نبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ  

وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الأَلِيمُ   

Declare (O Muhammad) to My slaves that truly I am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

And that My torment is indeed the most painful torment.

Surah Al-Hijr v.49 & 50

Istikhaara after Choice



Shaykh Muhammad bin 'Umar Bazmool said: ‘That al-Istikharah is not done when a person is uncertain about the matter at hand; because the Prophet -sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘If any of you intends to undertake a matter’ and that the whole of the Dua’ indicates to this point.

So if a Muslim is uncertain about a matter, and he intends to pray al-Istikharah , then he should make a choice between the two matters and then pray al-Istikharah , and then after al-Istikharah he executes that matter, and if it was good then Allaah will make it easy for him and bless him in that, and if it was not good for him, then Allaah turns it away from him and makes easy for him that in which there is good by the permission of Allaah -Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.


[Taken from: ‘Buggeeyat al-Mutattawa’ fee salat at-tattawa’ p.105]
Translated by Abbaas Abu Yahyaa

Some verses clear, others not.

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُوا الأَلْبَابِ

 It is He who has sent down to you (Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’an). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments), Al-Fara’id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (laws for the punishment of thieves, adululterers)]; and others not entirely clear. So, as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord.” And none receive admonition except men of understanding.[Imran v.7] (tafsir tabari).

Allah states that in the Qur'an, there are Ayat that are Muhkamat, entirely clear and plain, and these are the foundations of the Book which are plain for everyone. And there are Ayat in the Qur'an that are Mutashabihat not entirely clear for many, or some people. So those who refer to the Muhkam Ayat to understand the Mutashabih Ayat, will have acquired the correct guidance, and vice versa. This is why Allah said (They are the foundations of the Book), meaning, they are the basis of the Qur'an, and should be referred to for clarification, when warranted, (And others not entirely clear) as they have several meanings, some that agree with the Muhkam and some that carry other literal indications, although these meaning might not be desired.

The Muhkamat are the Ayat that explain the abrogating rulings, the allowed, prohibited, laws, limits, obligations and rulings that should be believed in and implemented. As for the Mutashabihat Ayat, they include the abrogated Ayat, parables, oaths, and what should be believed in, but not implemented.

(So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation) meaning, those who are misguided and deviate from truth to falsehood, (they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof) meaning, they refer to the Mutashabih, because they are able to alter its meanings to conform with their false interpretation since the wordings of the Mutashabihat encompass such a wide area of meanings. As for the Muhkam Ayat, they cannot be altered because they are clear and, thus, constitute unequivocal proof against the misguided people. This is why Allah said (they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof) meaning, they refer to the Mutashabih, because they are able to alter its meanings to conform with their false interpretation since the wordings of the Mutashabihat encompass such a wide area of meanings.

As for the Muhkam Ayat, they cannot be altered because they are clear and, thus, constitute unequivocal proof against the misguided people. This is why Allah said (He [`Isa] was not more than a servant. We granted Our favor to him.) [43:59], and (Verily, the likeness of `Isa before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!'' and he was.) [3:59]. There are other Ayat that clearly assert that `Isa is but one of Allah's creatures and that he is the servant and Messenger of Allah, among other Messengers.

Allah's statement (And seeking for its Ta'wil,) to alter them as they desire. Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah recited (It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book; and others not entirely clear,), until (Men of understanding) and he said,(When you see those who argue in it (using the Mutashabihat), then they are those whom Allah meant. Therefore, beware of them.)''

 Al-Bukhari recorded a similar Hadith in the Tafsir of this Ayah [3:7], as did Muslim in the book of Qadar (the Divine Will) in his Sahih, and Abu Dawud in the Sunnah section of his Sunan, from `A'ishah; "The Messenger of Allah recited this Ayah (It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are entirely clear,) until (And none receive admonition except men of understanding.)

He then said (When you see those who follow what is not so clear of the Qur'an, then they are those whom Allah described, so beware of them.)'' This is the wording recorded by Al-Bukhari.

Taken from: tafseer Ibn Katheer

Only Through Allah's Mercy



                                                Narrated Abu Hurayrah radhiallaahu anhu:

Allah's messenger salallahu alayhi wassalam said, "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you [from the (hell) Fire]." They said, "Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah's messenger?" He said, "No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His Mercy on me and protects me with His Grace. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise)." [sahih Al-Bukhari 8/6463]

Friendship of the Student of Knowledge

   Each of you has certain rights upon his brother.You should fulfill his needs, and this is of levels. The least is that you gladly fulfill his needs when you are able and he asks you. Better than this is that you fulfill them before he even asks you, and better than all of this is that you put his needs before your own.

You should remain silent regarding him at times, and speak at times. As for your silence, you should be quiet about his faults, both in his presence and absence. You should not argue or dispute with him, and shouldn’t ask him about personal things that he wouldn’t want to reveal. If you happen to see him somewhere, don’t ask where he is going, as it might be that he doesn’t want anyone to know. Don’t reveal his secrets, even if you fall into a feud afterwards. Also, don’t insult his friends and family, and don’t inform him if others happen to insult him.

Don’t say anything that could annoy him except if this involves something that must be said, such as commanding the good or forbidding the evil, as this would actually be a way of being good to him.

And know that you will never find a friend who is completely free of faults. Instead, look for someone whose good qualities outweigh his bad. Once you are stricter in judging people than you are in judging yourself, you fall into Allah’s Saying:

{“Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure, and when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than their due.”}1

And know that one of the greatest means by which hatred and envy come between two brothers is useless argumentation. This leads to nothing but each side trying to show itself as being better and smarter than the other, belittling the other, etc. And he who picks arguments with his brother has essentially made him out to be stupid, low, heedless, and incompetent, and all of this is considered belittlement. This inflames the heart and makes one person hate the other, and this is all contradictory to what brotherhood is all about.

The rights of brotherhood also entail that you say certain things. Just as you have to remain silent from saying what you shouldn’t say, you should also say what should be said. In fact, this is from the most particular rights of brotherhood, because the one who wants to befriend the mute can go to the graveyard. The point of brotherhood is that you benefit from your brother, not that you are relieved of him. So, you should strengthen your ties of brotherhood with words by asking about him, asking how things are going, let him know that you are concerned about him, and be happy with what makes him happy.

You should refer to him in the best light and praise him to others for the good that you know of him. You should also speak well of his family, children, actions – even his character, intellect, appearance, personality – and everything that can make him happy without going into extremes or saying what is untrue. Likewise, you should inform him if someone says something good about him while showing him that you are happy about this, as to hide such joy is tantamount to envy.

You should thank him for anything he does for you, and defend him in his absence if he is mentioned in a bad light, as the right between brothers is that they rush to defend and assist one another.

You should teach and advise him, as your brother’s need for knowledge is not any less than his need for money. So, if you have been blessed with a wealth of knowledge, distribute it and guide him.

And you should advise him in secret, and the difference between advising and condemning is whether you do it in public or private. Likewise, the difference between ignoring the fault of your brother and compromising with him is all in the purpose of doing so. So, if you ignore his fault for the sake of a religious benefit, or you see that this will lead to his long-term benefit, you are not compromising. If you put aside his fault for your own personal benefit, you are compromising.

You should supplicate for your brother during his life and after his death for everything you want for yourself. Abu ad-Darda’ (may Allah be Pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The supplication of a Muslim man for his brother in his absence is accepted, and there is an Angel appointed for each supplication of a man for his brother with good who says: ‘Allah, accept it, and give him the same that he asks for his friend,’”2 and Abu ad-Darda’ used to supplicate for many of his brothers, mentioning them by name in his supplications. Likewise, Ahmad bin Hambal used to supplicate at dawn for six specific individuals.

You should make a pact to love your brother until death, and to love his family and friends after his death. You should also not stop being humble with him even if you end up exceeding him in wealth and status. From the implications of this pact is also that you do not listen to criticism of your friend from others, and that you do not befriend his enemies.

You should also not task him with what he cannot bear. Rather, you should try to relieve him of his own concerns and pressures, and should not use his friendship to get to his wealth or resources, and should not pressure him to go out of his way to help you. Rather, your love of him should only be for Allah’s Pleasure and to deal with him in an easygoing and reserved manner, so that he would not hesitate to ask of you what you would ask of him.

Ja’far bin Muhammad said: “The most difficult friends are those who are a burden on me and I try to avoid, and the easiest of friends are those whose presence is just as burdensome as their absence (i.e. they are not at all burdensome).”3

So, the student of knowledge should be sure to avoid those who should not be befriended in order to preserve his time and protect his heart. He should choose the friend who will help him in the matters of his religion and the Hereafter, and al-Khawarizmi (may Allah have Mercy on him) said:

Do not befriend one who is lazy * How many righteous people have been corrupted by the corrupt?

The steadfast are quickly infected by the lazy * And burning coals simmer down when thrown into ashes.

 

Footnotes:

1 al-Mutaffifin; 2-3

2 ‘Sahih al-Adab al-Mufrad’ (487) and ‘Sahih Ibn Majah’ (2358)

3 ‘Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin’ (p. 126-132)

Source: The Manners of the Knowledge Seeker – Abu Abdillaah Muhammad Sa’eed Raslaan

What can he see, before he marries me?

  Shaykh Abdul-Azeez ibn Baaz
Reference: Fatawah Noor `ala ad Darb
Category: Women's Matters

Ibn Qudaamah said:
"Whoever desires to marry a woman then it is permissible for him to look at her without being alone with her. We don't know any differing amongst the people of knowledge regarding the permissibility of looking at the woman intended for marriage based upon the Hadeeth of Jaabir Ibn `Abdullaah that the Messenger, May the Salat and Salaam of Allaah be upon him, said:
"If one of you proposes to a woman and he has the ability to look at her, then he should do so"
For the Prophet ordered us to look and it was left general.

Imaam Ahmad said:
"He is to look at her face and this is not to be done lustfully or out of pleasure. He has the right to look more than once and to observe her beauty because the goal cannot be achieved except through this."

So there is no difference of opinion amongst the `Ulamaa in reference to the permissibility of looking at the face of the woman, and that is because the face is not `Awrah, rather is the place where her beauty is gathered and it is not permissible for him to look at what normally shows of the woman. There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars regarding other than the face like the hands and the feet and other than this which the woman would display normally.

The first: It is not permissible to look at because it is considered her to be her `Awrah just like the other parts of the body due to the Hadeeth of `Abdullaaah Ibn Mas'ood where the prophet said:"All of the woman is `Awrah."

This Hadeeth is Hassan. For the necessity of looking at anything else is removed by looking at the face and everything else remains in its legislative
origin of impressibility.

The Second: It is permissible to look at other than the face just as Imaam Ahmad said: "There is nothing wrong with looking at her face and at what
will encourage him to marry her whether it is the hand or what normally shows and the likes of this."

Imaam Shafi'ee said:
"He is to look at her face and hands." Then he mentioned the story of `Umar Ibn Al Khataab when he proposed to the daughter of `Ali Ibn Abi Talib (Umm Kulthum). `Ali sent her to `Umar for him to look at her and `Umar was pleased with what he saw and as she was walking away `Umar looked at her shin and she said to him: "If it wasn't for the fact that you were the Leader of the Believers I would hit you in both of your eyes!"
Al Mughni Vol.7 P.453

Imaam An Nawwawi said after mentioning the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah where he said:

"I was with the Messenger of Allaah when a man came to him and said: "I married a woman from the Ansaar" so the Prophet said to him: "Did you look at her? For indeed there is something in the eyes of the women of the Ansar."
"In this Hadeeth is a recommendation to look at the face of the woman that is intended for marriage. This is our Mathhab (as Imaam An Nawwawi followed the Mathhab of Imaam Ash Shafi'ee) and it is the Mathhab of Imaam Malik, Abu Haneefah and the rest of the scholars from Kufah (Iraq), Imaam Ahmad and the great majority of the `Ulamaa, that it is permissible to look at the face and hands only because they are not her `Awrah and because the face points to her beauty and it's opposite and the hands point to the richness of her shin or otherwise. This is the Mathhab of the great majority of scholars.

Imaam Al Awzaa'ee said:
"It is permissible for him to look at her without her (over) garment."

Dawud (Adh Dhahiri) said:
"He can look at all of her body."

This is a clear misconception and it is in opposition to the foundations of the Sunnah and the Consensus (of the `Ulamaa) and in opposition to our Mathhab and that of Maalik, Ahmad and the Jamhoor (great majority of the scholars)" Sarh Sahih Muslim Vol.9 P.214

Ibn Rushd said:
"As for looking at the woman at the time of proposal of marriage then Imaam Malik says it is permissible to look at the face and the two hands only, and Abu Haneefah said the feet the face and the hands as Allaah says:

"And not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (i.e. eyes and hands)" (24: 31)
Bidayah tul Mujtahid Vol. 2 P.114

Shaykh Saaleh Al Fawzaan said:

"It is permissible for the man who desires to propose to a woman to look at her with three conditions:

The First: He is almost positive that he is going to marry her;

The Second: He is to look at what is not considered to be her `Awrah, that which is normally apparent;

The Third: This all being done without being in seclusion or alone with her. Based upon the statement of the
Messenger: "If one of you proposes to a woman and he has the ability to see what will encourage him to marry her then he should do so" Sharh Zaad ul Mustaqni' Vol.3 P.4383

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saaleh Al `Uthaymeen was asked:
I am not married but if a pilgrim arrives at Saudi Arabia and he performs the Hajj, is it permissible afterwards for him to look at the woman he has proposed to and wants to settle a contract of marriage with? Is it permissible if I give her half of the dowry but we have not concluded the contract? We desire some clarity from you may Allaah give you success.

The Shaykh replied: Looking at the woman intended for marriage is permissible with the conditions that:

Firstly: You don't seclude yourself with her, meaning you are not to be alone with her in a place where there is no one other than the two of you;

Secondly: That there is no Fitnah involved;

Thirdly: You looking at her is not to be lustfully nor out of desire;

Fourthly: You are almost positive that she is going to marry you because sitting with her and talking frivolously to her is not permissible, for in that case there is nothing necessitating him to look at her. For there is reason behind looking which is to cause harmony and accord between the two and for him to ultimately marry her based upon sound desire. But just sitting with her and talking to her or to be alone with her then this is not permissible.

Translator: Shadeed Muhammad, Abu Az-Zubayr

واسع المغفره [ vasт fоrgiνεиεss ]

The empty sighs of the downcast servant

drift among the waves

sunset taking with it any remnants

of possible reprieve

Turbulent thoughts rent asunder

amidst the shambles of mental ruin

faint elucidations fail to simplify

the tears begotten by a complex cry

Grotesque possibilities endless

happy dreams limited in quantity

few and far in between

treasured when finally seen

Golden words etched lovingly to memory

greatly valued and held on to dearly

whispered hopefully in the darkness of life's treachery

"Indeed your Lord is of vast forgiveness"

profoundness to which we are witness

belittled deeds the source of tiny hope

A foothold, for in the darkness we will always grope

Alone in a crowded room, company forever evades

sweet solitude granting a chance at reflection

small talk a thing of the distant past

dialogue, a blotted imperfection

Oh tongue of mine, when will you behave?

I know not what to do with you

and the major sins are grave

Remember your Lord, so that we may be successful

perhaps He'll show us mercy, if we but try

To say that we are at all deserving

Would be an obscene lie

Countless are the sins we’ve sinned

Many are the mountains we’ve created

Vast as the foam of the sea

Yet our regret, always belated

 .



We are the norm.

She walks strange streets, her garments dragging behind her

Her eyes lowered to the ground

Furtive glances cast her way, comments made

She speaks not a sound.

Infuriated by the mystery they can’t answer

They seek to degrade what she stands for

They cannot comprehend how she walks their land

Standing strong for all they’ve come to abhor.

Unnerved, they attempt to rationalize

How dare she keep her body to herself?

They seethe inwardly.

Does she not realize how everyone else is dressed?

It would seem by default, she is deemed public property.

They say they are free, from exactly what, we are uncertain

From the reality of their own shadows they flee to this freedom

Unable to handle logic, they create their own parameters

Painting a colourful prison and calling it a kingdom

With the shackles of this world snugly in place

Laughing maniacally, dying to live happiness in some form

Hearts hardened to stone, but still dressed to impress

Cold to the touch, anything but warm

Fake smiles granted, disdain firmly planted

We don’t mind that they hate it

Hotly debated.

Don’t look at us as strange, for we are the norm.