Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –II

Question:A woman had blood beginning to flow )i.e., her menses( while
she was in the Mosque of the Prophet. She stayed in the mosque for a
short while, until her husband had finished his prayer, so that she
could leave with him. Did she commit a sin?
Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –I
Response:If she was not able to depart from the mosque by herself,
then there is no harm in what she did. However, if she was able to
leave by herself, then it was obligatory upon her to exit as quickly
as possible. This is because the menstruating woman, the woman who has
post-partum bleeding and a sexually defiled person are not allowed to
sit in the mosques. This is based onAllaah's statement which forbids
certain categoriesof people from approaching the places of prayer, one
of which is)what means(:"…Nor while sexually defiled, except when
travelling on a road…"]Quran 4: 43[)1(
It is also narrated from the Prophetthat he said:"Ido not permit the
menstruating woman or the sexually defiled person to enter the
mosque."]Abu Daawood[
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. Note that the verse is in reference only to those who are sexually
defiled. Obviously, the differences between a menstruating woman and a
sexually defiled person are very great. Hence, one cannot make an
analogy between the two. Furthermore, there is also a difference of
opinion concerning whether this verse implies anyone who becomes
sexually defiled or only the travellers who become sexually defiled.
Question:Is it allowed for a menstruating woman to read a book of
supplications on the Day of 'Arafah )i.e., the ninth of Thul-Hijjah(,
given the fact that the book contains Quranic verses?
Response:There is no harm in a menstruating or post-partum bleeding
woman reading the books of supplications that are written for the
rites of the pilgrimage. Infact, there is nothing wrong with her even
reciting the Quran, according to the correct opinion, as there is no
authentic, clear text prohibiting a menstruating or post-partum
bleeding woman from reciting the Quran. The narration thatwe do have
is concerned with the sexually defiled person only, which confirms
that such a person should not recite the Quran while he/she issexually
defiled, and this was narrated by 'Ali. As for the menstruating or
post-partum bleeding woman, there is the Hadeeth that was narrated by
Ibn 'Umarwhich states: "Neither the menstruating womannor the sexually
defiled person is to recite anything from the Quran." ]Abu Daawood,
At-Tirmithi & Others[
However, this is weak. This is because it is from the narrations of
Ismaa'eel Ibn 'Ayyaash onthe authority of people from the Hijaaz
)westernArabia(, and he is weak when he narrates from them. However,
the menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman may recite from her
memory without touching the Quran. As for the sexually defiled person,
he/she may not even recite the Quran from memory or touch the Mus-haf
)a copy of the Quran( until he/she makes Ghusl )ritual bathing(. The
difference between the two is that the amount of time one is sexually
defiled for is very short, as he may make Ghusl as soon as he has done
the act with his spouse. The amount of time is not long, and he isin
control of its duration as he may make Ghusl whenever he wishes. Even
if he cannot find water, he can make Tayammum )dry ablution using
soil( and can then pray or recite the Quran. However, the menstruating
or post-partum bleeding woman does not have control over its duration,
such control is in the hand of Allaah. Menstruation and post-partum
bleeding last for days. Therefore, itis allowed for them to recite the
Quran so that they do not forget what they have memorised and so that
they will not lose the merits of recitingit. They may also learn the
laws of the Sharee'ah)Islamic Law( from the Book of Allaah. Therefore,
it follows that it is certainly permissible for her to read the books
of supplications that have verses and Hadeeth intermixed within them.
This is the correct opinion of the scholarson that point.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Question:Some women have miscarriages - sometimes the foetus comes out
fully formed while at others it is only partially formed. I would like
you to make clear the ruling for prayer in both of those situations.
Response:If a woman has a miscarriage and the foetus has distinctly
human features, such as a head, limbs and so forth, then her bleeding
is post-natal bleeding. She should, therefore, follow the rulings of
one who has post-natal bleeding. She should not pray or fast and her
husband cannot have sexual intercourse with her until the bleeding
stops, or she completes forty days. If the bleedingstops before the
fortieth day, she must make Ghusl, pray, and fast if it is Ramadan,
and her husband may have sexualintercourse with her )if she is not
fasting and it isnot Ramadan(.
There is no minimum length of time for post-natal bleeding. The
bleeding could stop after ten days, more or less, and she must then
make Ghusl, and all the laws of a ritually pure person willthen apply
to her. If she sees any blood after the fortieth day, it is considered
bleeding from illness. She would then fast and pray with that bleeding
and it is permissible for her husband to have sexual intercourse with
her. Shemust make ablution for the time of every prayer, like for the
Mustahaadhah,)1(as the Prophettold Faatimah bint Abu Hubaysh:"Make
ablution for )the time of( every prayer.")2(
If the blood that flows from her after the forty-day period coincides
with the time of her menses, then it takes on the ruling of menses. It
is forbidden for her to prayor fast until she becomes pure. It is also
forbidden for her husband to have intercourse with her.
However, if the miscarried foetus does not resemble a human being,
such as when it is simply a smooth lump of flesh or clot of blood,
then she takes the ruling of Istihaadhah and not that of post-partum
bleeding. She should pray, fast during Ramadan and may have
intercourse with her husband. She should make ablution for every
prayer while keeping herself clean from the blood by using a panty
liner or something similar, as she would for the Mustahaadhah, until
the bleeding stops.
She may also combine the Thuhr )noon( and 'Asr)afternoon( prayers
together and the Maghrib )sunset( and 'Ishaa' )night( prayers. She may
also make a Ghusl for the combined prayers and a separate Ghusl for
the Fajr prayer, based on the confirmed Hadeeth of Hamnah bint Jahsh.
This is because she is to be treated as a Mustahaadhah, according to
the people of knowledge.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. The Mustahaaadhah is the woman with Istihaadhah. Istihaadhah is
either a prolonged flow of blood )called menorrhagia in English( or
bleeding outside of the menses)called metrorrhagia in English(. Many
hospitals and medical clinics in theUnited Stateshave pamphlets
stating what women should do in such cases. In some cases, especially
when the bleeding is prolonged, it may be symptoms of some other
disorder.
2. This translator was not able to find this Hadeeth with this exact
wording. The authentic narrations in Al-Bukhaari and Muslim simply
state that she is tomake ablution for every prayer.

Q & A on menstruation and post-partum bleeding –I

Using pills that prevent menstruation
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Question:There are pills that prevent menses or delay their
occurrence. Is it allowed for a woman to use such pills during the
time of Hajj )pilgrimage to Makkah( only out of fear of her menses
arriving?
Response:It is allowed for a woman to use pills that prevent her
menses during the time of Hajj out of fear that her menses may come.
But this should only be done after she has consulted with a )health(
specialist who canensure that her health will be fine. Similarly, she
may do the same during Ramadan if she desires to fast with the
people.)1(
The Standing Committee
Footnotes
)1( There seems to be no need forwomen to go to such lengths. This
could probably be considered a kind of overzealousness. There is no
real certainty as to the health risks of such pills as well as birth
control pills. Furthermore, the menses are a natural matter that
Allaah has ordained for women and there is no need to flee from them.
Hence, it must be considered best for women to abstain from such pills
since there is no necessity for them and they )women( cannot be
certain of their side effects. Allaah knows best
Discontinuation of bleeding during menses
Question:Sometimes, during my menses, I have blood for four days and
then the bleeding stops for three days. Then, on the seventh day the
bleeding returns,but with less intensity. Then, the bleeding turns to
a brown colour until the twelfth day. I hope you will guide me to what
is correct in this matter.
Response:The days that you mentioned, the four and the six day periods
)i.e., the first to the fourth day, and then the seventh to twelfth
day(, are days of menstruation. You should not pray or fast during
those days. It is not allowed for your husband to have sexual
intercourse with you during those days either. Youshould make Ghusl
)ritual bathing( after the first four days and then pray, and your
husband may have intercourse with you during the period between the
fourth and the sixth days. Also, there is no prohibition upon
yourfasting during these days.
If that occurs during Ramadan, it is obligatory upon you to fast on
the days that you are not on yourmenses. When you become pure after
the second six days )i.e., theseventh to twelfth days(, you must make
Ghusl, pray and fast like any other time of purity. This is because
the monthly menses can increase or decrease. Its days are sometimes
together and sometimes separated. May Allaah guide us all to what
pleases Him. May He provide us, you and all theMuslims with
understanding and steadfastness in the religion.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
)1(In response to this question, the Shaykh has basically given
theHanbali view of the question. There are some other views which may
be more significant that state the entire period is that of
menstruation )i.e., the full12 days in this case(. Allaah knows best
Drops of blood after making Ghusl
Question:I notice that sometimesafter making the Ghusl that follows my
monthly menses, after having had my period for the normal five days, I
have a verysmall number of drops )of blood( emerging. This occurs
immediately after I make Ghusl. After that, nothing else emerges. I do
not know what to do. ShouldI follow my normal five-day period and
simply ignore what occurs after that and continue to pray and fast? Or
should I consider that day also as part of my period and not pray or
fast during it? Note that such a thing does not always occur to me,
butonly occurs every two or three monthly cycles. I hope you will
benefit me on this matter.
Response:If what emerges after your washing is either yellow or brown,
then it is not to be taken into consideration )as menses( and it takes
the same ruling as urine.)1(
However, if it is clearly blood, it will then be considered part of
the menses and you must repeat the Ghusl due to what is confirmed from
Umm 'Atiyyahwho was a female companion of the Messenger of Allaahwho
stated: "We would not consider yellowish or brownish discharge as
anything)2(after we had been purified]from menses[.")3(
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
Footnotes
1. Meaning, it must be washed offthe clothing and the person mustmake
ablution from such a discharge.
2. That is: "We would not consider it as menses."
3. Recorded by Al-Bukhaari
If a woman ends her menses before sunset, she must perform the Thuhr
and 'Asr Prayers
Question:When a menstruating woman becomes pure before sunrise, is it
obligatory upon her to perform the Maghrib and 'Ishaa' prayers?
Similarly, if she becomes pure before sunset, is it obligatory upon
her to perform the Thuhr and 'Asr prayers?
Response:If a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman becomes pure
before sunset, it is obligatory upon her to perform both the Thuhr and
'Asr prayers, according to the strongest opinion among the scholars.
Similar is the case if she becomes pure before dawn. In that case, she
must perform the Maghrib and 'Ishaa' prayers. This has beennarrated
from Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn 'Awf and 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abbaas. This is the
opinion of the majority of the scholars. Similarly, if a menstruating
or post-partum bleeding woman becomes pure before sunrise, it
isobligatory upon her to perform the Fajr )dawn( prayer. And from
Allaah is guidance.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz
The menstruating woman keeping herself clean from urine
Question:When I am menstruating, I do not clean myself of urine with
water because I fear that the water mayharm me. What is the ruling
concerning that?
Response:It suffices, in place of water, to clean yourself with clean
tissue paper or any other pure solid object that will removethe impure
substance, such as a large stone, a piece of wood, or similar objects.
This wiping should be done three times or more, until the impure
substanceis removed. This ruling is not just for you or anyone in a
case like yours; rather, it is for all Muslim men and women under all
circumstances. This is based on what has been confirmed from
'Aa'ishahthat the Prophetsaid:"When one of you goes to relieve
himself, he should clean himself with three stones, and that will be
sufficient for him."]Ahmad & Others[
It is also confirmed from SalmaanAl-Faarisithat it was said to him:
"Your Prophet teaches you everything, even how to go to the lavatory."
Salmaanreplied: "Certainly! He prohibited us from facing the
Qiblah)direction of the Ka'bah( while defecating or urinating, from
cleaning our genitals with our right hand, from cleaning ourselves
with less than three stones and from cleaning ourselves with dung or
bone."]Muslim, Abu Daawood & At-Tirmithi[

The covenant between the Prophet and the Jews

Soon after emigrating to Al-Madeenah and makingsure that the pillars
of the new Islamic community were well established on strong bases of
administrative, political and ideological unity, the Prophetembarked
upon the task of establishing regular and clearly-defined relations
with the non-Muslims there, who comprised of Jews and Arab tribes. All
of these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace, security, and
prosperity to all mankind at large, and to bring about a spirit of
rapport and harmony within his region in particular.
The Prophetwas also keen on establishing friendly relations between
the Muslims andnon-Muslims. He was verymeticulous in not leavingany
area in the charter that would allow pre-Islamic traditions to slip in
or violate the new environment he wanted to establish.
Geographically, the nearest people to Al-Madeenah were the Jews.
Despite harbouringevil intentions and nursing a bitter grudge, they
showed neither the least resistance nor the slightest animosity. The
Prophetdecided to ratify a treaty with them with clauses that provided
full freedom in faith and wealth. He had no intention whatsoever of
following severe policies involving banishment, seizure of wealth and
land, or hostility.
Included in the treaty were a number of terms and conditions. The
maincondition being that, in case of an attack on Al-Madeenah launched
byoutsiders, the people of Al-Madeenah as a whole would raise arms,
collectively, against the enemies. Another condition being that the
Jews of Al-Madeenah would not provide refuge to the Quraysh of Makkah
or their allies. None of the citizens of Al-Madeenah would put any
hurdle in the way of anyone else's religion, life or property. If two
people of Al-Madeenah had a falling-out on an issue and were not able
to find any solution to it by themselves, they would have to abide by
the decision made by the Prophetconcerning it. The Muslims of
Al-Madeenah would be considered as friends of the Jews, and they )the
Jews( would therefore have to treat as friends those tribes and clans
who were in alliance with the Muslims. All kinds of fighting and
bloodshed would be treated as prohibited in the territory of
Al-Madeenah.
The most important provisions of the treaty were as follows:
1. The Jews of the tribe of 'Awf were to be one community with
the believers. The Jews would profess their religion and the Muslims
theirs.
2. The Jews would be responsible for their expenditure, and the
Muslims for theirs.
3. If attacked by a third party, each would come to the
assistance of the other.
4. Each party would hold counsel with the other. Mutual
relations would be founded on righteousness; sin was totally excluded.
5. Neither group would commit sins to the prejudice of the other.
6. The wronged partywould be aided.
7. The Jews would contribute to the cost of any war, so long as
they were fighting alongside the believers.
8. Al-Madeenah would remain sacred andinviolable for all who
would join this treaty.
9. If any disagreement were to arise between the signatories of
this treaty, then Allah the All-High and His Messengerwould settle the
dispute.
10. The signatories to this treaty would boycott Quraysh
commercially; they would also abstain from extending any support to
them.
11. Each would contribute to defending Al-Madeenah, in case of
aforeign attack, in its respective area.
12. This treaty would not hinder either party from seeking lawful revenge.
After the agreement wasfinalised, the Prophetmade an all-out effort to
bring the clans around Al-Madeenah into the fold of this pact so that
all disruptions, disorder and bloodshed were curbed once and for all.
The Prophetwas so eager to widen the scopeof this pact that he made a
special journey to premises of Dhamrah bin Bakr bin 'Abd Manaaf to
bring them around to this recently signed pact. He won over their
chief, 'Amr bin Makhshi, to the idea and he put his initials on the
document. He also got the people of Mount Buwat and of Thul-'Ushayrah
in Yanbu' and Banu Mudlij to accept the peace treaty. The purpose of
the Prophetin constructing this peace pact was to create an atmosphere
of peace andorder so that the people could be at peace and be able to
reflect on the message of Islam in an air of safety and security.
These peace efforts were yet to bring fruit when clandestine
activities in Al-Madeenah and onslaughts from outside plunged
Al-Madeenah into disorder once again.
Al-Madeenah and its suburbs, after the ratification of this treaty,
turned into a coalition state, with Al-Madeenah proper as capital and
Muhammadas de facto president; authorityrested primarily in the hands
of the Muslims, and consequently it was a real capital of Islam.
The peace pact made all the people of Al-Madeenah recognise the
strength and supremacy of Islam and they all signed it, signifying
their acceptance of the superiority of the Muslims.

Dought & clear, - Should he focus on purifying his heart or on doing naafil acts?.

Which is more important – dealing with feelings and thoughts that
Allaah dislikes, such as destructive envy, hatred, arrogance, showing
off, thinking highly of one's deeds, hard-heartedness, etc., which
form the evil that resides in the heart, or focusing on doing outward
naafil deeds such as prayer, fasting and other acts of worship and
fulfilling vows even though thoseother things are presentin the heart?
Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
Some of the acts mentioned are obligatory, and those which are
obligatory should be given precedence, as Allaah says according to the
hadeeth qudsi narrated from His Messenger(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): "Myslave does not draw near to Me with anything
more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined on him."
Then He says: "And My slave continues to draw near to Me with
supererogatory works sothat I shall love him." Outward physical acts
are not valid and acceptable unless they are accompanied by
appropriate actions of the heart, because the heart is like the king
andthe physical faculties arelike his troops. If the king is evil his
troops will also be evil. Hence the Prophet(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "In the body there is a piece of flesh: if
it is sound the whole body will be sound and if it is corruptthen the
whole body willbe corrupt." Similarly the (hidden) actions of the
heart inevitably affect the (visible) physical actions. So precedence
must be given to that which is more obligatory, whether it is called
inward or outward. Perhaps things that are called inward may be more
obligatory, such as refraining from destructive envy and arrogance,
for that is more essential than observing naafil fasts. Oracts that
are described as outward or physical may be better, such as qiyaam
al-layl (praying at night), which is betterthan simply giving up some
thoughts that may cross one's mind such as (non-destructive) jealousy,
etc. Inward andoutward deeds support one another, and prayer keeps one
from doing evil actions and generates fear of Allaah, and has other
important effects. It (prayer) is the best of good deeds and charity.
And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him),Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 6/381
So there is no separationbetween correcting what is inward and
correcting what is outward or physical.
The outward acts of worship which a person performs with his physical
faculties – if he does them for the sake of Allaah – will undoubtedly
have an effect on his inward nature.
For example, the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Shall I not tell you of something that will take away the evil
of the heart? Fasting three daysof each month." (Narrated by
al-Nasaa'i, 2386; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa'i,
2249). The evil of the heart refers torancour, hatred and destructive
envy.
One of the most important remedies for diseases of the heart is to
study and ponder the texts which include warnings to the one who
leaves these diseases to fester in his heart, such as the hadeeth in
which the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "No
one will enter Paradise who has an atom's-weight of arrogance in his
heart." (Narrated by Muslim, 91).
And the hadeeth according to which Hell will say, "My share is the
arrogant." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4850; Muslim, 2846)
And the hadeeth: "On the Day of Resurrection the arrogant will be
gathered like ants in the form of men." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2492; classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2025).
And the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
disease of the nations who came before you has started to spread among
you: destructive envy and hatred. These are the shavers. I do not mean
that they shave hair but they shave away religious commitment. By the
One in Whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you
believe, and you will notbelieve until you love one another. Shall I
not tell you of something which if you do it, you will love one
another. Spread (the greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves."
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2510; classed as hasan by al-Albaani
inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2038).
Whoever ponders with true insight such warnings about the diseases of
the heart willundoubtedly strive to cleanse his heart thereof, and
will seek help in doing so by doing outward physical acts, praying to
his Lord to cleanse his heart of hatred, destructive envy,rancour and
so on, as Allaah says, describing the prayer of the believers:
"and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed"
[al-Hashr 59:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad.

Dought & clear, - Does the soul come outof the body during sleep?

Does the soul come out of the person when he is asleep, because
sometimes just before I go to sleep, I feel that my soul is coming out
ofmy body; I do not hear anything or see anything or feel anything at
all for a few seconds, then it comes back and I wake up and am aware
of everything.
Praise be to Allah.
There is clear evidence in the Qur'an and Sunnah which indicates that
the soul is taken when one falls asleep, and that sleep is a kind of
death. This evidence includes the following:
1.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and
those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for
which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed.
Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply"
[az-Zumar 39:42].
2.
And He, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"It is He, Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep), and
has knowledge of all that you have done by day"
[al-An'aam 6:60].
3.
It was narrated from AbuQataadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
when they slept and missed the prayer, the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Verily Allah took your souls when
Hewilled, and He returned them when He willed."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,7474
4.
It was narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) was on a journey during which they slept until the sun rose. He
said: "Verily you were dead and Allah returned your souls to you;
whoever sleeps and misses a prayer, let him offer it when he wakes up,
and whoever forgets a prayer, let him offer it when he remembers."
Narrated by Abu Ya'la inal-Musnad, 2/192; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inIrwa' al-Ghaleel, 1/293
5.
It was narrated from Hudhayfah (may Allah bepleased with him) that
when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wokeup, he
would say: "Al-hamdu Lillahi alladhi ahyaana ba'da ma amaatanaa wa
ilayhi an-nushoor(Praise be to Allah Who has given us life after He
caused us to die, and to Him will be the resurrection)."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,6312. It was also narrated by Muslim in
hisSaheeh, 2711, from al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him).
This evidence was quoted by al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy
on him), who then said:
The verse indicates that sleep is a death, and the hadeeth indicates
when a person sleeps his soul is taken. They both indicate that the
soul that is taken in death is the soul that is taken during sleep.
End quote fromFath al-Baariby Ibn Rajab, 3/325
But the taking of the soul in sleep does not necessarily mean that it
is completely separated from the body, as happens in death; ratherthe
fact that the life remains in the body during sleep indicates that the
soul is still connected to the body during sleep, but the connection
is less than the connection when it is awake. Not every departure of
the soul from the body implies death; rather what happens to the body
differs according to the type of separation.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The taking of the soul from the body does not necessarily mean that it
has departed from the body altogether; rather it may be taken whilst
some kind of connectionis still present, as in the case of one who is
sleeping.
End quote fromFath al-Baari, by Ibn Rajab, 3/326
For other scholarly opinions on this issue, please seeal-Jaami' li
Ahkaam al-Qur'an, by al-Qurtubi, 15/261;Fath al-Baariby Ibn Hajar,
11/114
However what appears to us to be the case is that what you mentioned
in your question does not have anything to do with this issue at all;
the departure of the soul during sleep only happens when one is
actually sleeping, and it does not happen before sleeping as you
mention.
Perhaps what is happening to you is a psychological matter or
excessive preoccupation with death and the like.
We ask Allah to keep yousafe and sound and to put your affairs straight.
And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Will the repentance of one who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) be accepted? And is it better to admit it to the qaadi (judge)?

With regard to the Muslim who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) in secret and conceals that: if he repents
before he is executed, will Allah accept his repentance sothat he
becomes a Muslim, because he had become a kaafir? Or does he have to
announce what he did so that he will be executed before Allah will
accept his return to Islam?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Testifying that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
is the Messenger of Allah is one of the pillars of Islam. The Muslims
arecommanded to venerate and love their Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and he is deserving of that, because of the
lofty status he has before Allah, and because of thefavours he has
done to this ummah, for he was the cause of their being brought out of
their state of ignorance and he was the cause of theirattaining all
that is good. How could any Muslim have the audacity, in spite of
that,to impugn the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?
Hence the scholars are unanimously agreed that the one who impugns the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is a kaafir and
apostate whohas gone beyond the pale of Islam.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Impugning Allah or impugning His Messenger is kufr both inwardly and
outwardly,regardless of whether the one who does that believes that it
is haraamor he thinks that it is permissible for him, or he was not
thinking of the ruling when he did that. This is the view of the
fuqaha' and all of Ahlas-Sunnah who say that faith is comprised of
both words and deeds.
As-Saarim al-Maslool, 1/513
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(40/61):
The Holy Qur'an tells us that it is a grave sin to disparage the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or belittle him,
and the onewho does that is cursed. That is in the verses in which
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, those who annoyAllah and His Messenger (SAW) Allah has cursed
them in this world, and in the Hereafter, and hasprepared for them a
humiliating torment"
[al-Ahzaab 33:57]
"If you ask them (about this), they declare: We were only talking idly
and joking. Say: Was it atAllah and His Ayat (proofs, evidences,
verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger (SAW)
that you were mocking?
Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. If We
pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you because they
were Mujrimoon (disbelievers, polytheists,sinners, criminals, etc.)"
[at-Tawbah 9:65-66].
The fuqaha' are of the view that the one who does any of these things
is to be regarded as a kaafir. End quote.
It also says (22/184):
The ruling on the one who impugns him (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) is that he is an apostate, and there is no difference of
scholarly opinion concerning that.End quote.
If the one who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) is an apostate, then the punishment prescribed for him in
sharee'ah is execution; there is no difference of scholarly opinion
concerning that.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The majority of scholars are agreed that the one who impugns the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is to be executed.
End quote.
See:Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 8/82
Al-Khattaabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
I do not know of any of the Muslims who differed concerning the
obligation of executing him. End quote.
Ma'aalim as-Sunan, 3/295
Secondly:
If the one who impugned the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) repents and regrets what he did, and he comes back to Islam,
thatrepentance will benefit him in his relationship with Allah. So
before Allah he will be a believing Muslim. But with regard to his
execution, the obligation of executing him will not be waived. So he
will be killed as a Muslim, and he should be washed, the funeral
prayer should be offeredfor him, he may be inherited from and he
should be buried in the Muslim graveyard. As for the apostate who did
not come back to Islam, he is to be executed as a kaafir.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
was asked:
Will the repentance of one who impugned Allah, may He be exalted and
glorified, or who reviled the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) be accepted?
He replied:
There is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning that, and there
are two opinions:
(i)
The first opinion is that repentance will not be accepted from the one
who impugned Allah or His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him). This is the well-known view of the Hanbalis. Rather he is
to be executed as a kaafir, and the funeral prayer isnot to be offered
for himand supplication is not to be offered for mercy for him, and he
is to be buried in a place far away from the Muslim graves.
(ii)
The second opinion is that the repentance of one who had reviled Allah
or His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) will be
accepted if it is known that he has sincerely repented to Allah, and
he admits thathe made a mistake and speaks of Allah, may He be
exalted, in a way thatreflects the veneration He deserves. This is
because of the general meaning of the evidencethat indicates that
repentance is accepted, such as the verse in which Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"Say: O 'Ibaadi(My
slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil
deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah
forgives all sins" [al-Zumar 39:53]. There are some of the kuffaar who
impugn Allah, yet despite that their repentance is accepted. This is
the correct view. The repentance of one who impugned the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is accepted, but he must be
executed. This is unlike the one who impugns Allah; his repentance is
accepted but he is not tobe executed, because Allah has told us that
He forgives transgressions against His rights if the person repents,
and thatHe forgives all sins. As forthe one who impugns the Messenger
(blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him), there are two matters to be
taken into consideration:
(a)The first is a shar'i matter, because he is theMessenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Fromthis angle, he
repentance will be accepted if he repents.
(b)The second is a personal matter. From this nagle, repentance will
not be accepted, because it has to do withthe right of a human being,
and it is not known whether he would forgive it. On that basis he is
to be executed, but if he is executed, we should wash him, shroud him,
offer the funeral prayer for him and bury him with the Muslims.
This is the view favouredby Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, who wrote a
book on that entitledas-Saarim al-Maslool fiTahattum Qatli Saabb
ar-Rasool. That is because he has transgressed against the rights of
the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). By the same
token, if he were to slander the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him), he is to be executed and not flogged.
If it is asked: Has it not been proven that some of the people
impugned the Messenger (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him)
during his lifetime and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) accepted their repentance?
The answer is: This is true, but that was during his lifetime
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he waived what was
dueto him. But after his death, no one has the right to waive what is
due to him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). So we must do
what is required if he(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is
impugned, which is to execute the one who impugns him and to believe
that the repentance of the one who does that is accepted with regard
to the relationship between that person and Allah, may He be exalted.
If it is asked: If it was possible that he (the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him)) would let him off if that happened during
his lifetime, doesn't that dictate that we should refrain from passing
judgement on him?
My response is: That does not dictate that we should refrain, because
evil has occurred by his impugning him, and it is not known whether
the effect of that impugningwill be removed; the basic principle is
that it remains.
If it is asked: Wasn't it usually the case that the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) let off those who impugned
him?
My response is: Yes indeed, and perhaps letting them off during the
lifetime of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
was done to serve a purpose, which was to soften people's hearts
towards Islam, as he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) knew
the identities of the hypocrites but he did not execute them, "lest
people say that Muhammad kills his companions." But nowadays if we
know that a specific individual is one of the hypocrites, we should
execute him. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:Refraining from killing a known hypocrite was only done during
the lifetime of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him). End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa ash-Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen, 2/150-152
But… So long as the matter has not reached the qaadi (judge), what is
prescribed is for the Muslim to conceal himself (his sins) and notgo
to the judge to confess his crime; rather he should strive hard to
repent and seek forgiveness, and do a lotof good deeds, so that Allah
will forgive him. Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My
Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous
good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)"
[Ta-Ha 20:82]
"Then, verily! Your Lord for those who do evil (commit sins and are
disobedient to Allah) in ignorance and afterward repent and
dorighteous deeds, verily, your Lord thereafter, (to such) is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[an-Nahl 16:119].
And Allah knows best.

[Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith ] - 11 Precious Stones and Metals & 12 The Beauty of the Dwellings of the Garden

11. In the Qur'an, Allah reveals that there are luxurious items,
various jewels and precious stones in the Garden. "[They are] on
sumptuous woven couches" (Surat al-Wa'qia: 15)ve "They will enter
Gardens of Eden where they will be adorned with gold bracelets and
pearls." (Surah Fatir: 33)These jewels that are mentioned in the
Qur'an and in the hadith in relation to the Garden have been
expressions throughout human history of wealth and splendour. Everyone
appreciates these adornments of diamonds, pearls, rubies,gold and
silver, and takes pleasure in seeing things decorated with them.
They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They
will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green
garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on
couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful
repose! (Surat al-Kahf: 31)
There are some hadith, such as those below thatmention pearls as a
blessing of the Garden:
Those who dwell in the Garden of Eternity will wear crowns encrusted
with pearls, the radiance of the smallest of which will illuminate the
space separating the east fromthe west! (At-Tirmidhi)
'Abd-Allah ibn 'Amr said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah saying that
the [Yemeni]Corner and the Station [of Ibrahim] are two of the
precious stones of the Garden, whose light has been extinguished by
Allah. If He had not extinguished their light,it would illuminate
everything between theeast and the west." (At-Tirmidhi, 804)
Pearls are a good example of the rare value of the blessings of the
Garden. Divers must go down several times into the dangerous depths of
the sea to bring them up, and this adornment is found in only a few of
the many oysters that are collected. Besides its beauty, what gives
valueto this little object is, as we said above, the effortrequired to
obtain it andits great rarity.
"Are these the people you swore that Allah's mercy would never reach?"
"Enter the Garden. You will feel no fear and know no sorrow. (Surat
al-A'raf: 49)
Much time, effort and expense is required in this world to obtain the
pearl, but they are abundant in the world to come. The fact that such
a rare and valuable object of beauty is plentiful will doubtless
produce a particular excitement in the humanspirit. Moreover, the
blessings of the Garden revealed in the Qur'an will have a beauty that
isbeyond our capacity to imagine. The hadith mention a pearl that
illuminates everything between East and West, but we cannot completely
picture the brilliance and splendour of such a pearl in our
minds._______________________________________________
12. Palaces and mansions are among the most beautiful residences in
the world. When people describe the beauty of these residences, they
always mention, for example, their views, valuable furnishings,
beautiful décor, columns, and gilded woodwork.
In the verses of the Qur'an that speak of the Garden, Allah often
mentions such dwellingsthat are pleasing to human beings: mansions,
palaces and pavilions. These dwellings are rare in thisworld, but they
are numerous and in perfectand splendid condition in the Garden and
Allah'sbeloved slaves will live in them.
Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them
timelessly, for ever. That is the reward of those who purify
themselves. (Surah Ta Ha: 76)
Some of the hadith in which the wealth and abundance of these
dwellings are described are as follows:
We asked: "What is the Garden made of?" The Prophet said: "A brick of
gold and a brickof silver, its mortar is of strongly scented musk, its
stones are pearls and emeralds, and its soil is of saffron. Those who
enter it will be in affluent circumstances and will not be
destitute,they will live for ever and not die, their garments will not
wear out, and their youth will not pass away." (Narrated by Abu
Hurayra, at-Tirmidhi)
The walls of the Garden are built of bricks of gold and silver,its
dust of saffron… (Imam Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum ad- Din, vol. 4)
The hadith point out that the dwellings of theGarden are made from the
most valuable materials, and, instead of common gravel and pebbles,
there will be pearls and rubies.

A Muslim feels no anger towards any nation en masse, he intellectually stands only against those individuals involved in persecution

Allah reveals in the Qur'an that Muslims must always espouse love,
justice, peace and friendship. As our Lord reveals in the verse "
those who give in times of both ease and hardship, those who
control their rage and pardon other people – Allah loves the
good-doers –" (Surah Al 'Imran, 134) Muslims behave with
forgiveness, affection, compassion and justice, not with anger.
Islam will progress with love, wisdom, science and inculcation;
attempting to slaughter children and women just because they are Jews
and calling them cursed as a whole is cruelty.
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on A9 TV dated
September 12th, 2011
This applies to relations between communities as well as individuals.
What Muslims must do, even in the event of injustices, disagreements
or tensions, is always to be fair and affectionate. Even during
war, Muslims possess the moral virtues to feed their prisoners
before themselves.
Allah reveals in one verse:
You who believe! Show integrity for the sake of Allah, bearing
witness with justice. Do not let hatred for a people incite you
into not being just. Be just. That is closer to taqwa. Have taqwa of
Allah. Allah is aware of what you do. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 8)
It is essential to love and fear Allah in order to be just. Muslims,
who know that Allah loves justice, are protective towards people
because of their profound love of Him. Muslims are able to forego
their own rights, even when they are in the right, and are
forgiving under all circumstances. Bearing grudges and being filled
with hatred is a vice that no Muslim can harbor.
When it comes to relations between two communities, the important
thing is to be on the side of peace. The best thing is to be open to
reconciliation and forgiving. It is important to set aside past
conflicts, injustices and wrongs and to develop a climate based on
love, peace and friendship. Those who revolve around anger and
hatred, instead of peace and friendship, can never find a friendly
country. Because there have been disagreements and disputes, either
great or small, between all societies. It is impossible to
establish good relations with any country if one acts in the light
of these. If one adopted such a false logic, then neither the USA,
Russia, Italy, Great Britain or France could be regarded as friends.
There is a reason for each one to be treated with hostility. And in
such a climate of hatred and enmity, those who incite such hatred
will always lead troubled and painful lives.
A whole nation cannot be punished for a crime committed by some.
Armenians are our brothers whom we've known to be "the Loyal
Nation".
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on Kocaeli TV and Aba
TV dated December 4th, 2010
The important thing is to emphasize love, compassion and
forgiveness, rather than keeping these disagreements in the
forefront of one's mind, and to establish a climate in which all can
live in peace and beauty. And that is only possible if people
exhibit patience and moral virtue and live by love and fear of
Allah and the moral virtues of the Qur'an.
In the event of oppression of any kind, one cannot hold an entire
nation responsible for that without discrimination. It is only
those who persecute Muslims who must be held responsible for that
persecution in the Sight of Allah, and these people must receive
the punishment deemed appropriate by the law. For instance, it is
incompatible with the Qur'an, and also with logic and reason, to
hold all Americans responsible for persecution carried out by one,
or to declare that all Jews are monsters because of the crimes of
one Israeli. Little children, immaculate young girls, mothers and
the elderly are obviously not to be held responsible for what a few
mindless people do under the influence of Darwinist and materialist
ideology. It is only those who perpetrate oppression who are
responsible for it.
A Muslim feels no anger toward any nation en masse, he
intellectually stands only against those individuals involved in
persecution
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on A9 TV dated October 7th, 2011
Our Prophet (saas) has imparted the glad tidings that war and
conflict will come to an end in the End Times, through the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) and Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh), that weapons will be
abolished and that the wolf will live peacefully side by side with
the lamb. In these days, the eve of these tidings being made a
reality, all Muslims have a responsibility to describe the beauties
of Islam with patience and kind words, using gentle language and
setting out scholarly and scientific proofs; they must strive to
eliminate all disagreements between people by encouraging love and
work with all their might for the establishment of brotherhood and
friendship. Allah will bestow great success on those who strive
sincerely, insha'Allah. By the leave of Allah, this excellent effort
will receive the most excellent reward in the time of the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) and Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh), and the world will be a lovely
place of peace and friendship, the like of which has never been
seen before.

Determined prayer is thekey to destiny

There are various elements in life you come face to face with every
day and that you imagine you know and understand very well; so much
so that you imagine it would be impossible to understand the
majority of them any better than you do already. But that is not
always true. Sometimes you may hear a different account or witness
something that leads to a brand new door, a new horizon you had
never contemplated before, opening up on a subject you thought you
knew so well. Your whole perspective changes, not only momentarily
but fundamentally. You acquire a new perspective on that long
familiar subject, as if you were encountering it for the first time.
One of these subjects about which one constantly acquires a new and
more profound conception during the various stages of one's life is
'prayer.' A believer knows that Allah will heed all prayers, and
trusts in that truth with all his heart. But the more a person's
closeness to Allah, depth of faith and understanding of destiny
grow, the more his perspective toward prayer deepens and is
perfected. Although he knows the verses of the Qur'an very well, the
spiritual power that Allah instills in his heart through those
verses constantly increases whenever he reads them again. And for
someone who is determined in faith, this situation is repeated
constantly until the end of his life.
One piece of knowledge regarding prayer that will again be
instrumental in the opening of his heart when he hears it is that
prayer 'is the key to destiny.' This is part of the law of Allah.
When Muslims beseech Allah with love and passion, by His leave,
what they desire will come about.
This is a secret mystery of Allah that very few people are aware
of. When one prays, Allah's destiny goes into motion. Mass prayer
especially has a particular power; when Muslims request something
determinedly and en masse , and when they embrace natural causes,
then by Allah's leave, something that people thought would never
happen does in fact come to pass. Allah has created the world by
that law.
Allah is He Who heeds every prayer
Allah has cited many examples in the Qur'an so that people can
understand this secret of destiny: the Prophet Jonah (pbuh)
frequently prayed to Allah from inside the stomach of the whale,
and Allah rescued him in an incomparable manner. When the Prophet
Moses (pbuh) and his people were trapped between Pharaoh's army and
the sea, the Prophet Moses (pbuh) prayed to Allah in full
submission, and Allah created a miraculous escape for him and his
people. Rasulullah (saas) placed all his trust in the infinite
might of Allah when he and a friend were in the cave, and Allah
spared him from the traps of the unbelievers and granted him
victory. In the same way, when the Prophet Joseph (pbuh) was thrown
down the well, Allah in His infinite mercy sent him help. Allah
again manifested His infinite mercy when the Prophet Abraham (pbuh)
was about to be cast into the flames, and made them cool for him.
The Prophet Zechariah (pbuh) prayed to Allah, and despite their
advanced age, he and his wife were blessed by Allah with the birth
of the Prophet John (pbuh).
Some of the verses of the Qur'an that reveal how Allah heeds the
sincere calls of His prophets are as follows:
Jonah too was one of the messengers. When he ran away to the fully
laden shipand cast lots and lost. Then the fish devoured him and he
was to blame. Had it not been that he was a man who glorified Allah,
he would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are
raised again. So We cast him up onto the beach and he was sick; and
We caused a gourd tree to grow over him. We sent him to a hundred
thousand or even more. They believed and so We gave them enjoyment
for a time. (Surat as-Saffat, 139-148)
And when the two hosts came into sight of one another Moses'
companions said, "We will surely be overtaken!" He said, "Never! My
Lord is with me and He will guide me." So We revealed to Moses,
"Strike the sea with your staff." And it split in two, each part
like a towering cliff. And We brought the others right up to it. We
rescued Moses and all those who were with him. Then We drowned the
rest. There is certainly a sign in that yet most of them are not
believers. (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 61-67)
If you do not help him, Allah did help him when the unbelievers
drove him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to
his companion, "Do not be despondent, Allah is with us." Then Allah
sent down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you
could not see. He made the word of the unbelievers undermost. It is
the word of Allah which is uppermost. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
(Surat at-Tawba, 40)
When they declared, "Why! Joseph and his brother are dearer to our
father than we are although we constitute a powerful group. Our
father is clearly making a mistake. Kill Joseph or expel him to some
land so that your father will look to you alone and then you can be
people who do right." (Surah Yusuf, 8-9)
But when, in fact, they did go out with him and gathered all
together and agreed to put him at the bottom of the well, We then
revealed to him that: "You will inform them of this deed they
perpetrate at a time when they are totally unaware." (Surah Yusuf,
15)
Some travelers came that way and then dispatched their water- drawer
who let his bucket down. He said, "Good news for me, I've found a
boy!" They then hid him away among their goods. Allah knew very
well what they were doing. They sold him for a pittance, a few small
coins, considering him to be of little worth. (Surah Yusuf, 19-20)
The Egyptian who had bought him told his wife, "Look after him with
honor and respect. It's possible he will be of use to us or perhaps
we might adopt him as a son." And thus We established Joseph in the
land to teach him the true meaning of events. Allah is in control of
His affair. However, most of mankind do not know. And then when he
became a full-grown man, We gave him knowledge and right judgement
too. That is how We reward all doers of good. (Surah Yusuf, 21-22)
They said, "Who has done this to our gods? He is definitely one of
the wrongdoers!" They said, "We heard a young man mentioning them.
They call him Abraham." They said, "Bring him before the people's
eyes so they can be witnesses." (Surat al- Anbiya', 59-61)
They said, "Burn him and support your gods if you are resolved to do
something." We said, "Fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham!"
They desired to trap him but We made them the losers. (Surat al-
Anbiya', 68-70)
And Zechariah when he called out to his Lord, "My Lord, do not leave
me on my own, though You are the Best of Inheritors." We responded to
him and gave him John, restoringfor him his wife's fertility.They
outdid oneanother in good actions,calling out to Us in yearning and in
awe, and humbling themselves to Us. (Surat al- Anbiya', 89-90)
Then and there Zechariah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord,
grant me by Your favor an upright child. You are the Hearer of
Prayer." The angels called out to him while he was standing in
prayer in the Upper Room: "Allah gives you the good news of John, who
will come to confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader and a
celibate, a Prophet and one of the righteous." He said, "My Lord,
how can I possibly have a son when I have reached old age and my
wife is barren?" He said, "It will be so. Allah does whatever He
wills." (Surah Al 'Imran, 38-40)
Some people who encounter similar situations to these cited in the
Qur'an in their own lives fall into the error of thinking that "it
is impossible" for their prevailing circumstances to ever change.
Since their attitude is essentially one of despair and lack of
faith, they fail to properly appreciate the might of Allah and do
not pray to Him with a genuine and absolute submission to Him. And
this stems from these people being unaware of the secret of
determined prayer, and being unaware that prayer is the key to
destiny.
Yet if Allah so wishes He can immediately make those things that
people mistakenly think of as "impossible" a reality. In the same
way that Allah sent His help to messengers and true believers in
the past, and that situations regarded as "impossible" were made a
reality, so this also applies to the lives of everyone today.
Praying with absolute faith
Everyone may face situations wherein they may truly want from
Allah but that look impossible to happen. But people must never be
deceived under these circumstances. It is very important not to
forget that prayer is the key to destiny and that when one prays,
so Allah's destiny goes into motion, and thus to beseech Allah with
an absolute faith. In the same way that our Lord smoothed the way
for the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and helped the prophets Jonah (pbuh),
Abraham (pbuh) and Zechariah (pbuh), so all sincere Muslims hope
for Him to respond to their prayers with mercy.
Of course, however, a believer who really wants something to happen
must frequently call on Allah, just like the Prophet Jonah (pbuh)
and must, just like our Prophet Muhammad (saas) and the Prophet
Moses (pbuh), say "Of course, our Lord is with us," without losing
heart under even the most difficult of conditions; he must trust in
Allah's might with a powerful faith, feeling no doubts at all. And
then the secret in prayer will come about and, by Allah's leave,
destiny will begin to work in the desired direction.
The great Islamic scholar Imam Rabbani reminds believers of this
great and certain truth in the following passage:
"To ask for something is to obtain it; because Almighty Allah will
not allow His servant to utter a prayer that He will not heed."
(Imam Rabbani)

How does bacteria communication affect the climate?

Bacteria are a group of living organisms that reproduce fast,
compared to plants and animals, and have great importance for
balancing the world of living things in terms of their biochemical
traits. They can live almost anywhere. Therefore, their population
is greater than any other organism. The most important fact of all
is that they have important effects on vital matters such as climate
due to their dense population.
The bacteria community that affects human life in a number of ways
has many amazing characteristics. The communication system they
use is one of these. These beings, which use sonar-like systems to
see their enemies and food, use "conversation balloons" to
communicate with one another. Scientists from the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) discovered that the communication
among bacteria has a quality that protects the balance of the whole
world.
Bacteria Communication That Affect the Earth's Climate Begins In the Oceans
Small sea plants (phytoplankton) are eaten by zooplankton, which
are small sea creatures. These particles are sticky and they form
heavier particles by coming together. Bacteria unite over these
tiny carbon- rich pieces and move towards the depth together with
these pieces. This may seem like a very ordinary situation.
However, this small movement has an amazing aspect.
Bacteria, which have no mouth and ears, send forth chemical signals
to find out whether there are other neighboring bacteria around
them. If there are adequate bacteria neighbors nearby, carbon
molecules inside these particles come together to secrete an enzyme
that breaks these molecules into smaller particles. The type of
carbon inside the particles is the same carbon dioxide is found in
the atmosphere, so it is a greenhouse gas, which is a temperature
trap. This communication among bacteria is created in a way that
this poisonous gas will be released to the depths of the ocean.
This system does not exist in shallow depths.
This poisonous gas that can easily mix into the atmosphere from
shallow waters is carried to the depths with a planned communication
system and thus prevents it from reaching the atmosphere.
In other words, millions of bacteria, which we cannot see with the
naked eye work for us devotedly.
It has been known for many years that bacteria have a very important
place in the carbon cycle that has such vital importance for life on
earth. However, this new discovery proves to us once again that the
earth has a perfect creation, which is constantly maintained with
very comprehensive, fine and detailed adjustments. Thus all the
details in front of us are created in perfect harmony with one
another and this balance has not been disrupted for millions of
years. Allah revealed in the Qur'an as follows:
" In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of
the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's
benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky – by
which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about
in it creatures of every kind – and the varying direction of the
winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there
are Signs for people who use their intellect. " (Surat al-Baqara,
164)
Allah's Order is Flawless
- Even if you fulfill all the conditions necessary for life on earth
artificially;
- Even if you can imitate the earth, from the atmosphere to the
number of bugs in the ecosystem, all living species, orbiter and the
sun with all of its properties;
- Even if you put an equal number of plankton, diatoms and
bacteria as the ones on earth inside this artificial environment, the
end this artificial world will face is inevitable.
Even if there were an equal number of bacteria, when there is no
communication among those bacteria, then the artificial environment
you have produced would turn into a deadly gas chamber instead of a
planet full of life. All life would be destroyed in a very short
time by suffocating in this poisonous carbon gas.
When any of the balances on our earth are changed, this scenario
would always be the same. However, we can talk about life on earth,
only by virtue of having all of these balances and fine
calculations at the same time.
Breathing, being able to eat, drink, run and walk now is a proof
that not even one of these millions of balances has ever been
disrupted even for a single moment and continues unceasingly.
All of these qualities point to a perfect creation. The complex
system mentioned above is only a few of the evidences of Almighty
Allah's infinite might and superior creation. In one verse, our Lord's
knowledge and might is revealed as such:
" Say: 'Travel about the earth and see how He brought creation out
of nothing. Then later Allah will bring about the next existence.
Allah has power over all things. " (Surat al-'Ankabut, 20)
Allah's Knowledge of Creation Manifests at Every Spot of the Universe
There are evidences as to Almighty Allah's superior creation at
every corner of the universe. This complex system in bacteria that
we cannot see with the naked eye is one of the most crucial examples
of this. Our Lord manifests in these micro beings and inspires to
them the ability to act with a superior consciousness and perfect
intelligence. A bacterium is able to detect developments, which
people cannot realize or even guess beforehand, by the inspiration
of Almighty Allah and acts more daringly. It is not possible to
explain such flawless details in living beings as a matter of
coincidence as evolutionists claim. This is because it is
impossible to explain that "the first bacterium" formed
coincidentally.
It is a very far-fetched approach to claim that when there was no
sign of life, a bacterium was affected by the conditions in an
uncontrolled environment, began to breathe suddenly, went through
certain changes coincidentally and gained its miraculous features
and current complex qualities.
Science and technology, which advance more with every passing day,
discovered the miraculous qualities of bacteria and proves how
enormous a lie the theory of evolution is. Every quality we face in
these beings proves how perfect the art of Allah is in beings that
cannot be seen with the naked eye and makes us think about these.
Allah ,Who is the Owner of the skies and earth, created the sky, the
earth and everything in between perfectly with a unique creation;
inspired every being to its duty and made His miracles a verse and
mercy for believers. Our Lord's flawless knowledge of creation is
revealed in the verses as such:
" He who created the seven heavens in layers.You will not find any
flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again – do
you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your sight will return
to you dazzled and exhausted! " (Surat al-Mulk, 3-4)
All Behavior of Bacteria Is Controlled by Our Lord
What bacteria want is to maintain their existence with the means
they possess. While these microscopic beings continue their lineage
with this perfect balance Allah created, they also have vital
importance for us "in many ways". A bacteria producing nutrients,
moreover making the nutrient it produced beneficial for man,
imprisoning poisonous gases, and causing various cycles show how
essential and flawless this balance is. There is no doubt that
bacteria could just as easily live inside our food, take its energy
from there and greatly harm us . We may not even be aware of these
bacteria, which are part of our life, throughout our lives. However,
Allah created very flawless and detailed systems for us to see the
evidence of His superior and unique intelligence. This is the
purpose of the benefit bacteria provides.
No doubt, we cannot accept that a unicellular being can act with
consciousness and rationale. Allah is the One Who inspires bacteria
to act consciously and make calculations, Who has knowledge over
all knowledge and Who has the most superior intelligence over all
else. In one verse, it is revealed as such:
" In the alternation of night and day and what Allah has created in
the heavens and the earth there are Signs for people who have
faith. " (Surah Yunus, 6)

Fatwa, - Seclusion of religious women in the home

Question:
My question is in regards to women being commanded to stay in their
houses and the reality faced by religious Muslim women, especially
housewives and mothers of young children, in the West. Itcan get very
depressing to stay at home all the time withyoung children when the
husband is working long hours, however I know of a scholar who doesn't
allow his wife to come to the masjid except once a month or so. This
makes it very difficult for other community women who are in desperate
need of Islamic knowledge from her, and would love to have her teach
them. Also, she is often irritable and complains about her condition
of lonelinessand seclusion to her close friends. How can we advise our
scholar of the importance of allowing his wife to come to the masjid
to fulfill the wajib kifayahof the community, of knowledgeable women
teaching others the basics of Islam? And also it is feared that the
example that the scholar is setting will be followed by other
religious men in the community and thus make all the wives quite
miserable by not meeting their social and religious needs.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed in this question.
Firstly, it is important as you say to organize classes for the women
of the community. This is animportant obligation and thus we should
try to find a way to make this happen. You may suggest having the
classes at one of the homes where there can be complete privacy for
the sisters and with which the Imam and his wife also feels
comfortable. If a class can be arranged in the Imam's own home then
that would also solve theproblem.
The community cannot force the Imam to allow his wife to frequent the
masjid, since he may have valid reasons for not doing so. For
instance, he may not be satisfied with the segregation arrangements
there (unfortunately many masajid suffer from this problem in the US,
and many sisters feel that they cannot gain the peace and tranquility
they seek due to poor or a complete lack of segregation arrangements).
Hence, the educational aspect can be overcome by arranging the classes
elsewhere.
Secondly, the Imam's relationship and interaction with his wife in
this regard is the couple�s personal business and not something the
community has anything to do with. If the wife has a serious problem
with her situation then she may herself approach or consult withher
influential elders or scholars in this regard. They can then deal with
the issue. It is not something members of the community can take into
their hands and pressure or even advice the Imam about, since hemay
have his own valid reasons for doing what he is doing. Entering
intosuch a situation can only harm their relationship. The Sharia
instructs in general not to interfere with couples in their marital
and internal issues.
Finally, to help remove the loneliness of the Imam's wife, this is
certainly something that the sisters of the community can assist in
and will be greatly rewarded for. They can befriend her and make her
feel at home in the community by visiting her home or including her in
properly-organized social get together, so long as her husband
welcomes such interaction. Hence, this should be done on a social
level and not with the intent to interfere.
And Allah knows best.

Fatwa, - Menstruation Question: irregular bleeding, ghusl, and then uncertainty�

Question:
A woman gets her period. It last only one day. After that she
getswhite discharge for a day. Many times she bleeds for only one or
two days, so based on this, she takes a ghusl. But since she was
presuming that her period could start again, she waited towards the
end of a prayer time before making her ghusl. Accidentally, she missed
the prayer. Then two days later, she begins bleeding again, and it
lasts for six days. Considering that her period of purity did not last
fifteen days and consequently she is regarded as having bled
continuously all ten days, does she have to make up the prayer she
missed? Secondly, since she is considered to have had her period for
ten days, do any qadas sheprayed during the two days she thought she
was pure count? She understandably began praying and doing qadas
during these days because she had no way of knowing that her period
would begin again so soon.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
To answer this and othersimilar questions relatingto menstruation one
needs to keep the basic principles of menstruation in mind. Namely:
The minimum period for menstruation is three days. This means that if
blood is seen for less than three days, it does not count as
menstruation.
The maximum period for menstruation is ten days.This means that if
blood is seen for more than tendays, it does not count asmenstruation.
It is not a condition that blood flow be constant during the menstrual
period. What is important is the first andlast days it flows on and
all that is in between is counted as though bloodflowed though really
it did not. e.g. if she sees blood on the first day and then the
fourth day and then no more blood,this will be treated as four
continuous days of bleeding and will all be treated as menstruation.
The minimum length of apurity period between menstrual periods is fifteen days.
Whatever is seen during the menstrual period is counted as menstrual
blood no matter what colour it is.
[Hashiya al-Tahtawi 'ala Maraqi al-Falah, 1:199, Maktaba al-'Ilm al-Hadith]
Based on these above principles the question can be answered as follows:
When the original bleeding happened she assumed that it was
menstruation and hence did not pray. After one day of bleeding and one
day of white discharge she did not see anything.At this stage she can
assume that the bleedingwas abnormal uterine bleeding (istihada) and
just perform wudu and pray. There was no need for her to perform a
purificatory bath as the bleeding did not last three days and so could
not be treated as menstruation.
Then on the fourth day she saw bleeding again. Since there was not a
sufficient purity period between the two sets of bleeding (as in rule
4 above) all four days weretreated as though there was a constant
blood flow (as in rule 3). This being the case she is certainly
menstruating and any prayers or fasts offered since the first day that
blood was seen are invalid.
The bleeding then lasts for a further six days. If the fourth day is
included this takes us to day nine from first seeing the blood. After
this she would be expected to have a purificatory bath and start
praying.
She is not responsible forany prayers offered during the nine day
period and so would not have to make up the prayer initially missed.
Furthermore, any make up prayers offered during the period were
invalid and must be repeated again.
This is a difficult situation for a lady who has make ups to offer.
Some scholars advise ladies to take it easy with make up prayers in
situations like the one described above where the bleeding stopped
after one or two days and one expects it to start again. If however
the lady in question is such that her heart would not sink if she
found out that her make ups were invalid and it would not affect her
resolve to continue making up her prayers then there is no harm forher
to continue making up prayers according to her usual make up routine
during such periods.
And Allah knows best.

Fatwa, - Ghusl at work after menses

Question:
If a woman were to finish her menses while at work and it is
impossible for her to leave the work place to make ghusl is it
permissible to make wudhu and pray without ghusl? If not then how do
Muslim women living in the west deal with such anissue which most of
usare faced with this at some point?
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
In the name of Allah the Inspirer of truth.
It would not be sufficientfor a women to perform salat after just
performing wudu when ending her menstruation. If one has performed
salat after making wudhu only, those prayers must be repeated.
As to the question of how do Muslim women deal with such
situations,what we can say is that their are great wisdoms in the
shari'a and immense rewards for those who persevere in holding onto
their faith.
If a women is in situationthat she is forced to work to earn her daily
bread due to the absence of a supporting father or brother [if
unmarried] or husband [if married] then she should discuss the need of
having to leave early [with or without disclosing the details] with
her supervisor. Thereafter she can make up the missed work the day
after instead of having to make up missed prayers. People take of work
for all sorts of reason and this is as good a reason as any. If the
current employment is not flexible at all in this regard then you
should actively look for another job if you are forced to have one.
Remember we are required make our lifestyle subordinate to our
religion and not our religion conform to our lifestyle. Otherwise
situations of this nature are sure to arise and difficult to overcome.
And Allah makes a path for those who fear Him and He knows best.
Wassalam

Muhammad the Orphan -II

Hepassed his childhood days in a manner quite strange for theArabian
society. Instead of playing with children of his age group, he felt
disgusted in their company and preferred to be in solitude. Allaah the
Almighty had kept him aloof from every kind ofdebasement and
immorality. A few boys of Quraysh forced him to enjoy a marriage
celebration where there was dancing and music. However, as hereached
the spot, he was overtaken by sleep and kept sleeping the whole night,
only to get up when the assembly had dispersed at the end of the
celebration. He was, thus, saved from the undesirable and forbidden
activities of the marriage ceremony.
He was perhaps seven years old when the Quraysh started rebuilding the
Ka'bah, which had suffered damage from a flood. During the
construction work, hejoined the party of workers and helped them by
carrying stones and giving them to the masons. He was wearing an
Izaar)waist sheet( which was causing him some trouble doing the work.
The nakedness of a boy of seven was not then considered something
improper. So, his uncle Al-'Abbaas grabbed hold of the waist sheet and
pulled it so violently that hebecame naked. Hegrew shameful to the
extent that he fell down unconscious. At last, the people felt the
gravity of the situation and put his waist sheet back on, after which
herecovered.
First Journey toSyria
The Prophetwas twelve yearsold when Abu Taalib planned to go with a
merchant caravan to Syria leaving him behind in Makkah. But hewas so
used to the company of Abu Taalib that he could not bear
separationfrom his uncle. Abu Taalib felt moved and agreed to take him
toSyria. When they reached Busrah)which was a part ofSyriain the
vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain(, they met a monk called
Baheerah )his real name was Georges(, who showedgreat kindness and
entertained them lavishly. He had never been in the habit of receiving
or entertaining them before. He readily enough recognised the
Prophetand said while takinghis hand: "This is the master of all
humans. Allaah will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to
all beings." Abu Taalib asked: "How do you know that?" He replied:
"When you appeared from the direction of 'Aqabah, all stones and trees
prostrated themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can
recognise him also by the seal of Prophethood, which is below his
shoulder, like an apple. We have learnt this from our books." He also
asked Abu Taalib to send theboy back to Makkah and not to take him
toSyriafor fear of the Jews. Abu Taalib obeyed and senthim back to
Makkah with some ofhis men servants.
Harb Al-Fijaar )The Sacrilegious Wars(, First Participation inBattle
A great fair was regularly held at 'Ukaath. This fair would organise a
number of programs including horse races, wrestling, demonstrations of
the art of combat and poetic competitions. All the tribes ofArabiawere
highly belligerent by nature and drew swords against one another at
the smallest incident.
Once, in the course of the fair at 'Ukaath, the Hawaazin and Quraysh
tribes challenged each other due to a slight provocation.At the
outset, some wise and sober people stood in the way and put the matter
right. Nevertheless, some mischief-mongers worsened the
situation,which led to a large-scale fighting and killing on both
sides.The war was known as Harb Al-Fijaar because it took place in the
month of Dhul-Qa'dah when fighting was altogether forbidden.
Muhammadwas hardly fifteen when the 'sacrilegious' wars started -
which continued with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human
life for a number of years.This war was based on a series offour wars
in which the first three were small and the fourth war happened to be
more fierce than the preceding one as all the tribes of Qays joined
the Hawaazin tribe while all the tribes of Kinaanah came to the help
of the Quraysh. Thus, this war developed to become a war between the
Qays and Kinaanah tribes. The fourth and last war was so terrible that
some of the chieftains had their feet chained so they would be unable
to flee from the battlefield.
The Prophetjoined this fourth war for the first time armed with
weapons. Among Banu Kinaanah, every tribe had a commander. Zubayr Ibn
'Abdul-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophetled the Quraysh while Harb Ibn
Umayyah was the commander of all the troops of Banu Kinaanah.
Muhammadwas entrusted with the service ofpicking up the arrows for his
uncles. However, hewas saved from combat action. At theoutset Banu
Hawaazin seemed tobe dominating, but in the end, Banu Kinaanah turned
the tables against the Banu Qays and the war ended with a peace
treaty.
Al-Fudool Confederacy:
At the conclusion of these wars when peace was restored, peoplefelt
the need for forming a confederacy at Makkah for suppressing violence
and injustice, and vindicating the rights of the weak and the
destitute. Representatives of Banu Haashim, Banu Al-Muttalib, Asad Ibn
'Abd Al-'Uzzaa, Zahrah Ibn Kilaab and Taym Ibn Murrah were called to
meet in the habitation of an honourable elderly man called 'Abdullaah
Ibn Jada'aan At-Taymi to enter into a confederacy that would provide
for the abovementioned terms.
During his prophethood, the Prophetcommented on it with very positive
words: "I witnessed a confederacy in the house of 'Abdullaah Ibn
Jada'aan.It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in
the period of Islam, I would respond positively to attending such a
meeting if I were invited."

Muhammad the orphan -I

Initially, after his birth, Thuwaybah, the freed slave-girl of Abu
Lahab Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib,suckled him for seven days. She had suckled
Hamzahthe uncle of the Prophetalso. Thus, both Masruh Ibn Thuwaybah
and Hamzah were hisfoster brothers. According to the custom of the
Arab nobles, on the eighth day he was entrusted to lady Haleemah of
the Banu Sa'd clan of the Hawaazin tribe tosuckle him and bring him
up. Thenobles ofArabiawould entrust their babies to bedouin women so
that they would become healthy and strong in the open and free climate
of the desert. Besides this, it would help develop eloquent speech,
because the language of the bedouins was more pure, graceful and
eloquent than thoseliving in urban areas.
Haleemah Sa'diyyah would come to Makkah twice a year to show him to
his mother and grandfather. Haleemah Sa'diyyah suckled him for two
years and he remained with her for four years altogether. His mother
summoned him to Makkah at the end of four years. According to some
narrations, heremained with Banu Sa'd for five years. He was five
years of age, when he was out grazing goats along with his foster
brother andsisters and other boys of the same age when the event of
the opening up of his chest occurred.
According to a narration of SeeratIbn Hisham, Haleemah bint Abu Dhuayb
relates this event in thesewords: "One day both of my children came
fearfully to me andsaid that two cleanly dressed persons seized our
Qurayshi brother and split open his chest. Iwent to the spot along
with my husband )Haarith Ibn 'Abdul-'Uzzaa( and saw that he was
sitting there with a pallid face. Upon inquiry, he stated that two
cleanly dressed persons came to him, laid him down with his face up,
took out his heart, and extracted something from it." Yet, Haleemah
found no trace of any injury or spot of blood. Having thought that a
Jinn had affected the boy, she brought him to Makkah without loss of
time and related the whole eventto his mother. His mother, instead of
being afraid of what had happened, spoke with all theconfidence at her
command that her son would achieve a very distinctive place in the
world, andwould surely remain safe from allcalamities. She related
that whenhewas in her womb, she heard many things from the angels and
noticed many uncommon happenings. Imaam Muslim reports from Anas Ibn
Maalikthat one day when hewas playing with the boys of Makkah, Jibreel
)Gabriel( came to him, split his chest, took out a black spot from it,
and said: "Thiswas the portion of Satan." Following that, he washed
his heart in a tray of gold with Zamzam water and then replacedit.
After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him
to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six.
In respect and memory of her late husband, Aaminah – the Prophet's
mother - decided to visit his grave in Yathrib)Madeenah(. She set out
to cover ajourney of 500 kilometers with her orphan boy, woman servant
Umm Ayman and father-in-law 'Abdul-Muttalib. She spent a month there
and then started her way back to Makkah. On the way, she had a severe
illness and died in Abwa on the road between Makkah and Madeenah.
To His Compassionate Grandfather:
'Abdul-Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah. He had warm feelings
towards the boy, his orphan grandson, whose recent disaster)his
mother's death( added more to the pains of the past. 'Abdul-Muttalib
was more passionate with his grandson than with his own children. He
never left the boy a prey to loneliness, and always preferred him to
his own children. Ibn Hishaam reported:"A mattress was put in the
shade of Al-Ka'bah for 'Abdul-Muttalib. His children used to sit
around that mattress in honour of their father, but Muhammadused to
sit on it. His uncles would pull him back, but if 'Abdul-Muttalib was
present, he would say: 'Leavemy grandson. I swear by Allaah that this
boy will hold a significant position.' He used to seat the boy on his
mattress, pat his back and was always pleased with what the boy did."
The Death of 'Abdul-Muttalib
When Muhammadwas eight years, two months and ten days old, his
grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib passed away in Makkah. When
'Abdul-Muttalib's funeral procession was proceeding, hejoined it with
tearful eyes. However, 'Abdul-Muttalib had entrusted him to his son
Abu Taalib before his death, stressing the utmost care and protection
for the boy. Despite having several other sons, 'Abdul-Muttalib was
wise enough to givehim to the care of Abu Taalib because he and
'Abdullaah, the father of the boy, were born of the same mother. The
assessment of 'Abdul-Muttalib came true and the nephew became Abu
Taalib's favourite.
Support of Abu Taalib
Abu Taalib took special care of hisnephew and held him dearer than his
own sons. He made him sleep on his own bed. He singled the boy out
with great respect and high esteem. Abu Taalib remained for forty
years cherishing his nephew and extending all possible protection and
support to him. His relations with the others were determinedin the
light of the treatment they showed to the Prophet. Ibn 'Asaakir
reported on the authority of Jalhamah Ibn 'Arfootah who said: "I came
to Makkah when it was a rainless year, so Quraysh said: 'O Abu Taalib!
The valley has become leafless and the children hungry, let us go and
pray for rainfall.' Abu Taalib went to the Ka'bah with a young boy who
was as beautiful as the sun and a dark cloud was over his head. Abu
Taalib and the boy stood by the wall of the Ka'bah and prayed for
rain. Immediately, clouds from alldirections gathered and rain fell
heavily and caused the flow of springs and growth of plants in the
town and the country.