Understanding and Research of a Common Muslim

✨ MUHARRAM Arabic root: H-R-M (ح ر م) Meaning: forbidden, sacred, honored Jama': محرمات ، محارم ➤ Sacred Month • Allah says [Quran 9:36] Indeed, the number of months ordained by Allah is twelve—in Allah’s Record1 since the day He created the heavens and the earth—of which four are sacred. That is the Right Way. So do not wrong one another during these months. And fight the polytheists together as they fight together against you. And know that Allah is with those mindful ˹of Him˺. • Sahih al-Bukhari 4662, 3197 - Muharram is one of these four sacred months. Prohibition of fighting in Muharram: There is a great difference of opinion among the scholars about whether the prohibition of fighting in the sacred months was abrogated or not. Some said it was abrogated due to the command to fight the polytheists, while others said the prohibition remains unless one is attacked. [See Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, 2/468] (Copied) Fasting in Muharram: • The Prophet ﷺ said: the most excellent fast after (fasting) in the month of Ramadan is the fast in God's month al-Muharram. [Sahih Muslim 1163 b] Prophet ﷺ called it: شَهْرِ اللَّهِ الْمُحَرَّمِ ‏ The month of Allah- Muharram This shows its great status and how honored this month is. Note: Muharram and Shahadat of Hazrat Husayn رضي الله عنه Yes. The Shahadat of Husayn رضي الله عنه occurred in this month but Muharram is not legislated as a month of mourning. Fabricated hadiths and misconceptions which lead to bid'ah Some fabricated hadiths and acts of worship done by Ahlul Bid'ah for this specific month without any evidence are: • Believing Muharram is unlucky and cursed month. Nauzubillah. • Avoiding marriage or buying new clothes • Believing some normal activities as Haram • Visiting graves and specifying grave related rituals for this specific month and specific day (bid'ah) • Not wearing new clothes • Feeding people on the 10th of Muharram (Feeding people is good but specifying it to Ashura for specific reward … Read in full →

Waliullah Arbaeen Four🍀 الْمُسْتَشَارُ مُؤْتَمَنٌ Someone who is Consulted for Advice is Trustworthy al-Mustasharu Mu'taman Sunan Abu Dawood 5128 Explanation : ✦ Consult with them about matters, and after decision, put your trust in God [Surah Aal-e-Imran, 3:159] Key Takeaways from the Ayah → Consultation is 'Protection against Regret' → Even Allah doesn't ask us to blindly take decisions, rather Consultation is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ as evident from Seerah → The Hadith about "Tying Camel before Having Tawakkul" explains this Verse ———————————— ✦ Deen is Sincere Advice [Sahih Muslim 55a] ———————————— ✦ One Cannot be Mo'min until he desires for his Brother what he desires for ownself [Sahih Bukhari 13] → Person is ought to give Good Advice that he would like to accept himself! ———————————— ✦ Other Variants of ts Hadith add : "So if one of you is consulted about something, let him advise." → Thus, Giving Advice, unless it's Harmful, is Necessary. ———————————— ✦ Hiding Beneficial Knowledge = Collar of Fire in Afterlife [Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2649] → Whoever has Good Advice yet refrains or hide it, will be Sinful. ———————————— @salaf2khalaf Jazakallah Khair

Waliullah Arbaeen Five 🕔 الدَّالُّ عَلَى الْخَيْرِ كَفَاعِلِهِ One who guides to a good deed will have Reward like the one who does the good deed. ad-daalu 'alal khayri kafa'ilih Sahih Muslim 1893a Explanation : •Opposite of this Hadith is Fabricated. → "Whoever consoles a person in affliction/trial will have a reward equal to his." Sunan Ibn Majah 1602- Jhoot ———————————— •Reward for Teaching/Calling Towards Good is Immense! → Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2685 ^ "Indeed Allah, His Angels, the inhabitants of the skies & the lands, even the ant in his hole, even the fish in the ocean, send Blessings upon the One who Teaches the people to do Good." ———————————— •Even Without Intention, Actions that lead others to Good, will be Rewarded. → Sahih Muslim 1017e ^ Ansari simply donated, which motivated others to donate and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said : "Whoever starts a Good thing will have Reward equal to the One who follows it, without reduction in either!" ^^ Ansari Man didn't have any intention to call towards Good, he was just fulfilling RasoolAllah's Command yet he got reward for others who followed him! ———————————— •Someone may ask "How can be Action by Hand (Doing Good) equal to Action by Tongue (Calling to Good) ? → The Answer to that is that the Rewards are Similar in Number, Not in Weight! Example : I tell Virtue of 6 Fasts of Shawwal to 2 People and they do so... That doesn't mean I'll get Reward equal to 2 Years of Fasting (even more than those 2 who actually did the action, meanwhile i only spoke stuff) → I get 2 Rewards for both of their Fasts, although those Rewards might be Less in Weight. ———————————— @salaf2khalaf

Women's Prayer : Is It Different? There are 2 Gangs on the issue of Men&Women's Prayer : (1) No Difference (2) Difference exist •There is NO Sareeh Nas (Clear Proof which leaves no doubt) in this matter. Therefore, both opinions are valid due to Ijtihad and criticising others is dumb. ✦Evidence for 'No Difference' Sahih Bukhari 631 •Prophet said : "Pray as you've seen me praying" •He said to Malik bin Huwayris to teach his family (including his wife) the prayer he taught to him. Sahih Bukhari 827, Tarikh al-Awsat 906 Umm Darda was a Jurist and she used to sit in Tashahud (Attahiyat) like Men. ———————————— ✦Critique •Hadith of Malik bin Huwayris to establish 'No Difference' is Invalid. → We don't know how the Prophet prayed. Let alone prayer, we don't even know how he read the Qur'an (Qir'ah). → However, 2nd Point about Malik's Family is Strong! •There exists 2 Umm Darda. One of them is a Sahabiyah, Other is a Tabiyah. •Isnad for Umm Darda Hadith is present in Tarikh of Bukhari. •Makhul (died 112Hijri) is narrating from Umm Darda (d81) Tabiyah, not Umm Darda (d34) Sahabiyah! •Action of Tabiyah is NOT a Hujjah (Proof) on us. Imam Ahmad rejected her action as well. ✦Why Umm Darda prayed like Men? Siyar Alam Nubala 4/278 Uthman ibn Abi Atika (although himself criticised) said : "Umm Darda was an Orphan and she sat with Abu Darda in Men's Row." ———————————— ✦Evidence for 'Difference' •Ijma' carried through Tawatur (even if no hadith present) → Ijma' : All Sahaba, Tabieen, 4 Schools of Thought, Laymen Muslims and Many Muhaddiseen are agreed on 'Difference'. → Tawatur : from the time of Sahaba Females prayed differently. Imam Maturidi, Taweelat Ahlus Sunnah 2/18 "Tawatur is the Highest Form to act upon, since it is something people acted upon, Generation After Generation, only because of its clarity, and its Clarity & Commonness makes it Meaningless to Narrate it as Hadith." •Modesty requires Change in Way! Sahih Muslim 441 → Due to Shortage of Cloth, Men had less L… Read in full →

Biddat or Not? Drinking water before eating is sunnah? No, actually you may even find weak narrations ⁰ saying it's forbidden. But both points are wrong, it's your wish. Sleeping between the time of Asr & Maghrib is Makrooh Tanzihi? Yes and no, some scholars say it's Makrooh-e-Tanzihi (mildly disliked) based on ijtihad such as the short window between Asr and Maghrib that leaves one vulnerable to missing prayer, it's a blessed time on the day of Jumuah, it's filled with time to do dhikr etc... Other's say it's Mubah(permissible) because the narration ¹ "Whoever sleeps after ‘Asr and loses his mind, let him blame no one but himself." is really weak and it cannot be used to extract a ruling. And there are narrations of Ali عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ taking nap on that time. Some also say don't sleep after Maghrib? This comes from an actual hadith though not exactly fits the popular saying and is considered highly disliked(i.e. sleeping before Isha is highly disliked), Makrooh-e-Tahreemi. Narrated by Abu Barza: "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) disliked to sleep before the `Isha' prayer and to talk after it." Sahih al-Bukhari 568 Exact wordings say before Isha prayer. It's better to not sleep during such prayer time when there's is small window between two prayers What about sleeping after Fajr? Disliked by scholars but no specific ruling found, this dislike comes from this hadith ² that mornings are blessed for us by dua of prophet Muhammad ﷺ "O Allah, bless my Ummah in their early mornings." (اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لأُمَّتِي فِي بُكُورِهَا) Still, it is allowed to sleep and not sinful but it's missing out on barakah. Any other time to manage sleep? Yes, it's called Qailoolah [ قَيْلُولَة ] (a short nap on the time span of dhuhr which lasts 15-30 minutes)³ As long as you don't miss or delay any prayer/congregation, sleeping is valid anytime of the day though you may miss out on barakah on first part of the day that is after Fajr till Dhuhr. والله أعلم @URCommonMuslim refe… Read in full →

Is Prayer Not Accepted If Nails Are Not Cut Within 40 Days? quite a popular line in the subcontinent huh "Cutting Nails is from Fitrah (Natural Disposition)" Sahih Muslim 261 ———————————— "Deadline for Cutting Nails was 40 Days for Sahaba" Sunan Nasai 14 → this depends on the growth rate of nail Majmu' Sharh al-Muhazzab 1/337 •Nawawi says : "Time for trimming nails depends on length, this varies acc to individuals & environment" ———————————— ✦Reason For Deadline : Unhygienic people RasoolAllah said : "You ask me about news from Heaven while your Nails are like Bird's Claws having Impurity and Filth." Musnad Ahmad 23542 - Extremely Weak, corroborated by Aql ———————————— ✦ Growing Nails for >40Days •Majority view : Makrooh (Disliked) •Minority view : Haram (Forbidden) ———————————— ✦ Effect on Wudu •Nails can trap substances that prevent water from reaching the skin such as a piece of food. •I'm of the opinion that Wudu is Okay. Other opinions exist as well. See for yourself. •If you're an OCD freak, toothpicks or nail cutters aren't expensive dude... •Furthermore, Usool in Fiqh is that "Certainty is not removed by Doubt" ———————————— ✦ Effect on Prayer Surah Maidah, 5:6 Physical Purity of the Body is required for Prayer. → Nails can accumulate Impurity (Najasah, check your respective fiqh books for things that come under Najasah). → However, Impurity in less amount doesn't invalidate prayer, rather it only makes it Makrooh. => Thus, Long Nails have 0 Effect on Prayer. @salaf2khalaf

Verify Before You Share A small reminder to myself first, then to everyone else. Not everything we hear in lectures, read in books, or see in Islamic posts is necessarily authentic. Even if it is widely practiced or taught, we should make it a habit to verify it with the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. Allah ﷻ says: "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with news, verify it..." (Qur'an 49:6) https://quran.com/49/6⁠ The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not from it, it is rejected." Sahih al-Bukhari 2697 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2697⁠ Sahih Muslim 1718 https://sunnah.com/muslim:1718⁠

Dua Part 1 : Virtue Methodology : •Multiple References for each hadith exists but I will include only 1 Main Reference unless needed otherwise, due to the text limit. → You may find a hadith graded weak somewhere but I've only added the ones that are acceptable, either due to being Sahih in another book or having supporting evidence. Whenever it's not acceptable, I've mentioned. ^↑^ Check Mustadrak 1843 for view of Hakim and Ibn Mahdi on Leniency in accepting Hadiths on Fadhail wa Amal. ———————————— "God is the friend of believers, He brings them out of the depths of darkness into the light." Surah Baqarah, 2:257 ★ Allah says : "If My servants ask about Me, then I Am Near. I answer those who make Dua, so let them respond to Me..." Surah Baqarah, 2:186 ↑ Allah is closer to us than our imagination, he's with us when we make dua even if we remember him in our heart. Sahih Muslim 2675 ★ Allah says : "Call on Me and I will answer you; those who are too arrogant to Worship Me (make dua) will enter Hell in humiliation." Surah Ghafir, 40:60 ↑ Dua is Worship Sunan Abu Dawood 1479 Best Worship is Dua Mustadrak lil Hakim 1800 Nothing is more honorable to Allah than Dua Musnad Ahmad 8748 ★ Ask Big because nothing is big for Allah to give Bukhari 6339 If you make dua, ask too much, because you're asking your Lord Ibn Hibban 889 God is modest and feels shy in returning the Supplicant empty handed when he makes Dua Musnad Ahmad 23714 Best Dua is Dua for yourself Adab al-Mufrad 715 ★ Dua can change Taqdeer/Decree Tirmidhi 2139-Weak •Doors of Dua = Doors of Mercy •Allah loves being asked for Good Health •Dua helps against what has befallen and prevents what is yet to come Tirmidhi 3548-Weak Be frequent in dua, for one who knocks frequently on the door gets the door opened Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah 29170 Dua prevents Calamities (Bala) Targheeb wat-Tarheeb 1478-Rejected ★ Allah descends to lowest heaven and accepts Duas in last part of night Sahih Muslim 758 There's a Time of … Read in full →

Dua Part 3 : Congregational Dua I personally don't participate in congregational dua, but it's valid 𒈔 Saying Ameen to Dua of Someone else Jibreel did dua against 3 types of people and the Prophet said "Ameen" thrice while ascending the Pulpit/Minbar. 3 types of people are : •One who couldn't get himself forgiven even in Ramadan •One who didn't honour his parents in their old age •One who didn't send Salawat on the Prophet after His name was mentioned. اللَّهُمَّ صَلَّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّد Sahih Ibn Hibban 3757, Musnad al-Bazzar 4277, Albani said Sahih li-Ghayrihi in Mawarid az-Zaman 2/439 Prophet said Ameen on Duas of Abu Hurayra and Zaid bin Thabit Mustadrak lil Hakim 6299 - Hammad bin Shuaib is Weak tho 𒈔 Asking Someone to Make Dua for the Group Whenever drought came, Umar رضي الله عنه used to ask Uncle of the Prophet, Abbas ع to make dua for Rain. Sahih al-Bukhari 1010 𒈔 Dua Together It's not permissible for the one who leads people in prayer to supplicate for himself alone, while excluding the congregation. If he does, then he has betrayed them Jami' at-Tirmidhi 357 - This one is Hasan/Acceptable but it has many chains, others are Weak RasoolAllah raised his hands in dua for rain and the people raised their hands as well with Rasoolallah, making dua. Sahih al-Bukhari 1029 Angels roam the Earth searching for groups that are invoking Allah's name, whenever they find one, they cover the group with their wings and later goes to Allah where they converse and Allah forgives the group. Bukhari 6408, Muslim 2689 RasoolAllah would rarely stand from a gathering until he made dua with these words for his Sahaba : ‘O Allah,..." and the dua goes on. Tirmidhi 3502 Ibn Umar would also make this dua for the people whenever he sat in a gathering. Sunan Nasai al-Kubra 10161 The angels keep making dua for Allah's forgiveness for you as long as you don't leave the Musalla or break wudu Sahih al-Bukhari 445 No people raise their hands to Allah asking Hi… Read in full →

Is Wiping the Neck in Wudu A Bid'ah? I don't like bickering about petty issues but a particular sect keep calling the masah of the neck a bid'ah. I don't do it as well but it's really egoistic to call some mustahab to be a bid'ah. Establishing its authenticity: •The Primary Evidence is weak ↓ "Musaddad said : Prophet ﷺ wiped his head from front to back until he brought his hands back from below the ears (neck)" Sunan Abu Dawood 132 - Weak •The Secondary Evidence The Ummah is Ghurran Muhajjileen (lustrous with white marking) i.e. the area wherever the Wudu's water reached, that area will be shining in Afterlife. Sahih al-Bukhari 136, Sahih Muslim 246 That Area struck by Wudu water will also be adorned with jewellery in Jannah. Sahih al-Bukhari 5953, Sahih Muslim 250 Abu Hurayra رضي الله عنه used to wash his Shoulders and Calves in Wudu as well Sahih Muslim 246 ———————————— "The People of Paradise will wear Crown and Bracelets of Gold and Silver" Surah Al-Hajj, 22:23 Surah Kahf, 18:31 Surah Fatir, 35:33 → These adornments mentioned in Qur'an are the places where Wudu water reaches normally. "The People of Paradise will be wearing Necklaces and they'll enter Jannah" Sahih al-Bukhari 7439 → This hadith is in accordance with Qur'an. Thus, the place mentioned here, i.e. Necklace (which is worn on Neck) should also be the place where Wudu water reaches. Therefore, Wiping over neck is not an innovation but a recommended act. @salaf2khalaf

AGREED, DISPUTED, AND UNVERIFIED Though there is a popular date 12th of Rabi al-Awwal for being birth date of prophet Muhammad ﷺ for which you may see one group celebrating and one group saying otherwise being the day of his (ﷺ) passing. We will look at whats agreed and verified on majority, which date is famous but not verified even not possible in some cases. This post will not talk about what you should in Rabi al-Awwal because I think this post will give you an idea on how you should look at this dispute. Agreed upon Unanimously Day of Birth & Death Monday- This day is confirmed as the day of birth and passing away by majority there is a minor view for Wednesday being the day of passing but Monday is much authentic. Monday as day of birth is agreed by everyone no dispute regarding this Month of Birth and Death Rabi al-Awwal- Majority view for both birth and passing away though there is small group that say it could be a date in Ramadan for birth but its rejected by consensus. Shia hold opinion of passing away in month of Safar(28th just a day before Rabi al-Awwal). Year of Birth and Death Birth- The calendar before the standardized Hijri Calendar and before the revelation about not adding extra month in the calendar, Calendar across arab used to vary alot based on local witness and due to political and trading reasons, so they used to track years through event. And it is agreed upon that the birth year of prophet Muhammad ﷺ was Year of Elephant, it is either 570 or 571 CE. Death- This is fully agreed by all schools even Shia(though they differ on month)that it was next to year of last sermon(Friday, 9th of Dhul Hijjah, 10th Hijri. Ayah was revealed about not adding 1 extra month) that is 11th Hijri which aligns to 632 CE lasted till start of 633 CE. So it was Rabi al-Awwal of 11th AH/Late May to Late June 632 CE. Small opinion from shia that it was on last days of Safar (safar is month before Rabi al-Awwal) 11th Hijri is agreed upon by everyone for year … Read in full →

Fate of Animals in Afterlife This is a concerning issue for people with pets but only 1 viewpoint is popular online which dominates the discourse and they get monotonous answers that their pets will become dust and not go to Jannah with them. This is quite disheartening for the pet owner, even though other viewpoints exist. ———————————— ✦ Alternative Opinion : Animals will enter Jannah "We provide them with any fruit or meat they desire." Surah Tur, 52:22 People of Paradise will have the meat of any bird they like. Surah Waqiah, 56:21 Sheep 🐏🐑 are Animals of Paradise. Muwatta Malik 1960, Sunan Ibn Majah 2307, Sahih Jami' 3789- Albani said Sahih Birds of Paradise will have Necks like Camels (Maybe Flying Dinosaurs 🦕) Musnad Ahmad 13311 - Shuaib al-Arnaut said Sahih Man asked RasoolAllah whether he'll have horses that he loves, in Paradise. RasoolAllah said he'll have horses 🐴 🐎 made of red crystals with 2 wings 💎🪽 (Maybe Pegasus) Another Man asked him whether he'll have Camels 🐪 in Jannah, He said to him : "And You will have whatever your souls desire" (Surah Fussilat, 41:31) Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2543, 2544, Musnad al-Bazzar 4377 People of Paradise will eat Whale's Liver 🐋 when they enter Jannah and after that, they'll eat Bull's Meat 🐂 Sahih al-Bukhari 3329, 4480, Sahih Muslim 315 Dinosaur Birds 🦖 drink from Haudh-e-Kawthar ⛲ Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2542, Musnad Ahmad 13306 - Shuaib al-Arnaut said Sahih ———————————— ✦ . 　⁺ . ✦ . 　⁺ . ✦ ———————————— ✦ Popular Opinion : Animals will turn into Dust Justice will be established to the level that even a hornless sheep will take revenge from the horned sheep which broke his horns. Sahih Muslim 2582, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2420, Adab al-Mufrad 183, Sunan Nasai 2454 Other Hadiths add the following words : After Retaliation, Allah will turn the animals to dust. Upon seeing this, Disbelievers will say "I wish I was dust" [Surah Naba, 78:40] Mustadrak lil Hakim 3270 Mustadrak 8931 Ahwaal of Ibn Abi Dunya 182 Tafseer at-Tabari 24/… Read in full →

Dua Part 5 : Putting Hand on Forehead For Dua After Prayer This is a common practice that you will notice in many mosques, performed by a lot of muslims On a superficial look, it seems like a Bidah to any knowledgeable muslim. Let's take a deeper look on it's validity ———————————— ✦ Actual Practice •What the people do is that : → After the Salam of Fardh prayer is completed, they put their right hand on their head/forehead and recite "Ya Qawwiyu" or some other name of Allah 7/11 times while counting on the other hand, to boost memory or other benefits ———————————— ✦ Any Basis in Qur'an or Sunnah? No, but we have some hadiths that are similar but not exactly. ———————————— "RasoolAllah ﷺ would wipe his right hand over his head after finishing prayer and say the dua : بسم الله الذي لاإله إلا هو الرحمن الرحيم اللهم أذهب عني الهم والحزن By Allah's name, except him there is no god, he is the Rahman, the Raheem. Ya Allah, remove from me worry and grief." Mujam al-Awsat 3178 Majma' az-Zawaid 16971 → Imam Haythami said All narrators are trustworthy except Zaid bin 'Umyi → Zaid has both remarks : good and bad, Balanced view is that he can be taken in support but not independently as evidence → Shaykh Albani says the hadith is Extremely Weak because all chains have either Kathir bin Sulaym or Salaam al-Madaini → Both of these narrators are weak and according to some, even liars. => Therefore, this hadith is not usable as evidence for doing the Actual Practice. •On top of that, the hadith mentions the specific dua yet people say other duas without basis ———————————— ✦ Closest Authentic Option •Making normal dua after Fardh Salah → "Sahaba asked RasoolAllah, which supplication is most likely heard?’ He said: ‘During the last part of the night, and at the end of the obligatory prayers.’" Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3499 Sunan Nasai Kubra 9856 Ibn Taymiyyah said Hasan li Ghayrihi (Good due to external evidence) •If someone has Ache in some part of the body, then they can put their h… Read in full →