Places Forbidden to Pray

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

والعاقبة للمتقين

From time to time I hear stories of converts to Islam having to hide their new faith from their family. Apparently, some find themselves having to offer their Salat in the bathroom. These individuals may be excused for ignorance of the fact that it is strictly forbidden to offer the Salat in certain places that are unfit for it, among them, the Hammam (bathroom). Some other Muslims offer their Salat and organize the Friday services in churches and Christian chapels, claiming that their localities do not have sufficient prayer space, either because there is no mosque or the mosque is too small. There is no problem in doing this provided the churches or chapels are absolutely free of any images, icons, statues, idols, etc. The same rule obviously applies to praying in a Jewish synagogue, which are usually free of images anyways. Likewise there is no problem in praying in the mosque or place of worship of different misguided sects like the Shi’a, although praying behind an imam of a deviant sect is a more nuanced issue. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ proclaimed that all the Earth is a masjid, meaning fit for prostrating upon and offering the Salat. However, this is a general statement. In some narrations, the Prophet ﷺ made important exceptions:

الأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا مَسْجِدٌ إِلاَّ الْمَقْبُرَةَ وَالْحَمَّامَ

All the Earth is a masjid except the cemetery and the bathroom. (Jami al-Tirmidhi)

Both the cemetery and bathroom are places which are unfit to offer the Salat, which is an extremely sacred act of worship. In another Hadith:

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَى أَنْ يُصَلَّى فِي سَبْعَةِ مَوَاطِنَ فِي الْمَزْبَلَةِ وَالْمَجْزَرَةِ وَالْمَقْبُرَةِ وَقَارِعَةِ الطَّرِيقِ وَفِي الْحَمَّامِ وَفِي مَعَاطِنِ الإِبِلِ وَفَوْقَ ظَهْرِ بَيْتِ اللَّهِ

Allah’s Apostle ﷺ prohibited Salat from being performed in seven places: (1) in the dung heap, (2) in the slaughtering area, (3) in the cemetery, (4) in the commonly used road, (5) in the bathroom, (6) in the camels’ resting area, (7) and above the House of Allah. (Jami al-Tirmidhi #346)

 

Incidentally, the fact that it is forbidden to pray in the dung heap and the slaughtering area is a proof for the impurity of the dung and blood of even those animals which are eaten, the well known ruling of the Hanafi school, and Allah knows best. Such places may also be filled with a foul odour and are generally not held in high regard by the innate disposition and hence are not worthy of being places of worship. It is forbidden to pray in the cemetery for the purpose of cutting off all avenues that can possibly lead toward grave worship. The reason grave worshipers build places of worship over graves, converting them into tombs where they offer Salat, is because they hold such places to be holy and sacred, when in fact they are not. A mosque or place of worship is meant to be dedicated to Allah alone. To build a place of worship or shrine at the grave of someone is to elevate the person therein to a status of a “demigod”, even if the Salat offered at the tomb is directed to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ forbade offering the Salat in the commonly used road perhaps to avoid causing trouble and inconvenience to the people, because doing so would obviously create disorder and fear of the worshiper being trampled upon. Hence the one who offers Salat in such a place does not do so with the tranquility that is required of him. The bathroom or toilet area is another place where it is forbidden to offer Salat, because they are places where people relieve themselves, and it is definitely not befitting to offer such a sacred act of worship there. Regarding forbidding praying Salat in camel pens, it should be noted that the Prophet ﷺ permitted offering the Salat in a sheep pen. In some narrations, the Prophet ﷺ has described the camel as a “devil”, and that the Bedouin tribes of Najd and in the eastern direction, who are the people of camels, are arrogant and hard-hearted people, unlike the people of Yemen who are herders of sheep and goats, and are described by him ﷺ as being full of faith and tender hearted. Incidentally, while camel meat is halal according to our Shari’a, it was forbidden in the Mosaic law. This perhaps explains why, although it is allowed to eat camel meat for us Muslims, by eating camel meat one’s wudu is nullified. This appears to be some kind of acknowledgment that in the previous, abrogated Shari’a camel meat was forbidden, but in the gracious Shari’a of Muhammad ﷺ the prohibition has been lifted. Thus the nullification of wudu for eating camel meat is meant to remind one of this grace, or else meant to indicate that some sort of price is required for eating camel meat which would be the refreshing of one’s wudu. Finally, the last of the seven places where it is forbidden to offer Salat is atop the sacred Ka’ba. This is for the obvious reason that one who prays on top of the Ka’ba is not facing it, whereas facing the Qibla is an essential requirement for the validity of Salat. Although not mentioned in the preceding Hadith, there is some reason to hold that in addition to these seven places it is forbidden to offer the Salat in certain places where the wrath of Allah descended, such as Babylon, as the latter is cursed. In a narration attributed to the Amir al-Mu’minin Ali b. Abi Talib^RA:

إِنَّ حَبِيبِي صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَانِي أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ فِي الْمَقْبُرَةِ وَنَهَانِي أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ فِي أَرْضِ بَابِلَ فَإِنَّهَا مَلْعُونَةٌ

“My Beloved ﷺ prohibited me from praying in a cemetery and he prohibited me from praying in the land of Babylon, for verily it is cursed.” (Sunan Abi Dawud #490).

Maimuniya Ajarida Khawarij Deny Sura Yusuf

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

والعاقبة للمتقين

A faction of the Ajarida (an old Kharijite sect, followers of Abd al-Karim b. Ajrad), known as the Maimuniya, denied Sura Yusuf, the twelfth chapter of the Qur’an, maintaining that since it is, in their minds, a “love story”, it could not possibly have been part of the divine revelation (God forbid). The Maimuniya were adherents of a man named Maimun b. Khalid (or Maimun b. Imran). Among their scandalous ideas was that it is allowed for a man to marry a daughter of his daughter (grand daughter) and a daughter of his niece or nephew. (al-Milal wan-Nihal, Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani; pp. 124, 126)

 

 

 

The Maimuniya, Ajarida Kharijites are an example of why it is so critical for Muslims to cling to the way of Ahl al-Sunna and eschew the dangerous and heretical ideas of the Khawarij. The modern-day Kharijites, the likes of Shukri Mustafa and his so-called Jama’at al-Muslimin dubbed “Takfir wal-Hijra”, likewise had scandalous beliefs and practices which not only deviated from normative Islam but were also anti-social. But in denying Sura Yusuf, the Maimuniya faction of the Ajarida had clearly become apostates from Islam, as Allah Most High says:

 

أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ

So do you believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in a part?

(Sura 2:85)

Promise of Two Punishments for Bani Israel

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

والعاقبة للمتقين

In this entry I aim to explain one of the opening verses of Sura Bani Israel, the seventeenth chapter of the holy Qur’an:

وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي الْكِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا۞

And We decreed for the children of Israel in the Book, “Surely, you will cause corruption in the land twice, and surely you will reach great haughtiness.”

(Sura 17:4)

Allah Most High decreed that the Israelites would become extremely arrogant and haughty, while dwelling in the Holy Land, twice. This is like how Allah fulfilled the petition of Moses:

وَاشْدُدْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّىٰ يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ

“And harden their hearts so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.”

(Sura 10:88)

While Moses was entreating Allah with these words, his elder brother Aaron was saying “Amen”, and so Allah said:

قَدْ أُجِيبَت دَّعْوَتُكُمَا

“Verily, the invocation of both of you has been answered.”

(Sura 10:89)

For by simply saying “Amen” after the words of Moses, Aaron was considered as partaking in the prayer. This is a proof that “Amen” is a du’a and ought to uttered softly according to the Hanafi school.

So Allah Most High hardened the hearts of the Egyptians, particularly Pharaoh, as is mentioned several times in the Book of Exodus: “for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials” (Exodus 10:1), “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:17). This hardening of the hearts of the arrogant disbelievers was the act of Allah Himself, it is from His Sunna, and so likewise, He decreed that the Israelites would become extremely haughty, twice, while dwelling in the Holy Land. And He did that because of the corruption they caused. The corruption of the Israelites was of various kinds, but the most serious was their repeated lapse into idolatry and their opposition to their Prophets:

لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَىٰ لِسَانِ دَاوُودَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ۞

Cursed were those who disbelieved from among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and Jesus son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and they were transgressing.

(Sura 5:78)

This verse reveals the two periods of time in which the curses upon Israelites by both David and then Jesus materialized into actual punishment and destruction for them, mentioned in the next verse of Sura Bani Israel:

فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَّنَا أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ فَجَاسُوا خِلَالَ الدِّيَارِ ۚ وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَّفْعُولًا۞

So when the promise came for the first of the two, We raised against you servants of Ours, those of great military might, and they entered the inner most part of the homes, and it was a promise fulfilled.

(Sura 17:5)

This first punishment that was inflicted upon the Israelites through the agency of a nation of great military might was sometime after the era of King David, who, as has preceded, had cursed them. It refers to the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, destruction of the Temple, and taking of the Israelites into captivity in 587 BCE. Hence, Allah describes the Neo-Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, as “servants of Ours, those of great military might”. This is not a praise of Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar, as they were pagan disbelievers. Rather, Allah used them as the agents through which He punished the Children of Israel, and this was because of the first curse that was invoked against them by the tongue of David.

ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاكُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا۞

Then We gave back to you the return over them. And We reinforced you with wealth and sons and made you more numerous.

(Sura 17:6)

This refers to the end of the Babylonian captivity in 539 BCE, after the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon and permitted the Jews to return to the Holy Land. Shortly thereafter, the Jews reconstructed the Temple in Jerusalem. Allah says they once again became wealthy and increased in population. Nevertheless, they once again returned to their previous state of sinful rebellion and transgression, particularly in their rejection of and opposition to the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, who cursed them upon his tongue as David had done before him. This resulted in the fulfillment of the second promise against them of a great punishment:

إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيرًا۞

If you do good, you do good for yourselves. But if you do evil, then it is for it. So when the last promise came to sadden your faces and to enter the Masjid just as they had entered it the first time, and to destroy what they had conquered with destruction.

(Sura 17:7)

Shortly after the time of Jesus, after he had cursed them, as punishment for the Jews, the Roman legions entered Jerusalem and razed the Temple in 70 CE. As Allah says, this saddened their faces, and was a punishment quite similar to the one that had happened to them the first time some six centuries before. Again the Jews were forced into exile, and remained dispersed throughout the world until the relatively recent establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948.

Allah Most High ends the narrative with a warning relevant to the Jews today:

عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يَرْحَمَكُمْ ۚ وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا ۘ وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ حَصِيرًا۞

It may be that your Lord has mercy upon you. But if you return, We will return. And We have made Gehinnom, for the disbelievers, a prison-bed.

(Sura 17:8)

The final and permanent punishment for these disbelievers is in the afterlife. Yet the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has predicted a final defeat of the Jews, despite their recent ascent in the Holy Land in the form of the modern State of Israel, at the hands of the coming Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He will slay the Antichrist, that false prophet whom the Jews will follow, and the Muslims shall enter the Holy Land and kill off the remaining Jewish forces.

This narrative in Sura Bani Israel also contains a warning for the Muslim Umma not to imitate the Jews in their evil deeds and corruption, otherwise they too may be subject to a disastrous punishment in the form of foreign powers subjugating them. When the Muslims became morally corrupt, Allah Most High raised up the terrible Genghis Khan and his Golden Horde to inflict a painful punishment upon them. One by one the great cities of the Muslims fell to the Mongols, including Bukhara, Samarqand, Termez, Balkh, Merv, Nishapur, and finally Baghdad, the seat of Muslim power for centuries, in the year 1258. The Muslims never fully recovered psychologically from this devastation. But then the Mongol scourge ended and the Muslims returned to a state of relative peace and security. Only when they once again became morally corrupt did the Muslim world suffer its second great calamity in the form of European colonialism. The Ottoman empire ended after the First World War, the State of Israel established in 1948, and then the greatest disaster happened in 1967 when the Zionists captured Jerusalem from the Arabs following the Six Day War. These two episodes are remnicient of the two punishments the Israelites had to undergo in their history.

"Sister of Aaron" (Sura 19:28)

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا۞

“O sister of Aaron; your father was not an evil man and your mother was not unchaste.”

(Sura 19:28)

Opponents and critics of Islam allege that the Qur’an cannot be the Word of God because this verse has apparently confused Mary mother of Jesus with Miriam, the sister of Aaron. Little do they realize that this same objection was raised to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by the Christians of Najran, who answered:

إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَمُّونَ بِأَنْبِيَائِهِمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ قَبْلَهُمْ

“They used to name with (names of) their prophets and the pious people (from) before them.” (Sahih Muslim)

This statement of the Prophet ﷺ has been interpreted in different ways. Some explain it to mean that Mary mother of Jesus actually had a brother named Aaron. However, this explanation is not satisfactory because there is no historical mention of such a person named Aaron. It is clear from the context of the verse that by referring to Mary as “sister of Aaron” that this Aaron had to have been a person of renound piety. It has also been suggested that Mary was referred to as Aaron’s sister figuratively, because she was from the priestly line of Aaron. Luke’s Gospel mentions the fact that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron and married to the priest Zecharias (Luke 1:5, 36). Therefore we can safely assume that Mary herself was a descendant of Aaron. But note the fact that Mary was not referred to as “daughter of Aaron” rather “sister of Aaron”. It is clear to me that when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated that the Israelites used to name themselves after their prophets and pious people, he meant to point out the obvious fact that Mary mother of Jesus was in fact named after Miriam the pious sister of Moses and Aaron. Now because of Mary’s own extreme piety, her people gave her the title “Sister of Aaron”, comparing her with the original Miriam. They were shocked when she gave birth to Jesus, as she was unmarried at the time, and wandered how she could have been with child when not only she herself was extremely pious and God-fearing, but her parents were also well known for their righteousness and chastity. The mufassir Ibn Kathir wrote in explanation of the Ayah:
{ يٰأُخْتَ هَـٰرُونَ } أي يا شبيهة هارون في العبادة
O sister of Aaron, that is, O resemblance of Aaron in worship
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: v.5, p.226)

Yunusiya Heresy: "Angels Carry God"

The Twelver Shi’a praise the narrator Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman al-Qummi, who died in the early 9^th century CE, as he was apparently one of the companions of Imams Musa al-Kadim and Ali al-Rida and conveyed narrations from both of them. However, the Sunni scholar and heresiographer Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani in his al-Milal wal-Nihal mentioned the fact that Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman put forward a heresy that the Hamalat al-Arsh (Angels bearing the Throne of God) are in fact carrying the Holy Person of Allah Himself, and groan from under the weight of His magnitude. Another heresiographer, Abu Mansur Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, in his al-Farq bayn al-Firaq likewise mentions the Yunusiya subsect attributed to Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman al-Qummi, and describes his heresy: “He claimed that Allah is borne by the bearers of his throne, through He is stronger than they; just as the legs of the chair bear the chair although the chair is stronger than they.” Apparently, Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman quoted the Ayah of the Qur’an as his proof:

وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَىٰ أَرْجَائِهَا ۚ وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ

And the Angels are at its edges. And they will bear the throne of your Lord above them, that day, eight [of them].

(Sura 69: 17)

But as al-Baghdadi points out, this Ayah only speaks of the Angels carrying the Throne, and not carrying Allah Himself. But by qualifying that Allah, despite being carried by eight Angels below Him, is nevertheless stronger than them, Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman avoided falling into outright Kufr and Ilhad in this matter, though he was still a misguided innovator for having introduced this belief hitherto unheard of among the Muslims.

Critical Issues Pertaining to the Deceased Corpse

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين



It is from the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to perform Ghusl after washing a corpse, and to perform Wudu after coming into contact with a corpse, including carrying it. The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Whoever washes a deceased person, let him perform Ghusl and whoever carries him, let him perform Wudu.” (Sunan Abi Dawud #3161) and it was narrated by sayyida Aisha (Radi Allahu anha) that the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) used to perform Ghusl for four reasons, among them, after having washed a corpse (ibid, #3160). The reason for this may be understood from the fact that in the Hanafi school a corpse is Najis (impure) until it is washed. The Imamiya Shi’a have a similar view. Likewise, in Judaism there is the law of Tumat Met or the defilement that occurs when someone comes in contact with a corpse or human remains. Although most of the Fuqaha hold that Ghusl is not mandated but at the most only recommended after washing a corpse, and likewise Wudu is not mandated nor is it nullified through Mass al-Mayyit, the wording of the first Hadith I quoted apparently indicates otherwise.

Another critical issue is the imperative for Muslims to be be buried in a separate cemetery, and that Muslims and non-Muslims are not buried in the same cemetery. This is an example of an issue whose ruling is not derived from a khabr but from Amal at-Tawatur of the Muslim Umma from generation to generation going back to the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and his Companions (Radi Allahu anhum). Some Muslims who live in non-Muslim majority societies are tragically negligent of this critical Islamic law. They are in fact jeopardizing their position on Judgment Day by preferring to be buried alongside disbelievers, as perhaps they will be raised up alongside them and share their unenviable fate. The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) told the Bedouin whose father went to Hell:

حَيْثُمَا مَرَرْتَ بِقَبْرِ كافر فَبَشِّرْهُ بِالنَّارِ

“Whenever you pass by the grave of a disbeliever, give him the tidings of Hell.” (al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani)

Finally, there is the vital issue for Muslims of burying their dead with haste. This is another issue that Muslims have become negligent of, especially those who live in the West, where the coroner may release the corpse of a Muslim after an unacceptable delay. Steps must be taken by our community to address this problem.

Iqbal and Honor of Country

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

The cancer of nationalism, both in its civic and ethnic forms, is literally tearing the Muslim world apart. The number of ethnic based separatist insurgencies presently being waged in our civilization certainly eclipses those of both the non-Muslim West and East. Consider the Kurdish and Baloch separatist movements, both unmistakably Marxist and radically secular. Iqbal, in his pitiful attempt to apologize for the kind of ethnic nationalism and authoritarian secularism unleashed by Mustafa Kemal of Turkey, claimed: “his Pan-Turanianism is only a political retort to Pan-Slavonism, or Pan-Germanism or Pan-Anglo-Saxonism.” (Islam and Ahmadism pp. 51-52) For all the hype about Iqbal being some kind of exceptional visionary, he obviously lacked the foresight to realize that whether or not Kemal’s own nationalism was merely a “political retort”, the present day ethnic separatism of the Kurds is certainly a reaction to Kemalist Turkey’s ideology and harsh policies. Likewise, the Kurds of Iraq and Syria, presently waging armed struggles for a “Kurdistan” is a phenomenon that can reasonably be said to be a reaction to the Pan-Arabism and Baathism of the Saddam and Assad regimes. Undoubtedly, it was Kemal who opened this Pandora’s Box. Next, Iqbal alleges: “Nationalism in the sense of love of one’s country and even readiness to die for its honour is a part of the Muslims’ faith” (p. 52). The truth is that there is absolutely no part of the Islamic faith which enjoins Believers to die for the honor of their country. Rather, such is condemned as Jahiliya “barbaric ignorance”. True, the Prophet (peace be upon him) highlighted the necessity of protecting life, property and honor, but the concept of a country possessing its own honor which must be protected and faught for is alien to our Religion. One wanders what Iqbal thought of the Sassanid soldiers who faught for the “honor” of Iran against the foreign Arabs who conquered and ruled them in the name of Islam. It is not difficult to see how this notion of dying for the honor of one’s country, which is fundamentally different from the virtuous readiness to die for one’s own personal honor and property, is in fact a kind of idolatry. It is impossible to be simultaneously loyal to both God and country. One has to be subordinated to the other, but when the question of fighting to the death arises in connection to this kind of metaphysical loyalty, it is clear that what one fights and dies for is ultimately his supreme object of loyalty and allegiance.

Virtue of Polygamy

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

It is quite ironic that in some non-Muslim countries like India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, Muslims are permitted by law to practice polygamy, whereas there are several so-called Muslim countries in which polygamy is criminalized. In a previous entry I explained that declaring something Haram which Allah Most High has declared Halal is not only apostasy from Islam but also a form of Shirk. In the Quraan al-Karim, Allah tells men to marry two, three or four women that seem suitable to them. Only if one is fearful that he cannot be just to his multiple wives is dispensation given for him to settle for a single wife (Sura 4: 3). In other words, the default is for believing Muslim men to have multiple wives, at least two and a maximum of four, and the exception is to have only one wife. Today it is certainly true that the vast majority of Muslim men aren’t polygamists. However, those who are able to should definitely make an effort to marry multiple women with the intention of emulating the blessed Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him & his family), who said:

تَزَوَّجْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ أَكْثَرُهَا نِسَاءً

“Marry, for indeed the best of this Umma are those who have many women”

(Musnad Ahmad)

Tragically, due to the toxic influence of Western/European values, modernism and feminism, the Muslim world has largely abandoned the virtuous practice of polygamy. In many “Muslim” countries (Tunisia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) polygamy is even criminalized!

Now there are many practical benefits to polygamy. It is generally known that there is usually a slight imbalance in the sex ratio, with more women than men on average. Men tend to die earlier than women, both due to natural and unnatural causes, such as war. Furthermore, many women are widowed or divorced and find it difficult to remarry, especially in societies where polygamy is considered taboo. Islam has emphasized polygamy to counter the evil of monasticism that is associated with Christianity and other false religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. Allah Most High has made the ancient patriarchs and prophets as the models of virtue and family life for the Believers to emulate. Those great men were not celibate monks living in cold cells, but instead had fulfilling, family lives as shepherds, marrying women and having an abundance of children. Indeed, Islam reveals that it is innate for man to have multiple women, and this is reflected in the fact that the believing men will have multiple consorts in the world to come, in Janna.

Abraham's Father Azar (Sura 6:74)

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

It is written in the Quraan:

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ آزَرَ أَتَتَّخِذُ أَصْنَامًا آلِهَةً ۖ إِنِّي أَرَاكَ وَقَوْمَكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ۞

And when said Abraham to his father Azar, “Do you take idols as gods? Indeed, I see you and your people in error manifest.”

(Sura 6: 74)

The fact that the Quraan apparently says that the great patriarch Abraham’s father was an idolater is not palpable to many Muslims. Those of the Barelwi sect, for example, claim that Abraham’s father was a true believer and unitarian. They argue that the individual named Azar mentioned in this Ayah was not Abraham’s father but rather his uncle. The word Ab can also refer to an uncle and does not necessarily always mean father. An example of this, from the Quraan itself, is when the sons of Jacob refer to Ishmael as being one from among his Aabaa or “fathers” (Sura 2: 133), while Ishmael was Jacob’s paternal uncle and not his father. Another argument is that in the Torah Abraham’s father is named Terah and not Azar (Genesis 11: 26). However, the Barelwis and others who make this weak argument fail to realize that the Hebrew Bible itself declares Abraham’s father – Terah – as having been an idolater: Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.” (Joshua 24: 2) The Talmud too confirms the fact that Abraham’s father was an idolater, who use to make and sell idols. As for the name of Abraham’s father, Allah Most High refers to him as “Azar” but it is certainly possible that this was his nickname and does not negate the fact that his given name was Terah. The orientalist George Sale, in his commentary of the Koran, wrote: “It may be observed that Abraham’s father is also called Zarah in the Talmud, and Athar by Eusebius.”

Israfil Associated with Prophet Muhammad for 3 Years before Gabriel

 بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

Angel Michael (peace be upon him) has the honor of being mentioned by name in the Quran al-Hakim, where Allah Most High condemns the “enemies” of His Angels and Apostles, particularly Gabriel and Michael (Sura 2: 98). Although Angel Gabriel is more frequently mentioned in Islamic texts, being associated with the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him & his family), and therefore there are many more reported narrations concerning the Angel Gabriel, it should be known that the Angel Michael likewise used to descend upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and there are several authentic Hadith which establish this fact. The third of the three great Archangels is Angel Israfil. Although not mentioned by name in the Quran, it is generally believed that Israfil is the Angel who will blow the Sur (horn) on Judgment Day. I should, however, point out that I have not come across any authentic Hadith, with a sound sanad going back to the Prophet (peace be upon him), that identifies the Angel of the Horn as Israfil. What is authentically established is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) invoked Allah by calling Him:

رَبَّ جِبْرَائِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ وَإِسْرَافِيلَ

“Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil” (Sahih Muslim)

While traditionally many Muslims identify and name the Angel of the Horn as Israfil, just as they identify and name Azrael as the Angel of Death, I have come across some other information which may question this tradition. Some Salafis object to naming the Angel of Death “Azrael” despite it being a longstanding tradition in the Muslim Umma on the basis that there isn’t a single authentic Hadith where the name Azrael is mentioned on the tongue of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Yet these same Salafis insist that Israfil is the name of the Angel of the Horn. For example, Umar al-Ashqar writes: “Another of the angels is Israafeel, who will blow the Trumpet.” (The World of the Noble Angels p. 31) and on Islam Q&A under the supervision of Saalih al-Munajjid: “With regard to the one who will blow into it, it is well known that he is Israafeel (peace be upon him). Some of the scholars narrated that there is concensus on this, and it is stated clearly in some ahaadeeth.” But the fact of the matter is that Umar al-Ashqar didn’t cite any actual text of a Hadith to this effect.

Regarding the Angel Israfil, Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari mentions in his Tarikh some narrations from Imam Aamir b. Sharahil al-Shaabi^RA that this Angel was “associated” with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for three years that preceded the coming down of Gabriel with the Quran:

حَدَّثَنِي الْحَارِثُ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ سَعْدٍ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُمَرَ الْوَاقِدِيُّ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا الثَّوْرِيُّ ، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ أَبِي خَالِدٍ ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ ، قَالَ : وَحَدَّثَنَا ، إِمْلاءً مِنْ لَفْظِهِ ، مَنْصُورٌ ، عَنِ الأَشْعَثِ ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ ، قَالَ : قُرِنَ إِسْرَافِيلُ بِنُبُوَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، ثَلاثَ سِنِينَ ، يَسْمَعُ حِسَّهُ وَلا يَرَى شَخْصَهُ.

ثُمَّ كَانَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ

Al-Harith – Ibn Sa’d – Muhammad b. Umar al-Waqidi – al-Thawri – Isma’il b. Abi Khalid – al-Sha’bi: He (al-Waqidi) also said that he had this from al-Mansur by dictation – al-Ash’ath – al-Sha’bi: “Israfil was associated with the Messenger of God’s prophethood for three years. The Messenger of God was aware of him, but could not see his person. After that came Gabriel.”

 

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ الْمُثَنَّى ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ ، عَنْ عَامِرٍ ، قَالَ : أُنْزِلَتْ عَلَيْهِ النُّبُوَّةُ وَهُوَ ابْنُ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً ، فَقُرِنَ بِنُبُوَّتِهِ إِسْرَافِيلُ ثَلاثَ سِنِينَ ، فَكَانَ يُعَلِّمُهُ الْكَلِمَةَ وَالشَّيْءَ ، وَلَمْ يَنْزِلِ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ ، فَلَمَّا مَضَتْ ثَلاثُ سِنِينَ ، قُرِنَ بِنُبُوَّتِهِ جِبْرِيلُ ، عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ ، فَنَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى لِسَانِهِ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ بِمَكَّةَ ، وَعَشْرَ سِنِينَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ

Ibn al-Muthanna – Ibn Abi Adi – Dawud – Amir: “Prophethood descended upon him when he was forty. Israfil was associated with his prophethood for three years, and used to teach him the word and the deed, but the Qur’an was not revealed by his tongue. After three years had gone by Gabriel was associated with Muhammad’s prophethood and the Qur’an was revealed by his tongue for ten years in Mecca and ten years in al-Madinah.”

In explanation of this, Ibn Kathir quotes, in his al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya, Shaykh Shihab al-Din Abu Shama:

وأما الشيخ شهاب الدين أبو شامة فإنه قد قال : وحديث عائشة لا ينافي هذا ، فإنه يجوز أن يكون أول أمره الرؤيا ، ثم وكل به إسرافيل في تلك المدة التي كان يخلو فيها بحراء ، فكان يلقي إليه الكلمة بسرعة ، ولا يقيم معه ; تدريجا له وتمرينا إلى أن جاءه جبريل ، فعلمه بعدما غطه ثلاث مرات . فحكت عائشة ما جرى له مع جبريل ، ولم تحك ما جرى له مع إسرافيل اختصارا للحديث ، أو لم تكن وقفت على قصة إسرافيل

“The Hadith of Aaisha does not negate this. It is possible that the first of his affair were Visions, then Israfil was associated with him during his seclusion in Hira, giving him the word”

In other words, before the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the revelation of the Quraan, it was the Angel Israfil guiding and inspiring him for a period of three years.

Refutation of Dualism and Qadariya

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

Refutation of Dualism

The heresy of Thanawiya or dualism crept into the Muslim Umma through the toxic influence of Magianism or Zoroastrianism from Iran. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him & his family) said: “The Qadariya are the Magians of this Umma.” (Sunan Abi Dawud: Kitab al-Sunna) The Qadariya is the name for all those sects and groups ascribing themselves to Islam who hold that the human being is the creator of his own deeds and so makes his own Qadar or determination and not Allah. The Qadariya tend to believe that nothing is set in stone and that we are in a state of fluctuation where things are indefinite or undetermined. Zoroastrian dualists believe that there is a cosmic struggle between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, and that the outcome of this struggle is unknown or undetermined. It is certainly true that there is a dualism between Light and Darkness or Truth and Falsehood, as the Holy Quran repeatedly makes clear, but in this the outcome is decidedly a triumph for Light/Truth: “Truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Verily, falsehood is bound to vanish.” (Sura 17:81) According to Islamic theology, the Devil is already doomed but Allah Most High granted him respite until Judgment Day, at which time he will be thrown into the Fire along with all those who followed him (Sura 7:13-18; 15:34-43) The Devil has no Sultan (power or authority) over the pure servants of Allah, except for Waswas (whispering evil suggestions). This is something which Allah Most High has already determined. Furthermore, the belief of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama’a is that Allah has already written the names of everyone who will be granted salvation and entered into Paradise and also the names of everyone that is doomed to Hell. It is mentioned in a Hadith:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِي، قَالَ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَفِي يَدِهِ كِتَابَانِ فَقَالَ ‏ أَتَدْرُونَ مَا هَذَانِ الْكِتَابَانِ.‏ فَقُلْنَا لاَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ تُخْبِرَنَا ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لِلَّذِي فِي يَدِهِ الْيُمْنَى ‏"‏ هَذَا كِتَابٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ فِيهِ أَسْمَاءُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَأَسْمَاءُ آبَائِهِمْ وَقَبَائِلِهِمْ ثُمَّ أُجْمِلَ عَلَى آخِرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُزَادُ فِيهِمْ وَلاَ يُنْقَصُ مِنْهُمْ أَبَدًا ‏‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ لِلَّذِي فِي شِمَالِهِ  هَذَا كِتَابٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ فِيهِ أَسْمَاءُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ وَأَسْمَاءُ آبَائِهِمْ وَقَبَائِلِهِمْ ثُمَّ أُجْمِلَ عَلَى آخِرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُزَادُ فِيهِمْ وَلاَ يُنْقَصُ مِنْهُمْ أَبَدًا ‏‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُهُ فَفِيمَ الْعَمَلُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ كَانَ أَمْرٌ قَدْ فُرِغَ مِنْهُ فَقَالَ ‏ سَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا فَإِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْجَنَّةِ يُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنْ عَمِلَ أَىَّ عَمَلٍ وَإِنَّ صَاحِبَ النَّارِ يُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ وَإِنْ عَمِلَ أَىَّ عَمَلٍ ‏‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِيَدَيْهِ فَنَبَذَهُمَا ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏"‏ فَرَغَ رَبُّكُمْ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ فَرِيقٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَفَرِيقٌ فِي السَّعِيرِ

Abdullah bin Amr narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came out to us with two books in hand. And he said: “Do you know what these two books are?” We said: “No, O Messenger of Allah! Unless you inform us.” He said about the one that was in his right hand: “This is a book from the Lord of the worlds, in it are the names of the people of Paradise, and the names of their fathers and their tribes. Then there is a summary at the end of them, there being no addition to them nor deduction from them forever.” Then he said about the one that was in his left: “This is a book from the Lord of the worlds, in it are the names of the people of the Fire and the names of their fathers and their tribes. Then there is a summary at the end of them, there being no addition to them nor deduction from them forever.” The Companions said: “So why work O Messenger of Allah! Since the matter is already decided?” He said: “Seek to do what is right and draw nearer, for indeed the inhabitant of Paradise shall have his work sealed off with the deeds of the people of Paradise, whichever deeds he did. And indeed the inhabitant of the Fire shall have his work sealed off with the deeds of the people of the Fire, whichever deeds he did.” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) motioned with his hands, casting them down and said: “Your Lord finished with the slaves, a group in Paradise, and a group in the Blazing Fire.” (Jami al-Tirmidhi #2141)

When the matter has been concluded, Satan says to his followers: “Verily, Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you but I betrayed you. And I had no authority over you except that I called upon you and you responded to me. So do not blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I reject your association of me [with Allah] from before.” (Sura 14:22)

Like the example of Satan when he says to man: “Disbelieve!”, so when he disbelieves, he [Satan] says: “Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Sura 59:16)

These and other Verses of the Holy Quran prove that Satan has no independent power or authority. He is on a very tight leash and knows full well that his true Lord is Allah Most High, Whom he even fears. Zoroastrian or Magian dualism is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Islam. This does not mean that Satan acts on behalf of Allah, as is the belief of Judaism, and that he is actually an Angel or good. The Holy Quran is explicit in declaring Satan or the Devil evil, rejected and accursed for his pride and his waging of war against Allah Most High, a war he obviously cannot win.

Murjia Sects

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious the Merciful

Murji’a or “delayers”, “postponers”, “deferrers” are heretical groups which were among the original four deviant sects that broke away from the Jama’a of the Muslims, the other three being the Khawarij, the Rawafid and the Qadariya. The Murji’a themselves were split into several subsects. In this entry I shall give a brief outline of them:

 

1. Yunusiya: Followers of Yunus b. Awn al-Numairi. They believe that a Believer enters Paradise on account of his sincerity and love (of God) alone, not on account of his deeds and his obedience.

 

2. Ubaidiya: Followers of Ubaid al-Mukta’ib. They believe that when a person dies a monotheist no sin that he has committed or evil that he has done will harm him.

 

3. Ghassaniya: Followers of Ghassan al-Kufi. They believe that faith increases but does not decrease.

 

4. Thaubaniya: Followers of Abu Thauban. They believe that whatever reason manifests as not obligatory is not part of faith.

 

5. Taumaniya: Followers of Abu Mu’adh al-Taumani. They believe that the word faith refers to the qualities of knowledge, belief, love, sincerity, and acceptance of what has been revealed through the Prophet (peace be upon him & his family). “To make obeisance to the sun, moon and idols is not unbelief in itself, but a sign of unbelief”.

 

6. Salihiya: Followers of Salih b. Umar al-Salihi. They believe that prayer is not worship of God, and that there is not worship of God except faith in Him. Faith consists in the knowledge of God; it is an undivided quality which does not increase or decrease. Similarly, “unbelief is an undivided quality which does not increase or decrease”.