Al-Warathat Al-Ghurabāʾ الورثة الغرباء

Perhaps A Person May Do A Good Deed And It Will Enter Him Into The Fire Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [رحمه الله] said: ❝A group from the Salaf, from them Sa'eed Bin Jubayr said: verily a servant does a good deed and due to it enters the Fire and verily a servant does an evil deed and due to it enters Paradise. He does a good deed and is amazed by it and he boasts about it up until it enters him into the Fire. And he does an evil deed and his fear of it does not cease, neither does his repentance upuntil it enters him into paradise.❞ [Al-Fatāwā, (10/294)]

🤝 How To Greet A Gathering When One Enters And The Issue Of Shaking Hands With Them Question: The brother is asking about the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) regarding whether one should shake hands with everyone upon entering a gathering (majlis). Answer: Nothing has been authentically proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) concerning this specific practice. What is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) is the greeting of peace (as-salām), and this greeting is directed to everyone collectively. Some people shake hands with every single person, repeating to each one, "As-salāmu ʿalaykum, as-salāmu ʿalaykum, as-salāmu ʿalaykum," thus greeting everyone individually alongside a handshake. Initiating a separate verbal greeting for each individual after already greeting the entire gathering collectively has no basis [in the Sunnah]. This practice has no basis, and such behavior should be disapproved. As for shaking hands, it is considered a matter of custom (ʿādāt) rather than ritual worship (ʿibādāt), as its purpose is to unite hearts, remove grudges, dispel animosities, and because it fosters mutual affection. Therefore, greeting everyone once collectively is sufficient. When shaking hands, one may say, "How are you?", inquire about their well-being, supplicate for them, and the like. Thus, what is apparent is that shaking hands is permissible because it is not intended as an act of ritual worship, but rather as a custom to foster affection. ⚠️Regarding the Ḥadīth: "There are no two Muslims who meet and shake hands but that their sins fall away just as the leaves of a tree fall," there is some criticism regarding its chain of narration (isnād), though some scholars have graded it as ḥasan (fair) due to the collective strength of its various routes.⁽¹⁾ It can also be used as evidence for this issue (of entering a gathering), in the sense that he has met them; since … Read in full →

If A Traveller Prays Behind A Resident, Should He (Still) Shorten His Four-rak’ah Prayer, Or Should He Follow The Imām: “If a traveller prays behind a resident, does he shorten the four-rak’ah prayer, or does he follow the imām and pray as he pray? The majority of scholars are of the view that if a traveller prays behind a resident, he prays same as his, and this is the correct view. Rather, a traveller who prays behind some one who performs a complete prayer, prays complete, without connecting the matter of the Imām being a traveller or resident — as long as the Imām prays a complete pray, he prays the same, whether the prayer is Ẓuhr prayer or 'Aṣr prayer. Meaning: if the traveler prayed Ẓuhr prayer behind the one who completes and this imām is praying the 'Aṣr prayer, then too he prays with same (complete) prayer. Likewise whether he prayed behind him Ẓuhr prayer (while Imām prays 'Aṣr) or he prayed behind him 'Aṣr prayer (while Imām prays Ẓuhr). In fact, most of the scholars went to state that, if the traveller was praying the 'Ishā prayer behind someone praying Maghrib, for him is to complete the ('ishā) prayer in four, because he is praying behind a person who completes.⁽¹⁾ So the matter is not the Imām being a traveller or a resident. Rather it lies whether he is someone completing or shortening (qaṣr). And this is the correct view regarding the issue, that the issue is concluded based on completion: Does he pray in completion or he prays it shortening? Based on this, if the traveller catches up with one rak’ah of the prayer and more than that behind the one who completes the prayer, then he is to pray a complete prayer, and if he does not catch up with a rak’ah but catches up with it (for example) in the last tashahhud, then he is to pray the prayer of a traveller. This is just as he as a resident catches up with the Friday prayer, if he catches up with a rak'ah of the Friday prayer, he prays the Friday prayer, and if he did not catch up with a rak’ah of … Read in full →