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Oct

2013

The Types Of Dhulm

posted by Seifeddine-M on 30th October 2013 - 0 comments

The Meaning Of The Word ظلم (Dhulm)

Lane's Lexicon defines ظلم (dhulm) thusly,

Apr

2013

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) On Hypocritical Khushoo'

posted by Seifeddine-M on 11th April 2013 - 0 comments

The difference between (true) khushoo' engendered by faith and the hypocritical khushoo' is that the former takes place in the heart to Allaah سبحانه و تعالى and is conduced by veneration, magnification, sobriety, dignity, and shyness. The heart breaks for Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, combining dread, bashfulness, love, and shyness with the perception of Allaah's blessings and one's own transgressions. This necessarily engenders khushoo' in the heart which is then followed by khushoo' on the limbs.

Hypocritical khushoo', on the other hand, appears on the limbs; it is a mere pretence, he person affecting something that is not there since the heart is void of khushoo'. One of the Companions would say, 'I take refuge with Allaah from hypocritial khushoo'.' When asked what it was, he replied, 'That you see the body humble and submissive while the heart is not.' [1]

The one who has khushoo' for the sake of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is a servant, in the breast of whom the flames of desires have abated and their smoke has dissipated, replacing in ther stead radiance. The blaze of the greatness (of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى) has been ignited, and the lusts of the soul have died in the face of fear and sobriety which have, in turn, stilled the limbs and quietened the heart.

The heart is content and at peace with Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, and it remembers Him; engulfed in the effusion of tranquility descending from its Lord, it becomes meek and humble (mukhbit). The heart which is meek is the heart which is at peace and rest for the land which is mukhbit is land which is low-lying to which water flows and settles. The same applies to the heart: when it is mukhbit, i.e. it has achieved khushoo', it becomes like this piece of low-lying land to which water flows and settles.

The sign of such a heart is that (its owner) will prostrate before Allaah سبحانه و تعالى out of magnification and abject humility, broken before Him, never (desiring) to raise his head till the day he meets Him. This is the khushoo' engendered by faith.

Feb

2011

The Prohibition of Celebrating the Birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him)

posted by Seifeddine-M on 11th February 2011 - 0 comments

Celebrating the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) is forbidden. It is not part of the Sunnah of the Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) or of the Khulafa' ar-Rashideen (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين) who succeeded him. The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “I urge you to follow my Sunnah and the way of the rightly-guided khaleefahs after me; adhere to it and cling to it firmly. Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an innovation (bid’ah) and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 4/126; al-Tirmidhi no. 2676) If a person does anything in order to draw closer to Allaah which was not done by the Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) or enjoined by him, and was not done by the Khulafa ar-Rashideen (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين) who succeeded him, this action implies that he is accusing the Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) of not explaining the religion to the people, and that he disbelieves in the words of Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى): “This day, I have perfected your religion for you” (5:3) because he is adding something extra and claiming that it is a part of the religion, but the Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) did not bring this.

Jan

2011

Arrogance, Pride, Conceit, Vanity And Haughtiness

posted by Seifeddine-M on 6th January 2011 - 0 comments

[b]Arrogance, Pride, Conceit, Vanity And Haughtiness[/b]

Allah, the Exalted, says:

[b]"Musa (Moses - peace be upon him) said: "Verily, I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who believes not in the Day of Reckoning!""[/b] [40:27][

[b]"Truly, He likes not the proud."[/b] [16:23]

[b]"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster."[/b] [31:18]

Nov

2010

Condemnation And Prohibition Of Falsehood

posted by Seifeddine-M on 30th November 2010 - 0 comments

Allah, the Exalted, says: [b]"And follow not (O man, i.e., say not or do not or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge.''[/b] (17:36) [b]"Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).''[/b] (50:18) Ibn Mas`ud (radiallahu anh) reported: The Messenger of Allah (salallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Truth leads to piety and piety leads to Jannah. A man persists in speaking the truth till he is recorded with Allah as a truthful man. Falsehood leads to transgression and transgression leads to the Hell-fire. A man continues to speak falsehood till he is recorded with Allah as a great liar.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Whatever attitude one adopts becomes his special trait and then he becomes known by it. Therefore, one should always adopt virtues and good conduct so that he may attain a high esteem with Allah and be also remembered well by people.

Jul

2010

Backbiting

posted by Seifeddine-M on 26th July 2010 - 0 comments

Backbiting is an evil of many ill dimensions and adverse consequences. Sadly, it has become embedded in our character and we often fail to recognise it as a sin. We try to explain it away and justify it as being truth that has to be revealed or an earnest discussion of the facts, or even I have the courage to say it to the person directly so there is nothing wrong with saying it now. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) asked (the companions (may Allah be pleased with them)), Do you know what is backbiting?" They replied, "Allah and his Prophet know best." He said, You saying something about your brother that he dislikes. Someone asked, "How about if what I say is the truth about my brother?" The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)replied, If what you say is the truth about him then you have backbited him. If it is not the truth about him then you have slandered him. (Muslim) We have become so accustomed to backbiting that without it our conversations and meetings feel void and incomplete. It has become the nourishment and fruit of our gatherings. We satisfy our mental and emotional hunger and quench our thirst for gossip, rumour, and meaningless prattle with the flesh and blood of our fellow Muslims. How can we abstain from the consumption of pork and alcohol, but have no hesitation in devouring the flesh of our Muslim brothers? Allah says, [color=blue]And do not backbite one another. Would any of you love to eat the flesh of your dead brother? You would abhor it! Therefore fear Allah. Indeed Allah is Oft returning, Merciful.[/color] (49:12) The gravity of this sin is highlighted in a great number of ahadeeth. It is related that once a person came to the Prophet of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him)to confess his sin of adultery. The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) turned away from him a number of times but he insisted on confessing. Finally the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)asked him, What do you seek through this confession? He replied, I would like you to purify me. After asking him a number of further questions to confirm his confession the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)ordered him to be stoned to death. The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)then heard a person say to another, Do you not see this individual whose sin was concealed by Allah but his soul did not leave him be (i.e., he revealed his sin himself) until he was stoned like the stoning of a dog. The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)then travelled onwards until he came across the carcass of a donkey. He enquired about the two people who had conversed earlier and said to them, Dismount and eat of the carcass of this donkey. They replied, May Allah forgive you, Oh Messenger of Allah. Can this be eaten? The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)said, [color=red]What you consumed of your brother a short while ago was a worse devouring than this. I swear by Him in whose hands rests my soul, he is now diving into the streams of paradise.[/b] (Narrated by Abu Yalaa al Mawsili in his Musnad)