Articles

In Commemoration of the Prophet's Hijra (Migration)
Author : Dr Noah Ali Salman
Date Added : 14-10-2015

 

In Commemoration of the Prophet's Hijra (Migration)

 

 

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

 

Usually, a significant event marks the beginning of any nation`s history. As Muslims, our history is pregnant with significant events such as the birth of the Prophet (PBUH), the descent of the revelation, the Hijra (Divinely ordained migration) from Makkah to Medina, the divine declaration in which Allah has perfected our religion for us, completed His favor upon us, and has chosen Islam for us as our religion.

 

However, when Umar Bin Al-Kattab consulted the honorable companions (May Allah Be Pleased with them) on the starting date of the Islamic calendar, they agreed that the most appropriate reference point for the Islamic calendar was the Hijra. Umar justified that by saying: "Islam has been powerful since the Hijra." In fact, Islam has assumed its right and complete position by the Hijra, and there are three important issues in this regard:

 

First: The noble companions have agreed that having a calendar is one aspect of any nation`s independence and a reflection of its privacy, so it is unacceptable that the Muslim nation follows the calendar of another nation for marking its events. Thanks to Allah, our Islamic nation has been using the Islamic calendar to show that it is proud of its religion, it is distinguished, it is independent, and it is loyal to the Prophet who initiated the Hijra.

 

Second: Allah, the Almighty, has honored Islam with the Hijra, because Muslims gathered in Medina under the leadership of the Prophet (PBUH) and they established a state concerned with spreading Islam and protecting Muslims against aggression. As a result, the principles of Islam were reflected in the behavior of the Muslim society, and this led to the spread of justice, goodness, observing kinship ties as well as ending injustice, aggression, lewdness and abomination, as indicated in the following verse, (What means): "Indeed God enjoins justice and virtue and giving to kinsfolk, and He forbids lewdness, and abomination, and aggression: He admonishes you so that you might remember." [An-Nahil/90].

 

A close comparison between the number of Muslims before Hijra and after it shows that there is a big difference although they were invited to Islam by the same Prophet, Mohammad (PBUH). He enjoyed the needed eloquence and wisdom, but his style varied in accordance with the new conditions since people are more influenced by what they see, than what they hear. Rather, they neither listen to the weak nor respect what is right unless it was backed with might.

 

Three: It is necessary at this time and at every other time that Muslims reflect the bright image of the glorious Islam through their behavior and that the task of inviting others to embrace Islam should be passed to the different generations, because Allah has sent this religion as a mercy to all humanity.

If some Muslims have tarnished the bright image of Islam through violating its very teachings, then it is incumbent upon every Muslim to set the records straight and clear that suspicion.

It is a relief that people the world round are still embracing Islam owing to the sincere efforts of faithful Muslims who invite them to Allah by good word and good deed.

 

Finally, people of reason, even non-Muslims, are still admiring and praising Islam; however, if some have insulted Islam by word or deed, or insulted the Prophet (PBUH), then he is too honorable to be belittled by the rancorous and the disbelieving.

 

And All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Can a menstruating woman listen to the Quran from the radio or television?

Yes, a menstruating woman is allowed to listen to the Quran from the radio or television. What is forbidden for her is reciting the Quran and touching the Mus-haf, but listening is permissible—in fact, it is an act of worship.However, she should not repeat along with the Qur’an or try to keep pace with it. 

What is the ruling on seeking forgiveness between the two Friday sermons?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to seek forgiveness (Istighfar) between the two Friday sermons (Khutbatayn), and it does not invalidate the Friday prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah). Furthermore, it is not disliked (Makruh) to speak before the sermon, after it, or between the two sermons. Likewise, it is not disliked for one who enters during the sermon to speak if there is a need for it, provided he has not yet taken a place and settled into it. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on combining more than one intention in the prayer, such as combining the *sunnah* of wuḍūʾ with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*, or combining the *sunnah* of greeting the mosque (*taḥiyyat al-masjid*) with the pre-Dhuhr *sunnah*?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Combining two intentions in a single act of worship, which some jurists call the “overlapping of acts of worship”, has several cases and precise rules. These can be consulted in the books of legal maxims, such as al-Manthūr fī al-Qawāʿid al-Fiqhiyyah by al-Zarkashī and al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir by al-Suyūṭī. Among the most important of these rules:
First: If all of the acts of worship that one wishes to combine under one intention are obligatory, the intentions do not overlap. An example is combining the intention of the obligatory ʿAṣr prayer with that of the obligatory Dhuhr prayer. The intentions do not overlap in this case.
Second: If the two acts are specified supererogatory prayers (nawāfil muqayyadah) that are aimed at in themselves because of a particular time, occasion, or cause, or if they are an obligatory prayer and a specified supererogatory prayer, the intentions again do not overlap. An example is the Duha prayer, which may not be combined with, for instance, the regular sunnah of Dhuhr.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm: “Whatever is not, in meaning, an absolute voluntary prayer, such as the Duha sunnah… is not subsumed under another. Rather, if he intends something else along with it… the prayer is not validly entered. This is because combining two obligations, two specified supererogatory prayers, or an obligation and a specified supererogatory prayer invalidates the prayer in cases not built upon overlapping, as ritual purification (ṭahārah) is.”
Third: If the two acts are absolute voluntary prayers (nawāfil muṭlaqah), or one of them is, where the texts of the Sharīʿah show that the aim of the voluntary act is to fill the time with worship, then overlapping of intentions is permissible. An example is the obligatory Dhuhr prayer together with the sunnah of greeting the mosque (taḥiyyat al-masjid). And Allah Almighty knows best.