Believing the Western Media and its News

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Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee (may Allaah have Mercy on him) was asked:

What's the ruling on reading the daily newspapers and magazines so that we may become aware as to what is happening in the community, whether it be political, customary or Islaamic religious news (it is common in Muslim countries to relate beneficial information pertaining to the religion unlike what is found in the papers in the west)?

He replied:

What we advise is to distant ourselves from this. Usually, these papers are full of lies in order to propagate a political agenda, hence they fill these papers with deception in order to fool the masses. 

Rarely do you find these papers reporting what is factual.

Moreover, you must realise that your lifespan is short, so you are not in a position to chase the headlines in the newspapers and the latest gossip in be magazines; such information which will only bring about ones thoughts to become corrupted and their thoughts to be filled with worry.

It may even be that the reader will come across something that insults al-Islaam or something that reviles the Muslims (something very common nowadays but not at the time of the Shaykh).

Whatever the case, I'm not saying reading the newspapers is Haraam, however we strongly advise the student of knowledge to busy themselves with the Quraan and the Sunnah. If the news is that important, it will eventually be relayed to him.

As the poet said:

News comes to you 

Without there being an end to its supply

Therefore important information will make it self-apparent, usually it comes to the surface very quickly. 

If one was to read from sources which are trustworthy such as al-Bayaan, which is an Islaamic magazine, then there is no harm in this. 

As for deviated sources of information, then perhaps they will create doubts in the mind of the reader and cause a great deal of time to be wasted. Moreover, most of those behind the media, including journalists, are full of lies and hypocrisy. 

http://www.muqbel.net/fatwa.php?fatwa_id=3542

Shaykh Saaleh bin Fawzaan al-Fawzaan [may Allaah Preserve him] said:

News? What is news!?

Most of it is deception and lies. So what benefit can you gain from it?

…

Most of the information in the news are lies and a cause to stir the emotions of the viewer/reader. So do not destroy your house by allowing it to enter it; having the false presumption that you will benefit from it.

…

In it is a great deal of evil. It causes corruption to spread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAmVZzRUZ4M

ISIS Attacking Worshippers in Their Masaajid Like Their Predecessors

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Shaykh Muhammad bin Saaleh al-‘Uthaymeen [may Allaah have Mercy on him] said:

The Qaraamitah are the companions of a man called Qirmit. His ‘Aqeedah was that of the despicable beliefs of the Baatiniyyah (Ismaeli Shia’s)[1]. As a result of this, he had great enmity with the Muslim masses - may Allaah Protect us – to the extent that he and his men entered into Makkah during the Hajj season and killed scores of Muslims whilst they performed their rituals. He massacred them as they performed Tawaaf around the Ka’bah and threw their corpses into the well of Zam Zam, corrupting its pure water and he left Makkah by stealing the Black Stone; taking it with him to al-Ihsaa so that people can travel to him instead and perform Hajj there. The stone remained with him there for approximately twenty-two years until it was liberated. So these are the Qaraamitah and they have intense hatred for the Muslims.

[Sharh an-Nooniyyah of Ibn al-Qayyim (2/229)]

For more on the ideas of ISIS see: http://ahledhikr.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-summary-of-origins-and-beliefs-of.html

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[1] For some of the beliefs shared by all Shia’s see: http://ahledhikr.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-raafidah-sheeah-their-beliefs-and.html

Fiqh: Chapter of Vessels and Utensils (Part 2)

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28-It is permissible to use the utensils of the Kuffaar. Uthaymeen expands; this is of three scenarios: 1) one knows that their utensils are impure, it is Haraam to use until they have been cleaned 2) one knows there utensils are pure, this is permissible and 3)  one is unsure, in this case one goes with what is most likely. Uthaymeen states that in origin it is pure, so one is allowed to use them until we have evidence to say otherwise.

29-Utensils or clothing made from leather which have not been tanned is of types:

            -If the animal was sacrificed according to the Shar’eeah, this is Halaal.

-If the animal died naturally (Maytah is an animal that has died of natural causes without being sacrificed with the name of Allaah over it but is permissible for us to eat) some said this is Haraam even if it is tanned. Uthaymeen states the correct view here is to look at the animal, if the animal is originally permissible (such as cow, sheep, camel, etc.) then tanning makes it permissible even if it wasn’t sacrificed. As for the Hadeeth, “Do not benefit from Maytah” then this Hadeeth is weak.

-Some said that tanning never makes Maytah Halaal, they stated that smoking the meat doesn’t make the meat Halaal so how does tanning make the skin Halaal? Uthaymeen answer by saying;

            -the Prophet told Umm Salamah to tan a Maytah animal and this ruling is not abrogated.

-meat and skin have separate rulings, so whatever is inside would be Najis but whatever is outside of an animal which is usually allowed to consume, is Taahir.

30-It is permissible to use tanned utensils which are dry. If they are not dry then they are still impure until the tanning process has been completed. Some of the Hanbalees say it is not permissible even if it is dried, however Uthaymeen states that the correct view is that tanning purifies the leather. The evidence is that the Prophet used to eat, drink and make Wudhoo from utensils from the Kuffaar and Mushriks.

31-Skins of animals is of three types:

-Animals that we are allowed to eat, tanning purifies their skin. The Hadeeth, “Tanning it is like slaughtering it.”

-Animals which are prohibited, such as cats and mice, then tanning never makes their leather pure.

-Insects that have no blood, their skin is pure and the evidence is the Hadeeth of the fly falling into ones drink.

32-Milk (and rennet) from an animal that hasn’t been sacrificed is impure. Ibn Taymiyyahof the view that it is pure, because milk and rennet has nothing to do with the meat and if the smell, taste and colour of the milk has not changed then it remains pure. This is also the view of the Hanafees. However, ‘Uthaymeen states that the view of impurity and that of the majority is more likely to be correct, because Maytah is Haraam and that means everything attached to it also (or Mutasil).

33-Hair and wool of a Maytah animal is deemed to be separate from the animal or Munfasil. Therefore, if the skin is not attached to the hair and wool, then it is permissible to use.

34-Some of the Hanbalees stated that bones from a Maytah are pure once the blood and meat has been removed. But the correct view is that is it impure with Uthaymeen and not permissible to use, as the Prophet stated it is the food of your brothers from the Jinn.

35-All seafood is Halaal without exception and does not need to be slaughtered.

36-Humans are haram to consume and their skin is also Haraam, not because they are impure but because they are honoured in their protection.

37-Any part of an animal that is cut off is Maytah known as (الطريدة). For example, if an animal has its legged chopped off, the leg is Maytah, however Ahmad and many from the companions and the Salaf viewed that the animal may still be slaughtered and made Halal.

38-Extracting musk from deer is also permitted as the sac in which the musk contained is separated from the dead animal. Usually, taking anything from a dead animal (Maytah) is Haraam (see point 32) however the musk here is deemed as being separate from the dead animal. 

The Wisdom behind the Expiation of Sins for a Year

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Al-Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim [May Allaah have Mercy on him and Purify his soul] stated:

If a person asks, why does fasting the Day of ‘Aashoora carry one year’s worth of expiation whereas fasting the Day of ‘Arafah has two years?

The answer is from two angles:

Firstly, the Day of ‘Arafah comes in the middle of a sacred month, before it is a sacred month (Dhu al-Qa’dah) and after it a sacred month (Muharram), unlike ‘Aashoora (i.e.  Muharram is the final one of these three sacred months mentioned in succession[1]).

Secondly, fasting the Day of ‘Arafah is specific to our Ummah unlike ‘Aashoora. So the Day of ‘Arafah has been multiplied in its reward because of the Blessings of the Mustafa [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him].

And Allaah Knows Best.  

Badaa’i al-Fawaa’id (5/315)

Tawbah was Accepted on the Day of ‘Aashooraa

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From the virtues of the Day of ‘Aashooraa is that it is narrated that it is the day in which Allaah Accepted the Tawbah of people.

It is narrated in at-Tirmidhee that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “If you were to fast a month after Ramadhaan then fast (most of) al-Muharram, because in it is when Allaah Accepted the Tawbah of people.”

…

It is narrated that ‘Alee bin Abee Taalib [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said, “It is the day when Allaah Forgave the people of Yoonus.”

It is narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said, “It is the day in which the repentance of Aadam was Accepted after he was expelled from Jannah.”

It is narrated that ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul-‘Azeez (another from the Salaf) [May Allaah have Mercy on him] wrote to a people and said, “Say as your father Aadam [Peace be upon him] said:

“Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers” [‘Araaf  7:23]

And say as Nooh [Peace be upon him] said:

“O my Lord! I seek refuge with You from asking You that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have Mercy on me, I would indeed be one of the losers” [Hood 11:47]

And say as Moosaa [Peace be upon him] said:

“My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me” [Qasas 28:16]

And say as Dhu an-Noon [Peace be upon him] said:

“…he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.” [an-Anbiyaa’ 21:87]

Wahb (another from the Salaf) [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “Truly, Allaah, the Most High, revealed onto Moosaa [Peace be upon him] that his nation. They were told to seek Tawbah in the first ten days and on the tenth day they were forgiven.”

‘Ikrimah (another from the Salaf) [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “The tenth is the day in which Allaah Forgave Aadam.”

Qataadah (another from the Salaf) [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “We used to narrate to others that this is the day in which Aadam repented.”

So it is encouraged for us to increase in making Tawbah on the day of ‘Aashooraa, seeking for it to be Accepted, because the one who has his Tawbah from his bad deeds Accepted from Allaah, the Glorified and the Exalted, then it will be as this person is turning to Allaah like those before did.

The one repenting realises his sin and he combines this with regret, then his Tawbah will be accepted. Allaah, the Glorified and the Exalted, says:

 “And (there are) others who have acknowledged their sins, they have mixed a deed that was righteous with another that was evil. Perhaps Allah will turn unto them in forgiveness. Surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful .” [at-Tawbah 9:102]

The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said, “If a slave realises his sin and repents then Allaah will Turn to him (i.e. accept his repentance).”

Also, it is related that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] used to open his prayer by supplicated, “Oh Allaah! You are my Lord, there is no God but You. I have wrong myself and I recognise my sins, so Forgive me, surely there is none that forgives sins except You.”

…

So when Aadam was dispelled from Jannah and landed on earth, he wept because he longed to go back to Jannah. It is narrated that he was in the state of regret and wept for three hundred years. He lived in a place where there was no hunger, no starvation, no thirst, no tiredness and no loss; but because of his sin he was dispelled from such a land to a place where he experienced these negative feelings.

Adapted from Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif (Pg. 43-48) by Imaam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (795 H) [May Allaah have Mercy on him]

Virtues of Fasting The Day of ‘Aashoora and its Rulings.

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It is narrated in the two Saheehs that Ibn ‘Abbaas [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said that he never saw the Messenger [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] more eager to fast than this day ( meaning the Day of ‘Aashoraa).

The Day of ‘Aashoora has a great virtue, an ancient sacredness and fasting it was the practice of the Prophets [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon them all. Both Nooh and Moosaa fasted it and the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “The Day of ‘Aashoora was the day in which the Prophets fasted, so you should fast them” [Narrated by Mukhlid in his Musnad].

It was also a day in which the People of the Book and the Mushriks of Quraysh fasted.

…

When the Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] asked the Jews after migrating to al-Madeenah, “What is this day that you are fasting?” They replied by saying, “This is a great day, it is the day in which Allaah saved Moosaa and his people and drowned Fir’awn and his people. So Moosaa fasted this day out of thanks and so do we.” The Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] then responded to them when he said, “We have more right to Moosaa than you.” So the Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] fasted it and he ordered his Companions [May Allaah be Pleased with them all] to fast it also. This was narrated in al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

In another narration that was collected by Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad, extra wording appears; “It is the day in which Allaah saved Moosaa and Banee Israa’el from drowning and caused Fir’awn and his people to be drowned instead. It is the day when the ark of Nooh settled on Mount Joodee (i.e. the day the flood of the people of Nooh ended), so both Nooh and Moosa [Peace be Upon them both] fasted this day, in thanks to Allaah, the Glorofied and the Exalted. ”

…

Imaam Aboo Haneefah and what appaers to be the correct view from Imaam Ahmad is that fasting this day, before the obligation of fasting Ramadhaan, was obligatory.

The majority of the Shaafi’ees stated that it was never obligatory and it was always a stressed recommendation to fast this day. However now, after the obligation of fasting Ramadhaan, the scholars differed: some said that fasting ‘Aashooraa has been abrogated in its ruling but others stating that it is recommended.

(Some of the Salaf stated this). Qays bin Sa’d said, “We act upon it (i.e. still fast the day of ‘Aashooraa)”.

It is narrated that Ibn Mas’ood and Ibn ‘Umar [May Allaah be Pleased with them both] both stated that it is not recommended anymore.

It is also narrated that Sa’eed bin Mussyab [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said about its abrogation, “The Messenger of Allaah never fasted it.” A similar statement was narrated by Sa’d bin Abee Waqaas [May Allaah be Pleased with him].

But the majority of the scholars uphold the ruling that it is Mustahab (highly recommended). This was narrated to be the view of ‘Umar, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan bin  ‘Awf, Aboo Moosaa al-‘Asharee, Qays bin Sa’eed, Ibn ‘Abbaas and others from the companions [May Allaah be Pleased with them all].

Ibn ‘Abbaas [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said about fasting ‘Aashooraa, “I never saw the Messenger of Allaah more eager to fast, after Ramadhaan, than the day of ‘Aashooraa.”

It is also narrated that the Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, “I hope with Allaah that is expiates the sins of the previous year.”

It is also narrated that the mother of the believers, Hafsah bin ‘Umar bin al-Khattaab [May Allaah be Pleased with her] said, “The Prophet never left fasting the day of ‘Aashooraa, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah and three days of every month.” [Narrated by Aboo Dawood].

It is narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas used to fast this day even whilst travelling and that he used to fast the ninth and the tenth, fearing that he may miss the tenth.

It is also narrated (others from the Salaf) that Ibn Ishaaq used to fast the day of ‘Aashooraa, the day before it and a day after it (i.e. 9^th, 10^th and 11^th) and he said about it, “I fear that I might miss it”.

It is also narrated that Ibn Sireen used to fast all three days.

It is narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas and ad-Dahaak used to fast the ninth and the tenth.

It is narrated that Aboo Haneefah, ash-Shaafi’ee and Ahmad all recommended the fasting of the ninth and the tenth.

Adapted from Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif (Pg. 37-41) by Imaam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (795 H) [May Allaah have Mercy on him]

Virtues of the Month of Allaah, al-Muharram and the First Ten Days

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Best Month of the Year

The scholars have also stated that it is the best month of the year. This is the view of Hasan al-Basree and others, that it is the Month of Allaah. It is narrated that Hasan al-Basree said, “Allaah starts the year with Muharram and he ends it with the Sacred month (i.e. Dhu al-Hijjah).”

So there is no better month in the year after Ramadhaan than the month of al-Muharram, as it is has been named the Month of Allaah, due to its great sacredness.

It has also been narrated in Sunan an-Nasaa’ee that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon him] said, “The best of prayers after the obligatory are those prayed in the middle of the night and the best of months is the Month of Allaah that is called al-Muharram.”

So the Hadeeth is general and unrestricted but we can understand that it is the best  after Ramadhaan, as explained by Hasan.

Others from the Salaf such as Sa’eed bin Jubayr said, “The best months are the sacred ones, Dhu al-Qa’dah and Dhu al-Hijjah.” This was the opinion from ash-Shafi’ee, who was of the opinion that the best months of the year were the months of Dhu al-Qa’dah, Dhu al-Hijjah (i.e. the sacred months) and Rajab. However, this view is weaker.

The Best Days of al-Muharram.

The best days during this month are the first ten days. Some of the Salaf were of the opinion that these were the days Allaah Swore by in the Quraan (cf. 89:2). However, the correct opinion is that the days mentioned in the Quraan refer to the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Another from the Salaf, Aboo ‘Uthmaan al-Hindee, “They used to venerate three set of ten days; the last ten days of Ramadhaan, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah and the first ten days of Muharram.”

Further statements and virtues of these days has been mentioned in the book, ’Fadaa’il al-‘Ashr’ by Ibn Abee ad-Dunyaa.

It is also said about these ten days of Muharram that they are the days in which Moosaa [Peace be Upon him] met Allaah and the forty days were completed at the end of these ten. It means, Allaah Spoke to him during these days.

It is also narrated from another from the Salaf, Wahb bin Munnabih that he said, “Allaah, the Most High, revealed to Moosaa [Peace be Upon him] to tell his nation to do Tawbah and return to Him during these first ten days of al-Muharram. When the tenth day came, He Forgave them all.”

It is also narrated from another from the Salaf, Qataadah, that he said in Tafseer of the Aayah in Surah al-Fajr where Allaah Swears by ten days (cf. 89:2), “The first ten days of Muharram are the days in which the rest of the days of the year are extracted from.”

Adapted from Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif (Pg. 23-24) by Imaam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (795 H) [May Allaah have Mercy on him]