Why follow a maddhab? When we can have "The Easiest Marriage In Human History Ever Plus Inifinity and One!"

Islam has a long standing history of madhhab following. Looking at geographical locations throughout the world we can see trends in countries being totally Shafie, Hanafi, Maliki or Hanbali. (wikipedia):

• Hanafi (TheLevant, Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Iran, Afghanistan, China)
• Maliki (North Africa, West Africa, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain)
• Shafie (Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Djbouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sth Iran, Southeast Asia, Swahili Coast, Maldives, South India)
• Hanbali (Saudi Arabia, Qatar)

Lets be realistic here... There is no one in our society today that has a greater intellect than the four great imams of Islamic fiqh ie jurisprudence: Imam Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man, Imam Malik bin Anas, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and Muhammad ibn Idris Ash-Shafie. Not only were they scholars and master minds; mufaqiheen and muhadditheen, they  earned the grandeur title of Mujtahid imams, the highest ranking scholarship one can achieve as a Muslim. 

The Funnyeth Claim: Claim
So some Muslims say: Oh! Don't be silleh! All the madhhabs are right, hear ye! one and all Muslims! Let us, in our infinite super intellectual wisdom brain power fantasticness chooseth whatever ruling we find to be the best and follow that! :D Who said we should follow just one! yer?


Umm.. yeah...


The Funnyeth Claim: Refutation
Yes indeed, all four madhhabs are correct and they back their rulings using pure Islamic sources: ie: Quran and haddith, yes indeed there are only about 15-20% differences in rulings amongst the four madhahib.. but in believing the claim above. You are essentially going on one of two assumptions:


Assumption 1:
You are so intellectually gifted by Allah, that you know all the intricacies and differences of opinion in the four madhhabs so much so, that you have the luxury of picking and choosing whatever ruling you want to follow... Umm... what in the who?


Studying one madhhab is hard enough, let alone all four. Clearly no one fits this bill. 
OR..


Assumption 2:
Your assuming your understanding of fiqh and haddith is so much greater than the four imams that you are indeed more knowledgeable than all four put together mashaAllah! and you have the right to pass judgement on which ruling is better than that other. 


It's as though, you, in your 21century jeans, bare head and beardless face are fit enough to be their teacher (if only they were living!) and you can mark their fiqh homework and say, Oh Imam Shafi'e, yabni, my dear son, ya habibi! you got this fiqh ruling wrong! No no no! In fact the very answer to this issue that Allah is talking about concerning the waiting period of a divorced woman in surat Al-Baqarah of 3 Quru' (ie:cycles) is NOT indeed cycles of purity, but rather cycles of menses... That was the answer of your peer, Imam Hanafi, so give him a pat on the back yabni. InshaAllah next homework you will be able to produce better understanding! :D ..... 


... Delirious wasn't just an Eddy Murphy skit.


So to conclude: 1. No one is smarter than the four imams 2. No one knows all four madhhabs. 


So...  Applying logic, it only makes sense to do what the many Muslims over the 1400+ years have done and that is stick to one madhhab. It's less confusing to study just one and it keeps your nafs in check so it's not picking and choosing whatever rulings it wants to follow. 


Just to clarify. Anyone that thinks they can make-up fiqh rulings today- I don't care how great a sheikh they are- by simply looking at a haddith or reading it or reading a Quranic verse and refuting/opposing any of the great Imam's rulings ... I ask you to show me evidence that you have a similar/greater level of  aimah and ijtihad to your name. Otherwise, your refutation of any of their rulings is plain ignorance and arrogance on your own behalf. If they deem something to be ok, then it's ok, if not then it's not, if they teach me how to communicate with Allah and I accept it, how ignorant would I look saying I don't agree with more petty issues. It'd be silly to assume that a haddith that you read that appears to be contradictory to any of their rulings would be a haddith they didn't already take into consideration. How do I know they took it into consideration? Because they are muhadditheen- they have the highest level of scholarship in haddith studies and they have memorised much more haddith than you can even deem possible today. 


The Why is it dangerous question: 
In actual fact, fuqahaa2 say it is haram to pick and choose rulings based on your whims and desires. The general rule of thumb is, follow one madhhab and when you experience difficulty in a certain circumstance, you go to a sheikh and ask for his advice, to which he can tell you well, in this circumstance, you can follow the Hanafi/Maliki etc. opinion with regards to this matter so that it is easy for you- after all Allah says the differences among you is a rahma- a Mercy. So that when you are in trouble you can still look back to Islam and find your answer, that way you have true guidance from the religion in all your affairs.
So to demonstrate how impractical it is to use coctail ideas with fiqh I want to use a funny example inshaAllah:


In an Islamic marriage you have integrals and other things that are recommended but not necessary. ie:


1. Bride and Groom
2. Proposal and acceptance
3. Guardian
4. Two witnesses
5. Dowry


According to the Hanafi Maddhab all are integrals except having a Guardian
According to the Maliki Maddhab all are integrals except having 2 witnesses and 
According to the Shafi'es all are integrals except having a Dowry, it's considered a gift from the Groom, so it's not an integral.


So if we pick whats easiest of the four madhhabs to make life easier for us, all we need to do is, strike out what's not an integral according to the four madhhabs and you end up with: The Easiest Marriage In Human History Ever Plus Inifinity and One! 

1. Bride and Groom

2. Proposal and acceptance

3. Guardian

4. Two witnesses

5. Dowry

Boy meets girl. Oh asalamulaykum! I like you, girl: Oh walaykumusalam, I like you too! Do you want to get married? Yes sure!


And just like that. 
They're married. 


What will become of our deen when we pick and choose like this? Yes the Islam is meant to be easy, but Allah also says, wa firru ilallah! And race towards Allah! ie put some jihad into it, put some effort and sacrifice for Allah! Whoever thinks this deen is easy, thinks the price of Jannah is easy. It's not. The self needs to be restrained and needs to have limits set. It can't free reign and then we say Oh but the deen is supposed to be easy! SubhanAllah. 


So in conclusion:
1. No one today is smarter than the four great Imams.
2. No one has the ability to learn all four madhhabs- even if you do, since you don't have the same level of scholarship you can't say which ruling is or isn't better. 
3. Picking and choosing whatever ruling you want leaves the door open for your nafs to rule you and not for you to rule it. How much times over and over again have we been warned against the nafs by Allah and His messenger!?
4. Follow one madhhab, cocktails were only invented for non-Muslim drinks.


I rest my case. 
Allah knows best. 

The kings of Islam: Scholar of exegesis Sa'eed bin Jubayr...

Asalamualaykum warahmatullahi wa barakatu. 

Wow. Honestly all i can say is wow, if my heart had a mouth it would be gobsmacked beyond repair as of... now. Read how amazing this is. Just read it and shoot me bc its so amazing i dont think i can bare it!

So today at Daar Aisha  I learnt about one of the greatest Mufasireen (scholars of exegesis) of the Quran. The greatest being the Companion of the Prophet of Allah, Abdullah bin Abbas and his greatest student the tabi'e (student of the Companion) Sa'eed bin Jubayr... This man, was amazing in his life and at his death. He was executed by Hajaj bin Yousef who was the right-hand man of the king of the ummayid period at the time 95ah. His conversation at the time of his death with this tyrant hajaj- who was known for killing sahaba related to the messenger waya'ethubillah (Allah forbid!)!- was one of the most famous dialogues in Islamic history, and if you read it here below, you will see why it's earned such a status. Allahu Akbar!

_____________________________________________________________________________

An account of Saeed-bin-Jubair, who is a famous Tabie.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) has said:

"To utter truth in the face of a tyrant is the best Jihad."

This is a story of Jihad of that type. At that time, Hajjaj-bin-Yusuf, the notorious blood-shedder was in power. Hajjaj's harshness and tyranny are well known in human history. The rules in those days, in spite of their shortcomings, never lagged behind in propagating the faith, yet we treat them as the worst among rules because of the contrast with the just and God- fearing rulers. He was the viceroy of king Abdul Malik-bin-Marwan for Hijaz and Iraq. The king lived in Damascus and Hajjaj had his headquarters at Koofah. Saeed-bin-Jubair had fought against Hajjaj on the side of Ibnul-Ashath. After the defeat, Saeed (Rahmahullah) ran away and took asylum in Mecca. The Government posted a very stern person as the Governor of Mecca, with instructions to arrest Saeed. The Governor assembled all the people of Mecca and read before them the order of King Abdul Malik, which said:

"Any person who gives shelter to Saeed (Rahmahullah) shall meet the same fate as Saeed himself."

He then announced to the people:

"By Allah, I must kill the person who gives shelter to Saeed (Rahmahullah). His and his neighbors' houses shall be razed to the ground."

Saeed was arrested with great difficulty and sent to Koofah. When he was brought before Hajjaj, the following conversation took place:

Hajjaj: "What is your name?"

Saeed: "My name is Saeed (lit. Auspicious)."

Hajjaj: "What is your father's name?"

Saeed: "Jubair (lit. Trimmed)."

Hajjaj: "No, you are in fact Shaqi (lit. Wretched) son of Kusair (lit. a broken thing)."

Saeed: "My mother knew my name better than you do."

Hajjaj: "You are wretched and so is your mother."

Saeed: "The Knower of the hidden things is some One else."

Hajjaj: "Look! I am putting you to sword."

Saeed: "Then my mother was right in giving me this name."

Hajjaj: "I shall send you to Hell."

Saeed: "If I knew that you had that power, I would have taken you as my god."

Hajjaj: "What is your belief about the Prophet (Peace be upon him)?"

Saeed: "He was an apostle of Mercy and a Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him), sent with the best Guidance for the whole creation."

Hajjaj: "What do you say about the Khalifas?"

Saeed: "I am not a warder over them. Everybody is responsible for his own actions."

Hajjaj: "Who is the most exalted of the four Khalifahs?"

Saeed: "The one who had been able to please Allah more than the rest?"

Hajjaj: "Which of them had been able to please Allah?"

Saeed: "This is known only to Him. Who knows what is hidden in the bosoms and what the hearts conceal."

Hajjaj: "Is Ali in Paradise or in Hell?"

Saeed: "I can answer only after I visit the two places and meet their dwellers."

Hajjaj: "How shall I fare on the Day of Judgment?"

Saeed: "I am not fit to receive the knowledge of the unseen?"

Hajjaj: "You do not intend to tell me the truth."

Saeed: "But I did not tell a lie either."

Hajjaj: "Why do you never laugh?"

Saeed: "I do not see anything to laugh at; and indeed why should one laugh, who is created from dust, who has to appear on the Day of Judgment, and is always surrounded by tribulations."

Hajjaj: "But I do laugh."

Saeed: "Allah has created us with different temperaments."

Hajjaj: "I am now going to kill you."

Saeed: "The time and manner of my death have already been decreed."

Hajjaj: "Allah has preferred me to you."

Saeed: "Nobody can be proud of his relation with Allah, unless he knows his position; and Allah is the only knower of the unseen."

Hajjaj: "Why should I not be proud of my relation with Allah, when I am with the Amir-ul- Mominin and you are with the rebels?"

Saeed: "I am with the other Muslims. I myself shun mischief, but nobody can change the decree of Allah."

Hajjaj: "What do you say about what we collect for Amir-ul-Mominin?"

Saeed: "I do not know what you collect for him."

Hajjaj sent for gold, silver and dresses from the treasury and showed these to Saeed.

Saeed: "These are useful, provided you are able to obtain with them the things that may provide you peace on the Day of Consternation (i.e. Day of Judgment), when every nursing mother will forget her nursing, and every pregnant one will be delivered of her burden, and when nothing but good will be of any avail."

Hajjaj: "Are our collections not good?"

Saeed: "You have collected them, and you are the best judge."

Hajjaj: "Do you like any of these things for yourself?"

Saeed: "I only like the things which Allah likes."

Hajjaj: "Woe to you!"

Saeed: "Woe is for the person who is deprived of Paradise and is made to enter Hell."

Hajjaj: "(Annoyed): "Say how should I kill you?"

Saeed: "As you would like to be killed."

Hajjaj: "Should I forgive you?"

Saeed: "Allah's forgiveness is real. Your forgiveness is of no value."

Hajjaj: "(To the executioner): 'Kill this man.'"

Saeed laughed while he was being taken for execution. Hajjaj was informed of this. He called him back.

Hajjaj: "What made you laugh?"

Saeed: "Your boldness with Allah, and His clemency to you."

Hajjaj: "I am killing a person who has caused dissent among the Muslims." (To the Executioner) "Kill him in front of me."

Saeed: "Let me say my Salat of two rakaats."

After finishing Salat, he faced Qiblah and recited:

"Verily, I have turned my face toward Him. Who created the heavens and earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters."

Hajjaj: "Turn him from our Qiblah and let him face the Qiblah of the Christians, who also caused dissension and dispute among their community."

His face immediately turned to the other direction.

Saeed: "Whithersoever Ye turn, there is Allah's Face. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing." (Quran 2:115)

Hajjaj: "Make him lie on his face. We are only responsible for appearance."

Saeed was made to lie on his face.

Saeed:"From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again." (Quran 20:55)

Hajjaj: "Kill him!!"

Saeed: "I call you to witness what I recite: "I bear witness that there is no one worthy of Worship except Allah, who is all alone and Who has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His slave and His Messenger."

He was then beheaded -- Inna lillahi wa Inna ilaihi rajeun -- To Allah We Belong And To Him We Return.

After the execution, too much blood came out from Saeed's body. Hajjaj himself marveled greatly at it. He inquired the reason from his doctors, who said: "His tranquility and composure at the time of death had kept his blood in its original form. Generally, people to be executed are so much scared and afraid of death that their blood curdles and does not flow profusely."

Taken from: http://www.islamicemirate.com/discover/history-a-legends/1362-an-account-of-saeed-bin-jubair-with-hajjaj-bin-yusuf.html

Sometimes you don't need to say a lot to say a lot...

"You can't build if you have a demolition team following behind you." 


- Habib Umar (discussing the negative effects of keeping bad company)

What's worse than the sin itself?

O you who sin!

Abdullah bin Abbas said:  “You who commit a sin, do not feel secure about the results, for what goes along with the sin is more serious than the sin itself. Your lack of shame before the angels, who witness you when you commit the sin, is more serious than the sin itself. Your laughter when you sin, as you forget the punishment of Allah is more serious than the sin itself.  Your delight if you get a chance to sin, is more serious than the sin itself.  Even your disappointment, if you miss a chance to sin is more serious than the sin itself.”

...

The hypocrite looks for faults, the believer looks for excuses." - Imam al-Ghazali

speechless tranquility.

Surat An Najm OhMyGod

3: Wama yantiqu 'anil hawaa

4: Inhuwwa illa wahyun yuhaa!

And he (Muhammad peace be upon him) does not utter of his own accord.
Indeed, it is but a Divine Revelation, which is 

revealed to him (through the Angel Jibreel).

Surat An Najm- 53: 3-4. 

The Arabic is  b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l 

 ♥ Allah! Allah! Allah! ♥

What do you believe about God?

A question I got asked by a catholic student for their school project:

1. What do you believe about God?

In order to answer this question, I’m going to give you the translation of the 114^th chapter in the Quran and tell you its context with accompanying commentary. I’ve taken this out of a book on the exegesis of the Quran by one of our greatest scholars of exegesis and his name was Ibn Kathir.

Basically in Islam we have rigorous chains of narration for everything that happened at the time of the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. So we’d say so and so said that so and so said that the prophet peace be upon him said/did x,y,z we call this in general haddith- which I’m sure you learnt in class by now J So the names in the chain of narrations I’m going to give may be unfamiliar to you, but it’s necessary because it gives a proper more fuller context to the explanation of the chapter.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Ubbayy bin Ka’b that the idolators said to the Prophet peace be upon him. “O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord”. So Allah revealed the 114^th chapter of the Quran in order to answer their question which translates as follows:

Say: He is Allah, Absolute Oneness,

Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all.*

He begets not, nor was He begotten

And none is comparable to Him.

*The word that translates “the everlasting, sustainer of all” in Arabic is said as “As Samad” which emphasises the meaning of the next verse which is He begets not, nor was He begotten. Because there is nothing that is born except that it will die and there is nothing that dies except that it leaves behind inheritance and indeed Allah does not die and He does not leave behind any inheritance. The last verse emphasises that there is none similar to Him, none equal to Him and there is nothing at all like Him.

Ikrimah said “When the Jews said “We worship Uzayr the son of Allah” and the Christians said “We worship the Messiah the son of Allah: and the Zoroastrians said “We worship the sun and the moon” and the idolators said :we worship idols” Allah revealed to His messenger peace be upon him “Say He is Allah, Absolute Oneness” Meaning He is the One the Singular who has no peer no assistant no rival no equal and none comparable to Him, This word in Arabic (Al-Ahad) cannot be used for anyone in affirmation except Allah the Mighty and Majestic because He is perfect in all of His attributes and actions.

Concerning His saying “Allah the Everlasting Sustainer of all”, "As Samad"  Ikrimah reported that Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him said this means the One who all of the creation depends on for their needs and their requests “Ali bin Abi Talha reported from ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him, He (Allah) is the Master who is perfect in his sovereignty the Most Noble Who is perfect in His nobility the Most Magnificent Who is perfect in His magnificence the Most Forbearing who is perfect in His forbearance the All Knowing who is perfect in His Knowledge and the Most Wise who is perfect in all aspects of nobility and authority. He is Allah Glory be unto Him. These attributes are not befitting to anyone other than Him. He has no coequal and nothing is like Him, Glory be to Allah the One the Irresistible.

A short excerpt from Imam Al tahawiy’s manual on our Islamic Belief.

“Allah is One. He has no partner, nothing is like Him, nothing incapacitates Him, and there is no god besides Him.

He forever was, without beginning and will forever remain without end.

He neither perishes nor passes away, and nothing is except what HE wills.

Imagination cannot reach Him, understanding cannot grasp Him and creatures do not resemble Him. He is alive never dies and all-sustaining never sleeps.

He creates without need, provides without effort, slays without fear and resurrects without difficulty.”

                                              And Allah knows best.

Haddith Qudsi 32

On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah Allah be pleased with him, who said the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him said:

A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: "When I have died burn me, then crush me, and scatter my ashes in the sea, for by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one (else)." So they did that to him. When He (Allah) said to the earth: "Produce what you have taken- and there he was!" And He said to him: "What induced you to do what you did?" He said: "Being afraid of You, O my Lord" (or he said: "Being frightened of you") and because of that He forgave him."

[Muslim (also by Bukhari, an-Nisa'i and ibn Majah).]

I love it.

Be and it is... *heart melt*

I went to that beloved, with my cheeks stained in tears of blood.

 

Signs of insanity were visible in my eyes and face. 

I had broken my chains and gone outside, 

Dragging with my feet the chains of 'BE, and it is!'

- Maulana Shaykh Jalalhudin Rumi (#1229)

my God, how amazing. subhaAllah. 

My favourite excerpt from Dalail el Khayrat

Dalail il khayrat is a compilation of praises upon the messenger Muhammad peace be upon him... This is my favourite excerpt:

The messenger of Allah peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: 

There is not one slave that sends praises on me except that it exits from his lips hurriedly 

so that no place is left from the shores, or the oceans or the east or the west 

except that that praise goes past it and says

 "I am the salawaat of so and so son of so and so, he praised Muhammed the chosen one, best of all of Allah's creation"

 thereafter no thing remains unless it praises that person .

And created forth from that single praise is a bird which has 70,000 wings 

and on each wing 70,000 feathers 

and on each feather 70,000 faces,

 and on each face 70,000 lips 

and from each lip 70,000 tongues

 that praise Allah Most-High with 70,000 languages 

and Allah has recorded for him 

the reward of all those praises.

Allahuma sally 'ala sayyidina Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wasahbihi wasalim

:)

~A thousand replies~

All night, a man called “Allah”
Until his lips 
cracked and bled.
The devil then said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
How come you've been calling out all night
And never once heard Allah say, 
“Here, I am”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!” 
The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,
“Why are you regretting praising Allah?”

The man said, “ I called and called
But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”
Abraham explained, “Allah has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

~ Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi


*shoot me* that is the most beautiful thing ever. *Faints*

Beautiful haddith... *heart melt*

My rough translation *so in love!* (you have to watch the clip to hear the beauty of this haddith!!)

Starting at 1:57mins  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yddl9dPakMI&feature=related

The prophet peace be upon him was circling the ka'bah
and he saw an Arab circulating it and saying "Ya Kareem" O Most Generous One (ie Allah)
And so the Shafi'e (intercessor) said after him "Ya Kareem"
and so the Arab went to the Yemeni corner (of the Ka'ba) and said "Ya Kareem"
And So the Beloved said
And so the tabib (Doctor (ie Rasulullah)) said- (Oaudience!) send peace upon the Doctor 
So the Beloved said after him "Ya Kareem"
So the Arab went to the Hajar al Aswad (Black stone) and said "Ya Kareem"
So the messenger said- (O audience) send peace upon the messenger
So the beloved said- (O audience) send peace upon the Beloved 
So the Doctor said after him "Ya Kareem"
So the Arab noticed and turned towards the messenger- (O audience) send peace upon him
are you sticking to me O my Arab brother?
By Allah!
If it weren't for your beautiful face and your striking gaze I would have complained about you to my Beloved Muhammad!
So the Beloved said to him
Do you not know your messenger O my Arab brother?
he said
By Allah!
I've not seen him but I believe in him
and I've entered Mekkah and I haven't met him
So the messenger said to him
I am your messenger O my Arab brother
so the Arab man fell on the hands of the messenger and kissed it
and said
fidaka abi wa ummi ya habib Allah!!!! (may my mother and father be your ransom!!!!!) 
so Jibreel the trustworthy descended to the messenger
And he said O beloved of Allah
Allah sends his salam to you
and He says to you
to tell this Arab
does he suppose that if he were to say "Ya Kareem" that we wouldn't hold him accountable?
So the arab told the messenger- (O audience) send peace upon him
O beloved of Allah!
O light of my eyes
O grandfather of the two hassans (hassanein in Arabic)
( you know al Hassan and al hussein were his grandchildren from Fatima radiyaAllahu 'anha- so we sometimes call rasulullah sallalahualayhiwasalam the grandfather of the two hassans)
if Allah is to hold me accountable then I too will hold Him accountable
So the Shafie' (intercessor) said to him and how will you hold your Lord accountable O my Arab brother?
he said if He is going to hold me accountable for my sins, I too will hold Him accountable for His Forgiveness
and if He is going to hold me accountable for my taqsini (?) I will hold him accountable for His Judih (?) and His Karam (?)
So Jibreel the Amin (trustworthy) descended upon the messenger and said O beloved of Allah
say to this Arab man that he will not hold Us accountable 
and We will not hold him accountable (ie he is forgiven of sin  )