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Love For Prophet: The Sahabah Way

No matter how much we write about the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), we cannot fairly describe their merits, virtues, and excellence.

The best of generations to ever live in this world, they were chosen by Allah to accompany His Last Messenger. They sacrificed their wealth, families, and lives defending and propagating the truth.

Embracing Islam and then being groomed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) transformed a community that came from the ruthless deserts into a fine people with exceptional character and behavior. The men who would bury their daughters alive turned into fathers who rejoiced at the birth of daughters and who took extra care in bringing them up.

The Ahadith that throw light on their lifestyles and virtues are plenty. One such aspect was their unconditional obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Faith was deeply ingrained in their hearts. They knew the Messenger did not instruct them except based on Allah’s revelation.

When Urwa Bin Mas’ud came to negotiate with the Prophet (peace be upon him) during the incident that’s popularly known as the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, he witnessed firsthand the attitude of the Companions towards Muhammad (peace be upon him). He went back to the Quraish and gave that powerful description:

“O, people! By Allah, I have been to the kings and to Caesar, Khosrau (Persian emperor) and An-Najashi, yet I have never seen any of them respected by his courtiers as much as Muhammad is respected by his companions. By Allah, if he spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet’s companions) who would rub it on his face and skin; if he ordered them, they would carry out his order immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water; and when they spoke, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect.” (Al-Bukhari, 3/50, no. 891)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not establish a relationship between a master and disciples. The term Sahabah is not used without meaning. The Sahabah literally lived as the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

When a stranger would come to Madina, he would not recognize the Prophet as if he was sitting in a group because there were no special seats for him, no elevated chairs that would distinguish him from others, and to be sure no special clothes indicating that he was in fact the ruler of Madina.

Despite this humility, the status of the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not diminish. The Companions gave the Prophet his due right and respect. As preceded, the kings of Romans and Persians were disobeyed and followed as the Prophet (peace be upon him) was.

Admittance To Paradise

There is no doubt that the joy of the believers will be incomparable when they are led, group by honorable group, to the blessed Gardens of Paradise.

When they reach Paradise its gates will be opened for them, and they will be welcomed by noble angels  congratulating them on their safe arrival after suffering so much hardship and witnessing so much horror:

“And those who feared their Rabb will be led to the garden in crowds, until, behold, they arrive there; its gates will be opened and its keepers will say “Peace be upon you! Well, have you done! Enter here, to dwell therein“. (39:73)

In other words, your words, thoughts, and deeds were good so your hearts and souls became pure and for that you deserve Paradise.

Signs Of Allah In Our Tongues

Have you ever wondered about your tongue? It is one of the wonderful creations of Allah. Allah Ta’ala gave each of us one tongue. But this one tongue is able to taste thousands of different types of food and drinks. If our taste buds on the tongue were to become inactive, we would not know the difference between an orange and a stone.

Moreover, like fingerprints, everyone has a different tongue print.

Relative to its size, the tongue is also the strongest muscle in the human body. And it is the only muscle that is connected to only one side. The tongue is so strong that it can create pressure on the roof of the mouth equivalent to the weight of two double-decker buses!

The strongest muscle of our body, the tongue, has been created by Allah for us to glorify Him. Truly, with the help of this tongue, we are able to recite the Glorious Quran and talk about Allah’s Greatness. Let us not spoil the tongue by backbiting, slandering, and lying.

May ALLAH make us the one who always chants His name and praises Him all the time…..Ameen

Death Is A Reality, Not Philosophy

FIRST of all, let me point out that the afterlife is not a philosophical matter in Islam. It is a reality that every Prophet sent to mankind (peace be upon them all) has warned his people about. There are numerous references to the Hereafter in the Qur’an and the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Many descriptions and warnings about the Day of Judgment can be found in both sources and we, as Muslims, take them to be fact, not conjecture or philosophy.

A belief in life after death in Islam is a pillar of faith. It is the main rationale for the religion of Islam itself. In saying this, I mean that there is not much point for Allah in giving us the beautiful gift of Islam as a way of life if there is no continuation of life in the Hereafter.

If there were no belief in the Hereafter, people would feel free to do as they pleased, at least to the limits that other people would set for them and enforce. They would only have their personal desires as a guide for behavior and belief. They would not feel accountable for the deeds that are hidden from the knowledge of society. A belief in the Hereafter helps us to keep in mind that there is a God, Allah, and He has prepared a great reward for those who do good and severe punishment for those who only follow their selfish desires.

Death is actually just a transitional point, where we leave this worldly life and enter into a different, everlasting life. For some – I ask Allah that we would all be in this category In sha Allah   – the next life is a pleasant existence, which is much better than we could even ever imagine it could be. For others I ask Allah that none of us would end up in this category – the next life is a terrible existence, which is unimaginable in its torments.

The Day of Judgment is a fixed day in the future when everyone will be brought to stand before their Creator, Allah, to account for all that they did in their life.

Those who believed in Him and observed righteousness will be rewarded and those who were irresponsible and did evil deeds will be punished severely. Many people, however, have already passed away and are still waiting for the Day of Judgment in their graves.

For those who believed and did well in this life, their graves will be spacious and well-lit. Their deeds will come to them in the form of a handsome attendant who will speak kindly and keep them company till the Day of Judgment. From their graves, they will be able to see their place in Paradise. They will beg Allah to bring the Day soon so that they can receive their reward as soon as possible.

For those who did not believe in Allah or did evil in this world, their grave will be very dark, narrow, and crampling so much so that they will feel their ribs crossing over each other in the middle of their chest. Their deeds will come to them in the form of an ugly and mean attendant. From their graves, they will be able to see their place in Hellfire. They will beg Allah not to bring the Day of Judgment so that they would not suffer what is in store for them.

There is a wealth of information available to those who would like to know more about this key issue for all of mankind. All we need to do is read the Qur’an and books of Hadith that deal with this subject. The truth about the next life is easily accessible in these two sources.

Hajj And Tawheed

Allah, the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an, “And whoever respects the signs of Allah, this surely is (the outcome) of the piety of hearts.” (22:32)

Respecting the signs of Allah means inculcating Tawheed in each and every act of worship in its full magnitude, so that one may gain Taqwa. It is now the blessed season of Hajj, when people travel long distances to perform this noble task. Therefore it is up to the person that this act becomes an act of worship and not just a tiring journey, with no spiritual benefits. This act must coincide with the divine saying of our God “The pilgrimage is (performed in) the well-known months; so whoever determines the performance of the pilgrimage therein, there shall be no intercourse nor fornication nor quarreling amongst one another; and whatever good you do, Allah knows it; and make provision, for surely the provision is the guarding of oneself, and be careful (of your duty) to Me, O men of understanding.” (2:197)

One must undertake this journey to gain the tremendous reward mentioned in the following Hadith..

“He who came to this House (the Ka’bah) (with the intention in performing Hajj) without speaking or committing indecencies, would return (free from sin) as on the day his mother bore him.”  (Muslim, 2/3129)

This is the one chance for a person to display before Allah, his humility in the utmost sense in words, action and appearance. This is the main purpose of his creation. Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful says in the Qu’ran : “And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should worship Me.” (51:56) Here worship means showing humility or being humble.

Before commencing the journey one must do some brain-storming. Like one must ask themselves, what are the internal per-requisites one must instill before saying, “ Here I come O! Allah”? Is our Hajj in accordance to the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him)? Does it fulfill the demands of Tawheed? What is the connection of ‘Laailaha Illallah’ and the Talbiya which one repeats over and over again in Hajj?

The Method of Slaughtering Animal

1. The method of slaughtering an animal is that the animal should be placed on the ground with the face towards the qiblah. The person should take a sharp knife, recite Bismillahi Allahu Akbar and cut the neck of the animal in such a manner that four veins (or passage ways) are cut off. They are: the air passage, the gullet, and the two jugular veins which are on either side of the gullet and the air passage. If only three out of these four are cut, the slaughter will be valid and the animal will be halaal. If only two of the four are cut, the animal will be considered to be dead and it will not be permissible to consume the meat of such an animal.

2. At the time of slaughtering the person intentionally did not take the name of Allah Ta’ala. The animal will be considered to be dead and it will be haraam to consume it. But if a person forgets to take the name of Allah Ta’ala, the animal will be halaal.

3. It is makruh to slaughter an animal with a blunt knife as this causes much suffering to the animal. It is also makruh to begin skinning, cutting, and breaking the hands and feet of the animal before it can become cold (meaning, before it can become lifeless). Similarly, it is makruh to continue cutting the animal’s neck after having cut the four passageways.

4. At the time of slaughtering a fowl, its entire neck got cut off. It is permissible to eat such a fowl, and not makruh. However, it is makruh to slaughter the fowl in such a manner, although consuming it is not makruh.

5. Slaughtering of an animal by a Muslim is permissible under any condition. This is irrespective of whether the Muslim is a male, a female, in a state of purity or in a state of impurity. In all conditions, an animal slaughtered by a Muslim is halaal. An animal slaughtered by a non-Muslim is haraam.

Do Not Shed Blood Of Muslims

Narrated by Abdullah (Radhiallaho anho): Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims.“ Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol. 9 : No. 17

Killing an innocent non-Muslim under Muslim protection
Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr (Radhiallaho anho): Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam)said, “Whoever killed a Mu’ahid (a person who is granted the pledge of protection by the Muslims) shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise though its fragrance can be smelt at a distance of forty years (of traveling).” Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol. 9 : No. 49