Give Advice Without Causing Offense

Shaykh ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam

“…and because of this, the Prophet exposed for us those who please us with their tongues, when he said: “Throw dirt in their faces,” meaning, the faces of those who praise people to their faces. Likewise, he said to the one who praised his brother to his face: “You have broken your brother’s back.” So, praising your brother to his face is disliked - if not forbidden - except in the case that you are trying to point out some of his faults. In such a situation, there is no problem in you mentioning some of his praiseworthy traits, such as saying to him: ‘Brother, you are very intelligent, and you are a man who is loved by the people, and you are a person who is considered a leader. However, I see in you such-and-such a fault, so, is it possible for you to correct these faults?’ And if the person that you wish to advise has a position of authority over you, is older than you, or is your parent, then there is no problem in sending him a message, for example.

Hasan al-Banna - may Allah have Mercy upon him - said: “We used to follow this way of commanding the good and forbidding the evil. We had a shaykh who used to teach us and guide us, so, one day, I saw him praying between the pillars of the mosque. So, I wanted to advise him that praying between the pillars of the mosque is disliked (makruh). So, I wrote him a letter, and addressed it on behalf of ‘A Doer of Good,’ saying: “O Shaykh, I saw you praying between the pillars of the mosque, and this is disliked, as the Prophet said.” I then signed it ‘A Doer of Good,’ and sent it to him by mail. He got the letter and read it, then he said: “O youth! I have received a letter from a man who advised me not to pray between the pillars of the mosque, and I did not previously know that this is disliked, so, don’t do it.”"

Hasan al-Banna added: “I was amongst the youth that he was addressing. So, we were able to fulfill a good action without causing any insult or offense to our teacher….”

Therefore, commanding the good and forbidding the evil requires a person who loves the people; a person who looks at the bigger picture; a person with a gentle tongue. Do not come to one and say: ‘I hate you for the sake of Allah because you do this or that.’ Are you not able to say, instead: ‘I love you for the sake of Allah, my brother! However, I saw a simple and small mistake from you.’

By Allah, a brother described to me the following: “Someone came up to me and said: “I hate you for the Sake of Allah.”

So, I said to him: “Why? Why do you hate me for the Sake of Allah?”

He replied: “Because your father is from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin.”"

There is no might nor power except with Allah. What Islam is this? I hate him for the Sake of Allah - for what? Because his father is from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin. Sufficient is Allah as the Disposer of our affairs, and this person considers this to be commanding the good and forbidding the evil and a proclamation of the truth, and he thinks that he will have some reward as a result of this, as a result of his putting off the Muslims…”

['Fi Dhilal Surat at-Tawbah'; p. 75]

"And indeed every man shall have but that which he intended"

"AND INDEED EVERY MAN SHALL HAVE BUT THAT WHICH HE INTENDED"

Is this sentence merely emphasising the previous? Imam al-Qurtubi considered it so. However in reality both are saying different yet complementary things. Sheikh al Uthaimeen wrote: "the first sentence is the CAUSE and the second is the consequence." The first one means that every deed performed by a human while he is rational and acting voluntarily must have an intention. It is not possible for a rational, voluntarily acting person to perform a deed without an intention. The second means that if someone intended the pleasure of Allah and desired the good of the Hereafter that will be achieved. Ibn Rajab wrote that the second sentence is a statement about the Shari’ah ruling; if the intention was sound or pious his deed is sound and he shall have its reward. If it was evil then his deed was evil and upon him is the burden. In other words, the goodness of a deed is according to the goodness of the inention.


DOES EVERYONE GET WHAT THEY INTEND?


Not everyone gets what they intend. For instance, someone migrates to marry someone but the other person refuses. Or a disbeliever does not intend to be punished for their deeds but Allah states this will happen. However looking at this hadith in its totality we can see that it talks about general categories of intentions:


1) The pure and pious intention of performing a deed for the sake of Allah. According to this hadith the person shall receive the pleasure of Allah and reward from Him. Allah says in Surah ar-Rahman 60: "Is there any reward for good other than good?"

2) The religiously neutral intention where one seeks something permissible of this world. The result of this intention will also be religiously neutral, that is, without reward or punishment in the Hereafter, although it may or may not be the exact result of what the person intended.

3) The blameworthy, evil intention. This is regardless of any claimed good motive of the person if the action is sinful. The consequence of that will be evil for the person in the long run, supported by the ayah from Surah Hood 15-16: "Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them we shall pay In full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing In the Hereafter but fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. and of no effect is that which they used to do."


WHAT ABOUT NON-PERFORMANCE OF ACTIONS?


The stronger opinion is that if someone consciously avoids a certain action for the sake of Allah then he will be rewarded. For example, a person who avoids drinking alcohol despite being tempted by work colleagues, or a person who lowers their gaze from the opposite sex because of fear of Allah and in order to abide by His laws is rewarded. On the other hand if someone is allergic to alcoholic drinks and avoids it for this purpose, or if a person is busy reading a book hence is too occupied to look at a person of the opposite sex will not be rewarded because the intention for NOT doing those actions was for other than the sake of Allah.


SAME ACT, DIFFERENT INTENTIONS


We learn from later on in the hadith how the same action i.e. migration can be a source or reward for some and punishment for others depending on the intention. For example if a person washes themselves and intends with it the expiation of their sins committed by each area of the body that is being cleansed and the intention that one will be pure to worship their Lord may be rewarded manifolds for that intention. Whereas someone who merely showers because it is part of their daily routine will have a different intention altogether. Similarly, if a person attends the congregational prayer, travels out to the oldest masjid in the town on foot, seeking His pleasure and fearing His punishment, loving to be in the house of Allah, wishing to set an example to others, wishing to support the masjid, wishing to meet with brothers, intending to stay behind for a dars after the prayer has many pious good intentions. Similarly if someone attends the prayer because he wishes to be seen as a pious person then that is an evil intention, a type of shirk. Allah says in a hadith qudsi, "I am so self-sufficient (Ghani) that I am in no need of having an associate. Thue, he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me " (Muslim). Ali ibn al Madeeni once said, "A small act may be made great due to the intention behind it and a great act may be made small due to the intention behind it."

"Indeed all actions are but by intentions..."

I help deliver a local circle to a few sisters based on what I've learnt mainly in the AlKauthar courses. At the moment I'm doing hadith based on the Drops of Dew course. The following are the notes I made on the first hadith of Imam Nawawi. I covered just the first sentence "innama al a'malu bi an-niyyaat..." and briefly the chain of narration. I relied heavily on the book by Jamal ud-Deen Zarabozo on his commentary of Imam Nawawi's 40 hadith.

-------------------------------------------------

“INDEED ALL ACTIONS ARE BUT BY INTENTIONS…”

THE CHAIN OF NARRATION

Due to the large number of works this hadith appears in one may be of the impression that this hadith is narrated by numerous companions. The saheeh version of this hadtih is in fact narrated by only one sahabi, namely Umar ibn al Khattab, who narrated to one tabi’i (Alqamah ibn Waqqas), who narrated to another tabi’i (Muhammad ibn Ibraheem) who narrated to another tabi’i (Yahya ibn Sa’eed) who then narrated to many. Therefore the first 4 links in the chain are singular. Therefore this hadith is AHAD. Is this a problem? Can we accept ahad hadith?

Hadith can be classified in numerous ways. When we want to know about the authenticity of a hadith we are concerned with “saheeh”, “da’eef” etc. When we want to know about the chain of narration, we are concerned with MUTAWAATIR or ahad. Mutawatir hadith have the same status as Qur’anic ayat; it is impossible for the number of people in each and every level of the chain to have gathered upon a lie about a statement of the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam). Thus, mutawatir hadith are automatically saheeh, more so than non-mutawatir saheeh hadith. However it is important to note that other factors other than numbers of narrators come into play. Therefore a more accurate definition of mutawatir is A REPORT FROM A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN EVERY LEVEL THAT WOULD PREVENT THEN FROM AGREEING UPON FABRICATING THE NARRATION.

What is the definition of ahad hadith? According to the majority of scholars, it is not dependent on the number in a chain, rather it is HADITH WHICH IS NOT MUTAWAATIR.

Examples of mutawaatir hadith include: wiping over the socks in wudu, raising the hands before and after ruku’, the Prophet’s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) statement: “he who lies upon me, then let him take his seat in the Hellfire.” There are only 25 ahadith that ALL scholars agree are mutawaatir therefore much of Islam would be lost if we rejected ahad narrations. In reality, ahad narrations are not to be disregarded automatically before their authenticity is determined.

There are three opinions on ahad narrations:
1) They lead to doubt, not certainty
2) They lead to certainty if the narrators are just and trustworthy
3) They lead to certainty if the narration has supporting evidences that point to its authenticity.

The third opinion is the stronger one therefore we can conclude:
AHAD WITH SUPPORTING EVIDENCES --> CERTAINTY
AHAD WITH NO SUPPORTING EVIDENCES --> DOUBT

Only with further probing and study into the chain of narration can one then determine the authenticity of an ahad hadith.

It is worth noting that the sheikh ul hadith Imam Bukhari, rahimahuLlah, starting and ended his Saheeh with ahad hadith. Was he making a point? Well, he is famous for making subtle statements through his work.

There are some who say that ahad narrations are acceptable for fiqh issues but not in aqeedah, because aqeedah requires a heavier burden of evidence. Thus they may reject the belief in Adam as the first prophet, they may reject the punishment in the grave, and so on. This is incorrect. Sheikh Muhammad al Ameen al-Shanqeeti says: “it is obligatory upon the Muslim to accept everything that is established from the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) with an authentic chain of narrators. Let him know that if he cannot achieve guidance and success by following that which has been established from the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) then of a surety he cannot achieve it by using his deficient logic in the darkness of doubt and ignorance.” The issue of concern to the Muslim is “Is this hadith authentic or not?” as a measure of whether to apply it in his deen, whether that is aqeedah or fiqh, not “Is this hadith mutawatir or ahad?”

FURTHER PROOFS FOR THE CONCEPT OF INTENTIONS IN THIS HADITH

“Whoever wishes for the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), we readily grant Him what we will for whom we like. Then, afterwards, we have appointed for Him Hell, He will burn therein disgraced and rejected, (far away from Allâh's Mercy). And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it (i.e. do righteous deeds of Allâh's obedience) while He is a believer (in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism), Then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated, thanked and rewarded (by Allâh).” (Isra 18-19)

Here the word iradah has been used which encompasses intention, resolve, desire, choice, will. In other words, it is used synonymously with niyyah.

The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said: “Verily you do not spend in charity any amount desiring by it the Face of Allah except that you will be rewarded for it; even for the morsel that you put in your wife’s mouth.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
This implies that actions done with the intention of charity for Allah’s sake will be rewarded.

The salaf used to say: “Whoever desires to complete his actions, then let him perfect his intentions.”

Imam Yusuf ibn Hussain ar-Razi said: “The most honourable thing in this world is al-ikhlas.”

CIRCUMSTANCES BEHIND THE HADITH

Imam at-Tabarani recorded on the authority of ibn Mas’ood that this hadith was stated concerning a man who wanted to marry a woman named Umm Qais but she refused to marry him unless e migrated from Makkah to Madinah. Therefore because he migrated to marry her he was called “migrant of Umm Qais.” Ibn Hajr says this authentic, however, he points out that nothing in this explicitly states that this was the reason the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, “All actions are but by intention…”

INNAMA

This word implies both emphasis AND exclusiveness e.g. “certainly only”.

ALL ACTIONS

This term is general and includes all actions: actions of the body, speech, obligatory/voluntary, small/large, acts of worship, acts not related to worship. Actions are of four types:
1) Speech of the heart e.g. knowing there is a God.
2) Actions of the heart e.g. consequence of speech of the heart – fearing God.
3) Speech of the tongue.
4) Action of the limbs.

BI AL-NIYYAT

The letter ba has many meaning in Arabic. There are 2 possible interpretations for this letter in this particular hadith:

1. Accompaniment – “All actions are accompanied by intentions.”
2. Causation – “All actions are caused by intentions.”

Sheikh Al-Shanqeeti says that either is possible which would render the meaning to “the reward is confirmed due to the intention as it is the intention that has led to the act in the first place.”

The meanings of niyyah – what do you think they are?

Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah defined niyyah as “the knowledge of a doer of what he is doing and what is the purpose behind (this action)… The intelligent, voluntary actor does not do anything without first conceiving it and wanting it.”

Imam as Suyooti said, “Intention describes the driving force in the heart towards what the person sees to be in conformity with what he wants…”

Niyyah is not just a thought which comes to the mind; it is determination, want, and aspiration to do something. It includes all the meanings of endeavour, purpose, resolution, goal, aim etc. It means that if one has the intention to do something he will do it as long as nothing prevents him.

The place of the intention is the heart as all the above actually takes place in the heart or at least originates in the heart.

Niyyah implies knowledge and action. First there must be knowledge of the action one wants to fulfil. Secondly the action must follow if no external factors prevent it.

SOMETHING MISSING IN THE SENTENCE?

Is something missing in the sentence- “Indeed all actions are but by intention…”? Some argue that there is something missing that must be assumed because there are actions that can occur without intention – voluntary and unintentional acts. What then should be assumed? Ibn Hajr and al Mubarakpuri have given a list of suggestions: the completeness of actions, the correctness of actions, the consideration of actions, and so on. However this restricts ACTIONS to religious actions whereas the stronger opinion is the hadith refers to all actions, religious and otherwise. Therefore a more correct interpretation would be ALL ACTIONS OCCUR OR COME ABOUT DUE TO INTENTION which indicates that conscious voluntary actions do not occur except from an intention from the doer. It is possible to adopt both interpretations; we can say that the first is concerned with the ruling of an action whereas the second is merely stating a fact.

TYPES OF INTENTIONS

1) A good pious intention
2) A religiously neutral intention
3) An evil intention.

Any action which is specified as worship (IBADAH) must be done with the intention of please Allah and according to His Sharee’ah. For example going without food from dawn til sunset would not be considered fasting if the intention was not to fast. Similarly bathing so one can start praying must be accompanied with intention. Any act that is done for His sake (good pious intention) but is not specified as ibadah can move into the realm of ibadah (QURUBAH), for example walking with the intention of going to the mosque to pray. Any act that is religiously neutral and the intention is religiously neutral is not rewarded or punished (MU’AMALAH).

Thus, niyyah can further be divided into 2:
1) Intention for a particular act of worship –e.g. I am praying but is my intention for it obligatory or voluntary?

2) Intention towards the One you worship – e.g. Am I praying entirely for His Sake i.e. ikhlas

Falling out of love

This is my theory: when you really love someone and you give them your all, if for whatever reason you have to stop loving them - be it divorce, or they break your heart, or whatever - a part of you has left you forever. A part of you remains with the person you loved and cannot be retrieved again. As a result you're never the same person again. I've seen this first hand with people so if this sounds soppy or "romantic" (it probably sounds a bit depressing actually) then I welcome alternative theories. What happens when you fall out of love?

Adab/iman

"Adab is like a land with fortresses: the first one (fortress) made of gold, the second of silver, the third of iron, the fourth of baked clay, and the fifth with normal brick. If the fifth is defended properly, the enemies will not get it but if they become lazy and neglectful, they'll break into the first, and then to the second and then to the third until they destroy the lot. Likewise, imaan is five fortresses: the first is yaqeen, the second is ikhlaas, the third fulfilling the obligations, the fourth is fulfilling the sunan and the fifth is the preservation of the adaab. As long as the fifth is preserved and focused upon, Shaytan will never get in but if he leaves adab then the Shaytan will start to devour his sunan then his fara'id and then his ikhlaas and then finally his yaqeen."


Thus the salaf used to say. Many of us know that having good adab is important but few of us have little idea of the relationship between adab and other facets of imaan, and the importance of adab in fortifying our imaan. I think this statement of the salaf sums it up in a very concise manner. That becoming lax in our adab is the door to weakening in our 'ibadaat and internal aspects of imaan is a concept I certainly wasn't familiar with. Perhaps that is why the salaf likened adab to the weakest fortress, because people don't generally give it it's due significance therefore neglecting to guard, maintain, and strengthen it. Many a time we delude ourselves with our acts of worship, thinking them to be sufficient for our salvation, for ourselves to be qualified to be called "a good pious person". Perhaps that is the reasoning of those of us practising brothers and sisters who mistreat others. But if the above gem is anything to go by then no doubt our 'ibadah if not our ikhlaas and yaqeen is suffering if good adab is non-existent in us. And, if we preserve and strengthen the Adab Fortress, no doubt this will preserve and strengthen our 'ibadah and imaan insha'Allah.

It snowed a bit today. Wicked.

I got caught speeding.

Only 44mph on a 30mph road. It was after 9pm, raining, non-residential area, new camera so it caught me without warning. Bloody extortionists... Good thing I wasn't doing my usual 55-60mph...

Niqab-haters

Vexed guy (white, middle-aged, casual dress, looks like a scally) walks past me from opposite direction then back to me: "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"


Me: "Yeah sure."


Coming right up to me: "Can I see your face?"


Me: "What? No."


Idiot, more vexed: "Why not?"


Me: "What's your problem?"


Idiot, shouting now, wild gestures, people looking our way: "You can see my face, why can't I see your f***ing face?!"


Me, getting worried that he's close enough and angry enough to snatch my niqab off walk away.



Idiot carries on ranting but I can only make out "...dress properly!"



I come home and tell my brother about it and he loses it with me demanding why I didn't call him straight away. Although I was annoyed by this incident and admittedly quite shaken because I thought he could snatch my niqab off, I didn't think it's anything to start riots over but my brother thought *&^%$#* like that need to be taught a lesson otherwise Muslim women won't be safe to walk around without being harrassed. My thinking is: women in niqab obviously provoke certain people, maybe a lot of people. For this idiot, for some reason, the mere sight of me was enough to make him rave. But I think as Muslims who are obviously Muslim just by appearance have to expect these kind of reactions from people. To expect otherwise is unrealistic. It's not nice but I'm sure it's normal. I'm interested to hear what kind of comments/reactions you guys get from the public to prove/disprove my theory that my brother overreacted and what happened yesterday was irritating but kind of normal.

I'm thinking of closing this blog. I might post my adab notes (about the only useful purpose to the blog) on someone else's (more beneficial blog) or just keep them to myself.

Adab al Mufrad Notes (8)

Hadith/athar: Ibn Umar said: "if someone fears his Lord and maintains his ties of kinship, his term of life will be prolonged, he will have abundant wealth and his people will love him."

As above with a different isnad.

Example of Bukhari-tronics – chapter title ("Allah Loves the One Who Maintains His Ties Of Kinship") doesn’t correspond with hadiths, they don’t say anything about Allah loving the person. Some imams refer to hadith where Allah says He loves so and so, then telling Jibreel to that person who tells the inhabitants of the heavens and earth to love that person. Hence we know the only way people will love a person in this way is when Allah loves him.

First narration has tadlees, but second one does not thus strengthening first. Hadtih can be reported in different ways, some ways "stronger" than others. Haddathanee (he narrated to me), akhbarnee (he informed me), qaal (he said), sami’nee (I heard) imply strength just from their wording. ‘An (on the authority of) is lesser in strength as it denotes hearing either in person or through another reporter therefore further study is required. Tadlees of 3 types:
- Tadlees al isnad. The reporter says "on the authority of" someone who he didn’t actually relate the hadith to him or from someone he didn’t actually meet which creates the impression he actually heard it from him in person.
- Tadlees ash-shuyukh. The reporter doesn’t refer to the person he heard it from by name, uses a less well-known name.
- Tadlees at-taswiyyah. Reporter misses out the weaker link before him and refers directly to the stronger link preceding the weaker link to make the chain look strong. Worst kind of tadlees. Shu'bah said, "Tadlis is the brother of lying" and "To commit adultery is more favourable to me than to report by way of Tadlis."

Athar is mauquf – doesn’t reach Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam). However we can act on it if it is marfoo’ hukman – as though Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said it. Statement shows it is impossible sahabi could say it out of own reasoning i.e. matter of ghayb.

"Fears his Lord" – taqwa often translated as fear. Word from waqa – protection, wiqayah is a shield or preservative for food. Qur'an and sunnah gives validation to linguistic definition.
Ibn Rajab al Hanbali included definition as putting something between you and the whom you are fearful of to protect you. How? By obeying Him and leaving that which displeases Him.
Surah Ra’d (13:34) – "for them will be punishment in the life of (this) world, and the punishement of the Hereafter is more severe. And they will not have from Allah any protector." Root word of taqwa has meaning of one who gives protection.

Qur'an also tells us to have taqwa of punishment, taqwa of places of punishment (grave, Hell), the One who gives punishment, the Day when punishment will be meted out. Highest form of taqwa is taqwa of Allah. Taqwa is a right of Allah. Surah Muddaththir (74:56) "…He is worthy of fear and adequate for (granting) forgiveness," and "O you who believe, fear Allah, as He should be feared, and let not yourself die save as Muslims." Surah Al Imran 3:102

Some benefits of taqwa:
- Forgives all sins
- Increases rewards
- Jannah reserved for those having taqwa
- Allah’s pleasure
- Allah supports them, is with them
- Allah doesn’t waste their deeds
- Allah makes a way out for them in their difficulties
- Allah makes his affairs easy
- Allah gives them baseerah, hidden insight
- Allah gives them furqan – criterion to judge right and wrong
- Allah gives them najwa – saves them from destruction like those of previous nations

Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) prayed, "O Allah I asked you for guidance, nobility, self-sufficiency/wealth and tuqa (from waqa)." Qur'an is guidance for the muttaqeen (surah Baqarah 2:2). Self-sufficency prevents one from depending on others. Wealth never affects people of taqwa negatively. Those it affects negatively have weak taqwa.

Two things to protect one from Hellfire – taqwa and good conduct.

Taqwa involves finding out about those things to avoid. "Ignorance is bliss" is not the attitude of the muttaqi.

Hasan al Basri "Taqwa will remain with the muttaqi as long as he keeps away from the halal fearing it may be haram." Basic level is staying away from haram, next is avoiding the doubtful matters (shubuhaat) and highest level is keeping away from some of the halal too. Muttaqis’ characteristic is he has taqwa of things people think one shouldn’t have taqwa on. Muttaqi is like someone on a path with thorns on the side to be avoided. Sufi scholars of the later generations (khalaf) divided it thus:
(1) Islam (rejecting kufr)
(2)Tauba (falls into sin and repents when he sins)
(3) Wara' (caution) (avoiding shubuhaat)
(4) Zuhd (avoiding halal)
(5) Mushahadah ("witnessing" Allah)

Very few people have these qualities hence very few muttaqeen exist unfortunately. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz: "…For those who preach about it are many, and those who actually practice it few..."

For more details esp. qur'anic/hadith references: See Here

Adab al Mufrad Notes (7)

DATE: 15/06/07 to 22/06/07

Hadith/athar: Anas ibn Malik said: “The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, ‘Whoever wishes to have his provision expanded and his term of life prolonged should maintain ties of kinship.’”

Hadith/athar: Abu Hurayra said: “The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, ‘Whoever is pleased to have his provision expanded and his term of life lengthened should maintain ties of kinship.’”



Anas ibn Malik is THE narrator of hadith on adab. We see so much of the Prophet’s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) character and qualities from his hadiths. Imam Dhahabi said of him: “He is the narrator of this religion.” He was 10 years old when he became Muslim. 20 years old when the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) passed away. In between that time he spent his life with Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) in his service. Umm Sulaym, his mother, brought him up by herself after her husband died. she later married Abu Talha ibn Thabit. She was very poor and didn’t have nice clothes for him to meet the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) in when he arrived in Madinah. She went in front of the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) and offered him her son saying she cannot give him what others can give him by way of wealth etc but he can have “Unais” (affectionate variation of the name Anas) as his servant and make du’a for him. As a result of the Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) du’a for Allah to increase his wealth, progeny and lifespan, Anas had 100 offspring (109 and 129 in other narrations), remained one of the last companions to pass away and harvest his crops twice a year instead of once.

Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) used the Umm Sulaym’s house to rest in. He didn’t used to rest in any other house apart from his wives’. He’d pray nafl prayers there and make du’a for barakah in the house. Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) treated her very respectfully. She was his confidante and advisor. Umm Sulaym a woman of character and honour, sacrificing her son to be Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) servant.

Really get to see someone’s true self in their private life – publicly everyone is great, those at home know what a person is really like. We get a bulk of this knowledge about Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) from Anas’ hadiths, who lived with him.

Anas taught some of kibar of imams. When in ihram he wouldn’t speak to anyone, so absorbed in ibadah. When he used to get up to pray he’d pray so much his feet would bleed. Abu Hurayra said, “I never saw anyone’s worship closer to the Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) than Anas’.”

Anas died aged 103. died of plague. His mother kept some of the sweat of Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) and mixed it with perfume. Anas requested to be perfumed with that when he died.

Anas placed before Abu Hurayrah, despite the fact Abu Hurayrah pf greaster authority in area of maintaining kinship ties. Why? Perhaps because Anas ibn Malik was one of final sahabah to pass away, as though he is living testimony to the hadith – i.e. his life was prolonged.

Rizq commonly understood to mean money. But can mean anything good including that which isn’t visible including health, spirituality. Risq of intellect – truth which is "fed" to you i.e. Islamic ‘ilm.

Noonsa – prolong or delay something. In terms of life:
- physical increase of life – e.g. written in preserved tablet you will die at 60, you’re good to your parents, Allah gives you life until 70;
- Barakah in ones’ time e.g. you can do in one hour what others need a day to do. Imam Bukhari was good to his parents, he could do alone what would take a team of people;
- Ones’ old age will be worth living. One won’t have the illnesses of old age e.g. dementia. Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) used to seek refuge in Allah from becoming senile. His increase will make him realise the benefits of maintaining ties of kinship i.e. his children will be good to him.

Word atharihi used – remnants or traces, proof of something having occurred (footprints in the desert proof camel has walked there). Some say this is something that will persist after death – his children will maintain ties of kinship and make du’a for him. Ones’ children maintaining ties of kinship after death will result in people making du’a for him (e.g. rahimahuLlah) after recognising good deeds of his children.

If we’re going with interpretation of just ones’ lifespan being prolonged (Imam Tirmidhis’) why would we want a long life which is like a prison for us? Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said the best of people is he who lives a long life and does good deeds and the worst one is the one who lives a long life and does bad deeds. Life means opportunity for good deeds. Those in Hell will realise value of life hence they will ask to be returned so they can do deeds to prevent being in Hell. Exception – dying as martyr, ones’ sins are forgiven therfore permissible to pray for and desire shahadah. Also during fitnah of final days especially of Dajjal, one will pass by a grave and wish he was in the dead person’s place.

They weren't all thick

Abraham Lincoln: "Nearly all men can stand adversity. But if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Talking to myself

I sometimes think aloud. That's different to talking to myself but I suppose it appears to others that I'm talking to myself. So when my sisters ask, "Why are you talking to yourself?" I just reply with, "I know of no-one better to talk to than myself."

Well it shuts them up.

Pseudo-Islamic feminism

OK it IS a fact that women do get oppressed. It is a fact that people get oppressed. It is a fact humans sin. When humans sin they either infringe on the rights of Allah and/or the rights of creation. This can be in the form of abusing someone, stealing someone's property, vandalising, oppressing etc. When men oppress women, they are wrong, they are not giving them their due rights, they are sinning, plain and simple.

Those who don't care that they are sinning i.e. they aren't religious have their own excuses for meting out their oppression, abuse, injustice and those who are religious will have their excuses too. The good and honest of them will put their hands up when they realise they've done wrong and repent. Those who are too pig-headed, stubborn and arrogant will be like the one who can't give up smoking or listening to music and look for every excuse in the book (whether that's their warped interpretation of the Qur'an or a twisting of a fiqhi opinion) to carry on with his sinning.

Why am I going into this? Cos I'm sick and tired of this trend of bashing men because they're men. I get tense when I read sisters - i.e. female MUSLIMS- dangerously discussing whether in Islam women get a raw deal, whether Allah has a'oothubillah been unjust in His perfect Shari'ah. I'm not speaking as someone who's just heard of women who are mistreated, a by-stander. Close friends of mine and family have been treated like crap by men, I've seen it, wiped their tears etc. But what good would I acheive having a chip on my shoulder about men? If I am a cynic as a result of men mistreating women am I actually doing good to myself or even damaging the perpetrators of injustice (if I wanted to be vengeful)? Or am I damaging myself and potentially damaging my future relationships? Not only that, if I go online and spread my victimised feminist da'wah the least I'm doing is putting fear into by-standers and making them cynical "men are all dogs" feminists, but worse, I'd really be treading on thin ice with my Lord if I did what some of these sisters do, by saying things that equate to "women have it bad in Islam".

With the risk of sounding like I'm bashing men myself - but I have to be fair - I do have to say men are not absolved from blame for this. Many of these women do not bash just because it makes them feel good; there is background and a context why they feel wronged. But many a time, it's difficult to see WHY these sisters are complaining, what exactly they are complaining about and with the attitude of criticising Islam a'oothubillah, frankly, the reasons cannot be heard due to the moaning and ultimately begin to matter little.

Perspective is everything

The difference between an atheist and an agnostic.

Atheist says "There is no god" which is half way to the kalimah, all that's missing is "worthy of worship except Allah".

Agnostic says "there may or may not be a god, Allahu 'alam." :-) (I like that joke)

Anyway which do you guys think is "better"?

Adab al Mufrad Notes (6)

DATE: 08/06/07 to 15/06/07

Hadith/athar: Abdullah ibn Amr said, "The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) pointed his finger towards us and said, ‘The (root word of) rahim (the kin) is derived from the word Rahman (the Merciful). Whoever maintains the connection of ties of kinship, Allah will maintain ties with him. Whoever cuts them off, Allah will cut him off. The kin will have a free and eloquent tongue on the Day of Rising.’"

Hadith/athar: Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, ‘The word rahim is derived from Allah (Rahman). Whoever maintains the ties of kinship, Allah will maintain ties with him. Whoever cuts them off, Allah cuts him off.’"

Ties of kinship depicted as a physical being.

Abdullah ibn Amr – Abu Hurayrah said of him, "He has more (hadith) than I do."

Aisha – born into the house of the greatest man after the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam), then with the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) himself, then spent the next fifty years of her life in the company of the greatest men of the ummah. From a very young age she was surrounded by knowledge. Some of the most personal matters of the deen narrated through her. Many hadith reveal her sense of humour and her natural jealousy of Khadija, the first wife of the Prophet (sal Allahi 'alaiyhi wa sallam), showing jealousy is natural and not blameworthy within the bounds. Every single characteristic of a Muslim women can be found in her yet she understood the difference between men and women. Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) didn't hide his love for her as is narrated in the hadiths. She used to compare herself with other wives and boast about her marriage to him. Only virgin wife, others were married for different reasons. Chosen by Allah – he (sal Allahu ‘alaiyhi wa sallam) saw her in a dream. Great role model for both men and women. Her status made clear when he sought permission from all of his (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) wives to spend his last days with her. He died in her lap, she was the last person to see him before he passed way. Defending her honour become a matter of aqeedah for ahl us sunnah due to the extreme shi'as who defile it, despite the Qur'anic ayahs.

Bukhari includes 2 similar hadiths together for certain reasons. Can either just take basic benefits e.g. obligatory to maintain kinship ties, Allah punishes the one who cuts them off etc or look deeper for the secrets. One such secret benefit could be looking at why Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) pointed. Physical actions sometimes directly attached to hadith e.g. in following hadith Abu Bakra said that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaiyhi wa sallam) said: "Shall I tell you which is the worst of the major sins?" He repeated that 3 times. They replied, "Yes, Messenger of Allah." He said, "Associating something else with Allah and disobeying parents." He had been reclining, but then he sat up and said, "Beware of lying." Abu Bakra added, "He continued to repeat it until I wished he would stop." Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) sitting up brings our attention to what he is saying, which on the face of it appears less significant than the other issues. However some physical actions not related to hadith. This hadith one such example. One benefit we can take from it is it shows how scrupulous sahabah were in noticing details – refutation of the critics of hadith.

"Derived from" – Arabic word is "shajna" – resembling roots of trees, interlocked, connected. Everything from Allah anyway – creation, our actions, including ties of kinship. But this link sets it apart from all, derived from His name and mentioned specifically.

What is the wisdom behind saying "whoever cuts them off…" when "whoever maintains them" implicitly tells us about the case of those who don’t do so? Hadith directly addresses both those who maintain-and those who cut off, not letting the latter group off the hook.

Word sila (maintains) also means gift which will render the meaning to be "whoever maintains the ties of kinship, Allah will reward him".

On the day of judgement we cannot imagine some of the things that will happen. Surah Yaseen says our limbs will testify what our actions were. Concept of those that do not speak having the ability to speak not unique to this hadith. "Non-tangible" beings will do things they logically shouldn’t be able to do e.g. Qur'an interceding for Muslims, stones bearing witness for/against us, death appearing as a ram and being killed etc. Not important how and other details but to have yaqeen that it will happen and move onto things we can know, unlike way of deviance who base whole belief system on doubtful matters.

"The kin will have a talq and dhalq tongue". Talq from talaq, to be loosened, letting go e.g. divorce, without restrictions, unhindered, without barriers, no-one to stop him. Dhalq – sharpened, tip of spear, penetrating, eloquent speech. Both together gives us meaning of speech without restriction, when spoken it is destructive. A powerful and scary combination.

I'm totally in love...

...with this recitation. I've heard Mishary before - who hasn't - and I've even heard this recitation of Surah Qaaf before but I've recently discovered it and can't stop listening to it.

Adab al Mufrad Notes (5)

DATE: 01/06/07 to 08/06/07

Hadith/athar: Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf said: "The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: ‘Allah, the Mighty and Exalted said, "I am the Merciful (Rahman). I have created ties of kinship (rahim) and derived a name for it from my name, whoever maintains ties of kinship, I maintain ties with him and I shall cut off from Me whoever cuts them off."’"

Imam Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri in chain. Imam Dhahabi said that he is the hafiz of his time. Didn’t just mean hafiz of Qur'an, meant the whole Qur'an and the rulings in them and at least 100,000 ahadith. Studied under 7 fuqaha of Madina: ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr, Sa‘īd b. al-Musayyib, Abu Bakr b. ‘Abd’l-Rahmān, Al-Qāsim b. Muhammad b. Abi Bakr, ‘Ubaydullāh b. ‘Abdullāh b. ‘Utbah b. Mas’ūd, Sulaymān b. Yasār and Khārijah b. Zayd b. Thābit and also taught great imams including Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Awza’i, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz – who said about him "no-one soaked up hadith like Ibn Shihab."

A person is known by his peers. Imam az-Zuhri’s peers had glowing praises of him who were big names in themselves.

Said to be the first man to write hadith with the purpose of teaching it.

Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf one of the 10 promised Paradise, understandable why after a brief look at his biography. One of the 6 in the shura to appoint next khalifa. Became Muslim at young age, even before dar al arqam, safe house of Muslims before open da’wah. Fought at Badr – the crucial battle for establishment of Islam. Allah says about ahl ul Badr, "do as you wish for I have forgiven you." One of those who gave their pledge under the tree as mentioned in Surah Fath about whom Allah says He is pleased with them. He was paired with Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas who offered half of everything he had including his two wives, thus taking the Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) request to the Ansar to host, help and share to the maximum. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf refused and prayed for barakah in Sa’d’s wealth and family and asked for direction to the market where he could do trade.

Lesson: be self-sufficient and rely not on others but Allah, even if what people can give you is your haqq. The more you rely on people the less you rely on Allah and the less people’s opinion of you becomes. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf became known as Al-Ghani, the rich, as he made today's equivalent of millions. Because of his wealth and in comparison the way some of the other sahabah were killed or died in poverty, he used to say he fears his reward has been given in the dunya rather than the Hereafter.

Hadith Qudsi. Allah’s speech of 3 types: (i) perfect – unchanged, protected i.e. Qur'an; (ii) Books of prophets – divine revelation before people corrupted them; (iii) Hadith qudsi – inspired via wahy, conveyed by Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) in his own words. Qudsi not always authentic. Should pay attention to what topics Allah selects for qudsi – in this case ties of kinship, has significance.

Allah could have used name Raheem, which may have been closer to rahim. Names of Allah like Raheem, Quddus etc can be used to name people (without al) but Rahman cannot, as though there’s sanctity with this name. Knowing and understanding Names of Allah gives guidance in our ‘ibadah and conduct.

Something attached to Allah indicates its significance e.g. slave of Allah, Ruh Allah, camel of Allah. Allah links Himself with ties of kinship, to its origin and consequence of those who have correct conduct towards it- good and bad.

Answers to "True, False or it depends"

1. False. Can be given to the rich who fall under other catergories. Qur'anic ayah ["Zakah and for bringing hearts together and for freeing captives and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the traveller – an obligation by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." Surah Tawba: 60] includes among the recipients workers who collect the zakah (could be wealthy accountants), those who are inclined to Islam (regardless of their financial status), the way-farer who may be rich in his homeland but cannot access that wealth.

2. False. Not all wealth requires the hawl to pass – only wealth that has the possibility of increasing. Therefore crops, mineral ores, precious metals do not increase in quantity after harvesting and extracting hence the zakah is to be paid immediately instead of waiting the hawl to pass.

3. False. Zakah due on crops is between 5-10% depending on how it is watered, zakah of cattle also varies, zakah due on mineral ores varies from 2.5 to 20% depending on how difficult it was to extract, buried treasures and trinkets requires 20% zakah to be paid on it.

4. True/false. Difference of opinion. Obligatory in Makkah as a general charity; obligatory in Madinah in its’ specifics e.g. recipients, how much, what types of wealth.

5.False. Although it is difficult to enforce in non-Islamic countries, zakah is not only an individual responsibility, it is a communal and governmental responsibility therefore in an Islamic state the khalifa is responsible for the collection and distribution of zakah. He has the authority to force people to pay and punish non-payers as Abu Bakr fought those refusing to pay after the Prophet’s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) death and Umar, when he was khalifa, punished those who didn’t pay by taking half of their wealth.

6.False. Firstly, the faqeer and miskeen comprise of a quarter of the zakah recipients mentioned in the Qur'an therefore even if hypothetically there weren’t any poor people in the UK zakah would still be needed for people of the other categories. Those busy working for the benefit of the community such that they are unable to work are eligible for zakah, those who cannot afford to marry (and marriage is obligatory for them) are eligible, asylum seekers and refugees, prisoners & their family, those in debt, those inclined to Islam e.g. helping new Muslims to learn about Islam, jihad, some scholars even include ideological war via the media. Secondly, while people may be suffering poverty in a bad way in other countries there are still poor people in a "developed" country like the UK. The problem is with our understanding of "poor"; according to the majority of scholars "poor" is according to custom of the people so a poor person of one society may be affluent in another. Therefore there certainly are people who do not enjoy a good standard of living in the UK and may be eligible for zakah. All scholars/mathhabs agree own locality has more right to wealth – zakah, zakat-ul-fitr, kaffarah etc to be paid in own locality. See http://www.jimas.org/zakat.doc for more.

7. True. The property of a slave as well as the slave himself belongs to master.

8. False. Two opinions: 1) Pen has been lifted from them. 2) Still have to pay because it is right of poor. Rights of people applicable even if pen has been lifted – similar to criminal damage.

9. False. Same as 7 if mentally deficient borders on insane.

10. False. Although one can argue that the money you have doesn’t actually belong to you the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) never told zakah collectors to ask if people owed debts. Also exempting those in debt prevents the poor from getting their right especially as many people are in some form of debt. The best thing to do is if a year passes and you still have the money you owe either pay it back or pay zakah on it.

11. False. Inheritance or money bequeathed in a will is like a gift. It adds to income so zakah has to be paid every year if it is above the nisab.

12. True. It is a right of the poor who are owed it until they get it. Like criminal damage or paying back debt.

13. False. Lunar year. Be careful when working out zakah.

14. Mainly true. However the nisab of paper money is based on the value of silver and the price of gold and silver changes all the time hence the nisab of money changes. One should check the price of gold/silver on the day zakah is due and pay accordingly.

15. True/false. Difference of opinion. Anyone denying obligation of zakah by consensus has committed kufr but the ikhtilaf is on those not paying out of laziness, rebellion etc. Abu Bakr’s opinion seems to be they had left Islam although some scholars interpret his actions to be fighting those rebelling against the khalifah.

16. True. Not obligatory on all luxuries.

17. True

18. True. The main intention is to profit from it hence the car is a commodity. Hawl starts from the date it is bought and zakah is 2.5% of the selling value of the car.

19. False. The main intention to use it, not profit from it. The ruling depends on the major intention.

20. True. Putting a house for sale makes the main function of house a commodity to gain profit from and living in it is a secondary function. Even if it is unsold (exceptions apply in economic depression or unusually slow market) the house has the potential to generate income. If it is already generating income by renting it out, one has to pay zakah on the rental income as well as the sale value if a hawl has passed.

21. True. Stocks are assets and have the potential to generate income. The selling price of stock (with the condition they were on sale for a full hawl) should be added with profits. Costs should thereafter be deducted and 2.5% zakah should be paid if the net amount is above the nisab.

22. False. Only wealth of the same species to be added together. Different species have different nisab & some don’t require hawl.

23. True. Zakah for the poor is to cater for their needs. Marriage could be obligatory on a person who is poor and cannot afford this necessity.

24. True. ALL the haram wealth is to be given away, not just 2.5%. If however someone who has earned haram repents, then he is not actually obliged to give that wealth away, he can keep it to use in a halal and beneficial way. Thereafter he should observe the hawl and pay zakah accordingly. If someone receives a gift from someone who has earned it in a haram way (except when that wealth actually belongs to someone else e.g. it is stolen) then t is halal for the recipient ("if the hand changes the ruling changes") who would have to pay zakah on it.

25. True. It is like a debt and those who didn’t receive it rightfully still have a right to it.

26. False. Have to pay zakah on wealth for specific group of people e.g. self, family, own ethnic group. If for general group then zakah not necessary as the saving is like zakah and there is no zakah on zakah.

27. True. Taxes, national insurance etc are a type of costs. Deduct the cost and pay zakah on the net income.

28. True/false. Depends on when pay back date is. If it is within a year and they are known to be reliable then I have to pay it back after a year passes, even if I don’t accept the money yet (likened to current bank account – bank can give the money in my savings anytime so even if I don’t have it in hand I pay not the bank who actually has the money). If it is due after that time only pay it back when received. If it is a bad debt I don’t pay until it is received.

Double negatives are a no-no

Apart from being annoying (I use this word quite a lot these days don't I?) trying to figure out double negatives, why are they wrong? I mean grammatically?