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

Is washing the private part after urinating (Istinjaa`) a condition, and is it done with water and soap, or with water only?

Istinjaa` is obligatory for removing impurity, and it can be done with toilet paper, or a stone, or water. It is preferable to do Istinjaa` first with paper, or stone, or the like, then to wash the private part with water until making sure that the impurity has been removed. Using soap is not a condition, but there is no harm in doing so provided that it is washed off with water. It is also permissible to use either water, or paper if impurity is removed by any.

What is the ruling on using the *subḥah* (prayer beads) to count during *tasbīḥ* and *dhikr*?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is recommended to use the ordinary or electronic subḥah (prayer beads or counter) to count tasbīḥ, dhikr, and istighfār, because it helps one to remember Allah. Many reports have been transmitted from the Companions and the Followers (tābiʿūn) showing that they continued to use strings of date pits as an aid to dhikr and tasbīḥ.
It is one of the lawful means of worship. Indeed, what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely that he counted tasbīḥ on his right hand, shows that it is permissible to count tasbīḥ with whatever helps a Muslim keep track of the number. There is therefore no basis for calling it an innovation (bidʿah), and we know of no jurist who said so.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a dedicated treatise on the subject titled al-Minḥah fī al-Subḥah, printed within al-Ḥāwī li’l-Fatāwī (vol. 4–6).
Shaykh al-Islām Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Does the subḥah have a basis in the Sunnah? He replied: “Yes, and al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī wrote on this. Among the evidence is what is authentically reported from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both): ‘I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) counting tasbīḥ on his hand.’ Ibn Abī Shaybah, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī also narrated: ‘Hold fast to tasbīḥ, tahlīl, and taqdīs, and do not be heedless, lest you forget the affirmation of Allah’s oneness (tawḥīd). Count them on the fingertips, for they will be questioned and made to speak.’ Counting tasbīḥ with pebbles, date pits, and a knotted string has also been reported from a group of the Companions and those after them. Some scholars held that counting on the fingertips is better than the subḥah, based on the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar. Others distinguished, saying: if the one reciting is safe from miscounting, counting on the fingertips is better; otherwise the subḥah is better.” [al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā, Vol.1/p.152]. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on sitting between the two prostrations, and what is the ruling on the dhikr recited during it?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Sitting between the two prostrations (al-jalsah bayna al-sajdatayn) is one of the pillars (arkān) of the prayer, while the dhikr recited during it is Sunnah according to the Shāfi'ī scholars. It is recommended (mustahabb) to say what was narrated from Ibn 'Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say between the two prostrations in the night prayer: 'Rabbi ighfir lī, warhamnī, wajburnī, warzuqnī, warfa'nī' (My Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, make good my deficiencies, provide for me, and raise me)." If one were to say a different supplication instead, such as "Rabbi ighfir lī" (My Lord, forgive me), the prayer would still be valid.
If the worshipper omits this dhikr between the two prostrations, whether intentionally or out of forgetfulness, their prayer remains valid and nothing is required of them, though they miss the reward of following the Sunnah. Leaving it out does not necessitate the prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw).
It is stated in Hāshiyat al-Bājūrī 'alā Sharḥ Ibn Qāsim 'alā Matn Abī Shujā' (Vol.1/P.298): "The eleventh — i.e., of the eighteen pillars — his statement: 'sitting between the two prostrations,' meaning even in a supererogatory (nafl) prayer... his statement: 'with the supplication that has been narrated concerning it,' meaning: 'Rabbi ighfir lī, warhamnī, wajburnī, warfa'nī, warzuqnī, wahdinī, wa 'āfinī' (My Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, make good my deficiencies, raise me, provide for me, guide me, and grant me well-being). Al-Ghazālī added: 'wa'fu 'annī' (and pardon me). Al-Mutawallī also added: 'Rabbi hab lī qalban taqiyyan, naqiyyan min al-shirk, bariyyan lā kāfiran wa lā shaqiyyan' (My Lord, grant me a heart that is God-fearing, pure from associating partners with You, innocent, neither disbelieving nor wretched)."And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law regarding one who purchases a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) and it then develops a defect before slaughter?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a defect that invalidates the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) arises after its purchase — for example, if one purchased a sound, defect-free animal, and it then developed a limp, blindness in one eye, or a similar defect before slaughter — it does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah, according to the Shāfi'ī school.
It is stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib (Vol.1/P.535): "Even if the limp develops [in the animal] while the knife is upon it, it still does not fulfill the requirement, because it is lame at the moment of slaughter — this is analogous to a case where a sheep's leg breaks and one hastens to slaughter it [in that condition]."
The Ḥanbalī school, however, held that if the one offering the sacrifice purchased the animal while it was sound and defect-free, and a defect then befell it afterward, the sacrifice remains valid and there is no obligation to replace it.
It is stated in Masā'il al-Imām Aḥmad, one of the Ḥanbalī reference works (Vol.8/P.4021): "I said: If a person purchases the sacrificial animal while it is sound, and it is then afflicted with illness, blindness in one eye, or a broken limb [before slaughter]? He [Imam Aḥmad] said: It is said that it still fulfills the requirement. Isḥāq said likewise, because he purchased it while sound, and the defect befell it only afterward, so it remains sufficient on his behalf." [End of quote]
Accordingly, a sheep afflicted with a defect that invalidates the sacrifice does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah — whether the defect arose after purchase or during the slaughter itself — according to the Shāfi'ī school. However, there is no objection to following the Ḥanbalī position on this matter [as a valid alternative]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.