What is Alhamdulillah?

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

We are the people of Alhamdulillah.

 What does Alhamdulillah mean? It is two things:

1. That you thank Allah

2. Appreciation and praise is for Allah

Thanks and praise are two separate things. You can see a beautiful building, and you will praise it but you will not thank it. You will see a beautiful car, and you will praise it but you won't thank it. 

Sometimes the opposite happens. You may thank someone but you won't praise them. 

Allah says that the Muslim has to be grateful to his parents no matter what, even if his parents are not Muslim. Even if they want you to leave your faith, you still have to be grateful to them. You will not praise their shirk (non-belief), but you will still thank them. 

So, sometimes in life, you can have praise without thanks. And, sometimes in life, you can have thanks without praise.

 Another example of this is Firown. He raised the Prophet Musa (as) in his home. Many years later, Prophet Musa (as) came back to him, and Firown reminded him, saying, "Didn't you live many years here? Didn't we raise you as a newborn in this house?" He was reminding Prophet Musa (as) of his favour. And, obviously, when someone does you a favour, you owe them thanks. Prophet Musa (as) realised the favour, and he did thank him. He thanked Firown but he never ever praised him. 

When we say Alhamdulillah, then we are praising Allah for whatever He is doing, and we are also thanking Him for doing it. There are people of other religions who believe in God, but they don't have Alhamdulillah. Some Muslims don't understand Alhamdulillah. When we say it, we should be grateful from the bottom of our hearts. For all the things that are going wrong in your life, there are more things that are going right. There are so many other things that could be wrong with you. 

Being people of Alhamdulillah, we are constantly grateful and we are constantly positive. If we understood Alhamdulillah, we would never be depressed. A Muslim cannot be depressed. Muslims themselves complain about the state of the Muslims. Allah is the One who can change our circumstances. All we need to do is turn to Him and say Alhamdulillah, and be positive.

May Allah make us the sincere people of Alhamdulillah - Ameen!

Wasalaam!

Ijtihad and the Four Schools of Thought

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

For 23 years, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) ruled with justice and spread peace, love and harmony. After he passed away, his companions came into succession, and conquered many countries around the world.

Great and noble companions were sent out to govern these lands. As governors, they came across many issues in their day to day lives for which the public needed answers. 

So, these pious rulers would carry out the process of Ijtihad, which was also done by the companions of the Prophet (saw) during his lifetime.

What is Ijtihad?

Ijtihad is the reasoning process through which Islamic laws are deduced after thorough research from the Quran and Ahadith.

Ijtihad is only carried out in debatable texts of the Quran and Ahadith.

If the verse or Hadith was too brief to understand, if they contained more than one meaning or other text from the Quran or Ahadith seemed to contradict it, then the process of Ijtihad was applied.

As many years passed by, these rulers lived and then departed from this world. During this time, the process of Ijtihad was still fully established.

The answers to the many questions posed by the people would be brought together and would be recorded along with the answers.

Then, on 5th September 699 CE or 80 Hijri, a boy named Nu'maan bin Thabit was born. He lived in the city of Kufa in Iraq. This boy grew up to become a great scholar of Islam - Imam Abu Hanifa (ra). He became a leader and also applied the process of Ijtihad. 

One day, this wise Imam decided to compile all the Islamic law (Fiqh) together for others to benefit from and to share his knowledge. He also wished to eradicate all those governors and judges who were taking advantage of different opinions and principles in the process of Ijtihad and using them in the wrong way.

Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) chose 40 of his most intellectual students. These pupils had such intellect that each one was a Mujtihad (he carried out Ijtihad) within himself. Some of these illustrious souls were Imam Muhammad (ra), Imam Abu Yusuf (ra) and Imam Zufar (ra).

They were posed with hypothetical issues (issues that had not yet occurred) to tackle. People disapproved and said, "Why tackle issues that have not yet happened?" But Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) answered, "A scholar should always be prepared in advance".

The students were given questions to investigate. They did the research by using sources such as the Quran, the Sunnah, general and individual opinions of the Sahabah (ra), analogical deductions, preferences as well as local customs. 

Through this process the Islamic law (fiqh) of Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) was formed.

Many years passed, and another scholar was born in the city of Madinah. His name was Imam Malik bin Anas (ra) and he was born in 711 CE or 93 years after the Hijrah. He was alive in the time of Imam Abu Hanifa (ra), and he also applied the process of Ijtihad. 

The question may come that why was the rulings and the Ijtihad of these two Imams different although they lived during the same time period? The answer is simple. It is because of the different situations in the cities in which these respected Imams lived. In Madinah, there was less corruption when compared to Kufa, as this was the core of the eruption of the different sects of Islam.

Years later, the third legendary scholar was born. His name was Imam Muhammad bin Idrees As-Shafi (ra). He was born in 767 CE or 150 Hijri. He gained his knowledge from teachers such as Imam Malik (ra) and the students of Imam Abu Hanifa (ra), as Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) had passed away. After acquiring his knowledge, Imam Shafi (ra) used the method of Ijtihad, in accordance to his principles and formed his own set of rulings.

The fourth and final noble Imam was Imam Ahmad bin Hambal (ra). He was born in 780 CE or 161 Hijri. He gained his knowledge direct from Imam Shafi (ra), and the students of Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) and Imam Malik (ra). Imam Ahmad (ra) also carried out rulings regarding the issues in accordance with the situation at the time. However, his book was not compiled by him but rather by his son. 

All of these four Imams progressed and benefited Islam greatly. The coming of the new centuries brought the biggest changes to the Islamic law - Fiqh, leaving the great works of Ijtihad behind. This happened gradually as the new generation of students studied the Quran and the Ahadith.

However, instead of applying Ijtihad, they began to study the books of the previous great scholars in detail and the methods that the scholars used to derive these laws. 

They realised that these gifted and wise scholars had answered all the questions in the best possible manner, and it was pointless for them to go back and unravel them again. 

The four illustrious Imams had never thought that such a day would come when people would be fully dependant on them and other scholars. 

However, as time passed, this is exactly what happened. Within 150 years, the Islamic law (Fiqh) of these four Imams became famous, and spread across the world shaping the Four Schools of Thought that are known today as - Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hambali.

Wasalaam!

The Month of Shawwal

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

When Ramadan ends, the month of Shawwal begins – on Eid ul Fitr day! When Shawwal begins, our test begins. We have just spent a whole month boosting our Imaan - it is up to us now to continue performing these good deeds throughout the rest of the year.

The scholars say that the sign of acceptance of good deeds in Ramadan is that we remain firm and regular on our good actions after this month is over – our connection with Allah should be stronger than ever!

We should ask ourselves: does Allah deserve to obeyed properly only in this one month? Does Allah deserve to be worshipped properly only in this one month? He looks after us during the rest of the 11 months so we owe Him at least this much.

Some Advice to help maintain an Islamic lifestyle after Ramadan

·       Keep up with the recital of the Quran. Keep your target small but consistent. A Hadith says that the most beloved deed to Allah are the regular ones, even if they amount to little in quantity. Why are the Muslims in such troubles today? Because they have left the greatest gift of Allah, and so they have lost the help of Allah.

·       Keep listening to Islamic lectures online etc – these are very beneficial and will give your Imaan a boost!

·       Study Islam and increase your knowledge about your religion and the Shariah. Try and learn the simple rulings, improve your tajweed or read the life story and sayings of the Prophet (saw). The more we learn about our religion, the more we will begin to recognise our creator and realise what He expects from us. This will help us to do things which please Allah and keep away from those things that anger Him.

·       Finally, the most important, regular 5 times Salah and to make dua at least once a day! Salah when performed 5 times a day will prevent you from almost every major sin: Indeed the prayer wards off indecency and lewdness (Surah Ankabut).

Stay firm on salah in times of happiness and fear, day and night, when free and when busy.

With salah comes dua! What can be said of the person who makes dua to Allah 5 times a day after each salah? You will find that all your worries and troubles will be gradually eased. You will become happy and content for you will come to appreciate and see that Allah does everything in His own time, according to his own wisdom and always does things which are best for us!

There is a saying: When Allah answers your dua straight away, it is because He is testing your faith. When Allah does not answer your dua straight away, it is because He is testing your patience. When Allah does not answer your dua at all, it is because He has something better for you. Those who happily leave everything in Allah’s hand will see Allah’s hand in everything.

Remember, regardless of your past, your mistakes and your ignorance, it’s a new start for all. If the likes of Hazrat Umar (ra) were transformed from the strongest of enemies to the 2^nd greatest companion, and was buried next to the Prophet (saw), then there is hope for us all. As long as we are willing to take advantage of Allah’s mercy by repenting over the past and making firm good intentions for the future.

A verse in the Quran reads in Surah Nisaa Verse 147:

What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.

This verse shows us that the way to Allah is simple - we must be grateful to Him and believe in Him. This means that we should act upon all His commands and follow the way of His beloved - the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Six Fasts of Shawwal

Shawwal is the first of the 3 months named Ashur – ul – Hajj – the months of Hajj. We should try and keep 6 optional/nafl fasts in this month.

“Whoever completes the fasts of Ramadan, then adds to them the fast of six days in the month of Shawwal, it will carry the reward of fasting the whole year” (Muslim)

How does this work? Ramadan was 30 fasts, if we add the 6 fasts of Shawwal that is 36. Every good deed in Islam is multiplied by 10 and 36 multiplied by 10 is 360. There are 365 days in a year but fasting on 5 of these days is forbidden so that equals to 360!

In the Hadith, it mentions that anyone who does this always it’s as though he has fasted his entire life!

It’s better to keep any qadha fasts of this Ramadan first, then these six fasts. The six fasts do not have to kept straight away but in any order – as long as they are in Shawwal.

May Allah accept all our worship during Ramadan, and give us the ability to carry on worshipping Him properly throughout the rest of the year - Ameen!

Wasalaam!

Eid - ul - Fitr

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

One of the biggest examples of Shaytaans deception is on the day of Eid. We try our utmost best during the whole month of Ramadan yet after all that worship, all that hunger and namaz, our duas and worship on the odd nights and the 27^th night, we wash away our good deeds with the wave of sins committed on the day of joy – the day of Eid.

This day of Eid is our test from Allah. We should remain fearful and scared of Allah on this day more than any other. Remember, that if we stay strong and refrain from sins, then perhaps others too will see the light. Invite towards good and stop people from evil!

Eid is and should be a day of happiness and joy, but our happiness and celebrations should lie within the boundaries of Shariah. Give in charity especially the Fitranah before the Eid prayer, and remember those less fortunate than us in your prayers. There are so many Muslims in the world who are suffering and don’t even have enough food in Ramadan let alone for Eid!

Sunnats of Eid ul Fitr

·       To awaken earlier than usual

·       To brush the teeth with miswaak

·       To have a bath (ghusl)

·       To be well dressed in an Islamic manner

·       To dress in ones best clothes (not necessarily new)

·       To use itr

·       To perform Eid salah at the place of prayer

·       To eat an odd number of dates or anything sweet before Eid salah

·       To go to the place of salah early

·       To walk to the place of Eid salah (if within distance)

·       To read the takbeerat silently and frequently on the way to Eid salah

·       To use different routes to and from the Eid salah

·       To say Eid Mubarak is permissible but shouldn’t be done as a strict ritual

Wasalaam!

The Night Before Eid

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Abu Hurayra (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said, “My Ummah were given five things for Ramadan which were not given to anyone except them. For them, the smell from the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter than the fragrant smell of musk. The fish in the sea seek forgiveness for the fasting persons until they break their fast. Allah prepares and decorates a special garden in Paradise everyday and then says to it, “The time is near when My faithful servants shall cast aside the great trials of the world and come to you”. In this month the evil minded Shaytaan is chained so as not to reach those evils to which they normally reach during other months besides Ramadan. On the last night of Ramadan, they are forgiven”.

The Companions (ra) asked, “O Messenger of Allah, is the last night Laylatul Qadr?” The Prophet (saw) replied, “No. But it is only right that a servant should be given his reward on having completed his service”. (Bayhaqi)

This is why the night before Eid is called Laylatul Jaaizah – the Night of Prize Giving.

We learn from the Hadith that:

·       the last night of Ramadan holds a special virtue over its previous days and nights

·       The coming of Eid is a great happiness to the Muslims, so in order to increase the joy, why not end the blessed month with a bonus earning of reward?

·       This doesn’t mean that we have to spend the whole of the night in worship, but we should at least try to perform extra nafl salah, read a few extra tasbeehs, recite extra Quran and make heartfelt dua.

     Inshallah, by doing even a little extra worship, we will be included in the Hadith where:

The Prophet (saw) said, “Whoever stands up in worship in the nights preceding the two Eids, expecting reward from his Lord, his heart will not die when the other hearts will die i.e. on the Day of Judgement”. (Ibn Majah)

Wasalaam!