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Showing posts from November, 2017

Animal Rights in Islam: Examples of the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) Mercy Towards Animals

Example 1 Following three narrations are all on the same topic. 1)  Ibn ‘Abbas reported Allah’s Messenger (s) having said: “ Do not make anything having a soul as a target .” (Muslim) 2) Ibn ‘Umar happened to pass by some young men of the (tribe of) Quraish who had tied a bird (and made it a target) at which they had been shooting arrows.  Every arrow that they missed came into the possession of the owner of the bird.  No sooner did they see Ibn ‘Umar, they went away. Thereupon, Ibn ‘Umar said: “Who has done this? Allah has cursed him who does this. The Messenger of Allah cursed those who take anything that has a soul as a shooting target.” (Muslim) 3)  Narrated Ibn ‘Umar: He entered upon Yahya bin Sa`id while one of Yahya’s sons was aiming at a hen after tying it.  Ibn `Umar walked to it and untied it. Then he brought it and said. “Prevent your boys from tying the birds for the sake of killing them, as I have heard the Prophet (s) forbidding the killing of an animal or ot

Why Did the Quraysh Oppose Islam?

By Rameez Abid Greed The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached his message at a time when the people of Mecca were enjoying an easy going life with an abundance of affluence.  The Quraysh were fearful for the loss of income from the pagan pilgrims, who would travel throughout the year to the city for religious purposes, because they relied heavily on the wealth they gathered through the pilgrims’ constant visitation to the sacred house.  They thought it would cut them off financially and they would become poor.  Therefore, they tried to resist the message of Islam in order to secure their wealthy and economic status.  Montgomery Watt writes, “ as the ranks of Muhammad’s followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Ka’aba, the focal point of Makkan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow .” 1 Arrogance Another reason for the opposition of Islam by the Quraysh was pride.  The Quraysh enjoyed the hi

Raising Righteous Children – Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

Source: Tuhfah Al-Mawdud by Ibn Qayyim – P. 158-161 and P. 168-171 Allah Says in the Qur’an [meaning of which is], “ O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones ” [Qur’an 66:6]. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Teach them [the religion] and teach them good manners.” Al-Hasan said, “Command them to obey Allah and teach them goodness.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is reported to have said, “Command your children to pray when they reach the age of seven. Spank them [1] for [not offering] it when they are ten and separate them in their beds [2]” [ Abu Dawud ]. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, “Inspire your children’s first words to be  La ilaha illa Allah  [there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah] and prompt them with it during death” [Al-Hakim] The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is reported to have said, “One of you teaching good manners to his child is better for him than giving half a  sa’

32 Ways of Honoring Your Parents

Source:  How Do We Raise Our Children and What is Obligatory on the Parents and Children  – By Muhammad bin Jameel Zeno, pg. 30-31 Address your parents with proper etiquette and do not say to them  uff  [expression of annoyance] nor rebuke them. And speak to them with good words. Obey your parents always unless it is something sinful, in which case, do not obey them because obedience to the Creator takes preference over obedience to the parents. Be kind to your parents and do not frown at them nor stare at them with anger. Preserve their reputation, honor, and wealth and do not take anything from it without their permission. Do acts to make things easy for them even when they don’t tell you to, for example, helping them [with things], buying supplies for them, etc. Seek advice from them in all of your affairs and apologize when you have to disagree with them. [When they call out to you], quickly answer their calls with smiling faces. Honor your parents’ friends and family m

Helping Your Wife With Household Chores is a Neglected Sunnah

Helping your wife with household chores is a neglected sunnah. Any man that sees it beneath him or is too arrogant to help his wife around the house is acting against the sunnah and is guilty of chauvinistic behavior. In fact, majority of Muslim scholars   are of the opinion   that serving one’s husband is not compulsory on a wife. Imam Malik , al-Shafi’e and Abu Hanifa also support this. Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was asked, “What did the Prophet (ﷺ) use to do in his house?” She replied, “ He used to keep himself busy serving his family (كَانَ يَكُونُ فِي مِهْنَةِ أَهْلِهِ) and when it was the time for prayer he would go for it .” (Bukhari) The word used in the hadith is  Mihnah  (مِهْنَة), which is translated as ‘busy serving’ here,  also means  in the Arabic language ‘work’, ‘job’, ‘profession’, etc. This implies helping your wife in the house is a full time job as well. Whether it’s helping wash the dishes, cooking, cleaning, raising the kids, etc., is all

Rejecting Hadiths: The Fitnah of the Quranists

There are some “Muslims” in our times who follow a recent new movement (19th-20th century) which rejects  hadiths , hence, deviating from the path of mainstream Islam. They pose and comment on many issues related to Islam from their viewpoint and reject many fundamental aspects of our religion.  Worst of all, they try to present their views as the mainstream opinion. It should be made clear that they  do not represent mainstream Islam or Muslims in any way or form. The  ummah  (nation) of Muhammad (pbuh) accepts the Qur’an  and  hadiths as legitimate forms of sources for deriving Islamic laws. We, the mainstream Muslims, acknowledge that both, the Qur’an and hadiths, are a guidance from Allah. Their History: During the colonial period, when most of the Muslim world came under the subjugation of the West, some “scholars” arose in places like Egypt (Taha Hussein), India (Abdullah Chakralawi and Ghulam Ahmed Pervaiz), and Turkey (Zia Gogelup), who began questioning the authenticity