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Muharamat Prohibitions
that are Taken Too Lightly English
Translation Book
by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Contents Introduction Shirk: associating partners in worship
with Allah Grave-worship Sacrificing to anything other than
Allah Allowing what Allah has forbidden
and forbidding what Allah has allowed Magic, fortune-telling and divination Astrology, or believing that the
stars and planets have an influence on people’s lives and events Believing that certain things can
bring benefit when the Creator has not made them so Showing off in worship Superstitious belief in omens Swearing by something other than
Allah Sitting with hypocrites and wrongdoers
to enjoy their company or to keep them company Lack of composure in prayer Fidgeting and making unnecessary
movements in prayer Deliberately anticipating the movements
of the imaam (when praying in congregation) Coming to the mosque after eating
onions or garlic, or anything that has an offensive smell Zinaa - fornication and adultery Sodomy (homosexuality) Not allowing one’s husband to have
marital relations for no legitimate reason Asking one’s husband for a divorce
for no legitimate reason al-Zihaar Having intercourse with one’s wife
during her period Having intercourse with one's wife
in her rectum Not treating co-wives fairly Being alone with a non-mahram woman Shaking hands with a non-mahram woman A woman wearing perfume when going
out or passing by non-mahram men A woman travelling without a mahram Deliberately looking at a non-mahram
woman Seeing one’s womenfolk behaving in
an immoral fashion and keeping silent Making false claims about a child’s
lineage, or denying one’s own child Consuming riba (usury or interest) Concealing a product’s faults at
the time of sale Artificially inflating prices Trading after the second call to
prayer on Friday Gambling Theft Offering or accepting bribes Seizing land by force Accepting a gift in return for interceding Hiring someone and benefiting from
his labour, then not paying him his wages Not giving gifts equally to one’s
children Asking people for money when one
is not in need Seeking a loan with no intention
of repaying it Consuming haram wealth Drinking khamr - even a single drop Using vessels of gold and silver,
or eating or drinking from them Bearing false witness Listening to music and musical instruments Gossip and backbiting Slander Looking into people’s houses without
their permission Two people conversing privately to
the exclusion of a third Isbaal - wearing clothes that come
down below the ankles Men wearing gold in any shape or
form Women wearing short, tight or see-through
clothes Wearing wigs and hairpieces, whether
made from natural or artificial hair, for men and women Men resembling women and women resembling
men, in dress, speech and appearance Dyeing one’s hair black Having pictures of animate beings
on clothing, walls or paper, etc. Lying about one’s dreams Sitting or walking on graves, or
answering the call of nature in a graveyard Not cleaning oneself properly after
passing water Eavesdropping on people who do not
want to be heard Being a bad neighbour Writing a will for the purpose of
harming one of the heirs Playing backgammon Cursing a believer or someone who
does not deserve to be cursed Wailing (at time of bereavement) Striking or branding the face Abandoning a Muslim brother for more
than three days with no legitimate reason Introduction: Praise be to Allah; we praise Him
and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from
the evil of our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allah
guides will never be led astray, and whomever Allah leaves astray,
no-one will guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah
Alone, with no partners or associates, and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
has laid down obligations which we are not permitted to ignore,
and has set limits which we are not permitted to transgress, and
has set out prohibitions which we are not allowed to violate. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Whatever Allah has permitted in His
Book is allowed, and whatever He has prohibited is forbidden;
whatever He has remained silent about is a concession, so accept
the concession of Allah, for Allah is never forgetful.” Then he
recited the aayah: “. . . and your Lord is never forgetful” [Maryam
19:64]. (Reported by al-Haakim, 2/375; classified as hasan
by al-Albaani in Ghaayat al-Maraam, p. 14) The things, which have been prohibited,
are the boundaries or limits set by Allah: “. . . And whosoever transgresses
the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself .
. .” [al-Talaaq 65:1] Allah has issued a threat to the
one who transgresses His set limits and violates His prohibitions,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whosoever disobeys Allah and
His Messenger, and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into
the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.”
[al-Nisaa’ 4:14] Avoiding that which has been forbidden
is a duty, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “Whatever you have been prohibited to do, avoid
it, and whatever you have been commanded to do, do as much of
it as you can.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-fadaa’il,
hadeeth no. 130, Abd al-Baaqi edition). It is well-known that some of those
who follow their desires, who are weak at heart and have little
knowledge, become irritated when they hear lists of prohibitions.
They grumble and mutter, “Everything is haram, you haven’t left
us anything that is not forbidden! You make our lives boring and
miserable. You don’t talk about anything but what is haram, but
religion is supposed to easy, not strict, and Allah is Forgiving
and Merciful.” In response to such remarks, we say: Allah, may He be glorified, rules
as He wills and there is none to put back His judgement. He is
All-Wise and Aware, and He allows whatever He wills and forbids
whatever He wills, may He be glorified. One of the basic principles
of our being His slaves is that we should accept whatever He decrees
and submit fully to it. His rulings stem from His knowledge, wisdom
and justice, and are not the matter of frivolity or foolish whims,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And the Word of your Lord has been
fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His words.
And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [al-An’aam 6:115] Allah has explained to us the governing
principle behind the allowing and prohibiting of various things
(interpretation of the meaning): “. . . He allows them as lawful al-tayyibaat
[(i.e., all good and lawful) as regards things, deeds, beliefs,
persons, foods, etc.], and prohibits them as unlawful al-khabaa’ith
[(i.e., all evil and unlawful) as regards things, deeds, beliefs,
persons, foods, etc.] . . .” [al-A’raaf 7:157]. So what is good and pure is halaal,
and what is evil and unclean is haram. The right to determine what is halaal
and what is haram belongs to Allah alone. Whoever claims this
right or affirms it for someone else is a kaafir whose
extreme kufr places him beyond the pale of Islam, as Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Or have they partners with Allah
(false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allah
has not allowed? . . .” [al-Shooraa 42:21] Furthermore, no-one is allowed to
speak about matters of halaal and haram except those who have
knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Allah has issued a stern warning
to those who speak about halaal and haram with no knowledge (interpretation
of the meaning): “And say not concerning that which
your tongues out forth falsely: ‘This is lawful and this is forbidden,’
so as to invent lies against Allah. . . .” [al-Nahl 16:116] Things which are definitively forbidden
have been clearly stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah, as Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Say: ‘Come, I will recite what your
Lord has prohibited you from: Join not anything in worship with
Him; be good and dutiful to your parents; kill not your children
because of poverty - We provide sustenance for you and for them;
come not near to al-fawaahish (shameful sins, illegal sexual
intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly; and kill
not anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause (according
to Islamic law). This He has commanded you that you may understand.”
[al-An’aam 6:151] The Sunnah also mentions many prohibitions;
for example, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “Allah has forbidden the sale of
wine (intoxicants), dead meat, pork and idols.” (Reported by Abu
Dawud, 3486; see also Saheeh Abi Dawud, 977). “Whatever Allah has forbidden, its
price is also forbidden.” (Reported by al-Daaraqutni, 3/7; it
is a saheeh hadeeth). Some texts mention specific types
or groups of prohibitions, such as when Allah forbids certain
types of food (interpretation of the meaning): “Forbidden to you (for food) are:
al-maytatah (the dead animals - cattle-beast not slaughtered),
blood, the flesh of swine, and the meat of that which has been
slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been
slaughtered for idols, etc., or on which Allah’s name has not
been mentioned while slaughtering, and that which has been killed
by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or
by the goring of horns - and that which has been (partly) eaten
by a wild animal - unless you are able to slaughter it (before
its death) - and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on al-nusub
(stone altars). Forbidden) also is to use arrows seeking luck
or decision . . .” [al-Maa’idah 5:3] Allah has also mentioned that which
is forbidden with regard to marriage, as He says (interpretation
of the meaning): “Forbidden to you (for marriage)
are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father’s
sisters, your mother’s sisters, your brother’s daughters, your
sister’s daughters, your foster mother who gave you suck, your
foster milk suckling sisters, your wives’ mothers . . .”[al-Nisaa’
4:23] Allah also mentions what kind of
earnings are forbidden, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . Allah has permitted trading
and forbidden riba (usury) . . .” [al-Baqarah 2:275] Allah, Who is Merciful towards His
slaves, has permitted innumerable good things, of many kinds.
He has not described the permitted things in detail because they
are so many; in contrast, He has described the prohibitions in
detail because they are limited, so that we will be aware of them
and can avoid them. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . He has explained to you in
detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity
. . .” [al-An’aam 6:119] But what is halaal is permitted as
a general principle: as long as something is good and pure, it
is permitted: “O mankind! Eat of that which is
lawful and good on the earth . . .” [al-Baqarah 2:168] It is a part of His Mercy that He
has made all things halaal in principle, except where there is
proof (daleel) that they are haram. This is part of His
generosity and bounty towards His slaves, for which we must obey
him, and give praise and thanks. When some people hear a detailed
list of the things that are haram, they become alarmed about the
rules of Sharee’ah. This is due to their weak faith and poor understanding
of Islam. One cannot help wondering whether these people really
want to be given a list of every type of thing that is halaal,
so that they can be convinced that Islam is easy! Do they need
for us to enumerate every type of good thing so that they can
rest assured that Islam will not make their lives dreary? Do they want to be told that the
meats of camels, cattle, sheep, rabbits, deer, goats, chickens,
pigeons, ducks, geese and ostriches over which the name of Allah
has been mentioned, and fish and locusts, are halaal? That vegetables, herbs, fruits and
edible seeds are halaal? That water, milk, honey, oil and
vinegar are halaal? That salt, seasonings and spices
are halaal? That using wood, iron, sand, stones,
plastic, glass and rubber is halaal? That travelling via riding-beasts,
cars, trains, ships and airplanes is halaal? That using air-conditioners, fridges,
washing-machines, tumble-dryers, mills, dough-mixers, meat-grinders,
juicers, medical instruments, engineering tools, calculators,
microscopes, telescopes, machinery for extracting water, oil and
minerals, filters for purifying water, printing presses and so
on is halaal? That wearing cotton, linen, wool,
camel hair, fur, permitted leathers, nylon and polyester is halaal? That in principle marriage, buying,
selling, sponsorship, bills of exchange, renting, professions
and trades such as carpentry, metalworking, repairing machines
and tending sheep are all halaal? I wonder what would happen if we
were to explain all this in detail to them. “And what is wrong
with these people that they fail to understand any word?” [al-Nisaa’
4:78] As regards their claim that Islam
is easy, this is true, but they are twisting the truth to try
and prove something that is false. What is meant by saying that
Islam is easy is not that it is in accordance with their desires
and opinions, but that is it easy in accordance with what the
Sharee’ah has brought. There is a huge difference between violating
prohibitions by making false claims about Islam being easy - although
it is easy, beyond any doubt - and availing oneself of legitimate
concessions such as being allowed to join or shorten prayers;
to break one’s fast when travelling; to wipe one’s socks when
performing wudoo’ - for one day and one night for a person who
is not travelling, and for three days and three nights in the
case of travelling; to perform tayammum when one is afraid
to use water; to join two prayers together when one is sick or
when rain is falling; to look at a non-mahram woman for purposes
of marriage; to have the choice, in the case of making expiation
for a broken vow, between freeing a slave or feeding or clothing
the poor; to eat the meat of dead animals when necessary - and
other kinds of concessions allowed by Sharee’ah. In addition to the above, the Muslim
should realize that one principle underlies all the prohibitions
in Islam: Allah is testing His slaves by means of these prohibitions,
to see what they will do. One of the things that distinguishes
the people of Paradise from the people of Hell is that the people
of Hell indulge in the desires with which the Fire is surrounded,
whereas the people of Paradise patiently endure the hardships
with which the Garden is surrounded. Were it not for this test,
the obedient would not be distinguished from the disobedient.
People of faith look at the difficulties involved from the perspective
of the reward they will earn by pleasing Allah, so obedience becomes
easy for them. The hypocrites, on the other hand, view these difficulties
as a matter of pain, suffering and deprivation, so obedience becomes
a heavy burden on them. By foregoing what is prohibited,
the obedient person gains much more: whoever forsakes something
for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something
better, and he will enjoy the sweet taste of faith in his heart. This paper discusses a number of
the prohibitions that have been proven in Sharee’ah, based on
evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah. (Some scholars have grouped
the prohibitions under headings such as al-kabaa’ir or
major sins. Among the best books on the topic is Tanbeeh al-ghaafileen
‘an a’maal al-jaahileen by Ibn al-Nahhaas al-Dimashqi, may
Allah have mercy on him). These prohibitions include actions which
are widely practised among many Muslims. By mentioning them my
intention is to correct and advise people. I ask Allah to guide
me and my Muslim brothers, and to help us to adhere to the limits
which He has set and to avoid the things that He has prohibited,
and to save us from our evil deeds. And Allah is the Best to guard,
and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. Shirk - associating partners with
Allah This is the most serious of all prohibitions,
according to the hadeeth narrated by Abu Bakrah, who said: “The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the most serious of the major sins?’
three times. We said, ‘Of course, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said,
‘Associating anything in worship with Allah . . .’” (Agreed upon; see al-Bukhaari, no.
2511, al-Bagha edition). Every other sin may be forgiven by
Allah, apart from shirk, which requires specific repentance,
as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, Allah forgives not that
partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives
except that (anything else) to whom He pleases . . .” [al-Nisaa’
4:48] One of the forms of shirk
which is particularly widespread in Muslim countries is: Grave-worship, the belief that dead awliyaa’
(“saints”) can fulfil one’s needs or help at times of distress,
and calling upon them for aid. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “And your Lord has decreed that you
worship none but Him . . .” [al-Israa’ 17:23] Similarly, they call upon dead Prophets,
righteous people and others to intercede for them or to rescue
them from some calamity, but Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Is not He (better than your gods)
Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who
removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations
after generations? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allah?
. . .” [al-Naml 27:62] Some of them have adopted the habit
of mentioning the name of a shaykh or wali (“saint”) when they
stand up, or sit down, or stumble, or encounter problems or distress,
so they might say “O Muhammad!” or “O ‘Ali!” or “O Husayn!” or
“O Badawi!” or “O Jeelaani!” or “O Shaadhili!” or “O Rifaa’i!”
- or they may call upon al-’Aydaroos or Sayyidah Zaynab or Ibn
‘Alwaan. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily those whom you call upon
besides Allah are slaves like you . . .” [al-A’raf 7:194] Some of those who worship graves
walk around them as if in Tawaaf, and acknowledge their
corners, or touch them, kiss them, wipe their faces with their
dust, prostrate towards them when they see them, or stand before
them in fear and humility, praying for whatever they need of healing
from some disease, or for a child, or for help with some difficulty.
Sometimes they call upon the occupant of the grave, saying “O
my master, I have come to you from far away, so do not let me
down.” But Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And who is more astray than one
who calls (invokes) besides Allah such as will not answer him
till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their
calls (invocations) to them?” [al-Ahqaaf 46:5] The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies calling on someone else
as a rival to Allah, will enter Hell.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
al-Fath, 8/176). Some of them shave their heads at
the graves, and some have books with titles like Manaasik Hajj
al-Mashaahid (“The Rituals of Pilgrimage to Shrines”), mashaahid
or shrines referring to graves or tombs of awliyaa’. Some
of them believe that the awliyaa’ are running the affairs
of the universe and that they have the power to benefit or harm.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And if Allah touches you with hurt,
there is none who can remove it but He; and if He intends any
good for you, there is no one who can repel His Favour . . .”
[Yoonus 10:107] It is also shirk to make a
vow to any other than Allah, as is done by those who vow to bring
candles or lights for the occupants of the graves. Another manifestation of al-shirk
al-akbar is sacrificing to anything other than
Allah Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Therefore turn in prayer to your
Lord, and sacrifice (to Him only)” [al-Kawthar 108:2] - i.e., sacrifice to Allah and in
the name of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “Allah will curse the one who sacrifices
to anything other than Allah.” (Reported by Imaam Muslim, may
Allah have mercy on him, in his Saheeh, no. 1978, ‘Abd
al-Baaqi edition). This sin combines two haram deeds, that of
sacrificing to anything other than Allah and that of sacrificing
in the name of anything other than Allah, both of which make the
meat of the animal slaughtered haram. One of the forms of sacrificing
to anything other than Allah which was known during the first
Jaahiliyyah and is still widespread nowadays is the practice of
“offering a sacrifice to the jinn,” whereby upon buying or constructing
a house, or digging a well, people slaughter an animal at its
entrance, out of fear of harm from the resident jinn. (See Tayseer
al-’Azeez al-Hameed, al-Iftaa’ edition, p. 158) Another widespread form of al-shirk
al-akbar is the sin of allowing what Allah has forbidden
and forbidding what Allah has allowed, or believing that anyone has the right to do so except
Allah, or referring matters for judgement to jaahili (non-Islamic)
courts freely and by choice, and believing that this is permissible.
Allah has mentioned this form of major kufr in the Qur’an (interpretation
of the meaning): “They (Jews and Christians) took
their rabbis and their monks to their lords besides Allah (by
obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according
to their own desires without being ordered by Allah). . .” [al-Tawbah
9:31] When ‘Adiyy ibn Haatim heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recite this
aayah, he said, “But they were not worshipping them.” The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “Yes, but
they permitted things that Allah had forbidden, and the people
accepted this, and they forbade things that Allah had allowed,
and the people accepted this too, and this is a form of worshipping
them.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 10/116.
See also al-Tirmidhi, no. 3095. Al-Albaani classified it as hasan
in Ghaayat al-Maraam, p. 19). Allah described the mushrikeen
as (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . [those who do not]
forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger
and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth . . .” [al-Tawbah
9:29] And Allah said (interpretation of
the meaning): “Say: ‘Tell me, what provision Allah has sent down
to you, and you have made of it lawful and unlawful.’ Say: ‘Has
Allah permitted you (to do so), or do you invent a lie against
Allah?’” [Yoonus 10:59] Other widespread forms of shirk
are: magic, fortune-telling and divination. Magic
(sihr) is an act of kufr, and one of the seven sins which
doom a person to Hell. It causes harm but no benefit. Allah says
of the one who learns it (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . And they learn that which
harms them and profits them not . . .” [al-Baqarah 2:102] “. . . and the magician will never
be successful, no matter what amount (of skill) he may attain).”
[Ta-Ha 20:69] The one who deals in magic is a kaafir,
as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . Sulayman did not disbelieve,
but the shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic
and such things as came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot
and Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such
things) things till they had said, ‘We are only for trial, so
disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’ . . .” [al-Baqarah
2:102] The prescribed punishment for the
one who practices magic is death, and his income is haram and
impure. But people who are ignorant wrongdoers and weak in faith
go to magicians to help them harm someone or take revenge on someone.
Some people commit the sin of going to a magician to ask his help
in undoing the magic of someone else, when they should turn to
Allah to help them and heal them, by reciting His words, such
as the soorahs that offer protection (al-Falaq and al-Naas),
and so on. Fortune-tellers and their ilk are
kaafirs who disbelieve in Allah, because they claim knowledge
of the Unseen, but no one has knowledge of the Unseen except Allah.
Many of these fortune-tellers take advantage of simple-minded
people and take their money. They use many methods such as drawing
lines in the sand, throwing sea-shells, reading palms, teacups
(or coffee cups), crystal balls and mirrors, and so on. If they
get it right one time, they get it wrong ninety-nine times, but
ignorant people remember only the one time when these liars get
something right. They go to them to find out about the future,
whether they will be successful in marriage or business, or to
help them find something they have lost, and so on. The ruling
concerning the person who visits a fortune-teller is: if he believes
what he says, he is a kaafir who has left Islam, on the basis
of the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller or a soothsayer
and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed
to Muhammad.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/429; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 5939). If a person does not believe that they have
knowledge of the Unseen, but he goes out of curiosity or whatever,
he is not a kaafir, but his prayers will not be accepted for forty
days, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something,
his prayers will not be accepted for forty nights” (Saheeh
Muslim, 4/1751) - even though it is still obligatory to pray
and to repent for this sin. Astrology, or believing that the
stars and planets have an influence on people’s lives and events. Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani reported:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) led us in the morning prayer at al-Hudaybiyah after rain
had fallen during the night. When he had finished, he turned around
to face the people and said: ‘Do you know what your Lord says?’
They said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said: ‘[Allah
says]: This morning one of My slaves became a believer in Me and
one became a disbeliever. As for the one who said, “We have been
given rain by the grace and mercy of Allah,” he is a believer
in Me and a disbeliever in the stars; as for the one who said,
“We have been given rain by such-and-such a star,” he is a disbeliever
in Me and a believer in the stars.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari;
see Fath al-Baari, 2/333) Similarly, the one who reads the
horoscopes in newspapers and magazines and believes what they
say about the influence of the stars and planets is a mushrik,
and the one who reads them for entertainment is a sinner, because
it is not permitted to entertain oneself by reading things that
contain shirk, because Shaytaan will try to lead him to
shirk through this. Yet another form of shirk is
believing that certain things can bring benefit when the Creator
has not made them so. For example. some people believe
in amulets and spells, or wearing certain types of pearls or seashells
or metal earrings and so on, on the advice of fortune-tellers
or magicians or in accordance with inherited customs. So they
hang them around their own or their children’s necks to ward off
the evil eye - or so they claim; or they tie them onto their bodies
or hang them in their cars and homes, or wear rings with special
stones, thinking that these things can relieve or ward off distress.
This without a doubt is contrary to the idea of relying on Allah,
and will only result in making a person even more weak, like seeking
medicine in a haram way. These amulets obviously contain much
shirk, such as seeking the help of some jinns and devils, or vague
drawings and illegible writing. Some of these liars even write
aayaat from the Qur’an, or mix them with words of shirk, or write
them with impure substances such as menstrual blood. Hanging up
these amulets or tying them to one’s body is haram because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
hangs up an amulet is guilty of shirk.” (Reported by Ahmad,
4/156; see also Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 492). If the one who does this believes
that these things can cause benefit or harm instead of Allah,
he is a mushrik who is guilty of al-shirk al-akbar.
If he believes that they are a means of causing benefit or harm,
then he is a mushrik who is guilty of al-shirk al-asghar,
which includes shirk that consists of attributing causes
to things other than Allah. Showing off in worship: among the conditions for any good deed to be acceptable
are that it should be free of any kind of showing off and within
the framework of the Sunnah. The person who performs acts of worship,
like praying, in order to be seen by other people is a mushrik
and his deed is unacceptable. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive
Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up
for prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and
they do not remember Allah but little.” [al-Nisaa’ 4:142] Similarly, the person who does a
good deed so that news of it will reach other people has also
fallen into the sin of shirk. The threat of punishment
for the one who does this was reported in the hadeeth narrated
by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father),
in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “Whoever does things to be seen and heard by others, Allah
will cause him to be seen and heard as an example to others.”
(Reported by Muslim, 4/2289). Whoever does any act of worship
for the sake of Allah and other people, his deeds will be unacceptable,
as is stated in the hadeeth qudsi: “I am so self-sufficient
that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does
a deed for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that
deed renounced by Me to him who he associated with Me.” (Reported
by Muslim, no. 2985). It may happen that a person starts
to do a deed for the sake of Allah, then the urge to show off
comes over him. If he resists that impulse his deed will still
be acceptable, but if he submits willingly to it, then in the
opinion of most of the scholars his deed will be unacceptable. Superstitious belief in omens: this is a form of pessimism, as
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “But whenever good came to them,
they said, ‘Ours is this.’ And if evil afflicted them, they ascribed
it to evil omens connected with Musa and those with him . . .”
[al-A’raaf 7:131] Before Islam, if one of the Arabs
wanted to do something like travelling, he would take hold of
a bird and release it: if it flew to the right, he would take
this as a good omen and proceed with his plans, but if it flew
to the left, he would take it as a bad omen and cancel his plans.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave his
verdict on this practice when he said: “Al-Tiyarah (observing
birds for omens) is shirk.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/389;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3955). This kind of haram belief that goes
against Tawheed also includes the practice of regarding certain
times etc., as inauspicious, such as not holding a wedding in
Safar, or regarding the last Wednesday of every month as a day
of evil omen and ongoing calamity, or believing that numbers such
as 13, or certain names, are “unlucky.” It is also haram to believe
that handicapped people are bad omens, such as going to open one’s
store but turning back upon seeing a one-eyed man. All of this
is haram and is part of the shirk for which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) disowned people. ‘Imraan
ibn Husayn reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “He is not one of us who observes birds for
omens or has someone else do this for him, or who predicts the
future or asks someone else to do it for him, (and I think he
said) or who practices magic or asks someone else to do it for
him.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 18/162; see
also Saheeh al-Jaami’ 5435). The expiation required from the person
who commits any of these sins is reported in the hadeeth reported
by Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever was turned away from doing
something because of a bad omen is guilty of shirk.’ The people
asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what expiation is there for doing
that?’ He said, ‘That he should say: “O Allah, there is no goodness
except Your goodness and no omen except your omen and there is
no god but You.”’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/220; al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 1065). Pessimism is a part of everyone’s
nature, to a greater or lesser extent; the best cure for it is
reliance upon Allah (tawakkul), as Ibn Mas’ood said: “There
is no one among us (who will not feel pessimistic sometimes),
but when we rely on Allah, He makes that feeling go away.” (Reported
by Abu Dawud, no. 3910; see also al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
430). Swearing by something other than
Allah: Allah
may swear by whatever of His creatures He wills, but His creatures
are not permitted to swear by anything other than Allah. Many
people swear all kinds of oaths by things other than Allah, but
swearing by something is like glorifying it, and it is not right
to glorify anything or anyone other than Allah. Ibn ‘Umar reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allah has prohibited that you should swear by your fathers. If
anyone swears, let him swear by Allah, or else remain silent.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath, 11/530). Ibn ‘Umar
also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “Whoever swears by something other than Allah
is guilty of shirk.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/125; see
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6204). The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by trustworthiness
is not one of us.” (Reported by Abu Dawud 3253; see also al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, no. 94). It is not permitted to swear by the
Ka’bah, by trustworthiness, by honour, by help, by the blessing
of so-and-so, by the life of so-and-so, by the virtue of the Prophet,
by the virtue of a wali, by one’s father and mother, by the heads
of one’s children, etc. All of that is haram, and the expiation
for doing it is to say La ilaaha ill-Allah, as is stated
in the saheeh hadeeth: “Whoever swears and says ‘By al-Laat’ or
‘By al-’Uzza,’ let him say ‘La ilaaha ill-Allah (there
is no god except Allah).’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath,
11/536). There are other phrases that similarly involve shirk
and are therefore forbidden, but that are often spoken by Muslims,
such as: “I seek refuge with Allah and with you,” “I am depending
on Allah and on you,” “This is from Allah and from you,” “I have
no-one but Allah and you,” “I have Allah in heaven and I have
you on earth,” “If it were not for Allah and so-and-so,” “I disown
Islam,” “Time has let me down” (and every other expression which
involves cursing time, like saying, “This is a bad time,” “This
is an unlucky time,” “Time is a betrayer,” etc., because cursing
time is an insult to Allah Who has created time), references to
“Nature’s way.” Names that imply being a slave of anyone other
than Allah, such as ‘Abd ‘al-Maseeh, ‘Abd al-Nabi, ‘Abd al-Rasool
and ‘Abd al-Husayn, are also forbidden. There are also modern expressions
which are contrary to Tawheed and are therefore haram, such as
“Islamic socialism,” “Islamic democracy,” “The will of the people
is the will of Allah,” “Religion is for Allah and the land is
for the people,” “In the name of Arabism,” “In the name of the
revolution,” etc. It is also haram to use titles such
as “King of kings” or “Judge of judges” for human beings; to address
munafiqeen or kuffaar with titles like “Sayyid
(master)” (whether speaking Arabic or other languages), to use
the words “If only...” - which imply discontent and regret, and
open the way for Shaytaan, and to say “O Allah, forgive me if
You want to.” (For more information, see Mu’jam al-Manahi al-Lafziyyah,
Bakr or Zayd) Sitting with hypocrites and wrongdoers
to enjoy their company or to keep them company: Many of those who do not have strong
faith deliberately sit with people who are immoral and sinful.
They may even sit with those who attack the Sharee’ah and make
fun of Islam and the people who adhere to it strictly. There is
no doubt that this is a forbidden deed, one which could undermine
a person’s belief. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And when you see those who engage
in a false conversation about Our Verses by mocking at them, stay
away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shaytaan
causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not in the
company of those people who are the zaalimoon (polytheists and
wrongdoers, etc.)” [al-An’aam 6:68] In that case it is not permitted
to sit with them, even if they are closely-related or are very
kind and good company, except for the purposes of da’wah or refuting
their false talk. But accepting and remaining quiet about their
conduct is not permitted. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They (the hypocrites) swear
to you (Muslims) that you may be pleased with them, but if you
are pleased with them, certainly Allah is not pleased with the
people who are al-faasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).”
[al-Tawbah 9:96] Lack of composure in prayer: one of the worst forms of theft or cheating is cheating
in prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “The worst type of thief is the one who steals
from his prayer.” The people asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how
can a person steal from his prayer?” He said: “By not doing rukoo’
and sujood properly.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/310;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 997). This lack of composure
and failure to pause in rukoo’ and sujood and to
stand up straight after rukoo’ or sit up properly between
sujoods may be observed in many of those who pray, and
hardly any mosque is free of examples of people who do not have
the proper composure in prayer. Correct composure is one of the
pillars of prayer, without which prayer is invalid. This is a
serious matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “A man’s prayer is not good enough until his back is
straight in rukoo’ and sujood.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 1/533;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7224). There is no doubt that
lacking the proper composure is bad, and the person who is guilty
of this deserves to be reprimanded and threatened with punishment.
Abu ‘Abdullaah al-Ash’ari reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) led his Companions in prayer,
then he sat with a group of them. A man came in and started to
pray, but made his movements rapid like a chicken pecking the
ground. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “Do you see this? Whoever dies having done this has died
outside of the community of Muhammad, and his prayer is like a
crow pecking blood. The person who bows then pecks in his sujood
is like a hungry man who eats no more than one or two dates -
what good will that do him?” (Reported by Ibn Khuzaymah in his
Saheeh 1/332; see also al-Albaani, Sifat Salaat al-Nabi
(The Prophet’s Prayer described), 131). Zayd ibn Wahb said: “Hudhayfah
saw a man who was not performing rukoo’ and sujood
properly. He said: ‘You have not prayed, and if you were to die,
you would die on a way other than that revealed by Allah to Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
see al-Fath, 2/274). Once a person is aware of this ruling,
if he fails to perform prayer with the proper composure, he should
repeat it and repent to Allah for what is past; he does not need
to repeat all of his previous prayers, as is indicated by the
hadeeth “Repeat your prayer, for you have not prayed.” Fidgeting and making unnecessary
movements in prayer: Hardly any of the people who pray
are free from this problem, because they are not following the
command of Allah (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . And stand
before Allah with obedience” [al-Baqarah 2:238]; and they fail
to understand the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning):
“Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their salaat
with all solemnity and full submissiveness.” [al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2] When the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) was asked about smoothing the earth before
prostrating, he said, “Do not wipe it when you are praying; if
you have to, then just smooth the gravel once.” (Reported by Abu
Dawud, 1/581; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7452). The scholars
mentioned that continuous, excessive, unnecessary movement invalidates
one’s prayer. How can those fidgets stand before Allah, looking
at their watches, straightening their clothes, putting their fingers
in their noses, looking to the right and the left and up to the
sky, and not fearing that Allah may take away their sight or Shaytaan
may steal their prayer?? Deliberately anticipating the movements
of the imaam (when praying in congregation): Man is hasty by nature, as it says
in the Qur’an (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . and man
is ever hasty . . .” [al-Israa’ 17:11]. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allah
and haste is from Shaytaan.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan
al-Kubra, 10/104; see also al-Silsilah, 1795). One
often notices, when praying in congregation, people to the left
and right anticipating the imaam in rukoo’, sujood and the takbeeraat
that signal changes in position - one even notices it in oneself
too, sometimes. People may even precede the imaam in giving salaam
at the end of the prayer. This is a matter which may appear unimportant
to many, but the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) issued a stern warning when he said: “Does the person who
raises his head before the imaam not fear that Allah may turn
his head into the head of a donkey?” (Reported by Muslim, 1/320-321).
If a person is required to come to the prayer with dignity and
composure, how then should he be during the prayer itself? Some
people are confused about this issue and seek to compensate by
delaying their movements after the imaam; these people should
know that the fuqahaa’, may Allah have mercy on them, have
described an excellent way to control the matter, which is that
the person following the imaam should only start his movements
after the imaam has finished pronouncing the ra’ (“r”)
of “Allahu akbar”; then the person following the imaam
is permitted to move, and not before or after. The Companions
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used
to be very keen to avoid anticipating his movements when he led
them in prayer. One of them, al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be
pleased with him) said that they used to pray behind the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “When he raised his
head from rukoo’, I would never see anyone bending his back in
sujood until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) had placed his forehead on the ground, then everyone
would go down in sujood behind him.” (Reported by Muslim, no.
474, ‘Abd al-Baaqi edition). When the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) grew older, and became rather slow in his
movements, he told the people praying behind him: “O people, I
have gained weight, so do not anticipate me in performing rukoo’
and sujood.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi, 2/93 and classified as hasan
in Irwaa’ al-Ghaleel, 2/290). The imaam is obliged to follow
the Sunnah in making takbeer when he prays, as reported in the
hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
“When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) stood up to pray, he would say takbeer when he stood
up and when he bowed . . . then he would say takbeer when he went
down for sujood and when he raised his head, then when he went
down for sujood again and when he raised his head again. Then
he would repeat this throughout the whole prayer until it was
finished, and he would say takbeer when he stood up after completing
two rak’ahs.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 756, al-Baghaa edition).
If the imaam pronounces takbeer at the same time as he makes the
movements, and the people following him strive to follow the guidelines
mentioned here, then they will have performed the congregational
prayer correctly. Coming to the mosque after eating
onions or garlic, or anything that has an offensive smell: Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing
your clean clothes) while praying . . .” [al-A’raaf 7:31]. Jaabir
said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: ‘Whoever eats garlic or onions, let him keep away
from us,’ or ‘let him keep away from our mosque and stay in his
house.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 2/339).
According to a report narrated by Muslim, the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever eats onions or
garlic or leeks, let him not come near our mosque, because the
angels will be offended by what is offensive to the sons of Adam.”
(Reported by Muslim, no. 1/395). ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab addressed
the people one Friday and said: “O people, you eat two things
that I think come from bad plants: onions and garlic. I saw the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
when he noticed this smell coming from a man in the mosque, order
him to go out to al-Baqee’. Whoever wants to eat these things,
let him cook them to death.” (Reported by Muslim, 1/396). We might also include here those
who come to the mosque straight from work, with unpleasant odours
emanating from their armpits and socks. Even worse than these
are smokers who have the habit of consuming their haram cigarettes
then coming to the mosque and disturbing the worshippers of Allah,
people and angels alike, with their smell. Zinaa - fornication and adultery: One of the aims of Islamic sharee’ah
is to preserve honour and lineage, so zinaa (unlawful sexual
intercourse) is forbidden. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And come not near to unlawful sexual
intercourse. Verily it is a faahishah (a great sin) and
an evil way (that leads to Hell unless Allah forgives)” [al-Israa’
17:32] Sharee’ah blocks all the ways and
means that could lead to zinaa, by enjoining hijaab
and lowering the gaze, and by forbidding being alone with a non-mahram
woman, etc. The married man who commits adultery
deserves the worst kind of punishment, which is stoning to death,
so that he may taste the results of his deeds and so that every
part of his body may suffer just as every part of his body enjoyed
the illicit liaison. The fornicator who was previously unmarried
is to be punished with the maximum number of lashes mentioned
in sharee’ah, which is 100 lashes, in addition to the scandal
of this punishment being witnessed by a group of believers, and
the humiliation of being banished from his city and the scene
of his crime for one full year. In Barzakh, the punishment for men
and women who were guilty of zinaa is that they will be
in an oven whose top is narrow and whose bottom is wide, with
a fire beneath it, and they will be naked therein. When the heat
of the fire increases, they will scream and rise up until they
nearly come out of the top, then when the fire decreases, they
will fall back down. This will repeated over and over until the
onset of the Hour. What is even worse is when a man
continues to commit adultery even when he grows old, death approaches
and Allah gives him the opportunity to repent. Abu Hurayrah reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection,
nor praise, nor look at; theirs will be a painful torment: an
old man who commits zinaa, a king who lies, and a poor
man who is arrogant.” (Reported by Muslim, 1/102-103). Among the
worst of incomes is the earnings of a prostitute which she takes
before committing zinaa, and the immoral woman who earns
her living by selling herself is deprived of having her prayers
answered when the gates of heaven are opened at midnight. (The
hadeeth is in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2971) Being in need or
being poor are not acceptable excuses for transgressing the limits
set by Allah. There is an old saying that the free woman would
rather starve than eat by displaying her breasts, so how about
her private parts then? Nowadays all the doors of immorality
have been opened, and Shaytaan and his supporters have made it
very easy for people to commit sin. This has been followed by
the spread of tabarruj (wanton display) and unveiling among
women, people allowing their gazes to wander to things they should
not look at, an increase in mixing between the sexes, the popularity
of immoral magazines and lewd films, increased travel to corrupt
countries and the establishment of a market for prostitution,
an increase in the violation of honour, and an increase in the
number of illegitimate births and abortions. O Allah, we ask you to show us Your
mercy and to protect us from immorality; we ask You to purify
our hearts and to keep our private parts chaste, and to place
a barrier between us and what is haram. Sodomy, or intercourse between two
males, was the crime of the people of Lut. Allah says (interpretation
of the meaning): “And (remember) Lut, when he said
to his people: ‘You commit al-faahishah (sodomy - the worst
sin) which none has preceded you in (committing) among the ‘aalameen
(mankind and jinns). Verily, you commit sodomy with men, and rob
the wayfarer, and practise al-munkar (disbelief, polytheism
and every kind of evil deed) in your meetings.’ . . .” [al-’Ankaboot
29:29]. Because of the repulsive nature and
enormity of this sin, Allah inflicted four kinds of punishment
which He had never before inflicted in combination upon any other
people; they were: these people would be blinded, their city would
be turned upside-down, stones of baked clay, piled up, would be
rained down upon them, and an awful cry would be sent upon them. In Islam, those guilty of this crime
are to be killed by the sword, according to the soundest opinion.
This punishment is to carried out on both the one who does this
and the one to whom it is done, if it is done freely and by choice.
Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “Whomever you find committing the sin
of the people of Lut, kill them - both the one who does it and
the one to whom it is done.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/300;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6565). The modern-day spread
of incurable diseases like the killer AIDS caused by this corruption,
that were unknown to our predecessors, is an indication of the
wisdom of the Sharee’ah in prescribing this severe punishment. Not allowing one’s husband to have
marital relations for no legitimate reason Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “If a man calls his wife to his bed, and she
refuses, and he goes to sleep angry with her, the angels will
curse her until morning.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath,
6/314). Many women, when they have an argument
with their husbands, “punish” them - so they think - by denying
them their marital rights. This may result in major corruption
if the husband is tempted to do something haram, or it may backfire
on the wife if the husband starts to think seriously of taking
another wife. A wife should hasten to respond to
her husband’s call if he wants her, in obedience to the words
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “If
a man calls his wife to his bed, let her respond, even if she
is riding on the back of a camel (i.e., very busy).” (See Zawaa’id
al-Bazzaar, 2/181; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 547). At the same time, the husband must
show consideration towards his wife if she is sick, pregnant or
depressed, so as to maintain harmony and prevent discontent or
hatred. Asking one’s husband for a divorce
for no legitimate reason Many women hasten to demand a divorce
from their husbands for the least little argument, or if their
husbands do not give them what they want of money. Some women
may be egged on by troublemakers among their relatives or neighbours
to challenge their husbands with provocative words such as: “If
you were a real man, you would divorce me!” The dire results of
divorce are well known: breakdown of the family and children roaming
the streets. A person may come to regret divorce when it is too
late. For all these reasons and others, the Sharee’ah wisely prohibited
such actions. Thawbaan (may Allah be pleased with him) reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Any woman who asks her husband for a divorce with no sound reason
will be deprived of smelling the fragrance of Paradise.” (Reported
by Ahmad, 5.277; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2703). ‘Uqbah
ibn ‘Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Woman who ask
for divorce and women who contend unnecessarily with their husbands
are hypocrites.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 17/339;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1934). But if there is a sound
reason, such as the husband abandoning prayer, drinking or taking
drugs, or forcing his wife to do something haram, or oppressing
her and making her suffer by denying her the rights granted to
her by Islam, and he does not listen to advice to mend his ways,
then in this case there is nothing wrong with a woman seeking
divorce for her own sake and for the sake of her religion. Zihaar: One of the expressions of the first
Jaahiliyyah that is still widespread in this ummah is the
phenomenon of zihaar, whereby a man says to his wife, “You
are to me like the back of my mother,” or “You are as forbidden
for me as my sister,” and other similarly ugly statements whose
repulsive nature was confirmed by the Sharee’ah, because of the
oppression of women involved. Allah referred to this in the Qur’an
(interpretation of the meaning): “Those among you who make their wives
unlawful to them by saying to them, ‘You are like my mother’s
back,’ they cannot be their mothers. None can be their mothers
except those who gave them birth. And verily, they utter an ill
word and a lie. And verily, Allah is Oft-Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving.”
[al-Mujaadilah 58:2] The Sharee’ah has imposed a heavy
penalty (kafaarah) for this crime, similar to that required
for killing a person by mistake or for having intercourse during
the day in Ramadaan; the person who has committed zihaar
is not permitted to approach his wife until he has paid this penalty.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who make unlawful to them
(their wives) (by zihaar), and wish to free themselves
from what they uttered, (the penalty) in that case (is) the freeing
of a slave before they touch each other. That is an admonition
to you (so that you may not return to such an ill thing). And
Allah is All-Aware of what you do. And he who finds not (the money for
freeing a slave) must fast two successive months before they both
touch each other. And for him who is unable to do so, he should
feed sixty miskeen (poor). That is in order that you may
have perfect Faith in Allah and His Messenger. And for disbelievers,
there is a painful torment.” [al-Mujaadilah 58:3-4] Having intercourse with one’s
wife during her period Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “They ask you concerning menstruation.
Say: that is an adhaa (a harmful thing for a husband to
have sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her
menses), therefore keep away from women during menses and go not
unto them till they have purified (from menses and have taken
a bath) . . .” [al-Baqarah 2:222] So a man is not permitted to approach
his wife until her period has ended and she has taken a bath (ghusl).
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . And when they have purified
themselves, then go in unto them as Allah has ordained for you
. . . “ [al-Baqarah 2:222] The repulsive nature of this sin
is indicated by the words of the Prophet (pace and blessings of
Allah be upon him): “Whoever has intercourse with a menstruating
women, or with a woman in her rectum, or goes to a fortune-teller,
has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah, 1/243; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’,
5918). Whoever does this by mistake, not
deliberately, does not have to pay any penalty, but the person
who does it deliberately and with full knowledge of what he is
doing must pay the penalty, which according to the scholars with
the soundest knowledge is one dinar or half a dinar. Some scholars
say that there is a choice in the amount to be paid; others say
that if a man has intercourse with his wife at the beginning of
her period, when the flow of blood is heavy, he must pay one dinar,
and if he does it at the end of her period when the flow is light,
he must pay half a dinar. In modern terms, a dinar is equal to
25.4 grams of gold: this or the equivalent amount of currency
must be given in charity. Having intercourse with one's wife
in her rectum Some perverted people who have little
faith do not hesitate to have intercourse with a woman in her
rectum (the place from which excrement emerges). This is a major
sin, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
cursed the one who does this. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “He is cursed, the one who has intercourse
with a woman in her rectum.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/479;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5865). Indeed, the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever has intercourse
with a menstruating women, or with a woman in her rectum, or goes
to a fortune-teller, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah, 1/243; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 5918). Although there are many righteous and sensible
women who refuse to do this, there are many husbands who threaten
their wives with divorce if they do not comply. Some husbands
even deceive their wives who my be too shy to ask a scholar about
this matter; they tell them that this is halaal, and they may
even misquote the Qur’an to support their claim (interpretation
of the meaning): “You wives are a tilth for you, so go to your
tilth when or how you will . . .” [al-Baqarah 2:223]. But it is
well-known that the Sunnah explains the Qur’an, and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated that it is permitted
to have intercourse with one’s wife in whatever way one wishes,
approaching from the front or the back, so long as intercourse
is in the place from which a child is born (the vagina); it is
obvious that the anus, from which excrement is produced, is not
the place from which a child is born. One of the reasons for this
crime is the fact that many people enter what should be a clean
and pure married life with an inheritance of dirty, haram, jaahili,
perverted practices, or memories filled with scenes from lewd
movies for which they have not repented to Allah. It is also well
known that this deed is haram even if both parties consent to
it; mutual consent to a haram deed does not make it halaal. One of the things that Allah has
enjoined in His Book is fair treatment of co-wives. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “You will never be able to do perfect
justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do
not incline too much to one of them (by giving her more of your
time and provision) so as to leave the other hanging (i.e., neither
divorced nor married). And if you do justice, and do all that
is right and fear Allah by keeping away from all that is wrong,
then Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [al-Nisaa’ 4:129] The justice that is required here
is a fair division of nights, and the giving of each wife her
rights as regards spending and clothing. This does not refer to
emotions or love, because man has no control over his feelings.
But some people, when they marry more than one wife, favour one
and neglect the other, spending more time with one wife and spending
more on her, and ignoring the other. This is haram, and the person
who does this will come on the Day of Resurrection in the condition
described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah: “Whoever has two
wives and gives one of them preferential treatment, he will come
on the Day of Resurrection with half of his body leaning.” (Narrated
by Abu Dawud, 2/601; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6491). Being alone with a non-mahram woman Shaytaan is always keen to tempt
people and make them commit haram deeds. For this reason, Allah
warned us (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Follow not the
footsteps of Shaytaan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of
Shaytaan, then, verily he commands al-fahshaa’ (indecency)
and al-munkar (evil deeds) . . .” [al-Noor 24:21] Shaytaan runs through the veins of
mankind like blood, and one of the ways in which he induces people
to commit indecent acts is by leading a man to be alone with a
non-mahram woman. Islam blocks this way by forbidding such conduct,
as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“No man is alone with a (non-mahram) woman, but Shaytaan will
be the third among them.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3/474; see
also Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3118). Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah
be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “From this day
on, no man should enter upon a woman whose husband is absent unless
there is another man or two with him.” (Reported by Muslim, 4/1711).
It is not permitted for a man to be alone in a house, room or
car with a non-mahram woman, including his brother’s wife or a
servant. Similarly a female patient should not be alone with a
doctor, and so on. Many people are careless about this matter,
whether because they trust themselves or for some other reason,
with the results that many commit indecent acts or take the steps
that lead to them, which in turn results in the tragedies of confused
lineage and illegitimate births. Shaking hands with a non-mahram
woman This is one of the cases where incorrect
social customs have taken precedence over the laws of Allah, to
such an extent that if you try to talk to people and show them
evidence that this is wrong, they will accuse you of being backward,
having a complex, trying to break family ties, doubting their
good intentions, etc. Shaking hands with female cousins, brothers’
wives and uncles’ wives is now easier than drinking water in our
society, but if we look properly we will understand the seriousness
of the matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “If one of you were to be stabbed
in the head with an iron needle it would be better for him than
touching a woman whom he is not permitted to touch.” (Reported
by al-Tabaraani, 20/212; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4921).
There is no doubt that this is an act of zinaa, because
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The
eyes may commit zinaa, the hands may commit zinaa,
the feet may commit zinaa and the private parts may commit
zinaa." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/412; see also
Saheeh al-Jaami', 4921). Is there anyone more pure in heart
than Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? Yet
still he said, “I do not shake hands with women.” (Reported by
Imaam Ahmad, 6/357; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7054, and
al-Isaabah, 4/354, Daar al-Kitaab al-’Arabi edition). And
he said, "I do not touch the hands of women." (Reported
by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 24/342; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami', 7054 and al-Isaabah, 4/354, Dar al-Kutub
al-'Arabi edition). ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)
said: “No, by Allah, the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) never touched the hand of
a (non-mahram) woman. He received bay’ah (pledge of allegiance)
from them by word only.” (Reported by Muslim, 3/489). Let them
fear Allah, those people who threaten their pious wives with divorce
if they do not shake hands with their brothers. We should also note that placing
a barrier such as a piece of cloth is of no use; it is still haram
to shake hands with a non-mahram woman. A woman wearing perfume when going
out or passing by non-mahram men This practice is widespread nowadays,
despite the stern warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him), who said: “Any woman who applies perfume
and then goes out among the people so that they could smell her
fragrance is a zaaniyah (adulteress).” (Reported by Imaam
Ahmad, 4/418; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 105). Some women
are very careless and take the matter too lightly, especially
in front of drivers, shopkeepers, school porters, etc., even though
the Sharee’ah states very strictly that the woman who wears perfume
must wash herself like a person must wash when in a state of janaanah
(i.e., perform ghusl), if she wants to go out to the mosque.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Any
woman who wears perfume then goes out to the mosque, so that the
fragrance can be discerned, her prayers will not be accepted until
she performs ghusl like the ghusl to be performed
when in a state of janaabah.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad,
2/444; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2703). We complain to Allah about the bukhoor
and ‘ood (types of incense) used at weddings and women’s
parties before people leave, and the use of strong-smelling perfumes
in market-places, means of transportation and mixed gatherings
in the mosques even during the nights of Ramadaan. Islam tells
us that women’s perfume should be that which has colour but little
smell. We ask Allah not to despise us and not to punish righteous
men and women for the deeds of foolish men and women. May He guide
us all to the Straight Path. A woman traveling without a mahram The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It is not permitted for
the woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel one
day’s distance without the presence of a mahram.” (Reported by
Muslim, 2/977). When a woman travels without a mahram, this encourages
corrupt people to prey on her because of her weakness; at the
very least, her honour will be harmed. This prohibition applies
also to a woman travelling by plane, even if - as is often claimed
- one mahram sees her off at one end and another mahram meets
her at the other. Who is going to sit next to her during the journey?
What if technical problems divert the plane to another airport,
or the flight is delayed? What if...? There are too many stories
of things that went wrong. For a person to be considered a mahram,
he must meet four conditions: he should be a Muslim, over the
age of puberty, of sound mind, and male. Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: ‘No woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day should
travel a distance of three days’ journey or more unless her father,
son, husband, brother or other mahram is with her.” (Reported
by Muslim, 2/977). Deliberately looking at a non-mahram
woman Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Tell the believing men to lower
their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and to protect
their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is
purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.” [al-Noor
24:30] The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "The adultery of the eyes is
by looking" (i.e. by looking at what Allah has forbidden).
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 11/26). Looking
for a legitimate purpose is exempted from this rule, such as looking
at a woman for marriage purposes, or a doctor examining a patient
for medical reasons, etc. Women are equally forbidden to look
at non-mahram men, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And tell the believing women to
lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things) and to protect
their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) . . .” [al-Noor
24:31] Men are also forbidden to look with
desire at a man with a hairless or beautiful face. Men are forbidden
to look at the ‘awrah of other men, and women are forbidden
to look at the ‘awrah of other women. If it is forbidden
to look at something, it is forbidden to touch it, even over clothing.
One of the ways in which Shaytaan deceives people is by making
them think that there is nothing wrong with looking at pictures
in magazines or watching movies, because what is seen is not “real,”
even though such images clearly cause so much damage by provoking
desires. Seeing one’s womenfolk behaving in
an immoral fashion and keeping silent Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him and his father) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “There are three whom Allah will deprive
of Paradise: the one who drinks intoxicants, the one who is disobedient
to his parents, and the one who accepts immoral conduct on the
part of his family.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/69; see also
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3047). One of the many examples of this
in modern times is men turning a blind eye to their daughters
or wives contacting non-mahram men and chatting to them in a way
that may be described as “romantic,” or accepting one of the women
of his household being alone with a non-mahram man, or allowing
them to sit alone with a driver or other employee, or letting
them go out without proper hijaab, so that everyone may look at
them, or bringing home immoral magazines and movies. Making false claims about a child’s
lineage, or denying one’s own child According to Sharee’ah, it is not
permissible for a Muslim to claim to belong to anyone other than
his father, or to claim to belong to a people of whom he is not
a member. Some people may do this for material gains, and may
obtain documentation to “confirm” their false identity officially.
Some people may do this out of hatred towards a father who abandoned
them when they were children. All of this is haram, and may lead
to much chaos and corruption in a number of fields, such as knowing
who is one’s mahram, marriage, inheritance and so on. Sa’d and
Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with them) both reported that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
knowingly claims to belong to anyone other than his father, Paradise
will be denied him.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath al-Bari,
8/45). It is also forbidden to tamper with lineages or make false
claims about a person’s descent. There are some people who, when
they want to fight dirty in arguments with their wives, accuse
them of immoral conduct and disown their children, without any
proof, when the child was born “in their bed” (i.e. is the husband’s
child and no-one else’s). Then there are some wives who betray
their trust and become pregnant with another man’s child, but
claim that it belongs to the husband. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) issued a stern warning against such conduct.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that when
aayat al-mulaa’anah [al-Noor 24:7 - check] was revealed,
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The
woman who brings into a people someone who does not belong to
them has nothing to do with Allah, and Allah will not admit her
to His Paradise. Any man who denies his own child when he is looking
at him, Allah will conceal Himself from him and expose him before
all the people.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 2/695; see also Mishkat
al-Masaabeeh, 3316). Consuming riba (usury or interest) In the Qur’an, Allah does not declare
war on anyone except the people who deal in riba (interpretation
of the meaning): “O you who believe! Be afraid of
Allah and give up what remains (due to you) of riba (from
now onward), if you are (really) believers. And if you do not
do it, then take a message of war from Allah and His Messenger.”
[al-Baqarah 2:278-279] This is sufficient to explain the
abhorrence of this deed in the sight of Allah, may He be glorified. One may easily discern the extent
of devastation, at the individual and the international level,
caused by dealing with riba - such as bankruptcy, recession,
economic stagnation, inability to repay loans, high unemployment,
collapse of many companies and institutions, etc. Daily toil has
become a never-ending struggle to pay off interest on loans and
societies have become class-ridden structures in which huge wealth
in concentrated in the hands of a few. Perhaps all this is a manifestation
of the war threatened by Allah to those who deal in riba. Everyone who has something to do
with riba, whether he is one of the main parties involved
or is a middleman or facilitator, has been cursed by Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Jaabir (may Allah
be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed “the one who consumes
riba, the one who gives it to others, the one who writes
it down and the one who witnesses it.” He said: “They are all
the same.” (Reported by Muslim, 3/1219). Based on this, it is
not permitted to do work that involves writing interest-based
contracts and conditions, paying or receiving riba, depositing
it or guarding it. Generally speaking, it is haram to be directly
or indirectly involved with riba in any way, shape or form. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) was keen to explain the ugliness of this
major sin. ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him)
reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “There are seventy-three types of riba, the least of
which is as abhorrent as a man having intercourse with his own
mother and worst of which is [violating] a Muslim's honor and
sanctity. (Reported by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak, 2/37);
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3533). ‘Abdullah ibn Hanzalah
(may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Knowingly
consuming a dirham of riba is worse for a man than committing
adultery thirty-six times.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/225; see
also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3375). The prohibition on riba
does not just apply to deals between rich and poor, as some people
think; it is a general prohibition that applies to every person
and every situation. How many rich people and big businessmen
have gone bankrupt because of riba! The least harm riba
does is to destroy the blessing (barakah) of the money,
even if a person’s wealth is great. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Even if riba is much, it will
end up being a small amount.” (Reported by al-Haakim, 2/37; see
also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3542). This does not refer to whether
the ratio of interest is high or low; all riba is haram,
and the one who deals with it will be raised up on the Day of
Resurrection like the one who stands beaten by Shaytaan resulting
in insanity and epilepsy. In spite of the enormity of this
sin, Allah has told us to repent from it and has explained how.
Allah says to those who deal in riba (interpretation of
the meaning): “. . . but if you repent, you shall have your capital
sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums),
and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than
your capital sums).” [al-Baqarah 2:279] This is quintessential
justice. The believer must despise this major
sin and feel its abhorrence, even if he puts his money in interest-based
banks because he has no other choice and is afraid that his money
may be lost or stolen otherwise. He should feel that he is being
compelled by necessity to do this, like one who eats dead meat,
or worse. At the same time, he should seek the forgiveness of
Allah and try to find an alternative if he can. He is not permitted
to ask the bank for interest, and if the bank deposits it in his
account, he must get rid of it in whatever way is permissible.
This money cannot be counted as sadaqah (charity), because
Allah is pure and accepts only that which is pure. He cannot benefit
from this money by using it to by food, drink, clothing, transportation
or housing; he cannot use it to fulfil obligations such as spending
on his wife, child or parents, or to pay zakaat or taxes,
or to defend himself in court. Rather, he should just get rid
of it, for fear of the wrath of Allah. Concealing a product’s faults
at the time of sale The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) once passed by a pile of food that was for
sale. He put his hand in it and felt dampness, so he asked, “What
is this, O seller of the food?” He said, “It was rained on, O
Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Why don’t you put it on top, so that people
can see it? Whoever deceives (the people) is not one of us.” (Reported
by Muslim, 1/99). There are many traders nowadays who
do not fear Allah, and try to conceal faults by wrapping it in
plastic [?], putting faulty produce in the bottom of the box,
using chemicals and the like to make a product look good, or concealing
noises in engines that may indicate a fault - so that when the
purchaser brings a product home, it soon starts to wear out. Some
traders change expiry dates, or prevent the buyer from examining
or trying out a product. Many of those who sell cars or other
types of equipment do not point out the product’s faults. All
of this is haram, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim.
The Muslim is not permitted to sell to his brother anything which
is faulty without pointing out the faults to him.” (Reported by
Ibn Maajah, 2/754; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6705). Some
traders even think that their responsibility ends when they tell
buyers at an auction, “I am selling a heap of metal, a heap of
metal...” This is a sale in which there is no blessing, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The
two parties involved in a sale have the choice (to end it - i.e.
the sale is not final) until they part. If both have been truthful
and honest about any faults, the sale will be blessed, but if
they have lied and concealed any faults, the blessing of the sale
will be lost.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath, 4/328). This refers to the practice of artificially
inflating the price with no intention of buying, in order to deceive
others, thus pushing them to add more to the price they are offering.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do
not artificially inflate prices.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see
Fath al-Baari, 10/484). This is undoubtedly a form of deceit,
and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Double-dealing and cheating will end in Hell.” (See Silsilat
al-Ahaadeeth al-Saheehah, 1057). Many salesmen at auctions
and in car salesrooms are earning unclean and haram income because
of the many haram things that they do, such as conspiring to artificially
inflate prices and deceive purchasers, or to lower the price of
one of their products, or conversely pretending to be customers
and raising the prices at auctions to deceive and cheat. Trading after the second call to
prayer on Friday Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed for
the salaat (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu’ah prayer), come
to the remembrance of Allah and leave off business (and every
other thing), that is better for you if you did but know!” [al-Jumu’ah
62:9]. Some people continue trading in their
stores and in front of the mosque even after the second call to
prayer; those who buy from them also share in their guilt, even
if they only buy a siwaak (natural toothbrush). According
to the soundest opinion, this sale is invalid. Some owners of
restaurants, bakeries and factories force their employees to work
at the time of Jumu’ah prayers; even if this leads to an apparent
increase in earnings, they will ultimately be losers in reality.
The employee is obliged to act in accordance with the teaching
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “There
is no obedience to a created being if it involves disobedience
to Allah.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/129; Ahmad Shaakir said:
its isnaad is saheeh, no. 1065). Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “O you who believe! Intoxicants (all
kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, al-ansaab (stone
altars for sacrifices to idols, etc.), and al-azlaam (arrows
for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s
handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that abomination, in order
that you may be successful.” [al-Maa’idah 5:90] Gambling was very common during the
Jaahiliyyah; in one of the most well-known forms of gambling,
ten people would buy a camel, each paying an equal share, then
they would throw down arrows - a form of drawing lots. Seven people
would win unequal shares and three would be left empty-handed. Nowadays there are many forms of
gambling, including: lotteries and raffles, in which people
pay money to buy numbers, then numbers are drawn for first prize,
second prize, and so on for a variety of prizes. This is haram,
even when it is supposedly done for charity. Buying a product which includes something
unknown, or paying for a number for a draw which will decide who
gets what. Another modern form of gambling is
insurance, such as life insurance, car insurance, product insurance,
insurance against fire or theft, third party insurance, comprehensive
insurance, and so on. There are so many types of insurance that
some singers even insure their voices! All of the above are forms of gambling.
Nowadays there are even clubs that are devoted exclusively to
gambling, in which there are so-called “green tables” (roulette
tables) just for people to commit this sin. Other forms of gambling
include betting on horse races and other sports, fruit-machines
and the like in amusement centres, and competitions in which the
victors win prizes, as a group of scholars have stated. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “Cut off (from the wrist joint) the (right) hand of
the thief, male or female, as a recompense for that which they
have committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And
Allah is All-Powerful, All-Wise.” [al-Maa’idah 5:38] One of the worst forms of this sin
is theft from the pilgrims who come on Hajj and ‘Umrah to the
Ancient House of Allah. This kind of thief has no respect for
the limits set by Allah in the best region on earth and around
the House of Allah. In the report about Salaat al-Kusoof (the
eclipse prayer), it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Hell was brought near, and that was
when you saw me stepping backwards, because I feared that its
heat would touch me. I saw therein the man with the crooked stick
dragging his intestines in the Fire. He used to steal from the
hujjaaj (pilgrims) with his crooked stick. If they spotted
him, he would say ‘This got caught on my stick,’ and if they did
not spot him, he would take whatever he had stolen . . .” Another of the worst forms of theft
is stealing from the public purse. Some of those who do this say
“We are only doing what others do.” They do not realize that what
they are doing is effectively stealing from all the Muslims, because
the public purse belongs to all the Muslims. Imitating those who
do not fear Allah is no excuse. Some people steal from the wealth
of the kuffaar on the grounds that they are kuffaar, but this
is wrong; the only kuffaar whose wealth we are allowed to take
away are those who are actively fighting the Muslims, which does
not apply to every kaafir individual or company. Another form of theft is pick-pocketing,
stealing something from a person’s pocket without him realizing.
Some thieves enter people’s houses as visitors, and steal from
them. Some steal from their guests’ bags. Some - including women
- go into stores and hide things in their pockets or under their
clothing. Some think that the theft of small or cheap items is
of little consequence, but the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has cursed the thief who steals
an egg and has his hand cut off, and the thief who steals a rope
and has his hand cut off.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath
al-Baari, 12/81). Everyone who steals something must
first repent to Allah then return the item to its rightful owner,
whether openly or secretly, in person or via a third party. If
he fails to find the rightful owner or his heirs after much effort,
then he should give the property in charity, with the intention
that the reward should be given to the rightful owner. Giving a bribe to a qaadi
or judge to make him turn a blind eye to the truth or to make
a false claim succeed is a sin, because it leads to oppression
and injustice for the person who is in the right, and it spreads
corruption. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And eat up not one another’s property
unjustly, not give bribery to the rulers that you may knowingly
eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.” [al-Baqarah
2:188] Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Allah has cursed those who give and accept
bribes with regard to judging.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/387;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5069). However, payments made
in order to reach the truth or avert injustice when there is no
other way of doing so are not included in this warning. Bribery is so widespread nowadays
that it more of a source of income than the regular salary for
some workers. Some companies even include bribes as a factor in
their budgets, under a variety of headings, and some dealings
cannot begin or end without the payment of a bribe. Much harm
is caused to the poor and many safeguards are broken because of
bribes. Bribery is a cause of corruption whereby employees act
against their employers, and one can only get good service if
one pays a bribe - the person who refuses to pay will get shoddy
or late service, and people who come after him but are willing
to pay will be served before him. Because of bribery, a great
deal of money which is due to employers ends up in the pockets
of sales representatives and those responsible for making company
purchases. It is little wonder, then that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed to Allah to deprive all
those involved of His Mercy. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The curse of Allah be upon the one
who gives a bribe and the one who accepts it.” (Reported by Ibn
Maajah, 2313; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5114). When there is no fear of Allah, strength
and cunning are a disaster because the one who possesses these
qualities uses them to oppress others, such as seizing other people’s
possessions, including their land. The punishment for this is
extremely severe. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever seizes
any piece of land unlawfully, on the Day of Resurrection Allah
will make the ground swallow him up to the seventh depth of the
earth.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath 5/103). Ya’laa ibn Murrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Any man who seizes a hand span of land, Allah
will tell him to dig it (according to al-Tabaraani: to bring it)
to the seventh depth of the earth, then it will be placed around
his neck on the Day of Resurrection, until Allah has finished
judging mankind.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer,
22/270; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 9/27). This also includes changing landmarks
and boundaries in order to make one’s own land bigger at the expense
of a neighbour, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Allah has cursed the one
who changes the boundary-markers of the land.” (Reported by Muslim,
with commentary by al-Nawawi, 13/141). Accepting a gift in return for interceding To have a position of high standing
among people is one of the blessings of Allah to His slave, if
he is grateful. One way in which a person may give thanks for
this blessing is by using his position to benefit other Muslims.
This is part of the general meaning of the hadeeth: “Whoever among
you is able to benefit his brother, then let him do so.” (Reported
by Muslim, 4/1726). The person who uses his position to benefit
others by averting injustice or bringing some good, without doing
anything that is haram or infringes on the rights of others, will
be rewarded by Allah, so long as his intention is sincere, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us:
“Intercede, you will be rewarded.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 5132;
the hadeeth is also reported in al-Saheehayn, see Fath
al-Baari, 10/450, Kitaab al-adab, Baab ta’aawun al-mu’mineen
ba’duhum ba’dan). It is not permitted to accept anything
in return for this intercession or mediation. Evidence for this
may be seen in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Umaamah (may Allah
be pleased with him): "Whoever intercedes for someone then
accepts a gift (in return for it), has committed a serious type
of riba." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/261; see Saheeh
al-Jaami', 6292). Some people offer the opportunity
to benefit from their position, in return for a sum of money,
in order to help someone get a job, or a transfer from one office
or area to another, or treatment for the sick, etc. The soundest
opinion is that this exchange is haram, because of the hadeeth
of Abu Umaamah quoted above, whose apparent meaning is that accepting
such gifts is wrong, even if no agreement was previously made.
(From the spoken statements of 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz). The reward
which the doer of good will receive from Allah on the Day of Judgement
should be sufficient. A man came to al-Hasan ibn Sahl asking him
to intercede for him in some matter, which he did; then the man
came to thank him. Al-Hasan ibn Sahl said to him, "Why are
you thanking us? We believe that zakaat is due on positions of
rank just as it is due on wealth." (Ibn Muflih, al-Aadaab
al-Shar'iyyah, 2/176). It is worth pointing out here that
there is a difference between hiring someone to do legal paperwork
for you and paying him wages in return, which has to do with the
legitimate hiring of labour, and using a person's position to
intercede for you in return for money, which is haram. Hiring someone and benefiting from
his labour, then not paying him his wages The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) encouraged speedy payment of wages to people
hired for their labour. He said: “Give the hired man his wages
before his sweat dries.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2/817; see also
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1493). One form of oppression or injustice
that is common in Muslim societies is the failure to give employees
and workers their rights. This takes many forms, for example: Denying an employee’s rights in totality,
where the employee has no proof of his rights. He may have lost
his dues in this world, but he will not lose them before Allah
on the Day of Resurrection. So the oppressor who consumed the
money due to the victim will be brought forth, and his victim
will be given some of his hasanaat in compensation (i.e.
some of the oppressor’s good deeds will be added to his victim’s
credit). If the hasanaat are not enough, some of the victim’s
sayi’aat (bad deeds) will be added to the oppressor, then
he will be thrown into Hell. Not giving the employee his full
rights. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Woe to al-Mutaffifeen
[those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights
of others)].” [al-Mutaffifeen 83:1] One example of this is the
action of some bosses who bring workers from their homelands with
a contract to pay a certain wage. Once the people are committed
and have started to work for him, he goes and changes the contracts,
altering them to state a lower wage than the one actually agreed
upon. The employees stay because they have no choice and have
no proof of their rights; all they can do is complain to Allah.
If the employer is a Muslim and the employee is not, this lowering
of wages is a way of turning people away from the Straight Path,
and he will carry his sin. Making the employee do extra work
or put in longer hours, without paying him overtime or giving
him any more than the basic salary. Some bosses delay payment of wages
and pay up only after much struggle, complaining, chasing and
court cases. Their aim may be to make the employee give up his
claim to his rightful wages and stop asking; or they may want
to invest this money, perhaps by lending it for interest. Meanwhile,
the poor employee cannot buy his daily bread or send anything
home to his needy wife and children for whose sake he left to
work overseas. Woe to those oppressors on that painful Day! Abu
Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Allah says: ‘There are three whom I will oppose
on the Day of Resurrection: a man who gives his word, swearing
by Me, then breaks it, a man who sells a free man into slavery
and keeps the money, and a man who hires another and benefits
from his labour, then does not pay him his wages.” (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 4/447). Not giving gifts equally to one’s
children Some people show favouritism in the
way they give gifts to some of their children but not others.
According to the soundest opinion, doing this is haram unless
there is some legitimate reason, such as one child being in greater
need than the others due to sickness, being in debt, being rewarded
for having memorized the entire Qur’an, being unable to find a
job, having a large family, being a full-time student, etc. When
a father gives something to one of his children who is in need,
he should have the intention to give similarly to any other children
of his should the need arise. General proof of this principle
may be seen in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“. . . Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah . . .”
[al-Maa’idah 5:8]. Specific evidence is found in the report of
al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer (may Allah be pleased with him), whose
father brought him to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) and said: “I have given this son of mine
a slave that I had.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) asked him, “Did you give all your children
a similar gift?” He said, “No.” The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Then take (the gift) back.” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 5/211). According to another
report, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “Fear Allah and be fair to your children,” so he went away
and took his gift back. (al-Fath 5/211). According to a
third report, he said, “Do not ask me to be a witness, for I will
not bear witness to injustice.” (Saheeh Muslim, 3/1243).
Sons may be given twice as much as daughters, as in the case of
inheritance, according to Imaam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on
him (Abu Dawud, Masaa’il al-Imaam Ahmad, 204; Imaam Ibn
al-Qayyim explained this in more detail in his footnotes). But
there are some families where fathers do not fear Allah, and their
favouritism creates hatred and jealousy among the children. A
father may give one child more because he looks like his paternal
uncles, and give less to another child because he looks like his
maternal uncles; or he may give more to the children of one wife
and less to the children of another wife; or he may put one wife’s
children in private schools, but not the other wife’s children.
This will ultimately backfire on him, because in most cases the
one who is deprived in this way will not respect his father or
treat him kindly in the future. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) asked the man who showed favouritism to
one son, “Do you not want all your children to respect you equally?”
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 4/269; see also Saheeh al-Jaami,
1623). Asking people for money when one
is not in need Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah (may Allah
be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever asks people
for money when he has what is sufficient for him is only asking
for more of the embers of Hell.” They asked him, “O Messenger
of Allah, what is sufficient so that he does not have to ask for
more?” He said: “Having enough to eat lunch and dinner.” (Reported
by Abu Dawud, 2/281; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6280).
Ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “Whoever asks the people for money when he has what is sufficient
for him will come on the Day of Judgement with scratches and lacerations
on his face.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/388; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 6255). Some beggars come to the mosques, interrupting
people’s worship with their complaints; some of them lie, bringing
forged papers and telling tall stories; some of them distribute
their family members around different mosques, then they regroup
and move on to other mosques. Some of these people may in fact
be well-off, to an extent which only Allah knows; only when they
die do others find out what they have left behind. Meanwhile,
there are others who are truly in need, but people are not aware
of it and may think they have enough, because they are too proud
and do not beg of people at all; nobody knows their true situation
so no-one gives them charity. Seeking a loan with no intention
of paying it back The dues owed by one person to another
are very important in the sight of Allah, so much so that if a
person falls short in his duties towards Allah, he may be forgiven
if he repents, but when it comes to the rights of other people,
he has to fulfil them before the Day comes when dinars
and dirhams will be of no avail, and only hasanaat
and sayi’aat (good and bad deeds) will count. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, Allah commands that you
should render back the trusts to those to whom they are due .
. .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:58] One of the widespread problems in
our society is this casual approach to loans; some people take
out loans not for some urgent need but because they want to expand
their businesses or keep up with others by buying new cars or
furniture or other temporary luxuries of this life. Often these
people let themselves in for the confusion of installment plans,
which are dubious or maybe even haram. A casual approach to loans leads
people to delay repayments, which in turn leads to loss and financial
ruin of others. Warning of the consequences of this deed, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
takes people’s money with the intention of paying them back, Allah
will pay him back, but whoever takes people’s money with the intention
of wasting it, Allah will destroy him.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari;
see Fath al-Baari, 5/54). People take the matter of loans
very lightly, but in the sight of Allah it is a serious matter,
so much so that even the shaheed (martyr), with his immense
reward and high status, is not free of the consequences of debt.
Evidence of this is seen in the hadeeth: “Glory be to Allah, Who
has revealed the seriousness of debt. By the One in Whose hand
is my soul, if a man were slain in the way of Allah, then brought
back to life, then killed again and brought back to life again,
then killed a third time, but he owed a debt, he would not be
admitted to Paradise until his debt was paid off.” (Reported by
al-Nisaa’i; see al-Mujtabaa, 7/314, and Saheeh al-Jaami’,
3594). Now will these squanderers be deterred from such a casual
approach? The person who does not fear Allah does not care where he earns his money or how he spends it; his only concern is to increase his bank balance, even if it is haram and ill-gotten by means of theft, bribery, extortion, forgery, selling haram things, riba (usury), consuming an orphan’s wealth, earnings from haram work like fortune-telling, immorality or singing, stealing from the Muslim treasury or public property, taking people’s money by coercion or high-pressure sales tactics, begging when one is not in need, etc. Then he buys food, clothing and transportation with this ill-gotten money, and builds or rents a house, and furnishes it, and fills his stomach with haram food. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten
gains is more deserving of being touched by Hell-fire . . .” (Reported
by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 19/136; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami’, 4495). On the Day of Resurrection, each person
will be asked how he earned money and on what he spent it, and
there will be doom and loss. Anyone who still has haram money
should hasten to get rid of it; if it is due to anyone else, then
he should hasten to return it and ask for his forgiveness before
there comes a Day on which dinars and dirhams will
be of no avail, and all that will count will be hasanaat
and sayi’aat. Drinking khamr - even
a single drop Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “. . . Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks),
gambling, al-ansaab (stone altars for sacrifices to idols,
etc.) and al-azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision)
are an abomination of Shaytaan’s handiwork. So avoid (strictly)
all that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.” [al-Maa’idah
5:90] The command to avoid these things
is the strongest indication that they are forbidden. Khamr
(“wine”, alcohol) is compared to al-ansaab, which were
idols of the kuffaar; there is no excuse for those who argue that
the Qur’an does not say it is forbidden but only tells us to avoid
it! The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) also issued a stern warning to the one who
drinks khamr. Jaabir reported that he said: “Allah has
promised the one who drinks khamr that He will make him
drink the mud of khibaal.” The people asked, “O Messenger
of Allah, what is the mud of khibaal?” He said, “The sweat
of the people of Hell, or the juice of the people of Hell.” (Reported
by Muslim, 3/1587). Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies and has
the habit of drinking khamr, he will meet Allah as one
who worships idols.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, 12/45; see also
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6525). Nowadays there are very many kinds
of khamr, with many names in Arabic and other languages,
such as beer, ji’ah (beer), alcohol, araq (“arrack”),
vodka, champagne, etc. There has appeared in this ummah the type
of person described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him): “Some people of my ummah will drink khamr,
calling it by another name.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/342;
see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5453). So they may call it “spirits”
instead of khamr, as an attempt to distort the facts and
deceive. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They (think
to) deceive Allah and those who believe, while they only deceive
themselves, and perceive (it) not!” [al-Baqarah 2:9] Islam imposes strict controls on
this matter, and deals with it decisively so that there is no
room for misunderstanding. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “Every intoxicant is khamr and
every intoxicant is haram.” (Reported by Muslim, 3/1587). Everything
that has the effect of clouding the mind is haram, whether in
large or small amounts. (The hadeeth, “Whatever causes intoxication
in large amounts, a small amount of it is haram,” was reported
by Abu Dawud, no. 3681; see Saheeh Abi Dawud, no. 3128).
No matter how many different names there are, they all refer to
one thing, and the ruling concerning it is well-known. Finally, the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) issued a warning to those who drink khamr:
“Whoever drinks khamr and becomes intoxicated, his prayers
will not be accepted for forty days, and if he dies he will enter
Hell, and if he repents Allah will accept his repentance. If he
drinks again and becomes intoxicated again, his prayers will not
be accepted for forty days, and if he dies he will enter Hell,
and if he repents Allah will accept his repentance. If he drinks
again and becomes intoxicated again, his prayers will not be accepted
for forty days, and if he dies he will enter Hell, and if he repents
Allah will accept his repentance. If he drinks a fourth time,
Allah promises that He will make him drink from the mud of khibaal
on the Day of Resurrection. The people asked, “O Messenger of
Allah, what is the mud of khibaal?” He said, “The juice
of the people of Hell.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 3377; see
also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6313). Using vessels of gold and silver,
or eating and drinking from them Nowadays hardly any household goods
stores are free of vessels made of gold and silver, or plated
with these metals. The same applies to homes of rich people and
many hotels. This kind of thing has become one of the precious
gifts that people give one another on special occasions. Some
people may not have these things at home, but they use them in
other people’s homes and when invited to a meal. All of these
are actions which are forbidden in Islam. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) issued a stern warning about using
such vessels. Umm Salamah reported that he said: “The one who
eats or drinks from a vessel of gold or silver is putting fire
from Hell into his stomach.” (Reported by Muslim, 3/1634). This
ruling applies to every kind of vessel or utensil that is made
of gold or silver, such as plates, forks, spoons, knives, trays
on which food is offered to guests, boxes of sweets which are
given to wedding guests, and so on. Some people might say, “We are not
using them, we are just putting them on display in a glass case.”
This is not permitted either, to prevent any possibility of these
things being used. (From the spoken statements of Shaykh ‘Abd
al’-’Azeez ibn Baaz.) Bearing false witness Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “. . . So shun the abomination (worship) of idols, and
shun lying speech (false statements) - hunafaa’ Lillah
(i.e., to worship none but Allah), not associating partners (in
worship, etc.) unto Him . . .” [al-Hajj 22:30-31] ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakrah (may
Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that his father
said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) when he said: ‘I fear for you three major
sins’ - three times: ‘associating partners with Allah, disobedience
to parents, and -’ - he was reclining but he sat up at this point
and said: ‘ - and bearing false witness.’ He kept repeating this
with such fervour that we wished he would stop (for his own sake).”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 5/261). The warning against bearing false
witness was uttered repeatedly because people take it too lightly
and there are many motives for doing so, such as hatred and envy.
The resulting corruption is great indeed: how many people have
lost their rights because of false witness! How many innocent
people have been treated unjustly, and how many people have gained
what they did not deserve, because of it! An example of the ways in which people
take this matter lightly is what sometimes happens in the courts,
when a person might say to someone he has only just met, "Testify
for me and I will testify for you." So one might testify
for the other in a case where he does not have the necessary knowledge
of what really happened, like testifying that this person owns
a piece of land or a house, or recommending him when he has never
seen him before that day in court. This is lying and false witness,
whereas testimony should be as described in the Book of Allah:
". . . we testify not except according to what we know .
. ." [Yoosuf 12:81] Listening to music and musical instruments Ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased
with him) used to swear by Allah that the aayah “And of mankind
is he who purchases idle talk to mislead (men) from the Path of
Allah . . .” [Luqmaan 31:6] referred to singing. Abu ‘Aamir and
Abu Maalik al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with them) reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Among my ummah will be those who make permissible al-hira(adultry
or zinah), silk, khamr and musical instruments . . .” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath, 10/51). Anas (may Allah be
pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “In this ummah there will be punishments
of earthquakes, showers of stones and deformity (transformation
into animals); that will be when the people drink khamr,
listen to female singers and play musical instruments.” (See al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 2203; attributed to Ibn Abi’l-Dunyaa, Dhamm
al-Malaahi; the hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2212). The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) forbade the “koobah” (a kind of drum), and
described the flute as the voice of the immoral fool. The early
scholars such as Imaam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, stated
that musical instruments such as the 'ood (lute), tanboor
(a long-necked stringed instrument), reed flute, rabaab
(stringed instrument resembling a fiddle) and cymbal, were haram;
no doubt modern instruments such as the violin, qaanoon
(stringed musical instrument resembling a zither), organ, piano,
guitar, etc., are also included in the Prophet’s prohibition on
musical instruments, because their effect and impact is greater
than that of the ancient instruments mentioned in some ahaadeeth.
They are even more intoxicating than khamr, as scholars
such as Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned. No doubt the prohibition, and
the sin involved, are greater when the music is accompanied by
singing and the voices of female singers, and it is even worse
when the lyrics speak of love and describe physical beauty. Hence
the scholars said that singing paves the way for zinaa
(adultery or fornication), and that it makes hypocrisy grow in
the heart. Generally speaking, music and singing form one of the
greatest temptations of our times. What is very difficult is the fact
that nowadays music is a part of so many things, such as clocks,
doorbells, children’s toys, computers, telephones, etc., and avoiding
it takes a great deal of determination. Allah is the source of
help. Gossip and backbiting: Many gatherings produce nothing but
gossip about other Muslims and slander of their honour. This is
something which Allah has forbidden His slaves, and has drawn
the most repulsive analogy to put them off. He says (interpretation
of the meaning): “. . . neither backbite one another. Would one
of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate
it . . .” [al-Hujuraat 49:12] The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) explained the meaning of this aayah. He
said: “Do you know what gheebah (gossip or backbiting)
is?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said:
"To say something about your brother that he does not want
to be said." He was asked, "What do you think if what
is said about him is true?" He said, "If what you say
about him is true, this is backbiting, and if what you say about
him is not true, this is a lie." (Reported by Muslim, 4/2001). Gossip or backbiting means saying
something about a Muslim which may be true but which he does not
like to hear spoken, whether it be about his physical appearance,
his adherence to religion, his worldly affairs, his self, his
behaviour or his character. There are many forms of gossip, including
talking about a person's faults and imitating him to make fun
of him. People take the matter of gheebah
very lightly, although it is very serious in the sight of Allah,
as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him): "There are seventy-two forms of riba,
the least of which is as bad as a man having intercourse with
his own mother, and the worst of which is when a man slanders
the honour of his brother." (Silsilah al-Saheeh, 1871). Whoever is present in a gathering
where gossip takes place should "forbid what is evil"
and defend his absent brother. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) encouraged us to do this when he said: "Whoever
defends the honour of his Muslim brother, Allah will protect his
face from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection." (Reported
by Ahmad, 6/450; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 6238). Some people go about repeating the
words of others to cause trouble between people; this is one of
the greatest causes of broken relations and stirring up feelings
of hatred among people. Allah condemned the one who does this
(interpretation of the meaning): "And obey not everyone who
swears much, - and is considered worthless, a slanderer, going
about with calumnies." [al-Qalam 68:10-11] Hudhayfah reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "No eavesdropper
will enter Paradise." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath,
10/472; "eavesdropper" here refers to a person who eavesdrops
on others without their knowing, then goes and tells others what
he has heard) Ibn 'Abbaas said: "The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by one of the
gardens of Madeenah, and heard the sound of two people being punished
in their graves. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: "They are being punished, but they are not
being punished for any major sin; one of them used never to clean
himself properly after urinating, and the other used to spread
malicious slander . . ." (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath
al-Baari, 1/317). One of the worst forms of this sin
is to cause trouble between a husband and wife, or vice versa,
or to tell one's boss what other employees are saying, in order
to create trouble. All of this is haram. Looking into people's houses without
their permission Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): "O you who believe! Enter not
houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and
greeted those in them . . ." [al-Noor 24:27] The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) explained that the reason why permission
was to be sought was for fear that the person seeking to enter
might see something private in the house: "The rule of seeking
permission has been established for the sake of (not) seeing."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 11/24). Nowadays,
when houses and buildings are too close to one another or even
attached, and doors and windows face one another, the possibility
of neighbours seeing one another has increased greatly. Many people
do not lower their gaze, and some of those who live on higher
floors may deliberately look down from their roofs and windows
into neighbouring homes that are lower than their own. This is
an act of betrayal and an invasion of their neighbours' privacy,
as well as being the way that leads to haram deeds. A great deal
of misery and trouble has resulted from this, and that fact that
the Sharee'ah counts the eye of the one who spies as worthless
is sufficient proof of the seriousness of the matter. The Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever
looks into somebody's house without their permission, it is permissible
for them to put out his eye." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1699).
According to another report, he said: "Put out his eye, and
there will be no penalty or retribution." (Reported by Imaam
Ahmad, 2/385; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 6022). Two people conversing privately to
the exclusion of a third This is one of the problems that
exist in social gatherings, and it is one of the ways in which
Shaytaan divides the Muslims and makes some of them hate others.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained
the rule and the wisdom behind it: "If you are three, then
two should not converse privately to the exclusion of a third
until you are joined by other people, because this will make him
sad." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari,
11/83). This also includes three people talking privately to the
exclusion of a fourth, and so on, and two people speaking in a
language which the third does not understand, because this is
undoubtedly a form of disdain towards the third, and gives the
impression that they intend to hurt him, etc. Isbaal - wearing clothes that come down below the ankles One of the things which people treat
as insignificant, although it is serious in the sight of Allah,
is isbaal, which means lengthening one's clothes below
the ankles; some people let their clothes touch the ground, and
some allow them to drag on the floor behind them. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with
him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: "There are three to whom Allah will not speak
on the Day of Resurrection, nor look at nor praise: the one who
wears his lower garment below the ankles; the one who reminds
others of his gifts or favours; and the one who sells his product
by means of lies and false oaths." (Reported by Muslim, 1/102). The one who says, "I am not
wearing my clothes below my ankles out of arrogance" is in
fact praising himself in a way that is unacceptable. The warning
against isbaal is issued to all, regardless of whether
they do it out of arrogance or not, as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whatever part of the
lower garment is below the ankles is in Hell." (Reported
by Imaam Ahmad, 6/254; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 5571).
The person whose isbaal is the result of arrogance will
be more severely punished than the one who has no such intention,
as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Whoever trails his garment out of pride, Allah will not
even look at him on the Day of Resurrection." (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, no. 3465, al-Bagha edition) - this is because he
is combining two sins in one action. Wearing any clothes below
the ankle is haram, as is indicated in the hadeeth reported by
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): "Isbaal
may be done with an izaar (lower garment), qamees
(shirt or upper garment) and 'amaamah (turban); whoever
drags any part of them on the ground out of pride, Allah will
not look at him on the Day of Resurrection." (Reported by
Abu Dawud, 4/353; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 2770). Women
are permitted to lengthen their garments by one or two handspans
to cover the feet or as a precaution against anything being uncovered
by the wind, etc., but it is not permitted to do more than that,
as is done with some wedding dresses which may have a train several
metres long, which has to be carried behind the bride. Men wearing gold in any shape
or form Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be
pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "Silk and gold have been permitted
for the females of my ummah, and have been forbidden for the males."
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 4/393; see also Saheeh al-Jaami',
207). The market nowadays is filled with
any number of items designed for men, such as watches, spectacles,
buttons, pens, chains and so-called "medallions," made
of gold of various standards, or completely gold-plated. One of
the common sins occurs in competitions where among the prizes
are men's gold watches. Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) saw a man wearing a gold ring; he took it
and threw it aside, saying, "Would any of you take a burning
ember from Hell and hold it in his hand?" After the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had gone away, someone
suggested to the man: "Why don't you take your ring and benefit
from it (sell it)?" He said, "No, by Allah, I will never
take it back when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) has thrown it aside." (Reported by
Muslim, 3/1655). Women wearing short, tight or see-though
clothes One of the ways in which our enemies are attacking us in modern times is by means of the fashions which they design and promote, and which have become popular among Muslims. These fashions do not cover anything, because they are so short, transparent or tight; many of them are inappropriate for wearing even in front of other women or one's mahrams! The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) told us that these kinds of clothes would
appear among the women of the last times, as was reported in the
hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
"There are two types of the people of Hell that I have not
seen: people who have whips like the tails of cattle, with which
they strike the people; and women who are dressed but naked, walking
with an enticing gait, with their hair looking like the humps
of camels, leaning sideways. They will not enter Paradise or even
smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from
such-and-such a distance." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1680).
Also included in this type of clothes are the garments worn by
some women which have long slits from the hem, or pieces cut out
here and there; when the wearer sits down, her 'awrah (i.e.,
everything except the face and hands) becomes visible, apart from
the fact that by wearing such clothes a woman is resembling the
kuffaar and following their fashions and trends of revealing clothes.
We ask Allah to keep us safe from all that. Another serious matter
as regards clothing is the bad pictures which appear on some clothes,
such as pictures of singers and rock groups, bottles of wine etc.,
pictures of animate beings which are forbidden in Islam, crosses,
logos of immoral clubs and societies, or bad words which do not
befit people of honour, which may be written in foreign languages. Wearing wigs and hairpieces, whether
made from natural or artificial hair, for men and women Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr said: "A
woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I have a daughter who is
going to be married; she had a fever and lost much of her hair
- can I give attach false hair to her head?' He said: 'Allah has
cursed the one who attaches false hair and the one who has this
done.'" (Reported by Muslim, 3/1676). Jaabir ibn 'Abdullaah
said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) issued strict instructions that no woman should add anything
to her head." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1679). Examples of this include the
things known nowadays as wigs and hair extensions, and the many
evil things with which salons are crowded. Also included are the
artificial wigs worn by some actors and actresses who have no
morals. Men resembling women and women resembling
men, in dress, speech and appearance Part of the fitrah (natural
inclinations of mankind) is that men should preserve the masculinity
which Allah has created in them, and women should preserve the
femininity which Allah has created in them. Without this, decent
human life becomes impossible. Men resembling women and vice versa
is something which goes against man's innate nature (fitrah)
and opens the door to corruption and widespread promiscuity. The
ruling in sharee'ah is that when it is stated that the person
who does a thing is cursed, that thing is haram. Ibn 'Abbaas (may
Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah
has cursed the men who make themselves look like women and the
women who make themselves look like men." (Reported by al-Bukhaari;
see al-Fath, 10/332). Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him and his father) also reported that the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah has
cursed effeminate men and masculine women." (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 3\10/333). The resemblance may
be in the way they move, walk and speak. Similarly, the two sexes are not
permitted to resemble one another in dress or by wearing anything
that is specifically for the other sex. So a man is not permitted
to wear necklaces, bracelets, anklets or earrings, etc., as is
widespread among hippies and the like. Women are not permitted
to wear things that are specifically for men, like the thawb
(long garment worn by men in Arab countries), shirts, etc.; whatever
she wears should be different in style, details and colour. The
evidence that the two sexes should not resemble one another in
dress is found in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah
be pleased with him): "Allah has cursed the man who wears
women's clothes and the woman who wear men's clothes." (Reported
by Abu Dawud, 4/355; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 5071). The correct opinion is that it is
haram to do this, because of the warning mentioned in the hadeeth:
"At the end of time there will be people who dye their hair
black like the crops of pigeons; they will never smell the fragrance
of Paradise." (Reported by Abu Dawud, 4/419; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami', 8153). This practice is widespread among those
who have grey hairs, which they cover with black dye; this leads
to many evils, such as deceit, and cheating people by boasting
of something which is not true. It is true that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to dye his grey hairs
with henna, which gave a yellowish, reddish or brownish hue. When
Abu Quhaafah, whose hair and beard was as white as thughaamah
(plant whose leaves and flowers are intensely white) was brought
to him on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Change this with
something, but avoid black." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1663).
The correct view is that women are like men in this regard: they
are not permitted to dye any hairs black that are not black. Having pictures of animate beings
on clothing, walls or paper, etc. 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (may Allah
be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "The people who will be most
severely punished by Allah on the Day of Resurrection are the
picture-makers." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath,
10/382). Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah says: 'Who does more wrong than the one who tries
to create something like My creation; let him create a grain of
wheat or an ear of corn . . .'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
see Fath al-Baari, 10/385). Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: "Every picture-maker will be in the Fire,
and for each picture that he made he will be given a soul, and
he will be punished in Hell." Ibn 'Abbaas said: If you must
make pictures, draw trees and things that do not possess a soul."
(Reported by Muslim, 3/1671). These ahaadeeth clearly indicate
that it is haram to make images of animate beings, whether they
be humans or different kinds of animals, whether the images are
two- or three dimensional. Pictures are forbidden whether they
are drawn, engraved, carved, etched or cast from moulds. The ahaadeeth
which forbid making pictures cover all these methods. The Muslim should accept what the
Sharee'ah says, without arguing. Some may say "Well, I am
not worshipping these pictures or prostrating to them!" But
if you look closely and think about just one of the bad effects
of the widespread presence of pictures in our times, you will
understand the wisdom behind this prohibition: this bad effect
is the provocation of sexual desire which leads to immorality,
because of these pictures. The Muslim should not keep
any pictures of animate beings in his house, because this prevents
the angels from entering his home. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "The angels do not enter a house
where there is a dog or pictures." (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
see al-Fath, 10/380). In many houses there are even statues,
some of which represent the gods of the kuffar, which are kept
for decoration; these are more haram than other kinds, just as
pictures which are hung up are worse than pictures which are not
hung up. How often have pictures led to glorification and grief,
and led to boasting! We should not say that the pictures are kept
for memories, for true memories of dear fellow-Muslims lie in
the heart, and one remembers them by praying for forgiveness and
mercy for them. One should remove all these pictures, or blot
them out, except when it is too difficult to do so, as with these
pictures which are all over food packaging, or in encyclopaedias
and reference books; even then, you should try to remove it, and
to be careful about the bad pictures in some books. It is permissible
to keep some necessary pictures, such as those on identity cards
and licences, or pictures which are walked on (such as pictures
in carpets). "So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as
much as you can . . ." [al-Taghaabun 64:16] Some people deliberately fabricate
dreams and visions that they have not really seen, as a means
of gaining spiritual prestige and fame, or for some material gains,
or to scare their enemies, and the like. Many of the common people
have a strong beliefs in dreams and are easily deceived by such
lies. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) issued
a stern warning to whoever does such a thing: "One of the
worst types of lie is for a man to claim to belong to someone
other than his real father, or to claim to have seen something
which he did not see, or to attribute to the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) words that he did not
say." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 6/540).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said:
"Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he did not see
will be ordered to tie two grains together, and he will never
be able to do it . . ." (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath,
12/427). Tying two grains together is impossible, so the punishment
will fit the crime. Sitting or walking on graves, or
answering the call of nature in a graveyard Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If any
of you were to sit on a live coal and let it burn his clothes
until it reached his skin, this would be better for him than sitting
on a grave." (Reported by Muslim, 2/667). As for stepping
on graves, many people do this, and when a person is buried you
can see people who do not care where they walk (even wearing shoes
sometimes) on neighbouring graves, with no respect for the dead.
The seriousness of this matter is clear from the words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "If I
were to walk on coals or on a sword, or to mend my shoe with my
own foot, this would be better for me than walking on the grave
of a Muslim." (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 1/499; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami', 5038). So what about those who take over the site
of a graveyard and build businesses or homes there? As for responding
to the call of nature in a graveyard, this is something done by
people who have no morals at all. When they feel the need, they
jump over the wall of the graveyard and offend the dead with their
unpleasant odours and impure waste matter. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "'I wouldn't care
if it were in the middle of the graveyard or in the middle of
the marketplace" (ibid.) - i.e. answering the call
of nature in a graveyard is like uncovering one's 'awrah
and answering the call of nature in front of people in a marketplace.
Those who deliberately throw their trash into graveyards (especially
those which are abandoned and whose walls are broken down) are
included in this condemnation. Among the etiquette required of
those who visit graveyards is taking off their shoes when they
want to walk between graves. Not cleaning oneself properly after
passing water One of the beauties of Islam is that it teaches everything that will improve and reform mankind, including how to remove impurities by cleaning oneself properly after urinating or defecating. But some people are very careless about this matter, and allow their clothes and bodies to become contaminated, thus causing their prayers to be invalidated. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) told us that this is one of the causes for
the punishment in the grave. Ibn 'Abbaas said: "The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by one of the
gardens of Madeenah, and heard the sound of two men being punished
in their graves. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: "They are being punished, but they are not
being punished for any major sin. One of them used not to clean
himself properly after urinating, and the other used to spread
malicious gossip." (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath
al-Baari, 1/317). Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said that "most of the punishment of
the grave will be because of urine." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad,
2/326; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 1213). Not cleaning oneself
properly after urinating also includes undue haste in completing
the action, or deliberately urinating in a position or place where
the urine can come back on oneself, or failing to clean oneself
afterwards, or not cleaning oneself properly. Modern imitation
of the kuffaar has reached such an extent that some rest
rooms for men contain wall-mounted urinals which are open to view,
so a person who uses them is urinating in full view of anyone
who comes and goes with no shame, in the midst of impurity. Thus
he combines two abhorrent and forbidden acts in one deed: not
hiding his private parts from the view of others, and nor cleaning
himself properly after urinating. Eavesdropping on people who
do not want to be heard Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): ". . . And spy not (on one another) . . ."
[al-Hujuraat 49:12]. Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: "Whoever listens to people's conversations
without their permission will have molten lead poured into his
ears on the Day of Resurrection . . ." (Reported by al-Tabaraani
in al-Kabeer, 11/248-249; see also Saheeh al-Jaami',
6004). If this person then goes and tells
others of the conversation he overheard in order to cause trouble
for them, then his sin of spying is compounded by another sin,
as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"The eavesdropper will not enter Paradise." (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 10/472). Allah has enjoined kind treatment
of neighbours in the Qur'an (interpretation of the meaning): "Worship
Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents,
kinsfolk, orphans, the poor, the neighbour who is near of kin,
the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the
wayfarer (you meet), and those slaves whom your right hands possess.
Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful."
[al-Nisaa' 4:36] Harming a neighbour is haram because
of the greatness of his rights. Abu Shurayh (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: "By Allah, he does not believe, by Allah,
he does not believe, by Allah, he does not believe." He was
asked, "Who, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "The
one from whose harm his neighbour is not safe." (Reported
by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 10/443) The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) regarded the praise or criticism of a neighbour
as a measure of a person's goodness or badness. Ibn Mas'ood (may
Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man said to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "O Messenger
of Allah, how may I know if I am doing well or not?" The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If
you hear your neighbour say that you are good, then you are doing
well, and if you hear him saying that you are bad, you are not
doing well." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/402, see also Saheeh
al-Jaami', 623). Harming a neighbour may take many
forms, including: not allowing him to fix a piece of wood to a
shared wall or fence; expanding one's dwelling in such a way as
to deprive him of sun or air without his permission; opening windows
overlooking his house and looking out of them to invade his privacy;
disturbing him with loud sounds such as hammering or shouting,
especially when he is asleep or resting; or throwing trash in
front of his door. The sin of such deeds is increased when they
are done to a neighbour, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: "If a man were to commit adultery
with ten women, it would be better for him than committing adultery
with the wife of his neighbour, and if a man were to steal from
ten houses, it would be better for him than stealing from the
house of his neighbour." (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab
al-Mufrad, no. 103; see also al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
65). Some treacherous people take advantage of a neighbour's absence
during his night shift to enter his house and commit immoral acts.
Woe to them of the punishment of a painful Day! Writing a will for the purpose of
harming one of the heirs One of the basic principles of Sharee'ah
is that there should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.
One example of this harm is writing a will that deprives one or
some of the legitimate heirs of his or their rights. Such a person
is warned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him): "Whoever harms (others), Allah will harm him, and whoever
makes things difficult for others, Allah will make things difficult
for him." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 3/453; see also Saheeh
al-Jaami', 6348). Ways in which a person's will can harm others
is by denying an heir of his rights, or giving an heir more than
he is entitled to in Sharee'ah, or by bequeathing more than a
third to any one person. In places where people are not subject
to the rule of Sharee'ah, it may be difficult for a person to
take what is his by rights granted by Allah, because courts that
apply man-made laws may order that the unfair will registered
with a lawyer be executed. "Woe to them for what their hands
have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby."
[al-Baqarah 2:79] Many popular games involve
elements that are haram; among them are games in which pieces
are moved according to the throw of a dice, such as backgammon,
etc. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) warned
that these dice open the door to gambling: "Whoever plays
with dice, it is as if he dipped his finger in the flesh and blood
of swine." (Reported by Muslim, 4/1770). Abu Moosa (may Allah
be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever plays with dice has
disobeyed Allah and His Messenger." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad,
4/394; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 6505) Cursing a believer or someone who
does not deserve to be cursed Many people do not control
their tongues at times of anger, and are quick to curse people,
animals, inanimate objects, days, hours, etc. They may even curse
themselves and their children, or a husband may curse his wife
and vice versa. This is a very serious matter. Abu Zayd Thaabit
ibn al-Dahhaak al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
". . . whoever curses a believer, it is as if he killed him."
(Reported al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 10/465). Because cursing
is more common among women, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) explained that this would be one of the reasons
for them entering Hell, and that those who curse will not be intercessors
on the Day of Resurrection. More serious than that is the fact
that the curse will come back on the one who utters it, if he
says it unfairly; in that case he will have prayed against himself
Wailing (at time of bereavement) One of the haram deeds that some
women do is to raise their voices in screaming and eulogizing
the dead, striking their faces, tearing their clothes, cutting
or tearing out their hair, etc. All of this indicates that a person
does not accept the decree of Allah and is not bearing disaster
with fortitude and patience. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) cursed the one who does this. Abu Umaamah
(may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed the woman
who strikes her face, tears her clothes and cries out about woe
and doom. (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 1/505; see also Saheeh al-Jaami',
5068). 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with him)
reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: "He is not one of us who strikes his cheeks, tears
his clothes and prays with the supplication of the Jaahiliyyah."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 3/163). The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "If
the woman who wails does not repent before her death, she will
be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a shirt of tar and
a garment of scabs." (Reported by Muslim, no. 934) Striking or branding the face Jaabir said: "The Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade striking
or branding the face." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1673). As far as striking the face is concerned,
many fathers and teachers do this as a way of punishing children,
when they strike them in the face with their hand, and so on;
some people also do this to their servants, even though this is
an insult to the face with which Allah has honoured man. It may
also cause the loss of some of the important senses which are
located in the face, leading to regret and possible demands for
retribution. Branding animals in the face is done
to make a distinguishing mark so that each animal's owner may
be known and the animal may be returned to him if it is lost.
This is haram, because it causes suffering and deformity. If people
claim that this is their tribal custom and that a distinguishing
mark is necessary, it should be made on some other part of the
animal, not on the face. Abandoning a Muslim brother for more
than three days with no legitimate reason This is one of the ways in which
Shaytaan causes division among Muslims, and those who follow in
the footsteps of Shaytaan may forsake a Muslim brother for no
legitimate reason, but because of a dispute over money or some
trivial disagreement. This division may continue for a lifetime,
with one swearing that he will never speak to the other and vowing
never to set foot in his house, turning away if he sees him in
the street and ignoring him if he happens to encounter him in
a gathering, shaking hands with everyone else but him. This is
a cause of weakness in the Muslim community, hence the ruling
concerning this is decisive and the warning against it is stern.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "It
is not permitted for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more
than three (days); whoever does this and dies, he will enter Hell."
(Reported by Abu Dawud, 5/215; see also Saheeh al-Jaami',
7635). Abu Khuraash al-Aslami (may Allah
be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever forsakes his bother
for a year, it is as if he has shed his blood." (Reported
by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, hadeeth no. 406; see
also Saheeh al-Jaami', 6557). It is bad enough that division among
Muslims results in their being deprived of the forgiveness of
Allah, may He be glorified. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The deeds
of the people are shown to Allah twice a week, on Mondays and
Thursdays; He forgives all His believing slaves, except for the
one between whom and his brother is enmity. He says, 'Leave these
two until they reconcile.'" (Reported by Muslim, 4/1988). Whichever of the two parties repents
to Allah must then go back to his brother and greet him with salaam;
if he does this and the other person ignores him, then the former
is free of blame and the responsibility falls upon the latter.
Abu Ayyoob reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: "It is not permissible for a man to forsake
his brother for more than three nights, each turning away if they
meet. The better of the two is the one who is the first to greet
the other with salaam." (Reported by al-Bukhaari,
Fath al-Baari, 10/492). There may be cases where there is
a legitimate reason for forsaking a person, such as his not praying,
or persisting in immorality. If forsaking him will benefit him
by bringing him to his senses and making him see the error of
his ways, then it is obligatory to forsake him, but if it will
only make him more stubborn and persistent in his sin, then it
is not right to forsake him, because nothing is achieved by doing
so. Forsaking him will only make matters worse, so the right thing
to do is to continue treating him kindly, and advising and reminding
him. In conclusion, this is what Allah
has enabled me to write about the prohibitions that are widely
ignored. This is a lengthy topic, and in order that readers may
further benefit, another chapter is needed, in which a group of
prohibitions mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah will be listed.
This will appear as a separate work, insha’Allah. I ask Allah,
may He be glorified and exalted, by His Most Beautiful Names,
to give us enough awareness and fear of Him to keep us away from
sin, and enough devotion and obedience to Him to help us reach
His Paradise, to forgive us for our sins and by His grace to make
us content with what He has permitted and keep us away from what
He has forbidden. May He accept our repentance and cleanse us
from sin, for He is the All-Hearing, the One Who answers prayers.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Unlettered Prophet,
Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions. All praise be
to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid |
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