Islam
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Overcoming bad habits
Question
How does a person kick a bad habit that he has had for years?
Answer
When a person recognizes his personal shortcomings and bad habits and has the intention to change them, then that person has taken the first step towards making a positive change in his life.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Verily forbearance is achieved by putting it into practice.” [al-Tabarânî in al-Awsat and al-Bayhaqî in Shu`ab al-Imân]
This means that a person can change his bad habits and manners into good ones.
This can be achieved by taking the following steps:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Verily forbearance is achieved by putting it into practice.” [al-Tabarânî in al-Awsat and al-Bayhaqî in Shu`ab al-Imân]
This means that a person can change his bad habits and manners into good ones.
This can be achieved by taking the following steps:
1. To ask Allah sincerely and frequently to help you.Allah says: “O you who believe! Seek help in patience and prayer. Indeed Allah is with those who are patient.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 153]
2. To remember the bad habits upon doing the bad deed. For example, when you are angry, remember the bad habit of raising your voice, and when eating, remember the prohibition of eating with the left hand, and so forth.
3. Sometimes you may forget your endeavors and lapse into your old bad habits. So do not be despair, but try again. Allah will surely help you.
4. You might wish to speak with others who used to suffer from the same bad habits and benefit from their experiences. They can tell you how they managed to overcome their problems.
5. I advise you to read books and listen to recorded lectures that discuss the problem you are trying to overcome. This often proves helpful.
And Allah knows best.
-islamtoday.net
Entertaining a guest in one's home for more than 3 days
Question
A guest visits a home and is invited to stay over for the night. However, she continues to stay for several nights. The host, out of sympathy is tolerant of this behavior, because the guest is an elderly lady, and the host feels shy to refuse her request. However, the protracted stay of this guest though infringes on the family's privacy. Is there, in Islamic practice, any stated length of time one should offer to a guest who is in need of a place to stay? Or is it purely left to the good judgment of the host?
Answer
Abu Shurayh al-`Adawî relates that the Prophet said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his neighbor. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest and give him his due."
It was asked, "Messenger of Allah, what is his due?"
He said, "His due is a day and, and he should entertain his guest for three days. Whatever exceeds that is charity for him.
And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5560)]
Scholars differ regarding what is meant by this "due". Some say it refers to giving the guest the best food and hospitality for that first day. During the other days, the hospitality should be according to the norms of the household.
Scholars who hold this view differ as to whether the first day is inclusive in the three or if the three days are additional to it. Al-Khattâbî and many others regard the hadîth to refer to three days in total.
Other scholars say the due is something unrelated to the hospitality. It is to give the guest provisions of a day and night when he continues on his journey. The hospitality is for the guest to be able to stay for three days.
This is in accordance with some narrations of the hadîth which read: "His hospitality is for three days, and his due is a day and a night."
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalânî gives the following interpretation in Fath al-Bârî (17/324):
Of course, individual circumstances need to be taken into consideration, and the host should act according to his or her best discretion and judgment.
And Allah knows best.
It was asked, "Messenger of Allah, what is his due?"
He said, "His due is a day and, and he should entertain his guest for three days. Whatever exceeds that is charity for him.
And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5560)]
Scholars differ regarding what is meant by this "due". Some say it refers to giving the guest the best food and hospitality for that first day. During the other days, the hospitality should be according to the norms of the household.
Scholars who hold this view differ as to whether the first day is inclusive in the three or if the three days are additional to it. Al-Khattâbî and many others regard the hadîth to refer to three days in total.
Other scholars say the due is something unrelated to the hospitality. It is to give the guest provisions of a day and night when he continues on his journey. The hospitality is for the guest to be able to stay for three days.
This is in accordance with some narrations of the hadîth which read: "His hospitality is for three days, and his due is a day and a night."
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalânî gives the following interpretation in Fath al-Bârî (17/324):
The hadîth could be describing two different situations. A traveler sometimes intends to stay at the house. This does not have to be for more than three days. With the first day being better. In other cases, a traveler does not intend to stay the night. In this case, he should be given provisions for a day and a night. This could be the most balanced interpretation.This shows us that three days is the minimum recommendation for entertaining a guest. Doing so for longer is commendable as charity, but it is not to be regarded as the host's duty.
Of course, individual circumstances need to be taken into consideration, and the host should act according to his or her best discretion and judgment.
And Allah knows best.
-islamtoday.net
Saturday, 4 March 2017
Calling the adhân twice for the morning prayer
Question
Why do people call the adhân for the Fajr prayer twice?
Answer
It is preferrable, according to the Sunnah, to have two calls made for Fajr prayer. The first of these should be offered before the time of the Fajr prayer and the other at the time when the Fajr Prayer comes in.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Bilâl calls (the adhân) while it is still night, so eat and drink until you hear the calling of Ibn Umm Maktûm.”
The narrator of the hadîth said: “Ibn Um Maktûm was blind, so he would not make the call to prayer until someone informed him that morning had arrived.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Bilâl calls (the adhân) while it is still night, so eat and drink until you hear the calling of Ibn Umm Maktûm.”
The narrator of the hadîth said: “Ibn Um Maktûm was blind, so he would not make the call to prayer until someone informed him that morning had arrived.
And Allah knows best.
-islamtoday.net
Postponement of the dowry
Question
I am about to get married, but I am confused about what is called the mu`akhkhar (postponed dowry). I heard that it is like a debt that I have to pay to my wife. Can I agree with her that I pay it only if divorce occurs?
Answer
The dowry should ideally be paid fully in advance. It should be a sum that is easy for the husband to pay.
It is permissible, however, to postpone all or some of the dowry until a specified or unspecified period of time.
The postponed dowry is definitely considered a debt. If a specific time is given, then the dowry must be paid on or before that time. If the time is unspecified, then it does not become due until the two part company by way of divorce, annulment of the marriage, or death.
May Allah bless you with a happy marital life.
It is permissible, however, to postpone all or some of the dowry until a specified or unspecified period of time.
The postponed dowry is definitely considered a debt. If a specific time is given, then the dowry must be paid on or before that time. If the time is unspecified, then it does not become due until the two part company by way of divorce, annulment of the marriage, or death.
May Allah bless you with a happy marital life.
-islamtoday.net
Friday, 3 March 2017
Picking fruit on public lands
Question
We recently went to a public park, and in it we found trees that bore plums and cherries. We picked them thinking that the park is public property and that as tax payers, we have a right to it. We also did not see at the park any sign stating that we could not eat of its fruits. However, since then we have been worried that perhaps what we did was wrong Islamically. Please clarify this issue for us.
Answer
If these public parks or other public lands having fruit trees are not subject to official regulations that eating from those trees is prohibited, and if no prohibition is implicitly understood by the people of the area, then we see no legal objection to what you have done by eating fruit from those trees.
However, this permission is conditional. No fruit is to be picked at a park and then taken away to be eaten later.
This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever enters a garden may eat from it but should not take anything away in his shirt.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (1287)]
We should be aware that some people of knowledge have understood this permission to be for travelers only.
Others have opined that it is disliked to eat of fruit without paying for it.
However, it appears that the differences of opinion expressed by some scholars on this matter refers to privately owned gardens. This is understood from the context of their statements and from the fact that public parks were not prevalent in the past when those statements were made. Therefore, we must understand those divergent views in the context in which they were expressed.
As for the hadîth itself, it is general and applies to public parks as well as private gardens, and naturally, greater leniency is to be applied to public parks.
Of course, if there are written regulations prohibiting the picking of fruit off the trees in public parks or if this is customarily understood in society as being prohibited, then it is Islamically not allowed.
And Allah knows best.
However, this permission is conditional. No fruit is to be picked at a park and then taken away to be eaten later.
This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever enters a garden may eat from it but should not take anything away in his shirt.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (1287)]
We should be aware that some people of knowledge have understood this permission to be for travelers only.
Others have opined that it is disliked to eat of fruit without paying for it.
However, it appears that the differences of opinion expressed by some scholars on this matter refers to privately owned gardens. This is understood from the context of their statements and from the fact that public parks were not prevalent in the past when those statements were made. Therefore, we must understand those divergent views in the context in which they were expressed.
As for the hadîth itself, it is general and applies to public parks as well as private gardens, and naturally, greater leniency is to be applied to public parks.
Of course, if there are written regulations prohibiting the picking of fruit off the trees in public parks or if this is customarily understood in society as being prohibited, then it is Islamically not allowed.
And Allah knows best.
-islamtoday.net
Belief in Allah's decree Question
Question
Explain to me the creed of Divine Decree in detail according to Islamic teachings.
Answer
Our faith in Divine Decree must be inclusive of the following four tenets:
1. We must believe that Allah has knowledge of everything that is going to happen. Allah says: “Know that Allah is capable of all things and that Allah comprehends everything with His knowledge.”
2. We must believe that Allah has recorded everything that will happen in creation in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfûz). Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah recorded everything that will happen in Creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the Earth.” [Sahîh Muslim]. Allah says: “And of everything we have taken account in a clear book.”
3. We must believe that nothing happens in Creation except as Allah wills. Allah says: “And you do not will except that He wills.” Allah says: “Whomever He wills He misguides and whoever He wills he places on a straight path.” He also says: “If Allah had willed, they would not have engaged in polytheism.”
4. We must believe that Allah has created everything in existence. There is no creator, sustainer, or god besides Him. Allah says: “Allah is the creator of everything.” Allah says: “Allah created you and what you do.”
There are two groups of Muslims who held beliefs contrary to this truth:
1. The Qadariyyah: They denied Divine Decree. The Companions declared them unbelievers because by doing so they denied Allah’s eternal knowledge. They said that people create their own actions. They do not exist as a sect today, but there are still people around who claim that people create their own voluntary actions.
2. The Jabriyyah: They denied human free will and claimed that the actions of people are really nothing more than Allah’s actions. They conclude that people are not responsible for their own actions.
Ahl al-Sunnah takes a middle path between these two extremes. We believe in Divine Decree and we believe at the same time in human free will.
1. We must believe that Allah has knowledge of everything that is going to happen. Allah says: “Know that Allah is capable of all things and that Allah comprehends everything with His knowledge.”
2. We must believe that Allah has recorded everything that will happen in creation in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfûz). Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah recorded everything that will happen in Creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the Earth.” [Sahîh Muslim]. Allah says: “And of everything we have taken account in a clear book.”
3. We must believe that nothing happens in Creation except as Allah wills. Allah says: “And you do not will except that He wills.” Allah says: “Whomever He wills He misguides and whoever He wills he places on a straight path.” He also says: “If Allah had willed, they would not have engaged in polytheism.”
4. We must believe that Allah has created everything in existence. There is no creator, sustainer, or god besides Him. Allah says: “Allah is the creator of everything.” Allah says: “Allah created you and what you do.”
There are two groups of Muslims who held beliefs contrary to this truth:
1. The Qadariyyah: They denied Divine Decree. The Companions declared them unbelievers because by doing so they denied Allah’s eternal knowledge. They said that people create their own actions. They do not exist as a sect today, but there are still people around who claim that people create their own voluntary actions.
2. The Jabriyyah: They denied human free will and claimed that the actions of people are really nothing more than Allah’s actions. They conclude that people are not responsible for their own actions.
Ahl al-Sunnah takes a middle path between these two extremes. We believe in Divine Decree and we believe at the same time in human free will.
-islamtoday.net
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