TAWASSUL, Sh. Abdullah al-Ghumari's Reply to Al-Albani

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TAWASSUL, Sh. Abdullah al-Ghumari's Reply to Al-Albani

Asalamu alaykum

Please read the enclosed Word document - a translation into English of one of the late Shaikh's works.

A short excerpt from the attached document follows [for notes and a very useful introduction please click on attachment below] - the views expressed in the article are of the author and I do not necessarily agree with all that he has mentioned therein :

By [the grace of] the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,
[I begin].5

All praise is Allah’s , the Lord of the Worlds. The last word will be for those who fear Allah. Enmity is only for those who transgress. I seek blessings and peace on our master, Muhammad [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] , and on his noble house. May Allah be pleased with his Companions and their Followers.

To get to the point, I declare that Shaikh Al-Albani, may Allah forgive him, is a man who is motivated by ulterior purposes and desire. If he sees a hadith 6 or a report ( athar7 ) that does not accord with his persuasion8 he straightway proceeds to foist it off as weak (da‘if) . By using guile and deception he prevails upon his readers that he is right; whereas, he is wrong. Rather, he is a sinner and a hoodwinker. By such duplicity he has succeeded in misguiding his followers who trust him and think that he is right. One of those who has been deceived by him is Hamdi al-Salafi9who edited al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir 10. He had the impudence to declare a rigorously authentic hadith weak (da‘if / 11) because it did not go along with his sectarian dogmas just as it did not concur with the persuasion of his teacher (Shaikh) . The proof of that is that what he says about the hadiths being weak is just what his Shaikh says.12

This being the case, I wished to present the real truth of the matter and to expose the falsity of the claims of both the deceiver [Al-Albani] and the deceived [Hamdi al-Salafi] .

I declare that I depend on none but Allah; He is my support and to Him do I consign myself.

Al-Tabarani 13 reported in his al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir 14

From Ibn Wahb from Shabib from Rauh ibn al-Qàsim from Abu Ja‘far al-Khatami al-Madani from Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunaif: ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif

A man was going to ‘Uthmàn ibn ‘Affàn 15 trying to get something done for himself.

However, ‘Uthman didn’t pay any attention to him, nor did he look after his need. That man went to ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif and complained about that to him. ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif said to him, “Go and perform ablution (wudu), then go to the mosque and pray two cycles (rak‘ah) of prayer, then say: ‘O Allah, I ask You and I approach You through your Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I approach my Lord through you that my need be fulfilled,’ then mention your need. Thereafter come to me that I might go with you.”

Then the man went away and did what he was told. After that he went to the door of ‘Uthmàn ibn ‘Affàn; whereupon the doorkeeper took him by the hand and ushered him into ‘Uthmàn ibn ‘Affàn who sat him down beside him on his mat and said to him, “What can I do for you?” He told him what he needed and ‘Uthmàn had that done for him and then he said to him, “I didn’t remember your problem until now. Whenever you need anything come to me.” Thereupon the man left him and went to ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif and said, “May Allah bless you, ‘Uthmàn wouldn’t look after me, nor even pay attention to me until you spoke to him about me.” ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif replied, “I swear by Allah that I didn’t speak to him.

Actually, I saw a blind man come to the Messenger of Allah [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] and complain to him about losing his sight. The Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] said to him, “Wouldn’t you rather show patience?” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah, I don’t have a guide and the matter has become an ordeal for me.” The Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] saidto him, “Go and make ablution (wudu), then pray two cycles (rak‘ah) of prayer, then make this supplication (du‘a’) . I swear by Allah, we hadn’t gone away, nor had we remained long time talk when the man returned as if he had never suffered any affliction.

Al-Tabarani declared this report to be rigorously authentic (sahih / 16 ) ; whereas,

Hamdi al-Salafi contradicted him saying:

Originally Posted by Hamdi al-Salafi
There is no doubt about the authenticity of that part of the hadith [concerning the story of the blind man]17; the doubt concerns the [first part of] the story [concerning ‘Uthman ibn Hunaif’s instructions to the man who sought the help of ‘Uthmàn ibn ‘Affan] which heretics (mubtadi‘ah) adduce attempting to prove the legitimacy of their heretical practice of calling the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] for his intercession. [That part of the story is in doubt for the reasons which we will explain.]

Firstly, as al-Tabarani mentioned, Shabib [who is one of the narrators mentioned in the report’s chain of narration (sanad) is alone in reporting this hadith.

Then, Shabib’s narrations are not bad (la ba’sa bihi) on two conditions: first, that

his son Ahmad be the one who narrates from him; second, that Shabib’s narration be from Yunus ibn Yazid. However, in the present case, Shabib’s narration is reported by [three persons]: Ibn Wahb, and Shabib’s two sons Ismà‘il and Ahmad.

As for Ibn Wahb, extremely reliable narrators (al-thiqah) criticized Ibn Wahb’s narrations from Shabib, as they criticized Shabib himself. And as for Shabib’s son, Isma‘il, he is unknown.

Although Ahmad also reports this hadith from Shabib, it is not Shabib’s report from Yunus ibn Yazid [which (as Hamdu pretends) is what the experts in narration stipulated as the condition for the correctness of Shabib’s narrations].

Furthermore, the experts in narration (al-muhaddithun) are at variance concerning the text of this hadith which they narrate from Ahmad [ibn Shabib].

Ibn al-Sunni reported the hadith in his ‘Amal al-Yaumwa ’l-Lailah and al-Hakim reported it with three different chains of narration (sanad) neither of them mentioning the story [of ‘Uthman ibn Hunaif and the man who wanted to see ‘Uthmàn].

Al-Hakim reported the hadith by way ‘Aun ibn ‘Amàrah al- Basri from Rauh ibn al-Qasim.

My teacher (Shaikh) Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani:

“Even though ‘Aun is weak (da‘if), still his version of the hadith (riwàyah) [without the story of ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] is preferable to Shabib’s since Rauh’s narration agrees

with the narrations of Shu‘bah and Hamàd ibn Salamah through Abu Ja‘f`ar al-Khatmi

[without the story of ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif].

The foregoing discussion18 is misleading and distorted in several ways.

First Point

The story [of ‘Uthman ibn Hunaif and the man who wanted to see ‘Uthman] was reported by al-Bayhaqi in Dalà ’ilu’l-Nubuwah19 by way of:

Ya‘qub ibn Sufyan who said that Ahmad ibn Shabib ibn Sa‘id reported to me that his father reported to him from Rauh ibn al-Qàsim from Abu Ja‘far al-Khatami from Abu Usamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunaif that a man was going to ‘Uthmàn ibn ‘Affàn and he mentioned the story in its entirety.

Ya‘qub ibn Sufyàn is [Abu Yusuf] al-Fasawi (d. 177 h) 20, the Hàfiz,21 the Imàm,22 the utterly reliable transmitter (al-thiqah) 23rather, he is better than utterly reliable (thiqah) .

The chain of narration (sanad) of this hadith is utterly reliable (sahih /24)Thus the story [about ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] is quite authentic. Other [specialists in the science of hadith and its narrators] also proclaimed the hadith to be rigorously authentic (sahih) . Hàfiz al- Mundhiri25 mentioned in his al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib: p. 606, vol. 2;26 and Hafiz al-Haithami27 mentioned it in his Majma‘ al-Zawà’id: p. 179, vol. 2.28

Second Point

Ahmad ibn Shabib is one of the narrators that al-Bukhari29 depended on; al-Bukhàri reported hadith from Ahmad ibn Shabib both in his Sahih and in his al-Adab al-Mufrad. Abu Hàtim al-Ràzi30 also declared him to be utterly reliable (thiqah) , and both he and Abu Zur‘ah wrote down his hadith.31 Ibn ‘Adi32 mentioned that the people of Basrah [that is, the experts in the science of hadith and criticism] considered him to be utterly reliable (thiqah) and ‘Ali al-Madini33 wrote down his hadith.

Ahmad’s father, Shabib ibn Sa‘id al-Tamimi al-Habati al-Basri34 is also one of

the narrators whom al-Bukhari depended on in both his Sahih and his al-Adab al-Mufrad.

Those who considered Shabib to be thiqah include: Abu Zur‘ah, Abu Hatim, al-Nisà’i, al-Dhuhali, al-Dàraqutni , and al-Tabarani35.

Abu Hatim related that Shabib had in his keeping the books of Yunus ibnYazid, and he said that Shabib was reliable (salih) in hadith and that there was nothing wrong with him (là ba’sa bihi / 36 ) .

Ibn ‘Adi said: “Shabib had a copy of the book37 of al-Zuhri. He had in his keeping sound hadith which Yunus related from al-Zuhri. ” 38

[‘Ali] ibn al-Madini said about Shabib: “He was utterly reliable (thiqah). He used to go to Egypt for trade. His book was authentic (sahih). ” 39

The foregoing relates to the authentication (ta‘dil) of Shabib.40

As you notice there is no stipulation that his narration be from Yunus ibn Yazid in order to be authentic (sahih) .

Rather, Ibn al-Madini affirms that his book was authentic,41 while Ibn ‘Adi confined himself to commenting about Shabib’s copy of al-Zuhri’s book not intending to intimate anything about the rest of Shabib’s narrations. So what Al-Albàni claims [namely, that Shabib’s narrations are authentic on the condition that he narrate from Yunus ibn Yazid] is deception and a breach of academic and religious trust.

What I have said [about Shabib’s unconditional reliability] is further corroborated by the fact that [another hadith which Shabib related; namely] the hadith about the blind man [who came to the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]to plead him to pray for him] was declared to be authentic by the hadith experts (huffaz /42) although Shabib did not narrate this hadith from Yunus by way of al-Zuhri. Rather, he related it from Rauh ibn al-Qàsim.

Furthermore, al-Albani claims that since some narrators whose hadith are mentioned by Ibn al-Sunni and al-Hakim did not mention the story [about ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif], the story is doubtful (da‘if ) . This is another example of Al-Albàni’s trickery. People who have some knowledge about the principles of the science of hadith know that some narrators report a given hadith in its entirety, while others may choose to abridge it according to their purpose at hand.

Al-Bukhari, for example, does that routinely in his Sahih where he often mentions a hadith in abridged form while it is given by someone else in complete form.

Moreover, the person who has related the story [about ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] in al-Bayhaqi’s report is an extraordinary Imàm: Ya‘qub ibn Sufyàn. Abu Zur‘ah al-Dimashqi says about him: “Two men from the noblest of mankind came to us; one of them, Ya‘qub ibn Sufyàn the most widely-traveled of the two, defies the people of Iraq to produce a single man who can narrate [as well] as he does. ”

Al-Albàni ’s declaring the narration of ‘Aun, which in fact is weak, to be better than the narration of those who narrated the story [of ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] is a third aspect of Al-Albani’s duplicity and fraud because when al-Hakim related the hadith of the blind man in an abridged form by way of ‘Aun, he remarked :

Shabib ibn Sa‘id al-Habati has given the same hadith by way of Rauh ibn al-Qàsim with some additions to the text (matn ) and the chain of narrators (isnàd) . The decision in the matter is Shabib’s since he is utterly reliable (thiqah) and trustworthy (ma’mun) .

What al-Hakim says emphasizes a precept which is universally recognized by the experts in the science of hadith (al-muhaddithun) and the principles of the holy law (usul al-fiqh) ; namely, that additional wording related by a narrator who is utterly reliable (thiqah) is acceptable (maqbulah ) , and, furthermore, someone who remembered something is a proof against someone who didn’t remember it.

Third Point

Al-Albani saw al-Hakim’s statement but he didn’t like it, so he ignored it, and obstinately and dishonestly insisted on the superiority of ‘Aun’s weak narration.

It has been made clear that the story [about ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] is rigorously authentic (sahih) in spite of Al-Albàni’s [and Ibn Taimiyah’s] deceitful attempts to discredit it. The story shows that seeking the Prophet’s [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]intercession after his passing away is permissible since the Companion43 who reported the hadith understood that it was permissible and the understanding of the narrator is significant in the view of the holy law (shari‘ah) , for it has its weight in the field of deducing (istinbat ) the detailed rules of the holy law (shari‘ah) .

We say according to the understanding of the narrator for the sake of argument; otherwise, in actuality, ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif’s instructing the man to seek the intercession of the Prophet was according to what he had heard from the Prophet as the hadith of the blind man [which ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif himself related] establishes.

Ibn Abi Khaithamah stated in his Tàrikh [which is a genre of writing which deals with the history and reputation of narrators of hadith] :

Muslim ibn Ibràhim related to me that Hammàd ibn Salamah said: Abu Ja‘far al-Khatami related to me from ‘Amarah ibn Khuzaimah from ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif :

A blind man came to the Prophetand said: “I have lost my sight. Pray to Allah for me.”

He answered: “Go and make ablution and then pray two cycles (rak‘ah) of prayer, and then say: ‘O Allah, I ask You and I approach you through my Prophet Muĥammad, The Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I seek your intercession with Allah that my sight should be restored. O Allah, accept my intercession for myself and accept the intercession of my Prophet for the restoration of my sight.’ If ever you have any need do like that. ”

The chain of narration (isnàd) of this hadith is rigorously authentic (sahih). The last clause of the hadith constitutes the express permission of the Prophet to seek his intercession whenever there occurred any need.

Not withstanding, Ibn Taimiyah objected on feeble grounds that this last clause comprehended some covert technical defect (‘illah) [which prejudices the authenticity of the hadith or at least its last clause]. I have demonstrated the invalidity of those grounds elsewhere.44 Indeed, Ibn Taimiyah is characteristically audacious in rejecting hadith which do not conform with his purpose at hand even if those hadith are rigorously authentic (sahih) .

A good example of that is the following case: Al-Bukhari reported in his sahih:

“Allah existed and there was nothing other than Him.”

This hadith is in agreement with the [clear-cut] evidence of the Qur`an, the sunnah, reason, and certain consensus (al-ijmà‘ al-mutayaqqan). However, since it conflicts with his belief in the eternity of the world,45 he turned to another version of this hadith which al-Bukhàri also reported: “Allah existed and their was nothing before Him.” And he rejected the first version in favor of the second on the grounds that the second conforms with another hadith: “You are the first; there is nothing before You.” [He held that the implication was that created things always existed along with Allah] .

Hafiz Ibn Hajr remarked concerning the correct manner of reconciling the apparent contradiction in the above-mentioned hadiths:

“In fact the way to reconcile the two versions of the hadith is to understand the second in light of the first, and not the other way around. Moreover, there is consensus on the principle that reconciliation of two apparently contradictory versions of a text (nass) takes precedence over endorsing one version at the expense of revoking the other. ” 46

Actually, Ibn Taimáyah’s prejudice blinded him from understanding the two versions of the hadith which, in fact, are not mutually contradictory. That is because the version “Allah existed and there was nothing before Him.” has the meaning which is contained in His name the First; whereas, the version “Allah existed and there was nothing other than Him.” has the meaning contained in His name the One. The proof of this is still another version of the hadith with the wording “Allah existed before everything. ” 47

Another example of Ibn Taimiyah’s audacity in rejecting hadith is the case of the hadith:

“The Messenger of Allah [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]ordered the doors which opened on the mosque from the street to be sealed, but he left ‘Ali’s door [open].” This hadith is rigorously authentic (sahih). Ibn al-Jauzi 48 was mistaken by mentioning it in his collection of forged hadiths, al-Maudu‘àt. Hafiz [Ibn Hajr] corrected him in his al-Qaul al-Musaddad: “Ibn Taimiyah because of his well-known bias against ‘Ali was not content with Ibn al-Jauzi’s declaration that the hadith was forged, but took the initiative to add from his own bag [of fraud] thepretence that the hadith experts (al-muhaddithun) are agreed that the hadith is forged. Ibn Taimiyah has rejected so many hadith simply because they are irreconcilable with his opinions that it is hard to keep track of the instances.49

Fourth Point

In order to conciliate al-Albàni, let us suppose that the story [about ‘Uthmàn ibn Hunaif] is weak, and that the Ibn Abi Khaithamah’s version of the hadith [with the addition: Wheneveryou have any need do like
that.] is defective (mu‘allal) as Ibn Taimiyah would have it; still the hadith of the blind man is quite enough to prove the permissibility of seeking the intercession of the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]since the fact that the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]taught the blind man to seek his intercession on that occasion shows the propriety of seeking it in all circumstances.

Moreover, it is not allowable to refer to such intercession as a heretical departure (bid‘ah ), nor is it allowable to arbitrarily restrict such intercession to the lifetime of the Prophet .

Indeed, whoever restricts it to his lifetime is really a heretic50 because he has disqualified a rigorously authentic hadith and precluded its implementation, and that is unlawful (haram).

Al-Albàni, may Allah forgive him, is bold to claim conditionality an abrogation simply because a text prejudices his preconceived opinions and persuasion. If the hadith of the blind man was a special dispensation for him, the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]would have made that clear as he made it clear to Abu Burdah that the sacrifice of a two year old goat would fulfill his duty; whereas, it would not suffice for others. Furthermore, it is not admissible to suppose that the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] might have delayed explaining a matter in detail when his followers needed that knowledge at that time.

A Subterfuge and its Preclusion

Suppose somebody says that the reason we have to restrict the application of this hadith to the lifetime of the Prophet is that it involves calling (nidà’) the Prophet[whereas, it is not possible to call him after his death.] We reply that this objection is to be rejected because there are numerous reports (mutawatir) from the Prophet concerning his instruction about what one should recite during the tashahhud 51of prayer, and that contains the greeting of peace (salàm) for him with mention of him in the vocative form: Peace be upon you, OProphet! 52 That is the very formula which Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Ibn Zubair, and Mu‘àwiyah taught the people from the mimbar53. Thereafter, it became an issue on which there was consensus (ijmà‘) as Ibn Hazm 54 and Ibn Taimiyah affirmed.

Al-Albàni, because he is prone to schism (ibtidà‘ ), violated the consensus and insisted on following an opinion reported of Ibn Mas‘ud: “Then when he died we said: Peace be on the Prophet (al-salàmu ‘alà al-nabiyu).” Indeed, violating the hadith and consensus isthe essence of heresy (ibtidà‘ )

Furthermore, there are authentic reports from the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]which inform us that our deeds are presented to the Prophet [in his blessed grave] as are our supplications for his peace (al-salàm ) and honor (al-salah / 55 ) . There are also authentic reports about angels which travel about the earth in order to convey to the Prophet any greetings of peace and honor that anyone of his people might happen to make for him. Also definitive texts (tawàtur / 56 and consensus ( ‘ijmà’ ) establish that the Prophet is alive in his grave, and that his blessed body does not decay. After all that, how can anybody dare to claim that it is not allowable to call the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam]in seeking his intercession? After all, is that in any different than calling him in tashahhud?

Unfortunately, Al-Albàni is perversely obstinate and opinionated, as are the Albani’ites, [that is, his blind, fanatic followers].

So much for my rebuttal of Al-Albàni. As for the person called Hamdi al-Salafi, there’s no need to refute him separately because he merely echoes Al-Albàni.

Another thing which I should establish here is that Al-Albàni is not to be depended on in his judgments about hadith authenticity, nor their weakness because he routinely employs a variety of tactics to mislead, and he does not disdain to betray his trust in transmitting the opinions of the ‘ulamà’ (religious scholars) distorting their words and meanings. Moreover, he has had the impudence to oppose the consensus and to claim the abrogation (naskh) of texts without proof. He commits such excesses because of his ignorance of the principles [of the science of fiqh] and the rules of inference and deduction (al-istinbat )

He claims he is struggling against heretical innovation (bid‘ah ) by forbidding the practice of intercession, and by forbidding people to use the epithet sayyidinà when mentioning the name of the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam], and by forbidding them to recite the Qur‘àn for the sake [of the souls] of the deceased. However, the fact of the matter is that by doing that he commits a real heresy (bid‘ah) by forbidding what Allah has permitted, and by verbally abusing the Asharites57 and the Sufis58.

In all this he is just like Ibn Taimiyah who denounced all kinds of people; some of them he declared to be unbelievers and others to be heretics; then, he went and committed two of the biggest heresies that one can commit. In the first instance, he maintained the eternity of the world [which means, in other words, that he maintained that the world has no beginning, but always existed along with Allah], and that is a heresy which constitutes categorical unbelief; we seek refuge in Allah from that. Then in the second instance he was prejudiced against ‘Ali [radiyallahu anhu]for which the ‘ulamà’ of his time accused him of hypocrisy. That is because the Prophet told ‘Ali:

“No one loves you but a believer, and no one hates you but a hypocrite.” 59

No doubt, Ibn Taimiyah’s dislike of ‘Ali is a punishment which Allah has given Ibn Taimiyah. Yet Al-Albàni insists on calling Ibn Taimiyah Shaikh al-Islam [which is traditionally a title reserved for the greatest scholar of the time]. It amazes me that he should give Ibn Taimiyah such a title when Ibn Taimiyah has un-Islamic beliefs.

I think; rather, I am sure that if Hafiz Ibn Nasir [al-Din al-Dimashqi] had some idea of Ibn Taimiyah’s execrable beliefs, he would never have defended him in his book al-Radd al-Wafir [from the scathing attack of ‘Alâ al-Din al-Bukhari60 who wrote a book called Man Qala Ibn Taimiyah Shaikh al-Islam fa huwa Kafir(Whoever says Ibn Taimiyah is Shaikh al-Islàm he is an unbeliever) ] .

No doubt, when Ibn Nàsir wrote his book, he was deceived by the praises he heard some people making of Ibn Taimiyah. Likewise, al-Alusi, the son of the celebrated commentator [Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi] wrote the voluminous commentary of the Qur’àn [Ruh al-Ma‘ani] would not have written his book Jalalal Ainain if he knew the reality of Ibn Taimáyah’s beliefs.

Al-Albàni’s outlandish and heterodox opinions, which are the result of his impious resort to free thought, his deceit, his dishonesty in pronouncing hadith to be authentic or weak according to what suits his persuasion [rather, than according to the dictates of the facts], his excoriations of the ‘ulamà’ and the illustrious personages of Islàm; all that is an affliction from Allah, yet he doesn’t realize it.

Indeed, he is one of those [to whom the Qur‘àn referred by its words:] who thinks they are doing good; however, how wrong is what they think.61

We ask Allah to preserve us from what He has afflicted Al-Albani with, and we seek refuge in Him from all evil. All praise is for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah bless Our Master Muhammad and all his noble people.

Epilogue

Intercession is allowed according to our law.

It is a matter by none disputed in all of Muslimdom,

Except those who folly wedded and paid their dowry with insolence.

Their hearts are stone, by Muslims scorned goons of the Wahhàbi mob,

They prohibited it and denounced it

Without any reason why.

The case of one Uthmàn ibn Hunaif is a valid precedent;

It’s our proof; its quite conclusive, and it brooks no controversy.

May Allah guide them to concede the verdict of documentation.

Love Of The Prophet

Love Of The Prophet And Following His Example

by GF Haddad ©
[ extended with chapter 7. Additional Proofs, OKN ]

Chapters:
1. The Obligation to Increase the Love and Honor of the Prophet
2. Allah Said: Invoke Blessings on the Prophet 
3. Allah Said: Rejoice in the Prophet
4. The Obligation to Know Sira and Imitate Its Central Character
5. Who was our Beloved Prophet ?
6. The Danger of Opposing His Command
7. Additional Proofs
7. (1) Concerning Respect and Love For The Prophet
7. (2) Even Love of the Companions Is a Sign of Belief
7. (3) To increase our Love for Allah and his Messenger
7. (4) The above is elucidated by the following hadiths

1. The Obligation to Increase the Love and Honor of the Prophet
Allah asks the Prophet  to remind his Nation that it is essential for those who claim to love God, to love His Prophet  :

"Say to them: If you love God, follow (and love and honor) me, and God will love you" [3:31]. [see also (2)]

This obligation to love the Prophet  means to obey him, to remember him, to follow his example, and to be proud of him as Allah is proud of him, since Allah has boasted about him in His Holy Book by saying:

"Truly you are of a magnificient character" [al-Qalam 4].

. Love of the Prophet  is what differentiates the believers in the perfection of their imaan. In an authentic hadith related in Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet  said:

"None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves his children, his parents, and all people." In another hadith in Bukhari he said: "None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves himself."

Perfection of faith is dependent on love of the Prophet  because Allah and His angels are constantly raising his honor, as is meant in the verse:

"Allah and His angels are praying on the Prophet"  [33:56].

The Divine order that immediately follows in the verse:

"O believers, pray on him,"

makes it clear that the quality of being a believer is dependent on and manifested by praying on the Prophet.

O Allah! Send peace and blessings on the Prophet, his family, and his companions. see also (3) .

2. Allah Said: Invoke Blessings on the Prophet
We are encouraged to pray on the Prophet  and to praise him, which is an obligation on us through Allah's order in the verse:

"Allah and His angels are praying on (and praising) the Prophet  ;
O believers! pray on (and praise) him and send him utmost greetings" [al-Ahzab 56]. see also (1)

3. Allah Said: Rejoice in the Prophet
To express happiness for the Prophet  coming to us is an obligation given by Allah through Qur'an, as Allah said in Qur'an:

"Of the favor and mercy of Allah let them rejoice" [Sura Yunus 10:58]

This order came because joy makes the heart grateful for the mercy of Allah. And What greater mercy did Allah give than the Prophet himself  , of whom Allah says,

"We did not send you except as a mercy to human beings"
[Al-Anbiya' 107].

Because the Prophet  was sent as a mercy to all mankind, it is incumbent not only upon Muslims, but upon all human beings to rejoice in his person. Unfortunately, today too, there are some people who reject Allah's order to rejoice in His Prophet  .

4. The Obligation to Know Sira and Imitate Its Central Character

We are asked to know about our Prophet , about his life, about his miracles, about his birth, about his manners, about his faith, about his signs (ayat wa dala'il), about his seclusions, about his worship, and is not this knowledge an obligation for every Muslim? What is better than acquiring knowledge of his life? This will make Allah happy with us because then we will be able to know the Prophet  better, and be readier to take him as an example for ourselves, to correct ourselves, and to imitate him and thus gain salvation in this life and in the next.

5. Who was our Beloved Prophet  ?

The Prophet Allah, Rasulullah  was neither tall nor was he short (he was of medium stature). In complexion, he was neither very white like lime, nor very dark, nor brown which results in darkness (he was illuminant, more luminous than even the full moon on the 14th night). The hair of Rasulullah  was neither very straight nor very curly (but slightly wavy). When he attained the age of forty, Allah Most High granted him nubuwwah (prophethood). He lived for ten years in Makkah (see commentary) and in Madinah for ten years. He  passed away at the age of sixty years. At that time there were not more than twenty white hair on his mubaarak head and beard" Anas (r) reported it.
Commentary at jamiat.org.za

6. The Danger of Opposing His Command

Opposing his command and changing his sunna is misguidance and innovation. It is threatened by Allah with utter privation and punishment. Allah says:

"Whoever splits from the Messenger  after the guidance is clear to him and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall entrust him to what he has turned to and expose him unto Hell - an evil retreat!"
[Sura Women 4:115]

The Prophet  said: "Anyone who dislikes my sunna is not of me."
[Bukhari and Muslim]

7. Additional Proofs

(1) Concerning Respect and Love For The Prophet
The Community [of Muslim Scholars] is unanimous concerning the obligation to magnify and exalt the Prophet  , his Family, and his Companions. It was the practice of the Pious Predecessors and the Imams of the past that whenever the Prophet was mentioned in their presence they were seized by reverence, humbleness, stillness, and dignity.
   Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (this is Ja'far al-Sadiq) would turn pale whenever he heard the Prophet  mentioned. Imam Malik would not mention a hadith except in a state of ritual purity. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr al-Siddiq would turn red and stammer whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned  .
   As for 'Amir ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awamm al-Asadi (one of the early sufis), he would weep until his eyes had no tears left in them. When a hadith was mentioned in their presence they would lower their voices. Malik said: "His sacredness (hurmat)  in death is as his inviolability in life."

The Mathematician Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Khatib, also known as Ibn Qunfudh al-Qusantini al-Maliki (d. 810 H) in his book "Wasilat al-islam bi al-nabi 'alayhi al-salat wa al-salam"
[The Means to Islam Through the Prophet ; Beirut: Dar al-gharb al-islami, 1404/1984 p. 145-146.]      

(2) Even Love of the Companions Is a Sign of Belief

Another hadith which shows that even love of the companions of the Prophet, such as Abu Hurayra is a sign of belief, according to the exact wording of the Prophet  that Allah make Abu Hurayra beloved to the believers.

Abu Hurayra gave the following account of his mother's conversion:

I came to the Prophet  weeping one day and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have been inviting my mother to Islam and she has been refusing. Today I asked her again, and she said something about you which I hated to hear. Ask Allah to guide Abu Hurayra's mother!" Whereupon the Prophet  said: "O Allah! Guide Abu Hurayra's mother."
   Then I returned home cheered up by the Prophet's  supplication. When I arrived at the door of the house I found it closed. Hearing my footsteps, my mother said: "Abu Hurayra, do not come in yet." I could hear the sound of water. She washed herself and wore her robe (dir') and headcover (khim_r) then she opened the door and said: "Abu Hurayra! I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's servant and messenger!"
   I returned at once to the Prophet , weeping for joy, and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, good news! Allah has answered your request and guided my mother!" He glorified and praised Allah, thanking Him and saying good things. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah that He make me and my mother beloved to his believing servants and that He make them beloved to us."
   The Prophet  said: "O Allah! Make Your little servant here - meaning Abu Hurayra - and his mother beloved to Your believing servants, and make the believers beloved to the two of them." Not one believer is brought into existence who hears about me without seeing me except he loves me.
[Narrated by Muslim and Ahmad. Also Ibn Hajar in al-Isaba
(7:435, 7:512) and others.]

This hadith is similar to another sound hadith of the Prophet  addressing the Commander of the Believers 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (r):

"None loves you except a believer, and none hates you except a hypocrite." Narrated by Muslim, al-Nasa'i, and Ahmad      

.
(3) Another hadith emphasizing to increase our Love for Allah(ta'âla) and his Messenger

A man asked the Prophet  about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet  said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle. " The Prophet  said, "You will be with those whom you love." We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e., "You will be with those whom you love.") Therefore, I love the Prophet  , Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them though my deeds are not similar to theirs. Anas narrated it. Comment (4)     

(4) The above is elucidated by the following hadiths:

"Among those of my Community who love me most intensely are certain people who will come after me and who would give away their family and property in exchange for seeing me." Muslim narrated it in his Sahih, book of "Paradise and its bliss and people."
A man came to the Prophet  and said: "Messenger of Allah, I love you more than my family and my possessions. I remember you and I cannot wait until I can come and look at you. I remember that I will die and you will die and I know that when you enter the Garden, you will be raised up high with the Prophets. When I enter it, I will not see you." Allah then revealed:

"Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those whom He has favored: the Prophets (peace be upon them all), the True Saints, the Martyrs, and the Righteous. Ah! What an excellent company." (4:69)

The Prophet  called the man and recited the verse to him.

Tabarani and Ibn Mardawayh narrated it from A'isha and Ibn 'Abbas, and Qadi 'Iyad cited it in al-Shifa' as well as Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (1:310) and al-Baghawi in his.

It is further elucidated by the hadith of 'Umar ...

... whereby a man was punished by the Prophet  because of wine-drinking. One day when he was brought to him and he gave orders and had him beaten, one of those present said: "O Allah, curse him. How often he is brought!" The Prophet  said: "Do not curse him. I swear by Allah that I know he loves Allah and His Messenger ." (Al-Bukhari)

The Imam Is To Be Followed

[Quran 15:98]
So glorify the praises of your Lord and be of those who prostrate themselves (to Him).

[Bukhari 1:11:656]
Narrated Aisha: The mother of the believers: Allah's Apostle during his illness prayed at his house while sitting whereas some people prayed behind him standing. The Prophet beckoned them to sit down. On completion of the prayer, he said,

'The Imam is to be followed: bow when he bows, raise up your heads (stand erect) when he raises his head and when he says, 'Sami a-l-lahu liman-hamida ' (Allah heard those who sent praises to Him) say then 'Rabbana wa laka-l-hamd' (O our Lord! All the praises are for You), and if he prays sitting then pray sitting."

[Muslim 4:759]
Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), when he stood up for prayer, used to raise his hands apposite the shoulders and then recited takbir (Allah-o-Akbar),
and when he was about to bow he again did like it and when he raised himself from the ruku' (bowing posture) he again did like it, but he did not do it at the time of raising his head from prostration.

How To Perform Salah(Prayer)

[Bukhari 1:11:656]
Narrated Aisha:
The mother of the believers: Allah's Apostle during his illness prayed at his house while sitting whereas some people prayed behind him standing.

The Prophet beckoned them to sit down. On completion of the prayer,
he said,

'The Imam is to be followed: bow when he bows, raise up your heads (stand erect) when he raises his head and when he says, 'Sami a-l-lahu liman-hamida ' (Allah heard those who sent praises to Him) say then 'Rabbana wa laka-l-hamd' (O our Lord! All the praises are for You), and if he prays sitting then pray sitting."

[Muslim 4:759]
Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), when he stood up for prayer, used to raise his hands apposite the shoulders and then recited takbir (Allah-o-Akbar), and when he was about to bow he again did like it and when he raised himself from the ruku' (bowing posture) he again did like it, but he did not do it at the time of raising his head from prostration.

[Muslim 4:1511]
Salim b. 'Abdullah reported that his father had said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) delaying the sunset prayer till he would combine it with the 'Isha' when he hastened to set out on a journey.

[Muslim 4:1513]
Anas reported: When the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) intended to combine two prayers on a journey, he delayed the noon prayer till came the early time of the afternoon prayer, and then combined the two.

[Bukhari 2:13:33]
Narrated Salman Al-Farsi: Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) said, "Anyone who takes a bath on Friday and cleans himself as much as he can and puts oil (on his hair) or scents himself; and then proceeds for the prayer and does not force his way between two persons (assembled in the mosque for the Friday prayer), and prays as much as is written for him and remains quiet when the Imam delivers the Khutba, all his sins in between the present and the last Friday will be forgiven."

[Dawud 4:1230]
Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib ; Anas ibn Malik: Muhammad reported from his father, Umar, on the authority of his grandfather, Ali ibn AbuTalib: When Ali travelled, he continued to travel till it became nearly dark. He then alighted and offered the sunset prayer. Then he would call for his dinner and eat it. Then he prayed the night prayer and then moved off. He would say: This is how the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to do. Usamah ibn Zayd reported from Hafs ibn Ubaydullah, the son of Anas ibn Malik: Anas would combine them (the evening and night prayer) when the twilight disappeared. He said: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) used to do so. Az-Zuhri also reported similarly on the authority of Anas from the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him).

[Quran 2:222]
Allâh loves those who turn unto Him in repentance..

[Bukhari 2:13:52]
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: A person entered the mosque while the Prophet was delivering the Khutba on a Friday. The Prophet said to him, "Have you prayed?" The man replied in the negative. The Prophet said, "Get up and pray two Rakat."

[Quran 2:222]
[Allaah] loves those who keep themselves pure and clean..

[Quran 5:6]
O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salât (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to ankles. If you are in a state of Janâba (i.e. had a sexual discharge), purify yourself (bathe your whole body).

[Tirmidhi]
Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “I saw the Prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) counting his praises of his Lord on his right hand.”

[al-Bukhaari]
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Trim the moustache and leave the beard.”

[Quran 5:6]
Allâh does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour on you that you may be thankful.

[Dawud 4:1216]
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was engaged in the Battle of Tabuk. If he moved off before the sun had declined, he would delay the noon prayer till he would combine it with the afternoon prayer and would offer them together.

If he moved off after the sun had declined, he would combine the noon and afternoon prayers, and then he proceeded; if he moved off before the evening prayer, he would delay the evening prayer; he would offer it along with the night prayer, he would delay the evening prayer; he would offer it along with the night prayer.

If he moved off after the evening prayer, he would offer the night prayer earlier and offer it along with the evening prayer.

[Bukhari 3:27:32]
Narrated Zaid bin Aslam from his father: I was with Ibn 'Umar on the way to Mecca, and he got the news that Safiya bint Abu Ubaid was seriously ill. So, he hastened his pace, and when the twilight disappeared, he dismounted and offered the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers together. Then he said, "I saw that whenever the Prophet had to hasten when traveling, he would delay the Maghrib prayer and join them together (i.e. offer the Maghrib and the Isha prayers together)."

Seek Reconciliation

Is Tawassul Shirk 24
By Ebrahim Saifuddin

Dua

Introduction

In this day and age when Muslims are being attacked by people of almost all faiths, it is quite sad and disturbing that Muslims are busy attacking each other. Why is it that we, who belong to the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, have fallen so low that we take not a second before declaring each other of being from those who practice shirk or kufr?

Our internal issues should be our internal issues and differences amongst the Ummah should be dealt with in a civilized manner. It is no wonder why we, the Muslim nation, cannot today stand on our feet and hold firm our ground and voice for our rights in the international community.

Mu’awiyya رضی اللہ عنہ who despite his differences with Ali رضی اللہ عنہ responded to the Christian ruler calling him “You Christian dog” and then vowed to join forces with Ali رضی اللہ عنہ and destroy him if he dared tried to even look at Ali رضی اللہ عنہ in a bad way. While we claim to follow the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the earliest generations, we are, in practice, very far away from it.

Martin Sean Indyk is a former United States ambassador to Israel. He is also the ex-deputy research director for the main Israeli lobby group, The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In one of the Doha debates held by BBC in Oxford, UK on May 1, 2007, he said:

“There are more American Muslims than there are American Jews, but they’re not organized as a monolithic community. You know, there are Pakistani Muslims, there are Arab Muslims, there are Black Muslims, and on the other hand, the Jewish community, you know, if you have two Jews, you have three organizations. They’re probably the most highly organized people in the world.”

Contemplate on the following verse of the Qur’an in Surah Al-Hujurat (49) Verse 10:

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
Innama almuminoona ikhwatun faaslihoo bayna akhawaykum waittaqoo Allaha laAAallakum turhamoona

All believers are but brothers, therefore seek reconciliation between your two brothers, and fear Allah, so that you may be blessed with mercy.

Allah (swt) informed us that we should be like brothers – like a single brotherhood but yet it is those who are not Muslims that adhere close to this command and not us.

There are certain issues over which the Ummah fights a lot. One such issue is Tawassul. Some of us, without understanding the concept, term it as shirk and go to the extent of calling our brothers in Islam “mushriks”. What a sad time for the Muslims.

While our brothers and sisters are being martyred all over the world, we are too busy pointing fingers at each others and giving each other labels. Shameful indeed!

Many scholars of Islam have written and explained this topic in much detail. This attempt I have made to clarify in layman terms whether Tawassul is shirk or not is like a minute drop of water in the ocean.

Is Tawassul “Shirk”?
By Ebrahim Saifuddin

I believe that most of the arguments regarding Tawassul are deeply rooted in the ignorance regarding its concept.

There are a number of different types of Tawassul.

Certainly some forms are impermissible and some forms are permissible.

This article focuses primarily on whether to ask the dead to make du'a for you is shirk or not. A minority sect in the Muslim world declares it to be shirk and is very voicferous about this.
Before I get into whether this form is shirk or not, our scholars have generally decalred this form to be impermissible. There are others who have declared it permissible and this article will provide their side of the argument so that a conclusion can be reached whether asking the dead to make du'a for you can be termed "Shirk" or not.

The Primary Argument
The primary argument, by the people who term it “shirk”, is that we should only pray to Allah (swt) for our needs. This, while true, has nothing to do with Tawassul being “shirk”. People who believe in the permissibility of Tawassul do not pray to anyone but Allah (swt). The concept of Tawassul is to ask someone to make du’a to Allah (swt) for you while at the same time you also pray to Allah (swt).

For example:
A asks B to pray to Allah that the former will pass his exams. So this leads to:
B prays to Allah that A passes his exams.
A also prays to Allah that he would pass his exams.
All prayers are directed to Allah (swt) alone.

I ask people who call this “shirk”: Do you not ask your family and friends to pray for you when you face hard times in life? Surely you do. Does that mean you are committing shirk? I am sure none of them will say they are committing shirk by doing so.

Thus their primary argument gets defeated. This form of Tawassul has nothing to do with praying to an entity other than Allah (swt). Like we also see in the following verse in the Qur’an in Surah an-Nisa (4) Verse 64:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآؤُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
Wama arsalna min rasoolin illa liyutaAAa biithni Allahi walaw annahum ith thalamoo anfusahum jaooka faistaghfaroo Allaha waistaghfara lahumu alrrasoolu lawajadoo Allaha tawwaban raheeman

We did not send any Messenger but to be obeyed by the leave of Allah.

Had they, after having wronged themselves, come to you and sought forgiveness from Allah, and had the Messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would certainly have found Allah Most-Relenting, Very- Merciful.

In this verse we can see that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) would pray for forgiveness of others. This is acting as a wasilah and this is Tawassul. Hence Tawassul is also established by the Qur’an itself.
We can further go into this topic after reading a hadith recorded by Imams Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and others with a sound chain of narrators.

Uthman ibn Hunaif رضی اللہ عنہ said:

“A blind man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “I’ve been afflicted in my eyesight, so pray to Allah for me”. The Prophet ﷺ asked the blind man that he has two options; to practice patience or that the Prophet ﷺ can make du’a for him. The blind man said: “Make du’a for me.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Go perform ablution (Wudu), perform two Rak’at Salat and then say: “O Allah! I ask you and turn to you through my Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I seek your intercession with my lord for the return of my eyesight, that it may be fulfilled. O Allah! Grant him intercession for me”. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: “and if there is some other need, do the same.”

Investigating this hadith shows that in the chain of narrators there is a person by the name of Abu Jafar. Some claim that this was not Abu Jafar Khatmi and was Abu Jafar Raazi. They say that Abu Jafar Raazi had a weak or bad memory.

However when looking into the reality of this person’s identity, Ibn Hajar, in Taqrib al-tahdhib, and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, in Al-Istii’ab fi ma’rifa al-ashab, mention that he is Khatmi. Some others who have authenticated this hadith are Imams Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Dhahabi, Hakim, Baihaqi, Tabarani, Shawkani, and even Ibn Taymiyya and al-Albani. The authenticity of this hadith is strongly established.

Looking at the hadith, one needs to note that the blind man left the place where the Prophet ﷺ was present in order to perform his wudhu and Salah. Then in the absence of the Prophet ﷺ he said the following words in his du’a as taught to him by the Prophet ﷺ: “O Muhammad! I seek your intercession with my Lord for the return of my eyesight, that it may be fulfilled.”

The above was a case of seeking someone’s intercession in their physical absence. To elaborate:
A sought the intercession of B in the physical absence of the latter.

My questions to all who claim Tawassul is “shirk”:
Did the blind man pray to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Was the du’a which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught "shirk" to the blind man?

One counter argument would be: “But the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was alive and not dead. If we say the dead can hear then that is shirk because they cannot hear or make du’a for anyone else.” On surface one might say “makes sense”. But lets analyze this argument and investigate the matter even further Insha’Allah.

Firstly like I stated earlier, the du’a where the blind man used the words “O Messenger” (Ya Rasulallah) was made in his physical absence. Man can only hear that which is within the range of his hearing and not beyond that. While sitting in a room you might not be able to hear what people are saying outside your house. So does this mean the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught the blind man that he is All Hearing? Certainly not and neither did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ask the blind man to scream out the du’a so that the voice would reach the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Tawassul is neither through physical matter like the body nor through living or dead. Rather it is through the positive essence and status of a person whether living or dead.

Hence it was not required for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to have heard the words uttered in the du’a by the blind man.

Let us further delve into the matter of Tawassul regarding people who have died. There are three important questions regarding the dead here:
a) Can the dead hear?

b) Can the dead make du’a for people who are living?

c) Is there Tawassul through the dead?

Can The Dead Hear?
People who claim that Tawassul is shirk use some verses from the Qur’an. We will use those same verses to answer the question “Can the dead hear?”
The Qur’an says in Surah An-Naml (27) Verses 80-81:

إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاء إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ
وَمَا أَنتَ بِهَادِي الْعُمْيِ عَن ضَلَالَتِهِمْ إِن تُسْمِعُ إِلَّا مَن يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا فَهُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
Innaka la tusmiAAu almawta wala tusmiAAu alssumma aldduAAaa itha wallaw mudbireena
Wama anta bihadee alAAumyi AAan dalalatihim in tusmiAAu illa man yuminu biayatina fahum muslimoona

Surely, you cannot make the dead to hear, nor can you make the deaf to hear your call when they turn their backs in retreat,

Nor can you show the right path to the blind against their wandering astray. You can make no one to listen (to you) except those who believe in Our verses, then submit themselves (to Allah).

The essence of these two verses is seen in two other places in the Qur’an. One is in Surah Ar-Rum where almost the same words are used and the other is in Surah Faatir (35) verse 22 which is as follows:

وَمَا يَسْتَوِي الْأَحْيَاء وَلَا الْأَمْوَاتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُسْمِعُ مَن يَشَاء وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَّن فِي الْقُبُورِ
Wama yastawee alahyao wala alamwatu inna Allaha yusmiAAu man yashao wama anta bimusmiAAin man fee alquboori

And the living and the dead are not alike. Allah makes to hear whomsoever He wills. And you cannot make to hear those who are in the graves.

Ibn Kathir in his tafsir of the Qur’an Vol.3 pg 393 writes regarding 27:80 the following:

“(Verily, you cannot make the dead to hear) meaning, you cannot cause them to hear anything that will benefit them. The same applies to those over whose hearts is a veil and in whose ears is deafness of disbelief.”

Abdur Rahman bin Nasir as-Sa’di, explaining the same verses in his Tafsir Vol.3 pg 1963-1964 states:

“When the prophet ﷺ stands for the truth and puts his trust in Allah (swt) then anyone who goes into misguidance (even after receiving the clear message) will not cause any blame to be on the prophet ﷺ and giving such people guidance is not his responsibility.

Hence Allah (swt) says ‘No doubt, you cannot make the dead to hear’…..and like Allah (swt) says in Surah Qasas (28) verse 56 ‘You cannot give guidance to whomsoever you wish, but Allah gives guidance to whomsoever He wills.’”

It is very interesting to note that none of the verses in these three places states that the dead cannot hear. The message repeated is that we cannot make the dead to hear. Mufti Muhammad Shafi Uthmani in Ma’ariful Qur’an Vol.6 pg 613 writes:
“The consistent expression used in all the three verses seems to be a clear indication that the dead may have the ability to hear but we cannot cause them to listen to us.”

In Anwar-ul-Bayan, Mufti Aashiq Ilahi in Vol.4 pg 71 explains regarding “Can the Dead Hear”:
“Even the Sahabah رضی اللہ عنھم differed in this matter. While many Sahabah رضی اللہ عنھم like Abdullah ibn Umar رضی اللہ عنہ maintained that the dead can hear, others like Ayesha رضی اللہ عنھا denied it...Therefore, although the dead may have the ability to hear, none has the power to make them hear his message.”

If believing that dead can hear was so clearly “shirk” then no Sahabah رضی اللہ عنھم would have held this view. They رضی اللہ عنھم would have unanimously declared it impermissible and labeled it “shirk”. Yet this was not the case. Neither did the Sahabah رضی اللہ عنھم, who believed dead cannot hear, went around saying that the Sahabah رضی اللہ عنھم who believe the dead can hear are committing shirk.

A look into the exegesis of the Qur’an proves that these verses do not carry the meaning which some wish to advocate. These verses do not mean that the dead cannot hear.
We take a look at one of the answers given by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi in Imdad-ul-Fatawa Vol.5 pg 379, while answering the question “Can the dead hear?”

He wrote:
“There is evidence and opinions of the scholars that support both views. Who is then able to make a ratified decision? It is not even necessary that any verdict be passed on this issue to support one view and deny the other. Then too, there exists differences between those who support the view that the dead are able to hear.”

Moving further deeper into this topic, let’s view two other verses in the Qur’an from Chapter 3 Verses 169-170:

وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِم مِّنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلاَّ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
Wala tahsabanna allatheena qutiloo fee sabeeli Allahi amwatan bal ahyaon AAinda rabbihim yurzaqoona Fariheena bima atahumu Allahu min fadlihi wayastabshiroona biallatheena lam yalhaqoo bihim min khalfihim alla khawfun AAalayhim wala hum yahzanoona

Never take those killed in the way of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, well-provided, happy with what Allah has given them of His grace; and they feel pleased with the good news, about those left behind them who could not join them, that there shall be no fear for them nor shall they grieve.

These verses suggest that even after death, the spirit may retain some intellect and perception. One might present a counter argument that this verse deals with martyrs. I do not disagree because the verse clearly talks about martyrs. However the verse does teach us of the possibility of such retention with the permission of Allah (swt) of course.

Similarly Allah (swt) can also bestow on others who are not martyrs some ability.
A hadith reported by Abdullah ibn Umar classified as Sahih by ibn Kathir is as follows:

“When a person passes by the grave of a Muslim brother whom he knew when was alive and he offers salam to him, Allah (swt) returns his spirit into his body so that he may return the salam.”

This hadith, which is one of the evidences upon which Abdullah ibn Umar based his view that dead can hear, proves that when you visit someone you know (who was a Muslim) at his grave and offer your salam, the dead hears it and replies.

This ability is given to the dead by Allah (swt) without doubt and thus this hadith is not in contradiction with the Qur’anic verses quoted above from Surah An-Naml, Surah Ar-Rum and Surah Faatir.

Another hadith in Sahih Muslim narrated by Ayesha رضی اللہ عنھا states:

“(whenever it was her turn for Allah’s Messenger ﷺ to spend the night with her) He would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi’ and say: Peace be upon you, abode of a people who are believers. What you were promised would come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay; and God willing we shall join you. O Allah, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi’ al-Gharqad.”

These traditions, among many others, establish that you can offer your salam to the dead which they hear and reply back to you. This does not necessarily mean that the dead can hear everything but it is now clear that holding the belief that dead can hear is nowhere near “shirk” like some claim.
Imam Ghazali and Imam Subki, after extensive research on this topic, came to a conclusion as noted down by Mufti Aashiq Ilahi in Anwar-ul-Bayan Vol.4 pg 72:
“While it is established that the dead do have the ability to hear, it cannot be said that they can hear everything that anyone says. While they may be able to hear at times, there are times when they might not be able to hear as well.”

In a hadith recorded in Bukhari and Muslim we are informed that the person who is laid down in his grave can hear the footsteps of those that laid him down as they leave:
“When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad? He will say: I testify that he is Allah’s slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, ‘Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.’ The Prophet added, ‘The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, ‘I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, ‘Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Quran).’ Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns.’”

Further in Baihaqi, Abu Hurairah رضی اللہ عنہ is reported to have said that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“If anyone sends darud at my mausoleum I shall personally hear it; and if anyone sends darud on me from a distance, the angels convey it to me.”

As stated previously, the power to make the dead hear lies with Allah (swt) alone. We do not have the power to make them hear. And in the cases presented above it can be seen that there are times when the dead are granted the ability to hear. This completely shatters the claims by some that believing the dead can hear is “shirk”.

Shah Abdul Haq Dehalvi in Sharh Mishkat in Vol.2 pg 931 writes regarding this hadith:

“This hadith is a clear hadith which proves the dead has its senses and while visiting a grave, giving respect to it is wajib.”

Another incident which is quite interesting is mentioned by Abul Qasim Ali bin al-Hasan ibn ‘Asakir with his sanad:
“Yahya bin Ayub al-Khiza’i reports that during the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab there was a young man who had made praying at the masjid a must for himself. Umar was very pleased with him. He would pray ‘isha and then head home to his old father. A woman fell in love with him and would often stand in his path on the way home. One day she convinced him to go in her with her. When he entered her house he started remembering Allah (swt) and Surah Al-A’raf Verse 201 came on his tongue and he recited it. After which he fainted. The woman along with her maid managed to pick this man and put him outside his house. His family took him inside. Late at night the young man regained consciousness. His father inquired and after hesitation he finally told him the incident. His father asked which verse he recited. He repeated the verse for him and died. When Umar found out in the morning he went to the young man’s father and asked for where he was buried. Then Umar addressed to the young man in his grave saying: “O young man! Whoever fears to stand in front of his Rabb, are there 2 Jannah for him?” To this the young man replied to Umar from his grave: “O Umar! My Rabb has given me both Jannah۔”

This incident has been also been recorded in Tarikh Damishq al-Kabir 48-307, Matbu’a Darul Haya al-Tarath al-‘Arbi (Beirut, 1421), Tafsir ibn Kathir Vol.2 pg 277 (under Surah ‘Araf verse 201), Darul fikar (1419) and Sharh as-Sadur pg 213.
Whether one holds to the opinion that the dead can hear or holds that they cannot hear, neither of them are committing any form of shirk. These are two opinions which were prevalent among the Companions رضی اللہ عنھم and there is nothing wrong in adhering to either of the two. However making takfir and calling it “shirk” is purely ignorance and nothing else.

Can The Dead Make Du'a For The Living?

Some object to the notion that the dead can make du’a for the living. This objection is not rooted in any concrete evidence. Certain traditions, however, suggest that indeed the dead can make du’a for the living.

In an authentic hadith recorded in Jama-ul-Fawaid, it is seen that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ prays for our forgiveness even after his death:
“Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Both my life and death are beneficial to you. Your Record of Deeds will be presented to me; if they are good I shall praise it; if they are bad, I shall invoke Almighty Allah for forgiveness.’”

Some of the scholars who have verified the soundness of this hadith are: Imam Suyuti in his Manahil al-Safa, Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id, al-Zarqani in his Sharh al-Muwatta, Mahmud Mumduh in his Raf’ al-Minara, Shihab al-Deen al Khafaji in his commentary of Qadi ‘Iyad’s al Shifa.

In the introduction of his book Al-Wafa, Ibn al-Jawzi mentions that he has incorporated only sound ahadith in it – he has quoted this hadith in the same work.

The same hadith is also narrated elsewhere with weak chains from Anas. It is also narrated with two sound mursal chains where the link of the Companion is missing from the isnad and the hadith is from Bakr ibn Abdullah al Muzani.

In his Silsila Da’eefa (Vol.2 pg 405), Albani has verified the latter chain to be sound. Moreover, Imam Subki in Shifa al-Siqam and Mullah al-Qari in his Sharh al-Shifa among others have also verified its soundness.

Al-Harith ibn Abi Usama in his Musnad has recorded a third version of this hadith related by al-Muzani.

Al-Albani declares this hadith weak on the premise that some authorities questioned the memory of one of the people in the isnad.

This person is Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz bin Abi Rawwad and ahadith by him have been recorded by Imam Muslim. He has been declared as reliable and trustworthy by, to name a few, Abu Dawud, Nasai, Ibn Shahin and Darqutni.
Even if one would say that Albani’s classification of this third version is correct, the final judgment would be that the narration is authentic as Albani authenticated the mursal version of the hadith.

Furthermore, Mahmud Mamduh quoted Albani in the latter’s effort to refute Ismail al-Ansari, entitled Kitab al-Shaybani:

“The sound mursal hadith is a proof in all Four Schools and other than them among the Imams of the principles of hadith and fiqh. Therefore it is apparent to every fair-minded person that the position whereby such a hadith does not form a proof only because it is mursal, is untenable.”

Mufti Aashiq Ilahi in his book “What Happens after Death” on page 18 quotes Tabrani as having reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Your deeds and actions are undoubtedly presented to your relatives who have gone to the Hereafter. If your deeds are virtuous, they become happy and pray to Allah for your welfare and a happy end. If bad deeds are presented, they pray to Allah for infusing virtues in his heart so that he seeks Your favor.”

Both the ahadith presented above show clearly that not only does the Prophet ﷺ pray for the Ummah after death but even normal people, who have died and are not from among the prophets or martyrs, pray for their living relatives.

A question arises that if the dead cannot pray for themselves then how is it possible that they can make du’a for those living. I fail to see the connection between the two. True the person who has passed away cannot do ‘ibadah to help him but how does that negate his ability awarded to him by Allah (swt) to make du’a for the people alive.

These two scenarios are completely different. When a person dies his status does not drop. A prophet when passes away from this world does not become a non-prophet. And it is by that status that Tawassul can be made. Like stated earlier, Tawassul is not about the physical body, living or dead.

Is There Tawassul Through The Dead?

This question will also be answered from the ahadith. First we look at a hadith in Sahih Bukhari where Anas رضی اللہ عنہ reported:

“Whenever drought threatened them, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, used to ask Al-Abbas bin ‘Abdul Muttalib to invoke Allah for rain. He used to say,
‘O Allah! We would use our Prophet as a means to You and You then sent us rain; now we use our Prophet’s uncle as a means to You, therefore send us rain!’ And so it would rain.”

There are two opinions regarding this hadith. One view is that Umar رضی اللہ عنہ meant to say that when the Prophet ﷺ was alive, only then they used to ask him to invoke Allah (swt).

The other opinion states the contrary. It analyses the hadith and points out that the words of Umar رضی اللہ عنہ make no such distinction or claim. They say this inference is not based on any explicit evidence. Imam Suyuti in Tareekh-ul-Khulafa page 140 mentions Ibn Sa’d’s narration from Niyar al-Aslami that when Umar came out to pray for rain, he wore the cloaks of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

This was a clear-cut example of Umar making Tawassul through the Messenger ﷺ. Another hadith in Sahih Muslim supports this form of Tawassul. The hadith is narrated by Abdullah, the freed slave of Asma (daughter of Abu Bakr), who reports Asma as saying that she and Ayesha would use the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a means to cure the sick.

Proponents of this latter view further support their stance by pointing out that the Tawassul in this case was also through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because the status of al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib was due to his relationship with the prophet ﷺ. This is why we see that in the hadith Umar mentions that now they are using the Prophet’s uncle as wasilah. Further they mention that the Companions had made tawassul through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the words in the hadith are “We would use our Prophet as a means to You.” If it is argued that from the start of Umar’s Caliphate they would always use al-Abbas رضی اللہ عنہ, it still does not answer as to who they used as wasilah during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr رضی اللہ عنہ unless one makes another assumption that during his Caliphate the drought ceased and no one experienced it. Regardless, the hadith does not prove that al-Abbas رضی اللہ عنہ was always used as a wasilah during the Caliphate of Umar رضی اللہ عنہ. If anything, it suggests the opposite.

Again a question here arises: ‘If Tawassul through the prophet ﷺ is permissible after his death, then why did Umar رضی اللہ عنہ make al-Abbas رضی اللہ عنہ a wasilah?’

To answer this question, Mufti Muhammad Sharif-ul-Haq Amjadi in Nuzhat-ul-Qari Vol.2 pg 614 states:

“If there are different ways to do something then opting to do it in one way does not invalidate the other ways of doing it especially when the method opted for has some benefit.

Seeking Tawassul from al-Abbas instead of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has one clear benefit. Everyone knew about Tawassul through the prophet ﷺ. It was possible that a thought could arise in the hearts of the people that Tawassul through a person who is not a prophet is haram. Hence by making al-Abbas a wasilah, Umar رضی اللہ عنہ established that seeking Tawassul from a non-prophet is also permissible.”

Some try to suggest that Umar رضی اللہ عنہ was only asking al-Abbas رضی اللہ عنہ to pray for rain. A basic reading of the text proves that this was certainly not the case.

However, both interpretations of the hadith have been presented above and the conclusion, as to which is correct, is left for the reader to decide.

In Sunan ad-Darmi in the Chapter of the Introduction titled: “Allah’s generosity to His Prophet after his death,” related from Aws ibn ‘Abdullah رضی اللہ عنہ with a good chain and declared authentic by hadith experts is the following hadith:

“The people of Madina complained to Ayesha of the severe drought that they were suffering. She said: ‘Go to the Prophet’s grave and open a window towards the sky so that there will be no roof between him and the sky.’ They did so, after which they were watered with such rain that vegetation grew and the camels got fat. That year was named the Year of Plenty.”

Al-Albani and some others tried to raise objections on the authenticity of this hadith. In Fath al-Manan, Shaykh Nabil ibn Hashim al-Ghamri refutes all such claims. Those interested in the details of the claims and their refutation can refer to Fath al-Manan.

Further evidence of Tawassul through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after his death comes from another hadith. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in Fath al-Bari, Ahmed ibn Muhammad Khateeb Qastalani in al-Muahib al-Ladunniya have recorded from Ibn Abi Sheeba that Malik al-Dar, the treasurer of Umar رضی اللہ عنہ said:

“The people suffered a drought in Umar’s khilafa, whereupon a man came to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Ask for rain for your Community, for verily they have but perished.’ After this the Prophet appeared to him in a dream and told him: ‘Go to Umar and give him my greeting, then tell him that they will be watered. Tell him: Be clever!’ The man went and told Umar. The latter wept and said: “My Lord! I spare no effort except in what escapes my power.”

Both ibn Hajar and Ahmed Khateeb have classified it as Sahih. Ibn Hajar identifies this man as Bilal ibn al-Harith. Albani, bin Baz and others tried to declare this hadith “weak” but their attempts were made futile in a deep analysis and study by Mahmud Mamduh in Raf al-Minarah li-Takhrij Ahadith al-Tawassul wal Ziyarah.

For a moment just recall the hadith quoted earlier by Uthman bin Hunaif regarding a blind man who went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Saghir reports another hadith from Uthman bin Hunaif where a man constantly visited Uthman ibn Affan رضی اللہ عنہ concerning something he needed, but Uthman paid no attention to him or his need. The man met Uthman bin Hunaif and complained to him about the matter so Uthman bin Hunaif, who was one of the Companions who collected ahadith and was learned in the religion of Allah, said:

“Go to the place of ablution and perform ablution (wudu), then come to the mosque, perform two rak’as of prayer therein, and say: ‘O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy; O Muhammad (Ya Muhammad), I turn through you to my Lord, that He may fulfill my need,’ and mention your need.” [Note: This hadith is very long and thus only the relevant part is quoted]

This incident took place after the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and after the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar رضی اللہ عنھما. This hadith makes the case clear that Tawassul through the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is legally valid and was even advised by the Companions to others.

This hadith has been thoroughly authenticated by Tabarani, Baihaqi, al-Haythami, Mundhiri among others.

As pointed out by Abu Bakr al-Marwazi in his Mansak, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal preferred for one to make Tawassul through the Prophet in every supplication in the following words:

“O Allah! I am turning to you with your Prophet, the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad! I am turning with you to my Lord for the fulfillment of my need.”

This is mentioned in various books of Hanbali school of thought. Some of these are: Ibn Muflih’s Furu’, al-Mardawi’s Insaf and Ibn Aqil’s Tadhkira.

Rashid Ahmed Gangohi in Fatawa Rashidiyya on page 139 while quoting Shah Muhammad Ishaq’s Mi’ah Masail and Arba’in Masail writes that there is a difference of opinion among the scholars regarding going to a grave and saying “O such and such person pray for me that Allah (swt) fulfills my such and such work.” He further mentions that the permissibility of this is given by those who hold the belief that the dead can hear and those who believe that dead cannot hear disallow it.

What Would Be Shirk?

After dealing with the basic concepts, I would like to point out what would constitute as “shirk”. And to deal with this one has to know “what is shirk?” Without knowing what shirk is, you cannot recognize it. Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa (4) Verse 48:

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا

Inna Allaha la yaghfiru an yushraka bihi wayaghfiru ma doona thalika liman yashao waman yushrik biAllahi faqadi iftara ithman AAatheeman

Surely, Allah does not forgive that a partner is ascribed to Him (yushraka), and He forgives anything short of that for whomsoever He wills. Whoever ascribes a partner to Allah commits a terrible sin.

This verse in the Qur’an informs Mankind that if we associate a partner with Allah (swt) then this will be “shirk”. Shirk can be done in a number of ways and hereunder are some forms of shirk mentioned pertaining to the topic at hand.

Shirk in Power: This is ascribing powers or ability to others which are exclusive to Allah (swt). For example, if we held the belief that person ‘A’ has the power of his own to inflict harm or grant wishes, then this will be shirk.

Shirk in ‘Ibadah: The right of being worshipped belongs to Allah (swt) alone and no one else. No creation is worthy of any worship. Hence if one ascribes a partner to Allah (swt) and worships that partner then that is shirk. If one worships a tree, rock, sculpture, man, animal, jinn – all this will be shirk because worship is sole due of Allah (swt).

Shirk in Knowledge: Having a belief that some person has ‘Ilm of all that is in the Universe and beyond at every moment in time, then this would be shirk. It will be ascribing a partner to Allah (swt) in matter of knowledge. Absolute knowledge belongs to Allah (swt) alone and no one else. No one other than Allah (swt) is All-Knowing. Allah (swt) can grant His chosen people with knowledge like He granted the Prophet Muhammad (saw) with knowledge about certain events but granting such limited knowledge about the unseen does not make one All-Knowing. Only the Creator has that attribute.

In Radd al-Muhtar Vol.2 page 439, Ibn Abidin states that it is kufr to believe a dead person acts freely in issues apart from Allah (swt).
Maulana Yusuf Ludhianvi in Irshad al-Talibin on page 18 quotes Qadhi Muhammad Thanaullah to have said that praying to the Prophet or other pious personalities whether living or dead is impermissible.

In Fatawa Rashidiyya on page 139, Rashid Ahmed Gangohi quotes Shah Muhammad Ishaq’s Mi’ah Masail and Arba’in Masail and writes that to address someone in the grave, whether far away from the grave or at it, saying “you fulfill my work” is shirk.

Keeping these in mind it can be said that if a person worships someone living or dead then that will be shirk.

If one thinks that a person has the power of his own to grant one’s wish then again this is shirk. This is established by the Qur’an and Sunnah to fall into the category of shirk and thus can be termed as such.

If some practice Tawassul in a way which is shirk that does not mean that Tawassul should be labeled “shirk”. If some people perform the Salah but their Salah is not directed to Allah (swt) and it is directed to lets say an idol, would we then label Salah as “shirk” and abandon it? No. A distinction will be made and explained that Salah is to be only towards Allah (swt) and not towards an idol and whosoever offers Salah towards an idol is committing shirk. But it will never be said that Salah is shirk. Similarly one cannot call Tawassul shirk just because some people might be doing it incorrectly.

Conclusion

This topic has been dealt with considerable details to establish whether Tawassul by asking the dead to make du'a for you is shirk or not. However there is no evidence anywhere that Tawassul of this kind is shirk. If one wishes to call the belief that the dead can hear as shirk then he will have to say that all the Companions who held the same belief also committed shirk naudhubillah. If one suggests the seeking Tawassul through the dead or through someone in their physical absence is shirk then they will have to say that the Companions who practiced this and preached it committed shirk naudhubillah and in the case of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), he taught shirk to the blind man naudhubillah.

Let us recall the hadith in Muwatta Imam Malik which states:

“Abdullah ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: ‘If a man says to his Muslim brother, ‘O kafir!’ it is true about one of them.’”
We need to analyze all evidence which proves a position held by scholars whether it is regarding Tawassul or any other issue in matters of Fiqh, Aqeeda etc. At most, if someone wants to believe that Tawassul, in entirety or partially, is impermissible then they should voice their opinion that they think or believe it is not allowed, as opposed to saying that it is shirk without any evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

If the prayers were directed to some person, or it would be thought that this person (dead or alive) possesses some power of his own whereby he can make needs come into being, then that can be classified as haram and shirk. One’s belief in Aqeedah should be firm and correct. Having a weak or incorrect Aqeedah can lead a person into deviance in many things. In addition one should also not believe that their du’a is not accepted by Allah (swt) without Tawassul
Abdul Haq bin Sayf al-Deen Bukhari Dehalvi who was a well learned Sufi and was generally quite relaxed in such issues, wrote in his commentary of Mishkat Masabih that it is haram and wrong aqeedah for one to abandon supplicating to Allah (swt) and instead visiting graves thinking that the person in the grave has full power and ability of his own to grant him his need. He further stated that it is simply forbidden to prostrate to a grave.
People who ask those whom they consider to be awliya but have passed away, to pray to Allah (swt) on their behalf while being at a considerable distance from the mausoleum of the awliya do not hold the belief that the awliya are All-Hearing or that they cause the awliya to hear. Their belief is based on that the angels deliver the message to them. Whether this belief is correct or incorrect is a whole new debate but regardless of the conclusion, this cannot be shirk.
There is evidence for various types of Tawassul and one should analyze this evidence before coming to a conclusion. If the conclusion reached is that Tawassul (in entirety or partiality) is not proven, one still cannot label it as shirk unless there is concrete evidence for it rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Many works have been written by scholars from all over the Muslim world refuting the claim that Tawassul is shirk. There is no evidence that Tawassul is shirk because all prayers are directed to Allah (swt).

And Allah (swt) knows the Truth of this world and the Hereafter.

Riyad al-Salihin: On the Virtues of Prayer

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Riyad al-Salihin: On the Virtues of Prayer

NOVEMBER 4, 2010 BY EDITOR

187. Chapter: On the excellence of the prayers

1042. Abu Hurayra said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘What do you think would happen if there was a river by someone’s door in which he washed five times every day? Do you think that any dirt would remain on him?’ They said, ‘Not a scrap of dirt would remain on him.’ He said, ‘That is a metaphor of the five prayers by which Allah wipes out wrong actions.'” [Agreed upon]

1043. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The metaphor of the five prayers is that of an sizeable flowing river at the door of one of you in which he washes five times every day.” [Muslim]

1044. Ibn Mas’ud reported that a man received a kiss from a woman and went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and told him about it. Allah sent down, “Establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first part of the night. Good actions eradicate bad actions.” (11:114) The man said, “Messenger of Allah, is this for me?” He said, “It is for every single one of my community.” [Agreed upon]

1045. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The five prayers, and Jumu’a to Jumu’a is expiation for what is between them as long as a man has committed no major sins.” [Muslim]

1046. ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, “There is no Muslim man who attends a prescribed prayer and does wudu’ for it well and is humble in it and in its bowing, without that being expiation for the sins before it as long as he did not commit any major sin. This will always apply.” [Muslim]

188. Chapter: On the Subh and ‘Asr prayers

1047. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever prays the two cool ones will enter the Garden.” [Agreed upon]

1048. Abu Zuhayr ‘Umara ibn Ruwayba said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘No one who used to pray before the rising of the sun and before its setting will enter the Fire,” meaning Fajr and ‘Asr.” [Muslim]

1049. Jundub ibn Sufyan reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who prays the Subh prayer is in Allah’s keeping. O son of Adam, watch out that Allah does not demand from you anything that is in His keeping.” [Muslim]

1050. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There are angels which take turns in being with you in the night and other angels in the day and they meet together at the prayers of Fajr and ‘Asr. Then the ones who were with you during the night ascend and Allah asks them – although He knows better than they do – ‘How were My slaves when you left them?’ They say, ‘When we left them they were praying and when we came to them, they were praying.'” [Agreed upon]

1051. Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Bajali said, “We were with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he looked at the full moon on the night of Badr and said, ‘You will see your Lord as you see this moon and you will not be harmed by seeing Him. If you can manage not to be overwhelmed to the point of missing the prayer before the sun rises and before it sets, don’t be.'” [Agreed upon]

1052. Burayda reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If anyone misses the prayer of ‘Asr , his actions will come to nothing.”[al-Bukhari]

189. Chapter: On the excellence of walking to the mosque

1053. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah will prepare a residence in the Garden for anyone who goes to the mosque morning and evening each morning and evening that he goes.” [Agreed upon]

1054. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who purifies himself in his house and then goes to one of the houses of Allah to fulfil one of the obligations of Allah, one step removes an error and the other raises him a degree.” [Muslim]

1055. Ubayy ibn Ka’b said, “There was a man of the Ansar and I do not know of any man who lived further from the mosque than him. He never missed a prayer. It was said to him, ‘You should buy a donkey which you could ride in the dark and when it is very hot.’ He said, ‘It would not make me happier if my house were right next to the mosque. I want my steps to the mosque to be written down for me and also my return when I return to my family. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah will combine all that for you.”‘” [Muslim]

1056. Jabir said, “The area around the mosque was empty and the Banu Salama wanted to move near to the mosque and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard about it. He said to them, ‘It has reached me that you want to move near to the mosque?’ They said, ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah, we do want that.’ He said, ‘Banu Salama, keep the houses you have. Your footprints are written down. Keep the houses you have! Your footprints are written down.'” [Muslim]

1057. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The people who get the greatest reward for the prayer are those who live furthest away and then the next furthest. Someone who waits for the prayer so that he can pray it with the Imam has a greater reward than someone who prays and then goes to sleep.” [Agreed upon]

1058. Burayda reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Give good news to those who walk to mosques in the dark that they will have full light on the Day of Rising.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1059. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Shall I direct you to something by which Allah will wipe out errors and raise degrees?’ They said, “Yes please, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Doing thorough wudu’ in adverse circumstances, taking a lot of steps to the mosques and waiting for one prayer after another prayer. That is what you should hold to. That is what you should hold to.” [Muslim]

1060. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If you see a man who frequents mosques, then testify to his belief. Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, says, “The mosques of Allah should only be frequented be by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day…’ (9:18)” [at-Tirmidhi]

190. Chapter: On the excellence of waiting for the prayer

1061. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Each of you is in the prayer as long as he is waiting for it and there is nothing but the prayer preventing him from going to his family.” [Agreed upon]

1062. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The angels pray for every one of you as long as you remain in the place in which you prayed and do not break wudu’, saying, ‘O Allah, forgive him! O Allah, show mercy to him!'” [al-Bukhari]

1063. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, delayed the ‘Isha’ prayer until the middle of the night and then prayed. Then he turned his face to us after he had prayed and said, ‘The people have prayed and gone to sleep, but you were in prayer the whole time you were waiting for it.'” [al-Bukhari]

191. Chapter: On the excellence of the Group prayer

1064. Ibn ‘Umar stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Prayer in a group is seventy-seven times better than the prayer of a man by himself.” [Agreed upon]

1065. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The group prayer is twenty-five degrees higher than the prayer in your house or the prayer in your place of business. Anyone who does wudu’ and goes to the mosque with no other object than to do the prayer, Allah will raise him up a degree with every step he takes, and a wrong action will fall away from him. When he prays, the angels pray for him all the time he is in his place of prayer, ‘O Allah! Forgive him! O Allah! Show mercy to him!’ One of you is in the prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer.” [Agreed upon]

1066. Abu Hurayra said, “A blind man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to direct me to the mosque.’ He asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to make an dispensation for him allowing him to pray in his house, and he gave him that dispensation. When he turned away, he called to him and said to him, ‘Do you hear the call to prayer?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then respond to it.'” [Muslim]

1067. ‘Abdullah – and it is said ‘Amr – ibn Qays, known as Ibn Umm Maktum, the mu’adhdhin, said, “Messenger of Allah, there are many reptiles and wild beasts in Madina.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “You hear ‘Come to the prayer. Come to success,’ so come.” [Abu Dawud]

1068. Abu Hurayra reported that Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “By Him in Whose hand my soul is, I seriously considered ordering someone to collect firewood, ordering the prayer be called, appointing a man to lead the prayer and then coming up behind certain men and burning their houses down about them!” [Agreed upon]

1069. Ibn Mas’ud said, “Anyone who wants to meet Allah tomorrow as a Muslim should observe these prayers when they are called. Allah has prescribed the sunan of guidance for His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they are part of the sunan of guidance. If you prayed them in your houses, like this person who does not come prays in his house, you would be abandoning the sunna of your Prophet. If you were to abandon the sunna of your Prophet, then you would go astray. I have seen that only hypocrites, whose hypocrisy is known, fail to come. A man used to be brought to it, supported between two men, until he was stood up in the prayer line.” [Muslim]

In another variant, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught us the sunan of guidance, and part of the sunan of guidance is the prayer in the mosque from which the call to it is given.”

1070. Abu’d-Darda’ said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘If there are three in a village or desert and they do not pray (together) Shaytan will overpower them. You must perform the group prayer. The wolf devours the stray sheep.” [Abu Dawud]

192. Chapter: Encouragement to attend the Group Prayers at Subh and ‘Isha’

1071. ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘If someone prays ‘Isha’ in a group, it is as if he had prayed half of the night. If someone prays Subh in a group, it is as if he had prayed the entire night.'” [Muslim]

1072. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “And if they only knew what was in the prayers of ‘Isha’ and Subh, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.” [Agreed upon]

1073. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There is no prayer heavier on the hypocrites than Fajr and ‘Isha’. If they only knew what is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.” [Agreed upon]

193. Chapter: On the command to persevere in the prescribed prayers and the strongest prohibition against abandoning them

Allah says, “Safeguard the prayer – especially the middle one,” (W2:236; H2:238) and He says, “If they repent and establish the prayer and pay zakat, let them go on their way.” (9:5)

1074. Ibn Mas’ud said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘What is the best action?’ He said, ‘The prayer in its time,.’ I said, ‘Then what?’ He said, ‘Dutifulness to parents.’ I said, ‘Then what?’ He said, ‘Jihad in the way of Allah.'” [Agreed upon]

1075. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Islam is based on five: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayer, paying the zakat, hajj to the House and fasting Ramadan.” [Agreed upon]

1076. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and establish the prayer and pay the zakat. If they do that, their lives and property are protected from me except for the right of Islam, and their reckoning is up to Allah.” [Agreed upon]

1077. Mu’adh said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent me to Yemen and said, ‘You are going to a people who have a Book. When you come to them, call on them to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they obey you in respect of that, then tell them that Allah has made the five prayers obligatory for them every night and day. If they obey you in respect of that, inform them that Allah has made it obligatory for zakat to be taken from their property and given to their poor. If they obey you in respect of that, beware of the things on which people place great value and beware of the supplication of the wronged. There is no screen between him and Allah.'” [Agreed upon]

1078. Jabir said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘All that lies between a man and shirk and disbelief is abandoning the prayer.'” [Muslim]

1079. Burayda reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The contract which is between us and them rests on the prayer. Anyone who abandons it, has rejected belief.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1080. Shaqiq ibn ‘Abdullah the Follower said, “The Companions of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not think that abandoning any action denoted disbelief, except abandoning the prayer.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1081. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The first action which the slave will be called to account for on the Day of Rising is his prayer. If it is in order, he will have success and win through. If it is not in order, he will be disappointed and lose out. If any of his obligatory prayers are lacking, the Lord, the Mighty and Exalted, will say, ‘See if My slave has any supererogatory actions and use them to complete his obligatory prayer.’ Then the rest of his actions will be assessed in the same way.” [at-Tirmidhi]

194. Chapter: On the Excellence of the first row and the command to complete the first rows and make them straight and close together

1082. Jabir ibn Samura said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out to us and said, ‘Do you not want to line up as the angels line up in the presence of their Lord?’ We said, ‘Messenger of Allah, how can we line up as the angels line up in the presence of their Lord?’ He said, ‘They fill up the first rows and press together in them.” [Muslim]

1083. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If people only knew what was in the call to prayer and the first row, and could find no other way to get it than drawing lots for it, they would certainly draw lots for it.” [Agreed upon]

1084. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best of the rows for the men is the first row and the worst is the last row. The best of the rows for the women is the last row and the worst is the first row.” [Muslim]

1085. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw people hanging back and he said to them, “Come forward and complete the row behind me and let those behind you complete your row. If people persist in hanging back, Allah will set them back.” [Muslim]

1086. Abu Mas’ud said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to put his hand on our shoulders in the prayer and say, ‘Keep straight and do not be disunified or your hearts will become disunified. Let those among you who have maturity and intelligence stand nearest to me and then those who are closest to them and then those closest to them.” [Muslim]

1087. Anas stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Make your rows straight. Straightening the row is part of the perfection of the prayer.” [Agreed upon]

In a variant of al-Bukhari, “Straightening the row is part of establishing the prayer.”

1088. Anas said, “When the iqama for the prayer was given, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would turn round and face us. He said, ‘Straighten your rows and stand close together for I can see you behind my back.'” [al-Bukhari]

In one variant of al-Bukhari, “We used to stand shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot.”

1089. An-Nu’man ibn Bashir who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, “Make your rows straight or Allah will cause disagreements between you.” [Agreed upon]

In a variant in Muslim, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to straighten our rows to such an extent that it was as arrows could be straightened by them. This continued until he saw that we had understood that. Then one day he came out to us and stood for the prayer until he was about to say the takbir. Then he saw the chest of a bedouin man protruding from the line. He said, ‘Slaves of Allah! Make your rows straight or Allah will cause disagreements between you.'”

1090. Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to go between the rows from one end to the other, pushing our chests and shoulders. He would say, ‘Do not be disunified or your hearts will become disunified.’ He used to say, ‘Allah and the his angels bless the first row.'”

1091. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Make the rows straight, stand shoulder to shoulder and close up the gaps. Give way to your brothers and do not leave any openings for Shaytan. Allah will connect with anyone who connects up the row and Allah will break off from anyone who makes a break in a row.” [Abu Dawud]

1092. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Press together in your rows, drawing close to one another and making your shoulders touch. By the One in whose hand my soul is, I see Shaytan coming through the gaps in the row as if he was a small black goat.” [Abu Dawud]

1093. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Complete the front row and then the one behind it. The only row to be incomplete should be the last row.” [Abu Dawud]

1094. ‘A’isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah and the angels bless those on the right hand side of the rows.” [Abu Dawud]

1095. Al-Bara’ said, “When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we wanted to be on his right so that his face would turn towards us. I heard him say, ‘Lord, protect me from Your punishment on the day You raise up – or You gather – Your slaves.'” [Muslim]

1096. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Put the Imam in the middle and fill up the gaps.” [Abu Dawud]

195. Chapter: The Excellence of doing the sunnas with the obligatory prayers, and clarification of the least of them, the most perfect, and what is between that

1097. Umm Habiba Ramla bint Abi Sufyan said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘No Muslim slave prays to Allah Almighty twelve voluntary rak’ats over and above the obligatory ones every day without Allah building a house for him in the Garden (or “without a house being built for him in the Garden.”)'” [Muslim]

1098. Ibn ‘Umar said, “I prayed with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, two rak’ats before Dhuhr and two rak’ats after it, two rak’ats after Jumu’a, two rak’ats after Maghrib, and two rak’ats after ‘Isha’.” [Agreed upon]

1099. ‘Abdullah ibn Mughaffal stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There is a prayer between the two adhans, there is a prayer between the two adhans,” and then the third time he said, “For whoever wishes it.” [Agreed upon]

196. Chapter: The importance of the two rak’ats which are the sunna of Subh

1100. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not fail to pray four rak’ats before Dhuhr and two rak’ats before Subh.” [al-Bukhari]

1101. ‘A’isha said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not more constant in respect of any supererogatory action than the two rak’ats of Fajr.” [Agreed upon]

1102. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The two rak’ats of Fajr are better than this world and everything it contains.” [Muslim]

In one variant, “I love them more than the entire world.”

1103. Abu ‘Abdullah Bilal ibn Rabah, the mu’adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah, said that he went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to tell him it was time for the Morning prayer and ‘A’isha distracted Bilal by something which she asked him to do until it was well into the time. Bilal stood and announced the prayer to him and then repeated his announcement. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, still did not come out. When he did come out, he led the people in the prayer, and Bilal informed him that ‘A’isha had distracted with something she had asked him to do until it was well into the time and yet he still delayed coming out. He – i.e. the Prophet said – ‘I was doing the two rak’ats of Fajr.’ He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, you were well into the time.’ He said, ‘If I had been even further into the time than I was, I would still have done the two rak’ats. I would have done them well and done them properly.'” [Abu Dawud]

197. Chapter: On two quick rak’ats for Fajr and clarification of what is recited in them and their time

1104. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray two quick rak’ats between the adhan and the iqama for the Subh prayer.” [Agreed upon]

In one variant of both al-Bukhari and Muslim, “He used to pray the two rak’ats of Fajr when he heard the adhan. He would make them so short that I would say, ‘Did he recite the Umm al-Qur’an [the Fatiha} in them?'”

In a variant of Muslim, “He used to pray the two rak’ats of Fajr when he heard the adhan and made them short.” In one variant, “When Fajr appeared.”

1105. Hafsa said that when the mu’adhdhin withdrew to call the adhan of Subh and daybreak appeared, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed two short rak’ats before the iqama of the prayer was given. [Agreed upon]

1106. Ibn ‘Umar said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray the night prayers two by two and then do the witr with one rak’at. He would pray two rak’ats before the morning prayer with the adhan still echoing in his ears.” [Agreed upon]

1107. Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to recite the following ayat from al-Baqara in the first of the two rak’ats of Fajr, “Say: ‘We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us…,” (W135; H136), and in the last, “We believe in Allah. Bear witness that we are Muslims.” (W3:51; H3:52)

In one variant, in the last he recited the following ayat from Ali ‘Imran, “Come to a proposition which is the same for us and you.” (W3:63; H3:64) [Muslim]

1108. Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited in the two rak’ats of Fajr, “Say: ‘Unbelievers!'” (109) and “Say: He is Allah, Absolute Oneness.” (112) [Muslim]

1109. Ibn ‘Umar said, “I watched the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for a month and he used to recite in the two rak’ats of Fajr, ‘Say: Unbelievers!,’ and ‘Say: He is Allah, Absolute Oneness.’” [at-Tirmidhi]

198. Chapter: On the recommendation to lie down on the right side after the two rak’ats of Fajr and encouraging doing that whether or not one has prayed voluntary prayers in the night

1110. ‘A’isha said, “After the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed the two rak’ats of Fajr, he would lie down on his right side.” [al-Bukhari]

1111. ‘A’isha said, “Between the time he finished the ‘Isha’ prayer until Fajr, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray eleven rak’ats, and he would say the salam after every two rak’ats and perform the witr with one. When the mu’adhdhin fell silent after calling the Fajr prayer and the time of Fajr was clear and the mu’adhdhin had come to him, he would do two quick rak’ats and then lie down on his right side until the mu’adhdhin came to him for the iqama.” [Muslim]

1112. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you has prayed the two rak’ats of Fajr, he should lie down on his right side.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

199. Chapter: On the sunna of Dhuhr

1113. Ibn ‘Umar said, “I prayed with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, two rak’ats before Dhuhr and two rak’ats after it.” [Agreed upon]

1114. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not fail to pray four rak’ats before Dhuhr.” [al-Bukhari]

1115. ‘A’isha said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray four rak’ats in my house before Dhuhr and then go out and lead the people in prayer. Then he would come in and pray two rak’ats. He would lead the people in the Maghrib prayer and then enter and pray two rak’ats. He would lead the people in the ‘Isha’ prayer and then enter my house and pray two rak’ats.” [Muslim]

1116. Umm Habiba reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah will make unlawful for the Fire anyone who maintains the practice of the four rak’ats before Dhuhr and the four after it.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1117. ‘Abdullah ibn as-Sa’ib reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray four rak’ats when the sun began to descend before the Dhuhr prayer. He said, ‘It is an hour in which the gates of heaven are opened and I want a righteous action to ascend for me in it.'” [at-Tirmidhi]

1118. ‘A’isha reported that when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not pray four rak’ats before Dhuhr, he would pray them after it. [at-Tirmidhi]

200. Chapter: On the sunna of ‘Asr

1119. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray four rak’ats before ‘Asr and would separate them with a taslim to the highest of the angels and all of the Muslims and believers who follow them.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1120. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “May Allah have mercy on any man who prays four rak’ats before ‘Asr.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1121. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray two rak’ats before ‘Asr. [Abu Dawud]

201. Chapter: On the sunna before and after Maghrib

1122. ‘Abdullah ibn Mughaffal reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Pray before Maghrib,” and the third time he said, “for anyone who wishes to do so.” [al-Bukhari]

1123. Anas said, “I saw the great Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, go quickly to the pillars at Maghrib.” [al-Bukhari]

1124. Anas said, “In the time of the Messenger of Allah, we used to pray two rak’ats after sunset before Maghrib.” It was said, “Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, pray them.” He said, “He used to see us pray them and he neither commanded nor forbade us.” [Muslim]

1125. Anas said, “When we were in Madina and the mu’adhdhin gave the adhan for the Maghrib prayer, people would go quickly to the pillars and do two rak’ats, so that if a man who was a stranger entered the mosque he would suppose that the prayer had already been prayed due to the great number of people praying those two rak’ats.” [Muslim]

202. Chapter: On the sunna before and after ‘Isha’

See hadiths 1098 and 1099.

203. Chapter: The sunna of Jumu’a

It contains the previous hadith of Ibn ‘Umar (1098).

1126. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you prays Jumu’a, he should pray four rak’ats after it.” [Muslim]

1127. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not pray after Jumu’a until after he had left. He would pray two rak’ats in his house. [Muslim]

204. Chapter: The recommendation to pray voluntary prayers at home but not obligatory prayers. The command to move from the place where one did the obligatory prayer or to speak before doing the voluntary prayer

1128. Zayd ibn Thabit reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “O people, pray in your houses. The best prayer is a man’s prayer in his house – except for the obligatory prayer.” [Agreed upon]

1129. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Do some of your prayers in your houses and do not make them into graves.” [Agreed upon]

1130. Jabir reported said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Any of you who does all his prayers in the mosque, should do some of them in his house, for Allah will put blessing in his house on account of his prayer.” [Muslim]

1131. ‘Umar ibn ‘Ata’ said that Nafi’ ibn Jubayr sent him to as-Sa’ib ibn Ukht Namir to ask him about something that Mu’awiya had seen him do in the prayer. He said, “Yes, I prayed Jumu’a with him in the enclosure. When the Imam did the salam, I stood up where I was and prayed. When he entered he sent word to me and said, ‘Do not do what you did again. When you have prayed Jumu’a. do not pray another prayer until you have spoken or gone out. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to do that, not to do another prayer after the prayer until we had spoken or gone out.” [Muslim]

205. Chapter: On encouraging performance of the Witr prayer and clarification that it is confirmed, and making its time clear

1132. ‘Ali said, “The witr is not an obligation like the prescribed prayer, but it is the sunna of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said, ‘Allah is single (witr) and loves odd numbers, so do the witr, people of the Qur’an.'”[Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1133. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did the witr at all times of the night, at the beginning of the night, its middle and its end. The latest time he did his witr was just before dawn.'” [Agreed upon]

1134. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Make the witr the last of your prayers at night.”[Agreed upon]

1135. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Do the witr before you do Subh.” [Muslim]

1136. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray at night when she was in front of him. When only the witr remained to do, he would wake her up to do the witr.” [Muslim]

In one variant, “When only the witr remained to do, he said, ‘Get up and do the witr, ‘A’isha.'”

1137. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Set out to the Subh prayer with the witr done.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1138. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who is afraid that he will not get up at the end of the night should do his witr at its beginning. Anyone who intends to get up at the end of night, should do the witr at its end. The prayer at the end of the night is witnessed, and that is the best.” [Muslim]

206. Chapter: The Excellence of the Duha prayer, clarification of its minimum, maximum and middle size, and the encouragement to persevere in doing it

1139. Abu Hurayra said, “My friend, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered me to do three things: to fast three days every month, to do the two rak’ats of Duha and to do the witr before sleeping.” [Agreed upon]

1140. Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Sadaqa is owed by every joint you have. Every glorification is sadaqa. Every praise is sadaqa. Commanding the right is sadaqa. Forbidding the wrong is sadaqa. Praying two rak’ats in the forenoon (Duha) covers all these.” [Muslim]

1141. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray four rak’ats for Duha and would do any number more that Allah wished.” [Muslim]

1142. Umm Hani’ Fakhita bint Abi Talib said, “I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of the Conquest of Makka and found him washing. When he finished washing, he prayed eight rak’ats. That was in the time of Duha.” [Agreed upon]

207. Chapter: Permission to pray Duha from the time the sun is high until noon. It is best to pray it when it is very hot and well into mid-morning

1143. Zayd ibn Arqam said that he saw some people praying at the beginning of the time of Duha. He said, “Do they not know that the prayer at a later time is better? The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘The prayer of the repenters is when the young camels have become hot from the sun.'” [Muslim]

208. Chapter: The encouragement to pray the two rak’at prayer of greeting when entering the mosque, and it being disliked to sit down before praying the two rak’ats at whatever time one enters, whether that be the two rak’ats of greeting, or an obligatory or sunna prayer

1144. Abu Qatada reported said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you enters the mosque, he should not sit down until he has prayed two rak’ats.” [Agreed upon]

1145. Jabir said, “I once came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was in the mosque and he said, ‘Pray two rak’ats.'” [Agreed upon]

209. Chapter: The recommendation to pray two rak’ats after doing wudu’

1146. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Bilal, “Bilal, tell me that action that you have done since entering Islam which gives you the most reason to hope for I heard the sound of your sandals ahead of me in the Garden.” He said, “I have done no action which gives me more reason to hope than that of never purifying myself at any time of the night or day without then praying after that purification as much as is written for me to pray.” [Agreed upon]

210. Chapter: The excellence of the day of Jumu’a, its obligatory nature and washing for it, putting on scent and going early to it. Supplication on Friday and the prayer on the Prophet. Clarification of the time when supplication is answered. The recommendation of remembering Allah often after Jumu’a

Allah Almighty says, “Then when the prayer is finished spread through the earth and seek Allah’s bounty and remember Allah much so that perhaps you may be successful.” (62:10)

1147. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. On it Adam was created and on it he was admitted to the Garden and on it he was expelled from it.” [Muslim]

1148. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever does wudu’ thoroughly, then goes to Jumu’a, listens and is silent, will be forgiven until the next Jumu’a and three days more. Whoever plays with pebbles has wasted it.” [Muslim]

1149. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The five prayers and from one Jumu’a to another and one Ramadan to another expiate what is between them if major sins are avoided.” [Muslim]

1150. Abu Hurayra and from Ibn ‘Umar said that they heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, standing on the steps of the minbar, “People should be wary of avoiding the Jumu’as or else Allah will put a seal on their hearts and then they will be among the heedless.” [Muslim]

1151. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you comes to the Jumu’a, he should have a ghusl first.” [Agreed upon]

1152. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Doing ghusl on the day of Jumu’a is obligatory for every male who has reached puberty.” [Agreed upon]

1153. Samura reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If someone does wudu’ on the Day of Jumu’a, it is by a dispensation and there is a blessing in it but if someone does ghusl, ghusl is better.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1154. Salman reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When a man does ghusl on the day of Jumu’a, making himself as clean as possible, uses his hair oil or puts on any perfume he has in his house, then goes out and does not split up two people, and then prays what is prescribed for him and is silent while the Imam speaks, he is forgiven everything between then and the previous Jumu’a.” [al-Bukhari]

1155. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who does ghusl on the day of Jumu’a, the same as for janaba, and then goes in the first part of the time, it is as if he has sacrificed a camel. If he goes in the second part of the time, it is as if he has sacrificed a cow. If he goes in the third part of the time, it is as if he has sacrificed a horned ram. If he goes in the fourth part of the time, it is as if he has sacrificed a hen. If he goes in the fifth part of the time, it is as if he has sacrificed an egg. When the Imam comes out, the angels settle down to listen to the reminder.” [Agreed upon]

1156. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioned the day of Jumu’a and said, “There is a time during it when Allah Almighty gives to a Muslim standing in prayer whatever he asks for.” He indicated how small it was with his hand. [Agreed upon]

1157. Abu Burda ibn Abi Musa al-Ash’ari reported that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar asked, “Did you hear your father relate anything from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning the special time on the day of Jumu’a?” He said, ‘I replied, “Yes. I heard him say that he heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘It is from the time the Imam sits down until the prayer is finished.'” [Muslim]

1158. Aws ibn Aws reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best of your days is the day of Jumu’a, so do a lot of prayer on me during it. Your prayer is presented to me.'” [Abu Dawud]

211. Chapter: On the recommendation to perform the prostration of gratitude when one obtains a blessing or an affliction is averted

1159. Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas said, “We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from Makka, making for Madina. When we were near ‘Azwaza’, he dismounted and lifted his hands and made supplication to Allah for a time and then he went down into prostration and remained there for a long time. Then he stood and raised his hands for a long time and then went down into prostration again. He did that three times. He said, ‘I asked my Lord and interceded for my community, and He gave me a third of my community. So I went down into prostration to my Lord out of gratitude. Then I lifted my head and asked my Lord for my community and He gave me another third of my community. I went down into prostration to my Lord out of gratitude. Then I lifted my head and asked my Lord for my community and He gave me the last third of my community so I again went down into prostration to my Lord.” [Abu Dawud]

212. Chapter: On the excellence of rising in the night to pray

Allah Almighty says, “And stay awake for prayer during part of the night as a supererogatory action for yourself. It may well be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station,” (17:79) and the Almighty says, “Their sides eschew their beds,” (32:16) and the Almighty says, “The part of the night they spent asleep was small.” (51:17)

1160. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to get up to pray at night to the extent that his feet became swollen. I said to him, ‘Why do you do this, Messenger of Allah, when you have been forgiven your past and future wrong actions?’ He said, ‘Should I not be a thankful slave?'” [Agreed upon]

1161. ‘Ali reported that one night the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to him and Fatima daughter of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and knocked at their door. “He said, ‘Do you not pray?'” [Agreed upon]

1162. Salim ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab reported from his father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “‘Abdullah is an excellent man. If only he would pray during the night.” Salim said, “After that ‘Abdullah spent very little of the night asleep.” [Agreed upon]

1163. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to me, “‘Abdullah, do not be like so-and-so who used to pray at night and then stopped doing it.'” [Agreed upon]

1164. Ibn Mas’ud said, “A man was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and it was said of him that he had continued to sleep into the morning without having got up for the prayer. He said, ‘Shaytan urinated in his ears,’ or he said, ‘his ear.'” [Agreed upon]

1165. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Shaytan ties three knots at the back of your necks when you are asleep. He hits every knot saying the words, ‘You have a long night ahead of you so sleep soundly.’ When you wake up and remember Allah, one knot is undone. When you do wudu’, one knot is undone. When you pray, one knot is undone. So the morning finds you cheerful and energetic. Otherwise, the morning will find you lazy and foul-tempered.” [Agreed upon]

1166. ‘Abdullah ibn Salam reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “O people, make the greeting common practice and provide food and pray at night while people are asleep, and you will enter the Garden in safety.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1167. Abu Hurayra reported said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best fast after Ramadan is the month of Allah, al-Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.” [Muslim]

1168. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Night prayers are two by two, and when you are afraid that the dawn is near, then pray one rak’at as witr.” [Agreed upon]

1169. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray in the night two by two and then do one rak’at for witr.” [Agreed upon]

1170. Anas said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used not to fast in a month until we thought that he would not fast for any of it and he would fast until we thought that he would not break his fast for any of it. If anyone wanted to see him praying in the night he could see him doing that or to see him sleeping he could see him doing that.” [al-Bukhari]

1171. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray eleven rak’ats. In them he would stay in sajda long enough for one of you to recite fifty ayats before lifting his head. He would pray two rak’ats before the Fajr prayer and then lie down on his right side until someone came to him to call him to the prayer.”[al-Bukhari]

1172. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not do more than eleven rak’ats (at night) during Ramadan or at any other time. He would pray four rak’ats – do not ask about their beauty or length – and then he would pray four more – and do not ask about their beauty or length – and then he would pray three. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, do you sleep before the witr?’ He said, ”A’isha, my eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.'” [Agreed upon]

1173. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to sleep in the first part of the night and stand in prayer in the last part of it.” [Agreed upon]

1174. Ibn Mas’ud said, “I prayed in the night with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he stood so long that I wanted to do something awful.” He was asked, “What did you want to do?” He said, “I wanted sit down and leave him.” [Agreed upon]

1175. Hudhayfa said, “I prayed with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, one night and he began al-Baqara. I said, ‘He will go into ruku’ after a hundred.’ He continued and I said, ‘He will pray one rak’at with it.’ But he continued. I said, ‘He will go into ruku’ with it.’ Then he began Surat an-Nisa‘ and recited it and then began Ali ‘Imran and recited it. He recited slowly and when he passed through an ayat of glorification, he glorified Allah. When he passed a question, he asked it. When he passed an ayat of seeking refuge, he sought refuge. Then he went into ruku’ and began to say, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Immense.’ His bowing was about as long as his standing. Then he said, ‘Allah hears whoever praises Him. Our Lord, yours is the praise.’ Then he stood for a long time, nearly as long as his bowing. Then he prostrated and said, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.’ His prostration was almost as long as his standing.” [Muslim]

1176. Jabir said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, “Which prayer is the best?” He said, “A long qunut (i.e. standing).'” [Muslim]

1177. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As reported that the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The prayer which Allah Almighty loves best was the fast of Da’ud, and the fast which Allah Almighty loves best is the prayer of Da’ud. He used to sleep half of the night and pray one third of it and then sleep a sixth. He used to fast one day and break the fast the next day.” [Agreed upon]

1178. Jabir said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘There is an hour during the night in which whatever good of this world and the Next a man asks Allah Almighty for, He will give it to him. That happens every night.'” [Muslim]

1179. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you gets up in the night, he should begin his prayer with two quick rak’ats.” [Muslim]

1180. ‘A’isha said, “When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to get up at night, he would begin his prayer with two quick rak’ats.” [Muslim]

1181. ‘A’isha said, “When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, missed the prayer in the night due to illness or some other reason, he would pray twelve rak’ats during the daytime.” [Muslim]

1182. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who sleeps through his hizb or part of it, should recite it between the Fajr prayer and the Dhuhr prayer. It will be written for him as if he had recited it in the night.” [Muslim]

1183. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “May Allah show mercy to a man who gets up in the night and prays and wakes up his wife, and. if she refuses, splashes some water in her face. May Allah show mercy to a woman who gets up in the night and prays and wakes up her husband, and if he refuses, splashes water in his face.” [Abu Dawud]

1184. Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa’id stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When a man wakes up his wife at night and they pray together – or they pray two rak’ats together – they are written down among ‘the men and women who remember’.” [Abu Dawud]

1185. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If one of you nods off while he is praying, he should go and lie down until he is no longer sleepy. If someone prays when he is drowsy, he may not know whether he is asking for forgiveness or asking for something bad for himself.” [Agreed upon]

1186. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you gets up in the night, and the Qur’an is unintelligible on his tongue and he does not know what he is saying, then he should lie down again.” [Muslim]

213. Chapter: The recommendation to pray at night in Ramadan – that is the tarawih prayers

1187. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who prays in Ramadan motivated by belief and in expectation of the reward will be forgiven his past wrong actions.” [Agreed upon]

1188. Abu Hurayra said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to encourage prayer at night in Ramadan although he did not command people to do it as a obligatory duty. He would say, ‘Anyone who prays in Ramadan motivated by belief and in expectation of the reward will be forgiven all his past wrong actions.'” [Muslim]

214. Chapter: On the excellence of praying in the Night of Power

Allah says, “Truly We sent it down on the Night of Power” (97:1) to the end of the sura. Allah says, “We sent it down on a blessed night.” (W44:2; H44:3)

1189. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who prays on the Night of Power motivated by belief and in anticipation of being rewarded will be forgiven his past wrong actions.” [Agreed upon]

1190. Ibn ‘Umar reported that some of the Companions of the Prophet were shown in a dream that the Night of Power is during the last seven days. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “I think that your dreams agree about the last seven. Those who want to look for it, should look for it in the last seven.” [Agreed upon]

1191. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do i’tikaf in the last ten nights of Ramadan and he said, ‘Look for the Night of Power during the last ten nights of Ramadan.'” [Agreed upon]

1192. ‘A’isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Look for the Night of Power during the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.” [al-Bukhari]

1193. ‘A’isha said, “When the last ten days of Ramadan started, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray during the night, wake up his family and intensify his efforts.” [Agreed upon]

1194. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do night prayers in Ramadan which he did not do in other months, and in the last ten nights of it what he did not do during the other nights.” [Muslim]

1195. ‘A’isha said, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, if I know what night the Night of Power is, what do you think I should say during it?’ He said, ‘Say: “O Allah, You are Pardoning and you love pardon, so pardon me.”‘” [at-Tirmidhi]

214. Chapter: The excellence of the siwak and the qualities of the natural form (fitra)

1196. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If it was not for the fact that I might have been overburdening my community – or the people – I would have ordered them to use the siwak for every prayer.” [Agreed upon]

1197. Hudhayfa said, “When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up in the night, he would rinse out his mouth.” [Agreed upon]

1198. ‘A’isha said, “We used prepare the Prophet’s siwak and wudu’ water and Allah would make him wake for whatever part of the night He wished, and he would use the siwak and do wudu’ and then pray.” [Muslim]

1199. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “How many times have I told you about the siwak!” [al-Bukhari]

1200. Shurayh ibn Hani’ said, “I asked ‘A’isha, ‘What did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, do first when he entered his house?’ She replied, ‘Use the siwak.'” [Muslim]

1201. Abu Musa al-Ash’ari said, “I visited the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the end of the siwak was on his tongue.” [Agreed upon]

1202. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The siwak is purification for the mouth and pleasing to the Lord.” [an-Nasa’i]

1203. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The natural form of man (fitra) involves five things – or there are five things which are part of the natural form of man: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the nails, removing hair from the armpits and trimming the moustache.” [Agreed upon]

1204. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Ten things make up man’s natural form: trimming the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the siwak, snuffing water up the nose, cutting the nails, washing the knuckles, removing hair from the armpits, shaving the pubic hair and using water in the lavatory.'” The narrator said, “I forgot the tenth. It could be rinsing the mouth.” [Muslim]

1205. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Trim the moustache and let the beard grow.” [Agreed upon]

216. Chapter: Stressing the obligation of zakat and clarification of its excellence and what is connected to it

Allah says, “Establish the prayer and pay zakat” (W2:42; H2:43) and the Almighty says, “They were only ordered to worship Allah, making their deen sincerely His as people of pure natural belief, and to establish the prayer and pay zakat – that is the correct deen.” (98:5) He says, “Take zakat from their wealth to purify and cleanse them.” (W9:104; H9:103)

1206. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Islam is based on five: testifying that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (shahada); establishing the prayer (salat); paying the zakat (poor-tax), the Hajj and the fast (sawm) of Ramadan.” [Agreed upon]

1207. Talha ibn ‘Ubaydullah said that a man came to the Messenger of Allah from the people of Najd. His hair was unkempt. The sound of his voice could be heard, but they could not understand what he said until he drew near. He was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “It is five prayers a day.” He asked, “Do I have to do any more?” He said, “No, unless you want to do voluntary prayers.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then said, “And you must fast the month of Ramadan.” He asked, “Do I have to do any more?” He said, “No, unless you want to do so voluntarily.” Then the Messenger of Allah mentioned zakat to him. He said, “Do I have to do any more?” He said, “No, unless you want to do so voluntarily.” The man withdrew, saying, “By Allah, I will do no more nor less than this.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If he is speaking the truth, he will have success.” [i.e. he will be granted Paradise] [Agreed upon]

1208. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent Mu’adh to Yemen and said, ‘Call on them to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they comply with that, then let them know that Allah has made the five prayers obligatory on them every day and night. If they comply with that, then let them know that Allah has made the payment of zakat from their property obligatory on them, to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.'” [Agreed upon]

1209. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and establish the prayer and pay the zakat. If they do that, their lives and property are protected from me except for the right of Islam, and their reckoning is up to Allah.” [Agreed upon]

1210. Abu Hurayra said, “When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died and Abu Bakr was khalifa and those of the Arabs who were going to reject rejected, ‘Umar said, ‘How can we fight people when the Messenger of Allah said, “I am commanded to fight people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ Whoever says that, his property and life are protected from me, except when there is a legal right to them, and his reckoning is up to Allah.”?’ Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, I will fight anyone who makes a distinction between prayer and zakat! Zakat is the right which is due on wealth. By Allah, if they refuse me a nose-rope which they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, I will fight them for refusing it!’ ‘Umar said, ‘By Allah, then I realised that Allah had expanded Abu Bakr’s breast in respect of the decision to fight and I recognised that it was the truth.” [Agreed upon]

1211. Abu Ayyub reported that a man said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Tell me an action which will ensure my entrance into the Garden.” He said, “Worship Allah and do not associate anything else with him. Establish the prayer and pay the zakat and maintain ties of kinship.” [Agreed upon]

1212. Abu Hurayra said, “A bedouin came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘Tell me an action by which, if I do it, I will enter the Garden.’ He said, ‘Worship Allah and do not associate anything else with him. Perform the prescribed prayer and pay the obligatory zakat, and fast Ramadan.’ He said, ‘By the One who has my soul in His hand, I will do no more than this.’ When he turned to go, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Anyone who wants to see one of the people of the Garden should look at this man.'” [Agreed upon]

1213. Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah said, “I gave allegiance to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the basis of performing the prayer, paying the zakat and giving good counsel to every Muslim.” [Agreed upon]

1214. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There is no one who has gold or silver and does not pay what is due on them without them being turned, on the Day of Rising, into slabs of Fire and being heated in the Fire of Jahannam and his side, forehead and back being branded with them. Every time they cool they will be heated again throughout a day whose length is fifty thousand years, until people’s fates have been decided and he sees his way open either to the Garden or to the Fire.” It was said, “Messenger of Allah, what about camels?” He said, “There is no owner of camels who fails to fulfil what is due to them, and one of their rights is to be milked on the day they are watered, without, on the Day of Rising, being thrown on his face on account of them on a very wide level plain. Not one young camel will be missing and they will trample him with their hooves and bite him with their teeth. When the last of them have passed over him, then the first of them will return to him throughout a day whose length is fifty thousand years until people’s fates have been decided and he sees his way open either to the Garden or to the Fire.”

It was asked, “Messenger of Allah, and what about cattle and sheep?” He said, “There is no owner of cattle or sheep who fails to fulfil what is due to them, without, on the Day of Rising, being thrown on his face on account of them on a very wide level plain. Not one of them will be missing. None of them will have curved horns or no horns or broken horns. They will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves. When the last of them have passed over him, then the first of them will return to him in a day whose length is fifty thousand years until people’s fates have been decided and he sees his way open either to the Garden or to the Fire.”

It was asked, “Messenger of Allah, what about horses?” He said, “There are three kinds of horses: those which are a burden for a man, those which are a protection for a man and those which contain a reward for a man. Those which are a burden for a man are those which are kept just for showing off, boastfulness and out of enmity against the people of Islam. They are a burden. Those which are a protection for a man are those a man keeps in the way of Allah without forgetting Allah’s right in respect of their backs and necks. They are a protection for him. As for those which contain a reward for him, they are those which a man keeps in meadows or grasslands in the way of Allah for the people of Islam. For anything they eat of that meadow or grassland there are good deeds written for him for what they ate and good deeds for their droppings and urine. If one of them breaks its tether and goes over a hillock or two, its tracks and droppings are also good deeds for him. If it crosses a river and drinks from it when he had not intended to allow it to drink from it, Allah writes for him the amount it drinks as good deeds for him.”

It was asked, “Messenger of Allah, what about donkeys?” He said, “Nothing has been revealed to me about donkeys except for this unique, comprehensive verse, ‘Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. Whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.’ (99:7-8)” [Agreed upon]

217. Chapter: On the obligation to fast Ramadan and clarification of the excellence of fasting and what is connected to it

Allah Almighty says, “You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you..” to His words “The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and discrimination. Any of you who are resident for the month should fast it. But any of you who are ill or on a journey should fast a number of other days.” (W2:182-184; H2:183-185)

1215. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah, the Mighty and Exalted said, ‘Every action of the son of Adam is for himself except for fasting. It is Mine and I repay it.’ Fasting is a shield. When someone is fasting, he should not have sexual relations nor quarrel. If someone fights him or insults him, he should say, ‘I am fasting’. By the One in whose hand the self of Muhammad is, the changed breath in the mouth of the faster is more fragrant to Allah than the scent of musk. The faster experiences two joys: when he breaks his fast he rejoices and when he meets his Lord he rejoices in his fasting.” [Agreed upon]

In one variant of al-Bukhari, “He has left his food and drink and appetites for My sake. Fasting is Mine and I repay it. Any other good deed I repay with ten like it.”

In a variant of Muslim, “Every action of the son of Adam is multiplied. A good action receives from ten to seven hundred times. Allah Almighty said, “Fasting is Mine and I repay it. He leaves his appetites and food for My sake. The faster experiences two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The changed breath in the mouth of the faster is more fragrant to Allah than the scent of musk.”

1216. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The one who spends out two kinds of actions in the way of Allah will be summoned from the gates of the Garden and told, ‘O slave of Allah this is better.’ All the people who did the prayer will be called from the gate of the prayer. All the people who did jihad will be called from the gate of jihad. All the people who fasted will be called from the gate of Rayyan. All the people who gave sadaqa will be called from the gate of sadaqa.” Abu Bakr said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, Messenger of Allah. No one called from those gates will feel distress. Will anyone be called from all those gates?” He said, “Yes, and I hope that you will be among them.” [Agreed upon]

1217. Sahl ibn Sa’d reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “There is a gate in the Garden called ar-Rayyan which those who fast will enter on the Day of Rising, and none but they will enter it.” It will be said, ‘Where are the fasters?’ They will stand up and none but they will enter it. When they have entered it, it will be closed and no one else will enter it.” [Agreed upon]

1218. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “No slave fasts one day in the way of Allah without Allah putting his face seventy years’ journey away from the Fire on account of that day.” [Agreed upon]

1219. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who prays in Ramadan motivated by belief and in expectation of the reward will be forgiven his past wrong actions.” [Agreed upon]

1220. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When Ramadan comes, the gates of the Garden are opened, the gates of the Fire are closed and the shaytans are chained up.” [Agreed upon]

1221. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Fast when you see it (the new moon) and break the fast when you see it. If it is cloudy, then make Sha’ban complete with thirty days.” [Agreed upon]

In the variant of Muslim, “If it is cloudy, you must fast thirty days.”

218. Chapter: On generosity, charity and doing much good in the month of Ramadan, and increasing that in the last ten days of the month

1222. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people, and he was even more generous during Ramadan when Jibril met him. Jibril used to meet him every night in Ramadan until it was over and the Prophet would go through the Qur’an with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous with good things than the blowing wind.” [Agreed upon]

1223. ‘A’isha said, “When the last ten days of Ramadan started, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray during the night, wake up his family and intensify his efforts.” [Agreed upon]

219. Chapter: On the prohibition against fasting before Ramadan after the middle of Sha’ban unless that fasting is connected to what is before it and coincides with his habit, like fasting Monday and Thursday

1224. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “None of you should fast a day or two before Ramadan except for a man who customarily fasts. He should fast that day.” [Agreed upon]

1225. Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Do not fast immediately before Ramadan. Fast when you see the new moon and break it when you see it. If cloud obscures it, then complete the thirty days.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1226. Abu reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When half of Sha’ban remains, then do not fast.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1227. Abu’l-Yaqatan ‘Ammar ibn Yasir said, “Anyone who fasts the day which is doubtful has rebelled against Abu’l-Qasim.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

220. Chapter: On what one says when seeing the new moon

1228. Talha ibn ‘Ubaydullah reported that When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw the new moon, he would say, “O Allah, make the new moon shine on us with security, belief, safety and Islam! My Lord and your Lord is Allah. It is a new moon of guidance and good.” [at-Tirmidhi]

221. Chapter: The excellence of suhur and delaying it as long as one does not fear the approach of dawn

1229. Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Have suhur. There is blessing in suhur.” [Agreed upon]

1230. Zayd ibn Thabit said, “We used to have suhur with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Then he stood up for the prayer.” Anas said, “I said, ‘How long was there between the adhan and suhur?’ He said, ‘Enough to recite fifty ayats.'” [Agreed upon]

1231. Ibn ‘Umar said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had two mu’adhdhans: Bilal and Ibn Umm Maktum. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Bilal calls the adhan while it is still night, so eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls the adhan.” He said, “The time between the two adhans was only long enough for the one to go up and the other to come down.” [Agreed upon]

1232. ‘Amr ibn al-‘As reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the people of the Book lies in the eating of suhur.” [Muslim]

222. Chapter: On the excellence of hastening to break the fast and that with which one breaks the fast and what one says after breaking the fast

1233. Sahl ibn Sa’d reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “People will continue to be all right as long as they hurry to break the fast.” [Agreed upon]

1234. Abu ‘Atiyya said, “Masruq and I visited ‘A’isha and Masruq said to her, ‘There are two of the Companions of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and neither of them is lacking in good. One of them hastens Maghrib and fast-breaking and the other delays Maghrib and fast-breaking.’ She said, ‘Which one hastens Maghrib and fast-breaking?’ He said, ”Abdullah – i.e. ibn Mas’ud.’ She said, ‘That is what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did.'” [Muslim]

1235. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah, the Mighty and Majestic said, ‘The most beloved of My slaves to Me is the quickest to break the fast.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1236. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When night advances from here and day retreats from there and the sun sets, then people fasting should break their fast.” [Agreed upon]

1237. Abu Ibrahim ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa said, “We were with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on a journey while he was fasting. When the sun set, he said to someone, ‘So-and-so, get down and mix some sawiq for us’ He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, won’t you let it get dark?’ He said, ‘Get down and mix some sawiq for us.’ He said, ‘It is still daytime.’ He said, ‘Get down and mix some sawiq for us.’ So he got down and mixed it for them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drank and then gestured with his hand towards the east, saying, ‘When you see the night advancing from here, then the faster should break his fast.'” [Agreed upon]

1238. Salman ibn ‘Amir ad-Dabi the Companion reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When one of you breaks his fast, he should break it with dates. If he cannot find any. then he should break it with water. It is pure.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

1239. Anas said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to break the fast with fresh dates before he prayed, and if there were no fresh dates, then with small dry dates. If there were no dry dates, then with a few sips of water.” [Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

223. Chapter: On commanding the faster to guard his tongue and limbs from incorrect actions, verbal abuse and the like

1240. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “When someone is fasting, he should not have sexual relations nor quarrel. If someone fights him or insults him, he should say, ‘I am fasting'” [Agreed upon]

1241. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah does not require someone who does not abandon lies, and acting by them, while fasting to abandon his food and drink.” [al-Bukhari]

224. Chapter: On questions regarding fasting

1242. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If someone forgets, and eats and drinks, he should complete his fast. Allah has fed him and let him drink.” [Agreed upon]

1243. Laqit ibn Sabira said, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, tell me about wudu’.’ He said, ‘Do wudu’ thoroughly letting the water run between your fingers and snuffing the water well up your nose, unless you are fasting.'” [at-Tirmidhi]

1244. ‘A’isha who said, “Fajr used sometimes to find the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, junub from one of his wives. Then he did ghusl and fasted.” [Agreed upon]

1245. ‘A’isha and Umm Salama said, “When morning found the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, junub from one of his wives, he would still fast.” [Agreed upon]

225. Chapter: Clarification of the excellence of fasting Muharram, Sha’ban and the sacred months

1246. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best fast after Ramadan is the month of Allah, al-Muharram. The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.” [Muslim]

1247. ‘A’isha said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not fast in any month more than Sha’ban. He used to fast all of Sha’ban.” In one variant, “He used to fast Sha’ban except for a little.” [Agreed upon]

1248. Mujiba al-Bahiliyya about her father or her uncle, “He went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and then went to him again a year later when his circumstances and appearance had changed. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, do you not recognise me?’ He said, ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘I am the Bahili who came to you last year.’ He said, ‘What has changed you? You had a handsome appearance.’ He said, ‘I have only eaten at night since I left you.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘You have tortured yourself!.’ Then he said, ‘Fast the month of endurance [Ramadan] and one day every month.’ He said, ‘Let me do more. I have strength.’ He said, ‘Fast two days.’ He said, ‘Let me do more.’ He said, ‘Fast three days.’ He said, ‘Let me do more.’ He said, ‘Fast in the sacred months and stop. Fast in the sacred months and stop. Fast in the sacred months and stop.’ He spoke with three fingers, putting them together and then releasing them.'” [Abu Dawud]

226. Chapter: The excellence of fasting and other things in the first 10 days of Dhu’l-Hijja

1249. Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “No virtuous actions done during any ten days are better liked by Allah than the actions done on these days (the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijja).” They said, “Messenger of Allah, not even jihad in the way of Allah?” He said, “Not even jihad in the way of Allah, except for a man who goes out putting his life and property in danger and returns with nothing.” [al-Bukhari]

227. Chapter: On the excellence of fasting the Day of ‘Arafa, ‘Ashura’ and the ninth of Muharram

1250. Abu Qatada said “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about fasting the Day of ‘Arafat. He said, ‘It expiates the past year and coming year.'” [Muslim]

1251. Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fasted the Day of ‘Ashura’ and ordered it to be fasted. [Agreed upon]

1252. Abu Qatada reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about fasting the Day of ‘Ashura’ and said, “It expiates the past year.” [Muslim]

1253. Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If I remain alive until next year, I will fast the ninth.” [Muslim]

228. Chapter: On the recommendation to fast six days of Shawwal

1254. Abu Ayyub reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six from Shawwal, it is as he had fasted the entire year.” [Muslim]

229. Chapter: On the recommendation to fast Mondays and Thursdays

1255. Abu Qatada reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked about fasting Mondays and he said, “That is the day on which I was born and the day when I was sent – or when revelation descended on me.” [Muslim]

1256. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Actions are presented on Mondays and Thursdays, so I like my actions to be presented while I am fasting.” (Muslim related it without mentioning fasting.) [at-Tirmidhi]

1257. ‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to take care to fast on Mondays and Thursdays.” [at-Tirmidhi]

230. Chapter: On the recommendation to fast three days of every month

It is best to fast the ‘white days’, which are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.

1258. Abu Hurayra said, “My friend, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered me to do three things: to fast three days every month, to do the two rak’ats of Duha and to do the witr before sleeping.” [Agreed upon]

1259. Abu’d-Darda’ said, “My beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded me to do three things which I will not forego as long as I live: to fast three days of every month, to pray Duha, and not to sleep until after praying the witr.” [Muslim]

1260. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As reported said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Fasting three days every month is equivalent to fasting continuously.” [Agreed upon]

1261. Mu’adha al-‘Adawiyya asked ‘A’isha , “Did the Messenger of Allah fast three days of every month?” She said, “Yes.” “I said, ‘What part of the month did he fast?’ She said, ‘He did not care what part of the month he fasted.'” [Muslim]

1262. Abu Dharr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If you fast three days of the month, then fast the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1263. Qatada ibn Milhan said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to command us to fast the white days: the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.” [Abu Dawud]

1264. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not fail to fast the white days either when at home or on a journey.” [an-Nasa’i]

231. Chapter: On the excellence giving the faster something with which to break the fast, and the excellence of the faster when people eat in his presence and the supplication of the one who eats for what is eaten

1265. Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever gives a faster something with which to break his fast has the same reward without that diminishing the reward of the faster in any way.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1266. Umm ‘Umara al-Ansariyya reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited her and she presented him with some food. He said, “Eat.” She said, “I am fasting.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The angels pray for blessing on a fasting person when people eat in his presence until they finish.” Perhaps he said, “Until they are full.” [at-Tirmidhi]

1267. Anas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited Sa’d ibn ‘Ubada, who brought some bread and oil, and he ate. Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Those who were fasting have broken the fast with you and the pious have eaten your food and the angels prayed for blessings on you.” [Abu Dawud]

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