Ruling on Easter Show.

All-Praise is due to Allah,

It is not permissible for a Muslim to take part in the festivals and innovated celebrations of the kuffaar, such as Easter, Christmas and so on, because taking part and attending is helping in this evil, and increasing their numbers, and imitating them, all of which is not allowed. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2] 

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4031); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (5/109). 

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

It is not permissible for the Muslims to attend the festivals of the mushrikeen, according to the consensus of the scholars whose words carry weight. The fuqaha’ who follow the four schools of thought have stated this clearly in their books… Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that he said: “Do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their churches on the day of their festival, for divine wrath is descending upon them.” And ‘Umar also said: “Avoid the enemies of Allaah on their festivals.” Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that he said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebrates their new year and festival and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” (Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/723-724) 

The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked about Argentinean national celebrations and celebrations that are held in their churches such as Independence Day, and Christian Arab celebrations such as Easter. 

They replied: It is not permissible for Muslims to hold such celebrations or attend them or participate in them with the Christians, because that is helping in sin and transgression, and Allaah has forbidden that. 

And Allaah is the Source of strength. End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (2/76). 

To sum up: It is not permissible to celebrate the festivals of the kuffaar or to participate in them, whether they do any religious practices in them or limit it to play and entertainment, because just celebrating it is a haraam innovation, but attending their religious rituals is more haraam. 

The Muslim should spend this day like any other day, and not have any special food or drink on it, or do anything else to show happiness that is done by those who celebrate this festival, such as going out to parks, funfairs  and so on, so as to disavow himself of the sins of approving or taking part. 

And Allah knows best...

See Islam Q&A Fatwa: 101347.

Receiving gifts on new years

Q; Assalamu alaikum wr wb, we received a cake from a bakery on new years eve, so is it permissible to eat it? A; All-Praise is due to Allah, With regard to gifts given on their festivals, it is not permissible to give or accept them, because that is venerating their festivals and expressing approval of them and helping them in their kufr. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If someone gives a gift to the Muslims on these festivals and that is contrary to his habit at all other times apart from this festival, then his gift is not to be accepted, especially if the gift is something that is used to imitate them, such as giving candles and the like at Christmas, or giving eggs, milk and lambs on Maundy Thursday, which comes at the end of their fast (Lent). Similarly, no gift should be given to any of the Muslims on these festivals because of the festival, especially if it is something that is used to imitate them, as we have stated above. The Muslim should not sell the things that Muslims could use to imitate them on that festival, such as food, clothing and the like, because that is helping them in doing evil. Iqtida’ Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p. 227. And Allah knows best… See Islam Q&A Fatwa: 82860.

Looking after sick mother instead of going to Hajj.

Q: if someone is going to perform hajj and her mother is so sick that he cant leave her alone at home. and mother also dont want him to go.... so in this situation what should he do.should he leave her alone and go ?????? 

A: All-Praise is due to Allah,

If the mother of the mentioned person is sick and has no one other than him to nurse and serve her, then he should postpone going for Hajj, especially if she does not permit him (to go for Hajj) because she needs him. Jurists have stated that one should not go for Hajj if he fears that his parents would be harmed. It was stated in Radd Al-Muhtaar ‘ala Ad-Durr Al-Mukhtaar by Ibn ‘Aabideen Al-Hanafi: "Traveling for the purposes of trade or offering Hajj and ‘Umrah is permissible without taking (parents') permission unless one fears that they will be harmed." [End quote]

It was stated in the Fataawa of Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen : "It is not permissible for the children to obey their fathers or mothers in neglecting Hajj if it is something obligatory upon them; as there is no obedience to a creature in disobeying the Creator, unless the fathers or mothers have a legitimate excuse to prevent them. If this is the case, children are obligated to postpone offering Hajj until the excuse for postponement is removed." [End quote]

There is absolutely no doubt that the sickness of the mother and her need of someone to take care of her is an excuse that allows her son to postpone offering Hajj and he will not be sinful.

Allaah Knows best…

Islamweb Fatwa: 215467.

Dua' for stress, grief & dept.

Q;I'm in a great hardship,in a very difficult situation, really very tensed due to a problem,

Please plz plzzz do DUA for me...may be the DUAs of people like you would reach early to ALLAH... I'm feeling as though my life has stopped and I found myself to be in a great great loss of Deen or Duniya. Please do DUA for me...

If there is any "amal" or dua for solving the "masaa'il" then also,please tell me. May ALLAH solve your all problems,

and accept your DUAs.

JazakALLAH Khayr,

Wassalamu'Alaykum.

A;  All-Praise is due to Allah, 

I ask Allah to aid you in all your affairs and make things easy for you. As for Dua there are many the Prophet (ﷺ) has mentioned for times of hardship and feeling down, and among the few are as follows: 

A man once complained to the Prophet (ﷺ) I am distressed and I am in dept, so is there any Dua' you can teach me that will relive me form stress and clear my depts. So the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Yes, every morning and evening say:

 اللَّهمَّ إنِّي أعوذُ بِك منَ الهمِّ والحزنِ وأعوذُ بِك منَ العجزِ والكسلِ وأعوذُ بِك منَ الجبنِ والبخلِ وأعوذُ بِك من غلبةِ الدَّينِ وقَهرِ الرِّجالِ 

Allah-Huma ini aadhoubika minal-Hami wa Hazani wa aadhoubika minal-A'jazi Wal-Kasali wa aadhoubika minal-Jubni Wal-Bukhali wa aadhoubika minal-Ghalabit ad-dayn wa Qahr ar-rijal.

"O Allah I seek refuge in You from worry and grief, I seek refuge in You from hopelessness and laziness, I seek refuge in You from miserliness and cowardice and I seek refuge in You from overwhelming debt and from the force of men".

For verily if you say this it will relive you of stress and clear your depts.

(Related in Takhreej Al-Mashkat Al-Masabih: [3/15], and Ibn Hajr grades it as Hasan)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There will be none that be's infected with worry or grief whome recites :

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ، ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُــــلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَداً مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ القُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجَلاَءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي.

Allaahumma 'innee 'abduka, ibnu 'abdika, ibnu 'amatika, naasiyatee biyadika, maadhin fiyya hukmuka, 'adlun fiyya qadhaa'uka, 'as'aluka bikulli ismin huwa laka, sammayta bihi nafsaka, 'aw 'anzaltahu fee kitaabika, 'aw 'allamtahu 'ahadan min khalqika, 'awista'tharta bihi fee 'ilmil-ghaybi 'indaka, 'an taj'alal-Qur'aana rabee'a qalbee, wa noora sadree, wa jalaa'a huznee, wa thahaaba hammee .

O Allah, I am Your slave and the son of Your male slave and the son of your female slave . My forehead is in Your Hand (i.e. you have control over me) . Your Judgment upon me is assured and Your Decree concerning me is just . I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself with , revealed in Your Book , taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You , to make the Qur'an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued to say after mentioning this Dua': Except that Allah will free him of his worries and grief and replace it with glad tidings. Then a man asked: O' messenger of Allah should we memorise this Dua'. The Prophet (ﷺ) replied: Yes, everyone that hears it should memorise it.

(Related by Ahmad 1/391, and Al-Albani graded it authentic).

Related by Abu Darda, that he said: Whosoever says every morning and evening:

حَسْبِيَ الله لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيهِ تَوَكَّلتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ.

‘HasbiAllahu La Ilaha Illahu, Alaihi Tawakaltu Wahua Rabbul Arshil Adheem.

Allah sufficeth me. There is none worthy of worship but He alone. On Him is my trust, He is the Lord of the Supreme Throne.

Upon saying this seven times (every morning and evening), Allah will suffice for his worries.

(Hisnil-Muslim: [83/104], and Sheikh Bin Baz grades it as an authentic chain narration in Majmooa' Al-Fatawa: [294/9] ).

These and many more supplications can be found in a book called "The Fortress of the Muslim" also known as "Hisnil-Muslim", and among the most recommended supplications to read from that book is the chapter titled as: "Words of remembrance for morning and evening".

Always remember making Dua' to Allah is recommended at any time in any language, so always turn to Allah in supplication for help in all times of need, for verily Allah will protect all of His slaves that worship Him as one seeking His aid.

I ask Allah to free you of your grief and stress and to free you of your depts, Amin.

And we send our salutation and blessings of Allah upon our honourable Prophet, and may all Praises be to Allah The Lord of the worlds....

 

Ruling on Witr Prayer.

Q; Is witr prayer obligatory ? Because I use to miss it thinking it is not obligatory.

A; All-Praise is due to Allah,

Witr prayer is Sunnah mu’akkadah (a confirmed suunah) according to the majority of scholars, and some of the fuqaha’ regarded it as obligatory. 

The fact that it is not obligatory is indicated by the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (1891) and Muslim (11) from Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what prayers has Allaah enjoined on me?” He said: “The five prayers, unless you do anything voluntarily.” The version narrated by Muslim says: “Five prayers every day and night.” He said: “Do I have to do anything else?’ He said, “No, unless you do it voluntarily.” 

Al-Nawawi said: 

This indicates that Witr prayer is not obligatory. End quote. 

Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath: 

This indicates that no prayers during the day and night are obligatory apart from the five prayers; this is contrary to the view of those who say that Witr or the two Sunnah rak’ahs of Fajr are obligatory. End quote. 

However it is the most confirmed Sunnah and was enjoined by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in more than one hadeeth. 

Muslim (754) narrated from Abu Sa’eed (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Perform Witr before morning comes.” 

Abu Dawood (1416) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people of the Qur’aan, pray Witr, for Allaah is One and loves that which is odd-numbered.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

Hence we should continue to offer Witr prayer regularly, whether travelling or not, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do. Al-Bukhaari (1000) and Muslim (700) narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was on a journey, atop his mount, whichever direction it was facing, gesturing the motions of the night prayer, except the obligatory prayer, and he prayed Witr atop his mount.” 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Witr is not obligatory. This is the view of Maalik and al-Shaafa’i. Abu Haneefah said: it is obligatory. Then he said: Ahmad said: Whoever omits to pray Witr deliberately is a bad man, whose testimony should not be accepted. He wanted to emphasize that it is confirmed because of the ahaadeeth which say that it is enjoined and encouraged. End quote from al-Mughni, 1/827 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: Is Witr prayer obligatory, and will the one who prays it on some days and not on others be punished for that? 

They replied: 

Witr prayer is Sunnah mu’akkadah (a confirmed Sunnah) which the believer should adhere to. Whoever prays it on some days and not on others will not be blamed for that, but he should be advised to pray Witr regularly. It is prescribed to pray two rak’ahs during the day instead if a person misses it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do that, as it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: If sleep or sickness kept him from praying at night, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would pray twelve rak'ahs during the day. Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) usually prayed eleven rak’ahs at night, saying the salaam after each two rak'ahs then praying one rak'ah on its own. But if sleep or sickness kept him from doing that, he would pray twelve rak’ahs during the day, as ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) stated. Based on this, if a person usually prays five rak’ahs at night but he sleeps or misses them for any other reason, it is prescribed for him to pray six rak’ahs during the day, saying salaam after each two rak’ahs. If his habit is to pray three rak’ahs, then he should pray four rak'ahs with two salaams, and if his habit is to pray seven rak’ahs, he should pray eight with the salaam after each two rak’ahs. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 7/172.

Islam Q&A Fatwa: 36793.

And Allah knows best... 

Seeking parent permission to engage in Jihad.

Q; Assalamu alikum. Brother I have a question troubling me for some time. I have read that jihad becomes fard on every able bodied Muslim when his Muslim land is occupied militarily. Afghanistan has been occupied for more than 11 years and it is clear jihad must be fard on surrounding countries. The question is that I want to join the jihad against the Nato oppressors but both my parents do not allow me. What should I do ? Please explain this clearly since I have been troubled for some time

A; All-Praise is due to Allah,

The basic principle with regard to jihaad is that it is fard kifaayah, i.e. if a sufficient number of people undertake this duty, then there is no sin on the rest of the community. If it is fard kifaayah, then the mujaahid is obliged to seek permission before going for jihaad. He has to seek his parents’ permission if they are Muslim, regardless of whether they are rich or not and regardless of whether they can do without his help or not, because the texts clearly state that he has to seek his parents’ permission. One such text was reported in al-Saheehayn from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, who said that a man came to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for permission to go for jihaad. He said, ‘Are your parents still alive?’ [The man said] ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then your jihaad is with them.’ Imaam Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Ibn Hibbaan narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent a man who had made hijrah from the Yemen back to his parents. He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said, ‘Did they give you permission?’ [The man] said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Go back to them and seek their permission, and if they give you permission, then go for jihaad, otherwise honour and respect them.’

The above applies in cases where jihaad has not become obligatory on every single person, i.e., fard ‘ayn. If jihaad becomes fard ‘ayn, then it is not obligatory to seek permission, because in the case of things which are fard ‘ayn, there is no need to seek the permission of anyone. Jihaad becomes fard ‘ayn when a person is in the battlefield, if the enemy invades a Muslim country, if the imaam appoints a person or urges him to fight, or if his particular skills are needed because he has good knowledge of military matters or weapons and so is needed by the mujaahideen, and there is no one else with this knowledge or these skills. 

Islam Q&A Fatwa: 5493.

And Allah knows best...

Wiping on shoes while performing Wudoo (ablution).

Q; Is it correct to wipe over the shoes pls check the arabic text, because jawrabyn means socks of cloth n khuffayn means leather socks but i have never heard about wiping over na'alyn meaning shoes. pls let me know the correct opinion.

A; All-Praise is due to Allah,

On the authority of Aws Ibn Aby Aws Al-Thaqafy, that the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) made ablution and wiped on his shoes and ankles.

Reported by Abu Dawood: (160), and Sheikh Al-Albaani grades it authentic.

In another report Ali Ibn Aby Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) upon nullifying his Wudoo, made ablution and wiped on his shoes then took them off and Prayed.

Reported in Tamam An-Nusah: (87), and Sheikh Al-Albaani grades it authentic.

Narrated by Ibn U'mar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he would make Wudoo while wearing shoes and also wipe on them, and he would say: And this is what the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) would do.

Ad-Dariyah: (1/87), and Ibn Hajr grades in its chain narration as being authentic.

Sheikh Al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

After knowing this it is not permissible for one to deny this concession that has been identified through the Hadiths ... especially through the affirmation of actions from among the Companions (may Allh be pleased with them). Thus as this was performed by Ali Ibn Aby Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and as it was also performed by some of the Salaf As-Salaheen (may Allah be pleased with them all). 

End of quote from Al-Albaani's book: Tamam An-Nusah.

And Allah knows best...