By this link: We’ve noticed that some Imāms and mosque administrators prevent young children from attending the mosque and chastise them when they do. I replied: This is a detestable policy! Preventing children from attending the mosque is in effect preventing their parents from attending and worshiping in the houses of God. God says specifically regarding being concerned with the religious affairs of our families and children: “Save yourselves and your families from the Fire.” And He says concerning Ismāʿīl, peace be upon him: “He used to bid his family to [maintain] the prayer and to [pay] the zakāt.” And…
View More Children Attending the MosqueAuthor: admin
Presenting Islam without deception
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Allah has commanded presenting the religion to non-Muslims in a good way, that is to say, with patient courtesy and kindness, and by every means to avoid provoking non-Muslims into retaliatory insults. Providing someone in need of material help (such as food, money, clothes, shelter) with something of what they need is only pleasing to Allah if it is done with an effort to ensure that the recipient does not feel indebted to you. Providing religious guidance is an obligatory duty if (a) someone is need of it and (b) you are able to fill…
View More Presenting Islam without deceptionVegetarianism/veganism
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi A vegetarian or vegan diet may be the right one to adhere to in particular situations. The reasons for this may be that this diet is more healthy or economical, or more something else. Reasons like this are put forward on the basis of human understanding, in turn based on human experience: a dietary regime has tangible effects on individual bodily and mental health which can be studied; similarly, the aggregate effects on the environment of a society’s consumption habits (of meat or plants) can be studied and reasoned about. But then, for different individuals…
View More Vegetarianism/veganismThe Nexus between Qurʾān and Sunnah
By this link: Clarify for us the true connection between the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. I asked: What do you mean? They replied: Islamic groups and sects have differed greatly over their stance towards the Sunnah and over the nature of the link between the Qurʾān and Sunnah. What is your position on that? I replied: I will first present all the positions, from past to present, concerning the Sunnah of the leader and master of the prophets and messengers, the beloved of the Lord of the worlds, peace be upon him. I will then comment on them in a…
View More The Nexus between Qurʾān and SunnahWomen doing qada’ of their missed fasts
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Your question: Can women who missed some days of their their fasting in Ramadan due to menstruation or post-natal bleeding combine the intention of making up the missed days of fasting in Ramadan with the commended six days fasting in Shawwal? My response: Women in the state of menstruation or post-natal bleeding are not allowed to fast. Nevertheless, fasting the full month of Ramadan is obligatory on those women, and they have to make up the number of days missed when they are able to do so. Mu`adha al-`Adawiyyah asked `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased…
View More Women doing qada’ of their missed fastsFasting six days in Shawwal
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Your question: How important is fasting six days in Shawwal? My response: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported from Allah’s Messenger, peace be upon him, that he said: “For one who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six days of fasting during the month of Shawwal, it is as if he had fasted continually [i.e., the whole year].” (Muslim, k. al-Siyam, b. istihbab sawm sittati ayyam min shawwal). On the basis of that one hadith some scholars (Imams al-Shafi`i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, others) considered…
View More Fasting six days in ShawwalReligious emotion and self-knowledge
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi People often confuse the intensity of an experience or feeling with the reality and authenticity of that experience or feeling. This applies very much to religious and devotional exercises. Both these can induce states of minds like trance or even unconsciousness. Because of the emotional intensity, people who get into such states can become convinced that they reached a high, spiritual station. In reality, they did not; what they did was to escape and absent themselves from normal life and its normal responsibilities. Because the normal life, by comparison, lacks colour and intensity, people can…
View More Religious emotion and self-knowledgeInculcate good etiquettes, O students of Hadith!
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwiand translated by Syed Huzaifah Ali Nadwi To access the original arabic, follow this link There are many types of students of Ḥadith, the best of them are those who study the books of Ḥadith from both aspects of the usūl and the furūʾ with a complete grasp of the asānīd, mutūn, rijāl and the ʿilal of the aḥādīth, comprehending their meanings and contents, and are able to apply them to their lives. Indeed these are the true heirs of the prophets, the instructors of goodness and the callers to the right path. By acquiring the…
View More Inculcate good etiquettes, O students of Hadith!The Soundness of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī
By this link It must be known first that ṣaḥīḥ is a specific scholarly term that is used for a ḥadīth report which is transmitted by upright and precise individuals through a chain of transmitters (isnād) without discontinuity or deception, and free of all contradictions, overt or hidden, that would affect its attribution to its source. Within this scheme, the Ṣaḥīḥ compilation of Imām Bukhārī, as well as the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Muslim, represent the highest standard of authenticity. There simply is no single book of historical reports that is equivalent to them in their level of soundness, precision, and…
View More The Soundness of Ṣaḥīḥ BukhārīWisdom, Good Instruction and Argument
By this link: What is the meaning of the verse: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.” ? I replied: You would have achieved real success were you to truly understand the meaning of this verse, for most people have neither understood it properly nor applied it correctly. Know that inviting to our Lord’s way (daʿwah) is only realized with two fundamental characteristics: wisdom (all of which is praiseworthy and not restricted by any other thing) and instruction (which is qualified with being ‘good’ since…
View More Wisdom, Good Instruction and Argument