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Rising of the Sun from the West
Islam is the only religion that prophesies that the sun will rise from the West, instead of from rising from the East, in the the End Times, before Day of Judgement. Both the Quran and the Hadith affirm that this phenomenon will take place. The occurrence of this phenomenon is considered in Islam as one of the major signs that indicate the Day of Judgement is close.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
فيومئذ لا ينفع نفسا إيمانها لم تكن آمنت من قبل أو كسبت في إيمانها خيرا . 6 / الأنعام / الآية 158
"The day when some signs of your Lord will come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his faith." (Surah Al-An'aam 6:158)
This verse is referring to the rising of the sun from the West, according to the opinion of the majority of Quran commentators such as Tabari and Ibn Kathir.
Imam Tabari, after mentioning the different opinions of the commentators writes, "The most correct opinion in regards to the meaning of this verse is that what is apparent from the reports narrated from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that he said, "Becoming a Believer will be of no benefit after the sun rises from the West." (Tabari)
Abu Huraira reported that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Hasten to do good deeds before six (things happen): Rising of the sun from the West..." (Mishkat)
Abdullah-bin-Umar said, "I memorized a Hadith of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم which I have not forgotten. I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say, 'The first of the Signs that will come is the rising of the sun from the place of its setting and the emergence of the Daabba to people in Duha (later portion of the morning before noon). Whichever of these two (signs) occurs before the other, then the other one will occur immediately after it." (Sahih Muslim)
Door of Tawba (Repentance) will be Closed
Once the sun has risen from the West, the door of repentance for sins committed by Muslims will be closed by Allah and will remain closed until the Day of Judgement. The following Hadiths clearly specify that the deadline for repentance to be accepted by God ends when the sun rises from the West. Once the sun rises from the West, repentance will no longer be accepted.
Abu-Musa Al-Ashari narrated that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Verily Allah extends his hand at night so that the sinners of the day may repent and verily extends his hand during the day so that the sinners of the night may repent, (He will keep on doing this) as long as the sun does not rise from the West." ( Sahih Muslim)
Safwan bin Assal narrated the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Allah has built a door of repentance where the sun sets, its breadth requires 70 years journey for foot passenger or 40-70 years for a rider. It will not be closed as long as the Sun does not rise from the West." ( Tirmizi)
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani has reported many Hadiths which prove that the door of repentance will remain closed till the Day of Judgement and thereafter writes, ''These narrations give strength to one another, agreeing completely in that once the sun rises from the West, the door of repentance will be closed and will not be opened thereafter.'' (Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani's book Fat'h Al-Bari)
Becoming a Believer after the Sun rises from the West will not be accepted by Allah
Abdullah bin Abu-Owfa reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say, "Verily a night equivalent to three of your nights will come upon people. When it comes, those who engage themselves in worship during the night will recognize it. A person will stand in prayer, read a section of the Quran and then go to sleep. Thereafter, he will wake up, stand in prayer and read a section of the Quran, then go to sleep. While this condition remains, the people will begin to shout, scream and call one another. They will say, "What is this?" With fear, they will run to the mosque. To their surprise, they will see that the sun has risen from the West. When it reaches the middle of the sky, it will return and set in the West." He said صلى الله عليه وسلم , "That is when becoming a believer (in Islam after witnessing this Sign) will no longer be of benefit (because after the sun rises from the West, Allah will no longer accept declarations of faith )." (Ibn Kathir's book Al-Bidaya wa An-Nihaya)
Narrated by Abu Huraira, "Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, 'The Hour (of Resurrection) will not come until the sun rises from the West. When the people witness this, everyone who will be living on the face of the Earth will develop faith ( believe in Allah), but that is when believing will no longer be of benefit..." (Sahih Bukhari)
ثلاث إذا خرجن لم ينفع { نفسا إيمانها لم تكن آمنت من قبل } الآية الدجال ، والدابة ، وطلوع الشمس من المغرب – أو من مغربها
الراوي: أبو هريرة المحدث: الألباني - المصدر: صحيح الترمذي
Abu Huraira said: "Three things that once they occur, the soul will not benefit from believing (in God) if it did not believe before ... (verse 6:158): the Dajjal (Anti-Christ), Daabba (Beast), and Sun rise from the West." (Tirmizi and Al-Albani)
الحديث [ إن الله تعالى يقبل توبة العبد مالم يغرغر ] أي فإذا غرغر وبلغت الروح الحنجرة وعاين الملك فلا توبة حينئذ
It was reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam) explained, "The day that certain of the Signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then", referring to the rising of the sun from the West. (Ahmad.)
Abu Hurairah said, "The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said, 'The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West. When the people see it, whoever is living on earth will believe, but that will be the time when - No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before'" (Bukhari.)
It was also reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said, "The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the West. When it rises and the people see it, they will all believe. But that will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then'" (Bukhari.)
It was reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said, "There are three things which, if they appear, 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith' They are: the rising of the sun from the West, the Dajjal, and the Beast of the Earth." (Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi.)
Abu Dharr said, "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) asked me, 'Do you know where the sun goes when it sets? I said, 'I do not know'He said, 'It travels until it prostrates itself beneath the Throne, and asks for permission to rise again. But a time will come when it will be told, 'Go back whence you came.' That will be the time when 'No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith'" (Bukhari.)
'Amr ibn Jarir said, "Three Muslims were sitting with Marwan in Madinah, and heard him say, whilst talking about the Signs of the Hour, that the first of them would be the appearance of the Dajjal. The three went to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, and told him what they had heard Marwan say concerning the Signs. 'Abd Allah said, 'Marwan has not said much. I memorised a Hadith like that from the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wa sallam) which I have not forgotten since. I heard the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) say: The first of the signs will be the rising of the sun from the West, and the emergence of the Beast in the forenoon. Whichever of the two comes first, the other will follow immediately'"
"The 'Abd Allah, who was widely-read, said, 'I think that the first to happen will be the rising of the sun from the West. Every time it sets, it goes beneath the Throne, prostrates itself, and seeks permission to rise again. A time will come when three times it will seek permission and will receive no reply, until, when part of the night has passed and it realizes that even if it were given permission, it would not be able to rise on time, it will say: "O my Lord, how far the rising-point is from me! What can I do for the people now?" Then it will seek permission to go back, and
it will be told: 'Rise from where you are now' - and it will rise from the West'" Then 'Abd Allah recited the Ayah: "No good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith." (Ahmad.)
Some scholars interpret "the rising of the sun from the West" as meaning that Islam will appear in the West, as strong as it was in the beginning, and that the people of the West will carry the flag of Islam.
The Ramadan nightly prayer has a special merit over other nights. The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever observes night prayer in Ramadan as an expression of his faith and to seek reward from Allah, his previous sins will be blotted out." (Muslim)
In this hadith, faith means faith in what Allah has promised the observers of night prayers. To seek reward mean, the observer's intent is not for eye service or seeking special recognition from someone.
Taraweeh is derived from the Arabic root word, raaha, which means to rest, relax and use as recreation. It is so called because the believers used to prolong it. After every four raka'ats they would stop for rest and relaxation and resume until taraweeh was complete.
Taraweeh In Jamaa`ah
The Messenger of Allah (saas) was the first to establish the Sunnah of congregational, jamaa`ah prayer of taraweeh in the Masjid. Then he did not continue with the Sunnah for fear that it might be made mandatory on the Ummah in Ramadan, and they might not be able to do it. In the books of Bukhari and Muslim, 'Aishah (raa) has been reported as saying:
"The Messenger of Allah (saas) observed Taraweeh prayer in the Masjid one night and people prayed with him. He repeated the following night and the number of participants grew. The companions congregated the third and fourth night, but the Messenger did not show up. In the morning he told them, "I saw what you did last night, but nothing prevented me from joining you except my fear that it might be made mandatory on you in Ramadan."
This hadith is a clear indication that the Taraweeh in congregation was not an innovation of 'Umar, the second Khalifah, despite his saying to the contrary. For it has been related that: "Umar bin Al-Khattab attended the Masjid at night in Ramadan and saw people praying individually in every corner of the Masjid with a few in groups. He did not like the sight a bit. 'Umar said, `I thought it would be better to gather these under one Imam'. So, he combined them under 'Obayi bin Ka'ab and Tamimu Ad-Dari to alternate and lead the believers in eleven raka'ats of night prayer. The next day `Umar was in the Masjid which was full with Taraweeh prayers. He was delighted. He said: `Well, this is the best Bid'ah (innovation).'"
`Umar's use of the word bid'ah in this report has been presented and unjustifiably cited as justification for concocting up various so called good innovations. In truth, the Khalifah 'Umar's act to gather the believers in Jama'ah is not bid'ah. For it was the Messenger of Allah himself who started jama'ah by praying in congregation the first and second day, then stopped only as he feared it would become mandatory. After his death, the fear of Taraweeh becoming mandatory (Fard) was not only remote, it was impossible. With the death of the Prophet Muhammad (saas), there will be no more revelation to change any law or rule by abrogation.
Number of Raka'ats in Taraweeh
As for the number of raka'ats in Taraweeh and Witr, the worthy ancestor, Salaf as-Saalih disagreed on the amount of Raka'ats. These numbers are mentioned for raka'ats: 39, 29, 23, 19, 13, and 11 raka'ats. Of all the numbers mentioned, none is sounder than 11 raka'ats. 'Aishah (raa) was asked how was the prayer of the Prophet (saas)? She replied: "He did not pray in Ramadan or some other times more than eleven raka'ats." (Muslim/Bukhari)
However, there is nothing wrong with praying more than 11 raka'ats. Perhaps that is why different numbers are observed. The Prophet himself was asked about night prayer and he said: "It may be done in two raka'ats, and if anyone fears the appearance of morning, he should pray one rak'ah as a Witr for what he has already prayed." (Bukhari/Muslim)
As this hadith indicates, if a person is to pray individually at night, by daybreak he would have prayed one hundred and one raka'ats, or more.
In their desire to pray more raka'ats, some people make Taraweeh in extreme speed. That is wrong, especially when the speed leads to a breach of certain rules of prayer. In that case, the prayer will not be valid. Similarly, it is undesirable for an Imam to pray with such speed whereby the followers will have difficulty observing the necessary deeds in Salaat.
Neglecting Taraweeh
No one should neglect Taraweeh without a good reason, for it is part of physical and spiritual training, for its observation soon after Iftar insures timely and proper digestion of food. Besides, there are spiritual rewards awaiting the observers of this prayer. No one would like to leave the Masjid before the prayer is over.
Everybody should attend the Masjid prayers, including women, provided they are properly covered. The Messenger of Allah said: "Prevent not the women servants of Allah, from going to the Masjid of Allah." However, when they attend the Masjid they should wear no perfume, nor raise their voices, and or show their beauty. Allah (SWT) states: "...they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof..." (Al-Qur'an, 24:31)
What ordinarily appears, refers to the outer garments, for when the Messenger (saas) commanded women to attend Eid prayer, Umm 'Atiyah (raa) said: "O Messenger of Allah, some of us do not have the outer garment (jilbab). The Messenger of Allah told her to let a sister (who has more than one) give her one to wear." (Agreed upon)
It is Sunnah that they pray behind the men in the rear lines. The Messenger has been reported as saying: "The best lines for men are the front lines and the worst lines for men are the rear lines. The best lines for women is the rear and the worst lines of women are the front line. (Muslim)
The women should leave the Masjid as soon as the Imam says: As-Salaamu 'Alaikum. They should not delay without a valid reason. In a hadith by Umm Salmah, she said: "When the Messenger of Allah (saas) saluted to end prayer, the women would stand up to leave and the Messenger would remain in his place for a while." Umm Salmah (raa) said: Allah is the best knower, but perhaps the Messenger did that so women would leave before men could overtake them". (Bukhari)
THE FORGOTTEN RIGHT OF THE PROPHET 
Salaat and Salaam (Durood):
All praise be to the Lord of all the worlds and peace and blessings be upon the Final Messenger: Muhammed .
Mankind’s only purpose in life for being sent down on this earth was so that he may worship Allah, for man to be successful, he has to seek Allah’s pleasure and abstain from the acts which will invite Allah's wrath upon him. If Allah is pleased with him then he will be successful but if Allah’s curse is on him then who is to save him from Allah on that day when there will be no refuge but Allah's.
It is reported by Hazrat Kaab Ibn Ujrah 
that once the Prophet told everyone to come close to the mimbar, and so we did. When the Prophet placed his blessed foot on the first step, he said "Ameen". When he raised his blessed foot on to the second step he again said "Ameen", and in the same way again when raised his foot and placed it on the third step, he repeated for the third time "Ameen". On the completion of the sermon and alighting from the mimbar, we asked the prophet , "Today we heard from you something which we had not heard before". The Prophet replied, " The angel Jibrael came before me and said ‘Destruction be to that person who found the month of Ramadhan but failed to attain forgiveness’, so I said "Ameen" and when I went on to the second step he said, ‘Destruction be to that person in who's presence you are mentioned and he does not send salutations upon you’, so I said "Ameen" and when I went onto the third step he said ‘Destruction be to that person whose parents have reached old age and he fails to gain Jannat by serving them’.
I ponder over the situation. For starters, the Angel Jibrael has given three severe supplications and then the Prophet agrees to it and replies to them saying "Ameen". From the three severe supplications, let us look at the second, as this compared to the other two situations, (the first which occurs once a year and the third which depends on a person and his parents life), is one which occurs everytime the Prophet is mentioned and is in the most danger of being neglected.
The subject of sending salutation is first and foremost evident in the Quraan where in Allah orders the believers to send peace and blessing upon the Prophet . The Quraan has many places where Allah commands the servants to establish zakat, to pray, to fast etc. When Allah created Adam , He honoured him by ordering the angels to prostrate before him. The Prophet is honoured in such a way that is not like any other. Allah orders the believers to send peace and blessings upon him and says that the angels, also do the same, but what greater honour can there be than when Allah himself sends peace and blessings on him also.
This is a special act because the servant is lucky to participate in an act in which his master also takes part. There are many virtues to sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet . In a part of a hadith narrated by Hazrat Anas the Prophet has stated that whoever sends durood on me, Allah will send ten mercies on him, forgive ten of his sins and raise his status by ten stages. It is also related by Hazrat Abbas ibn Masood, the Prophet said, "Verily, the closest person to me on the Day of Judgement will be the one who sends the most salutations on me". The Prophet also states that, "To send salutations on me will be heavenly light in the darkness of the ‘Pul Siraat’ (a bridge over which everyone will have to cross) on the day of resurrection". The Prophet also said, "Whoever sends a lot of salutations on me, he will be under the shade of the thrown of Allah".
How long does it take to send Durood upon Prophet ? When his name is mentioned, it can take less than a second to fulfill this order, and also in doing so, a person’s sins are forgiven, he gains merits, his status is elevated and he also has a peaceful thought in his mind that he has just done something which Allah and his angels also do.
Bear in mind, that we are not only restricted to sending Durood upon the Prophet when his name is mentioned, but it is emphasised that we voluntarily send Durood as it increases a persons love for the Messenger of Allah. As the Hadith contains, "A person is not a (complete) believer until he loves me more than his parents, his children and all people". A person will be with whom he loves the most and what better to love, and to be with, on the Day of Judgement than the intercessor himself. It is related by Hazrat Abu Dardaa that the Prophet said that, “Whoever sends Durood upon me in the morning and in the evening ten ten times, on the day of judgement my intercession will surely reach him". There are however times when it is undesirable (‘makrooh’) to send Darood. This includes :
1. During intercourse. 2. Whilst retrieving one-self from the call of nature. 3. For advertising the sale of product. 4. Whilst stumbling. 5. During astonishment. 6. Whilst slaughtering an animal. 7. Whilst sneezing.
Referring back to the first hadeeth, when a person does not send durood upon the Prophet when his name is mentioned, then he has heavy consequences to face. He has the curse of the Angel Jibraeel, which is backed up by the acceptance of Allah's messenger who agreed by saying Ameen. The person who does not send Durood upon the mentioning of the Prophet is the greatest miser. It also comes in a Hadith that when a group of people leave a gathering in which Allah was not mentioned and Durood was not send upon the Prophet , that sitting will be cause of regret until the Day of Judgement. In another hadith it is said that when a group of people leave a gathering having not sent Durood upon the Prophet , then that gathering will be wabaal (calamity) on them on the day of resurrection. May Allah save us from this neglect.
It is also worthy to note that when in a gathering where the Prophet may be mentioned a lot, according to Hazrat Thanwi (Rahima hulla) it is necessary upon the listener to give a reply everytime but that the first time is necessary and thereafter it is preferable. Regarding the time whilst offering Salaah, apart from the specified place of sending durood which is after the final ‘Tashahud’, it is makrooh to read it any where else.
Hazrat Thanwi writes in Zadus Saeed that when a person writes the name of the Prophet , he should write the Durood fully afterwards and use no abbreviations. Once a person out of stinginess continued in not writing it, this resulted in his hand rotting away. It is appropriate for the persons body and clothes to be clean and pure.
Some scholars have written that when the sending of durood is referring to it being sent by Allah it is taken in the meaning of Allah presenting the place of Maqaame-Mahmud to the Prophet . Maqaame-Mahmud is a special place close to Allah reserved for only that person when reffering to angels as sending Durood, what is meant here is that they pray to Allah for the rank of the Prophet to be evelated and that Prophet do sifaarish i.e ask forgiveness for the ummah. Finally the sending of Durood by the believers means the It’tiba, (following of Messenger of Allah ) and the love we have for him.
It does'nt take much thinking to realise how much benefits there are in sending even one durood, just one durood gives a person ten rewards. Not only that but ten sins are also forgiven as well as his ranks being raised by ten more stages. Delving a little more into details will also make it apparent that every letter used to spell the salutation sent to Messenger of Allah is worth ten rewards each, this is a bonus amount recieved.
The Day of Ressurrection will be a very hard and painful day for many. A day when Allah the All Mighty will be angry like never before. Everyone will be in need of the Prophet ’s intercession. Through the Mercy of Allah, through his beloved Prophet , we have been informed of one sure fine way to gain that blessed intercession. The hadith narrated by Hazrat Abu Darda in which he states, “The Messenger of Allah has said ‘whosoever sends ten duroods upon me in the morning and ten duroods in the evening, my intercession will definitely reach him on Day of Judgement".
May Allah enable us to send abundant duroods upon the Prophet and may He save us from being neglectful of this faithful act. Ameen!
Stop Cutting! - Lengthen Your Beard
The society we live in today has had a great impact not only on Muslims but on many other religious people too. This is to such an extent that people are often ready to criticise an injunction of their faith merely because it does not comply with ways, fads or modes of today’s society.
Is this what we call faith?
All religious scholars are unanimous that that all Prophets
kept beards. Furthermore, the Prophets have classified the beard as something (that is) part of nature (Fitrah). ‘Allamah Suyuti explains human nature is based on keeping a beard and does not need a special order to be part of a particular faith. Thus, the beard is part of human nature to which all humans (men) have to adhere.
The Prophet of Allah mentions in a Hadeeth 10 points of nature. Out of these ten, he mentions is the lengthening of the beard. Allah the Almighty narrates the incident when Sayyiduna Harun Alaihissalam calls out to his brother Sayyiduna Musa 
, “O son of my mother! Do not seize (me) by my beard, and nor by my head.” (94:20)
This verse clearly shows that Prophet Harun had a lengthy beard.
The first nation ever to shave their beards was the nation to whom Allah the Almighty sent Sayyiduna Lut , the people of Sadoom ( Sodom). Hadhrat Hasan Basri reports a Hadeeth that the nation of Lut was punished for 10 sins they committed; the Prophet mentioned ‘trimming the beard’ from the 10 sins. These sins then resulted in severe punishments from Allah the Almighty as mentioned in the Holy Quran in numerous chapters. Gradually other nations also started to trim and shave their beards but were less in number. However in the 17th century, the King of Russia, Patrice propagated ‘shaving of the beard’ in Europe and was successful in his mission. In the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and modern influences swamped nations. By the mid 20th century, these influences had penetrated the Muslim world, which has gradually resulted on corrupting Muslims. Today, this is the reason why we see that most Muslims unfortunately either trim their beard or shave it off.
We have to remember that cultures change day in day out, cultures are man made; hung on man’s ideologies, perceptions and ideas. On the other hand, the Shariah, the Islamic holy divine law is from Allah the creator of all, who is the best of all planners. The Shariah is such that it is compatible to every era till the day of judgement.
In the Shariah (Islamic law), it is Haram (unlawful) for men to shave the beard, this ruling is with the Ijma (consensus) of the scholars of all the Schools of Thought. Among the scholars who have attested to this consensus, include Allamah Mahmood Khattab 6, Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri Hanafi, Allamah Muhammad Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Allamah Hasfaki, Allamah Kamal Ibn Al-Humam Hanafi, Sheikh Ahmad Nafrawi Maliki, Allamah Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm Zahiri, Allaamah Shaykh ul islaam Ibn Tayimyyah, and many other scholars.
Various present day scholars have misunderstood from what some Shafiee scholars have stated that to shave the beard is Makrooh (disliked). This has been mentioned by Imam Nawawi, Rafi’ee. Allamah Abbadi states, Allamah Ibn Rif’aah refutes this, as Imam Shafiee has mentioned in his famous work Kitab Al-umm, which is thought to be one of his final works: “to shave the beard is Haram.”
This has also been mentioned by Allamah Haleemi, Allamah Qaffal Shashi, Allamah Azrai and many other Shafiee scholars.
There are many Ahadeeth, which clearly state the above. Primarily the famous Hadeeth narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar and others that the Prophet ordered us to lengthen our beards. This Hadeeth has been narrated with six different words, all of which refer to lengthening the beard and leaving it alone without interfering. This is why in the Shariah (Islamic law) if one was to shave the beard or trim it to less than a fist length then he will be sinful. Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri writes,“None of the scholars have permitted trimming the beard to less than a fist length.” Various other scholars such as Allamah Hasfaki, Allamah Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Mufti Rasheed Ahmad have mentioned similar to this.
The Prophet ’s beard was dense, and would cover his chest. The Sahaba 
realised, by the movement of he ’s beard, that the prophet would recite from the Holy Quran in Zuhr and Asr; clearly indicating that the beard was lengthy. In the same manner Hadhrat Abu bakr and Umar possessed a dense beard. Hadhrat Uthman possessed a fine beard stretched out in length where as Hadhrat Ali’s beard was spread in width covering the area between his shoulders. Therefore, when the Prophet ordered us to legthen our beards we have to follow his and his Sahaba’s Sunnah and their method of keeping a beard. The Prophet says, “Hold fast unto my ways and the ways of the guided caliphs after me.”
Hadhrat Molana Hussein Ahmad Madni writes, “It is clearly narrated from Hadhrat Umar , Ammar Ibn Yasir , Abdullah Ibn Umar and Jabir that their beards were more than a fist length, and they would order the Muslims to do the same.” Hadhrat Sheikh Moulana Muhammad Zakaria writes, “It has not been narrated from any of the Sahabah that they trimmed their beards to less than a fist”. When Abdullah Ibn Umar would perform Hajj or Umrah, he would hold on to his beard with his fist and trim the remaining. In reality, we have explicitly been ordered to increase and lengthen our beards without any interference whatsoever, but as Abdullah Ibn Umar and other Sahaba would often trim their beards up to a fist length, the scholars have given permission to do this.
In the eighth year of Hijri, the Prophet sent a letter with Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Huthafah to Feroz, the king of Persia. Feroz tore the letter apart and ordered Bazan, the king of Yemen to send two officers to the Prophet to kidnap him. They arrived in Madinah Munawwarah, on seeing the Prophet , started to shiver. However the Prophet asked them, “Who ordered you to leave your moustache and shave your beard?” They replied, “Our Lord” (referring to their King). The Prophet declared, “But my Lord orders me to trim the moustache and lengthen the beard”. Those who shave their beards should decide for themselves whether their Lord is Allah or someone else! Just imagine how much pain the Prophet must be going through due to all of those people who shave, as these two men were fire worshippers, but never the less, the Prophet could not bear to look at their faces.
Some people have a misconception that lengthening the beard is unattractive. This view is seriously flawed as the Prophets especially Sayyiduna Muhammad possessed great beauty as Allah the almighty chooses those who are perfect in character and creation. It is reported in a narration, “Allah the Almighty sent each and every Prophet with a beautiful face and a melodious voice.” Many Sahaba relate that the Prophet possessed the most beautiful face.
Allah the most wise has distinguished between men and women just as he has distinguished between the male and female animals; and the distinguishing feature in itself holds great beauty. Allah the almighty mentions some of his bounties he has bestowed upon Mankind, he says “He (Allah) fashioned you and perfected your shapes.” (64:40) Some scholars narrate a weak narration “Glory to the one who beautified the men with beards and the women with plaits”. Allamah IbnAl-Qayyim explains, “The beard has many benefits, such as beauty and dignity.”
In many Ahadeeth, the prophet has cursed men who imitate women and those women who imitate men. There is no doubt that shaving the beard is a clear imitation of a woman’s face.
Many scholars have stated that shaving the beard is Tagyeeru Khalqillah (changing the creation of Allah). Allah mentions in the Holy Quran the promise of Satan, “Indeed I will order them (Mankind) to change the nature created by Allah” (4:119). In effect, the one who shaves his beard is obeying Satan. The great Caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz would say, “Shaving the beard is Muthlah (mutilation). Verily the Prophet has prohibited Muthlah”. A similar verdict has also been narrated from the great Imam of Madina Munawwarah, Imam Malik.
The sin of shaving the beard is not only a Kabirah (Major) sin, but it is also Bagawah (open offence). The prophet says, “My nation will be forgiven except those who sin in the night and then boast about their sin the following day.” Although one may not boast about this sin verbally but indirectly, he will boast by showing his face to the people. Some sins are limited to the time of the act or omission, for example, Zina (adultery & fornication) is a grave sin; the sinner is sinning for the duration of that act. Whereas this sin’s time remains for as long as the beard remains shaven or trimmed to less than a fist’s length. The person will be regarded a sinner for every second his face is devoid of a proper beard, therefore sinning for that entire time span. this means it's severity aggregates and persists more than other sins.
In the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster, many Muslims attained the status of Shahadah (Martyrdom). Due to the excess amount of bodies it was difficult to identify each individual. Regarding Salat Ul-Janazah the problem arose that how will we be able to differentiate between a Muslim and non-Muslim? Finally, it was decided that the prayer would be lead upon those deceased who possessed beards. People in the world have hopes that people will benefit them after their death, by performing Salat Al-Janazah and carrying out other deeds. However, in a situation like this, would this be possible?
Similarly in the grave when the deceased is asked, one of the questions is, “What would you say about this person? (Referring to the Prophet ) Some scholars are to the opinion that the Prophet will be present in front of the deceased! How do you think the Prophet will react when he sees a person who has shaved his beard?
Furthermore, on the day of judgement when the Prophet will intercede for the Ummah and quench the thirst of the Ummah at the Hawdh of Kauthar, the angels will stop some of the people. The Prophet will say that these people are from my Ummah (nation); thus let them proceed. The angels will reply, “You do not know what innovations they invented after you”. The Prophet will reply “Destruction for those who innovated after me”. A point to ponder upon is that the Prophet will not recognise these innovators because they will possess beards and their outer Islamic appearance, so what about those who do not possess beards. The Prophet will not need to be informed that these were innovators, as he mentions in another Hadeeth that the deceased will be resurrected in the condition he died in. The Prophet will not even look at these people just as this would hurt the Prophet . The Prophet says, “Whoever so hurts me, displeases Allah. And who ever displeases Allah, is likely to be punished.”
People claim to love the Prophet but still do not keep a beard. What kind of love is this? There was once a poet in the city of Delhi , Mirza Qateel, famous for praising the Prophet . An Iranian citizen decided to visit this poet assuming that he was a great pious scholar. On arriving in Delhi, he was informed that this poet has gone to the barbers. He proceeds towards the barbers and what does he see? The poet is having his beard shaved. He cries out “’O’ the one who claims to love the Prophet , you are shaving your beard!” The poet replies “yes, but I am not hurting anyone’s feelings”, they continued their debate. Finally, the Iranian exclaimed, “you claim that you are not hurting anyone’s feelings, I warn you that you are hurting the feelings of the one who is the leader in this world and the hereafter, the Prophet ”. On hearing this remark, he fainted, when he regained consciousness he accepted and admitted his mistake, repented to Allah, The most forgiving and thanked the Iranian for guiding him.
In reality when a person loves someone, he will fulfil every command of his. We cannot see the love a person possesses in his heart for someone except by his actions. We have been guided to judge people according to their apparent and visible actions. The Prophet has repeatedly said, “I have not been ordered to cut open the hearts of people.” (to see their intention) When a disbeliever recites the Shahadah, he will be classified as a Muslim, despite of what his beliefs are in reality. Thus if a person shaves his beard it cannot be judged that he loves the Prophet . Nowadays we see the love people possess for celebrities and football players, which is evident; people are ready to dress the way they dress, live the way they live; emulating them in every way possible, so why is it that people are not ready to accept the Sunnah of the Prophet ?
Unfortunately, many Muslims nowadays mock and joke about the beard. If someone has a beard, he is labelled a ‘beast’. To make a mockery of any minor order of the Shariah is KUFR without any doubt; the same applies to undermining a sin. The great Muhaddith Allamah Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Siddiq Al-Gimari says, “To mock the beard is KUFR with the consensus of all the Muslims”. The consequences of this would be that the Nikah (Marriage) would invalidate and renewing the Imaan (faith) will be necessary.
Ruling on celebrating the middle of Sha’baan (Shobe Borat)
Praise be to Allaah Who has perfected our religion for us, and has completed His Favour upon us. And blessings and peace be upon His Prophet and Messenger Muhammamd (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam), the Prophet of repentance and mercy.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion [al-Maa’idah 5:3]
“Or have they partners with Allaah (false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not ordained? [al-Shooraa 42:21]
In al-Saheehayn it is reported from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours [Islam] that is not part of it, will have it rejected.”
In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his Friday khutbahs: “The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The most evil of things are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation (bid’ah) is a going-astray.”
And there are many aayaat and ahaadeeth which say similar things.
This clearly indicates that Allaah has perfected the religion of this ummah, and completed His favour upon them. He did not take the soul of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) until he had conveyed the Message clearly and explained to the ummah everything that Allaah had prescribed for it of words and deeds. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that everything that people would innovate after he was gone, all the words and deeds that they would attribute to Islam, all of that would be thrown back on the one who invented it, even if his intention was good. The companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) knew this matter, as did the scholars of Islam after them. They denounced bid’ah and warned against it, as has been stated by all those who wrote books praising the Sunnah and denouncing bid’ah, such as Ibn Waddaah, al-Tartooshi, Ibn Shaamah and others.
Among the bid’ahs that have been invented by some people is celebrating the middle of Sha’baan (Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan), and singling out that day for fasting. There is no evidence (daleel) for that which can be regarded as reliable. Some da’eef (weak) ahaadeeth have been narrated concerning its virtues, but we cannot regard them as reliable. The reports which have been narrated concerning the virtues of prayer on this occasion are all mawdoo’ (fabricated), as has been pointed out by many of the scholars. We will quote some of their comments below, in sha Allaah.
Some reports have also been narrated on this matter from some of the salaf in Syria, and others. What the majority of scholars say is that celebrating this occasion is bid’ah, and that the ahaadeeth concerning the virtues of this occasion are all da’eef (weak), and some of them are mawdoo’ (fabricated) Among those who pointed this out was al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab, in his book Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif, and others. The da’eef ahaadeeth concerning acts of worship can only be acted upon in the case of acts of worship which are proven by saheeh evidence. There is no saheeh basis for celebrating the middle of Sha’baan, so we cannot follow the da’eef ahaadeeth either.
This important principle was mentioned by Imaam Abu’l-‘Abbaas Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him).
The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) were agreed that it is obligatory to refer matters concerning which the people dispute to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Whatever ruling both or one of them give is the sharee’ah which must be followed, and whatever goes against them must be rejected. Any acts of worship which are not mentioned in them are therefore bid’ah and it is not permissible to do them, let alone call others to do them or approve of them. As Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allaah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination [al-Nisaa’ 4:59]
“And in whatsoever you differ, the decision thereof is with Allaah (He is the ruling Judge)”
[al-Shooraa 42:10]
“Say (O Muhammad to mankind): “If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins [Aal ‘Imraan 3:31]
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission”
[al-Nisaa’ 4:65]
And there are many similar aayaat which clearly state that matters of dispute are to be referred to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and that their ruling is to be accepted. This is the requirement of faith and this is what is best for people in this world and in the next: “That is better and more suitable for final determination” [al-Nisaa’ 4:59 – interpretation of the meaning] means, in the Hereafter.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his book Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif concerning this matter – after previously discussing it – “Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan (the middle of Sha’baan) was venerated by the Taabi’een among the people of al-Shaam, such as Khaalid ibn Mi’daan, Makhool, Luqmaan ibn ‘Aamir and others, who used to strive in worship on this night. The people took the idea of the virtue of this night and of venerating it from them. It was said that they heard of Israa’eeli reports (reports from Jewish sources) concerning that. Most of the scholars of the Hijaaz denounced that, including ‘Ataa’ and Ibn Abi Maleekah. ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam narrated that view from the fuqahaa’ of Madeenah, and this was the view of the companions of Maalik and others. They said: this is all bid’ah… No comment from Imaam Ahmad concerning Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan is known of… Concerning spending the night of the middle of Sha’baan in prayer, there is no sound report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from his companions…”
This is what was said by al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allaah be pleased with him). He clearly states that there is no sound report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) about Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan (the middle of Sha’baan).
In every case where there is no sound shar’i evidence that a thing is prescribed in Islam, it is not permissible for the Muslim to innovate things in the religion of Allaah, whether these are individual acts or communal acts, whether he does them in secret or openly, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever does any action that is not a part of this matter of ours [Islam], will have it rejected.” And there are other daleels (evidence) which indicate that bid’ah is to be denounced and which warn against it.
Imaam Abu Bakr al-Tartooshi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, in his book al-Hawaadith wa’l-Bida’: “Ibn Waddaah narrated that Zayd ibn Aslam said: We never met anyone among our shaykhs and fuqahaa’ who paid any attention to Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, or who paid any attention to the hadeeth of Makhool, or who thought that this night was any more special than other nights. It was said to Ibn Abi Maleekah that Ziyaad al-Numayri was saying that the reward of Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan was like the reward of Laylat al-Qadr. He said, If I heard him say that and I had a stick in my hand, I would hit him. Ziyaad was a story-teller.”
Al-‘Allaamah al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo’ah:
“The hadeeth: ‘O ‘Ali, whoever prays one hundred rak’ahs on Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, reciting in each rak’ah the Opening of the Book [Soorat al-Faatihah] and Qul Huwa Allaahu Ahad ten times, Allaah will meet all his needs…’ This is mawdoo’ (fabricated) [i.e., it is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. Its wording clearly states the reward that the person who does this will attain, and no man who has any common sense can doubt that this is fabricated. Also, the men of its isnaad are majhool (unknown). It was also narrated via another isnaad, all of which is mawdoo’ (fabricated) and all of whose narrators are majhool (unknown).
In al-Mukhtasar he said: The hadeeth about the salaah for the middle of Sha’baan is false, and the hadeeth of ‘Ali narrated by Ibn Hibbaan – “ When it is the night of the middle of Sha’baan, spend that night in prayer and fast that day” – is da’eef (weak).
In al-La’aali’ he said, “One hundred rak’ahs in the middle of Sha’baan, reciting (Soorat) al-Ikhaas ten times in each… (this is) mawdoo’ (fabricated), and all its narrators in its three isnaads are majhool (unknown) and da’eef (weak). He said: and twelve rak’ahs, reciting al-Ikhlaas thirty times in each, this is mawdoo’; and fourteen (rak’ahs), this is mawdoo’.
A group of fuqahaa’ were deceived by this hadeeth, such as the author of al-Ihyaa’ and others, as were some of the mufassireen. The prayer of this night – the middle of Sha’baan – was described in different ways, all of which are false and fabricated.”
Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi said: “The hadeeth about the prayer during the night of the middle of Sha’baan is fabricated and is falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).”
Imaam al-Nawawi said in his book al-Majmoo’: “The prayer that is known as salaat al-raghaa’ib, which is twelve rak’ahs between Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’ on the night of the first Friday in Rajab, and the prayer of Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, of one hundred rak’ahs – these two prayers are reprehensible bid’ahs. No one should be deceived by the fact that they are mentioned in the books Qoot al-Quloob and Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom al-Deen, or by the hadeeth which is mentioned in these two books. All of that is false. Nor should they be deceived by the fact that some of the imaams were confused about this matter and wrote a few pages stating that these prayers are mustahabb, for they were mistaken in that.”
Shaykh al-Imaam Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Ismaa’eel al-Maqdisi wrote a very valuable book proving that these (reports) are false, and he did a very good job. The scholars spoke at length about this matter, and if we were to quote all that we have read of what they have said about this matter, it would take far too long. Perhaps what we have already mentioned is sufficient to convince the seeker of truth.
From the aayahs, ahaadeeth and scholarly opinions quoted above, it is clear to the seeker of truth that celebrating the middle of Sha’baan by praying on that night or in any other way, or by singling out that day for fasting, is a bid’ah which is denounced by most of the scholars. It has no basis in the pure sharee’ah; rather it is one of the things that was innovated in Islam after the time of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them). It is sufficient for the seeker of truth, in this case and in others, to know the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you…”[al-Maa’idah 5:3]
and other similar aayaat; and the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
“Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours [Islam] that is not part of it, will have it rejected”
and other similar ahaadeeth.
In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Do not single out the night of Jumu’ah for praying qiyaam and do not single out the day of Jumu’ah for fasting, unless is it part of the ongoing regular fast of any one of you.’”
If it were permissible to single out any night for special acts of worship, the night of Jumu’ah would be the most appropriate, because the day of Jumu’ah (Friday) is the best day upon which the sun rises, as is stated in the saheeh hadeeth narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Since the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against singling out that night for praying qiyaam, that indicates that it is even more prohibited to single out any other night for acts of worship, except where there is saheeh evidence to indicate that a particular night is to be singled out.
Because it is prescribed to spend the nights of Laylat al-Qadr and the other nights of Ramadaan in prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) drew attention to that and urged his ummah to pray qiyaam during those nights. He also did that himself, as is indicated in al-Saheehayn, where it says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays qiyaam in Ramadaan out of faith and seeking reward, Allaah will forgive him his previous sins” and “Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and seeking reward, Allaah will forgive him his previous sins.”
But if it were prescribed to single out the night of the middle of Sha’baan, or the night of the first Friday in Rajab, or the night of the Israa’ and Mi’raaj, for celebration or for any special acts of worship, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have taught his ummah to do that, and he would have done it himself. If anything of the sort had happened, his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) would have transmitted it to the ummah; they would not have concealed it from them, for they are the best of people and the most sincere, after the Prophets, may blessings and peace be upon them, and may Allaah be pleased with all the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Now we know from the words of the scholars quoted above that there is no report from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) concerning the virtue of the first night of Jumu’ah in Rajab, or the night of the middle of Sha’baan. So we know that celebrating these occasions is an innovation that has been introduced into Islam, and that singling out these occasions for acts of worship is a reprehensible bid’ah. The same applies to the twenty-seventh night of Rajab, which some people believe is the night of the Israa’ and Mi’raaj; it is not permissible to single this date out for acts of worship, or to celebrate this occasion, on the basis of the evidence (daleel) quoted above. This is the case if the exact date (of the Israa’ and Mi’raaj) is known, so how about the fact that the correct scholarly view is that its date is not known! The view that it is the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab is a false view which has no basis in the saheeh ahaadeeth. He indeed spoke well who said: “The best of matters are those which follow the guided way of the salaf, and the most evil of matters are those which are newly-innovated.”
We ask Allaah to help us and all the Muslims adhere firmly to the Sunnah and to beware of everything that goes against it, for He is the Most Generous, Most Kind.
May Allaah bless His slave and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and all his family and companions.
Adapted from Majmoo’ Fataawa Samaahat al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, 2/882
Non-Muslim Religious Celebrations and Ruling on participataing
The conflict between truth and falsehood is ongoing and will last as long as this world remains. The fact that some groups among the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are following the people of falsehood such as the Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, idol-worshippers and others, whilst a group is remaining steadfast to the truth despite the pressures, is all part of the decreed system of the universe. But this does not mean that we should give in and follow the ways of those who are astray, because the one who told us that this would inevitably happen also warned us against following this path, and he commanded us to adhere firmly to Islam no matter how many people deviate from it and no matter how strong they become. He told us that the blessed one is the one who adheres steadfastly to the truth no matter what the distractions, at a time when the one who does righteous deeds will earn the reward of fifty men whose deeds are like those of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) – as was reported in the hadeeth of Abu Tha’labah al-Khushani (may Allaah be pleased with him).
Among the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) there will be people who deviated from the truth and went towards falsehood, changing and altering things. Their punishment will be that they will be kept away from the Hawd (Cistern) whilst those who adhered to the Straight Path will come and drink from it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“I will precede you to the Cistern, and men from among you will be brought to me, and when I stretch forth my hand to them, they will be pulled away. I will say, ‘O Lord! My followers!’ and it will be said: ‘You do not know what they innovated after you were gone.’”
According to another report: “I will say: ‘May he be doomed, the one who changed (the religion) after I was gone.’”
One of the most obvious manifestations of this altering of Islam and disdainfully treating the religion of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the way in which people follow the enemies of Allaah – may He be exalted – in everything, major or minor, in the name of development, progress and civilization, under the banners of peaceful coexistence, human brotherhood, new world order, globalization and other dazzling but deceitful slogans. The caring Muslim can spot this dangerous problem among the majority of Muslims, except for those on whom Allaah has mercy, to such an extent that they even follow them in their religious rituals and in their most unique traditions and customs, such as the festivals which are part of their belief systems. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“and follow not their vain desires, diverging away from the truth that has come to you. To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way” [al-Maa’idah 5:48]
“For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow” [al-Hajj 22:67] – which means, a festival which is for them alone.
Many Muslims have been led astray by the dazzling attractions of the enemies of Allaah, especially the Christians with their major festivals such as the celebration of the birth of the Messiah (peace be upon him) – i.e., Christmas – and the Christian New Year. They attend Christian parties on these occasions in their (Christians’) countries, and some of them have brought these things back to Muslim countries – we seek refuge with Allaah. A great disaster is the huge preparations which are being made on an international scale and at the level of the major Christian countries to celebrate the end of the second millenium and the beginning of the third millenium since the birth of the Messiah, son of Maryam (peace be upon him). If the world is teeming with Christian celebrations during a regular New Year, how will it be at the end of a Christian century (the twentieth century) and the end of a millenium (the second millenium)? It is a major event for which the Christians are preparing in a manner appropriate to its huge significance.
This Christian event will not be like a usual New Year’s Eve celebration taking only in the Christian countries and in their focal point, the Vatican. Preparations are afoot to make the focal point of the celebrations in Bethlehem, the place where the Messiah – peace be upon him – was born. The political and religious leaders of the Christians will go there – evangelicals and moderates alike, and even the secularists, to celebrate this millenium of which the world press is talking more and more as it approaches day by day. It is expected that more than three million people will be present in Bethlehem, led by the Pope John Paul II. Some of the neighbouring Muslim countries are also taking part in this global event, on the grounds that some of the symbols or major events of the Christian festival took place in their land – namely the baptism of the Messiah (peace be upon him), when he was baptized by John the Baptist (Yahyaa, peace be upon him) in the River Jordan. Indeed, many Muslims will also take part in these celebrations on the basis that they are an international event which concerns all the inhabitants of the earth. These people do not know that celebrating this millenium is a celebration of a Christian religious festival (the birth of the Messiah, i.e. Christmas, and the Christian New Year), and that taking part in it involves taking part in the rituals of their religion, and that rejoicing in it means rejoicing in the symbols of Kufr when they are made manifest and they prevail. This poses a great danger to the ‘aqeedah (belief) of the Muslim, because “Whoever imitates a people is one of them” as was reported in a saheeh hadeeth from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So how about one who actually joins in with them in the rituals of their religion?! This obliges us to discuss the rulings on the festivals of the kuffaar, how the Muslim should deal with them and how they should differ from them – which is one of the basic principles of this pure religion of ours. Moreover, we need to know some details about their festivals and rituals so that we can avoid them and warn others about them.
Why do we need to know about the festivals of the kuffaar?
One of the things that the scholars agreed on is that the Muslim does not need to concern himself with the ways of the kuffaar, or their rituals and customs (unless he wants to call them to Islam), except when their customs and rituals are becoming widespread ignorant Muslims, whether deliberately or unintentionally. In such cases Muslims need to know about them so that they can avoid them. In recent times this has become more of an issue for the following reasons:
More mixing with the kuffaar, because Muslims go to their countries to study, take vacations, do business or for other reasons. Those who go there witness some of their rituals and they may like them, so they follow them. This is especially the case with those who are suffering from an inferiority complex and who look at the kuffaar with strong admiration which robs them of the power to resist, corrupts their hearts and weakens their commitment to religion. In addition to this, many westernized, educated people regard the kuffaar as advanced, progressive and civilized even in their most mundane customs and habits. Or else this comes about through the open celebration of these festivals in Muslim countries by some groups and non-Muslim minorities, so some ignorant Muslims are influenced by this.
The matter is made more serious by the media which can transmit everything with sound and living pictures from the farthest corners of the earth. No doubt the media of the kuffar is stronger and more capable of transmitting their rituals to the Muslims than the other way round. Many satellite channels broadcast the rituals of other religions’ festivals – especially Christian festivals. The matter becomes more serious when the secular systems in some Muslim countries have adopted the celebrations of the kaafirs and some of the people of bid’ah and the Arabic satellite channels broadcast this to the world, so some Muslims are deceived by the fact that this is coming from a Muslim country.
Throughout their history, the Muslims have suffered from the problem of being influenced by the rituals of others through mixing with them. This prompted the imaams (scholars) of Islam to warn the Muslim masses against imitating others in their festivals and rituals. Among these scholars are Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyah, his student al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi and al-Haafiz ibn Katheer. They lived at the same time, when there was a lot of mixing between Muslims and others, especially Christians, and ignorant Muslims were influenced by their (Christians’) religious rituals, especially their festivals. So these scholars spoke a great deal about these things throughout their books, and some of them devoted books to the particular topic, such as Ibn Taymiyah (Iqtidaa’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem li Mukhaalafat Ashaab al-Jaheem) and al-Dhahabi (Tashbeeh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees), and others.
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke at length about their festivals and what they do on those occasions, and he described the extent to which the ignorant Muslims were influenced by this. He described their various festivals and the rituals and customs that were involved - which Muslims do not ordinarily need to know about, but now it is necessary because many Muslims are following the People of the Book in those rituals.
Shaykh al-Islam described their festivals and discussed them in the context of warning against them. After speaking in detail about them, he said: “Our aims are not limited just to knowing the details of their falsehood, but it is sufficient for us to know what is munkar (evil) in such a way that we can distinguish between it and that which is mubaah (permissible), ma’roof (good), mustahabb (encouraged) and waajib (obligatory), so that by means of this knowledge we will be able to protect ourselves and avoid it, just as we know (and avoid) other things that are haraam, as we are obliged to do. Whoever does not know about what is munkar, either in general terms or in details, will not be able to avoid it. A general knowledge is sufficient, unlike with waajibaat (duties) [where it is essential to know details – translator].”
He also said:
“I have counted so many things that are munkar in their religion when I noted that some groups of Muslims are influenced by some of them, and many of them do not know that this comes from the Christian religion which is cursed, it and its followers. I do not know all the things that they do, but I have mentioned what I have seen Muslims doing, which is taken from them.”
4. Some of their festivals nowadays revolve around large gatherings, and still bear some of the features of their ancient festivals. Many Muslims take part in these events without realizing that. This is the case with the Olympic Games, whose roots lie in a festival that was celebrated by the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Christians; and with the “Mahrajaans” (“festivals”) which are organized to promote trade, culture etc., even though the Mahrajaan was originally a Persian festival. Most of those who organize these gatherings and call them “Mahrajaan” are unaware of this.
Knowing evil is a means of avoiding it and keeping away from it. Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The people used to ask the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about good things, but I used to ask him about bad things, fearing that I may fall into them.” It is a great problem that Muslims fall into observing some of the rituals of the disbelievers without realizing that this is part of their rituals and unique customs, which we have been commanded to avoid because it is an abomination and misguidance.
There are so many calls made by the strong voices of hypocrisy who want to cut the Ummah off from its roots, destroy its identity and assimilate it into the methodology of the kuffaar, and want people to follow them step by step, under the banners of humanity, globalization, universalism, openness towards others and receptiveness towards other cultures. This makes it essential for us to know about the others’ (the kaafirs’) misguidance and deviation so that we can expose it and point out the faults that lie beneath the attractive exterior that covers these abhorrent ideas,
“so that those who were to be destroyed (for their rejecting the Faith) might be destroyed after a clear evidence, and those who were to live (i.e. believers) might live after a clear evidence” [al-An’aam 8:42 – interpretation of the meaning] – and so that proof may be demonstrated to the followers of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so that they will not be cheated or deceived.
Festivals of the Pharaohs
Among the Pharaonic festivals is the festival of Shimm al-Naseem (lit. “smelling the breeze”), which involves venerating some days as a good omen or drawing nigh to the gods who were worshipped instead of Allaah – may He be exalted. Shaykh Mahfooz – during his own time – mentioned some of the shameful and immoral practices that would make one's hair stand on end, whereby farms and open spaces were filled with groups of immoral people of bad conduct, and groups of young and old, men and women, went to the orchards and rivers to commit zinaa (fornication, adultery) and to drink intoxicating substances, thinking that on that day all evil actions were permissible for them.
Among the superstitions connected to this festival was the placing of onions beneath the head of a sleeping person, or hanging them in doorways, claiming that this would take away laziness and sloth. This event is counted as one of the Pharaonic festivals, and it was said that it was invented by the Copts; there is nothing to suggest that it did not belong to both of them, and that it was not passed down from the Pharaohs to the Copts. Many Egyptians – especially the Copts – still celebrate this festival, and many Muslims join in with them. In recent years a number of secular writers have called for it to be made an official holiday, in order to revive the Pharaonic legacy, at the time when they describe the rituals of Islam as being backward, reactionary and uncivilized!
The festivals of the Greeks
The months of the Greek year were many, and were named after the festivals. The costs of these festivals were financed by the rich among them. Most of their festivals were connected to the rituals of their pagan religion which was based on polytheism. They had so many festivals which were aimed at reducing the tedium of daily life, and it reached the extent that no month was free of one or more festivals, except for one month which was called Mamkitrion.
Their festivals were characterized by obscenity, promiscuity, drunkenness and giving free rein to their animalistic desires, so that they did whatever they wanted, as is reflected in many of their misguided myths, such as their claim that they summoned the souls of the dead, then they sent them back or expelled them again after the festival was over. The most important of their festivals included the following:
The festival of the Olympiad, or the Olympic feast. This was held in Elis every four years. It was first officially recognized in 776 BCE. The Olympiad was one of their most important festivals and seasonal gatherings. From that far-off date, these games were historically called the Olympiad. It has nationalistic features and aims, so much so that it was said that the Greeks used to boast about their Olympic victories more than their conquests on the battlefield. This was the greatest festival of the Greeks at that time.
These games are still held and supported by the Christian nations under the same ancient name and with the inherited rituals such as lighting the Olympic flame in Athens and bringing it to the country where the Games are being held, and so on. Unfortunately many Muslim countries also take part in these games and boast about doing so. Many of them do not know that their origin lies in the festivals of the kuffaar and the sacred days of their pagan religion. We seek refuge with Allaah from deviation, misguidance and blind following.
The Greeks also had other major festivals such as the festivals of the Hellenic league, the Ionic league and others.
The festivals of the Romans
One of the nations which had the most festivals was the Romans. They had more than one hundred holy days in the year, days which they regarded as festivals, including the first day of each month. Some festivals were devoted to the sanctification of the dead and the souls of the underworld, and on many of their festivals celebrations were held to placate the dead and appease their anger – or so they claimed.
As it is known, the Roman Empire prevailed after the Greeks, so they inherited many of the Greek rituals, customs and festivals.
Among the most famous Roman festivals:
The festival of love, which they celebrated on February 14 each year, as an expression of what they believed, in their pagan religion, to be divine love. This festival was invented more than 1700 years ago, at the time when paganism was still prevalent among the Romans. Whilst their state was still idolatrous, they executed Saint Valentine, who had converted to Christianity after having been a pagan. When the Romans converted to Christianity, they made the day of his execution an occasion to celebrate the martyrs of love. This festival is still celebrated in America and Europe, to declare feelings of friendship and to renew the covenant of love between spouses and lovers. This festival now has great social and economic significance.
It seems that another practice stemmed from the concept of this feast, which is the anniversary celebrated by spouses or friends who love one another, where the couple celebrate the anniversary of their marriage each year, to confirm the love between them. This custom has passed to the Muslims because of their mixing (with the non-Muslims), so that couples celebrate the night of their marriage in a special way in many Muslim countries, imitating the kuffaar. Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa Billaa il-‘Aliy il-‘Azeem (there is no strength and no power except with Allaah, the Exalted and Almighty).
The festivals of the Jews
The (Jewish) New Year, which is called the festival of Heesha [Rosh Hashanah]. This is the first day of Tishreen al-Awwal. They claim that it is the day on which the sacrifice Ishaaq (peace be upon him) was ransomed. This is according to their mistaken belief – in fact the one who was to be sacrificed was Ismaa’eel, not Ishaaq. This festival has a similar status to that of ‘Eid al-Adhaa for Muslims.
The festival of Sumaria or Yom Kippur, which for them is a day of forgiveness.
The feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) on the fifteenth of Tishreen. On this day they stay in the shade of the branches of trees. It is also called the Festival of the Fast of the Virgin Mary.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the Passover, on the fifteenth of Nisan. This commemorates the flight of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt in the thirteenth century BCE. This story is told in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus. The festival lasts for eight days in occupied Palestine, and the Reform Jews celebrate it in their own countries for seven days. During this festival they have a celebration called the Seder, where they read the story of the flight of the Children of Israel in a book called the Haggadah and they eat unleavened bread, as a reminder that when the Children of Israel fled, they ate this kind of bread, because they did not have time to make leavened bread. The Jews still eat unleavened bread during this festival to this day.
The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shavuot). They claim that this is the day on which Allaah – may He be exalted – spoke to Moosa (peace be upon him).
The Day of Atonement, in the tenth month of the Jewish year, when a person goes into seclusion for nine days to worship and fast, This is called the days of repentance.
The new moon. They used to celebrate the birth of each new moon, when they used to blow trumpets in Jerusalem and light fires in celebration.
The Jubilee, which is described in the Book of Leviticus.
They also have other festivals, among which the most well known are: the festival of victory, or Purim, and the festival of Hanukkah, which is also known as the festival of blessing.
The festivals of the Christians
The festival of the resurrection, which is called Easter. This is the most important annual Christian festival, which is preceded by the long fast (Lent) which lasts for forty days before Easter Sunday. This festival commemorates the return of the Messiah (peace be upon him) or his resurrection after his crucifixion, two days after his death – according to their claims. It marks the end of many different kinds of rituals, which include:
The onset of the long fast of Lent, which lasts for forty days before Easter Sunday. They start fasting on a Wednesday known as Ash Wednesday, where ash is placed on the foreheads of those present and they repeat the words, “From dust we came and to dust we shall return.”
Fifty days after Easter Sunday, they end with the Feast of Pentecost or Whitsuntide.
The Week of Sorrows (or Holy Week), which is the last week of the fasting period of Lent, which refers to the events that led up to the death and resurrection of Jesus (peace be upon him) – as they claim.
Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter. This is a commemoration of the triumphal entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem.
Maundy Thursday, which is a commemoration of the Last Supper of the Messiah, and his arrest and imprisonment.
Good Friday (“the Friday of Grief”), which is the Friday before Easter, which refers to the death of Jesus on the cross – or so they claim.
Easter Saturday (the “Saturday of Light”), which comes before Easter and refers to the death of the Messiah. It is a day of watching and waiting for the resurrection of the Messiah on Easter Sunday. The Easter festivities conclude with the Thursday of Ascension, when the story of the Messiah’s ascension into heaven is recited in all the churches. They have different kinds of celebrations and festivals, according to the different denominations in different Christian countries. The Thursday and Friday before Easter are known as the Great Thursday and the Great Friday, as was mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him). This is the Thursday (al-Khamees) referred to in the book of al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allaah have mercy on him): Tashbeeh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees. This Thursday is the last day of their fast, and is also known as the Thursday of the Table or the Feast of the Table. It is mentioned in Soorat al-Maa’idah where Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“‘Eesaa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), said: “O Allaah, our Lord! Send us from the heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us — for the first and the last of us — a festival and a sign from You…” [al-Maa’idah 5:114]
They also do many strange things during these festivals, as was mentioned by many historians, such as gathering the leaves of trees, soaking them, then washing with the water, or putting kohl on their eyes. The Copts of Egypt used to bathe in the Nile on certain days, claiming that this was healing. Easter is the day when they break their long fast. They claim that on this day, the Messiah (peace be upon him) was resurrected three days after the crucifixion, and Adam was saved from Hell, and other myths. Shams al-Deen al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi mentioned that the people of Hama would stop working for six days on this occasion, and they would dye eggs and make ka’k [a kind of biscuit], and other kinds of corrupt deeds and mixing that they engaged in at that time. He said that the Muslims used to join in that as well, and that they outnumbered the Christians. We seek refuge with Allaah.
Ibn al-Haaj mentioned that they openly committed immoral actions and engaged in gambling, but no one denounced them for doing so. This is probably what prompted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) to denounce what he saw of Muslims imitating Christians in their festivals and rituals, for he mentioned a great deal of this in his excellent book al-Iqtidaa’ . Al-Dhahabi also wrote a book on this topic, as mentioned above.
Until the present, all the Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the moon become full in spring, in the period between March 22 and April 25. The Eastern Orthodox Christians observe it later than the other Christians. Its rituals, fasts and days occupy an entire season in the Christian year.
2. The festival of the birth of the Messiah (may peace be upon him). The Europeans call this Christmas, and it is on December 25 for the majority of Christians. For the Copts it is the day which corresponds to the twenty-ninth of Keehak (the fourth month of the Coptic year). This celebration is ancient and was mentioned in the books of the historians. Al-Maqreezi said: The time of Christmas came whilst we were in Cairo, and it is a major event in all the regions of Egypt, when they sell candles in the shape of flowers, which they call lanterns.
For Christians, this festival is an annual reminder of the birth of the Messiah (peace be upon him). They have many rituals and acts of worship at this time, when they go to the church and hold special prayers and services. The story of the birth of the Messiah is mentioned in their Gospels – Luke and Matthew. It was first celebrated in 336 CE. The festival is influenced by pagan rituals, when the Romans used to celebrate the god of light and the god of the harvest. When Christianity became the official religion of the Romans, Christmas became the most important festival in Europe. Saint Nicholas became a symbol of gift-giving at this festival in the European countries, then Father Christmas (Santa Claus) took the place of Saint Nicholas as a symbol of the giving of gifts, especially to children (1). Many Muslims in different countries have been influenced by these rituals and customs, and the giving of gifts by Santa Claus has become well known in many Muslim-owned stores and shops. How many houses have these gifts entered, and how many Muslim children know about Santa Claus and his gifts! Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa Billaa il-‘Aliy il-‘Azeem (there is no strength and no power except with Allaah, the Exalted and Almighty).
The Christians have many rituals on this day. The Christians of Palestine and neighbouring regions gather on the night of this festival in Bethlehem, the city where the Messiah (peace be upon him) was born, to attend Midnight Mass. Among their other rituals, they celebrate the nearest Sunday to the date of November 30, which is the feast day of Saint Andrew. This is the first day of Advent – the advent of the Messiah (peace be upon him). The festival reaches its peak when they stay up for Midnight Mass, when the churches are decorated and the people sing Christmas carols. The Christmas season ends on January 6. Some of them burn part of the trunk of the Christmas tree, then they keep the part that is not burned, believing that this burning will bring them good luck. This belief is widespread in Britain, France and the Scandinavian countries.
The feast of the Epiphany (ghattaas), which is on January 19. For the Copts it is on the eleventh of Toobah. The origin of this festival, according to them, is that Yahyaa ibn Zakariya (peace be upon them both), whom they know as John the Baptist, baptized the Messiah son of Maryam (peace be upon him) in the River Jordan, and when he was washed, the Holy Spirit came upon him. Because of this, the Christians dip their children in water on this day, and all of them immerse themselves in the water. Al-Mas’oodi mentioned that this day – during his time – was a major event in Egypt, attended by thousands of Christians and Muslims, who would bathe in the Nile, believing that this offered protection from sickness and was a healing. This is what is celebrated by the Orthodox churches, but the Catholic and Protestant churches have a different concept of this festival, whereby they commemorate the “adoration of the Magi”, where the three men who came from the east venerated the infant Jesus.
The origin of the word ghattaas (baptism) is Greek, meaning “emerging.” It is a religious term, referring to the emergence of an invisible being. It was mentioned in the Tawraat that Allaah – may He be exalted – appeared to Moosa (peace be upon him) in the form of a burning bush – exalted be Allaah far above what they say.
The Christian New Year celebration: this has become a major celebration in these times, which is celebrated by Christian countries and by some Muslim countries. TV broadcasts of these celebrations are transmitted live to all parts of the world, they appear on the front pages of newspapers and magazines, and they occupy a large part of the news broadcasts on satellite channels. It is noticeable that many Muslims in whose countries these Christian celebrations are not held travel to Christian countries to attend them and enjoy the forbidden things that are involved in them, unaware of the sin committed by indulging in the rituals of those who disbelieve.
The Christians have many false beliefs and myths about New Year’s Eve (December 31), as is the case with all their festivals. We hear of these beliefs from the makers of modern civilization and those who are described as civilized, those whom the hypocrites among our people want to follow in even the smallest detail, even in their myths, so that we can be assured of a position in the ranks of those who are advanced and civilized and earn the approval of those who have blond hair and blue eyes!
Among their beliefs (with regard to New Year’s Eve) is that the one who drinks the last glass of wine from the bottle after midnight will have good luck, and if he is single, he will be the first one among his friends who are present to get married. It is regarded as bad luck for a person to enter the house at New Year without bringing a gift; sweeping out the dirt at New Year means that one is also sweeping away good luck; washing clothes and dishes on this day will bring bad luck; they try to keep the fire burning all night on New Year’s Eve so that it will bring good luck… and other such myths and superstitions.
They also have other festivals, some of which are ancient and others have been invented recently. Some of them were taken from the Greeks and Romans who came before them, and others were part their religion but have now vanished. Some of these festivals are of major significance to them, and others are of limited importance, being confined to a few churches or denominations.
Each denomination and church has festivals which are unique to them, and are not celebrated by other denominations. The Protestants do not believe in the festivals of the other churches, but they do agree on the major festivals such as Easter, Christmas, New Year and the Epiphany, even though they differ as to the rituals and practices involved, or some of the reasons and details, or the time and place.
Festivals of the Persians
1. The festival of Nawrooz. The word ‘Nawrooz’ means new. The festival lasts for six days, when at the time of Chosroes they used to fulfil the needs of other people in the first five days, and the sixth day was devoted to themselves and the people to whom they were closest. This day was called the great Nawrooz, and was the most important of their festivals. The book Ashaab al-Awaa’il mentioned that the first one to celebrate Nawrooz was Jamsheed the king, in whose time Hood (peace be upon him) was sent, after the religion had been changed. When the king Jamsheed renewed the religion and established justice, the day on which he had ascended the throne was named Nawrooz. When he reached the age of seven hundred years, and he had never gotten ill or suffered a headache, he became an oppressive tyrant. He made an image of himself and sent it to the provinces for it to be venerated, and the masses worshipped it and made idols in its image. Al-Dahhaak al-‘Alwaani, one of the Amaaliqah (Amalekites) attacked him in the Yemen and killed him, as is stated in the books of history. Some of the Persians claim that Nawrooz is the day when Allaah created light. Nawrooz is considered to be the festival marking the Persian solar New Year. It coincides with the twenty first of March in the Gregorian calendar. The masses used to light fires on this night and sprinkle water in the morning.
Nawrooz is also celebrated by the Baha’is, coming at the end of their fast which lasts for 19 days, on March 21. (3). Nawrooz is also the first day of the year for the Copts, who call it Shimm al-Naseem. For them it lasts for six days, starting on the sixth of June. We have already discussed Shimm al-Naseem under the heading of Pharaonic festivals above. It is possible that the Copts took it from the Pharaonic legacy, since they were all in Egypt.
2. The festival of Mahrajaan. The word Mahrajaan is composed of two words: mahar, meaning loyalty, and jaan meaning authority or power. So the word means, the authority of loyalty. The origin of this festival was the celebration of the victory of Afridoon over al-Dahhaak al-‘Alwaani, who killed Jamsheed, the king who has started Nawrooz. It was also said that it was a celebration of the onset of cooler weather in the fall. It is possible that it originally started for the reason mentioned above, but as that coincided with the onset of cooler weather in the fall, so they continued to celebrate that. It is celebrated on the twenty-sixth of the Syriac month of Tishreen al-Awwal. Like Nawrooz, it lasts for six days, the sixth of which is the Great Mahrajaan. On this occasion and on Nawrooz they used to exchange gifts of musk, amber, Indian ‘ood [a kind of perfume or incense], saffron and camphor. (5). The first person to make this exchange of gifts official in Islamic times was al-Hajjaaj ibn Yoosuf al-Thaqafi, and this continued until it was abolished by the rightly-guided Khaleefah ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez (may Allaah have mercy on him).
One of the greatest problems that the Muslims are suffering from is the use of the word Mahrajaan (festival) to describe many social, cultural and economic gatherings, celebrations and events. The word is even used to describe da’wah events. So people speak of mahrahjaan al-thaqaafah (cultural festival), Mahrajaan al-tasawwuq (marketing festival), Mahrajaan al-kutub (book festival), mahrahjaan al-da’wah (da’wah festival) and so on, as we see in advertisements and hear in many phrases which use this idolatrous term. Mahrajaan is the name of the festival of the fire worshippers.
Hence using this idolatrous Persian term to describe Muslim gatherings is clearly one of the things that are prohibited. We must avoid doing this and tell others not to use this word. There are sufficient permissible expressions that we do not need to use this word, for the Arabic language is the richest of all languages in words and meanings.
Definition of imitation.
Imitation (tashabbuh in Arabic) means resembling. If we say that someone imitates someone else, we means that he looks like him and acts like him. Likening a things to something else (tashbeeh) means saying that it is like it. The word tashabbuh has many counterparts in Arabic which carry meanings such as being like, imitating, looking like, following, agreeing with, taking as an example, copying, etc. They all have shades of meaning of their own, but they also overlap with the meaning of tashabbuh. In terms of the terminology of Fiqh, al-Ghuzzi al-Shaafa’i defined tashabbuh as describing a person’s attempt to be like the one whom he is imitating, in appearance, characteristics, wqualities and attributes. It implies making an effort to achieve this and deliberately taking action for that purpose.
The ruling on imitating the kuffaar
One of the most important basic principles of our religion is that of al-walaa’ wa’l-baraa’, loyalty (walaa’) to Islam and its people, and diavowal (baraa’) of kufr and its people. One of the essential features of this disavowal of kufr and it’s people is that the Muslim should be distinct from the people of kufr, and he should feel proud of his religion and of being a Muslim, no matter how strong and advanced and civilized the kuffaar may be, and no matter how weak and backward and divided the Muslims may be. It is not permissible under any circumstances to take the strength of the kuffaar and the weakness of the Muslims as an excuse for imitating and resembling them, as some hypocrites and defeatist Muslims claim. The texts which forbid imitating the kuffaar do not make any distinction between whether Muslims are strong or weak, because the Muslim can be distinct in his religion and be proud of being Muslim even when he is in a weak position.
Allaah calls us to be proud of Islam, and considers this to be the best of speech and the best kind of pride, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And who is better in speech than he who [says: “My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness),” and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah’s (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: “I am one of the Muslims.” [Fussilat 41:33]
Because it is so important for the Muslim to be distinguished from the kaafir, the Muslim is commanded to pray to Allaah at least seventeen times each day to help him to avoid the path of the kaafireen and to guide him to the Straight Path:
“Guide us to the Straight Way. The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray” [al-Faatihah 1:6-7 – interpretation of the meaning].
There are very many texts in the Qur’aan and Sunnah which forbid us to imitate them, and which clearly state that they are misguided; whoever imitates them, imitates them in their misguidance. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings);
“Then We have put you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) on a (plain) way of (Our) commandment [like the one which We commanded Our Messengers before you (i.e. legal ways and laws of the Islâmic Monotheism)]. So follow you that (Islâmic Monotheism and its laws), and follow not the desires of those who know not.” [al-Jaathiyah 46:18]
“Were you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) to follow their (vain) desires after the knowledge which has come to you, then you will not have any Walî (protector) or Wâq (defender) against Allâh” [al-Ra’d 13:37]
“And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them” [Aal- ‘Imraan 3:105]
Allaah calls the believers to remember Him with humility and to recite His Verses, then He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“lest they become as those who received the Scripture [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] before (i.e. Jews and Christians), and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened? And many of them were Fâsiqûn (the rebellious, the disobedient to Allâh)” [al-Hadeed 57:16]
No doubt imitating them is one of the grestes indications that a person has befriended them and loves them, and this contradicts the idea of diavowal [baraa’] of the kufr and its people. Allaah has forbidden the believers to take them as friends, and He has stated that taking them as friends causes a person to become one of them – Allaah forbid. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliyâ’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Auliyâ’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Auliyâ’), then surely, he is one of them” [al-Maa’idah 5:51]
“You (O Muhammad ) will not find any people who believe in Allâh and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad ), even though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people)” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Imitation generates friendship and love, and regarding them as allies in the inside, just as loving them on the inside generates imitating them on the outside.”
And he also said, commenting on the aayah from Soorat al-Mujaadilah: “Allaah tells us that there is no (true) believer who takes a kaafir as a friend, for whoever takes a kaafir as friend is not a believer. Imitation on the outside implies that a person loves (the one whom he imitates), and so it is forbidden.”
It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Libaas, 1204; Ahmad, 2/05. Shaykh al-Islam classed its isnaad as jayyid in al-Iqtidaa’, 1/042. See also al-Fataawaa, 25/133. Al-Haafiz provided corroborating evidence in al-Fath, with a mursal report whose isnaad is hasan (6/89). Al-Suyooti classed it as hasan, and al-Albaani classed it as saheeh in Jamee’ al-Saheeh, 5206).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “This hadeeth at the very least implies that it is haraam to imitate them, even if it is only in external appearance, and it implies that the one who imitatest hem is a kaafir, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And if any amongst you takes them (as Auliyâ’), then surely, he is one of them’ [al-Maa’idah 5:51].” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/732).
Al-San’aani said: “If a person imitates the kaafir in his dress, and believes that by doing so he will be like him, then he is a kaafir. If he does not belive this, then there is a difference of opinion among the fuqahaa’ in this case. Some of them say that he is a kaafir, which is the apparent meaning of the hadeeth; others say that he is not a kaafir, but he should be disciplined.” (Subul al-Salaam, 8/842).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “The reason why the religion of Allaah and its rituals is vanishing, and kufr and sin are prevailing, is because of imitation of the kaafireen, just as the means of preserving all good is by following the ways and laws of the Prophets. “ (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/413).
There is much that could be said about imitation of the kuffaar, but what we have said above is sufficient.
The forms of imitating the kuffaar in their festivals
The various sects and groups of the kuffaar have many kinds of festivals, some of them have a religious basis whilst others have been newly invented. Some of their festivals are like customs and events for which they have invented festivals, such as national holidays and the like. Their festivals may be grouped into different categories as follows:
Firstly:
religious festivals by means of which they seek to draw nearer to Allaah, such as the Epiphany, Easter, Passover, Christmas, etc. They ways in which the Muslims imitate them in these festivals are two:
Joining in with them in these festivals, such as when some non-Islamic groups or minorities in Muslim countries celebrate their festivals, and some Muslims join in with them. This happened at the time of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi, and it is what is happening now in many of the Muslim countries. What is even worse than that is what some Muslims do by travelling to the kaafir countries for the express purpose of attending these festivals and joining in the celebrations, whether the motive is to fulfil their physical desires or in response to the invitation of some of the kuffaar – as some Muslims do who live in kaafir countries and are invited to join the celebrations, or some other who have capital to invest or are owners of large companies, so they accept these invitations for the sake of being friendly to the person who invited them, or for a worldly interest such as winning a contract, and so on. All of this is haraam, and there is the fear that it may lead to kufr, because of the hadeeth, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” And the one who does this is aiming to join in some of the rituals of their religion.
Beinging the celebration to the Muslim countries. Those who attend the festivals of the kuffaar in their countries and who like them because they are ignorant and have weak faith and little knowledge, may be prompted to bring some of those festivals and rituals to the Muslim countries, as is happening now in many Muslim countries, where the Gregorian New year is celebrated. This category is worse than the former one for one reason, which is that the people whodo this are not content merely to join the kuffaar in their rituals, but they want to bring them to the Muslim lands as well.
Secondly:
Festivals whose origins lie in the rituals of the kuffaar, and they have now become international customs and celebrations. This is like the Olympic festivals (the Olympiad) in Greece, which nowadays appears to be no more than an international sporting event in which participation takes two forms:
Taking part in the games with their rituals in the kaafir countries, as many of the Muslim states do by sending athletes to participate in the different games.
Bringing these festivals to the Muslim countries, such as some of the Muslim countries asking to host the Olympic Games in their countries.
In both cases, taking part or hosting the games in a Muslim country is haraam, for the following reasons:
The origin of these Olympic Games is one of the pagan festivals of the Greeks, as mentioned above. This was the most important festival for the Greek nation, then it was inherited by the Romans and, in turn, the Christians.
It bears the same name as it was known by when it was a Greek festival.
The fact that it is now no more than a sporting event does not cancel out the fact that it is a pagan festival, because of its origin and name. The evidence (daleel) for that is the hadeeth narrated by Thaabit ibn al-Dahhaak (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “At the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man vowed to sacrifice some camels in Bawwaanah. He came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘I have vowed to sacrifice some camels in Bawwaanah.’ The Prophet Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Were there any idols there that were worshipped during the Jaahiliyyah?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Did they hold any of their festivals there?’ He said, ‘No.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Then fulfil your vow, for there is no fulfilment of any vow which involves disobeying Allaah, or with regard to something that the son of Adam does not own.’” (Narrated by Abu Dawood in al-Aymaan wa’l-Nudhoor, 3133. According to another report, the one who asked the question was a woman (2133). It was also narrated by al-tabaraani in al-Kabeer (1431). Shaykh al-Islam said: its isnaad is according to the conditions of al-Saheehayn. All of its narrators are thiqaat (trustworthy) and mashhoor (well known), and the chain is intact, with no ‘an’anah (none of the links of the chain are connected with the word ‘an, meaning ‘from’). See al-Iqtidaa’, 1/634. It was classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz in al-Buloogh, 5041).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) paid attention to the origins of things, and the origin of this sporting event is a (pagan) festival.
Shaykh al-Islam said: “This implies that the fact that that spot was the place where their festival was held would have been a reason to forbid him to sacrifice there, as would also have been the case if had been the place of their idols. Otherwise, how else can we interpret the hadeeth, of course it would only have been to venerate the spot which the yvenerated, by holding the festival there os by joining them in there celebrations there, or reviving the symbols of their festival and other things that can only be related to that action in that place or at that time… If merely choosing the place of the festival is forbidden, then how about the festival itself?” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/344)
Our issue concerning the Olympic games does not have to do with the time or the place, but with the event itself and its original name, and the things that are done during the event, such as the lighting of the Olympic torch, which is one of the rituals of the games. There is also the timing of the event, because among the Greeks the games were held every four years, and nowadays too they are held every four years. This is a festival with regard to its origins, its name, the things that are done and the timing, so taking part in these games means taking part in a festival which was pagan and then Christian, and asking to hold these games in a Muslim country means bringing this pagan festival into a Muslim land.
Thirdly:
The days and weeks that have been invented by the kuffaar. These may be divided into two types:
those which have a religious origin and have now become customs connected to some worldly purpose, such as the workers’ festival (May Day) which was invented by those who worshipped trees, then it became a pagan festival of the Romans, then it was adopted by the French who connected it to the church, until socialism came and propagated it, and it became an international and official holiday even in many Muslim countries. Undoubtedly it is haraam to adopt this day as a holiday and let workers take this day off, for the following reasons:
because in its origins and development it is a pagan festival
because it occurs on a fixed day each year, which is May 1.
Because it involves imitating the kuffaar with regard to something that belongs exclusively tot hem.
Even if an event does not have a religious basis, such as World health Day, or days for fighting drugs and eradicating illiteracy, and other invented days and weeks, one of the two following things will still apply:
either it occurs on a fixed day each year and is repeated on the same day each year, like Bank Holidays and other fixed days. There are two things wrong with this:
it is a fixed day which recurs on the same date each year
it entails imitating the kuffaar because this is something that they have invented.
These international days, such as World Health Day and a day for fighting drugs, contain some benefit for humanity as a whole, which the Muslims cannot avoid taking part in because they may miss out on some benefits otherwise; they have nothing to do with religion and only resemble festivals in that they come every year and they are events that are celebrated and taken notice of – so can they be tolerated on these grounds? It seems to me that this matter needs research and ijtihaad to weigh up the pros and cons, because the Muslims are not consulted concerning these days and their opinion carries no weight, on the contrary, these things are forced on the entire world and the Muslins are in a weak and humilated position as is well known.
or it is not a day or week that comes at a fixed time each year, but is moved according to a particular system or needs. This does not have the character of a festival which is repeated at a fixed time, but there remains the problem of imitation, in that it is something that was invented by the kuffaar and them brought to the Muslims. Does this count as the kind of imitation that is haraam? Or is it a kind of imitation that is permissible like other matters having to do with organization, administration, etc., and like the days of annual leave in companies, institutions, etc.? This too needs research and investigation, although initially to seems to me that there is nothing wrong with it, for the following reasons:
It is not fixed on a specific date that is the same each time, so it does not have that festival-like character.
These days are not called festivals, and they do not have the characteristics of festivals, such as celebrations and the like.
The purpose of these days is to organize awareness campaigns, to achieve beneficial goals.
Those who want to stop them would have to stop many events and gatherings that happen from time to time, and I do not think that anyone would advocate this. These events are like family meetings, da’wah meetings, workplace meetings, and so on.
There is nothing in them that would dictate that they be considered haraam, apart from the fact that they originated with the kuffaar and were brought to the Muslims, and the problems they deal with are widespread among the kuffaar and others. So the objection that they belong only to the kuffaar is cancelled by the fact that these things are also widespread among the Muslims.
In conclusion, These festivals are not part of the religion and beliefs of the kuffaar, and they do not form part of their exclusive customs and traditions. There is no veneration or celebration involved, and they are not festivals on set days which are repeated regularly. They resemble other organizations in that they serve a useful purpose.
Fourthly:
Another form of imitation of the kuffaar is turning the Eids of the Muslims into something resembling the festivals of the kuffaar. The Eids of the Muslims are distinguished by the fact that their rituals point to the expression of gratitude to Allaah, may He be exalted, and glorifying, praising and worshipping Him, whilst expressing joy for the blessings of Allaah, and not using these blessings for sinful purposes. This is in contrast to the festivals of the kuffaar, which are distinguished by the veneration of their false rituals and idols which they worship instead of Allaah, whikst indulging in their fobidden desires. It is most unfortunate that Muslims in many places are imitating the kuffaar in this way, and they have changed their Eid from an occasion of worship and thanksgiving into an occasion on sin and ingratitude for the blessings, by spending the night of Eid listening to musical instruments and singing, indulging in immoral actions, organizing mixed parties and doing other things which they think express the celebration of Eid, following the misguided ways in which the kuffaar spend their festivals engaging in immorality and sin.
Ways in which we must avoid the festivals of the kuffaar
Avoid attending them:
The scholars have agreed that it is haraam to attend the festivals of the kuffaar and to imitate them in their festivals. This is the madhhab of the Hanafis, Maalikis, Shaafa’is and Hanbalis. (See al-Iqtidaa’, 2/425; Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah by Ibn al-Qayyim, 2/227-527; al-Tashabbuh al-Munhaa ‘anhu fi’l-Fiqh al-Islaami, 533). There is a great deal of evidence (daleel) for this, such as:
All of the evidence which states that it is forbidden to imitate them, some of which has been quoted above.
The concensus of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een that Muslims should not attend their festivals, The evidence of this consensus takes for forms:
The Jews, Christians and Magians (Zoroastrians) who lived in the Muslim lands and paid Jizyah were still observing their own festivals, so the motive for some Muslims to imitate them was present. No one among the early generations of Muslims would have refrained from joining them in any part of that, If there had not been something to stop them from doing so, such as it being either makrooh (disliked) or prohibited, many of them would have fallen into that, for if the action and the motive are present and there is nothing to stop them, people will undoubtedly do the thing. Al-muqtada? Therefore we understand that there was something stopping them from doing that, and what was stopping them was the religion of Islam. This is what was stopping them from going along with the kuffaar and this is the point that we are trying to make here. (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/454).
The conditions set out by ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), which the Sahaabah and all the fuqahaa’ after them agreed upon, that the Ahl al-Dhimmah (Jews and Christians living under the protection of Islamic rule in return for paying a poll tax) should not celebrate their festivals openly in the Muslim lands. If the Muslims have agreed that they should not celebrate their festivals openly, then how can it be OK for Muslims to celebrate them? Is it not worse for a Muslim to do this at all than for a kaafir to do it openly? (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/454).
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Do not learn the language of the Persians, and do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their churches on the day of their festival, for the Divine warth is descending upon them.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al-razzaaq, 9061; al-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, 9/432).
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebratest heir Nawrooz and their Mahrajaan, and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” (al-Sunan al-Kubra, 9/432; classed as saheeh by Ibn Taymiyah in al-Iqtidaa’, 1/754).
Shaykh al-Islam said: Here we see ‘Umar forbidding people to learn their language and to merely enter their chuch on the festivals, so what about actually doing some of the things they do, or doing some of the rituals of their religion? Is not doing the things they do more serious than speaking the same language? Or is not doing some of the things they do in the festival more serious than merely entering upon them on the occasion of their festival? If the Divine wrath comes upon them on the day of their festival because of what they do, then is not the one who joins them in all or part of that also exposed to the same punishment? (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/854)
And he commented on the words of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr – “will be gathered with them” by saying: This implies that this makes him a kaafir by his joining in what they do, or else it means that this is one of the major sins that doom a person to Hell, although the former is more apparent from the wording. (1/954).
Avoiding doing the same things that they do.
Some Muslims may not be able to be present at the festivals of the kuffaar, but they do the same things as they do. This is also a part of the imitation which blameworthy and forbidden. Shaykh al-Islam said: “It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in any part of the things that are exclusively part of their festivals, whether it be food, dress, bathing, lighting fires or changing their habits with regard to daily living, acts of worship, etc. It is not permissible to give a feast or give gifts or sell items that will help them to do that for that purpose, or to allow children and others to do any of that, whether it is playing, wearing new clothes etc. in conclusion, they should not make that day special by adopting any of their rituals; for the Muslims, the day of the kaafirs’ festival should be like any other day.” Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa, 52/923).
Al-Dhahabi said: “If the Christians or the Jews have a fstival that is exxclusively theirs, the Muslims should not join them in that, just as they do not join them in their laws or their direction of prayer.” (tashabbuh al-Khasess bi Ahl al-Khmaees, in al-Hikmah magazine, issue $, p. 391). Ibn al-Turkmaani al-Hanafi mentioned some of the things that some Muslims did on the occasion of Christian festivals, such as spending more than usual and taking the family out, then he said: “Some of the Hanafi scholars said: whoever does any of the things mentioned here and does not repent, is a kaafir like them.” One of the companions of Maalik said: “Whoever cuts up a watermelon on the day of Nawrooz, it is as if he sacrificed a pig.” (al-Lam’ fi’l-Hawaadith wa’l-Bida’, 1/492)
Avoiding using the means of transportation that they use to go to their festivals
Maalik said: “It is makrooh to travel with them in the boats which they use to go to their festivals, because the Divine wrath and curse is descending upon them.” (al-Hawaadith wa’l-Bida’, 1/492).
Ibn al-Qaasim was asked about travelling in the boats which the Christians ride in to attend their festivals. He regarded that as makrooh, fearing the descent of Divine wrath upon them for the shirk which they agreed upon. (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/625).
Not giving them gifts or helping them to celebrate their festvials by either selling or buying.
Abu Hafs al-Hanafi said: “Whoever gives an egg to a kaafir out of respect for that day has disbelieved in Allaah, may He be exalted.” (Fath al-Baari li Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani, 2/315).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “Ibn al-Qaasim regarded it as makrooh for a Muslim to give a Christian anything on the occasion of his festival to congratulate him. He saw that as respecting their festival and helping them in their kufr. Do you not see that it is not permissible for the Muslims to sell anything to the Christians that helps them to celebrate their festival? No meat, no food, no dress. They should not loan their riding-beasts to them or help them in any way with their festival, because that is like honouring their shirk and helping them with their kufr. The authorities should prevent Muslims from doing this. This is the view of Maalik and others, and I do not know of any dissenting opinion on this point.” (2/625-725)
Ibn al-Turkmaani said: “The Muslim is sinning if he sits with them or helps them to slaughter animals or cook food, or he lends them a riding-beast to take them to their celebrations or festivals.” (al-Lama’ fi’l-Hawaadith, 1/492)
Not helping the Muslim who wants to imitate them in their festivals to do so
Shaykh al-Islam said: “Just as we should not imitate them in their festivals, so too we should not help the Muslim who wants to imitate them to do so. It is forbidden to so this. If a person issues an invitation on the occasion of their festivals that he would not ordinarily do, his invitation should not be accepted. If a Muslim gives a gift on this occasion that he would not ordinarily give at any other time, his gift should not be accepted, especially if it is something that would help a person to imitate them, as we have already stated. A Muslim should not sell anything that could help Muslims to imitate them in their celebrations, such as food, clothing and so on, because be doing so he is helping them in sin. (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/915-025).
Not congratulating them on the occasion of their festivals
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “As for congratulating them for the symbols of kufr that belong exclusively to them, this is haraam according to scholarly consensus, such as congratulating them for their festivals and fasts, and saying, ‘A blessed festival to you’ and the like. Even though the person who says this might not become a kaafir by saying this, it is still forbidden, and it is the same as congratulating them for prostrating to the cross. Indeed, it is an even greater sin with Allaah and is more hated by Him than congratulating them for drinking wine, killing people and committing adultery, and so on. Many of those who do not care about religion do this, and do not realize how abhorrent their actions are. Whoever congratulates a person for his sin, bid’ah (innovation) or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah. The pious scholars used to avoid congratulating the tyrants when they were appointed to official positions, or congratulating the ignorant when they were appointed as Qaadis, teachers or Muftis, because they sought to avoid the wrath and anger of Allaah .” (Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/144-244).
Congratulating the kuffaar on the occasion of their religious festivals is haraam as Ibn al-Qayyim stated, because this implies approval of their rituals and beliefs of kufr. Even if a person does not accept this kufr for himself, it is still haraam for a Muslim to approve of the rituals of kufr for someone else or to congratulate someone else for them, because Allaah does not approve of this. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you; He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you” [al-Zumar 39:7]
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa’idah 5:3]
Congratulating them for that is haraam, whether they are taking part with them in that or not. If they congratulate us on the occasion of their festival, we should not respond, because it is not our festival and because these are festivals with which Allaah is not pleased, because they are either innovated in their religions, or they are prescribed, but they (their religions) have been abrogated by the religion of islam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to all of mankind. And Allaah says concerning islam (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islâm, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85].
It is haraam for a Muslim to accept an invitation on these occasions, because this is worse than merely congraulating them, since it involves joining in with them. Anyone who does any of these things is a sinner whether he does it just to be friendly, or because he likes them, or because he is too shy to do otherwise, or for any other reason, because it is a kind of hypocrisy in the religion of Allaah and is a way of making the kuffaar feel stronger and making tem proud of their religion. (Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa rasaa’il Fadeelat al-Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Uthaymeen, compiled by Fahd al-Salmaan, 3/45-46)
Question: What if a Muslim wants to celebrate like they do, but he does it a few days before or after their festival so that he is not imitating them?
This is a kind of imitation and to is haraam, because the prohibition of a thing , and the prohibition of celebrating their festivals also covers the days before and after the festival itself, when they do things that have to do with it. The prohibition also covers the places in which they do things that have to do with their festivals or … . The ruling on these things is the same as the ruling on the festival itself. These things should not be done, even if some people avoid doing any of thse things on the days of their festival such as the Thursday (what is referred to here is Maundy Thursday or the Day of Ascension, which is one of the rituals of Easter for the Christians, who call it the Great Thursday) or Christmas, but they tell their families, I will do this for you next week or next month, and their motive is the fact that the kaafirs’ festival is happening, otherwise they would not have done it at all. This is also one of the things meant by imitation. (See: al-Iqtidaa’, 2/315).
Avoiding using their words and religious terminology
If it is forbidden to learn their languages unnecessarily for fear of resembling them, then using the names they give to their festivals and rituals is even more forbidden. This is like using the word “mahrajaan” (festival) to describe any large gathering, because this is the name of a religious festival of the Persians.
Al-Bayhaqi narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) was given a gift for Nawrooz and he said, What is this?” They said, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, this is the day of Nawrooz.” He said, “Then make every day Fayrooz!” Abu Usaamah said: “He, may Allaah be pleased with him, did not even want to say ‘Nawrooz.’” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 9/532).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “ ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) did not even want to say the same name as they gave to their own festival, so how abut doing the same things?” (See: al-Iqtidaa’, 1/954).
We have already stated that this is not an Arabic term; the Arabic language is rich enough not to need such words, and has better words that can be used.
The ruling on accepting gifts on their festivals:
We have already stated above that it is not permissive to give gifts on their festivals because this is helping them in their falsehood. It is also not permissible to accept a gift from a Muslim who is imitating them, because by accepting it one is helping him to imitate them and this implies that one approves of what he is doing and that one is not rebuking him for doing this haraam action.
With regard to accepting a gift from a kaafir if he gives something to a Muslim at the time of the kaafir’s festival, this is like being given a gift at other times, because it does not involve helping them in their kufr. There is some difference of opinion with regard to this matter, based on whether one should accept a gift from a kaafir who is at war with the Muslims as opposed to a kaafir who is living under the protection of Islamic rule.
It should also be noted that their gifts may be of two types:
1. Gifts other than meat that has been slaughtered for the occasion of their festival – such as sweets, fruits and so on. There is a difference of opinion based on the question of accepting gifts from the kaafirs in general. It seems that it is permissible because it was reported that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) accepted their gifts, and it was reported that a woman asked ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), “We have some birds [?][ from the Magians wgich they had during their festival and they gave them to us.” She said, “If they were slaughtered for that occasion, do not eat them, but eat from their trees [i.e. fruits etc.].” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in Kitaab al-At’imah in his Musannaf, 5/521, no. 16342. In al-Iqtidaa’ it says ‘We have some wet-nurses.’ The editor of al-Iqtidaa’ said: perhaps what is meant by this is relatives through radaa’ah (breastfeeding)).
Abu Barzah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said that he had Magian tenants [?] who used to give him gifts on Nawrooz and mahrajaan, and he used totell his family: ‘If it is, eat it, but if it is anything else, reject it.’ (ibid., no. 26346).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “All of this indicates that refusing to accept their gifts has no effect on their festival. The ruling on accepting their gifts at the time of their festival and at other times is the same, because this does not entail helping them in the rituals of their kufr.” (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/455-555).
2. Or their gift may be of meat that was slaughtered for the occasion of their festival. This should not be eaten, because of the reports of ‘Aaishah and Abu Barzah narrated above, and because it has been slaughtered according to the rituals of kufr.
Singling out the festivals of the kuffaar for fasting so as to be different from them
The scholars differed with regard to this:
It was said that it is not makrooh to fast on their festivals for the purpose of being different from them. This view is da’eef (weak).
The correct view is that it is not permissible to single out the days of their festivals for fasting, because their festivals are occasions which they venerate, and fasting on these days and not others coincides with them in their veneration.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Our companions said: it is makrooh to single out the day of Nawrooz and the day of Mahrajaan to fast, because these are two days which are venerated by the kuffaarm so fasting only on these days and not on others is agreeing with them in their veneration of those days. This is like the case of Saturday, so by analogy this ruling applies to every festival of the kuffaar and every day which they venerate.” (al-Mughni, 4/924; see also al-Iqtidaa’, 2/975).
This ruling applies in cases where one singles out that day to fast because it is their festival. But if it happens to coincide with a vow or a voluntary fast, without intending to fast because it is their festival, then there is nothing wrong with that.” (See Haashiyat Ibn Qaasim ‘ala al-Rawd al-Murabba’, 3/064). The guideline in being different from them with regard to their festivals is that one should not innovate anything at all; one should treat the days of their festivals as being like any other day. (See al-Iqtidaa’, 2/815). So one should not take the day off work, or rejoice on that occasion, of single that day out for fasting, expressing grief, etc.
Shaykh al-Islam mentioned something which may be taken as guidelines with regard to the matter of imitation. He said: “tashabbuh (imitation) includes those who do something because they do it, which is rare; and those who follow others inwhat they do for some purpose of his own even though the action is originally taken from those others. As for the one who does something that happens to be done by others as well, but neither of them took it from the other, it is open to debate as to whether this is is imitation or not. But the person who does this may be rebuked so that there will be no excuse for imitation, and because this will reinforce the idea of differing from them.” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/242).
On the basis of what Shaykh al-Islam has said, actions that happen to coincide with what they do may be divided into two types:
Imitation of them, which is where the person who imitates them wants to be like them ,for whatever reason. This is haraam.
Resembling them, which is when a person is not deliberately aiming to be like them. In this case it should be pointed out to him, then if he stops, all well and good; otherwise he is guilty of the kind of imitation that is haraam. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw me wearing two garments that had been dyed with safflower. He said, ‘This is the clothing of the kuffaar, do not wear them.’” According to another rport: “He said, ‘Did you mother tell you to wear this?’ I said, ‘Should I wash them?’ He said, ‘No, burn them.’” (The two reports were narrated by Muslim in al-Libaas wa’l-Zeenah, 2077)
Al-Qurtubi said: “This indicates that the reason he told him not to wear them was that by wearing them he was imitating the kuffaar.” (book title?? 5/399).
It seems from the hadeeth that ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) did not realize that he was imitating the dress of the kuffaar, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) still told him off for that and explained the ruling of sharee’ah on this matter.
If something originated with the kuffaar, And it is done by them and by others, then this is not imitation, but Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah thought that it should be stopped so as to leave no room for excuses and so as to protect the Muslims from falling into imitation of the kuffaar, and because this serves the purpose of differing from them.
The munaafiqoon and the festivals of the kuffaar
1. The socialist Baath party in one of the Arab countries tried to abolish Udhiyah (sacrifices for ‘Eid al-Adhaa) on the grounds of famine and drought. Their supporters put up a huge banner on which was written: “For the sake of the hungry and the poor and the naked, donate the value of the sheep for udhiyah.” (See al-Istijaabah magazine, vol. 4, Rabee’ al-Thaani 1406 AH).
Eid al-Adhaa came and went, and the Muslims in that country offered their sacrifices. Then when Christmas and New Year approached, preparaions began to celebrate them. When Christmas and New year came, they were official holidays in that country, and there were lavish parties and promiscuous soirees. Foremost among the people celebrating were the leaders of the scoialist Baath party whose joy at the Christian festivals made them forget the needs of the poor, hungry and naked, whose plight they only remembered at the time of the Muslims’ Eids!
2. One of them wrote in his weekly column, under the title of “Tolerance” (see ‘Ukaaz newspaper, 28/8/1418, 5/9/1418, 12/9/1418 AH) words that indicate the sickness in his heart and the weakness of his religion. The tolerance to which he referred was with regard to the Christian festivals of Christmas and New year. Among the things that this pseudo-faqeeh said was: “This human brotherhood includes all of mankind, and there is no division and enmity except when there is fighting and when the Muslims are opposed by another group – then there will be fighting, enmity and legitimate self-defence, despite the fact that some extremists and terrorist groups are trying to extinguish this light by spreading interpretations and ideas whiich encourage hatred and boycotting the world. So they make noise of occasions which are celebrated by the entire world and consider congratulating others to be a deviation from Islam. But in fact, I tell you, these occasions spread love, not hatred, and bring people together, not divide them.” The author went on, in his compliant and defeatist series on tolerance, which went on for three issues, to cover the Christians festivals for which his heart overflowed with love. In his second article, he said: “Its origin is kindness, i.e., tolerance and justice. As for enmity, it is directed towards those who have declared hostility against us. The matter of difference of religion is something which will be up to the justice and mercy of Allaah on the Day of Judgement.
Definition of imitation.
Imitation (tashabbuh in Arabic) means resembling. If we say that someone imitates someone else, we means that he looks like him and acts like him. Likening a things to something else (tashbeeh) means saying that it is like it. The word tashabbuh has many counterparts in Arabic which carry meanings such as being like, imitating, looking like, following, agreeing with, taking as an example, copying, etc. They all have shades of meaning of their own, but they also overlap with the meaning of tashabbuh. In terms of the terminology of Fiqh, al-Ghuzzi al-Shaafa’i defined tashabbuh as describing a person’s attempt to be like the one whom he is imitating, in appearance, characteristics, wqualities and attributes. It implies making an effort to achieve this and deliberately taking action for that purpose.
The ruling on imitating the kuffaar
One of the most important basic principles of our religion is that of al-walaa’ wa’l-baraa’, loyalty (walaa’) to Islam and its people, and diavowal (baraa’) of kufr and its people. One of the essential features of this disavowal of kufr and it’s people is that the Muslim should be distinct from the people of kufr, and he should feel proud of his religion and of being a Muslim, no matter how strong and advanced and civilized the kuffaar may be, and no matter how weak and backward and divided the Muslims may be. It is not permissible under any circumstances to take the strength of the kuffaar and the weakness of the Muslims as an excuse for imitating and resembling them, as some hypocrites and defeatist Muslims claim. The texts which forbid imitating the kuffaar do not make any distinction between whether Muslims are strong or weak, because the Muslim can be distinct in his religion and be proud of being Muslim even when he is in a weak position.
Allaah calls us to be proud of Islam, and considers this to be the best of speech and the best kind of pride, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And who is better in speech than he who [says: “My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness),” and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah’s (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: “I am one of the Muslims.” [Fussilat 41:33]
Because it is so important for the Muslim to be distinguished from the kaafir, the Muslim is commanded to pray to Allaah at least seventeen times each day to help him to avoid the path of the kaafireen and to guide him to the Straight Path:
“Guide us to the Straight Way. The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray” [al-Faatihah 1:6-7 – interpretation of the meaning].
There are very many texts in the Qur’aan and Sunnah which forbid us to imitate them, and which clearly state that they are misguided; whoever imitates them, imitates them in their misguidance. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings);
“Then We have put you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) on a (plain) way of (Our) commandment [like the one which We commanded Our Messengers before you (i.e. legal ways and laws of the Islâmic Monotheism)]. So follow you that (Islâmic Monotheism and its laws), and follow not the desires of those who know not.” [al-Jaathiyah 46:18]
“Were you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) to follow their (vain) desires after the knowledge which has come to you, then you will not have any Walî (protector) or Wâq (defender) against Allâh” [al-Ra’d 13:37]
“And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them” [Aal- ‘Imraan 3:105]
Allaah calls the believers to remember Him with humility and to recite His Verses, then He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“lest they become as those who received the Scripture [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] before (i.e. Jews and Christians), and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened? And many of them were Fâsiqûn (the rebellious, the disobedient to Allâh)” [al-Hadeed 57:16]
No doubt imitating them is one of the grestes indications that a person has befriended them and loves them, and this contradicts the idea of diavowal [baraa’] of the kufr and its people. Allaah has forbidden the believers to take them as friends, and He has stated that taking them as friends causes a person to become one of them – Allaah forbid. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliyâ’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Auliyâ’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Auliyâ’), then surely, he is one of them” [al-Maa’idah 5:51]
“You (O Muhammad ) will not find any people who believe in Allâh and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad ), even though they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people)” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Imitation generates friendship and love, and regarding them as allies in the inside, just as loving them on the inside generates imitating them on the outside.”
And he also said, commenting on the aayah from Soorat al-Mujaadilah: “Allaah tells us that there is no (true) believer who takes a kaafir as a friend, for whoever takes a kaafir as friend is not a believer. Imitation on the outside implies that a person loves (the one whom he imitates), and so it is forbidden.”
It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Libaas, 1204; Ahmad, 2/05. Shaykh al-Islam classed its isnaad as jayyid in al-Iqtidaa’, 1/042. See also al-Fataawaa, 25/133. Al-Haafiz provided corroborating evidence in al-Fath, with a mursal report whose isnaad is hasan (6/89). Al-Suyooti classed it as hasan, and al-Albaani classed it as saheeh in Jamee’ al-Saheeh, 5206).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “This hadeeth at the very least implies that it is haraam to imitate them, even if it is only in external appearance, and it implies that the one who imitatest hem is a kaafir, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And if any amongst you takes them (as Auliyâ’), then surely, he is one of them’ [al-Maa’idah 5:51].” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/732).
Al-San’aani said: “If a person imitates the kaafir in his dress, and believes that by doing so he will be like him, then he is a kaafir. If he does not belive this, then there is a difference of opinion among the fuqahaa’ in this case. Some of them say that he is a kaafir, which is the apparent meaning of the hadeeth; others say that he is not a kaafir, but he should be disciplined.” (Subul al-Salaam, 8/842).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “The reason why the religion of Allaah and its rituals is vanishing, and kufr and sin are prevailing, is because of imitation of the kaafireen, just as the means of preserving all good is by following the ways and laws of the Prophets. “ (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/413).
There is much that could be said about imitation of the kuffaar, but what we have said above is sufficient.
The forms of imitating the kuffaar in their festivals
The various sects and groups of the kuffaar have many kinds of festivals, some of them have a religious basis whilst others have been newly invented. Some of their festivals are like customs and events for which they have invented festivals, such as national holidays and the like. Their festivals may be grouped into different categories as follows:
Firstly:
religious festivals by means of which they seek to draw nearer to Allaah, such as the Epiphany, Easter, Passover, Christmas, etc. They ways in which the Muslims imitate them in these festivals are two:
Joining in with them in these festivals, such as when some non-Islamic groups or minorities in Muslim countries celebrate their festivals, and some Muslims join in with them. This happened at the time of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi, and it is what is happening now in many of the Muslim countries. What is even worse than that is what some Muslims do by travelling to the kaafir countries for the express purpose of attending these festivals and joining in the celebrations, whether the motive is to fulfil their physical desires or in response to the invitation of some of the kuffaar – as some Muslims do who live in kaafir countries and are invited to join the celebrations, or some other who have capital to invest or are owners of large companies, so they accept these invitations for the sake of being friendly to the person who invited them, or for a worldly interest such as winning a contract, and so on. All of this is haraam, and there is the fear that it may lead to kufr, because of the hadeeth, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” And the one who does this is aiming to join in some of the rituals of their religion.
Beinging the celebration to the Muslim countries. Those who attend the festivals of the kuffaar in their countries and who like them because they are ignorant and have weak faith and little knowledge, may be prompted to bring some of those festivals and rituals to the Muslim countries, as is happening now in many Muslim countries, where the Gregorian New year is celebrated. This category is worse than the former one for one reason, which is that the people whodo this are not content merely to join the kuffaar in their rituals, but they want to bring them to the Muslim lands as well.
Secondly:
Festivals whose origins lie in the rituals of the kuffaar, and they have now become international customs and celebrations. This is like the Olympic festivals (the Olympiad) in Greece, which nowadays appears to be no more than an international sporting event in which participation takes two forms:
Taking part in the games with their rituals in the kaafir countries, as many of the Muslim states do by sending athletes to participate in the different games.
Bringing these festivals to the Muslim countries, such as some of the Muslim countries asking to host the Olympic Games in their countries.
In both cases, taking part or hosting the games in a Muslim country is haraam, for the following reasons:
The origin of these Olympic Games is one of the pagan festivals of the Greeks, as mentioned above. This was the most important festival for the Greek nation, then it was inherited by the Romans and, in turn, the Christians.
It bears the same name as it was known by when it was a Greek festival.
The fact that it is now no more than a sporting event does not cancel out the fact that it is a pagan festival, because of its origin and name. The evidence (daleel) for that is the hadeeth narrated by Thaabit ibn al-Dahhaak (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “At the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man vowed to sacrifice some camels in Bawwaanah. He came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘I have vowed to sacrifice some camels in Bawwaanah.’ The Prophet Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Were there any idols there that were worshipped during the Jaahiliyyah?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Did they hold any of their festivals there?’ He said, ‘No.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Then fulfil your vow, for there is no fulfilment of any vow which involves disobeying Allaah, or with regard to something that the son of Adam does not own.’” (Narrated by Abu Dawood in al-Aymaan wa’l-Nudhoor, 3133. According to another report, the one who asked the question was a woman (2133). It was also narrated by al-tabaraani in al-Kabeer (1431). Shaykh al-Islam said: its isnaad is according to the conditions of al-Saheehayn. All of its narrators are thiqaat (trustworthy) and mashhoor (well known), and the chain is intact, with no ‘an’anah (none of the links of the chain are connected with the word ‘an, meaning ‘from’). See al-Iqtidaa’, 1/634. It was classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz in al-Buloogh, 5041).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) paid attention to the origins of things, and the origin of this sporting event is a (pagan) festival.
Shaykh al-Islam said: “This implies that the fact that that spot was the place where their festival was held would have been a reason to forbid him to sacrifice there, as would also have been the case if had been the place of their idols. Otherwise, how else can we interpret the hadeeth, of course it would only have been to venerate the spot which the yvenerated, by holding the festival there os by joining them in there celebrations there, or reviving the symbols of their festival and other things that can only be related to that action in that place or at that time… If merely choosing the place of the festival is forbidden, then how about the festival itself?” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/344)
Our issue concerning the Olympic games does not have to do with the time or the place, but with the event itself and its original name, and the things that are done during the event, such as the lighting of the Olympic torch, which is one of the rituals of the games. There is also the timing of the event, because among the Greeks the games were held every four years, and nowadays too they are held every four years. This is a festival with regard to its origins, its name, the things that are done and the timing, so taking part in these games means taking part in a festival which was pagan and then Christian, and asking to hold these games in a Muslim country means bringing this pagan festival into a Muslim land.
Thirdly:
The days and weeks that have been invented by the kuffaar. These may be divided into two types:
those which have a religious origin and have now become customs connected to some worldly purpose, such as the workers’ festival (May Day) which was invented by those who worshipped trees, then it became a pagan festival of the Romans, then it was adopted by the French who connected it to the church, until socialism came and propagated it, and it became an international and official holiday even in many Muslim countries. Undoubtedly it is haraam to adopt this day as a holiday and let workers take this day off, for the following reasons:
because in its origins and development it is a pagan festival
because it occurs on a fixed day each year, which is May 1.
Because it involves imitating the kuffaar with regard to something that belongs exclusively tot hem.
Even if an event does not have a religious basis, such as World health Day, or days for fighting drugs and eradicating illiteracy, and other invented days and weeks, one of the two following things will still apply:
either it occurs on a fixed day each year and is repeated on the same day each year, like Bank Holidays and other fixed days. There are two things wrong with this:
it is a fixed day which recurs on the same date each year
it entails imitating the kuffaar because this is something that they have invented.
These international days, such as World Health Day and a day for fighting drugs, contain some benefit for humanity as a whole, which the Muslims cannot avoid taking part in because they may miss out on some benefits otherwise; they have nothing to do with religion and only resemble festivals in that they come every year and they are events that are celebrated and taken notice of – so can they be tolerated on these grounds? It seems to me that this matter needs research and ijtihaad to weigh up the pros and cons, because the Muslims are not consulted concerning these days and their opinion carries no weight, on the contrary, these things are forced on the entire world and the Muslins are in a weak and humilated position as is well known.
or it is not a day or week that comes at a fixed time each year, but is moved according to a particular system or needs. This does not have the character of a festival which is repeated at a fixed time, but there remains the problem of imitation, in that it is something that was invented by the kuffaar and them brought to the Muslims. Does this count as the kind of imitation that is haraam? Or is it a kind of imitation that is permissible like other matters having to do with organization, administration, etc., and like the days of annual leave in companies, institutions, etc.? This too needs research and investigation, although initially to seems to me that there is nothing wrong with it, for the following reasons:
It is not fixed on a specific date that is the same each time, so it does not have that festival-like character.
These days are not called festivals, and they do not have the characteristics of festivals, such as celebrations and the like.
The purpose of these days is to organize awareness campaigns, to achieve beneficial goals.
Those who want to stop them would have to stop many events and gatherings that happen from time to time, and I do not think that anyone would advocate this. These events are like family meetings, da’wah meetings, workplace meetings, and so on.
There is nothing in them that would dictate that they be considered haraam, apart from the fact that they originated with the kuffaar and were brought to the Muslims, and the problems they deal with are widespread among the kuffaar and others. So the objection that they belong only to the kuffaar is cancelled by the fact that these things are also widespread among the Muslims.
In conclusion, These festivals are not part of the religion and beliefs of the kuffaar, and they do not form part of their exclusive customs and traditions. There is no veneration or celebration involved, and they are not festivals on set days which are repeated regularly. They resemble other organizations in that they serve a useful purpose.
Fourthly:
Another form of imitation of the kuffaar is turning the Eids of the Muslims into something resembling the festivals of the kuffaar. The Eids of the Muslims are distinguished by the fact that their rituals point to the expression of gratitude to Allaah, may He be exalted, and glorifying, praising and worshipping Him, whilst expressing joy for the blessings of Allaah, and not using these blessings for sinful purposes. This is in contrast to the festivals of the kuffaar, which are distinguished by the veneration of their false rituals and idols which they worship instead of Allaah, whikst indulging in their fobidden desires. It is most unfortunate that Muslims in many places are imitating the kuffaar in this way, and they have changed their Eid from an occasion of worship and thanksgiving into an occasion on sin and ingratitude for the blessings, by spending the night of Eid listening to musical instruments and singing, indulging in immoral actions, organizing mixed parties and doing other things which they think express the celebration of Eid, following the misguided ways in which the kuffaar spend their festivals engaging in immorality and sin.
Ways in which we must avoid the festivals of the kuffaar
Avoid attending them:
The scholars have agreed that it is haraam to attend the festivals of the kuffaar and to imitate them in their festivals. This is the madhhab of the Hanafis, Maalikis, Shaafa’is and Hanbalis. (See al-Iqtidaa’, 2/425; Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah by Ibn al-Qayyim, 2/227-527; al-Tashabbuh al-Munhaa ‘anhu fi’l-Fiqh al-Islaami, 533). There is a great deal of evidence (daleel) for this, such as:
All of the evidence which states that it is forbidden to imitate them, some of which has been quoted above.
The concensus of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een that Muslims should not attend their festivals, The evidence of this consensus takes for forms:
The Jews, Christians and Magians (Zoroastrians) who lived in the Muslim lands and paid Jizyah were still observing their own festivals, so the motive for some Muslims to imitate them was present. No one among the early generations of Muslims would have refrained from joining them in any part of that, If there had not been something to stop them from doing so, such as it being either makrooh (disliked) or prohibited, many of them would have fallen into that, for if the action and the motive are present and there is nothing to stop them, people will undoubtedly do the thing. Al-muqtada? Therefore we understand that there was something stopping them from doing that, and what was stopping them was the religion of Islam. This is what was stopping them from going along with the kuffaar and this is the point that we are trying to make here. (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/454).
The conditions set out by ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), which the Sahaabah and all the fuqahaa’ after them agreed upon, that the Ahl al-Dhimmah (Jews and Christians living under the protection of Islamic rule in return for paying a poll tax) should not celebrate their festivals openly in the Muslim lands. If the Muslims have agreed that they should not celebrate their festivals openly, then how can it be OK for Muslims to celebrate them? Is it not worse for a Muslim to do this at all than for a kaafir to do it openly? (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/454).
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Do not learn the language of the Persians, and do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their churches on the day of their festival, for the Divine warth is descending upon them.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al-razzaaq, 9061; al-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, 9/432).
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebratest heir Nawrooz and their Mahrajaan, and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” (al-Sunan al-Kubra, 9/432; classed as saheeh by Ibn Taymiyah in al-Iqtidaa’, 1/754).
Shaykh al-Islam said: Here we see ‘Umar forbidding people to learn their language and to merely enter their chuch on the festivals, so what about actually doing some of the things they do, or doing some of the rituals of their religion? Is not doing the things they do more serious than speaking the same language? Or is not doing some of the things they do in the festival more serious than merely entering upon them on the occasion of their festival? If the Divine wrath comes upon them on the day of their festival because of what they do, then is not the one who joins them in all or part of that also exposed to the same punishment? (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/854)
And he commented on the words of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr – “will be gathered with them” by saying: This implies that this makes him a kaafir by his joining in what they do, or else it means that this is one of the major sins that doom a person to Hell, although the former is more apparent from the wording. (1/954).
Avoiding doing the same things that they do.
Some Muslims may not be able to be present at the festivals of the kuffaar, but they do the same things as they do. This is also a part of the imitation which blameworthy and forbidden. Shaykh al-Islam said: “It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in any part of the things that are exclusively part of their festivals, whether it be food, dress, bathing, lighting fires or changing their habits with regard to daily living, acts of worship, etc. It is not permissible to give a feast or give gifts or sell items that will help them to do that for that purpose, or to allow children and others to do any of that, whether it is playing, wearing new clothes etc. in conclusion, they should not make that day special by adopting any of their rituals; for the Muslims, the day of the kaafirs’ festival should be like any other day.” Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa, 52/923).
Al-Dhahabi said: “If the Christians or the Jews have a fstival that is exxclusively theirs, the Muslims should not join them in that, just as they do not join them in their laws or their direction of prayer.” (tashabbuh al-Khasess bi Ahl al-Khmaees, in al-Hikmah magazine, issue $, p. 391). Ibn al-Turkmaani al-Hanafi mentioned some of the things that some Muslims did on the occasion of Christian festivals, such as spending more than usual and taking the family out, then he said: “Some of the Hanafi scholars said: whoever does any of the things mentioned here and does not repent, is a kaafir like them.” One of the companions of Maalik said: “Whoever cuts up a watermelon on the day of Nawrooz, it is as if he sacrificed a pig.” (al-Lam’ fi’l-Hawaadith wa’l-Bida’, 1/492)
Avoiding using the means of transportation that they use to go to their festivals
Maalik said: “It is makrooh to travel with them in the boats which they use to go to their festivals, because the Divine wrath and curse is descending upon them.” (al-Hawaadith wa’l-Bida’, 1/492).
Ibn al-Qaasim was asked about travelling in the boats which the Christians ride in to attend their festivals. He regarded that as makrooh, fearing the descent of Divine wrath upon them for the shirk which they agreed upon. (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/625).
Not giving them gifts or helping them to celebrate their festvials by either selling or buying.
Abu Hafs al-Hanafi said: “Whoever gives an egg to a kaafir out of respect for that day has disbelieved in Allaah, may He be exalted.” (Fath al-Baari li Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani, 2/315).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “Ibn al-Qaasim regarded it as makrooh for a Muslim to give a Christian anything on the occasion of his festival to congratulate him. He saw that as respecting their festival and helping them in their kufr. Do you not see that it is not permissible for the Muslims to sell anything to the Christians that helps them to celebrate their festival? No meat, no food, no dress. They should not loan their riding-beasts to them or help them in any way with their festival, because that is like honouring their shirk and helping them with their kufr. The authorities should prevent Muslims from doing this. This is the view of Maalik and others, and I do not know of any dissenting opinion on this point.” (2/625-725)
Ibn al-Turkmaani said: “The Muslim is sinning if he sits with them or helps them to slaughter animals or cook food, or he lends them a riding-beast to take them to their celebrations or festivals.” (al-Lama’ fi’l-Hawaadith, 1/492)
Not helping the Muslim who wants to imitate them in their festivals to do so
Shaykh al-Islam said: “Just as we should not imitate them in their festivals, so too we should not help the Muslim who wants to imitate them to do so. It is forbidden to so this. If a person issues an invitation on the occasion of their festivals that he would not ordinarily do, his invitation should not be accepted. If a Muslim gives a gift on this occasion that he would not ordinarily give at any other time, his gift should not be accepted, especially if it is something that would help a person to imitate them, as we have already stated. A Muslim should not sell anything that could help Muslims to imitate them in their celebrations, such as food, clothing and so on, because be doing so he is helping them in sin. (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/915-025).
Not congratulating them on the occasion of their festivals
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “As for congratulating them for the symbols of kufr that belong exclusively to them, this is haraam according to scholarly consensus, such as congratulating them for their festivals and fasts, and saying, ‘A blessed festival to you’ and the like. Even though the person who says this might not become a kaafir by saying this, it is still forbidden, and it is the same as congratulating them for prostrating to the cross. Indeed, it is an even greater sin with Allaah and is more hated by Him than congratulating them for drinking wine, killing people and committing adultery, and so on. Many of those who do not care about religion do this, and do not realize how abhorrent their actions are. Whoever congratulates a person for his sin, bid’ah (innovation) or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah. The pious scholars used to avoid congratulating the tyrants when they were appointed to official positions, or congratulating the ignorant when they were appointed as Qaadis, teachers or Muftis, because they sought to avoid the wrath and anger of Allaah .” (Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/144-244).
Congratulating the kuffaar on the occasion of their religious festivals is haraam as Ibn al-Qayyim stated, because this implies approval of their rituals and beliefs of kufr. Even if a person does not accept this kufr for himself, it is still haraam for a Muslim to approve of the rituals of kufr for someone else or to congratulate someone else for them, because Allaah does not approve of this. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you; He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you” [al-Zumar 39:7]
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa’idah 5:3]
Congratulating them for that is haraam, whether they are taking part with them in that or not. If they congratulate us on the occasion of their festival, we should not respond, because it is not our festival and because these are festivals with which Allaah is not pleased, because they are either innovated in their religions, or they are prescribed, but they (their religions) have been abrogated by the religion of islam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to all of mankind. And Allaah says concerning islam (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islâm, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85].
It is haraam for a Muslim to accept an invitation on these occasions, because this is worse than merely congraulating them, since it involves joining in with them. Anyone who does any of these things is a sinner whether he does it just to be friendly, or because he likes them, or because he is too shy to do otherwise, or for any other reason, because it is a kind of hypocrisy in the religion of Allaah and is a way of making the kuffaar feel stronger and making tem proud of their religion. (Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa rasaa’il Fadeelat al-Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Uthaymeen, compiled by Fahd al-Salmaan, 3/45-46)
Question: What if a Muslim wants to celebrate like they do, but he does it a few days before or after their festival so that he is not imitating them?
This is a kind of imitation and to is haraam, because the prohibition of a thing , and the prohibition of celebrating their festivals also covers the days before and after the festival itself, when they do things that have to do with it. The prohibition also covers the places in which they do things that have to do with their festivals or … . The ruling on these things is the same as the ruling on the festival itself. These things should not be done, even if some people avoid doing any of thse things on the days of their festival such as the Thursday (what is referred to here is Maundy Thursday or the Day of Ascension, which is one of the rituals of Easter for the Christians, who call it the Great Thursday) or Christmas, but they tell their families, I will do this for you next week or next month, and their motive is the fact that the kaafirs’ festival is happening, otherwise they would not have done it at all. This is also one of the things meant by imitation. (See: al-Iqtidaa’, 2/315).
Avoiding using their words and religious terminology
If it is forbidden to learn their languages unnecessarily for fear of resembling them, then using the names they give to their festivals and rituals is even more forbidden. This is like using the word “mahrajaan” (festival) to describe any large gathering, because this is the name of a religious festival of the Persians.
Al-Bayhaqi narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) was given a gift for Nawrooz and he said, What is this?” They said, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, this is the day of Nawrooz.” He said, “Then make every day Fayrooz!” Abu Usaamah said: “He, may Allaah be pleased with him, did not even want to say ‘Nawrooz.’” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 9/532).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “ ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) did not even want to say the same name as they gave to their own festival, so how abut doing the same things?” (See: al-Iqtidaa’, 1/954).
We have already stated that this is not an Arabic term; the Arabic language is rich enough not to need such words, and has better words that can be used.
The ruling on accepting gifts on their festivals:
We have already stated above that it is not permissive to give gifts on their festivals because this is helping them in their falsehood. It is also not permissible to accept a gift from a Muslim who is imitating them, because by accepting it one is helping him to imitate them and this implies that one approves of what he is doing and that one is not rebuking him for doing this haraam action.
With regard to accepting a gift from a kaafir if he gives something to a Muslim at the time of the kaafir’s festival, this is like being given a gift at other times, because it does not involve helping them in their kufr. There is some difference of opinion with regard to this matter, based on whether one should accept a gift from a kaafir who is at war with the Muslims as opposed to a kaafir who is living under the protection of Islamic rule.
It should also be noted that their gifts may be of two types:
1. Gifts other than meat that has been slaughtered for the occasion of their festival – such as sweets, fruits and so on. There is a difference of opinion based on the question of accepting gifts from the kaafirs in general. It seems that it is permissible because it was reported that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) accepted their gifts, and it was reported that a woman asked ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), “We have some birds [?][ from the Magians wgich they had during their festival and they gave them to us.” She said, “If they were slaughtered for that occasion, do not eat them, but eat from their trees [i.e. fruits etc.].” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in Kitaab al-At’imah in his Musannaf, 5/521, no. 16342. In al-Iqtidaa’ it says ‘We have some wet-nurses.’ The editor of al-Iqtidaa’ said: perhaps what is meant by this is relatives through radaa’ah (breastfeeding)).
Abu Barzah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said that he had Magian tenants [?] who used to give him gifts on Nawrooz and mahrajaan, and he used totell his family: ‘If it is, eat it, but if it is anything else, reject it.’ (ibid., no. 26346).
Shaykh al-Islam said: “All of this indicates that refusing to accept their gifts has no effect on their festival. The ruling on accepting their gifts at the time of their festival and at other times is the same, because this does not entail helping them in the rituals of their kufr.” (al-Iqtidaa’, 2/455-555).
2. Or their gift may be of meat that was slaughtered for the occasion of their festival. This should not be eaten, because of the reports of ‘Aaishah and Abu Barzah narrated above, and because it has been slaughtered according to the rituals of kufr.
Singling out the festivals of the kuffaar for fasting so as to be different from them
The scholars differed with regard to this:
It was said that it is not makrooh to fast on their festivals for the purpose of being different from them. This view is da’eef (weak).
The correct view is that it is not permissible to single out the days of their festivals for fasting, because their festivals are occasions which they venerate, and fasting on these days and not others coincides with them in their veneration.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Our companions said: it is makrooh to single out the day of Nawrooz and the day of Mahrajaan to fast, because these are two days which are venerated by the kuffaarm so fasting only on these days and not on others is agreeing with them in their veneration of those days. This is like the case of Saturday, so by analogy this ruling applies to every festival of the kuffaar and every day which they venerate.” (al-Mughni, 4/924; see also al-Iqtidaa’, 2/975).
This ruling applies in cases where one singles out that day to fast because it is their festival. But if it happens to coincide with a vow or a voluntary fast, without intending to fast because it is their festival, then there is nothing wrong with that.” (See Haashiyat Ibn Qaasim ‘ala al-Rawd al-Murabba’, 3/064). The guideline in being different from them with regard to their festivals is that one should not innovate anything at all; one should treat the days of their festivals as being like any other day. (See al-Iqtidaa’, 2/815). So one should not take the day off work, or rejoice on that occasion, of single that day out for fasting, expressing grief, etc.
Shaykh al-Islam mentioned something which may be taken as guidelines with regard to the matter of imitation. He said: “tashabbuh (imitation) includes those who do something because they do it, which is rare; and those who follow others inwhat they do for some purpose of his own even though the action is originally taken from those others. As for the one who does something that happens to be done by others as well, but neither of them took it from the other, it is open to debate as to whether this is is imitation or not. But the person who does this may be rebuked so that there will be no excuse for imitation, and because this will reinforce the idea of differing from them.” (al-Iqtidaa’, 1/242).
On the basis of what Shaykh al-Islam has said, actions that happen to coincide with what they do may be divided into two types:
Imitation of them, which is where the person who imitates them wants to be like them ,for whatever reason. This is haraam.
Resembling them, which is when a person is not deliberately aiming to be like them. In this case it should be pointed out to him, then if he stops, all well and good; otherwise he is guilty of the kind of imitation that is haraam. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw me wearing two garments that had been dyed with safflower. He said, ‘This is the clothing of the kuffaar, do not wear them.’” According to another rport: “He said, ‘Did you mother tell you to wear this?’ I said, ‘Should I wash them?’ He said, ‘No, burn them.’” (The two reports were narrated by Muslim in al-Libaas wa’l-Zeenah, 2077)
Al-Qurtubi said: “This indicates that the reason he told him not to wear them was that by wearing them he was imitating the kuffaar.” (book title?? 5/399).
It seems from the hadeeth that ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) did not realize that he was imitating the dress of the kuffaar, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) still told him off for that and explained the ruling of sharee’ah on this matter.
If something originated with the kuffaar, And it is done by them and by others, then this is not imitation, but Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah thought that it should be stopped so as to leave no room for excuses and so as to protect the Muslims from falling into imitation of the kuffaar, and because this serves the purpose of differing from them.
The munaafiqoon and the festivals of the kuffaar
1. The socialist Baath party in one of the Arab countries tried to abolish Udhiyah (sacrifices for ‘Eid al-Adhaa) on the grounds of famine and drought. Their supporters put up a huge banner on which was written: “For the sake of the hungry and the poor and the naked, donate the value of the sheep for udhiyah.” (See al-Istijaabah magazine, vol. 4, Rabee’ al-Thaani 1406 AH).
Eid al-Adhaa came and went, and the Muslims in that country offered their sacrifices. Then when Christmas and New Year approached, preparaions began to celebrate them. When Christmas and New year came, they were official holidays in that country, and there were lavish parties and promiscuous soirees. Foremost among the people celebrating were the leaders of the scoialist Baath party whose joy at the Christian festivals made them forget the needs of the poor, hungry and naked, whose plight they only remembered at the time of the Muslims’ Eids!
2. One of them wrote in his weekly column, under the title of “Tolerance” (see ‘Ukaaz newspaper, 28/8/1418, 5/9/1418, 12/9/1418 AH) words that indicate the sickness in his heart and the weakness of his religion. The tolerance to which he referred was with regard to the Christian festivals of Christmas and New year. Among the things that this pseudo-faqeeh said was: “This human brotherhood includes all of mankind, and there is no division and enmity except when there is fighting and when the Muslims are opposed by another group – then there will be fighting, enmity and legitimate self-defence, despite the fact that some extremists and terrorist groups are trying to extinguish this light by spreading interpretations and ideas whiich encourage hatred and boycotting the world. So they make noise of occasions which are celebrated by the entire world and consider congratulating others to be a deviation from Islam. But in fact, I tell you, these occasions spread love, not hatred, and bring people together, not divide them.” The author went on, in his compliant and defeatist series on tolerance, which went on for three issues, to cover the Christians festivals for which his heart overflowed with love. In his second article, he said: “Its origin is kindness, i.e., tolerance and justice. As for enmity, it is directed towards those who have declared hostility against us. The matter of difference of religion is something which will be up to the justice and mercy of Allaah on the Day of Judgement.
[From http://www.islam-qa.com]
The Muslim Home – 40 recommendations
by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Contents
Introduction
Forming the household
Creating an atmosphere of faith in the home
Islamic Knowledge in the home
Meetings at home
Good manners at home
Evils in the home
The home inside and out
Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem
In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise be to Allaah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides, no one can lead astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah Alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
The home is a blessing.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And Allaah has made for you in your homes an abode…” [al-Nahl 16:80]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Here Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, is mentioning His complete blessing to His slaves: He has given them homes which are a peaceful abode for them, to which they retreat as a haven which covers them and gives them all kinds of benefits.”
What does the home represent to each one of us? Is it not the place where he eats, enjoys intimacy with his wife, sleeps and rests? Is it not the place where he can be alone and can meet with his wife and children?
Is the home not the place that offers cover and protection to women? Allaah tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance…” [al-Ahzaab 33:33]
If you think about those who are homeless, who live in shelters, or on the streets, or as refugees scattered in temporary camps, then you will realize the blessing of having a home. If you listen to a distressed homeless person saying, “I have nowhere to settle, no fixed place to stay. Sometimes I sleep in so and so’s house, sometimes in a café or park or on the sea-front, and I keep my clothes in my car”, then you will realize the disruption that results from not having the blessing of a home.
When Allaah punished the Jews of Banu Nadeer, He took away this blessing and expelled them from their homes, as He said (interpretation of the meaning): “He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the people of the Scripture (i.e. the Jews of the tribe of Banu al-Nadeer) from their homes at the first gathering.” Then He said: “… they destroyed their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see).” [al-Hashr 59:2].
There are many motives for the believer to pay attention to putting his house in order.
Firstly: protecting himself and his family from the Fire of Hell, and keeping them safe from the burning punishment: “O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allaah, but do that which they are commanded.” [al-Tahreem 66:6 – interpretation of the meaning].
Secondly: the great responsibility borne by the head of the household on the Day of Reckoning.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will ask every shepherd (or responsible person) about his flock (those for whom he was responsible), whether he took care of it or neglected it, until He asks a man about his household.”
Thirdly: the home is a place to protect oneself, to keep away from evil and to keep one's own evil away from people. It is the refuge prescribed by Islam at times of fitnah (strife, tribulation).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Blessed is the one who controls his tongue, whose house is sufficient for him, and who weeps over his mistakes.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are five things, whoever does one of them, Allaah will be with him: visiting the sick, going out for jihaad, entering upon his leader with the intention of rebuking and respecting him , or sitting in his home so that the people are safe from him and he is safe from the people.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The safety of a man at times of fitnah is in his staying home.”
The Muslim can see the benefit of this advice when he is residing in a foreign land where he is unable to change much of the evil around him. Then he will have a refuge which, when he enters it, will protect him from doing haraam things or looking at haraam things, and will protect his wife from wanton display and unveiling, and will protect his children from bad company.
Fourthly: people usually spend most of their time at home, especially when it is very hot or very cold, when it is raining, early or late in the day, and after finishing work or school, so this time should be spent in worship and halaal pursuits, otherwise it will be spent in wrongdoing.
Fifthly and most importantly, paying attention to the home is the most important means of building a Muslim society, because the society is formed of the households and families that form its building blocks. Households form neighbourhoods, and neighbourhoods form societies. If the building blocks are sound, the society will be based on the laws of Allaah, standing firm in the face of enemies and filled with goodness that evil cannot penetrate. Then Muslim homes will produce pillars of society who will reform and guide it aright, such as exemplary dai’yahs, seekers of knowledge, sincere mujaahideen, righteous wives, caring mothers and all other types of reformers.
Because this subject is so important, and our homes are full of so many shortcomings and evils and examples of negligence, this begs the very important question:
What are the means of reforming our homes?
The following contains advice on this topic. May Allaah benefit us from it, and cause the Muslims to focus their efforts on reviving the Muslim home.
All the following advice revolves around two things: achieving our interests, which is by establishing that which is right and good, and warding off evil, by removing that which can cause it or bring it into our homes.
(1) Making a good choice when choosing a wife
“And marry those among you who are single (i.e., a man who has no wife and a woman who has no husband) and (also marry) the saalihoon (pious, fit and capable ones) of your (male) slaves and maid-servants (female slaves). If they be poor, Allaah will enrich them out of His Bounty. And Allaah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knowing (about the state of the people).” [al-Noor 24:32 – interpretation of the meaning].
The head of the household must select a righteous and suitable wife based on the following conditions described in various ahaadeeth:
“A woman may be married for four things: her wealth, her lineage, her beauty or her religion. Choose the one who is religious, may your hands be rubbed with dust [i.e., may you prosper]!” (Agreed upon).
“This world is all temporary conveniences, and the greatest joy in this life is a righteous wife.” (Reported by Muslim, 1468).
“Let every one of you have a thankful heart, a remembering tongue [remembering Allaah] and a believing wife who will help him with regard to the Hereafter.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/282, and al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah from Thawbaan. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5231).
According to another report: “A righteous wife to help you with your worldly and religious affairs is the best treasure anyone could have.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4285).
“Marry one who is loving and fertile, for I will be proud before the other Prophets of your great numbers on the Day of Resurrection.” (Reported by Ahmad. Saheeh al-Irwa’, 6/195).
“I advise you to marry virgins, for their wombs are more fresh, their mouths are more sweet and they are more content with little.” According to another report: “… and they are less likely to deceive.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah. Al-Silsilah al-Saheeh, 623).
Just as a righteous wife is one of the four elements of happiness, so a bad wife is one of the four elements of misery, as it says in the saheeh hadeeth: “One of (the elements of) happiness is a righteous wife, who when you see her you feel pleased, and when you are away, you feel that you can trust her with regard to herself and your property. And one of (the elements of) misery is a bad wife who when you see her, you feel upset, she keeps attacking you verbally, and when you are away, you do not feel that you can trust her with regard to herself and your property.”
On the other hand, it is also essential to look at the situation of the prospective husband who is proposing marriage to the Muslim woman, and to agree to his proposal in accordance with the following conditions:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If there comes to you one with whose religion and character you are pleased, then marry your daughter [or sister, etc.] to him, otherwise there will be fitnah and great corruption in the land.”
All of the above must be achieved through asking the right questions, verifying facts, gathering information and checking sources, so that the home will not be corrupted or destroyed.
The righteous man and righteous woman together will build a righteous home, because “the vegetation of a good land comes forth (easily) by the Permission of its Lord, and that which is bad, brings forth nothing but a little with difficulty…” [al-A’raaf 7:58 – interpretation of the meaning].
(2) Striving to guide one’s wife
If one's wife is righteous, this is a blessing indeed, and this is from the Bounty of Allaah. If she is not that righteous, then it is the duty of the head of the household to strive to guide her. Any of the following scenarios may apply:
A man may marry a woman who is not religious in the first place, because he himself is not religious at first, or he may have married her in the hope of guiding her, or under pressure from his relatives, for example. In these cases he must strive hard to guide her.
A man must also realize from the outset that guidance comes from Allaah, and that Allaah is the One Who reforms people. One of His blessings to his slave Zakariya was, as He said (interpretation of the meaning): “… and [We] cured his wife for him…” [al-Anbiya’ 21:90]. This curing or reforming may have been physical or religious. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “She was barren and could not have children, then she had a child.” ‘Ataa’ said: “She was harsh of tongue, and Allaah reformed her.”
There are various means of guiding or reforming one’s wife, such as:
Paying attention to correcting her worship of Allaah in all its aspects, as will be discussed in detail below.
Striving to strengthen her eemaan, such as:
encouraging her to pray at night (qiyaam al-layl)
encouraging her to read Qur’aan
encouraging her to memorize adhkaar and remember the appropriate times and occasions for saying them
encouraging her to give charity
encouraging her to read useful Islamic books
encouraging her to listen to useful Islamic cassettes that can increase knowledge and strengthen eemaan – and continuing to supply her with them.
choosing good, religious friends for her, with whom she can form ties of sisterhood and have good conversations and purposeful visits.
protecting her from evil and blocking off all avenues for it to reach her, by keeping her away from bad companions and bad places.
Creating an atmosphere of faith in the home
(3) Making the home a place for the remembrance of Allaah
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of a house in which Allaah is remembered and the house in which Allaah is not remembered is that of the living and the dead, respectively.”
We must make our homes places where Allaah is remembered in all kinds of ways, whether in our hearts, verbally, during prayer, by reading Qur’aan, by discussing Islamic issues, or by reading different kinds of Islamic books.
How many Muslim homes nowadays are dead because there is no remembrance of Allaah, as mentioned in the hadeeth. What must they be like when all that is heard therein is the music of Shaytaan with instruments and singing, and backbiting, slander and gossip?
What must they be like when they are filled with evil and sin, such as the haraam mixing of the sexes and wanton display between relatives who are not mahram or with neighbours who enter the home?
How can the angels enter a home like this? Revive your homes with all kinds of dhikr, may Allaah have mercy on you!
(4) Make your homes a qiblah
What is meant is taking the home as a place of worship.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We inspired Moosa and his brother (saying): ‘Take dwellings for your people in Egypt, and make your dwellings as places for your worship, and perform al-salaah, and give glad tidings to the believers.’” [Yoonus 10:87].
Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “They were commanded to take their dwellings as places of prayer [lit. mosques].”
Ibn Katheer said: “This – and Allaah knows best – was because of the intensity of the tribulation that they were facing from Pharaoh and his people. They were commanded to pray much, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘O you who believe! Seek help with patience and prayer…’ [al-Baqarah 2:153], and as it was reported in the hadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when he was distressed by something, would pray.”
This explains the importance of worshipping at home, especially at times when the Muslims are in a position of weakness, as happens in some places where the Muslims cannot pray openly in front of the kuffaar. In this context we may think of the mihraab of Maryam, which was her place of worship, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… Every time Zakariya entered the mihraab to visit her, he found her supplied with sustenance…” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:37]
The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) used to be keen to pray at home – apart from the fard or obligatory prayers (which they prayed in congregation in the mosque) – and there is a moving story concerning this. Mahmood ibn al-Rabee’ al-Ansaari reported that ‘Utbaan ibn Maalik – who was one of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and was one of the Ansaar who had been present at Badr – came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “I am losing my sight, and I lead my people in prayer. When it rains, the valley between me and them gets flooded and I cannot get to their mosque to lead them in prayer. O Messenger of Allaah, I would like you to come to come and pray in my house so that I can take it as a place for prayer.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “I will do that, in sha Allaah.” ‘Utbaan said: “The next day the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr came in the morning. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked for permission to enter, and I gave him permission. He did not sit down until he entered the house, then he said, ‘Where would you like me to pray in your house?’ I showed him a corner of the house, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up, said Takbeer, and we stood in a row behind him, and he prayed two rak’ahs and gave the salaam at the end of the prayer.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 1/519)
(5) Spiritual training for the members of the household
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray qiyaam at night, and when he prayed witr he would say, ‘Get up and pray witr, O ‘Aa’ishah’” (Reported by Muslim, Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, 6/23).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, then he wakes up his wife to pray, and if she refuses he throws water in her face.” (Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawood. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3488).
Encouraging the women of one's household to give charity is another means of increasing faith. This is something very important which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged, when he said, “O women! Give in charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the inhabitants of Hell.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 1/405).
One of the new ideas is to have a box at home for donations to the poor and needy: whatever is put in the box belongs to them, because it is their vessel in the Muslim home.
If the family members see an example among them fasting on al-Ayyaam al-Beed (the 13th, 14th and 15th of each Hijri month), Mondays and Thursdays, Taasoo’aa’ and ‘Aashooraa’ (the 9th and 10th of Muharram), ‘Arafaah, and frequently in Muharram and Sha’baan, this will be a motive for them to do likewise.
(6) Paying attention to adhkaar and Sunnah du’aa’s that have to do with the home
Adkhaar for entering the home:
Muslim reported in his Saheeh that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you enters his home and mentions the Name of Allaah when he enters and when he eats, the Shaytaan says: ‘You have no place to stay and nothing to eat here.’ If he enters and does not mention the name of Allaah when he enters, [the Shaytaan] says, ‘You have a place to stay.’ If he does not mention the name of Allaah when he eats, [the Shaytaan says], ‘You have a place to stay and something to eat.’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 3/346; Muslim, 3/1599).
Abu Dawood reported in his Sunan that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a man goes out of his house and says, ‘Bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah, laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa Billaah (In the name of Allaah, I put my trust in Allaah, there is no help and no strength except in Allaah),’ it will be said to him, ‘This will take care of you, you are guided, you have what you need and you are protected.’ The Shaytaan will stay away from him, and another shaytaan will say to him, ‘What can you do with a man who is guided, provided for and protected?’” (Reported by Abu Dawood and al-Tirmidhi. Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 499)
Siwaak
Imaam Muslim reported in his Saheeh that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered his house, the first thing he would do was use siwaak.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Tahaarah, chapter 15, no. 44).
(7) Continuously reciting Soorat al-Baqarah in the house to ward off the Shaytaan
There are a number of ahaadeeth concerning this, such as:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not make your houses into graves. The Shaytaan flees from a house in which Soorat al-Baqarah is recited.” (Reported by Muslim, 1/539)
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Recite Soorat al-Baqarah in your houses, for the Shaytaan does not enter a house in which Soorat al-Baqarah is recited.” (Reported by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak. 1/561; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1170).
Concerning the virtues of the last two aayaat of this soorah, and the effect of reciting them in one’s house, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah wrote a document two thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, which is kept near the Throne, and He revealed two aayaat of it with which He concluded Soorat al-Baqarah. If they are recited in a house for three consecutive nights, the Shaytaan will not approach it.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 4/274, and others. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1799).
(8)Teaching the family
This is an obligation which the head of the household must undertake, in obedience to the command of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones…” [al-Tahreem 66:6]. This aayah is the basic principle regarding the teaching and upbringing of one's family, and enjoining them to do what is good and forbidding them to do what is evil. There follow some of the comments of the mufassireen on this aayah, in so far as it pertains to the duties of the head of the household.
Qutaadah said: “He should command them to obey Allaah, and forbid them to disobey Him, and direct them in accordance with the commands of Allaah, and help them to do that.”
Dahhaak and Muqaatil said: “It is the Muslim’s duty to teach his family, including relatives and female slaves, what Allaah has enjoined upon them and what He has forbidden.”
‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Teach them and discipline them.”
Al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “We must teach our children and wives the religion and goodness, and whatever they need of good manners. If the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to urge the teaching of female servants, who were slaves, what do you think about your children and wives, who are free?”
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Saheeh: “Chapter: a man’s teaching his female slaves and wife.” Then he quoted the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “There are three who will have two rewards: … a man who has a female slave whom he teaches good manners and teaches her well, and teaches her knowledge, and teaches her well, then he frees her and marries her: he will have two rewards.”
Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on this hadeeth: “The chapter heading refers specifically to female slaves, and to wives by analogy, i.e., teaching one’s free wife about her duties towards Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger is more clearly essential than teaching one's female slaves.”
In the midst of all a man’s activities, work and other commitments, he may forget to allow himself time for teaching his wife. One solution to this is to allocate some time for the family, and even for others such as relatives, to hold a study-circle at home. He can let everyone know the time and encourage them to come regularly, so that it will be an ongoing commitment for him and for them. Something similar happened at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Chapter: can the women be given a day exclusively for them to seek knowledge”? and quoted the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The women said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): ‘The men always crowd us out and we cannot reach you, so set aside a day for us when we can come to you.’ So he set aside a day when he would meet them and teach them.”
Ibn Hajar said: “A similar report was narrated by Sahl ibn Abi Saalih from Abu Hurayrah, according to which [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said: ‘Your appointment is in the house of so and so,’ and he came to them and spoke to them.’”
What we learn from this is that women should be taught in their houses, and we see how keen the women of the Sahaabah were to learn. Directing teaching efforts to men alone, and not to women, is a serious shortcoming on the part of dai’yahs and heads of households.
Some readers may ask, suppose we set aside a day, and tell our families about it – what should we study in these gatherings? Where do we begin?
I suggest that you begin with a simple program to teach your family in general, and the women in particular, using the following books:
The tafseer of al-‘Allaamah Ibn Sa’di, entitled Tayseer al-Kareem al-Rahmaan fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan, which is published in seven volumes and is written in an easy style; you can read it or teach somes soorahs and passages from it.
Riyaadh al-Saaliheen – you coul discuss the ahaadeeth quoted, along with the footnotes and the lessons learned from them. You could also refer to the book Nuzhat al-Muttaqeen.
Hasan al-Uswah bimaa thubita ‘an Allaahi wa Rasoolihi fi’l-Nuswah, by al-‘Allaamah Siddeeq Hasan Khaan.
It is also important to teach women some of the ahkaam of fiqh, such as the rulings on tahaarah (purity) and menstrual and post-partum bleeding, salaah, zakaah, siyaam (fasting) and hajj, if she is able to go; some of the rulings on food and drink, clothing and adornment, the sunan al-fitrah, rulings on mahaarim (who is a mahram relative and who is not), rulings on singing and photography, and so on. Among the important sources of such information are the fatwas (rulings or edicts) of the scholars, such as the collections of fatwas by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen, and other scholars, whether they are written fatwas or fatwas recorded on tapes.
Another matter that may be included in a syllabus for teaching women and family members is reminding them of lessons or public lectures given by trustworthy scholars and seekers of knowledge which they can attend, so they can have a variety of excellent sources for learning. We should not forget either the radio programs of Idhaa’at al-Qur’aan al-Kareem; another means of teaching is reminding family members of the particular days when women can attend Islamic bookstores, and taking them there, within the guidelines of sharee’ah [i.e., proper hijaab, etc.]
(9)Start building an Islamic “library” in your home
Another thing that will help in teaching your family and letting them develop a understanding of their religion and help them adhere to its rules, is having one’s own Islamic library at home. It does not have to be extensive; what matters is choosing good books, putting them in a place where they are readily accessible, and encouraging family members to read them.
You could put books in a clean and tidy corner of the living room, and in a suitable place in a bedroom or guest room; this will make it easy for any member of the family to read constantly.
In order to build a library properly – and Allaah loves things to be done properly – you should include references so that family members can research various matters and children can use them for their studies. You should also include books of varying levels, so that old and young, men and women can all use them. You should also have books for giving to guests, children’s friends and family visitors, but try to get books that are attractively presented, edited properly and with the sources and classification of the ahaadeeth properly given. You can make the most of Islamic bookstores and exhibitions to build a home library, after consulting and seeking advice from those who have experience in the field of books. One way in which you can help family members to find a book when they want it is to organize the books according to subject, with books of Tafseer on one shelf, books of hadeeth on another, fiqh on a third, and so on. One of the family members could also compile alphabetical or subject indexes of the library, to make it easier to look for books.
Many of those who want to start a home library may ask for titles of Islamic books. Here are a few suggestions:
Tafseer:
Tafseer Ibn Katheer
Tafseer Ibn Sa’di
Zubdat al-Tafseer by al-Ashkar
Badaa’i’ al-Tafseer by Ibn al-Qayyim
Usool al-Tafseer by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
Lamahaat fi ‘Uloom al-Qur’aan by Muhammad al-Sabbaagh
Hadeeth
Saheeh al-Kalim al-Tayyib
‘Aml al-Muslim fi’l-Yawm wa’l-Laylah (or: Al-Saheeh al-Musnad min Adhkaar al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah)
Riyaadh al-Saaliheen and its commentary Nuzhat al-Muttaqeen
Mukhtasar Saheeh al-Bukhaari by al-Zubaydi
Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim by al-Mundhiri and al-Albaani
Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer
Da’eef al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer
Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb
Al-Sunnah wa Makaanatuhaa fi’l-Tashree’
Qawaa’id wa fawaa’id min al-Arba’een al-Nawawiyyah by Naazim Sultaan
‘Aqeedah
Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed (edited by al-Arnaa’oot)
A’laam al-Sunnah al-Manshoorah by al-Hakami (ed.)
Sharh al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah, edited by al-Albaani
The series on ‘Aqeedah by Umar Sulaymaan al-Ashqar in 8 parts
Ashraat al-Saa’ah by Dr. Yoosuf al-Waabil
Fiqh
Manaar al-Sabeel by Ibn Duwiyyaan
Irwa’ al-Ghaleel by al-Albaani
Zaad al-Ma’aad
al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah
Fiqh al-Sunnah [also available in English translation]
Al-Mulakhkhas al-Fiqhi by Saalih al-Fawzaan
Collections of fatwas by different scholars (‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Muhammad Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen)
Sifat Salaah al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by Shaykh al-Albaani and Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz [available in English under the title The Prophet’s Prayer Described]
Mukhtasar Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz by al-Albaani
Good manners and purification of the soul:
Tahdheeb Madaarij al-Saalikeen
Al-Fawaa’id
Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi
Tareeq al-Hijratayn wa Baab al-Sa’aadatayn
Al-Waabil al-Sayib
Raafi’ al-Kalim al-Tayyib by Ibn al-Qayyim
Lataa’if al-Ma’aarif by Ibn Rajab
Tahdheeb Maw’izat al-Mu’mineen
Ghadhaa’ al-Albaab
Seerah and biographies
Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer
Mukhtasar al-Shamaa’il al-Muhammadiyyah by al-Tirmidhi, abridged by al-Albaani
Al-Raheeq al-Makhtoom by al-Mubaarakpoori [available in English translation]
Al-‘Awaasim min al-Qawaasim by Ibn al-‘Arabi, ed. by al-Khateeb and al-Istanbooli
Al-Mujtama’ al-Madani (2 vols.) by Shaykh Akram al-‘Umari [available in English under the title Madinan Society at the Time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)]
Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’
Minhaj Kitaabat al-Taareekh al-Islaami by Muhammad ibn Saamil al-Salami
There are many other good books on various topics, such as those by:
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Naasir al-Sa’di
Shaykh ‘Umar Sulaymaan ibn Ashqar
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Muqaddim
Prof. Muhammad Muhammad Husayn
Shaykh Muhammad Jameel Zayno
Prof. Husayn al-‘Awayishah’s books on al-Raqaa’iq (topics to soften the heart and strengthen eemaan)
Al-Eemaan by Muhammad Na’eem Yaaseen
Al-Walaa’ wa’l-Baraa’ by Shaykh Muhammad Sa’eed al-Qahtaani [available in English translation]
Al-Inhiraafaat al-‘Aqdiyyah fi’l-Qarnayn al-Thaani ‘Ashara wa’l-Thaalith ‘Ashara by ‘Ali ibn Bukhayt al-Zahraani
Al-Muslimoon wa Zaahirat al-Hazeemah al-Nafsiyyah by ‘Abd-Allaah al-Shabaanah
Al-Mar’ah bayn al-Fiqh wa’l-Qaanoon by Mustafa al-Sibaa’i
Al-Usrah al-Muslimah amaam al-video wa’l-tilifiziyon by Marwaan Kijik
Al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah I’daadaatuhaa wa mas’ooliyaatuhaa by Ahmad Abu Bateen
Mas’ooliyat al-Abb al-Muslim fi Tarbiyat Waladihi by ‘Adnaan Baahaarith
Hijaab al-Muslimah by Ahmad al-Baaraazi
Wa Jaa’a Dawr al-Maajoos by ‘Abd-Allaah Muhammad al-Ghareeb
Books by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd
Abhaath al-Shaykh Mashoor Hasan Salmaan
There are many other useful, good books – what we have mentioned is only by way of example, and is by no means a complete list. There are also many useful pamphlets and booklets, but it would take too long to list everything. The Muslim should consult others and think hard. Whomever Allaah wishes good for, He helps him to understand His religion.
(10)Home audio library
Having a cassette player in every home may be used for good or for evil. How can we use it in a manner that is pleasing to Allaah?
One of the ways in which we can achieve this is to have a home audio library containing good Islamic tapes by scholars, fuqaha’, lecturers, khateebs and preachers.
Listening to tapes of Qur’aan recitation by some Imaams, for example those recorded during Taraaweeh prayers, will have a great impact on family members, whether by impressing upon them the meanings of the Revelation, or by helping them to memorize Qur’aan because of repeated listening. It will also protect them by letting them hear Qur’aanic recitation rather than the music and singing of the Shaytaan, because it is not right for the words of al-Rahmaan (Allaah) to be mixed with the music of the Shaytaan in the heart of the believer.
Tapes of fatwas may have a great effect on family members and help them to understand various rulings, which will have an impact on their daily lives. We suggest listening to tapes of fatwas given by scholars such as Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Shaykh Muhammad al-‘Uthaymeen, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, and other trustworthy scholars.
Muslims must also pay attention to the sources from which they take fatwas, because this is the matter of religion, so look to where you take your religion from. You should take it from someone who is known to be righteous and pious, who bases his fatwas on sound ahaadeeth, who is not fanatical in his adherence to a madhhab, who follows sound evidence and adheres to a middle path without being either extreme or too lenient. Ask an expert. “… Allaah, Most Gracious: ask, then about Him of any acquainted (with such things).” [al-Furqaan 25:59 – interpretation of the meaning – Yusuf Ali’s translation].
Listening to lectures by those who are striving to raise the awareness of the ummah, establish proof and denounce evil, is very important for establishing individual personalities in the Muslim home.
There are many tapes and lectures, and the Muslim needs to know the features of the sound methodology so as to distinguish sound lecturers from others and look for their tapes, which they can listen to with confidence. Among these features are:
The lecturer should be a believer in the ‘aqeedah of the Saved Group, Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, adhering to the Sunnah and firmly rejecting bid’ah. The speaker should be moderate, neither extremist nor lenient.
He should base his talks on sound ahaadeeth, and beware of weak and fabricated ahaadeeth.
He should have insight into people’s situations and the realities of the ummah, and should offer the appropriate remedy for any problem, giving the people what they need.
He should speak the truth as much as he can, and not utter falsehood or please the people by angering Allaah.
We often find that tapes for children have a great influence on them, whether by helping them to memorize Qur’aan by listening to a young reader, or du’aa’s to be recited at various times of day and night, or Islamic manners, or nasheeds (religious “songs” with no instrumental accompaniment) with a useful message, and so on.
Putting tapes in drawers in an organized fashion will make it easier to find them, and will also protect them from getting damaged or from being played with by young children. We should distribute good tapes by giving or lending them to others after listening to them. Having a recorder in the kitchen will be very useful for the lady of the house, and having a recorder in the bedroom will help a person make good use of time until the last moments of the day.
(11) Inviting good and righteous people and seekers of knowledge to visit the home.
“My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women…” [Nooh 71:28 – interpretation of the meaning].
If people of faith enter your home, it will increase in light (noor), and will bring many benefits because of your conversations and discussion with them. The bearer of musk will either give you some, or you will buy from him, or you will find that he has a pleasant scent. When children, brothers and parents sit with such visitors, and women listen from behind a curtain or screen to what is said, this offers an educational experience to all. If you bring good people into your home, by doing so you keep bad people from coming in a wreaking havoc.
(12) Learning the Islamic rulings with regard to houses.
These include:
Praying in the house
With regard to men, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of prayer is a man’s prayer in his house – apart from the prescribed prayers.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 731).
It is obligatory to pray (the five daily prayers) in the mosque, except if there is a valid excuse. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “A man’s voluntary prayers in his house will bring more reward than his voluntary prayers at other people’s places, just as his obligatory prayers with the people are better than his obligatory prayers alone.” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2953).
With regard to women, the deeper inside her home her place of prayer is, the better, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best prayer for women is [that offered] in the furthest part of their houses.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3311).
A man should not be led in prayer in his own home, and no one should sit in the place where the master of the house usually sits, except with his permission. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man should not be led in prayer in his place of authority, and no one should sit in his place in his house, except with his permission.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2772). I.e., no one should go forward to lead him in prayer, even if they recite Qur’aan better than he does, in a place that he owns or where he has authority, such as a householder in his home, or an imaam in a mosque. Similarly, it is not permitted to sit in the private spot of the head of the master of the house, such as a bed or mattress, etc., except with his permission.
Seeking permission to enter.
“O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them, that is better for you, in order that you may remember. And if you find no one therein, still, enter not until permission has been given. And if you are asked to go back, go back, for it is purer for you. And Allaah is All-Knower of what you do.” [al-Noor 24:27-28 – interpretation of the meaning].
“… so enter houses through their proper doors…” [al-Baqarah 2:189 – interpretation of the meaning].
It is permissible to enter houses that are empty if one has some legitimate business there, such as a house prepared for guests. “There is no sin on you that you enter (without taking permission) houses uninhabited (i.e., not possessed by anybody), (when) you have any interest in them. And Allaah has knowledge of what you reveal and what you conceal.” [al-Noor 24:29 – interpretation of the meaning].
Not feeling too shy to eat in the houses of friends and relatives, and in houses of friends and relatives and others to which one has the keys, if they have no objection to that. “There is no restriction on the blind, nor any restriction on the lame, nor any restriction on the sick, nor on yourselves, if you eat from your houses, or the houses of your fathers, or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the houses of your sisters, or the houses of your father’s brothers, or the houses of your father’s sisters, or the houses of your mother’s brothers, or the houses of your mother’s sisters, or (from that) whereof you hold keys, or (from the house) of a friend. No sin on you whether you eat together or apart…” [al-Noor 24:61].
Telling children and servants not to barge in to the parents’ bedroom without permission at the times when people usually sleep, i.e., before Fajr, at siesta time and after ‘Isha’, lest they see something inappropriate. If they see something accidentally at other times, this is forgivable, because they are tawwaafeen (those who go about in the house) and it is difficult to stop them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Let your legal slaves and slave-girls, and those among you who have not come to the age of puberty ask your permission (before they come to your presence) on three occasions: before Fajr prayer, and while you put off your clothes for the noonday (rest), and after the ‘Isha prayer. (These) three times are of privacy for you; other than these times there is no sin on you or on them to move about, - attending (helping) you each other. Thus Allaah makes clear the aayaat (verses of this Qur’aan, showing proofs for the legal aspects of permission for visits, etc.) to you. And Allaah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [al-Noor 24:57].
It is forbidden to look into the houses of other people without their permission. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever looks into someone’s house without their permission, put his eyes out, and there is no diyah or qisaas [blood money or retaliation] in this case.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/385; Saheeh al-Jaami, 6046).
A woman who has been divorced by talaaq for a first or second time [and could still go back to her husband] should not leave or be made to leave her home during the ‘iddah, and she should still be supported financially. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their ‘iddah (prescribed periods), and count (accurately) their ‘iddah (periods). And fear Allaah your Lord (O Muslims), and turn them not out of their (husband’s) homes, nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allaah. And whoever transgresses the set limits of Allaah, then indeed he has wronged himself. You (the one who divorces his wife) know not, it may be that Allaah will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e., to return her back to you, if this as the first or second divorce).” [al-Talaaq 65:1]
It is permissible for a man to forsake his rebellious wife inside or outside the home, according to the interests prescribed by sharee’ah in any given case. The evidence for forsaking her inside the home is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… refuse to share their beds…” [al-Nisa’ 4:34]. With regard to forsaking women outside the home, this is what happened when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forsook his wives, leaving them in their apartments and staying in a room outside the houses of his wives. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Talaaq, Baab fi’l-Eelaa’).
One should not stay alone overnight in the house. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade being alone and said that a man should not stay overnight alone or travel alone. (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 2/91). This is because of the feelings of loneliness etc., that come from being alone, and also because of the possibility of attacks by enemies or robbers, or the possibility of sickness. If one has a companion, he can help fight off attacks, and can help if one gets sick. (See al-Fath al-Rabbaani, 5/64).
Not sleeping on the roof of a house that has no protecting wall, lest one fall. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever sleeps on the roof of a house that has no protecting wall, nobody is responsible for what happens to him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, al-Sunan, no. 5041; Saheeh al-Jaami, 6113; its commentary is in ‘Awn al-Ma’bood, 13/384). This is because one who is asleep may roll over in his sleep, and if there is no wall he may fall off the roof and be killed. In such a case, nobody would be to blame for his death; or his negligence would cause Allaah to lift His protection from him, because he did not take the necessary precautions. The hadeeth may mean either.
Pet cats do not make vessels naajis (impure) if they drink from them, or make food naajis if they eat from it. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Qutaadah reported from his father that water was put out for him to make wudoo’, and a cat came and lapped at the water. He took the water and did wudoo’ with it, and they said, “O Abu Qutaadah! The cat drank from it.” He said, I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Cats are part of the household, and they are among those who go around in your houses.’” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/309; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3694). According to another report he said: “They [cats] are not naajis; they are among those who go around [al-tawwaafeen wa’l-tawwaafaat – refers to children, servants, etc.] in your houses.” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/309; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2437).
(13) Creating opportunities for meetings to discuss family matters.
“… and who (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation…” [al-Shoora 42:38 – interpretation of the meaning]. This is a time when the family members can sit together in a suitable place to talk about issues within and without the family that affect them. This is a sign of strong ties, interaction and cooperation within the family. No doubt the man is the one whom Allaah has appointed to be in charge of his “flock’s” affairs and he is primarily responsible and is the decision maker, but giving room to others to contribute – especially when the children get older – is good training for them to learn to bear responsibility, as well as giving everyone the confidence of knowing that his or her opinion is valued when they are asked to express their points of view. Examples of this are discussions concerning going for Hajj or for ‘Umrah during Ramadaan, and other trips, travelling to visit relatives and uphold family ties, or for vacations; organizing wedding parties and ‘aqeeqahs for newborns; moving from one home to another; and charitable projects such as finding out about the poor people in one's neighbourhood so the family can offer help or send food to them. Families can also discuss problems faced by themselves or by relatives, and talk about how to solve them, and so on… It is worth pointing out here that there is another important kind of family meeting, which is holding frank discussions between parents and children. Some of the problems of adolescence can only by solved by one-on-one conversations between parents and children, where a father talks, calmly and quietly, with his son about matters that have to do with the problems of youth and the Islamic rulings pertaining to adolescence, and a mother talks to her daughter and tells her what she needs to know about Islamic rulings and helps her to solve the problems that she may face at this age. The father or mother may open the discussion with words such as “When I was your age…” This will have a great effect in making what they say acceptable to the youngster. Lack of such frank discussions will force the children to talk to bad companions, which leads to so many other evils.
(14) Not showing family conflicts in front of the children.
It is rare for people to live together under one roof without any arguments, but reconciliation is better and correcting oneself is a virtue. What shakes the unity of the family and harms its infrastructure is when conflicts are brought out into the open before the members of the family, who then split into two or more opposing camps, not to mention the psychological harm that is done to children, especially little ones. Think about a home where the father says to the child, “Do not speak to your mother,” and the mother says to him, “Do not speak to your father.” The child is confused and filled with turmoil, and the entire family lives in an atmosphere of hostility. We should try to avoid conflict, but if it happens, we should try to hide it. We ask Allaah to create love between our hearts.
(15) Not letting into the house anyone whose commitment to Islam is not pleasing to you.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of a bad companion is like the one who works the bellows” (from a report narrated by Abu Dawood, 4829). According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari, he said, “the one who works the bellows will burn your house or your clothes, or you will smell a bad odour from him.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 4/323). Indeed, he will burn your home with all kinds of corruption and evil. How often has the entry of corrupt and suspicious people into a home been the cause of enmity among the family members, or of division between husband and wife. Allaah curses the one who turns a wife against her husband, or a husband against his wife, or causes enmity between a father and his children. This is how sihr (magic, witchcraft) is brought into people’s homes, why things are sometimes stolen, and why so often morals are corrupted: it is because a person whose commitment to Islam is no good is admitted into the home. We must not let such people in, even if they are neighbours, men or women, and even if they appear to be friendly. Some people keep quiet out of embarrassment, and if they see such a person at the door, they let him in, even though they know this is one of the corrupt people. In this matter, women bear a great deal of responsibility. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people, which day is most sacred? Which day is most sacred? Which day is most sacred?” They said, “The greatest day of Hajj.” Then he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in his Friday khutbah on that day: “Your rights over your women are that they should not allow anyone to sit on your beds whom you dislike, or allow anyone into your homes whom you dislike.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 1163, and other from ‘Amr ibn al-Ahwas; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7880).
Muslim women, you should not feel upset if your husband or father does not let one of the female neighbours into the house because he sees that she is trying to cause trouble. Be smart and be strong if someone tries to make comparisons between her husband and yours, lest that pushes you to demand things from your husband that he cannot afford. It is also your obligation to advise your husband if you notice that he has close friends who are making evil appear attractive to him.
§ Advice to men: try to be at home as much as you can, because the guardian’s presence at home keeps things under control and enables him to supervise the upbringing of the family and to put things right by watching and following up. For some people, the basic thing is to be always outside of the home, and only if they cannot find some place to go do they come home. This is wrong. If a man is constantly going out for purposes of worship, he must still strike a balance; if he is going out for the purposes of sin and wasting time, or because he is too busy with matters of this world, he must reduce his work and business commitments, and put an end to idle meetings. And how evil are those people who neglect their families and stay in nightclubs…! We do not want to fall in with the plans of the enemies of Allaah; we can learn a lot from the following paragraph of the minutes of the French Eastern Masonic lodge held in 1923:
“ For the purpose of separating the individual from his family, you must eliminate morals at their root, because people are inclined to cut off their family ties and do things that are forbidden, they prefer to chat idly in cafés rather than carry out their duties towards their families.”
(16) Taking careful note of what family members are up to.
Who are your children’s friends?
Have you met them before?
What do your children bring home from outside?
Where does your daughter go, and with whom?
Some parents do not know that their children have in their possession bad pictures, pornographic movies and even drugs. Some of them do not know that their daughter goes with the (female) servant to the market, then asks the servant to wait with the driver whilst she goes to her appointment or “date” with one of the shayaateen (devils), or to smoke and mess about with her bad friends. Those who neglect their children will not be let off on that terrible Day, nor will they be able to flee from the horrors of the Day of Reckoning. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will ask every shepherd (or responsible person) about his flock (those for whom he was responsible), whether he took care of it or neglected it, until He asks a man about his household.” (Hasan. Reported by al-Nisaa'i, 292, and Ibn Hibbaan from Anas; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1775; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1636).
There are some important points to note here:
1. This supervision must be subtle.
2. There should be no terrorizing atmosphere
3. The child must not be made to feel that he or she is not trusted.
4. Advice and/or punishments must be measured against the ages of the children, their levels of understand and the extent of the wrongful behaviour.
5. Beware of negative methods of checking on children and making them feel that their every move is being watched. I have been told of a person who has a computer in which he records every mistake his children make in detail. If one of his children does something wrong, he sends him a memo requesting his presence, then he opens the child’s file in the computer and tells him all his previous mistakes, as well as the current misdemeanour.
Note: we are not talking about a company here. The father is not the angel whose job it is to write down bad deeds. This father needs to read more about the principles of Islamic upbringing and education.
I also know of people at the other extreme, who refuse to get involved in their children’s affairs at all, claiming that the child will not be convinced that a mistake is a mistake or a sin is a sin unless he does it and then finds out for himself that it is a mistake. This deviant idea comes from being weaned on ideas of western philosophy and notions of absolute freedom. Some of them give their child free rein, fearing that the child may start to hate them, saying “I will earn his love whatever he does.” Some of them give the child free rein as a reaction to their own over-strict upbringings, thinking that they have to do the absolute opposite with their own children. Some of them take this stupid attitude to extremes by saying, “Let our sons and daughters enjoy their youth as they wish.” Do these people not think that their children might pull on their clothes on the Day of Resurrection and say, “O my father, why did you leave me in sin?”
(17) Paying attention to children at home.
- Teaching them to memorize Qur’aan and Islamic stories. There is nothing more beautiful than a father and his children coming together to read Qur’aan, with a simple commentary, offering rewards for memorizing passages. Young children have memorized Soorat al-Kahf from hearing it recited repeatedly by their fathers every Friday. You can teach children the basics of Islamic ‘aqeedah, for example as mentioned in the hadeeth, “Heed Allaah’s commandments and He will protect you.” You can teach children good manners and the adhkaar prescribed by Islam, for example for eating, sleeping, sneezing, greeting, asking permission to enter.
- There is nothing more attractive or effective for children than telling them Islamic stories, such as the story of Nooh (peace be upon him) and the Flood; the story of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him), and how he broke the idols and was thrown into the fire; the story of Moosa (peace be upon him) being saved from Pharaoh, who was drowned; the story of Yoonus (peace be upon him) in the belly of the whale; the story of Yoosuf (peace be upon him) in brief; the biography of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), such as the beginning of his mission and his hijrah; some of the Islamic battles such as Badr and al-Khandaq; other stories from the Prophet’s life such as the story of the man and the camel which he did not feed properly but abused it by making it work too hard; stories of righteous people, such as the story of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) and the woman and her hungry children in the tent; the story of the people of al-Ukhdood (the ditch); the story of the people of the garden in Soorat al-Qalam [68], and the three companions of the cave. There are many good stories which you can tell in a brief and simple manner, with a few comments. These are better for us and we have no need of the many stories that go against ‘aqeedah, or frightening myths that distort children’s concept of reality and make them cowardly and afraid.
- Beware of letting your children go out with just anybody, lest they come back home uttering bad words and behaving badly. Be selective when choosing children of relatives and neighbours to invite to come and play with your children at home.
- Make sure that your children’s play is both entertaining and purposeful. Give them a special playroom, or at least a cupboard for their toys, where they can keep their toys tidy. Avoid toys that go against sharee’ah, like musical instruments, or toys that have crosses or them, or games containing dice.
- It is also a good idea to make a corner where children can practice hobbies such as carpentry, electronics and mechanics, or play some permissible computer games. With regard to the latter, we should be alert to the fact that some computer games show the worst types of pictures of women on the screen, and other games have crosses in them; one person has even told me that there is a game that involves gambling against the computer – the player chooses one of four girls whose pictures appear on the screen to represent the other player, and if he wins, his prize is to see the worst kind of picture of the girl.
- Separating boys and girls in their beds or sleeping arrangements. This is one of the things that distinguish those who are committed to their religion from those who do not care.
- Joking and showing affection. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to play with children and pat their heads; he would speak to them in a kind and gentle manner, giving the littlest one the first fruit, and even letting them ride on his back sometimes. There follow two examples of how he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) played with al-Hasan and al-Husayn:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to stick his tongue out at Hasan ibn ‘Ali, and the child would see the redness of his tongue, and would like it and come running to him.” (Reported by Abu’l-Shaykh in Akhlaaq al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wa Aadaabuhu; see al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 70). Ya’laa ibn Murrah said: “We went out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and we were called to eat, when we saw Husayn playing in the street. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) rushed ahead of the people, holding out his arms, and the child was running hither and thither; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was laughing with him until he caught him, then he put one of the child’s hands under his chin and other other on top of his head, and kissed him.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 364; Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 1/29).
(18) Being strict in adhering to a schedule for meals and bedtime.
Some houses are like hotels where the people who live there hardly know one another and hardly ever meet.
Some children eat whenever they want and sleep whenever they want, which leads to them staying up late and wasting their time, or eating on a full stomach. This chaos leads to a weakening of family ties and a waste of time and energy, and exacerbates the lack of discipline among family members. You could excuse those who have legitimate reasons, because students, male and female, may have different times of leaving schools and universities, and those who are employed or who run stores do not have the same work schedules, but still there is nothing nicer than a family gathering together at the table and making the most of this opportunity to ask how everyone is and to discuss useful topics. The head of the household has to be strict in setting a time for everyone to be back home, and in insisting that everyone asks permission before going out, especially those who are young, whether in terms of chronological age or mental age, as it were, for whom one might have fears.
(19) Re-evaluating women’s work outside the home.
The laws of Islam complement one another. When Allaah commanded women to “…stay in your houses…” [al-Ahzaab 33:33 – interpretation of the meaning], He also decreed that men, their fathers and husbands, etc., should be obliged to spend on them.
The basic principle is that women should not work outside the home unless they have to. When Moosa (peace be upon him) saw the two daughters of the righteous man keeping back their flocks and waiting to water them, he asked them: “… ‘What is the matter with you?’ They said, ‘We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take (their flocks), and our father is a very old man.’” [al-Qasas 28:23 – interpretation of the meaning]. They were apologetic about the fact that they had come out to water their flocks, because the guardian [their father] was unable to do so due to old age. So they were keen to do away with the need to work outside the home as soon as the opportunity arose: “And said one of them (the two women): ‘O my father! Hire him! Verily the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy.’” [al-Qasas 28:26 – interpretation of the meaning].
This woman made clear her desire to go back to staying at home to protect herself from the vulgarity to which she could be exposed if she worked outside the home.
In modern times, when the kuffaar needed women’s labour after the two world wars, to make up for the resulting lack of men in the workforce, and there was a critical need to rebuild their economies, this coincided with the Jewish plots to “liberate” women and advocate their rights with the aim of corrupting them and consequently corrupting society as a whole. Thus the idea of women going out to work was established.
In spite of the fact that the same motives were not present in our lands, and that Muslim men protect their womenfolk and spend on them, the women’s liberation movement developed in the Muslim world too, and even reached such an extent that women are sent abroad to study, then are expected to work so that these degrees will not go to waste. The Muslim societies are not in need of such a thing on such a grand scale as is the case, and one of the signs of this is the fact that there are men who are without work whilst fields are still being opened up to women.
When we say “not on such a grand scale”, we mean that there is a need for women to work in some fields, such as teaching, nursing and medicine, within the conditions set out by sharee’ah, and when there is a need for them to do so. But we started by saying that there is no great need, because of the fact that we notice some women going out to work when there is no need, and sometimes they work for very low wages, because they feel that they have to go out to work even when there is no need to do so, or they work in places that are not suitable, which leads to much fitnah and trouble.
One of the main differences between the Islamic view on women’s work and the secular view is that the basic principle in Islam is to “…stay in your houses…” [al-Ahzaab 33:33 – interpretation of the meaning], although women may go out when they need to – “And permission has been given to you to go out for your needs” (hadeeth). The secular principle, on the other hand, is to go out no matter what the circumstances.
To be fair, we should say that there may indeed be a need for women to work, such as a woman who is the breadwinner for her family after her husband has died or her father has become too old to work, and so on. Indeed, in some societies which are not based on Islamic principles, a woman may find herself forced to work to help her husband cover the living expenses of the family. A man may not propose to a woman unless she is working, and some men may even make it a condition of the marriage contract that the wife work!
In conclusion: a woman may work if she needs to or for some Islamic purpose, such as calling others to Allaah in the field of teaching, or to make use of her time, as some women do who do not have children.
With regard to the negative aspects of women working outside the home, these include:
§ What often happens of things that are forbidden in Islam, such as mixing with men, getting to know them and being alone with them, wearing perfume for them and starting to show one's adornment to strangers (non-mahrem men), which can ultimately lead to immoral conduct.
§ Not giving the husband his rights, neglecting the house, not giving the children their proper rights. (This is our basic point here).
§ Undermining the feeling in some women’s minds that the husband is the qawwaam (protector and maintainer). Let us take the case of a woman whose qualifications are equal to those of her husband, or even higher (although there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself), and who works and earns more than he does. Will she feel the proper need towards her husband and obey him properly, or will she feel that she is independent of him, which could rock the household on its foundations, unless Allaah wills good for her? These arguments about spending on the working wife and how much she should spend on the family may never end.
§ Physical exhaustion and psychological and nervous pressure which do not befit the nature of women.
Having briefly discussed the pros and cons of women’s work, we conclude that we have to fear Allaah, and to weigh the matter up according to sharee’ah, and to know the circumstances in which a woman is permitted to go out to work, and when she is not. We should not be blinded by worldly gains or allow them to distract us from the truth. This advice to women is in their best interests and in the interests of the family. Husbands should also stop thinking in terms of taking revenge and should not consume their wife’s wealth unjustly.
(20) Confidentiality: keeping family secrets.
This includes a number of things, including:
- Not disclosing intimate secrets.
- Not disclosing marital conflicts.
- Not disclosing any secrets the exposing of which could cause harm to the family or to any of its members.
With regard to the first matter, the evidence that this is haraam is the hadeeth: “One of the most evil of people in the sight of Allaah on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who went in unto his wife and she went in unto him, then he disclosed her secret.” (Reported by Muslim, 4/157). The meaning of going in unto one another is that he approaches her and has intercourse with her, as in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… while you have gone in unto one another…” [al-Nisa’ 4:21].
Further evidence is to be seen in the hadeeth of Asma’ bint Yazeed, who said that she was with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when men and women were sitting with him, and he said: “I think there are some men who talk about what they do with their wives, and that there are some women who talk about what they do with their husbands.” The people stayed silent. [Asma’] said: “Yes, by Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, [women] do that and [men] do that!” He said, “Do not do that, for it is as if a male devil met a female devil in the street and had intercourse with her whilst the people were watching.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 6/457; also reported in Aadaab al-Zafaaf by al-Albaani, p. 144). According to a report narrated by Abu Dawood, he said: “Are there men among you who when they have intercourse with their wives, they close their doors and lower their curtains and ask Allaah to conceal them?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “And then do they sit and say, ‘I did such and such, and I did such and such?’” They kept silent. Then he turned to the women and said, “Are there any among you talk [about intimate matters]?” and they kept silent. Then a young girl sat up on one of her knees and craned her neck so that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) could see her and hear her, and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, indeed the men talk and the women talk.” He said, “Do you know what that is like? It is like a female devil meeting a male devil in the street and having intercourse with him whilst the people are watching.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 2/627; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7037).
With regard to the second matter, which is disclosing marital arguments outside the home, in many cases this only makes matters worse. Involving outside parties in a marital conflict usually deepens the split, and it reaches a stage where the couple will only communicate via intermediaries when they should be the closest of all people to one another. This should not be resorted to except in cases where they cannot resolve matter face to face, in which case we should act in accordance with the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… appoint (two) arbitrators, one from his family and the other from hers; if they both wish for peace, Allaah will cause their reconciliation…” [al-Nisa’ 4:35].
With regard to the third matter, which is harming the family or one of its members – by spreading their secrets – this is not permissible, because it is covered by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/313; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 250). An example of this was narrated in the Tafseer of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah sets forth an example for those who disbelieve, the wife of Nooh and the wife of Loot. They were under two of our righteous slaves, but they both betrayed their [husbands]…” [al-Tahreem 66:10]. Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported the following in his tafseer of this aayah:
“The wife of Nooh used to know about his secrets, and whenever anyone believed in him, she would tell the oppressors among the people of Nooh about it. As for the wife of Loot, whenever Loot welcomed anyone as a guest, she would tell the people of the city who used to do evil things” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/198), i.e., to come and do immoral things to them.
(21) Spreading kindness in the home.
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘When Allaah – may He be glorified – wills some good towards the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 6/71; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 303). According to another report: “When Allaah loves the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.” (Reported by Ibn Abi al-Dunya and others; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 1704). In other words, they start to be kind to one another. This is one of the means of attaining happiness in the home, for kindness is very beneficial between the spouses, and with the children, and brings results that cannot be achieved through harshness, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah loves kindness and rewards it in such a way that He does not reward for harshness or for anything else.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Birr wa’l-Sillah wa’l-Aadaab, no. 2592).
(22) Helping one’s wife with the housework.
Many men think that housework is beneath them, and some of them think that it will undermine their status and position if they help their wives with this work.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), however, used to “sew his own clothes, mend his own shoes and do whatever other work men do in their homes.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 6/121; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4927).
This was said by his wife ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), when she was asked about what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do in his house; her response described what she herself had seen. According to another report, she said: “He was like any other human being: he would clean his clothes, milk his ewe and serve himself.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 6/256; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 671). She (may Allaah be pleased with her) was also asked about what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do in his house, and she said, “He used to serve his family, then when the time for prayer came, he would go out to pray.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/162).
If we were to do likewise nowadays, we would achieve three things:
We would be following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
We would be helping our wives
We would feel more humble, not arrogant.
Some men demand food instantly from their wives, when the pot is on the stove and the baby is screaming to be fed; they do not pick up the child or wait a little while for the food. Let these ahaadeeth be a reminder and a lesson.
(23) Being affectionate towards and joking with the members of the family.
Showing affection towards one’s wife and children is one of the things that lead to creating an atmosphere of happiness and friendliness in the home. Thus the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised Jaabir to marry a virgin, saying, “Why did you not marry a virgin, so you could play with her and she could play with you, and you could make her laugh and she could make you laugh?” (The hadeeth is reported in a number of places in the Saheehayn, such as al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 9/121). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “Everything in which Allaah’s name is not mentioned is idleness and play, except for four things: a man playing with his wife…” (Reported by al-Nisaa'i in ‘Ushrat al-Nisa’, p. 87; also in Saheeh al-Jaami’). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to treat his wife ‘Aa’ishah affectionately when doing ghusl with her, as she (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allaah and I used to do ghusl together from one vessel, and he would pretend to take all the water so that I would say, ‘Leave some for me, leave some for me,’” – and both of them were in a state of janaabah (impurity). (Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, 4/6).
The ways in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) showed affection towards young children are too famous to need mentioning. He often used to show his affection towards Hasan and Husayn, as mentioned above. This is probably one of the reason why the children used to rejoice when he came back from travelling; they would rush to welcome him, as reported in the saheeh hadeeth: “Whenever he came back from a journey, the children of his household would be taken out to meet him.” He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to hug them close to him, as ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ja;far said: “Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from a journey, we would be taken out to meet him. One day we met him, Hasan, Husayn and I. He carried one of us in front of him, and another on his back, until we entered Madeenah.” (Saheeh Muslim, 4/1885-2772; see the commentary in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 8/56).
Compare this with the situation in some miserable homes where there are no truthful jokes [i.e., jokes that do not involve lying], no affection and no mercy. Whoever thinks that kissing his children goes against the dignity of fatherhood should read the following hadeeth: from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kissed al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, and al-Aqra’ ibn Haabis al-Tameemi was sitting with him. Al-Aqra’ said: ‘I have ten children and I have never kissed any one of them.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) looked at him and said: ‘The one who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.’”
(24) Resisting bad manners in the home.
Every member of the household is bound to have some bad characteristics, such as lying, backbiting, gossiping and so on. These bad characteristics have to be resisted and opposed.
Some people think that corporal punishment is the only way to deal with such things. The following hadeeth is very educational on this topic: from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: “If the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to know that one of his household had told a lie, he would try to ignore him until he repented.” (See al-Musnad by Imaam Ahmad, 6/152. The text of the hadeeth is also in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 4675).
It is clear from the hadeeth that turning away and forsaking a person by not speaking to them, rather than resorting to punishment, is effective in such circumstances, and may be more effective than physical punishment, so let parents and caregivers think about this.
(25) “Hang up the whip where the members of the household can see it.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 7/332; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 1446).
Hinting at punishment is an effective means of discipline, so the reason for hanging up a whip or stick in the house was explained in another report, where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Hang up the whip where the members of the household can see it, for this is more effective in disciplining them.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, 10/344-345; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 1447)
Seeing the means of punishment hanging up will make those who have bad intentions refrain from indulging in bad behaviour, lest they get a taste of the punishment. It will motivate them to behave themselves and be good-mannered. Ibn al-Anbaari said: “There is nothing to suggest that it should be used for hitting, because [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] did not command anyone to do that. What he meant was: keep on disciplining them.” (See Fayd al-Qadeer by al-Mannaawi, 4/325).
Hitting is not the way to discipline; it is not to be resorted to, except when all other means are exhausted, or when it is needed to force someone to do obligatory acts of obedience, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… As to those women on whose part you fear ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful)…” [al-Nisa’ 4:34] – in that order. There is also the hadeeth: “Order your children to pray when they are seven years old, and hit them if they do not do so when they are ten.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 1/334; see also Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 1/266).
As for hitting unnecessarily, this is aggression. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised a woman not to marry a man because he always had his stick on his shoulder, i.e., he used to beat his wives. On the other hand, there are those who think that they should never use this method of discipline at all, following some kaafir educational theories; this is also a mistaken opinion that goes against the sharee’ah.
Evils in the home
(26) Beware of non-mahrem relatives entering upon women when their husbands are absent.
(27) Men and women should sit separately during family visits.
(28) Be aware of the dangers of having male drivers and female servants in the house.
(29) Kick immoral people out of your houses.
(30) Beware of the dangers of TV.
(31) Beware of the evils of the telephone.
(32) You have to remove everything that contains symbols of the false religions of the kuffaar or their gods and objects of worship.
(33) Removing pictures of animate beings.
(34) Do not allow smoking in your homes.
(35) Do not keep dogs in your homes.
(36) Avoid too much decoration in your homes (keep it simple).
(37) Choosing a good location and design of home.
No doubt the true Muslim pays attention to the choice and design of a home in ways that others do not.
With regard to location, for example:
The home should be close to a mosque. This has obvious advantages: the call to prayer will remind people of prayer and wake them up for it; living close to the mosque will enable men to join the congregational prayers, women to listen to the Qur’aan recitation and dhikr over the mosque’s loudspeakers, and children to join study-circles for memorization of Qur’aan, and so on.
The home should not be in a building where there are immoral people, or in a compound where kuffaar live and where there is a mixed swimming pool and so on.
The house should not overlook others or be overlooked; if it is, he should put up curtains and make walls and fences higher.
With regard to design and lay out, for example:
He should pay attention to the matter of segregating men and women when non-mahrams come to visit, e.g. separate entrances and sitting areas. If that cannot be done, then use should be made of curtains, screens and so on.
Covering windows, so that neighbours or people in the street will not be able to see who is in the house, especially at night when the lights are on.
The toilets should not be sited in such a way that one faces the qiblah when using them.
Choosing a spacious house with plenty of amenities. This is for a number of reasons:
“Allaah loves to see the signs of His blessings on His slave.” (Hadeeth narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2819. He said: This is a hasan hadeeth).
“There are three elements of happiness and three elements of misery. The elements of happiness are: a righteous wife, who when you see her she pleases you, and when you are absent from her you feel that you can trust her with regard to herself and your wealth; a compliant riding-beast that helps you to keep up with your companions; and a house that is spacious and has plenty of amenities. The elements of misery are: a wife who when you see her you feel upset, she keeps attacking you verbally, and when you are absent from her you do not feel that you can trust her with regard to herself and your wealth; a stubborn riding-beast that if whip it, you get tired, and if you do not whip it, it does not help you to keep up with your companions; and a house with few amenities.” (Hadeeth narrated by al-Haakim, 3/262; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 3056).
Paying attention to health-related matters such as ventilation, natural light and so on. These matters depend on financial ability and feasibility.
(38) Choosing the neighbour before the house.
This is a matter which has to be singled out for discussion because of its importance.
Nowadays neighbours have more impact on one another, because houses are closer together and people live together in buildings, apartments and compounds.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us of four causes of happiness, one of which is a righteous neighbour, and four causes of misery, one of which is a bad neighbour. (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 8/388; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 887). Because of the seriousness of the latter, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allaah from bad neighbours in his du’aa’: “Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bika min jaar al-soo’ fi daar il-muqaamah fa inna jaar al-baadiyah yatahawwil (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from a bad neighbour in my permanent home, for the neighbour in the desert [i.e. on a journey] moves on).” He commanded the Muslims to seek refuge with Allaah from a bad neighbour in a permanent home because the neighbour in the desert will eventually move on. (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 117; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2967).
There is no room here to talk about the influence a bad neighbour may have on a couple and their children, or the kinds of nuisance he can cause, or the misery of living next to him. But applying these ahaadeeth quoted above to one's own life should be sufficient for the one who is possessed of understanding. Another practical solution is that implemented by some good people who rent neighbouring homes for their families, so as to solve the neighbour problem. This may be an expensive solution, but a good neighbour is priceless.
(39) Paying attention to necessary repairs in the home, and making sure that the amenities are in good working order.
Among the blessings of Allaah in this modern age are the “mod cons” that He has bestowed upon us, which make many things easier and save time, such as air-conditioners, fridges, washing-machines and so on. It is wise to have the best quality of appliances that one can afford, without being extravagant or putting oneself under financial strain. We should also be careful to distinguish between useful extras and extravagant additions that have no real value.
Part of caring for the home includes fixing appliances and amenities that break down. Some people neglect these things, and their wives complain about homes crawling with vermin, with overflowing drains and piles of stinking garbage, filled with broken and worn out furniture.
No doubt this is one of the obstacles to happiness in the home, and causes problems in the marriage and health problems. The smart person is the one who hastens to fix these things.
(40) Paying attention to the family’s health and safety procedures.
When any member of his family got sick, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would blow on them and recite al-Mi’wadhatayn (last two soorahs of the Qur’aan). (Reported by Muslim, no. 2192).
When one of his family members got sick, he would call for soup, and it would be made for him, then he would tell them to drink it, and he would say, “It will strengthen the heart of the one who is grieving and cleanse (heal) the heart of the one who is sick just as any one of you wipes the dirt from her face.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2039; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 4646).
One of the ways of taking safety precautions is:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When evening comes, keep your children inside, for the shayaateen (devils) spread out at that time. Then when an hour of the night has passed, let your children go, lock the doors and mention the name of Allaah, cover your pots and mention the name of Allaah,even if you only place a stick across the top of your vessel, and extinguish your lamps.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 10/88-89).
According to a report narrated by Muslim, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Lock your doors, cover your vessels, extinguish your lamps and tie your knots properly [i.e., cover your jugs properly – in those days they would cover them with a piece of cloth and tie it], for the Shaytaan does not open a door that is closed, or uncover something that is covered, or untie a knot that you tie. And the mouse could set the house on fire (i.e. it could pull out the wick of the lamp and set the house on fire).” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 3/103); Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1080).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not leave fires lit in your houses when you go to sleep.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 11/85).
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Disallowed Matters
by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Contents
Introduction
List of prohibitions mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah
‘Aqeedah (basic tenets of faith)
Tahaarah (cleanliness and purity)
Etiquette of eating and drinking
Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
We previously published a brief work entitled “Muharamaat: Prohibitions that are taken too lightly”, which discussed some of the various offences against Sharee’ah which may involve shirk and major and minor sins. Evidence for these things being prohibited was quoted from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and real-life situations were described in order to explain clearly the different ways in which people may fall into committing sin.
There are many things that have been prohibited in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and it is very important for the Muslim to know about them so that he can keep away from them and thus avoid earning the wrath and anger of Allaah or bringing about his own doom in this world and the next. So I thought of compiling this list of prohibited things, in accordance with the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Religion is sincere advice (al-deen al-naseehah),” and in the hope that it will be of benefit both to myself and to my Muslim brothers. So I have compiled what information I could from the Qur’aan and from the ahaadeeth classed as saheeh by the scholars who specialize in this field (relying mostly on the reports classed as saheeh by al-‘Allaamah Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani in his books). Topics are grouped according to the classifications used in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). I have not quoted every hadeeth in full, only the relevant parts. In most cases the reports include words which clearly indicate prohibition (such as “Do not…”), and I have explained the reason for the prohibition in some cases. I ask Allaah to help us to avoid sin and wrongdoing wherever it exists, visible or hidden, and to accept our repentance. Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds.
List of prohibitions mentioned in the Qur’aan and Sunnah
Allaah and His Messenger have prohibited many things, avoiding which brings great benefits and protects us from many kinds of evil and harm. These prohibitions include both things which are haraam (forbidden) and things which are makrooh (disliked, discouraged). The Muslim should avoid these things, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us: “What I have forbidden you to do, avoid.” The committed Muslim is keen to avoid all things that have been prohibited, whether they are classed as haraam or makrooh. He does not act like the weak of faith, who do not care if they do things that are makrooh, even though taking such matters lightly leads to committing haraam deeds, as the makrooh deeds effectively form a barrier around haraam actions. Moreover, the person who avoids makrooh deeds will be rewarded for this, if he avoids them for the sake of Allaah. On this basis, we make no distinction here between makrooh and haraam, because making this distinction requires a great deal of knowledge, but most of what follows describes actions that are haraam rather than makrooh. There now follows a list of things that are prohibited in Islam:
‘Aqeedah (basic tenets of faith):
Shirk in general, whether major, minor or hidden.
It is forbidden to go to fortune-tellers and soothsayers, to believe in what they say, to offer a sacrifice to anything other than Allaah, and to speak about Allaah and His Messenger without knowledge.
It is forbidden to wear or hang up amulets, including the kind of pearls which are used to ward off the evil eye; to perform the kind of sihr (witchcraft) used to cause a split between two people or to bring two people together; to perform any kind of sihr (witchcraft, magic) in general; to engage in fortune-telling and soothsaying; to believe that the stars and planets have any effect on events and people’s lives (astrology); and to believe that things may bring benefits when Allaah has not created them so.
It is forbidden to think about the nature of Allaah – one should instead think about His creation. No Muslim should die thinking in any way of Allaah except positively.
It is forbidden to state that any believer is going to go to Hell; to call any Muslim a kaafir except with sound proof; to ask anyone to do something for you or to give you something for the sake of Allaah; or to refuse to give something when you are asked for it for the sake of Allaah – you should give it so long as it does not involve sin, because this is respecting the rights of Allaah.
It is forbidden to curse time, because Allaah is the One Who is controlling it; to be superstitious, because this is a form of pessimism.
It is forbidden to cancel out good deeds by intending to show off, gain a good reputation or remind others of one's favours in a hurtful fashion.
It is forbidden to travel to any place for the purpose of worshipping there, except for three places – al-Masjid al-Haraam (in Makkah), the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (in Madeenah) and al-Masjid al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem). It is forbidden to erect structures over graves and take them as places of worship.
It is forbidden to curse the Sahaabah; to indulge in arguments about any disputes that arose among the Sahaabah; to indulge in arguments about qadr (divine predestination); to argue about the Qur’aan with no knowledge; to sit with those who engage in false arguments about the Qur’aan; to visit a sick person who is a follower of al-Qadariyyah and other similar groups who engage in bid’ah; and to attend the funeral of any such person.
It is forbidden to insult the gods of the kuffaar, because this may lead to them insulting Allaah, may He be glorified; to follow deviations and become divided in religion; to treat the Signs of Allaah as a jest; to allow what Allaah has forbidden and forbid what Allaah has allowed; to bow down or prostrate to anything other than Allaah; to sit with hypocrites and sinful people in order to enjoy their company or to keep them company; to keep away from the jamaa’ah, which is those who are agreed upon the Truth.
It is forbidden to imitate the Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians by letting the moustache grow and trimming the beard – we should trim our moustaches and let our beards grow; to initiate the greeting of salaam to a kaafir; and to believe or disbelieve what the People of the Book say about their Scriptures – because we do not know what is true and what is false in them; to consult any of the People of the Book with regard to religious matters (with the intention of gaining knowledge or benefitting from them).
It is forbidden to swear by one’s children, or by false gods or rivals to Allaah; to swear by one’s forefathers or by one’s honour; to say “whatever Allaah and you want”; for a slave to say “my lord, my lady” (rabbi, rabbati) – he should say, “my master, my mistress” (mawlaaya, seedi, sayyidati); for a master to say “my male slave, my female slave” (‘abdi, amati) – he should say “my young man, my young woman (fataaya, fataati, ghulaami); to say “khaybat al-dahr” (what an awful time!); to curse one another by wishing the curse and wrath of Allaah upon one another, or wishing Hell for one another.
Tahaarah (cleanliness and purity):
It is forbidden to urinate into stagnant water; to answer the call of nature at the side of the road or in places where people seek shade or places from which they draw water; to face the Qiblah or sit with one’s back towards it when urinating or defecating (although some scholars make an exception in the case of toilet facilities inside a building); to clean oneself with one’s right hand after urinating or defecating; to wipe oneself with one’s right hand; to use bones or dung to clean oneself, because these are the food of our brothers among the jinn; to clean oneself with dung because it is the food of their animals.
It is forbidden for a man to hold his penis in his right hand when passing water; to give the greeting of salaam to one who is answering the call of nature.
When one has just woken up, it is forbidden to put one’s right hand into any vessel before washing it.
It is forbidden to perform naafil (supererogatory or “extra”) prayers when the sun is rising, when it is at its zenith, or when it is setting, because it rises and sets between the horns of the Shaytaan, and when the sun-worshipping kuffaar see it they prostrate to it. It is forbidden to pray after subh (fajr) until after the sun has risen. It is forbidden to pray after ‘asr until after the sun has set. These prohibitions apply to naafil prayers done for no specific reason; if they are done for a specific reason, such as tahiyyat al-masjid (“greeting the mosque”), there is nothing wrong with praying them at these times.
It is forbidden to make houses like graveyards by not praying naafil prayers in them; to follow a fard (obligatory) prayer with a naafil prayer without speaking in between (by making dhikr or otherwise) or by going out then coming back; or to pray anything but the two sunnah rak’ahs of fajr after the adhaan for fajr prayer.
It is forbidden to anticipate the imaam in any movement of the prayer; to pray standing alone behind a row; to look around during prayer; to raise one’s eyes to heaven whilst praying; or to recite Qur’aan during rukoo’ and sujood – although there is nothing wrong with reciting a Qur’aanic du’aa’ in sujood.
It is forbidden for a man to pray wearing only one garment, leaving both shoulders bare; to pray when there is food ready that one wishes to eat; to pray when one needs to pass water, stools or wind – because this is a distraction that keeps one from concentrating properly.
It is forbidden to pray in graveyards and bathrooms; to pray like a chicken pecking, bobbing up and down; to look around like a fox; to spread one’s arms like a beast of prey; to rest one’s forearms on the ground like a dog; to settle like a camel – which means always praying in the same spot in the mosque; to pray in the resting-place of camels, because this was created from the shayaateen.
It is forbidden to wipe the ground during prayer, but if it is necessary to do so, to smooth the gravel or whatever, then one sweep of the hand is enough. It is forbidden to cover the mouth during prayer; to raise one’s voice in prayer in such a way as to disturb other believers; to continue praying qiyaam al-layl if one becomes drowsy – in this case, one should sleep, then get up again; to pray qiyaam al-layl for the whole night, especially if this is done continuously.
It is forbidden to yawn and blow during prayer; to step over the necks of people (in the mosque); to tuck up one’s clothes and hair when praying.
It is forbidden to repeat a prayer that has been performed properly – which is of benefit to those who suffer from waswaas (insinuating thoughts from Shaytaan that make them doubt the validity of their prayer). It is also forbidden to stop praying if one is uncertain as to whether one has broken wudoo’ by passing wind – you should wait until you hear a sound or detect an odour. It is forbidden to sit in circles in the mosque before praying Salaat al-Jumu’ah; to smooth the gravel; to fidget and speak during the khutbah; or to sit with one’s knees drawn up to one’s stomach and with one’s garment drawn over them or one’s hands clasped around them during the khutbah.
It is forbidden to offer any prayer once the iqaamah for a fard prayer has been given; for the imaam to stand in a place that is higher than the congregation, unless it is for a valid reason; to walk in front of a person who is praying; for a person who is praying to allow anyone to walk in front of him or between him and his sutrah (object placed in front of him whilst praying as a kind of “screen” – people may, however, walk in front of the sutrah – Translator).
It is forbidden to spit towards the qiblah or to one's right during prayer – but one may spit to one’s left or beneath one’s left foot. It is forbidden for a person who wants to pray to put his shoes to his right or his left, lest he disturb the people beside him; he should put them between his feet. It is forbidden to sleep before ‘ishaa’ if one cannot be sure that one will not miss it; to speak after ‘ishaa’ except for a legitimate reason; to lead a man in prayer in his own place of authority, except with his permission; for a visitor to lead the head of the house in prayer, unless he asks him to; to lead a group of people in prayer when they have objections for a legitimate reason.
It is forbidden to buy, sell or make lost-and-found announcements in the mosque; to use the mosque as a thoroughfare or for any purpose other than dhikr (remembrance of Allaah) and salaah; to carry out shar’i punishments in the mosque; to clasp one’s hands when one has gone out heading for the mosque, because once a person has decided to go and pray, he is considered to be in a state of prayer. It is forbidden for anyone to leave the mosque without praying once the adhaan has been given. It is forbidden to sit down in the mosque before praying two rak’ahs; to hasten unduly when the iqaamah is given – one should walk in a calm and dignified manner; to form a row between two pillars of the mosque unless it is essential to do so. It is forbidden for anyone who has eaten garlic, onions or anything that has an offensive smell to approach the mosque. It is forbidden for a man to walk through the mosque with anything that may harm the Muslims; to prevent women from going to the mosque as long as all conditions of Sharee’ah are complied with; for a woman to wear perfume when she is going to the mosque. It is forbidden to have intercourse with women during i’tikaaf (retreat in the mosque); to show off and compete in the building of mosques; to decorate them with red or yellow paint, engravings or anything that may distract the worshippers.
It is forbidden to build anything over graves or to raise them and make them high; to sit on graves; to walk between graves wearing shoes; to illuminate them or to write on them; to excavate them. It is forbidden to take graves as places of worship or to pray facing any grave except when praying the funeral prayer at the graveside. It is forbidden for a woman to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for her husband, for whom the period of mourning is four months and ten days. It is forbidden for a recently-widowed women to wear perfume, kohl, henna, adornments such as jewellery and fancy, decorated clothes.
It is forbidden to wail for the dead, to help another woman in wailing, because this is crying for the sake of something other than Allaah, and joining together in weeping is classified as wailing. It is forbidden to hire a woman to wail; to tear one’s clothes or to leave one’s hair uncombed as a sign of grief.
It is forbidden to announce a death in the manner of jaahiliyyah, although there is nothing wrong with simply informing people that the deceased has died.
It is forbidden to fast on the day (Eid) of Fitr and the day (Eid) of Adhaa, on the three days of Tashreeq following the day of Adhaa, or days when there is doubt as to the date (e.g., when there is confusion as the beginning of Ramadaan – Translator). It is forbidden to single out a Friday or a Saturday for fasting; to fast all the time; to start fasting one or two days before the start of Ramadaan; to fast in the second half of Sha’baan, unless one has the habit of fasting regularly. It is forbidden to fast for two days continuously without breaking one's fast at night; to fast on the Day of ‘Arafaah in ‘Arafaah, unless one does not have an animal to sacrifice; to rinse one’s mouth or nose excessively whilst fasting; for a woman to observe a naafil fast when her husband is present, except with his permission; to forsake suhoor – one should eat or drink something, if only a sip of water; to engage in obscenity, vehement arguments or fights when fasting.
Hajj and Udhiyah (sacrifices):
It is forbidden to delay Hajj with no reason or excuse; to engage in obscenity or arguments during Hajj.
It is forbidden for a person in ihraam to wear a shirt, turban, trousers, cloak or socks; for a woman in ihraam to wear a face-veil or gloves; to uproot, cut down or strike the trees of the Haram.
It is forbidden to carry weapons in the Haram; to hunt or disturb the animals of the Haram; to pick up lost property, unless to find the owner; to put perfume on one who has died in ihraam, or to cover his face or to embalm the body – he should be buried in his ihraam garments, for he will be resurrected reciting the Talbiyah.
It is forbidden to leave Hajj before completing Tawaaf al-Wadaa’ (final circumambulation of the Ka’bah), but women who are menstruating or bleeding after childbirth are excused.
It is forbidden to slaughter one’s sacrificial animal before the Eid prayer; to sacrifice an imperfect animal; to give the butcher a fee for slaughtering; for the one who intends to offer a sacrifice to remove anything from his hair, nails or skin once the first ten days of Dhoo’l-Hijjah have started, until after he has offered his sacrifice.
It is forbidden to consume riba (interest, usury); to engage in transactions that involve unknown goods, cheating and deception; to sell sheep in return for meat; to sell left-over water; to sell dogs, cats, blood, intoxicants, pork, idols, animal semen used for breeding purposes; to accept the price of a dog, because the price of anything that Allaah has forbidden is also forbidden, whether one is buying or selling. It is forbidden to artificially inflate the price of a product which one has no intention of buying, as is done at many auctions. It is forbidden to conceal the faults of a product when selling it; to sell anything after the second call to prayer on Friday; to sell something which is not in one's actual possession; to sell something before taking possession of it; to sell gold for gold or silver for silver, except like for like. It is forbidden for a man to outbid his brother or undercut his brother; to sell fruits before it is known for sure that they are free of faults; to cheat in weights and measures; to hoard goods; to go out and intercept travellers coming from elsewhere for the purpose of trade – one should wait until they reach the marketplace, because this is fair and is in the interests of all concerned.
It is forbidden for a city-dweller to sell on behalf of a Bedouin (such as a resident of a city or country acting as an agent for someone who has come from outside) – he should leave him to conduct business on his own terms. It is forbidden to sell the skin of an animal one has offered in sacrifice; for a person who has shares in a plot of land or a palm tree, etc., to sell his share without first offering it to his partners; to earn a living by means of the Qur’aan (like those who recite the Qur’aan for people and ask for payment in return); to wrongfully consume the property of orphans; to gamble; to engage in extortion; to offer or accept bribes; to steal; to pilfer anything from the war-booty, because this is stealing from the wealth of all the people. It is forbidden to seize people’s wealth by force, or to take it with the intention of destroying it; to withhold from the people the things that are their due; to conceal lost property that one has found; to take lost property, unless one is the rightful owner; to cheat in any way; for a Muslim to take anything from his brother’s property, except with his consent, and whatever is taken by embarrassing a person is haraam. It is forbidden to accept a gift in reward for interceding; and to accumulate wealth and distribute it in different parts of the world in such a way that a person becomes overburdened with it and does not remember Allaah.
It is forbidden to remain celibate and never marry; to be castrated; to marry two sisters at the same time; to marry a woman and her paternal aunt or maternal aunt at the same time – regardless of which is married first – for fear of breaking the ties of kinship; for a man to marry his father’s wife.
It is forbidden to make deals in marriage, such as saying, “Marry your daughter or sister to me and I will give you my daughter or sister in marriage”, because this exchange is wrongful oppression and is haraam. It is forbidden to enter into mut’ah (temporary) marriage, which is a marriage for a period of time agreed upon by both parties, after which the marriage is over. It is forbidden to marry except with a wali (guardian of the bride) and two witnesses; for a man to propose to a woman when his (Muslim) brother has already proposed, unless the first suitor gives up the idea or gives him permission; to make a clearly-stated offer of marriage to a woman who is in ‘iddah because her husband has died, although it is acceptable to hint. It is forbidden to make any kind of offer of marriage at all to a woman who has been divorced (talaaq) once or twice (as she may still return to her husband - Translator). It is forbidden for a divorced woman whose divorce is still revocable to go out of her husband’s house or to leave during her ‘iddah. It is forbidden for a man to keep his divorced wife or to take her back when he does not care for her, because this will only prolong the pain for her and cause her anguish.
It is forbidden for a divorced woman to conceal what Allaah has created in her womb. It is forbidden to treat the matter of divorce lightly. It is forbidden for a woman to ask for the divorce of another, whether she is married or engaged, so that she can marry the man instead. It is forbidden for a husband and wife to speak to anyone else about the intimate details of their relationship. It is forbidden to make a woman hate her husband or vice versa. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade men to speak to women without their husbands’ permission. It is forbidden for a woman to spend her husband’s money without his permission; for a woman to forsake her husband’s bed, because if she does this without a valid excuse, the angels will curse her. It is forbidden for a man to annoy a rebellious wife who has come back to obeying him. It is forbidden for a woman to let anyone into her husband’s house without his permission, although his general permission is sufficient so long as the rules of sharee’ah are not broken.
It is forbidden to refuse an invitation to a waleemah (wedding party) with no legitimate excuse; to wish a newly-married couple “bi’l-rafaa’ wa’l-baneen” (wishing them happiness and many sons), because this is the greeting of Jaahiliyyah, and the people of Jaahiliyyah used to dislike daughters.
It is forbidden for a man to have intercourse with a woman who is pregnant from another man; for a man to withdraw from his wife (coitus interruptus) without her permission; for a man to knock on the door and startle his family when returning at night from a journey – but if he has already told them what time he will arrive, there is nothing wrong with it. It is forbidden for a man to take any part of his wife’s mahr without her consent, or to put pressure on her to give up her money. The practice of zihaar (a jaahili form of divorce in which a man said to his wife, “You are to me like my mother’s back”) is forbidden. It is forbidden for a man to show a preference for one of two wives, or to be unfair in dealing with his wives. It is forbidden to enter into nikaah al-tahleel, which is where a thrice-divorced woman (i.e., one who has received the third and final talaaq) gets married so that she can then be divorced by the second husband and be free to remarry her first husband.
It is forbidden for a woman to display her beauty except to her mahrams (close relatives who she is forbidden to marry); to make a wanton display of herself (tabarruj); to utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood (i.e., by making illegal children belong to her husband). It is forbidden to treat a mother unfairly on account of her child, or to treat a father unfairly on account of his child; to separate a mother and child. It is forbidden to go to extremes in circumcising women. It is forbidden for a woman to travel alone without a mahram. It is forbidden to shake hands with a non-mahram woman; for a woman to wear perfume when she is going to go out and pass by men. It is forbidden for a man to be alone with a non-mahram woman; to be a duyooth (a weak man who has no self-respect and does not care if his womenfolk dress or behave inappropriately); to look at a non-mahram woman, or to follow one glance with another.
It is forbidden to eat any kind of dead meat, whether it died by drowning, strangulation, electric shock, falling from a high place, fighting with another animal in the herd or was killed by a wild animal – unless one is able to slaughter it properly before it dies. It is forbidden to eat blood, pork, anything that has been slaughtered in the name of anything other than Allaah, anything that was sacrificed to idols, or anything that was slaughtered without having the name of Allaah mentioned over it deliberately.
It is forbidden to eat the meat or drink the milk of any scavenger, which is an animal that feeds on dirt and filth; to eat the meat of any carnivore that has fangs or any bird that has talons; to eat the meat of donkeys; or to kill frogs for medicine, because they are unclean and according to the majority of scholars, their meat is not to be eaten.
It is forbidden to torment animals, by restraining them and hitting them with something until they die, or by locking them up without food. The animal that is thus tortured with arrows is the “mujaththamah” which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to eat, because it is not slaughtered in the correct way as prescribed by sharee’ah.
It is forbidden to eat game caught by an untrained dog, or where it has been caught by a number of dogs, such that it is impossible to tell which dog caught it. It is forbidden to eat game that has been hit by a tool and killed by its weight, except for game that has been struck and pierced by an arrow, and the name of Allaah has been mentioned over it.
It is forbidden to kill animals using teeth and nails; to slaughter an animal in front of another; to sharpen the knife in front of the animal to be killed.
It is forbidden to eat the food of those who compete in preparing extravagant meals for the purpose of showing off, because this is counted as wrongful consumption.
It is forbidden to be extravagant in clothing; for men to wear gold; to wear rings on the middle finger and the finger next to it (the forefinger); to wear iron rings.
It is forbidden to be naked, to walk naked, and to expose one's thighs.
It is forbidden to wear one’s clothes below the ankles; to trail one’s clothes along the ground in order to show off; to wear garments of fame and vanity; to wear clothes made of silk.
It is forbidden to wear clothes dyed with red safflower dye, which men should not wear. It is forbidden for men to look like women and wear their clothes, and for women to look like men and wear their clothes. It is forbidden for women to wear short, tight-fitting clothes.
It is forbidden to put shoes on whilst standing, because of the discomfort that this entails, especially with laced shoes that need to be tied. It is forbidden to walk in only one shoe, because the Shaytaan walks in only one shoe.
It is forbidden to have tattoos or to file one’s teeth – but this does not include straightening the teeth with braces, etc.
It is forbidden to imitate the mushrikeen by letting the moustache grow and trimming the beard – we should trim our moustaches and let our beards grow.
It is forbidden to pluck facial hair, especially the eyebrows; for women to shave their heads; to add hair extensions and wigs, whether they are made from human hair or artificial hair – this applies to men and women alike. It is forbidden to pluck grey hairs or to conceal them with black dye; to dye the hair black; or to shave part of the hair and leave part.
It is forbidden to make pictures or images of animate beings, whether on clothing, walls or paper, and whether they are drawn, printed, engraved, etched, cast from moulds etc. If one has to make pictures, they should be of trees and other inanimate objects (things that do not have a soul).
It is forbidden to use silk or tiger skins, or anything else that is ostentatious, for furnishing. It is forbidden to cover walls.Diseases of the tongue:
It is forbidden to bear false witness.
It is forbidden to falsely accuse chaste women.
It is forbidden to accuse the innocent or to engage in slander or defamation.
It is forbidden to slander, backbite, call one another by offensive nicknames, gossip, make fun of Muslims, boast about one’s lineage, cast aspersions on a person’s lineage, swear, curse, utter obscenities, speak in an offensive manner or utter evil in public except by one who has been wronged.
It is forbidden to lie, and the worst kind of lies are lies about dreams, such as making up dreams and visions for the purpose of improving one’s status, making some material gains, or alarming someone towards whom one feels enmity. One of the punishments for lying about dreams is that the person who is guilty of this will be instructed on the Day of Resurrection to do something impossible, namely to tie two grains of barley together.
It is forbidden for a person to praise himself. It is forbidden to exclude people, such as two people excluding a third, because this makes the excluded person sad. It is forbidden to hold secret council for sin and wrongdoing and to curse the believers and those who do not deserve to be cursed.
It is forbidden to raise one’s voice above the voice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which includes raising one’s voice above the voice of a person reading or reciting hadeeth, and raising one’s voice near his grave.
It is forbidden to curse the dead; to curse the cockerel, because it wakes people for prayer; to curse the wind, because it merely does what it is instructed; to curse sickness, because it is an expiation for sin; or to curse the Shaytaan, because this only makes him feel great – the best thing to do is to seek refuge with Allaah from his evil.
It is forbidden to pray for or wish for death because of some harm that has befallen one, or to pray against one’s self, one’s children, one’s servants or one’s wealth.
It is forbidden to call grapes karm, because the people of Jaahiliyyah used to think that wine led to generosity or nobleness (karam). It is forbidden to say “My soul has become evil (khabuthat nafsi),” or to say “I have forgotten such-and-such an aayah” – instead, one should say “I have been made to forget.” It is forbidden to say, “O Allaah, forgive me if You want to,” because we should be positive in our du’aa’s and pleas. It is forbidden to address a munaafiq (hypocrite) as sayyid (“Mister”). It is forbidden to say, “May Allaah make you ugly!” especially when this is said by a husband to his wife. It is forbidden to say “raa’inaa” [in Arabic, this means “Be careful; listen to us and we listen to you,” but in Hebrew it means “an insult,” and the Jews used to say it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with bad intentions]. It is forbidden to ask for anything before giving salaam, and to praise one another.
Etiquette of eating and drinking:
It is forbidden to eat what is in front of others or to eat from the middle of the platter – one should eat from what is in front of or next to one, because the barakah (blessing) comes in the middle of the food. It is forbidden to leave a morsel that has fallen on the ground – one should remove any dirt and eat it, and not leave it for the Shaytaan.
It is forbidden to drink from vessels of gold and silver; to drink standing up; to drink from the edge of a broken vessel lest one harm oneself; to drink from the mouth of the jug; to breathe into the vessel; or to drink in one draught – one should drink in three draughts, because this is more enjoyable and more healthy.
It is forbidden to blow on food and drink; to eat and drink with one’s left hand; to eat lying on one’s stomach; to put two dates in one’s mouth at once without first asking permission from the person with one whom is eating, because this looks greedy and is unfair to one’s companion. It is forbidden to use the used vessels of the People of the Book, but if there is nothing else they must be washed before eating from them. It is forbidden to sit at a table where wine is being drunk.
It is forbidden to sleep on a roof that has no walls around the edge, lest one turn over in one’s sleep and fall off. It is forbidden to stay alone overnight; to leave fires lit in one’s house when going to sleep; to sleep with something harmful in one’s hand; to sleep on one’s stomach; to put one leg on top of the other when lying on one’s back, because this shows the ‘awrah (private parts); to speak about a bad dream or interpret it, because bad dreams are one of the tricks of the Shaytaan.
It is forbidden to kill anyone for no legitimate reason; to kill one’s children for fear of poverty; to commit suicide.
It is forbidden to commit zinaa (fornication or adultery) or homosexuality. It is forbidden to drink alcohol, to make it, carry it or sell it. It is forbidden to run away from the battlefield, except for a legitimate reason. It is forbidden to annoy believing men and women undeservedly, or to please people by doing things that anger Allaah.
It is forbidden to break oaths after having confirmed them. Singing and playing drums (tablah), flutes and musical instruments is forbidden. It is forbidden to attribute a child to anyone but his real father; to torture by means of fire; to burn anyone, alive or dead; to mutilate the dead in war; or to help anyone to commit sin or cooperate in wrongdoing; to bear arms against the Muslims.
It is forbidden to issue fatwas without proper knowledge; to obey anyone if this involves disobeying Allaah; to swear an oath when lying; to swear a calamitous oath; to accept the testimony of one who has slandered chaste women and was unable to produce four witnesses, unless he has since repented; to forbid the good things that Allaah has allowed; to follow in the footsteps of the Shaytaan; to put oneself forward before Allaah and His Messenger in word or deed [i.e., hastening to decide in matters of religion before knowing the correct teachings of Islam].
It is forbidden to eavesdrop on people (listen to their conversation without their permission); to look into people’s houses without their permission; to enter people’s houses without their permission; or to look for people’s faults.
It is forbidden to claim to have something that one does not; to boast about things that one does not have; or to look for praise for something that one has not done.
It is forbidden to enter the houses of peoples who were destroyed by Allaah without weeping or showing regret, or seeking to learn a lesson rather than just looking around. It is forbidden to make a sinful oath; to spy on one another; to think badly of righteous men and women; to envy, hate or forsake one another; or to persist in falsehood.
Arrogance, pride, showing off and self-admiration are all forbidden, as is rejoicing over some worldly gain that can lead to arrogance and boastfulness.
It is forbidden to walk in insolence through the earth; to turn one’s face away from people in pride – which is a sign of arrogance; to take back one’s charity, even if one buys it back; to kill a father who has killed his child. It is forbidden for a man to look at the ‘awrah of another man or for a woman to look at the ‘awrah of another woman. It is forbidden to look at the thigh of any person, living or dead. It is forbidden to violate the sanctity of the Sacred Months, although fighting the kuffaar at this time is permissible.
It is forbidden to spend from ill-gotten money.
It is forbidden to benefit from the labour of a hired worker without paying him his wages; to be unfair in giving to one’s children. It is forbidden to change a will to the detriment of one or more heirs, or to make a will in favour of a rightful heir, because Allaah has already given the heirs their rights. If a person wills all his estate to others and leaves his heirs poor, his will should not be executed except with regard to one-third of the estate.
It is forbidden to be a bad neighbour, to annoy or disturb one’s neighbours, or to forsake a Muslim for more than three days without a valid reason.
It is forbidden to throw pebbles between two fingers, because this usually harms people, like putting out an eye or breaking a tooth. It is forbidden to be aggressive and hostile.
It is forbidden for people to raise their voices above one another when reciting Qur’aan; to interrupt two people who are conversing; to pass between two people without their permission; to make a person get up so that one can sit in his place; to leave one’s brother when visiting without asking his permission first. It is forbidden to stand at the head of one who is sitting down; or to sit in a place that is partly in sunlight and partly in shade, because this is the place where the Shaytaan sits.
It is forbidden to harm the Muslims; to unsheathe a sword at a Muslim or to point to a Muslim with a weapon.
It is forbidden to handle an unsheathed sword, for fear of injury; to refuse a gift unless it contains something haraam; to be extravagant; to go beyond one’s means in serving a guest; to give money to foolish people; to wish for the things in which Allaah has made some people to excel over others, as both men and women will have reward for what they have earned.
It is forbidden to engage in disputes; to feel pity for adulterers and fornicators when the sentence is carried out on them; to cancel out one’s charity by means of hurtful reminders.
It is forbidden to conceal one’s testimony; to oppress orphans; to spurn beggars. It is forbidden to use bad things for medicine, for Allaah will never put the cure for this ummah into something that He has forbidden them. It is forbidden to kill women and children in war. It is forbidden to go to extremes in religion. It is forbidden to ask provocative questions, i.e., to come to a scholar and ask him difficult questions in order to make him commit an error or confuse him, or else to show off one’s own knowledge and intelligence, or to ask him hypothetical questions for the sake of argument and not in order to learn more about one’s religion.
It is forbidden to play with dice; to curse animals; to scratch one’s face at times of disaster; to deceive the people under one’s authority. It is forbidden to look at people who are higher in status than oneself – one should look at those who are lower in status so that one will appreciate the blessings of Allaah and not think little of them. It is forbidden for one person to feel proud and boast over another.
It is forbidden to go back on a promise or to break a trust. It is forbidden to conceal knowledge, or to intercede for bad purposes.
It is forbidden to ask people for things when one is not in need; to [jarasa] when travelling; or to keep a dog, except those kept for a reason, such as herding, farming, hunting or guarding.
It is forbidden to administer more than ten lashes, except in the case of one of the prescribed punishments (hudood); to laugh excessively; to force the sick to eat or drink – because Allaah will give them to eat and drink; to stare at people suffering from leprosy.
It is forbidden for one Muslim to alarm another with regard to his property or take it away, whether this is done in jest or is serious. It is forbidden to give and take with one’s left hand. It is forbidden to make vows, because they do not change the qadr (decree) of Allaah, although they may make a stingy person give up something. It is forbidden to practice medicine without experience; or to kill ants, bees and hoopoes.
It is forbidden for a man to travel alone; or to prevent a neighbour from attaching a piece of wood to his wall.
It is forbidden to give salaam only to the people whom one knows – salaam should be given both to those one knows and those one does not know. It is forbidden to answer a question asked by one who does so before giving salaam. It is forbidden for a man to kiss another man.
It is forbidden to swear an oath not to do good; in this case one should do good and offer expiation for the oath. It is forbidden to judge between two disputing parties when one is angry, or to decide in favour of one without hearing what the other has to say.
It is forbidden to allow children to go outside when the sun is setting, until it is completely dark, because this is the time when the shayaateen spread out. It is forbidden to pick fruit or harvest at night, because this deprives the poor of their right, and Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “... pay the due thereof on the day of its harvest…” [al-An’aam 6:141].
It is forbidden for a man to walk through the marketplace carrying anything that may harm the Muslims, such as sharp instruments that are not covered properly. It is forbidden to enter or leave any town that has been stricken by the plague.
Cupping is forbidden on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays; it should only be done on Thursdays, Mondays or Tuesdays. It is forbidden to say “yarhumuk Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you)” to someone who does not say “al-hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allaah)” when he sneezes. It is forbidden to spit in the direction of the Qiblah; to break one’s journey in order to sleep or rest at the side of the road, because this is the dwelling-place of animals. It is forbidden to laugh when someone farts, because this is just the sound of passing wind, which can happen to anyone, and not laughing is being considerate towards others.
It is forbidden to refuse perfume, cushions and aromatic plants.
This is the list of forbidden actions that I was able to compile. We ask Allaah, the Most Generous, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, to help us to avoid sin and evil actions, both obvious and hidden, to keep us far away from everything that may earn His wrath, and to accept our repentance, for He is the All-Hearing, the Ever-Close, the One Who answers prayers. “Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him! And peace be on the Messengers!” [al-Saaffaat 37:180-181 – interpretation of the meaning].
Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.