A quarterly publication prepared under the guidance of Shaykhul Hadith, Moulana Fadlur Rahmaan Azmi daamat barakaatuhum

Zul Hijjah 1432 /November 2011

Volume 3 Issue 2

Revival through knowledge

by Shaykhul Hadith Hadrat Moulana Fadlur Rahmaan Azmi

The knowledge of Islam which is derived from the Qur`an and the Sunnah, is as necessary in a Muslims life as is food and drink for a human being. Just as no man or animal can survive without food or drink, so too does every Muslim, whether male or female, young or old, rich or poor, healthy or ill need to acquire knowledge of Wahi (Divine revelation) to live a proper Islamic lifestyle. The Fear of accountability Allah Ta`ala has eternally preserved the knowledge of Divine inspiration, which is the Qur`an and the Sunnah, by Yes, Ramadaan is gone and it is now time to count our means of His pious servants. To protect the words of the profits. The sawaab of our Taraaweeh, zikr, tilaawah and Qur`an, He has used the Huffaaz (memorisers) of the du`a etc. is in its place, but how much of taqwa have we Qur`an, and to preserve the true meaning of the Qur`an and developed is the real question. If we now feel somewhat Hadith in their pristine forms till today, He has used the closer to Allah and still feel a desire to Ulama and Muhaddisoon (scholars of IN THIS ISSUE: please Him, and to avoid that which Hadith). All we need to do is to derive displeases Him, then our hearts have Guidance from the Qur`an Shareef...................................2 maximum benefit from them. Carrying a tasbeeh at all times .........................................2 become revitalized and we have We have to associate with true Ulama ZamZam and Imaan .......................................................2 inherited something from the legacy of and Mashaa-ikh (spiritual guides) and The best gift to the deceased.............................................2 Ramadaan, Alhamdulillah . also establish new madaaris and SEERAH FEATURE: Making du`a for others .........................3 makaatib (centres for higher and SUNNAH FOCUS: Hold firmly to my Sunnah!...................3 Moulana Muhammad Muneer primary Islamic learning) everywhere. Wise Words ....................................................................3 Naanotwi Rahimahullah was an Aalim We should assist those that are running Allah Provides! ...............................................................3 whose heart was alive. One day he set these institutions in order to preserve Love all the Sahaabah y .................................................3 out for Delhi with Rs250 of the Camels aspiring to die! ....................................................4 them and help them progress. We also Giving clear instructions! .................................................4 Madrasahs funds to publish books for need to enrol our children there for their Follow your Imaam in Salaah ..........................................4 the Madrasah. Along the way, the money got stolen. Without informing Deeni education. On whom is Qurbaani waajib? ..........................................4 Allah Ta`ala says, And so We have Combing the Straight Path ...............................................4 anyone about it, he returned home, sold revealed an inspiration (rooh) to you of This face is not that of a liar!..........................................4 a piece of his land and paid for the books with that money. When the Our command. (Surah As-Shura: 52) Allah Madrasah officials learnt of it, they wrote to Moulana refers to the Qur`an as a rooh (soul) which is the essence of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi for the shar`ee ruling. Moulana life (i.e. Islamic life). Elsewhere, Allah says, O People of Gangohi replied that Moulana was an ameen Rahimahullah Imaan (faith), respond to Allah and to the Messenger when They call you towards that which gives you life. (trustee) and since he was not negligent, he was not liable to pay for the books from his own money. The people then (Surah Al-Anfaal: 23) Here, Deen has been described as life, to show that, for us Muslims, there is life only in Deen, which went to Moulana and requested him to take back his money and showed him Moulana Gangohi's fatwa. can only be learnt from the Qur`an and Hadith. Rasulullah r has declared, The seeking of knowledge is Moulana looked at the fatwa and said, Mia Rashid compulsory on every Muslim. (Ibn Maajah) Therefore, so much Ahmad studied Fiqh only for me, and are these rulings Deeni knowledge is necessary whereby one is able to fulfil only for me! Place your hands on your heart and see. Had the basic Islamic obligations (faraa-idh and waajibaat) this happened to him, would he have taken those rupees back? Go, and take away this fatwa. I will never take back and to abstain from whatever is impermissible. even two paisas. (Malfoozaat Hadrat Shaykh p.163) Ulama graduate from Daarul Ulooms and Jaami`aat Those were my forefathers! (institutes for higher Islamic learning), while adults learn Present to me any like them, Deen through the effort of Da`wah and Tableegh and When you gather our accounts to compare, children learn through the system of makaatib. We need to O Collector of biographies! ` have madaaris and makaatib everywhere in proportion to
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the Muslim population. More makaatib are urgently needed in areas that are densely populated by Muslims. Where such institutions exist, they should be assisted and where needed, they should be established. This is the finest cause in which the Muslim Ummah could spend its money. It is an investment in the bank of Allah Ta`ala who will grant us superior returns for it in this very world and immeasurable rewards in the Aakhirah (Hereafter.) May Allah grant Muslims the divine ability to practise. `

At-Tazkirah

Guidance from the Qur`an

Allah Ta`ala says: Indeed success is for the believers who are attentive in their Salaah, and who keep away from vain things, and who fulfil the Zakaah, and who guard their private parts except from their wives or those owned by them, because they are not liable to blame. However, those who seek gratification beyond that are the transgressors, and those who honestly look after their trusts and covenant, and who consistently observe their prayers. Those are the inheritors who will inherit (Jannatul) Firdaus. They will be there forever. (SurahAl-Mu`minoon:1-11) Every man inherently aspires for falaah which is defined as: the attainment of all desires and protection from all misfortune and which can only be fully realized in Jannah (Paradise). The Qur`an has the answer to every quest of man. The above verses affirm that falaah or real success will be attained only by those that have Imaan (belief). These verses then describe the special features or attributes of the believers as follows: The first attribute of a believer is that he performs Salaah with khushoo i.e. calmly, with concentration, focussing onAllah and avoiding undue movement of the body and limbs. Nabi r once advised Anas t fix his gaze on the place on which he was going to prostrate and not to look right and left during Salaah. The second trait of a good Muslim is that he avoids frivolous talk and activities which either do not yield any religious reward, or which are sinful and harmful. The third attribute is his fulfilment of Zakaah. Literally, Zakaah means to purify. In terms of the Shari`ah, it is to fulfill a pillar of Islam by giving in charity a portion of ones wealth, subject to certain conditions. However, if it is taken in the literal sense, it means to purify the soul of the sins of polytheism, hypocrisy, arrogance, jealousy, greed and miserliness. This is called at-tazkiyah in the terminology of the pious. The fourth trait is to guard ones private parts from the unlawful and to satisfy the sexual urge with ones wife and legal bondsmaid according to the prescribed laws. Satisfying the desire through other perverse means have been forbidden. These include: adultery, sexual intercourse with ones wife or slave girl when she is menstruating, or intercourse in an un-natural manner, homosexuality, sodomy and masturbation. The fifth attribute of a good Muslim is to discharge his trusts truthfully and faithfully, whether they relate to the rights of Allah or to that of man. These include: returning to the owner upon demand his goods kept in trust, guarding of secrets, completing tasks and spending time in work for which payment is received and the paying of wages due. Violation of the above constitutes breach of trust.

The sixth trait of a perfect Muslim is to fulfil his covenant, whether between two parties or whether in the form of a promise to give something or to undertake a task.Apromise is like a debt which must be discharged. The seventh attribute of a good Muslim is to offer the five daily Salaahs regularly at their appointed time. A person that possesses these qualities and adheres to them is a complete Mu`min (believer) and deserving of falaah in this world and in the Hereafter. Inheriting Firdaus, which is the highest rank of Jannah, suggests that just, as the assets of a deceased person must devolve on his heirs, similarly those that strive to possess these attributes will, no doubt, enter Jannah. (Adapted from Ma`aariful Qur`an) MayAllah make us all amongst them, Aameen.`

Carrying a tasbeeh at all times

It is always good to carry a tasbeeh or subha (rosary) for it reminds us to do the zikr of Allah Ta`ala. This is why the Pious refer to a tasbeeh as muzakkirah (i.e. something that constantly reminds). Someone once asked Sayyidut Taai-fah (the Leader of the Pious), Hadrat Junaid Baghdaadi Rahimahullah, When you have also reached (closeness to) Allah, why do you still keep a tasbeeh? He replied, How could we ever forget that which has helped us to reach Allah Ta`ala?
(The Remembrance ofAllah, p.76, by Mufti MuhammadAashiq Ilaahi Bulandshahri)`

ZamZam and Imaan

Rasulullah r said, Certainly one of the signs that differentiate us believers from the hypocrites is that they just cannot fill their stomachs with ZamZam.(Ibn Maajah) Muslims should drink ZamZam to their hearts content. Filling ourselves with ZamZam will secure for us freedom from hypocrisy and ensure that we be counted amongst the people of Imaan, InshaAllah.`

The best gift to the deceased

Rasulullah r said, The condition of a person in the grave is like that of a drowning and desperate man. The dead person always anticipates du`as from his father, mother, brother or friend. When their du`as reach him, this is more beloved to him than this world and it contents. On account of the du`as of the living, Allah causes rewards equivalent to mountains to descend upon the deceased. The gift of the living for their deceased is to beg Allah to forgive them. (Mishkaat p.206) Throughout our lives we receive countless favours from our friends and relatives. It is only fair that we reciprocate the kindness shown to us while they are alive. To regularly make du`a and seek forgiveness from Allah for them after their demise is also our duty.`

At-Tazkirah

SEERAH FEATURE Making du`a for others

Our Nabi r was indeed an embodiment of mercy and a well-wisher for others. One manifestation of this was his habit of making du`a (i.e. supplicating) to Allah on behalf of others. Once Hadrat Jareer bin Abdillah told Nabi r that he found difficulty in riding a horse. Nabi r hit him lightly on his chest and immediately made this du`a for him, O Allah, make him firm and make him a guide (for others). (Sahih al-Bukhaari) Hadrat Amr bin Akhtab says that once Nabi r Allah Provides! asked for some water. Amr brought him W o e r s ds some water in a bowl in which there Wi Hadrat Ibraheem bin Adham was a strand of hair. When Amr Rahimahullah says, I once asked a removed the strand of hair, Nabi People regard miserliness to be worse mutawakkil (i.e. one who relies r made du`a for him, O Allah, than extravagance, yet I feel that totally on Allah), Where endow him with beauty! The extravagance is worse. This is because the does your food come from? effect of this du`a was that negative worldly and religious consequences of He replied, I know nothing even at the ripe old age of being extravagant far outweigh those of being ninety-four, there was not a miserly. We have not seen any miser become murtadd about that. Ask the One that single strand of grey hair on (apostate), but we have seen many extravagant people gives sustenance. I have no need for such futility! (Ahl his head. (Al-Mustadrak lil Haakim) who, after being reduced to poverty, had become dil k dil Aawz baat p.54: by Moulana Habeebur When Nabi r sent Hadrat murtadd. (Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi Rahimahullah Majaalis Hakeemul Ummah p. 268)` RahmaanAzmi) ` Ali to Yaman, Ali t Hadrat Dawood Taai used to eat his bread after Love all the complained that he was too soaking it in water. He would say that in the time that it took to chew every morsel, he was able to young and unable to make Sahaabah y! recite fifty verses of the Qur`an . Therefore important decisions. there was no need to waste time in Announcing the high rank of the Rasulullah r placed his blessed making morsels (of dry bread.) (The Sahaabah, Allah says: And the hands on Alis chest and made Remembrance of Allah, p.76 by Mufti Muhammad first to lead the way (in accepting du`a, O Allah, fortify his tongue and Aashiq Ilaahi Bulandshahri)` Islam) among the Muhaajiroon and the guide his heart! The result was that Ali Ansaar, and those who followed them in never found it difficult to pass judgement in sincerity, Allah is pleased with them and they are any matter thereafter. (MusnadAhmad) These brief incidents clearly show the extreme love pleased with Him and He has prepared for them and close attachment that Nabi r had for his Sahaabah, Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will and also portray him as a deeply compassionate person abide forever. That is the supreme triumph. (At-Tawbah 100) Today virtually everything is classified into grades for that always wished well for people and was ever ready purposes of distinction. Undoubtedly, the Sahaabah y to make du`a for them. ` were the highest-ranking Muslims whom Allah is SUNNAH FOCUS pleased with and has forgiven. Rasulullah r has even instructed us to follow in the footsteps of his Sahaabah Hold firmly to my Sunnah! like SayyidunaAbu Bakr, Umar,Ali and Usmaan y. A certain person had reservations regarding some of The most vital message of the Farewell Hajj of the Sahaabah y. Once, he saw Nabi r in a dream. Nabi Rasulullah r was his emphasis on holding firmly to r likened the Sahaabah y to the ocean: Even though the Qur`an and Sunnah which will prevent the tons of dirt and impurity gets dumped into the sea, the Ummah from going astray. Alhamdulillah, this sea always overcomes everything. The effect of the dirt message, which was then relayed by the Sahaabah does not prevail over the sea. (Majaalis Hakeemul Ummah p.104) and those that followed them, is echoed from time Love for the Sahaabah is a basic ingredient of Imaan. to time by true Ulama from the mimbar. It reminds Deficiency in it betrays a defect in ones Imaan. Loving us not to fall prey to those individuals and them is proof of your love for Nabi r himself. The organisations who call for Muslims to be message from Allah and His Messenger r is loud and progressivewhilst actually distancing the Ummah clear: no matter what, the Sahaabah y have been from the Qur`an and Sunnah and even publicly and completely forgiven and will enter Jannah. May Allah imbue us with love for every one of them.` unabashedly making a mockery of it.

Rasulullah r has warned, Whenever people introduce an innovation into Islam, a Sunnah practice of that magnitude is erased. (Mishkaat p.31) Hadrat Abdullah bin Mas`ood r has also re-iterated this warning,When an alien custom (or practice replaces the Sunnah) and becomes the norm in society, and an effort is then made to revive the actual Sunnah), people will say, The sunnah (i.e. their custom) has been changed. (Musannaf Abdir Razzaaq) MayAllah guide the Ummah to love, learn, practise and propagate the real Sunnah.`

Sunnah is guidance and innovation spells deviation.

At-Tazkirah

Camels aspiring to die!

During his farewell Hajj, Nabi r took along 100 camels as hady (sacrificial animals) to Mina. Subhaanallah, when Nabi r took the lance in his hands, to everyones surprise, the camels raced and jostled with each other to be slaughtered first by Nabi r, each one laying down its neck before him for the privilege of dying at his noble hands. Yes, they perceived that death had a special taste at these blessed hands! Nabi r slaughtered 63 of them andAli t slaughtered the other 37 camels. Allaahu Akbar! Here are camels surrendering their necks to die at Nabis r hands, and yet we have billions of people today, and even those who claim to be Muslims, whom the Nabi r has invited not to slit their throats but to allow them to hold their heads high i.e. honour them, yet they refuse to follow his Sunnah and prefer disgrace for themselves. (Ibhaajul Haaj p.83 by Naasir Az-Zahraani) MayAllah have mercy on us!`

We must realize that when we perform our Salaah correctly, we will benefit from it in this world and earn everlasting rewards in the Aakhirah (Hereafter). `

On whom is Qurbaani waajib?

Many people think that Qurbaani is only compulsory on those who have to pay Zakaah. This is a misconception. For Zakaah, wealth in the form of gold, silver and goods bought for selling have to be in your possession for an entire Islamic year. As for Qurbaani, those items which were bought for personal use but are over and above your basic needs (like extra furniture, etc.) should also be considered as nisaab. If such items are in your possession on the day of Eid and their value reaches the nisaab amount, Qurbaani will be compulsory on you! It is not compulsory for this amount to be in your possession for a whole year. This rule also applies for Sadaqatul Fitr.

(Laws of Qurbaani p.27 by MuftiAbdur Ra`oof Sakkharwi) `

Giving clear instructions!

Usually when people instruct others to carry out some task, they do not explain it in detail. Then, when the work is spoilt, they get angry. This happens often with students and domestic servants. Etiquette demands that instructions should be explained in a manner that is clear and also simplifies the task. (Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi Rahimahullah:

Combing the Straight Path

Abu Jahl, the disbeliever also had a beard and yet some Muslims today dont keep a beard. Some argue, derisively, Since when is the whole of Deen only in the beard? Many other aspects of Deen are already in me! The answer to this is: Yes, to say that Deen is not only to keep a beard is correct, but the beard is definitely a part of our Deen. Without it, the Deen will remain incomplete. For a persons Deen to be complete, he has to keep a beard. (Hadrat Moulana Fadlur RahmaanAzmi)`

Majaalis Hakeemul Ummah p.143)`

Follow your Imaam in Salaah

Salaah has to be performed in a calm and tranquil state. Yet, it is common during congregational salaah to find some people bobbing up and down separately from the rest of the congregation and impatiently rushing into postures of Salaah even before the Imaam. Rasulullah r has condemned this evil habit and declared such people to be under the influence of the shaitaan. He said, The person that goes before the Imaam in ruku and sajdah and raises his head before the Imaam, his forehead is in the hands of the shaitaan (devil). (At-Targheeb vol.1 p. 334 from Tabarani and Maalik) When a person does not concentrate in his salaah, shaitaan tries to destroy it by influencing him and making him perform ruku and sajdah hastily, and when he is in congregational Salaah, he makes him dash into and rise from ruku and sajdah before the Imaam. Rasulullah r also said, Doesnt the person that raises his head (from ruku and sajdah) before the Imaam fear that Allah may make his head like that of a donkey? (Sahih al-Bukhaari and Muslim) The stupidity of a donkey is proverbial. The person that raises his head before the Imaam has been likened to a donkey because, having begun his Salaah with the intention to follow the Imaam, it is utterly foolish of him to rush into these postures before the Imaam. There is really no benefit in doing so.

This face is not that of a liar!

A man from Rampur had invited the staff members of Madrasah Mazaahirul Uloom, Saharanpur, to his nikah and arranged first class train tickets for them. As the group reached the station, Baboo (the ticket inspector), asked each person to produce his ticket to which he replied that it was in the possession of Naazim sahib (the Madrasah administrator) and that he was on his way. Baboo refused to allow them to enter and made them wait on one side. Unaware of what was happening in front, Hadrat Shaykh, Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya arrived at the gate. When asked to produce his ticket, he replied that he does have a ticket but does not know who has it! Baboo immediately let him in. A man who was standing at the gate for a long time erupted in anger at Baboo arguing that he had also said that his ticket was by someone else, so why was only this person i.e. Hadrat Shaykh, allowed to enter? Baboo replied calmly,His is a different case. This face does not look like that of a liar!(Malfoozaat Hadrat Shaykh p. 106)`
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