Insulting others

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Dear questioner, May Allah bless you and increase you in good.

For repentance to be sound, one needs to do the following;

The Conditions for Repentance

The conditions for repentance are:

1. Leaving the sin;
2. Remorse over having sinned;
3. Resolve never to return to the sin;
4. (If it relates to the rights of another person, then to) Return the rights or property one wrongly took. [al-Bariqa fi Sharh al-Tariqa; Riyad al-Salihin]So in your case, it seems like you have repented. Do your best never to slip into that sin again.
[Imam] Yama Niazi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

May One Delay Taslim With the Imam to Recite the Salawat ?

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May One Delay Taslim With the Imam to Recite the Salawat ?
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
Assalamu ‘Alaykum Dear Brother in Faith,
If the Imam has completed the prayer and the follower has yet to complete the tashahhud, they must complete it first and then end the prayer. This is because the recitation of the tashahhud is a mandatory (wajib) element of the prayer.
If, however, all that remains is to recite the salawat and supplications before the taslim, one should end the prayer with the Imam without delay.  This is because the recitation of salawat and supplications is a sunna act.
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah 2:204-5]
Allah, Most High, knows best.
[Ustadha] Iman
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Prayer without sincerity

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Question:
Assalamu alaykum.
Sometimes at the end of a long text message etc., I may make dua for that person at the end of the message. I do this to be seen as respectful and because it seems like a good adab.

But I worry that I might be sinning because my intention is to be seen as respectful and uplift the other person’s mood and make them more likely to consider my message.

Is this sinful? Are my intentions insincere?

Please clarify. Jazakallahu khayran.

Answer:

Wa Alaykum al-Salam

Thank you for writing to us.

Questioning oneself is commendable.
You are to be commended for questioning the intention with which you made a dua at the end of a text message.  It is highly desirable to check the intention with which one performs every action. Many of us may be adding a prayer at the end of a message without realizing that our intentions are not sincere or correct.

Insincerity requires seeking forgiveness.
If one feels that the intention with which one made a dua was insincere, one should repent to Allah out of caution. This is the case if making the dua amounts to using an act of devotion to gain favor from another while praying is heedless of Allah.

If one is partially mindful of Allah and partially concerned with respecting another person, this is not sinful. However, it is still advisable to seek Allah’s forgiveness.

The Prophet’s example
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) even taught us to seek Allah’s forgiveness after a good action which we supposedly did for the sake of Allah only because all our acts of devotion are deficient concerning the majesty of Allah. Therefore, he taught us to seek forgiveness (istighfar) after performing good deeds, such as salah. [Muslim]

Conclusion
In short, we commend you for questioning yourself and taking yourself to task regarding the sincerity of your intention in this matter, which people may regard as mundane. We remind all our readers that it is necessary, as our scholars advise, to check our intentions before, during, and after every action. This is one of the ways to strive to attain sincerity.

Lastly, sincerity cannot be discerned physically – it cannot be seen or touched. It is a state present in the heart of a person, with which Allah favored the pious of this ummah. We must constantly ask Allah to make us of the mukhlisin – the sincere – and remove all false and bad intentions from our hearts.

May Allah make us sincere.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.

Repenting from sin

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Assalam alaykum wa rahmatullah
Dear questioner,
May Allah bless you and increase you in good.
Repentance
A Muslim who commits sins and afterward repents by meeting the conditions of repentance has repented. That is the minimum that is required. However, adab or etiquette requires that we should repent for all our shortcomings and wrong actions continuously.
Allah says, “Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.” [Quran 2:222]
Have a good opinion of Allah
One should believe that Allah forgave you when you repented; that is from having a good opinion of Allah.
The Prophet ( peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.'”
[Bukhari]
As your question correctly assumed, frequently repenting is from the etiquette of every good believer; likewise, frequently supplicating is also from excellence.
Remember Allah after prayers.
After every prayer, you are encouraged to repent and intend to be the most excellent servant. There is a beautiful hadith that teaches us in extension to what the Prophet told Mu’adh.
Mu’adh (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) took hold of my hand and said, “O Mu’adh! By Allah I love you, so I advise you never to forget to recite after every prayer:

   اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّيْ عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

“O Allah, help me remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You excellently.” [Abu Dawud]
May Allah grant us all a constant state of turning in repentance to Allah.
[Imam] Yama Niazi

How Can One Deepen Their Presence in Dhikr?

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In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
Assalamu ‘Alaykum Dear Brother/Sister in Faith,
This is a beautiful question and indicates a level of understanding. We pray that through the following answer, that Allah would “complete our light and forgive us” [Quran 66:8]  Amīn.
The Greatest Gift 
Presence is the greatest of Divine Gifts.  However, we must orient ourselves to understand that the source of Presence is not ourselves, but rather Him — Allah.

“Acts of obedience allow you to enter Paradise, but etiquette (adab) allows you to enter the Divine Presence.” [Sha’rani, Tabaqat al-Kubra]
Thus, the more it dawns upon one that they are utterly powerless to be admitted into the Divine Presence and that it is entirely a Favor that Allah bestows upon those whom He loves, will one begin to partake of that sweetest Companionship.
Remembrance 
Remembrance (dhikr) is the heartbeat, the breath of the spiritual soul, the energy of the spiritual body, and the lamp of the spiritual mind.
Presence, then, is like the lifeblood of our existence.  It is always there, but we may or may not sense it. That is why, when Allah truly loves someone and wills to draw them near(er), He might cause them to bleed, to remind them that He “is closer to him than his jugular vein” [Quran 50:16]
The true reality of dhikr is that it pervades not only the moments of mention but every aspect of our lives.
Remembrance draws one from the name to the Named, not by the utterance, but by the attitude (adab) one breaths into every action, thought, and inclination.
The First Adab
Abundance is key.  Allah consistently commands us to remember Him much.

“O you who believe, remember Allah an abundant remembrance” [Quran 33:42]
In fact, this is a distinguishing characteristic between true believers and hypocrites.

“The hypocrites try to deceive God, but it is He who causes them to be deceived. When they stand up to pray, they do so sluggishly, showing off in front of people, and remember God only a little” [Quran 4:142]
The Second Adab 
Constancy is key. The time and place for dhikr are always and everywhere.

“The Messenger of Allah used to remember Allah in all states.”

[Muslim, Chapter on Menses]
Commentators have differed on the purport of this hadith and others, which indicates the obligation to remember Allah constantly. Some of the sahaba and salaf (May Allah be well pleased with them) – such as Ibn Umar, Ibn Sirin, and Ibrahim an-Nakha’i – espouse that the report in general, encompassing all states without exception, even when using the restroom and being in a state of major ritual impurity due to marital relations (janaba). On the other hand, Ibn Abbas, ‘Ata,’ and Sha’bi considered this to be disliked (makruh).
Perhaps the best and most comprehensive position on this matter is that of Ibn al-Qayyim,

“The remembrance of every state is in accordance to what suits it. Thus [in such states], what is most befitting is to cloth one’s self in the garb of modesty (haya’) with Allah, exalting Him, and recalling His favor and blessing upon one through the removal of harmful substances from the body that, if left unreleased, would kill him” [Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Wabil as-Sayyib 96]
Through this, we come to understand that dhikr is not an utterance but an attitude.
The Third Adab
Remember Allah with your heart, your tongue, and your limbs. This will bring presence to all that you do.
The dhikr of the heart reflects the signs of Allah in the creation and the recalling of His innumerable blessings, inward and outward. Allah describes the people of this form of dhikr in the following manner,
“those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose- You are far above that!- so protect us from the torment of the Fire.” [Quran 3:191]
In fact, some of the salaf preferred the dhikr of the heart in an awakened state over the dhikr of the tongue in a state of heedlessness. Ibn Abbas is reported to have said,

“Two short units of prayer with reflection are better than a full night of vigil while the heart is absent.” [Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
Then, do the dhikr of the heart and tongue culminate on the limbs? Sa’id ibn Jubayr is reported to have said,

“Dhikr is the obedience of Allah. So one who does not obey Allah has not remembered Him, even if he were to abundantly repeat tasbih, tahlil, and recitation of the Quran. [Tafsir at-Qurtubi]
 
In Conclusion 
This is a very brief answer. The Quran, Sunna, and books of tasawwuf (spirituality) are replete with those etiquettes that prepare us to have some chance at being admitted into the Divine Presence.

So, in faith, my dear brother and sister, when you are blessed with this Great Gift, and you can feel it, and taste it, and it envelops you from every direction and causes your tears to flow, then please remember us in your prayers.

May Allāh’s infinite peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his folk.

Allah, Most High, knows best.
[Ustadha] Iman
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Was It Sinful for Me To Think of My Friend in an Unbecoming Manner?

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Question: I have a friend who follows a scholar who holds views that the Ulema disapproves of. I thought that this friend would question me about the age of Sayyidah Aisha, and I decided to respond by saying that Allah knows best. Then I feared that I thought of my friend in an unbecoming manner. Why did I think he would ask me that? And why did I prepare my response to him? Did I sin?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question. It would be best if you did not fear your thoughts. There is nothing wrong with suspecting what he might ask you, and there is nothing wrong with preparing an answer. However, I encourage you to study your religion to the best of your ability and keep your mind focused on the remembrance of Allah, Most High.

Please see these links about thoughts and dhikr and the age of Sayyidah A’isha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CxuLW8wN-Q
https://seekersguidance.org/show/138-rawha-daily-guidance-seekers/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/islamic-belief/types-thoughts-blasphemy-sin/
https://seekersguidance.org/tag/remembrance-of-allah/

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.

 

Can a woman pray without covering her feet?

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Question:  Can a woman pray without covering her feet?

Answer: In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Assalam’aleykum, I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Jazakum Allah khayr for your question!

This is a matter in which there is a legitimate difference of opinion within mainstream Sunni scholarship.

The prevalent opinion in the Hanafi school is that the feet (below the ankles) are not from areas of the body a woman must cover (i.e., her awra)—both within the prayer and outside the prayer. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

However, in some other schools of Sunni scholarship, the feet are necessary for women to cover. Thus, it can be an expression of caution (wara`) to cover the feet—particularly for prayer. (This is not, however, obligatory.)

And Allah knows best.

May  Allah Most High grant you the best of this world and the next.

Please keep us in your du’as!

Wassalam

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

I have asked Allah for something haram. What should I do?

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Question:
As Salaamu Alaykum

If a person is unsure whether he has made dua for something haram, what should he do? What are the consequences of making dua for something haram?

Answer:
Wa Alaykum salam

Thank you for your question.

The first question
The first step is to determine whether that which you have requested from Allah is haram. You can consult the scholars for advice. Seekersguidance offers a great question and answer service, and you are free to ask them.

What should I do?
Secondly, if you have asked for something haram, you should seek Allah’s pardon. The one who asks Allah to facilitate haram, knowing it is displeasing to Allah, should experience guilt and seek Allah’s pardon for his audacity.

Advice
However, one should remember that the doors of forgiveness are always open. Allah is our Creator, and He knows our weaknesses. His doors of repentance are always open, regardless of the crime.

A young man once went to the Messenger Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), saying, “O Messenger of Allah, permit me to commit fornication.”

The companions became angry and upset with the young man. However, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) focused on guiding him. He did not say fornication is haram, and the one who commits it will burn in hell. Instead, he appealed to the young man’s intellect. He reasoned with him, saying,

“Would you like someone to commit fornication with your mother, your sister, or your aunt?” [Ahmad, Musnad]

Thus, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) wanted to impress upon him subtly and kindly that fornication is wrong. He emphasized that the religion of Islam and its teaching bring about the welfare of humanity in this world.

So, if you have asked Allah to facilitate haram for you, it is appropriate to seek His pardon. You should know that His doors are open.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

 

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.

Is it allowed to due prenatal screening for potential down syndrome? What are some supplications for the health and well-being of one’s soon-to-be-born child?

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Question Summary

Is it allowed to do prenatal screening for potential down syndrome? What are some supplications for the health and well-being of one’s soon-to-be-born child?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is your choice as to whether you wish to go through with the prenatal down syndrome screening.

Regardless of the result, the scholars agree that abortion, after 120 days, is strictly prohibited unless there is clear pending harm to the mother and there remains no alternative. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Even if the pregnancy is less than 120 days, the majority of scholars still considered abortion strictly prohibited (haram), except in the above scenario. [Ibid.]

Supplications for the Health of One’s Soon to be Born Child

Try to consistently and constantly recite the following supplication. Have full certainty in Allah Most High, while reciting, that He will accept your supplication. Thereafter consign the matter to Allah Most High, in whose control is all affairs.

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍۢ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا
“Our Lord! Bless us with ˹pious˺ spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts, and make us models for the righteous.” [Qur’an; 25:74]

The Prayer of Need

Perform the prayer of need and recite the du’a of need often.

https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/how-does-one-perform-the-prayer-of-need-salat-al-haja/

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and some texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.

Please clarify the seemingly contradictory answers . How are one’s prayers accepted by Allah Most High?

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Question Summary

Please clarify the seemingly contradictory answers. How are one’s prayers accepted by Allah Most High?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and CompassionateAllah Most High says in the Qur’an, “Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.” [Qur’an; 40:60]

Also, “When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond ˹with obedience˺ to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided ˹to the Right Way˺.

A Promise from Allah Most High

The above verses show that the supplication of the one who calls upon Allah Most High is certainly accepted. However, this must be understood in the context of the following two questions:

(1) Does this apply to everyone who supplicates?

In the Prophetic narrations, we see exceptions to the above verses. Some of these exceptions are as follows:

– supplicating with a heedless heart
– supplicating for sinful things
– supplicating and then giving up (due to not seeing the response)
– supplicating whilst one’s clothing, food, drink, nourishment are from prohibited (Haram) sources
– supplicating while in the state of disbelief

So it is clear that the verses of promised acceptance are not absolute.

(2) What does it mean that one’s supplication is answered?

Furthermore, Allah’s acceptance of one’s supplication does not necessitate that the person is given exactly what they asked for or given what they asked for immediately.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “No Muslim makes a supplication, not containing sin or the cutting of family ties, except that Allah will give them one of three: Either what he supplicated for will be hastened for him, or it (i.e., the reward of his supplication) will be saved for him in the Hereafter, or Allah will avert from him an evil similar to what he supplicated for.” The Companions said, “In that case, we will make a lot (of supplications). He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Allah has much to give.” [Ahmad]

Even though the first thing that comes to one’s mind when they hear Allah’s promise of acceptance is the first type mentioned in the above narration, all three are understood as Allah’s accepting of one’s supplication.

Clarification

Thus the statement in the first link you attached –

” Allah accepts the prayer of a person who prays to Him after performing two ‘Rakaat ‘ of Salaat. Allah grants him what he prays for, sometimes immediately and sometimes (in his own interest) later.”

and that of the second link –

“No matter how much we ask Allah, and no matter how well, know that we may not always get what we want, in the matter and timing that we long for. Allah is All-Seeing and All-Knowing, and we are but finite beings. I pray that Allah grants you acceptance, contentment, and gratitude for His Decree.”

They are not contradictory at all.

The first applies to Allah accepting the supplication (i.e., none of the factors that would prevent a person’s supplication are found) either immediately, later, or by saving the Hereafter’s reward averting from the person an evil.

The second is true in light of the same reasons derived from the aforementioned narration.

Please see:
I hope this clarifies things.
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and some texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.