Fasting on Rabi al-Awwal ?

Question:

Do we have evidences from early Sunni scholars (prior to 500AH) that recommended fasting (or other virtuous deeds) on Rabi al-Awwal on account of the birth of the Prophet peace be upon him ?

We see that such practice existed among the shites (the shiite scholar al-Mufid (d.413H) for example as quoted by Marion Holmez’s in “The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam”) , that gives the impression to me that it might have been present among the Sunni community too.

Answer:

Fasting on Mondays “because it is the day I was born” is what the Prophetic Sunna established, and the sources on voluntary works around the year such as the Ghunya or Lata’if al-Ma`arif did not mention any historical instance or juristic recommendation where the entire Mawlid month was included into that principle in practice.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Sadaqa to neighbour

Question:

Assalamuraikum Ya Sultan Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (qs)
May Allah bless our sultan and our beloved Shaykh Hisham Kabbani,Shaykh Adnan Kabbani,Shaykh Mehmet,Shaykh Bahauddin and all the Shaykhs and Ustaads on Eshaykh.

I have made the intention to give daily sadaqa to the poor, however I have read Mawlana Shaykh’s sohbats in which Mawlana stated that sadaqa to poor neighbours are greater in reward. I want to give sadaqa to a poor neighbour as i don’t like seeing her begging, astaghfirullah, in front of the door of the masjid, and i dont like giving her small amounts of money, can i collect money during the whole week and give her the money collected on a single day? Will it count as a daily sadaqa?

jazakallah for helping this very weak mureed

Answer:

Wa alaikum salam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Rahim

Indeed helping our immediate neighbours especially those who live very close to us is of greater reward than others as mentioned in various ahadith. Yes, you can keep your daily sadaqa for a week and give to the person in need. It will count as a daily sadaqa since you have made intention to set some money aside for that purpose. May Allah reward your good deeds.

Allah knows best.

Mohammad Razib

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Hadith quoted by Wahhabis that our Nabi did commit SHIRK?

Question:

Salamalaikkum,
Dear Shk Haddad, Its me [private] from Sri lanka. A new ideology is starting to spread in Sri Lanka that our Prophet sallahualahiwasallim had committed SHIRK without his knowledge. (Ma’azallah!)

Its made official on their blog in tamil
http://alhafilzaine.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

The hadith is
الحلف بالكعبة – حديث:‏3733‏
أخبرنا يوسف بن عيسى ، قال : حدثنا الفضل بن موسى ، قال : حدثنا مسعر ، عن معبد بن خالد ، عن عبد الله بن يسار ، عن قتيلة ، امرأة من جهينة : أن يهوديا أتى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : إنكم تنددون ، وإنكم تشركون تقولون : ما شاء الله وشئت ، وتقولون : والكعبة ، ” فأمرهم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا أرادوا أن يحلفوا أن يقولوا : ورب الكعبة ، ويقولون : ما شاء الله ، ثم شئت

Dear Shk Haddad explain to us what is the Thafseer of this Hadith

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

Allah Most High Himself said “Allah wa Rasuluh” three dozen times, also “Allah wa mala’ikatahu,” and He swore by many created entities, not in the sense of swearing by them for their own sake, but in the sense of swearing by Himself, their Creator, as shown in the Tafsirs and Allah knows best.

So there was nothing wrong with their language to begin with, but by telling them to change it, the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) was teaching them and us that when conciliation is harmless, to close the door to objections is better than to be right in an argumentative way, and he was also teaching humbleness both in substance and in
method.

As for the present claim of that the Prophet and/or the Muslims were previously committing shirk then whoever holds such a view is exactly in the same position and level of understanding as the Jew back then.

Note also that the hadith does not say that the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) told the Muslims to repeat the shahada but simply to slightly alter their language in order to close the door in the face of would-be champions of tawhid past and present (who are in fact burning up with envy and rejection) critiquing him and his Umma.

And Allah knows best. {And it is enough that Allah is Witness Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.}

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Khalid ibn al-Walid saying Ya Muhammadah (asws)

Question:

Assalam-o-alaikum wa rehmatullah
May Allah Ta’ala bless you all shuyukh, specially Shaykh Gibril Haddad and all the eshaykh team .. Ameen JazakAllah khair! for clarifying regarding the sanad

Khalid ibn al-Walid saying “Ya Muhammadah”

Also can you please shed some light on this najdi explanation:

“The actual slogan, as recorded by Ibn Kathir in Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Vol. 6 P.397, was ‘Ya Muhammadah! (O for Muhammad! )’, rather than ‘Ya Muhammad! (O Muhammad! )’; this is like the cry ‘Ya Islamah! (O for Islam!)’. The Ya here is for exclamation, not for prayer, as in the Prophet’s statement (SAWS), ‘Ya tuba lil-Sham! (O joy for Syria ! )’, and this is further confirmed by the suffix “ah“. The Companions understood Islam far too well to pray to the Prophet (SAWS)!”

I know it’s not a prayer but a Nida, but an explanation would be beneficial.
Salam

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

I am not sure who is claiming that Ya is “for prayer,” as Muslims do not pray to the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) but as for tawassul then it is as he himself taught in the authentic hadith of the blind man.

As for the translation given it shows misunderstanding of the meaning of the final ah in Ya Muhammadah. It goes without saying that (Ya+final ah) is a branch of nida‘ (summon, invocation, call, apostrophe) called nudba (elegy, lament) and the person thus called is the mandub, and the Ya can be replaced with Wa also, as in the cry of Abu Bakr (r) when he kissed the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) after the latter’s demise, with the words “Ya/Wa Khalilah! Ya/Wa Nabiyyah! Ya/Wa Safiyyah” O my Beloved! O my Prophet! O my Only One! as authentically narrated.

If anything, whatever Ya conveys is only multiplied by the addition of a final ah to the callee’s name, whether Islam or a person, for dramatic purpose and it denotes extreme emotion as well as importance, as the callee has to be someone or something famous.

See on this Shaykh `Abd al-Ghani al-Daqr’s Mu`jam Qawa`id al-Lughat al-`Arabiyya, entry “nida‘,” section entitled “ahkam al-mandub.”

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Prayer Request: Help in saving my marriage please

Request:

Assalam o elikum,

Me and my wife have been married for many years; over all our married life was ok and we just had the usual normal ups and downs which almost every married couple have.

Few months ago she moved out and now the situation is that she does not want to talk to me or meet me and has communicated with me through a lawyer with a view to divorce. I really love her very much and feel that this behaviour where she cannot agree to communicate with me to discuss the issue in an amicable manner is not normal.

I have been praying regularly for many months and asking Allah for help however till now the situation has not changed; I need help of Allah and special prayers and guidance. Please guide as to what I shall do to save my marriage.

Jazak Allah Khairun

Response:

Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Rahim

We sympathize with your problem and pray that whatever issues can be resolved amicably. It is important to find out the underlying issue/issues that makes her act the way she did, especially since she only communicates with you through a third party.

Read salawat tunjina 40 times every day and make dua that whatever problems be resolved. Read also istighfar abundantly as it opens ways out of our problems.

Allah knows best.

Mohammad Razib

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Is writing fiction permissible?

Question:

Assalam-o-Alaykum eShaykh staff!
May God’s countless be upon you and the great Mawlana,

I am a fiction-writer. God has gifted me with the power of writing amazing fantasies. I’ve just completed one of my fantasy novel based on a lot of myths. I have clarified on many places in my book about it being a fiction. I come from a middle-class family. Alas, but excluding me since last 2 months my entire family is money-lover. My father’s psychological conditions are not fine. He kept thinking about money and forget Islam in it. I want to change it through the publication of my novel because this may release my father’s tension a bit. Please Mawlana guide me if this fine or not. We are ignorant and have no guidance other then the holy books and holy saints. Please guide me!

May God’s divine light and love be with you. Amen.
Jazak-Allah Khairan

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

Edifying fiction is permissible and serves education. Sufis use it time and again. The underlying moral is the real story, and the values it validates promote truth. Your self-assessment shows readiness for such a purpose so aim high in your good work and continue to help your father and family.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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in Love with a married man! HELP.!

Question:

I’m in luv with a married man. He is willing to take me as a second wife. I have also just found out that his wife is expecting a baby. My heart is aching, I luv him a lot & can’t imagine life without him but I don’t know if I will be able endure the pain of sharing my husband. I have spoken to my parents about him & they have refused for us to get married and have said, they will choose a spouse for me, & if I don’t agree to marry someone of their choice they will get me married to the guy that I luv but they will disown me. I am desperate for advice. I don’t know what to do in this situation. I luv him and can’t live without him. Plz give me a wazifa so that Allah makes our marriage possible with my parents being happy.

Answer:

Give your parents a chance to do what they think is best for you. If that does not work out they will let you marry as a second wife and will not disown you in sha Allah. Give them time to get used to the idea but give yourself time too.

You should also try to examine what is certain and what is uncertain in your life right now. Your parents love you, that is certain, and you love them, so cherish that and hold it dear. As for a potential spouse there is a lot of room for growth of mutual love and understanding, and a blessed life and family. Pain and jealousy right from the start are not good helpers.

Recite Ya Halim, Ya Karim, Ya Hafiz to the intention of ease and protection here and hereafter.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Conflict between mother and wife

Question:

Assalamu alaykum,

Madad ya rijalallah. Madad ya sultanul ul awliya. When there is a conflict between my mother and wife, how should I behave?

Thank you very much for you answer! Assalamu allaykum

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

Your mother comes first so be patient, kind, generous, fair and gentle,
but your mother comes first.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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About isnad

Question:

Salam

Ya shaykh Gibril

Is there an opinion in Mizan al-‘Itidal of Imam al-Dhahabi, rahmatullahi ta’la alayh, (or any of his other books, or by some other imam) to validate or to make permissible the taking of fiqh and aqida, if they themselves are RELIABLE, of the immediate students (and their students and their students and so on), basically with the isnad in fiqh and aqida of an ‘Alim (y) who is dishonest in his presentation of another ‘Alims (z) book, to muftis for fatawa against him, in doing so alim (y) intentionally shows the ‘ibarat and the jumlay concerned in alim (z)’s book out of context and not what he intended just to get fatawa of kufr against him. Because of this dishonesty has been found out and his standing their by becoming tarnished and his isnad effectively not having the sidq attached to it because of this.

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

Al-Dhahabi’s student Imam Taj al-Din al-Subki in Qa`ida fil-Jarh wal-Ta`dil said that contemporaries’ mutual discreditation is not taken into account in the assessment of their respective merits, for example al-Hudhali’s attack against al-Bukhari’s `aqida, or the huge rivalry between Ibn Mandah and Abu Nu`aym al-Asfahani also due to `aqida, or between Ibn Hibban and the Hanafi school, and many other examples, such as — after his time — what happened between al-Sakhawi and al-Suyuti who are both great imams. So the upshot is we take what is reliable and we leave the rest regardless of what transpired of sins and mistakes when they are countable on the fingers of the hands amidst predominant goodness, and Allah knows best.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Dua/prayers to get married

Question:

Assalamualaikum:
I am divorced. For over 7 years now, I have come close to one person who is also married to another person but not in a normal relationship. He kept saying that he wanted to marry me all this time and when I ask seriously he finds reasons to postpone our marriage for his son with the other woman or parents not being okay. I was even okay to be his second wife with no demands. I cannot cheat someone else if I go and marry another guy. After sacrificing all these time of my life, I still cannot ask for marriage yet. Unlike before, now he insists that I should marry someone else which is totally impossible. Physically or mentally I cannot accept anyone else.

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

Both of you have ignored the stop signs of your mutual relationship, each one in his or her own way. On his part it is clear enough he has no intention to give you a halal position in his life, which is what you deserve. But on your part you have persisted in denial for an unreasonably long time. You have mistreated yourself even more than he has mistreated you. Turn to Allah Most High Who delivers on His promises and ask Him for a good life here and hereafter, even if that means to move on. He will support you and give you better than that in sha Allah.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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