Intention to do good deeds

What should one's intention be while commiting a good deed? Should one commit a good deed for the sake of Allah and the Holy Prophet , should one commit his good deed for the sake of Allah and out of love of the Holy Prophet or his Sunnah, or should one commit a good deed for the sake of Allah alone?

Praise be to Allah.

When doing acts of worship, they should be done sincerely and purely for the sake of Allah alone, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As Salaah (Iqaamat as Salaah) and give Zakaah, and that is the right religion”

[al Bayyinah:5]

“And who has (in mind) no favour from anyone to be paid back,

Except to seek the Countenance of his Lord, the Most High”

[al Layl:19-20]

And the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) said: “Allah does not accept any deed except that which is done only for Him and to seek His Countenance.”

Narrated by an Nasaa’i, 3140; classed as saheeh by al Albaani in aSilsilah aSaheehah, 52.

Think about what Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Would that they were contented with what Allah and His Messenger gave them and had said: “Allah is Sufficient for us. Allaah will give us of His Bounty, and so will His Messenger (from alms). We implore Allah (to enrich us)”

[at Tawbah:59]

Note how this verse ascribes the giving to Allah and His Messenger, and sufficiency to Allah alone. The verse does not say “Allah and His Messenger are sufficient for us”. And it describes the imploring as being to Allah alone, as He said, “We implore Allah”, and does not say “we implore Allaah and His Messenger.” This is like the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So when you have finished (your occupation), devote yourself for Allah’s worship.

And to your Lord (Alone) turn (all your) intentions and hopes”

[al Inshiraah:7-8]

See Zaad al Ma’aad, 1/36

So worship should be devoted to Allah alone; it is not permissible to do any act of worship with the intention of drawing closer to any created being.

With regard to loving the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam), that means following him and venerating him, not by worshipping him.

Worship can only be acceptable to Allah if it meets two conditions:

1 – It is done sincerely for Allah alone

2 – It follows the Sunnah of Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) and is in accordance with his sharee’ah.

These two conditions are indicated by the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord”

[al Kahf:110]

Ibn Katheer (ra7imahullah) said: “ ‘Let him work righteousness’ means, that which is in accordance with the laws of Allah. ‘And associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord’ means, worship in which he seeks the Countenance of Allah alone, with no partner or associate.’ These are the basis of acceptable deeds: it must be sincerely for the sake of Allah alone, and correct according to the sharee’ah of the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam).”

So when you worship you must seek the Countenance of Allaah alone, and strive to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam). We ask Allah to help us to do righteous deeds.

And Allah knows best.

IslamQA

Shaitaan's 7 strategies

Imaam Ibn al Qayyim, ra7imahullah, said: ‘Shaitan tries to destroy the son of Adam in one of seven phases. Some of them are more intense than others. Shaitan would not try to destroy him in the next phase until he fails to destroy him in a previous one. These phases are:

1st Phase: The phase of disbelief in Allah, His Deen, His perfect attributes, and in what the Prophet,, informed us about, and the fact that we will be resurrected. If Shaitan is successful in misleading the slave in this phase, his enmity towards him would diminish and he would take rest. If the slave succeeds, and survives in this phase, Shaitan would try to destroy him in the next phase.

2nd Phase: The phase of Bid’ah (religious innovation); whether it pertains to believing in other than the truth which the Messenger,, was sent with or by worshipping other than Allah; such as worshipping idols, and the like. Shaitan enjoys that one succumbs in this phase, for Bid’ah conflicts with the nature of the Deen and compels one to reject it. Furthermore, the one who observes innovated religious practices would not repent from his actions; rather, he would invite people to his Bid’ah! Observing innovated religious practices would compel one to forge lies against Allah and speak without knowledge; thus it openly clashes with the Sunnah. Observing minor Bid’ah practices would lead one to observing major Bid’ah practices. In this manner, a person would eventually exit the folds of Islam. Scholars and people of knowledge alone know the real dangers of Bid’ah practices. If a person succeeds and survives in this phase by adhering to the Sunnah, and understanding its texts as the Pious Predecessors understood them, Shaitan would seek to destroy him in the next phase.

3rd Phase: The phase of major sins. If he is able to destroy the slave in this phase, he would beautify the deed that he is doing and probably compel him to say the following: ‘No sin would harm the Tawheed (creedal belief) as no good deed would benefit a man who has committed Shirk (i.e. to associate partners with Allah).’ If the person is successful and survives this phase, Shaitan would seek to destroy him in the next phase.

4th Phase: The phase of minor sins. Shaitan would compel a person to belittle these sins, by whispering to him: ‘There is no fear upon you as long as you keep away from major sins “do you not know that the minor sins are expiated by abstaining from major sins?’ In this manner, Shaitan would convince the individual that there is no harm in doing minor sins, until he regularly practices it. The person who has done a major sin, and has repented and is fearful of what he has done, would be better off than him; for regularly doing a minor sin would change it to a major sin! Constant repentance eliminates major sins; and on the same token, no minor sin remains a minor sin if one does it constantly. The Prophet,, said: ‘Beware of minor sins; its likeness is like a people who stopped over in a valley, they spread out in search of fire wood, and each brought a stick; they were able to make a fire and cooked their bread. Whenever a person practices a minor sin regularly it would destruct him.’(Ahmad #22860) If the slave succeeds and survives in this phase, by being careful and repenting continuously to Allah, and observing righteous deeds, Shaitan seeks to destroy him in the next phase.

5th Phase: Satan entices the individual to excessively indulge in lawful things in order to keep him away from worshipping Allah. In this manner, Satan aims to make one abandon Sunnah practices, and later lead him to abandoning the obligatory practices. If the slave succeeds and survives in this phase by understanding the greatness of the acts of worship, he would seek to destroy him in the next phase.

6th Phase: The phase of busying the slave with deeds which are less rewarding. Shaitan encourages the slave to observe certain acts of worship and beautifies them to him, and shows him the great reward of doing those acts of worship in order to keep him away from deeds which are more beneficial and rewarding. When Shaitan fails to mislead the slave, he tries to deprive him from receiving the full reward; therefore, he busies him with lesser rewarding deeds.

7th Phase: If Shaitan fails in the above six phases, he would resort to harming the person in any way possible; by summoning his men and followers and riling them against this individual. The Prophets and Messengers were not left unharmed by this. One should bear patiently, for victory and success are tied with patience.”

source: islamnewcastle.wordpress.com

I often see in chat rooms pages that are just for condolences on the death of one of the relatives of the member in the chat room. What is your opinion?

Praise be to Allah.

It seems to us that it is permissible to announce the death in a chat room of one of its members or one of his relatives for the purpose of receiving condolences and so that people may pray for mercy if it is the member who is deceased, or offer condolences to the one who has lost a family member. This does not come under the heading of the kind of death announcements that are forbidden, so long as it is free from exaggeration in praising the deceased and it does not involve the forbidden matter for which those scholars who forbade it, forbade making announcements in newspapers, namely undue expenses.

Shaykh ‘Abd al Azeez ibn Baaz (ra7matullahi 3alayh) was asked:

What is the ruling on offering condolences in newspapers? Is it regarded as a kind of death announcement that is forbidden?

He replied:

That does not come under the heading of death announcements that are forbidden, although not doing it is preferable, because it costs a lot of money.

Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 13/408.

There are interests to be served by announcing the death before the burial such as: supplication may be offered for mercy for him and for him to be made steadfast during the questioning in the grave; the numbers of good people who offered a funeral prayer for him can be increased; the grief of his family may be reduced by these who are close to him. As for announcing the death after the burial, interests are also served by this, among the most important of which are: condolences to the member who has lost one of his family or one of his relatives.

Among the evidence which points to the principle that we have mentioned here, which is that it is permissible to announce the death of a Muslim, especially before the burial, without any exaggeration in praise of the deceased, is the fact that the Prophet (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) announced the death of the Negus, the King of Abyssinia.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (radiallahu 3anh) said: the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) announced to us the death of the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, on the day on which he died, and he said: “Pray for forgiveness for your brother.”

Al Bukhaari (1263) and Muslim (951).

In the hadeeth there is a mention of the deceased so that others are encouraged to pray for him as he deserves and to offer the funeral prayer for him, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) offered the funeral prayer in absentia with his companions.

Ibn Qudaamah (ra7matullahi 3alayh) said:

Al Kharqi said, it is recommended to offer condolences to the family of the deceased.

We do not know of any difference of opinion concerning this matter.

The purpose behind offering condolences is to console the family that has been bereaved, to fulfil their rights and to draw closer to them; the need for that after the burial is the same as the need for it before the burial.

Al Mughni, 2/408

Al Nawawi (ra7matullahi 3alayh) said:

It should be noted that offering condolences is recommended before the burial and afterwards.

al Adhkaar, p. 148, 149.

There is no specific time for offering condolences and no specific place. Simply announcing a death in a chat room is not contrary to any text or any of the aims of sharee’ah.

The Scholars of the Standing Committee said: there is no specific time or place for offering condolences.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 9/134.

For more details please see the answer to question number 119130.

For information on the haraam type of kind of death announcements, and that simply announcing the death is permissible in and of itself, and for information on the words of the scholars and what they quoted as evidence of the hadeeth about the Negus and others, please see the answer to question number 60008.

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

How can a person know if he has been possessed by the jinn or if he is affected by the evil eye?

Praise be to Allah.

Those who deal with ruqyah as prescribed in Islam have mentioned some of the symptoms from which it may be known whether a person has been possessed by the jinn or affected by the evil eye. They are not definitive symptoms and may vary in some cases, and may be more or less in other cases.

As for the symptoms of possession, they are:

1. Turning away and reacting strongly when hearing the adhaan or Qur’aan

2. Fainting, seizures and falling when Qur'aan is read over him

3. A lot of disturbing dreams

4. Being alone, keeping away from people and behaving strangely

5. The devil who is dwelling in him may speak when Qur'aan is read over him.

As for the symptoms of being affected by the evil eye, Shaykh ‘Abd al ‘Azeez al Sadhaan (may Allah preserve him) said:

If it is not a real sickness, then the symptoms may take the following forms:

Headaches that move from one part of the head to another; yellow pallor in the face; sweating and urinating a great deal; weak appetite; tingling, heat or cold in the limbs; palpitations in the heart; pain in the lower back and shoulders; sadness and anxiety; sleeplessness at night; strong reactions due to abnormal fears; a lot of burping, yawning and sighing; withdrawal and love of solitude; apathy and laziness; a tendency to sleep; health problems with no known medical cause.

These signs or some of them may be present according to the strength of the evil eye or the number of people who put the evil eye on others. End quote.

Al Ruqyah al Shar’iyyah (p. 10)

For more information, please see the answer to question no. 240 and 20954

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Gaza crisis






اللهمّ انصر إخواننا في فلسطين

اللهمّ انصر إخواننا في فلسطين

اللهمّ انصر إخواننا في فلسطين

الـلـهـمّ أذل و دمّر أعداء الدين و أعداء المسلمين

الـلـهـمّ أذل و دمّر أعداء الدين و أعداء المسلمين

الـلـهـمّ أذل و دمّر أعداء الدين و أعداء المسلمين


الـلـهـمّ أعـز الإسـلام و الـمـسـلـمـيـن و أذل الـكـفـر و الـكـافـريـن

الـلـهـمّ أعـز الإسـلام و الـمـسـلـمـيـن و أذل الـكـفـر و الـكـافـريـن

الـلـهـمّ أعـز الإسـلام و الـمـسـلـمـيـن و أذل الـكـفـر و الـكـافـريـن


اللهم امييييييين


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The Quran was revealed by Allah, not created

Praise be to Allah.

What we Muslims are obliged to believe is that which has come to us from Allah, and that which the Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) has told us. Allah has told us that He speaks, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And who is truer in statement than Allah?"[an Nisaa’ 4:87]
“and whose words can be truer than those of Allah? [an Nisaa’ 4:122]

These two aayaat offer proof that Allah speaks, and that His words are true, and there is no kind of lie in them at all.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): ‘O ‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)!…’”

[al Maa’idah 5:116]

This aayah shows that Allah speaks, and that His speech can be heard, so His speech has sound. And His speech includes words and phrases. The evidence that the speech of Allah is composed of letters is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“O Moosa (Moses)!

Verily, I am your Lord!”[Taa Haa 20:11]

because these words are composed of letters, and they are part of the speech of Allah. And the evidence that the speech of Allah has sound is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning]:

“And We called him from the right side of the Mount, and made him draw near to Us for a talk with him" [Moosa (Moses)].

[Maryam 19:52]

Calling and talking can only happen with sound.

See Sharh Lam’ah al I’tiqaad by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, p. 73

Hence the belief of Ahl al Sunnah wa’l Jamaa’ah is that Allah speaks in a real sense, when and as and with whatever He wills, with letters and sound, but this does not resemble the voices of created beings. The evidence that it does not resemble the voices of created beings is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Seer”[al Shoora 42:11]

So it is known from the outset that this is the belief of Ahl al Sunnah wa’l Jamaa’ah. Ahl al Sunnah wa’l Jamaa’ah believe that the Qur’aan is the word of Allah, and among the evidence for this belief is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if anyone of the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) seeks your protection then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah” [at Tawbah 9:6]

what is meant here is the Qur’aan, by scholarly consensus. The fact that Allah mentions kalaam (speech, word) in idaafah (genitive or possessive construction) with Himself indicates that the Qur’aan is His Word.

The belief of Ahl al Sunnah wa’l Jamaa’ah is that the Qur’aan is the word of Allah which was revealed, not created; it began from Him and will return to Him.

The evidence that it is revealed is as follows (interpretation of the meanings):

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan” [al Baqarah 2:185]

“Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’aan) down in the Night of Al Qadr (Decree)”[al Qadr 97:1]

“And (it is) a Qur’aan which We have divided (into parts), in order that you might recite it to men at intervals. And We have revealed it by stages”[al Israa’ 17:106]

“And when We change a Verse (of the Qur’aan) in place of another — and Allah knows best what He sends down — they (the disbelievers) say: ‘You (O Muhammad) are but a Muftari! (forger, liar).’ Nay, but most of them know not.

Say (O Muhammad) Ruhul Qudus [Jibreel (Gabriel)] has brought it (the Qur’aan) down from your Lord with truth, that it may make firm and strengthen (the Faith of) those who believe, and as a guidance and glad tidings to those who have submitted (to Allah as Muslims).

And indeed We know that they (polytheists and pagans) say: ‘It is only a human being who teaches him (Muhammad).’ The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur’aan) is a clear Arabic tongue[al Nahl 16:101-103]

- the One Who changes a verse in place of another is Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.

The evidence that the Qur’aan is not created is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Surely, His is the creation and commandment”[al A’raaf 7:54]

So Allah describes creation as one thing and commandment as another. The conjunction implies that the second thing mentioned is different, and the Qur’aan is part of the commandment because of the evidence of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad) Rooh (a revelation, and a mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur’aan) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will” [al Shoora 42:52]

If the Qur’aan is part of the command or commandment, which is different from creation, therefore it is not created, because if it were created, this division of categories would not be correct. This is the evidence from the Qur’aan.

The rational evidence is that the Qur’aan is the word of Allah, and words cannot exist in and of themselves so that they would have a distinct and separate identity. If they did exist separately and distinct from Allah, then we would say that they are created, but words are an attribute of the speaker. If they are an attribute of the speaker and they are spoken by Allah, then they are not created, because the attributes of Allah are not created.

Sharh al ‘Aqeedah al-Waasitah by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/418-426-441

We must believe this and be certain of it. We should not change the meanings of the verses of Allah, for they clearly indicate that the Qur’aan is a revelation from Allah. Hence Imaam al Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The Qur’aan is the word of Allah which came from Him in the form of speech, without any need for us to know how. He sent it down to His Messenger by Revelation, the believers believe that it is true and they are certain that it is indeed the word of Allah and that it is not created like the words of human beings. Whoever hears it and claims that it is the words of human beings is a kaafir, who is condemned and warned of Hell, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

‘I will cast him into Hell fire’ [al Muddaththir 74:26].

Since Allah threatened with Hell the one who said, ‘This is nothing but the word of a human being’ [al Muddaththir 74:26 – interpretation of the meaning], we know and are certain that it is the word of the Creator of mankind, and it does not resemble the speech of human beings.” Sharh al‘Aqeedah al Tahhaawiyyah, 179

IslamQA

"I saw a man from among my Ummah.."

'Abdur Rahmaan ibn Sumurah said:

"The Messenger of Allah (salla Allaho 3alaihi wasallam) came out to us one day. He stood before us and said,

'Last night I saw something amazing. I saw a man from among my ummah to whom the Angel of Death came to seize his soul, but his honoring of his parents came and kept the Angel of Death away from him. I saw a man whose torment in the grave was about to come upon him, and his wudoo came and saved him from that. I saw a man from among my ummah whom the devils had seized, but his remembrance of Allah came and banished the devils from him. I saw a man from among my ummah whom the angels of torment had seized, but his prayer came and saved him from them. I saw a man from among my ummah tormented by thirst. Every time he approached the Cistern he was pushed back, then his Ramadan fasting came and gave him to drink and quenched his thirst. I saw a man from among my ummah, and I saw the prophets sitting in circles. Every time he approached a circle he was repulsed, then his doing ghusl to clean himself from janaabah came, took him by the hand and brought him to beside me. I saw a man from among my ummah in front of whom was darkness, behind him was darkness, to his right was darkness, to his left was darkness, above him was darkness and beneath him was darkness. He was stumbling in the darkness, then his Hajj and Umrah came and brought him out of the darkness into the light. I saw a man from among my ummah trying to protect himself with his hands from the flames and sparks of the Fire, then his sadaqah (charity) came and formed a barrier between him and the Fire, and shielded his head. I saw a man from among my ummah speaking to the believers but they did not speak to him. Then his uploading of family ties came and said, 'O' Muslims he used to upload ties of kinship, so speak to him.' Then the believers spoke to him and shook hands with him and he with them. I saw a man from among my ummah whom the guards of Hell had seized, then his enjoining of what was good and forbidding of what was evil came and saved him from them, and brought him to be with the angels of mercy. I saw a man from among my ummah kneeling down, with a screen between him and Allah. Then his good manners and attitude came and took him by the hand, brought him before Allah. I saw a man from among my ummah whose record of deeds had come to him from his left. But his fear of Allah came, took his record and placed it in his right hand. I saw a man from among my ummah whose balance was light, but his children who died in infancy came and made his balance heavy. I saw a man from among my ummah teetering at the edge of Hell, but his hope in Allah came and saved him from that, and he moved on. I saw a man from among my ummah who had been thrown into the Fire, then his tears that he had wept for fear of Allah came and saved him from that. I saw a man from among my ummah standing on the siraat (bridge over Hell), trembling like a leaf in a violent wind. Then his positive thinking of Allah came and made him steady and enabled him to cross. I saw a man from among my ummah crawling across the siraat, sometimes on his stomach and sometimes on all fours, clinging on. Then his sending blessings upon me came and made him stand on his feet, and saved him. I saw a man from among my ummah who had reached the gates of paradise, but the gates were locked and he was shut out. Then his testimony that there is no god except Allah came and opened the gates for him, and admitted him to Paradise."

This is narrated by Al Haafiz Abu Moosa al Madeeni in Al Targeeb fi'l khisaal al munjiyah wa'l Tarheeb min al Khilaal al Murdiyah. His book is based on this hadith, on which it is a commentary. He said, this hadith is hasan jiddan, and it is narrated from Sa'eed ibn al Musayyid by 'Amr ibn Aazar and 'Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jad'aan and Hilaal Abu Jablah.