السـلام عليكم ورحمة الله

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

What kind of Quran tafseer do you read or advice to others (muslims)? Wassalam

Question:

I am the mother of an only child, a seven year old boy, and recently I found him practicing the secret habit (masturbation). Every time I ask him if he did it today he tells me, quite frankly, yes. I forbade him to do this haraam action, then I started to take away some privileges and even hit him, but with no success. He is still doing it every day, maybe even more than once. I got tired of keeping an eye on him, and I feel ashamed before Allaah that this sin may stay with him until he grows up, and he may persist in not repenting, so he will get used to sin and regard it as insignificant, and so his heart will become deadened when he is still young.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

The family is often responsible for the children falling into sin, because they do not urge children to worship Allaah and they make available the means of falling into sin.

We do not know what is really happening here, but it may be that the circumstances surrounding this boy have made him fall into sin. He is an only child, and an only child is usually spoiled, which makes the means of falling into sin readily available. This problem may be dealt with in a number of ways:

1 – Reducing the extent to which he is spoiled, because spoiling him makes him feel that he is not a man, so he tries to prove that he is a man by means of this habit or smoking, for example.

2 – Not making the means of falling into sin available, especially those which contribute to deadening of the heart, such as giving him music tapes to listen to and providing satellite channels for him to watch.

3 – Try not to let the child sleep alone or close the door when he is asleep, because being alone makes it easy to think about sin and encourages one to do it.

4 – Making the child feel attached to the mosque and its study circles, and to righteous friends. These are the greatest means of helping a person to correct his ways and strengthen his faith.

5 – Providing a useful Islamic audio-visual library, which will create in him a love for worship, teach him good manners and deter him from falling into sin.

6- Encouraging him to read, especially books that have to do with biographies of the scholars and heroic mujaahideen. Perhaps he will acquire some of their attributes and follow in their footsteps. It is better to encourage him to encourage him to write a summary of what he reads, hears and watches, and to give him a suitable reward for that.

7 – Encourage him to memorize Qur’aan and fast; undoubtedly these will strengthen him spiritually.

8 –Try to organize his time so that he will be active during the day and will sleep early, because staying up late may make him think at length about sin.

9 – Explain to him the shar’i ruling on this habit and its effect on the mind, heart and faculties.

10 – Avoid humiliating him, hitting him and embarrassing him, because hitting him, humiliating him and embarrassing him will not make him give up this sin and others like it, rather you should deal with him in the way that is best and by giving him good advice.

And Allaah is the source of strength

Question:

Was Ma'iz ibn Malik married or unmarried and if he was a bachelor, why was he stoned? I ask this because I have read that he was not married and was stoned for persistent fornication. However, there are other ahadith about "a man from Bani Aslam" which match the case of Ma'iz (who was from the Aslam) in every detail but do not give the name of the man. Was this man Ma'iz?.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

The ahaadeeth which tell the story of Maa’iz (may Allaah be pleased with him) and are narrated in al-Saheehayn were narrated through numerous isnaads. In some of them his name is given as Maa’iz, and in these it does not say that he was married. And in some he is mentioned by the name of his tribe – “a man from Aslam” – and in these it says that he was married.

The context of the ahaadeeth is the same which makes us certain that they are speaking of the same story, which is the story of Maa’iz (may Allaah be pleased with him) and that he was married. This is stated in the text of one hadeeth which is narrated by al-Bayhaqi as we shall see below. There follow some of the reports:

According to the version narrated by Muslim, they took Maa’iz to the Harrah, and this report states his name. According to a version narrated by al-Bukhaari, they stoned a man from (the tribe of) Aslam – and Maa’iz was a man from the tribe of Aslam as we shall see in the hadeeth from Abu Sa’eed below – so they took him to the Harrah. We also draw your attention to the similarity between the two hadeeth which both say that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned away from him four times, etc. This makes us certain that the two hadeeths are telling the story of the same man. Based on that, it says in the report narrated by al-Bukhaari that he was married. The two reports are as follows:

(a) Muslim (1694) narrated:

From Abu Sa’eed: that a man called Maa’iz ibn Maalik came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “I have committed adultery. Carry out (the hadd punishment) on me.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ignored him several times, then he asked his people (about him). They said: “We do not know of anything wrong with him, except that he has committed some crime and he thinks that he will not be able to relieve himself of its burden unless the hadd punishment is carried out on him.” So he went back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he commanded us to stone him. So we took him out to Baqee’ al-Gharqad and we did not tie him up or dig a hole for him. We stoned him with bones, clods and pebbles. He ran away and we ran after him until he came to ‘Arad al-Harrah (a place in Madeenah), where he stopped, and we stoned him with the rocks of the Harrah until he stopped moving (i.e., died).

( The report narrated by al-Bukhaari (4969):

It was narrated from Jaabir that a man from (the tribe of) Aslam came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in the mosque and he said, “I have committed adultery.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned his face away from him. The man came to that side to which the Prophet had turned his face, and testified against himself four times. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Are you mad? Are you married?" He said, "Yes.” So he commanded that he be stoned in the Musalla (Eid prayer place). When the stones troubled him, he ran away, until he was caught in al-Harrah and killed.

And it was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: A man from (the tribe of Aslam) came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in the mosque and called him. He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, This man has committed zina,” meaning himself. [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] turned his face away from him. The man came to that side to which the Prophet had turned his face, and said, "O Messenger of Allaah, this man has committed zina." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned his face to the other side, and the man came to that side, and said the same thing. When he had testified against himself four times, the Prophet called him and said, "Are you mad?" He said, "No." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Take him away and stone him to death." And he was married. When the stones troubled him, he ran away, but we caught up with him at al-Harrah and stoned him to death (there)."

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4970

This is also stated clearly in Sunan al-Bayhaqi:

It was narrated from Jaabir from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): a man from (the tribe of) Aslam testified against himself four times in his presence, admitting zina, so he ordered that he be stoned, as he was married. He said: they said that that was Maa’iz.

Sunan al-Bayhaqi al-Kubra, 8/218

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar stated in Fath al-Baari that these ahaadeeth tell the story of one man, namely Maa’iz (may Allaah be pleased with him).

The phrase “a man from Aslam” means a man from the famous tribe of Banu Aslam. The name of this man was Maa’iz ibn Maalik as we shall see below; he was named as such by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him).

Al-Haafiz also said:

The hadeeth which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stoned Maa’iz, who was married, appears in al-Saheehayn from Abu Hurayrah. He said to him: “Are you married?” and he said, “Yes.” This was also narrated by al-Bukhaari from Jaabir.

Al-Diraayah fi Takhreej Ahaadeeth al-Hidaayah, 2/96.

These ahaadeeth when taken together make us certain that when Maa’iz was stoned, he was married.

Maa’iz was not stoned because he frequently committed the sin of zina; there is no evidence to indicate that Maa’iz was one of those who frequently commit zina.

The previously-married person who commits zina deserves to be stoned, whether he got married and divorced, or his wife passed away, or he is still married.

There is no difference between one who commits zina once and one who commits this sin repeatedly. Whoever has been previously married must be stoned. In the case of one who has not been previously married, the hadd punishment is one hundred lashes and exile for one year.

And Allaah knows best.

Question:

In the Scouts’ promise they say: “I promise by my honour that I will try my hardest to do my duty towards Allaah, my country and the king, and I will help people at all times, and I will abide by the Scouts’ law.” This appears in the Scouts’ pamphlet that is published by the Arab Scouts’ Trust. What is the ruling on this promise?.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is haraam to swear by anything other than Allaah, whether that be one’s father or leader, or on one’s honour or status, etc, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears an oath then let him swear by Allaah or else keep silent.” Agreed upon. And he said: “Whoever swears an oath, let him not swear by anything other than Allaah. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i. And he said: “Whoever swears an oath by anything other than Allaah has committed shirk.”

Secondly:

The Muslim should not regard anything as equal with Allaah, such as his homeland, the king or the leader, when pledging to work for them. Rather he should say: “I pledge to Allaah that I will do my best to do my duty to Allaah alone, then I will serve my country and help the Muslims, and I will follow the rules of the Scouts that do not go against the sharee’ah of Allaah.

Thirdly:

A person’s actions should be in accordance with the laws of Allaah, and it is not permissible for him to promise that he will act according to the laws of a state or some other human group at all.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Question:

Is killing of a woman allowed for the sake of family honour ,if she is found guilty of anything that is not good for the family's name and honour ,for example she is blamed for adultery and is not proved yet or found to have relation with a na-mahrum(not related to her) ,If not kindly state some verses from Quran-e-Majeed and some Ahadiths which render such killings incorrect unless being processed through the court of Islamic Law? Did any such incident occur in the days of The Holy Prophet(P.B.U.H) and how was it dealt with?.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

One of the gravest of major sins with which a person can meet his Lord is the sin of killing a soul whose killing Allaah has forbidden.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein; and the Wrath and the Curse of Allaah are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him”

[al-Nisa’ 4:93]

It was narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about major sins, and he said: “Associating others with Allaah, disobeying one’s parents, murder and bearing false witness.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2510; Muslim, 88.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The believer will continue to have a good chance of salvation so long as he does not shed haraam blood.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6469.

It is not permissible to accuse chaste women of zina. Zina can only be proven by the testimony of four men who see the act take place with their own eyes, and see the penis enter the vagina, or by the unforced confession of the man or woman who committed zina.

Anything other than that is accusing a Muslim woman of zina, for which the person should be given eighty lashes.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes, and reject their testimony forever. They indeed are the Faasiqoon (liars, rebellious, disobedient to Allaah)”

[al-Noor 24:4]

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah and Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “… Go tomorrow, O Unays, to this woman and if she admits (to adultery) then stone her.” He said: I went to her the next day and she admitted it, so the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered that she be stoned.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2575; Muslim, 1698.

Allaah has specified the punishments for men and women who commit zina. The hadd punishment is stoning if they have been married and one hundred lashes for one who has not been previously married.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allaah, if you believe in Allaah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment”

[al-Noor 24:2]

It was narrated from Jaabir that a man from (the tribe of) Aslam came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in the mosque and he said, “I have committed adultery.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned his face away from him. The man came to that side to which the Prophet had turned his face, and testified against himself four times. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Are you mad?” He said, “No.” The Prophet said, “Are you married?" He said, "Yes.” So he commanded that he be stoned in the Musalla (Eid prayer place). When the stones troubled him, he ran away, until he was caught in al-Harrah and killed.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4969; Muslim, 1691.

If it is asked: who is it that should carry out this hadd punishment for zina?

The answer is:

No one should carry out the hadd punishments without the permission of the ruler. If there is no ruler who rules according to sharee’ah then it is not permissible for the ordinary people to carry out the hadd punishments. Whoever does that is sinning, because carrying out the hadd punishments requires examining the matter and requires shar’i knowledge in order to know the conditions of proof.

The ordinary people have no knowledge of such things, and the carrying out of one of the hadd punishments by the ordinary people leads to many evils and the loss of security, whereby people will attack one another and kill one another or chop off one another’s hands on the grounds that they are carrying out hadd punishments.

Al-Qurtubi said:

There is no dispute among the scholars that qisaas (retaliatory punishments) such as execution cannot be carried out except by those in authority who are obliged to carry out the qisaas and carry out hadd punishments etc, because Allaah has addressed the command regarding qisaas to all the Muslims, and it is not possible for all the Muslims to get together to carry out the qisaas, which is why they appointed a leader who may represent them in carrying out the qisaas and hadd punishments.

Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 2/245, 246.

Ibn Rushd al-Qurtubi said:

With regard to the one who should carry out this punishment – i.e., the hadd punishment for drinking alcohol – they agreed that the ruler should carry it out, and that applies to all the hadd punishments.

Bidaayat al-Mujtahid, 2/233.

Al-Shawkaani said:

It was narrated from Abu’l-Zinaad from his father that the fuqaha’ of the people of Madeenah used to say that no one should carry out any of the hadd punishments except the ruler, unless it is a man carrying out the hadd punishment for zina on his male or female slave. Nayl al-Awtaar, 7/295, 296.

The family of the woman should prevent her from committing immoral actions and should prevent the things that lead to that, such as going out, speaking to non-mahram men, and everything that may enable her to commit evil. If the only way is to detain her and tie her up, then they have the right to do that, so they should detain her in the house.

But as for killing her, they should not do that. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a married woman who had children and who formed an attachment to a man and committed immoral actions with him. When she was found out, she tried to leave her husband: did she have any right to her children after doing this? Was there any sin on them if they cut off relations with her? Was it permissible for the one who has proof of that to kill her secretly? If someone else did that would he be sinning?

He replied:

Praise be to Allaah.

Her sons’ and male relatives’ duty is to prevent her from committing haraam actions, and if the only way they could do that is by detaining her, then they should detain her. If it means that they have to tie her up, then they should tie her up. But the son should not beat his mother, and with regard to treating her kindly, they have no right to do otherwise. It is not permissible for them to cut off ties with her so that she is free to do evil actions, rather they should try to prevent her from doing evil as much as possible. If she needs provision and clothing they should provide that for her. And it is not permissible for them to carry out the hadd punishment – execution or otherwise – on her, and they will be sinning if they do that.

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 34/177-178.

It so happened that some women committed zina at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and no one in their families killed any of these women. One of them was al-Ghaamidiyyah (may Allaah be pleased with her).

It was narrated that Buraydah ibn al-Haseeb said: A woman from Ghaamid, a branch of al-Azd, came and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, purify me!” He said, “Woe to you! Go back and seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent to Him.” She said: “I think that you intend to send me back as you sent Maa’iz ibn Maalik back.” He said, “What has happened to you?” She said that she had become pregnant as a result of zina. He said: “Is it you (who has done that)?” She said: “Yes.” He said to her: “(You will not be punished) until you give birth to that which is in your womb.” A man from among the Ansaar sponsored her [i.e., paid for her needs etc] until she delivered (the child). Then he (that Ansaari) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “The Ghaamidi woman has given birth to a child.” He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: “Then we will not stone her and so leave her child with no one to nurse him.” One of the Ansaar stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, let me be responsible for ensuring that he is nursed.” Then she was stoned to death.

Narrated by Muslim, 1695.

So the attitude of the family of the woman asked about here, claiming that she deserves to be executed, is wrong in other ways as well, such as:

1 – They do not have the attitude if one of their sons or brothers commits zina. This is like the actions of the people of the Jaahiliyyah who allowed themselves to commit zina but not their women. And these people feel that their honour has been besmirched and their protective jealousy comes to the for if their women commit sin, but there is no protective jealousy on their part if one of their sons or brothers does the same thing. Indeed some fathers boast about their son’s evil actions and encourage him to do it.

2 – They have opened the door for women to fall into sin, by allowing women to attend mixed schools, have bad friends, watch haraam things and sit in reprehensible gatherings. This has led to women’s hearts becoming deadened and attracted to immoral things. Some of them do not arrange marriages for their daughters or sisters and they stipulate impossible conditions, then they want to punish them when they are the ones who deserve punishment more.

3 – They don’t only kill for the sin of zina, rather they do that even if the woman only spoke to or got to know a non-mahram man, for which there is no hadd punishment of killing in sharee’ah.

4 – They open the door for everyone who wants to kill his sister or daughter on the grounds of nonsensical excuses, when the reason for killing her may be her wealth, or because she knows things about them that they want to conceal, or other such reasons.

From time to time we hear claims from the kaafir west or the deviant east that everyone who kills his sister or daughter does so because of honour. That is because many laws let the killer off if he kills any family member for this reason.

Even though this claim may be true, we should not be deceived by these people and their claims, because the purpose of these claims is to remove gheerah (protective jealousy) from the hearts of the woman’s family, and to open the door for women to commit immoral actions.

What the guardians of women must do is to fear Allaah regarding those who are under their care, and prevent them from committing immoral actions or doing the things that lead to that, and not be either careless or too strict.

And Allaah knows best.

Question:

I often read that “this action is major shirk” and “this is minor shirk”. Could you explain to me the difference between the two?.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

One of the most important obligations is to know the meaning of shirk, its seriousness and its different types, so that our Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allaah) and our Islam may be complete, and our faith may be sound. We say – And Allaah is the Source of strength and true guidance comes from Him:

Know – may Allaah guide you – that the word shirk in Arabic means taking a partner, i.e., regarding someone as the partner of another. It is said [in Arabic]: ashraka baynahuma (he joined them together) when he regarded them as two of equal status; or ashraka fi amrihi ghayrahu (he introduced another into his affair) when he made two people involved in it.

In terms of sharee’ah or Islamic terminology, shirk means ascribing a partner or rival to Allaah in Lordship (ruboobiyyah), worship or in His names and attributes.

A rival is a peer or counterpart. Hence Allaah forbids setting up rivals with Him and he condemns those who take them (rivals) as gods instead of or besides Allaah in many verses of the Qur’aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Then do not set up rivals unto Allaah (in worship) while you know (that He Alone has the right to be worshipped)”

[al-Baqarah 2:222]

“And they set up rivals to Allaah, to mislead (men) from His path! Say: ‘Enjoy (your brief life)! But certainly, your destination is the (Hell) Fire!’”

[ibraaheem 14:30]

In the hadeeth it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies claiming that Allaah has a rival, will enter Hell.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4497; Muslim, 92.

The types of shirk:

The texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah indicate that shirk and the ascribing of rivals to Allaah sometimes puts a person beyond the pale of Islam and sometimes does not. Hence the scholars divided shirk into two types which they call shirk akbar (major shirk) and shirk asghar (minor shirk). There follows a brief description of each type:

1 – Major shirk

This means ascribing to someone other than Allaah something that belongs only to Allaah, such as Lordship (ruboobiyyah), divinity (uloohiyyah) and the divine names and attributes (al-asma’ wa’l-sifaat).

This kind of shirk may sometimes be outward, such as the shirk of those who worship idols and graves, or the dead or absent.

Or it may sometimes be hidden, such as those who put their trust in other gods besides Allaah, or the shirk and kufr of the hypocrites. For even though their (hypocrites’) shirk puts them beyond the pale of Islam and means that they will abide forever in Hell, it is a hidden shirk, because they make an outward display of Islam and conceal their kufr and shirk, so they are inwardly mushriks but not outwardly.

Shirk may sometimes take the form of beliefs:

Such as the belief that there is someone else who creates, gives life and death, reigns or controls the affairs of the universe along with Allaah.

Or the belief that there is someone else who must be obeyed absolutely besides Allaah, so they follow him in regarding as permissible or forbidden whatever he wants, even if that goes against the religion of the Messengers.

Or they may associate others with Allaah in love and veneration, by loving a created being as they love Allaah. This is the kind of shirk that Allaah does not forgive, and it is the shirk of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allaah as rivals (to Allaah). They love them as they love Allaah”

[al-Baqarah 2:165]

Or the belief that there are those who know the Unseen as well as Allaah. This is very common among some of the deviant sects such as the Raafidis (Shi’ah), extreme Sufis, and Baatinis (esoteric sects) in general. The Raafidis believe that their imams have knowledge of the unseen, and the Baatinis and Sufis believe similar things about their awliya’ (“saints”), and so on. It is also shirk to believe that there is someone who bestows mercy in a manner that is befitting only for Allaah, so he shows mercy as Allaah does and forgives sins and overlooks the bad deeds of his worshippers.

Shirk may sometimes take the form of words:

Such as those who make du’aa’ or pray to someone other than Allaah, or seek his help or seek refuge with him with regard to matters over which no one has control except Allaah, whether the person called upon is a Prophet, a wali (“saint”), an angel or a jinn, or some other created being. This is a kind of major shirk which puts one beyond the pale of Islam.

Or such as those who make fun of religion or who liken Allaah to His creation, or say that there is another creator, provider or controller besides Allaah. All of these are major shirk and a grave sin that is not forgiven.

Shirk may sometimes take the form of actions:

Such as one who sacrifices, prays or prostrates to something other than Allaah, or who promulgates laws to replace the rulings of Allaah and makes that the law to which people are obliged to refer for judgement; or one who supports the kaafirs and helps them against the believers, and other acts that go against the basic meaning of faith and put the one who does them beyond the pale of Islam. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.

2 – Minor shirk

This includes everything that may lead to major shirk, or which is described in the texts as being shirk, but does not reach the extent of being major shirk.

This is usually of two types:

1 – Being emotionally attached to some means which have no basis and for which Allaah has not given permission, such as hanging up “hands”, turquoise beads etc on the grounds that they offer protection or that they ward off the evil eye. But Allaah has not made them the means of such protection, either according to sharee’ah or according to the laws of the universe.

[Translator’s note: the “hands” referred to are objects made of metal, pottery etc, usually blue or turquoise in colour, that some people hang up to ward off the evil eye, according to their mistaken belief]

2 – Venerating some people or things in a way that does not go so far as ascribing lordship to them, such as swearing by something other than Allaah, or saying, “Were it not for Allaah and So and so,” etc.

The scholars have stipulated guidelines to distinguish major shirk from minor shirk when shirk is mentioned in the texts of sharee’ah. These guidelines include the following:

(i) – When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) states clearly that this action is minor shirk, such as in al-Musnad (27742) where it is narrated that Mahmoud ibn Labeed said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thing that I fear most for you is minor shirk.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what is minor shirk?” He said: “Showing off, for Allaah will say on the Day when people are recompensed for their actions: ‘Go to those for whom you were showing off with your deeds in the world, and see what reward you find with them.’” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 951.

(ii) – When the word shirk is used in the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah in the indefinite form [without the definite article al-]. This usually refers to minor shirk, and there are many examples of this, such as when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Incantations, amulets and love spells are shirk.”

Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3883; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 331.

What is meant by shirk here is minor shirk, not major shirk.

Amulets are things that are hung on children such as turquoise beads and the like, which they claim will protect them from the evil eye.

Love spells are something that they do, claiming that it will make a woman beloved to her husband and a man beloved to his wife.

(iii) – If the Sahaabah understood from the texts of sharee’ah that what was meant by shirk here was minor shirk, not major. Undoubtedly the understanding of the Sahaabah carries weight, because they are the most knowledgeable of the people concerning the religion of Allaah, and the most knowledgeable as to the intent of the Lawgiver. For example, Abu Dawood (3910) narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Tiyarah (superstitious belief in omens) is shirk, tiyarah is shirk,” three times, and there is no one among us but (will have some of that) but Allaah will rid him of it by means of tawakkul (putting his trust in Allaah). The words “there is no one among us…” are the words of Ibn Mas’ood, as was explained by the prominent scholars of hadeeth. This indicates that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) understood that this was minor shirk, because he could not have said, “There is no one among us…” referring to major shirk. Moreover, major shirk cannot be eliminated by means of tawakkul, rather it is essential to repent therefrom.

(iv) – If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) interpreted the words shirk or kufr in a manner which indicates that what is meant is a minor form thereof and not the major form. For example al-Bukhaari (1038) and Muslim (74) narrated from Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani that he said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) finished, he turned to face the people and said to them: “Do you know what your Lord has said?” They said: “Allaah and his Messenger know best.” He said: “This morning one of My slaves became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by the grace of Allaah and His mercy,’ that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars; and as for him who said: ‘We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.’”

The interpretation of the word kufr here is given in another report narrated from Abu Hurayrah who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you not know what your Lord said? ‘I do not send any blessing upon My slaves but a group among them become kaafirs thereby because they refer to the stars and attribute things to the stars. This explains that if a person attributes rainfall to the stars by believing that they caused it to fall – when in fact Allaah has not made the stars a means of causing rainfall – his kufr is a kind of ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah. It is well known that ingratitude for the blessing of Allaah is minor kufr. But if a person believes that the stars are controlling the universe and they are the ones that cause the rain to fall, then this is major shirk.

Minor shirk may sometimes take the form of outward actions, such as wearing talismans, strings, amulets and the like, and other words and deeds. And sometimes it may be hidden, like a little bit of showing off.

It may also take the form of beliefs:

Such as the belief that something may be a cause of bringing benefit or warding off harm, when Allaah has not made it so; or believing that there is barakah (blessing) in a thing, when Allaah has not made it so.

It sometimes takes the form of words:

Such as when they said, “We have been given rain by such and such a star,” without believing that that the stars could independently cause rain to fall; or swearing by something other than Allaah, without believing in venerating the thing sworn by or regarding it as equal with Allaah; or saying, “Whatever Allaah wills and you will,” and so on.

It sometimes takes the form of actions:

Such as hanging up amulets or wearing a talisman or string to dispel or ward off calamity, because everyone who attribute powers to a thing when Allaah has not made it so either according to sharee’ah or according to the laws of the universe, has associated something with Allaah. This also applies to one who touches a thing seeking its barakah (blessing), when Allaah has not created any barakah in it, such as kissing the doors of the mosques, touching their thresholds, seeking healing from their dust, and other such actions.

This is a brief look at the division of shirk into major and minor. We cannot go into great detail in this short answer.

Conclusion:

What the Muslim must do is to avoid shirk in both its minor and major forms. The greatest sin is shirk and transgression against the unique rights of Allaah, which are to be worshipped and obeyed alone, with no partner or associate.

Hence Allaah has decreed that the mushrikeen will abide forever in Hell and has told us that He will not forgive them, and He has forbidden Paradise to them, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills; and whoever sets up partners with Allaah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin”

[al-Nisa’ 4:48]

“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers”

[al-Maa'idah 5:72]

Every wise and religiously-committed person should fear shirk for himself and should turn to his Lord, asking Him to help him avoid shirk, as al-Khaleel [ibraaheem – peace be upon him] said:

“and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols”

[ibraaheem 14:35 – interpretation of the meaning]

One of the salaf said: “Who can claim to be safe from this after Ibraaheem?”

So the sincere believer’s fear of shirk should increase as should his desire for his for his Lord to keep him away from it, and he should say the great du’aa’ which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to his companions when he said to them: “Shirk among you will be more subtle than the footsteps of an ant, but I will teach you something which, if you do it, both minor and major shirk will be kept away from you. Say: Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lam wa astaghfiruka lima la a’lam (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for that of which I am unaware).”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3731

The above refers to the difference between major and minor shirk, defining each and describing its types.

With regard to the difference between them as far as the ruling is concerned:

Major shirk puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, so the one who does that is judged to be out of Islam and to have apostatized therefrom, so he is a kaafir and an apostate.

Minor shirk does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam, rather it may be done by a Muslim but he still remains in Islam; but the one who does that is in great danger because minor shirk is a major sin. Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “If I were to swear by Allaah falsely, that is better for me than if I were to swear by something other than Him sincerely.” So he regarded swearing by something other than Allaah (which is minor shirk) as being worse than swearing by Allaah falsely, and it is well known that swearing by Allaah falsely is a major sin.

We ask Allaah to make our hearts steadfast in adhering to His religion until we meet Him, and we seek refuge in His Might – may He be glorified – from going astray, for He is the Ever-Living Who never dies, but the jinn and mankind will die. And Allaah knows best and is most wise, and to Him is the final return of all.

Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

lets say a catholic woman is married to a catholic man, but then down the road of marriage decides that she wants to convert to lets say....................... Islam, but her husband will have absolutely nothing to do with converting.

According to Islam, it's my understanding that a mulsim man may marry a woman of jewish or christian faith, but a muslim woman may ONLY marry a muslim man. Well what is the Catholic woman to do now that she is allready married? Can she not convert?

ASSLAM O ALYKUM WAREHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUHU!

I am in a situation where i dont know what to do,

I have two propesals recently from which one is a muslim who read five times paryers, but does not have a beard and does not seem to be very religious in nature. and i am afraid i wll have a problem in his house covering my face as his brother also lives in the same house.

The second one has sent his photo, he wears a beard and also the people who gave his proposal have said that he is very religious, but they also said he goes to the dars of a jamat called tableeghi jamat in pakistan.

the problem is i cheaked out about this jamat on www.fatwa-online.com and they said it is a devient group involved in shirk!

now my problem is i cant understand wehther i should go for the first prposal knowing atleast that he is not involved in shirk..

or the one who only goes to the dars of this jamat and hope that he is not really belives in the stuff that tableeghi people belive!.

Jazakumullah hu khairan

I pary that every muslim gets the best mate with regaurds to their lives and hearafter.(Amin).

Salaam!

I am new here and just wanted to say hello. This site was recommended by someone I talked to through MSN instant messanger. I'm looking forward to learning alot from or with you all here.

Peace,

Shaunee

بلاد الأفراح

الإمام ابن القيم رحمه الله

قال الإمام ابن القيم رحمه الله:

وكيف يقدر قدر دار غرسها الله بيده وجعلها مقراً لأحبابه، وملأها من رحمته وكرامته ورضوانه، ووصف نعيمها بالفوز العظيم، وملكها بالملك الكبير، وأودعها جميع الخير بحذافيره، وطهرها من كل عيب وآفة ونقص.

فإن سألت: عن أرضها وتربتها، فهي المسك والزعفران.

وإن سألت: عن سقفها، فهو عرش الرحمن.

وإن سألت: عن ملاطها، فهو المسك الأذفر.

وإن سألت: عن حصبائها، فهو اللؤلؤ والجوهر.

وإن سألت: عن بنائها، فلبنة من فضة ولبنة من ذهب، لا من الحطب والخشب.

وإن سألت: عن أشجارها، فما فيها شجرة إلا وساقها من ذهب.

وإن سألت: عن ثمرها، فأمثال القلال، ألين من الزبد وأحلى من العسل.

وإن سألت: عن ورقها، فأحسن ما يكون من رقائق الحلل.

وإن سألت: عن أنهارها، فأنهارها من لبن لم يتغير طعمه، وأنهار من خمر لذة للشاربين، وأنهار من عسل مصفى.

وإن سألت: عن طعامهم، ففاكهة مما يتخيرون، ولحم طير مما يشتهون.

وإن سألت: عن شرابهم، فالتسنيم والزنجبيل والكافور.

وإن سألت: عن آنيتهم، فآنية الذهب والفضة في صفاء القوارير.

وإن سألت: عن سعة أبوابها، فبين المصراعين مسيرة أربعين من الأعوام، وليأتين عليه يوم وهو كظيظ من الزحام.

وإن سألت: عن تصفيق الرياح لأشجارها، فإنها تستفزّ بالطرب من يسمعها.

وإن سألت: عن ظلّها ففيها شجرة واحدة يسر الراكب المجد السريع في ظلها مئة عام لا يقطعها.

وإن سألت: عن خيامها وقبابها، فالخيمة من درة مجوفة طولها ستون ميلاً من تلك الخيام.

وإن سألت: عن علاليها وجواسقها فهي غرف من فوقها غرف مبنية، تجري من تحتها الأنهار.

وإن سألت: عن ارتفاعها، فانظر إلى الكواكب الطاع، أو الغارب في الأفق الذي لا تكاد تناله الأبصار.

وإن سألت: عن لباس أهلها، فهو الحرير والذهب.

وإن سألت: عن فرشها، فبطائنها من استبرق مفروشة في أعلى الرتب.

وإن سألت: عن أرائكها، فهي الأسرة عليها البشخانات، وهي الحجال مزررة بأزرار الذهب، فما لها من فروج ولا خلال.

وإن سألت: عن أسنانهم، فأبناء ثلاثة وثلاثين، على صورة آدم عليه السلام، أبي البشر.

وإن سألت: عن وجوه أهلها وحسنهم، فعلى صورة القمر.

وإن سألت: عن سماعهم، فغناء أزواجهم من الحور العين، وأعلى منه سماع أصوات الملائكة والنبيين، وأعلى منهما سماع خطاب رب العالمين.

وإن سألت: عن مطاياهم التي يتزاورون عليها، فنجائب أنشأها الله مما شاء، تسير بهم حيث شاؤوا من الجنان.

وإن سألت: عن حليهم وشارتهم، فأساور الذهب واللؤلؤ على الرؤوس ملابس التيجان.

وإن سألت: عن غلمانهم، فولدان مخلدون، كأنهم لؤلؤ مكنون.

وإن سألت: وإن سألت عن عرائسهم وأزواجهم، فهن الكواعب الأتراب، اللائي جرى في أعضائهن ماء الشباب، فللورد والتفاح ما لبسته الخدود، وللرمان ما تضمنته النهود، وللؤلؤ المنظوم ما حوته الثغور، وللدقة واللطافة ما دارت عليه الخصور.

تجري الشمس في محاسن وجهها إذا برزت، ويضيئ البرق من بين ثناياها إذا تبسمت، وإذا قابلت حبها فقل ما شئت في تقابل النيرين، وإذا حادثته فما ظنك في محادثة الحبيبين، وإن ظمها إليه فما ظنك بتعانق الغصنين، يرى وجهه في صحن خدها، كما يرى في المرآة التي جلاها صيقلها [الصيقل: جلاء السيوف، والمقصود هنا تشبيه وجه الحوراء بالمرآة التي جلاها ولمعها منظفها ختى بدت أنظف وأجلى ما يكون]، ويرى مخ ساقها من وراء اللحم، ولا يستره جلدها ولا عظمها ولا حللها.

لو أطلّت على الدنيا لملأت ما بين الأرض والسماء ريحاً، ولاستنطقت أفواه الخلائق تهليلا وتكبيراً و تسبيحاً، ولتزخرف لها ما بين الخافقين، ولأغمضت عن غيرها كل عين، ولطمست ضوء الشمس كما تطمس الشمس ضوء النجوم، ولآمن كل من رآها على وجه الأرض بالله الحي القيوم، ونصيفها (الخمار) على رأسها خير من الدنيا وما فيها.

ووصاله أشهى إليها من جميع أمانيها، لا تزداد على تطاول الأحقاب إلا حسناً وجمالاً، ولا يزداد على طول المدى إلا محبةً ووصالاً، مبرأة من الحبل (الحمل) والولادة والحيض والنفاس، مطهرة من المخاط والبصاق والبول والغائط وسائر الأدناس.

لا يفنى شبابها ولا تبلى ثيابها، ولا يخلق ثوب جمالها، ولا يمل طيب وصالها، قد قصرت طرفها على زوجها، فلا تطمح لأحد سواه، وقصرت طرفه عليها فهي غاية أمنيته وهواه، إن نظر إليها سرته، وإن أمرها أطاعته، وإن غاب عنها حفظته فهو معها في غاية الأماني والأمان.

هذا ولم يطمثها قبله أنس ولا جان، كلما نظر إليها ملأت قلبه سروراً، وكلما حدثته ملأت أذنه لؤلؤاً منظوماً ومنثوراً، وإذا برزت ملأت القصر والغرفة نوراً.

وإن سألت: عن السن، فأتراب في أعدل سنّ الشباب.

وإن سألت: عن الحسن، فهل رأيت الشمس والقمر.

وإن سألت: عن الحدق (سواد العيون) فأحسن سواد، في أصفى بياض، في أحسن حور (أي: شدة بياض العين مع قوة سوادها).

وإن سألت: عن القدود، فهل رأيت أحسن الأغصان.

وإن سألت: عن النهود، فهن الكواعب، نهودهن كألطف الرمان.

وإن سألت: عن اللون، فكأنه الياقوت والمرجان.

وإن سألت: عن حسن الخلق، فهن الخيرات الحسان، اللاتي جمع لهن بين الحسن والإحسان، فأعطين جمال الباطن والظاهر، فهن أفراح النفوس وقرة النواظر.

وإن سألت: عن حسن العشرة، ولذة ما هنالك: فهن العروب المتحببات إلى الأزواج، بلطافة التبعل، التي تمتزج بالزوج أي امتزاج.

فما ظنك بامرأة إذا ضحكت بوجه زوجها أضاءت الجنة من ضحكها، وإذا انتقلت من قصر إلى قصر قلت هذه الشمس متنقل في بروج فلكها، وإذا حاضرت زوجها فياحسن تلك المحاضرة، وإن خاصرته فيالذة تلك المعانقة والمخاصرة:

وحديثها السحر الحلال لو أنه

لم يجن قتل المسلم المتحرز

إن طال لم يملي وإن هي

أوجزت ودّ المحدّث أنها لم توجز

إن غنّت فيا لذة الأبصار والأسماع، وإن آنست وأنفعت فياحبذا تلك المؤانسة والإمتاع، وإن قبلت فلا شيء أشهى إليه من ذلك التقبيل، وإن نولت فلا ألذ وى ألذ ولا أطيب من ذلك التنويل.

هذا، وإن سألت: عن يوم المزيد، وزيارة العزيز الحميد، ورؤية وجهه المنزه عن التمثيل والتشبيه، كما ترى الشمس في الظهيرة والقمر ليلة البدر، كما تواتر النقل فيه عن الصادق المصدوق، وذلك موجود في الصحاح، والسنن المسانيد، ومن رواية جرير، وصهيب، وأنس، وأبي هريرة، وأبي موسى، وأبي سعيد، فاستمع يوم ينادي المنادي:

يا أهل الجنة

إنّ ربكم تبارك وتعالى يستزيركم فحيّ على زيارته، فيقولون سمعاً وطاعة، وينهضون إلى الزيارة مبادرين، فإذا بالنجائب قد أعدّت لهم، فيستوون على ظهورها مسرعين، حتى إذا انتهوا إلى الوادي الأفيح الذي جعل لهم موعداّ، وجمعوا هناك، فلم يغادر الداعي منهم أحداً، أمر الرب سبحانه وتعالى بكرسية فنصب هناك، ثم نصبت لهم منابر من نور، ومنابر من لؤلؤ، ومنابر من زبرجد، ومنابر من ذهب، ومنابر من فضة، وجلس أدناهم - وحاشاهم أن يكون بينهم دنئ - على كثبان المسك، ما يرون أصحاب الكراسي فوقهم العطايا، حتى إذا استقرت بهم مجالسهم، واطمأنت بهم أماكنهم، نادى المنادي:

يا أهل الجنة

سلام عليكم.

فلا ترد هذه التحية بأحسن من قولهم: اللهم أنت السلام، ومنك السلام، تباركت ياذا الجلال والإكرام.

فيتجلى لهم الرب تبارك وتعالى يضحك إليهم ويقول: يا أهل الجنة

فيكون أول ما يسمعون منه تعالى: أين عبادي الذين أطاعوني بالغيب ولم يروني، فهذا يوم المزيد.

فيجتمعون على كلمة واحدة: أن قد رضينا، فارض عنا

فيقول: يا أهل الجنة

إنّي لو لم أرض عنكم لم أسكنكم جنتي، هذا يوم المزيد، فسلوني..

فيجتمعون على كلمة واحدة: أرنا وجهك ننظر إليه.

فيكشف الرب جل جلاله الحجب، ويتجلا لهم فيغشاهم من نوره ما لو لا أن الله سبحانه وتعالى قضى ألا يحترقوا لاحترقوا.

ولا يبقى في ذلك المجلس أحد إلا حاضره ربه تعالى محاضرة، حتى إنه يقول: يا فلان، أتذكر يوم فعلت كذا وكذا، يذكّره ببعض غدراته في الدنيا..

فيقول: يا رب ألم تغفر لي؟

فيقول: بلى بمغفرتي بلغت منزلتك هذه.

فيا لذة الأسماع بتلك المحاضرة.

ويا قرّة عيون الأبرار بالنظر إلى وجهه الكريم في الدار الآخرة. ويا ذلة الراجعين بالصفقة الخاسرة.

{ وجوه يومئذ ناضرة، إلى ربها ناظرة، و وجوه يوم إذ ٍ باسرة، تظن أن يفعل بها فاقرة } [ القيامة:22-25 ]

فحي على جنات عدن فإنها

منزلك الأولى وفيها المخيم

ولكننا سبي العدو فهل ترى

نعود إلى أوطاننا ونسلم

انتهى كلام ابن القيم رحمه الله تعالى ( حادي الأرواح إلى بلاد الأفراح ص355-360 )