Doubt

Doubt

The Prophet (SAW) said: “Leave that which puts you in doubt for that which does not” (Tirmizi).

This Hadith is narrated by Hasan Bin ‘Ali who is the son of ‘Ali (RA). ‘Ali (RA) was the fourth Caliph and the first cousin of the Prophet (SAW). This Hadith is very informative as it is telling us how we can save ourselves from so much sin. This Hadith emphasises the importance of being cautious with whatever we do, whether it be eating food, going somewhere or even talking to friends. If we blindly follow our nafs (desires) we will eventually fall into sin. For example, the EE Shisha pen that people nowadays are smoking nowadays contains no tobacco, no tar and it is said not to affect you. In Islam this is still makrooh as this is the root of smoking and can eventually lead to smoking shisha or cigarettes itself which is very harmful. Another typical example is Halal or Haram food. If we go to a chicken and chip shop and they have the halal sign but no certificate and no real authentication for their shop being halal then the best decision in this situation is to leave that shop and not buy food from there as it is doubtful. By keeping this in our minds and constantly following it will there become barakah (blessings) in our decision making and it will increase our faith and allow us to taste the sweetness of imaan.

The Prophet (SAW) also said: “Truthfulness is a source of contentment and falsehood is a source of doubt.” From this we see that by making halal decisions will we gain contentment of the heart whereas if we blindly follow our desires it will lead to regret and a impure heart. If we apply this golden principle into our daily lives then we will slowly see how easy everything will become for us.

"Do not get angry" (Bukhari)

Abu Huraira (RA) narrates that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Do not get angry” (Bukhari)

In Islam we are told that we should try our best to control our anger. The one who controls his anger will attain great reward from Allah (SWT). In the Qur’an Allah tells us that the ones who swallows his anger and follows up with forgiveness, for them will be a great reward. To control one’s anger is very hard, it is harder than fighting the person you are angry towards, but what we have to realise is that we do not benefit ourselves with violence, however by controlling our anger and doing good will gain us the pleasure of Allah and huge reward.

The scholars say that the one who does not control his anger is similar to the one who is drunk. Now we know how bad it is to be drunk. Acting without thinking, going ballistic for no valid reason; the scholars say that the drunk is equivalent to the one who gets angry. When you are angry you do anything that you wouldn’t normally do/say, at this stage you wouldn’t even be able to differentiate between your mother and your wife, you wouldn’t be able to think. Acting upon or anger can lead to unforeseen consequences and that is why we should always try our best to swallow our anger.

Many people would say, well the Prophet (SAW) got angry so why isn’t it deemed bad for him. What we need to understand is that the Prophet (SAW) never got angry for himself. For example he would act up when the Quraysh were mocking him and were physically hurting him; he would only get angry when it was an attack on Islam. In Islam violence should be seen as a last resort and even when it comes to the point of violence it is still frowned upon under certain circumstances.

Allah tells us to be the ‘middle path’ or a ‘middle nation’, “Thus we made you a middle nation” (2:143) He tells us this in the middle of Surah Baqarah and what it means is that we as Muslims should not be too lenient or too strict or not too angry nor too calm because if we’re too angry we will fight for no valid reason and there will constantly be conflict and if we are too calm then the people will walk all over us. So when is the right time to get angry? Imam Ghazali mentions that anger is only acceptable at the right time, in the right place, with the right reasons and at the right intensity. This is how specific it has to be in order that we should show our anger. There was a story about ‘Ali (RA) in battle charging towards a man, ‘Ali (RA) had him and was about to kill him for the sake of Islam but just as he was about to kill him the enemy spat on ‘Ali (RA) and ‘Ali (RA) became angry and ended up not killing him. Why? Because at first ‘Ali (RA) was going to kill the enemy for Allah but when the enemy spat on him, ‘Ali (RA) realised that if he had proceeded to kill the enemy it would have been due to his anger.

There are four main reasons why people get angry:

1)      When the situation is related to food, shelter, life. These things are directly threatening your family and your life.

2)      Position, dignity and protecting one’s honour.

3)      When it’s your own culture or values that are threatened.

4)      Jealousy   

The only reason from this list which is permissible is: when a situation is related to food, shelter, life. These things are directly threatening your family and your life. This is because a person needs to generally defend his family and his shelter and his life.

Even though jealousy is on the list there are two types of jealousy which are permissible in Islam and this is from a Hadith of the Prophet (SAW). A person can be jealous of someone’s zeal and enthusiasm for knowledge and the second type is to be jealous of the Hafiz who stays up in the night to read the Qur’an for Allah.

There is a medicine for knowledge. It not pills or liquid that you have to consume but a thing that you read. In a Hadith the Prophet (SAW) advised a person to seek refuge in Allah (SWT) from the accursed Shaytaan when he observed him arguing with another person. The person became red with anger and the veins of his neck got swollen. The Holy Prophet (SAW) said, “Indeed I know of a supplication which is read, will get rid of the condition in which he is in.” The supplication is: “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytaan”.
Another way to get rid of your anger is to change the position you are in. For example if I am angry while standing up I should sit down, if I am angry while sitting down I should lie down and if I am angry while lying down then I should stand up and walk around.
The last way to calm your temper is to do wudhu. When you think of anger it brings the image of fire and smoke into your mind so what gets rid of fire? Water, therefore it is good to do wudhu if you are angry.

In life there are 3 stages of life where a human being’s feeling and reactions change.

1)      When you constantly crave attention – Young age (infant/toddler)

2)      When you react strongly to actions – Teenage years

3)      When you are more mature and you think of the reasons behind actions made – Adult

Here’s some advice on how to deal with these types of people. For the child who craves attention what a parent should do is give the child the attention, play with the child and strengthen the bond between parent and child. For the teenager who has a hot temper and is quick to react to the decisions parents make what parents should strive to do is discipline the child, teach it good morals and manners and raise them up to be a mature adult. For the adult who is more mature a parent should befriend their child and show them compassion. 

And Allah knows best.

Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA)

Abdullah Ibn Masud was one of the closest companions of the Prophet (SAW). His real name was Abdullah and his father’s name was Masud. He accepted Islam at a young age and offered to be in the service of the Prophet (SAW), the Prophet (SAW) accepted and Abdullah Ibn Masud would run various errands for the Prophet (SAW). Before his acceptance of Islam he used to take care of a flock of sheep for one of the chieftain on the Quraysh whose name was Uqbah Ibn Muayt. His tendency was to leave with the flock in the morning and return at nightfall. From a very young age he used to roam the mountains and stay as far away from the people of Makkah as possible.

One day while tending the flock he saw two middle-aged men walking towards him, their lips where dry, they were thirsty and tired. The two men greeted him and asked him, “Young man milk one of these sheep for us that we may quench our thirst and recover our strength.” “I cannot”, replied Abdullah Ibn Masud, “these sheep are not mine. I am only responsible for looking after them.” The two men did not argue but were pleased with the boy for his honest reply. These two men were in fact the beloved Prophet (SAW) and Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RA). They had gone out to escape from the violent persecution of the Quraysh. Abdullah Ibn Masud was impressed by the Prophet (SAW) and soon became attached to him.

After Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA) accepted Islam he offered to be in the service of the Prophet. He used to attend with the Prophet (SAW) on expeditions, he used to wake him, he used to carry his miswak and do various other things for the beloved Prophet (SAW). He was continuously in the company of the Prophet (SAW) and quickly adapted to the manner of the Prophet (SAW) to the extent that it was said ‘he was the closest to the Prophet (SAW) in character’.

Abdullah Ibn Masud was a very intellectual person; he was one of the most learned in the topic of Qur’an and had beautiful recitation.  There was a story regarding his knowledge of the Qur’an. A man came to ‘Umar Ibn Khattab as he was standing on the plain of ‘Arafat and said: ‘I have come, oh Amir-ul-Mu’mineen, from Kufa where I left a man filling copies of the Qur’an from memory.’ ‘Umar Ibn Khattab became very angry and started pacing back and forth his camel. ‘Who is he?’ asked ‘Umar (RA). ‘Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA)’, replied the man. ‘Umar’s anger subsided and he regained his composure and said, ‘Woe to you, By Allah I do not know of any person left who is more qualified in the matter than he is. Let me tell you this.’  ‘Umar continued: ‘One night the messenger of Allah (SAW) was having a conversation with Abu Bakr (RA) about the situation of the Muslims. I was with them. When the Prophet (SAW) left we left with him also and as we passed through the mosque, there was a man standing in prayer whom we did not recognise. The Prophet (SAW) stood and listened to him, and then he turned to us and said, “Whoever wants to read the Qur’an as fresh as when it was revealed, and then let him read according to the recitation of Umm Ibn Abd (RA).” Such was the knowledge of Abdullah Ibn Masud.

Abdullah Ibn Masud was a brave person. There is a story from the time the Muslims were still few in number and the Quraysh still hadn’t heard the recitation of the Qur’an. The companions said, ‘Who is the man who can recite for them (the Quraysh)?’ ‘I shall recite for them ’volunteered Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA). ‘We are afraid for you’, they said, ‘we only want someone who has a clan that could protect them from their evil.’ ‘Let me’ Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA) insisted. ‘Allah shall protect me and keep me away from their evil.’ He went to the mosque until he reached Maqam Ibrahim. It was dawn and the Quraysh were still sitting round the Kabah. Abdullah began to recite Surah Rahman. The Quraysh looked at him and said, ‘What is Ibn Umm Abd saying? Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad (SAW) brought.’
They began to beat him while he continued to recite. When he concluded his recitation, his face was covered with blood. ‘By Allah’ said Abdullah (RA) the enemies of Allah are more uncomfortable than I am at this moment. If you wish, I shall return tomorrow and do the same.’ ‘You have done enough’ they said ‘You have made them hear what they dislike.’

Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA) lived to the Khalifa of Uthman (RA). While he was sick Uthman (RA) came to visit him on his death-bed and Uthman asked Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Masud: "What is your ailment (illness)? and Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA) replied, "My sins". "What do you desire?" asked Uthman (RA). "The Mercy of my Lord." Replied Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA). "Should i not give you your stipend which you have refused to take for years now?" Asked Uthman (RA). "I have no need of it." Replied Abdullah Ibn Masud. "Let it be for your daughters after you."

"Do you fear poverty for my children? I have commanded them to read Surah al-Waqiah every night for I have heard the Prophet saying, "Whoever reads Al-Waqiah every night shall not be afflicted by poverty ever." That night Abdullah Ibn Masud (RA) died with his tounge moist with the remembrance of his Lordand with the recitation of His book. 

And Allah knows best.

  

Morals and Manners in Islam

Here are a few morals and manners that we, as Muslims should follow at all times. And as i said in my previous post, the best way to remember something is to act upon it and permanently take it into your life.

Kindness & Gentleness:

1) Speaking should be loud enough to be audible to the one addressed, never louder.
2) Bad or objectionable language should be avoided.
3) Laughter should not be characterized by loud or unpleasant sounds.
4) Weeping should be restrained and polite, not hysterically loud or abandoned.
5) Eating and drinking should be done at a gentle, dignified pace.
6) It is proper for a Muslim to restrain his anger, keeping himself within the bounds of courtesy.
7) Parents should give their children beautiful, meaningful name, and avoid names indicating difficulty and sadness.
8) Smiling at other people when meeting is recommended.
9) Looking pleasantly at others while conversing with then is required as polite conduct.
10) It is necessary that a Muslim be gentle when criticizing others for something they might have done.

Following these rules given forth by the Qur'an and Sunnah will help you get closer to Allah (SWT).

And Allah knows best.

Book: 'Morals and Manners in Islam'     
Author: Marwan Ibrahim Al-Kaysi
http://www.al-hidaayah.co.uk/morals-and-manners-in-islam-by-marwan-ibrahim-alkaysi.ir?cName=books-general

The Preservation

As-salaam mu-‘Alaykum

Today I would like to start off by telling you four responsibilities Allah (SWT) gave to all the Prophets.

1)    Recite to them the scriptures

This order is telling the Prophets who were given scriptures to spread the message and recite the verses to the people.

2)    Purify them

When Allah says ‘Purify them’ what is He specifically talking about? Do we have to wash our clothes or have baths to become pure? This specific command is ordering the Prophets to spiritually cleanse the people’s soul. What do we mean by this? In the heart there are many diseases that make us dirty and vulnerable to Shaytaan. To mention a few: jealousy, envying others, pride, arrogance, hate and many more. So when Allah says ‘Purify them’ He wants us to get rid of these diseases and the way we can do this is by reciting the Qur’an.

3)    Teach them the book

What does ‘Teach them the book’ mean? The Prophets were entrusted with a job to 

guide us in accordance to the scriptures. Their responsibility was to interpret the scriptures and teach us the morals behind the divine revelation.

4)    Teach them wisdom

To understand this we must first know the definition of wisdom. The basic definition is to act upon knowledge. The Prophets were given the responsibility to teach us wisdom which means they told us how to act and make the correct decisions. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) taught us wisdom from the Qur’an for example how we should treat our parents, or how we can get closer to Allah (SWT).

The Qur’an needs Hadiths. The Qur’an gives us orders, for example that those who believe should pray five times a day and worship none other than Allah, but Hadiths tell specific actions that tell us how to fulfil the order from the Qur’an. For example in the Qur’an it says “establish prayer” but the Hadith tells us how we establish prayer, the actions we take to establish prayer.

The Qur’an is also known as the “spoken revelation” which means that which is meant to be recited, whereas the Hadith is also referred to as “unspoken revelation” which is something that isn’t recited, but there is still a lot of reward in reciting Hadiths.

If you have forgotten what a Hadith is then a basic definition would be a saying and the actions of the Prophet (SAW) in which he did not disapprove.

So how now, after 1400 years have the Hadiths still been preserved? In the Prophet (SAW)’s period there were a lot of Sahaba (people that saw the Prophet and died as a Muslim) who memorised the sayings and actions of the Prophet and after he (SAW) died these Hadiths were passed on and eventually documented, this is what we call a chain of narration.

The most recognised narrator is Abu Hurairah (RA), he embraced Islam towards the last few years of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s life. He desperately wanted to memorise Hadiths but his memory wasn't strong. He later went to the Prophet (SAW) and asked for the Prophet to make du'a for him, the Prophet then hugged him tightly and made du'a to Allah to give Abu Hurairah the ability to preserve Hadiths and to expand his memory. Abu Huraira went of to narrate approximately 5374 Hadiths, and was also named 'The Prophet's Shadow' because where ever the Prophet (SAW) went he would walk behind him, learning the sayings of the Prophet (SAW). There are three main ways to remember Hadiths, these are: Memorisation, Practice and Documentation. The Sahaba memorised thousands of Hadiths which they acted upon and eventually shared the knowledge for it to be documented.

And Allah knows best.

Thank you for reading. More posts soon to come In sha Allah.  

The Edge Worshippers

Juz 17: Surah Hajj 22: Ayah 11

“And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.”

The word ‘harf’ literally means edge, this means his eeman isn’t quite there but isn’t completely off either. Then Allah says, when something good happens to him, he is satisfied and if a trail hits him, he turns back on his face. This is talking about a person who is committed to Islam so long as it is convenient. Something good happens you’re happy, Alhamdulillah; something bad occurs, you then start questioning why this is happening to you. “It’s not fair”, “who need religion?”, “I deserve better” etc. You start getting this aggressive attitude that wasn’t there before. Allah (SWT) says, that little religion you had anyway, it didn’t amount to anything, this kind of person lost the dunya and the akhira. These people on the edge, that only turn to Allah when convenient, for them is a manifest loss, the dunya and the akhira.

Allah (SWT) uses a word that is hardly used, ‘dhalika huwa al-khusranu al-mubinu.’ This means that it is the ultimate, ultimate, ultimate loss.

In other words, even in good times where he’s showed good signs of faith, it didn’t amount to anything. If you feel this way, like you only turn back to Allah (SWT) when convenient, then you should turn to Allah and ask for ‘Thabaat’ which is firmness of the heart, so that you’re able to maintain the strength of faith in your heart.

And Allah knows best.

Why do we learn Hadiths?

As-salaam mu-'Alaykum (peace be upon you)

Welcome to my blog. In this blog I will be posting various Islamic posts, most of which I have learnt during a course I have taken up at a weekend class at Azhar Academy. For more information about the Azhar Academy courses feel free to e-mail me with questions. Let’s get straight onto the topics.

Hadiths:

A question we always ask ourselves is why we do learn Hadiths? What is the main purpose behind reading the sayings and actions of our beloved Prophet (SAW)? Well I can tell you that we learn Hadiths to get closer to the Prophet (SAW) and learn about his practices and hopefully we ourselves can act upon his teachings. There is an ayah (verse) in the Holy Qur’an where Allah (SWT) says, Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (3:31) This ayah shows us the reward in learning about the Prophet (SAW) and following his good character, the way we do this is by reading Hadiths and acting upon it.

Hadiths of the Prophet (SAW) covers everything. Whenever you’re in depression or need medical help of some sort, or if you just want general guidance then the authentic Hadiths of the Prophet (SAW) provide the answer. Hadiths are a guide for Muslims, From A-Z, everything is covered, it's just like a manual guide, for example when you buy a microwave there's a manual guide that directs you with the set-up to get it functioning properly; similarly Hadiths are like a manual guide for our soul directing us to the straight path of Jannah.

What we should take note on is that the Prophet (SAW) never spoke out of his own desires. Everything was from Allah (SWT) and he (SAW) spread the message.

-The Qur’an is specific words to the Prophet (SAW)

-Hadiths are revelation paraphrased to make Hadiths.

There are many others ayahs where Allah (SWT) tells us the importance of taking Hadiths into our lives. The reason I mention this is because there are certain groups who reject Hadiths such as the Ahlil-Quran, who only take the word of the Qur’an when Allah clearly says in Surah Al-Hashr (the exile) (Chapter 59) ayah number 7, "And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, leave it. And fear Allah: truly Allah is severe in punishment." This ayah of the Qur’an clearly shows us that Allah commands us to follow the Prophet (SAW) and accept what he gives us and abstain from what he disapproves of and the only way we can do that is by learning Hadiths and acting upon it. The Ahlil Qur’an reject the Qur’an as they believe that it was something that only a man said but Allah clearly says in the Qur’an to accept Hadiths which are the saying and actions of the beloved Prophet (SAW) himself.

And Allah knows best.

I hope that this post has helped you understand the purpose and importance of Hadiths. Thank you for reading, more posts will be up soon In sha Allah (if Allah wills).

As-salaam mu-'Alaykum (peace be upon you)