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Is Alcohol Najas?

The word "khamr" in Arabic refers to intoxicants (in general), but also specifically to alcohol. We all know drinking alcohol is haraam--but is alcohol itself najas? People use alcohol in medicine, in lens-cleaners, even in foods. What have scholars said about this?

Summary: Allahu 'alim, both sides--those that say alcohol is najas, and those that don't--have strong proofs. Having said that, all four madhahib say alcohol is najas. The main proof--and there are a few proofs--is the ayah:

Translation: O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are rijs of Shaytan's handwork; eschew such (filth), that ye may prosper. [Surah Ma'idah, verse 90]

The word Allah uses--rijs--means filth, which is najas by default. Gambling and divination are spirituall najas, and alcohol is physically najas! (Those who say alcohol is not najas use this ayah too--gambling and divination are spiritually najas. If you walk into a gambling machine, you don't go wash it off! And alcohol is mentioned here too. But the refutal is that it's common sense that gambling and divination aren't physically najas.)

Another proof: Abu Tha'labah Al-Khushani asked the Prophet: "We are in a land inhabited by people of the book. Can we eat from their inaa'?" The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "Don't eat from them, unless you can't find an alternative; in that case, wash them and eat from them." The word used, inaa', refers to dishes (plates, bowls), utensils (knives, forks, spoons), AND cups! If alcohol wasn't najas, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) wouldn't have mentioned inaa', only plates/bowls/etc. and utensils! So the majority of scholars use this proof, too, to say alcohol is najas.

And follow Imam Malik--who says that even though alcohol is najas, if it's mixed into something--as long as it doesn't change the colour, smell, or taste of the thing--then that thing is pure.

But don't cook with it--because there's a hadith, that "whatever intoxicates in large amounts is haraam even in small amounts."

Wallahu ta'ala 'alim.

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Purification Act. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2006.

• Utensils and Vessels
• Reusing Purification Water
• The Purification Act
• Typical
• Tafseer by the Sunnah: Uloom ul-Quran

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Light of Eman Session 9

We walk through life not understanding that we are in the midst of the biggest battle with the wretched of all enemies--Shaytan. Understanding his tactics is one thing--being able to follow it up with our own weapons is another. Listen to the podcast to learn and understand the different weapons believers can equip themselves with in this war against Shaytan.

• Light of Eman Session 1
• Light of Eman Session 2
• Light of Eman Session 4
• Light of Eman Session 8
• Light of Eman Session 5

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Zina

We live in a world in which the concept of haya between man and women is lost. We forget that at every step Shaytaan waits to pounce, to guide us to evil. Living in the West, going to University, we see a lot of evil, and we see the plan of Shaytaan at work; Muslim men and Muslim women forgetting their boundaries and falling into the fitnah of society. Every wonder what would happen if you die in a state of disobedience to Allah? Will your heart every truly be satisfied by disobeying Allah Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? Come to The Guide! Come to Allah, purely, sincerely. Listen to the podcast and learn about this much-forgotten issue.

• Belief Shapes Identity and Action
• The Fruits of Eman (3)
• Wild Rumors
• Shirk, the Destroyer
• Fear Allah’s Punishment but Hope for His Mercy

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Tawaf 101

What is tawaf, how do you do it, and what's the best way to go about it?

Tawaf, Islamically, means circling around the Ka'bah for Hajj in the way the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) did and told us to do. The requirements of tawaf are simple--be in a state of wudoo.

The mechanics of tawaf are:

• You walk around the ka'bah, seven times
• Start at the Black Stone corner (from outside, it has a green light); raise your hand towards the Black Stone and say "Allahu Akbar" (or, if you can reach it, touch the black stone and say Allahu Akbar)
• For men, if possible, you walk quickly (raml, in Arabic) the first three times
• Make du'a, recite Qur'an, or make dhikr as you walk.
• Whenever you reach the Yemeni corner, make the du'a: Rabbana aatiynaa fid-dunya hasanatan, wa fil-akhirati hasanatan, wa kinaa adhaaban-naar (O our Lord! Give us goodness in this life, goodness in the Akhira, and protect us from the Punishment of the Fire.)
• Don't push, jab, bite, or hurt anybody.
• Once you're done, drink some Zam-Zam, pour a little over your head, and pray two rakahs behind Maqama Ibrahim

Some tips to make your tawaf easier:

• If you have family with you--your parents, uncles, sons, daughters, your spouse, your brothers, your sisters--hang on to them! Most people back off from trying to pass when they see people holding on to each other.
• Aim for making tawaf on the second or third floor if there are too many people around.
• The best time to make tawaf (in Hajj) is around midnight or 1am; the crowd is very sparse around that time. (Don't even think about doing it right before or after Fajr--it's tooooo packed.)
• If someone pushes you from behind, turn and look at them (making sure to make eye contact). If they still persist, step to the side to avoid them. If you can't, turn and say "Sabr, akhi/ukhti" (patience, o my brother/sister).

And remember, don't injure anyone! Hajj is supposed to be about patience, and if the crowd isn't moving, pushing won't make it go faster!

We ask Allah to make tawaf easy on all our brothers and sisters (ameen ya rabb!)

• A Complete Duaa

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Light of Eman Session 8

The fact of the matter is that Shaytan is an open enemy to humankind. It is through his whispers that he causes all of us to stray off in to the darkness of evil and misguidance. How else does Shaytan influence humankind? Listen to the podcast and find out!

• Light of Eman Session 1
• Light of Eman Session 2
• Light of Eman Session 4
• Light of Eman Session 5
• Light of Eman Session 7

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Worship

We go through life praying, giving to the poor, fasting, and other forms of worship which are prescribed by Allah. However, when was the last time we sat back and really tried to understand what it means to worship Allah? Why do we worship Him? Listen to the podcast for more details on this crucial aspect of Islam--worship.

• Is not Allah Alone Worthy of our Worship?
• Dua: The Weapon of the Believer
• Five Points From Marriage 101
• 500 Years of Worship
• Islam Mission Statement - Rib’ee ibn ‘Amir

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Follow the footsteps of Khalilullah

Once upon a time, on the day of Eid-ul-Adha:

Abdullah: As-Salam Alykum, Eid Mubarak..Taqabal Allah minna wa minkom! (May Allah accept it, from us and from you)

Abdur-Rahman: Wa 'Alykum As-salam. Eid Mubarak to you as well.

Abdullah: How has been your Eid day so far?

Abdur-Rahman: Man, I heard this new song today, and kept listening to it :( I know I shouldn't have been listening to music, it's haram, but I just can't give it up. I just can't. Perhaps I will give it up after I go for Hajj next year inshallah.

Abdullah: Man, seriously stop this habit now. Don't give yourself excuses. Repent now to Allah and make firm intention. You know this act is disliked by Allah. Today is a Eid day, a perfect time for you to make niyaah to leave this habit. If Prophet Ibraheem was willing to sacrifice his own son in His path, why can't you sacrifice this habit for His sake, to please Him?

Abdur-Rahman: You are right. Jazakallah Khair ........

Is there something that YOU really really like, but Allah dislikes? Perhaps some action that you have been doing all these years, disobeying Allah, and find it so hard to give up. You might have been giving yourself excuses like "I will repent later once I ..." (graduate? get married? old? .......) Make the intention right now to repent to Allah and sacrifice this habit for His sake.

Exercise: Find the verse in Qur'an that talks about spending your beloved thing in the way of Allah.

• Following vs. Obeying
• Umm Sulaym and the Death of her Son
• Why Should I Study?
• Influence Leaders, Don’t Import!
• Chain of Command

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Fasting in Muharram

Bismillah.

The sacred month of Muharram is now upon us, and a new year has begun alhamdulillah. InshaAllah I wanted to remind you all and myself of the great sunnan this month has for us:

Rasulllah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "The best of fasting after Ramadaan is the month of Allah, Muharram, and the best of prayer after the obligatory prayers is prayer at night (qiyaam al-layl)." [Saheeh Muslim, #1163]

This month contains the day of Ashoora, which, like the day of Arafah, expiates the past years sins. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "Fast the day of 'Arafah, and I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year before it and the year after it. And fast the day of Ashoora, and I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year that came before it." [Saheeh Muslim, #1162]

For more information about fasting in Muharram and Ashoora, visit this IslamQA question.

We are also recommended to fast the day before Ashoora (which is the 10th of Muharram), the day known as Tasoo'a (the 9th of Muharram).

Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (رضالله عنه) said: When the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) fasted on the day of 'Ashoora and told the people to fast, they said, "O Messenger of Allah, this is a day that is venerated by the Jews and Christians." The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, "Next year, if Allah wills, we will fast on the ninth day." But by the time the following year came, the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) had passed away. [Saheeh Muslim, #1916]

The scholars state many additional reasons why we should fast the 9th; for more information, click here.

In these sacred months, sinning should be controlled, because sinning in these months is greater than sinning in the other months; because Allah says:

Translation: O you who believe! Do not violate the sanctity of the symbols of Allah, nor of the sacred month. [Surah Maida, verse 2]

(Two things Allah prohibited in this month, because of their sanctity, is to fight in battles, and sinning.)

And, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "The division of time has returned as it was when Allah created the Heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months, four of which are sacred: Three are in succession, (they are:) Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram; and (the fourth is) Rajab of (the tribe of) Mudar, which comes between Jumada (Ath-Thaniyah) and Sha'ban." [Saheeh Bukhari]

May Allah accept all of our fasting and ibadaat, ameen!

• The Purpose of Fasting
• So Why Are You Fasting?
• Ramadan Mubarak!
• Worship
• Five Sunnahs of Fasting

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Reusing Purification Water

Can you re-use water used for purification--wudoo or ghusl? This issue doesn't apply to most people unless they're stuck somewhere without much water--like Cambodia, where they get water once a year, during flood season, and keep it for nine months.

(Before you read this, read about the three-fold categorization of water; in summary, water can either be purifying (tuhoor), pure (taahir), or impure (najas), and we can only use purifying water for wudoo and ghusl.)

Scholars agree that, if the water changes--the colour, smell, or taste change due to najaasa--then the water is najas, and you can't use it. And water that remains free of impurity is recyclable.

But what if some najas falls into it, and it doesn't change colour? For example, you're washing your son/nephew/grandson, and a few drops of urine fall into your bucket of wudoo water--but the water doesn't change in it's three characteristics.

Is it pure?

Scholars disagree on this. Let's blitz through some of the opinions:

Opinion 1: the water remains pure even if 100 people make wudoo with it 100,000 times--because as long as the three characteristics are the same, it's still purifying water! They quote the following proofs:

Hadith: Water is purifying, and nothing will defile it.

Hadith: Aisha (رضالله عنها) narrates that she used some water to wash when she was in a state of janabah. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "Water does not come into the state of janabah," i.e. it doesn't carry impurity or become impure and remains purifying. [Musnan of Ibn Ahmad]

Hadith: Urwa ibn Mas'ood As-Sa'id met the Prophet, then said to the Quraish: "When the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) performed his wudoo, his companions rushed to share the water he used." [Bukhari, Musnad of Imam Ahmad]

Also, the default opinion with water is that it's purifying, until proven impure.

Opinion 2: Water becomes pure, but not purifying (like tea or coke). While it's not najas, you can't make wudoo or ghusl from it. They quote the following proofs:

Hadith: Don't urinate in stagnant water and wash yourself with it.

(Meaning, even if the water looks pure, you can't make wudoo with it.)

Opinion 3: Water already used for purifying becomes najas. (So if you make wudoo and drip water from your elbow onto your clothes, you need to re-wash them.) They use the same hadith above as proof--because one of their principles is "Any time Allah or the Prophet put two things together in a sentence, they take the same ruling." But there are many ayaat in the Qur'an where this isn't true, so this is a very weak proof.

So what's the conclusion? Allahu 'alim, scholars put forward opinion one--you can reuse wudoo water so long as it's characteristics don't change--because the ahadith that speak directly about this topic are many and strong; you can't get a better proof then that.

So if a little bit of something najas falls into your bathtub or wudoo bucket, don't freak out--remember, it's all good! (It's still purifying.)

Wallahu ta'ala 'alim.

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Purification Act. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2006.

• The Purification Act
• Water, Soil, Plants, Fruit, Life Management
• Utensils and Vessels
• Your Last Prayer
• 500 Years of Worship

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Light of Eman Session 7

Continuing on the topic of Shaytaan, this lecture focuses on the relationship between man and him. What is the clash between humans and Shaytaan? What is the goal of Shaytaan? And truly, what are the techniques by which he is succeeding in this battle? Listen to the podcast and find out more about this fore-sworn enemy of humans.

• Light of Eman Session 1
• Light of Eman Session 2
• Light of Eman Session 4
• Light of Eman Session 8
• Light of Eman Session 5

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