Virtues Of The Month Of Muharram
A Muslim is to be keen to get closer to Allah and draw nearer to Him all the time. Such keenness gains more weight and significance during blessed occasions and times. One of these occasions in which a Muslim should exert more effort and show more keenness is the month of Muharram.
To shed more light on the significance of worship in this blessed month we would like to cite for you the following:
Indeed, the sacred month of Muharram is a blessed and important month. It is the first month of the Hijri calendar and is one of the four sacred months concerning which Allah says, “Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein” (At-Tawbah 9: 36)
Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Time has come back to its original state which it had when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth; the year is twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them are in succession: Dhul-Qa`da, Dhul-Hijja and Al-Muharram, and (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar (named after the tribe of Mudar as they used to respect this month) which stands between Jumad (ath-Thani) and Sha`ban.”
Muharram is called so because it is a sacred (muharram) month and to confirm its sanctity. Allah Almighty says, “so wrong not yourselves therein”, which means do not wrong yourselves in these sacred months, because sin in these months is worse than in other months.
It was reported that Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding the above verse that these four months were singled out and made sacred. Sins in these months are more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.
Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning this phrase (so wrong not yourselves therein) that wrongdoing during the sacred months is more serious and more sinful than wrongdoing at any other time. Wrongdoing at any time is a serious matter, but Allah gives more weight to whichever of His commands He will. Allah has chosen certain ones of His Creation. He has chosen from among the angels Messengers and from among mankind Messengers. He chose from among speech His remembrance or dhikr. He chose from among the earth the mosques, from among the months Ramadan and the sacred months, from among the days Friday and from among the nights laylat al-qadr, so venerate that which Allah has told us to venerate. People of understanding and wisdom venerate the things that Allah has told us to venerate.
(Summarized from the Tafseer of Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him. Tafseer of Surat at-Tawbah, verse 36).
The Children Of The Believers
The children of the Believers who die before reaching the age of puberty will be in Paradise, In Sha Allah, by the Grace and Mercy of Allah. He (swt) says:
“And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in faith – to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned” [52:21]
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib understood this aayah – “Every person is a pledge for what he has earned” [74:38] – to indicate that the children of the believers would be in Paradise, because they did not earn anything for which they would be considered a pledge. [at-Tadkhirah, p. 511]
al-Bukhaari included a chapter in his Saheeh entitled “The virtue of one whose child dies and he bears it with patience for the sake of Allah”, in which he quoted the hadith of Anas who said that, “A Muslim whose three children die before reaching the age of puberty will be admitted to Paradise by Allah out of Mercy towards them.”
According to a hadith narrated by Abu Sa’eed the women asked the Prophet (Saw) “Set aside a day for us”. So he preached to them and said, “Any woman whose three children die will be shielded from the Fire by them.” A woman asked, “What about two?” He said, “And if two [die].” [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Janaa’iz, Baab fadl man mata lahu walad fa ahtasaba, Fath al-Baari, 3/118]
According to a hadith narrated by al-Baraa’ (saw), “When [the Prophet’s son] Ibraaheem, died, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “There is a wet nurse for him in Paradise””. [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Janaa’iz, Baab ma qila fi awlaad al-Muslimeen, Fath al-Baari, 3/244]
The conclusion that may be drawn from this hadith is that the children of the believers will be in Paradise as Ibn Hajar says, “The one who is the reason for his parents being shielded from the Fire should be protected himself, because he is the means and cause of mercy”. [Fath al-Baari, 3/244]
A number of reports clearly indicate this for example, “The Muslims and the children will be in Paradise” [narrated by ‘Ali, quoted by ‘Abdullaah ibn Ahmad in Ziyaadat al-Musnad]
“A Muslim couple whose three children die before reaching the age of puberty will be admitted by Allah to paradise, they and their children, by His Grace and Mercy” [Fath al-Baari, 2/245]
From Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Their little ones are the pageboys of Paradise. One of them will meet his father – or his parents – and take hold of his clothes – or his hand – just as I am taking hold of the hem of your garment, and he will not let go” Or he said,” And he will not let go until Allah admits him to Paradise.” [Silsilat al-Hadith as-Saheehah, 1/184, no. 342]
“The children of the believers will be in Paradise, being cared for by Ibraaheem and Sarah until they give them back to their parents on the Day of Resurrection”. [narrated by Abu Na’eem, ad-Daylami and Ibn ‘Asaakir from Abu Hurayrah – Silsilat al-Hadith as-Saheehah, 3/451 no. 1467; see also 2/156 no. 603 narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan, al-Haakim]
an-Nawawi referred to the ijmaa” of reliable Muslim scholars that any Muslim child who dies will be in Paradise. [Fath al-Baari, 3/244]. al-Qurtubee stated that Hammaad ibn Zayd, Hammad ibn Salamah and Ishaaq ibn Rahawayh refrained from giving an opinion [at-Tadhkirah, p.511]. an-Nawawi said, “Some of them refrained from giving an opinion because of the hadith of ‘Aaishah which was reported by Muslim with the wording, “A boy of the Ansaar died, and I said, “It is good for him, because he did not do or know any evil”. The Prophet (saw) said, “You should not say that because Allah (swt) has created its own people for Paradise..” The response to that is that he was most likely rebuking her for hastening to say something so decisive with no proof, or else he said that before he knew that the children of the Muslims would be in Paradise.” [Fath al-Baari, 3/244].
I suggest that the best opinion is that this hadith indicates that it is not permitted to state definitely that any one particular person is one of the people of Paradise, even if we know that in general they will be in Paradise.
The second point is that we should not be hasty in such matters, so that people will not dare to do what happens so often nowadays, when the bereaved claim that their departed loved one is in Paradise, even though he was the worst of people.
Ummat Ki Bhalai Per Huzoor (S.A.W) Ki Hiras
Repentance (Taubah)
The Arabic word for repentance is Taubah which translated literally means “to return”. Repentance means to leave what Allah has prohibited and to return to what he has commanded.
Allah has encouraged the believers to repent with sincere repentance.
O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance!
[Surah At-Tahrim Ayah: 8]
In another ayah Allah has said
But as for him who repented (from polytheism and sins, etc.), believed (in the Oneness of Allah, and in His Messenger Muhammad saws), and did righteous deeds (in the life of this world), then he will be among those who are successful.
[Surah Al-Qasas Ayah:67]
So we should repent to Allah and submit before him. Indeed even the Prophet (saws) used to ask Allah for his forgiveness even though he was the Prophet and was sinless. We see that despite this he used to repent to Allah more than 70 times a day.
“O people, make tawbah to Allah. By Allah, I make tawbah to Him more than seventy times each day.”
[Bukhari]
Even though the Prophet (saws) was never displeasing to Allah he asked Allah for His forgiveness, how much more so should the sinners?
The Prophet (saws) encouraged everyone to repent to Allah as a means of purification from the sins. The Prophet (saws) used to say every morning he used to ask Allah for forgiveness at least 100 times.
Abdullah ibn `Umar said: We counted in a single sitting the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, saying one hundred times: (My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance, verily you are Acceptor of Repentance, Oft-Forgiving.)
[Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah]
And the best time for repentance is in the morning and the night, in that we may start our day with repentance and end our day with repentance.
The Prophet (saws) has said
Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stretches out His Hand during the night so that the people repent for the fault committed from dawn till dusk and He stretches out His Hand during the day so that the people may repent for the fault committed from dusk to dawn (He would accept repentance) before the sun rises in the west (before the Day of Resurrection).
[Muslim]
So we should endeavor to keep our hearts pure and our tongues moist with repentance to Allah in that he may forgive us our sins.
Shaddad Ibn ‘Aus (RA) narrated, the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“The most superior way of asking help (forgiveness) from Allah is to say:
What translated in English means,
O Allah, Thou are my Lord! There is no god but Thee, It is Thee Who created me, and I am Thy servant, I am faithful to my covenant and my promise to Thee to my best ability, I seek refuge with Thee from all the evil I have done, I acknowledge before Thee all the blessings Thou have bestowed upon me, and I confess to Thee to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins but Thee.
The Prophet (PBUH) then added:
If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of the Paradise.”
[Bukhari]
Thus the Prophet (saws) advised us to repent to Allah and also to ask Him for his forgiveness.
Allah has encouraged and ordered us to repent to Allah, surrendering to him completely before we face him on the day of judgement. Thus we need to repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness before we face death for at the time of death repentance will be of no benefit to us.
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet (saws) said, “Amongst the men of Bani Israel there was a man who had murdered ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied in the negative and so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man advised to go to such and such village. (So he left for it) but death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village (where he had hoped his repentance would be accepted), and so the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment quarreled amongst themselves regarding him. Allah ordered the village (towards which he was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the village (whence he had come), to go far away, and then He ordered the angels to measure the distances between his body and the two villages. So he was found to be one span closer to the village (he was going to). So he was for given.”
[Sahih Muslim]
There are numerous hadith abound with stories of the sahabah before they became Muslims who used to fight against Allah and his Messenger (saws), and after accepting Islam we see that they went on to become leaders of the Muslims. Rather, we should repent to Allah because as is mentioned in the hadith above that Allah opens his hand during the day for the sinners of the night to repent to him and he opens his hand during the day for the sinners of the day to repent to him.
O Allah grant us the sincere repentance and accept is from us, verily You are the All Hearing, the All Knowing. Ameen.
Let The Sinner Separate Himself, O Musa
It was narrated that in the days that Musa (peace be upon him) wandered with Bani Israel in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Musa and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel who had disobeyed Allah for more than 40 years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah told Musa. “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”
Musa (peace be upon him) called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for 40 years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.”
That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”
As Musa (peace be upon him) and the people of Bani Israel waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa asked Allah, “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.”
And Allah replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel with water.”
Musa (peace be upon him), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!”
Allah replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for 40 years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”
– Muhammad Al-Shareef is director of Al-Maghrib Institute in Canada
Juaay Ki Mazammat
Aggression Against Innocents Un-Islamic
ONE of the important objectives of Islam is to safeguard people’s life, property and honor. It is in this light that Islam prohibited aggression against innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The Qur’an and the Sunnah are abundant with provisions that crystallize and emphasize this principle. In the Sunnah we read that a woman entered Hell Fire because she tied a cat until it starved. Then, what will be the fate of those who shed innocent people’s blood and violate their rights?
Shedding more light on the issue of violence, intolerance, and aggression against innocent civilians, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:
No doubt, aggression against innocent people is a grave sin and a heinous crime, irrespective of the victim’s religion, country, or race. No one is permitted to commit such crime, for Allah, Most High, abhors aggression. Unlike Judaism, Islam does not hold a double-standard policy in safeguarding human rights.
Following, I would like to highlight some relevant Islamic principles based on the Glorious Qur’an and Sunnah:
1. Islam forbids aggression against innocent people
Islam does not permit aggression against innocent people, whether the aggression is against life, property, or honor, and this ruling applies to everyone, regardless of post, status and prestige. In Islam, as the state’s subject is addressed with Islamic teachings, so is the ruler or caliph; he is not allowed to violate people’s rights, lives, honor, property, etc.
In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared the principle that people’s lives, property, and honor are inviolable until the Day of Judgment. This ruling is not restricted to Muslims; rather, it includes non-Muslims who are not fighting Muslims. Even in case of war, Islam does not permit killing those who are not involved in fighting, such as women, children, the aged, and the monks who confine themselves to worship only.
This shouldn’t raise any wonder, for Islam is a religion that prohibits aggression even against animals. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, quoted the Prophet, (peace be upon him), as saying: “A woman (was made to) enter (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.” (Al-Bukhari)
If such is Islamic ruling concerning aggressive acts against animals, then, with greater reason, the punishment is bound to be severe when human being happens to be the victim of aggression, torture and terrorism.
2. Individual responsibility
In Islam, every one is held accountable for his own acts, not others’. No one bears the consequences of others’ faults, even his close relatives. This is the ultimate form of justice, clarified in the Glorious Qur’an, as Allah, Most High, says : Or is he not informed with what is in the pages (Scripture) of Musa (Moses), and of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (Allah ordered him to do or convey): That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another. (An-Najm 53: 36-38)
Therefore, it’s very disgusting to see some people – who are Muslims by name – launching aggression against innocent people and taking them as scapegoats for any disagreement they have with the state’s authority!! What is the crime of the common people then?! Murder is one of heinous crimes completely abhorred in Islam, to the extent that some Muslim scholars hold the opinion that the repentance of the murderer will not be accepted by Allah, Most High. In this context, we recall the Glorious Qur’anic verse that reads : “…if any one killed a person not in retaliation of murder or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind…” (Al-Ma’idah 5: 32)
3. Ends do not justify means
In Islam, the notion “End justifies the means” has no place at all. It is not allowed to attain good aims through evil means, and, therefore, alms collected from unlawful avenues are not halal (lawful). In this context, the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him) said, “Surely, Allah is Good and never accepts but what is good.”
Thus, in Shariah, with all its sources, the Glorious Qur’an, the Sunnah, consensus of Muslim jurists – aggression and violation of human rights are completely forbidden.
Besides, it is the duty of the Muslim scholars to do their utmost to guide the perplexed people to the straight and upright path.
Masjid kay Fazail Aur Adaab
Say ‘Assalam Alaikum’, When You Enter Houses
Make sure you say the greeting of Salam when you enter your, or anyone else’s, house. Some of the benefits are as great as Paradise, provision in this world and Allah’s blessings.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There are three who are under the protection of Allah and if he lives, he will be provided for and it will be sufficient for him, and if he dies, Allah will enter him into Paradise: Whoever enters his house and gives the Salam; whoever goes out to the mosque; and whoever leaves in the way of Allah.” (Abu Dawood; authenticated by Al-Albani)
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“When you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other – a greeting from Allah, blessed and good.” (Qur’an, 24:61)
In Fiqh Al-Ad’iyah wal Adhkar, Imam As-Sa’di said, “The word ‘houses’ (Buyoot) is indefinite, so it includes any house that you enter and not just our own, even if there is no one present at the time. (The words) ‘upon yourselves’ (Alaa Anfusikum) means to give Salam to one another. The words are used to show that Muslims are like one entity due to their mutual care, love, and mercy. Then Allah praises this greeting by saying, “a greeting from Allah, blessed and good.” The greeting is to say: As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
‘From Allah’, means that He has ordained it for you and has made it your greeting. It is ‘blessed’ because it is a Du’a that includes peace, safety, seeking blessings, mercy, and an increase in goodness. It is Tayyibah (good) because it is good speech from the One who is Good (At-Tayyib).”
Also, Anas narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him, “Dear son, when you enter your house, say As-Salamu Alaykum to your family, for it will be a blessing (Barakah) both to you and to your family.” (Al-Tirmidhi; Hasan according to Al-Albani)