Fatwa: Is music haram?

Source: islamawareness.net

By: Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti

Among the entertainments, which may comfort the soul, please the heart, and refresh the ear is singing.
Islam permits singing under the condition that it is not in any way obscene or harmful to Islamic morals. There is no harm in its being accompanied by music, which is not exciting. In order to create an atmosphere of joy and happiness, singing is recommended on festive occasions such as the days of ‘Eid, weddings and wedding feasts, births, ‘aqiqat (the celebration of the birth of a baby by the slaughter of sheep), and on the return of a traveler.
‘Aishah narrated that when a woman was married to an Ansari man, the Prophet (peace be on him) said, ” ‘Aishah, did they have any entertainment? The Ansar are fond of entertainment.” (Reported by al-Bukhari.) Ibn ‘Abbas said, ” ‘Aishah gave a girl relative of hers in marriage to a man of the Ansar. The Prophet (peace be on him) came and asked, ‘Did you send a singer along with her?’ ‘No,’ said ‘Aishah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) then said, The Ansar are a people who love poetry. You should have sent along someone who would sing, ‘Here we come, to you we come, greet us as we greet you.’ ” (Reported by Ibn Majah.)

The higher objectives of the Sharia

Source: ilmgate.org

By: Mateen A. Khan (translator)

Translators comment: Maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah refers to the set of objectives and goals which the Sharī‘ah strives to establish. For example, the preservation of faith, life, lineage, intellect and property are essential objectives of the Sharī‘ah as propagated by Imam al-Ghazālī. These objectives establish benefits (al-masālih) and remove harms (al-mafāsid) for the individual and community. However, we find that some misconstrue their place and derive rulings from the objectives while going against the primary textual evidences i.e. the Qur’an and Sunnah. For clarification, we turn towards a translated chapter from Usūl al-Iftā’[1] by Mufti Taqi Usmani (May Allah bless and preserve him) entitled Maqāsid al-Sharī‘ah.

THE HYPOCRISY OF FEMINIST OUTRAGE

Source: muslimmatters.org

By: Daniel Haqiqatjou

The viral NYC Catcall video has caused a stir in social media and online forums. It records a woman receiving over 100 catcalls from men as she walks the streets of New York City for 10 hours.

Just consider the 100,000+ youtube comments alone. While most commenters found the behavior of the catcalling men disgusting, some took issue with how the woman in the video was dressed. These commenters were daring enough to suggest that perhaps she would have attracted less negative attention had she dressed more “modestly.”

This suggestion, in turn, was met with backlash. How dare anyone “blame the victim” by suggesting that a woman change the way she dresses because men cannot or will not act with common decency!

What do we make of all this?

Is it completely outlandish to suggest that the way a woman (or man) dresses has an impact on how others treat her (or him)?

Qatar women’s basketball team drops Asia games match due to hijab ban

Source: abc.net.au

The Qatar women’s basketball team has forfeited a match at the Asian Games on Wednesday after being refused permission to wear the hijab.

The players were asked, in accordance with International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules, to remove their Islamic headscarves in order to play against Mongolia.

The science of Al Tajweed

 The word “tajweed” means to improve, make better. Tajweed of the Holy Qur’an is the knowledge and application of the rules of recitation so the reading of the Qur’an is as the Prophet Mohammed peace and blesings be upon him, recited.

The sunnas of shopping and dealing

By: Said Alpsoy

Source: resulullah.org

THE BEST OF THE BELIEVERS IS THE ONE WHO MAKES THINGS EASIER IN COMMERCE

• The most virtuous of the believers is the one who makes things easier in his shopping, paying his debt and demanding his debt. (Tabarani)
• Be careful! Some portion of people pay their debt nicely and demand their debt nicely, they do not hurt people. On the other hand, some people pay their debt badly, they hurt people; they demand their debt badly. They will be treated in the same way in the hereafter. Be careful! Some people pay their debt badly and demand their debt badly. Be careful! The most virtuous of them are the ones who pay their debt nicely and demand their debt nicely. The evilest ones are those who pay their debt badly and demand their debt badly. (Tirmidhi)

10 Islamic Rules of War

Before engaging in battle, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) instructed his soldiers:

1. “Do not kill any child, any woman, or any elder or sick person.” (Sunan Abu Dawud)

2. “Do not practice treachery or mutilation.(Al-Muwatta)

3. Do not uproot or burn palms or cut down fruitful trees.(Al-Muwatta)

4. Do not slaughter a sheep or a cow or a camel, except for food.” (Al-Muwatta)

5. “If one fights his brother, [he must] avoid striking the face, for God created him in the image of Adam.” (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

6. “Do not kill the monks in monasteries, and do not kill those sitting in places of worship. (Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal)

7. “Do not destroy the villages and towns, do not spoil the cultivated fields and gardens, and do not slaughter the cattle.” (Sahih Bukhari; Sunan Abu Dawud)

8. “Do not wish for an encounter with the enemy; pray to God to grant you security; but when you [are forced to] encounter them, exercise patience.” (Sahih Muslim)

9. “No one may punish with fire except the Lord of Fire.” (Sunan Abu Dawud).

10. “Accustom yourselves to do good if people do good, and to not do wrong even if they commit evil.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

Verse in the Holy Quraan

4:75 (Y. Ali) And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)?- Men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!”

Feeling Helpless – What Muslim Ummah can do to help during times of war http://bit.ly/WarDua

Inspiration – Episode 5: Rules Made Not To Be Broken (Video)

 Fifth Episode Of #InspirationSeries IS HERE!

IBN and Easy Production
Law & Order (Rules Made Not To Be Broken)

Ft. Omar Suleiman and Mohammed Zeyara

How to Limit Smoking Cigarettes (Stop Smoking)

STOP SMOKING TOBACCO

Steps

First off, you need rules to cut down on smoking. Mark Twain, remarking in an article on smoking, said that there needs to be rules for smoking and thus his rules were: He never smoked two at a time, and never smoked while asleep.

1

One needs discipline. To go from a pack or more, to 5 cigarettes a day is really hard at first, but it gets easier after several weeks and months. One’s body chemistry becomes acclimated and will adjust to less nicotine over time, such that too many or too few cigarettes might make one feel ill. Also it might be like moving from the basement to the top floor, consciousness wise. Cigarettes cloud your consciousness; fewer cigarettes will make for a clearer mind. One will always slip and smoke more. The mind can rationalize anything. The trick is to limit the slip to only one, two or three. And always, always the next day and day thereafter go back to the five only rule.

2

Change cigarette brands. The secret to fewer cigarettes is a strong hit that gives you satisfaction that can last from 3 to 5 hours. You are not only reducing nicotine content, but salt, sugar and unknown chemicals as well, and menthol is addictive in and of itself. Get off of menthol. A technique is to change to Sherman’s, which is a brand of cigarette sort of like a cigarillo. Sherman’s are organic and salt and sugar free, so they get you off everything but the nicotine. Try smoking only a quarter or a half and see how long you can make it to the next quarter or half. Do not smoke them like regular cigarettes, or there is no purpose to the exercise.

3

If one starts with a strong cigarette like Sherman’s and changes to another brand after consumption has been reduced to 3 to 5 a day, find a cigarette that is strong enough to maintain same no smoke periods, and seems to have the best salt/sugar relationship for you.

4

Never smoke a cigarette dry. Always drink something with it, like coffee, tea, milk, or some other beverage. Make this drink a very small amount, 6/8 ounces, just enough to take a sip before each puff. This will mean you have to prepare to have a cigarette. It will also mean that your mouth, throat and wind pipe will be coated so as less the chance of cancer. It will mean you can’t just light up. This enforces the discipline. This means also, you might not smoke the cigarette unconsciously. If smoking is killing you, seems one at least should be conscious of the suicide. Make those five cigarettes like a spiritual experience each time.

And go outside, change your environment and mind’s-eye. Do not carry cigarettes when going out for less time than one’s next scheduled cigarette. If going out for longer, carry only one or two, enough to cover that time frame. A schedule might be one each morning, noon, 3 o’clock, dinner and 9 o’clock. Don’t eat snacks if they make you want to have a cigarette. Same with booze. See – now you are a monk. Lay off the coffee maybe one espresso in the morning. The need for a cigarette after coffee may be to suppress the coffee rush.

1

If you can do this you can quit. If you can do this you can do anything. But for sure you will know you are a drug addict, and your life revolves around cigarettes. Some might say – 5 cigarettes a day, why smoke at all? But if one loves smoking, or needs it for self-medication, maybe better than other uncontrolled substance abuse, pharmacological depressants with side-effects or moonscape. Once one has found a state of consciousness, as feeling great all the time, it is difficult not to want to feel great all the time. Discipline is the means to maintaining a steady state, which is steady feel good consciousness.

Source

STOP SMOKING TOBACCO