The Condition of the Salaf in Ramadhaan Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan

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Question:

I have some questions; the first question: what was the state of the Salaf As-Saalih, may Allaah have mercy upon them and be pleased with them, in anticipation of this great month? How was their guidance? How was their character and their conduct? The second matter, O eminent Shaykh, how does the Muslim prepare to take advantage of these nights and days which he is now living in; preparation by way of knowledge, by knowing the rulings of fasting and knowing the nullifiers of the fast and its rulings? Some of the people are heedless of these things so they do not understand the affair of fasting and they also do not have the obligatory understanding of the affair of the fast, has the Shaykh noticed this matter? May Allaah reward you.

Answer:

In the name of Allaah the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. Wa Alaykum As-Salaam wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh; may Allaah bless you. Regarding that which you have drawn attention to, from these two great matters; the first question is regarding the condition of the Salaf in the month of Ramadhaan. The condition of the Salaf, as it is recorded in the narrated books with chains of narrations from the trustworthy people (narrating) from them is that they would ask Allaah the Mighty and Majestic to make them reach Ramadhaan before it entered; they would ask Allaah to make them reach the month of Ramadhaan due to what they knew that it contained from abundant good and general benefit. Then, when Ramadhaan entered, they would ask Allaah to aid them upon righteous actions therein. The when Ramadhaan ended they would ask Allaah to accept it from them. As Allaah the Mighty and Majestic says:

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ ٦٠ أُولَئِكَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ ٦١

“And those who give that (their charity) which they give (and also do other good deeds) with their hearts full of fear (whether their alms and charities, etc., have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning). It is these who race for the good deeds, and they are foremost in them [e.g. offering the compulsory Salât (prayers) in their (early) stated, fixed times and so on].”(Al-Mu'minun 23:60-61)

They would strive hard in doing actions, then worry would afflict them, after the action, as to whether their action was accepted or not. That was due to their knowledge of the greatness of Allaah and their knowledge that Allaah does not accept except that (action) which is done purely for His face and correctly in accordance with the Sunnah of His Messenger from actions. So they would not purify themselves, and they would fear that their actions would be rendered null. So (worry) that they (the action) will be accepted was weightier with them than (even) the performance of them. This is because Allaah the Mighty and Majestic says:

إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ

"Verily, Allaah accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqûn (the pious)."               (Al-Ma'idah 5:27)

So they would devote their time within this month, as we have previously mentioned, to worship and would minimize actions of the Dunyaa. They would spend their time sitting in the houses of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic and they would say: We are safeguarding our fast and we will not backbite anyone. They would read the Mus-hafs and study the Book of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic. They would safeguard its time from squandering. They were not heedless or negligent as many of the people are today. Rather, they would preserve its time; the night, by standing (in prayer) and the day by fasting, recitation of the Qur’aan, the remembrance of Allaah, and righteous actions. They were not negligent therein of (even) a minute or a second, except that they would put forth therein righteous actions. This is the first question.

Translated by Raha ibn Donald Batts

A Sin that Leads to Jannah

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said:

“Sin may be more beneficial for a person, if it leads him to repent, than doing a lot of acts of worship. This is what is meant by the words of one of the salaf:

‘A person may commit a sin and enter Paradise because of it, or he may do an act of worship and enter Hell because of it.’

They said: ‘How is that?’

He said: ‘He may commit a sin and continues to think about it, and when he stands or sits or walks he remembers his sin, so he feels ashamed and repents and seeks forgiveness and regrets it, so that will be the means of his salvation.
And he may do a good deed and continue to think about it, and when he stands or sits or walks he remembers it and it fills him with self-admiration and pride, so it is the cause of his doom.

So the sin may be the factor that leads him to do acts of worship and good deeds and to change his attitude so that he fears Allah and feels shy before Him and feels humiliated before Him, hanging his head in shame and weeping with regret, seeking he forgiveness of his Lord. Each of these effects is better for a person than an act of worship that makes him feel proud and show off and look down on people. Undoubtedly this sin is better before Allah and is more likely to bring salvation than one who admires himself and looks down on others, and who thinks that he is doing Allah a favour. Even if he says words that indicate something other than that, Allah is the Witness over what is in his heart. Such a person may feel hatred towards people if they do not hold him in high esteem and humiliate themselves before him. If he were to examine himself honestly, he would see that clearly.”

-Madarij as-Salikeen, 1/299

The Importance of Being Truthful

Shaikh Falaah Isma’eel recently relayed a heart-melting story that may interest you.

When the Shaikh visited Holland, he was of course met by Muslims from Holland and they told him, “If you had come two weeks earlier you would have seen it yourself. We prayed over this man.” Then they told him the following story.

[What follows is not verbatim, but a summary, with some explanations so as to clarify some terms that may be new to non-Muslims.]

He was a 26-year-old Christian from Holland. One day, he changed his dress tothobes, a burnoose, grew a beard, and the people started calling him “the one who looks like Jesus.”One day, he met some Muslims, and he said to them, “I love Jesus.” And the Muslims told him, “We also love Jesus, and it is even a condition of Islam. We love Jesus and Moses.”

So this man tried imitating Jesus, helping others when he could, cutting their lawns and the like. After two years, he entered the mosque [the Muslims' place of worship] for the first time, and he was greeted with “ahlan” [which means welcome, and thus was not greeted with the greeting reserved for Muslims "as-salaamu 'alaykum" (which means: may peace and safety be upon you on the Day of Judgement)].

He said, “no; I want to be a Muslim.”

Then, the Muslims witnessed his testimony (pronounced “shahada”) – there is none deserving of worship except Allaah, and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and Jesus is His servant and Messenger – taught him the basics, and taught him how to pray. He began praying in congregation with them, not missing a single congregation. Then one day, he noticed that the other Muslims were arriving at the mosque after him, so he asked for a key to the mosque. And he was given one.

The Muslims then observed that not only was he opening the mosque, but additionally he was routinely found in optional prayer whenever they entered the mosque for the dawn prayer. [They would enter and find him already engaged in the worship of Allaah.]

Then one day, he told the Muslims how he decided to become Muslim. He said he had a dream about Jesus (the son of Mary), and Jesus said to him, “Be Muslim. Be Muslim. Be Muslim.” He said, “I woke up, and a few days later, I had the same dream. This happened three times.”

[The shaikh interjected and said, this is success from Allaah.]

So after having prayed for 20 days with the other Muslims, he died.

May Allaah have mercy on him.

This is the mercy of Allaah, and Allaah saved him [from dying upon other than Islam].

This is Sidq (truthfulness); he truthfully loved Jesus, so he became Muslim. Allaah guided him to become Muslim, because he was truthful in his love for Jesus.

If one is truthful in his love for Jesus and his following Jesus, then this should lead him to the true religion of Jesus (Islam) and should lead him to following whom Jesus commanded to be followed after him – Muhammad, the seal of all Prophets.

After all, the religion of all the Prophets was Islam, and their creed was the same, and their message was the same, and they confirmed each other. It is only the deviant who have distorted the message of the previous Prophets, and thus Allaah promised to preserve His last revelation (the Qur`an) from corruption.

The means to a righteous heart Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan al-Fawzaan

Question:

What is the way to the righteousness of the heart and to purify it from hatred and envy? And what are the most helpful means to make the heart righteous in this life?

Answer:

Righteousness of the heart is achieved by a few things.

The first: having a sincere intention for Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, in the righteous deeds. And remembering the Greatness of Allaah, the Majestic and Exalted, remembering that you stand in need of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and increasing in the dhikr (remembrance) of Allaah. Allaah, the Most High, has said:

{Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah – Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allaah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allaah do hearts find rest.}

[Soorah ar-Ra'd (13): 28]

So from that which brings the heart to life, is increasing in the remembrance of Allaah. And verily, he (the Prophet) – sallal-Laahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – has said:

“The example of the one who remembers Allaah and the one who doesn’t remember Allaah, is like the example of the living and the dead.”

Also from the means of bringing the heart to life, is eating from halaal (legal, permissible food) and staying away from eating haraam (forbidden food). For verily, eating from haraam hardens the heart, corrupts the heart or makes the heart sick. Because bad food influences the heart and the body.

Also from the means of bringing the heart to life… Allaah, the Most High, has said:

{O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibaat (all kinds of Halaal foods which Allaah has made legal), and do righteous deeds.}

[Soorah al-Mu'minoon (23):51]

And Allaah has ordered the believers with that which He ordered the Messengers with. He said:

{O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah – Islamic Monotheism)! Eat of the Tayyibaat that We have provided you with.}

[Soorah al-Baqarah (2):172]

He should eat from the Tayyibaat, meaning: the permissible things. Because Allaah makes the Tayyibaat permissible for us and makes the Khabaa’ith (all evil and bad things) forbidden for us. So eating from the Tayyibaat, which are the permissible things, feeds the hearts a good meal. And eating from the Khabaa’ith feeds the hearts a bad meal.

That which makes the hearts sick as well, is listening to songs and musical instruments, which has increased alot in this time! And that which makes the hearts sick as well or makes it die, is being devoted to satellite TV, the internet and what is broadcasted in these media from wickedness, evil thoughts, forbidden desires and disgusting scenes. This is from that which makes the hearts sick.

Also, accompanying bad people and sitting with them corrupts the hearts. Similarly, accompanying the best people, the scholars and the people of khayr (good), is from that which brings the hearts to life.

Translated by: Yâsîn Abu Ibrâhîm

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The Descripitions of the Prophets Prayer from Pure Sunnah With illustrations – Shaykh Muhammad Bazmool

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Publisher’s Information:

MTWS Publishing / Markaz Tawheed was-Sunnah
Translator: Raha ibn Donald Batts
Translation Verified By: Aboo Qaylah Rasheed Barbee