In the Name of Allah,
All praise is due to Allah, the one who accepts the Salah
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Say, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call - to Him belong the best names." And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way. (Quran 17:110)
Last night I was attending the tafseer, and witnessed a smack down of other madhaib with passive aggressive tone. Imam was doing tafseer for the above verse, and after giving the authentic tafseer, he went on a rant that was very hurtful, and divisive. I stayed quite, as I have promised one of the person there that I will not disrupt the class. So, I would like to bring the truth forward and shatter the attacks against the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH).
First, let me share what he said. In the second part of the verse above, Allah gives an order to use an intermediate level voice when praying Salah. Imam first said that whoever says Ameen aloud is correct, and whoever doesn't also correct, but in the same breath he said that you don't have to shout Ameen aloud. Well, if you accept the difference of opinion, then why disrespect them with this comment. He went on to repeating and mocking the loudness of the Ameen in the Salah from the other group. I could see the anger in his eyes, and saw the passive aggressive fire behind the remarks. It is certainly not befitting an Imam to attack other opinions like that.
So, lets look at the Tafsir ibn kathir (the most authentic of them all).
(And offer your Salah neither aloud nor in a low voice,) Ibn `Abbas said: "When he prayed with his Companions, he would recite Qur'an loudly, and when the idolators heard that, they insulted the Qur'an, and the One Who had revealed it and the one who had brought it.
(but follow a way between. )'' This was also reported in the Two Sahihs. Ad-Dahhak also narrated something similar from Ibn `Abbas, and added: "When he migrated to Al-Madinah, this no longer applied, and he recited as he wished.''
(but follow a way between. )'' This was the view of `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Qatadah that this Ayah was revealed concerning recitation in prayer. It was narrated from Ibn Mas`ud: "Do not make it so soft that no one can hear it except yourself.''
First, the verse prohibits reciting in Salah silently, so this Imam should start saying Ameen in audible sound, if he is applying this verse to saying Ameen (violation of fiqh rule). Second, this order was abrogated, after hijra, as it was no danger in saying Salah loud (abrogation rule of fiqh). Third, there are authentic ahadith where the Prophet (PBUH) ordered us to say Ameen, and in other ahadith the masjid ranged with the sound of Ameen (meaning it was very loud and together) (rule of takhsees).
Following are sahih.
"Pray as you have seen me praying, and when it is the time of prayer, one of you should pronounce the call (Adhan) for the prayer and the eldest of you should lead the prayer.
(Bukhari 9:91:352)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "When the Imam says: 'Ghair-il-Maghdubi 'Alaihim Walad-Dallin (i.e. not the path of those who earn Your Anger, nor the path of those who went astray (1.7)), then you must say, 'Ameen', for if one's utterance of 'Ameen' coincides with that of the angels, then his past sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari 60:6:2)
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab and Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman told him from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the imam says 'Amin', say 'Amin', for the one whose 'Amin' coincides with the 'Amin' of the angels - his previous wrong actions are forgiven him."
Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say 'Aameen' (extending it)." (Muwatta 3.12.47)
Following are ahsan
Reported Nafa', "Ibn 'Umar did not encourage the people to say it aloud, nor did he discourage them. I have heard him report that." Reporting on this same subject, Abu Hurairah said, "When the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, would recite, '...Not with those with whom You are displeased and not of those who have gone astray,' he would say, 'ameen such that those close to him could hear him." (Related by Abu Dawud.) Ibn Majah's version is, "Until the people in the first row would hear him, and the mosque would ring with the sound." Al-Hakim also relates this hadith, and says that it is sahih according to the criterion of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Baihaqi calls it hassan sahih. Ad-Daraqutni considers it as hassan.
The Jews do not envy you over anything as much as they envy you over the salutation and aameen [behind the imaam] (al-Bukhaaree in al-Adab al-Mufrad, Ibn Maajah, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ahmad and Siraaj with two saheeh isnaads)
So, it is clear that saying Ameen is the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), and all scholars agree on this fact. Scholars disagree on saying it in audible sound, but saying it in audible voice is proven from the authentic ahadith. Scholars diagree on the isnaad of the ahaidth, but saying it in a loud voice is supported by ahadith that are "ahsan".
Twisting the meaning of the Quran to fit our desire is a great sin, and I urge them to stop this, as this was the second time. If they truly believe that this verse is addressing saying Ameen in the Salah, then the Imam should follow the order and say it in soft but audible sound. If the Imam say it in the audible sound, I will certainly lower my sound to match the Imam, but until then the truth stands that saying Ameen in a loud voice is not prohibited, rather a tradition of the Prophet (PBUH) and the companions.
And Allah knows best.
JazakAllah Khairin
A follower of Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH)
AbuArman Jumani
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Come to Islam! Come to ease!
In the Name of Allah,
All praise is due to Allah, who made life easy for us.
"Ta Ha. We did not send down the Qur'an to you to make you miserable," ( Quran 20:1)
"Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you." (Quran 2:184)
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The deen is easy. Anyone who makes the deen too hard on himself will find it becomes too much for him. So aim for what is right, follow a middle path, accept the good news of the reward for right action, and seek help [to reach your goal by being constant in worshipping] in the morning, evening and some of the night."[al-Bukhari]
"God desires to lighten things for you, for the human being has been created weak" (Quran 94:28).
A few nights ago, I went to Masjid, and arrived late, and missed the jamat. It is the worst feeling in the world when I miss the jamat. I was about to start on my own when a brother came up and asked if we can make jamat. I was very happy, and we lined up. I asked him to lead and insisted, but he wrestled me into leading it. As we finish, he turns around and tells me that I didn't read the surahs in the rakat as they are in the Quran. I know that he meant sincerely, so I told him that I will look it up. When I did look it up, there is no hadith regarding this, but there are some opinions saying that it is "Makrooh" to do what I did. However, there is no evidence for them to support this either, and this purely a superstitous belief, I think. If any of you know the evidence, please do share.
Makrooh means something that is not liked. Now, what is the place for Makrooh in the Fiqh. We can hardly follow the Halal and Haram today, and they want us to keep track of Makrooh, and Mubah, and others. So, the first act for compiling the common fiqh is to sort out these labels. Students of knowledge can use 1500 categories if they like to sort out the evidences, but when it comes to giving a ruling on an issue, following are the categories I propose.
- Fardh (Obligation)
- Haram (anything that is explicity prohibited)
When people came to the Prophet (PBUH) with an issue, the answers were not given in complicated terms, but in very simple yes, no, or silence (which also meant yes). I am going to use the term "Believer" from now on, and stop using the term "Muslim", as Islamic sharia does not address Muslims , but it uses "Believers". So, believers should not be concerned about something that is liked or disliked by the scholar, rather what action will take them to Jannah. There are only two things that are important for us. One is to know what are the obligations upon us, so we don't disobey Allah. Second is to know what are the prohibitions, so we can avoid them. Now, we still should learn all the good acts that can help us become a better person, or that which are Makrooh, but they are not necessary. They can be taught in improving the character scope.
So, lets examine everything moving forward using these categories, and leave the rest to the scholars of four or five madhaib (or whatever the count is nowadays), which I am sure will keep them busy. If you need to buy a home, you should ask if there are any obligations that I would neglect because of this purchase, then you should ask what is prohibited for me during buying the house. If these two are taken care of, there is no scholar in the world, who tell you that you are not fulfilling the rights of a believer, if Allah wills.
I am sure many of you have come across people who are eager to talk to you about a certain ingredient that has been ruled haram, and to tell you to stop eating it. Well, I have, and I feel really sad when they tell me that, because it brings us closer to Jews, as they are champion of this sort of thing.
Once I was standing outside the masjid, and someone just stop by and told me that I shouldn't eat bagel, because there is something being used which may not be pure. I didn't know what to say, and didn't want to argue, so I thanked him and said farewell. In fact, when I tell some to take loans from Islamic financing, they will say oh it is not 100% halal, and there is a doubt, so they would rather stay with Bank of America. A What! You would rather commit sin for sure then follow what is concluded to be not Haram by some students of knowledge. Yes, it is better to leave what is doubtful, and to rent, but I am talking about people taking direct loans instead of going to a company like Ijara.com. Allah did not define all business transaction, because they change as time passes, and we should allow the basic guiding principal to dictate Haram, and just follow the conclusions with confidence, or avoid the transactions altogether.
Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addressed us and said, 'O people. Allah has made the hajj obligatory for you, so go on hajj.' A man said, 'Every year, Messenger of Allah?' He was silent until the man had said it three times. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then said, 'If I said yes, it would become obligatory and you would be unable to do it.' Then he said, 'Let me be when I refrain from mentioning something to you. Those before you were destroyed by the quantity of their questions and their disagreement with their Prophets. When I command you to do something, then do it as much as you can. When I forbid you to do something, then leave off doing it.'" [Muslim]
See, Islam was intentionally left open ended on certain issues, so it is not too strict on us. For example, one person wanted to know from the Prophet (PBUH) if Hajj is compulsary every year, but he ignored him. Finally, he answered and told him that if he says yes then it will become obligation every year which will be very difficult, so leave him alone on the things that he did not explain intentionally.
What we learn from it is that we don't need to go into too much details trying to find prohibition, and accept what has been told to us as permitted, unless it goes against Quran and Sunnah that we can easily see. If we go to a restaurant, and the person says that it is Zabiha, we just have to take his word and eat, and there is no need to go inside the office and demand the receipt for meat. This was the method of Sahaba (RA), and it is the correct path. 0.01 % pork entering your body will not harm you if your intention was to avoid pork in general.
Interestingly, there are books published in USA declaring products Haram, and sometimes it is so ridiculous that all you can do is laugh. Mostly, this is created by career Imams who went to school and want to become imprtant. They will declare that women can not work unless there is a financial need. Why is that? If the husband allows it, then there is no prohibition.
Anyways, we should make life easy for ourselves, but I see people making it difficult for themselves. I say to them Come to Islam! Come to Ease!
JazakAllah Kharirin
A simple person
AbuArman Jumani
All praise is due to Allah, who made life easy for us.
"Ta Ha. We did not send down the Qur'an to you to make you miserable," ( Quran 20:1)
"Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you." (Quran 2:184)
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The deen is easy. Anyone who makes the deen too hard on himself will find it becomes too much for him. So aim for what is right, follow a middle path, accept the good news of the reward for right action, and seek help [to reach your goal by being constant in worshipping] in the morning, evening and some of the night."[al-Bukhari]
"God desires to lighten things for you, for the human being has been created weak" (Quran 94:28).
A few nights ago, I went to Masjid, and arrived late, and missed the jamat. It is the worst feeling in the world when I miss the jamat. I was about to start on my own when a brother came up and asked if we can make jamat. I was very happy, and we lined up. I asked him to lead and insisted, but he wrestled me into leading it. As we finish, he turns around and tells me that I didn't read the surahs in the rakat as they are in the Quran. I know that he meant sincerely, so I told him that I will look it up. When I did look it up, there is no hadith regarding this, but there are some opinions saying that it is "Makrooh" to do what I did. However, there is no evidence for them to support this either, and this purely a superstitous belief, I think. If any of you know the evidence, please do share.
Makrooh means something that is not liked. Now, what is the place for Makrooh in the Fiqh. We can hardly follow the Halal and Haram today, and they want us to keep track of Makrooh, and Mubah, and others. So, the first act for compiling the common fiqh is to sort out these labels. Students of knowledge can use 1500 categories if they like to sort out the evidences, but when it comes to giving a ruling on an issue, following are the categories I propose.
- Fardh (Obligation)
- Haram (anything that is explicity prohibited)
When people came to the Prophet (PBUH) with an issue, the answers were not given in complicated terms, but in very simple yes, no, or silence (which also meant yes). I am going to use the term "Believer" from now on, and stop using the term "Muslim", as Islamic sharia does not address Muslims , but it uses "Believers". So, believers should not be concerned about something that is liked or disliked by the scholar, rather what action will take them to Jannah. There are only two things that are important for us. One is to know what are the obligations upon us, so we don't disobey Allah. Second is to know what are the prohibitions, so we can avoid them. Now, we still should learn all the good acts that can help us become a better person, or that which are Makrooh, but they are not necessary. They can be taught in improving the character scope.
So, lets examine everything moving forward using these categories, and leave the rest to the scholars of four or five madhaib (or whatever the count is nowadays), which I am sure will keep them busy. If you need to buy a home, you should ask if there are any obligations that I would neglect because of this purchase, then you should ask what is prohibited for me during buying the house. If these two are taken care of, there is no scholar in the world, who tell you that you are not fulfilling the rights of a believer, if Allah wills.
I am sure many of you have come across people who are eager to talk to you about a certain ingredient that has been ruled haram, and to tell you to stop eating it. Well, I have, and I feel really sad when they tell me that, because it brings us closer to Jews, as they are champion of this sort of thing.
Once I was standing outside the masjid, and someone just stop by and told me that I shouldn't eat bagel, because there is something being used which may not be pure. I didn't know what to say, and didn't want to argue, so I thanked him and said farewell. In fact, when I tell some to take loans from Islamic financing, they will say oh it is not 100% halal, and there is a doubt, so they would rather stay with Bank of America. A What! You would rather commit sin for sure then follow what is concluded to be not Haram by some students of knowledge. Yes, it is better to leave what is doubtful, and to rent, but I am talking about people taking direct loans instead of going to a company like Ijara.com. Allah did not define all business transaction, because they change as time passes, and we should allow the basic guiding principal to dictate Haram, and just follow the conclusions with confidence, or avoid the transactions altogether.
Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addressed us and said, 'O people. Allah has made the hajj obligatory for you, so go on hajj.' A man said, 'Every year, Messenger of Allah?' He was silent until the man had said it three times. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then said, 'If I said yes, it would become obligatory and you would be unable to do it.' Then he said, 'Let me be when I refrain from mentioning something to you. Those before you were destroyed by the quantity of their questions and their disagreement with their Prophets. When I command you to do something, then do it as much as you can. When I forbid you to do something, then leave off doing it.'" [Muslim]
See, Islam was intentionally left open ended on certain issues, so it is not too strict on us. For example, one person wanted to know from the Prophet (PBUH) if Hajj is compulsary every year, but he ignored him. Finally, he answered and told him that if he says yes then it will become obligation every year which will be very difficult, so leave him alone on the things that he did not explain intentionally.
What we learn from it is that we don't need to go into too much details trying to find prohibition, and accept what has been told to us as permitted, unless it goes against Quran and Sunnah that we can easily see. If we go to a restaurant, and the person says that it is Zabiha, we just have to take his word and eat, and there is no need to go inside the office and demand the receipt for meat. This was the method of Sahaba (RA), and it is the correct path. 0.01 % pork entering your body will not harm you if your intention was to avoid pork in general.
Interestingly, there are books published in USA declaring products Haram, and sometimes it is so ridiculous that all you can do is laugh. Mostly, this is created by career Imams who went to school and want to become imprtant. They will declare that women can not work unless there is a financial need. Why is that? If the husband allows it, then there is no prohibition.
Anyways, we should make life easy for ourselves, but I see people making it difficult for themselves. I say to them Come to Islam! Come to Ease!
JazakAllah Kharirin
A simple person
AbuArman Jumani
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