Fasting During Sha'ban

A reminder of the virtues of fasting during the month of Sha`ban (which has just begun in many countries around the world) from Imam Zaid Shakir's blog:

Sha’ban is a month of good that introduces the great month of Ramadan. The Prophet, peace upon him, used to fast voluntarily during this month more so than in any other month. One of the motivations for that, as we will mention below, is that Sha’ban is the month during which the deeds performed by the servant ascend to God. What follows is a discussion around fasting during the month of Sha’ban.

Usama b. Zayd relates: “The Prophet, peace and mercy of God upon him, used to fast so many days in succession that we said, ‘He will never break his fast.’ At other times he would go without fasting for so long until we said, ‘He will never again fast;’ except for two days, which he would fast even if they occurred during the times he was not fasting consecutive days. Furthermore, he would not fast in any month as many days as he fasted during Sha’ban. I said: ‘O Messenger of God! Sometimes you fast so much it is as if you will never break your fast, at other times you leave fasting for such a long stint it is as if you will never again fast [voluntarily]; except for two days that you always fast.’ He asked: ‘Which two days are those?’ I replied: ‘Monday and Thursday.’ The Prophet, peace upon him, said: ‘Those are two days in which the deeds are presented to the Lord of the Worlds. I love that my deeds are presented while I am fasting.’ I said: ‘I do not see you fasting in any month like you fast during Sha’ban.’ The Prophet, peace and mercy of God upon him, said: “That is a month occurring between Rajab and Ramadan that many people neglect. It is a month in which the deeds ascend to the Lord of the Worlds, be He Mighty and Majesty, and I love for my deeds to ascend while I am fasting.” Related by Imam Ahmad and Imam Al-Nasa’i

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There are other reasons we are encouraged to fast in Sha’ban, Ibn Rajab mentions a few. Among them, in summary:

1. People tend to neglect Sha’ban as it occurs between Rajab, one of the sacred months, and Ramadan, the great month of fasting and Qur’an. Therefore, we are encouraged to fast it by way of reviving it and not neglecting it.

2. Fasting during it is easier to hide. All observant Muslims are fasting in Ramadan, and many place great emphasis on fasting during Rajab. Therefore, those who fast Sha’ban are doing so against the expectations of most people and can therefore more easily hide the fact that they are fasting. There is great virtue, under normal circumstances in hiding our voluntary acts. One anecdote in this regard mentions a man who fasted voluntarily for forty years without anyone knowing it, even his family. Every morning he would leave home with two loaves of bread in his hand. He would give them away in charity. His family thought that he was eating them, and the people in the marketplace where he worked thought that he was selling them.

3. A third reason is related to the previous one. Because many people are fasting during Ramadan and Rajab, it is easier to fast then as large groups engaging in a particular act of worship make it easier for an individual to undertake that act. Hence, the increased difficulty of fasting during Sha’ban led the Prophet to place great emphasis on it.[2]

Know your Hadith - Part V

Part IV here

Hadith during the time of the Companions and their followers (may Allah be please with them)

This section of the book has amazing stories which were my motivation behind starting this whole series of posts. It took a while to get here, but alhamdulilAllah, I hope the posts so far have been somewhat beneficial.

After the death of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), the Companions realized the great responsibility on their shoulders of preserving the primary sources of Shariah: the Quran and Sunnah.

With regards to the Sunnah, a great deal of time and effort were devoted to collecting, learning, and teaching hadith.

Abdullah Ibn Abbas narrates that after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him)[he was 12-13 years old then], he said to one of the ansar: let us go and ask the companions of the Prophet of Allah [about hadith], for they are many today. The man replied in wonder: [I am] surprised at you O ibn Abbas...do you think people are in need of you, and amongst them are the many companions of Prophet? Nevertheless, Ibn Abbas pursued the knowledge of Hadith from the companions of the Prophet of Allah. He would hear of a man [who knows Hadith] and would go to his door while he is having his afternoon nap, and would stay at the doorstep with the winds throwing sand at him until the man comes out at says: O cousin of the Prophet of Allah, what has brought you here? Why did you not call for me and I would have come to you? Ibn Abbas would reply: it is more befitting that I come to you and ask you about Hadith.

[Al Jami` li Akhlaq ar-Rawi wa Adab as-Sami`, page 24]

This story made me stop and think. We often hear the name of ibn Abbas when it comes to narrating hadith, but I never thought of what he had to go through to learn that hadith. And although there were many older companions living in Medinah at the time, rather than allow himself to take a back seat and rely on their knowledge, that motivated him to learn hadith from them.

The companions, may Allah be pleased with them, did their best to pass on the love of Hadith to the next generation and stress the importance of learning and sharing Hadith, from an early age, and their followers did the same with the next generation.

There are many stories of the unmatched dedication and passion of the teachers of Hadith which allowed this science to spread and flourish, of which one is below:

al-Waleed bin Utbah would teach Hadith at Masjid Al-Jabiyah (in Damascus), and there was a man who would join the class after a quarter or a third of it were over so he would repeat what he said for him. When this happened several times al-Waled asked the man about the reason for his delay and the man answered: I am a man with the responsibility of spending on my family, and I have a small shop in Beit Lihya [a town near Damascus]. If I do not buy its needs early, close the store and coming running, I risk losing my source of income. al-Waleed replied: I do not [want to] see you here again. al-Waleed would teach his class at the masjid, and then take his book and go to Beit Lahiya to re-teach the lesson to the man at his shop.

[Al Jami` li Akhlaq ar-Rawi wa Adab as-Sami`, page 36]

Not anyone would be allowed to become a student of Hadith; it was an honor and privilige reserved to those students who had proven themselves by studying and memorizing all or most of the Quran. There were also manners and etiquettes to be kept when studying Hadith , attending a class, or even asking a question. For example, most scholars would not discuss Hadith without being in a state of purity (wudu`).

The journey in pursuit of Hadith

During the time of the companions and the two generations after them, students and scholars of hadith would travel thousands of miles to hear one hadith from a companion who heard it directly from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him).

Al Ata` ibn Rabih narrates:

Abu Ayoub al-Ansari set out to ask Uqbah bin Amir about a hadith he had heard from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), and Uqbah was the only remaining companion who had heard it with him. When Abu Ayyoub reached the house of Maslamah ibn Mukhlad al-Ansari, who was the ruler of Egypt at the time,...Maslamah came out and hugged him, then said: what has brought you here O Abu Ayoub? He replied: a hadith I heard from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), and none of the people who heard it from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) remain except myself and Uqbah, so send someone to show me his house. So he sent someone to show him Uqbah's house, and told Uqbah. Uqbah came running out, hugged Abu Ayoub and asked: what brought you here O Abu Ayoub? He replied: He replied: a hadith I heard from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), and none of the people who heard it from the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) remain except myself and yourself, about covering a believer. Uqbah said: yes, I heard the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) say: "من ستر مؤمنا في الدنيا على خزيه ستره الله يوم القيامة"
(rough translation: Whoever covers a believer in this world from his embarrassment, Allah will cover him on the Day of Judgement)
Abu Ayoub al-Ansari responded: you said the truth, and then he went back to his ride, rode it, and set back to Madinah, [so fast that] an envoy which Maslamah ibn Mukhlad had sent did not catch up with him until al-A'reesh [on the borders of Egypt].

[Ma'rifat Uloom al-Hadith, pg 8]

The journeys in pursuit of Hadith played a central role in the spread and preservation of Hadith, especially until the time when the main collections of hadith were complied, as will be the topic of the next post inshaAllah.

Know your Hadith - Part IV

Part III here

How did Hadith spread during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?
As mentioned earlier, the early Muslims studied Hadith along with Quran in their study circles at Dar al-Arqam. Soon after that, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was ordered to spread Islam publicly. Eventually, Islam spread throughout the Arabian peninsula and the number of Muslims grew to thousands. How did the spread of Hadith happen during this time of vast expansion?

Several factors worked together to ensure the spread of Hadith during the first twenty-three years of Islam:

1. The tireless efforts of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) did not spare any effort in calling to Islam and endured many hardships and challenges to ensure the spread of his message including meeting the different tribes and envoys during the pilgrimage and trade seasons.

2. The nature of Islam:
The novelty of this deen compared to the way of life in Arabia 1,400 years aroused the curiosity of some people and led them to meet the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inquire about this new religion. Many people would then accept Islam and travel back to their tribes to teach them what they learnt from their encounter with the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him).

3. The efforts of the Companions (peace be upon them):
The companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) strove to learn as much as they could from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and pass on that knowledge. Despite being busy with their daily bread-winning activities (trade, shepherding...) the companions made sure to attend the study circles with the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), or at least take turns in attending.

For example, Omar narrates that he and one of his neighbour from the Ansar (helpers) from the tribe of Ummayah ibn Zaid used to take turns at attending the study circle of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When it was his turn, Omar would return and convey to his neighbour the ahadith and verses he had heard, and his neighbour would do the same (reported in Fath al-Bari).

4. The Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them):
Being in close contact with the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), the Mothers of the Believers played an important role in the spreading of his sunnah, especially amongst women, some of whom would be too shy to approach the Messenger (peace be upon him) directly.

Aisha the daughter of Abu Baker (may Allah be pleased with both of them) was famous for her vast knowledge of hadith and fiqh rulings because she would constantly ask the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) about anything she did not know or understand. After the Prophet's death, she was a great reference and source for the students of knowledge.

5. The envoys and messengers of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) sent messengers to all surrounding tribes and empires, both near and far, and would teach his messengers before they left the art of dawah (calling people to Islam) and instruct them to convey Islam in the best way, using their wisdom, without being too harsh on the people.

6. The Conquest of Makkah (al-Fath):
This is one of the greatest conquests in history which resulted in thousands of people coming to Islam. There was a very large number of Muslims in Makkah during the Conquest from different tribes and origins, which facilitated their encounter with the Prophet and the transfer of knowledge amongst them, including the knowledge of Hadith.

7. The Farewell Pilgrimage:
The Farewell Sermon which the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) gave on the mountain of Arafat during this pilgrimage, and which included many of the main principles and rulings of Islam, was heard by around 90,000 Muslims from all over Arabia who were performing the pilgrimage alongside the Prophet of Allah(peace be upon him).


What happened to hadith during the time of the companions and their followers (may Allah be pleased with them)?...To be continued in Part V insha'Allah.

Know your Hadith - Part III

Part II here

Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) methodology of teaching his companions

This post is also my way of commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - the greatest role model, teacher, and leader to walk this earth.

To understand the importance of Hadith and its effect on the Prophet's companions one must have an idea of the Prophet's teaching methodology.

Of course, the the methodology of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in spreading knowledge was in line with that of the glorious Quran. Below are the highlights of this methodology as mentioned by Dr. Ajaj Al Khatib (here for reference):

1. Gradual teaching:
The Quran was gradual in correcting the people's faith, manners, acts of worship, legal system, societal interactions... For all of the above, Prophet Muhammad explained and implemented the teachings of the Quran as they were revealed.

2. Places of knowledge:
As is well-known, the first Islamic 'school' was the house al-Arqam in which Muslims gathered during the Meccan era, away from the disbelievers of Quraysh to learn Quran and Hadith.

Moreover, the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would constantly study the Quran and its explanation and interpretation (ie: the Hadith of the Prophet- peace be upon him) amongst each other wherever they got the chance. Thus, Hadith was memorized and studies along side the Quran from the earliest days of Islam.

At a later stage, the masjid became the house of spreading knowledge and Islamic rulings (fatwa), in addition to a place for performing acts of worship.

Nevertheless, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not confine the spreading knowledge to a particular place. He would be asked questions on the street or in a gathering and would not hesitate to answer. We know from the stories of the companions that the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) would often sit with them, teaching and purifying them.

5. Practical application:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would teach his companions a few verses of the Quran at a time, explaining to them the meanings and the fiqh rulings in the verses. The companions would learn the verses, understand their meaning, implement them in their daily lives, and only then would they move on to learn more verses.

Many of the greatest companions learnt the Quran this way, 10 verses at a time, including Abdullah ibn Masoud and Uthman bin Affan.

6. Speaking to people at their level:
The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) was always conscious of the background, education, and culture of his audience - always addressing them at their level, with words they would comprehend and to which they could relate.

7. Facilitating:
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stayed away from excessive strictness in worship and rulings and would choose the paths which would bring ease to the people, in any matter. The Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged his companions to truly understand the matters of their deen (way of life, i.e.: Islam). He would instruct them to ask questions on matters they were ignorant of, and forbid them from giving a fatwa without sufficient knowledge.

8. Teaching women:
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) paid attention to the teaching of women, just like he did to the teaching of men. He would dedicate a special time to sit with the Muslim women answering their questions and teaching them their deen.

Through the above methodology, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was able to ingrain the beliefs and teachings of Islam in the hearts and minds of his companions.

Oh Allah, may Your Mercy, Peace and Blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, and May You grant us his companionship in Jannah, ameen.

Why Shariah?

A must-read article on Shariah in the NYT! I've wanting to post on this issue for a while. I don't have the background to be able to verify everything in the article, but as far as I can tell the historical facts are accurate, with a few minor expections. For example, Prophet Muhammad during his life ordered his followers to look to his Sunnah (in addition to the Quran) for guidance; it was not the Caliphs that came up with the idea (see this post for more on evidence for following Sunnah).

But back to the article, I think it offers a lot of food for thought, on the past, present and future of the application of Shariah. It's definately worth the read. Excerpts below:

In some sense, the outrage about according a degree of official status to Shariah in a Western country should come as no surprise. No legal system has ever had worse press. To many, the word “Shariah” conjures horrors of hands cut off, adulterers stoned and women oppressed. By contrast, who today remembers that the much-loved English common law called for execution as punishment for hundreds of crimes, including theft of any object worth five shillings or more? How many know that until the 18th century, the laws of most European countries authorized torture as an official component of the criminal-justice system? As for sexism, the common law long denied married women any property rights or indeed legal personality apart from their husbands. When the British applied their law to Muslims in place of Shariah, as they did in some colonies, the result was to strip married women of the property that Islamic law had always granted them — hardly progress toward equality of the sexes.

In fact, for most of its history, Islamic law offered the most liberal and humane legal principles available anywhere in the world. Today, when we invoke the harsh punishments prescribed by Shariah for a handful of offenses, we rarely acknowledge the high standards of proof necessary for their implementation. Before an adultery conviction can typically be obtained, for example, the accused must confess four times or four adult male witnesses of good character must testify that they directly observed the sex act. The extremes of our own legal system — like life sentences for relatively minor drug crimes, in some cases — are routinely ignored. We neglect to mention the recent vintage of our tentative improvements in family law. It sometimes seems as if we need Shariah as Westerners have long needed Islam: as a canvas on which to project our ideas of the horrible, and as a foil to make us look good.

...

So in contemporary Islamic politics, the call for Shariah does not only or primarily mean mandating the veiling of women or the use of corporal punishment — it has an essential constitutional dimension as well. But what is the particular appeal of placing Shariah above ordinary law?

The answer lies in a little-remarked feature of traditional Islamic government: that a state under Shariah was, for more than a thousand years, subject to a version of the rule of law. And as a rule-of-law government, the traditional Islamic state had an advantage that has been lost in the dictatorships and autocratic monarchies that have governed so much of the Muslim world for the last century. Islamic government was legitimate, in the dual sense that it generally respected the individual legal rights of its subjects and was seen by them as doing so.

...

The modern incarnation of Shariah is nostalgic in its invocation of the rule of law but forward-looking in how it seeks to bring this result about. What the Islamists generally do not acknowledge, though, is that such institutions on their own cannot deliver the rule of law. The executive authority also has to develop a commitment to obeying legal and constitutional judgments. That will take real-world incentives, not just a warm feeling for the values associated with Shariah.

...

Can Shariah provide the necessary resources for such a rethinking of the judicial role? In its essence, Shariah aspires to be a law that applies equally to every human, great or small, ruler or ruled. No one is above it, and everyone at all times is bound by it. But the history of Shariah also shows that the ideals of the rule of law cannot be implemented in a vacuum. For that, a state needs actually effective institutions, which must be reinforced by regular practice and by the recognition of actors within the system that they have more to gain by remaining faithful to its dictates than by deviating from them.

Continue here

Hijab tip: Huda Shaikh

Know your Hadith - Part II

Part I here

What is the Proof for Sunnah as a source of Legislation?

When Muslims say that they only believe in Quran, not in Sunnah, or that they only take evidence from the Quran not from the Sunnah - it's a sign that they have probably never read the whole Quran or understood the basic principles of Islam.

Why? Check out the verses below:

يا أيها الذين آمنوا أطيعوا الله وأطيعوا الرسول وأولي الأمر منكم فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردوهإلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر ذلك خير وأحسن تأويلا
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result. [4:59]

يا أيها الذين آمنوا أطيعوا الله و رسوله و لا تولوا عنه و أنتم تسمعون
O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order]. [8:20]

قل أطيعوا الله وأطيعوا الرسول فإن تولوا فإنما عليه ما حمل وعليكم ما حملتم وإن تطيعوه تهتدوا وما على الرسول إلا البلاغ المبين
Say, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon him is only that [duty] with which he has been charged, and upon you is that with which you have been charged. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification." [24:54]

يا أيها الذين آمنوا أطيعوا الله وأطيعوا الرسول ولا تبطلوا أعمالكم
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds. [47:33]

قل أطيعوا الله والرسول فإن تولوا فإن الله لا يحب الكافرين
Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers. [3:32]

وأقيموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة وأطيعوا الرسول لعلكم ترحمون
And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger - that you may receive mercy. [24:56]

من يطع الرسول فقد أطاع الله ومن تولى فما أرسلناك عليهم حفيظا
He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah ; but those who turn away - We have not sent you over them as a guardian. [4:80]

وما آتاكم الرسول فخذوه وما نهاكم عنه فانتهوا واتقوا الله إن الله شديد العقاب...
... And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty. [59:80]


فلا وربك لا يؤمنون حتى يحكموك فيما شجر بينهم ثم لا يجدوا في أنفسهم حرجا مما قضيت ويسلموا تسليما
But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muúammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission. [4:56]

Of course, there are many other verses in the Quran which refer to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his attributes, but the verses above are the ones I thought most directly address the issue of following the Sunnah.

Some people who do not 'believe' in the Sunnah, use the excuse that it is not as authentic and certain as the Quran. This is another point which will be discussed at length in following posts; however, the point I wish to make here is that given a Hadith is established as authentic, it must be considered in legislation.

In addition to the evidence from the Quran, there is evidence from the Hadith that supports following the Sunnah. Two I found particularly relevant are below:

تركت فيكم أمرين لن تضلوا ما تمسكم بهما: كتاب الله و سنتي
I left among you two things, you will not go astray as long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah. [al-Muwatta by Imam Malik, page 899]

لا ألفين أحدكم متكئا على أريكته يأتيه الأمر من أمري ، مما أمرت به و نهيت عنه - فيقول: لا أدري ما وجدنافي كتاب الله اتبعناه
I do not [want to] find any of you reclining on his couch and upon hearing
one of my commands, which includes a matter I enjoined or forbade, says: "I
do not know; whatever we found in the Book of Allah, (only that) we follow". [al-Resalah by Imam al-Shafi, page 89]

Now we come to another question: how is what is legislated in the sunnah different to that which is in the Quran?

Overall, there are three different cases:

1. Some of the ahadith (plural of hadith) concur exactly with the Quran, supporting and confirming its verses. Example: the ahadith enjoining prayer and zakah

2. Some of the ahadith explain and elaborate on the verses of the Quran. Example: ahadith on time and way of prayer

3. Some of the ahadith provide legislation on issues not mentioned in the Quran. Example: forbidding a man from marrying a second wife who is the niece of his first wife (while he is still married to his first wife)

Obviously, none of the ahadith contradict the Quran.

On a final note, my teacher made an interesting remark when covering this chapter: the three types of ahadith mentioned above are referred to in the verses of the Quran. How? The verse which states "Obey Allah and the Messenger..."[3:32] refers to type 1 of ahadith (hadith exactly supporting verse). The verb "obey" is mentioned once because the Book of Allah and the ahadith are coming with the exact same message. The verses which state "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger..." (first 4 verses of this post) refer to the ahadith which elaborate and explain the verses of the Quran (notice obey is mentioned twice). The verses which mention obeying the Prophet without mentioning obeying Allah (like verse 24:56) refer to type 3 of ahadith.

Please let me know if you have any comments or find any mistakes in the above.

Stay tuned for Part III...

Caught In a Fight

Every year, three times a year, I find myself caught in the midst of a bitter fit. I feel like I am caught between two parents fighting with one another. Passionate. Accusatory. Quite saddening all of it.

Every year the Muslim community is found struggling to define and defend their most basic right, to claim the beginning and end of religious observances based on the sighting of the moon. This is like the Jewish tradition, where the moon is used to set dates, the lunar calender is an integral part of Muslim observances.

However, for a Muslim caught between tradition (principles- sunnah) and "modern" life (using this loosely to mean coping with life outside Muslim majority countries and the implications of differences on demands of life) this turmoil is not just disappointing, but quite nerve wrecking.

I prepared myself for Eid to be on Saturday. Turns out the Middle East sighted the moon declared Eid tomorrow- making it a momentous day- and throwing my world in whack because my parents Masjid follows Saudi moon sighting and I have to take tomorrow off, pack up, shop for clothes to wear, gifts to give and all of the other 'work' things in a matter of hours, and then drive up two hours to get my brother and drive home. Only to wake up to a hectic morning for prayer service preparations and then, then well Eid is over until the house calls begin.

You see what I have learned is this-

1. People are so passionate about the issue- they fight over it and dig their heels in.
2. Religion is meant to be a good experience- the fighting makes the Ramadan season and Eid a bit rancorous and down right unpleasant bitter in the beginning and the end.
3. People will not change their minds. They just won't, they are stubborn.
4. A Muslim layman is going to loose their minds dealing with the chaotic nature of the discourse and decision making process. Often times getting caught in between legitimate debates, but illegitimate rivalries that become personal.
5. Shaitan (Egos) plays with our hearts.

Given these, I cope the following way:

1. Until I have my own family, I do what my parents do;
2. I stay quite and walk away from these "conversations"; often times I just allow myself to let it in through one ear and out the other;
3. I smile and nod, and look for the quickest way to exit the situation, if ever caught in the firing lines;
4. I stay away from the "you were wrong, I was right" conversations;
5. My future preference is set, I will use the Calculation method- no matter how much people put it down, I find it to be in line with my Islamic understanding and ability, you can only pray that I am endowed with enough wisdom to accept your way of thinking, and I will pray that you will be endowed with enough wisdom to respect me for my decision and we can let each other live on this issue.

I hope my thoughts help people survive the MoonFight-palooza we have once again found ourselves in.

Are You Just?

Submitted By Guest Blogger Ahmed Ibn Aslam

"The just ruler is the one who calls people to tawhid, calls people to the sunnah. If you want to be just in your community, in your society, in your family, in your masjid you have to make the priority to teach people the sunnah, teach people tawhid, otherwise you are not just. If you are just in all other aspects but you dont call people towards tawhid you are being unjust with Allah , this is the greatest injustice you can ever do. Therefore Umar Bin Abdel Aziz ( the 5th rightly guided calipha) said: My way of changing the muslim situation will be to teach them one sunnah everyday and to eliminate one bidah" everyday."

Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

CD SET: 7 People Under the Shade of the Throne of Allah

Lessons from the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him)

How is Dr. Tariq Ramadan's latest book different from the many other sirah books out there? The insightful lessons drawn from the stories of Prophet Muhammad’s life nd applied to ours today is what, to me, makes this book unique.

The book doesn’t overwhelm its readers with names and dates (as other more comprehensive history books sometimes do). Instead the author focuses on the morals and the teachings that can be derived from the different incidences. He truly delves deep into the Prophet’s character, at the same time subtly correcting common misconceptions about our beloved Messenger and his message (jihad, treatment of women, interfaith relations, etc…)

I whole-heartedly recommend this book to Muslims and non-Muslims, young and old alike.

Below are excerpts from passages that particularly touched and inspired me.

The Orphan and his Educator
One evening, he [Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)] heard that a wedding was to be celebrated in Mecca and he wanted to attend. On the way there, he reported, he suddenly felt tired; he lay down to rest and fell asleep. … The One, always present at his side, literally put him to sleep thus protecting him from his own instincts… This natural initiation into morals, remote from any obsession with sin and fostering of guilt, greatly influenced the kind of education the Prophet was to impart to his Companions. … this teaching method is most valuable and reminds us that a moral sense should be developed not through interdiction and sanction but gradually, gently, exactingly, understandingly, and at a deep level.

Incidence with the blind companion(referred to in Surah `Abasa)
Thus the prophet is a model for Muslims not only through the excellence of his behavior but also through the weakness of his humanity… No one must ever let power or social, economic, or political interests turn him or her away from other human beings, from the attention they deserve and the respect they are entitled to.


Hijrah


Battle of Badr
The Messenger’s authority in human affairs was neither autocratic nor restricted… The Prophet gave his Companions, women and men alike, the means and confidence to be autonomous, to dare to address and contradict him without his ever considering it as lack of respect for his status. Through this attitude he showed them deep respect for their intelligence and for their heart…


Spirituality
He [Prophet Muhammad] thus invited them [the Companions] to deny or despise nothing in their humanity and taught them that the core of the matter was achieving self-control. Spirituality means both accepting and mastering one’s instincts…

Battle of the Moat [Ditch/Confederates]
Muhammad took part in the work [digging the ditch], and his Companions would hear him sometimes invoking God, sometimes reciting poems, sometimes singing songs in which they would all join. … the Prophet enabled the women and me in his community—beyond their communion in faith and ritual prayer—to commune through the voicing of emotions and the musicality of hearts articulating their belonging to a common expression of the self, a collective imagination, a culture.
…
All his Companions had witnessed, in all the circumstances of his life, that seemingly surprising blend of infinite generosity of heart, unambiguous determination in adversity, and strict management of time.

Death of his son Ibrahim
The trial of faith and of humanity, which made the Prophet shed tears, consisted precisely in learning how to find,…, the strength to face the finitude of the human, sudden departures, and death. The sign of the One’s Presence at the time of a person’s death lies not in the occurrence of any miracle but rather in the permanence of the natural order, in the eternity of His creation…

Final teachings
…faith would not leave them [the Muslim community], he said, but the world with its illusions would colonize them, and both would, unfortunately, coexist with them.

In History, for Eternity
The Messenger may have left the human world, but he has taught us never to forget Him, the Supreme Refuge, the Witness, the Most Near. Bearing witness that there is no god but God is, in effect, stepping towards deep and authentic freedom; recognizing Muhammad as the Messenger is essentially learning to love him in his absence and to love Him in His presence.

Self empowerment - Sunnah Style

Feeling lazy or depressed these days? I've got the perfect dua` for you:

Allah's Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, would often pray,"O Allah! I seek your protection from anxiety and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from stinginess and cowardice, and from the burden of debt and the domination of people."

I didn't even have to go look this up; it landed straight in my inbox! Sheikh Muhammad AlSharif (yeah, the AlMaghrib Institute guy) started this project where you can subscribe to a list online and get weekly email tips from the Quran and authentic Sunnah about leading a successful life.

Here's what he has to say about it:

All around us, self-help gurus (not Shaykhs, gurus) and personal development coaches offer us tips on how to be successful. Any Muslim that attends these workshops or listens to this advice can 'sense' that all of this and much more is already a slice of Islam. Yet, not too many Muslims know where to access this success advice and guidance from Islamic sources.

Rejoice Now! The solution is here: I'm SOOO excited to share with you my mass-scale da'wah solution! Every week for one year,I will send you a short but powerful verse or hadith related to success conditioning. I personally selected each one - this is not a copy/paste collection. Some of the hadith you may have read before, but will love being reminded. Others you will be learning for the first time, and will love the depth it brings to your life and loved ones.

"Not another email list!" you say? Trust me, this is different. Go ahead, just try it out! It's free and will only take a minute of your precious time.

Jazakum Allah khairan Sheikh Muhammad AlSharif!

(You can leave your shameless plugs about the next AlMaghrib class in the comments section below.)