Hadeeth Six

Hadeeth Five explanation continued - part 2

Other 'Ulema has simply defined bid'ah as:
Introducing something in religion with the intention of reward; despite there being a need of it, it was not said by the Messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) nor was it confirmed by his in his time.

For those who would like to read further, they could read Al-'Itisaam of Imam Shatbee where this is discussed at much length.

Whenever we look at words, we can look at it from two angles, a) linguistically and b) technically.

A) Linguistically bid'ah means something new.
B) Technically it is that which comprises: 1. something not from the time of the Messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam), nor the khulafaa, nor the salaf, 2. something new introduced with the intention of reward and 3. it is something not based on any of the principles of the prophetic message.

Looking at the linguistic meaning, today, everything is a bid'ah. Like when we refer to terms such as mubah, makrooh, wajib etc. It is true, as in it's outward for it does not look like it fits in under the general prophetic tradition. An example could be writing a book, and to dedicate the reward to the deceased. In the Messenger's time, not much written work was carried out, but today these written works come under tableegh and preaching. Hence they do conform the Prophetic message.

Another example could be as some communities do a khatam of the Qur'aan. This is such that you do not consider it to be a sunnah, nor would you look down upon it. From both points of view, it can be understood that those that do participate must not look down upon others that do not do it, and those that do it must not consider it a part of the Prophetic message.

There are certain things a part of deen, although the form that they are carried out in may not be a part of deen, the issue is a still part of deen. With such issues one must not deem the form of it a part of deen, nor look down upon those who carry out the acts in such a manner.

Another important point to note is that bid'ah also comprises giving certain acts more or less importance than it deserves. An example of this is collective du'aa after salah. In the Qur'an we are commanded to remember Allah, do dhikr. Now, if one looks down upon those who do not make a collective du'aa, this is giving more importance to the issue than it deserves.

Many sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them all) introduced new acts they initiated new forms and states of various issues, they understood from the general permission of the Qur'an and sunnah that it is halaal, lawful for them to do so.

A final point to note from this hadeeth is to give more importance to an act than it deserves or to give it less importance than it deserves is also bid'ah. In the actual text of Imam Ibn Rajab's book many examples are mentioned of this, for example we have 3 rak'aah of maghrib salah. To now change that to four or decrease it to two will come under bid'ah.

In a nutshell, in we do acts, in accordance to the general rulings and guidance as laid down by the Qur'an and Sunnah, then insha'Allah those acts will be accepted and will be rewarded. If a certain form of an act is not as in the Qur'an and Sunnah, then as long as it is not thought to be a part of deen, and it does contradict the general Prophetic teachings and message, then with these acts also, we can be hopeful of reward.

Assalamu Alaykum,

Just a quick post to inform all, new posts shall be added real soon.

Request for du'aas from all readers.

Wassalam

Hadeeth Five -explanation part 1

Hadeeth Four explanation continued - part 2

This hadeeth explains to us the initial stages if creation. How the soul is placed into the foetus, it outlines the beginning stages of life as well as the final stages. After conception the first forty days of a human is initially a drop of sperm - (according to the Hanafi'a this is impure and according to the shafiees it is pure).

It is said that parts of the Qur'an explain each other, so before being a drop of sperm from other ayahs in the Qur'an we know that the sperm came from the earth.

Stages of a human before being given life are:

1. a drop of sperm (nutfah) ----->>> 2. a clot of blood ('alaqah) --------->>> 3.lump of flesh (mudhgah)

Through these three stages Allah ta'ala made creation. In the Qur'an the duration of each stage has not been mentionned, however we have evidences from the Ahadeeth that mention that each stage is around forty days each, and thereafter Allah sends an angel to blow life (rooh) into the fetus to become a human being. For this reason 'Ulema do not allow abortion after the passing of 120 days, it is totally haram and forbidden in Islam and it is considered to be murder in Islam.

There are certain cases in Islam when abortion is allowed in Islam. A detailed explanation has been pasted below from the Darul Iftaa website(http://www.daruliftaa.com/question.asp?txt_QuestionID=q-19031520):

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Abortion and the termination of pregnancy is the expulsion of a foetus from the womb of a woman. This may be carried out either by consuming of certain drugs or by emptying the womb through the process of suction.

Life is sacred:

Islam regards human life to be sacred. Allah Most High says:

“And verily we have honoured the children of Adam.” (Surah al-Isra, V.70)

It does not matter where the life exists. Whether the life is extra-uterine or intra-uterine, its location has no significance on its sanctity. This sanctity applies not only to human life, but to the human body as well. Hence, according to Shariah, the physical body of a human after death is just as sacred as it was before death. The degree of sanctity of life is greater than that of the body. This is one of the reasons
why it is unlawful (haram) to consume the meat of a human, dead or alive.

The Shariah ruling on abortion:

Abortion can be divided into two stages:

a) Abortion after the soul (ruh) enters the foetus,

b) Abortion prior to the entry of the soul into the foetus

Before mentioning the ruling on abortion with regards to these two stages, it must be remembered here, that according to Shariah, the soul (ruh) enters the foetus at 120 days (4 months) from conception.

The Jurists (fuqaha) have based this duration upon a Qur’anic verse and a statement of the beloved of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). In the verse, Allah Almighty states the stages of development of the embryo in the womb of the mother. Allah Almighty says:

“And verily we did create man from a quintessence (of clay). Then we placed him (as a drop of sperm) in a place of rest, firmly fixed. Then we made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood. Then of that clot we made a (foetus) lump. Then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh. Then we developed out of it another creature (by breathing life into it). So blessed be Allah, the most marvellous creator.” (Surah al-Mu’minun, 12/13/14)

In the Hadith recorded by the two most authentic authorities, Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their respective Sahih collections, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) discussed in detail the periods elapsing between these stages, mentioned by the Qur’an.

Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:

“The seed of one of you remains in the womb of the mother for forty days in the form of a Nutfa (sperm). Then it remains like a clot for another forty days, and then for a same number of days like a lump of flesh (when the formation of the limbs and the growth of the bones begin).” (Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim)

The great Hanafi Faqih, Imam Ibn Abidin States in his Radd al-Muhtar:

“The soul enters the foetus at one hundred & twenty days (4 months), as established by the Hadith.” (Radd al Muhtar, 1/202)

The ruling on abortion in stage (a) i.e. after the entry of the soul into the foetus which is (as explained) 120 days, is that, it is totally unlawful and tantamount to murder, as it results in the taking out of an innocent life. All the scholars have unanimously condemned such a ghastly act.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah states in his Fatawa collection:

“Aborting a foetus has been declared unlawful (haram) with the consensus of all the Muslim scholars. It is similar to burying an infant alive as referred to by Allah Almighty in the verse of the Qur’an: “And when the female infant, buried alive, will be asked as to what crime she was killed for”. (Surah al-Takwir, 8)” (Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya, 4/217)

Allama Ibn Abidin (Allah have Mercy on him) also states the prohibition of this gruesome act in his treatise ‘Radd al-Muhtar’:

“If a woman intends to abort her pregnancy, then the Fuqaha have said: If the period of the soul being blown into the foetus has elapsed, it will be impermissible.” (Radd al-Muhtar, 5/276)

However, some Fuqaha and contemporary scholars have given a dispensation to abort the pregnancy after 120 days, in the situation where the life of the mother is in certain and absolute danger. This is based on the Juristic principle stated in the books of Usul al-Fiqh and Qawa’id (juristic principles):

“If one is overtaken by two evils, one should choose the lesser of the two.” (al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir, P.98) They state that the mother’s life should be saved and the foetus aborted, as the mother is established in life, with duties and responsibilities, whereas the unborn child is still in the mother’s womb. But it should be remembered, that the mother’s life must be in certain danger, and that this should be advised by a qualified and experienced Muslim doctor.

With regards to stage (b) i.e. prior to the entry of the soul into the foetus (120 days), the ruling on aborting the pregnancy is that, even in this case it will be unlawful (haram) to abort it.

The reason why abortion prior to the soul entering the body will not be permitted is that, although there may not be life in the foetus, but the foetus is considered to be part and parcel of the mother’s body as long as it remains in the womb. Thus, just as one’s very own life and also all the limbs and organs of the human body are trust given by the Almighty Creator, so too is the foetus also a trust given to the mother by Allah, and she will not have a right to abort it.

The only difference here is that the sin of aborting the foetus will be of a lesser degree than aborting it after 120 days. It would not be regarded as murder, rather violating the rights of a human organ entrusted to the mother by Allah Almighty.

It stated in Radd al-Muhtar:

“It is not permissible to abort the pregnancy before and after the entry of the soul into the foetus.” (Radd al-Muhtar, 5/279)

However, in certain extreme circumstances, it would be permitted to abort the pregnancy before the entry of the soul (120 days), such as: when the woman conceives after being raped, the mother’s life or health is in danger, or repeated pregnancies severely damages her health, etc…

Imam al-Haskafi writes in Durr al-Mukhtar:

“Aborting the pregnancy will be permissible due to a valid reason, provided the soul has not yet entered the foetus.”

It should be remarked here that pregnancy due to unlawful and illegal sex is no reason and excuse for abortion. The embryonic life farm in the mother’s womb is honoured and sacred even though it is a result of adultery. (Hidaya, 2/292)

In conclusion, abortion after 120 days is totally unlawful and tantamount to murder. Some Fuqaha, however, have given a dispensation only in the situation where the mother’s life is in certain danger. As far as abortion before the 120 days have elapsed is concerned, it will still be unlawful, though the sin will be of a lesser degree, and it will become permissible if there is a genuine and valid reason.

And Allah Knows Best

Muhammad ibn Adam Darul Iftaa Leicester , UK

An angel is commanded to write four things about each being given life in this world:

1. Provision - rizq of a person


2. Life span -ajl, how long a person shall live


3. Actions -'amal, the actions a person shall carry out


4. Whether a person is shaqee (unfortunate) or sa'eed (fortunate)

After going through the different stages of creation the hadeeth go on to talk about actions of a human. That verily he could be doing good all his life but one bad act may make his become from the dwellers of the hell-fire. Or a person could be really bad and just do one act that will allow him to enter paradise when destiny will over come these two types of people.

Our final actions before our death normally show what our final state will be when Allah sends the angel of death to remove our souls from us. It is said that your end is inheritance of how you spent your life. We should be very fearful of our final states as this will determine whether we will eneter Jannah or the hell-fire. The Pious Predecessors use to be extremely fearful of their final states, hence we should always pray:

'Allahummah innee as-saluka husnul khaatimah'

Some people have the misconception that due to the mention of Allah fixing our fate we do not have to act in the world in accordnace to shari'ah as whatever is written in our destiny is what will ultimately take place. We need to understand that as well as there being qadr, at the same time we have been given the abilty (istitaa'a) to do good deeds in the world. We can look at this from two perspectives and angles:

1. That Allah ta'ala has destined our fate for us, this is something we should not deal with and beleive it in and leave it be.
2. That as humans we should beleive in qadr but at the same time we should live "as though" there is no fate and work hard and strive to get jannah in this world.

A great example to understand the above is a planned robbery. A group of people paln to rob, the information of the whole plan leaks to the police. So on one side the group plan to rob and on the other the police through much investigation and research plan to catch them in the act. The police go to the place they plan to rob before this group even arrive, they take up their positions in order to catch them red-handed in the act.

The robbers go to rob, but before they can even rob they are arrested. The robbers can say that how can you arrest us when you knew we were going to carry out this crime? This is an excellent example to make us realise that Allah knows our actions and still we will either be a inhabitant of the hell-fire to paradise.

I pray that Allah makes us all from the inhabitants of Paradise, true beleivers of fate from Allah ta'ala and ones who act in accordance to the will of Allah with a death in the state of imaan. Ameen.

Hadeeth Four:

Hadeeth Three Explained *updated and complete*:

1. Shahadah - declaration of faith, that Allah is our Lord and Muhammad is his Messenger صلي الله عليه وسلم and servant.
2. Iqamatus Salah - establish prayer, many a times we see the word iqaam and aqeemu with salah rather than sallu. The difference between sallu and aqeemu is that sallu is merely used for praying sayah and iqaamah is used for establishing prayer. The difference can also be used by taking an example of one who pays salah as if they are mere actions very fats and a person who prays salah with full devotion and conviction on a stage and level of ihsaan (explained in hadeeth two). The first is just praying salah and the other is actually establishing prayer. To reach the level of ihsaan without doubt is difficult, but something we should and need to work on attaining. In earlier times people were not judged about their faith according to the length of their beards nor their amaamah of thowb, instead true identity of faith was determined by prayer. The severity of missing salah is so bad that some 'Ulema have called one who intentionally misses prayer a kaafir, others even say it is necessary for such a person to renew their nikah. This in itself should help us not miss any of our salahs.
3. Iytaa'iz-zakah - to give zakah, the word iytaa' has been used as we have to ensure that when we give this obligatory charity we give it in accordance to the rules and regulations et out by shariah.
4. Hajjil Bayt - to perform hajj of the house in accordance to all the rules and regulations set down by shariah. When when goes to perform the pilgrimage it should be such that they educate themselves before going to ensure everything is done correctly.
5. Sawmi Ramadhan - To keep the fasts of Ramadhan. The fasts of Ramadhan are not just abstaining from food and drink, however it is attaining a level of God-consciousness, taqwa. We need to be aware that in whatever we do Allah Most High is watching us and knower of all deeds.

Each of these pillars hold an important position in Islam, hence we should strive to uphold each and every one of them.

I pray Allah ta'ala give us all the ability to carry out the duties commanded to us by the Qur'an and ahadeeth to the best of our ability. Ameen

Hadeeth Two (الحديث الثاني) : Explanation continued - part 4 - final part

Islaam, Imaan and Ihsaan

Islam relates to doing things with the external body parts - "a'amaal jawaarih". It concerns the actions of the physical body. Our mouth is the organ which bear witnesses and testifies our belief in order for us to be called Muslims. It is externally and verbally proclaiming the shahadah (an laa ilaaha illallah).

External actions can be divided into two categories:

1. Badnee- physical, like salah and siyaam. These are physical acts that require actions from our body parts.
2. Malee - monetary like zakah. This has an acspect of physical and montery acts. Likewise hajj also.

All these things are included under the category of Islaam, malee and badnee acts. In a hadeeth it has also come that the Messenger of Allah صلي الله عليه وسلم said:

المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه و يده

A complete Muslim is he whose mouth and tongue other Muslims are saved from.

This category of Islam even includes saying salaam to one another regardless of if you know a person or not.

Imaan relates to the internal actions, "a'amaal baatiyaan", even 'aqeedah. Islam is the most inclusive religion. As our 'aqeedah informs us to bring faith on not just Musa عليه السلام, or Easa عليه السلام, or Muhammad. However, it tells us to bring imaan on all the Prophets.

Under the category of Imaan falls qadr. We must believe in fate good or bad. This is a fundamental part of our 'aqeedah which comprises of two levels. The first that Allah has all knowledge of what an individual will do in his life from the good and the bad, whether he will be an inhabitant of the heaven of the hellfire. The second being that with the above being true we must strive to work hard in this world as we as not aware of what lies within our fate.

The question may arise that is there any difference between Islaam and Iman. There have been lengthy discussions on this amongst the 'ulema. There is this analysis that when Islaam and Iman are referred to an once and togethor, they are regarding different things. Imaan will mean tasawwuf and Islaam would refer to fiqh. However, if Islaam is mentioned alone or Iman is mentioned alone it will include both things.

The last thing here is Ihsaan. Ihsaan is from the word husn meaning excellency. Our whole deen is based on Ihsaan. It is a very important element and quality for one to be a muhsin. he Christians and Jews would say only they will enter Paradise, but where was their proof? Even some Muslims now think they will definately enter paradise. However, Allah warns us not to be like the Jews and Christians. As Muslims we must realise that to enter Jannah you have to work hard to get into it. A muhsin is one who has Islam and submits his whole self to Allah and is the doer of good internally and externally.

One must be good and undertake excellency with whatever take ho or she does. Even to the extent of when one slaughters an animal there should be excellency. One should not kill one animal in front of another and many other things. With talaq (divorce) also, come "tasreeh bil ihsaan", that if you want to maintain your relationship with your spouse maintain it properly. However, after much effort and compromise if you are not able to uphold the relationship then you may divorce as a final resort. But when divorce is given it should be done with ihsaan, in a good manner, not in a way that two individuals are now enemies. Being a muhsin and doer of good applies even more when relating to the rights of the servants of Allah. Bearing this in mind we should aim to become muhsin in all parts of life, not just on the masjid or in front of certain people.

Ihsaan is also to worship Allah is such a way as though you see him or vice versa that he sees you. Putting this and the above together is true excellency. Those who are excellent and ahsan, are the doers of good they will have husnaa good and the pleasure of seeing Allah Most High in the akhirah. Thinking that we will have the (ma'iyyat) nearness of Allah in the hereafter should be enough to make us want to become a muhsin and doer of good throughout our life.

In the second part of the explanation of this hadeeth it was stated that the sahabah found it very strange that this man who posed the question did not have any apparent signs of being a traveller nor was he a local. The reason why this incident occurred was to catch the attention of all those present on the gathering at that time. If something is normal people tend not to pay so much attention to it, whereas when somethings seems odd and strange people are more likely to pay attention. This man was Jibra'eel عليه السلام who had come to pose these questions so the sahabas could listen and learn the matters relating to deen which they themselves may have wanted to ask but for some reason or another had not.

Alhamdulillah the second hadeeth has now been completed. Next post shall be hadeeth three.

Hadeeth Two (الحديث الثاني) : Explanation continued - part 3

Hadeeth Two (explanation continued) - part 2 *UPDATED*

In this hadeeth that Hadhrat Umar رضي الله عنه is narrating, he is trying to indicate that when a person would come to the gathering, or masjid where our Prophet was present there were only ever two possibilities:

1 - The person was an outsider, who had travelled to meet the Prophet, and signs of travel would be visible and apparent upon such a person. The reason this would be known in the time of the Prophet , was because the community was very close knit. They knew the residents of their locality very well.

2- The person was well known from among the community, he was a local.

Hence, if a person were to attend a gathering of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم there were two possibilities, a)the person had travelled from a distant place and signs of travel would be visible or b) the person was a local.

When this man mentioned in the hadeeth entered the Sahaba's found it very strange and were unaware of where he had come from. Nobody recognised the man and no signs of travel were visible or apparent.

Another thing that this man did was when he was seated he rested his hands on his own knees or the Prophet (p.b.u.h)'s knees (different narrations quote different situations). From this many 'Ulema derive the posture that a student should sit in whilst studying. A student (tilmeedh) should sit as he sits whilst performing tashahhud in salah. This is a highly recommended act. to sit in this manner is a form of submission in front of your teacher. Knowledge is truly in books, but the keys to those books lye at the hands of our teachers, the 'Ulema. Hence, it is important to sit and act with utmost respect in front of ones teacher. One could posses all the treasures possible, but what use and benefit would that be if one is not able to access it?

When one studies all the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah, they find that the rulings are divided into three categories. However, in earlier generations (quroonul oola), no such distinction was made. Instead one comprehensive term "DEEN" was used. This term encompasses very form of Islamic guidance or "Fiqh". Nower days ther term fiqh is used in a complete different form to what it was used as in the time of Rasoolullah.

Many a times when one sees the term fiqh in the Qur'and and sunnah, they are mistaken with the term fiqh that we use now. In a hadeeth it has come:

من يرد الله به خير يفقه في الدين

Whomsoever Allah desires good for He bestows upon him understanding in the deen.

Here the term Fiqh means all of Islam.

'AQEEDAH, FIQH, TASAWWUF

As time passed and more people embrassed Islam after the demise of the Messenger of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم, new issues arose and Islam spread to distant lands. As more and more new issues were introduced and brought to the forefront, scholars said and felt the need to divide rulings within the Qur'an and Sunnah. This was all for the sake of convenience. As Islam spread different types of people starting bringing new ideas and topics. Groups such as the Mu'tazilah and Jabariyyah were formed. So 'Ulema felt the need to structure and codify the science of 'Aqeedah. They used the Qur'an and Sunnah and searched for all things dealing with the belief and they dedicated their lives towards that field. They defended the 'Aqeedah of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah, they began with the beliefs dealing with Allah and the Messengers and covered all other issues and structured it and books were written in this science. Within these books many issues were dealt with regarding 'aqeedah like the do's and don'ts, unlawfulness of shirk (polotheism) the sifaat (attributes) of Allah etc.

The first category that some 'Ulema chose do dedicate their lives to was 'Aqeedah. This science has many names and la mashaahata fil istilaah. It is also known as:

• 'Ilmut tawheed
• 'Ilmul Kalaam
• 'Fiqhul akbar

Other 'Ulema looks at a field called Awaamir and Nawaahi in another category. The Awamir and Nawaahi (do's and don'ts) that dealt with the extrenal and physical body. The Awaamir were things like: Salah, Zakah and Hajj and the nawaahi like: Adultery, backbiting, stealing etc. Again like in the field of 'aqeedah the 'Ulema extracted all the rulings from the Qu'ran and Sunnah pertaining to this field, they codified it and dedicated their lives towards it. Some 'Ulema write books in this field, and this is how the four schools of thought (madhaahibs) came into existance.

All the ruling regarding the external body is called Fiqh as we know of the term today. However, as explained earlier in earlier times fiqh was a mere synonym of the word deen. However, now it has it's own exclusive meaning when used by 'Ulema.

The Awaamir and Nawaahi (do's and don'ts) that deal with the internal body, the inner self, the prohibitions of the heart like from amongst the awaamir of the heart would be to have sincerty (ikhlas - discussed in hadeeth one) and amongst the nawaahi would be hatred. Now this field also was given a branch of it's own. The name of this science is irrelavant it could be called:

• Ihasaan
• Tadhkiyatul qalb
• 'Ilmul Akhlaq
• Tasawwuf

The aim of this field is just to purify and rectify the inner self, hence whether it is called Ihasaan as this hadeeth calls it, or whether it is called tasawwuf makes no difference whatsoever. Some say tasawwuf originates from the word

1. "suwf" meaning the people would do mujahahdah (spiritually struggle) they would wear wollen clothes and meditate.
2. "saff" - meaning the first row in Salah
3. "siffah" - meaning the good quality these people have.

The Qur'an and Sunnah deals with all three of these fields collectively. A great example is Suratul 'Asr:

سُوۡرَةُ العَصر

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ (١ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسۡرٍ (٢ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ (٣

1.(I swear) by the Time,

2.man is in a state of loss indeed,

3.except those who believed and did righteous deeds, and exhorted each other to follow truth, and exhorted each other to observe patience.

In this Surah Allah says "except those who believe" this is regarding the first branch - 'aqeedah. Then Allah says "did righteous deeds" this the second branch - fiqh. And Finally Allah speaks of Sabr - this is the third branch - tasawwuf.

The Qur'an and Sunnah have not divided these branches not titled them, nevertheless they ae still covered and we do not refute them. When the three fields are discussed, we should never refute them just because of their titles. Just because some people may have given a bad name to these fields does not mean we associate that with Islam.

This hadeeth is another prime example of all three branches being covered collectively.

More to follow soon insha'Allah.