Making Fun of Parts of the Sunnah
Making fun of the beard or clothes whose length etc. is in accordance with the Sunnah or other aspects of the Sunnah makes a person a kaafir, if he knows that this was proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because he is thereby making fun of the words and actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). In this case he is opposing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and making fun of his Sunnah, and the one who makes fun of the Sunnah and knowingly mocks things that are proven to be part of the Sunnah is not a Muslim.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say: ‘Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’
Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed”
[al-Tawbah 9:65-66]
If a person is called to observe one of the rulings of Islam and says that piety is in the heart but he does not follow the shar’i ruling, he is an evil liar. For faith includes both words and deeds, it is not simply the matter of what is in the heart. This view is the same as that of the evil innovators of the Murji’ah who restricted faith to the heart and said that it had nothing to do with outward actions. Moreover, if the heart is sound and filled with faith, that will be manifested in a person’s actions. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “In the body there is a piece of flesh which, if it is sound, the entire body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the entire body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 52; Muslim, 1599). And he also said: “Allaah does not look at the outward appearance or wealth of any one of you; rather he looks at your hearts and deeds.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2564)
Whatever the case, these words of those who stubbornly refuse to follow the truth and carry out the commands of Islam is a sign of their lack of faith by means of which they want to stop those who seek to call them to Islam and advise them.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Read MorePraying In Mosques That Have Graves
Prayers should not be offered in mosques in which there are graves. The graves should be dug up and the remains transferred to the public graveyards, with each set of remains placed in an individual grave as with all other graves. It is not permissible for graves to be left in mosques, whether that is the grave of a wali (“saint”) or of anyone else, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade that and warned against that, and he cursed the Jews and Christians for doing that. It was narrated that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said, “He was warning against what they had done.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1330, Muslim, 529.
And when Umm Salamah and Umm Habeebah told him about a church in which there were images, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When a righteous man died among them, they would build a place of worship over his grave and put those images in it. They are the most evil of mankind before Allaah.” (Saheeh, agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 427; Muslim, 528)
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Those who came before you took the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship – I forbid you to do that.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, 532, from Jundab ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali). So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade taking graves as places of worship and he cursed those who do that, stating that they are the most evil of mankind. So we must beware of that.
It is known that everyone who prays at a grave is taking it as a place of worship, and whoever builds a mosque over a grave has taken it as a place of worship. So we must keep graves far away from the mosques and not put graves inside mosques, in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and so as to avoid the curse issued by our Lord against those who build places of worship over graves, because when a person prays in a mosque in which there is a grave, the Shaytaan may tempt him to call upon the deceased or to seek his help, or to pray to him or prostrate to him, thus committing major shirk; and because this is the action of the Jews and Christians and we are obliged to differ from them and to keep away from their ways and their evil actions. But if the graves are ancient and a mosque was built over them, then it should be knocked down, because this is an innovated thing, as was stated by the scholars, and so as to avoid the means that may lead to shirk. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al Shaykh Ibn Baaz 10/246.
Read MoreShirk – Its Types and Definitions
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“Shirk is of two types, major shirk which puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, and lesser shirk.”
The first type, major shirk, is “Every type of shirk which the Lawgiver described as such and which puts a person beyond the pale of his religion” – such as devoting any kind of act of worship which should be for Allaah to someone other than Allaah, such as praying to anyone other than Allaah, fasting for anyone other than Allaah or offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Allaah. It is also a form of major shirk to offer supplication (du’aa’) to anyone other than Allaah, such as calling upon the occupant of a grave or calling upon one who is absent to help one in some way in which no one is able to help except Allaah.
The second type is minor shirk, which means every kind of speech or action that Islam describes as shirk, but it does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam – such as swearing an oath by something other than Allaah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that whoever swears an oath by something other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.”
The one who swears an oath by something other than Allaah but does not believe that anyone other than Allaah has the same greatness as Allah, is a mushrik who is guilty of lesser shirk, regardless of whether the one by whom he swore is venerated by people or not. It is not permissible to swear by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or by the president, or by the Ka’bah, or by Jibreel, because this is shirk, but it is minor shirk which does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.
Another type of minor shirk is showing off, which means that a person does something so that people will see it, not for the sake of Allaah.
The ways in which showing off may cancel out acts of worship are either of the following:
The first is when it is applies to an act of worship from the outset, i.e., the person is not doing that action for any reason other than showing off. In this case, the action is invalid and is rejected, because of the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which was attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which says that Allaah said, “I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.”
(Narrated by Muslim, Kitaab al-Zuhd, no. 2985)
The second is when the showing off happens later on during the act of worship, i.e., the action is originally for Allaah, then showing off creeps into it. This may be one of two cases:
The first is when the person resists it – this does not harm him.
For example, a man has prayed a rak’ah, then some people come along during his second rak’ah and it occurs to him to make the rukoo’ or sujood longer, or makes himself weep, and so on. If he resists that, it does not harm him, because he is striving against this idea. But if he goes along with that, then every action which stemmed from showing off is invalid, such as if he made his standing or prostration long, or he made himself weep – all of those actions will be cancelled out. But does this invalidation extend to the entire act of worship or not?
We say that either of the following must apply:
Either the end of his act of worship was connected to the beginning (with no pause); so if the end of it is invalidated then all of it is invalidated.
This is the case with the prayer – the last part of it cannot be invalidated without the first part also being invalidated, so the whole prayer is invalid.
Or if the beginning of the action is separate from the end of it, then the first part is valid but the latter part is not. Whatever came before the showing off is valid, and what came after it is not valid.
An example of that is a man who has a hundred riyals, and gives fifty of them in charity for the sake of Allaah with a sound intention, then he gives fifty in charity for the purpose of showing off. The first fifty are accepted, and the second fifty are not accepted, because the latter is separate from the former.”
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and al-Qawl al-Mufeed Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed, vol. 1, p. 114, 1st edition
Read MoreThere Are No Such Things as Omens
Sheikh Muhammad b. `Abd Allah al-Qannâs
Abû Hurayrah relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There are no such things as omens. A favorable auspice is the best there is.”
They asked: “So what is a favorable auspice?”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “A good word that one of you hears.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5754) and Sahîh Muslim (2223)]
Read MoreIs It Permissible to Say 'Yaa Muhammad'?
Firstly:
It was not permissible to address the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by saying “Ya Muhammad” during his lifetime, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad sal-Allahu ‘alayhi was-Sallam) among you as your calling one of another” [al-Noor 24:63].
Al-Dahhaak said, narrating from Ibn ‘Abbaas: They used to say Ya Muhammad, Ya Aba’l-Qaasim, but Allaah told them not to do that, out of respect to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So they said Ya Rasool Allaah (O Messenger of Allaah), Ya Nabi Allaah (O Prophet of Allaah). Mujaahid and Sa’eed ibn Jubayr said something similar.
Qataadah said: Allaah enjoined that His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) should be treated with respect and venerated and honoured as a leader. Muqaatil ibn Hayyaan said: Do not address him by name when you call him and say Ya Muhammad, and do not say Ya Ibn ‘Abd-Allaah. Rather address him with honour and say Ya Nabi Allaah or Ya Rasool Allaah.
Maalik said, narrating from Zayd ibn Aslam: Allaah enjoined them to address him with honour.
So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) should not be addressed by name only, rather it should be said: Ya Rasool Allaah, Ya Nabi Allaah.
Secondly:
It is not permissible to call on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in du’aa’ after his death, because du’aa’ is an act of worship that can only be directed to Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And the mosques are for Allaah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with Allaah” [al-Jinn 72:13].
“And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allaah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them?”[al-Ahqaaf 46:5]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him): “If you ask, then ask of Allaah, and if you seek help then seek help from Allaah.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2516) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi.
Du’aa’ is asking for benefit and asking for harm to be warded off, and it is not only done by saying Yaa (O…), rather it has become customary among people to use this call in du’aa’, especially when hardship comes and calamity strikes, so they say Ya Allaah, meaning O Allaah, save us, give us help, support us.
This is the action of monotheists (believers in Tawheed) who do not call upon anyone other than Allaah. As for those who worship graves and tombs, they call upon their “saints” and revered ones, saying Ya Badawi, Ya Rifaa’i, Ya Jilaani, and what they mean is, O Badawi, help us, come to our aid, save us.
And some of them say: Ya Rasool-Allaah, Ya Muhammad, in this manner also. This is calling upon him, seeking his help and turning to him.
It is well known that this is one of the worst ways of going against the message that was brought by Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the other Messengers, and that was revealed in the Books, namely the call to Tawheed and worshipping Allaah alone, and forsaking the worship of all others.
It is not acceptable in the religion of Islam, which Allaah has chosen as the religion for His slaves, to call upon anyone except Allaah, not any Prophet who was sent or any angel who is close to Him. Rather we are to call upon Him alone. Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Little is that you remember!” [al-Naml 27:62]
Thus it is known that if a person says Ya Muhammad or Ya Rasool Allaah, not intending thereby to call upon him and seek his help, then there is nothing wrong with it, such as if he wants to call him to mind and remember him, such as if he reads a hadeeth and says Sall-Allaah ‘alayka ya Rasool-Allaah (May Allaah send blessings upon you, O Messenger of Allaah) or How great and beautiful are your words, O Messenger of Allaah. But saying Ya Muhammad is contrary to good manners, as explained above.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it shirk if someone says in any place on earth, Ya Muhammad Ya Rasool-Allaah, calling him?
He replied:
Allaah has stated in His Holy Book and on the lips of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that worship is the right of Allaah alone and no one else has any share of it, and that du’aa’ is a kind of worship, so if a person says in any place on earth, Ya Rasool-Allaah, Ya Nabi Allaah or Ya Muhammad, help me, or save me, or support me, or heal me, or support your ummah, or heal the sick Muslims, and guide their misguided ones and so on, then he is making him a partner with Allaah in worship. The same applies to those who do the same thing with regard to other Prophets, angels, awliya’ (saints), jinn, idols or any other created beings, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And I (Allaah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56].
“O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allaah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)” [al-Baqarah 2:21].
-Quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (2/453).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Some people at times of hardship say Ya Muhammad or Ya ‘Ali or Ya Jilaani. What is the ruling on that?
He replied:
If the intention is to call upon them and seek their help, then the person is a mushrik in the sense of major shirk that puts one beyond the pale of Islam, and he must repent to Allaah and call upon Allaah alone, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any ilaah (god) with Allaah? Little is that you remember!” [al-Naml 27:62]
As well as being a mushrik, he is also fooling himself. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And who turns away from the religion of Ibraaheem (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself?” [al-Baqarah 2:130]
“And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allaah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them?”
[al-Ahqaaf 46:5]
-Quote from Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (2/133).
And Allaah knows best.
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