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Showing posts from January, 2017

Did the Slaughter of the Innocents Occur?

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The Catholic Church commemorates the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents on the 28 th December.   The Slaughter of the Innocents is the biblical account of the infanticide committed by Herod the Great.   In the Gospel according to Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all male children, below the age of two, in the vicinity of Bethlehem, to secure his throne from the infant “King of the Jews”.   Matthew 2:16-18 16 Meanwhile, when he found that the wise men had played him false, Herod was angry beyond measure; he sent and made away with all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its neighbourhood, of two years old and less, reckoning the time by the careful enquiry which he had made of the wise men.   17 It was then that the word spoken by the prophet Jeremy was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and great mourning; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because none is left.”   16

The Lineage & Character of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “The Prophet Muhammad Muswthafa the Elect ( s.a.w. )”, that Allah ( s.w.t. ) Brought His Beloved to the realm of being by Filtering him through the noblest and purest of lineages beginning with the first page of the book of humanity.  Bestowing upon this lineage, a pre-eminence above others in many respects, the Almighty Made each and every ancestor of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), a person honoured and respected during his or her time.   Beginning with Adam ( a.s. ), the first man and prophet, an oath was Taken from every single prophet to believe in the Final Messenger ( s.a.w. ), and disclose the news of his coming, which has been bolstered by many incidents alluding to the awaited arrival.  Allah ( s.w.t. ), thus Introduced His Beloved Prophet ( s.a.w. ), whom He was to Grant to humanity, with all His Signs, easing the path for His right-minded servants to affirm their faith in him once he appeared.   By leaving

Seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a Waking State

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ This is Shaykh Nur ad-Din Abu ‘Ubadah ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah’s response when he was asked, “Is it possible to physically see the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state and what is the reality of this?”   Seeing the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state is not something based on the issues of the shari’ah that causes a positive or negative change in faith.  Rather, it is an issue based on real life events, and causes an immense amount of responsibility for the one that claims it.  Seeing the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state comes as a glade tiding and as a miracle.  It does not contradict that he has passed from this life, nor does it mean that one has become one of his companions; in actuality nothing is and can be based on it.   After these introductory remarks, to analyse this issue we must first ask, “Is this rationally possible or not?”  That which is rationally impossible is that one entity be present in two locations.  Seeing the Prophet ( s

Wishing “Chinese New Year” is Now Haram?

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Every year, at every festival, or event, whether secular or otherwise, we have to be aware that there are idiots out there who create drama out of everything, and make wishing others haram .   Fortunately, things have quietened down.   Coming out strongly against this scourge of exceptionalism and Wahhabist thinking works.   There are still groups like this in Singapore, and they should not be tolerated.

Vision of the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a Waking State

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Muhammad ibn al-Haj al-‘Abdari ( r.a. ), in his Madkhal ash-Shara’ ash-Sharif ‘ala al-Madzahib , wrote, “Some have claimed that they have actually seen the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state.  However, this is a narrow happening and those who can claim this are few and require a level of purity that is rare in this age; rather, it is near extinction.  We do not, however, deny it from happening to those whom God Protects in their outer and inner states.”

It is Possible to Meet the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a Waking State

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Ghanum an-Nafrawi al-Maliki ( r.a. ) wrote, “It is possible to see the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state as well as in one’s sleep by consensus of the ahadits masters.  The debate is, however, whether one sees his noble essence or an image of it.  The first is the opinion of some, while the second is held by al-Ghazali, al-Qarafi, al-Yafi’i, and others.  The first opinion is supported by the fact the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) is the lamp and light of guidance and the sun of the gnosis.  Therefore, as one sees the light, the lamp, and the sun distinctly, and what is seen is a body of the sun caused by its accidents, likewise the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) noble body.  Therefore, nothing leaves his body in his grave, rather Allah ( s.w.t. ) Removes the veils so one can see him in his location no matter his location, be it east or west.  Or, the veils are kept but made transparent so as not to veil what is behind them.  What al-Qa

The Vision of the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a Waking State Cannot be Denied

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Regarding the vision of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state, Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami, ( r.a. ) said, “This matter has been denied by some and upheld by others who are correct.  This has been mentioned by those amongst the righteous who are not found blameworthy.  As well as reported in the hadits found in Swahih al-Bukhari , ‘Whoever has seen me in their sleep will see me in a waking state.’ by his eyes, or his heart.  The meaning, that this is a reference to the Day of Reckoning, is a stretch as there is no point in constricting the meaning to this as all of us will see the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) on the Day of Reckoning, those who have seen him during sleep and those who have not.   ibn Abu Jamrah, in his commentary on the ahadits he selected from the collection of al-Bukhari, held this particular hadits to have a general meaning of both during the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) life and after.  This v

The Hierarchy of Intercession

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali ( r.a. ) said, “It is obligatory to believe in the intercession of first the prophets, then religious scholars, then martyrs, then other believers, the intercession of each one commensurate with his rank and position with Allah ( s.w.t. ).”

The Man Worshipping between Two Graves

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is related that, one day, Jesus ( a.s. ) passed a man standing between two graves, who was bowing and worshipping.  He saluted him and said, “I see you between these two bowing and worshipping.”   He replied to him, “They are my parents who were kind and gentle to me; so, when they died, I took an oath on myself that I would worship God between their graves until I died.”   Jesus ( a.s. ) asked him, “How long have you been doing this?”   The man replied, “Three hundred years.”   Jesus ( a.s. ) said, “Has any news come to you from God that He has Forgiven you, or have you any request to Him, or have you prayed to Him about anything?”   He replied, “No news has come to me; but I have had a request to Him: I prayed to Him that He should let me meet Jesus, but I do not know whether He has Accepted my prayer or not.”   Then, Jesus ( a.s. ) said to him, “Be of good cheer; He has Accepted your prayer. I am Jesus.”   He said to Jesus ( a.

Jesus (a.s.) Brought His Apostle Back from the Dead

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Yusuf ibn Asbat ( q.s. ) said, “One of the apostles passed away, and they grieved bitterly for him, and complained of that to the Messiah ( a.s. ).  Then, he stood over his grave, and prayed, and God Brought him back to life; and he had, on his feet, sandals of fire.  Jesus ( a.s. ) asked about that and he said, ‘By God, I was never disobedient, except that I passed one who was wronged and did not help him, so I was shod with these sandals.’”

The Village Ruin

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Malik ibn Anas ( r.a. ) said, “It reached me that Jesus ( a.s. ) came to a village whose fortresses had fallen in ruins, whose streams were dried up, and whose trees were blighted.  Then he called, ‘O ruin, where are your people?’  But no one answered him.  Again, he called, ‘O ruin, where are your people?’  But no one answered him.   Then a voice cried, ‘Jesus, son of Mary, they perished and the earth swallowed them up, and their works returned as chains on their necks until the Day of Resurrection.’  So, Jesus ( a.s. ) wept.”

Inheritors of the Field

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah Wahb ibn Munabbih asw-Swana’ani adz-Dzamari ( r.a. ) said, Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ), went out one day with a company of his companions and when the day was advanced, they passed a field where the crop was ready to be rubbed, and they said, “O prophet of God, verily we are hungry.”   Then God Revealed to him, “Give them permission concerning their food.”   So, he gave them permission, and they separated in the field rubbing and eating.  But while they were doing that, the owner of the field came, and he was saying, “It is my field and my land which I inherited from my ancestors.  By whose permission are you eating, you people?”   Then, Jesus ( a.s. ) prayed to his Lord, and God Raised up all who had possessed that land from the time of Adam ( a.s. ) until that time.  Beside every plant, was a man or woman, all of them shouting, “It is my field and my land which I inherited from my ancestors.”   The man was t

Jesus (a.s.) & the Fuller

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Once, Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ), passed by a village in which was a fuller.  A fuller is a person who fulls wool, a process in cloth making.  The people of the village said, “O Jesus, verily this fuller tears our clothes for us and keeps them; so, pray to God that He should not let him come back with his bundle.”   So, Jesus ( a.s. ) said, “O God, do not let him come back with his bundle.”   Then, the fuller went away to clean the clothes, and he had three loaves with him.  A person, who was practising devotion in those hills. came to the fuller and said to him, “Have you any bread to give me to eat, or to show me that I may smell its odour?  For I have not eaten any bread for such and such a time.”   So, he gave him a loaf, and he said, “O fuller, God Forgive you your sins and purify your heart!”  Then, he gave him the second, and the mystic said, “O fuller, God Forgive you your past and your future sins!”  So, he gave him the th

When Jesus (a.s.) Raised Shem (a.s.), Son of Noah (a.s.)

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   It is mentioned that Jesus ( a.s. ) used to raise the dead to life by the Permission of God. Some unbelievers once said to him, “You have raised people who have died recently, and perhaps they were not dead; so, raise for us one who died in the earliest times. ”   He said to them, “Choose whom you will.”   They said, “Raise for us, Shem, son of Noah.”   Then, he came to his grave and prayed two raka’ah and called on God, and God Raised Shem Noah ( a.s. ), son of Noah ( a.s. ).   Shem’s ( a.s. ) head and beard had become white.   Someone amongst them said, “What is this?   There were no white hairs in your day.”   He replied, “I heard the summons, and I thought the Resurrection had come, so the hair of my head and beard became white from terror.”   Someone else asked, “How long have you been dead?”   He replied, “For four thousand years; but the agony of death has not left me yet.”

The Fire in the Desert

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is related that Jesus ( a.s. ) once came upon a fire which was kindled over a man in the desert.  Jesus ( a.s. ) then took water to put it out, and the fire changed into a youth, and the man changed into fire.  So, Jesus ( a.s. ) wept and said, “O Lord, Restore them to their former state that I may see what their sin was.”  Then that fire was removed from them, and they were a man and a youth.   The man said, “O Jesus, I have been afflicted in the world by love of this youth, and desire urged me on until I sinned with him one night, after which I sinned with him another day.  Then a man came upon us and said to us, ‘Woe to you!  Fear God!’   I replied to him, ‘I am not afraid, and I do not fear.’  Then, when I died, and the youth died, God Turned us into what you see.  Sometimes he becomes fire and burns me, and sometimes I become fire and burn him.  And this is our punishment until the Day of Resurrection.”

Jesus (a.s.) & the Skull

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is mentioned that Jesus ( a.s. ) passed a wadi called the “Wadi of the Resurrection”, one day.  He saw a white skull whose bones were crumbling.  Its whiteness astonished him, for its owner had been dead for seventy-two years; so, Jesus ( a.s. ) said, “O God, whom the eye cannot see, or opinions disorder, or men describe; I ask You to Permit this skull to tell me to what people it belonged.”   God Revealed to him, “O Jesus, speak to it and it will speak to you by My Power, for I am Omnipotent.”   Jesus performed ( a.s. ) his ablutions, and having prayed two raka’ah , approached it and said, “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.”   Then, the skull answered him, saying, “O Spirit of God, you have named the best of the Names.”   Jesus ( a.s. ) said to it, “I ask you, by Almighty God, will you not tell me where are the beauty and the whiteness, and where are the flesh and the fat, and where are the bones and the spirit?”