This episode covers the meaning of ihsan and a brief discussion on the signs of the Hour as well as a couple of other beneficial points that can be gleaned from the hadith.
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Monday, 6 February 2017
The Foreword: Islam, Iman and Ihsan, Part 4 (Episode 9)
The fourth and final segment of our commentary on the second hadith
Thursday, 2 February 2017
The Chapter on the Recommended Adhkār for the Day of Friday and its Night as well as the Supplications
The republishing of this translation
The
Chapter on the Recommended Adhkār
for the Day of Friday and its Night as well as the Supplications
By Imam Yaḥyā Al-Nawawī
Translated
by Mahdi Lock[1]
It is recommended to do a lot of recitation of the
Qurʾān, adhkār and
supplications on the day of Friday and the night,[2]
as well as prayers upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace
be upon him, and the recitation of Sūrat
Al-Kahf in the day. Ash-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, said in the book Al-Umm,
‘It is recommended to read it on Friday night’.[3]
496_We have
related in the two Ṣaḥīḥ
collections of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, mentioned Friday
and said, “In it there is a period of time[4]
that a Muslim slave does not coincide with while standing, praying and asking
Allah for something except that He gives it to him.” And with his hand he
indicated that it was short.
I have said: The scholars from the Salaf and
the Khalaf have differed over this period of time with many positions
that are as widespread as possible. I have gathered all the positions on the
matter in Sharḥ Al-Muhadhdhab[5]
and clarified who has said what, and that many of the Companions held the
position that it was after ʿaṣr. The meaning of ‘standing, praying’ is
the one waiting for the prayer, for indeed he is in prayer.
497_The
soundest position that has come regarding this is what we have related in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim on the
authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘I heard
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, saying, {It
is what is between the imam sitting until the prayer had finished}, meaning
when he sits on the minbar.
498_As for the
recitation of Sūrat al-Kahf and sending
prayers upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him,
well-known aḥādīth
have come regarding this so we have left off relating them due to the length of
the book and the fact that they are well-known, and we have mentioned a number
of them in a specific chapter.[6]
499_We have
mentioned in the book of Ibn as-Sunnī,
on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may
Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, said, “Whoever says on the morning of
Friday, before the dawn prayer: ‘I seek
Allah’s forgiveness, the One besides Whom there is no other god, The Living,
the Self-Sustaining, and I turn to Him in repentance’ three times, Allah
forgives him his sins, even if they are like are the foam of the sea.”
500_We have
related therein, on the authority of Abū
Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ‘When the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, would enter the masjid on Friday,
take hold of the door supports and then say: “Make me the one who turns to
You most from those who turn to You, the nearest of those who draw near to You
and the best of those who ask You and desire You.”
I have said: It is recommended for us to say: ‘Make us
from those who turn to You most from amongst those who turn to You and from
those who are nearest and from those who are best’. Thus, we add the word
‘from’.
As for what is recommended to recite in the Friday
Prayer[7]
and in the dawn prayer on Friday,[8]
we have already clarified them in the chapter on the adhkār of prayer.
501_We have
related in the book of Ibn as-Sunnī,
on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, may
Allah be pleased with her, who said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s
prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Whoever recites after the Friday
prayer: “Say: ‘He is Allah, One’”[9]
and “Say: ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak’”[10]
and “Say: ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind’”[11]
seven times, Allah , Mighty and Majestic, will protect him from evil until the
following Friday.”
Section: It is
recommended to do much remembrance of Allah the Exalted after the Friday
Prayer. Allah the Exalted has said: “Then when the prayer is finished,
spread through the earth, seek Allah’s bounty and remember Allah much so that
hopefully you will be successful.” [12]
[1] Translator’s note (tn): Translated from
Al-Adhkār lil Imām Abī Zakariyyā Yaḥyā Bin Sharaf An-Nawawī Ad-Dimashqi (Beirut: Muʾassasa Al-Maʿārif, 2005) p.151-152.
[3] (tn): i.e. after sunset on
Thursday. Some editions of Al-Adhkār mention the word ayḍan, i.e.
as well, meaning that one should read al-Kahf twice, once at night and once in
the day. This is also mentioned by Imam Muḥammad Ibn ʿAlān in Al-Futūḥāt
Al-Rabbāniyyah ʿalā Al-Adhkār An-Nawawiyyah (v.4, p.227, Beirut: Dar
Al-Turāth Al-ʿArabī), his commentary on Al-Adhkār. As for the aḥādīth
on Sūrat Al-Kahf, the most well-known is: “Whoever recites it [i.e. Al-Kahf]
on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays”, as
narrated by Al-Ḥākim and Al-Bayhaqī, in Shuʿab Al-Īmān, from Abū Saʿīd, marfūʿan
(i.e. a statement,
action, affirmation or attribute that is attributed to the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, by a Companion or someone later). As for reciting Al-Kahf at night as well, this
is based on a report from Al-Dāramī, on the authority of Ibn Saʿīd, also marfūʿan: “Whoever recites it on the night of
Friday, light shall shine forth for him between him and Al-Bayt Al-ʿAtīq [i.e.
the Kaʿba]”.
[5] (tn): i.e. Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ Al-Muhadhdhab, Imam Al-Nawawī’s
27-volume fiqh book, which is the ultimate reference work for the Shāfiʿī
school. Imam Ibn ʿAlān mentions that there are more than forty positions on the
matter.
[6] (tn): See Kitāb Al-Ṣalāt ʿalā
Rasūl Allah Ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, p.105-108 of the same edition
of Al-Adhkār.
[7] (tn): ‘The Sunnah is that one
recite Sūrat Al-Jumuʿah [62] in the first rakʿa of the Friday Prayer and
Al-Munāfiqūn [63] in the second. If one wants, they can recite “Glorify the
Name of your Lord, the Most High” [Al-ʿAlā, 87] in the first and “Has
the news of the Overwhelmer reached you?” [Al-Ghāshiyya, 88] in the second,
as they are both Sunnah. Let one be wary of restricting oneself to only
some of the sūrah in these situations. If one wants to go easy, let his
recitation be gentle without any jabbering’. [Al-Adhkār, p.47, the
Chapter on What to Say After the Taʿawwudh].
[8] (tn): ‘The Sunnah is that
one recite in the first rakʿa of the dawn prayer on Friday “Alif,
Lām, Mīm, The Revelation of the Book” Al-Sajda [32] and in the second “Has
man ever known a point of time…” Al-Insān [76], and to read them both in
their entirety. As for what some people do by only reciting some of them, this
is contrary to the Sunnah’. [Al-Adhkār, p.47].
[10] (tn): Al-Falaq 113:1.
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
The Ugly Truth About Hollywood
A rather sobering plea to avoid violence and civil war in the Anglosphere:
Something is afoot in Europe and the Anglosphere, and especially the United States, which tends to blaze the trail for other Anglosphere and European nations. After thirty years of liberalism, of political correctness, of the self-esteem movement (i.e. everyone gets a trophy/everyone is a winner/everyone is special), of feelings and emotions over facts and objective standards, it all appears to be coming to an end.
There is a paradigm shift happening in the culture, the pendulum is swinging the other way, but will it happen without a serious outbreak of violence? The left have been pushing their agenda very hard for the past few decades, and under the last American president they pushed as hard as they could, so much so that the 2016 election really was a "winner takes all" election: one side would win, the other would fade into oblivion. The Democrat Party in the United States is now following the path of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, completely failing to understand why they lost and thus moving further and further to the left, thereby making themselves more and more unelectable.
The removal and dismissal of objective standards leads to the absence of morals and values. Nothing means anything anymore, and anything means nothing. Everything is relative. Anglosphere Islam, so heavily caught up in the culture of the left, after promoting various monstrosities over the last sixteen years, from "minority fiqh" to the The Study Quran, has been reduced to meaningless fluff. Now Anglosphere Muslims can argue about who is more offended/offensive and who is the greater victim/perpetrator. That's all that's remains.
Western culture, assisted by the mainstream media and Hollywood, has now reached a point where resorting to violence to win an argument is being normalised. If someone disagrees with you or your political him, give them a label (e.g. Nazi, racists, sexist, xenophobe) and then punch them in the face, or at least threaten to do so. It is those who have no argument and no evidence who resort to violence: the left in western culture and cultists in Muslim culture. To put it differently: resorting to intimidation, anger and violence is clear proof that you have no argument and no evidence.
Hollywood, the cesspool that it is, is losing money fast and will hopefully be on the trash heap of history soon, where it belongs, but its corruption of the culture will not disappear that fast. Nowadays, Hollywood's main heroes for their scripts and screenplays, and this has been the case for several years now, are comic book superheroes, people who use violence to achieve their objectives, not great orators or thinkers, writers or scholars, i.e. those who use knowledge, reason and evidence to convince others and thereby make them better people who live fruitful, meaningful lives. Why is this the case? It is because knowledge, reason and evidence have to be rooted in facts and objective standards. In the mainstream, dominated by the left for decades, those were lost a long time ago.
So now matters appear to be teetering on the edge. Will the pendulum swing back peacefully or will there be violent fights on the streets? Will people be killed? This is essentially a battle between the left and the right, which is not just conservative vs liberal but also nationalist vs globalist, and it is sad the Anglosphere Muslims have almost completely fallen into the latter camp instead of rising above the battle and using knowledge, reason, evidence and, most importantly, revelation to offer something better. Why does it fall down to an atheist philosopher, e.g. in the video above, to be the voice of peace and reason? Where are the "leading scholars of our time", i.e. from amongst the Muslims of the Anglosphere, to offer a way out of this madness? I guess it's hard to offer a way out of madness when you're stuck in the middle of it and can't even identify what it is.
There is something much deeper going on. It's bigger than just one election. Violence or not, civil war or not, the future of Islam in the Anglosphere is tenuous at best. Those with whom Anglosphere Muslims have mistakenly and thoughtlessly allied, the leftists, the globalists, the cultural Marxists, the politically correct crowd, will soon be pushed to the side and no longer dominate the culture. The false sense of security they offered will finally be exposed for the falsehood that it is. There won't be any more safe spaces. If you're a Muslim and you're awake, it's time to leave for Dar al-Islam or at least move out of the mainstream.
And with Allah is every success.
Related Posts:
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Repost: The Difference Between Tawassul and Shirk
The statement of the former Mufti of Egypt
The website www.marifah.net is down and I have no idea whether it will return, so I am republishing this article here:
 |
| سورة المائدة 5:53 |
The website www.marifah.net is down and I have no idea whether it will return, so I am republishing this article here:
Al-Waṭan publishes the opinion of the Muftī of Egypt
regarding wasīla and circumambulating graves in response to some
Kuwaitis
Dr ʿAlī Jumuʿah: There is an enormous and vast
difference between wasīla and shirk, as wasīla is
commanded to in the Revealed Law
The Muftī of the Republic of Egypt, Dr ʿAlī Jumuʿah,
has made his contribution to the debate between the general secretary of the
General Secretariat of Awqāf, Dr Muḥammad ʿAbdul Ghaffār Ash-Sharīf and Sheikh Ṣāliḥ Bin
Fawzān Al-Fawzān, a member of the supreme council of scholars in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, as well as Fayṣal Qazāz Al-Jāsim, whose comments have
also been published as part of this debate that is taking place in the pages of
Al-Waṭan regarding a number of Islamic issues. The Muftī of Egypt’s
contributions have come as an answer to a question that was previously
submitted to the Egyptian Fatwa Office via fax by Muḥammad Al-Fahd, Bassām
Al-Hārūn, Aḥmad An-Niṣf, Aḥmad Al-ʿAbīd and ʿAbdur Raḥmān Al-Kandarī and registered
under no.1113 for the year 2006.
What follows contains the text of the response that Dr
Jumuʿah gave to the question and which was published by Al-Waṭan because of its
connection to this Islamic discussion over an issue that causes a lot of
division:
‘Praise be to Allah alone, and prayers and peace be
upon the one after whom there is no other prophet, our Master, Muḥammad, the
Messenger of Allah, as well as his family, his Companions, and those who follow
him in excellence until the Day of Judgment. We have been informed of the
request that has reached us via fax from the Profs. Muḥammad Al-Fahd, Bassām
Al-Hārūn, Aḥmad An-Niṣf, Aḥmad Al-ʿAbīd and ʿAbdur Raḥman Al-Kandarī and
registered under no.1113 for the year 2006. It contains the following:
‘An interview with one of our respected Shuyūkh was
published in Kuwait in Al-Raʿī newspaper on the 20th of
March, 2006/20th Ṣafar 1427, and this Sheikh was, for a certain
period of time, the dean of the Faculty of Sharīʿah at the University of Kuwait.
The interview included this response to a question that was given to him
regarding shirk: ‘As for circumambulating graves, this is not rightful
according to all the scholars of the Muslims, including the Sufis, and they
have differed over whether it is ḥarām or makrūh, and none of
them said it was shirk apart from a few that could be counted on one’s
fingers from the people of knowledge.’ This led to a great uproar in several
articles, some of which were written by professors of Sharīʿah, which attacked
the Sheikh’s words and denounced him, and they even went as far as accusing him
of propagating shirk. Due to the fact that your rank and your words have
a special place in our hearts, we wanted you to say the word of truth with
regards to clarifying Allah’s ruling in this matter and thus put an end to this
controversy that is having blameworthy consequences.
The answer:
It is befitting to put forward three principles that
should be kept in mind when discussing this issue and others like it:
1)
The principle with regards to the
actions that are committed by a Muslim is that they are to be interpreted in a
way that does not oppose the principle of tawḥīd. It is not permissible
to hastily accuse him of kufr or shirk, because his Islam is a
strong affiliation that requires us not to interpret his actions in a way that
would necessitate kufr. This is a general maxim that all Muslims should
adhere to. Imam Mālik, the Imam of Dār Al-Hijra, may Allah the Exalted
have mercy on him, expressed this by saying: ‘If someone commits an action that
could be interpreted as kufr from ninety-nine angles and as īmān
from only one angle then we interpret it as an action of īmān. Let us
give one example of a statement and another of a physical action.
A Muslim believes that the Messiah,
peace be upon him, brings the dead back to life but with Allah’s permission,
and he is incapable of doing it by himself. Rather, it is Allah’s power that
does it. A Christian believes that he brings the dead back to life, but he
believes that he does it with his own intrinsic power, and that he is Allah, or
the son of Allah, or one person of the Trinity, as they believe. Therefore, if
we hear a Muslim, who believes in Allah’s Oneness, saying: ‘I believe that the
Messiah brings the dead back to life,’ which is the same statement that the
Christian makes, we should not assume that the Muslim has become a Christian
because of these words. Rather, we interpret them according to the meaning that
befits his affiliation to Islam and the creed of Allah’s Oneness.
A Muslim also believes that it is not
permissible to devote one’s worship to other than Allah, while the idolater[1]
believes that it is permissible to devote one’s worship to other than Allah the
Exalted. Therefore, if we see a Muslim doing an act that could be interpreted
as being done for other than Allah, we must interpret it according to what
befits his creed as a Muslim, because his pledge to Islam has been firmly
established with certainty, and certainty is not removed by doubt or
speculation. This is why, when Muʿādh Bin Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him,
prostrated to the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, as has
been related by Ibn Mājah and declared as authentic by Ibn Ḥibbān, the Prophet,
may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, forbade him from doing so but he did
not describe this action of his as kufr or shirk. Furthermore, it
is undeniable that Muʿādh, may Allah be pleased with him, is the most
knowledgeable of this Ummah with regards to the ḥalāl and the ḥarām,
and he was not ignorant of the fact that prostrating is an act of worship and
it is not permissible to devote acts of worship to other than Allah. However,
since prostrating can be interpreted to be something other than worship of the
one being prostrated to, it is not permissible to interpret it as worship if it
is done by a Muslim, or to declare that Muslim to be a kāfir in any way.
Regarding this, Al-Ḥāfiẓ Adh-Dhahabī says: ‘Have you not seen that the
Companions, due to their boundless love of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and
peace be upon him, said: ‘Should we not prostrate to you?’ He said: ‘No.’ Thus,
if he had permitted them, they would have prostrated to him out of honour and
respect, not worship, just as Yūsuf’s brothers prostrated to him, peace be upon
him. Likewise, the position regarding a Muslim who prostrates to the grave of
the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, out of exaltation and
reverence, is not accused of disbelief but rather he is disobedient and he is
informed that this action is prohibited. The same goes for praying towards
graves.’[2]
Violating this principle is the
standard practice of the Khawārij. According to Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased
with both of them, this was the starting point of their misguidance. He said:
‘They took the āyāt that referred to the disbelievers and applied them to the
believers.’ Al-Bukhārī narrated it with a suspended chain[3]
of transmission in his Ṣaḥīḥ and it was completed by Ibn Jarīr At-Ṭabarī
in Tahdhīb Al-Āthār with an authentic chain of transmission.
2)
There is an enormous and vast
difference between wasīla and shirk, as wasīla is
commanded to in the Revealed Law in the Exalted’s Statement: “O you who
believe! Have taqwā of Allah and seek the means [wasīla] of drawing near
to him, and do jihad in His Way, so that hopefully you will be successful.”
[Al-Māʾida 5:35] The Glorified also praised those who do tawassul in
their supplications when He said: “Those they call on are themselves seeking
the means by which they might approach their Lord – which of them are closest
to Him? – and are hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. The punishment
of your Lord is truly something to be feared.” [Al-Isrāʾ 17:57]. In the
Arabic language, wasīla means ‘rank, ‘connection’ and ‘nearness’, and
thus the overall meaning is drawing near to Allah the Exalted by way of that
which He the Glorified has legislated and that includes extolling everything
that Allah the Exalted has extolled, whether it is places, times, individuals
or states. Thus, a Muslim strives, for example, to pray in Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām
and supplicate at the grave of Al-Muṣṭafā, may Allah’s prayers and peace be
upon him, and this is extolling the places that Allah the Exalted has extolled.
A Muslim seeks to pray on Laylat Al-Qadr and supplicate within the time of
response[4]
on Friday as well as in the last third of the night, and this is extolling the
times that Allah has extolled. A Muslim draws near to Allah by loving the
Prophets and the righteous, and this is extolling the individuals that Allah
has extolled. A Muslim seeks to supplicate while travelling and when rain
falls, and other instances, and this is extolling the states that Allah has
extolled, and so on, and all this falls under the Exalted’s statement: “That
is it. Whoever extolls Allah’s sacred rites, then that comes from the taqwā in
their hearts.” [Al-Ḥajj 22:32]
As for shirk, it means to
devote an act of worship to other than Allah in a way that should only be done
for Allah the Exalted, even if it is done with the objective of drawing nearer
to Allah. Allah the Exalted has said: “If people take protectors besides Him
– ‘We only worship them so that they may bring us nearer to Allah.’” [Az-Zumar
39:3] We have only said ‘in a way that should only be done for Allah the
Exalted’ in order to exclude everything that goes against worship in terms of
what it describes even if its outward description doesn’t. For example, the
word duʿāʾ can mean a supplication, and thus it is worship of the one
being supplicated to: “What they call on [yadʿūna] apart from Him are
female idols.” [An-Nisāʾ 4:117] However, it can also mean simply to call
someone, and thus not be a supplication: “Do not make the Messenger’s
summoning [duʿāʾ] of you the same as your summoning of one another.”
[An-Nūr 24:63] Also, the context may tell us that supplication is being
made for someone and not to: “for beggars and the destitute.”
[Al-Maʿārij 70:25] There is also the word istiʿāna,[5]
which may be worship of the One Whose help is being sought: “You alone we
worship and from You alone we seek help.” [Al-Fātiḥa 1:5], “Mūsā said to
his people: ‘Seek help from Allah and be patient.” [Al-ʿArāf 7:128], but it
might also not be worship: “Seek help through patience and prayer.”
[Al-Baqara 2:45] Love, likewise, can be worship of the object of one’s love
and at the same time it might not be, as the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace
be upon him, indicated when he said: “Love Allah for the blessings that He
provides you with, love me because of Allah’s love and love the people of my
household due to my love.” [Narrated by At-Tirmidhī and declared authentic
by Al-Ḥākim] and so forth, which means that shirk only refers to
extolling other than Allah in a way that is only befitting of Allah the
Exalted. For example, the Exalted has said: “Do not, then, knowingly make
others equal to Allah.” [Al-Baqara 2:22] The Glorified has also said: “Some
people set up equals to Allah, loving them as they should love Allah. But those
who believe have greater love for Allah.” [Al-Baqara 2:165] Thus, the
difference between wasīla and shirk has been made clear, because wasīla
means to extoll that which Allah has extolled, which is ultimately extolling
Allah, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic has said: ““That is it. Whoever extolls
Allah’s sacred rites, then that comes from the taqwā in their hearts.” [Al-Ḥajj
22:32] As for shirk, it means to extoll something else in addition
to Allah, or merely something else. This is why the angels’ prostration to
Adam, peace be upon him, was īmān and tawḥīd and the prostration
of polytheists to their idols is kufr and shirk, even though both
prostrations were, or are, made to created beings. However, the angels’
prostration to Adam, peace be upon him, was extolling that which Allah had
extolled, and as Allah had commanded. It was a legislated wasīla and
those who did it deserved reward. Polytheists’ prostration to their idols is
extolling something in a way that only Allah should be extolled, and thus it is
shirk and blameworthy, and those who do it deserve to be punished.
Based on this principle regarding the
difference between wasīla and shirk, a group of scholars have said
that it is permissible to swear by that which is extolled in the Sharīʿah: the
Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, Islam, the
Kaʿba, and this group includes Imam Aḥmad, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on
him, in one of his statements, in which he deemed it permissible to swear by
the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, and he
justified this because of the fact that he, may Allah’s prayers and peace be
upon him, is one of the two pillars of the shahāda, without which it is
incomplete. This is because such an act does not bear any resemblance to Allah
the Exalted in any way. Rather it is extolling Allah by extolling what He has
extolled. These scholars have also interpreted the aḥādīth that prohibit
swearing by other than Allah to mean swearing in a way that contains
resemblance to Allah, while the majority of scholars have forbidden it based on
the outward, general meaning of the prohibition of swearing by other than
Allah.
In order to clarify the first opinion
and give it more weight, Ibn Mundhir, may Allah have mercy on him, says: ‘The
people of knowledge have differed over the meaning of the prohibition of
swearing by other than Allah. One group holds the position that it is specific
to the oaths that were made by the people of jāhiliyya to other than
Allah, such as Lāt, ʿUzzā and their own ancestors. The one who makes such an
oath has sinned and there is no expiation mentioned for it. As for what can be
interpreted as extolling Allah, such as saying: ‘By the right of the Prophet’,
or Islam, or the Ḥajj, or the ʿUmrah, or guidance, or charity or the
emancipation of slaves, and other things whose intent is extolling Allah and
drawing near to Him, these do not fall under the prohibition. Those who hold
this position include Abu ʿUbayd and a group whom we have
encountered, and their proof is what has been related regarding the Companions
consenting to a person swearing by emancipation, guidance and charity, and they
consented to this person even though they were aware of the abovementioned
prohibition. This indicates that according to them the prohibition was not
general. If it were general, they would have forbidden it and not consented to
it at all.[6]
Should any difference of opinion
arise after that regarding certain forms of wasīla, such as making tawassul
through the righteous and supplicating at their graves, for example, or if an
error is committed therein by some Muslims, i.e. something that hasn’t been
legislated, such as prostrating to graves or circumambulating them, it is not
then permissible to move this error or this difference of opinion from the
scope of wasīla to that of shirk or kufr,
because by doing so we would be mixing between matters and making the extolling
of that which Allah has extolled to be the same as extolling something besides
Allah, and Allah the Exalted has said: “Would We make the Muslims the same
as the evildoers? What is the matter with you? On what basis do you judge?”
[Al-Qalam 68:35-36]
3)
There is also a difference between
something being a means and believing that it is a creator and that it is able
to affect things intrinsically, and this is just like the example we gave in
the first principle of the Muslim believing that the Messiah, peace be upon
him, is a means in the creation according to Allah’s permission, as opposed to
the Christian, who believes that he acts according to himself. If we see a
Muslim requesting, asking, seeking help or hoping for some benefit or harm from
other than Allah, then we must decisively interpret his action as one of
seeking means and not due to believing that what is besides Allah is a creator
or is able to affect things intrinsically. This is because we know that the creed
of every Muslim is that intrinsic benefit and harm only come from Allah and
that created beings only benefit and harm according to Allah’s permission. All
that remains after that is discussing whether this or that created being was
the means or not.
Once these three principles have been established then
we must bear them in mind when discussing the ruling regarding circumambulating
graves, for if we know that we are talking about actions committed by Muslims,
and that these Muslims are visiting these tombs and graves because of the
righteousness of the people in them and in order to draw nearer to Allah the
Exalted, and that visiting graves is a righteous action and it is a means [tawassul]
of seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted, and that the discussion is only
regarding the permissibility of certain actions committed by these Muslims, and
that some of their actions are differed over by scholars and some are
indisputably wrong; if we know all of this then it should be absolutely clear
to us there is no place whatsoever for shirk or kufr when judging
the actions of these Muslims. Rather, there is a difference of opinion over
some wasāʾil while some others are indisputably
wrong, without there being any need to accuse someone whose Islam is
established with certainty of committing kufr.
In examining the opinions of the people of knowledge
regarding the ruling for circumambulating graves, we see that it falls within
the scope of whether it is makrūh or ḥarām, i.e. there are those who
hold the position that circumambulating is an unlawful wasīla and that the one doing it
is sinning and there are those who hold the position that it is better for a
Muslim to leave it off but if he does do it he does not merit any punishment.
The position that it is makrūh is the muʿtamad[7]of the chief scholars of
the Ḥanbalī school, as is mentioned in the book Kashf
Al-Qināʾ by the seal of their investigative
scholars,[8]
Al-ʿAlāma Al-Bahūtī, and the position that it
is ḥarām is the position of the majority of
scholars, and that is the fatwa.
As for involving shirk and kufr in this
matter, there is no need, unless it is assumed that the one circumambulating is
actually worshipping whoever is in the grave, or he believes that the person in
the grave can intrinsically harm him or benefit him, or he believes that
circumambulating the grave is an act of worship that Allah the Exalted has
legislated, just as He has legislated circumambulating the Kaʿba. These are all
possibilities which the people of knowledge stay away from when interpreting
the actions of a Muslim, as we’ve mentioned before, because the premise of the
matter is regarding the Muslim who is circumambulating, and nothing else.
It is not permissible for Muslims to preoccupy
themselves with matters like these and make them issues over which to attack
one another. It is a pointless fuss and a means of breaking ranks, squandering
efforts and distracting us from building our communities and uniting our Ummah.
We ask Allah the Exalted to unite the hearts of the Muslims upon the Book and
the Sunnah and to grant them a good understanding of the religion and the
knowledge of what Allah the Exalted wants from His slaves. Amīn.
[1] (tn): Ar. mushrik
[2] Muʿjam Ash-Shuyūkh p.56
[3] (tn): Ar. muʿallaq.
This refers to when a narrator quotes a ḥadīth but omits either a) the entire
chain of transmission or b) the entire chain of transmission except for the
Companion or the Companion and the Follower from that chain.
[4] (tn): Ar. sāʿat
ul-ijāba. Imam Yaḥyā An-Nawawī says:
‘We have related in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections of Al-Bukhārī and Muslim,
on the authority of Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, mentioned Friday
and said: “On that day there is a time in which no Muslim slave who
coincides with it while he is standing and praying and asking Allah the Exalted
for something except that He gives it to him.” He then indicated with his
hand that it was a short time. I say: The scholars from the salaf and
the khalaf have differed over when this time is, giving many dispersed opinions,
and I have gathered all the opinions on the matter in Sharḥ Al-Muhadhdhib
[i.e. Al-Majmūʿ, the Imam’s 27-volume fiqh book and ultimate reference
work for the Shāfiʿī school] and explained who has held what position, and
indeed many of the Companions held the position that it was after ʿAsr.
What is meant by “standing and praying” is the own who is waiting for the
prayer, because it is as if he is in prayer. The most authentic position that
has reached us in this matter is what we have related in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim on
the authority of Abū Mūsā Al-Ashʿarī, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him,
saying: “It is what is between the imam sitting until the prayer is
finished.” i.e. sitting on the minbar. [Translated
from Al-Adkhār min Kalām Sayyid Al-Abrār by Al-Imām, Al-Ḥāfiẓ, Sheikh
ul-Islām Muḥyī Ad-Dīn Abī Zakariyā Yaḥyā bin Sharaf An-Nawawī Ad-Dimashqī
Ash-Shāfiʿī (Damascus: Al-Maktaba Al-ʿAṣriya, 2000/1421) p.141] For further details, one can refer to Al-Futūhāt
Ar-Rabbāniyyah ʿala Al-Adhkār An-Nawawiyyah by Imam Muḥammad Bin ʿAlān, (Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ At-Turāth Al-ʿArabī) v.4,
p.227-9.
[5] (tn): i.e. seeking
help
[6] Quoted by Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in Fatḥ Al-Bārī 11/535
[7] (tn): i.e. the most
relied-upon position in the school
[8] (tn): Ar. muḥaqqiqīn
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