Valentine's Day History AND Islamic Perspective !

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I see a lot of my brothers and sisters getting really prepared and excited to celebrate. I don't get why. Does any of you really know why you're celebrating Valentines Day? Just like how we know why we celebrate Eid. There's a very ugly truth behind this so called "Day of Love" that majority of Muslims don't have a clue about. When they are asked this questions, the usual response is "We are celebrating our love, and making our loved ones happy on this special occasion, it's just something nice." First of all, if you're married, you don't need some Christian Saint's birthday to celebrate your love and happiness, you have everyday of the year, then why Valentine's Day? If you are trying to celebrate your happiness, give blessings to each other, thank Allah that you have them in your life, pray for them, teach each other something about Islam, appreciate each other and not just one day on the 14th but EVERYDAY. If you are not married, then you shouldn't even be talking to girls/guys..forget going as far as discussing WHY you shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day. Our religion is very clear and very straight forward, and no one has the right to question the teachings of Islam. Valentine's Day is haraam, no matter how much a person would like to sugar coat it, it will stay Haraam.

What is it AND where did it come from?

Consider Valentine's Day, a day that after dying out a well deserved death in most of Europe (but surviving in Britain and United States) has suddenly started to emerge across a good swath of Muslim countries. Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed? Legends abound, as they do in all such cases, but this much is clear: Valentine's Day began as a pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to honor the god Lupercus. The main attraction of this ritual was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for "entertainment and pleasure"--until the next year's lottery. Among other equally despicable practices associated with this day was the lashing of young women by two young men, clad only in a bit of goatskin and wielding goatskin thongs, who had been smeared with blood of sacrificial goats and dogs. A lash of the "sacred" thongs by these "holy men" was believed to make them better able to bear children.
 

Q&A on Khilafah...

For Educational purpose only and to raise Intellectual and Political awareness!

Answered by Ash-Shaykh Al-Muhaddith Abū ‘Abdullāh Hamad Al-Humaydī (rahimahullāh)

Question: What is the manhaj of the Islamic state, and is it from the manhaj of ghulū and the khawārij? What is the hukm on its establishment of the Khilāfah? What are its conditions? And are these conditions found with Abū Bakr Al-Baghdādī? Is it obligatory for the bay’ah to be valid that all of the ahlul Halli wal ‘Aqd form an Ijmā’? Who are the ahlul Halli wal ‘Aqd? 

Answer: Bismillāh Ar-Rahmān Ar-Rahīm. I say, seeking His aid, and success is not but with Allāh, and upon Him I rely. Ya Allāh direct my affair and let me achieve my intent. 

Alhamdulillāhi Rabbil ‘ālamīn and all praise is His who made signposts as a guide and bounty for one who wills to walk upon the sirāt mustaqīm. I bear witness that lā ilāha illAllāh wahdahu lā sharīka lahu Who sent His Rasūl with the guidance and the Deen of truth to manifest it over all other ways of life, even if the mushrikīn hate it. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger who conveyed the Risālah, fulfilled the Amānah, counselled his Ummah, and strove perfectly in the sake of Allāh until he left his Ummah upon a clear path, its night like its day, and no one deviates from it except that he is destroyed. 

I advise you first, may Allāh have mercy on me and you, to have Taqwā of Allāh and follow the haqq, what it necessitates and to leave off disagreements and arguing. For undoubtedly disagreements are evil. If a conflict arises then we must return to the Book and Sunnah as Allāh ta’āla has ordered us. The answers to the questions are long but I will summarize them, so I say:

"The more they fight Islam, the more Islam intensifies !"

"The more they fight Islam, the more Islam intensifies. The more they try to turn off the brightness of Islam, the more it flares. When they leave Islam alone, it spreads and it extends. For them, it is a lose lose situation."

'Only path to victory', By al-‘Alim al-‘Abid Ahmad Jibril (hafidhahUllah)

Stay firm. Do not back down on your belief. Do not change. Do not compromise. Do not mellow. Do not delude. Do not waver. The victory of the flag of laa ilaha illAllah Muhammadar-Rasulullah flying high above is a victory no doubt, but the ultimate victory is to die steadfast on the truth of Tawheed. 

Look at the People of the Trench, the people of the Ukhdood. The blind man who was the helper and the friend of the king believed and Allah gave him his eyesight back. He believed in Tawheed, he was killed. The young boy who believed, he was killed. The priest who taught him, he was killed. The boy speaking the truth after they failed to kill him by the will of Allah, he said you will be able to kill me if you take an arrow out of my backpack and say in the name of the Lord of this young boy. He was killed and he was on the Tawheed, and the masses who believed in them were also killed. That was a victory. When the blind man was killed on Tawheed, that is considered a victory. When the priest was killed on Tawheed, that was a victory. When the boy was killed on Tawheed, that was a victory. When the trenches were dug, the fire was blazing and they threw the people in it, that was a victory to them. 

When the mother with her baby stood before the fire and they took one after another and then they got to her last nursing infant and she became hesitant, the nursing infant spoke by the will of Allah the golden words that we need today. He said, “Mother be patient, you are on the truth.” Everyone believed. They were minutes into Islam and they were minutes into Tawheed, not a single one returned as a disbeliever. They knew that this boy was not killed except by the will of Allah, the One and only One Allah. The Yaqeen manifested into their hearts, that even the blazing fire before their eyes did not waver their faith. We are not minutes into Islam, we are born generation after generation, we have had Tawheed and a lot of time for Tawheed to sink deep in our hearts, but did we let these meanings sink into our hearts?

Walaa' and Baraa' are Obligatory !

This is a beautiful and short section in Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah’s ‘Ar-Rooh’ [1/254] regarding al-Walaa’ wal Baraa’:

The difference between loving for the sake of Allah and loving something alongside Allah is one of the most important distinctions. Everyone needs to make this distinction and is indeed obliged to do so. Loving for the sake of Allah is a sign of the perfection of faith, but loving something alongside Allah is the essence of shirk. The difference between them is that a person’s love for the sake of Allah is connected to his love of Allah; if this love becomes strong in his heart, this love dictates that he will love that which Allah loves. If he loves that which his Lord loves and he loves those who are the friends of Allah, this is love for the sake of Allah. So he loves His Messengers, Prophets, angels and close friends because Allah loves them, and he hates those who hate them because Allah hates those people. The sign of the love and hatred for the sake of Allah is that his hatred for the one whom Allah hates will not turn into love merely because that person treats him kindly, does him a service or meets some need he has; and his love for those whom Allah loves will not turn to hatred simply because that person does something that upsets or hurts him, whether it is done by mistake or deliberately, in obedience to Allah or because the person feels that he has a duty to do it for some reason, or because the person is a wrongdoer who may yet give up his wrongdoing and repent. The entire religion revolves around four principles: love and hatred, and stemming from them, action and abstinence. The person whose love and hatred, action and abstinence, are all for the sake of Allah, has perfected his faith so that when he loves, he loves for the sake of Allah, when he hates, he hates for the sake of Allah, when he does something, he does it for the sake of Allah, and when he abstains from something, he abstains for the sake of Allah. To the extent that he is lacking in these four categories, he is lacking in faith and commitment to religion. This is in contrast to the love of things alongside Allah, which is of two types. One is diametrically opposed to the principle of tawheed and is shirk; the other is opposed to perfection of sincerity and love towards Allah, but does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.The first kind is like the love of the Mushrikeen for their idols and gods. Allah says:

“And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah.” [2:165]

Counsel in Fours...

[1] The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, “O Abu Dharr! Mend the ship for the sea is deep, take all provisions for the journey is long, lighten the load for the obstacles are difficult, and make sincere your actions for the Critic is All-Seeing.”

[2] A poet said:

It is an obligation upon people to repent.

But leaving sins is even more of an obligation.

Patience in the midst of hardships is difficult to bear.

But losing the opportunity for reward is more difficult to bear.

Time is indeed perplexing in the way it passes.

Yet people’s heedlessness is even more perplexing.

Everything that is due to arrive is indeed close,

Yet death is closer than everything else.

[3] An ascetic said, “Four things are good but four others are even better – chastity is good in men, but in women it is even better, justice is good in lay people, but in rulers it is even better; repentance by an old man is good, but by a young man it is even better; and contentment by the rich is good, but by the poor it is even better.”

[4] A wise man said, “Four things are bad but four others are even worse – sinning is bad from a young man, but from an old man it is even worse; busying oneself with the dunya is bad from an ignorant person, but from a scholar it is even worse; laziness in fulfilling religious obligations is bad from laymen, but from scholars and students of knowledge it is even worse; and pride is bad from the rich, but from the poor it is even worse.”

[5] Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (ra) said, “Four things are completed by four others – prayer with the Two prostrations of Forgetfulness (sajdaty al sahw), fasting [Ramadan] with sadaqat al-fitr (alms given at the end of Ramadan), hajj with sacrificial slaughter, and iman (faith) with jihad.”

NEWS : Yemen's food crisis !!! SAUDI CONTINUES TO KILL !

'We die either from the bombing or the hunger'  Conflict has driven Yemen to the brink of famine. Few areas have been hit harder than al-Hudaydah, where many people are now bereft of hope !!!

Broom-maker Taie al-Nahari is kneeling on the sand, shirtless, outside his thatched hut in al-Qaza village in Yemen’s al-Hudaydah governorate. His bones show through his skin. 

Before the conflict began in 2015, the 53-year-old was a fisherman. Now he makes two brooms a day, which earns him a daily income of $1. “The boats that we were working on were bombed [by Saudi jets]. Now my family and I don’t have enough to eat,” he says. 

The conflict is the primary driver of a hunger crisis that the UN has warned could turn to famine this year if nothing is done. 

On Wednesday, the UN launched a $2.1bn (£1.6bn) appeal to prevent famine in the Arab world’s poorest nation, where nearly 3.3 million people – including 2.1 million children – are acutely malnourished. The humanitarian appeal is the largest launched for Yemen and aims to provide life-saving assistance to 12 million people this year. 
Jamie McGoldrick, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said: “The situation in Yemen is catastrophic and rapidly deteriorating”. At least 10,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict. 

Al-Nahari lives in the area of Yemen worst hit by the crisis. He says even those fishermen whose boats have remained intact do not dare to sail for fear of being bombed by the Saudi jets that frequently bomb targets within the country. The attacks are to counter the advances of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sana’a, and have spread out across Yemen. “The war killed our only income, which was [me] working as a fisherman, and now we are jobless and hopeless,” he says. 
Al-Nahari did not earn much as a fisherman, but it was enough to buy flour and some basic food. “We are broken, we don’t have enough money, no food, nothing to eat, nothing to work with,” he says.

Jewish Rabbis say Islam is The Truth !

"Whoever loves Allah must follow the Messenger (saws)..."

Whoever loves Allah must follow the Messenger (saws), believe in what he says, obeys what he commands, and emulate what he does Whoever does this does Allah loves, and so Allah will love him.

 

Allah has made two signs of those who love him:

-Following His Messenger (saws),

-And striving in Jihaad for His sake.

 

The true essence of Jihaad is striving to achieve that which Allah loves of Imaan and righteous deeds, and to repel what Allah hates of kuffr, immorality and sin. Allah says:

"Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, or your kin; the wealth that you have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline; or the dwellings in which you delight – are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or Jihaad in His Cause – then wait until Allah brings about His Decision…" [9:24]

 

Allah has issued this threat as a warning to those whose families and wealth are more beloved to them than Allah and His Messenger (saws) and Jihaad for His sake. Indeed, it is proven that the Prophet (saws) said, “By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his child, his father, and all the people.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

It is reported in the Saheeh that ‘Umar Ibnul-Khattab (ra) said, “Ya Rasulullah, by Allah you are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” He (saws) said, “No, Ya ‘Umar, until I am dearer to you than your own self.” He said, “By Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.” He (saed) said, “Now, Ya ‘Umar.” [Agreed upon]

 

Meeting the Conditions on preventing Takfeer?!?

Question: What do you think about the one who says that it is a must to look at whether the conditions have been met and the preventions of Takfeer have being removed regarding the one who has committed Kuffr, such as Shirk or sihr, or mocking and similar to that from the Nawaqid (nullifiers), until we can individually rule upon him with Kuffr?

Answer: This is not correct, because looking into the conditions, and similar to that, is within the matters which become unclear, as for the matters of Usool (foundations) that you mentioned in the question, Shirk, Sihr and mocking and similar to that, then the person who does that disbelieves with no dignity, except in the case of Ikrah. And the Fundamental Principle and Criterion is: “Every person who has fulfilled what negates his submission to Allah, then he is a Kaafir, except for the Mukrah (one in Ikrah)”. So make your judgement based upon this Criterion in all scenarios, as we know that submission to Allah is nullified by two things: 

١. That he submits to Allah and to other than Allah, and this is Shirk. 
٢. That he does not submit to Allah, and this is denial, arrogance and similar to that. 

Regardless whether this negator was in 1 issue or more, for example:

The Evil of chasing after this World !!!

The first type of craving for wealth is that a person has extreme love for wealth and also relentlessly exerts efforts to attain it – via means which are lawful – being excessive in that, striving hard and making painstaking efforts and toiling in order to attain it.

It has been reported that this hadeeth was in response to the appearance of some elements of this, as at-Tabaraanee reports from `Aasim ibn `Adiyy (ra), who said, `I bought a hundred shares from the shares of Khaybar and that reached the Prophet (saws) so he said, “Two ravenous wolves remaining amongst sheep whose owner has lost them will not be more harmful than a Muslim`s seeking after wealth and status is to his Deen.” [It is quoted by al-Haithumee in Majma` uz-Zawaa`id (10/250) and he attributed it to at-Tabaraanee in al-Awsat and said, "Its isnaad is hasan (good)."] 

There is nothing more to chasing after wealth than the wastage of a person’s noble life for that which has no value. Instead he could have earned a high rank (in Paradise) and everlasting bliss, but he lost this due to his craving after provision – which had already been assured to him and allotted to him, and it was not possible for anything to come to him except what was decreed for him – then on top of this he does not benefit from that, but rather abandons it and leaves it for someone else.

He departs from that and leaves it behind so that he will be the one held accountable for it, yet someone else benefits from it. So in reality he is only gathering it for someone who will not praise him for that, whilst he himself goes on to One who will not excuse him for that – this itself would indeed be enough to show the blameworthiness of this craving.

Events that the Prophet (saws) said would occur !

The Prophet (saws) intimated that after him Abu Bakr would take charge over the Muslim Nation. 
Once, after the Prophet (saws) spoke to a female questioner, he told her to come back at a later time. She said, "And if I do not find you," as if she was alluding to his death. He (saws) said, "If you do not find me, then go to Abu Bakr.” [Al-Bukhari] And in fact Abu Bakr did assume the duty of leadership after the Prophet (saws). The Prophet (saws a declaration, making it clear that Abu Bakr was to be the next Khaleefah. However, he refrained from writing it because he knew that his Companions being pleased with Abu Bakr's superiority and merit would choose no one else. The Prophet (saws) said, "Allah and the believers refuse to have anyone other than Abu Bakr.” [Sahih Muslim] 

In another narration, the Prophet (saws) said, "And with those two who come after me, Abu Bakr and 'Umar." [Musnad Imaam Ahmad, Ibn Majah, At-Tirmidhi, who ruled it to be authentic[. These words were proven to be true, for Abu Bakr became Khaleefah after the Prophet jig and he was then followed by 'Umar.

The Prophet (saws) Intimated To Us That The Muslims Would Conquer Egypt. 
Ibn Ka'ab related from his father that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "When you conquer Egypt, then treat its inhabitants in a good manner." [Muwwatta Imaam Maalik] And in another narration, "Treat its inhabitants in a good manner, for they have the right of security and they are kinsfolk (Hagar, the mother of Ismaa'eel, was from them)." 'Amr ibn Al-'Aas led the Muslim army that conquered Egypt in the year 20 H, during the caliphate of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab And Abu Dhar related that the Prophet (saws) said, "Indeed you will conquer a land in which Al-Qeeraat is mentioned (Al-Qeeraat is a portion of a dinar, dirham, and other currencies; the people of Egypt, who used Al-Qeeraat in their transactions, would speak about it often). Treat its inhabitants well, for they have the right of security and they are kinsfolk." [Sahih Muslim]

Asmaa bint Abu Bakr (ra)

Asmaa bint Abu Bakr belonged to a distinguished Muslim family. Her father, Abu Bakr, was a close friend of the Prophet and the first Khalifah after his death. Her half-sister, A'ishah, was a wife of the Prophet and one of the Ummahat al-Mu'mineen. Her husband, Zubayr ibn al- Awwam, was one of the special personal aides of the Prophet. Her son, Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, became well- known for his incorruptibility and his unswerving devotion to Truth. Asmaa herself was one of the first persons to accept Islam. Only about seventeen persons including both men and women became Muslims before her. She was later given the nickname Dhat an-Nitaqayn (the One with the Two Waistbands) because of an incident connected with the departure of the Prophet and her father from Makkah on the historic hijrah to Madinah. Asmaa was one of the few persons who knew of the Prophet's plan to leave for Madinah. The utmost secrecy had to be maintained because of the Quraysh plans to murder the Prophet. On the night of their departure, Asmaa was the one who prepared a bag of food and a water container for their journey. She did not find anything though with which to tie the containers and decided to use her waistband or nitaq. Abu Bakr suggested that she tear it into two. This she did and the Prophet commended her action. From then on she became known as "the One with the Two Waistbands" [Collected in Sahih al-Bukhari vol. 4, p. 141, no. 222]. When the final emigration from Makkah to Madinah took place soon after the departure of the Prophet, Asmaa was pregnant. She did not let her pregnancy or the prospect of a long and arduous journey deter her from leaving. As soon as she reached Quba on the outskirts of Madinah, she gave birth to a son, Abdullah. The Muslims shouted Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) and Laa ilaaha illa Allah (There is no God but Allah) in happiness and thanksgiving because this was the first child to be born to the muhajireen in Madinah.

The Story of the Dead People...

"Did you (O Muhammad ) not think of those who went forth from their homes in the thousands, fearing death Allah said to them, “Die”. And then He restored them to life. Truly, Allah is full of bounty to mankind, but most men thank not." [Surah Baqarah, 2:243] 

Ibn Abu Hatim related that Ibn `Abbas said that these people mentioned herein, were the residents of a village called Dawardan. `Ali bin `Asim said that they were from Dawardan, a village several miles away from Wasit (in Iraq).

In his Tafsir, Waki` bin Jarrah said that Ibn `Abbas commented,
(Did you (O Muhammad) not think of those who went forth from their homes in thousands, fearing death) that they were four thousand persons who escaped the plague (that broke out in their land). They said, “We should go to a land that is free of death!” When they reached a certain area, Allah said to them:
(“Die.”) and they all died. Afterwards, one of the Prophets passed by them and supplicated to Allah to resurrect them and Allah brought them back to life. So, Allah stated:
(Did you (O Muhammad) not think of those who went forth from their homes in the thousands, fearing death)

Furthermore, several scholars among the Salaf said that these people were the residents of a city during the time of the Children of Israel. The weather in their land did not suit them and an epidemic broke out. They fled their land fearing death and took refuge in the wilderness. They later arrived at a fertile valley and they filled what is between its two sides. Then Allah sent two angels to them, one from the lower side and the other from the upper side of the valley. The angels screamed once and all the people died instantly, just as the death of one man. They were later moved to a different place, where walls and graves were built around them. They all perished, and their bodies rotted and disintegrated. Long afterwards, one of the Prophets of the Children of Israel, whose name was Hizqil (Ezekiel), passed by them and asked Allah to bring them back to life by his hand. Allah accepted his supplication and commanded him to say, “O rotted bones, Allah commands you to come together.” The bones of every body were brought together. Allah then commanded him to say, “O bones, Allah commands you to be covered with flesh, nerves and skin.” That also happened while Hizqil was watching. Allah then commanded him to say, “O souls, Allah commands you to return, each to the body that it used to inhabit.” They all came back to life, looked around and proclaimed, “All praise is due to You (O Allah!) and there is no deity worthy of worship except You.” Allah brought them back to life after they had perished long ago.