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Showing posts with label Ahlusunnah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ahlusunnah. Show all posts

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Hadith of the ten promised paradiseTen promised paradise

The prophet Muhammad,sw in a Hadith accepted by Sunni Muslims, specified ten of his companions who were promised paradise. Those companions named in this Hadith are referred to by Sunnis as The Ten Promised Paradise (Arabic: al-`Ashara al-Mubasharîn bi-l-Janna).

The ten companions are known as Ashrah Al-Mubashirina bil jannah which means the companions that the prophet Muhammad had given information about Jannah, the Islamic conception of paradise.
Based on the narration, Sunnis have listed ten people whom they believe were promised paradise while living. The list is written in the order in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad said them. The first four of them are known by Sunnis as the Righteously Guided Caliphs.


Narrated Sa'id ibn Zayd:
AbdurRahman ibn al-Akhnas said that when he was in the mosque, a man mentioned Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). So Sa'id ibn Zayd got up and said: I bear witness to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) that I heard him say: Ten persons will go to Paradise: The Prophet (peace be upon him) will go to Paradise, AbuBakr will go to Paradise, Umar will go to Paradise, Uthman will go to Paradise, Ali will go to Paradise, Talhah will go to Paradise: az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam will go to paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik will go to Paradise, and AbdurRahman ibn Awf will go to Paradise. If I wish, I can mention the tenth. The People asked: Who is he: So he kept silence. The again asked: Who is he: He replied: He is Sa'id ibn Zayd.
—Collected by Abu Dawood, Sunan Abu Dawood
Abdul Rahman bin `Awf said: The prophet (s) said: Abu Bakr in Paradise, Omar in Paradise, 'Uthman in Paradise, Ali in Paradise, Talha in Paradise, al- Zubair (bin al-'Awwam) in Paradise, AbdulRahman bin `Awf in Paradise, Saad (bin Abi Waqqass) in Paradise, Saeed (bin Zaid), and abu 'Ubaida bin al- Jarrah in Paradise."
—Tirmidhi
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Monday, June 27, 2011

THE EXCELLENCE OF DU’A



Du‘a is the most powerful weapon of a believer. It can change fate, while no action of ours ever do. It is the brain of ‘Ibadah or worship. With it we can never fail; without it we can never succeed. With all the suffering and disasters Muslims are facing in various parts of the world, the question of Du‘a can be directed to all of us today. It is not that we have forgotten Du‘a completely; we refer to it regularly. But, our ideas and practice regarding Du‘a have become distorted. Often it is reduced to the level of a ritual. It is belittled through actions and sometimes even with words. Almighty Allah says:


وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.” [Surah al-Ghafir, Verse 60]

The Almighty Allah states:

فَلَوْلا إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ وَلَكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَWhen the suffering reached them from Us, why then did they not learn humility? On the contrary their hearts became hardened (with arrogance), and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them. [Surah al-An'am, Verse 43]

..:: THE EXCELLENCE OF DU’A ::..

There are numerous Ahadith relating to the excellence of Du’a.

HADITH NO. 1

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states that Almighty Allah says:


أنا عندَ ظنِّ عبدي بيI am with the supposition of My servant. [Recorded in Bukhari (Hadith 7239), Muslim, Tirmidi, Nisa’i  and Ibn Maja on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah]

This means that as a servant imagines or has an opinion concerning Allah, the Merciful Lord accordingly reacts with him. Knowledge and Qudrat is with everything but there is a special proximity of mercy with those who make Du’a to Him. What bigger mercy can a servant ask for than being blessed with the Divine Proximity of the Sublime Lord? Thousands of acceptances and millions of desires and intentions may be sacrificed on such Divine Proximity!

HADITH NO. 2


لَيْسَ شَيءٌ أكْرَمَ عَلَى اللهِ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِThere is nothing nobler to Allah than Du‘a. [Recorded in Tirmidi, Ibn Maja, Ibn Habban and Hakim narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah. Also cited in Tahzib al-Kamil, Vol. 4, Page 309]

HADITH NO. 3

The Prophet of Allah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam narrates from his Lord who says:


يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي
Oh children of Adam Alaihis Salam! Until such time you make Du‘a to Me and have trust and hope in Me, I will continue forgiving your sins no matter what they are, and I do not care of anything (i.e. He is Independent.) [Tirmidi on the narration of Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik, Hadith 3463]
HADITH NO. 4

The Beloved Habib SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:


لا تعجزوا في الدعاء ، فإنه لن يهلك مع الدعاء أحد
“Do not get fed up with Du‘a, for no one will perish with (continuously asking) Du‘a.” [Narrated by Ibn Habban and Hakim, Sahih Ibn Habban, Hadith 872]

HADITH NO. 5

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:


الدعاء سلاح المؤمن وعماد الدين ونور السموات والأرض
“Du‘a is a weapon of a Muslim, a Pillar of Deen and the light of the skies and earth.” [Narrated by Hakim from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Abu Ya’la from Sayyiduna ‘Ali al-Murtudah, Hadith 6163]

HADITH NO. 6

It is narrated that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:

إِنَّ الدُّعَاءَ يَنْفَعُ مِمَّا نَزَلَ وَمِمَّا لَمْ يَنْزِلْ فَعَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ بِالدُّعَاءِ
“All those calamities and misfortunes (Bala) that descends and that which will descend in the future can be averted and protected from, by Du‘a. So, Oh servant of Allah! Observe Du‘a!” [Narrated by Tirmidi and Hakim from Sayyiduna ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, Sunan al-Tirmidi, Hadith 3471]


HADITH NO. 7

It is reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:


و إن البلاء لينزل فيتلقاه الدعاء فيعتلجان إلى يوم القيامة
“When Bala descends, Du‘a intercepts it and then both wrestle till Qiyamah.” (i.e. Du‘a does not allow the Bala to descend to the earth.) [Reported by Bazar, Tabrani, and Hakim from Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyidah ‘A’ieshah Siddiqah, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 1813]

HADITH NO. 8

The Habib of Allah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:


الدُّعَاءُ مُخُّ العِبَادَةِDu‘a is the essence of worship.

HADITH NO. 9

It is reported that the Noble Prophet of Islam SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:

ألا أدلكم على ما ينجيكم من عدوكم ويدر لكم أرزاقكم؟ تدعون اللّه في ليلكم ونهاركم؟ فإن الدعاء سلاح المؤمن
Must I not inform you of that thing which will protect you from your enemy and increase your sustenance? Make Du‘a to Allah day and night because Du‘a is a weapon of a Mu‘min. [Narrated by Abu Ya’la from Sayyiduna Jabir bin ‘Abdullah, Hadith 6164]


HADITH NO. 10

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:


مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلْ اللَّهَ يَغْضَبْ عَلَيْهِ
Allah casts His Anger on those who do not make Du‘a to Him. [Reported by Imam Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaybah, and Al-Bukhari in Adab al Mufrad, Tirmidi, Ibn Maja and Hakim on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah, Hadith 3295]

Such concepts and meanings are also reported in the Hadith al-Qudsi as follows:


عَنِ النَّبى صَلَى اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ سَلَّمَ قَالَ قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالى مَن ْ لاَ يَدعُو نِى اَغضَب ُعَلَيهِ One who does not make Du’a to Me, I will direct My Anger at him. (Allah save us from this!) [Reported by Al-Askari in his Mawa’iz]

Oh Beloved! Du‘a is an amazing wealth that Allah I blessed His servants with, and through it gave them honour. There is nothing more effective and powerful in fulfilling needs in desperation besides Du‘as. Likewise, nothing is more potent in removing Bala than Du‘as. A person benefits from five things of a single Du‘a:

1. He is included in the category of ‘Abids (worshippers) because Du‘a by nature is ‘Ibadah, in fact, the secret of ‘Ibadah.
2. In Du‘a one acknowledges one’s inferiority and dependency in relation to the Omnipotent Lord and His Divine mercies. 3. Obedience to the sacred Shari'ah because it has laid great stress in making Du‘a’s and Divine Anger on those who doubt making Du‘a. 4. It is a great Sunnah of the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam as he made Du‘a frequently and ordered others to do the same. 5. It is a deterrent of Bala and achiever of goals as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. If man seeks security from Allah I from calamities, then the Merciful Lord will give it to him. If one seeks a desire to be fulfilled, the Sublime Creator will shower His mercies on him or else blesses him with Thawab in the Akhirah.

  The Master of the Sinless, Sayyiduna Rasoollulah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:


“A servant’s Du‘a is never void of three things:1) either his sins are forgiven, 2) or he benefits in this Duniyah 3) or virtues are accumulated for him in the akhirah. When the servant will observe this Thawab accumulated for him in the akhirah in recompensation for that which was not fulfilled in the Duniyah, then he will desire that none of his desires should have been fulfilled in the Duniyah, but rather be accumulated for the Akhirah.”

This desire and benefit is for him who desires so in this Duniyah when making Du‘a. It is advised that when making Du‘a, this ethic should be considered seriously.



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Monday, June 20, 2011

Visiting Madeena According to Hadiths

For some misguided people, who complete the Haj as it should be done forget to visit madeena. Though its not a part of Haj still visitng madna is taken as an act of Sunnath al Muakkadha, which is a hgh ranked sunnah.

following are some hadiths related...

Tabarruk with the Prophet's grave

    Dawud ibn Salih says: "[The Caliph] Marwan [ibn al-Hakam] one day saw a man placing his face on top of the grave of the Prophet. He said: "Do you know what you are doing?" When he came near him, he realized it was Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. The latter said: "Yes; I came to the Prophet, not to a stone." Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, Ahmad (5:422), Tabarani in his Mu`jam al-kabir (4:189) and his Awsat according to Haythami in al-Zawa'id (5:245), al-Hakim in his Mustadrak (4:515); both the latter and al-Dhahabi said it was sahih. It is also cited by al-Subki in Shifa' al-siqam (p. 126), Ibn Taymiyya in al-Muntaqa (2:261f.), and Haythami in al-Zawa'id (4:2).
    Mu`adh ibn Jabal and Bilal also came to the grave of the Prophet and sat weeping, and the latter rubbed his face against it. Ibn Maja 2:1320, Ahmad, Tabarani, Subki, Ibn `Asakir and Ibn Taymiyya.
    Hafiz al-Dhahabi writes in the compendium of his shaykhs entitled Mu`jam al-shuyukh (1:73) in the entry devoted to his shaykh Ahmad ibn `Abd al-Mun`im al-Qazwini (#58): "Ahmad ibn al-Mun`im related to us... [with his chain of transmission] from Ibn `Umar that the latter disliked to touch the Prophet's grave. I say: He disliked it because he considered it disrespect. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about touching the Prophet's grave and kissing it and he saw nothing wrong with it. His son `Abd Allah related this from him. If it is said: "Why did the Companions not do this?" It is replied: "Because they saw him with their very eyes when he was alive, enjoyed his presence directly, kissed his very hand, almost fought with each other over the remnants of his ablution water, shared his purified hair on the day of the greater Pilgrimage, and even if he spat it would virtually not fall except in someone's hand so that he could pass it over his face. Since we have not had the tremendous fortune of sharing in this, we throw ourselves on his grave as a mark of commitment, reverence, acceptance, and kissing. Don't you see what Thabit al-Bunani did when he kissed the hand of Anas ibn Malik and placed it on his face saying: "This is the hand that touched the hand of Allah's Messenger"? Muslims are not moved to these matters except by their excessive love for the Prophet, as they are ordered to love Allah and the Prophet more than they love their own lives, their children, all human beings, their property, and Paradise and its maidens. There are even some believers that love Abu Bakr and `Umar more than themselves... Don't you see that the Companions, in the excess of their love for the Prophet, asked him: "Should we not prostrate to you?" and he replied no, and if he had allowed them, they would have prostrated to him as a mark of utter veneration and respect, not as a mark of worship, just as the Prophet Yusuf's brothers prostrated to Yusuf. Similarly the prostration of the Muslim to the grave of the Prophet is for the intention of magnification and reverence. One is not imputed disbelief because of it whatsoever (la yukaffaru aslan), but he is being disobedient [to the Prophet's reply to the Companions]: let him therefore be informed that this is forbidden. Similarly in the case of one who prays towards the grave."
    Imam Ahmad's son `Abd Allah said: "I asked my father about the man who touches and kisses the pommel of the Prophet's minbar to obtain blessing, or touches the grave of the Prophet. He responded by saying: "There is nothing wrong with it."" `Abd Allah also asked Imam Ahmad about the man who touches the Prophet's minbar and kisses it for blessing, and who does the same with the grave, or something to that effect, intending thereby to draw closer to Allah. He replied: "There is nothing wrong with it." This was narrated by `Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his book entitled al-`Ilal fi ma`rifat al-rijal (2:492).
    We already mentioned the authentic account whereby in the time of `Umar there was a drought during which Bilal ibn Harith came to the grave and said: "O Messenger of Allah, ask Allah for rain on behalf of your Community."
    We already mentioned `A'isha's account whereby she instructed that the roof be opened over the Prophet's grave in times of drought, and it would rain.
    `Umar sent a message to `A'isha saying: "Will you allow me to be buried with my two companions (the Prophet and Abu Bakr)?" She said, "Yes, by Allah," though it was her habit that if a man from among the Companions asked her that she would always refuse. Bukhari



    The merits of Madina, of prayer in Madina, of visiting the Masjid al-Nabawi, of living in Madina, of not cutting its trees, etc. are all based on the fact that the Prophet is there. The fact that it is a sanctuary (haram) and a preserve (hima) is well documented in numerous ahadith. It is even strongly recommended not to enter Madina except on foot, and many Companions, Tabi`in, and Tabi` al-Tabi`in never entered it except on foot, in respect for the Holy Presence of the Prophet.


    Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib: The Prophet said: "Madina's fresh grass is not to be cut, its game is not to be driven away, and things dropped in it are to be picked up only by one who publicly announces it, and it is not permissible for any man to carry weapons in it for fighting, and it is not advisable that its trees are cut except what a man cuts for the fodder of his camel. [Abu Dawud, 10: 2030]


    Narrated Abu Hurayra: When the people saw the first fruit (of the season or of plantation) they brought it to Allah's Apostle. When he received it he said: "O Allah, bless us in our fruits; and bless us in our city; and bless us in our sa'smudd (i.e. in every measure). O Allah, Ibrahim was Thy servant, Thy friend, and Thy apostle; and I am Thy servant and Thy apostle. He (Ibrahim) made supplication to Thee for (the showering of blessings upon) Mecca, and I am making supplication to Thee for Madina just as he made supplication to Thee for Mecca, and the like of it in addition." He would then call to him the youngest child and give him these fruits. [Muslim, 7: 3170] and bless us in our
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Imam Abu Hanifah (ra)



The book Qamoos al-alam states: Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa's name was Numan. His father's name was Thabit. His grandfather's name was Numan, too. He was the first of the four great imams of the Ahl as-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah. 'Imam' means 'profoundly learned scholar.' He was one of the main pillars of the brilliant religion of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam). He was a descendant of a Persian notable. His grandfather had embraced Islam. He was born in Kufa in 80 (698 A.D.). He was born early enough to see Anas ibn Malik, 'Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, Sahl ibn Sad as-Sa'idi and Abu al-Fadl Amir ibn Wasila, four Sahaabis (Radi-Allahu ta'ala anhum). He learned 'ilm al-fiqh from Hammad ibn Abi Sulaiman. He enjoyed the companionship of many notables of the Tabi'een, and of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala). He memorized innumerable Ahadith. He was brought up so as to become a great judge, but he became an imam al-madhhab. He had a superior, and amazingly keen intellect. In 'ilm al-fiqh, he attained an unequalled grade in a short time. His name and fame became worldwide.

Yazid ibn 'Amr, Governor of Iraq during the time of Marana ibn Muhammad, the fourteenth and last Umayyad Halifax, who was a grandson of Marwaan ibn Hakam (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) and was killed five years after assuming the caliphate in Egypt in 132 (750 A.D.), proposed to Abu Hanifa (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) to become a judge for the law-court of Kufa. But, since he had as much zuhd, taqwa and wara' as he had knowledge and intellect, he refused it. He was afraid of not being able to safeguard human rights because of human weaknesses. With a command from Yazid, he was given a whipping, hundred and ten blows to the head. His blessed face and head swelled. The next day, Yazid took the Imam out and oppressed him by repeating his offer. The Imam said, "Let me consult," and obtained permission to leave. He went to the blessed city of Mecca and stayed there for five or six years.

The 'Abbasid Khalifah Abu Ja'far Mansoor (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) commanded him to be the chief of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 150 A.H. [767 A.D.]. He refused it and was put into jail. He was subjected to whipping, ten blows more every following day. When the number of whipping reached one hundred, he attained martyrdom. Abu Sad Muhammad ibn Mansoor al-Harizmi (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala), one of the viziers of Malikshah (447-485 A.H., the third Saljuqi Sultan and the son of Sultan Alparslan), had a wonderful dome built over his grave. Afterwards, Ottoman emperors embellished and had his tomb restored several times.

Abu Hanifa (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) was the first who compiled and classified 'ilm al-fiqh, and he gathered information for each branch of knowledge. He wrote the books Fara'id and Shuroot. There are innumerable books describing his extensive knowledge on fiqh; his extraordinary ability in qiyaas; and his dumbfounding superiority in zuhd, taqwa, mildness and righteousness. He had many disciples, some of whom became among the great mujtahideen. The Hanafi Madhhab spread far and wide during the time of the Ottoman Empire. It almost became the official Madhhab of the State. Today, more than half of the Muslims on the earth and most of the Ahl as-Sunnah perform their 'ibaadah according to the Hanafi Madhhab. Citation from the book Qamoos-ul alam ends here. The book Mir'at al-ka'inat states: The ancestors of al-Imam al-azam (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) come from the province of Faaris, Iran. His father, Habit, had met Imam 'Ali (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) in Kufa and Hadrat 'Ali had pronounced a benediction over him and his descendants. Al-Imam al-azam was one of the greatest among the Tabi'een and saw Anas ibn Malik (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) and three or seven more of the as-Sahaabat ul-kiram. He learned Hadith ash-Sharif from them.

A hadith ash-Sharif, which al-Imam al-Harizmi reported from Abu Hurairah (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) through isnaad muttasil (an uninterrupted chain of reporters), states: "Among my Ummah, there will come a man called Abu Hanifa. On the Day of Resurrection, he will be the light of my Ummah." Another hadith ash-Sharif states: "A man named Numan ibn Habit and called Abu Hanifa will appear and will revive Allah ta'ala's Religion and my Sunnah." And another one states: "In every century, a number of my Ummah will attain to high grades. Abu Hanifa will be the highest of his time." These three Ahadith are written in the book Mawdua'at al-'Uloom and in Durr-al-mukhtaar. This hadith ash-Sharif is also well known: "Among my Ummah, a man called Abu Hanifa will appear. There is a beauty spot between his two shoulder blades. Allahu ta'ala will revive His Religion through his hand."

Preface to Durr al-mukhtaar writes: "A hadith ash-Sharif states: As Adam ('alaihi 's-salaam) was proud of me so I am proud of a man of my Ummah named Numan and called Abu Hanifa. He is the light of my Ummah.' " Another hadith ash-Sharif states: "Prophets ('alaihimu 's-salaam) are proud of me. And I am proud of Abu Hanifa. He who loves him will have loved me. He who feels hostility towards him will have felt hostility towards me." These Ahadith are also written in the book Al-muqaddimah by the profound scholar Hadrat Abu 'l-Laith as-Samarqandi and in Taqadduma, which is a commentary to the former. In the preface to the fiqh book Al-muqaddimah by al-Ghaznawi Ahadith praising him are quoted.

In Diya' al-ma'nawi, a commentary on it, Qadi Abi 'l-Baqa said, 'Abul-Faraj 'Abdur-Rahman ibn al-Jawzi, based on the words of al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, said that these Ahadith were made'. Yet this remark of his is bigotry, for these Ahadith were reported by several chains of transmitters. Ibn 'Abidin, in his commentary on Durr al-mukhtaar, proved that these Ahadith were not made' and quoted the following hadith ash-Sharif from the book Al-khairaat al-hisaan by Ibn Hajar al-Makki: "The ornament of the world will be taken away in the year 150." He went on, "The great fiqh scholar Shams al-aimmah 'Abdul-Ghaffaar al-Kardari (d. 562/1166 A.D.) said, "It is obvious that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa, since he passed away in 150." A hadith ash-Sharif given by al-Bukhaari and Muslim says, "If imaan went to the planet Venus, a man of Faaris (Persian) descent would bring it back." Imam as-Suyuti, a Shafi'i alim, remarked, "It has been communicated unanimously that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to al-Imam al-azam." Numan Alusi writes in the book Ghaliyya that this hadith ash-Sharif refers to Abu Hanifa and that his grandfather descended from a Faaris family. 'Allamah Yusuf, a Hanbali scholar, quoted in his work Tanwir as-sahifa from Hafiz 'Allamah Yusuf ibn 'Abdul-Barr (b. 368/978 and d. 463/1071 in Shaatiba), Qadi of Lisbon, Portugal, 'Do not slander Abu Hanifa and do not believe those who slander him! I swear by Allahu ta'ala that I know not a person superior to him, having more wara', or being more learned than he. "Do not believe what al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi said! He was antipathetic towards the 'ulama'. He slandered Abu Hanifa, Imam Ahmad and their disciples.

The 'ulama' of Islam refuted al-Khateeb and censured him. Ibn al-Jawzi's grandson, 'Allamah Yusuf Shams ad-din al-Baghdadi, wrote in his forty-volume book Mirat az-zaman that he was astonished to know that his grandfather had followed al-Khateeb. Imam al-Ghazaali (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala), in his Ihya', praises al-Imam al-azam with such words as ''abid', 'zahid' and 'al-'arif billah'. If the Sahaabat ul-Kiraam and the 'ulama' of Islam had different points of view from one another, it was not because they did not approve of each other's words or because they were unsociable to one another or because they disliked one another; mujtahideen (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) disagreed with one another concerning ijtihaad for Allah ta'ala's sake and to help the religion."1]

An alim dreamt of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and asked him, 'What would you say about Abu Hanifa's knowledge?' He answered, 'Everybody needs his knowledge.' Another alim asked in his dream, 'O Rasul-Allah! What would you say about the knowledge Numan ibn Habit has, who lives in Kufa?' He answered, "Learn from him and do as he says. He is a very good person." Imam 'Ali (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) said, "Let me inform you of a person called Abu Hanifa, who will live in Kufa. His heart will be full of knowledge and hikmah (wisdom). Towards the end of the world, many people will perish because of not appreciating him, just as the Shiites will perish because of not having appreciated Abu Bakr and 'Umar (Radi-Allahu 'anhuma)."

Imam Muhammad al-Baaqir ibn Zain al-'Abidin 'Ali ibn Hussain (rahmat-Allahi 'alaihim, b. 57 A.H. in Medina and d. 113, buried in the shrine of Hadrat 'Abbas [Radi-Allahu 'anhu] in Medina) looked at Abu Hanifa and said, "When those who destroy the religion of my ancestors increase in number, you will revive it. You will be the savior of those who fear and the shelter of those who are confused! You will lead the heretics to the right way! Allahu ta'ala will help you!" When he was young, al-Imam al-azam (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) studied 'ilm al-kalaam and ma'rifah and became very skillful. Then after serving Imam Hammad for twenty-eight years, he attained maturity. When Hammad passed away, he took his place as a mujtahid and Mufti.

His knowledge and superiority became known far and wide. His virtue, intelligence, sagacity, zuhd, taqwa, trustworthiness, readiness of wit, devotion to Islam, righteousness and his perfection in every respect as a human being were above those of all others of his time. All the mujtahideen and those who succeeded him and noble people -even Christians- praised him. Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) said, "All men of fiqh are Abu Hanifa's children." He said once, "I get blessings (tabarruk) from Abu Hanifa's soul. I visit his tomb every day. When I am in difficulty, I go to his tomb and perform two rak'ah of salaat. I invoke Allahu ta'ala, and He gives me what I wish." Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i was a disciple of Imam Muhammad.2 He remarked, "Allahu ta'ala bestowed knowledge upon me through two persons. I learned the Hadith ash-Sharif from Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah and fiqh from Muhammad ash-Shaibaani."

He said once, "In the field of religious knowledge and in worldly affairs, there is one person to whom I am grateful. He is Imam Muhammad." And again, al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said, "With what I learned from Imam Muhammad I have written a pack-animal-load of books. I would not have acquired anything of knowledge had he not been my teacher. All men of knowledge are the children of the 'ulama' of Iraq, who were the disciples of the 'ulama' of Kufa. And they were the disciples of Abu Hanifa." Al-Imam al-azam acquired knowledge from four thousand people. The 'ulama' of every century wrote many books describing the greatness of al-Imam al-azam. In the Hanafi Madhhab, five hundred thousand religious problems were solved and all of them were answered. [Editor's note: It is to be noted that that number is close to doubled in the present-day era.]

Al-Hafiz al-kabir Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Harizmi wrote in his book Musnad, "Saif al-aimmah reports that when al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa derived a matter from Qur'an al-karim and Hadith ash-Sharif, he would propound it to his masters. He would not give the answer to the inquirer unless all of them confirmed it." One thousand of his disciples attended all his classes when he taught in the mosque of Kufa city. Forty of them were mujtahideen. When he found the answer for a matter he would propound it to his disciples. They would study it together and, when they were all in agreement that it was consistent with Qur'an al-karim and Hadith ash-Sharif and with the words of the Sahaabat al-kiraam, he would be delighted and say, "Al-hamdu lillah wallahu Akbar," and all those who were present would repeat his words. Then he would tell them to write it down."

It is written in the book Radd al-Wahhabi 3: [THE FOLLOWING IS A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION!!!] "Being a mujtahid requires first being specialized in the Arabic language and in the various linguistic sciences such as awda', sahih, marwi, mutawaatir; ways of radd; made' vocabulary; fasih, radi and mazmun forms; mufrad, shadh, nadir, mustamal, muhmal, mu'rab, marifa, ishtiqaq, haqiqa, majaz, mushtarak, izdad, mutlaq, muqayyad, ibdal and qalb. Next you must be specialized in sarf, nahw, ma'ani, bayan, badi', balaghat, 'ilm al-usul al-fiqh, 'ilm al-usul al-hadith, 'ilm al-usul at-tafsir, and have memorized the words of the imams of jarh and tadil. Being a faqih requires, in addition to these, knowing the proof for every matter and studying the meaning, the murad and tawil of the proof.

Being a muhaddith, that is, a scholar of hadith, requires only memorizing the Ahadith as one heard them; it is not compulsory to know the meanings, murads, tawils, or to understand the proofs for the rules of Islam. If a faqih and a muhaddith disagree with each other about a hadith ash-Sharif, e.g. if the former says that it is sahih and the latter says that it is daif, the faqih's word will be valid. Therefore, al-Imam al-azam's word or decision is more valuable than all the others because he was the first mujtahid and the highest faqih due to his having heard many Ahadith directly from the Sahaabat al-kiraam without any intervention. A hadith ash-Sharif that was said to be sahih by this exalted imam was said to be sahih by all Islamic scholars. A muhaddith cannot be in the grade of a faqih. And he can never reach the grade of an imam al-madhhab."

'Abdulhaq ad-Dahlawi, a scholar of hadith, wrote in his book Sirat-i mustaqim, "Some Ahadith which al-Imam ash-Shafi'i took as documents were not taken as documents by al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa. Seeing this, the la-madhhabi used it as an opportunity for traducing al-Imam al-azam and claimed that Abu Hanifa had not followed the hadith ash-Sharif. However, Hadrat al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa found and took other Ahadith which were more sahih and dependable in documenting the matter."

A hadith ash-Sharif states: "The most beneficial ones of my Ummah are those who live in my time. The next most beneficial ones are those who succeed them. And the next most beneficial ones are those who will come after them." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the Tabi'een were more beneficial than Taba' at-Tabi'een. The Islamic 'ulama' all agree that al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa saw some of the as-Sahaabat al-kiraam, heard Ahadith from them, and, therefore, was one of the Tabi'een. For example, al-Imam al-azam heard the hadith, "A person who builds a mosque for Allahu ta'ala's sake will be given a villa in Paradise," from 'Abdullah ibn Awfa, who was a Sahaabi.

Jalaal ad-din as-Suyuti, a Shafi'i scholar, wrote in his book Tabyid as-sahifa that al-Imam 'Abdulkarim, one of the Shafi'I scholars, wrote a complete book describing the Sahaabis whom al-Imam al-azam had seen. It is written in Durr al-mukhtaar that al-Imam al-azam saw seven Sahaabis. Among the four aimmat al-madhahib, only al-Imam al-azam was honored with being one of the Tabi'een. It is a rule in 'ilm al-usool that the view of those who admit something is preferred to the view of those who refuse it. It is obvious that al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa, being one of the Tabi'een, is the highest of the aimmat al-madhahib. The la-madhhabis' denying al-Imam al-azam's superiority or their trying to vilify this exalted Imam by saying that he was weak in the knowledge of hadith, is similar to their denying the superiority of Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar (Radi-Allahu 'anhuma).

This perverse negation of theirs is not a sort of illness that can be cured by preaching or advice. May Allahu ta'ala cure them! The Muslims' Khalifah 'Umar (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) said during his khutbah: "O Muslims! As I tell you now, Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) told us during his khutbah: "The most beneficial people are my Sahaabah. The most beneficial after them are their successors. And the next most beneficial are those who will come after them. There will be liars among those who will come after these.' " The four Madhhabs which Muslims have been following and imitating today are the Madhhabs of those beneficial people whose beneficence was corroborated by Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). The Islamic 'ulama' declare in consensus that it is not permissible to adopt a Madhhab other than these four Madhhabs.

Ibn Nujaim al-Misri (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala), author of the book Bahr ar-ra'iq, wrote in his work Ashbah, "Hadrat al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said that a person who wanted to be a specialist in the knowledge of fiqh should read Abu Hanifa's books." Abdullah Ibn Mubaarak said, "I have not seen another specialist as learned as Abu Hanifa in the knowledge of fiqh. The great alim Mis'ar used to kneel in front of Abu Hanifa and learn what he did not know by asking him. I have studied under a thousand 'ulama'. Yet, had I not seen Abu Hanifa, I would have slipped into the bog of Greek philosophy." Abu Yusuf said, "I have not seen another person as profoundly learned as Abu Hanifa in the knowledge of hadith. There is not another alim who can expound Ahadith as competently as he did." The great alim and mujtahid Sufyaan ath-Thawri said, "In comparison with Abu Hanifa, we were like sparrows with a falcon. Abu Hanifa is the leader of the 'ulama'." 'Ali ibn Asim said, "If Abu Hanifa's knowledge were to be measured with the total knowledge of all the 'ulama' contemporary with him, Abu Hanifa's knowledge would prove to be greater."

Yazid ibn Harun said, "I studied under a thousand 'ulama'. Among them I did not see anyone who had as much wara' as Abu Hanifa did or who was as wise as Abu Hanifa (Rihimahu Allahu Ta'ala)." Muhammad ibn Yusuf ash-Shafi'i, one of the Damascene 'ulama', praises al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa much, explains his superiority in detail, and says that he is the leader of all mujtahideen in his book Uqud al-jaman fi manaqibi'n-Numan. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa said, "We esteem and love Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salam) Ahadith above all. We search for the words of the Sahaabat al-kiraam, choose and adopt them. As for the words of the Tabi'een, they are like our words. Translation from the book Radd-i Wahhabi ends here. This book was printed in India and in Istanbul, in 1264 (1848 A.D.) and in 1401 (1981 A.D.), respectively.

In the book Sayf-ul-muqallidin ala a'nak-il-munkirin, Mawlana Muhammad 'Abdul-Jalil wrote in Persian: "The la-madhhabi say that Abu Hanifa was weak in the knowledge of hadith. This assertion of theirs shows that they are ignorant or jealous. Al-Imam az-Zahabi and Ibn Hajar al-Makki say that al-Imam al-azam wasan alim of hadith. He learned Ahadith from four thousand 'ulama'. Three hundred of them were among the Tabi'een and were 'ulama' of hadith. Al-Imam ash-Sharaani says in the first volume of al-Mizaan, 'I have studied three of al-Imam al-azam's Musnads. All of them transmit information from the well-known 'ulama' of the Tabi'een.' Hostility which the la-madhhabi people bear against the Salaf as-saliheen and their jealousy towards the mujtahid imams, particularly towards their leader al-Imam al-Muslimeen Abu Hanifa, must have obstructed their perception and conscience to the extent that they deny the beauty and superiority of these Islamic 'ulama'.

They are intolerant of the fact that pious people have what they do not have. It is for this reason that they deny the superiority of the imams of Islam and thus venture into the shirk (polytheism) of jealousy. It is written in the book Hada'iq: "When al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa memorized Ahadith he wrote them down. He kept the hadith books he wrote in wooden boxes, some of which he always kept at hand wherever he went. His quoting only a few Ahadith does not show that the number of Ahadith he memorized was small. Only bigoted enemies of Islam may say so. This bigotry of theirs proves al-Imam al-azam's perfection; an inept person's slandering the learned indicates the former's perfection." Founding a great Madhhab and answering hundreds of thousands of questions by documenting them with ayahs and Ahadith could not have been done by a person who was not deeply specialized in the sciences of tafsir and hadith. In fact, bringing forth a new, unique Madhhab without a model or an example is an excellent proof for al-Imam al-azam's expertise in the sciences of tafsir and hadith. Because he worked with extraordinary energy and brought forth this Madhhab, he did not have time to quote the Ahadith or to cite their transmitters one by one; this cannot be grounds for denigrating that exalted imam by jealously casting aspersions on him by saying that he was weak in the knowledge of hadith. It is a known fact that riwayah (transmitting) without dirayah (ability, intelligence) has no value. For example, Ibn Abdul-Barr said, "If riwayah without dirayah were valuable, a dustman's quoting a hadith would be superior to Luqman's intelligence."

Ibn Hajar al-Makki was one of the 'ulama' in the Shafi'i Madhhab, but he wrote in his book Qala'id: "The great alim of hadith A'mash asked al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa many questions. Al-Imam al-azam answered each of his questions by quoting Ahadith. After seeing al-Imam al-azam's profound knowledge in hadith, A'mash said, 'O, you, the 'ulama' of fiqh! You are like specialized doctors, and we the 'ulama' of hadith are like pharmacists. We cite Ahadith and their transmitters, but you are the ones who understand their meanings.' " It is written in the book 'Uqud al-jawahiri 'l-munifa: "While 'Ubaidullah ibn 'Amr was in the company of the great alim of hadith A'mash, someone came up and asked a question. As A'mash thought about the answer, al-Imam al-azam joined in. A'mash repeated the question to the Imam and requested an answer. Al-Imam al-azam immediately answered it in detail.

Admiring the answer, A'mash said, "O Imam! From which hadith do you derive this?' Al-Imam al-azam quoted the hadith ash-Sharif from which he derived the answer and added, 'I heard this from you.' " Al-Imam al-Bukhaari knew three hundred thousand Ahadith by heart. He wrote only twelve thousand of them in his books because he feared very much the threat in the hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person quotes, in the name of hadith, what I have not uttered, he will be tormented very bitterly in Hell." Having much wara' and taqwa, al-Imam al-azam imposed very heavy conditions for the transmitting of Ahadith. He would quote only those Ahadith fulfilling these conditions. Some 'ulama' of hadith transmitted numerous Ahadith because their branch was wider and their conditions were lighter. The 'ulama' of hadith never belittled one another on account of differing conditions. Had this not been so, Imam Muslim would have said something to offend al-Imam al-Bukhaari (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihima). Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa's transmitting only a few Ahadith because of his circumspection and taqwa is only a good reason for praising and lauding him."4

The book Mirat al-ka'inat goes on: "Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) performed morning prayer in a mosque and answered his disciples' questions until noon every day. After noon prayer, he taught his disciples again until night prayer. Then he would go home and, after resting for a while, return to the mosque and worship until morning prayer. Mis'ar ibn Kadam al-Kufi, one of the Salaf as-saliheen, who passed away in 115 (733 A.D.), and many other great people reported this fact. He earned his living in a halaal way by trading. He sent goods to other places and with his earnings he met the needs of his disciples. He spent much for his household and gave an equal amount as alms to the poor. Moreover, every Friday he distributed twenty gold coins to the poor for his parents' souls. He did not stretch his legs towards his teacher Hammad's (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) house, though he lived at a distance of seven streets away. Once he found out that one of his partners had sold a large amount of goods incompatibly with Islam. He distributed all the ninety thousand aqchas earned to the poor, not taking one penny of it. After brigands had raided the villages of Kufa and had stolen sheep, he, thinking that these stolen sheep might be slaughtered and sold in the town, did not eat mutton for seven years, for he knew that a sheep lived seven years at the longest. He abstained from the haraam to that degree. He observed Islam in his every action.

For forty years al-Imam al-azam (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) performed the morning prayer with the ablution he had made for the night prayer [that is, he did not sleep after the night prayer.] He performed hajj fifty-five times. During the last one, he went into the Ka'bah, performed a prayer of two rak'ah and recited the whole Qur'an al-karim during the prayer. Then, weeping, he invoked, "O my Allahu ta'ala! I have not been able to worship Thee in a manner worthy of Thee. Yet I have understood very well that Thou cannot be comprehended through intelligence. For this understanding of mine, please forgive the defects in my service! At that moment a voice was heard, "O Abu Hanifa! You have acknowledged me very well and have served me beautifully. I have forgiven you and those who will be in your Madhhab and follow you until the end of the world." He read Qur'an al-karim from the beginning to the end once every day and once every night.

Al-Imam al-azam had so much taqwa that for thirty years he fasted every day [except the five days of a year on which it is haraam to fast]. He often read the whole Qur'an al-karim in one rak'ah or two. And sometimes, during salaat or outside it, he read an ayah describing Heaven and Hell over and over again and sobbed and lamented.5 those who heard him pitied him. Among the Ummah of Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), reciting the whole Qur'an al-karim in a single rak'ah of salaat fell to the lot of only 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, Tamim ad-Daari, Sad ibn Jubair and al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa. He did not accept any presents from anyone. He wore clothes like those of the poor. Yet at times, in order to exhibit the blessings of Allahu ta'ala, he wore very valuable clothes. He performed hajj fifty-five times and stayed in Mecca for several years. Only at the place where his soul was taken, he had read the whole Qur'an al-karim seven thousand times. He said, "I laughed once in my life, and I regret it."

He talked little and thought much. He discussed some religious matters with his disciples. One night, while leaving the mosque immediately after performing the night prayer in jama'ah, he began to talk with his disciple Zufar on some subject. One of his feet was inside the mosque and the other was outside. The conversation continued until the morning adhan. Then, without taking the other step out, he went back in for the morning prayer. Because Hazrat 'Ali (Radi-Allahu 'anhu) had said, "It is permissible to have a personal allowance of up to four thousand dirhams," he distributed to the poor what was more than four thousand dirhams of his earnings. The Khalifah Mansoor revered the Imam very much. He presented him ten thousand aqchas and a jariyah. The Imam did not accept them. At that time one aqcha was worth one dirham of silver. In 145 A.H., Ibrahim ibn 'Abdullah ibn Hasan ibn 'Ali was recruiting men in order to help his brother Muhammad (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain), who had proclaimed himself the Khalifah in al-Madinat al-munawwarah. When he came to Kufa, it was rumored that Abu Hanifa was helping him. Mansoor heard this and had the Imam taken from Kufa to Baghdad. He told him to tell everybody that Mansoor was rightfully the Khalifah. He offered him the presidency of the Supreme Court of Appeal as recompense. He imposed on him very much. The Imam did not accept it. Mansoor imprisoned him and had him thrashed with a stick thirty strokes. His blessed feet bled. Mansoor repented and sent him thirty thousand aqchas, only to be refused again. He was imprisoned again and thrashed ten strokes more every day.

According to some report, on the eleventh day, for fear that the people might rebel, he was forced to lie down on his back and poisonous sherbet (a sweet fruit drink) was poured into his mouth. As he was about to die, he prostrated (sajdah). Some fifty thousand people performed janazah salaat for him. Because of the enormous crowd, it was performed with difficulty and finished not before the late afternoon prayer. For twenty days many people came to his tomb and performed janazah salaat for him near his tomb. He had seven hundred and thirty disciples. Each of them was famed for his virtue and pious deeds. Many of them became Qadis or Muftis. His son Hammad (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) was one of his notable disciples. Passages from the book Mirat-ul-kainat ends here. They have been leaders guiding the ahl-i din, rahmat-Allahi 'alaihim ajmain.

There were some disagreements between al-Imam al-azam and his disciples on the information that was to be deduced through ijtihaad. The following hadith ash-Sharif declares that these disagreements were useful: "Disagreement (on the 'amal, practices) among my Ummah is [Allahu ta'ala's] compassion." He feared Allahu ta'ala very much and was very careful in following Qur'an al-karim. He said to his disciples, "If you come across a document (sanad) inconsistent with my words on a subject, ignore my words and follow that document." All his disciples swore, "Even our words inconsistent with his words surely depend on a proof (dalil, sanad) we had heard from him."

Hanafi Muftis have to issue fatwas agreeable with what al-Imam al-azam said. If they cannot find his word, they should follow Imam Abu Yusuf. After him, Imam Muhammad should be followed. If the words of Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad are on one side and those of al-Imam al-azam on the other, a Mufti may issue a fatwa according to either side. When there is darura (a pressing difficulty), he may issue a fatwa suitable with the words of the mujtahid who showed the easiest way. He cannot issue a fatwa that does not depend on the words of any of the mujtahideen; such an issue cannot be called a fatwa.

FOOTNOTES

1. It is explained in the second fascicle of Endless Bliss that a made' hadith does not mean 'false, made-up hadith' in 'ilm al-usool al-hadith.

2. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa's two leading disciples were al-Imam Muhammad bin Mubaarak al-Shaybaani and Al-Imam Abu Yusuf al-Ansaari (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim).

3. First published in India in 1264 (1848 A.D.); reprinted in Persian in Istanbul in 1401 (1981 A.D.).

4. Saif al-muqallidin 'ala a'naqi 'l-munkirin.

5. Crying out of love for Allah ta'ala in salaat does not break the salaat in the Hanafi Madhhab
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Monday, August 23, 2010

Signs of Qiyamat (End Of the World )

As we look at this article we realize how true the Messenger (P.B.U.H) was these signs were prophesized 1400 years ago!. Take a look.Now this is scary but so TRUE!!!!
Camels will no longer be used as a means of transport;
People will ride on saddles that aren't saddles (cars?)
The distance on earth will become short;
Horses will not be used in wars;
Muslims will defeat the Byzantines which will end with the conquest of Constantinople ( Istanbul)
The Jews will gather again to live in Bilad Canaan;
Very tall buildings will be built;
The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance, with much killing;
Adultery will become widespread, and the drinking of wine will become common;
The number of men will decrease and the number of women will increase until there are 50 women to be looked after by one man.
When voices are raised in the mosque;
When the leader of a people is the worst of them;

When people treat a man with respect because what he may do; Islam will become worn out like clothes are, until no one will know what fasting, prayer, charity and rituals are;
Allah will send a disease to fornicators that will have no cure (Aids?);
People will begin to believe in the stars and reject AL QADAR (THE DIVINE DECREE OF DESTINY);
Men will pass by people's graves and say: 'Would that I was in his place'; (large amount of suicidal deaths?)
The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold for which people will fight over (the river of Alfurat that lies near Syria);
Two large groups of people will fight one another, and there will be many casualties; they will both be following the same religion (World War II?);
Approximately 30 DAJJALS will appear, each one claiming to be the messenger of ALLAH;
Earthquakes will increase;
Time will pass quickly;
Afflictions will appear;
Killing will increase;
Wealth will increase;
Women will be wearing clothes but not wearing clothes
THE PROPHET (saw) SAID: 'IF MY UMMAH BEARS 15! TRAITS(QUALITIES) ,TRIBULATION WILL FOLLOW IT.' (DAY OF JUDGEMENT) SOMEONE ASKED,'WHAT ARE THEY O MESSENGER OF ALLAH?' HE (saw) SAID:

When any gain is shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor;
When a trust becomes a means of making profit;
When paying ZAKKAT becomes a burden;
When much wine is drunk; red wind or the earth swallow them, or to be transformed into animals.'

'IMRAN IBN HUSAYN SAID: 'THE PROPHET (AS) SAID, 'SOME PEOPLE OF THIS UMMAH WILL BE SWALLOWED BY THE EARTH, TRANSFORMED INTO ANIMALS, AND SOME WILL BE BOMBARDED WITH STONES'. ONE OF THE MUSLIMS ASKED, WHEN WILL THAT BE O MESSENGER Of ALLAH?' HE SAID,

'WHEN SINGERS AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WILL BECOME POPULAR AND MUCH WINE IS DRUNK.''
THE GREATER SIGNS OF THE HOUR:

The Qur’an will disappear in one night,
even from the people's hearts, and no Ayyah will be left on earth. (Some groups of old people will be left who will say: 'We heard of fathers' saying 'LAILLAHA ILLA ALLAH' so we repeat it)
The appearance of the MAHDI;
The appearance of the DAJJAL (Anti Christ);
The appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (biblical Gog and Magog);
Isa (Jesus) will come during the time of Dajjal;
The rising of the sun from the west;
The destruction of the Ka'ba and the recovery of its treasures;
The smoke.
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Monday, June 28, 2010

Istighatha

Istighatha is another form of Tawassul in which the help is sought from the Anbiya (prophets) or Auliya (those who are near Allah in rank) of Allahu subhanahu wa ta ‘ala by the virtue of their Mu’ajizath ( the miracles of the prophets) or Karamath(The miracles of the Auliyas). According to all of the Imams and scholars of Ahlussunna, Istighatha from the pious before or after their demise is permissible and is recommended. No one asserted against it till Ibnu Taimiyya came in the 6th century of Islamic calendar. Quran and Sunna never protested or disapproved this activity which is agreed by the Ijma’a of the Ummat, which is considered to be one of the proofs of Islam as The Messenger told that his Ummat will not agree on the wrong deeds. Moreover the tradition of The messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and the history of the Sahaba ( the followers of Muhammed صلى الله عليه وسلم at his time) and our predecessors described many instances of seeking help from the living and the dead. Firstly let us take the opinions of the great former scholars of this Ummat.


Opinions of the Scholars

Imam Subki who lived before 700 ago says:
اعلم أنه يجوز ويحسن التوسل والاستغاثة والتشفع بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الى ربه سبحانه وتعالى وجواز ذالك وحسنه من الأمو
 المعلومة لكل ذي دين المعروفة من فعل الأنبياء والمرسلين وسير السلف الصالحين والعلماء والعوام من المسلمين ولم ينكر ذالك من أهل الأديان ولا سمع في زمن من الازمان حتى جاء ابن تيمية فتكلم في ذالك بكلام يلبس فيه على الضعفاء (شفاء السقام 133 )

“ Know! Tawassul and Istighatha are permissible and good. And seeking the intercession to Allah by The Messenger also is permissible and good. Its goodness and permissibility are among the known things to everyone who is religious and known from the activities of prophets and messengers and the life of the pious and scholars and the public of the Muslim society. No one of the religious refused it and in no time the refusal was heard till the advent of Ibnu Taimiyya. Then he talked about it and created confusion over the weak. (Shifa’u ssaqam 133)

Imam Ramli (r) lived before 500 years ago says:

(فأجاب بأن الاستغاثة بالأنبياء والمرسلين والأولياء والعلماء والصالحين جائزة وللرسل والأنبياء والأولياء والصالحين اغاثة بعد موتهم لأن معجزة الأنبياء وكرامات الأولياء لا تنقطع بموتهم أما الأنبياء فلأنهم أحياء في قبورهم يصلون ويحجون كما وردت به الأخبار (فتاوى الرملي 3-382)

"To seek help with the prophets, messengers, Auliyas and the scholars and the pious is permissible. And the, messengers, prophets, Auliyas and the pious can help after their death because the Mu’ajizath ( The miracles of the prophets) and the Karamath (extraordinary things of Auliyas) will not cut off with death. And the prophets are alive in their graves. They are performing Salat and Pilgrimage. Such Traditions have come to us.” (Fatawa Ramli)

Qur’aan &Hadeeth

If we search the history of the Sahaba we can see that they sought help from The Messenger(صلى الله عليه وسلم ) before and after his demise.

حدثني ربيعة بن كعب الاسلمي قال كنت أبيت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأتيه بوضوئه وحاجته فقال لي سل فقلت أسألك مرافقتك في الجنة.قال أوغير ذالك؟ قلت هو ذاك فقال فأعني على نفسك بكثرة السجود. (مسلم1-206)

Rabee’a bin Ka’ab al Aslami ® reports. He said : One night I was with The Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم ). I brought him water for his Wudu and his needs. Then he told “Ask”. I told. “ I request you your friendship in Paradise.” Then he asked. “Anything else?”. I told. “That is enough”.Then he replied “ Then help me yourself by increasing Sujood (Salat)”.[Muslim 1-206]

This Hadeeth clearly teaches the permissibility of asking help from a person though it is beyond the reach of common man.

Now see another Hadeeth

عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنه قال قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن الشمس تدنو يوم القيامةحتى يبلغ العرق نصف الأذن فبينماهم كذالك استغاثوا بأدم ثم بموسى ثم بمحمد صلى الله عليه



وسلم (بخاري4-544)

Abdullahi bin umar® reports. The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم told “The Sun will come nearer in the Last Day. The sweat will reach into the half of the ear. During the time the people will seek help from Adam (A) then Moosa (A) then Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Take another Hadeeth reported by Malik Radhiyallahu anhu


عن مالك قال أصاب الناس قحط في زمن عمر فجاء رجل الى قبرالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال يا رسول الله استسق لأمتك فانهم قد هلكوا فأتاه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في المنام فقال ائت عمر فاقرأه مني السلام وأخبرهم أنهم مسقون وقل عليك بالكيس الكيس فأتى الرجل فأخبر عمر فقال يا رب ما ألو الا ما عجزت عنه وهذا اسناد صحيح ( البداية والنهاية7-111)

Malik reports: During the reign of Umar (Radhiyallahu anhu) the people suffered from drought. Then a person came to the grave of The Propher صلى الله عليه وسلم and said: “ Oh! The Messenger of Allah! Seek water for your community, because they have perished. Then The Messenger came to him in his dream and said: “You go to Umar and say to him my salam and tell him they will be given rain.” Then he reached Umar ® and told him what happened. Ibnu Katheer says this Hadeeth is authentic with the accepted chain. (Al Hidaya wa Nnihaya 7/111)


When Umar (Radhiyallahu anhu) was told about the incident he did not utter a word of distaste on his part. If the invoking the help was Shirk, can we believe that Umar (Radhiyallahu anhu) would keep mum?. Remember what The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم told about him “ The Satan will not enter the way Umar enters.

Let us take Ibnu Katheer once more. He describes the 63rd verse of the Sura Al Nnisa’a:

(ولو أنهم اذظلموا أنفسهم) الأية يرشد تعالى العصاة والمذنبين اذا وقع منهم الخطأ والعصيان أن يأتوا الى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيستغفروا الله عنده ويسألون أن يستغفر لهم فانهم اذا فعلوا ذالك تاب الله عليهم ورحمهم وغفر لهم ولهذا قال (لوجدوا الله توابا رحيما ) وقد ذكر جماعة منهم الشيخ أبو منصور الصباغ في كتابه الشامل الحكاية المشهورة عن العتبى قال كنت جالسا عند قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فجاء أعرابي فقال السلام عليك يا رسول الله سمعت الله يقول (ولو أنهم اذ ظلموا أنفسهم جاءوك فاستغفروا الله واستغفر لهم الرسول لوجدواالله توابا رحيما ) وقد جئتك مستغفرا لذنبي مستشفعا بك الى ربي. (ابن كثير 1-532)

By this Verse Allah guides those who commit sins. If there occurs a sin or mistake they should come to The Messenger of Allah and they should ask Allah near The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam for His forgiveness to them. And also they should invoke The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam to ask Him to forgive them. If they do so Allah will accept their repentance and give them mercy and forgiveness. That is why Allah said ( They will find Him as forgiving and merciful). And a group of scholars quoted ( Sheikh Abu Mansoor is one among them, in his Kitab Ashamil) a famous statement from Utba. He said “ I was sitting near the grave of The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam. Then an A’arabi came and said. “Assalamu Alaika Ya Rasoolallah-May The Peace of Allah be upon You. I have heard Allah told (And if, when they had wronged themselves, they had but come unto thee and asked forgiveness of Allah, and asked forgiveness of the messenger, they would have found Allah Forgiving, Merciful ) So I came to you seeking forgiveness asking intercession by you to Allah”. ( Ibnu Katheer 1/532)



If this Invocation to The Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was Shirk would Ibnu Kathir report this incident in his Tafseer?

Ibnu Kathir himself reports another incident.


قال الامام أحمد حججت خمس حجج منها ثلاث راجلا أنفقت في احدى هذه الحجج ثلاثين درهما قال وقد ضللت في بعضها عن الطريق وأنا ماش فجعلت أقول يا عباد الله دلوني على الطريق فلم أزل أقول ذالك حتى وقفت على الطريق( البداية والنهاية 10-418)

Imam Ahmad told: I have performed hajj (pilgrimage) five times of which three were on foot. I have spent 30 Dirhams in one Hajj. In one of my pilgrimages I lost my way. And I was walking. Then I began to tell “ O the servants of Allah, help me on my way. And I continued this till reach the way.

No one will say that Imam Ahmad sought the help from the people seen. But he invoked the help from the unseen servants of Allah – dead or alive, because if it were a commonplace request he would not describe it in such manner.

from
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Saturday, June 12, 2010

The Way of Sunni : Islam, Iman, and Ihsan

As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.


He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a way."

He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said: "Tell me about true faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."

"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."

He said: "Now tell me about the Hour." The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "The one who is asked about it does knows no more than the questioner."

He said: "Then tell me about its signs." The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace answered: "That a slave girl shall give birth to her mistress, and that you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds vying to build tall buildings."

Then the visitor left. I waited a long while, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to me, "Do you know, 'Umar, who was the questioner?" and I replied, "Allah and His messenger know best." He said,

"It was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion" (Sahih Muslim, 1.37: hadith 8).

This is a rigorously authenticated hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of the word "religion" (din) the last words of it, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him.

Sunni Islam, or Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'ah, understands the Islamic religion as it has been passed down in an unbroken chain of transmission from teacher to student from the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) until today. The way of Sunni Islam is to take the branch of Islam from living jurists who follow one of the four Sunni schools of fiqh: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools; the branch of Iman from living scholars belonging to one of the two Sunni schools of 'aqida: the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools; and the branch of Ihsan from living masters of one of the many Sufi orders that have emerged over the centuries, such as the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa'i tariqas.
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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Islamic Personalities

ABD AL'HAQQ, is Shah Abd al-Haqq bin. Sayf ad-Din bin. Sadullah al-Bukhari, al-Muhaddith al-Dehlvi, born in Dehli, India in 958 AH/1551 CE. He was one of the prominent Hanafi Scholar of his age in the Indian sub-continent. Although he is most recognised as a leading Muhaddith, he wrote works on a wide range of religious sciences, including fiqh, history, aqeeda, Qur'anic science and hadith commentaries. His works, which amount to about 50, are in Arabic and Persian. He taught and preached in Dehli for half a century, where he finally passed away in 1052 AH/1642 CE.




Abu Dawud, is Abu Dawud, Sulayman bin. al-Ash'ab bin. Ishaq, al-Sijistani, born in Sijistan, Persia in 202 AH/817 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar who travelled wideley in search of hadith. He became a hadith master and Imam of the subject in his time. His collection is one of the six most authentic sources of hadith (Sahih Sitta). He past away in Basra, Iraq in 275 AH/889 CE.



Abu Hanifa, is (Imam) Abu Hanifa, Mu'man bin Thabit bin Zuta, Imam al-Azam, born in Kufa, Iraq in 80 AH/699 CE. He was the first of the four great mujtahids of Islam, he other three being Imam Malik, Imam Shafi'i and Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal. He was born at a time when there were a number of Companions of the Prophet still alive, includin Anas bin Malik (d. 93 AH), who he certainly met. He studied the curricula of his day, including fiqh, hadith, kalam and history, but it is fiqh that he is most remembered for. Imam Shafi'i used to say, " In fiqh, all scholars are the children of Abu Hanifa." Among his teachers were authorities like Imams Hammad, Sha'bi, Abu Ishaq Sab'i, Qatadah, Shu'bah and Sufyan al-Thawri. He was a wealthy man, but lived a humble an ascetic life. Imam Abu Qasim al-Qushayri notes that Abu Hanifa would not sit in the shade of a tree belonging to someone he loaned money to, saying, "Every debt that brings about a benefit is usury." It is said that for 40 years he prayed salaat al-fajr with wudu he made for salaat al-isha. He passed away in Baghsas in 150 AH/767 CE.



Adawiyya, is Rabi'a al-Adawiyya al-Kaysiyya, born in Basra, Iraq in 95 AH/714 CE or 99 AH/717 CE. She is one of the most famous woman mystic and saint in the history of Islam. She was renowned for her piety, self-denial, renunciation, tawakkul Allah and her love for Allah. Many great scholars and awliya, including Imam Hasan al-Basri, Imam Sufyan al-Thawri, the ascetic Malik bin Dinar and sufi Shaykh Shaqiq al-Balkhi, came to seek her counsel and listen to her words of wisdom. Hasan al-Basri once asked her how she had attained her spiritual greatness, she replied, "I forget all existence (become non-existence) in His (Allah's) remembrance." She passed away in Basra in 185 AH/801 CE.



Ali, is Abdullah Yusuf Ali, born in Surrat, India in 1289 AH/1872 CE Translator of the Qur'an. He began his religious education, in particular study of the Qur'an, at a very early age; between the age of 4 and 5, as he himself recalls. This early interest in Qur'anic studies was the fuel that kindled the fire of his lifetime ambition, to translate the Holy Book into English. He strived for more than forty years (his own words), in preperation to launch this project. His translation and brief commentary of the Holy Qur'an was finally published in 1938. He passed away in London in 1372 AH/1953 CE.



Alusi, is Abu Fadl, Muhammas bin Abdullah, al-Alusi, al-Baghdadi, born in Baghdad in 1217 AH/1802 CE. He comes from a very illustrious family of scholars who trace their ancestors back to Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain . Imam al-Alusi was a prominent scholar and mufti of Baghdad and he authored many works, among them is his 30 volume tafseer, Ruh al-Ma'ani. He passed away in Baghdad in 1270 AH/1854 CE.



Attar, is Fariduddin Muhammad bin Ibrahim, born in NIshapur, Persia in 536 AH/1142 CE (or 513/1119 according to some reports). It is said that he was a chemist/physician in his early days, but abandoned his practice in favour of search for spiritual enlightenment. He travelled widely, visiting Egypt, Syria, Arabia, India and Central Asia, finally settling in his native town of Nishapur. He was renowned for his piety and spiritual practices. He authores over 114 works on tasawwuf, the most famous of which are Divan; Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) and Tadhkirat al-Awliya (biographies of saints). He passed away in 627 AH1230 CE, probably in Nishapur.





Baghawi, is Abu Muhammad, al-Hussain bin Mas'ud bin Muhammad, al-Baghawi, born in Bagha, Persia in 436 AH/1044 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar of fiqh, hadith, tafseer and authored books on various subjects. Amongst his most famous works are his commentary on the Qur'an, and his Masabih al-Sunnah ( a book on hadith which was later rearranged by Wali ad-Din al Tabrizi and published under the title of Mishkat al-Masabih). He passed away in Merv, Turkmenistan, in 510 AH/1117 CE.



Baydawi, is Abd Allah bin Umar bin Muhammad, Nasir ad-Din al-Shirazi al-Baydawi, born near the famous city of Shiraz, Persia (date uncertain). He was a Shafi'i scholar well known for wide learning and prolific writing. His most famous work is his commentary on the Qur'an, called: Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil. He became chief qadi (judge) of Shiraz. According to Imam Suyuti he passed away in Tabriz in 685AH/1286 CE.



Bayhaqi, is Abu Bakr bin Ahmad bin Hussain, al-Bayhaqi, born near the town of Nishapur, Khursan province, Persia in 384 AH/994 CE. He was a Shafi'i faqih and an outstanding muhaddith of his time. He authored nearly one thousand works on all areas of religious sciences, perhaps the most notables being his Sunan al-Kubra, Shu'ab al-Imaan and Dala'il al-Nubuwwah. He passed away in Nishapur in 485 AH/1066 CE.



Bukhari, is Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Isma'il bin Ibrahim, al-Bukhari, born in Bukhara, present day Uzbekistan in 194 AH/810CE. He was a hadith master of first rank. None mastered the subject of hadith better than him. He was a man of great piety, scrupulous character and phenomenal memory. He travelled wideley, collecting some 600,000 hadith, approximately 200,000 which he knew by heart. His Jami' as Sahih contains just over 7200 ahadith. He passed away in Samarkand in 256 AH/870 CE.



Busiri, is Sharf ad-Din Muhammad bin Sa'id al-Busiri al-Sanhaji, born in Abusir, Egypt around 609 AH/1212 CE. He was a ascetic, poet and calligrapher, most famous for his poem al-Burdah, which he wrote in praise for the Prophet . He passed away in Alexanderia, Egypt in 694 AH/1295 CE.





Dhahabi, is Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Uthman, Shams ad-Din al-Dhahabi, born in Damascus, Syria in 673 AH/1274 CE. He was an outstanding Shafi'i scholar who made major contribution to several areas of religious sciences, in particular biographies, hadith and history. His Siyar a'lam al-Nubala (biographies of prominent personalities) runs into 36 volumes and his Tarikh al-Islam al-Kabir (history) is no less than 23 volumes. Both of these works are still very popular. He passed away in Damascus in 748 AH/1348 CE





Firuzabadi, is Abu al-Tahir, Muhammad bin Yaqub bin Muhammad, al-Shafi'i, al-Shirazi, born in Firuzabad (town near Shiraz), Persia in 729 AH/1329 CE. He was a prominent Shafi'i scholar who travelled across the Muslim Empire from Dehli to Jerusalem in search of Knowledge. He took knowledge from many Shuyukh of his time, including Shaykh al-Islam Taki al-Din Subki. He authored many works on tafseer (e.g. Tanvir al-Miqbas min Tafseer ibn Abbas), hadith and history, but is probably most remebered for his contributions to the field of Lexicography. His Qamus (dictionary), which in its original form is thought to have been in more than 60 volumes (a summarised version still exists), served as the basis for later European dictionaries in Arabic. He passed away in Zabib, Yemen, in 817 AH/1415 CE.





Ghazali, is Abu Hamid, Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Tusi, al-Ghazali, known as Hujjut al-Islam (proof of Islam), born in Tus in the famous province of Khursan, Persia in 450 AH/1058 CE. He was a Shafi'i Imam of outstanding intelligence, instrumental in demonstrating spiritual life (tasawwuf) as an intregal part of orthodox Islam. He travelled and studied in all major centres of learning of his time Nishapur, Baghdad, Makkah, Madina and Damascus, among others. His intellectual brilliance earned him numerous titles and academic positions, including professorship in the famous Nizamiyya Madrasa at Baghdad. However, he abandoned his academic career and devoted himself in the pursuit of spiritual way of life. It was during this period that he wrote his masterpiece, Ihya Ulum ad-Din (The Revivsl of Religious Sciences). He authored some two hundred works, a significant number of which still survive. He passed away in Tus in 505 AH/1111 CE.





Hakim, is Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Hamdawayah, al-Hakim, al-Nishapuri, born in Nishapur, Persia in 321 AH/933 CE. He was a Shafi'i Imam and among the most distinguished hadith scholars of his time. He travelled wideley and heard hadith from some 2000 scholars. He wrote many books, among which al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn and Ma'rifat Ulum al-Hadith, are very popular. He passed away in Nishapur in 405 AH/1014 CE.



Hujwiri, is Abu al-Hasan, Ali bin Uthman bin Ali al-Ghaznavi, al-HUjwiri, born in Hujwir, a suburb of Ghazna, Persia (present day Afghanistan) in about 400 AH/1010 CE. He was a Hanafi scholar and sufi shaykh who travelled extensively in the search of knowledge, particularly that of tasawwuf. His shaykh in the sufi path was Abu al-Fadl Muhammad bin Hasan of Damascus, whos spiritual lineage reaches Junayd al-Baghdadi. He is the author of Kash al-Mahjub (The Unveiling of the Veiled), which is one of the oldest Persian treatise on tasawwuf. He passed away in Lahore, (present day Pakistan), in around 465 AH/1073 CE.





Ibn Abi Dunya, is Abu Bakr, Abd Allah bin Muhammad bin Ubayd al-Kurashi, al-Baghdadi, born in Baghdad in 208 AH/823CE. He was a master of many sciences, especially hadith and morals. He authored many works, the majority of which are centred on purification of the nafs. These include: Repentance, Trust in Allah, Renunciation, Patience, Miricales of Awliya and Who Lives after Death. He passed away in Baghdad in 281 AH/894 CE.



Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, is Abu Fadl, Ahmad bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Kinani, al-Asqalani, born in Cairo, Egypt in 773 AH/1375 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar and hadith expert, who like many muhadditheen before him, travelled widley in search of hadith. His famous work is his 14 volume commentary on Sahih Bukhari, called: Fath al-Bari. He passed away in Cairo in 852 AH/1449 CE.



Ibn Hajar Al-Haythami, is Abu al-Abbas, Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad, al-Haythami, born in the village of Abi Haytham, Egypt in 909 AH/1504 CE. He was a famous scholar and prolific writer of the Shafi'i school. He was educated at al-Azhar and by the age of 20, his teachers gave him ijaza to give fatwas and teach. He moved to Makkah where he taught and authored many of his works. It is said that he began writing books on fiqh at the order of the sufi Shaykh Harith bin Muhasibi, who he saw in a dream. He passed away in Makkah in 974 AH/1567 CE.



Ibn Hanbal, is (Imam) Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal, born in Baghdad in 164 AH/780 CE. He was one of the four mujtahid Imams of the Ahl al-Sunnah. He travelled extensively in search of hadith, memorising over one hundred thousand in the process, thirty thousand of which he recorded in his Musnad. He was a student of Imam Shafi'i and like his teacher, lived a very pious, God-fearing and ascetic way of life. He passed away in Baghdad in 241 AH/855 CE.



Ibn Jawzi, is Abu al-Farash, Abd al-Rahman bin Ali bin Muhammad, born in Baghdad in 510 AH/1126 CE. He was a Hanbali scholar of some distinction, versed in almost every branch of learning. He himself states that: 2I never got tired of reading...., I had gone through some 20,000 books during my student days." He was a prolific writer, authoring more than 200 works on a wide range of sciences, including hadith, fiqh, history and biographies. He passed away in Baghdad, in 597 AH/1200 CE.



Ibn Juzayy, is Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Juzayy al-Kalabi born in Granada, Spain in 693 AH/1294 CE. He was a Maliki scholar famous for his commentary on the Qur'an (al-Tashil li ulum al-Tanzil). He passed away around 756-8 AH/1355-7, probably in Fez, Morocco.



Ibn Kathir, is Abu Fida, Isma'il bin Umar bin Kathir, Imad ad-Din al-Dimishqi, born in Busra, Syria in 701 AH/1302 CE. At the age of 5, after the death of his father, he moved to Damascus where he was raised and educated. He was a prolific writer, becoming prominent in a number of subjects, including fiqh, hadith, history and biography. His 4 volume tafseer of the Qur'an is so wideley accepted throughout the world, that it is rarely out of print. His 14 volume treatise, al-Bidayah wa'l-Nihayah, on the history of Islam from beginning of creation to his own time, is also very popular. He passed away in Damascus in 744 AH/1373 CE.



Ibn Majah, Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Yazid al-Rub'i al-Kazwini, born in Kazwin, Persia in 209 AH/824 CE. He was a hafiz of hadith and the author of Kitab as-Sunnah (one of the six most authentic collections of ahadith). He travelled extensively, learning hadith from many authorities. He passed away in Kazwin in 273 AH/887 CE.



Ibn Naqib, is Ahmad bin Lu'lu bin Abdullah al-Rumi, al-Misri, born in Cairo, Egypt in 702 AH/1302 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar andsufi well versed in fiqh, aqeedah, tafseer, and Arabic grammar. Among his many works is Umdat al-Salik (SHafi'i Law), which has been translated into English as : Reliance of the Traveller, by Shaykh Nuh Keller. He passed away in Cairo in 769 AH/1368 CE.



Isfahani, is Abu Na'im, Ahmad bin Abd Allah bin Ahmad, al-Isfahani, born in Isfahan, Persia in 335 AH/948 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar, sufi shaykh and hadith master of his time, most famous for his 18 volume Hilyatul Awliya wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya (The Beauty of the Righteous and Ranks of the Elite). He passed away in Isfahan in 430 AH/1028 CE.





Jazri, is Abu Kharyr, Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad, Shams al-Din, al-Jazri, born in Damascus, Syria in 751 AH/1350 CE. He was a judge and famous faqih, qari, and muhaddith, who travelled widely in search of knowledge. Among his teachers include authorities such as Ibn Kathir, Shaykh al-Islam al-Bulkini and direct students of Ibn Abd al-Salaam. He wrote a great number of works, primarily on qira'at (Qur'anic reading), fiqh and hadith. He also wrote the celebrated al-Hisn al-Haseen (book on prophetic du'as), by regular reading of which, he says that he was blessed with the vision of the Prophet . He passed away in Shiraz, Persia in 833 AH/1429 CE.



Jilani, is Abdul Qadir bin Abu Salih bin Abd Allah, al-Jilani, famously known as Ghaus-e-Azam, born in Jilan, Persia in 470 AH/1077 CE. He was a Hanbali scholar most famous for his spiritual achievements. The qadiriyah order of sufis bears his name. He was a descendent of the Prophet through both Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain . At the age of 18, he left Jilan to travel to Baghdad, the then centre of learning. Here, he mastered all the major sciences, including tafseer, hadith, fiqh, sirah, grammar and philosophy. He took the spiritual path at the hands of Shaykh Hammad bin Muslim al-Dabbas and then completed his initiation at the hands of Shaykh Qadi Abi Said al-Mukharami. He wrote many works, including al-Fathu Rabbani and Futuh al-Ghaib. He passed away in Baghdad in 561 AH/1166 CE.



Junayd, is Abu Qasim, Junayd bin Muhammad bin al-Junayd al-Khazzaz, al-Baghdadi. He was the Imam of both the Zahir (outer Shari'ah) and batin (inner, spiritual) sciences. He was acknowledged as Shaykh al-Mushaykh in his lifetime, for most of the Shuyukh of Baghdad were his students. He associated with the likes of Harith bin Muhasibi and Sari al-Saqati. The latter was a maternal uncle and murshid. He passed away in Baghdad in 297 AH/910 CE.





Khan, is Ahmad Yaar bin Muhammad bin Munawwar Khan, al-Badayuni, born in Badayun, India in 1324 AH/1906 CE. He was a prolific Hanafi mufti, sufi and scholar of hadith and tafseer. He studied in several institutions in India, the most prominent of which was Jamia Naeemiya, under the care of Mawlana Naeemuddin Muradabadi. He authored numerous works, the most famous of which are his, Tafseer Nur al-Irfan, his 8 volume commentary on Mishkat al-Masabih (hadith), and Fatwa al-Naeemiya (fiqh). He embarked on writing 30 volume tafseer, but unfortunately was only able to complete 11 volumes. He passed away in Gujarat in Ramadan 1391 AH/1971 CE.





Malik, is (Imam) Abu Abdullah, Malik bin Anas bin Malik al-Asbahi, al-Humayr, born in the blessed city of Madina Sharif in 93 AH/712 CE. He was one of the four great mujtahid Imams of the Ahl al-Sunnah. He was a colleague of Imam Abu Hanifa and teacher of Imam Shafi'i. Imam Malik was renowned, not only for his scholarship, but also for his piety., God-fearing, asceticism and his love for the Prophet . He never mounted a horse while in the city of the Prophet and when questioned about it, he said: "I am to ashamed before Allah to tread with the hoof of any animal of burden on the soil wherein lies His Prophet ." He is the author of the hadith book, Muwatta. He passed away in Madina in 179 AH/795 CE.



Mullah Ali Qari, is Ali bin Sultan Muhammad, Nur al-Din, al-Mullah al-Qari, born in Herat, Afghanistan. He was an outstanding Hanafi scholar of his time, who wrote on a range of subjects, including Hanafi fiqh, aqeedah, history, tafseer, hadith, tasawwuf and Prophetic supplications. He also wrote commentaries on many prominent earlier works. He was a pious and God-fearing man and earned his living by writing copies of the Holy Qur'an. He spent a considerable part of his life in Makkah where he finally passed away in 1014 AH/1606 CE.



Muslim, is Abu al-Hussain, Muslim bin al-Hajjaj bin Muslim al-Qushayri, al-Nishapuri, born in Nishapur, Iran in 202 AH/817 CE or 206 AH/821 CE. He was a Shafi'i Imam and one of the greatest scholar of hadith the world has ever known. He travelled throughout the Muslim world in search of hadith and associated with all the major authorities of his day, collecting some 300,000 ahadith in the process. His collection, Jami' as-Sahih, is equal or second only to that of Imam Bukhari, the teacher and mentor of Imam Muslim. Imam Muslim was a pious, God-fearing person who never swerved from the aqeedah of the Ahl al-Sunnah. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Imam Bukhari, against those who claimed that the Qur'an was created. He passed away in Nishapur in 261 AH/875 CE.





Nabahani, is Yusuf bin Isma'il bin Yusuf al-Nabahani, born in Ijzim, Palestine in 1265 AH/1849 CE. He was SHafi'i scholar, sufi, poet and judge. He was educated at al-Azhar and served as a judge in Berut for about twenty years. He authored works in a number of Islamic sciences, including hadith, fiqh, aqeedah, tasawwuf and sirah. He passed away in his town of birth in 1350 AH/1932 CE.



Nasai, is Abu Abd al-Rahman, Ahmad bin Ali bin Shu'ayb, born in Nasa, Persia in 215 AH/830 CE. He was a Shafi'i Imam and hadith master (hafiz) and the author of hadith collection Sunan Nasai, which is one of the six canonical collections (sihah sitta). He was severely beaten in Damascus for his feelings in favour of Sayyidna Ali against the Umayyads and subsequently passed away in Damascus (according to some in Makkah) in 303 AH/915 CE.



Nawawi, is Abu Zakariyya, Yahya bin Sharaf bin Muri, al-Nawawi, bor in the village of Nawa, Syria in 631 AH/1233 CE. He was one of the most outstanding Shafi'i scholar of his time, who lived and studied in Damascus for some 27 years. He made major and lasting contributions to several Islamic sciences. His most notable works include: Sharh Sahih Muslim (18 volume commentary on Imam Muslim's Sahih), Riyad al-Salihin (hadith), Kitab al-Adhkar (hadith), Minhaj al-Talibin (Shafi'i Law) and Bustan al-Arifin (tasawwuf). In addition to his scholarship, Imam Nawawi was also renowned for his piety, self-denial and abstinence. He passed away in his father's house in Nawa in 676 AH/1277 CE.





Qadi Iyad, is Abu al-Fadl, Iyad bin Musa bin Iyad al-Yahsubi, born in Ceuta, Spain in 476 AH/1083 CE. He was one of the most distinguished Maliki scholar and qadi (judge) of Andalus (Spain) of his time. His family was of Yemeni origin. He studied primarily in Spain, which was at the time a major centre of learning. He was an authority in several Islamic sciences, including hadith, fiqh and history. He wrote more than 20 prominent works, the most famous of which is ash-Shifa bi-Ta'rif Huquq Mustafa (Prophetic biography). He passed away in Marrakesh, Morocco in 544 AH/1149 CE.



Qurtubi, is Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Ansari, al-Qurtubi, born in Cordoba, Spain. He was an eminent Maliki Imam versed in numerous branches of scholarship, especially fiqh, hadith and tafseer. He was a pious and humble man, deeply inclined towards spirituality and mediation on the life after death. He made many scholarly contributions including, al-Asna, al-Tadhkar fi Afdal al-Adhkar and al-Tadhkira fi Ahwaal al-Mauwt wa Amoor al-Akhira, but is probably best remembered for his monumental 20 volume tafseer (al-Jami li ahkkam al-Qur'an). He was an ocean of learning whose works testify to his depth in knowledge. He passed away in Egypt in 671 AH/1273 CE.



Qushayri, is Abu Qasim, Abd al-Karim bin Hawazin bin Abd al-Malik, al-Qushayri, born in the small town of Ustuwa (district Khursan), Persia in 376 AH/986 CE. He was a Shafi'i scholar and sufi master of his age. He took the spiritual path at the hands of the sufi Shaykh Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq. His most famous works are his Risala al-Qushayriyya and his 3 volume commentary of the Qur'an, Lata'if al-Ishrat. He passed away in Nishapur in 465 AH/1072 CE.





Shafi'i, is (Imam) Abu Abd Allah, Muhammad bin Idris bin al-Abbas, al-Shafi'i, al-Qurayshi, born in Palestine (Yemen according to some reports) in 150 AH/767 CE. He was one of the four great mujtahids of Islam. He was orphaned at a very early age and his mother emigrated to Makkah, where his early education took place. He memorised the Holy Qur'an by the age of 7 and the whole of Imam Malik's Muwatta by 10. By the age of 15, he was given ijaza to issue legal ruling (fatwa). He subsequently continued his studies with authorities like Imam Malik (in Madina) and Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani (student of Imam Abu Hanifa in Baghdad). Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal was his most eminent student. He spent last years of his life in Cairo, where he formulated the school of jurisprudence that bears his name. He passed away in 204 AH/820 CE.



Shah, is Muhammad Karam bin Muhammad Shah, born in Bhera Pakistan in 1336 AH/1918 CE. He was a Hanafi scholar, judge, sufi, and educationalist. Educated at Bhera, then Lahore, then Jamia Na'imiya (India) and finally at al-Azhar (Egypt). He was the director of the Muhammad Ghousia College in Bhera for some 40 years and established dozens of other institutions throughout the world. He was appointed judge on Shari'ah bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. His major literary contributions include his 5 volume Tafseer Zia ul-Qur'an and his 7 volume Zia ul-Nabi (Prophetic biography). He passed away in Islamabad in 1418 AH/1998 CE.



Shurunbulali, is Abu al-Ikhlas, Hasan bin Ammar bin Ali al-Shurunbulali, al-Hanafi, born in Shurunbula, Egypt in 993 AH/1585 CE. At the age of six he was sent to Cairo, where he memorised the Qur'an and attended al-Azhar for higher studies. He excelled in fiqh and became a prominent Hanafi faqih of his time. Students from as far as Damascus travelled to study at his feet. He authored a number of works, the most famous being Maraqi al-Falah, which is his commentary on his earlier book on Hanafi Fiqh, Nur al-Idah. He passed away in Cairo in 1069 AH/1659 CE.



Subki, is Abu al-Hasan, Ali bin Abd al-Kafi bin Ali, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, born in Subk, Egypt in 683 AH/1284 CE. He was a Shafi'i Imam and Shaykh al-Islam of his time, distinguished in the field of hadith, tafseer and fiqh. He came from a celebrated family of Shafi'i ulama. He authored some 150 works on a range of Islamic sciences, among which his Fatwa is well known. He was appointed Chief Qadi in Damascus for some 17 years, after which he retired and returned to his homeland, where he passed away in 756 AH/1355 CE.



Suyuti, is Abu Fadl, Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad, Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, born in Suyut, Egypt in 849 AH/1445 CE. He was an outstanding Shafi'i Imam, renowned for his encyclopaedic knowledge. He authored more than 600 works on virtually every Islamic science including; Qur'an, fiqh, sirah, history and Medicine. Among his most popular works are; Tafseer Jalalayn, which is co-authored with Jalal ad-Din Mahalli, his Itqan fi' Ulum al-Qur'an, his 10 volume hadith work Jami' al-Jawami, and his history of the Caliphs (Ta'rikh al-Khulafa). He passed away in Cairo in 911 AH/1505 CE.





Tabarani, is Abu al-Qasim, Sulayman bin Ahmad bin Ayyub al-Tabarani, born Acre, Palestine in 260 AH/873 CE. He was an outstanding hadith master (hafiz) who travelled extensively throughout the Muslim World in search of hadith. He authored three major works on hadith, the largest of which is his 25 volume al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. He passed away in Isfahan, Persia in 360 AH/971 CE.



Tabari, is Abu Jaf'ar, Muhammad bin Jarir bin Yazid al-Tabari, born in Tabaristan, Persia in 224 AH/839 CE. He was a genius of his time whose encyclopaedic works on various subjects is testimony to his indepth understanding of his subjects. He made a distinct contribution to the consolidation of Sunni thought during the 9th century and laid the foundations for both Qur'anic and historical sciences. His major works include his 30 volume tafseer and his 15 volume Ta'rikh ar-Rusul wa al-Muluk (history). He passed away in Baghdad in 310 AH/923 CE.



Tabrizi, is Abu Abd Allah, Wali ad-Din Muhammad bin Abd Allah al-Khatib, al-Umari, al-Tabrizi, born Tabaristan, Persia. He was a prominent scholar of hadith whose major literary contribution is the hadith work Mishkat al-Masabih. This work is based on Imam al-Baghawi's Mashabih al-Sunna, but with considerable re-arrangement and the addition of 1511 ahadith, raisin the total from 4434 to 5945. He passed away in 743 AH/1342 CE.



Thawri, is Abu Isa, Muhammad bin Isa bin Sorah, al-Tirmidhi, born in Termiz, Uzbekistan in 209 AH/824 CE (not to be confused with al-Hakim at-Tirmidhi, d.295 AH). He was a hadith master (hafiz) and the author of Jami' as-Sahih, one of the six canonical collections of hadith. He travelled wideley and studied with such renowned authorities as Imam Bukhari, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and Imam Abu Dawud. He passed away in Termiz in 279 AH/892 CE

 
 
 
Taken From yanabi.com


Its from a book titled DUA THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP.



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