Sulemaniye Masjid and Golden Horn at sunset-image by Amer Chaudury
Water is not just essential to life; it is essential to iman. Many of our obligatory worship, the second and fifth pillar, rely on water. We use it to purify ourselves of both major and minor and tangible and intangible impurities. While regularly washing the mouth, sniffing water into the nose, and performing wudu, we are informed that these hygienic practices are integrations of the prophetic ways into our faith (Tirmidhi).
Contrary to our water-centric faith is the extreme loathing for water that characterized the western civilization, a medieval concept that it is yet to grow out of. Modern science too is catching up, revealing what our faith declared over a millennia ago that water is a prevention against disease and sickness.
In Neighbors and their Rights, Abdullah Karatela discusses a topic we often dismiss due to our increasing immersion in the virtual world of internet that has no place for the importance of physical human contact and relations. He also expands on the Quranic definition of neighbors to include the traveler next to us on the plane.
Read and increase the knowledge.
Patron
Hazrat Dr. Ismail Memon
Fatawa
Mufti Husain Ahmad Badri
Contributors
Mufti Omar Baig
Maulana Dr. Mateen Khan
Dr. Kamran Karatela
M. Zubair Ahmad
M. Ahmad Amin
Editor
Asim Ahmad
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SANCTITY OF WATER IN ISLAM
Born and raised a Muslim in the Melting Pot, my coexisting with other religious and ethnic communities around the U.S. led me down the road to self-discovery. It opened my eyes to the beauty of my own faith in a way I never would have realized had I been born in a ‘Muslim’ country. It made me more grateful for what I have been granted by Allah without feeling morally superior because All good comes from Allah (4:79). So if I have a greater understanding in any matter, it is by the grace of Allah. Meaning, I have no boasting rights. So, read on and let us be humble and grateful
As a Muslim, I was raised to clean my bottom with water after I attended the call of nature. I couldn’t even dream of leaving the bathroom before using water to purge myself of impurities. This posed a huge challenge when I started attending public school, a headache that claimed most of my childhood years. I would find myself anxiously staring at the toilet paper dispenser not to mention the partitioned bathrooms which granted plentiful room for privacy invasion by Curious George. Out of desperation, I did use the toilet paper
on more than one occasion but was thoroughly disgusted with myself and remained queasy until I returned home for a complete wash down. I always felt conflicted on these occasions about why anyone else doesn’t feel the same way. Didn’t it make more sense to use water in place of toilet paper. Heck, how do we clean our cars? Car wipe anyone? How do we clean our grimy dishes after dinner? What is it, a dishwiper or dishwasher? Like, that’s freakin common sense, or am I just insane.
We use water for hydration. We use it to clean our floors, counters, and windows and glass (albeit with a mixture of other ingredients) and, I am sure, you can list a plethora
of other things. But why do we deprive the indispensable machine of our bodies from the elixir of water? I honestly struggled with this bizarre bypass of water for toilet paper for a very, very long time. It took me long to realize that this had nothing to do with common sense. It was more a matter of faith. Water is indeed a natural resource and we all, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, get it. Allah proclaims, “We made from water every living thing” (21:30)].
But it is also a religious resource. This is the part only we get. We know water to be the only purifier from the tangible (filth) and intangible impurities (sins).
Isn’t that a simple concept?
Listen, there are millions of people out there who sculpt idols with their own hands and then worship them. One plus two is three but for some, it somehow equals the Trinity. Monotheism is simple enough to us because Allah has granted us the light of iman, which removes the blindfold from our intellect and eyes.
To think that the intellect itself can independently guide us to the Truth is a blatant misconception. This is why we read in the very beginning of the Quran that it is a book without any doubt and a guidance. But for whom? The ones with the strongest intellect?
No, for those who are conscious of
Water forms one part of the constitution of our faith, which basically means that if you and I don’t believe that water holds the sacred power to purify, we have just lost half our faith, quite literally. said, purification is one half the faith
(Tirmidhi) and the key to prayer is purification (Abu Dawud). So, if water is within a mile radius, there is no dispensation but to walk the mile, perform ablution and pray the salat. No water, no salat.
The same goes for tawaf. No water, no tawaf around Ka’ba.
The common-sense expectation I had from modern society to wash after attending to their business derived from my faith in Islam and nothing to do with me being smarter or possessing greater discernment. I knew this because the concept of water as a purifier, never mind the modern science that now confirms this as fact, is not entertained as religiously in any faith or culture as in Islam.
John Burbury was an English diplomat based in Istanbul in 1671. He was astonished at the Ottoman Turks who were “excessively clean” and washed their hands after they attended to the call of nature. His astonishment was born out of the prevalent belief in medieval Europe that water was a danger to good health. The Catholic Church ‘declared that bathing should be curtailed anyway as it was a form of sinful pagan hedonism practiced by pagans. A century later, this belief, was further confirmed by a new sect of heathens-Muslims-who washed not once but five times a day, considered by the Christians to be clear evidence of their ungodliness.’
In other words, Muslims were evil
because they were so clean. But it gets worse.
‘Over time, physicians came to believe that washing was danger ous,’ a belief that prevailed over all classes of society and shattered any chance for water to make its presence in domestic and personal affairs. The biographies of European royals gives us a glimpse into the loath ing for water at the time.
A few examples:
In Spain: Queen Isabel la (1451-1504), the persecu tor of Jews and Muslims whose pol icies created the notorious Inquisition, ‘bragged that she had only bathed twice in her whole life.’1
In England: Queen Elizabeth bathed once a month ‘whether she needed it or no.’ As for her successor, ‘James I, he bore a great aversion to water and never bathed.’
In France: the same scandal made the Palace of Versailles reek. King Louis XIV stunk so bad, his mistress doused herself in perfume ‘not to hide her own body odor but his, as he apparently had bathed
only twice in his life’2
The aversion to water carried on in European colonies, including America. Apparently, the Indians held their noses to the pilgrims who came off the Mayflower and even tried to convince them to make use of the abundance of water.3 Colonists believed that it was clothes and not water that purified the body. Now, please don’t ask me how that works (I was hitting my head trying to figure this out myself). I am just citing history.
John Ward, professor of history and author of Clean Body: A Modern History, says, “The idea about cleanliness focused on their clothing, especially the clothes worn next to the skin. The common view was that the white linen garments they wore below their outer clothes absorbed the body’s impurities, cleaning the skin in the process.”4
What about water? He goes on, “The popular mind held ambivalent notions about dirt and filth, some even stressing their positive value for health. It commonly held water to be a harmful force as much
as a source of good, for its capacity to clean was seldom recognized at the time.5
The history of personal hygiene until recent times is nauseating, which is why I will leave you to read Clean Body; A Modern History in your own time. Since then, perceptions concerning the status of water have transformed, but not in great strides. According to John Ward, the transformation of perceptions about cleanliness is still changing in slow, baby steps.
This is why we see still see urinals, a carefree attitude, and a general top down approach to hygiene here. If the law requires for us to wash our hands, we do it. If the law requires we wear a mask, we wear it, and when the law will require us to wash our face, we will wash it.
Everything we are doing right in the line of hygiene is only by law. Not because it is right. One of the reasons the West changed its mind on water is because it threw aside medieval tradition for modern science. Props for that!
We, on the other hand, have held tight to our tradition, the Sunna of our Prophet, which has set the highest standard for personal hygiene. Modern science, on the other hand, is
not a moral authority, so it cannot establish a higher ethical standard for anything.
It is the mercy of Allah that we are blessed with the iman to understand the status of water, the importance of cleanliness and personal hygiene. As simple as these concepts look, they are not. They require guidance. Think about it. We eat and drink with our right hand and wash ourselves with the left.
This is the Sunna. Those who do not belief in the Sunna feel no obligation to use one hand for clean things and the other for unclean things. Can you imagine how many people may be eating with the same hand they clean their bottoms with? Just wanted us to appreciate the guidance we gain through the Sunna.
My apologies if anyone is disgusted.n
The History of the Quranic Text
Author: M.M. Mustafa A’zami
The renowned author, Maulana Mustafa A’zami, was an eminent muhaddith of his time. He was a graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband, Al-Azhar University, while holding a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan, Visiting Fellow at St. Cross College (University of Oxford), and King Faisal Visiting Professor for Islamic studies at Princeton.
The breadth of his knowledge in the many sciences including history, comparative studies of the Qur’an and Old and New Testament, ancient manuscripts, and the extensive works of orientalists who devoted their academic work to creating doubts about the immaculate preservation of the Qur’an, is immense.
In this book, he covers an introduction to the history of the Qur’an, its recording and collection during the prophetic era and examines the duplicity of orientalists in using two different standards for study of the Qur’an and the Old and New Testament. As the author himself states, “To suppose that the lapse of fifty years proved damaging to the Quranic text whilst the OT, suffering from a severely disjointed oral tradition and vowel-less text for two millennia, a deserves a more hearty benefit of the doubt is totally unscientific,” while writing elsewhere of their commitment to undermining Quranic preservation, “There exists mushafs in the Hejaz script from first century as well as dated manuscripts of portions of the Qur’an belonging to the first century. Discarding the value of these
by Asim Ahmad
specimens, orientalists claim that they are still too late to prove that the text is untainted by corruption; some choose to simply disregard them as fakes. By comparison the oldest complete and dates manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible belong to the beginning of the 11th century C.E. and the earliest dated Greek manuscripts of the Gospels were written c. the 10th century
C.E. yet these same concerns do not seem to apply here.”
He also exposes the true aims of orientalist studies who while claiming objectivity tried their utmost to erode faith in the Islamic scriptures and reconstruct the study of the Qur’an based on ill-conceived and racist theories and remaining true to the words of Karl Marx who once said, “They cannot represent themselves, they must be represented.” He also studies how after the discovery of the Dead Sea
Book review
Scrolls, non-Judaic scholars like the Harvard professor John Strugnell were dismissed for their ‘anti-Judaic sentiments’ when the reality was that his objectivity was a threat to the ‘definitive interpretation’ Jewish scholars wanted to impose on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Despite repeated attempts to access the ancient manuscript, the ultimate fear was, “Jewish anxiety that a Christian was examining documents of a Jewish nature, given among other things his fervor for Christ. This religious rivalry proved sufficient grounds for barring him [and others] irrespective of his credentials.” M. Mustafa A’zami wonders why no criticism came of this overprotective attitude toward the Dead Sea Scrolls considering the Muslims have never shown any degree of vigilance toward preservation of their own scripture against orientalist subjectivity.
This book is phenomenal in clarifying the miraculous preservation of the Qur’an while highlighting the ignorance, or in some cases outright deception, of Orientalists like Jeffreys, Goldziher, and Schacht in their research on the preservation of the Qur’an. He also dedicates two thirds of the book to how the original texts of the OT and NT were lost for centuries and how their translations and bits and pieces came together in an unscrupulous manner to form the Bible as we know it today.
duty [e.g., the pilgrimage to Makfavor, syn. of fadl
BURRUN
burrun-wheat or grain of wheat; ) or qamhun ) with same
s said, “Do not sell gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat (burr), barley for barley, date for date, salt for salt except the same for the same and in equal measure (Ibn Abi Shayba, 4/496)
barrun- land (as opposed to sea) while Ard means land without comparison to anything else also barriyyun, of or relating to the land, usually the desert or wasteland that is uncultivated. also in the meaning of birrun: to be pious good to parents, obedience to Allah, kind toward strangers and relatives.
Lawful to you is game from the sea nd its as provision for for you and the travelers, but forbidden to you is game from the land (barr) as long as you are in the state of ihram (5:96).
BIRRUN
birrun- to be pious, upright, righteousness, obedient to parents, to Allah; to be kind in dealings with strangers; Allah says, “Piety is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west...” (2:177)
Righteousness (birr) is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but righteouness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help] and for freeing slaves... (2:177)
Etiquette of Social M e
While growing up, we were all taught manners aabout how to talk to others. What our parents probably didn’t expect during our upbringing, however, is a world where people no longer speak with actual people. Instead, the most common methods of communica-
tion are text, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Many people have even relegated their main form of expression to pictures posted on Instagram or Snapchat. Though these social media platforms in and of themselves are not problematic, the issue arises when basic decorum ceases to exist just because we are using a different form of expression. Below (in no specific order), I will list some basic, albeit vital Islamic principles we all need to adopt when using any form of social media:
1. Only Share Accurate Information
Forwarded:
Whosoever prays four rak’ahs on the last Jum’ah of September and reads Surah Naas 300 times thereafter will be saved from the flu. Also, whoever does not share this message with at least 11 peo-
ple will be responsible for everyone who gets sick. Please be sure to forward to all family and friends! Ugh. We’ve all seen messages like the above before. Ridiculous messages that are entirely inaccurate. Yet, people still continue to forward and share them with hundreds of others. Fake news was always a problem in the world. The difficulty of discerning true from false has always been a struggle. However, social media has amplified the dilemma manifold. Everyone is always rushing to be the first to provide the breaking news. Most do not even bother checking the accuracy of the information they share. How many times have we seen a forwarded message that so-and-so passed away, only to find out that the person is alive and well? Even worse, many times, we see fabricated ahadith and fatwas spread to thousands of people who forward it and spread it even more, thinking they will be rewarded! The Messenger of Allah s cautioned us about spreading misinformation. Consider the following ahadith:
Abu Hurayra g narrates that the Messenger of Allah s said, “It suffices for a person to be considered a liar that they spread everything they hear”(Muslim).
Salma bin Akwa’ g narrates that the Messenger of Allah s said, “Whoever falsely attributes towards me a statement which I have not said, he/she should prepare their abode in hell”(Bukhari).
As Muslims, we have an obligation to verify the accuracy of any information before circulating it. It is better to avoid sharing such information if we cannot verify its accuracy. In religious matters, there is an even greater need for
rigorous authentication. While not every person will be able to verify the ahadith and fatwas, at the very least, the main source of the message should be verified before forwarding it. It would only be appropriate to forward a message and cite references provided they are reliable.
2. Restrict Interactions with the Opposite Gender
Salam sister! Hope you are doing well, insha’Allah! I have been meaning to message you for a while ;) Just been so busy these days working out at the gym lol. Hoping to get that six-pack soon :) make dua! Btw just wanted to ask what time is Jum’ah in the masjid?
While it might feel weird to have a conversation with someone without the usual small talk, when dealing with the opposite gender, it is always better to just keep things simple. Otherwise, it is easy to get carried away and end up with a conversation almost as cringe-worthy as the one above. Islam has set guidelines and boundaries for interaction with
the opposite gender. It is not permissible to have an informal relationship with the opposite gender unless they are a mahram. When interacting with non-mahrams, Islam has taught us to keep the interaction as formal and minimal as possible. It is much easier to restrain oneself from informal conversations or flirtatious talk in person. However, in a virtual setting, the lines are blurrier. Especially in group chats, it is easy to get carried away while speaking to a non-mahram. The extra “lol” or emoji makes a conversation much more informal than needed. While many times such interactions may not clearly be impermissible, there is much need for caution and exercising restraint in these virtual settings. Avoid the extra chitchat and exchange of pleasantries.
3. Be Mindful of the Words You Use
It is very easy to get carried away when chatting on social media platforms. Backbiting, slandering, cursing, etc., have become so customary that we never even recognize them for what they are anymore. How many of us have used an acronym that contains a curse word without a second thought? Though many such statements, words, and even emojis (yes, people can now curse with an emoji as well) are said in jest, the Messenger of Allah has warned us that many such statements (often said in jest) are the ones which can invite the wrath of Allah upon us. Consider the following:
Bilal bin Harith g narrates that the Messenger of Allah s said, “Indeed
a man says a word from that which pleases Allah, and he never thinks anything of it, but Allah will record for him His pleasure until the Day of Judgement. And indeed a man will utter a word which angers Allah, and never thinks anything of it, but Allah will record for him His anger due to it until the Day of Judgement” (Bukhari).
4. Actual Relationships Still Matter
Social media platforms have made connecting with friends and family easy regardless of distance and time zone. With group chats, people can now be in touch with hundreds of people simultaneously. While indeed convenient, such virtual means of communication can never fully replace actual relationships. Unfortunately, many have are so occupied staying in touch with distant people they have forgotten about those near them. Families are sitting together, yet every individual is
Knowing how and when to restrict your usage to ensure your priorities are fulfilled is the only way one can successfully maintain healthy relationships with those near him and most deserving of his/her time.
engrossed in their devices. We know what is happening in just about everyone’s life, yet we do not even know how the day went by for our kids. We regularly chat with our friends, yet somehow have no time for our spouses. This is the world we live in now, where the best way to reach someone in your own home would be to text them. When using such platforms, discipline is essential. Knowing how and when to restrict your usage to ensure your priorities are fulfilled is the only way a person can successfully maintain healthy relationships with those near him and most deserving of his/her time. If a person cannot maintain such discipline, it would be better to leave using such apps and platforms altogether.
Ibn ‘Abbas g said, “Indeed, no relationship is far if it is treated as close,
and there is no relationship which is close if it is treated as far, even if the (blood) relationship is actually close” (al-Adab al-Mufrad).
5. Remember Your Purpose
Allah created everything in this finite world as a means for us to get closer to Him. Whenever we do anything in life, it is always worth asking how this helps us get closer to Allah. If it doesn’t, it is futile and only a distraction. All of the social media platforms are no different. If using these platforms helps you fulfill your ultimate goal, then alhamdulilah. Otherwise, it’s time to reassess why we are even using them in the first place. Likewise, with each post and each tweet, it is worth asking what benefit you are actually giving to others and yourself. The truth is, it does not benefit yourself or anyone else when you post your selfie, share how much weight you lost, or post a snap of what you eat for dinner. So it is worth asking, why
Abu Hurayra g narrates that the Messenger of Allah s said, “It is from the beauty of Islam that a person leaves whatever does not concern him” (Abu Dawud).
The above are just a few of the many etiquettes we should observe in the world of social media. Simply put, we need to be conscious of Allah in all of our interactions, whether they are in person or behind a screen. May Allah grant us the ability to remember Him at all times and save us from anything that may distract us from our ultimate goal of gaining His pleasure. n
“A time will come upon you when ignorance will descend, knowledge will be lifted, and haraj will increase.” They asked, “What is haraj?” The Prophet s replied, “Killing.” Bukhari 1/64
Q: We went to pray in a masjid for Isha salah. The brother’s section is on the upper level while the sister’s on the lower. While we were praying Isha in congregation, the microphone turned off during recitation of the third rakat. Some sisters broke their salah and started from the beginning. Others continued from the point when the microphone turned off and finished their salah.
My sister and I stood standing in hope the microphone would turn back on, which it did two minutes later where
A: In principle, one must follow the imam when praying in congregation. However, due to the microphone malfunctioning, the women in the lower level can no longer hear the imam and thus can no longer follow him. Once the sisters understand that the microphone is not working and most likely won’t turn back on for the remaining portion of prayer, they will be in the ruling of a lahiq. This means they will continue and finish their prayer on their own on the condition that they pray without completing any
Muhrim, or the person who is in the state of ihram, is not allowed to change into an ihram that has fragrance on it.
QWhat are the white days of every month and the virtue/benefit of fasting on those days?
AThe white days of a month refer to 13th, 14th and 15th of each lunar month. These days are referred to as the white days because the full moon illu minates the sky on these days. Jarir bin ‘Abdullah narrates that the Prophet s said, “Fasting three days of each month is fasting for a lifetime, and the shining days of al-Beed [are] the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth” (Nasa’i). Therefore, fasting on the white days (13th,14th,15th) of every month is Sunnah and the reward is equal to fasting a lifetime if one fasts on these days every month for their entire life.
Q
: Is it permissible for an individual who is already in a state of ihram to change into a different ihram that has fragrance on it?
A
Muhrim, or the person who is in the state of ihram, is not allowed to change into an ihram that has fragrance on it.
QI am aware that the ruling for an individual who doubts whether they have passed wind during salah is that they should not interrupt their prayer unless they hear a sound or detect a smell. After completing my prayer, I moved slightly and subsequently noticed a foul odor.
A: Given that I did not detect this smell during the prayer itself but
only a short while after icompleting the salat, I am uncertain about the validity of my prayer. Should I consider the prayer complete, or is it necessary to repeat it?
A: The prayer is invalidated if one is certain or fairly certain that he has passed gas during salah. Such a person will have to repeat his wudu and prayer. The guidance to refrain from interrupting prayer unless a sound or a smell is detected applies mainly to those frequently troubled by doubts. Most people can feel when they have passed wind, thus invalidating the wudu. If one is certain that no wind was passed, the wudu remains valid.
In the scenario you have described, it is possible that the smell may not be immediately noticeable and may only be-
come apparent after some time has passed. Therefore, if you detected a foul odor after finishing your prayer, it is reasonable to attribute this to passing of wind. You should perform wudu again and repeat the prayer.
Question: Is it permissible for an individual to claim tax deductions on the donations they make, including sadaqah and zakah?
AIt is permissible for an individual to claim tax deductions on donations made in the form of sadaqah and zakah. The tax deduction received as a result of these charitable contributions will be considered a gift from the government. Consequently, the obligations of sadaqah and zakah will be fulfilled.
Q: If an individual performs their salah in a room where there are images and drawings of
animated things on the walls, does this affect the validity of their prayer? More specifically, is it necessary for the person to repeat their salah due to the presence of these images and drawings, or is the prayer still considered valid inspite of them?
A: Performing salah in a room where images of animate objects and drawings are displayed on the walls is considered makrūh (disliked) in Islamic jurisprudence. However, the salah remains valid and need not be repeated.
Q: Is it permissible for Muslims to participate in Thanksgiving celebrations? Is it acceptable to engage in activities like cooking a festive meal, shopping for sales, and other traditions associated with the holiday?
A: The Thanksgiving holiday originated as a celebration of the early European settlers’ first harvest. Now largely observed as a secular tradition, it brings Americans together for an annual family gathering and symbolic feast, expressing gratitude for life’s blessings.
In Shariah, Muslims are advised against emulating non-Islamic cultural practices, customs, and traditions. Although the extent of prohibition varies, at the very least, actively participating in non-Islamic traditions is generally discouraged.
Therefore, Muslims should not participate in Thanksgiving celebrations. However, if someone were to have dinner with family or take advantage of Thanksgiving sales solely for practical reasons and without celebratory purpose, it would not be considered participating in Thanksgiving celebrations. Hence, there would be no problem with such actions as they are not explicitly tied to the holiday’s festivities.
Q: I had a question on prayer timings for an upcoming 17-hour flight from Los Angeles to Singapore. Our flight departs on September 8th at 11:50 pm PST, and we will perform our Isha prayer before departure. We will then cross the international dateline, spend the entire day of September 9th in the air and land in Singapore on September 10th at 8:00 AM local
iven that we will be traveling westward with the night and will not experience daylight until the end of our flight, I’m uncertain about determining prayer for the five daily September 9th and on September . I have tried to find different apps that provide prayer timing guidance, but they cannot provide information due to the unconventional nature of our travel.
ould you please advise on how to accurately determine prayer timings for
: the obligation to perform prayers on Sepdoes not
apply, as the individual is traversing the international dateline and effectively skipping that day. Consequently, there is no need to make up for any missed prayers, as the obligation never arose in the first place. Upon landing on September 10th, you should adhere to the calculated prayer timings for that day.
Sending rewards to parents
Someone asked Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi if sending thawab (reward) to parents is from the rights of our parents upon us.
A: It is not among the necessary rights but it is among their mustahab rights, and can be sent to the living as much as to the deceased. The evidence for this is the hadith of Abu Hurayra g who once said, “After praying Isha in the masjid, pray two rak’a and say, ‘this is for Abu Hurayra,’ and this he said when he was alive.
Benefits of khalwat (solitude)
We know from experience that the most beneficial thing is solitude, which tells of the importance to reduce connections [with people], while there is more harmfulness in connections. In solitude, one will exert himself to some good. And even if they don’t, the least they will benefit is being saved from sin. Solitude is so invaluable, but people run [from the whole idea] of solitude. Even if they do get down to it, they will do it where there some activity is happening. They will ensconce themselves in a place where they can see others though others cannot see them.
Someone said, “There is more hadith al-nafs [self-absorption] when one is consumed in stray thoughts. Hazrat replied, “If he is occupied in dhikr, how will he have time for anything else? The rule is: the nafs cannot keep its attention on two things at the same time.”
But even if one gets embroiled
in stray thoughts it is much less harmful than jalwat (company of people). Though, there is no stray thoughts in jalwat but it is more injurious and its harms graver. The best example of this is like being poked with a needle that hurts, but if someone stabs you in the same place, the pain from the needle poke is overwhelmed by the stab wound.
Imam Ghazali said, an ignorant person will always treat a sin with another sin. Likewise, people will treat their stray thoughts in solitude with abandoning it altogether and returning to the company of people, which is more harmful than solitude. In solitude is hadith al-nafs while in jalwat is khabees al-nafs (absorption of evil of the self).
Difference between spending time with family and friends
One person who was completing a 40-day course of silence said, “Once I return home after Eid, I would like to spend more time in solitude and need your duas in this regard.” He added, “If I do my dhikr in the presence of wife and children and talk to them here and there, is this degree of jalwat harmful for me?
Hazrat said, “Talking to family and talking to friends is very different. Many sins are committed in consideration for friends while kids will say things like, “Baba give me a mango,” but there is no harm in such talk. Friends, on the other hand, will get one involved in different types of sins. This is one difference between friends and children. Second, there is no formality with your own kids while there is some level of formality with friends. In my opinion, talking to kids
and wife is one level of khalwat, while these wasteful gatherings are just pure harmful. People have made this a whole business of lets go meet this person or that person.
The objective is to establish moderation i.e., to speak in moderation. Complete reticence is also not a good thing. People are completely lost on the importance of silence altogether and its greater benefits.
Importance
of huquq (rights) of others
To intentionally hurt someone is obviously wrong, but even if it is unintentional, which irritates and upsets others, then this too is unacceptable as mentioned in the hadith. Once, the case of two women was brought before the Prophet s.It was said about one that she observes prays and fasts a lot (i.e., she does more than the obligatories), but is hurtful to her neighbors, he said, “She is in the hellfire.” Regarding the second one, he was told that she is not as keen on non-obligarory prayers and fasts, but is peaceful to her neighbors. The Prophet s said, “She is in paradise.”
Look, this is what anguishing others leads to. We need to observe these things more than prayers and acts of worship. The reason for this is that these acts like salat and fasting, which we call huquq (rights) of Allah, are in reality huquq of the nafs because by ignoring them, one brings harm to oneself only. It does no harm to Allah. While hurting others is more than huquq of the nafs as can be plainly understood by the fact that they are the rights of others.
Malfuzat of Hazrat Thanwi, v. 19
Neighbors and Their Rights
Islam is a comprehensive system that guides us in every aspect of our life, the relationship between man and His Creator and also between all of creation themselves.
Today, our interpersonal relationships are suffering significantly in this hyper individualistic society. With our eyes, minds, and heart glued to our gadgets, we are often oblivious of the mere presence of people around us, let alone to fulfil their rights.
Most of us live in our own virtual sphere where we have become increasingly isolated and compromised the beautiful and harmonious social environment Islam has laid out for us all. Amongst the many relationships highlighted in Islamic teachings, the relationship with one’s neighbors
the rights of parents, family, spouses and friends, which undoubtedly are of great virtue and importance. However, we fail to remember that the rights of neighbors too have been emphasized in many verses and ahadith with deep roots in the teachings of Islam.
Quranic Foundations
One of the most important verses regarding neighborly conduct can be found in Surah An-Nisa (4:36), which commands Muslims to show kindness to those close to them: “And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents, do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the companion along the way, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.”
Emphasizing the hierarchy of responsibility, Allah commands us to be good to the close neighbor (this term encompasses the family members within one’s household, as well as those living in nearby homes), and the neighbor who is a strang-
a train or airplane). He states that such a person will be regarded as a neighbor and will therefore have the same rights upon us as the person living next door.
Moreover, the importance of the rights of the neighbors can be derived from the fact that the statement regarding the rights of neighbors appears in the same verse that orders us to refrain from shirk, the greatest sin, and dutifulness to parents which is one of the core responsibilities of an individual.
The Teachings of the Prophet s
The behavior of the Prophet s serves as a prime example for the Ummah, showcasing the ideal treatment of neighbors. Several ahadith reinforce the importance of neighborly rights.
In a hadīth narrated by Ibn ‘Umar and ‘Aisha j. Nabi s states, “Jibreel kept recommending treating neighbors with kindness until I thought he would assign a share of inheritance” (Bukhari). In another Hadīth, the Holy Prophet s says, “ The
best of them to his neighbor” (Tirmidhi). This statement indicates that neighbors should be treated akin to family members.
Modern architecture -the modern divide
Mufti Taqi Uthmani states that one of the main reasons neighbors are not close is the struc ture of modern houses. He says about himself, that once he and his family moved into an old-stye house. Just as they arrived, the neighbors all rushed outside to greet them and welcome them into the neighborhood. The friendship and closeness between the neighbors in this neighbors was amazing. However, five years later when they moved to a modern-style house, they never knew their neighbors for weeks until his father paid them a visit to formally greet and get to know them.
It is true that modern architecture has divided us further and promoted our hyper individualistic lifestyle. We might be living in a particular neighborhood awithout knowing even the name of our next-door neighbor.
Taking care of neighbors like family
In many hadith, the Prophet s warns the person who fails to care for his neighbor. The Messenger of Allah s said, “He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while his neighbor goes hungry.”
Mufti Taqi Uthmani writes in Spiritual Discourses, “One of my father’s teachers was Mian Asghar Husayn, the teacher of Hadīth at Darul-Uloom
Deoband. He was also a bookseller and well-off. However, his house was made of unbaked bricks. When it rained, the roof would come down, or the walls would shake dangerously. When the season came to an end, he would repair the house. My father once suggested that he should rebuild the house with baked bricks, rather than undergo hardship each year, especially since he could afford to build it. He had a good sense of humor and said to my father, “Very good, Oh Mawlvi Shafi’! What a good suggestion. I have turned old, but never thought of this my whole life. Very good! How sensible!” My father was deeply ashamed, but said to him, “I only meant to know your reason for leaving the house in this condition.” Not until he asked this question repeatedly did he take my father’s hand and led him to his house. There, he pointed out toward the street and asked him, “ Do you see any house built on baked bricks on this street? None of the houses are. If I have my house made of baked bricks, how good would I look? And I cannot afford to have all these homes built solid. So, I am better off living as my neighbors do.”
He spent the rest of his life on the same unbuilt house only to save his neighbors from feeling deprived, though there is no sin in building a house of solid material. Shari’ah has not disallowed it, but it was out of his respect for the neighbors that he
lived his whole life in a thatched house.
Non-Muslim Neighbors
Many people argue that most of the neighbors in Western countries are not Muslim, and therefore the same rule would not apply to them. However, there are teachings and sayings of the pious predecessors who make it clear that these rulings apply as much to non-Muslim. Imām Qurtubi specifically states that advice regarding the haq of neighbors applies whether or not he (the neighbor) is a Muslim. Hasan al-Basri advises us to share the meat of the sacrifice with one’s neighbors on the occasion of ‘Eid Adha as well.
Treating one’s neighbors with kindness and respect may also bring them
closer to islam. By being compassionate towards one’s neighbors, a person can potentially earn the reward of da’wah when he exemplifies the beautiful character and manners we are taught to practice as part of our faith, inviting his neighbor towards Islam.
Neighborhood businesses as neighbors
Another aspect of neighborly harmony that we often tend to overlook is neighboring businesses. Mufti Taqi Uthmani says, “Even nearby businesses have a right upon you. Nowadays, we are so involved in competing with one another, looking out for the shops near us is the last thing on our minds. If we look at the people in the past, they
to look out for shops nearby.”
In his book, Spiritual Discourses, Mufti Taqi Uthmani has written of an incident which took place in 1966. He writes, “I had the opportunity to go for ‘Umrah with my elder brother, Walī Razi. At the time, signs of the pre-modern architecture were still visible in Makkah, and modernism had not caught up with society. We stayed there for about two months, I was young then, with an eagerness to visit each and every historical location. In a market, a man disclosed that with the sound of the adhan, every shopkeeper hastened towards the masjid. He would leave his shop without closing it and simply spread a sheet of cloth over his merchandise. Another man narrated a
experience. He had struck a deal with a shopkeeper for a piece of cloth, but the seller advised him to buy the same cloth from a shop opposite to his. This man inquired, “ Does that shop belong to you as well? Have I not struck a bargain with you? I will buy from you only.”The shopkeeper disclosed that since the morning that day, eight or more customers had come to him, but the other shopkeeper had not had any customers that day, and said, “I wish that he too may sell something, so I am sending you there. You will get the same thing for the same price at the (other) shop.”
Rights of Neighbors
In summary, neighbors have several fundamental rights, which can be categorized as follows:
1.Right to kindness and good treatment: neighbors have the right to be treated gently and with respect. Muslims are encouraged to greet their neighbors, assist them in times of need, and avoid doing anything that would cause them distress.
2.Right to share in joy and grief: Neighbors should share in
each other’s happiness as well as support one another during difficult times. This mutual support strengthens community bonds.
3.Right to protection from harm: Islam forbids any action that could harm or disturb a neighbor. This principle extends to noise, disputes, or any other behaviour that might disrupt the tranquility of a neighbor’s home.
4.Right to access resources: Neighbors should be willing to share resources, as seen in the tradition of lending food or assistance when a neighbor is in need.
5. Right to privacy: While fostering a good relationship is vital, one must also respect the privacy of neighbors. Intrusion into their affairs or property without permission is strictly
Neighbors
prohibited.
The implementation of these rights fosters a strong sense of community and belonging. In a society where individuals respect and uphold the rights of their neighbors, conflicts are minimized, and mutual support is amplified. This leads to a cohesive social fabric where individuals work towards common goals and support each other in times of need.
In conclusion , the rights of neighbors in Islam are an essential aspect of Islamic teachings that go beyond mere social etiquette. They are integral to building a compassionate, supportive, and harmonious community. By adhering to these rights, Muslims cultivate a sense of brotherhood and unity that reflects the
should
share in each other’s happiness as well as support one another
during difficult times.
core values of Islam. Neighborly relations are not only a reflection of personal character but also a demonstration of one’s faith and commitment to the principles of kindness, empathy, and respect. As the teachings of Islam continue to guide millions around the world, fostering a spirit of neighborly love and respect remains a crucial element in achieving a just and peaceful society. n
