A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Can Muslims give zakat al-fithr  to non-Muslims? ”   The purpose of zakat al-fithr  is to pay for the meals of the Muslims who are too poor to have a feast for ‘Iyd al-Fithr .   Non-Muslims do not celebrate ‘Iyd al-Fithr .   As such, what you give to them is swadaqah , charity, not zakat al-fithr .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is it right for a woman to wear perfume on the ‘Iyd ? ”   There are opinions, based on a hadits by Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi ( r.a. ), that imply women should not wear perfume.   This is a simplistic, and literal interpretation.   A hadits does not automatically become a fatwa , a legal opinion; or a hukm , a legal ruling.   There is a process whereby we arrive at this.   Firstly, we have to consider the intent of the act before addressing permissibility.   This is the foundational principle of the matter, since it the intent matters.   The impermissibility of wearing perfume pertains to the intent to beguile.   As such, it is not only the perfume, but the dress and the behaviour as well.   This may be found in the exegesis of the verse on believing women being Told not to stamp their feet, and lowe...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why does Islam not have any colourful festivals as compared to those from other religions? ” It does.   Islam is a religion.   Culture is an expression of religious obligations, and there are a variety of cultural expressions of religious events and celebrations throughout the world.   Throughout the world, the principal religious festivals of Islam, ‘Iyd al-Adhha’ , and ‘Iyd al-Fithr , are celebrated in a variety of ways with many unique customs.   Additionally, there are other events celebrated by some Muslim groups, commemorating events, personalities, and the history of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Muhammad Sa’id ibn Muhammad Ramadhan al-Buwthi ( r.a. ) said, “How can we combine between feelings of joy towards the advent of ‘Iyd and feelings of sorrow for the afflicted slaves of Allah ( s.w.t. ) who suffer from adversities?   Each issue has its function.   They correlate and harmonise with each other, when I am happy for being Guided by Allah ( s.w.t. ) to the good, for being His slave, and for being Protected by Him.   It is a mental function that exists in my mind, and then it spreads in my whole conscience.   Similarly, when I feel pain and sorrow for my fellow Muslims, I get closer to Allah ( s.w.t. ) through these feelings.   The believer’s heart can combine between both feelings.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was extracted from the Lincoln Star, from Monday, 05 th July 1971 , and is taken from United Press International. Prime Minister Yew Appears to be Winning Dispute over Purge in Singapore. The enemies of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew appear to be getting burned most by the heat generated when Lee led a purge against the press.   It seems almost as if he had planned it that way.   Lee dropped a bombshell at the International Press Institute (IPI) meeting in Helsinki several weeks ago when newsmen questioned him about his crackdown against three Singapore newspapers.   The shrapnel has spread to the only political opposition in years to battle Lee’s powerful People’s Action Party (PAP). The newly created people’s front party was gaining islandwide attention in its articulate bid to become a reasonable alternative to PAP for elections to be held before mid- 1973.   Not anymore — not since a sharp ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad  ar-Ramli ( r.a. ), issued a verdict in response to a question from a man who had some unperformed fast days of Ramadhan and the permissibility of making them up in Shawwal.  The man asked, “Is it possible to make up unperformed fast days of Ramadhan in Shawwal and at the same time attain the Reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal and is there any textual proof for this?”   Imam ar-Ramli ( r.a. ) replied, “Fasting in Shawwal fulfills the obligation of making up the unperformed fast days of Ramadhan, even if by these days, one intended to observe another fast and one attains the reward of fasting the six days of Shawwal.  Some latter scholars have mentioned this.”  The ruling for this is further based on an analogy to entering the mosque and praying two raka’at before sitting down, by which he intended an obligatory prayer or a voluntary prayer associated with the pre...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ A Shishty shaykh said, “May every day be a day of festival to you!” A Shaykh Imami ( q.s. ) wrote a pretty poem about the “day of festival” being in the Presence of the Beloved, which started thus: “We celebrate the day of festival but once a year, A constant feast day is the seeing of You, dear!”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following are the rulings of zakat al-fithr .  Zakat al-fithr is a required charity on the occasion of ‘Iyd al-Fithr .  It is related by Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ( r.a. ), and his father, Sayyidina ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab ( r.a. ), that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) obligated zakat al-fithr in Ramadhan a sa’ of dates or a sa’ of barley upon every free person and slave, man or woman, from the Muslims.   This was recorded by Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al- Bukhari ( r.a. ) and  Imam ‘Asakir ad-Din Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj  ( r.a. ).   The one who must pay zakat al-fithr gives one of the following: half a sa’ of wheat or similar food grains; a full sa’ of dates, barley, raisins or similar food grains; or the equivalent monetary value of either.  It is actually better to pay the monetary value when the goods are widely available.   If they are not widely available, it is bett...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken from al-Ghunya li Thalibi Thariq al-Haqq by Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ).   The Festival of Breaking Fast after Ramadhan came to be called “ ‘Iyd ” for the simple reason that Allah ( s.w.t. ) Restores joy and happiness to His servants on their day of festive celebration.  The Arabic noun, “ ‘Iyd ” is derived from a three consonant root which conveys the basic notion of “returning”.  Many other explanations have been suggested, including the following sayings below.  It came to be called “ ‘Iyd ” for the simple reason that it contains the benefits of goodness Bestowed by Allah ( s.w.t. ), and the Favours of generous grace Conferred by Him upon His servant.  The explanation is that the servant returns at that time to humble entreaty and weeping, and the Allah ( s.w.t. ) Returns at that time to the giving of presents and the granting of gifts.  ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ How many days of  ‘iyd , celebration, are there in Islam in total? As recorded in Swahih ibn Hibban , a man came to Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi ( r.a. ) and asked, “Do you discourage people from fasting on the day of Jumu’ah ?” Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ( r.a. ) replied, “I would not have discouraged people from fasting on the day of Jumu’ah, but  I have heard Rasulullah ( s.a.w. ) say, ‘Do not fast on the day of Jumu’ah because it is a day of ‘Iyd unless connected with the days.’” The meaning being that one should not fast on Friday by itself, unless one fasts on a Thursday or a Saturday with it.   This precludes Fridays that fall on significant dates, and the fast is for that event.   From the above hadits , we are told that Friday is a day of ‘Iyd and there are about 52 Fridays in a year. As recorded in Sunan at-Tirmidzi , Sayyidina ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir ( r.a. ) n...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is transcript of a discourse delivered by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad, on Thursday, 23 rd August 2013.   After the Blessed month of Ramadhan, we pray that Allah ( s.w.t. ) would have Blessed us tremendously for all our efforts made in the Blessed month; and today we would have been much better as a believer, both morally and spiritually.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) has Established a law regarding His Connection with the believers and how we can get closer to Him.   He Says good erases evil.   We have a good example of the application of this in the tradition of Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) regarding the month of Ramadhan where he is reported to have said, “Whoever fasts Ramadhan with faith and seeking the Reward of Allah will have his past sins Forgiven.”   So, good removes evil.   What is important for us to keep in mind all the time is that faith does not stay static.   Nothing in this world is static.  ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is taken, from Ghunyat ath-Thalibi Thariq al-Haqq , from Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ).   Regarding the ‘Iyd al-Fithr , the Messenger of Allah ( s.aw. ) said, “When the month of Ramadhan is over, and the night of ‘Iyd al-Fithr has arrived, that night is called the ‘Night of Gifts’.   Then, in the early morning of ‘Iyd al-Fithr , Allah ( s.w.t. ) will Send His angels forth to visit all the towns and cities on the Earth below.  Once they have made their descent, they will position themselves at the entrances to all the streets and alleys.  There, in a voice that is audible to every being Created by Allah ( s.w.t. ), apart from the jinn and humankind, they will issue a proclamation saying, ‘O Community of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), come forth into the presence of a Noble and Generous Lord Who will Grant you gifts in abundance and Forgive your terrible sins!’   ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ As recorded in Nahj al-Balaghah , Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ) delivered the following sermon, on the day of ‘Iyd al-Fithr : “O people!  Verily, this day of yours is the day when the righteous are Rewarded and the wretched are losers.  It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing.  Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord.  When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in the Presence of your Lord.  And when you return to your homes, remind yourselves about your returning to your homes in Paradise.  O Servants of Allah!  Verily the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted, is an angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadhan, ‘O Servants of Allah!  Rejoice the Glad Tiding that all your previ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a transcript of a discourse given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   The Qur’an is a unique and special presentation, and one of the beauties and miracles of the Qur’an is that It Explains Itself.   Allah ( s.w.t. ) Taught Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) the Qur’an; how one can apply it to their personality to purify themselves.   When we look at a particular ayat from the Qur’an, we cannot isolate it from the rest of the Book.   We have to locate the other places where Allah ( s.w.t. ) Mentions the same and in what context it is being used.   For example, Allah ( s.w.t. ) Says in Surah al-Ma’un:   سُوۡرَةُ المَاعون فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلۡمُصَلِّينَ (٤)   So woe to the worshippers (Surah al-Ma’un:4)   If one takes this ayat in isolation, it can be twisted to condemn those who worship, which is the furthest thing from the true meaning.   In my experience, it sometimes takes weeks to properly f...