Allah is sufficient as a surety

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "An Israeli man asked anotherIsraeli to lend him one
thousand Dinars. The second man required witnesses. The former
replied, 'Allah is sufficient as a witness.' The second said, 'I want
a surety.' The former replied, 'Allah is sufficient as a surety.' The
second said, 'You are right,' and lent him the money for a certain
period. The debtor went across the sea. When he finished his job, he
searched for a conveyanceso that he might reach in time for the
repayment ofthe debt, but he could notfind any. So, he took a piece of
wood and made a hole in it, inserted in it one thousand Dinars and a
letter to the lender and then closed (i.e. sealed) the hole tightly.
He took the piece of wood to the sea and said. 'O Allah! Youknow well
that I took a loan of one thousand Dinars from so-and-so. He demanded
a surety from me but I told him that Allah's Guarantee was sufficient
and he acceptedYour guarantee. He then asked for a witness and I told
him that Allah was sufficient as a Witness, and he accepted You as a
Witness. No doubt, I tried hard to find a conveyance so that I could
pay his money but could not find,so I hand over this moneyto You.'
Saying that, he threw the piece of wood into the sea till it went out
far into it, and then hewent away. Meanwhile hestarted searching for a
conveyance in order to reach the creditor's country.
One day the lender came out of his house to see whether a ship had
arrived bringing his money, and all of a sudden he saw the piece of
wood in which his money had been deposited. He took it home to use for
fire. When he sawed it, he found his money and the letter inside it.
Shortly after that, the debtor came bringing one thousand Dinars to
him and said, 'By Allah, I had been trying hard to get a boat so that
I could bring you your money, but failed to get one before the one I
have come by.' The lender asked, 'Have you sent something to me?' The
debtor replied, 'Ihave told you I could not get a boat other than the
one I have come by.' The lender said, 'Allah has delivered on your
behalf the money you sent in thepiece of wood. So, you may keep your
one thousand Dinars and depart guided on the right path.'" Source:
Sahih Bukhari (Volume 3, Book 37, Number 488h)

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Is there a Sunnah prayer before Jumua‘ah?

We know from the saheeh hadeeths that there are four rak'ahs before
Zuhr. How should we do these rak'ahs on Friday? It is known that there
are no Sunnah prayers before Jumu'ah, but for a person who has the
habit of praying thesefour rak'ahs, is it acceptable for him to do
them on Friday? Is it acceptable for him to praythem before the sun
passes the zenith?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There is no proven report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) that he prescribed a regular Sunnah (Sunnah
raatibah) prayer to be offered before it, and there is no proven
report from any ofthe Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) that they prayed anyregular Sunnah prayer before
Jumu'ah like the regular Sunnah prayer of Zuhr or any other prayer.
It is not valid to pray the regular Sunnah prayer of Zuhr on Friday,
because Jumu'ah is not Zuhr; rather it is a prayer with its own
rulings. So it is notZuhr and it is not valid either to compare it to
Zuhr in that regard.
See the answer to question no. 114765
With regard to the report which says that Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be
pleased with him) used topray four rak'ahs before Jumu'ah and four
afterwards, it was narrated by at-Tirmidhi ina mu'allaqan which he
narrated in a way that indicates that it is weak; itis also mawqoof,
with a isnaad that ends with Ibn Mas'ood. The commentator on
at-Tirmidhi narrated from al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on
him) that 'Abd ar-Razzaaq and at-Tabaraani narrated it ina marfoo'
report, but its isnaad has some weakness and interruptions, and a
report that is like this cannot be quoted as evidence.
See: Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 8/261
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: (It is) munkar,
as it says in as-Silsilah ad-Da'eefah, 3/83
Secondly:
It is mustahabb for the one who comes to Jumu'ah to offer voluntary
prayers beforehand, whatever he is able to do, from when he enters the
mosque until the imam comes out to the people, without that being
limited to a specific number. So he may pray two or four rak'ahs, or
whatever Allahwills that he should pray.
Al-Bukhaari (883) and Muslim (657) narrated that Salmaan al-Faarisi
said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Whoever does ghusl on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can,
uses (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the perfume of his house,
then goes out (for the Jumu'ah prayer) and does not separate between
two (persons sitting together in the mosque), then prays as much as is
decreed for him, then remains silent whilst the imam is speaking, his
sins between the present and the last Friday will be forgiven for
him."
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, discussing matters
that are specific to Friday:
It is not makrooh to pray on Friday at the time of the zenith,
according to ash-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and those who
agreed with him. This is the view favoured by our shaykh,
Abu'l-'Abbaas ibn Taymiyah, and he did not base his view on the
hadeeth of Layth from Mujaahid from Abu'l-Khaleel from Abu Qataadah
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), which
states that it is makrooh to pray at midday except on Friday, and he
said: "Hell flares up (at noon) except on Friday". Rather he based his
view on a report which states that whoever comes to Jumu'ah, it is
mustahabb for him to pray until the imam comes out.
He quoted the hadeeth of Salmaan mentioned above, then he said: The
report recommends praying as much as is decreed for one, and not
stopping until the time when the imam comes out.
Hence more than one of the salaf, including 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may
Allah be pleased with him), who was followed in that by Imam Ahmad ibn
Hanbal, said that the appearance of the imam prevents prayer and his
khutbah prevents speaking. They said that the factor which prevents
prayer is the appearance of the imam, not the mid-point of the day
(noon).
Moreover, if the people are inside the mosque, beneath the roof, and
they cannot tell when the zenith occurs, and a man is focusing on his
prayer, he does not know when the zenith occurs and he cannot go out,
stepping over people's necks to look at the sun and come back, and it
is not prescribed for him to do that. End quote from Zaadal-Ma'aad,
1/365
Ash-Shawkaani also regarded this view as being more correct and
henoted that the hadeeth ofSalmaan mentioned above makes an exception
to the general meaning of the hadeeths that forbid praying at the time
of the zenith. See Nayl al-Awtaar, 3/313

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Story of a man called Juraij

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said,"There was an Israeli mancalled Juraij, while he
was praying, his mother came and called him, but he didnot respond to
her call. Hesaid (to himself) whether he should continue the prayer or
reply to his mother. She came to him the second time and called him
and said, "O Allah! Do not let him die until he sees the faces of
prostitutes." Juraij used tolive in a hermitage. A woman said that she
would entice Juraij, so shewent to him and presented herself (for an
evil act) but he refused. She then went to a shepherd and allowed him
to commit an illegal sexual intercourse with her and later she gave
birth to a boy. She allegedthat the baby was from Juraij. The people
went to Juraij and broke down his hermitage, pulled him outof it and
abused him. He performed ablution and offered the prayer, then he went
to the male (baby) and asked him; "O boy! Who is your father?" The
baby replied that his father was the shepherd. The people said that
they would build for him a hermitage of gold but Juraij asked them to
makeit of mud only." Source: Sahih Bukhari (Volume 3, Book 43, Number
662)
Allah's help is with those who are sincere to their faith.

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Two things that he feared

It is said about Shaddad ibne Aws (RA) that he once began to cry.
People asked about his crying, and he replied: It is something I heard
from Rasulullah (SAW) which makes me weep when I remember it.
Rasulullah (SAW) had said: I fear for my people from Shirk (ascribing
partners to Allah) and Hidden Desires. Shaddad (RA) says: I had asked:
O Rasulullah! Would your people be guilty of idolatry after your
death? Rasulullah (SAW) had replied: Yes (but) they will not worship
the sun, the moon, a stone or an idol; but they will act for display
(without sincerity). Hidden Desire isthat one of them will startthe
day fasting, but when one of his desires will present itself to him;
he will abandon his fast (and satisfy his desire). Source: Musnad
Ahmed.
Let us not worship nicely so that others can see andpraise us. Today,
we wear beautiful clothes and jewelleries when attending an invitation
or meeting a renowned person. Whereas, when the pious people of the
past would get up for tahajjud prayer at night, they would wear their
best clothes, put on the surma and decorate themselves nicely to stand
in front of Allah.

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