Now that Milad celebrations have cooled down, let’s look at it with a cool head! 1) Some celebrated it by attending lectures, listening to nasheeds, and by studying & spreading the Seerah. There is nothing wrong in this and it is obvious we will remember his blessed birth in Rabiul Awwal. It is like remembering other similar events of Seerah eg. Me’raaj in Rajab, the Battle of Badr in Ramadhaan, Hajjatul Wadaa in Dhul Hijjah, and as such his birth in Rabiul Awwal. There is no harm in discussing incidents in their respective times, so there is no harm in discussing his blessed birth and the events surrounding it, during the month of Rabiul Awwal. After all, he was Rahmatullil Alameen, Shafeeul Muznibeen, Khatamun Nabiyyee, Sayyidul Awwaleen wal Aakhireen, may Allah’s peace & blessings be upon him and upon his family & companions, until the last day. Those ulema who used to celebrate it, did so in a simple manner, by reading about the events connected to the birth, elaborating on the seerah, and by showing gratitude to Allah for His great blessing through Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam and for making us part of HIS ummah. The scholars who practised Mawlid noted that the love of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam is diminishing from the hearts of the Ummah, so Rabiul Awwal would be a good opportunity to increase that love by talking about Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wassalam throughout this month. It is this which scholars like Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) permitted. 2) Then there were others who simply went wild with celebrations; violating all Shariah rules, neglecting Fardh Salah, disturbing everyone with noise, halting traffic by marches, putting up excessive lighting in homes and in Masjids, enjoying birthday cakes, having parties, over exaggerating wordings of na’at sharif, to the extent that some say that the only difference between Allah and His Rasul is that of a big brother and small brother – may Allah forbid! And on top of all this, treating the Meelad as an obligation and accusing those who don’t participate in such things as not having love for the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, labelling them as ‘Gustakhe Rasul’. We need to understand that Ishq necessitates obedience. However, such people lack obedience; they have no regard for many important aspects of religious guidance, such as the beard and hijab. Salah is alien to them. Many feel that by doing Meelad sharif, their sins of the whole year are forgiven, and they can then continue with haram actions throughout the following year. Allah Taala has told us clearly that if we want Allah to love us and forgive our sins, we must follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. This type of Meelad sharif, in which the Shariah is violated, is common among Jaahils and ignorants. They have none or very little knowledge of Quran, Hadith, & Fiqh. They refuse to listen to anything that goes against them. Their ego is bloated and there is too much pride in their hearts and minds. To them, Everything and anything becomes permissible under the label of love. Can a person truly be a lover if he promotes everything his beloved disliked and came to eradicate? With a little bit of education and some common sense, such behaviour can be eradicated. But who will educate them when most of the religious leaders, who are supposed to teach them, don’t want to risk the delicious food items and various menus which come as part of these celebrations, so they just keep the general public away from education. They themselves lack Taqwa and thus they play with the emotions of people. Even if some of their religious leaders feel that the community is doing wrong they don’t have the courage to correct the mistakes and they keep dragging things as they are. Not all is lost though. The younger generation is understanding the reality and moving towards Haq. We can notice this on some of their online debates, and in their comments on social media websites. The sooner they accept the truth the better. The young generation can see how the pure remembrance of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam is being polluted with ideas from other religions and from blind imitation of others. May Allah protect us all from false beliefs, innovations, wrong practices, israaf and fuzool kharchi; wastage of money, energy and food. May Allah have mercy upon the Ummah, give us all complete hidayat and the ability to spend our lives according to the Sunnah. Ameen Written by Shaykh Abdul Raheem edited by mufti Javed Iqbal Hafizahullah.
The Fade And Bare Headed Syndrome
All praise is for Allah, the Lord of the universe, may peace and blessings be upon the chosen one, the seal of all prophets and the master of the sons of Aadam, Sayyiduna Muhammad sallalaho alayhi wasallam and upon his pure family and noble companions.
Alhamdulillah I like many of you attended the fundraiser event on Saturday 18th of January, subhanallah a great turn out and a lot of money raised. I ask that Allah accepts all the efforts of the SAS London team and reward them abundantly, ameen. I noticed something extremely strange during the event, and sadly this trend is becoming more and more common. Recently many of the brothers have started growing their beards, some growing them to a full fist as is fardh according to the majortiy of the fuqaha and others keeping them short, maybe for fashion or some other reason that only Allah knows. What’s strange is that many of the brothers, despite keeping sunnah beards continue to keep these haram haircuts or ‘fades’ as they are referred to, where the head is shaved unevenly here and there. Inshallah just to mention a few ahaadith :
Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar Radiyallaho anho narrates that Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam saw a boy whose head was partly shaved and part was covered with hair, Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam then instructed the boy ‘either shave all of it (the head) or leave all of it (the head) – Abu Dawud
Nafi reports that Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar Radiyallaho anho say that he heard Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam forbidding the practise of qaza. When He sallalaho alayhi wasallam was asked what qaza is he sallalaho alayhi wasallam repied ‘shaving part of the head and leaving parts of hair here and there’ and then he sallalaho alayhi wasallam pointed to the forelock and sides of his mubarak head – Bukhari and Muslim
In another hadith Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam actually referred to shaving the head unevenly as ‘mutilation of the head.’ Ulemah have mentioned that keeping the hair unevenly shaved is a continuous and perpetual sin which one carries on one’s self 24/7, it also comes under the category of openly sinning as every single person one interacts with can see and observe this mutilation of the head. The hadith recorded by imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim state that all the ummah will be forgiven except those who make their sins apparent, may Allah protect us!
So if these brothers are sincere and grow their beards for love of the sunnah they must abandon this haram practise, forgive me for being blunt but I actually think it looks ridiculous to keep a haram haircut after beautifying one’s face with the sunnah, . If we read the shama’il of Imam Tirmidhi RA we find that narrations describing Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam’s blessed hair that it was always kept one length and combed back, the length of which generally reached his ears, and occasionally the collarbone and shoulder blades. He sallalaho alayhi wasallam only shaved his mubarak head after performing umrah or Hajj, so if these brothers want to follow the sunnah they really should grow your hair long and keep it one length rather than distorting the sunnah with this kaafir style.
Inshallah one final point, many brothers alhamdulillah were wearing the jubbah/kamees and I am assuming that this was done for the sake of following the sunnah, but again what’s strange is that many of the brothers who despite wearing the sunnah garment had their heads uncovered. Again, we know from ahaadith that Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam always kept his blessed head covered, either by wearing a hat or a hat and turban, the only time he sallalaho alayhi wasallam had his head bare was when in the state of ihraam. So again if these brothers sincerely wish to follow the sunnah then they must keep their heads covered. I can quote the salaf for hours about keeping the head covered but inshallah I will only mention 2 Imams, Ibn Taymiyah and Albaani, the reason being because most of these brothers readily accept verdicts of these 2 imams on issues relating to fiqh or aqeedah etc.
Ibn Taymiyah RA writes in Majmoo al Fatawa volume 11 page 493 that ‘actions such as leaving the head uncovered are neither the distinguishing characteristics of the pious nor of the sahaba and tabieen and was not found amongst the muslims of early times. Therefore those who keep their heads uncovered have strayed from the path of the servants of Allah, opposed the way of the Muslims and have abandoned the realities of our deen.
Secondly, Albani writes in Tamam al-manna that ‘keeping the head uncovered is a custom that the kuffaar introduced to the Muslim lands.’
So if these brothers are sincere and wish to follow the Quran and Sunnah as they claim when refuting others, they must practice what they preach and adopt the OBVIOUS and OBSERVABLE sunans of keeping the hair one length and keeping the head covered.
may Allah enable us to act upon this, ameen
your brother in Islam Abu Hurairaat Omar Khamboo
What The Classical Scholars Said About Tasawwuf/Sufism
The following quotations of the scholars of Shariah regarding the precedence of the knowledge and science of Tasawwuf, (Purification of the Self)
Imam Abu Hanifa (85 H. – 150 H) “If it were not for two years, I would have perished.” He said, “for two years I accompanied Sayyidina Ja’far as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a gnostic in the Way.” [Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43]
Imam Malik (95 H. – 179 H.) “whoever studies Jurisprudence (tafaqaha) and didn’t study Sufism [tasawwafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and didn’t study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth.” [the scholar’Ali al-Adawi , vol. 2, p 195.)
Imam Shafi’i (150 – 205 AH.) “I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: … how to speak; .. how to treat people with leniency and a soft heart… and they… guided me in the ways of Sufism.” [Kashf al-Khafa, ‘Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164 – 241 AH.) “O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of Allah in their hearts. they are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power.” [Tanwir al-Qulub p. 405]
Imam Ghazzali (450 – 505 AH.) “I knew verily that Sufis are the seekers in Allah’s Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run receiving knowledge of the Divine Presence.” [al-Munqidh, p. 131].
Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi (544 – 606 AH) “the way of Sufis for seeking Knowledge, is to disconnect themselves from this worldly life, and they keep themselves constantly busy …. with Dhikrullah, in all their actions and behaviours. [‘Itiqadaat Furaq al-Muslimeen, p. 72, 73]
Imam Nawawi (620 – 676 AH.) “The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are … to keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) … to be happy with what Allah gave you…”[in his Letters, (Maqasid at-tawhid), p. 201]
Ibn Khaldun (733 – 808 AH.) “The way of the Sufis is the way of the Salaf, the preceding Scholars between the Sahaba and Tabi’een of those who followed good guidance…” [Muqaddimat ibn al-Khaldun, p. 328]
Tajuddin as-Subki (727 – 771 AH.) “May Allah praise them [the Sufis] and greet them and may Allah cause us to be with them in Paradise. Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them. And the truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship. … They are the People of Allah, whose supplications and player Allah accepts and by means of whom Allah supports human beings” [Mu’eed an-Na’am p. 190, the chapter entitled Tasawwufl
Jalaluddin as-Suyuti (849 – 911 AH.) “At-Tasawwuf in itself is the best and most honourable knowledge. It explains how to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to put aside innovation.” [Ta’yid al-Haqiqat al-‘Aiiyya,p 57]
Ibn Taymiyya (661 – 728 AH) “Tasawwuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anything which distracts him from the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same to him. And Tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse: “(And all who obey Allah and the Apostle) are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship.” (an-Nisa’, 69,70)
“…some people criticised Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they are striving in Allah’s obedience [mujtahidin fi ta’at-illahij, as others of Allah’s People strove in Allah’s obedience. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving [as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl al-Yameen mentioned in Qur’an in Sura Waqi’ah], but slower in their progress.
… And this is the origin of Tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been spread and [tasha’abat wa tanawa’at] has its main line and its branches. (Majmu’a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya al-Kubra, Vol. 1 1, Book of Tasawwuf, p. 497].
“The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, by the acceptance of all Muslim scholars. And the Qur’an has pointed to it in different places, and the Hadith of the Prophet (s) has mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are only people who are innovators and their followers.” [al-Mukhtasar al-Fatawa, page 603]. Ibn Taymiyya says, “what is considered as a miracle for a saint is that sometimes the saint might hear something that others do not hear and they might see something that others do not see, while not in a sleeping state, but in a wakened state of vision. And he can know something that others cannot know, through revelation or inspiration.” [Majmu’a Fatawi Ibn Taymiyya, Vol. 1 1, p. 314].
lbn Qayyim (691 – 751 AH.) “We can witness the greatness of the People of Sufism, in the eyes of the earliest generations of Muslims by what has beenmentioned by Sufyan ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH), one of the greatest imams of the second century and one of the foremost legal scholars. He said, “If it had not been for Abu Hisham as-Sufi (d. 115) 1 would never have perceived the action of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self… Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence.” [Manazil as-Sa’ireen.]
Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1115 – 1201 AH.) “My father Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and I do not deny or criticize the science of Sufism, but on the contrary we support it, because it purifies the external and the internal of the hidden sins, which are related to the heart and to the outward form. Even though the individual might externally be on the right way, internally he might be on the wrong way. Sufism is necessary to correct it.” [ad-Dia’at mukathaffa did ash-Shaykh Ibn Abdul Wahhab,p.85 ]
Ibn ‘Abidin (1198 – 1252 AH.) “the Seekers in this Sufi Way don’t hear except from the Divine Presence and they don’t love any but Him. If they remember Him they cry, and if they thank Him they are happy; … May Allah bless them.” [Risa’il Ibn’Abidin p. 172 & 173]
Muhammad ‘Abduh (1265 – 1323 AH.) “Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence.” (Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].
Abul Hasan ‘Ali an-Nadawi (1331 AH b.) “These Sufis were initiating people on Oneness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from theirsins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah ‘Azza wa Jail. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah ‘Azza wa Jail. “…In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism. “…by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion.”[Muslit-ns in India, p. 140-146]
Abul ‘Ala Maudoodi (1321 – 1399 AH.) ” Sufism is a reality whose signs are the love of Allah and the love of the Prophet (s), where one absents oneself for their sake, and one is annihilated from anything other than them, and it is to know how to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (s). ..Tasawwuf searched for the sincerity in the heart and the purity in the intention and the trustworthiness in obedience in an individual’s actions.” “The Divine Law and Sufism: “Sufism and Shariah: what is the similitude of the two? They are like the body and the soul. The body is the external knowledge, the Divine Law, and the spirit is the internal knowledge.”[Mabadi’ al-islam, p. 17]
CONCLUSION: In sum, Sufism, in the present, as in the past, is the effective means for spreading the reality of Islam, extending the knowledge and understanding of spirituality and fostering happiness and peace. With it, Muslims can improve, transform, and elevate themselves and find salvation from the ignorance of this world and the misguided pursuit of some materialistic fantasy.
The Reality of Sahih (Authentic) Hadith outside Bukhari & Muslim
Assalamualaykum, this article was written by Moulana Muhammad Abaasomer and he has given ijazah for it to be used on here, I pray that ALlah enables us to benefit from this, ameen
The following paragraphs discredit the erroneous claim of some individuals: that only the narrations of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are authentic. This rebuttal is summarized in five points.
An Outdated Misconception
Firstly, in the fourth century of Islam, there existed a deviated sect which – like some individuals today- claimed that besides the ahadith of Sahihain, all other narrations are unacceptable. This false accusation was the reason for which Imam Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Abdillah Al-Hakim Al-Naisaburi (rahimahullah) compiled his famous work entitled: “Al-Mustadrak ‘alas Sahihain’’, in which he endeavored to compile those ahadith that fulfill the criteria of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim but were not included therein.
In his introduction, Imam Al-Hakim (rahimahullah) says: “Neither of them (i.e. Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) or Imam Muslim (rahimahullah) have stated that there exists no other authentic narrations besides what they have chosen”. [Al Mustadrak, vol.1 pg.2]
When commenting on the criteria laid down by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim (rahimahumallah), the scholars generally rely upon their own scrutiny of the respective books (i.e. Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). The reason for this is that very little has being explained by the authors themselves. For example, Imam Al- Bukhari (rahimahullah) has not written an introduction to his book, wherein he would have mentioned his criterion for accepting ahadith as sahih, or as to what would be his methodology in his book. This naturally leads to difference of opinion among the scholars.
However, there can be no difference of opinion when “the man speaks for himself”, as is the case in the topic under discussion.
- Imam Al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) said: “I have memorized one hundred thousand authentic ahadith.” [Tazkiratul Huffadh – vol.2 pg.556]
Interestingly, he only included nine thousand and eighty two of them (including repetitions) in his Al-Sahih! (Refer: Hadyus Saari, pg.653)
- Imam Al-Isma’ili (rahimahullah) has quoted Imam Al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) as saying: ‘’I have only cited sahih (authentic) ahadith in this book (i.e. Sahih Al-Bukhari) However, the amount of sahih ahadeeth that I omitted there from is much more.’’ [Hadyus Saari pg.9]
- Imam Ibrahim ibn Ma’qal Al-Nasafi (rahimahullah) reports that Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) said: “I have only quoted authentic ahadith in my book, and I excluded many other authentic narrations for the fear of monotony.” [ibid pg.9; Tarikh Dimashq vol.55 pg.54
- Imam Abu Bakr al Hazimi (rahimahullah) states, ‘Imam Al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) never intended to encompass every authentic narration.’[Shurutul A-immah]
- Imam Muslim (rahimahullah) has made a similar statement in his book Sahih Muslim, “Chapter on Tashahhud”: “I haven’t quoted every single authentic narration in this book.“ i.e, there are many authentic narrations that are not included therein.
- Imam Muslim (rahimahullah) is also reported to have said: “I haven’t ever claimed that those narrations which are excluded from my Sahih are weak.My only claim is that the ahadith contained in my book are authentic.” [Tarikh Baghdad and Al-Imam Ibn Majah wa kitabu Al-Sunan, pg.107]
These quotations clearly explain the reality; that there exists many authentic narrations outside of the Sahihain.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah’s Stance On The Usage Of Weak Ahaadith
All praise for Allah, may peace and blessings be upon our noble master Mohammed sallalaho alayhi wasallam, upon his pure family his noble companions and all those who follow them until the day of judgement.
Respected readers, what I would like to discuss here inshallah is an issue which causes a lot of controversy, that is the issue of usage of weak ahaadith. We have some people who go the extreme of saying that weak ahaadith should be rejected entirely. I will state the obvious here, and mention that other that the sahihayn (Bukhari and Muslim) every other book of hadith, be it the sunan of Imam Tirmidhi, Imam Abu Dawud, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Bayhaqi, the mustadrak of Imam Haakim, musannaf of Imam ibn Abi shaybah and others all contain some weak as well as sahih ahaadith.
What we must understand is that there is a difference between a weak and a fabricated hadith but unfortunately and sadly we have certain ignorant people who don’t differentiate between the two. They treat a weak hadith like a fabricated hadith and totally disregard it. I am not saying for a second that fabricated ahaadith should be entertained, we all know the severity of attributing a lie to the messenger of Allah sallalaho alayhi wasallam who himself said ‘whoever attributes a lie to me has reserved his space in the fire of hell’ (Bukhari).
Some people who are even regarded as scholars have this attitude that weak ahaadith should not be used at all, and if this approach was adopted then the majority of the books of hadith would be rendered useless and only Bukhari and Muslim could be applied thus making life extremely difficult.
The majority view of the ulema is that a WEAK hadith is permissible for usage in non-fiqh issues. The following are some great scholars who hold this view : Imam Nawawi, Ibn Salah, Sufyan Thawri, Ahmed bin Hanbal, Ibn uyaynah, Ibn Mubarak, Ibn mahdi, ibn ma’een, khateeb Baghdadi, Bukhari, mullah Ali Qari, ibn Hajr al Asqalani, ibn Taymiyah, ibn Qayim, imam Sakhawi, abu Dawud.
Even Imam Bukhari RA himself has compiled weak narrations in his book ‘Al Adab Al Mufrad’ which shows that he accepted weak narrations in regards to virtues of good deeds, so we can see here that the majority of muhaditheen accepted the usage of weak ahaadith and did not have this attitude that the salafis of today have.
Duaa – The Essence Of Worship
All praise is for Allah, may peace and blessings be upon our noble master Muhammad, upon his pure family and his noble companions. Respected readers, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is the Lord of the universe, everything is in His control. Whenever we need something it is important that we turn to Allah and ask him to fulfil our needs and wants.
Allah says in the Holy Quran ‘And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your Prayer’ (surah 40 verse 60)
Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam has also emphasized the importance of making duaa on numerous occasions. He sallalaho alayhi wasallam has described duaa as ‘the essence of worship’ (Tirmidhi). Another hadith states that‘Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty’ (Musnad e Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)
Salah is such that it must be performed at its prescribed times, Allah says in the Holy Quran ‘Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.’ (surah 4 verse 130). And there are certain times in the day when we can not perform salah e.g. after Fajr until sunrise, at zawwal time and after Asr until Maghreb.
Also a person who performs salah is required to be in the state of wudhu, Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam said ‘The key to jannah is salah and the key to salah is wudhu’ (musnad Ahmad). If a person performs salah without wudhu it will not be valid.However, duaa is such an ibadah that it can be done at any time of the day, even at those times when salah is prohibited and one is not even required to be in a state of wudhu. We should always ask Allah to fulfil our needs, no matter how small. Rasoolullah sallalaho alayhi wasallam said: “Everyone should ask his Creator for all his needs be it even salt or be it a shoelace when it breaks.” (Tirmidhi)
There are certain times when a duaa is more likely to be accepted by Allah. Inshallah some of these times shall be cited below with the supporting ahaadith.
The Hanafi Fiqh Blog 