Gentleness

 

From Abi Hurairah (رضي اللّه عنـه) who said that Allaah’s Messenger (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) said:

“Indeed Allaah is gentle and loves gentleness, and gives due to gentleness that which He does not give to harshness.”

Reported by Ibn Majah [no. 3688] and Ibn Hibaan [no. 549]

Increase of Provision through Forgiveness - 2

Al-Hafidh Emaad ad-Deen Isma’eel Ibn Katheer (d. 774 A.H.) رحمه الله said in his Tafseer about the Ayaat:

“Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers
And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.”

[Nuh: 10-12]

‘If you repented to Allaah & sought forgiveness from Him & showed obedience to Him your Rizq (provision) would increase & rain would fall from the blessings of the skies, & the blessings of the earth would spring forth, crops would grow for you. You will be given abundant livestock. You will be aided with wealth & offspring; meaning that offspring & wealth would be given to you. And you will be given gardens that have numerous types of fruits & throughout there will be rivers that flow in these gardens. This is the way of giving Dawa’ by encouragement.’

       [Taken from: ‘Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-Atheem’ 4/p.536]

Summary of Understanding Islam, a solution to: THE TRIALS OF LIFE (3)

       Can fitan (trials) be like the punishment of Allaah? 

Dr. Saleh al Fawzan حفظه الله

The word fitan (trials and tribulations) is the plural of fitnah which means being tested and trialed, such that the truth or hypocrisy of one’s faith is made apparent. Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى says:

‘There are amongst mankind who say: “We believe in Allaah,” but if they are trialed in the cause of Allaah, they consider the trial of mankind similar to the punishment of Allaah..’ ⁵

Imaam As-Sa'adi: Commentary on the verse {indeed all the believers are brothers…..}

 

Allaah the Most High says:

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

“Indeed all the believers are brothers. So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allâh, that you may receive mercy.”

(Al-Hujurat 49:10)
 

Imaam A-Sa'di said:

"This is a bond that Allaah has concluded between the believers, that if there is an individual whoever he may be, whether in the east of earth or its west, that has belief in Allaah and his Angels and his Books and his Messengers and the Last Day then indeed he is a brother of the believers, a brotherhood that necessitates that the believers love for him what they love for themselves and that they dislike for him what they dislike for themselves, and due to this the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said ordering the believers with brotherhood based on Eeman:

For your act of worship to be accepted it must meet the Sunnah in these six

The noble Sheikh Muhammad bin Saalih Al-’Uthaimeen رحمه الله said in his explanation of forty hadeeths of An-Nawawee رحمه الله: for acts of worship to be accepted-after sincerity- they must conform with the way of the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم in six things:

1-The reason: it must be a one that is approved by the Sharee’hah. For example if someone prayed the night prayer on the 27 of Rajab or the 15 of Sha’baan. We say to him this act is rejected because Allah did not make these two nights a reason to pray the night prayer.

2-The kind: for example if someone sacrificed a horse on Eidul-Adhaa. We say this is rejected because the kinds of sacrificial animals have been specified and horse is not one of them.

3-The amount: for example if someone made ablution four times on one limb or added a rak’ah to a prayer.

The advice of Ibn Umar to a seeker of knowledge

Al-Layth bin Sa’d and others narrated: a man wrote to Ibn Umar saying: write to me the whole of knowledge. So he wrote to him: verily, knowledge is abundant, however if you are able to meet Allaah while your back is free from people’s blood, while your stomach is empty from their wealth [unlawfully], while your tongue is restrained from their honors and while sticking to their legion then do so.

Siyar A’laamin-Nubalaa’ 3/222

The Destructive Nature of Showing Off

Showing-off is considered to be from the “concealed shirk”; since the scholars of this nation have explained the two-fold nature of shirk as being “apparent shirk” (such as in open and apparent actions of worshipping idols, tombs, shrines, trees, stones with regards to slaughtering for them or seeking aid or directing supplication to them and other than that), and “concealed shirk” (shirk within the intention of a person, that which resides in his heart and it is concealed from the people and known to Allaah alone).

The word “riyaa” (showing-off) in Arabic is derived from the root word indicating vision or sight, and that is due to the one engaging in it intends that the people see him performing his action, or hear of his actions, in order to obtain their praise or other than that.

“Where in the Qur’an does it tell you how to Cook this Meal?” Sheikh ibn ul-Uthaimeen

 

Indeed the Qur’aan was sent by Allaah as a guidance to creation, it is as the Prophet  صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم would say in the weekly Friday sermon, “Indeed the best of speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم and the most evil of affairs are the newly invented, and every innovation is misguidance”. Indeed Allaah revealed this Book in order that the people may be removed from darkness to light, from Shirk to Tawheed. The Qur’aan that holds no contradictions but rather all of its information is true and correct, the Qur’aan along with the Sunnah that is a clarification and guidance in all affairs.

Upon this point regarding the Qur’aan being a guidance for all affairs al-’Allama ibn ul-Uthaimeen رحمه الله mentioned a story regarding a Christian scholar who questioned a Muslim scholar whilst in a restaurant upon the specifics pertaining to the cooking of a particular meal! The Shaikh mentioned in one of his Khutba that a Muslim person of knowledge was sat in a restaurant and a Christian approached him and stated as a challenge to him, “You say that the Qur’aan is a guidance in all affairs, so where in the Qur’aan does it tell you how to cook this meal?” Allaah سبحانه و تعالى inspired the person of knowledge to have insight in answering the question, and so he called over the chef, once the chef arrived he asked him how to cook the particular meal he was eating, and so the chef explained the process. Thereafter the person of knowledge said to him, “This is what the Qur’aan has taught us “فاسأوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون“….ask the people of knowledge if you do not know. In this way he explained that the manner of discovering the process of cooking the food was indeed taught in the Qur’aan!

The Difference Between Evil Eye and Envy - Sheikh ibn ul-Uthaimeen

Q: "What is the difference between the evil eye and envy and how do we protect ourselves from them?"

A: "There is no practical difference , but the origin of the evil eye is from envy, that is because the one who causes the evil eye - and we seek refuge in Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى - has in his heart envy for the servants of Allaah and he does not love any good for anyone. If therefore he sees something from a person that pleases him and he is envious then this emotion emanates from him and afflicts the individual he envies, and that is why Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى said, “… And from the evil of the envier when he envies."

As for protection from the evil of the envier and the evil eye:

1 - Trust and dependence in Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى, and that a person does not turn to these affairs and give them importance and concern, rather he shuns away from them.

2 - Using the beneficial supplications mentioned in the Qur'aan and Sunnah for they are the best of protection for a person, just like what has been authenticated from the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم regarding Ayat ul-Kursee and that the one who recites it at night then there will not cease to be a protector upon him and Shaytaan will not approach him until he awakens in the morning.