Errors and Innovations in Hajj - I

·Some men uncover their right shoulders as soon as they
assumeIhraam)the sacral state(.This is incorrect and should only be
done during theTawaaf)circumambulation( of arrival for'Umrah.
·Some people think thatIhraamis initiated by donning the clothes
ofIhraam, when in fact it is initiated by the intention in one's
heart. Therefore, wearing the clothes ofIhraamis actually the physical
preparation forIhraam.
·Some women mistakenly think that theirIhraamclothes should be of a
certain color, such as white or green, and this is incorrect. A woman
can wear her regular clothes, as long as they are within defined
Islamic limits, and she must avoid adornment or clothes that are tight
or transparent. This kind of garment is prohibited anyway at all
times.
·Men praying wearing the lower garment ofIhraamonly, which is wrong
because the Prophet,, said:"Let not any of you pray with a garment
which does not cover his shoulders."]Al-Bukhaari, Muslim[
·Shaving the beard when assumingIhraamis an act that is prohibited at all times.
·Some people believe that once they wear the clothes ofIhraamthey are
prohibited from removing them, even if they become dirty; when in fact
they can change or wash it.
·CollectiveTalbiyah.
·Combining the prayers in Mina when they are only permitted to shorten them.
·Not exerting extra effort in reciting the Quran and worshipping
Allaah The Almighty, when this is the place where they are supposed to
exert these extra efforts.
·Not spending the night in Mina on the night of the eighth
ofThul-Hijjahwithout a legitimate excuse.
·Some pilgrims choose a place to stay in without first finding out
whether they are inside or outside the boundary of 'Arafaatalthough
there are signs clearly indicating the boundaries of 'Arafaat.Standing
within the boundaries of 'Arafaat is a pillar without whichHajjis
incomplete; and the area calledWaadi 'Arunahis not within the
boundaries.
·Some people leave 'Arafaat before sunset, which is not permitted.
·Some people struggle to climb the mount, believing that it holds
certain virtues, which, according to them, makes it mandatory to climb
it - this has not been reported as being a practice of the Prophet,.
·Some people face the direction of the mountain of'Arafaatduring their
supplications, which is a mistake; theSunnah)Prophetic tradition( is
that they must face theQiblah.
·Some pilgrims waste time on that day in joking and idle chatter, and
abandoning supplications and the remembrance of Allaah The Almighty on
this great day.
·Many pilgrims take cameras and use them to shoot pictures of the
rituals, which is not what a pilgrim should be doing.
·Not making sure that the direction of the prayer is towards
theQiblahbefore prayingMaghrib, 'Ishaa'orFajr: it is compulsory to ask
anyone who knows the direction and to face it while praying.
·Some people collect their stones for stoning theJamaraatas soon as
they arrive in Muzdalifah and before offering
theirMaghriband'Ishaa'prayers, thinking that this is permitted. In
fact theSunnahis to collect them after leaving Muzdalifah as one heads
towards Mina, although it is permissible to collect the pebbles from
anywhere.
·Some people do not make sure that they are spending the night within
the boundaries of Muzdalifah.
·Delaying theMaghriband'Ishaa'prayer until after midnight: this is prohibited.
·Some people leave Muzdalifah before midnight without spending the
night there and without having a legitimate excuse; although this is a
compulsory rite ofHajj.
·Some people leaveMuzdalifah and head towards Mina even before
theFajrprayer, although they are strong and healthy and have no excuse
to leave early, as the weak or sick might.
·Staying up all night praying and remembering Allaah The Almighty, or
reciting the Qur'aan, which contradicts theSunnah.
·Delaying theFajrprayer close to sunset or later.
·Sleeping after prayingFajr.
·People rushing out with their cars harming others and perhaps even
causing accidents.
·Some people do not make sure whether their stones fall into the
stoning plate or not.
·Some people authorise others to stone on their behalf, which is only
permissible for people totally incapable of stoning due to sickness or
other valid reasons )such as for the elderly, women and children(.
·Some people use slippers or huge rocks to stone with.
·Some people say,"O Allaah! I stone to enrage Satan and please You."
To be continued …

Errors and Innovations in Hajj – II

… Continued
·Supplicating after stoning the bigJamarah.
·Some people think that they are actually stoning Satan and that he is
there physically, and start giving Satanic names to each of the
threeJamaraat. This is incorrect and is not permitted.
·Wasting the meat of the sacrificial animal after slaughtering it,
even though it is possible to distribute it amongst the poor.
·Running and uncovering the right shoulder )for men( duringTawaaf
Al-Ifaadhah, while this should only be done during the firstTawaaf.
·Some people push, shove and harm others in order to kiss the Black
Stone, they may even abuse others or hit them. This is not suitable
behavior for such a place, and Allaah The Almighty Says )what
means(:}Hajj is )during( well known months, so whoever has made hajj
obligatory upon himself therein )by entering the state of ihram(,
there is )to be for him( no sexual relations and no disobedience and
no disputing during Hajj{]Quran, 2: 197[
·Some people believe that the Black Stone benefits on its own and they
touch it with their hands then rub their bodies with them. This is
ignorance, because Allaah The Almighty alone is the One who benefits,
and 'Umar,said while he was touching it,"I know that you are merely a
stone which neither harms nor benefits, and had it not been that I saw
the Prophet,kissing you I would not have kissed you."
·Some people touch all corners of theKa'bah,and all four of its
walls.This is incorrect; theSunnah)Prophetic tradition( is to only
touch the corner which contains the Black Stone and Yemeni Corner.
·Kissing the Yemeni Corner when one is only supposed to touch it with
the hand if possible or else pass it without uttering"Allaahu Akbar"or
doing anything else.
·Some people commit to certain supplications duringTawaaf.
·Some people recite supplications aloud so that others can
collectively repeat after them. This is incorrect, because it disturbs
others around them and contradicts theSunnah.
·Some people push others in order to pray behind the station of
Ibraaheem.It is permissible to pray the twoRak'ahsafterTawaafanywhere
in the mosque.
·Some people recite the Quran for a long time during the
twoRak'ahsafterTawaaf, then raise their hands and supplicate.
·Some people performTawaafas a group while holding each other's hands,
thus make things extremely difficult for others trying to
performTawaaf.
·It is not permissible to go inside the semi-circular wall that begins
at the corner after the black stone, because this area is considered
as being inside theKa'bah. If this is done then one must repeat the
current circuit.
·Combining prayers in Mina.
·Not spending the night in Mina.
·Abandoning supplications after stoning the first twoJamaraat.
·Some people stone during times other than those designated for
stoning, which starts when the sun reaches its zenith.
·Some people think that they are actually stoning Satan and that he is
there physically, so they shout and scream. We must remember that this
rite was legislated so as to establish the remembrance of Allaah The
Almighty, and this is why the Prophet,, used to utter"Allaahu
Akbar"after each pebble.
·Supplicating after stoning the last one of the threeJamaraat.
·Some people do not stone the threeJamaraatin the correct sequence.
·Some people throw all pebbles at once, which is a serious mistake
that necessitates that they must re-throw, as the scholars have
said,"If someone throws all pebbles in one go, it will count as one
pebble only. One should throw only one pebble at a time."
·Some people authorise others to throw on their behalf whilst being
capable of doing it themselves, and this contradicts the command of
Allaah The Almighty for fulfilling the rites ofHajj.
·Some people authorise others to stone on their behalf and then return
to their countries without spending the nights in Mina during the days
ofTashreeq, and without stoning.
·Some people go from Minaon the day they are returning to their
countries of residence and perform the farewellTawaaf,they then return
to Mina and stone the last day's threeJamaraat.By doing so, they have
not made the farewellTawaafthe last act that they have performed.

Hijrah: Resilience and resolve

It was 1430 years ago when Prophet Muhammadand his faithful
Companionsembarked on a journey that changed not only their future,
but the face of history as well. Finally, the Muslims found a place
where they can be free from the arrogance, discrimination and torture
of the Pagan Arabs of Makkah and safely worship Allaah, the God of
Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may Allaah exalt their mention,
without fear of persecution.
This incident of Hijrah )Hegira(, as it came to be known, marks one of
the most significant milestones in human history, the beginning of a
great religion and civilization. In just a few decades after Hijrah,
Muslims were able to establish an Ummah )state( that had more races
and ethnicities and larger geographical areas than any previous
civilization. In this state, those who had become Muslims, as well as
those who kept their Christian or Jewish beliefs, enjoyed a justice
and peace unmatched under any other nation. The great purpose those
Muslims espoused and the astounding results they achieved, testify to
the divinity and truthfulness of the teaching of Islam. So significant
the Hijrah was for the Muslims they made it the starting point for
their Lunar Calendar, which begins with the current month, the month
of Muharram.
The word Hijrah is a Quranic term that has a set of active meanings,
all of which are important for us to remember and think about,
especially since our Ummah is clearly lacking in leadership as well as
its connection to the true teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. Hijrah
means to emigrate, to depart, to turn away from, and to quit, both in
the abstract and physical sense of the words. Hijrah is to change and
reform. These meanings were unambiguous in the main Hijrah incident.
Not only did the early Muslims leave their homes and towns, they also
gave up many of their beliefs and habits and replaced them with the
way of Islam.
To the early Muslims making the Hijrah meant giving up:
1.All forms of paganism and polytheism and believing in the One Allaah Alone.
2.Enslaving one another, and fully submitting to the Will of Allaah,
the Almighty, in servitude, and respecting one another, thus achieving
peace and happiness.
3.The superstition and the confusing ways of ignorance, and seeking
knowledge and guidance in the teachings that free the spirit and
respect the mind.
4.Fighting over resources and living in endless state of division and
discord, to abiding by the law, working for the common good and
achieving unity and harmony.
Hijrah replaced their fear with hope, their aimlessness with purpose,
and their statelessness with freedom and confidence in the future.
They rose to the challenges of life. They built Mosques for worship
and schools for education. And to insure freedom, peace and justice
for all people living in the Madeenah )Muslims, Jews and Christians as
well as others( the Prophetput together a constitution to establish
the intercommunity and interfaith relations, which was accepted by all
parties.
There are many aspects to the Hijrah that deserve discussion, but the
greatest lessons we should learn from it are that Muslims must do
their best to bring security and goodness to whatever land they live
in, and that they should not give up trying to achieve this goal. Our
history is full of examples showing that our Ummah managed to rise
every time it fell.

Dought & clear, - Who is obliged to offer the udhiyah (sacrifice)? Is being male one of the conditions?

Who is obliged to offer the udhiyah (sacrifice)? Is it permissible for
a housewife who has an income to offer the udhiyah?
Praise be to Allah.
The scholars differed concerning the ruling on offering the udhiyah:
is it obligatory, such that the one who does not do it is sinning, or
is it a confirmed Sunnah, such that it is makrooh (disliked) not to do
it? The correct view is that it is a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah
mu'akkadah). This has been discussed previously in the answer to
question no. 36432
In order for it to be obligatory or Sunnah to offer the udhiyah, it is
stipulated that the one who offers it should be independent of means,
in that the price of the udhiyah is surplus to his needs and the needs
of those on whom he spends. If a Muslim has a salary that comes to him
every month, and this salary is sufficient for him and he has surplus
money which which he can afford the price of the udhiyah, then in his
case it is prescribed for him to offer the udhiyah.
The fact that it is stipulated that he should be independent of means
is indicated by the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him):"Whoever can afford it but does not offer a sacrifice,
let him not come near our prayer-place."Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3123;
classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Ibn Maajah. What is meant by
being able to afford it is being independent of means.
The udhiyah is prescribed for the members of the household, because
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The
people of each household should offer an udhiyah every year." Narrated
by Ahmad, 20207. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said inFath al-Baari: Its isnaad
is qawiy. It was classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Sunan Abi
Dawood, 2788.
There is no difference between men and women in this regard. If a
woman is living on her own or with her children, then they should
offer the udhiyah.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(5/81):
Being male is not a condition of it being obligatory or sunnah to
offer the udhiyah; as it is required of males it is also required of
females, because the evidence for it being obligatory or Sunnah
applies to everyone.
End quote. See:al-Majmoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 5/79-81
And Allah knows best.