The proper way to thank Allaah
If a Muslim receives a bounty or is rescued from some trial, it is recommended for him to perform the prostration of thankfulness. Abu Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reports that: “When the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) received something which pleased him or glad tidings, he would make prostration in thanks to Allah.” (Abu Dawood, no. 2774;. It is saheeh, and was also reported in Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, no. 1494)
Ritual purity (tahaarah) and facing the qiblah is not a requirement to make the prostration of thankfulness, however, if one makes wudoo’ and faces the qiblah, that is preferred. (Majmoo‘ Fataawa by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/216.)
Accepting money or property received without asking for it
If something (e.g., money, property, etc.) which is halaal (Islamically permissible) comes to you, whether through another person or other entity, without you asking, yearning or begging for it, and without you having degraded yourself, then he should accept it. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If something (i.e., money, property, etc.) comes to you for which you did not yearn or ask for, then accept it. Otherwise do not bother about it.’” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 1404)
Asking a Muslim host about food or drink he serves
If a Muslim is served food in his Muslim brother’s house, and he is worried about whether the meat is halaal or haraam, he may eat it without questioning because, in Islam, the principle is that a Muslim is trustworthy. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “If one of you enters the house of his Muslim brother and he offers him food, let him eat it and not ask anything about it, and if he offers him something to drink, let him drink it and not ask anything about it.” (Ahmad, 2/399; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 627)
This is also because such interrogation may insult his host and make him feel that he is being doubted.
Walking with only one shoe on if the other one is damaged
If someone walking with shoes on, and breaks or tears one of them, he should not walk with only one shoe, while his other foot is bare. He should either repair the broken shoe and wear both, or take off both and walk barefoot. Walking barefoot at times is sunnah. The evidence for this is the narration of Abu Hurayrah that: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘One should not walk with only one shoe. One should either wear both or take both of them off.’” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 5518)
The scholars have said a number of things about the reason for doing so. The most authentic of these is what has been described by Ibn al-‘Arabi and others that “It is the way of walking of the Shaytaan”. (Fath al-Baari, 10/310) The evidence for this is the report of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Indeed the Shaytaan walks in one shoe.’” (al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 348)
Good dreams
If a Muslim sees a good dream, it is recommended for him to do the following: He should praise and thank Allah, may He be glorified. He may interpret it himself or discuss it with a knowledgeable person who may interpret it for him.
He should not tell anyone about it except someone who may give him good advice, or someone who is wise, or someone he loves. He should not inform someone who may become jealous of him.
The evidence for this is the report of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and tell it to others.’” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 6584)
And it was also reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Do not narrate your good dreams to anyone except a knowledgeable person or someone who may give you good advice.’” (Jaami‘ al-Tirmidhi, no. 2280; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 1119)
This is because such persons may interpret it in the most appropriate way, unlike one who is jealous or ignorant.
Bad dreams
If a Muslim sees a bad dream (nightmare), he should do the following:
He should spit (dryly) to his left three times
He should seek refuge in Allah from Shaytaan three times
He should seek refuge in Allah from the evil of the dream
He should stand up and pray
He should change the side on which he was sleeping if he wants to continue to sleep, even if that means turning onto his left side
He should not inform anyone
He should neither interpret it himself nor ask anyone else to interpret it.
The evidence for this is the narration of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, he should spit to his left three times, seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytaan, and turn over on to his other side.’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 2262)
According to another report, the wording is: “He should seek refuge in Allah from its evil, so that it does not harm him.”
The narrator of this hadeeth said: “I used to see dreams that weighed heavier on me than a mountain, but as soon as I heard this hadeeth, so I never worried about it again.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 2261)
Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a Bedouin came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Prophet of Allah, I saw a dream that my head was chopped off and rolled away, and I ran after it.” The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Do not tell people the Shaytaan is playing with you in your dreams.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 2268)
According to another report, the wording is: “If anyone sees something he dislikes, he should get up and pray.” (Jaami‘ al-Tirmidhi, no. 2280; Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 3533)
Being affected by seeing a woman
If a Muslim sees a non-mahram woman, and this has an effect on him, then if he has a wife he should go home and have intercourse with her so that he may rid himself of whatever affected him. The evidence for this is the narration of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you is attracted to and likes a woman, he should go back to his wife and have intercourse with her, because this will rid him of whatever affected him.’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 1403)
Sitting between the sun and the shade is not allowed
If the place where one is sitting falls between the sun and the shade, he should change his place, because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If one of you is (sitting) in shade that diminishes in size, resulting in part of his body remaining in the sun and the rest under shade, he should get up and move.” (Abu Dawood, no. 4821; Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 748)
The reason for this is that this is the position favoured by the Shaytaan. The evidence is the Prophet’s prohibition of sitting partially in the sun and partially in shade. He SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “This is the place where the Shaytaan sits.” (Ahmad, 3/413; Saheeh al-Jaami‘, No. 6823)
When illness strikes one’s wife
If an illness strikes someone’s wife, it is recommended for him to do what the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did: “When an illness struck his one of his wives, he ordered for soup to be prepared. Then he ordered her to drink from it. He used to say: ‘This strengthens the heart of the one who is distressed, and cleans the heart of the sick person just as one of you cleans her face with water.’” (Jaami‘ al-Tirmidhi, no. 2039; Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 4646)
If one’s children or family members lie
If one of the children or family members of a person lies, he should treat this issue as did the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “If he SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to know that one of his family members had lied, he would keep away from him until he repented.” (al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 2052; Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 4675)
When telling the truth is not the best option
If a Muslim faces a difficult situation where he needs to say what is against the truth in order to protect himself or someone who is innocent, or to save himself from serious trouble, is there a way for him to escape the situation without lying or falling into sin?
Yes, there is a legal way and a permissible escape that one can make use of if necessary. It is equivocation or indirectness in speech. Imaam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) entitled a chapter of his Saheeh: “Indirect speech is a safe way to avoid a lie”. (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Adab (Book of Manners), chapter 116).
Equivocation means saying something which has a closer meaning that the hearer will understand, but it also has a remote meaning which what is actually meant and is linguistically correct. The condition for this is that whatever is said should not present a truth as falsity and vice versa. The following are examples of such statements used by the salaf and early imaams, and collected by Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim in his book Ighaathat al-Lahfaan: It was reported about Hammaad (may Allaah have mercy on him), if someone came that he did not want to sit with, he would say as if in pain: “My tooth, my tooth!” Then the boring person whom he did not like would leave him alone.
Imaam Sufyaan Al-Thawri was brought to the khaleefah al-Mahdi, who liked him, but when he wanted to leave, the khaleefah told him he had to stay. Al-Thawri swore that
he would come back. He then went out, leaving his shoes at the door. After some time he came back, took his shoes and went away. The khaleefah asked about him, and was told that he had sworn to come back, so he had come back and taken his shoes.
Imaam Ahmad was in his house, and some of his students, including al-Mirwadhi, were with him. Someone came along, asking for al-Mirwadhi from outside the house, but Imaam Ahmad did not want him to go out, so he said: “Al-Mirwadhi is not here, what would he be doing here?” whilst putting his finger in the palm of his other hand, and the person outside could not see what he was doing.
Other examples of equivocation or indirectness in speech include the following:
If someone asks you whether you have seen so-and-so, and you are afraid that if you tell the questioner about him this would lead to harm, you can say “ma ra’aytuhu”, meaning that you have not cut his lung, because this is a correct meaning in Arabic [“ma ra’aytuhu” usually means “I have not seen him,” but can also mean “I have not cut his lung”]; or you could deny having seen him, referring in your heart to a specific time and place where you have not seen him. If someone asks you to swear an oath that you will never speak to so-and-so, you could say, “Wallaahi lan ukallumahu”, meaning that you will not wound him, because “kalam” can also mean “wound” in Arabic [as well as “speech”]. Similarly, if a person is forced to utter words of kufr and is told to deny Allaah, it is permissible for him to say “Kafartu bi’l-laahi”, meaning “I denounce the playboy” [which sounds the same as the phrase meaning “I deny Allaah.”]
(Ighaathat al-Lahfaan by Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/381 ff., 2/106-107. See also the section on equivocation (ma’aareed) in Al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah by Ibn Muflih, 1/14).
However, one should be cautious that the use of such statements is restricted only to situations of great difficulty, otherwise:
Excessive use of it may lead to lying.
One may lose good friends, because they would always be in doubt as to what is meant.
If the person to whom such a statement is given comes to know that the reality was different from what he was told, and he was not aware that the person was engaging in deliberate ambiguity or equivocation, he would consider that person to be a liar. This goes against the principle of protecting one’s honour by not giving people cause to doubt one’s integrity.
The person who uses such a technique frequently may become proud of his ability to take advantage of people.
Finally, I ask Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, to give us a proper understanding of our religion, to teach us that which will benefit us, and benefit us from what He teaches us, to guide us, and to protect us from the evils of our own selves. Allah is the best Protector and He is the most Merciful of all.
~*~ May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. ~*~
Monday, July 20, 2009
MISCELLANEOUS RULINGS
Forgetting to wear ihraam for Hajj or ‘Umrah
If someone is travelling in an airplane and forgets to wear the garments of ihraam, and the plane takes off, he should try to make it out of two pieces of cloth, whatever color they may be, or with any type of sheets or towels he can get hold of. If he cannot find anything appropriate, he should remove whatever sewn clothes and head covering (if he is wearing one) he can, and enter the state of ihraam in whatever he is wearing when he passes by the miqaat in the air. He should not cross the miqaat without being in a state of ihraam. Once he reaches a place where he can change his clothes and wear two sheets of cloth (proper ihraam garments), he should do so; in addition, he must pay a penalty (fidya) of either sacrificing a sheep or fasting for three days or feeding six needy people. He has the choice of doing any one of these three and his ihraam is correct.
Interruption of tawaaf or sa’ee
If a person is performing tawaaf (circumambulation around the Ka‘bah) or sa‘ee (between Safa and Marwah), and he finds himself in need (e.g., he is thirsty and needs to drink something, or loses one of his family members and stops to look for him, or becomes tired and needs to take some rest), then if the break is short and is recognized as such (‘urfan), he may then continue from where he left off. In the case where the prayer is called and he interrupts his tawaaf to pray, the scholars have disagreed on this issue. The most cautious opinion is that when he continues his tawaaf, he should not count the last round which he left incomplete when he interrupted his tawaaf in order to pray. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah, p. 80; al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 8/49).
The issue of taking a rest in tawaaf and sa’ee, however, is based on the condition that tawaf and sa’ee should be uninterrupted. In sa’ee, continuity is not a requirement according to the best opinion. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 3/414) So, if a person is performing sa’ee, and he breaks after some of the rounds, and then comes back to complete them, this would be considered permissable. However, regarding continuity of tawaaf, the scholars have two opinions:
That continuity is waajib (mandatory), and that a long interruption without due
justification nullifies the tawaaf.
That continuity is a sunnah, and the tawaaf is not nullified even though the break was long. (This is the opinion favoured by al-Nawawi in al-Majmoo’, 8/47)
However, it is better to act according to the first opinion, to be on the safe side.
Burial of one who dies at sea
If a person dies on a ship while travelling at sea, according to Imaam Ahmad, the people should wait if they hope to reach some place where they can bury him (such as an island or beach) in a day or two, and if they are confident that the body will not decay. However, if this is not possible, they should wash the body, shroud and embalm it, then pray the funeral prayer, and finally, tie something heavy to it and drop it in the water. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 2/381)
Changing money (same currency)
Suppose a person has, for example, a currency note with a face value of 50, and he wants to change it into five 10’s, and asks another person to provide the change for him, but this person has only three 10’s. Is it permitted for the first person (i.e. the one who wants the change) to give him the 50 and take the three 10’s, leaving the remaining 20 as a loan to be collected by him later?
Since such a practice is widespread nowadays, most people would be taken aback if they are informed that this is riba (usury). The reason (for such a practice being usury) is that the amount each one of the two took is different, whereas the condition in selling and changing currency notes is that if they belong to the same type of currency (e.g., dollars in exchange for dollars, or dinars in exchange for dinars, etc.) then they must be the same in monetary value and exchanged “cash down” (hand in hand, not deferred). This is because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not sell gold for gold unless the two are equivalent, and do not sell a lesser amount for a greater amount or vice versa. Do not sell silver for silver unless the two are equivalent, and do not sell a lesser amount for a greater amount or vice versa. Do not sell gold and silver that is not present at the moment of exchange (i.e. a deferred amount) for gold or silver that is present.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, No. 2068)
This hadeeth prohibits both riba al-fadl (usury of surplus) and riba an-nasee’ah (usury of credit or delayed payment).
So the way for people to avoid this, as they are always in need of exchanging currency notes, is as follows: the one who has a currency note of 50 should give it to the other as collateral and take the 30 from him as a loan. Later he should repay the loan and take his 50 back. (N.B. Although the net result may appear the same, there is a difference in the way the transaction takes place.) (From the oral fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz).
Being asked to do something at work that is against Islamic teachings
What should one do if one is asked to do something at work that he feels is contrary to the teachings of Islam?
If a person is ordered to do a certain assignment at his work, he should think about it — if the act does not involve any disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, he should go ahead and do it. Otherwise, if it does involve some disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, he should not obey the command, or else he will be a party to sin and wrong-doing. The
Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A human must not be obeyed if that involves disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Indeed, obedience only applies in the case of righteous deeds.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari with Fath al-Baari, 13/121; Ahmad, 1/91; this version was narrated in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, No. 181)
Allah said in the Qur’an (about the people who went astray) (interpretation of the meaning): “They will say: ‘Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (Right) Way.’” [al-Ahzaab 33:67]
If someone is travelling in an airplane and forgets to wear the garments of ihraam, and the plane takes off, he should try to make it out of two pieces of cloth, whatever color they may be, or with any type of sheets or towels he can get hold of. If he cannot find anything appropriate, he should remove whatever sewn clothes and head covering (if he is wearing one) he can, and enter the state of ihraam in whatever he is wearing when he passes by the miqaat in the air. He should not cross the miqaat without being in a state of ihraam. Once he reaches a place where he can change his clothes and wear two sheets of cloth (proper ihraam garments), he should do so; in addition, he must pay a penalty (fidya) of either sacrificing a sheep or fasting for three days or feeding six needy people. He has the choice of doing any one of these three and his ihraam is correct.
Interruption of tawaaf or sa’ee
If a person is performing tawaaf (circumambulation around the Ka‘bah) or sa‘ee (between Safa and Marwah), and he finds himself in need (e.g., he is thirsty and needs to drink something, or loses one of his family members and stops to look for him, or becomes tired and needs to take some rest), then if the break is short and is recognized as such (‘urfan), he may then continue from where he left off. In the case where the prayer is called and he interrupts his tawaaf to pray, the scholars have disagreed on this issue. The most cautious opinion is that when he continues his tawaaf, he should not count the last round which he left incomplete when he interrupted his tawaaf in order to pray. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah, p. 80; al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 8/49).
The issue of taking a rest in tawaaf and sa’ee, however, is based on the condition that tawaf and sa’ee should be uninterrupted. In sa’ee, continuity is not a requirement according to the best opinion. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 3/414) So, if a person is performing sa’ee, and he breaks after some of the rounds, and then comes back to complete them, this would be considered permissable. However, regarding continuity of tawaaf, the scholars have two opinions:
That continuity is waajib (mandatory), and that a long interruption without due
justification nullifies the tawaaf.
That continuity is a sunnah, and the tawaaf is not nullified even though the break was long. (This is the opinion favoured by al-Nawawi in al-Majmoo’, 8/47)
However, it is better to act according to the first opinion, to be on the safe side.
Burial of one who dies at sea
If a person dies on a ship while travelling at sea, according to Imaam Ahmad, the people should wait if they hope to reach some place where they can bury him (such as an island or beach) in a day or two, and if they are confident that the body will not decay. However, if this is not possible, they should wash the body, shroud and embalm it, then pray the funeral prayer, and finally, tie something heavy to it and drop it in the water. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 2/381)
Changing money (same currency)
Suppose a person has, for example, a currency note with a face value of 50, and he wants to change it into five 10’s, and asks another person to provide the change for him, but this person has only three 10’s. Is it permitted for the first person (i.e. the one who wants the change) to give him the 50 and take the three 10’s, leaving the remaining 20 as a loan to be collected by him later?
Since such a practice is widespread nowadays, most people would be taken aback if they are informed that this is riba (usury). The reason (for such a practice being usury) is that the amount each one of the two took is different, whereas the condition in selling and changing currency notes is that if they belong to the same type of currency (e.g., dollars in exchange for dollars, or dinars in exchange for dinars, etc.) then they must be the same in monetary value and exchanged “cash down” (hand in hand, not deferred). This is because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not sell gold for gold unless the two are equivalent, and do not sell a lesser amount for a greater amount or vice versa. Do not sell silver for silver unless the two are equivalent, and do not sell a lesser amount for a greater amount or vice versa. Do not sell gold and silver that is not present at the moment of exchange (i.e. a deferred amount) for gold or silver that is present.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, No. 2068)
This hadeeth prohibits both riba al-fadl (usury of surplus) and riba an-nasee’ah (usury of credit or delayed payment).
So the way for people to avoid this, as they are always in need of exchanging currency notes, is as follows: the one who has a currency note of 50 should give it to the other as collateral and take the 30 from him as a loan. Later he should repay the loan and take his 50 back. (N.B. Although the net result may appear the same, there is a difference in the way the transaction takes place.) (From the oral fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz).
Being asked to do something at work that is against Islamic teachings
What should one do if one is asked to do something at work that he feels is contrary to the teachings of Islam?
If a person is ordered to do a certain assignment at his work, he should think about it — if the act does not involve any disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, he should go ahead and do it. Otherwise, if it does involve some disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, he should not obey the command, or else he will be a party to sin and wrong-doing. The
Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A human must not be obeyed if that involves disobedience to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Indeed, obedience only applies in the case of righteous deeds.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari with Fath al-Baari, 13/121; Ahmad, 1/91; this version was narrated in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, No. 181)
Allah said in the Qur’an (about the people who went astray) (interpretation of the meaning): “They will say: ‘Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (Right) Way.’” [al-Ahzaab 33:67]
RULINGS ABOUT FORGETFULNESS DURING PRAYER (AL-SAHW)
Doubt about number of rak’ahs prayed
If a person is in doubt as to whether he prayed, for example, three or four rak’ahs, he should act according to what is most likely. However, if he cannot be sure which is more likely, he should assume what he can be certain of, which is the lesser amount, and make the prostrations of forgetfulness (sujood ul-sahw).
The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you has doubts during his prayer and he does not recall how many rak‘ahs he has prayed, whether three or four, then should forget about his doubt and complete his prayer on the basis of that of which he is certain, and then make two sujood before the salaam. If it turns out that he had prayed five rak‘ah, the two sujood would make it even, and if he ended up completing his four rak‘ahs , they would be in defiance of the Shaytaan.’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 571)
Imaam remembers that he forgot to recite al-Faatihah during a silent rak’ah
If the imaam remembers in the final tashahhud (sitting of the prayer) that he had recitedat-tahiyyaat (the greetings mentioned during the sitting) in the beginning of a silent rak‘ah instead of al-Faatihah, he should stand up and offer another, correct, rak‘ah, to make up for the one he performed incorrectly where he did not recite al-Faatihah. This is because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no prayer for the one who did not recite (in it) al-Faatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur’an).” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 723)
It is also required for the members of the congregation behind him to follow him, even though it would be the fifth rak‘ah for them. If they do not understand and do not stand up, but say “subhaan Allah” as if to indicate to the imaam that he is in error, the imaam should gesture with hand movements to the right and left to inform them that he did it purposefully and to indicate to them that they should stand up and that he knows what he is doing.
However, if something like this happens to one of the people praying behind the imaam, his prayer will be correct as long as he followed the imaam.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth of Abu Bakrah which describes when he joined the prayer in the position of rukoo‘ and did not recite al-Faatihah. The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “May Allah increase your endeavor. You do not need to repeat.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 750).
A member of a congregation forgetting to recite al-Faatihah, or joining the prayer at the moment of rukoo’
If the person following the imaam forgets to recite al-Faatihah, or is ignorant of its obligatory nature, or joins the prayer when the imaam is in the state of rukoo‘, then his rak‘ah will be considered as complete and his prayer correct. He does not need to repeat the rak‘ah, as he is excused for his ignorance or forgetfulness, or for not joining the prayer in time for the qiyaam (the part of the rak’ah when one is standing upright). This is the opinion of the majority of scholars. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islamiyyah, 1/263).
This is one of the things which the imaam bears on behalf of those whom he leads in prayer.
Raising one’s head from rukoo’ then realizing that one forgot to say the tasbeeh
If a person raises his head from rukoo’ then remembers that he did not say the tasbeeh of rukoo’, he should not return to the rukoo’ because the requirement for supplication of rukoo’ is no longer applicable by virtue of his having raised his head. If he returns to the rukoo’ intentionally, this action would render his prayer invalid since he has added an extra rukn (obligatory act of the prayer) which is this second, superfluous, rukoo’. However, if it was due to ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer will not be nullified, but in this case he must make the prostration of forgetfulness if he was praying individually or leading a congregation. This is because saying tasbeeh (“subhaana Rabbi al-‘Azeem, How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme”) is waajib (obligatory), and if one forgets it, it can be compensated for by making the prostration of forgetfulness. If he was praying behind an imaam and forgets the tasbeeh, then he is no longer considered to have omitted an obligatory act. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/679).
Forgetting the first tashahhud
If a person forgets the first tashahhud, stands up for the third rak‘ah and starts the recitation of al-Faatihah, then according to the majority of scholars, he should not return to the sitting position. If he does so knowing that his return is unapproved of, his prayer will be nullified because he has already started another obligatory act. The
obligatory act that he forgot (i.e., tashahhud) can be made up for by making the prostrations of forgetfulness. The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by al-Mugheerah ibn Shu‘bah: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If the imaam begins to stand up after the second rak‘ah, then remembers, before he has stood fully upright, that he should sit, then he should sit down, but if he has already stood fully upright, he should not sit, but should make two prostrations of forgetfulness. (Abu Dawood, no. 1036; Silsilah al-Saheehah, 321)
In short, if someone stands up for the third rak‘ah, forgetting the tashahhud, one of the three following scenarios applies:
If he remembers it before standing up straight: then he should return to tashahhud.
If he remembers after standing up straight, and before starting the recitation of al-Faatihah: then it is better for him not to sit, but if he sits his prayer will be valid.
If he remembers it after starting the recitation of al-Faatihah: then he is not allowed to return to tashahhud. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/677)
These three cases have been deduced from the hadeeth quoted above.
Imaam says the salaam then makes prostrations of forgetfulness, but a latecomer stands up to complete his prayer
If the imaam says the salaam and a person who joined the prayer late stands up to complete what he missed, then suddenly he sees the imaam making prostrations of forgetfulness after the salaam, the latecomer should sit back down and make prostrations with the imaam, if he has not yet stood fully upright. Otherwise he should not sit back down; he should complete his prayer, then he should make the missed prostrations of forgetfulness. The evidence for this is the same as presented in the discussion on forgetting to sit for tashahhud between the second and third rak’ahs. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/697).
Imaam makes a mistake but doesn’t understand what the congregation is referring to when they say “subhaan Allaah” to draw his attention to it
If the imaam makes a mistake and misses an obligatory part of the prayer, and the congregation remind him of the mistake (by saying “subhaan Allah”), but he does not understand what they mean or does not know when or where he made the mistake, and continues to move on to other obligatory acts which do not include the missed act, then there a number of opinions as to how they should make him understand. The best of these opinions is that they should remind him of the act by the particular supplication for that act, e.g., saying “subhaana Rabbi al-‘Azeem” if it was the rukoo’ or “subhaana Rabbi al-A‘la” if it was the prostration, or Rabbighfir li if it was the sitting between the two prostrations, etc. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/707)
If a person is in doubt as to whether he prayed, for example, three or four rak’ahs, he should act according to what is most likely. However, if he cannot be sure which is more likely, he should assume what he can be certain of, which is the lesser amount, and make the prostrations of forgetfulness (sujood ul-sahw).
The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you has doubts during his prayer and he does not recall how many rak‘ahs he has prayed, whether three or four, then should forget about his doubt and complete his prayer on the basis of that of which he is certain, and then make two sujood before the salaam. If it turns out that he had prayed five rak‘ah, the two sujood would make it even, and if he ended up completing his four rak‘ahs , they would be in defiance of the Shaytaan.’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 571)
Imaam remembers that he forgot to recite al-Faatihah during a silent rak’ah
If the imaam remembers in the final tashahhud (sitting of the prayer) that he had recitedat-tahiyyaat (the greetings mentioned during the sitting) in the beginning of a silent rak‘ah instead of al-Faatihah, he should stand up and offer another, correct, rak‘ah, to make up for the one he performed incorrectly where he did not recite al-Faatihah. This is because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no prayer for the one who did not recite (in it) al-Faatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur’an).” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 723)
It is also required for the members of the congregation behind him to follow him, even though it would be the fifth rak‘ah for them. If they do not understand and do not stand up, but say “subhaan Allah” as if to indicate to the imaam that he is in error, the imaam should gesture with hand movements to the right and left to inform them that he did it purposefully and to indicate to them that they should stand up and that he knows what he is doing.
However, if something like this happens to one of the people praying behind the imaam, his prayer will be correct as long as he followed the imaam.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth of Abu Bakrah which describes when he joined the prayer in the position of rukoo‘ and did not recite al-Faatihah. The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “May Allah increase your endeavor. You do not need to repeat.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 750).
A member of a congregation forgetting to recite al-Faatihah, or joining the prayer at the moment of rukoo’
If the person following the imaam forgets to recite al-Faatihah, or is ignorant of its obligatory nature, or joins the prayer when the imaam is in the state of rukoo‘, then his rak‘ah will be considered as complete and his prayer correct. He does not need to repeat the rak‘ah, as he is excused for his ignorance or forgetfulness, or for not joining the prayer in time for the qiyaam (the part of the rak’ah when one is standing upright). This is the opinion of the majority of scholars. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islamiyyah, 1/263).
This is one of the things which the imaam bears on behalf of those whom he leads in prayer.
Raising one’s head from rukoo’ then realizing that one forgot to say the tasbeeh
If a person raises his head from rukoo’ then remembers that he did not say the tasbeeh of rukoo’, he should not return to the rukoo’ because the requirement for supplication of rukoo’ is no longer applicable by virtue of his having raised his head. If he returns to the rukoo’ intentionally, this action would render his prayer invalid since he has added an extra rukn (obligatory act of the prayer) which is this second, superfluous, rukoo’. However, if it was due to ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer will not be nullified, but in this case he must make the prostration of forgetfulness if he was praying individually or leading a congregation. This is because saying tasbeeh (“subhaana Rabbi al-‘Azeem, How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme”) is waajib (obligatory), and if one forgets it, it can be compensated for by making the prostration of forgetfulness. If he was praying behind an imaam and forgets the tasbeeh, then he is no longer considered to have omitted an obligatory act. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/679).
Forgetting the first tashahhud
If a person forgets the first tashahhud, stands up for the third rak‘ah and starts the recitation of al-Faatihah, then according to the majority of scholars, he should not return to the sitting position. If he does so knowing that his return is unapproved of, his prayer will be nullified because he has already started another obligatory act. The
obligatory act that he forgot (i.e., tashahhud) can be made up for by making the prostrations of forgetfulness. The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by al-Mugheerah ibn Shu‘bah: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If the imaam begins to stand up after the second rak‘ah, then remembers, before he has stood fully upright, that he should sit, then he should sit down, but if he has already stood fully upright, he should not sit, but should make two prostrations of forgetfulness. (Abu Dawood, no. 1036; Silsilah al-Saheehah, 321)
In short, if someone stands up for the third rak‘ah, forgetting the tashahhud, one of the three following scenarios applies:
If he remembers it before standing up straight: then he should return to tashahhud.
If he remembers after standing up straight, and before starting the recitation of al-Faatihah: then it is better for him not to sit, but if he sits his prayer will be valid.
If he remembers it after starting the recitation of al-Faatihah: then he is not allowed to return to tashahhud. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/677)
These three cases have been deduced from the hadeeth quoted above.
Imaam says the salaam then makes prostrations of forgetfulness, but a latecomer stands up to complete his prayer
If the imaam says the salaam and a person who joined the prayer late stands up to complete what he missed, then suddenly he sees the imaam making prostrations of forgetfulness after the salaam, the latecomer should sit back down and make prostrations with the imaam, if he has not yet stood fully upright. Otherwise he should not sit back down; he should complete his prayer, then he should make the missed prostrations of forgetfulness. The evidence for this is the same as presented in the discussion on forgetting to sit for tashahhud between the second and third rak’ahs. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/697).
Imaam makes a mistake but doesn’t understand what the congregation is referring to when they say “subhaan Allaah” to draw his attention to it
If the imaam makes a mistake and misses an obligatory part of the prayer, and the congregation remind him of the mistake (by saying “subhaan Allah”), but he does not understand what they mean or does not know when or where he made the mistake, and continues to move on to other obligatory acts which do not include the missed act, then there a number of opinions as to how they should make him understand. The best of these opinions is that they should remind him of the act by the particular supplication for that act, e.g., saying “subhaana Rabbi al-‘Azeem” if it was the rukoo’ or “subhaana Rabbi al-A‘la” if it was the prostration, or Rabbighfir li if it was the sitting between the two prostrations, etc. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/707)
SALAAH (PRAYER)
Waswaas (insinuating thoughts from Shaytaan)
If, when praying, a person experiences waswaas (insinuating thoughts) from Shaytaan, which cause him to falter in his recitation of Qur’aan, make him think bad thoughts and make him doubt the number of rak’ahs he has completed, what should he do?
This happened to one of the Sahaabah, namely ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him). He came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and complained about it: “The Shaytaan comes between me and my salaah, and causes me to falter in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “That is a shaytaan (devil) called Khanzab. If you sense his presence, seek refuge with Allaah and spit (dry spitting) to your left three times.” ‘Uthmaan (later) said: “I did that, and Allaah rid me of him.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 2203).
This hadeeth indicates two ways in which one may ward off the shaytaan who tries to disrupt one’s prayers. The first is to seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of Shaytaan, even by pronouncing these words whilst praying – there is nothing wrong with doing so in this case. The second is to spit (dry spitting) to the left three times. This means blowing air in a manner similar to spitting but ejecting more a very small amount of saliva, so long as this will not affect the person next to you or making the masjid dirty.
What if something happens during prayer?
If something happens to a person whilst praying, men should say “Subhaan Allaah,” and women should clap. The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d, according to which the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If something happens to you during salaah, men should say ‘Subhaan Allaah’ and women should clap.” (Reported by Abu Dawood). According to the version narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim: “Tasbeeh (saying ‘Subhaan Allaah’) is for men, and clapping is for women.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 941; Saheeh al-Bukhaari (al-Bugha edition), 1145; Saheeh Muslim, 106).
Call of nature when the iqaamah is given
If the prayer is about to start (the iqaamah is given) and a person feels the call of nature, he should go to the bathroom and attend to his need, even if this means he will miss the congregational prayer. The evidence for this was narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Arqam: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you needs to answer the call of nature and the prayer is about to begin, let him tend to his need first.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 88; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 373).
Doubts about passing wind
If a person who is praying is in doubt as to whether he has passed wind or not, or he feels some movement in his abdomen, should he stop praying or should he continue?
If he is certain that he has passed wind, he should stop praying, but if he is uncertain or doubtful, he should not stop – until he becomes sure of it, either by hearing a sound or by smelling an odour.
If he finds that he has passed wind, he should stop praying, otherwise he should not pay any attention to it.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth reported by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you is praying and feels some movement in his back passage, and is in doubt as to whether he has passed wind or not, he should not stop praying until he hears a sound or detects an odour.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 177; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 750).
This is one of the important Islamic prescriptions for curing waswaas (the insinuating whispers of Shaytaan).
If adhaan for fajr is called whilst one is praying witr
If a person is praying witr and the muezzin calls the adhaan (call to prayer) for fajr whilst he is still praying, should he continue with his witr?
Yes, if the adhaan comes whilst he is praying witr, he should complete the prayer, and there is nothing wrong with doing so. (Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 1/346). This matter has to do with the timing of witr prayer and whether it ends at the start of fajr or the end of fajr. The majority (of scholars) say that it ends at the start of fajr prayer. (Is’aaf Ahl al-‘Asr bima warada fi Ahkaam Salaat al-Witr by Fayhaan al-Mutayri, p. 33)
Missed ‘asr and reaches masjid when maghrib prayer has started
If a person has missed ‘asr prayer and arrives at the masjid to find that maghrib prayer has started, what should he do?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: He should pray maghrib with the imaam, then pray ‘asr, as is agreed upon by all leading scholars. As to whether he should repeat maghrib, there are two opinions. The first is that he should repeat it; this is the view of Ibn ‘Umar, Maalik and Abu Haneefah, and the most well known view of Ahmad. The second opinion is that he does not have to repeat it; this is the view of Ibn ‘Abbaas and al-Shaafi’i, and the second view of Ahmad. The second view is more correct, because Allaah did not make it obligatory for a person to pray a salaah twice if he has feared Allaah as much as he can. And Allaah knows best. (Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Taymiyah, 22/106).
Traveller joining congregation without knowing if imaam is also a traveller
If a traveller comes upon a congregation praying, and he does not know if the imaam is also a traveller (so that he can join the prayer with the intention of shortening it), or he is a resident (so that he can pray the complete prayer behind him), what should he do?
According to the strongest opinion, he should act on the basis of what he sees of signs of travel on the imaam, such as clothing or travel gear. If it appears to him that the imaam is a resident, then he should pray the complete prayer behind him.
The evidence for this is the report narrated by Ahmad from Ibn ‘Abbaas, who was asked: “What is the reason why a traveller prays two rak’ahs if he is alone and four rak’ahs if he prays behind a resident?” He said: “That is the sunnah.” According to another report he said: “That is the sunnah of Abu’l-Qaasim.” (Al-Haafiz did not comment on this hadeeth in al-Takhlees, 2/50, but Ahmad Shaakir classed its isnaad as saheeh in his commentary on al-Musnad, 3/260).
If he assumes that the imaam is a traveller, and prays two rak’ahs with the intention of praying a shortened prayer, then after salaam (completion of the prayer) he discovers that the imaam is in fact a resident and that these two rak’ahs were the third and fourth prayed by the imaam, in this case he should stand up, pray two more rak’ahs to complete the prayer, and do sujood sahw (an extra two prostrations). (Al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 4/356). There is no harm done by any speaking or asking that were necessary for the sake of his prayer.
Being unable to stand for the rest of a prayer
If a person who is praying is suddenly unable to stand up for the rest of his prayer, or a person who had to pray sitting down is suddenly able to stand, what should he do?
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “As soon as a sick person who is praying becomes able to do what he could not do at the beginning of his prayer, whether it be standing, sitting, bowing, prostrating or any other movement, then he should continue and build on what he has already completed. Similarly, if a person begins the prayer capable of performing all actions, then suddenly becomes unable to do certain things, he should carry on as best he can, and build on what he has already completed as if nothing has changed.” (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/782; see
also al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 4/318)
The evidence for this is the hadeeth of ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him): “I had haemorrhoids (“piles”), so I asked the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about salaah. He said: ‘Pray standing up, but if you cannot, then sitting down, and if you cannot, then on your side.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 2/587).
A knock on the door when one is praying, or a mother seeing her child do something dangerous
If someone knocks on the door whilst one is praying, or a mother who is praying sees her child playing with an electrical outlet or doing something similarly dangerous, what should be done?
If a person who is praying needs to do something relatively minor, such as opening a door, there is nothing wrong with doing so, so long as he continues to face the qiblah.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray with the door closed. I came and asked him to open it, so he came and opened it for me, then went back to his prayer.” The narrator mentioned that the door was in the direction of the qiblah. (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 922; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 815).
The same applies if a mother is praying and needs to move her child away from something dangerous or harmful, and so on. A simple movement to the right or left, or forwards or backwards, will not affect her prayer. Similarly, if one’s ridaa’ (upper garment) falls off, the one who is praying can pick it up, and if the izaar (lower garment) becomes loose, he can tighten it. In certain cases, sharee’ah allows excessive movements during prayer, even if this means moving away from facing the qiblah, as is reported in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Kill the two black things while in prayer: the snake and the scorpion.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 92; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 814).
Responding to salaam when praying
If salaam (Islamic greeting) is given to a person whilst he is praying, he can reply with a gesture, as was reported from Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “I passed by the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as he was praying. I greeted him with salaam, and he responded with a gesture.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 925; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 818).
The gesture is described in a number of ahaadeeth, such as that narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to Qubaa’ to pray there. The Ansaar came to him and greeted him with salaam whilst he was praying. I asked Bilaal, ‘How did you see the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reply to them when they said salaam to him and he was praying?’ He said: ‘Like this,’ and flattened his hand.” Ja’far ibn ‘Awn (one of the narrators) flattened his hand with the palm facing downwards and the back of his hand facing upwards. (Sunan Abi Dawood, 927; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 820).
Joining a prayer in progress
If a man enters the masjid while the imaam is praying, should he join the imaam immediately in whatever position he is in and start praying, or should he wait to see whether the imaam is going to sit or stand?
The correct answer is that which is indicated by the evidence (daleel): he should join the imaam no matter what part of the prayer he has reached – prostrating, standing, bowing or sitting. The evidence is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If you come to the prayer and we are prostrating, then prostrate, but don’t count it, and whoever catches a rak’ah has caught the prayer.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 893; Saheeh Sunan Abu Dawood, 792). Mu’aadh said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you comes to prayer and the imaam is in a certain position, then do as the imaam is doing.’” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 591; see also Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 484). Also, there is the general meaning of the hadeeth: “Whatever you catch up with, pray.”
Not hastening unduly to join a prayer in progress
If the prayer starts and a person is still on his way to the mosque, he should not hasten unduly; he should walk with calmness and dignity, as indicated in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If the prayer starts, do not approach it running; approach it walking with calmness and dignity. Whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, complete it [afterwards].’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 2/390).
Breaking wind during a congregational prayer
If a man breaks wind during a congregational prayer, what should he do in this embarrassing situation?
He should put his hand over his nose, and go out. The evidence for this was reported by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you passes wind whilst he is praying, he should hold his nose and leave.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 1114; see also Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 985). Al-Teebi said: “The command to hold one’s nose is to make it appear as though one is bleeding. This is not lying; it is a form of action that is allowed so that Shaytaan will not convince a person in this situation not to leave because he feels too shy of others.” (Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/18).
This is an example of the kind of ambiguity that is allowed and approved of, in order to avoid embarrassment, as whoever sees him leaving in this manner will assume that he is suffering a nosebleed. Another benefit of this Prophetic advice is that it puts a stop to the insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan, which may otherwise cause him to stay in the row or continue praying with the congregation when he has passed wind, and this does not please Allaah. How can he stay when the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has commanded him to leave?
In this case he is permitted either to pass through the rows, or to walk to the edge of the mosque, in order to leave, so that he can go and make wudoo’, then come back and rejoin the prayer.
When one has already prayed and comes to another mosque to find the people there praying
If a person has already prayed in one mosque, then he comes to another mosque for a lesson or for some other reason, and finds the people there praying, then he should join them and his prayer would be considered a naafil (supererogatory or “extra”) prayer. He should do so even if it is during the prohibited times of prayer because there is a reason behind it. The evidence for this comes from the hadeeth of Yazeed ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him): “I performed Hajj with the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and prayed Fajr with him in Masjid Al-Khayf. When he completed his prayer and turned around, he found two people at the back who did not pray with him. He said, ‘I have to talk to them.’ So he came to them, and they were trembling. He asked them: ‘What prevented you two from praying with us?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We had already prayed in our places.’ He said: ‘Do not do that. If you have already prayed at your places and then came to a congregational mosque, pray with them too and it will become a supererogatory prayer for you.’” (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, no. 219; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 667)
In another hadeeth it is narrated that the two came after the Fajr prayer which is a time when prayer is prohibited. Imaam Maalik has reported in al-Muwatta’ in the chapter on “What has been narrated about repeating the prayer with the imaam after a person has prayed individually”:
“Mihjan (radiAllahu ‘anhu), said that he was in the company of the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when the call to prayer was given. The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got up and prayed in congregation, then came back, while Mihjan stayed in his place and did not pray with them. So the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘What prevented you from praying with the people? Are you not a Muslim?’ He said: ‘Indeed I am, O Prophet of Allah! But I had already prayed at home.’ The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘When you come (to the mosque) then pray with the people even if you have already prayed.’” (al-Muwatta’, 1/130; Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 1337)
Still praying sunnah when the iqaamah is given
If a person has entered the mosque and is praying sunnah, then the iqaamah is called, the best opinion in this case is that if he is in his second rak‘ah, he should finish it quickly, and if he is in the first rak‘ah, he should just break his prayer and enter the congregation with the imaam. (Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/345).
The basis for this is the report which Imaam Muslim narrated in his Saheeh: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If iqaamah is called for the prayer then there is no prayer except the obligatory one.’” (Saheeh Muslim, 1/493)
So, if a person has performed the rukoo’ of the second rak‘ah when the iqaamah is called, then he should complete his prayer. If the iqaamah is called before he does the rukoo’ of the second rak’ah, then he should discontinue because what is left of sujood and tashahhud is not needed any more. Moreover, he should break without salaam, and it is enough to have the intention in the heart, contrary to common misconception.
Being informed of the correct direction of the qiblah whilst praying
If there is a congregation praying, and during their prayer they are informed that the qiblah is in a direction other than that which they were facing, they should all turn towards the correct direction. The same is also true for someone praying individually. Whatever part of their prayer has been performed (before changing direction) will be correct.
The evidence for this is a narration reported by Imaam Muslim from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): “While the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was praying towards Bayt-al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), the aayah was revealed to him (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a qiblah that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of al-Masjid al-Haram.’ [Al-Baqarah 2:144]. A man from Bani Salamah was passing by and found them (i.e., the people of Bani Salamah) in the state of rukoo‘ in the second rak‘ah of the Fajr prayer. He called out to them: ‘The qiblah has been changed,’ so they changed direction while they were still in rukoo’.” (Saheeh Muslim, No. 527)
If some of the people were informed and the others were not, then the one to whom it was made clear should turn to the direction which he believes to be the correct direction of qiblah. Now if all of these people were originally praying together in the same direction, then some of them turned towards the right and some towards the left, it is still valid for one of them to lead the others in prayer. But the scholars have a difference of opinion about some people following others in cases of complete disagreement about the direction of the qiblah. If there is someone among them who is completely ignorant about the direction, he should follow the one who is more aware amongst them of the direction of the qiblah. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/473). If someone does not know the direction of the qiblah, he must ask someone if he can, or else he should make ijtihaad (make a judgment to the best of his ability based on the information available) if he is able to, otherwise he must follow someone who is reliable. If he cannot find such a person, then he should fear Allah, do his best and pray, and his prayer is valid. This sometimes happens to people who travel to the lands of the disbelievers and find no Muslim or anybody else who could tell them the correct direction of the qiblah, and have no means of finding out. But if a person is capable of finding out the direction of the qiblah, but was neglectful and prayed without making all possible efforts, he should repeat his prayer because he was careless. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/490).
Falling behind when praying in congregation
If a person is praying in a congregation and the loudspeaker stops working or he becomes drowsy and he lags behind the imaam by one or more obligatory acts (arkaan) of prayer (i.e., the imaam performed it and he did not because of not hearing the imaam’s voice), then when he wakes up again or the sound of the speaker comes back, he should complete the obligatory acts that he has missed, then continue following the imaam.
This problem may arise in many cases. For example: the imaam recites a verse that contains the word of prostration (sajdah) and some of the people misunderstand it to be a verse of prostration while in reality it is not, so when the imaam says takbeer for rukoo‘ at the end of the verse and performs rukoo‘, some of the followers (especially those towards the rear of the congregation) take it to be the takbeer for the prostration of recital, so they prostrate. When the imaam stands up from the rukoo‘ saying “sami‘a Allahu li man hamidah”, they stand up from their prostration, thus having missed the act of rukoo‘ and standing up from it. So it is incumbent on them to
complete what they missed and then catch up with the imaam. This is because they did not do it intentionally. However, in the case of one who intentionally lags behind the imaam (e.g., someone who prolongs his prostration to make a long supplication such that he misses the obligatory act which comes after the prostration), the majority of scholars say that the prayer of someone who misses two consecutive obligatory acts of prayer without a valid excuse, is void and he is a sinner. (Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 1/467; al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 6/29). However, the principle is that the imaam must be followed, as the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The imaam is there to be followed, so do not differ from him. When he goes into rukoo‘, make rukoo‘. When he says “Sami’a Allahu li man hamidah” (Allah hears the one who praises Him), say “Rabbanaa laka’l-hamd” (O our Lord! To You belongs the Praise). When he goes into sajdah, make sajdah. If he prays sitting, then all should pray sitting.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 689)
When the imaam nullifies his wudoo’
If the Imaam nullifies his wudoo’ whilst he is praying, or remembers during the prayer that he did not perform ablution, then he should come out from prayer and appoint someone to finish leading the prayer, as was narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Ali, ‘Alqamah and ‘Ataa’. If he does not appoint anyone, and the people pray individually, this is also acceptable, and this is the opinion taken by Imaam Al-Shaafi‘i. If he brings someone forward to lead them, that is also permitted.
The evidence for this is what has been narrated regarding ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was stabbed: he took the hand of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan bin ‘Awf and made him step forward, and he led the prayer to completion. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 7/60). The reason for this deduction is that ‘Umar did this in the presence of a number of Companions and others and no one opposed this act, so it became a consensus (ijmaa‘). (Ahkaam al-Imaamah, al-Muneef, p. 234).
If the imaam remembers that he is not in a state of purity, he should indicate to the people to remain as they are and go and purify himself, then come back, say “Allaahu akbar” and lead them in prayer. This is valid. The evidence for this is the report narrated by Abu Dawood from Abu Bakrah: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) started to lead the fajr prayer, then he indicated to the people that they should stay in their places. Then he came back and water was dripping from his head.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 233; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 1/45.
Abu Dawood included a chapter entitled Fi’l-Junub yusalli bi’l-qawmi wa huwa naasin (One who inadvertently leads the people in prayer when in a state of janaabah)).
Commenting on this hadeeth, Imaam Al-Khattaabi said: “In this hadeeth there is evidence that if one is leading the people in prayer while in a state of janaabah and the people do not know of it, then their prayer is unaffected and there is no need for them to repeat it. But the Imaam has to repeat his prayer.” (Sunan Abi Dawood wa ma’ahu Ma’aalim al-Sunan by al-Khattaabi, edited by al-Da’aas, 1/159.)
When the imaam’s ‘awrah becomes uncovered
If someone is praying in congregation behind the imaam and sees his ‘awrah (those parts of the body that must be covered) uncovered due to an opening in his clothes or due to his clothes being thin and transparent, then if it is possible he should go ahead and cover it with something, otherwise he should come out of his prayer and inform the imaam by saying “cover your ‘awrah” (in Arabic “ghatti’l-‘awrah”), or “protect what has been uncovered”. He should not stay quiet and continue to pray because it is known that the imaam’s prayer (in this condition) is incorrect and following him is incorrect as well. (From the oral fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz).
Realizing that one’s wudoo’ is invalid because of wiping over socks when doing so is no longer acceptable
If one is praying (either as an imaam or as a member of a congregation or individually) and recalls that he had wiped over his socks (khuff) during wudoo’ at the time when the period during which this is acceptable had expired, he should terminate his prayer because his ablution is incorrect. This is what has been quoted from Imaams Ahmad and al-Shaafi‘i. (al-Mughni, 2/505)
When the imaam forgets the ending of an aayah
If the Imaam recites a part of the Qur’an in the prayer and forgets the ending of the verse, and none of the members of the congregation remind him of it, he can choose either to say the takbeer and discontinue the recitation, or to recite one verse or more from another soorah. But this is allowed only if the forgotten part is not from al-Faatihah. As far as al-Faatihah is concerned, it must be recited in its entirety, as reciting it is an obligatory act of prayer. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 396).
Intending to pray for rain, then it rains before the people start the prayer
If the people go out to gather for salaat al-istisqaa’ (prayer for rain), or were intending to do so, and then it rained, then either of the following apply:
If they had got ready to go out and it rained before they left, then they should thank
Allah (subhanahu wa ta‘ala) for His blessings and not go out.
If they had already come out, and it rained before they could pray, they should offer a prayer in gratitude to Allah, may He be exalted. (al-Mughni, 2/296)
Feeling sleepy when listening to Friday sermon
If a person becomes sleepy or dozes while listening to the Friday sermon, it is recommended for him to change places with the person next to him. In doing this he should be careful not to speak; rather, he should communicate by gestures. The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated by Samurah who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes during the Friday sermon, he should change places with the person sitting next to him.’” (Al-Bayhaqi, 3/238; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 812)
Another hadeeth was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes in the mosque on Friday, he should move to another place to sit.’” (Abu Dawood, no. 1119; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 809)
If, when praying, a person experiences waswaas (insinuating thoughts) from Shaytaan, which cause him to falter in his recitation of Qur’aan, make him think bad thoughts and make him doubt the number of rak’ahs he has completed, what should he do?
This happened to one of the Sahaabah, namely ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him). He came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and complained about it: “The Shaytaan comes between me and my salaah, and causes me to falter in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “That is a shaytaan (devil) called Khanzab. If you sense his presence, seek refuge with Allaah and spit (dry spitting) to your left three times.” ‘Uthmaan (later) said: “I did that, and Allaah rid me of him.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 2203).
This hadeeth indicates two ways in which one may ward off the shaytaan who tries to disrupt one’s prayers. The first is to seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of Shaytaan, even by pronouncing these words whilst praying – there is nothing wrong with doing so in this case. The second is to spit (dry spitting) to the left three times. This means blowing air in a manner similar to spitting but ejecting more a very small amount of saliva, so long as this will not affect the person next to you or making the masjid dirty.
What if something happens during prayer?
If something happens to a person whilst praying, men should say “Subhaan Allaah,” and women should clap. The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d, according to which the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If something happens to you during salaah, men should say ‘Subhaan Allaah’ and women should clap.” (Reported by Abu Dawood). According to the version narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim: “Tasbeeh (saying ‘Subhaan Allaah’) is for men, and clapping is for women.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 941; Saheeh al-Bukhaari (al-Bugha edition), 1145; Saheeh Muslim, 106).
Call of nature when the iqaamah is given
If the prayer is about to start (the iqaamah is given) and a person feels the call of nature, he should go to the bathroom and attend to his need, even if this means he will miss the congregational prayer. The evidence for this was narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Arqam: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you needs to answer the call of nature and the prayer is about to begin, let him tend to his need first.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 88; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 373).
Doubts about passing wind
If a person who is praying is in doubt as to whether he has passed wind or not, or he feels some movement in his abdomen, should he stop praying or should he continue?
If he is certain that he has passed wind, he should stop praying, but if he is uncertain or doubtful, he should not stop – until he becomes sure of it, either by hearing a sound or by smelling an odour.
If he finds that he has passed wind, he should stop praying, otherwise he should not pay any attention to it.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth reported by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you is praying and feels some movement in his back passage, and is in doubt as to whether he has passed wind or not, he should not stop praying until he hears a sound or detects an odour.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 177; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 750).
This is one of the important Islamic prescriptions for curing waswaas (the insinuating whispers of Shaytaan).
If adhaan for fajr is called whilst one is praying witr
If a person is praying witr and the muezzin calls the adhaan (call to prayer) for fajr whilst he is still praying, should he continue with his witr?
Yes, if the adhaan comes whilst he is praying witr, he should complete the prayer, and there is nothing wrong with doing so. (Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 1/346). This matter has to do with the timing of witr prayer and whether it ends at the start of fajr or the end of fajr. The majority (of scholars) say that it ends at the start of fajr prayer. (Is’aaf Ahl al-‘Asr bima warada fi Ahkaam Salaat al-Witr by Fayhaan al-Mutayri, p. 33)
Missed ‘asr and reaches masjid when maghrib prayer has started
If a person has missed ‘asr prayer and arrives at the masjid to find that maghrib prayer has started, what should he do?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: He should pray maghrib with the imaam, then pray ‘asr, as is agreed upon by all leading scholars. As to whether he should repeat maghrib, there are two opinions. The first is that he should repeat it; this is the view of Ibn ‘Umar, Maalik and Abu Haneefah, and the most well known view of Ahmad. The second opinion is that he does not have to repeat it; this is the view of Ibn ‘Abbaas and al-Shaafi’i, and the second view of Ahmad. The second view is more correct, because Allaah did not make it obligatory for a person to pray a salaah twice if he has feared Allaah as much as he can. And Allaah knows best. (Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Taymiyah, 22/106).
Traveller joining congregation without knowing if imaam is also a traveller
If a traveller comes upon a congregation praying, and he does not know if the imaam is also a traveller (so that he can join the prayer with the intention of shortening it), or he is a resident (so that he can pray the complete prayer behind him), what should he do?
According to the strongest opinion, he should act on the basis of what he sees of signs of travel on the imaam, such as clothing or travel gear. If it appears to him that the imaam is a resident, then he should pray the complete prayer behind him.
The evidence for this is the report narrated by Ahmad from Ibn ‘Abbaas, who was asked: “What is the reason why a traveller prays two rak’ahs if he is alone and four rak’ahs if he prays behind a resident?” He said: “That is the sunnah.” According to another report he said: “That is the sunnah of Abu’l-Qaasim.” (Al-Haafiz did not comment on this hadeeth in al-Takhlees, 2/50, but Ahmad Shaakir classed its isnaad as saheeh in his commentary on al-Musnad, 3/260).
If he assumes that the imaam is a traveller, and prays two rak’ahs with the intention of praying a shortened prayer, then after salaam (completion of the prayer) he discovers that the imaam is in fact a resident and that these two rak’ahs were the third and fourth prayed by the imaam, in this case he should stand up, pray two more rak’ahs to complete the prayer, and do sujood sahw (an extra two prostrations). (Al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 4/356). There is no harm done by any speaking or asking that were necessary for the sake of his prayer.
Being unable to stand for the rest of a prayer
If a person who is praying is suddenly unable to stand up for the rest of his prayer, or a person who had to pray sitting down is suddenly able to stand, what should he do?
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “As soon as a sick person who is praying becomes able to do what he could not do at the beginning of his prayer, whether it be standing, sitting, bowing, prostrating or any other movement, then he should continue and build on what he has already completed. Similarly, if a person begins the prayer capable of performing all actions, then suddenly becomes unable to do certain things, he should carry on as best he can, and build on what he has already completed as if nothing has changed.” (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/782; see
also al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 4/318)
The evidence for this is the hadeeth of ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him): “I had haemorrhoids (“piles”), so I asked the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about salaah. He said: ‘Pray standing up, but if you cannot, then sitting down, and if you cannot, then on your side.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 2/587).
A knock on the door when one is praying, or a mother seeing her child do something dangerous
If someone knocks on the door whilst one is praying, or a mother who is praying sees her child playing with an electrical outlet or doing something similarly dangerous, what should be done?
If a person who is praying needs to do something relatively minor, such as opening a door, there is nothing wrong with doing so, so long as he continues to face the qiblah.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray with the door closed. I came and asked him to open it, so he came and opened it for me, then went back to his prayer.” The narrator mentioned that the door was in the direction of the qiblah. (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 922; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 815).
The same applies if a mother is praying and needs to move her child away from something dangerous or harmful, and so on. A simple movement to the right or left, or forwards or backwards, will not affect her prayer. Similarly, if one’s ridaa’ (upper garment) falls off, the one who is praying can pick it up, and if the izaar (lower garment) becomes loose, he can tighten it. In certain cases, sharee’ah allows excessive movements during prayer, even if this means moving away from facing the qiblah, as is reported in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Kill the two black things while in prayer: the snake and the scorpion.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 92; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 814).
Responding to salaam when praying
If salaam (Islamic greeting) is given to a person whilst he is praying, he can reply with a gesture, as was reported from Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “I passed by the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as he was praying. I greeted him with salaam, and he responded with a gesture.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 925; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 818).
The gesture is described in a number of ahaadeeth, such as that narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to Qubaa’ to pray there. The Ansaar came to him and greeted him with salaam whilst he was praying. I asked Bilaal, ‘How did you see the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reply to them when they said salaam to him and he was praying?’ He said: ‘Like this,’ and flattened his hand.” Ja’far ibn ‘Awn (one of the narrators) flattened his hand with the palm facing downwards and the back of his hand facing upwards. (Sunan Abi Dawood, 927; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 820).
Joining a prayer in progress
If a man enters the masjid while the imaam is praying, should he join the imaam immediately in whatever position he is in and start praying, or should he wait to see whether the imaam is going to sit or stand?
The correct answer is that which is indicated by the evidence (daleel): he should join the imaam no matter what part of the prayer he has reached – prostrating, standing, bowing or sitting. The evidence is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If you come to the prayer and we are prostrating, then prostrate, but don’t count it, and whoever catches a rak’ah has caught the prayer.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 893; Saheeh Sunan Abu Dawood, 792). Mu’aadh said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you comes to prayer and the imaam is in a certain position, then do as the imaam is doing.’” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 591; see also Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 484). Also, there is the general meaning of the hadeeth: “Whatever you catch up with, pray.”
Not hastening unduly to join a prayer in progress
If the prayer starts and a person is still on his way to the mosque, he should not hasten unduly; he should walk with calmness and dignity, as indicated in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If the prayer starts, do not approach it running; approach it walking with calmness and dignity. Whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, complete it [afterwards].’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 2/390).
Breaking wind during a congregational prayer
If a man breaks wind during a congregational prayer, what should he do in this embarrassing situation?
He should put his hand over his nose, and go out. The evidence for this was reported by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you passes wind whilst he is praying, he should hold his nose and leave.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 1114; see also Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 985). Al-Teebi said: “The command to hold one’s nose is to make it appear as though one is bleeding. This is not lying; it is a form of action that is allowed so that Shaytaan will not convince a person in this situation not to leave because he feels too shy of others.” (Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/18).
This is an example of the kind of ambiguity that is allowed and approved of, in order to avoid embarrassment, as whoever sees him leaving in this manner will assume that he is suffering a nosebleed. Another benefit of this Prophetic advice is that it puts a stop to the insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan, which may otherwise cause him to stay in the row or continue praying with the congregation when he has passed wind, and this does not please Allaah. How can he stay when the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has commanded him to leave?
In this case he is permitted either to pass through the rows, or to walk to the edge of the mosque, in order to leave, so that he can go and make wudoo’, then come back and rejoin the prayer.
When one has already prayed and comes to another mosque to find the people there praying
If a person has already prayed in one mosque, then he comes to another mosque for a lesson or for some other reason, and finds the people there praying, then he should join them and his prayer would be considered a naafil (supererogatory or “extra”) prayer. He should do so even if it is during the prohibited times of prayer because there is a reason behind it. The evidence for this comes from the hadeeth of Yazeed ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him): “I performed Hajj with the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and prayed Fajr with him in Masjid Al-Khayf. When he completed his prayer and turned around, he found two people at the back who did not pray with him. He said, ‘I have to talk to them.’ So he came to them, and they were trembling. He asked them: ‘What prevented you two from praying with us?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We had already prayed in our places.’ He said: ‘Do not do that. If you have already prayed at your places and then came to a congregational mosque, pray with them too and it will become a supererogatory prayer for you.’” (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, no. 219; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 667)
In another hadeeth it is narrated that the two came after the Fajr prayer which is a time when prayer is prohibited. Imaam Maalik has reported in al-Muwatta’ in the chapter on “What has been narrated about repeating the prayer with the imaam after a person has prayed individually”:
“Mihjan (radiAllahu ‘anhu), said that he was in the company of the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when the call to prayer was given. The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got up and prayed in congregation, then came back, while Mihjan stayed in his place and did not pray with them. So the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘What prevented you from praying with the people? Are you not a Muslim?’ He said: ‘Indeed I am, O Prophet of Allah! But I had already prayed at home.’ The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘When you come (to the mosque) then pray with the people even if you have already prayed.’” (al-Muwatta’, 1/130; Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 1337)
Still praying sunnah when the iqaamah is given
If a person has entered the mosque and is praying sunnah, then the iqaamah is called, the best opinion in this case is that if he is in his second rak‘ah, he should finish it quickly, and if he is in the first rak‘ah, he should just break his prayer and enter the congregation with the imaam. (Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/345).
The basis for this is the report which Imaam Muslim narrated in his Saheeh: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If iqaamah is called for the prayer then there is no prayer except the obligatory one.’” (Saheeh Muslim, 1/493)
So, if a person has performed the rukoo’ of the second rak‘ah when the iqaamah is called, then he should complete his prayer. If the iqaamah is called before he does the rukoo’ of the second rak’ah, then he should discontinue because what is left of sujood and tashahhud is not needed any more. Moreover, he should break without salaam, and it is enough to have the intention in the heart, contrary to common misconception.
Being informed of the correct direction of the qiblah whilst praying
If there is a congregation praying, and during their prayer they are informed that the qiblah is in a direction other than that which they were facing, they should all turn towards the correct direction. The same is also true for someone praying individually. Whatever part of their prayer has been performed (before changing direction) will be correct.
The evidence for this is a narration reported by Imaam Muslim from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): “While the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was praying towards Bayt-al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), the aayah was revealed to him (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a qiblah that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of al-Masjid al-Haram.’ [Al-Baqarah 2:144]. A man from Bani Salamah was passing by and found them (i.e., the people of Bani Salamah) in the state of rukoo‘ in the second rak‘ah of the Fajr prayer. He called out to them: ‘The qiblah has been changed,’ so they changed direction while they were still in rukoo’.” (Saheeh Muslim, No. 527)
If some of the people were informed and the others were not, then the one to whom it was made clear should turn to the direction which he believes to be the correct direction of qiblah. Now if all of these people were originally praying together in the same direction, then some of them turned towards the right and some towards the left, it is still valid for one of them to lead the others in prayer. But the scholars have a difference of opinion about some people following others in cases of complete disagreement about the direction of the qiblah. If there is someone among them who is completely ignorant about the direction, he should follow the one who is more aware amongst them of the direction of the qiblah. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/473). If someone does not know the direction of the qiblah, he must ask someone if he can, or else he should make ijtihaad (make a judgment to the best of his ability based on the information available) if he is able to, otherwise he must follow someone who is reliable. If he cannot find such a person, then he should fear Allah, do his best and pray, and his prayer is valid. This sometimes happens to people who travel to the lands of the disbelievers and find no Muslim or anybody else who could tell them the correct direction of the qiblah, and have no means of finding out. But if a person is capable of finding out the direction of the qiblah, but was neglectful and prayed without making all possible efforts, he should repeat his prayer because he was careless. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/490).
Falling behind when praying in congregation
If a person is praying in a congregation and the loudspeaker stops working or he becomes drowsy and he lags behind the imaam by one or more obligatory acts (arkaan) of prayer (i.e., the imaam performed it and he did not because of not hearing the imaam’s voice), then when he wakes up again or the sound of the speaker comes back, he should complete the obligatory acts that he has missed, then continue following the imaam.
This problem may arise in many cases. For example: the imaam recites a verse that contains the word of prostration (sajdah) and some of the people misunderstand it to be a verse of prostration while in reality it is not, so when the imaam says takbeer for rukoo‘ at the end of the verse and performs rukoo‘, some of the followers (especially those towards the rear of the congregation) take it to be the takbeer for the prostration of recital, so they prostrate. When the imaam stands up from the rukoo‘ saying “sami‘a Allahu li man hamidah”, they stand up from their prostration, thus having missed the act of rukoo‘ and standing up from it. So it is incumbent on them to
complete what they missed and then catch up with the imaam. This is because they did not do it intentionally. However, in the case of one who intentionally lags behind the imaam (e.g., someone who prolongs his prostration to make a long supplication such that he misses the obligatory act which comes after the prostration), the majority of scholars say that the prayer of someone who misses two consecutive obligatory acts of prayer without a valid excuse, is void and he is a sinner. (Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 1/467; al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 6/29). However, the principle is that the imaam must be followed, as the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The imaam is there to be followed, so do not differ from him. When he goes into rukoo‘, make rukoo‘. When he says “Sami’a Allahu li man hamidah” (Allah hears the one who praises Him), say “Rabbanaa laka’l-hamd” (O our Lord! To You belongs the Praise). When he goes into sajdah, make sajdah. If he prays sitting, then all should pray sitting.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 689)
When the imaam nullifies his wudoo’
If the Imaam nullifies his wudoo’ whilst he is praying, or remembers during the prayer that he did not perform ablution, then he should come out from prayer and appoint someone to finish leading the prayer, as was narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Ali, ‘Alqamah and ‘Ataa’. If he does not appoint anyone, and the people pray individually, this is also acceptable, and this is the opinion taken by Imaam Al-Shaafi‘i. If he brings someone forward to lead them, that is also permitted.
The evidence for this is what has been narrated regarding ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was stabbed: he took the hand of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan bin ‘Awf and made him step forward, and he led the prayer to completion. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 7/60). The reason for this deduction is that ‘Umar did this in the presence of a number of Companions and others and no one opposed this act, so it became a consensus (ijmaa‘). (Ahkaam al-Imaamah, al-Muneef, p. 234).
If the imaam remembers that he is not in a state of purity, he should indicate to the people to remain as they are and go and purify himself, then come back, say “Allaahu akbar” and lead them in prayer. This is valid. The evidence for this is the report narrated by Abu Dawood from Abu Bakrah: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) started to lead the fajr prayer, then he indicated to the people that they should stay in their places. Then he came back and water was dripping from his head.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 233; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 1/45.
Abu Dawood included a chapter entitled Fi’l-Junub yusalli bi’l-qawmi wa huwa naasin (One who inadvertently leads the people in prayer when in a state of janaabah)).
Commenting on this hadeeth, Imaam Al-Khattaabi said: “In this hadeeth there is evidence that if one is leading the people in prayer while in a state of janaabah and the people do not know of it, then their prayer is unaffected and there is no need for them to repeat it. But the Imaam has to repeat his prayer.” (Sunan Abi Dawood wa ma’ahu Ma’aalim al-Sunan by al-Khattaabi, edited by al-Da’aas, 1/159.)
When the imaam’s ‘awrah becomes uncovered
If someone is praying in congregation behind the imaam and sees his ‘awrah (those parts of the body that must be covered) uncovered due to an opening in his clothes or due to his clothes being thin and transparent, then if it is possible he should go ahead and cover it with something, otherwise he should come out of his prayer and inform the imaam by saying “cover your ‘awrah” (in Arabic “ghatti’l-‘awrah”), or “protect what has been uncovered”. He should not stay quiet and continue to pray because it is known that the imaam’s prayer (in this condition) is incorrect and following him is incorrect as well. (From the oral fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz).
Realizing that one’s wudoo’ is invalid because of wiping over socks when doing so is no longer acceptable
If one is praying (either as an imaam or as a member of a congregation or individually) and recalls that he had wiped over his socks (khuff) during wudoo’ at the time when the period during which this is acceptable had expired, he should terminate his prayer because his ablution is incorrect. This is what has been quoted from Imaams Ahmad and al-Shaafi‘i. (al-Mughni, 2/505)
When the imaam forgets the ending of an aayah
If the Imaam recites a part of the Qur’an in the prayer and forgets the ending of the verse, and none of the members of the congregation remind him of it, he can choose either to say the takbeer and discontinue the recitation, or to recite one verse or more from another soorah. But this is allowed only if the forgotten part is not from al-Faatihah. As far as al-Faatihah is concerned, it must be recited in its entirety, as reciting it is an obligatory act of prayer. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 396).
Intending to pray for rain, then it rains before the people start the prayer
If the people go out to gather for salaat al-istisqaa’ (prayer for rain), or were intending to do so, and then it rained, then either of the following apply:
If they had got ready to go out and it rained before they left, then they should thank
Allah (subhanahu wa ta‘ala) for His blessings and not go out.
If they had already come out, and it rained before they could pray, they should offer a prayer in gratitude to Allah, may He be exalted. (al-Mughni, 2/296)
Feeling sleepy when listening to Friday sermon
If a person becomes sleepy or dozes while listening to the Friday sermon, it is recommended for him to change places with the person next to him. In doing this he should be careful not to speak; rather, he should communicate by gestures. The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated by Samurah who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes during the Friday sermon, he should change places with the person sitting next to him.’” (Al-Bayhaqi, 3/238; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 812)
Another hadeeth was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar who said: “The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes in the mosque on Friday, he should move to another place to sit.’” (Abu Dawood, no. 1119; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 809)
TAHAARAH (PURITY AND CLEANLINESS)
Paint or dirt on hands when making wudoo’
If a person finds something like paint or dirt on his hands etc, whilst making wudoo’, and tries to remove it, does this break the continuity of his wudoo’ and mean that he has to start again?
Answer: According to the most sound opinion, this does not break the continuity of his wudoo’, even if the parts of his body that have already been washed become dry, because he was delayed by something that is connected to tahaarah. Similarly his wudoo’ is not affected if he moves from one tap to another in order to get water, etc.
But if he is interrupted by something that is not connected to his wudoo’, such as removing some impurity from his clothes, or eating or drinking, and so on, and the parts of his body that he has already washed during wudoo’ become dry, then he has to repeat his wudoo’. (Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/145-146).
Dressings on wounds
If a person has an injury in any part of his body that should be washed during wudoo’, and cannot put a band-aid or dressing on it, then he should do wudoo’, and do tayammum for the wounded part (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/282). He does not have to wash the wounded part if this will be harmful.
Traces of janaabah (impurity) on clothes
If a person sees some traces of janaabah (impurity such as semen, etc.) on his clothes, and he has already prayed some prayers without realizing that this was there, he should do ghusl and repeat the prayers done since the most recent period of sleep wearing these clothes. If, however, he knows that this janaabah is from a previous period of sleep, he should repeat all the prayers since the end of the sleep in which he thinks the janaabah occurred. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/199).
The evidence that he should perform ghusl for salaah in cases of janaabah is to be found in many places, such as the aayah “O you who believe! Approach not the prayer when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning) of what you utter, nor when you are in a state of janaabah (i.e., in a state of sexual impurity and have not yet taken a bath), except when travelling on the road (without enough water, etc.), till you wash your whole body…” [al-Nisaa’ 4:43] and the hadeeth of ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he said: “I was a man who experienced a lot of urethral discharge, so I kept washing myself (doing ghusl) until the skin on my back started to crack. I mentioned that to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or it was mentioned to him, so he said: “Don’t do that. If you see discharge, wash your private parts and do wudoo’ for prayer as usual. If water (i.e., semen) gushes out, then do ghusl.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 206; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwaa’ al-Ghaleel, no. 125). This indicates that when semen is emitted, ghusl is a must, but when there is discharge, it is enough just to wash the private part and do wudoo’.
Janaabah whilst travelling
A traveller may find himself on a long plane journey during which he becomes junub (impure). He has no way of performing ghusl, and there is nothing on the plane that he could use for tayammum. If he waits until he reaches his destination, the time for prayer will be over, and it may be a prayer that he cannot join with another, such as fajr, when he set out before fajr and will not arrive until after sunrise, or the time for joining two prayers such as zuhr and ‘asr may also be over, because he set out before zuhr and will not arrive until after maghrib. What should he do in such a situation?
If we accept that he has no means of performing ghusl on board the plane, then he is in the situation known by the scholars as “the one who does not have access to the two purifying materials (i.e., water or earth).” There are varying opinions on this situation. Imaam Ahmad and the majority of muhaddithoon say that he should pray as he is, because this is all that he can do, and “Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope.” [al-Baqarah 2:286 – interpretation of the meaning].
The specific evidence in this case is the report narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, where it states that the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent some people to look for a necklace that ‘Aa’ishah had lost. The time for prayer came, and they prayed without wudoo’ (because they could not find water). When they came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), they told him about it and then the aayah of tayammum was revealed. (Saheeh Muslim, 367). The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not blame or criticize them, neither did he tell them to repeat the prayer. This indicates that prayer is obligatory, and even though tahaarah is a condition for prayer, prayer should not be delayed when tahaarah cannot be accomplished. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/251).
A similar ruling applies to the sick who cannot move their limbs at all, and people who are imprisoned and chained up or suspended.
What is meant is that the prayer should be performed in the best way possible under the circumstances, and it should not be delayed beyond its set time. According to the soundest opinion, it does not have to be repeated, for Allaah does not lay upon us in religion any hardship.
Bleeding after miscarriage – nifaas or not?
If a woman miscarries and bleeds, should she pray or not? The answer to this question depends on the kind of blood: is it nifaas or not? The scholars have mentioned the regulations concerning this: “If she sees blood after passing something that has any human features, then it is nifaas, but if she sees it after passing something that resembles a blood clot (nutfah or ‘alaq), then it is not nifaas.” (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/361).
In the latter case, this is istihaadah (irregular bleeding), so she should do wudoo’ for each prayer after the time for that prayer has started, and then pray. If what she passed is a fully formed foetus or has some formed limbs, such as a hand or a foot or a leg, then this is nifaas. If she says that they took it away in the hospital and threw it away, and she did not see it, then the scholars say that the shortest time in which human features could be formed is eighty-one days from the time of conception. (Majmoo’at Fataawa al-Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/292).
This is based on the hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood according to which the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who is the one who speaks the truth, said: “The creation of each one of you is gathered for forty days in his mother’s stomach (womb), then he is ‘alaqah (something that clings) for a similar length of time, then he is mudghah (something like a lump of chewed flesh) for a similar length of time. Then Allaah sends an angel who is commanded to do four things: he is told to write down his deeds, his provision and whether he is to be unfortunate (doomed to Hell) or blessed (destined for Paradise)…” (This version narrated by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 6/303).
Any woman facing this problem should try to seek the advice of doctors to find out exactly what her situation is.
With regard to the blood which may be discharged just prior to a normal birth: if it is accompanied by labour pains or contractions, then it is nifaas, otherwise it is not. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “What she sees when the labour pains begin is nifaas. What is meant here is contractions followed by delivery; if this is not the case then it is not nifaas.” (Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/327).
If a person finds something like paint or dirt on his hands etc, whilst making wudoo’, and tries to remove it, does this break the continuity of his wudoo’ and mean that he has to start again?
Answer: According to the most sound opinion, this does not break the continuity of his wudoo’, even if the parts of his body that have already been washed become dry, because he was delayed by something that is connected to tahaarah. Similarly his wudoo’ is not affected if he moves from one tap to another in order to get water, etc.
But if he is interrupted by something that is not connected to his wudoo’, such as removing some impurity from his clothes, or eating or drinking, and so on, and the parts of his body that he has already washed during wudoo’ become dry, then he has to repeat his wudoo’. (Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/145-146).
Dressings on wounds
If a person has an injury in any part of his body that should be washed during wudoo’, and cannot put a band-aid or dressing on it, then he should do wudoo’, and do tayammum for the wounded part (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/282). He does not have to wash the wounded part if this will be harmful.
Traces of janaabah (impurity) on clothes
If a person sees some traces of janaabah (impurity such as semen, etc.) on his clothes, and he has already prayed some prayers without realizing that this was there, he should do ghusl and repeat the prayers done since the most recent period of sleep wearing these clothes. If, however, he knows that this janaabah is from a previous period of sleep, he should repeat all the prayers since the end of the sleep in which he thinks the janaabah occurred. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/199).
The evidence that he should perform ghusl for salaah in cases of janaabah is to be found in many places, such as the aayah “O you who believe! Approach not the prayer when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning) of what you utter, nor when you are in a state of janaabah (i.e., in a state of sexual impurity and have not yet taken a bath), except when travelling on the road (without enough water, etc.), till you wash your whole body…” [al-Nisaa’ 4:43] and the hadeeth of ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he said: “I was a man who experienced a lot of urethral discharge, so I kept washing myself (doing ghusl) until the skin on my back started to crack. I mentioned that to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or it was mentioned to him, so he said: “Don’t do that. If you see discharge, wash your private parts and do wudoo’ for prayer as usual. If water (i.e., semen) gushes out, then do ghusl.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 206; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwaa’ al-Ghaleel, no. 125). This indicates that when semen is emitted, ghusl is a must, but when there is discharge, it is enough just to wash the private part and do wudoo’.
Janaabah whilst travelling
A traveller may find himself on a long plane journey during which he becomes junub (impure). He has no way of performing ghusl, and there is nothing on the plane that he could use for tayammum. If he waits until he reaches his destination, the time for prayer will be over, and it may be a prayer that he cannot join with another, such as fajr, when he set out before fajr and will not arrive until after sunrise, or the time for joining two prayers such as zuhr and ‘asr may also be over, because he set out before zuhr and will not arrive until after maghrib. What should he do in such a situation?
If we accept that he has no means of performing ghusl on board the plane, then he is in the situation known by the scholars as “the one who does not have access to the two purifying materials (i.e., water or earth).” There are varying opinions on this situation. Imaam Ahmad and the majority of muhaddithoon say that he should pray as he is, because this is all that he can do, and “Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope.” [al-Baqarah 2:286 – interpretation of the meaning].
The specific evidence in this case is the report narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, where it states that the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent some people to look for a necklace that ‘Aa’ishah had lost. The time for prayer came, and they prayed without wudoo’ (because they could not find water). When they came to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), they told him about it and then the aayah of tayammum was revealed. (Saheeh Muslim, 367). The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not blame or criticize them, neither did he tell them to repeat the prayer. This indicates that prayer is obligatory, and even though tahaarah is a condition for prayer, prayer should not be delayed when tahaarah cannot be accomplished. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/251).
A similar ruling applies to the sick who cannot move their limbs at all, and people who are imprisoned and chained up or suspended.
What is meant is that the prayer should be performed in the best way possible under the circumstances, and it should not be delayed beyond its set time. According to the soundest opinion, it does not have to be repeated, for Allaah does not lay upon us in religion any hardship.
Bleeding after miscarriage – nifaas or not?
If a woman miscarries and bleeds, should she pray or not? The answer to this question depends on the kind of blood: is it nifaas or not? The scholars have mentioned the regulations concerning this: “If she sees blood after passing something that has any human features, then it is nifaas, but if she sees it after passing something that resembles a blood clot (nutfah or ‘alaq), then it is not nifaas.” (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/361).
In the latter case, this is istihaadah (irregular bleeding), so she should do wudoo’ for each prayer after the time for that prayer has started, and then pray. If what she passed is a fully formed foetus or has some formed limbs, such as a hand or a foot or a leg, then this is nifaas. If she says that they took it away in the hospital and threw it away, and she did not see it, then the scholars say that the shortest time in which human features could be formed is eighty-one days from the time of conception. (Majmoo’at Fataawa al-Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/292).
This is based on the hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood according to which the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who is the one who speaks the truth, said: “The creation of each one of you is gathered for forty days in his mother’s stomach (womb), then he is ‘alaqah (something that clings) for a similar length of time, then he is mudghah (something like a lump of chewed flesh) for a similar length of time. Then Allaah sends an angel who is commanded to do four things: he is told to write down his deeds, his provision and whether he is to be unfortunate (doomed to Hell) or blessed (destined for Paradise)…” (This version narrated by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 6/303).
Any woman facing this problem should try to seek the advice of doctors to find out exactly what her situation is.
With regard to the blood which may be discharged just prior to a normal birth: if it is accompanied by labour pains or contractions, then it is nifaas, otherwise it is not. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “What she sees when the labour pains begin is nifaas. What is meant here is contractions followed by delivery; if this is not the case then it is not nifaas.” (Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/327).
Symptoms of weak faith
There are a number of symptoms of the sickness of weak faith, including the following:
Falling into sin and committing haraam deeds : There are some sinners who commit a sin and persist in it, and some who commit many kinds of sin. When a person commits many sins, sin becomes a habit which he gets used to, and then he no longer feels that it is abhorrent. He gradually reaches a stage where he commits the sin openly, and thus becomes one of those referred to in the hadeeth: “All of my ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, an example of which is a man who does something at night, and when morning comes and Allaah has concealed his sin, he says, ‘O So-and-so, I did such and such yesterday.’ His Lord had covered his sin all night, but he has uncovered what Allaah had concealed.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath 10/486).
Feeling that one’s heart is hard and rough : A man may feel that his heart has turned to stone which nothing can penetrate or reach. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness…” [al-Baqarah 2:74]. The person whose heart is hard will not be moved by reminders of death or by seeing deceased persons or funerals. He may even carry a dead person to his grave and throw earth into the grave, but when he walks between the graves it is as if he is merely walking between rocks.
Not doing acts of worship properly : His mind wanders and he fails to concentrate properly when praying, reading Qur’aan, making du’aa’, etc. He does not think about what he is saying, and he recites the words as the matter of boring habit, if he does these regularly at all. If he has the habit of praying a certain du’aa’ at certain times, according to the sunnah, he does not think about the meaning of what he is saying, and Allaah “does not accept the du’aa’ of one whose heart is heedless of Him.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 3479; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 594).
Laziness and carelessness in performing acts of worship : If he does them at all, they are just empty movements, devoid of any real feeling. Allaah has described the hypocrites thus (interpretation of the meaning): “… and when they stand up for prayer, they stand up with laziness…” [al-Nisa’ 4:142]. This also includes neglecting to make the most of special occasions and times for worship. This indicates that a person has no interest in earning reward, so he may delay going for Hajj although he is able to do so, or fail to go for jihaad when he has the strength to do so, or fail to attend prayers in congregation, or even Salat al-Jumu’ah. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “People will keep holding back from being in the first row (of congregational prayers), until Allaah throws them into the Fire.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 679; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 510). This kind of person does not feel any remorse or guilt if he sleeps and misses one of the obligatory prayers, or a sunnah prayer that is strongly encouraged, or a wird [regular du’aa’ and dhikr]. He does not want to make it up later, and he deliberately omits doing anything that is sunnah or fard kifaayah (a duty which, if carried out by some of the people, is no longer obligatory on all, but if no-one does it, all are held accountable). So he may not attend Eid prayers (although some scholars say that they are obligatory), or offer the prayers to be said at the time of lunar and solar eclipses, or attend funerals. He does not care about reward at all, which is the opposite of the ideal described by Allaah in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “… they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.” [al-Anbiya’ 21:90]
Another example of laziness in performing acts of worship is the neglect of sunnah actions which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) performed regularly, and praying at night (qiyaam al-layl), setting out early to go to the mosque, and other naafil prayers, such as duhaa, never even occur to him, let alone the two-rak’ahs of tawbah (repentance) and istikhaarah.
Tightness in the chest, mood swings and depression, which weigh a man down and make him quick to complain about the slightest thing. He easily gets upset with the people around him, and no longer has any tolerance. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described faith when he said, “Eemaan is patience and tolerance” (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 554, 2/86), and he described the believer as being “one who makes friends and with whom others feel comfortable. There is no goodness in one who does not make friends and with whom others do not feel comfortable.” (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 427).
Not being moved by the aayaat of the Qur’aan, by its promises of Paradise or its warnings of Hell, by its commands and prohibitions, or by its descriptions of the Day of Resurrection. The one who is weak in faith gets bored when he hears the Qur’aan being recited, and cannot continue reading it. Whenever he opens the mus-haf, he soon closes it again.
Not focusing on Allaah when remembering Him (dhikr) or making du’aa’, so dhikr becomes difficult for him, and when he raises his hands to make du’aa’, he quickly lowers them again. Allaah has described the hypocrites (interpretation of the meaning): “… and they do not remember Allaah but little.” [al-Nisa’ 4:142]
Not feeling angry when the limits set by Allaah are violated, because the flame of zeal has been extinguished in his heart, so he no longer takes action to stop evil, or enjoins evildoers to do good, or denounces wrongdoing. He never gets angry for the sake of Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described this heart ravaged by weakness in the saheeh hadeeth: “The heart will be subjected to trial after trial, and there will appear a black stain on any heart that is affected, which will spread until the heart is completely black and sealed, as it were, so that it will not recognize any good deed or denounce any evil, except whatever suits its own desires.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 144). Love of good and hatred of evil have disappeared from a heart like this; all things are equal to such a person, and he has no motive to enjoin good or forbid evil. He may hear of some evil that is being done on earth, and may accept it; in this case he carries the same burden of sin as one who witnesses evil and approves of it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in the saheeh hadeeth: “If sin is committed on earth, the one who witnesses it and hates it [one time he said, ‘denounces it’] will be like one who knew nothing of it. Whoever does not witness it but approves of it will be like one who witnesses it.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 4345; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 689). This approval, which is an action of the heart, makes him like one who witnessed the sin.
Love of fame and prominence, which may take many forms, including the following:
Desire for leadership without understanding the serious responsibility involved. This is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us against when he said, “You will be very keen to be leaders, but you will regret it on the Day of Resurrection, for although it seems easy in the beginning, it becomes a hardship later on [literally: the breastfeeding is a luxury but weaning is miserable].” (The meaning is that at the beginning, leadership brings wealth, power and enjoyment, but later it brings the risk of being assassinated or deposed, and one will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection). (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 6729). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “If you wish, I could tell you about leadership and what it is. Firstly, it is blame; secondly, it is regret; and thirdly, it is punishment on the Day of Resurrection – except for one who is just.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 18/72; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1420). If it were the case that a man wanted to carry out duties and responsibilities, where there is no one better for the job than him, with the intention of doing his best and being sincere and just, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) did, then we could say that this is fair enough. But in most cases it is the matter of a strong desire to lead and put oneself forward although there is a better person, denying the opportunity of leadership to those who are qualified and wanting to be the only one to issue instructions and prohibitions.
Loving to sit at the head of gatherings, to monopolize the discussion, to make others listen to one’s words, and to have power. The head of a gathering is the “slaughterhouse” about which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said, “Beware of these slaughterhouses.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi, 2/439; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 120).
Loving to have people stand up when one comes into the room, because this makes the one whose heart is diseased feel great. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever feels happy to have the slaves of Allaah stand up for him, let him occupy his house in Hellfire.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; see also Silsilah al-Saheeh, 357). Once when Mu’aawiyah went out to see Ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn ‘Aamir, Ibn ‘Aamir stood up whilst Ibn al-Zubayr remained sitting (according to one report: and he [Ibn al-Zubayr] was wiser and more stable in character). Mu’aawiyah said to Ibn ‘Aamir, “Sit down, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever likes to have men stand up for him, let him take his place in Hellfire.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 5229, and by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 357). This kind of person will get angry if the sunnah is followed and people start from the right (and not with him, when passing out refreshments, etc.); when such a person enters a gathering, he will not be happy until someone gets up and gives him his seat, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade this when he said, “No man should make another get up from his place so that he can sit in it.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/62).
Stinginess and miserliness. Allaah praised the Ansaar in His Book by saying (interpretation of the meaning): “… and [they] gave them [the muhaajiroon] preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that…” [al-Hashr 59:9]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that the successful are those who avoid miserliness, and that weakness of faith generates stinginess: “Stinginess and faith never exist together in the heart of the believer.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, al-Mujtaba, 6/13; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2678). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also described the serious nature of stinginess and its consequences: “Beware of stinginess, for those who came before you were destroyed because of stinginess. It commanded them to be miserly, so they were miserly; it commanded them to cut family ties, so they cut them; and it commanded them to be immoral, so they were immoral.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2/324; Saheeh al-Jaami, no. 2678). When it comes to miserliness, the person whose faith is weak can hardly give anything for the sake of Allaah, even when there is an honest appeal and it is quite obvious that his brothers in Islam are suffering the impact of poverty and are stricken by disaster. There is no more eloquent statement on the matter of miserliness than the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Behold! You are those who are called to spend in the Cause of Allaah, yet among you are some who are niggardly. And whoever is niggardly, it is only at the expense of his own self. But Allaah is Rich (Free of all wants), and you (mankind) are poor. And if you turn away (from Islam and the obedience of Allaah), He will exchange for you some other people, and they will not be your likes.” [Muhammad 47:38].
Not practising what one preaches. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful is it with Allaah that you say that which you do not do.” [al-Saff 61:2-3]. No doubt this is a kind of hypocrisy, and the person whose deeds do not match his words is blameworthy before Allaah and despicable in the eyes of his fellow man. The people of Hellfire will soon discover the reality of the one who enjoins good but does not do it, and forbids evil, but does it himself.
Malicious enjoyment of the failures, losses or disasters suffered by one’s brothers in Islam, when the blessings that they had enjoyed are taken away, or when the thing that made another person appear more distinguished than him is gone.
Looking at matters in black-or-white terms of whether they are sinful or not, and taking the matter of makrooh lightly. Some people, when they want to do something, do not ask about what good deeds they could do, instead they ask, “Will this be counted as a sin, or is it ‘only’ makrooh?” This way of thinking leads them into the trap of issues that are not clear-cut and deeds that are makrooh, and eventually ensnares them in haraam deeds. The person who thinks like this has nothing to stop him from committing makrooh or doubtful deeds so long as they are not actually haraam. This is exactly what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was talking about what he said , “Whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into haraam, like a shepherd who grazes his flock around a place where he is not allowed – he will soon enter it…” (Reported by al-Bukhaari and Muslim; this version narrated by Muslim, no. 1599). When some people ask for a fatwa about something and are told that it is haraam, they ask, “Is it very haraam or not? How much sin is involved?” People like this have no interest in avoiding bad deeds; indeed, they are prepared to commit the first level of haraam and they take small sins lightly, with the results that they they have the guts to transgress even further and violate the limits set by Allaah. For this reason the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I will certainly recognize people who will come on the Day of Resurrection bringing good deeds as great as the white mountain of Tuhaamah, and Allaah, may He be glorified, will make it like dust in the air.” Thawbaan said, “O Messenger of Allaah, describe them to us and explain this so that we will not unwittingly be among them.” He said, “They are your brothers and they look like you. They pray at night as you do, but if they had the opportunity to violate the limits set by Allaah, they would do so.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 4245. He said in al-Zawaa’id: its isnaad is saheeh and its men are thiqaat. See also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5028).
So you will find such a person committing haraam deeds without any hesitation or reservation, which makes him worse than the one who does so after pausing and hesitating. Both are in danger, but the former is worse than the latter. This kind of person takes sins lightly as a result of his weakness of faith, and does not think that he has done anything wrong. For this reason, Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) described the attitude of the believer and of the hypocrite as follows: “The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears will fall on him, whilst the sinner sees his sins as if it were a fly passing his nose and he says such-and-such to it” – i.e., he shoos it away with his hand. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/102; See also Taghleeq al-Ta’leeq, 5/136, publ. by al-Maktab al-Islami).
Thinking little of good deeds, and having no interest in doing small hasanaat. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us to pay attention to small acts of goodness. Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Abu Juray al-Hujaymi who said, “I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, we are a desert people. Teach us something by which Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will benefit us.’ He said, ‘Do not look down on any act of goodness, even if it is just emptying your bucket into the vessel of one who wants to drink, or speaking to your brother with a cheerful expression.’” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/63; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1352). If someone comes wanting to drink from the well, and you lift up your bucket and empty it for him, this is a good deed; even though it appears insignificant, you should not think little of it. The same applies to greeting your brother with a cheerful expression, and cleaning dirt and garbage from the mosque, even if it is as small as a straw. This deed may be the cause of your sins being forgiven, for Allaah will appreciate good deeds of this nature and will forgive sins because of them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man passed a branch of a tree lying in the road and said, ‘By Allaah, I want to remove this out of the way of the Muslims so that it will not hurt them,’ and he was admitted to Paradise.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 1914).
There is something wrong with the person who thinks little of simple acts of goodness. It is sufficient punishment for this attitude that he is denied the great advantage described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever removes something harmful from the path of the Muslims, one hasanah will be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah accepted, will enter Paradise.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 593; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 5/387). Mu’aadh was walking with another man, and he picked up a stone from the road. The man asked him, “What is this?” He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever removes a stone from the road, one hasanah will be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah, will enter Paradise.’” (al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, 20/101; al-Silsilat al-Saheeh, 5/387).
Lack of concern about the Muslims’ affairs and lack of any involvement whether it be by making du’aa’, giving charity or helping them. Such a person has a cool attitude towards the oppression, suppression and disasters suffered by his Muslim brothers in other parts of the world, and is content merely with his own safety. This is the result of weak faith, because the believer is the opposite of that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The believer’s position in relation to his fellow believers is like that of the head to the body; the believer feels the pain of his fellow believers as the body reacts to the pain suffered by the head.” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/340; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1137).
Breaking the ties of brotherhood between two who used to be close. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No two people are friends for the sake of Allaah or in Islam, but they will be split apart by the first sin (according to another report: they will only be split apart by the first sin) committed by either of them.” (al-Bukhaari, al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 401; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/68; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 637). This indicates the bad effects which may impact upon and even destroy the bonds of brotherhood. This alienation which a man may feel between himself and his brother is a result of the lowering of faith caused by committing a sin, because Allaah causes him to lose his standing in the eyes of His slaves, and so he is in the miserable position of having no respect and misses out on the fellowship of the believers and the protection of Allaah, for Allaah protects those who believe.
Not feeling any responsibility to work for Islam and spread this religion, which is unlike the attitude of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who as soon as they entered this religion felt this responsibility straight away, for example, al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with him), who became Muslim and went to call his people to Islam straight away. He was only a new Muslim but he felt that he had to go back and call his people to Islam, and he went and did this, yet nowadays many people wait for a long time after they become committed to Islam before they reach the stage of calling others to Allaah, may He be glorified.
The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as a result of entering Islam, used to feel enmity towards the kuffaar, and they would disavow themselves of them and draw a clear line. When Thamaamah ibn Athaal (may Allaah be pleased with him), the chief of the people of al-Yamaamah, was taken prisoner, he was held in the mosque, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him about Islam. Then Allaah caused the light of Islam to shine in his heart, and he became Muslim. He went for ‘Umrah, and when he reached Makkah, he told the kuffaar of Quraysh, “Not one grain of wheat will reach you from al-Yamaamah except with the permission of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 8/78). This declaration of opposition to the kuffaar, imposition of economic sanctions and offer of all resources at his disposal to serve the cause of da’wah all took place immediately, because strong faith demands action.
Fear and panic when disaster strikes or problems arise. So you will see such a person shaking and losing his equilibrium, with no focus, staring wild-eyed and having no idea what to do when faced with calamity. He is ruled by his fears and can see no way out; he cannot face reality with a strong and steady heart. All of this is the result of weak faith, for if his faith was strong he would be steadfast and he would face the worst disasters with calmness and strength.
Excessive arguing and disputing. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh hadeeth: “No people will go astray after having being guided except that they become argumentative.” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/252; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5633). Arguing with no proof and for no good reason leads one far away from the Straight Path, and most of people’s futile arguments nowadays are conducted without knowledge or guidance or (reference to) a Book giving light (i.e., the Qur’aan). We have sufficient motive to avoid futile arguments in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “I guarantee a house in the outskirts of Paradise to the one who forsakes argument even when he is in the right.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
Attachment to this world and rejoicing in it. A person may be so attached to this world that he feels pain if he misses out on some share of it, such as money, power, authority, or housing. He feels that he is unfairly treated because he has not got what others have. He feels more stress when he sees a brother in Islam who has something of this world that he does not have, so he envies him (hasad) and wishes that he will lose that blessing. This goes against eemaan, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Eeman and hasad do not exist together in the heart of the true slave.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
He talks and thinks in a purely rational manner, devoid of the characteristics of faith. There is hardly any trace of a reference to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, or the words of the salaf (the early generations of Islam – may Allaah have mercy on them), in the way such a person speaks.
Going to extremes in the way one cares for oneself, in food, drink, clothing, housing and means of transportation. So you see these people showing excessive interest in luxuries, trying to be sophisticated, buying only the finest clothes, spending extravagant amounts on their choice of housing and spending too much time and money on such unnecessary adornments whilst their Muslim brothers are in the greatest need of that money. This carries on until they sink into the soft life of luxury which is forbidden, as is reported in the hadeeth of Mu’aadh ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him): when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent him to Yemen, he advised him: “Beware of luxury, for the slaves of Allaah do not live a life of luxury.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 5/155; Silsilat al-Saheehah, 353. A similar version was also reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/243).
Falling into sin and committing haraam deeds : There are some sinners who commit a sin and persist in it, and some who commit many kinds of sin. When a person commits many sins, sin becomes a habit which he gets used to, and then he no longer feels that it is abhorrent. He gradually reaches a stage where he commits the sin openly, and thus becomes one of those referred to in the hadeeth: “All of my ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, an example of which is a man who does something at night, and when morning comes and Allaah has concealed his sin, he says, ‘O So-and-so, I did such and such yesterday.’ His Lord had covered his sin all night, but he has uncovered what Allaah had concealed.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath 10/486).
Feeling that one’s heart is hard and rough : A man may feel that his heart has turned to stone which nothing can penetrate or reach. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness…” [al-Baqarah 2:74]. The person whose heart is hard will not be moved by reminders of death or by seeing deceased persons or funerals. He may even carry a dead person to his grave and throw earth into the grave, but when he walks between the graves it is as if he is merely walking between rocks.
Not doing acts of worship properly : His mind wanders and he fails to concentrate properly when praying, reading Qur’aan, making du’aa’, etc. He does not think about what he is saying, and he recites the words as the matter of boring habit, if he does these regularly at all. If he has the habit of praying a certain du’aa’ at certain times, according to the sunnah, he does not think about the meaning of what he is saying, and Allaah “does not accept the du’aa’ of one whose heart is heedless of Him.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 3479; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 594).
Laziness and carelessness in performing acts of worship : If he does them at all, they are just empty movements, devoid of any real feeling. Allaah has described the hypocrites thus (interpretation of the meaning): “… and when they stand up for prayer, they stand up with laziness…” [al-Nisa’ 4:142]. This also includes neglecting to make the most of special occasions and times for worship. This indicates that a person has no interest in earning reward, so he may delay going for Hajj although he is able to do so, or fail to go for jihaad when he has the strength to do so, or fail to attend prayers in congregation, or even Salat al-Jumu’ah. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “People will keep holding back from being in the first row (of congregational prayers), until Allaah throws them into the Fire.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 679; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 510). This kind of person does not feel any remorse or guilt if he sleeps and misses one of the obligatory prayers, or a sunnah prayer that is strongly encouraged, or a wird [regular du’aa’ and dhikr]. He does not want to make it up later, and he deliberately omits doing anything that is sunnah or fard kifaayah (a duty which, if carried out by some of the people, is no longer obligatory on all, but if no-one does it, all are held accountable). So he may not attend Eid prayers (although some scholars say that they are obligatory), or offer the prayers to be said at the time of lunar and solar eclipses, or attend funerals. He does not care about reward at all, which is the opposite of the ideal described by Allaah in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “… they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.” [al-Anbiya’ 21:90]
Another example of laziness in performing acts of worship is the neglect of sunnah actions which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) performed regularly, and praying at night (qiyaam al-layl), setting out early to go to the mosque, and other naafil prayers, such as duhaa, never even occur to him, let alone the two-rak’ahs of tawbah (repentance) and istikhaarah.
Tightness in the chest, mood swings and depression, which weigh a man down and make him quick to complain about the slightest thing. He easily gets upset with the people around him, and no longer has any tolerance. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described faith when he said, “Eemaan is patience and tolerance” (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 554, 2/86), and he described the believer as being “one who makes friends and with whom others feel comfortable. There is no goodness in one who does not make friends and with whom others do not feel comfortable.” (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 427).
Not being moved by the aayaat of the Qur’aan, by its promises of Paradise or its warnings of Hell, by its commands and prohibitions, or by its descriptions of the Day of Resurrection. The one who is weak in faith gets bored when he hears the Qur’aan being recited, and cannot continue reading it. Whenever he opens the mus-haf, he soon closes it again.
Not focusing on Allaah when remembering Him (dhikr) or making du’aa’, so dhikr becomes difficult for him, and when he raises his hands to make du’aa’, he quickly lowers them again. Allaah has described the hypocrites (interpretation of the meaning): “… and they do not remember Allaah but little.” [al-Nisa’ 4:142]
Not feeling angry when the limits set by Allaah are violated, because the flame of zeal has been extinguished in his heart, so he no longer takes action to stop evil, or enjoins evildoers to do good, or denounces wrongdoing. He never gets angry for the sake of Allaah. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described this heart ravaged by weakness in the saheeh hadeeth: “The heart will be subjected to trial after trial, and there will appear a black stain on any heart that is affected, which will spread until the heart is completely black and sealed, as it were, so that it will not recognize any good deed or denounce any evil, except whatever suits its own desires.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 144). Love of good and hatred of evil have disappeared from a heart like this; all things are equal to such a person, and he has no motive to enjoin good or forbid evil. He may hear of some evil that is being done on earth, and may accept it; in this case he carries the same burden of sin as one who witnesses evil and approves of it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in the saheeh hadeeth: “If sin is committed on earth, the one who witnesses it and hates it [one time he said, ‘denounces it’] will be like one who knew nothing of it. Whoever does not witness it but approves of it will be like one who witnesses it.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 4345; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 689). This approval, which is an action of the heart, makes him like one who witnessed the sin.
Love of fame and prominence, which may take many forms, including the following:
Desire for leadership without understanding the serious responsibility involved. This is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us against when he said, “You will be very keen to be leaders, but you will regret it on the Day of Resurrection, for although it seems easy in the beginning, it becomes a hardship later on [literally: the breastfeeding is a luxury but weaning is miserable].” (The meaning is that at the beginning, leadership brings wealth, power and enjoyment, but later it brings the risk of being assassinated or deposed, and one will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection). (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 6729). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “If you wish, I could tell you about leadership and what it is. Firstly, it is blame; secondly, it is regret; and thirdly, it is punishment on the Day of Resurrection – except for one who is just.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 18/72; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1420). If it were the case that a man wanted to carry out duties and responsibilities, where there is no one better for the job than him, with the intention of doing his best and being sincere and just, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) did, then we could say that this is fair enough. But in most cases it is the matter of a strong desire to lead and put oneself forward although there is a better person, denying the opportunity of leadership to those who are qualified and wanting to be the only one to issue instructions and prohibitions.
Loving to sit at the head of gatherings, to monopolize the discussion, to make others listen to one’s words, and to have power. The head of a gathering is the “slaughterhouse” about which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said, “Beware of these slaughterhouses.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi, 2/439; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 120).
Loving to have people stand up when one comes into the room, because this makes the one whose heart is diseased feel great. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever feels happy to have the slaves of Allaah stand up for him, let him occupy his house in Hellfire.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; see also Silsilah al-Saheeh, 357). Once when Mu’aawiyah went out to see Ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn ‘Aamir, Ibn ‘Aamir stood up whilst Ibn al-Zubayr remained sitting (according to one report: and he [Ibn al-Zubayr] was wiser and more stable in character). Mu’aawiyah said to Ibn ‘Aamir, “Sit down, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever likes to have men stand up for him, let him take his place in Hellfire.’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 5229, and by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 977; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 357). This kind of person will get angry if the sunnah is followed and people start from the right (and not with him, when passing out refreshments, etc.); when such a person enters a gathering, he will not be happy until someone gets up and gives him his seat, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade this when he said, “No man should make another get up from his place so that he can sit in it.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/62).
Stinginess and miserliness. Allaah praised the Ansaar in His Book by saying (interpretation of the meaning): “… and [they] gave them [the muhaajiroon] preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that…” [al-Hashr 59:9]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that the successful are those who avoid miserliness, and that weakness of faith generates stinginess: “Stinginess and faith never exist together in the heart of the believer.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, al-Mujtaba, 6/13; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2678). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also described the serious nature of stinginess and its consequences: “Beware of stinginess, for those who came before you were destroyed because of stinginess. It commanded them to be miserly, so they were miserly; it commanded them to cut family ties, so they cut them; and it commanded them to be immoral, so they were immoral.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2/324; Saheeh al-Jaami, no. 2678). When it comes to miserliness, the person whose faith is weak can hardly give anything for the sake of Allaah, even when there is an honest appeal and it is quite obvious that his brothers in Islam are suffering the impact of poverty and are stricken by disaster. There is no more eloquent statement on the matter of miserliness than the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Behold! You are those who are called to spend in the Cause of Allaah, yet among you are some who are niggardly. And whoever is niggardly, it is only at the expense of his own self. But Allaah is Rich (Free of all wants), and you (mankind) are poor. And if you turn away (from Islam and the obedience of Allaah), He will exchange for you some other people, and they will not be your likes.” [Muhammad 47:38].
Not practising what one preaches. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful is it with Allaah that you say that which you do not do.” [al-Saff 61:2-3]. No doubt this is a kind of hypocrisy, and the person whose deeds do not match his words is blameworthy before Allaah and despicable in the eyes of his fellow man. The people of Hellfire will soon discover the reality of the one who enjoins good but does not do it, and forbids evil, but does it himself.
Malicious enjoyment of the failures, losses or disasters suffered by one’s brothers in Islam, when the blessings that they had enjoyed are taken away, or when the thing that made another person appear more distinguished than him is gone.
Looking at matters in black-or-white terms of whether they are sinful or not, and taking the matter of makrooh lightly. Some people, when they want to do something, do not ask about what good deeds they could do, instead they ask, “Will this be counted as a sin, or is it ‘only’ makrooh?” This way of thinking leads them into the trap of issues that are not clear-cut and deeds that are makrooh, and eventually ensnares them in haraam deeds. The person who thinks like this has nothing to stop him from committing makrooh or doubtful deeds so long as they are not actually haraam. This is exactly what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was talking about what he said , “Whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into haraam, like a shepherd who grazes his flock around a place where he is not allowed – he will soon enter it…” (Reported by al-Bukhaari and Muslim; this version narrated by Muslim, no. 1599). When some people ask for a fatwa about something and are told that it is haraam, they ask, “Is it very haraam or not? How much sin is involved?” People like this have no interest in avoiding bad deeds; indeed, they are prepared to commit the first level of haraam and they take small sins lightly, with the results that they they have the guts to transgress even further and violate the limits set by Allaah. For this reason the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I will certainly recognize people who will come on the Day of Resurrection bringing good deeds as great as the white mountain of Tuhaamah, and Allaah, may He be glorified, will make it like dust in the air.” Thawbaan said, “O Messenger of Allaah, describe them to us and explain this so that we will not unwittingly be among them.” He said, “They are your brothers and they look like you. They pray at night as you do, but if they had the opportunity to violate the limits set by Allaah, they would do so.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 4245. He said in al-Zawaa’id: its isnaad is saheeh and its men are thiqaat. See also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5028).
So you will find such a person committing haraam deeds without any hesitation or reservation, which makes him worse than the one who does so after pausing and hesitating. Both are in danger, but the former is worse than the latter. This kind of person takes sins lightly as a result of his weakness of faith, and does not think that he has done anything wrong. For this reason, Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) described the attitude of the believer and of the hypocrite as follows: “The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears will fall on him, whilst the sinner sees his sins as if it were a fly passing his nose and he says such-and-such to it” – i.e., he shoos it away with his hand. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/102; See also Taghleeq al-Ta’leeq, 5/136, publ. by al-Maktab al-Islami).
Thinking little of good deeds, and having no interest in doing small hasanaat. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us to pay attention to small acts of goodness. Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Abu Juray al-Hujaymi who said, “I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, we are a desert people. Teach us something by which Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will benefit us.’ He said, ‘Do not look down on any act of goodness, even if it is just emptying your bucket into the vessel of one who wants to drink, or speaking to your brother with a cheerful expression.’” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/63; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1352). If someone comes wanting to drink from the well, and you lift up your bucket and empty it for him, this is a good deed; even though it appears insignificant, you should not think little of it. The same applies to greeting your brother with a cheerful expression, and cleaning dirt and garbage from the mosque, even if it is as small as a straw. This deed may be the cause of your sins being forgiven, for Allaah will appreciate good deeds of this nature and will forgive sins because of them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man passed a branch of a tree lying in the road and said, ‘By Allaah, I want to remove this out of the way of the Muslims so that it will not hurt them,’ and he was admitted to Paradise.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 1914).
There is something wrong with the person who thinks little of simple acts of goodness. It is sufficient punishment for this attitude that he is denied the great advantage described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever removes something harmful from the path of the Muslims, one hasanah will be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah accepted, will enter Paradise.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 593; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 5/387). Mu’aadh was walking with another man, and he picked up a stone from the road. The man asked him, “What is this?” He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever removes a stone from the road, one hasanah will be recorded for him, and whoever has a hasanah, will enter Paradise.’” (al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, 20/101; al-Silsilat al-Saheeh, 5/387).
Lack of concern about the Muslims’ affairs and lack of any involvement whether it be by making du’aa’, giving charity or helping them. Such a person has a cool attitude towards the oppression, suppression and disasters suffered by his Muslim brothers in other parts of the world, and is content merely with his own safety. This is the result of weak faith, because the believer is the opposite of that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The believer’s position in relation to his fellow believers is like that of the head to the body; the believer feels the pain of his fellow believers as the body reacts to the pain suffered by the head.” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/340; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1137).
Breaking the ties of brotherhood between two who used to be close. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No two people are friends for the sake of Allaah or in Islam, but they will be split apart by the first sin (according to another report: they will only be split apart by the first sin) committed by either of them.” (al-Bukhaari, al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 401; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/68; see also al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 637). This indicates the bad effects which may impact upon and even destroy the bonds of brotherhood. This alienation which a man may feel between himself and his brother is a result of the lowering of faith caused by committing a sin, because Allaah causes him to lose his standing in the eyes of His slaves, and so he is in the miserable position of having no respect and misses out on the fellowship of the believers and the protection of Allaah, for Allaah protects those who believe.
Not feeling any responsibility to work for Islam and spread this religion, which is unlike the attitude of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who as soon as they entered this religion felt this responsibility straight away, for example, al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with him), who became Muslim and went to call his people to Islam straight away. He was only a new Muslim but he felt that he had to go back and call his people to Islam, and he went and did this, yet nowadays many people wait for a long time after they become committed to Islam before they reach the stage of calling others to Allaah, may He be glorified.
The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as a result of entering Islam, used to feel enmity towards the kuffaar, and they would disavow themselves of them and draw a clear line. When Thamaamah ibn Athaal (may Allaah be pleased with him), the chief of the people of al-Yamaamah, was taken prisoner, he was held in the mosque, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him about Islam. Then Allaah caused the light of Islam to shine in his heart, and he became Muslim. He went for ‘Umrah, and when he reached Makkah, he told the kuffaar of Quraysh, “Not one grain of wheat will reach you from al-Yamaamah except with the permission of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 8/78). This declaration of opposition to the kuffaar, imposition of economic sanctions and offer of all resources at his disposal to serve the cause of da’wah all took place immediately, because strong faith demands action.
Fear and panic when disaster strikes or problems arise. So you will see such a person shaking and losing his equilibrium, with no focus, staring wild-eyed and having no idea what to do when faced with calamity. He is ruled by his fears and can see no way out; he cannot face reality with a strong and steady heart. All of this is the result of weak faith, for if his faith was strong he would be steadfast and he would face the worst disasters with calmness and strength.
Excessive arguing and disputing. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh hadeeth: “No people will go astray after having being guided except that they become argumentative.” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/252; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5633). Arguing with no proof and for no good reason leads one far away from the Straight Path, and most of people’s futile arguments nowadays are conducted without knowledge or guidance or (reference to) a Book giving light (i.e., the Qur’aan). We have sufficient motive to avoid futile arguments in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “I guarantee a house in the outskirts of Paradise to the one who forsakes argument even when he is in the right.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
Attachment to this world and rejoicing in it. A person may be so attached to this world that he feels pain if he misses out on some share of it, such as money, power, authority, or housing. He feels that he is unfairly treated because he has not got what others have. He feels more stress when he sees a brother in Islam who has something of this world that he does not have, so he envies him (hasad) and wishes that he will lose that blessing. This goes against eemaan, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Eeman and hasad do not exist together in the heart of the true slave.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 5/150; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1464).
He talks and thinks in a purely rational manner, devoid of the characteristics of faith. There is hardly any trace of a reference to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, or the words of the salaf (the early generations of Islam – may Allaah have mercy on them), in the way such a person speaks.
Going to extremes in the way one cares for oneself, in food, drink, clothing, housing and means of transportation. So you see these people showing excessive interest in luxuries, trying to be sophisticated, buying only the finest clothes, spending extravagant amounts on their choice of housing and spending too much time and money on such unnecessary adornments whilst their Muslim brothers are in the greatest need of that money. This carries on until they sink into the soft life of luxury which is forbidden, as is reported in the hadeeth of Mu’aadh ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him): when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent him to Yemen, he advised him: “Beware of luxury, for the slaves of Allaah do not live a life of luxury.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 5/155; Silsilat al-Saheehah, 353. A similar version was also reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/243).
Friday, July 17, 2009
THE MUSLIM WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND
Marriage in Islam
In Islam, marriage is a blessed contract between a man and a woman, in which each
becomes “permitted” to the other, and they begin the long journey of life in a spirit of love, cooperation,harmony and tolerance, where each feels at ease with the other, and findstranquility, contentment and comfort in the company of the other. The Qur’aan has describedthis relationship between men and women, which brings love, harmony, trust andcompassion, in the most moving and eloquent terms:(And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves,that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your [hearts] . . . (Qur’aan 30:21)This is the strongest of bonds, in which Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) unites the two Muslim partners, who come together on the basis of love, understanding, co-operation and mutual advice, and establish a Muslim family in which children will live and grow up, and they will develop the good character and behavior taught by Islam. The Muslim family is the strongest component of a Muslim society when its members are productive and constructive, helping and encouraging one another to be good and righteous, and competing with one another in good works.The righteous woman is the pillar, cornerstone and foundation of the Muslim family. She is seen as the greatest joy in a man’s life, as the Prophet said:
“This world is just temporary conveniences, and the best comfort in this world is a righteous woman.”1
A righteous woman is the greatest blessing that Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) can give to a man, for with her he can find comfort and rest after the exhausting struggle of earning a living.With his wife, he can find incomparable tranquility and pleasure.How can a woman be the best comfort in this world? How can she be a successful woman,true to her own femininity, and honored and loved? This is what will be explained in the following pages:
She chooses a good husband
One of the ways in which Islam has honored woman is by giving her the right to choose herhusband. Her parents have no right to force her to marry someone she dislikes. The Muslim woman knows this right, but she does not reject the advice and guidance of her parents when a potential suitor comes along, because they have her best interests at heart, and they have more experience of life and people. At the same time, she does not forego this right because of her father’s wishes that may make him force his daughter into a marriage with someone she dislikes.There are many texts that support the woman in this sensitive issue, for example the report quoted by Imam Al-Bukhaari from al-Khansa’ bint Khidam:
“My father married me to his nephew, and I did not like this match, so I complained to the Messenger of Allah . He said to me: ‘Accept what your father has arranged.’ I said, ‘I do not wish to accept what my father has arranged.’ He said, ‘Then this marriage is invalid, go and marry whomever you wish.’ I said, ‘I have accepted what my father has arranged, but I wanted women to know that fathers have no right in their daughter’s matters (i.e. they have no right to force a marriage on them).’”2
At first, the Prophet told al-Khansa’ to obey her father, and this is as it should be, because the concern of fathers for their daughters’ well being is well known. But when he realized that her father wanted to force her into a marriage she did not want, he gave her the freedom to choose, and saved her from the oppression of a father who wanted to force her into an unwanted marriage.Islam does not want to impose an unbearable burden on women by forcing them to marry a man they dislike, because it wants marriages to be successful, based on compatibility between the partners; there should be common ground between them in terms of physical looks, attitudes, habits, inclinations and aspirations. If something goes wrong, and the woman feels that she cannot love her husband sincerely, and fears that she may commit the sin of disobeying and opposing this husband whom she does not love, then she may ask for a divorce. This is confirmed by the report in which the wife of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas,Jamilah the sister of ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, came to the Prophet and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have nothing against Thabit ibn Qays as regards his religion or his behavior, but I hate to commit any act of kufr when I am a Muslim. The Prophet said: “Will you give his garden back to him?” - her mahr had been a garden. She said, “Yes.” So the Messenger of Allah sent word to him: “Take back your garden, and give her one pronouncement of divorce.”3 According to a report given by Al-Bukhaari from Ibn ‘Abbas, she said, “I do not blame Thabit for anything with regard to his religion or his behavior, but I do not like him.”
Islam has protected woman’s pride and humanity, and has respected her wishes with regard to the choice of a husband with whom she will spend the rest of her life. It is not acceptable for anyone, no matter who he is, to force a woman into a marriage with a man she does not like. There is no clearer indication of this than the story of Barirah, an Ethiopian slave-girl who belonged to ‘Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, who forced her to marry another slave whose name was Mughith. She would never have accepted him as a husband if she had been in control of her own affairs. ‘A’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) took pity on her, so she bought her and set her free. Then this young woman felt that she was free and in control of her own affairs,and that she could take a decision about her marriage. She asked her husband for a divorce.
Her husband used to follow her, weeping, whilst she rejected him. Al-Bukhaari quotes Ibn
‘Abbas describing this freed woman who insisted on the annulment of her marriage to
someone she did not love; the big-hearted Prophet commented on this moving sight, and
sought to intervene. Ibn ‘Abbas said:
“Barirah’s husband was a slave, who was known as Mughith. I can almost see him,
running after her and crying, with tears running down onto his beard. The Prophet said
to ‘Abbas, ‘O ‘Abbas, do you not find it strange, how much Mugith loves Barirah, and how
much Barirah hates Mughith?’ The Prophet said (to Barirah), ‘Why do you not go back
to him?’ She said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me to do so?’ He said, ‘I
am merely trying to intervene on his behalf.’ She said, ‘I have no need of him.’”4
The Prophet was deeply moved by this display of human emotion: deep and
overwhelming love on the part of the husband, and equally powerful hatred on the part of the
wife. He could not help but remind the wife, and ask her why she did not go back to him, as
he was her husband and the father of her child. This believing woman asked him, whether he
was ordering her to do so: was this a command, a binding obligation? The Prophet , this
great law-giver and educator, replied that he was merely trying to intercede and bring about
reconciliation if possible; he was not trying to force anybody to do something they did not wish
to. Let those stubborn, hard-hearted fathers who oppress their own daughters listen to the
teaching of the Prophet !
The Muslim woman who understands the teachings of her religion has wise and correct
standards when it comes to choosing a husband. She does not concern herself just with good
looks, high status, a luxurious lifestyle or any of the other things that usually attract women.
She looks into his level of religious commitment and his attitude and behavior, because these
are the pillars of a successful marriage, and the best features of a husband. Islamic teaching
indicates the importance of these qualities in a potential husband, as Islam obliges a woman
to accept the proposal of anyone who has these qualities, lest fitnah and corruption become
widespread in society:
“If there comes to you one with whose religion and attitude you are satisfied, then give your
daughter to him in marriage, for if you do not do so, fitnah and mischief will become
widespread on earth.”5
Just as the true Muslim young man will not be attracted to the pretty girls who have grown up
in a bad environment, so the Muslim young woman who is guided by her religion will not be
attracted to stupid “play-boy” types, no matter how handsome they may be. Rather she will be
attracted to the serious, educated, believing man who is clean-living and pure of heart, whose
behavior is good and whose understanding of religion is sound. No one is a suitable partner
for the good, believing woman except a good, believing man; and no one is a suitable partner
for the wayward, immoral woman but a wayward, immoral man, as Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) has said:
Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure, and women of
purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity . . . (Qur’aan
24:26)
This does not mean that the Muslim woman should completely ignore the matter of physical
appearance, and put up with unattractiveness or ugliness. It is her right - as stated above - to
marry a man for whom her heart may be filled with love, and who is pleasing to her both in his
appearance and in his conduct. Appearance should not be neglected at the expense of inner
nature, or vice versa. A woman should choose a man who is attractive to her in all aspects,
one who will gain her admiration and respect. The true Muslim woman is never dazzled by
outward appearances, and she never lets them distract her from seeing the essence of a
potential spouse.
The Muslim woman knows that the man has the right of qiwaamah over her, as the Qur’aan
says:
(Men are the protectors and maintainers [qawwaamun] of women, because Allah has
given the one more [strength] than the other, and because they support them from
their means . . .) (Qur’aan 4:34)
Hence she wants to marry a man of whose qiwaamah over her she will feel proud, one whom
she will be happy to marry and never regret it. She wants a man who will take her hand in his
and set out to fulfill their life’s mission of establishing a Muslim family and raising a new
generation of intelligent and caring children, in an atmosphere of love and harmony, which will
not be impeded by conflicting attitudes or religious differences. Believing men and believing
women are supposed to walk side-by-side on the journey of life, which is a serious matter for
the believer, so that they may fulfill the great mission with which Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) has entrusted mankind, men and women alike, as the Qur’aan says:
(For Muslim men and women - for believing men and women, for devout men and
women, for true men and women, for men and women who are constant and patient,
for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity,
for men and women who fast [and deny themselves], for men and women who guard
their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise - for them
has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.) (Qur’aan 33:35)
In order to achieve this great goal of strengthening the marriage bond, and establishing a
stable family life, it is essential to choose the right partner in the first place.
Among the great Muslim women who are known for their strength of character, lofty
aspirations and far-sightedness in their choice of a husband is Umm Sulaym bint Milhan, who
was one of the first Ansaar women to embrace Islam. She was married to Malik ibn Nadar,
and bore him a son, Anas. When she embraced Islam, her husband Malik was angry with her,
and left her, but she persisted in her Islam. Shortly afterwards, she heard the news of his
death, and she was still in the flower of her youth. She bore it all with the hope of reward, for
the sake of Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa), and devoted herself to taking care of her tenyear-
old son Anas. She took him to the Prophet , so that he could serve him (and learn
from him).
One of the best young men of Madinah, one of the best looking, richest and strongest, came
to seek her hand in marriage. This was Abu Talhah - before he became Muslim. Many of the
young women of Yathrib liked him because of his wealth, strength and youthful good looks,
and he thought that Umm Sulaym would joyfully rush to accept his offer. But to his
astonishment, she told him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship
is just a tree that grew in the ground and was carved into shape by the slave of Banu so-andso.”
He said, “Of course.” She said, “Do you not feel ashamed to prostrate yourself to a piece
of wood that grew in the ground and was carved by the slave of Banu so-and-so?” Abu
Talhah was stubborn, and hinted to her of an expensive dowry and luxurious lifestyle, but she
persisted in her point of view, and told him frankly: “O Abu Talhah, a man like you could not
be turned away, but you are a disbelieving man, and I am a Muslim woman. It is not permitted
for me to marry you, but if you were to embrace Islam, that would be my dowry (mahr), and I
would ask you for nothing more.”6
He returned the following day to try to tempt her with a larger dowry and more generous gift,
but she stood firm, and her persistence and maturity only enhanced her beauty in his eyes.
She said to him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship was
carved by the carpenter slave of so-and-so? If you were to set it alight, it would burn.” Her
words came as a shock to Abu Talhah, and he asked himself, "Does the Lord burn?" Then he
uttered the words: “Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul-
Allah.”
Then Umm Sulaym said to her son Anas, with joy flooding her entire being, “O Anas, marry
me to Abu Talhah.” So Anas brought witnesses and the marriage was solemnized.
Abu Talhah was so happy that he was determined to put all his wealth at Umm Sulaym’s
disposal, but hers was the attitude of the selfless, proud, sincere believing woman. She told
him, “O Abu Talhah, I married you for the sake of Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa), and I will
not take any other dowry.” She knew that when Abu Talhah embraced Islam, she did not only
win herself a worthy husband, but she also earned a reward from Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) that was better than owning red camels (the most highly-prized kind) in this world,
as she had heard the Prophet say:
“If Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) were to guide one person to Islam through you, it is better
for you than owning red camels.”7
Such great Muslim women are examples worthy of emulation, from whom Muslim women
may learn purity of faith, strength of character, soundness of belief and wisdom in choosing a
husband.
In Islam, marriage is a blessed contract between a man and a woman, in which each
becomes “permitted” to the other, and they begin the long journey of life in a spirit of love, cooperation,harmony and tolerance, where each feels at ease with the other, and findstranquility, contentment and comfort in the company of the other. The Qur’aan has describedthis relationship between men and women, which brings love, harmony, trust andcompassion, in the most moving and eloquent terms:(And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves,that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your [hearts] . . . (Qur’aan 30:21)This is the strongest of bonds, in which Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) unites the two Muslim partners, who come together on the basis of love, understanding, co-operation and mutual advice, and establish a Muslim family in which children will live and grow up, and they will develop the good character and behavior taught by Islam. The Muslim family is the strongest component of a Muslim society when its members are productive and constructive, helping and encouraging one another to be good and righteous, and competing with one another in good works.The righteous woman is the pillar, cornerstone and foundation of the Muslim family. She is seen as the greatest joy in a man’s life, as the Prophet said:
“This world is just temporary conveniences, and the best comfort in this world is a righteous woman.”1
A righteous woman is the greatest blessing that Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) can give to a man, for with her he can find comfort and rest after the exhausting struggle of earning a living.With his wife, he can find incomparable tranquility and pleasure.How can a woman be the best comfort in this world? How can she be a successful woman,true to her own femininity, and honored and loved? This is what will be explained in the following pages:
She chooses a good husband
One of the ways in which Islam has honored woman is by giving her the right to choose herhusband. Her parents have no right to force her to marry someone she dislikes. The Muslim woman knows this right, but she does not reject the advice and guidance of her parents when a potential suitor comes along, because they have her best interests at heart, and they have more experience of life and people. At the same time, she does not forego this right because of her father’s wishes that may make him force his daughter into a marriage with someone she dislikes.There are many texts that support the woman in this sensitive issue, for example the report quoted by Imam Al-Bukhaari from al-Khansa’ bint Khidam:
“My father married me to his nephew, and I did not like this match, so I complained to the Messenger of Allah . He said to me: ‘Accept what your father has arranged.’ I said, ‘I do not wish to accept what my father has arranged.’ He said, ‘Then this marriage is invalid, go and marry whomever you wish.’ I said, ‘I have accepted what my father has arranged, but I wanted women to know that fathers have no right in their daughter’s matters (i.e. they have no right to force a marriage on them).’”2
At first, the Prophet told al-Khansa’ to obey her father, and this is as it should be, because the concern of fathers for their daughters’ well being is well known. But when he realized that her father wanted to force her into a marriage she did not want, he gave her the freedom to choose, and saved her from the oppression of a father who wanted to force her into an unwanted marriage.Islam does not want to impose an unbearable burden on women by forcing them to marry a man they dislike, because it wants marriages to be successful, based on compatibility between the partners; there should be common ground between them in terms of physical looks, attitudes, habits, inclinations and aspirations. If something goes wrong, and the woman feels that she cannot love her husband sincerely, and fears that she may commit the sin of disobeying and opposing this husband whom she does not love, then she may ask for a divorce. This is confirmed by the report in which the wife of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas,Jamilah the sister of ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, came to the Prophet and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have nothing against Thabit ibn Qays as regards his religion or his behavior, but I hate to commit any act of kufr when I am a Muslim. The Prophet said: “Will you give his garden back to him?” - her mahr had been a garden. She said, “Yes.” So the Messenger of Allah sent word to him: “Take back your garden, and give her one pronouncement of divorce.”3 According to a report given by Al-Bukhaari from Ibn ‘Abbas, she said, “I do not blame Thabit for anything with regard to his religion or his behavior, but I do not like him.”
Islam has protected woman’s pride and humanity, and has respected her wishes with regard to the choice of a husband with whom she will spend the rest of her life. It is not acceptable for anyone, no matter who he is, to force a woman into a marriage with a man she does not like. There is no clearer indication of this than the story of Barirah, an Ethiopian slave-girl who belonged to ‘Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, who forced her to marry another slave whose name was Mughith. She would never have accepted him as a husband if she had been in control of her own affairs. ‘A’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) took pity on her, so she bought her and set her free. Then this young woman felt that she was free and in control of her own affairs,and that she could take a decision about her marriage. She asked her husband for a divorce.
Her husband used to follow her, weeping, whilst she rejected him. Al-Bukhaari quotes Ibn
‘Abbas describing this freed woman who insisted on the annulment of her marriage to
someone she did not love; the big-hearted Prophet commented on this moving sight, and
sought to intervene. Ibn ‘Abbas said:
“Barirah’s husband was a slave, who was known as Mughith. I can almost see him,
running after her and crying, with tears running down onto his beard. The Prophet said
to ‘Abbas, ‘O ‘Abbas, do you not find it strange, how much Mugith loves Barirah, and how
much Barirah hates Mughith?’ The Prophet said (to Barirah), ‘Why do you not go back
to him?’ She said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding me to do so?’ He said, ‘I
am merely trying to intervene on his behalf.’ She said, ‘I have no need of him.’”4
The Prophet was deeply moved by this display of human emotion: deep and
overwhelming love on the part of the husband, and equally powerful hatred on the part of the
wife. He could not help but remind the wife, and ask her why she did not go back to him, as
he was her husband and the father of her child. This believing woman asked him, whether he
was ordering her to do so: was this a command, a binding obligation? The Prophet , this
great law-giver and educator, replied that he was merely trying to intercede and bring about
reconciliation if possible; he was not trying to force anybody to do something they did not wish
to. Let those stubborn, hard-hearted fathers who oppress their own daughters listen to the
teaching of the Prophet !
The Muslim woman who understands the teachings of her religion has wise and correct
standards when it comes to choosing a husband. She does not concern herself just with good
looks, high status, a luxurious lifestyle or any of the other things that usually attract women.
She looks into his level of religious commitment and his attitude and behavior, because these
are the pillars of a successful marriage, and the best features of a husband. Islamic teaching
indicates the importance of these qualities in a potential husband, as Islam obliges a woman
to accept the proposal of anyone who has these qualities, lest fitnah and corruption become
widespread in society:
“If there comes to you one with whose religion and attitude you are satisfied, then give your
daughter to him in marriage, for if you do not do so, fitnah and mischief will become
widespread on earth.”5
Just as the true Muslim young man will not be attracted to the pretty girls who have grown up
in a bad environment, so the Muslim young woman who is guided by her religion will not be
attracted to stupid “play-boy” types, no matter how handsome they may be. Rather she will be
attracted to the serious, educated, believing man who is clean-living and pure of heart, whose
behavior is good and whose understanding of religion is sound. No one is a suitable partner
for the good, believing woman except a good, believing man; and no one is a suitable partner
for the wayward, immoral woman but a wayward, immoral man, as Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) has said:
Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure, and women of
purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity . . . (Qur’aan
24:26)
This does not mean that the Muslim woman should completely ignore the matter of physical
appearance, and put up with unattractiveness or ugliness. It is her right - as stated above - to
marry a man for whom her heart may be filled with love, and who is pleasing to her both in his
appearance and in his conduct. Appearance should not be neglected at the expense of inner
nature, or vice versa. A woman should choose a man who is attractive to her in all aspects,
one who will gain her admiration and respect. The true Muslim woman is never dazzled by
outward appearances, and she never lets them distract her from seeing the essence of a
potential spouse.
The Muslim woman knows that the man has the right of qiwaamah over her, as the Qur’aan
says:
(Men are the protectors and maintainers [qawwaamun] of women, because Allah has
given the one more [strength] than the other, and because they support them from
their means . . .) (Qur’aan 4:34)
Hence she wants to marry a man of whose qiwaamah over her she will feel proud, one whom
she will be happy to marry and never regret it. She wants a man who will take her hand in his
and set out to fulfill their life’s mission of establishing a Muslim family and raising a new
generation of intelligent and caring children, in an atmosphere of love and harmony, which will
not be impeded by conflicting attitudes or religious differences. Believing men and believing
women are supposed to walk side-by-side on the journey of life, which is a serious matter for
the believer, so that they may fulfill the great mission with which Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) has entrusted mankind, men and women alike, as the Qur’aan says:
(For Muslim men and women - for believing men and women, for devout men and
women, for true men and women, for men and women who are constant and patient,
for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity,
for men and women who fast [and deny themselves], for men and women who guard
their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise - for them
has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.) (Qur’aan 33:35)
In order to achieve this great goal of strengthening the marriage bond, and establishing a
stable family life, it is essential to choose the right partner in the first place.
Among the great Muslim women who are known for their strength of character, lofty
aspirations and far-sightedness in their choice of a husband is Umm Sulaym bint Milhan, who
was one of the first Ansaar women to embrace Islam. She was married to Malik ibn Nadar,
and bore him a son, Anas. When she embraced Islam, her husband Malik was angry with her,
and left her, but she persisted in her Islam. Shortly afterwards, she heard the news of his
death, and she was still in the flower of her youth. She bore it all with the hope of reward, for
the sake of Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa), and devoted herself to taking care of her tenyear-
old son Anas. She took him to the Prophet , so that he could serve him (and learn
from him).
One of the best young men of Madinah, one of the best looking, richest and strongest, came
to seek her hand in marriage. This was Abu Talhah - before he became Muslim. Many of the
young women of Yathrib liked him because of his wealth, strength and youthful good looks,
and he thought that Umm Sulaym would joyfully rush to accept his offer. But to his
astonishment, she told him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship
is just a tree that grew in the ground and was carved into shape by the slave of Banu so-andso.”
He said, “Of course.” She said, “Do you not feel ashamed to prostrate yourself to a piece
of wood that grew in the ground and was carved by the slave of Banu so-and-so?” Abu
Talhah was stubborn, and hinted to her of an expensive dowry and luxurious lifestyle, but she
persisted in her point of view, and told him frankly: “O Abu Talhah, a man like you could not
be turned away, but you are a disbelieving man, and I am a Muslim woman. It is not permitted
for me to marry you, but if you were to embrace Islam, that would be my dowry (mahr), and I
would ask you for nothing more.”6
He returned the following day to try to tempt her with a larger dowry and more generous gift,
but she stood firm, and her persistence and maturity only enhanced her beauty in his eyes.
She said to him, “O Abu Talhah, do you not know that your god whom you worship was
carved by the carpenter slave of so-and-so? If you were to set it alight, it would burn.” Her
words came as a shock to Abu Talhah, and he asked himself, "Does the Lord burn?" Then he
uttered the words: “Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul-
Allah.”
Then Umm Sulaym said to her son Anas, with joy flooding her entire being, “O Anas, marry
me to Abu Talhah.” So Anas brought witnesses and the marriage was solemnized.
Abu Talhah was so happy that he was determined to put all his wealth at Umm Sulaym’s
disposal, but hers was the attitude of the selfless, proud, sincere believing woman. She told
him, “O Abu Talhah, I married you for the sake of Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa), and I will
not take any other dowry.” She knew that when Abu Talhah embraced Islam, she did not only
win herself a worthy husband, but she also earned a reward from Allah (subhaanahu wa
‘ta’aalaa) that was better than owning red camels (the most highly-prized kind) in this world,
as she had heard the Prophet say:
“If Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) were to guide one person to Islam through you, it is better
for you than owning red camels.”7
Such great Muslim women are examples worthy of emulation, from whom Muslim women
may learn purity of faith, strength of character, soundness of belief and wisdom in choosing a
husband.
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