The Origin of Celebrating the Prophet's Birthday

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المورد في عمل المولد

By

الإمام أبو حفص تاج الدين الفاكهاني

Imaam Aboo Hafs Taaj ad-Deen al-Faakihaanee

[d. 734 AH]
[May Allaah have Mercy on him]

All Praise is due to Allaah, who Guided us to follow the Leader of the Prophets, He Helped us with His Guidance to be steadfast on His Religion and He made it easy for us to be upon the path of the righteous Salaf until our hearts were filled with light, the knowledge of the Shariah and the evidence promoting the clear truth. He purified us from being unclean and being polluted with innovations in the religion.

Praise Him for favouring us with the certain truth. I thank Him for aiding us to hold onto the firm rope. I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allaah, with no partner and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger, the leader of the earlier ones and the latter ones, May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him, his family, his companions, his pure wives and the believers. Peace and Blessings upon him until the Last Day.

To Begin:

I am constantly asked in our blessed gatherings about some people who take the month of Rabee al-Awwal as a special month and they do this on a particular day calling it Mawlid, some of these questions are as follows;

Is there precedence or a foundation in our Shariah for this?

Or is it an innovation that has been introduced into the religion?

We are hoping for a clear answer on this subject.

So I Say, with the strength from Allaah:

I don’t know any precedence or foundation in Mawlid from the Kitaab and the Sunnah. It has not been narrated from any of the scholars of Islaam either, those who have a status in this religion. These are the scholars who stuck to the narrations of those who came before them, thus this action is an innovation. It has been introduced by those who are upon falsehood. They follow their desires, eat and drink and waste their time.

The proof to refute them is that we are bound by the Ahkam al-Khams [These are the five rulings within our Shariah, Fard, Sunnah, Mubaah, Makrooh and Haraam], so we say;

Either this act is Fard [obligatory] or Sunnah [recommended] or Mubaah [permissible] or Makrooh [disliked] or Haraam [prohibited].

This act is not Waajib and the scholars have consensus on this and it is not Sunnan either. This is because in reality an act that is Sunnah for us to follow within the Shariah, is something that we won't get punished if we leave it and something we will be rewarded for if we perform it. Therefore regarding this act, we have no permission from the Shariah to do this, nor from the Companions [May Allaah be Pleased with them all] nor Tabieen [May Allaah have Mercy on them all] nor from the firmly grounded scholars, as we know, thus this is my answer regarding this issue in front of Allaah, the Most High, if I am asked about this issue.

It is still not permissible even if we say it is Mubaah because it is innovated into the religion, thus it can't be something Mubaah for us to do, with the consensus of the Muslims [as it is connected to matters of religious affairs not our worldly affairs].   

Therefore, all that remains is for us to say that it is either Makrooh or Haraam. This needs a further detailed discussion. We can split this discussion into two parts which are based on two topics;

Firstly, if a person acts upon Mawlid, with his efforts, his wealth, his family and his companions we say this is not permissible. For example, if one calls people to gather on this day to eat together, even if he doesn’t condone any acts of disobedience to Allaah (such as singing or dancing etc.) then we will still describe this as being an innovation, a disliked and disgusting one. A person who obeys Allaah will never do such a thing, those who have knowledge of Islaam, its favoured scholars, those who preserve their time and benefit wherever they are.

Secondly, celebrating the Mawlid forces people to contribute in this crime as he takes special care in partaking, until one gives from the best of his wealth and he goes out of his way to help. However, he is being harmed and his heart will be pained once he realises that he has been wronged and oppressed (as he is seeking to please the people and is cooperating in doing this sin). The scholars [May Allaah have Mercy on them all] have a saying; ‘If you take the wealth of someone using modesty then it is like you have taken his wealth with a sword.’ This is especially the case if this taking of wealth is added by the fact that stomachs will be full of desires based upon falsehood. This includes beating of drums by young girls. Men gather with beardless youths or young girls dancing and women gather to sing on this occasion. These gatherings at times can be mixed between the genders and at times they can be conducted with a large audience. These gatherings sometimes have people dancing in groups and all of this are the various types of idle forgetfulness of the Feared Day.

Likewise, when women gather on this day, they raise their voices in rhythm and they sing choruses of Nasheeds. This all contradicts and displays absentmindedness of the rulings of recitation of the Quraan or Dhikr and it also goes against what is customary for our gatherings. They are ignorant of the statement of Allaah, the Most High;

"Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them)."

[Surah al-Fajr 89: 14]

The ruling of it being forbidden doesn’t change for different people, so if a person is rich and is pious it will still be prohibited for him, as these are cause for ones heart to die and it doesn’t free a person from sinning or disobeying Allaah. However, some increase in these activities because they think they are doing acts of worship, they don’t think they are doing anything disliked not forbidden

To Allaah we belong and to him we shall return. Islam began as something strange and it shall return how it began. And by Allah, how good a man our Shaykh is, Shaykh al-Qushayree [better known as Ibn Daqeeq al-'Eid (d.702)], May Allaah have Mercy on him, who said (in poetry);

To know the Munkar and to Ma'roof in our days is difficult,

All of the people of knowledge are suppressed,

The people of ignorance are raised,

They misguide the people from the truth,

They deviate from the truth and they have became dominant,

They prevail over the truth in large numbers,

So I said to the pious, those who have Taqwa and knowledge,

When they are feeling suppressed and full of sorrow,

Do not disregard your state as you have been given status and honour in times of strangeness.

And Imaam Aboo ‘Amr ibn Alaa [d. 154 AH], May Allaah have mercy on him, did well when he said;

The people will not cease to be upon good as long as they are surprised by the things that surprise.

And Allaah Knows Best

Many People are Dead due to their Ignorance and Lack of Knowledge

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“And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.”

[Nahl 16: 78]

Ibn Jawzee [May Allaah have mercy on him] said about this Ayah:

It is impossible for you to become knowledgeable between the time of morning and evening and it’s impossible for you to become a scholar overnight. Rather, seeking knowledge requires patience, striving and partaking in a long journey. The best type of transport for this journey is the circles of knowledge, to be constant in memorizing and revising. Striving in this is a huge struggle and being patient upon this requires a great deal of patience, as the saying goes ‘the one who is desperate for water, will strive to obtain it throughout the whole day’.

Because of this, the scholars say that many people are dead due their ignorance and lack of knowledge. Bashr ibn Haarith [d. 272 AH] once wanted to enter a graveyard and then said, “The deceased that are inside the wall are more than those outside the wall.”

Sifah as-Safwah 2/332

Shaykh Abdul-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Abdur-Rahmaan al-Qaasim [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said commenting on this;

“Many people are dead because they are ignorant and have abandoning seeking knowledge and because of this, Shaytaan has attached himself to them and has misled and deceived them. Innovations have spread, the lack of good deeds has increased and people have become trialed with evil scholars.”

The Scholars are the Inheritors of the Prophets, Pg. 20

There is Nothing more Honorable that Allah can Give to His Slave

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Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said:

Having the correct understanding and a good intention are from the greatest of favours of Allaah upon His slave. Rather, there is nothing more honorable that Allah can give to His slave, after Islaam, except these two. Moreover, these are from the roots of Islaam and the upholding of it. Upon these two, the slave is safe from the path of those who have curse on them, those who corrupted their religion because of their dishonest intentions.  And he is protected from the path of those who are misguided, those who were misguided due to their deficient amount of knowledge. So the one who has these favours, walks on a path of the one who has good placed upon him, he has accredited understanding and praiseworthy intentions. This person is upon the straight path, the path that we supplicate Allaah to guide us to in all of our Salaat. The path of knowledge that his Lord has lightened the heart of his slave to cast upon, he is able to distinguish that which is right and wrong, what is true and false, what is guidance and misguidance, what is crooked and straight. As he has been provided with having good intentions, he seeks the truth, he fears his Lord in private and in public, and he cuts off all roots to being enslaved by his desires and the effects of this worldly life.

I'laam al-Muwaqi'een 1/87

The Person who Regrets Will Not be Successful

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Imaam Ibn Abdul-Barr [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said:

From the most precious of your possessions is your time. The scholars’ attitude towards their time was precise, always scrutinizing what they are doing with it. Constantly reviewing what they were doing with it, meant that they were determined, everything they did had a purpose, they repelled laziness and distanced themselves from sluggishness.

This was the renowned Companion, Mu’aadth ibn Jabal [May Allaah be Pleased with him], when he was about to die he said to his slave-girl; “Woe to you! Have we reached the morning?” She replied, “No”. He left a watch behind with her. Then he said, “Do you see it?” She said, “Yes”. Mu’aadth said, “I seek refuge in Allaah, from this morning to the fire”. Then he said, “Welcome death, welcome visitor that came in privacy. The person who regrets will not be successful. Oh Allaah! You Know that I don’t want to stay in this world to make rivers flow or plant trees, but I want to stay behind so that I can endure a long night and be extremely thirsty in the scorching heat and be crowded around the scholars in the circles of knowledge.”

Jaami Bayaan ‘Ilm wa Fadlihi 1/57

The person who is seeking the Dunya is excited by dust...

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Shaykh Abdul-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Abdur-Rahmaan al-Qaasim [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said in his book ‘The Scholars are the Inheritors of the Prophets’, Pg.43:

The person who is seeking the Dunya is excited by dust but our scholars give their expertise to having insight. As for the student of the knowledge, his desires are in learning from the books which teach him on how to live his life and memorizing.

Allaamah Al-Sakhaawee [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said:

Haafidh Ibn Hajar [May Allaah have mercy on him] read the whole of Sunnan Ibn Maajah in four sittings and Saheeh Muslim also in four sittings, from the beginning until the end. This was all done within the space of two days or so. His sittings started in the morning and it carried on until Dhuhr. He also read Nasaa’ee al-Kabeer in ten sittings, each sitting lasted about four hours. The quickest book he covered was when he read the Mu’jam of Tabaraanee as-Sagheer in one sitting, between the Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers. This book was in one volume, it had approximately one thousand five hundred Ahadeeth. He completed Bukhaaree in ten sittings, each sitting lasted four hours.

Al-Jawaahir wal Al-Darrar fee Tarjumah Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Hajar, Pg. 104

Conditions for accepting another Muslims invitation

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Conditions for responding to the invitation of a Muslim if they invite you:

1) The person inviting you must be Muslim.

2) The invitation must be specific to you and not general, e.g. addressing a group of people.

3) The person who invites you must not be one who you are  abandoning [Hajr] from. Please pay attention here, doing Hajr can’t be done to just anyone, it can only be done if there is a benefit and this time period would be unlimited, however if there is no benefit in doing Hajr then we are not allowed to do this.

4) The person inviting you must not be inviting you to do something Haraam.

5) The place we are invited to, must not have Haraam activities there or we must not doubt that there will be Haraam there.

6) It must be the first call, if the person invites you time and time again after you have accepted his initial invitation, then you don’t need to keep responding.

7) Some scholars said that the invitation that is Waajib for us to respond to is only the Waleemah but the correct view is that it includes all invitations because this is from right of a Muslim over his brother.

8) The person who is invited must not be harmed by going, if the person who is invited will be harmed by going then he/she must explain to the inviter and seek his permission not to attend.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saaleh ‘Uthaymeen, tape 12b Sharh Qawaaid wa Usl al-Jaamiah wa Furooq wa Taqaaseem al-Badee’ah al-Naafi’ah

Allaah hasn’t ordered to increase in asking for anything, except knowledge

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“Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise”

[Aal-‘Imraan 3:18]

Imaam al-Qurtubee [May Allah have Mercy on him] said in explaining this Ayah:

These Ayaat are evidences to prove the virtue of knowledge, its honour for the scholars and their excellence. If someone has been honoured to be one of the scholars, then he has been coupled with Allaah, the Most High, and His Names and His Angels in this Ayah.

[Jaami’ Ahkaam al-Quraan 4/41]

“Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees”

[Mujaadilah 58:11]

Imaam ash-Shawkaanee [May Allaah have mercy on him] said about this Ayah;

Allaah, the Most High, raises the believers in this world and in the hereafter and he has saved for them what they are due from the rewards in the hereafter. However, the people of knowledge, from the believers, will be raised above them with degrees, high in status and honoured in this world and in the hereafter. The meaning of this Ayah is that the believers will be raised above a degree over those who don’t believe, and more specifically, the people of knowledge from them even more exalted, because they combined Eeman with ‘Ilm. Therefore, Allaah raised them for having faith and then even more for having knowledge. 

Fath al-Qadeer 5/232

It was narrated that Zayd ibn Aslam [May Allaah be Pleased with him] explained the Ayah;

“We raise in degrees whom We will”

[Yoosuf 12:76]

He said; “They are raised by knowledge because Allaah hasn’t ordered His Messenger [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] to increase in asking for anything, except knowledge.”

[Fath al-Baaree 4/141]

Sincerity to Laa ilaaha ila Allaah

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Khutbah given by Shaykh Saaleh ibn Ghanam as-Sadlaan [May Allaah Preserve him] at his Masjid, Riyadh
19/2/1433 - 13/1/2012

All Praise belongs to Allaah, I thank Him, I seek His Protection and His Forgiveness. I seek His Guidance and I ask Allaah to increase us in His Favour upon us and the ease He has given us.  

I bear witness that there is no God that is worthy of worship except Allaah, and that He is the Protector and the Ally for those who came before us and those that will come after us. He has gathered in our ‘Aqeedah the words of Tawheed, and He has given us the best way to follow the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him].

And I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allaah, these are mighty yet brief words, being comprehensive in its meaning, entailing negation and affirmation. This is a speech that is much broader and encompassing than the speech of the creation; La ilaaha being negation and ila Allaah being affirmation.

Know the meaning of these words! Learn what it necessitates! It is just one speech that the whole of the religion is included within, ‘Aqeedah, dealings, your actions of the heart, the action of the limbs, all of these acts of worship. It is the reason why the first and the last of Messengers were sent. It is the very reason why Allaah has created His creation. Because of this speech, people have been divided into two; those in Heaven and those in Hell.

Because of these words, we have been commanded to fight and strive in its cause, people will be driven to Heaven and Hell, and because of these words we know that there is no God worthy of worship except Allaah.

So if you know this, and you believe in it then you will believe that the final Messenger [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] has come and that you will follow him in  the true manner that we should. You will know that he is a slave and he is not to be worshipped. He will be the Messenger of Allaah for your heart and his guidance you will follow. You will obey him in his commands and stay away from what he prohibits. You will believe what he tells and you will defend his honour, and that you will worship Allaah in a way that he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] has shown us, stopping where he stopped. You will know that he is the leader of the Aalameen and the best of all creation, May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him, always until the Last Day.

Verily, these are the words of Tawheed, my brothers! it is a must that we are sincere towards it. It is a must that we worship Allaah only for His sake without making partners with Him. We ally with those believe in it for His sake. For the Mushrikoon used to say that they believed in these words of Tawheed but they negated it in their worship. They would say;

Labbayk Allaahuma Labbayk, Labbayk La Shareeka Laka Labayyk ila Shareeka Tamlukhu wa Malak

Oh Allaah! I am here at Your service. At Your service, You have no partner except the one you have possession and dominion over.

This exception is a condition which is corrupt and false and they contradict their claim that they worship Allaah alone.

When the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] once claimed the mount of Safaa and it was revealed to him;

“Then declare what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists”

[Hijr 15:94]

This great Ayaah was revealed whilst he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] was on Mount Safaa. So he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] climbed Safaa and he asked his people;

“Oh People! If I was to tell you that there is an army on the other side of this mount coming to attack you, would you believe me?”

They replied, “Yes, you are truthful person.”

So he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “I have a word that will make you successful over all the Arabs, the non-Arabs will enter your religion, people will end up paying tax to you and you will have power over all people.”

They replied; “This is what we want! Tell us, Oh Abaa Qaasim! What is this word?”

He [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] stated, “Say: Laa ilaaha ila Allaah”

Caution Oh Muslim! Don’t let these Mushrikeen be more knowledgeable about this word than you! So protect with the sternest of protections and be pious towards it.

They say; “Have you made Gods into one”

We only worship one god? They didn’t understand this?

 “Has he made the gods [only] one God? Indeed, this is a curious thing."

And the eminent among them went forth, [saying], "Continue, and be patient over [the defense of] your gods. Indeed, this is a thing intended.

We have not heard of this in the latest religion…

Meaning they haven’t heard this from their forefathers…

This is not but a fabrication.

Has the message been revealed to him out of [all of] us?" Rather, they are in doubt about My message. Rather, they have not yet tasted My punishment

[Saad 38: 5-8]

This is the answer of the Mushrikeen but where are you Oh Slave of Allaah! There are some people who say Labbayk but on the planes of ‘Arafah but they say, ‘Help Oh Messenger of Allaah!’, ‘Help! Oh Hussayn!’ ‘Help! Oh ‘Alee!’ On the planes of ‘Arafah! This is major shirk, nullifies their Tawheed and all of this happens one the planes of ‘Arafah!

I heard some of the Raafidah say during their final Tawaaf; ‘Oh Ka’bah of Allaah, I am leaving today.’ They talk to inanimate beings and they raise their voices whilst talking to it! Where is the Tawheed!? This is in the land of the Arabs and in the lands of the Gulf there are idols being worshipped, doing Tawaaf around these graves!

Yes! This is happening and the scholars have gone quiet!? No, rather they should be a barrier from these things prevailing. These people have hearts that are full of doubt. They say this Masjid has the grave of so and so and this one has the grave of so and so. This is his grave and you must pray in this Masjid, you must praise his grave; you must perform Tawaaf around it, ask for your needs and supplicate to him. We see what they called Najaf al-Akbar, the Rawaafidah named this in ‘Iraaq and they even go there for pilgrimage. Some of them go to these places and hold it as a Haram, even some of the people from Qatif have fallen into this and they don’t listen to us when we give them advice. They go there seeking the grave of ‘Alee. Rather, what is correct is that his grave has been left unknown to us about its whereabouts, when he died he was buried almost immediately in the place he died and they left his grave in a state that you won’t know that there is a grave there.

These people are following their guesses! Guesses! Liars! All of this from the Raafidah! Holding this place to be a holy place, believing ‘Alee is buried there but it’s all guess work.

They give him rights of worship which are solely for Allaah, they praise his and nobility above the status he deserves; a status that that none of the Companions of the Prophet have attained.

Praise be to Allaah, our ‘Aqeedah is clear, we have never done Shirk, even at the time of Shaykh al-Islaam Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘AbdulWahaab. When he came, Shirk wasn’t rampant and in every home and village, rather it was present and he came to call against it, but there were people on Tawheed. Yes, the general people had problems with their ‘Aqeedah, they had ideas contrary to Islaam and they practiced innovation, but as for every person in this land doing Shirk, then this wasn’t the case. In that time, there were people of Tawheed, people who had the correct ‘Aqeedah, people who were scholars, people who rejected these innovations and this was the call of Shaykh al-Islaam Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘AbdulWahaab. He came with a comprehensive call, a call that included a rectification of all aspects of the Deen, leaving behind no Shirk in this land. His Da’wah was to call for rectification of the religion and for the betterment of society; the very same Da’wah of The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him]

Especially in our time today, we can see the fruits of his call. From the east to west, north to south, in all the direction of the earth, the Da’wah of Shaykh al-Islaam Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘AbdulWahaab has reached them all. The Da’wah of Salafiyyah, the Da’wah of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah has reached them all. The Da’wah of Tawheed, the Da’wah of Ikhlaas. The people have accepted this call, they have understood it and implemented it; however resistance will exists, particularly that of the Raafidah and the Shi’ah.

So the youth need to be warned of their ‘Aqeedah, their call is turning people against each other!

Know my brothers! The words of Tawheed can be talked about for a long time; however we must understand that it is important to have sincerity when say we believe in these words, knowing it and implementing it, this is a must for the words of Tawheed. Have sincerity, then act on it following the guidance of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], this is the sequence.

It is not possible for one to say they have Ikhlaas and they don’t follow the Sunnah of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], rather we are sincere we follow the Sunnah of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him]. If someone affirms this speech that there is no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is final Messenger then we ask what is the evidence that you are true to this? What is the evidence? Is the evidence with follow you or follow Allah and His Messenger [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him]?

So the words of Tawheed and affirming Muhammad to be the Messenger includes these two important principles, the whole religion in fact, all acts of worship, all of which is built on these great and comprehensive principles; having Ikhlaas and truly following the prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him]

This is what I have to say.

May Allah bless me and u from the Ayaat of this Glorious Quraan and make me and yourselves benefit from its noble reminders.

I seek forgiveness for myself and you, so seek forgiveness and return to Him, for verily he is at-Tawaab ar-Raheem

Second khutbah

All praise is for al-Waahid al-Ahad, the one al-Samad, the one who gives life and death and there is no might power except with him, the one who is able to do all things.

And I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, alone without any partners. He is alone in his Lordship, His worship and His Names and Attributes.

I thank Him Exalted and Glorified, and I thank Him

And May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon His Messenger and His Close friend, our Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.

Brothers! If you know that the words of Tawheed require us to have Ikhlaas, then you need to know something else. You need to know that this requires you to be obedient to Him. Being sincere means we are obedient to the order of Allah and His Messenger.

“But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.”

[Nisaa 4:65]

The third thing, if you are sincere in the words of Tawheed then you must love the laws of Allaah upon you. You must love Allah and His Messenger and his legislation and religion. If you have any hatred for this religion, even if it is from the slightest of hatred, then you are not a Mu’min, so then from now on, don’t continue in this. Don’t continue, May Allaah protect you! Being sincere to Allah and his messenger means we love Allah, his messenger, we love this religion, we are comfortable with what it tells us to do, we taste its deliciousness, these are signs of Ikhlaas.

If you are not at ease or love this religion then this isn’t Eeman, this is a lie. This is a lie! Allah knows what is secret and even more hidden that what is secret. A way of loving this religion and being sincere to it, it’s by being obedient to Allah and his messenger, and you sole obedience belongs to this and there is no one challenging you in this;

“They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their Lords besides Allaah (by obeying then in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allaah)…”

[al-Tawbah 9:31]

‘Adiy ibn Haatim said: “O Messenger of Allaah! We did not worship them.” The Messenger of Allaah [Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] replied: “Do they make Halaal that which Allaah has made Haraam and make Haraam what Allaah has made Halaal?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “This is their worship of them.”

This is their worship of them! This was their worship! There is no one that can challenge Allaah and the Prophet in what we follow of our religion, not anyone! It is necessary for us to have Ikhlaas, for us to be obedient, and it is necessary for us to love them.

It was narrated that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him that his father, his child and all the people.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 15; Muslim, 44)

So what is your evidence to say you love and his messenger? By following him! For the sake Salah, you leave you sleep, you leave your beds, you leave your comfort, in order to respond to their call and order.

It is not sufficient to say I love Allaah and His Messenger with your tongue; rather you must act and obey Allaah and Messenger! Increase in doing good deeds and striving in its cause!

Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah , but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little.

Wavering between them, [belonging] neither to the believers nor to the disbelievers. And whoever Allah leaves astray - never will you find for him a way.

[Nisaa 4:142-143]

This is great affair! You must understand this as this would negate you Tawheed! You say Laa ilaah ila Allah and you don’t respond! You say Laa ilaah ila Allah and you don’t obey! You say Laa ilaah ila Allah and you don’t love them and what they have legislated!?

Yes! For us to implement this Deen properly we need three things; we need to fear Allaah, and at the same time we need to have hope and fear in Him and we must love Allah and His Messenger, these are pillars of our worship being that which is obedient otherwise we be nullifying our words of Tawheed and whoever don’t have these aspects then he has negated his religion

So beware of these affairs in your selves and put them in your deeds

May Allaah make us of those who are constant upon the truth.

May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon our Messenger Muhammad.

Questions 19

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Ghanam as-Sadlaan [May Allaah Preserve him] in his Masjid after Salaat al-'Asr
16/2/1433 - 10/1/2012

Question: This question is from a female; Are the children of my grandfather, through another woman, Mahram for me?

Answer: Meaning, the son of her grandfather?

Questioner: Yes, Oh Shaykh

Shaykh Saaleh: Yes they are Mahram for the grand-daughter even if this child is from another woman because her father is her grandfather.

Question: A new type of Salaah has been introduced in the west and they call it Salaah Fujaa’ah otherwise known as the Sudden or Flash Prayers. This prayer has been established by some Muslims in many cities in Britain. They call for people to gather at the same time in various public places, like a market for example, and they gather to pray Salaah at the same time, such as gathering to pray Salaat al-‘Asr at the same time on the same day. They choose this meeting to be done on New Year’s Day 2012.  They say that the reason we are gathering is because it brings about a series of desired goals, such as;

-The Muslims being united

-We are all calling to Allaah at the same time

-Starting the year with Salaat so the year will be full of Salaah

-They say they are calling to Allaah

What is the ruling of all of this?

Shaykh Saaleh: Are they gathering to call to Allaah? Meaning they choose one day throughout the year to do this? And for the rest of the year, they pray in their normal Masaajid?

Questioner: Yes Shaykh, similar to this but they gather in one place and pray at the same time and they call this Salaat al-Fujaa’ah.

Shaykh Saaleh: No, there is no basis for this. If they pray and then call to Allaah this is not necessary as the prayer they are praying already has a name. That which is Sudden or a Flash is something done all of a sudden but this Salaah is established and not done out of surprise. It is permissible for all the Muslims to pray Salaah in their designated places like the Masaajid and this is something well known.

Questioner: But specify this particular day to gather in this way?

Shaykh Saaleh: No, this shouldn’t be done but if they are gathering on this day to give Da’wah then this is a good thing but they shouldn’t call it these names and specify days like this. It is good that they are gathering and uniting but if they want to continue then they should change the dates and not have a fixed date and not call it Salaat al-Fujaa’ah, if they do this then this is from the many types of innovation.

Questions asked over the phone to Shaykh Wasi-Ullaah ibn Muhammad al-‘Abbaas [May Allaah Cure and Preserve him]

17/2/1433 - 11/1/2012 at 7.03AM

Question: Do you know a man called Zakariyyah al-Pakistani to be a man of knowledge?

Answer: Yes, he is a man of knowledge, he is a big scholar. He has written many beneficial books on various topics, such as Usool al-Fiqh, Fiqh, Hadeeth, Tareekh and he has classified many Ahadeeth himself in his books.

Questions 18 [Correction to the Final Question]

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Ghanam as-Sadlaan [May Allaah Preserve him] in his Masjid after Salaat al-'Asr

9/2/1433 – 3/1/2012

Question: Is it permissible to vote, during democratic elections, for innovators, even though it would be for the betterment of the Muslims?

Answer: It is not permissible to vote for innovators during elections; rather the opposite. We should abandon the people of innovation and align ourselves with those who have Eeman and Taqwa because if these innovators gain power, they may think they are doing something good for Islam and the Muslims and they may even get the people to follow them in this or command them to do it. If there is a party or a group of people that have the ‘Aqeedah as-Salafiyyah, then voting for these innovators may also cause them to disappoint the people of the truth, as the people of truth have neither political say nor any status. 

Question: Is it permissible for us to organise parties in order to give Da’wah to the Kuffaar and/or raise money for the poor?

Answer: Giving Da’wah to the Kuffar is a right upon every Muslim; they are entrusted to convey the Message of Allaah. Allaah, the Exalted and Glorified, says;

“O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message” [Maaidah 5:67]

So we are entrusted to give Da’wah as we have inherited this light and this guidance, so we must help them to convey this message to everyone.

Questioner: Even by using parties?

Shaykh Saaleh: Even by using parties, any means you have to give Da’wah that will be beneficial for the Kuffar to hear the message or that which is needed for them to hear the message; then you must use it.

Questioner: Does this permissibility include raising funds for the poor?

Shaykh Saaleh: Yes, this is permissible and rewarding if the persons intention is correct. This is on the condition that the money must be raised in a Halaal manner and that we are not allowed to gain this money in a Haraam way and then say ‘Oh, I intend to give it in Sadaqah anyway’, this is not permissible.

Question: Is it permissible to do an act of innovation for the sake of worldly gain but not for the sake of worship?

Answer: This is not permissible, this is because people who made innovations or fabricated Ahaadeeth into the religion had this same sort of mind set, they would say that this innovation isn’t part of the religion but its purpose and my intention is to spread good. Rather we should do good deeds and stick to doing it, as there is no doubt that the people who follow the truth will have people who accept the truth from them or reject what they say. If someone does something good and then people find out and they start taking about it, then there is no harm in this as there is benefit behind it.

Question: Is it permissible for a person to make his wedding dowry to teach her a Surah from the Quraan, even if the man is rich?

Answer: Yes, it is permissible. The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] instructed the man to give as little as an iron ring as a dowry but he was poor and couldn’t give a ring but he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] then told the man to teach her a Surah from the Quraan, and that would be their dowry. This is from the best types of dowry.

Question: Is it sufficient for a person to intend to do Wudhoo and dip himself into water, would this Wudhoo be counted?

Answer: If the person comes out of the water after doing this with his whole body being wet and not dry, then this will be counted. For example, if a person has some water in front of him and he puts his head in, then this is counted as washing the face. Then he puts his arm in and then takes it out wet, then this is counted as washing the arm, then he puts his foot in and then takes it out, this is counted as washing the foot etc.

Questioner: Oh Shaykh, but if a person dips his whole body into water and not the limbs, will this be sufficient?

Shaykh Saaleh: There is no harm in this on the condition that his whole body comes out whilst it is wet. So if there is a lot of water, he has the intention then he should put his head in, then his arm, then his foot etc.

Question:  This a question from a woman; are the children of my uncle Mahram to me?

Answer: No they are not a Mahram for you because it is permissible for you to marry him or for him to marry your children.

Questioner: Oh Shaykh, what is the evidence for this?

Shaykh Saaleh: This is because those who qualify as being Mahram have been stated; they are your father, your son, your brother, your grandfather etc. anything out of these then they are not a Mahram

Questions 17

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Muhammad al-Luhaydaan [May Allaah Preserve him] in his Masjid after Salaat al-'Esha, Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed, Chapter 18

21/1/1433 - 17/12/2011

Question: Is it permissible to invite a non-Muslim or an apostate to his house in order to eat with him?

Answer: If there is an opportunity to give this person Da’wah or to give him advice and encourage repenting and calling him to Islam then there is no harm in this.
 

Question: What is the ruling on one who believes in the unseen or what is about to happen?

Answer:  This is the type of knowledge only known to Allaah as He says;
“No one in the heavens or earth knows the unseen except Allah” [An-Namal 27:65]
So if the person believes in this then this is Kufr and if one is able to predict the future and he gets it right, then know this person is using Shayaateen to gain this knowledge.
 

Question: What does the person start with; to do encourage ourselves to good deeds or to leave acts of disobedience?

Answer:  The person needs to do both and combine them, he needs to worship Allaah and leave the evil deeds. The greatest thing one can do are the obligatory deeds as it is mentioned in the Hadith Qudsi;
“My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him” [Al-Bukhaari, 6137]
So the greatest acts that the person can perform are the obligatory deeds.

Question: Does wiping or touching the private parts negate Wudhoo?

Answer: The correct view is that it does invalidate the Wudhoo.
 

Question: Is it better for one to memorise Kitaab at-Tawheed with the Masaail or the Issues that come at the end of each chapter?

Answer: The most important thing is to memorise the text but if he is able to memorise the text and the explanation with it, this is better.

Question: Is it permissible for us to praise ourselves in matters not connected to the religion?

Answer: If the person is speaking the truth then this is permissible but if he is lying then this is not permissible.

Question: If someone is in a Masjid and he goes out to do Wudhoo and he returns to the Masjid, does he need to pray Tahiyyat al-Masjid again?

Answer: That is better as praying more is better for you.

Question: My son is eight years old and I try waking him for the Fajr prayer but he doesn’t wake up, what should I do?

Answer: If the child is eight then it is not serious as it is obligatory for him after he starts puberty.

Question: Is it permissible to eat and drink standing?

Answer: The correct view is that it is permissible, at first it was prohibited but this was negated as the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] did it after the prohibition towards the end of his life.

Question: What is the ruling of visiting the grave of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], is this a Sunnah?

Answer: If one is in Madeenah then this is legislated for him to visit the graves as the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now visit them.” (Narrated by Muslim, 977) but that which is forbidden is for a person to travel for the sole purpose to visit the graves as the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said,
“Journeys should not be undertaken to visit (any place) except three: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsaa [in al-Quds/Jerusalem].” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2/50; Muslim, 827; al-Nasaa’i, 1/277-287)

So the purpose of travelling is for the sake of worshipping Allaah in these Masaajids and not for the sake of visiting the graves.

Question: Was the Prophet Adam [Peace be upon him] a Prophet or a Messenger?

Answer: Adam was sent down and he didn’t have anyone to call, so he wasn’t a Messenger. However, Allaah created Adam and He ordered the angels to prostrate to him and He ordered Adam to worship Him, so this would make him a Prophet but he came with no new message, so he was not a Messenger. 

Questions 16

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Ghanam as-Sadlaan [May Allaah Preserve him] in his Masjid after Salaat al-'Asr

17/1/1433 - 13/12/2011

Question: The questioner is asking [May Allaah rectify his affairs]; I know my brother is practising black magic; do I cut ties with her?

Answer: No, you keep ties with her. Hopefully by keeping ties with her you may be able to guide her to Islam and she may leave her magic and other kufr that she may be upon.

Questioner: May Allaah grant you good, connected to this the person is asking in regards to his family, his wife and children. He fears harm from his mother that the black magic may afflict them, is it permissible for him to distance them from this mother?

Shaykh Saleh: It is permissible for them to live far away and not to be and mix with the mother in-law; this is in order to prevent any difficulties from occurring.

Question: Is there a hadeeth or an narration from the Salaf to support any form of congregational supplication after obligatory prayers?

Answer: No! This is an act of innovation.

Question: Is it permissible to sleep naked under a blanket?

Answer: If one sleeps under a blanket, even with no clothes on, he is not considered as being naked because he is covered.

Question: May Allah grant you good, the questioner is asking that in our city there are many people who perform Takfeer, their corruption now is affecting the youth, how can we prevent them from spreading?

Answer: To distance yourself from them and not to mix with them, and the youth should be told to stay away from them and move to another area if possible.

Question: May Allaah grant you with good, the questioner is asking; I entered the Masjid and I found that the obligatory prayer in congregation for the Fajr prayer had ended. So I started to pray by myself. Not long after, another congregation started. Would it be permissible for me to take steps towards them in order to join that congregation?

Answer: Yes he should complete the prayer with them, if the congregation is not far away then it is permissible for him to take two or three steps in order to join them, there’s no harm in this.

Questions 15

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Questions asked to Shaykh Saleh ibn Sa'd as-Suhyami [May Allaah Preserve him] in Masjid an-Nabawi in Madeenah al-Nabawiyyah

After Salaat al Fajr, 18/1/1433 – 15/12/2011

Question: What are the best books of that explain the six books of hadeeth?

Answer: In regards to Saheeh al-Bukhaaree then the best book that explains this is that of Ibn Rajab, which is also called Fath al-Baaree but he didn’t complete this. After this is of Ibn Battaal and then after that Fath al-Baaree of Ibn Hajr but you must beware of the points that our Shaykh, Shaykh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz [May Allaah have Mercy on him] pointed out and others than him. This is because the book contains mistakes that you must pay attention to. 

As for the Saheeh of Imaam Muslim then there is no explanation, to my knowledge, that is completely and entirely pure. However, Nawawi's explanation of it is a good explanation but again you need to pay attention to the mistakes that are in there because of the issue he had with Ta'weel as well. However in regards to Fiqh and understanding then this is a great explanation and for the student of knowledge he must take from it under the supervision of the Salafee scholars.

As for Saheeh Aboo Dawood then the best explanation that I know of, this would be 'Awn al-Ma'bood.

As for at-Tirmidhi the best explanation is Tuhfah al-Awathdee.

In regards to an-Nasaa'i and Ibn Maajah then I don’t know any explanation that I can recommend.

As for the other books of the Sunnah such as the Muwatta of Imaam Malik then the one you must use is that of Ibn Abd al-Barr called Tamheed as for the rest of the explanations then they have many mistakes in it. They have been corrupted and been explained on the Madhab of the Ashaairah so the best explanation is that of Tamheed by Imaam, al-Haafidh ibn Abd al-Barr May Allaah have mercy on him.

Question: What should the student of knowledge begin with to memorise from the Sunnah?

Answer: If Allaah makes it easy for one to memorise from the Sunnah then he should begin with Nawawi's forty hadeeth but must not forget to give importance in memorizing the Book of Allaah, Glorified and Exalted He is. This is because the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah are two sources which we do not differ from, however we hear of some people give more importance to memorizing hadeeth and they have not memorized the Quraan. So you should memorise from the Quraan and then whatever is easy for you from the Sunnah, so start with the forty hadeeth of Nawawi. Our Shaykh, Abd Al-Allaah Khulayfi [May Allaah have mercy on him] had a good system of memorizing and he would advise for us to begin with the strongest of narrations such as memorizing Lu'lu' al-Marjaan, a book that has collected the agreed upon Ahadeeth from Bukhaaree and Muslim. Then he advised us to memorise Bukhaaree and then Muslim and so on. With this system it is good as you have a system and you work your way up which will be beneficial for you. Note! You must not memorise without understanding, don’t leave or pass memorising anything until you fully understand it under the methodology and understanding of the Salaf as-Saaleh.

Question: What is the difference between seeking assistance or refuge in the Name of Allaah and seeking assistance or refuge from his Attributes, because I heard seeking assistance and refuge from his Attributes is Shirk?

Answer: No doubt that supplicating by an Attribute by itself is Shirk, because by doing this you are singling out this Attribute in your supplication, so you are asking the Attribute, as if it is separate from Allaah, Glory and Exalted He is. This has been mentioned by Shaykh al-Islaam and others that supplicating to an Attribute is Shirk. Such as one asking, Oh Power of Allaah, Oh Provision of Allaah, Oh Mercy of Allaah and the likes is serious thing. Whoever this is then he has done an act of Shirk. However, it is prescribed for you to ask by them or seek assistance through them. Look at the supplication of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] in the supplication of Istikhara, he would say, “‘O Allaah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and by Your power I seek strength and I ask You from Your immense favour, for verily You are able while I am not and verily You know while I do not and You are the Knower of the unseen….” until the end. He would also say, “O Ever Living, O Self-Subsisting and Supporter of all, by Your mercy I seek assistance, rectify for me all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself, even for the blink of an eye”. He would also as mentioned in Musnad of Ahmad, “O Allaah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your female slave, my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You with which You have named Yourself, or, or You have taught to any of Your creation, or You have revealed in Your Book, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Qur’aan the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety)’, then Allaah will take away his anxiety and sorrow, and will replace it with joy”. Likewise it appears in the last few Ayaat of Surah Ibraheem where the asking of Allaah by His Names and Attributes is mentioned and what Allaah, High and Exalted He is, also tells us about Yoosuf and others like this from the different types of supplications that have been narrated and affirmed in the texts of the Quraan and Sunnah.  

So asking by the Names and Attributes of Allaah then yes, this is the best types of seeking help and Tawassul but singling out an Attribute is not permissible, rather it is Shirk.

Question: What is the correctness of the statement that some people make; ‘the reason why Adam was expelled out of Jannah was because of his desires for food’?

Answer: Statements like these are forbidden for the Muslim to utter. Allaah, Exalted and High He is, told us why Aadam was expelled and explained that he sinned, there’s no doubt in this. He disobeyed Allah and so did some of his progeny. As for statements like these that disrespect some of the Prophets, then it is not permissible for us to say these things about them. Also, the story that has been narrated about the debate that Adam and Moosa had, and Adam won the argument over Moosa. Moosa tried to blame Adam for eating from the tree but Adam refuted him by saying this was already written to happen. Please note, this isn’t a proof for those who try to say that disobedience of a person is from the Qadr of Allaah, rather it is proof to suggest that the consequences of one sins are part of Qadr, something we can’t change. So we can’t say things like, ‘Adams desires led for him to be thrown out of Jannah’. So we should be aware of what we say when talking the Prophet’s and their status is within the sanctuary. So be careful of what some of the ignorants and Dajjal’s say.