By Imâm an-Nawawî rahimahullâh
From ‘Life of the Messenger’

The Messenger of Allâh possesses many manifest miracles and signs demonstrating [his veracity], reaching thousands and they are well known.

From amongst them was the Qur’ân, the manifest and clear miracle and brilliant proof, falsehood cannot approach it from before it or behind it. It is a revelation from One Who is All-Wise and Praiseworthy. It incapacitated the most eloquent of people in the most eloquent of times to produce a single chapter than would be comparable to it, even if the whole of creation were to gather for that purpose. Allâh, the Exalted says,

It challenged them to this despite their large numbers, their eloquence and their severe enmity, and it challenges them to this day.

As for the other miracles, it is not possible to enumerate them all due to their huge number and renewing and increasing nature. I will mention some examples:

The splitting of the moon, water flowing from between his fingers, increasing the quantity of food and water, the glorification of the food, the palm tree yearning for him, stones greeting him, the talking of the poisoned leg [of roasted sheep], trees walking towards him, two trees that were far apart coming together and then parting again, the barren [and therefore dry] sheep giving milk, his returning the eye of Qatâdah bin an-Nu’mân to its place with his hand after it had slipped out, his splitting lightly into the eye of ‘Alî when it had become inflamed and its being cured almost immediately, his wiping the leg of ‘Abdullâh bin ‘Atîq whereupon he was immediately cured.

His informing of the places of death of the polytheists on the Day of Badr saying, ‘this is the place of such-and-such a person.’ His informing of his killing Ubayy ibn Khalaf, that a group of his nation would traverse an ocean and Umm Harâm would be amongst them and this occurred. That all was drawn together for him of the ends of the earth and displayed to him would be opened for his nation, that the treasures of Chosroes would be spend by his nation in the Way of Allâh, the Mighty and Magnificent. That he feared for his nation that they would be tempted by the wealth and allurement of this world and that the treasures of the Persians and Romans would be ours and that Surâqah bin Mâlik would wear the trousers of Chosroes.

He informed us that Hasan bin ‘Alî would reconcile between two large warring parties of Muslims, that Sa’d bin Abû Waqqâs would live such that nations would benefit by him and others would be harmed. That an-Najâshî had died on this particular day while he was in Ethiopia and that al-Aswad al-Ansî had been killed on this particular day while he was in Yemen.

That the Muslims would fight the Turks who were described as having small eyes, wide faces and small, chiselled noses and that Yemen, Syria and Irâq would be conquered by the Muslims.

He informed us that the Muslims would comprise three armies, an army in Syria, an army in Yemen and an army in Irâq. That they would conquer Egypt, a land whose [unit of land measurement] was the Qîrât, they they should deal with their people well for they have protection [being Copts] and ties of kinship [through Hajar]. That Awais al-Qarnî would come to you from the auxiliaries of Yemen, he would be affected with leprosy and it would be healed except for the space of a dirham, and he indeed arrived during the rule of ‘Umar.

He informed us that a group of his nation would always be upon the truth and that mankind would become many in number and that the Ansâr would diminish in number and that the Ansâr would not be given their due [with regards distribution of wealth and leadership]. That mankind would keep on asking questions until they would say, “Allâh created the creation …” [Referring to the hadîth, "the people will continue asking until they say, 'this is Allâh who created everything ... but who created Allâh?' " Reported by al-Bukhârî [no.7296] and Muslim [no.136]]

He informed us that Ruwayfî’ bin Thâbit would live a long life, that ‘Ammâr bin Yâsir would be killed by the transgressing group, that this nation shall divide into sects and that they would fight each other.

He informed us that a fire would emanate from the land of Hijâz and the likes of this. All of this occurred exactly as he, sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said it would.

He said to Thâbit bin Qays,

“You will live being praised … and you will die as a martyr.”

and he lived being praised and was martyred at al-Yamâmah. He said about ‘Uthmân,

“He would afflicted by a severe trial.” [The meaning of severe trial is his being imprisoned in his house and his being killed by transgressors.]

He said about a person amongst the Muslims who had just fought a severe fight that,

“He would be from amongst the denizens of the Fire.”

and later he committed suicide. Wâbisah bin Ma’bad came to him in order to ask him about righteousness and sin upon which he asked,

He said to ‘Alî, az-Zubair and al-Miqdâd,

They found her there but she initially denied having the book and then took it our from within her braids.

He said to Abû Hurayrah, when Satan had stolen some dates, “indeed he shall return … “ and he did.

He said to his wives, “The most prolific of you in giving charity will be the quickest of you to join me,” and it was so. [Zaynab bint Jahsh radiallâhu 'anhâ was the most prolific of them in giving charity and was the first to die. Refer to Muslim [no.2452].]

He said to ‘Abdullâh bin Sallâm, “You will remain upon Islâm until you die.”

He supplicated for Anas that his wealth and sons increase and that he should live a long life and it was so. He lived for more than one hundred years and not one of the Ansâr was richer than he and one hundred and twenty of his children had been buried before the arrival of al-Hajjâj [to Basrah]. This is detailed further in Sahîh al-Bukhârî [no.1982] and others.

He sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam supplicated that Islâm be strengthened through ‘Umar bin al-Khattab or Abû Jahl, and Allâh strengthened it through ‘Umar radiallâhu ‘anhu. He supplicated against Surâqah bin Mâlik and the feet of his horse sank into the earth and he was thrown off, he called out asking for safe conduct and was granted it, then he asked the Prophet to make a supplication for him.

He supplicated that Allâh remove feeling the bitter cold and heat from ‘Alî and so never did he feel cold or hot. He supplicated for Hudhayfah, the night that he sent him to spy on the Confederates, that he not feel the cold and he did not until he had returned. He supplicated for ibn ‘Abbâs that Allâh grant him understanding of the religion and it was so. He supplicated against ‘Utaybah bin Abû Lahab that Allâh cause a dog from amongst His dogs to overcome him and he was killed by a lion at az-Zarqâ’.

He sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam supplicated for the descent of rain when they asked him to at the time of drought, there was not a single cloud in the sky, then when he had supplicated, the clouds gathered like mountains and it rained until the next Friday. It rained so much they they had to come back and ask him to supplicated and stop the rain, so he supplicated and the rain stopped and they out into the glaring sun.

He supplicated for Abû Talhah and his wife, Umm Sulaym, that he bless them in the night they had spent together and she became pregnant and gave birth to ‘Adullâh. He had nine children and all of them were scholars.

He sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam supplicated for the mother of Abû Hurayrah radiallâhu ‘anhu that she be guided and Abû Hurayrah left to find her performing the ritual bath because she had accepted Islâm. He supplicated for Umm Qays bint Muhsin, the sister of ‘Ukkasha, that she live a long life and we do not know of another woman who lived as long as she did. This was reported by an-Nasâ’î in the chapter concerning washing the deceased.

On the Day of Hunain he threw a handful of dirt at the disbelievers and said, “May the faces be disfigured,” and Allâh, the Exalted, vanquished them, filling their eyes with dirt. He once went out to one hundred of the Quraysh who were waiting to do something horrible to him and he put dirt on their head and went on his way without their seeing him.

* [This is the woman with whom Hasîb al-Balta'ah radiallâhu 'anhu sent a letter to the people of Mecca in order to inform them of the plans of the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam to fight them. It was concerning this that the first verses of Sûrah Mumtahinah were revealed. The garden of Khâkh is a place falling between Mecca and Madînah. Refer to Bukhârî [no.3983] and Muslim [no.2494] and Tafsîr ibn Kathîr [4/344].]

Because of the high esteem in which noble descent was held among Quraysh, we find that among the things which Quraysh accused the Prophet (ra) of, his descent is not mentioned, because his origins were well known among them. They accused him of many things that they made up, but this issue was not mentioned at all.

2. He grew up an orphan, for his father ‘Abdullah died when his mother was only two months pregnant with him. When he reached the age of six, his mother Aaminah died too, so at a very early age he (HI) felt the bitterness of being deprived of his parents’ love and compassion. After that, he was looked after by his grandfather ‘Abdul-Muttalib, but he died when the Prophet (SAWS) was eight years old. Then he was looked after by his paternal uncle Abu Taalib, until he grew up and became strong and mature. The Qur’an refers to his being an orphan when it says:

3. The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) spent the first four years of his life in the desert, among Bani Sa’d, so he grew up strong and healthy, eloquent and brave, able to ride horses well at an early age. His talents flourished in the peace and fresh air of the desert.

4. His intelligence was apparent at an early age and could be seen in his features, which aroused the love of all those who saw him. When he was a young boy, the Messenger came and sat on his grandfather’s bed. When he (‘Abdul-Muttalib) sat on it, no one among his children (i.e., the paternal uncles of the Prophet) would sit on it with him. So his paternal uncles tried to make him move, but ‘Abdul-Muttalib said, “Leave my son alone, for by Allah he has a future.”

5. When he was a young man, the Prophet (SAWS) tended the sheep of the people of Makkah in return for a few pennies. It was narrated that he (SAWS) said:

Then when he reached the age of twenty-five, he worked for Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, doing business with her money in return for a salary that she paid him.

6. When he was a young man, he did not join his Makkan peers in their idle leisure pursuits. Allah protected him from that. The books of Seerah state that when he was a young man, he heard singing in one of the houses of Makkah where a wedding party was taking place. He wanted to go to the party, but Allah caused him to fall asleep, and he was only woken up by the heat of the sun. He did not join his people in worshipping idols, he never ate the meat of any animals that were sacrificed to them, he never drank wine, he never gambled, and he never uttered foul speech or bad language.

7. He was known for his wisdom and sound reasoning. The incident when he put the Black Stone back in its place in the Ka’bah is indicative of that. The Ka’bah had been damaged by a flood which caused cracks in its walls, so the people of Makkah decided to knock it down and rebuild it. So they did that, but when they reached the place where the Black Stone was to go, a fierce dispute erupted as to who would have the honour of putting the Black Stone in place. Each tribe wanted to have this honour. The dispute reached the point where they were threatening to fight one another, then they agreed that the first person to come in through the gate of Bani Shaybah should judge amongst them. That person was the Messenger of Allah (SAWS), and when they saw him, they said, “This is Al-Ameen (the trustworthy), we will accept his judgement.” When they told him about that, he solved the problem in a manner that was approved of by all parties. He spread out his cloak, then he picked up the Stone and put it on his cloak. Then he told them that each tribe should take hold of one edge of the cloak and lift it up. When the Stone reached its place, he took it and put it there with his own hand, and they all approved of that. By means of his wisdom, Allah protected the blood of the Arabs from being shed in a feud that only Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty, knows its extent.

8. The Prophet (SAWS) was known among his people for being trustworthy and honest since his youth. He was well known among them for treating people kindly, keeping promises, living an upright life and having a good reputation. This is what made Khadeejah (RA) employ him to engage in trade using her money in the caravan that went to the city of Busra in Syria every year, and made her pay him double what she paid anyone from among her own people. When he came back to Makkah and her slave Maysarah told her how trustworthy and sincere he was, and she saw the great profits that had been made on that trip, she paid him double the sum that she had promised. She also wanted to marry him, and he agreed to marry her even though he was fifteen years younger than her. The best testimony to his good attitude before Prophethood is the fact that Khadeejah said to him when the revelation first came to him in the cave of Hiraa’ and he began trembling,

9. He traveled twice outside Makkah. The first time was with his paternal uncle Abu Taalib when he was twelve years old, and the second time was when he was twenty-five, when he went to engage in trade on Khadeejah’s behalf, with her money. Both trips were to the city of Busra. On both occasions he heard the talk of the merchants and saw the towns of the lands through which he traveled, and the customs of their people.

10. A few years before his Prophethood, Allah made him like to go out to the cave of Hiraa’ — which is a mountain on the north-west side of Makkah, close to the city — where he would stay alone for a month — during the month of Ramadaan — and think about the signs of Allah’s creation and the greatness of His power. He continued to do this until the Revelation came to him with the Qur’an.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

A researcher may learn the following lessons from studying the events described above:1. That the more highly-regarded a daa ‘iyah or social reformer is among his people, the more likely the people will listen to him. People usually look down on callers and reformers if they are of humble origins or modest background. But if there comes to them one whose noble birth or whose family’s social status they cannot deny, they will not be able to say anything about him but lies and fabrications which they will take as an excuse not to listen to him or heed his call. Hence, the first thing that Heraclius asked Abu Sufyaan, after the Prophet (SAWS) had sent a letter to Heraclius calling him and his people to Islam, was: “What is his lineage amongst you?” Abu Sufyaan answered, although at that time he was still a mushrik, “He is one of the noblest of us in lineage.” When Heraclius had finished questioning Abu Sufyaan and had listened to his answers, he explained to him why he had asked him these questions about Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (SAWS). Heraclius said:

It is true that Islam does not give any weight to nobility of descent when it comes to deeds, but this does not mean that there is no connection between noble descent and noble deeds. The higher a person’s status, the more chance there is of success, as the Prophet (SAWS) said according to a saheeh hadith:

2. If the daa ‘iyah goes through the pain of being an orphan or suffering hardship when he is young, that will make him more sensitive to noble humane feelings., and he will be filled with compassion and mercy towards the orphans, the poor and persecuted; he will strive harder to be just to these groups and show mercy and compassion towards them. Every daa ‘iyah needs a large amount of noble humane emotions that will make him feel the pain of the weak and wretched. There is nothing better than suffering in his own life to give him the feelings of the orphans, poor and needy.

3. The closer the daa ‘iyah s lifestyle is to the fitrah (nature), and the further away he is from a complex lifestyle, the more pure, and strong will be his mind, body and soul, and the more sound is his speech and thinking. Hence, it was not by chance that Allah chose the Arabs to bring the message of Islam, because, in comparison to the neighbouring civilized nations, they were purer in spirit, sounder in thinking, more proper in morals, and more able to endure the hardships of war for the sake of Allah and spreading His message throughout the world.

4. No one is qualified to lead the da ‘wah except one who is intelligent and alert. So those of low or average intelligence are the least deserving of leading the intellectual reform or spiritual movement. Rather, it is one of the laws of life that no one who is dull-witted or confused in his thinking or hold weird views will be able to lead in any field of life with any degree of success. If by chance or circumstance such a person attains a position of leadership, he will quickly falter and his people will shun him, after his actions demonstrate his stupidity, oddness or confused thinking.

5. The daa ‘iyah must be able to depend on himself to earn a living, or have a decent source of income, without begging or humiliating himself in any way.

Sincere and noble daa ‘iyahs do not accept to live on people’s charity and gifts. What respect can they have from their people if they humiliate themselves by begging and asking from people, even if they do not do that openly? If we find a person who claims to be a daa’iyah accumulating wealth from people through all kinds of deceit, then we may be certain that he has no self-respect, so how must his people and his neighbours view a person who accepts humiliation for himself? How can he call people to noble characteristics and conduct, and confront false and corrupt rulers, and fight evil and immorality, and spread the noble spirit of righteousness among the ummah?

6. If the daa ‘iyah is righteous during his youth and has lived a good life, this is more likely to bring him success in his efforts to call people to Allah, reform their morals and fight evil. For there will be no one who can criticize his personal conduct before he began his da ‘wah work. We often see that when people undertake da ‘wah (call, preaching) and reform efforts, especially in the field of moral reform, one of the most off-putting factors is when people remember their immoral past and previous bad behaviour. This ill-spent past may make people doubt the sincerity of such daa ‘iyahs, who may be accused of hiding behind the reform effort for ulterior motives, or of not starting to call for reform until they had had their fill of the pleasures of life, and because of their circumstances or their age they no longer had any hope of continuing to have the worldly gains, wealth, fame or status that they previously enjoyed But in the case of the daa ‘iyah who was righteous during his youth, he can continue to hold his head high with a clear conscience. The enemies of reform will not find any way to criticize him for his recent or more distant past; they will not find in his past any grounds for exposing him or calling people to look down on him.

Yes, Allah accepts the repentance of the one who repents to Him sincerely, and He erases his past evil deeds with his present good deeds, but this does not benefit the daa ‘iyah who wants to succeed in his da ‘wah, who could have hoped for greater success if he had a better past and a better reputation.

7. If the daa ‘iyah has the experience of travel, living with the masses and becoming familiar with the people’s customs, circumstances and problems, this will have a great impact on the success of his da ‘wah. Those who interact with people through books and articles without mixing with people of different backgrounds are doomed to failure in their calls for reform. The people will not listen to them or respond to their call, because they will see that they know nothing about their circumstances and their problems. Whoever wants to bring about reform among religious people has to mix with them in their mosques, gatherings and meetings. Whoever wants to bring about reform among the workers and peasants has to mix with them in their villages and factories, eat with them in their houses, and speak to them in their meetings. Whoever wants to reform the people’s interactions with one another has to mix with them in their marketplaces, shops, factories, clubs and gatherings. Whoever wants to reform politics must mix with politicians and get to know their organizations, listen to their speeches, read their manifestoes and agendas, then get used to the environment in which they operate, their cultural background and the aims which they are striving to reach, so that he will know how to address them without putting them off, and how to aim his reform efforts, so that they will not resist him because of personal dislike or emotional reasons.

So the daa’iyah must have some experience of life and some knowledge of people’s affairs, so that he will be able to fulfil the command of Allah:

How wonderful is the advice to,

8. The daa ‘iyah who wants to call people to Allah should spend time alone every now and then, when his soul may make contact with Allah and he can keep away from all the things that may upset him such as bad attitudes, the stress of life and disturbances around him. During such times of solitude, he should take stock of himself and see if he has fallen short in doing good, or deviated in any way, or failed to follow the wisest course, or made a mistake in his method or way, or indulged in arguments with some people to such an extent that he forgot to remember Allah and feel close to Him, remember the Hereafter with its Paradise and its Hell, together with death and its suffering and agonies. Hence tahajjud and qiyaam al-layl (prayers at night) were made obligatory for the Prophet (0), and they are mustahabbat (recommended) for others. Those who should be most eager to perform these nafl prayers are the daa ‘iyahs who seek to call people to Allah and His shari’ah and Paradise.

Solitude, tahajjud and standing to worship Allah in the depths of the night bring joy which no one knows except those whom Allah honours with these acts of worship. Ibraheem ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say after doing these prayers, “We are experiencing joy which if the kings were aware of it, they would fight us for it.”

It is sufficient for us to note the words that Allah addressed to the Messenger of Allah (saws):

Extracted from “ The Life of Prophet Muhammad: Highlights and Lessons” Published by International Islamic Publishing House

Source:islaam.net

“And if We had made this a foreign Qur’?n, they would have said, ‘Why are its verses not clarified? What! A foreign [book] and an Arab [prophet]?!’” Al-Qur’?n 41:44

Question:
It is an indisputable fact that the Qur’?n uses ‘foreign vocabulary’, that is to say, vocabulary that was adopted into the Arabic language of the Qur’?n as loanwords derived from Aramaic, Syriac, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Greek, and other languages, but already understood in the Meccan and Medinan environment of Muhammad’s time. Many of these loanwords are taken from their liturgical usage in the Jewish-Christian tradition. It is equally indisputable that the Qur’?n includes many passages that have their parallels in biblical or extra-biblical narratives. How do you critically assess these phenomena of the Qur’?n in view of the claim that the Qur’?n is divine revelation, word for word?

Answer:
Due to the multi-layered question, this response will be divided into three parts.¹

1. The Issue of Foreign Words

The controversy regarding the presence of foreign words in the Qur’?n is an ancient one, and although modern scholarship can claim that this fact is indisputable, it was certainly not so in the eyes of some early Muslims.

The famous Andalusian exegete, Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Qurtub? (d. 671/1272), summarized the controversy in the introduction to his Tafs?r. He stated that the scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed that there are no non-Arabic sentences or phrases in the Qur’?n, and they have also agreed that there are non-Arabic proper names such as ‘Jesus’ (‘?s?), Gabriel (Jibr?l) and ‘Noah’ (N?h). However, they differed into two groups regarding the presence of solitary foreign words in the Qur’?n.²

The controversy, of course, pre-dates al-Qurtub? by a few centuries. On the one hand were those who claimed that there were no foreign words in the Qur’?n, the most prominent amongst them being the jurist al-Sh?fi’? (d. 204/819), and also the exegete al-Tabar? (d. 310/922). They claimed that any word found in another language did not necessitate its origination in that language, for it could be the case that the other language took it from Arabic, or that both languages used those words simultaneously.³ The former, in his famous al-Ris?lah, has some harsh words for the followers of this opinion, and considered those who claimed that the Qur’?n has foreign words in it as being ignorant, bereft of wisdom and knowledge.⁴ Their concern, as they quite clearly delineate, was that the Qur’?n describes itself, in almost a dozen verses (e.g. Q. 16:103, 12:2, and 42:7) as being in pure Arabic, hence how could it be claimed that it contained foreign words? They also felt that, in accordance with the Qur’?nic principle that all prophets are sent speaking their native tongues, an Arab prophet would have to speak in Arabic to them. A third reason why such great consternation was felt, as the grammarian Ibn F?ris (d. 395/1004) stated, was due to the fact that if there were non-Arabic words in it, it would be unfair to challenge the Arabs to produce a work similar to it, as the Qur’?n does.⁵

It is poignant to note that there does not seem to be any indication in the writings of these early and even medieval scholars that admitting the existence of foreign vocabulary in the Qur’?n might somehow challenge its claim of Divine origin or expose it to allegations of ‘foreign’ influence. Rather, for them, it was a matter of reconciling specific verses that they presumed contradicted the assertion that foreign words existed in it.

On the other hand, quite a few early authorities seemed to have no problem acknowledging the foreign vocabulary of the Qur’?n. In particular the Companion Ibn ‘Abb?s has much narrated from him in this regard (whether it can be deemed authentic or not is another question). The prolific al-Suy?t? (d. 911/1505) wrote the largest work of its kind in Arabic, entitled al-Muhadhab f? ma waqa’a f? al-Qur’?n min al-mu’arrab, in which he compiled around five dozen such examples. For al-Suy?t?, the few examples of non–Arabic words found in the Qur’?n did not negate its overall Arabic nature, hence there was no conflict with this and the verses describing it as being an Arabic revelation.

A third group of scholars tried to reconcile the two positions by claiming that there was an element of truth in both of them. The early linguist Ab? ‘Ubayd al-Q?sim b. Sall?m (d. 224/838) is the first that I know of who claimed that both of these groups were correct; he stated that the origin of some Qur’?nic words is indeed foreign, but they were introduced into Arabic, as is the case with any language, and were Arabicised by replacing their letters with Arabic letters, and eventually were incorporated into Arabic poetry and culture, such that for all practical purposes they could be considered Arabic.⁶ Al-Zarkash? (d. 794/1391), whose work al-Burh?n f? ‘Ul?m al-Qur’?n is almost universally acknowledged as the greatest mediaeval work on the sciences of the Qur’?n, also leaned towards this position, as did al-Suy?t? in his other work, al-Itq?n f? ‘Ul?m al-Qur’?n. Some proponents of this camp quoted the ‘father’ of Arabic grammar, S?bawayh (d. 180/796) himself, who wrote in his al-Kit?b that non-Arabic words could become Arabic if one substituted Arabic letters for the foreign ones, and then appended it to a known morphological form (wazn).⁷ The exegete Ibn ‘Atiyyah (d. 541/1147), in his al-Muharrar summarized his position regarding this issue when he stated that there is no doubt that Arabs interacted with other civilizations, through trade and other journeys, and in the process they took some of their words and introduced them into the common vernacular of the Arabs, such that they began to be used in their lectures and poetry, and this was the state of affairs when the Qur’?n was revealed with these words. It is this third opinion which is now almost universally acknowledge as valid by Muslim specialists in the field, and all the modern works that are written in the field of ‘ul?m al-Qur’?n’ reflect this.

As a final point, the fact that words of non-Arab origin are undeniably found in pre-Islamic poetry (in particular, the ‘Seven Hanging Odes’) clearly shows that Arabs, like all cultures, took specific phrases from other languages and incorporated them into their own.

Mention must be made here of the seminal work on this field in Western scholarship, and that is Arthur Jeffery’s The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’?n (Brill, 2007). There is no doubt that this masterpiece of scholarship outshines anything else written on the subject, however, at the same time, it cannot be taken as the final authority on each and every word that it lists. Rather, it serves as an indispensable index to see which words might possibly qualify as being non-Arabic in origin. What sets Jefferey’s work head and shoulders above all other works is that he specifically links each alleged foreign word back to its original language, be it Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew, Greek, or other.⁸

2. The Issue of Judaeo-Christian Influence on the Qur’?n

It is a given fundamental amongst non-Muslims, be they Christian, Jew, or secular, that Muhammad composed the Qur’?n from whatever sources were available to him, in particular Judaeo-Christian sources. And it is just as much a fundamental amongst Muslims (by definition!) that the Qur’?n was a revelation from God.

The earliest modern researcher who sought to methodologically prove this claim was Abraham Geiger, who published his Was had Mohammed aus dem Judenthem aufgenommen in 1833 (translated as Judaism and Islam). This was followed by a flood of writings on the topic, such as those of Wilhelm Rudolph, Tor Andrae, Richard Bell, and C. C. Torrey. In particular, the Scottish Orientalist William Muir (d. 1905) did much to lay the foundations of this viewpoint.

Muir maintained that the Prophet had obtained his knowledge of Judaism and Christianity via the followers of those religions who lived in the Hijaz, and who visited the ‘Uk?dh fairs, as well as having learnt about them via his own journeys to Syria. Claims Muir, “We may be certain that Mahomet lost no opportunity of enquiring into the practices and tenets of the Syrian Christians or of conversing with the monks and clergy who fell in his way.” Muir laments that the Prophet was exposed to a distorted and faulty view of Christianity, for had he been given the correct understanding of the religion instead of ‘…the misnamed catholicism of the Empire,’ he would have instead converted to it rather than misleading others through a new faith.⁹

W. Montgomery Watt, taking the ideas of Muir a step further, claimed that one of the theses of his book Muhammad at Mecca is that the greatness of Islam is largely due to a fusion of some Arab elements with certain Judaeo-Christian conceptions. He also posits (p. 27), based upon Q. 16:103, that there was a ‘monotheist informant’ of the Prophet. For Watt, the Prophet intentionally launched a new monotheistic religion in order to avoid the political implications of adopting Judaism or Christianity (p. 38).

H. A. R. Gibb, in his Muhammadanism: A Historical Survey, puts forward another possibility concerning the sources of the Qur’?n. In view of the close commercial relation between Mecca and Yemen, he states, it would be natural to assume that some religious ideas were carried to Mecca with the caravans of spices and woven stuffs, and there are details of vocabulary in the Qur’?n which give color to this assumption.¹⁰ The Lebanese Philip K. Hitti wrote that the sources of the Qur’?n are unmistakably Christian, Jewish and Arab heathen, and that what Muhammad did was to Islamise, Arabicise and nationalize the material.¹¹ Richard Bell, in his The Origin of Islam in its Christian Environment, opines that much of the Qur’?n is directly dependent on the Bible (p. 42), yet also admitted that there was no evidence of any seats of Christianity in the Hij?z, and especially in Mecca and Medina (p. 100). The more modern Kenneth Cragg, while conceding the Christian influence on the Qur’?n, opines: “The Biblical narratives reproduced in the Qur’?n differ considerably and suggest oral, not direct acquaintance. There is almost complete absence of what could be claimed as direct quotation from the Bible.”¹²

And the quotes go on and on. The New Catholic Encyclopedia states quite correctly, regarding the divine origins of the Qur’?n:¹³

Non-Moslem scholarship has taken a different view of the matter. It has nearly always held that the major influences on Mohammed must have been principally, but not exclusively, Jewish and Christian, and that those influences were colored by Mohammed’s own character and made over to conform to aspects and need of the pre-Islamic Arabian mind.

It later goes on to claim that it was highly likely that the Prophet had access to the Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity.

The connection between the foreign vocabulary of the Qur’?n and its alleged foreign sources is obvious, as the quotation from Gibb above hints at. Arthur Jefferey’s work, mentioned above as well, is a perfect illustration of this frame of mind. He states factually that “…it is plain that Muhammad drew his inspiration…from the great monotheistic religions which were pressing down into Arabia of his day.^“14 Based on this premise, he then asserts that researching the foreign vocabulary of the Qur’?n will allow us to understand the influences and sources that Muhammad used to come up with his religion.¹⁵ Jefferey then proceeds to lay out how Muhammad might have had possible access to Ethiopic, Persian, Greek, Syrian, Hebrew, Nabataean and Indian sources, how he had ‘…close contact with the Syrian Church,’ how he attempted to purchase information from the Jews, was possibly taught Coptic legends from his slave-girl, and was inspired by the success and might of the Byzantine and Persian Empires to lead the Arabs to higher levels of civilization.¹⁶

3. The View From Within: Muslim Responses

For Muslims, such a view as expressed by Jefferey and others is inherently biased. Many of the earlier generation of Orientalists were quite staunch Christians who made no qualms about their religious views on Islam. For later scholars, who worked in a time when, even if such a bias existed, its admittance would be looked upon disapprovingly, the general paradigm from which academic research was (and is) undertaken is that of a secular one, where there is no God who communicates with man and who sends different prophets with the same message to different peoples. Of course, this paradigm is applied to the same standards by most modern researchers to all faiths, and not just Islam. To do otherwise would automatically constitute an unacceptable bias that modern academia would not allow. Thus, the ‘The Great Flood’ that is mentioned in the Bible (and the Qur’?n) is viewed as a universal myth that has its origins in a plethora of sources, such as the Hindu Puranas, Greek mythology, and even the Epic of Gilgamesh. The mythology of Christianity is seen as having been derived from previous parallels, some of which are indeed quite striking, such as the stories of the Egyptian Sun god Horus and the Hellenistic cult of Mithra.

Hence, some of the problems that religiously devout Muslim academics will have when dealing with such research into the origins of the Qur’?n are very similar to the problems that members of other faiths will have when dealing with their respective traditions.

But this is not the only line of defense that Muslim academics draw. They point out the social and intellectual milieu that the Prophet found himself in and ask whether the portrayal of him tallies with historical facts and realities. One cannot be blamed for getting the distinct impression that some Western authors attribute to Muhammad a type of encyclopedic knowledge that no one else of his time or era reputedly had, or could even come close to. The impression is given that either he knew or had access to a library that included Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and ancient Arab beliefs, and was cognizant of many different languages and dialects, before ‘writing’ the Qur’?n. Yet, modern research has failed to show any significant center of Jewish or Christian learning in Arabia, or translation of the Holy Scriptures into Arabic. In fact, some specialists have shown that the first known translation of the Gospels into Arabic occurred in the third century after the hijra.¹⁷

Again, for Muslims, such claims seem to ignore simple historical realities of the time, some of which even the Qur’?n alludes to. Of them is that Muhammad was an illiterate man raised in an uneducated Bedouin society. Both Q. 10:16 and 29:48-9 remind listeners that the Prophet had spent an entire lifetime (i.e., forty years) in their midst, during which he showed absolutely no inclination for any sort of literary activity or flair for writing skills – had he done so, the Qur’?n explicitly states, there would indeed be a legitimate reason to be skeptical.

Another issue that must be kept in mind is that any ‘parallels’ found between Qur’?nic and Biblical stories or materials are seen as proving, rather than disproving, the Qur’?n’s claim that it, along with the previous revelations, are Divinely revealed. A number of verses (e.g., 12:3, 12:102 and 28:44-6) plainly link the mentioning of such stories as proof that these revelations are not from mortal sources, but from God, “…for neither you, nor your people, knew of them before this” (Q 11: 49). Believing Muslims point out that even at the revelation of this Meccan verse, there are no recorded instances of anyone challenging the veracity of this claim, and state, “Actually, I was aware of these particular stories before the revelation.” Hence, far from looking at such stories and any similarities between them and other literature as proof against his prophethood, believers take them to be proofs for his claims!¹⁸

The same applies for any theological or moral similarity between Islam and Judaism or Christianity, or even ancient Arab customs, for they are taken to be of the common rubric given to Moses, Jesus and Abraham respectively. Hence this type of ‘back-projecting’ of ideas is not as much of a problem for Muslims as it is, say, for Christians when confronted with clear parallels between Christian theology and pagan beliefs (since, for them, there should be no Divine connection between the pagan cult of Mithra and the image of Jesus Christ, for example). For Muslims, the continuity of theology between prophets is a clear Qur’?nic principle and a proof for prophethood (as in Q. 46:9). In fact, in more than one verse the Qur’?n quite explicitly and unabashedly states that God has given the same message to the previous prophets in their respective Scriptures. In Q. 21:105, the Qur’?n states that God had already written, in the Psalms, that the righteous shall inherit the Earth (‘anna al-arda yarithuh? ‘ibadiy al-s?lih?n’). This is almost an exact parallel of Psalm 37:29 “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein for ever.”¹⁹ Other verses also give quotations from Biblical Scripture (see, for example, Q. 49:29).

It is also interesting to note that while the classical works related to the sciences of the Qur’?n discussed a multitude of issues, and strove to ‘defend’ the purity of the Revelation by tackling, head on, the claims of those who opposed it, it is rare to find in their works, or even in the treatises that responded to Christian polemics against Islam, a detailed defense of the accusation that the Qur’?n is taken from Judaeo-Christian sources because of parallels between them. Again, this returns to the psychological frame of mind that Muslims have, in which they see such parallels as being an indication of the continuity of the same chain of prophets and the same message, revealed from the same God. In other words, such parallels are simply not as ‘troubling’ to them as they are to a secular, Christian or Jewish observer, since each of these three groups will explain such parallels from within his or her own paradigm.²⁰

In conclusion, and on a personal note, I accept as a given that, as a believer in a particular faith, there are certain areas where academic scholarship and religious belief will simply have to agree to disagree. I find claims of neutrality and objectivity to be purely relative; secular researchers into any field of religion will have their biases (although they would probably not label them as being ‘biases’), believing adherents to one tradition will have other biases when they examine other faiths, and they will have yet another set of biases when they examine their own faith.

That does not mean that research in any religious field is doomed to be bound by one’s own religious views. Rather, it is precisely because of such alternate viewpoints that academics and researchers will continue to enrich and engage with one another and provide fertile ground for ideas to be tossed around and explored; eventually, some will germinate and be nurtured, while others will fail to take root. And even of those that are nurtured, the fruits produced by such ideas will always be sweet to some, and bitter to others.

1. I must point out that it is not even remotely possible to do justice to this question in the space allotted; however the goal is to show as wide a grasp of the sources and issues as possible, and that is what I intend to accomplish.
2. Al-Qurtub?, al-J?m?? li Ahk?m al-Qur??n, v. 1, p. 104.
3. Al-Tabari, Tafs?r, v. 1, p. 8.
4. Al-Shafi??, al-Ris?lah, p. 41
5. Ibn F?ris, al S?hib?, p. 28.
6. Ibn F?ris, al S?hib?, p. 29.
7. S?bawayh, al-Kit?b, v. 4, p. 304.
8. There is one minor reservation that I have about the work, and I say this fully recognizing and appreciating the level of scholarship it displays (apart from the fact that it includes proper nouns such as Ily?s, Sabi??n, and Maj?s – this is a matter that even the likes of al-Shafi?? would not have had an issue with!) Jeffery shows that many common nouns and verbs (such as khubz, p. 121, kataba, p. 248 and sajada, p. 162) have ‘originated’ from a foreign language; this might very well be the case, but their use and understanding amongst the Arabs, perhaps for centuries before the coming of the Prophet, had made them as ‘Arabic’ as could possibly be. My point here is that the case cannot be made with such common nouns and verbs that the Prophet himself had anything to do with them or that he somehow introduced them into the language of the Arabs (whereas the case may indeed be made with other words). Hence their inclusion on a list of ‘foreign’ vocabulary of the Qur??n (as opposed to a list of foreign vocabulary of the Arabic language), seems, to me at least, foreign.
9. Muir, The Life of Mahomet, (Edinburgh, 1923) v. 2, p. 20-21.
10. Mohammadanism: A Historical Survey (London, 1961) p. 37.
11. Hitti, Islam and the West: A Historical Cultural Survey (New York, 1979), p. 15.
12. The Call Of The Minaret, p. 66
13. New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Vol. VII, p.677.
14. Jeffery, Foreign Vocabulary, p. 1.
15. Jeffery, Foreign Vocabulary, p. 2.
16. Ibid., p. 22, 28-9, 38.
17. Sidney H Griffith, “The Gospel In Arabic: An Enquiry Into Its Appearance In The First Abbasid Century” Oriens Christianus, Volume 69, p. 131-132.
18. For the above paragraphs, see, inter alia: Mohammad Khalifa, The sublime Qur’a?n and Orientalism (London; Longman, 1983), Hamza Njozi, The Sources of the Qur??n: A Critical Review of Authorship Theories, (WAMY Press, 1995); Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists (Madina, 1997); my own comments in Qadhi, An Introduction, p. 274-6. Also see Watt’s comments on this verse in Mohammed at Mecca, p. 45.
19. Although I am not knowledgeable of Hebrew, I am told that the parallel in the original is even more profound.
20. I am not implying that such defense does not exist in the classical sources, for it does; what I am saying is that when one compares the quantity of material on this specific issue, versus other issues (for example, proving the i?j?z of the Qur??n), it is quite clear that this issue was not of as great a concern to them as other issues.

Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Ibn Taymeeyah’s Essay on the Jinn (Demons)
© Author

Based on “Eedah ad-Dalaalah fee ‘Umoom ar-Risaalah”, from volume 19 of “Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa” (A Collection of Religious Rulings); volume 35 of “Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa” and Ibn Taymeeyah’s classic, ” Al-Furqaan Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan.”

Note: All remarks that are bracketed in the text are made by Bilal Phillips

THE AUTHOR

Ahmad ibn ‘Abdul-Haleem ibn Taymeeyah was bron in the town of Harran [near Edessa, in what was once Northern Iraq, but is now called Orfa and is a part of Turkey.], in the year 1263 CE. His father was a leading scholar of the Hanbalite school of Islamic law and so was his grandfather, who authored Muntaqaa al-Akhbaar, the text of ash-Shawkaanee’s Hadeeth classic Nayl al-Awtaar.

Ibn Taymeeyah mastered the various disciplines of Islamic study at an early age and read extensively the books of the various sects and religions in existence at that time. Much of his time and effort was spend defending the orthodox Islamic position against a tidal wave of deviation which had swept over the Muslim nation. Consequently, he faced many difficulties from both the prominent sectarian scholars of his time and from the authorities who supported them. His clashes with them led to his imprisonment on numerous occasions. Ibn Taymeeyah also fought, not only against internal enemies of Islaam, but also against its external enemies by both his Fatwaas (Islamic legal rulings) and his physical participation in battles. His ruling allowing the taking up arms against groups which recognized the Shahaadataan (declaration of faith) but refused to uphold some aspects of the fundamental principles of Islaam, greatly affected the resistance movement against the Tartars who had declared their acceptance of Islaam but did not rule according to divine law.

During these struggles he wrote countless books and treatises demonstrating his extensive reading and knowledge, not only of the positions of the early scholars, but also those of the legal and theological schools which had subsequently evolved. Ibn Taymeeyah also had a major effect on the open-minded schoars of his day, most of whom were from the Shaafi’ite school of law. Among the most famous of his students were IBN KATHEER, ADH-DHAHABEE and IBN AL-QAYYIM. The author died in 1328 while in prison in Damascus for his Fatwaa against undertaking journeys to visit the graves of saints [Ibn Taymeeyah's ruling was based on the authentic statement reported by Abu Hurayrah wherein the Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, "Do not undertake a journey except to three masjids; this masjid of mine, Masjid al-Haraam (Makkah) and Masjid al-Aqsaa (Bayt al-Maqdis)." Collected by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. His Fatwaa had been distorted by his enemies to say that he forbade visitingthe Prophet Muhammad’s (saws) grave.

CHAPTER THREE: DEMONIC VISIONS

Those involved in incantations and oaths often swear by some devils to help them against others. Sometimes the evil JINN fulfil their request but frequently they do not, especially when the JINN against whom help is sought is honored among them. Neither the one chanting incantations nor his incantations have any power to force the devils to help them. The reciter of incantations earnestly entreats a being whom he considered great – which may or may not be the case – to harm others who may conceivably be greater. In the case where someone entreats the JINN to harm someone whom the JINN hold in high esteem, they will ignore him. In fact, it may prevent them from even responding at all. Their situations is quite similar to that of humans except that human beings are generally more intelligent, truthful, just and trustworthy while the JINN tend to be ignorant, untruthful, oppressive and treacherous.

The point is that though the oaths and incantations of devil-worshippers may contain statements of idolatry and disbelief, they are frequently ineffective against the JINN. When requested to kill or apprehend another JINN who has possessed a human, the JINN will often mock those who make the request by falsely giving them the impression that they killed or detained the offending JINN. This is especially so in cases where humans believe in the illusions created by the JINN. The JINN usually communicate by either visions or voices ["The gleaning of hidden information by way of visions and voices has been well documented among clairvoyants and mediums. 'A medium' may be defined as a person through whose agency or through whose orgainsm there are received communications ostensibly from deceased human beings or other discarnate or remote entities. In what is called 'clairvoyant mediumship' -now popularly known as channelling- the meduim 'sees' or 'hears' the deceased friends and relatives of persons persent and relays messages from them. Generally speaking, the experiences concerned seem not to have the distinctness of ordinary perception but are rather a seeing or hearing 'in the mind's eye' or ear. Sometimes, however, the figures seen or voices heard may attain as hallucinatory vividness; the medium's experience then resembles that of one who witnesses an apparition." (Benjamin B. Wolman. ed., Handbook of Parapsychology, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1977, pp, 579-580)] with those seeking information among the idol-worshippers, Christians, Jews, and heretical Muslims driven astray by the devils. JINNS may take the form of a live picture portraying whatever the sorcerers and fortunetellers wish to know about. When these deviants see the image of what they sought, they then inform other humans about it. Some of them may know that the image is actually an illusion, while others may be deluded into believing that they are actually wintessing the real scene. JINNS may also make humans hear the voice of those whom they call upon who are far away. Such cases are frequent among idolaters, Christians, Jews and ignorant Muslims who seek refuge in those whom they consider holy. When some devotees call on their spiritual masters for help saying, “Oh my Lord so and so!” the JINN will address them in the voice of their masters. When the masters answer their request, the JINN, in turn, answer the devotees in the masters’ voice. This has happened to many people some of whom are known to me. The devils will often respond while talking the form of the one besought, whether dead or alive, even if he is unaware of those who call on him. Those committing Shirk in this fashion believe that the person beseeched has actually replied when in fact it is the JINN replying. This frequently happens to Christians who call on those whom they edify, whether dead or alive, like George or other holy figures [ROME, Feb 24 1989 (AFP) - A retired Italian roadman Renato Baron claims that he has been seeing and talking to the Virgin Mary for nearly three years now. Visions by Baron and about THIRTY others have attracted tens of thousands of people from Italy, France, Belgium, and West Germany to a hill near Venice, causing huge traffic jams.

Ambridge, Pennsylvania - A small Roman Catholic Church in a western Pennsylvania mill town is preparing for a deluge of pilgrims after a reported Good Friday miracle in which the eyes of a statue of Christ suddenly closed. The Rev. Vincent Cvitkovic, a Franciscan friar, and many of his parishoners reported that the eyes of a life-size statue which depicts the crucified Christ, which have been open for 60 years, closed during a prayer meeting. (The Times, Monday, April 10th 1989, no. 63, 364, p.8)

In 1981 a group of five children were playing on a hill just outside of a village in the Yugoslavian Republic of Bosnia - Herzegovina called Medugorje when a vision of a beautiful woman claiming to be the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared before them. Since 1981 some seven to eight million pilgrims from different countries, cultures and Christian traditions have climbed up the holy hill of Medugorje. At 7:30 every evening pilgrims and tourists anxiously crowd around the dark rectory of a nearby church staring at the stream of light which will signify that once more the children, who still gather there daily, are having their private audience with the Blessed Mother. (IRF, Newsletter of the International Religious Foundation, Inc., Vol II, No. 6, Nov-Dec 1987, pp 1-2).

Divine grace (salvation) is felt to be especially potent in places visited by Jesus Christ or Saints or by Mary; where they have appeared in visions. Major pilgrimage centers include Lourdes where visions of the Virgin Mary were first seen in 1858 and where healing has been occuring since that time. (John R. Hinnells, ed., Dictionary of Religions, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1984, p. 284)]. It also occurs to heretical Muslims who call on the dead or those not present, and the devils take the form of the one called upon even without him realizing it. I know of many cases where this has occurred and the people called upon have told me that they did not know that they were called upon, though those beseeching them for help saw their images and were convinced that it was the actual person. More than one person has mentioned that they called on me in times of distress, each telling a different story about how I have responded. When I told them that I never answered any of them nor did I know that they were calling on me, some said that it must have been an angel. I told them that angels do not benefit those committing SHIRK and that it was actually a devil trying to further misguide them.

Sometimes the Jinn will take the form of those admired and stand at ‘Arafat, and those who believe well of him will think that he actually stood in ‘Arafat. Many others have also been actually carried by the devils to ‘Arafat and other sacred places. In such cases they pass the Meeqaat (boundaries that may not be crossed while on Hajj, around Makkah) without formally entering the state of Ihraam, or performing many of the obligatory rites of Hajj like making the Talbeeyah (chant of response to God’s call) or circulating the Ka’bah, and walking between the mounts of Safaa and Marwah. Among them are some who do not even pass through Makkah, others who stand at ‘Arafat without performing the pre-requisite rite of casting stones at the Jamaraat etc. It is by these and other similar feats that Satan leads seemingly pious people in misguidance. Sincere devotees among heretics are in this way enticed to do acts wich are prohibited (Haraam) or despised (Makrooh) in the religion. Satan is able to make such misdeeds appealing to them by convincing them that they are among the Karaamaat (supernatural or quasi-miraculous feats) of the righteous. However they are, without a doubt, Satanic deceptions because Allaah cannot be worshipped by any religious injunction which is neither compulsory (Waajib) nor recommended (Mustahabb). Whoever performs an act of worship which is neither Waajib nor Mustahabb believing that it is so, has been deceived by Satan. Even if it is decreed that such a person will be forgiven due to his good intention and striving, the act itself is still unacceptable to Allaah [An example may be seen in the mistaken belief held by some that a man's head must be covered while he is in formal prayer - Salaah - as is the case among Jews or that a woman's hair to be covered while reading the Qur'aan. However, the Prophet saws did not order that it be done nor recommended it but merely followed the customs of his people during that time.]. Such acts are not among the things with which Allaah honors His pious servants who are close to Him, as there is no honor in performing prohibited (Haraam) or despised (Makrooh) acts [Such is the case of the celebration of the Prophet's saws birthday - 'Eed Meelaad an-Nabee - which probably began among ignorant Muslims trying to outdo or at least compete with the Christians's celebrations of Christmas. Meelaad celebrations are a form of innovation - Bid'ah - in religion which has been forbidden by the Prophet saws who said: "Whoever innnovates in this affair ouf ours - i.e. Islaam - something which does not belong to it will be rejected. - Reported by 'Aa'eshah and collected by Al-Bukaaree and Muslim]. Divine honor lies in protecting one whom Allaah loves from such acts and preventing him from doing them. For, committing misdeeds debases one who does them and does not in any way favor him, even if he is not punished for doing them. Doing despised or Haraam acts MUST decrease the spiritual level of both the one who does them as well as his followers who praise such acts and glorify him. For, heaping praise on prohibited and despised acts, and honoring the one who does them is definitely a form of deviation from the path of Allaah. The more and more a man innovates in the religion as a result of independent judgement (Ijtihaad), the further he becomes from Allaah, because innovation (Bid’ah) removes him from Allaah’s path; the divine path of “those who Allah has blessed from among the prophets, the sincerely truthful, martyrs and righteous” [An-Nisaa 4:69] unto the path of “those with whom Allaah is angry and those who have gone astray” [Al-Faatihah 1:7]. Ibn Taymeeyah mentioned the following [This begins a segment from vol.35 of Ibn Taymeeyah's compendium, Majmoo' al-Fataawaa.] historical incident concerning al-Hallaaj [Al-Husain ibn Mansoor al-Hallaj (858-922 CE) studied under the eminent Sufi teachers of his time (Tustaree, 'Amr Makee and Junaid) then broke with them and went out into this world to preach asceticism and mysticism in Khurasan, Ahwaz, Fars, India and Turkistan. On his return to Baghdad from Makkah in 908, many were attracted by his teachings, and disciples rapidly gathered around him. He taught that the five pillars of Islaam may be replaced by other works. He also taught about the existence of an uncreated Divine spirit (Rooh Naatiqah) which becomes united with the created spirit of the ascetic through desire of and submission to suffering. In his teachings the Saint (Walee) became the living and personal witness of God (H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers, Encyclopedia of Islam, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1st ed., 1953, pp 127-80). Consequently he stated in his book: "If you do not recognize God, at least recognise His sign, I am the creative truth -Ana al-Haqq-, because through the truth, I am eternal truth. My friends and teachers are Iblees (Satan) and Pharaoh. Iblees was threatened with Hellfire, yet, he did not recant. Pharaoh was drowned in the sea, yet he did not recant, for he would not acknowledge anything between him and God (i.e. Hallaaj felt that Iblees' refusal to prostrate to Aadam and Pharaoh's statement "I am your Lord, most High" were correct!). And, I, though, I am killed and crucified and though my hands and feet are cut off; I do not recant." - Kitaab al-Tawaaseen, Massignon Press, Paris, 1913, vi, 32. The leading scholars from all orthodox schools of Islamic law as well as the leading Shi'ite scholars and some of his former Sufi teachers declared him a heretic and he was subsequently executed due to his refusal to retract his claim to be the personification of God on earth.] and a group of his followers, “Some of them requested some sweets from al-Hallaaj, so he got up and went to a spot a short distance away, then returned with a plateful of sweets. It was later discovered that it had been stolen from a candy shop in Yemen and carried by a devil to that area.” Ibn Taymeeyah went on to say, “Incidents similar to this have happened to others who, like al-Hallaaj, also achieved the pinnacle of satanic states, and we know of quite a few such people in our time as well as other times. For instance, there is a person presently residing in Damascus whom the devil used to carry from the Saaliheeyah mountain to villages around Damascus. He would appear out of the air and enter the windows of houses in which people were gathered to witness his ‘miraculous entrance.’” Ibn Taymeeyah also quoted another mystic master who admitted that he used to fornicate with women and sodomise young boys. The former mystic master said, “A black dog ["Abu Dharr reported: The Messanger of Allaah said: 'When any one of you stands for prayer it should be towards something that shields him equivalent (in height) to the back of a saddle, otherwise his prayer will be broken by passing of a donkey, a woman or a black dog.' I asked 'O Abu Dharr, what is the difference between a black dog, a red dog and tan-colored dog?' He replied, 'O son of my brother, I also asked Allaah's Messanger as you are asking me, and he said: 'The black dog is a devil.'" (Saheeh Muslim and all other in the six Saheeh books with the exception of Saheeh al-Bukhaaree)] with two white spots between his eyes would come to me and say, ‘Verily such and such a person has made an oath by you and he will come to you tomorrow to inform you about it. I have already fulfilled his need for your sake.’ [When questioned during his trial, the infamous New York City mass murderer of the seventies, "Son of Sam", claimed that a dog used to come in backyard of his house and tell him to kill his victims. It was assumed by the court and his psychiatrists that he was mentally deranged and the dog a figment of his imagination.] The person would then come to him the next day and the Sufi master would reveal the details of his oath to him and how it was fulfilled. The Sufi master went on to say, ‘I used to walk about the city and a black pole with a light on top of it would lead the way.’ ” Ibn Taymeeyah said, “When the Sufi master repented and began to pray, fast, and avoid the forbidden, the black dog went away.” He also narrated the following about another mystic master who had the aid of devils whom he would despatch to possess people: “When the family of the possessed would come to him seeking a cure, he would send a message to his demon companion and they would leave the possessed persons, as a result, the Shaykh would be given many dirhams for his services. Sometimes the Jinn would bring him dirhams and food which they stole from people, so much so that the Shaykh would request dates from his devils and they would take them from beehives in which some poeple had hidden their dates. When the beehive owners would look for their dates they would find them gone.” About yet another mystic, Ibn Taymeeyah relates, “There was a Shaykh knowledgeable in the religious sciences and Qur’anic recitation to whom the devils came and eventually managed to seduce. They told him that Salaah was no longer required of him and that they would bring him whatever he wished. As soon as he complied with their wishes, they began to bring him a variety of sweets and fruit. This continued until he was advised to repent by some scholars that he visited who were firmly following the Sunnah. He subsequently repented and repaid the owners of the sweets for what he ate while under the influence of the JINN.” He then went on to say, “Many of those who call on Shaykhs in time of need saying, ‘O master so and so, or Shaykh so and so, fulfill my need’ have seen an image of the Shaykh saying, ‘I will fulfill your need and put your heart at ease,’ then it fulfills their needs or repels their enemies. In such cases it is a devil taking the Shaykh’s form when they committed Shirk by associating partners with Allaah and calling on others beside Him.” Ibn Taymeeyah then went on to enumerate similar instances involving himself saying, “I know of many such incidences even among a group of my companions who called on me in times when they were struck by calamities. One was afraid of the Romans and another of the Tatars. Both of them mentioned that they called out to me, they saw me in the air and I repelled their enemies for them. I informed them that I did not hear their cries no did I repel their enemies. It was a devil taking my appearance to seduce them when they associated partners with Allaah the Almighty. Similar incidents have also happened to the students of my contemporaries among the scholars, whereby some of their students have sought refuge in them and have seen them fulfill their needs. The scholars have also denied doing so and indicated that it was in fact the work of devils.” [Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa, Vol. 35, pp. 112-116]

In another book, Ibn Taymeeyah said, “I know people whom the plants greet and inform them of their beneficial ingredients, however it is, in fact, Satan who has entered the plants and spoken to them. I also know of others to whom stones and trees speak saying, “Congratulations, Oh friend of Allaah” and when the people recite Aayatul-Kursee it stops. I am acquainted with yet others who have gone bird-hunting and the sparrows addressed them saying, “Take me so that the poor may eat me.” Such are cases of the evil JINN possessing the birds in the same way that others who, while in their house with the doors and vice versa [Many of those in our times who have claimed what is known as 'out-of-body experiences' or 'astral-travel' have recorded in vivid detail incidences simialr to those mentioned by Ibn Taymeeyah. Others have met beings which claimed to be guides, guardian spirits or their higher selves. However, the common thought which links most of these experiences is the ultimate expression of idolatry: that man is God, as was expressed by Al-Hallaaj and countless others before and after him.] He may even be taken through the closed city gates and back again swiftly by the JINN. Lights may shine on him or someone looking like his friend may call on him but, if he recites Aayatul-Kursee continually, it will all dissappear.” He also said, “Some mystics have also said that the JINN showed them something shiny like water and glass in which images or pictures of whatever they sought information would appear and they in turn wold inform people.” Ibn Taymeeyah me tioned other instances and then concluded by saying, “This is a so vast a topic that if I were to mention all that I knew, it would fill a very large volume.” [Ibn Taymeeyah, Al-Furqaan Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan, pp. 87-92]

In the name of Allah the most merciful and clement: [O Allah I implore your assistance, O Allah bless Muhammad and his family and grant them peace.]

Abd Muhammad ‘Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Sa’id Ibn Hazm [the Andalusian jurist]. Allah may be blessed with him has said:

1. Praise be to Allah for His great gifts. May Allah bless [our master] Muhammad, His servant, the seal of His Prophets and Messengers; may He grant them eternal blessings. I rely on Him for any ability and strength I may have, and I seek His aid and protection against all the various terrors and ills of this world. And may He deliver me from all horror and suffering in the next world.

2. Now, I have gathered together in this book numerous ideas which Allah, the provider of intellect, has enabled me to profit from as day succeeded day, [and year succeeded year] and circumstances altered, permitting me to understand the vicissitudes of fate and to control its fluctuations, to the extent that I have devoted the larger part of my life to it. I have chosen to master these problems by study and contemplation, rather than throw myself into the various sensual pleasures which attract most souls on this earth, and rather than amass unnecessary wealth. I have gathered together all my observations into this book in the hope that the Almighty may allow it to benefit whichever of His servants He wishes who has access to [is capable of understanding] my book, in the matters over which I have slaved, devoting all my efforts to them and reflecting at length upon them. I hope that it will be well received, and I present it with good intentions and blessings [with a good heart].

This book will benefit a person more than financial treasures and the possession of property, if he meditates upon it, and if Allah enables him to make good use of it. As for myself, my hope in this enterprise is to win the greatest reward from Allah, since my intention is to help His servants, to remedy whatever is corrupt in their character, and to heal the sickness of their souls. I beseech the assistance of Allah [Almighty, we wish only for God, the best of defenders].

Section dealing with the Treatment to be given to Souls, and the Reform of Vicious Characters.

3. The pleasure which a prudent man has from his own good sense, a scholar from his knowledge, a wise man from his wisdom, the pleasure of anyone who works hard in ways pleasing to Almighty God, is greater than the pleasure which a gourmet has from his food, a drinking man from his tipple, a lover from the act of love, a conqueror from his conquest, a reveller from his amusements [the player from his game] or a commander from giving orders. The proof of this is that the wise man, the prudent man, the scholar,’ the practising Muslim and all those that we have mentioned are capable of enjoying these pleasures as much as the man who indulges in them. They have the same feelings, desires as those who hasten to satisfy them. But they have deliberately refrained and turned away from them, preferring to seek after moral excellence. None can judge these two [kinds of pleasure] except someone who has known both, not someone who has known one and not the other.

4. [As things happen one after the other] If you look deeply into worldly matters you will become melancholy and will end by reflecting upon the ephemeral nature of everything here below, and the fact that truth lies only in striving for the hereafter, since every ambition to which you might cling will end in tears; either the goal is snatched from you, or you have to give the attempt up before you reach it. One of these two endings is inevitable except in the search for God the Almighty and Powerful. Then the result is always joy, both immediate and eternal. The immediate joy is because you stop worrying about the things which usually worry people; this leads to an increase in the respect paid to you by friends and enemies alike. The eternal joy is the joy of Paradise.

5. I have tried to find one goal which everyone would agree to be excellent and worthy of being striven after. I have found one only: to be free from anxiety. When I reflected upon it, I realized that not only do all agree in valuing it and desiring it, but I also perceived that, despite their many different passions and aspirations and preoccupations and desires, they never make the slightest gesture unless it is to dispel anxiety, they never utter a single word unless it is designed to drive anxiety far away. One man loses his way, another comes close to going wrong, finally another is successful – but he is a rare man, and. success is rare, [O, all-knowing God].

Dispelling anxiety is a goal upon which all nations agree from the time when the Almighty created the world until the day when this world will pass away and be followed by the Day of Judgment – and their actions are directed to this goal alone. In the case of every other objective there will always be some people who do not desire it.

For example, some people are not religious and do not take eternity into account.

There are some who by nature and inclination prefer obscurity to fame [the obscurity of satisfied passion].

There are some people of evil nature who are not striving for good, for peace [loyalty] or for justice.

There are some who have no interest in amassing a fortune, preferring abstinence to ownership; this was the case with many of the Prophets. God’s peace be upon them – and those who followed their example, ascetics and philosophers. There are some who by nature dislike sensual pleasures and scorn those who seek after them, such as those men we have just mentioned, and who prefer to lose a fortune rather than gain one. Some prefer ignorance to knowledge, in fact most of the people that you see in the street are like this. These are the objectives of people who have no other aim in life. Nobody in the whole world, from the time of its creation until its end, would deliberately choose anxiety, and would not desire to drive it far away.

6. When I had arrived at this great piece of wisdom, when I had discovered this amazing secret, when Allah the Almighty had opened the eyes of my mind [spirit] to see this great treasure, I began to search for the way which would truly enable me to dispel anxiety, that precious goal desired by every kind of person, whether ignorant or scholarly, good or evil. I found it in one place alone, in the action of turning towards God the Almighty and powerful, in pious works performed with an eye to eternity.

7. Thus the only reason that someone chases after riches is to dispel the anguish of poverty. The only reason that someone seeks fame is to dispel the anxiety of seeing someone else outdo him. The only reason that someone chases after pleasures is to dispel the anxiety of missing them. The only reason that someone chases after knowledge is to dispel the anxiety of being ignorant about something.

People enjoy listening to other people’s conversation and gossip only because it dispels the anxiety of being alone and isolated. People eat, drink, make love, wear clothes, play games, build a shelter, mount a horse, go for a walk, only in order to avoid the reverse of all these actions and every other kind of anxiety.

8. In all the actions listed here, anyone who pauses to reflect will see that anxieties will inevitably occur, such as problems which arise in the course of the action, the impossibility of performing the impossible, the fleeting nature of any achievements, and the inability to enjoy something because of some difficulty. There are also bad consequences which arise from every success: fear of one’s rival, attacks by the jealous, theft by the covetous, loss to an enemy, not to mention criticism, sin and such things. On the other hand, I have found that actions performed with an eye on eternity are free from every kind of fault, free from every stain, and a true means of dispelling anxiety. I have found that the man who is striving for eternity may be sorely tested by bad fortune on his way but does not worry; on the contrary, he is glad, because the trial to which he is subjected gives rise to hope, which aids him in his endeavour and sets him the more firmly on the path towards his true desire. I have found that, when he finds his way blocked by an obstacle, he does not worry, because it is not his fault, and he did not choose the actions that he will have to answer for. I have seen such a man be glad, when others have wished evil upon him, and be glad when he has undergone some trial, and be glad when he has suffered on his chosen path, and be glad, always [living] in a permanent state of joy while others are permanently the opposite. You should therefore understand that there is only one objective to strive for, it is to dispel anxiety; and only one path leads to this, and that is the service of the most high God. Everything else is misguided and absurd.

9. Do not use your energy except for a cause more noble than yourself. Such a cause cannot be found except in Almighty God Himself: to preach the truth, to defend womanhood, to repel humiliation which your creator has not imposed upon you, to help the oppressed. Anyone who uses his energy for the sake of the vanities of the world is like someone who exchanges gemstones for gravel.

10. There is no nobility in anyone who lacks faith.

11. The wise man knows that the only fitting price for his soul is a place in Paradise.

12. Satan sets his traps, under the cover of finding fault with hypocrisy. It can happen that someone refrains from doing a good deed for fear of being thought a hypocrite. [If Satan whispers such an idea in your ear, take no notice; that will frustrate him.]

We would say that desire is the cause of all kinds of cares, even those which concern one’s fortune and social position. Thus it may be observed that a man who sees the death of his neighbour, or of his maternal uncle, his friend, his cousin, his great-uncle, his nephew, his maternal grandfather or his grandson, having no claim on their property, does not fret because it has escaped him, however large and considerable their fortunes might be, because he had no expectation of them. But as soon as a distant member of his father’s family dies, or one of his remotest clients, he begins to covet their belongings. And with the coveting comes crowding in anxiety, regret, anger and great sorrow if some tiny part of their fortune escapes him.

It is the same with one’s position in society: a man who belongs to the lowest social class does not fret if he is not consulted when someone else is given charge of the affairs of the land. He does not fret if someone else is promoted or demoted. But as soon as he begins to feel an ambition to better himself, it provokes so much worry, anxiety and anger that it could make him lose his soul, his world and his position in the hereafter [lose his soul here and in the hereafter]. Thus covetousness is the cause of all humiliation and every kind of anxiety. It is a wicked and despicable kind of behaviour.

The opposite of covetousness is disinterest. This is a virtuous quality which combines courage, generosity, justice and intelligence. A disinterested man is truly intelligent because he understands the vanity of covetousness and prefers disinterest. His courage gives birth to a greatness of spirit which makes him disinterested. His natural generosity stops him fretting about property which is lost to him. His equitable nature makes him love reserve and moderation in his desires. Thus disinterest is composed of these four qualities, just as covetousness, its opposite, is composed of the four opposite faults, that is, cowardice, greed, injustice and ignorance.

Greed is a kind of covetousness which would like to possess everything; it is insatiable and ever increasing in its demands. If there were no such thing as covetousness, nobody would ever humiliate himself to anybody else. Abu Bakr ibn Abu al-Fayyad has told me that `Uthman Ibn Muhamis [died 356 AH; 966 AD] inscribed upon the door of his house in Ecija [in Seville] “`Uthman covets nothing”.

The husband himself may be the cause of the woman’s disobedience and rebelliousness. For example, he may be very stingy and miserly. He may also be very emotional and excitable. He may also be someone who is very harsh, tough and despotic. He may be one who forces his will and decisions upon his wife in every matter without consulting with her, taking into consideration her feelings, exchanging views on the matter and being pleasant with this wife. He might consider his wife like some kind of chattel [instead of another human] and therefore deals with her with coldness and coarseness without any compassion or gentleness. [Translator’s Footnote: A disease that seems to afflict many men in their ability to be very kind and brotherly to their brothers but extremely cold and harsh towards their own wives. Obviously, their wives have more rights upon them than any of their brothers in Islam. This mistaken behavior must be corrected.]

The cause for that may also be in his evil friends who sow discontent and evil between a man and his wife by leading him and pushing him to disliking and hating his wife and wishing to be free from her.

“[In fact,] (his extreme good nature beyond normal limits) may also lead to his wife to change her disposition and make her try to override him and then disobey his commands and elevate herself above him.” [Majallah al-Jundi al-Muslim, p. 29, fn.1.]

“He may cause his wife different forms of harm, such as cursing her or her family, reviling her, verbally abusing her for the tiniest of reasons. He may insult her because of her family, if it is less prestigious or honorable than his. Or [another act of nushooz on his part is that] he may try to bring harm to her by divorcing her and then, before the waiting period is finished, bring her back as his wife and then divorce her again. All this is done without the intention of returning to a real married life but simply to harm her and transgress her rights. Or he may avoid having sexual intercourse with her for no reason or legal sanction. This may lead the woman to lose her chastity and doing something forbidden.” [Al-Bahuti al-Hanbali, Kishaaf al-Qinaa’ an Matn al-Iqnaa’, vol. 5, pp. 184, 290, 213; Ibn Abideen, Radd al-Mukhtar ala al-Darr al-Mukhtar wa Hashiyah, vol. 3, p. 190; Tafseer al-Manaar, vol. 5, p. 76.]

Shaikh al-Islam ibn Taimiya stated, “The harm that comes about to the woman by the man avoiding sexual intercourse with her is such that the marriage may be dissolved under every circumstance, regardless if it was intentional from the husband or unintentional, or if he had the ability to perform sexual intercourse or not.” [Ibn Taimiyah, al-Fatawa al-Kubra, vol. 4, p. 562; Ibn Taimiyah, Majmuah al-Fatawa, vol. 32, p. 40.]

[Nushooz on the part of the husband includes] when he orders her to do something forbidden or illegal, such as going out in public displaying her beauty or uncovering parts of her that must be covered, to go among men she is not related to, to drink alcohol or take drugs, go to clubs and salons wherein bad things are taking place.

Also from nushooz on the part of the husband is his not fulfilling his marital obligations. For example, he makes life difficult for her with respect to her food, drink, clothing and so forth. [Translator’s footnote: This is one of the biggest marital problems that one can see occurring in the West. Many times, the husbands simply do not support their wives and families. Although they have the physical and other means to work and support their families, they would resort to putting themselves and their families on the welfare system. Often times, the husbands will give the flimsiest excuses for not accepting work and therefore put families in such situations. Many times, the husband would rather force his wife to go out and work – which, in the West, almost always involves putting the Muslim woman into situations that she should not be put into – rather than he accept a job that he is not completely pleased with. Hence, their families do not achieve the economic well-being that they deserve and, often, the wife loses respect for the husband as he is not performing one of his most important obligations of married life: providing maintenance for his wife and family. Sooner or later this often leads to many other problems within the marriage, although the root of those problems is the husband’s unwillingness to work and sustain the family.] Or he makes her live in a residence that is not something suitable for her.

[In addition, included among the acts of nushooz] is his unfair distribution of his time or where he stays [when he is married to more than one wife] without legal justification. Or, he may not fulfil the needs of his wife and children such that their well-being is not met. Or, he does things that hurt and dishonor his wife and show lack of respect for her, such as backbiting her, slandering her or joking about her. Or, he may be desirous of her wealth and forces her to spend it on his behalf.

[The following are also acts that constitute nushooz on the part of the husband:] having anal intercourse with her, which is forbidden and is never permissible, his travelling for fun, amusement and entertainment without taking her permission as he is thereby wasting ample wealth for a useless purpose, while that wealth is meant to sustain the rights of his household.

If the man apostates from Islam – and refuge is sought in Allah – that is considered nushooz and the marriage contract is dissolved unless he returns to Islam. [See al-Khalafaat al-Zaujiyah, p. 39.]

There are many other causes or acts of nushooz that we have not mentioned here in order not to overly lengthen the discussion.

Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions .

“Eid” is an Arabic word referring to something habitual, that returns and is repeated. Eids or festivals are symbols to be found in every nation, including those that are based on revealed scriptures and those that are idolatrous, as well as others, because celebrating festivals is something that is an instinctive part of human nature. All people like to have special occasions to celebrate, where they can come together and express their joy and happiness. .

The festivals of the kaafir nations may be connected to worldly matters, such as the beginning of the year, the start of an agricultural season, the changing of the weather, the establishment of a state, the accession of a ruler, and so on. They may also be connected to religious occasions, like many of the festivals belonging exclusively to the Jews and Christians, such as the Thursday on which they claim the table was sent down to Jesus, Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, and holidays on which gifts are exchanged. These are celebrated in all European and North American countries nowadays, and in other countries where Christian influence is prevalent, even if the country is not originally Christian. Some so-called Muslims may also join in these holidays, out of ignorance or hypocrisy. .

The Magians (Zoroastrians) also have their own festivals, such as Mahrajaan, Nowruz and so on. .

The Baatinis have their own festivals too, such as “Eid al-Ghadeer”, when they claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave the khilaafah to ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) and to the twelve imaams after him.

The Muslims are distinguished by their festivals

The Prophet’s words “ Every nation has its festival, and this is your festival” indicate that these two Eids are exclusively for the Muslims, and that it is not permissible for Muslims to imitate the kuffaar and mushrikeen in anything that is a distinctive part of their celebrations, whether it be food, dress, bonfires or acts of worship. Muslim children should not be allowed to play on those kaafir festivals, or to put up decorations, or to join in with the kuffaar on those occasions. All kaafir or innovated festivals are haraam, such as Independence Day celebrations, anniversaries of revolutions, holidays celebrating trees or accessions to the throne, birthdays, Labour Day, the Nile festival, Shimm al-Naseem (Egyptian spring holiday), teachers’ day, and al-Mawlood al-Nabawi (Prophet’s Birthday). .

The Muslims have no festivals apart from Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adhaa, because of the hadeeth narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said:

These two Eids are among the signs or symbols of Allaah which we must celebrate and understand the aims and meanings behind them. .

There follows a discussion of some of the rulings and manners of the two Eids according to Islamic sharee’ah

1 – Ahkaam al-Eid (Rulings on Eid)

Fasting

It is haraam to fast on the days of Eid because of the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade fasting on the day of Fitr and the day of Sacrifice (Adhaa). (Reported by Muslim, 827)

Ruling on the Eid prayers

Some of the scholars say that Eid prayers are waajib (obligatory) – this is the view of the Hanafi scholars and of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him). They say that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) always prayed the Eid prayer and never omitted to do it, not even once. They take as evidence the aayah (interpretation of the meaning),

i.e., the Eid prayer and the sacrifice after it, which is an instruction, and the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered that the women should be brought out to attend the Eid prayers, and that a woman who did not have a jilbaab should borrow one from her sister. Some scholars say that Eid prayer is fard kifaaya. This is the view of the Hanbalis. A third group say that Eid prayer is sunnah mu’akkadah. This is the view of the Maalikis and Shaafa’is. They take as evidence the hadeeth of the Bedouin which says that Allaah has not imposed any prayers on His slaves other than the five daily prayers. So the Muslim should be keen to attend Eid prayers, especially since the opinion that it is waajib is based on strong evidence. The goodness, blessings and great reward one gets from attending Eid prayers, and the fact that one is following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by doing so, should be sufficient motivation.

Essentials and timing of Eid prayer

Some scholars (the Hanafis and Hanbalis) say that the conditions of Eid prayer are that the iqaamah should be recited and the prayer should be offered in jamaa’ah (congregation). Some of them said that the conditions of Eid prayer are the same as the conditions for Friday prayer, with the exception of the khutbah, attendance at which is not obligatory. The majority of scholars say that the time for the Eid prayer starts when the sun has risen above the height of a spear, as seen by the naked eye, and continues until the sun is approaching its zenith.

Description of the Eid prayer

‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:

Abu Sa’eed said:

The Takbeer is repeated seven times in the first rak’ah and five times in the second, the Qur’aan is to be recited after each. .

It was reported from ‘Aa’ishah: the Takbeer of al-Fitr and al-Adhaa is seven in the first rak’ah and five in the second, apart from the takbeer of rukoo’. (Reported by Abu Dawood; saheeh by the sum of its isnaads) .

If a person joining the prayer catches up with the imaam during these extra takbeeraat, he should say “Allaahu akbar” with the imaam, and he does not have to make up any takbeeraat he may have missed, because they are sunnah, not waajib. With regard to what should be said between the takbeeraat, Hammaad ibn Salamah reported from Ibraaheem that Waleed ibn ‘Uqbah entered the mosque when Ibn Mas’ood, Hudhayfah and Abu Moosa were there, and said, “Eid is here, what should I do?” Ibn Mas’ood said: “Say ‘Allaahu akbar’, praise and thank Allaah, send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and make du’aa’, then say Say ‘Allaahu akbar’, praise and thank Allaah, send blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)…etc.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. It is a saheeh hadeeth that is quoted in al-Irwaa’ and elsewhere).

Recitation of Qur’aan in Eid prayers

It is recommended (mustahabb) that in the Eid prayers the imaam should recite Qaaf [soorah 50] and Aqtarabat al-saa’ah [al-Qamar, soorah 54], as it is reported in Saheeh Muslim that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab asked Abu Waaqid al-Laythi, “What did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite at [Eid] al-Adhaa and al-Fitr?” He said, “He used to recite Qaaf. Wa’l-Qur’aan al-majeed [Qaaf 50:1] and Aqtarabat al-saa’ah wa anshaqq al-qamar [al-Qamar 54:1]. .

Most of the reports indicate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite Soorat al-A’laa [87] and Soorat al-Ghaashiyah [88], as he used to recite them in the Friday prayer. Al-Nu’maan ibn Bishr said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite on the two Eids and on Fridays, Sabbih isma rabbika’l-a’laa [al-A’laa 87:1] and Hal ataaka hadeeth al-ghaashiyah [al-Ghaashiyah 88:1].” (Saheeh Muslim, 878). .

Samurah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite on the two Eids, Sabbih isma rabbika’l-a’laa [al-A’laa 87:1] and Hal ataaka hadeeth al-ghaashiyah [al-Ghaashiyah 88:1].” (Reported by Ahmad and others; it is saheeh. Al-Irwaa’, 3/116)

The prayer comes before the khutbah

One of the rulings of Eid is that the prayer should come before the khutbah, as is reported in Musnad Ahmad from the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas, who testified that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed before the khutbah on Eid, then he gave the khutbah.” (Musnad Ahmad, 1905. The hadeeth is also in al-Saheehayn). .

Another indication that the khutbah should be after the prayer is the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to go out to the prayer-place on the day of al-Fitr and al-Adhaa, and the first thing he would do was to pray, then he would stand up facing the people, whilst they were still sitting in their rows, and would advise and instruct them. If he wanted to send out a military expedition, he would decide about the matter then, or if he wanted to issue a command, he would do it then.” Abu Sa’eed said: “This is what the people continued to do until I came out [to the Eid prayers] with Marwaan, when he was governor of Madeenah, on either Adhaa or Fitr. When we reached the prayer-place, we saw the minbar, which had been built by Katheer ibn al-Salt. Marwaan wanted to get on the minbar before the prayer. I pulled on his cloak, and he pulled on mine in return, then he got on the minbar and gave the khutbah before the prayer. I said, ‘You have changed it, by Allaah!’ He said, ‘O Abu Sa’eed, what you know is gone.’ I said, ‘What I know, by Allaah, is better than what I do not know.’ He said, ‘The people will not remain sitting after the prayer, so we made it [the khutbah] before the prayer.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 956).

Anyone who wants to leave during the khutbah is allowed to do so

‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Saa’ib said: “I attended Eid with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and when he finished the prayer, he said: “We will give the khutbah, so whoever wants to sit (and listen to) the khutbah, let him sit, and whoever wants to leave, let him go.’” (Irwaa’ al-Ghaleel, 3/96)

Not delaying the prayer for too long

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Bishr, the companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), went out with the people on the day of Fitr or al-Adhaa, and objected to the fact that the imaam came very late. He said, “At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we would have finished by now,” and that was at the time of al-Tasbeeh .” (Reported by al-Bukhaari )

Naafil prayers in the prayer-place

There are no naafil prayers to be done either before or after the Eid prayer, as Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to come out on the day of Eid and pray two rak’ahs, with nothing before or after them. .

This is the case if the prayer is offered in a prayer place or public place. If, however, the people pray the Eid prayer in a mosque, then they should pray two rak’ahs for Tahiyat al-Masjid (“Greeting the mosque”) before sitting down.

If people did not know about Eid until the next day

Abu ‘Umayr ibn Anas reported from his paternal uncles among the Ansaar who said: “It was cloudy and we could not see the new moon of Shawwaal, so we started the day fasting, then a caravan came at the end of the day and told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that they had seen the new moon of Shawwaal the day before, so he told the people to stop fasting, and they went out to pray the Eid prayer the next day.” (Reported by the five. It is saheeh; al-Irwaa’, 3/102) .

If someone misses the Eid prayer, the most correct view is that he may make it up by praying two rak’ahs.

Women’s attendance at Eid prayers

Hafsah said: “We used to prevent prepubescent girls from attending Eid prayers. Then a woman came and stayed at the fort of Banu Khalaf, and told us about her sister. Her sister’s husband had taken part in twelve campaigns with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and [she said], ‘my sister was with him on six of them. She said, “We used to treat the wounded and take care of the sick. My sister asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whether there was anything wrong with her not going out [on Eid] if she did not have a jilbaab. He said, ‘Let her friend give her one of her jilbaabs so that she may witness the blessings of Eid and see the Muslims gathering.’”’ When Um ‘Atiyah came, I asked her, ‘Did you hear the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [say this]?’ She said, ‘May my father be sacrificed for him’ – and she never mentioned him without saying ‘may my father be sacrificed for him’ – ‘I heard him saying that we should bring out the young girls and those who were secluded, or the young girls who were secluded, and the menstruating women, so that they could witness the blessings of Eid and see the gathering of the believers, but those who were menstruating were to keep away from the prayer-place itself.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 324). .

The ‘young girls’ (‘awaatiq, sing. ‘aatiq) are girls who have reached adolescence or are close to it, or have reached the age of marriage, or are very precious to their families, or who are spared from having to do humiliating work. It appears that they used to prevent these young girls from going out because of the corruption that arose after the first generation of Islam; but the Sahaabah did not approve of that and they thought that the ruling should remain in their time as it had been during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). .

Where it says “My sister was with him” it seems that there is something omitted, probably “the woman said”. [This is reflected in the translation above. Translator].… .

“Her jilbaabs” – she should lend her some of her clothes that she does not need. .

“Secluded” – they would have a curtain in the corner of the house behind which virgins would stay. .

“Menstruating women” – huyyad, sing. haa’id – this may refer either to girls who have reached the age of puberty, or women who are having their period and are not taahir (pure). .

“Menstruating women should avoid the prayer-place itself” – Ibn al-Munayyir said: “The reason why they should avoid the prayer-place is that if they stand with the women who are praying even though they are not praying, it may appear that they have no respect for the prayer or are careless, so it better for them to avoid that.” .

It was said that the reason why menstruating women should avoid the prayer-place is as a precaution, so that women will not come near men for no reason if they are not praying, or so that they will not offend others with their blood or their odour. .

The hadeeth urges everyone to attend Eid prayer, and to co-operate with one another in righteousness and piety. The menstruating woman should not forsake the remembrance of Allaah or places of goodness such as gatherings for the purpose of seeking knowledge and remembering Allaah – apart from mosques. The hadeeth also indicates that women should not go out without a jilbaab. .

This hadeeth tells us that it is not proper for young women and women in seclusion to go out except for a valid reason. It states that it is preferable (mustahabb) for a woman to wear a jilbaab, and that it is permissible to lend and borrow clothes. It also indicates that Eid prayer is obligatory (waajib). .

Ibn Abi Shaybah also narrated that Ibn ‘Umar used to take whoever he could of his household out to the Eid prayers. .

The hadeeth of Umm ‘Atiyah also states the reason for the ruling, which is so that women may witness the blessings of Eid, see the gathering of the Muslims, and share the blessings and purification of this day. .

Al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Sunan, after quoting the hadeeth of Umm ‘Atiyah: “Some of the scholars referred to this hadeeth and allowed women to go out to the Eid prayers, and some of them disliked this. It was reported that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: ‘I do not like for women to go out to Eid prayers nowadays. If a woman insists on going out, her husband should let her, if she goes out wearing her shabbiest clothes and not adorning herself. If she insists on adorning herself, then she should not go out. In this case the husband has the right to stop her from going out. It was reported that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: ‘If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had seen what has happened to women, he would have stopped them from going to the mosques, just as the women of Bani Israa’eel were stopped.’ It was reported that Sufyaan al-Thawri did not like women to go to the Eid prayers in his day.” (Al-Tirmidhi, 495). .

Umm ‘Atiyah gave her fatwa in the hadeeth mentioned above a while after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had died, and it is not reported that any of the Sahaabah disagreed with this. The words of ‘Aa’ishah, “If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had seen what has happened to women, he would have stopped them from going to the mosques”, do not contradict this (provided that women are meeting the Islamic conditions attached to their going out)… It is better if permission is given only to those women who are not who are not going to look at men or be looked at, whose attendence will not lead to anything undesirable and who are not going to rub shoulders with men on the street or in the mosque. (i.e., women whose going out will not cause fitnah or temptation to her or to men). .

Men should check on their womenfolk when they going out for the prayer to make sure that their hijaab is complete, because they are the “shepherds” who are responsible for their “flocks”. Women should go out in shabby clothes, not adorned or wearing perfume. Menstruating women should not enter the mosque or prayer-place; they can wait in the car, for example, where they can hear the khutbah.

Aadaab al-Eid (Etiquette of Eid)

Ghusl (taking a bath)

One of the manners of Eid is to take a bathe before going out to the prayer. It is reported in a saheeh report in al-Muwatta’ and elsewhere that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar used to take a bath on the day of al-Fitr before coming to the prayer-place. (al-Muwatta’ 428) .

It was reported that Sa’eed ibn Jubayr said: “Three things are sunnah on Eid: to walk (to the prayer-place), to take a bath and to eat before coming out.” This is what Sa’eed ibn Jubayr said, and he may have learned this from some of the Sahaabah. .

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned that the scholars were agreed that it is mustahabb to take a bath before the Eid prayer. .

The reason why it is mustahabb to take a bath before Friday prayer and other public gatherings also applies in the case of Eid, only more so.

Eating before coming out

One should not come out to the prayer-place on Eid al-Fitr before eating some dates, because of the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari from Anas ibn Maalik who said:

It is mustahabb to eat before coming out because this confirms that we are not allowed to fast on this day, and demonstrates that the fast is now over. Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) explained that this is to prevent people extending the fast and it also means obeying the commandment of Allaah. (Fath, 2/446). If a person does not have any dates, he can eat anything permissible for breakfast. On Eid al-Adhaa, on the other hand, it is mustahabb not to eat until after the prayer, when one should eat from the meat of one’s sacrifice.

Takbeer on the day of Eid

This is one of the greatest sunnahs of this day, because of the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “… (He [Allaah] wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah (say Takbeer – ‘Allaahu akbar’) for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.” [al-Baqarah 2:185] .

Al-Waleed ibn Muslim said: “I asked al-Oozaa’i and Maalik ibn Anas about saying Takbeer aloud on Eid. They said, ‘Yes, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar used to say it aloud on the day of Fitr until the imaam came out.’” .

Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Salami said: “On Eid al-Fitr they would say it louder than on Eid al-Adhaa.” Wakee’ said, “i.e., the takbeer.” (Irwaa’, 3/122). .

Al-Daaraqutni and others reported that when Ibn ‘Umar came out on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adhaa, he would strive hard in making Takbeer until he reached the prayer-place, then he would continue making Takbeer until the imaam came. .

Ibn Abi Shaybah reported with a saheeh isnaad that al-Zuhri said:

The practice of making Takbeer from home to the prayer-place, and until the imaam comes in, was well-known among the salaf and was reported by a number of authors such as Ibn Abi Shaybah, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq and al-Firyaabi in his book Ahkaam al-‘Eidayn from a group of the salaf. An example of this is the report that Naafi’ ibn Jubayr used to make Takbeer and wondered why people did not do so. He would say to people, “Why do you not make Takbeer?” Ibn Shihaab al-Zuhri said, “The people used to make Takbeer from the time they left their homes until the imaam came in.” The time for making Takbeer on Eid al-Fitr starts from the night of Eid until the time when the imaam comes in to lead the prayer.

The wording of the Takbeer

Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in al-Musannaf that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to say Takbeer on the days of Tashreeq as follows:

Ibn Abi Shaybah reported it elsewhere with the same isnaad, but with the phrase “Allaahu akbar” repeated three times. .

Al-Muhaamili also reported that Ibn Mas’ood used to say:

Congratulating one another

People may exchange congratulations and good greetings on Eid, no matter what form the words take. For example they may say to one another, “Taqabbal Allaahu minnaa wa minkum (May Allaah accept [the fast and worship] from us and from you” or “Eid mubarak” and other similar permissible greetings. .

Jubayr ibn Nufayr said:

The practice of exchanging greetings was well-known at the time of the Sahaabah and scholars such as Imaam Ahmad and others allowed it. There are reports which indicate that it is permissible to congratulate people on special occasions. The Sahaabah used to congratulate one another when something good happened, such as when Allaah accepted a person’s repentance and so on. .

There is no doubt that congratulating others in this way is one of the noblest kinds of good manners and one of the highest social qualities among Muslims. .

At the very least, one can return Eid greetings when they are given to you, and remain silent if nothing is said, as Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Looking one’s best for Eid

‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “ ‘Umar picked up a jubbah (long outer garment) made of silk that was for sale in the market, brought it to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, buy this and wear it for Eid and when the delegations come.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “This is the clothing of the one who has no share of the Hereafter…” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 948). .

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of ‘Umar’s idea of looking one’s best, but he rejected and denounced the idea of buying this jubbah because it was made of silk. .

Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a jubbah that he would wear on Eid and on Fridays.” (Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah, 1765). .

Al-Bayhaqi reported that Ibn Umar used to wear his best clothes on Eid, so men should wear the best clothes they have when they go out for Eid. .

Women, on the other hand, should avoid adornment when they go out for Eid, because they are prohibited from showing their adornment in front of non-mahrem men. A woman who wants to go out is forbidden to wear perfume or to show off in a tempting way in front of men, because she is only going out for the purpose of worship. Do you think that it is right for a believing woman to disobey the One Whom she is going out to worship and go against His commands by wearing attention-grabbing tight and brightly coloured clothes or by putting on perfume and so on?

Ruling on listening to the Eid khutbah

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Kaafi (p. 234):

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Majmoo’ Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, p. 23: “It is mustahabb for people to listen to the khutbah, although the khutbah and listening to it are not essential conditions of the Eid prayer. But al-Shaafa’i said: ‘If someone does not listen to the khutbah of Eid, at the time of an eclipse, when prayers for rain are offered, or during Hajj, or he speaks during one of these khutbahs, or leaves, I would not like this, but he does not have to repeat the prayer.” .

In al-Sharh al-Mumti’ ‘ala Zaad al-Mustanfi’ by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 5/192, it says:

One of the scholars said:

Nevertheless, if talking disturbs those who are listening, it is haraam to talk because of this disturbance, not because of not listening. On this basis, if a person has a book with him during the imam’s Eid khutbah, it is permissible for him to read it, because this does not disturb anyone. But according to the madhhab followed by this author, it is obligatory to listen to the khutbah if one is present.

To go out one by one route and come back by another

Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to vary his routes on the day of Eid. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 986) .

It was also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to go out walking, and he prayed without any adhaan or iqaamah, then he would come back walking by a different route. It was said that this was so that the two different routes would testify in his favour on the Day of Resurrection, because on that Day the earth will speak about everything that was done on it, good and evil. It was also said that this was done in order to demonstrate the symbols and rituals of Islam along both routes; to pronounce the remembrance of Allaah; to annoy the hypocrites and Jews and to scare them by the number of people who were with him; to meet the people’s needs by giving fatwas, teaching them and setting an example for them to follow; to give charity to those in need; or to visit his relatives and uphold the ties of kinship. .

Warning against wrongdoing

1. Some people think that Islam tells us to stay up and pray on the night of Eid, quoting an unsound hadeeth which says that “whoever stays up and prays on the night of Eid, his heart will not die on the day when hearts die.” This hadeeth was reported with two isnaads, one of which is da’eef (weak), and the other is very da’eef. Islam does not tell us to single out the night of Eid for staying up and praying; if, however, a person habitually stays up and prays at night (qiyaam), there is nothing wrong with him doing so on the night of Eid as well. .

2. Mixing of men and women in some prayer-places, streets, etc. It is a pity that this happens not only in mosques but even in the most sacred of places, al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah]. Many women – may Allaah guide them – go out uncovered ,wearing make-up and perfume, flaunting their adornment, when there is such serious overcrowding in the mosques – the dangers of this situation are quite obvious. So those who are in charge must organize the Eid prayers properly, by allocating separate doors and routes for women and delaying the men’s departure until the women have left. .

3. Some people get together on Eid for the purpose of singing and other forms of idle entertainment, and this is not permitted. .

4. Some people celebrate on Eid because Ramadaan is over and they no longer have to fast. This is a mistake, the believers celebrate at Eid because Allaah has helped them to complete the month of fasting, not because the fasting ,which some people regard as a heavy burden, is over. .

We ask Allaah to accept our worship and our repentance. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Taken from www.islam-qa.com

In the early days of Islâm, those that believed in Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – and the message of Lâ ilâha illah Allâh , were tested in the core of their faith. Every means of punishment was inflicted upon them.

In those young days, Khabbab ibn Al-Arat, radi Allâh u ‘anhu, came to Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – and remarked, “Won’t you pray for us! Won’t you seek help from Allâh for victory over these people!”

Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – turned to him and said,

“There were believers that came before us, they would be cut from the top of their head right down their body – others were combed with iron rakes, their skin separated from their muscles separated from their bones … but all that did not cause them to renounce their faith. But nay ye are hasty.”

Allâh ta’ala revealed:

[Or did you reckon you will enter Jannah when the same thing never happened to you such as happened to those who have passed away before you? Suffering and hardship assailed them, and they were battered about until the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, 'When is Allâh 's support?' Indeed Allâh 's support is near.] – sûrah Al Baqarah 2/214

Remember before Ramadân we spoke about the Ramadân Warrior. He’s just like the weekend warrior – an employee who sits at a cubicle all week long, eating donuts and drinking coffee, then on the weekend he rushes to the sport courts and mountains, and by Monday he is in the hospital.

The Ramadân warrior is the one who fasts only when Ramadân comes. He is the one who does Qiyâm-ul-Layl only on the nights of Ramadân. The generosity and feeding of the hungry is a practice for him that ends with the moon of Shawwal.

Allâh ta’ala tells us in the Qur’ân; a verse that we read so many times in the past month:

[O ye who believe! Fasting was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become pious.]

This piety that Allâh wants us to achieve is not Ramadân exclusive piety. For the entire year, Ramadân is the training period.

For our early generations, from the Sahâbah, Tâbi’în, and Tabi’ at-Tâbi’în, their intensity of work for the pleasure of Allâh was all-seasonal. Their intensity was focused in (a) learning the Qur’ân and Sunnah and teaching it to others (b) Ibâdah (c) Da’wah and Jihad.

Let’s spend a few moments with each:
(a) Learning the Qur’ân and Sunnah and teaching it to others
The media is full of stories of men and women lost in the ocean or a deserted island and the struggle those people went through to survive. But seldom do we hear of all the Ulumâ’ that suffered very horrific moments where they were on the threshold of death – all in the path of traveling to learn the Qur’ân and Sunnah.

Bakr ibn Hamdân al-Mirwazi said, “I heard Ibn Kharash say that he drank his urine in the path of this knowledge 5 times.”

And al-Wakhshî Abu Alî Al-Hasan said, “I was in ‘Asqalân attending the lessons of Ibn Musahhah and others. In those days, my money dwindled and I spent many nights with nothing to eat. I sat one day to write some notes and the pain was just too intense. So I went out to the market and sat by a vendor selling bread just to smell the aroma of food. After a while my senses returned and I was able to return home.”

When you see people in our society spending the nights outside on the streets to by tickets to a pop concert, or to save $5 on a radio, our Ulumâ’ strove harder in their pursuit of knowledge, to get ‘front row seats’ to the hottest Halaqahs in town.

Ja’far ibn Distuwayh said, “We used to camp out by the chair of Ali bin al-Madînî after Asr the day BEFORE his class. All night long we would sit there for fear that when the people come the next day we won’t be in position to hear the Shaykh.” And the examples go on and on.
(B) Ibâdah
Here is just a sampling of their attitude to the Ibâdah of Allâh : Al Hasan said,

“Whoever races you in your Dîn, then race them; Whoever races you in their Dunya, throw it back in their face.”

Wuhayb ibn Al-Wird said,

“If you can, do not allow anyone to beat you to Allâh ‘s pleasure.”

And Ash-Shaykh Shamsuddin Al-Turkistânî said,

“If news every came to me that someone had done something for the pleasure of Allâh , I would always do exactly what that person did and then some.”

Compare this now to Arab countries that have received news of the Guiness book of World records and are spending their time and the Ummah’s wealth to outdo those records. Wallâhul Musta’ân.

Hammad ibn Salamah said,

“We have seen Sulaymân At-Tîmî in a moment of worship to Allâh , except that he was participating in that worship. If it was time for Salah, we would see him in Salah. If it was other than the Salah time, he would be either making wudu or visiting the sick, or following a funeral procession, or reflecting in the Masjid. Such much so, that we actually thought he didn’t know how to disobey Allâh .”

(c) Da’wah and Jihâd
Allâh ta’ala tells us in the Qur’ân of the strenuous concern Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – had for the people’s acceptance of this Dîn.

[Tâ, Sîn, Mîm / These are the verses of the clear Book / Perhaps, (O Muhammad), you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers. / If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled. / And no mention comes to them anew from the Most Merciful except that they turn away from it.] Sûrah Shura 26/1-5

It is not a simple matter that we have accepted the responsibility of the Messengers to teach humanity about Allâh . As Shaykh Salah As-Sawi spoke about this matter here during Ramadân, he said,

“What if all these people on the day of judgement come and say as their excuse, ‘O Allâh , here the Muslims lived all around us and they never came to tell us about this Dîn.’”

Indeed the matter is grave. Ja’far ibn Sulaymân said,

“I hear Malik ibn Dînar saying, ‘If I was capable of never sleeping I would never sleep for fear that Allâh ‘s wrath would befall me while I am sleeping. And had I those that would assist me I would send them all around the world to announce: O humanity, save yourselves from Hellfire, save yourselves from Hellfire!’”

And when it came to defending the Dîn of Allâh , we see the example of Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – shining for all those who would wish to be guided by it.

Ali – radi Allâh u ‘anhu – said,

“Whenever the battle would intensify, and the swords began to burn red, we would seek shield from Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam. There was no one closer to the enemy ranks than him.”

And ‘Imrân ibn al-Husayn – radi Allâh u ‘anhu – said,

“Whenever the Muslim battalion would encounter the enemy, Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam – was always the first one to strike.”

There is a principal that we spoke about earlier: Al-Maysûr Lâ YasQut bil Ma’sûr. It means: What one finds easy is not cancelled by what is difficult; i.e. those things that the Mukallaf can do with ease does not get cancelled just because he or she cannot do what is hard upon them.

Examples of this in Fiqh include: If someone knows a few verses of AlFâtiha, then they must read it in Salah. Just because they do not know the whole Sûrah does not mean they don’t have to read the verses they CAN recite.

If a person is in such a situation that he cannot cover his complete private area during Salah, then he must cover whatever he can. Just because he cannot cover the entire area does not cancel the obligation to cover what he can.

If a person is not capable of performing Sajdah, that doesn’t mean he can sit down throughout the entire Salah if he is capable of standing for Ruku’ or Qiyâm.

When it comes to studying the Qur’ân and Sunnah, Ibâdah, Da’wah and Jihad, you’ll see that many people focus on the ideal which is unattainable for them at that moment. Then they say to themselves, since it is unattainable then I just have to be patient and do nothing. No, keep moving a step down until you find what is attainable and do it.

If you can’t memorize the Qur’ân by next Ramadân, you can for sure finish 2 Juz’. If you can’t do 2 Juz’ in one year, then you can do one. If one is all you can do, then do it. In sha’ Allâh , 30 years from now you would be Hafidh al-Qur’ân.

If you can’t come to every Minhâj-ul Muslim Halaqah all year long, doesn’t mean that you come to none.

If the Masjid is far away from your home and it’s hard to come for every Salah, doesn’t mean you never come to the Masjid. Come for Maghrib and stay for Isha or something similar.

The proof of this is the words of Rasûl Allâh – sal Allâh u alayhi wa sallam, “What I command you in, perform what you are capable of.”

In conclusion, there are three ingredients to making your resolution to improve yourself successful.

1. Have a truthful determination.

2. Be economical in what you decide to do.

3. Make dua to Allâh to make your effort successful.

Many people mistakenly assume that true wealth and real treasure is that of money. It is indeed true that wealth is a great blessing from Allah which He bestows upon His servants. And the one who earns it purely, and spends it properly, and gives it to those that deserve it, without a doubt earns a great reward from Allah.

But at the same time, wealth is not the greatest blessing that can be given to mankind. Furthermore, no matter how much wealth a person has, eventually it will leave him, and pass on into the hands of others. The Prophet (SAW) reminded us of this when he asked the Companions, “Who amongst you loves the money of his inheritors more than his own money?”[1]

They replied, “O Messenger of Allah! There is no one of us except that he loves his own money more than he loves the money of his inheritors.” So the Prophet (SAW) replied, “But his money is only that which he sent forth, and the money of his inheritors is what he left behind.”[2] So in reality most of the money that a person owns will eventually end up in the hands of his or her inheritors, and only that part which was spent for the sake of Allah will actually benefit one in the hereafter.

Allah emphasizes this point in the Qur’an with the teaching that,

“Wealth and children are the adornments of the life of this world. But the permanent righteous deeds are better in your Lord’s Sight (to attain) rewards, and better in respect of hope.” [Surah al-Kahf, 46]

So money and children can be a comfort and a pleasure of this life, but righteous deeds are what will remain permanently — not one’s family or wealth. It is these righteous deeds which will bring a person Allah’s Pleasure, and through which a person can hope for an ever-lasting reward in the Hereafter. The Qur’an clearly states,

“And it is not your wealth, nor your children that bring you nearer to Us, but only he (will please Us) who believes, and does righteous deeds; for such (people), there will be a double reward for what they did, and they will reside in the high dwellings (of Paradise), in peace and security.” [Surah Saba', 37]

The great student of Ibn Abbas, Qatadah al-Sadusi, said commenting on this verse,

“So do not judge people based on the amount of money and children they have! Even a disbeliever might be given money, whereas the Muslim has been withheld from it.[3]

In a well-known and oft-repeated parable, the Qur’an compares the life of this world to a crop that flourishes after rainfall, only to wither up and shrivel in a short period of time. The Qur’an states,

“Realize that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. It is like the vegetation (that sprouts forth) after rain, whose growth is pleasing to the disbeliever. Soon it dries up, and you see it turning yellow, then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers). And indeed, the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.” [Surah Hadid, 20]

Imam al-Sa’adi summarised the commentary of this verse when he wrote, in a very beautiful passage: In this verse, Allah informs us of the true nature of this world, and what it is really based on, and He explains its end, and the end of the people in it. He informs us that it is a mere play and amusement, so our bodies play in it, and our hearts are amused at it. And we see that this is exactly what the people that are following this world are upon, so you find that they have wasted their entire lives so that they can amuse their hearts. They are in total ignorance about remembering Allah, and what they are about to face of rewards and punishments (in the Hereafter). You see them taking their religion as an amusement and pastime.

And this is in contrast to the people of awareness, and the ones that strive for the Hereafter. Their hearts are alive with the remembrance of Allah, and His knowledge, and His love. And they have busied themselves with actions that will bring them closer to Allah, whether those actions will benefit themselves only, or also others. And the phrase, ‘.. .zinah…,’ or ‘pompness,’ means that they will try to beautify themselves in their clothes, food, drinks, the means of transportation, their houses and palaces, their prestige, and other matters. The phrase,’…mutual boasting amongst you…,’ implies that everyone is attached (to this world), trying to outdo others, so that he will be the victor in all its matters. He wishes that he can satisfy all of his desires through it. And (this occurs in money and children), so each one wants to be the one that has more than the other, in money and children. And this is what is occurring amongst those that love this world and are content with it.

But this is in contrast to the one who realizes this world and its reality, so he made it a passage, and not the goal. So he competed in coming closer to Allah, and he took the necessary means to ensure that he would arrive at the promised destination. So when he sees someone who tries to compete with him in money and children, he instead competes against him with good deeds!

Then, Allah drew for us a parable of this world. It is like a rain that falls to the earth, and then mixes with the vegetation that is eaten by men and animals, until, when the earth spreads forth is beauty, and the disbelievers — those who cannot see beyond this life — are amazed at its fruits, the command of Allah comes upon it. So it is destroyed, and it withers up, and dries, and it returns to its previous state, as if the land never gave any greenery, and as if no beauty were ever seen on it!

And this is how this world is! While it is at its prime for its companion, sprouting forth with beauty, whatever he wants of its treasures he can take, and whenever he wants to obtain anything of it, he finds the doors to achieve it are open, when, all of a sudden, Allah’s decree falls upon it. So all of it is removed from his hands, and his control over it is gone, or he himself is removed from it, so he leaves it with absolutely nothing of it in his hands, having gained nothing from all of it except a shroud (that is placed on the dead body). So woe to him who makes it his goal, and sacrifices everything for it, and strives and devotes his entire life to it!

And as for the actions of the Hereafter, then that is what will truly benefit. It will store for its owner (the fruits of his work), and will accompany him forever. This is why Allah stated, ‘But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers), and (there is) Forgiveness from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers).’ So, the Hereafter will be one of these two matters only. As for the punishment, then it will be in the Fire of Hell, and its pits and chains, and all of its horrors. And this will be for one who has made this world his goal, and the end of his journey, so he freely disobeyed Allah, and rejected His signs, and did not thank His blessings.

And as for the forgiveness from Allah for one’s sins, and the absolvement of all punishment, and the pleasure of Allah, then this will be for one who strived for the Abode of Enjoyment (Paradise) — the one who realised the true nature of this world, and therefore strived a real striving for the Hereafter.

So all of this should make us lessen our desire for this world, and increase our desire for the Hereafter, and this is why Allah said, ‘And indeed, the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.’ So, this (life) is an enjoyment that a person can benefit from, and take his needs from. No one except a person of weak mind will be deceived by it, and become content with it, and these are the ones that Allah will allow to be deceived by the Deceiver (Shaytan). [4]

No matter how much money a person earns, in reality he only utilizes a very small fraction of it. Ponder over the wise reminder from the Prophet (SAW|). ‘Abdullah ibn al-Shakhir reported, “I entered upon the Prophet (SAW) and he was reciting “Alhakum al-takathur” (The mutual rivalry [for trying to compete with one another in worldly matters] diverts you) [al-Takathur; 1]. He said,

‘The son of Adam cries out: “My money! My money!” But do you have, O son of Adam, anything of your money, except that which you eat, so it is wasted, or that which you wear, so it wears out, or that which you gave as charity, so you have sent it forth (to get its rewards in the Hereafter)?’” [5]

In this hadith, the Prophet (SAW) reminded us that, in reality, all of our money is utilised in only three ways. Firstly, the food that we eat, and this eventually is transformed into waste product. Secondly, the clothes that we wear, and this eventually wears out so that it is unusable. Thirdly, the money that has been spent for the sake of Allah, and this is the only part whose benefits remain and return to us. So of what benefit is it for a person to gloat over ‘his money’, and boast about it, and be eager for it, when in reality so little of it is actually spent in such a way as to provide eternal benefit?

Because of these factors, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) reminded mankind that wealth is not proportionate to the amount of material possessions a person owns. True wealth is to be content with what one has, and then to use it to strive for the everlasting reward of the Hereafter. The Prophet (SAW) said,

“Richness is not in the quantity of possessions (that one has); rather, true richness is the richness of one’s self (or contentment).”[6]

He (SAW) also stated,

“That which is little yet sufficient is better than that which is much but distracts.”[7]

And in a third hadith,

“He is indeed successful who has been guided to Islam, and his sustenance was sufficient for him, and he was content with it.”[8]

Lastly,

“The best sustenance that you are given is that which is sufficient.”[9]

So true success and wealth is found in the peace and satisfaction which results from sincerity in faith and practice. The contentment of the heart is what makes a person realise and appreciate this true richness. The Prophet (SAW) described this richness in another hadith, where he said,

“Whoever amongst you wakes up, secure in his house, healthy in his body, having the bare amount of food that he requires for the day, then it is as if the entire world has been captured for him, with all that it contains!”[10]

This hadith has many benefits that can be obtained from it. ‘Whoever amongst you…,’ means the Muslims, indicating the first and greatest blessing, namely, that of Islam; ‘…wakes up…,’ means that one has been blessed with life;’. ..secure in his house..,,’ means without fear of attack upon one’s safety or the safety of one’s family; ‘…healthy in his body…,’ means that Allah has saved him or her from diseases and sicknesses; ‘…having the bare amount of food that he requires for the day…’ indicates that even the minimal amount of sustenance is a great blessing from Allah, for this is what the body and health requires, and many people do not even have this amount; and lastly, ‘.. .it is as if the entire world has been captured for him, with all that it contains,’ indicating that this is all that a person needs of this life, and everything that is in addition to this bare minimum is an unnecessary luxury. Contentment with Allah’s provision, whether large or small, is contentment with life, and hence, the best wealth that a person can have. The Prophet (SAW) stated,

“Verily Allah tests His servant with what He has given him. So whoever is content with whatever he has been assigned, then Allah will bless him in it, and give him more! But whoever is not content (with what he has been given), then he will not be blessed in it.” [11]

Those who are content with their own provision and lot in life will lose concern over the wealth and status of others. Such people have no concern as to how much money others have, what types of cars they drives, or the size of the houses they live in. Those with clean hearts in this respect love Allah, and are grateful to Him, knowing that the goods of this world cannot buy happiness, or the blessings of faith and contentment. In return, they are loved by Allah, and by fellow men and women. This principle is so clearly outlined in the noble Prophetic tradition:

“Give up (hope of attaining) this world, Allah will love you. And give up (hope of) whatever is in the possession of other people, and the people will love you.”[12]

In another narration, a person came to the Prophet (SAW) and asked him, “O Messenger of Allah! Narrate to me a hadith, and make it short!” So he (SAW) replied,

“Pray your prayer as if it is your last, as if you are seeing Him (Allah), for even if you do not see Him then He sees you. And give up hope (of obtaining) what other’s possess, then you will live a rich life. And beware of anything that you might (later) have to make an excuse for.” [13]

So whoever sets as a primary goal the pleasure of Allah and the rewards of the Hereafter will be loved by Allah, and whoever avoids competing with fellow Muslims concerning worldly matters will be loved by the people. And this wealth – the love of Allah and that of mankind — is far greater than any richness that money can buy.

The pious predecessors of this nation also realised this principle. Awn ibn Abdillah [14 ]said, “The greatest blessing is that — when this world is straightened for you — you appreciate what you have been given of the blessings of Islam.” [15 ]So next time you are in severe financial circumstances, instead of looking at the material and temporary pleasures that you have not been afforded, ponder instead over the treasure of iman that Allah has blessed you with, and appreciate the great fortune of being a Muslim! Likewise, when you are overjoyed or distressed due to some monetary gain or loss, remember the statement of Muhammad ibn Suqah[16], who said,

“There are two characteristics which, even though Allah does not punish us for them, are reason enough for our punishment: we are overjoyed at a small gain that we receive from this world, and yet Allah has never seen us so happy for a good deed that we do, and we are so worried about a small matter that has missed us concerning this world, and yet Allah has never seen us so worried about a sin that we commit.”[17]

This section is concluded by quoting the verse in which Allah reminded the Prophet (SAW) and the believers not to long for the wealth of this world — wealth that has been given to those that have rejected submission to Allah – but rather to strive for the richness of the Hereafter:

“And strain not your eyes in longing for the things that We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them (the disbelievers) – the splendour of the life of this world – that We may test them thereby. And indeed, the provision (rizq) of your Lord is better and more lasting.” [Surah Ta Ha, 131]

1 In other words, who amongst you loves the money that is in the hands of the people who will inherit from him when he dies (such as one’s sons and daughters) more than the money that he himself owns.

2 Reported by al-Bukhari (4/217) and others.

3 Reported by al-Tabari in his Tafsir.

4 Tafsiral-Sa’adi, pps. 780-781.

5 Reported by Muslim (8/211) and others.

6 Reported by al-Bukhari (4/219) and others.

7 Reported by Abu Ya’la (1/295), Ibn Adi (7/2)and others, and al-Albani authenticated it in al-Sahihah, (# 947).

8 Reported by Muslim (3/102) and others.

9 Reported by Ibn Hibban (# 2323). See al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, (# 1834).

10 Reported by al-Tirmidhi (# 2347) who considered it hasan gharib; al-Bukhari in his al-Adab al-Mufrad (# 300), Ibn Hibban in his Taqasim (# 2507) and others. Al-Albani agreed with al-Tirmidhi in his Silsilah (# 2318).

11 Reported by Ahmad (5/24), with an authentic chain, as mentioned in al-Sahihah,(# 1658).

12 Reported by Ibn Majah (# 4102), al-Hakim (4/313) who considered it Sahih, and others. Al-Albani also graded it as authentic in al-Silsilah, (# 944).

13 Reported by al-Bukhari in his al-Tarikh (3/216), and al-Tabarani in his al- Awsat (# 4588) and others. Al-Haythami, in his Majma al-Zawaid (10/ 229) said: “There are, in its chain, people that I do not know.” However, this narration has supporting evidences, including the hadith of Sa d ibn Abi Waqqas, and ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (in al-Tabarani’s al-Awsat, # 5907), due to which al-Albani considered it acceptable in his al-Sahihah (# 1914).

14 The grand-nephew of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud. When he used to narrate hadith, his beard would become wet with tears. He died around 115 A.H. (see Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, 3/338).

15 Ibn Abi al-Dunya, al-Qana ah wa al-Ta afuf, (# 151).

16 Of the major students of the tabi’in. Sufyan ibn’Uyaynah said, “There were three people in Kufah, if they were told, ‘You are going to die tomorrow’ they would not have been able to increase any of their good deeds (due to the fact that they were doing so many). Of them is Muhammad ibn Suqah.” (See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, 3/584).

17 Ibn Abi al-Dunya, al-Qana ah wa al-Ta’afuf, (# 153).

Extracted from “15 Ways to Increase Your Earnings” published by Al Hidaayah UK