Fathwa - Ramadhan - Witr prayer

i have 3 small questions:
1. is the shaving of the hair for a man from directly where the navel
is and below that or just around the actual private parts? and what
about the backside area?
2. i have read in some books such as noorul idah that when fasting
ifwater enters from the backside the fast breaks.how can you stop this
happening when doing istinja and ghusl?
3. if in the state of needing farz ghusl whilst fasting to what extent
must the water go in the mouth and nose so that the ghusl is done but
the fast doesnt break?
please answer asap especially as ramadhan is very close.
-
Bismillah
Al-jawab billahi at-taufeeq (the answer with Allah's guidance)
1) The area immediately under the navel is not to be shaven. The area
of shaving for a male is i.e. from around the private part, scrotum,
going towards the rectum. (Ahsanul Fataawa Vol.8 Pg.78).
2) Below, is the translated text from Hashiyatut Tahtawi Ala Maraqil
Falah commentary of Nurul Idhah,
"Whilst cleansing oneself, the person should strive to loosen the rear
orifice so that asmuch impurity as possible can be removedfrom the
anus, provided one is not fasting. The person fasting, however,should
not do so to prevent the fast from being invalid. Likewise, the person
fasting should avoid inserting a wet finger because it invalidates the
fast. Aftercleansing oneself the rear orifice should be dried before
standing. This will prevent the rearorifice from gathering water
thereby breaking the fast. It is also recommended so as to protect the
garment from being wetted with used water." (HashiyatutTahtawi Pg.48)
Thus, it is understood from the above that not to exaggerate in
cleansing the rear orificewhilst Istinja, and also Ghusl.
3) Gargling is not necessary in Ghusl, but filling and passing
waterinto the mouth is necessary and the Ghusl will be correct. In the
state of fasting you should not gargle. Also, putting water into your
nose till the cartilage (soft bone) is made wet is necessary, it
should not be exaggerated i.e. wetting beyond the cartilage.
Additionally, toexaggerate in washing both mouth and nose is Sunnah.
However, it will be Makruh if one exaggerate in washing both mouth and
nose in the state of fasting, this is similar to if one taste
something whilst fasting.

Ramadhan Articles - Ramadhan: The Month of Mercy to Muslims

Mercy is a favour from Allah which He places in the hearts of
whomsoever He wills. Verily, Allah will have mercy on His servants who
are merciful. Allah is the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful. He
loves the merciful and calls to mercy. He orders His servants to
enjoin patience and mercy. A person may lack mercy for any number of
reasons, among them, an abundance of sins and disobedience. They stain
their hearts so much so that they ultimately blindthem until their
hearts become harder than stones. Allah says of the Children of
Israel:"And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like
rocks, or even harder."(2:74).
Allah also says about them when they opposedand rebelled against the
divine law:"Then, for having broken their solemn pledge, We rejected
them and caused their hearts to harden."(5:13).
Among the things that cause a loss of mercy is arrogance with wealth
and pride with riches. Allah says:"Nay, verily, man becomes grossly
overweening whenever he believes himself to be
self-sufficient."(96:6-7).
The day the heart is disciplined with faith andgood deeds it fills
with mercy and kindness.
Another reason for the weakness of mercy is an abundance of gluttony
and saturation. They giverise to contempt and recklessness. Hence the
month of fasting was prescribed to crush this unruliness and ill
discipline. The fasting person is naturally among the most merciful
people. That is because he has tasted hunger, experienced thirst and
endured hardship. His soul is, therefore, enveloped with mercy, care
and gentleness for Muslims.
Mercy is something which every Muslim is required to render to his
brother Muslim. It is a requirement from every responsible custodian
toward those under his care. He should feel sorry for them and be
lenient toward them. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam
said:'O Allah! Whoever was entrusted with authority over any affair of
the Muslims and made it difficult for them, please make it difficult
for him. And whoever was entrusted over any affair of the Muslims and
was kind toward them, then be kind toward him.'
In a related hadith Allah'sMessenger also said:'Whoever oversees an
affair for my nation and disappeared or abandoned them without
fulfilling their needs while impoverishing them, Allah will debar him
fromhis needs and impoverishhim on the Day of Judgement.'
Mercy demands that the scholar and teacher should be gentle toward his
students and lead them to the easiest and best ways to love him and
benefit from his teachings. If he does this Allah will decree for him
the most excellent and abounding reward. Listen to the manner in which
Allah praises His Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam :'And it was by
God's grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy
followers:for if thou hadst been harsh and hard of heart, they would
indeed have broken away from thee'(3:159).
Mercy further requires from the imam that he should not make
worshipdifficult for his followers or cause them harm. On the
contrary, he should be merciful, kind and wise. The Prophet sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam said:'Whoever from you leads the people in prayer
must make it easy because among them are the old, the sick, the young
and the needy.'It was narrated that when Mu'adh once extended the
prayer the Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said to him:'Are you a
troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a
troublemaker OMu'adh?'
In the same manner, when Uthman ibn Abi al As al Thaqafi requested: 'O
Messenger of Allah, make me an imam of my people.' The Prophet
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:'You are theirimam so lead the
prayer according to the weakestof them and take a caller to prayer who
would seek no payment for doing so.'
Mercy dictates that the one who calls to Islam must advise those whom
he is inviting with tenderness. That he should, moreover, clarify
issues to them with concern. He should not hurt, defame people or even
revile the disobedient in public. Allah advised Moses and Aaron to
employ the following methods in their call to the tyrant Pharaoh:'But
speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or
[at least] be filled with apprehension'(20:44).
He also says:
'Call you [all mankind] unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and
goodly exhortation, And argue with them in the most kindly
manner'(16:125).
The eminent jurist and Islamic scholar, Imam al Shafe'e wrote:
Support me with your advice in private,
and avoid advising me in public.
Surely giving advice among the people is a kind of reproach,
which I would rather not listen to.
If you disobey and ignore my wish,
don't be saddened if you are not obeyed.
Mercy is required from a father to his children. This matter was
previously discussed in the lesson (No. 18) on how we train our
children. The mercy of the father or mother toward her children has
the greatest effect on their integrity, well-being and obedience.
Self-praise and harshness only open the door to despair. The Prophet
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:'Kindness was never bestowed upon
something except that it beautified it, and it was never removed from
that thing except that it made it ugly.'
O you who fast and causehunger to your stomach, there are thousands of
stomachs more awaiting a meal. Will there not arise from among you
those who would feed them? O you who fast and cause thirst to your
liver, there are thousandsmore who await a mouthful of water. Will
there not arise from among you those who would quench their thirst? O
you who fast and wear the finest garments, there are naked people out
there awaiting only a piece of cloth to cover their bodies. Will there
not then come forth from among you those who would clothe them?
O Allah! We implore your extended mercy that will forgive our sins and
erase our misdeeds and errors.

Ramadhan Articles - Ramadhan in History

All praises to Allah, Lord of the worlds. He who revealed in His
Glorious Qur'an,"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as
it was prescribed for those who came before you that you may keep your
duty to your Lord (havingtaqwa)."(2:185). And mayblessings and peace
of Allah be upon His last Messenger Muhammad ibn Abdullah, forever.
O you who believe, Ramadan is a sacred month wherein Almighty Allah is
constantly testing His creation and giving humanity the opportunity to
achieve infinite, endless Bliss. Fasting is a complete purification
and a means to developing the consciousness of Allah's presence. The
consciousness of Allah (Taqwa) is a protection against the schemes of
Shaitan, and the suffering of this world. Allah has informed us that,
"Whoever keeps his duty to Allah (has taqwa), He ordains a way out for
him and gives him sustenance from where he imagines not. And whoever
trusts in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah attains His
purpose. Allah has appointed a measure for everything."(65:2)
Many Muslims today havea misconception about fasting and the
activities of a fasting person. They go into a state of
semi-hibernation, spending most of their daylight hours in bad. If
they fear Allah, they wake up for prayer, but then return to sleep
immediately. This unnatural sleep makes them become lazy, dull-witted
and often cranky.
Ramadan is actually a time of increased activity wherein the believer,
now lightened of the burdens of constant eating and drinking, should
be more willing tostrive and struggle for Allah. The Prophet,
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, passed through approximately nine
Ramadans after the Hijrah. They were filled with decisive events and
left us a shining example of sacrifice and submission to Allah.
In the first year after the Hijrah, the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa
sallam, sent Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib with thirtyMuslim riders to Saif
al Bahr to investigate three hundred riders from Quraish who had
campedsuspiciously in that area. The Muslims were about to engage the
disbelievers, but they were separated by Majdy ibn Umar al-Juhany. The
Hypocrites of Madinah, hoping to oppose the unity of the Muslims,
builttheir own masjid (called Masjid ad-Dirar). The Prophet,
sallallahu `alaihiwa sallam, ordered this masjid to be destroyed
inRamadan.
On the seventeenth of Ramadan, 3 A.H., Almighty Allah separated truth
from falsehood at the Great Battle of Badr. The Prophet, sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam, and 313 of his companions set out to intercept a
caravan of their own goods that had been left in Makkah. It was led by
Abu Sufyan himself, and estimated at 50,000 dinars. They were met,
instead, by a well-equipped army of the nobility of Quraish, intent on
putting out the light of Islam. Despite being outnumbered three to one
and appearing weak and unseasoned, the Muslims defended their faith
witha burning desire to protect the Prophet and meet their Lord
through martyrdom. Allah gave them a decisive victory on this day of
Ramadan, that would never be forgotten.
In 6 A.H., Zaid ibn Harithawas sent to Wadi al-Qura at the head of a
detachment to confront Fatimah bint Rabiah, the queen of that area.
Fatimah had previously attacked a caravan led byZaid and had succeeded
in plundering its wealth. She was known to be themost protected woman
in Arabia, as she hung fifty swords of her close relatives in her
home. Fatimah was equally renowned for showing open hostility to
Islam. She was killed in a battle against these Muslims in the month
of Ramadan.
By Ramadan of 8 A.H., thetreaty of Hudaibiyya had been broken and the
Muslim armies had engaged the Byzantines in the north.
Muhammad,sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, felt the need to strike a fatal
blow to disbelief in the Arabian Peninsula and conquer the city of
Mecca. Allah has declared His Sanctuary a place of peace, security and
religious sanctity. Now the time had come to purify the Ka`bah of
nakedness and abomination. The Prophet, sallallahu `alaihiwa sallam
set out with anarmy having more armedmen than al-Madinah hadever seen
before. People were swelling the army's ranks as it moved
towardMakkah. The determination of the believers, guided by the will
of Allah, became so awesome that the city of Makkah was conquered
without a battle, on 20 Ramadan. This was one of the most important
dates in Islamic history for after it, Islam was firmly entrenched in
the Arabian Peninsula. During the same month and year, after smashing
the idols of Makkah, detachments were sent to the other major centers
of polytheism and al-Lat, Manat and Suwa, some of the greatest idols
of Arabia, were destroyed.
Such was the month of Ramadan in the time of the Prophet, sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam. It was atime of purification, enjoining the good,
forbidding the evil, and striving hard with one's life and wealth.
After the death of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, Muslims
carried on this tradition and Allah used the true believers to affect
the course of history. Ramadan continued to be a time of great trials
and crucial events.
Ninety-two years after the Hijrah, Islam had spread across North
Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. Spain was under the
tyrannical rule of King Roderic of the Visigoths. Roderic had forced
his six millions serfs and persecuted Jews to seek the aid of the
Muslims of North Africa in order to be delivered. Musa ibn Husair, the
Umayyad governor of North Africa, responded by sending hiscourageous
general Tariqibn Ziyad at the head of 12,000 Berber and Arab troops.
In Ramadan of that year, they were confronted with a combined Visigoth
army of 90,000 Christians led by Roderic himself, who was seated on a
throne of ivory, silver, and precious gems and drawn by white mules.
After burning his boats, Tariq preached to the Muslims warning them
that victory and Paradise lay ahead of them and defeat and the sea lay
to the rear. They burst forth with great enthusiasm and Allah
manifested a clear victory over the forces of disbelief. Not only was
Roderic killed and his forces completelyannihilated, but also Tariq
and Musa succeeded in liberating the whole of Spain, Sicily and parts
of France. This was the beginning of theGolden Age of Al-Andalus where
Muslims ruled for over 700 years.
In the year 582 A.H., Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, after battling with the
Crusaders for years, finally drove them out of Syria and the whole of
their occupied lands in the month of Ramadan. The Muslim world was
then destined to meet one of its most frightening challenges.
In the seventh century A.H. the Mongols were sweeping across Asia
destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called
himself "the scourge of God sent to punish humanity for their sins".
In 617 A.H., Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan were put to the sword causing
more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656
A.H.,Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued this destruction.
Even Baghdad, the leading cityof the Muslim world, was sacked. Some
estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this
awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine
openly while the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in
drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the masjids and no Azan (call to
prayer) was allowed. In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with
the threat of the whole Muslim world and then Europe being subjected
to the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt, Saifuddin
Qutz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on
25th of Ramadan, 658 A.H. Although they were under great pressure,
theMuslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching
bravery crushed the Mongol armyand reversed this tidal wave of horror.
The whole of the civilized world sighed in relief and stood in awe at
the remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam.
This was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous
forefathersto face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of
intense activity, spending the dayin the saddle and the night in
prayer while calling upon Allah for His mercy and forgiveness.
Today, the Muslim world is faced with drought, military aggression,
widespread corruption and tempting materialism. Surely we are in need
or believers who can walk in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet,
sallallahu `alaihiwa sallam, the illustrious Sahabah, Tariq ibn
Ziyad,Qutuz, Salahuddin and the countless heroes of Islam. Surely we
are in need of believers who are unafraid of the threats of the
disbelievers, yet kind andhumble to the believing people; Muslims
whose fast is complete and not just a source of hunger and thirst.
May Allah raise up a generation of Muslims who can carry Islam to
allcorners of the globe in a manner that befits our age, and may He
give us the strength and the success to lay the proper foundations for
them. May Allah make us of those who carry out our Islam during
Ramadan and after it, and may He not make us of those who say what
they do not do. Surely Allah and His Angels invoke blessings and peace
uponour Prophet Muhammad. O you who believe, send blessings and peace
to him forever.

Establish the prayers and the prize is Paradise

Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:"And when you have completed the
prayer, remember Allaah standing, sitting, or ]lying[ on your sides.
But when you become secure, re-establish]regular[ prayer. Indeed,
prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified
times."]Quran 4:103[
For forty consecutive years, Sa`eed Ibn Al-Musayyibwas to be found in
the mosque beforethe Athaan )call to prayer( was made. `Umarbecame
unconscious after he was stabbed, and according to Al-Miswar Ibn
Makhramahit was said: "Nothing would wake him up except the call to
prayer, if he is still alive." So people said to him: "The prayer has
finished, O Chief of the Believers!" He therefore awoke and said: "The
prayer! I swear by Allaah that there is no share of Islaam for whoever
abandons the prayer." He then performed the prayer while his wound was
bleeding.
After Ar-Rabee` Ibn Khaythambecame partially paralysed, he would go to
the mosque helped by two men. He was told:"O Abu Yaazeed! You have
been given permission to pray at home." He replied: "You have saidthe
truth, but I heard the caller say: 'Hayya `ala al-falah' )rush to
success(, and so I thought that whoever hears this call should answer
it, even by crawling."
'Uday Ibn Haatimsaid: "Every time the time for prayer arrives, it
finds me eager and ready to perform it )i.e. in the state of
ablution(."
Abu Bakr Ibn 'Abdullaah Al-Muzanisaid: "Who is like you, O son of
Aadam? Whenever you desire, you use water and make ablution, go to the
place of worship and thus enter the presence of your Lord )i.e. start
praying( without a translator or barrier between you and Him!"
Abu Rajaa' Al-`Ataaridisaid on his deathbed: "I am not grieved by
leaving anything behind, except that I used to bow down on my face
five times a day before my Lord, the Exalted and most Honoured."
Abul-'Aaliyahsaid: "I would travel for days to meet a man andthe first
thing I would note abouthim would be his prayer. If he was one who
established the prayer perfectly and on time, I would stay with him
and hear the knowledge he had to impart. If I found him to be careless
concerning the prayer, I would leave him and say to myself that for
things other than the prayer, he would be even more careless."
When 'Ali Ibn Al-Husaynwould perform ablution, the colour of his face
would change. His family asked him why this would always happen and he
would reply: "Do you know before Whom I am about to stand )in
prayer(?"
Yazeed Ibn 'Abdullaahwas asked: "Should we make a roof for our
mosque?" He replied:"Purify your hearts and your mosque )in its
current state( will suffice you."
'Uday Ibn Haatimsaid: "Ever since I became a Muslim, I alwaysmade sure
to have ablution whenthe Athaan is called."
'Ubayd Ibn Ja`farsaid:"I never saw my uncle Bishr Ibn Mansoor miss the
first Takbeer)that commences the congregational prayer in the mosque(,
and whenever any person stood up in our mosque to ask people for help,
he would always give him something."
Ibn Sam`ahsaid:"For forty years, I only missed the first Takbeer once,
and that was whenmy mother died. If you know of aman's disinterest in
being present in the mosque for the first Takbeer, then wash your
hands of him )i.e. know that there is no good in him(."
Sufyaan Ibn `Uyaynahsaid:"Honouring the prayer includes arriving
before the Iqaamah )the call that establishes the prayer( iscalled."
Maymoon Ibn Mahraanwas once delayed from coming to the mosque on time.
When he did eventually arrive, he was told that the people had already
concluded the prayer:"We all belong to Allaah and to Him shall be our
return! I value the congregational prayer more than being made
governor of Iraq," helamented.
Yoonus Ibn 'Abdullaahsaid:"What is the matter with me? If I lose a
mere chicken I feel concerned, but when I miss a prayer in
congregation it does not grieve me!"
`Umaronce said while standing on the pulpit: "A man may have white
hair in Islam )i.e. reach old age while being Muslim(, but has not yet
completed even a single prayer for Allaah the Exalted!" He was asked:
"Why is that?" He replied:"Because he does not perfect the prayer's
required Khushoo`)solemness( and fails to be attentive to Allaah with
his heart."
Hammaad Ibn Salamahsaid:"I have never stood up for prayerwithout
imagining that the Hellfire is before my eyes."
Mu`aath Ibn Jabaladvised his son saying:"My son! Pray the prayer of he
who is just about to leave this world, and imagine that you may never
be able to pray again. Know that the believer dies between two good
deeds: one that he has just performed, and the other that heintended
to perform next."
Bakr Al-Muzanisaid:"If you want your prayer to be of benefit to you
then say to yourself prior to it that you may not have the chance to
perform another prayer.'"
Shubrumahsaid:"We once accompanied Qarz Al-Haarithi on a journey;
whenever we would camp down in an area, he would scan it with his eyes
and when hefound a good piece of land that he liked, he would go to it
and pray there until it was time for usto leave."
Al-Qaasim Ibn Muhammadsaid:"Whenever I went out in themorning, I would
visit )my aunt( `Aa'ishahand greet her. One day, I found her
performing the Dhuhaa prayer and reciting the following verse from the
Quran repeatedly, while crying and invoking Allaah )which means(:"So
Allaah conferred favour upon us and protected us from the punishment
of the Scorching Fire."]Quran 52:27[ I stood there until I felt weary,
then I left and went to the marketplace, telling myself that I would
return to her when I finish. Later, when I did return to her, I found
her still standing in prayer, reciting the same verse, and crying and
invoking Allaah.'"
Maymoon Ibn Hayyaansaid:"I never saw Muslim Ibn Yasaar turn his head
while praying, whether the prayer was short or long. Once, a part of
the mosque collapsed while he was praying inthe mosque and the noise
causedpeople who were as far away as the market to be terrified, but
he felt no fear whatsoever and continued praying without even moving
his head." Healso said:"I accompanied `Ataa' Ibn Rabaah for eighteen
years. When he became old and weak, he would stand in prayer and read
close to two hundred verses fromChapter Al-Baqarah while standing so
firmly that no part ofhim would move."
Abu Bakr Ibn 'Ayyaashsaid:"If you saw Habeeb Ibn Abu Thaabit while in
prostration, you would think that he was dead due to its extended
length."
'Ali Ibn Al-Fudhaylsaid:"I saw Ath-Thawri go into prostration while
praying, and I performed Tawaaf)circumambulation( around the House
)i.e., the Ka'bah( seven times before he raised his head from
prostration."
'Uthmaan Ibn Abi Dahrashsaid:"I never performed a prayer without
invoking Allaah afterwards to forgive me for falling into shortcomings
in the way I performed it."
Mu`aawiyah Ibn Murrahsaid:"I lived among seventy of the companions of
the Prophetand had they lived among you today, they would not
recognise any of your acts except the Athaan!" Healso said:"If a man
from our predecessors was resurrected among you today, the only thing
he would recognise would be your Qiblah)prayer direction(."
When Haatim Al-Asammwasasked about his prayer, he replied:"When the
time for prayer draws near, I perform a perfect ablution, go to where
I will pray and sit there until I am fully cognisant of what I am
about to do. Then, I stand up andpray, imagining that the Ka`bah is in
front of my eyes, Paradise to my right, Hell to my left and the Angel
of Death behind me. I imagine that it is the last prayer Iwill ever
perform; I stand up in hope of Allaah, His Paradise and His rewards,
and in fear of Allaah's torment in the Hellfire. I then say the
Takbeer while having full attention. I recite the Quran calmly, bow
humbly, prostrate with humility and attentiveness and then sit on my
left leg, with my left foot laid on the floor and the right foot
raisedup - all the while praying with sincerity. Afterwards, I have no
certainty about whether that prayer was accepted from me or not."
One of our pious predecessorssaid:"O son of Aadam! You need your share
of this life, but your need of the Hereafter is far greater. If you
take care of your share of this life then you will lose your share of
the Hereafter, and you will very soon lose your share of this life,
too. But if you take care of your share of the Hereafter then you will
also win your full share of this life with ease."
Talq Ibn Habeebsaid:"Allaah's rights are greater than the slave's
capacity and ability to fulfil them. Therefore, reach everymorning in
a state of repentance and every night also in a state of repentance."