For children, - Reality of Life and Death

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One day of the many days. There was a man traveling on a trip with his Wife and Kids. And on the way he met someone standing in the roadway. So he asked him: Who are you? He said: I am the money.
So the man asked his wife and kids: Should we ask him to ride with us?
They said together: Yes of course because with the money it can help us if we wanted to do anything and if we wanted to get anything we desired. So they took the Money to ride with them.
And the vehicle continued its way until the man met someone else on the road. So the Father asked: Who are you? He said: I am the high position and power.
So the father asked his wife and kids: Should we ask him to ride with us?
So they all answered together in one voice: Yes of course because with the high position and power we have the ability to do anything we want and own anything we desired. So they took the high position and power with them. And the vehicle continued to finish its trip.
And likewise he met in the same manner many people which give the pleasures and desires of this life, until... They met one person on the way... The Father asks him Who are you? He said: I am Deen-e-Islam (Religion Islam).
So the father, wife, and kids said all together in one voice: No, no this isn't the time, we desire the pleasures of this life and world (Dunya), and the Deen will prevent us and ban us from these things and it will take control over us, and we will be worn-out from being loyal to it and its learning. And the Halal (Lawful) and the Haram (Forbidden), and this thing prayer and that thing Hijab, and this fasting , and and and and and etc, It will be a burden upon us!
But what is certain is that we will definitely return for you to pick you up but only after we enjoy this life and everything in it.
So sadly they left him behind and the vehicle continued its trip.
And out of no where something appeared in the middle of the road. It was a check point in the road and it had a sign saying, STOP!
And they found a man gesturing for the father to get out of the vehicle.
So the man said to the father: The trip has ended as far as you are concerned! And it is upon you to get out and come with me.
The father was shocked with fear and didn't say a word.
So the man said to him: I am searching for the Deen-e-Islam. Is he with you?
He answered: No I left him not too far back. So if you can let me go back, I can get him for you. You do not have the ability to go back, your trip has ended and there is no going back now. returning is impossible said the man.
But I have, money, high position and power, My Wife, My Kids, and and and and and and on.
The man said to him: They will not benefit you nor will they protect you in front of Allah (SWT). Not one bit!
And you will leave all of this, and not one of them will help you except for the Deen-e-Islam you know? The one which you left back in the road. So the father asked: And who are you exactly?
I AM DEATH
The one which you were needless of and didn't take into account in your trip!
The father looked at his vehicle and found his wife taking control of it and continuing the trip with all of its passengers but him. And none of them stayed with him, and none of them helped him in any way.
Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh)said: The worse of people is the one who trades his next world for enjoyment of this world, and worse than him is the one who trades his next world for enjoyment of someone else (in this world).
Allah (SWT), the Majestic said: "Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people." Noble Qur'an (9:24)
Allah (SWT), the Majesticsaid: "Every soul shall taste of death, and you shall only be paid fully your reward on the resurrection day; then whoever is removed far away from the fire and is made to enter the garden he indeed has attained the object; and the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities." Noble Qur'an (3:185)
Allah (SWT), the Majestic said: "And leave those who have taken their religion for a play and an idle sport, and whom this world's life has deceived, and remind (them) thereby lest a soul should be given up to destruction for what it has earned:" Noble Qur'an (6:70)

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Fathwa, - {Misconceptions about Muslim Women}, - Misconceptions about marital rights in Islam

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Question
I have been reading about the marital rights in Islam and I am confused. Please answer my question as its taking me away from religion and bringing evil thoughts about Islam. I understand man has more rights over his wife but if someone is given power there should be severe punishment if he abuses that power but it seems that if women makes a mistake her punishment is much severe than when the man abuses his power for instance if she refuses an intercourse without any valid reason which from what I read are being sick, menses and mandatory fast. But it doesn’t take into consideration her emotional circumstances.
The Prophet,said: "When a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and he went to sleep angry with her, the angels will curse her until morning." ]Al-Bukhaari[
Where the husband beats his wife the matter is not so serious. Many women have come to the family of Muhammad, complaining about their husbands. Those )husbands( are not the best among you. ]Abu Daawood[
The Prophet,recommended Faatimah Bint Qays not to marry Abu Jaham because he beat women )as for Abu Jaham, his stick never leaves his shoulder(.
In both cases being violent to wife is not liked but not considered a major sin but refusing intercourse is a major sin. I have also read if wife refuses to obey the husband or have intercourse, man can stop paying the maintenance but if the husband doesn't fulfil his obligations like maintenance or kind treatment wife still has to obey him and cannot refuse intercourse with him.
Similarly woman who asks for divorce without a valid reason is kind of cursed.
“Any woman who asked for a divorce for no reason, the fragrance of Paradise is forbidden to her.” ]Narrated by At-Tirmithi[
I haven’t read anything which is as strict as the above regarding man. Isn’t harm caused by man divorcing wife without a reason the same as woman asking for divorce without a reason.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammadis His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you have to know that this religion is sent down by Allaah, the Most-Wise, the All-Knower. He is the One Who knows what is beneficial for His Slaves in this world and in the Hereafter. The Words of Allaah are the Truth and All that Allaah has Legislated is just. Allaah Says )which means(: }And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice.{]Quran 6:115[, i.e. true in information and just in rulings, free from all kinds of lies or injustice. The belief of a Muslim requires that he submits himself to Allaah's Decree. The Muslim's belief that Allaah is Perfect in his Names and Attributes, and that he is the All-Knower, the All-Wise, the All-Aware, and belief in His other Names and Attributes, all this requires from him to firmly believe that Allaah does not legislate except that which is beneficial for His Slaves, and that He does not wrong anyone in His Rulings. It is He Who forbade injustice on Him and made it forbidden among the people. A Muslim may not know the wisdom and the secrets of legislation, so it is not permissible for him to condition his belief on perceiving the wisdom, to an extent that if he knows the wisdom, he believes and if he does not know it, he does not believe. Therefore, you should be careful, and your slogan should be the Saying of Allaah ]when speaking about the believers[ )which means(: }And they say, ''We hear and we obey. ]We seek[ Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the ]final[ destination."{]Quran 2:285[. This is just an introductive answer to your misconceptions before we proceed to answer your questions.
As regards your questions, the answer would be as follows:
1( It is not correct to say that the punishment for the woman in most cases is more severe than that of a man. It is related that the man is cursed and there are severe warnings against him in relation to some of his conducts with his wife. For instance the Prophetsaid: "Allaah cursed the husband who has sex with his wife in her anus." ]Abu Daawood[ The Prophetfurther said: "Whoever has sex with a woman in menstruation, or has sex with his wife in her anus, or had been to see a magician, he had indeed disbelieved in what was revealed upon the Prophet Muhammad the Prophet." ]At-Tirmithi[ In another narration the Prophetsaid: "When a husband has two wives and does not act justly between them, he will come on the Day of Judgment with a side of his body hanging down )as a form of punishment(." ]Abu Daawood[
2( It is not possible to be certain that the punishment of a disobedient woman is less than that of a husband who hits his wife without any religious reason. Allaah Says )which means(: }…But if they obey you ]once more[, seek no means against them. Indeed, Allaah is ever Exalted and Grand.{]Quran 4:34[. ImaamIbn Katheersaid in relation to the interpretation of the above verse:'This is a threat to the husbands if they are unjust to their wives without any valid religious reason, as it is Allaah Who is their ]wives[ guardian and He will avenge those who are unjust to them.' Even if we assume that the punishment of a disobedient woman or the woman who refuses to share the bed with her husband is more severe than the punishment of a man hitting his wife, the harm that results from a woman who refuses to share the bed with her husband is greater than the harm which results from him hitting her, as the husband may resort to adultery because of his wife refusing him to enjoy her, and other harms could result due to her refusal. Moreover, the Prophetclarified the issue of men hitting their wives that it is not a simple matter as he said:"The men who beat their wives are not the best of you.",so how could it be deduced that this is an easy matter, rather this is a severe threat.
3( It is true that Islam legislated that a husband has the right of not spending on his wife if she is disobedient to him, but it is not correct to say that the wife has no right if the husband does not fulfil her rights, as in such a case Islam has given the right for the woman to take the matter to the court in order to remove the harm off her.
4( It is known that in general women are controlled by their emotion, that is why Islam did not put divorce in her hand and prohibited her to ask for divorce without a sound religious reason so that she will not resort to divorce for trivial reasons. It is for this reason that the stance against her is more firm than in relation to the husband. Finally, it should be noted that Islam legislated divorce as the last solution to clarify that it is disliked to resort to it as a means of solving the problems. The Prophetsaid: "Divorce is the most hated lawful act to Allaah."]Abu Daawood[ Although some scholarsconsidered the chain of narrators of this Prophetic narration as weak, yet its meaning is correct.
Allaah Knows best.

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Fathwa, - {Misconceptions about Muslim Women}, - The status of the barren women in Islam

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Question
I have read that in Islam best women are those who are loving and can have lot of children. I can understand the loving side but women don’t have any control on how many children they can have. Why the women who can have children considered superior to women who cannot have children even though this is not under their control? Prophet )peace be upon him( stopped one of his companions marrying a woman who could not have children and I have also read that Hazarat Umar divorced two of his wives because they were barren. Why are women punished for something which is not under their control? Why are they denied of love and care how will they be able get married? It seems that women who cannot have children are sort of outcast as I have read some scholars consider it Mukroh to marry a woman who cannot have children. Why this restriction only applies to women and not men? Men can be infertile too.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that superiority in Islam is based on righteousness. Allaah Says )what means(: }Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allaah is the mostrighteous of you.{]Quran 49:13[. The characteristic of being a fertile woman, by itself, does not prove her superiority, and being barren does not prove her inferiority. Therefore, she should not be blamed for this reason since it is not her choice as she was born as such. As for the prophetic narrations that encourage marrying a fertile woman, then this is in order to achieve some religious benefits, like having many children and the like. The Prophetsaid:"Marry the loving and prolific women, as I will outnumber the nations by you ]by your abundant number[."]Ahmad[ Such narrations do not necessarily mean that a woman who is not prolific is not virtuous.
However, we do not know any religious evidence that prohibits marrying a barren person, be it a man or a woman; rather, the religious texts that encourage marriage are general. In addition to this, being chaste is an additional benefit in marriage, and probably, every man and woman seek to achieve chastity.
As for the narration reported by ImaamAhmadMa'qil Ibn Yasaarnarrated that a man came to the Prophetand said:“I have found a woman of honourable lineage and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? Hesaid: “No”. He ]the man[ later returned again, and heprohibited him. The man returned for the third time, and he )the Prophet( said: “Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the nations )on the Day of Resurrection( by you ]by your abundant number[."This narration advocates what is better, and highlights the benefit of multiplying the progeny, as we mentioned above.
'Umarmarried a barren woman from Bani Makhzoom and then hedivorced her and said:"I do not sleep with women only for enjoyment; if they do not give birth, I do not need them."
'Umarpracticed a permissible right to divorce, just like a woman has the right to ask for divorce if her husband is barren, because both of them need to be blessed with children. The ruling here applies to both the husband and the wife.Allaah Knows best.

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Fathwa, - {Misconceptions about Muslim Women}, - Don't judge Islam by yourhusband's injustice

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Question
salamalaykoum...I am confused ..i am a revert to islam but honestly i feel i have done a terrible mistake . There are so many issues wrong w/ my marriage and my husband says its Shariah and Allah will punish me , if i say different. We are married 6yrs now we have 2 children together i live in usa he lives in uk..we have not seen eachother in almost 3yrs. he does not maintain me or our kids. He works in uk and says he makes only enough for him and says hadiths says Allah doesnt give a person more than they can handle.Im tired , i do everything for our kids , they have seen their father one time and dont know him. he says we are married but yet i dont have a document showing we are , then i read on your site other questions about how if a husband divorces his wife , she is not entitiled to any maintance from him nor shelter ..thats absurd...how can you say in islam that as women if we divorce we no longer have rights ..after having children w/ our husbands we are left to either 2 things , either leave our kids w/ our exhusbands or we take our kids w/ us and we suffer cuz we can not work nor maintain them , becuz our so called exhusbands dont have to maintain us or give us any maintance , then we should go out and work like men ...i think the maintaince in western society takes care of the women and gives her more rights than in islam ..im sorry to say and may Allah forgive me but in isalm this is wrong ...how can a woman survive after divorcing if she has nothing or nobody to help her , that means if she has kids she must leave them w/someone while she works to maintain and take care of her kids ....i think islam is wrong in this , how can a women are not protected in islam , they are neglected ...protected as long as they are married but if husband is abusive and she divorces him then she gets nothing ,but children to raise on her own , cuz of course we wont give up our kids to be raised by a man who is abusive...so wrong & sad..christianity gives the woman rights
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammadis His slave and Messenger.
Islam is the religion that came to ensure happiness for people in this world and in the Hereafter with its comprehensive and balanced legislations. Allaah Says )what means(: }This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.{]Quran 5:3[ Hence, every person who embraces Islam and understands it very well should be happy with this bounty and not feel sorry about it.
The )wrong( conclusions that you made are due to the following two matters:
1- Being wronged by your husband who falsely attributes his injustice to Islam.
2- Your wrong understanding to some religious rulings.
However, before talking about these two matters, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that in Islam the marriage contract has conditions that must be fulfilled so that the marriage will be valid; you may read these conditions in Fatwa 83629. The most important of these conditions are the consent )and presence( of the woman’s guardian and the presence of two witnesses: this is so, so that the marriage will be authenticated and the rights of the wife and children will be protected.
It should also be mentioned that the husband is obliged to have good marital relationship with his wife and it is not permissible for him to be absent from her more than six months except with her consent; this has already been discussed in Fataawa 85711and 88304.
As regards the conduct of your husband, he is wrong in many aspects. For instance, a husband is obliged to spend on his wife and children according to reasonable grounds and we have already clarified this in Fatwa 85012, and we also clarified in it that a wife is not required to spend on herself )and children( even if she is working and that if she spends without the intention of doing that as an act of charity, she is permitted to ask her husband to reimburse her for whatever she had spent.
With regard to the statement that a divorcee is not entitled to expenditures and accommodation, then this is not completely true. For example, a husband is obliged to spend on a divorced wife who is divorced a revocable divorce as long as she is in her waiting period, and he is also obliged to spend on a divorced wife who is divorced an irrevocable divorce if she is pregnant until her waiting period is over ]i.e. until she gives birth[. Afterwards, it is her guardian who is obliged to spend on her if she has no money as is the case before she gets married; for more benefit in this regard, please refer to Fatwa 88233. Also, you may refer to Fatwa 83934for the rights of a divorced woman on her husband.
However, if we presume that a woman has no one to spend on her, then in this case it is the Muslim community who is obliged to spend on her. If the Islamic ruling is applied in a Muslim country, then it is the treasury that will spend on such woman. As regards the children, it is their father who is obliged to spend on them in any case as long as they are young and needy and not able to earn their living.
Concerning what you attributed to some non-Muslim societies that they give the woman more right than in Islam and that Islam neglects the woman, then this is very wrong and it is an injustice to Islam. Is it not enough an injustice in Christianity that a woman is not permitted to separate from her husband and be divorced from him unless she commits adultery? For more benefit on the status of woman in Islam and how Islam preserved her rights, please refer to Fataawa 81237and 81205.
It seems, dear sister, that you want to judge Islam by some wrong behaviors of Muslims or by some misconceptions that are presented to you, and there is no doubt that this is not permissible. Therefore, we advise you to be steadfast on you belief and supplicate Allaah to make a way out for you to get out of hardship and enable you to take your right from your husband who wronged you and who wronged Islam to which he affiliates himself.
Finally, it should be noted that you have the right to take your husband to the court so that you get your rights from him and the rights of your children. So, we advise you to take the matter to the authorities who are responsible for the issues of Muslims so that they would repel the injustice of your husband from you.
Furthermore, you are obliged to repent to Allaah from such grave statements by saying that you were wrong by embracing Islam because such a statement may lead to apostasy and whoever apostates from Islam he only harms himself and he loses his religion and his worldly life. Allaah Says )what means(: }And whoever of you reverts from his religion ]to disbelief[ and dies while he is a disbeliever - for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire, they will abide therein eternally.{]Quran 2:217[

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Fwd: Scholar Alert - [ Hipertention, Diabetic foot syndrome ]

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From: Google Scholar Alerts <scholaralerts-noreply@google.com>
Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 03:54:21 +0000
Subject: Scholar Alert - [ Hipertention, Diabetic foot syndrome ]
To: aydnajimudeen@gmail.com

Scholar Alert: [ Hipertention, Diabetic foot syndrome ]

Hand, foot and scrotal blisters in a patient with cancer receiving
oral chemotherapy
JR Guerra, AM Suelves, A Bella, D Lolo - BMJ Case Reports, 2014
... The patient had a medical history of type II diabetes,
hypertension, chronic hepatitis C,
hepatocellular carcinoma with ... Under the suspicion of hand–foot
skin reaction, he was started
on topical steroids over the lesions localised on the hands and feet,
and topical ...

[PDF] Angiotensin II receptor blocker telmisartan attenuates aortic
stiffening and remodelling in STZ-diabetic rats
E Salum, M Butlin, J Kals, M Zilmer, J Eha, AP Avolio… - … & Metabolic
Syndrome, 2014
... outcome in general population [4] and in high-risk conditions,
including hypertension [5], end ...
medial layer as higher collagen concentrations were present in the
untreated diabetes group
compared to ... lower medial ratio of elastin to collagen in the
untreated diabetic group (Table ...

Newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes complicated by ketoacidosis and
peripheral thrombosis leading to transfemoral amputation
LB Jørgensen, O Skov, K Yderstræde - BMJ Case Reports, 2014
... The patient had no history of hypertension, but blood pressure was
156/111 mmHg on admission. ...
Diabetes Care 2001;24:1674–8. [Abstract/FREE Full text]. ↵: Zipser S,;
Kirsch CM,; Lien C,; et
al. . Acute aortoiliac and femoral artery thrombosis complicating
diabetic ketoacidosis. ...

Validation of the Comprehensive International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for Diabetes
Mellitus in patients with diabetic …
H Tsutsui, T Ojima, N Ozaki, M Kusunoki, T Ishiguro… - Clinical and
Experimental …, 2014
... to the recommendations of the National Glycohemoglobin
Standardization Program DMN diabetic
nephropathy, HD ... s220) [14], cardiovascular disease (b410, b415 and
s410) [15], hypertension
(b420) [16 ... category for the corresponding the ICF core set for
diabetes mellitus Bold ...

Nocturia in Older Adults: Implications for Nursing Practice and Aging in Place
BW Carlson, MH Palmer - Nursing Clinics of North America, 2014
... Comorbidities, Obesity Heart failure Hypertension Diabetes
mellitus/insipidus Renal disease
Neurologic disease ... and 93 Passive body heating 94 and 95 and warm
foot baths 96 ... Similarly,
correcting hyperglycemia in persons with diabetes, optimizing fluid
status in persons with ...

The Older Adult with Diabetes: Peripheral Neuropathy and Walking for Health
E Cuaderes, WL Lamb, A Alger - Nursing Clinics of North America, 2014
... 9 Obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, inflammation, and insulin
resistance may contribute as
much as hyperglycemia to the development ... Diabetes Care, 26 (6)
(2003), pp ... Xerosis and callus
formation as a key to the diabetic foot syndrome: dermatologic view of
the problem and ...

Always on| the people who are awake and asleep at the same time
A Finkbeiner - New Scientist, 2014
... huge: people with long-term sleep problems run a higher risk of
hypertension, diabetes, obesity,
heart ... Uncommon disorder in which muscles twitch repeatedly in
feet, arms or legs. ... been considered
unrelated to sleep: chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome,
depression, and ...

A study of diabetes complications in an endogamous population: An
emerging public health burden
A Bener, F Al-Laftah, AOAA Al-Hamaq, M Daghash… - … & Metabolic
Syndrome: …, 2014
... included information about socio-demographic and anthropometric
characteristics including age,
sex, nationality, education level, height, weight, parental
consanguinity, family history of diabetes,
type of diabetes, co-morbid hypertension, and diabetic complications such ...

Mild‐to‐moderate intensity exercise improves cardiac autonomic drive
in type 2 diabetes
RK Goit, BH Paudel, R Khadka, RK Roy… - Journal of Diabetes …, 2014
... The exclusion criteria were overt cardiovascular disease, diabetic
complications, chronic heart
failure, hypertension, arrhythmias, known ... Effects of physical
training on heart rate variability in
diabetic patients with various ... The Health Professional's Guide to
Diabetes and Exercise ...

Evaluation of pain in patients with venous ulcers after skin grafting
GM Salomé, SA de Almeida, LM Ferreira - Journal of Tissue Viability, 2014
... The exclusion criteria were skin lesions other than venous ulcers,
clinical diseases that
contraindicate surgery (eg, decompensated congestive heart failure,
hypertension, and
uncontrolled diabetes mellitus ... Functional capability of patients
with diabetes with foot ulceration. ...

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Dua' - Duas and Adhkar for RAMADAN - ''O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the PUNISHMENT of the GRAVE, and I seek refuge in You from the trial of the False Messiah, and I seek refuge in You from the trials of life and death. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from SIN and from DEBT.'' اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ الْمَأْثَمِ وَالْمَغْرَمِ Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika min 'athaabil-qabri, wa 'a'oothu bika min fitnatil-maseehid-dajjaali, wa 'a'oothu bika min fitnatil-mahyaawalmamaati. Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika minal-ma'thami walmaghrami. Al-Bukhari 1/202, Muslim 1/412.

Welcome to Islam, - Islam and crime

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Crime in its different forms–organized crime, street crime, State crime, social crime–is considered as a major threat to peace and security in our world. A detailed discussion of the magnitude of the problem of crime as a universal catastrophe is beyond the scope of this study. Hence, we will present the Islamic viewpoint on the matter.
A summary of statistics about the spread of crimes in the US, based on US Government references, is presented below:
One crime index offense every 3 seconds
One violent crime every 27 seconds
One murder every 24 minutes
One forcible rape every 7 minutes
One robbery every 68 seconds
One property crime every 3 seconds
One burglary every 10 seconds
One larceny /theft every 5 seconds
One motor vehicle theft every 29 seconds
Source:Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports.
The Uniform Crime Report )UCR( issued by the US Federal Bureau of investigation )FBI( revealed that the number of reported crimes in the US increased by 4.6 percent in one year, from 1984 to 1985. Arrests in 1985 totaled 11.9 million, an increase of 3 percent over 1984.
The UCR figures are widely believed by criminologists to be low. A more reliable index is probably the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Survey )NCS(, an annual report on household crime victimization based on census surveyors. This survey under covers crimes not reported to police. Its 1985 survey showed that 25 percent of the US population )1 in every 4 households in the US( had experienced crimes against individual members of the household or against the household itself during that year.
As these statistics show, crime, in all its different forms has become a major threat to societal and individual security. Nevertheless, most of the methods used to fight against crime have backfired and fall short of meeting such a challenge. The failure of the Western methods of combating crime – as stated by the continual rise of crime rates – leads one to suggest a solution, which treats criminal activity not piecemeal but in the total scheme of life.
The Islamic solution
The Islamic concept of security is a very comprehensive one, more comprehensive than any of the other existing systems. It looks at humankind in relation to the universe and the factors influencing it. It encompasses physical, mental, psychological and spiritual domains as integral parts of an overall societal security system. Islamic teachings do not merely provide solutions to exceptional instances of criminal behavior, but emphatically focus on measures that halt their existence. In other words, Islam executes as many means as possible to avert temptation. While modern societies flaunt temptation – liquor, pornography, violence, etc. – before the people, a true Islamic society removes the sources of these temptations, and when the need for correction emerges, the punishment is serious and effective.
Crime has prospered in modern society because a completely contradictory approach is followed to controlling it. All forms of temptation are prevalent and easily accessible and when the time comes for correction or punishment of a crime, it is done leniently and without seriousness. Sentencing is often biased and protective of the criminal's rights over those of the victim.
Through the various practical forms of worship likeSalaah)the five daily prayers(, fasting andZakaah)obligatory charity(, Islamic teachings aim at implanting feelings of inner peace and security, responsibility towards others and mutual respect. In a video film by the Christian Science Monitor about Islam in America, a large portion was devoted to describing the lives of maximum-security prison inmates before and after becoming Muslims. Before reverting to Islam, many were serial killers, drug smugglers, addicts and professional criminals. When they embraced Islam while in prison, they turned into dignified, secure and contributing citizens. Western statistical indices show that in the majority of maximum-security prisons, the criminals get involved in criminal acts and end up back in prison. Such statistics are reversed when those inmates become Muslims. The success of Islam in providing the best solution to crimes in the midst of the American society, where all types of correction programs have failed, is strong contemporary evidence for the universality of Islam and the pressing need for adopting its teachings.
Note: Most of the statistical data collected are about Western societies that are due to the availability of documentation on the matter. We realize that crime is prevalent in all societies -- Eastern and Western alike. The main thrust of our topic is that adopting the Islamic solution is more fruitful than man-made solutions.

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Welcome to Islam, - Islam stands the test of history

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Muslims claims that Islam is the eternal religion. Any claim of this kind invites people to judge its validity on historical grounds. If latter day history testifies to its claim, it stands endorsed, otherwise it must be rejected. Marxism in the 20thcentury CE is a clear-cut example of historical rejection. According to his concept of historical determinism, Karl Marx held that modern industrial Capitalism bore within it the seeds of its own destruction. He further observed that according to its own inherent laws, its antithesis would emerge which would destroy it whereupon a new synthesis would come into being. But, quite contrary to his prediction, industrial Capitalism has not only survived, but is making great progress. Historical events have thus buried Marxist theory. Then there is the case of Adolph Hitler who made grandiose claims that Germans were the “master race” and were destined to rule over all ofEurope. The rout of Hitler and his Nazi party at the end of World War II put paid to all such theorizing.
By : Wahiduddin Khan
But the case of Islam is quite different. Even after a period of more than 1400 years, Islam has suffered no erosion of its validity. The well known British historian, Edward Gibbon, describes the rise and expansion of Islam as: “one of the most memorable revolutions which has impressed a new and lasting character on the nations of the globe.”
An Indian historian, M.N. Roy, has observed: “Muhammad must be recognized as by far the greatest of all prophets, before or after him.” He goes on to say that “the expansion of Islam is the most miraculous of all miracles.” )The Historical Role of Islam, pp. 4-5(
The American writer, Michael Hart, in his book, “The 100” has made a selection of the 100 most influential persons in history, who have achieved the most outstanding success in this world. Right at the top of this list is the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, )may Allaah exalt his mention( of whom the author writes:“He was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both religious and secular levels.”
The great success that Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had predicted for his mission at the very outset came true. This success came in spite of the stiff opposition which Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, faced right from the beginning, both from within his own family and from the outside world. This was in 610 CE, the year when he first started receiving divine revelations. At this stage he felt totally helpless. But then, in this adverse situation, he received a revelation from Allaah, which says )what means(:“They want to extinguish Allaah’s light with their mouths. But Allaah will perfect His light, even though the unbelievers may detest it. It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, so that he may exalt it over all religions, much as the pagans may dislike it.”]Quran 61:8-9[
At the very beginning of his prophetic career, the Quran declared that Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would certainly succeed in his mission. All his opponents, however powerful they might be, would ultimately be defeated. )This is pointed out at several places in the Quran in different wording(. In history we find numerous personalities who began their work with towering claims, but none of them achieved the success they envisioned. Throughout human history, Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is the only exception to this rule, in that his predictions were fulfilled to the fullest extent.
Through the efforts of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and his companions, a unique event took place: starting from scratch, they succeeded in extending their influence to the entire populated world of that age. During this brief period, they not only conqueredArabiabut also succeeded in crushing the two great empires of their time – the Roman and the Sasanid empires. This exceptional phase in history has been almost universally acknowledged by historians.
The Quran was revealed prior to the modern age of knowledge, yet 1400 years ago at the time of its revelation, the Quran declared that the proof of its divine origin lay in its being in complete accordance with historical facts and its consistency with contemporary discoveries and those that might be made in future times. Advances may be made in human knowledge, but they will never contradict Quranic statements. To a remarkable degree, latter day history has testified to this. While many statements contained in all the ancient books have been at loggerheads with the latest scientific discoveries, the Quran is unique in steering clear of all such contradiction.
As the Quran says )which means(:“Do they not ponder on the Quran? Had it been from other than God, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.”]Quran 4:82[. )The word “discrepancy” here means inconsistency, that is, a Quranic statement not agreeing with eternal knowledge(.
Much has been written on this aspect of the Quran in modern times. The French scientist, Maurice Bucaille, has shown in detail in his book, The Bible, The Quran and Modern Science, how the statements contained in the Quran are astonishingly in exact accordance with the discoveries of modern science. This shows that the Quran perfectly comes up to the scientific standards.
This development of human knowledge in favor of Quranic contents is no mere accident. It is another historical proof that the Quran is a Book revealed by the Creator of the Universe, Whose Knowledge is not bound by the limitations of space and time. Hence we find in the Quran a unique prediction to this effect )what means(:“We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe and in their own souls, untill they clearly see that it is the truth.”]Quran 41:53[
After completing his comparative study of the Quran and modern science, Maurice Bucaille comes to this conclusion :
“In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it is inconceivable that many of the statements in the Quran which are connected with science could have been the work of a man. It is moreover, perfectly legitimate, not only to regard the Quran as the expression of a Revelation, but also to award it a very special place, on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific satements which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.” )p. 252(
To sum up, there is no other scripture that, having challenged all of mankind to disprove its authenticity as the Quran did, finally gained total rational support for its supernatural origin and veracity, even from its most bitter opponents. And there is no other historic figure whose future success was as uncertain as that of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, who was finally crowned with such supreme success.

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Welcome to Islam, - How Islam tackled the problem of slavery

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A few Western writers claim that Islam is based on slavery. Considering their bleak history of genocide and slave populations, one marvels at their audacity! They support their claim by referring to pre-Islamic Arabs who carried on the slave trade. In fact, they were among the few opportunists taking advantage of a system that had started long before Islam came on the scene -- a system that Islam was geared to eradicate.
Today, it is common knowledge that slavery was the system of labor used by the major civilizations of the world for thousands of years before the advent of Islam. The Pyramids of Egypt, theGreat Wall of China, the Cities of the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans and Persians were all built by slave labor. However, Islam did not build an empire by the enslavement of one man by another; rather, Islam was built on the principle of equality of all men and universal brotherhood.
The leaders of Islam knew that an immediate declaration of abolition could not end slavery, but would only create confusion and severe dislocation in that epoch. Instead, Islam instituted a program where slaves could be assimilated into free society. Thus, slavery was gradually phased out from the Islamic society.
It was made obligatory that all slaves be educated. Muslims were enjoined to feed and clothe slaves in the same manner as themselves. It was decreed that if a slave wanted to purchase his or her freedom, he or she should be helped with money and the means to maintain an independent life. Harsh treatment of a slave was declared sufficient ground for his or her emancipation.
Moreover, the atonement of certain sins was declared the freeing of slaves, and freeing a slave was declared to be a virtue of the highest order equal in value perhaps to prayer and fasting.
The Noble Quran commands )what means( :"Marry those among you who are single or the virtuous ones among your slaves, male or female. If they are in poverty, Allaah will give them means out of His grace: for Allaah encompasses all and He knows all things … And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing )to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum( give them such a deed if you know any good in them. Yea give them something yourselves out of the means which Allaah has given to you. But force not your maids into prostitution when they desire chastity in order that you may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them yet after such compulsion is Allaah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful )to them(."]Quran 24:32-33[
In the legal sense of the word, the law of slavery is now obsolete. During the time it carried meaning, Islam made the slave's lot as easy as possible. Abdullah Yousuf Ali's commentary on the following verses runs as follows: “A slave, male or female could ask for conditional freedom by a written deed fixing the amount required for emancipation, and allowing the slave meanwhile to earn money by lawful means and perhaps marry and bring up a family. Such a deed was not to be refused if the request was genuine and the slave had character. Not only that, but the master is directed to help with money out of his own resources in order to enable the slave to earn his or her own liberty.
"Where slavery was legal, what is now called the 'white slave traffic', was carried on by wicked people like 'Abdullaah bin Ubayy, the hypocrite leader at Al-Madeenah. This is absolutely condemned. While modern nations have abolished slavery, ‘white slave traffic’ is still a big problem. It is absolutely condemned in Islam. No more despicable trade can be imagined. The poor unfortunate girls that are victims of such a nefarious trade will yet find mercy from Allaah, whose bounties extend to the lowest of His creatures.
"Under the unique program of assimilation, slaves in the Islamic era were able to acquire all the rights of free citizens, and attained the highest levels of social, political and economic achievement. The Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, )may Allaah exalt his mention( actually warned his followers to:"Listen and obey even if a black slave becomes your leader, so long as he should enforce amongst you the Law of Creator."
Thus we read about Bilaal Al Habashi, may Allaah be pleased with him, a former slave fromEthiopia, who became the closest aide of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and one of Islam's most prominent personalities. Bilaal, may Allaah be pleased with him, also possessed a marvelous, melodious voice and was chosen to call the believers to Prayer in the lifetime of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Then there was Zayd bin Haarithah, may Allaah be pleased with him, the slave whom the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam adopted, showering upon him a father’s love and affection, so that he grew up to become one of Islam's greatest generals.
In Islamic history, we find entire dynasties of people who were once slaves, but then attained power and achieved victories for the entire Muslim nation.
We read about Kaafoor, a slave from theSudanwho rose to be ruler ofEgyptandSyria, whose name has since become proverbial for wise leadership in Islam.
We read about Malik Ambar, another African slave, who became a brilliant ruler and was one of the Nawaabs )Muslim princes( ofIndia.
Islam opened the doors of social, political and economic equality to slaves – as a result, erstwhile slaves rose to be Sultans, and slave-women became favorites of the ruler and mothers of heirs to the throne. At times, a slave himself became a master and held freeborn men of wealth and power in dread of him.
From these few examples we can see that neither one's ancestry, nor the color of one's skin, nor the place of one's birth, were allowed to stand in the way of anyone achieving any position or making any contribution in the Muslim world. Therefore, to say that Islam practiced slavery would be to totally misunderstand )or misrepresent( the dynamics of history and the nature and record of Islam.
Some people conveniently forget that there is a profound difference between the ‘slavery’ that existed in the Islamic societies and the picture of slavery that is handed down to us from the Imperial colonies. It was a far cry from the abominations that were practiced in the Imperial colonies, when men from India and Africa were lured or abducted, to be put to work in West Indian sugarcane fields; where the slightest dissent would result in torture by being spread-eagled nude on anthills, or stuffed with gunpowder in both ends and blown away for fun!
Or do we care to think of the indentured labor that still exists in the “great democracies” of the world, where generations of men till earth in chains? The Islamic injunctions for the slaves of yore are humane in comparison to the indignities of economic slavery today – unlike the modern-day slaves, at least they could hope for freedom.
Going deeper into the matter, a contemporary Muslim scholar, Abu Al-A'laa Mawdoodi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, explains that: "Islam stands for liberation from all sorts of slavery such as may inhibit the progress of humanity, or may not allow it to follow the path of virtue and goodness. It means man's freedom from dictators who enslave him by force or fear, make him do what is wrong and deprive him of his dignity, honor, property and life. Islam liberates man from such tyranny by telling him that all authority vests in the Creator and the Creator alone. He alone is the Real Sovereign ... Thus Islam brings to man to freedom from fear and oppression inflicted on him by men like himself ...
"Islam also means the desire for freedom, including the desire for life, as it is this very weakness of man which is exploited by tyrants and dictators, intentionally and otherwise, in enslaving their fellowmen. But for it, no man would silently accept subservience to men like himself, or sit idle to watch tyranny on the rampage and dare not challenge it. It is a great blessing of Islam that it taught man to fight tyranny and oppression bravely rather than cringe before them in abject servitude."
Therefore, although Islam stands for Peace, it does not accept peace on humiliating or debasing grounds. Peace in Islam is based on dignity, freedom, brotherhood and lasting security, not upon humiliation and helpless surrender to tyranny, exploitation and oppression.

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Ahle sunnathwal Jamath, - Travel to Resting Place

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When ever Muslims are fortunate enough to travel to Makkah and Madina, i.e. for Hajj or Umrah after visiting the Ka’bah, they would then go towards Madina to visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] blessed resting place.
Some people argue that when they do go, they should not intend to see our Prophet’s [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave, because it is not permissible. They argue, that the people should only intend for Salaah (Prayer) in Masjid-e-Nabawi (Green Dome Mosque) and when they get there they can visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave as well.
The Ahl-Sunnah believe that it is permissible to make the Intention to travel to visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave.
We shall, with the help of Allah, provide proof that it is Permissible to travel to our Prophet’s [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave with Intention to see his grave.
Allah Subha nahu wataala says in the Holy Qur’an:
When they were unjust to themselves, they come unto thee and ask Allah’s forgiveness’ and the messenger asked forgivingness for them they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning most merciful. [Surah Al-Nisa verse 64]
From this we can say that it permissible to visit our Prophet’s [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave. Some people say that this Ayat was only applicable when our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] was alive but not now.
The answer to this doubt is that he (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) is still alive in his grave, to go to see his grave is same as going to see him alive.
Proof from Hadith
Imam Muslim writes when Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) went to Mir’aaj, he saw Prophet Musa [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] was standing in his grave performing Salaah.
(Muslim, Chapter on Fadil Mousa)
Qadi Shawkani writes:
“Some of the highest scholars say that our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] is alive in his grave” So then it would make it the same as travelling to see our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] when he was alive.
[Nayl-lul-Avtar chap Al-Hajj by Qadi Shawkani]
Our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace]’s companions used to travel to his grave.
Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
Abdullah Ibn Umar, radiallahu unho, when he would return from travelling, he would visit the grave of Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace].
[Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah in Al-Tuwassul and Iqtidah Seratul Mustaqeem Chapter Zirah Qabar un Nabi Muatta Imam Muhammad chapter on Hajj]
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes:
Ka’ab (Ta’bee) said to Aysha radiallaho unha that 70,000 angels visit the grave of our Prophet (Sallallahu’ alaihi wa sallam’s) in the morning and the same in the evening who recite Durood (Blessing) on our Prophet (Sallallahu’ alaihi wa sallam.)
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Ahzab under verse 56
Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement which he stated in his book called Ar-rad-ul-akh-Nai that it is not permitted to travel to visit the grave of our Prophet Sallal lahoalihi wasallam is derived from Hadith about travelling: You can travel to the three Mosques, i.e. Haramain in Makkah, Masjid Nabwi in Madina, Masjid Aqsa in Jerusalem , the real meaning of this hadith would be that no one can say to pray in this or that Mosque is more rewarded. The understanding of Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyah is wrong about visiting our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave.
Imam Abu Hanifahh Rahmatulah writes that when a person attends the grave of our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] the person should face the grave and make du’a.
[Musnad, Imam Abu Haneefa chap Hajj]
Qadi Shawkani writes that:
After our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] passed away Bilal radi Allah ho moved to Syria (Sham), one night in his dream our Prophet Sallal laho alhi wasallam said Oh Bilal what kind of friendship is this that you do not come to see me. When Bilal radi allaho unho woke up in the morning, he made his way towards our Prophet (Sallallahu’ alaihi wa sallam.) At that time his intention was to go to our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave, quite a lot of the (Sahabas) Companion were alive at that time but none of them said that this is Haram, this event is (Sanad Jayyead) true. From this we learn that to have intention to visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave is permissible.[Nail lau tahri chptr Hajj By Qadi Showkanee. Hafidhh Ibn Athir also writes this event as well.]
Allamah Ibn Jawzi writes that:
Our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] said: To come and see me while I am alive, is called Hijrat, and it is the same as to come to see me after I have passed away.[Talbis-Iblis page 200]
Muslims have been travelling to visit our Prophet’s [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave from the beginning and will do so till the end.
When Muslims reach our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave they read their sallams and make Du'a through (Waseela) our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] - and they also make Du'a that help us on the day of Judgement, and this is all permissible.
Hafidhh Ibn Qayyim writes:
‘Whenever you are present at our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave, cry as much as you can when you are making your Du’as. Because on the day of Judgement your tears will be weighed in the scales, to visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave is the best thing you can do to receive a very high reward than any other.
[Qaseedah-Nu-numia page 180 by Hafidhh Ibn Qayyim]
Shaykh Alawi Maliki writes:
That some people have wrongly interpreted what Imam Malik Rahamatullah has stated: He said that: ‘I do not like people saying that I have visited the Ka’ba, or that I have visited our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave. The answer to this is that Imam Malik Rahmatullah did not say: do not visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave, he did not like the word Ziarah as Ibn Rusan Maliky wrote on this that the word visit (Ziyarah) is used when addressing ordinary deceased, so this is not suitable for our Prophet (Sallallahu’ alaihi wa sallam.)
[Shifa-Al-Favar page 130 by Shaykh Alawiy al Maliki Makki]
Hafidhh Asqalani says that:
The Scholars have said, “How can Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah say that it is Haraam to visit our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] grave”. In this instance the Scholars have really rebuked Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah. And on this saying of Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah it created a lot of disagreement between the Ummah. As all the Scholars agree unanimously that it is permitted to travel to visit our Prophet (Sallallhu’ alaihi wa sallams) grave. The evidence Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah gave was of Imam Maliks saying that he did not like people saying that they have visited our Prophet (Sallallhu’ alaihi wa sallams) grave. As the Maliki Scholars have cleared this by saying that Imam Malik did not like the word Visit (Ziyarah) being used, he was not against the actual visiting of the grave. Imam Malik knew about visiting our Prophet (Sallallhu’alaihi wa sallams) grave is the best sort of worship you can do to become closer to Allah Ta’ala. And he also knew that the whole of the Ummah is together on this issue.
[Fathul Bari chapter Al-Masajid by Hafidhh Asqalani]
Qadi Shawkani says:
That there are a lot of different Fatwa’as on visiting our Prophet’s grave (Sallallhu’ alaihi wa sallam.) It is permitted by the majority of them, In the eyes of Maliki, and some of the others it is Wajib to visit, to Hanafis it is very close to being Wajib to visit our Prophet (Sallallhu’ alaihi wa sallams) grave. And Hafidhh Ibn Taymiah says it is not permitted to travel to visit the grave intentionally. Some of the Hambaly Scholars have rebuked Hafidhh Ibn Taymiah on this.
[Nayl-ul-Awtar chapter Hajj By Qadi Showqani]
From all this we can say it is permitted to travel with the intention to visit our Prophet (Sallallhu’ alaihi wa sallams) grave. Only Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah and some people are against it, so we cannot follow Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah’s saying, but to follow the great noble people of the Ummah.
I make Du’a that may Allah Subha Nahu Wata'ala take all the Muslim’s to Makkah and Madina, and on the day of Judgement may they get help from our Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] (To do their Intercession) Amin.

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Ahle sunnathwal Jamath, - Rafayadain Part 2

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...continued Part 1 .... Surprise
It is strange that Qadi Shawkani wrote in his book, that Usama bin Muhammad was a liar, but despite this took his narration as evidence in his other book.
The other surprising thing is that Qadi shawkaani always discusses the narrators of the Hadith, but with this Hadith, he does not mention or discuss anything about them. It seems as if he is totally unaware of them.
We are also surprised concerning those people who present this Hadith as evidence of their practice of radf’-ul-yadain. They are proud and say that they are following the sunnah of rasoolullah [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace].
Performing Salaah without Raf’ul-yadain – Proof from Hadith
Imam Muslim writes:
Once we were performing Salaah and the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] came to us and asked us: “Why are you doing raf’ul-yadain as a stubborn horse waving its tail?” He also told us: “Perform your Salaah with peace.”
(Muslim, chapter Sukoon fisSalaah)
The above Hadith proves that one must not perform Raf’ul yadain in the middle of one’s salaah.
Imam Muslim writes in another narration after the above one that:
Jaabir bin Samrah reported:
At the end of the salaah, we used to wave our hands left and right when saying Salaam, the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] told us not to wave our hands but only to say the Salaam.
The above narrations prove that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] stopped raf’ul-yadain as well as waving the hands during the Prayer.
Imam Humaidi, who was the teacher of Imam Bukhari and Muslim writes:
Abdullah bin Umar said:
The Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] only perform raf’ul-yadain at the beginning of Salaah, not before or after doing ruku’.
(Musnad Humaidi, Volume 1 pg. 177, Printed Maktabah Salafiyyah, Madeenat-ul-munawwarah)
Imam Ibn Abee Shaibah and Imam Abdur-Rakaq writes:
Ali (Radiall hu anhu) reported:
The Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] performed raf’ul-yadain at the beginning of Salaah.
Abdullah bin Mas’ood and Brabin Azib reported:
We saw the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] only performing Raf’ul yadain at the beginning of the Salaah.
Aswad, Imam Shabi, Ibrahim Nakhee and Ali and Ibn Mas’ood’s student (Radialla hu anhu) only performed raf’ul-yadain at the beginning of Salaah.
(Musnad Ibn Abi Shaibah and Musnad Abdur-Razaq, chapter on raf’ul-yadain)
Imam Ibn-ul-Qasim writes:
Imam Malik said that Imam Zuhri told him that he heard from Salim, who said that his Father (Abdullah bin Umar) reported, that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] only performed raf’ul yadain at the beginning of the Salaah and not in any other part of it.
This narration also proves that Imam Zuhri narrated a hadith stating that the practice of raf’ul yadain was only performed at the beginning of the Salaah.
Imam Malik also said that he has no knowledge of doing raf’ul-yadain in any other part of the Salaah apart from the beginning.
(Al madoonah-chapter on raf’ul-yadain)
Imam Malik also said:
To do raf’ul yadain is weak except at the beginning.
[Al Madoona chap Raf ul yadain]
How can Imam Malik say that he had no knowledge of someone who practices raf’ul-yadain, even when he himself heard a Hadith supporting it from Imam Zuhri?
The answer to this is, as mentioned earlier, that Imam Malik knew the Hadith of raf’ul-yadain but he never saw anyone in Makkah or Madinah who practiced it. The reason for this is that the practice of raf’ul-yadain was abrogated.
Imam Tirmidhi writes:
Abdullah bin mas’ood said that he would perform the Salaah the way that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] did. When he performed the Salaah, he only did raf’ul yadain at the beginning of the Salaah.
Many companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace], their students (Tabe’een), Sufyan, the Scholars of Koofah and many other Scholars followed this Hadith.
(Tirmidhi, baab-raf’ul-yadain)
Even other scholars wrote this Hadith in their books for example, Imam Aboo Da’ood, Ibn Abi shaibah, Imam Abdur-Razaq, Imam abu ya’ala and many others.
Imam Tirmidhi wrote in his narration:
The companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace], Tabi’een and scholars of Kufa were performing salaah without Raf’ul yadain.
Who were the Scholars of Kufah?
Imam Ibn Sa’ad, Hafidh ibn ul-Qayyam, Hafidhh ibn Taymiyyah write:
Umar (Radiall hu anhu) gave an order to build the city of Kufa, when the city was built, people from various Islamic areas came to live in the city. Many companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] moved to Kufa and started to live there. Umar (Radiall hu anhu) sent Abdullah bin Mas’ood and Ammar bin Yasar to teach the people in Kufa.
After 16 or 17 years, when Ali (Radiall hu anhu) became the Khalifah, he transferred the capital from Madinah to Kufa. A large number of companions moved to Kufa. They taught people about Islam. Kufa this became the center point for Islamic Scholars.
(Tabaqat, Ibn Sa’ad, minhaajussunnah a’laamul-mu’wakkieen, chapter on Kufa)
Kufa was the central point of Islamic Knowledge, which is why so many Scholars of Hadith travelled to it repeatedly to gain knowledge.
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
Imam Bukhari travelled to various cities to gain knowledge of Hadith. He went to the city of Jazeerah twice, Basrah four times, and stayed in Hijaz (Makkah and Madinah) for six years. Imam Bukhari said himself that he could not account for how many times he went to Kufa and Baghdad to learn knowledge of Hadith.
(Muqaddamah FathulBaari, biography of Imam Bukhari)
Imam Tirmidhi’s narrations prove that no one practiced raf’ul yadain in the city of Kufah which became the center point of Islamic knowledge and thought. Imam Malik’s narration proves that no one was practicing raf’ul-yadain in Makkah or Madinah, as this practice had been abrogated.
The debate between Imam Auzaaee and Imam Abu Haneefah
These two Imams debated the matter of raf’ul-yadain once and it is described by Sufyaan bin Uyayna.
Once Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Auzaaee met in a market in Makkah.
Imam Auzaaee asked Imam Abu Hanifah why he did not practice raf’ul-yadain during the Salaah.
Abu Hanifahh: There is no authentic Hadith about practicing raf’ul-yadain.
Auzaaee: Why isn’t there an authentic Hadith? Here is one, Imam Zuhri told me, who was told by Salim, who was told by Ibn Umar (Radiall hu anhu) that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] practiced raf’ul-yadain before and after the ruku’.
Abu Hanifah: Hamad told me, who was told by Ibrahim, who was told by Ikrama, who was told by Aswad who was told by Abdullah binMas’ood (Radiall hu anhu) that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] only practiced raf’ul-yadain at the beginning of performing his Salaah and not afterwards.
Auzaaee:The narration that I have presented to you has a shorter chain and your Hadith has a longer chain, for this reason, my Hadith is more Reliable than your’s.
Abu Hanifahh: It does not matter if the chain of the Hadith is long or short, the Priority of the Hadith depends on the narrators of the Hadith and How much knowledge of Hadith they had. The narrators of the Hadith, which I have presented, possess more expertise in the knowledge of Hadith. For example, Hamad is more knowledgeable than Imam Zuhri. Ibraaheem is more knowledgeable than Salim. Ikrama is a great scholar and Ibn Mas’ood is unique.
Imam Auzaaee then became silent.
(Musnad Imam Abu Hanifah, Chapter on Raf’ul-yadain)
This debate shows that Imam Auzaaee had no other evidence. If he had then, he would have presented it to defend his case in support of Raf’ul-yadain. Imam Abu Haneefah replied so beautifully that Imam Auzaaee was forced to become silent.

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Ahle sunnathwal Jamath, - Rafayadain Part 1

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“Raf’ul’yadain” simply means to raise the hands during prayer. When people begin their Salaah, they raise their hands to signify that they have left all things and submitted themselves towards Allah alone. This also signifies the individuals’ testimony of Allah’s Unity. The Hanafis, [as members of the Ahl as Sunna wa’al Jamma] believe that this act (raising hands to the level of the ears) should only be undertaken at the start of the prayer and not during it.
There are those who hold the opinion that the Raf’ul-yadain should also be done before and after the ruku’, they hold their position because of the following reasons:
1) The Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] used to do this.
1) This was the practice of the Khulafa:- Rashidun and the ‘Ashar-ul-mubasharah [The ten companions of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) who were given news of Jannah on this earth during their lives]. Altogether, there are proofs from twenty companions.
3) The narrations of raf’ul-yadain are mutawaatir [Hadith which has been narrated by many authentic narrators during the period of the companions, their students, and the students of the Tabi’een]
4) Raf’ul-yadain is a pillar of Salaah and leaving it makes the Salaah invalid.
However, the position of the Hanafi madhab is that towards the end of our beloved Prophet’s [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] life the practice of raf’ ul yadain had been abrogated, and that the Messenger of Allah [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace], during his last prayers on this earthly life only performed raf’ ul yadain at the beginning of his Salaah. However, there were still some Sahaba who unknowingly continued the practice of raf’ ul yadain, without realizing that it had indeed been abrogated and obsolete. It was for this reason that at times, those who knew of its abrogation, began to ask to those who continued its practice for their reason for doing so.
Regarding the claim that twenty companions, including Ashar-ul-mubasharah and the khulafaa-ur-Rashideen performed raf’ul-yadain - This incidentally, proves that the majority of the companions didn’t practice raf’ul-yadain. Secondly, if this claim is true then why isn’t this recorded in Bukhari and Muslim, or in any other famous book of sunah? If the support for twenty companions practicing raf’ul-yadain is not found in any Ahadith boo then, how can this claim be true?
The claim that the Hadith regarding raf’ul-yadain is mutawatir is also not true. This is because Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari have only narrated the action of raf’ul yadain from two companions – Abdullah bin Umar (Radiall hu anhu), and Malik bin Huwairis. Imam Zuhri narrated the Hadith from Saalim and Saalim narrated from Abdullah bin Umar. Abu Qalaabah and Nasr narrated from Malik bin Huwairis, and from them, Khalid and Qatadah narrated.
In anyone of these chains there is only one narrator at a time, in the other there were two at a time. How can this be called mutawatir? The above narrators’ position and the narrations which go against the above narrations will be discussed later, Insha’Allah.
Regarding the claim that omitting raf’ul-yadain invalidates Salaah, nobody from among the companions or even the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] himself said that omitting raf’ul-yadain invalidates Salaah. The evidence for raf’ul-yadain being a pillar of Salaah is not even found in the books, which contain collections of fabricated Hadith. It is another matter if someone decides to introduce fabricated Hadith!
Analysis of those narrations which prove raf’ul- yadain
Ibn Jurayj narrated from Zuhri who narrated from Saalim who narrated from Abdullah bin Umar [Radi allah hu anhu] that ibn Umar [Radi allah hu anhu] said:
I saw that Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] offering Salaah; he raised his hands up to his shoulders, at the beginning of Salaah and also before and after the ruku’, but not between the two prostrations.
[Muslim & Bukhari, Chapter Raf’ul-yadain]
Those who follow the Hanafi madhab believe that this Hadith only proves that the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] performed raf’ul-yadain during his lifetime, but it does not prove that he [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] performed it in his last prayers. Also it does not prove that raf’ul-yadain is an emphasized Sunna. One example is given below:
Imams Bukhari & Muslim record that when hadrat Aa’isha (Radiall hu anhaa) was in her menistration, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to place his head in her lap and recite the Qur’an.
(Muslim & Bukhari, bab-ul-Haid)
From this Hadith we cannot conclude that reciting the Qur’an in the lap of one’s menstruating wife is an emphasized sunnah. In the same way, the naration from ibn Umar does not prove that raf’ul-yadain is an emphasized sunnah. Also ibn Umar’s narration seems to go against some of his other narrations.
Imam Dhabee writes that ibn Umar said that he swore by Allah that raf’ul-yadain is bidah and that he had never seen the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) practicing it.
(Meezan-ul-I’tidaal, biography of Bishr bin Harab, by Imam dhahabi)
Ibn Umar in another place said that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said raf’ul-yadain is only done in seven places: once to start Salaah and six times during hajj.
(kanz-ul-ammaal, volume 7, p35)
The teacher of Imam Bukhari and Muslim, Imam Humaidi, writes that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to only practice raf’ul-yadain at the start of the prayer.
(Musnad Humaidi, volume 1, p177)
From the above narrations ibn Umar’s narration of raf’ul-yadain goes against his own narrations based on a direct commandment from the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and Grant Him peace) This also goes against Maalik bin Huwaris’ narration.
Imam Nasaa’ee writes that Malik bin Huwairis reported that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to perform raf’ul-yadain before and after the ruku’, and also between the two sajdahs.
(Nisaa’ee Baab raf’ul-yadain)
Examination of Above Narrations
(1) Imam Bukhari’s above narration is against Imam Nasa’ees narration
(1) Imam Abu Dawood said this narration is not Marfu to the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace], but is in fact the action of Abdullah bin Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him]
[Sunan e Abu Dawood chapter Salaah]
(3) In Ibn Umar’s above narrations it proves that the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace] did Raf ul Yadain 9 or 10 times in Salaah.
[Bukhari chapter Salaah]
(4) Imam Malik writes about the above narration by Ibn Umar that the Prophet use to do Raf’ul Yadain 5 times in Salaah. He also said that this is the action of Ibn Umar [May Allah be pleased with Him] not the action of the Prophet [May Allah be pleased with Him].
[Muatta Imam Malik chapter Salaah]
We can see that when this narration was narrated in Madina it was narrated to be 5 Raf ul Yadian in Salaah. When it reached Bukharaa it changed from 5 Raf ul Yadian to 9 or 10 Raf’ul Yadain in Salaah.
Let’s first examine the narrators of ibn Umar’s Hadith -Abdul Malik bin Jurayj and Imam Zuhri.
Abdul malik bin jurayj
Imam Dhabi and Imam Asqalani write:
Ibn Jurayj did not take narrations directly from people but he would attribute the narrations to them in such a way as to convince people that he actually heard the narrations from those people directly. The scholars of Hadith have called this process ‘tadlees’. Imam Ahmad said that ibn Jurayj has narrated some Ahadith, which were fabricated. Also ibn Jurayj is said to have done Mut’ah (a marriage contract for a limited period) with 90 women in Makkah mukarramah, (This was after it was made Haraam for Muslims) Kharasaanee said that his narrations were weak. Also he never heard a narration from Imam Zuhri but only asked his permission if he could use his name in narrations.
(Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, Meezaan-ul-I’tidaal, Tadhkarat-ul-Huffaz, biography of Abdul Malik ibn jurayj)
The main narrator of the above narration is Imam Zuhri, also the narration is almost completely based on his narration. Before Imam Zuhri, the chain of narration of this Hadith was Umar bin abdul Azeez, then saalim, then Imam Zuhri. After Imam Zuhri, his students made it more famous.
Imam Zuhri
Imam Dhabee writes that Imam Zuhri’s full name was Muhammad bin Muslim bin Abdullah, bin Shuhaab, az-zuhree. But, he is famous as ibn Shuhaab-uz-zuhree. He was born in the 50th year of Hijrah in Madinah. He saw only a few companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]. He was such a great a scholar that many scholars of his time used to praise him, even Abdullah bin Umar (Radiall hu anhu).
(Tadhkarat-ul-huffaz, Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Imam Zuhri)
Apology
We feel sad to highlight weaknesses in Imam Zuhri but we have below, only just quoted what other scholars of Hadith have said about him. We also respect Imam Zuhri greatly as a muhaddith, but he was a man like us and had weaknesses.
Another fact is that Imam Zuhri has narrated Hadith (which have been collected by Muslim and Bukhari) which show that the family of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] and the companions did not get on well with each other
(Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, bab-ul-fayy)
The fact is that the Prophet’s [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] family and the companions did get on well with each other.
Hafidh Asqalanee wrote:
It was a habit of Imam Zuhri to perform tadlees and attribute the narrations to people like Abdur-Rahmaan bin Azhar, ibn K’ab, Abbaan, ibn Uthmaan, ibn Hakim, Ibn Us-saalimee, Abdullah bin ja’far, Ubaada bin saamid, raafi’, umm abdullah, abu hurairah, and abdullah bin Umar. Concerning Abdullah bin Umar, the scholars of Hadith are split as to whether Imam Zuhri actually saw him or not. In the same way, there is no proof that Imam Zuhri did take narrations from ‘Urwa bin zubair. But, the scholars of Hadith accept these narrations which Imam Zuhri allegedly took from Urwa. For us, this is evidence and we should therefore believe that Imam Zuhri heard something from Urwa. Imam Zuhri was from a group of scholars of Hadith who used to ‘grab’ Hadith when they heard them.
(Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Imam Zuhri)
Tadlees – What is it?
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
The literal meaning of the arabic word ,tadlees, is “hiding”. Technically, it means to hide a Hadith narrator. If a muhaddith did tadlees, he would use a narrator’s name but it would be a name by which he wasn’t commonly known. Thus, the identity of the weak narrator was hidden. The stronger narrators in the chain would be emphasized so that the attention of the hearer of the Hadith would be diverted.
(Sharh An-nukhbah, chap. on tadlees, by Hafidh Asqalani)
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani write:
Imam Zuhri narrated 1100 Hadith, of which about a half have a chain leading to the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]. He used to perform tadlees even though it was a small amount. Imam Zuhri’s maraseel Ahadith used to be weaker than other peoples (A tabi’i would claim a Hadith directly from the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] without mentioning a companion’s name)
(Tadhkarat-ul-hufaaz, Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Imam Zuhri).
Imam Dhahabi writes that Imam Shubah waastee wites:
“I would rather fall from the skies and be broken to pieces, than to perform tadlees”
(Tadhkarat-ul-huffaz, biography of Imam Shubah waastee)
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
Yazeed bin zurayy was asked, “What is the legal ruling regarding tadleees?” To this, he replied “It is an absolute lie.”
(Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Yazeed bin Zurayy)
Imam Dhahabe writes:
Sulaimaan bin harb said that Imam Jareer ‘azdee was asked about tadlees. The Imam said, “I reject it. A mudallis shows that which he has not heard.”(Tadhkarat-ul-huffaaz, biography of Imam Jareer bin haazin azdee)
Hafidh ibn Kathir writes:
Imam shaafi’ee rejects all the narrations of any muhaddith who did tadlees, but other scholars say that if a mudallis identified who he took narrations from and if that was a reliable source, that particular narration would be accepted.
(Ikhtisaar uloom-ul-Hadith, chap on tadlees, by Hafidh ibn Kathir)
Hafidh Asqalaanee writes:
If a mudallis uses the words “Qaala”, so-and-so said, or “’And”, from so-and-so, in a narration, the Hadith will be rejected. But, the mudallis uses a word implying that he directly heard the narration e.g.”sami’tu” - I heard, the mudallis would be lying. The rule concerning such people is that even if the mudallis was truthful, the Hadith would not be accepted.
(Sharh nukhbah, chap. Hadith mu’dal)
Idraaj and Imam Zuhri
Imam Zuhri used to do idraaj, so it was difficult for people to understand his narrated Hadith.
Hafidh Asqalaanee writes:
Idraaj literally means “Inserting something”. Its technical meaning is to insert one’s own words into the text of a narration. Sometimes the text could be added at the start or, at the end. To find the actual Hadith text from a mudrij was very difficult. Either the Hadith was analyzed be someone who had very deep knowledge, or the mudrij showed which words he inserted into the Hadith text. (Sharhan-nukhbah, chap. Hadith mudrij)
Imam Bukhari writes:
It was reported by Imam malik that the famous scholar of Hadith Rabee’a turrayy used to advise Imam Zuhri to show clearly in his narrations, which were his own words and which were those of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]
(Taareekh-ul-kabeer, biography of Rabee’a Turrayy).
Muslim and Bukhari contain Ahadith in which Imam Zuhri has inserted his own words. Scholars of Hadith have refuted these words. An example is given below:
Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari write:
When Hadrat abu bakr (Radiall hu anhu) became the khaleefah, hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) did not give bayah (Pledge of allegiance) to him nor did the tribe of banu hashim. But, after six months when hadrat Faatima (Radiall hu anhu) passed away they all gave bayah to him.
(Bukhari, chap. on khaybar. Muslim chap. bab-ul-fayy)
Hafidh Asqalaanee writes:
Imam ibn habbaan, Imam bahiaqqee, and other scholars of Hadith say that this narration contains some of Imam Zuhri’s own words. Somebody said to Imam Zuhri, that when abu bakr (Radiall hu anhu) became the khaleefah, hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) did not give bayah for six months. Imam Zuhri said, not only Ali, but the whole of the tribe of banu Haashim did not give bayah to abu bakr until hadrat faatimah (Radiall hu anhu) passed away. The fact is that Imam Zuhri’s words are wrong, and also that Hadrat Ali (Radiall hu anhu) gave bayah to Hadrat Abu bakr on the first day he was appointed khaleefah
(Fath-ul-baari, end of Chap. on Khaybar).
Hafidh Qastalani also writes the same as above.
Hafidh ibn Kathir writes that the narrations which say that Ali (Radiall hu anhu) gave bayah to Abu bakr (Radiall hu anhu) on the first day he was appointed khaleefah are more authentic than those which do not support this. The reason for this is that Ali (Radiall hu anhu) used to pray behind Abu Bakr (Radiall hu anhu) and stayed with him all the time
(Taareekh ibn Kathir, chap. yaum-us-saqeefah).
The references prove that Imam Zuhri used to perform tadlees and Idraaj. The scholars have pointed out that some of his narrations are not reliable.
Ijazah and Imam Zuhri
Ijazah literally means “giving permission”. Its technical meaning is for a muhaddith to give permission to his students to narrate his Hadith, or any book of Hadith which he has knowledge of
(Sharh-ul-nukhbah, by Hafidh Aasqalaanee, chap. Ijazah).
This was the correct way to give Ijaazah, but Imam Zuhri’s way to give Ijaazah was very strange.
Imam Dhahabi writes that Ubaidullah reported:
I saw that the students of Imam Zuhri used to bring books to the Imam and ask him for permission to narrate from it using the Imam’s name. The Imam used to allow them without knowing what was in those books. This was because neither the Imam used to read the Ahadith, nor did the students read the Hadith to him (Tadhkarat-ul-Huffaaz, biography of Imam Zuhri).
Shiekh Saalih Subhi writes:
Imam ibn Hazm said that if a scholar of Hadith gives permission to his students to narrate a book of Hadith using his name, and the Scholar has not read the narrations, nor has anyone read them to him then, this is a bid’ah and not permissible. Other scholars of Hadith have been more strict in this respect and have said that the scholars of Hadith who used to do this, in effect, gave permission to their students to attribute lies to them.
(Uloom-ul-Hadith, chap. on Ijaazah)
From the above, it is evident that the authenticity of Imam Zuhri’s narrations are in question. It could be the case that one of the students of the Imam used to narrate non-authentic Hadith and use the Imam’s name, as he had given him permission to do so without checking the Hadith.
Our Shaykh Shah Abul-Hasan zaid faarooqee writes:
Hafidh ibn-ul-qayyim writes in his book, Alaam-ul-muwakki’een Vol. 3 p85, that Imam Malik wrote a letter to his colleague Imam layth bin sa’ad, whose knowledge was greater than Imam Malik’s. When Imam lays replied to the letter, he wrote a few things about Imam Zuhri. He wrote:
There is no doubt that our teacher, Imam Zuhri was a great scholar, but we have to accept that some of Imam Zuhri’s verbal and written statements used to contradict another. When we used to ask him something, sometimes the written answer would be different from the answer he used to give us verbally. Even some of his written statements used to contradict one other. The Imam did not realize what he had said before and what he was writing at the time. These are the reasons, why I have left him (Sawaanee Hayaat Imam abu Haneefah, biography Imam Lays).
This statement highlights the fact that Imam Zuhri’s narrations are not necessarily authentic. For this reason, we cannot use a single narration from Imam Zuhri as being more authentic than the practice of the companions, the Taabi’een, the Tab’a taabi’een and of a great group of scholars. The raf’ul-yadain narration is only taken from Imam Zuhri. His students made the narration famous after this.
How the narration became Famous
Imam ibn ‘Abdul-barr writes:
Ibn Umar’s narration became famous from Imam Zuhri’s students. Eleven students took this narration from Imam Zuhri. They are: Imam Malik, az-Zubaidi, Ma’mar, Auzaa’ee, Muhammad bin Ishaaq, Sufiyaan bin Husain, Aqeel bin Khaalid, abu Hamzah, ibn ooyainah, yoonus, and yahya. Twenty six of Imam Malik’s students narrated this Hadith from him. They are: Yahya bin Yahya, ibn Bukayr, abu Mas’ab, Sa’eed, ibn Wahab, ibn-ul-Qaasim, ibn Sa’eed, ibn abi Awais, Abdurrahman, Juwairia bint Asmaa’, ibrahim, ibnur Mubaarik, Bishr, Uthmaan, Abdullah, Khaalid, Makee bin Ibrahim, ibn Hasan, ibn mas’ab, abdul malik, ibn naafi’, abu quraa, Musaa, matraf, qutaibah, and Imam Shafi’ee. After all these people narrated this Hadith and told their students this narration, so it became very famous.
(At-tamheed, chap. on Raf’ul-yadain)
From this, it can be concluded that this narration was not famous at the time of the Sahaabah and the taabi’een. When people try to find evidence to support raf’ul-yadain, they say that there are over a hundred Hadith supporting it. In reality, there is only one Hadith which has been transmitted by Imam Zuhri, and his students have transmitted it further. So many chains were produced after Imam Zuhri.
When Imam Auzaaee debated with Imam abu Hanifah concerning raf’ul-yadain, the only Hadith Auzaaee could give as evidence for it was the one from Imam Zuhri. This demonstrates that if there were any other Hadith to support raf’ul-yadain then Auzaaee would have used one of them as evidence. Also, Bukhari and Muslim only wrote Hadith with chains leading to Imam Zuhri. If there were any other Hadith, then they would have included them.
Imam Malik – Narration of raf’ul-yadain
Imam Malik had the most knowledge of Imam Zuhri’s narrations. Let us see what his opinion about this was.
Imam Ibnul-Qasim, who was Imam Malik’s student, writes that Imam Malik says that apart from the begining of the prayer, I am unaware of performing raf’ul-yadain at any other time. I believe that the practice of raf’ul-yadain during the prayer is weak
(al-maduunah, Baab raf’ul-yadain).
Imam Malik’s saying that he was unaware of performing raf’ul-yadain does not mean that he was unaware of the Hadith. This was because he himself heard it along with ten of his colleagues and transmitted it to twenty-six of his students. The real meaning of his saying is that he was unaware of the practice of it. This was because neither Imam Zuhri, nor any of his students did raf’ul-yadain. Neither did people in Maienah do it nor the people coming for Hajj from all over the world do it. Another point to raise is that Imam Malik who is a main narrator of this Hadith did not practice raf’ul-yadain himself. The practice of raf’ul-yadain was very uncommon in Imam Malik’s time.
How can we use this narration as evidence for raf’ul-yadain when the scholars who narrated it did not act upon it, and when the two main narrators have doubts in them? (Ibn Jurayj and Imam Zuhri)
The second evidence of people who peforming raf-ul-yadain is that Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim write, Abu Qalaaba and Nasr-bin-Asim, say that they saw Malik bin Huwairis performing raf-ul-yadain before ruku and after ruku in Salaah and he reported that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] used to do this as well.
(Bukari and Muslim, baab raf-ul-yadain)
The people who perform raf-ul yadain give this as their evidence and say that it is a sunnah-muakkadah and that non performance of it means that the prayer is not accepted properly.
We answer this by saying that this narration cannot prove that raf-ul-yadain is sunnah-muakkadah and also you cannot prove from this narration that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] used to perform Raf-ul-yadain all the time. Malik bin Huwairis’ narration goes against his other narration.
Imam Nasaa’ee writes that Malik bin Huwairis reported that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] used to perform Raf-ul-yadain before and after the ruku and in the middle of the two sajdahs.
(Nasaa’ee baab Raf-ul-yadain)
From Malik bin Huwairis’ narration, there is also proof of performing raf-ul yadain between sujuud, but the people who perform raf- ul-yadain only do it before and after the ruku and not in the middle of the sajdahs. Their argument is that this action has been abrogated. This, inspite of the fact, that Malik bin Huwairis’ narration does not confirm this.
Secondly, Malik bin Huwairis was only in Madinah for a few weeks and did not stay with the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] at times, so he did not know the last actions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]. This suggests that he did not know whether the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] performed raf-ul-yadain or not. On the other hand, Abdullah bin Ma’sood saw the Prophet’s [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] last actions concerning raf-ul-yadain. He saw the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] perform the prayer without raful-yadain. Abdullah bin Ma’sood’s narration is more reliable than Malik bin Huwairis’ as ibn Ma'sood stayed with the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] all the time.
Proof that Malik bin Huwairis stayed in Madinah for only a few weeks
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim write that Malik bin Huwairis came to Madinah with some other people and stayed in Madinah for 10 nights and then they really wanted to go home. So, when the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] found this out, he gave them permission to leave for Basra, where Malik was from.
(Bukhari Muslim, Baab-ul-adhaan)
From this narration there is proof that Malik bin Huwairis was only in madeenah for a short time so, he could not have known the last actions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] concerning raf-ul-yadain. Malik bin Huwairis’ narration about raf-ul-yadain does not prove that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] performed raf-ul-yadain all the time; it only proves that malik bin huwairis saw him [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] perform Raf-ul-yadain in that period. This also does not prove that it is a sunnah muakkadah. If someone tries to prove from this narration that it is sunnah muakkadah to perform Raf-ul-yadain then people could also say that it is sunnah muakkadah to pick a child up during Salaah!
Imam Bukharai writes that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] while praying Salaah picked up his grand-daughter Amama and put her down when he went to sujood.
(Bukari baab-us-Salaah)
No one can say from this narration that it is a sunnaah to pick up a child while praying, so how can some say that because Malik bin huwairis saw the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] perfomed Raf’ul-yadain in Salaah, and it is sunnah muakkadah.
There are four main narrators of the narration supporting raf’ul-yadain. They are, Abu Qalaabah, khaalid-al-hazza, Nasr bin Aasim, and Qatadaa. Of course, we believe that they had full knowledge of Hadith but they were human and had some weaknesses.
Imam dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani write:
Abu Qalaabah’s full name was Abdullah bin Zaid, he used to live in the city of Basra. He was a great and knowledgeable man. He was against Ali (Radiall hu anhu), he had no regards Ali (Radiall hu anhu) and used to narrate Hadith from people whom he had never met before. For example: Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah bin Abbaas, Ai’sha, and abu Hurairah. When he related Ahadith, it seemed as if he had heard the Hadith directly from the companions of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace], but in reality heard them from other people.
(Meezaan-ul-I’tidaal, tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, taqreeb, biography of Abu-Qalaabah)
Khalid bin Hazzah
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani write:
Imam ibn sa’ad khalid, was not an authentic Imam. Abu khatam said that khalid’s narrated Hadith cannot be used as evidence. When khalid came to Syria, he told Hadith to the people but the scholars rejected his narrations. he had also lost his memory. But still, Ibn mu’een and nisaa’ee praised him.
(Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, meezaan-ul-I’tidaal, Muqaddamah Fath-ul-baari, biography of khalid bin Hazza).
Abu Qalabah’s other student Ayyoob also narrated this Hadith, but he never mentions raf-ul-yadain. This Hadith is also found in Sahih Bukhari. The scholars of Hadith agree that Ayyoob was more knowledgeable than khalid.
Nasr bin Aasim
Hafidh Asqalani writes:
Imam Da’ood said that he was from amongst a misled sect, but others said that he repented from his wrong beliefs.
(Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, biography of Nasr bin Aasim)
Qatadah
Imam Dhahabi and Hafidh Asqalani write:
Qatadah was a great scholar and a mufassir. He was very intelligent, and many scholars praised him. He narrated Hadith of such people whom he had never heard, met, nor seen. He saw only one companion of the Prophet, Malik bin Anas, but he attributed narrations from many other people despite this.
He had evil beliefs about Islam; he openly declared his sinful beliefs. Despite the fact that Qatadah held wrong beliefs, the scholars still took narrations of Hadith from him (May Allah forgive him)
(Meezaan-ul-I’tidaal, Tahdheeb-ut-tahdheeb, tadhkarat-ul-huffaad and biography of Qatadah basri).
From all the above references, it cannot be proved that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] did raf’ul-yadain all the time. Also, Malik bin Huwairis did not stay with the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] during the last period of the Prophet’s [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace] life. The four main narrators of this Hadith have been criticized by the scholars of Ahadith.
This Hadith does not stand at the same level as Abdullah bin Ma’sood’s Hadith.
The third evidence used to support raf’ul-yadain
Qadhi Shawkani writes that the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace], when performing his last Salaah, performed raf’ul-yadain.
(nayl ul-awutar, chapter On raf’ul-yadain)
The people who perform raf’ul-yadain say that the above narration proves that raf’ul-yadain was not abrogated. In response, to this we say that this Hadith is not authentic. This is the reason why it was not written in Sahih Bukhari, or Muslim, even Imam Bayhaqqi did not include it in his book of sunan. All the narrators of this Hadith are weak.
Examining the narrators of the Hadith
Abdur-Rahman Harwi
Imam Dhahabi writes that Harwi used to fabricate Hadith and telling them to people.
(meezaan-ul-I’tidaal, biography of Abdur-Rahman Harwi)
Harwi used to fabricate all his narrations of Hadith, now, how could we accept a Hadith that has been totally fabricated?
lAnother narrator of this narration is Usama-bin-Muhammad Ansari, the student of Musaa bin Uqbah.
Imam Dhahabi writes:
Imam Abu Khatim said that Usama was not strong in the knowledge of Hadith. Imam Yahyaa bin Mo’een said that he fabricated Hadith and attributed them to the great scholars of Hadith. He was a liar. Imam Dar-qutni said that he was not reliable and that is why the scholars did not take any narrations of Hadith from him. Imam Ibn Addi said that all his narrated Hadith are not safe. He narrates one Hadith that says that you should make dua to Allah Almighty when you see a beautiful face, and He will accept it.
(Meezan-ul-itidaal, biography of Usama-bin-muhammad Ansari)
Qadi Shawkani writes that Usama-bin-Ansari was a liar and he fabricated Hadith.
(Al-majmoo’at-ul-Ahadith, Chapter on Sadaqag pg.67 by Qadi Shawkani)
Surprise. ... To be continued...

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