Enter Into Islam Completely

Enter Into Islam Completely

Sheikh Abu Usamah

Introduction

The next talk is on entering into Islam completely, insha'Allah.

"O you who believe, enter into Islam completely, altogether. And do not follow the footsteps of the Shaytan, for verily he is an open and an avowed enemy to you all."

The Companion's Teaching About This Ayah

The companion of the Prophet, Abu Abdur-Rahman as-Sulami, may Allah be pleased with him, was one of the people who the Prophet designated for teaching the Quran. And as we mentioned, he was one of the four people who was prolific and qualified and competent in the teaching (ta'leem) of the Quran.

By the recommendation (tazkiyah) of the Prophet, he told the Muslims who he used to teach up in Kufa: "Anytime you read an ayah or you hear the ayah:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا

'O you who believe... '

Then you should lend the ayah your ear. Pay attention to the ayah, because after 'O you who believe,' Allah is going to order you with something that you have to do that is important, or He's going to prevent and prohibit you from something that is harmful and dangerous."

In this ayah we've been ordered to enter into Islam altogether.

The Reason for Revelation (Asbab an-Nuzul)

There are multiple interpretations that the scholars have given concerning this ayah.

The Science of Asbab an-Nuzul

O brothers, as it relates to the science of the Quran which is known as the science of the reasons for revelation (asbab an-nuzul) - if you know why the ayah was revealed, then you'll acquire the proper understanding of the ayah.

This ayah was revealed because there were a number of Jews. Some people say that they were people who accepted Islam, and others say that they were people who were interested in Islam. And Imam Ibn Kathir made the reconciliation (tawfiq) and said they were from both groups.

They went to the Messenger of Allah and they asked him: "We recognize we're Muslims, but we still want to exalt the Sabbath. We still want to make the Saturday a day of exalting. We want to praise that day and do some of the things that we

used to do."

And then the ayah was revealed: "Come into Islam totally, absolutely. Give up all of what remains of your desires to practice other than the religion of Islam."

The General Interpretation

Other scholars from the exegetes (mufassirun), they say that the ayah was revealed in general terms for the whole ummah. And that is that we should enter into the religion of Islam altogether - whether you're a Jew or whether you're not a Jew, you come into the religion of Islam and you give up and you let off all of those things that are not Islamic and not from the religion.

And do not follow the footsteps (khutuwat) of Shaytan, the footsteps of Shaytan who is going to come to you and he's going to try to encourage all of us to follow his ways and his methods. For verily Shaytan is an open and avowed enemy to you.

The Concept of Total Submission

So the ayah, O brothers, is generally talking about having the total and absolute submission (inqiyad) to Allah. Submission, total and absolute submission to the best of one's ability. And as we mentioned, perfection (al-kamal) is for Allah. Completeness is only for Allah and to Allah.

What we want to do with this ayah, O brothers, is give you some examples of how the companions used to practice this ayah and this concept - about totally and absolutely submitting to what Allah has legislated and what the Prophet has brought.

And there are too many examples.

Examples of the Companions' Total Submission

Example 1: The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

There was a man during the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. He represented the disbelievers. His name was Urwah ibn Amr ath-Thaqafi. He represented the Quraysh and he went to negotiate.

And when he came into the camp of the Prophet, he saw that the companions kept their eyes on Rasulullah and they kept their attention on him. And he had never seen in the history of the Arabs anyone so respected and reverent like that.

After having the discussion and agreeing with Rasulullah what could be done and what wasn't going to be done in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, he went back to Mecca and he told the people: "I've met some of the leading people of the day, and there was no man who I met who was honored, revered and respected like Muhammad.

"If he made wudu, the water would not fall on the ground before one of them came and also made seeking blessing (tabarruk) with it."

Important Note on Seeking Blessings

Before we go another step: seeking blessings (tabarruk) like that, getting blessings from a human being, touching him like that - that's only for the Messenger of Allah, and it's not for anyone else. No scholar, no saint (wali), no righteous man - this will open up the door of shirk and it is a trial (fitnah) for the individual.

He said: "When he made wudu, the water would not fall before the people came and they competed with each other and made a rush trying to catch the water to get the blessing. And he never spat except that one of them caught it before it hit the ground and he made blessing with it."

That's only for Rasulullah. If anyone allows himself to take another man's spit and then rub it on himself, something is wrong with you.

The Prophet's Protection Against Excess

The Prophet would have the cupping (hijamah) where they take the blood out of his head or wherever he took it out. And so that the people would not make blessing (tabarruk) with it, he would give it to Abdullah ibn Zubayr and tell him: "Take this and put it somewhere where no one can find it." Meaning: "Go somewhere and throw it away. I don't want the people to know it's my blood, go and get rid of it."

And Imam Muflih, may Allah have mercy upon him, from the scholars of the Hanbali school, he has a book called Al-Adab ash-Shari'ah. It tells us everything we need to know about what the masjid is in Islam and all of those issues brothers have been asking about: Can you rent a masjid? Is it a prayer place (musalla)? What constitutes a masjid? What the Muslims should do on Friday? He goes through the etiquettes of what you have to do in being a Muslim.

So he has a chapter of: What do we do with our fingernails? What do we do with the facial hairs that we get rid of?

He said, based upon this hadith of Abdullah ibn Zubayr and other hadith similar to it, it is highly recommended that you get rid of it so that the devils (shayateen) don't get a hold of it, so that no one can get it and put magic on you - as magic was worked on Rasulullah when the Jewish magician received some of his hair.

The point is: Abdullah ibn Zubayr took the blood, went out of sight, drank the blood, came back. Rasulullah asked him: "What did you do with the blood?"

He said: "I put it where no one can find it."

Rasulullah understood what happened and he smiled.

If you drink the blood of any human being, something is wrong with you. You have allowed degradation (ihanah) for yourself. You put yourself down.

So this is how they were with Rasulullah.

Umm Hani's Story

Umm Hani al-Ansariyyah - Rasulullah was sleeping in her home (and she is not his aunt and they're not related like that). While he was sleeping and the sweat was coming off of him - because he used to sweat profusely, as Imam at-Tirmidhi narrated in Ash-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyyah - that he was a man who used to sweat, and he used to snore when he was sleeping.

Umm Hani took the sweat off of his brow, put it in a bottle and kept it. And she used to put that on the children on the Day of Jumu'ah. And she said that the smell of it was better than the best musk of that time.

If you take the sweat of any human being, something is wrong with you, O brothers. This is degradation, putting you down.

His Aunt Safiyyah's Action

Rasulullah used to have a basin in his home, a little basin like this. He would use the bathroom, may Allah honor you, in that so that he wouldn't go out in the middle of the night. He would urinate in it, may Allah honor you.

His aunt Safiyyah bint Abdul-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with her, found it and she drank it - the blessing of the Messenger of Allah.

And by Allah, I believe if any of us had an opportunity to be blessed and graced with the presence, the physical presence of the Messenger of Allah, none of us would be hesitant to do anything of what has been mentioned. If a person didn't want to

do it, that is not an indication that he doesn't have faith (iman). But this is how they used to reverence the Messenger of Allah.

Example 2: The Command During Prayer

So what do you think will be the case when he orders them to do something?

The companion was praying and the Prophet, while he was praying, summoned him to come, and the man did not come. After that he finished his prayer and he came and he asked him: "Why didn't you come when I called you?"

He said: "I was praying, ya Rasulullah, giving Allah His right in the prayer." That was a voluntary (sunnah) prayer.

Rasulullah asked that man:

"Didn't you hear the statement of Allah:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ

'O you who believe, respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you to what will give you life.' (Quran 8:24)

Didn't you hear that ayat?"

And then he proceeded to teach him some of the virtues of some of the verses of the Quran.

The point is, O brothers, we unconditionally obey the Messenger of Allah without asking why or how or when. So those companions, may Allah be pleased with them, this was their case.

Example 3: The Ansar and Abu Bakr

We already mentioned a number of examples. One of the worthy examples that has already gone by is what happened with the Ansar and Abu Bakr when they were choosing from amongst themselves an leader (amir).

And they said, when Abu Bakr told them: "You guys can't do this," they said: "No, there's going to be an amir from us and there's going to be an amir from you. You make your amir, we make an amir, and they'll agree with each other, and we'll take care of the affairs of the community."

Abu Bakr told them: "I heard Rasulullah saying..." Then he gave them the hadith: "Quraysh are the leaders (umara), and you people are the ministers (wuzara). You're the ministers, but Quraysh, we are the ones who are going to lead the community."

You did not find any of the Ansar saying: "Hey, you know, you guys came to us poor and weak, and we opened up our arms and our homes and we embraced you. But now that Rasulullah is gone, we deserve to be the leaders of ourselves."

When they heard that hadith, that Rasulullah made the exact statement - who's the amir and who's the minister - they made total submission (istislam), totally submitted.

And the examples of this, as I mentioned, are many, and we want to share with you some of the more tremendous ones that will give us a greater appreciation, insha'Allah, for the companions and their level of commitment to this religion and their level of righteousness, may Allah be pleased with them.

Example 4: Abdullah ibn Rawahah

One of those examples was what happened with Abdullah ibn Rawahah, may Allah be pleased with him, who was coming to the Friday prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah). Abdullah ibn Rawahah, when the Prophet was on the pulpit and he was addressing the community, Abdullah ibn Rawahah heard that the Prophet said اجْلِسْ )ijlis - "sit down") to someone.

He didn't know he was saying it to whom, but since he heard the command, he didn't make it inside the masjid. When he heard the command to sit down, he sat down outside in the sun for the duration of the sermon (khutbah).

When Rasulullah heard that the man sat in the sun and that's what he did, he asked him: "Why did you do that?"

He said: "I heard that you said 'sit down.'"

He said: "I didn't mean you."

He told him: "I didn't know that."

The Prophet made the supplication for Abdullah ibn Rawahah:

زَادَكَ اللَّهُ عِلْمًا وَتَوْفِيقًا

"May Allah increase you in knowledge, and may He increase you in at-tawfiq (success/guidance)."

Application to Our Times

Today in our masjid, if the man comes inside of the masjid during the Friday sermon, and the imam - he has the right to say to someone: "O so-and-so, you sat down without praying two rakahs. Stand up and pray two rakahs and be quick in them."

If someone said that, the person in the audience will look at the imam as if he was crazy, even though that is the Sunnah. Of course the imam can't spend too much time, because the whole sermon will be interrupted. Because the etiquettes of Jumu'ah are not well known to many of the Muslims.

If the Muslim comes into the masjid, he has to pray the two rakahs before sitting down:

إِذَا دَخَلَ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلَا يَجْلِسْ حَتَّى يُصَلِّيَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ

"If one of you enters the masjid, then he should not sit until he prays two rakahs."

That's our religion. The masjid has a right upon us in Islam.

When Sulayk al-Ghatafani came into the masjid on the Jumu'ah and he sat down, Rasulullah told him: "Did you pray two rakahs, Sulayk (or Sulaik)?"

He said: "No."

He said: "Stand up and pray the two, and be quick in them (wa tajawwaz fi hima). Hurry up and make them, don't take a long time."

So when we hear the hadith, for example: "If anyone enters inside of the masjid, then he should not sit until he prays two rakahs" - someone in our audience came in the masjid and they sat without praying two rakahs, and he may have wudu right now, and he hears what Rasulullah did with that man in the audience - he's embarrassed to stand up to pray.

Those companions were not like that. If they heard the command, they were quick to execute, and they did not worry about the censorship of anyone and the opinion of anyone else.

"If anyone enters into the masjid, then don't sit down until you pray two rakahs."

And there are many examples in our everyday lives, in the acts of worship (ibadat) of Islam, that we find, for whatever reason, we're reluctant to do what the Prophet said in issues like this, because we're afraid of the opinion of the people.

"I'm going to get up now and people going to look at me and they're going to know I didn't pray the two rakahs."

Example 5: Julaybib

Julaybib, may Allah be pleased with him - Julaybib is the small robe (jilbab), the diminutive form.

He's the small jilbab. Julaybib was described by the companions as being an extraordinarily dark man. And everything that Allah created, it is beautiful.

In addition to that, Julaybib was a short man, and he had patches in his face. He wasn't the most attractive man to look at, according to the people of his time.

There was an honorable family from amongst the Muslims during that time, and they had a daughter who was highly sought after. They used to refuse everyone's hand. And they were hoping that the Messenger of Allah would ask for the hand of their daughter.

So he came to them one day and he said: "Is your daughter married?"

They said: "No."

He said: "I have someone for your daughter."

And the father became happy. "Sure, ya Rasulullah. In my head and my eyes, who do you have for our daughter?"

He said: "I want you to marry your daughter to Julaybib."

He said: "I have to talk to the mother about that."

Rasulullah said: "Okay, talk to the mother."

An Important Point

O brothers, this is evidence that our wives do have something to say in the affairs (shu'un) of our family. Rasulullah allowed that man to go and to consult and make consultation (istishara) with his wife.

He didn't say to that man: "You are weak, the men are over the women. What is this? You should make the decision for yourself."

He allowed that man to go to consult with the mother. And Rasulullah knew the reason why the man was reluctant: Julaybib doesn't have any money, he doesn't come from a tribe, and the way that he looks.

When the father spoke to the mother, she said: "Anyone but Julaybib. Anyone but Julaybib."

The sister, the woman, the young girl, heard the discussion between the mother and the father. And then she came out and said: "Rasulullah asked you to marry me to Julaybib, and you're reluctant to do something that he asked you to do? Don't you know that in what he is asking, there is benefit for me and you? I want to marry Julaybib."

They married her to Julaybib, and Julaybib became from the richest of the people in Madinah. The Provider (ar-Razzaq) provided for Julaybib, and He also gave it to the wife of Julaybib.

The Battle and Julaybib's Martyrdom

In one of the battles of Islam, O brothers - now we have to pay attention to the wisdom of the Messenger of Allah; he's not going to tell them to do something that's not beneficial - Julaybib gets a lot of money, and the family, they are blessed.

In one of the battles of Islam, after the battle was over, Rasulullah asked his companions: "Check to see if you people have lost anyone."

So the people began to check. "This is my blood brother, we have two other brothers who participated in the jihad, let's go look for our two brothers." We found them.

So they came and everyone said: "We didn't lose anyone, ya Rasulullah."

He said: "No, go back and check."

The people went back. "No, we didn't lose anyone, everyone who is accounted for."

"Go back and check."

"No, we didn't find anyone."

He said:

"No, I lost Julaybib. Where is Julaybib?"

So they started to look for Julaybib. They found Julaybib, and around him were seven disbelievers, dead.

Rasulullah said:

(Source Name)

"Julaybib killed seven of them before they got him. This man is from me and I'm from him."

This type of action, this is the action of the one who follows Muhammad. The odds, seven to one. For everyone of the people who follow me, it's not one to one. He's going to have mastery (itqan). He'll get seven, eight, nine, ten.

(Source Name)

Rasulullah praised the effort of Julaybib.

The Lesson

The point is, O brothers, Julaybib now, he goes to Paradise as a martyr (shaheed). The shaheed is able to bring into Paradise 70 members from his family through intercession (shafa'ah).

Julaybib left for his wife, the father and the mother of his wife, a nice amount of money. Rasulullah invited them to that which was going to benefit them.

So the girl's faith (iman), as it relates to accepting what the Prophet commanded and advised - in it is life, in it is benefit.

Example 6: Ukkashah ibn Mihsan

Everyone knows the companion Ukkashah ibn Mihsan, that tremendous companion who was walking on the face of the earth and he was from the people of Paradise (Ashab al-Jannah).

There are 70,000 people who will enter into Paradise without any reckoning (hisab) and without any punishment (adhab). They won't be asked: "Why did you do this and why didn't you do that?" Nor will they go to the Hellfire to be purified and purged of their sins.

Ukkashah stood up and said: "Ya Rasulullah, ask Allah to make me from those people."

He said: "You're from them."

So Ukkashah was walking around on the face of the earth and he was from those 70,000 people.

In the Battle of Badr, Ukkashah broke 10 swords fighting the disbelievers. Every time he breaks a sword, he has to go to another companion to ask: "You have an extra sword, can I use your sword?" Or he has to go to the person who was wounded to get their sword, or he has to pick a sword up from someone who was dead.

Finally there were no more swords to fight for Ukkashah. He came to Rasulullah in a state of panic - not because he was afraid, but because he couldn't kill anyone.

"Ya Rasulullah, I don't have a sword."

Rasulullah went to a tree, O brothers, and broke off the branch of the tree and said: "Take this wood, go out there and make jihad with the branch."

Ukkashah went into the battlefield and he began to fight the people. And after the war was over, Ukkashah came back with the spoils of war - 22 swords he handed over to the Prophet.

Important Point About War Spoils

Why did he hand the swords over to the Prophet? Because in the spoils of war, it is not for us just to take the property of the disbelievers when we kill them. You have to give it to the imam and the leader of the Muslims - he distributes it. If you don't do that, you fall into misappropriation (ghulul).

You stole something from the property of the Muslims. On the Day of Judgment, anyone who steals from the property of Allah, the treasury (bayt al-mal), from the masjid's donation box - we have this problem in America. We have to put cameras on the donation box so we can catch the people who break the boxes open. And that's one of the threats of the drug addicts. The drug addict will come in and he'll break the donation box open and steal the Muslims' money.

The one who suffers from misappropriation, on the Day of Judgment, the severity (tawbikh) of his punishment is: a flag will be placed in his anus on the Day of Judgment, and it will be said: "This is the one who made misappropriation from the monies of Allah" - to make him low, to make him embarrassed, to make him punished.

So if a person is the treasurer of the masjid, he should remember that. If a person is collecting for an organization and he can steal the money, he should remember that.

The Point

So the fact that Julaybib, or the fact that Ukkashah ibn Mihsan was able to collect those 22 swords - that was because, O brothers, he killed 22 people.

Now, there are not too many people who would be willing to fight and to make jihad with a wooden sword while his enemies have real iron, real steel. That was the level of the companions of the Messenger of Allah.

Practical Example: Writing Your Will

Now that we have such a large group of people here, masha'Allah, brothers and sisters, I'm going to give you another practical, extremely important example of obeying Allah and His Messenger and how the companions used to be.

Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah said:

Rasulullah said: "It is not permissible" - he didn't say "it's not befitting." He said "it is not halal" - "It is not permissible for a believing man or woman to have money from what they're going to leave behind - it's not permissible for him to have any money except that his will should be written with him."

Abdullah bin Umar said: (فَمُنْذُ أَنْ سَمِعْتُهَا فَوَصِيَّتِي مَكْتُوبَةٌ عِندِي - famunzu an sami'tuha fawasiyyati maktubatun 'indi) - "From the day that I heard that hadith, I had my will written with me."

And he used to keep his will with him at all times.

Application to Our Community

So here in our community, in our masjid, many of us - because as brother Tawfiq mentioned yesterday when he was talking about the spectacle of death and what is connected to it - many of the people, we believe that we have been promised that we're going to have time.

So a man does not sit to put his will together except at the time when he becomes sick or he thinks he's going to die, and then he'll put his will together.

But in the religion of Islam, because the person doesn't know when he's going to die, you should have your will written already. And it's not a small thing.

How many people do we know - because the will was not written, the bequest (wasiyyah), the man died and his relatives don't know who he owes money to. His relatives are not aware of who owes him money. They're not aware of his affairs.

So from the affairs that are important in our everyday lives as Muslims is that the Muslim takes the time out to develop for himself an easy, comprehensive will. Those complicated wills - if you have a complicated situation, then that's your business. But it is simple and easy:

"All of my money that I find divided according to the Book and the Sunnah. I'm going to bequeath this and this to my mother, my father, and he should get this and he should get that. And I owe so-and-so this much money, he owes me... and that's it. If I die, no one should wail over me. If I die, bury me wherever I die at," so forth and so on.

It doesn't have to be extravagant - to the point, precise, comprehensive.

So because this is an ongoing phenomenon with the Muslims, we encourage you and we invite you now: If you don't have a will, you should get your will ready and develop it like Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.

Questions and Answers

Question 1: Is having the hair cut at two different grades allowed?

It's not allowed to have your hair cut two different levels. You can't cut your hair at the side and leave the top. You can't cut it at the top and leave the side. You can't cut it in the middle and leave the sides.

It's not permissible - they call that haircut the Qaza. And the Prophet saw a little boy who had that haircut and he told the people:

"Cut all of it off or leave all of it on."

That means that you can cut it equally, but it has to be cut in each and every direction. And that is from the complete justice (adl) of Islam. Islam even gives the right of the hair.

In Islam, you can't wear one shoe and take off one shoe. He said: "Either wear both of them or leave both of them."

In Islam, you cannot sit halfway in the sun, halfway in the shade. He said: "That's the sitting place (maq'ad) of Shaytan. That's where Shaytan sits."

We hear that hadith and we don't know how Shaytan is in that area. If a person is in the masjid and the sun is coming through, don't have your legs in part of the shade and your body in the other part, because Shaytan is in that area.

As we were talking about the companions and how they used to answer the call of Allah and His Messenger, when they used to hear these things, they were just following.

Unfortunately today, if you said to the Muslim: "O my brother, you're half in the shade, half in the sun. That's the sitting place of Shaytan," he says: "I don't see him." And he makes fun.

"O my brother, Rasulullah said: Give with your right and take with your right. Eat with your right, drink with your right."

"Why? Because Shaytan gives with his left and he takes with his left, eats with his left, drinks with his left."

He says: "So Shaytan has a right hand and a left hand?"

A Muslim, he just obeys. So that is from the complete justice of Islam. You have to cut all of your hair.

Question 2: What are the conditions of repentance (tawbah) for a Muslim?

Conditions of tawbah - number one, that the person has to have regret (an-nadab). He has to be sad for what he did.

The Prophet said:

"Being sad (an-nadab) is tawbah."

Being sad for what you've done, regretting what you've done is tawbah.

And then after that, he leaves alone what he was doing. If he doesn't leave it alone, then he didn't make the true tawbah.

If he took from the people something, he has to give it back to them. If he took something from the people and he doesn't give it back and it remains with him, he hasn't made the true tawbah. If giving it back is going to cause a bigger trial (fitnah), then he has to find some way of getting it back to that person.

And the third or the fourth thing is: not to return to it (an-nadab), leave it alone, don't return to it, and then to give the property back to someone if you have the property.

Question 3: Is it permissible to video lectures such as today's for dawah purposes?

Insha'Allah, it's permissible. Insha'Allah, it's permissible.

Question 4: Is it permissible to reply salam to a Sufi brother whose innovation is apparent? Is it permissible to initiate salam to the same people?

It's permissible and it's not forbidden (haram). Taking the salam, giving the salams has some jurisprudence (fiqh) connected to it.

If you're not giving the salams and it's going to affect and impact on that individual, then that's what you can do in the hopes that you bring him back to his senses, bring him back to what is correct.

If you're leaving off the salams will make the people of innovation feel the pressure and the evil of their innovation and they feel that and they acknowledge it and recognize it, then it's highly recommended to do it.

But we don't leave off the salams just for the leaving off of the salams. We don't like the person so we leave off the salam and we use the fact that "he's a Sufi" or "he's this, he's that, so I don't give him the salam."

The foundation (asl) in this religion is extending yourself and giving dawah and having mercy and being gentle and being easy. That's the foundation. And the salam - not giving it - is severity (shiddah).

So we use the severity in the place it's supposed to be and we use the mercy in the place that it is supposed to be. So it's going to be relative.

There are some people we shouldn't give salams who are Sufi, and there are some people we can give the salam who are Sufi, in the hope that they will come to the truth and we have good relationships with them, and so forth and so on.

Question 5: Did the Prophet always cover his head?

He never always covered his head. He used to take off also. He used to go to sleep.

But when he appeared in public, Rasulullah used to cover his head. So it's from the gentleman nature (muru'ah), the gentleman nature of the Muslim man and the Islamic identity to keep one's head covered.

In the past, this was a serious issue. If a man walked in the street without his head covered, he would be considered to be immature, a teenager, a kid.

If a man did not cover his head in the past, they would not allow him to be a witness in the court. If someone got into some trouble and he needed the witness of someone who saw what happened, but they were known not to cover their heads, his witness wouldn't be accepted in court because of his muru'ah - there's some problems with him being a man.

But we're not going to say it is obligatory (wajib) to cover your hair and it's forbidden to pray without your hair covered. We're not going to say that. It's from the muru'ah of the Muslim man.

Sheikh Mashhoor Hasan Abu Ubaida, he has a tremendous book about the muru'ah of the Muslim man and what destroys the muru'ah. And he brings that book in this chapter of covering your hair.

And he also deals with some things that go on in some of the people's country who are here right now that also break the muru'ah. Like he mentioned in his book, a group of people who are from one of the countries that we see in this masjid where it's a part of their culture where the men sit and they pass gas, and it's part of the culture, it's part of what they do. And he gave a nice research on why that type of behavior is not accepted in Islam.

Question 6: Ibn Taymiyyah said that the hadith about jihad on nafs, Jihad al-Akbar, is a fabricated hadith. And Ibn Taymiyyah says the greatest jihad is the one on the battlefield.

The hadith of "Jihad al-Akbar is the Jihad of the Nafs" - it's not authentic. I don't know if it's fabricated (mawdu'). I don't remember that. But for sure it is not authentic.

But Imam Ibn al-Qayyim in Zad al-Ma'ad, he agreed that even though that hadith is not authentic, the meaning of it is true that the greatest jihad is the jihad of the self (nafs). Because if a person doesn't make jihad against his nafs, he's not going to make the jihad of the enemy. That was his thinking.

And he also dealt with the whole concept of: a hadith does not necessarily have to be authentic in order to be true. There are weak hadith, there's a hadith that is fabricated:

"I'm the most eloquent of those who speak with the language of dad."

That is a fabricated hadith. But it is the truth. Rasulullah is the reference (marja'), he's the reference source for the Arabic language.

What the Arabs said in pre-Islamic times (jahiliyyah) is a reference. And what Rasulullah said is a reference. What the Quran says is a reference as it relates to what can be done in the Arabic language and what shouldn't be done, and so forth and so on.

So that hadith is not authentic, it's fabricated. But the meaning of it is true.

Question 7: The iqamah is being called for the Isha prayer, but I haven't prayed the Maghrib prayer. What do I do in this situation?

Pray the Maghrib prayer, your Maghrib, with the people. And when the people finish the third rakah and they stand up, you stay down. You can make the taslim and then stand up again and try to join them if you want. Or you stay down in the tashahhud for your third rakah and wait until they come down and then finish the prayer with them.

Another point, O brothers, concerning this issue: We're not going to find any hadith from Rasulullah telling us "this is what you do."

One of the reasons why the book by Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah and Imam Abdur-Razzaq as-San'ani one of the reason why their two books are important - their books are both called what? What's the book both of them wrote? They have the same name: Kitab al-Musannaf.

Why is that book important? Because the book focuses upon, concentrates upon what the companions did after Rasulullah. If they came into the masjid and the rows had to start, where did they start? From the right? From the middle? From the left?

In these books, there are ahadith from Rasulullah. But the focus and the intent: What did the companions do? And in this issue that we just mentioned, that's what they used to do.

Question 8: For Jama' prayer, if there are five or six family members at home, is it permissible to pray at home for the males, even if the mosque is nearby? Or is it obligatory that all males should pray in the mosque?

The males should pray in the mosque if the house is close to the masjid. If the adhan is given, you can hear that adhan. And if the adhan is given inside the mosque where it shouldn't be given - is given inside where it shouldn't be given, and the people can't hear it outside, but if they were allowed to say it outside you would hear it - then it's an obligation upon you to come to the masjid.

And there's an issue of scholarly difference (ikhtilaf). But Allah has ordered us:

"Make rukoo with those who make rukoo." (Quran 2:43)

And it means in the plural form. So that's one of the evidences to come to the masjid.

But it is an issue of scholarly difference. Respected scholars went to the other position, that you don't have to pray in the masjid. But it appears, and Allah knows best, the obligation of praying in the masjid is greater.

Question 9: How do two people get married if the girl has no family approval? What is the best way?

If the family doesn't approve of the girl before she gets married, she has to get the approval. She has to try to convince her family. She has to try to be in the marriage for the long run. She has to try to be in the marriage - you know, in it to win it. And she's not going to be able to win it if her family is against her and her husband.

It's going to be that much more difficult. So before getting married, it's better for her, it's better for the brother: try to convince the family, try to get the approval, try to get them to support the situation.

If they don't want to support it for reasons that are not permissible, then they have to look at: where is the most benefit and where is the most harm? And they have to weigh that situation.

If the most harm is in not getting married, then she has to take her situation to the person who is responsible. Let him try to convince them. And then let him look into the situation.

We do not believe, nor do we support, this thing of going behind your fathers, your brothers, your guardians (awliya'), getting married without the approval of your family. It's going to cause a lot of problems. It's going to cause a lot of trial.

I think that you guys need to come together and talk about your situation and share your stories, so that you can kind of get a better idea what's the best method you can use with dealing with your family. There's so many people who deal with it. So many people are confronted with this challenge - relatives who are not religious, and all kinds of things are going on.

And where does it stop? In your home there's wrong things (munkarat). In the home there are things that are going on with our family members. What are we going to do? Come into our rooms all the time and lock the door? And we don't see our relatives, they don't see us? They're going to look at you as being strange (gharib), you're really strange. But not from the praised strangers (ghuraba) that the good comes from. They give rectification (islah).

Question 10: Is taking photos permissible? And are they allowed to be displayed?

Taking photos is forbidden (haram), O brothers. It is a major sin from the major sins. And it is a major, major sin because through them shirk was introduced to the Children of Adam.

So that was the door that the people started worshipping other than Allah - the only sin that people won't be forgiven for.

But if you are forced out of necessity and compelled, it's permissible: driver's license, passports, and maybe even taking a picture of your child - not to hang up, not to send to your mother so she can see how he looks, but so that you will have a picture on hand if your child disappeared.

We have these crazy people who are out here and they steal our children. And it's a great problem in America, I don't know about here. And America is so bad, they put the pictures of the children on the milk cartons. Because they figure everyone is drinking milk, so they want the people to see the pictures of the children who have been kidnapped.

They put them all over the supermarkets, over the post office, places of the public where they visit - they have children's pictures everywhere.

So the person takes a picture in order to have it on hand if something happens to his child: "This is what my child looks like."

The Prophet's Reaction to Images

The Prophet came from a long trip, a battle. He went to the battle, he fought the battle, he came back from the battle. Now you know how we feel when we travel long distances - you go and you come back, you just want to come home.

Not many of us practice the hadith of coming to the masjid first and then going home. We go straight home. From the Sunnahs that are abandoned (mahjorah) - left: when you travel, go to the masjid, pray two rakahs and then go home.

The masjid has rights over us in Islam. We go straight home. When we get home, we just want to rest. We want our food, we want our rest.

Rasulullah took a trip, made jihad, lost companions, people were wounded, they rolled back. In the summertime, it's hot, he gets home.

Before coming into the home, he sees that our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, sold some curtains, and on the curtains there were pictures. He stops and he said: "Aisha..." He saw that she had a pillow and the picture was on it.

So the scholars of Islam said: If a person has something with a picture on it, an image on it in his home, it's in the carpet - as long as it's being trampled underfoot and it's not being exalted and respected, then it's permissible to have it if it's underfoot. It's on the couch, don't worry about it. It's disliked (makruh), you shouldn't have it, but you're sitting on it, you're disrespecting it.

As for the people who hang up the picture - his father performed Hajj, he took a picture on the camel at Arafah, so he hangs up over the mantle in the house: "Al-Hajj Abu so-and-so." That's exalting the picture, O brothers. That's what's not permissible.

And if one of us are dealing with relatives who are not on this level of understanding - as many of our relatives are - we give advice to the youth: take it easy in taking away the pictures. Removing the wrong (izalat al-munkar), taking away the wrong, requires some knowledge, requires wisdom, requires being easy and gentle.

If you go into the living room and you take the picture of your grandfather back from the old country and your grandmother and you break it up and you throw it out or it disappears, your family is going to throw you out in the street. So that may not be a good idea.

We had a brother in our community who became a Muslim. He became homeless, living with his family. He's not paying rent. He has to follow the rules of the wisdom. He's on the authority of these people.

He let their pet dog out. He took him in the park, let him out in the park and let him go. They kicked him out. Why? Because the dog is a family member with those disbelievers. They kiss him in the mouth.

And I saw with my own eyes - I swear by the Ka'bah - in this place, I saw with my own eyes one of their children playing with the dog, drinking the milk from the dog who had puppies. Almost vomited. How he's drinking the milk, the dog milk from the nipple. Playing, but he was drinking it.

That's how they look at their dogs, O brothers.

So removing the wrong requires wisdom (izalat al-munkar tahtaj ila hikmah).

Question 11: Please tell us about children toys like Teletubbies, lions, dolls, etc.

The companions, they used to have doll babies, O brothers, during the time of Rasulullah. When it was Ramadan, the children would fast. And if they started to become restless, agitated, they would give them the doll babies, their toys to play with.

Aisha had a doll that was shaped like a horse with wings. Rasulullah said: "What is this, Aisha?"

She said: "It's the horse of Sulayman."

He said: "And does Sulayman's horse have wings?"

And he was playing with them. But the dolls did not have images on them. They were not images.

I don't know what a Teletubby is. Lions and dolls and these - they're permissible in Islam. But we have our own doll babies. We have our own ways.

Warning About Effeminate Behavior

Another thing, O brothers, we would like to say to you, and I'm warning you of this: Don't let your sons play with your daughters' doll babies, so that they do not become from the effeminate men (mukhannitheen).

The mukhannith - he's the man who acts like a woman when he drinks. He drinks like this. When he talks, he talks like a woman. When he walks and runs, he moves like a woman.

Our mother Umm Salama said that Rasulullah was in her house. And her brother was in the house. And the effeminate man came into the house.

And the effeminate man said to the brother of Umm Salama:

They were about to go and have a war. The effeminate man said: "If Rasulullah is granted the victory in this jihad, then I'm telling you, go to the home of Ghaylan. He has a daughter. Get his daughter. Because when she faces you, she faces you with four. When she turns away, she turns away with eight."

Meaning she was voluptuous. And the Arabs used to like women who had some meat on them. That's how they were back then. Big women back then were okay. Not these people who they're giving us right now.

Rasulullah heard that statement and he said:

"Let this one not enter upon you after today."

They sent him out and Rasulullah put him out of Madinah. Al-Madinah. He didn't let the effeminate man live inside of Madinah, so that his filth would not fall on any of our sons, the sons of the Muslims.

We need warriors (mujahidun). We need men (rijal). We need husbands, men giving dawah, defending their religion, taking care of their families, doing what they have to do.

(Sahih Muslim)

"The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer." (Sahih Muslim)

Full amount of Madinah. So don't let your sons play with the doll babies of your daughters. So I don't know what the Teletubby thing is.

Question 12: What is the importance of the Arabic language?

The other day we mentioned that we have to learn the Arabic language. It is the key to helping an individual to become someone in the religion as far as knowledge is concerned. It is too important.

If you don't understand the language, you won't understand the Book or the Sunnah in many instances. And there are too many examples.

بَرِيءٌ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَرَسُولُهُ - if you don't put the fatha over rasuluh and you put a kasra and you say rasulihi, you are saying "Allah is free of the polytheists and Allah is free of the messenger of Allah."

So knowing the Arabic language will help you to understand what's going on.

إنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ - "Allah created Adam in His image, on His image, in His picture."

Knowing the language, you know the meaning of what's going on in this issue - that Allah did not create Adam in likeness to Allah. So the language is too important.

Question 13: Who are Shiite? Who we can say were from Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah?

Yeah, there are a lot of scholars who are like that.

But before we say yes, there are a lot of scholars who are Shiite: The Shiite in the past, we told you, O brothers, they were the people who felt that Ali was more virtuous than Abu Bakr and Umar. But they did not curse Abu Bakr and Umar.

And that's why Imam al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad - all of the imams of hadith have narrated hadith on scholars who are Shiite.

And Shiite is what? The one who used to just think Ali was more virtuous because of the many ahadith. But they did not curse Abu Bakr and Umar. That's what having Shi'i tendencies (tashayyur) is. And you have Shiite who are from the People of the Sunnah.

One of those scholars who was from Ahlus Sunnah is Aban ibn Taghlab. He was having some Shi'i tendencies. And we mentioned as well, Abdur-Razzaq as-San'ani. They said that he has some Shi'i tendencies.

They said that Imam an-Nasa'i has some Shi'i tendencies. And the strange thing about that: at the same time they said that he had some Nasibi tendencies (the opposite of that - the antithesis of the Shiite is to be against the Family of the Prophet and to be from the Nasibis).

Simply because Imam an-Nasa'i wrote a book speaking about the virtues of Muawiyah. He sits down and he writes a book to speak about the virtues of Muawiyah, who was raised to be a leader.

People who didn't like Imam an-Nasa'i said: "Ah, since he's praising Muawiyah, he is against the Family of the Prophet."

And then he had to defend that and explain he wasn't from the Nasibis.

And this is how the people are today: If you don't say so-and-so is a deviant, then you're from his followers and you're from his supporters and you're against the sheikh and you are not on the call, and on and on - simply because you say "I am not going to agree that he's a deviant because that hasn't been proven to me."

So now it's made to appear: you write to him, he writes to you, you're trying to make migration (hijrah) to him.

This is how the people are. "We saw you going to the masjid over there, on central masjid or whatever. So therefore you're this and you're that."

Where do these rulings (ahkam) - the ruling like this - where does it come from? We talked about the ruling yesterday being consistent: that you can't give two rulings for the same thing.

We have situations, O brothers, where a person, he may say: "I don't think that this person is a deviant. They say he just made a mistake."

Someone lesser in knowledge and virtue than him says: "I don't think that person is a deviant."

"Well, you're a deviant."

Where does that ruling come from? Why am I being given a ruling and he's not being given the same ruling? What's going on? If anyone should be a deviant, it should be him because he's greater than me.

We heard recently the beautiful book that's been written: "Have Mercy Upon Ahlus Sunnah." Ahlus Sunnah, have mercy upon Ahlus Sunnah.

It said: "Whoever distributes that book and sells that book is a deviant."

If I'm a deviant for distributing the book, why wouldn't the author be a deviant? It doesn't make sense, O brothers.

So, may Allah rectify our affairs.

Closing

I'm sorry, O brothers, we couldn't finish the other lesson, but it was beyond our control. Don't blame anyone but the hot pepper (shatta). The shatta is the hot pepper that you brothers use.

Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no deity except You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.