باب حق الجار والوصية به
وعن عبدِ اللَّه بن عمر رضي اللَّه عنهما قال : قال رسول اللَّه صَلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم: « خَيْرُ الأَصحاب عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تعالى خَيْرُهُمْ لصـاحِبِهِ ، وخَيْرُ الجيران عِنْدَ اللَّه تعالى خيْرُهُمْ لجارِهِ » رواه الترمذي وقال : حديث حسن .
311/39 – رياض الصالحين

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (radiya Llahu ‘anhuma) reported: The Messenger of Allah (salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said,

“The best of companions with Allah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neighbours to Allah is the one who is the best of them to his neighbour.”

[al-Tirmidhi]

Commentary:
Companion is a common word which covers companions in journey and stay. Muslims are ordained to treat all of them nicely. But one’s neighbour has precedence over others. Nice treatment to him is the best means to attain a distinctive place with Allah.

39/311 – Riyad al-Salihin (Gardens of the Righteous)

Source: Daily Hadith mailing list

“To admonish your brother in private is to advise him and improve him. But to admonish him publicly is to disgrace and shame him.”

- Originally posted by br. Adnan El-Hanefi

Shaykh Muhammad (hafidhahu Llah) sums up his way in the following words:

“The main focus of Muslim activists in the field of Da’wa should be on making people aware of the importance of learning the Deen, studying the Shari’ah, and diving into the depths of the Sacred Knowledge in order to ultimately live upon it. The key to the success and triumph of the Muslim Umma unequivocally lies in Sacred Knowledge. Only through studying the Sacred Knowledge may we increase the fear of Allah in our hearts and precisely emulate the exemplar of the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and follow the steps of the ‘Ulama. In order for the Umma to regain its intellectual consciousness and reinstate its sense of civilization, we need, beside following the Qur’an and the Sunna, to adhere to the way of the ‘Ulama that spans over fourteen centuries, a way that, in reflecting the Qur’an and the Sunna, articulated the corpus of fiqh and the exegeses of the Qur’an and Sunna, thus introducing the way to the following generations.

Recognizing this legacy and digging out its treasures is vital to the recovery of the Umma. This can only be done through reviving the tradition of learning and teaching in Islam, where a teacher represents the spring of knowledge and the exemplar of righteousness, the continuation of the glorious past and the embodiment of the blessing and light of an unbroken chain of transmission. People should know that unlike political movements and sectarian groups, we do not call to our own way, nor do we have our own new agenda. The Deen is our agenda, and the way of the ‘Ulama is our way.”

The first priority of Muslims in the West should be to establish Institutions of sacred knowledge and support the students, the seekers of knowledge who have decided to devote their life to the service of this Deen. We need to make of every mosque a living institution, with students and teachers exchanging the knowledge of the Deen and carrying it on to the coming generations in the West.

Muslims should provide their communities and their society with enough number of scholars who can teach the various sciences of Shari’a such as Qur’an, Hadith, fiqh, Aqeeda, Seera. Da’wa has several wings one is knowledge, another is wisdom, the third is sincerity. The three of them cannot be obtained from books or western-type universities; the only valid source is the Ulema, who are the heirs of the Prophet salla Allah alayhi wasallam.

Jihad, for Muslims in the West, is in learning the Deen and supporting the learners of the Deen. It is the Jihad of the word which is a prerequisite to the Jihad of sword. Learning the Deen is the way to maintain our Islamic identity, to protect our generations, to advocate Islam in the media, and to promote Da’wa in our societies.

One of the best acts of worship is to help a student who is traveling abroad not on a vacation but for the sake of Allah. These students undergo all hardships and sacrifice all luxuries and live away from their families only for the sake of Allah, to support this Deen. They are doing that instead of many who cannot and on the behalf of the whole Umma, and they will benefit the whole Umma. Supporting the students of sacred knowledge financially is a step in the right direction.

A few thousand Dollars may not build a mosque, yet they can contribute to the making of a man, a scholar who can revive a whole community and bring people to the way of Allah.

Source: http://www.lightstudy.org/…/inthespirit.htm

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Ramadan Mubarak!

Sayyiduna Salman (radiya Llahu ‘anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) spoke to the Companions on the last day of Sha’ban. He informed them that they were about to enter a great and blessed month, a month in which there is a night better than a thousand nights. He mentioned some of the merits of the month of Ramadan. Then he said: “Do four things in abundance: two things with which you please your Lord, and two things which you cannot do without. As for the two things with which you please your Lord: your testification that there is nothing worthy of worship other than Allah and your seeking His forgiveness. As for the two things which you cannot do without: your asking Allah for Paradise and seeking refuge in Him from the Fire.” [1]

The Messenger of Allah taught al-Sayyida ‘A’isha to say on Laylat al-Qadr : “O Allah, truly You are all-Pardoning, You love to pardon so pardon us.” [2]

On the basis of these two hadiths the scholars and people of Tarim repeat the following du’a throughout the month of Ramadan:

أشْهَدُ أن لا إلهَ إلا الله نَسْتَغْفِرُ الله نسأَلُكَ الجنَّةَ ونَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ النَّار

Ash-hadu alla ilaha illa Llah, nastaghfiru Llah, nas’aluka-l-jannata wa na’udhu bika min an-nar

“I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship other than Allah and we seek the forgiveness of Allah. We ask You for Paradise and take refuge in You from the Fire.” (3 times)

اللهمَّ انَّكَ عَفُوٌ تُحبُّ العفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنَّا (3) يا كريم

Allahumma innaka ‘afuwun tuhibbu-l-’afwa fa’fu ‘anna

“O Allah, truly You are all-Pardoning, You love to pardon so pardon us” (3 times). On the third time say “O Most Generous” (Ya Karim).

[1] Narrated by Ibn Khuzayma

[2] Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and al-Tirmidhi with a sahih chain of transmission

(Compiled and translated by Sidi Amin Buxton)

Source: http://abdulkarimyahya.com/2010/08/10/ramadan-dua/

Chapter from al-Imam al-Ghazzalis Ihya’ [pdf]

Chapter from al-Imam al-Haddads Nasa’ih al-Diniyya [html]

Blessings Specific to Ramadan [pdf]

The Book of Assistance: Fasting (of Imam al-Haddad) [html]

Khutba: Ramadan: The Month of Seeking Closeness to Allah (sh. Faraz Rabbani) [mp3]

—Ramadan Fiqh—

Hanafi:

Fasting – Gift for the Seeker [pdf]

The Complete Guide to Fasting [html]

Hanafi Q&As related to fasting (SunniPath) [html]

Maliki:

Qadi ‘Iyad’s “Foundations” – chapter on Fasting (pg. 95 onwards) [pdf]

Al-’Izziyya – chapter on Fasting (pg. 112 onwards) [pdf]

Ibn Abi Zayd’s al-Risala – On Fasting [html]

Shafi’i:

Fiqh of Fasting [pdf]

The Basics of Fasting [html]

Q&As related to fasting (SunniPath) [html]

Hanbali:

Zad al-Mustaqni Lessons – Book of Fasting [html]
Ramadan Fiqh – Hanbali Madhhab [html]

“With that, it should be known that all four schools are on truth and we strongly abide by the principle, “Our school is correct with the possibility of error, and those who disagree with us have erred with the possibility of being correct.”

[al-Hadiyya al-'Ala'iyya, pg. 242, ed. Dar Ibn Hazm)]

“It is incumbent upon every intelligent, responsible person to become acquainted with the attributes of this great and noble Prophet (peace and blessings upon him), in order that they may follow the light of his example, and take the perfection of his characteristics as a model for themselves.

If it is the nature of intellectuals to seek knowledge of the world’s great and worthies, then it is more fitting that they should aspire to become acquainted with the Master of Masters (peace and blessings upon him), the pride of all creation, he whom Allah (Most High) raised to the highest status, and promoted above all other ranks.”

- Shaykh ‘Abdullah Sirajuddin

As-salamu ‘alaykum,

Last Sunday (1st August) I was on a one-day trip to Copenhagen to visit the brothers at “Det dansksprogede islamiske center” (lit. “The Danish Language Islamic Centre”) and to meet the visiting shaykh Husayn al-Haddad (hafidhahu Llah) of Tarim, Yemen. While I was in Copenhagen I also took the opportunity to meet some old friends, al-hamdu liLlah.

The day was a great succes and I hope to be able to visit the brothers in Copenhagen again soon, bi-idhni Llahi ta’ala.

Here are a couple of iPhone shots of the centre’s musalla:

[Large version here]

[Large version here]

“It is an obligation for scholars to make themselves known to the masses, to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and grant people access to their knowledge and example.”

Definition of Atheism: The belief that there was nothing and nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically re-arranged itself for no reason whatsoever into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs. Makes Perfect Sense.

In other words: Only a complete idiot remains an Atheist!