and if he is already
leading, then people must strive to remove and replace him, because
this person is unfit for leadership.
On the other hand, if one openly exposes a sin of his unintentionally
then he is pardoned due to it occurring accidentally. Imaam Maalikwas
asked about this and answered: "This is something that anyone could
)accidentally( do … )but( nothing is similar to the evil of he who
persistently and openly exposes his sins."
An issue related to this is that of visiting such a person when he is
sick; visiting a sick Muslim is highly rewardable by Allaah, and it is
a right that a Muslim has over other Muslims, but the Islamic
scholarssaid regarding the one who openly exposes his sins: "He is not
to be visited, so that this )shunning( acts as a means of making him
repent from such evil, and in order for others to refrain from such an
act when they see how badly he is treated; but, )one mayvisit him( if
the intention is to admonish and advise him."
Another ruling regarding such a person is concerning praying the
funeral prayer over him; the Islamic scholarsstated thathe is not to
be prayed over as a deterrent for others, so that they will not follow
in his footsteps. Inthis regard, Imaam Ibn Taymiyyahsaid: "People
should refrain from praying over the dead person who was knownto
openly expose his sins to others as a means to prevent others from
acting like him." Onlythe common people should pray over such a
person, because he was still a Muslim, but people of piety and
knowledge should be absent.
What is the ruling of backbiting such people and revealing their sins?
Generally, it is recommended to conceal the sinsof others because the
Prophetsaid:"Whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim, Allaah will
cover up his fault)s( on the Day ofResurrection."]Al-Bukhaari &
Muslim[
The exception to this narration applies only for the one who openly
exposes his sins, as the scholars stated; this is because it becomes
recommended for others to expose him to people so that they can avoid
dealing with him. Concealing the faults ofsuch a person could
encourage him to commit more evil.
As for backbiting such people, Imaam Ahmadsaid: "He whoopenly exposes
his sins to others has no protection against backbiting )i.e. it is
not prohibited to backbite him(." On the other hand, Imaam
An-Nawawistated that it is permitted, but only regarding thesins he
exposed to others and nothing else, so that people can be warned
against him.
Additionally, if he is likely to take heed as a result of people
boycotting him, then people should boycott him by not talking to him,
not visiting him, not responding to him when he salutes with Salaam
and so on. This is because exposition of sins is a matter taken very
seriously inIslam.
One is obliged Islamically to respond to invitations to wedding feasts
because the Prophetsaid:"He who does not respond to and honour the
dinner invitation of a wedding has disobeyed Allaah and His
Messenger."Nonetheless, this obligation does not apply to the
invitations of those who openly expose their sins.

Errors committed whilst raising children

It is very unfortunate and painful that some fathers fail to perform
their duties towards their children as Allaah has commanded them to
do; they do not protect themselves, their wives and their children
from theHellfire. In some cases, they not only fail to raise their
children upon honesty, but worse than this, they deliberately raise
them as liars by teaching them to deceive and swindle others, claiming
that they are thereby teaching them how to be intelligent and
diplomatic in theirdealings with others.
Some teach their children how tobe aggressive and attack and oppress
others, claiming that they are thereby raising them to be brave.
Another group teach their children the ways and manners of the
disbelievers and how to imitate them, claiming that they are thereby
raising them in a modern and civilised way.
Having excessive trust in children:
Fathers must know who their children befriend, what they bring back
home with them and especially where their daughters go and with whom.
Some fathers are unaware that their children possess indecent
pictures, immoral movies and even drugs. Others are unaware that their
daughters go to the markets and malls especially to meet Satan )i.e.,
her boyfriend(; others do not know that their daughters smoke with
their female friends when in their houses.
Those who are not watchful over their children will not escape on the
Great Day of Resurrection from the torment from which nobody can
escape. Anasnarrated that the Prophetsaid:"Allaah will ask everyone
about those whom he was entrusted with."]An-Nasaa'i & Ibn Hibbaan[
Spoiling children:
Some parents are too emotional and tend to spoil their children, to
the extent that perhaps their children have never heard the word "no"
to anything they requested of their parents. The result of this is a
generation who cannot cope with the expected problems of life and who,
therefore, break down at the firstproblem they face. We do not saythat
parents should be harsh on their children and refuse all their
requests, but rather, parents should not surrender to their emotions.
'Umarsaid: "Get yourselves accustomed to harshness because bounties
are not always available."
Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyimsaid: "The parent must keep his child away from
laziness, extra comfort and being spoilt, and should raise him upon
the opposite of these. He should get him used to exerting effort
because laziness has evil consequences, which will cause eventual deep
regret; on the other hand, exerting effort and getting used to
striving in life is praiseworthy and has good consequences whether in
this lifeor the Hereafter, or both; this is because attaining high
ranks in this life and the happiness in the Hereafter are only
achieved through hard efforts and striving."
Imaam Al-Ghazaalisaid: "A father must protect his child by raising him
upon good morals and keeping him away from evil company; he must not
make him accustomed to having an easy lifeand must not make
entertainment and joy be his main interest, because this will result
in the child wasting his life in endeavouring to attaining these
pleasures and joys."
Treating children unequally:
A contemporary and evil social phenomenon that exists within some
families is that they fail to treat their children equally and fairly.
Some parents favour one ormore of their children over others by giving
them extra gifts,which is prohibited unless there is an Islaamic
justification for doing so, such as if the child is sick or has a debt
to pay off, or has just completed memorising the Quran, or parts of
it; other justifiable excuses for favouring achild over the others is
when he cannot find a job whilst having a large family to support, or
if he happens to be a student of knowledge who cannot work andseek
knowledge at the same time. A father who does favour one of his
children over the others, due to such valid circumstances, must have
the intention that he would have helped any of his children in such a
manner, if the circumstances were the same. The general evidence that
parents must be just is the saying of Allaah )whichmeans(:"…Be just;
that is nearer to righteousness and fear Allaah…"]Quran 5: 8[
The specific evidence for it is what was reported on the authority of
An-Nu'maan Ibn Al-Basheerwho said: "My father took me to the Messenger
of Allaahand said to him: 'I have gifted one of my slaves to this son
of mine.' The Messenger of Allaahasked:"Have you given such a gift to
every son of yours?"He replied, 'No.' Thereupon, hesaid:"Take thisgift
back."So my father came back and revoked his gift".]Al-Bukhaari &
Muslim[ In another narration of this incident, hesaid:"Be fearful of
Allaah and treat your children justly."Yet in another narration that
is found inthe book of Imaam Muslimthe Messenger of Allaahsaid:"I am
not going to bear witness to this act of injustice."
Imaam Ahmadsaid: "A son may be given twice the share of the daughter,
as is the case whendistributing the will."
One who looks at the situation ofsome families will find that
somefathers do not fear Allaah when giving gifts to their children.
Theygive them to some of their children and deprive others; or, they
may give to the children of one of their wives whilst depriving the
children of others, which implants enmity and hatred amongst the
children and cause them to not be kind and dutiful to their father;
this may inturn lead to the collapse of the family. The Prophetasked a
man who did not treat his children fairly:"Do you not wish that they
will all treat you with goodness and dutifulness?"]Muslim & Ahmad[
Some people mistakenly believe that correctly raising children is
limited to feeding them properly and providing them with adequate
clothing and education,and they disregard instilling high morals and
religious principles and etiquettes in them.
Others fall into the mistake of thinking that once they have placed
their children in school, the school shoulders the sole responsibility
of their cultivation.
Some fathers panic as soon as their child's temperature rises slightly
and rush in all directions looking for a doctor or a hospital;while on
the other hand, they areindifferent to the prohibitions or major sins
that the same child commits. We ask: what is the temperature of the
Hellfire? Why does the father panic at such a small temperature
increase but fail to protect his child from the Hellfire?
There are some parents who become extremely angry and losetheir sleep
when their child falls behind his classmates and performs worse than
them; they may hire a private tutor in order to make him catch up,
but, when he neglects his prayers or even totally abandons them, or if
he commits prohibitions or major great sins, they will not even rebuke
him for it.
Similarly, there are fathers who become enraged when their
childdisobeys one of his orders, but are careless when the same child
disobeys Allaah and shuns His commandments.
The father who neglects his children and does not guide them to adhere
to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophetand fails to raise them upon
Islaamic tenets, beliefs and morals, will undoubtedly have hischildren
divert and become misguided, and they may even become dangerous
individuals in the community.
Do not forget that a righteous son is a source of goodness for you
after your death as the Prophetsaid:"When a servant)of Allaah( dies,
his )good( deeds will cease, except for three )kindsof deeds(: A
charity with continuous effect, a kind of knowledge from which people
draw benefit, and a good son who prays to Allaah for him."]Muslim[
Abu Hurayrahnarrated that the Prophetsaid:"The rank ofa man would be
raised inParadise, and he would ask why, and he would be told: `It is
due to your son supplicating for your forgiveness.`"]Ibn Maajah[
Finally, the Prophetsaid:"He who recites the Quran, studies it and
acts according to its teachings will be dressed on the Day of
Resurrection with a crown of light, the light of which is like that of
the moon, and his parentswill be dressed in two garments the like of
which do not exist in this life; they will ask: `How did we attain
it?`, they will be told: `It is due to your child memorising the
Quran.`"]Al-Haakim[

Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee: the grand jurist for the Sunnah

Everything was placid in the large valley except for the voice of a
two-year old child who was weeping. His motherembraced him, took him
close to her chest, and patted his shoulders withtenderness and
compassion. The youngster quickly went into sleep as his mother stared
at the far horizon saying in a low weakened voice : "May Allaah have
mercy on your soul: father of Mohammad )her husband(; you took us with
you from Makkah toGaza in search of our daily bread and good life, yet
you died and were buried here. Here am I on my way to Makkah again to
have your son raised among his tribe and clan 'Banu Al-Muttalib'."
The poor mother went into a bitter fit of weeping and crying as she
remembered those few years she had spent inPalestinewith her beloved
husband, who was the best husband, brother, and friend for her.
However, the happy and beautiful days passed as quickly as clouds, or
as a short but pretty dream.
In the honorable Makkah,the mother lived with herchild in the
protection of her husband's family. Sheraised her son by giving him a
good education and instructions, flowing on him her love and
compassion, so the youngster grew up with a well balanced psyche,
apeaceful nature, and great ethics. The virtuousmother took on her
shoulders the responsibility of teachingher son the Quran, reading,
and writing so that he may be well armed by both religion and
knowledge. Thus, she sent her son to one of the small schools )Kuttaab
, Pl : Kataateeb(despite her poverty and inability to save the
instructor's wage. Yet, Mohammad went to his first day at school
almost unable to walk properly, and when the instructor saw Mohammad,
he sort of belittled him and told him: "O my son, just sit next to me
and listen carefully to your elders sothat you may get used to reading
and memorization."
However, the young Mohammad Ibn Idrees Ash-Shaafi'eewas glittering
with intelligence and ingenuity. He used to incredibly quickly learn
by heart whatever he heard from what the teacher dictated to his
students. Every single dayin the small school his knowledge increased
along with his enthusiasm to learn more. His teacher then loved him
more and actively pushed him forward. The youngster naturally became
more and more distinguished, until his teacher told him one day, "My
son, you arehighly smart and intelligent to the extent that I hardly
make any effort with you that is worth any wage. All I need from you
is to teachon my behalf when I am not present." The youngster rushed
happilyto his mother to tell her the happy news that she would not
have to pay anymore for the teacher. The virtuous mother was glad for
her son's excellence and encouraged him even more to study. This led
him to embark actively on the completion of learning the Quran by
heart which he finally completed when he was only seven years old.
Being in great happiness for her son's completion of the memorization
of the Quran in that fast manner, she started thinking how could she
best direct this smart child towards more excellence. She sent him to
attend the lessons given around the sacred Mosque of Makkah. The boy
started to listen to prominent scholars; and as he did not have the
price for paper on which to write what he listenedto, he used
parchment, palm tree leaves, and camel shoulder bones. During this
early period of his quest for knowledge, Ash-Shaafi'eeintelligently
realized the importance of the learning the classical Arabic language
from its pure sources, in order to understand the Quran and theSunnah,
)the Prophet Muhammad's )( sayings, acts, and approvals( in the best
possible way. He went totheHuthayltribe, which was among the most
eloquent Arab tribes, andstayed with them for long years in which he
learned their eloquence, memorized their poems, studied from them the
biographies of Arabs both pre-Islam and after Islam, and learned
knighthood and archery. He eventually became a brave unrivaled knight
and a skillful archer who rarely missed his target.
As years passed, Ash-Shaafi'eereturned to his beloved hometown Makkah.
No sooner had he quenched his longings to his mother, he continued his
quest for knowledge enthusiastically. He headed for the
GrandMufti)Religious Jurist( of Makkah, the sacred Mosque, Muslim Ibn
Khaalid Az-Zinji who became the first teacher for him inFiqh)Islamic
Jurisprudence(. He also, started studyingHadeethunder the supervision
of Sufyaan Ibn 'Uyaynah, the narrator of the sacred Mosque. In a
shorttime, Ash-Shaafi'eerose to prominence as anexcellent Islamic
scholar. His mentor, Muslim Ibn Khaalid gave him permission to answer
thereligious enquiries when Ash-Shaafi'ee was only fifteen. He told
him proudly, "O Mohammad! Give fatwa and answer the questions of
people. By Allaah! Now it is opportune for you to give fatwa." His
other mentor, Sufyaan Ibn 'Uyaynah, used to refer enquirers to him
while he turned towards him and pointed "ask this boy."
While still studying in Makkah, Ash-Shaafi'eeheard of the renown
scholar of Madeenah, Imaam Maalik Ibn Anas. He wanted to become a
student of Imaam Maalikyet he saw with his sharp intellect that he
should not go to him unprepared and void. He memorized Maalik's famous
book"Al Muwatta"in only nine days. After that he went off to see Imaam
Maalikin his house in Madeenah. Ash-Shaafi'eespoke eloquently and
politely with the Imaam and told him that he wished to become his
student. The Imaam looked at the boy for a long time as the boy was
telling his story of how he sought knowledge so far. The Imam had an
astonishing physiognomyand a penetrating insight; he told him: "My
son! By the Will of Allaah you will have a great future. Tomorrow come
to me and bring with yousomeone who could readtheMuwatta'well as I
fear you would not be able to read it by yourself."
Ash-Shaafi'eeresponded with the same politeness "Imaam, I will read it
myself from memory without a book."
Ash-Shaafi'eeremained in the companyof Imaam Maalikfor a long time.
The Imaam loved him a lot, and in 179 A.H after Imaam Maalik passed
away, Ash-Shaafi'eereturned to Makkah fromMadeenah armed with a great
load of knowledge which had influenced his life. In Makkah he was
wedded to Hameedah Bint Naafi', a grand daughter of Caliph 'Uthmaan
Ibn 'Afaan, MayAllaah be pleased with him, and had two sons and a
daughter from her.
In the courtyard of the well ofZamzamand next to Prophet
Ibraaheem'sMaqaam)the stone on which he stepped up to put the bricks
in the Ka'bah(, Imaam Ash-Shaafi'eesat down to teach people and around
him many students were gathered from everywhere. His circle became
very prominent in the sacredmosque of Makkah and even became well
knownoutside Makkah until it reachedIraq. Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Mahdi,
one of the scholars ofIraqsent him a letter requesting that he authors
a book on the evidences of legislation from
Quran,Sunnahandtheconsensus of the religious scholars, as wellas other
issues upon which the science ofFiqh)Islamic Jurisprudence( isbuilt.
Ash-Shaafi'ee wrotethe book and named itAr-Risaalah)The Treatise(
which became the first book that founded what came to be called:'Ilm
Usul Al Fiqh)The science of the sources of Islamic Jurisprudence(, of
which Ash-Shaafi'ee was the organizer, classifier, and the inventor of
its issues.
In 195 A.H the Imaam Ash-Shaafi'eetraveledtoBaghdadfor the second time
and continued to teach therefor two years. Many studied under his
supervision including Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbalwho later said "Had it
not been for Ash-Shaafi'ee we would not have known the
understandingofHadeeth." Before he leftIraqhe had finished writing his
large bookAl Hujjah)the Proof(, in which he put down the essence of
his new schoolof jurisprudence.
In 199 A.H the Imaam went toEgyptwhere he stared to spread his
knowledge between the Egyptians who loved him very much. More
studentscame to him from all overthe world. Towards the end of his
life, the Imaambecame very sick. This illness continued with him for
four years yet it did not stop him from teaching or lecturing. When he
came back to his house after teaching, he used to force himself to
ignore the pains of thesickness and get absorbed in writing, and
editing and proofreadingthe book ofHujjahwhich he wrote inIraq. After
the proofreading and editing, he renamed the edited book:Al Umm)the
Mother(. The Imaam remained to follow his daily routine until illness
forced him to retire and stop teaching. His students used to visit
himto console him in his sickness. One day one of his students entered
his room and asked him:"How do you feel this morning O Imaam?"
Ash-Shaafi'ee answered: "I feel that I am traveling away from this
world, away from the brothers, drinking from the cup of death, and
approaching Allaah the Glorious. By Allaah I do not know if my soul
will go to heavenso that I may congratulate it, or to hell so that I
may lament." He then went into crying. OnFriday, the last day of Rajab
the year 204 A.H, his pure soul went up to its Provider and Caretaker.
He was buried in thecemeteryofQurashiyyeenamidst the cemeteries ofBanu
Al-HakaminEgypt. May Allaah bless the Imaam's soul and admit him into
his wide paradises.

Dought & clear, - He divorced his wife andthey want to get back together in accordance with sharee‘ah

Please could you tell me whether my divorce is valid or not. I have
beengoing through problemsfor the last 3 years with my wife about
children access, we separated about 5 times and now after 3 years both
want to come together. I initially said divorce once when she left my
house with my kids and then after 6 months came together and the local
imam said we haveto perform Nikah again. We lived only for 1 day and I
told her come back home and leave the courts matters. She did not come
back and we had our financially matters in the English court I wanted
to settle this so she cant ever claim against my property or Money my
lawyer said you have to give a English Divorce tohave a consent order
so she will never able to claim so I did. My lawyerfiled the English
divorce and now I have it on paper but I did this to save my property.
I know I only divorced twice but I am totally confused I have 3 lovely
children and me and mywife have regretted andwant to come together.
Please could you advise me further? We want to live again like husband
and wife halaal way.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
What we understood from your question is that you separated from your
wife five times without talaaq (divorce),and that you only issued a
talaaq once, then you took your wife back after the end of the 'iddah
with a new marriage contract and mahr; then after that you asked your
wife to stop court proceedings but she refused, so the lawyer advised
you to divorce her according toEnglish law so as to protect your
financial rights, and you filed for divorce in the court.
Secondly:
With regard to this divorce that you filed forin court, if you uttered
the words of divorce (talaaq), then divorce has taken place. But if it
was only official proceedings to sign the legal divorce, and you only
wrote the word divorce without utteringit, or you instructed
yourlawyer to take care of this official paperwork only, then it
depends on your intention. If your intention in doing that was
actually to divorce your wife or you instructed the lawyer to actually
make it happen, then divorce has taken place. In that case you have
divorced your wife twice, so it is permissiblefor you to take her back
so long as she is still in the 'iddah period. If the 'iddah has ended,
then itis permissible for you to marry her with a new marriage
contract and mahr, but it is essential to note that if another divorce
takes place after that, then your wife will become irrevocably
divorced from you, and it will not be permissiblefor you to marry her
again until after she has been married to anotherman in a genuine
marriage, not a tahleel marriage (one intended to make it permissible
for her to go back to the first husband) and that marriage has been
consummated, then he (the second husband) divorces her or dies.
Thirdly:
But if you wrote the word of divorce in this request that you filed
with the court but did not intend to divorce your wife by writing it,
and you did not instruct the lawyer to actually make divorce happen
onyour behalf, then divorce has not taken place, as we have explained
in detail, quoting the words of the scholars, in fatwa no. 72291. In
that case, yourwife has only been divorced once, which was the first
instance.
Fourthly:
The ruling does not differ with regard to what is mentioned above,
whether the judge decided the divorce or not, because divorce issued
by a non-Muslim judge does not count as such, as we explained in fatwa
no. 127179
Fifthly:
It should be noted that itis not permissible to refer for judgment to
courts that rule according to man-made laws, because that comes under
the heading of taghoot (falsehood). Allah, may He be glorified, has
commanded His slaves toavoid falsehood and not to believe in it, as He
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW),
and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ
in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger
(SAW), if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and
more suitablefor final determination.
Have you seen those (hypocrites) who claim that they believe in that
which has been sent down to you, and that which was sent down before
you, and they wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the
Taghoot (false judges, etc.) while they have been ordered to reject
them. But Shaitan (Satan) wishes to lead them far astray"
[an-Nisa' 4:59, 60].
We have discussed this important matter previously in detail, in fatwa
no. 93208. You have to pay attention to this matter and study it well
and teach your wifeabout it, so that you will not end up referring to
those false judges, because that is a major sin and a serious matter
that may put one beyond the pale of Islam.
An exception may be made from that if there is no option other than
referring for judgment to man-made laws in order to recover one's dues
that are proven according to sharee'ah, or to document it, or to ward
off harm in a country that is not ruled according to sharee'ah and
where there are no shar'i courts, on condition that reference be made
to some of the scholars to define the shar'i ruling that must be
applied in the case at hand, and the demand be limited to what the
scholars have defined as his dues and striving to attain that.
This was stated in the final statement of the Second Conference of
Shar'i Fuqaha' in America, which was heldin Copenhagen, Denmark, with
the Muslim World League, 4-7 Jumaada al-Oola 1425/22-25 November 2004
CE. See the text of the statement in fatwa no. 127179
Sixthly:
If you want to keep yourwife and she has become irrevocably divorced
because the 'iddah that followed the second divorce, if it did indeed
take place, has ended, then what you must do is marry her with a new
marriage contract and mahr. If no divorce took place, then the matter
is clear and she is still your wife.
If there is any advice we can give you regarding this matter, we
advise you to have a good attitude towards your wife, to treat her
kindly and to be patient with any bad attitude from her, and we advise
you to deal with her in an honourable and reasonable manner. Allah,
may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And live with them honourably"
[an-Nisa' 4:19]
"And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living
expenses, etc.) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as
regards obedience and respect, etc.) to what is reasonable"
[al-Baqarah 2:228].
According to the Sunnah, it was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah
be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "I urge you to be kind towomen."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3153); Muslim (1468).
Note:
With regard to the five separations mentioned, if any of them involved
any mention of divorce, whether by clearly usingthe word or by use of
metaphors, whether it was to take immediate effect or was attached
tosome condition, then that is a whole different matter and it is
essential to explain what really happened.
And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Is it obligatory to informa suitor of hair growing on the face?

It helped me a lot in making the discision I made elhamdullilah.
Introduction. I am not married yet but Ive come to an age that people
are interested but not lot have asked my hand because I am still
studying. In our little community they dont ask hand of girls who are
still studying, I dont know why, maybe they're afraid to be rejected?
Allahu ahlam. But honestly I don't think I'll be able to be a good
whife and a student at the same time but that is something I will
think about when someone will come In Sha Allah. Question: I have a
problem. Certain parts on my body ( legs, armpits, lips) are to hairy
and I even have sideburns. I pluck it so itdoesn't grow fast as when I
shave it ( I do nothing with my sideburns). If you see me, so just my
face cause I way hijaab en abaya, you would never tell that I have
this issue.It's not that I let it grow,definitly not my armpits cause
we are not allowed to alhmdoullilah. I have two question; - Should I
better tell or not tell the man who will ask my hand about my
condition ? And how, trough whom I should say it to him, cause I won't
be sitting with him alone untill I got married and than it's to late i
suppose.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
There is nothing wrong with a woman removinghair from the face or
lips, whether that is done using something that will stop is appearing
altogether or by removing it every time it appears, because this hair
is one of the things about which nothing is said (in Islam),and such
matters are forgiven.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the
ruling on women removing unwanted hair permanently, i.e., sothat it
will not grow back again, by using cosmetic preparations such as
creams and herbs? Is that regarded as changing the creationof Allah?
He replied: There is nothing wrong with thatand it is not regarded as
the kind of changing that is forbidden. If a man or woman removes hair
from the armpit or pubic region with something that will prevent it
growing back again, there is nothing wrong with that and there is no
sin in it.
End quote fromFataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb
http://www.binbaz.org.s a/mat/200802
For more information, please see the answer toquestion no. 9037
Secondly:
The basic principle is that any physical defect that is off-putting to
either of the spouses, or causes harm, or leads to missing out on the
purpose of marriage, must be disclosed.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:The ruling is that
any physical defect that is off-putting to the other spouse, in such a
way that the purposes of marriage, such as compassion and love, could
not be achieved, should be disclosed so that suitor may make a
decision in the light of that.
End quote fromZaad al-Ma'aad, 5/166
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The
correctview is that a physical defect is anything that leads to
missing out on the purpose of marriage.Undoubtedly some of the most
important purposes of marriage are pleasure, service andproducing
offspring. If there is anything that prevents fulfillment of these
purposes, then it isa physical defect.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti', 12/220
The guidelines on determining the kind of physical defect of which one
must inform the husband or suitor, so that he may make a decision in
the light of that, are three:
1.The illness must have an impact on married life and affect the
woman's ability to fulfil the rights of the husband and children.
2.It should be off-putting to the husband if he sees it or smells it.
3.It should be real and permanent, not something imagined or temporary
that will go away with time or after marriage.
Please see the answer to question no. 111980
InFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah(19/14) it says: If this problem is
temporary and is one of the things that happen to women then
disappear, there is no need to inform the suitor about it. But if
thisproblem is a kind of illness that has an impactor is not a minor,
temporary problem, and the proposal goes aheadwhen she still has the
problem and has not been healed of it, then in that case her guardian
must inform the suitor of that. End quote.
Based on the above:
If this hair can be removed permanently, whether that is by means of
creams, medicines or hormones that control it, then it is prescribed
to remove it and ward off its harm, and it is not necessary toinform
the suitor of that at all.
If it cannot be removed permanently, but it can be taken care of and
whatever appears of it can before it becomes obvious and off-putting
to the husband, then it isnot necessary to inform him of it, but you
have to do that pay attention to it and ward off harm from yourself
and your husband.
Is it so happens that despite paying attentionto it some of it is left
andis off-putting, and the harm cannot be warded off altogether, then
in this case it is necessary to inform the suitor of the situation.
There is no stipulation that this should be done by you telling him
directly; rather it could be done by showing hima medical report about
your condition, or tellingsome trustworthy women among his relatives,
such as his mother or sister, about the situation, and they can then
tell him about it.
And Allah knows best.

Why do we listen to Quran Lectures, even we can't remember everything?

A Masjid (Mosque) goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and
complained that it made no sense to go to Masjid (Mosque). "I've gone
for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something
like 3,000 Lectures. But for the life of me, I can't remember asingle
one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the Imams are wasting
theirs by giving Lectures at all."
This started a real controversy in the"Letters to the Editor" column,
much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone
wrote this clincher.
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked
some32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire
menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this:They all
nourished me and gave me the strengthI needed to do my work. If my
wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to Masjid (Mosque) for nourishment, I
would be spiritually dead today!"
When you are DOWN to nothing.... Allah (SWT)is UP to something! Faith
sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the
impossible! Thank Allah (SWT) for our physical AND our spiritual
nourishment!

Holy Qur'an: Your Companion in the Grave

Rasulullah (saw) said: When a man dies and his relatives are busy in
funeral, there stands an extremely handsome man by his head. When the
dead body is shrouded, that man gets in between the shroud and the
chest of the deceased.
When after the burial, the people return home, two angels, Munkar and
Nakeer, come in the grave and try to separatethis handsome man so that
they may be able to interrogate the dead man in privacy about his
faith. But the handsome man says, He is my companion, he is my friend.
I will not leave him alone in any case. If you are appointed for
interrogation, do your job. I cannot leave him until I get him
admitted into Paradise.
Thereafter he turns to hisdead companion and says, I am the Noble
Qur'an, which you used to read, sometimes in a loud voice and
sometimes in a low voice.Do not worry. After the interrogation of
Munkar and Nakeer, you will have no grief.
When the interrogation is over, the handsome man arranges for him from
Al-Mala'ul A'laa (the angels in Heaven) silk bedding filled with musk.
Also Rasulullah (saw)said:"On the Day of Judgement, before Allah
(SWT), no other intercessor will have a greater status than the Noble
Qur'an, neither a Prophet nor an angel."