- Miscellaneous Topics
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Important facts about the noble Prophet’s birthday:
Dear brother, the birth anniversary of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is approaching, and there are facts that I should put in between your hands with respect to these lessons.
The first fact is that Muslims are accustomed to celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet’s birthday, although the celebration of this occasion is a controversial topic. Some scholars deprive the celebration of Prophet’s birthday, and say: “Each innovation in religion is a novelty, each novelty is a delusion, and each delusion is in the fire.” It means that it would take us to hell if we celebrate the Prophet’s birthday!
Other people in different countries, I praise Allah that it’s not our country, hold celebrations in which there is mixing between men and women all together, dancing, and novelties that no one knows but Allah, and no human being on the earth can accept. The truth is the compromise between the two parties.
The first fact, dear brother, is: I want to assure you that whatever we have praised the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and whatever we have celebrated his birthday, bringing many scholars to deliver speeches about his characteristics, bringing a first class chanting band, and offering sweets, when the praising of Prophet, peace be upon him, is enough for us, then, by Allah, we have done nothing at all, that he is greater than our praising, and he doesn’t need it ever. Who are we?
Allah has sworn by his precious age, so, who are we? (which means: what is the value of our praising beside that of Allah the Almighty?)
But I think that if the celebration with the prophet’s birthday is lawful, it should be an occasion in order to determine to implement his Sunnah. Be proud of this celebration because Allah,The Almighty says:
"Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him, to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah)"
Allah does not accept any claim of the love for the Prophet, peace be upon him, without an evidence:"Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him, to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah)"
Neglecting the Sunnah is the reason behind what infects Muslims:
Do you know what is the most dangerous thing?
The reason behind the tragedies, occupation, looting of the wealth, civil wars, killing, bloodshed, and subduing, that infect the Islamic world is the failure in following the prophet’s Sunnah. You may say, where is the evidence?
In our Deen (Islamic religion) there is no personal opinion, that no human being on earth dares to give his opinion about religion, who is he?
Sometimes, man (who is not a scholar) says according to his own point of view that something is illicit. It is as a poet said
They say we consider it impermissible
So, who are you to have your own opinion?
***
Who are you (are you knowledgeable to say that something is lawful or illicit?)? In our Deen matters, there is no personal opinion, man may have a personal opinion about food, clothes, furniture, houses, politics, and many countless things, but not about Deen matters:"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision."
The command is still a command, the obligation is still an obligation, the sunnah is still a sunnah, and the fundamental is still a fundamental; the servitude to Allah means that man has no opinion about what Allah has ordered, and the ayah is clear, " It is not for a believer," the expression “It is not” is one of the strongest types of negation expressions, " It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision."Dear brother:
"But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace ) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission."
Praising the prophet is not enough for us:
1. To get to know the biographies of the Prophets to deepen our faith:
First, dear brother, it is useless to be content with the praising of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. More precisely, if man has praised him, he would ascend for Allah; while if man has praised him, and in addition to that he has been implementing his Sunnah, he would receive both the good results, and he would win the glory from both its sides.
When man is only content with praising the prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, this act does not give any benefits. Consider the example of an illiterate son and his knowledgeable father, the son has spent his life praising his father, however, the son is still illiterate and the father is still a scholar.
In order not to fall in the wrong, when people think to make a celebration for the Prophet’s birthday, they choose the best chanter, they invite great scholars to deliver speeches, they bring sweets of a high quality, and they print invitation cards, then they think they have done a righteous deed; all these acts would be valueless if people have not implemented the Islamic method (Allah's Orders) in their houses, if their wives and daughters were not wearing the veil, and if they were depending in their trade on an unlawful goods; by Allah, if they have celebrated million times, they would not get a benefit ever. Hence, making claims does not work when you are dealing with Allah (Who knows hidden intentions), but only the uprightness, this is a point.
Therefore, Allah, The Almighty, says:
" And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) of the news of the Messengers is in order that We may make strong and firm your heart thereby. And in this (chapter of the Qur'an) has come to you the truth, as well as an admonition and a reminder for the believers."
Since the heart of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who is the top (the best) of creatures and the beloved of Allah, d became more strong and firm by listening to the biographies of the prophets who had come before him, then, with all the more reason, the belief increases in our hearts when we listen to the biography of the top of Prophets and Messengers.Hence, the first Quranic evidence is: ? And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) of the news of the Messengers is in order that We may make strong and firm your heart thereby.?
2. A call from Allah, The Almighty, to get to know the prophet:
The second evidence is:
"Or is it that they did not recognize their Messenger (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace)?"
So, this is a Quranic call from Allah to get to know the Messenger of Him.
3. That we meet in pairs and singly to discuss the message of the Prophet:
The third evidence is:
"Say (to them O Muhammad, peace be upon him): "I exhort you on one (thing) only: that you stand up for Allah's sake in pairs and singly, and reflect (within yourselves the life history of the Prophet, peace be upon him): there is no madness in your companion (Muhammad, peace be upon him ), he is only a warner to you in face of a severe torment."
What is necessary to perform the obligatory act is also an obligation:
Dear brother, I’ll ask you a question which its answer is only one word and is so easy; “why do you perform Salah (the prayer)?” You will say: “Because Salah is an obligatory act.”
Then my second question is: “Why do you perform Wudu (the ablution)?” You will say: “because Wudu is an obligation.” Although Wudu is not an act of worship, but a washing, it’s necessary to perfume Salah, which means that what is necessary to perform the obligatory act is also an obligation.
I’ll give you a definitive evidence; man is not able to say a word when Allah, The Almighty, says:
"And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)"
One of the necessities of this divine command is to know what the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had given you (had ordered you to do), and what he had prevented you from doing; can you implement this command without knowing these two matters?
So, what is necessary to carry out the fundamental act is also a fundamental, what is necessary to perform the obligatory act is also an obligation, and what is necessary to perform the Sunnah is also Sunnah. By the way, each command in the noble Quran requires the necessity unless there is a presumption that contradicts the command. How?
It’s a rhetorical matter, for example, when you say: There is a flower in our home, it means there is a plant, it means there is a rose; but when you say: there is a playing flower (child) in our house, the word ‘playing’ does not show that ‘flower’ means ‘rose’, but it means that we liken the child to a flower; because there’s a presumption prevents imagining the real meaning; the real meaning is that flower is a plant, so when you say: A flower is playing, definitely it means that it’s not a real flower, but a pretty boy who is like a flower.
Each command in the Quran requires obligation:
Dear brother, each command in the noble Quran requires the necessity; listen to the command in the noble Quran:
" Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve."
Pay attention to ? And whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.?, we notice an imperative form in the previous ayah, then what is the meaning of this order ? does Allah order a man to be disbeliever? Is it possible? Of course not.
The rhetoric scholars said: “It’s a threatening order; it is like when the son says to his mother: “I’ll break it.” She says: “Break it, and see how I would punish you.” It’s a threatening order.
When it’s a threatening order, the implementing is canceled. Thus, there are threatening orders, like when Allah the Almighty says::
"Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve."
“Do what you want”, this is a command, but it’s out of being a command in its essence, it’s a threatening command. Allah, The Greatest, has said to the believers:
"And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance,"
If man doesn’t want to eat (because he is fasting, for example), his fasting is valid, because this order is not an obligation order, but a permissibility order, where, you can eat what you want before dawn:
" And eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night),"
It’s a permissibility command.
Consider this other command:
"And marry those among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and the woman who has no husband),"
However, if someone doesn’t own a house, and he cannot give a dowry, then we understand the command in the previous ayah a desirability command. Hence, There are desirability command, threatening command, and interrogation command.
Dear brother, to summarize, each command in the noble Quran requires the necessity unless there is a presumption that contradicts the command.
Knowing the prophet’s tradition is an individual obligation:
Allah, The Almighty, says:
" And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it),"
‘Take it’, it’s a command that requires the necessity; and whatsoever he forbids you, you should abstain from it, and the forbidding requires abstention, exactly, would you implement prophet’s command if you did not know it ever? Impossible; so, one of the necessities of your obedience to Allah is to take what the prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had given you, and one of the necessities of taking what the prophet had given you is to know his sayings and doings. Thus, the knowing of the prophet’s sayings and the prophet’s doings is an individual obligation upon every Muslim.
One thing that I hope to be clear is a thing which has settled in people’s minds through consecutive centuries, that our Deen only encompasses fasting, Salah, hajj and Zakah. People should know that Islam encompasses five hundred thousand items, there are command about sales, buying, representation, surety, and inheritance; we find commands about the presentation of the goods and cheating prohibition. If you have followed the commands of Allah which are mentioned in Quran and Sunnah about various topics, you would find them more than five hundred thousand items, where, the religion is a detailed approach.
The prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man who was slaughtering a sheep before other sheep, so he became angry and said to him: “Would you keep it away from the other sheep? Do you want to let it die twice?” This is a prohibition. Also the prophet used to wait the animal until it became quiet and settled, then he slaughtered it. This is a second command.
For example, you went to a fish shop to buy a fish, the owner said to you: “Do you want me to remove the intestines of fish for you?” How could he do that and the fish is still alive? It’s impossible to do that before the fish have become quiet and died completely.
In addition to the previous command, there are hundreds thousands of commands regarding sales, buying, and rent. When you are straight and familiar with the detailed command of Allah, you will be happy and safe.
What is necessary to carry out the command is also a command:
So, on the occasion of Prophet’s birth, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the knowing of the sayings and doings of the Messenger of Allah is an individual obligation upon every Muslim, because Allah has commanded us to take what has been given to us, and to keep away of what has been prohibited, what is necessary to implement the command is also a command, and what is necessary to abstain from the prohibition is a prohibition too.
The prophet’s birth must be an occasion to acquaint with the sayings of this great man; at least, you should have ‘hadith book’ in your home, ‘Riyadh Al-Saliheen’ as an example, in which all Ahadith are authentic; at least, you should have an Islamic software in your computer.
Dear Brother, by Allah, the science has developed, sometimes, when I travel, I take a laptop with me, on which hard there is an Islamic software which includes fifteen thousand books; these books contain two hundred and eighty interpretation books, all the books of jurisprudence in all juristic schools of thought, the origins of jurisprudence, the history of jurisprudence, the biographies, hadith, Quran, and Quranic sciences, each item includes two hundred and eighty, four hundred, or four hundred and eighty books; when I click any of these books, it shows eighteen chapters, in a beautiful pointed character.
The science has developed. If you have hadith software installed on your computer, then when you type a word that existing in it, the program will define the book in which the word has been mentioned, and the type of hadith; whether it is authentic, doubtful, or good, and will define who has reported it; it’s an amazing thing, the science has reached a degree which is called: The information revolution.
Once, I was on my way to attend a scientific conference, the president of Al-Azhar university, a very important figure, was sitting near me, I was showing him my computer, while he did not have any idea about using computers, he was absolutely astonished at that Islamic software!. A software which includes fifteen thousand books, and when you open each book you find pointed characters, you are able to do a research within the program, the chapters, the sections, and the index. Can you believe that man can travel with fifteen thousand books?” You need four wall libraries, which will become completely full, to accommodate all these books.
Sometimes, a person goes out in a picnic, and takes his computer with him, in fact, he is going with fifteen thousand books which their height reach the ceiling. If you have used the internet to ask a question, you would find twenty-six thousand answers, and sometimes, two hundred and sixty thousand answers would be the result of your question; it is not reasonable, and the information revolution is amazing.
Imagine if you were able to awaken a dead man from his grave, and say to him: “This device contains fifteen thousand books,” that man would say: “You are crazy!” The person who had lived with books does not believe this, that a volume of forty books needs a shelf in the largest cupboard to be placed.
In past conferences, they used to give the attendees all the lectures, written in Arabic, English, and French;, which bothered me a lot. Now, whenever you attend a conference, they give you a “CD” that contains three hundred and eighty lectures, and every lecture is about four hundred pages, all of them are placed in a CD, which you are able to put in your pocket, it’s an amazing thing.
Once, I was in a library in Saudi Arabia, no books were there, but a comprehensive library; you can take fifteen thousand books placed on one CD from the sanctuary of Mecca for free. Who can bring fifteen thousand books to his home for free?
I have a friend who owns a library, he said to me: “The price of the British Encyclopedia is seventy-five thousand Syrian pounds.” I told him: “Excellent, now you go ‘Al-Bahsah’ (a place for selling CDs) and buy the CD of British Encyclopedia for only fifty-five pounds!" Also you'll find great works, with the price of hundreds thousands, but you are able to buy them for fifty-five pounds. So, try to get the benefits of the amazing scientific development, where everyone is able to have his own library.
Knowledge is the foundation of our lives:
Knowledge is the foundation of our lives, and the religious knowledge is enjoyable, useful, and gives happiness. Actuallt, there is an enjoyable knowledge, but it’s not useful, and there is an enjoyable and useful knowledge at the same time, for example, you're a doctor and have many patients, each patient pays a thousand pounds.
While the useful knowledge, which gives you happiness is the knowledge of Allah, The Almighty, and one of man’s mistakes is that he does not benefit from the experiences of time. To make the idea more obvious, when I traveled to Canada, as an example, I expected that no one knows me, but I was surprised that they know me as if I was in Damascus, people has recognized me from the internet, everyday a million people enter the web site from Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Japan, Nigeria, and Australia. Thus, nowadays the whole world is a desktop. In the past, the world was five continents, then it has become one continent, then it has become one country, then one city, then one village, then one house, then one room, and finally a desktop; anything happens around the earth, you are able to see it a minute later, you see it directly.
The world now has become as a desktop, news completely arrive wherever you are; if you go to Paris, for example, you will watch Arabic news channel, as if you were in Damascus, even if you go to any city in the world, you will find everything you want in Arabic.
I want to say that our time is the time of information revolution and communications, a letter was taking three months from Al-Medina, presumably, to Azerbaijan, the message carrier used to exert great effort in order to deliver it. Now you write an e-mail which needs only a second to be in America. By your mobile phone, you are able to talk to your son in America and to shorten seventeen hours of flight to one second. There is a stunning development nowadays. You ride a plane from Damascus to Sydney, fly over Jordan and Saudi Arabia, fly over the Arabian Gulf, then you fly over Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, to Singapore until you arrive Sydney; hence, the most far place in the world needs seventeen hours of flying, and you can see the map to be sure. So, try to take the benefits of the information revolution.
Dear brother, the knowledge is available, you find libraries anywhere, you find CDs, you find satellite channels, magazines, newspapers, and Islamic centers, but the main thing is the implementation, that when you implement the Commands of Allah, your value will increase in His Sights.
Whoever implements the Sunnah is safe from the torment of Allah:
Dear brother, I mean that the anniversary of Prophet’s birth, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, should be an occasion for the determination to follow the approach of him, but the most precise thing is the saying of Allah, The Greatest:"And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace ) are amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) Forgiveness."
As long as the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is implemented among us, we are safe from Allah’s torment; but it’s a general talk, what would you do if people did not implement it? you should implement it alone then you will get the benefits of this Deen alone. The greatness of this Deen is that it’s like air, every human being can inhales without a bill. Can you visit a doctor without having money in your pocket? You can’t, but you should pay to the secretary before you enter; the same thing would happen if you have visited a lawyer, or a shop; can you enter any place on earth without money? Only entering the mosques is for free. On the other hand, have you ever paid anything when entering a mosque? Have you ever received receipts? Of course not, because it’s the house of Allah, in which the knowledge is available for all.
Glory be to Allah! out of believing in the hereafter (and seeking the reward from Allah), a man may wish to be employed as an orator for free. So, being a Daiyah (caller) to Allah is the greatest honor, the greatest position, and the greatest tender, a free competition happens in the matters of religion. To illustrate how man should only seek the reward from Allah, consider the following example: A king asked a professor of mathematics to give his son a number of lessons, this professor did not think leisurely, so, he delivered the lessons, but they did not give him any money, since he had bothered, they said: “How much money do you want, sir?” He said: “ two thousand pounds for each lesson.” After a minute they brought him twenty thousand pounds; but he did not know what the king would have given him if he had not asked for his fee, he had prepared a house and a car for the professor.
Likewise, when man makes a righteous deed, then he asks for any (worldly) reward, I feel that he does not know anything at all (about Allah's reward).
Once, one of my brother in faith told me that his car had stopped somewhere, that the wheel was broken down, and there was no crane in the car, and it stopped before a severe height. He said to me: “I have stayed there for two hours, but no one stopped to help me, I need only a crane to use it for five minutes.” He said: “Then a car stopped, and I asked the driver if he had a crane, so he gave me it. when I finished repairing of wheel, he asked me to give him five pounds!, so I said to him: By Allah, if you had asked for one hundred pounds I would have given them to you, but if only you hadn't asked for the five pounds ! you are a magnanimous man!.”
The daa’iyah only aims for the sake of Allah:
Dear brother, when you really get to know Allah, you find that you do not enjoy a wise thinking if you ask for a (worldly) reward. Once, a person who is away from Deen invited me to deliver a speech at a wedding party, he asked me how much money I want for doing that, I said: “I seek refuge in Allah, I do not take any money for that deed throughout my life.”
Once, a non-muslim person said to me: “The owner of this contract is rich.” I said: “Why?” He said: “Look, he has brought eighteen scholars, and each one may take fifty thousand pounds.” I said to him: “All this is for free, we do not take money for that.” He does not know what is the meaning of daa’iyah, the who may sacrifice his life for the sake of calling to Allah, and who does not want any worldly reward, but the Pleasure of Allah, The Almighty:
" And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."
Glory be to Allah, daa’iyahs worship Allah in the mosques, and Allah accomplishes their needs. There is hadith I have read since forty years, which has deep effect on my heart:
((If one was busy in My remembrance more than to be busy in asking Me, I would grant him more than what I grant for those who ask Me.))
I want to say this word to you, dear brother, make righteous deeds, and then, by Allah, the worldly life will come to you compelled:
((If one was busy in My remembrance more than to be busy in asking Me, I would grant him more than what I grant for those who ask Me.))
Righteous deed glitters by feeding people, being generous or helpful:
Dear brother, in one way or another, make a trade with Allah, if man has invested his money in a company, then he has gained eighteen percent as profits, he would be very happy, so how about if Allah has given you one million percent as a profit? The one who puts a bit in the mouth of his wife will find the reward for that at the day of resurrection as the size of ‘Uhud mountain’, also when you look after your brother; as if one of your brother in faith has come from Aleppo, or from Homs, he would feel affinity if you have invited him to dinner; is it reasonable to let him go to the restaurant or to the hotel, and then you say: Welcome to Damascus? It is not necessary to spend a lot of money, but it’s enough to offer what is available in your home; that the righteous deed glitters (reaches its top) by feeding people, by being generous with someone, and by helping him:
"And the righteous deeds exalt it "
We have glittered at the anniversary of Prophet’s birth by implementing the Sunnah of Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for example:
((Discipline your children to do three habits, to love your Prophet, peace be upon him, to love his family, and reciting Quran)).
If a person has a book that talks about the companions of the Prophet PBUH that he sits with his family after dinner, reads about two pages for one of the noble companions, by this way, you change the condition to become sacred, full with love, and full with glorification; it’s something beautiful.
Once, I entered a house to check it for a brother who wants to buy, I saw a turned on TV and a child was lying on the ground inappropriately, he was watching the series; of course, I entered the room with child’s father, but he did not stand and kept watching the series!
Try to spread piety in your home, to make it full with angles, to read the biography about one of the companions, and to reauthor the Quran. A house in which Quran is reauthord is a blessed one.
We should determine to implement the sunnah:
I want to reach a fact; At the anniversary of Prophet’s birth, we should determine to implement the Prophetic Sunnah in order to get the benefits of this occasion, and everything in the contrary of that is useless; sometimes, those who has prohibited the celebration of the anniversary of Prophet’s birth are right, as often what they have seen in some countries of heresies, sins, guilt, mixing between men and women, and mixing dance ; but, by the Grace of Allah, we do not suffer this phenomenon.
Once, a person came to live in the building where I live, he was one of the Gulf States citizens, he attended all religious sessions, his face was brilliant, and I loved him; I visited him at home once, and the same day he came to visit me, I was invited to a wedding party, so I asked him to go with me, but he refused and said: “I seek refuge in Allah, all these are innovations.” I forced him to go and took him unwillingly. The marriage contract was in a lighted hall, there was Quran reciting, a chant that talks about the Beautiful Names of Allah, I delivered a word, then a cup of ice cream was offered; so, my neighbor was very glad, I said to him: “Our wedding parties are like this, offering sweets, delivering an Islamic speech, and disciplined chants; there is no tambourine, no dancing, and no mixing between men and women.”
The celebration of the anniversary of prophet’s birth must be an occasion to determine to follow the approach of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to look for his sayings and doings, and to try to imitate him in our homes.
What did the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, use to do whenever he entered his home and found that the food was not ready yet? He PBUH used to say to his household:
((Do you have anything to eat? They said: “No” He said: “So, I am fasting.”))
Likewise, if you enter your house and find that food is not ready yet, you do not have to fast, but wait for half an hour, you need to be patient
In conclusion, whenever you read the Sunnah of the prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, you should be disciplined by his ethics, which was the noble Quran.
Once, it was said to him: “What a great morals you have!” He said: “My Lord disciplined me and He perfected my conduct. "
