Articles

A Statement on: Calling for the Preservation of Brotherly Ties and the Rejection of Conflict and Disagreement
Author : The General Iftaa' Department
Date Added : 03-04-2014

A Statement on: Calling for the preservation of Brotherly Ties and Rejection of Conflict and Disagreement 

 

All praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions and all those who have followed in his footsteps until the Day of Resurrection:

 

Dear fellow believers!

 

Allah has warned us in the Glorious Quran against disagreement and conflict leading to failure, He Said (What means): "And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with one another, lest you falter and your strength fade; and be patient. Surely God is with the patient." [Al-Anfal/46].

 

Reprehensible disagreement and conflict lead to exchanging accusations, arousing sectarianism and widening disunity within the Muslim nation. This results in failures and weaknesses, and hinders society from progress and prosperity for all of these negative aspects are tantamount to corruption that is denied by any reasonable person.

 

Allah has urged the Muslim community to hold together and to cooperate just like one body; when one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever. Therefore, He warned against disagreements that end with quarrel and division, and commanded holding fast to His solid bond for He , The Most Exalted, Said (What means): "And hold fast to God's bond, together, and do not scatter; remember God's grace upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together so that by His grace you became brothers..." [Al-Imran/103].

 

When Muslims complied with this heavenly guidance, their hearts were brought together against all enemies, and whenever the enemies tried to scatter them, they remembered the Prophet`s saying: "Do not (become infidels) revert to disbelief after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another (killing each other)." [Agreed upon]. Therefore, all of us have to resort to constructive dialogue and advice to achieve the desired reform.                                                                                                                                            .

Dear fellow believers!

 

Abide by the above Hadith (prophetic saying) and the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) and those of the Holy Quran for the Prophet (PBUH) says: "A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue or his hands." [Agreed upon]. He further says: "And anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet. (I.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk)." [Agreed upon].

 

It is incumbent upon us as Muslims to refrain from acts that cause conflict and division so as not to undermine the unity of our homeland. Instead, we should join forces to achieve all that is good to our religion, country, community, and nation. Allah Says in the Holy Quran (What means): "Help one another to righteousness and piety; do not help one another to sin and enmity. And fear God; surely God is severe in retribution." [Al-Ma`idah/2].     

  

Dear brothers!

 

We should be a cause for all that is good and a hindrance to all that is evil for the Prophet (PBUH) said in this regard: "Some people are a cause for all that is good and some are a cause for all that is evil; the former are blessed but the latter are disgraced." [Ibn Majah].

 

The General Iftaa` Department calls on all citizens to observe the teachings of Islam, discard all aspects of division, conflict and disagreement as well as all factors that incite to enmity and hatred among the people of the community, and to follow the advice of the Prophet: "I have left in you  that which will not lead you astray if you abide by it: The Holy Quran and the Prophetic tradition." [At-Tirmithi/ Graded it as a sound & strange Hadith (a strange one due to few narrators of the above Hadith].

 

We ask Allah, The Almighty, to safeguard our beloved country along with the rest of the Islamic countries, and praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

 

And peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you all.

 

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on praying while wearing shoes?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

There is no sin for a Muslim to perform prayer while wearing their sandals or shoes, provided they are free from any impurities (najasa). It was narrated that Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: 'Did the Prophet ﷺ pray in his sandals?' He replied: 'Yes.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari).

It is stated in Fath al-Bari (Vol.1/P.494) by Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him): "Regarding the phrase 'praying in his sandals,' Ibn Battal said: 'This is understood to apply as long as there is no impurity on them; furthermore, this is considered one of the legal concessions (rukhas)." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

How to perform the witr prayer in terms of connection (wasl) and separation (fasl)?

 
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The Witr prayer has several forms that vary in terms of virtue:
 
The First Form: Separating every two units (rak‘ah) with a Tashahhud and a Taslim (salutation). This is superior to connecting the units, even if it is only a single rak‘ah. This is based on the Hadith of ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray eleven units between the end of the ‘Isha prayer and dawn, performing the Taslim after every two units and performing Witr with a single unit.' (Related by al-Bukhari & Muslim).
 
The Second Form: Connecting the units with only one final Tashahhud at the very end.
 
The Third Form: Connecting with two Tashahhuds—meaning reciting the Tashahhud before the final unit without performing the Taslim, then standing to complete the final unit. This form is considered the lowest in rank so that the Witr prayer remains distinct from the obligatory Maghrib prayer, as stated in the Hadith: 'Do not make the Witr resemble the Maghrib prayer.' (Narrated by Al-Daraqutni, who stated its narrators are trustworthy).
 
It is stated in Bushra al-Karim Sharh al-Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah: 'It is permissible to connect [the Witr] with one Tashahhud in the final unit—which is better—or with two Tashahhuds in the last two units, as both methods are established in Sahih Muslim from the actions of the Prophet ﷺ. In the connected method, more than two Tashahhuds are prohibited. Furthermore, separating (al-Fasl) is better than connecting (al-Wasl) if the number of units is the same, because the Hadiths supporting it are more numerous and it involves more devotional actions.' And Allah the Exalted knows best."

What is the ruling on entering the toilet with something containing the remembrance of Allah?

It is disliked to bring into the toilet anything containing a reminder of Allah, such as the Quran or a sacred name (like the name of Allah, Muhammad, etc.). If one does that, etiquette dictates that he conceal it so it is not visible while entering the toilet, either by cupping his hands over it, putting it in his pocket, or inside his shirt if it is a necklace or ring. And Allah  the Almighty knows best.