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"And Become as Fellow Brothers and Slaves of Allah"
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 18-10-2023

"And Become as Fellow Brothers and Slaves of Allah"

 

 

Allah, the Almighty, has made the believers brethren, bound together by mutual love and affection, with no room for enmity or hatred. They should not bear grudges, engage in conflict, or fight with one another. Among the implications of this brotherhood in faith are love, compassion, cooperation, and unity.

 

When disagreement or bloodshed occurs, this is an exception that must be resolved and returned to the original state immediately, as stated in the verse: "So make settlement between your brothers" {Al-Hujurat, 49}. It is an obligation resulting from the brotherhood of faith to reconcile between those in conflict. Moreover, the bond of faith demands hindering divisions and animosities from festering. The Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, said: "Do not envy one another, and do not inflate prices for one another, and do not hate one another, and do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade, but [rather] be slaves of Allah and brothers [amongst yourselves]. " {Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim}.

 

The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever. This is a confirmation of the importance of love and the obligation of brotherhood among them.

 

It is incumbent upon the believers to cooperate with the authority when trials occur so that tribulations do not multiply, and discord does not increase. There is no reason significant enough to justify dividing the bonds of brotherhood, love, and affection among Muslims. Therefore, it is obligatory for every sincere individual, committed to their religion, homeland, and nation, to strive to extinguish the flames of discord and close all its sources. Allah says in the Quran: "for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter." {Al-Baqara, 191}.

 

Indeed, we all know the purity of a Muslim's heart and their gentle nature, but this should not be exploited to make them a misguided and reckless, blind in both sight and heart. Allah warns us that whenever they are turned back to fitnah (discord), they plunge into it deeply. {An-Nisa, 91}, meaning that they return to it and get deeply involved in it in the worst way.

 

When we see strife separating brothers and loved ones, even between members of the same tribe and the same country, we must return to the fearing of Allah, especially as we find in every tribe unique models of noble virtues and moral qualities. Men whom Allah has endowed with qualities and virtues that qualify them to uproot discord from its roots in compliance with the saying of Allah the Almighty: "But whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is [due] from Allah." {Ash-Shura, 40}.

They are the ones who will respond to the great call on the Day of Judgment, as mentioned in the hadith: "When it is the Day of Judgment, a caller from beneath the Throne will announce: 'Let the one who has a reward from Allah arise,' and no one will stand except those who have forgiven their brothers." {Reported by Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi in "Tarikh Baghdad"}. Ibn Kathir commented: "Allah encourages forgiveness, and whoever forgives, Allah will not waste that virtue. In the noble hadith: "Allah does not increase His servant due to his forgiveness except in honor.'" {Reported by Muslim}.

 

In this blessed country, there are wise and righteous men who rise above grudges and prejudice. Allah has instilled in their hearts the sentiments of tolerance and love. Moreover, Islam has removed animosity and hatred from their hearts and filled them with wisdom, mercy, patience, and forgiveness. There is a strong connection between their self-confidence, their faith, their homeland, and their nation. The greater a person is, the broader their perspective becomes, the larger their heart opens, and the more patience and excuses they extend to others for their mistakes and shortcomings. Their motto is taken from the Quran: "Indeed, he who fears Allah and is patient, then indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good." {Yusuf, 90}.

 

Indeed, the more faith grows in the heart of a believer, the more it nurtures tolerance, increases patience, and expels the desire for vengeance and retribution against those who have wronged them. This is to the extent that a Muslim controls themselves, restrains their anger, masters their words, forgives those who wrong them, and is adorned with noble and beautiful qualities and character, their status is elevated in the sight of Allah. For them, there is a paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous. As Allah says, "So hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous, who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people, and Allah loves the doers of good." {Al-Imran, 133-134}.These believers are unwavering in their generosity, sacrifice, and giving, and neither prosperity nor adversity changes them. They offer forgiveness and tolerance after restraining their anger, for they are among the doers of good.

 

Certainly, emulating and following the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his noble companions undoubtedly increases faith and fosters the development of great character.

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had a relative whom he supported. However, this relative did not refrain from making inappropriate comments about the honor of Aisha, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her). This relative's actions disregarded the rights of Islam, family ties, and traditional values. This greatly upset Abu Bakr and led him to swear that he would cut ties with this relative. Then, the verse from the Quran was revealed: " Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in God’s cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that God should forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." {An-Nur, 22}. Upon this revelation, Abu Bakr forgave his relative and resumed his support, saying, "I would love that Allah forgives me."

 

Islam abhors the kind of tribalism that leads to the unjust shedding of blood. In a well-known hadith, the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) emphasized that we should not revert to disbelief after him by fighting one another: "Do not become disbelievers after me by striking the necks of one another." {Transmitted by Bukhari}. Killing a soul without just cause is considered a grave sin in Islam. The Quran states: " On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people:" {Al-Mai`dah, 32}. Islam encourages beautiful traits like righteousness, piety, patience, and faith. It advocates for wisdom, dialogue, and the rejection of violence and terrorism.

 

Indeed, what some people claim about taking personal vengeance is contrary to the principles of Islamic law. It violates the right of those in authority to pursue criminals and administer justice. If everyone were allowed to take personal vengeance, it would lead to widespread chaos and violence. Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people, and the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) made it clear that the unjust killing of a believer is a grave sin. He said: "By the One in Whose hand my soul is, the killing of a believer is greater with Allah than the extinction of the whole world." {Transmitted by An-Nasa`i}.

Yes, the Devil failed to make a rational person an idol worshiper, but he cannot fail to create a distance between that person and Allah. At that point, the person becomes ignorant of Allah's rights. The Devil kindles the fires of enmity in people's hearts. When they ignite, the Devil delights in seeing them scorch the present and future of the people, consuming their bonds and virtues. It becomes easy for him to undermine Allah`s order on Earth.

 

With these noble Islamic guidelines, Islam combats enmity and the ignition of discord. It kills these germs from their inception, and thus the Muslim community ascends to a high level of mercy, love, and brotherhood, which are the characteristics of the righteous.

 

O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the trials, whether apparent or hidden.

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

How does a praying person prostrate?

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                        It is from Sunnah that he/she sits with both knees on the ground in order to prostrate, then hands, nose and forehead are placed on the same place. In addition, the toes have to touch the ground, and be directed towards the Qiblah (direction of Ka`bah) during prostration. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on supplicating with other than the transmitted (Ma'thur) supplications in prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible to supplicate (make du'a) during the prayer for anything from the affairs of religion or worldly life, and the prayer is not invalidated by doing so.
Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Our madhhab [i.e., the Shafi'i madhhab] holds that it is permissible for a person to supplicate during it [the prayer] with anything that is permissible to supplicate with outside the prayer, from the affairs of religion or worldly life. He may say: 'O Allah, grant me wholesome sustenance, offspring, a house, and a beautiful young wife' — describing her; or: 'O Allah, free so-and-so from prison,' or 'destroy so-and-so,' and other such things — and none of this invalidates his prayer according to us. And this is also the view of Malik, ath-Thawri, Abu Thawr, and Ishaq." [Al-Majmu', Vol.3/P.454]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

A man wishes to offer more than one uḍḥiyah (sacrificial offering), and intends by these sacrifices "on behalf of everyone whom Allah and His Messenger love." Is this intention valid?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The uḍḥiyah (sacrificial offering) is not valid with this intention, because if the sacrificial animal is from sheep or goats, it suffices for one person only; and if it is from cattle or camels, it suffices for seven persons.
However, one may sacrifice it on his own behalf, and then gift the equivalent of its reward to whomever he wishes.
Imam ar-Ramlī (raḥimahullāh) says: "Ash-Shāfi‘ī (raḍiyallāhu ‘anh) said: It is within the vastness of Allah's bounty, the Exalted, that He rewards the one giving charity as well. From this, the scholars of the madhhab said: it is recommended for a person to intend the charity on behalf of his parents, for example — for Allah, the Exalted, will reward them, without this diminishing his own reward in any way." He then relates, as the relied-upon position, the permissibility of saying: "O Allah, convey the reward of what I have recited specifically to so-and-so, and to the Muslims generally." Az-Zarkashī said: "For reward varies in degree — its highest form is what one designates specifically, and its lowest form is what one dedicates generally [alongside others]." [End of quote from Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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