Articles

"From the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque"
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 15-04-2018

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Master Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The place: From the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem; the first of the two Qiblas and the third of the Harams. The blessed land of Prophets and Messengers (PBUT). Whatever is between the two Mosques, including Jordan, is a blessed land since Allah, The Almighty, Said (What means): "whose precincts We did bless" [Al-isra`/1]. The sanctity of this place has joined the two Mosques for a divine wisdom, and that is warning and awakening the Muslim Ummah from the state of inadvertence that it has been going through. This is in order for the Farthest Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa) to remain alive in the heart and conscience of every Muslim so that it continues to be an integral part of his/her creed. Thus, whenever they turn to the Sacred Mosque in prayer, they remember their first Qibla (Al-Aqsa Mosque) and the place from where their Prophet (PBUH) had embarked on his nocturnal journey. This will eventually drive them to liberate it from the yoke of the Jewish occupation. This was manifested in Saladin`s capture of the city of Jerusalem. With Allah`s permission, Al-Aqsa Mosque will be restored and the Muslim Ummah will keep trying to achieve that no matter how costly the price will be. This deep belief in Al-Aqsa can`t be shaken by any international resolution. It is simply recharged whenever the verse (What means): "Glory to (God) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless," [Al-Isra`/1] is recited.

 

At the night of Isra`, belief was manifested in its purest forms for the Prophet (PBUH) has chosen the natural thing. He (PBUH) said: "I entered the mosque and prayed two Rak'ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said: You have chosen the natural thing." [Moslim]. Choosing milk over wine proves that Islam was the natural thing because it indicates righteousness. Milk is a delicious drink for the drinkers, and so is Islam.

 

At the mosque, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led other prophets in prayer to establish the oneness of God for he (PBUH) is the Master and the leader of the Prophets. Abu Hurairah (May Allah Be Pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying: "I shall be pre-eminent among the descendants of Adam, the first from whom the earth will be cleft open the first intercessor, and the first whose intercession will be accepted." [Moslim]. This reflects that the Muslim Ummah has been entrusted with leading humanity and will always be.

 

Anas Bin Malik and Ibn Hazm said: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Allah, The Almighty and Sublime, enjoined fifty prayers upon my Ummah, and I came back with that until I passed by Musa, peace be upon him, who said: 'What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?' I said: 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Musa said to me: 'Go back to your Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He reduced a portion of it. Then I came back to Musa and told him, and he said: "Go back to you Lord, for your Ummah will not be able to do that.' So I went back to my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, and He said: 'They are five (prayers) but they are fifty (in reward), and the Word that comes from Me cannot be changed." [1] I came back to Musa and he said: "Go back to your Lord.' I said: 'I feel too shy before my Lord, the Mighty and Sublime." [Agreed upon].

 

 This is how obligatory prayer was directly prescribed by Allah, The Exalted, to be the backbone of religion and the beginning of the acts of worship and the rope between the slave and his Lord. 

 

However, in the morning after Isra`, people were divided into two groups. One believed what the Prophet (PBUH) had gone through, but the other didn`t, and so disbelieved. In simple words, this event distinguished the pure from the impure.

 

 I pray that Allah, The Almighty, makes this anniversary an incentive for the Muslim Ummah to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I also pray that He blesses Jordan with safety and stability along with the rest of the Islamic countries. And all perfect praise be to The Lord of The Worlds.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it permissible for a woman to wear underwear while performing Umrah?

Yes, it is permissible for a woman to wear underwear while performing Umrah. This is because she should keep her regular clothes that cover all her body while being in a state of Ihram (ritual consecration) for Hajj, or Umrah. However, she should uncover her face and hands, but it is permissible for her to let her head-covering garment drape from her head down over her face when non-Mahram (i.e., marriageable) men pass by her. And Allah Knows Best.

When does the time for the Fajr prayer begin?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The time for the Fajr prayer begins once the Mu’adhin starts the second Adhan (Al-Adhan al-Thani), and not after the first Adhan. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is it permissible to offer an Udhiyah on behalf of the deceased?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial animal) on behalf of a deceased person is permissible. This is the official position of the Hanbali school (as stated in Kashshaf al-Qina’ by al-Bahuti,Vol.6/P.428) and was also upheld by the prominent Shafi'i scholar Al-’Abbadi (mentioned in Bidayat al-Muhtaj by Ibn Qadi Shuhbah,Vol. 4/P.358). It has likewise been narrated as a valid view among some Maliki and Hanafi scholars.
 
In fact, Imam Abu Dawud dedicated an entire chapter in his Sunan collection entitled, "Chapter on Sacrificing on Behalf of the Deceased." In it, he recorded a narration from Hanash, who said: "I saw 'Ali sacrificing two rams, so I asked him, 'What is this?' He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded me to offer a sacrifice on his behalf, so I am sacrificing on his behalf.'"
 
Imam Abu Dawud also narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, this is from You, for You, and on behalf of Muhammad and his Ummah (community). In the Name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest," and he then slaughtered the animal.
 
The textual evidence here lies in the fact that our Master, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), offered a sacrifice on behalf of his entire community—and it is well-established that his community includes those who have already passed away.
 
Furthermore, there is an abundance of sacred texts demonstrating that the rewards of righteous deeds reach the deceased. For instance, it is permissible to fast on behalf of a deceased person who passed away with missed obligatory fasts, and it is equally permissible to perform Hajj on their behalf, both of which are firmly established in authentic Hadiths. Therefore, if the reward of fasting (which is a purely physical act of worship) and Hajj (which is a joint physical and financial act of worship) can reach the deceased, then the reward of an Udhiyah reaches them with greater reason (by way of A Fortiori argument). This is because it is a purely financial act of worship, falling under the general category of charity (Sadaqah).
 
Additionally, scholars have reached a consensus (Ijma') that the rewards of charity reach the deceased, and since the Udhiyah is inherently an act of charity, it falls under the same ruling. Consequently, based on all the aforementioned evidence, we hold the view that offering a sacrifice on behalf of the deceased is entirely permissible. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.