Not everyone is suitable to be your friend...

1 - Allah Said:

{"Ah! Woe to me! If only I had never taken so-and-so as a friend! He indeed led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me!"}

[al-Furqan; 28-29]


2 - The Messenger of Allah said:

"A person is upon the way of his friend. So, let one of you look to whom he keeps as a friend."

['Sahih al-Jami'' (3545) and 'as-Silsilah as-Sahihah' (927)]


3 - 'Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hambal said:

"My father went out to Tarsus on foot, and he perfored two or three Hajjs on foot, and he was the most patient of people upon being alone."

['Tarjamat al-Imam Ahmad'; p. 18]


4 - Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi said:

"Know that not everyone is suitable to be your friend. You must verify that this potential friend has the neccessary characteristics that make friendship with him something to be desired. The one you seek to befriend must have five characteristics:

• He must be intelligent, as there is no good in befriending an idiot, as he will only harm you when he wants to benefit you. By intelligent, we mean one who understands things as they are, either on his own, or if they are explained to him;

• He must have good manners, and this is a must. One who is simply intelligent might be overcome by anger or desire, and obey his desire. Thus, there would be no benefit in befriending him;

• He must not be a fasiq, as such a person would not fear Allah, and whoever does not fear Allah cannot be trusted;

• He must not be an innovator, as his abundance of innovation is feared from befriending him;

• He should not be eager for the dunya."

['Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin'; p. 126-132]



5 - Ibn al-Qayyim said:

"Know that the greatest of losses is for you to be preoccupied with one who will bring you nothing but a loss in your time with Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - and being cut off from Him, a wasting your time with the person, a weakening of your energy, and the dispersing of your resolve. So, if you are tested with this - and you must be tested with this - deal with him according to how Allah would wish, and be patient with him as much as possible. Get closer to Allah and His Pleasure by way of this person, and make your getting together with him something to benefit from, not something to incur a loss from. Be with him as if you are a man who is on a road who was stopped by another man, who then asks you to take him on your journey. Make sure that you are the one who gives him a ride, and that he is not the one giving you the ride. If he refuses, and there is nothing to gain from travelling with him, do not stop for him, bid him farewell, and do not even turn back to look at him, as he is a highway robber, regardless of who he really is.

So, save your heart, be wary of how you spend your days and nights, and do not let the Sun set before you arrive at your destination."

['al-Wabil as-Sayyib'; p. 45]


6 - Ibn Jama'ah said:

"So, it is upon the student of knowledge to abandon socialization, as abandoning it is from the most important things that the student of knowledge must do - let alone with members of the opposite gender - especially with those who spend most of their time in play, and spend little of their time in thought, as the nature of individuals can rob you.

The harms of socialization include the passing of life without any benefit, as well as the decline of wealth and religious practice, if this socialization were to occur with the wrong people.

The student of knowledge should not mix except with either those who he can benefit, or can benefit from. And if he is offered the friendship of one who will waste his time with him, will not benefit him, will not benefit from him, and will not assist him in reaching his objective, he should politely end the relationship from the start before it progresses to something deeper, as when something becomes established, it becomes more difficult to change it. There is a phrase that is constantly on the tongues of the Fuqaha': 'Repelling something is easier than removing it.'

So, if he requires someone to befriend, let that person be righteous, religious, pious, wary, intelligent, full of benefit, having little evil, good at complying, rarely conflicting, reminding him if he forgets, cooperating with him when he is reminded, helpful if he is in need, and comforting if he is in distress."

['Tadhkirat as-Sami' wal-Mutakallim'; p. 83]


[Adapted from: Know that not everyone is suitable to be your friend]


There's the saying, "You'll never walk alone." Do note that only a true friend would say that to you. However, do also note that at times, you'll be walking alone..

Shaykh Yahyaa al-Hajooree on Al-Qaradaawee

The student of Shaykh Muqbil al-Waadi'ee (rahimahullaah), Shaykh Yahyaa bin 'Alee al-Hajooree (hafizahullaah) said of Dr Yoosuf al-Qaradaawee:

"When we finished, the lecture that took place after mine was to be given by Al-Qaradaawee. Behold all of these shaven faces and women wearing pants, exposing themselves came in, from among the Ikhwaan al-Muslimeen and the Suroorees. They came to hear the lecture of Al-Qaradaawee in the auditorium. They came and filled the auditorium, which had the vastness of our masjid here.

All praise be to Allaah, as soon as we finished giving our lecture, we departed. We did not sit to witness the false speech, but he stayed there giving his lecture. And I saw him while he was walking - he was wearing a garment (thawb) that was below his ankles and he had a trimmed beard and an evil face.

And he was giving them false and evil fataawaa (verdicts). An example of this is when a group of questions came to him. One of them complained about his fatwaa in which he said: "Our Christian brothers - we must work with them and love them." And he mentioned proof for this using Allaah's saying:

لاَ إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ

"There is no compulsion in the Religion (Islaam)" [Surah al-Baqarah: 256] and His saying:

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

"For you is your Religion and for me is mine" [Surah al-Kaafiroon: 6] and so on. And he was calling to the unifications of the religions in England.


[Extracted from My Experiences in Great Britain (pages 31-32) by Abu 'Abdir-Rahmaan Yahyaa bin 'Alee al-Hajooree, translated by Abu Maryam Isma'eel Alarcon, published by Al-Ibaanah Book Publishing, USA.]

Attitude of our scholars towards al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar and al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on them)

Question:
An Islamic scholar in my town said Imam Ibn Hajar & Imam Nawawi are innovators, citing some evidences from Fath ul Baari to justify his stands. An example he gave is that Imam Ibn Hajar did some explanations to the saying that Allah has Face, describing it as mercy etc. Please what is your stands?

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah are fair-minded in judging others; they do not regard people more highly than they deserve and they do not undermine their position. Part of being fair-minded is recognizing mistakes made by scholars and virtuous people, but also thinking positively of the person and praying for mercy for him. Another part of being fair-minded is warning against his mistakes lest anyone be confused by his status into following him in his error. Ahl al-sunnah would not hesitate to judge the one who goes against the Sunnah deliberately as being an innovator and misguided.

In recent times there have been those who criticized Imam Ibn Hajar and Imam al-Nawawi, and ruled them to be misguided innovators! In some cases this folly has reached such an extent that they said that their books, Fath al-Baari and Sharh Muslim, should be burned!

This does not mean that they did not make some mistakes with regard to some issues of sharee’ah, especially with regard to the attributes of Allaah, may He be exalted. Our scholars have commented on these errors, explained them and refuted then, but at the same time they prayed for forgiveness for them, praised them when they deserved it, prayed for them, and advised others to benefit from their books. This is the fair-mindedness for which Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah are known, unlike those who judged them to be misguided innovators and called for their books to be burned, and unlike those who quoted their words as evidence as if they were revealed words and regarded what they said as truth concerning which there is no doubt. We will quote what we can of our scholars’ words so that the Muslim can judge fairly and with knowledge about these two imams.

1 – The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:

What is our attitude concerning the scholars who interpreted the attributes of Allaah in a way different from the apparent meaning, such as Ibn Hajar, al-Nawawi, Ibn al-Jawzi and others. Do we regard them as imams of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah or what? Do we say that they were mistaken in their interpretation or that they were misguided in that?

They replied:

Our attitude towards Abu Bakr al-Baaqillaani, al-Bayhaqi, Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Jazwi, Abu Zakariya’ al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar and others like them who interpreted some of the attributes of Allaah in a way different from the apparent meaning, or referred the matter to Allaah and did not discuss it, is that in our opinion they are major Muslim scholars by whose knowledge Allaah benefited the ummah; may Allaah bestow abundant mercy upon them and reward them greatly on our behalf. They are among Ahl al-Sunnah in that in which their opinions were in accordance with the views of Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) and the imams of the salaf in the first three generations, to whose goodness the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) bore witness, and they were mistaken in their interpretation of the texts which speak of the divine attributes and they differed from the salaf of the ummah and the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah (may Allaah have mercy on them), whether that has to do with attributes connected to the Essence of Allaah or attributes connected to His actions, or some of that. End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (3/241).

2 –Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:

With regard to the scholars who made some mistakes about ‘aqeedah (basic tenets of faith), such as the divine names and attributes, and others, we come across their names in the university when studying. What is the ruling on praying for mercy for them?

Shaykh: Such as whom?

Questioner: al-Zamakhshari, al-Zarkashi and others.

Shaykh: al-Zamakhshari with regard to what?

Question: With regard to the divine names and attributes.

He replied:

Whatever the case, there are people who belong to a specific group whose ideas are based on innovation, such as the Mu’tazilah for example, among whom is al-Zamakhshari. Al-Zamakhshari was a Mu’tazili and he described those who affirm the divine attributes as likening Allaah to His creation, and he regarded them as having gone astray, so he was a Mu’tazili. Hence the one who wants to study his book al-Khashshaaf, which is a commentary on the Qur’aan, must be careful about what he says concerning the divine attributes, but with regard to eloquence and literary style he is good and one may benefit a great deal from his book. But it is dangerous for the one who does not know anything about the divine names and attributes. But there are scholars who are known to be good and who did not belong to any specific group of innovators, but in some of their words there are some of the ideas of innovators, such as Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani and al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on them). Some foolish people malign them completely in all aspects. I was even told that some people say that Fath al-Baari should be burned because Ibn Hajar was an Ash’ari. This is not correct. As far as I know, there is no one who served Islam in the field of hadeeth as these two men did. I believe that Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, has accepted their work, and the evidence for that is that their work is widely accepted by the people, the seekers of knowledge and even the common people. Nowadays the book Riyaadh al-Saaliheen is read in every gathering and it is read in every mosque, and the people benefit from it greatly. I wish that Allaah would make one of my books like that; everyone benefits from it in his home and in his mosque. So how can it be said of these two that they were misguided innovators and it is not permissible to pray for mercy for them or to read their books, or that Fath al-Baari and Sharh Saheeh Muslim should be burned?! SubhaanAllaah.

Who could have served Islam and the Muslims as these two men did unless Allaah willed it, so I say: May Allaah forgive al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani, and those like them through whom Allaah benefits Islam and the Muslims. Say Ameen to that. End quote.

Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (43/question no. 9).

3 – Shaykh Saalih ibn Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) was asked:

There has arisen a difference of opinion among seekers of knowledge about the definition of the innovator. Some of them say that he is the one who says or does bid’ah, even if no proof is established against him, and some of them say that it is essential to establish proof against him, and some differentiate between the scholar who is a mujtahid and those whose principles are contrary to those of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah. Among these opinions is the view that Ibn Hajar and al-Nawawi were innovators and that we should not pray for mercy for them.

He replied:

Firstly: It is not appropriate for beginner seekers of knowledge or others of the common folk to dabble in labelling people as innovators or evildoers, because that is a serious matter and they have no knowledge or understanding of it. Moreover this stirs up enmity and resentment among them. What they should do is focus on seeking knowledge, and refrain from speaking of that in which there is no benefit, and which is in fact harmful to them and others.

Secondly: Innovation (bid’ah) is that which has been introduced into Islam that is not part of it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari. If he does something that is contrary to Islam out of ignorance, then he is excused for his ignorance, and he is not judged to be an innovator, but his action is still regarded as an innovation.

Thirdly: If a person makes some mistakes in ijtihaad that are similar to the mistakes of other scholars, such as Ibn Hajar and al-Nawawi, and what they said concerning the interpretation of the divine attributes in a manner other than their apparent meaning, he is not to be judged as an innovator, rather we should say that these are mistakes that they made, but we hope that they will be forgiven because of the great services that they performed for the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for they are great imams who are trusted by the scholars. End quote.

Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan (2/211, 212; question no. 181).

4 – Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani and others of their ilk, it is wrong to say that they were innovators. I know that they were Ash’aris but they did not intend to go against the Qur’aan and Sunnah, rather they were confused and thought that they following the Ash’ari creed and their confusion stemmed from two things:

1 – They thought that Imam al-Ash’ari said that, when in fact he only said that in the past and later recanted.

2 – They thought that these views were correct but they were not correct. End quote.

From tape no. 666 Man huwa al-kaafir wa man huwa al-mubtadi’

May Allaah have mercy on these two imams, al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar, and forgive them for their mistakes.

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A

[Adapted from: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=107645&ln=eng
Adaptation done with respects to grammars, fonts, paragraphing, etc.]

Ruling on celebrating non-Muslim holidays and congratulating them

Question:

Can a Muslim celebrate a non Muslim holiday like Thanksgiving?

Answer:

Praised be to Allaah.

Greeting the kuffar on Christmas and any other religious holidays of theirs is haram, by consensus, as Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah: “Congratulating the kuffar on the rituals that belong only to them is haram by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival’ and so on. If the one who says this has been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden. It is like congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and so on. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do not realize the offensiveness of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person for his disobedience or bid’ah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah.”

Congratulating the kuffar on their religious festivals is haram to the extent described by Ibn al-Qayyim because it implies that one accepts or approves of their rituals of kufr, even if one would not accept those things for oneself. But the Muslim should not accept the rituals of kufr or congratulate anyone else for them, because Allaah does not accept any of that at all, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief for his slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you…” [Az-Zumar 39:7]

“..This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion…” [Al-Maa’idah 5:3]

So congratulating them is forbidden, whether they are one’s colleagues at work or otherwise.

If they greet us on the occasion of their festivals, we should not respond because these are not our festivals, and because they are not festivals which are acceptable to Allaah. These festivals are innovations in their religions, and even those which may have been prescribed formerly have been abrogated by the religion of Islaam, with which Allaah has sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the whole of mankind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Whoever seeks the religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter, he will be one of the losers.” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

It is haraam for a Muslim to accept invitations on such occasions because this is worse than congratulating them as it implies taking part in their celebrations.

Similarly, Muslims are forbidden to imitate the kuffaar by having parties on such occasions, or exchanging gifts, or giving out sweets or food, or taking time off work, etc, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said in his book Iqtidaa’ as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem Mukhaalifat Ashaab al-Jaheem: “Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that one is pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to humiliate and mislead the weak.”

Whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner, whether he does it out of politeness or to be friendly, or because he is too shy to refuse, or for whatever other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islaam and because it makes the kuffaar feel proud of their religion.

Allaah is the One Whom we ask to make the Muslims feel proud of their religion, to help them adhere steadfastly to it, and to make them victorious over their enemies, for He is Strong and Omnipotent.

(Majmoo’ah Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 3/369)

[Adapted from: http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=947&ln=eng]

For other related fatwas/articles on participating in non-muslim religious celebrations, go to: http://www.islamqa.com/ln/php/the_file.php?ln=eng]

Extravagance with regard to food

Ahaadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which criticize extravagance with regard to food

Question:
How authentic are the two following ahadeeth:
Narrated by A’esha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: “the first calamity for this nation after the prophet’s death is fullness of their stomachs; when their stomachs became full, they became obese and their hearts weakened and their desires became wild” Bukhari.
The prophet advised us not to eat everything we desire to eat. Narrated by Anas ben Malik, may Allah be pleased with him that the prophet said: “it is extravagance that one eats whatever he desire” Ibn majah.
Is there anything that forbids one to eat a lot, or not to be able to control how much he eats? Any hadeeth, verse, or a book about prohibiting extravagance in foods, or about the prophet’s way regarding foods and eating.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Gluttony is one of the greatest sins that lead to doom and it causes many diseases and sicknesses, both spiritual and physical, because it leads to sexual desire, then the desire for status and wealth in order to fulfil the first two desires. Then that generates spiritual diseases such as showing off, destructive envy (hasad), boastfulness and arrogance because of being focused on worldly matters. In most cases that leads to evil and immorality, all of it because of this desire. The Arabs of old said: The stomach is the home of disease and restraint is the basis of the remedy.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al‑Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)”

[al-A’raaf 7:31]

The Sunnah encourages moderation in eating, and strongly criticizes extravagance.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one third with drink and one third with air.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2380); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2265).

It was narrated that Naafi’ said: Ibn ‘Umar used not to eat until a poor man was brought to eat with him. I brought a man in to eat with him and he ate a great deal. He said: O Naafi’, do not let this man enter upon me, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The kaafir eats in seven intestines.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5393) and Muslim (2060).

Al-Nawawi said, commenting on this hadeeth (14/25):

The scholars said: What the hadeeth means is to be content wit little in this world and encouraging asceticism and contentment, in addition to the fact that eating little is a good characteristic, and eating a great deal is the opposite. As for the words of Ibn ‘Umar concerning the poor man who ate a great deal in his presence, “Do not let him enter upon me,” he only said that because he was behaving like a kaafir, and if a person is behaves like a kaafir it is makrooh to mix with him unnecessarily; moreover, the amount that this man ate could had fed a number of people. End quote.

We have quoted other ahaadeeth on this topic elsewhere on our site; please see question no. 71173.

Secondly:

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) has summed up for us the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with regard to food and drink, which he derived from the saheeh ahaadeeth. He says in Zaad al-Ma’aad (1/147):

Similarly the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not to reject what was available, and not to go out of his way to seek that which was not available. No good food was brought to him but he ate it, unless he had no appetite for it, in which case he left it but did not forbid it. He never criticized any food. If he wanted it he ate it, otherwise he would leave it, as he refrained from eating lizard meat because he was not used to it, but he did not forbid it to the ummah. He ate sweets and honey, which he liked. He ate camel meat, mutton, chicken, bustard, onager, rabbit and seafood. He ate grilled meat and both fresh and dry dates. … He did not refuse good food, and he did not go out of his way to seek it, rather he would eat what was available, but if it was not available he would be patient, and he would tie a stone to his stomach because of hunger. Three new moons in a row would be sighted, and no cooking fire would be lit in his house. End quote.

Thirdly:

The scholars have mentioned the benefits of moderation in food and not being extravagant. These include:

1 – Purity of heart, mental alertness and deep insight. Satiety generates stupidity and blinds the heart. Hence the proverb says “The one whose stomach is hungry will become able to think deeply and his intelligence will honed.”

2 – Humility and the loss of pride, joy and insolence, which are the foundation of tyranny and neglect of Allaah.

3 – One does not forget the wrath and punishment of Allaah, or the people who are afflicted by calamity. For the one who has his fill forgets the one who is hungry and he forgets hunger, but the one who is smart does not see someone else afflicted by a calamity but he is reminded of calamity in the Hereafter.

4 – One of the greatest benefits is that it puts an end to all sinful desires, and brings control over the self that is inclined towards evil, because the source of all sins is desires and energy, and the fuel for energy and desires is food. Dhu’l-Noon said: I never ate my fill but I sinned or thought of sinning.

5 – Warding off sleep and being able to stay up. For the one who eats a lot will drink a lot, and the one who drinks a lot will sleep a lot. Sleeping a lot wastes one’s time and causes one to miss out on tahajjud; it makes one slow and hardens the heart. Time is the most precious gift and it is the person’s capital, but sleep is death and sleeping too much shortens one’s life.

6 – Physical health and warding off disease, which is caused by eating too much and mixing foods in the stomach. The doctors say that gluttony is the cause of disease and restraint leads to a cure.

Summarized from Ihya’ ‘Uloom al-Deen (3/103-104).

Fourthly:

With regard to the ahaadeeth mentioned in the question, none of them are saheeh.

The first hadeeth:

‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The first calamity for this ummah after the death of its Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will be satiety, for when people’s stomachs are full, their bodies will grow fat, and their hearts will become weakened and their desires will grow wild.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Du’afa’ – as attributed to him by al-Dhahabi in Meezaan al-I’tidaal (3/335). Also narrated by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya in al-Joo’ (no. 22).

Narrated via Ghassaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Azdi al-Mawsili, who said: Hamzah al-Basri told us, from Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah, from his father, from ‘Aa’ishah.

I say: This isnaad is da’eef jiddan (very weak) because of Ghassaan ibn ‘Ubayd, in whose biography in Lisaan al-Mizaan (4/418) it says: Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: We wrote from him, then he came to us here then I burned what I wrote from him. Ibn ‘Adiyy said: The weakness in his hadeeth is obvious. According to a report from Yahya ibn Ma’een, it is da’eef. … Then he counted the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah that we have as being munkar. End quote.

Hence Shaykh al-Albaani said in Da’eef al-Targheeb (1239): It is munkar mawqoof. End quote.

Note: In the question this hadeeth is attributed to al-Bukhaari, and this is a serious mistake, because saying that a report “was narrated by al-Bukhaari” usually means that it is from his Saheeh, but al-Bukhaari wrote many other books, in which he narrated ahaadeeth with their isnaads, but they are not necessarily saheeh, such as his book al-Du’afa’ al-Sagheer, which has been printed, and al-Du’afa’ al-Kabeer, which was mentioned by Ibn al-Nadeem and Brockelmann in Tareekh al-Adab (p. 65), and which still exists in the library of Patna in India. If it so happened that al-Bukhaari narrated a hadeeth in any of his books apart from al-Saheeh, which is the greatest book written by a scholar in Islam, then it should be stated when quoting the hadeeth: “narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Taareekh” or “in al-Du’afa’” or “in al-Adab al-Mufrad” for example, then one should research the isnaad of the hadeeth: is it saheeh or not, as is done in other books.

This hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah may be in al-Du’afa’ al-Kabeer. We have looked for it in al-Sagheer but I could not find it. al-Du’afa’ al-Sagheer rarely mentions ahaadeeth and isnaads. And Allaah knows best.

The second hadeeth: It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is extravagance to eat everything you want.” Narrated by Ibn Majaah (3352); Abu Ya’laa in al-Musnad (5/154); Abu Nu’aym in al-Hilyah (10/213); al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Eemaan (5/46) and others, via Baqiyah ibn al-Waleed, Yoosuf ibn Abi Katheer told us, from Nooh ibn Dhakwaan from al-Hasan from Anas in a marfoo’ report (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)).

This isnaad is da’eef jiddan (very weak) and has a number of faults, such as:

1 – Yoosuf ibn Abi Katheer, of whom Ibn Hajar said in Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb (11/421): One of the Shaykhs of Baqiyah who are not known. End quote.

2 – Nooh ibn Dhakwaan, whose hadeeth is munkar. It says in his biography in Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb:

Ibn ‘Adiyy said: His ahaadeeth are not sound. Ibn Hibbaan said: His hadeeth is munkar jiddan and his hadeeth should not be narrated. Abu Nu’aym said: he narrated problematic reports from al-Hasan, and he has a document from al-Hasan from Anas. End quote.

Hence the hadeeth was classed as da’eef (weak) by more than one of the scholars: Ibn Hibbaan in al-Majrooheen (3/47); Ibn ‘Adiyy in al-Kaamil (8/299); Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Mawdoo’aat (3/182); al-Busayri in Misbaah al-Zujaajah (2/188); al-Sakhkhaawi in al-Maqaasid al-Hasanah (515).Shaykh al-Albaani said in al-Silsilat al-Da’eefah (no. 241): It is mawdoo’ (fabricated).

The saheeh ahaadeeth quoted above are sufficient and we have no need of these two weak ahaadeeth. The one who wants to know more about this topic may refer to al-Joo’ by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya; Mukhtasar Minhaaj al-Qaasideen by Ibn Qudaamah; Zaad al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim and Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

See also the answer to question no. 6503.

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=102374&ln=eng

Videos by Yusuf Estes Removed

Al-Hamdu lillaah, wa as-Salaatu wa as-Salaam 'alaa Rasoolillaah, wa ba'd.

Upon the advice of 2 brothers, Akh Habib (Multiply ID: Fawaaid) and Abu Yahya Isaam, I've decided to remove the videos of Yusuf Estes from my site, due to his manhaj being questionable. Rather, his manhaj is not in accordance to the manhaj of the Salaf.

Below is the advice from Abu Yahya Isaam who commented on my blogspot:

Yusuf Estes do not adopt salafi manhaj in Dawah.. he visited sri lanka recently.. we do not find any his lectures based upon manhaj us salafus saliheen..

But rahter he was with Ahulul bidah and Hizbees and they are the one organized his tour..

Further more, Its very clear his hizbbee dawah methodology in Inda peace conference..

Allaah knows the best
Abu Yahya isaam


I still await for a more elaborated advice (probably with scholarly refutation if available) from both brothers which I'd post as an entry for our benefit.

Wallaahu al-Musta'aan.

Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen on Interacting With Non-Muslims in Western Countries

Author: Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen

Source: Tele-link (28th July 2000, Birmingham UK)

Article ID : LSC010001 [15525]

---

The Shaikh stated, during a tele-link, on the 28th July 2000:

...Likewise I invite you to have respect for those people who have the right that they should be respected, from those between you and whom there is and agreement (of protection) [i.e. Non-Muslims]. For the land which you are living is such that there is an agreement between you and them. If this were not the case they would have killed you or expelled you. So preserve this agreement, and do not prove treacherous to it, since treachery is a sign of the hypocrites, and it is not from the way of the Believers.

And know that it is authentically reported from the Prophet that he said : "Whoever kills one who is under and agreement of protection will not smell the fragrance of Paradise."

Do not be fooled by those sayings of the foolish people : those who say : 'Those people are Non-Muslims, so their wealth is lawful for us [i.e. to misappropriate or take by way of murder and killing].' For by Allaah - this is a lie. A lie about Allaah's Religion, and a lie in Islamic societies.

So we may not say that it is lawful to be treacherous towards people whom we have an agreement with.

O my brothers. O youth. O Muslims. Be truthful in your buying and selling, and renting, and leasing, and in all mutual transactions. Because truthfulness is from the characteristics of the Believers, and Allaah - the Most High - has commanded truthfulness - in the saying of Allaah - the Most High -

"O you who believe - fear and keep you duty to Allaah and be with the truthful"

And the Prophet encouraged truthfulness and said : "Adhere to truthfulness, because truthfulness leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise; and a person will continue to be truthful, and strive to be truthful until he will be written down with Allaah as a truthful person".

And he warned against falsehood, and said : "Beware of falsehood, because falsehood leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire. And a person will continue lying, and striving to lie until he is written down with Allaah as a great liar."

O my brother Muslims. O youth. Be true in your sayings with your brothers, and with those Non-Muslims whom you live along with - so that you will be inviters to the Religion of Islaam, by your actions and in reality. So how many people there are who first entered into Islaam because of the behaviour and manners of the Muslims, and their truthfulness, and their being true in their dealings.

[Extracted from Salafi Publications.]

The Conditions of a Sacrificial Offering

AUTHOR:	Imaam Muhammad bin Saalih Al-'Uthaimeen
SOURCE:	Talkhees Ahkaam-ul-Udhiyah wadh-Dhakaat (pg. 12-16)
PRODUCED BY:	Al-Ibaanah.com

There are six conditions that a sacrificial offering (udhiyah) must meet:

The First Condition: The sacrificial offering must be an animal from among cattle, which include camels and cows, or smaller livestock such as sheep and goats. This is based on Allaah’s statement:

“And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies that they may mention the Name of Allaah over the beasts of cattle that He has given them for food.” [Surah Al-Hajj: 34]

The term “beasts of cattle” refers to camels, cows, sheep and goats. This definition is well known amongst the Arabs as stated by Al-Hasan, Qataadah, and others.

The Second Condition: It must have reached the required age that is in accordance with the religious standards such as six-months for sheep and one-year and up for everything else. The Prophet said: “Do not slaughter any animal except for one that is mature in age unless that is difficult for you, in which case you may slaughter a premature one from among sheep.” [Reported by Muslim] [1]

“Mature in age” is the age at which an animal is considered fully developed as well as any age beyond that, while “premature” is the age before that. With respect to a camel, a mature-aged one is one that has completed five years. With respect to a cow, a mature-aged one is one that has completed two years. A mature-aged sheep is that which is one-year old while a premature sheep is one that has competed half a year (up to one year).

So based on this, it is invalid to slaughter a camel, cow, and goat if it is under its respective “mature” age as well as a sheep if it is under six months of age.

The Third Condition: The animal must be free of any defect that would prevent its slaughter from being valid and acceptable. These defects are of four types:

1. Clear defectiveness of the eye: This is when the animal’s eye becomes sunken or it sticks out to the point that it looks like a knob or it becomes a pale white indicating clearly that it is one-eyed.

2. Clear illness: This is when the animal exhibits signs of sickness, such as a fever that keeps it from grazing and causes a loss of appetite, or an obvious scabies infection that will spoil its meat and harm a person’s health (if he eats it), or a deep wound that threatens to affect its health and so on.

3. Clear limping: This is when the animal is unable to step safely (without hurting itself) when walking.

4. Emaciation that causes brain loss: This is based on what the Prophet said when he was asked about what types of animals one should avoid when sacrificing. He gestured with his hand and said: “They are four: The lame animal that clearly walks crookedly; the one-eyed animal that clearly has a defect in the eye; the sick animal that clearly has signs of illness; and the emaciated animal that is (usually) not picked.” [2]

This hadeeth was reported by Maalik in al-Muwatta from Al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib. In another version of this report narrated by Al-Baraa’ found in the Sunan collections, he said: “The Messenger of Allaah stood up amongst us and said: ‘Four types (of animals) are not permissible to use as sacrificial offerings…’ and he went on to mention them.” [3]

So therefore if these four defects are found in an animal, they prevent its slaughter and sacrifice from being valid. This goes as well for any other defect that is similar to or worse than these, which means that it is also not valid to sacrifice the following types of animals:

1. A blind animal that cannot see with both its eyes.

2. An animal suffering from nausea until it releases its load and its harm is removed.

3. An animal that has been assisted in giving birth if natural delivery is difficult until the threat of danger is removed.

4. An animal afflicted by something fatal such as choking, falling from a high place, and so on until the threat of danger is removed.

5. A crippled animal, which is an animal that cannot walk due to a physical disability.

6. An animal with one of its front legs or back legs broken.

So if these last defects are added to the four mentioned in the narrations, the types of animals that cannot be slaughtered become ten in total. There are these six types plus the animals that suffer from the four previously mentioned defects.

The Fourth Condition: The sacrificial offering must be owned by the one slaughtering it or if not, he must have the right to slaughter it based on religious grounds or based on the approval of the animal’s owner. So if someone sacrifices an animal that does not belong to him, such as one that has been confiscated, stolen, or taken under false pretenses, such a sacrifice is not valid. This is since it is not permissible to draw near to Allaah by way of disobeying Him.

It is also valid if an orphan’s guardian sacrifices an animal for him using his (i.e. the orphan’s) money if this is what the orphan is accustomed to and if his heart will be broken if one is not sacrificed.[4] It is also permissible for a representative to perform the sacrifice using the funds of the person commissioning him with his permission.

The Fifth Condition: No other person’s right should be associated to the animal being slaughtered. So for example, it is not valid to sacrifice an animal that is being held as mortgage on a loan.

The Sixth Condition: The animal should be slaughtered in the specific time-frame legislated in the Religion, which is from the time after the ‘Eid Prayer on the Day of Sacrifice[5] until the sun sets on the last of the days of Tashreeq, which is the thirteenth day of Dhul-Hijjah. So therefore, the days in which the sacrifice is permitted are four: the day of ‘Eid, after prayer, and the three days after that (i.e. the days of Tashreeq).

So whoever performs the sacrifice before the end of the ‘Eid Prayer or after the sun sets on the thirteenth day (of Dhul-Hijjah), his sacrificial offering is not valid. This is based on what Imaam Al-Bukhaaree reported from Al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib who narrated that the Prophet said: “Whoever sacrifice an animal before the (‘Eid) Prayer), it is just meat that he presents to his family and not a sacrificial offering at all.” [6]

Al-Bukhaaree also reported that Jundub bin Sufyaan Al-Bajlee narrated: “I witnessed the Prophet say: ‘Whoever slaughters an animal before praying (the ‘Eid Prayer) should slaughter another animal (as sacrifice) in its place.’” [7]

Nubaishah Al-Hadhlee narrated that Allaah’s Messenger said: “The days of Tashreeq are days of eating, drinking and remembrance of Allaah.” [Reported by Muslim] [8]

However, if one has a valid excuse for delaying the slaughter past the days of Tashreeq, such as if the animal runs away from him, due to negligence on his part, and he only finds it after the time-frame for slaughtering has passed. Another example is if a person entrusts someone to slaughter the animal for him but that person forgets to do it until the time has passed. In situations such as these, there is no sin in slaughtering after the prescribed time-frame since there is a valid reason for the delay.

This is also based on the analogy of it being similar to a person who sleeps passed the time of prayer or forgets to do it until its time passes, for he may pray it either when he wakes up or when he remembers.

It is allowed to perform the sacrifice any time during the days of Tashreeq, whether day or night. However, slaughtering during the daytime is better, and doing it on the day of ‘Eid after the two khutbahs is better than that. Each day is better than the day that comes after it, in terms of performing the sacrifice, since that reflects one’s quickness and eagerness to carry out good deeds.

Footnotes:

[1] Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1963)

[2] Al-Muwatta: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1)

[3] Sunan Abee Dawood: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (2802); Sunan at-Tirmidhee: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1497); Sunan an-Nasaa’ee: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (4369); Sunan Ibn Maajah: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (3144); and Musnad Ahmad (4/300)

[4] Translator’s Note: Perhaps the orphan is accustomed to the sacrifice because this was his experience with his parents before he lost them. So if this tradition that he used to partake in with his family is not kept, it will cause his heart to be broken.

[5] Translator’s Note: The Day of Sacrifice, i.e. Yawm-un-Nahr, is the day of ‘Eid, while the days of Tashreeq are the three days that follow it.

[6] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (5545) and Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1961)

[7] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (5562) and Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1960)

[8] Saheeh Muslim: Book of Fasting (1141)

Published on: December 8, 2007

Adakah Wanita dari Tulang Rusuk Lelaki?

Solat dan Pemerintahan

Mana lebih penting? Solat atau pemerintahan?




Haram Memerangi Pemerintah Selagi Solat

Imam Bukhari's Fatwa on Befriending Shias

Imam Bukhari declared:

“I don’t see any difference between praying Salah behind a Jahmi or a (Shia) Rafidhi and a Christian or a Jew. They (Jahmis/Rafidhis) are not to be greeted, nor are they to be visited, nor are they to be married, nor is their testimony to be accepted, nor are their sacrifices to be eaten.”

(Khalq Af’aalul-’Ibaad, p.14)

When the matter is so severe that we should not send our greetings to them nor befriend them nor even visit them, then how deviated is the Manhaj of those who call to unity with the Shias!

http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/islam/bukhari-shias

[Click onto the above link to read the Arabic text.]

The Hidden Truth About The Qatif Case

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Recently, the fervently anti-Islamic and secularist newspaper, Arab News, published an article claiming that a rape victim was punished with lashes in Saudi Arabia. The news was immediately picked up by the Western media outlets, including BBC News, and soon the issue became an international affair. The enemies of Islam used this news report as a means to disparage the Muslims by claiming that Islamic law was unjust and barbaric. The heretics (i.e. the Rawaafidh) used the incident as a means to fan the flames of sectarianism, lashing out at the Sunnis of Saudi Arabia, referring to them as “Wahabis”. And sadly, many Muslims themselves fell into the trap and believed the lies levied against the Saudi judges (who are Ulema).

[Read more...]

Reciting Faatihah as Ruqya

Question: Is it established that the one performing ruqya should recite Al-Faatihah seven times, and what is the proof for that?

Answer: It has appeared through some of the chains of narration pertaining to the hadeeth of ruqya that Aboo Sa’eed Al-Khudree read it seven times upon the one who was bitten and he was cured by the permission of Allaah.

Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee

Ghaaratul ashritah, 'alaa ahlil jahl was-safsatah, volume 2, page 241

Translated by Aboo Haatim Muhammad Farooq

http://www.fatwaislam.com/fis/index.cfm?scn=fd&ID=108

The Place of the Imaam When Two are Praying

For the benefit of readers on Blogger:

The Place of the Imaam When Two are Praying

I'd like to add a short commentary here:

From the article, it becomes obvious that when 2 people are praying, the follower is to stand to the right at the right of the Imaam in line with him, not in front of him nor behind. And this is being mentioned by Imaam al-Bukhaaree rahimahullaah.

What brings me to wonder is how Muslims in Singapore (and I believe in Malaysia as well) are being taught that when 2 people are praying, the follower is to stand at the right of the imaam but a few feet behind.

Where did they get this idea?

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that Imaam an-Nawaawee rahimahullaah is of the opinion that the follower is to stand a little behind the imam (but still at his right).. the point here is a little.

And Ustaz Hamzah demonstrated what is meant by it.. it is for the follower to stand at the right of the imam, a little behind by a few centimeters.. which means, the follower's left foot is still touching the imaam's right foot.. to be a little more exact, at least the follower's front half of his left foot is touching the imam's back half of his right foot..

So where is the basis for the "opinion" that the follower is to stand behind the imam (although still on his right)?

However, what is apparent from the hadeeths (as mentioned in this article) is that the follower is to stand at the right of the imaam in line with him, as there is no clear indication that the follower should stand a little behind, what more a few feet behind.. Even worse is if the follower is standing directly behind the imaam..

Wallaahu a'lam.

The Rulings of Wudoo'

For benefit of those reading my blog in Blogger and not on multiply, here is a link to an article by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan on the rulings and actions of wudoo'.

http://www.al-athariyyah.com/media/pdf/fiqh/fiqh_ruling_wudoo.pdf

Shaykh Ahmad an-Najmee in Hospital

May Allah cure the Shaykh and grant him a speedy recovery, Ameen..

http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=6341

Saudi Wife Shows Us Into Her Home

For the benefit of those who read my blog at Blogger and not at Multiply, thus not being able to be updated of the videos that i've uploaded..