Articles

The State of the Righteous during Ramadan
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 29-09-2024

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

Indeed, studying the lives of past scholars who passed their knowledge to others, devout worshipers, and righteous individuals is one of the greatest means of strengthening the heart's love for the Knower of the unseen. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "And We have related to you, [O Muhammad], some of the stories of the messengers to strengthen your heart with it. And there has come to you in this [Qur'an] the truth and a confirmation of what was before it, and an admonition and reminder for the believers." [Hud/120].

By reading about their lives, clouds of blessings gather to shower us with mercy. When this mercy reaches the hearts of the believers, their spirits are elevated, and they strive harder in their worship of their Lord, tasting the sweetness of Allah's Words (What means): "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." [Maryam/96].   

It was narrated from some of the pious predecessors that he would spend his nights reciting the Quran. When he reached this verse, he would repeat it until dawn. His student heard him and asked him about it. The scholar said: "Keep secret what you have seen." The student replied: "I will keep it secret as long as you are alive, but tell me about it.' The scholar said: "When I repeated it, the love between the servant and his Lord descended into my heart, and I began to take pleasure in that love. And every time I repeated the verses, I tasted a different kind of love."

This was their state outside of Ramadan. So how was it when the blessed month, the season of worship and obedience, came to them?

Abu Nu'aim in 'Al-Hilya' and Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi in 'Tarikh Baghdad' narrated from Al-Rabi' Ibn Sulayman that Muhammad Ibn Idris Al-Shafi'i would complete sixty recitations of the Quran in the month of Ramadan, all of which were during prayer.

This was their state with the Quran, but their state with night prayer was even more astonishing. Sa'ib Ibn Yazid said: "During the time of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they used to perform twenty Rak'ahs of night prayer in Ramadan. They would recite two hundred verses. During the time of Uthman Ibn Affan (May Allah Be Pleased with him), they would lean on their staffs due to the intensity of their standing in prayer." [Al-Bayhaqi].

As for the state of the righteous predecessors with the poor and needy, there is no end to the stories. How could it be otherwise when their model was the most generous of creation, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him? Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when he would meet with Jibril. He would meet him every night in Ramadan and he would revise the Quran with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous than the abundant wind." [Agreed upon].

It was narrated from Ibn Umar that he would fast and not break his fast except with the poor. And if a beggar came to him while he was eating, he would take his share of the food and stand up and give it to the beggar.

This is a glimpse of the state of the righteous during Ramadan. If we were to examine every aspect of their acts of worship, we would find that they had the greatest share in it. They were the most eager for good deeds during the seasons of goodness. They knew that the world was temporary, so they dedicated it to obedience. They knew that life was short and the deadline was near, so they invested their time in acts of worship. And Ibn Al-Qayyim said truthfully: "Wasting time is worse than death, because wasting time cuts you off from Allah and the Hereafter, while death cuts you off from the world and its people."

 

هذا المقال يعبر عن رأي كاتبه، ولا يعبر بالضرورة عن رأي دائرة الإفتاء العام

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for a wife to give her money to her family as a charity, or a gift without asking her husband, or seeking his consent ?

The wife has the right to give her money as a charity, or a gift to her family, or to other people after consulting her husband out of respect, and this is the meaning of treating on footing of kindness and equity. Therefore, if he wanted to stop her from helping her family, then there is no harm in not telling him.

I made a vow "If the Israeli troops retreated out of Gaza strip I will buy a cake from a certain bakery" and it happened. Am I obliged to buy from the same bakery?

You are obliged to buy from the same bakery. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the Ruling on Reciting the Prophetic Narration?

 All Perfect Praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.
Reciting the Prophetic narration is permissible as many scholars used to, since in principle, the rulings of recitation have to be observed while speaking Arabic language. And Allah Knows Best.

It was found out that a man divorced his wife for the third time in 2005, but they continued cohabiting as man and wife. However, when they realized that what they were doing was unlawful, they came the Iftaa` Department in 2009 and were told that they can`t be together. What is the position of Sharia on this couple?

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Her Iddah* period starts after the third divorce. As for the continued cohabitation, it is unlawful because being ignorant about the rulings of Sharia while in Dar Al-Islam* is no valid excuse. If a baby came as the fruit of this unlawful consummation of marriage, then a judge of Sharia has the final say in this regard because lineage is a serious matter. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
* ʿIddah: a specified period of time that must elapse before a Muslim widow or divorcee may legitimately remarry. The Qurʾān (Sura,2/verse,228) prescribes that a menstruating woman have three monthly periods before contracting a new marriage; the required delay for a nonmenstruating woman is three lunar months.
* Dar Al-Islam: designates a territory where Muslims are free to practice their religion, though this often implies the implementation of Islamic law, whereas Dar al-Harb represents those lands ruled by non-believers