The Brilliance of the Minarets

In the name of Allah, The Merciful to the believers and non-believers in this world and to the believers only in the next world. Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds. To Him belong the endowments, generosities, and proper commendations. May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad and his pure and kind Al and Companions, and protect his nation from that which he fears for it.

Thereafter; the knowledge of the Religion is among the best of the acts of obedience; and it is the most worthy of allocating the precious time it takes to acquire it. This is especially so because at-Tirmidhiyy related that the Prophet, , said: <>

The greatest of all knowledge is that of the fundamentals of the creed. This is why the Messenger of Allah taught it to the Companions prior to teaching them the rules of the Religion. In his book, Misbah az-Zujajah, al-Busiriyy classified as sahih what Ibn Majah related that Jundub Ibn ^Abdullah, may Allah raise his rank, said: "We were with the Prophet of Allah, , as young men. We learned the matters of the belief before we learned the Qur'an. Then we learned the Qur'an which added to our belief."

Reciting Qur'an for the dead

This article was copied from Darulfatwa, Islamic High Council of Australia:

Question- Assalamualaikum, Inshallah i would like to know the ruling with proof from the sunnah or the Quran regarding reading the Quran for the dead. Usually s ome Imams read some Quran and also remind the dead person on (who is you lord what is your book what is you faith) while the dead person is in the grave but before he is covered with soil. And also after the dead is buried they gather at the house and read the fatiha and cook food for the guest's. I have been told different opinion's and don't really know which is right. I have been told that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did not do it so we should not do it as this is innovation (bida). Inshallah if you can clear this up for me it would help clear a lot of confusion between people. Jazzakallahu Khairan Wassalam

Your Brother in Islam

Answer:

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds and may Allah raise the rank of our dear Prophet Muhammad.

Wa- `Alaykum As-Salam wa-Rahmatullahi wa-Barakatuhu.

The following shall clear up all the confusion and answer all your questions :

Firstly, regarding the reading of the Qur'an, it is a rewardable deed with the right intention and with the proper articulation of the Arabic letters, even if it were upon the Muslim dead. Imam An-Nawawiyy (d. 676 H.) said in his book Al-AdhKar: “It has been reported to us through Sunan al-Bayhaqiyy with a chain of narration classified as hasan, that Ibn `Umar regarded the recitation of the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah and its ending upon the grave of a newly buried Muslim as a mustahab (likeable) matter”. He also said: “Ash-Shafi`iyy and his companions in his madhhab said that it is a mustahab (likeable) matter to recite some of the Qur'an upon the grave of a Muslim, and they added that if the Qur'an was recited in its entirety then that would also be a rewardable matter”.

Imam Ahmad and other scholars also relayed the same ruling. Imam Al-Qadi Abul Fadl `Iyad said something to that effect in his commentary book to Sahih Muslim when explaining the hadith of the female slave in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, said about two recently buried Muslims, after he split a moist palm branch into two and fixed the two branches over the graves: “We hope that any punishment will be eased while the branches are still moist”. Specifically, Al-Qadi `Iyad said: “Scholars deduced from this hadith that it is likeable (mustahab) to read the Qur'an upon the dead, because if punishment could be eased by the tasbih (glorifying Allah) of the branches which are objects, then given the priority of the Qur'an, its recitation upon the dead would be likeable”. This ruling was also conveyed from him and it was agreed upon by Al-Abiyy in his explanation book to Sahih Muslim. Another piece of evidence testifying to the benefiting of the dead Muslim from the Qur’anic recitation of another is the hadith narrated by Ma`qal bin Yasar in which the Prophet peace be upon him says: “Recite the verses of Surat Yasin upon your dead” (narrated by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’iyy and Ibn Majah, who classified it as a Sahih hadith).

Islamic Knowledge for Beginners

The most important articles of Islam are the following 5 matters:

Professing and believing no one is God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

Prayer

Zakah

Fasting

Hajj.

Professing (with the tongue) and believing (in the heart) that no one is God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; This is a prerequisite to become a Muslim and to have one’s deeds accepted by God. The belief in the truth of Islam is the same regardless of one’s color of the skin, gender, amount of wealth accumulated, place of residence, family, or friends.

Prayer, five times each day, is required by all Muslim mukallaf (Mukallaf in this context means sane and pubescent.).

Zakah is paying a certain portion of one's money (Money in this context includes 

property, possessions, and wealth.) to specific types of people with certain conditions.

 This provides for the poor Muslims and those whose needs are not being met within the Muslim community.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is an obligation on all Muslims who have reached puberty and who are physically able to fast. This helps the Muslim to feel what the poor feel, and in this way one remembers to care for those less fortunate than oneself. Fasting also disciplines the Muslim and brings Muslims together--uniting them by a common, shared experience.

Hajj, pilgrimage as defined by Islam, is the journey to the Ka^bah to perform, at a specific period of the year, certain actions in Makkah and its vicinity. It is required at least once during the lifetime of each Muslim mukallaf if he is able. During Hajj, all Muslims leave their worldly possessions and perform the same religious obligations in the same way as those Muslims with them and those Muslims who performed Hajj before them.

Collected From:http://www.aicp.org/islamic-information-mainmenu-42/51-basic-islamic-information-for-beginners/525-islamic-knowledge-for-beginners

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Islam for Beginners

Islam originates from the root word 'salama' which means getting free of inward evils. The derivatives are many, such as peace, submission, surrender, survival, health and safe reconciliation. Hence, a Muslim is one, who submits to none except the Will of the Creator, Who fashioned the human beings as the most excellent form of creation, and endowed them with the power called brains.

As our analysis proved in 'Towards Peace', Prophet Moses never described his teachings as Judaism, nor did Prophet Jesus choose the word Christianity for his message, or for that matter Buddha and others, named their mission as Buddhism and etc. Therefore, it is an erroneous notion to think that Islam originated a mere fourteen centuries ago, all of a sudden, in the deserts of Arabia. But as facts testify, Islam, or submission to the Almighty's Will and a healthy way of survival, was the message preached by all prophets. However with the revelation to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the word Islam became a proper name for the true path, and came to acquire added significance.

Thus, it is not without reason, that Islam is often referred to as the 'Natural Religion' because its dynamism has withstood the test of time, and its tenets perfectly blend with, and have scientifically catered to the needs of the human race in every time and era.

Islam for Beginners: ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

The starting point of Islam is the testimony (Shahada): There is no god but Allah (La Ilaha Ill-Allah). This wondrous phrase indicates the pinnacle of human intellect and will power, because Islam is not the paying of mere lip service out of fear of superstition, but a firm conviction in the Omnipotence of the Creator. It means that man is responsible to the Creator alone for his acts and deeds, and how he passes the transitionary lifespan. It means that everything in this universe is subordinate to the power of the Creator, who fashioned the universe out of naught and made the human race as the finest form of life. It also means that the human kind and human mind is far superior to all man-made objects or other creatures, and even the powers of nature, whom retarded minds had worshipped as deities. Lastly it means that one who professes this testimony realizing its deep meanings is in firm control of his own will power, which if not properly harnessed by intellect and ration, destroys the human itself.