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Monday, May 10, 2010
How can the Muslim discipline himself
How can the Muslim discipline himself Islamically, especially if he has shortcomings with regard to his religious commitment, which Allaah knows best about?
Praise be to Allaah.
Acknowledging your shortcomings is one of the first steps in disciplining yourself.
Whoever acknowledges that he has shortcomings has started on the path to self-discipline. This acknowledgement is one of the things that make us discipline ourselves and be persistent in doing so. This acknowledgement should not put you off disciplining yourself. It is a sign of Allaah’s care when a person tries to change himself and develop, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, Allaah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves”
[al-Ra’d 13:11]
So whoever tries to change for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will help him to change.
Each person is individually responsible for his own self, and will be questioned individually, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious (Allaah) as a slave.
Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting.
And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender)”
[Maryam 19:93-95]
Man cannot benefit from what he has been told about goodness unless he himself takes an interest in that. Do you not know the story of the wife of Nooh and the wife of Loot, who were members of the households of two Prophets, one of whom was one of the Messengers of strong will? Imagine how these Prophets strove to guide their wives and how much guidance these wives received, but there was no interest on their part, so it was said to both of them:
“Enter the Fire along with those who enter!”
[al-Tahreem 66:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
Whereas the wife of Pharaoh – even though she was a member of the household of one of the greatest evildoers – is presented by Allaah as an example to those who believe because she disciplined herself.
The ways in which a Muslim can discipline himself are as follows:
1- Worshipping Allaah, keeping in contact with Him and submitting to Him. That is done by paying attention to doing obligatory acts of worship well, and cleansing your heart of any attachment to anything other than Allaah.
2- Reading Qur’aan a great deal, pondering its meanings and seeking to understand it.
3- Reading useful religious books that describe the ways of treating and cleansing the heart, such as Mukhtasar Manhaaj al-Qaasideen, Tahdheeb Madaarij al-Saalikeen and so on; reading the biographies of the salaf and learning about their attitude and behaviour, such as Sifat al-Safwah by Ibn al-Jawzi and Ayna nahnu min Akhlaaq al-Salaf by Baha’ al-Deen ‘Aqeel and Naasir al-Jaleel.
4- Attending educational programs such as classes and lectures.
5- Making good use of your time and using it to do things that will be of benefit in both worldly and spiritual terms
6- Not indulging too much in permissible things and not paying too much attention to them.
7- Keeping company with righteous people and looking for righteous companions, who can help you to do good. Those who live alone will miss out on a lot of the characteristics of a good brother such as preferring others to oneself and being patient.
8- Trying to act on what you learn and put it into practice.
9- Checking closely on yourself.
10-Having confidence in yourself – whilst relying on Allaah – because the one who has no confidence cannot act.
11-Despising yourself for not doing enough for the sake of Allaah. This does not contradict the things mentioned above. Man has to strive hard whilst still thinking that his efforts are not enough.
12-Practising withdrawal or isolation as prescribed in sharee’ah. You should not mix with people all the time, rather you must have some time which you spend alone, in worship as prescribed in Islam.
We ask Allaah to help us and you to discipline ourselves and submit to that which Allaah loves and is pleased with. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Setting Qur'anic Verses or Adhan as Ringtones
Question: Nowadays, it is quite noticed that a great deal of people set Qur'anic verses, supplications, or Adhan (call to Prayer) as mobile ringtones. What is the ruling on this act?Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your question which is a sign of your keenness on following the guidelines of Islam. May Allah reward you and grant you success in both worlds, amen!
Though we are displeased with those who use wanton songs and music as phone ringtones, we should not approve of using the Qur'anic verses or Adhan as substitutes. This is because the Qur'an and the Adhan have their sublimity and the legal purpose they are enacted for. The Qur'an has been revealed to rule among people and teach them how to get close to Allah. It is desirable to listen to it, in order to take lessons from its stories, to know about Allah from its verses, to learn the rulings of haram and halal from its guidelines, and to ponder on the matchless purity of its language. Obviously, using it as a ringtone serves nothing of these purposes.
Moreover, it should be noted here that it is an act of Sunnah to enjoy oneself by listening to the beautiful recitation of Qur’an reciters. It has been reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) listened to the recitation of Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari and `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud. He (peace and blessings be upon him) praised Abu Musa for his beautiful recitation and Bilal for his beautiful Adhan, and many other Companions. Yet, this context is totally different from ringtones, which involve interruption of meanings and words; although you may be able to stop a ring at a suitable point, you cannot predict when the caller will stop ringing.
In this regard, Dr. Ali Jum`ah, the current grand mufti of Egypt, stated,
Setting Qur'anic verses and the Adhan as mobile ringtones is legally impermissible, since Almighty Allah's words are sacred and should not be used in any way that drives them out of their Shari`ah framework.It is improper, and even immoral, to use the Glorious Qur'an instead of ringtones for mobile phones, since it has the sanctity and sublimity that exalt and elevate it above such a use. Almighty Allah says, (That [is the command]. And whoso magnifies the offerings consecrated to Allah, it surely is from devotion of the hearts) (Al-Hajj 22:32).
Using Qur'anic verses or the Adhan this way reflects a sort of abuse of the verses of the Glorious Qur'an, which Almighty Allah revealed for people to worship Him through reciting, memorizing, and meditating it and not to use it in ways that downgrade it or drive it out of its Shari`ah framework. Moreover, we are ordained to reflect on the verses of the Qur'an and comprehend the meanings of its words.
The usage given in the present question gets the verses of the Qur'an out of that Shari`ah context into another one where they are used to alarm when a call is received. Consequently, one's attention to contemplating the meanings of the Qur'anic verses will be interrupted in order to answer the calls. In addition, this surely will lead to the abrupt interruption of the verse and thus severance of the meaning — and even inversion of the meaning at times — upon stopping the recitation (ringtone) to answer the calls.
The same applies to the Adhan; it is improper to make it a ringtone, as the Adhan is a notification for the start of Prayer time. Thus, using it as a ringtone brings about confusion and makes people mistakenly think that the time for Prayer is due. It also involves using the Adhan in something other than that for which it is prescribed.
In my viewpoint, Islamic chants or praises quoted from Prophetic hadiths could be used instead, as they may better suit the shortness of the phone ring. As for Almighty Allah's words, they have their own sanctity, and thus they should be treated in a proper manner. The Glorious Qur'an is the Word of Allah (Exalted be He) that He sent down upon the best of His Messengers and the noblest of all His creatures, our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
We are commanded to revere, glorify, and properly treat the Qur’an in a way that differs from the way we treat anything else. For this reason, one should not touch the mushaf [i.e., an Arabic copy of the Qur'an] except when one is in a state of purity from both major and minor ritual impurities. Almighty Allah (Exalted be He) says, (That this is indeed a qur'an Most Honourable, In Book well-guarded, Which none shall touch but those who are clean.) (Al-Waqi`ah, 96:77–79). In addition, it is not permissible to put anything on the mushaf, since it stands high above anything else, and nothing should top it. Furthermore, the superiority of Allah's words to the rest of words is like the superiority of Allah (Exalted be He) to all His creatures.
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