₦airaland Forum

AlBaqir:
Ma sha Allah brother. So be generous to pardon me. Since you guys love "ko eran mo ero" when it comes to Sahaba, I love making it emphatically clear that it is a slap on the face of the righteous among the blessed Sahaba to attach the hypocrites among them in the same rank. Even the righteous among them gan, according to Quran have different Darajat.



Again Sino, none of us is under obligation to follow any salaf. The only obligation upon us which you have boycotted is following the Ahl al-Bayt, the par of the Quran. Even our ardent sheik Ibn Taymiyyah in his prestigius Minhaj Sunnah confirmed that many Sahaba contradicted Quran in their rulings, and there are practical examples. Interestingly prophet was reported to have said in mutawattir ahadith is Sahihain that many of these Sahaba will introduce Bid'a thereby he will disown them on the day of judgment. Quran limit who to follow to "ulul amr" among them, prophet limit who to follow to "khulafau rashidun" yet you want the world to follow just any salad. Again hadith Thaqalain and Hadith Khalifatain knock your socks off completely.

Should you wish to follow every tom, dick and harry salaf, that's your wish. [\quot]

We know the righteous predecessors, Allah (SWT) has praised them, the Prophet (SAW) had praised them up to the 3rd generation, they follow the Qur’an and the sunnah strictly, and they strive to weed out deviant ideologies (bid’ah) from those who started adopting Greek philosophy and logic, as well as other heresies into the fabrics of the deen. We have their books, their narrations have been passed down to us through a well structured process that quickly eradicates any form of fabrications, and their understanding of the deen is the best, for the these facts, it is obligatory to follow them. Why do you think Allah (SWT) says we should go ask people of knowledge if we do not know or understand? Who are the people of knowledge? Is it those who use intellect to interpret the deen, or those who have knowledge of the deen following the Qur’an and the sunnah?! You can say you are not under any obligation to follow the salaf, but it is common sense to follow those who have succeeded, it’s a simple fundamental principle in life, and you don’t even need to be told!


[quote author=AlBaqir post=38002832]My dear brother I agree 100% with you here. We NEVER claimed our hadith collection are free from errors and fabrication. In fact, Shia standard is if any hadith contradict Quran in anyway, it is batil. And mark my word, lanrexlan, can testify to this, I never claim "sahih" for any of our books of hadith. It is your books that claimed to be Sahih all through: The Bukhari and Muslim. And you the follower are ready to protect their Sahihism even if you could see many ahadith in them that blatantly contradict Quran.
This is where I normally launch my attack the most.

On the other hand, when you talk about Shii narrators, I am glad to inform you that even Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim depends largely on them in their prestigious Sahih not to mention other Sunni aimma on hadith.

O dear! But from what I have found online, it seems you are on your own with this opinion, perhaps I’m wrong, these are what I read from your scholars about Al-Kafi

* Here are some of the Shia most reliable Scholars' sayings about AlKafi :

[1] AlHur Al'amily said " The authors of the Four Books of shia ( Alkafi , AlIstibsaar , AlTahzeeb , Mun La YahDuruHu Alfaqeeh ) have testified that the Hadiths of their books are accurate (saheeh) , firm and well conducted from the roots that all shia agreed on , and if you consider those scholars ( the authors of the four books ) are reliable then you must accept their sayings and their narrations . " [ Alwasa'el , volume 20 , page 104 ]

[2] Sharaf'Deen AbdulHussain Mosawy said : " Alkafi , AlIsTibSaar , AlTahzeeb and Mun La YahduRuHu Alfaqeeh are *MutawaTirah* and agreed on the accuracy of its contents ( the Hadiths ) , and Alkafi is the oldest , greatest , best and the most accurate one of them " . [ The book of AlMuraja'aat , Muraj'ah number 110 ] ..... MutawaTirah = accurate 100% because it was narrated by many narrators .

[3] Muhammad Sadiq AlSaDr said : " Although The Shia are on the unanimity of that The four books ( Alkafi , AlIsTibSaar , AlTahzeeb and Mun La YahduRuHu Alfaqeeh ) are accepted and *all* the narrations in them are accurate ( Saheeh ), But they did not call them by the name ( Sihaah ) like AhlSunnah did ." . [ The Book of shia "Kitab alshia" page 127 ]

[4] AlTabRassy said : " Alkafi among the four shia books ( AlTahzeeb , Alkafi , AlIsTibSar , mun la YahDuruhu Alfaqeeh ) is like the sun among the stars , and who looked fairly would not need to notice the position of the men in the chain of hadiths in this Book , and if you looked fairly you would feel satisfied and sure that the hadiths are firm and accurate . " [ MusTaDrak AlWasa'el , volume 3 , page 532 ]

[5] AlKhomeini said : " Do you think it is enough for our religious life to have its laws summed up in AlKafi and then placed upon a shelf?" [ Al-Hukumah Al-Islamiyyah page 72 ]

But these claims are quite interesting, especially when you start reading the contents of these books, you can read more here: http://www.ahya. org/amm/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=72

I have already posted a link that shows the methodology of shia scholars of authentication, it leaves me speechless, in fact, every narration is suspect, I know the sites are anti-shia, I am hoping you can shed more light about what your scholars have said about your narrations….Who is lying and who is saying the truth brother AlBaqir?

Anyways, our method of authenticating hadith is very systematic and thorough, there can be mistakes though, but your shia narrations and methodology are all flawed (according to some of your respected scholars), no wonder you depend majorly on sunni narrations… Bros, remove the log from your eyes, rather than scream about the speck in mine bro, when your house is in disarray, you don’t go forming KAI in another man’s yard!

AlBaqir:
My brother, I do not claim otherwise. Unfortunately you quoted one side of the coin. What about the other side? What we claim which is supported by the Quran is that this hidden knowledge is gifted to whomever Allah wish or love. I do not need to quote verses in support of this for you.

You should quote the other side of the coin and let us see if your claims are correct bro. If we are to go by your claims, Is the gift of "hidden knowledge" about the interpretation of the Qur'an lost on the sahabah and the salaf salih when they affirm the rise of Allah (SWT) above His arsh? Did the Prophet (SAW) also failed to explain these "hidden knowledge" to his ummah?!

AlBaqir:
No sir. I did not. It is not in my fitrah as human being to even stand and survive impurity. And Allah is merciful enough to enjoined on us only what is within our limitations. However, if I find myself in dire situations to do so I will and I must just like Nabi Yunus. And to add, it is in the fitrah of man to call on Him anywhere we find ourselves in a dire situation. Quran testify to this.

Again those millions of microbes, and flies that tawaf that stinky faeces with the praise of the Lord while they perform the works assigned to them signify that nothing like impurity or imperfection before Him.

Oh! I almost forgot to add to the list our Nabi Ayyub (alahi Salam). His situation is so worse that his blessed body was getting rotten and decaying, stinky and smelling where he was deserted. He never stop praising his Lord and his Lord was closer to him than his jugular vein even in that state of his detested by human.

The manifestation of Allah is beyound theoretical knowledge. When you experience Him spiritually, you will realize His divine presence in everything.

Lol, your inconsistencies are legendary, so Allah (SWT) manifest himself in such filthy places and his divine presence is also there, why were you then carefully removing his dhat, when you claim his divine presence in such filthy places? and did you just say beyond theoretical knowledge? Wow bro, I thought we are all about the intellect, defining terms used by Allah (SWT) based on our intellect Allah (SWT) is the All Hearing, the All Seeing and His Knowledge encompasses all, He does not need to be in the belly of the whale, or in your stinky feaces to hear, know and see His creation and what they do...Subhanallah anma yasifun...

For the record, Allah (SWT) is perfect, thus imperfection should never be associated with him in any way or form, and this include what we understand as imperfection, such as filth, sins, immorality, etc. When you as a human would never stay 5seconds in a soak-away, or want to be associated with the strip clubs and other places of immorality, How dare you Put your creator in such places... Our beliefs have been consistent from the time of the noble messenger to the present, We believe in Allah's Names and attribute and divine essence the way he says it in His glorious text, and related to us from the best of mankind, and understood by the righteous predecessors, we do not liken it to our human limitations, or seek the howness and modalities...

AlBaqir:
Try and prove wrong my theories first. Those I gave vedaxcool. Am simply not under any obligation to answer any question you pose untill you prove me wrong how Allah in His power, glory, nearness, majesty and sustainability is absence in those "perfect creation" of His which by human natural limitations and nature is "filthy"? So explain how Nabi Yunus continue singing His praise in that state he found himself. By human standard and limitations, for your own safety, you are not expected to talk, or eat not to mention of performing salat where defecation is unless you are compel by situation to do so. Wudhu is purification of body and soul. If you are in a state of impurity and cannot find water to bathe (again human standards), He ask us to perform Tayamum yet those stinky smelly sperm is still all over you. In His wisdom, the only thing that could be more pure is your heart and that's what He needs. Interestingly, different kinds of flies created with specific functions in that stinky environs NEVER cease singing the praise of their Lord.

Prove you wrong?! Lol, We have done that repeatedly from the first page on this thread, we do not deny microbes living in the feces, but we deny your strange believe that Allah (SWT) is there with his names and attributes, we’ve repeatedly stated what the Prophet (SAW) thought his companions (including his ahl-l-bayt), and what was affirmed by the salaf, which is:


Sahih International

The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.

Muhsin Khan

The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). (Qur’an 20 vs 5)

Your beliefs are strange to the best generation of Muslims; you have not provided any proof except your personal opinion and one narration from Ali (ra) whith questionable authenticity. For benefit of all, let me quote a brief explanation of our Aqidah of Allah’s names and attributes:

In this area [of creed] - just as in all of the other areas- we are upon what our pious predecessors, Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamâ’ah were upon.

From that [creed], [there] is what Allah informed [us] of in His Book and what was reported from numerous routes of transmission from His Messenger [alayhis salatu was salam] that He is above His heavens, Risen above the Throne as the Most High said:

“Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you, then behold it shakes (as in an earthquake)?” [al-Mulk16].

And as is reported in the Hadîth of the slave girl that the Prophet [alayhis salatu was salam] asked: “Where is Allah?” and she said: “ In the heavens.” So He asked: “ Who am I?” She replied: “ You are the Messenger of Allah.” He said: “ Free her, for she indeed is a believer.”- And this is the truth in which there is no doubt.

With that however, we guard it just as our pious predecessors guarded it from false conjectures – for example, that it is imagined that the heavens shade Him or confines Him, for this indeed is false. We have been compelled to mention this, negate it and declare Allah free from it-and if the Salaf were never actually faced with [negating] that the people of innovation and their false implications would annoy and be a nuisance to Ahlus Sunnah- For the Most High said:

“His Kursi extends over the heavens and earth.” [al-Baqarah 255]

And He the Glorified said:

“Indeed, Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they cease.” [Fatir 41]

“He restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission.” [al-Hajj 65]

“And from His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command.” [Rûm 25]

And we believe that He, the Glorified, is risen above His throne, as the Most High said:

“ The Most Merciful rose above the throne.” [TaHa 5]

We do not interpret Istiwâ [rising] to mean conquering- on the contrary, it is upon its meaning in the language of the Arabs that Allah send the Qur’ân with. We do not liken the rising to the rising of any of His creation, rather, we say as Imâm Mâlik said: “Istiwâ is known, Imân in it is obligatory. The ‘how’ is unknown and asking about it is an innovation.” And it is in this manner that we pass on the rest of His attributes and actions, the Glorified and Most High such as; descending, coming and other [actions and attributes] that He, the Glorified has informed us of in His Book or what has been affirmed in the authentic Sunnah.

And we believe that along with his Istiwâ over the throne and His Highness above His heavens, the Glorified the Most High [we believe] that He is close to His slaves as the Glorified said:

“And if My slaves ask concerning Me, then indeed I am Close.” [al-Baqarah 186]

And in the agreed upon Hadith:

“Oh people! Have mercy upon yourselves, for verily you are not calling upon One that is deaf or that is absent-nay, you are calling upon One that is All Hearing, All Seeing. Indeed, the one whom you are calling is closer to you than the neck of his riding animal.”

He is with His slaves wherever they are and He knows what they are doing – as the Most High said:

“ And He is with you wherever you may be and Allah is All Seeing of what you do.” [Al-Hadîd 4]

It is not to be understood from His words: “He is with you” the intent of the heretics [stating] that He is mixed with His creation, or that He has merged in some of them or united with them or anything else of the beliefs of Kufr and misguidance- nay, we declare ourselves free unto Allah from all of that. And He, the Glorified has with His believing slaves another Ma’iyyah [‘with’] that is not the general Ma’iyyah and it is the Ma’iyyah of victory, granting success, and correctness-as is in His statement, the Most High:

“ Indeed, Allah is with those who observe Taqwâ and those who are good doers.” [an-Nahl 128]

So He, the Glorified, along with his Istiwâ over His throne and His ascendancy above His heavens, He is with His slaves wherever they may be and He knows what they do. He, the Glorified, is close to the one that supplicates to Him and He is with His believing slaves; He protects them, aids them and assists them- so His closeness- the Glorified, and His Ma’iyyah does not negate His ascendancy and highness for there is none like unto Him in His attributes, the Glorified. He is High in His closeness, Close in His highness.

(Sheikh Abu Muhammad AlMaqdisi, This is our Aqeedah pp. 4-6)

The above has answered all your questions, and Allah (SWT) says about worship by other creatures:

“The seven heavens and the Earth and all they contain glorify Him, and there is not a thing but extols His glory; but you do not understand how they glorify Him.” [Sūrah al-Isrā': 44]

Enough said!

AlBaqir:
Then none of you has ever try to attempt it: Can you separate Him from His attributes? Then, for the record, I have been very careful to use the word "Dhat (essence)", so I'm surprise how you instantly used it claiming I meant His essence is in faeces. About Dhatillah, I know NOTHING of it. So asking the question is a way of argumentation when your some salaf limited Him to the space, and claimed only His knowledge exist on earth. This is what brought my question that can He be separated from His attributes? How is He present in everything and everywhere? All these have been answered already since while I quote Mawla Ameerul muminin 'Ali (alaihim Salam).

Is He sitting down in His Essence on the Throne? Should some salaf attached body, legs, hands LITERALLY to Him, with attributes of moving from one place to the other, we got serious problem then, explaining His Essence.

Wow, you just keep surprising me, so you carefully left out the dhat (essence) of Allah (SWT) when stating Allah (SWT) is everywhere, did your intellect fail you? Is Allah’s dhat not part of his attribute? So you don’t know? Ponder on it dear brother, you will know how to explain Allah’s essence, use your understanding of wahadat-l-wujud bro, you can, your intellect is the key! Well if you are still confused how Allah (SWT) can be above His throne (with his dhat) and still be with us, read what I posted above, if you disagree, you are actually (or inadvertently) saying the Prophet (SAW) did not understand these attributes of Allah (SWT), his companions also did not understand it, as well as the salaf salih, except for you guys with superior intellect naudhubillah!

Okay, lets now look at your quote from Ali (ra) found in Usul-alkafi, can we accept this narration as authentic Albaqir? Give us the Isnad, give us the grading from your scholars on this hadith, while bringing this info I requested, I remembered to have read about the fabrications in shia collections, so I went digging….please clear me on these issues…

Jafar al Najafi (Died 1227Hijri) who was the leader of the Shiites at his time said in Kashf el ghita’a ” كشف الغطاء ” Page 40 about the authors of the four Main Shii Books:
والمحمدون الثلاثة كيف يعول في تحصيل العلم عليهم ، وبعضهم يكذب رواية بعض … ورواياتهم بعضها يضاد بعضاً … ثم إن كتبهم قد اشتملت على أخبار يقطع بكذبها كأخبار التجسيم والتشبيه وقدم العالم ، وثبوت المكان والزمان

And the Three scholars How can we be expected to take knowledge from them? When each Falsifies the narrations of the other…and their narrations contradict one another…And their Books contain News which is clearly lies like The Tajseem of Allah and the Tashbeeh and …”

Now the Modern Marja’a Abu al Qassim al Khoei’i Destroys the credibility of the modern day Books:

فالإجماع الكاشف عن قول المعصوم نادر الوجود ، وأما غير الكاشف عن قوله فهو لا يكون حجة ، لأنه غير خارج عن حدود الظن ، فأصحاب الأئمة وإن بذلوا غاية جهدهم واهتمامهم في أمر الحديث وحفظه من الضياع ، إلا أنهم عاشوا في دور التقية ولم يتمكنوا من نشر الأحاديث علناً فكيف بلغت هذه الأحاديث حد التواتر أو قريبا منه ، فالواصل إلى المحمدين الثلاثة [ الكليني وابن بابويه والطوسي ] إنما وصل إليهم عن طريق الآحاد فطرق الصدوق إلى أرباب الكتب مجهولة عندنا ولا ندري أيا منها كان صحيحاً وأيا منها كان غير صحيح ومع ذلك كيف يمكن دعوى العلم بصدور جميع هذه الروايات عن المعصومين ، وليت شعري إذا كان مثل المفيد والشيخ مع قرب عصرهما وسعة اطلاعهما لم يحصل القطع بصدور جميع هذه الروايات عن المعصومين فمن أين حصل القطع لجماعة المتأخرين عنهما زماناً ورتبة ؟! ) ، المصدر : معجم رجال الحديث ( المقدمة الأولى

Basically he says That there is No ijma’a that the Infallible Imam Said something except for in rare cases…for the fellows of the Imams lived in the age of Taqqiyah thus they had to lie and weren’t able to spread the knowledge of the Imams So How is it that The Hadiths have reached the Tawatur? Because all news prove that what reached the three scholars Kulayni, Ibn Babaweih and Al Tusi reached them through Ahad Hadith (Weak hadiths) because the methods used by Sheikh Saduk to the mother books are ambiguous and we don’t which is correct from which isn’t so how can we say our hadiths come from the infallibles? …And how can the late scholars say for sure that their Hadiths are from the infallible?!

source: Mu’ujam Rijal al Hadith, first introduction.

Muhammad el Hussainy in his book “Buhooth fi Ilm al Rijjal” “بحوث في علم الرجال ” :
في الفائدة الرابعة :
( إن أرباب الجرح والتعديل كالشيخ النجاشي وغيرهما لم يعاصروا أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وأمير المؤمنين عليه السلام ومن بعدهم من اصحاب الأئمة عليهم السلام حتى تكون أقوالهم في حقهم صادرة عن حس مباشر وهذا ضروري وعليه فإما ان تكون تعديلاتهم وتضعيفاتهم مبنية على امارات اجتهادية وقرآئن ظنية أو منقولة عن واحد بعد واحد حتى تنتهي الى الحس المباشر أو بعضها اجتهادية وبعضها الآخر منقوله ولا شق رابع ، وعلى جميع التقادير لا حجية فيها أصلاً فإنها على الأول حدسية وهي غير حجة في حقنا اذ بنأ العقلاء القائم على اعتبار قول الثقة انما هو في الحسيات أو ما يقرب منها دون الحدسيات البعيدة وعلى الثاني يصبح أكثر التوثيقات مرسلة لعدم ذكر ناقلي التوثيق الجرح في كتب الرجال غالباً والمرسلات لا اعتبار بها

“The Fathers of Ta’adeel and Jarh like sheikh Najashi and others didn’t live in the time of companions of Muhammad PBUH or Ali PBUH or the Imams PBUH so that their narrations could come directly from them. So Either their weakening or strengthening of Hadith is just from guess work or personal Ijtihad or transmitted one by one until they reach the imam, However It is not a Hujja on us because it is mostly hearsay…”

Source : http://gift2shias.com/2010/05/23/ilm-of-rijal-in-shia-world/

AlBaqir:
Then what are you implying with the noble verse above?

It means Allah (SWT) exactly as it is, Allah (SWT) created life and death, there is nothing like unto him, so you can’t start interpolating Al-Hayy to mean Allah is in every living thing.

Empiree:
@sino, I think you stretched it. You seem to give "everything" and "everywhere" another meaning. I cited example earlier that King Fard's translation itself says "everywhere" but in parenthesis, "by His knowledge". You appear to stretch the meaning of "everything and everywhere". I dont think Albaqir disputes Allah is above His creation.

So far, i do not see 'shirk' or 'polytheism' in his theory.

No brother,I did not stretch anything, AlBaqir believes Allah (SWT) is everywhere in all his essence, might, power and glory, since you can't separate Allah (SWT) from His attributes, So He (SWT) is in filthy places not fit for us humans, but since microbes do have life, and Allah (SWT) is the living (Al-Hayy), then Allah (SWT) is there in all His essence, might, power and glory, Subhanallah! (Albaqir prove me wrong if this is not correct about your belief)

He forgot about the fact that Allah (SWT) says: "(He) who created death and life to test you (as to) which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving"

AlBaqir:
it seems my brother, vedaxcool, is really interested in faeces chemistry and its unity with its creator, Allah.

Now on a serious note, lets consider these noble verses together:

1. الله خلق كل شي Allah is the Creator of everything.

Does it include your faeces, blood or not? Faeces composed of micro and macro molecules, living organisms etc. Who created, fashioned and sustains those molecules and microbes that works harmoniously. Allah or you?

Another ayah says everything He created is perfect. That consideration of yours in that "imperfect stinky faeces" is a perfect formulation of Allah. Its one of those things that keeps you alive and healthy when you pass it out and its value and functions in the life of living things is magnanimous. We have created not for fun....We have created everything with wisdom...We have created everything and assigned its course. الله اكبر

2. يسبح لله ما في السموت وما في الارض Everything in the heavens and the earth is praising Allah.

Does these include all the millions of microbes in your stinky faeces or not?

A pig whose habitat is damn stinky, who feeds on nothing but stinky faeces and the likes do constantly in that very state praise her Lord. And the pig in that state is another example of Allah's perfection in His creation.

3. لا اله الا انت سبحنك اني كنت من الظلمين "There is no god except He, glory be to You, indeed I am among the zalimun"

This munajat is one the best revealed in the Quran. It is that of Nabi Yunus. He cried and call upon his Lord in the belly of the whale.

Try to imagine how extra-stinky the belly of a whale will be. Talk about the stinky juices and hazardous chemicals with macro-molecule waste product in the belly of this largest animal. Yet Nabi Yunus realized his Lord is closer to him that his jugular vein and he never cease for days and nights calling Him. And Allah says:

[color=#990000]So We responded to him and delivered him from the grief and thus do We deliver the believers.[/color ]

Vedaxcool, if it was you, you will never have seen or realize God in that stinky place.
........................
How much you see and how much you think is what will reveal the secret of Him and His manifestation and unity in EVERYTHING on earth and beyond it to you.

Wa Salam alaykum brother.

Interesting, I had asked some questions you didn't respond to, maybe you can answer this ones...

Albaqir do you observe your salah in the toilet?

when you are defecating, do you do your adhkaar, chanting the beautiful names and attributes of Allah (SWT)?

If no, Why?

tbaba1234:
The fact that the universe is finite means that Allah exists outside of it..

Space and time itself are constructs of our existence in this universe . Allah is not limited by that.

That makes your question meaningless. We only understand space and time because we exist in this universe.

Allah describes himself in the Quran but we do not place human limitations on Allah and we do not take away from the way, he described himself.

Very simple and straight forward, how can you associate a creator with a creation, by using the conditions of the creation?! When we say Allah is beyond his creation, they think that is another space, place and time as defined by their own limitations, so they are left with two choices, Allah (SWT) is everywhere, which is problematic, it also gives limitation to Allah (SWT) in his own creation, or they say Allah (SWT) is nowhere, which implies non existence...they are in a quagmire of self inflicted intellectualism...

May Allah guide us on the straight path ameen.

vedaxcool:
Pantheism is the belief that the Universe (or Nature as the totality of everything) is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent God.

Monotheism is defined by the Encyclopædia Britannica as belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God.[1] The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church gives a more restricted definition: "belief in one personal and transcendent God", as opposed to polytheism and pantheism.

It is obvious these people talk of some other than Islam, when you say God is in everything, do imagine it to include your feces? or sewage? or blood? or garbage? Subahanallah! The obvious failings of this sort of thinking becomes evident.

If you say God is in everything then an Idolater can always claim to be right in worshiping a stone, a tree, or jsut about anything, simply put, he can "intellectually" argue he is worshiping God one way another.

In fact you would have no case against the Christians, since once again, these people can simply say, God is in Jesus, since you say he is in everything. Simply put, there will be no basis for questioning other religion's adherence to their various theological view point on God.

Sino and Co unah well done, but I tend to avoid an argument in which one party picks whatever itches their fancy and expects the other to abide by such itch!
My 2 cents.

Jazakumullahu khayran brother, I have learnt something new, and truth, those who claim Allah (SWT) is in everything risk sounding more like those who believe in trinity and furthermore, idolators, and can argue based on this strange "intellectualism" that they worship God, and perhaps a new group may come up worshiping feces, and would say, yeah intellectually, God is there Naudhubillah!

AlBaqir:
@sino, honestly you like going back and forth. You like opening what is irrelevant to discussions. I hate derailment.
This is not the first time. Anyway for the record, I have absolutely no problem with Salaf SALIH or taking from them. Please highlight the SALIH as i have nothing to do with the hypocrites among the Salaf which unfortunately the Sunni world see ALL as Saliheen. Quran and ahadith exposed them a lot.
If our aimma praised Sahaba and urged their followers to do the same, they simply refer to the righteous among them the way Allah Himself praise and send greetings to them. You can refer to sahifah sajjadiyah of Imam Sajjad for a chapter on Sahaba al-ikram. I am an ardent doer of this dua.

However the vital point is we are not commanded by Allah or His prophet to follow any salaf except the Ahl al-Bayt. I dare you talk about Hadith Thaqalain and Hadith Khalifatain which designated the Ahl al-Bayt as par of the Quran that must be followed provided you want guidance. Any other thing apart from these two is stray. Period.

Funny enough, who exactly are you trying to entice when you qoute long list of ahadith from Shii sources? Me or yourself? You see these ahadith as proves to your point (as if I against Sahaba) yet those ahadith I quoted from the same shii sources from Imam Ali that explain verses under discussion are meaningless to you.


Secondly, I don't need to expantiate on Quran 3:7 as you cannot agree with Empiree on the fundamental part of that ayah - "...no one knows the meaning except Allah and those who are grand in knowledge...". I am of the opinion that Allah grant these people these hidden knowledge but your manhaj disconnect the flow of the ayAh. I dare you talk about hadith Thaqalain.

Salam my dear brother.

I am sure you read about my translation of salaf salih to be righteous predecessors, it's no rocket science, righteousness cannot be translated to mean another thing...

You have dismissed the opinions of these righteous predecessors, of which the ahl-l-bayt are part of, hence i asked, are these righteous predecessors on falsehood for believing and explaining Allah (SWT) is above his arsh, beyond his creation, and also believing and affirming the apparent meaning in the names and attributes of Allah (SWT) He chose to describe himself like hands, eyes, legs etc. without denial or making resemblance to His creation?

My reason for quoting shia sources is quite clear, you may read the post again. For the record, the narrations found in your books are said to contain many fabrications, in fact some very disturbing narrations that do not fit public consumption. Sometimes I find it amusing that you try to pick holes in our narrations, when in yours, trenches and ditches can be found...but what do I know....Don't blame me if I do not trust your narrations, I believe in Allah (SWT), and I believe that the Prophet (SAW) is His messenger.

Yeah, Qur'an 3 vs 7 cannot be expantiated... Well, I believe only Allah (SWT) knows what is hidden. If you claim otherwise, Allah says:

Muhsin Khan

Verily, Allah! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).


And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. (Quran 3 vs 7)

Wa Alaykum Salam

dekatrons:
One tin I av noticed in dis discussion is that both sides bring verses from the koran to support dier views about God.....one group(saying God is finite) bring forth dier verses nd do not even bother about the 2nd groups verses whereas the second group (saying God is everywhere) also bring forth verses to support dier claim but unlike the 1st group also try to dier utmost to explain the verses from the group.
The first group should also try to do justice to d 2nd group's claims by trying to explain d verses d bring forth nd not resulting to an unintelligible and unfathomable claim that intellect cannot be used to explain d word of the koran...if this is so the non-muslims too will be correct if they say God is five,seven or even hundred and when we ask why deh say, intelligence cannot be applied in dis realm yet we "crucify" dem for it....
I think intelligence is what makes you distinguish btw correct and incorrect,ryt and wrong,true or false even the koran exclaimed "when a person brings forth a news to you do verify the news".. for verification requires intelligence

It seems you skipped some readings bro, go back and read again...

Again bro, you are getting way ahead of yourself, Allah (SWT) is finite?! Interesting, you are the one making this claim, not those of us who say Allah (SWT) is above his creation, believing what He (SWT) says and not trying to find (hidden) meaning other than what is apparent (zahir) and not literal (lugah).

Comparing what have been posted here in regards to Allah (SWT) being above his creation thus far, to an unsubstantiated claim of having more than one God is ridiculous I must say, proofs have been provided, from the Qur’an, hadiths and book of tafsir, but you just ignore them, why? You are bent on believing whatever argument that is contrary to what is explicitly stated in the Qur’an and what is reported in the hadiths and what the righteous predecessors believe.

So you are also into the intellectual gymnastics right?! Give me your resume bro, what do you know about Islamic knowledge? You graduated from Medinah? Al-Ahazar? Any University in Nigeria with a BA in Arabic and Islamic studies? Do you speak Arabic? Or you graduated from which local madrasah? How many Hadiths have you memorized with their chain of transmission? If you cannot comfortably answer any of the above questions, abeg come join my group, which is, bunch of Islamic religion enthusiast, in simple terms, laymen with the love for the deen. For your information, in regards to Islam, Allah (SWT), what the Prophet (SAW) says, and what the righteous predecessors held on to determines what is correct and what is not, not you or your intellect, your intellect can only help you accept or deny.

AlBaqir:
@sino,
What exactly is your point brother? That we cannot understand Quran or are not allowed to its in-depth meanings except we take only from the "salaf's" understanding?

From where does this theory emanate? Certainly not from the Quran and the Prophet!
And certainly We have made the Quran easy to understand and remember, but is there anyone who will mind?
{surah Qamar: 15,17,22,32,41,50}

In fact we are not duty-bound to follow any salaf except the Ahl al-Bayt for the prophet was reported to have said:
"O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will NEVER go astray:
the Book of Allah and my Offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt"
NB: This hadith is Mutawattir, so there is no sweat over it. Should you wish to challenge that, be my guest.

In another Sigha of the above hadith, the concluding statement is:
"...the two (Quran and Ahl al-Bayt) shall NEVER separate from each other until they meet me at the pool"

Apart from the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, there is no guarantee on any Salaf as per deviation from the meaning of the Quran, to say the least.

Intellectual Understanding of the Quran
Brother, did I hear you right that we cannot explore Quran intellectually?

Logic, philosophy and science are tools of intellectual capability endowed by Allah for man. This is what distinguished us from other creature and Allah says:
"...and We have honoured the son of Adam".

And if we talk about intellectual exploration of the Quran, what do we mean? Here we talk about an Aql embedded with Iman and ma'arifah not every tom, dick and harry so-called intellectuals.

Interestingly, Quran (vis-a-vis the Prophet) used a lot of logical and philosophical argument to awaken people to the truth. So how strange your Ulama feel disturbed when we explore these verses under discussion (about Arsh, kursi hand, leg, face and body of Allah) through intellectual, logical and philosophical proving when they themselves uses all these to prove wrong the atheist, scientist, and people of the book?

Quran was revealed simplified. And its structure are made known. It contain Clear verses which are made the foundation of the entire book. The other verses is Ambiguous [sura al-Imran:7].

How do we understand the Ambiguous verses? Definitely through the Clear verses for they are the foundation. Any building that deviate from its foundation is Batil (falsehood) and will collapse.

I laughed at length when you said I shouldn't think of you believing in anthropomorphic nature of Allah. Are you confessing some of the ahadith that blatantly claimed this in the prestigious sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim reported by one and only Abu Hurairah, are false?

Wow brother Albaqir, now we are talking about understanding the whole Qur’an and not the attributes of Allah (SWT) vis-à-vis ambiguous verses? Great! Now I keep wondering why you just fail to quote the whole verse of Al-Imran verse 7, is it because it defeats your claim for this your “intellectual” discourse? What did Allah say about searching for the meaning of ambiguous verses? Do you have deviations in your heart? How can you claim to understand what Allah (SWT) says is HIDDEN?!

So what do we believe about the aql (intellect)? Well, for starters, our aql is limited and deficient #Fact!

Therefore, we do not put the cart before the horse, the revelations/narrations takes precedence, and then aql is applied to be in sync with naql. This is the ways of the Prophets (‘Alayhim Salam), the companions (Radiyallahu anhum) and the Salafs (Ridwanullahi alayhim ajma’in). In usul-l-fiqh, aql is the last resort, after the Faqih has exhausted other options which can be categorized as naql (revelation (Qur’an), sunnah, consensus of the Scholars etc.). He does all this by applying ijtihad. If we do not need to understand this process, then, there would be no need for the Prophet (SAW), no need for companions and even scholars in the deen, everyone would be in the corner of his/her room and pass fatwa based on his “superior intellect”.

And in truth, Allah (SWT) has made the Qur’an easy to understand, except for those in whose heart is a disease and deviation, thus, Allah (SWT) states:

Muhsin Khan
It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad SAW) the Book (this Quran). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments, etc.), Al-Fara'id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (legal laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers, etc.)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. (Tafsir At-Tabari). (Quran 3 vs 7)

This verse above is one of the clear verses Allah (SWT) talks about, even a layman does not need a scholar to understand this statement, but we know that those with “esoteric” knowledge would claim otherwise, and this just explains much of their self deception.

How can you even start building, when the foundation is not there at all in the first place? Well, if you must know, the ahlu-l-bayt are to be placed under salafu-salih (righteous predecessor), they followed the Qur’an, and followed the best of mankind, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), they were the pioneers of the deen, so I see no reason to start making distinctions here… Using logic and philosophy that does not conform to the shari’ah is batil (falsehood), so making claims about Allah (SWT) which He did not make about himself nor the Prophet (SAW) did not make nor the righteous predecessor is falsehood, it is as simple as that.

I know you have little regards for the salaf (and this is quite unfortunate), except for the Ahlu-l-bayt, but such attitude raises a red flag! Why? Let’s read from shia collections…

وعن موسى بن جعفر عن آبائه عليهم السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (القرون أربع: أنا في أفضلها قرناً، ثم الثاني، ثم الثالث، فإذا كان الرابع التقى الرجال بالرجال والنساء بالنساء، فقبض الله كتابه من صدور بني آدم، فيبعث الله ريحاً سوداء، ثم لا يبقى أحد سوى الله تعالى إلا قبضه الله إليه بحار الأنوار: (22/309)

From Musa bin Jafar from his fathers who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: There will be 4 generations, the best of generations is the one in which I am living, then the second, then the third [Biharul Anwar Volume:22 Page:309]

In the Shia book ‘Muruj al zahab’ by Masudi states that Abdullah ibn Abbas [r.a] said:

إن الله جل ثناؤه وتقدست أسماؤه خص نبيه محمداً صلى الله عليه وسلم بصحابة آثروه على الأنفس والأموال، وبذلوا النفوس دونه في كل حال، ووصفهم الله في كتابه فقال: رحماء بينهم

Indeed Allah is the One with pure names, who bestowed His Prophet Muhammad [s] with such Sahaba who sacrificed their lives and wealth on him, and left everyone accept him. The God Almighty mentioned their qualities in the Holy Quran in the words ‘compassionate amongst themselves’ [Muruj al zahab, Vol. 3, p. 52]

Ali (ra) says:
لقد رأيت أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم، فما أرى أحداً يشبههم، لقد كانوا يصبحون شعثاً غبراً، وقد باتوا سجداً وقياماً، يراوحون بين جباههم وخدودهم، ويقفون على مثل الجمر من ذكر معادهم، كأن بين أعينهم ركب المعزى من طول سجودهم، إذا ذكر الله هملت أعينهم حتى تبل جيوبهم، ومادوا كما يميد الشجر يوم الريح العاصف خوفاً من العقاب ورجاءً للثواب

I have seen the companions of the Prophet but I do not find anyone resembling them. They began the day with dust on the hair and face (in hardship of life) and passed the night in prostration and standing in prayers. Sometimes they put down their foreheads and sometimes their cheeks. With the recollection of their resurrection it seemed as though they stood on live coal. It seemed that in between their eyes there were signs like knees of goats, resulting from long prostrations. When Allah was mentioned their eyes flowed freely till their shirt collars were drenched. They trembled for fear of punishment and hope of reward as the tree trembles on the day of stormy wind. [Nahjul Balagha, sermon 96]

وروى المجلسي عن الطوسي رواية موثوقة عن الإمام علي كرم الله وجهه أنه قال لأصحابه: أوصيكم في أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليهوآله وسلم : لا تسبوهم؛ فإنهم أصحاب نبيكم، وهم أصحابه الذين لم يبتدعوا في الدين شيئاً، ولم يوقروا صاحب بدعة، نعم! أوصاني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم في هؤلاء

Shia scholar Majlisi has narrated from Tusi who has narrated a Muwathaq tradition, from Ali that he said “I order you regarding the companions of the Prophet (s) , don’t criticize them, because they are the companions of your Prophet (s). They are his companions, they didn’t start any bidah in the religion, nor given honor to any innovator. Yes! The Prophet (s) has ordered me regarding them.
Hayat ul Qulub , Vol. 2, p. 621

Sheikh Saduq (a shi’a scholar) in his book “Khisal” narrated:
كان أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله اثنى عشر ألف رجل
28-5 حدثنا أحمد بن زياد بن جعفر الهمداني رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا علي ابن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن محمد بن أبي عمير، عن هشام بن سالم، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: كان أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله اثني عشر ألفا ثمانية آلاف من المدينة، وألفان من مكة، وألفان من الطلقاء، ولم ير فيهم قدري ولا مرجي ولا حروري ولا معتزلي، ولا صحاب رأي، كانوا يبكون الليل والنهار ويقولون: اقبض أرواحنا من قبل أن نأكل خبز الخمير.
THERE WERE TWELVE THOUSAND COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET
28-5 Ahmad ibn Zyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamedany – may God be pleased with him – narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim quoted his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, on the authority of Hisham ibn Salim that Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (alaihi salam) said, “There were twelve-thousand companions for God’s Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa ali). Eight-thousand of them were from Medina, two-thousand of them were from Mecca and another two-thousand of them were the free atheist who had become Muslims. There were no Qadarites, Marajites, Kharajites, Mo’tazelites, nor any who act according to their own opinions. They cried day and night and said, ‘O God! Please take away our souls before we eat barley bread”.

From the above shia narrations (I decided not to quote sunni narrations, cos I know you have issues with our books), we have seen that the best generation of Muslims are the salafs, no Muslim I know, have ever belittle their opinion, for their opinion is based on the Qur’an and sunnah (they are fallible, hence, we seek forgiveness for them as instructed by Allah (SWT) (Quran 59 vs 10). We all aspire to be like them, so their understanding of the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) and the Prophet’s sunnah is sacrosanct. If not for the fact that Allah (SWT) chose them, you Albaqir would not have the Qur’an, narrations you (selectively) pick from; the Hadith, the Tafsir, the sirah and all other branches of knowledge of the deen.

But what do I know, you might as well say they were all “anthropomorphist” like us who hold on to their understanding that Allah (SWT) is above his arsh above the seven heavens, beyond His creation, as He (SWT) states about himself:


Sahih International
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.

Muhsin Khan
The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). (Qur’an 20 vs 5)

You may try to force your understanding into what I present; you are just making a mockery of your ideology, trying to put words into my mouth. Allah (SWT) is nothing like his creations, but some of His attributes are similar in the way He (SWT) chose to describe Himself, we don’t seek to know the how-ness or modalities, for these are hidden to us, Sheikh Ibn Taymiyah did a very brilliant analysis on this issue (Al Qadr Al Mushtarik), but I know of your deep rooted dislike for this Scholar, so I won’t quote him, but rather say, we know and understand Allah’s names and attributes, based on the fact that we can relate to it as a result of what we know and understand about our own reality (not Allah’s (SWT) reality). For example, when Allah (SWT) says He is Ar-Rahman (The merciful), we know and understand mercy which we may use amongst ourselves, but we cannot explain what Allah’s Mercy entails nor can we describe it like our ways of showing mercy, so we look into the naql (revelation/narration), what Allah (SWT) says about His mercy, What the Prophet (SAW) explained, and how the salafs understood Allah’s mercy, an example of how Allah (SWT) explains His mercy is this; He (SWT) is Arham Rahemeen meaning HE (SWT) is the best of those who show mercy and in a narration, the Prophet (SAW) explained Allah’s mercy being greater than that of a mother to her born child…Now Albaqir, how do you use your brilliant intellect to explain how Allah (SWT) is Arham rahemeen?

It will be foolhardy for someone who claims intellect, to say that our believe in Allah (SWT) is above his throne (arsh) above the seven heavens, beyond his creation, or that He (SWT) has hands, eyes, or that He(SWT) speaks as stated by Allah (SWT) in his glorious book, entails us comparing and believing that He (SWT) is sitting on a throne like we do, has hands like our own, eyes like ours and speak like us…even amongst ourselves, we don’t make such comparison, because no two humans are alike, there is always a distinction, and even far-fetched and ridiculous is to compare and describe something we have never seen before to another even if they do have the same name or attribute.

So another question Albaqir, Allah (SWT) describes Jannah (Paradise), He (SWT) Says about Rivers of milk and honey believers would drink from, how do you use your brilliant intellect to explain these? Or the Huris, and the fruits and mansions in Jannah?! I think I’m even going too far, please help tell us what Alif, Lam mim means as used in the Qur’an, remember , your intellect holds the answer…

And again, you claim Allah (SWT) is everywhere, even in feces? And that your argument about bacteria in feces is laughable, so because Allah (SWT) created bacteria to live in such places means Allah (SWT) is there?! Subhanallah!!! What about the strip clubs and gay palours?! Or the shrines filled with Idols?! Even you Albaqir would never want to associate yourself with such places, so is Allah (SWT) in such filthy places too?! Subhanallah anma yasifuun….

Finally, we believe in Allah (SWT) the way He (SWT) chose to describe himself in the glorious Qur’an or through His best creation Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and understood by the righteous predecessors, we do not negate any of His names and attributes, nor try to explain the how-ness and modalities or try explaining in our own terms (intellect) and smuggling (into Allah’s words) alternate meaning of these names and attributes He chose for Himself (SWT), they are perfect and without deficiency, and nothing is like unto him.

Allah (SWT) knows best.

Empiree:
@sino, I understand what you passing to us. I admire it actually. But here is the problem with the verse you quoted as understood by many of us today.

"....So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. (Tafsir At-Tabari). (Quran 3 vs 7)

When Quran was revealed, it was revealed without punctuation marks. There have been debates on this subject overtime. Punctuation marks were invented by human. So the worst FULL STOP ever was placed here:

and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say:

It should have been 'none knows its hidden meanings except Allah and men who are firmly grounded in knowledge....'

Do we think for one second that Nabi Muhammad doesnt know everything in the Quran?. He knows front and back. Wherever Quran portrays the prophet having limited knowledge of things is only meant for out of respect for our human intellect. I do not believe for one second that a man(SAW) sent with this powerful message doesnt know everything with message he was sent. Thats literal understanding.

#Justsaying... I know a Sheik once brought this point i raised here.

Brother, I do not believe this is right, perhaps if the Qur'an was revealed in English, we might explore such angle you presented. The Arabic is quite clear, you don't even need punctuation to understand. Get the verse in Arabic, you would see what I mean.

AlBaqir:
@Sino, though your input has been explore already but thanks for your contribution anyway. The funniest part is that you also subscribe to the literalism of Allah having a body, hand, leg and face. And that He sit on the Chair in heavens. My question is what made your Shuyukh interpreted " He is wheresoever you are" (Quran) as non-literal but hell-bent to say "He rose on the throne" is literal?

However, whichever ways according to Quran you choose to describe Allah, the way He describe Himself, Allah want us to have this conclusion:
سُبۡحَٰنَ رَبِّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَرۡشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ Glory to the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of power, from what they describe.

Even His Asmaul husna do not do justice to His Essence. Bottom line Allah do not possess LITERAL hand, leg, face, body and does not depend on a chair or throne to sit.

Thanks for your time.

O AlBaqir, how nice of you to help color my submissions to fit your prejudiced opinions…

For the record, perhaps you and maybe others with same view as yours should know what I stated in the previous post is what is obtained in the Qur’an, and what our righteous predecessors held on to. I have not attributed to Allah (SWT) a name or attribute He never used for Himself, or in which the prophet (SAW) never used to describe Him (SWT), nor the righteous predecessors… I refrain from using logic and philosophy to explain these names and attributes, rather, as explained by my “shuyukh”, we take the apparent meaning, as such, we believe Allah (SWT) is above is arsh over the seven heavens is true and He (SWT) is with His creation is also true for He (SWT) says:


“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”

The companions and the righteous predecessors had also pointed to the fact that the apparent meaning of Allah (SWT) being with his creation is Ilm (knowledge) and they would not hesitate to state also, He (SWT) is over his arsh above the seven heavens.


In tafsir Tabari, in the ayah 4 of surah al Hadid, he states, “(and he is with you wherever you may be) means, He (SWT) is a witness over you o mankind, anywhere you are, he knows you, he knows your deeds, your ups and downs and your place of rest, He (SWT) is over his arsh (throne) above his seven heavens…” (Tafsir Tabari Quran 56 vs 4)

Same tafsir can also be found for surah Mujadilah verse 7 where Allah (SWT) talks about being with his creation:


“The meaning of “He (SWT) is their fourth” is that he is present with them with his knowledge, and He (SWT) is above His arsh (throne). ….Reported by Adahaak, in the statement “Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three….” Till Allah’s statement “He is with them…” he said: He (SWT) is above his arsh (throne) and His knowledge is with them” i.e He (SWT) is aware and knows of their secret counsel…

The above is the understanding of the salafs, there was no controversy, and my “shuyukh” also said we do not say as the Jahmiyah, and their likes say, that Allah (SWT) is with his creation on earth, for this ascribes an unbefitting attribute to Allah (SWT).
If you do not have a problem with Allah’s statement that He (SWT) sees, hears and speaks, I see no reason why you should have a problem with Allah (SWT) stating in His glorious book about having hands, legs or the face of Allah Jalla jalaluhu. What is fundamental is that, Allah (SWT) says:


“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”

It’s quite simple, you should disabuse your mind from anthropomorphic tendencies when you read Allah’s hand in the Qur’an, as well as other attributes, even a layman would not think these attributes have any semblance or likeness to Allah’s creation nor would they worry about the how or modalities of these names and attributes.

You may come up with “sophistry” in explaining away what Allah (SWT) intends with these names and attributes He himself (SWT) used in his book, well, as I stated earlier, Allah (SWT) has stated what is important to us as Muslims, and where our focus should be, hence, I’ll rather encourage Muslims reading this thread to read and reflect on this ayah once more:

Muhsin Khan
It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad SAW) the Book (this Quran). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments, etc.), Al-Fara'id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (legal laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers, etc.)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. (Tafsir At-Tabari). (Quran 3 vs 7)

And also this quotes by one of our respected righteous predecessor:

Ibn Qudamah Al-Hanbali writes:

“Imam Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Idries Ash-Shafi’ie said: “I believe in Allah and in what revelation tells about Him, in the manner He intended and I believe in the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in the manner he intended”. [“Al-Irshad Sharh Al-Luma Al-I’tiqaad”, 89].

And you should REMEMBER:

And of the best response to give by a Muslim when asked where Allah (SWT) is, is:



Sahih International

The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.

Muhsin Khan

The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). (Qur’an 20 vs 5)

You are welcome!

Assalam alaykum brothers and sisters,

Allah (SWT) says in the glorious Qur’an:

Sahih International

It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah . But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.

Muhsin Khan

It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad SAW) the Book (this Quran). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments, etc.), Al-Fara'id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (legal laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers, etc.)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. (Tafsir At-Tabari). (Quran 3 vs 7)

The Prophet (SAW) was reported to have said:

"No people go astray after being given guidance except that they are given to (useless) dispute." [Al-Tirmidhi]

One of the beliefs of a Muslim, is to believe in the names and attributes of Allah (SWT), believing in its completeness and perfection without similitude to his creation or deficiency, He (SWT) chose to describe Himself the way that befits His Majesty and Grandeur…So when Allah (SWT) says: He is the all seeing, the all knowing, He rose over His arsh, He(SWT) has hands, believers would see Him (SWT) in paradise, He (SWT) descends(befitting His majesty and essence) in the last part of the night etc. we believe without questioning “how” or explaining the modalities (kayfiyyah), we take and believe what is apparent (in interpretation and meaning), and worry not about the ambiguity, for Allah (SWT) had clarified what is expected of us (see Quran verse above) and all these (names and attributes of Allah (SWT) ) are well documented and happens to be the interpretation and position of the Prophet (SAW), his companions and the righteous predecessors, hence, I see no reason for a debate, rather I see a fitnah, one in which all Muslims with intellect should flee from.

Ibn Qudamah Al-Hanbali writes:

“Imam Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Idries Ash-Shafi’ie said: “I believe in Allah and in what revelation tells about Him, in the manner He intended and I believe in the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in the manner he intended”. [“Al-Irshad Sharh Al-Luma Al-I’tiqaad”, 89].

And of the best response to give by a Muslim when asked where is Allah (SWT) is Allah's (SWT) statement:



Sahih International
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.

Muhsin Khan
The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). (Qur’an 20 vs 5)

Allah (SWT) knows best!

In the Name of Allah the Merciful,

Please bear with me for my inconsistencies in posting, May Allah put our affairs right ameen...

….Continuation

Of things that are desirable for a Muslim to recite when going to sleep is Surat Al Kafirun and making it the last Surah to recite before sleep because it is an acquittal of polytheism.

Imam Ahmad reported in his Musnad on the authority of Farwah ibn Nawfal Al Ashja`y from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave me the daughter of Um Salamah and said: "You are my wet nurse. He said: I went for a long time then I came to him. He (the Messenger) said: What did the slave girl do? He said: She is at her mother. He asked: Why did you come? I said: I came to learn what to say upon sleeping. He (the Messenger) said: Recite Surat Al Kafrun upon your sleep because it is an acquittal of polytheism." [Al Musnad (5/456) and Al Albany (may Allah bestow mercy upon his soul) graded it as authentic in Sahih At-Targhib (No. 604)].

The Hadith shows the virtue of this Surah and the virtue of reciting it before going to sleep. It also exhorts Muslims to sleep after reciting it in order that the last words a person utters would be the declaration of monotheism which is an acquittal of polytheism. No doubt that whoever recites it, understands its meaning, and acts according to its teachings has acquitted himself from apparent and hidden polytheism. Some of the Pious Predecessors used to call it: "Al Muqashqishah." It is said: So and so Qashqasha i.e., was cured of his disease because the Ayah acquits a person from polytheism.

The Ayah along with Surat Al Ikhlas are called the two Surahs of Ikhlas because they contain the two types of monotheism: the scientific and the practical. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite these Ayahs in the two Rak`ahs of the Fajr Salah, beginning with them the actions of the day. He also used to recite them in the supererogatory Salah of Al Maghrib to conclude the actions of the day. And He used to recite them in Witr Salah (prayer of odd number Rak`ahs) to conclude the actions of the night. We have previously mentioned that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite Surat Al Ikhlas upon going to sleep. The Hadith of Nawfal exhorts Muslims to recite Surat Al Kafirun upon going to sleep in order to conclude the action of the whole day.

http://www.alssunnahnet.com/en/articles.aspx?article_no=2067



Transliteration
Qul ya ayyuha alkafiroon
La a'abudu ma ta'abudoon
Wala antum 'aabidoona maa'abud
Wala ana 'aabidun ma'aabadtum
Wala antum 'aabidoona maa 'aabud
Lakum deenukum waliya deen

Translation (Muhsin Khan)

Say (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)to these Mushrikun and Kafirun): "O Al-Kafirun (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar, etc.)!
"I worship not that which you worship,
"Nor will you worship that which I worship.
"And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.
"Nor will you worship that which I worship.
"To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism)."

Thus far, we have looked at the supplications of the Prophet (SAW) when he retires to bed to sleep and how he (SAW) would not miss doing it for anything, even when he (SAW) was ill. The recitations herein are expected to be memorized, they are short and simple, and these activities would not take more than 10 minutes maximum. If you haven’t started, I plead with you to start this night, you just can’t grasp the extent of the benefit until you start, and then you start getting used to it and the benefits will come. Just make a conscious effort to try it this night and Allah (SWT) would make it easy for you by His Grace and Mercy.

To be Continued...

ayinba1:
@sino
What attracted me to the thread is that a similar thread has been addressed in the past where someone posted an article directed against Nouman Ali Khan.

I recall one of his videos where he lamented how much time we muslims waste on "scholar wars". Totally unproductive

I advise that you save your time for more rewarding things than try to change kennyosein's mind. May Allah safeguard us, Ameen

@kennyosein

I try to follow your presentations and it appears to me that anyone who presents Islam in a beautiful manner that makes people, muslims and non muslims, want to come into Islam and closer to Allah, they automatically go into a "bad book" of sorts. Pardon the word!
Is Islam not beautiful? Does a preacher have to look angry and miserable? Do you have to feel hopeless and depressed when you listen to a muslim preacher? And if you don't, there is something awfully wrong with the preacher?

Do you have a list of "acceptable preachers"? What are the criteria?

I am sure there are verses in the Quran that warn us to be cautious about making judgments on other people.

Allah knows best

Indeed you are right sister, Jazakumullahu khayran, may Allah (SWT) forgive us and make us good ambassadors of Islam Ameen.

@Kennyosein Honestly, I do not know of any better response to give you than what the Ustadh had written, you need to read it carefully again, and this time, without prejudice, for what you have repeated, had been pointed out clearly in the response. I do not wish to continue on this issue, but i would like to make a point. Being fixated on terminologies such as aqeedah does not make you or anyone a better Muslim, i even wonder what is aqeedah? what is tawheed? what has the Qur'an come to teach? Anyone with proper understanding would know that the Qur'an has come to teach us about Allah (SWT), how to build a relationship with Allah (SWT) in total submission to Him. And when defining aqeedah/tawheed, the Qur'an is being relied upon majorly, so I wonder how the one who calls to the Qur'an (Allah's Book), or the one who calls to Islam, is calling to falsehood and hell?! it is quite beyond me to understand this logic. Allahu Must'aan

@Topic, it is quite funny that these picture is haram group have found it difficult to speak against their broadcasting pictures live all over the world of humans in Makkah, aren't their scholars, the scholars of the KSA?! What has stopped them from passing fatwas calling their leaders deviants and all what not, and enforcing a ban on such broadcast? Just my thoughts though.

Again, there are reports of Sahabahs, Tabi'in and Salafs who saw nothing wrong in images in mats or cushion, as long as it is not hanged for reverence but rather being walked/trampled upon.

.
...Ikrimah said, we used to dislike what is being revered(hanged or erected for reverence) of images, and we didn't see anything wrong in (images) that we walk on (i.e as a mat)


it is said about Ibn Sireen, he does not see any issue with what is being walked on of images

There are more of this narrations from Musnaf Ibn Abi Shaybah....This shows the understanding of these pious predecessors in regards to the prohibition of images during the time of the prophet (SAW), they didn't go overboard, they understood the reasons behind prohibition, and acted accordingly.

And from Islam web fatwa, it stated that the majority of the scholars from the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafii and the Hanbali say it is permissible to have an image on furniture, mats, pillows and the likes.... as long as it is not venerated or hanged/erected http://fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/printfatwa.php?Id=22143&lang=A

Another pertinent question to ask is, was pictures (photographs) available during the time of the Prophet (SAW)? the answer is NO, the only thing we can compare picture in our time to the time of the Prophet (SAW) is a mirror and a mirror is not haram in Islam.

Yes we can talk about the excesses of people in taking pictures and the dangers in this, and also the etiquette which Islam as thought us to uphold, especially in terms of modesty, dressing and appearance etc.

And Allah (SWT) knows best.

kennyosein:
Recently i watched an emotional video of a lady
accepting shahadah from Yusuf Estes, there are
countless number of people that have indeed
seen the light from these people you denigrate,
and I wonder what have you done in particular?
You have been admonished to make taubah, i
also believe you should and be careful of how
you try to present the opinions of your scholars.

Just because countless people embrace Islam through this celebrities does not mean they are on the right path this is wrong, for Allah says: And if you
obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you
far away from Allah’s path. They follow nothing but
conjecture, and they do nothing but lie. [Surah Al-
An’aam, ayah 116]

And He says: But most of mankind doesn’t know.
[Surah Al-A’raaf, ayah 187]

And He says: And most of them We found to be not
true to their covenant, but most of them We found
indeed to be evil sinners. [Surah Al-A’raaf, ayah
102]

Even the kuffars covert some muslims back to polytheism does that put them on the path of truth
So the balance is not the majority or the minority.
Rather, the balance is the truth. So whoever is upon
the truth – even if he is by himself – he is the one
who is correct and deserves to be emulated. And if
the majority of the people are upon falsehood, then it
is obligatory to reject them and not be deceived by
them. So consideration is given to the truth. This is
why the scholars say: “Truth is not known by way of
men, but rather men are known by way of the truth.”
So whoever is upon the truth, then he is the one we
must follow and emulate.

If I have done anything good do you think I'll post it on nairaland just like these celebrities who publicise their good deeds and even major sins online do.

If these scholars (Sheikh Albaani, Ibn Baaz, Uthameen, Fawzaan etc) are not scholars that you agree with it then you need to assess yourself as a Muslim.

People are calling non-belivers and idol worshipers to Islam, you say they are not on the right path? do you even read what you write?! what is the right path if not Islam? And I only asked a rhetorical question, you need not answer, it is just for you to think!

I must state that this kind of mindset in which you are presenting can be likened to those of the extremists, their way is the only way, you have not threatened to kill or carry out any grave crime Alhamdulilah, but you made it look like I am less of a Muslim, or not really a Muslim, if I do not agree with the aforementioned scholars and their likes. Mind you, These Scholars are not the only scholars in the Islamic world, there are countless of pious and upright scholars all around the world, who do not even make use of these scholars materials or even agree with their methodology.

Recently, i think another issue was raised and the Usthadh had to respond through is facebook account, i believe it would do a lot good if i post it here too for us to benefit:

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

I’ve decided to write this post because a few close friends forwarded me comments being made about a clip of mine taken from a program I conducted recently teaching the core concepts of Surah Yasin. It seems a number of people (whose sincerity I wouldn’t question nor do I have the right to) are concerned that I’m poking fun at the learning of the classical science of Aqeedah and some of the most famous classical scholarly manuals that deal with the monumental subject. This post will be longer than my usual writings and for that I apologize in advance.

First and foremost, Allah, His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and His Deen are infinitely more worthy that I stand up for them and defend them as opposed to me defending myself. If the intention behind defending oneself is to preserve dignity or reputation, my belief, as is the belief of all Muslims, is that dignity was granted to us because of this religion and when we pursue any other means to attain it, we will fail. Having said that I am compelled to explain what motivates this writing. Allah says وعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا وهو خير لكم والله يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون. "It may well be that you all despise something and it is better for you while it is Allah, He knows and you! You don’t know!" I think in this frenzy of comments and outrage there is an opportunity to share something of value about this beautiful religion and I will try to do so to the best of my ability with clarity and sincerity. I’d also like to comment right from the get go that I was taught from an early age to uphold the dignity of all human beings especially Muslims. I don’t go around reading comments being made about me but for any who are outraged at me or may have made disparaging or judgmental remarks, they are still my family in faith and I wish them well and pray for them as I would for myself and my own family. That isn’t something special. This is just what Muslims are supposed to do.

Now, on to the subject at hand…

Part 1: My Attitude Towards the Subject of Aqeedah and the Hadith:

I have tremendous respect for the entire corpus of our scholarly tradition including the science of Aqeedah codified by great human beings of the past, may Allah grant His forgiveness and loving mercy to all of them. For those of you to whom my comments were perceived as offensive to that tradition, I apologize for coming across as insensitive and dismissive. I have studied some of the books I’m accused of making fun of with some of my own teachers and mentors (which I will get to a bit later). Historically, it is that legacy that prevented great philosophical confusion from ransacking the ummah and kept us holding on to the core teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah in a manner that was true to the sacred text.

Secondly, often times the word Qur’aniyyoon is thrown my way. This guy always talks about the Qur’an, never about hadith. Though I’ve talked about this before, I will here again. I have regard for the subject of Hadith that is hard to put into words and appreciate that to be a muhaddith is to engage in some of the most rigorous, laborious and life consuming scholarship of any of the other Islamic sciences. In my early years learning about Islam, I would learn from brothers more knowledgeable than myself who were not hadith scholars and they would quote a hadith from Sahih Al Bukhari or Muslim or Sunnan Al-Tirmidhi. It was years later that I went through some of the same ahadith with an actual muhaddith only to discover that the context and scholarly understanding of the very same texts was so different than what a shallow translation yielded. This happened on multiple occasions. If ones understanding of the Qur’an can be problematic if not keeping in mind the historical context of revelation, and that is the word of Allah, that would certainly have to be of paramount importance when it comes to the hadith tradition. There’s far more to consider than whether or not a hadith is authentic. When did our blessed messenger say it? Who did he say it to? How was it acted upon? Are there other ahadith that complement its understanding? How did the early generations discuss this hadith? How did the fuqaha discuss this hadith? Did scholars of the past deal with potential misconceptions that may arise from this hadith if not properly understood in its rich language and context? These are a lot of questions and I for one do not suppose about myself that I can confidently comment on them without having learned them directly from a scholar of the subject. I’d rather not quote a hadith than to quote it with a partial understanding. I do cite the ahadith that I’ve had the honor of learning with certain muhadditheen for which I am eternally grateful. I also happen to have an ijazah in Al-Nawawi (may Allah show him loving mercy)’s collection of forty ahadith. Incidentally, I conducted a program a year ago called ‘Honoring the Messenger’ and part of it was to illustrate how it is impossible to believe in the book of Allah without believing in the Sunnah of His beloved Messenger SAW. So yeah, I believe in our sacred Hadith tradition and the flawless Sunnah of our messenger SAW but I’m unwilling to be reckless in citing it.

Part 2: The Pulpit and The Street

I found Islam in New York City in the nineties. When I decided to fix my life according to the mandates of Islam, I needed someone to teach me the religion. If you know anything about NYC, you know that depending on which masjid you set foot into, you’re going to be shown a very different picture of Islam. I went to a masjid where the Imam told me not to worry about learning the meanings of the Qur’an because that is only for scholars. I should concern myself with the five pillars and following the scholars (by which he meant himself and the individuals he would approve of from his particular line of thought). This by the way is not an isolated incident. I have met countless Muslims from the indian sub continent who are told that they should not attempt to understand the meanings of the Qur’an because they will get confused and they should leave that to the scholars. Just learn some dhikr and if you have a question, ask the scholar. He’s already got the perfect understanding so you wouldn’t have to do any heavy lifting.

Being a restless soul, that didn’t sit well for too long. I ended up in yet another circle, where the entire focus was to debate the truth of Islam with non-Muslims, then to another group where your spirituality was pegged to your personal relationship with a spiritual mentor without whom you wouldn’t be able to become a better Muslim and better yet, you might only be saved through this relationship. I met some brothers at a restaurant once. I remember it like it was yesterday. They saw me and recognized me as a Muslim and so they started talking to me. They told me that if my aqeedah isn’t correct that I’m fuel for the hellfire. I was worried. I asked them what they thought of all the people I had previously learned from by name. And for each of them they had the same answer. ‘He’s a good brother but his aqeedah is flawed and he’s calling people to the hellfire’. Now I was really worried. I joined their circle and was in it for more than a year. I learned to ask the first and most important question before asking anything else not only of scholars or khateebs or da’ees but also of fellow muslims. What’s his aqeedah? I even asked my dad once. What’s your aqeedah? He said, beta (which means son) we’re sunni. I didn’t respond but in my heart I said to myself, that’s what they all say. I actually believed that my family believed in what will lead them to the hellfire because they didn’t have the right aqeedah. Then came the problem of ‘how do you tell if someone has the right aqeedah or not’? For all practical purposes, I was indoctrinated into thinking that when it comes to this issue, there is no such thing as benefit of the doubt. You have to assume that anyone and everyone is corrupted in their aqeedah and you have to listen to what they say with extreme caution waiting to hear something that could prove that AH HAH! they are deviant in their aqeedah. Bear in mind this became more about fishing for what might be creatively interpreted as a problem of aqeedah than an actual problem of aqeedah. We have to be cautious, and if there is even a millionth chance that this person might mean something problematic, not only do I have to never listen to anything he ever has to say, but also warn others to stay away from him. For a short while in those two years, my only mission was to save the ummah from deviants in aqeedah. I was good at it too. Somebody could quote a book and I’d say, this person has read this book and is influenced by the ideas of the author whose aqeedah is unknown, therefore he is on the deviant list. The list was updated regularly.

What happened as a result was a spiritual void that I’ve never felt before in my life. I wasn’t close to Allah. I knew how to argue His names and attributes and debate whether He was above or everywhere but I didn’t feel His love, His guidance, His mercy and His constant company. Allah just became a subject of debate. I became accustomed to mocking Muslims who didn’t see Islam the right way that I saw it. I developed hatred for those who taught anything about Islam in ways that didn’t align with my authentic and flawless understanding. The people that I had love for were reducing by the day and by the way, some of the guys in the authentic aqeedah circle had disagreements with each other and started calling each other deviant too. That was ultra-confusing because now I didn’t know which side to pick. They both quoted the same scholars from abroad who of course wrote in Arabic so I had no way of looking at the information myself except through the lens of translation. We studied aqeedah manuals most of the time. Sometimes we studied certain ayaat of the Qur’an but we only studied them to reinforce that we are on the right aqeedah and how this ayah and that hadith were evidence against such and such group. Qur’an and Sunnah were ammunition for us.

Then a friend of mine, whom I loved because he was totally not into this whole religious debate scene, took me to this program where my first Qur’an teacher was doing a rapid translation and explanation of the entire Qur’an in Urdu. I’ll be honest, I first sat in to check for aqeedah mistakes. But the first night, as he just talked about the word of Allah, I couldn’t help my tears from rolling down my eyes. The ayaat and their explanation was doing something to me that no halaqah, no debate, no study had ever done. I genuinely desired seeking forgiveness that night. That was different because the nights before that one I was more concerned with whom else should be seeking forgiveness. As the nights of the series in Ramadan continued, I experienced a never before felt love for the Qur’an, for the messenger, for Allah. I didn’t want to learn anything else anymore. I wanted this. This is not like any other book. Nothing else has ever made me think like this, feel like this. My journey into the Qur’an began with Dr. Abdus Samie and his brilliant little Arabic class. I started memorizing more and more of the Qur’an. I started losing interest in the deviations of others and started noticing the deviations in myself.

My comments may have been disparaging to some of you and for that I apologize. But the way our beautiful scholarly tradition is being abused to pass blatant judgment against other fellow Muslims who are each in their own unique struggle spiritually, intellectually and emotionally is just unfair and cruel. Our faith is no different from the faith of Adam AS or Ibrahim AS or the Messenger of Allah SAW. The Qur’an is the best and most primary source to understand who God is because He speaks for Himself in it. When I meet young hot headed Muslims who are ready to quote a aqeedah text and defend it but haven’t had the time to memorize or recite or learn the meanings of even few surahs, I find that to be an abandonment of our salaf.

In the Musnad of Ahamd RA and Sahih Muslim, the messenger SAW says

إن الله يرفع بهذا الكتاب أقواماً ويضع به آخرين

Certainly Allah, He elevates because of this book entire nations and puts other down because of it. So when our beloved SAW says that this book will the cause of the rise of nations, which ayaat is he SAW referring to? The ones that we find useful in refuting each other? The ones that fortify our positions against others? This book is above our agendas. It is above our comfort zones. This book reign supreme and nothing will ever be a bigger priority than it. وكلمة الله هي العليا. The word of Allah, it is the Highest. It is not just another subject in Islamic studies. It is the central beam that holds this entire religion and its people together. If I spent my entire life emphasizing that it is the ultimate priority of the Muslims, it won’t be nearly enough. The Sunnah of our messenger is best described by our mother RA, كان خلقه القرآن. It is to be viewed as the Qur’an brought into practical application. It is thus not a separate entity or different subject matter but really a necessary and fundamental manifestation of the book of Allah from words to actions. When average Muslims, (not specialized students or scholars) are being taught that their first priorities need to be elsewhere, I will disagree till my dying breath. This word was powerful enough to guide the lost souls of Quraish and turn them into the greatest generation history has ever seen. It was powerful enough to guide jinns passing by just as they heard some of its miraculous ayaat. It is still powerful enough to guide any human being, Muslim or non through this age of fitnah. We are at its service and it is not at ours. Its surahs dictate what is priority. We do not impose our priorities on it. We don’t get to decide which ayaat are more important than others. Which surahs are more important than others. That is for Allah and His messenger SAW. So much of the ummah today has no idea what the word of Allah is. This Qur’an is passed to us through the sweat, blood and tears of generations before us starting with our beloved himself SAW. It isn’t cheap. People before us paid with blood so we can recite it, ponder upon it, seek guidance from it and live by it today. How is it not my top priority? Everything I will learn about islam, I will learn in the shade of Allah’s word. For that, I am not sorry.

Wassalamu Alaikum.

Again brother, be careful of what to say and write, seek Allah's forgiveness, you may not know the magnitude of that which you are doing in the sight of Allah (SWT)

kennyosein:
About Nouman Khan is affair is not something hidden so forget about misrepresentation, misconceptions, or allegations is affairs is obvious you can check on YouTube to about his story telling lectures

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) said : ‘’Indeed some eloquent speech has
the influence of magic” Sahih Bukhari
The above hadith clearly indicates that the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) confirmed that there will be individuals
and groups who will call to misguidance and
deviation from the straight path and their speech
will be like magic and obliviously he did not
describe them to his ummah except to warn his
ummah from their fitna (trials) and an advice to
stay away from such speakers.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (d.653 H –
rahim’ullaah ) said (concerning ahlul bidah) : ..The
damage that they do to the religious commitment
of many people is worse than the damage done
by those Mushrikeen and people of the Book who
wage war on us.. Majmoo’ al-Fataawa,
35/159-160
In our era, among the many misguided callers,
is Nouman Ali Khan who is followed and admired
by many over YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp etc. Most of his admirers are the
common masses who are ignorant of the
essentials of aqidah (creed) and
manhaj (methodology) held by Salaf Us Saliheen.
For them anyone who quotes the Quran and
Hadith is a reliable scholar. They easily get
impressed especially if the speaker is good at
cracking jokes and storytelling.
I was recently informed that some individuals
ascribing themselves to knowledge and dawah
ilallaah, are promoting this individual on the
argument that …’they have not seen anything
which opposes the Book and the Sunnah from the
speech and actions of Nouman Ali khan and that
he is excellent when it comes to the explanation
of the Quran and heart softening topics..”
To have a better understanding lets reflect on the
below few questions and answers :
Q. Is quoting Quran and Hadith enough as an
evidence to judge the reliability and authenticity
of a speaker?
A. Of course NOT! Because misguided sects and
their callers do quote Quran and Hadith but
explain in a way other than the way of Salaf Us
Saliheen.
Q, Is the methodology of the Salaf NOT necessary
to have correct understanding of Quran and
Hadith?
A. Yes. Methodology of Salaf is necessary to
have the correct understanding of Quran and
Hadith as Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala said :
{And the first to embrace Islaam of the Muhajirun
and the Ansar and also those who followed them
exactly. Allaah is well pleased with them, as they
are well pleased with Him. He has prepared for
them gardens under which rivers
flow (paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is
the supreme success} [Tawbah : 100]
Q. Is it NOT from the advice of the Salaf to
investigate the condition (aqidah and manhaj) of
the person from whom knowledge is taken?
A. Yes. The Salaf have repeatedly advised that
knowledge is not to be taken except from the
person of Sunnah. Imaam Muhammad Ibn
Sereen (rahimullaah d. 110 AH) had said : “This
Knowledge is a Matter of Deen, so be careful who
you take your deen from.” (Introduction of Sahih
Muslim)
Q, Is it NOT true that, Nouman Ali Khan trivializes
important questions related to the
aqidah (creed) and emaan (faith) concerning the
attributes of Allaah Ta’ala?
A. Yes. See the attached clip ( Clip No.1 ) in which
Nouman try to give false impression, that the
question “where is Allaah?” is not at all important
question and argues that such a question was
not asked by Allaah or by the Sahaba and that
such issues need to be
“KILLED” !! (Astaghfir’Allaah)
Can this be the speech of a person of
Sunnah? Was this question not asked by the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) to the slave girl in the hadith of Sahih
Muslim? Have not the Salaf taken a serious stand
against those who rejected Allaah to be above his
Arsh? Refer the important
website www.abovethethrone.com on this vital
subject of Islamic faith.
Q, Are you aware, that Nouman Ali Khan does
NOT consider the cerebration of the Prophet’s
birthday as “Bidah (innovation) ”?
A. See the attached clip ( Clip No.2 ) wherein he
says that he doesn’t have any opinion on the
celebration of prophet’s birthday because it a
“NON-ISSUE”!!! How could a person of Sunnah not
denounce and free himself from actions which
have been labeled bidah by the scholars of Islam?
Did the Messenger or the Sahaba celebrate this?
Refer the important website www.bidah.com for
understating Bidah and its evil results.
Q. Are you aware that Nouman give lectures
alongside the most dangerous Sufis and
misguided callers to shirk & Bidah of our
time (like Habib Ali Al-Jifri, Hamza Yusuf, Amar
Khalid etc) ?
A. See the attached clip ( Clip No.3 ) which is the
clear proof for his deviation. if still brothers see
him to be upright in his teachings then something
is seriously wrong in their understanding! Allaah’s
Messenger ( sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said :
‘Whoever innovates something in this matter of
ours that is not a part of it will have it
rejected.’ [Bukhari]
Imaam Ibraaheem an-Nakha’ee (d. 96 H –
rahim’ullaah) said : “Do not sit with the people of
ahwaa‘[desire], for verily their gatherings cause
the light of emaan (faith) to go from the hearts,
and strip the beauty from the faces, and cause
hatred to be inherited in the hearts of the
believers.” Ibn Battah’s Al-Ibaanah no. 375
Imaam Abu Qilaabah (d.140H –
rahim’ullaah) said : “Do not sit with the people of
ahwaa‘, and do not argue with them, for verily I
do not feel safe that they will immerse you in
their misguidance or confuse you in that which
you already know. Ibn Battah’s Al-Ibaanah no.
369
Finally, I conclude by saying that the general
topics delivered by Nouman Ali Khan should not
deceive you brothers because the call of a Salafi
Daee is not just upon generalities but
he emphasizes more on the issues of aqidah and
manhaj based on knowledge with clarity along
with ordering the good and forbidding evil beliefs
and practices without mixing truth with falsehood.
In shaa Allaah, the above information should be
sufficient for the sincere seeker of truth so that
he is able to distinguish between what is claimed
about this individual and what is, in fact, the
reality. May Allaah rectify his affairs and guide
him and us to that which He Subhanahu wa
Ta’ala is pleased with. Aameen!
ahlulbidahwalhawa.com/category/criticised-individuals/nouman-ali-khan/

Anybody with an objective mind would see the sheer sensationalism of this issue, the context and perspective which Ustadh Nouman was talking from is quite clear, there is even a video to clear these issues raised


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHBD8uIEyv8

kennyosein:
Salam aleikum may Allah reward you with good, Laa ilaha illAllah is part of believe, believe does not end at Laa ilaha ill Allah, if I were to follow your reasoning it means a person who says the shaadaah and doesn't pray is also a Muslim narrated by Muslim, 82. And he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The covenant that separates us from
them is prayer; whoever gives up prayer is a
kaafir.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi .

You need to learn the meaning, conditions, and negation of Laa ilaha illAllah (none has the
right to be worshipped in truth except
Allah)

Wa alaykum salam, and ameen to your prayer, as I pray same for you.

What reasoning did I bring forth? Did I not just quote a hadith of the Prophet (SAW) which can be found in Bukhari and Muslim for you to consider? I didn’t even make any commentary on the hadith, I wonder where you got my reasoning from?
I am quite certain that those you are denigrating here did not go about telling people to abandon salah or do they? And in regards to the conditions you attached to accepting shahadah, I would love for you to watch the video below of Yusuf Estes, and tell me if what he said is not what all what the conditions the scholars had penned down to mean


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B21BvKFLCU

The most important thing is sincerity (Ikhlas), every other thing would follow bit by bit, step by step, believe does not enter the heart just like that, no matter how much you recite and memorize the conditions of the shahadah

(The bedouins say: "We believe.'' Say: "You do not believe, but say, `We have submitted,' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts...'') (Q 49:14). This honorable Ayah provides proof that Faith is a higher grade than Islam, according to the scholars of the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. This is also demostrated in the Hadith of Jibril, peace be upon him, when he questioned the Prophet about Islam, then Iman then Ihsan. Thus moving the general matter to one more specific, then even more specific. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amir bin Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas said, "The Messenger of Allah gave (something to) some men and did not give one of them. Sa`d said, `O Allah's Messenger, you gave to so-and-so and so-and-so. However, you gave nothing to so-and-so, even though he is a believer.' The Prophet said, (Or say, a Muslim.) Sa`d repeated his statement thrice each time the Prophet answered, Or say, a Muslim.) The Prophet then said, (I might give some men and give nothing to others, even though the latter are dearer to me than the former. I do not give them things for fear that they might be thrown on their faces in the Fire.)'' This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs. Therefore, the Prophet made a distinction between the grade of believer and the grade of Muslim, indicating that Iman is a more exclusive grade than Islam. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

In regards to the hadith I posted, is it not straight forward? Allah (SWT) would remove people from hell, who are these people? Those who say la illaha illa llah, and have goodness in their heart weighing an atom! Do you know the weight of an atom?! Subhanallah! That is the Mercy of Allah (SWT), which in most cases is beyond our comprehension. Please do note that I did not quote the hadith to support the ideologies of those who say your heart is the only important thing, and you need not perform any of the obligatory acts of worship, rather it was posted so that you do not continue with such mindset of belittling the activities of these scholars, I could have quoted other narrations to show the importance of their works, but I chose this to show you that even if they were all what you had presented, that a person can be brought out of hell fire due to an atom weight of goodness in the heart, then you do not have the audacity to write “what is the usefulness of calling people to the deen without the right aqeedah” isn't it reported in a famous hadith of the Prophet (SAW) that we should make da'wah even if it is by an ayah?!

kennyosein:
What is the usefulness of calling people to the deen without the right aqeeda. These Muslims make mockery of the deen eg... Kammal el-Mekki
use magic Openly to sell tickets to their
events, Hamza Yusuf, “Emphasis on Aqeedah is a
sickness.”…”you can learn it in a few days....Yusuf Estes admitted that he is Not a Sunni , and has been recorded in outright denial of certain ayaat from the Qur`an and certain authentic ahadeeth from the Sunnah, in addition to rejecting some matters that there is Ijma’ upon....Zakir Nakir believes he knows 100things that ALLAH can not do and also call ALLAH the names hindu called their gods with......Waleed Basyouni tweets to 15,000+ followers that grave
worshippers are Muslims! Apart from there deviants these guys are no scholar of Islam ask an Alim to tell you the criteria and traits of being a scholar.

Assalam Alaykum brother, you should be careful about that which you post, remember each and everyone would account for our actions on the day of qiyamah. I am so sure you do not know these people you have mentioned personally, and from my previous encounter, especially on the this same issue and Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan, all your allegations were misconceptions about him and misrepresentation of his position on some issues.

You write "what is the usefulness of calling to the deen without the right aqeeda" i could not help but smile at your naivety, did you consider the hadith of the Prophet (SAW): Narrated from Anas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of barley will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of wheat will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of an atom (or a small ant) will be brought out of Hell.”

Recently i watched an emotional video of a lady accepting shahadah from Yusuf Estes, there are countless number of people that have indeed seen the light from these people you denigrate, and I wonder what have you done in particular? You have been admonished to make taubah, i also believe you should and be careful of how you try to present the opinions of your scholars.

@topic, I find it quite tiresome going over the same issue, arguing back and forth, with either side not agreeing, so i say, why not agree to disagree, your scholars have their opinions, and my scholars too have theirs, both have evidences and explanation to backup their opinions, why not just stick to your scholars opinion, and let me do same!

Beautiful! Ma sha Allah!

Continuation...

Among the remembrance before sleep

Indeed, among the powerful adhkaar which Muslims are encouraged to keep upon each and every night whenever he/she retires to bed is the recitation of the Ayata-l-Kursiy, which is a great ayah in the glorious Qur’an. Indeed, there happens to be a report in the sunnah which points to its virtue., and that whoever recites it, whenever he retirees to bed, then verily, a guard from Allah will not depart from him, and shaitan will not come close to him till morning.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

[b]Allah's Apostle deputed me to keep Sadaqat (al-Fitr) of Ramadan. A comer came and started taking handfuls of the foodstuff (of the Sadaqa) (stealthily). I took hold of him and said, "By Allah, I will take you to Allah's Apostle." He said, "I am needy and have many dependents, and I am in great need." I released him, and in the morning Allah's Apostle asked me, "What did your prisoner do yesterday?" I said, "O Allah's Apostle! The person complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go." Allah's Apostle said, "Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming again." I believed that he would show up again as Allah's Apostle had told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully. When he (showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, "I will definitely take you to Allah's Apostle. He said, "Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again." I pitied him and let him go.

In the morning Allah's Apostle asked me, "What did your prisoner do." I replied, "O Allah's Apostle! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free." Allah's Apostle said, "Verily, he told you a lie and he will return." I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, "I will surely take you to Allah's Apostle as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come." He said, "(Forgive me and) I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you." I asked, "What are they?" He replied, "Whenever you go to bed, recite "Ayat-al-Kursi"-- 'Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Haiy-ul Qaiyum' till you finish the whole verse. (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come near you till morning. “So, I released him. In the morning, Allah's Apostle asked, "What did your prisoner do yesterday?" I replied, "He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit me, so I let him go." Allah's Apostle asked, "What are they?" I replied, "He said to me, 'Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi from the beginning to the end ---- Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-lHaiy-ul-Qaiyum----.' He further said to me, '(If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no satan will come near you till morning.' (Abu Huraira or another sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet said, "He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Huraira?" Abu Huraira said, "No." He said, "It was Satan." [/b](Sahih Bukhari 2311)

In this hadith is the virtue of this glorious ayah, and its great use, its powerful effect in guarding against shaitan and a protection from his evil. Indeed, one who recites it when about to sleep would be protected and it would be sufficient, for shaitan will not come close to him till morning. This is due to the fact that this noble ayah consists of the oneness of Allah and his glorification, his exaltation, and the declaration of his oneness in perfection and grandeur. What is established for the one who recites it is protection and sufficiency. Consequently, this ayah consist of five (5) names from the beautiful names of Allah, also, it consist of more than twenty (20) attributes of Allah.

The ayah begins with the mention of Allah’s oneness in his divinity (being God who is worthy of worship), and the falsehood of other claims to divinity, thereafter, it mentions the perfect attributes of Allah, which can never extinct, then the mention of Him being eternal, glory be to Him, and being eternal means: His self-existence and His upholding the day-to-day running of the affairs of His creation. The ayah also mentions His being free from any form of defect, or shortcomings, such as slumber or sleep. Then the ayah went on to declare the extent of His kingdom, glory be to Him, that whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth, are His slaves, and are under His power and authority. Then the ayah mentions that among the evidences of His greatness, is that no one among His creation has the authority to intercede in His presence, glory be to Him, except after he has been given permission, and also, in this ayah, is the fact that the attribute of knowledge belongs to Allah, glory be to Him, and that His knowledge, glory be to Him, encompasses all what is known, hence, He knows what is to be, what will be, and what will not be, and if (something is) to be, He knows how it will be. In this ayah also is the declaration of the greatness of Allah glory be to Him, by mentioning the greatness of His creations, thus, if His throne, which is a creation among His creations, extends (through) the heavens and earth, then how great and majestic is the creator the Lord of Majesty. The ayah also contains the declaration of the greatness of His power, glory be to him, for part of His perfection in His power, is that He never gets burdened, that is, the guardianship of the heavens and the earth does not burden Him. Thereafter, the ayah ends with the mentioning of two of Allah’s mighty names, and they are; “Al-‘aliyu and Al-‘azeem”. In this two names is establishing the highness of Allah, glory be to Him, in His being, in His power and His force. Also the established fact of His greatness, glory be to Him, with faith that, to Him belong all the meanings and definitions of greatness and majesty, and that no one deserves to be exalted or proclaim to be great or majestic, except Him (Allah).

The glorious ayah consists of lofty meanings and deep evidences, and concepts of faith which points to its greatness and magnificence. It is established from the Prophet (SAW) that this ayah is the greatest ayah in the glorious Qur’an as it is in the authentic (hadith), “that the prophet (SAW) said to Ubayy ibn K’ab: O Aba Al-Mundhir, do you know which ayah in Allah’s book that is the greatest? He (Ubayy) then said: Allah and His messenger knows best, he then repeated the question again, then Ubayy said: it is Ayatu-l-Kursiy, he (the Prophet) then said: may knowledge be pleasant for you O Aba Al-Mundhir” that is, may knowledge be easy for you. (Sahih Muslim 810)

Ayatu-l-Kursiy (The verse of the throne)



Transliteration

Allahu la ilaha illahuwa alhayyu alqayyoomu la ta/khuthuhu sinatun wala nawmun lahu ma fee-s-samawati wama fee-l-ardi man tha llathee yashfaAAu ‘indahu illa bi-ithnihi ya’Alamu ma bayna aydeehim wama khalfahum wala yuheetoona bishay-in min-‘ilmihi illa bima sha a wasi’a kursiyyuhu-s-samawati wal-arda wala yaooduhu hifthuhuma wahuwa-l-‘aliyyu-l-‘atheem

Translation (Muhsin Khan)

Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter . And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. [This Verse 2:255 is called Ayat-ul-Kursi.]

To be continued...In Sha Allah

This is very sad, and I think Muslim countries should do something, perhaps grant these Muslims asylum in their countries, settling and integrating them into their society, it's not going to be easy for these folks who should have the right to religion in their own land, but i think this could serve as a temporary solution till a better option is found for them. May Allah (SWT) assist the oppressed in this world ameen.

^ This is beautiful, Jazakumullahu khayran for sharing Slitz, please keep them coming...Ramadan Mubarak.

Man’s Enemy of Old

It is said, pride goes before a fall…

And such was the case of man’s enemy of old

Lo! The enemy’s venom flows within his veins, cold.

And with each heartbeat, he beckons to attack bold

His crosshair circling his person day and night

His aim is his heart

His goal is his soul

His weapons had never changed,

And his strategy, ever the same

Lo! The sins of man are his undoing,

For when sins are from pride,

Then he and the enemy are doomed

For in truth, pride goes before a fall…

Lo! This fall is nowhere but into the bottomless pit.

Sufyan Ibn Uyainah said:

“Whoever’s sin was because of [carnal] desires, hope for him (as he may repent and be forgiven); but whoever’s sin was out of pride, fear for him. For indeed, Âdam sinned out of simple desire, and was forgiven; whereas Iblîs (the devil) sinned out of pride, and was cursed”. [“Siyar A’lam An-Nubala”, 8/461].

We are in ramadhan, the shaitan (la) is chained, how scared are you of your own self?

"You know what's scary about Ramadan?"
"What?"
"Discovering that it's actually yourself, not Shaytaan."

- Shaykh Khoder Soueid

rildwanullahi:
Please am waiting

I'm sorry for the delay, i intend to post once a week on this thread in sha Allah, please bear with me.

Let Me Cry

I want to cry like a baby without stop
I want to cry till my collars become wet
I want to cry till my beards get soaked in tears
I want to cry ‘cos my eyes been dry for too long

So let me cry…

I want to cry for the wrong I have doneagainst my own self
I want to cry for the injustice of man to his fellow man
I want to cry for the innocent child that sleeps every night on an empty stomach
I want to cry ‘cos I seem not grateful for what I have been given

So let me cry…

I want to cry till morning comes with light
I want to cry till I can cry no more
I want to cry like never before
I want to cry throughout this lonely night

So let me cry…

I want to cry reciting Allah’s Words…
“Do you then wonder at this recital (The Qur’an)
And you laugh (at it) and you cry not…”

Nay!

I want to cry for the sake of Allah
I want to cry so my soul can receive His light
The light in His words (Qur’an), to man, revealed

So let me cry...

Wow, this is indeed a very good project, may Allah reward the you abundantly ameen.

Remembrance before Sleep

Indeed, from the blessed reports, is what the Prophet (SAW) usually keeps to whenever he lays on his bed to sleep at night, and what has been established in the two authentic books (Bukhari and Muslim), which reported from the mother of the believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that whenever the Prophet (SAW) lays on his bed to sleep every night, he joins his hands together and then blows into them then recites: (Surah Al-Ikhlas), (Surah Al-Falaq) and (Surah An-Naas), then he wipes his body with his hands, starting from his head and face and whatever part in front of his body. He does this three times” ( Sahih Bukhari 5017; Sahih Muslim, 2192)

Indeed, this is a very magnificent form of seeking refuge, and it is a means of protection for man, it protects him, by the permission of Allah (SWT), from any form of harm while he is asleep. Or from evil, or harm by vermin, or insects that can kill. Mainly, when man is asleep, he is usually oblivious of whatever comes to him, and all that happens to him, hence, if he occupies himself whenever he retires to his bed with this great section of the Qur’an and powerful protection, he would be protected by the permission of Allah (SWT). This would suffice him, and he would be safeguarded, and the protection from Allah will not depart him until daybreak. Thus this establishes the importance that a Muslim should observe the recitation of these section of the Qur’an every night whenever he retires to bed, so as to be protected and be able to realize true protection (from Allah).

Indeed, the Prophet (SAW) adheres to these recitations strongly, and he never abandons reciting them each and every night. And what gives more credence to this great adherence of the prophet (SAW) is what was reported in the hadith that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): “Whenever the Prophet (SAW) suffers (from an ailement), he would instruct that I perform (the recitations) for him”. (Sahih Bukhari, 5747).

It is also established in another authentic tradition, reported from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): “that the Prophet (SAW) usually blows over his person when he was sick with his hands in which (the recited chapters have been recited into). But when he became unable to do that, I would blow into it with the recitations, and would use his blessed hands to wipe over his person”. (Sahih Bukhari 5751)

This shows that the Prophet (SAW) still adheres to this practice even with the severity of his sickness, so the Prophet (SAW) would recite these chapters, then blows into his blessed hands, and then instruct Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) to use his hands to wipe over his body, due to the fact that he himself could not, as a result of his sickness.

Understanding statements in the hadith

The statement of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the hadith which is: “When he retires to his bed” this means, whenever he returns to his bed, climbs and lies on it. Also, the word “Ma`awy” also represents a place where a person seeks refuge, a lodge or a room. And her statement (may Allah be pleased with her): “every night” indicates the evidence of the adherence of the Prophet (SAW) in making these recitations each and every night.

Her statement “joins his palms” that is: Putting his hands together, connecting one to the other and both hands open towards his face so as to blow into them. And her statement “then blow/spit into them” that is, into his two hands, and spitting here is similar to blowing, it is blowing air containing a little bit of saliva.

Her statement: “then he wipes with his two hands over his body as much as he can” in this statement is the evidence that it is sunnah to wipe over the body with the hands after these recitations. Her statement: “He starts with his head and face and what comes after in front of his body” this explains that the sunnah is for a Muslim to start from the topmost of his body, thus he starts with his head and face and what follows in the front, then ends it with the back of his body.

It should be understood that the sunnah is to carry out this procedure, three times, emulating the Prophet (SAW).

A brief explanation of the three chapters of the Qur’an to be recited

The first chapter (surah ikhlas) from among the three chapters (of the Qur’an) mentions the attribute of Allah, majestic in his affairs, not only that, it made the attribute faithful and sincere (to Allah alone), for this reason, this chapter is named that chapter of Sincerity (Ikhlaas), for it contains the sincere proclamation of the learned of the oneness of Allah the mighty and the most high, and if someone is to be asked, who is Allah? Then, this chapter suffices as an appropriate response and reply. Therefore, "Al`ahadu" is “The One”, singular and unique in his perfection and might, and to him belongs the most beautiful names, perfect and highest attributes and his mighty divinely activities which there is no equal or similitude.


'As-Samad": This refers to the one in which all the demand and needs are directed to, the one in which the people of the world, the high and the low (in status) are in need of desperately. They ask him their needs and request their provisions from him; for he is the mighty, the perfect in all his attributes and quality, and part of his being perfect, he says “He begets not nor was he begotten” for he is self sufficient, “And there is none like unto him” not in his names, or his attributes, or his ways, he is the mighty the most high.

As for the other two chapters, in them is the seeking refuge in Allah the powerful and mighty, from all forms of evil, and forms of disease and pestilence.

The chapter “Al Falaq” contains seeking refuge in Allah (SWT) “The Lord of daybreak” that is, “Al Falaq” can be translated to mean, the one who splits the seed and the date-stone and the one who brings forth the daybreak.“From whatever evil he created” this statement, consist all what Allah has created from mankind to jinn and animals, therefore one seeks refuge in the creator of these things, from the evil that can be found in them. Thereafter, the next verse points towards specifics after mentioning the general, thus it reads “And from the evil of the night, when it darkens” that is, from the evil that occurs at night, when men are asleep, and whereby lots and lots of evil spirit and dangerous animals abound, “And from the evil of those who practice witchcraft when they blow in the knots” this means: the sorcerers/witches those who practice magic by blowing into knots. “And from the evil of the envier when he envies” The word “Al-Haasid” is someone who envies others, he wishes for the blessings of another (the one he envies) to diminish, this also can refer to the evil-eyed person, for his evil eye only emanates from a kind of envy. Thus this chapter comprises of seeking refuge (in Allah) from evil, general types, and specific ones.
Surah An-Nas contains seeking refuge in the lord of mankind, their king and God, from Shaitan the accursed one, who happens to be the root of all evils, the spreader of evil, and the founder of its manifestation and circulation.

Thus, liberated is a Muslim who keeps to reciting these 3 chapters of the Qur’an each and every night whenever he returns to his bed (to sleep), based on the description of the Prophet (SAW), so as to attain Allah’s full protection, sleeping peacefully and in tranquility. And success is by Allah (SWT).

My dear brothers and sisters, doing this would not take more than 5 minutes tops, sometimes we do worry about being cursed or being afflicted with an evil eye, just doing this every night protects you and for the fact that the Prophet (SAW), did this every night, even when he was sick, shows how important it is, he (SAW) was sent as a guide, an example for us to follow. So what is stopping you and me? Why not start tonight? I believe when we make this dhikr, and reflect on the meaning, and the importance attached to it by the Prophet (SAW), we would never want to stop performing this wonderful dhikr every night before we sleep. May Allah (SWT) protect us amen.

To be continued...


Surah Al-Ikhlas


Transliteration
Qul huwa llahu ahad
Allahu-s- samad
Lam yalid walam yoolad
Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad

Translation (Muhsin Khan)

Say (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)): "He is Allah, (the) One.
"Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks).
"He begets not, nor was He begotten;
"And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."



Surah Al-Falaq



Transliteration

Qul a’oodhu birabbi-l-falaq
Min sharri ma khalaq
Wamin sharri ghasiqin idhaa waqab
Wamin sharri-n-naffathati fee-l-‘uqad
Wamin sharri hasidin idhaa hasad

Translation (Muhsin Khan)
Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the daybreak,
"From the evil of what He has created;
"And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away).
"And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots,
"And from the evil of the envier when he envies."



Surah An-Nas


Transliteration

Qul a’oodhu birabbi-n-naas
Maliki-n-naas
Ilahi-n- naas
Min sharri-l-waswasi-l-khannaas
Alladhee yuwaswisu fee sudoori-n-naas
Mina-l-jinnati wannaas

Translation (Muhsin Khan)
Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of mankind,
"The King of mankind,
"The Ilah (God) of mankind,
"From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one's heart after one remembers Allah),
"Who whispers in the breasts of mankind,
"Of jinns and men."

In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. All praises and adoration belong to Allah, the lord of the worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the noblest of mankind Muhammad (SAW), his house hold, and his companions and upon those who follow the truth till the day of judgement amen.

Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (SAW), and the worst matters (in religion) are the newly innovated ones, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance leads to hellfire.
One of the most important aspects of the deen is dhikr, remembrance of Allah. Numerous verses in the Qur’an and a good amount of hadith, have shown the importance of dhikr, as well as the enormous reward associated with performing this religious obligation.
Allah (SWT) says: “And those who remember Allah more often, male and female, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and an enormous reward” (Surah Ahzab:35)

Then it is quite unfortunate that majority of Muslims are not making the best use of dhikr in their daily lives. Dhikr is meant to be performed at every giving opportunity, it was reported from Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him), who said “One cannot be of those who remember Allah very often, either male or female, until such person remembers Allah while standing, sitting and while reclining”.

The Prophet (SAW) had thought us so many forms of dhikr and du’a` (prayer) for every aspect of our daily lives. Hence, we do have dhikr/du’a` for sleeping, waking up, morning and evening, going out, coming back home, riding a car, putting on new clothes and the list is endless.

Thus, it becomes imperative for us Muslims to learn these prayers and remembrance, understand their meaning and purposes, and learn when and how to say them. Ibn Qayyum (may Allah be pleased with him) said : “ The best form of dhikr and most useful, is that which the heart agrees with what the tongue is reciting, and it is among the adhkaar of the Prophet (SAW), and the one who performs the dhikr, can confirm its meaning and its purpose.”

Therefore, has Allah (SWT) will permit me, I would like to share some selected dhikr/du’a` of the prophet (SAW), explaining its meaning and purpose, majorly from the book “Fiqhu-l-ad’iyati wa-l-adhkaari ‘amalu-l-yawmi wa laylah” The understanding of prayers and rememberance (of Allah) daily and nightly responsibilities (part three) by Abdul Rasaq ibn Abdul Muhsin Albadr (May Allah forgive him and bless him abundantly amen).

This book contains 319 dhikr/du’a`, I would only select some of them, and I pray it would be of immense benefit to the readers amen. Any error found herein must have been from me, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness as I look towards His accepting this as an act of Ibadah. Indeed Allah is the oft forgiving most merciful.

Ma Sha Allah, following keenly....A very laudable idea, Jazakumullahu khayran to the organizers.

BISMILLAHI AR-RAHMANI AR-RAHEEM

Allah (SWT) says: (Muhsin Khan translation)

“Successful indeed are the believers.

Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness. (i.e humble in salah)

And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden). (Q 23: 1- 3)

Al-Laghw, as used in this verse is translated to mean dirty, false, evil vain talks etc., but it really goes beyond these words, it also includes activities that have no benefits, neither in this life nor in the hereafter. Engaging in these activities happens to be one of the stumbling blocks mitigating Muslims to attain Islamic spirituality, especially the youths. We all know how we waste time; perhaps let us look at some of them, especially during this month of Ramadhan

1. Television: The television needs no introduction, it is found almost in every home, some can be glued to the T.V all day, watching one programme after another. Some people carry out almost all their daily activities in front of the T.V, and no thanks to cable T.V, and 24hrs broadcast, the T.V can continue to be switched on forever, or else you live in Nigeria with frequent blackouts lol. Don’t get me wrong, their quite a number of beneficial programmes on T.V, but we all know that the non beneficial quite overshadows those that have benefits, so this Ramadan, quite those DSTV/STARTIMES/GO T.V etc. Channels (you all know them) tune to Islamic channel and Iqra if you have to watch, unless your life depends on it, quite the news channels too…

2. Laptop, Smart Phones and the Internet: Okay, you say I don’t watch T.V (actually I don’t myself), but you’ve got a laptop and a smart phone, and what? A 24hrs internet access? Cool! But wait a minute, what have you been doing with your gigabytes of data consumed monthly? How many Islamic lectures have you downloaded and how many beneficial articles have you read online? We all know what we do, and Alhamdulilah most seasonal that do have a huge followership has ended (I think), so stop looking for others to download, its Ramadhan! Quit the movies and the seasonal, quite the sites that have eroded your hearts of light, and let in the Nur of the Qur’an. Too much data? Stream/download Qur’an recitations, Islamic lectures, and hey why not even make an effort to learn Arabic?


3. Social media: Yeah, we've taken socializing to a whole new level, facebook, instagram, twitter, weechat, whatsapp, google+( I kind of prefer this), Nairaland etc. We can spend eternity actually doing nothing in some cases other than just viewing pictures, liking and commenting “lol” on peoples posts, yeah and reading several pages of comments with absolutely no single benefit, especially on Nairaland. Guys this is ramadhan! Tune your social attention to Allah (SWT) and his book, be in the companion of the righteous and see your faith grow.

4. Hanging out with friends: I know you’ve got a tight click, you guys are BFFs, hope your hangouts brings you closer to Allah? If not, you might need to assess your BFFs and your click, cos it absolutely makes no sense, especially in this month of Ramadhan, to gist with friends for hours and no good deed is recorded for you throughout the duration, and it would be a disaster, if sins were recorded because your “click” don’t care about Allah, and all they want to do is hang out and talk about stuffs, yeah stuffs…


5. Sleep: Now this can be funny, you are like, come-on can’t I also sleep? Yeah you can, but if you really need to, not because you trying to avoid the effects of fasting, then you abandon your responsibilities and become bedridden. The reward in this month is overwhelmingly astounding, it is like winning the best thing you can ever imagine, it is Allah’s Bonanza, and you must adhere to the terms and conditions. Rest your body when you need to, then engage in activities that are beneficial to your person in this life, and most importantly, in the hereafter.

So guys, do you know any other way we waste time? Please add yours….Jazakumullahu Khayran as you do.

And remember, Ramadhan is a training process, so whatever you do to achieve drawing closer to Allah (SWT) in this month, make sure you continue after Ramadhan. May Allah accept our acts of Ibadah in this holy month amen.