Praying Witr As One Rak’ah, By Ibn Hajar

Ibn Hajar said:

“It is authentically reported that a number of the Companions prayed one rak’ah for witr, without praying any nafl prior to it. It is recorded in Muhammad Ibn Nasr’s book and others, with an authentic isnaad from As-Saa’ib Ibn Yazeed, that ‘Uthmaan recited Quraan one night in just one rak’ah; and he did not pray anything else.

We will also cite in the chapter of Al-Maghaazee the report of ‘Abdullaah Ibn Tha’labah that Sa’d prayed one rak’ah for witr, and in al-Manaaqib the report that Mu’aawiyah prayed one rak’ah for witr, which was approved by Ibn ‘Abbaas.”

[Fath Al-Baaree]

As for praying witr three rak’ah and giving salam after two, then standing up to pray the last rak’ah, then this was done by Ibn ‘Umar as is recorded in Saheeh Bukhari.

The Great Reward Of Holding Firmly Upon The Sunnah, By Sh. Saalih Al-Fawzaan

Talking about the patience needed in the latter times for those clinging to the sunnah, Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan  mentions:

“…At that time the one holding on to the sunnah of the Messenger (saw)and the one who adheres to the jamaa’ah of the musilms will face great difficulty, as is mentioned in a hadeeth that at the end of time there will be trials and tribulations to the extent that one holding fast to his religion will be like one holding on to hot coals or like one treading on thorns (1), so this requires patience.

The Prophet (saw) said:

“The one holding on to my sunnah will have the reward of 50.“

They said:

“Of us or them?“

He (saw) said:

“Rather, of you.” [Silsilah Ahaadeeth As-Saheehah]

Meaning, they will have the reward of 50 of the companions (2). The reason being is that the companions were with the messenger of Allaah (saw) and his presence aided them greatly. However, the one holding on to the sunnah at the end of times and at the emergence of trials and tribulations will have no helpers.

At that time, most people will oppose him, even those who claim they are upon Islaam. They will oppose him, insult him and say that he is mistaken and for that reason, he requires patience.

The reason he has this great reward is because of his firmness upon the truth at a time full of many trials and tribulations.”

[Taken from “Trials Of Life” by Shaykh Saalih Al-fawzaan, Pp. 38-39]

Footnotes:

(1) The hadeeth is as follows: “A time will come upon my ummah when the patient one among them who is holding on to his religion is like one holding on to hot coal.” [See Saheeh Sunan At-Tirmidhee]

(2) Note, this is only in reward, not in superiority.

The Similarities Between The Jews And The Shee’ah, By Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah said:

“The sign of this is that the ordeal of the Raafidhah is similar to that of the Jews. The Jews said kingship can only be in the family of Daawood, and the Raafidhah said that Imaamate can only be from the children of ‘Alee.

The Jews said, ‘There can be no jihaad in the path of Allah until the Pseudo-Christ emerges forth and the command to fight is given.‘ The Raafidhah said, ‘There is no jihaad in the path of Allaah until Mahdi emerges and a caller calls from the heavens to fight.‘

The Jews delay their prayers till the stars are ablaze at night and the Raafidhah delay the Maghrib prayer till that time at night. The Prophet (saw) said: “My Ummah will be in a state of good affairs as long as they do not delay the Maghrib prayer till the stars are ablaze at night.” [Ahmad, Abu Daawood & Ibn Maajah]

The Jews distorted the Torah, as did the Raafidhah with the Qur’aan.

The Jews do not see it lawful to wipe over the socks during ablution, as is the belief of the Rafidhah.

The Jews despise Jibreel, and they say, ‘He is our enemy from amongst the Angels.‘ The Raafidhah say, ‘Jibreel made a mistake in giving the Wahi (revelation) to Prophet Muhammad (saw).‘ ”

[Minhaaj As-Sunnah, 1/24]

Is It Permissible To Quote Only Half Of A Hadeeth?

Sometimes the transmitter reports a Hadith but omits a part of it. The question then arises as to whether this form of transmission is permissible at all.

In principle, the narrator of Hadith, of any type of Hadith, must not omit any part which is integral to its meaning. For instance: when the omitted part consists of a condition, or an exception to the main theme of the Hadith, or which makes a reference to the scope of its application. However, the narrator may omit a part of the Hadith which does not affect the meaning of the remaining part. For in this case, the Hadith at issue will be regarded, for all intents and purposes, as two hadith.

It has been a familiar practice among the ulema to omit a part of the Hadith which does not have a bearing on its main theme.

But if the omission is such that it would bring the quoted part into conflict with its full version, then the issue will be determined, not under the foregoing, but under the rules of conflict and preference (al-ta’arud wa’l-tarjih).

In any case, the preferred practice is not to omit any part of the Hadith, as the omitted part may well contain valuable information on some point and serve a purpose that may not have occurred to the narrator himself.

[Taken from “Principles Of Islamic Jurisprudence” by M. H. Kamali, Pp.106-107]

A Not-So-Smart Orientalists

When a certain amount of research finally yields a theory, academia dictates that this theory must face rigorous testing. If it fails then it must be either modified and retested, or abandoned altogether.

But studies of Islaam [done by non-Muslims] are unfortunately littered with ill-conceived theories that have ascended to the point of almost becoming hard facts, even when they fail on several counts.

[For example] Professor Wensinck comments on the famous hadeeth regarding the five pillars of Islaam:

“Islaam has been built on five pillars: testifying there is no god but Allaah, performing the prayers, paying the zakaah, fasting Ramadhaan, and making the pilgrimage to the House (Ka’bah).” [Saheeh Muslim]

He views this as spurious since it contains the kaimah shahaadah (bearing testimony that there is no god but Allaah). According to his view, the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad introduced the kalimah only after coming across some Christians in Syria who employed a declaration of faith, this thieving this idea from the Christians to develop one of the core pillars of Islaam.

Confronted with the problem that the kalimah shahaadah is also part of the tashahhud in the daily prayers, Wensinck put forward another theory instead of modifying his earlier one: the prayer was standardised after the Prophet’s death [see Wensinck, Muslim Creed, p. 19-32].

Perhaps a further theory is required, since Wensinck has not explained the existence of the kalimah in the adhaan and the iqaamah, nor when these two were introduced into Islaam.

[“The History of The Quranic Text”, by M. M. Al-Azami, see preface p. xix]

Niqaab: A Means Of Protecting Ones Private Parts, By Ibn ‘Uthaymeen

Allaah says:

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.)…” [Soorah Noor(24):31]

Ibn ‘Uthaymeen comments saying:

“Allaah commands the believing women to guard their private parts. This command is a command for guarding the private parts as well as all of the means that eventually lead to that. And there is no doubt for one who has common sense that from the means that lead towards guarding the private parts is the veiling of the face. This is since exposing it is a cause for drawing looks towards it, reflecting on its features and finding pleaser in that. And consequently this leads to a man trying to communicate and get in touch with a woman.

In a hadeeth the Prophet (saw) said:

“The eyes commit zinaa (fornication) and their zinaa is looking… The heart ardently desires and awaits, and the private parts either confirm it or deny it.” [Bukhaaree & Muslim]

So if covering the face is one of the means that ultimately leads towards guarding ones private parts, then indeed it was commanded since the means take on the same ruling as the objective.”

[Taken from “Four Essays On The Obligation Of Veiling” Ch. 2: An Essay On Hijaab, Pp. 28-29]