The Dream of Life

The Dream of Life

Yasmin Mogahed

It was only a dream.  For a moment, it overtakes me. Yet the suffering I feel in my nightmare is only an illusion. Temporary. Like the blink of an eye. But, why do I dream? Why do I have to feel that loss, fear, and sadness in my sleep?
On a greater scale, it’s a question that has been asked throughout time. And for many people, the answer to that question has determined their path to—or away from—faith.  Faith in God, faith in life’s purpose, faith in a higher order or a final destination has often all rested upon how this singular question has been answered. And so, to ask this question is to ask about life, in the most ultimate  way.

Why do we suffer? Why do ‘bad’ things happen to ‘good’ people? How could there be a God if innocent children starve and criminals run free? How can there be an all-loving, all-powerful deity who would allow such misfortunes to happen?
And if God is indeed Just and Good, shouldn’t only good things happen to good people and only bad things happen to bad people?
Well, the answer is: yes. Absolutely. Only good things do happen to good people. And only bad things happen to bad people. Why? Because God IS the Most Just and the Most Loving. And He has no deficiency in His knowledge or understanding.


The problem is that we do have deficiencies in knowledge and understanding.
See, to understand the statement “only good things happen to good people and only bad things happen to bad people”, we must first define ‘good’ and ‘bad’.  And although there are as many definitions of good and bad as there are people, a comprehensive understanding exists. For example, most people would agree that to succeed in achieving my desired purpose or goal in a particular matter would be ‘good’. While on the other hand, failing to achieve my intended purpose or aim would be bad. If my aim is to gain weight because I am dangerously underweight, becoming heavier would be good. If, on the other hand, my aim is to lose weight because I am harmfully overweight, becoming heavier would be bad. The same event could be good or bad, depending on my intended purpose. So ‘good’ in my eyes rests on the achievement of my personal aim. And ultimate ‘Good’ rests on the achievement of my ultimate aim.

But what is my aim?

That brings us to the fundamental question of purpose as it relates to the greater Reality of existence. There are essentially two distinct worldviews when it comes to purpose in life. The first worldview holds that this life is the Reality, the final destination and ultimate goal of our endeavors. The second worldview holds that this life is only a bridge, a means that stands as nothing more than a glimpse in the context of God’s infinite Reality.

For those in the first group, this life is everything. It is the End to which all actions strive. For those in the second group, this life tends towards zero. Why? Because, in comparison to infinity, even the largest number becomes zero. Nothing.  Like a fleeting dream.
These distinct worldviews directly affect the question of purpose. See, if one believes that this life is the Reality, the final destination, the goal of all endeavors, the purpose of life would be to maximize pleasure and gain in this life.  In that paradigm, ‘bad’ things ARE in fact happening to ‘good’ people every single second. Within that paradigm, people reach the conclusion that there is no justice and therefore either there is no God or God is not Just (wa athu billah, I seek refuge in God). It’s like a person who concludes that there must be no God because they had a bad dream. But why don’t we give the experiences of our dreams much weight? After all, some dreams are horrifying to live through—and very often do happen to ‘good’ people.  In our dreams, do we not experience extreme terror or bliss? Yes. But why doesn’t it matter?
Because put in context of our real life, it is nothing.

In the second world view (the Islamic paradigm) the purpose of creation is *not* maximizing pleasure and gain in a life that is nothing more than a dream. In that world view, life’s purpose is defined by God who tells us: “I have not created jinn and humans (for any purpose) except to worship me,” (Qur’an, 51:56).

It is important to note the special construction of this statement. It begins with a negation: ‘I have not created jinn and humans (for any purpose) […]’.  First Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He) negates ALL other purposes before He states the one and only, singular purpose:  ‘except to worship Me.’ This means that as a believer I know that there is no other purpose of my existence except to know, love and get closer to God. This is the one and only reason why I was created. And this is the most essential realization, as it defines everything else I do or believe. It defines all things around me, and everything I experience in life.

So returning to the meaning of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, we find that anything that brings us closer to our ultimate purpose is Good and anything that takes us away from our ultimate purpose is Bad, in an ultimate sense. In a relative sense, for those whose goal is this material world, worldly things define their ‘good’ and ‘bad’. For them, things like gaining wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily ‘good’.  Losing wealth, status, fame, or property is necessarily ‘bad’. So in that paradigm, when an innocent person loses every material possession they own, this is a ‘bad’ thing happening to a ‘good’ person. But that is the illusion that comes as a result of a flawed worldview. When the lens itself is distorted, so too is the image seen through it.

For those of the second worldview, anything that brings us closer to our purpose of nearness to God’s love is good; and anything that takes us away from that purpose is bad. Therefore, winning a billion dollars may be the greatest calamity ever to happen to me if it takes me away from God—my ultimate purpose. On the other hand, losing my job, all my wealth, and even falling ill, may in fact be the greatest blessing ever given to me if it brings me closer to God—my ultimate purpose.  This is the Reality that is spoken about in the Qur’an when Allah (swt) says:

“It may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows, you know not,” (2:216).

As a believer, my criterion is no longer gain or loss in a material sense. My criterion is something higher. What I have or do not have in a worldly sense is only relevant in as much as it brings me closer or farther from my Aim: God. This dunya (life) becomes nothing more than that dream that I experience for a moment and then awaken from. Whether that dream was good or bad for me, depends only on my state once I awaken.

And so on the ultimate scale there is perfect justice. God only gives good (nearness to Him) to good people, and bad (distance from Him) to bad people. The greatest good is nearness to God, in this life and the next. And it is only ‘good’ people who are blessed with this. That is why the Prophet ﷺ has said: “Strange is the case of a believer, there is good for him in everything—and this is only for the believer. If a blessing reaches him, he is grateful to God, which is good for him, and if an adversity reaches him, he is patient which is good for him,” (Muslim).

As this hadith (record of the sayings or actions of the Prophet ﷺ) explains, whether something is good or bad is not defined by how it appears externally. “Goodness”, as explained by this hadith, is defined by the good internal state that it produces: patience and gratitude—both manifestations of peace with and nearness to God.

On the other hand, the greatest calamity is distance from God—in this life and the next. And it is only ‘bad’ people who are punished with this. What such ‘distanced’ people have, or do not have of wealth or status or property or fame is only an illusion—no more real or important than having, or not having, these things in the greatest dream, or the worst nightmare.
Of these illusions Allah (swt) says: “Nor strain your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendor of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring,” (Qur’an, 20:131).
The enduring life is the one that begins once we awaken from this world. And it is in that awakening that we realize…

It was only a dream.

Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace

Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace

It is narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Mas'ud (RadhiAllahu 'anhu):

that the Apostle of Allah (Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) observed:

He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise.

A person (amongst his hearers) said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine.

He (Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people.

[Sahih Muslim - Book 1 - Hadith 164]

Please Share this Hadith with your relatives & friends and may Allah SWT reward you.

What to say after completing Prayer (As-Salat)

What to say after completing Prayer (As-Salat)

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"He who recites after every prayer:

Subhan-Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) thirty-three times;

Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-three times;

Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times;

and completes the hundred with: La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa `ala kulli shai'in Qadir

(there is no true god except Allah. He is One and He has no partner with Him. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent),

will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea.''


[Muslim]

Riyad-us-Saliheen – Hadith No : 1419.

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The beautiful names and attributes of Allah

The beautiful names and attributes of Allah

Narrated Abu Huraira (RadhiAllahu 'anhu):

Allah's Apostle (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise."

[Sahih Bukhari - Book 50 - Hadith 894]

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Narrated Abu Huraira (RadhiAllahu 'anhu):

Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise; and allah is Witr (one) and loves 'the Witr' (i.e., odd numbers).

[Sahih Bukhari - Book 75 - Hadith 419]

Please Share this Hadith with your relatives & friends and may Allah SWT reward you.

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) will intercede on the Day of Resurrection

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) will intercede on the Day of Resurrection

 Narrated Anas (Radhi-Allahu 'anhu):

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.'

Then they will go to Adam and say, 'O Adam! Don't you see the people (people's condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking' and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, "But you d better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.'

They will go to Noah who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention the mistake which he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.'

They will go to Abraham who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly'

They will go to Moses who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'You'd better go to Jesus, Allah's slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.'

They will go to Jesus who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, but you'd better go to Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).'

So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, 'O muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, 'O muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, 'O muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.' I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will come back and say, 'O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur'an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.' "

The Prophet added, "There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain.

Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ' La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain.

Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant)."

[Sahih Bukhari - Book #93 - Hadith #507]

30 Reasons to Avoid Being Angry and Argumentative

30 Reasons to Avoid Being Angry and Argumentative

How difficult is it to practice patience when being provoked? At the same time, how many times have we responded much too sensitively, although we were not the clear target of anyone’s malice?
How many hearts have been lost in an effort to win arguments? And yet, as human beings it is natural and even our right to disagree, and to think critically. One of the most difficult challenges of character for Muslims of every background is being able to practice hilm (forbearance) during times of anger and disagreement—that is to be able to disagree with a dignified and generous spirit, and to think critically without being argumentative, stubborn, and condescending. It is because we as a community fall into this so much, and on so many levels, that I found this issue to be a relevant reminder to myself and others.

The activist argues about strategy, the student argues about fiqh and other branches of knowledge,  the community leader argues in the board room, and the Imam with those who disagree with his style or approach. Whether it be with our family, friends, community members or the Islamophobe—we often find ourselves in situations where anger and argumentation can creep in, sour the mood, and sully the spirit. Below is a collection of Quranic verses, Prophetic narrations, and sayings of righteous people mostly taken from Sa’eed Hawwa’s work “Selected Writings on Purifying the Soul.” These statements remind us to prevent anger and argumentation from getting the better of us.

May Allah help us to remember that when we deal with people, our transactions are actually with Him and not His creation. As such, may awareness of His presence (ihsan) bring goodness from our speech and characters during times of difficulty as well as ease. Ameen.

1. “And when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with ‘Salamaa’ (peaceful words of gentleness).” (Qur’an, 25:63)

2. “If they pass by some vain speech or play, they pass by it with dignity.” (Qur’an, 25:72)

3. “And be moderate in your pace and lower your voice; indeed, the most disagreeable of sounds is the voice of donkeys… But of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening Book.” (Qur’an, 31:19-20)

4. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) said: “He who gave up disputing while he is right, a palace of high rank in Paradise will be built for him. He who gave up disputing while he is a fabricator, a palace in the center of Paradise will be built for him.” (al-Tirmidhi who declared it as hasan)

5. “There are no people who went astray after having been guided except for indulging in disputation.” (al-Tirmidhi)

6. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ repeated three times, “Those who search deeply for confusing questions have perished.” (Muslim)

7. “Do not dispute with your brother, ridicule him, nor promise him and then break your promise.” (al-Tirmidhi)

8. Bilal ibn Sa’d radiAllahu `anhu (ra) said, “If you see a disputing, arrogant, and bigoted person, bear in mind that they are utterly lost.”

9. Luqman `alayhi assalam (as) said to his son, “O son! Do not dispute with the knowledgeable lest they detest you.”

10. `Umar (ra) said, “Do not learn knowledge for three things and do not leave it for three things. Do not learn it to dispute over it, to show off with it, or to boast about it. Do not leave seeking it out of shyness, dislike for it, or contending with ignorance in its stead.”

11. It was narrated that Abu Hanifa said to Dawud al-Taa’i, “Why do you prefer seclusion?” Dawud replied, “To struggle against myself to leave disputing.” Abu Hanifah said, “Attend meetings, listen to what is said, and remain silent.” Dawud said, “I have done so, but I have found nothing heavier than this.”

12. `A’ishah (ra) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “The most hated person with Allah is the most quarrelsome person.” (al-Bukhari)

13. Ibn Qutaybah said that his disputant said to him, “What is the matter with you?” He replied to him, “I will not dispute with you.” The disputant then said, “Thus you have come to know that I am right.” Ibn Qutaybah responded, “No, but I respect myself more than that.” At this the disputant retracted and said, “And I will not claim a thing that is not my right.”

14. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The one initiating abuse incurs the sin of abusing as long as the other did not return it.” (Muslim)

15. “The believer does not curse.” (al-Tirmidhi who declared it hasan)
16. “The believer does not defame, abuse, disparage, nor vilify.” (al-Tirmidhi, sahih)
17. “Do not invoke Allah’s curse, His anger, or Hellfire.” (al-Tirmidhi who declared it hasan sahih)
18. “Men accustomed to cursing will not be intercessors or witnesses on the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim)

19. Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (ra) narrated, “I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about what saves me from Allah’s wrath, and he said, “Do not become angry.” (al-Tabarani and Ibn Abdul Barr) Ibn `Umar, Ibn Mas’ud, and Abu Darda’ (ra) relate similar conversations on their own behalf.

20. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “He who is victorious over his passion at the time of anger is the strongest among you. He who forgives having the power to release (his anger and take revenge) is the most patient among you.” (a-Baihaqi in Shu’ab al-Imaan)

21. Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The strong person is not he who has physical strength but the person is strong if he can control his anger.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

22. `Umar ibn Abdul Aziz wrote to one of his governors and said, “Do not punish at the time of anger. If you are angry with any man, keep him in detention. When your anger is appeased punish him in proportion to his crime.”

23. ‘Ali ibn Zaid mentioned, “A man of the Quraysh spoke harshly to the Caliph `Umar Ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz who remained silent for a long time and then said, “You wish that the devil rouses in me the pride of the Caliphate and I treat you so rudely that you can take revenge tomorrow (in the Afterlife) on me.”

24. Ibn ‘Abbas (ra) narrated, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “And when you get angry, keep silent.” (Ahmad, Ibn Abi Dunya, al-Tabarani, and al-Bayhaqi)

25. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Anger is a burning coal. It burns in the heart.” (al-Tirmidhi and al-Bayhaqi)

26. “When anyone of you gets angry, let him perform ablution because anger arises from fire.” (Abu Dawud)

27. “Nobody swallows a more bitter pill than that of anger—seeking the satisfaction of Allah.” (Ibn Majah)

28. `Umar (ra) said, “He who fears Allah cannot give an outlet to his anger (by sinning). He who fears Allah cannot do what he likes.”

29. A nomad said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ “Advise me.” And he ﷺ said, “If a man defamed you with what he knows about you, do not defame him with what you know about him. For the sin is against him.” The nomad said, “I never abused any person after that.”

30. Al-Hasan (ra) said, “He that did not safeguard his tongue did not understand his religion.”
You thought it was over didn’t you? Here is a little something extra to encourage us not only to avoid such negative traits, but to also proactively seek positive ones in their place.


10 Reasons to Strive for Generosity of Spirit and Kindness in Speech


1. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Kind speech and feeding (the hungry) guarantee you Paradise.” (al-Tabarani)
2. “And speak nicely to people.” (Qur’an, 2:83)
3. “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally.” (Qur’an, 4:86) Ibn Abbas commented on this and said, “He who greets you return his greeting in better words even if he were a Magian.¹ He also said, “If Pharoah were to speak nicely to me, I would do so to him.”
4. Anas (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily there are chambers in Paradise; their insides and outsides can be seen – for him who spoke kindly and fed (the hungry).” (al-Tirmidhi)
5. He ﷺ also said, “A good word is also a charitable deed.” (Muslim)
6. “Ward off the Fire even if by giving half a date in charity. If you could not afford that then utter a kind word.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
7. `Umar (ra) said, “Generosity is an easy thing. It is a smiling face and kind words.”
8. Some wise men said, “Do not be stingy with a word that does not arouse your Lord’s wrath yet it pleases your brother. It may happen that Allah gives you the reward of those who do good works.”
9. “And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give to their kinsmen, the poor, and those who left their homes for Allah’s cause. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?” (Qur’an, 24:22). Abu Bakr (ra) had cut off his financial support of his relative Mustah because Mustah had participated in the slander against his daughter `A’ishah (ra). After this verse was revealed, he resumed and even increased the amount he gave Mustah in financial support.
10. “Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish.” (Qur’an, 7:199)

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People leave each other. But do they return?Part I

People leave each other. But do they return?Part I

Yasmin Mogahed

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Why Do People Have to Leave Each Other? Part I 

Leaving is hard. Losing is harder. So a few weeks ago I asked the question, ‘why do people have to leave each other?’ The answer took me into some of my life’s deepest realizations and struggles. But it has also led me to wonder: After people leave, do they ever return? After something we love is taken from us, does it ever come back? Is loss permanent—or just a means for a higher purpose? Is loss the End itself, or a temporary cure for our heart’s ailments?

There’s something amazing about this life. The very same worldly attribute that causes us pain is also what gives us relief: Nothing here lasts. What does that mean? It means that the breathtakingly beautiful rose in my vase will wither tomorrow. It means that my youth will neglect me. But it also means that the sadness I feel today will change tomorrow. My pain will die. My laughter won’t last forever—but neither will my tears. We say this life isn’t perfect. And it isn’t. It isn’t perfectly good. But, it also isn’t perfectly bad, either.

Allah (glorified is He) tells us in a very profound ayah (verse): “Verily with hardship comes ease.” (Qur’an, 94:5). Growing up I think I understood this ayah wrongly. I used to think it meant: after hardship comes ease. In other words, I thought life was made up of good times and bad times. After the bad times, come the good times. I thought this as if life was either all good or all bad. But that is not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is saying WITH hardship comes ease. The ease is at the same time as the hardship. This means that nothing in this life is ever all bad (or all good). In every bad situation we’re in, there is always something to be grateful for. With hardship, Allah also gives us the strength and patience to bear it.

If we study the difficult times in our lives, we will see that they were also filled with much good. The question is – which do we chose to focus on? I think the trap we fall into is rooted in this false belief that this life can be perfect—perfectly good or perfectly bad. But that’s not the nature of dunya (this life). That’s the nature of the hereafter. The hereafter is saved for the perfection of things. Jannah (paradise) is perfectly and completely good. There is no bad in it. And Jahannam (hell – may Allah protect us) is perfectly and completely bad. There is no good in it.

By not truly understanding this reality, I myself would become consumed by the momentary circumstances of my life (whether good or bad). I experienced each situation in its’ full intensity—as if it was ultimate or would never end. The way I was feeling at the moment transformed the whole world and everything in it. If I was happy in that moment, past and present, near and far, the entire universe was good for that moment. As if perfection could exist here. And the same happened with bad things. A negative state consumed everything. It became the whole world, past and present, the entire universe was bad for that moment. Because it became my entire universe, I could see nothing outside of it. Nothing else existed for that moment. If you wronged me today, it was because you no longer cared about me—not because this was one moment of a string of infinite moments which happened to be tinted that way, or because you and I and this life just aren’t perfect. What I was experiencing or feelings at that instant replaced context, because it replaced my entire vision of the world.

I think in our experiential nature, some of us may be especially susceptible to this. Perhaps that is the reason we can fall prey to the “I’ve never seen good from you” phenomenon which the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) referred to in his hadith. Perhaps some of us say or feel this way because at that moment, experientially we really haven’t seen good, because our feeling at that instant replaces, defines and becomes everything. Past and present becomes rolled up into one experiential moment.
But, the true realization that nothing is complete in this life transforms our experience of it. We suddenly stop being consumed by moments. In the understanding that nothing is limitless here, that nothing here is kamil (perfect, complete), Allah enables us to step outside of moments and see them for what they are: not universes, not Reality, past and present, just that—a single moment in a string of infinite moments…and that they too shall pass.

When I cry or lose or bruise, so long as I am still alive, nothing is ultimate. So long as there is still a tomorrow, a next moment, there is hope, there is change, there is redemption. What is lost, is not lost forever.

So in answering the question of whether what is lost comes back, I study the most beautiful examples.  Did Yusuf return to his father? Did Musa return to his mother? Did Hajar return to Ibrahim? Did health, wealth and children return to Ayoub? From these stories we learn a powerful and beautiful lesson: what is taken by Allah is never lost. In fact, it is only what is with Allah that remains. Everything else vanishes. Allah (swt) says, “What is with you must vanish: what is with Allah will endure. And We will certainly bestow, on those who patiently persevere, their reward according to the best of their actions.” (Quran 16:96)

So, all that is with Allah, is never lost. In fact the Prophet ﷺ has said: “You will never give up a thing for the sake of Allah (swt), but that Allah will replace it for you with something that is better for you than it.” (Ahmad) Did not Allah take the husband of Umm Salimah, only to replace him with the Prophet ﷺ?

Sometimes Allah takes in order to give. But, it’s crucial to understand that His giving is not always in the form we think we want. He knows best what is best. Allah says: “… But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you know not.” (Quran 2:216)

But if something is going to be returned in one form or another, why is it taken at all? Subhan’Allah. It is in the process of ‘losing’ that we are given.
Allah gives us gifts. But then we often become dependent on those gifts, instead of Him. When He gives us money, we depend on the money—not Him. When He gives us people, we depend on people—not Him. When He gives us status or power, we depend on, and become distracted by these things. When Allah gives us health, we become deceived. We think we will never die.

Allah gives us gifts, but then we come to love them as we should only love Him. We take those gifts and inject them into our hearts, until they take over. Soon we cannot live without them. Every waking moment is spent in contemplation of them, in submission and worship to them. The mind and the heart that was created by Allah, for Allah, becomes the property of someone or something else. And then the fear comes. The fear of loss begins to cripple us. The gift—that should have remained in our hands—takes over our heart, so the fear of losing it consumes us. Soon, what was once a gift becomes a weapon of torture and a prison of our own making. How can we be freed of this? At times, in His infinite mercy, Allah frees us…by taking it away.

As a result of it being taken, we turn to Allah wholeheartedly. In that desperation and need, we ask, we beg, we pray. Through the loss, we reach a level of sincerity and humility and dependence on Him which we would otherwise not reach—had it not been taken from us. Through the loss, our hearts turn entirely to face Him.

What happens when you first give a child a toy or the new video game he’s always wanted? He becomes consumed by it. Soon he wants to do nothing else. He sees nothing else. He doesn’t want to do his work or even eat. He’s hypnotized to his own detriment. So what do you do, as a loving parent? Do you leave him to drown in his addiction and complete loss of focus and balance? No.
You take it away.

Then, once the child has regained focus of his priorities, regained sanity and balance, once things are put in their proper place in his heart and mind and life, what happens? You give the gift back. Or perhaps something better. But this time, the gift is no longer in his heart. It is in its proper place. It is in his hand.

Yet in that process of taking, the most important thing happened. The losing and regaining of the gift is inconsequential. The taking of your heedlessness, your dependence and focus on other than Him, and the replacing it with remembrance, dependence and focus only on Him was the real gift. Allah withholds to give.

And so sometimes, the ‘something better’ is the greatest gift: nearnesss to Him. Allah took the daughter of Malik Ibn Dinar in order to save him. He took his daughter, but replaced her with protection from the hell-fire and salvation from a painful life of sin and distance from Him. Through the loss of his daughter, Malik ibn Dinar was blessed with a life spent in nearness to Allah. And even that which was taken (his daughter) would remain with Malik ibn Dinar forever in Jannah.

Ibn ul Qayyim (may Allah be pleased with him) speaks about this phenomenon in his book, Madarij Al Salikin. He says: “The divine decree related to the believer is always a bounty, even if it is in the form of withholding (something that is desired); and it is a blessing, even if it appears to be a trial and an affliction that has befallen him; it is in reality a cure, even though it appears to be a disease!”

So to the question, ‘once something is lost, does it return?’ the answer is yes. It returns. Sometimes here, sometime there, sometimes in a different, better form. But the greatest gift lies beneath the taking and the returning. Allah tells us: “Say, ‘In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they hoard.’” (Quran, 10:58)

Why do people have to leave each other? Part II

 Why do people have to leave each other? Part II

Yasmin Mogahed

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Why Do People Have to Leave Each Other?  Part II

When I was 17 years old, I had a dream. I dreamt that I was sitting inside a masjid and a little girl walked up to ask me a question. She asked me: “Why do people have to leave each other?” The question was a personal one, but it seemed clear to me why the question was chosen for me.

I was one to get attached.

Ever since I was a child, this temperament was clear. While other children in preschool could easily recover once their parents left, I could not. My tears, once set in motion, did not stop easily. As I grew up, I learned to become attached to everything around me. From the time I was in first grade, I needed a best friend. As I got older, any fall-out with a friend shattered me. I couldn’t let go of anything. People, places, events, photographs, moments—even outcomes became objects of strong attachment. If things didn’t work out the way I wanted or imagined they should, I was devastated. And disappointment for me wasn’t an ordinary emotion. It was catastrophic. Once let down, I never fully recovered. I could never forget, and the break never mended. Like a glass vase that you place on the edge of a table, once broken, the pieces never quite fit again.

But the problem wasn’t with the vase. Or even that the vases kept breaking. The problem was that I kept putting them on the edge of tables. Through my attachments, I was dependent on my relationships to fulfill my needs. I allowed those relationships to define my happiness or my sadness, my fulfillment or my emptiness, my security, and even my self-worth. And so, like the vase placed where it will inevitably fall, through those dependencies I set myself up for disappointment. I set myself up to be broken. And that’s exactly what I found: one disappointment, one break after another.

But the people who broke me were not to blame any more than gravity can be blamed for breaking the vase. We can’t blame the laws of physics when a twig snaps because we leaned on it for support. The twig was never created to carry us.
Our weight was only meant to be carried by God. We are told in the Quran: “…whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Qur’an 2: 256)

There is a crucial lesson in this verse: that there is only one handhold that never breaks. There is only one place where we can lay our dependencies. There is only one relationship that should define our self-worth and only one source from which to seek our ultimate happiness, fulfillment, and security. That place is God.

But this world is all about seeking those things everywhere else. Some of us seek it in our careers, some seek it in wealth, some in status. Some, like me, seek it in our relationships. In her book, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert describes her own quest for happiness. She describes moving in and out of relationships, and even traveling the globe in search of this fulfillment. She seeks that fulfillment—unsuccessfully—in her relationships, in meditation, even in food.

And that’s exactly where I spent much of my own life: seeking a way to fill my inner void. So it was no wonder that the little girl in my dream asked me this question. It was a question about loss, about disappointment. It was a question about being let down. A question about seeking something and coming back empty handed. It was about what happens when you try to dig in concrete with your bare hands: not only do you come back with nothing—you break your fingers in the process. And I learned this not by reading it, not by hearing it from a wise sage. I learned it by trying it again, and again, and again.

And so, the little girl’s question was essentially my own question…being asked to myself.
Ultimately, the question was about the nature of the dunya as a place of fleeting moments and temporary attachments. As a place where people are with you today, and leave or die tomorrow. But this reality hurts our very being because it goes against our nature. We, as humans, are made to seek, love, and strive for what is perfect and what is permanent. We are made to seek what’s eternal. We seek this because we were not made for this life. Our first and true home was Paradise: a land that is both perfect and eternal. So the yearning for that type of life is a part of our being. The problem is that we try to find that here. And so we create ageless creams and cosmetic surgery in a desperate attempt to hold on—in an attempt to mold this world into what it is not, and will never be.

And that’s why if we live in dunya with our hearts, it breaks us. That’s why this dunya hurts. It is because the definition of dunya, as something temporary and imperfect, goes against everything we are made to yearn for. Allah put a yearning in us that can only be fulfilled by what is eternal and perfect. By trying to find fulfillment in what is fleeting, we are running after a hologram…a mirage. We are digging into concrete with our bare hands. Seeking to turn what is by its very nature temporary into something eternal is like trying to extract from fire, water.  You just get burned. Only when we stop putting our hopes in dunya, only when we stop trying to make the dunya into what it is not—and was never meant to be (jannah)—will this life finally stop breaking our hearts.

We must also realize that nothing happens without a purpose. Nothing. Not even broken hearts. Not even pain. That broken heart and that pain are lessons and signs for us. They are warnings that something is wrong. They are warnings that we need to make a change. Just like the pain of being burned is what warns us to remove our hand from the fire, emotional pain warns us that we need to make an internal change. That we need to detach. Pain is a form of forced detachment. Like the loved one who hurts you again and again and again, the more dunya hurts us, the more we inevitably detach from it. The more we inevitably stop loving it.

And pain is a pointer to our attachments. That which makes us cry, that which causes us most pain is where our false attachments lie. And it is those things which we are attached to as we should only be attached to Allah which become barriers on our path to God. But the pain itself is what makes the false attachment evident. The pain creates a condition in our life that we seek to change, and if there is anything about our condition that we don’t like, there is a divine formula to change it. God says: “Verily never will God change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (Qur’an, 13:11)

After years of falling into the same pattern of disappointments and heartbreak, I finally began to realize something profound. I had always thought that love of dunya meant being attached to material things. And I was not attached to material things. I was attached to people. I was attached to moments. I was attached to emotions. So I thought that the love of dunya just did not apply to me. What I didn’t realize was that people, moments, emotions are all a part of dunya. What I didn’t realize is that all the pain I had experienced in life was due to one thing, and one thing only: love of dunya.

As soon as I began to have that realization, a veil was lifted from my eyes. I started to see what my problem was. I was expecting this life to be what it is not, and was never meant to be: perfect. And being the idealist that I am, I was struggling with every cell in my body to make it so. It had to be perfect. And I would not stop until it was. I gave my blood, sweat, and tears to this endeavor: making the dunya into jannah. This meant expecting people around me to be perfect. Expecting my relationships to be perfect. Expecting so much from those around me and from this life. Expectations. Expectations. Expectations. And if there is one recipe for unhappiness it is that: expectations. But herein lay my fatal mistake. My mistake was not in having expectations; as humans, we should never lose hope. The problem was in *where* I was placing those expectations and that hope. At the end of the day, my hope and expectations were not being placed in God. My hope and expectations were in people, relationships, means. Ultimately, my hope was in this dunya rather than Allah.

And so I came to realize a very deep Truth. An ayah began to cross my mind. It was an ayah I had heard before, but for the first time I realized that it was actually describing me:  “Those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present, and those who heed not Our Signs.” (Qur’an, 10:7)

By thinking that I can have everything here, my hope was not in my meeting with God. My hope was in dunya. But what does it mean to place your hope in dunya? How can this be avoided? It means when you have friends, don’t expect your friends to fill your emptiness. When you get married, don’t expect your spouse to fulfill your every need. When you’re an activist, don’t put your hope in the results. When you’re in trouble don’t depend on yourself. Don’t depend on people. Depend on God.

Seek the help of people—but realize that it is not the people (or even your own self) that can save you. Only Allah can do these things. The people are only tools, a means used by God. But they are not the source of help, aid, or salvation of any kind. Only God is. The people cannot even create the wing of a fly (22:73).  And so, even while you interact with people externally, turn your heart towards God. Face Him alone, as Prophet Ibrahim (as) said so beautifully: “For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” (Qur’an, 6:79)

But how does Prophet Ibrahim (as) describe his journey to that point? He studies the moon, the sun and the stars and realizes that they are not perfect. They set.
They let us down.

So Prophet Ibrahim (as) was thereby led to face Allah alone. Like him, we need to put our full hope, trust, and dependency on God. And God alone. And if we do that, we will learn what it means to finally find peace and stability of heart. Only then will the roller coaster that once defined our lives finally come to an end. That is because if our inner state is dependent on something that is by definition inconstant, that inner state will also be inconstant. If our inner state is dependent on something changing and temporary, that inner state will be in a constant state of instability, agitation, and unrest. This means that one moment we’re happy, but as soon as that which our happiness depended upon changes, our happiness also changes. And we become sad. We remain always swinging from one extreme to another and not realizing why.

We experience this emotional roller coaster because we can never find stability and lasting peace until our attachment and dependency is on what is stable and lasting. How can we hope to find constancy if what we hold on to is inconstant and perishing? In the statement of Abu Bakr is a deep illustration of this truth. After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ died, the people went into shock and could not handle the news. But although no one loved the Prophet ﷺ like Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr understood well the only place where one’s dependency should lie. He said: “If you worshipped Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead. But if you worshipped Allah, know that Allah never dies.”

To attain that state, don’t let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don’t let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him (Qur’an, 49:13). And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes.
Looking back at the dream I had when I was 17, I wonder if that little girl was me. I wonder this because the answer I gave her was a lesson I would need to spend the next painful years of my life learning. My answer to her question of why people have to leave each other was: “because this life isn’t perfect; for if it was, what would the next be called?”

Rewards for going early to Friday Prayer (Salat Jumuah) in Islam

  Rewards for going early to Friday Prayer (Salat Jumuah) in Islam

Abu Hurairah (RadhiAllahu anhu) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said,

"He who takes a bath on Friday, like the bath for ceremonial purity, and then goes (to the mosque), he is like one who offers a camel as a sacrifice to seek the Pleasure of Allah;

and he who comes at the second hour is like one who offers a cow to win the Pleasure of Allah;

and he who comes at the third hour is like one who offers a ram with horns (in sacrifice);

and he who comes at the fourth hour is like one who offers a hen;

and he who comes at the fifth hour is like one who offers an egg.

And when the Imam ascends the pulpit, the angels (who write the names of those who come to the mosque before the coming of the Imam) close (their record) in order to listen to the Khutbah.''

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]


Commentary:
This Hadith mentions the merits of going early for Salat-ul-Jumu`ah and narrates inducements provided for it. The earlier a person goes for it, the greater his reward will be. In fact, the reward for it goes on diminishing in proportion to the delay that he makes in reaching the mosque for this purpose so much so that he who reaches the Masjid after the Khutbah, will be totally deprived of the benefits which go with it because his name does not figure in the register which shows men of merits.

Salat-ul-Jumu`ah is also attended by angels. This fact shows the eminence for the Khutbah of Salat-ul-Jumu`ah and the Salat itself.

The Ghusl performed on Jumu`ah should be done with the same meticulous care as is done in Ghusl Janabah (post-coition bath).

Riyad-us-Saliheen – Hadith No : 1155

Do you want to grow plants in Paradise (Jannah) now!

 

Ibn Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"I met Ibrahim (PBUH) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra),

and he said to me:

`O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering:

سُبْحَانَ اللهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ للهِ، 

 وَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَُر

Subhan-Allah,  Al-hamdu lillah,

La ilaha illallah  and Allahu Akbar

(Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah;

there is no true God except Allah; and Allah is Greatest).''

[At-Tirmidhi]


Commentary:
Qi`an  is the plural of Qa` which means plain levelled land that does not have any tree. Trees grow on the plain land of Jannah in return for remembrance and Glorification of Allah. The more one remembers Allah, the greater is the number of trees which grow on the piece of land that will be awarded to him

Riyad-us-Saliheen – Hadith No: 1440

Words of Wisdom from the Quran

Some Words of Wisdom from the Quran
                            
And whenever you give your word, say the truth [al-An’aam 6:152]

And seek help in patience and prayer [al-Baqarah 2:45]

And speak good to people [al-Baqarah 2:83]

And fulfil the Covenant of Allaah when you have covenanted [al-Nahl 16:91]

Verily! Allaah commands that you should render back the trusts to those to whom they are due [al-Nisa’ 4:58]
And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift) [al-Isra’ 17:29]

Eat and drink, but waste not by extravagance [al-A’raaf 7:31]

And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is al-taqwa (piety, righteousness) [al-Baqarah 2:197]

And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty) [al-Talaaq 65:2]

And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him [al-Talaaq 65:3]

He who obeys the Messenger has  indeed obeyed Allaah [al-Nisa’ 4:80]

By no means shall you attain al-birr (righteousness) until you spend (in Allaah’s cause) of that which you love [Aal ‘Imraan 3:92]

Allaah (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of Affairs (for us) [Aal ‘Imraan 3:171]

And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance [al-Isra’ 17:37.
And turn not your face away from men with pride [Luqmaan 31:18]
And be moderate (or show no arrogance) in your walking, and lower your voice [Luqmaan 31:19]

And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of obedience to Allaah as a favour to Allaah) [al-Muddaththir 74:6]

  Words of Wisdom from the Holy Prophet

  1. Acquire knowledge, it enables its professor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven. It is our friend in the desert, our company in solitude and companion when friendless. It guides us to happiness, it sustains us in misery, it is an ornament amongst friends and an armour against enemies.

2. A Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can eat, is committing an act of charity. (Muslim)

3. There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah. (Bukhari)

4. What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured. (Bukhari)

5. The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self. (Bukhari)

6. If you put your whole trust in Allah, as you ought, He most certainly will satisfy your needs, as He satisfies those of the birds. They come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests. (Tirmidhi)

  7. When Allah created his creatures He wrote above His throne: 'Verily, my Compassion overcomes my wrath. (Bukhari & Muslim)

8. Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures. (Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)

9. 'Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone.' Then the Prophet said: 'O my son! This is one of my laws, and he, who loves my laws verily loves me.' (Bukhari)

10. Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people. (Baihaqi)

11. Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith. (Muslim)

12. When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less. (Muslim)

13. If you do not feel ashamed of anything, then you can do whatever you like. (Abu-Masud: Bukhari)

14. O Lord, grant me your love, grant me that I love those who love you; grant me, that I might do the deeds that win your love. Make your love dearer to me than the love of myself, my family and wealth. (Tirmidhi)

15. It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad; and it is better still to sit with the good than alone. It is better to speak to a seeker of knowledge than to remain silent; but silence is better than idle words. (Bukhari)

16. Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms. (Muslim)

17. Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth. He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you.(Abu Daud: Tirmidhi)

18. It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path, that leads to bliss. (Muslim)

19. Once a man, who was passing through a road, found a branch of a tree with torns obstructing it. The man removed the thorns from the way. Allah thanked him and forgave his sins. (Bukhari)
20. Who are the learned? Those who practice what they know. (Bukhari)

21. Allah has revealed to me, that you must be humble. No one should boast over one another, and no one should oppress another. (Iyad b. Hinar al-Mujashi: Muslim)

22. Who is the most favoured of Allah? He, from whom the greatest good comes to His creatures. (Bukhari)

23. A true Muslim is thankful to Allah in prosperity, and resigned to His will in adversity. (Muslim)

24. A Muslim who meets with others and shares their burdens is better than one who lives a life of seclusion and contemplation. (Muslim)

25. Serve Allah, as you would if you could see Him; although you cannot see Him, He can see you. (Umar: Muslim)

26. Allah does not look at your appearance or your possessions; but He looks at your heart and your deeds. (Abu Huraira: Muslim)

27. The best richness is the richness of the soul. (at the field ofTabuk, Syria, Rajab 9 A.H.: Bukhari)

28. Keep yourselves far from envy; because it eats up and takes away good actions, like a fire eats up and burns wood. (Abu Daud)

29. Much silence and a good disposition there are no two things better than these. (Bukhari)

30. Verily, Allah is mild and is fond of mildness, and He gives to the mild what He does not give to the harsh. (Muslim)

31. Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him. (Bukhari)

32. Once the Prophet was asked:'Tell us, which action is dearest to Allah?' He answered:'To say your prayer at its proper time.' Again he was asked: 'What comes next?' Mohammed said: 'To show kindness to parents.' 'Then what?' he was asked, 'To strive for the cause of Allah!' (Ibn Masad: Bukhari)

33. When two persons are together, two of them must no whisper to each other, without letting the third hear; because it would hurt him. (Bukhari & Muslim)

34. Verily, it is one of the respects to Allah to honor an old man. (Bukhari)

35. All Muslims are like a foundation, each strengthening the other; in such a way they do support each other. (Abu Musa: Bukhari & Muslim)

36. Strive always to excel in virtue and truth. (Bukhari)

37. You will not enter paradise until you have faith; and you will not complete your faith till you love one another. (Muslim)

38. He, who wishes to enter paradise at the best gate, must please his father and mother. (Bukhari & Muslim)

39. I am leaving two things among you, and if you cling to them firmly you will never go astray; one is the Book of Allah and the other is my way of life. (Farewell Pilgrimage: Muatta)

40. Allah is One and likes Unity. (Muslim)41. The best of alms is that, which the right hand gives and the left hand knows not of. (Bukhari)

42. The perfect Muslim is not a perfect Muslim, who eats till he is full and leaves his neighbors hungry. (Ibn Abbas: Baihaqi)

43. He is not of us who is not affectionate to the little ones, and does not respect the old; and he is not of us, who does not order which is lawful, and prohibits that which is unlawful. (Ibn Abbas: Tirmidhi)

44. No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that, what he desires for himself. (Abu Hamza Anas: Bukhari & Muslim)

45. To strive for the cause of Allah from daybreak to noon and sunset is better than the goods and enjoyment of the whole worldly life. (Bukhari)

46. Be not like the hypocrite who, when he talks, tells lies; when he gives a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he proves dishonest. (Bukhari & Muslim)

47. The proof of a Muslim's sincerity is, that he pays no heed to that, which is not his business. (Abu Hureira: Tirmidhi)

48. Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind. (Muslims & Bukhari)

49. Conduct yourself in this world, as if you are here to stay forever; prepare for eternity as if you have to die tomorrow. (Bukhari)

50. The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveller, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way. (Tirmidhi)
   Words of Wisdom from Muslim Scholars and Thinkers

 Love for God envelopes the heart, it rules the heart and it even spreads over everything.
- Imam Ghazzali

Acquire knowledge, and for acquiring knowledge learn to be calm and clement.
- Caliph Umar

Everyone is in the world as a guest, and his money is but a loan. The guest must go sooner or later and the loan must be returned.
- Ibn Masud

Know that patience, if viewed against one's affairs is like the head to the body. If the head leaves the body the whole body will be spoiled, likewise, if patience leaves, all affairs will be spoiled.
- Caliph Ali

Patience is of two halves, one half is patience, the other half is thanking God.
- Ibn Masud

Fear more the sin when you are out of sight, it is where your witness is also your judge.
- Caliph Ali

The person I like most is the one who points out my defects.
- Caliph Umar

Intention is the measure for rendering actions true, so that, where intention is sound, action is sound, and where it is corrupt, then action is corrupt.
- Imam an-Nawawi

I looked at all friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue. I thought about all dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety. I thought of all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice. I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience.
- Caliph Umar

He Who created the eye of the mosquito is the One Who created the sun.
- Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Distress teaches vice. Despair is the source of misguidance; and darkness of heart, the source of distress of the spirit.
- Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Solidarity in a society results in tranquility in all its activities, while mutual envy causes all its activities to come to a standstill.
- Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

The revival of religion is the revival of the nation. The life of religion is the light of life.
- Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

A person who sees the good in things has good thoughts. And he who has good thoughts receives pleasure from life.
- Bediuzzaman Said Nursi 

Most superior way of asking forgiveness from Allah

 

                 The most superior way of asking forgiveness from Allah

Narrated Shaddad bin Aus (Radhi-Allahu 'anhu):

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

"The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is:

Allaahumma 'Anta Rabbee laa 'ilaaha 'illaa 'Anta, khalaqtanee wa 'anaa 'abduka, wa 'anaa 'alaa 'ahdika wa wa'dika mas-tata'tu, 'a'oothu bika min sharri maa sana'tu, 'aboo'u laka bini'matika 'alayya, wa 'aboo'u bithanbee faghfir lee fa'innahu laa yaghfiruth-thunooba 'illaa 'Anta.

[ O Allah, You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship but You. You created me and I am your slave. I keep Your covenant, and my pledge to You so far as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I admit to Your blessings upon me, and I admit to my misdeeds. Forgive me, for there is none who may forgive sins but You.]

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam) added: "If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise."

[Sahih Bukhari - Book 75: Hadith 318]

"Fortress of the Muslim" Invocation No. 79


This is a very important invocation, please practice and share this Hadith with your relatives & friends and may Allah SWT reward you.  

Full of Praise and Glorification of Allah (SWT)

Full of Praise and Glorifacation of Allah (SWT)

Juwairiyah bint Al-Harith (RadhiAllahu 'anha) reported, the Mother of the Believers: The Prophet ﷺ came out from my apartment in the morning as I was busy in performing the dawn prayer. He ﷺ came back in the forenoon and found me sitting there.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Are you still in the same position as I left you.'' I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ said,

"I recited four words three times after I had left you. If these are to be weighed against all you have recited since morning, these will be heavier. These are:

"سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ: عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ،

 وَرِضَا نَفْسِهِ، وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ وَمِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ".

Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi, `adada khalqihi, wa rida nafsihi, wa zinatah `arshihi, wa midada kalimatihi

[Allah is free from imperfection and I begin with His praise, as many times as the number of His creatures, in accordance with His Good Pleasure, equal to the weight of His Throne and equal to the ink that may be used in recording the words (for His Praise)].''

[Sahih Muslim - Book 035 - Hadith 6575]


Commentary:
The recitation of the words quoted in this Hadith is highly meritorious and rewarding because they are full of Praise and Glorification of Allah.

Riyad-us-Saliheen – Hadith No : 1433

Please Share this Hadith with your relatives & friends and may Allah SWT reward you.

Who are the most unsuccessful people?

" (O Muhammad), say to them, "Should We tell you who are the most unsuccessful people and miserable failures in regard to their deeds?

They are those, whose endeavors, in the worldly life, had all gone astray from the Right Way but all along they were under the delusion that everything they were doing, was rightly directed."

(Surah Al-Kahf:103-104)

"(O Muhammad), say to them, "If the waters of the ocean were to become ink to write the Words of my Lord, it would exhaust but the Words of my Lord will not exhaust: nay, even if We brought as much ink again, it will not suffice for that."

Surah Al-Kahf 109

Prophet`s Wudoo

PROPHET'S WUDOO'

A Description of How the Prophet Made Wudoo' By Fahd ibn 'Abdir Rahman ash-Shuwaib. Translated into English by Dawood Burbank al-Britanee. Source: qss.org

Introduction

Preface Verily all praise is for Allaah, we praise Him and seek His aid and ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allaah from the evils of ourselves and our evil actions. Whomever Allaah guides there is none who can misguide him, and whomever Allaah misguides there is none who can guide him, and I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah Alone, having no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.

O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature his mate, and from them twain scattered countless men and women; reverence Allaah, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you): for Allaah ever watches over you. [Soorat-un-Nisaa' ayah 1]

O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islaam. [Soorat-ul-Aal-i-'Imraan ayah 102]

O you who believe! FearAllaah, and (always) say a word did to the right that He may make your conduct whole and sound and forgive you your sins: He that obeys Allaah and His Messenger, has already attained the highest achievement. [Soorat-ul-Ahzaab ayaat 70-71]

As for what follows: Verily the most truthful speech is the Word of Allaah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), and the worst of affairs are the novelties and every novelty is an innovation and every innovation is a going astray and every going astray is in the Fire.

I desired to write this as a completion for the treatises which are in circulation amongst the people today - about the different fields - especially of worship such as Prayer and Fasting, etc. - which have made easier that which is difficult as regards religious rulings and being guided thereby, as it maybe difficult these days for some to read, research and extract these rulings from their places within the source books - either because of the ignorance of the Muslims or laziness or other worldly problems. I sincerely advise all the Muslims to read and research until they come to know and understand their true Deen - and I wished to write this in order to complete the series of the types of worship, especially since no one has particularized this topic in a treatise - except what occurs within the books of reference as we have explained - but I have not found this in the form of a treatise.

My method for this treatise has been not to quote except what is authentic from the hadeeth of Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - if Allaah wishes - ordering it according to the order of the Wudoo of Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), and I have commented on some of the points about which there is difference of opinion - stating that which is correct therefrom in our view after replying to the other opinions.

I ask Allaah to guide us to that which is proper - verily He is the One having authority over that and having the Power to do so.

The Definition of Wudoo

Wudoo in the Arabic Language:

Wudoo is the action, and wadoo the water used therefor - and it is also a verbal noun; or they are two forms of the same word, both meaning the verbal-noun and maybe both referring also to the water used.

 

Wudoo in the Sharee'ah:

 

Wudoo is using clean and cleansing (Tuhoor) water upon certain body parts as Allaah ta'ala has prescribed and explained.

The Prescription of Wudoo in The Kitaab And Sunnah:

Allaah ta'ala says: O Ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles [soorat-ul-Maa'idah, 5:6]

1. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: The Prayer of anyone of you breaching purification is not accepted unless he makes wudoo. [Al-Bukhaaree, (Fath ul-Baaree, 1/206), Muslim (no.225) and others].

2. Ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said: Indeed I heard Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say: Allaah does not accept Prayer without purification, nor Sadaqah from illegally attained wealth. [Muslim (1/160) and others].

3. Ibn 'Abbaas (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said: Rasolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: Verily I have been ordered to make wudoo when I stand for Prayer. [Saheeh. Reported by Abu Dawood (no.3760); at-Tirmidhee (no.1848), and he declared it to be 'hasan-saheeh': an-Nasaa.ee (1/73). And Shaikh al-Albaanee declares it to be 'saheeh' ('Saheeh ul-Jaami', no.2333)].

4. Abu Sa'eed (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: The key to Prayer is purification, its 'tahreem' [1] is the takbeer and its 'tahleel' [2] is the giving salaam. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.60); at-Tirmidhee (no.3); Ibn Maajah (no.275) and others. Declared as 'saheeh' by Shaikh al-Albaanee: ('Saheeh ul-Jaami', no.5761)].

The Excellence of Wudoo

5. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu'alaihi wa sallam) said: Shall I not guide you to that by which Allaah wipes away the sins and raises the ranks? They said: Certainly O Messenger of Allaah! He said Completing the wudoo when it is a hardship, and many steps to the mosques and waiting for the [next] Prayer after the Prayer, that is 'ar-Ribaat' (defending the frontiers), that is 'ar-Ribaat' that is 'ar-Ribaat'). [Reported by Muslim (1/151) and others].

6. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) reports that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said When the Muslim (or 'Believing') servant makes wudoo and washes his face then the sin of everything he looked at with his eye comes away with the water, or with the last drop of the water, and when he washes his hands then the sin of everything he stretched out his hands to comes away with the water, or with the last drop of the water. And when he washes his feet every sin which his feet walked towards comes away with the water or with the last drop of the water - so that he leaves clean (clear/pure) from sins. [Reported by Muslim (1/148) and others].

7. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) reports that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came to the graveyard and said Peace be upon you, dwelling of Believing People and we will (all) if Allaah wills join you soon. I would have liked to have seen our brothers! They said: Are we not your brothers, O Messenger of Allaah? He said You are my Companions and our brothers are those who have not yet come! They said: How will you know those who have not yet come from your Ummah, O Messenger of Allaah? He said Have you not seen that if a man had a horse with a white blaze and hoof along with a totally jet-black horse, then would he not know his horse? They said: Certainly, O Messnger of Allaah. He said So they will come with white blazes and marks from the wudoo and I am present before them at the Hand ('water-tank') Indeed men will be driven away from my 'water-tank' as the lost camel is driven away from their gathering place. 'Come on'. So it will be said: 'Indeed they have made changes after you,' so I will say: Be off, be off. [Muslim 249].

8. Abu Umaamah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said When a Muslim makes wudoo the sins he has committed come away from his hearing and from his sight and from his hand and from his feet, so when he sits he sits down having been forgiven. [Reported by Ahmad (5/252) and is hasan].

9. Abu Maalik al-Ash'aree (radhiAllaahu anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said Purification is half of Imaan. And 'al-hamdu lillaah' fills the Scales. And 'subhaanAllaah' and 'al-hamdu lillaah' fill whatever is between the heaven and the earth. And Prayer is a light. And Sadaqah is a clear proof. And Sabr (patience) is a shining light. And the Qur'aan is a proof for or against you. Every person starts the day dealing for his own soul so he either sets it free or destroys it. [Reported by Muslim (1/140) and others].

10. 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Whoever makes wudoo and makes it well, his sins come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails. [Reported by Muslim (3/133) and others].

11. 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Whoever makes wudoo like this - then all of his previous sins are forgiven - and his Prayer and his walking to the mosque are above and beyond that. [Reported by Muslim, 3/113].

12. Ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu'alaihi wasallam) said When one of you makes wudoo and makes it well, then goes out to the mosque - having no purpose except Prayer - then his left foot continues to wipe away his evil deeds and his right foot continually writes for him good deeds until he enters the mosque. And if the people knew what there was in the night prayer and Subh prayers - then they would come to them even if they had to crawl. [Reported by at-Tabraanee in 'al-Mu'jam ul-Kabeer'. And Ash-Shaikh al-Albaanee declares it to be saheeh (As-Saheehah, no.454). And its meaning is reported by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim from the narration of Abu Hurairah].

13. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Whoever makes wudoo and makes it well then goes out - and then finds that the people have finished the Prayer - then Allaah gives him the same reward as one who had prayed it along with the people without diminishing any of their reward. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.564) and an-Nasaa'ee (no.856) and others. Al-Albaanee declares it to be 'saheeh' (As-Saheehah, no.6039)].

14. Zaid ibn Khaalid al Juhanee (radhiAllaahu'anhu ) relates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Whoever makes wudoo and makes it well, then prays two rak'ahs not letting his mind wander in them - then Allaah forgives him all of his previous sins. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.905) and others. Al-Albaanee declares it to be 'hasan' (As-Saheehah, no.6041)].

15. 'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Whoever makes wudoo and makes it well, then prays two rak'ahs concentrating therein with his heart and his face - then Paradise is obligatory for him. [Reported by an-Nasaa'ee. Al-Albaanee declares it to be 'saheeh' (As-Saheehah, no.6062)].

16. 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: I heard Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say Whoever makes wudoo for Prayer and completes the wudoo - then walks to the obligatory Prayer and prays it with the people - or with the congregation - or in the mosque - then Allaah forgives his sins. [Reported by Muslim (1/144) and others].

17. 'Alee (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) relates that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Completing the wudoo when it is a hardship, and walking to the mosque, and waiting for the next prayer after the previous one (greatly) washes away the sins. [Reported by al-Haakim (1/132) who declared it to be saheeh to the standard of Muslim. And al-Haithumee said in 'Az-Zawaa-id': It is narrated by Abu Ya'laa and al-Bazzaar. And its narrators are up to the standard of Al-Bukharee],

18. Humraan ibn Abaan relates that 'Uthmaan asked for water to make wudoo - then he mentioned how the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo . Then he said: The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said at the end of the hadeeth Whoever makes wudoo in the same way that I have just made wudoo then stands up and prays two rak'ahs, not thinking of other things, then his previous sins are forgiven. [Related by al-Bukhaaree (Fath ul-Baaree, 11/213) and Muslim (no.226) and an-Nasaa'ee ( 1/63)] .

The Components of Wudoo

An Niyyah (Intention) This is the firm resolve of the heart to perform wudoo in obedience to the order of Allaah ta'ala and His Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Ibn Taimiyyah (rahimahullaah) said (Majmoo'at-ur-Rasaa-il il-Kubraa 1/243): "The place of the niyyah is the heart and not the tongue in all forms of 'ibaadah - and that is agreed upon by all the Muslim scholars - Purification, Prayer, Zakaat, Sawm, Hajj, 'Itq (freeing of slaves), Jihaad, etc. If he were to express with his tongue other than that which he intended in his heart - then what he intended is counted, not what he said. If he voiced the intention with his tongue and the intention was not in his heart, that will not count - by total agreement of all the scholars of Islaam - so the niyyah is the firm intention and resolve itself."

19. As Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) himself explained in the hadeeth narrated by 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) in the Sahihain Verily the actions are by intention and there is for everyone only what he intended... [Fath-ul-Baaree, 1/9, and Muslim, 6/48].

At-Tasmiyyah (Mentioning Allaah's Name) 

20. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu' anhu) said that Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) said There is no wudoo for him who does not mention Allaah's name upon it. [Reported by Ibn Maajah (no.399), At-Tirmidhee (no.26), Abu Dawood (no.101) and others. Ash-Shaikh al-Albaani says: hadeeth Saheeh (Saheeh ul-Jaarni', no.7444)].

Imam Ahmad in one of his two sayings is of the opinion that it is obligatory in wudoo, ghusl, and Tayammum. He was followed in this opinion by Abu Bakr, and it is the saying of al-Hasan (al-Basaree) and Imam Ishaaq - as reported by Ibn Qudaamah in 'al-Mughnee' (1/84) and their proof is this hadeeth.

Ibn Qudaamah adds: If we take the saying that it is obligatory, then the wudoo of one who deliberately leaves it is not correct as he has left an obligatory duty in Purification - just as if he had left the intention; and if he left it forgetfully then his purification is correct. (Al-Mughnee). And this is the saying that we regard as being correct.

As for Ibn Taimiyyah (rahimahullah) he held it to be obligatory if the related hadeeth was authentic - as occurs in his Kitaab-ul-Imaan - and the hadeeth is authentic, so therefore his opinion (rahimahullah) is that it is obligatory.

21. Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim report from Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) that some of the Companions of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) sought water for wudoo , so Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Does any of you have water? So he put his hand into the water and said Make wudoo in the name of Allaah. And I saw the water coming out from between his fingers until they all made wudoo . Thaabit said: "I said to Anas (radhiAllaahu'anhu): How many were there? He said: About seventy. [Al-Bukhaaree, 1/236, Muslim, 8/411, An-Nasaa'ee, V8].

As for the proof for that which we have stated - it is his (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saying Make wudoo in the name of Allaah. As for those who say that it is only sunnah mu'akkadah then they base that upon the relative hadeeth being da'eef ( There is no wudoo ... ). However since the hadeeth is saheeh as we have explained, then there remains no proof for them and the proof is with us, and Allaah Knows Best.

So it is therefore obligatory as we have shown, however the one who forgets should mention Allaah's name when he remembers.

Washing the Hands 

22. Humraan (radhiAllaahu'anhu) narrates that 'Uthmaan called for water to make wudoo and washed his hands three times... then said: I saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)make wudoo just as I have made wudoo . [Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, and as preceded].

23. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said When one of you awakes from sleep then let him not enter his hand into the bowl/vessel until he washes it three times as he does not know where his hand has spent the night. [Al-Bukhaaree (Fath ul-Baaree, 1/229), Muslim and it is his wording, as al-Bukhaaree doesn't report "three times"].

24. And in the hadeeth of'Abdullaah ibn Zaid (radhiAllaahu'anhu) he was asked about the wudoo of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), so he called for a bowl of water and made wudoo from it as the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo, and he poured out water from the bowl upon his hand and washed it three times. [Al-Bukhaaree (al Fath, l/255), Muslim, 3/121].

25. Aus ibn Abi Aus reports from his grandfather (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: I saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) make wudoo washing his hands three times. [Ahmad (4/9), An-Nasaa'ee (1/55) - with saheeh isnaad].

Al-Madmadah and Al-Istinshaaq AL-MADMADAH: Is washing the mouth and moving the water around within it.

AL-ISTINSHAAQ: Is taking water into the nose and breathing it into its backmost part.

AL-ISTINTHAAR: Is expelling the water from the nose after istinshaaq.

Washing the Mouth and Nose Together with One Handful (of Water) 

26. 'Abdullaah ibn Zaid al-Ansaaree said that it was said to him: Perform for us the wudoo of Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), so he called for a pot of water..until he said: So he washed his mouth and nose with a single handful and did that three times. [Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim].

Washing the Mouth 

27. In the hadeeth of 'Amr ibn Yahyaa (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) he said: And he washed his mouth and nose using three handfuls of water. [Muslim, 3/123].

Al-Imam an-Nawawi says: And in this hadeeth is a clear proof for the correct opinion that the sunnah in washing the mouth and nose is that it should be with three handfuls of water - washing the mouth and nose [together] with each of them.

28. In the hadeeth of'Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu'anhaa) in which she describes the wudoo of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that he said When you make wudoo then wash your mouth. [Al-Baihaqi says: 'Its isnaad is saheeh.' And it contains an addition to the previous hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah in Abu Dawood, no.l43].

Washing the Nose and Expelling the Water 

29. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said When one of you makes wudoo then let him enter water into his nose, then expel it. [Al-Bukhaaree (al-Fath, 1/229), Muslim (no.237), Abu Dawood (no. 140)].

30. Exerting in sniffing in the water as long as you are not fasting is reported in the hadeeth of Laqeet (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: O Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), inform me of the wudoo . He said Complete the wudoo and rub between the fingers and exert in breathing in the water into the nose unless you are fasting. [Abu Dawood, no.l42; At-Tirmidhee, no.38; An-nasaa'ee, no.ll4; IbMaajah, no.407; and others]. (Declared as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan and al-Haalcim, and adh-Dhahabee agreed to that. Also declared as saheeh by Ibn al Qaataan, An-Nawawi and Ibn Hajr. Refer to the footnote in al-Baghawi's Sharh us-Sunnah: 1/417].

It is clear from these two ahaadith that washing the mouth and nose are both obligatory (waajib). Ibn Qudaamah says in 'al-Mughnee': Washing the nose and washing the mouth are both obligatory in both forms of purification - Ghusl and wudoo - as washing the face is obligatory in both of them in the established view of the madhhab; and it is the saying of Ibn al-Mubaarak, Ibn Abi Lailaa and Ishaaq, and it is reported from 'Ataa.

Taking Water into the Nose with the Right Hand and Expelling it with the Left 'Abd Khair said: We were sitting looking towards 'Alee - as he made wudoo - and he entered into his mouth a handful of water with his right hand and washed his mouth and nose, then expelled it from his nose with his left hand - he did that three times, then said: Whoever would like to see the way of purification of Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - then this is his purification. [Reported by ad-Daarimee. Ash-shaikh al-Albaanee says in his notes on al-Mishkaat: Its isnaad is saheeh].

Washing the Face  

The face (wajh) is determined as being everything between the beginnings of the hair down to the cheeks and the chin, and up to the start of the ears including that which is between the beard and ear.

Allaah ta'ala says: O Ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. [soorat-ul-Maa'idah,5:7]

Humraan ibn Abaan narrates that 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) called for water to make wudoo and so mentioned the way in which the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo . Humraan said: Then he washed his face three times. [Al-Bukhaaree (al-Fath, 1/312), Muslim (no.226)].

Running Water Through the Beard with the Fingers

31. 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu'anhu) narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to run his (wet fingers) through his beard. [At-Tirmidhee (no.31), Ibn Maajah (no.430), Ibn Jaarood (p.43) and al-Haakim (1/14~) who declared its isnaad as saheeh as did Ibn Khuzaimah and Ibn Hibbaan. See the note in al-Baghagawi's Sharh us-Sunnah, 1/421].

32. Anas (radhiAllaahu'anhu) narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu'alaihi wa sallam), when he made wudoo , used to take a handful of water and enter it below his chin and rub it through his beard and said This is what my Lord - the Great and Exalted - has ordered me to do. [Abo Dawood (no.145), al-Baihaqee (1/54), al-Haakim (1/149). Ash-Shaikh al-Albaani declares it to be saheeh (Saheeh ul-Jaami', no.4572)].

Some of the scholars have declared that entering water through the beard is obligatory and say: If he deliberately leaves it - then he must repeat the ( wudoo and) prayer. And this is the saying of Imam Ishaaq and Abu Thaur.

Most of the scholars however are of the opinion that the order is an order of desirability (istihbaab) and it is not obligatory - and that it is clearer that that which is obligatory is moving water through that part of the beard..so that it reaches the skin underneath. [Al-Khattaabee, 1/56].

Imam Ahmad and Laith and most of the scholars hold that moving water through the beard is obligatory when taking ghusl from Janaabah - and not obligatory in wudoo . ['Aun al Ma'bood, 1/247].

Washing the Arms Including the Elbows 

Note: The arms here which we are ordered to wash begin with the fingertips and hands - which are to be included in this washing - they being part of the arm (yad) which we are ordered to Wash in the aayah.

Allaah ta'ala says: O Ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. [soorat-ul-Maa'idah,5:7]

Humraan ibn Abaan reports that 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu'anhu) called for water for wudoo and mentioned the Prophet's (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) way of making wudoo - and Humraan said: Then he washed his right arm including the elbow three times, then the left in the same way. [Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim as has preceded].

Regarding inclusion of the elbows in the washing of the arms - scholars have differed: Some of them saying that they must be included in this washing, and others saying that this is not so. And this difference of opinion is due to their disagreement over the meaning of the word "ilaa" (to) in the aayah - does it mean 'up to/until' or 'up to and including' ?

He who says that it means 'up to' does not include the elbows in the washing - just as Allaah ta'ala says: ... thumma 'atimmus-siyaama ilaa -llail: Then complete your fast till the night appears; [soorat-ul-Baqara, 2:187]. And this is the opinion of some of the companions of Imam Maalik.

Most scholars, however, hold the view that the meaning is 'up to and including/along with' - and thus include the elbows in the washing and use as their evidence Allaah ta'ala's saying: ...wa yayazidkum quwwatan ilaa quwwatikum...: ...and add strength to your strength; [Soorat-ul-Hud 11:52]

33. The proof in this matter is the hadeeth of Nu'aim ibn Mijmar who said: I saw Abu Hurairah make wudoo - he washed his face and completed the wudoo , then washed his right hand until he reached the upper arm, then his left hand till he reached the upper arm" - then in the end of the hadeeth he said: "This is how I saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) make wudoo . [Muslim, 1/246]

So, dear reader, it is clear from this hadeeth that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to wash the elbows further, he used to increase upon that and wash part of the upper arm.

34. Jaabir (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said that when the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallarn) made wudoo , he would pass the water over his elbows. [Reported by ad-Daaraqutnee (1/15), al-Baihaqee (1/56) and others - Ibn Hajr declared it to be hasan. And Ash-Shaikh al-Albaanee declared it to be saheeh (Saheeh ul-Jaami', 4547)].

Wiping the Head and Ears and 'Imaamah 

1. Wiping over all of the head as Allaah ta'ala says: ...wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum...: ...rub your heads (with water) [Soorat-ul-Maa'idah 5:7]

Ibn Qudaamah says in 'al-Mughnee': Some of the people who claim that that which is ordered to be wiped is part of the head only - claim that the (Baa) [in the verse] means "part of" as if He had said: "Wipe part of your heads".' However, we say that in His saying wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum the (Baa) is as if He said regarding Tayammum wamsahoo bi wujoohikum [Allaah ta'ala orders us to wipe the faces].

Therefore their saying that the (Baa) means "part of" is incorrect and unknown to the scholars of the language. Ibn Burhaan says: 'He who claims that the "baa" means "part of" has declared before the scholars of the language that of which they have no knowledge. [al-Mughnee, 1/112].

Ash-Shaukaanee (rahimahullah) says in Nail-ul-Autaar: It is not established that it means "part of" and Seebawaih (one of the foremost scholars of the Arabic language) has denied that in fifteen places in his book. (Nail-ul-Autaar, 1/193).

35. In the hadeeth of'Abdullaah ibn Zaid (radhiAllaahu'anhu) is a further proof of the incorrectness of the saying that it means "a part of" - in that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) wiped his head with his two hands, moving them forwards and backwards - beginning with the front of the head and (wiping) with them up to his nape then he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) returned them to the place from which he began. [Al-Bukhaaree (al-Fath, 1/251), Muslim (no.235), at-Tirmidhee (no.28) and others].

2. Wiping the ears: The ruling for the ears is the same as that for the head.

36. And it is authentically reported that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said The two ears are a part of the head. [Reported by at-Tirmidhee, no.37; Abu Dawood, no.l34 and Ibn Maajah, no.444]. (Declared by ash-Shaikh al-Albaanee to be saheeh - as-Saheehah, 1/36 - and Imam Ahmad was of the view that wiping the ears has the same ruling as that for wiping the head.)]

As for those who hold the view that it is a sunnah they do not have any evidence except their regarding this hadeeth as being da'eef - it is however authentic due to a chain of narration which they did not come across and so the proof is with our saying - and Allaah Knows best.

And of the scholars who hold that they are part of the head are Ibn al-Musayyib, 'Ataa, al-Hasan, Ibn Seereen, Sa'eed ibn Jubair and an-Nakha'ee and it is the saying of ath-Thauree and Ahl ur-Ra'y and Imams Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Taking Fresh Water for the Head and Ears 

37. Ash-Shaikh al-Albaanee says in 'ad-Da'eefah', no.995: There is not to be found in the Sunnah anything which obligates taking fresh water for the ears - therefore he should wipe them along with the water for the head - just as it is also permissible to wipe the head with the water remaining from that of the arms after washing them according to the hadeeth of Ar-Rabee' bint Mu'awwidh that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) "wiped his head with water remaining in his hand". [Reported by Abu Dawood and others with hasan isnaad].

The Way of Wiping 

38. From 'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr - about the way of performing wudoo - he said: Then he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) wiped his head and entered his two forefingers into his ears and wiped the backs of his ears with his thumbs. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.135), an-Nasaa'ee (no.140), Ibn Maajah (no.422) and authenticated by Ibn Khuzairnah].

Wiping Over the 'Imaamah (Turban) Only 

39. 'Amr ibn Umayyah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: I saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) wipe over his turban and leather socks. [Reported by al-Bukhaaree (al Fath, 1/266) and others].

40. Bilaal (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) reports that the Prophet (sallallaahu'alaihi wa sallam) wiped over the leather socks and the head cover. [Reported by Muslim, 1/159].

Wiping Over the Turban and Forelock 

41. Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah (radhiAllaahu'anhu) reports that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo and wiped over his forelock and over the turban and leather socks. [Reported by Muslim, 1/159].

Ibn Qudaamah says in 'al-Mughnee' (1/310); And if part of the head is uncovered and it is normally so, then it is preferable to wipe over that along with the turban - that is recorded from Ahmad: as the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) wiped over his turban and forelock - as occurs in the hadeeth of al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah.

As for caps/'prayer hats', it is not permissible to wipe over them as Ahmad says for various reasons, from them: (1) They do not cover all of the head normally, nor are they tied around it. (2) There is no difficulty in their removal.

As for the woman's head cover - it is permissible to wipe over it as Umm Salamah used to wipe over her head cover - as reported by Ibn al-Mundhir. (See'al-Mughnee', 1/312).

Washing the Feet and Ankles 

Allaah ta'ala says: ...wa arjulakum ilaal ka'bayn...: ...and (wash) your feet to the ankles [Soorat-ul-Maa'idah 5:7] [thus ordering the washing of the feet and ankles].

42. Ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) fell behind us and then came upon us during a journey, then we found him and it was time for 'Asr - so we began to make wudoo and wipe over our feet, so he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) called out at the top of his voice Woe to the ankles from the Fire. (two or three times) [Al-Bukhaaree (al Fath, 1/232) and Muslim, 3/128].

An-Nawawi says in his explanation of Sahih Muslim after mentioning the hadeeth: Muslim's intention (rahimahullah) in quoting these hadeeth was to prove with it the obligation of washing the feet - and that wiping them is not sufficient.

43. In the hadeeth of al-Bukhaaree and Muslim from Humraan ibn Abaan that 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu'anhu) called for water for wudoo and then mentioned the wudoo of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) - then Humraan said: Then he washed his right foot to the ankle three times and then his left foot to the ankle three times.

44. As Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) did in Muslim's narration: "Then he washed his right foot till he reached the shin, then he washed the left foot till he reached the shin" and in the end of the hadeeth said: This is what I saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) do. [Muslim, 1/246].

From this hadeeth - O Brother Muslim - it becomes clear that the ankles enter into this washing as is clear from his saying 'till he reached the shin'.

45. Al-Mustaurad (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: When the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo he would enter the water between his toes with his little finger. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.148), at-Tinnidhee (no.40) and Ibn Maajah (no.446). Declared as 'saheeh' by al-Albaanee].

As-San'aanee says in 'Subul-us-Salaam' after quoting this hadeeth: It is a proof for the obligation of wiping between the toes - and this also occurs in the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas which we have indicated - which is reported by at-Tirmidhee, Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim - and authenticated by al-Bukhaaree. And it is done by using the little finger. (See 'Subul-us-Salaam', 1/48).

46. And Laqeet ibn Sabarah said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa salam) said Complete the wudoo and wipe between the Asaabi' (fingers and/or toes). [Abu Dawood (no.142), at-Tirmidhee (no.37), an-Nasaa'ee (no.114), Ibn Maajah (no.407), al-Hakim (1/148). Al-Albaanee says: Saheeh.]. As-San'aanee says: It clearly means both the fingers and toes and is shown clearly in the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas. [Subul-us-Salaam, 1/47].

The Reply to Those who Follow Wiping of the Feet Without Washing 

(1) Wiping the feet when not wearing anything on the foot is not established from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). As for their using as a proof the reading of the Aayah: wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum wa arjulakum ilaal ka'bayn: rub your heads and your feet to the ankles...[soorat-ul-Maaidah 5:7] reading (arjulikum) - and saying that the feet are thus connected to (the command to wipe) the heads - and this is not correct, rather they are connected to (the order to wash) the hands. As for the reading of the word (arjulikum) with Kasra of the laam - as-San'aanee says That is for wiping over the leather socks - as is shown by the Sunnah - and this is the best interpretation for this particular recital. (As-Subul, 1/58).

(2) The Qur'aan is not to be explained according to the human intellect - especially in the matters of worship such as Salaat and wudoo , etc. - but by the Sunnah which explains this Pillar. And there are many such examples in the Qur'an which the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) explained by his sayings - and from this is the washing of the feet - and its proof from the Sunnah has preceded.

(3) If they wish to use the intellect then we say to them: The bottom of the foot has more right to be wiped than the surface (their saying being the wiping of the surface), and if they say: Then what about the socks? we say: That is established from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) just as washing the foot is also established in the Sunnah.

(4) Leaving out one of two verbs and sufficing with one of them, as the Arabs, when two verbs come together having similar meaning and are followed by things related to them, makes it permissible to mention only one of the two verbs and attaching those things relating to the second to those relating to the first which is mentioned - according to what the wording demands, until it is as if the two are partners with regard to the verb, as the poet said: I fed it with hay and cold water. And what is meant is: I fed it with hay and gave it cold water to drink.

(5) The saying of az-Zajjaj (a great scholar of the language): It is permissible that the wording arjulikum) has the meaning of 'wash the feet' as the wording (ilal Ka'bain) conveys that meaning - as the mentioning of a limit suggests washing just as Allaah ta'ala says ilaal maraafiq [that is the limit of the elbows is for washing] however, if wiping were intended then there would be no need for mention of a limit just as Allaah ta'ala says wamsahoo bi ru'oosikum not mentioning any limit (for wiping the head) and further the term wiping can be used to mean washing. (Al-Mirqaat, 1/400).

(6) And further, the great majority of scholars have agreed that it is obligatory to wash the feet and that is reported - and reaches the level of mutawaatir from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) as al-Haafiz Ibn Hajr says; and further it is not established that any of the SSahaabah differed regarding that - except what is reported from 'Alee, Ibn 'Abbas and Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhum) - and it is established that they went back on that. (Al-Mirqaat. 1/400~.

47. And Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) reports that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came to the graveyard and said ...they will come on the Day of Judgement with their blazes shining from the wudoo (It has preceded, no.7). Meaning the Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) will know from the traces of the washing, as for those who do not wash then he will not know them on the Day of Judgement.

Ibn Hajr says: And it is established that this shining of the faces, hands and feet are particular to the Muslim Ummah.

Other Aspects of Wudoo

The Siwaak 

The SIWAAK is that which the mouth is brushed with. And it is also called the MISWAAK, the plural being: SOOK. And the siwaak comes from the Araak tree and it is a well-known tree. Abu Hanifah said: It is the best of the trees whose twigs are used for brushing the teeth... smelling of milk. Abu Ziyaad said: From it is taken there tooth-sticks - from its twigs and roots - and the best part for that is its roots, and it is broadly spreading..And Ibn Shameel: The Araak is a tall fine-shoot green tree with many leaves and branches, having weak wood and growing in hollows - miswaaks are taken from it, being one of the citrus trees. Its singular is Araak and its plural Araa-ik. (Lisaan-ul-'Arab, 268).

It is mustahabb (desirable) to use the siwaak at many different times as is established from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that he used to use the siwaak at every Prayer, and before reading the Qur'an, and before sleeping and when waking, and when the breath changes - whether fasting or not - or whether at the start of the day or in the afternoon, and it is a form of worship which is easy therefore observe it, O my Muslim Brother.

48. And also when making wudoo , as Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) narrates that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said If I did not fear to cause hardship to my Ummah I would have ordered them to use the siwaak with every wudoo. [Reported by at-Tirrnidhee (no.22) who said: Hasan Saheeh, and Maalik (no.123), Ahmad (4/116), Abu Dawood (no.37) and others. Al-Albaanee declared it to be saheeh (Takhree; ul Mishkaat, no.390)].

49. And 'Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu' anhaa) narrates that Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said The siwaak is a means of cleansing the mouth and pleasing the Lord. [Al-Bukhaaree reports it in mu'allaq form - connected by Ahmad, an-Nasaa'ee, Ibn Khuzaimah and Ibn Hibbaan].

Ad-Dalk (Rubbing the Water over the Body Parts): This is part of the wudoo authentically reported from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Al-Mustawrid ibn Shadad said: I saw Rasoolullah (sailallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) when he made wudoo rubbing his toes with his litle finger. [Saheeh as has preceded].

50. Abdullah ibn Zaid (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu'alaihiwasallam) made wudoo and said Rub in this way. [See Nail-ul-Autaar, 4/39].

51. He (radhiAllaahu'anhu) also narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo with two thirds of a mudd [3] (of water) and rubbed over his forearms. [Ibn Khuzaimah (no.118), and its isnaad is Saheeh - and al-Haakim (1/161) reports it by way of Yahyaa ibn Abi Zaa'idah].

Performing the Wudoo in the Order Mentioned in the Ayaah 

As for what is narrated regarding the 'order' as mentioned in the Aayah, then there is nothing to contradict that - and this order is obligatory (waajib) and it is said: Sunnah. [See Fiqh al Imam Sa'eed ibn al Musayyib, 1/64].

As for what is related with regard to the Prophet's wudoo (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) then it has been reported sometimes out of the regular order. And the proof is:

52. Al-Miqdaam ibn Ma'd Yakrib said: I came to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) with water for wudoo , so he washed his hands three times, then washed his face three times, then washed his forearms three times, then washed his mouth and nose three times, then wiped his head and ears - their outsides and insides - and washed each of his feet three times. [Ahmad (4/132), Abu Dawood (1/19) with Saheeh isnaad. Ash-Shaukaanee (1/1~5) said: Its isnaad is good, and it is reported by ad-Diyaa in 'al-Mukhtaarah'. And al-Albaanee records it in 'as-Saheehah', no.261] .

So this is a proof that he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) did not always stick to the regular order - and this is a proof that it is not obligatory - however, his sticking to it mostly shows that it is Sunnah. And Allaah Knows best.

As-Suyooti says as is reported from him in 'Aun al Ma'bood' ( 1/48): It is used as a proof - that is the aforementioned hadeeth - by him who says that sticking to the regular order in wudoo is not obligatory as he washed his mouth and nose after washing his arms. 

Ashhadu anlaa ilaaha illallaahu wahdahu laa shareekalahu washhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasooluhu (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave andMessenger) except that all eight Gates of Paradise are opened for him - so that he enters by whichever he pleases. [Reported by Muslim (no.234), Abu Dawood (no 169), at-Tirmidhee (no.55), an-Nasaa'ee (no.148), Ibn Maajah (no.470)].

And at-Tirmidhee adds an authentic addition to it: :

Allaahumma aj'alnee minat-tawwabeen waj'alnee minal mutatahhireen (O Allaah, make me one of those who constantly repents toYou and of those who purify themselves.) [Declared as Sahih by al-Albaanee].

57. Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)said Whoever makes wudoo then says upon finishing the wudoo:

Subhaanakallaahumma wa bihamdika ashhadu anlaa ilaaha illa anta astaghfiruka wa atoobu ilaika (I declare You free from all defects my Lord and all praise belongs to you and I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You. I seek Your forgiveness and I turn to You) It is written in a parchment, then sealed and is not opened till Judgement Day. [Reported by Ibn ar-Sunnee in 'Amal al Yaurn wal-l~ilah, no.30. Declared as Saheeh by al-Albaanee].  

Washing Each Body-Part Once 

68. Ibn 'Abbaas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo (washing each part) once. [Al-Bukhaaree (al Fath) 1/226].

Washing Each Body-Part Twice 

59. 'Abdullaah ibn Zaid narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo (washing each part) twice. [Al-Bukhaaree (al Fath) 1/226].

Washing Each Body-Part Thrice 

60. In the hadeeth of 'Uthmaan (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) recorded by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) washed each of the parts three times.

So from these ahaadeeth it becomes clear to us that, as is well-known to the large majority of scholars, washing each body-part once is obligatory - and the second and third washings are Sunnah - and it is better to do likewise following the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) ['al-Majmoo' of an-Nawawi, 1/229].

The Desirability of Making Wudoo for Each Prayer

Al-Haafiz says in 'al Fath' (1/172) in the question 'Making wudoo without having broken it':

61. Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) says: The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to make wudoo for every prayer. I said: What had you (the Sahaabah) used to do? He said: One wudoo was sufficient for us till such time as we broke it.

This hadeeth is an evidence that what is meant generally is the obligatory Prayer.

Al-Tahaawee says: It may be that that was obligatory upon him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) particularly - then was abrogated on the Day of Fath by the hadeeth of Buraidah - meaning that which Muslim reports - that he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prayed all the Prayers on the Day of Fath with one wudoo and that 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) asked him about that so he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said I did it deliberately. Or it may be that he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to do it out of desirability only, then feared that it might be thought to be obligatory and so left it to show the permissibility of that.

I say: The result is that making wudoo for every Prayer is mustahabb and praying all of the Prayers with one wudoo is permissible - and Allaah Knows best.

The One who is not Sure if he has Broken the Wudoo or not Relies upon that which he is Certain of 

If he who knows that he has made wudoo then is not sure that he has broken it - then his wudoo remains. And he who knows that he has done that which breaks wudoo and doubts when he has made wudoo thereafter then he does not have wudoo . In each case he relies upon that which he is certain of before that which he has doubt about - and he throws the doubt away. And this is the saying of the great majority of scholars - and it is the saying of Abu Hanifah, ash-Shaafi'ee and Ahmad. ['Al-Mughnee', 1/193, and ~iqh ul Awaaa'ee, 1/56].

62. And the proof for this is what is established from Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said If one of you feels something in his stomach and he isn't sure did anything (wind) come out of it or not - then let him not leave the mosque until he hears a sound or finds a smell. [Muslim (Sharh an-Nawawi, 4/51), 'Aaridat-ul-Ahwadhee Sharh ut-Tirmidhee, 1/79].

So the hadeeth is a proof that things remain upon their original state until there is a certainty of a change in that, and doubt does not harm that - so he who is sure of having made wudoo and thinks that he may have broken it, then he remains upon wudoo .

A Man and Woman's Washing from a Single Vessel 

63. Ibn 'Abbaas (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) narrates that one of the wives of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) took a ghusl from Janaabah then saw Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) about to take a ghusl from the water remaining - so she informed him that she had made ghusl therefrom - so Rasoolulah said Nothing makes the water impure. [Reported by Abu Dawood (no.67), and an-Nasaa'ee (no.326), and at-Tirmidhee who declared it to be hasan saheeh, and Ibn Maajah (no.370)].

Ibn 'Abd ul-Barr says: There is nothing in the Sharee'ah to prevent each of them washing with the water remaining from the other - either together or one after the other, and this is the saying of the scholars of the different lands and the great majority of scholars - and the ahaadeeth about it are Mutawaatir. (Al-Istidhkaar, 1/373).

Making Wudoo after Eating Camel Meat 

64. Jaabir ibn Samurah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) narrates that a man asked Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam): Should I make wudoo because of the meat of sheep? He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said If you wish make wudoo and if you wish then do not make wudoo. He said: Should I make wudoo from the meat of the camel? He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Yes, make wudoo from the meat of the camel. He asked: May I pray in sheep-pens? He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Yes. He asked: May I pray in the stalls of camels? He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said No. [Reported by Muslim, 1/189].

Drying the Body Parts after Purification 

'Uthman ibn 'Affaan, al- Hasan ibn 'Alee, Anas ibn Maalik, al-Hasan al-Basree, Ibn Seereen, 'Alqamah, al-Aswad, Masrooq, ad-Dahhaak, 'Abdullaah ibn al Haarith, Abu Ya'laa, Abul Ahwas, Ash-Sha'bee, Ath-Thawree, Ishaaq, Ibn 'Umar in a narration, and Abu Hanifah, Maalik, Ahmad, and the Shafi'ee Madhhab in one saying, all say that it is permissible after both wudoo and ghusl to dry the body-parts. And their evidence is what 'Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa) reports - she said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had a cloth which he used to dry himself with after making wudoo . [Reported by at-Tirmidhee who declared it to be da'eef]. Then al Ainee states that an-Nasaa'ee records it in 'al-Kunaa' with saheeh isnaad.

I say: And it has other narrations which support and strengthen it. (See Fiqh al-Imam Sa'eed, 1/70). Al-Albaanee declares the hadeeth to be hasan. (Saheeh ul Jaami', 4706).

65. Salmaan al-Faarsee narrates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made wudoo , then turned up a woollen cloak he had and wiped his face with it. [Reported by Ibn Maajah (no.468)]. In az-Zawaa'id it is said: Its isnaad is saheeh.

I  say: In its isnaad is al-Wadeen ibn 'Ataa who is sadooq but has a bad memory as al-Haafiz Ibn Hajr says in 'Taqreeb ut-Tahdheeb', so its isnaad is da'eef!! - but it is strengthened by the previous hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah to the level of hasan - and Allaah Knows best.

Some others hold it to be makrooh to dry the body-parts after Purification and their proof is:

66. What is established from Maimoonah (radhiAllaahu'anhaa) who described the Prophet's (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) ghusl from Janaabah and said: Then I brought him a cloth but he refused it. [Al-Bukhaaree, and Muslim - and the word is his].

The Final word: Is that drying the body-parts is one of the desirable actions as shown by the hadeeth of Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa) - as for the saying that it is makrooh then that is not acceptable as the saying of Maimoonah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa) "but he refused it" does not amount to the fact that it is makrooh - and Allaah Knows best.

Those Things which Break Wudoo

(1) That Which Comes Out from the Two Private Parts (Front And Back): 

Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said Allaah does not accept the prayer of any one of you having committed hadath until he makes wudoo. [Al-Bukhaaree (al Fath, 1/206) and Muslim (no.245)].

67. An-Nawawi says in 'al-Majmoo' (2/3) as for that which comes out of the two private parts - then it breaks wudoo according to Allaah ta'alas saying: Aw jaa'a ahadukum min al ghaa'it...: or one of you comes from offices of nature...[Soorat-ul-Maa'idah 5:7] along with his (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saying There is no wudoo except from a sound or a smell. [Saheeh and has preceded (Saheeh ul Jaarni' (7443)].

He adds: So that which comes out of the front or back part of a man or woman breaks the wudoo - whether excretion or urine or wind - or a worm or pus or blood or stones or anything else and there is no difference in that for something which happens normally or rarely.

(2) Sound Sleep [5] 

68. 'Alee ibn Abi Taalib (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said The eye is the drawstring for the anus, so he who sleeps then let him make wudoo. [Abu Dawood (no.203), Ibn Maajah (no.477), Ahmad. Declared as Saheeh by al-Albaanee].

In the hadeeth is an evidence that sleep does not in itself something that breaks wudoo , however the Purification is broken if it is possible for something to come out from the anus - however if that is restricted, e.g. by sitting flat on the earth, then that is not the case.

(3) Becoming Unconscious - Other than Sleep 

That is the 'intellect' going away by any means because of insanirt or fainting or intoxication - as in this condition he does not know whether his wudoo is broken or not. This is the saying of the great majority of scholars. (Sharh Saheeh Muslim (4/74) and al-Mughnee (1/164)).

(4) Touching the Uncovered Private Parts 69. Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said If one of you touches his penis and there is no veil between him and it nor any cover, then wudoo has become obligatory for him. [al-Haakim (1/138) and others]. (Al-Albaanee says: hadeeth Saheeh.)

(5) Touching the Penis 

70. Busrah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said If one of you touches his penis then let him make wudoo. [At-Tirmidhee (1/18) who said it is hasan saheeh. And also declared as Saheeh by Ahmad, al-Bukhaaree and Ibn Ma'een (Lum'aat ut-Tanqeeh Sharh Mishkaat ul Masaabeeh, no.319). Others also narrate it as authentic].

71. Talq ibn 'Alee (radhiAllaahu'anhu) said: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu'alaihi wa sallam) was asked about a man's touching his penis. Should he make wudoo ? He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said And is it except a part of him? [At-Tirmidhee (no.85) and he said: And this is the best of what is reported in this regard]. Al-Albaanee says: Its isnaad is Saheeh, and this (the view that it doesn't break the wudoo) is established as being that of a group of the Sahaabah, from them: Ibn Mas'ood, 'Ammaar ibn Yaasir, and because of these Imam Ahmad gave the choice between this and the one before it. Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taimiyyah harmonized the two carrying the first to mean if he touched it with desire and this upon the touching without desire - and there is in this hadeeth that which gives that impression and it is his (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saying 'a part of him'. [Al-Mishkaat al Masaabeeh, notes on nos.3 19 and 320].

(6) Touching a Woman with Desire 

72. A man's touching a woman without desire does not break the wudoo . 'Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa) says: Rasoolullah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prayed and I was lying in front of him as in front of a Janaazah, so when he wished to prostrate I pulled up my leg. [Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim].

73. And in the same way a woman's touching a man without desire does not break wudoo as is established from 'Aa'ishah (radhiAllaahu 'anhaa): I didn't find the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) one night so I tried to find him with my hand - and my hand fell upon his feet which were raised up as he was making prostration. [Muslim (3/203) and an-Nasaa'ee (l/101)].

So we see from these two hadeeth that merely touching does not break the wudoo - and Allaah Knows best.

The author of'at-Ta'leeqaat us-Salafiyyah' upon Sunan of an-Nasaa'ee (1/23) says concerning "he pushed me with his foot": It is well-known that that is a touching without desire. And so the author uses it as a proof that touching without desire does not break the wudoo . As for the touching with desire - its proof is that the wudoo is not broken until a proof is established that it does indeed break it - and this is enough of a proof to show that it doesn't break the wudoo for the one who holds that view - and above and beyond that is a further proof that it doesn't break the wudoo is the hadeeth of kissing - as normally kissing is not free from touching with desire.

The author of 'Aun al Ma'bood' (1/69) says regarding her saying "he kissed me and did not make wudoo"' - It contains a proof that touching a woman does not break the wudoo as kissing is part of touching and the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) did not make wudoo (before praying). And this (that touching a woman even with desire doesn't break the wudoo ) is the saying of 'Alee and Ibn 'Abbaas and 'Ataa ibn Taawoos, and Abu Hanifah and Sufyaan ath-Thawree. And this hadeeth is (in itself) da'eef but is supported by other narrations. And it is mursal - however ad-Daaraqutnee joins it - and it is (therefore) an authentic (saheeh) hadeeth inshaaAllaah. (See Nasb ur Raayah, l/70).

The author of 'al-Mughnee' (1/190) says: The touching is not in itself something which breaks wudoo but breaks wudoo as it leads to prostratic fluid or semen being emitted - so the condition which leads to breaking of the wudoo is considered - and that is when there is desire.

Summary: That when a man and woman are safe from anything being emitted which breaks wudoo - then their wudoo is not broken; and it is preferable to be on the safe side, as they may not be safe from such emissions in the condition of desire - and Allaah Knows best.

Conclusion

This is what Allaah ta'ala has made easy for us to gather together about the wudoo and its rulings, so we hope from Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, that we have been able to do justice to the subject - and we hope that any scholarly solicitous brother who comes across anything in our booklet which is incorrect to cover up and give sincere advice. And it is Allaah who grants success.

REFERENCES:

1. Al Qur'an al Kareem.
2. Fathul Baaree - Explanation of Saheeh ul Bukhaaree - by Ibn Hajr.
3. Saheeh Muslim with an-Nawawi's explanation.
4. Sunan Abi Dawood.
5. Sunan an-Nasaa'ee.
6. Jaami' ut-Tirmidhee.
7. Sunan Ibn Maajah.
8. Al-Musnad of Imam Ahmad.
9. As-Sunan al Kubraa of aI-Baihaqee.
10. Al-Mustadrak 'alas-Saheehain by al-Haakim.
11. Al-Muwatta with az-Zarqaanees explanation.
12. Majma' az-Zawaa'id by al-Haitumee.
13. Nasb ur-Raayah of az-Zaila'ee.
14. Kanz ul Ummaal.
15. Al Mughnee wash-Sharh ul Kabeer- Ibn Qudaamah.
16. Sharh us-Sunnah al Baghawee.
17. Al-Majmoo' of an-Nawawee.
18. Al-Isbidhkaar of Ibn 'Abd il Barr.
19. Mirqaat ul Mafaateeh Sharh of Mishkaat ul Masaabeeh.
20. Saheeh ul-Jaami' us-Sagheer by Al-Albaanee.
21. Da'eef ul Jaami' us-Sagheer by al-Albaanee.
22. Nail ul Autaar of ash-Shaukaanee.
23. Subul us-Salaam of as-San'aanee.
24. Fiqh us-Sunnah of Sayyid Saabiq.
25. Minhaaj us-Sunnah of Ibn Taimiyyah.
26. Tahdheeb-ut-Tahdheeb of Ibn Hajr.
27. Fiqh of al Imam Sa'eed ibn al Musayyib.
28. Fiqh of al Imam al Auzaa'ee.
29. Lisaan ul 'Arab of Ibn Manzoor.
30. Mashaariq ul Anwaar.
31. 'Aun al Ma'bood explana~ion of Abi Dawood.
32. 'Aaridat-ul-Ahwadhee explanahon of at-Tirmidhee.
33. Tafseer Ibn Katheer.
34. Fath-ul-Qadeer by ash-Shaukaanee.
35. Kitaab-ul-Imaan by Ibn Taimiyyah.
36. Majmoo'at-ur-Rasaa'il il-Kubraa by Ibn Taimiyyah.
37. At Tafseer ul Kabeer of Al Fakhr-ur-Raazee.
38. Lum'aat ut-Tanqeeh - explanation of Mishkaat ul-Masaabeeh.
39. At-Ta'leeqaat us-Salafiyyah upon Sunan of an-Nasaa'ee