Blog Archives
Encouragement to Make Up for Missed Fasts (Hadith No. 1699)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 31, Number 204:
Narrated Mutarrif from ‘Imran Ibn Husain (radiallaahu `anhu):
That the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked him (Imran) or asked a man and Imran was listening, “O Abu so-and-so! Have you fasted the last days of this month?” (The narrator thought that he said, “the month of Ramadan”). The man replied, “No, O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)!” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to him, “When you finish your fasting (of Ramadan) fast two days (in Shawwal).” Through another series of narrators ‘Imran said, “The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, ‘(Have you fasted) the last days of Sha’ban?”
I had to wait long to understand this Hadith. Confusing really, but not anymore Alhamdulillah.
In this Hadith, Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) is asking the man why he didn’t keep the two fasts in the last days of Sha`baan, and telling him to make up for them once Ramadaan is over. Going through the issue of fasting in Sha`baan, we learnt that fasting in its second half is not allowed unless a person has a habit of fasting throughout the year, or he started fasting in the first half of Sha`baan to continue in the second half as well, or he’s making up missed fasts (fard).
So in the commentary of this Hadith, 3 scenarios have been given of which 2 are more stronger and more correct inshaAllah, and I’ll mention them here:
- The man had vowed to fast the last two days of Sha`baan for whatever reason. (A vow to fast any day will make that fast obligatory, except Eid.)
So Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked him to make up for them. - The man had a habit of fasting, so he could have continued in the last half of Sha`baan. He was asked to make up for those two days in order to encourage him to keep his practice.
Alhamdulillah for clarity. Feels so good. <3
Fasting on `Ashura (Hadith No. 1362)
Bismillah.
Volume 2, Book 26, Number 662:
Narrated ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):
The people used to fast on ‘Ashura (the tenth day of the month of Muharram) before the fasting of Ramadan was made obligatory. And on that day the Ka’ba used to be covered with a cover. When Allah made the fasting of the month of Ramadan compulsory, Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever wishes to fast (on the day of ‘Ashura’) may do so; and whoever wishes to leave it can do so.”
It is mustahab to fast on `Ashura and to fast on the 9th along with it as well.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted on ‘Ashura’ and commanded the Muslims to fast as well, they said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is a day that is venerated by the Jews and Christians.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘If I live to see the next year, in sha Allah, we will fast on the ninth day too.’ But it so happened that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed away before the next year came.” [Reported by Muslim, 1916]
Ash-Shafi’i and his companions, Ahmad, Ishaq and others said: “It is mustahabb to fast on both the ninth and tenth days, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted on the tenth, and intended to fast on the ninth.”
The Bare Minimum (Ahadith 1177 – 1182)
Bismillah.
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 478:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
Thy Prophet sent Muadh to Yemen and said, “Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah’s Apostle, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours), and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.”
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 479:
Narrated Abu Aiyub:
A man said to the Prophet “Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise.” The people said, “What is the matter with him? What is the matter with him?” The Prophet said, “He has something to ask. (What he needs greatly) The Prophet said: (In order to enter Paradise) you should worship Allah and do not ascribe any partners to Him, offer prayer perfectly, pay the Zakat and keep good relations with your Kith and kin.” (See Hadith No. 12, Vol 8).
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 480:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, “Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it.” The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “Worship Allah, and worship none along with Him, offer the (five) prescribed compulsory prayers perfectly, pay the compulsory Zakat, and fast the month of Ramadan.” The Bedouin said, “By Him, in Whose Hands my life is, I will not do more than this.” When he (the Bedouin) left, the Prophet said, “Whoever likes to see a man of Paradise, then he may look at this man.”
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 481:
Narrated Abu Zur’a:
from the Prophet the same as above.
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 482:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
A delegation of the tribe of ‘Abdul Qais came to the Prophet and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! We are from the tribe of Rabi’a, and the infidels of the tribe of Mudar stands between us and you; so we cannot come to you except during the Sacred Months. Please order us to do something (religious deeds) which we may carry out and also invite to it our people whom we have left behind.” The Prophet said, “I order you to do four things and forbid you four others: (I order you) to have faith in Allah, and confess that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, (and the Prophet gestured with his hand like this (i.e. one knot) and to offer prayers perfectly and to pay the Zakat, and to pay one-fifth of the booty in Allah’s Cause. And I forbid you to use Dubba’, Hantam, Naqir and Muzaffat (all these are the names of utensils used for preparing alcoholic drinks).”
Already discussed here.
Volume 2, Book 23, Number 483:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
When Allah’s Apostle died and Abu Bakr became the caliph some Arabs renegade (reverted to disbelief) (Abu Bakr decided to declare war against them), ‘Umar, said to Abu Bakr, “How can you fight with these people although Allah’s Apostle said, ‘I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight the people till they say: “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever said it then he will save his life and property from me except on trespassing the law (rights and conditions for which he will be punished justly), and his accounts will be with Allah.’ ” Abu Bakr said, “By Allah! I will fight those who differentiate between the prayer and the Zakat as Zakat is the compulsory right to be taken from the property (according to Allah’s orders) By Allah! If they refuse to pay me even a she-kid which they used to pay at the time of Allah’s Apostle . I would fight with them for withholding it” Then ‘Umar said, “By Allah, it was nothing, but Allah opened Abu Bakr’s chest towards the decision (to fight) and I came to know that his decision was right.”
Here’s what I think.. The five pillars of Islam [testimony of faith, prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage] are the most essential parts of the Deen. YET, a person fulfilling all these duties is doing only the bare minimum, only that which will be sufficient to help him enter Paradise (if Allah wills). So there’s a lot more to our Deen. Keep exploring it!
Kitaab-ul-Janaa’iz [Book of Funerals] ends here. Alhamdulillah.
Dawood’s Prayer and Fast (Hadith No. 930)
Assalamu`alaykum,
Bismillah.
Volume 2, Book 21, Number 231:
Narrated Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As:
Allah’s Apostle told me, “The most beloved prayer to Allah is that of David and the most beloved fasts to Allah are those of David. He used to sleep for half of the night and then pray for one third of the night and again sleep for its sixth part and used to fast on alternate days.”
You know why this sort of fast and prayer is most beloved to Allah? Because it’s the hardest way to go about it.
True story.
Wassalam.
Controlling Desires (Hadith No. 299)
Salam,
Bismillah.
Today’s Hadith is very much relevant to Kitaab-ul-Haydh, but my discussion will be a bit off-topic..
Narrated ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad:
(on the authority of his father) ‘Aisha said: “Whenever Allah’s Apostle wanted to fondle anyone of us during her periods (menses), he used to order her to put on an Izar and start fondling her.” ‘Aisha added, “None of you could control his sexual desires as the Prophet could.”
Prophet (SAW) had nine wives at once. He didn’t have to control his desires. Yet, we find that his own wives testify to his amazing hold on himself. It’s a Sunnah that we need to follow. We need to control all sorts of desires, from food to sex. Even when we’re leading a Halal lifestyle, we can’t have everything we want, as much as we want and whenever we want. It’s a great quality to possess: control.
Don’t like what you read? Tell me, what’s the main purpose of the month of Ramadaan? What does being deprived of food, drink and sex teach you? Even though the food you eat is Halal, the stuff you drink is very much Halal as well, and you fulfill your desire with your very own spouse: totally Halal! Why are you then asked to restrain yourself from all these Halal things for a specific time period everyday for a month each year? Simple: to teach you self-control. That 30-day training is enough to last you the whole year. YES! You have to practice it outside Ramadaan as well. :)
As to the question ‘How?‘, it’s very simple.
- Start denying yourself your favorite food, hobby, pastime etc. You don’t have to do it all the time and every time. It could be a punishment you give yourself for not waking up for Fajr on time, for example. Personal experience: I deny myself breakfast (which I can’t live without) if I wake up late for Fajr. So I don’t have that habit Alhamdulillah.
- Voluntary Salah (prayer) and Sawm (fast). A very good way to achieve self-restraint! You’re so caught up in ‘Ibadah (worship), that you don’t really get time to think about other stuff. Or better, you don’t feel right when you think about other stuff. ;)
- Make du’a (invocation). Indeed a very useful tool for a believer. When nothing else works, du’a shows it’s miracles.
- Be firm with yourself. No excuses, no ‘going easy’. Tit for tat. And that’s it!
iLookiListen 