The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 10

The Coming  of  The  Archangel Gabriel

Muhammad  (pbuh)  believed  that  there  was  only  one  Allah,  Creator  of the  sun,  the  moon,  the  earth,  the  sky,  and  of  all  living  things,  and  that  all people  should  worship  only  Him.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  would  often  leave the  crowded  city  and  go  to  the  cave  in  Mount  Hira'.  He  liked  to  be  alone there,  away  from  all  thoughts  of  the  world  and  daily  life,  eating  and drinking  little.  In  his  fortieth  year,  Muhammad  (pbuh)  left  Mecca  to spend  Ramadan,  the  traditional  month  of  retreat,  in  the  cave.  In  the second  half  of  Ramadan,  Allah  began  to  reveal  His  message  for  mankind through  Muhammad  (pbuh).  This  first  Revelation  occurred  as  follows. The  Archangel  Gabriel  came  to  Muhammad  (pbuh)  in  the  cave  and commanded  him  to  'Read'.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  replied  'I  cannot  read.'  At this  the  Archangel  took  Muhammad  (pbuh)  in  his  arms  and  pressed  him to  him  until  it  was  almost  too  much  to  bear.  He  then  released  him  and said  again  'Read.'  'I  cannot',  replied  Muhammad  (pbuh),  at  which  the Archangel  embraced  him  again.  For  the  third  time  the  Archangel commanded  Muhammad  (pbuh)  to  read,  but  still  he  said  he  could  not  and was  again  embraced.  On  releasing  him  this  time,  however,  the  Archangel Gabriel said:   “Read:  In  the  Name  of  thy  Lord  who  createth,  Createth  man  from  a clot.  Read:  And  thy  Lord  is  the  Most  Generous  Who  teacheth  by  the  pen, Teacheth  man  that  which  he  knew  not.  (Qur'an  96.1-5)  Muhammad (pbuh)  repeated  these  verses,  just  as  the  Archangel  had  said  them.  When the  Archangel  was  sure  Muhammad  (pbuh)  knew  them  by  heart,  he  we away.  Now  that  he  was  alone  Muhammad  (pbuh)  could  not  understand what  had  happened  to  him.  He  was  terribly  afraid  and  rushed  out  of  the cave.  Perhaps  the  cave  was  haunted?  Perhaps  the  devil  had  taken  a  hold of  his  mind?  But  he  was  stopped  by  a  voice  from  heaven  which  said;  '0 Muhammad  (pbuh)  you  are  the  Messenger  of  Allah,  and  I  am  Gabriel.' He  looked  up  at  the  sky  and  wherever  he  turned  he  saw  the  Archangel Gabriel.  In  a  state  of  confusion  he  returned  home  to  Khadijah.  When  his  wife saw  him  she  became  very  worried  as  he  began  to  shiver,  as  though  in  a fever.  He  asked  her  to  wrap  him  in  blankets,  which  she  did.  After  a  while he  recovered  sufficiently  to  tell  her  what  had  happened  at  Hira'.  Khadijah believed  all  that  he  told  her  and  with  great  respect  said:  'Be  happy,  0  son of  my  uncle  and  be  confident.  Truly  I  swear  by  Allah  who  has  my  soul  in His  hands,  that  you  will  be  our  people's  Prophet.'  Muhammad  (pbuh),  the Messenger  of  Allah,  was  eased  by  her  faith  in  him,  but  after  all  that  had happened he was exhausted and felt fast asleep.  
Khadijah  left  the  Prophet  (pbuh)  sleeping  and  went  to  see  her  cousin, Waraqah  Ibn  Nawfal,  to  ask  him  what  he  thought  about  all  that  had happened.  Waraqah  was  a  very  wise  man  who  had  read  many  books  and had  become  a  Christian  after  studying  the  Bible.  He  told  Khadijah  that Muhammad  (pbuh)  had  been  chosen  by  Allah  to  be  His  Messenger.  Just as  the  Archangel  Gabriel  had  come  to  Moses  before  and  had  ordered  him to  guide  his  people,  so,  too,  would  Muhammad  (pbuh)  be  the  Prophet  of his people.  But Waraqah warned  that all the people would not  listen to  the Prophet  and  some  would  mistreat  his  followers.  He  must,  however,  be patient  because  he  had  a  great  message  for  all  the  world.  From  that  day on,  the  Archangel  Gabriel  came  often  to  the  Prophet  (pbuh)  and  the verses  he  taught  him,  the  message  from  Allah  to  man,  were  later  written down, and are known to  us as the  Holy  Qur'an.

Masjid Ra’yah

Majid Ra’yah (masjid of the flag) is located on the spot where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had his flag planted when he conquered Makkah. It is also known as Masjid Jowdariyyah.

(more to follow)

References:  The History of Makkah Mukarramah – Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 9

The Prophet's  Marriage

By  the  time  Muhammad  (pbuh)  was  twenty-five  he  was  famous  for  his honesty.  He  was  respected  by  everyone,  even  the  elders  of  Mecca.  The purity  of  his  nature  increased  with  the  years.  It  seemed  he  had  an  inner knowledge  that  other  people  did  not  have.  He  believed  in  one  GodCreator  of  the  world-and  he  worshipped  Him  with  all  his  heart  and  with all  his  soul.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  was  the  finest  of  his  people,  the  most kind,  truthful  and  reliable  person  in  Mecca.  He  was  known  among Quraysh  as  'the  trustworthy'  (al-Amin)  because  of  the  good  qualities Allah  had  given  him.  He  spent  many  quiet  hours  in  a  cave  in  Mount  Hira, not  far  from  Mecca,  thinking  about  Allah.  Among  Quraysh  was  a respected  and  wealthy  woman  named  Khadijah.  She  was  involved  in trade  and  on  hearing  of  Mohammed‟s  reputation,  sent  for  him  and  asked him  to  take  her  goods  and  trade  with  them  in  Syria.  Muhammad  (pbuh) agreed  and  left  for  Syria  with  one  of  Khadijah's  caravans.  With  him  went her  slave,  Maysarah,  and  they  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  talking  together. Maysarah  soon  came  to  admire  Muhammad  (pbuh).  He  thought  he  was quite different from  all the other  men of Quraysh.   Two  unusual  events  took  place  during  this  journey  which  puzzled Maysarah  very  much.  The  first  happened  when  they  stopped  to  rest  near the  lonely  home  of  a  monk.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  sat  under  a  tree  while Maysarah  was  busy  with  some  work.  The  monk  came  up  to  Maysarah and  asked,  'Who  is  the  man  resting  under  the  tree?'  'One  of  Quraysh,  the people  who  guard  the  Ka‟bah',  said  Maysarah.  'No  one  but  a  Prophet  is sitting  beneath  this  tree',  replied  the  monk.  The  second  event  occurred  on the  journey  back  to  Mecca.  It  happened  at  noon,  when  the  sun  is  at  its hottest.  Maysarah  was  riding  behind  Muhammad  (pbuh)  and  as  the  sun grew  hotter  he  saw  two  angels  appear  above  Muhammad  (pbuh)  and shield  him  from  the  sun's  harmful  rays.  The  trading  was  very  successful and  Muhammad  (pbuh)  made  more  profit  for  Khadijah  than  she  had  ever received before.   When  they  arrived  back  in  Mecca  Maysarah  told  Khadijah  everything about  the  trip  and  what  he  had  noticed  about  Mohammed‟s  character  and behavior.   Khadijah  was  a  widow  in  her  forties  and  as  well  as  being  rich  and highly  respected she was also  very  beautiful.   Many  men  wanted  to  marry  her  but  none  of  them  suited  her.  When she  met  Muhammad  (pbuh),  however,  she  thought  he  was  very  special. She  sent  a  friend  to  ask  Muhammad  (pbuh)  why  he  was  not  married. Muhammad  (pbuh)  said  that  it  was  because  he  had  no  money,  to  which the  friend  replied:  'Supposing  a  rich,  beautiful  and  noble  lady  agreed  to marry  you?'  Muhammad  (pbuh)  wanted  to  know  who  that  could  be.  The friend  told  him  it  was  Khadijah.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  was  very  happy, because  he  greatly  respected  Khadijah.  He  went  with  his  uncles,  Abu Talib  and  Hamzah,  to  Khadijah's  uncle,  and  asked  his  permission  to marry  her.  The  uncle  gave  his  permission  and  soon  after,  Muhammad (pbuh)  and  Khadijah  were  married.   Their  marriage  was  a  joyful  one  and  Muhammad  (pbuh)  and  Khadijah were  well  suited.  Their  life  together,  however,  was  not  without  some sadness.  They  were  blessed  with  six  children,  two  sons  and  four daughters.  Sadly  their  first  born,  a  son  called  Qasim,  died  shortly  before his  second  birthday,  and  their  last  child,  also  a  son,  only  lived  for  a  short time.  Happily,  their  four  daughters-Zaynab,  Ruqayyah,  Umm  Kulthum, and Fatimah-all survived.   For  a  few  years  Muhammad  (pbuh)  lived  a  calm  and  quiet  life  as  a merchant  in  Mecca.  His  wisdom  benefited  many  people.  One  such  time was  when  Quraysh  decided  to  rebuild  the  Ka‟bah.  It  was  a  difficult decision  for  them  because  they  had  to  knock  it  down  before  rebuilding  it and  the  people  were  afraid  that  Allah  might  be  angry  with  them  for knocking  down  His  sanctuary.  At  last  one  of  the wise old  men  of  Quraysh decided  to  begin,  then  everybody  followed  him.  They  worked  until  they reached  down  to  the  first  foundation  that  Abraham  had  built.  As  soon  as they  began to  remove  the stones  of  this foundation, however,  the whole of Mecca began to shake.   They  were  so  afraid  that  they  decided  to  leave  these  stones  where  they were  and  build  on  top  of  them.  Each  tribe  brought  stones  and  they  built the  Ka'bah  up  until  they  reached  the  place  where  the  black  stone  was  to be  set.  They  then  began  to  argue  about  who  should  have  the  honor  of carrying  the  black  stone  and  lifting  it  to  its  place  in  one  of  the  corners  of the Ka'bah. They  almost  came  to  blows  but  fortunately  one  of  the  men  offered  a solution.  He  suggested  that  they  should  be  guided  by  the  first  person  to enter  the  place  of  worship.  They  all  agreed  and  as  Muhammad  (pbuh) was  the  first  to  enter  everyone  was  pleased,  because  they  all  trusted  him. They  told  him  the  cause  of  the  argument  and  he  asked  them  to  bring  a large  cloak.  They  did  as  he  asked,  and  after  spreading  the  cloak  on  the ground  he  placed  the  black  stone  in  the  centre  of  it.  Then  he  asked  a  man from  each  tribe  to hold  one edge of  the  cloak  and together to  raise it to the height  where  the  stone  should  be  see.  When  this  was  done,  he  took  the stone  off  the  cloak  and  put  it  into  place  himself.  This  story  shows  how  all Quraysh  respected  and  trusted  Muhammad  (pbuh)  and  how,  by  his wisdom  and good sense,  he  was  able to keep  the peace.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 8

The Orphan's  Childhood

Muhammad  (pbuh)  returned  to  live  with  his  mother  in  Mecca  when  he was  about  three  years  old.  Three  years  later  Aminah  decided  to  take  her son  to  visit  his  uncles  in  Yathrib.  She  told  her  maid,  Barakah,  to  prepare everything  they  would  need  for  the  long  journey,  and  then  they  joined one  of  the  caravans  going  there.  They  stayed  in  Yathrib  a  month  and Muhammad  (pbuh)  enjoyed  the  visit  with  his  cousins.  The  climate  there was  very  pleasant  and  he  learned  to  swim  and  to  fly  a  kite.  On  their  way back  to  Mecca,  however,  Aminah  became  ill  and  died.  She  was  buried  in the  village  at  al-Abwa  not  far  from  Yathrib.  Muhammad  (pbuh)  returned sadly  to  Mecca  with  his  mother's  maid  He  was  now  six  years  old  and  had lost  both  his  father  and  mother.  He  was  then  adopted  by  his  grandfather, „Abd  al-Muttalib,  who  loved  him  dearly  and  kept  him  by  his  side  at  all times.  It  was  the  custom  of  'Abd  al-Muttalib  to  sit  on  a  blanket  near  the Ka‟bah.  There  he  was  always  surrounded  by  people  who  had  come  to speak  to  him.  No  one  was  allowed  to  sit  on  the  blanket  with  him, however,  except  his  grandson  Muhammad  (pbuh),  which  shows  how close  they  were  to  each  other.  Many  times  'Abd  al-Muttalib  was  heard  to say: 'This boy will  be  very  important one day.'   Two  years  later  'Abd  al-Muttalib  became  ill  and  Muhammad  (pbuh) stayed  by  him  constantly.  'Abd  al-Muttalib  told  his  son,  Abu  Talib,  to adopt  Muhammad  (pbuh)  after  his  death,  which  he  did.  Abu  Talib  had many  children  of  his  own,  but  Muhammad  (pbuh)  immediately  became part  of  his  family  and  the  favorite  child.  The  time  came  for  Quraysh  to prepare  a  caravan  to  go  to  Syria.  Abu  Talib  was  going  with  them  and  he took  Muhammad  (pbuh)  along.  It  was  Mohammed‟s  first  journey  to  the north. After days  of  travel,  the  caravan  arrived  at a  place near  Syria  where the  Romans  used  to  come  to  trade  with  the  Arabs.  Near  this  marketplace lived  a  monk  called  Bahira‟.  His  cell  had  been  used  by  generations  of monks  before  him and contained ancient  manuscripts.   Bahira'  saw  the  caravan  in  the  distance  and  was  amazed  to  see  that over  it  was  a  large  white  cloud.  It  was  the  only  cloud  in  a  clear  blue  sky and  it  appeared  to  be  shading  one  of  the  travelers.  The  monk  was  even more  surprised  to  see  that  the  cloud  seemed  to  follow  the  caravan  but disappeared  when  the  person  it  was  shading  sat  down  under  a  tree. Bahira‟  knew  from  the  scriptures  that  a  prophet  was  expected  to  come after  Jesus  and  it  had  been  his  wish  to  see  this  prophet  before  he  died. Realizing  that  what  he  had  just  seen  was  a  miracle,  he  began  to  think  that his wish  might, after all, come  true.  
The  monk  sent  an  invitation  to  the  Meccans  to  come  and  eat  with  him. The  Arabs  were  surprised  because  they  often  passed  by  and  Bahira‟  had never  invited  them  before.  When  the  group  was  all  together  for  the  meal, the  monk  said,  'Is  this  everyone?‟  'No',  someone  said,  'a  boy  was  left watching  the  camels.'  Bahira‟  insisted  that  the  boy  should  join  them.  The boy  was  Muhammad  (pbuh).  When  he  arrived  Bahira‟  said  nothing,  but watched  him  all  through  the  meal.  He  noticed  many  things  about  his appearance  which  fitted  the  description  in  the  old  manuscripts.  Later  on he  took  him  aside  and  asked  Muhammad  (pbuh)  many  questions.  He  soon found  out  how  he  felt  about  the  idols  in  the  Ka'bah.  When  Bahira  tried  to make  him  swear  by  them,  as  the  Arabs  used  to  do,  Muhammad  (pbuh) said,  'There is  nothing  in this  world that I hate  more'.  They  talked  together about  Allah  and  about  Mohammed‟s  life  and  family.  What  was  said  made Bahira  certain that this  was indeed the Prophet who  would follow Jesus.   Then  the  monk  went  to  Abu  Talib  and  asked  him  how  he  was  related to  Muhammad  (pbuh).  Abu  Talib  told  him  that  Muhammad  (pbuh)  was his  son.  Bahira  replied  that  this  could  not  be  so  because  the  boy  was destined  to  grow  up  an  orphan,  and  he  ordered  Abu  Talib  to  watch  over Muhammad  (pbuh)  with  great  care.  There  are  many  stories  told  about Mohammed‟s  youth.  Some  tell  of  how  he  used  to  take  the  family's  sheep to  graze  and  was  always  kind  to  them.  While  they  grazed  he  would  sit thinking  about  the  mysteries  of  nature.  Unlike  those  around  him1  he never worshipped the idols and never swore by  them.   He  also  wondered  why  people  were  always  struggling  for  power  and money,  and  this  saddened  him  and  made  him  feel  lonely,  but  he  kept  his feelings  to  himself.  He  was  a  quiet,  thoughtful  boy,  and  rarely  played with  other  boys  of  his  age.  On  one  occasion,  however,  Muhammad (pbuh)  went  with  some  of  the  boys  to  a  wedding  in  Mecca.  When  he reached the house  he  heard the  sounds  of music  and  dancing but  just as he was  about  to  enter  he  suddenly  felt  tired  and,  sitting  down,  fell  asleep.  He didn't  wake  up  until  late  the  next  morning  and  thus  missed  the celebrations.  In  this  way  Allah  prevented  him  from  doing  anything foolish  for  He  was  keeping  Muhammad  (pbuh)  for  something  much  more important

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 7

A Time With  Halimah

Like many other women in  Mecca, Aminah decided  to send  her son away from  the  city  for  his  early  years  to  the  desert  where  it  was  more  healthy. Women  from  the  desert  used  to  come  to  Mecca  to  collect  the  new  babies and  they  would  then  keep  them  until  they  developed  into  strong  children, for which they were well paid by the parents.  Among  the  women  who  traveled  to  Mecca  to  fetch  a  new  baby  at  the time  Aminah's  son  was  born,  was  a  Bedouin  woman  called  Halimah. With  her  was  her  husband  and  baby  son.  They  had  always  been  very  poor but  this  year  things  were  harder  than  ever  because  there  had  been  famine. The donkey  that earned  Halimah  on  the  journey  was so  weak  from  hunger that he often  stumbled. Halimah's  own  baby  son  cried  all  the time  because his  mother  could  not feed  him  properly.  Even  their  she-camel  did  not  give them  one  drop  of  milk.  Halimah  did  not  know  what  to  do.  She  thought  to herself,  'How  can  I  possibly  feed  another  baby  when  I  haven't  got  enough milk  even  for my own son?'   At  last  they  reached  Mecca.  All  the  other  women  of  the  tribe  to  which Halimah  belonged,  the  Bani  Sa'd,  found  a  child  to  take  back  with  them, but  not  Halimah.  The  only  baby  left  was  Muhammad  (pbuh).  Usually  the father  paid  the  wet-nurse  but  Mohammed‟s  father  was  dead.  So  no  one wanted  to  take  him,  even  though  he  was  from  one  of  the  noblest  families of  Quraysh.  Halimah  did  not  want  to  take  him  either,  but  she  did  not  want to  be  the  only  woman  to  go  back  to  her  tribe  without  a  baby  to  bring  up. She  asked  her  husband  whether  she  should  take  Muhammad  (pbuh)  or not.  He  advised  her  to  do  so,  adding,  'Perhaps  Allah  will  bless  us  because of  him.'    They  started  on  the  return  journey  and  as  soon  as  Halimah  began to  feed  Muhammad  (pbuh)  her  milk  suddenly  increased  and  she  had enough  for  him  as  well  as  her  baby  son.  When  they  were  back  home, everything began to  change.   The  land  became  green,  and  the  date  trees,  one  of  their  main  sources of  food,  gave  lots  of  fruit.  Even  the  sheep  and  their  old  she-camel  began to  give  plenty  of  milk.   Halimah  and  her  husband  knew  that  this  good  fortune  had  come because  they  had  the  new  baby,  Muhammad  (pbuh),  whom  they  had come  to  love  as if he  were  their own  son.   When  Muhammad  (pbuh)  was  two  years  old,  Halimah  took  him  back to  his  mother.  She  pleaded  with  Aminah,  however,  to  let  her  keep  him  for a  little  longer,  and  to  her  great  joy  the  mother  agreed.  During  his  time with  Halimah's  family  in  the  desert,  Muhammad  (pbuh)    played  with  her children  and  together  they  would  take  the  sheep  out  to  graze.  At  other times,  however,  Halimah  would  often  find  him  sitting  alone.  It  is  said  that on  one  occasion,  two  angels  came  to  Muhammad  (pbuh)  and  washed  his heart  with  snow.  In  this  way  Allah  made  his  heart  pure  for  He  intended Muhammad  (pbuh)  to  be  greater  than  any  man  ever  born  and  to  become the  Seal of  the Prophets.   In  the Name  of  Allah  the Beneficent, the Merciful   “Did  We  not  expand  thy  breast  for  thee  And  eased  thee  of  thy  burden Which  weighed  down  thy  back;  And  exalted  thy  fame?    So  truly  with hardship  comes  ease,  Truly  with  hardship  comes  ease.  So  when  thou  art relieved, still  toil And strive  to  please  thy  Lord. (Qur'an  94.1-8)   When  Halimah  finally  took  Muhammad  (pbuh)  back  to  Aminah,  he was  a  healthy,  strong  boy.  Later  he  would  look  back  with  joy  on  the  time he  had  spent  with  Halimah,  and  he  always  thought  of  himself  as  one  of the Bani Sa'd. 

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 6

The Prophet  Is Born

One  day,  while  travelling  north,  one  of  the  Arab  tribes  from  Mecca  met  a hermit  in  the  desert.  Some  of  the  men  stopped  to  speak  with  him.  Hermits were  known  to  be  wise  and  the  Arabs  often  asked  their  advice.  The hermit  asked  where  they  had  come  from.  When  they  replied  that  they were  from  Mecca,  he  told  them  that  Allah  would  soon  send  a  prophet, who  would  come  from  their  people.  They  asked  the  name  of  this  prophet and  the  hermit  answered  that  his  name  would  be  Muhammad  and  that  he would guide them to a new way of life.  Meanwhile  in  Mecca,  Aminah,  although  saddened  by  the  loss  of  her husband,  felt  especially  well  and  strong  as  she  awaited  the  birth  of  her baby. During  this  time she dreamt  of  many  things. On  one occasion  it  was as  if  a  great  light  were  shining  out  of  her,  and  on  another  she  heard  a voice  telling  her  that  she  would  have  a  boy  and  that  his  name  would  be Muhammad. She never forgot that voice but she  told no one about it.   On  Monday,  the  twelfth  day  of  Rabi  al-Awwal  in  the  Year  of  the Elephant,  Aminah  gave  birth  to  a  son.  Allah  sends  man  many  signs  when one  of  His  chosen  Prophets  is  born  and  on  that  twelfth  day  of  Rabi  alAwwal  in  the  year  570  A.D,  many  such  signs  were  seen.  Some  were  seen by  Jewish  scholars  who  had  read  in  their  scriptures  of  a  coming  Prophet. One  of  these  learned  men  in  Yathrib,  for  instance,  saw  a  brilliant  new  star he  had  never  seen  before  as  he  studied  the  heavens  that  night.  He  called the  people  around  him  and,  pointing  the  star  out  to  them,  told  them  a Prophet  must  have  been  born.  That  same  night  another  Jew  was  passing by  the  meeting  place  of  the  leaders  of  Quraysh  in  Mecca.  He  asked  them if  a  baby  boy  had  just  been  born  and  told  them  that  if  it  were  true,  this would  be the Prophet  of the  Arab nation.   Aminah  sent  news  of  the  birth  to  her  father-in-law,  'Abd  al-Muttalib,  who was  sitting  near  the  Ka'bah  at  the  time.  He  was  very  happy  and  began  at once  to  think  of  a  name  for  the  boy.  An  ordinary  name  would  not  do.  Six days  came  and  went  and  still  he  had  not  decided.  But  on  the  seventh  day, as  he  lay  asleep  near  the  Ka‟bah,  'Abd  al-Muttalib  dreamt  that  he  should give  the  baby  the  unusual  name  of  Muhammad,  just  as  Aminah  herself had  dreamt.  And  the  child  was  called  Muhammad  (pbuh),  which  means 'the  Praised  One'.  When  'Abd  al-Muttalib  told  the  leaders  of  Quraysh what  he  had  named  his  grandson,  many  of  them  asked,  'Why  did  you  not choose the sort of name that is used by our people?' At once he replied, 'I want him to be praised by Allah in the heavens and praised by men on earth.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 5

The Elephant Refuses To Move

Abrahah,  who  came  from  Abyssinia-a  country  in  Africa-conquered Yemen  and  was  made  vice-regent  there.  Later,  he  noticed  that  at  a  certain time  of  the  year  large  numbers  of  people  would  travel  from  all  over Yemen  and  the  rest  of  Arabia  to  Mecca.  He  asked  the  reason  for  this  and was  told  that  they  were  going  on  pilgrimage  to  the  Ka'bah.  Abrahah  hated the  idea  of  Mecca  being  more  important  than  his  own  country,  so  he decided  to  build  a  church  of  colored  marble,  with  doors  of  gold  and ornaments  of  silver,  and  ordered  the  people  to  visit  it  instead  of  the Ka'bah. But  no  one  obeyed him.   Abrahah  became  angry  and  decided  to  destroy  the  Kabah.  He prepared  a  large  army  led  by  an  elephant  and  set  off  towards  Mecca. When  the  Meccans  heard  that  he  was  coming  they  became  very frightened.  Abrahah's  army  was  huge  and  they  could  not  fight  it.  But  how could  they  let  him  destroy  the  Holy  Ka'bah?  They  went  to  ask  the  advice of  their  leader,  'Abd  al-Muttalib.    When  Abrahah  arrived  outside  Mecca, 'Abd  al-Muttalib  went  to  meet  him.  Abrahah  said,  'What  do  you  want?' Abrahah  had  taken  Abd  al-Muttalib's  camels,  which  he  had  found  grazing as  he  entered  Mecca,  so  „Abd  al-Muttalib  replied,  'I  want  my  camels back.'  Abrahah  was  very  surprised  and  said,  'I  have  come  to  destroy  your Holy  Ka‟bah,  the  holy  place  of  your  fathers,  and  you  ask  me  about  some camels?'  'Abd  al-Muttalib  replied  calmly,  „The  camels  belong  to  me;  the Ka‟bah  belongs  to  Allah  and  He  will  protect  it.'  Then  he  left  Abrahah  and went  back  to  Quraysh  and  ordered  them  to  leave  Mecca  and  wait  for  their enemies in  the  mountains.   In  the  morning  Abrahah  prepared  to  enter  the  town.  He  put  armor  on his  elephant  and  drew  up  his  troops  for  battle.  He  intended  to  destroy  the Ka'bah  and  then  return  to  Yemen.  At  that  moment,  however,  the  elephant knelt  down  and  refused  to  get  up,  no  matter  how  much  the  soldiers  tried to  get it to  move by beating it.   But  when  they  turned  its  face  in  the  direction  of  Yemen  it immediately  got  up  and  started  off.  In  fact,  it  did  the  same  in  any  other direction,  but  as  soon  as  they  pointed  it  towards  Mecca  it  knelt  down again.  Suddenly,  flocks  of  birds  appeared  from  over  the  sea.  Each  bird carried  three stones as  small  as peas  and  they  dropped  them  on  Abrahah's army.  The  soldiers  suddenly  fell  ill.  Even  Abrahah  was  hit  by  the  stones and  fled  in  fear  with  the  rest  of  his  army  back  to  Yemen,  where  he  later died.  On  seeing  their  enemy  flee  the  Arabs  came  down  from  the mountains to the Ka‟bah and gave thanks to Allah. 
After  this,  Quraysh  gained  great  respect  and  became  known  as  'the people  of  Allah',  and  the  year  in  which  these  events  took  place,  570A.D, was  named  the  'Year  of  the  Elephant'.  In  that  year  Allah  had  saved  the Ka'bah  and  he  would  soon  bring  forth  a  Prophet  from  among  Quraysh.  In the  Name  of  Allah,  the  Beneficent,  the  Merciful:  “Hast  thou  not  seen  how thy  Lord  dealt  with  the  owners  of  the  Elephant?  Did  He  not  bring  their stratagem  to  naught,  And  send  against  them  swarms  of  flying  creatures, Which  pelted  them  with  stones  of  baked  clay,  And  made  them  like  green crops devoured (by cattle)? (Qur'an 105.1-5)

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 4

The Promise At Zamzam

The  well  of  Zamzam,  which  disappeared  when  the  Arabs  placed  idols  at the  Ka'bah,  remained  buried  under  the  sand.  Thus,  for  many  years  the people  of  Quraysh  had  to  fetch  their  water  from  far  away.  One  day  'Abd al-Muttalib  was  very  tired  from  doing  this  and  fell  asleep  next  to  the Ka‟bah.  He  had  a  dream  in  which  he  was  told  to  dig  up  Zamzam.  When he  woke  up  he  was  puzzled  because  he  did  not  know  what  Zamzam  was, the well  having  disappeared  many  years  before  he  was born.  The next  day he had the same dream, but this time  he  was told  where  to  find the  well.   'Abd  al-Muttalib  had  one  son  at  that  time,  and  together  they  began  to dig.  The  work  was  so  difficult  that  „Abd  al-Muttalib  made  an  oath  to Allah  that  if  one  day  he  were  to  have  ten  sons  to  help  him  and  stand  by him,  in  return  he  would  sacrifice  one  of  them  in  Allah's  honor.  After working  for  three  days  they  finally  found  the  well  of  Zamzam.  Pilgrims have  been  drinking  from  it  ever  since.  The  years  passed  by  and  'Abd  alMuttalib  did  have  ten  sons.  They  grew  into  fine,  strong  men  and  the  time came  for  him  to  keep  his  promise  to  Allah.  He  told  his  sons  about  the promise  and  they  agreed  that  he  had  to  sacrifice  one  of  them  To  see which  one  it  would  be,  they  decided  to  draw  lots,  which  was  the  custom of  Quraysh  when  deciding  important  matters.  'Abd  al-Muttalib  told  each son  to  get  an  arrow  and  write  his  own  name  upon  it  and  then  to  bring  it  to him.  This  they  did,  after  which  he  took  them  to  the  Ka'bah  where  there was  a  man  whose  special  task  it  was  to  cast  arrows  and  pick  one  from among  them.  This  man  solemnly  proceeded  to  do  this.  On  the  arrow  he chose  was  written  the  name  of  'Abd  Allah,  the  youngest  and  favorite  son of  'Abd  al-Muttalib.  Even  so,  the  father  took  his  son  near  the  Ka'bah  and prepared to sacrifice him.  Many  of  the  Quraysh  leaders  were  present  and  they  became  very  angry because  'Abd  Allah  was  very  young  and  much  loved  by  everyone.  They tried  to  think  of  a  way  to  save  his  life.  Someone  suggested  that  the  advice of  a  wise  old  woman  who  lived  in  Yathrib  should  be  sought,  and  so  'Abd al-Muttalib  took  his  son  and  went  to  see  if  she  could  decide  what  to  do. Some of  the  Meccans  went  with  them  and  when  they  got  there the woman asked,  'What  is  the  price  of  a  man's  life?'    They  told  her,  'Ten  camels',  for at  that  time  if  one  man  killed  another,  his  family  would  have  to  give  ten camels  to  the  dead  man's  family  in  order  to  keep  the  peace  among  them. So  the  woman  told  them  to  go  back  to  the  Ka‟bah  and  draw  lots  between 'Abd  Allah  and  ten  camels.  If  the  camels  were  chosen,  they  were  to  be killed  and  the  meat  given  to  the  poor.  If  'Abd  Allah  was  picked  then  ten more  camels  were  to  be  added  and  the  lots  drawn  again  and  again  until they finally fell on the  camels.  
„Abd  al-Muttalib  returned  to  the  Ka‟bah  with  his  son  and  the  people of  Mecca.  There  they  started  to  draw  lots  between  „Abd  Allah  and  the camels,  starting  with  ten  camels.  „Abd  al-Muttalib  prayed  to  Allah  to spare his  son  and  everyone  waited in  silence  for  the  result.  The  choice  fell on  „Abd  Allah,  so  his  father  added  ten  more  camels.  Again  the  choice  fell on  „Abd  Allah,  so  they  did  the  same  thing  again  and  again,  adding  ten camels  each  time.  Finally  they  reached  one  hundred  camels,  and  only then  did  the  lot  fall  on  the  camels.  „Abd  Allah  was  saved  and  everyone was  very  happy.  'Abd  al-Muttalib  however,  wanted  to  make  sure  that  this was  the  true  result  so  he  repeated  the  draw  three  times  and  each  time  it fell  on  the  camels.  He  then  gave  thanks  to  Allah  that  He  had  spared  „Abd Allah's  life.  The  camels  were  sacrificed  and  there  was  enough  food  for the  entire  city,  even  the  animals  and  birds.  'Abd  Allah  grew  up  to  be  a handsome  young  man  and  his  father  eventually  chose  Aminah,  the daughter  of  Wahb,  as  a  wife  for  him.  It  was  a  good  match  for  she  was  the finest  of  Quraysh  women  and  'Abd  Allah  the  best  of  the  men.  He  spent several  months  with  his  wife  but  then  he  had  to  leave  her  and  travel  with one  of  the  caravans  to  trade  with  Syria.  On  his  way  back  to  Mecca  from Syria  'Abd  Allah  became  ill  and  had  to  stop  off  in  Yathrib  to  recover.  The caravan,  however,  continued  on  its  way  and  arrived  back  in  Mecca without  him.  On  hearing  of  'Abd  Allah's  illness,  „Abd  al-Muttalib  sent another  son,  al-Hareth,  to  bring  'Abd  Allah  back  to  Mecca,  but  he  was  too late.   When he arrived in  Yathrib  „Abd  Allah was dead. Aminah  was heartbroken to lose her husband and  the father  of  the child  she would soon give birth  to. Only Allah knew that this orphan child  would one  day be  a great Prophet.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 3

The Children  of  Ishmael

Over  the  years  Ishmael's  children  themselves  had  children.  His descendants  increased  and  formed  tribes  which  spread  out  all  over Arabia.  One  of  these  tribes  was  called  Quraysh.  Its  people  never  moved away  from  Mecca  and  always  lived  near  the  Ka'bah.  One  of  the  duties  of the  leader  of  Quraysh  was  to  look  after  those  who  came  on  pilgrimage  to the  Ka'bah.  The,  pilgrims  would  come  from  all  over  Arabia  and  it  was  a great honor to provide them with food and water.  As  time  passed,  however,  the  Arabs  stopped  worshipping  Allah directly  and  started  bringing  idols  back  with  them  from  the  different countries  they  visited.  These  idols  were  placed  at  the  Ka'bah,  which  was no  longer  regarded  as the  Sanctuary  of  Allah,  as Abraham  had  intended  it. It  was,  however,  still  respected  by  the  Arabs.  Around  this  time  the  well  of Zamzam  disappeared  beneath  the  sand.  Also  at  this  time,  Qusayy,  one  of the  leaders  of  Quraysh,  became  ruler  over  Mecca.  He  held  the  keys  of  the temple  and  had  the  right  to  give  water  to  the  pilgrims,  to  feed  them,  to take  charge  of  meetings,  and  to  hand  out  war  banners  before  battle.  It  was also  in  his  house  that  Quraysh  settled  their  affairs.  After  Qusayy's  death, his  son  'Abdu  Manaf,  who  had  become  famous  during  his  father's lifetime,  took  over  the  leadership  of  Quraysh.  After  him  came  his  son Hashim.  It  is  said  that  Hashim  was  the  first  to  begin  the  two  great  caravan journeys  of Quraysh, one in the summer  to Syria and the  north, and  one  in the  winter  to  Yemen  and  the  south.  As  a  result,  Mecca  grew  rich  and became a large and important centre of trade.  One  summer  Hashim  went  north  to  buy  goods  to  sell  in  Yemen.  On his  way  he  stopped  in  Yathrib  to  trade  in  the  market  and  there  he  saw  a beautiful  woman.  She  was  Salma',  the  daughter  of  'Amr  ibn  Zeid,  who was  from  a  much  respected  family.  Hashim  proposed  marriage  to  her  and was accepted because he was an honorable and distinguished man.     In  time,  Salma'  gave  birth  to  a  beautiful  son  and  as  some  of  his  hair was white they called him Shaybah, which in Arabic means grey-haired'.  Mother  and  son  stayed  in  the  cooler,  healthier  climate  of  Yathrib, while  Hashim  returned  to  Mecca,  but  he  would  visit  them  each  time  he took  his  caravan  to  the  north.  During  one  of  these  journeys,  however, Hashim  became  ill  and  died.  Shaybah,  a  handsome,  intelligent  boy,  grew up  in  his  uncle's  house  in  Yathrib.  He  was  proud  of  being  the  son  of Hashim  ibn  'Abdi  Manaf,  the  head  of  Quraysh,  guardian  of  the  Ka'bah and  protector  of  the  pilgrims,  even  though  he  had  not  known  his  father, who  had died while  Shaybah was very  young.  

At  Hashim's  death  his  brother  al-Muttalib  took  over  his  duties  and responsibilities.  He  traveled  to  Yathrib  to  see  his  nephew,  Shaybah,  and decided  that  as  the  boy  would  one  day  inherit  his  father's  place,  the  time had  come  for  him  to  live  in  Mecca.  It  was  hard  for  Salma',  Shaybah's mother,  to  let  her  son go  with  his uncle   but  she finally  realized  that it  was for  the  best.  Al-Muttalib  returned  to  Mecca,  entering  the  city  at  noon  on his  camel  with  Shaybah  behind  him.  When  the  people  of  Mecca  saw  the boy  they  thought  he  was  a  slave  and,  pointing  at  him,  called  out  „Abd  alMuttalib', 'Abd'  being  the Arabic  for 'slave'.   Al-Muttalib  told  them  that  Shaybah  was  not  a  slave  but  his  nephew who  had  come  to  live  with  them.  From  that  day  on,  however,  Shaybah was  always  affectionately  called  Abd  al-Muttalib.  On  the  death  of  alMuttalib,  who  died  in  Yemen  where  he  had  gone  to  trade,  'Abd  alMuttalib  took  his  place.  He  became  the  most  respected  member  of  his family,  loved  and  admired  by  all.  He  was,  however,  unlike  those  Arabs who  had given up  the  teachings  of Abraham.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 2

How It  All Began - 2

Imagine  how  terrible  it  must  have  been  for  him  to  leave  his  home,  his family  and  all  that  he  knew,  and  set  out  across  the  wilderness  into  the unknown.  But  at  the  same  time,  how  could  he  have  remained  among people  who  did  not  believe  in  Allah  and  who  worshipped  statues? Abraham  always  had  a  sense  that  Allah  cared  for  him  and  he  felt  Allah near  him  as  he  traveled.  At  last,  after  a  long  hard  journey,  he  arrived  at  a place  by  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  not  far  from  Egypt.  There  he  married  a noble  woman  by  the  name  of  Sarah  and  settled  in  the  land  of  Palestine. Many  years  passed  but  Abraham  and  his  wife  were  not  blessed  with  any children.  In  the  hope  that  there  would  be  a  child,  and  in  keeping  with tradition,  Sarah  suggested  that  Abraham  should  marry  Hagar,  her Egyptian  handmaid.  Soon  after  this  took  place,  Hagar  had  a  little  boy named  Ishmael.  Some  time  later  Allah  promised  Abraham  another  son, but  this  time  the  mother  of  the  child  would  be  his  first  wife,  Sarah.  This second  son  would  be  called  Isaac.  Allah  also  told  Abraham  that  from  his two  sons-Ishmael  and  Isaac-two  nations  and  three  religions  would  be founded  and  because  of  this  he  must  take  Hagar  and  Ishmael  away  from Palestine  to  a  new  land.  These  events  were  an  important  part  of  Allah's plan,  for  the  descendants  of  Ishmael  would  form  a  nation  from  which would  come  a  great  Prophet,  who  would  guide  the  people  in  the  way  of Allah.  This  was  to  be  Muhammad  (pbuh),  the  Messenger  of  Allah  (pbuh). From  the  descendants  of  Sarah's  child,  Isaac,  would  come  Moses  and Jesus.   So  it  was  that  Abraham,  Hagar,  and  Ishmael  left  Palestine.  They traveled  for  many  days  until  finally  they  reached  the  arid  valley  of  Bacca later  to  be  called  Mecca),  which  was  on  one  of  the  great  caravan  routes. There  was  no  water  in  the  valley  and  although  Hagar  and  Ishmael  only had  a  small  supply  of  water  left,  Abraham  left  them  there  knowing  Allah would  take  care  of  them.  Soon  all  the  water  was  gone.  The  child  began  to grow  weak  from  thirst.  There  were  two  hills  nearby,  one  called  Safa  and the  other  Marwah.  Hagar  went  up  one  hill  and  looked  into  the  distance  to see  if  she  could  find  any  water,  but  found  none.  So  she  went  to  the  other hill  and  did  the same.  She did  this  seven  times.  Then  sadly  she returned  to her  son,  and  to  her  great  surprise  and  joy  she  found  a  spring  of  water bubbling  out  of  the  earth  near  him.  This  spring,  near  which  the  mother and  child  settled,  was  later  called  Zamzam.  The  area  around  it  became  a place  of  rest  for  the  caravans  travelling  across  the  desert  and  in  time  grew into the famous trading city of Mecca.  From  time  to  time  Abraham  traveled  from  Palestine  to  visit  his  family and  he  saw  Ishmael  grow  into  a  strong  young  man.  It  was  during  one  of these  visits  that  Allah  commanded  them  to  rebuild  the  Ka'bah-the  very first  place  where  people  had  worshipped  Allah.  They  were  told  exactly

where  and  how  to  build  it.  It  was  to  be  erected  by  the  well  of  Zamzam and  built  in  the  shape  of  a  cube.  In  its  eastern  corner  was  to  be  placed  a black  stone  that  had  fallen  to  earth  from  heaven.  An  angel  brought  the stone  to  them  from  the  nearby  hill  of  Abu  Qubays.  Abraham  and  Ishmael worked  hard  to  rebuild  the  Ka'bah  and  as  they  did  so  they  prayed  to  Allah to  send  a  Prophet  from  among  their  descendants.  And  when  Abraham  and Ishmael  were  raising  the  foundations  of  the  House,  (Abraham  prayed): 'Our  Lord! Receive this  from  us;  Thou, only  Thou, art  the All-hearing,  the All-knowing;  Our  Lord!  And  make  us  submissive  unto  Thee  and  of  our seed  a  nation  submissive  unto  Thee,  and  show  us  our  ways  of  worship, and  turn  toward  us.  Lo!  Thou,  only  Thou,  art  the  Relenting,  the  Merciful. Our  Lord!  And  raise  up  in  their  midst  a  messenger  from  among  them  who shall  recite  unto  them  Thy  revelations,  and  shall  instruct  them  in  the Scripture  and  in  wisdom  and  shall  make  them  grow.  Lo!  Thou,  only Thou,  art  the  Mighty,  Wise.    (Qur'an  2.127-9)  When  the  Ka'bah  was completed,  Allah  commanded  Abraham  to  call  mankind  to  pilgrimage  to His  Holy  House.  Abraham  wondered  how  anyone  could  hear  his  call. Allah  said,  'You  call  and  I  will  bring  them.'  This  was  how  the  pilgrimage to  the  Ka'bah  in  Mecca  was  established  and  when  Muslims  make  the pilgrimage  today they continue  to  answer  the  age-old call of Abraham.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , Part 1

How It  All Began 1

Nearly  four  thousand  years  ago,  in  the  Sumerian  town  of  Ur  in  the  valley of  the  river  Euphrates,  lived  a  young  man  named  Abraham.  The  people  of Ur  had  once  worshipped  Allah  but  as  time  passed  they  forgot  the  true religion  and  started  praying  to  idols,  statues  made  of  wood  or  clay  and sometimes  even  of  precious  stones.  Even  as  a  small  child  Abraham  could not  understand  how  his  people,  and  especially  his  father,  could  make these  images  with  their  own  hands,  call  them  gods,  and  then  worship them.  He  had  always  refused  to  join  his  people  when  they  paid  respect  to these  statues.  Instead  he  would  leave  the  town  and  sit  alone,  thinking about  the  heavens  and  the  world  about  him.  He  was  sure  his  people  were doing  wrong  and  so  alone  he  searched  for  the  right  way.    One  clear  night as  he  sat  staring  at  the  sky  he  saw  a  beautiful  shining  star,  so  beautiful that  he  cried  out:  „This  must  be  Allah!'  He  looked  at  it  in  awe  for  some time,  until  suddenly  it  began  to  fade  and  then  it  disappeared.  He  turned away in disappointment saying: I love not things that set. (Qur'an 6.77)  On  another  night  Abraham  was  again  looking  at  the  sky  and  he  saw the  rising  moon,  so  big  and  bright  that  he  felt  he  could  almost  touch  it.  He thought  to  himself:  This  is  my  Lord.  (Qur'an  6.78)  But  it  was  not  long before  the  moon  set  as  well.  Then  he  said,  Unless  my  Lord  guide  me,  I surely  shall  become  one  of  the  folk  who  are  astray.  (Qur'an  6.78) Abraham  then  saw  the  beauty  and  splendor  of  the  sunrise  and  decided that  the  sun  must  be  the  biggest  and  most  powerful  thing  in  the  universe. But  for  the  third  time  he  was  wrong,  for  the  sun  set  at  the  end  of  the  day. It  was then  that he realized  that  Allah  is  the Most  Powerful, the  Creator  of the  stars, the  moon, the sun, the  earth  and  of all living things. Suddenly he felt himself totally at peace, because he knew that he had found the Truth.  When  he  said  unto  his  father  and  his  folk:  What  do  you  worship?  They said:  We  worship  idols,  and  are  ever  devoted  to  them.  He  said:  Do  they hear  you  when  you  cry?  Or  do  they  benefit  or  harm  you?  They  said:  Nay, but we found our fathers acting in this manner.  He  said:  See  now  that  which  you  worship,  You  and  your  forefathers! Lo!  they  are  (all)  an  enemy  to  me,  except    the  Lord  of  the  Worlds.  Who created  me,  and  He  guides  me,  And  Who  feeds  me  and  waters  me.  And when  I  sicken,  then  He  heals  me.  And  Who  causes  me  to  die,  then  gives me  lift  (again)  And  Who,  I  ardently  hope,  will  forgive  me  my  sin  on  the Day of judgement. (Qur'an  26.70-82)  
One  day,  while  all  the  townspeople  were  out,  Abraham  angrily smashed  all  the  idols  with  his  right  hand  except  for  one  which  was  very large. When the people returned they were furious.  They  remembered  the  things  Abraham  had  said  about  the  idols.  They had  him  brought  forth  before  everyone  and  demanded,  'Is  it  you  who  did this  to  our  gods,  0  Abraham?'  Abraham  replied,  But  this  their  chief  did  it. Ask  them,  if  they  are  able  to  speak.'  The  people  exclaimed,  'You  know they  do  not  speak.'  'Do  you  worship  what  you  yourselves  have  carved when  Allah  created  you  and  what  you  make?'  Abraham  continued,  'Do you  worship  instead  of  Allah  that  which  cannot  profit  you  at  all,  nor  harm you?'  (Qur'an  37.95-6)(Qur'an  21.66)   Finally,  Abraham  warned  them,  Serve  Allah,  and  keep  your  duty  unto Him;  that  is  better  for  you  if  you  did  but  know.  You  serve  instead  of Allah  only  idols,  and  you  only  invent  a  lie.  Lo!  those  whom  you  serve instead  of  Allah  own  no  provision  for  you.  So  seek  your  provision  from Allah,  and  serve  Him,  and  give  thanks    unto  Him,  (for)  unto  Him  you  will be brought back.(Qur'an 29. 16-17)  The  people  of  Ur  decided  to  give  Abraham  the  worst  punishment  they could  find:  he  was  to  be  burnt  to  death.  On  the  chosen  day  all  the  people gathered  in  the  centre  of  the  city  and  even  the  King  of  Ur  was  there. Abraham  was  then  placed  inside  a  special  building  filled  with  wood.  The wood  was  lit.  Soon  the  fire  became  so  strong  that  the  people  were  pushed back  by  the  flames.  But  Allah  said:    “O  fire,  be  coolness  and  peace  for Abraham”. (Qur'an 21.69)  The  people  waited  until  the  fire  had  completely  died  down,  and  it  was then  that  they  saw  Abraham  still  sitting  there  as  though  nothing  had happened!  At  that  moment  they  were  utterly  confused.  They  were  not, however,  moved  by  the  miracle  that  had  just  happened  before  their  very eyes.   Still  Abraham  tried  to  persuade  his  own  dear  father,  who  was  named Azar,  not  to  worship  powerless,  un-seeing,  un-hearing  statues.  Abraham explained  that  special  knowledge  had  come  to  him  and  implored  his father,  'So  follow  me  and  I  will  lead  you  on  the  right  path.  0  my  father! Don't  serve  the  Devil.'  But  Azar  would  not  listen.  He  threatened  his  son with  stoning  if  he  continued to reject  the gods of  Ur. He ordered  Abraham to  leave  the  city  with  these  words:  'Depart  from  me  a  long  while.' Abraham  said,  'Peace  be  upon  you!  I  shall  ask  my  Lord's  forgiveness  for you. Surely He was ever gracious to me.‟ (Qur'an 19.43-7) 

WE MUST CHOOSE FRIENDS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL FOR US

Assalam Aleyikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu!

☂Surround urself with Muslims who practice the Deen. They are ur only True Friends in this Life and in the Hereafter.

☂Not everybody is out there to judge you, there are some who want the best for you and want to help you get into Al-Jannah, value them.

☂Indeed, a friend who doesn't care about your Aakhirāh is not really your friend.

☂Sometimes the hardest person for you to correct is yourself. There is no shame in being wrong, the shame is in choosing to stay on the wrong path.

☂Whatever takes you NEAR to Allah, takes you AWAY from Hellfire. Whatever takes you AWAY from Allah, takes you CLOSER to Hellfire.

☂We all take tomorrow for granted because we believe tomorrow will always be there. Tomorrow may be there, but we may not!

☂Who said "TOMORROW" is guaranteed? Make the use of "TODAY" that you are blessed with!

☂Yesterday many thought that they would see today, and today many will think they will see tomorrow.

☂Death could be tonight, in the next hour, the next second, yet we live as if we still have so many years to live.

☂You may be rich, famous or have a high status in this dunyah, but to the Angel of Death, you're just another name on the list.

☂Our death and meeting with our Creator is approaching and yet our biggest worry is what are we going to wear tomorrow? #in competition

☂One day you'll just be a memory for people, and a lesson to others. Do everything you can to please Allah, be a positive lesson.

☂Just imagine how many people were here with us last year, but are no longer here again! Even our turn is soon approaching. May Allah forgive us an forgive them.

☂We walk with our heads high up in the sky, unaware that one day we'll be trapped 6' Feet under the ground. #Reminder

☂You look for the latest fashion and designer clothes, but don't forget O' Son of Adam!  You will end up being wrapped up in just a white shroud.

☂Live to please the Creator, not the Creation. If Allah is happy with us, what more can we ask for?

☂It's sad how we only begin to appreciate blessings, either materialistic things or good people; only after we lose them. When it's too late!? Do we really invest to be like them?

☂You wouldn't throw away a diamond to pick up a rock, so in the same way, don't throw away the Akhirah (Paradise) by chasing the Dunya (worldly).

☂How do you expect to get Al-Jannah (paradise) when you haven't worked for it in Dunya? That's like expecting to pass an exam you never took a class for.

☂We live in a time where people leave out food in fear of becoming overweight, but cannot leave out sins in fear of Allah!

☂For a believer. — you may be penniless, homeless, unemployed, sick and feel like you have nothing. But you have the one thing that money can't buy: "Allah".

☂Allāh knows what you want, what you need, what you deserve, at what time & what place, trust Him & His decisions (is best for HIS creation), He knows while you don't.

☂If a kafir celebrity mentioned your name to the world, how happy would you be? Mention Allah in a gathering, and He mentions you to the angels!

☂And, make the Qur'an your companion and a part of your life. Don't let urself become a stranger to it. The Qur'an is like a friend, the longer the friendship lasts the more you will know of its secrets.

☂Don't praise me because I'm on my Deen, but pray for me because I have faults which you have not seen.

Repent
ُ"Truly, Allah loves those who repent (the prodigal son), and He loves those who cleanse themselves." [Al-Quran 2:222].

May Allah purify our hearts. And peace and blessing of Allah be upon our noble Messenger of Allah, Muhammad S.A.W  and his household.

If you care about other people's salvation, then send this message to them. May Allah increase His light and guidance in our life.
Ameen.

The greatest fitnah of the beautiful girl is her beauty.

There are many sisters whose battle with their "nafsun Ammaarah", i.e, the soul that command to evil, is almost greater than that of a cancer patient's battle with his ailment. Shaytaan does not give them any breathing space or allowance. So when she covers those attractions, shaytaan's contractors among her family members, her course mates and human admirers say to her, "Haba now! Why are you wasting Allah's special work on you? This hijaab makes you look 50. It's beauty that attracts the money-bags, don't cheat yourself my dear"

So when she is alone in her room, Shaytaan comes to her again, whispering those talks into her head, and even louder for that matter. In no time, she begins to give in to the satanic pressures. Her hijaab begins to reduce in size, and also change into flashy ones. The next time you meet her, she calls you extremist for saying, what she is putting on is not hijaab.

In short, anywhere I see a beautiful sister, as in at first glance (lol), I only pray that Allah guides her, because I understand the pressure on her; to obey Allah or to obey the accursed Shaytaan.

Brethren, if Allah blesses you with a beautiful daughter, and of course, all daughters are beautiful, train her well to love the hijaab, so she grows to see her beauty attached to the hijaab, and also see herself as a slave of the world without it.

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Ruling on music, singing and dancing

Praise is to Allah

 Evidence of prohibition in the Qur’aan and Sunnah:

 Allaah says in Soorat Luqmaan (interpretation of the meaning):

 “And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…” [Luqmaan 31:6]

 The scholar of the ummah, Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: this means singing. Mujaahid (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this means playing the drum (tabl). (Tafseer al-Tabari, 21/40).

 Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this aayah was revealed concerning singing and musical instruments (lit. woodwind instruments). (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/451).

 Al-Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this includes all manner of haraam speech, all idle talk and falsehood, and all nonsense that encourages kufr and disobedience; the words of those who say things to refute the truth and argue in support of falsehood to defeat the truth; and backbiting, slander, lies, insults and curses; the singing and musical instruments of the Shaytaan; and musical instruments which are of no spiritual or worldly benefit. (Tafseer al-Sa’di, 6/150)

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The interpretation of the Sahaabah and Taabi’in, that ‘idle talk’ refers to singing, is sufficient. This was reported with saheeh isnaads from Ibn ‘Abbaas and Ibn Mas’ood. Abu’l-Sahbaa’ said: I asked Ibn Mas’ood about the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), ‘“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks’ [Luqmaan 31:6]. He said: By Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god, this means singing – and he repeated it three times. It was also reported with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that this means singing. There is no contradiction between the interpretation of “idle talk” as meaning singing and the interpretation of it as meaning stories of the Persians and their kings, and the kings of the Romans, and so on, such as al-Nadr ibn al-Haarith used to tell to the people of Makkah to distract them from the Qur’aan. Both of them are idle talk. Hence Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Idle talk” is falsehood and singing. Some of the Sahaabah said one and some said the other, and some said both. Singing is worse and more harmful than stories of kings, because it leads to zinaa and makes hypocrisy grow (in the heart); it is the trap of the Shaytaan, and it clouds the mind. The way in which it blocks people from the Qur’aan is worse than the way in which other kinds of false talk block them, because people are naturally inclined towards it and tend to want to listen to it. The aayaat condemn replacing the Qur’aan with idle talk in order to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah without knowledge and taking it as a joke, because when an aayah of the Qur’aan is recited to such a person, he turns his back as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in his ear. If he hears anything of it, he makes fun of it. All of this happens only in the case of the people who are most stubbornly kaafirs and if some of it happens to singers and those who listen to them, they both have a share of this blame. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/258-259).

 Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

 “[Allaah said to Iblees:] And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with your voice (i.e. songs, music, and any other call for Allaah’s disobedience)…” [al-Israa’ 17:64]

 It was narrated that Mujaahid (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with your voice” – his voice [the voice of Iblees/Shaytaan] is singing and falsehood. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This idaafah [possessive or genitive construction, i.e., your voice] serves to make the meaning specific, as with the phrases [translated as] “your cavalry” and “your infantry” [later in the same aayah]. Everyone who speaks in any way that is not obedient to Allaah, everyone who blows into a flute or other woodwind instrument, or who plays any haraam kind of drum, this is the voice of the Shaytaan. Everyone who walks to commit some act of disobedience towards Allaah is part of his [the Shaytaan’s] infantry, and anyone who rides to commit sin is part of his cavalry. This is the view of the Salaf, as Ibn ‘Abi Haatim narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas: his infantry is everyone who walks to disobey Allaah. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan).

 Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

 “Do you then wonder at this recitation (the Qur’aan)?

And you laugh at it and weep not,

Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)”

[al-Najm 53:59-61]

  ‘Ikrimah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that al-sumood [verbal noun from saamidoon, translated here as “Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)”] means “singing”, in the dialect of Himyar; it might be said “Ismidi lanaa” [‘sing for us’ – from the same root as saamidoon/sumood] meaning “ghaniy” [sing]. And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him): When they [the kuffaar] heard the Qur’aan, they would sing, then this aayah was revealed. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning) “Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)” – Sufyaan al-Thawri said, narrating from his father from Ibn ‘Abbaas: (this means) singing. This is Yemeni (dialect): ismad lana means ghan lana [sing to us]. This was also the view of ‘Ikrimah. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).

 It was reported from Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not sell singing slave women, do not buy them and do not teach them. There is nothing good in this trade, and their price is haraam. Concerning such things as this the aayah was revealed (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…’ [Luqmaan 31:6].” (Hasan hadeeth)

 The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

 “Among my ummah there will certainly be people who permit zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments…” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari ta’leeqan, no. 5590; narrated as mawsool by al-Tabaraani and al-Bayhaqi. See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 91).

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This is a saheeh hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh, where he quoted it as evidence and stated that it is mu’allaq and majzoom. He said: Chapter on what was narrated concerning those who permit alcohol and call it by another name.

 This hadeeth indicates in two ways that musical instruments and enjoyment of listening to music are haraam. The first is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “[they] permit” which clearly indicates that the things mentioned, including musical instruments, are haraam according to sharee’ah, but those people will permit them. The second is the fact that musical instruments are mentioned alongside things which are definitely known to be haraam, i.e., zinaa and alcohol: if they (musical instruments) were not haraam, why would they be mentioned alongside these things? (adapted from al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 1/140-141)

Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This hadeeth indicates that ma’aazif are haraam, and ma’aazif means musical instruments according to the scholars of (Arabic) language. This word includes all such instruments. (al-Majmoo’, 11/535).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: And concerning the same topic similar comments were narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi, ‘Imraan ibn Husayn, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Umaamah al-Baahili, ‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Anas ibn Maalik, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Saabit and al-Ghaazi ibn Rabee’ah. Then he mentioned it in Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, and it indicates that they (musical instruments) are haraam.

It was narrated that Naafi’ (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Ibn ‘Umar heard a woodwind instrument, and he put his fingers in his ears and kept away from that path. He said to me, O Naafi’, can you hear anything? I said, No. So he took his fingers away from his ears and said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he heard something like this, and he did the same thing. (Saheeh Abi Dawood). Some insignificant person said that this hadeeth does not prove that musical instruments are haraam, because if that were so, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have instructed Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) to put his fingers in his ears as well, and Ibn ‘Umar would have instructed Naafi’ to do likewise! The response to this is: He was not listening to it, but he could hear it. There is a difference between listening and hearing. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Concerning (music) which a person does not intend to listen to, there is no prohibition or blame, according to scholarly consensus. Hence blame or praise is connected to listening, not to hearing. The one who listens to the Qur’aan will be rewarded for it, whereas the one who hears it without intending or wanting to will not be rewarded for that, because actions are judged by intentions. The same applies to musical instruments which are forbidden: if a person hears them without intending to, that does not matter. (al-Majmoo’, 10/78).

Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: the listener is the one who intends to hear, which was not the case with Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both); what happened in his case was hearing. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) needed to know when the sound stopped because he had moved away from that path and blocked his ears. So he did not want to go back to that path or unblock his ears until the noise had stopped, so when he allowed Ibn ‘Umar to continue hearing it, this was because of necessity. (al-Mughni, 10/173)

 (Even though the hearing referred to in the comments of the two imaams is makrooh, it was permitted because of necessity, as we will see below in the comments of Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him). And Allaah knows best).

 The views of the scholars (imaams) of Islam

Al-Qaasim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Singing is part of falsehood. Al-Hasan (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: if there is music involved in a dinner invitation (waleemah), do not accept the invitation (al-Jaami by al-Qayrawaani, p. 262-263).

 Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of the four Imaams is that all kinds of musical instruments are haraam. It was reported in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and elsewhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that there would be among his ummah those who would allow zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments, and he said that they would be transformed into monkeys and pigs… None of the followers of the imaams mentioned any dispute concerning the matter of music. (al-Majmoo’, 11/576).

Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The four madhhabs are agreed that all musical instruments are haraam. (al-Saheehah, 1/145).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The madhhab of Abu Haneefah is the strictest in this regard, and his comments are among the harshest. His companions clearly stated that it is haraam to listen to all musical instruments such as the flute and the drum, even tapping a stick. They stated that it is a sin which implies that a person is a faasiq (rebellious evil doer) whose testimony should be rejected. They went further than that and said that listening to music is fisq (rebellion, evildoing) and enjoying it is kufr (disbelief). This is their words. They narrated in support of that a hadeeth which could not be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They said: he should try not to hear it if he passes by it or it is in his vicinity. Abu Yoosuf said, concerning a house from which could be heard the sound of musical instruments: Go in without their permission, because forbidding evil actions is obligatory, and if it were not allowed to enter without permission, people could not have fulfilled the obligatory duty (of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil). (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425).

 Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about playing the drum or flute, if a person happens to hear the sound and enjoy it whilst he is walking or sitting. He said: He should get up if he finds that he enjoys it, unless he is sitting down for a need or is unable to get up. If he is on the road, he should either go back or move on. (al-Jaami’ by al-Qayrawaani, 262). He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The only people who do things like that, in our view, are faasiqs.” (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/55).

 Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Among the types of earnings which are haraam by scholarly consensus are ribaa, the fee of a prostitute, anything forbidden, bribes, payment for wailing over the dead and singing, payments to fortune-tellers and those who claim to know the unseen and astrologers, payments for playing flutes, and all kinds of gambling. (al-Kaafi).

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the view of Imaam al-Shaafa'i: His companions who know his madhhab (point of view) stated that it is haraam and denounced those who said that he permitted it. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425).

 The author of Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, who was one of the Shaafa’is, counted musical instruments such as flutes and others, as being munkar (evil), and the one who is present (where they are being played) should denounce them. (He cannot be excused by the fact that there are bad scholars, because they are corrupting the sharee’ah, or evil faqeers – meaning the Sufis, because they call themselves fuqaraa’ or faqeers – because they are ignorant and follow anyone who makes noise; they are not guided by the light of knowledge; rather they are blown about by every wind. (Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, 2/128).

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the view of Imaam Ahmad, his son ‘Abd-Allaah said: I asked my father about singing. He said: Singing makes hypocrisy grow in the heart; I do not like it. Then he mentioned the words of Maalik: the evildoers (faasiqs) among us do that. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan).

 Ibn Qudaamah, the researcher of the Hanbali madhhab – (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Musical instruments are of three types which are haraam. These are the strings and all kinds of flute, and the lute, drum and rabaab (stringed instrument) and so on. Whoever persists in listening to them, his testimony should be rejected. (al-Mughni, 10/173). And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him); If a person is invited to a gathering in which there is something objectionable, such as wine and musical instruments, and he is able to denounce it, then he should attend and speak out against it, because then he will be combining two obligatory duties. If he is not able to do that, then he should not attend. (al-Kaafi, 3/118)

 Al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The scholars of all regions are agreed that singing is makrooh and should be prevented. Although Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari differed from the majority, (it should be noted that) the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Adhere to the majority.” And whoever dies differing from the majority, dies as a jaahili. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/56). In earlier generations, the word “makrooh” was used to mean haraam, then it took on the meaning of “disliked”. But this is to be understood as meaning that it is forbidden, because he [al-Tabari] said “it should be prevented”, and nothing is to be prevented except that which is haraam; and because in the two hadeeths quoted, music is denounced in the strongest terms. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) is the one who narrated this report, then he said: Abu’l-Faraj and al-Qaffaal among our companions said: the testimony of the singer and the dancer is not to be accepted. I say: if it is proven that this matter is not permissible, then accepting payment for it is not permissible either.

 Shaykh al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: What Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari said about singing is not like the kind of singing that is known nowadays, for they would never have allowed this kind of singing which is the utmost in immorality and obscenity. (al-I’laam)

 Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is not permissible to make musical instruments. (al-Majmoo’, 22/140). And he said: According to the majority of fuqahaa’, it is permissible to destroy musical instruments, such as the tanboor [a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin]. This is the view of Maalik and is the more famous of the two views narrated from Ahmad. (al-Majmoo’, 28/113). And he said: …Ibn al-Mundhir mentioned that the scholars were agreed that it is not permissible to pay people to sing and wail… the consensus of all the scholars whose views we have learned about is that wailing and singing are not allowed. Al-Shu’bi, al-Nakha’i and Maalik regarded that as makrooh [i.e., haraam]. Abu Thawr, al-Nu’maan – Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) – and Ya’qoob and Muhammad, two of the students of Abu Haneefah said: it is not permissible to pay anything for singing and wailing. This is our view. And he said: musical instruments are the wine of the soul, and what it does to the soul is worse than what intoxicating drinks do. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 10/417).

 Ibn Abi Shaybah (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that a man broke a mandolin belonging to another man, and the latter took his case to Shurayh. But Shurayh did not award him any compensation – i.e., he did not make the first man pay the cost of the mandolin, because it was haraam and had no value. (al-Musannaf, 5/395).

 Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated in a fatwa that it is haraam to sell all kinds of musical instruments such as mandolins, flutes, etc. Then he said: If the images are erased and the musical instruments are altered, then it is permissible to sell their parts, whether they are silver, iron, wood or whatever. (Sharh al-Sunnah, 8/28)

 An appropriate exception

 The exception to the above is the daff – without any rings (i.e., a hand-drum which looks like a tambourine, but without any rattles) – when used by women on Eids and at weddings. This is indicated by saheeh reports. Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made allowances for certain types of musical instruments at weddings and the like, and he made allowances for women to play the daff at weddings and on other joyful occasions. But the men at his time did not play the daff or clap with their hands. It was narrated in al-Saheeh that he said: “Clapping is for women and tasbeeh (saying Subhaan Allaah) is for men.” And he cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. Because singing and playing the daff are things that women do, the Salaf used to call any man who did that a mukhannath (effeminate man), and they used to call male singers effeminate – and how many of them there are nowadays! It is well known that the Salaf said this.

 In a similar vein is the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), when her father (may Allaah be pleased with him) entered upon her at the time of Eid, and there were two young girls with her who were singing the verses that the Ansaar had said on the day of Bu’aath – and any sensible person will know what people say about war. Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Musical instruments of the Shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!” The Messenger of Allaah had turned away from them and was facing the wall – hence some scholars said that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) would not tell anybody off in front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but he thought that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not paying attention to what was happening. And Allaah knows best. He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: “Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for every nation has its Eid, and this is our Eid, the people of Islam.” This hadeeth shows that it was not the habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions to gather to listen to singing, hence Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq called it “the musical instruments of the Shaytaan”. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of this appellation and did not deny it when he said, “Leave them alone, for every nation has its Eid and this is our Eid.” This indicates that the reason why this was permitted was because it was the time of Eid, and the prohibition remained in effect at times other than Eid, apart from the exceptions made for weddings in other ahaadeeth. Shaykh al-Albaani explained this in his valuable book Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarab (the Prohibition of Musical Instruments). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of young girls singing at Eid, as stated in the hadeeth: “So that the mushrikeen will know that in our religion there is room for relaxation.” There is no indication in the hadeeth about the two young girls that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was listening to them. The commands and prohibitions have to do with listening, not merely hearing, just as in the case of seeing, the rules have to do with intentionally looking and not what happens by accident. So it is clear that this is for women only. Imaam Abu ‘Ubayd (may Allaah have mercy on him) defined the daff as “that which is played by women.” (Ghareeb al-Hadeeth, 3/64).

An inappropriate exception

 Some of them make an exception for drums at times of war, and consequentially some modern scholars have said that military music is allowed. But there is no basis for this at all, for a number of reasons, the first of which is that this is making an exception with no clear evidence, apart from mere opinion and thinking that it is good, and this is wrong. The second reason is that what the Muslims should do at times of war is to turn their hearts towards their Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They ask you (O Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say: ‘The spoils are for Allaah and the Messenger.’ So fear Allaah and adjust all matters of difference among you…” [al-Anfaal 8:1]. But using music is the opposite of this idea of taqwa and  it would distract them from remembering their Lord. Thirdly, using music is one of the customs of the kuffaar, and it is not permitted to imitate them, especially with regard to something that Allaah has forbidden to us in general, such as music. (al-Saheehah, 1/145)

 “No people go astray after having been guided except they developed arguments amongst themselves.” (Saheeh)

 Some of them used the hadeeth about the Abyssinians playing in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as evidence that singing is allowed! Al-Bukhaari included this hadeeth in his Saheeh under the heading Baab al-Hiraab wa’l-Daraq Yawm al-‘Eid (Chapter on Spears and Shields on the Day of Eid). Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This indicates that it is permissible to play with weapons and the like in the mosque, and he applied that to other activities connected with jihaad. (Sharh Muslim). But as al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: whoever speaks about something which is not his profession will come up with weird ideas such as these.

 Some of them use as evidence the hadeeth about the singing of the two young girls, which we have discussed above, but we will quote what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, because it is valuable:

 I am amazed that you quote as evidence for allowing listening to sophisticated songs the report which we mentioned about how two young girls who were below the age of puberty sang to a young woman on the day of Eid some verses of Arab poetry about bravery in war and other noble characteristics. How can you compare this to that? What is strange is that this hadeeth is one of the strongest proofs against them. The greatest speaker of the truth [Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq] called them musical instruments of the Shaytaan, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of that appellation, but he made an exception in the case of these two young girls who had not yet reached the age of responsibility and the words of whose songs could not corrupt anyone who listened to them. Can this be used as evidence to allow what you do and what you know of listening (to music) which includes (bad) things which are not hidden?! Subhaan Allaah! How people can be led astray! (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/493).

 Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was young at that time; nothing was transmitted from her after she reached the age of puberty except condemnation of singing. Her brother’s son, al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad, condemned singing and said that it was not allowed to listen to it, and he took his knowledge from her. (Talbees Iblees, 229). Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A group of the Sufis used this hadeeth – the hadeeth about the two young girls – as evidence that singing is allowed and it is allowed to listen to it, whether it is accompanied by instruments or not. This view is sufficiently refuted by the clear statement of ‘Aa’ishah in the following hadeeth, where she says, “They were not singers.” She made it clear that they were not singers as such, although this may be understood from the wording of the report. So we should limit it to what was narrated in the text as regards the occasion and the manner, so as to reduce the risk of going against the principle, i.e., the hadeeth. And Allaah knows best. (Fath al-Baari, 2/442-443).

 Some people even have the nerve to suggest that the Sahaabah and Taabi’een listened to singing, and that they saw nothing wrong with it!

 Al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: We demand them to show us saheeh isnaads going back to these Sahaabah and Taabi’een, proving what they attribute to them.  Then he said: Imaam Muslim mentioned in his introduction to his Saheeh that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: The isnaad is part of religion. Were it not for the isnaad, whoever wanted to could say whatever he wanted to.

 Some of them said that the ahaadeeth which forbid music are full of faults. No hadeeth was free of being criticized by some of the scholars. Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The ahaadeeth which were narrated concerning music being haraam are not full of faults as has been claimed. Some of them are in Saheeh al-Bukhaari which is the soundest of books after the Book of Allaah, and some of them are hasan and some are da’eef. But because they are so many, with different isnaads, they constitute definitive proof that singing and musical instruments are haraam. 

All the imaams agreed on the soundness of the ahaadeeth which forbid singing and musical instruments, apart from Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali, but al-Ghazzaali did not have knowledge of hadeeth; and Ibn Hazam, but al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) explained where Ibn Hazam went wrong, and Ibn Hazam himself said that if any of (these ahaadeeth) were saheeh, he would follow that. But now they have proof that these reports are saheeh because there are so many books by the scholars which state that these ahaadeeth are saheeh, but they turn their backs on that. They are far more extreme than Ibn Hazam and they are nothing like him, for they are not qualified and cannot be referred to.

 Some of them said that the scholars forbade singing because it is mentioned alongside gatherings in which alcohol is drunk and where people stay up late at night for evil purposes.

 Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The response to this is that mentioning these things in conjunction does not only mean that what is haraam is what is joined together in this manner. Otherwise this would mean that zinaa, as mentioned in the ahaadeeth, is not haraam unless it is accompanied by alcohol and the use of musical instruments. By the same token, an aayah such as the following (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, he used not to believe in Allaah, the Most Great,

And urged not on the feeding of Al‑Miskeen (the poor).”

[al-Haaqqah 69:33-34]

would imply that it is not haraam to disbelieve in Allaah unless that is accompanied by not encouraging the feeding of the poor. If it is said that the prohibition of such things one at a time is proven from other reports, the response to that is that the prohibition of musical instruments is also known from other evidence, as mentioned above. (Nayl al-Awtaar, 8/107).

 Some of them said that “idle talk” does not refer to singing; the refutation of that has been mentioned above. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This – the view that it means singing – is the best that has been said concerning this aayah, and Ibn Mas’ood swore three times by Allaah besides Whom there is no other god, that it does refer to singing. Then he mentioned other imaams who said the same thing. Then he mentioned other views concerning the matter. Then he said: The first view is the best of all that has been said on this matter, because of the marfoo’ hadeeth, and because of the view of the Sahaabah and the Taabi’een. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi).

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him), after quoting this Tafseer, said: Al-Haakim Abu ‘Abd-Allaah said in the Tafseer of Kitaab al-Mustadrak: Let the one who is seeking this knowledge know that the Tafseer of a Sahaabi who witnessed the revelation is a hadeeth with isnaad according to the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim). Elsewhere in his book, he said: In our view this hadeeth has the same strength as a marfoo’ report. Although their tafseer is still subject to further examination, it is still more readily acceptable than the tafseer of those who came after them, because they are the most knowledgeable among this ummah of what Allaah meant in his Book. It was revealed among them and they were the first people to be addressed by it. They heard the tafseer from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in word and in deed. And they were Arabs who understood the true meanings of (Arabic) words, so Muslims should avoid resorting to any other interpretation as much as possible.

 Some of them said that singing is a form of worship if the intention is for it to help one to obey Allaah!

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: How strange! What type of faith, light, insight, guidance and knowledge can be gained from listening to tuneful verses and music in which most of what is said is haraam and deserves the wrath and punishment of Allaah and His Messenger? … How can anyone who has the least amount of insight and faith in his heart draw near to Allaah and increase his faith by enjoying something which is hated by Him, and He detests the one who says it and the one who accepts it? (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/485)

 Shaykh al-Islam said, discussing the state of the person who has gotten used to listening to singing: Hence you find that those who have gotten used to it and for whom it is like food and drink will never have the desire to listen to the Qur’aan or feel joy when they hear it, and they never find in listening to its verses the same feeling that they find when listening to poetry. Indeed, if they hear the Qur’aan, they hear it with an inattentive heart and talk whilst it is being recited, but if they hear whistling and clapping of hands, they lower their voices and keep still, and pay attention. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 11/557 ff)

 Some say that music and musical instruments have the effect of softening people’s hearts and creating gentle feelings. This is not true, because it provokes physical desires and whims. If it really did what they say, it would have softened the hearts of the musicians and made their attitude and behaviour better, but most of them, as we know, are astray and behave badly.

 Conclusion

 Perhaps – for fair-minded and objective readers – this summary will make it clear that the view that music is permissible has no firm basis. There are no two views on this matter. So we must advise in the best manner, and then take it step by step and denounce music, if we are able to do so. We should not be deceived by the fame of a man in our own times in which the people who are truly committed to Islam have become strangers. The one who says that singing and musical instruments are permitted is simply supporting the whims of people nowadays, as if the masses were issuing fatwas and he is simply signing them! If a matter arises, they will look at the views of fuqahaa’ on this matter, then they will take the easiest view, as they claim. Then they will look for evidence, or just specious arguments which are worth no more than a lump of dead meat. How often have these people approved things in the name of sharee’ah which in fact have nothing to do with Islam!

 Strive to learn your Islam from the Book of your Lord and the Sunnah of your Prophet. Do not say, So-and-so said, for you cannot learn the truth only from men. Learn the truth and then measure people against it. This should be enough for the one who controls his whims and submits himself to his Lord. May what we have written above heal the hearts of the believers and dispel the whispers in the hearts of those who are stricken with insinuating whispers. May it expose everyone who is deviating from the path of Revelation and taking the easiest options, thinking that he has come up with something which  none of the earlier generations ever achieved, and speaking about Allaah without knowledge. They sought to avoid fisq (evildoing) and ended up committing bid’ah – may Allaah not bless them in it. It would have been better for them to follow the path of the believers.

 And Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless and grant peace to His Messenger who made clear the path of the believers, and to his companions and those who follow them in truth until the Day of Judgement.

 Summary of a paper entitled al-Darb bi’l-Nawa li man abaaha al-Ma’aazif li’l-Hawa by Shaykh Sa’d al-Deen ibn Muhammad al-Kibbi.

 For more information, please see:

 Al-I’laam bi Naqd Kitaab al-Halaal wa’l-Haraam, by Shaykh al-‘Allaamah Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan

 Al-Samaa’ by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim

Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarab, by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him