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 c…
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 oth…
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 innovator…
[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 الصَّلَا…
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 الل…
The Most High said:
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ﴿٣٩﴾ أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُّجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ۚ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا ۗ وَمَن لَّمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِن نُّورٍ ﴿٤٠﴾
“As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he co…
Joining between Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr, and between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, is legislated whenever there is difficulty and hardship in performing each prayer at its appointed time. Muslim narrates with an authentic chain on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) combined the performance of Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr, and Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, in Madīnah, while not travelling, nor was it raining. They asked: “O Ibn ʿAbbās! What did he intend from this?” He replied: “Not to cause hardship on his ummah.”
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn comments:
“This points to the reason behind…
Wahb ibn Manubbih wrote to Makḥūl: “Indeed, you are a man who has attained an honourable standing and repute as a result of your Islamic knowledge that is apparent [to the people]. So seek, by means of your unapparent Islamic knowledge, to attain true love [for Allāh] and to gain closeness to Him.” In another narration, he wrote: “You have reached, by means of your apparent knowledge, a high standing and place of honour before them. So seek, by means of your unapparent knowledge, an honourable standing with Allāh and closeness to Him. And know that one standing may prevent your attainment of…
