The Fundamentals
of
the Faith
“Do you not see how God compares
a good word to a good tree? Its roots are firm and its branches are in the sky.
It yields fruits in every season by leave of its Lord.”
(Quran Al-Kareem 14:24)
Table
of Contents
Prologue 3
Book 1: The Etiquette of Seeking Knowledge 5
Book 2: Aqeedah Part I 13
The Existence of the Creator
Book 3: Aqeedah Part II 27
Angels
Prophets
Books
The Inimitability of the Quran
Book 4: Aqeedah Part III 43
The Stages of the Life of Man
Covenant with Allah
Womb
Birth unto death
Punishment of the Grave
Resurrection
Minor Signs of the Day of Judgement
Major Signs of the Day of Judgement
Qadr
Sahabah
Book 5: Hadeeth and Sunnah 84
Book 6: Introduction to Fiqh 92
Book 7: Groups 102
Prologue
“1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.
2. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and
Sustainer of the Worlds;
3. Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
4. Master of the Day of Judgement.
5. Thee do we worship,
And Thine aid we seek.
6. Show us the straight way.
7. The way of those on whom
Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace,
Those whose (portion)
Is not Wrath,
And who go not astray.”
~Surah Fatihah (The Opening)~
Quran al Kareem
***
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.
- Praise
be to Allah,
Who hath sent to His Servant
The Book, and hath allowed
Therein no Crookedness
- (He hath
made it) Straight
(And Clear) in order that
He may warn (the godless)
Of a terrible Punishment
From Him, and that He
May give Glad Tidings
To the Believers who work
Righteous deeds, that they
Shall have a goodly Reward.
- Wherein
they shall
Remain forever.
- Further,
that He may warn
Those (also) who say,
“Allah hath begotten a son”:
- No
knowledge have they
Of such a thing, nor
Had their fathers. It is
A grievous thing that issues
From their mouths as a saying.
What they say is nothing
But falsehood!
- Thou
wouldst only, perchance,
Fret thyself to death,
Following after them, in grief,
If they believe not
In this Message.
- That
which is on earth
We have made but as
A glittering show for the earth,
In order that We may test
Them – as to which of them
Are best in conduct.
- Verily
what is on earth
We shall make but as
Dust and dry soil
(Without growth or herbage).
- Or dost
thou reflect
That the Companions of the Cave
And of the Inscription
Were wonders among Our Signs?
- Behold,
the youth betook themselves
To the Cave: they said,
“Our Lord! Bestow on us
Mercy from Thyself,
And dispose of our affair
For us in the right way!””
~Surah al Kahf (The Cave)~
Quran al Kareem
***
All praise is to due Allah (swt), the
Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds, Master of the Day of Judgement. May He
shower His Mercy and Blessings upon our Noble Prophet Muhammed (saw) and his
Companions and his Family and upon the Great Ulema. May Allah (swt), by His
Mercy, cover, erase, and forgive us of our sins and allow us to enter into
jannat al firdaus without reckoning. Ameen.
Book 1
The Etiquette of
Seeking Knowledge
“Say, ‘Are those who know and those who do not know equal?’”
~Quran al Kareem 39:9~
Table of Contents
Ignorance 7
Purification
of Intention 7
The
Types of Seekers 7
The
Status of Seeking Knowledge According to the Shariah 8
Knowledge
is What Benefits 8
The
Islamic Sciences 9
The
Status of the Ulema 10
Four
Methods of Respecting Knowledge 11
Reward
for Seeking Knowledge 11
Warning
against Neglecting Knowledge 11
Conclusion 12
Ignorance
Jahil basit – “Basic Ignorance.”
Jahil
murakkab – “Compounded Ignorance.”
The
Story of the Two Brothers - Once there were two brother walking in the
desert. One said to the other, “I will beat you in getting closer to Allah by
spending the next 20 years doing nothing but ibadah.” The other brother said he
is going to go and study the Deen. One day, the brother who had decided to
spend all his time worshiping, accidentally stepped on a mouse and killed it. He
was overwhelming with grief for killing an innocent creature, so he tied a
strong on the dead mouse and hung it around his neck (to make himself feel
better). His brother returned and asked him what he did for 20 years. He
answered “I worshipped Allah but I made one mistake” and he narrated the whole
story. The other brother told him “This is najis (impure), and you cannot
worship with such an impurity on your body.” (This story is related by Imam
Ghazzali).
Purification of
Intention
RasulAllah (saw): “The reward of deeds depends upon the
intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he intended.”
(Bukhari and Muslim.)
RasulAllah (saw): “Allah (swt) looks not at your figures, nor
at your outward appearance but He looks at your hearts and deeds.” (Muslim)
RasulAllah (saw): “He who does not acquire knowledge with the
sole intention of seeking the Pleasure of Allah (swt) but for gaining the
frailties of the world, will not smell the fragrance of
Reflect over the Hadeeth of the
Prophet (saw) where he described that the first three people who will be thrown
into hellfire: a scholar, a mujahid, and someone who spent his wealth. Each
will claim that they will have done it for the sake of Allah (swt), but in
reality, they did it to show off.
Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio: The intentions of the Seeker of Sacred Knowledge should be the following:
1. To remove oneself from misguidance
2. To benefit the creatures of Allah
3. To revive the Sacred Sciences
4. To act in accordance with what one learns.
(p. 1 of “The Etiquette of the Seeker of Sacred Knowledge)
The Types of Seekers
Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio: The seekers of knowledge are of three types:
1. “The man who seeks knowledge in order to take it as a provision [for] his final destiny. He does not intend in anything except seeking the face of Allah the Mighty and the Next Life. This personw ill be among those who will attain bliss.”
2. “The man who seeks knowledge as a vehicle which assists him in his livelihood and in order to obtain standing among men and wealth. This person by means of that reveals the lowliness of the state of his heart and the vileness of his intention. This one will be among those who will be lost. If his appointed time rushes upon him before he makes repentance, it is then feared for him an evil ending. The remaining years of his life continues in a very precarious state under the Divine Will of Allah. However, if repentance occurs for him before his appointed time comes and he connects his knowledge to sound action and behavior in order to attain what his errors had caused him to miss – he then will be counted among those who will attain bliss. This is because the one who repents from sins is like the one who has no sins.”
3. “The third man is one whom Satan has seized. He takes his knowledge as a pretext for increasing in wealth. He takes his knowledge as a cause for boasting of his rank and status. He takes his knowledge as a motivation for strengthening his many followers. By his knowledge he enters every place hoping to swoop down upon something of this world and its beauties. . .”
(p 2-3 of “The Etiquette of the Seeker of Sacred Knowledge”)
The Status of Seeking
Knowledge According to the Shariah
RasulAllah (saw) said “The seeking of knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim, male and female.” (Tirmidhi and ibn Majah)
Knowledge which is Fardh Ain: “When the action becomes obligatory, the knowledge of it becomes obligatory as well.”
1. Aqeedah – Shahadah, seven major beliefs.
2. Fiqh - “A person is not obliged to learn how to perform ablution, the prayer, and so forth, until the act itself is obligatory for him.”
3. Haram and Halal – it is obligatory for one to know what is permissible and what is unlawful of food, drink, clothing, and so fort, of things one is unlikely to be able to do without.
4. Spiritual Purification –
Imam Ghazzali considered this to be a fardh ain. He meant “that knowledge of their definitions, causes, remedy, and treatment
is personally obligatory.”
Knowledge which is Fardh Kaffayah: memorizing the Quran and hadith, Usool al
Fiqh, Fiqh, Arabic Grammar and lexicology, ijma, ilm al Kalam. Knowledge that is required to sustain worldly existence is also a Fardh Kaffayah such as medicine or mathematics.
Unlawful Knowledge: magic, sorcery, astrology, materialism (subjects which create doubts like philosophy).
Offensive Knowledge: romantic poetry, etc.
Permissible knowledge: that which does not stultify the intellect, nor incites to evil, nor hinders from good, etc.
Knowledge is What
Benefits
RasulAllah (saw): “When a man dies, his deeds come to an end
except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which
is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).”
(Muslim)
“Knowledge is what benefits, not what is memorized.”
~Imam Shafi’i~
Imam
Haddad: “useful knowledge" is “that
which increases your knowledge of God, His attributes, acts, and favors; makes
you aware of His commands and prohibitions; leads you to renounce the things of
this world and wish only for the Hereafter; and bring your faults, the defects
in your acts, and the plots of your enemy to your notice.”
~p. ix of “Knowledge and Wisdom” by al-Imam Haddad~
Ibrahim ibn Adham (ra) said: “I once passed by a stone which bore the following legend: ‘Turn me over and learn a lesson.’ I turned it over and found these words: ‘You do not practice what you know, so how can you ask for the knowledge of that which you do not know?’”
~p. 117 of “Knowledge and Wisdom” by Imam al-Haddad~
“Knowledge knocks on the door of action: it enters if the door is opened, but leaves if it does not receive a reply. He who fails to act upon the knowledge that he has gained is forever deprived of the ecstasy of supplications.”
~p. 12-13 of “Wisdom for the Seeker” by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmed~
“There was a time when wealth was spent to acquire knowledge. Today, knowledge is spent and squandered to acquire wealth.”
~p. 13 of “Wisdom for the Seeker” by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmed~
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (ra) said: “Knowledge is not [merely] the narrating of texts. Rather, knowledge is fear [of Allah].”
~p. 8 of “Sufism and Good Character” by Imam Zafar Uthmani~
“Whoever strives for knowledge for the life to come obtains great gain
in righteousness. But he is utter loss who seeks to obtain an advantage over
people.”
~Imam Abu Hanifa (ra)~
“Knowledge is to know one’s nafs: what is for it and what is against
it.”
~Imam Abu Hanifa (ra)~
“Ilm (knowledge) will not give you anything until and unless you give
it everything.”
~Shaykh Hassan Sheikh~
The Islamic Sciences
Of all of the Sciences, there are three main ones: Aqidah, Fiqh, and Tasawwuf. These three sciences are derived from the hadith of Jibrail (as):
From Umar (ra)
While we were sitting with the Messenger of
Allah s.a.w, one day a man came up to us whose clothes were extremely white,
whose hair was extremely black, upon whom traces of traveling could not be
seen, and whom none of us knew, until he sat down close to the Prophet s.a.w,
so that he rested his knees upon his knees and placed his two hands upon his
thighs and said, Muhammad, tell me about
Islam. The Messenger of Allah s.a.w said, Islam is that you witness that there is no good but Allah and that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and you establish the prayer and you give
the Zakat and you fast Ramadan and you perform the Hajj of the House if you are
able to take a way to it. He said, You have told the truth, and we were
amazed at him asking him and [then] telling him that he told the truth. He
said, Tell me about Iman. He said, "That you affirm Allah, His angels, His
books, His messengers and the Last Day and that you affirm the Decree, the good
of it and the bad of it." He
said,You have told the truth. He said ,"Tell me about Ihsan." He said, "That you worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you don't see
Him then truly He sees you." He said, "Tell me about the
Hour." He said, "The one asked about it knows no more than the one
asking." He said, "Then tell me about its signs." He said,
"That the female slave should give birth to her mistress and you see poor,
naked, barefoot shepherds of sheep and goats competing in raising
buildings." He went away and I remained some time. Then he said, "
Umar, do you know who the questioner was?" I said, "Allah and His
Messenger know best." He said, He
was Jibrail who came to you to teach you your deen."
Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio categorizes in his book Kitab al-‘Ulum al- Mu’amala the following:
- Islam – The Science that deal with Fiqh, concerning the outward aspects of the Din.
- Iman – The Science of Tawhid (or Aqeedah), concerning the beliefs comprising the foundations of the Din, and
- Ihsan – the Science of Tasawuff (tazkiyah), concerning the inward aspects of the Din.
In addition to the sciences listed above, the following are also Islamic sciences:
- Ilm al Kalam is the Science of the Proofs of the Creator and other intellectual topics.
- Tafseer is the Science pertaining to the Explanation of the Quran.
- Ilm al Hadeeth is the Science of Classifying Hadith
The Status of the
Ulema
RasulAllah (saw) said: “The superiority of the scholar over the
devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the rest of the
heavenly bodies.” (Abu Dawud). RasulAllah (saw) mentioned that the ulema of
this Ummah will receive the same reward as the ambiyah of Bani’
“One alim is more powerful against Shaaytan than one thousand devout worshippers.” - Tirmidhi
Four Methods of
Respecting Knowledge
1. Memorize it.
2. Write it down.
3. Teach it to others.
4. Implement it.
Reward for Seeking
Knowledge
RasulAllah
(saw) said: “If you pass by the Gardens
of
Warning against
Neglecting Knowledge
RasulAllah (saw) said “He who is asked about knowledge and
conceals it, will be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Abu Dawud)
RasulAllah (saw) said: “Verily the severest punishment on the Day of Judgement will be the scholar whom Allah did not benefit by his knowledge.”
RasulAllah (saw) said: “On the night of the ascension, I passed by some people whose lips were being cut with scissors made of fire. I then said, ‘Who are you?’ They replied, ‘We used to command others to good and refused to do it ourselves. We used to forbid others from evil but did it ourselves.’”
RasulAllah (saw) said: “Allah does not withdraw knowledge by
extracting it from the hearts of men, rather He takes away the religious
scholars. When no religious scholar remains, people take the ignorant as their
leaders; these ignorant ones are questioned and give religious verdicts without
knowledge. They are astray and will lead others astray.” (Bukhari)
Tirmidhi relates from Jubayr ibn Nufayr (ra), on the authority of Abu Darda’:
RasulAllah (saw) said: “There [will be] a time when knowledge will be snatched from the people until they will become unable to benefit from it.” Ziyad ibn Lubayd said, “O Messenger of Allah, how will Allah seize knowledge from us when we recite the Quran? I swear by Allah, we recite it and teach it to our women and children!” He said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Ziyad. I used to consider you one of the learned people of Madinah! The Torah and the Gospel are with the Jews and the Christians, yet do they benefit from them in any way?”
Jubayr added: “I met Ubada ibn al-Samit and said to him, “Will you not listen to what Abu Darda was saying?” I then informed him of what he said concerning the loss of knowledge. He said, “Abu Darda has spoken truthfully. If you wish I will inform you of the first knowledge to be removed from people. It is humility [khushu]. You will enter the central masjid and hardly find a single humble person!”
Conclusion
Muadh ibn Jabal relates:
“Acquire knowledge because
doing so is good. Seeking it is worship. Reviewing it is glorifying Allah.
Researching it is jihad. Teaching it to the ignorant is charity. Serving the
scholars is a way of drawing near to Allah because knowledge is the path of
ascension to the stations of
Du’a for seeking knowledge: “Rabbi zidni ilma” – O my Lord, increase me in knowledge.
Du’a for giving dawah: “Allahumma ihdini wahdi bi” Oh Allah, guide me and grant (others) guidance through me.
Book
2
Proving the Existence of
the Creator
“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the
earth, and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of
understanding."
~Quran al Kareem
3:190~
Table of Contents
Iman 15
Islam 15
Aqeedah 15
No Taqleed in Aqeedah 15
The Definition,
Authority and Limitations of Reason 16
Knowledge 18
Allah (swt) 18
Allah (swt) Exists 19
Superproof 19
Argument from Finitudes 21
Argument from Analogy
of Things in the World 21
Argument from
Aggregation and Segregation of Atoms 22
Argument from
Createdness of the 22
Accidents of the
Component Parts of the World
Argument from
Impossibility of an Infinite by Succession 23
Argument from
Particularization 23
Argument from
Preponderation 24
Argument from Immortal
Souls 24
The Meaning of “Allah” 24
Sources 25
Iman:
Linguistically
– ‘amaana’ – ‘having safety’ or
‘accepting and confirming a certain manner.’
Shariah – ‘accepting and confirming everything that the Prophet (saw) came with of that which is necessarily known to be part of the religion.’ Not limited to just the basics of beliefs but everything that comes in the religion that everybody knows about.
Islam:
Linguistically – ‘al inqiyaadh’ – ‘submitting to something’
Shariah – ‘one submits to everything that the Prophet (saw) came with of that which is necessarily known about the religion.
Thus, we see the relationship between iman and islam. They are both matters of the heart where one is conviction and the other is submission to the same thing and that is to ‘that which is necessarily known about the religion.’
Islam is manifest from outward submission
that results from inward conviction.
Iman is inward conviction from which emanates outward submission.
Thus, the two are intricately interrelated.
Aqeedah
Linguistic
- ‘aqq adah’ – ‘to tie something.’
Shariah
– ‘the science to know that which is
obligatory (necessary), possible, and impossible with respect to Allah (swt),
His Prophets, the matters of the next life, and possible things (the possible
means all creation and it is utilized to affirm the necessary existence of
Allah.’
The Science of Aqeedah is but a means to an end. It is a means to strengthening one’s faith since faith can be replaced by doubt and doubt can lead to disbelief. By utilizing rational proofs is a means to remove doubt. Also known as ‘ilm at-tawheed’, ‘ilm al usool al deen’, ‘ilm al aqaid’, and ‘ilm al kalam’. Sound faith is a condition of sound and accepted works. For example, if we sin and we seek sincere repentance, we need to have sincere conviction in His existence.
Remember that the science of beliefs is derived from hadith of Jibrail (as).
No Taqleed in Aqeedah
Taqleed – ‘mere following’ or ‘conditional belief, i.e. “I believe because so and so believes,” in a manner that would result in leaving the faith if that condition was removed or the mere presence of doubt.’
You might be asking, who does conditional belief, but in the time of the Prophet (saw), there were people who actually did offer to become Muslim on a condition such as rulership (you be the ruler and after you die, return the rule back to someone from amongst us) or worship (we will worship your lord for one year and you worship our idols next year).
The Definition,
Authority, and Limitations of Reason
1. Definition of Reason - ‘the reflection that seeks that which establishes either certain knowledge or the preponderance of conviction.’ In other words, determining what is real and what is not real or what is true and what is false. If something is true then it exists and if something is false then it does not exist. As we shall see, the purpose of reason is to ultimately acquire knowledge of Allah (swt) since nothing is truly real but Him. Remember, one of his names is Al-Haqq (“The reality”). The dunya is merely a proof of the existence of Allah (swt) and has no significance except that which Allah (swt) has decided.
a. Reason or reflection can lead to three conclusions: affirming, denying, and uncertainty.
i. Truth means something exists.
ii. False means something lacks existence.
iii. Uncertainty means that something’s existence is inconclusive.
A person can believe in the existence of Allah (swt), he can deny His existence, or he can be uncertain of His existence.
2. Authority
a. In general, there are two methods of acquiring knowledge: rational or empirical. When we say empirical, we are referring to a method of acquiring knowledge of reality through the means of one’s faculties of perceptions. Rational thinking is not necessarily opposed to empiricism and can actually be comprised of a form of empiricism. But to advocate strict empiricism and to deny reflection or reason is flawed, as we shall show. Imam Juwayni starts off this way in order to preemptively deconstruct the argument of empiricists/skeptics before they can apply it.
b. Skepticism. Empiricists will say “I don’t see God, so he doesn’t exist” or even if you prove the necessary existence of a Creator of the Universe, they will either delve into speculation by attacking the existence of the Creator by asking “How do I know a purple alien didn’t create the Universe” (i.e. a form of empiricism) or by going to the opposite extreme and attacking the existence of the creation itself by asking “How do I know that the Universe even exists! What if there is no Universe or what if there are more Universes or multi-dimensional Universes!” For example, they will bring up how the main is untrustworthy and can be deceived by illusions, mental diseases, dreams, demon possession, computers, etc. Thus, empiricism, when applied in a strict manner, is ultimately skeptical of the role of reason in determining the existence of any given entity. We will first respond to skeptics and then empiricists because we need to establish the authority of a proof in general before we can specifically use it to prove the existence of a creator.
c. Responding to Skeptics: Proof of the authority of Reason
i. How can a person who believes in knowing through perception deny the authority of reasoning since reasoning itself is not perceived through the faculties of perception.
ii. Furthermore, did they know reason was defective a priori or through reasoning itself?
-If they say it is innately within the human nature to reject reason, this is simply false and needs to be proven and is impossible to prove either through sense perception or through reason. Even if they could prove it through reason, this would lead to a paradox where one uses reason in order to disprove it. Thus, the most an empiricist could argue is the equal use of reason and sense perceptions and cannot deny reason in its entirety.
iii. Skeptics who don’t deny reasoning, but the existence of other objects other than the self. Well then you need to ask, how did you perceive these objects?
-Either you conceived it. But you would know if you were imagining something since the self must be aware of what it does.
-Or something else forced you to conceive it, and that is proof that other things exist. Then one must ask, what causes that thing to exist? Is it yourself or is it the object in and of itself or it something else? In other words, the Universe still exists and the proofs that will be utilized for the Creator are still valid, the definition of the Universe is what has changed and requires a slight adjustment in the argument.
iv. Sincere Skeptics – What about a person who says “I am sincerely skeptical of the existence of the Creator”? The best way to respond is through proofs.
3. Limitations of Reason – Reason is not unbounded.
a.
The
primary criterion for discerning what is good and bad is the revelation. The
intellect is there merely to interpret, understand, and implement the
revelation.
b. Reason is sometimes ignored. (part I)
i. No one questions the existence of Dinosaurs, even though a lot of them have turned out to be false.
ii. No one questions evolution, even though research in genetics has blatantly disproved a lot of its premises.
iii. No one
questions the news, even though it is apparent that the
c. Reason is not used all the time. (part II)
Will people change because of a proof?
i. Shaytan disobeyed Allah (swt) even though his existence wasn’t in doubt.
ii. Example of Musa (as) and the Magicians. The Magicians believed, but no one else did.
iii. So just because Miracles happen or a Prophet is present or the Wahi is being sent down, doesn’t mean that people will be convinced. This is one of the reasons we even have such stories in the Quran, to learn from them.
d. Iman is based on takleef
i. Remember in the Quran that the mistake of the angels was that they thought in order to worship Allah (swt) that you needed only to be sinless and do dhikr of Allah.
ii. Human beings have a free will and we are given the opportunity to believe or disbelieve or to obey or disobey. Thus, it is impossible to create a proof that will convince everyone since in order to implement free will then some humans must be given the choice to disobey. There will always be humans who disbelieve (like Shaytan, the people at the end of time, etc) just like there will always be people who sin just like RasulAllah (saw) said that if people didn’t sin, Allah (swt) would have replaced us with a people who did.
iii. Allah (swt) guides whom He wills. It is not you who guides, but Allah (swt) so if you do not convince someone, make dua to Allah (swt) that they be guided and if you convince someone, then praise Allah (swt).
e. Purpose of these proofs – The purpose of these proofs is to not necessarily to prove religion but merely to show that our religion is not necessarily illogical. Today, people hold religion to be in the least as illogical and at most to be based on blind faith, especially with Islam. We would like to show that Islam is not illogical and not based on blind faith.
Knowledge
1. The objective of reason is to acquire knowledge.
2. The definition of the intellect is to know whether something is necessary, possible, or impossible.
a. The necessary means what must be and what cannot not be.
b. The possible is what could be and could not be.
c. The impossible is what can not be.
3. How can you know a reality if you don’t know what is necessary, possible or impossible? If we want to know about Allah (swt) we have to know what is necessary, what is possible, and what is impossible. If we read in the Quran, Allah (swt) has given ample proofs of His existence.
4. When a person who is sane reaches maturity, he must know what is necessary, not what is possible or impossible with regards to Allah (swt), His messengers, the matters pertaining to the Hereafter, and the matters pertaining to the Creation.
Allah (swt)
1. We must know what is necessary, possible, and impossible with regards to Allah (swt).
2. Necessary – there are 13 necessary things to know about Allah (swt).
a. Personal Attributes
i. Being
b. Negative Attributes. (Surah Ikhlas)
i. Without beginning.
ii. Without end.
iii. Without partners.
iv. Without needs.
v. Absolutely dissimilar to created things.
c. Affirmative Attributes
i. Life
ii. Knowledge
iii. Will
iv. Power
v. Hearing
vi. Sight
vii. Speech
NOTE: There are many more attributes of Allah (swt), but these are the ones that are obligatory to believe in and other all other attributes are derived from these essential attributes.
3. Possible – Extremely long list . . .
a. Vision of Allah (swt) in jannah.
i. Power over all Acts.
ii. Justice
-Grace and Abandonment
-Goodness and Badness
-Suffering
-Compensation
b. Doctrine of Miracles
i. Abrogation
ii. Inimitability of the Quran
iii. Other miracles of the Prophets (as)
4. Impossible
a. Not what is impossible for Allah (swt), but rather what we should not think about Allah (swt). This was focused on refuting heresies like the mutazila, jahmiyyah, karammiyah, etc.
Allah (swt) Exists
1. The Universe is a Proof for the existence of Allah (swt).
a. It can be either Created or Eternal.
b. The existence of the Universe is possible because it could be and it could not be. It does not have a necessary existence.
2. There are 9 proofs we will review. Do not think of them as separate, independent proofs because they are all intertwined and are extensions of one another.
a. Superproof
b. Argument from Finitudes
c. Argument from Analogy of Things in the World
d. Argument from Aggregation and Segregation of Atoms
e. Argument from Createdness of the Accidents of the Component Parts of the World
f. Argument from Impossibility of an Infinite by Succession
g.
Argument
from Particularization
h.
Argument
from Preponderation
i.
Argument
from Immortal Souls**
**These last three we will merely mention and not delve into detail.
Superproof
1. Reality
a. Objects have three qualities
i. Limited – Spatially, temporally (It has a beginning and an end)
ii. Dependent – Needs something else to exist.
iii. Subject to Laws - Objects follow systematic patterns that the object has no choice but to obey. Matter, Animal, and Human.
b. Can we name something in the Universe that is unlimited, independent, or not subject to laws?
2. Apply this to objects:
a. Leaf as an individual
i. Limited –
i. Spatially Finite
ii. Temporally Finite
ii. Dependent –
i. Sunlight
ii. Carbon Dioxide
iii. a Tree
iv. etc.
iii. Subject to Laws –
i. Must follow specific patterns of growth.
ii. Subject to gravity
iii. etc.
b. Quantity Does not Effect Createdness.
i. 1 leaf - one leaf is limited, dependent, and subject to laws.
ii. 2 leaves
iii. 10 leaves
iv. One million leaves
v. An infinite number of leaves.
c. Chain of Logic:
i. Tree – Is one created? What of a group? What of an infinite?
ii. Planet – Is one created? What of a group? What of an infinite?
iii. Solar system – Is one created? What of a group? What of an infinite?
iv. Galaxy – Is one created? What of a group? What of an infinite?
3. Composite Createdness
a. Can something that is comprised of limited and dependent things be limited and dependent? If you take a chair: limited and dependent legs, arms, seat, back. How can you say the chair as a whole is unlimited?
b. So the source of something that is limited, dependent, and subject to laws can only be something that is Unlimited, Independent, and not subject to law. It must be free of special constraints, without beginning or end, not reliant on something for its existence, and not subject to laws. In other words, it is Absolute and Eternal.
4. Absolute and Eternal –
a. Oneness of Absolute/Eternal
i. Can there be more than one?
ii. No because they would define each other, limited.
i. If more than one Creator and they both did what they wanted, then there would be chaos.
ii. If more than one Creator and they both worked with another, they would still limit each other’s wills. They are not independent than, they are subject to one another. Therefore, not Absolute, not Eternal.
b. No Infinite Regress
i. Creator – Created by another Creator or Create another Creator? Obviously not, each Creator would be Dependent on the previous Creator’s existence.
c. Similar to anything in Creation or completely different?
i. Obviously not like the Creation.
d. Surah Ikhlas:
i. Say: He is Allah, The One and Only
Absolute, Eternal.
He Begetteth not nor is He Begotten.
And there is
none like Unto Him.
Argument from
Finitudes
1. Three propositions:
a. The Universe is finite in magnitude.
b. The forces which preserve the Universe are finite.
c. Such a finite force cannot produce infinite existence.
2. Syllogisms:
a.
i. Everything with a finite force in it is corruptible (because without that force sustaining it, it would not exist).
ii. The Universe is within a finite force sustaining it.
iii. Therefore, the Universe is corruptible.
b.
i. Everything corruptible is generated.
ii. The Universe is corruptible.
iv. Therefore, the Universe is generated.
Argument from Analogy
of Things in the World
1. Shahrastani’s review of Imam Ashari:
a. “Whatever rules have been established with regard to any one individual or any one body holds true with regards to all, seeing that they all share in corporeality.”
2. A body has:
a. length, breadth, depth, and exists in time.
b. is comprised of at least two atoms (more on atoms later).
3. The whole body is but the sum of the characteristics of its components.
c. If a chair is comprised of finite objects, how can it be said that the chair as a whole isn’t finite?
d. If the Universe is comprised of created parts, how can it be said to be infinite or eternal?
Argument from
Aggregation and Segregation of Atoms
1. Shahrstani: Imam Ashari
2. Atoms mean basic components not necessarily the scientific description.
3. Proposition: Many times we observe that bodies can be broken down into parts. Can this division be continued infinitely or is there a point where all objects are comprised of basic building blocks.
a. If there is an infinite division, this will result in three things:
i. Finite space and finite matter with infinite segregation but this would lead to nothingness. (1/∞ = 0)
ii. Infinite space to match finite matter which will make it impossible to traverse. (infinite means without beginning or end or constantly increasing, one cannot measure infinity)
iii. Finite space to match infinite matter which will make it infinitely dense, but we can distinguish between solids, liquids, and gases.
iv. Thus, both space is finite and the segregation of bodies is finite as well. The basic building blocks are known as atoms.
4. Proof
a. The Universe is comprised of atoms.
b. The Universe can be either Created or Eternal.
c. Atoms can be either Created or Eternal.
d. If atoms are eternal then either:
i. Atoms are eternally either aggregated or segregated.
ii. Neither aggregated or segregated.
iii. Both aggregated and segregated simultaneously.
iv. Some aggregated and some are segregated.
e. Response:
i. If atoms were eternally aggregated/segregated then bodies would be eternally fused/divided but we observe change.
ii. This is logically impossible because it must be either aggregated or segregated.
iii. This is logically impossible as well because a body cannot be in two mutually opposite states in the same instance.
iv. Some aggregated and some are segregated.
f. Causes of Aggregation and Segregation
i. The Atoms themselves – not possible
ii. A Law/Force -
iii. Aggregator who is Eternal
Argument from
Createdness of the Accidents of the Component Parts of the World
1. Imam Juwayni
2. The Universe is comprised of Bodies.
3. Atoms aggregate/segregate
a. Shows that they have ‘accidents’
i. Movement
ii. Rest.
4. If atoms are infinite they can be:
a. Infinitely at rest (this is false)
b. Infinitely in motion
i. Infinite motion in infinite space. (space has been shown to be finite)
ii. Infinite motion in finite space
1. What is the source of motion?
a. Either from the atoms themselves. (not possible)
b. From a force. (would have to be infinite force which is logically impossible).
2. Atoms are Eternal (atoms have been shown to be created)
3. Atoms are not eternal, but there is successive generation of atoms. (see next proof)
5. Motion is the time it takes for an object to move from position x to position y. But space is finite, so motion must be finite as well.
Argument from
Impossibility of an Infinite by Succession
1. Two types of infinite by succession:
a. Infinite motion – requires some generator because a finite object cannot be infinitely in time by the very definition of what motion is (movement between positions in time).
b. Infinite generation – an object gives rise to another object ad infitum.
2. Example of infinite succession by generation:
a. Man 1 ŕ Man 2 ŕ Man 3.
b. Infinite motion/succession of heavenly bodies like Earth, the Moon, etc. Doesn’t it seem that they move infinitely within a confined space?
c. Similarly, atoms generate one another.
3. Time is either infinite or finite.
a. Example of infinite time line: ß-----------point A------------ŕ
b. If we were to add up all the men before point A it would be infinite. Let us call this amount X. If we were to add up all the time after point A it would also be infinite. Let us call this amount Y.
i. Either X = Y or X > Y or X <Y
ii. X > Y or X < Y is impossible because that would mean that one infinite is greater than the other and that is logically impossible.
iii. At point A, X = Y, but what about A + 2 seconds, X ≠ Y and we return to the paradox of the previous statement which is impossible. Thus, an infinite cannot exist.
Argument from
Particularization (Review of Platonic Forms)
1. Something can exist or non-exist.
2. Something can exist in different ways.
3. Something had to choose between all possible worlds and pick one.
a. This is the Particularizer who produces things with particular characteristics and at particular times.
4. The Particularizer can be:
a. Necessary cause
b. Necessary power
c. Agent with Free choice
5. If the Particularizer was forced by either some cause or power to particularize, then wouldn’t he also have a particularizer? Can’t have an infinite regress because infinity doesn’t exist, therefore, it had to be an Agent with Free choice.
Argument from Preponderation (Rebuttal to a Proof of Materialists who believed in God but affirmed that the Universe was co-eternal with him)
1. Creator created Universe before that it was uncreated.
2. Otherwise the Universe would be eternal and that has already been proved.
3. Thus, the Creator willed it.
4. Is the Will Eternal or Created? Inside or Separate from Him? (based on the groups: mutazila (God’s speech is separate, Jahmiyyah, Philosophers who said it was co-eternal).
5. In other words, the Preponderator is synonymous with the Creator
6. This is an argument against deism. The Creator didn’t just make the Universe, he Sustains it. Ultimately this leads to a proof for the Power of the Creator over the Created, including their actions.
Argument from Immortal
Souls
1. Souls survive after death.
2. Can’t have an infinite number of men in one moment and the infinite by succession has been addressed.
3. You can’t have an infinite number of souls.
The Meaning of Allah
1. Linguistic –
a. The
root verb alaha refers to worship. Thus, ilah ('god') refers to 'the one
worshipped.' (Imam Raghib al-Isfahani, pg
82 of Mufradat Alfadh al-Qur'an, his authoritative explanation of the
vocabulary of the Qur'an)
b. He then mentions that other suggested roots
for ilah are:
i.
aliha, meaning 'bewildered.' This points to the reality that
if the human reflects on the attributes of god, they are bewildered.
ii.
wilah, meaning 'madly in love' (walih). This is because all
creation is madly in love with god, whether by choice or without choice (at the
existential level). This is pointed to in the Qur'an:
iii.
laha, meaning
'veiled' (from liyah). This
points to the reality that, "Sight does not encompass Him, while He
encompasses all sight." [Qur'an, al-Hadid: 3] [ibid]
c. Given these linguistic considerations, and
the primary linguistic sense of ilah
('god') meaning, "the worshipped",
[Fayruzabadi, al-Qamus al-Muhit] many of the scholars of the science of beliefs
defined god as, "The one rightly worshipped." [Bajuri, Tuhfat
al-Murid `ala Jawharat al-Tawhid; Mulla Ali al-Qari, Daw' al-Ma`ali `ala Bad'
al-Amali, 35]
2. Shariah - God: the one in no need of anyone
else, whom all else are in absolute need of. [Bajuri, Hashiyat al-Sanusiyya]
3.
Shahadah
- La ilaha illa Allah
There is no one free of all need, whom
all else are in absolute need of, but Allah.
Sources (from least
difficult to most)
1.
Maddrasseh Notes
a.
Darul Uloom al Madania
2. Thinking About God
a. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood
3. The Absolute Essentials of Islam
a. Faraz Rabbani
4. Aqaidul Islam
a. Maulana Khandelwi
5. The Names and Attributes of Allah (lectures)
a. Shaikh Hamza Yusuf
b. Dr. Umar Abdullah
6. God Arises (a little too science oriented)
a. Maulana Wahiuddin Khan
7. System of Islam
a. Taqiuddin Nabbhani
8. Tasawwuf (lectures)
a. Lectures by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller
9. Islam: The Whole Truth
a. Maulana Ashraf Thanvi
10. Introductory Text - Jauharat at Tawheed (www.sunnipath.com) – Precious Jewel of Divine Oneness – 144 line poem (makes it easy to memorize)
a. Taught all across the Muslim world
b. Imam Ibrahim al-Laqqani. A great Maliki faqih, but also a scholar of aqeedah and tasawwuf. (d. 1041 AH)
c. Over a dozen commentaries, two most popular are by:
i. Imam Ahmad as-Sawi, a great Maliki faqih (d. 1241 AH)
ii. and Ibrahim al-Bajjuri, Shaikh of Al Azhar (d. in 13th AH)
11. Intermediate Text - Kitab al-irshad ila qawati’ al-adilla fi usul al-‘itiqad - The Conclusive Proofs for the Principles of Beliefs
a. Imam Junayd al Haramain.
i. Teacher of Imam Ghazzali
ii. Imam of two Holy Cities
iii. Said to have known 100 proofs.
12. Advanced - Miscellaneous Asharis – derived from the Philosophy of the Kalam by Harry Austryn Wolfson
a. Imam Ashari
i.
Ibanah
b. Imam Ghazzali
i.
The Incoherence of the
Philosophers
c. Ibn Khaldun
i.
Muqaddimah
Book 3
Beliefs II
Regarding Angels,
Prophets Books
And
The Quran Al Kareem
Inimitability, Compilation, Rewards and
Punishment, and Etiquette
“Say: If all mankind and the jinn combined to write the like of this
Quran, they would surely fail to come up with anything like it, even though
they would all join efforts to do so.”
(Quran al Kareem 2:24)
Table of Contents
Angels 29
Prophets 30
Books 30
Inimitability 31
Seerah as a Proof 32
Authorship 33
Compilation 34
Reward and Punishment 36
Arabic Quran 38
Etiquette 39
Beliefs
Regarding the Angels
Angels are the honored slaves of Allah (swt).
They are free from disobeying Allah (swt). Whatever they are ordered to do they must comply.
They are honored with the duties of conveying Allah (swt)’s Message, propagation, and of being His ambassadors.
The Kitabs and Scriptures of the Prophets were revealed through them.
They convey with extreme carefulness, faithfulness, and prudence. They are free from making mistakes and errors. The angels convey exactly as Allah (swt) had instructed them. There can be absolutely no mistake or misunderstanding in their conveying the Message.
They are free from eating, drinking, male and female gender, giving birth and lineage.
They are created from light and can assume any form.
They are too numerous in number. Only Allah (swt) knows their exact quantity.
They are constantly in the ibadaat of Allah (swt) in different forms and are never weary of ibaadat.
They are constantly engaged in the duty assigned to them by Allah (swt)
Angels are deputed throughout the length and breadth of the heavens and the earth. They are controlled and supervised by Allah (swt). Some are deputed with carrying the Arsh (Divine Throne) of Allah (swt), some are lined along the Arsh, some are making Tawaf (circumambulating) the Arsh, some are deputed with caring for Jannat and others with Jahannum. Some are angels of mercy and other are of punishment and retribution. Some are in charge with removing the souls and others are deputed with looking after humans. Some are in charge of recording the deeds of humans and others of saving them from shayateen and other harmful creatures. Some are deputed with asking the questions in the grave. In brief, the angels are deputed with various duties and tasks regarding this world and the Hereafter. The existence of angels is proven in the Quran and the Hadeeth, in fact it is recorded in all the Kitaabs and Scriptures of the previous anbiyyah. To accept the existence of the angels is a necessity of our deen and to disbelieve in them is undoubtedly kufr.
Athiests deny the existence of angels. Their only proof of the non-existence of the angels is that they cannot by seen and that their existence has not been established. This claim of theirs is indeed nonsensical and not even worth replying, because the non-visibility of a thing and one not having proof of a thing is certainly no proof for any rational mind that the thing does not exist.
From amongst all the angels there are 10 that are very close to Allah (swt):
Jibraeel (as) – He bought Wahi (divine Revelation) to the Prophets.
Mikaeel (as) – He is responsible for the sustenance of the creation.
Israfeel (as) – He will blow the Trumpet on the Day of Qiyamah
Azraeel (as) – He removes the souls.
Munkar and Nakeer (as) – Questioners of the Grave. (Mubashar/Bashir)
Raqib/Ateed (as) – Record the deeds. Both will be called it.
Malik (as) – Gatekeeper of Jahannam.
Ridhwan (as) – Gatekeeper of Jannah.
Beliefs
Regarding Prophets and Messengers
The Prophets (alaihimus salaatu was salaam) are the pure and chaste servants of Allah (swt), that were sent for the guidance of the creation, so that they (the creation) may be brought closer to Allah (swt) and that they may be saved from deviation and brought onto the Straight Path.
Both the Rasul and Nabi are revealed to, but the Rasul brings a new Shariah (ie Legislation) whereas the Nabi doesn’t bring legislation he merely commands to the previous Shariah.
What is Necessary to believe about them: they are truthful, trustworthy, extremely intelligent, and they delivered the message.
What is Impossible to believe about them: to lie, deceive, dull-witted, and to hide some of the message.
What is Permissible to believe about them: they can be subject to the natural human occurrences such as going to the bathroom and light sickness (ie a Prophet cannot have leprosy.)
Regarding the number of the Prophets: there are many, but there exact number is not known, 25 are mentioned by their name in the Quran. (Ibn Hajar Asqalani (ra))
Nubawwah is not a thing that can be earned or acquired through any special striving or effort.
A Muslim cannot reject a single Nabi.
All of the Anbiyah (alaihumus salaam) are pure and chaste servants of Allah (swt) and they are free from minor and major sins. If a nabi made a mistake or was forgetful it is due to an outside factor and not an inherent fault.
Allah (swt) blessed the Anbiyah with miracles and clear signs, so that these miracles and out of the ordinary acts become a proof of their Prophethood.
They were never removed from their posts.
Every prophet states clearly that what he receives is not of his own, but from God for the well-being of mankind. He also confirms what was revealed before him and what may be revealed after him.
Muhammed (saw) is the last prophet and no one will come after him and he was sent to all of mankind and the jinn.
Books
The books that we must believe in are four: The Taurah to Musa (as), the Zabur to Dawud (as), the Injeel sent to Isa (as), and the Quran sent to RasulAllah (saw).
There is also the Suhuf e Ibrahim (as).
Inimitability
of the Quran
The Quran
is a book which has changed nations. The Arabs would bury their daughters, they
had as many wives as they wanted, etc. The Roman taxes were so high that people
used to sell their kids. In
Each Prophet (as) was given a miracle as a proof of their Prophethood and this miracle was given in the characteristic that matched his people. For example, Musa (as)’s people used to engage in magic, Isa (as)’s people were proficient in medicine, etc. The Quran is considered a “mu’ajiza” [miracle] because it cannot be imitated.
There are many proofs mentioned in the books of aqeedah, fiqh, tafseer, and history. The most important to know are:
Recitation
Language
Laws
Preservation
Easy Memorization
Prophecies
Ancient Tales
What about Science?
Recitation – There is no time in the world that the Quran is not being recited. Every moment of the day, somewhere in the world, the Quran is being recited.
Language
The Jahilliyyah period is known as the “Classical Period” of the Arabic language and is universally recognized to be the peak of the Arabic language. The Arabs would have annual contests where the best poems would be etched in gold and placed on the Kaaba. Even 4 year old girls could recite 80 to 100 line poems. They would start their battles with poetry. The Arabic language was broken into two types: poetry and prose. Arabic poetry was highly stylized and had 16 rules that, when read properly, would create a pleasant sound like the “waves of the Sea” or simply put, it had a flow. The Quran challenged the Arabs to produce something like it, then 10 surahs, and then 1 surah. It challenged the Arabs to work together with the rest of mankind and to the jinn to meet this challenge and no one has ever done it. Furthermore, RasulAllah (saw) never spent time with a poet. He is a person whose life is completely documented. People would observe the number of white hairs in his beards, etc. Additionally, he was an Ummi (illiterate). There is not a single testimony that would indicate that he spent any time with any poet at all or attended a poetry gathering. Lastly, even the Arabs recognized that it wasn’t poetry. (Story of Al-Walid ibn Mughira) Even the Sahabah needed explanation by the Prophet (saw).
Laws
Women in this society used to cover, but now they don’t. Alcohol used to be permissible, then it was impermissible, and now it is permissible again. A man can only have one wife, but he can have as many girlfriends as he wants, and if he wants, some boyfriends too.
The laws of the Quran are balanced.
Preservation
The Arabs had superb memories. They would memorize their lineage and even the lineages of their horses.
Many religious texts have been sent
down to mankind, they have been completely lost or their actual history is so
obscure, that we have no ability to confirm or deny it. In fact, there are
languages that don’t even exist anymore. For example, Aramaic or Sanskrit or
Latin, etc. 1400 years is a long time. Is there any religious book that is that
preserved? No. How many copies of the Bible are there? Furthermore, it is
self-evident that these texts have been tampered with. Whereas the Quran can be
historically proven to be preserved. The Quran that Uthman (ra) was reciting
when he was assassinated is still in
Easy Memorization
How many of you know your credit card information? The number, the expiration date, the access number? How many surahs are in the Quran? How many verses? How many huffaz are there in the world? Thousands upon thousands. Has any other book ever been memorized in the world in the entire history of human civilization?
Prophecies
Surah Rum
Ancient Tales
Confirmed Revalation of previous nations that weren’t known until later on.
Seerah as a Proof
Out of all the proofs of the miraculous nature of the Quran, one must first examine the Seerah.
His Truthfulness
- Known as “As-Sadiq al-Amin” [The Truthful, the Trustworthy]
- Five years before he became a Prophet, the Kabah was damaged in a food and the Quraysh decided to fix it but a disagreement broke out over who would have the honor of placing the blackstone in its place. Abu Umayyah suggested that the first person who passed through the gate of the Kabah the next morning would arbitrate and we all know that when the Prophet (saw) walked through, they all said “Al Amin!”
- The Feast of Mount Safa when the Prophet (saw) invited his family members to Islam.
- Abu Jahl’s testimony.
- Abu Sufyan and Heraclius
- Death of his son and the eclipse
- Dispute over Aisha’s chastity
- Treaty of Hudaybiyah
For Power?
· Conquest of Makkah
· His relations with the Sahabah
For Wealth?
· Story of Umar (ra) visit.
The Prophet (saw) was resting on a mat of date palms and had no shirt one, the marks were visible on his back, all he had were three skins, some bark in the corner, and a small quantity of barley. Umar (ra) came in and saw this and started weeping and when the Prophet (saw) asked him why he wept, he responded that “The Roman and Persian emperors enjoy all worldly comforts, yet you – the messenger of God – are suffering so much’? and the Prophet (saw) said “What do we have to do with the people of the world when we have the hereafter.”
For Women?
·
Most of his wives were virgins.
Orientalists and the Authorship of the Quran
Poet
A Madman
Taught by Others
Poet
1) 16 Rules of Arabic grammar the Quran broke them all
2) Quraysh didn’t consider the Quran to be poetry
a. 52:30
b. 21:5
c. 37:36
d. 69:41
e. 36:69
3) Challenge of the Quran
Madman
Possessed
Epilepsy – but that would mean that he wouldn’t have any memory at all
No proof of this at all throughout the Seerah
Hadith on Revelations
Quran
7:184
37:36-37
23:70
Taught by Others
Prophet was an Ummi
Baheerah – monk – only for a few hours
Salman al Farsi – Zoroastrian ŕ
Christian. When did he see it?
Qiss ibn Sa’eedah – Arab bishop who used to preach Christianity at the annual Ukadh fair. But he died 100 years before the Prophet (saw).
Unnamed Sources – learn it but didn’t copy it correctly. Lets examine the “textual sources” of the Quran
Quranic Stories were different
Adan (as) – no original sin
Isa (as) – no crucifixion
Some stories not even mentioned in then bible – such as the dialogue between Ibrahim (as) and his father and Ibrahim (as) and the tyrannical king.
Certain prophets mentioned in Quran and not the bible like Hud (as) and Salih (as).
These stories were unknown to the people
of the prophet’s time;
Example of Firawn’s body.
Greatest assumption of all: the bible is correct.
Furthermore, Christians and Jews are still here, they weren’t wiped out, so we have historical continuity.
History of the Compilation of the Quran
- Scribing during the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Revelation scribes wrote down the Quran, according to the order of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), on pieces of cloth, leather, bones, and stones. Its verses were ordered and arranged according to Allah's inspiration. At the beginning, it was not gathered in one book. Some of the Prophet's companions scribed parts and surahs specifically for themselves after they had memorized it from the Prophet.
A. Proof – Story of Umar’s (ra) conversion.
B. Proof – RasulAllah (saw) said “Whoever has written other then the Quran should erase it.
C. There were approximatel 65 Companions who served as scribes.
- Compiling Quran during the era of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq: Zayd Ibn Thabit gathered the Quran in one book. He was charged to do this by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, according to an advice from Umar Ibn Al-Khattab. Its resource was the parts written by the Revelation scribes; so he gathered all of it in one book, the Holy Quran.
A. Bida? Umar (ra) ŕ Abu Bakr (ra) ŕ Zaid ibn Thabit (ra).
B. Why Zaid?
i. His youth.
ii. Morals. Abu Bakr (ra) said “We do not accuse you of any wrongdoing.”
iii. Intelligence.
iv. Prior experience.
v. Attended Jibril’s (as) recitation with the Prophet (saw).
C. Rule of Witness (Ibn Hajar Asqalani)
i. Abu Bakr (ra) told Zaid (ra) and Umar (ra) “Sit at the entrance to the Prophet’s (saw) Masjid. If anyone brings you a verse from the Book of Allah along with two witnesses, then record it.”
ii. Ibn Hajar’s Comment: “As if what was meant by two witnesses were memory [backed by] the written word. Or, two witnesses to testify that the verse was written verbatim in the Prophet’s presence. Or, meaning they would testify that it was one of the forms in which the Quran was revealed. The intention was to accept only what had been written in the Prophet’s presence, not relying on one’s memory alone.”
iii.
Zaid gathered all the texts/oral
recitations and requested two witnesses that they copied it in the presence of
the Prophet (saw). In other words, they did not accept copies, only the
originals!
iv. The difficulty in finding two verses, not because no one memorized them, but the issue of the witnesses.
- Compiling Quran during the era of Uthman Ibn Affan: In his reign, the Quran was written from the main copy gathered during the era of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. It was kept at the residence of Hafsah Bint Umar, (one of the Prophet's wives). He charged the following scribes to do it:
- Zayd Ibn Thabit.
- Abdullah Ibn Al-Zubair.
- Said Ibn Al-`As.
- Abdul-Rahman Ibn Al-Harith Ibn Hisham.
They scribed many copies of Quran, reflecting in
their writing the different correct readings (Arabic accents) of it; excluding
any incorrect one. It was not marked with dots or vowel points. Uthman kept a
copy at
- Dotting and Vowelization. Dotting and vowelization passed through three stages:
- In the first stage: Dots were used as syntactical marks. This was in the era of Mu`awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan, who charged Abu Al-Aswad Al-Dualy to do it in order to prevent people from a faulty reading of the Quran.
- In the second stage: Arabic letters were marked with different dotting to differentiate between them (e.g.:B, T,TH). This was in the time of Abdul-Malik Ibn Marawan, who charged Al-Hajjaj to do it. Al-Hajjaj, in his turn, charged Nasr Ibn Asem and Hayy Ibn Yaamor to accomplish it.
- Once the Quran was copied, duplicated, and distributed, the other fragments were burned.
In the third stage: Complete vowel points (e.g. dammah, fathah, kasrah) were used, in the form we are using nowadays. This method was invented by Al-Khaleel Ibn Ahmed Al Faraheedi.
Reward and Punishment
The Importance of Respecting the Quran
Compare the people of our Ummah with the
Sahaba (ra). Look at the example of Uthman (ra) and how he DIED, reading the
Quran. He knew he was giong to die, it was self-evident from two angles: a) the
Prohet (saw) told him so and b) the people were trying many different ways to
kill him, but were ashamed. He was the khaleefah and he could have ordered
someone to protect him. When they came to kill him, he didn’t resist, he kept
on reading. The blood that was shed on this Quran is still preserved today in
Intercession of the Quran
Abu Umamah (ra) narrated that RasulAllah (saw) said: “Recite the Noble Quran because it will come as an intercessor fo its reciters on the Day of Judgement.” [Muslim]
-We have been given certain powers in this life. We can choose to use that to go to school, to engage in physical activities. We lose those powers in the Hereafter. On the day of judgement, no one will be able to speak or intercede for their own selves or anyone else except by the permission of Allah (swt). Furthermore, our own organs will testify against us: our hands, our eyes, our feet, our tongue, etc. The Quran will be given thep ower to speak and will ask for forgiveness for its reciters.
Reward of Recitation
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: “Whoever recites a letter from Allah’s Book, he will be credited with oen virtue, and a virtue gets a 10-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Meem is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Meem is a letter.” [Tirmidhi]
Neglecting the Quran
Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: “He who has nothing of the noble Quran in his heart is like a ruined house.” [Tirmidhi]
What is a ruined house like? It is devoid of inhabitants, there is nothing but darkness and infestation in it. Similarly, the heart of the person who neglects the Quran, his heart is filled with darkness and devoid of spirituality.
Correct Recitation
It is also mentioned in the books of tajweed that incorrectly reciting the Quran due to ignorance is a minor sin. So this should motivate us to learn the rules of tajweed.
Memorization
There is a hadeeth of the Prophet (saw) mentioned in Riyadh us Saliheen about how the Hafidh al Quran will intercede for people on the Day of Judgement. A Hafidh is not someone who just memorizes it, but implements it. Think of Aisha’s (ra) description of the Prophet (saw): He was a walking Quran.
Abu Musa al-Ashari (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: “Retain and safeguard the Noble Quran. By the one in whose Hand Muhammed’s Soul is, it escapes sooner from memory then a camel does from his tying ropes.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
-In other words, either a person can be in one of two states: remembering or forgetting. Do not think that the surahs you learned in Sunday school will suffice. Also, keep in mind that forgetting the Quran once it is memorized is highly sinful, if not due to extraordinary causes like old age or mental disease.
Implementation of the Quran
Again, this goes back to the Aqeedah. A person must believe in it and implement it. If a person denies belief, he is a kaffir, if a person denies implementation, he is a sinner. One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that people will read the Quran but it will not leave their throats (and enter their hearts). The characteristics of the Believer is that they read, believe, and act.
Implementation, of course, requires understanding. There is a hadeeth of the Prophet (saw) which indicates that we should finish reading the Quran once every month, but there are hadeeth which stress understanding and pondering as well. Look at the example of the story that Imam Ghazzali (ra) related to us.
Arabic Quran
وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاء وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُوْلَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ
And if We had sent this as a Qur'an in a foreign language (other than Arabic), they would have said: Why are not its verses explained in detail (in our language)? What! (A Book) not in Arabic and (the Messenger) an Arab? Say: it is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand).
Quran: 41:44
“The Koran was first translated into English in 1649, and since then dozens of people – Muslims and non-Muslims alike – have translated it into many languages. No matter how good the translation is, however, Muslims believe that every single one of them falls short of the original. That is because Muslims regard the Koran as it was delivered in Arabic (more on this ‘delivery’ later), as the literal and divine word of God. Any variation from the text is no longer divine and no longer the Koran. So although a translation in English (or any other language) may be helpful and necessary for non-Arabic speeches, Muslims and those interested in the Holy Book, it should never be confused with the Koran itself.”
-Page 5 “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Koran” by Shaikh Mandal Sarwar and Brandon Toropov
“In translating the Text I have aired no views of my own, but followed the received commentators. Where they differ among themselves, I have had to choose what appeared to me to be the most reasonable opinion from all points of view.”
Xii
“For my part I agree with this protest. While freely reserving the right of individual judgement on the part of every earnest writer, I think the art of interpretation must stick as closely as possible to the text which it seeks to interpret. Every serious writer and thinker has a right to use all the knowledge and experience he possesses in the service of the Quran. But he must not mix up his own theories and conclusions, however reasonable, with the interpretation of the Text itself, which is usually perfectly perspicuous., as it claims to be.”
Pg xvi of Yusuf Ali’s “The Glorious Quran”
"The Koran cannot be translated. This is the belief of the old-fashioned Shayks and the view of the present writer [pickthall] . . . (this) is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Koran - and peradventure something of the charm - in English. It can never take the place of the Koran in Arabic, not is it meant to do so." (Pickthall's "Traslation of the Glorious Quran", p. x)
“In this connection it is necessary to add a word of caution. There is a general tendency to regard the English translation of the Holy Quran as “The Quran”. It is obviously a misnomer. No translation, however good it may be, can ever take the place of the original Quran, which is its Arabic text; for it is impossible to reproduce its matchless, enchanting and grand style, its highly emotive and fiery language and its forceful rhetoric. Therefore one must turn to the original Arabic Text for fuller appreciation and understanding.”
Pg 5 Muhammed Akbar’s Preface to Maulana Maududi’s “Meaning of the Quran”.
“It is common knowledge that the Quran is well-nigh untranslatable because its form and content are both divine. Its meaning, however, may be interpreted in other tongues. Obviously, no interpretation can express the whole range of meanings contained in any given verse.”
Ismael al Faruqi, American Islamic College
~back cover of “The Quran Translated” by T.B. Irving
What is wrong with non-Muslims translating the Quran?
It is the word of God, not a piece of literature. Interpolation is not acceptable.
If they don’t regard the divine nature of the Quran, then they’ll interpret it like any other text, like the Christians did with the Bible.
Goes against the Sunnah
Take our Islam from Muslims
Furthermore, the Translation of the Quran is not the Quran (isn’t this a possible counterargument)
Etiquettes of Reading and Handling the Qur'an
al-Kareem
It is the inviolability of the Qur’an:
1. not to touch the Qur’an except in the state of ritual purity in wudu, and to
recite it when in a state of ritual purity;
2. to brush one’s teeth with a toothstick (siwak), remove food particles from
between the them, and to freshen one’s mouth before reciting, since it is the
way through which the Qur’an passes;
3. to sit up straight if not in prayer, and not lean back;
4. to dress for reciting as if intending to visit a prince, for the reciter is
engaged in an intimate discourse;
5. to face the direction of prayer (qiblah) to recite;
6. to rinse the mouth out with water if one coughs up mucus or phlegm;
7. to stop reciting when one yawns, for when reciting , one is addressing one’s
Lord in intimate conversation, while yawning is from the Devil;
8. when beginning to recite, to take refuge from in Allah from the accursed
Devil and say the Basmala, whether one has begun at the first surah or some
other part one has reached;
9. once one has begun, not to interrupt one’s recital from moment to moment
with human words, unless absolutely necessary;
10. to be alone when reciting it, so that no one interrupts one, forcing one to
mix the words of the Qur’an with replying, for this nullifies the effectiveness
of having taken refuge in Allah from the Devil at the beginning;
11. to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly pronouncing each
letter;
12. to use one’s mind and understanding in order to comprehend what is being
said to one;
13. to pause at verses that promise Allah’s favour, to long for Allah Most High
and ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to ask Him to
save one from it;
14. to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and individuals to heed and
benefit from their example;
15. to find out the meanings of the Qur’an’s unusual lexical usages;
16. to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fully pronounce every
word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds;
17. whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity of one's Lord,
and that His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has delivered his
message, and to testify to this, saying: “Our Lord, You have spoken the truth,
Your messengers have delivered their tidings, and bear witness to this. O
Allah, make us of those who bear witness to the truth and who act with
justice”: after which one supplicates Allah with prayers.
18. not to select certain verses from each surah to recite, but rather the
recite the whole surah;
19. if one puts down the Qur’an, not to leave it open;
20. not to place other books upon the Qur’an, which should always be higher
than all other books, whether they are books of Sacred Knowledge or something
else;
21. to place the Qur’an on one’s lap when reading; or on something in front of
one, not on the floor;
22. not to wipe it from a slate with spittle, but rather wash it off with
water; and if one washes it off with water, to avoid putting the water where
there are unclean substances (najasa) or where people walk. Such water has its
own inviolability, and there were those of the early Muslims before us who used
water that washed away Qur’an to effect cures.
23. not to use sheets upon which it has been written as book covers, which is
extremely rude, but rather to erase the Qur’an from them with water;
24. not to let a day go by without looking at least once at the pages of the
Qur’an;
25. to give one’s eyes their share of looking at it, for the eyes lead to the
soul (nafs), whereas there is a veil between the breast and the soul, and the
Qur’an is in the breast.
26. not to trivially quote the Qur’an at the occurrence of everyday events, as
by saying, for example, when someone comes, “You have come hither according to
a decree, O Moses” [Qur’an 69:24],
or, “Eat and drink heartily for what you have done aforetimes, in days gone by”
[Qur’an 69:24], when food is brought out, and so forth;
27. not to recite it to songs tunes like those of the corrupt, or with the
tremulous tones of Christians or the plaintiveness of mockery, all of which is
misguidance;
28. when writing the Qur’an to do so in a clear, elegant hand;
29. not to recite it out aloud over another’s reciting of it, so as to spoil it
for him or make him resent what he hears, making it as if it were some kind of
competition;
30. not to recite it in marketplaces, places of clamour and frivolity, or where
fools gather;
31. not to use the Qur’an as pillow, or lean upon it;
32. not to toss it when one wants to hand it to another;
33. not to miniaturize the Qur’an, mix into it what is not of it, or mingle
this worldly adornment with it by embellishing or writing it with gold;
34. not to write it on the ground or on walls, as is done in some new mosques;
35. not to write an amulet with it and enter the lavatory, unless it is encased
in leather, silver, or other, for then it is as if kept in the heart;
36. if one writes it and then drinks it (for cure or other purpose), one should
say the Basmala at every breath and make a noble and worthy intention, for
Allah only gives to one according to one’s intention;
37. and if one finishes reciting the entire Qur’an, to begin it anew, that it
may not resemble something that has been abandoned.
Book 4
Beliefs III
Regarding
The Stages of the Life
of Man
Minor and Major Signs of the Day of Judgement
Qadr
And
The Sahabah
"Think more about
the destroyer of delights [i.e., death], that your inclination toward them
might be severed. Thus will you be enabled to turn toward Allah(swt)."
~RasulAllah (saw)~
Table of Contents
The Stages of the Life
of Man 45
Minor Signs of the Day
of Judgement 49
Major Signs of the Day
of Judgement 52
Qadr 81
The Sahabah 81
Stages of the Lives of Man
“Then that you attain full strength, and then that you became old – though some among you die before – and that you reach an appointed term, that you may perhaps understand. (40:67)
There are five Lives of Man:
1. Life before Conception
2. Dunya
3. The Intermediate Realm (Barzakh)
4. Judgement Day
5. The Fire and the Garden
Life before Conception
1. Begins with God’s creation of Adam (as)
2. Allah (swt) brought out the descendants of Adam (as) from his loins all at once and took a covenant that they recognize his Unity and Lordship. Happened at Nu’man, a valley near ‘Arafat.
Dunya
1. Begins when one is delivered from one’s mother’s womb and ends when one departs from the world in death.
2. Man is responsible for responding to the divine injunctions and prohibitions, the consequences of which will be reward or punishment, endless happiness in the proximity of God or perpetual torment and remoteness from him.
3. Divided further into the following stages:
a. In the Womb – Resemebles Intermediary World.
i. RasulAllah (saw): “Any one of you will have had his created existence brought together in his mother’s womb, as a drop for forty days, then a sticky attached clot for the same [period], then a piece of flesh for the same period, after which God sends the angel to blow the spirit into him. The angel is commanded to write four words: his [apportioned] provision, his lifespan, his deeds, and whether he will end up as wretched or joyful. By the One besides Whom there is no other god! One of you may do the works of the people of the Garden, until he is [separated from it] only by an arm’s length, then that which had been written overtakes him and he does the works of the people of the Fire, and enters it. And one of you may do the works of the people of the Fire until nothing remains between him and it but an arm’s length; then that which had been written overtakes him, he does the works of the people of the Garden, and so enters it.”
b. Childhood –
i. Cry because of the pricking of Shaytan
ii. Sunnah to give the adhan in the right ear of the newborn baby and the iqama in its left ear to remindt eh child of its primordial nature.
iii. It is the absolute duty for both parents to protect their child from everything that might distort his fitra, to raise him well.
1. RasulAllah (saw): “Every newborn baby has, when born, his fitra; it is his parents who make of him a Jew, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian.”
iv. At the age of 7, he should be instructed to pray and fast to the best of his ability.
v. At the age of 10, they can discipline him if he doesn’t do it. They should prevent him from associating from bad company, whether young or old.
1. RasulAllah (saw): “The pen is withheld from [recording the deeds of] three people: a child until he reaches puberty, a sleeper until he wakes, and a madman until he recovers.”
vi. When the child reaches puberty and is sane, he becomes accountable to Allah (swt)’s injunctions and prohibitions, promises and warnings, rewards and punishments, and the angels record his deeds.
1. The male relatives should remind him of these things as well as about things like fornication, homosexuality, drinking, wrongfully consuming other people’s money whether by usury, coercion, deceit, etc.
c. Youth
i. “After the onset of puberty, the first stage of youth begins, a stage where energy is abundant and strength is continually increasing, which means that it is the stage most suited for winning rewards, doing good works, and avoiding sins and reprehensible acts. However it is also a hazardous stage of which one should be wary, for many or even most young people are inclined toward worldly desires, and prefer immediate pleasures to decent actions and observances.” (p 21 of the “Lives of Man”)
1. RasulAllah (saw): “Seize five before five: your before you grow old, your health before you fall sick, your leisure before you are occupied, your wealth before you grow poor, and your life before you die.”
2. RasulAllah (saw): “The feet of a servant will not move away (on the Day of Judgement) until he is asked about five things: his life, and how he expended it, his youth, and in what he exhausted in it, his wealth, and where he obtained it and on what he spent it.” Etc.
3. A poet said: “If you do not prevail in the nights of youth,
Then you shall never prevail, though you live long.
Is most of your life other than youth?
Take what you can from it, and neglect it not.
d. Maturity
i. Imam Malik (ra): “We used to know people who studied until they were forty, after which they would so occupy themselves with practicing what they knew that they had no free time left to turn to anything worldly.”
e. Seniority
4. Death:
a. “Every soul shall taste death” Quran 3:185
b. RasulAllah (saw) said: “Three things journey with a man to his grave and two return. His family and property return while his deeds remain.”
c. Ali (ra): “That which I fear most for you is following your passions and harbouring long hopes, for following passions obstructs one from the Truth, while long hopes render you forgetful of the Hereafter.”
d. Imam GHazzali (ra): “Do not abandon reflection on the imminence of your appointed time and the descent of death, which cuts off all hopes, when there will no longer be the possibility of making choices, when regrets and remorse will come as a consequence of having remained beguiled by illusion.”
e. “When the heart fills with the sensation that one will remain long in the world, then most of its attention will be devoted to making one’s worldly affairs prosper, and one will become heedless of the Hereafter and of gathering provisions for it, until death takes one by surprise and one meets God bankrupt of good works. Then one will feel grief and remorse which are no longer of the least avail, and say ; ‘Would that I had sent before me [some provision] for my life!’ (89:24) and also: “Lord! Send me back, that I may do right in that which I have left!” (23:99-100).
f. Dying
i. One should try his best to say the La ilaha illa Llah.
1. RasulAllah (saw): “Make the dying say la ilaha illa’ Llah, for someone whose last words are la ilaha illa’ Llah will enter the garden.”
ii. Recite Surah Ya-Sin for them.
iii. Lie on his right side, facing the Qibla.
iv. When he breathes his last, his eyes should be closed and those present should ask for forgiveness and mercy for him and pray for him.
v. It is permitted to weep, but fortitude is better. Wailing, lamenting, is impermissible.
g. When informed of death, one should say “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raj’ioon.”
h. Wishing for Death:
i. Wishing for death is discouraged and so is praying for it, instead they should say “O Lord! Give me life for as long as life is better for me, and cause me to die when death is better for me.”
i. Bad Deaths
i. “According to the lema, those who are most in danger of ending badly0 and may God protect us! – are those who are careless of their prayers, are habitual alcohol-drinkers, undutiful to their parents, inflict harm on other Muslims, or persist in committing major and moral sins and fail to repnt.” (p 37 of “The Lives of Man”)
Barzakh
a. Two angels will com and ask him: “Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?”
b. Squeezing of the grave, scorpions and snakes for the wrongdoers.
c. Breeze from Jannah from those who did good.
Qiyamah – Begins from the first blowing of the trumpet until the time when everyone will be entered into Jannah or Jahannum.
Blowing of Trumpet
a. The first time it will be blown the entire Universe will be destroyed. This will happen on a Friday, the 10th of Muharram.
b. After a period of forty years or forty months, it will be blown again and everything will be resurrected.
c. They will gather at Saahirah and much time will pass and people get
Resurrection
a. Everyone will be back in their bodies, naked, and confused.
b. They will be much difficulty and the people will come distressed.
Intercession of Prophets
a. People will go to their respective Prophets (as) and request them to intercede in order to begin the recoking.
b. After the intercession of RasulAllah (saw), the books of deeds will be disturbed to the right or left hands of the peoples.
Questioning and Testimony
a. The Kiram and Katibeen and the Anbiyah (as) will be present as witnesses.
b. The Anbiyah (as) will testify that they have conveyed the Message.
c. RasulAllah (saw) and our Ummah will testify that that the Prophets (as) had indeed conveyed the message.
d. The people will be questioned about their actions.
e. Their limbs will testify against them.
Howz e Kauthar
a. Each Prophet will be given a Spring according to his status. The spring of the Prophet (saw) is known as Kauthar. The Ulema differ if this event will occur before the reckoning or after the crossing or after coming out of jahannum.
The Bridge
a. Some will go really fast, some will run, others will walk, others will crawl, some will fall down. It is thin and razorlike. (So when doing good deeds, RUN TO THEM!)
Intercession – 5 types
a. The first intercession by RasulAllah (saw) will be on the plains of resurrection so that the intense heat and difficulty of the Day be lessened and that the reckoning commence.
b. The second intercession will be for easiness at the reckoning and questioning.
c. The third intercession will be on behalf of those sinners upon whom the order for punishment has been decreed so that they may be forgiven and not thrown into jahannum.
d. The fourth intercession will be for those who are already in jahannum so that they may enter jannah.
e. The fifth intercession will be for raising of the stages of some of the believers.
Both jannah and jahannum have already been created and are eternal.
Hellfire
a. Hell has 7 levels. The ahl at tawheed who were sinners will only be in the first level. Whoever has iman will not be in jahannum forever. May Allah (swt) save us from the fire! Ameen!
Vision of God
The Minor Signs:
·
The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance (Bukhari,
Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad)
·
Books/writing will be widespread and knowledge will be low (Ahmad)
·
Adultery and fornication will be prevalent (The Prophet, peace be upon
him, said that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the
people, which their ancestors had not known.) (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah,
& Al-Haythami)
·
When fornication becomes widespread among your leaders (The Prophet,
peace be upon him, said that this will happen when the people stop forbidding
evil) (Ibn Majah)
·
Adultery and fornication will be performed in the open
·
The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread (Bukhari & Muslim)
·
Women will outnumber men......eventually 50:1 (Bukhari, Muslim, &
Ahmad)
·
Killing, killing, killing (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad)
·
The nations of the earth will gather against the Muslims like hungry
people going to sit down to a table full of food. This will occur when the
Muslims are large in number, but "like the foam of the sea".
·
People will beat others with whips like the tails of oxen (Muslim) ?The
Slave Trade
·
The children will be filled with rage (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
Children will be foul (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
Women will conspire (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
Rain will be acidic or burning (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
Children of fornication will become widespread or prevalent
(at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
When a trust becomes a means of making a profit (at-Tirmidhi, Al-Haythami)
·
Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the
poor (at-Tirmidhi)
·
Paying zakat becomes a burden and miserliness becomes widespread;
charity is given reluctantly (at-Tirmidhi & Al-Haythami)
·
Miserliness will be thrown into the hearts of people (Bukhari)
·
Episodes of sudden death will become widespread (Ahmad)
·
There will be people who will be brethren in public but enemies in
secret (He was asked how that would come about and replied, "Because they
will have ulterior motives in their mutual dealings and at the same time will
fear one another.") (at-Tirmidhi)
·
When a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend
kindly while shunning his father (at-Tirmidhi)
·
When voices are raised in the mosques (at-Tirmidhi)
·
People will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed
·
Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time
·
The people of
·
People will hop between the clouds and the earth
·
A tribulation will enter everyone’s home (Ahmad)
·
The leader of a people will be the worst of them (at-Tirmidhi)
·
Leaders of people will be oppressors (Al-Haythami)
·
People will treat a man with respect out of fear for some evil he might
do (at-Tirmidhi)
·
Men will begin to wear silk (at-Tirmidhi)
·
Female singers and musical instruments will become popular (at-Tirmidhi)
·
When singers become common (Al-Haythami)
·
People will dance late into the night
·
When the last ones of the Ummah begin to curse the first ones
(at-Tirmidhi)
·
People will claim to follow the Qur'an but will reject hadith &
sunnah (Abu Dawood)
·
People will believe in the stars (Al-Haythami)
·
People will reject al-Qadr (the Divine Decree of Destiny) (Al-Haythami)
·
Time will pass rapidly (Bukhari, Muslim, & Ahmad)
·
Good deeds will decrease (Bukhari)
·
Smog will appear over cities because of the evil that they are doing
·
People will be carrying on with their trade, but their will only be a
few trustworthy persons
·
Wealth will increase so much so that if a man were given 10,000, he
would not be content with it (Ahmad & Bukhari)
·
A man will pass by a grave and wish that he was in their place (Bukhari)
·
Earthquakes will increase (Bukhari & Muslim)
·
There will be attempts to make the deserts green
·
The appearance of false messengers (30 dajjals) (Bukhari)
·
Women will be naked in spite of being dressed, these women will be led
astray & will lead others astray (Muslim)
·
The conquest of
·
The conquest of
·
When people begin to compete with others in the construction of taller
buildings (Bukhari)
·
There will be a special greeting for the people of distinction (Ahmad)
·
The Euphrates will disclose a treasure (The Prophet, peace be upon him,
said that whoever is present should not take anything from it) (Bukhari &
Muslim)
·
Two large groups, adhering to the same religious teaching will fight
each other with large numbers of casualties (Bukhari & Muslim)
·
Wild animals will be able to talk to humans (Ahmad)
·
A man will leave his home and his thigh or hip will tell him what is
happening back at his home (Ahmad)
·
Years of deceit in which the truthful person will not be believed and
the liar will be believed (Ahmad)
·
Bearing false witness will become widespread (Al-Haythami & Ahmad)
·
When men lie with men and women lie with women (Al-Haythami)
·
Trade will become so widespread that a woman will be forced to help her
husband in business (Ahmad)
·
A woman will enter the workforce out of love for this world (Ahmad)
·
Arrogance will increase in the earth (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
·
Family ties will be cut (Ahmad)
·
There will be many women of child-bearing age who will no longer give
birth.
·
There will be an abundance of food, much of which has no blessing in it.
·
People will refuse when offerred food.
·
Men will begin to look like women and women will begin to look like men
Major
Signs of the Day of Judgement
Table of Contents
The Mahdi 54
Signs that will precede him
A General Sign
The Signs of Imaam Mahdi
His Emergence and
the people's Bayat
The First Battle
The Great War
Conquest of
Constantinople
Blessing at the
time of Imaam Mahdi
His Reign as
Caliph
Dajjal 59
The coming of
Imaam Mahdi
The Great Famine
Dajjal's parents
General signs that
will precede Dajjal
Signs in the
Dajjal
Physical
description
Dajjal's emergence
Dajjal's Turmoil
Dajjal's Deception
Protection from
Dajjal
Reciting of Surah
- Kahf
Seeking refuge in
Allah
Staying miles
apart
Safe Haven of
Makkah and Madinah
Knowledge of
Allah's Attributes
Return of Prophet
Isa (Jesus)
65
Brief History of
Prophet Isa (Jesus)
Prophet Isa's
(Jesus) Task
Prophet Jesus'
(as) descent and the killing of Dajjal
The Hikma (wisdom)
in the Descension of Prophet Jesus
The Prophet
Jesus and the Ya'juj Ma'juj
Prophet
Jesus as the ruler
Blessings at the
time of Prophet Jesus
Marriage and death
Ya'juj Ma'juj (Gog
and Magog) 69
Landslides 74
The Smoke 75
Rising of the Sun
from the West 76
The Beast 77
The Fire 81
The Coming of Imaam Mahdi is one of the signs of Qiyamah as
is the belief of the Ahlus-Sunnah and he has yet to appear.
Abdullah-bin-Masood 
has reported that the Prophet 
said, "The world will not pass away
before the Arabs are ruled by a man (referring to Mahdi) of my family whose
name will be the same as mine." (Abu Daud)
1)
A
General Sign
There are many signs that will precede him; a general and very important sign
is that he will come at a time when there is great confusion, intense disputes
and violent death.
When people are afflicted by disturbances and fear. Calamities will fall upon
the people, so much so that a man shall not find shelter to shelter him from
oppression. There will be many battles and fitnaas before his appearance. Every
time a fitnaa has come to an end, another will start, spread and intensify. The
people will be troubled to such extent that they will long for death. It is
then that Imaam Mahdi will be sent.
Abu Saeed al-Khudri has reported that the Messenger of Allah said:
''He will be sent at a time of intense disputes and differences among people
and earthquakes.'' (Ahmad)
Before Imaam Mahdi emerges an
inter-tribal fight will take place. In the same year Haji's will be looted
and a battle will erupt in Mina in which many people will be killed.
Amr-bin-Shuaib reported from his grandfather that the Messenger of Allah said, ''In Dhul-Qada
(Islamic month) the tribes will fight, Hajis will be looted and there will be a
battle in Mina
in which many people will be slain and blood will flow until it runs over the
Jamara-tul-aqba. Their companions (referring to Imaam Mahdi) will flee to a
point between the Corner and the Maqaam and will be forced to accept people's
allegiance.'' (Al-Fitan Nuaim-b-Hammad)
3) The
The final hour will not come until the river said, ''The hour shall not occur until the
In another narration we have been told that whoever is present at the time when
the
4) Emergence of the Suffyani
The Suffyani (a descendant of Abu Sufyan) will emerge before Imam Mahdi from
the depths of
Abu Huraira (R.A.) has narrated that the Prophet said, ''A man will emerge from the depth of
5) The Emergence of Haris-Al-Harrath and Mansur
Hazrat Ali reported that the Prophet said, ''There will be a man from Transoxania
who will be called Harith-Harrath and a man called Mansur will be at his
vanguard. He will give abode to the family of Mohammad (referring to Imam
Mahdi) just as the Quraish gave abode to the Prophet (Mishkat)
6) An army will perish in Baidah
Once he has appeared an army that has come to fight him will perish in Baidah
(a flat piece of land next to Madinah facing the direction of Makkah).
Umme-Salama (R.A.) reported that the Prophet ''There shall be differences and intense
dispute at the time of the death of a Khalifh. Then a man from the inhabitants
of Madinah (referring to Imam Mahdi) will come out of the flee to Makkah (so
that he does not get caught in the dispute and is not made the Khalifh). Some
Makkans will come to him and take him out though he will be unwilling. They
will then make him accept their Bayat between the Black Stone and the place of
Ibrahim . An army will then be sent to fight him from
1)
He will be from the progeny of the
Prophet and descendent of Fatimah (R.A).
Umme Salama (R.A) reported: I heard the Prophet of Allah () saying, "The Mahdi will appear from my
progeny, from the descendants of Fatimah." (Abu Daud)
2) His name will be Muhammad or Ahmad and his father's name will be
Abdullah. Ibne
Masood (R.A) reported that the Prophet said, "If there remains in the world
but a day, the mighty Allah will greatly prolong that day till he will send
there in a man from me or from the members of my house. His name will be
similar to my name and his father's name to my father's name." (Abu
Daud)
3) He will resemble the Prophet in character. Hadrat Ali
(R.A) once looked at his son and remarked, "This son of mine is Saiyid who
was named by the Prophet and soon from his loins will come forth a
man by the name of your Prophet and who will resemble him in conduct but not
in appearance." (Abu Daud)
4) He will have a shiny forehead and a high bridge nose. Abu Saeed
reported that the Prophet said, "The Mahdi will appear from me,
shining of forehead, long of nose."
(Abu Daud).
5) Once Hadrat Ali (R.A) was asked regarding his description. He replied,
"He is a well built youth of average height and a handsome face, his hair
reaches his shoulders and the light of his face is contrasted by the darkness
of his hair and beard." (Al-Isha'ah)
6) He will be slow of speech (a slight stutter) and when he is delayed, he
will strike his left thigh with his right hand." (Al-Isha'ah)
His Emergence
and the People's Bayat
After the death of a Khalifh there shall be intense dispute and difference of
opinion in whom should become the next Khalifh. Fearing he may get caught up in
the dispute and made the Khalifh, Imaam Mahdi will flee from Madinah to Makkah.
However, to his surprise on reaching Makkah, some Makkans will bring him out of
his house against his will and take him to Masjid Haraam and 313 as has been
mentioned in the hadith reported by Imam Hakim in Al-Mustadrak will force him
to accept their Bayat between the Rukn (corner of the Ka'aba containing the
black stone) and the place of Ibrahim. The news of his allegiance will quickly
spread and thus an army from
His first battle will be against the tribe of Kalb. A short
period after the eminent saints of
(The author of al-Isha'ah has mentioned that this battle
will take place in Imam Mahdi's time).
Imam Mahdi will have to fight many battles, the most important and difficult
being the battle against the Christians in which a large number of Muslims will
be martyred.
' Yusayr bin Jabir said, "A red sandstorm erupted in
the city of
Muslims will then (in the third day) ask for volunteer
expedition that will vie to die or return victorious. They will fight until the
night separates them. Both sides will return to their camp not yet victorious
and the expedition will perish. In the fourth day, the rest of the Muslim
forces will turn against them (the disbelieves) and Allah will defeat them (the
disbelieves). They will suffer casualties never heard of before or he said,
''Never seen before, even birds flying near them will not pass without falling
down dead.
Afterwards, sons of the same fathers (from the
Muslim side), who were near a hundred, will count the survivors and will find
out only one of them survived. Therefore, what war possession will bring
satisfaction and what inheritance will be divided? While they are doing this
they will hear of an even bigger calamity; That is, a man will scream amongst
them that the Dajjal has appeared among their families which they left behind.
They will discard what they have in their hands and proceed. They will send ten
horsemen as an expedition force.
The Messenger of Allah said, ''I know their names and their fathers
name and the colours of their horses. They will be the best horsemen on the
face of Earth, ''or (he said) ''(They) Will be amongst the best horsemen on the
face of Earth.'' (Muslim)
The cause of this great battle will be the Christians. The Christians and
Muslims as allies will conquer a third enemy. However, the Christians will act
treacherously as they will claim the victory on the strength of their religion,
thus the Muslims will be driven to arms and will fight them.
Dhu Makhbar said, ''I heard the Apostle of
Allah () say, ''You will make a secure peace with
the Byzantines, then you will fight an enemy behind you, and you will be
victorious, take the boot, and be safe you will the return and alight in a
meadow with mounds and one of the Christians will raise the cross and say, 'The
cross has conquered'. One of the Muslims will become angry and smash it, and
the Byzantines will act treacherously and prepare for battle.''
The great war between the Christians and Muslims will result in the Muslims
conquering
Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet said, ''Have you heard of a town of which a
part is in the sea?''
''Yes'' said they. He said: 'The last hour shall not occur till 70,000 of the
children of Isaac shall attack it. When they come to it, they (Muslims) will
not fight with arms, nor throw arrows. They will only say: There is no god but
Allah, Allah is the greatest, and then on of its sides will fall down. They
will recite for the second time : there is no god but Allah, Allah is the
greatest, and then another of its side will fall down. After that they will say
it for the third time: there is no god but Allah and Allah is the greatest, and
then it will be opened for them and they will enter and acquire booty. While
they will be dividing the booty, a proclaimer will come to them and proclaim:
'Verily Dajjal has come out. 'Then they will leave everything and return.
' (Muslim)
It should be noted that the conquests will take place a very short period.
Abdullah-b-Busr has reported that the Messenger of Allah has said: 'Between the Great War and the
conquest of the city (
Blessings at the time of Imam Mahdi
Once again the Quran and Sunnah will govern the people, this time by the
rightly guided Khalifh, Imam Mahdi. Islam will gain an upper hand and will be
firmly established in the land. The oppression, tyranny, and darkness that
prevailed all over the globe will be replaced with justice, peace and equity.
The smile, which was long forgotten, will be restored on the Muslim faces and
the inhabitants of the Heaven and Earth will be pleased with him. Everybody
will be happy to the extent that even birds an wild animals will rejoice in his
rule. Heaven will end rain profusely, livestock will be in abundance, land will
become fertile, the earth will become green and sprout with abundant fruit ad
vegetation.
(The above content has been taken from various hadith, which can be found in
Abu-Daud and from the hadith narrated by Abu-Saeed al-Khudri in Musnad Ahmad.)
Due to the booty gained from the various conquest everyone will have so much
wealth that an eyebrow will not even be raised at somebody else's wealth.
Callers will proclaim in the street, ''Is anybody in need of anything?'' Nobody
will respond except one person. In the latter part of Abu-Saeed al-Khudri's
hadith it is mentioned ''A caller will call 'Who is in need of wealth?' Only
one person will stand (and response to the call and say I am in need of wealth)
he will be told to go to the treasurer and tell him that the Mahdi orders you
to give some wealth. 'Gather and take it', he will be told. (He will begin to
put it in his lap, when he realized that nobody else has come and he was the
only one) he will regret it and say 'I was the greediest from among the Ummah
of Muhammed . The narrator says, he will return it but it
will not be accepted and it will be said to him that we do not accept what we
have given. (Ahmad)
Abu-Saeed al-Khudri has also reported that the Prophet said regarding Mahdi; that a man will come
to him and say, 'Give me, give me'. Then he will spread his cloth and put in it
as much as he can carry.
There are different narration's regarding his reign as a
Khalifh. Some traditions indicate that is reign will be seven years like the
hadith of Umme Salama in Abu-Daud, ''He will remain seven years, then die, and
Muslims will pray over him. '' (Abu-Daud)
Other traditions indicate that his reign will last seven, eight or nine years
like the Hadith of Abu Saeed in Mustadrak.
Due to different traditions the period of Imaam Mahdi's reign is disputed. Many
Scholars have taken seven years to be the period of his reign due to the fact
that the Ahadith which indicate seven years are the most authentic. Other
Scholars like Shah Rafiud-din, after careful analysis have concluded that the
first seven years if his reign will pass without worry, he will spend the eight
preparing to fight the Dajjal and spend the ninth with Prophet Isa (Jesus) He
will thereafter die, Prophet Jesus
will read his funeral prayer and bury him.
The emergence of the Dajjal is the most important sign as
his trial and fitna will be the biggest ever seen on the Face of the earth and
even those firm in faith will be shaken.
The Messenger of Allah said, "Between the creation of Prophet
Adam
and the coming of the last hour, their will arise no matter more serious than
the Dajjal." (Imran-b-Hussain/ Muslim)
Due to the severity of this turmoil, every Prophet from the
first to the last warned and informed his people about, the Dajjal and his
turmoil. (Anas / Bukhari, Muslim)
The Dajjal will appear once the
Muslim army, have conquered
Signs that will precede him
The coming of Imaam Mahdi
In light of many Ahadith the Ulama of the Ahlus-Sunnah are of the opinion that
Imaam Mahdi will come before the Dajjal and the Dajjal will appear in the later
parts of Imaam Mahdi's reign.
The Great Famine
There will be a famine for three years before his appearance. In the first year
of the famine the heaven will withhold one third of its rain and the earth one
third of its crops. In the second year of the famine heaven will withhold two
thirds of its rain and the earth will withhold two thirds of its crops. In the
third year there will not be a single drop of rain and not a single thing will
grow and thus all the animals with hoofs and biting teeth will die and the
Tasbeeh will suffice the believers hunger. (Asma-b-Yauzeed-Mishkat)
Dajjal's parents
His father will be tall and thin and his nose will be pointed like a beak while
his mother will be fat with two long hands. They will both remain thirty years
without a child. After thirty years a one eyed son with biting teeth and of
little benefit will be born to them whose heart will remain awake while his
eyes will sleep. (Abu-Bakara-Tirmidhi)
General
signs that will precede Dajjal
From the hadith of Umme Shareek which can be found in Muslim we could conclude
the Arabs will be less in numbers. At the same time we can conclude from the
hadith of Jabir-b-Abdullah which can be found in An-Nihaya that religious
learning will be at a low and very few people will be aquainted with religious
principles and doctrines and thus ignorance will prevail.
Dajjal's Physical
description
The Dajjal is a young1 fat 2 man, wheatish3
in complexion with a broad chest 4 and biting teeth. Resembling
Abdul Uzzah bin Qatad from the tribe of Khuza'a his head is covered7
with curly hair8 with the letters "Ka' "Fa"
"Ra''9 written between his eyes which every believer will be
able to clearly see and read literate or illiterate, he has a shining forehead10
and defect in both eyes. His left eye has a swelling pupil11 while
he is blind12 from the right. He has a brisk walk13and no
children14
Footnote:
1) Nawwas-b-Samaan /
Muslim
8) Nawwas-b-Samaan / Muslim
2) Ibne-Umar / Bukhari /1
Muslim
9) Hudaifah / Muslim
3) Abdullab-b-Mugaffal /
Kanzul-Ummal 10) Abu Huraira / Musnad Ahmad
4) Abu Huraira / Musnad
Ahmad
11) Hudaifah / Muslim
5) Abu Bakara /
Tirmidhi
12) Ibne Umar / Bukhari / Muslim
6) Nawwas-b-Samaan /
Muslim
13) Ubiadah / Abu Daud
7) Hudaifah /
Muslim
14) Abu Saeed al-Khudri / Muslim
Conquering 4, the two ears
of which will be forty hands apart, 70,000 Jew's of
Footnote:
1) Abu Huraira / Muslim
2) Nawwas-b-Samaan / Muslim
3) Anas / Al-Fathur-Rabbani
4) Abu Huraira / Baihaqi
5) Anas / Muslim
6) Jabir-b-Abdullah / An-Nihayah
7) Ibne Abbas / Kanzul-Umaal
8) Abu Umamah / lbn Majah
Dajjal's Deception
Two angels resembling two Prophets, one on either side will accompany him. This
will be to test mankind. Hence Dajjal will ask, "Am I not your lord? Do I
not give life and death?" One of the angels will reply, "You are a
liar." However nobody will be able to hear this reply besides the other
angel. The second angel addressing the first angel will say, "You are
speaking the truth." Every body will hear what this second angel said and
will think that an angel is testifying that the Dajjal is Allah though in
reality this second angel was addressing the first and agreeing with his reply
that you are speaking the truth that the Dajjal is certainly a
liar. (Narrated by Safeena-Musnad Ahrnad)
He will come to a Bedouin whose parents have passed away and will say to him, "Will you believe that I am your Lord if I bring your parents back to life." He will reply, "Yes." The devils that are accompanying him will take the form of his parents and after resembling his parents will say to him, "Oh child believe in him and follow him, he is your Lord.' The Bedouin will be deceived and forced into believing him. (Abu Umamah/Ibne Majah)
He will come to another Bedouin and say, "Will you believe in me as your Lord if I bring your camel back to life?" "Yes", he will reply. He will make a figure for him like his camel, which will have a beautiful odour and a big hump. (Asma-b-Yazeed /Mishkat)
He will have water and fire with him. As for that which the people will see
as water, in reality will be fire, which will burn and as for that which people
will see as fire, in reality will be cold, sweet water. The Prophet's advice is: "Whoever meets the Dajjal
and sees the water and the fire, he should fall in the fire and not the water,
as the fire in reality is water and the water in reality is fire.''
(Hudaifah/Mishkat)
Believers in Allah will face hardship while The believers in Dajjal will
temporarily rejoice
He will come to people and tell them he is Allah and they will believe him. The sky on his order will pour rain and the earth will grow crops for these people. Their animals will graze on his land and return to them in the evening with large udders and their flanks full. He will then proceed to some other people and call them but they will refuse to believe him. Without forcing them he will leave and carry on with his mission. However, when these true believers wake up in the morning they will find that they are penniless and all their properties have been destroyed. (Nawwas-b-Samaan/Muslim)
The Earth will disclose treasure at his command
Passing by a place in ruins, he will order it to take out its hidden treasure.
The earth will immediately take out its hidden treasure. The earth will
immediately take out its treasure and the treasure will literally follow him
wherever he goes like bees following the queen bee.
(Nawwas-b-Samaan/Muslim)
Dajjal faces Opposition
On hearing about the Dajjal a true believer will head towards him. However, on
the way he will be stopped by Dajjal's soldiers and asked where he is intending
to go. Replying that he is going to meet the person who claims that he is
Allah, the soldiers doubting him will ask, ''Do you not believe in our Lord
(Dajjal)?'' He will reply there is nothing hidden about our Lord Allah so how
can I take Dajjal as my Lord. Angry at his reply they will decide to kill him.
But all of a sudden one of them will say, ''Hasn't our Lord (Dajjal) prohibited
us from killing anyone without his permission?" Thus they will take him to
the Dajjal. On seeing the Dajjal he will shout, "O people this is the
Dajjal the Prophet mentioned and warned the believers of".
Dajjal will order to kill him. He will be placed on his belly and severely
beaten. He will be asked, "Do you still not believe in him?"
"No! You are the lying Dajjal" he will reply. The true believer will
then be sawn into two pieces, the Dajjal will walk in between the two pieces
and address him, "Stand up." The true believer will become alive and
stand up in one piece. Yet again he will be asked, "Do you now believe in
me?" He will reply, "It has only added to my insight concerning you
that you are really the Dajjal." The believer will then proclaim, "O
people he will not be able to do anything to any man after me." The Dajjal
angry at his refusal will grab hold of him and place a knife between his neck
and throat to slaughter him but he will be unsuccessful as Allah will place
copper in that area and the knife will find no way to penetrate. The Dajjal
will grab hold of his hands and legs and throw him into the fire. However, the
fire will turn into a pleasant garden for him. This person will be the greatest
martyr in the eyes of Allah and achieve the highest position due to his first
death, which was caused by severance of the body in two pieces.(Abu Saeed
al-Khudri /Muslim)
Dajjal's Trickery
Doctors and surgeons are not able to restore the eyesight of those born blind
or cure the leper. Dajjal will be able to cure those born blind, restore their
eyesight and cure the leper. (Abdullah-b-Mugaffal-Kanzul-Unimal)
Dajjal's Greed
He will have a mountain of bread with him but he will only give bread to those
that believe and follow him. (Jabir-b-Abdullah-An-Nihaya)
Dajjal Lures the Women
The Dajjal will make a stop at a place called Markanat, near Taif. On hearing
about his arrival the womenfolk will rush towards him, the men will be forced
to tie their mothers, daughters, and sisters fearing they will believe in him
and get caught up in fitna. (Ibne Umar-Musnad Ahmad)
Safe Haven of Makkah and Madinah
The Dajjal will remain on earth for 40 days, the first of which will be a
year long, second a month , the third a week, and the remaining 37 days like
our normal days, moving from city to another causing fitna1. Finally
he will proceed towards Makkah and Madina2 but he will be unable to
enter these holy cities, Masjid Tur and Masjid al-Aqsa3. Every time
he tries to enter these holy places, angels guarding these holy cities with
swords in their hand will encounter him and chase him away, leaving Dajjal
stationed behind Uhud4. Meanwhile, earthquakes will hit Madinah
thrice and all the hypocrites will be forced to leave5.
Footnote:
1) Nawwas-b-Samaan / Muslim
2) Fatimah-b-Qais / Muslim
3) Junaid-b-umaiya / Al-Fathur-Rabbani
4)Abu-Huraira / Bukhari
5)Amr-b-Sufyan / Ad-Darrul-Manthur
Losing hope of entering these holy places, Dajjal will turn towards
will descend and Kill the Dajjal. (Usamah / Ibne Majah)
Reciting of Surah - Kahf
The recitation of Surah Kahf is a safe guard from the Dajjal's turmoil. The
Prophet (s) said, "Whoever memorises the first ten verses of Surah Kahf
will be safe from the Dajjal's Fitna." (Abu-Darda / Muslim)
The Prophet said, 'Whoever meets the Dajjal amongst you
then he should recite the opening verse of Surah Kahf onto
him." (Nawwas-b-Samaan / Muslim)
Seeking refuge in Allah
Whoever seeks Allah's refuge and protection from Dajjal's fitna especially in
Salah, Inshallah will be protected.
The Prophet would pray in Salah, "Oh Allah protect
me from the punishment of the grave and protect me from Dajjal's
fitna." (Aisha / Bukhari / Muslim)
Staying miles apart
When the Dajjal appears one should stay as far away from him as possible. The
Prophet said, "Those who hear about the Dajjal
should stay far from him. By Allah! A person will approach him thinking him to
be a believer, but on seeing his amazing feats he will become his
follower." (Imran-b-Hussain / Abu Daud)
Safe Haven of Makkah and Madinah
One should try to migrate to Makkah or Madinah, as he will not be able to enter
these two holy cities. Thus one will be protected from his fitna.
(Fatimah-b-Qais / Muslim)
Knowledge of Allah's Attributes
One should seek Islamic knowledge especially knowledge of Allah's attributes.
By possessing knowledge of Allah's attributes one will not be misled by the
Dajjal. This knowledge teaches that Allah is perfect, can't be seen, and not in
need of anything while the Dajjal is imperfect, can be seen by both believers
and non-believers and in need of food and water.
Brief History of
Prophet Jesus
Due to the fact that the Jews had become deaf
and blind to the words of God and deviated from the teachings of Moses and the
right path, Allah honoured Jesus
with Prophethood and sent him as a messenger to the children of Israel. Bearing
all hardships Prophet Jesus
spent all day and night conveying the message of Allah. Unfortunately, in spite
of his tremendous effort the children of
from their wicked scheme and gave him greater dignity by raising him alive to
the heavens.
Allah says in the Quran, "They did not kill him and nor did they
crucify him but the resemblance of him (Jesus )
was put over another man and those who differ there in, are in doubt. They have
no certain knowledge. They are following nothing but conjecture for surely they
did not kill him but Allah raised him up to him." (Surah Nisa)
Allah says in the Quran "When Allah says, Jesus; I will take thee to me and I will purify thee of the unbelievers" (Surah A'li-Imran)
These verses clearly prove that the Jews did not kill Prophet Jesus
and that he was raised alive to the heavens. It is due to verses like those
mentioned above and many authentic Ahadith we Muslims believe that Prophet
Jesus
is alive in heaven at this moment in time. We further believe due to the
following verses and authentic Ahadith that Prophet Jesus
will return before Qiyamah and his return is a major sign of Qiyamah.
Allah says in the Quran, "And he (son of Mary) shall be a known
sign for (the coming of) the hour."
(Surah Zukhruf)
Ibne Abbas has said that the meaning of this verse is that
Prophet Jesus's descent
before Qiyamah is a sign of Qiyamah. (Ibne Abbas/ Musnad)
Allah says, "There is not a single section of the people of the book
that will certainly believe in Jesus before his death and on the Day of
Resurrection he will be a witness against them." (Surah Nisa) This verse
clearly indicates that before the demise of Prophet Jesus
everyone from the people of the book will believe in him. The Jews will
disappear as Jews after his demise but at the present the Jews are very much
there. The conclusion is clear that the Prophet Jesus has
not died; if so all the Jews would have become believers, which they have not.
He will return before Qiyamah and it is then that all the people of the book
will believe in him.
Jabir (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "A party of my followers will not cease to fight for victory until the Day of Resurrection. He said, then Jesus, son of Mary, will come down. Their Imaam will say, "Come and lead our prayer" He will reply, "Some of you are rulers over others on account of divine honour upon these people." (Muslim)
Abu Huraira (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "By the one whose hands my life
is in, surely the son of Maryam(
)
will descend amongst you as a just ruler. He will destroy the cross, kill the
swine and abolish the tax." (Bukhari)
Hadrat Hudaifah-b-Osaid reported: The Holy Prophet suddenly came to us while we were talking.
He asked, "What are you talking about?" They replied "We were
talking about the last hour." Prophet (s) said, "It will never come
until you see ten signs before it," He then mentioned the Smoke, the
Dajjal, the Beast, the Rising of the Sun in its place of setting, the Descent
of Jesus son of Mary and Yajuj and Ma'juj. (Muslim)
Prophet Jesus
will have three main tasks, when he descends on the Earth for the second time:
1) The first and most important will be that he will destroy the Dajjal.
2) Protect the Muslims from the barbarous tribes of Yajuj and Majuj by
taking them to
3) Reign as a Khalifh according to the Quran and Sunnah and elevate
Islam.
Prophet Jesus's
descent and
the killing of
Dajjal
The Dajjal having failed to enter the holy city of
Imaam Mahdi will have arranged the Muslim army and will be on the verge of
leading the Muslims in the morning prayer (Abu Umamah / Ibne-Majah) when
Prophet Jesus
will descend to the white Minaret (Nawwas-b-Samaan/Muslim) in the east of
Damascus, wearing two garments died with saffron, placing his hands on the
wings of two angels.
All those that are present will recognise him, as he will look exactly like the
description of the Prophet . Resembling the Sahabi Urwa bin Masood (Abu-
Huraira/ Muslim) the colour of his skin will be reddish white (Ibne Abbas/
Bukhari), he will be well built and his hair will be soft and reach his ears.
When he lowers his head, beads of perspiration will fall from it and when he
raises his head, beads like pearls will scatter from it.
(Nawwas-b-Samaan/Muslim).
Every Kaafir who smells his sweet breath will die and his breath will reach as
far as he can see. On seeing prophet Jesus.
Imaam Mahdi will take a couple of steps backwards so Prophet Jesus
can lead the prayer however Prophet Jesus
will place his hands on the Imaam's shoulder and will say, ''Go forward and
lead the prayer as the Iqamah was made for you'' thus Imaam Mahdi will lead the
prayer. (Abu Umamah/ Ibne-Majah).
After the prayer Prophet Jesus
will say, ''Open the gate''. The gate will be opened and the Dajjal will be
waiting behind it accompanied by an army of 70,000 Jews, each armed with a
sword and shield. The Dajjal on seeing Prophet Jesus
among the Muslims will begin to dissolve like salt in water and will begin to
flee. Prophet Jesus
will say to him, ''You will remain alive until I strike you with my spear, ''He
will catch up with him at the Eastern gate of Ludd (Ludd is a mountain in
will kill him with a small spear.
The Muslims will thereafter defeat and wipe out Dajjal's army. The Jews
will not be able to hide behind anything on that day. Every time they try to
hide behind a stone, a wall, a tree (except a boxthorn tree), or animal. Allah
will make these things speak and they will say, ''O servant of Allah there is a
Jew hiding behind me. come kill him.''
The Wisdom in the Descension of Prophet Jesus
The Ulama of the Ahlus - Sunnah have given many different reasons in the
returning of Prophet Jesus
to this world or the second time. A few are listed below:
1) The Jews believe that they had killed Prophet Jesus,
Allah will send him before the end of time to prove that they had not killed
him and that he is alive. It is he who will kill the Jews and their leader
Dajjal. (Fathul - Bari)
2) Some Ulama have said that Prophet Jesus
found many virtues of the followers of Prophet Muhammad in the bible and thus he prayed to Allah to
make him amongst the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad . Allah answered his prayer and he will
return for the second time as one of the followers of Prophet Muhammad . (Ibne-Khathir)
3) It is the Law of Allah that anything that is created from the Earth
has to be buried in the Earth and not the Heavens. Thus he will return to the
Earth for the second time, kill the Dajjal, live for a period of time and then
he will die a natural death and will be buried with the Prophet . (Ashratus-Sa'ah).
Prophet Jesus (as) and the Ya'juj Ma'juj (Gog Magog)
A short period after Prophet Jesushas
killed the Dajjal, the two mighty tribes of Yajuj and Ma'juj will appear,
causing murder, pillage and devastation wherever they go. The emergence of
Ya'juj and Ma'juj is also another major sign of Qiyamah. Through the invocation
of Prophet Jesus
they will be destroyed. (Nawwas-b-Samaan-Muslim).
More detail regarding them follows in the next sign.
The Prophet said, "By him whose hands my life is
in, surely the son of Maryam will come down amongst you as a just ruler. He
will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the tax. Wealth will be in
such abundance that none will care about it and a single prostration in a
Prayer will be better than the world and all that is in
it." (Abu Huraira/Bukhari, Muslim)
The above hadith clearly indicates that when Prophet Jesus
returns to the world for the second time he will not reign as a Prophet no,
will he bring a new Shariah or Deen, as Islam is the last religion, the Quran
is the last book to be revealed and our Prophet Muhammad is the last Prophet. There is no Prophet to
come after him and the Quran has made this fact very clear.
Allah says in the Qur'an, "Muhammad () is not the father of any of you but is the
Messenger of Allah and the last of the Prophets (Surah-Al-Ahzaab)
When Prophet Jesus
returns for the second time he will reign as a Khalifh and not a Prophet,
follow the Qur'an and Sunnah and rule according to it. He will break the cross
the Christians worship (indicating that he will bring Christianity to an end),
elevate and spread Islam through out the world.
He will also kill the pig which the Christians consider Halaal to eat (and use)
and abolish the Jizya (tax). In Prophet Jesus
reign they will not pay this tax because he will not accept anything but Islam
for the non believers and they will all believe in him. The Qur'an says,
"There is not a single section of the people of the book (Jews and
Christians) but will believe in him and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a
witness against them." (Surah-An-Nisa)
Secondly there will be an abundance in wealth, so much so that it will flow like water and there will not remain anybody who could be given this money, thus this tax will be abolished.
Blessings at the time of Prophet
Jesus
All types of spiritual and worldly blessings will descend on Earth in his
time. Wealth will flow like water, everyone will be independent and have
surplus wealth and property to the extent that nobody will be in the need of
Zakat and Sadaqa thus receiving of Zakat and Sadaqa will be discarded.
All hearts will be free from misery, envy, malice, and jealousy. Each harmful
animal will be made harmless. Camels will graze with the lions and the cheetahs
with cattle. A little girl will chase a lion and make it run away from her like
children chasing a puppy and this lion will not harm her.
Venom will be taken out from all venomous animals, a little boy will put his
hand in a snake's mouth, but it will not harm him. The Jackal will live with
the sheep and protect them as if it were a sheep dog. Peace, harmony and
tranquillity will prevail in the world.
People will be in complete agreement, wars will cease, the earth will be filled
with peace like a silver basin and it will sprout with vegetation like at the
time of Prophet Adam.
The fertility of the land will increase to the extent that if a seed is planted
in a rock, it will sprout. 700 mudd of wheat will sprout without ploughing the
land. The earth will produce so much fruit that a large group of people will
sit to eat a bunch of grapes or a pomegranate and they will be satisfied and
use it's peel as an umbrella. There will also be blessing in milk. The milk of
a single she camel will be sufficient to satisfy the hunger of a large group of
people. A cow will produce what is sufficient for a tribe of people, and a
sheep will produce milk, which is sufficient for a family of people. Horses
will be cheap as they will be never ridden in war and bulls will be expensive,
as they will be needed to plough the land.
Life will be very pleasant and enjoyable after his descension and the Muslims
will live in comfort in his reign as a Khalifh.
(Nawwas-b-Sarnaan-Muslim/Abu Umamah-Ibne Majah)
Marriage
Many Ahadith specify that after his descension he will get married and have
children and remain on the earth for a period of 19 years after his
marriage. (Al-Fitan Nuaim bin Hammad).
Death
Prophet Jesus
after his return to the Earth for a second time will live for a period of time
(some scholars have mentioned 40 years in the light of a hadith which can be
found in Abu Daud) and thereafter will die a natural death. The Muslims will
perform his Janaza (funeral prayers) and according to the hadith narrated by
Abdullah bin Amr in Mishkat he will be buried next to the Holy Prophet .
The emergence of the mighty tribes of Ya'juj and Ma'juj is also a major sign
of Qiyamah.
Allah says in the Qur'an, "When Ya'juj and Ma'juj are let loose (from
their Barrier) and they swiftly swarm from every mound" (Surah
Al-Anbiya)
Allah says in the Qur'an, " (Zulqarnain) said, 'This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the promise of my Lord comes, He shall level it down (the barrier) to the ground. And the promise of my Lord is ever true." (Surah Al-Kahf)
Zainab-b-Zahash says: "Once the Prophet awoke from such a sleep that his face was
red and these words were on his tongue, "There is none worthy of worship
but Allah. Destruction is upon the Arabs on account of that evil which has come
close to them. Today a hole as big as this has opened in the wall of Yajuj and
Ma'juj. (The Prophet indicated the size of the hole with his
finger and thumb)" (Bukhari/Muslim)
In the lengthy Hadith of Nawwas-b-Saman it has been mentioned, "And Allah will send Yajuj and Ma'juj and they will come from every lofty place." (Muslim)
Many thousands of years ago the barbarous tribes of Yajuj and Ma'juj were
imprisoned behind an iron wall built by Zulqarnayn. Referred to in the Qur'an
in Surah Al-Kahf. Zulqarnayn was a Muslim Arab (fathul
and not Alexander the Great as it is commonly known. From amongst one of the
four that ruled the entire world (the other three being Prophet Sulayman,
Nimrod & Buktnasr) he was a pious and just king, provide with all forms of
strength through which he was able to carry his conquests and missions.
Once he carried a mission in three directions, the far west, far east, and then in a northerly direction. Travelling first in the westerly direction, he conquered the lands he passed through establishing the laws of Allah therein until he reached the setting of the sun. There he met people that didn't believe in Allah. Given a choice of punishing them for their kufr or being lenient by inviting them first to Islam; he chose the latter and addressed them, ''Those evil-doers who do injustice to themselves by rejecting Allah will be punished by death in this world and the hereafter, the fire of hell is their abode. As for those who accept the invitation and believe in Allah they will be treated leniently and in the hereafter Jannah is their place of rest.''
After the journey towards the west he made preparation for the journey towards the east. Conquering the lands he passed through, establishing he laws of Allah therein. He continued travelling in the easterly direction until he reached the rising of the sun. In this area of the east he saw a nation receiving the sunshine without any obstruction and they were dealt with like the previous people in the west.
After the journey to the east he started his northern Journey, he kept on travelling until he reached the midst of two mountains, it was here he came across a tribe who complained to him about the tribes of Ya'juj and Ma'juj. Ya'juj and Ma'juj inhabited the land behind the mountains, plundered them, committed bloodshed, and then ran away. Observing Zulqarnain's power they asked to set a barrier in return for a wage for their protection from the disaster and bloodshed, which they often bore at the hands of Ya'juj Ma'juj. Refusing to accept any wealth he built an iron wall with their help which Ya'juj Ma'juj could not cross or pierce. (Qurtubi/ Ibne-Kathir)
Many different opinions have been expressed as to the location of the iron wall of Zulqarnain. Having read many books, the best on the subject I came across was Sheikh Hifzur-Rahman's "Stories of the Qur'an" and thus have chosen to share a brief summary of what he has written.
He writes "The Yajuj Ma'juj caused destruction and blood- shed in a
vast area, and because of their oppression many barriers and walls were erected
in different times and places by different kings. Four being the most famous:
1) The
was put on the Earth.
2) The wall in central
3) The wall in Dagistan
4) The wall which is in the westerly direction to the third in the region of
the
Because these walls were built for one purpose and are all situated in the
North, it has always been very difficult to determine exactly the wall built by
Zulqarnain."
He further writes, "The biggest out of the four is the great wall of China and nobody is of the opinion that this is the wall built by Zulqarnain as it is in the easterly direction while the Qur'an indicates the wall of Zulqarnain is in the Northerly direction."
Thus leaving walls 2, 3, and 4.
He writes, "Historians like Masoodi, Istakhari and Hamawi are of the
opinion that the wall of Zulqamain is wall number 3 or 4. Those that have said
it is wall number two have confused the issue due to the location of Derbent
which is near
He finally writes, ''Out of two, the historians are of the opinion that
it is wall 3 or 4, the master of hadith Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri in his book
Aqeeda-tul-Islam holds the opinion that the wall of Zulqarnain is wall number
4, the one in the region of Caucasus.' (Stories of the Qu'ran)
After this short summary I find myself inclined to Allama Aloosi's opinion I conclude with his words, ''We do not know the location of this wall and it is very probable that great seas and mountains stand between us and the wall, and between Ya'juj Ma'juj and the rest of the world.''
Abu Huraira (R.A.) narrated that every day Ya'juj Ma'juj try to break free through the wall of Zulqarnain until they reach the end of it to the extent that they could actually see the light on the other side. They then return home saying, ''We will break through tomorrow. '' However, Allah causes the wall to revert to its original thickness and the next day they start all over again. This process continues each day as long as Allah wills for them to remain imprisoned. When Allah wishes for them to be released, then at the end of that day they will say, ''If Allah wills, we will break through tomorrow.'' The next day they will find the wall as they left it the previous day and after breaking through the rest they will escape. (Ahmed, Tirmidhi, Ibne Majah)
Note: Some ulama have written that this hadith is weak and has been taken from the Jews as it contradicts with the verse from the Qur'an, ''They are not able to cross it or pierce it.'' ( Surah Al-Kahf)
However, if found that it is a Marfoo hadith, it still does not contradict
the Qur'an as the Qur'an is referring to the time Zulqarnain built the wall and
secondly the word ''naqb'' means a complete hole through which they are able to
break free.
The great master of Hadith Ibne Hajr al-Askalani giving reference
of Ibne Hibban and Abd- b-Humaid has mentioned this Hadith and not raised any
doubt or indicated that this hadith is not Marfoo but positively mentioned that
Ibne Arabi has said three miracles are evident from this Hadith and then
mentioned the three miracles:
1) It never occurs to these tribes that they must continue work throughout
the night. After all, they are in such large numbers that they can easily
delegate the work amongst themselves and work in shifts. However, Allah does
not allow this thought to occur to them.
2) It does not occur to them that they can merely cross the mountain or scale
the wall, which they can do through the aid of equipment they possess in large
numbers. According to a narration by Wahb-b-Munabbah it is known that these
tribes are agriculturists and artisans possessing various types of equipment.
3) The thought of saying, "Insha-allah (if Allah wills)" never enters
their minds and it will only occur to them when Allah wills that they be
released.(Fathul-Bari)
Many myths surround Ya'juj and Ma'juj. One being that the common people believe
that Ya'juj and Ma'juj are not human beings but some kind of third being. How
interesting it may be to believe that they are a third being, the reality is
that they are human beings just like yourself and I, constitute nine-tenths of
mankind and are from the progeny of Prophet Nuh
.
The Holy Prophet said, "Ya'juj and Ma'juj are the
children of Prophet Adam
and not one will die until thousand are born to him.''
(Abdullah-b-Amr/Fathul-Bari).
The Messenger of Allah said, "Allah divided mankind into ten
parts. Nine tenths constitute Ya'juj and Ma'juj while the remaining one tenth
constitutes the rest of mankind." (Abdullah-b-Amr/Fathul-Bari).
Hadrat Abu Saeed Khudri narrates that the Messenger of Allah said, "On the Day of Judgement, Allah
will tell Adamto
pick out the Jahanamis from his progeny. Adam
will ask, "O Allah, who are they?" Allah will say,"999 out of
1000 are Jahanamis while the one is a Jannati." On hearing this the Sahaba
over taken by fear asked, "Who will the ONE Jannati be?" The
Prophet replied, "Do not grieve the 999 will be
Yajuj Ma'juj while you will be the one Jannati."
(Bukhari/Muslim)
A second myth is that people believe that Ya'juj and Ma'juj were created
from Adam
without Eve (Hawa)
on the basis of Ka'ab's narration, "They are from the children of Adam.
That is Adam
had a wet dream, the semen intermingled with the earth and they were created
from that Earth." (Fathul-Bari)
It should be noted that this narration is very weak and objectionable as it is proven from many Ahadith that the Prophets of Allah do not have wet dreams because the wet dream is from the devil and the Prophets of Allah are protected from the devil.
Secondly there is a hadith which can be found in Fathul-Bari that clearly
states that they are from the progeny of Prophet Nuh.
The Prophet Nuh
was definitely from the children of Adam
and Eve.
Physical Appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj
There are many different narration's regarding their appearance. These
different narration's suggest that Yajuj and Ma'juj are of three types.
1) Some are as tall as the tree Arz - that is 120 ft.
2) Some are four arm lengths tall and four arm lengths wide.
3) Some spread one ear to sleep on and cover themselves with the other. Some
also state that they are two spans tall and the tallest amongst them are three
spans. (Fathul-Bari)
It should be noted that all the narration's above are weak and should not be
taken. The authentic Ahadith like the Hadith of Nawwas-b- Saman in Muslim
suggests that they are very strong and powerful people whom nobody has the
power to fight. It has also been narrated that they have wide faces, small
eyes, grey hair and their faces are like shields covered with skin.
Emergence of Ya'juj Ma'juj before Qiyamah
A short period after killing the Dajjal, Prophet Jesus
will be informed of the release of Ya'juj and Ma'juj. Obeying Allah's command
He
will take the Muslims to
Marching on, carrying out pillage and murder to their left and right they will
come to mount of Khamr (a mountain in
and say, "We have killed the inhbitant of the Earth, let us now kill the
inhabitants of heaven." Thus they will shoot their arrows towards the sky.
Allah will return the arrows covered with blood and these fools will think they
have killed those in the heaven. Mean while Prophet Jesus
and his companions will remain confined until the head of an ox becomes more
valuable than 100 gold coins. Prophet Jesus
and his companions will pray for their destruction. Allah, answering their
prayer will send insects upon the necks of Ya'juj Ma'juj and in the morning
they will be found dead like one dead man. In the narration of Abu Saeed al-
Khudri which can be found in Tadkhira of Imam Qurtubi, it has been mentioned;
the believers not being able to hear their noise that morning will say
"Will anybody sacrifice his life and see what the situation is."
Volunteering, a believer will come down the mountain thinking that he will
never return . However to his suprise he will find that they are all dead and
he will shout, "Good news! Your enemy has died,"
Prophet Jesus
and his companions will come down but will find that the earth is full with
their stinking corpses. Yet again Prophet Jesus
and his companions will turn to Allah and pray. Allah will send birds with
necks like the necks of Bactarian camels which will carry the corpses and throw
them where Allah wishes. Thereafter, Allah will send rain and the earth will be
cleaned. (Nawwas-b-Samaan/Muslim)
There will be three landslides before Qiyamah like never
seen before. One in the East, one in the West and one in
Hudhaifa-b-Usaid al-Ghifari reported: Allah's
Messenger came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy
in discussion) He said: "What are you discussing?" They (the
companions) said: "We are talking about the last hour." Thereupon
he said: "It will not come until you see
ten signs before it, He made a mention of the Smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast, the
Rising of the Sun from the West, the Descent of Jesus, Son of Mary,
the emergence of Ya'juj and Ma'juj, and Landsliding will occur in three places,
One in the East, one in the West and one in Arabia at the end of which a fire
would burn forth from Yemen, which would drive people to the place of their
assembly." (Muslim)
Umme Salmah reported that I heard the Messenger of
Allah saying, "After me there will be a
landslide in the East, a landslide in the West and a landslide in the replied, "When its inhabitants exceed
doing bad and evil." (Tabrani Fil-Awsat)
Allah says, ''So thou wait for the day when the heaven
shall bring a smoke manifest surrounding the people this is a painful
Chastisement.'' ( Surah-Dhukan)
Wasila-Bb-l-Asqa reported, ''I heard the Prophet saying,
''The final hour will not come until you see ten signs. '' (one of the ten
mentioned was the smoke) (Muslim)
It is clearly evident from the above verse and Ahadith that
the smoke is a major sign of Qiyamah. It will rise and cover the whole world.
The smoke will affect both the believers and non-belivers alike remaining for a
period of 40 days and night. The believers will be affected a little as if
suffering from cold while the smoke will enter the brains of the non-belivers
and make them unconscious1.
Footnote:1) Hudaifa-b-al-Yaman/Tabari.
Ibne Masood's (RA) opinion regarding the verse in which the smoke has been
mentioned is that he strongly claims that this is not the smoke which is
described as one of the signs of Qiyamah. On the other hand the Holy
Prophet being disgusted with the vexation and
rebellion of the Quraish had invoked a famine of 7 years for them like that
which was set upon the Egyptians in the days of Prophet Yusuf
and as such the famine befell them to the starvation of the Makkans, who were
so much constrained that they were forced to eat off corpses, hides and skins
of animals.
In short, the people of Makkah began to starve. As a rule in intense hunger and ceaseless drought, a kind of smoke is seen in the space between the heaven and the Earth, and also the dust, which rises into the sky from the Earth especially on long rainless days, looks like a smoke to the naked eyes. That thing is here described as a smoke. (Bukhari)
Ibne Masood reported, "Five things have passed, the smoke, the defeat of the Romans, the splitting of the moon, the defeat of the infidels in the Battle of Badr and the punishment." (Bukhari)
Firstly it should be noted that Ibne Kathir writes that from amongst the Sahaba Ibne Masood is the only one that holds this view. The majority of Ulama in the light of the above and many other Ahadith are of the opinion that the smoke referred to in the verse is the same which is to precede Qiyamah. This has also been related as being the opinion of Ibne Abbas and Hadrat Ali. (Ibne Kathir)
Ali (RA) said, "The verse of Dukhan has not taken
place" (Ibne Abe Hatim)
Ibne Abbas, Ibne Umar, Hasan, and others said, ''The smoke referred to in the verses
is the smoke before Qiyamah which will enter in the ears of the Kuffar and the
hypocrites and will affect the Muslims like a cold. The whole world will be
like a house on fire. It has not happened. It is to happen.''
(Lawami-ul-Anwaar)
Abdullah-b-Abu-Mulaika narrated that I went one morning to Ibne Abbas. He said, ''I didn't sleep all night. ''I asked, ''Why?'' He replied, ''They informed me that a star with a tail appeared. I feared that the smoke may follow and thus I didn't sleep till it was morning.'' (Tabari / Ibne Kathir)
It is clear from the above narration, which is authentic, as Ibne Kathir has mentioned that Ibne Abbas was of the opinion that the smoke is from among the awaited signs. (Ibne Kathir)
Secondly Ibne Kathir writes that Ibne Masood doesn't relate what he has said
back to the Prophet while the opinion that the smoke is from
among the awaited signs is related back to the Prophet and so the principal of the Hadith is quite
clear, ''That which is related back to the Prophet is given priority over that which is
not.'' (An-Nihaya)
Rising of the Sun
from the West
The rising of the sun from the west is also a major sign of Qiyamah proven
by the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Allah says in the Qur'an, "The day when some signs of your Lord will come,
no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor
earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his
faith." (Surah Al-An'aam)
The verse is referring to the rising of the sun from the west, as is the opinion of the majority of the commentators. (Tabari/Ibne Kathir)
Imam Tabari, after mentioning the different opinions of the commentators
writes, "The most correct opinion in regards to the meaning of this verse
is that what is apparent from the reports narrated from the Prophet that he said, "(lmaan will be of no benefit)
when the sun rises from the west." (Tabari)
Abu Huraira reported that the Holy Prophet said, "Hasten to do good deeds before
six (things happen) :Rising of the sun from the west."
(Mishkat)
Everyone will bring faith in seeing the sign
Narrated by Abu Huraira (R.A), "Allah's Messenger said, 'The hour will not come until the sun
rises from the west; and when the people see it, then whoever will be living on
the surface of the Earth will have faith, and that is (the time) when no good
will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not
before." (Bukhari)
The real basis of faith is that man believes in the unseen realities on the
authority of the Messenger of Allah . But when Allah manifests such startling and
visible signs which herald the approach of the last hour and by which the veil
of the unseen is rent asunder, then the belief becomes meaningless. The rising
of the sun from the west will be of great disturbance to nature and will shake
the mind of every man and awaken him to see for himself the great power of
Allah. At this time the belief of the unseen will lose its importance.
Once the sun has risen from the west the door of repentance will be closed and will remain closed until the Day of Judgement. If any infidel embraces Islam or any Muslim repents and seeks forgiveness for his sins any time after the rising of the sun from the west till the Day of Judgement, it will not be accepted.
The Messenger of Allah said, "Verily Allah extends his hand at
night so that the sinners of the day may repent and verily extends his hand
during the day so that the sinners of the night may repent. (He will keep on
doing this) as long as the sun does not rise from the west."
(Abu-Musa al-Ashari/ Muslim)
The Prophet said, "Allah has built a door of
repentance in the west the breadth of which is seventy years and it will not
close as long as the sun does not rise from the west."
(Safwan-b-Assal / Tirmidhi)
The above Ahadith have clearly specified that the extreme limit of the acceptance of repentance is till the sun rises from the west. Once it has risen it will not be accepted.
Ibne Hajar has mentioned many Ahadith which prove that the door of repentance will remain closed till the Day of Judgement and thereafter writes, ''These narration's give strength to one another, agreeing completely in that when the sun rises from the west the door of repentance will be closed and will not be opened thereafter. And this is not specific with that day but will prolong till the Day of Judgement.'' (Fathul- Bari)
The Beast is also a major sign of Qiyamah. Allah says in the Qur'an, "And when the word is fulfilled concerning them. We shall bring forth a Beast of the Earth to speak unto them because mankind had no faith in our revelation." (Surah An-Naml)
Abdullah-b-Umar said, "I memorised a Hadith from the Messenger of
Allah which I have not forgotten. I heard the
Messenger of Allah saying, 'The first of the signs that will
come is the rising of the sun from the place of its setting and the emergence
of the Beast upon the people. Whichever of these two occurs before the other
then the other is right behind it." (Muslim)
Commentating on the above verse Ibne Kathir has said that the beast will appear very near the end of time. When disintegration, corruption, kufr and evil prevail, commands of Allah are ignored, the Deen changed and made a mockery of, it is then Allah will take out the Beast from the earth. (Ibne Kathir)
Imam Hakim in the light of the above Hadith has said that the rising of the sun from the west will take place before the emergence of the Beast. The Beast will appear on the same day the sun has risen from the west or very soon thereafter. Ibne Hajar after quoting Imam Hakim mentions, "The wisdom in the Beast appearing after the sun has risen from the west is that the door of repentance will close at the time the sun rises from the west. Thus the Beast will emerge to distinguish the believers from the non-believers completing the aim of closing the door of repentance." (Fathul-Bari)
Task
The task of the Beast will be to distinguish the believers from the
non-believers, with Prophet Moosa's
staff it will draw a line on the forehead of every believer whereby his face
will become bright and luminous and with the ring of Sulaman
it will seal the nose of every non-believer where by his whole face will become
black. Thus there will be complete distinction between the Muslim and
non-Muslirn, so that if many parties sit at a dinner table, the Muslim and
non-Muslirn will be distinguished. (Abu Huraira-Musnad
Ahmad/Tirmidhi)
The Beast will also talk to people. It will say, "Mankind had no faith in our revelations." (Ibne Kathir)
Place of emergence
Many opinions have been expressed as regards to the place the Beast will come
out from. A few are listed:
1) It will come out from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in Makkah. This opinion is based
on the hadith reported by Tabrani on the authority of Hudhaifa-b-Usaid.
2) It will come out three times, from some desert and then go back into hiding,
then from some village and finally from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam.
There are many other opinions most of them report that it will come out from
the Haram of Makkah. (See Tadkirah and Al-Isha'ah)
Nature of the Beast
Many different opinions have been expressed as to the nature of the Beast and
the type of animal it is. A few are shared and explained.
1) Some Ulama are of the opinion that the Beast to come before the end of time
is the very animal which has been mentioned in the Hadith of Fatimah-b-Qais.
Known as the Jassasa (spy) seen by Tamim Dari and his companions from the
tribes of Lakhm and Juzaam on the same
Fatimah-bin-Qais reported, "I heard the proclaimer of the Messenger of
Allah proclaiming (for) 'Congregational Prayer'. I
came out of the mosque and prayed with the Prophet . When he finished his prayer, he sat upon
the pulpit smiling and said, 'Let every man remain in his seat.' Then he said,
'Do you know why I have called you together?' They replied, 'Allah and his
Messenger know best.' He said, 'By Allah, I have not called you together for
hope or for fear, but I have called you together because Tamim Dari a Christian
came and embraced Islam. He narrated a story to me which agreed with the
account I have given to you about the Dajjal (Anti-Christ). He informed me that
he had embarked upon a sea-boat with thirty men of Lakhm and Jozam. Then the
sea waves played with them for a month and threw them onto an island when the
sun was about to set. They sat in a small side boat and entered the
Camel
2) Some scholars are of the opinion that it is the young of the she camel
of the Prophet Salih.
Imam Al-Qurtubi holds the same opinion, he writes in his commentary of the
Qur'an, "The first opinion (regarding the Beast) is that it is the young
of the she-camel of the Prophet Salih .
This is the most correct view and opinion. Allah knows best."
The people of Thamud were Arabs who lived a couple of
hundred years after the Prophet Noah
in a place called Hijr which today is known as Madaain Salih in the North of
Arabia near Tabuk. Blessed in provisions and livelihoods their land was fertile
with green gardens and running springs and they skilfully carved spacious
houses out of mountains. They were ungrateful to Allah as they worshiped the
stone idols they carved with their very own hands. Thus Allah honoured Salih
from amongst them with Prophethood and sent him as a Messenger to the people of
Thamud to bring them out of darkness into light. Salih
conveyed the message of Allah day and night and called them to the worship of
Allah with wisdom and kind-heartedness but the people of Thamud decided to
remain blind. Finally, they like the communities before them asked to see a
miracle. They said, ' O Salih take out a ten month pregnant she-camel from a
mountain which then gives birth to a young that has the same body and stature
as the mother.' Having seen the miracle they refused to believe. The she-carnel
was a sign of Allah, very large and unusual in form and the people were warned
that they would be destroyed if they treated it with evil. All the other
animals were afraid of Prophet Salih's camel and would run away whenever she
and its young came to drink water. Thus bounds were arranged. However, after a
very short period they broke the agreement and decided to kill the camel of
Allah. A group hid waiting for the camel on its return from the well with its
child. Shooting an arrow they injured it and finally killed it paving the way
for the destruction of the entire community. On seeing its mother in trouble
the child fled to the mountains and disappeared. This young is referred to in
the second opinion.
Extraordinary Animal
3) Some are of the opinion that the Beast to come is an animal that has features
of many different animals. The same is reported from Abu Zubair. Describing the
Beast he has reported that, "Its head is like that of a bull, eyes like
that of a pig, ears like that of an elephant, horns like that of a stag, neck
like that of an ostrich, chest like a lion, colour like that of a tiger, flanks
like that of a cat, tail like that of a ram, feet and legs like that of a camel
and a distance of 12 cubits between every two joints." (Tadhkirah)
Snake
Some scholars are of the opinion it is the Snake which guarded the Holy
Ka'bah. Imam Al-Qurtubi relates this as being the opinion of Ibne Abbas.
(Al-Qurtubi)
Obeying Allah's command the Prophet Ibraheem
with the help of his son Ismail
built the Holy Ka'bah. He dug a well inside the Holy Ka'bah which was to the
right of who entered it and acted as a safe to all the gifts that were
presented to the Ka'bah which were kept inside it. At the time of Jurhum the
gold and silver were stolen many times from the Kabah thus the tribe of Jurhum
decided to choose a man amongst them to keep guard. Unfortunately, one day the
guard himself decided to steal the gifts of the Kabah. Taking the opportunity
as it came he climbed down the well and began to gather what he could in a
piece of cloth. While he was busy Allah sent a stone on him, which closed the
well and thus he was unable to escape. From that day Allah sent a snake to
guard the Ka'bah. The snake lived in the well guarding the gifts of the Ka'bah
for over 500 years. Exposed to the wearing factors of nature the walls of the
Ka'bah at the time of Quraish (slightly before the time Prophet received Prophethood) had become weak and
part of the covering had also burnt, thus the Quraish decided to rebuild the
Ka'bah. However, the snake prevented them from demolishing the Holy Ka'bah
every time they tried. Finally they stood at the Place of Ibrahim
and prayed, "Oh Allah if you are happy in its rebuilding then make it
possible and take care of this snake." Allah sent an eagle which took the
snake towards Ajyaad. This snake is referred to in the forth
opinion. (Tarikh-Makka)
Many other opinions have been expressed as regards to the nature of the Beast. However, finding myself inclined towards Abu Amr Uthman Ibne Sa'd al-Mukri ad-Dani's opinion I conclude with his words, "There are many narration's in regards to the physical description, length, and nature of the Beast but most of these are Mawqoof on the Sahaba or those after them. As for those that are Marfoo only a few are sound thus we cannot assert anything in regard of its description and nature except that which is proven from the authentic Marfoo narration's and that it is a huge creature that will come out from the Earth, a beast other than man, nobody will be able to escape it. It will stamp the Muslim by writing 'believer' between his eyes, and stamp the non-Muslim by writing Kafir between his eyes." (As-Sunan Al-Waridah Fil-Fitan)
The last major sign to appear before the Day of Judgement is the fire which
will come out from the
In the Hadith of Hudaifa-b-Usaid regarding the Major signs the Prophet said, "At the end of which a fire would
burn out from Yemen and would drive people to the place of their
assembly." (Muslim)
Narrated by Abu Huraira (R.A) the Prophet said, "The people will be gathered in
three ways:
1.The first way will be of those who will wish or have a hope (for paradise)
and will have a fear (of punishment).
2.The second batch will be those who will gather riding, two on a camel or
three on a camel or ten on a camel.
3.The third batch will be the rest of the people who will be urged to gather by
the fire which will accompany them at the time of their afternoon nap and stay
with them where they will spend the night, and will be with them in the morning
wherever they may be then, and will be with them in the afternoon wherever they
may be then. (Bukhari)
Qadr
We have power over nothing. We didn’t create ourselves nor are we responsible for our own deaths. Eating, excreting, etc.
We only
have the limited power of choice. Actions are ultimately judged by intentions.
The story of Imam Abu Hanifa
Qadr is incomprehensible.
On the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) will not be questioned, but we will.
Sahabah
Definition: “Lived in the time of the Prophet (saw) and died on the Shahadah.”
Exact
number is unknown, but over 100,000.
After all the Anbiyah (as), comes the Sahabah (ra) in rank. To have love for the Sahabah is a part of our deen and imaan and to have hatred for them is a sign of kufr, nifaaq, and fisq. No will ever be able to attain their rank since they are the most exalted generation. They were given the glad tidings of Jannah in this life. Even though they are not sinless, we say that Allah (swt) is pleased with them and that they will enter jannah.
b. Think of the blessings of seeing the Prophet (saw) in a dream. Now imagine seeing him in real life.
c. The Sahabah (ra) were there when the Quran was being revealed and were the first people to be addressed by the Quran.
d. They selflessly sacrificed their lives, wealth for the sake of Islam. They performed hegira and even fought against their loved ones for the love of Allah (swt).
e. The Quran and Hadeeth were preserved through their hard work. Think of this the next time someone wants to think ill of Abu Bakr (ra), Umar (ra), or Uthman (ra). Especially with regards to how they fought against the apostates.
f.
They carried jihad to all four corners of
the globe. Within 120 years after the death of the Prophet (saw), Islam was
spread from
g. The rank of the Sahabah is as follows:
i. The Khalifah Rashidun
ii. Ashara e Mubasharah
1. The Four khulafa e rashideen
2. Saad bin Abi Waqqas
3. AbdurRahman bin Auf
4. Abu Ubaidah bin jarrah
5. Saeed bin Zaid
6. Talha
7. Zubair
-Glad tidings were also given to
*RadhiAllahu anhum ajmaeen*
iii.
The Participants of the
iv.
The Participants of the
v. The Participants in the Ba’it e Ridwan. (Prior to the Treaty of Hudaybiyah).
With regards to the Fitnah:
a. Imam Shafi’i (ra) reported that Umar ibn Abdul Azeez said “That was blood that Allah (swt) kept our hands pure of, now we should keep our tongues pure of it.”
b. There are a plethora of narrations that must all be taken into account and not just isolated instances.
c. The Sahabah would fight during the day time and pray together at night.
d. Look at Muawiyah’s reaction to a proposal for alliance by a Roman king.
e. It was over Qisas.
f. The spoils of war were impermissible.
g. We will not be questioned about what they did, but about we did.
h. History vrs. Wahi. History is prone to error. The Wahi (in the form of the Quran and Hadeeth) speak highly of the praise of the Sahabah and thus overrides anything mentioned in the books of hadeeth. Keep in mind that the standards of criticism upheld by the muhaditheen and the historians are at completely different levels.
We hold the Ahl ul Bayt in equal standing to the Sahabah.
a. A mark of the people of the correct path will be that they will not be in their extreme love nor hatred of the Sahabah nor the Ahl ul Bayt.
b. How can someone love the Sahabah extremely? Ali (ra) was worshipped by a sect of the Shiah while the Khwaraaj considered him to be a kaffir. If you think extreme love or hatred doesn’t exist today, just look at the groups of today.
c. The Mahdi will be from ahl ul bayt.
Book 5
The Science of Hadith
And
The Authority of the
Sunnah
“He who revives a Sunnah of min in times of fitnah shall receive the
reward of 70 martyrs.”
~RasulAllah (saw)~
Table of Contents
Definition of Hadith 86
Definition of Sunnah 86
Difference Between
Quran and Hadith 86
Difference Between
Sunnah and Hadith 86
Science of Hadith 86
Veneration of the
Prophet (saw) by the Sahabah 86
Four Methods of Hadith
Preservation 86
The
Companion-Narrators 87
Scrupulousness of the
Sahabah 87
Hadith Written Down
Officially during the Time of the Prophet (saw) 87
Hadith Unofficially
Written Down in the Time of the Prophet (saw) 88
Command Banning Hadith 88
Hadith Classificaiton 89
Hadith criticism is
based on its isnad and matn 89
Regarding the
Integrity of the Narrator 89
Regarding the Subject
Matter of the Hadith 89
8 Common Objections to
Hadith 89
Women Scholars of
Hadith 90
The Authority of the
Sunnah 91
Definition of Hadith:
Linguistic – “new” with the connotation of speech.
Shariah – Something that the Prophet (saw) said, did, or saw and did not stop.
Definition of Sunnah:
Linguistic – “precedent.”
Shariah – “established practice of the Prophet (saw)”.
Difference Between Quran and Hadith. Quran is from Allah in both wording and meaning while the Hadeeth from Allah in meaning while the wording is from the Prophet (saw), hence in certain cases, a hadeeth may seem to override an ayah of the Quran.
Difference Between Sunnah and Hadith. Those actions were are specifically reserved for the Prophet (saw) such as marrying more than four wives, nikah without mehr, not accepting zakat, fasting consecutive days, are part of the hadith and not the sunnah.
The Science of Hadith is based on the Science of Bibliography and Biography.
- History vrs. Hadith
- History is based on different philosophical methods:
- Marxist (from the angle of money) – RasulAllah (saw) did it for money.
- Weber (from the angle of power) – RasulAllah (saw) did it for power.
- Freud (from the angle of subconscious desire) RasulAllah (saw) did it for desires.
- Hegel (from the angle of ideological evolution) RasulAllah (saw) was subject to historical forces (polytheism to theism) (If this is the case, then why did Islam outlast all of the 20th Century Ideologies such as communism, anarchism, socialism, fascism? The only one’s left are those that got lucky.
Veneration of the Prophet (saw) by the Sahabah
1. Collecting his Perspiration
2. Collecting his hair
3. Collecting his nail clippings
4. Counting the Hairs in his beard
5. Observing him use the restroom
Four Methods of Hadith Preservation:
1. Memorization
2. Discussions
3. Practice
4. Writing
The Companion-Narrators
· Hadith Criticism isn’t applied to Sahabah. Why? Because of our Aqeedah. The Quranic References and Mutawatir hadith referring to the exalted status of the Sahabah are transmitted in such large numbers that they override criticism.
· Abu Abd al-Rahmah, the largest collection of Hadith, was said to have contained only 1,300 Companion narrators.
· According to Ibn al-Jawzi, only 1,060 Companions were narrators, of which only 123 Companions narrated 20 or more hadith.
· Profiles of the 4 Major Sahabah Narrators
o Abu Hurayrah
§ Divided his night into three parts: sleeping, praying, and studying.
§ Had over 800 students in hadith.
§ Story with Marwan who tested him.
o Abdullah ibn Umar
§ Remained aloof of factional politics.
§ When he related hadith, his eyes would fill with tears.
§ Extremely scrupulous in narrating hadiths. In one case, he didn’t narrate a hadith for almost 1 year.
o Abu Hamza Anas ibn Malik
§ Presented by his mother Um Sulaym to the Prophet (saw) at the age of 10.
§ Lived over 100 years (even taught hadith to Imam Abu Hanifa)
o Aisha
§ Memorized many ancient Arab poems.
Scrupulousness of the Sahabah
· Abu Bakr didn’t accept the words of tshose who reported them unless they bought a witness.
· Umar did the same thing, even those who had clearly established themselves. It is said that he even imprisoned Ibn Mas’ud, Abd’l Darda, and Abu Mas’ud for narrating too many hadiths.
· Ali did not accept any hadith until the reporter attested to it on oath.
Hadith Written Down Officially during the Time of the Prophet (saw)
1. Constitution of Madina
2. Census
3. Letters to Various Governors
4. Letters to the Ruler
5. Correspondence with the Jews
6. Rules and Tariffs of Taxes
7. Specific Requests:
a. Khutbahs
b. Instructions
Hadith Unofficially Written Down in the Time of the Prophet (saw)
· Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al Aas
· Anas ibn Malik – Submitted his copies to the Prophet (saw) for scrutiny and correction.
· Amr ibn Hazm – Governor of Yemen that was appointed by the Prophet (saw) who colleced documents.
· Aisha (ra) (could read but not write) taught hadith to Umra (daughter of Abd al-Rahman).
· Saad ibn Ubadah
· Abdullah ibn Umar dicated to his freed slave, Nafi, who used to write them down.
· Abdullah ibn Abbas
· Abu Bakrah – an attendant on the Prophet (saw) used to teach hadeeth by correspondence.
· Abu Hurayrah – new the most hadith. Knew Persian, Abysinnian,a nd some of the bible.
o Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the governor of Madinah, wanted to test his memory. He invited him to Madinah and started asking him hadith of the Prophet (saw) while a scribe was hiding behind a curtain. After a year, he did the same thing. The scribe, when questioned about his accuracy said “He did not speak a word more or a word less.”
o Al-Sahifah al-Sahiha
§ A student of Abu Hurayrah (ra) by the name of Hammam ibn Munabbih compiled this work.
§ One of the oldest collections of hadith.
§ Serves as a proof that later muhaditheen like Ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari, Muslim, did not change the hadith since every hadith mentioned in Sahifah Hammam is not only found verbatim in the Six Canonical Books of Hadith. There are minor differences in wording, but no major differences. Example: RasulAllah (saw) vs. Nabi (saw).
· This text was compiled before the Fitnah where hadith forgery became common.
Command Banning Hadith
· Context (young boys, used to write on same material that the Quran was being written on)
· Many other cases where it was permissible.
· Ibn al-Qayyim: “It is true that some authentic traditions report the interdiction laid by the Prophet (saw) against writing down the hadith, and others, the authorization to write. But the authorization is posterior. Therefore, it would constitute an abrogation to the Hadith of interdiction.”
Hadith Classification: Sahih, Hasan, Daeef, Mawduh. Also: Mutawattir, Mashur, and Ahad.
Hadith criticism is based on its isnad and matn.
o Isnad is the chain of narrators
o Matn is the actual content of the hadith.
Regarding the Integrity of the Narrator
1. Truthful – throughout his life he must have never spoken any lie regarding any hadith of the Prophet (saw).
2. Sound mind
3. Good memory
4. Reliable and Pious
5. Cautious and Prudent
6. Well Known
Regarding the Subject Matter of the Hadith
1. It must not be contrary to any Quranic text.
2. It must not be contrary to any sunnah e mutawatirah.
3. It must not be contrary to any ijma e qati’i.
4. It must not be impossible according to rational reasoning.
5. It must not be contrary to the general ruling of the Shariah and the accepted decrees.
6. It should also not be such an issue being discussed in the narration which is binding upon all mukhalifeen (sane, adult Muslims) and where there can be no reason for not having knowledge thereof, whereas the narrators of this khabar are very few.
8 Common Objections to Hadith
1. Hadith are based on largely oral transmission.
a. This has been proven invalid.
2. The number of hadith in later collections is larger.
a. More people learning hadith increased the number of narrators in the chains. Furthermore, whether we compare early or later collections, the hadith themselves remain the same, word for word. We have manuscripts that prove this point.
3. The number of hadith narrated by the younger companions are far more numerous than the older companions.
a. The younger companions
i. lived longer and thus had the ability to teach more students and also had
ii. Because of their youth, they had the ability to spend more time with the Prophet (saw)
iii. Had more energy, better memories to dedicate to the study of hadith.
4. The system of Isnad was applied arbitrarily and too late in history.
a. False. The system of Isnad was in place even in the time of the Prophet (saw). It was not applied arbitrarily.
5. Many Hadith contradict one another.
a. Contradiction is not a proof of non-existence of a statement.
b. I can tell people 4 ways to get to UMBC. That doesn’t mean all four are false.
c. Furthermore, contradiction means that, at most, 50% of the narrations are false, not all of them.
d. Contradiction can be explained by looking at the context of the hadith.
6. Definite evidence for the large-scale forgery of the isnad as well as the text of hadith.
a. True, but the forgery occurred during the fitnah whereas the collections of hadith have been preserved since the time of the Prophet (saw).
7. The Muslims criticized only Isnad not the matn.
a. false.
8. The Ulema haven’t done hadith criticism but base it on blind faith, so we should rely on Orientalists.
a. Orientalists are far from being unbiased. Many have close ties to religious missions, government (especially military agencies), and big businesses.
b. The first people to criticize hadith have been the Muslims. Duh!
Women Scholars of Hadith
Every major hadith collection gives the names of many women as the immediate authorities of the author.
In Al Durar al Kamina, Ibn Hajar (Asqalani?) gives short biographical notices of about 170 prominent women of the 8th century. In fact, one of Ibn Hajar’s own teachers was Aisha bint Abd al-Hadi.
- Era of the Companions:
- Hafsa
- Umm Habiba
- Maymina
- Umm Salama
- Aisha
- Era of the Successors
- Hafsa
- Umm al-Darda – Iyas ibn Muawiya held her higherthan al-Hasan al-Basri and Ibn Sirin.
- Amra bint Abd al Rahman – great authority in traditions related by Aisha (ra) and one of her students, Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, was ordered by Umar ibn Abdul Azeez to write down all of the traditions known on her authority.
- Period after Them
- Abida al-Madaniyyah
- Abda bint Bishr
- Umm Umar al-Thaqafiyya
- Zaynab – Granddaughter of Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn Abbas.
- Nafisa bint al-Hasan ibn Ziyad
- Khadija Umm Muhammad
- Abda
bint Abd al-Rahman – a slave who memorized hadith by teachers in medina
and was owned by Muhammad ibn Yazid who gave her to Habib Dahhun, a great
Muhadith in
The Authority of the Sunnah
The Prophet (saw) is not a postman.
He came to fulfill four objectives:
1. Recitation of the Verses of Allah
2. Teaching of the Book of Allah
3. Teaching the Wisdom.
4. Making the People Pure.
Obedience to the Prophet (saw):
1.
Obey Allah and His Messenger. Whenever the statement “Obey Allah” is
made, it is immediately joined with “And His Messenger.” (3:32, 3:132, 5:92,
8:1, 8:20, 8:46, 24:54, 47:33, 64:12, 4:13, 4:69, 24:52, 33:71) There is not a
single verse that mentions the former without the latter. On the contrary,
there are some verses where only the obedience of the Messenger (saw) has been
mentioned and there is no reference to the obedience of Allah (24:56, 24:54,
2. Obedience is also a Pragmatic Necessity. Furthermore, there are many actions that are made obligatory in the Quran that are not described fully in the Quran (examples: wudhu, salah, etc)
3. Obedience to the Prophet (saw) is compulsory in all times and all places. Since Allah (swt) has ordained that the Message of Islam be delivered to not only the Arabs, but all of mankind for all times, then its laws are in effect until the Day of Judgement as well. The same thing applies to the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). It can never be ‘out-dated’. Furthermore, if the Arabs in the time of the Prophet (saw) required him to explain the Quran to them, then what can be said of anteceding generation who are further and further away from the explanation of the Prophet (saw)? Only those with sound chains of transmission can claim authenticity of any sort. Anyone without any direct connection is basing his beliefs or actions on unfounded precedence.
Book 6
Introduction to Fiqh
“Fiqh is to know one’s nafs: what is for it and what is against it.”
~Imam Abu Hanifa (ra)~
Table of Contents
Differences of Opinion
in Islam 94
Four Basic Sources of
Legislation 94
The Impossibility of
Literalism 94
The Quran
The Hadeeth
The Madhab 96
The Rulings of the
Sacred Law 98
Innovation 100
Major Sins 100
Conditions for
Repentance 101
I)
Differences of Opinion in Islam
A) Differences are Natural, what matters is how you deal with them
B) The Angels
*Man who killed 99 people
C) The Prophets
*Sulaiman (as) and Dawud (as)
D) RasulAllah (saw)
E) The Sahabah during the life of the Prophet (saw)
*Can the dead hear?
F) The Sahabah at the death of the Prophet (saw)
G) The Salaf
H) The Rise of Madhabs
II) Four Basic Sources of Legislation – each one has its on rational and textual proofs. Ahkam are derived from these four sources. For now, lets leave aside ijma and ijtehad, and discuss only the Quran and the Sunnah.
A) Quran
B) Sunnah
C) Ijma
D) Ijtehad
III)
The Impossibility of Literalism
a. The Quran
A) What is the Quran? Speech of Allah. How do we know the one we have today is the real Quran?
1) The Compilation of the Quran (sets the method that is used later on for the compilation of hadeeth)
a) Isnad – habit of asking for witnesses was a practice of the Sahabah. Example of Umar ibn Khattab regarding the leaving of the door after the 3rd Knock. The way the Quran was compiled.
b) Matn
B) Literal Interpretation of Quran not possible
1) Belief in Allah
a) Yadd ŕ contradicts surah ikhlas; Nothing is like Unto Him, Allah is One. The hand contradicts this.
2) The Prohibition of drinking Khamr – how do you know which verse came first?
a) First it was prohibited to come to Salaah intoxicated
b) Then it became prohibited
c) Then it was punishable by lashing
3) Jihad
a) impermissible
b) then permissible
c) then obligatory
C) Usool al Tafseer
1) Arabic Language – in general – the example of the wives of the Prophet (saw) on his saying that ‘the wife with long hands will be the first to meet me after my death.’ Regarding Zainab bint Jahsh (ra) and how they would measure their arms. Saudah (ra)’s arms turned out to be the longest, but Zainab died first.
a. Quran says “We revealed this Quran in a clear Arabic tongue . . .”
b. The translators of the Quran themselves say “Its not the Quran unless its in Arabic”
c. Differences that arise from the Arabic language
i. Example of the Yadd
ii. Imam Shafi’i and touching a women breaking Wudhu.
iii. The example of the Sahabah who thought that you determine daybreak by the distinguishing of the threads.
2) Azbab an Nuzool
a. Prohibition of wine
3) General Differences – there are times when you take the Quran literally, and times you can’t. How do you determine the correct one? How do you establish a Qati daleel vrs a Dhanni daleel? These all require an “Usool”
b. The Sunnah
A) Authority of the Sunnah
a. If we disbelieve in the Prophet (saw) how do we know the Quran is really true? How do we know about the Sunnah if we don’t view the Prophet (saw) to be a Prophet (saw)? So the Sunnah is important.
B) History of the Classification and Compilation of Hadeeth
1) Practice of Sahabah ŕ based on the compilation of the Quran.
2) Examine the Isnad and the Matn.
a. Isnad ŕ the chain of narrators and their biographies.
b. Matn ŕ actual text. (anything that contradicts the Quran is thrown out. Based on hadeeth)
3) Muhaditheen would collect it
4) Imam Bukhari ŕ Major contribution was the extent of his compilation.
a. Biography of Imam Bukhari and what makes him special.
i. His photographic memory
ii. His journeys to master the religion
iii. His piety
1. Didn’t eat
2. Donated a lot of money
3. Reminds us of Salman al Farsi. (story of Salman al Farsi)
C) However, how do we determine what is a fardh, sunnah, mustahab from the Sunnah? I mean, some things were obligatory or permissible only for prophets and somethings were impermissible for them.
1) For example: Tahajjud, permissibility of marrying more than 4 wives, fasting consecutively
2) Prohibitions: Can’t accept Zakat, can’t marry a wife of a Prophet (saw), etc.
D) Furthermore, there are seeming contradictions.
1) Just like there is azbab an nuzool with Quran, you have the problem with establishing ahkam with regards to time, since the laws evolved over time.
2) Example of Hajj.
3) Examples of differences between wifes and prophets.
E) Also:
1) Aqeedah ŕ the role of mutawattir hadeeth, no daeef hadeeth.
2) Fiqh ŕ the role of daeef hadeeth
3) Tassawuf ŕ the role of daeef hadeeth.
c. Usool al Fiqh - So as we can see, there are differences of opinion in tafseer and hadeeth, these naturally lead to differences in the fiqh since fiqh is primarily derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
A) Ijma – My Ummah will not unite upon error. Meaning the Scholars.
B) Ijtehad – Every mujtahid is correct.
IV) The Madhab.
A) Question: What are the different ways a person can establish rulings?
1. Follow his Desires
2. Follow his own limited understanding
3. Follow the scholars in general
4. Follow one scholar
5. Follow a madhab
B) Following one’s desires
1) Invalid according to the Quran, the story of Lut (as)
2) Hadeeth of the Prophet (saw)
C) Following his own limited understanding
1) Quran: “If you do not know, refer to Allah, His Prophet, and those in authority above you.”
2) Hadeeth: Example of Sahabah with cut on head that went to make wudhu and he died because they answered incorrectly.
3) Various hadeeth regarding the end of the world.
D) Brief discussion regarding Scholars
1) Who is a scholar?
a. Based on Isnad and matn. The way we study Islam is the way that the hadeeth was collected and that’s the way that the Quran was compiled. Furthermore, this is the method of the Prophets. The majority of prophets were not messengers, most came as teachers. This knowledge ultimately comes from Allah (swt).
b. Hence, we examine his biography, who were his teachers, what were his strengths, and whether or not he has ijaza.
2) Who is ahl ul sunnah waal jamaah?
a. The 71 sects.
b. As Samad wa Aawad.
3) Taqleed vrs. Ijtehad
a. “Ask those who recall if you know not.” (Quran 16:43)
b. “Not all the believers should go to fight. Of every section of them, why does not one part alone go forth, that the rest may gain knowledge of the religion to admonish their people when they return, that haply they may take warning.” (Koran 9:122)
c. The Sahabah and Taqleed. (Legal Status of Following a Madhab by Mufti Taqi Usmani)
d. “Suyuti, in Tadrib al-rawi, quotes Ibn Hazm’s report that most of
the Companion’s legal opinions came from only seven of them: Umar, Ali, Ibn
Mas’ud, Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, Zayd ibn Thabit, and Aisha; and this was from
thousands of the Companions (Tadrib al-rawi fi sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi (y109),
2.219)”
e. taqleed aimmah vrs taqleed ittiba – both are the same because either way, the laymen can never determine the true method of ruling.
f. Mujtahid is one who is proficient in Arabic, sciences of tafseer, and hadeeth, and the other opinions. Must look for not only daleel, but work out contradictory evidences from both the Quran and the Sunnah. Three types of mujtahids.
E) Following the scholars in general
1) How does the laymen determine which scholar to follow?
a. Either follows his desires
b. Or he follows his own limited understanding.
c. Hence, both are invalid.
F) Follow a specific Scholar
1) Scholars can make mistakes
2) How do you determine which scholar to follow?
G) Following a madhab
1) What is a madhab? An Usool developed by a mujtahid that has been refined throughout the ages.
2) (What is a mujtahid)?
3) If a scholar makes mistakes, it’s the duty of the other scholars to correct him.
i. Examples of differences between Imam and Madhabs would be Imam Abu Hanifa’s view on using any language during salaah and Imam Shafi’i’s opinion on the beard as opposed to the opinion of the Shafi’i madhab.
H) How did the madhabs evolve?
1) The Madhabs in the time of the Sahabah ŕ taqleed existed, but not necessarily ‘madhabs’ where the fiqh was codified, but again, the codification of the Quran didn’t happen until the time of Abu Bakr (ra), the codification of hadeeth didn’t occur very extensively until the time of Imam Bukhari (ra), etc.
2) 5 schools of thought in the time of the Sahabah.
3) The
a. He was a tabieen.
b. His school was derived from the
4) The
5) The
6) The
7) More schools of thoughts, over 150, but these schools of thought really merged all of them, just like Imam Bukhari did with hadeeth.
I) Joining between madhabs
1) Invalid mixing ŕ following one’s desires
2) Valid mixing ŕ based on hardship, genuine need, and area one lives in.
3) All opinions of the four madhabs are equally valid. How can all four madhabs be equally valid if they differ?
a. How many ways are there in reciting the quran? 7 ahruf.
b. Imam Abu Hanifa said “If the Shariah were based on logic, we would make masah on the bottom of the khuffain, not the top.”
J) Miscellenaous
1) Statements of the Imams regarding following the hadith and not their opinion? Response: Their students were mujtahideen too.
2) What if the Imam made a mistake or didn’t know of a hadith? Response: That’s why we follow the madhab and not the imam.
3) Name a Scholar who didn’t follow a madhab. Examples of Ulema who followed a madhab: Imam Nawawi, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Ibn Taymeeyah.
- The
Rulings of the Sacred Law
- Obligatory (fardh)
- A firm command established by a decisively established text whose meaning is decisive and not open to the possibility of interpretation.
- One is bound to believe in and act on the obligatory. The one who denies it could well fall into disbelief,a dnt he one who leaves it is sinful.
- If an obligatory element of an action is omitted, that action remains unfulfilled. Thus, if one omits an obligatory act of the prayer (such as a condition or integral), the prayer is invalid and unperformed.
- The Necessary (wajib)
- A firm command supported by a text that allows for the possibility of interpretation.
- Denying something necessary is corruption (fisq), not disbelief. Leaving it is sinful.
- The omission of necessary elements of the prayer does not nullify one’s prayer. However, it becomes necessary to repeat one’s prayer if some necessary element was omitted intentionally. If omitted absentmindedly, forgetfulness prostrations are necessary (wajib) at the end of the prayer. If these too were left out, then it is necessary (wajib) upon one to repeat one’s prayer.
- The Emphasized Sunna (sunna mu’akkada)
- That which our Prophet (saw) or the Companions did most of the time and was not of worldly habits.
- Leaving an emphasized sunna is blameworthy but not sinful. Habitulaly leaving such a sunna, however, is sinful, because it entails “turning away” from the guidance of RasulAllah (saw), whom we have been commanded to follow.
- The Recommended (mustahabb)
- An act that the Prophet (saw) did sometimes or was of his worldly habits.
- Performing the recommended is rewarded, but leaving it is not sinful or blameworthy.
- The Permissible (mubah)
- In and of itself it is neither rewarded nor punished.
- But with good intention, it is rewarded.
- The Somewhat Disliked (makruh tanzihan)
- That which we have been commanded to leave, even though it is not sinful. The one who leaves it is rewarded, and theone who does it acted suboptimally.
- The Prohibitively Disliked (makruh tahriman)
- That which we have been firmly commanded to leave through a text open to the possibility of interpretation.
- Denying such a command is misguidance but not disbelief.
- Performing such an action is sinful.
- The Forbidden (haram)
- That which we have been firmly commanded to leave, through a decisively established text.
Innovation
“. . . Beware of matters newly begun, for every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell.”
~RasulAllah (saw)~
1. Scholars say that the above hdith does not refer to all new things without restriction, but only to those which nothing in Sacred Law attests to the validity of.
2. To claim that a bid’a requires precedence is semantically illogical since the very definition of an innovation is that without precedence.
3. Examples of innovations:
a. The Compilation of the Quran
b. The Maqam of Ibrahim (as)
c. The Joining of the Taraweeh Prayer in Congregation
4. These examples illustrate a few options:
a. The actions of the Sahabah weren’t innovation.
b. They were innovation, but not of the religious sense.
c. They were innovation in a religious sense, but the sahabah are special and exempt.
d. The meaning of the hadith (and others) illustrates that there is more than one type of bida.
The Ulema have classified Bida in different ways: Imam Nawawi, Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Ibn Haytami, Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio, Shaykh Izz ibn Abd al-Salam et al. In fact, outside of the Salafis, we will not see a formulation of innovation in this manner.
The lack of action of the Prophet (saw) or the Sahabah (ra) is not a proof of the impermissibility of an action.
Example: Compilation of the Quran, Formation of Madhaib, Milad an Nabi.
Major Sins
- Shirk
- Murder
- Sorcery
- Leaving Prayer
- Leaving Zakat
- Disrespecting One’s Parents
- Accepting Usury
- Wrongfully consuming an Orphan’s wealth
- Lying about the Prophet (saw)
- Breaking One’s Fast During Ramadhan
- Fleeing from Combat in Jihad
- Fornication
- The Leader who Misleads, the Tyrant, and Oppressor
- Drinking
- Arrogance, Pride, Conceit
- Bearing False Witness
- Homosexuality
- Charging a Woman who could be chaste with adultery
- Misapproprating Spoils of War, Muslim Funds, or Zakat
- Taking People’s Property through Falsehood
- Theft
- Suicide
- Consuming Haraam food
- Armed Insurrection and Considering Muslims Unbelievers
- Men Wearing Silk or Gold
- Gambling
Conditions for Repentance
- When a person’s disobedience is with Allah (swt) and doesn’t concern another human being’s rights.
- Desist from the sin.
- Regret having done it.
- Resolve never to commit it again.
- When it concerns another human being:
- The three mentioned above
- Clearing oneself of the obligation owed to the other person.
Book 7
Groups
“My Ummah will not unite upon error.”
~RasulAllah (saw)~
Table of Contents
Shias 104
Salafis 104
Modernists 106
Rules of Discourse 106
Freedom 106
Democracy 107
Feminism 109
Nationalism 112
Secularism 117
Shia
o Rules of Engagement
o What is the daleel for your Imam? Since you use your imams to classify hadeeth, that is out of the question. Rational and textual arguments only.
o Imamate – assume that is correct. If it is correct, why does it stop at 12? Majority of history has had no imam.
o Khalifh
o Ali could have been khalifh based on: ayah of Quran, commandment of the Prophet (saw).
§ No such verse.
§ No such hadith
o If there was no clearcut textual evidence, then you can’t hold them accountable for not fulfilling it.
o Furthermore, when the dispute happened, it was over whether the Khalifh should be from the Mujahireen or the Ansar, not over whether Ali (ra) should have been Khalifh.
o Sahabah
o Abu Bakr (ra) married his daughter to the Prophet (saw). Either the marriage happened because of Allah or because of the Prophet (saw).
o Umar (ra) married his daughter to the Prophet (saw).
o Uthman (ra) married two daughters of the Prophet (saw).
o Yes, Hassan and Hussain (ra) were martyred, but so were the first three Khulafa Rashidun.
o Corrections
o we respect the Ahl ul Bayt, but they aren’t a source of legislation for us.
o How is it different from a monarchy? Just because they are part of the family of the Prophet, doesn’t make them ‘divine’. Look at the Quran: Adam (as) and his sons. Nuh (as) and his Son. Lut (as) and his wife. Ibrahim (as) and his father. How do you distinguish between real ahl ul bayt, isn’t it Allah (swt) who will decide?
o Our Ulema have no love for tyrants, but we still consider them Muslim and don’t curse them.
o Bid’a – Tragedy of Kerbala, celebrating Birthdays, all came after Islam.
o Tajjani’s Book Incorrect references to hadeeth. Example of Aisha (ra) – Only her and the Prophet (saw) and if she is a hypocrite, then you can’t accept her hadeeth, so how did you narrate it?
II. The Salafi Dawaah
The Salafis are literalists. There are several ways to refute them: 1. Focus on establishing the authority of taqleed and of following a madhab. (most will concede that it is necessary or at least recommended to follow a madhab) 2. Focus on refuting their notion of bida (this requires sheer logic since most will take the hadith pertaining to innovation literally) 3. Keep going back to Usool al Fiqh. 4. Never argue over fiqh rulings. If they ask for daleel, ask them if they are qualified for interpreting the text. Only a mujtahid can go to the primary sources.
A) Examine Abdul Wahhab
1) His Isnad? None
2) Killed Muslims and took their property
a. Prohibition on the blood and property of the Muslims.
b. Common sense. Quran and Sunnah.
3) Declared them Kaffir
c. Don’t call a Kaffir a kaffir to his face.
d. If a Muslim calls his brother a kaffir, surely one of them is a kaffir.
e. Even if they were, what was the procedure?
B) Rebelling against the Khaleefah is a MAJOR SIN.
C) General Principles
a. Shirk and Bidaa as problem of the Ummah
b. Anthropomorphisism – Salaf’s opinions, scholars opinion.
i.
`Abdul-`Aziz Ibn Baaz stated the following
about Allah,
'To say that Allah does not have a body, pupils, ear drums and ear lobes,
tongue, and larynx is not the position of Muslim Orthodoxy.'
[At-Tanbihaat (Warnings), p. 22]
ii.
Muhammad ibn Saalih al-`Uthaimin states
regarding Allah swt,
'He is sitting in person on His Throne
in a way that befits His Majesty and Greatness. Nobody except He knows exactly
how He is sitting.'
[The Muslim Belief, p. 8]
c. Takfir
d. Rejection of Madhabs
i. Review concept of Blind faith in Islam: forefathers, personality, desires.
ii. Do it yourself fiqh
iii. Fatawa ŕ a person picks the fatwa of a scholar based on two possible choices a) the evidence makes sense to him and b) he knows the scholar is qualified. Problem: has he examined all of the daleel on this issue? No. Has he examined all of the opinions of the scholars on this issue? No. What is the result? Picking and choosing your Islam, ultimately. No different from a Modernist.
D) The Gulf War
1) The Quran
2) The Sunnah
3) The Way of the Salaf
Modernists
Reject following a madhab as well. The difference between them and salafis is that they have a different time context. Instead of looking towards the past and rejecting everything after that, they accept only the present and reject everything in the past. They are highly critical of the sciences of Islam (especially hadith) and seem to love do it yourself tafseer the most. The newer modernists are donning the image of fuqaha, some of whom are claiming the ability to perform ijtehad.
There are several methods of debating with modernists: 1. Attacking their daleel or usool (which is relatively weak) 2. Attacking the notion that everything based on tradition is by default invalid or bound to degenerate. 3. Attacking the Western ideologies that are based off of the notion of ‘freedom’ such as as utilitarianism, capitalism, democracy, feminism, nationalism, secularism.
I’m still working on utilitarianism and capitalism. Here is a sample of some rough arguments that I’ve worked on that may help you in dealing with modernists:
Rules of Discourse:
Start with a reminder that Islam is its own unique system. It may bear semblance to communism or capitalism or monarchy or fascism, but these similarities are merely superficial. Our system is just as rational/logical as their’s is. We are intellectual equals, if not moral superiors.
Freedom
Islam is based on submission, not freedom. What is the basis of freedom, where does it stop? If they consider homosexuals to have the freedom to engage in sodomy, ask them if they think that a mature couple has the freedom to engage in consensual incest or what about animals relations? Furthermore, even in Western civilization, there is a generally agreed upon consensus that freedoms and rights are not unlimited and that one man’s freedom ends when another man’s freedom is being infringed upon.
Democracy
I. Rules of Discourse
a. This is a somewhat odd discourse to be initiating considering that it seeks to compare two entities that belong in separate categories since one is a religion and the other is a political system. Why does the discourse on Islam and Democracy even matter at all? Why are so many Western leaders, thinkers, strategists, and media Pundits (as well as some Muslims for that matter) so fixated on comparing Islam with Democracy, among other Western ideologies.
i. Western interest is based upon the following:
1. Political – seek to introduce democracy into Muslim lands.
a. What about all the indigenous democratic leaders and movements that have either been ignored, sidetracked, or stifled?
i.
Ex 1: Mossadeq in
ii.
Ex 2:
iii.
Ex 3:
iv.
Ex 4:
v.
Ex 5:
b. Democratic Peace Theory – is it political or economic?
2. Economic – a true capitalist state requires the preservation of certain rights (such as ownership, free trade) that ultimately result in minimal government interference in commerce within a state as well as between states.
a. Are Western states looking for truly capitalist states or states that favor their interests?
3. Strategic – Although politics and strategy share common areas, strategy examines an issue more from a military perspective than a purely political one. Politics, at least for the purposes of this discussion, is more concerned with domestic, internal concerns than with foreign policy or military concerns.
a. Which states are targeted for democratization?
i.
b. Why the Middle East and why now?
i. Oil? Not really
ii. Terrorism?
iii.
4. The End of History?
a. Perhaps liberal democratic capitalism is being imposed upon these states because there is no ideology left. Leaving these states to their own self ultimately promulgates global anarchy . . . and anarchy is the new threat . . . not a new superpower.
5. Perhaps a combination of all factors.
6. Perhaps none of these factors.
b. Muslims
i. More Muslims seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
ii. Not very public about it, but then again, when have the opinions of the political-economic elites accurately reflect the opinions of the masses? Thus, just because the ‘elites’ of a certain state don’t openly espouse anti-Western tendencies, doesn’t necessarily mean that those below them don’t. Furthermore, many elites within the Muslim world are openly anti-Western if not highly critical of Western ideologies, culture, and policies.
iii. Furthermore, most of the support for democracy isn’t coming from the masses or from those in charge, but from self-serving elites who merely seek to mobilize the masses for their own ends.
1. Example: Chalabi, Allawi, etc.
c. Thus, for a moment, let us set aside national security interests and make one point: a tradition must be first studied on its own grounds before being critiqued by another. Thus, if one sought to understand democratic capitalism, one would first go to Mill or Lock or Rousseau and not Marx or Bin Laden. Similarly, if one wants to understand Islam and Islamic government, one must to go those who originally expounded on the subject and not necessarily modern day critics, whether those critics happen to be Muslim or not. Once we have done so, we must then see whether the argument of critics is really valid or if their arguments have no foundation since they have been addressed by the original thinkers.
d. In the case of this discussion, we must be extra cautious since we are examining a phenomenon more developed than a political philosophy, but a religion that spawned a very unique civilization. In summary, let us study Islam on its own terms before interpolating Western concepts and mores into our study, diluting the discourse.
II. Comparing two subjects:
a. Democracy
b. Islam
III. What is Democracy?
a. Legitimacy stems from the people
b. Vote for leaders
c. Civil Rights
d. Representative legislature
e. Elected/semi-elected executive
IV. What is Islam?
a. Does it have its own political system? The Caliphate
b. How does Islam determine its boundaries?
i. Quran
ii. Sunnah
iii. Ijma
iv. Qiyas
Feminism
As previously stated, there are two aspects of Intellectual
Revolution: reconstruction of Islamic thought and the deconstruction of Western
thought in the form of ideologies. Intellectual Revolution means that we call
for a philosophical razing to the ground of all ideas and concepts that don't
directly emanate from either the Quran, the Sunnah, Ijma, or Ijtehad of the
Pious Scholars.
Hence, instead of Muslims asking "Is such and such ideology compatible
with Islam?" rather, we should question the very authority of such
ideologies before we even discuss the relationship that Islam has with them.
For example, someone may make the claim that "islam is inherently
democratic". The current methodology of thinking that the Muslim community
has adopted would lead many of them to start the discussion right away by going
to verses of the Quran and providing examples of the Sunnah or opinions of
Scholars. However, if we push for an intellectual revolution, we question the
very definition of democracy itself. In other words, instead of conceding that
democracy is a valid concept to associate with Islam, we reject the
conventional association and question the authority of democracy itself.
It has come to the attention of some Muslim intellectuals that the West is
pushing for the introduction of its ideologies through three major concepts:
feminism, democracy, and ijtehad, all three of which are directly related to
one another. [for more information, see
Anyhow, the topic of this journal is feminism.
A whole brand of pseudo-intellectual/scholars are making the claim that Islam
is a form of feminism.
Since we are pushing for intellectual revolution, we're going to say
"stop, hold the phone. Lets examine this concept of feminism before making
a claim that its for/against Islam."
So lets define feminism.
Feminism can be defined in a variety of ways: 'autonomy of women', 'equality
between men and women', or perhaps 'freedom from male oppression.', etc. (did i
miss any of the differing strains of feminism?)
The most agreed upon definition of feminism is an ideology that pushes for
equality between men and women.
Now lets stop and think critically: what is equality? How do we define
equality?
Equality between men and women can be broken down into further various strains:
a) Equality in rights
b) Equality in allocation of resources
c) Equality of Opportunity
d) Physical Equality
When we make the claim that 'feminism is compatible with Islam' or something
like 'islam is inherently feminist' or 'islam liberates women, it does not
oppress them', we need to take all of these claims and hold them up to the
Standard of Judgement, which is the Standard set in the Quran and the Sunnah,
ie the Shariah.
How does the Shariah interpret each strain of feminism?
Does the Shariah treat women and men equally? What is the Aurah of a women and
what is the aurah of a man? (The two aren't the same). What types of clothes
are women allowed to wear and what types of clothes are men allowed to wear? Why
is gold permissible for women but haraam for men? If we answer these questions,
we will find that the Shariah treats women differently from men, but that is
not necessarily a negative thing. Although the treatment is 'unequal' ie
different, it does not mean that the relationship and ahkam established
regarding men and women is incorrect, since it is the Quran and the Sunnah that
defines what is correct and not independent human judgement.
a) equality of rights: In Islam, a wife has a right over her husband in three
things 1) food 2) clothing and 3) shelter. A wife's income is her own and she
does not have to use it to pay things like rent. If I am a husband and my wife
makes the same money as i do, i think it is not fair for my wife not to be
responsible for paying the rent. I would say that is 'inequality'. However,
this is the hukm of Allah (swt).
b) Equality of allocation of resources. Do men and women get the same
allocation of resources in Islam? Some example of 'inequalities': women get
mahr, guys don't. Inheritance laws 'favor' men over women. etc. These things
are from the Quran and Sunnah and are not minor issues. If islam pushes for
equality between men and women, then why does it seem to distribute social
resources differently? The problem is not Islam, but the notion of 'equality'.
Islam sets A Just Balance.
c) Equality of
d) Physical Equality. This is the most radical strain of feminism; when women
actually go to the extreme of taking away that which makes them femine. the
claim is to prevent women from being sexual objects by taking away their
sexuality. Hence, getting the buzz cuts, not wearing revealing clothing, etc.
This is obviously haraam. Men are not supposed to resemble women and women are
nto supposed to resemble men. Furthermore, the issue of women being viewed as
sexual objects gets resolved by women wearing hijab, jilbab, and niqab and by
men observing modesty and both genders lowering their gaze.
***
Conclusion
Allow me to close with some comments on Western thought. The core of Western
thought, the thing that connects all of Western ideologies is the notion of
'freedom'. Capitalism, Utilitarianism, Secularism, Democracy, Feminism, etc all
revolve around some notion or strain of 'freedom'.
Instead of falling into the propaganda trap of criticizing 'freedom', we must
define what freedom is. By propaganda trap i mean that the term 'freedom' has
lost its intellectual foundations in Western thought and has become a tool of
propaganda by the Powers that be in order to justify the oppression that they
commit. It is a 'silencing' strategy. When a state claims that it is 'pursuing
freedom', then the critics of state policy will be termed as 'opposing freedom'
since freedom is a binary concept. Either you are with freedom, or you are
against it. Either you are with equality, or you are against. Either you are
with us, or against us. etc etc. So instead of falling into the trap of saying
"hey, we're not down with freedom' instead, ew must say 'lets define
freedom, lets explore it'. Instead of saying "we're critical of
Instead of going ideology by ideology and refuting each one, if we can somehow
refute the Western notion of 'freedom' itself, which is the CORE concept, then
all of the Western ideologies get knocked down. Capitalism, the freedom of
ownership. Secularism, the freedom from male oppression. Feminism, the freedom
from male oppression or inequality between the genders. Democracy, the freedom
from tyranny through majoritarian rules with minority rights. Etc etc.
Western thought, after the collapse of communism, has only Liberal Capitalism
and Democracy to turn too, and a process of evolution has already been
initated. The Weste is turning more and more towards implementing freedom in a
comprehensive manner in all aspects of human civilization.
Islam directly conflicts with this notion of freedom, instead, Islam pushes for
submission to Allah (swt).
These two tendencies are mutually exclusive and cannot co-exist side by side,
the contradiction must collide and only one strain can be dominant. The
struggle between freedom and submission is in reality the struggle between iman
and kufr.
Last but not least, the only reason we should discuss Western thought is in
order to refute it. Why do we as Muslims care about democracy or capitalism or
feminism? Why discuss it? Have we mastered the concepts of the Quran and
Sunnah? no. We shoul first and and foremost return to our base, and that is
Aqeedah, Fiqh,a nd Tazkiyyah. Once we've mastered the Islamic sciences, then we
should look elsewhere.
May Allah (swt) protect us from a knowledge that is useless and raise up a
group of people to call people back to the correct path. ameen.
Nationalism
Islam is not against the notions of nations, in fact, Islam recognizes nations.
Even though it is self evident that
the construction of these particular Nation-States that currently make up the
Muslim world (like
In reality, there are some
instances where the masses did resist the legitimacy of nation-states such as
when the state of
Next, we deal with the concern that
if the masses didn’t view the nation-state to be legitimate, then why did they
fight for it? There could be multiple reasons for why individuals fought for
the defense of the state such as personal interest or to defend the homeland
against a foreign group. In fact, under the threat of subjugation, it is often
the case that internal rivalries and conflicts subside for the common defense.
Furthermore, we should not assume that these people were fighting for the
preservation of their language, ethnicity, religion, state or the government,
but perhaps just against a “perceived common threat”. Secondly, there are
examples where Muslims refused to fight for the defense of the nation-state and
in reality, actually fought against it. The best example is the number of Arabs
who fought for the
Another reason that accounts for
why Muslims did not resist the imposition of the international system of nation
states is simply because resistance was prevented by colonialist powers. In a
country like
The next argument against the
legitimacy of the international system of nation-states is the increasing
number of mujahideen who are fighting battles that are geographically situated
outside of their nation-state or even their ‘ethnic/linguistic sphere’ for that
matter. In cases like
In fact, the underlying problem
with the legitimacy of the International System of Nation-States is that not
only is it flawed from a spiritual perspective, but also from an intellectual
perspective for two reasons: 1. The scientific evidence indicating the
impossibility of genetically establishing a ‘nation’ and 2. The fact the way
that the Nation-State system was implemented by the West was in stark
contradiction to the very notion of nationalism that the West utilized in order
to justify these imagined socio-political constructs. To put it simply: The
International System of Nation-States as it stands today is in complete
contradiction with the ideology of Nationalism. Most of the states in the
Middle East and all over the Muslim World (in fact, all over the world
irrespective of religion) are not in conformity with the concept of nationalism
whether it is in the form of religious, linguistic, ethnic, or historical
fraternity. If religious nationalism was the basis for the creation of Pakistan
or Indonesia or Malaysia or Saudi Arabia, then we should have never seen the
demise of the Ottoman Empire since the legitimacy of its state was largely
based on religious nationalism that was valid for a long historical period as
opposed to the states listed above that possess little or virtually no historical
memory because they simply did not exist. If the legitimacy of the Nation-State
System was not supposed to be based on religious nationalism, and instead was
based on racial or ethnic nationalism, then we should have seen the formation
of a unified Arab, Kurdish, Persian, Central Asian, African, and Southwestern
Indian states. Of course,
Ultimately, nationalism fails to be a viable ideology in the 21st century, since it is nearly impossible to implement even one of version of it anywhere in the world in a coherent and systematic manner. Religious nationalism, ethnic nationalism, or linguistic nationalism either individually or in congruity with each other can not be applied. Human nations are a myth, there is an abundance of scientific information through genetics that makes a powerful argument against nationalism. Furthermore, nationalism and loyalty to the Ummah are based on two fundamentally different purposes. Nationalism is utilized by elites to mobilize masses for greater social and political privileges and advantages. Loyalty to the Ummah was ordained by Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) irrespective of whose in power; in other words, it is more of a responsibility than a privilege.
Now that it has been shown that the nation-state system is
flawed based on religious and intellectual grounds alone, it needs to be shown
that the nation-state is flawed on purely economic and political grounds as
well. The nation-state system, it has been occasionally argued, is in the
vested economic interest of individual states and the formation of a
pan-Islamic state is not only ‘backwards’, ‘unmodern’, ‘virtually impossible’,
but also ‘economic suicide’. However, this is simply not the case. The
formation of nation-state is against the economic interest of not only the
Ummah but even these individual states. We will deal first with the claim that
the nation-state system benefits the economic and political situation of these
individual nation-states. Since there is only a finite amount of resources, the
creation of nation-states divides up national ownership of these resources.
Additionally, we should note that Imperial powers were very careful not to put
too many resources in the hands of one particular state which is why we see the
British break
For the reasons stated above, it is self evident on religious, intellectual, and political grounds that the nation-state system that has been constructed over the Ummah is completely illegitimate and is in reality, nothing more than another clever justification for the particular manner in which Western states divided up the region.
Secularism
This is not supposed to be a comprehensive argument against secularism, but a rough sketch against the claim that "secularism" and Islam are somehow compatible.
1) The first argument against the notion of some sort of "islamic system of government" is that its not "explicitly" mentioned in the Quran. People from this category expect that the Quran is a book of commandments and nothing else. The people from this category will not be satisfied until they find an ayah of the Quran that states "Establish a government, and make it do a, b, and c . . "
Response:
a) First off, this type of reasoning is baseless in the first place, because
the sources of legislation in islam are not only the Quran, but also the
Sunnah. The Quran mentions salaat extensively, but nowhere does it define
salat, its precise timings and how to calculate them, how to make wudhu (only 4
steps are mentioned in the Quran), what are the things that negate one's wudhu,
what are the conditiosn for salaat, what are the things that are waajib in
salaat. All of these questiosn are answered in the Sunnah. So to argue that its
not explicitly mentioned in the Quran is invalid i) because the Quran is a book
of guidance and not just commandments. If it was, people would complain that
the Quran is too much of a burden. ii) the quran is not the only source of
legislation in Islam.
b) Furthermore, there is a 'selective' reading of the Quran in this aspect. People will argue that the Quran should LITERALLY state the need for the establishment of an Islamic government. however, they overlook the other ayaat that institute the Hudood punishment for a theif or a fornicator. If the Quran states it, and it is the word of Allah (swt) not to be questioned, but obeyed, then why don't the secularists go and implement these verses as well? They argue against an Islamic government because its not 'explicitly' mentioned in the Quran, however, the hudood punishments ARE mentioned in the Quran. Why do the secularists overlook these verses? Its because they want to read the Quran selectively. Furthermore, the existence of the hudood punishment automatically logically lead a person with an iota of common sense to conclude that if these verses are to be taken literally, there must be a method of executing them, ie an Islamic government of some sort.
2) The second argument people use
to validate secularism is by pointing out the flaws of the current
Islamic-state paradigms. They point out the flaws of
Response:
a) I would like to first point out
that there is no such thing as a 'perfect state' in our day and age. If state's
were perfect, then there would be no need for governments in the first place.
Even in our country, with the last election, the war on Iraq, the detention of
Japanese soldiers, the whole civil rights movements, the annihilation of the
native population, these all point out that even in our system of government,
it has flaws and needs to be developed. So when evaluating other governments,
lets evaluate them in a comprehensive and wholistic manner. When criticizing
the Iranian government for creating conditiosn of poverty, lets kee in mind of
economic sanctions by the US government against it. When criticizing the Saudi
government, lets keep in mind that it has historically since its inception, had
strong relationships with non-Muslim countries like the Soviet Union (it was
the first country to recognize it), Britain (The first country it engaged in
military deals with) and the US (the first country that it engaged in oil
transactiosn with). So before we delve into comparitive politics, lets keep in
mind that there is no such thing as a 'perfect' state or government. No state,
including the one established in Madinah by RasulAllah (saw) still had people
who committed crimes. As long as humans have existed and will continue to
exist, people will break crimes, as such, they will always be a need for a
system of government that executes justice and promotes the good and forbids
the evil. and since good, evil, and justice are intangible, ie beyond the grasp
of the human intellect, then the only source of legislation can be Allah (swt)
and if there is a need to reinterpret the law, it is done through ijtehad, the
mechanism for adopting Islam to new circumstances, and not new values.
b) The other aspect of criticizing the current Islamic regimes is based on the
premise that they are 'failures', primarily in the economic sphere. The
secularists will argue that the Islamic governmetns of today create poverty.
i) first of all, the poverty that
is being experienced all over the Ummah, regardless if it is an Islamic
government/state or not. The poverty is more a by-product of capitalism in the
form of imperial colonialism than any Islamic government
ii) Lets define the term "success". Islam doesn't define 'success in
material terms alone, but moral success and most importantly, success in the
hereafter as well. The biggest problem with Western political thought is that
it neglects the aspect of the hereafter. Islam defines success in a
comprehensive format that benefits the person in this life AND in the
hereafter. Material wealth in this life shouldn't be sought if it will lead
someone to hellfire.
iii) furthermore, Western governments don't even base their argument for their
states on efficiency alone. Efficiency without morality can clearly be
established, as was the case of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Both states
were in complete shambles, and the re-organization of the state along the lines
of 'efficiency' ie material success alone, was clearly a mroe superior
'economic' system then the capitalist West. Both were able to grow
materialistically at stupendous states. So when talking about 'success' lets
make it clear that 'material success' has its limitations, even to the Western
mind.
iv) Also, lets keep in mind that Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia are not all
that different from their Western counterparts in that the former defines
economic success as putting resources and wealth into the hands of the state
and letting the state redistribute it whereas the latter calls for the
minimization of the role of the state (theoretically and on paper alone cuz we
all know that Western states are from the best examples of an implementing
free-market capitalism.) So what distinguishes Western from Fascist governments
is expediency, not a moral system. Jsut keep this in mind when we criticize
modern "islamic" states that are in poverty, cuz its not as radically
differnet as we would think.
v) In regards to a 'moral' system, the West has none. The West bases its entire
legislative and economic system on fulfilling the desires of the masses.
Utilitarianism in one word. In Islam, fulfilling one's desires beyond the
limitations that is defined by the Shariah is non-existent. In Islam, our Laws
establish tranquility in society, not pleasure in society. Western civilization
creates imbalance whereas an Islamic civilization creates balance, and history
validates this point. We can argue this point day and night, but lets just say
that more people were killed by a secular Western civilization in the past
century alone than all of the people killed in any jihad by all of the Muslim
governments of the past combined.
c) This is the most important
point: Islam is not based on a cost-benefit anaylsis. When analyzing whether a
state should be islamic or secular, we don't look at the material benefit. If
we did, then lets ask: whats the 'benefit' of salaat? Whats the 'benefit' of
reading the Quran? This expands on the previous argument that 'success' is not
defined in materialistic terms alone. It is defined by success in this life AND
the hereafter. So we dont' wear hijaab b/c its 'beneficial' but b/c its a
fardh. We don't pray b/c it'll give us money, but b/c its a fardh. We hear and
we obey! Thats how we approach the issue of Islamic political theory. there's a
new Progresive argument out there reviving the notion of "maslaha
mursala" but that can't exist unless its in the context of an Islamic
government to begin with, and maslaha mursala, doesn't supercede the laws of the
Quran and Sunnah, it reinforces it. (Khalid Fadl is wrong on this point, but
then again, all of the people who do taqleed of their desires won't ever agree
taht the great Khalid Fadl can ever be wrong *sarcasm*)
d) The last point: did we even consider whether the said states are even
"islamic" according to Islam? Did we go through the definition of an
Islamic state and apply it the so-called Islamic governments of our day and
age? The Secularists will argue that no such mateiral exists, but it does: Al Mawardi's
al ahkam al sultanniyyah, Farabi's the
e) While we're on the topic of benefit, lets discuss the hudood. When a person commits
a crime and gets punished with the Hadd punishment, that person's punishment is
a form of repentance. It absolves them of the sin in this life and purifies
them for the hereafter. So hudood 'benefits' the person if the definition of
'benefit' is properly understood.
3) Shariah does not exist.
This is on the VERGE of ignorance. First off, its not written down into a
singular document, but taht doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Two Western states
exist (well technically, the second one isn't a state, but an entity) taht
don't even have written constitutions,