Udusabeel's Weblog

The month of Sha’baan

udusabeel — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:33:28 +0000

8th month
شُعْبَة > disperse, branch out

1. in search of water
2. or to carry out raid
3. branches-out or emerges (between month of Rajab and Ramadan)
‘Aaishah said: The Messenger (saw) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allaah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadaan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Shabaan. (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)
According to a report narrated by Muslim “He used to fast all of Shabaan, he used to fast all but a little of Shabaan“
Ibn al-Mubaarak and others, thought that the Prophet (saw) did not fast all of Shabaan, but he fasted most of it.
Usaamah ibn Zayd said: I said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Shabaan. He said, That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadaan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds. I like for my deeds to be lifted up when I am fasting.”
“The most beloved of months for the Messenger of Allaah (saw) to fast in was Shabaan, and his fasting in Shabaan was continuous with his fasting in Ramadaan. (Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood)
Ibn Rajab said: Fasting in Shabaan is better than fasting in the Sacred Months, and the best of voluntary fasts are those that are closest to Ramadaan, before or after. The status of these fasts is like that of al-Sunan al-Rawaatib
People are pre-occupied in Rajab and Shabaan. Many people think that fasting in Rajab is better than fasting in Shabaan, because Rajab is one of the Sacred Months, but this is not the case.
It is mustahabb to make good use of the times when people tend to be negligent, by doing acts of worship.
Ibn Masood said: When you get up in the morning and you are fasting, apply perfume. Qutaadah said: It is mustahabb for the [man] who is fasting to apply perfume so that there will be no sign that he is fasting.
Prophet (saw) said: Worship at times of tribulation (fitnah) is like Hijrah to me.

Why Prophet (saw) fasted so much in Shabaan:

1. That he had been unable to fast three days out of every month because he was traveling or for some other reason, so he made them all up together in Sha’baan.
2. His wives used to make up the days that they missed of Ramadaan in Shabaan, so he used to fast because of that.
3. This is a month which people do not pay attention to. This is the most correct view, because of the hadeeth of Osaamah.
Whoever is able to make them up before the (second) Ramadaan and does not do so, has to make them up after the (second) Ramadaan and in addition to that, he has to repent and to feed one poor person for each day that he missed. This is the view of Maalik, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad.
Training for Ramadaan. Month of reciters.

There is a weak hadîth that reads: “When the middle night of Sha`bân arrives, observe prayer throughout that night and fast the following day, for indeed Allah descends to the lower heavens on that night at sunset and declares: ‘Is there anyone seeking forgiveness whom I can forgive? Is anyone seeking My providence whom I can provide for? Is there anyone facing difficulties whose burdens I can ease?…’ and He keeps asking more and more until the break of dawn.” [Sunan Ibn Mâjah (1388)]

The author of al-Manâr has determined this hadîth to me not only weak, but fabricated. He says: The truth is that this hadîth is a forgery. Its chain of transmissions contains the narrator Abû Bakr b. `Abd Allah b. Muhammad, who is better known as Ibn Abî Sabrah.

Ahmad b. Hanbal and Yahyâ b. Ma`în have both exposed him as a fabricator of hadîth.

Fasting at the end of Shabaan

Prophet (SAW) said to a man, “Have you fasted anything of the sirar of this month?” He said, “No.” He said: “If you have not fasted, then fast two days.” Bukhaari reports : I think he meant Ramadaan. Muslim reports, Prophet said: “Have you fasted anything of the sirar of Shabaan?”
Dispute on meaning of Sirar; refers to the end of the month because the moon is hidden (istisraar) at that time.
Narrated Abu Hurayrah Prophet (saw) said: “Do not pre-empt Ramadaan by one or two days, except for those who have the habit of fasting regularly, in which case they may fast.“
Many of the scholars said: this man to whom the Prophet addressed was known to have the habit of fasting regularly, or else he had made a vow, so the Prophet commanded him to make up his fast. There are three scenarios for fasting at the end of Shabaan:
1. A person fasts at the end of Shabaan with the intention of being on the safe side and not missing the first day of Ramadaan. This is forbidden.
2. A person fasts with the intention of fulfilling a vow or of making up a day of Ramadaan that he missed or as an act of expiation (kafaarah), etc. This is permissible according to the majority.
3. When this is purely a voluntary fast. Two opinions:

(a) makrooh by those who said that we should differentiate between Shabaan and Ramadaan.

(b) It is alright if it happens to coincide with a day when a person habitually fasts. Maalik permitted this, but al-Shaafai, al-Oozaai, Ahmad and others made a distinction between cases.

(b)

In conclusion, the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah quoted above is what we should follow according to the majority of scholars. It is makrooh to observe a voluntary fast one or two days before Ramadaan for those who do not habitually fast on those days and who have not previously fasted until the end of Shabaan.

why is it makrooh to fast just before Ramadaan (for those who do not have a prior habit of fasting)?

Fear for extra days be added to Ramadaan that are not part of it. Fasting on the day of Eid is prohibited for the same reason, lest we fall into the same trap as the People of the Book with regard to fasting, as they added to their fasts because of their own whims and desires.
For the same reason it is also forbidden to fast on the “day of doubt”. Ammaar said: whoever fasts on this day has disobeyed Abul-Qaasim (saw).
Prophet (saw) forbade following an obligatory prayer immediately with another prayer unless they are separated by saying salaam or speaking, especially in the case of the Sunnah prayer performed just before Fajr. It is prescribed to make a clear separation between this prayer and the obligatory prayer. Hence it is prescribed to pray it at home and to lie down afterwards.

why we do not fast just before Ramadaan is so that we can make the most of eating and have our fill of our desires before we have to deny ourselves by fasting. This is an ignorant mistake on the part of those who think this.

Reference

Islamqa

Copyright

udusabeel — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:45:34 +0000

The Copyright Issue

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Question

Ahmad The Repenter:

Asalaamu Alaykum.

I was listening to one of your responses on copyright issues,

Now I wanted to know, that the Islamic lectures which are produced and have copyright labels; shouldn’t we obey it because lets look at it this way:

All the time and effort to record that lecture, then all the time and effort to edit and all the time and effort to make the cover and to make copies onto dvd and to place them in cases. now if we look at all of this it all adds up money, weather the ink, cd’s etc..

And lets say an Islamic organization sells Islamic lectures and they produce it. Are we not suppose to support them by buying the product so they can produce more islamic lectures in the future and also people do this job as a living, so is the copyright feature haram to have after all these points are into thought?

So Insh’Allah can you clear up things for me.

May Allah reward you brother Shaykh Feiz Insh’Allah with the best of rewards Jannah.

Wasalaam Walakum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Answer

Sheikh Feiz:

Asalaamu Alaykum warahmatAllah wabarakatahu.
Dear brother Ahmad the Repenter i ask the Almighty to increase your knowledge,knowledge that is implemented then taught then patience in the face of adversity is observed.

I appreciate your understanding to this issue,the issue of copyright in islam, and i do respect your view.However there are a few things that i believe that should be looked at before passing any judgements on this issue, for indeed it is an issue of great controversy.

-Firstly:Islam is not the property of an individual.The Quran and the sunnah are divine revelations revealed to man in order that they be followed.

-Secondly: There is no precedent in the glorious Word of the Almighty nor in the sunnah, nor in the views of the early jurists (fuqaha) that knowledge of islam can be subjected to private ownership or to sale and purchase.

-Thirdly:I see it as a major obstuction in the spreading of this beautiful deen,as many people can only afford their basic daily needs which i believe are the majority,therefore copyright prevents these people from learning their deen.

-Forthly:Many people buy their islamic material on line which in reality could lead to a prohibited act (i.e) credit cards etc…

-Fifthly:Copyright today for most people has become no more than business,where many people have lost the real focus of dawah which should be solely for the sake of Allah.

What i see from all this and much more my beloved brother Ahmad is that copyright is a major prevention of spreading this beautiful deen to the world.

Allah the Most High says in surat Ad-Duha:11 (interpretation of its meaning):
“And proclaim the grace of your Lord”

The prophet (peace be upon him) said:”Convey regarding me even if it were one verse”

He (peace be upon him) also said:”Whoever calls people to right guidance will have a reward like that of those who follow him,without that detracting from their reward in the slightest…”Narrated by Muslim, “

So how can one convey this beautiful deen which is the greatest treasure on this earth when he is prevented from doing so because of copyright.

May Allah the Almighty forgive us for our shortcomings and guide us to that which He loves and is pleased with.
This is my opinion and Allah knows best.
Sh Feiz,wa salam alaykum warahmatAllah wabarakatahu

Courtesy Of: Dhikrullah.com/forum

Medicine according to Sunnah

udusabeel — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:11:26 +0000

اسلام عليكم و رحمته اللّه و بركته

I attended a session last Sunday at ISNS. The talk was on the topic of Medicine according to Sunnah by Ahmed AbdulKarim Mirza. Br. Ahmed is also my Tajweed teacher at Riyadh As-Saliheen Institute. He is Mash’Allah a PhD candidate at IIT studying Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics.

I was impressed with the talk! The brother presented the evidences from the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). Modern scientific research has confirmed that the meal of the Prophet (SAW) and his eating habits constitutes a perfect diet. It keeps you away from the diseases and even Sahar (magic); builds your immunity. On top of all these benefits by following the Sunnah your eating will turn into ‘Ibbadaa!

I took some notes from the talk here. I was not able to grep all the details of Biochemistry, as this is not my area. I requested the brother however, that we need a white paper or a power point on the subject with the scientific research side-by-side with the evidences from the Sunnah.

Yusha Evans

udusabeel — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:56:37 +0000

اسلام عليكم و رحمته اللّه و بركته

Br. Yusha Evans gave us a Dawah workshop at Riyadh As-Saliheen Institute. He started of the workshop with his story of how he came to Islam. Msha’Allah very moving story. He said, he does not tell his story for entertainment, but for us to learn a lesson from. There are millions of people in this country who have not seen the true light of Islam. It is our job to pass the message of Islam on.

He mentioned about reading a book on Islam in the Public library. The book was written by an Orientalist who described Muslims as follows. “Moslems worship a God who lives in a black box which is in Suadi Arabia. They treat their women harsh. They kill non-muslims wherever they can find them. ” Br. Yusha was 17 at that time. He was looking for the truth. He closed the book and checked off Islam from his list.

He mentioned, Nobody is born as atheist or agnostic; his/her circumstances make him/her so. The person is usually angry at God and to show his/her anger he becomes atheist.

I bought two DVDs which contain evidences and references from the Bible telling the TRUTH. This is good material Insha’Allah to be a successful Daiee.

I took some notes from his talk on Calling to the way, Our obligation and Purpose.