Author Archives: Student of Knowledge

Ikhtilaf – I

June 6, 2011 – 9:21 am

In the previous post, we introduced the topic of Differences of Opinions. We listed the four ways of categorizing these differences. In this post, we will look at the first category: Differences due to interpretation of word meanings and grammatical constructions.

Within this category, we have several sub categories:

Shared literal meanings/Equivocality/Homonym (Ishtirak):

An example of this would be the word “qur” which means menses as well as the time of purity between menses. This word occurs in 2:228. The scholars thus arrived at two different rulings for the waiting period of divorce. According to those who considered  Qur’ to be the period of purity, the divorce becomes finalized as soon as her third menses have started, while according to those who viewed Qur’ as the actual menses, it is not finalized until her third menses have ended. You can read the details here.

Another example, would be the use of word “nakaha” in surah al-Nisa, verse 4:22, which reads “and marry not women whom your fathers have married”.  Can you find how the word “nakaha” is interpreted differently and the different rulings from it. Post in comments!

Literal and figurative meanings:

An example of this would be the word “lams” that occurs in 4:43. The word is literally used to indicate touching by the hand or the coming in contact of two objects, and figuratively to indicate intimate relation. Hence scholars differed in their interpertation of what does it mean that ablution is nullified on “touching” women as per the verse. Some scholars took the literal meaning while others took figurative meaning. Read the details of the issue here.

Sometimes, the switch between literal and figurative meaning results  from an implied omission or addition (example) of words.

Grammatical meanings:

Certain grammatical constructions may have more than one possible meaning. An example of this would be the verse of whudoo in Surah Maida, where Allah describes washing of hands as “wash your faces and your forearms to( illa ) the elbows”. The word illa in this context, could mean upto and not including elbows or it could include the elbows.  See the details here

These then are the different examples for this category. In the upcoming post, we will Inshallah look at the differences occurring due to hadith narrations.

Action Item:

Find more examples for each category listed above. Post in the comments

References:

May Allah make this series beneficial for us.

Posted in Islam, Usool ul-Fiqh | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Mcdonald, KFC, Moon Sighting…

May 3, 2011 – 6:17 pm

Muslims, living in the Muslim Countries, generally tend to have limited exposure to Fiqh and its rulings. There is usually one dominant madhab and that’s all people know about. Rarely, if ever, people are exposed to other madahibs. However, the situation for many of us living in west, like Canada, is quite different.

Because of the diversity of muslims, from various countries, cultures and backgrounds, we are exposed to many madhabs. We find many different opinions on a given issue. We see people praying little differently in mosque. When Ramadhan comes, the whole moon sighting debate starts and not to mention the zabiha meat issues.

The question then arises, why do scholars differ? This then would be the topic of these series of posts Inshallah. So let’s get started.  To make it easy for us to understand these difference, scholars usually divide the reasons of differences into various categories and aspects. Here is one such categorization. The differences exists, due to:

  1. Interpretation of word meanings and grammatical constructions
  2. Hadith narrations
  3. Admissibility  of  certain principles
  4. Methods of Qiyas

In the next few posts, we will look at each category one by one.

Action Item:

  1. To get the feeling of some of these difference, skim though some of the fiqh issues in the following books:
  2. Post in the comments, evidences that show that the differences of opinions existed in the time of the Messenger (SAW) and that the differences are inherently bad or evil. (Hint: there is a post on this website, that talks about this)

References:

  • The Evolution of Fiqh by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

May Allah make this series beneficial for us.

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Oswatun Hasana – The Best Uncle

January 6, 2010 – 11:57 am

cloth on floor

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds. [21:107]

In the last post, we looked at how our beloved prophet (SAW) set for us an excellent example as a father. Inshallah, continuing with the theme, in this post, we will explore two more roles:  uncle and the master.

Treatment with niece

  • After the Taif Campaign, one of the captives As-Shaima, the daughter of Al-Harith As-Sadiya, the Messenger’s foster sister was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) , she introduced herself to him. Upon recognizing her by a certain mark, he honored her, spread for her his garment and seated her on it. He was graceful and released her and made her turn back to her people. [The Sealed Nectar]

Amazing! For those of us, who have the nieces, do we treat them with the respect, honor and love? How about with our own sisters? Note that As-Shaima was the daughter of the foster sister and yet the prophet (SAW) treated her with so much kindness.

Treatment with servant:

  • Anas reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) had the best disposition amongst people. He sent me on an errand one day, and I said:  By Allah, I would not go. I had, however, this idea in my mind that I would do as Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) had commanded me to do. I went out until I happened to come across children who had been playing in the street. In the meanwhile, Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) came there and he caught me by the back of my neck from behind me. As I looked towards him I found him smiling and he said: Unais, did you go where I commanded you to go? I said: Allah’s Messenger, yes, I am going. Anas further said: I served him for nine years but I know not that he ever said to me about a thing which I had done why I did that, or about a thing I had left as to why I had not done that. [Muslim]

Subhanallah, how many of us actually do that? When we are given a position of authority, be it be at work (supervisor, manager, business owners) or at home, how do we treat the people under us? Are we gentle, merciful and forgiving. We need to learn from our beloved Prophet (SAW).

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Oswatun Hasana – The Best Father

December 9, 2009 – 10:00 pm

prostration

“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.”  [33:21]

Inshallah in this post and in future posts, we will be looking at seerah. We will look at how the prophet (SAW) set an excellent example for us in different roles; be it be as a husband, father, friend, leader and other such roles. In today’s post, we will look at his life as a father and grandfather.

Let us seen what Anas ibn Malik who served the prophet (SAW) for 10 years as servant said “I have never seen a man who was more compassionate to his family members than Muhammad.” (Muslim)

As a Grandfather

  • Abu Huraira reported: I went along with Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) at a time during the day but he did not talk to me and I did not talk to him until he reached Bazar of Banu Qainuqal. He came back to the tent of Fatima and said: Is the little chap (meaning Hasan) there? We were under the impression that his mother had detained him in order to bathe him and dress him and garland him with a sweet garland. Not much time had passed that he (Hasan) came running until both of them embraced each other, thereupon Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: O Allah, I love him; love him Thou and love one who loves him (Hasan). [Muslim]
  • Abdullah b. Ja’a'far reported that when Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) came back from a journey he met us. Once he met me, Hasan or Husain, and he mounted one of us before him and the other one behind him until we entered Medina. [Muslim]
  • The Prophet came out towards us, while carrying Umamah, the daughter of Abi Al-As (his grand-daughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up, he lifted her up. [Bhukari]
  • Once while the prophet was delivering a sermon in the mosque, Al-Hasan came treading on the edge of his garment, falling down every now and then. The prophet could not stand the sight. So he interrupted his sermon, came down from the pulpit, carried Al-Hasan and resumed the sermon [Heroes of Islam - Darus Salam]

As a father

  • Aisha reported: We, the wives of Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him), were with him (during his last illness) and none was absent therefrom that Fatima, who walked after the style of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him), came there, and when he saw her he welcomed her saying: You are welcome, my daughter. He then made her sit on his right side or on his left side… [Muslim]
  • “When Fatima, his daughter, visited him at his house the Prophet would take her hand, kiss her and make her to sit next to him. She did the same when he visited her.” (atTirmidhi)

Action Steps

  • If you know of other examples from the seerah that fit into the theme of this post, please post them in the comments along with proper reference
  • In future posts, inshallah we want to look at the seerah from other roles: husband, leader, friend etc. If you know of stories from seerah that fall in these roles, please post them in the comments.
  • Share this post with someone preferably a father or a grandfather
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The Traveller

November 16, 2009 – 11:32 am

Train

Umar (RA) passed by a garbage dump and stopped there, and it was as if his companions were bothered by it (the smell). He said [... full story at the end...]

What would you think of someone who goes for umra on a 1 week trip. He goes there, buys a car, clothes, house, grocery, …..  He even takes dollars with him and doesn’t exchange them into local currency!  We would think that something is wrong with that person. Right?

This is what most of us do: we get so busy in this life and lose focus on the reality of this life. We forget the ever lasting life of the hereafter. I decided to write this post as a reminder for all of us.

  • Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, one day was passing through the market and he passed by a dead goat, which had its ears cut. He held the goat by the ear and asked who would like to have it for one derham (which was a very low price of currency at that time). The people said they wouldn’t take it even if it was free. What could they do with it? He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, asked if they liked it if it was theirs. They said even if it was alive they would still not buy it because of its cut ears. So how could they buy it now especially since it was dead. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said: “This worldly life is so little in the sight of Allah as this dead animal or goat is so little in your sight” [Muslim]
  • A man came to the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, and said: “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and people to love me.” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, answered: “Be indifferent to the world and Allah will love you; be indifferent to what people possess and they will love you.” [Ibn Majah]
  • Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said, “This world (i.e., its pleasures and duration) in comparison with the Hereafter is (similar to the amount of water) one gets when he puts his finger in the sea. Let him then see what it returns with”. [Muslim].
  • Abdullah bin Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah,sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, slept on a straw mat and got up with the marks left by it on his body. Ibn Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) said, “O Messenger of Allah! Would that you make us spread out a soft bedding for you.” He (PBUH) replied, “What have I to do with the world? I am like a rider who had sat under a tree for its shade, then went away and left it.” [Tirmidhi]
  • It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basri often used to say, “O youth! Seek the hereafter, for we often see people pursuing the hereafter and finding it as well as the dunya (worldly wellbeing), but we have never seen anyone pursue the dunya and gain the hereafter as well as the dunya.” Al-Bayhaqi, [Al-Zuhd Al-Kabîr, article 12]
  • Umar (RA) passed by a garbage dump and stopped there, and it was as if his companions were bothered by it (the smell). He said, ‘This is this world of yours which you are so eager for and you weep over. ” [Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life & Times by Dr. Ali M. as-Sallabi]

Now check this out what Allah Subhanallah says in the Quran about the life of this World:

  • Brief is the enjoyment of this world whereas the life to come is best for all who are muttaqun or conscious of Allah. [4:77]
  • And they rejoice in the worldly life, while the worldly life is not, compared to the Hereafter, except [brief] enjoyment.[13:26]
  • But may you prefer the life of this world although the life to come is better and more enduring. [87: 16-17]
  • And this life of the world is only amusement and play! Verily, the home of the Hereafter is the real life if they but knew [29:64]

This doesn’t mean that we go to the other extreme, denounce everything of this world, live miserly and in isolation. The point is that we shouldn’t lose focus and should spend most of our energy and time preparing for this trip.

Action Step:

  1. Make a list of your 10 most common activities and see how much of your time is spent preparing for the hereafter
  2. Find other narrations and verses on this topic, post in the comments with references
  3. Memorize one of the verses listed above and recite it in  your salah
  4. Make dua that may Allah make us of those who prepare for the journey to the hereafter
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You are on camera!

November 9, 2009 – 2:57 pm

camera
Imagine this. You are speeding on the road. The police officer catches you, pulls you over and gives you a speeding ticket.  What would your reaction be, next time you are driving especially driving through the same road. You would naturally slow down! Or you are stealing from your prayer (i.e. racing through it), you glance over and it seems like your friends might be looking at you. Your reaction…. In these and in countless other situations, we refrain from doing bad because we fear that we might be caught or someone might be looking at us. Most of the times, we are not even full 100% sure and yet we change our behavior.  But how about Allah, the ever watchful, who we know with certainty is always watching us. How much are we aware of Him? Lets look at some examples:

  • While the khaleefah of the Muslims, Umar (RA) passed by a home where a girl and her mother were differing over whether to mix water in with the milk they intended to sell to the Muslims. The mother said to mix water with the milk so that they may sell more and the daughter reminded her that even if the Khaleefah couldn’t see them committing wrong, Allah is Al-Baseer (Always All-Watching). Umar (RA) was soo taken by the vigilance of this girl he married her to his son who later produced righteous offspring.
  • A man who was successful wealthy man Nooh ibn Mariam, had
    a beautiful daughter and had a slave (Mubarak). He called his
    slave and told him to take care of his garden. One day he went
    to visit the garden and ordered Mubarak to get him a cluster of
    grapes. He brought the grapes they turned out to be bitter and
    he did this 3 times and each time they were bitter. Nooh
    became upset and said to Mubarak that don’t you know the
    difference between bitter and sweet grapes. He said By Allah I
    have never tasted a single grape because you ordered me to
    take care of your garden. Nooh was impressed and proposed
    that he marry his daughter. The result of that marriage was
    ‘Abdullah ibn Mubarak.
  • Luqman, the wise, when he advised his son, he said: “[And Luqman said], “O my son, indeed if wrong should be the weight of a mustard seed and should be within a rock or [anywhere] in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted [31:16] This advise came even before he advised his son about salah, enjoining good and forbidding evil. This shows the importance of being vigilant. This is a very good lesson for parents as well. They can’t be with their kids all the time so they need to cultivate this feeling of consciousness into the young minds. This way no matter wherever they are,  they will always remember that Allah is watching over them.

Action Steps:

  1. Check out the verses: 50: 16 – 18 and post the translation in the comments.  Be the first one to post!
  2. Any time you think about committing some sin, remind yourself that Allah, the AlRaqeeb is watching over you.
  3. If you are trying to get rid of some bad habit, copy the verse 96:14 on a piece of paper and stick it in the place of temptation (TV, computer, mp3 player…..)
  4. Watch this video and find out which of the 5 advices relates closely to our topic (post in the comments)
  5. Make dua that Allah makes us among these people who are always aware of His presence.
  6. Pray for me

References:

  • Sheikh Riad. Lecture. AlMaghrib.  A Heart Serene. August 2008
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Breaking News

October 17, 2008 – 5:36 pm

The news is out. Its a BIG one. Media won’t broadcast it. People wouldn’t talk about it. The most deadly serial killer is out after a month of imprisonment. He is back to take the revenge. He could in in your neighbourhood right now. To make it worse, he could be in your house with you eating and drinking right now! He is very dedicated, clever, motivated and doesn’t leave behind any traces! Who is he? What does he want? What crimes has he commited? How does he do it?

Who is he?

He is your biggest enemy Satan, out from his imprisonment, ready to mislead and take revenge from the sons and daughters of Adam. He wouldn’t stop until he carries all of us with him to the hell fire. He hates all of us. Let us study his profile:

  • He is working 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No rest. Non stop. He is plotting and working against YOU all the time even while you are sleeping, eating, drinking, praying, having fun – all of the time. Find out how you can protect yourself from him while sleeping (see hadith#530)
  • He has experience of thousands and thousands of years working full time to deceive and mislead the humanity.
  • He has his whole army waging WAR against the mankind
  • He has a dedicated battlefield where he distracts people and causes lots of fitnah. This is the marketplace and this is why reciting this dua has many rewards
  • He and his army attack you from all directions not just through navy, airforce and ground forces and their weapons are even more deadlier than machine guns, F16s, submarines and what not
  • Lets look at some of the case studies to analyze his techniques, patterns and war strategies:
    • His first clients were our own great grand father Adam (AS) and mother Hawa(AS) when he was able to trick them into eating from the forbidden tree. How did he manage to do it? Did he just told them to eat from the tree? No, but rather he exploited the weaknesses and desires of the humans. He made them false promises
    • Fast forward 10 generations from Adam and we see this enemy working again to mislead people from the worship of one Allah.  Following upon the death of their righteous men, Satan inspired their people to erect statues in the places where they used to sit. They did this, but these statues were not worshiped until the coming generations deviated from the right way of life. Then they worshipped them as their idols.
    • The story of the worshipper Barsisa where he mislead him one step at a time each time bringing him closer to shirk. This pious worshipper who spent his entire life worshipping Allah finally fall into the traps of Satan and prostrated to him!
    What do we learn from these case studies? Observe how is very clever in deceiving people, exploiting the desires and weaknesses, giving false promises and hopes, beautifying the wrong deeds, make the right seem wrong and making the wrong seem right! Most of them his victims don’t even realized that they are being deceived and tricked by Iblees and his army
  • His techniques can be grouped into seven levels

Knowing all this, wouldn’t you want to take him as your enemy, wouldn’t you want to fight against him and his army, give him the black eye. Inshallah in the next post, we will expose this enemy even further.

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Zaid Recognizes the Black Ant

October 1, 2008 – 1:58 pm

Zaid: As-Salamu ‘Alykum
Abdur-Rahmaan: Wa-Alykum As-salam…..how was your volunteer experience at the seminar?

Zaid: Alhumdullilah. But…. I worked so hard for this event but no one came to me and said any thanks or any words of appreciation!
Abdur-Rahmaan: Perhaps if you niyyah was correct, you wouldn’t be thinking like that. If only you were doing it sincerely for the sake of Allah and expecting reward only from Him. I think you need to see a heart specialist and get some x-rays!

Zaid: What?!?! But I’m not sick?
Abdur-Rahmaan: I am talking about the hidden disease of Riya. Its very hard to recognize. Imagine a black ant over a black road on a dark night; that’s how hard it is to recognize it. Riya means “to perform acts which are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing other than Allah.” You need to x-ray your heart and find the intentions behind your actions.

Zaid: Hmm … how do recognize this disease? What are the symptoms?
Abdur-Rahmaan: The primary cause of riya is a weakness of eman. When a person does not have strong faith in Allah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah. Here are some of the symptoms:

  1. Love of Parise: You must have heard the hadith about first three people to be thrown into the fire of Hell: the scholar, the martyr and the person who gave his money in charity. All three of these people desired the praise of people, over and above the pleasure of Allah.
  2. Fear of Criticism: Some people obey certain commandments of lslam, not for the sake of Allah, but because they fear people will look down on them and criticize them if they does not do it. eg: praying in jam’ah, woman wearing hijab at mosque etc

Lastly, if you discover that you are doing good deeds only in public, and doing evil deeds when you are alone, this is an indication that you are falling into riya! Tell me one thing–what if I ask you to volunteer, for example, in a parking lot, where no one would see you and wouldn’t know about it. Would you do it?

Zaid: Hmmmm … I guess you are right. How do I treat and cure this disease?
Abdur-Rahmaan: Here are some of the best ways:

  1. Duaa! The prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa salam) taught the specific duaa for riya:[O Allaah, I take refuge in You lest I should commit shirk with You knowingly and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.]
  2. Hiding one’s good deeds. Do them where nobody can see!
  3. Reflection upon’s oneself’s shortcomings.
  4. Accompanying the pious (and good companionship helps with many things).
  5. Knowledge of Riya, the evilness of it.
  6. Always ask yourself why you’re doing something, and if you’d still do it if nobody but Allah knew about it.

Zaid: Jazakallah khairan bro, any final piece of advice?
Abdur-Rahmaan: Usually when I feel like getting praised or someone praises me, I remind myself of the response of the righteous slave of Allah when they feed people:

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاء وَلَا شُكُوراً. إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِن رَّبِّنَا يَوْماً عَبُوساً قَمْطَرِيراً

Translation: We feed you only for the countenance of Allah . We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful. [Surah Al-Insaan, verses 9-10]

References

Qadhi, Yasir. “Riyaa: the Hidden Shirk.” Islamic Network. 16 June 2008 <http://islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1125&category=12>.

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Follow the footsteps of Khalilullah

January 18, 2008 – 9:29 am

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.

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Charity – Where to Give

October 27, 2007 – 9:28 am

“I have already donated enough to masajids. I want to help the needy, poor, orphans and widows. Its so hard to find these people here in the west. Back home, it was so easy.” This is the typical problem that many of us face.

So if you are wondering, how and where should I spend my charity, follow these six steps:

  1. Niyah Check:

    2. Make sure that you are only doing it for Allah, not to please anyone else or get praised! Remember “The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention” [Bhukari and Muslim]

  2. Plan plan and plan:

    3. You need to plan how much you are going to spend in charity. How frequent would your contributions be? For example you may decide that you will spend 5% of your income every month. Remember the Prophet(صلي الله عليه وسلم) was asked: “Which deed is most beloved to Allaah?” He said, “The one that is continuous, even if it is little.” [Bukhari]

  3. Where will you spend:

    4. Write down the categories of organizations that you want to donate to. For example: masajid, educational institutes, orphans, poor and needy etc.

  4. Plan out the proportion:

    5. How much are you going to donate for each category. For example, you might decide that I will donate 20% to masajids, 50% to support poor and needy and the rest 30% to support educational institutes.

  5. Research:

    6. Its time to research the organizations. To make it easy, I have compiled a list of various charitable organizations. What’s great about this website is that you can edit the page and contribute more websites to the list (simply click edit button in bottom right)

  6. Automatic Payments:

    7. Look into setting up automatic monthly payments. This way you will not have to worry about donations every now and then. A great way to give Shaytan a black eye!

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