Praying Jumu‘ah in the neighbourhood mosque is better unless there is some purpose tobe served by going to a more distant mosque.,Friday Prayers, - Dought & clear,-

country, and many of the brothers in the mosque dislike the imam,
because his khutbahs are too long and he reviles the people. Should we
pray behind him or go to the Turkish mosque? There is no third mosque,
only these two. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Praise be to Allaah.
If the imam reviles the people and causes difficulties for them by
making his khutbah too long, then there is nothing wrong with them
praying Jumu'ah inthe other mosque. Rather there is nothing wrong in
the first place with a person praying inwhichever of the two mosques
he wants, but itis better if he prays in his neighbourhood mosque,
unless there arethings in the Turkish mosque that are contrary to
sharee'ah, that you have not mentioned, which made you feel reluctant
to move to it. In that case you should tell us about that.
You should advise the imam and call upon him to make the khutbah
shorter and pay attention to the congregation's situation.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it
permissible for a worshipper on Friday to leave the mosque that is in
his own locality and go to another mosque that is further away,
because the khateeb there is more knowledgeable and speaks well.
He replied: It is better forthe people of a neighbourhood to pray in
their own mosque, so that they can get to know one another and create
friendships among themselves, and thus encourage one another. But if a
person goes to another mosque for religious benefits, such as
acquiring knowledge or listening to a khutbah that will have more of
an impact on him and help him gain more knowledge, there is nothing
wrong with that. The Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) used to
pray with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) in his mosque, because of the virtue of the imam and the virtue
of the mosque, then theywould go and pray in their local mosques, as
Mu'aadh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to do at the time of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) knewabout that but did not
rebuke him.
End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah.
See also the answer to

Ruling on offering Jumu‘ah prayer in a church where there are images or statues.,Dought & clear,-

working in UK. We muslim doctors are usually at work during Juma
prayer time. Hence often it UK doctors at work offer Juma prayer in
small rooms which areeither Multifaith rooms(where people from all
faith can pray, ofter idols are kept in these rooms which are covered
during Juma prayer) or in dedicated muslim prayer rooms. In my
hospital there is a dedicated muslim prayerroom where we offer prayer
regularly at least for day time prayers, butstill as this room is
small, we offer Juma on the side in the church to be able to
accomodate the large no of doctros attending Juma prayer. My question
is, is Juma Valid in such all the above different places mentioned
above. One of my acquaintence comented that, Juma is only valid in a
place where all five daily prayers are being offered in congregation.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is permissible to pray in a church if there are no images or statues in it.
Al-Bukhaari included a chapter in his Saheeh which he entitled:
Chapter on praying in a "chapel". 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: We will not enter your churches because of the images
inthem. Ibn 'Abbaas wouldpray in a "chapel" excepta "chapel" in which
there were statues. Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Chapter on praying in "chapels"; a "chapel" is aplace of worship for
Christians. The author of al-Muhkam said: The "chapel" is the cell of
themonk, or, it was said, thechurch of the Christians, and the latter
is the reliable view. The ruling on "chapels" also appliesto churches,
synagogues,hermits' cells, temples in which there are idols, fire
temples and so on. End quote.
If there are images or statues in it, the fuqaha' differed concerning
the ruling on praying there in that case. Some of them are of the view
that it is haraam, but themajority are of the view that it is makrooh.
The reason given by those who regard it as haraamis the general
meaning of the evidence which indicates that statues and keeping them
are haraam, because the presence of these images prevents the angels
from entering that place.
Al-Bukhaari (3225) and Muslim (2106) narrated from Abu Talhah that
theProphet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The
angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image."
Al-Tirmidhi (2806) and Abu Dawood (4158) narrated that Abu Hurayrah
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Jibreel came to me and said: 'I was going to come to you
yesterday and nothing prevented me from entering upon you in the house
where you were except that at the door of the house there was a statue
of a man, and in the house there was a curtain on which there were
images, and in the housethere was a dog. So give instructions that the
head of the statue at thedoor should be cut off, so that it will look
like a tree. And give instructions that the curtain should be cut up
and made into two pillows that will be placed on the ground and
stepped on. And issue instructions that the dog be put outside.'"So
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did
that. And the dog was a puppy belonging to al-Hasan oral-Husayn that
was under a bed, and he gave instructions that it should be taken
outside.
This hadeeth was classedas saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami', no. 68.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: There is nothing
wrong with praying in a church that is clean. That was allowed by
al-Hasan, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez, al-Sha'bi, al-Awzaa'i, andSa'eed
ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez. It was also narrated from 'Umar andAbu Moosa. Ibn
'Abbaas and Maalik regarded churches as makrooh because of the images.
But we know that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) prayed at the Ka'bah when there wereimages in it. It is also
included in the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him): "Wherever you are when the time for prayer comes, pray, for
it [the earth] is a place of prayer."
End quote from al-Mughni, 1/407
Among those who were of the view that it is haraam to pray in a church
if there are images in it was Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah
have mercy on him). See: al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 2/59
The prohibition on praying in churches doesnot mean that such a prayer
is invalid; rather the prayer is valid although it involves sin,
because the reason why praying in churches is not allowed does not
have to do with the prayer; rather it is because of the images inthose
places, as stated above. So the reason for the prohibition is
different from the prayer and other matters pertaining to it.
The Standing Committee and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy
on him) issued fatwas stating that it is makrooh to pray in a place in
which there are images, but the prayer is valid if that takes place.
In Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (5/377) [vol. 2] it says: What is the
ruling on praying in the house or room in which there are statues of
animals or humans for decoration?
Answer: It is haraam to keep images or statues and put them in houses,
because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to
'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave any image without
erasing it or anybuilt-up grave without levelling it." And becausehe
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The angels do not
enter a house in which there is a dog or an image." It is makrooh to
pray in a room in which there are pictures hanging or statues,
especially if they are in front of the person when he faces the
qiblah. But the prayer is valid.
And Allah is the source ofstrength. May Allah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and Companions.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas.
Bakr Abu Zayd, 'Abd al-'Azeez Aal al-Shaykh, Saalih al-Fawzaan,
'Abd-Allah ibn Ghadyaan,'Abd al-Razzaaq 'Afeefi, 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn
'Abd-Allah ibn Baaz. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:… As for
theprayer, it is valid, but it is makrooh to pray in a place in which
there are images except in the case of necessity; if nothing else is
available,then there is nothing wrong with it. End quote.
To sum up:
1. There is nothing wrong with praying inside the church if it is
free of images and statues, whether that is Jumu'ah prayer or any
other prayer.
2. It is makrooh to pray in a church if there are images or
statues in it. If the Muslims need to pray there because thereis no
other place available, and they coverthese statues with something that
will conceal them, there is nothing wrong with it and it is not
makrooh.
And Allah knows best.

Walking with a bag of bread by night

Walking with a bag of bread by night
Ali Ibn Al Husain used to lead a seemingly miserly life. But when he
died they discovered that he was supporting one hundred poor families
inMadinah. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq said: Some people of Madinah used to
live not knowing where from they got their livelihood. When Ali Ibn Al
Husain died they lost what used to be sent to them by night.As a
matter of fact, Ali Ibn Al Husain used to carry a bag of bread by
night on his back and distribute it as charity. He would say: "The
secret charity puts out the anger of Allah." When Ali Ibn Al Husain
died and people washedhis body, they found some black traces on his
back. They said: What is this? Then the answer was that he used to
carry bags of flour on it by night and would give them to the poor
people of Madinah. That is why when he died, people of Madinah said:
We only lost the secret charity when Ali Ibn Al Husain died.

Kind words shine like the moon,

Kind words shine like the moon
Mus'ab ibn Umayr was the first of ambassador of Rasul Allah in
Madinah. Before Rasul Allah had arrived in Madinah, Mus'ab taught ahl
al-Madinah about Islam and they began to enter the Deen.
This enraged Sa'd ibn 'Ubaadah, one of the chieftains of Madinah. He
sheathed his sword and set off for the head of Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr. When
he confronted Mus'ab he threatened,"Stop this nonsense you speak or
you shall find yourself dead!"
Mus'ab replied in the way that should be a lesson for us all. This man
before him did not stop at rudeness and ignorance, he wanted toslit
his throat.
Mus'ab said, "Shall you not sit and listen for a few moments. If you
agree with what I say then take it, and if not, we shall desist from
this talk." Sa'd sat down.
Mus'ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of Sa'd ibn
Ubaadah's face shone like a full moon and he said, "What should a
person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?" After Mus'ab had told
him he said, "There is a man, if he accepts this Deen, there shall be
no home in Madinah that will not become Muslim. Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh."
When Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh heard what was happening, he was infuriated. He
left his home to go and kill this man called Mus'ab ibn Umayr for the
dissentionhe had caused. He entered upon Mus'ab and announced, "You
shall desist of this religion you speak of or you shall find yourself
dead!"
Mus'ab replied, "Shall you not sit and listen for a few moments. If
you agree with what I say then take it, and if not, I shall desist
from this talk." Sa'd sat.
Mus'ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of Sa'd ibn
Mu'aadh's face shone like a full moon and he said, "What should a
person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?"
Look at what a kind word did. Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh went home to his
Madinan tribe that night and announced to them all, "Everything of
yours is Haram upon me until you all enter into Islam."
That night, every home in Madinah went to bed with Laa ilaaha illa Allah.