When i read namaz at home i can almost always cry when i do my dua and i really get very emotional.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum
wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon
all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear brother Burhan
Assalamo alaikum
Thank you for this wonderful service. May allah reward you in this life and the hereafter (ameen). I am a sister in her early twenties and have recently come back from hajj. It was the most amazing time of my life. I just wanted to ask a few questions in relation to hajj and some other random questions.
1) When i read namaz at home i can almost
always cry when i do my dua and i really get very emotional. But i found that
when i went for hajj, i couldnt do that, and i got very frustrated because i
have read that u should cry when u do dua (genuinely offcourse) because a dua
which truly comes from your heart is accepted. but i couldnt cry when i was
there. I did a few times but not enough. also the Kaaba is such an amazing
thing to look at and even when i was looking at it, gazing at it and going
around it doing my tawaaf, it was all so surreal that it felt like i wasnt
really there or this wasnt all true. i used to keep telling myself "u are
looking at the Kaaba, you are in the most blessed places of all" but a lot
of the time i couldnt apprehend that it was all tru. it was like a dream. Was
this right? i mean i have fulfilled all the obligations of hajj and like i said
i had the time of my life but these couple of things have really disturbed me.
2) I dont wear a hijab and since coming back
from hajj i have been driving myself crazy, literally mad because half of me
wants to wear the hijaab desperately, and i feel out of place if i go somewhere
without my head covered, even when everyone else is also a non hijabi or a non
muslim, it makes me feel filthy. but then at the same time really superficial
things stop me from wearing it. things like on my wedding day i wont be able to
take it off and stupid things like that, and i feel so ashamed of myself. i dont
know what to do brother and this is causing me a lot of greif. please help me,
tell me what i should do, i am constantly fighting myself and i fear i will go
mad soon enough.
3) Im sorry for asking too many questions
but is there hadith by the prohet (saw) in which he encourages mixed race
marriages between muslims? i was watching a program the other day in which it
was said that the prophet (saw) encouraged mixed marriages because it was good
for the unity of the ummah. but then again i have heard that the prophet didnt
encourage it because difference of cultures can be the cause of a divorce.
4) Some people say that people like mother
theresa, princess diana and other very noble persons wont go to heaven because
thet arent muslims. is that tru? will allah disregard all the other good things
they have done in their life because they didnt accept islam? what about people
like michael
Jaza kulla khair for your time brother. I
really appreciate it.
Your sister in Islam.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Sister advice on
hajj dua, hijjab, etc
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world
and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble
efforts in the propagation of the Truth.
If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister
get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves
indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful
to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and
pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our
shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the
Hell Fire. Ameen.
Firstly, Your Statement: Im sorry for asking too
many questions
Beloved sister in Islam, never ever hesitate or
apologize for asking any questions in the deen; for the deen or ‘way of life’
called Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing
Lord, and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense
and logic. Asking any type of questions
in Islam to gain more knowledge, or to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is
more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the
dictates of the deen is not only permissible, but absolutely encouraged in
Islam. It is the right of the brother or
sister to ask anything they wish to clarify in the deen; and it is the
responsibility and duty of the good scholars to address the question asked to
the best of their knowledge and ability, and in the most polite and humble
manner.
What is discouraged in Islam is if one asks questions for
the sake of asking, or arguing to ridicule the Truth with absolutely no
intention of obeying or following when the Truth is made clear to them,
etc. But if one asks questions to
clarify and seek knowledge so that one may better follow the deen; such seeking
of the Knowledge of Truth is absolutely encouraged in Islam
Your Statement: But i found that when i went
for hajj, i couldnt do that, and i got very frustrated because i have read that
u should cry when u do dua (genuinely offcourse) because a dua which truly
comes from your heart is accepted. but i couldnt cry when i was there. I did a
few times but not enough.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 186:
And if My
servants ask you, O Prophet, concerning
Me, tell them that I am quite near to
them. I hear and answer the prayer of
the suppliant, when he calls on Me. So let them respond to My call and believe in
Me. (Convey this to them), perhaps they may be guided aright!
Nu'man b. Bashir reported that the Prophet
(saws), said, "Verily supplication is worship."
Narrated by Ahmad and Sunan.
Salman reported that the Prophet (saws),
said, "Your Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted One, is Modest and Generous,
and He loathes to turn away His servant empty-handed when he raises his hands
to Him in supplication."
Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Hibban.
Abdallah b. 'Umar reported that the Prophet
(saws) said, "Hearts are like vessels, some more attentive and capacious
than others. When you supplicate Allah you should be certain of being answered,
and know that Allah does not answer a supplication that comes from a careless
and inattentive heart."
Narrated by Ahmad
Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, rest absolutely assured
that the Blessed Lord is quite near to each of His believing and repentant
slaves, and He Hears and responds to each and every supplication of His
believing slaves.
Your Statement: but i couldnt cry when i was
there. I did a few times but not enough.
Beloved Sister, it is only natural that when there are so
many people around you during Hajj, and when so many things are going on around
you….it is difficult to maintain ones concentration and sustain the exact same
condition of ones heart when one remembers, glorifies, praises, or supplicates
their Lord Most Gracious in absolute seclusion.
Beloved Sister in Islam, know with absolute conviction that the tears
that flood one’s eyes in the remembrance of Allah when one is in solitude or
seclusion are much more meritorious in the Sight of Allah than the tears that
are shed in public! Such is the
determined reward of those who shed tears in the remembrance of Allah in
solitude that they are listed as one amongst the seven kinds of people who have
been promised the Shade of the Lord on a Day when there will be absolutely no
shade except His Blessed Shade!
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.504 Narrated by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "Seven people
will be shaded by Allah under His Shade on the Day when there will be no shade
except His. They are:
(1) a just ruler;
(2) a young man who has been brought up in
the worship of Allah, (i.e. worship Allah (Alone) sincerely from his
childhood),
(3) a man whose heart is attached to the
mosque (who offers the five compulsory congregational prayers in the mosque);
(4) two persons who love each other only for
Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's Cause only;
(5) a man who refuses the call of a charming
woman of noble birth for an illegal sexual intercourse with her and says: ‘I am
afraid of Allah’;
(6) a person who practices charity so
secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e.
nobody knows how much he has given in charity).
(7) a person who remembers Allah in
seclusion and his eyes get flooded with tears."
It is also for the same precise reason that the worship
done in the last third of the night, when most of mankind are asleep….and one
forsakes the comfort of their bed and remembers their Lord Most High in
solitude and in seclusion has so much worth in the Sight of The Lord Most
Gracious.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.586 Narrated by Abu Huraira
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Every
night when it is the last third of the night, our Lord, the
Thus my beloved sister, neither fear nor despair that your
tears deserted you in the crowds during the Hajj…..but start fearing when your
tears desert you when you are in solitude remembering, praising, glorifying and
seeking forgiveness from your Lord Most Gracious.
Your Statement: it was all so surreal that it
felt like i wasnt really there or this wasnt all true. i used to keep telling
myself "u are looking at the Kaaba, you are in the most blessed places of
all" but a lot of the time i couldnt apprehend that it was all tru. it was
like a dream. Was this right? i mean i have fulfilled all the obligations of
hajj and like i said i had the time of my life but these couple of things have
really disturbed me.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 23:
23 Allah has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful message in
the form of a Book consistent with itself (yet) repeating (its teaching in
various aspects): the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble thereat;
then their skins and their hearts do soften to the celebration of Allah's praises.
Such is the guidance of Allah: He guides therewith whom He
pleases but such as Allah leaves to stray can have none to guide.
Dear and beloved Sister, whenever one who truly fears and
loves Allah is confronted by any of the manifest Signs of their Lord Most High,
be it His Divine Revelations, be it being in the presence of His Sacred House,
or be it one amongst His Divine Decrees or Decisions, etc…..it is nothing but
the extension of one’s true belief and faith in their Lord that their skins
tremble at the fear of their Lord, and their skins and their hearts soften to
the Celebration of their Lord’s Praises.
The condition of absolute awe and aduration that you have
described when in the precincts of the Sacred Mosque is not unlike the condition
of any true, believing, and repentant slave of the Lord Most High, Most
Supreme. May Allah Subhanah accept and
increase your awe and adoration of Him and His Manifest Signs, and bestow upon
you the steadfastness to maintain this awe of Him and His Signs till He Decrees
to call you back unto Him. Ameen.
Your Statement…….but these couple of things
have really disturbed me.
Beloved Sister in Islam, rather than letting the tears
that deserted you in public or your state of awe when in the Sacred House
disturb you…..praise and be grateful to your Lord Who has given you the eyes
that shed tears in solitude, and given you the skin and the heart that trembles
when you see one of His Manifest Signs!
It is those who shed no tears in the remembrance of their
Lord, and it is those who feel nothing in their skins and their hearts when
confronted with a manifest Sign of their Lord that should feel disturbed at
their sorry state!
Your condition which you have described is no more than a
confirmation and extension of your fear, faith, trust, and belief in your
Lord…..thus beloved sister, in total and absolute humility and fear be
absolutely grateful for the gifts your Lord has bestowed upon you, and beseech
and implore Him to increase this superb condition of your heart.
Your Question: I dont wear a hijab and since
coming back from hajj i have been driving myself crazy, literally mad because
half of me wants to wear the hijaab desperately, and i feel out of place if i
go somewhere without my head covered, even when everyone else is also a non
hijabi or a non muslim, it makes me feel filthy. but then at the same time
really superficial things stop me from wearing it. things like on my wedding
day i wont be able to take it off and stupid things like that, and i feel so
ashamed of myself. i dont know what to do brother and this is causing me a lot
of greif. please help me, tell me what i should do, i am constantly fighting
myself and i fear i will go mad soon enough.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 33 Surah Al Ahzaab verse 59:
O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters, and the women of the believers, that they should cast their outer
garments over their persons. It is expected that they will be recognized
and that they will not be molested. And
Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 24 Surah An-Noor verse 31:
And O
Prophet, enjoin the believing women to
restrain their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their
adornment except that which is displayed of itself (their face and hands), and to draw their veils over their bosoms and
not to display their adornment except before their
husbands, their fathers, the fathers of
their husbands, their sons and the sons of their husbands, their brothers, their brothers sons, their sisters’
sons, their female associates, and those
in their possession and male attendants incapable of sexual desire, and those boys who have not yet attained
knowledge of sexual matters. Also
forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments
should be displayed.
Dear and beloved Sister in
Islam, know with absolute conviction that it is Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the
Universe and everything that exists in it, Who has Commanded and made it
absolutely obligatory for every believing woman, who sincerely fears Allah and
the Last Day, that she should honor the ‘jilbaab’.
Your Statement:…… but then at the same
time really superficial things stop me from wearing it. things like on my
wedding day i wont be able to take it off and stupid things like that, and i
feel so ashamed of myself. i dont know what to do brother and this is causing
me a lot of greif. please help me, tell me what i should do, i am constantly
fighting myself and i fear i will go mad soon enough.
Dear and beloved Sister, whenever one wishes to obey the
Commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws) it is only expected that the
accursed enemy of man, the accursed and rejected Shaytaan, will come to them
and whisper all kinds of superficial fears into their hearts in his effort to
take them away from the guidance and commands of their Lord; for he (the
Shaytaan) has vowed to misguide man with his feeble, fair-seeming talk and take
as many amongst mankind as possible towards the transgression and disobedience
of Allah Subhanah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah
Aaraaf verses 26-30:
26 O ye children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover
your shame as well as to be an adornment to you, but the raiment of
righteousness that is the best. Such are
among the Signs of Allah that they may receive admonition!
27 O ye children of Adam! Let
not the Shaytaan seduce you in the same manner as he got your parents (Adam and
Hawwa) out of the garden stripping them of their raiment to expose their shame:
for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We
have made the Shayaateen friends (only) to those without faith.
28 When they do aught that is shameful they say: "We found our
fathers doing so"; and "Allah commanded us thus": Say:
"Nay!!! Allah never commands what is shameful: do ye say of Allah what ye
know not?"
29 Say: "My Lord hath commanded justice; and that ye set your
whole selves (to him) at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him
making your devotion sincere as in His Sight: such as He created you in the
beginning so shall ye return."
30 Some He hath guided: others have (by their choice) deserved the loss
of their way: in that they took the Shaytaan in preference to Allah for their
friends and protectors, and think that they receive guidance.
Dear and beloved sister in Islam, recognize and totally
reject the evil whisperings and the false fears the accursed and rejected
Shaytaan puts into your heart whenever you are about to fulfill your obligations
to your Lord…..keep your unconditional trust and faith in the guidance of your
Lord and His Messenger (saws) alone…..and strive to fulfill each and every one
of your duties and obligations in Islam…..regardless of whether any in creation
appreciates it or detests it!
As long as the deed you are about to do is Pleasing to
your Lord, don’t even give an iota of a care or thought if all of mankind were
to detest it…..if indeed your goal is to earn the Pleasure, Good Will, and
Forgiveness of your Lord Most High.
Your Question: is there hadith by the prohet
(saw) in which he encourages mixed race marriages between muslims? i was
watching a program the other day in which it was said that the prophet (saw)
encouraged mixed marriages because it was good for the unity of the ummah. but
then again i have heard that the prophet didnt encourage it because difference
of cultures can be the cause of a divorce.
Dear and beloved Sister, to the best of our knowledge we
have not come across any authentic and established narration of the Prophet
(saws) whereby he either encouraged or discouraged the believers to seek
inter-racial marriages.
Allah and His Messenger (saws) have given several
guidances when seeking a spouse in marriage, but almost all of them are to do
with one’s religion, character, and righteousness rather than one’s race, or
nationality, or color, or status, etc.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisaa verse 3:
3 If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans
marry women of your choice two or three or four; but if ye fear
that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one or (a
captive) that your right hands possess.
That will be more suitable to prevent you from doing injustice.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 5:
5 This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful
unto you and yours is lawful unto them.
(Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are
believers but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before
your time when ye give them their due dowers and desire chastity not lewdness
nor secret intrigues. If anyone rejects
faith fruitless is his work and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of
those who have lost (all spiritual good).
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.27 Narrated
by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "A woman is
married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family status, her beauty and
her religion. So you should marry the religious woman (otherwise) you will be a
loser."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3090 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, 'When someone
with whose religion and character you are satisfied asks your daughter in
marriage, accede to his request. If you do not do so, there will be temptation
on earth and extensive corruption.'
The Messenger of Allah (saws) himself married women from
amongst his tribe (the Quraysh) and also from other races like Hadrat Safiyyah
who was formally a Jew, or Hadrat Jawaheriyyah who was from the tribe of Banu
Mustaliq. What Islam guides when seeking
a spouse is that paramount importance should be given to one’s state of
religion and character rather than frivolous and petty issues like race, color,
etc.
Your Question: Some people say that people
like mother theresa, princess diana and other very noble persons wont go to
heaven because thet arent muslims. is that tru? will allah disregard all the
other good things they have done in their life because they didnt accept islam?
what about people like michael
In light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah,
there are two types of rights due from every individual in creation:
1. Rights that are due to one’s Creator
2. Rights that are due to The Creator’s creation
Although both rights are due and very important, and each
will have its due accounting on that Inevitable Day; the Creator has Decreed
that the Rights that are due to Him will always supercede the rights that are
due to His creation!
The Biggest Right due to the Creator is that He is
worshipped Alone, and none is associated as a partner with Him. The one who does worship or invoke others
with Allah Subhanah has compromised on giving the One All-Important Right to
the One and Only Creator, and is thus guilty of the heinous abomination of
‘shirk’ in the sight of the All Mighty.
The All Knowing, All Wise Lord has declared the
abomination of ‘shirk’ (associating others with Allah Subhanah) as the single
biggest sin in the annuls of sins; and has declared that the one who dies in
the state of ‘shirk’ will never ever be forgiven in His Court of Supreme
Justice!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 72:
Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with
Allah), Allah shall forbid for him
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 65-66:
If you commit ‘shirk’ all your works will be
rendered vain and you will be among the losers.
Therefore, you should worship
Allah Alone, and be among His grateful
servants.
Only after the Rights due to Allah Subhanah, although very
important in the Sight of the Creator but a distant second, comes the ‘huqooq
ul-ibaad’ or rights due to His slaves or His creation! Every person will be questioned regarding
his deeds and his due rights on the Day of Judgment; and the Lord Most High
Most Just Alone will Decide who amongst mankind deserves His Mercy and Grace
and who amongst them brought upon themselves His Wrath and His Anger.
Dear and Beloved Sister, it is not for us who have
absolutely no knowledge of what will become of ourselves and our loved ones in
the Hereafter to judge and decide what
will become of individuals like Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, etc. Allah Subhanah, our Lord and Creator is the
Supreme Master and Judge of the Day of Judgment, and He Alone Will Decide who
deserves His Mercy and who deserves His Wrath and Anger; but one thing is
absolutely sure….our Lord Creator is indeed the All-Just and He will not do
injustice upon any in His creation.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 160:
160 He that doeth good shall have ten times as much to his credit: he
that doeth evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil. No wrong shall be done unto (any of)
them.
The Lord Most High Most Just Alone will decide what weight
He assigns to each good and each evil done by mankind; and the Decree of the
Lord Most Merciful is that any that did good will receive a ten-fold reward for
their good deeds, and any evil they did will only be recompensed according to
that evil; and no individual on that Tumultuous Day will be wronged in the
least.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister