22 February 2015: Prophet Dawud and between the Grave and the Hour

22 February 2015: Prophet Dawud* and between the Grave and the Hour

Lives of the Prophets: The Story of Prophet David* (Dawud)

Background

Ibn Katheer states: Prophet Dawud*, belongs to Judas, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. He is Allah's servant, messenger and vicegerent in Jerusalem. As previously mentioned, when Prophet Dawud* killed Goliath. Bani Israel loved Prophet Dawud* and were attached to him. He succeeded Talut (Saul) as a king and Allah granted him prophethood as well. Thus, he became both a king and a prophet and a messenger.

Allah says: "And David slew Goliath; and Allah gave him power and wisdom and taught him whatever (else) He willed. And did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief: but Allah is full of bounty to all the worlds." (TMQ 2:251) This means were Allah not to appoint kings to rule people, the strong amongst them would humiliate the weak. Thus it is reported, the king resembles Allah's shade on earth. The Caliph Uthmaan Ibn Affaan said, Allah establishes by means of the ruler what He may not establish by means of the Qur'an.
 
Miracles of Dawud
Allah says: "We bestowed Grace aforetime on David from Ourselves: 'O ye Mountains! sing ye the Praises of Allah with him, and ye birds (also)!' And we made the iron soft for him - (commanding), 'Make thou coasts of mail, balancing well the rings of chain armor, and work ye righteousness; for be sure I see (clearly) all that ye do." (Saba': 10-11)
Allah further says: "It was Our Power that made the hills and birds celebrate our praises, with David: it was We who did (all these things). It was We who taught him the making of coasts of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful?" (AI Anbiyaa': 79-80)
Allah also says: "And remember Our servant David, the man of strength: for he ever turned (to Allah). It was We that made the hills declare in unison with him, Our praises, at eventide and at break of day, and the birds gathered (in assemblies): all with him did tum (to Allah). We strengthened his kingdom, and gave him wisdom and sound judgement in speech and decision. "(Saad: 17-20)

Dawud’s voice and Dhikr (with mountains and birds)
Allah has granted David a very pleasant voice. When he recited his Book, the Psalms, in a pleasant voice, the birds gathered in assemblies to recite with him and the hills declared in unison with him Allah's praises in the evening and at dawn. Once Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by Abu Musa AI-Ashari at night while he was reciting the Qur'an. He (Abu Musa) had a very pleasant voice so the Prophet stopped to listen to his recitation and said, "He has been gifted with one of Prophet Dawud*'s psalms." Abu "Uthmaan An-Nahdi said: I have heard the lute and wood-wind instrument, but I have never heard a more pleasant voice than that of Abu Musa AI-Ashary.

Dhikr
We also talked about what it means for creation to worship Allah. Allah made the birds and mountains repeat the Dhikr of Prophet Dawud* in a fashion that people could comprehend and this was one of the many special miracles that was given to Prophet Dawud*. That aside, we must realise that the creation is in constant remembrance of Allah but in a fashion or a dimension that we cannot comprehend.

For example, it is mentioned in the Qur’an that the lightning glorifies Allah. But how can we perceive this and we talked about the scientific explanation behind the production of thunder and its relationship to the generation of lightning. And we compared this to somebody observing human beings whilst they were praying and the scientific explanation for the production of sound from the chest and vocal cords through the mouth is very different to standing the words meaning behind saying 'SubhanAllah' or 'Allahu Akbar'. The difference in perception around we see of creation and how reality it managed to glorify praise Allah.
Hence the importance of trying to undertake as much Dhikr of Allah as we can in addition to the obligatory times we do the form remembrance when we pray five times a day.

Dawud – Iron Man
We also talked about the miracle of Prophet Dawud* being able to mould iron with his bare hands - the original 'Iron Man'! Not only that we talked about how Allah taught him to make new technological advancements in military equipment and technology. This was the production of chainmail armour in a fashion that gave military superiority to the army of Prophet Dawud*. Before this, armour was mainly sheets of metal which reduced flexibility and was quite heavy. Following this new invention it was clear that the chainmail allowed the soldiers for greater flexibility in movement as well as being much lighter to wear.

Being thankful for technology
This raises the important discussion point around general advancements in technology and learning and how, despite seeing all the technological advancements in our civilisation today, we tend to attribute and acknowledge the source of the use as being the inventors and we fail to give any real credit to Allah for facilitating these inventions. For example, how was the first loaf of bread made!? Hence, in our everyday life we should be constantly thanking Allah for all the technology and advancements that we see around ourselves and use all the time. We should also be thankful for the gifts and the knowledge that we have. We briefly talked about the student undertaking a PhD thesis and acknowledging that all the benefit comes from Allah and any mistakes in this piece of work from himself. In addition, if we do have special gifts from Allah we should be thankful for these and grateful for these and not too boastful that any achievements that we receive through these gifts are purely personal and we should realise that it is only through Allah facilitating these achievements that we managed to achieve whatever we do actually achieve! Hence, passing exams is not solely through our own hard work but is related to Allah supporting as in that process and giving as the talents and abilities to achieve them.


Being thankful for knowledge
And the final point related to this is that all the knowledge that we have today is built upon knowledge from yesterday and the source of knowledge can be traced all the way back to Allah teaching Adam the names of everything. Hence, that is the source of all knowledge and we should be grateful for that. We have previously talked about this in greater detail when we talked about knowledge, source of knowledge and the feral child. This relates to the example of the first loaf of bread in civilisation many thousands of years ago!


 
Main Topic: The Minor and Major Signs of the Day of Judgment

Some of the Minor Signs of the Day of Judgment
In the hadith of Jibreel, when he asked about the Hour, the Prophet* said, “The one who is asked does not know any better than the one who is asking.” However, the Prophet* has told us many of its signs. In the area of the signs of the Day of Judgment, there are many weak ahadith and many strong ahadith – below are a selection from the stronger ahadith.
•    The Coming of The Prophet*
•    The Death of The Prophet*
•    The Opening of Jerusalem
•    Plague
The Prophet* said, a death that will eat you away like a certain illness that afflicts goats. This is referring to plague. It occurred in 18H.
•    The Abundance of Wealth
The Prophet* said, “Wealth will be so abundant that a man will be handed 100 dinar (a small weight of gold) and they wouldn’t be satisfied.”
•    Times of Trials and Tribulations
The Prophet* says in the hadith narrated by Muslim: “Do good deeds before the times of trials and tribulations that are like the darkness of night.” Do the good deeds before the trials and tribulations are like darkness of night, spreading all over. Then The Prophet* said that during those times, a man would be a believer in the morning, but a disbeliever by night time. And a man would be a believer at night time, but a disbeliever by the morning. The Prophet* said because they are selling their religion for a worldly benefit.
•    The Beginning of the Fitna: Assassination of ‘Uthmaan
•    The Battle of Al-Jamal
•    The Battle of Siffeen
•    Al-Khawaarij
•    Battle of Nahrawand
•    Death of Al-Hussain ibn Abi Talib
•    False Prophets
Abu Hurayrah narrated that The Prophet* said, “The Day of Judgement will not occur until 30 false prophets arise. Every one of them is claiming that he is a messenger.”
•    The Spread of Peace
The Prophet* says, “But Allah will complete this religion. Allah will give victory to this religion until the traveller will leave from sam’aa to Hadramawt, and not fear anyone but Allah and the wolf on their sheep.” The Prophet* said, “There will be a time when the land of the Arabs will be rivers and forests (it will be green). And the traveller would leave from Iraq to Makkah, fearing no one but getting lost.”
•    The Appearance of a Fire in Hijaaz
The Prophet* said, “The Hour will not be established until a fire will come out of the land of hijaaz that will throw a light on the necks of the camels of Busra.”.
•    The Wars with the Turks
The Prophet* said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Turks. People with small eyes, round, red faces and flat noses. Their faces will look like shields coated with leather. The Hour will not be established until you fight with people whose shoes are made of hair.”
•    Loss of Trust
The Prophet* said, “If trust is lost, then wait for the Hour.” If there is no more trust, wait for the Hour; it’s the end of the Hour. The Sahabi asked The Prophet* asked, “How will trust be lost?” The Prophet* said, “When authority is given to those who do not deserve it, then wait for the Hour.” When the leaders are sufahaa` (people with lack of understanding of religion).
•    Knowledge will Subside and Ignorance will Prevail
The Prophet* said, “Some of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that knowledge will be lifted up and ignorance will replace it.”
•    The Increase of Security Forces
The Prophet* said, “There will be a time when there will be security forces, they leave in the morning with the wrath of Allah on them, at night they come home with the wrath of Allah on them. Be careful, don’t be one of their associates.”
•    Zina (adultery) Prevails
The Prophet* said, “Zina will prevail.” The Prophet* said, “If zina will prevail until people will advertise for it in public, then Allah will inflict on them diseases which did not exist before.”
•    The Spread of Riba
The Prophet* said, “Approaching the Day of Judgement, approaching the hour, riba would be widespread.” [AtTabarani]
•    The Decoration of Mosques
The Prophet* said, “A time will come when people will be proud of – or will compete – in building mosques.
•    Construction of Tall Buildings
The Prophet* said, “You will find the barefoot, naked, poor shepards of goats and sheep competing in building tall buildings.” [Muslim]
•    The Slave Woman gives birth to her Owner
This is the famous hadith of Jibreel, in Bukhari and Muslim. Jibreel asked The Prophet* about the signs of the day of judgment. The Prophet* said that one of the signs is that the woman would give birth to her master, or that the slave would give birth to her master.
•    Bloodshed Spreads
The Prophet* says, “A time will come when haraj will be widespread.” The Sahabah asked, “What is haraj?” The Prophet* said, “It is an Abyssinian word (from habasha). It means killing.” [Bukhari]
•    The Shrinking of Time
Bukhari, Abu Hurayrah said that The Prophet* said, “Approaching the Day of Judgement, time will shrink.” The Prophet* said, “The Day of the judgement will not occur until time shrinks. The year will be like a month, and a month will be like a week, and a week will be like a day, and a day will be like an hour and an hour would be like burning a leaf.”
•    The Proximity of Markets
The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgment is that markets will be close to each other.”
•    Spread of Trade
The Prophet* said, “Business and trade will be so widespread.” The Prophet* said, “Businesses will be so widespread, to the point where the woman will be helping her husband with the business.”.
•    Appearance of Shirk
The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that some tribes would follow disbelievers and some would worship idols (pagan worship).”
•    Zalzaal (Earthquakes)
The Prophet* said in a hadith, “Earthquakes will be frequent.” In another hadith by Ahmad, The Prophet* said, “O son of Hawaala (a companion), if you see khilafaa appraoach the holy land (Palestine), then the time for earthquakes and disasters and great issues is approaching. And the Hour, at that time, will be closer to the people than the my hand to your head.”
•    Sinking, Stoning and Turning into Animals
At-Tirmidhi, The Prophet* said, “In the end of this Ummah, there will be sinking, stoning and turning into animals.”
•    Rise of the Low
Ibn Maajah, Abu Hurayrah said that The Prophet* said, “There will be tricky (wicked) years, where the liar will be believed and the truthful will not be believed. The untrustworthy will be trusted and the trustworthy will not be trusted. The Ar-Ruwaybadah will speak.” The Sahabah asked, “Who are the Ar-Ruwaybadah?” The Prophet* said, “The low person.”
•    You will Give Salaam Only to those You Know
The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that you will give salaam only to those you know.”
•    Women Who are Dressed, but Naked
Muslim, The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that there will be women who are dressed, but naked. Their heads are like the humps of camels [referring to the hairstyle]. They will not enter jannah or even smell it, enough though the smell of jannah can be smelled from a long distance (in another hadith: a distance of 70 years).”
•    Cars
Ahmad, The Prophet* said, “In the future, there will be men of my Ummah sitting over surooj [saddle] on things that are similar to camels, but not exactly camels. And they descend from these vehicles at masaajid but their wives are dressed, but naked. Curse them, for they are cursed.”
•    True Dreams of the Believers
The Prophet* said in a hadith narrated by At-Tirmidhi, “Towards the end of time, the dream of the believer almost never lie.”
•    Spread of Qalam
The Prophet* said, “Approaching the Day of Judgement, the pen will prevail.”
•    Expansion of the Crescent (Hilaal)
The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that the crescent will be bloated.”
•    Lies and Fabrication in Religion
The Prophet* said, “Approaching the end of time, there will be dajjaloon (people who pretend to be something they’re not – imposters). They present you with talk that you did not hear and your fathers never heard before. Beware of them. Don’t let them mislead you and misguide you.”
•    Shayateen Coming
Muslim, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al ‘Aas said, “There are some devils imprisoned in the ocean. They were imprisoned by Sulaymaan. A time will come when they will come out and they will recite to people Qur’an and they are going to claim that it is Qur’an and Sacred Books.”
•    False Witnessing
The Prophet* says, in a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad, “Approaching the Day of Judgement will be false witnessing and concealing the true witness.”
•    The Woman to Man Ratio will Increase
The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that the number of women would increase and the number of men would decrease so there would be 50 women for 1 man.”
•    Sudden Death
At-Tabarani, The Prophet* said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgement is that sudden death would occur frequently.”
•    Hostility Between the People
The Prophet* was asked about the Hour. The Prophet* said, “Only Allah know, but I will tell you some of the signs. There will be fitna and haraj.” The Sahabah asked, “What is haraj?” The Prophet* said, “It means, in the language of Abyssinia, Killing.” Then he said, “People would not know each other.”
•    The Arabian Peninsula becomes Green with Rivers Again
Imam Muslim narrates that the Prophet* said, “The Day of Judgement will not occur until the land of the Arabs becomes gardens and rivers again.”
•    Lots of Rain, but Nothing Grows
The Prophet* said, “The Day of Judgement will not occur until a widespread rain will fall over the people, but nothing will grow.”
•    Euphrates Uncovers a Mountain of Gold
The Prophet* said, “Soon the river Euphrates will disclose the treasure (the mountain) of gold, so whoever will be present at that time should not take anything of it.” Bukhaari, Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet* said, “The Last Hour would not come before the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, for which people would fight. Ninety-nine out of each one hundred would die but every man amongst them would say that perhaps he would be the one who would be saved (and thus possess this gold.)” [Muslim]
•    Animals and Objects Speaking
There was a shepherd with his sheep. A wolf attacked and took one of the sheep. The shepherd followed it and took his sheep back. The wolf sat back, with his legs in the air – like a person – and said, “Itiqillah (fear Allah). You are taking away food from me that was sent to me by Allah.” The shepherd said, “What an amazing thing! A wolf sitting like a man and speaking to me!” The wolf said, “I will tell you something more amazing. The Prophet* is in Yathrib [what Medina was called at the time], and he is teaching the people about the nations before.” The shepherd, who was not Muslim at the time, went to Medina and went to The Prophet* and told him what happened. The Prophet* gathered all of the sahabah and told the shepherd, “Tell them what you heard.” The shepherd told them and then the Prophet* said, “The Day of Judgement will not occur until the beasts will speak to you…..and your legs would speak to you.”
•    Desire of Dying
The said Prophet*, “The Hour will not be established till a man passes by a grave of somebody and says, ‘Would that I were in his place.’” [Bukhari]
•    Population of the Romans Increases
Muslim, the Prophet* said, “The Day of Judgement will occur and the Romans are the largest nation, in terms of number.”
•    Opening of the Constantinople
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Apostle* saying, “You have heard about a city the one side of which is in the land and the other is in the sea (Constantinople).” They said: “Allah’s Messenger, yes.” Thereupon he said: “The Last Hour would not come unless seventy thousand persons from Bani lsrail would attack it. When they would land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor would shower arrows but would only say: “There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest,” that one side of it would fall. Thaur (one of the narrators) said: I think that he said: “The part by the side of the ocean.” Then they would say for the second time: “There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest” that the second side would also fall. And they would say: “There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest” then the gates would be opened for them and they would enter therein and, they would be collecting spoils of war and distributing them amongst themselves that a noise would be heard and It would be said: “Verily, Dajjal has come.” And thus they would leave everything there and would turn to him. [Muslim,]
•    Reign of Qahtaan
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet* said, “The Hour will not be established until a man from Qahtaan appears, driving the people with his stick.” [Bukhaari
•    Medina Expelling the Evil
The Prophet* said, in a hadith by Bukhari, that a time would come when a man would call his cousin and his relative, telling him, “Come to the luxurious life. Come to the luxurious life.” Prophet* said, “Medina is better for them, if they know.” Then the Prophet* said, “In the name of the One in Whose Hand is my soul Allah], anyone who leaves Medina and gives it up, Allah will replace in Medina someone better than him.” Then the Prophet* said, “Al-Medina is like a furnace that separates the impurities and Medina will expel all of the impurities out.”
•    A Blessed Wind Taking the Souls of the Believers
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that The Prophet* said: “Verily Allah would make a wind to blow from the side of the Yemen more delicate than silk and would spare none but cause him to die who has faith equal to the weight of a grain. [Muslim]
•    Destruction of the Ka’bah
The Prophet* said, “The ones who will transgress against the sanctity of Al-Ka’bah will be its people (meaning the Ummah).” No enemy can destroy the Ka’bah. The only transgression against it will be when this Ummah transgresses it. The Prophet* says, “When that happens, don’t ask about the perishing of the Arabs.” Then The Prophet* says, “Abyssinia would come and they would destroy al-Ka’bah and they would take out the treasures of the Ka’bah.”
•    Al-Mehdi
The Prophet* says that there will be one of your khulafaa` that will give out money without counting. Muslim and Imam Ahmad. Abu Sa’eed AlKhudri reported that the Prophet* said, “I am giving you the good news of Al-Mehdi, who will be sent to Ummah during times of disputes. And there will be a lot of earth problems. He will replace the oppression and injustice of the world with justice. And he will fill the hearts of the Ummah of Muhmmad* with satisfaction and content.”


The Major Signs of the Day of Judgment

The Prophet* says, “The major signs are deeds in a string. When the string is cut, all of them would fall down.” [Ahmad].
 
This hadith is in Muslim. These signs are not in chronological order. Hudhaifa ibn Usaid Ghifari reported: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He said: “What do you discuss about?” They (the Companions) said, “We are discussing about the Last Hour.” Thereupon he said: “It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), the Gog and Magog, and land-slidings in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly [the land of mahshar].” [Muslim]
 
•    Ad-Dajjaal
Narrated ibn ‘Umar: Once Allah’s Apostle* stood amongst the people and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, “l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed.” [Bukhari]
The Prophet* said: “I have told you so much about the Dajjal (Antichrist) that I am afraid you may not understand. The Antichrist is short, hen-toed, woolly-haired, one-eyed, an eye-sightless, and neither protruding nor deep-seated. If you are confused about him, know that your Lord is not one-eyed.” [Abu Dawood]
The Prophet* said that nothing from the time Adam was created until akhirah is a greater fitna than ad-dajjaal. Hudhaifa and Ibn Mas’ud met together. Hudhaifa said: I know more than you as to what there would be along with the Dajjal. There would be along with him two canals (one flowing with water) and the other one (having) fire (within it), and what you would see as fire would be water and what you would see as water would be fire. So he who amongst you is able to see that and is desirous of water should drink out of that which he sees as fire. [Muslim]
One day, The Prophet* talked about the ad-dajjaal so much, we thought that he was just outside of Medina. When we went to go meet The Prophet*, he knew that. He felt that we were worried. The Prophet* said, “What’s wrong with you?” They said, “You have talked about him so much – up and down- that he thought that he’s next to the palm trees of Medina.” The Prophet* said, “If he comes out and I am with you, then I’ll take care of him for you. If he comes out and I am not with you, then everybody is responsible for himself. And I ask Allah to protect every Muslim. He’s a young man and one of his eyes is bulging out. If you ever live to his time and see him, read on him the first ayah of surah al-Kahf.” That is the protection. Abu Darda’ reported Allah’s Apostle* as saying: “If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal.” [Muslim]
The Prophet* said that he will come out between ash-Shaam and Iraq, and he will corrupt the whole world, right and left. Then The Prophet* said, he will stay on earth for 40 days. One day is like a year; one day is like a month; one day is like a week and then the rest of his days are like your regular days.
The Prophet* said…. “He would appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and would spread mischief right and left. O servant of Allah! adhere (to the path of Truth).” We said: “Allah’s Messenger, how long would he stay on the earth?” He said, “For forty days, one day like a year and one day like a month and one day like a week and the rest of the days would be like your days.” We said: “Allah’s Messenger, would one day’s prayer suffice for the prayers of day equal to one year?” Thereupon he said: “No, but you must make an estimate of time (and then observe prayer).” We said: “Allah’s Messenger, how quickly would he walk upon the earth?” Thereupon he said: “Like cloud driven by the wind.
“He would come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion) and they would affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He would then give command to the sky and there would be rainfall upon the earth and it would grow crops. Then in the evening, their posturing animals would come to them with their humps very high and their udders full of milk and their flanks stretched. He would then come to another people and invite them. But they would reject him and he would go away from them and there would be drought for them and nothing would be left with them in the form of wealth.
“He would then walk through the waste, land and say to it: Bring forth your treasures, and the treasures would come out and collect (themselves) before him like the swarm of bees. He would then call a person brimming with youth and strike him with the sword and cut him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at a distance which is generally) between the archer and his target. He would then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness)
 
How to Protect Yourself from Ad-dajjaal

• Imaan.
• Al Isti’aadah – Seek refuge in Allah from him. One of the du’aa that The Prophet* would say after Salah very frequently: ‘O Allaah, I take refuge in You from the punishment of the grave, from the torment of the Fire, from the trials and tribulations of life and death and from the evil affliction of the Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjaal.’
• Read the opening of Surah al-Kahf or the last part of Surah al-Kahf.
• Avoiding him. The Prophet* said: “Let him who hears of the Dajjal (Antichrist) go far from him for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas roused in him by him. [Abu Dawood]

No one will be able to fight him. AlMehdi will have no way of competing with him. He will be with the believers in Jerusalem, hiding with them in their forts. There will be no way for them to confront ad-dajjaal, until ‘Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary), descends. Then Isa ibn Maryam, just like Allah has given ad-dajjaal these supernatural abilities, Allah will give Isa a miracle and that is: he will have the power of killing ad-dajjaal by his vision. In one hadith, his vision, and in another, his breath. The vision and breath of Isa will be enough to make ad-dajjaal melt like a piece of ice melts. And that is a miracle that Allah will give Isa. In a hadith narrated by Ahmad, Isa ibn Maryam will kill ad-dajjaal at Baab-lud (in Palestine).
 
•     The Coming of Isa (Jesus)
The second sign, in terms of order, is the descending of Isa*. The location of the descending will be Damascus. The Prophet* pinpointed Damascus and said, next to the eastern white minaret. At the time, when The Prophet* said this, there wasn’t any masjid in Damascus; it was part of the Roman Empire; it was Christian. Nevertheless, The Prophet* said he [Isa] will descend next to the eastern white minaret in Damascus. Al-Masjid Al-Amawi is the biggest of the masaajid of Damascus.
 “And he [Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)] shall be a known sign for (the coming of) the Hour (Day of Resurrection) [i.e. 'Isa's (Jesus) descent on the earth]…”
The Prophet* says in another hadith: “What will your situation be when the son of Mary will descend amongst you and your Imam is from within yourselves?” Because when Isa arrives, he will walk in and the Muslims are about to pray – the ‘iqaamah was made in the masjid. When Al-Mehdi sees Isa, he will retreat and he will ask him (Isa) to lead the prayer. But Isa* will tell Al-Mehdi that the ‘iqaamah was made for you, therefore you lead the salah. This is a great honor for this Ummah – that Isa will pray behind one of the followers of Muhammad*. Obviously, after that Isa* will resume the responsibility, but at that time Al-Mehdi will led because the ‘iqaamah was made for him.
In At-Tirmidhi. The Prophet* says Isa ibn Maryam would descend next to the eastern white minaret of the masjid. He has two yellow garments, and he will be placing his two hands on the wings of angels.
There is a hadith in Muslim which says that after Ya`juj and Ma`juj: [...]Then Allah would send rain which no house of clay or (the tent of) camels’ hairs would keep out and it would wash away the earth until it could appear to be a mirror. Then [Allah would give order to] the earth would be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, there would grow (such a big) pomegranate that a group of persons would be able to eat that, and seek shelter under its skin and milch cow would give so much milk that a whole party would be able to drink it. And the milch camel would give such (a large quantity of) milk that the whole tribe would be able to drink out of that and the milch sheep would give so much milk that the whole family would be able to drink out of that and at that time Allah would send a pleasant wind which would soothe (people) even under their armpits, and would take the life of every Muslim and only the wicked would survive who would commit adultery like asses and the Last Hour would come to them. [Muslim]
In another hadith by Imam Ahmad, “The Prophets are half-brothers. Their religion is one, but their mothers are different. And Isa is the closest one to me because there is no prophet between me and him. And he would descend. When he comes down, know him. He is average height and he has fair skin and he will be wrapped in two garments which have a yellowish color. His hair looks as if it is wet and dripping with droplets of water, even though it’s dry. He will crush the cross. And he will rid the earth from pigs. And he will abandon jizya. And he would call all mankind to Islam. All of the religions, Allah will destroy them in his time, except for Islam.” The Prophet* says, he would stay for 40 years and then he would die and the Muslims would pray on him. He has to come down to earth, because Allah created us from this earth. We would live on this earth and die on this earth.
 
•    Yajuj and Majuj
Yajuj and Majuj [Gog and Magog] are two tribes. The Prophet* said, “On the day of Resurrection Allah will say, ‘O Adam!’ Adam will reply, ‘Labbaik our Lord, and Sa’daik.’ Then there will be a loud call (saying), Allah orders you to take from among your offspring a mission for the (Hell) Fire.’ Adam will say, ‘O Lord! Who are the mission for the (Hell) Fire?’ Allah will say, ‘Out of each thousand, take out 999.’ At that time every pregnant female shall drop her load (have a miscarriage) and a child will have grey hair. And you shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet not drunk, but severe will be the torment of Allah.” (22.2) (When the Prophet mentioned this), the people were so distressed (and afraid) that their faces got changed (in color) whereupon the Prophet* said, “From Yajuj and Majuj nine-hundred ninety-nine will be taken out and one from you. You Muslims (compared to the large number of other people) will be like a black hair on the side of a white ox, or a white hair on the side of a black ox, and I hope that you will be one-fourth of the people of Paradise.” On that, we said, “Allahu-Akbar!” Then he said, “I hope that you will be) one-third of the people of Paradise.” We again said, “Allahu-Akbar!” Then he said, “(I hope that you will be) one-half of the people of Paradise.” So we said, “Allahu Akbar.”[Bukhari]

Some other hadith that talk about Yajuj and Majuj: [...] He ['Eesa] would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: “I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur”, and then Allah would send Yajuj and Majuj and they would swarm down from every slope. The first of them would pass the lake of Tiberius and drink out of it. And when the last of them would pass, he would say: “There was once water there.” Jesus and his companions would then be besieged here (at Tur, and they would be so much hard pressed) that the head of the ox would be dearer to them than one hundred dinirs and Allah’s Apostle, Jesus, and his companions would supplicate Allah, Who would send to them insects (which would attack their necks) and in the morning they would perish like one single person. Allah’s Apostle, Jesus, and his companions would then come down to the earth and they would not find in the earth as much space as a single span which is not filled with their putrefaction and stench. Allah’s Apostle, Jesus, and his companions would then again beseech Allah, Who would send birds whose necks would be like those of bactrin camels and they would carry them and throw them where God would will. Then Allah would send rain which no house of clay or (the tent of) camels’ hairs would keep out and it would wash away the earth until it could appear to be a mirror. … [Muslim]

Qur’an tells us the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. He was a king who lived thousands of years ago: Until, when he reached between two mountains, he found, before (near) them (those two mountains), a people who scarcely understood a word. They said: “O Dhul-Qarnain! Verily! Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog) are doing great mischief in the land. Shall we then pay you a tribute in order that you might erect a barrier between us and them?” He said: “That (wealth, authority and power) in which my Lord had established me is better (than your tribute). So help me with strength (of men), I will erect between you and them a barrier. Give me pieces (blocks) of iron,” Then, when he had filled up the gap between the two mountain-cliffs, he said: “Blow,” till when he had made it (red as) fire, he said: “Bring me molten copper to pour over it.” So they [Yajuj and Majuj] were made powerless to scale it or dig through it. Dhul-Qarnain) said: “This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the Promise of my Lord comes, He shall level it down to the ground. And the Promise of my Lord is ever true.” And on that Day [i.e. the Day Yajuj and Majujwill come out], We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another, and the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together. [18:93-99]

[ I have not gone into any details about these signs outlined above but I have covered them before in the Study Circle and will do the following signs next time, InshaAllah. Please visit the website for more details: www.harborneislam.blogspot.com ]

•    Sinking of the Earth
•    The Smoke
•    Rise of the Sun from the West
•    The Beast
•    The Fire

1 February 2015 ~ Talut's Army and Inside the Grave

1 February 2015 ~ Talut's Army and Inside the Grave

Prophet Yusha* to other Prophets

Prophet Yusha* captured Jerusalem for Bani Israel and they lived there in peace and prosperity for some time. After many years they lost their way, became arrogant and disobedient to Allah. This resulted in them losing battles and losing their precious Ark of the Covenant – which contained items from Prophet Musa* and Harun*. They were then further humiliated by being defeated and thrown out of their cities. It is at this time that they approached their Prophet (not named in the Qur’an) but thought to be Samuel (Shaamil) to ask for a king to help them fight and retain their cities.

Before that story, there are two other Prophets briefly mentioned by name in Ibn Kathir’s Lives of the Prophets as being sent to Bani Israel. There were many others sent but not mentioned but Allah highlights these with no additional commentary:

Prophet Ilyas* (thought to be Elijah from the Bible):

The Quran mentions about Prophet Ilyas* along with some of the other great Prophets, who were the descendants of Abraham*: “And Zacharias and John, Jesus and Elias (all were upright men).” [TMQ 6:85]

“And lo! Elias was of those sent (to warn), When he said unto his folk: Will ye not ward off (evil)? Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the best of creators, Allah, your Lord and Lord of your forefathers? But they denied him, so they surely will be haled forth (to the doom) Save single-minded slaves of Allah. And we left for him among the later folk (the salutation): Peace be unto Elias! Lo! thus do We reward the good. Lo! he is one of our believing slaves. And lo! Lot verily was of those sent (to warn). When We saved him and his household, every one, Save an old woman among those who stayed behind; Then We destroyed the others. And lo! ye verily pass by (the ruin of) them in the morning. And at night-time; have ye then no sense?” [TMQ 37:123-138]

Prophet Al-Yasa* (thought to be Elisha from the Bible)

“And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did We prefer above (Our) creatures,  With some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a straight path.” [TMQ 6:86-7]

“And make mention of Ishmael and Elisha and Dhu'l-Kifl. All are of the chosen.” [TMQ 38:48]

King Talut is chosen

Ibn Jarir reported that the condition of Bani Israel deteriorated. They committed many sins and killed whom they wished of the prophets. Consequently Allah sent them tyrannous king who ill-treated them and spilled their blood, and set their enemies from outside against them as well. They used to go war, taking with them The Ark of the Covenant. They did this so that they would be victorious by its blessings, and it became a symbol of calm and a relic left behind by Moses's people. When they went to war with the people of Gaza and Askalon, they were defeated because the Ark of the Covenant was captured from them. When the king of Bani Israel heard of this he died on the spot. Bani Israel remained lost until Almighty Allah sent them a prophet ( thought to be Samuel/Shammil* - although not named in the Qur’an). They asked him to appoint a king over them to lead in a war against their enemies.

Prophet Samuel*, knowing their weakness, told them: "I fear that when the time comes to fight you may refuse." But they assured him that they had suffered enough insults and were now ready to fight in the way of Allah, even if they lost their lives. Prophet Samuel prayed to Allah for guidance. Allah revealed to him that He had chosen one, Talut (Saul), to be their king. The prophet wanted to know how to recognize the future king. He was told that Talut would come to him by himself and that they should then hand over the control of kingdom to him, for he would lead them in battle against the Philistines.

He then told Talut that Allah had chosen him as the king of the children of Israel. His duty would be to take charge of their affairs, to unite them under one banner, and to protect them from their enemies. If he carried out Allah's commands, he would be given victory. Talut was surprised by this sudden honour offered to him. It was also a heavy responsibility. He protested to the prophet that he was a of the children of Benjamin, the least famous of the tribes of Jacob; he did not know anything of leadership or kingship and had no wealth. Samuel told him that it was the will of Allah that he should be the king, that he should thank Allah for His favour and be strong in faith.

Taking Talut by the hand, Samuel* led him to the children of Israel, but they insisted on a direct sign from Allah. Prophet Samuel* told them to go outside the city to see the sign, which they did.

When Prophet Samuel* presented Talut to Bani Israel, they were very upset because of his tribe called Benjamin, who they considered unworthy of such greatness. After long arguments they finally demanded that if the long lost chest with Prophet Musa* and Prophet Harun* belongings was restored to them, they would accept Talut as their king. God restored the chest to them and though they were overjoyed and very happy to recover the chest, they had no other choices but to accept Talut as their king.

After becoming a king Talut very carefully established an army, but on their way to fight Philistine he put them through vigorous trainings and gave them strict criteria. So, by the time they came to face the tyrant king of Philistine named Goliath king Talut ended up with an army of about 310 out of 80,000. But he was happy with these truly qualified fighters. With this small army when he faced king Goliath, who was a very big and gigantic person and no one in king Talut’s army wanted to fight him in a single combat offered by Goliath.

Talut set about organizing his army with strong faith and wisdom. He ordered that only men free from responsibilities should join. Those engaged in building homes, men who were about to be married and those occupied with business should not join. After establishing a well-trained army, he decided to put them to the test. He told them that along the route they would pass a river where they should drink enough water to quench their thirst but not more than that. To his disappointment, he discovered the majority of them drank more water than they should have. He discharged them for disobedience and kept only the few who had obeyed him, as they were the ones who proved their sincerity. This resulted in a split in the army, but he was not bothered. He believed in quality and not numbers; better a small band of true believers he could rely on than a huge army of unreliable men.

Talut's men sighted the enemy on the other side of the river. Their opponents appeared physically strong and were armed with better weapons. They were led by the mighty warrior Goliath (Jalut), known for his huge build and brute strength. A great number of Talut's men ran away on seeing this strong force. The small band that remained was willing to fight, whatever the outcome, for they had heard that there had been many incidents in the past in which Allah had caused a small force to defeat a larger one.

"Have you not thought about the group of children of Israel after (the time of ) Moses? When they said to a Prophet of theirs: "Appoint for us a king and we will fight in Allah's Way."
He said: "Would you then refrain from fighting, if fighting was prescribed for you?"
They said: "Why should we not fight in Allah's Way while we have been driven out of our homes and our children (families have been taken as captives)?"
But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away, all except a few of them. And Allah is All-Aware of the Zalimeen (polytheists, and wrongdoers).
And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: "Indeed Allah has appointed Talut as a king over you."
They said: "How can he be a king over us when we are better fitted than him for the kingdom, and he has not been given enough wealth."
He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah grants His Kingdom to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower."
And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: "Verily! The sigh of His kingdom is that there shall come to you At Tabut (a wooden box), wherein is Sakinah (peace and reassurance) from your Lord and a remnant of that which Moses and Aaron left behind, carried by the angels. Verily, in this is a sigh for you if you are indeed believers."
Then when Talut set out with the army, he said: "Verily! Allah will try you by a river. So whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me, and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes thereof in the hollow of his hand."
Yet, they drank thereof, all, except a few of them. So when he had crossed it (the river), he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power on this day against Goliath and his hosts."
But those who knew with certainty that they were to meet their Lord, said: "How often a small group overcame a mighty host by Allah's Leave?" And Allah is with the patient.
And when they advanced to meet Goliath and his forces, they invoked. "Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience and make us victorious over the disbelieving people." [TMQ 2:246-250]

Main Topic ~ Fitna al-Qabr (Trials in the Grave)

The Prophet* told us that two angels will descend on the person that is in the grave – called Munkar and Nakir. They would scream at him and they would shock that person and surprise him. Their way of conversation is not very polite. They are very tough and strong. They expect a straight and immediate answer from you. Whether you are a believer or not, they will come in that fashion. These two angels will come down and ask three questions:

- “Ma rabbuk? Wa ma deenuk? Wa man nabiyuk?”

- Who is your Lord? What is your religion? And who is your Prophet?

Our response from the soul will be dependent upon how we have lived our life and whether every part of our body/soul/consciousness would testify to that truth. It is not something we can blag!

The Muslim

The believer would say, “My Lord is Allah. And my religion is Islam. And my Prophet is Muhammad*.” They would hear a sound coming from above, “Qad saddaqa ‘abdi” = “My servant is saying the truth. So furnish his grave from paradise, and provide him clothes from paradise and open for him a gate to paradise.”

So Allah is verifying the answer. This grave on earth is hooked up to Jannah via a different dimension - directly connected to paradise. This person in the grave is able to see his place in Jannah. He is not able to go there, but he can see it. Then a very handsome person will walk into the grave. The dead person would say, “Who are you?” That person would say, “I am your good deeds and I came to spend time with you until the day of judgement.” So the believer would not be alone. The Prophet* says that the believer will have window showing paradise, and a window showing hell. And he will be told, “This is where you could have been if you were not a believer. And this is what you have got because of your imaan.” When he sees that, he would say:  “O Allah, start the day of judgement so that I can go to my family and my wealth!”

The non-Believer

When the angels ask the non-believer: “Who is your prophet?” He would say, “Huh? What? I don’t know. I heard the people say this and I said it.” The angels would smash him with a hammer that would turn him into dust. That person is saying what he heard the people say about the Prophet* – what Abu Jahl said, what newspapers wrote, etc. This is not the answer the angels are looking for. It needs to be clear that belief in Muhammad* is what you will be asked about in the grave. It is not sufficient to say that there is one God. You have to believe in God’s representatives, His Messengers – Muhammad*, Isa*, Musa*, Ibrahim*. They are the ones conveying the Message of Allah to the people of the earth.

After the corrupt, or evil person, is questioned, an announcement will be made from the heavens, “He is a liar! Furnish his grave from hellfire, give him clothes from hell fire and open for him a gate to hell fire.” Then an evil, ugly person will come to him in the grave. The person will ask, “Who are you?” The person will say, “I am your evil deeds and I will be with you until the day of judgement.” That man will have stinking, rotten smell. Two windows will be opened – a window to Jannah and a window to hell fire. He will be told, “This is where you could have been if you were a believer. This is where you will be in hellfire.” He will say: O Lord, do not let the day of judgement start.”

Not only is he suffering physically, but he’s suffering psychologically because of regret.

The Final Trials

Al-Bukhari narrates that Asma bint Abi Bakr narrated that The Prophet* stood in the masjid and gave a Khutbah. He started talking about the fitna of the grave until there was an uproar in the masjid – loud noises. What was that noise? The Sahabah were crying. Asma said, “I couldn’t hear the Khutbah. And I waited until the noise calmed down and then I asked a man next to me, ‘BarakAllahu feek. What was the last thing The Prophet* said?’ The Prophet* said, ‘It has been revealed to me that you will go through fitna in the grave similar to the fitna of ad-dajjaal.’”

The Prophet* said that this is the last test the believer will go through, the last ibtilaa.

 

23 October 2011

Ifk Lessons; Gaddafi's death 

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Following the Ifk incident - these were the verses of the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet*:

Selected Verses Surah an-Nur (24)
11: Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against Aisha, the wife of the Prophet*) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment.
12: Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"?
13: Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allah , who are the liars.
14: And if it had not been for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been touched for that [lie] in which you were involved by a great punishment
15: When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous.
16: And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allah]; this is a great slander"?
17: Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers.
18: And Allah makes the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) plain to you, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
19: Indeed, those who like that immorality (the crime of illegal sexual intercourse) should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know.
20: And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, (Allah would have hastened the punishment upon you). And that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful.
21: O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan), then, verily he commands Al-Fahsha' [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.)], and Al-Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam, etc.)]. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.
22: And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah , and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
23: Indeed, those who [falsely] accuse chaste, unaware and believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter; and they will have a great punishment
24: On a Day when their tongues, their hands and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.
25: That Day, Allah will pay them in full their deserved recompense, and they will know that it is Allah who is the perfect in justice.

The Ifk against Aisha (ra)
Summary
The Ifk against the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (ra), was perpetrated after the campaign of Banu al-Mustaliq. As the Prophet* and the expeditionary force were returning from a long and exhaustive journey, they camped not far from Medina in order to recoup their energies. At dawn, or before it, the Prophet* gave the orders to resume the journey. Aisha (ra) stepped out of the tent while her palanquin was placed outside the entrance to the tent. On her return she noticed that she had lost her necklace and retraced her footsteps in order to recover it. As she was a young lady and slight in build, those who carried the palanquin had not noticed that she was not in there. Hence, when she returned the Muslims had departed. Unafraid, she wrapped herself in her mantle and laid down waiting for the Muslims, believing that they would return for her once they found that she was missing. While she waited, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal as-Salami, who had been out of the camp on an errand, returned to find that the Muslims had left. When he came close and discovered that it was indeed Aisha (ra), he brought her his camel and requested her to ride it. Safwan rushed back to Medina, and arrived in broad daylight.
Malicious rumours about Aisha (ra)
Soon afterwards people began whispering about her delayed return on the camel of Safwan, a young and handsome man. Needless to say that the mushrikeen and munafiqeen latched onto the issue and soon the whole subject became the basis of significant unrest within Medina. Among those who were instrumental in spreading the slander were Hamnah (sister of the Prophet's* wife Zaynab), Hassan ibn Thabit (the poet), and Mistah (son of the slave of Aisha). However, many Muslims and companions provided an audience to the rumours, thereby casting great doubt over the Prophet*'s household and the Prophet* himself. The evidence that even some of the companions were involved in the rumours is in the above verse of Qur'an.
 
Lessons
The Ifk (lie) against Aisha (ra), the Mother of the Believers, was another episode through which Allah (swt) showed us the true characteristics of the Islamic Personality. It was during this event that even some of the believers inadvertently fell into error. The lesson we learn is not just that the believers were prone to errors or that those who slander women unjustly are subjected to 80 lashes. Rather, we understand that believers exhibit a specific thought process, when confronted not only by slander, but by those who do not abide by al-Hukm ash-Shar'i. Fundamental to that thought process is the principle that those around us are only as good or bad as we are. Hence, any accusations at those around us have the potential to be applied on the accuser.
"Why did not, when they heard it, the believing men and women think the best of one another and say, this is an obvious lie (Ifk)." [TMQ 24:12]
Looking at ourselves through others
The fundamental issue is that the verse of Qur'an focuses on how the believing men and women should have evaluated the subject of the slander. Firstly, Allah (swt) addresses the believers in the verse. And in the address He (swt) asks that why did they not think good of themselves when they heard the slander. Aisha was from them, one of the believers. Hence, they should have asked the question, would we be capable of performing this action? If we cannot attribute this to ourselves how can we attribute this to Aisha (ra). This is because Aisha (ra) is from amongst us, one of the believers.
Secondly, from all we know of her excellent piety, such an action would be grossly out of character. Hence, their involvement in this slander was contrary to all the good they knew of her.
This process was illustrated by Abu 'Ayyub Khalid ibn Zaid Ansari. When he heard about the slander, he asked his wife 'Umm 'Ayyub whether she had heard it too. She replied that she had and judged it to be a lie. Abu 'Ayyub then went on to ask her if she would perform such an action. When she replied in the negative, Abu 'Ayyub said, " Aisha is better than you, and if my own wife is not capable of such an action how could we entertain such a thought about Aisha, the Mother of the Believers and the wife of the Prophet*."
From this incident, we learn some important lessons about the manner by which we should look at ourselves and other Muslims. The first is that when Allah (swt) talks of "thinking good about oneselves", Allah (swt) is effectively stating that an attack on Aisha is an attack on yourselves, because you were all from the believers. So if Aisha (ra) had performed such an action then it would be no more than a reflection of the prevailing attitudes amongst yourselves. So an attack on Aisha (ra) was indeed an attack on yourselves, because how could such ideas be allowed to become prevalent amongst you? And when you spread the slander against Aisha (ra) you were spreading slander against your own selves. Hence, the concept we take from this is that when we criticise those around us, how much of that criticism is implicitly a criticism of ourselves.
In the case of valid criticism
This is in the case when there is no smoke or fire. What of the case when Muslims actually are at fault? Does this mean our task begins and ends with criticising them? Again, we must not ignore our responsibility to the situation. If the Muslims around us are bad, it means that we must fulfil our responsibility by recognising it and then attempt to correct them. This concept is illustrated in the narration about the Companions of the Sabbath. "And ask them (O Muhammad) about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel. And when a community among them said, 'Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment?' The preachers said, 'In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may fear Allah.' When they ignored the warning that had been given to them, We rescued those who forbade evil, but We seized those who did wrong with a severe torment because they used to rebel (disobey Allah). So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them, 'Be you monkeys, despised and rejected.' " [TMQ 7:163 - 166]
If Allah (swt) rescued those who forbade evil, then those who were silent over the wrong doings were part of those who did wrong. As Muslims we need to be sure that we are of the former category, and not the latter. This distinction is difficult to observe because other matters often confuse the motive. As an example, when our own sons and daughters are guilty of bad actions, that does not excuse us of the duty to correct them. We know that if somebody criticises our children, it is a criticism of ourselves. To what extent can we tolerate a criticism of our children knowing that it is our responsibility? Or do we defend them tooth and nail, regardless of our neglect? And if we defend, do we defend because our honour is at stake, or do we defend because we are right? Yet when those outside our own families perform bad actions, we quickly point fingers at them, their parents etc. But from Islam, that finger is pointing straight back at us. Examples are also found outside the family setting. The quarrels in the local mosques or the sins of the rulers in Islamic Lands, do not absolve us of the duty to forbid the munkar. Hence, unless we have tried to correct those around us, thereby fulfilling our responsibility, we should think very carefully before we point fingers at others.
Al-Hukm ash-Shar'i alone forms the criteria. Thus, we look at those around us and compare how their actions are consistent with the obligations from Shari'ah. If we find that they are wanting, then our responsibility is to inform and culture our fellow Muslims. In doing so, we are not doing them a favour. Rather, we are fulfilling a duty, for by having that knowledge we are responsible to culture those around us with it. In addition, criticising them alone, is a distraction from our obligation to advise them. Only when we have conveyed the message can we consider criticising without any implications on our selves.

Other Lessons from this incident

• Accusing a Muslim man or woman unjustly, especially for such a major sin as zina (adultery), is in itself a major sin if there is no truth or proof in the matter. Hence, we should be very careful when talking about these matters unless we have 4 witnesses (pen and the ink).
• There was some Good that came out of this evil event. For example, we learned all these lessons (around false accusations, thinking good of other believers) through this incident. Also, even though Aisha and her family suffered a lot from this, they will get a lot of blessings for  their patience and remaining steadfast
• It is important that Muslims should care for reputation of other Muslims. We should not slander them or lie against them, nor should we be happy if we hear bad news about other Muslims (especially those we may not like). Hence, as stated before, we should always think good of other Muslims and give them the benefit of the doubt. We should also think good of others all the time as our default position and so we should treat bad rumours as lies
• Furthermore, we should not carry rumours around with us, nor spread them. Muslims should not have time for nonsense like this and we should stay clear and not participle in hearsay
• It is also clear from the verses that Allah is jealous about maintaining a good reputation of Muslims and that we  should be free from any unwarranted accusation. Hence, falsely accusing men and women is very wrong
• Allah tells us that this type of thing should not happen again if we are Believers. This is quite a profound expectation
• We shouldn’t talk and spread tales of immorality / titillation / sensationalisation just for the sake of it or to gossip.   Muslims should not publicise these evil things lest they become a self fulfilling prophesy. If society talks constantly about these things they become normalised behaviour (as we see in Western countries) and then people will start to expect this behaviour (or even strive for it) and those that do sin will feel less shame (if any!).  Those that do not engage in the major sin may then settle for talking about these things in a lustful way, or exaggerate the problem or go to extreme lengths to talk about these things. We should not sweep things under the carpet but be aware of the issues and Forbid the Evil (munkar) in the best way.
• We also learn about the importance in protecting Muslim community and society (& family life). To make real accusations people need 4 witness to the act otherwise they are flogged and labelled a fasiq and their witness not accepted in court. Hence, this issue is such an important topic partly because the punishment is so severe and partly because of the effects of this on a family and society. Hence, false accusations are a major sin.
• Related to the previous point, the Muslim Ummah should try hard collectively to protect the reputation and honour of its people, and to avoid fabrication and false stories. We should know that nowadays, no Qur’anic ayah will defend any Muslims of today!
• As with Abu Bakr, we should try to pardon & overlook people who make mistakes. We should be kind and generous to these people (if they are sincere) and not fall to their petty levels
• We also learn about the Prophet’s* humanity. He* didn’t know unseen and over time became more concerned about the rumours – but still thought well of the people despite the fact that he, too, was suffering when hearing these rumours about his family and friends
• Some people also highlight the fact that the enemies of Islam will try to assassinate the influential Muslim person (character), or will get involved in character assassination – where they try to destroy the credibility and reputation of sincere Muslims. This happened in the time of the Prophet* and ever since then to this very day.

Finally, it should be noted that Abdullah ibn Ubai (the leader of the Hypocrites) was not punished despite his involvement in the rumours. Scholars have given a few reasons for this which include:

• punishment in this life for a sin means that the person will not be accounted on the Day of Judgement for that, hence his evil will be left for Allah’s ultimate judgement when he is due to get his full punishment;
• also it could be that, as a clever political leader he was very cunning in the way he spread the rumour and never implicated himself;
• furthermore, guilt is established though witnesses or personal admission (confession) and either no witnesses came forward and he was not the type of person to confess;

The Death of Abu Rafi’
Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq (Abu Rafi‘) was a terrible Jew criminal, who had mustered the troops of the Confederates and provided them with a lot of wealth and supplies, on the one hand, and used to malign the Prophet*, on the other. When the Muslims had settled their affair with Banu Quraiza; Al- Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al- Aws, asked for the Prophet’s permission to kill that criminal in order to merit a virtue equal to that of Al-Aws who had killed another criminal of the Jews, Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf. The Prophet* gave them his permission provided that no women or children be killed.
A group of five people with ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ateeq at their head, headed for Khaibar where ‘Abu Rafi’s fort was situated in a Special Operation. When they approached the place, ‘Abdullah advised his men to stay a little behind, while he went ahead disguised himself in his cloak as if he had been relieving himself. When the people of the fort went in, the gate-keeper called him to enter thinking he was one of them. ‘Abdullah went in and lurked inside. He then began to unbolt the doors leading to Salam’s room. There it was absolutely dark but he managed to put him to the sword: He recounts the story (in Bukhari): "I called, 'O Abu Rafi!' He replied 'Who is it?' I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He cried loudly but my blow was futile. Then I came to him, pretending to help him, saying with a different tone of my voice, 'What is wrong with you, O Abu Rafi?' He said 'Are you not surprised? Woe on your mother! A man has come to me and hit me with a sword!' So again I aimed at him and hit him, but the blow proved futile again, and on that Abu Rafi cried loudly and his wife got up. I came again and changed my voice as if I were a helper, and found Abu Rafi lying straight on his back, so I drove the sword into his belly and bent on it till I heard the sound of a bone break", and then he left in safety.
On his way back, his leg broke so he wrapped it up in a band, and hid in a secret place until morning when someone stood on the wall and announced the death of Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq officially. Abdullah bin ‘Ateeq said that he had never heard any word more pleasing than the death of Abu Rafi. Once they were sure of their victim’s death. On hearing the glad news he left and went to see the Prophet*, who listened to the whole story, and then asked ‘Abdullah to stretch his leg, which he wiped and the fracture healed on the spot.

Hadith: No time to discuss

Feedback:

Signs of ad-Dajjal: Sign of ad-Dajjal and how we can recognise him.

The Day of Judgement: What will happen on the Day of Judgement and how the people will be judged

News

The Death of Gaddafi
Quite a lively debate which was based on the news reports of how he died.
Points that were mentioned included:

• The Muslims of Libya wanted a change, following the Arab Spring changes in Tunisia, Egypt and other places
• Gaddafi was trained in the UK’s Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and soon after returning to Libya overthrew the Libyan King
• Over the years Gaddafi became more like a dictator
• Libyan students and visitors to the UK have often been very suspicious of talking to other people for fear of their lives and the safety of their family
• He is known to have punished Islamic preachers quite severely (by torture, imprisonment and death)
• He is reported to deny the importance of Hadith and the Sunnah (Scholars agree that people who stubbornly reject Hadith are outside of Islam)
• Gaddafi received a lot of military and other support from Western countries like the UK
• Western countries have major financial and oil interests in Libya, which may explain why they fail to intervene ‘for humanitarian’ reasons in places like Zimbabwe, or Burma
• Western countries still support most other dictators in Muslim countries
• The death of Gaddafi after his capture, and that of his son, was probably wrong (still need to know facts).
• It is completely unacceptable that his dead body be put on open display
• The dead should be buried as soon as possible after death
• The people of Libya should take charge of their future based on their best interests