Allāh says:
قَالَ يَا آدَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا أَنبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
“He said: “O Ādam! Inform them of their names,” and when he had informed them of their names, He said: “Did I not tell you that I know the Ghayb (unseen) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?”
(Al-Baqarah, 2:33)
Al-ʿAllāmah Abd al-Muḥsin al-ʿAbbād comments:
This verse proves the encompassing nature of the knowledge of Al…
The Christians claim: The noble Qurʾān has related that ʿĪsá (عليه السلام) is the spirit of Allāh—the Most High—and His word.1 This is consistent with our (Christian) belief.
In refuting this statement:
It is impossible for the meanings of Allah’s reference to His “word” and his reference to a “spirit” (al-Nisāʾ, 4:171) being God incarnate in the creation of ʿIsá (عليه السلام) as alleged by some Christians. For how can it be possible, for one with even an iota of intelligence, to describe ʿĪsá (عليه السلام) with godly attributes —calling him by it publicly and explicitly, to the exten…
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Chapter concerning calling the adhān in the right ear of the newborn and calling the iqāmah in his left; With regards to this, there are several (mistakenly accepted) aḥādīth:
On the authority of Abū Rāfiʿ (رضي الله عنه): I saw the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) call the adhān in the ears of Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī after Fāṭimah had birthed him. Narrated by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī who said: This ḥadīth is authentic.1
Narrated by al-Bayhaqī in ‘al-Shuʿab [al-Īmān]’ on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said…
The Ruling of Straightening the Rows of the Congregation
It is from the sunnah to straighten the rows when performing congregational ṣalāh. As the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to order this saying: “Straighten your rows”1, guiding and directing his companions to this to the extent that they fully comprehended and understood it from him. One day, when he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came upon the congregation and the iqāmah was called, he found a man whose chest was visible [due to his forward position in the row], He said: “Servants of Allāh! You must indeed straighten your rows or Allāh shall…
Interacting with Non-Maḥram Relatives by Marriage
[Q]: It is customary in the south to refer to the wife of your uncles (i.e. your mother’s brother’s wife or father’s brother’s wife) as one’s ‘aunty’. In doing so, they subsequently view it permissible for her to display herself at gatherings (as if she is a blood relative). She frequently comes to welcome others to her home without touching the guests. Her age exceeds forty years. She will come to the door and welcome guests, displaying herself. What is your opinion on this?
[A]: Our opinion is that any woman displaying herself to anyone o…
There are people bothered by knowledge-based refutations, even if these refutations are based upon evidence from the book of Allāh, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and the statements of the Imams. What provokes them is typically one of two things:
Uncontrolled emotions which overcome the intellect, creating a blur (regarding the situation) until the individual becomes confused and blind, meaning blind in insight. This first type of people believe that refutations are synonymous with tabdīʿ (declaring someone an innovator), thinking that the critic is declaring the refuted to be an innovat…
[Q]: Is the ṣalāh that is performed after its appointed time valid?
[A]: We say: If a person possesses a valid excuse, then the ṣalāh is valid. The evidence for this is from the passages [of the Qurʾān and Sunnah] and from scholarly consensus (ijmāʿ).
As for passages, there is evidence for this stance from both the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. As for the Qurʾān, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Whoever misses a ṣalāh due to sleep or forgetfulness should pray it when he remembers it. It has no expiation except for that”, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) then recited the verse:
وَأَقِمِ الصَّل…
Ṣalāh that is performed after its appointed time should be performed in the same manner as if it was performed at its proper time. This is because the performance of any act of worship after its appointed time should mirror performance at its appointed time. This is a well-known judicial rule. In consideration of this, if one was to perform a night prayer in the daytime, he would recite aloud as if he was praying in the night. Likewise, if he was to perform a daytime prayer in the night, he should recite quietly.
The evidence for this is the following:
The saying of the Messenger (صلى ا…
