Joomla! site syndication http://www.letsunderstandislam.com 2008-11-20T19:06:49+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-10-28T11:59:55+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/index.php/Day-to-Day/Low-Riders-–-Not-Halal.html First off, let’s clarify that I’m not talking about jumping cars with super hydraulics. This is a short post for brothers during salat in a masjid and about keeping your pants where they belong. All too often I feel that some brothers confuse the hadith to wear your pants above your ankles and misunderstand it to mean wear your pants below your navel. In Islam, the minimum amount of the body to be covered by men is between the navel and the knee. This area (to be hidden) is known as the ‘awrah. Scholars differ as to whether the knee is part of a man’s `awrah. Ibn Qudamah in al-Mughnî says: “The knees themselves do not have to be covered (they are not part of a man’s`awrah). This is the opinion of Ahmad, Mâlik and al-Shâfi`î” Abû Hanîfah, on the other hand, was of the opinion that the knees are part of a man’s ‘awrah. This disagreement stems from linguistic considerations concerning the interpretation of the preposition “to” in the hadîth that says a man must be covered “from the navel to the knee”. The question is whether the phrase “…to the knee” means “up to and including the knee” or merely “up to the start of the knee”. Either way, if you are wearing your pants low, and a short shirt, when you go into ruku, part of your ‘awrah is exposed. Not only does this cause a sin on you, but also potentially to anyone who catches a glimpse. The simple solution is to tuck your shirt. Generally I believe most men wear an under shirt in which case if you tuck that in it will be sufficient. Please, no more bare skin during salat. It is VERY distracting. text/html 2008-10-28T11:35:47+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/index.php/Day-to-Day/Dry-Cleaning-for-Muslims.html I recently attended a Fiqh class and learning something which is of the utmost importance and MUST be passed on to the Muslim masses Inshallah. The class was discussing Taharat (purification). During this discussion, the top of dry cleaning came up and the following is what was disclosed. The cleaning fluid that is used is a liquid, and all garments are immersed and cleaned in a liquid solvent -- the fact that there is no water is why the process is called dry. The solvent is called perchlorethylene (perc). The clothes rotate in a “basket” where there is a constant flow of clean solvent from the pump and filter system. The solvent sprays into the basket and chamber constantly. The dirty solvent is pumped continuously through the filter and re-circulated free and clear of dirt that gets trapped in the filter. Although the dirt is filtered, any impurities that were on any of the existing clothing have now been mixed into the chemical. This renders the chemical IMPURE and thus any clothing which is washed with this chemical is now also impure. You CANNOT perform any acts of worship in these clothing even though the clothes may appear clean. Bottom Line If you have your clothes dry cleaned, you have two simple options to keep your clothing pure which will allow you to observe acts of worship while wearing them: wash your clothes with water AFTER dry cleaningstop dry cleaning (even if this means getting a new wardrobe) More information on the dry cleaning process can be found at http://science.howstuffworks.com/dry-cleaning.htm (http://science.howstuffworks.com/dry-cleaning.htm). Some facts about water and its purity and its power and conditions to purify: There are three categories of water: purifying water, pure water, and impure water. This is the approach of the majority of scholars. According to this classification, purifying water is water that is in a completely unaltered state. This includes well water, river water, and sea water. It also includes water that has become slightly altered because of age or other reasons. This water is not only pure in and of itself, but it has the power to purify. The second category is water that is pure on its own but does not have the power to purify. It is suitable for drinking and cooking, but it is not suitable for purification purposes. This includes all water that has had its attributes altered by pure substances, like rose water for instance. The third category is impure water. More detailed information with references can be found at the source of the above reference to water at http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=33 sub_cat_id=565 (http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=33 sub_cat_id=565). May Allah (SWT) guide us all to be amongst the successful in the hereafter by allowing us and guiding us to practice the Truth revealed by Allah (SWT) in the Holy Quran and through his blessed and final prophet (pbuh). Ameen. text/html 2008-10-08T21:32:02+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/index.php/Day-to-Day/Learning-on-the-Job-Learn-for-life-the-afterlife.html I recently started trying to learn more about our perfect deen of Islam. To do this I started reading books and attending speeches. Ramadan was an excellent opportunity to focus on this even though time was extremely tight. In doing so, Alhumdullilah I started to change some of my practices which could be improved based on Sunnat and Hadith. Of course with change there is always resistance… unfortunately the resistance is from others who observed some of my “new” practices. Faced with trying to justify and explain the reasoning behind my changes I realized that our cycle of education, working and re-education is very similar to what we should be doing in deen. Those of you, who work in the field of your study, will probably admit that the majority of your work is newly learned skills acquired on the job. The education system (in my opinion) serves 2 fundamental purposes: prepares and teaches you how learnteaches you the fundamentals of your field of study When you get to the working work (the real world), the text book cases you studied are not necessarily applicable any more. If they are applicable, they are usually not in the same ideal environment you studied. As a result you start to learn and understand more in-depth concepts which the education system could not have prepared you for. The real world allows you to reference material (a.k.a Google) to get a better understanding. You start to adapt to the new environment, new principles, new people, new rules (dress code, timing, work ethics), etc. With religion, in particular Islam, and further specific to those born Muslim, we go through a very similar process. At least until the education system is involved. Generally throughout our lives our parents teach us the basics, the fundamentals of Islam. The 5 pillars, names and stories of prophets, do good, refrain from evil, and how to pray. And as we grow and get in to our teens, generally most of us face issues with holding firm to these fundamentals, and experience some tension within our household as the parents try to get the kids back on track. Alhumdullilahi Rabbil Alameen with the Grace of Allah (SWT), you get married, have kids and start to live life, all the while continuing to practice the fundamentals you learned. But is that enough? It wasn’t enough for your career. How can it be enough for your life? With work, we continue to strive, learn more, even take additional courses and pay for them from our own pocket so that we can get a better position, higher pay, more respectable position… all gains for this dunya (world). We spent MUCH less time studying Islam and learning just the basics and often feel it is sufficient to get me to Jannah (Paradise). How can that be? The only thing you can cling on to is that Allah (SWT) is Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim, the Most Kind, the Most Forgiving. 100% true. But what are your chances? At the office, you work hard, and keep telling your boss your accomplishments to make sure when it comes time for annual reviews that he has a list of all your “goodies” and hopefully will issue you a nice bonus payout. You don’t leave it to chance, “my boss is great… I know he will give me the bonus”. When is the last time you heard yourself or anyone say that? Allah (SWT) automatically logs all your “goodies”, even the ones you yourself don’t realize sometimes (maybe you smiled for a stranger, or let another vehicle cut in front of you without incident). Allah (SWT) multiplies every good dead by at least 10, sometimes 70, sometimes 700, and sometimes beyond that, knowledge of which is only with Allah (SWT). I don’t mean to compare Allah to insaan / humans. I am simply using this as an example. A very practical example that should register a change in our minds in the way we think and behave towards the commands of the Almighty Allah (SWT). My dear brothers and sisters, it is time we start to build on the fundamentals we already know and start implementing changes to improve our ibadaat / practices. My father told me once of a line he read once which we should all apply to our lives particularly in learning our deen. “Aquire knowledge, from the cradle to the grave”. Inshallah. Rabbi zidni ilma. Ameen. text/html 2008-08-14T19:19:30+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/index.php/Day-to-Day/Sha-baan-Misconceptions-and-Realities.html Clarification on 15 Shabaan, Shub-e-Barat, Shab-e-Barat, Shabe Barat, Shab E Barat, Shub-e-Baraat, Shab-e-Baraat, Shabe Baraat, Shab E Baraat.Growing up in Pakistan, the month of Sha'baan would bring in a lot of excitement and celebration. And that was because celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan was a big thing and considered a very virtuous act, indeed. Men would gather in the masjid while the women prepared 'Halwas' and sweets, preparations were made for all night vigils or 'Shabeenas' as they were called, buses were made available to take the men to visit the graveyards and flyers were distributed to everyone containing a long list of 'special prayers' so that they could stay up all night praying. But, Alhamdulillaah, how Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala protects His Deen. When Allaah enabled me to study this beautiful religion of ours, all that changed. I realized that all those 'special prayers', all those night vigils, all those Halwas and all those graveyard visits were really not the way of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam). In fact all that was far...far away from his Sunnah and the Sharee'ah that he brought. And so I thought I would bring to attention some of the misconceptions and wrong ideas attached to this month as this ignorance and innovation has become so rampant, that it has become a sort of an epidemic, not only in Pakistan but in practically every Muslim community that exists. Misconception # 1: The night of the 15th of Sha'baan should be singled out for worship, prayer, etc. Clarification: Our best example and role model is the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and he never, ever singled out this night for worship or qiyaam nor did his Sahaba. Shaykh Ibn Baaz said:'There is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan. All the ahaadeeth that have been narrated concerning that are mawdoo' (fabricated) and da'eef (weak), and have no basis. There is nothing special about this night, and no recitation of Qur'aan or prayer, whether alone or in congregation, is specified for this night. What some of the scholars have said about it being special is a weak opinion. It is not permissible to single it out for any special actions. This is the correct view. And Allaah is the Source of strength.' (Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/511) Misconception # 2: There are special prayers to be offered on this night. Clarification: The truth of the matter is that there are NO special prayers to be offered on this night specifically. And all those 'ahaadeeth' giving you long lists of special 'formulas' that are 'supposed to guarantee you Allaah's forgiveness and Jannah' are all fabricated, false and innovations in our Deen. If there were such prayers, the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) would have told us about them and we would have had evidence of him and the Sahaba doing it. Misconception # 3: Allaah descends to the first heavens on this night to forgive us. Clarification: Allaah's descending to the first heaven does not only happen on the night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan. Rather it happens every single night of the year. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said: 'Every night when it is the last third of the night, our Lord, the Superior, the Blessed, descends to the nearest heaven and says: Is there anyone to invoke Me that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone asking My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?. ' (Bukhaari) Thus, when 'Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak was asked about the descent of Allaah on the night of the fifteenth of Sha'baan, he said to the one who asked him: 'O weak one! The night of the fifteenth?! He descends every night!' Misconception # 4: This is the night when our fate, lifespan, and provisions are decreed. Clarification: Some people think that the 'blessed night' (laylatim-mubarakah) mentioned in Surah ad-Dukhaan (44): 3, refers to the night of 15th Shabaan, when Allah decrees our lifespan, provisions and fate. In fact, they even pray 6 rakahs, 2 for each of these things. However, all that is fabricated and far, far away from the Sunnah. And, in reality, the 'blessed night' mentioned in Surah ad-Dukhaan, actually is referring to Laylatul Qadr that comes in Ramadhaan. (Tafseer Ibn Kathir of Surah al-Qadr) Misconception # 5: One should fast on the day of the fifteenth. Clarification: Here again, there is no saheeh reports that tell us that the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) or his Sahaabah ever picked this day specifically to fast. The Sunnah of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) was to fast most of this month and not just the 15th. However, if the fifteenth of Sha'baan coincides with a Monday or Thursday, or with the three white days or if a person is generally fasting, without associating seeking extra rewards to fasting this specific day, then it is allowed. (Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid) Misconception # 6: This is the night when the souls of departed ones return to their families. Clarification: Here again, some people misunderstand the ayaat in Surah al-Qadr and think that the 'sending down of the Ruh' as mentioned in this Surah refers to the souls of dead people returning to see their families, even though it refers to Jibreel (Tafseer Ibn Kathir). And that is why we see women preparing the sweets, the Halwas and other 'goodies' for the souls of their loved ones. Not only is that in itself an erroneous, deviant belief and bid'ah, but to believe that the souls of the dead can return back to the world and meet with their relatives is also totally incorrect and false. The teachings of the Qur'aan and the Sunnah clearly state that the souls of the dead do not return back to the world. Besides, they don't even eat the Halwas. It is actually you who eats it! Misconception # 7: Visiting graveyards especially this night is something good. Clarification: Although the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) encouraged visiting graves, he forbade singling out any day or night for any kinds of good deeds if it is not prescribed in the Sharee'ah. And he did not specifically visit the graveyard on the night of the 15th of Sha'aan. The hadeeth of Aisha that mentions that the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) visited the graveyard this night is not authentic and thus does not have any proof for visiting graves specifically on this night of Shabaan.Misconception # 8: Even if the ahaadeeth about worship on this night are weak, one can still do it. Clarification: The correct scholarly view is that weak ahaadeeth should not be followed at all, even if they speak of righteous deeds or of targheeb and tarheeb (promises and warnings). The saheeh reports are sufficient and the Muslim has no need to follow the da'eef reports. Shaykh Ahmad Shaakir said: 'There is no difference between rulings or righteous deeds; we do not take any of them from da'eef reports, rather no one has the right to use any report as evidence unless it is proven to be soundly narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) in a saheeh or hasan hadeeth.' Misconception # 9: Look at all those people doing it. How can they all be wrong? Clarification: The Muslim is supposed to refer to Allaah and His Messenger (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam)'s Sunnah, if there is any confusion or dispute about matters and NOT what the rest of the world is doing. 'O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger and those of you who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allaah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination [al-Nisaa' 4:59] Shaykh Ibn Jibreen said: 'These reports (about worship and fasting an the 15th of Sha'baan) became very well known in some countries which were overwhelmed by ignorance; One should not be deceived by the large numbers of ignorant people who do these things.' The REAL Sunnah regarding Sha'baan: If you truly and sincerely want to please Allaah and do deeds that will be acceptable to Him, then follow the REAL Sunnah of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam). Here is what is proven in the authentic sunnah: 1. Fast most of this month as much as you can. Aa'ishah RA said: 'I never saw the Messenger of Allaah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadaan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha'baan.' (Bukhaari, Muslim). 2. However, if you are weak or do not fast habitually and feel that this nafil fasting may be a hindrance to your obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadhaan, then the person may stop the nafil fasting in the last few days of this month. And for that person, the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said: 'When Sha'baan is half over, do not fast.' (saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi). 3. If you have fasts left over from last Ramadhaan to make up, then hurry up and do so in this month of Sha'baan before the next Ramadhaan comes. It is not permissible to delay missed fasts until after the following Ramadhaan, except in cases of necessity (such as a valid excuse that continues between the two Ramadaans). Aa'ishah RA said: 'It used to be that I had days to make up for Ramadhaan and I would not be able to do so except in Sha'baan.' [Bukhaari] text/html 2008-08-12T21:32:46+01:00 http://www.letsunderstandislam.com http://www.letsunderstandislam.com/index.php/Day-to-Day/Job-Hunting-Apply-to-Paradise.html I recently got back into the job market to start “poking around” to see what other opportunities are available. In this process I was reminded of death. You may wonder how the two can possibly be related… Let me prefix my explanation with the following clarification. Jobs are created by employers driven by a need. Allah (swt) has no needs. When job hunting, it’s typical for people to start writing and re-writing their resume several times until it has a polished finish. The goal: to secure a position with a big organization to apply my skills and experience and to continue to learn and grow within the organization. Sounds pretty good and fulfilling. So you start out by putting your name and contact information… you want to make sure all the good stuff you write about yourself is attributed to you. Then maybe you add your “objective”. Probably similar to the “goal” I just mentioned. Follow this by your education. You add 2 or 3 line items for education… seems pretty small for 15-20 years of your life. Move on to Experience. Now you can really start writing… describe all the good things you were responsible for, all your achievements, special projects, direct reports, budget responsibility etc. Read it over, fix a few grammatical errors… get up, stretch, smile and feel proud of all you have achieved over the years. Time to start applying. So you open a browser and go to your favorite online job board and search for keywords to describe the job you are looking for… wow… look at how many people need you. Filter by salary… hmmm… no so many people any more… the rest probably weren’t good companies anyways ;). So you start to read the job descriptions… seems like a good fit. Let’s read a little about the company… very interesting… lots of growth potential, they pay for further education, bonuses, good benefits package, good starting vacation period, car allowance… wow… this is really good… I want this job. Let’s apply. So you send your entire life history (resume) to them on 2 pages… 2 pages. 20-30 years on 2 pages. Interesting. The company calls you a few days later and are interested… come in for an interview. So you show up on time, dressed up nice, suit, tie, nice cologne, a little gel in the hair… need to give a good impression. You get seated, feeling comfortable and confident. You know what you are doing, you have the education, the skills, the experience… they can’t turn you down. You walk out convinced you only need to wait for them to call back and sign some papers. They don’t call… but you do get an email… Thank you for your interest in this position however we have decided to pursue other options. You did not disclose your criminal record or poor credit rating. OH OH. How did they find out ? And so comes the reminder of death. When we all appear before Allah (swt) our book of deeds will be open. Good and bad. You don’t need to put your name on your deeds as Allah (SWT) has already taken care of this for you. You can try to hide bad history from a potential employer, but they can still find out. And they are only human. You had everything they needed… so what if you have bad credit rating… that shouldn’t have any effect on your job? But rules are rules. And so it is with the rules of life. A few small things shouldn’t stop you from entering Jannah… or will it? LyingStealingFraudBackbitingHateSwearingZinaProudnessDrinkingHaram FoodDrugsViolenceAngerGreedOppressionBreaking Promises And the list goes on… When was the last time we dressed up nice for Allah (swt) by following the dress code of our beloved Prophet (pbuh)? When was the last time we looked at our list of good deeds to present to Allah (swt) for entry into Paradise? Try this as an exercise… write down all your good deeds. This of course does NOT include obligatory acts such as salat, fasting, zakat, hajj. Those you have to do regardless. That is the equivalent of you writing on your resume “I can speak English”. That is already a pre-requisite. Without it, you have no chance whatsoever. The same applies to the Fard actions, and Imaan. Without both, your chances are negligible. How long is your list? You would think it should be at least as long as your resume… not there yet? Neither am I. I won’t ask you to put a list of bad deeds… but I will encourage you to envision how lengthy a list that would create. When was the last time we were “on-time” for salat? Not leaving it for the last minute. Seems that we can find time to get to a job interview early just fine… but what about ibaadat for Allah (swt)? Brothers and sisters, it’s time we start polishing up our resume for the akhirat… that is the ideal job that will never end. Try to put life into perspective. Your whole life can be put on 2 pages. Which way will your balance scale lean ? May Allah (SWT) guide us to clean up our “credit rating” by seeking Allah (SWT)’s forgiveness and doing tauba and may Allah (SWT) help us increase our good deeds to please Allah (SWT) and ultimately grant us entry into Paradise.