Surah al-Fateha

AlhamdulilLah! Mufti Ismail ibn Musa Menk outlined the significance of Surah al-Fateha, which is also known as As-Swolah. QS al-Mu’minoon 23: 1-2 states, “Successful indeed are the Believers, who are humble (khashi’un) in their prayers”.

Khashi’un comes from the root words Kha-Shiin-Ayn = Lowly, humble, submissive, still and low, to lower the eyes or voice, become lean, feign lowliness or humility in demeanour or voice or eyes, bow or bend down the head and body, be fearful.

There are many levels of khushu’, the bare minimum is to establish the 4 rukun in swolah. I’m reminded of what Ummi said about the manner in which a lover speaks to the Beloved i.e. not to rush the process of the direct communion subhan-Allah!

How can we rush it when Hadith Qudsi highlights Allah’s response to our supplication? – “Allah SWT have divided the prayer (Al-Fatehah) into two halves between Myself and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.

If the servant says, ‘All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence’, Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.'

If the servant says, ‘The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful’, Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me.'

If the servant says, ‘The Owner of the Day of Recompense’, Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me,' or `My servant has related all matters to Me.'

If the servant says, ‘You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help’, Allah says, `This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he sought.'

If the servant says, ‘Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom You have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray’, Allah says, `This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked for.' '' 

Wa-Allahu a’lam :) 

Hadith Riyadhus Solihin - 16 Jul 2010

"O ye who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire whereof the fuel is men and stones, over which are set angels strong, severe, who resist not Allah in that which He commandeth them, but do that which they are commanded." [Surah at-Tahrim: 6]

AlhamdulilLah. Ustaz Rahmat completed Chapter 38 on "Urging one's kith and kin to Obey Allah and refrain from evils". Truly, tarbiyah (discipline training) and proper upbringing of kids are essential in order for them to be good citizens of this world and the Hereafter.

Which is why Islam is beautiful - kids are encouraged to pray starting from the age of 7 and they have 3 years to 'play act' on it such that when they reach 10 years old, it would become second nature and a routine in their daily life. It is the amanah (responsibility) of the parents to consistently provide the fundamental religious knowledge and be good role models in practice. Help your kids help themselves in the long run.

Afternote: To bring one who is lost back to the straight path is to encourage him or her to start praying regularly. If one truly contemplates on the surah al-Fateha alone... it is enough to make one humble, grateful for all the ni'mat bestowed upon him or her and to seek help only from Allah SWT. InnalilLahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return).

Hadith Riyadhus Solihin - 28 May 2010

AlhamdulilLah, Ustaz Rahmat completed Chapter 37 - Spending favourite things for Allah's sake. Ustaz demonstrated examples via sirah of our beloved Prophet SAW and his generosity... how he (pbuh), together with his family and companions led a simple life full of barakah, subhan Allah. I'm reminded of the advice to always give what you like best to others and not vice versa. That is a sign of a truly sincere and generous heart.

Afternote: Ustaz invited the Ummah to contemplate on how fortunate our lives currently are and if we are truly grateful by way of elevating our ibadah to the Creator, Allah Azza wa Jalla and by way of our contribution to our Ummah.

Hadith Riyadhus Solihin - 14 May 2010

"Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will be no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk." [Surah at-Tawbah: 24]

AlhamdulilLah, tonight Ustaz Rahmat started muqaddimah on Chapter 37 on "Spending favourites things for Allah's sake".

A constant reminder to myself to be zuhud and to love another for the sake of Allah SWT. Reflecting on the sirah of our beloved Prophet SAW, his family and his companions, I'm encouraged to live a life void of wastage surrounded by a secular community that consciously or sub-consciously supports consumerism, a way of life (millah) synonymous with the Western Worldview.

Also, a test of one's true obedience towards, love for and submission to Allah Azza wa Jalla is to give away what one loves for oneself to others. May Allah SWT guide us to a life of barakah, ameen ya Rabb.

Hadith Riyadhus Solihin - 7 May 2010

AlhamdulilLah, Ustaz Rahmat has just completed Chapter 36 on Sustentation of the members of the family.

Truly, there is greater reward (baraqah) for a Muslim spending his wealth for things that are classified as fardh (obligatory), such as providing for the need of his wife and children including their food and clothes first before others. Doing so with the intention that it is an act of servitude for the love of Allah SWT, he will be rewarded accordingly; The negligence of which is such a great sin that if a person is free from all other sins, this one alone will be enough to make him accountable before Allah, subhan Allah.

Fiqh in Quran and Hadith

AlhamdulilLah, I benefited from yet another great lecture by Sheikh Riyadh ul Haq. This is part 1 of a series of 10 lectures:

[Source courtesy of Halal Da'wah Records]

Abdullah ibn Abbas, the scholar and sage of the entire Ummah and the interpreter of the Holy Quran, said that the Quran has 4 categories of tafseer (understanding):
1. a part of it can be understood by all even if they do not know hukum
2. a part of it can be understood by those fluent in Arabic language
    (note that Modern Standard Arabic differs alot from the Classical Arabic of the Quran)
3. a part of it can be understood by only the Aleem 'Ulama
4. a part of it can be understood by only Allah SWT

Truly, one cannot detach the Quran from the Hadith and is encouraged to seek the authoritative Aleem 'Ulama to help in correctly interpreting the revelation.

Hadith Riyadhus Solihin - 2 April 2010

AlhamdulilLah. Ustaz Rahmat has just completed Chapter 35 on a husband's rights concerning his wife. If only, women knew how beautiful Islam is and how much women are placed in a position of 'privilege' as the lady of the house, there would not be the need for the feminism movement. Truly, it comes back to adab and knowing where one stands in the scheme of things.

Afternote: Although I personally prefer to refer to the hardcopy of Riyadhus Shalihin, I also refer to the online version here. May we benefit from this sharing, insya Allah :)

Hadith - Bukhari Podcast

Subhan Allah, I stumbled upon this knowledge repository by Al Kawthar Academy. I can now use this podcast as a supplementary material, to aid in my understanding of the hadeeth covered by Ustaz Rahmat Jumaat, alhamdulilLah. May this sharing benefit us all, Ameen :)

Ulum al-Hadith

Following from my earlier post on Ulum al-Quran, the follow-up is the study of Science of Hadith i.e. to take the definitions and define the parameters of the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW. I've included one of the series of lectures by Sheikh Navaid Aziz, subhan Allah.

From Lughrawi or linguistic meaning, Sunnah is defined as Sirah (History) and Tareeq (Path or way that you follow). From conventional meaning, each respected specialists of Islamic Sciences have its own definition:

1. Muhadithin (Scholars of Hadith) defined Sunnah as that which is attributed to Prophet SAW i.e. statement, action or acceptance and which the Prophet SAW sifat Halaqiah (physical description) and sifat al-Huluqiha (character).

2. Fuqaha (Scholars of Fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence) defined Sunnah as a synonym for Mustahab (recommended). In Islam all our actions fall under 5 categories - Fard (obligatory), Mustahab, Mandhu and Sunnah (recommended), Mubah (neither disliked nor preferred), Makruh (disliked) and Haram (prohibited).

3. Scholars of Usul Fiqh (specialised in rules applied to the text of the Quran and Sunnah to derive Fiqh) defined Sunnah as anything that is established from Prophet SAW i.e. statement, action and acceptance that is suitable as proof other than Quran, Sunnah, Ijmah (consensus of Ulama) and Qiyas (analogy).

4. Scholars of Aqidah defined Sunnah as anything that the Syariah approves. The antonym is bid'ah, which is coming from Aqidah perspective in terms of ibadah only.

What I took away from this video is that it is essential to understand factual history of Islam in order to make an informed decision on discerning between true hadith and those which are false. And when quoting a Sunnah, be mindful which angle it was taken from based on the perspective of the 4 specialists of Islamic Sciences. Here is a link on An Introduction to the Sciences of Hadith.

Afternote: Imam Bukhari prayed 2 raka'at to Allah SWT, asking for divine guidance if he should compile a hadeeth. Allah SWT has blessed us with such pious predecessors who were able to preserve the hadeeth till it reaches us today, subhan Allah. Shouldn't we follow it and continue its preservation?