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Positive Human Participation
Author : Dr. Fadi Rabab`ah
Date Added : 16-01-2024

Positive Human Participation

 

From the beginning of its call, Islamic Sharia has called for adhering to values, extending beyond its initial call in Mecca, reaching far and spreading its goodness to the entire world. This is exemplified by the stance of the Islamic ambassador, Jafar ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet (PBUH) and a noble companion. He was sent as an ambassador to the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, who followed the Christian faith.

 

This is reflected in the statement of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, found in [Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 1699] and [Sahih Ibn Khuzayma, No. 2073], when he addressed the Negus about their state during the era of ignorance, highlighting their immoral practices and their transformation after the Prophet was sent to them. Ja'far said: "O King, we were a people in the era of ignorance, worshipping idols, consuming carrion, engaging in immoral deeds, severing family ties, and mistreating neighbors. The strong among us would oppress the weak." He continued, "We persisted in this state until Allah sent to us a Messenger whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and chastity we knew."

 

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib then explained the values to which the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) invited them. He said: "He invited us to worship Allah alone and abandon what we and our ancestors used to worship besides Him, such as stones and idols. He commanded us to speak the truth, fulfill trusts, maintain family ties, show kindness to neighbors, refrain from unlawful acts and shedding blood. He forbade us from committing immoral deeds, lying, consuming the wealth of orphans, slandering chaste women, and ordered us to worship Allah alone, associating nothing with Him. He commanded us to perform prayers, give zakat, and observe fasting."

 

Then Ja'far described the believers' response to this call, saying: "So we believed in him, affirmed the truth of his message, and followed him in what he brought. We worshiped Allah alone, associating nothing with Him, prohibited what He forbade, and allowed what He made permissible."

He continued, "Our people then transgressed against us, tortured and tempted us to forsake our religion and return to the worship of idols instead of Allah, and to resume the permissibility of what Allah had made forbidden for us."

 

He concluded his speech with wisdom, indicating the reason they sought refuge in Abyssinia, saying, "When they oppressed us, treated us unjustly, made life difficult for us, and stood between us and our religion, we left for your country, choosing you above all others, seeking your protection, and hoping not to be wronged under your rule, O king."

 

So, the Negus turned to the delegation from the Quraysh who came to take back the companions and said, "Go away, by Allah, I will never surrender them to you."

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) requested his companions to migrate from their land due to the persecution and harm they were facing, ensuring their safety and freedom to choose their beliefs. This underscores the positive and humanitarian engagement of Islam, and its openness to other societies, especially those where justice is upheld. The Prophet (peace be upon him) praised the just rule of the Negus, emphasizing the universal value of justice that respects human beings, their freedom, lives, and ensures fairness. Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) acknowledged the justice of the Negus and commended him for it.

 

What confirms the profound positive human engagement of Islam is the Prophet Mohammad`s (peace be upon him) participation in an alliance known as the "Hilf al-Fudul" in Mecca, even before his prophethood and the call to Islam. Its purpose was to support the oppressed, resist injustice, and the Prophet praised this alliance, saying, "I participated with my uncles in a pact at the house of Abdullah ibn Jada'an, which I would not exchange for the choicest camels." (Narrated by Imam Ahmad).

 

The "Hilf al-Fudul" alliance was formed four months after the Sacrilegious wars (Harb-ul-Fijar). The reason behind it was that a man from Zubaid (a town in Yemen) came to Mecca with merchandise, which Al-As ibn Wa'il purchased from him. However, Al-As denied him his rightful due, and the Zubaidi sought justice against him. The nobles of Quraysh did not support him due to the high status of Al-As among them. The Zubaidi sought help at the Kaaba, and appealed to the Banu Fihr and other honorable people. Al-Zubair ibn Abd al-Muttalib asked why this man was left helpless. The Banu Hashim, Zuhra, and Banu Taym ibn Murah gathered at the house of Abdullah ibn Jada'an and prepared a meal for them. They formed an alliance and pledged by Allah to stand as one hand with the oppressed against the oppressor until his right was restored. Then they went to Al-As ibn Wa'il, took back the goods from him, and returned them to the Zubaidi, establishing this alliance known as "Hilf al-Fudul." It was named so because those who participated in it were named Fadl, such as Fadl ibn al-Harith, Fadl ibn Wada'a, and Fadl ibn Fadala.

 

Regarding this alliance, Al-Zubair ibn Abd al-Muttalib says:

They pledged and allied in unity, 

That in Mecca, oppression should not stand. 

Neighbor and guest, both shall be free,

 An oath upon which they firmly band.

 

Islam promotes the value of positive human participation on a global scale and condemns isolationism without necessity. Its call is a universal mercy to all people, as described by Allah in the Quran: "And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds." [Quran, 21:107]. Islam encourages participation in international organizations and humanitarian associations that uphold human rights, people's freedom, and work towards establishing justice while respecting human dignity, in alignment with the values and principles of Islamic law.

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is recommended for a Muslim to say on Laylat al-Qadr?

On Laylat al-Qadr, it is recommended for a Muslim to recite the supplication (du‘a) that the Prophet ﷺ taught Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
"O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness, so forgive me." [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ) reciting the Islamic ruqyah (Qur'anic/spiritual healing)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible for a person in a state of janābah (major ritual impurity), or a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ), or a woman in postpartum bleeding (nufasā'), to recite for the purpose of ruqyah (spiritual/Qur'anic healing), even if this includes some verses of the Noble Qur'an — whether recited from memory or by looking at the Muṣ-ḥaf (the physical copy of the Qur'an) without touching or carrying it — provided that the intention behind the recitation is ruqyah, protection (taḥṣīn), and remembrance (dhikr), not the intention of tilāwah (Qur'anic recitation as an act of worship in itself). This remains permissible even if what is recited is an entire sūrah, such as Sūrat al-Mulk.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is lawful for a person in janābah to utter its [the Qur'an's] remembrances and other content — such as its admonitions, its narratives, and its rulings — so long as it is not with the intention of [reciting] Qur'an. [This is] like his saying upon mounting [a vehicle]: 'Glory be to Him Who has subjected this to us, and we could never have accomplished this [by ourselves]' [Sūrat az-Zukhruf: 13] — meaning, [could never have] been capable of it — or upon a calamity: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return'... In fact, my teacher, ash-Shihāb ar-Ramlī, issued a fatwā that even if he recited the entire Qur'an without the intention of [reciting] Qur'an, it would be permissible." [Summarized from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 1/P.217] And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is considered a woman`s Awrah (parts of the body that must be concealed during prayer) while offering prayer, and is her foot part of it?

A woman`s whole body is considered an Awrah while offering prayer except the hands and the face. Thus, her foot is an Awrah as well. And Allah 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.

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