Islam Question and Answer - Interweaving the name of Allah and Muhammad

Interweaving the name of Allah and Muhammad

What is the ruling on having the word “allaah” and the word “ muhammad ” written in an interwoven fashion on the door of a mosque?

 

Among what the Islamic shari’ah asserts is the binding and coupling of the testimony of oneness for Allah and the testimony of the calling and message of prophet Muhammad

(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Examples of such linking are in the adhan for salaat and in the iqaamah for it. Additionally, in a hadith the prophet

(peace be upon him) teaches:

“Islam was built upon five pillars: to witness that there is no deity except Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah… .”

It represents what a mukallaf (one who is legally capable, liable for one’s actions, and obliged to perform required acts, which in Islamic law, shari’ah, starts at puberty) is required to believe. It must be understood together, and are pronounced together as a testimony of belief. As for writing it interwoven, nothing is available neither in the Book of Allah nor in the Sunnah of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). As a result, there is great danger in this. For it has a resemblance to the false precept in the Christian faith of trinity, and the concept that the father and the son and the holy spirit are one deity. Further, it could be construed as an emblem representing the false faith of the unity of existence. In addition, it may be used as support for the extremism in the Prophet

and worshipping him with Allah.

Therefore, writing the name of Allah (the Most High) with the name of his prophet Mohammed
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in this way, i.e. making the letters of their names interwoven and the crossing of the letters of each of their names with the other, must be prevented. It is even not permissible to write (Allah - Muhammad) on the door of the masjid, nor in other locations, due to the confusion, misrepresentation, and serious concerns described and warned of above.

 

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

 

 

Islam Question and Answer - What are the pillars of islam?

 

 

What are the pillars of islam?

What are the pillars of islam?

 

The pillars of islam are:

The belief ( Imaan ) that there is no God to be worshiped except Allaah (the one God) and that
Muhammad
(peace and blessings of God be upon him) is his messenger.
Performing the prescribed prayers ( Salaat ), five times a day.
Fasting ( Siyaam ) once a year, from sunrise to sunset throughout the entire month of Ramadaan.
Charity ( Zakaat ) which is paid to the poor and needy once every year.
Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if one is physically able and can afford it
financially.

Pillars are part of a building. The building in this case is the perfect human being who cares and protects
the rights of all creations and fellow humans, thus establishing a society in which truth and justice and
peace is supreme.

 

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Islam Question and Answer - The Muslim belief concerning the destiny of non-Muslim monotheists in the Hereafter

 

 

The Muslim belief concerning the destiny of non-Muslim monotheists in the Hereafter

What do Muslims believe happens in the hereafter to Non-Muslims that believe in one God?

 

Praise be to Allaah.



Your interest in studying Islam is something great, which we appreciate. Everyone should seek
the truth wherever it may be, and follow it even if it differs from the way of their forefathers or
the religion of the country or society in which they live, because salvation from the Fire of Hell
on the Day of Judgement is more important than anything else.



One of the most important things that the would-be student of Islam should do is to consult
authentic Islamic references, in order to understand the reality of this religion. For example, one
should consult translations of the meanings of the Qur’an and the ahaadeeth (sayings) of the
Prophet of Islam, Muhammad
(peace be upon him), ensuring that the translations are
sound. But reading books written by non-Muslims, or by Muslims who do not really
understand or practice their religion, is not a scholarly approach or a sound method of finding
out the truth.



Returning to your question, what do Muslims believe will happen to atheists? Or for that
matter, what about monotheists who are not Muslim? Will their fate be Hell in the Hereafter?
The answer is that Allaah has clearly created everything, sent His blessings on His creation, and
sent Messengers and Revealed Books to tell them that whoever believes in and worships Him
alone, not associating any partner with Him, will enter Paradise, and whoever denies Him, or
worships something else besides Him, or takes other gods instead of Him, or says that He has
a wife or son, or that the angels are His daughters, or follows a law other than that which He
revealed to judge between people in truth, or turns away from His religion, will be doomed in
the Hereafter to the eternal punishment of Hell. This is exact justice, and this will be the fate
deserved by the one who did not give his Creator His due.



Worshipping Allaah, obeying His commands and adhering to His prohibitions are basic
matters, but they form the essence of the relationship between the Creator and His creation.
Allah says:

"And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and men except they should worship Me (alone)."
[al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]



Messengers were sent with one message: to tell their people "Worship Allaah, for you have no
god besides Him."



Hence we may understand just how far short the person falls who believes that Allaah is one
and does not associate anything with Him, but does not worship or obey Him, but rebels
against Him and fails to follow His religion or Law, or the Revelation and Messengers which He
sent for him and people like him. Does such a person deserve to enter Paradise or Hell?



This is the person who says: "I believe that there is One God Who created the universe, but I
am going to stop there; I will not pray to Him or fast or perform Hajj or pay zakaat as He
commanded. I am not going to carry out any duties towards Him; I will follow my own desires
and do whatever I want, whether He permitted it or forbade it." Can such a person attain
salvation on the Day of Judgement?



Allaah sent Messengers to every nation, that they might worship Him and shun false deities.
The last nation is this ummah, and the last Messenger is Muhammad
(peace be upon
him). Allaah sent him for the whole of mankind, the entire world, and thus abrogated the
previous laws and made this religion the best and most perfect and complete. Hence it is
obligatory for everyone to enter this religion, for Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the
Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]



On this basis, the fate of one who says "I believe in the idea of One God, but I do not want to
be a Muslim, or I do not want to follow the last Revelation or the last Prophet," is clear.



Furthermore, the fate of an atheist, who rejects even the belief in God, is even clearer and more
evident.



Finally, I hope that the matter is now clearer to you. I ask Allaah to guide us all to the truth and
help us to follow it, for He is the best Supporter and Helper.

 

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Islam Question and Answer - Ruling on one who curses life

 

Ruling on one who curses life

Is it permissible for a man to curse life if he gets angry or if heg ets fed up? We hope that you can advise us concerning that.

 

Praise be to Allaah. 

It
is not permissible for a man to curse life if he feels fed up, because
the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, in a hadeeth qudsi that Allaah says, “The
son of Adam offends Me by inveighing against [the vicissitudes of] Time,
and I am Time. In My Hand is the alternation of night and day.” It was
also narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not inveigh against
Time, for Allaah is Time”, i.e., He is the One Who is controlling Time.
So when man is afflicted with calamity, he must be patient and seek
reward, for Allaah has enjoined patience.

 And
Allaah said to His Prophet ` (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“This
is of the news of the Unseen which We reveal unto you (O Muhammad);
neither you nor your people knew it before this. So be patient. Surely,
the (good) end is for the Muttaqoon (the pious)” [Hood 11:49]

 Let
man know that no matter what happens there is something worse than that
somewhere else in the world. If he understands that, then his problem
will become easier to bear.

 

 From the fatwas of Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih ‘Uthaymeen for al-Da’wah magazine, issue # 1757, p. 45

Islam Question and Answer - Saying that specific people are going to Paradise or Hell

Saying that
specific people are going to Paradise or Hell

I have heard in certain lectures given by
the shaikhs here in America who consider themselves Salafee, say things like this: My
mother is a kafira and I KNOW she is going to hell.

Saying that they know for sure that a certain person is going to hell.

Is this permissible in Islam? Can we say that a certain person is going to Jahannam
because of their religion?

 

Praise be to Allaah.

According to Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, the
basic principle is that the issue of who will go to Paradise and who will go to Hell is
the matter of ‘aqeedah based on what is said in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and
there is no room for reasoning or ijtihaad in this matter.

If the Qur’aan or Sunnah says that a specific person will be in
Paradise or Hell, we bear witness to that. At the same time we hope that those who do good
will go to Paradise and fear that those who do bad will go to Hell, but Allaah knows best
how people will end up.

The issue of saying who will go to Paradise or Hell may be divided into
two categories:

General statements, which have to do with people’s qualities, such
as saying, “Whoever associates anything with Allaah in an act of major shirk is a
kaafir who is beyond the pale of Islam, and will be in Hell.”

Similarly we say that whoever fasts Ramadaan out of faith and in the
hope of receiving reward will be forgiven his previous and future sins, and that an
acceptable Hajj has no other reward but Paradise. There are many such statements in the
Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah.

If a person asks, “Will the one who calls on anything other than
Allaah and seeks the help of anyone but Allaah be in Paradise or Hell?” we would say
that he is a kaafir who will be in Hell, if he is shown clear evidence that he is wrong
but he stills persists and dies believing that.

If it were said, Whoever does Hajj then does not commit any obscene or
immoral act, and dies after his Hajj, for example, what will his fate be? We would say
that he is in Paradise. Or the person whose last words in this life are Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah will be in Paradise, and so on.

All of this has to do with people’s qualities and does not apply
to any specific, named person.

Specific statements referring to people by name, stating that a
particular person will be in Paradise or in Hell. This is not permissible except in cases
where Allaah or His Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have informed
us of it.

Whoever Allaah or His Messenger have mentioned by name and stated that
they will be in Paradise are definitely among the people of Paradise, such as the ten who
were given the good news of Paradise (al-‘asharah al-mubashsharah), foremost among
whom are the four Khulafa’, Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and
‘Ali, may Allaah be pleased with them.

Those who the Qur’aan and Sunnah mention by name and state that
they will be in Hell are definitely among the people of Hell, such as Abu Lahab and his
wife, Abu Taalib, ‘Amr ibn Lahiy, and others.

We ask Allaah to make us among the people of Paradise by His Grace and
Mercy. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

 

Islam Question and Answer - Muslim holidays & symbol

 

Muslim holidays & symbol

Do Islams have certain holidays that christans don't if so what are they?

What is your holy symbol like ours is the cross, do you have a specific symbol?

 

Muslims have only two Holy days to celebrate. The two
Holy days are Eid Alfitir, which follows the holy month of Ramadan, and Eid Aladha, which
is in the Hajj (holy pilgrimage) season. Muslims celebrate Eid Aladha by slaughtering a
sheep. The slaughtering of sheep is done in following the footsteps of Prophet Abraham
when he was ordered by Allah (God) to slaughter his first child, Ishmael. When he told his
son about it, his son told him to carry on with the order of Allah, and that he will be
obedient and patient. As Abraham was tempting to slaughter Ishmael, Allah gave them a big
and fat sheep to slaughter instead. The sacrificing of a sheep has become a ritual for
Muslims every year in remembrance of the obedience of Abraham and Ishmael, peace be upon
them. Our celebration of this day and the slaughtering of the sheep are in compliance with
the teachings of our Prophet Mohammad, praising and peace of Allah be upon him. Only
Muslims celebrate these two days, while at the same time, Muslims do not celebrate the
Christian holidays.

As for the symbol, Muslims worship Allah (God), therefor they reject
any kind of idol worshipping. We believe that Christians believe in the cross to be a
symbol of their God, or the so claimed Son of God. They seek blessing and protection from
this cross. Muslims seek protection and blessing only from Allah, that is why we do not
have an Islamic symbol as the Christians’ cross. Some Muslims have invented the
symbol of a crescent to counter the cross, but this is not authentic and it is considered
as an innovation in Islam.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

 

Islam Question and Answer - Actions that put a person beyond the pale of Islam

Actions that put a person beyond the pale of Islam

What are the actions which, if a Muslim does them, he will be an apostate from Islam?.

 

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: 

Note that Allaah has commanded all people to enter Islam and
to adhere to it and to beware of whatever is contrary to it. He sent His
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to call
mankind to that. He tells us that those who follow him will be guided and
that those who turn away from him have gone astray. In many verses He warns
against the means that lead to apostasy and all forms of shirk and kufr. The
scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) have said, when discussing
apostasy, that a Muslim may apostatize from his religion by doing many acts
that nullify Islam, which makes it permissible to shed his blood and seize
his wealth, and which will put him beyond the pale of Islam. Among the most
serious and most common of these things are ten which were mentioned by
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab and other scholars (may Allaah have
mercy on them all). We will mention them in brief here, so that you and
others can beware of them, in the hope that you will be safe and sound. We
will also explain a little about them after mentioning each one.  

1 – Shirk or associating others in worship with Allaah.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily,
Allaah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him,
but He forgives whom He wills, sins other than that, and whoever sets up
partners in worship with Allaah, has indeed strayed far away”

[al-Nisa’ 4:116] 

“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with
Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his
abode”

[al-Maa’idah 5:72] 

That includes praying to the dead, seeking their help, making
vows and offering sacrifices to them or to the jinn or to the grave. 

2 – Whoever sets up intermediaries between himself and
Allaah, asks them to intercede, and puts his trust in them, is a kaafir
according to scholarly consensus. 

3 – Whoever does not regard the mushrikeen as kaafirs, or
doubts that they are kaafirs, or regards their way as correct, is a kaafir. 

4 – Whoever believes that anything other than the teaching of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is more
complete than his teachings, or that the rulings of anyone else are better
than his rulings – such as those who prefer the rule of false laws to his
rulings – is a kaafir. 

5 – Whoever hates any part of that which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought, even if he acts in
accordance with it, is a kaafir, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“That is because they hate that which Allaah has sent down
(this Qur’aan and Islamic laws); so He has made their deeds fruitless”

[Muhammad 47:9] 

6 – Whoever makes fun of anything in the religion of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or makes fun of
any texts that refer to rewards or punishments, is a kaafir. The evidence
for that is the verse (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say: Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences,
verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were
mocking?

Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed”

[al-Tawbah 9:65-66] 

7 – Sihr (witchcraft) – including spells to turn one person
against another or to make someone love another. Whoever does this or
approves of it is a kaafir. The evidence for that is the verse
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such
things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by
learning this magic from us)’”

[al-Baqarah 2:102] 

8 – Supporting the mushrikeen and helping them against the
Muslims. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians
as Awliyaa’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Awliyaa’ of each
other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’), then surely, he is
one of them. Verily, Allaah guides not those people who are the Zaalimoon
(polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust)”

[al-Maa'idah 5:51] 

9 – Whoever believes that some people are allowed to operate
outside the law of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
just as al-Khidr operated outside the law of Moosa (peace be upon him) is a
kaafir, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will
never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85] 

10 – Turning away from the religion of Allaah, not learning
it and not acting in accordance with it. The evidence for that is the verse
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the
Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of his
Lord, then turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from
the Mujrimoon (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners)”

[al-Sajdah 32:22] 

With regard to all of these acts that nullify Islam, it makes
no difference whether a person is joking, serious or afraid, unless he is
forced to do it. All of them are very serious, and they all happen a great
deal. The Muslim should beware of them and fear falling into them. We seek
refuge with Allaah from the things that may incur His wrath and painful
punishment. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon the best of His
creation, Muhammad, and upon his family and companions. 

The fourth category includes those who believe that the
systems and laws devised by men are better than the sharee’ah of Islam, or
equal to it; or that it is permissible to refer to them for judgements and
rulings, even if he believes that referring to sharee’ah is better; or that
the Islamic system is not fit to be applied in the twentieth century; or
that it was the cause of the Muslims’ backwardness; or that it should be
limited to a person’s relationship with his Lord and not have anything to do
with the other affairs of life 

The fourth category also includes those who think that
carrying out the ruling of Allaah by cutting off the hand of the thief or
stoning the married adulterer is not appropriate in the modern age. 

That also includes: everyone who believes that it is
permissible to rule according to something other than the laws of Allaah
with regard to interactions, hudood punishments or other matters, even if he
does not believe that that is better than the ruling of sharee’ah, because
by doing so he is regarding as permissible something that Allaah has
forbidden according to consensus, and everyone who regards as permissible
something that Allaah has forbidden and is well known to be forbidden in
Islam, such that no Muslim has any excuse for not knowing that it is
forbidden, such as adultery, alcohol and riba, and ruling by something other
than the sharee’ah of Allaah, is a kaafir according to the consensus of the
Muslims. 

We ask Allaah to help us all to do that which pleases Him, and to guide us and all the Muslims to His Straight Path, for He is All Hearing, Ever-Responsive. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

 

Islam Q&A