Sins of the Tongue - Fabricated Stories.

I hope that you can tell me whether this report –which I heard from a
preacher – is sound. He got up at 4.20 a.m. to getready to pray Fajr
(early morning prayer). He went and did wudoo (ablution) and got
dressed, and got ready to go out and go to the mosque. He was
accustomed to doing that since he was a child.He was used to offering
all his prayers in congregation in the mosque, even Fajr prayer. He
left his house and made his way to themosque. Whilst he was on his
way, he stumbled and fell, and tore part of his garment.
He went back home to change his garment and put on another one. He did
not get angry or swear or curse, he just went back home and simply
changed his clothes. Then he set out again for the mosque, and again
he stumbled and fell, and part of this garment got ripped as well. He
went back homeand changed his garment. Both garments had got torn but
that didnot deter him from his keenness to offer the prayer in
congregation in the mosque. He set out again for the mosque, and he
stumbled for the third time, but suddenly he felt that he was not
falling, and there was someone holding him and preventing him from
falling to the ground. The man was surprised and looked around, but he
did not see anyone. He stood confused for a moment, then he carried on
towards the mosque. Then he heard a voice saying: "Do you know who I
am?" The man said: "No." The voice replied: "I am the one who
prevented you fromfalling." The man said: "Who are you?" He replied:
"I am the shaytan." The man askedhim: "If you are the shaytan, why did
you prevent me from falling?" The shaytan answered: "The first time
when you stumbledand went home to change your clothes, Allah forgave
you all your sins. The second time when you stumbledand went home to
change your clothes, Allah forgave your family. The third time when
you stumbled, I was afraid that if you went back home and changed your
clothes, Allah would forgive all the people of your neighbourhood, so
I supported you and prevented you from falling."
What is confusing me about this story is: is it possible for the
shaytan to speak to a person andhold his hand and prevent him from
falling as is described in this story?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
There is no basis for this story in the books of Sunnah (prophetic
teachings), hadeeth (prophetic narrations) and history. It is
contraryto Islam for several reasons:
1 – The conversation between the man and the shaytan. It is
possiblefor the shaytan to whisper to a person (waswasah) when he is
in his real form, but speaking to him is not possible, unless the
shaytan appears to him in human form.
2 – The shaytan says thathe supported the man when he stumbled. This
is something that is unbelievable, and the shaytan is unable to do
such a thing. Allah has made the angels protectors and guardians of
man, to protect them from the harm of the jinn, because they can see
us but we cannot see them.Allah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"For him (each person), there are angels in succession, before and
behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah" [13:11]
In this made-up story it clearly states that the shaytan is able to
protect a person against that which may harm him, or that the shaytan
is able to prevent something that has beendecreed by Allah.
3 – The most serious thing in this story is where the shaytan says
that the first time Allah forgave the man all his sins, then the
second time he says that Allah has forgiven his family, and he says
that if he had fallen a third time, Allah would have forgiven the
people of his neighbourhood! All of this is lies against Allah and
claiming to have knowledge of the unseen. Even if a mujahid (warrior)
is wounded in battle against the kuffar (disbelievers) it does
notbring such virtues, so how can it be ascribed to the one who is
going to the mosque? It is not ascribed to one who stumbled when
calling people to Allah or going to uphold ties of kinship or other
acts of worship,so how can these virtuesbe ascribed to one who falls
when he is going to the mosque?
There is nothing about falling or stumbling that brings such virtues.
Many of the Sahaabah (companions) fell, stumbled or were injured at
the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
but there is nothing in the Sunnah which ascribes such virtues to them
or even some of those virtues. Allah does not forgive a family or the
people of aneighbourhood or city because of the deeds or acts of
worship of one ofthe righteous, let alone the fact that stumbling does
not bring a person closer to Allah and it is not an act of worship in
itself. If anyone were to benefit from the actions of another, then
the father of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would have benefited from
the prophethood of his son, and the son of Nuh would have benefited
from the prophethood of his father, and Abu Talib would have benefited
from the prophethood of his nephew Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him).
Moreover, how did the shaytan know of all that so that he could tell
this man about it? Does the shaytan have the power to prevent mercy
reaching one of the slaves of Allah upon whom He wishes to bestow it?
No. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah may grant to mankind, none
can withhold it; and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it
thereafter. And He is the All‑Mighty, the All‑Wise" [35:2]
Secondly:
Undoubtedly these false stories are things that become widespread
among those who do not understand their religion properly and who do
not know the Oneness of their Lord (Tawheed). They are propagated by
liars and storytellers who fabricate lies against thelaws of Allah.
Allah has issued a stern warning against these liars. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden
are Al‑Fawaahish (great evil sins and every kind of unlawful sexual
intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all
kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with
Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about
Allah of which you have no knowledge" [7:33]
What khateebs (orators) and preachers must do isbe above being mere
storytellers who tell the common folk stories thatgo against sharee'ah
(Islamic teachings). The salaf (pious predecessors) of this ummah
(nation) issued astern warning against these storytellers, because of
the bad effects that their stories have on the common folk and because
they contain things that go against the laws of Allah.
In a hadeeth that was classed as hasan (sound) by Shaykh al-Albani in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah it was narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When the Children of Israel
were doomed they started to tell stories."
Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It says in al-Nihayah: "when they were doomed they started to tell
stories" which meansthey relied on words and forsook deeds, and that
was the reason for their doom, or vice versa: when they were doomed it
was because they stopped doing good deeds and turned to stories.
Al-Albani said, commenting on this:
It may be said that the reason they were doomed was that they paid too
much attention to stories at the expense of fiqh (jurisprudence) and
beneficial knowledge which teach the people about their religion, and
motivate them to do righteous deeds. Because they did that, they were
doomed.Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah.
This is the case with the storytellers; they pay toomuch attention to
stories and myths, whichthey narrate to the common folk, without any
understanding or knowledge, and the common man hears a lotbut does not
understandany ruling or gain any knowledge.
Ibn al-Jawzi said in Talbees Iblees:
The storytellers are not condemned just for being storytellers,
because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"We relate unto you (Muhammad) the best of stories" [12:3]
"So relate the stories" [7:176]
Rather the storytellers are condemned because they tell many stories
without mentioning any beneficial knowledge, and usually they mix
sound and unsound material in what they narrate and rely on things
that are mostly impossible. End quote.
It was narrated that Abu Qilabah 'Abd-Allah ibn Zayd said: Nothing
kills knowledge but stories. Aman may sit with another man for a year
and not learn anything from him, and he may sitwith a knowledgeable
man and not get up untilhe has learned something. Hilyat al-Awliya.
How often do these storytellers narrate from bad reports to the
masses, and tell them these fables, which reach such a status among
the masses that they believe everything that they hear and even give
them precedence over the scholars and seekers of knowledge.
Al-Hafiz al-'Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
One of the problems with them is that they speak to so many peopleand
tell them things thatthey are unable to comprehend, and that leads
them to confusion and makes them developmisconceptions. This applies
if what they tell them is sound, so how about if it is false?
Tahdheer al-Khawaas by al-Suyooti,quoting from al-Baa'ith 'ala
al-Khalaas by al-'Iraaqi.
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
The storyteller narrates weird reports to the masses, and tells them
that even if he had even the slightest whiff of knowledge he would not
have told them. So the masses leave with a lot of false notions in
their minds, which they discuss amongst themselves. If a scholar
denounces them, they say: we heard this, he narrated it to us. How
many storytellers have misled others by means of the fabricated
reportsthey narrate to them; how many people have turned yellow with
hunger (because of what they heard encouraging asceticism); how many
people left their families, homes and cities to wander likemonks; how
many have refrained from doing that which is permitted; how many have
refrained from learning and teaching knowledge, believing that he is
going against his own whims and desires; how many have made their
children orphans because of theirasceticism whilst still alive; how
many have turned away from their wives and not given them their
rights, so thatshe is neither single nor truly married. End
quote.Al-Mawdoo'aa
This is why the storytellers are criticized by many of the salaf.
Maymoon ibn Mahran (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The storyteller may expect punishment from Allah, and the one who
listens to him may expect mercy.
Al-Albani (may Allah havemercy on him) said, following hadeeth no.
4070 in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah:
This was narrated by Ibnal-Mubarak in his book al-Zuhd with a saheeh
isnaad (authentic chain).
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The greatest liars amongthe people are the storytellers. The people
need truthful storytellerswho will remind them ofdeath and the
punishment of the grave. It was said to him:Didn't you attend their
gatherings? He said: No. Al-Adaab al-Shar'iyyah by Ibn Muflih
al-Hanbali.
We ask Allah to set straight the affairs of theimams (leaders) and
khateebs (orators), and to guide them to that which is best for them
and others.
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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Sins of the Tongue - Husband Forcing Wife to Divulge Private Conversations.

My husband forces me totell him the whole dialogue I had with my
mother or brothers or anyone else. He justifies this by saying that my
mother may say something that can spoilour relationship. It causes
problems between us if I refuse to tell him. Shall I respond to his
request?
Praise be to Allah.
1-
What this husband should do – if what his wife is saying about him is
true – is fear his Lord with regard to this demand that he is making
of his wife, and he should realize that heis sinning by doing this,
and that it is not permissible for his wife to obey him in this
matter.
2-
We advise this husband to focus on himself rather than other people,
and to look at his own faults and correct them, and to look at his own
shortcomings and strive to perfect his own self that is inclined
towards evil. That is better for him and is more appropriate than
focusing on other people and what they say and do. Ibn al-Qayyim (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:The greatest loser is the one who is
distracted from Allah by himself, and even worse off is the one who is
distracted from himself by other people. [Al-Fawaa'id].
3-
He should not think badly of people and believe that he is perfect,
because not everything that people say concerns him or has to do with
him, rather it is his desire to hear people's stories and find out
about their situations, and to rejoiceat their shortcomings.
4-
It is to be hoped that thishusband does not approve of his wife
telling him what her family and other people say to her, even if they
are talking about him, because by doing that she would be a
gossipmonger and one of the salaf (righteous predecessors) said: A
gossipmonger and a liar could cause more damage in an hour than a
practitioner of witchcraft could do in a year. So how about if he is
the one who tells her to do that, and even orders her to do so, and
threatens to punish her if she does not do it?
Al-Nawawi said, quoting from Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (may Allah have
mercy on them both):
The one to whom gossip comes, saying so and so said this about you, or
did that to you, should do six things:
1- He should not believe it, because the one who gossips is an evildoer.
2- He should tell him not to do that, and advise him, and condemn his action.
3- He should hate him for the sake of Allah, for he is hateful
before Allah, may He be exalted,and he should hate the one whom Allah
hates.
4- He should not think ill of his absent brother.
5- He should not let what he is told lead him to spy on others or
try tofind out about it.
6- He should not approve for himself what he told the gossipmonger
not to do,so he should not transmit the gossip and say "So and so said
such and such", in which case he would also be a gossipmonger and
would be doing that which he told someone else not to do. End quote.
[Al-Adhkaar]
5-
What this husband wants from his wife is nameemah (gossip) which is a
major sin. Undoubtedly passing on such gossip will lead to evil
consequences, severing of ties, resentment and enmity, and undoubtedly
the wife's family would hatefor their words to be passed on. He should
understand that gossip is not merely passing on what people say for
the purpose of causing trouble, rather it may be for the purpose of
enjoyment.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah havemercy on him) said:
What should be avoided and shunned totally is gossip which means
transmitting words fromone person to another, or from one group to
another, or from one tribe to another, with the aim of causing trouble
and creating problems between them.It means disclosing that which
should not be disclosed, whether it is disliked by the one from whom
it is transmitted or the one to whom it is transmitted or a third
party, and whether it is disclosed verbally, in writing, in symbols or
bygestures, and whether what is transmitted is words or actions, and
whether it refers to a fault or shortcoming in the person from whom
itis transmitted or not. A person should keep quiet about whatever
hesees of people's situations, unless speaking of it will bring some
benefit to a Muslimor ward off some harm.
The motive in spreading gossip is either ill will towards the person
of whom one speaks or to show love to the person to whom one speaks,
or to indulge in unnecessary talk and falsehood. All of that is
haraam.
There is a great deal of evidence in the Quran and Sunnah (prophetic
traditions) to show that gossip is haram (impermissible), such as the
verses in which Allahsays (interpretation of the meaning):
"And (O Muhammad) obey you not everyone Hallaaf Maheen (the one who
swears much and is a liar or is worthless).
A slanderer, going aboutwith calumnies" [68:10,11]
"Woe to every slanderer and backbiter" [104:1]
It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allah bepleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: "No gossipmonger will enter Paradise" [Agreed upon]. And it was
narrated from Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Shall I not
tell you what is falsehood? It is nameemah (gossip), transmitting what
people say." [Muslim].
Gossip is one of the things that incur the punishment in the grave,
because of the report narrated by Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased
with him), according to which the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by two graves and said: "They
are being punished, but they are not being punished for anything that
was difficult to avoid." Then he said, "No. One of them used not to
protect himself from his urine, and the other used to walk around
spreading malicious gossip." [Agreed upon].
Rather backbiting and gossip are forbidden because they involve
attempts to cause trouble among people and create splits and chaos,
and fan the flames of enmity, rancour, destructive envy and hypocrisy,
and to take away love and friendship, by causing rifts and disputes
and resentment among brethren. It also involveslying, deceit, betrayal
and trickery, and making accusations against those who are innocent,
and giving in to slander and reviling and mentioning bad deeds and
qualities, and because they are a sign of cowardice, meanness and
weakness; moreoverthose who indulge in them commit sins which incur
the wrath of Allah and a painful punishment. Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn
Baaz.
It was said that al-'adhu (translated above a falsehood) means
witchcraft in the language of Quraysh, and it was said that it means
lies and fabrications.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Jibreen (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
My husband tells his family what I say, then he tells me what they
say, and that leads to many problems. I have often asked him not to do
that but he does not pay any heed. What should I do?
He replied:
This is called nameemah (malicious gossip), which means transmitting
what people say by way of stirring up trouble. As for the warning,
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): " A slanderer, going about
with calumnies" [68:10,11]. This is a description of some of the
people of Hell. And Allah says (interpretationof the meaning): "Woe to
every slanderer and backbiter" [104:1]. This refers to the
gossipmonger. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: "No gossipmonger will enter Paradise." And accordingto a report:
A gossipmonger could cause more damage in an hour than a practitioner
of witchcraft could do in a year. And the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) stated that "The gossipmonger will be punished
in his grave." Undoubtedly the prohibition is more emphatic if the
gossip is among a man and his wife and relatives. He has to fear Allah
and remember that He is always watching him, and he should keep away
from things that will incur punishment in this world or the next. He
has to avoid lying, backbiting, gossip, slander and stirring up
trouble among people. He should be honest, protect people's
honour,fear Allah and rememberthat He is always watching, and that He
is stern in punishment. Endquote. Al-Hulool al-Shar'iyyah
li'l-Khilaafaat wa'l-Mushkilaat al-Zawjiyyah wa'l-Usariyyah by Shaykh
'Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreem.
So the husband must stop asking his wife to do this, and if he
persiststhen it is not permissiblefor his wife to respond to his
request. By agreeing to transmit what people say, one is persisting in
sin and listening to it, but by refusing one is refraining from it and
putting a stop to it.
If the wife is afraid that it will lead to troubles between her and
her husband, there is no sin on her, if her husband insists that she
should tell him what her family says, if she tells him that they
praised him and said good things about him, and other such words that
will spread love and friendly feelings, and will extinguish the flames
of fitnah (tribulation) and disputes between her husband and her
family.
We ask Allah to guide your husband and bring you together in a good manner.
And Allah knows best.

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Islamic Stories - Story of a Jinn

The well-known scholar Khateeb has stated on the authority of Hadhrat
Jabir bin Abdullah who stated: "Once, we were travelling with the
Prophet (SAW). The Prophet was sitting under a tree for taking rest.
All of a sudden, there came a snake near him, took his mouth near the
hole of his ear. After sometime, the Prophet took his mouth near its
ear and said something. On that, the snake vanished in such away as if
the earth had swallowed it. We submitted to the Prophet that we were
very much frightened when you let it reach near your ear. The Prophet
told that it was an animal and in fact, it was a jinn who had
forgotten a few verses of such and such Surah and the jinns had sent
it to inquire about the same verses. Because of your presence, he came
changing its form to thatof a snake and inquired about the verses
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Islamic Stories - Newton and the atheist

Isaac Newton, had invited a scientist-friend of his, a man who
professed atheism to dine with him. Seeking to corner his friend with
his own arguments, Newton placed a model of the solar system on his
table and invited his friend to view it. Upon examining it, Newton�s
friend exclaimed, �what a marvellous craftsmanship!� Who fashioned
this exquisite model?� Newton replied casually, �This model hasno
maker, it materialized from nothing.� Disbelief written large on his
face,the friend asked, �What do you mean?� To this, Newton smiled and
replied, �How can you my friend, insist that thismodel has to have a
maker, while vehemently denying the existence of a divine Creator?�
Moral: If a model of the solar system must have acreator then what
aboutthe gigantic solar systemitself? Let us worship that Creator who
has created you and me.

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