₦airaland Forum

Sino, may God Almighty personally bless you with many wives, children, money, lots of concubines, beautiful maids, good health, houses, good job, good internet service, peace and harmony in your heart. Amin.

Do you know why I sent you these salawat? Because Allah used you to encountered an ignorant man to enable you get the correct pronunciation of Ruhaniya.

I quickly called the man i was narrating his story to confirm. He said yes, it's Ruhaniyah. He said but because of accent makes us (Yoruba) say it like 'Rawaniyah'. Please folks watch this video... very close to what i have been saying all along. It's good to be patient and learn. If not for sino, I may never be able to research for this. Sino, Allah used you for this believe that. Ruhaniyah are NOT Jinns. It means I was right all along.

"Many People Do Not Know About Ruhaniyah"

Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDMPHnM2TLg
Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf-61xaqKOk

I have had practical experiences of Ruhaniyah and Sura Yasin for almost 20yrs. Now, thanks to sino, I am now going to read theoretically on them. I have used "Rawaniyah" many times to search the net for info on them to no avail. Now I got it. Very beautiful creature. Allahu Akbar

Empiree, please show some respect and adab, i wouldn't like you insulting my Ustaz, you don't know him, and i'm sure he is more knowledgeable than you. Even though i do not agree with some of his ways, he teaches and i learn.

I understand how you feel, and my post is not meant to discredit your Sheikh, but to increase all of us in knowledge and understanding.

I have come to know the true suffis, and they are not like the kind parading themselves these days. True Sufis stick to the shari'ah, they don't compromise on the sunnah. My dad told me about sufis he knew, they would be in a room with a bag of grain and make dhikr with each grain till the end, they don't fix counts or give people conditions unnecessary, they follow the sunnah to the letter, and they observe all the fardh form of worship.

I am lazy, Allah (SWT) knows, and I pray to be better bi idhniLLAH. But lets look at it this way, for every act you are to do in a day, there is a dhikr recommended by the Prophet (SAW), you have to memorize each, including the adhkar of morning and evening, you are constantly in ablution, you go for prayer as at when due with dhikr, you make the first row if you are not the Imam, you be the muazin, after each prayer, you do the recommended adhkar, then the recommended nawafils, then before sleep, you do the sunnah again, being in ablution, reciting surah sajdah and mulk, before that you make taubah, then you go to sleep with the remembrance of Allah (SWT) and just before dawn, you wake and you stand in the middle of the night, making nawafil and doing dhikr till your eyes overflow, do you know you don't even have to ask Allah (SWT) for anything, you would be given all what you need and even more. This is what the Sunnah entails and even more...

Do you know that part of seeking spirituality is to fully understand what being a Muslim entails which is submitting totally to Allah's will, and also to never complain to anyone of your affairs except to Allah (SWT) ? There is narration to this fact about the Sahabas.
I'll like to ask, did the Prophet(SAW) gathered the Sahabas for Ya sin 1000 before 313 overran a thousand at the battle of Badr? and what happened at the battle of Uhud? Sahabas neglected the instruction of the Prophet (SAW) and they suffered...

What i am trying to say is, attaining spirituality is far more that reciting Ya sin 1,111, it is by following the Sunnah! and if someone comes with what is not recorded in the Sunnah, or there is a deficiency in the narration, we do away with it, clinging on to the established authentic sunnah, cos that is the best way to felicity.

Allah Says: Say: "Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear (Message). (Quran 24:54).

And Ameen to your Du'as

Empiree,

The Sheikh in the video you uploaded did not make any reference to the Qur'an or Ahadith on Ruhaniyah, just sayings of some people. In the matter of religion, especially worship, if there is no reference to the Qur'an or Ahadith, then how can you be confident about it?! Are you trying to say that the Prophet (SAW) did not complete his task or deemed it unnecessary to inform us of these class of creation that we can interact with?! And no sahabah ever encountered them or talked about them?

The Qur'an is clear, and the Ahadith are clear, Allah created Man, Jinn and Angels, he created other things we don't know, and in His wisdom, he didn't mention it to us and hence, not important for our spirituality and salvation.

If you want to convince me that Ruhaniyah are not Jinns, then bring authentic ahadith or Qur'anic verses.

Thank you.

^i honestly don't see how i disrespected your Ustaz actually. This is online and the way read things on our minds determine how we actually feel and react to it. But i wont deny possibility that i might reacted towards his actions negatively. In that case i sincerely apologize.

On counts, i guess blames should be on narrators of those ahadith. Here is my opinion on that and i can be wrong. I think when they do zikr, they paid close attention to the (at number of exact) where wonders begin to transcend. Thats sounds like science. Just my opinion.

Nah, hes not "my sheik". He does not use any title other than muslim. i just call him papa

sino:
Empiree,

The Sheikh in the video you uploaded did not make any reference to the Qur'an or Ahadith on Ruhaniyah, just sayings of some people. In the matter of religion, especially worship, if there is no reference to the Qur'an or Ahadith, then how can you be confident about it?! Are you trying to say that the Prophet (SAW) did not complete his task or deemed it unnecessary to inform us of these class of creation that we can interact with?! And no sahabah ever encountered them or talked about them?

The Qur'an is clear, and the Ahadith are clear, Allah created Man, Jinn and Angels, he created other things we don't know, and in His wisdom, he didn't mention it to us and hence, not important for our spirituality and salvation.

If you want to convince me that Ruhaniyah are not Jinns, then bring authentic ahadith or Qur'anic verses.

Thank you.

I honestly dont want to drag this. You most likely believe in existence of' "Egbere" in yoruba. But Egbere are not mentioned in the Qur'an. i saw egbere one time. They are Allah"s creatures. UFO is probably another mystery in the West yet Qur'an doesn't mention them by name. Qur'an sums them up as "all that exist".

A sheik said on Youtube that you can not describe to people how honey tastes unless and until they put it in their mouth. This means until muslim actually experience it. And you are right, they are not important but those muslims who got the nerve to seek this should never be labelled something negative. Seeking knowledge is Qur'anic and Sunnatic

So far no concrete evidence of them being Jinn but undocumented evidence confirmed from various sources they are Ruh-aniyah. Sounds like something pure. Allah speaks about Ruh variably, too. Jinn are not Ruh in the Qur'an. They are specifically created from fire. It's we human that call them spirit especially Christians.

No offence, what I understood is your Alfa should have said he was seeking wisdom and knowledge. Nothing wrong with that because he invoked Allah's name....doesnt mean hes transgressing. That only happens if he invoked mumbo-jumbo other than Allah. Everything is not exactly 123 or abc in the hadith and yes religion is complete. Qur'an speaks of things that are not entirely clear. Only Allah knows and few among men of knowledge Allah gave Nur-light. That's why such experience are personal and not binding on anyone. But calling them kafir which is what mainstream are doing is just plain nonsense. Qur'an explains all things (internally and externally acquired) Wallahu ta'ala allam

sino:
Empiree, please show some respect and adab, i wouldn't like you insulting my Ustaz, you don't know him, and i'm sure he is more knowledgeable than you. Even though i do not agree with some of his ways, he teaches and i learn.

I understand how you feel, and my post is not meant to discredit your Sheikh, but to increase all of us in knowledge and understanding.

I have come to know the true suffis, and they are not like the kind parading themselves these days. True Sufis stick to the shari'ah, they don't compromise on the sunnah. My dad told me about sufis he knew, they would be in a room with a bag of grain and make dhikr with each grain till the end, they don't fix counts or give people conditions unnecessary, they follow the sunnah to the letter, and they observe all the fardh form of worship.

I am lazy, Allah (SWT) knows, and I pray to be better bi idhniLLAH. But lets look at it this way, for every act you are to do in a day, there is a dhikr recommended by the Prophet (SAW), you have to memorize each, including the adhkar of morning and evening, you are constantly in ablution, you go for prayer as at when due with dhikr, you make the first row if you are not the Imam, you be the muazin, after each prayer, you do the recommended adhkar, then the recommended nawafils, then before sleep, you do the sunnah again, being in ablution, reciting surah sajdah and mulk, before that you make taubah, then you go to sleep with the remembrance of Allah (SWT) and just before dawn, you wake and you stand in the middle of the night, making nawafil and doing dhikr till your eyes overflow, do you know you don't even have to ask Allah (SWT) for anything, you would be given all what you need and even more. This is what the Sunnah entails and even more...

Do you know that part of seeking spirituality is to fully understand what being a Muslim entails which is submitting totally to Allah's will, and also to never complain to anyone of your affairs except to Allah (SWT) ? There is narration to this fact about the Sahabas.
I'll like to ask, did the Prophet(SAW) gathered the Sahabas for Ya sin 1000 before 313 overran a thousand at the battle of Badr? and what happened at the battle of Uhud? Sahabas neglected the instruction of the Prophet (SAW) and they suffered...

What i am trying to say is, attaining spirituality is far more that reciting Ya sin 1,111, it is by following the Sunnah! and if someone comes with what is not recorded in the Sunnah, or there is a deficiency in the narration, we do away with it, clinging on to the established authentic sunnah, cos that is the best way to felicity.

Allah Says: Say: "Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance. The Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear (Message). (Quran 24:54).

And Ameen to your Du'as

I pray Allaah guides and preserves you upon haqq... Aameen

sino:
I'll like to ask, did the Prophet(SAW) gathered the Sahabas for Ya sin 1000 before 313 overran a thousand at the battle of Badr? and what happened at the battle of Uhud? Sahabas neglected the instruction of the Prophet (SAW) and they suffered...

NB: .@bold, Nobody have record of the spiritual preparations (as in dhikr, ibaadat etc) of the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) prior to that battle of Badr (or other battles). He (saws)knew their numbers is far less, ill-prepared, less experience so I expect a greater engagement with Allah as in dhikr, ibaadat etc. Then the manifestation of those ibaadat and tawakkul + firm Iman displayed by the muslims = DIVINE HELP from Allah on that day. This is common sense.

@underlined, it is "some" sahabas not "sahabas". Their negligence of prophet's order for pursuit of worldly booty nearly ruin the cause. There were ever standing sahaba who never flee when the tide turned.
**********
First you should know that the prophets (peace be on them all), the Imams (of the posterity of Nabi Ibrahim and Muhammad) and the saints of Allah are from "As'habul Muqarabun". Other people (the believers) are from "As'habul Yamin".

The holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) was a bashar (mortal) like us as Qur'an and he himself says. But what makes him unique that he is "Sayyidul bashar" and reached the highest proximity to Allah that no being has ever and will never reach? It is his inner qualities (e.g al-Marifati'llah).

Note that the Muqarabun's relationship with Allah is purely based on LOVE (selflessness) ONLY. That's why there is no questioning, reward, fear or punishment for them because they didn't do any of their Amal (deeds) for anything other than LOVE of Allah.
Whereas we (people - the believers) worship Allah based on self-interest no matter how we try to hide it (though there is nothing wrong in that).

Yet, even the Muqarabuns are of different elevated degrees. Khidr and Musa (peace on them both) were both of 'as'habul Muqarrabun' yet Musa cannot fathom the inner qualities of Khidr.

So the 'Bismillah or 1 rakah of the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) or the other as'habul Muqarrabun' can NEVER, EVER EVER be compare to ours. If we are told to follow them, we only follow what is apparent in them which is 'sufficient' for us to reach our self-interest (e.g Jannah etc).

sino:
What i am trying to say is, attaining spirituality is far more that reciting Ya sin 1,111,

Of course. It depend on the level of spirituality you want to attain. Even Jannah are of different stages. Prophets are of different ranks etc. What you do is what you get. Though there's no point doing 1million azkar without full concentration and connection to Allah. Whereas a saint or friend of Allah will only do 10 and instantly he will connect. Everything boils down to individual's inner qualities.

sino:
it is by following the Sunnah! and if someone comes with what is not recorded in the Sunnah, or there is a deficiency in the narration, we do away with it, clinging on to the established authentic sunnah, cos that is the best way to felicity.

The holy prophet was reported by 'Aisha to have prayed in the middle of the night to such extent that his two feet became swollen. If 'Aisha did not revealed that out, nobody would have known and he (peace be on him and his progeny) will never command or advise his companions in general to do such. Alas! That is only 1 out of many private ibaadat Aisha could see.

Second, what we have as various forms of du'a, dhikr etc recommended by the prophet (which constitute the "Sunnah" are designed for the generality in such a simplified manner not to over-burden us because if he recommended more than that, people will be over-burdened and will eventually run away. Allah and His prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) knows our capability. This does not translate to "Do not do beyond that" or "if you do outside that, you've committed sin or bid'ah". There's no single evidence for that. However, the mistake our ulamas do make is they simply don't study the capability of their followers before they recommend.

Third, the presence of the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) with the companions earn constantly certain unlimited blessings on its own to such an extent that if anyone of them prays as the prophet asked him/her to do, the result/manifestation is instant as a result of the presence of Nabiyy Rahma in their midst. Blessings encompass them, their livelihood, environment even the non-muslims benefits. The day he (peace be on him and his progeny) departed this world, that special blessings was cut off. History testified to how the companions labored after his departure. Its now left for you with your level of Iman, tawakkul and other inner qualities to reach Allah.
*******************

Repetition of dhikr to x number depending on your capability helps a lot in spiritual quest and reward.
If 10 rewards is written for 1 salawat ala Nabiyy, I will do as many x numbers I can to earn X10 of that reward. That mouth-watering but the ball is in your court.

NB: How many 'salawat' did the prophet do for himself and his progeny? How did sahaba do per day? None recorded in the 'ahadith' yet it was a plain command in the book of Allah for the believers. We are at liberty to do as we are capable of.

Apart from that, repetition helps esp for the negligent, absent-minded and even the friends of Allah. For the latter, the more they repeat (e.g beautiful attributes of Allah), the more the love increase as a result of the inner quality of marifa to that particular attribute thereby they find it difficult to stop. And if they do, the desire to do more comes.

For the beginners, absent-minded and negligent, perhaps they can connect sooner or latter when the repetition becomes part of them (consciously or unconsciously). If something becomes part of you, you will say it even when you are unconscious and the spiritual awakening it will give you will even be beyond your comprehension.

AlBaqir

Second, what we have as various forms of du'a, dhikr etc recommended by the prophet (which constitute the "Sunnah"wink are designed for the generality in such a simplified manner not to over-burden us because if he recommended more than that, people will be over-burdened and will eventually run away. Allah and His prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) knows our capability. This does not translate to "Do not do beyond that" or "if you do outside that, you've committed sin or bid'ah". There's no single evidence for that. However, the mistake our ulamas do make is they simply don't study the capability of their followers before they recommend.

May God bless you and household. You grabbed my point

Repetition of dhikr to x number depending on your capability helps a lot in spiritual quest and reward. If 10 rewards is written for 1 salawat ala Nabiyy, I will do as many x numbers I can to earn X10 of that reward. That mouth-watering but the ball is in your court.
NB: How many 'salawat' did the prophet do for himself and his progeny? How did sahaba do per day? None recorded in the 'ahadith' yet it was a plain command in the book of Allah for the believers. We are at liberty to do as we are capable of.

Again, thanks a lot. You captured my mind. There is no concentrate in saying istigfar 3x and claim to have done dhikr. No connection in that. If some cant do it multiple times doesn't warrant quoting hadith to cheaply dissuade others. You really get it.

Yet, even the Muqarabuns are of different elevated degrees. Khidr and Musa (peace on them both) were both of 'as'habul Muqarrabun' yet Musa cannot fathom the inner qualities of Khidr

Again, another evidence to do dhikr as much as you want as long as you dont bother others. Thanks again Albaqir

The holy prophet was reported by 'Aisha to have prayed in the middle of the night to such extent that his two feet became swollen. If 'Aisha did not revealed that out, nobody would have known and he (peace be on him and his progeny) will never command or advise his companions in general to do such. Alas! That is only 1 out of many private ibaadat Aisha could see.

Thank you for the correction AlBaqir, it is some sahaba, not all the sahaba.

AlBaqir:
Of course. It depend on the level of spirituality you want to attain. Even Jannah are of different stages. Prophets are of different ranks etc. What you do is what you get. Though there's no point doing 1million azkar without full concentration and connection to Allah. Whereas a saint or friend of Allah will only do 10 and instantly he will connect. Everything boils down to individual's inner qualities.

The bold is one of the issues with reciting 4000 this or 10,000 that, most of the people given this dhikr or Qur'an recitation cannot even read the Qur'an with proper tajweed, they cannot pronounce Arabic words correctly, and out of haste, they start mumbo jumbo. I have seen people recite the Qur'an, and i was perplexed, don't even let me start with some of the tricks they use (awa naa le aja alabi die )...and for what? they must recite a fixed number of surahs because of reasons not explicitly stated in the shar'ah!

AlBaqir:
The holy prophet was reported by 'Aisha to have prayed in the middle of the night to such extent that his two feet became swollen. If 'Aisha did not revealed that out, nobody would have known and he (peace be on him and his progeny) will never command or advise his companions in general to do such. Alas! That is only 1 out of many private ibaadat Aisha could see.

If there is any of such private ibaadat that was never seen or reported by anyone, even by his closest families, then such ibadaat is not meant for us.

AlBaqir:
Second, what we have as various forms of du'a, dhikr etc recommended by the prophet (which constitute the "Sunnah" are designed for the generality in such a simplified manner not to over-burden us because if he recommended more than that, people will be over-burdened and will eventually run away. Allah and His prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) knows our capability. This does not translate to "Do not do beyond that" or "if you do outside that, you've committed sin or bid'ah". There's no single evidence for that. However, the mistake our ulamas do make is they simply don't study the capability of their followers before they recommend.

Narrated 'Aisha (RA):

Whenever Allah's Apostle ordered the Muslims to do something, he used to order them deeds which were easy for them to do, (according to their strength endurance). They said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are not like you. Allah has forgiven your past and future sins." So Allah's Apostle became angry and it was apparent on his face. He said, "I am the most Allah fearing, and know Allah better than all of you do."
Sahih Bukhari Vol 1, Book 2, No 19

And I have been careful not to use bid'ah or haram for anyone, just trying to explain what is expected of us as Muslims.

AlBaqir:
Third, the presence of the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) with the companions earn constantly certain unlimited blessings on its own to such an extent that if anyone of them prays as the prophet asked him/her to do, the result/manifestation is instant as a result of the presence of Nabiyy Rahma in their midst. Blessings encompass them, their livelihood, environment even the non-muslims benefits. The day he (peace be on him and his progeny) departed this world, that special blessings was cut off. History testified to how the companions labored after his departure. Its now left for you with your level of Iman, tawakkul and other inner qualities to reach Allah.

There is no doubt that the presence of a Prophet, a wali or even a righteous scholar, brings special blessings, but Allah's Rahma is always abundant and ever present with us, the Qur'an and Sunnah, are still with us, they are special blessings of Allah (SWT).

AlBaqir:
Repetition of dhikr to x number depending on your capability helps a lot in spiritual quest and reward.
If 10 rewards is written for 1 salawat ala Nabiyy, I will do as many x numbers I can to earn X10 of that reward. That mouth-watering but the ball is in your court.

NB: How many 'salawat' did the prophet do for himself and his progeny? How did sahaba do per day? None recorded in the 'ahadith' yet it was a plain command in the book of Allah for the believers. We are at liberty to do as we are capable of.

Apart from that, repetition helps esp for the negligent, absent-minded and even the friends of Allah. For the latter, the more they repeat (e.g beautiful attributes of Allah), the more the love increase as a result of the inner quality of marifa to that particular attribute thereby they find it difficult to stop. And if they do, the desire to do more comes.

For the beginners, absent-minded and negligent, perhaps they can connect sooner or latter when the repetition becomes part of them (consciously or unconsciously). If something becomes part of you, you will say it even when you are unconscious and the spiritual awakening it will give you will even be beyond your comprehension.

@bold,

It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When two-thirds of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would say: “O people, remember Allaah, remember Allaah. The first Trumpet is about to sound, and will soon be followed by the second; death has come with all that it entails, death has come with all that it entails.” Ubayy said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I send blessings upon you a great deal; how much of my prayer (du’aa’) should be for you? He said: “Whatever you wish.”

I said: One quarter? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Half? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Should I make all my du’aa’ for you? He said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven.”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2457); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

There are narrations where the Prophet (SAW) gave specific numbers, and there are narrations like above whereby he didn't give fixed number. Certainly we do not know more than him, we are told to obey the messanger (SAW), that is where guidance is.

And Allah t'ala Knows best.

dragnet:
I pray Allaah guides and preserves you upon haqq... Aameen

Ameen brother, Jazakumullahu khayran for the prayers.

sino:
Thank you for the correction AlBaqir, it is some sahaba, not all the sahaba.

May Allah bless the righteous and steadfast companions.

sino:
The bold is one of the issues with reciting 4000 this or 10,000 that, most of the people given this dhikr or Qur'an recitation cannot even read the Qur'an with proper tajweed, they cannot pronounce Arabic words correctly, and out of haste, they start mumbo jumbo. I have seen people recite the Qur'an, and i was perplexed, don't even let me start with some of the tricks they use (awa naa le aja alabi die )...and for what? they must recite a fixed number of surahs because of reasons not explicitly stated in the shar'ah!

Indeed you are truly very right@bold.

sino:
If there is any of such private ibaadat that was never seen or reported by anyone, even by his closest families, then such ibadaat is not meant for us.

Sure^. But those little private 'compound' ibaadat witnessed and reported by his household can be followed also. We are at liberty. There are lots of practice 'introduced' by the sahaba, in the acts of their private life ibaadat', during the lifetime of Nabi (peace be on him and his progeny) which he never taught them before. He heard about it and he never objected to it.

There are lots of practices they introduced after his demise which he never ordered them to do. Are the "sunnah" recommended to them not enough for them?

sino:
Narrated 'Aisha (RA):

Whenever Allah's Apostle ordered the Muslims to do something, he used to order them deeds which were easy for them to do, (according to their strength endurance). They said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are not like you. Allah has forgiven your past and future sins." So Allah's Apostle became angry and it was apparent on his face. He said, "I am the most Allah fearing, and know Allah better than all of you do."
Sahih Bukhari Vol 1, Book 2, No 19

And I have been careful not to use bid'ah or haram for anyone, just trying to explain what is expected of us as Muslims.

The alien ideology of today's young muslims is anything not found in the book recommended by the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) will be tagged "Bid'ah/Haram" and ahlu Bid'ah or Kufr will be declared upon whoever venture into it.

sino:
There is no doubt that the presence of a Prophet, a wali or even a righteous scholar, brings special blessings, but Allah's Rahma is always abundant and ever present with us, the Qur'an and Sunnah, are still with us, they are special blessings of Allah (SWT).

Absolutely right.

sino:
It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When two-thirds of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would say: “O people, remember Allaah, remember Allaah. The first Trumpet is about to sound, and will soon be followed by the second; death has come with all that it entails, death has come with all that it entails.” Ubayy said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I send blessings upon you a great deal; how much of my prayer (du’aa’) should be for you? He said: “Whatever you wish.”

I said: One quarter? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Half? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Should I make all my du’aa’ for you? He said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven.”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2457); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

There are narrations where the Prophet (SAW) gave specific numbers, and there are narrations like above whereby he didn't give fixed number. Certainly we do not know more than him, we are told to obey the messanger (SAW), that is where guidance is.

And Allah t'ala Knows best.

Thanks a lot for this tradition. A perfect answer to my "question"^ Jazakumu'llahu khair.

This is about Salawat ala Nabiyy. Do as you wish. 1000, 10000, 1million...as you wish.

When Quran say: Say: 'Call upon Allah or call upon ar-Rahman; whichever (of His name) you call upon, He has the most beautiful names..." ~Quran 17:110

"And Allah's are the most beautiful names; so call upon Him thereby;..." ~Quran 7:180

Any documented ahadith on the above verse as to how many count we can do? This is liberty Do as you wish
If I recite 1000s repetitively of one of His beautiful names, that is Do as you wish.

@ sino, as you can see, so far, no hadith forbids muslims from doing dhikr as much as they want and as long as they bother no one. But quoting hadith cheaply to dissuade others and to achieve ones level of practices/understanding is simply irrelevant. At least, you are moderate in your view compare to some.

Fact is, we can not use hadith to divide or pass judgement etc. Quran comes first. Thats our primary source and it sums up a lot. You can not compare a muslim at lower level iman to mumin and musin. To reach levels of mumin and musin is no joke. Thats where real experiences are.

It's from among @bold we see real muslim scholars, physicians, astrologists, mythologists, meteorology, eschatology, epistemology, you name it. These people are not just reading books. They go beyond that. This doesnt mean they disown books. No. But to restrict Islam to books is just too bad.

Islam doesnt work like that. That methodology narrows the scope of pursuing knowledge. Thats what they are saying. Restricting Islam to book results only to memorizing this kitab and that kitab. Not much practical can be deduced from that. Quran laid emphasis on seeking knowledge. If any hadith restricts that, such hadith will have to be set aside. It's because we reduced islam to paper only is the reason the west trumped over us today. We shouldnt have to take our sick (for example) to non-muslim hospitals if we are firm on our iman.

Brothers,

Let me tell you what I have been observing for at least 2yrs in real world and few months on NL. I notice that muslims are not happy. Even non muslims are not. First all, in real life, we go to Jummah every week and it's the same thing all over. People get bored. What we hear imams say is "on the Day of judgement this and that rewards, evil will get punished" etc. Another jummah comes, it's "on the Day of judgement this and that rewards, evil will get punished" etc. Another Jumah, it's same thing over again.

Just last Jumah, another imam was talking about Salat which i personally have no problem with. But it seems because it is too routine, folks are getting bored. Guess what, a man sitting next to me said "this imam is crazy". This is during Jumah. One of the adhab of Jumah is to be silent during khutba. It doesnt matter whether you are comfortable or not. Point is, people get frustrated. They dont feel spiritual connection....something they read in the Books and history of past Ulama.

Two weeks ago, I came across article written by a muslim. He appears to be non practicing from the way he talks. Criticizing modern way and approach to islam today. Around the same time, I read another article written by a christian. He appeared matured. He also criticized not Christianity but muslims' modern approach. I definitely disagree with some things he said. But he made points.

Same here on NL, I have notice some muslims dont want to associate themselves with the muslim section. As you can see, in most cases, the same faces we see all the time. Those other muslims prefer to comment on non religious issues. So when i noticed this, I tried to narrate my experience about the man i was talking about on a thread created by a Christians girl tagged "Akudaya".

Subhanallah!, I cant imagine overwhelming comments and lots more emails sent to me. Both muslims and non-muslims. I could see clearly that people are tired of same old preaching/teachings. This is what I observed on muslim section and it bores them a lot. That's why I chose new dimension and started talking about mysticism, dikr and Jinn. Folks want to hear stuff like that. It makes their day. Now I am not saying such stories are very important to our deen. I am saying there is a need to give room for diversity. And not placing restriction on folks.

I also notice that after I narrated the story half way on Akudaya thread, it reveals that many are having lots and lots of problems mostly spiritual. They started asking me questions thinking I involve in some types of conversation with God. What i did was in order to avoid burden upon myself, I directed them here and one other thread on Jinn and how to deal it with. Yes, many did visit these threads but did not comment. They sent me private emails. Until now, I am still getting.

We should not restrict Islam to Books. Folks get bored. Folks want to hear karama. Why are we pretending we dont have that in Islam?. Remember, most of those people are weak. Weak muslims and Christians. These are people that need help.

Also, I didnt want to be too forward on a thread tagged "How To Get Rid Of Jinn". I appreciate all responses there to help the sister. But I sense that the sister doesnt seems happy. Remember she said she had been going to different places of Ruqya to solve her problems for yrs?. But she doesnt seem to have real muslims around her. She came here seeking help. It looks like she perceived the same thing she was being told in the past. Guess what?. I saw her on another thread where an Igbo man is having similar problem. The guy also went to different places of worship and problem never solved. He finally met what I consider haram path to subdue his Jinn. This sister asked if the guy could tell her what he used?. I didnt see any comment from her since then.

My point is if we pretend there is no karama in our time (in Islam) we are fooling ourselves. We sent many Quran verses for her to recite, she appears too burdened(my opinion). If we refused to do our duty, people like her will eventually seek help from haram means and they get better and vacate Islam. This is because of our st-upidity criticizing this and that. There is a need to allow differences of opinion. We have 4 Schools of Law in Sunni. Shia also have theirs. Each have different approach to things and it's still going to be in line with Sunnah. One aspect of interpreting Islam should not dominate and claim right to truth. I hope the sister gets better. She hasnt been communicating lately.

.

The point is Islaam is not as restrictive as some folks would want us believe. Imagine saying becos the Prophet and Sahabas didnt do a particular thing, then its bidya and haraam. Such a wrong notion. Its unfortunate many youths are easily carried away, due to youthful zest, by the erronoeus interpretation of Bidya.
I was having a discussion with a Salafi-leaning brother some months ago about the rosary (tesuba). He was saying the usual 'the propher did not do it bla bla bla' and it is bidya. I complained that I lose count easily and asked for a suitable alternative especially for the tesbih, tahmid and takbiir after solaat which has to be 33 no more no less. He said i have to keep repeating the whole ritual until i achieve accuracy, for every solaat. The question is why the stress when there is an aid that can be used if you need it.
The path of dhikr is a veritable means of seeking nearness to Allaah and upping your grade before him, that has been used by many of our predecessors. You cant compare me that hardly finds time to glorify Allaah, send blessings on the prophet and his family, recite the Quraan to someone who has a target he accomplishes everyday in these actions. Yes, i do all these in my Solaat but it is hardly enough.

^Salaafis are just reading and memorizing books. That's, literal understanding of text. I have come to understand that. I felt in their camp in late 2008 and was there until 2011. I meant on facebook. Then I learned that they are not penetrating Quran or hadith.

They memorize a lot and start talking everything they memorized from the books. Other than that, they (not all) speak aggressively and all that. They are more like militant stuff without guidance. I also notice that they are easily cajoled by Western govt who give them money and weapons to kill their fellow muslims they perceived kufar. I almost got in trouble because of them in 2011.

They are simply on basic understanding of the deen. That's, fundamental layer. Anything else beyond, they have no clue. This is not meant to vilify them rather to say fact. I also notice that there is a 'secret alliance' btw Salaafis and Judeo/christian. Average Salafi may not know but if you pay close attention to them, you will figure it out. I have been studying this for few years now.

They believe that anything not "written" or "seen" in the Kitab Quran wa Hadith doesnt exist. This is called protestant Islam. If you trace that, it links to the British. Let me give you example. Hadith speaks of Dajjal that it will ride on a "donkey", have it ears stretched wide and run faster. Sufis (men of knowledge) said this is religious symbolism. That text should not be taken literally. A "donkey" Rosul(saw) was talking about is here already. It's modern aircraft. But Salafis are waiting for a "flying donkey" (flesh) donkey(animal) with wings. Since a brother told me this, I know i am in a wrong camp.

The above example is just a trait of Dajjal. Doesnt mean Dajjal is here in person. Not yet. Also, their understanding is if Allah and His messanger have not interpreted a verse, no one has the right to do so. But Quran speaks in Sura Imran that some verses are clear. Some are not and are only known to Allah and men of knowledge. They are verses of "mutashabiat" and need to be interpreted(Tawil) As you can see, Salafis are the ones shaming muslims all over the world. Sad.

Empiree:
^Salaafis are just reading and memorizing books. I have come to understand that. I felt in their camp in late 2008 and was there until 2011. I meant on facebook. Then I learned that they are not penetrating Quran or hadith.

They memorize a lot and start talking everything they memorized from the book. Other than that, they (not all) speak aggressively and all that. They are more like militant stuff without guidance. I also notice that they are easily cajoled by Western govt who give them money and weapons to kill their fellow muslims they perceived kufar. I almost got in trouble because of them in 2011.

They are simply on basic understanding of the deen. That's, fundamental layer. Anything else beyond, they have no clue. This is not meant to vilify them rather to say fact. I also notice that there is a 'secret alliance' btw Salaafis and Judeo/christian. Average Salafi may not know but if you pay close attention to them, you will figure it out. I have been studying this for few years now.

They believe that anything not written in the Kitab Quran wa Hadith doesnt exist. This is called protestant Islam. If you trace that, it links to the British. Let me give you example. Hadith speaks of Dajjal that it will ride on a "flying donkey", have it ears stretched wide and run faster. Sufis (men of knowledge) said this is religious symbolism. That a flying donkey Rosul(saw) was talking about is here already. It's modern aircraft. But Salafis are waiting for a flying (flesh) donkey(animal) with wings. Since a brother told me this, I know i am in a wrong camp.

The above example is just a trait of Dajjal. Doesnt mean Dajjal is here in person. Not yet. Also, their understanding is if Allah and His messanger have not interpret a verse, no one has the right to do so. But Quran speaks in Sura Imran that some verses are clear. Some are not and are only known to Allah and men of knowledge. As you can see, Salafis are the ones shaming muslims all over the world. Sad.

If nobody commend you here, I will. I spent few years around the sufis. I can relate with all you ve said. @empiree, You are a man of Knowledge. I'm not here to flatter you. Practical Experience is the surest way to wisdom and understanding. I'd love to meet you in person but I know that wont be possible.
The people you call 'salafis' are (sorry to say) the same set of people that makes islam boring and frustrating to 'weak' muslims. I was once intimidated by people who make me feel as if my own way of practicing islam will lead me straight to hell without any chance of forgiveness.
May Allah help Us. No one is perfect. There is room for exploration in Islam. The problem is knowing when you are leading yourself astray. Surely, this can only be known by the mumin and musin.
My sincere apologies to those who will misinterprete and misunderstand my post.
Lastly, you do really know what you are saying @Empiree. I envy your knowledge and wisdom. It is the type I pray for each day.
Salam

sino:
and if someone comes with what is not recorded in the Sunnah, or there is a deficiency in the narration, we do away with it, clinging on to the established authentic sunnah, cos that is the best way to felicity.

The case of al-ibaadat is far different @bold. We are at liberty to exercise our personal reasoning to formulate dhikr so long its within the scope of the sharia. Its not necessary we limit ourselves to the two hard covers of the recorded books of ahadith.

The following is a part of the text of a talk given by Shaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller at Nottingham and Trent University on Wednesday 25th January 1995):

What is Bid’ah?

We now turn to the primary textual evidence previously alluded to concerning the acts of the Companions and how the Prophet, (Allah bless him and give him peace) responded to them:

(1) Bukhari and Muslim relate from Abu Hurayra that at the dawn prayer the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to Bilal, “Bilal, tell me which of your acts in Islam you are most hopeful about, for I have heard the footfall of your sandals in paradise”, and he replied, “I have done nothing I am more hopeful about than the fact that I do not perform ablution at any time of the night or day without praying with that ablution whatever has been destined for me to pray.”

Ibn Hajar Asqalani says in Fath al-Bari that the hadith shows it is permissible to use personal reasoning (ijtihad) in choosing times for acts of worship, for Bilal reached the conclusions he mentioned by his own inference, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) confirmed him therein.

Similar to this is the hadith in Bukhari about
Khubayb (who asked to pray two rakas before being executed by idolaters in Makka) who was the first to establish the Sunna of two rak’as for those who are steadfast in going to their death. These hadiths are explicit evidence that Bilal and Khubayb used their own personal reasoning (ijtihad) in choosing the times of acts of worship, without any previous command or precedent from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) other than the general demand to perform the prayer.

(2) Bukhari and Muslim relate that Rifa’a ibn Rafi said, “When we were praying behind the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and he raised his head from bowing and said, “Allah hears whoever praises Him”, a man behind him said, “Our Lord, Yours is the praise, abundantly, wholesomely, and blessedly therein.” When he rose to leave, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked, “who said it”, and when the man replied that it was he, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I saw thirty-odd angels each striving to be the one to write it.”

Ibn Hajar says in Fath al-Bari that the hadith indicates the permissibility of initiating new expressions of dhikr in the prayer other than the ones related through hadith texts, as long as they do not contradict those conveyed by the hadith [since the above words were a mere
enhancement and addendum to the known, Sunna dhikr].

(3) Bukhari relates from Aisha (Allah be well
pleased with her) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) dispatched a man at the head of a military expedition who recited the Koran for his companions at prayer, finishing each recital with al-Ikhlas (Koran 112). When they returned, they mentioned this to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who told them, “Ask him why he does this”, and when they asked him, the man replied, “because it describes the All-merciful, and I love to recite it.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to them, “Tell him Allah loves him.” In spite of this, we do not know of any scholar who holds that doing the above is recommended, for the acts the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to do regularly are superior,though his confirming the like of this illustrates his Sunna regarding his acceptance of various forms of obedience and acts of worship, and shows he did not consider the like of this to be a reprehensible innovation (bida), as do the bigots who vie with each other to be the first to brand acts as innovation and misguidance.

Further, it will be noticed that all the preceding hadiths are about the prayer, which is the most important of bodily acts of worship, and of which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Pray as you have seen me pray”, despite which he accepted the above examples of personal reasoning because they did not depart from the form defined by the Lawgiver, for every limit must be observed, while there is latitude in everything besides, as long as it is within the general category of being called for by Sacred Law. This is the Sunna of the Prophet and his way (Allah bless him and give him peace) and is as clear as can be. Islamic scholars infer from it that every act for which there is evidence in Sacred Law that it is called for and which does not oppose an unequivocal primary text or entail harmful consequences is not included in the category of reprehensible innovation (bida), but rather is of the Sunna, even if there should exist something whose performance is superior to it.

(4) Bukhari relates from Abu Said al-Khudri that a band of the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) departed on one of their journeys, alighting at the encampment of some desert Arabs whom they asked to be their hosts, but who refused to have them as guests. The leader of the encampment was stung by a scorpion, and his followers tried everything to cure him, and when all had failed, one said, “If you would approach the
group camped near you, one of them might have something”. So they came to them and said, “O band of men, our leader has been stung and weve tried everything. Do any of you have something for it?” and one of them replied, “Yes, by Allah, I recite healing words [ruqya, def: Reliance of the Traveller
] over people, but by Allah, we asked you to be our hosts and you refused, so I will not recite anything unless you give us a fee”. They then agreed upon a herd of sheep, so the man went and began spitting and reciting the Fatiha over the victim until he got up and walked as if he were a camel released from its hobble, nothing the matter with him. They paid the agreed upon fee, which some of the Companions wanted to divide up, but the man who had done the reciting told them, “Do not do so until we reach the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and tell him what has happened, to see what he may order us to do”.

They came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and told him what had occurred, and he said, “How did you know it was of the words which heal? You were right. Divide up the herd and give me a share.”

The hadith is explicit that the Companion had no previous knowledge that reciting the Fatiha to heal (ruqya) was countenanced by Sacred Law, but rather
did so because of his own personal reasoning (ijtihad), and since it did not contravene anything that had been legislated, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) confirmed him therein
because it was of his Sunna and way to accept and confirm what contained good and did not entail harm, even if it did not proceed from the acts of the Prophet himself (Allah bless him and give him peace) as a definitive precedent.

(5) Bukhari relates from Abu Said al-Khudri that one man heard another reciting al-Ikhlas (Koran 112) over and over again, so when morning came he went to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and sarcastically mentioned it to him. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, it equals one-third of the Koran.”

Daraqutni recorded another version of this hadith in which the man said, “I have a neighbour who prays at night and does not recite anything but al-Ikhlas.” The hadith shows that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) confirmed the persons restricting himself to this sura while praying at night, despite its not being what the Prophet himself did (Allah bless him and give him peace), for though the Prophets practice of reciting from the whole Koran was superior, the mans act was within the general parameters of the Sunna and there was nothing blameworthy about it in any case.

(6) Ahmad and Ibn Hibban relates from Abdullah ibn Burayda that his father said, I entered the mosque with the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), where a man was at prayer, supplicating: “O Allah, I ask You by the fact that I testify You are Allah, there is no god but You, the One, the Ultimate, who did not beget and was not begotten, and to whom none is equal”, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, he has asked Allah by His greatest name, which if He is asked by it He gives, and if supplicated He answers”.

It is plain that this supplication came spontaneously from the Companion, and since it conformed to what the Sacred Law calls for, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) confirmed it with the highest degree of approbation and acceptance, while it is not known that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had ever taught it to him (Adilla Ahl al-Sunna wa’al-Jamaa, 119-33).

@Empiree, I believe my response herein to AlBaqir would also suffice as my response to your posts.

AlBaqir:
The case of al-ibaadat is far different @bold. We are at liberty to exercise our personal reasoning to formulate dhikr so long its within the scope of the sharia. Its not necessary we limit ourselves to the two hard covers of the recorded books of ahadith.

“...This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...” (Qur'an 5:3)


One day, after the death of Muhammad (SAW), Abubakr As-sidiq (RA), his best friend was weeping profusely. He felt life could not continue without the Prophet. He was very close to the Prophet, though he was two years younger than the Prophet.

But as it has been said, Abubakr was one of those rear gem who submitted himself completely to a fellow human being because of God. He submitted himself to Allah through Muhammad (SAW).

When the Prophet dies, Abubakr could not contain himself. He led people in prayers but he always ended up in tears, crying almost everytime. When he speaks, he cries, when he drinks he cries. They had lived together for 63 good years, and when Muhammad (SAW) came with the news of his Prophethood, Abubakr was the first man to believe him.

He wept and wept so much that other companions came around and said: “What is wrong with you, O Abubakr! Muhammad was a Prophet and it is written in the Qur'an that He would die...” Abubakr said: “Look! I am crying not because the Prophet is gone. He has gone to a better place but I am crying because when he was alive, if I make any mistake he would correct me or Allah would send a revelation to correct us. But now, how am I sure every step I take between now and the time I will die would be in accordance with the will of Allah, since there is no prophet to say it is the Will of Allah? Let me cry!”
(Shaykh (Dr) Ibn Abayomi, Lecture series 1. Islamic Spirituality, Essence, Deepness and Vastness. Advanced Academy Publishers 2005, page 59-60)

NB: This is a lecture adapted into a book, hence the way the narration is presented.

You cannot compare the Sahabas with the Prophet (SAW) in their midst, and the revelation still coming, with our time, that period was meant to teach us our deen, things happened for a reason, Allah (SWT) is the best of planners isn't He? Hence, using the narrations you posted as a yardstick for matters of Ibadaat, to bring in things alien to the Shari'ah is quite far fetched, and Alhamdulilah, you stated that the ibadaat must be within the scope of the shari'ah, and we know the sources of the shari'ah especially in terms of ibadaat, are the Qur'an and Sunnah!

So far, nobody has negated the fact that you can do as much supererogatory act as you wish according to your capacity, and we have established that your acts of Ibadaat must be Shari'ah compliant, not only that, that which is recommended by the Prophet (SAW) is far more superior to whatever anyone can come up with. Honestly, that is my aim, to let people know what is expected of them, and not to subject themselves to unnecessary endeavors...

below, I quote a sufi scholar from Turkey,

It is called Ibaadat (worshiping) to do the farz and sunnah and to abstain from the haram and makruh, that is, to carry out the rules of Islam, in order to attain Allah's consent and receive sawab (rewards). There cannot be worship without intention. It means to say that it is necessary first to have Iman and then to learn and carry out the rules of Islam in order to follow Rasulullah (Hadrat Muhammad).

To have Iman means to begin following him (Resulullah) and to go in the door of happiness. Allahu teala sent him for inviting all the people in the world to happiness and declared in the twenty-eight Ayet of Sebe' Sureh, “ O my beloved Prophet! I send you to humanity so that you give the good news of endless bliss to all the people in the world and guide them in this way of happiness.”

For example, a little midday sleeping of a person who adapts himself to him is much more valuable than spending many nights worshiping without following him. For it was his honorable habit to perform Kaylule, that is, to sleep for a while before noon. For example, not fasting on the feast day, but eating and drinking because his sheri'at commands so, is more valuable than years fasting that doesn't exist in his sheri'at. Little thing given to the poor with his sheri'at's command, which is called zekat, is better than giving gold coins of a pile as big as a mountain as alms with one's own wish. After performing a morning prayer in congregation, Hadrat Omer, the Emir-ul-mu'minin, looked at the congregation and, not seeing one of the members, he asked where he was. His companions said, “He prays until morning at nights, Maybe he fell asleep.” The Emir-ul-mu'minin said, “I wish he had slept all the night and performed the morning prayer in congregation, it would have been better.” Those who have deviated from the Sheri'at blunt their nefs (soul) by subjecting themselves to inconveniences and endevouring. Yet this is valueless and base because they don't do it compatibly with the Sheri'at. The wage for these works of theirs, if there is any, consist of a few worldly advantages. Whereas, what is the value of all that is worldly, so that a few of them may be valuable? These people are like dustmen; dustmen work harder and get more tired than anybody else, but their wages are lower than anybody else's. As for those who adapt themselves to the Sheri'at, they are like jewelers who deal with fine jewels and precious diamonds. Their work is little and their earnings are a lot. Sometimes, an hour's work provides them with hundred thousands of years earnings. Its reason is that the action compatible with the Sheri'at is accepted and liked by Allahu teala; He loves it.

[He has declared at many places of His book that this is so. For example, He declares in the thirty-first Ayet of Imran Sureh, “O my beloved Prophet! Tell them, 'if you love Allahu teala and if you want Allahu teala to love you also, adapt yourselves to me! Allahu teala loves those who adapt themselves to me.”]

Allahu teala does not like any of the things incompatible with the Sheri'at. Is it possible that rewards will be given for the things that are disliked? Maybe they will cause punishment. This subtlety exists in worldly affairs too. It will be understood when thought over for a while. Then, the capital which makes one obtain the endless bliss is to obey our Prophet's Sheri'at. All kinds of harm and instigation arise from abandoning the Sheri'at.

(Huseyn Hilmi Isik, Endless Bliss, (Translation of the First Fascicle of SEADET-I EBEDIYYE, Second edition-1974 page 19-20)

I don't know how people can be comfortable doing things that has no basis in the Shari'ah. In terms of Ibadaat, The Prophet (SAW) has thought all we need to know, he thought us how to protect ourselves from Jinn and he thought us how to do Ruqyah. Muslims have neglected the Sunnah, hence they are chasing miracle like the people of the book, looking for what is not lost....Ask an average Muslim what is the recommended adhkar after teslim from the five daily salawat, he doesn't know, but he collects different nankali for this protection and for that reward which has no basis in the Shari'ah, this is the issue we are facing in the Ummah, ignorance, and the absence of the right aqeedah. The earlier we return to the Sunnah, the better.

May Allah Guide us aright Ameen.

@ sino, honestly, this whole thing is in cycle. I hate to keep talking about this over. Those people chasing "nakali" and not knowing basics, thats their problem. You can not use that as platform to condemn others like your Alfa reciting as many "Ya Lateef" as he wants in his privacy. It's still sunnah to do so. Whatever he benefits from that is his. It's still within the Shariah.

“...This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...” (Qur'an 5:3)

^ no one denied this. The whole idea of doing as much dikhr as one wants is still within shariah. What is outside shariah is calling on others other than Allah. Do you want your alfa chanting Ya Jinn?

I have outlined before that our differences here is like scenario between Khidr (as) and Musa (as). Personal experiences are not binding on anyone nor does it constitute a new deen, nor does it scopes outside of shariah.

Hadith or opinion of individual can not be used to pass judgement or divide us. Quran comes first. As you can see, your Quran quotations in condemning doing good deeds unlimited are quiet limited. Just much of hadith and opinion of individuals. Quran sums up a lot. Enough said now. We are muslims and brothers. Walaikum Salam

Note, as for the sister inflicted with Jinn, supposedly. I think you missing the point. I have raised a question but brothers avoided it. You said:

The Prophet (SAW) has thought all we need to know, he thought us how to protect ourselves from Jinn and he thought us how to do Ruqyah. Muslims have neglected the Sunnah, hence they are chasing miracle like the people of the book, looking for what is not lost

I dont have problem with what is theoretically taught. Thats not the point. Points raised was...

Someone possessed by Jinn lives alone in another man's land where no muslims live. The Jinn possession is extremely classical. Sino and tbaba1234's assistance are sought, what do you do?

Please dont pretend these conditions dont exist. I have seen this. By classical possession, i meant most likely victim can not help himself or herself. This one is what the sister going through, i think. clearly no experience muslims by her according to her. And at the beginning of her thread she displayed just what i thought. You have to think outside the box. People have various problems. We need to approach them intelligently within the shariah.

Many ruqya seen on YouTube for instance, victims are close by. How about those far and alone? She even said whenever she sets out to go to ruqya place, Jinn lives her body to bypass the process. Jinn returns to her after she returns home. Also Jinn are capable of making dua (ruqya on themselves) difficult for their victims or discourage them. I ask you what do you do about that?. You have to have practical experience. Sufi ruqya is the same as in the sunnah. Not otherwise.

Please, I dont have problem with ruqya taught by the prophet(saw). Just think about those conditions up there, that's all.

@empiree, pls what about that sister? What is she up to now? You mentioned u saw her in another thread.

Also i think we've all said enough on this issue of Bidya. Enough for the discerning mind.

kazlaw2000:
@empiree, pls what about that sister? What is she up to now? You mentioned u saw her in another thread.

Also i think we've all said enough on this issue of Bidya. Enough for the discerning mind.

You right. i am not responding to that anymore. I already made up mind. As for the sister, i haven't heard from her lately. Let's assume she's busy.

sino:
“...This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...” (Qur'an 5:3)

Absolutely, Allah's words are truth. By perfection of Islam, it means the wajibat (obligatory) acts required of every muslim to the extent that they are enough to guarantee paradise. As per non-obligatory ibaadat (where companions exercise their personal reasoning), we are at liberty to do as we wish, and the holy prophet's (peace be on him and his progeny) recommendation is there, simple and enough for every sundry. Doing outside that is not haram or bid'ah so long you are capable of it and will not affect your wajibat acts in anyway hence justifications for many sahaba who acted beyond the recommendation ibaadat taught by the prophet to every tom, dick and harry. Not doing it (non-obligatory acts) at all i.e you just focus only on the wajibat (obligatory acts) earn no punishment or retribution. Doing it earn extra reward.

sino:
One day, after the death of Muhammad (SAW), Abubakr As-sidiq (RA), his best friend was weeping profusely. He felt life could not continue without the Prophet. He was very close to the Prophet, though he was two years younger than the Prophet.

But as it has been said, Abubakr was one of those rear gem who submitted himself completely to a fellow human being because of God. He submitted himself to Allah through Muhammad (SAW).

When the Prophet dies, Abubakr could not contain himself. He led people in prayers but he always ended up in tears, crying almost everytime. When he speaks, he cries, when he drinks he cries. They had lived together for 63 good years, and when Muhammad (SAW) came with the news of his Prophethood, Abubakr was the first man to believe him.

He wept and wept so much that other companions came around and said: “What is wrong with you, O Abubakr! Muhammad was a Prophet and it is written in the Qur'an that He would die...”

Hmmm...interesting story! Indeed the presence of a prophet is a blessing, a check and balances, not only for Abu Bakar but all who lived with him (peace be on him and his progeny).

But allow me to clear some myth in this story. In the effort and hard labor of sheik ibn Abayomi to intertwined the blessed prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) with Abu Bakar, he did made the following blunders far from the truth with sunni documented reference:

1. If the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) is 2years older than Abu Bakar, and they both spent "63years" together, that makes the age of the prophet 65 at the time of his death. History recorded him to be 63years when he died.

2. If they both spent "63years" together, that means they've started their friendship since age "0". There was no record of Muhammad and Abu Bakar before the former was appointed as a prophet of God. If there ever was, perhaps the later would not had ever been once a pagan.

3. The claim that Abu Bakar was the first to believe in Muhammad vis-a-vis accept Islam is another broad-daylight rape of truth. It is a common claim [size=20pt]with no validity[/size].

* Imam al-Tirmidhi records as narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam:
"The first to accept Islam was 'Ali"
Al-Tirmidhi states: This hadith is hasan sahih.
'Allamah al-Albani agrees saying: "It has a sahih chain".
~al-Tirmidhi, al-Jami al-Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi, vol.5 p.642, #3735 {annotator: Muhammad Nasir deen al-Albani}.

* Imam al-Haythami records as Narrated by Abu Rafi':
The first to accept Islam among the male adults was 'Ali and the first to accept Islam from the female adults was khadijah.
Al-Haythami comments: Al-Bazzar recorded it and its narrators are narrators of the Sahih.
~Majma' al-Zawaid, vol. 9 p.353, #15258.

* Imam al-Tabarani and Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah also records as narrated by Salman al-Farsi:
"The first of this Ummah to meet its Prophet (on the day of Qiyamah) will be the first of them to accept Islam, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib"

Sheik Muhammad shakur ibn Mahmud al-Haji comments: Al-Haythami said: "Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy)."
~al-Tabarani, kitab al-Awail, p. 78, #51.
~Ibn Abi Shaybah, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah fi al-Ahadith wa al-Athar, vol. 8, p.350, #222

Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr summed up:
"Salman, Abu Dharr, al-Miqdad, Khabab, Jabir, Abu Sa'I'd al-Khudri and Zayd ibn Arqam narrated that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first to accept Islam, and these people placed him in rank above everyone else."
~al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-Ashab, vol. 3 p.1090, #6121.

By Joining another earliest convert, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, to the list above, the report becomes Muttawattir apart from report from 'Ali (as) himself, and Fatima (as):

Narrated Qays Ibn Abi Hazim:
"I was in Madinah. While I was moving around in the market, oil stones arrived. So, I saw some people crowding around a persian man who was riding an animal and cursing 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. People stood round him when Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas turned and stood in front of them and he asked, "What is this?" They replied, "A man cursing 'Ali ibn Abi Talib." So, Sa'd moved forward and they made way for him until he stood before him and said, "O you! On what basis do you curse 'Ali ibn Abi Talib? Is he not the first to accept Islam? Is he not the first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him? Is he not the most ascetic of mankind?"

Imam al-Hakim declares:
This hadith has a Sahih Chain.

Al-Dhahabi confirms:
Sahih upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
~al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3 p. 571, #6121.

sino:
Abubakr said: “Look! I am crying not because the Prophet is gone. He has gone to a better place but I am crying because when he was alive, if I make any mistake he would correct me or Allah would send a revelation to correct us. But now, how am I sure every step I take between now and the time I will die would be in accordance with the will of Allah, since there is no prophet to say it is the Will of Allah? Let me cry!”[/color]
(Shaykh (Dr) Ibn Abayomi, Lecture series 1. Islamic Spirituality, Essence, Deepness and Vastness. Advanced Academy Publishers 2005, page 59-60)

In Sunni dictionary, what is the definition of "Khulafai Rashidun (Rightly Guided Khalif)"? @bold.

Guided by who? By Allah! So what's the justification of the popular belief (though with no validity) that Abu Bakar was among the Khulafau Rashidun?

A Rightly Guided Khalifa MUST know and understand every single details of the holy Qur'an and Sunnah because that is the ONLY where guidance is.

The ONLY being who dare proclaim the understanding of every single details of the Quran and prophetic sunnah was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).

Imam Al-Hafiz ibn Kathir recorded:
"...Ali ibn Abi Talib climbed the pulpit of Kufah and said, "You will not ask me about ANY verse in the Book of Allah, or about ANY Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah, except that I will inform you of that."
~Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, vol. 7 p. 413 (2nd Edition, 1420H).

Imam al-Hakim, Imam Tabari et al also recorded similar hadith above. However, Imam 'Abd al-Razzaq records another aplomb:
"Abu al-Tufayl: I witnessed 'Ali while he was delivering a sermon and saying, "Ask me! I swear by Allah, you will not ask me about ANYTHING that will occur up till the day of Resurrection except that I will inform you of it. Ask me about the Book of Allah. I swear by Allah, there is NOT a single verse except that I know whether it was revealed during the night or during the day, or on a level land or on a mountain."
~'Abd al-Razzaq b. Hamam al-Sana'ani, Tafsir al-Qur'an, vol, 3 p. 241

This is my ideal of "Khulafau Rashidun (Rightly Guided Khaliph)". So I understand the fear of the 1st Khalifa, Abu Bakar as pointed out in the story. It is however unfortunate that the prophet was prevented from writing the document of guidance at his death-bed while some companions accused him of madness, perhaps the fear and cry of Abu Bakar would not have existed. The "cry" will just be limited to the "love" for Muhammad.

sino:
You cannot compare the Sahabas with the Prophet (SAW) in their midst, and the revelation still coming, with our time, that period was meant to teach us our deen, things happened for a reason, Allah (SWT) is the best of planners isn't He?

Don't get confused dear brother. Sahabas doing acts of non-obligatory ibaadat outside the prophet's recommendations, and his (saws) approval showed nothing but the exercise of "independent reasoning" as explained by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and other Shuyukh.

If I may ask, has the holy prophet ever say "Radi'Allahu anhum" after the name of any of his sahaba? He never said so! He never commanded or recommended that act even though Allah revealed the word in His Book! The sahaba too never practiced it either yet they read the Quran.

Only our "independent reasoning" judge its a good act.

sino:
Hence, using the narrations you posted as a yardstick for matters of Ibadaat, to bring in things alien to the Shari'ah is quite far fetched, and Alhamdulilah, you stated that the ibadaat must be within the scope of the shari'ah, and we know the sources of the shari'ah especially in terms of ibadaat, are the Qur'an and Sunnah!

Have we ever brought anything so far in this discussion, alien to the Shari'ah? Please point it out brother if there's any. What we are arguing about is "independent reasoning" in the non-obligatory ibaadat. Whoever make his own independent judgement or practice obligatory to people should be the one you have loggerhead with.

What is outside the scope of the Sharia are stuffs like doing dhikr or performing nawafil na.kedly, reciting Ya jabajaba ja'ilu, Ya Jinn (as Empiree pointed out), or as 'sheik' Onikijipa told some of his followers who would like to be enrich that they should perform Subh, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Ishai at the time of Subh, then repeat all again at every salat for xdays etc, and other stuffs like that.

sino:
So far, nobody has negated the fact that you can do as much supererogatory act as you wish according to your capacity, and we have established that your acts of Ibadaat must be Shari'ah compliant, not only that, that which is recommended by the Prophet (SAW) is far more superior to whatever anyone can come up with. Honestly, that is my aim, to let people know what is expected of them, and not to subject themselves to unnecessary endeavors...

@underline, absolutely, in the wajibat. As per non-wajibat, we are at liberty to do as we are capable of.
All these have been explain already.

sino:
I don't know how people can be comfortable doing things that has no basis in the Shari'ah.

Thank God for the bolded part.

sino:
In terms of Ibadaat, The Prophet (SAW) [u]has thought all we need to know[/b],

There are whole lots of things happening today never happened at the time of the prophet and no direct teachings on them. The Ulama however derived (formulate) rulings for it in line with their respective understanding of the Shariah. Bottom line, what prophet taught us (in this regard) are guidelines and prerequisites in our own personal exercise of Ijtihad.

sino:
May Allah Guide us aright Ameen.

Amin Ya Rabil alameen. Salam.

sino:
In terms of Ibadaat, The Prophet (SAW) has thought all we need to know, he thought us how to protect ourselves from Jinn and he thought us how to do Ruqyah. .

So here's the question:

Empiree:
@ sino,
Someone possessed by Jinn lives alone in another man's land where no muslims live. The Jinn possession is extremely classical. Sino and tbaba1234's assistance are sought, what do you do?

Brother, it doesn't even need to be extremely classical. ^That's a sincere question I'd like him to answer. To add mine,

It was reported that a blind man came to visit the holy prophet (peace be on him and his household), and requested the prophet to pray so that he could regain his sight.

The blessed Prophet recommended he perform ablution, perform 2 rakat nawafil and recite along with him a certain supplication.
www.nairaland.com/1995895/best-form-tawassul-intercession-using

Before the man even finish the du'a, he regained his sight. So by default, that is Sunnah and what is recommended. @sino, @tbaba 1234, @dragnet can you EVER do that in the name of Prophet had taught us all we need to know?

Truly he (peace be on him and his household) has taught us all we need to know but our spiritual capability is extremely low to his or faithful men around him; thereby, we find it difficult to perform such karamat or even less in a difficult situations. Practically, we need to upgrade our spirituality. If it is reported that the blessed prophet performed 8rakah nawafil or recited 'just' 70x Istighfar, it will be foolish of me to say doing beyond that is not necessary or bid'ah or haram. Muhammad (peace be on him and his household) reached the pinnacle of perfection. He connect with his Lord within twinkling of an eye. No disconnection at all. Whereas you and I are way behind, Far Far behind. 70x Istighfar can never connect or Return (tawbah) you and I to Him because between 50 - 60seconds of reciting that 70x Istighfar, our mind have wandered and disconnect itself from Allah, if at all it even connect in the first place.

A single rakah (out of of Muhammad is an 100% Miraj (ascension) to Allah. That's silly of me! His Qiyam (standing) alone is perfect connection. That's another silly statement! His takbiratil Ihram (a takbir that makes everything other than the taught of Allah forbidden), his pronunciation of "Allahu Akbar" is the highest form of Ma'arifah and thereby making his connection an instant. Bottom line, his 1 rakah might perhaps be equivalent to our life-time rakah in quality.

Men, Friends of God doesn't technically need quantity. Quality is what they strive for and even when they achieve this Quality, they never get satiated thereby they quantify it. Allah told us that Nabi Yunus (as) cried out "La illaha ilah anta subhanaka inni kuntu mina zalimeen", while in the darkness of the belly of a whale. Traditions told us he was there for 40nights. How many of that adhkar does he recited? 1 for 40days?

I know of a brother. I envy him of his connection with Allah. He told me secretly that if he committed a sin unknowingly, before he could ever gain that lower proximity of his back, he will need to change all his du'a to Istighfar for atleast 40days.

@sino, tbaba 1234, Empiree, kazlaw2000, our problem is we do not have any yardstick to which we practically measure our proximity to Allah with respect to our so-called ibaadat or du'a. We just do to the "best of our ability" or mechanically. The faithful sahaba got their assessment cards with the presence of Ahmad (saws) with them. The case of Bilal who once perform wudu, at any time, will pray until exhausted is a testifying case. Who gives you and I assessment card? Our spiritual experience can give a glimpse measure. Let's ask ourselves what exactly do we really have in terms of spiritual connections and proximity to Allah? What we parade today is theory.

Many true Sheiks who perform different karamat will never come out and relate to you their private form of ibaadat. That will be like showing off or scaring people from deen. You will only get to know perhaps through their skinny, weak flesh, sunken eyes etc.

I know of a brother who at worst in a day will complete 5000 salawat ala Nabiyy, he's been on it for ages. He related his experience of what that brought him. If he do more than that, he will experience more.

Sunnah (of recommended acts) is beyond mechanical documentation and zombie followership. The reality is practical experience. It is recorded through sahih chain that a faithful sahaba came to visit the holy prophet (peace be on him and his household) one morning, he has nearly loss his balance as a result of Qiyam Layl. The holy prophet asked him what his experience like and he said, "Now I see Jannah exactly the way you describe, and I see Jahanam..." He asked the prophet to pray for him to die as a martyr and soon he participated in a battle and was killed.

Salam alaykum.

^May God(Aza'wajal) of Abraham bless your brain. I hope they get it.

AlBaqir:
Absolutely, Allah's words are truth. By perfection of Islam, it means the wajibat (obligatory) acts required of every muslim to the extent that they are enough to guarantee paradise. As per non-obligatory ibaadat (where companions exercise their personal reasoning), we are at liberty to do as we wish, and the holy prophet's (peace be on him and his progeny) recommendation is there, simple and enough for every sundry. Doing outside that is not haram or bid'ah so long you are capable of it and will not affect your wajibat acts in anyway hence justifications for many sahaba who acted beyond the recommendation ibaadat taught by the prophet to every tom, dick and harry. Not doing it (non-obligatory acts) at all i.e you just focus only on the wajibat (obligatory acts) earn no punishment or retribution. Doing it earn extra reward.

Look, what you have just stated here is quite far from how the sahabas felt about the religion. The shari'ah definition of ibadaat comprises of the obligatory and the non obligatory acts, that is why the warning about bid'ah is very high, the sahabas were very careful in doing things not sanctioned by the prophet (SAW), hence they always ask, the sahabas were always thirsty for knowledge and seek to know if what they were doing is right or wrong. And that is why we could know of such activities you quoted earlier, people notice things someone is doing, they bring it to the attention of the Prophet (SAW), they don't go saying, it is non obligatory, so no qualms na, abi?

It was reported from Abu Salamah, from Abdullah bin Amr (RA) that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Recite the Qur’an in one month.” He responded, “I find myself (more) energetic.” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Recite it in twenty (days).” He responded, “I find myself (more) energetic.” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Recite it in fifteen.” He responded, “I find myself (more) energetic.” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Recite it in ten.” He responded, “I find myself (more) energetic.” So he (the Prophet, PBUH) said, “Recite it in seven and do not do more than that.”
(Hadith No. 1388, Chapters pertaining to the Month of Ramadan, Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2).

It was reported from Yazid bin Abdullah, from Abdullah bin Amr (RA), that he said, “O Allah’s Messenger (PBUH)! In how many days should I recite Qur’an?” He (the Prophet, PBUH) replied, “In one month.” I said, “I am capable of more!” – and he made it less, until he said, “Recite it in seven.” So he (Abdullah bin Amr, RA) said, “I am capable of more!” But he (the Prophet, PBUH) said, “He who recites it in less than three (days) will not understand it.”
(Hadith No. 1390, Chapters pertaining to the Month of Ramadan, Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2).

So I ask you AlBaqir, what will you advise in regards to the above hadiths? This is not an obligatory act, it is supererogatory. This is a case of a sahabah, stating how energetic he is, that he is willing to do more, and still the Prophet (SAW) told him not to do more. Do you expect this Sahabah to go against the instruction of the Prophet?

Let me add another tradition, so people don't get it twisted in respect to the completeness of the Religion brought to us by the best of Mankind:

The Messenger (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said as is recorded by Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh about the perfection and comprehensiveness of his Guidance: "By Him in Whose Hand is my soul. I have not left a single thing which brings you closer to Paradise and distances you from Hellfire except that I have commanded you with it and I have not left a single thing which brings you closer to Hellfire and distances you from Hellfire except that I have prohibited you from it "
Reported by Ibn Khuzaimah and Ahmed

‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood (r) said:
“Whoever wants to follow an example, let him follow the example of those who have passed away, the Companions of Muhammad (saw). They were the best of this ummah, the purest in heart, the deepest in knowledge, the least in sophistication. They were people whom Allah chose to be the Companions of His Prophet (S) and to convey His religion, so imitate their ways and behaviour, for they were following the Straight Path.” [Al-Baghawi in Sharh as-Sunnah]

Abdulaah Ibn Mas’ood said:
“Follow and do not innovate, for everything has been taken care of, and you must follow the ancient way (i.e., of the Salaf).” [Ad-Daarimi in his Sunan]

‘Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (ra) said:
“If religion were based on opinion (what people think is common sense), then we should wipe the bottom of the khuff (leather slippers) rather than the top, but I saw the Messenger of Allah wiping the top of them.” [Ibn Abi Shaybah in Al-Musannaf]

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud said:
“No word is accepted without deeds and no words and deeds are accepted without a sincere intention (niyah), and no words and deeds will be accepted unless they are in accordance with the sunnah”.
[“Kitab Al-Ikhlaas Wan-Niyah”, 60].

Imam Al-Shafi’ie said:
“The scholars are agreed that if the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes clear to a person, it is not permissible for him to ignore it in favour of the opinion of anyone.”
[“Madaarijj al-Salikien”, 2/335].

Imam Malik said:
“The Sunnah is like the Ark of Noah. Whoever embarks upon it reaches salvation and whoever refuses is drowned.”
[“Majmoo al-Fatawa”, 4/57].

I believe this is why Scholars of the Ahl Sunnah, have based the acceptance of acts of worship, on ikhlas and 'itiba'ah which i had quoted Sheikh Uthaymeen earlier. Like the hadith on recitation of the Qur'an above, the act may not be bid'ah, or haram, but it can be makruh.

AlBaqir:
Hmmm...interesting story! Indeed the presence of a prophet is a blessing, a check and balances, not only for Abu Bakar but all who lived with him (peace be on him and his progeny).

But allow me to clear some myth in this story. In the effort and hard labor of sheik ibn Abayomi to intertwined the blessed prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) with Abu Bakar, he did made the following blunders far from the truth with sunni documented reference:

1. If the holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) is 2years older than Abu Bakar, and they both spent "63years" together, that makes the age of the prophet 65 at the time of his death. History recorded him to be 63years when he died.

2. If they both spent "63years" together, that means they've started their friendship since age "0". There was no record of Muhammad and Abu Bakar before the former was appointed as a prophet of God. If there ever was, perhaps the later would not had ever been once a pagan.

3. The claim that Abu Bakar was the first to believe in Muhammad vis-a-vis accept Islam is another broad-daylight rape of truth. It is a common claim [size=20pt]with no validity[/size].

Abu Bakr is a respected companion of the Prophet (SAW), Allah (SWT) recognizes him in the Qur'an, there are narrations of his close relationship with the messanger (SAW), there is no need to rope anyone with anybody, if you have issues with Abu Bakr(RA) and his khilafah, why not wait till judgment day and see where we all will end up...
In your haste to bring up the myth and blunders of Sheikh Ibn Abayomi, you didn't consider if 63years was a typo by the publishers, what was intended was 23 years of nubuwah?

It is reported that Abu Bakr is the first male, NON-FAMILY member to accept Islam, so the Sheikh is still right. I already mentioned that the quote is from a lecture adapted to a book, so such statement shouldn't make you go all defensive. And in truth, there are sahih narrations in regards to Abu Bakr, being the first male to accept Islam.

“ِAm I not the most deserving of it among the people, Am I not the first to become Muslim…”
Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, vol. 6, kitaab manaaqib, ch. abu bakr’s merits, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667 (hadeeth # 4029 in some versions)
Al-Albaani graded this hadeeth Sahih in SaHeeH wa Da`eef Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 8, pg. 167, hadeeth # 3667
Aboo Taahir Zubayr `Alee Al-Za’i said this hadeeth is Sahih in Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 6, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667

Sayyidina Abu Sa’eed Khudri (RA) reported that Abu Bakr (RA) said, “Am I not the most deserving of all people. Am I not the first of those who embraced Islam. Am I not the companion of so-and-so? Am I not the com panion of so-and-so?”
Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, book on merits, chapter 37-No caption, 3687

Jalaludin Suyuti (Sunni Scholar) in his book Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs), he died in 911 A.H.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said: Abu Bakr said, “Am I not the most suitable of the people for it (the khilafah)? Am I not the first to accept Islam? Am I not the one of such and such? Am I not the one of such and such?”

Al-Harith related that “Ali, said the first among the men to accept Islam was Abu Bakr”

Zaid bin Arqam said: The first to perform the prayer with the Prophet, was Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq.

Abu Arwa ad-Dawsi the Companion, said: “The first to accept Islam was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.”

Furat ibn as-Sa’ib said: … There is a disagreement as to him and Khadijah (which of them was first to accept Islam) until (it is said that) he married her to him, and all of that before the birth of Ali.

A whole group of the Companions and the Followers said that he was the first to accept Islam, and some of them claimed that there was a consensus on that. It has been said, “The first to accept Islam was “Ali”. It has also been said, “Khadijah”. The reconciliation between these apparently conflicting statements is that Abu Bakr was the first man to accept Islam, “Ali was the first of the children to accept, and Khadijah was the first woman to accept Islam.

Salim ibn Abi’l-Ja’d said: I said to Muhamamd ibn al-Hanafiyyah, “Was Abu Bakr the first person to accept Islam? He said, “No”. I said, “So how did Abu Bakr excel and precede others so much so that no-one else is mentioned but ABu Bakr?” He said,“Because he was the best of them in Islam from the moment he accept Islam until the moment he met his Lord.”

Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas said to his father Sa’d, “Was ABu Bakr the first of you to accept Islam?” He said, “No. More than five people accepted I[b]slam before him, but he was the best of us in Islam.”[/b]

Ibn Kathir said: It is clear that the people of his house, believed before anyone, his wife Khadija, his freed slave Zaid, Zaid’s wife Umm Ayman, “Ali and Waraqah.”

Source: Jalaludin Suyuti, Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs) pg. 18-19.

AlBaqir:
In Sunni dictionary, what is the definition of "Khulafai Rashidun (Rightly Guided Khalif)"? @bold.

Guided by who? By Allah! So what's the justification of the popular belief (though with no validity) that Abu Bakar was among the Khulafau Rashidun?

A Rightly Guided Khalifa MUST know and understand every single details of the holy Qur'an and Sunnah because that is the ONLY where guidance is.

Seriously, brother, you have let this Shia ideology becloud your sense of judgment, what is wrong with Abu Bakr's (RA) statement that warrant using it to weigh his being rightly guided or not? Please read the following and know that a sincere Muslim, should always be in constant hope and fear, it does not matter how much of the Qur'an or Sunnah you know, please read tafsir of Al-Fatha by Tbaba1234 on the verse “guide us to the straight path”

Allah (SWT) says:
“Call upon Him with Fear and Hope.” [Qur'an 7:56].
“Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in Fear and Hope.” [Qur'an 32:16].
“Verily your Lord is Quick in Punishment and verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Giver of Mercy.” [Qur'an 7:167]

Anas – radiAllaahu ‘anhu – reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam entered upon a young boy who was dying. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam asked: “How are you?” The boy replied: “O Messenger of Allah, I am in-between hoping in Allah and fearing for my sins.” The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “The like of these two qualities do not unite in the heart of a servant except that Allah gives him what he hopes for and protects him from what he feared.”
Hasan – Collected by at-Tirmidhee & Ibn Maajah. Authenticated by al-Albaanee in Ahkaamul-Janaa’iz (no. 2).

"The lands will shake, the caller will call out, the beasts will be resurrected, secrets will be revealed, hearts will quake, the Hell-fire whose fire will be blazing, will come into sight. O slaves of Allaah, fear Allaah! With the fear of a person who is truly afraid, who is truly cautious, who truly sees (impending doom), and who is truly deterred (from sinning)."
— Ali ibn Abi Talib (radiAllaahu ‘anhu) [Hilyatul-Awliya 1/77-78 and Sifatus-Safwah 1/171-172]

Abû Bakr Al-Siddîq – Allâh be pleased with him – said:
I will not leave anything Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – did, except that I will also do it; for I fear that if I were to leave any of his commands and ways I would deviate.
Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh 2:386 hadîth no. 3093; Ibn Battah, Al-Ibânah article 77, and others.
Notes
After recording this narration, Ibn Battah states:
This, my brothers, is the greatest Siddîq (true believer i.e. Abû Bakr), fearing that he would fall into deviation if he were to leave any of the commandments of his Prophet – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him. What then is to happen in a time in which people deride their Prophet and his commandments, and compete with each other and show off in contradicting him and mock his Sunnah? We ask Allâh to protect us from slipping and to save us from evil deeds.

When Abû Bakr Al-Siddîq was on his deathbed he called ‘Umar – Allah be pleased with them – and said:
Fear Allah o ‘Umar, and know that Allah has deeds to be done for Him in the day which He will not accept if done at night, and He has deeds to be done for Him at night which He will not accept if done during the day. He will not accept extra (nâfilah) deeds unless you fulfill the obligatory deeds. The scales of those whose scales will be weighty on the Day of Resurrection will only be weighty because they followed the truth in this life and it was weighty to them. And scales in which the truth will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be heavy. And the scales of those whose scales will be light on the Day of Resurrection will only be light because they followed falsehood in this life and it was a light matter to them. And scales in which falsehood will be placed tomorrow truly deserve to be light.
Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Paradise and mentioned them in the context of their best deeds, and overlooked their evil deeds, so when I remember them I say to myself: I fear that I will not be included with them. And Allah the Exalted has mentioned the people of Hell and mentioned them in the context of their worst deeds and rejected their best deeds, so when I remember them I say: I hope I won’t be amongst them. Allah’s worshipers should always be in a state of hope and fear, they shouldn’t wish flimsy wishes about Allah and neither should they despair of Allah’s mercy.
If you keep to this advice of mine, no one who is not with you now should be more beloved to you than death – and it is sure to come to you. But if you disregard this advice, no one who is not with you now should be more hated to you than death – and you cannot escape it.
Abû Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyâ` Vol.1 p18; and Ibn Al-Jawzî, Sifah Al-Safwah.

AlBaqir: Don't get confused dear brother. Sahabas doing acts of non-obligatory ibaadat outside the prophet's recommendations, and his (saws) approval showed nothing but the exercise of "independent reasoning" as explained by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and other Shuyukh.

If I may ask, has the holy prophet ever say "Radi'Allahu anhum" after the name of any of his sahaba? He never said so! He never commanded or recommended that act even though Allah revealed the word in His Book! The sahaba too never practiced it either yet they read the Quran.

Only our "independent reasoning" judge its a good act.

Saying radillahu anhum can be traced directly to the Qur'an, Allah has used it on them, so thus we can, we are not introducing anything new to worship or Islam, so please you cannot use that. It is not an “independent reasoning” it is what the Qur'an categorically states. I believe there is lots of ikhtiram among the Sahabas themselves during their lifetime, and they prayed for themselves often, at least, praying for your Muslim brother is an act of sunnah, they learnt it from the Prophet (SAW), thus they would have practiced it often.

AlBaqir: Have we ever brought anything so far in this discussion, alien to the Shari'ah? Please point it out brother if there's any. What we are arguing about is "independent reasoning" in the non-obligatory ibaadat. Whoever make his own independent judgement or practice obligatory to people should be the one you have loggerhead with.

What is outside the scope of the Sharia are stuffs like doing dhikr or performing nawafil na.kedly, reciting Ya jabajaba ja'ilu, Ya Jinn (as Empiree pointed out), or as 'sheik' Onikijipa told some of his followers who would like to be enrich that they should perform Subh, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Ishai at the time of Subh, then repeat all again at every salat for xdays etc, and other stuffs like that.

What brought about this long discuss, is the issue of reciting adhkar and Surah of the Qur'an for a fixed count, which promises such and such rewards not documented in the shari'ah. The issue of a creature not classified in the Shari'ah. And my point has been to uphold the Shari'ah, following the Sunnah, for surely, that is where guidance is.

AlBaqir: @underline, absolutely, in the wajibat. As per non-wajibat, we are at liberty to do as we are capable of.
All these have been explain already.



Thank God for the bolded part.

Oh dear brother, what i'm trying to say is this for example; the Prophet (SAW) thought the Sahaba isthikhara, it is not wajib, it is a form of worship, so if someone now comes and said, if you want to make a decision, recite khaf, Ya sin, and isawaka, recite them on a daily basis for 7 days, Allah (SWT) will guide you and give you this and that, indeed, reciting the Qur'an has its benefits, guidance is part of it, and it is a form of dua'a. But the Prophet (SAW) has thought us what to do, the person has no solid foundation on what he is doing or calling people to do, the Prophet (SAW) nor his companions said those specific surahs should be recited when one wants to make a decision or when one seeks guidance...that which the Prophet (SAW) thought, is far more superior to that which anyone can come up with. He is our teacher, our leader, we must follow him. I hope you can see what I am trying to say?

AlBaqir: There are whole lots of things happening today never happened at the time of the prophet and no direct teachings on them. The Ulama however derived (formulate) rulings for it in line with their respective understanding of the Shariah. Bottom line, what prophet taught us (in this regard) are guidelines and prerequisites in our own personal exercise of Ijtihad.

You should note that I have been very careful in just talking about worship which is part of the fundamentals of the religion (Usool-u-deen), one of the major task of the Prophet (SAW) is to teach us how to worship. I do not know of what new things in terms of worship that is happening these days, everything about worship has been taken care of.

Abdulaah Ibn Mas’ood said:

“Follow and do not innovate, for everything has been taken care of, and you must follow the ancient way (i.e., of the Salaf).” [Ad-Daarimi in his Sunan]

And did I read you right? Personal ijtihad? By who? Me and you? Even issues on other branches of religion (Furoo' deen) not explicitly stated in the Shar'ah are tabled to the scholars, for they are those with knowledge who are capable of Ijtihad, and it is not every scholar that can even do Ijtihad.

sino:
Look, what you have just stated here is quite far from how the sahabas felt about the religion. The shari'ah definition of ibadaat comprises of the obligatory and the non obligatory acts, that is why the warning about bid'ah is very high, the sahabas were very careful in doing things not sanctioned by the prophet (SAW), hence they always ask, the sahabas were always thirsty for knowledge and seek to know if what they were doing is right or wrong. And that is why we could know of such activities you quoted earlier, people notice things someone is doing, they bring it to the attention of the Prophet (SAW), they don't go saying, it is non obligatory, so no qualms na, abi?

We have resolved this before. The holy prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) was their sole guide, in their midst, blood and flesh so they have no choice but to ask. Even those who did anything (wrong)openly or secretly, the All-knowing usually inform His prophet of those secretive acts. 1. The fact still remains that many of them used their no.6 in certain acts and the prophet heard about it and never objected since those acts are still within the scope of the Sharia. 2. Those that are not right on the practice, he corrected them. It is between these two, we are basing many 'new' judgment and conclusion.

Alas! What many sahaba did after the demise of the holy prophet was enormously erroneous. Here's a confession:

Ahmad b. Ishkab - Muhammad b. Fudayl - al-'Ala b. Al-Musayyab - his father (al-Musayyab):
"I met al-Bara b. Azib and I said, "Congratulations to you! You kept company of the prophet, peace be upon him, and gave him ba'yah under the tree.' As a result of this, he replied, "O son of my brother, you do not know what WE HAVE INNOVATED after him."
~Sahih al-Bukhari vol.4 p. 1529, #3937

And the holy Prophet foretold this several times:

Imam Bukhari in his Sahih documented this hadith of Ibn Abbas:
'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "You will be resurrected bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised." Then he recited:{As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: a promise We have undertaken. Truly, We shall do it} [21:104]. He continued: "The first to be dressed will be Ibrahim. Then, some of my SAHABAH will be taken towards the Right side AND TOWARDS THE LEFT SIDE. So, I will say: 'My Sahabah! It will be said, 'THEY HAD BEEN APOSTATES SINCE YOU LEFT THEM.' I will then say as the Righteous servant, 'Isa b. Maryam, said: {And I was a witness over them whilst I lived amongst them. But, when You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} [5:117-118]'
~Sahih al-Bukhari vol. 3 p. 1271, #3263

This hadith ends with the following:
'Muhammad b. Yusuf narrated from Abu 'Abd Allah that Qubaysah said: "They were those who apostatized during the time of Abu Bakar. So Abu Bakar, may Allah be pleased with him, fought them."

Really that was personal claim of Qubaysah. The holy prophet's wording are too explicit in the categories his sahabas will be divided. And those whom Abu Bakar fought were not even inhabitant of Medina who used to keep the holy prophet's company. The specifications of the deviators were so glaring that:

Anas b. Malik reports that
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Some persons from amongst those who kept me company will meet me at the Lake-fount. I will see them, and they will be presented to me. Then, they will be forced away from me. [b]I will say: 'O my Lord, my Sahabah! My Sahabah.' It will be said to me: 'You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.'"
~Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, p. 1800, #2304 (40)

I tried to limit the space not to post many deadly innovations (Bid'ah) introduced by some prominent sahaba recorded in Sunni kutubu Sahih Sittah. Their own Bid'ah is even on the Wahjibat blatantly opposing Qur'an and Sunnati Nabiyy, and establishing what Rasul forbid. Yet out of emotions, many find 1001 excuses for them even at the expense of Qur'an and explicit words of the prophet.

sino:
It was reported from Yazid bin Abdullah, from Abdullah bin Amr (RA), that he said, “O Allah’s Messenger (PBUH)! In how many days should I recite Qur’an?” He (the Prophet, PBUH) replied, “In one month.” I said, “I am capable of more!” – and he made it less, until he said, “Recite it in seven.” So he (Abdullah bin Amr, RA) said, “I am capable of more!” But he (the Prophet, PBUH) said, “He who recites it in less than three (days) will not understand it.”
(Hadith No. 1390, Chapters pertaining to the Month of Ramadan, Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2).

So I ask you AlBaqir, what will you advise in regards to the above hadiths? This is not an obligatory act, it is supererogatory. This is a case of a sahabah, stating how energetic he is, that he is willing to do more, and still the Prophet (SAW) told him not to do more. Do you expect this Sahabah to go against the instruction of the Prophet?

Peace be on Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy, and his purified ahl al-bayt.

He first gave plenty room upon the request of the questioner. Then outside 3days, he subtly, reasonably and vividly won the argument with the bold^ Case closed!

If Albaqir will advise based on the above hadith, I will advise differently based on the capacity and assimilation of each questioners.

sino:
Let me add another tradition, so people don't get it twisted in respect to the completeness of the Religion brought to us by the best of Mankind:

The Messenger (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said as is recorded by Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh about the perfection and comprehensiveness of his Guidance: "By Him in Whose Hand is my soul. I have not left a single thing which brings you closer to Paradise and distances you from Hellfire except that I have commanded you with it and I have not left a single thing which brings you closer to Hellfire and distances you from Hellfire except that I have prohibited you from it "
Reported by Ibn Khuzaimah and Ahmed

Ma sha Allah! There's no dispute on this. By default, everything is Halal except what the Qur'an and Sunnah declared Haram. In the word of Ibn Abbas (ra):

"...whatever Allah and His prophet did not mention (whether Halal or Haram) is forgiving for they did not forget."

Recite this 100,000, recite that 50,000 etc is within this rule. But such "recite" should not be enforce or legislated. It should be based on individual capability.

sino:
‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood (r) said:
“Whoever wants to follow an example, let him follow the example of those who have passed away, the Companions of Muhammad (saw). They were the best of this ummah, the purest in heart, the deepest in knowledge, the least in sophistication. They were people whom Allah chose to be the Companions of His Prophet (S) and to convey His religion, so imitate their ways and behaviour, for they were following the Straight Path.” [Al-Baghawi in Sharh as-Sunnah]

Who are those "Companions" with such dignified status whom Ibn Mas'ud refer to? Alas! He himself was a prominent companion.

Neither Qur'an nor the Prophet allow us to follow every tom, dick and harry sahaba. Only those we are ordered to follow should be exclusively followed. Doing otherwise is at your own peril.

Allah ordered (by default majority of sahaba first):
"Obey Allah, and Obey the Prophet and those vested with authority amonst you..."

Even towards the end of his (saws) life, he declared:
"Alaykun bi sunnati wa sunnata Khulafau Rashidun...(Hold on to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly guided Khalifa..."

Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim and Imam Ahmad et al in their Sahih and Musnad respectively recorded:
"The Khalifa (in other version, the word 'Amir' is used) after me will be TWELVE; all of them from Quraysh"

Even the Quraysh is too big a clan, there should be specific selected candidates. Things then get absolutely clear:

Allamah Nasir Deen al-Albani in his "Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir wa Ziyadatuhu (Al-Maktab al-Islami), vol. 1 p. 482, hadith no. 2457 records the holy prophet (peace be on him and his family) to have said yet in another version of hadith thaqalain called 'hadith Khalifatain':
"I am leaving behind over you TWO KHALIFAHS; the Book of Allah - a rope stretching between the heaven and the earth - and my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt. Verily, both shall never separate from each other until they meet me at the Lake-Fount"

Then, Sheik (al-Albani) comments: *Sahih.

sino:
Abdulaah Ibn Mas’ood said:
“Follow and do not innovate, for everything has been taken care of, and you must follow the ancient way (i.e., of the Salaf).” [Ad-Daarimi in his Sunan]

What is that "ancient way"? If in your own interpretations it means "the Salafs", then who are those "specific Salaf" to follow? What is the justification to "follow" them?

The issue of leadership is sensitive and can lead follower to either Hell or Paradise.

sino:
I believe this is why Scholars of the Ahl Sunnah, have based the acceptance of acts of worship, on ikhlas and 'itiba'ah which i had quoted Sheikh Uthaymeen earlier. Like the hadith on recitation of the Qur'an above, the act may not be bid'ah, or haram, but it can be makruh.

That's the opinion of Sheikh Uthaymeen based on his respected understanding and conclusion. What about Ulama of different opinions?

sino:
Abu Bakr is a respected companion of the Prophet (SAW), Allah (SWT) recognizes him in the Qur'an,

Absolutely! AbuBakar was a respected companion, no doubt. But how does Allah 'recognized' him in the Qur'an?

Sura al-Tawbah verse 40 sum it all. This single ayah in its full context possibly corroborated by sahih ahadith of that very event of the cave revealed the true nature of Abu Bakar amidst whatever praise or accolades any other "sahih hadith" could give.

Imagine this Ayah was revealed on a year before the demise of the prophet.

Should you wish to reply this, kindly post the ayah in its full strength, and perhaps ahadith on the event of the cave. Then your understanding. Pls save the opinion of scholar A, B, C. Its not needed.

sino:
there are narrations of his close relationship with the messanger (SAW), there is no need to rope anyone with anybody, if you have issues with Abu Bakr(RA) and his khilafah, why not wait till judgment day and see where we all will end up...

Do I disagree on this? No! Where do I disagree? In sha Allah you will see them below.

sino:
In your haste to bring up the myth and blunders of Sheikh Ibn Abayomi, you didn't consider if 63years was a typo by the publishers, what was intended was 23 years of nubuwah?

This is a public forum and you will be judge based on what you post or claim. If the "publisher" or "the sheik" make the mistake, I didn't expect you to follow hook, line, sinker. And should you do the same, you apologize rather than criticize. sino, I am very sensitive in any religious matter. Those who know me will testify. So pardon my sensitivity, dear brother.

sino:
It is reported that Abu Bakr is the first male, NON-FAMILY member to accept Islam, so the Sheikh is still right. I already mentioned that the quote is from a lecture adapted to a book,

You never said this^. If you've done, there will be no need of the counters. Your exclusive quote was: "Abubakar was the first man to believe in him".

sino:
so such statement shouldn't make you go all defensive.

I don't defend because I have nothing to defend. I correct what is erroneous no matter how common belief it is, and I always stand to be corrected provided you prove my point wrong.

Okay nau. ....This needs to be put to rest. It's going to keep going on and on till Jesus returns. There are tons of Ahadith recorded. I can dig too and say this and that is da'ef or fabricated.

All I know is we can not use hadith, which sometimes are written to favor or fit certain desires, to divide, critizise what we consider "unsunnatic". Everything you all said up there will always behind Quran Kareem. Mother of all books. Period.

No muslims really dump sunnah. It only depends on understanding of individual sometimes. There is no restriction making dua. That's my understanding from Quran and thats the point.

I can form a dua on my own, in my dialect to praise rosul(saw). It's still part of the sunnah. Just can not be imposed on others. This is very simple instead of dragging unneccesary debate.

We should not be rigid or too rigid. From all indicaations from opposing views, still shows that we are on the same page. The diff is one is rigid, other is flexible..Enough and let's get back to Jinn stories

sino:
And in truth, there are sahih narrations in regards to Abu Bakr, being the first male to accept Islam.

“ِAm I not the most deserving of it among the people, Am I not the first to become Muslim…”
Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, vol. 6, kitaab manaaqib, ch. abu bakr’s merits, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667 (hadeeth # 4029 in some versions)
Al-Albaani graded this hadeeth Sahih in SaHeeH wa Da`eef Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 8, pg. 167, hadeeth # 3667
Aboo Taahir Zubayr `Alee Al-Za’i said this hadeeth is Sahih in Sunan Al-Tirmidhee, vol. 6, pg. 351, hadeeth # 3667

Sayyidina Abu Sa’eed Khudri (RA) reported that Abu Bakr (RA) said, “Am I not the most deserving of all people. Am I not the first of those who embraced Islam. Am I not the companion of so-and-so? Am I not the com panion of so-and-so?”
Source: Al-Tirmidhee, Sunan, book on merits, chapter 37-No caption, 3687

Jalaludin Suyuti (Sunni Scholar) in his book Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs), he died in 911 A.H.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said: Abu Bakr said, “Am I not the most suitable of the people for it (the khilafah)? Am I not the first to accept Islam? Am I not the one of such and such? Am I not the one of such and such?”

Al-Harith related that “Ali, said the first among the men to accept Islam was Abu Bakr”

Zaid bin Arqam said: The first to perform the prayer with the Prophet, was Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq.

Abu Arwa ad-Dawsi the Companion, said: “The first to accept Islam was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.”

Again you go this far^ to establish the same quote.

sino:
Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas said to his father Sa’d, “Was ABu Bakr the first of you to accept Islam?” He said, “No. More than five people accepted Islam before him, [/b]but he was the best of us in Islam.”[/b]


Ibn Kathir said: It is clear that the people of his house, believed before anyone, his wife Khadija, his freed slave Zaid, Zaid’s wife Umm Ayman, “Ali and Waraqah.”

Source: Jalaludin Suyuti, Tarikh ul-Khulafa (History of the Caliphs) pg. 18-19.

You see the bold^ accredited to Sa'd ibn Abi waqqas (ra)? Here is the same man on 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (as):

Narrated Qays Ibn Abi Hazim:
"I was in Madinah. While I was moving around in the market, oil stones arrived. So, I saw some people crowding around a persian man who was riding an animal and cursing 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. People stood round him when Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas turned and stood in front of them and he asked, "What is this?" They replied, "A man cursing 'Ali ibn Abi Talib." So, Sa'd moved forward and they made way for him until he stood before him and said, "O you! On what basis do you curse 'Ali ibn Abi Talib? Is he not the first to accept Islam? Is he not the first to perform Salat with the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him? [size=30pt]Is he not the most ascetic of mankind?[/size]"

Imam al-Hakim declares:
This hadith has a Sahih Chain.
Al-Dhahabi confirms: Sahih upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
~al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3 p. 571, #6121.

Some might argue "Abu Bakar excel in certain virtue", and 'Ali also excel in other virtue". That is another blunder and a fallacy per excellence!

Again let us refer the matter to Allah in His glorious book so that there will be no doubt or fanatical adherence.

"And when Ibrahim was tried by his Lord with some statements, and he fulfilled them, He said, 'I will appoint you an IMAM of mankind.' He (Ibrahim) asked, 'And of my offspring?'. He (Allah) replied, 'My Covenant shall not reach the wrongdoers"
~Quran 2:124

Ibn Kathir comments:
"...When he fulfilled the huge obligations which his Lord commanded him with, he appointed him the Imam of mankind, whom they must follow, and whose guidance they must copy. He requested Allah that this Imamah be connected with his lineage, and be uninterrupted within his offspring, and be perpetual forever among his offspring. So, what he asked WAS GRANTED, and he was granted full authority of Imamah, and the wrong-doers were excluded from its reach and it was made exclusive to the righteous scholars among his offspring."
~Abu al-Fida Ismail ibn Kathir, 'Qisas al-Anbiya', vol. 1 p. 232; 'al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah', vol. 1 p. 191.

"Offspring/Family of Ibrahim?"
"Verily, Allah chose Adam, Nuh, the Family of Ibrahim and the family of Imran above the worlds..." ~al-Imran:33

Imam Bukhari (d. 256H) writes:
"{Verily, Allah chose Adam, Nuh, the family of Ibrahim and the family of Imran above the worlds...Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit}. Ibn Abbas said: "{and the family of Imran} They are the believers from the family of Ibrahim, the family of 'Imran, the family of Yasin AND THE FAMILY OF MUHAMMAD..." ~Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 3 p. 1263

'Ali (as) was the head of Muhammad family, so he was chosen, selected and prefer above MANKIND. Never was the selection and preference above mankind based on blood-relation or closeness to the prophet, Allah's selection is through Iman and righteousness.