Fasting the 27th of Rajab (Laylat al-Isra wal-Mi`raj) – حكم صيام يوم 27 من شهر رجب؟

Question:
ما حكم صيام يوم السابع والعشرين من شهر رجب؟ فإني اعتدتُ صيامه كل عام؛ تعبيرًا مني عن الفرح بما أنعم الله به على نبيه صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم في هذه الليلة المباركة.

What is the ruling on fasting the day of 27th of Rajab? I used to fast it every year as an expression of my joy at what Allah has bestowed upon His Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, on this blessed night.

Answer:

صيامُ يوم السابع والعشرين من شهر رجب فرحًا بما أنعم الله تعالى به على نبيه الكريم صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم في هذا اليوم المبارك هو من الأمور المستحبة المندوب إليها والمرغَّب في الإتيان بها وتعظيم شأنها؛ وقد تواردت نصوص جماعة من الفقهاء على ذلك.

Fasting on the 27th of the month of Rajab to rejoice in what Allah Almighty has bestowed upon His noble Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, on this blessed day is one of the desirable things that are recommended and desirable to do and to magnify its status, and there are texts related from a group of jurists concerning this matter.

وأوضحت الإفتاء أن التنفُّل بصيام يوم السابع والعشرين من شهر رجبٍ لا مانع منه شرعًا، بل هو من الأمور المستحبة المندوب إليها والمرغَّب في الإتيان بها وتعظيم شأنها؛ لقول النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: «مَنْ صَامَ يَومَ سَبْعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ مِنْ رَجَبٍ كَتَبَ اللهُ لَهُ صِيَامَ سِتِّينَ شَهْرًا». وهذا الحديث وإن كان فيه ضعفٌ، إلا أنه ممَّا يُعمل به في فضائل الأعمال على ما هو مقرر عند الفقهاء في مثل ذلك.

The fatwa clarified that there is no legal objection to performing voluntary fasting on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Rajab, but rather it is one of the recommended and desirable things to do and to magnify its status. According to the saying of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family,: “Whoever fasts on the twenty-seventh day of Rajab, Allah swt will record for him the fast of sixty months.” Although this hadith is weak, it is one of the things that should be followed regarding the virtues of deeds in accordance with what is established by jurists in such cases.

Dar al-Fatwa al-Misriyya (Egypt’s Official Center for Fatwas)

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istikhara unclear

Question:

Salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakartu

I have started a program to insha Allah receive weight loss surgery. The
program usually takes 6+ months.

I don’t know if I should do the weight loss surgery or not and go back
and forth. It changes your insides alot and that does worry me. I do not
have alot of health issues yet but am over 150lbs over weight.

I try and do istikarah but haven’t been able to really tell what the
answer is.

Answer:

Alaykum Salam wa rahmatullah,

When making istikhara, not receiving a clear answer is the same as not
receiving an answer at all, in which case it is recommended to keep
doing the istikhara until there is a clear yes or no answer. Until then,
the decision for which the istikhara is being made is postponed and the
answer for now is no, do not go ahead with it.  This answer is confirmed
by your own doubts about the benefit of such a decision versus its
potential harm.

Mawlana Shaykh Nazim as a rule advised against surgery unless it’s a
question of life and death. Continue to make istikhara in every non-fard
prayer in this blessed month and give sadaqa, even small, daily to the
intention of better health for yourself.

Wassalam,

Hajj Gibril

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Shaykh Hisham and Four Qutbs

Dream:

I was with Mawlana Shaykh Hisham sitting at a table in a room like a kitchen. He indicated another table where four men in their 30’s were sitting and talking and kind of joking with each other happily. I was informed these are the 4 Qutbs. Then they put on suits similar to spacesuits and began to float up to a place above as if in space, there they entered the ceiling through a hole and they had different tools with which they began to work.  I was then dressed in the same type of spacesuit and floated up following them, as if I was in space.

Interpretation:

What you saw was a glimpse of the role Mawlana Shaykh Hisham has as the one in charge of the 4 Qutbs. Their jobs are to administer and maintain this dunya and fix problems for believers especially. They are given spiritual powers and support to go where no one else can go in the spiritual dimension, and do what no one else can do, covered in “libas at-taqwa“, the Dress of Awareness of Allah.  They are seen as young men as they are Knights, or Fityan, Chivalrous Youth, like the Fata of Sayyidina Musa (as).

Dr. Aziz Hussein

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Grandshaykh’s Dua for all Problems?

Question: 

What was the du`a that Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani mentioned recently that Grandshaykh Abdullah Daghestani taught that is a cure for all problems?

Answer:

General Wazifa for Problems and Illness 

Awliyaullah said to recite in this order:

  • 3 times Shahadah: Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa Rasooluh
  • 70 times Astaghfirullah
  • 3 times Surat al-Ikhlaas
  • 10 times Laa ilaaha illa ’Llah
  • 10 times Salawaat: Allahumma salli `alaa Muhammadin wa `alaa aali Muhammadin wa sallim.
  • Immediately send as a trust to Rasoolullah (s): Awda`na hadha ad-dhikr `indaka yaa Sayyidee yaa Rasoolullah wa hiya lanaa wadi`yatan ya man arsalahu ’Llah Rahmatan li ’l-`Alameen.
  • 300 times Astaghfirullah

Read three times Shahadah, then you are in position of Tawheed, and then 70 times astaghfirullah, make istighfaar for Allah to take away the difficulty coming on you, then one time Fatihat al-Kitab.

Grandshaykh (s) said if a servant falls into a problem, wa law `abada `ibadata ‘th-thaqalayn, that even if he prays the prayers of Jinn and Ins it will not take him out of that problem that affected him except by reading that awraad including 300 istighfaar, then he will be pulled out of that difficulty he is facing.

[from sufilive.com: “Those Who Carry the Holy Quran“]

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

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Follow up question:Sending Salawat on Muhammad(Saw)

Question:

Salamalaikum Sheikh,
In your reply to my previous question you stated that the short form is what the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) mostly used, and others used when addressing him, as narrated by so many Sahaba from him such as `Ali b. Abi Talib, Ibn `Umar, `A’isha, Anas,etc

So Sheikh can you please provide me any hadeeth in whose athaar(text) we find the shorter form of salawat[i.e Sallahu Alaihi wasallam] was used by either Prophet(saw) or his noble companions.

I do know places were this short form was supposedly used by either middle narrators or the authors of the book, but I’m not certain in this issue. So please provide a hadeeth in which this shorter form was used by Sahaba (ra) or Prophet (Saw).

Jazakallah khair

Answer:

`Alaykum as-Salam,

Here are some examples not only of the short form but also of the long form without mention of salawat on the Aal:

(1) Abu Humayd al-Sa`idi (Allah be well-pleased with him) said they asked the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) how to invoke blessings on him and he replied: “Say: O Allah, bless Muhammad, his spouses, and his progeny (salli `ala Muhammadin wa-azwajih wa-dhurriyyatih), as you have blessed Ibrahim, and grant favor to (wa-barik `ala) Muhammad, his spouses, and his progeny, as you have granted favor to the family of Ibrahim. Truly You are worthiest of glory and majesty!” (Bukhari and Muslim)

(2) In Abu Sa`id al-Khudri’s (Allah be well-pleased with him) version of the same event the reply was: “O Allah, bless Muhammad Your servant and Messenger, as You have blessed the family of Ibrahim, and grant favor to Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You have granted favor to the family of Ibrahim.” (Bukhari)

(3) Jibril said to the Holy Prophet (upon both of them blessings and peace): “Truly Allah Most High has put an angel in charge, from the time you were created until the time you are resurrected, whereby no one invokes blessings on you (salla `alayka) from your Ummah except he says: ‘And you also, Allah bless you (salla Allah `alayka).'” (Tabarani) The hadiths to that general meaning are mass-transmitted and famous.

(4) Usayd b. Hudayr (Allah be well-pleased with him) said: “Allah bless you, Messenger of Allah, (salla Allahu `alayka ya Rasulullah) and may He reward you goodness on our behalf!” whereupon the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) said: “And upon you also, you (Hadrami people) as far as I know are full of modesty and patience.” (Ibn Abi `Asim)

(5) Abu Barza al-Aslami (Allah be well-pleased with him) said that when the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) taught the Companions the du`a of asking forgiveness for any gathering they said: “O Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and greet you (salla Allahu `alayka wa-sallam)! How could we hear this [i.e. asking forgiveness] from you?” He said: “This is the expiation of any gathering.” (Nasa’i, Sunan Kubra)

(6) `Ali and Fatima (Allah be well-pleased with them) said that when they asked the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) to give them a servant he said: “Shall I not show you what is better for the two of you than the red camels?” `Ali said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless you! (salla Allahu `alayk).” He said: “Takbir, tasbih and tahmid totalling 100.” (Nasa’i, Sunan Kubra)

(7) `Ali (Allah ennoble his face) also narrated that the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) said, regarding the invocation for memorizing the Qur’an: “Then invoke blessings upon me and all the Prophets of Allah Most High” (Tirmidhi)

(8) And when `Ali (Allah ennoble his face) entered upon `Umar (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased) who lay in his shroud, he said: “Allah bless you (salla Allahu `alayk)! There is no one with whose record of deeds I would love to meet Allah most than this shrouded one.” (Ibn Sa`d, Hakim). Note also that the great invocation of blessings on the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) which Sayyidina `Ali (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased) taught, does not mention the Aal. We reproduced its text in full here: https://eshaykh.com/sufism/tijaniyyah-and-salat-al-fatih/ It is a difficult text but Imam al-Sakhawi devoted several pages to its correct vowelization and meanings in al-Qawl al-Badi` (`Awwama ed. p. 221-224).

(9) `Itban b. Malik (Allah be well-pleased with him) said to the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace): “I am losing my sight, so if you – Allah bless you (salla Allahu `alayk) – can come and pray in my house…..” (Bayhaqi, Sunan Kubra)

(10) Zayd b. Ka`b al-Bahzi (Allah be well-pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) went out with ihram toward Mecca, and that when he reached al-Rawha’he and his group saw a wild ass that had been hamstrung. He said: “Leave it, its owner will show up any moment,” whereupon al-Bahzi came and he was its owner. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and greet you! (Ya Rasulullah salla Allahu `alayka wa-sallam). It is yours to dispose of as you all wish. The Prophet then ordered Abu Bakr (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased) to quarter it and distribute it. (Nasa’i)

(11) When he (upon him blessings and peace) said for Abu Bakr to lead prayers during his final illness, our Mother `A’isha (Alah be well-pleased with her) said: “Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and greet you! (ya Rasulullah salla Allahu `alayka wa-sallam), truly Abu Bakr is a man prone to sorrow….” (Ibn Abi Shayba)

(12) The question of Ibn `Umar in Sahih Muslim, “Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless and greet you! (ya Rasulullah salla Allahu `alayka wa-sallam), you said that the prayer of the man sitting is half that of the one standing…”

(13) al-Hasan b. `Ali b. Abi Talib (Allah be well-pleased with them) said that the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) said: “Do not turn my grave into a yearly festival. Invoke blessings on me and send greetings (sallu `alayya wa-sallimu), for your salat and your salam reach me wherever you are.” (Musnad Abi Ya`la)

These are just a few reports and there are more. They all indicate that the singular invocation of blessings on the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) – meaning to single him out by saying salla Allahu `alayhi/alayka wa-sallam – is a Prophetic sunnah and a sunnah of the Companions including his blessed relatives, nor was the omission of the Aal in the salawat an invention of later scholars or “middle narrators” as speculated, and that it is also permissible to invoke blessings on other than Prophets “not for magnification (ta`ziman) and salute (tahiyyatan) but as a supplication on their behalf and a benediction (du`a’an wa-tabrikan)” as stated by Imam al-Bayhaqi (Haytami, al-Durr al-Mandud p. 71). In any case it would be enough, as already stated, that Allah Most High commanded it in the Qur’an in the singular mode: {Invoke blessings and salutations ON HIM} period, as I said before and as explicitly stated by al-Sakhawi in the passage translated further down.

However, the Holy Prophet (upon him and his House blessings and peace) desired to include his family, relatives, and all believers into the benefit of this invocation of blessings upon his noble person, hence he taught the Ummah to include the Aal in the invocation during the last tashahud in Salat and, by extension, outside Salat as well, as a supererogatory good deed that benefits the person who prays in such a fashion. But the default mode of invocation is as they practiced above.

Nevertheless:

(i) Even inside tashahhud the core part of invoking blessing is the invocation of blessings on the Prophet himself since he literally said: “When one of you prays let him start with the glorification of Allah Most High, then His praise, then let him invoke blessings on His Prophet, then let him supplicate for whatever he wishes.” (Ahmad, Sunan, Tahawi, Sahih Ibn Khuzayma, Hakim, etc.; from Fudala b. `Ubayd); and “When you pray and then sit, glorify Allah as He deserves, then invoke blessings on me (thumma salli `alayya), then supplicate Him.” (Tirmidhi, hasan; from Fudala b. `Ubayd).

The above evidence is confirmed by the collective weight of several other hadiths of lesser rank such as Ibn `Umar’s: “The Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) would teach us tashahud and he mentioned the tahiyat, until he said ‘and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger,’ then he invokes blessing on the Prophet (thumma yusalli `ala al-Nabiyyi)” (Daraqutni); “There is no prayer for whoever does not invoke blessing on the Prophet” (Ibn Majah, Tabarani, Daraqutni, Hakim; from Sahl b. Sa`d al-Sa`idi); “O Burayda, when you sit in your prayer do not leave out tashahhud and salat over me (was-salat `alayya),  for it is the zakat of your prayer, and give salam to all the Prophets and all the righteous servants of Allah” (Daraqutni); “Prayer is not accepted except with purity and with the invocation of blessing on me” (Daraqutni from `A’isha).

In all the above hadiths the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) did not add “and his Aal” because adding it constitutes the betterment (afdaliyya) of the Salat, not its essence; just as adding his spouses (azwaj) and progeny (dhurriyya) and all Prophets constitutes betterment and not the essence. There is a beautiful page to that effect in the book of hafiz al-Sakhawi on the immense merits of invoking blessings on the Prophet entitled al-Qawl al-Badi` fil-Salat `ala al-Habib al-Shafi` (`Awwama ed. p. 196-197). He states:

<<If someone asks: “What is the reason you differed between the salat on the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) and the salat on the Aal in obligatoriness, although the latter is joined (ma`tuf) to the former, when the basis of obligatoriness is his saying: ‘Say such-and-such’? So why did you make one part obligatory and not the other?”

<<The answer is – as stated [by the scholars] – from two perspectives: FIRST, the main basis for the status of obligatoriness (al-mu`tamad fil-wujub) is none other than the command proclaimed in the Qur’an where Allah Most High said:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَتَهُ ۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّۚ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيۡهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسۡلِيمًا

{Truly Allah and His angels exalt and bless the Prophet; O Believers, exalt and bless him! and do salute him with the worthiest salutation!} Surat al-Ahzab 33:56

So He did not command to invoke blessings on his Aal. As for the Prophet’s (upon him blessings and peace) teaching of how to invoke blessings on him when they queried him: he showed them the obligatory extent, then he added on top of it the level of perfection over and beyond the level of obligatoriness, whereas they had only asked him about blessing on him. This is an offshoot of the difference of opinion concerning a command potentially being both literal and figurative; and the correct position is that it can be that. The one queried may answer with more than what he was originally asked for some beneficial purpose, as took place with the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) many times. For example, when he was asked about purifying oneself with seawater he replied: “Its water is purifying and its carrion is licit to eat” although there had been no mention of the carrion of the sea in their question.

<< SECOND, his reply to those who queried him came up with various additions and omissions. The part that is deemed obligatory can only be what all the different versions agree upon, for if everything was equally obligatory, there would not have been shorter versions at certain times. Now, in certain sound (sahih) versions there is no mention of salat on the Aal, as in Sahih al-Bukhari in the narration from Abu Sa`id [no.2 in the list above] but he asserted it in the invocation of favor (barakah) although they had not asked him about barakah, nor was he commanded it in the Qur’anic Verse. Also, in the hadith of Abu Humayd [no.1 in the list above] that is agreed upon, there is no mention of the Aal in the Salat part nor in the Barakah part either. He only said: “and on his spouses and progeny,” dhurriyya being more general and Aal more specific.

<<If it is asked: “Why then in the obligatory modality of invoking blessing on him did you confine yourself to the wording ‘O Allah bless Muhammad,’ and you did not include the rest of his words, namely his simile?” The reply is: because the simile was not mentioned in one of his replies, namely in the hadith of Zayd b. Kharija [“Say: O Allah, bless Muhammad and the Aal of Muhammad.” (Sunan al-Nasa’i)], indicating that it was not obligatory.>>

End of al-Sakhawi’s words in his book al-Qawl al-Badi`.

Hence in the strictest of all Schools regarding invoking blessings on the Prophet inside prayer, i.e. the Shafi`i school, as Imam al-Nawawi puts it, “the non-negotiable, undisputed obligation in our school” (fard bi-la khilaf `indana) is to bless the Prophet, period (Nawawi, Majmu`). As for the Aal, “our [Shafi`i] madhhab is that salat on the Aal is a sunnah in the last tashahud, not the first” (Haytami, al-Durr al-Mandud p. 92). Our teacher Dr. Wahbat al-Zuhayli even went so far as to say (in his Damascus classes on `Umdat al-Salik) that if one adds the Aal in the first tashahud, one has to repeat the prayer! but I am certain that this is not Imam al-Nawawi’s position, and Allah knows best.

(ii) Even reciting the Salat Ibrahimiyya itself is not an obligatory part of Salat according to the Hanafis and Malikis, nor even its minimum of blessing the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace).

Regarding the latter point Qadi `Iyad in his Shifa quoted al-Tabari and al-Tahawi as citing consensus over it, and he added that Imam al-Shafi`i had “deviated” from that consensus by stipulating that blessing the Prophet inside Salat was categorically obligatory. The Shafi`i scholars consider this to be an error in Kitab al-Shifa and, in the words of al-Qastallani, “min abtal al-batil” and “inkar munkar,” and he refuted that passage of the Shifa clause by clause in his book on the proofs and fiqh of Salawat entitled Masalik al-Hunafa ila Mashari` al-Salat `ala al-Nabi al-Mustafa (p. 112-113) while Qutb al-Din Abu al-Khayr Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Zubaydi al-Khaydari (821-893) – one of the foremost disciples of Hafiz Ibn Hajar – authored a book about it which he entitled: Zahr al-Riyad fi Radd Ma Shanna`ahu `Iyad in which he showed that among those who considered Salat Ibrahimiyya or at the very least Salat on Sayyidina Muhammad (upon him blessings and peace) obligatory are:

– Ibn Mas`ud, Allah be well-pleased with him (Hakim, Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhid)

– `Umar b. al-Khattab, Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased (Nawawi, Majmu`)

– his son `Abd Allah b. `Umar (Allah be well-pleased with him) who narrated from the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace): “There is no prayer without recitation of Qur’an, tashahud, and invocation of blessing on me” (Abu `Ali al-Ma`mari in `Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla with a good chain according to Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari; al-Fayruzabadi adduces that chain in al-Silat wal-Bushar p. 115-116)

– Muhammad al-Baqir (Allah be well-pleased with him) according to Imam al-Qastallani in Masalik al-Hunafa (p. 107), al-Sha`bi (Bayhaqi, Khilafiyyaat with a strong chain according to Shaykh `Abd Allah Siraj al-Din in his book al-Salat `ala al-Nabiyyi salla Allah `alayhi wa-Alihi wa-sallam p. 48), Muhammad b. Ka`b al-Qurazi, Muqatil b. Hayyan, and Ishaq b. Rahuyah (all as mentioned by al-Mawardi in al-Hawi al-Kabir, his encyclopedia of Shafi`i fiqh) all said that invoking blessing on the Holy Prophet at the end of Salat is obligatory. So did Ahmad b. Hanbal (in Masa’il Abi Zur`a). Ibn Qudama in more than one place of the Mughni said this is the correct position of the Hanbali School, namely that one has to repeat the prayer if he deliberately leaves out such invocation.

–  Imam al-Shafi`i (Allah be well-pleased with him) who said in Kitab al-Umm that the last tashahud and the salat on the Prophet are equally obligatory on the basis of the verse commanding the latter as we have already said repeatedly.

– This is even the position of three major Maliki imams: (i) the jurist of Alexandria Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Mawwaz (d. 269, Allah have mercy on him and all of those mentioned in this article), whom Qadi `Iyad himself acknowledges in his commentary on Sahih Muslim (Ikmal al-Mu`lim 2:296), and he says “one of our masters Muhammad b. al-Mawwaz, took the same the position as al-Shafi`i”; (ii) Ibn `Abd al-Barr according to Imam al-Qastallani in Masalik al-Hunafa (p. 107); (iii) Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-`Arabi who says in Ahkam al-Qur’an (under verse 33:56): “Muhammad Ibn al-Mawwaz and al-Shafi`i said that invoking blessing on the Prophet inside prayer is fard, and whoever leaves it out, his prayer is invalid, and this is the sound position.”

A rather rare Shafi`i position is that the invocation of blessings on the Aal is also obligatory in the last tashahud. Al-Sakhawi in al-Qawl al-Badi` (`Awwama ed. p. 195-196) mentions that this was held by (i) al-Turbuji – a Shafi`i scholar who authored commentaries on al-Shirazi’s Muhadhdhab and al-Ghazali’s Wasit; (ii) Abu Ishaq al-Marwazi as cited by al-Bayhaqi in his Shu`ab; and (iii) al-Shafi`i himself in a narration from his student Harmala, as implied by al-Tahawi’s words in Sharh Mushkil al-Aathaar according to Ibn Hajar.

And Allah knows best.

To conclude we narrate from our teacher in Damascus and Aleppo the last remnant of the saintly hadith masters of old, Dr. Nur al-Din `Itr, from his teacher and father-in-law the hafiz `Abd Allah Siraj al-Din in his book al-Salat `ala al-Nabiyyi salla Allah `alayhi wa-Alihi wa-sallam (p. 235-236):

<<`Abd b. Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated with their chains from Mujahid, Allah be well-pleased with him, that he said: When the verse {Truly Allah and His angels exalt and bless the Prophet; O Believers, exalt and bless him! and do salute him with the worthiest salutation!} (33:56) was revealed, Abu Bakr (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased) said: “Messenger of Allah, whenever Allah descends immense goodness upon you, He always grants us a share in it!” whereupon Allah revealed:

هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتُهُ ۥ لِيُخۡرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِۚ وَڪَانَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَحِيمً۬ا

{He it is Who blesses you, and His angels (bless you), that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light; and He is ever Merciful to the believers} Surat al-Ahzab 33:43

<<So then Allah the Exalted blesses and exalts His Most Honored Beloved – upon him blessings and peace – with an exaltation that befits the Station of his Prophethood and the Office of His Messengership and the Rank of his Means and his Immense Merit that is exclusive to him; and He also blesses and exalts those who believe in him – upon him blessings and peace – and follow him, out of bounty for them, just because they follow him! He treats the follower with munificence because of the munificence of the one he follows, and thus the follower becomes most ennobled because of the Highest Nobility of the one he follows!>>

Blessings, peace, mercy, glory and honor on the Prophet, his Family, his Spouses, his Progeny, all his Companions, and all the Friends of Allah, as long as the rememberers mention him and the heedless are heedless of him.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Martyr Classification

Question:

Asalaamu Aleykum WR WB to all my beloved brothers and sisters in Islam

I read somewhere that people who meet there death, apart from dying in Jihad, are also classed as being Shaheed or martyred. An example is if a wall falls on someone. Is this true, and also can you please explain under what other criteria can someone become a martyr?

Many thanks for all your efforts on this website, Alhamdulillah, may Allah SWT bless you all.

Answer:

wa `alaykum salam,

Someone who dies from accident or a wall falling on him is not the same as one who died for fighting for the sake of Islam as the Sahaba. So the one who died in that manner is not a martyr in full sense, but since he died in this way it might be a cleansing for himself, or his parents or his ancestors, and Allah knows best. You can read about the Classifications of Martyrs at As-Sunnah Foundation of America website.

On the other hand, true Jihad, as the Sahaba with the Prophet, cannot be found today with all its principles and criteria. The first requirement for such Jihad is there must be an amir for Muslims and they must have provided for the defense of the homeland or religion by order of the ulu ‘l-amr, political leaders, not by the “order” of a leader in the community, or a group or a movement. You can read about these in our book Jihad: Principles of Leadership in War and Peace .

According to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, there are 14 categories of Jihad, and and only of them involves fighting. It is not possible to go into this here in detail, but you can read further about this the article: Jihad, Terrorism and Suicide Bombing: The Classical Islamic Perspective at the Islamic Supreme Council of America website.

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

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Ayat ash-Shifa (Six Quranic Verses of Healing)

Six Quranic Verses of Healing:  Ayat Ash-Shifa

وَيَشْفِ صُدُورَ قَوْمٍ مُّؤْمِنِينَ

wa yashfi sudoora qawmin mumineena
And [God] shall heal the breast of the believers. (at-Tawba, 9:14)

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاء لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Yaa ayyuha an-naasu qad ja’atkum maw`izhatun min rabbikum wa shifaun limaa fee as-sudoori wa hudan wa rahmatun lil-mumineen
Mankind there has come to you a guidance from your Lord and a healing for (the diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe a guidance and a mercy. (Yunus, 10:57)

َيخْرُجُ مِن بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاء لِلنَّاسِ

yakhruju min butooniha sharaabun mukhtalifun alwaanuhu feehi shifaun lin-naas
There issues from within the bodies of the bee a drink of varying colors wherein is healing for mankind. (an-Nahl, 16:69)

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاء وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Wa nunazzilu mina al-qurani ma huwa shifaun wa rahmatun lil-mumineen
And We sent down in the Quran such things that have healing and mercy for the believers (an-Najm, 17:82)

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

Wa idha maridtu fahuwa yashfeeni
And when I am ill, it is [God] who cures me.” (ash-Shu`ara, 26:80) (A supplication of Prophet Abraham [as])

قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاء

qul huwa lil-ladheena amanoo hudan wa shifaun
And declare (O Muhammad) that [the Quran] is a guidance and healing for the believers. (al-Fussilat, 41:44)

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yakhruju min butooniha sharaabun mukhtalifun alwaanuhu feehi shifaun lin-naas

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Allah

Question:

In my dream I saw my husband and my son. When I saw my son who is 21 month old. He had tiny holes in his chest named Allah. I also saw my husband was honest about his family situation and we both hugged and admitted the lack of family support on both side

Answer:

Allah Most High Himself is protecting that child against the harm of his caregivers. Dream is a warning that everything is heard and seen by Him and He is watching patiently.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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History of Sufism in India

Question:

Aslkm,

Are there reliable resources/books in English on the history of India from a Muslim/Sufi perspective? Especially the relations/events between the mashayikh and rulers of the time. With a focus on our Naqshbandi Grandshaykhs

Jzk khayr

Answer:

Assalamualaikum,
See:
Arthur F Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: the Indian Naqshbandiyya
Syed Athar Abbas Rizvi, A History of Sufism in India in two volumes.
Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Daily Zikr to read

Question:

Assalamualaikum

I became a mureed of Sheikh Hisham a few years ago, I would like to know who is Shaikh’s successor and who i can communicate with regarding how to proceed as a mureed, what daily zikrs I can read or what permissions I have, In’Shaa’Allah

Answer:

Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah.

You are connected to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim through Mawlana Shaykh Hisham. Mawlana Shaykh Hisham appointed Shaykh Nour as his successor by authority of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah Daghistani. You can communicate with them through Shaykh Nour directly, through their representative in your area, and through this platform in sha Allah. Continue with the daily devotions you have been practicing, which are described on Naqshbandi.org

May Allah grant you goodness here and hereafter and support in everything great and small.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Dream of giving proper respect to Ali (RA)

Question:

I prayed marriage istikhara i cant marry yet. I saw that Ali (ra) entered the room and I said, “why not Rasulullah?” (saws) and people shushed me, and i felt ashamed, went down on my knees and said sorry and how i honored i felt (girl’s brothers name Ali)

Answer:

Sayyidina Ali to you and me. Istikhara is good and better than good. At the same time your own soul is warning you that there is no love for Rasul unless there is love for his Family. Make it a point to read forty hadiths on the virtues and merits of Sayyidina `Ali.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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The relationship between Bayazid and Abul Hassan al Khirqani

Question:

Assalamu alaikum dear sheikh is

Is the relationship between Khwaja Bayazid and khwaja Abul Hassan al Khirqani an Uwaysi link the reason i ask is because Khwaja Bayazid passed away at 261 AH and Khwaja Abul Hassan al Khirqani passed away at 425 AH ?

Answer:

Waalaykumussalam warahmatullah.

It is known that the link between Sultan al-`Arifin Abu Yazid al-Bistami (188-261) and Abu al-Hasan al-Kharqani (352-425) is an Uwaysi-type link, in reference to Uways al-Qarani’s reception of the Prophet’s spiritual guidance without ever seeing the latter physically, upon him blessings and peace.

This is mentioned by Mulla `Abd al-Rahman al-Jami in Nafahat al-Uns (`Ilmiyya ed. 1:426, chapter on Abu al-Hasan al-Kharqani) and al-Khani in al-Kawakib al-Durriyya `ala al-Hada’iq al-Wardiyya fi Ajilla’ al-Sadat al-Naqshabandiyya (Bayruti ed. p. 336). At the same time, Abu al-Hasan al-Kharqani physically received khilafa from other Shaykhs as well. They are Abu Sa`id Fadlallah b. Muhammad al-Mayhani per Ali Huwjiri in Kashf al-Mahjub (Nicholson transl. p. 163), and Abu al-`Abbas Muhammad al-Qassab al-Amuli al-Tabari per al-Jami in Nafahat al-Uns (ditto).

Additionally, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi said in his Mathnawi (no. 1800-1850, transl. Nicholson):

How Abú Yazíd (Bistámí) announced the birth of Abu ’l-Hasan Kharraqání—may God sanctify the spirit of them both—(many) years before it took place, and gave a detailed description of his outer and inner characteristics; and how the chronologers wrote it down for the purpose of observation.

Have you heard the story of Báyazíd—what he saw beforehand of the (spiritual) state of Bu ’l-Hasan? One day that sultan of piety was passing with his disciples (on the way) towards the open country and the plain. Suddenly there came to him, in the district of Rayy, a sweet scent from the direction of Kháraqán.

1805. On the spot he uttered the lamentable cry of one who is yearning, and sniffed the scent from the breeze. He was inhaling the sweet scent lovingly: his soul was tasting wine from the breeze. When “sweat” appears on the outside of a pot that is full of icy water, It has been turned into water by the coldness of the air: the moisture has not escaped from the inside of the pot. The scent-bearing breeze became water for him; for him too the water became pure wine.

1800. The perfect (the divine physicians) will hear your name from afar and quickly penetrate into the deepest ground of your being and existence; Nay, they will have seen you (many) years before your birth —you together with all the circumstances (connected with you).

1810. When the marks of intoxication appeared in him, a disciple questioned him concerning that breath; Then he asked him, “(What are) these sweet ecstasies which are beyond the pale of the five (senses) and the six (directions)? Thy face is becoming now red and now yellow and now white: what is the (good) hap and the glad tidings?

Thou art inhaling scent, and no flowers are visible: doubtless it is from the Unseen and from the garden of the Universal. O thou who art the desire of every one who (wilfully) follows his own desire (for God), thou to whom there is (coming) at every moment a message and letter from the Unseen,

1815. Thou to whose (spiritual) organ of smell there is coming at every moment, as to Jacob, balm from a Joseph, Spill upon us one drop from that pitcher, give us one word that smells of that garden. We are not accustomed, O (thou who art the) beauty of (spiritual) majesty, that thou shouldst drink alone while our lips are dry.

O nimble, nimbly-rising traverser of Heaven, spill upon us one draught of that which thou hast drunk. There is no other Master of the Revels in the world except thee: O king, look (with favour) on the boon-companions!

1820. How is it possible to quaff this wine underhand (in secret)? Certainly wine is the exposer of man. He may disguise and conceal the scent, (but) how will he hide his intoxicated eye? In sooth this is not a scent that thousands of veils will keep hidden in the world. The desert and plain are filled with its pungency. What (of the) plain? for it hath passed even beyond the nine spheres (of Heaven). Do not daub the head of the jar with mortar, for indeed this naked one does not admit of covering.

1825. Show kindness: O thou who knowest and canst tell the mystery, declare that which thy falcon (thy spirit) has made its prey.” He said, “A marvellous scent is come to me, even as (a scent came) for the Prophet’s sake from Yemen; For Mohammed said, ‘The scent of God is coming to me from Yemen, (wafted) on the hand of the zephyr.’” The scent of Rámín is coming from the soul of Wís; the scent of God, too, is coming from Uways. From Uways and from Qaran a wondrous scent made the Prophet drunken and full of rapture.

1830. Since Uways had passed away from himself, that earthly one (Uways) had become heavenly. The myrobalan conserved in sugar—its bitter taste is not (retained) any more. (Similarly) the (spiritual) myrobalan that is freed from egoism hath (only) the appearance of myrobalan, (but) not the flavour. This topic hath no end. Return (to the story), that (we may see) what that holy man (Báyazíd) said, (moved) by inspiration from the World Unseen.

The words of the Prophet, may God bless and save him, “Verily, I feel the Breath of the Merciful (God) from the direction of Yemen.” He (Báyazíd) said, “The scent of a friend is coming from this quarter, for a (spiritual) monarch is coming into this village.

1835. After such and such a number of years a king will be born (here): he will pitch a tent above the heavens. His face will be coloured with roses from the rosery of God: he will surpass me in station.” (The disciple asked), “What is his name?” He replied, “His name is Bu ’l- Hasan,” and described his features—his eyebrows and chin; He described his height and his complexion and his figure and spoke in detail of his locks of hair and his face. He also declared his spiritual features—his qualities and the way (he should follow in his religion) and his (spiritual) rank and estate.

1840. The bodily features, like the body (itself), are borrowed (transient): set not your heart on them, for they are lasting (only) one hour. The features of the natural (animal) spirit also are perishable: seek the features of that spirit which is above the sky. Its body is on the earth, like a lamp, (but) its light is above the Seventh Roof (of heaven).

Those rays of the sun are in the house, (but) their orb is in the Fourth Dome (of heaven). The form of the rose is (placed) beneath the nose for idle pleasure’s sake, (but) the scent of the rose is on the roof and palace of the brain.

1845. A man asleep sees terror (dreams of something which terrifies him) at Aden: the reflexion thereof appears as sweat on his body. The shirt (of Joseph) was in Egypt in the keeping of one exceedingly careful (of it): (the land of) Canaan was filled with the (sweet) scent of that shirt. Thereupon they wrote down the (predicted) date: they adorned the spit with the meat for roasting. When the right time and date arrived, that (spiritual) king was born and played the dice of empire. After those years (had passed), Bu ’l-Hasan appeared (in the world) after the death of Báyazíd.

1850. All his dispositions, (whether in the way) of withholding tenaciously or bestowing liberally, proved to be such as that (spiritual) king (Báyazíd) had foretold. His (Báyazíd’s) guide is “the guarded tablet.” From what is it guarded? It is guarded from error. The inspiration of God is not (like) astrology or geomancy or dreams—and God best knoweth what is right.

The Súfís in explaining (their doctrine) call it (the Divine inspiration) the inspiration of the heart, in order to disguise (its real nature) from the vulgar. Take it to be the inspiration of the heart, for it (the heart) is the place where He is seen: how should there be error when the heart is aware of Him?

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Prayer request for my brain disease or evil eye symptoms

Prayer Request:

As Salam alikam hazrat Hisham Kabbani RA ,

I am from Pakistan 🇵🇰, I am in strange disease or disorder like I am feeling numbness and heaviness in my head , or this can be evil eye please dua for me I may recover soon my this disease may finish .

Answer:

Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah. 

Follow medical advice and keep on the way of righteous people and righteous deeds. May Allah grant you long life and good health with iman and ihsan.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Dream: Presence of Prophet (Saw) at an office.

Question:

Salam Shaykh
It was at an office. I felt the presence of our beloved Prophet (SAW). My mother’s youngest brother was there. There’re white papers of documents stacked up. we were registering my business. I dreamt this after magrib on the 14th of sha’ban.

Answer:

Waalaikumussalam

You and your uncle will not leave this dunya except as believers in sha Allah, with a clean record. Continue with your spiritual business and build on this promise. 

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Dream of Raining and Block

Question:

I was in the middle of raining road riding motocycle with my brother. It is unknown place. I tried to go further but cannot due to road is closed and I tell the police I need to go home. He told me “One day you will understand the delay and the blockage

Answer:

Dream points to spiritual gathering of Awliya in your area. Look for them and keep good company.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Arrival of the mahdi and of the dajjal

Question:

The mahdi a.s. and the dajjal have arrived

Answer:

We are indeed in the age of the Mahdi but he has not come out in the open yet. 

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Saw Shaykh Nazim in airport

Question:

As Salaamu Alaikum dear Shaykh
I was at the airport and had lost my phone. I boarded a plane that went to the 1940s. It was black and white (as in old film) and I saw Shaykh Nazim (Q) with the left half of his beard shaved off talking to my parents.

Answer:

Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah. 

Dream points to a relocation to a simpler place. Use that to reconnect with a clean and traditional way of life like Mawlana Shaykh Nazim who once said he was from the 10th century. In time when you marry the beard will be whole in sha Allah.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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