teaching quran online blog

Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Dreams

I hope you could help me out with this confusion,I had prayed Istikhara namaz 5 days back.I asked ALLAH if I would be able to convert a non-muslim to a muslim and guide him to the wright path for my love for islam and ALLAH,I am very obsessed with this because it's my dying wish that i should be able to do this atleast once in my lifetime,because i love ALLAH dearly and with all my heart.I had prayed istikhra namaz asking ALLAH if I will ever be successful in executing this dream into reality,I also asked if he would guide me.

but today morning i had a dream were i saw me and my cousin spending our holidays in a hotel and (lahaulwalaquat)I found both me and my cousin holding a green color chamapangne bottle and that we were both tempted to taste it as so we do(lahaulwalaquwat).and after a while later i see my elder brother coming in and both me and my cousin get terrified and scared.Then i see my elder sister in a black salwar and that a brown dog is chasing her.

Imam saheb when I was dreaming I was getting really scared and I also feared that i commited a sin and then when i opened my eyes and got up from the left position(the position in which I was sleeping),i felt relieved that it was just a dream.

It was 5.30am at that time and i had to rush for fazr prayers,but as i was praying i felt really happy and had this beautiful feeling inside of me,that was convincing me that ALLAH is with me and listening to my heart.I never had such a lovely feeling,and I feel happy even now as I'm writing to you.

I don't know what this means,shuld i believe in the dream or should I listen to my heart.

Praise be to Allaah.

Note that the things people see in their sleep may come under
one of two categories :

1 – Dreams/visions

2 – Confused dreams

Confused dreams in turn are divided into two categories:

1 – The Shaytaan’s attempts to frighten

2 – The workings of the subconscious.

So it may be said that what people see in their dreams may be
divided into three categories:

1-
Visions or dreams that come
from Allaah.

2-
Attempts by the Shaytaan to
frighten us

3-
The workings of the
subconscious.

These categories are
indicated by the hadeeth narrated in Saheeh Muslim (no. 2263) from
Abu Hurayrah, which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “When the time (of the Day of Resurrection) draws
near, a believer's dream will hardly be false. And the truest vision will be
of one who is himself the most truthful in speech, for the vision of a
Muslim is the forty-fifth part of Prophecy, and dreams are of three types:

the good dream which is glad tidings from Allah;

the bad dream which causes distress, which is from the
Shaytaan;

and the dream which represents what a person is thinking
about.

So if any one of you sees a dream which he does not like he
should get up and pray, and not tell people about his dream…”

It was narrated from ‘Awf ibn Maalik that the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Dreams are of
three types: some are terrifying things from the Shaytaan, aimed at causing
grief to the son of Adam; some are things that a person is concerned with
when he is awake, so he sees them in his dreams; and some are a part of the
forty-six parts of Prophecy.”

(Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah, 3155)

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Dreams
are of three types: glad tidings from Allaah, what is on a person’s mind,
and frightening dreams from the Shaytaan. If any of you sees a dream that he
likes, let him tell others of it if he wishes, but if he sees something that
he dislikes, he should not tell anyone about it, and he should get up and
pray.”

(Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah, 3154)

There follow a number of saheeh ahaadeeth which describe how
to deal with what one sees in one’s dream.

1 – It was narrated that Abu Qutaadah said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Good dreams
come from Allaah and bad dreams come from the Shaytaan. If anyone sees a bad
dream that scares him, let him spit drily to his left and seek refuge with
Allaah from its evil, then it will not harm him.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3292)

2 – It was narrated that Abu Salamah said: I used to see such
terrible dreams that that I began to shake and have a fever, but did not
cover myself with a cloak until I met Abu Qutaadah, and I mentioned that to
him. He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Good dreams come from Allaah and bad dreams come
from the Shaytaan. If anyone sees a bad dream that he dislikes, let him spit
drily to his left three times and seek refuge with Allaah from its evil,
then it will not harm him.’”

(Narrated by Muslim, 2261)

3 – It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of
you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him turn over, and spit drily to his
left three times and ask Allaah of His goodness, and seek refuge with Him
from its evil.”

(Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah).

4 – It was narrated from
Jaabir that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him
spit drily to his left three times and seek refuge with Allaah from the
Shaytaan three times, and turn over onto his other side.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 2262).

5 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) told us the difference between good dreams and bad dreams. It was
narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that he heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “If any one of you
sees a dream that he likes, it is from Allaah, so let him praise Allaah for
it and tell people about it. But if he sees something other than that, that
he dislikes, it is from the Shaytaan, so let him seek refuge with Allaah
from its evil and not mention it to anyone, for it will not harm him.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7045).

So it is clear that good dreams come from Allaah and bad
dreams which a person dislikes come from the Shaytaan, so he has to seek
refuge with Allaah from their evil.

6 – It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you sees
something that he dislikes, let him get up and pray, and not tell people
about it.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 2263).

7 – It was narrated from Jaabir that a Bedouin came to the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
said, “I dreamt that my head was cut off and I was chasing it.” The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) rebuked
him and said: “Do not tell anyone how the Shaytaan is messing about with you
in your dreams.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 2268)

So we may sum up from these ahaadeeth the most important
points about what a person should do if he sees a dream that he dislikes, as
follows:

1-
He should know that this dream
is from the Shaytaan who wants to cause him grief, so he should annoy the
Shaytaan by not paying any attention to him.

2-
He should seek refuge with
Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan.

3-
He should seek refuge with
Allaah from the evil of this dream.

4-
He should spit drily to his
left three times, i.e., blowing with a little bit of saliva.

5-
He should not tell anyone about
it.

6-
He should turn over from the
side on which he was sleeping, so if he was lying on his left side he should
turn over to his right side, and vice versa.

7-
He should get up and pray.

If a person adheres to this etiquette, then we hope that this
bad dream will not harm him, as it says in the texts. And Allaah knows best.

She predicts things that are almost true and they think that she has knowledge of the unseen

There is a woman who claims to worship Allaah sincerely, and that whilst she is asleep she is visited by a man wearing a white gown who walks around her, then the next morning she predicts things that are almost true. The people know of her and they have started to visit her and they say that she has knowledge of the unseen, but no one knows the unseen except Allaah. What is the ruling on this woman? What do you advise us to do?.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible for anyone to claim to have knowledge
of the unseen. The one who makes such a claim is a kaafir. And it is not
permissible to believe that anyone has knowledge of the unseen. The one who
believes that is also a kaafir.

Allaah has told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) does not have knowledge of the unseen, and that the
jinn do not have knowledge of the unseen.

What we are referring to here is the unseen in absolute
terms, which no one knows except Allaah. As for the relative unseen – which
some people know and others do not – some people may find a way to know
this, so we have to find out how they know it; some may find out by spying
and some may find out through the jinn. Both are ways which it is forbidden
for us to use.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was
asked:

Do the jinn have knowledge of the unseen?

He replied:

The jinn do not have knowledge of the unseen because Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib
(Unseen) except Allaah”

[al-Naml 27:65]

“Then when We decreed
death for him [Sulaymaan (Solomon)], nothing informed them (jinn) of his
death except a little worm of the earth which kept (slowly) gnawing away at
his stick. So when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that if they had known
the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment”

[Saba’ 34:14]

So whoever claims to have knowledge of the unseen is a
kaafir, and whoever believes the one who claims to have knowledge of the
unseen is also a kaafir, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib
(Unseen) except Allaah”

[al-Naml 27:65]

No one knows what is unseen in the heavens and the earth
except Allaah alone. Those who claim to have knowledge of the unseen future
are all fortunetellers, and it is proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and
asks him (about anything), his prayer will not be accepted from him for
forty days.” And if he believes him then he is a kaafir because if he
believes that he has knowledge of the unseen, then he has disbelieved in the
words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib
(Unseen) except Allaah”

[al-Naml 27:65].

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
1 Shawwaal, no. 115.

And Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on one
who claims to have knowledge of the unseen. He replied:

The ruling on one who claims to have knowledge of the unseen
is that he is a kaafir, because he has disbelieved in Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib
(Unseen) except Allaah, nor can they perceive when they shall be
resurrected”

[al-Naml 27:65]

If Allaah has commanded His Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) to proclaim to all that no one in the
heavens or on earth has knowledge of the unseen except Allaah, then whoever
claims to have knowledge of the unseen has denied what Allaah has told us
here.

We say to them: How can you possibly have knowledge of the
unseen when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
not have knowledge of the unseen? Are you better or the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? If they say, “We are better
than the Messenger” then they become kaafirs by saying that. If they say,
“He is better,” then why was the unseen concealed from him but you have
knowledge of it?? Allaah says of Himself (interpretation of the meaning):

“(He Alone is) the All‑Knower of the Ghayb (Unseen), and
He reveals to none His Ghayb (Unseen).

27. Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has
chosen (He informs him of the Unseen as much as He likes), and then He makes
a band of watching guards (angels) to march before him and behind him.”

[al-Jinn 72:26]

The second verse attests
to the kufr of the one who claims to have knowledge of the unseen. And
Allaah commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to announce to all (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): I don’t tell you that with me are the
treasures of Allaah, nor (that) I know the Unseen; nor I tell you that I am
an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me”

[al-An’aam 6:50]

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1 Shawwaal, no.
22.

The one who predicts the
future is called a kaahin (fortuneteller, soothsayer), and it is not
permissible to ask questions of such a person or to go to him or her. If
their predictions are sometimes correct, that is either a coincidence or
because the jinn have intercepted the news and conveyed it to the
fortuneteller, but they add a hundred lies to it.

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said: Some people asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) about fortunetellers. He said: “They are
nothing.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, sometimes they tell us
something and it is true.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “That is a word of the truth that they learn
from the jinni which he whispers into the ear of his familiar, but they mix
a hundred lies with it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5429; Muslim, 2228.

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said:

Al-Qurtubi said: During the Jaahiliyyah they used to consult
the fortunetellers about events and rulings, and follow what they said. Then
the fortunetellers stopped when the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was sent. But there are still some who resemble them. It
is forbidden to go to them, so it is not permissible to go to them or to
believe them.

In the version narrated by Yoonus the phrase “sometimes they
tell us something and it is true” appears as “they tell something and it
turns out to be true.” This phrase has confused the questioner because of
the general meaning of the phrase “They are nothing”, which he has
understood to mean that they never get anything right. But the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commented that although they
sometimes coincidentally get things right, it is never completely right for
it is always contaminated with many lies.

Al-Khattaabi said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) explained that the reason why the fortuneteller
sometimes gets it right is that the jinni tells him of something that he has
heard by eavesdropping on the angels, and he adds lies to that to embellish
what he heard. So occasionally he gets it right but usually it is wrong.
Fath al-Baari, 10.219, 220.

With regard to what is
mentioned in the question of what this woman sees in her dreams, such dreams
are not to be taken as evidence concerning rulings of sharee’ah, let alone
whatever they may indicate that goes against any matter of ‘aqeedah (belief)
that is confirmed in the texts of Islam. Whatever she sees in her dreams is
to be regarded as the Shaytaan’s toying with her and taking advantage of her
ignorance.

Ruling on regarding twitching of the eye as an unlucky sign

My right eye has been twitching for more than a week. Some people have told me that this is a bad omen. What do you advise me?.

Praise be to Allaah.

There is no connection between what you have mentioned about
your eye twitching and bad luck. Rather this is a kind of superstition which
the Muslim must beware of, because it is one of the actions of Jaahiliyyah.
It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) forbade superstitious belief in bad omens and he said that this is a
form of minor shirk that is contrary to the Tawheed in which we must
believe, because superstition is a trick by means of which the Shaytaan
seeks to cause fear and whisper into people’s hearts. What is meant by
superstition here is regarding something that one sees, hears or knows as a
bad omen.

The Prophet’s prohibition of superstition is mentioned in
more than one hadeeth, for example:

The hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “There is no ‘adawa (contagion except by the will of Allaah)
and no tiyarah (superstitious belief in bird omens).” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5757; Muslim, 102.

Abu Dawood (3910) and al-Tirmidhi (1614) narrated, in a
report that was classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi, that Ibn Mas’ood (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Tiyarah is shirk, tiyarah is shirk,’
but there is none of us who… but Allaah takes it away by means of trust in
Him (tawakkul).” The words “there is none of us who…” are the words of Ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him), not of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). What this means is that there is no one
among us who does not experience some kind of tiyarah and superstition in
his heart, but Allaah takes that away from the heart by means of the person
putting his trust in Him and delegating his affairs to Him.

Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“There is no ‘adawa and no tiyarah, but I like optimism.” They said: “What
is optimism?” He said: A good word.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5756; Muslim,
2220.

These ahaadeeth clearly indicate that superstition is haraam
and warn against it, because it involves the heart being attached to
something other than Allaah, and because everyone who believes that some
things may have an effect of bringing benefits or causing harm when Allaah
has not caused them to be so, has committed the sin of minor shirk, and has
opened the door to the Shaytaan to make him afraid and cause him mental,
physical or financial harm. Hence the Lawgiver forbids superstition and
declares it to be false, and tells us that it has no effect of either
bringing benefits or warding off harm.

Once you have understood this, then if any such thoughts
occur to you, you must fear Allaah and put your trust in Him and seek His
help. You should not pay any attention to these bad thoughts and false
notions. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has
told us the remedy for superstition, which was narrated by Imam Ahmad in his
Musnad (2/220) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheehah
(1065), from the hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) who said: “If tiyarah stops a man from doing what he needs
to, then he has committed shirk.” They said: “What is the expiation for
that?’ He said: “To say: ‘Allaahumma laa khayra illa khayruka wa laa
tayra illa tayruka, wa laa ilaaha ghayruka (O Allaah, there is no
goodness except Your goodness, and no birds except Your birds, and no god
except You).” [Translator’s note: birds are mentioned here because the Arabs
of the Jaahiliyyah had a superstitious belief in bird omens and would make
decisions based on observations of bird movements]

The believer should not be pessimistic or superstitious,
rather he should always be optimistic and think well of His Lord. If he
hears something or sees something he should hope for the best, even if it
seems to be otherwise. He should hope for good from his Lord in all
circumstances. This is how the believer is, for all his affairs are good, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “How
wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and
that does not apply for anyone except the believer. If something good
happens to him he gives thanks, and that is good for him; if something bad
happens to him he bears it with patience, and that is good for him.”
Saheeh Muslim, 2999. Thus the believer is always in a state of
contentment and peace of mind, putting his trust in Allaah and far removed
from worries and distress which the Shaytaan, who loves to cause grief to
the believers although he cannot do them any harm, tries to whisper into his
heart. We ask Allaah to keep us and you safe and sound from all bad things.
And Allaah knows best.

For more information, please see Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen, 2/210.

Islam Q&A

He is asking about selling pictures and statues

Is selling pictures and statues of animals haraam?.

Praise be to Allaah.

We have already explained that it is haraam to manufacture
these statues, and that there is a stern warning concerning that and that we
are commanded to destroy them. This ruling
applies equally to images of anything that has a soul, whether it is a human
being or an animal.

Based on that, with regard to the ruling on selling these
pictures and images, there is no doubt that if it is haraam to manufacture
them and keep them, it is also haraam to buy and sell them. It is proven in
al-Saheehayn and elsewhere that it was narrated from Jaabir ibn
‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say in the year of
the Conquest when he was in Makkah: “Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden
the sale of alcohol, dead meat, pork and idols.” It was said: “O Messenger
of Allaah, what about the fat from dead meat (i.e., from animals that have
died of natural causes)? For it is used to caulk ships and to grease hides,
and people use it in their lamps.” He said: “No, it is haraam.” Then the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“May Allaah curse the Jews, for when Allaah forbade animal fat, they
rendered it and sold it, and consumed its price.” Al-Bukhaari, 2236; Muslim,
1581.

Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

This hadeeth indicates that whatever we are forbidden to eat
or make use of, it is not permissible to sell it or to consume its price.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This
indicates that if a thing is forbidden in and of itself, its price is also
forbidden.

What al-Qaadi and Ibn Hajar mentioned is also proven in a
version of this hadeeth that was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah have
mercy on him), at the end of which it says: “When Allaah forbids eating a
thing, He also forbids its price.” [Musnad Ahmad, no. 2223].

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is
it permissible for a Muslim to sell statues and make a living from that?

He replied:

It is not permissible for a Muslim to deal in statues,
because it is proven in the saheeh ahaadeeth that it is haraam to make
images or statues of animate beings at all or to keep them. Undoubtedly
dealing in them means that one is propagating them and helping others to
make images and set them up in homes, clubs and so on.

If that is haraam, then income earned by selling them is also
haraam. It is not permissible for a Muslim to make a living from that or to
buy food or clothing with that money. If a person does that then he must get
rid of that money and repent to Allaah, and Allaah will accept his
repentance. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents,
believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does
righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his
death)”

[Ta-Ha 20:82]

We have issued a fatwa
stating that it is haraam to make images of any animate beings, whether the
images are three-dimensional or not, and whether they are made by carving,
copying, drawing or with a camera.

Al-Jawaab al-Mufeed fi Hukm
al-Tasweer by Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 49-50.

Islam Q&A

He is asking about selling pictures and statues

Is selling pictures and statues of animals haraam?.

Praise be to Allaah.

We have already explained that it is haraam to manufacture
these statues, and that there is a stern warning concerning that and that we
are commanded to destroy them. See the answer to question no.
7222. This ruling
applies equally to images of anything that has a soul, whether it is a human
being or an animal.

Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

This hadeeth indicates that whatever we are forbidden to eat
or make use of, it is not permissible to sell it or to consume its price.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This
indicates that if a thing is forbidden in and of itself, its price is also
forbidden.

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is
it permissible for a Muslim to sell statues and make a living from that?

He replied:

[Ta-Ha 20:82]

Al-Jawaab al-Mufeed fi Hukm
al-Tasweer by Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 49-50.

Islam Q&A

Prohibition of images and erecting statues, and the effect this has on aqeedah

Prohibition of images
and erecting statues, and the effect this has on ‘aqeedah

I am having difficulties explaining to a muslim that erecting a non-muslim statute is haram. His response was this woman was a heroine and fought the muslims to defend her land, and she is my ancester before islamization..

Can a muslim idolize a statute, or erect one in memory of a hero?, even if the hero and/or heroine was not a muslim?

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly,
it may be understood from your question that what is to be denounced is
the fact that the statue is of a kaafir, and that if it was a statue of a
Muslim it would be permissible to erect it. This is a mistake, because all
statues of animate beings are equally haraam, regardless of whether they
are made in the images of a Muslim or a kaafir. Indeed, making a statue of
a kaafir is worse, because it combines two evils, that of making the
statue and that of glorifying this kaafir.

There
follow details of the prohibition on the making of images and statues.

I.
The prohibition on statues is not just the matter of fiqh; it goes
beyond that to the matter of ‘aqeedah, because Allaah is the Only One
Who has the power of giving shape to His creation and creating them in the
best image. Making images implies that one is trying to match the creation
of Allaah. The matter also has to do with ‘aqeedah when these images are
taken as idols which are worshipped instead of Allaah.

Among
the daleel (evidence) that image-making is the exclusive preserve of
Allaah are the following:

1.
Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“He
it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wills” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:6]

“And
surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the
noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels, ‘Prostrate
yourselves to Adam’” [al-A’raaf 7:11]

“He
is Allaah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms.
To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth
glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”
[al-Hashr 59:24]

“O
man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous? Who
created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion. In
whatever form He willed, He put you together.”

[al-Infitaar
82:6-8]

These
aayaat clearly state the belief that creating and giving form to creation
is the preserve of their Lord, Creator and Fashioner, so it is not
permissible for anyone to
encroach on that and to try to match the creation of Allaah.

2.
It was reported from
‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen that Umm Habeebah and Umm Salamah
mentioned a church which they had seen in Ethiopia, in which there were
images. They told the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about it, and he said:
“Those people, if there was a righteous man among them and he died, they
would build a place of worship over his grave and put images in it. These
will be the most evil of creation before Allaah on the Day of
Resurrection.” (narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 417; Muslim, 528)

Al-Haafiz
Ibn Hajar said:

This
hadeeth indicates that making images is haraam. (Fath
al-Baari, 1/525).

Al-Nawawi
said:

Our
companions and other scholars said: making images of animate beings
is extremely haraam and is a major sin, because severe warnings have been
issued against it in the ahaadeeth. Whether the image is made to be used
in a disrespectful fashion or for other purposes, it is haraam to make it
in all cases, because it implies that one is trying to match the creation
of Allaah, whether the image is to appear on a garment, carpet, coin,
vessel, wall or whatever. With regard to pictures of trees, camel saddles,
and other pictures in which no animate beings appear, these are not
haraam. This is the ruling on making images. (Sharh
Muslim, 14/81).

3.
Sa’eed ibn
Abi’l-Hasan said: I was with Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) when a man came to him and said, O Abu ‘Abbaas, I am a man who
lives by what his hands make, and I make these images. Ibn ‘Abbaas said:
I will only tell you what I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say. I heard him say: “Whoever makes an
image, Allaah will punish him until he breathes life into it, and he will
never be able to do that.” The man became very upset and his face turned
pale, so [Ibn ‘Abbaas] said to him, Woe to you! If you insist on making
images, then make images of these trees and everything that does not have
a soul. (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 2112; Muslim, 2110).

4.
‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) say: The people who will be the most severely
punished before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection will be the image
makers. (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5606; Muslim, 2109).

5.
It was reported from
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
Those who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection.
It will be said to them, Give life to that which you have created! (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 5607; Muslim, 2108).

6.
It was reported that
Abu Hurayrah entered a house in Madeenah and saw somebody making images in
it. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say: [Allaah says:] Who does greater wrong than one
who goes and creates something like My creation? Let them create a seed or
a small ant! (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5609; Muslim, 2111).

Al-Nawawi
said:

Concerning
the words of Allaah. “Let them create a small ant or a seed or a grain
of barley!” means, let them create a small ant which has a soul and
moves by itself, like this small ant which was created by Allaah. Or let
them create a grain of wheat
or barley, i.e., let them create a grain which is eaten as food or which
can be planted so it will grow and which has the characteristics of a
grain of wheat or barley or other seeds which were created by Allaah. This
is impossible, as stated above. (Sharh
Muslim, 14/90).
None can bring forth living vegetation out of nothing except Allaah, may
He be glorified.

7.
Abu Juhayfah said:
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the
price of a dog and the price of blood, and he forbade tattooing and asking
to be tattooed, and the consumption or paying of ribaa, and he cursed
those who make images. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1980).

II.
Islam prescribes that
idols should be destroyed and smashed, not made and repaired. Among the
evidence for this is the following:

1.
‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: when the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered Makkah [at the
Conquest], there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’bah.
He started hitting them with his stick and saying, “Truth has come
and Baatil (falsehood) has vanished. Surely, Baatil is ever bound to
vanish” [al-Israa’ 17:81 – interpretation of the meaning]. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 2346; Muslim, 1781).

2.
Abu’l-Hiyaaj al-Asadi said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said to
me: Shall I not send you on the same basis as the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any
statue without destroying it, and do not leave any built-up grave without
razing it to the ground. (According to one report: and do not leave any
picture without erasing it). (narrated
by Muslim, 969).

Ibn
al-Qayyim said:

Tamaatheel
is the plural of Timthaal
(statue), which refers to a representative image.

Shaykh
al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said:

The
command is to destroy two types of images: images which represent the
deceased person, and images which are placed on top of graves – because
Shirk may come about from both types. (Majmoo’
al-Fataawaa, 17/462).

(al-Fawaa’id,
p. 196).

III.
The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against bringing images
into the house, and said that this is a sin and deprives a person of good.
Among the evidence for that is the following:

1.
Abu Talhah said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: The angels do not enter a house
in which there is a dog or statues.” (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 3053; Muslim, 2106).

2.
‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said that she bought a pillow on which there were images. When the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw
it, he stood at the door and did not enter. She saw on his face that he
was upset, and said: O Messenger of Allaah, I repent to Allaah and His
Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). What is my
sin? The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: What is this pillow? She said, I bought it for you so that you
could sit on it and recline on it. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection, the
makers of these images will be punished and it will be said to them, Give
life to that which you have created. And he said: The angels do not enter
a house in which there are images. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1999; Muslim, 2107).

IV.
Making images is a way of falling into Shirk, because Shirk starts
with the veneration of those who are depicted in the images, especially
when people have little or no knowledge. The evidence for this is:

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The idols of the people of
Nooh were known among the Arabs later on. Wadd belonged to (the tribe of)
Kalb in Dawmat al-Jandal. Suwaa’ belonged to Hudhayl. Yaghooth belonged
to Muraad, then to Bani Ghutayf in al-Jawf, near Sabaa’. Ya’ooq
belonged to Hamadaan. Nasar belonged to Humayr of Aal Dhi’l-Kalaa’.
These were names of righteous men from the people of Nooh. When they died,
the Shaytaan inspired their people to set up idols in the places where
they had used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. They did
that but they did not worship them, but after those people died and
knowledge had been forgotten, then they started to worship them. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 4636).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:

The reason why al-Laat was worshipped was the
veneration of the grave of a righteous man which was there. (Iqtidaa’
al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 2/333).

And he said:

This problem – i.e., veneration – which is
why Islam forbids (images), is the reason why so many of nations have
fallen into committing Shirk to a greater or lesser degree. (al-Iqtidaa’,
2/334).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said, describing how the Shaytaan plays with the Christians:

He plays with them with regard to the images
which they have in their churches and which they worship. You cannot find
any church which is free of these images of Maryam (Mary), the Messiah,
George, Peter and others of their saints and martyrs. Most of them bow to
these images and pray to them instead of to Allaah. The Patriarch of
Alexandria even wrote a letter to the ruler of Rome supporting the idea of
bowing to these images: (he said) Allaah commanded Moosa to make images of
cherubim in the Tabernacle; and when Sulayman the son of Dawood built the
Temple, he made images of cherubim and put them inside the Temple. Then he
said in his letter: this is like when a king sends a letter to one of his
governors and the governor takes the letter and kisses it then touches it
to his forehead [a sign of respect], and stands up to receive it. He does
not do this to venerate the paper and ink, but to venerate the king. In
the same way, when one bows to an image, it is to venerate the person
represented by the image, not to venerate the paints and colours.

This is exactly the same as the example given to
justify idol worship. (Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan, 2/292).

And he said:

In most cases, the reason why nations fall into
Shirk is because of images and graves.” (Zaad
al-Ma’aad, 3/458).

V.
The aayaat and ahaadeeth quoted above indicate that the prohibition
of images is for two reasons:

The first is: because it implies that one is trying to
match the creation of Allaah.

The second is: because it is an imitation of the
kuffaar.

The third is: because it is a means of veneration and
falling into Shirk.

From the above it is clear that it is forbidden to make
statues, whether the statue is of a Muslim or a kaafir. Whoever does that
is trying to match the creation of Allaah and thus deserves to be cursed.
We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound, and to guide us. May Allaah bless
our Prophet Muhammad.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

He fasts and lies

There is a man who is accustomed to telling lies ever since he was a child. He is trying to overcome this bad habit but he forgets and tells lies, then he asks Allaah’s forgiveness again. Does that have any effect on his fasting?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Al-Bukhaari (1903, 6057) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon
it, and ignorance, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.”

The phrase “false speech” includes lying, backbiting, spreading slander and
bearing false witness, and every kind of speech that is haraam.

Acting upon it means doing evil and immoral actions. See Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi.

Ignorance means committing all kinds of sins. This was the view of al-Sindi in
Haashiyat Ibn Maajah.

Al-Haafiz said:

With regard to the phrase “Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink”, Ibn
Battaal said: This does not mean that he is to be told to stop fasting, rather it is a warning against false speech and the other things mentioned
along with it… this is an indication that (his fast) is not accepted… what is meant is that a fast that is contaminated with falsehood is rejected
and that a fast that is free of that is aceepted.

Ibn al-‘Arabi said: This hadeeth implies that whoever does the things mentioned
here will not be rewarded for his fast. What is meant is that the reward for fasting cannot outweigh the sin of false speech and the other things
mentioned here.

What is meant is that all sins have an effect on the fast and thus reduce the
reward for fasting. The reward may be cancelled out altogether if there are too many sins.

So you have to continue to strive against yourself until you give up this evil
habit. Every time you sin you have to repent and seek forgiveness, for the one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin at all.