Chapter 3
Biography of the Prophet
45841: The last words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
What were the last words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) before he bade
farewell to this world?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The last words of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) _ before he bade farewell to
this world _ were: "O Allaah, (with) the higher
companions". This is the title that al-Bukhaari gave to a chapter in
Kitaab al-Maghaazi in his Saheeh: "The last words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)", where
he quoted the hadeeth of `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her) who said: When the Prophet was healthy,
he used to say, "No soul of a Prophet is taken until he
has been shown his place in Paradise and then he is given
the choice." When death approached him while his head
was on my thigh, he became unconscious and then
recovered consciousness. He then looked at the ceiling of the
house and said, "O Allaah! (with) the highest companions."
I said (to myself), "He is not going to choose (to stay
with) us." Then I understood what he meant when he said
that to us when he was healthy. The last words he spoke
were, "O Allaah! (with) the highest companions."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4463; Muslim, 2444.
There is a report narrated by Ahmad (1691) from
the hadeeth of Abu `Ubaydah, who said that the last
words that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) spoke were, "Expel the Jews of the Hijaaz
and Najraan from the Arabian Peninsula, and know that
the most evil of people are those who took the graves of
their Prophets as places of worship." This was classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheehah, no. 1132. And Abu
Dawood (5156)and Ibn Maajah (2698) narrated that `Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The last words that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) spoke were, "The prayer, the prayer! And
fear Allaah with regard to those whom your right
hands possess." This was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Saheeh Abi Dawood. And there are other
similar ahaadeeth. What is meant by these reports is that
these are some of the last things that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, or they were
the last pieces of advice that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave to his family and
companions, and those who would be in authority after he was
gone. These ahaadeeth are among the last things he said,
but the hadeeth of `Aa'ishah is the last of all.
See Fayd al-Qadeer by al-Manaawi, 5/250 _ 251.
Note: al-Suhayli said: the reason why these _ "O
Allaah, (with) the higher companions" _ were the last words
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is because they refer both to Tawheed and to dhikr in
the heart. It offers comfort to those who are unable to
speak (when dying), because some people may not be able
to speak out loud for some reason, but that does not
matter if their hearts are steadfast in remembering Allaah.
Quoted by al-Haafiz in al-Fath, 8/138.
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45696: One of the unique characteristics of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was that it
was permissible for him to be alone with a non-mahram
woman and look at her
Question:
I have heard that there is consensus among the
ummah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was considered to be a mahram
for every Muslim woman, when Allaah commanded him
in His Book (interpretation of the meaning):
"It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women
after this, nor to change them for other wives even though
their beauty attracts you" [al-Ahzaab 33:52]
Thus Allaah forbade him to marry any woman (from
point onwards). Did he thereby become a mahram in the
sense that it was permissible for women to uncover in front
of him like any other mahram? And did the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
stay overnight in the houses of the Muslims because he was
a mahram to their womenfolk?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Many scholars are of the view that one of the
unique characteristics of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was that he was permitted to be
alone with the women of his ummah and to look at them and
let them ride behind him on his mount.
Al-Hattaab al-Maaliki said: One of his unique characteristics was that he was allowed to be alone
with a non-mahram woman, as was narrated by al-Damaameemi in his commentary on al-Bukhaari, at
the beginning of the Book of Jihad, where it speaks of
his entering upon Umm Haraam bint Milhaan. Shaykh
Jalaal al-Deen says in al-Mubaahaat: It was one of his
unique characteristics that he was permitted to be alone with
them and to let them ride behind him on his mount.
End quote from Mawaahib al-Jaleel, 3/402.
Al-Bujayrami al-Shaafa'i said in his commentary on
al-Khateeb: He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had the unique characteristic of being allowed to look
at non-mahram women and to be alone with them and to
let them ride behind him on his mount, because he
was protected by his infallibility. This is the correct
answer concerning the story of Umm Haraam and how he
entered upon her and slept in her house and she cleaned his
head, even though they were not mahrams or spouses.
With regard to the suggestion that she was his mahram
through radaa'ah (breastfeeding), this was refuted by
al-Dimyaati on the grounds that it cannot be proven.
End quote from Haashiyat al-Bujayrami, 3/372.
Commenting on the hadeeth of al-Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh ibn `Afra, who said: The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and entered
when it was my wedding and sat by my bed like you are
sitting next to me now, and some young girls of ours started
to beat the daff and eulogize about those of my
forefathers who were killed on the day of Badr. When one of
them said, "There is among us a Prophet who knows what
will happen tomorrow," he said, "Do not say this, but say
the other things you were saying" (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 4750),
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: What is clear to us on the
basis of strong evidence is that one of the unique
characteristics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is that it was permissible for him to be alone with
a non-mahram woman and to look at her. This is the
correct answer concerning the story of Umm Haraam and
how he entered upon her and slept in her house and she
cleaned his head, even though they were not mahrams or spouses.
End quote from al-Fath, 9/303
Many of the scholars were of the view that Umm
Haraam was one of the mahrams of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him); al-Nawawi
even narrated that there was consensus among the scholars
on this point.
It says in Mataalib Ooli al-Nuha (5/34) _ one of
the Hanbali books: It was permissible for him to let a
non-mahram woman ride behind him on his camel,
because of the story of Asma'. And Abu Dawood narrated from
a woman of Ghifaar that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) let her ride behind him on
the back of his camel saddle. And it was permissible for
him to be alone with them because of the story of
Umm Haraam.
The hadeeth of Asma' referred to above was narrated
by al-Bukhaari (4823) and Muslim (4050) from Asma'
bint Abi Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with them both),
who said: I used to bring the date-stones from the land of
al-Zubayr that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had allocated to him,
(carrying them) on my head, and it was two-thirds of a farsakh
(a farsakh = three miles) away. I came one day with the
date-stones on my head, and I met the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and a
group of the Ansaar were with him. He called me then made
his camel kneel down so that I could ride behind him, but
I felt too shy to travel with the men, and I remembered
al-Zubayr and his protective jealousy (gheerah), for he
was the most jealous of people. The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) realized
that I felt too shy so he went on his way. Then I came to
al-Zubayr and told him that I had met the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) carrying the date-stones on my head, and there was a
group of his companions with him, and he had made his
camel kneel so that I could ride behind him, but I had felt
too shy and I remember his (al-Zubayr's) protective
jealousy. He said: "By Allaah, for you to have to carry the
date-stones is harder for me to bear than your riding with
him." She said: Then later on Abu Bakr sent me a servant
to take care of the horse and it was as if I had been set
free from slavery.
The hadeeth of the woman from Ghifaar was narrated
by Abu Dawood (313) from that woman of Banu
Ghifaar who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) let me ride behind him on
the back of his camel-saddle. This was classed as da'eef
by al-Albaani in Da'eef Abi Dawood.
This is not one of the issues on which the scholars
are unanimously agreed, rather some of them clearly
stated that there was a difference of scholarly opinion on
this point. Al-`Iraaqi said in Tarh
al-Tathreeb (5/167), concerning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) entering upon Dubaa'ah bint al-Zubayr:
He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered
upon Dubaa'ah to visit her when she was sick or to visit
her because she was his relative as stated above. This
points to his humility, upholding of kinship ties and concern
for his relatives. It is to be interpreted as meaning that
he was not alone with a woman in this case, because
he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not
sit alone with non-mahram women or shake hands with
them. If he did do that then this does not mean that
his infallibility was tarnished thereby, but they did not
regard that as being one of his unique characteristics, thus he
is like others with regard to this issue.
And Allaah knows best.
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44990: The reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) married `Aa'ishah despite the
age difference
Question:
A Christian colleague of mine asked me why the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
married `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when
she was nine years old and he was nearly sixty, and was
he intimate with her at that age or what? In fact I do
not know how to respond to that.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) married `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
after he married Sawdah bint Zam'ah (may Allaah be
pleased with her). She _ `Aa'ishah _ was the only virgin
whom he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
married. And he consummated the marriage with her when
she was nine years old.
Among her virtues was the fact that the Revelation
did not descend when he under one cover with any of
his wives other than her. She was one of the dearest of
all people to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), and news of her innocence was revealed
from above the seven heavens. She was one of the
most knowledgeable of his wives, and one of the
most knowledgeable women of the ummah as a whole.
The senior companions of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to refer to her opinion
and consult her.
With regard to the story of her marriage, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had
grieved over the death of the Mother of the Believers
Khadeejah, who had supported him and stood by his side, and
he called the year in which she died The Year of
Sorrow. Then he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) married Sawdah, who was an older woman and was
not very beautiful; rather he married her to console her
after her husband had died and she stayed among
mushrik people. Four years later the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) married `Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), and he was over fifty. Perhaps
the reasons for the marriage were as follows:
1 _ He saw a dream about marrying her. It is proven in
al-Bukhaari from the hadeeth of `Aa'ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her: "You were shown
to me twice in a dream. I saw that you were wrapped in
a piece of silk, and it was said, `This is your wife.'
I uncovered her and saw that it was you. I said, `If this
is from Allaah then it will come to pass.'" (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, no. 3682). As to whether this is a
prophetic vision as it appears to be, or a regular dream that may
be subject to interpretation, there was a difference of
opinion among the scholars, as mentioned by al-Haafiz in
Fath al-Baari, 9/181.
2 _ The characteristics of intelligence and smartness
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had noticed in `Aa'ishah even as a small child, so
he wanted to marry her so that she would be more able
than others to transmit reports of what he did and said. In
fact, as stated above, she was a reference point for the
Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) with regard to
their affairs and rulings.
3 _ The love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) for her father Abu Bakr (may Allaah
be pleased with him), and the persecution that Abu Bakr
(may Allaah be pleased with him) had suffered for the sake
of the call of truth, which he bore with patience. He was
the strongest of people in faith and the most sincere in
certain faith, after the Prophets.
It may be noted that among his wives were those
who were young and old, the daughter of his sworn
enemy, the daughter of his closest friend. One of them
occupied herself with raising orphans, another distinguished
herself from others by fasting and praying qiyaam a great
deal… They represented all kinds of people, through whom
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was able to set out a way for the
Muslims showing how to deal properly with all kinds of
people. [See al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah fi Daw' al-Masaadir
al-Asliyyah, p. 711].
With regard to the issue of her being young and your
being confused about that, you should note that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) grew up in
a hot country, the Arabian Peninsula. Usually in
hot countries adolescence comes early and people marry
early. This is how the people of Arabia were until
recently. Moreover, women vary greatly in their development
and their physical readiness for marriage.
If you think _ may Allaah guide you _ that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not
marry any virgin other than `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her), and that all his other wives had been
previously married, this will refute the notion spread by many
hostile sources, that the basic motive behind the
Prophet's marriages was physical desire and enjoyment of
women, because if that was his intention he would have
chosen only those who were virgins and beautiful etc.
Such slanders against the Prophet of Mercy (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by kaafirs and others
of their ilk, are indicative of their inability to find fault
with the law and religion that he brought from Allaah, so
they try to find ways to criticize Islam with regard to
issues that are not related to sharee'ah.
And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah
send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad
and his family and companions.
For more information see Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/106.
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49679: How many Ramadaans did the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fast?
Question:
How many Ramadaans did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fast?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars are unanimously agreed that fasting
the month of Ramadaan was enjoined in Sha'baan 2 AH,
and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) fasted nine Ramadaans, because he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in Rabee'
al-Awwal 11 AH.
It says in al-Insaaf:
Fasting Ramadaan was enjoined in 2 AH according
to scholarly consensus. The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted nine
Ramadaans according to scholarly consensus.
Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo':
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) fasted Ramadaan for nine years, because
it was enjoined in Sha'baan 2 AH, and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in Rabee'
al-Awwal 11 AH.
See also Majmoo' Fataawa by Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah, 2/20. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
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20240: Who took care of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) after his
mother died?
Question:
Who took care of The Prophet Muhammad after his parents died?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The one who took care of him was his grandfather
`Abd al-Muttalib, then after his grandfather died, his
paternal uncle Abu Taalib took care of him. Both of them died
as disbelievers, but `Abd al-Muttalib died before
the Prophet's mission began. Abu Taalib died about ten
years after the Prophet's mission began, after refusing to
enter Islam.
Ibn Katheer said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was with his
mother Aaminah bint Wahb, then when she died, his
grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib took care of him. He used to sit on
his cushion and `Abd al-Muttaalib would not eat any
food without saying "Bring me my son" and he would
be brought to him. When `Abd al-Muttalib was on
his deathbed, he told Abu Taalib to take care of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). Ibn Ishaaq said: When the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reached the age
of eight years, his grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib ibn
Haashim died. After his grandfather, the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stayed with
his paternal uncle Abu Taalib, in accordance with the
last wishes of `Abd al-Muttalib, and because he was the
full-brother of (the Prophet's) father `Abd-Allaah _
their mother was Faatimah bint `Amr ibn `Imraan
ibn Makhzoom. So Abu Taalib was the one who looked
after the affairs of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). Abu Taalib had no wealth, but
he loved him deeply, more than he loved his own
children; he would not sleep unless he was his side, and when
he went out he would go out with him, and he used to
keep the best food for him.
Al-Bidaayah wa'l-Nihaayah, vol. 2, p. 282.
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45645: A realistic look at marriage to women of the
People of the Book
Question:
Does a Muslim man have the right to marry a
Christian or Jewish woman as the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) married Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did not marry Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah, rather she was
his concubine. The Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, gave
her as gift to him after the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah.
It is permissible to have intercourse with a slave
woman, even if she is not Muslim, because she is part of
"what one's right hand possesses," and Allaah has
permitted "what one's right hand possesses" without stipulating
that the slave woman be a Muslim. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private
parts, from illegal sexual acts)
6. Except from their wives or (the slaves) that their
right hands possess,.. for then, they are free from blame"
[al-Mu'minoon 23:5-6]
With regard to marrying a Christian or Jewish
woman, this is permissible according to the text of the
Qur'aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Made lawful to you this day are AtTayyibaat [all
kinds of Halaal (lawful) foods, which Allaah has made
lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products,
fats, vegetables and fruits)]. The food (slaughtered
cattle, eatable animals) of the people of the Scripture (Jews
and Christians) is lawful to you and yours is lawful to
them. (Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from
the believers and chaste women from those who were
given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before your time
when you have given their due Mahr (bridal-money given
by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage),
desiring chastity (i.e. taking them in legal wedlock) not
committing illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girlfriends"
[al-Maa'idah 5:5]
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
It is permissible to marry a woman from the People
of the Book. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"(Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste [muhsan]
women from the believers and chaste women from those who
were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before
your time"
[al-Maa'idah 5:5]
Muhsan here means chaste; the same word is also used
in Soorat al-Nisa' to describe married women, who
are forbidden in marriage to anyone else. And it was
said that the chaste women to whom marriage is permitted
is free women, so slave women from the People of the
Book are not permissible. However, the first view is the
one which is correct, for several reasons…
The point is that Allaah has permitted us to marry
chaste women from among the People of the Book, and
the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did that. `Uthmaan married a
Christian woman, as did Talhah ibn `Ubayd-Allaah; and
Hudhayfah married a Jewish woman.
`Abd-Allaah ibn Ahmad said: I asked my father about
a Muslim man who married a Christian or Jewish
woman. He said: I do not like for him to do it, but if he does,
then some of the companions of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that too.
Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 2/794, 795.
Although we say that it is permissible, and we do
not doubt that there is a clear text concerning that,
nevertheless we do not think that a Muslim should marry a
kitaabi woman (a woman of the people of the Book), for
several reasons:
1 _ One of the conditions of marriage to a kitaabi
woman is that she should be chaste, but there are very few
chaste women to be found in those environments.
2 _ One of the conditions of marriage to a kitaabi
woman is that the Muslim man should be in charge of the
family. But what happens nowadays in that those who
marry women from kaafir countries marry them under their
laws, and there is a great deal of injustice in their systems.
They do not recognize a Muslim's authority over his wife
and children, and if the wife gets angry with her husband
she will destroy his household and take the children
away, with the support of the laws of her land and with the
help of their embassies in most countries. It is no secret
that the Muslim countries have no power to resist the
pressure of those countries and their embassies.
3 _ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) encouraged us to look for Muslim wives who
are religiously committed. If a woman is Muslim but is
not religiously committed and of good character, then
the Muslim is not encouraged to marry her, because
marriage is not simply the matter of physical enjoyment only,
rather it is the matter of Allaah's rights and the spouse's
rights, and preserving his household, his honour and his
wealth, and bringing up his children. How can a man who
marries a kitaabi woman be certain that his sons and
daughters will be raised according to Islam when he is leaving
them in the hands of this mother who does not believe in
Allaah and associates others with Him?
Hence even though we say that it is permissible to
marry a kitaabi woman, it is not encouraged and we do not
advise it, because of the negative consequences that result
from that. The wise Muslim should choose the best woman
to bear his children and think in the long term about
his children and their religious upbringing. He should not
let his desire or worldly interests or transient outward
beauty blind him to reality; true beauty is the beauty of
religious commitment and good morals.
He should realize that if he forsakes these type of
women for the sake of that which is better for his
religious commitment and that of his children, Allaah
will compensate him with something better, because "Whoever gives up something for the sake of
Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better
than that, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) told us, the one who speaks the truth and
does not speak of his own whims and desires. Allaah is
the source of strength and the One Who guides to the
Straight Path.
See also the answer to question no. 2527
And Allaah knows best.
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43045: Did the parents of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) become Muslim?
Question:
Did the Prophet's() Grandfather, Father and Mother
ever believed in Allah? All the Prohets before the
Last Prophet(), were their religion called Islam?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Discussion of the grandfather of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) comes
under the heading of rulings on the people of the fatrah
which, as Ibn Katheer said, refers to the interval between
two Prophets, such as that between `Eesa (peace be upon
him) and Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), when there was a break in the Message.
(Tafseer al-Qur'aan il-`Azeem, 2/35. See also
Jam' al-Jawaami' by al-Subki, 1/63; Rooh
al-Ma'aani by al-Aaloosi, 6/103.
The scholars divided these people into two Islam & Muslims:
1 _ Those whom the call reached and
2 _ Those whom the call did not reach, so they
remained unaware.
The first category may be further divided into two groups:
(i) Those whom the call reached and who believed
in Allaah alone and did not associate anything with
Him, such as Qiss ibn Saa'idah and Zayd ibn `Amr ibn
Nufayl. See al-Bidaayah a'l-Nihaayah, 2/230;
Fath al-Baari, 7/147.
(ii) Those whom the call reached but they changed it
and associated others with Allaah, such as `Amr ibn
Luhayy who changed the religion of Ibraaheem and of whom
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "I saw `Amr ibn `Aamir ibn Luhayy al-Khuzaa'i
dragging his intestines in Hell." Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
3521; Muslim, 2856.
It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) that his parents are in Hell.
Muslim (203) narrated that a man said: "O Messenger of
Allaah, where is my father?' He said: "In Hell." When the
man turned away, he called him back and said: "My father
and your father are in Hell."
With regard to his mother he (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "I asked my Lord for
permission to pray for forgiveness for my mother, and He did
not give me permission. I asked him for permission to
visit her grave, and He gave me permission." Narrated
by Muslim, 976.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on the first hadeeth:
This indicates that whoever died during the fatrah
(interval between two Prophets) following the way of the Arabs
at that time, namely idol-worship, is among the people
of Hell. We cannot say that the message did not reach
these people, because the message of Ibraaheem and
other Prophets had reached these people.
Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 3/79.
However some scholars have tried to defend the
parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and say that they will be saved from Hell, and
that Allaah brought them back to life after they had died,
and they became Muslim and believed in the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then they died
like that (as Muslims). They quoted as evidence for
this mawdoo' (fabricated) and da'eef jiddan (very
weak) ahaadeeth which cannot be regarded as evidence.
See al-Haawi li'l-Fataawi, 2/202
The scholars refuted this idea.
Al-`Azeemabaadi said:
Everything that has been narrated concerning the
parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) being brought back to life and believing and
being saved is mostly fabrications and lies, and some of it
is da'eef jiddan (very weak) and is not saheeh at
all, according to the consensus of the leading hadeeth
scholars who judged it to be mawdoo' (fabricated) and
da'eef (weak), such as al-Daaraqutni, al-Jawzaqaani,
Ibn Shaheen, al-Khateeb, Ibn `Asaakir, Ibn Naasir, Ibn
al-Jawzi, al-Suhayli, al-Qurtubi and others. `Awn
al-Ma'bood, 12/494. See also Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 4/324
We should understand that blood ties will not save
anyone from the wrath of Allaah. Al-Nawawi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:
Whoever dies in kufr will be in Hell and his blood
ties will not benefit him at all. Sharh Saheeh
Muslim, 3/79.
The ruling on the parents and grandfather of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is
no exception to that. The father of Ibraaheem (peace be
upon him) was a kaafir and remained so until he died,
and Ibraaheem disavowed himself of him, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And Ibraaheem's (Abraham) invoking (of Allaah)
for his father's forgiveness was only because of a promise
he [Ibraaheem (Abraham)] had made to him (his
father). But when it became clear to him that he (his father) is
an enemy of Allaah, he dissociated himself from him"
[al-Tawbah 9:114]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) even stated this clearly, when the following verse
was revealed (interpretation of the meaning):
"And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of near kindred"
[al-Shu'ara' 26:214]
He said: "O people of Quraysh (or said similar
words)! Buy (i.e. save) yourselves (from the Hellfire) as I
cannot save you from Allaah's punishment. O Bani Abd
Manaaf, I cannot save you from Allaah's punishment. O
`Abbaas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib, I cannot save you from
Allaah's punishment. O Safiyyah, aunt of the Messenger of
Allaah, I cannot save you from Allaah's punishment. O
Faatimah daughter of Muhammad, Ask me for whatever you
want of my wealth, but I cannot save you from
Allaah's punishment."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2753; Muslim, 206.
No Muslim should let his feelings for the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and his relatives make him issue judgements without
clear proof and knowledge, lest that lead to loss in this
world and in the Hereafter. And Allaah is the One Whose
help we seek.
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36861: The letters of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) to the kings
Question:
I want to know the names of the famous
persons/Kings who embraced islam after accepting invitation
from Prophet Muhammad?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was commanded to convey Islam to all of mankind.
Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
"And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as
a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind"
[Saba' 34:28]
So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did as he was commanded. He called
his people and those who were around him first, and
when Islam became established in Arabia, and the Arabs
entered the religion of Allaah in crowds, he began to call
others, and he sent his messengers and envoys to the kings
and rulers.
Muslim (1774) narrated from Anas that the Prophet
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
wrote to Chosroes, Caesar, the Negus and to every tyrant,
calling them to Allaah. This was not the Negus for whom
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) offered the funeral prayer.
Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) wrote to the Negus who became Muslim and for
whom he offered the funeral prayer when he died, then he
wrote to the Negus who came to the throne after him and
who was a kaafir.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) sent `Abd-Allaah ibn Hudhaafah to Chosroes; Dahyah
to Caesar the king of Byzantium; Saleet ibn `Amr
to Hawdhah ibn `Ali in al-Yamaamah; al-`Ala' ibn
al-Hadrami to al-Mundhir ibn Saawa in Hajar; `Amr ibn
al-`Aas to Jayfar and `Abbaad, the two sons of al-Jalandi
in `Ammaan; Shujaa' ibn Wahb to Ibn Abu Shamir al-Ghassaani; and Haatib ibn Abi Balta'ah to
al-Muqawqis. He wrote to the Negus and he became Muslim, and
when he died, he wrote to the Negus who succeeded him
and sent `Amr ibn Umayyah to him.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) called them to Islam and to worship
Allaah alone.
See Zaad al-Ma'aad by Ibn al-Qayyim (3/688-697),
where he quotes the letters of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the responses of those kings.
The text of the letter of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to Heraclius
the king of Byzantium was as follows:
"In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the
Most Merciful. From Muhammad the slave and Messenger
of Allaah to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium. Peace be
upon those who follow true guidance. I call you with the
call of Islam. Become Muslim and you will be safe, and
Allaah will grant you a two-fold reward, but if you turn
away, upon you will be the sins of the Areesiyyeen
(peasants i.e., his followers and subjects who would follow him
in kufr).
`Say (O Muhammad): "O people of the Scripture
(Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between
us and you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone),
and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none
of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah. Then, if
they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims"'
[Aal `Imraan 3:64]."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7; Muslim, 1773.
None of these kings believed except for the first
Negus, the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and the king of
`Ammaan and his brother.
Heraclius would have become Muslim, were it not
that he feared what his people would do to him. He was
afraid that he would lose his kingdom. The same was true of
the others, who preferred the life of this world to the
Hereafter, so ultimately they were the losers.
It is narrated in al-Bukhaari and Muslim, in the
hadeeth referred to above, that when Heraclius asked Abu
Sufyaan about the attributes of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the message to which he
was calling people, he acknowledged that he was indeed
the Messenger of Allaah. He said:
"If what you say is true, then he is a Prophet, and he
will soon occupy the place beneath these two feet of mine.
I knew that he would emerge, but I did not think that
he would be from among you. If I knew that I could
reach him definitely, I would have done my utmost to go
to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet."
This indicates that he knew that he would not be
safe from being killed if he were to migrate to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It
was narrated that he said: "I know that (i.e., what they
said about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)) is correct, but I cannot do anything. If I do
anything my kingdom will be lost and the Romans
(Byzantines) will kill me." And it was also narrated that he said:
"By Allaah, I know that he is a Prophet who has been
sent, but I fear the Byzantines and what they will do to
me. Were it not for that, I would follow him."
Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in Zaad al-Ma'aad (3/694)
that when Heraclius heard news of the Negus
becoming Muslim, he said: "By Allaah, were it not for the sake
of holding on to my kingdom, I would have done what
he has done."
His fear for himself and his kingdom prevented him
from becoming Muslim and migrating to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
But if Heraclius had really understood the words of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
in the letter that he sent to him: "Become Muslim and
you will be safe," and he had understood that in general
terms as applying both to this world and the Hereafter, he
would have been safe from all that he feared if he had
become Muslim. But guidance is in the hand of Allaah. The
Negus, the king of Abyssinia, became Muslim and remained
in power. See Fath al-Baari, commentary on hadeeth no.
7; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, hadeeth no. 1773.
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27224: Overnight stay of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr in the cave of Thawr
Question:
I have been trying to find the hadeeth where it says
that when the Prophet was migrating to Madeenah and he
hid in the cave, an angel or angels covered with their
wings the opening of the cave from the view of the
searching party of the kuffaar.
The common version that is well known amongst
Muslims is that a spider spun a web around the opening thus
hiding the Prophet, but I found out that this narration is weak
or fabricated, and that the report of angels covering
the opening is an authentic version, can you tell me who
the narrator was and in which book of hadeeth or seerah
I can find this (with chains) ?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The overnight stay of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr in the cave of
Thawr is mentioned in the Book of Allaah and in the Sunnah
of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). There follow some details:
1 _ In the Book of Allaah:
The story of this overnight stay is mentioned in
the Qur'aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not
matter), for Allaah did indeed help him when the disbelievers
drove him out, the second of the two; when they
(Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, he said to his
companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allaah is
with us." Then Allaah sent down His Sakeenah
(calmness, tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him
with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word
of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word
of Allaah that became the uppermost; and Allaah is
All-Mighty, All-Wise" [al-Tawbah
9:40]
This verse clearly states that the mushrikeen
were conspiring to kill him, and that they [i.e., the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
Abu Bakr] stayed overnight in the cave.
2 _ The Sunnah
With regard to the reports in the saheeh Sunnah
which speak of the overnight stay in the cave:
-i-
It was narrated that `Aa'ishah, the wife of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), said:
"… then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr headed towards a
cave on the mountain of Thawr, and they hid in it for
three nights, during which `Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Bakr _
who was a smart young lad _ stayed with them at night
then left just before dawn (at the end of the night) so that
he would be among Quraysh in Makkah when morning
came, as if he had spent the night among them. He used to
listen out to see what they were planning, then he would
bring news of that [to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr] when darkness came…"
This was narrated by al-Bukhaari (3905) in a lengthy
story to which he gave the title "The migration (hijrah) of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and his companions to Madeenah."
-ii-
It was narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: I said to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), when I was with him in the
cave: "If one of them looks down at his feet he will see us."
He said, "What do you think, O Abu Bakr, of two the third
of whom is Allaah?" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3653.
The story of the spider's web was narrated by
Imam Ahmad (3241) from Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him), with regard to the verse (interpretation of
the meaning): "And (remember) when the disbelievers
plotted against you (O Muhammad) to imprison you"
[al-Anfaal 8:30]. He said: Quraysh met together one night
in Makkah. Some of them said: When morning comes, imprison him in chains _ meaning the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Some said, No,
kill him; and others said, No, drive him out. Allaah
informed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) of that, so `Ali slept in the bed of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that night, and
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
went out and hid in the cave. The mushrikoon spent the
night lying in wait for `Ali, thinking that he was the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
When morning came, they pounced on him, and when they
saw `Ali, Allaah thwarted their plot. They said, Where is
that friend of yours? He said, I do not know. So they set
out after him and when they reached the mountain, they
were confounded. They climbed up the mountain and
passed by the cave, and saw a spider's web over its
entrance. They said, If anyone had entered here, the spider
would not have spun a web over the entrance. And he
stayed there for three nights.
The scholars differed concerning this hadeeth. Its
isnaad was classed as hasan by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in
Fath al-Baari and by Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah
wa'l-Nihaayah (3/222). It was classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah. Ahmad Shaakir said in
Tahqeeq al-Musnad (3251): there is some dispute concerning
its isnaad. The commentators on al-Musnad said (3251):
its isnaad is da'eef. And Allaah knows best.
With regard to the story of the two doves or pigeons,
this was mentioned by Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah
wa'l-Nihaayah (3/223). He said, it was narrated by Ibn
`Asaakir, then he said: This hadeeth is ghareeb jiddan with
this isnaad. It was similarly classed as da'eef by
the commentators on al-Musnad in the same place
referred to above.
Al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah
al-Da'eefah (3/339): Note that there is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the spider
and doves at the cave, despite the fact that this is
widely mentioned in some books and lectures which are
given on the anniversary of the migration of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to Madeenah.
So this should be borne in mind.
With regard to the angels concealing the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr,
this was narrated by al-Tabaraani in
al-Kabeer (24/106-108) from the hadeeth of Asma' bint Abi Bakr. It is a
lengthy hadeeth in which it says: "Then Abu Bakr said of a
man whom he could see opposite the cave, `O Messenger
of Allaah, he is looking at us.' He said, `No, the angels
are concealing us with their wings.'…"
The isnaad of this hadeeth includes Ya'qoob ibn
Humayd ibn Kaasib al-Madani, concerning whom the
scholars differed. See Tahdheeb al-Kamaal by al-Mazzi,
32/318-323.
He was regarded as da'eef (weak) by Ibn Ma'een,
Abu Haatim, al-Nasaa'i and Abu Zar'ah al-Raazi.
Abu Dawood al-Sijistaani said: we have seen in
his Musnad ahaadeeth which we regard as munkar. We
asked him for their sources and he refused to tell us, then
he narrated them after that. We found ahaadeeth in
some books that had been recently altered, and these
ahaadeeth are mursal but he added isnaads to them and
added something to the texts.
Ibn `Adiyy said: There is nothing wrong with him and
his reports. He narrated many ahaadeeth and many
ghareeb reports.
Al-Dhahabi said: He was one of the scholars of
hadeeth but he reports munkar and ghareeb reports.
Ibn Hibbaan classed him as thiqah (trustworthy).
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, he is sadooq (truthful) but he
is confused sometimes.
Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) classed
his hadeeth as hasan but he did not class this hadeeth as hasan.
He said in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah (3/263):
What is established concerning this Ya'qoob is that
his hadeeth is hasan… If there is no other fault in the
isnaad then it is hasan… Then he said: Shaykh
al-Tabaraani Ahmad ibn `Amr al-Khallaal al-Makki did not
find anything about his background. He narrated approximately 16 hadeeth from him in
al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, which indicates that he was one of his
well-known shaykhs. If the hadeeth is known or there are
corroborating reports, then the hadeeth is hasan.
And Allaah knows best.
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22725: Description of the Seal of Prophethood
Question:
I have seen a piece of paper on which was drawn
the shape of the Seal of Prophethood; they claimed that
this shape was what was to be found between the
shoulders of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). On it were written some words in
Arabic, such as the name of Allaah and the name of our
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and some other words. I hope you could explain that
and tell me the true description of the Seal, and alert
the Muslims to that. May Allaah reward you with good.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
One of the features of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) that are mentioned in the
ancient books is that between his shoulders was the Seal
of Prophethood. That was a sign of his truthfulness, and
that he was indeed the promised Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
The description of the Seal of Prophethood has
been narrated in the saheeh Sunnah. It was an area of
raised skin the size of a pigeon's egg, between the shoulders
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). It was surrounded by moles and on it were some hairs.
Al-Qurtubi said:
The proven ahaadeeth are agreed that the Seal
of Prophethood was something raised near his left
shoulder, the size of a pigeon's egg.
There is no proof that the name of Allaah or the
name Muhammad were written on the Seal, or any other words.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in Fath
al-Baari (6/650):
With regard to what has been narrated about it being
like the mark of a cupping glass, or like a black or green
mole, or that the words "Muhammad Rasool
Allaah (Muhammad the Messenger of Allaah)" or
"Sir fa anta'l-mansoor (Go forth for you have Divine support)" etc
were written on it, none of these reports have been proven.
Do not be deceived by what was narrated in Saheeh
Ibn Hibbaan because he was mistaken when he classed
that as saheeh. And Allaah knows best.
There follow some of the ahaadeeth that have
been narrated concerning the Seal of Prophethood:
1 _ Muslim (2344) narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "I saw the Seal by
his shoulder, like a pigeon's egg, resembling his body"
i.e., its colour was like the rest of his body.
2 _ Muslim (2346) also narrated that `Abd-Allaah
ibn Sarjis said: "I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), and I ate bread and meat with
him (or he said, thareed _ a meat dish)… then I went
behind him and I looked at the Seal of Prophethood between
his shoulders, near the top of his left shoulder, the shape of
a hand with the fingers together (but smaller in size,
the size of a pigeon's egg), with moles on it."
See Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi.
3 _ al-Tirmidhi narrated in al-Shamaa'il that Abu
Zayd `Amr ibn Akhtab al-Ansaari said: "I touched his
back, and my fingers touched the Seal." He was asked,
"What is the Seal?" He said, "A number of hairs
growing together."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Mukhtasar
al-Shamaa'il, p. 31
And Allaah knows best.
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20127: Umm Haraam and Umm Sulaym were mahrams
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
What was the relation of prophet(PBUH) with
umm-e-saleem and umm-e-haraam. prophet normally used to
go to their houses and rest over there. were these
two sihabiyat "MAHRAM" Of him and how.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Umm Sulaym's full name was Sahlah or Rumaylah
or Mulaykah bint Milhaan ibn Khaalid ibn Zayd ibn
Haraam ibn Jundub al-Ansaariyyah (may Allaah be pleased
with her). She was the mother of Anas ibn Maalik (may
Allaah be pleased with him), and is best known by her
kunyah; there is some difference of opinion as to her given
name. Al-Isaabah, 8/227.
Umm Haraam was the daughter of Milhaan (may
Allaah be pleased with him), and was the sister of Umm
Sulaym. Ibn `Abd al-Barr said: I could not find out her real name.
They were both mahrams of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Al-Bukhaari (2789) and Muslim (1912) narrated
from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that he heard him say that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to enter
upon Umm Haraam bint Milhaan and she would give him
food. Umm Haraam was married to `Ubaadah ibn
al-Saamit. One day the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) entered upon her, and she
provided him with food and started grooming his head. Then
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) slept, then he woke up smiling. Umm
Haraam asked, "What makes you smile, O Messenger of
Allaah?" He said, "Some people of my ummah were shown to
me (in my dream) fighting for the sake of Allaah, sailing
in the middle of the seas like kings on the thrones or
like kings sitting on their thrones." (The narrator Ishaq is
not sure as to which expression was correct). Umm
Haraam added, "I said, `O Messenger of Allaah! Pray to Allaah
to make me one of them.' " So the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed
to Allaah for her and then laid his head down (and
slept). Then he woke up smiling (again). (Umm Haraam
added): I said, "What makes you smile, O Messenger of
Allaah?" He said, "Some people of my ummah were shown to
me (in my dream) fighting for the sake of Allaah." He
said the same as he had said before. I said, "O Messenger
of Allaah! Pray to Allaah to make me one of them." He
said, "You will be among the first ones." Then Umm
Haraam sailed across the sea during the Caliphate of
Mu'aawiya ibn Abi Sufyaan, and she fell down from her riding
animal after coming ashore, and died.
Muslim (2331) narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to enter Umm Sulaym's house and sleep on her
mattress when she was not there. He came one day and slept
on her mattress, then someone went to her and said to
her, "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is sleeping in your house on your bed." She came
and saw that he had sweated and his sweat had soaked a
piece of cloth that was on the mattress. She opened her box
and started collecting that sweat and squeezing it into
bottles. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) woke with a start and said, "What are you doing, O
Umm Sulaym?" She said, "O Messenger of Allaah, we
hope for the barakah (blessing) of this sweat for our
children." He said, "You are right."
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"The scholars are agreed that Umm Haraam was a
mahram of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), but they differed as to how that came about.
Ibn `Abd al-Barr and others said that she was one of
his maternal aunts through radaa'ah (breastfeeding).
Others said that she was the maternal aunt of his father or
his grandfather, because `Abd al-Muttalib's mother was
from Banu al-Najjaar."
He also said:
"Umm Haraam was the sister of Umm Sulaym, and
they were maternal aunts of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his
mahrams, either through radaa'ah or through blood. So it
was permissible for him to be alone with them and to
enter upon them on his own, but he did not enter upon
any other woman apart from his wives.
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22004: There is no basis for Hijr Ismaa'eel being so called
Question:
Did ismail alaihi al salam burried this mother hager
in higr ismail.. as i hearded saying from one of our sheik
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. First of all we should point out
that there is no basis for the people calling Hijr Ismaa'eel
by this name, and Ismaa'eel knew nothing of this
Hijr. Ibraaheem and Ismaa'eel (peace be upon them) built
the Ka'bah completely, including the area of the Hijr,
then the walls of the Ka'bah became weakened because of
a fire and flood that happened before the mission of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) began. So Quraysh knocked down what was left of
its walls and rebuilt it. They ran out of money from
good sources and were thus unable to complete the
building on the foundations of Ibraaheem and Ismaa'eel (peace
be upon them), so they left the Hijr outside, and built a
small wall around it to indicate that it was part of the
Ka'bah. They had stipulated for themselves the condition
that nothing should be used for building it except money
from good sources, and that the earnings of prostitutes or
profits from interest-based sales could not be used, or
money that was acquired wrongfully by anyone.
In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that `Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: "I asked the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the wall _
is it part of the House? He said, `Yes.' I said, `Why did
they not incorporate it into the House?' He said, `Your
people ran out of money.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1584; Muslim, 1333.
"The wall" here refers to the Hijr.
The correct way is to call it al-Hijr, without attributing
it to Ismaa'eel (peace be upon him).
It is not proven in any marfoo' hadeeth that
Ismaa'eel (peace be upon him) was buried in this Hijr, or that
Haajar was buried in it. But there are mawqoof reports with
weak isnaads which may be understood as meaning that
the grave of Ismaa'eel is inside the Hijr.
For more information see Tahdheer al-Saajid
min Ittikhaadh al-Quboor Masaajid (Warning to
Worshippers against Taking Graves as Places of Worship) by
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him), p. 75, 76.
It is extremely unlikely that Ismaa'eel (peace be
upon him) would have buried his mother inside the Ka'bah,
or that his sons would have buried him there. Such
a suggestion needs proof, and no such thing has
been proven, praise be to Allaah.
And Allaah knows best.
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32762: The Jews' attempts to kill the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
I have heard the following: that the Jews tried to kill
the Messenger 3 times. And the last time was 6 years
before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) died, with poisoned mutton, of which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ate two
mouthfuls, then Allaah caused the sheep to speak and tell
the Messenger that it was poisoned. When the
Messenger died, he said that it was as if he could taste that mutton.
Is this true? If it is true, then it means that we have a
great score to settle with them.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Jews wanted to kill the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on several
occasions, including the following:
1 _ When he was a child. Ibn Sa'd narrated in
al-Tabaqaat, with an isnaad going back to Ishaaq ibn `Abd-Allaah
that when the mother of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) gave him to the Sa'di woman
who breastfed him, she said to her, "Keep him safe," and
she told her what she had seen. Haleemah al-Sa'diyyah
passed by some Jews and said, "Will you not tell me about
this son of mine? I conceived him in such and such a
manner, and I gave birth to him in such and such a manner, and
I saw such and such," and she repeated what his
mother had told her. They said to one another, "Kill him!"
They asked her, "Is he an orphan?" She said, "No, this is
his father and I am his mother." They said, "If he had been
an orphan we would have killed him." Haleemah (his
wet nurse) took him and said, "I nearly lost that which
had been entrusted to me."
This report is mursal, but the men of its isnaad are
thiqaat (trustworthy).
2 _ They tried to kill him (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) after Badr. Banu al-Nadeer sent for him
to come out to them with thirty of his companions, and
said "We will send out thirty of our rabbis, to meet in
such and such a place, halfway between us and you, so
that they can listen to you. If they believe in you then we
will all believe in you." Then they said: "How can we
reach an understanding when there are sixty of us? Send
out three of your companions and we will send out three
of our scholars to listen to you. They were carrying
concealed daggers and they wanted to kill the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). A
sincere woman from among Banu al-Nadeer sent word to
her nephew (her brother's son) who was a Muslim man
from among the Ansaar, and told him about that, and he
told the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) went back, and the following day he brought his
troops and besieged them, and the Jews of Banu al-Nadeer
were expelled. This story was narrated by `Abd al-Razzaaq
in his Musannaf, and by Abu Dawood in his
Sunan (3004), via `Abd al-Razzaaq, but he does not mention the
details of the story, rather he says, "… `They will listen to
you and if they believe in you, we shall believe in you.'
The narrator then narrated the whole story. When the next
day came, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) went out in the morning with
an army, and besieged them."
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
3 _ Ibn Ishaaq mentions another reason for the
expulsion of Banu al-Nadeer, which is that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to Banu
al-Nadeer to ask them for help in paying the diyah of two men
of ahl al-dhimmah who had been killed by mistake by
`Amr ibn Umayyah al-Dumari. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat by a wall
belonging to Banu al-Nadeer, and they plotted to throw a rock
on him and kill him. The Revelation informed him of
that and he rushed back to Madeenah, then he issued
orders that they should be besieged.
4 _ Then came the poisoning incident, after the
conquest of Khaybar. Al-Bukhaari (2617) and Muslim
(2190) narrated from Anas that a Jewish woman came to
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) with some poisoned mutton. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) ate from it, then he asked her about that. She said,
"I wanted to kill you." He said, "Allaah would not let
you do that." They said, "Shall we kill her?" He said,
"No." He said, I can still see the effect of that on the palate
of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
Al-Nawawi said: It is as if the poison still left some
trace of blackness etc.
The name of this woman was Zaynab bint al-Haarith,
the wife of Salaam ibn Mashkam, one of the leaders of
the Jews.
The reports differ as to whether or not she was killed.
It seems that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) did not kill her at first, but when Bishr ibn
al-Bara' ibn Ma'roor died as a result of the effects of
this food, then he executed her as a qisaas punishment.
Al-Bukhaari (5777) narrated that Abu Hurayrah
said: When Khaybar was conquered, a roasted poisoned
sheep was presented to the Prophet as a gift (by the Jews).
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, "Let all the Jews who have been here,
be assembled before me." The Jews were gathered and
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, "Will you now tell me the truth, if I
ask you about something?" They replied, "Yes." He
asked, "Have you poisoned this sheep?" They said, "Yes."
He asked, "What made you do that?" They said, "We
wanted to know if you were a liar in which case we would
have got rid of you, and if you are a Prophet then the
poison would not harm you."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to feel ill because of this food, and he would
be treated with cupping for that.
Ahmad (2784) narrated from Ibn `Abbaas that a
Jewish woman sent a gift to the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) of a poisoned
roasted sheep. He sent for her and asked her, "What made you
do what you did?" She said, "I wanted to see if you were
a Prophet, then Allaah would tell you about it, and if
you were not a Prophet the people would be rid of
you." Whenever the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) felt ill as a result of that he
would have himself treated by cupping. On one occasion
he traveled and when he entered ihraam he felt ill as a
result of that and he had himself treated by cupping. The
editor of al-Musnad classed it as saheeh.
That had an impact in causing his death, so he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died as a
martyr (shaheed), as Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said:
"If I were to swear by Allaah nine times that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was killed, that is more beloved to me than swearing
once, because Allaah made him a Prophet and made him
a martyr." Narrated by Ahmad, 3617. The editors said,
its isnaad is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim.
Al-Sindi said: The words "he was killed" mean by
the poison in the meat of the sheep's foreleg that he ate,
when the effects of that appeared when he was dying.
Quoted from Haashiyat al-Musnad, 6/116.
Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh, in a mu'allaq
report, and al-Haakim narrated in his
Mustadrak in a mawsool report, that `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to say, in the illness which would be his
last, `O `Aa'ishah, I still feel the pain of the food that I ate
in Khaybar, and this time I feel that my aorta is being
cut from that poison."
The aorta is the vein that is towards the back and
is connected to the heart; if it is cut then the person will die.
The conquest of Khaybar took place in Muharram
or Rabee' al-Awwal of the year 7 AH. So this event
took place four years before the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) died.
This is in addition to the recorded crimes of the
Jews which know no limit in ancient or modern times.
The enmity between us and them will last until we fight
them and kill them at the end of time, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has told us.
See al-Yahood fi'l-Sunnah al-Mutahharah, by Dr.
`Abd-Allaah ibn Naasir al-Shaqaari; Zaad
al-Ma'aad, 3/279
And Allaah knows best.
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34550: How did the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) marry Khadeejah?
Question:
Many of my friends have asked me about having
Affairs with there opposite sex.........Now I have told them this
is Haram in Islam but they give me the reply by saying
that Khadija (R.A.A.H) fell in love with out Prophet
(S.A.S) And had married him. I have read a lot of books and
even on the net i havent found any information about how
they were married and all i knew was Khadija (R.A.A.H)
SENT a message though a Slave girl who was the cousin of
our Prophet (S.A.S). And Abu Talib (R.A.A.H) uncle of
our Prophet (S.A.S) accepted the offer and wed them. Now
i wanted to know that have they (Prophet (S.A.S)
and Khadijah (R.A.A.H)) ever met prior to marraige?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The reports of the seerah (Prophet's biography)
indicate that Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (may Allaah be
pleased with her) was a determined and intelligent woman,
and she was also rich and had several kinds of trade. The
men of her people were keen to marry her. She did not
engage directly in trade herself, rather she used to employ men
to work on her behalf.
News reached Khadeejah of the honest and
trustworthy Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him); she heard a great deal about his honesty and trustworthiness, so she wanted to hire him to work
for her and do trade on her behalf. She sent someone to
him with an offer of work, and he (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) agreed to that.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) went out to do trade with the money of Khadeejah
(may Allaah be pleased with her), and there was with him
a slave of Khadeejah's whose name was Maysarah. Maysarah saw the signs that happened to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
whilst travelling, and that amazed him, so he started to tell
his mistress Khadeejah about everything that he had seen.
For example, when the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to the city of Busra in
Syria, he stopped in the shade of a tree, and one of the
monks said to Maysarah, "No one ever stops under the shade
of this tree but a Prophet." And Maysarah used to see
two angels shading the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) when the heat of the sun grew too intense.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) came back from that journey, and he had made far
more money in trading for Khadeejah than anyone else
ever had before. Khadeejah was impressed with the
personality of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and she wanted to marry him. So she sent her
friend Nafeesah bint Maniyyah to tell the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about that. He
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) agreed, and
the marriage of Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) was arranged by her father Khuwaylid, according to
the most sound reports, as mentioned by the scholars
of seerah.
From the above it is clear that there was no
inappropriate relationship between the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and Khadeejah (nay Allaah
be pleased with her) before he married her.
The morals of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) were sound and he lived a virtuous
life; Allah protected him from everything that may
have detracted from his message or that was contrary
to modesty and chivalry.
If such a thing has happened _ but he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is far above such a thing _
the kuffaar of Quraysh would not have kept quiet about
it. They would have regarded it as a great source of
shame and they would have used it as a means to reject
his religion and tarnish his reputation. But nothing of the
sort happened, rather before his Prophethood they used to
call him al-Saadiq (the honest one) and al-Ameen
(the trustworthy one). They did not cast aspersions upon
his chastity at all.
You should also note that the Prophets (peace be
upon them) _ all the Prophets _ are the most perfect and best
of human beings. Allaah does not choose anyone to
convey His Message except those who are fit for it. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): "Allaah knows best
with whom to place His Message" [al-An'aam
6:124]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This means, He knows best where to place His
Message and who is most fit for that among His creation. This
is like the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"And they say: `Why is not this Qur'aan sent down
to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Taa'if)?'
Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord?"
[al-Zukhruf 43:31]
What they meant was, If this Qur'aan had been sent
down to some great man or leading figure who was of high
status in their eyes, "of the two
towns" i.e., Makkah and al-Taa'if. That was because they _ may Allaah curse them _
despised the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) out of hatred and envy, and stubbornness and
pride, as Allaah tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when those who disbelieved (in the Oneness
of Allaah) see you (O Muhammad), they take you not
except for mockery (saying): "Is this the one who talks
(badly) about your gods?" While they disbelieve at the
mention of the Most Gracious (Allaah)"
[al-Anbiya' 21:36]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when they see you (O Muhammad), they treat
you only in mockery (saying): `Is this the one whom
Allaah has sent as a Messenger'"
[al-Furqaan 25:41]
"And indeed (many) Messengers before you were
mocked at, but their scoffers were surrounded by the very
thing that they used to mock at" [al-An'aam
6:10]
This happened even though they were aware of his
virtue, nobility and lineage, and the purity of his house
and upbringing. Before the Revelation came to him, they
used to refer to him amongst themselves as al-Ameen
(the trustworthy one). The leader of the kuffaar, Abu
Sufyaan, admitted that when Heraclius, the ruler of Rome,
asked him. "What is his lineage amongst you?" He said, "He
is of noble descent." He asked,"Did you ever accuse him
of lying before he said what he said?" He said, "No." In
this lengthy conversation the Roman ruler took the
pure attributes of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) as evidence that his Prophethood was
real and that what he said was true.
The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them)
stated that the Prophets were protected from committing
major sins and every kind of sin which points to the
base character of the one who does it.
Ibn al-`Arabi said: "Muhammad (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was protected by his Lord
against committing any sin, whether during the Jaahiliyyah
or afterwards, as an honour from Allaah, so that he
might occupy a great and lofty status. So throughout his life
he was protected from sin.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
You should note that the scholars differed as to
whether the Prophets could commit sin. Al-Qaadi summed up
the main points of this issue when he said… with regard
to sin, there is no dispute that the Prophets were
protected from committing any major sin. Similarly there was
no dispute that they were protected from minor sins
which reflect badly on a person and lower his status and
damage his character. But they differed as to whether the
Prophets could commit other kinds of minor sins. Most of
the fuqaha', hadeeth scholars and scholars of kalaam
among the earlier and later generations are of the view that
they could have committed such minor sins. They quote
as evidence the apparent meaning of the Qur'aan and
reports. Some of the fuqaha' and scholars of kalaam among
our imams are of the view that they were protected from
minor sins just as they were protected from major sins, and
that the position of Prophethood means that the Prophets
were far above committing sin or deliberately going
against Allaah's commands. They commented on verses
and ahaadeeth which refer to mistakes on the part of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and they interpreted them in a manner other than the
apparent meaning. They said that these verses and ahaadeeth
refer to incidents where a Prophet based his actions on his
own reasoning, or he did what he did out of forgetfulness,
or with permission from Allaah in cases where he
feared that he would be blamed for it, or there might be
mistakes that they made before Prophethood. This last view is
the one which is correct. These are the words of
al-Qaadi `Iyaad, may Allaah have mercy on him. And Allaah
knows best.
Out of respect towards the position of Prophethood,
the scholars said that whoever slanders any of the
Prophets is a kaafir and must be executed.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in Majma'
al-Fataawa, 35/123
The imams are agreed that whoever insults a
Prophet should be executed. And an accusation of adultery is
the worst kind of insult. See also Question no.
22809.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said
in al-Mughni, 12/405
Whoever slanders the mother of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to be executed
even if he repents, whether he is a Muslim or a kaafir, but if
he repents then his repentance will be accepted by
Allaah, but the sentence of execution will not be waived
because of his repentance, because of the rights of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Then he said:
The ruling concerning slander of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is like the ruling
on slander of his mother, because slandering his
mother brings a sentence of execution because it is a
slander against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and against his lineage.
And Allaah knows best.
See Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/77; al-Seerah
al-Nabawiyyah by Dr. Akram Diya' al-`Umari, 1/112-114;
al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah by Dr. Mahdi Rizq-Allaah, p. 132;
Af'aal al-Rasool (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) by Dr. Muhammad Sulaymaan al-Ashqar,
1/139-165; Ahkaam al-Qur'aan al-Kareem, 3/576.
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20181: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) kill any of the mushrikeen?
Question:
Can you please explain me that prophet mohammad (s.a.w.) he attand him self so many ghazawat did he
kill any enemy of islam himself.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Bukhaari (4073) and Muslim (1793) narrated that
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "The anger of Allaah is most
intense against a man who is killed by the Messenger of
Allaah for the sake of Allaah (on the battlefield)."
Al-Nawawi said:
"For the sake of Allaah" excludes one whom he kills as
a hadd punishment or by way of legal retaliation
(qisaas), because whoever is killed by the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on the battle
was intending to kill the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
It is not known that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) killed anyone among the
mushrikeen with his own hand apart from Ubayy ibn Khalaf.
That was narrated by Ibn Jareer and al-Haakim
from Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyab and al-Zuhri (may Allaah
have mercy on them). Ibn Katheer said in his
Tafseer (2/296): its isnaad is saheeh.
Ibn al-Qayyim said _ when discussing the battle of
Uhud _
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) turned towards the Muslims, and the first one
who recognized him beneath his armour was Ka'b ibn
Maalik, who shouted at the top of his voice, "O Muslims!
Rejoice! This is the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)!" He gestured to him to be
quiet, and the Muslims gathered around him and went with
him to the mountain pass where he had camped. Among
them were Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Ali, al-Haarith ibn
al-Simmah al-Ansaari and others. When they got close to
the mountain, Ubayy ibn Khalaf, who was on a horse of
his whose name was al-`Iwadh, caught up with the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). The enemy of Allaah had claimed that he would kill
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) whilst riding this horse. When he got close
to him, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) took a spear from al-Haarith ibn
al-Simmah and killed him with it. It hit him in his
collarbone and the enemy of Allaah retreated in defeat.
The mushrikeen said to him, By Allaah, there is nothing
wrong with you. He said, By Allaah, if what is wrong with
me had happened to the family of Dhu'l-Majaaz, they
would all have died. He used to feed his horse in Makkah
and say, I will kill Muhammad riding it. News of that
reached the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and he said: "Rather I will kill him in
sha Allaah." When he stabbed him, the enemy of
Allaah remembered that that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) had said, "Rather I will kill
him," and he was certain that he would die from this
wound. And he died from it in Sarif on his way back to Makkah.
Zaad al-Ma'aad, 3/199
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10063: The hijrah (Prophet's migration to Madeenah)
Question:
I would like some of the brothers to help me find
some sources or kind of informations about the Hijrah or
Hegra of the prophet, because i am doing a research paper on it.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
When the persecution of the people of Makkah
against the Muslims grew intense, Allaah commanded them
to migrate so that they could establish the religion of
Allaah in a land where they could worship Him.
Allaah chose Madeenah as the land of hijrah
(migration for the sake of Allaah). The Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw in a dream that
he was migrating to that city.
It was narrated from Abu Moosa that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "I saw in
a dream that I was migrating from Makkah to a land
in which there are date-palms, and I thought that it was
al-Yamaamah or Hajar, but it turned out to be
al-Madeenah, Yathrib…" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3352; Muslim, 4217.
Al-Bukhaari (3906) narrated that `Aa'ishah said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said to the Muslims, "I have been shown the land to
which you will migrate: it has palm trees between the two
lava fields, the two stony tracts." So, some people migrated
to Madeenah, and most of those people who had
previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Madeenah.
Al-Haafiz said:
The harrah (stony tract) is land whose stones are
black. This dream was different from the dream mentioned
above in the hadeeth of Abu Moosa in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not sure
where that land was. Ibn al-Teen said: The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was shown the land
of migration in a way that could apply to Madeenah and
to other places, then he was shown the feature that is
unique to Madeenah so it became clear which land that was.
With regard to the first companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to migrate:
It was narrated that al-Bara' (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: The first ones who came to us of
the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) were Mus'ab ibn `Umayr and Ibn
Umm Maktoom. They started to teach us the Qur'aan.
Then `Ammaar, Bilaal, and Sa'd came, then `Umar ibn
al-Khattaab came with twenty others. Then the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came, and
I never saw the people of Madeenah rejoice more than
that. They rejoiced so much that I saw the girls and boys
saying, "This is the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), he has come."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4560.
The following hadeeth sums up many of the events of
the Prophet's migration:
It was narrated that `Aa'ishah said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to the Muslims:
"In a dream I have been shown your place of migration,
a land of date palm trees, between two lave fields, the
two stony tracts." So, some people migrated to
Madeenah, and most of those people who had previously migrated
to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Madeenah. Abu
Bakr also prepared to leave for Madeenah, but the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said to him, "Wait for a while, because I hope that I will
be allowed to migrate also." Abu Bakr said, "Do you
indeed expect this? May my father be sacrificed for you!"
The Prophet said, "Yes." So Abu Bakr stayed behind for
the sake of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) so that he could accompany him.
He fed two she-camels he owned with the leaves of the
samur tree for four months.
One day, while we were sitting in Abu Bakr's house
at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, "This is the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
with his head covered, coming at a time at which he
never used to visit us before." Abu Bakr said, "May my
father and mother be sacrificed for him. By Allaah, he has
not come at this hour except for something important."
So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) came and asked permission to enter, and
he was admitted. When he entered, he said to Abu Bakr.
"Tell everyone who is present with you to go away." Abu
Bakr replied, "There is no one here but your family. May
my father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allaah!"
The Prophet said, "I have been given permission to
migrate." Abu Bakr said, "Shall I accompany you? May my
father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allaah!"
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said, "Yes." Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger
of Allaah, may my father be sacrificed for you, take one
of these two she-camels of mine." The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) replied,
"(I will accept it) with payment." So we prepared the
baggage quickly and put some journey food in a leather bag
for them. Asma', the daughter of Abu Bakr, cut a piece
from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag
with it, and for that reason she was named
Dhaat-un-Nitaaqayn (i.e. the owner of two belts).
Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr reached a cave on
the mountain of Thawr and stayed there for three
nights. `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr who was an intelligent and
wise youth, stayed (with them) overnight. He would leave
them before daybreak so that in the morning he would be
with Quraysh, as if he had spent the night in Makkah. He
would keep in mind any plot made against them, and when
it became dark he would (go and) inform them of it.
`Aamir bin Fuhayrah, the freed slave of Abu Bakr, used to
bring the milch sheep (of his master, Abu Bakr) to them a
little while after nightfall. So they always had fresh milk
at night, the milk of their sheep. `Aamir bin Fuhayrah
would then take the flock away when it was still dark
(before daybreak). He did the same on each of those three
nights. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr had hired a man from
the tribe of Bani al-Dayl from the family of Bani `Abd
ibn `Adiyy as an expert guide, … he was of the religion
of the infidels of Quraysh but the Prophet and Abu
Bakr trusted him and gave him their two she-camels and
made an appointment with him for him to bring their two
she-camels to the cave of the mountain of Thawr in
the morning after three nights had passed. And (when
they set out), `Aamir bin Fuhayrah and the guide went
along with them and the guide led them along the coast.
Ibn Shihaab said: `Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Maalik
al-Mudliji, who was the nephew of Suraaqah ibn Maalik ibn
Ju'sham, told me that his father informed him that he
heard Suraaqah ibn Ju'sham saying, "The messengers of
the kuffaar of Quraysh came to us declaring that they
had assigned for the persons who would kill or arrest
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) and Abu Bakr, a reward equal to their bloodmoney. While I was sitting in one of the
gatherings of my tribe, Bani Mudlij, a man from them came to
us and stood while we were sitting, and said, `O
Suraaqah! No doubt, I have just seen some people far away on
the shore, and I think they are Muhammad and his companions.' " Suraaqah added, "I too realized that
it must have been they. But I said `No, it is not they, but
you have seen so-and-so, and so-and-so whom we saw
setting out.' I stayed in the gathering for a while and then got
up and left for my home. I ordered my slave-girl to get
my horse which was behind a hillock, and keep it ready
for me.
Then I took my spear and left by the back door of
my house dragging the lower end of the spear on the
ground and keeping it low. Then I reached my horse, mounted
it and made it gallop. When I approached them
(i.e. Muhammad and Abu Bakr), my horse stumbled and I
fell down from it, Then I stood up, got hold of my quiver
and took out the divining arrows and drew lots as to
whether I should harm them (i.e. the Prophet and Abu Bakr)
or not, and the lot which I disliked came out. But I
remounted my horse and let it gallop, giving no importance to
the divining arrows. When I heard the recitation of
the Qur'aan by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) who was not looking
around although Abu Bakr kept doing that, suddenly the
forelegs of my horse sank into the ground up to the knees, and
I fell down from it. Then I rebuked it and it got up but
it could hardly lift its forelegs from the ground, and when
it stood up straight again, its forelegs caused dust to rise
up in the sky like smoke. Then again I drew lots with
the divining arrows, and the lot which I disliked, came
out. So I called to them to let them know they were safe.
They stopped, and I remounted my horse and went to
them. When I saw how I had been hampered from harming
them, it came to my mind that the Cause of the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
(i.e. Islam) would become victorious. So I said to him,
"Your people have assigned a reward equal to the
bloodmoney for your capture." Then I told them all the plans the
people of Makkah had made concerning them. Then I
offered them some journey food and goods but they refused
to take anything and did not ask for anything, but the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
"Do not tell others about us." Then I requested him to
write for me a guarantee of security. He ordered `Aamir
bin Fuhayrah to write it for me on a piece of animal
skin, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) went on his way."
Ibn Shihaab said: `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr told me:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) met al-Zubayr in a caravan of Muslim merchants who were returning from Syria. Al-Zubayr
gave the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) and Abu Bakr a gift of white clothes.
When the Muslims of Madeenah heard the news of the
departure of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) from Makkah (towards Madeenah),
they started going to the harrah (lava field) every
morning. They would wait for him till the heat of the noon
forced them to return. One day, after waiting for a long
while, they returned home, and when they went into their
houses, a Jew climbed up onto the roof of one of the forts of
his people to look for something, and he saw the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and his companions dressed in white clothes, as if
they were emerging out of a desert mirage.
The Jew could not help shouting at the top of his
voice, "O Arabs! Here is your great man whom you have
been waiting for!" So all the Muslims rushed to pick up
their weapons and went to meet the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the lava
field. The Prophet turned with them to the right and alighted
in the land of Bani `Amr ibn `Awf. This was on Monday
in the month of Rabee' al-Awwal. Abu Bakr stood
up, receiving the people while the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat down and
kept silent. Some of the Ansaar who came and had not
seen the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) before, began greeting Abu Bakr, but
when the sunshine fell on the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr
came forward and shaded him with his cloak, only then did
the people come to know the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) stayed with Bani `Amr ibn `Awf for
ten nights and established the mosque (mosque of
Quba') which was founded on piety. The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed in
it and then mounted his she-camel and moved on, accompanied by the people till his she-camel knelt
down at (the place of) the mosque of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at
Madeenah. Some Muslims used to pray there in those days, and
that place was a yard for drying dates belonging to
Suhayl and Sahl, two orphan boys who were under
the guardianship of As'ad ibn Zuraarah. When his
she-camel knelt down, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "This place, Allah
willing, will be our place." The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) then called the two
boys and told them to name a price for that yard so that
he might take it as a mosque. The two boys said, "No,
but we will give it as a gift, O Messenger of Allaah!"
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) refused to take it as a gift and insisted on
buying it from them, then he built a mosque there. The
Prophet himself started carrying unburnt bricks for its
building and while doing so, he was saying "This load is
better than the load of Khaybar, for it is more pious in the
Sight of Allaah and purer and better rewardable."
He was also saying,
"O Allaah! The actual reward is the reward in
the Hereafter, so bestow Your Mercy on the Ansaar and
the Muhaajireen."
Thus the Prophet recited (by way of proverb) the
poem of some Muslim poet whose name is unknown to me.
Ibn Shibaab said, "We have not heard in any
ahaadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) recited any complete line of poetry
apart from this."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3906
But there is a specious argument put forward by some
of those who want to stir up doubts about Islam. They
say that the seerah narrated that the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr
migrated with two she-camels, and they entered the cave,
and Quraysh pursued them; if they had two she-camels
with them, the people of Quraysh would have known
that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and his companion had entered the cave. So where
were the two camels?
These doubters want to attack Islam so that people
will not believe the seerah of the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and to make them
think that the seerah is based on illusions and lies.
The response to this specious argument is very
simple indeed. The report quoted above _ of which these
people are unaware, or they ignore it _ tells them that
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had hired a guide to show them the way, and even
though he was a follower of the kaafir religion of Quraysh,
they trusted him. So they gave their mounts to him and
made an appointment with him for him to bring their
mounts back to them at the cave of Thawr after three nights
had passed.
This hadeeth clearly refutes their specious argument
and shuts them up. Praise be to Allaah for guidance
after misguidance.
Another thing that happened to the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
Abu Bakr on their way to Madeenah:
It was narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: I said to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) _ when I was in the cave _ "If
any one of them looks down at his feet he will see us."
He said, "What do you think, O Abu Bakr, of two people
of whom Allaah is the third?"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3380; Muslim, 4389
This is a summary of the events of the hijrah.
Whoever wants to know more may consult references such as
al-Bidaayah wa'l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer, 4/168-205
And Allaah knows best.
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31069: Was the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) born circumcised?
Question:
Was the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) born circumcised or was he circumcised like
other people?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned three opinions concerning the circumcision
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). He said:
There are different opinions on this matter:
1 _ That he was born circumcised
2 _ That Jibreel circumcised him when he split open
his chest
3 _ That his grandfather `Abd al-Muttaalib
circumcised him according to the Arab custom of circumcising
their sons.
Tuhfat al-Mawlood, p. 201.
With regard to the first opinion, Ibn al-Qayyim
narrated many ahaadeeth in the book mentioned which
indicate this, but he ruled all of them to be
da'eef (weak). Then he mentioned that if a child is born circumcised, this is
a defect and it is a not a sign of virtue as some people think.
And he said:
It was said that Caesar the king of Rome whom
Imru'ul-Qays came to visit was born like that (i.e.,
uncircumcised) and Imru'ul-Qays entered upon him in the baths and
saw him like that, and composed a line of verse mocking
him for being uncircumcised:
He scorned him because he was not circumcised, and
he regarded his being born like that as a defect. This line
of verse was one of the reasons that motivated Caesar
to poison Imru'ul-Qays and he died.
The Arabs used to think of the act of circumcision as
being something virtuous, but not the feature itself.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: Allaah sent our Prophet from
amongst the Arabs, and He gave him attributes of
physical perfection and made him of fine lineage. So how could
it be possible that he was born circumcised? It was
said that circumcision was one of the words with which
Allaah tested His Close Friend Ibraaheem, and he fulfilled
this world, and the most severely tested of mankind are
the Prophets, then the next best and the next best. The
Prophet listed circumcision as one of the features of the
fitrah, and being tested with this and carrying out this
command with patience will multiply the reward. It is more
befitting that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) should not miss out on this virtue and that
Allaah should honour him in the same way as He
honoured Ibraaheem, because he is more virtuous than any
other Prophet.
Tuhfat al-Mawlood, 205-206
With regard to the second opinion, he said:
The hadeeth about the angel splitting open his heart
was narrated through many isnaads going back to the
Prophet; it does not mention in any of them that Jibreel
circumcised him, except in this hadeeth which is (shaadhdh
ghareeb (odd and strange).
Tuhfat al-Mawlood, p. 206
With regard to the third opinion, he said:
Ibn al-`Adeem said: It says in some reports that
his grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib circumcised him on
the seventh day. He said, this seems to be the correct
view and closest to reality.
Tuhfat al-Mawlood, p. 206
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad al-Ma'aad (1/82):
This issue arose between two righteous men. One of
them wrote a book saying that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born circumcised
and compiled in it ahaadeeth which are not sound at all.
His name was Kamaal al-Deen ibn Talhah. He was
criticized by Kamaal al-Deen ibn al-`Adeem who explained
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was circumcised according to the custom of the
Arabs. As this was the custom of all of the Arabs, there is
no need for a report (to prove that he was circumcised).
And Allaah knows best.
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8844: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and the establishment of the Islamic society
Question:
How and with degree of success was muhammed(s.a.w)able to establish a stable
community in medinah 632ce.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly the society that was established by
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
in Madeenah was an example of a stable and secure
society. That was manifestly apparent from the moment
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
first set foot in Madeenah and stated to form the Islamic
state. The security and stability of this society were due to
a number of reasons and factors, including the following:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) built the mosque in Madeenah as soon as he arrived
there, which helped to establish a focal point to which
people could turn when calamities struck, and a place where
the Muslims could gather to meet one another and find
out about one another, so they could find out who was
sick and go to visit them, attend the funerals of those
who died, help their poor and arrange marriages for those
who were single.
These are some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah
be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came
to Madeenah, he ordered that the mosque should be
built, and he said, "O Banu Najjaar, name me a price for
this garden of yours." They said, "No by Allaah, we will
not seek its price except from Allaah." (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 2622; Muslim, 524)
It was narrated that al-Bara' ibn `Aazib said: "[The
verse] `and do not aim at that which is bad to spend from it'
[al-Baqarah 2:267 _ interpretation of the
meaning] was revealed concerning us Ansaar. We used to own date
palm trees. A man would bring (the harvest) from his
date palms, whether it was a little or a lot. A man would
bring one or two bunches of dates and hang them in the
mosque. Ahl al-Suffah _ or according to a report narrated by
Ibn Maajah, the poor among the Muhaajireen _ had no
food, so if one of them got hungry he would come and
strike the bunch with his stick, and ripe and unripe dates
would fall, and he would eat them. But there were
some uncharitable people who would bring a bunch of
dates that contained rotten or dried-up dates, or a bunch
that was damaged, and hang it up. Then Allaah revealed
the words (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Spend of the good things which
you have (legally) earned, and of that which We have
produced from the earth for you, and do not aim at that which
is bad to spend from it, (though) you would not accept
it save if you close your eyes and tolerate
therein" [al-Baqarah 2:267]
He said: if any one of you were to be given
something like they gave, he would not accept it unless he did
so with his eyes closed or out of shyness. He said, after
that one of us would bring the best dates that he had.
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2987; Ibn Maajah, 1822.
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi, 2389.
Secondly:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) established brotherhood between the Muhaajireen
(the Emigrants who had come from Makkah) and the
Ansaar (helpers, the Muslims in Madeenah). This
action strengthened the bonds between the members of
the Madeenan society in a manner previously unheard of.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) established bonds of brotherhood between non-Arabs
and Arabs, between free men and former slaves,
between people of Quraysh and members of other tribes. So
the society became one entity, after which it was not
surprising that an Ansaari would ask a Muhaajir to take half of
his wealth, or an Ansaari would offer to divorce one of
his wives so that a Muhaajir could marry her, or a
Muhaajir would inherit from an Ansaari, because of the strength
of the bonds between them. Then inheritance between
them was abrogated by the verse on inheritance, but the
Ansaar were encouraged to bequeath something to them.
This was an exemplary society.
There follow some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:
1 _ It was narrated that `Abd al-Rahmaan ibn `Awf
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When we came
to Madeenah, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) established bonds of
brotherhood between me and Sa'd ibn al-Rabee'. Sa'd ibn
al-Rabee' said: "I am the wealthiest of the Ansaar, so I will give
you half my wealth, and see which of my wives you
would prefer, I will divorce her for you, and when she
becomes permissible you can marry her." `Abd al-Rahmaan
said to him, "I do not need that. Is there a marketplace
where people trade?" He said, "The marketplace of
Qaynuqaa'." So the next day `Abd al-Rahmaan went there and
took some cottage cheese and ghee, and he did that the
next day. It was not long before `And al-Rahmaan came
with traces of yellow (perfume) on him. The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, "Have you gotten married?" He said, "Yes?" He said,
"To whom?" He said, "A woman from among the
Ansaar." He said, "How much was the mahr?" He said, "A
gold piece equal in weight to a date stone (or a date stone
of gold)." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said to him, "Give a wedding feast
(waleemah), even if with one sheep." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1943.
2 _ It was narrated from Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah
be pleased with him) that when the Muhaajireen came
to Madeenah, a Muhaajir would inherit from an Ansaari
to the exclusion of the Ansaari's own relatives, because
of the bonds of brotherhood that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had established
between them. When the verse "And to everyone, We
have appointed heirs" [al-Nisa' 4:33 _ interpretation of
the meaning] was revealed, that was abrogated. And
the phrase "To those also with whom you have made a
pledge (brotherhood)" [al-Nisa' 4:33 _ interpretation of
the meaning] has to do with the covenant of
helping, supporting and advising one another. So the rights
of inheritance no longer apply, but they may bequeath
to one another.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2170.
Thirdly:
Zakaah was prescribed in the second year of the
Hijrah, which made the rich and poor more equal and
increased the coherence of the Madeenan society, and the bonds
of brotherhood for the sake of Allaah became stronger
than before. Indeed, the matter went further than zakaah
to include voluntary charity.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: Abu Talhah was the wealthiest
of the Ansaar of Madeenah in terms of palm trees, and
the dearest of his wealth to him was (the garden of)
Bayraha', which was opposite the mosque. The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
enter it and drink from good water that was to be found
there. Anas said: When the verse "By no means shall you
attain Al-Birr (piety, righteousness — here it means
Allaah's reward, i.e. Paradise), unless you spend (in
Allaah's Cause) of that which you love" [Aal- Imraan 3:92
_ interpretation of the meaning] was revealed, Abu
Talhah got up and went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, "O
Messenger of Allaah, Allaah says `By no means shall you attain
Al-Birr (piety, righteousness — here it means
Allaah's reward, i.e. Paradise), unless you spend (in
Allaah's Cause) of that which you love' and the dearest of
my wealth to me is Bayraha'. (I give it in) charity for the
sake of Allaah, hoping to earn its reward with Allaah, so
dispose of it, O Messenger of Allaah, as Allaah shows you."
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, "Well done, that is a profitable deal,
that is a profitable deal. I have heard what you said and I
think that you should distribute it among your relatives."
Abu Talhah said, "I shall do that, O Messenger of
Allaah," and he distributed it among his relatives and the sons
of his paternal uncles. Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1392; Muslim, 998
So the signs of harmony appeared among the Muslims
in Madeenah, and the Muhaajireen recognized the rights
that their Ansaar brothers had over them. There are a
number of ahaadeeth concerning that, including the following:
It was narrated that Anas said: When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to
Madeenah, the Muhaajireen came to him and said, "O Messenger
of Allaah, we have never seen any people more
generous when they have the means and more helpful when
they have little than the people among whom we have
settled. They have looked after us and they have let us join
them and share in all their happy occasions, to such an
extent that we are afraid that they will take all the reward.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, "Not so long as you pray for them and praise them."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2487; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2020.
Allaah created loved between the hearts of the people
of Madeenah, and love for the sake of Allaah was one of
the symbols of the people that Allaah enjoined upon
them and made it one of the signs of perfect faith.
It was narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "None of you truly believes until he
loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 13; Muslim, 45.
It was narrated that al-Nu'maan ibn Basheer said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "The believers, in their mutual
mercy, love and compassion, are like a (single) body; if one
part of it feels pain, the rest of the body will join it in
staying awake and suffering fever." Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5665; Muslim, 2586. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
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3364: Hairstyles
Question:
What was the hairstyle of the Prophet ? And
what hairstyles are disallowed specifically ?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The hairstyle of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is mentioned in a number of
ahaadeeth, such as the following:
1 _ His hair was neither curly nor straight.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said, describing
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
he was of average height, neither very tall nor very short.
He had a ruddy complexion, neither very white nor very
dark, and his hair was neither curly nor straight. The
revelation came to him when he was forty years old.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3354; Muslim, 2338)
2 _ His hair came down to his earlobes.
It was narrated that al-Bara' ibn `Aazib (may Allaah
hbe pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was of average height and
broad shouldered. He had hair that came down to his
earlobes. I saw him wearing a red garment and I never saw
anyone more handsome than him.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3358; Muslim, 2337
3 _ His hair sometimes came down to his shoulders
It was narrated that Qutaadah said: I asked Anas
ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) about the
hair of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). He said, The hair of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
neither curly nor straight, and came down to a point between
his ears and his shoulders.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5565; Muslim, 2337
According to another report, his hair used to touch
his shoulders.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5563; Muslim, 2338
Sometimes his hair was shorter than that. All of this
may be understood as referring to different situations, and
each of the Sahaabah narrated what he had seen.
4 _ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to dye his hair sometimes.
It was narrated that `Uthmaan ibn `Abd-Allaah
ibn Moohib said: I entered upon Umm Salamah and
she brought out to us one of the hairs of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which was dyed.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5558.
Ahmad (25328) added: … dyed with henna and katam.
Katam is a plant that is used to dye the hair. When
mixed with henna it gives the hair a colour between black
and red. See `Awn al-Ma'bood, commentary on hadeeth
no. 4205
5 _ He used to part his hair.
It was narrated from `Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to let his hair
hang down over his forehead and the mushrikoon used to
part their hair, and the People of the Book used to let
their hair hang dpwn over their foreheads. The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
liked to be like the People of the Book in matters where
there was no specific command. Then the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) parted
his hair.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3365; Muslim, 2336).
Some of the scholars discussed the meaning of this
hadeeth, and their comments were summed up by Imam
al-Nawawi as follows:
The correct view is that both letting the hair hang
down over the forehead and parting it are permissible, but
that parting is better.
Sharh Muslim, 15/90
6 _ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did his Farewell Pilgrimage when his hair was
stuck together.
(This means) making some parts of the hair stick to
others using gum or something similar, so that the hair is
held together and avoids getting dirty and does not need to
be washed. This is easier for the person who is in
ihraam, especially in the past when the person in ihram was
faced with a lot of dirt and little water.
It was narrated that Ibn `Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: I saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raising his voice in
the Talbiyah, with his hair stuck together.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5570; Muslim, 1184
7 _ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) sometimes used to braid his hair, especially
when travelling, to keep it from getting dusty.
It was narrated that Umm Haani' said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came from
Makkah with four braids.
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1781; Abu Dawood, 4191;
Ibn Maajah, 3631. Classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz Ibn
Hajar in Fath al-Baari, 10/360.
With regard to the kinds of hairstyles that are
forbidden, they are characterized by the following:
1 _ al-Qaza' (lit. tufts), which is where part of the head
is shaved and part is left.
It was narrated from Ibn `Umar that the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) forbade al-qaza'.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5466; Muslim, 3959.
One of the narrators of this hadeeth defines
al-qaza' as shaving part of a child's head and leaving some of
his hair.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to shaving part of the head and leaving
part, this is of varying degrees.
The worst is shaving the middle of the head and
leaving the sides, as the Christian monks do.
After that comes shaving the sides and leaving the
middle, as many of the foolish and worthless people do.
After that comes shaving the front of the head and
leaving the back.
These three types all come under the heading of
qaza' which was forbidden by the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but some of
them are worse than others.
Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 3/1294
2 _ Imitating the kaafirs or immoral people.
There are many such hairstyles, some of which
come under the heading of qaza' _ such as the "Marines"
haircut, which is forbidden for two reasons, the fact that it is
a kind of qaza' and the fact that it is an imitation of
the kuffaar. Some of them do not involve qaza' but they
are styles that belong to the kuffaar, such as making some
of the hair stand up and letting the rest hang down, and
so on.
This also includes every hairstyle that belongs to
the kaafirs or immoral people, because it is not
permissible for a Muslim to resemble them in that, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said, "Whoever imitates a people is one of them."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4031. Classed as hasan by
al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari, 10/271. its isnaad
was classed as jayyid by Shaykh al-Islam in Iqtida'
al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p. 82.
Shaykh al-Islam said:
The least that we can say about this hadeeth is that
it implies that it is haraam to imitate them, although
the apparent meaning is that the one who imitates them is
a kaafir, as in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa'),
then surely, he is one of them"
[al-Maa'idah 5:51]
Iqtida' al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p. 83.
Imitating foolish people.
These are hairstyles worn by some of the foolish
people, which may be included in the Islam & Muslims mentioned above.
See also question no. 14051
And Allaah knows best.
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20968: The scribes of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
Who were the scribes who wrote the letters of
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
The scholars of seerah (Prophet's biography)
have mentioned the names of the Sahaabah who used to
write down the wahy (revelation) or the letters of the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They
were: Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, `Umar ibn al-Khattaab,
`Uthmaan ibn `Affaan, `Ali ibn Abi Taalib, al-Zubayr ibn
al-`Awwaam, `Aamir ibn Fuhayrah, `Amr ibn al-`Aas,
Ubayy ibn Ka'b, `Abd-Allaah ibn al-Arqam, Thaabit ibn
Qays ibn Shammaas, Hanzalah ibn al-Rabee' al-Usaydi,
al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah, `Abd-Allaah ibn
Rawaahah, Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, Khaalid ibn Sa'eed ibn
al-`Aas (whom it was said was the first one to write down
anything for him), Mu'aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan and Zayd
ibn Thaabit. He requested them to do that and allocated
this task to them. Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/117
Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali said:
A group of them wrote things down for the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), including Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Zayd ibn Thaabit,
`Ali, `Uthmaan, Hanzalah al-Asadi, Mu'aawiyah, and
`Abd-Allaah ibn al-Arqam, who was his regular scribe in
charge of writing and responding to letters. He was the one
who wrote down all the Revelation and whom the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) commanded to learn how to write Syriac so that he
could respond on his behalf to those who wrote to him in
that language. So he learned it in eighteen days.
Al-Adaab al-Shar'iyyah, 2/161
And Ibn Hajar said:
Al-Qadaa'i said: Zayd ibn Thaabit used to write to
the kings on his behalf, as well as writing down the
revelation. And al-Zubayr and Jahm used to write down the
records of zakaah. Al-Talkhees al-Habeer, 4/346, 347 And
Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
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23294: Number of sons and daughters of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
how many daughters did al rasool (salaa alaho
alayhee wasalam) has? and from which of his wives
(radeyaa alaahoo 3anhonaa jame3an) ?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had both sons and daughters, the first of whom was
al-Qaasim, from whom he took his kunya
Abu'l-Qaasim. He died in childhood, and it was said that he lived
until he was old enough to ride. Then came Zaynab, and it
was said that she was older than al-Qaasim; then
Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom and Faatimah. It was said
concerning each of them that she was older than her two sisters.
It was narrated from Ibn `Abbaas that Ruqayyah was
the oldest of the three and that Umm Kulthoom was
the youngest. Then `Abd-Allaah was born to him. There
is some dispute as to whether he was born after
his Prophethood began or before. Some scholars said that
he was born after his Prophethood began. There is also
some dispute as to whether he was al-Tayyib or al-Taahir,
or whether they were other children; the correct view is
that these were nicknames given to him; and Allaah
knows best. These children were all born from Khadeejah
and he had no children from any other wife. Then
Ibraaheem was born to him from his concubine Maariyah
al-Qibtiyyah in 8 AH. (Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/103).
So the sons and daughters of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were all born to
him from his wife Umm al-Mu'mineen Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her), apart from Ibraaheem,
who was born from the Prophet's concubine Maariyah
(may Allaah be pleased with her), who was given to him as
a gift by al-Muqawqis, the king of Alexandria and the
leader of the Copts. According to the most correct opinion,
he had seven children, three boys and four girls. The
boys were:
1- al-Qaasim
2- `Abd-Allaah
3- Ibraaheem
And the girls were:
1- Zaynab
2- Ruqayyah
3- Umm Kulthoom
4- Faatimah
All of his children died during his lifetime, apart
from Faatimah who died after him (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
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14070: He has been asked to research about Islam and
its impact on Europe
Question:
Discuss the rise of Islam by exlporing the life and
religious ideas of muhammad, as well as development in the
century after his death. Explain at lenght Muhammed's
religious ideas, placing them in there historical context. That
is, how do these ideas reflect Muhammed's personal
life expiriences and background, and more generally
the environment of seventhy century Arabian society?
Then explain how and when Islam spred from Arabia to
Europe adressing Islam's inpact on the Christian West as well
as arabia and its surrounding regions.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) did not produce his ideas by himself,
rather the message that he brought came from Allaah _ it
was Revelation (wahy) which Allaah sent to him.
Secondly:
with regard to his life (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him):
He was the best of all people on earth in terms of
lineage, for he was descended from the noblest line. Even
his enemies bore witness to that. Hence his enemy
Abu Sufyaan testified to that effect before the Byzantine
ruler. The noblest of people were his people; the noblest of
tribes was his tribe; the noblest of clans was his clan. His
full name was Muhammad ibn [son of] `Abd-Allaah ibn
`Abd al-Muttalib ibn Haashim ibn `Abd Manaaf ibn
Qusayy ibn Kilaab ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy ibn
Ghaalib ibn Fahr ibn Maalik ibn al-Nadar ibn Kinaanah
ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyaas ibn Mudar ibn
Nizaar ibn Ma'd ibn `Adnaan… ibn `Ismaa'eel [Ishmael]
ibn Ibraaheem [Abraham] (peace be upon them).
Allaah sent him as a Prophet at the age of forty, which
is the age of perfection. The first sign of Prophethood
which was sent to the Messenger of Allaah was dreams: he
did not see any dream but it would come true like
daybreak. It was said that that lasted for six months. The period
of his Prophethood lasted for twenty-three years.
These dreams were one of the forty-six parts of
Prophethood. Then Allaah honoured him with Prophethood, and
the angel came to him whilst he was in the cave of
Hira', where he used to love to go to be alone. The first
words (of the Qur'aan) to be revealed to him were:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created
(all that exists)" [al-`Alaq 96:1 _ interpretation of
the meaning]
His message came in stages. Firstly, he was appointed
as a Prophet; secondly, he warned his nearest
kinsmen; thirdly, he warned his people; fourthly, he warned
the people to whom no warner had ever come, namely all
the Arabs; fifthly, he warned all those whom his
message reached, both jinns and humans, until the end of time.
After that (initial revelation), he spent three years
calling people to Allaah in secret. Then the following words
were revealed to him:
"Therefore proclaim openly (Allaah's Message
Islamic Monotheism) that which you are commanded, and
turn away from AlMushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters,
and disbeliever"
[al-Hijr 15:94 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
See Zaad al-Ma'aad by Ibn al-Qayyim, 1/71
Thirdly:
With regard to the message to which our Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called people, it
is sufficient to quote what was said by Abu Sufyaan _
who was a kaafir (disbeliever) at the time. Heraclius, the
ruler of Byzantium, asked Abu Sufyaan, "What does he
tell you to do?" Abu Sufyaan said: "He tells us to
worship Allaah alone, not associating anything with Him, and
he forbids us to worship that which our fathers used
to worship. He commands us to pray, to give in charity,
to be chaste, to keep our promises and fulfil our
trusts." Heraclius commented on Abu Sufyaan's words by
saying: "This is the description of a Prophet. I knew that he
would appear, but I did not think that he would be from
among you [the Arabs]. If you are indeed speaking the truth,
then soon he will take possession of the place where my
feet are standing. If I thought that I could meet him I
would not hesitate to go to him, and if I were with him I
would wash his feet."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2782; Muslim, 1773).
Fourthly:
After the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), he was succeeded as
khaleefah (leader of the Muslim community) by Abu Bakr
al-Siddeeq, during whose time a number of major
events took place: the dispatching of the army of Usaamah
[to Syria]; the wars against the apostates (ahl
al-riddah); fighting those who refused to pay the zakaah;
the emergence of Musaylimah the liar [a false prophet];
and the compilation of the Qur'aan.
Then came `Umar ibn al-Khattaab, who was one of
the earliest Muslims, one of the ten whom the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had testified
would enter Paradise, one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs
(al-khulafa' al-raashideen), one of the in-laws of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), one of the greatest scholars and ascetics
among the Sahaabah (the Companions of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). Many conquests
took place during his time, including the conquest
of Damascus, Jordan, Iraq, Jerusalem and Egypt. He is
the one who decided, in consultation with `Ali, that
history should be dated from the time of the Hijrah (the
migration of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) from Makkah to Madeenah).
He was martyred in 23 AH by the kaafir Magian
murderer Abu Lu'lu'ah.
Then came `Uthmaan ibn `Affaan, who was also one
of the ten whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had testified would enter Paradise. He
had also become Muslim in the earliest days. He was one
of those whom Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq had called to
Islam. He migrated twice, first to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) then
to Madeenah. He married Ruqayyah the daughter of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
then she passed away and he married her sister Umm Kalthoom. He ruled as khaleefah for twelve years,
then he was martyred in 35 AH at the age of eighty-odd.
Then came `Ali ibn Abi Taalib, who was also one of
the ten whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) had testified would enter Paradise. He was
the brother of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) according to the system
of brotherhood established when the muhaajiroon
(migrants from Makkah) first came to Madeenah, and he was
also the Prophet's son-in-law as he married his
daughter Faatimah, the best of all women (may Allaah be
pleased with her). He was also one of the first people to
become Muslim, one of the greatest scholars, bravest
warriors, prominent ascetics and preachers. He was one of
those who compiled the Qur'aan and showed it to the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Fifthly:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was guided by the teachings of the Qur'aan, indeed
his whole attitude was the Qur'aan as the Mother of
the Believers `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said. The way our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was in Islam was the same as the way he
had been before, but Allaah perfected his character and
made it more beautiful. When the first revelation came,
[his wife] Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said, listing his attributes:
"No, by Allaah, Allaah would never let you down.
For you uphold ties of kinship, you help the weak, you
give charity to the poor, you honour your guests and you
help the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4; Muslim, 160)
Both his companions and his enemies described him in
a befitting manner, as he (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) deserved, saying that he was honourable,
brave, merciful, well-spoken, worshipped a great deal,
was honest and trustworthy, and so on.
This was all summed up in the verse:
"And verily, you (O Muhammad) are on an
exalted (standard of) character" [al-Qalam 68:4 _
interpretation of the meaning]
His good character and attitude had a great effect, as
it was the reason for some of the
mushrikeen (pagans, polytheists) coming to Islam.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: "The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent
some cavalry towards Najd, and they brought a man from
Banu Haneefah whose name was Thamaamah ibn Athaal
and tied him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came
out and said, `Untie Thamaamah.' Then he
(Thamaamah) went to grove of palm trees near the mosque and
washed himself (did ghusl), then he entered the mosque and
said, `I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah and
that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah.'" (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 4114; Muslim, 1764).
Sixthly:
With regard to Islam reaching Europe, it did so in
several ways, including the following:
1 _ The keenness of the Muslims to convey the truth
to all of mankind. Andalusia [in Spain] was conquered
by Taariq ibn Ziyaad in 92 AH/711 CE, and the conquests
in western Europe continued until they reached
southeastern France in 114 AH.
2 _ People coming from North Africa, the Middle
East and South Asia to look for work and a better future.
3 _ Westerners bringing some people from other
countries, such as the Germans bringing Turks, to work in
their country.
4 _ The presence of Muslim daa'iyahs (callers, "missionaries") in those countries.
5 _ The conquests of the Ottoman state of part of Europe.
6 _ The conversion of some indigenous Europeans
to Islam, who then began to propagate Islam.
7 _ Trade links between Muslims and Europe.
8 _ Conversion of some Europeans to Islam.
9 _ Changes in the European intellectual approaches.
10 _ Rejection of the church myths which
contradict revelation and the adoption of empirical knowledge
whose foundation was laid by the Muslims.
11 _ Participation of Muslim communities in the development of research, inventions and companies
in Europe, through the work of qualified Muslim professionals, plus the increase in the number of
Muslim communities in Europe, which resulted in the increase
in the number of mosques, schools and Islamic centers.
This has resulted in increased Muslim influence, to the
extent that the enemies of Islam such as the Jews are
scared. The Israeli newspaper
"Ha-eretz" said, in an issue published in late June 2001 CE, "As is the case in
western Europe, the great increase in the number of Muslims
in the United States has led to an increase in their
political influence… The increase in the number of Muslims
and their increasing political awareness, especially the
Arab students, who are the most active of the Arabs in
the political field, and the decrease in the number of Jews
as a result of mixed marriages and their assimilation
into American society, will all, in the future, play a role
in changing the balance of power and changing the
influence that these competing groups have in Washington. This
is now something tangible, as can be seen in the
activities of the pro-Arab lobbies in Congress.
1. The increase in the number of Muslims in
European counties. More than ten years ago the number of
Muslims in Europe was approximately 12 million.
2. The spread of mosques, Islamic centers and schools.
3. The spread of hijaab and Islamic dress in the
capitals of European countries.
4. The holding of Islamic exhibitions and seminars,
and the establishment of companies that take care of
halaal slaughter of meat, and burying the dead in the
manner prescribed in Islam.
And Allaah is the Guide to the straight path and the
Source of strength. Islam Q&A Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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22629: Why were there Jews in Madeenah at the time
of the Prophet?
Question:
It was narrated that when the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, his shield was in
pledge with a Jew… My question is: was this Jew in
Madeenah? If the answer is yes, then how could that be when he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had expelled
them from the city?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) died, his shield was in pledge with a Jew. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had
expelled some of the Jews, and he left orders during his final
illness that they should be expelled from the Arabian
Peninsula, and that no two religions should co-exist there.
Then `Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) carried out
this final wish of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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12103: Did the Prophet appoint `Ali as khaleefah?
Question:
What is the ruling on people who claim that the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
appointed `Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) as khaleefah,
and say that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with
them) conspired against him?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This opinion is not known among any of the
Muslim groups apart from the Shi'ah, and it is a false view
which has no basis in the ahaadeeth that have been proven
from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). On the contrary, a great deal of
evidence shows that the khaleefah after the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was Abu Bakr
al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him and with all
the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)). But the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) did not state that clearly and he
did not appoint him in any definitive sense; rather he
gave commands which indicated that, when he told him to
lead the people in prayer when he (the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) was sick, and when
he told him about the leadership of the Muslim
community after his death, saying, "Allaah and the believers will
only accept Abu Bakr." Hence the Sahaabah (may Allaah
be pleased with them) gave their allegiance (bay'ah) to
Abu Bakr and they were unanimously agreed that Abu
Bakr was the best among them. It was reported in the
hadeeth of Ibn `Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that
the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) used to
say during the Prophet's life: "The best of this ummah
after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then `Umar, then
`Uthmaan," and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) approved of their saying that. Mutawaatir
reports from `Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) show that
he used to say, "The best of this ummah after its Prophet
is Abu Bakr then `Umar." And he (may Allaah be
pleased with him) used to say, "No one is brought to me
who prefers me over them, but I will whip him with the
hadd punishment for telling lies." He never claimed that
he was the best of this ummah, or that the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
had appointed him as khaleefah. He never said that
the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) had
wronged him and taken away his rights. When Faatimah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) died he gave a second
pledge of allegiance (bay'ah) to Abu Bakr, as confirmation
of his first pledge and to demonstrate to the people that
he was with the jamaa'ah (the main group of Muslims)
and that he had no reservations in his heart against giving
his allegiance to Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with
them all). When `Umar was stabbed, he appointed six of
those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) had testified were guaranteed Paradise, for them
to appoint one of their number as `Umar's successor;
among these six was `Ali, who never denounced `Umar,
either whilst he was still alive or after his death. `Ali did not
say that he was more entitled than any of them to be
khaleefah, so how can anyone have the right to tell lies about
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and say that he appointed `Ali as
khaleefah? `Ali himself never made any such claim, and none of
the Sahaabah claimed that for him. Rather they
were unanimously agreed that the caliphate of Abu Bakr,
`Umar and `Uthmaan was valid; `Ali acknowledged that and
he cooperated with all of them in jihad, shoora
(consultation), etc. Moreover, the Muslims after the Sahaabah
were agreed upon that which the Sahaabah had been
agreed on. After all this, it is not permissible for anyone or
for any group, Shi'ah or others, to claim that `Ali was
the appointed successor, or that the caliphate before him
was false. Similarly, no one has the right to say that
the Sahaabah wronged `Ali and took away his rights.
Rather this is the falsest of falsehoods, and it is thinking badly
of the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), including `Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him and with them all).
Allaah has protected the ummah of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and kept it
from agreeing on misguidance. It was narrated in a
saheeh report in many ahaadeeth that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "A group of
my ummah will continue to adhere to the truth and to
prevail." It is impossible that the noblest generation of this
ummah could agree on falsehood, supposedly the caliphate of
Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthmaan. No one says this who
believes in Allaah and the Last Day, and no one says this who
has the slightest insight into the rulings of Islam.
From the fatwas of Shaykh Ibn Baaz, from Kitaab
Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 1/46. (www.islam-qa.com)
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21971: The way the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to ride
Question:
What are the animals which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to ride?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) rode horses, camels, mules and donkeys. He rode
horses both saddled and bareback, and he used to make
them gallop them on occasion. He used to ride alone,
which was most of the time, but sometimes he would
put someone behind him on the camel, or he would put
one person behind him and one in front, so there would
be three men on one camel. So he would sometimes let
some men ride on his camel with him, and on some
occasions he let his wives ride with him. The animals which he
rode most often were horses and camels. With regard to
mules, it is known that he had one mule which was given to
him as a gift by one of the kings. Mules were not well
known in the land of the Arabs, and when he was given a mule,
it was asked, "Why do we not mate horses with
donkeys?" He said, "That is only done by those who do not know."
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2565; classed as saheeh
by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2236)
See Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/159. (www.islam-qa.com)
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21222: How many times did the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) perform `Umrah?
Question:
How many times did the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) perform `Umrah?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated from Qutaadah that Anas (may Allaah
be pleased with him) told him that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
performed `Umrah four times, all of them in Dhu'l-Qi'dah apart
from the `Umrah which he performed with his Hajj: (he
did) `Umrah from al-Hudaybiyah or at the time of
al-Hudaybiyah in Dhu'l-Qi'dah; (he did) `Umrah the following year in Dhu'l-Qi'dah; and (he did) `Umrah
from Ja'raanah when he shared out the booty of Hunayn
in Dhu'l-Qi'dah.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Hajj, 1654; Muslim,
al-Hajj, 1253
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
He did `Umrah four times after the Hijrah, four
`Umrahs, all of them in Dhu'l-Qi'dah.
The first was the `Umrah of al-Hudaybiyah, which
was the first of them, in 6 AH, but the mushrikeen
prevented him from reaching the House (the Ka'bah), so he
offered the sacrifice (of camels) when his way was blocked at
al-Hudaybiyah, and he and his companions shaved
their heads and exited the state of ihraam, and went back
in the same year to Madeenah.
The second was the Fulfilled `Umrah in the
following year, when he entered Makkah and stayed there for
three (days), then he left after completing his `Umrah.
The third was the `Umrah which he did along with
his Hajj.
The fourth was his `Umrah from al-Ja'raanah, when
he went out to Hunayn then he came back to Makkah
and performed `Umrah from al-Ja'raanah.
He said: there is no (scholarly) dispute concerning
the fact that he did no more than four `Umrahs.
See Zaad al-Ma'aad, vol. 2, p. 90-93
Al-Nawawi said:
The scholars said: the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) performed these `Umrahs in
Dhu'l-Qid'ah because of the virtue of this month and in order
to go against the (ways of) Jaahiliyyah, because they
used to think that this (i.e., doing `Umrah in
Dhu'l-Qi'dah) was one of the most evil of evil actions, as stated
above. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did that several times in this month as this was
the most eloquent way of explaining that it was
permissible and of demonstrating the beliefs of Jaahiliyyah to be false.
And Allaah knows best.
Sharh Muslim, 8/235
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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13488: The first Revelation that came to the Messenger
of Allaah
Question:
hello do you know the story of the up comming of
islam (where he went in to the cave and he could read)if you
do the will you please help me. If you can please reply.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is reported in al-Saheehayn from `Urwah ibn
al-Zubayr that `Aa'ishah the wife of the Prophet SAWS (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"The beginning of the Revelation that came to
the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was good dreams; he never saw
a dream but it came true like bright daylight. Then
seclusion was made dear to him, and he used to go to the cave
of Hiraa' and worship there, which means that he went
and devoted himself to worship for a number of nights
before coming back to his family to collect more provisions,
then he would go back again. Then he would go back
to Khadeejah to collect more provisions. (This went on)
until the truth came to him suddenly when he was in the
cave of Hiraa'. The angel came and said, `Read!'
The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, `I am not a reader.' He
said, Then he took hold of me and squeezed me until I
could not bear it any more then he released me and said,
`Read!' I said, `I am not a reader.' He took hold of me and
squeezed me a second time until I could not bear it any more,
then he released me and said, `Read!' I said, `I am not a
reader.' He took hold of me and squeezed me a third time until
I could not bear it any more, then he released me and said,
`Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created
(all that exists).
He has created man from a clot (a piece of
thick coagulated blood).
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.
Who has taught (the writing) by the pen.
He has taught man that which he knew not.'
[al-`Alaq 96:1-5 _ interpretation of the meaning]
Then the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) went back with his heart
beating wildly, until he came to Khadeejah and said, `Cover
me! Cover me!' They covered him till his fear went
away. Then he said to Khadeejah, `O Khadeejah, I fear
for myself,' and he told her what had happened.
Khadeejah said, `Nay, be of good cheer, for by Allaah, Allaah
will never disgrace you. You uphold the ties of kinship,
speak truthfully, help the poor and destitute, serve your
guests generously and assist those who are stricken by calamity.'
Then Khadeejah took him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal,
the son of her paternal uncle. He was a man who had
become a Christian during the jaahiliyyah. He used to write
Arabic script and he used to write from the Gospel in Arabic
as much as Allaah willed he should write. He was an
old man who had become blind. Khadeejah said, `O son
of my uncle, listen to what your nephew says.' Waraqah
said: `O son of my brother, what have you seen?' [The
Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)]
told him what he had seen. Waraqah said: `This is the
Naamoos [Jibreel] who came down to Moosa. Would that I
were young and could live until the time when your
people will drive you out.'
The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, `Will they really drive me
out?' Waraqah said, `Yes. Never has there come a man
with that which you have brought, but he was persecuted. If
I should live to see that day, I will support you
strongly.' But a few days later, Waraqah died, and the
Revelation also ceased for a while, until the Messenger of
Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
was filled with grief.
Muhammad ibn Shihaab said: Abu Salamah ibn `Abd
al-Rahmaan told me that Jaabir ibn `Abd-Allaah
al-Ansaari said: "The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, speaking of
that period when the revelation ceased: `Whilst I was
walking, I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw
the angel who had come to me in Hiraa', sitting on a
chair between the heavens and the earth. I felt scared of
him, so I came home and said, "Cover me, cover me
[with blankets]!" So they did, then Allaah revealed the words:
"O you (Muhammad) enveloped in garments!
Arise and warn!
And magnify your Lord (Allaah)!
And purify your garments!
And keep away from ArRujz (the idols)!"
[al-Muddathir 74:1-5].'"
Abu Salamah said: al-rujz were the idols which the
people of the Jaahiliyyah used to worship. Then the
revelation came frequently after that.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4572; Muslim, 231)
al-Seerah (biography of the Prophet SAWS (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him))
Islam Q&A
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11787: The virtues of Faatimah the daughter of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)
Question:
I hear that Fatima (ra) and Ali (ra) had a daughter
in addition to Hassan (ra) and Hussein (ra), but I
know nothing else about her. Could you tell us something
about her please, like how her life was, and whether she
had any role in Islamic history, etc.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Faatimah, the daughter of the leader of
mankind, Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), al-Qurashiyyah al-Haashimiyyah, Umm
al-Hasanayn [the mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn].
She was born shortly before the beginning of the Mission
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), and she married `Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah
be pleased with him) after the battle of Badr.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) loved her and honoured her. She was patient, devoted
to Islam, generous, chaste, devout and thankful to Allaah.
When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) died, she grieved and wept for
him, and said, "O my father, to Jibreel we tell the news of
his death, O my father, he answered the call of his Lord,
O my father, in Paradise is his eternal abode."
Faatimah's speech most closely resembled that of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him). It was narrated that `Aa'ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: "I never saw anyone whose
speech more closely resembled that of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
than Faatimah. When she entered upon him, he would
stand up to greet her, kiss her and welcome her, and she
would do the same for him."
Faatimah lived for six months after the death of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
She was buried at night. Al-Waaqidi said: this is the
most correct view. He said, al-`Abbaas prayed (the
funeral prayer) for her, and he, `Ali and al-Fadl lowered her
into her grave. Her sons were al-Hasan and al-Husayn
(may Allaah be pleased with them) and her daughters
were Umm Kulthoom, who was wed by `Umar ibn
al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him), and Zaynab who
was wed by `Abd-Allaah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Taalib.
It was narrated from Masrooq that `Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: "Faatimah came walking in
the manner of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, `Welcome, O my daughter.' Then
he seated her to his right or to his left, then he said
something privately to her and she wept. I said to her, `Why are
you weeping?' Then he said something privately to her
and she smiled. I said, `I have never seen anything like
that which I have seen today, of joy so close to grief.' I
asked her what he had said, and she said, `I would not
disclose the secret of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).' When the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed away, I
asked her and she said, `He told me, "Jibreel used to review
the Qur'aan with me once every year, but this year he
has reviewed it with me twice, so I know that my
appointed time (of death) is approaching. And you will be the
first of my family to join me." So I wept. Then he said,
"Would it not please you to be the leader of the women of
Paradise or the women of the believers?" So I smiled.'"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Manaaqib, 3353)
Among the things that prove her virtue is that which
was reported in al-Saheehayn from `Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas'ood, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) used to pray at the Ka'bah, and Abu Jahl and
his companions were sitting there. They said to one
another, `Who will bring the intestines of the camel of So and
so and put it on Muhammad's back when he prostrates?'
So the most wretched of people went and brought it
and waited until the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) prostrated, then he put it on his
back, between his shoulders. I was watching but I could
not help him because I did not have any power. They
started laughing and leaning against one another (because of
their laughter), and the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was prostrating and
did not raise his head until Faatimah came and removed
it from his back. Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his head,
and said, `O Allaah, deal with Quraysh,' three times.
They became worried when he prayed against them,
because they used to believe that du'aa's made in that land
would be answered…"
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 233; Muslim, 3349)
Among her virtues was also that which was narrated
in al-Saheehayn, that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Faatimah is
a part of me, and whoever angers her, angers me."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3437; Muslim, 4483)
And Allaah knows best.
See Nuzhat al-Fudalaa' Tahdheeb Siyar A'laam
al-Nubalaa', 1/116
Islam Q&A
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11575: Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)
Question:
Could you give me some brief details about the life
of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Differences and disputes arose among the Children
of Israel. They introduced alterations and changes in
their beliefs and laws. Thus truth was extinguished
and falsehood prevailed, oppression and evil
became widespread, and people needed a religion that
would establish truth, destroy evil and guide people to the
straight path, therefore Allah sent Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as Allaah
said (interpretation of the meaning):
"And We have not sent down the Book (the Qur'aan)
to you (O Muhammad, except that you may explain
clearly unto them those things in which they differ, and (as)
a guidance and a mercy for a folk who believe"
[al-Nahl 16:64]
Allaah sent all the Prophets and Messengers to call
for the worship of Allah alone, and to bring people
from darkness to light. The first of these Messengers was
Nooh and the last of them was Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) as Allaah said (interpretation
of the meaning):
"And verily, We have sent among every
Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming):
`Worship Allaah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from)
Taaghoot (all false deities, i.e. do not worship Taaghoot
besides Allaah)'"
[al-Nahl 16:36]
The last of the Prophets and Messengers is
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so there
is no Prophet after him, as Allaah said:
"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but
he is the Messenger of Allaah and the last (end) of
the Prophets" [al-Ahzaab 33:40]
Every Prophet was sent exclusively to his own
people, but Allaah sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to all of mankind
as Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah revealed to His messenger the Qur'aan by
which to guide people And We have not sent you (O
Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a Warner to
all mankind, but most of men know not"
[Saba' 34:28]
Allaah sent the Qur'aan to His Messenger, to guide
people and bring them forth from darkness to light by the will
of their Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"(This is) a Book which We have revealed unto you
(O Muhammad) in order that you might lead mankind out
of darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of
belief in the Oneness of Allaah and Islâmic Monotheism)
by their Lord's Leave to the path of the All Mighty, the
Owner of all praise"
[Ibraaheem 14:1]
The messenger of Allaah, Muhammad ibn
Abd-Allaah ibn Abd al-Muttalib al-Haashimi al-Qurashi was born
in Makkah in the year of the Elephant, the year when
the companions of the Elephant came to Makkah to
destroy the Ka'bah, but Allaah destroyed them. His father
died before he was born, and after he was born, Haleemah
al-Sa'diyyah nursed him. When he was six years old,
he visited his maternal uncles in Madeenah with his
mother Aaminah bint Wahb. On the way back to Makkah,
his mother died in al-Abwaa'. Then his grandfather `Abd
al-Muttalib became his guardian. But `Abd al-Muttalib
died when Muhammad was eight years old. Then his
paternal uncle Abu Taalib became his guardian. He took care
of him, treated him kindly and defended him for more
than forty years, but when Abu Taalib died he had not come
to believe in the religion of Muhammad lest he be
reproached by Quraysh for abandoning the religion of his forefathers
When he was young, Muhammad used to tend sheep
for the people of Makkah, then he traveled to Syria to
do business on behalf of Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, and
he made a good profit. Khadeejah was impressed with
his character, and his sincerity and honesty, so he
married her when he was twenty-five, and she was forty, and
he did not marry any other woman until after she died.
Allaah made Muhammad grow in a good manner, and Allaah took care of him, so he was the the best of
his people in physical wellbeing and in attitude, he was
the most generous, the most patient, the most truthful,
the most sincere and the most honest, so his people
called him al-Ameen (the trustworthy) .
Then he was given an inclination towards solitude, so
he used to spend many days and nights alone in the cave
of Hiraa', worshiping and praying to his Lord. He hated
idols, alcohol and promiscuous conduct, so he never paid
any attention to them all his life
When Muhammad reached the age of thirty-five he
took part in the rebuilding of the Ka'bah, which had
been destroyed by a flood. A dispute arose concerning
who should put the Black Stone back in its place, and
they appointed him as an arbitrator to resolve the dispute,
so he called for a garment and placed the stone on it then
he told the tribal chiefs to hold the garment at the edges
so that all of them could lift it together, then
Muhammad put it in place and put stones and mortar around it.
The people of the Jaahiliyyah used to have some
good characteristics such as generosity, loyalty and
courage, and they used to follow some teachings of the religion
of Ibraaheem, such as venerating the Ka'bah and
making Tawaaf around it, performing Hajj and `Umrah,
and offering sacrifices. But besides that they used to have
some bad habits and traditions, such as fornication,
drinking alcohol, consuming ribaa (usury or interest), killing
their daughters, oppression and worshiping idols.
The first one to introduce changes in the religion
of Ibrahim, and to call for the worship of idols was
`Amr ibn Luhayy al-Khuzaa'i, who brought idols to
Makkah and other places, and called people to worship
them. Among these idols were Wudd, Suwaa',
Yaghooth, Ya'ooq, and Nasra.
Later on, the Arabs also worshipped other idols such
as the idol of Manaat in a place called Qadeed, and
al-Laat in al-Taa'if, al-`Uzza in Wadi Nakhlah, Hubal inside
the Ka'bah, and other idols around the Ka'bah, and idols
in their homes. People used to consult
soothsayers, fortunetellers and magicians to judge between them.
When shirk and corruption became so widespread,
Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), when he was forty years old, to call the people
to worship Allaah Alone and to give up
idol-worship. Quraysh denounced him for that and said:
"Has he made the aalihah (gods) (all) into One
Ilaah (God — Allaah). Verily, this is a curious thing!"
[Saad 38:5 _ interpretation of the meaning]
These idols continued to be worshipped instead of
Allaah until Allaah sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the Message
of Tawheed (Oneness of Allaah). So he and his
Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) broke them
and destroyed them, truth prevailed and falsehood
was vanquished:
"And say: `Truth (i.e. Islamic Monotheism or this
Qur'aan or Jihaad against polytheists) has come and
Baatil (falsehood, i.e. Satan or polytheism) has vanished.
Surely, Baatil is ever bound to vanish'"
[al-Israa' 17:81 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
The first revelation that was sent down to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was in
the cave of Hiraa' where he used to go to worship,
when Jibreel came to him and commanded him to read.
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said, "I am not a reader." This happened again, and
on the third time, he said to him:
"Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created
(all that exists).
He has created man from a clot (a piece of
thick coagulated blood).
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous
[al-`Alaq 96:1-3 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
The Messenger went back home, his heart pounding.
He entered upon his wife Khadeejah and told her what
had happened, saying "I feared for myself." She calmed
him down and said, "By Allaah, Allaah will never forsake
you, for you uphold the ties of kinship, help the weak,
honour your guests, give in charity and help when some one
is stricken with calamity." Then she went with him to
her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who had become a
Christian. When he told him what had happened, he gave him
glad tidings and told him, this is the Naamoos whom
Allaah sent to Moosa. He encouraged him to be patient if
his people persecuted him and expelled him. Then the
wahy stopped for a while, and the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was saddened by
that. Then whilst he was walking one day, he saw the
angel again, between the heavens and the earth. He went
back to his house and wrapped himself in his blanket.
Then Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you (Muhammad) enveloped in garments!
Arise and warn!"
[al-Muddaththir 74:1-2]
After that, revelations came one after another to
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
The Prophet stayed in Makkah for thirteen years,
calling for the worship of Allaah alone, in secret then
openly, when Allaah commanded him to proclaim the truth.
So he called them in a gentle and kind manner,
without fighting. He called his clan and closest relatives, then
he warned his people and those around them, then he
warned all the Arabs, then he warned all of mankind. Then
Allaah said:
"Therefore proclaim openly (Allaah's Message
Islamic Monotheism) that which you are commanded, and
turn away from Al Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters,
and disbelievers)"
[al-Hijr 15:94]
A few people, rich people, nobles, the weak and
poor, men and women, believed in the Messenger. All of
them were persecuted for their faith. Some were tortured
and some were killed. Some of them migrated to
Abyssinia, fleeing from the persecution of Quraysh, and some of
them were persecuted with the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), until Allaah caused His
religion to prevail.
When the Messenger reached the age of fifty and ten
years of his mission had passed, his uncle Abu Taalib, who
had protected him from the persecution of Quraysh, died.
Then his wife Khadeejah, who had been his consolation,
also died, and the persecution of his people intensified.
They harrassed him and persecuted him with all kinds
of torments, and he bore it with patience, seeking the
reward of Allaah. May the blessings and peace of Allaah be
upon him.
When the persecution of Quraysh became too intense,
he went out to al-Taa'if and called its people to Islam
but they did not respond; instead they insulted him and
threw stones at him, until his heels started to bleed. He
went back to Makkah and continued to call his people to
Islam during Hajj and at other times.
Then Allaah took His Messenger on the Night
Journey from al-Masjid al-Haraam in Makkah to al-Masjid
al-Aqsaa (in Jerusalem), riding on al-Buraaq,
accompanied by Jibreel. He stopped and led the Prophets in
prayer, then he was taken up into the lowest heaven, where
he saw Adam, with the souls of the blessed to his right
and the souls of the doomed to his left. Then he was taken
up to the second heaven where he saw `Eesa and
Yahyaa; then to the third heaven where he saw Yoosuf; then to
the fourth heaven where he saw Idrees; then to the fifth
heaven where he saw Haroon; then to the sixth heaven where
he saw Moosa; then to the seventh heaven where he
saw Ibraaheem. Then he was taken up to Sidrat
al-Muntaha (the Lote-tree of the utmost boundary), and his Lord
spoke to him and enjoined fifty prayers upon him and his
ummah each day and night. Then that was reduced to five
prayers to be performed, with a reward for fifty, and the
prayer was confirmed to be five prayers each day and night
for the ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Then he returned to Makkah before
dawn came, and he told them what had happened to him.
The believers believed him but the kaafirs did not.
"Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allaah) [above all
that (evil) they associate with Him]
Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by
night from AlMasjid AlHaraam (at Makkah) to Al Masjid
Al Aqsaa (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof
We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences,
lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All Hearer, the All Seer
[al-Israa' 17:1 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Then Allaah sent to His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) people who would help
and support him. During the Hajj season, he met a group
from the tribe of Khazraj in Madeenah. They embraced
Islam, then they went back to Madeenah and spread Islam
there. The following year, they were over ten people, whom
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) met, and when they left he sent Mus'ab ibn `Umayr
with them to teach them the Qur'aan and Islam. Many
people became Muslim through him, including the leaders of
the tribe of Aws, Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh and Usayd ibn Hudayr.
The following year when the Hajj season came, more
than seventy men from al-Aws and al-Khazraj came and
invited the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) to come to Madeenah after the people
of Makkah had persecuted him and boycotted him.
During the night of one of the days of Tashreeq, the
Messenger made an appointment to meet them at `Aqabah.
When one third of the night had passed, they came out to
meet him and found the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), accompanied by
his uncle al-`Abbaas, who was not a believer, but he
wanted to take care of his nephew's affairs. Al-`Abbaas,
the Messenger and the people spoke together in a
pleasant manner, then the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) accepted their oath of allegiance
on the basis that he would migrate to them in Madeenah
and they would protect him, support him and defend him,
and Paradise would be theirs in return. They gave their
oath of allegiance, one by one, then they left. Quraysh
found out about them, so they set out in pursuit of them.
But Allaah saved them from them, and the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) remained in
Makkah for a while:
"Verily, Allaah will help those who help His
(Cause). Truly, Allaah is All Strong, All Mighty"
[al-Hajj 22:40 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Then the Messenger commanded his companions to migrate to Madeenah, so they migrated in groups
except for those who were prevented from doing so by
the mushrikeen. Then there were no Muslims left in
Makkah apart from the Messenger of Allaah, Abu Bakr and
`Ali. When the mushrikeen realized that the companions
of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had migrated to Madeenah, they feared
that he would join them and become strong. So they agreed
to kill him. Jibreel told the Messenger of Allaah about
that, so the Messenger commanded `Ali to sleep in his
bed, and he returned the things that had been entrusted to
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to their owners. The mushrikeen spent the night at
the door of the Messenger, waiting to kill him when he
came out, but he came out in the midst of them and went to
the house of Abu Bakr, after Allaah had saved him from
their plot. And Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted
against you (O Muhammad) to imprison you, or to kill you, or
to get you out (from your home, i.e. Makkah); they
were plotting and Allaah too was plotting; and Allaah is
the Best of those who plot"
[al-Anfaal 8:30]
Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) resolved to migrate to
Madeenah, so he and Abu Bakr set out to the cave of Thawr
and stayed there for three nights. They hired `Abd-Allaah
ibn Abi Urayqit, who was a mushrik, as their guide, and
the ylet him lead their camels. Quraysh were alarmed
when he left, and they looked for him everywhere, but
Allaah protected His Messenger. When the search for them
died down, they travelled to Madeenah. When
Quraysh despaired of finding them, they offered to anyone
who could bring one or both of them to them two
hundred camels. So the people intensified their search and on
the way to Madeenah, Suraaqah ibn Maalik found them;
he was a mushrik and he set out after them, so the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
prayed against him and his horse's legs sank into the ground.
So he realized that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was protected, so
he asked the Messenger to pray for him and said that
he would not harm him. So the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed for him
and Suraaqah went back, and diverted the people away
from them. Then he became Muslim after the conquest
of Makkah.
When the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) reached Madeenah, the Muslims
exclaimed "Allaahu akbar!" with joy at his coming. Men,
women and children came out to meet him, rejoicing. He
stayed in Quba, where he and the Muslims built the mosque
of Quba. He stayed there for over ten nights, then he
rode on Friday and prayed Jumu'ah amongst Bani Saalim
ibn `Awf, then he rode his camel and entered Madeenah,
with the people all around him taking the reins of his camel
so that he would come and stay with them. The
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told them
to leave her, for she would be guided (by Allaah), so
she walked on until she sat down in the place where
the Mosque is today.
Allaah made it possible for His Messenger to stay
with his maternal uncles near the mosque, so he stayed in
the house of Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaari, then the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
sent someone to bring his family and his daughters, and
the family of Abu Bakr, from Makkah, and thus he
brought them to Madeenah.
Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and his companions started to build his mosque
in the place where the camel had sat down. He made
the qiblah facing towards Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).
Its pillars were made of tree trunks and its roof was made
of palm branches. Then the qiblah was changed to the
Ka'bah more than ten months after he had come to Madeenah.
Then the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) established brotherhood
(mu'aakhkhah) between the Muhaajireen and the Ansaar. The
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made a
treaty with the Jews and wrote a document agreeing to
peace and to defend Madeenah. The Jewish scholar
`Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam became Muslim but most of the Jews
insisted on remaining kaafirs. In that year the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married
`Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her).
In the second year, the adhaan was prescribed, and
Allaah changed the qiblah to the Ka'bah, and the fast
of Ramadaan was enjoined.
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) remained in Madeenah and Allaah supported
him with His help. The Muhaajiroon and Ansaar
consolidated their ranks around him, and their hearts were devoted
to him. The mushrikoon, Jews and hypocrites came
together to oppose him; they slandered him and fabricated
lies against him, and they declared war on him, but
Allaah commanded him to be patient, forbearing and
tolerant. When their evildoing became too intense, Allaah
gave the Muslims permission to fight, and the aayah
was revealed (interpretation of the meaning):
"Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given
to those (believers) who are fought against, because
they have been wronged; and surely, Allaah is Able to
give them (believers) victory
[al-Hajj 22:39]
Then Allaah enjoined the Muslims to fight those
who fought against them:
"And fight in the way of Allaah those who fight you,
but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allaah likes not
the transgressors"
[al-Baqarah 2:190 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Then Allaah commanded them to fight all the mushrikeen:
"and fight against the Mushrikoon (polytheists,
pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of
Allaah) collectively as they fight against you collectively
[al-Tawbah 9:36 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and his companions began to call people to
Allaah and to strive in jihaad for the sake of Allaah. He
foiled the plots of their enemies and relieved the oppression
of the oppressed. Allaah supported them with His help,
until the religion was all for Allaah. He fought the
mushrikeen at Badr in 2 AH, in Ramadaan, and Allaah granted
him victory over them and he defeated them. In 3 AH the
Jews of Bani Qaynuqaa' committed treason by killing one
of the Muslims, so the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) expelled them from Madeenah
to Syria. Then Quraysh avenged their dead who were
slain at Badr. They camped around Uhud in Shawwaal of
the year 3 AH. Battle raged and the archers disobeyed
the command of the Messenger, so the Muslims did
not achieve victory, but the mushrikoon went back to
Makkah without having entered Madeenah.
Then the Jews of Bani al-Nudayr committed treason
and resolved to kill the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) by throwing a rock on him, but
Allaah saved him. Then he besieged them in 4 AH and
expelled them to Khaybar.
In 5 AH the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) attacked Bani al-Mustalaq in order to
repel their aggression. He was victorious over them, and
took their wealth and their women and children as booty.
Then the Jewish leaders tried to incite the Confederates
(al-Ahzaab) against the Muslims, in order to put an end
to Islam in its heartland. So the mushrikoon,
al-Ahbaash and the Jewish tribe of Ghatafaan gathered
around Madeenah, but Allaah foiled their plot and granted
victory to His Messenger and the believers:
"And Allaah drove back those who disbelieved in
their rage: they gained no advantage (booty). Allaah
sufficed for the believers in the fighting (by sending against
the disbelievers a severe wind and troops of angels).
And Allaah is Ever All Strong, All Mighty" [al-Ahzaab
33:25 _ interpretation of the meaning]
Then the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) besieged the Jews of Bani Qurayzah,
because of their betrayal and their breaking the treaty.
Allaah granted him victory over them so he killed their
men, took their women and children prisoner, and took
their wealth as booty.
In 6 AH, the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) resolved to visit the Ka'bah and
perform Tawaaf around it, but the mushrikoon prevented him
from doing so. He entered into a treaty with them at
al-Hudaybiyah, to stop the fighting for ten years,
during which time the people would be safe and could
choose what they wanted. Then the people entered
Allaah's religion in crowds [cf. al-Nasr 110:2].
In 7 AH, the Messenger attacked Khaybar in order to
put an end to the Jewish leaders who were harming
the Muslims. He besieged them, and Allaah gave him
victory over them. He took their wealth and land as booty, and
he sent letters to the kings of the earth, inviting them to Islam.
In 8 AH, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) sent an army, led by Zayd
ibn Haarithah, to deal with the aggressors. But the
Romans gathered a huge army and killed the Muslim
commanders, but Allaah saved the rest of the Muslims from their evil.
Then the kuffaar of Makkah broke the treaty, so
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) headed towards them with a great army and
conquered Makkah. He cleansed the Ka'bah of idols and and
freed it from the custodianship of the kuffaar.
Then came the campaign of Hunayn in Shawwaal of
8 AH, to repel the aggression of Thaqeef and
Hawazen. Allaah defeated them and the Muslims captured a lot
of booty. Then the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) continued his march to al-Taa'if
and besieged it, but Allaah did not decree that it should
be conquered, so the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) prayed for them, then went
away. They subsequently became Muslim, then he went
back and distributed the war-booty. Then he and
his companions performed `Umrah, then they went back
to Madeenah.
In 9 AH the campaign of Tabook came at a time
of difficulty, hardship and intense heat. The
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went
to Tabook in order to defeat the plots of the Romans.
He camped there, but no fighting took place, but he made
a treaty with some of the tribes. He captured
war-booty, then he came back to Madeenah. This was the last
military campaign in which he (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) fought. In the same year delegations came
from the tribes, wanting to enter Islam. Among them were
the delegations from Tameem, Tayy', `Abd al-Qays and
Bani Haneefah. They all became Muslim, then the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
commanded Abu Bakr to lead the people in Hajj that year. He
sent `Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) with him and
told him to recite Soorat Baraa'ah
[al-Tawbah] to them, to declare disavowal
(baraa'ah) of the mushrikoon. He told him to call out to the people, so `Ali said on the Day
of Sacrifice: "O people, no kaafir will enter Paradise,
and no mushrik will perform Hajj after this year, and no
naked person shall perform Tawaaf around the Ka'bah.
Whoever has a treaty with the Messenger of Allaah, then the
treaty will stand until it expires."
In 10 AH, the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) resolved to perform Hajj, and he called
the people to do likewise. Many people from Madeenah
and elsewhere performed Hajj with him. He entered
ihraam at Dhu'l-Haleefah and reached Makkah in
Dhu'l-Hijjah. He performed Tawaaf and Sa'ee', and he taught the
people their rituals. He gave a great and comprehensive
sermon at `Arafaah, in which he affirmed the just rulings of
Islam. He said:
"O people, listen to my words, for I do not know if I
will meet you again after this year. O people, your blood,
your wealth and your honour are sacred to you as the
sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land
of yours. Every practice of the jaahiliyyah is beneath
my feet and the blood feuds of the jaahiliyyah are
cancelled. The first claim of blood that I abolish is that of
Ibn Rabee'ah ibn al-Haarith, who was suckled among the
tribe of Bani Sa'd and was killed by Hudhayl. The ribaa of
the jaahiliyyah is abolished, and the first ribaa that I
abolish is that of `Abbaas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib. It is
abolished completely.
Fear Allaah concerning women, for you have taken
them on the security of Allaah and have made their
bodies lawful to you by the words of Allaah. Your right
over them is that they should not allow anyone whom
you dislike to sit on your bed. If they do that, then hit
them, but not severely. Their rights over you are that you
should be kind to them and clothe them properly.
I have left you with something which, if you adhere to
it, you will not go astray after I am gone: the Book of
Allaah. If you were asked about me, what would you say?"
They said: "We would bear witness that you have
conveyed (the message), fulfilled (the trust) and advised
us sincerely." Then he pointed with his index finger
towards the sky and then towards the people, and said, "O
Allaah, bear witness, O Allaah bear witness," three times.
When Allaah perfected this religion and its
basic principles had been established, Allaah revealed to
him in `Arafaah:
"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 _
interpretation of the meaning]
This Hajj is called Hujjat al-Wadaa' (the
Farewell Pilgrimage) because in it the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) bade farewell to
the people, and he did not perform Hajj after that. Then
after completing his Hajj, the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) returned to Madeenah,
In 11 AH, in the month of Safar, the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fell
sick. When the pain became too intense, he told Abu Bakr
(may Allaah be pleased with him) to lead the people in
prayer. In Rabee' al-Awwal, his sickness became worse and
he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died in
the morning of Monday 12 Rabee' al-Awwal 11 AH.
The Muslims were grief-stricken by that. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was washed
(ghusl) and the Muslims offered the funeral prayer for him
on the 13th, in the evening, and he was buried in the house
of `Aa'ishah. The Messenger died, but his religion
will remain until the Day of Resurrection.
Then the Muslims chose the one who had been his companion in the cave and during the Hijrah, Abu
Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) to be their
khaleefah. After him, the position of khaleefah passed to `Umar,
then to `Uthmaan, then to `Ali. These are the Khulafaa'
al-Raashidoon (the Rightly-Guided Khaleefahs), may
Allaah be pleased with them all.
Allaah blessed His Messenger Muhammad greatly
and enjoined upon him noble characteristics, as He
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Did He not find you (O Muhammad) an orphan
and gave you a refuge?
And He found you unaware (of the Qur'aan, its legal
laws and Prophethood) and guided you?
And He found you poor and made you rich (self
sufficient with self contentment)?
Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression.
And repulse not the beggar.
And proclaim the Grace of your Lord (i.e. the
Prophethood and all other Graces)"
[al-Duhaa 93:6-11]
Allaah honoured His Messenger with noble
characteristics which were not combined in any other person, to the
extent that his Lord praised him for these characteristics:
"And verily, you (O Muhammad) are on an
exalted standard of character"
[al-Qalam 68:4 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
With these noble and praiseworthy characteristics,
he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was able
to bring people together and soften their hearts, by
Allaah's leave:
"And by the Mercy of Allaah, you dealt with them
gently. And had you been severe and harsh hearted, they
would have broken away from about you; so pass over
(their faults), and ask (Allaah's) forgiveness for them;
and consult them in the affairs. Then when you have taken
a decision, put your trust in Allaah, certainly, Allaah
loves those who put their trust (in Him)"
[Aal `Imraan 3:159 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Allaah sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to all of mankind.
He revealed to him the Qur'aan and commanded him to
call people to Allaah, as He says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"O Prophet (Muhammad)! Verily, We have sent you
as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner,
And as one who invites to Allaah [Islamic
Monotheism, i.e. to worship none but Allaah (Alone)] by His
Leave, and as a lamp spreading light (through your
instructions from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah the legal ways of
the Prophet"
[al-Ahzaab 33:46]
Allaah favoured His Messenger Muhammad over the other Prophets in six ways, as the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"I have been favoured above the other Prophets in
six ways: I have been given the ability of concise speech;
I have been supported with fear [in the hearts of
my enemies]; war booty has been made permissible for
me; the earth has been made pure and a mosque [place
of worship] for me; I have been sent to all of mankind;
and I am the seal of the Prophets."
(Narrated by Muslim, 523)
All of mankind must believe in him and follow
his sharee'ah in order to enter the Paradise of their Lord:
"and whosoever obeys Allaah and His
Messenger (Muhammad) will be admitted to Gardens under
which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that
will be the great success"
[al-Nisaa' 4:13 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Allaah praises those among the People of the Book
who believe in the Messenger, and He gives them the
glad tidings of a two-fold reward, as He says (interpretation
of the meaning):
"Those to whom We gave the Scripture [i.e. the
Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] before it, they believe
in it (the Qur'aan).
And when it is recited to them, they say: `We believe in
it. Verily, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed even before
it we have been from those who submit themselves to
Allaah in Islam as Muslims (like `Abdullâh bin Salâm and
Salmân Al Farisî).
These will be given their reward twice over, because
they are patient, and repel evil with good, and spend
(in charity) out of what We have provided them"
[al-Qasas 28:52-54]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "There are three who will be given a two-fold
reward: a man from among the People of the Book who
believed in his Prophet then lived until the time of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
believed in him and followed him _ he will have two rewards…"
Whoever does not believe in the Messenger
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is a
kaafir, and the punishment of the kaafir is Hell, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whosoever does not believe in Allaah and
His Messenger (Muhammad), then verily, We have
prepared for the disbelievers a blazing Fire
[al-Fath 48:13]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "By the One in Whose hand is the soul
of Muhammad, no one among this ummah, Jew or
Christian, hears of me then dies not believing in that with which
I have been sent, but he will be one of the people of Hell."
(Narrated by Muslim, 154)
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) was a human being who did not know
anything except that which Allaah taught him. He did not
know the unseen and he had no power to benefit or harm
himself or anyone else, as Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad): `I possess no power over
benefit or hurt to myself except as Allaah wills. If I had
the knowledge of the Ghayb (Unseen), I should have
secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil
should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer
of glad tidings unto people who believe'"
[al-A'raaf 7:188]
Allaah sent him with Islam so that it might prevail
over all other religions:
"He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad)
with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), that He
may make it (Islam) superior to all religions. And All
Sufficient is Allaah as a Witness"
[al-Fath 48:28 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
The mission of the Messenger was to convey the
message with which he was sent; guidance is in the hand of Allaah:
"But if they turn away (O Muhammad, from the
Islamic Monotheism, which you have brought to them). We
have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a Haafiz
(watcher, protector) over them (i.e. to take care of their deeds
and to recompense them). Your duty is to convey
(the Message)"
[al-Shoora 42:48 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
Because of the great favour that the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has done to the
rest of humanity, by calling them to this religion and
bringing them forth from darkness into light, Allaah forgave
him all his past and future sins, and commanded us to
send blessings upon him on many occasions. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Allaah sends His Salaah (Graces, Honours,
Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad), and also His
angels (ask Allaah to bless and forgive him). O you who
believe! Send your Salaah on (ask Allaah to bless)
him (Muhammad), and (you should) greet (salute) him
with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation, i.e.
AsSalaamu `Alaykum).
[al-Ahzaab 33:56]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) strove to spread this religion, and his Companions
strove with him, so we have to follow his example and
his Sunnah, and adhere to his teachings, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad)
you have a good example to follow for him who hopes
for (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day,
and remembers Allaah much"
[al-Ahzaab 33:21]
Islam is the religion of the fitrah (natural state of
man) and justice, the religion which Allaah has chosen for
all of mankind. It includes basic principles and minor
issues, etiquette, acts of worship and rulings on interaction
with others. The ummah can never succeed unless it
follows Islam and Allaah will not accept any other religion
from people, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it
will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will
be one of the losers"
[Aal `Imraan 3:85]
O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon
the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem, for You
are the Praiseworthy, Full of Glory.
From Usool al-Deen al-Islami by Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri. (www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
5103: What was the name of the Prophet's camel?
Question:
What was the name of the Prophet's (S) camel?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said in his section on the animals owned by the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
Of camels he had al-Qaswaa', and it was said that
she was the camel on which he made his Hijrah; and
al-`Adbaa' and al-Jad'aa'. Were al-`Adbaa' and
al-Jad'aa' one and the same, or two different camels? There is
some difference of opinion concerning this. Al-`Adbaa' was
the camel who had never been defeated in a race, then
a Bedouin came on a young camel, which beat her in
a race. This upset the Muslims, but the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"When Allaah raises the status of something in this world,
He inevitably brings it down again." At the battle of
Badr, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) took as booty a dromedary which had belonged to
Abu Jahl and had a silver ring in its nose. He took it to
be sacrificed on the day of al-Hudaybiyah in order to
annoy the mushrikeen.
Zaad al-Ma'aad, 134 (www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
6503: Eating habits and diet of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Question:
What were the diet and eating habits of the Prophet ,
and his Companians?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet's guidance with regard to food is
perfect guidance. It was described by Ibn al-Qayyim as follows:
When he put his hand in the food, he would say,
"Bismillaah (in the Name of Allaah), and he told
people to say this when eating. He said, "When any one of
you eats, let him mention the name of Allaah. If he forgets
to mention the name of Allaah at the beginning, let him
say Bismillaahi fi awwalihi wa aakhirihi (in the name
of Allaah at its beginning and at its end)." Saheeh
hadeeth, narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1859) and Abu Dawood (3767).
The correct view is that it is obligatory to mention
the name of Allaah (say Bismillaah) when eating.
The ahaadeeth which state this are saheeh and are clear,
with no contradictions in them.
When he raised the food to his mouth, he would say,
"Al-hamdu Lillaahi hamdan katheeran tayyiban
mubaarakan fihi ghayri makfiyyin wa laa muwadda' wa laa
mustaghni `anhu Rabbanaa `azza wa jall (Allaah be praised with
an abundant, beautiful, blessed praise. He is the One Who
is Sufficient, Who feeds and is never fed, The One Who
is longed for, along with that which is with Him, and
the One Who is needed. He is Our Lord, may He be
glorified). Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5142).
He never criticized food at all. If he liked it, he would
eat it, and if he did not like it, he would leave it and not
say anything. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3370) and
Muslim (2064).
Or he would say, "I do not feel like eating this."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5076) and Muslim (1946).
Sometimes he would praise the food, as when he
asked his family for food, and they said, "We have nothing
but vinegar." He asked for it and started to eat it, saying,
"What a good food is vinegar." Narrated by Muslim (2052)
He used to talk whilst he was eating, as is seen from
the report quoted above about vinegar.
And he said to his step-son `Umar ibn Abi Salamah
when he was eating with him: "Say
Bismillaah and eat from that which is in front of you in the dish*." Narrated by
al-Bukhaari (5061) and Muslim (2022). [* At the time
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), people used to eat together from one dish, and
children would sometimes forget the correct etiquette. - Translator]
He would repeatedly urge his guests to eat, as
generous hosts do, and as is seen in the hadeeth of Abu
Hurayrah, narrated by al-Bukhaari, about the story of drinking
milk, where he repeatedly said to him, "Drink!" and he
kept telling him to drink until he (the guest) said, "By the
One Who sent you with the truth, I have no more room for
it!" Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6087).
When he ate with others, he would not leave until he
had made du'aa' for them. He made du'aa in the house
of `Abd-Allaah ibn Bisr, and said: "O Allaah, bless for
them that which You have provided for them, forgive them
and have mercy on them." Narrated by Muslim (2042).
He commanded people to eat with their right hands
and forbade them to eat with their left hands. He said,
"The Shaytaan eats with his left hand and drinks with his
left hand." Narrated by Muslim (2020). This implies
that eating with the left hand is haraam, and this is the
correct view, because the one who eats with his left hand is
either a shaytaan (a devil), or he is imitating the Shaytaan.
It was also reported in a saheeh hadeeth that he told
a man who was eating with his left hand in his
presence, "Eat with your right hand!" The man said, "I cannot."
He said, "May you never be able to!" _ and the man
never lifted his right hand to his mouth after that. Narrated
by Muslim (2021). If it was permissible (to eat with the
left hand), he would not have prayed against him for
doing so. It was the man's stubborn arrogance that made
him refuse to obey the command, and this is the
utmost disobedience which deserved this prayer against him.
He commanded those who complained that they
never felt full to eat together and not separately, and to
mention the name of Allaah (say Bismillaah) over the food so
that He might bless it for them." Narrated by Abu
Dawood (3764) and Ibn Maajah (3286).
(See Zaad al-Ma'aad, 2/397-406)
It was also reported that he said, "I do not eat
reclining." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5083.
He used to eat using the first three fingers (of his
right hand), which is the best way of eating.
See: Zaad al-Ma'aad, 220-222. And Allaah knows best.
The Prophet's guidance regarding diet:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to know what he was eating.
He used to eat what was good for him.
He used to eat enough to keep him going, but no so
much as to make him fat. Ibn `Umar narrated that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"The believer eats in one stomach whilst the kaafir eats
in seven." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5081) and
Muslim (2060).
He taught his ummah something to protect them
from diseases caused by eating and drinking. He said:
"The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than
his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a
few mouthfuls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill
his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one
third with drink and one third with air." Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi (1381), Ibn Maajah (3349); classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2265).
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
2038: Mankind's need for Prophethood
Question:
what is the importance of prorhecy for the
humanety? Why is faith in Prophethood so important?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Mankind is in need of Messengers and Prophets
from Allaah, to light the way and guide them to ways of
peace, and to warn them against the ways of evil and
corruption. Some of the things for which mankind clearly
needs Messengers and Prophets are:
1 - Guidance to Allaah, may He be exalted and glorified
Mankind has gone through periods where they did
not have Messengers and Messages from Allaah for a
long time, and so they fell into the traps of illusions and
myths, so they prayed to natural phenomena and heavenly
bodies, or idols that could neither benefit nor harm
them, worshipping them in fear and hope. At the same
time, they were subjected to humiliation by those who
claimed divinity, such as the Pharaohs and others. Even
though there was never a time when at least a few
people wondered about Who had sovereignty over the
heavens and the earth and instinctively realized that there was
a Creator, they still failed to worship Him properly and
heed His commands and prohibitions and understand what
He wanted them to do and not do, because they had no
contact with anybody who could tell that about all that.
The wisdom of Allaah dictated that He should save
the confused and misguided by blessing them with
the knowledge of His Divine qualities and Beautiful
Names, so He honoured them and all of humanity by
sending Messengers who would guide them towards the
Creator, as He tells us in the story of Nooh (peace be upon
him): "Indeed, We sent Nooh to his people and he said, `O
my people! Worship Allaah! You have no other ilaah
(god) but Him. Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a
Great Day!'" [al-A'raaf 7:59]. All the Prophets and
Messengers, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them, came
one after the other, bringing the same Message.
2 - Guidance regarding the Hereafter
One of the reasons why Prophets and Messengers
were sent was to tell people about the Hereafter, because
if man does not believe in Allaah and the Last Day, he
will be a slave to his desires, running after material things
and following the ways of misguidance. If he is reminded
or advised, he will deny that he is answerable for his
deeds. Allaah has described such people in His
words (interpretation of the meaning): "And they say, `There
is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live
and nothing destroys us except al-dahr (the time).' And
they have no knowledge of it, they only conjecture."
[al-Jaathiyah 45:24].
So it was the task of the Prophets and Messengers
to establish proof of the Last Day, and to explain that
the One Who created mankind from nothing is able to
bring them back to life after their death, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): "Say: `Allaah gives
you life, then causes you to die, then He will assemble you
on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no
doubt. But most of mankind know not." [al-Jaathiyah
45:26]. On that Day, the scales of justice will be set up and
scores between oppressors and their victims will be
settled. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "And We
shall set up balances of justice on the Day of
Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And
if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring
it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners." [al-Anbiya'
21:47]. If it were not for this Reckoning, which we know
about only through Prophethood, life would be pointless and
a means only for wrongdoing - and this is contrary to
the wisdom of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.
3 - Meeting man's need for religion
So long as man remains sound of nature, clear of
mind and pure of heart, his need for religion remains a part
of him, and he understands that there has to be an
Almighty Creator who created and organized the universe in
the best way. Thus there emerges from the depths of his
being the urge to submit himself fully to the Creator, to
seek His help at times of calamity and distress, and to
humble himself before Him, as he feels his great need for
Him both at times of ease and of hardship. This is referred
to in the Qur'aan (interpretation of the meaning): "So
set your face towards the religion of pure Islamic
monotheism haneefa (worship none but Allaah Alone), Allaah's
fitrah (pattern) with which He has created mankind. No
change let there be in khalq-illah [i.e., the Religion of
Allaah], that is the straight religion, but most of men know
not." [al-Room 30:30]
According to a hadeeth narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Every
new-born baby is born according to the fitrah, then his parents
make him into a Jew or a Christian or a Magian
(Zoroastrian)" (Agreed upon). How could a man know how to
become religious and worship his Creator without Revelation
from Allaah to tell him about it? There has to be a
mediator between Allaah and His creation so that mankind
can know about the religion which the Creator wants them
to follow; this is the role of the Prophets.
4 - Guidance regarding proper ways of dealing with
one another. It is well known that man is by nature
sociable, and that he has wishes and desires that cannot be
achieved except in cooperation with his fellow-man. So it is
clear that mankind urgently needs guidance to regulate
his relationships with others, to outline the right way
of behaving, to resolve disputes and conflicts, to
guard against wrong-doing and oppression, and to
protect people's rights - lest some people oppress others.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Indeed We
have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed
with them the Scriptures and the Balance (justice) that
mankind may keep up justice…"
[al-Hadeed 57:24].
5 - Guidance towards sound morals
It is also a part of man's nature that he will strive to
fulfil his needs even if he does so by means of oppression
and domination. So he urgently needs a deterrent, in the
form of belief in Allaah and the Last Day, to motivate him
to acquire good qualities and praiseworthy morals.
These can only be known through the divine laws brought
and conveyed by the Prophets and Messengers of
Allaah, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them.
6 - Achieving justice in accordance with the will of Allaah
It is well known that Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, is Fair and Just. He rewards the one who
does good as a blessing and favour from Him, and He
punishes the one who does wrong as an act of justice on His part.
Allaah, by His wisdom and mercy, sent His
Messengers, from Aadam to Muhammad (may the peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon them all) to establish proof (so
that people would have no excuse). Allaah says
(interpretation of the meanings):
"And if We had destroyed them with a torment
before this (i.e., Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and the Qur'aan), they would surely have
said, `Our Lord! If only You had sent us a Messenger, we
should certainly have followed Your aayaat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), before we
were humiliated and disgraced.'" [Ta-Ha 20:134]
"Messengers as bearers of good news as well as
of warning in order that mankind should have no plea
against Allaah after the Messengers…" [al-Nisa' 4:165]
Allaah, Who is the Most Just of judges, has decreed
that He will not punish a nation until He has sent a
Messenger to them, as He says: "Whoever goes right, then he
goes right only for the benefit of his own self. And
whoever goes astray, then he goes astray to his own loss. No
one laden with burdens can bear another's burden. And
We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to
give warning)." [al-Isra' 17:15]
The above should explain the extent of mankind's
need for Messengers and their Messages, and why
their happiness in this world and the next is connected to that.
And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A Sheikh
Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
2114: Evidence for the truth of the Prophethood
of Muhammad
Question:
There is a converted christian who does not believe
in Quran.
We had many arguments over this issue, still he does
not believe in Muhammed being a prophet of God, .
I somehow feel that I should help him in knowing the
actual truth.
Can you help me regarding this matter. He Believes
in Bible completely and follows it and has memorised it
. But is unable to understand the importance of Quran.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
First of all, it is essential to understand that guidance
to the true religion of Islam and belief in the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the message
he brought comes about only by the help of Allaah, and
that we are required to explain this and produce evidence
of it.
There is a great deal of clear evidence for the one
who seeks to find out the truth about the Prophethood
of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), including the following:
Allaah chose him even though he had grown up as
an orphan and was illiterate, knowing neither how to read
or write. All good qualities and virtues were perfected
in him, to the point of ultimate perfection. All these
good qualities were combined and firmly established in
him, something which no one else can attain except
the Prophets whom Allaah protected and guided.
This combination of perfect qualities is one of the
greatest proofs of the truth of his Prophethood (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
The revelation of Allaah was bestowed upon the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The
Angel of Revelation, Jibreel (Gabriel), who is recognized by
all the People of the Book [Jews and Christians], came
to him, and when he received revelation, there were
unusual effects on him that indicated the intensity of the
effort involved in receiving the Message of Allaah from
Jibreel, upon whom be peace. His Companions witnessed
this when he received Revelation, and they believed that
the revelation was something that came from an
outside source and was beyond his control; it came to him
from (Allaah), the Wise and Praiseworthy.
Allaah supported the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) with physical miracles, with
which he challenged his people. Among the most important
of these were the splitting of the moon and the Night
Journey to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). They were unable to
match these miracles, and so they were a decisive,
divine testimony to the truth of his Prophethood (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Allaah supported him with miracles and evidence
for people of reason and understanding, the greatest of
which was the Qur'aan. This was the greatest sign,
which contains in its pages miracles of both style and
content, which all of mankind cannot match or imitate, even
if they gather together for that purpose. This is clear
from the statements of the most eloquent of the Arabs,
who were completely unable to match it. The Qur'aan was
_ and centuries later still is, praise be to Allaah _ an
eternal miracle as is evident in its brilliant style, its
information about the Unseen, its fulfilment of the promises of
Allaah, the superiority of its laws, and the fact that its rulings
are appropriate for every time and place _ in addition to
the fact that it has such a moving impact on people's hearts.
The Qur'aan refers to the signs and proofs
surrounding the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), which testify to his truthfulness.
For example, he was free of sin and trivial spitefulness;
he grew up illiterate in the Arabian Peninsula, and did
not receive any religious knowledge from beyond its
borders, nor did he spend time acquiring any religious
knowledge. When he reached the age of forty, he brought
divine knowledge that none of the earlier or later
generations could produce. He also received special protection
and care from Allaah, which kept him safe at times of
crisis; if it were not for this protection he would most
certainly have been doomed to destruction. None of this could
have happened except to one who was truly sent from Allaah.
His coming was foretold in the Tawraat (Torah) and
Injeel (Gospel), and some of the People of the Book saw
that these prophecies applied in totality to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which led them
to embrace Islam. There are still passages in the Bible,
in both the Old and New Testaments, in the versions
that are accepted by the People of the Book, that clearly
refer to the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) _ for example in the Gospel
of Barnabas, which is considered by Christians to be
the most authentic Gospel.
The Message of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was not unique to him, but was in
nature and content similar to the message brought by
other Messengers before him. Allaah had sent Prophets
and Messengers, such as Moosa (Moses), `Eesa (Jesus)
and others, to the Children of Israel, and great numbers
had believed in them and borne witness to the truth of
their Books, which were similar in general terms to the
message brought by the Qur'aan. This was eloquent testimony
to the truth of the Message with which he was sent,
especially as it belonged to the same type of Message to whose
truth they had testified.
When Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) with the same Message as
the Prophets who had come before him, the Qur'aan came
to confirm their Books and their Prophethood, and to
call people to believe in them. So when the People of the
Book disbelieved in him and his Book, it meant that they
were disbelieving in their own Books and Messengers. As
the Qur'aan contained the same principles as their books,
and confirmed them, this meant that it was the least likely
to be fabricated or to have come from a source other
than Allaah, because all of them came from Allaah, may
He be exalted.
In summary, then, the proof of truthfulness is quite
clear in this case. The evidence is there both in
(historical) reports and on the grounds of common sense. This
will cure the ill (i.e., the one who has doubts) and quench
the thirst (of the one who longs for knowledge), as
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "… Indeed,
there has come to you from Allaah a Light (prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) and a
plain Book (the Qur'aan), wherewith Allaah guides all
those who seek His Good Pleasure to ways of peace, and
He brings them out of darkness by His Will unto light,
and guides them to a Straight Way" [al-Maa'idah
5:15-16].
In order to provide the Christian mentioned in the
question with proof and evidence, it should be sufficient to
give him a translation of the meanings of the Qur'aan. If
he believes, then praise be to Allaah, and if he turns
away, then destroy not yourself in sorrow for him (cf.
Faatir 35:8). Allaah leaves astray whom He will and
guides whom He will, and He is the Most Knowing of Guides.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
1512: The physical characteristics of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and seeing him in
a dream
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum. I was recently reading a
description of the physical characteristics of the Holy Prophet .
I formed a picture in my mind. Then I saw in a dream,
a man who looked like the picture formed in my mind. I
do not clearly remember what he said, but I am afraid
he might have said that some Muslim brothers who I
love very much will see a dream with me in it. I committed
a sin in their house before, and before this dream, I
was always worrying that they might find out through a
dream. How do I know for sure if I saw the Holy Prophet in
this dream. This is worrying me very much. Also, I just saw
a dream, where I thought it was the Holy Prophet
again, during his last recitation of the Quran to Jibreel
(AS) during Ramadan. Zaid (RA) was there, too, but
also Hamzah (RA) was there in my dream. I know
that Hamzah(RA) wasn't really there, because he was
martyred at Uhud. So was this the Holy Prophet in this
dream? How can we know for sure? Please answer as quickly
as possibly. I Email is quicker, please do that. If posting it
is quicker
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
We will quote below a number of ahaadeeth which describe the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him). If what you in your dream is in
accordance with this, then you did indeed see the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because he
said: "Whoever sees me in a dream has really seen me,
because Shaytaan cannot appear in my image." (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, 5729).
Rabee'ah ibn Abi `Abd al-Rahmaan said: "I heard
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
describing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). He said: `He was of average height, not too tall and
not too short, with a pinkish colour, not very white and
not dark, and his hair was neither very curly nor very
straight. The Revelation came to him when he was forty years
old, and he stayed in Makkah for ten years after the
Revelation came, then in Madeenah for ten years. When he
died, there were no more than twenty white hairs on his
head and in his beard." (al-Bukhaari, 3283).
Al-Baraa' ibn `Aazib said: "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
broad shouldered and had thick hair coming down to
his shoulders and earlobes. He was wearing red garments.
I have never seen anything more beautiful than
him." (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Fadaa'il, Baab Sifat
Sha'r al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
no. 2338).
'Ali said: "He was neither tall nor short, and had
large hands and feet. He had a large head and was
big-boned, and the thin line of hair (starting from his chest
and extending to the navel) was long. When he walked,
he would lean forward, as if he was walking downhill. I
have never seen anyone like him, before or since."
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3570, who said this is a saheeh
hasan hadeeth).
Jaabir ibn Samurah said: "The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was dalee'
al-fam, ashkal al-'ayn and manhoos al-'aqib." Shu'bah said:
"I asked Maalik, `What is dalee' al-fam?' He said:
`Wide-mouthed.' I asked, `What is ashkal al-'ayn?' He said,
`Big-eyed.' I asked, `What is manhoos al-'aqib?' He said,
`His heels were not fleshy.'" (Saheeh Muslim, Kitaab
al-Fadaa'il, 2339).
As for the sin which you committed in the house of
your brothers, repent to Allaah for this. If you took
something that belongs to them, then give it back. And Allaah is
All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
1196: Is Muhammad peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) created from light? What is wrong with
celebrating his birthday?
Question:
In our locality there are people who hold celebrations
of the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) every year. They think that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is not
like the rest of mankind, but that he is light from the Light
of Allaah Himself, that he is present and watching in
every place, and that he himself attends every gathering held
to celebrate his birthday, he hears what the people say
about him, and he is there with them. For that reason they
stand up and say in unison: "Yaa Nabi-Allaah, yaa
Rasool-Allaah, yaa Habeeb-Allaah, salaam
`alayka (O Prophet of Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, O Beloved of
Allaah, peace be upon you)." They call out to him as if he
were present and ask for his help and support. What is
the Islamic ruling on this? Is it correct or not? Is it
sunnah, bid'ah, or what?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah alone, and peace and blessings be
upon His Messenger and his family and companions.
Celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is an innovation
(bid'ah) which goes against the guidance of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and of the
Rightly Guided Khaleefahs (al-khulafaa'
al-raashidoon) and the Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them. It is
proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "Whoever does anything that is not part of
this matter of ours (i.e., Islam), will have it rejected."
(For more details, please see Question # 249).
Believing that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is not like the rest of humanity, and that
he is light from the Light of Allaah Himself is not a
correct belief, because it contradicts the Qur'aan. Allaah
has stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) is human, and has explained what makes
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) different from the rest of mankind. He said
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Say (O Muhammad): `I am only a man like you. It
has been inspired to me that your God is One God
(Allaah). So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let
him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in
the worship of his Lord." [al-Kahf 18:110]
Mankind, human beings, are created, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created
you from a single person (Adam), and from him He
created his wife (Hawwa/Eve), and from them both He
created many men and women…" [al-Nisaa' 4:1]
"O mankind, if you are in doubt about the
Resurrection, then verily! We have created you from dust, then from
a nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge)…" [al-Hajj 22:5]
"O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and
a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, - and as one
who invites to Allaah by His leave, and as a lamp
spreading light." [al-Ahzaab 33:45-46]
In contrast, Allaah is the First, and He has no
beginning, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the
Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is
above Him), and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than
Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing."
[al-Hadeed 57:3]
Allaah called His Prophet "light" and a "lamp
spreading light" because of the guidance and light with which
Allaah sent him, with which Allaah guides all those who
answer his call (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"… Indeed, there has come to you a light
(Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him)) and a plain Book (this Qur'aan)." [al-Maa'idah 5:15]
Saying that he is present and watching in every
place, that he is himself present at every gathering to
celebrate his birthday, and that he hears what the people
present are saying, is all false. There is no basis for this in
either the Qur'aan or the Sunnah.
Calling on him and seeking his help and support is a
form of major shirk which is not permitted, whether one
is calling on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) or on any other created being, because
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"… so invoke not anyone along with Allaah."
[al-Junn 72:18]
"And whoever invokes (or worships) besides Allaah,
any other god of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning
is only with his Lord. Surely! Al-kaafiroon (the
disbelievers) will not be successful." [al-Mu'minoon 23:117]
(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 3/4)
The Muslim should follow, not innovate. He
should believe in Allaah alone, call on Him alone and seek
His help alone. He should not call on or seek the help
of anyone else. The consequences of shirk are
devastating, as it will wipe out all a person's good deeds and lead
to his doom in Hell. Bid'ah is a serious matter, which
will cause a person's deeds to be thrown back at him,
not accepted. The Muslim should love, respect, honour
and obey the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), and give his words precedence over the words
of any other human being, but it is not permitted
to exaggerate about him, or to raise his status above
that which has been bestowed upon him by Allaah, or to
call on him instead of Allaah, because this is a violation
of the rights of Allaah, and involves directing acts of
worship to someone other than Allaah, when they should only
be directed towards Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted. We ask Allaah to help us to do that which will
please Him and to avoid that which will earn His wrath, and
to help us to love Him and His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). May Allaah bless our
Prophet Muhammad. And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Search Inside This Book At Google Book Search - (400 pages)
1108: The Unlettered Prophet
Question:
Is there any evidence that the Prophet Muhammad
was unable to read or write?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who
can neither read not write whom they find written with
them in the Tawraat and the Injeel, - he commands them
for al-Ma'roof (i.e., Islamic monotheism and all that
Islaam has ordained); and forbids them from al-Munkar
(i.e., disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islaam
has forbidden); he allows them as lawful al-Tayyibaat
(i.e., all good and lawful as regards things, deeds,
beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), and prohibits them as unlawful
al-khabaa'ith (i.e., all evil and unlawful as regards
things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them
from their heavy burdens (of Allaah's Covenant) and from
the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those
who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him
and follow the light (the Qur'aan) which has been sent
down with him, it is they who will be
successful."
[al-A'raaf 7:157]
Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in
his tafseer of this aayah: "Allaah says `al-ummi.' Ibn
`Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: `Your Prophet
was unlettered, unable to read or write or calculate.'
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): `Neither did you
(O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Qur'an),
nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your
right hand... .' [al-`Ankaboot 29:48]."
Ibn Katheer, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in
his tafseer of the second aayah quoted [al-`Ankaboot 29:48]:
"Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
`Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it
(this Qur'aan), nor did you write any book (whatsoever)
with your right hand . . .' i.e., `you (O Muhammad) lived
among your people for a while before you brought this
Qur'aan to them, and you never read any book or were able
to write anything. Everyone among your people and
others knows that you are an unlettered man, who does not
read or write.' This is how he was described in the
previous Books as Allaah said (interpretation of the
meaning): `Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who
can neither read not write whom they find written with
them in the Tawraat and the Injeel, - he commands them
for al-Ma'roof (i.e., Islamic monotheism and all that
Islaam has ordained); and forbids them from al-Munkar
(i.e., disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islaam
has forbidden) . . .' [al-A'raaf 7:157].
Hence the Prophet will remain unable to write even
one line or one letter, until the Day of Resurrection. He
had scribes who would write down in front of him
the Revelation and letters to different regions. . . . Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): `. . . In that case,
indeed, the followers of falsehood might have
doubted.' [al-`Ankaboot 29:48], i.e., if you had been good at it
(reading and writing), some of the ignorant people would
have doubted you and said that you had learnt this from
the previous Books left by the Prophets. Indeed, they say
this despite the fact that they know he was unlettered
and unable to write, as it says in the Qur'aan
(interpretation of the meaning): `And they say: "Tales of the
ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to
him morning and afternoon."'
[al-Furqaan 25:5]"
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a
Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His
Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and
polytheism), and teaching them the Book and al-Hikmah
(al-Sunnah). And verily, they had been before in manifest
error."
[al-Jumu'ah 62:2]
Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in
his tafseer of this aayah:
"It was said: `the unlettered ones' means those who
do not write. Such were the Quraysh. Mansoor reported
from Ibraaheem, who said: `Al-ummi (the unlettered one)
is the one who neither reads nor writes. "A Messenger
from among themselves" means Muhammad , who
was unlettered and never read a book nor learned how.'
Al-Mawardi said: `What is good about the fact that
Allaah sent an unlettered Prophet? There are three things:
(i) his message fulfilled the foretelling of the
previous Prophets;
(ii) this made him similar to and closer to other Prophets;
(iii) this would eliminate all suspicion that he had
learned the message he preached from books and writings that
he had read."
I say: all of this is evidence of the miraculous nature
and truth of his Prophethood.
(The above has been summarized from the Tafseer of
al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him).
The above has been summarized from the Tafseer of
al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him).
(www.islam-qa.com)
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