In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

A Voice of the MusliM uMMAh

'READ'

20 Jumada al-Oola 1427 June 16, 2006

Vol. 18 No. 6

Islam In Theory and PracTIcemaryam Jameelah

Asmâ-ul-Husnâ : Allâh’s beautiful names and attributes

al-BaaQIyU The eVerlasTInG

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In This Issue... Challenges We Face As Muslims .........2 Difference in Salah Between Men and

Women ................................................6 A’ishah (Children’s story) ...................10 Shamaa-il: Humbleness .....................11

dUTIes oF The mUslIm moTher The primary duty of the Muslim mother is to make every effort to persuade her chil-dren to abide by the teachings of the Qurân and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. Many are the Muslim women in non-Arab coun-tries who devoutly recite Qurân in Arabic each morning without the slightest com-prehension of its meaning. Many are the more religiously-inclined girls, especially those who have enjoyed a modern educa-tion, who read Qurân, Hadith and other Islamic literature as if these were merely some noble, abstract philosophy. Not for a moment would it occur to them to aban-don attending dirty films at the cinema, listening to vulgar songs over the radio and singing them automatically or going out to mixed social functions in tight, im-modest dress. Muslim mothers should tell their adolescent daughters and sons that

just because all their friends at school or college are doing these things, they do not become right. Muslim women must read Qurân and Hadith so that its instructions are practically implemented in their every-day lives. Too many Muslim households keep their copy of the Qurân wrapped up in a beautiful silken cover on a high shelf merely to gather dust. How these hundreds of thousands of idle Qurâns must be mak-ing their silent plea: “Oh take me out! Read me! OBEY me!” Mothers are accustomed to reading in women’s magazines that they must simply accept the violent rebellion of their young against long-established moral and reli-gious values, their foolish, obnoxious be-haviour, their irresistible attraction for the trivial and frivolity, their utter contempt for all that is “traditional” and their impatience for revolutionary “change”-that is, atheism and materialism-as an inherent biological fact of modern adolescence and youth and that nothing can be done about it except abjectly resigning oneself to the prevail-ing trends. This is utterly fallacious. There is nothing inevitable about this, much less

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Editorial

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challenGes We Face as mUslIms In a PredomI-

nanTly non-mUslIm land If one studies human demography it is not hard to notice that large numbers of Muslims presently live in predominantly non-Muslim lands as a “minority”. This situation has arisen because we migrated to these lands voluntarily or involuntarily. Descendants of those who were brought involuntarily, now that they are reverting back to Islam, face innumerable problems. Those who came here voluntarily face no lesser problems but of a different nature. We witness family problems and family breakups; teenager rebellion and disrespect to parents and other figures of legitimate authority; tobacco, alcohol and drug addic-tions; depression, disorientation, suicide and inclination to illegal and immoral ac-tion; disenchantment with our surroundings and with our faith. Just to name a few. We have tried to solve our problems on an individual or at best parochial basis and very often we end up getting entangled with the non-Muslim agencies and law enforce-ment agencies whether we like it or not. These approaches have produced a rainbow of results, but in reality have produced no satisfactory long-lasting solutions. Even in those lands where Muslims have lived for three or more generations and where pre-dominantly “Muslim” neighborhoods have become common, the desired solutions still escape us. These problems are not unique, if we look at our surroundings. Non-Muslims around us are neck-deep in the same en-tanglements and desperately searching for answers. We Muslims are in many cases acting like an ostrich being chased by a hyena. It puts its head in the sand and the hyena disappears. The hyena does not dis-

appear, but the ostrich cannot see it as it is being caught and devoured by the hyena. The life of our nabi was not acciden-tally spent in various situations. His thir-teen years of stay in Makkah where the majority was non-Muslim is as a lesson and guidance for us. So this phenomenon that we are living through is not without precedent. Makkah at the beginning of the prophethood of Muhammad was the first instance. Subsequently there are innu-merable examples when Muslims lived in a land that was predominantly inhabited by non-Muslims of various kinds. What we learn from the Makkan life of the Messenger of Allâh is utmost pa-tience in all matters but especially those dealing with the non-Muslims. We see this patience in the treatment of Bilal by his slave master. In Makkah Umayyah bin Khalaf, the master of Hadrat Bilal , made him lie down on burning sand and placed a heavy stone on his chest, Bilal used to cry “Ahad, Ahad!” This word was derived from Surah Ikhlas. We see this patience in the treatment of Khabbab ibn al-Aratt by his slave mis-tress, Umm Anmaar. “To Khabbab the teachings of Muhammad were like a powerful light dispelling the darkness of ignorance. He went and listened to those teachings directly from him. Without any hesitation he stretched out his hand to the Prophet in allegiance and testified that “There is no god but Allâh and Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.” He was among the first ten persons to accept Islam. Khabbab did not hide his acceptance of Islam from anyone. When the news of his becoming a Muslim reached Umm An-maar, she became incensed with anger. She went to her brother Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza who gathered a gang of youths from the Khuzaa tribe and together they made their way to Khabbab . They found him com-pletely engrossed in his work. Sibaa went up to him and said: “We have heard some

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is published monthly by con-necticut council of masajid, Islamic center of hamden, Islamic center of connecticut, Islamic center of new haven, Faran club, United muslim masjid, Islamic society of Western connecticut, and Islamic center of new london.

maIlInG address:connecticut council of masajid

P.o. Box 4456, hamden, cT 06517Tel: (20�) 562-2757

edITorIal commITTeeSister Aisha Sayed Alam (Cheshire)

Dr. Abdul Hamid (Hamden)Sister Bonnie Lynn Hamid (Hamden)

Dr. Shujaat Ali Khan (New York)

Layout/Mailing ............ Brother Nadeem Abdul Hamid

continued on page 15

continued from page �news from you which we don’t believe.” “What is it?” asked Khabbab . “We have been told that you have given up your religion and that you now follow that man from the Banu Hashim.” “I have not given up my religion” replied Khab-bab calmly. “I only believe in One God Who has no partner. I reject your idols and I believe that Muhammad is the servant of Allâh and His messenger.” No sooner had Khabbab spoken these words than Sibaa and his gang set upon him. They beat him with their fists and with iron bars and they kicked him until he fell unconscious to the ground, with blood streaming from the wounds he received. The news of what happened between Khabbab and his slave mistress spread throughout Makkah like wild-fire. People were astonished at Khabbab’s daring. They had not yet heard of anyone who followed Muhammad and who had the audacity to announce the fact with such frankness and deviant confidence. The Khabbab affair shook the leaders of the Quraysh. They did not expect that a blacksmith, such as belonged to Umm Anmaar and who had no clan in Makkah to protect him and no asabiyyah to prevent him from injury, would be bold enough to go outside her authority, denounce her gods and reject the religion of her forefa-thers. They realized that this was only the beginning... The Quraysh were not wrong in their expectations. Khabbab’s courage im-pressed many of his friends and encour-aged them to announce their acceptance of Islam. One after another, they began to proclaim publicly the message of truth. In the precincts of the Haram, near the Kabah, the Quraysh leaders gathered to discuss the problem of Muhammad . Among them were Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, al Walid ibn al-Mughira and Abu Jahl ibn Hisham. They noted that Muhammad

was getting stronger and that his following was increasing day by day, indeed hour by hour. To them this was like a terrible dis-ease and they made up their minds to stop it before it got out of control. They decided that each tribe should get hold of any fol-lower of Muhammad among them and punish him until he either recanted his faith or died. On Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza and his people fell the task of punishing Khabbab even further. Regularly they began taking him to all open areas in the city when the sun was at its zenith and the ground was scorching hot. They would take off his clothes and dress him in iron armor and lay him on the ground. In the intense heat his skin would be seared and his body would become in-ert. When it appeared that all strength had left him, they would come up and chal-lenge him: “What do you say about Muhammad’?” “He is the servant of Allâh and His mes-senger. He has come with the religion of guidance and truth, to lead us from dark-ness into light.” They would become more

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continued from page 1are all efforts to resist so absolutely hope-less as current propaganda would have us believe. Our youth are naturally reacting to what they have been taught in their homes, in their schools and colleges and what they read, see and hear in the mass-media. If these taught the Islamic way instead of the Western way, they would feel, think and behave entirely differently. In creating this essential transformation, the woman as the decisive influence upon her growing child can perform a crucial role. Islamic teachings on Purdah demand that the woman lives in privacy and dignity and spend most of her time at home, only going out when compelled by necessity or perhaps occasional visits to relatives or fe-male friends. The best influence a mother can exert on her growing children is to set a good personal example, A mother who is always diligent in her household tasks, caring for, supervising and disciplining her children and who keeps busy with Salat, Quran readings and other virtuous works, provides the most favourable Islamic atmo-sphere for the young child which will great-ly help offset the multitudes of undesirable influences he will encounter as he grows up. Mothers should start Islamic education for their children at the earliest age. The Hadith tell us of children of the Sahabah who were reciting Quran even before they were weaned! As soon as a baby begins to speak, he should be taught the Kalimah, and such Islamic expressions as Bismillah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, Inshallah, Mashallah, Salat, etc. and as soon as he is able to stand and walk, he should be en-couraged to imitate her (as all toddlers love to do) when she is saying her Salat. When children reach the age of seven, mothers should insist that they say their Salat regu-larly and punish them after the age of ten if they fail to do so. Thus children should become accustomed to performing their duties to God and to their fellow beings

long before puberty. Observance of these duties should be accompanied by a simple and clear explanation of their significance according to the age and intellectual capac-ity of the child. She should entertain her young children with the thrilling deeds of the great Muslims past and present and try to inspire them with the desire to emulate these virtues. When the child is old enough to read, the mother should make freely available around the house Islamic books and pamphlets appealing to children and encourage him to read them for himself. Older children and adolescents should not only be told not to go to dirty films at the cinema or listen to useless programmes over radio or television but explicitly what is wrong with them. If the mother owns a radio or television set, she should restrict her listening to Tilawat, news bulletins, good poetry recitations and healthy edu-cational programmes. Under no circum-stances should she permit “pop” music to be heard in the house because this is the worst possible moral influence on the chil-dren. If ever children start singing these vulgar songs they have heard and learned from neighbors’ radios and television sets, she should hush them and tell them how ashamed they should feel to be heard sing-ing such dirt!The Muslim mother must on no account ever consent to sending her children to Christian missionary schools or convents where they are totally alienated from their religious and cultural heritage although she must realize that the Government national schools do not provide a much happier so-lution. She must supplement this materi-alist education with instruction in Arabic, Quran and Hadith from private tutors at home if she can afford it or in the mosque if she cannot and with such Islamic training as she herself can give. She should care-fully read all her children’s textbooks and point out to them that much which is taught to them is not correct and even false and

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continued from page �

This article is part of a book by Maryam Jameelah, formerly Margaret Marcus. She wrote these essays for the educated non-Muslim and Muslim who is interested in discovering what Islam really means to the true believer. Taj Co. 1983

To Be continued

evil and she should explain why it is so in the most convincing manner. The Muslim mother should try to make her home within her means an attractive place. Most Pakistani homes I have seen here in Lahore, even of middle-class peo-ple, are dingy and dirty. Too many Paki-stani women I know have the dirty habit of continuously littering the floors of their homes, particularly the courtyards and kitchens, with garbage and rubbish. They would rather live in filth than sweep it up themselves. Islamic education should teach girls cleanliness and orderliness. Women should not feel ashamed to clean and sweep the house themselves. They should not depend upon servants always to do it for them. If she is prosperous, the Muslim housewife must be convinced of the necessity to avoid any ostentation or wasteful spending on the house; expensive unnecessary furnishings like Western-type sofas, dressing tables, and useless knick-knacks should be avoided. Artistic callig-raphy from Quran and Hadith hanging on the walls of her room should serve a double purpose of decoration and above all the re-minder that this is an Islamic home! Pho-tographs of family or friends should not be framed or displayed since showing these pictures is contrary to Islamic teachings: An Islamic education should teach girls at least the rudiments of hygiene, first-aid and good nutrition with instruction on how to prepare tasty “Halal” meals. Many Muslim women are so ignorant of the rules of good nutrition that they do not know how to feed their children adequately even when the proper kinds of foods are easily available and they can afford them. An illiterate and apathetic woman can-not counteract the anti-Islamic influences which are harming her children day and night. Only an intelligent, educated and en-thusiastic Muslim womanhood can prove equal to the tasks which confront her now.

Islam and The “emancIPa-TIon” oF The mUslIm Woman

Today no Muslim country is uncontami-nated with a fierce propaganda campaign against Purdah as “reactionary obscuran-tism” and insisting upon female “emanci-pation” as essential for the economic and social development of our community. As Dr. Muhammad Muqqadam, Vice Chancellor of Tehran University was re-ported to have stated in The Pakistan Times, Lahore, October 19, 1967: “No country can be modernized unless its women gain complete emancipation. He said that in the Orient where modernization had come late, the people were still reluc-tant to liberate themselves from outdated and traditional modes of thought. `Unless we are willing to go along with the rest of the world, we will not survive as living na-tions,’ he said. The role of women in the developing countries of Asia and Africa, he said, was clear. They must participate in the social, cultural and political life of the country. The evils attendant upon mod-ernization, he insisted, were less than some people were inclined to imagine.” The symposium held in Lahore on Au-gust 196? on “Female Emancipation in the Two Decades of Pakistan’s Existence,” organized by the Pakistan Council for Na-tional Integration was an outstanding ex-ample of this same viewpoint. If we claim to be Muslims and insist that Islam is the foundation of the ideology of our country, is it not our duty to know what our faith teaches us on this subject?

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The salâh of a Believer in the Qur’ân and sunnah

Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul HaqReprinted with permission of Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq. To obtain the complete book, contact: Islâmic Sharîah Institute, PO Box 6008, Birmingham B10 0UW, UK. [sales@shariah-institute.org].

continued from previous issue

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chapter 13: difference in Salâh Be-tween men and Women

Following are a few narrations detailing the verdicts and practice of the Sahâbah

together with the verdicts of some of the Tâbi’ûn and the ‘ulamâ of the differ-ent schools of fiqh:

Verdicts and practice of the sahâbah

Khalid bin al Lajlaaj reports as part of a longer hadeeth that women were ordered to do tarabbu’1 when sitting in salâh.2

Nafi’ narrates that Safiyyah would pray and do tarabbu’.�

Nafi’ also narrates that the womenfolk of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar’s family would do tarabbu’.�

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar was once asked, ‘How did women pray their salâh during the time of the Prophet ?’ He replied, ‘They used to sit cross legged until they were told to practice ihtifaz.’5

Sayyiduna Ali says, ‘When a woman prostrates she should do ihtifaz and press her thighs together.’, and in Abdul Raz-zaq’s narration ‘press her thighs against her stomach.’6

1 i.e., to draw out one’s right leg towards the right side of the body and to place the left leg beneath the right leg.2 Ibn Abi Shaibah 278�.� Abdul Razzaq 507� and Ibn Abi Shaibah 278�.� Ibn Abi Shaibah 2789.5 Narrated by all three, Abu Muhammad al Bukhari, Qadhi Umar bin al Hasan al Ashnani, and Ibn Khusruw in their Musnads of Imam Abu Hanifah’s ahadeeth. Ihtifaz is to lean to one’s side and rest on the posterior. It is more or less the same as sadl.6 Abdul Razzaq 5072 and Ibn Abi Shaibah

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas was asked about the prayer of a woman. He replied, ‘She should pull herself close together and do ihtifaz.’7

Verdicts of the Tâbi’ûn and other ‘ulamâ. Ibn Jurayj reports, ‘I asked Ataa: “Should a woman motion with her hands at the time of takbeer as a man does?” He replied, “She should not raise her hands with takbeer in the manner of men.” Ataa then demonstrat-ed (the way in which she should). He placed his hands very low and then pulled them to-wards him. He then said, “The posture of a woman in salâh is not that of a man.”8

Ataa also says, ‘A woman should pull herself together when she bows down into ruku’: she should bring up her arms to her stomach and pull herself together as much as possible. When she prostrates she should bring up her arms close to her and press her bosom and stomach against her thighs: she should pull herself together as much as pos-sible.9

Hasan al Basri says, ‘A woman should pull herself close together in sujûd.’10

Hasan and Qatadah both say, ‘When a woman prostrates she should pull herself to-gether as much as possible. She should not allow for any space between her limbs so that her posterior is not raised.’11

One certain author has argued that all the descriptions of the Prophet’s prayer are equally applicable to both men and women and there is nothing in the sunnah that ex-cludes women from any of them. Insha Al-lâh the contents of this chapter will answer that claim. The author then goes on to say that this is the view of Ibrahim al Nakhai who said, ‘A woman’s actions in the prayer

2777. Muhaddith Dhafar Ahmad Uthmani �/�2 has declared it hasan.7 Ibn Abi Shaibah 2778.8 Abdul Razzaq 5066 and Ibn Abi Shaibah 2�7�.9 Abdul Razzaq 5069.10 Ibn Abi Shaibah 2781.11 Abdul Razzaq 5068.

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continued from page �are the same as a man’s.’ – transmitted by Ibn Abi Shaibah (1/75/2), with a saheeh sanad from him. This is not what Ibrahim al Nakhai said at all nor is it his view. His narration trans-mitted by Ibn Abi Shaibah actually reads, ‘a woman will sit in salâh just as a man does.’12 This somehow has been misquoted as ‘a woman’s actions in the prayer are the same as a man’s.’! In fact, Ibrahim al Nakhai’s other narra-tions quite clearly contradict the above re-port. His view about the prayer of a woman as reported by Ibn Abi Shaibah and others is as follows: Ibrahim al Nakhai says, ‘When a woman prostrates she should press her stomach against her thighs. She should not raise her posterior nor should she allow for any space or distance between the limbs of her body as a man does.’1�

He also says, ‘When a woman prostrates she should bring her thighs together and press her abdomen to them.’1�

He also says, ‘A woman should sit to one side in salâh.’15

Imam Baihaqi says,‘All of the laws of salâh in which a woman differs from a man are based on the principle of satr (concealment). This means that the woman is instruct-ed to do all that which is more con-cealing for her. The following chap-ters of hadeeth explain this meaning in detail.’16

Ibn Qudamah al Maqdisi al Hanbali quotes Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal in his al Mughni as saying, ‘I consider sadl17 to be 12 Ibn Abi Shaibah 1/2�2, no 2788.1� Abdul Razzaq 5071 and Ibn Abi Shaibah 2782.1� Ibn Abi Shaibah 2779.15 Abdul Razzaq 5077 and Ibn Abi Shaibah 2792.16 Baihaqi 2/�1�.17 To draw out the right leg to one side of the body and place the left leg beneath one’s right thigh. In this way the posterior will come to

better for a woman.’ He also qoutes the narration of Sayyiduna Ali who says, ‘When a woman prays salâh she should do ihtifaz and press her thighs together.’18

Imam Ahmad was asked about how a woman should prostrate and sit for tashah-hud. He replied, ‘She should do whatever is more concealing for her.’ He added, ‘She should do tarabbu’ in tashahhud and draw her legs to one side (sadl).’19

According to the narration of Abu Da-wood, Imam Ahmad was asked about how a woman should sit in salâh. He replied, ‘She should press her thighs together.’20

Qadhi Iyadh has also quoted from some Salaf that the sunnah for women is tarab-bu’.21

All the above quite clearly demon-strates that the prayer of a woman is dif-ferent in some aspects from that of a man, and that this distinction was first made by none other than the Prophet , and then maintained by the prominent Sahâbah and Tâbi’ûn. Furthermore, as can be seen in their works, there is almost universal agree-ment amongst the scholars of all schools of fiqh on this issue. List of differences between the prayer of a man and a woman.Some of the differences as mentioned in the Hanafi books of fiqh are listed below.• In all the postures and movements of

salâh, including qiyam, ruku’, sajdah, and tashahhud a woman should adopt that which is the most modest and con-cealing, for her.

• At the beginning of salâh a woman should

rest on the ground rather than on the left leg. She would, therefore, not be resting on her legs, but on her posterior as mentioned in the narration of Sayyiduna Ali .18 Ibn Qudamah in al Mughni 2/1�5.19 Masaail of Imam Ahmad narrated by his son Abdullah �7�.20 Masaail of Imam Ahmad narrated by Abu Dawood p51.21 Awjaz al Masalik 2/119.

continued on page 1�

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DAY FAJR SHURUQ ZUHR ASR———— MAGRIB ISHA DWN SUNRISE Shafi’i Hanafi SNSET NGHT

Your (real) friend can be only Allâh;

and His mes-senger and those who

believe-- who establish

prayer and pay the poor due and bow

down (in worship).

And whoso turns (for

friendship) to Allâh and His messen-

ger and those who believe: lo! the party of Allâh, they are the victo-

rious.(5:55-56)

LUNAR DATES

I f you need prayer t imings for your town, p lease send us a self-addressed stamped #10 envelope.

Prayer times are for the new haven

area and are based on 18° for Fajr and Isha. check

local newspapers

for your local time differ-

ence.

June16 �:09 5:18 12:52 �:5� 6:08 8:27 10:�617 �:09 5:18 12:5� �:5� 6:08 8:27 10:�718 �:09 5:18 12:5� �:5� 6:08 8:28 10:�719 �:09 5:18 12:5� �:55 6:09 8:28 10:�720 �:09 5:18 12:5� �:55 6:09 8:28 10:�821 �:09 5:18 12:5� �:55 6:09 8:28 10:�822 �:09 5:19 12:5� �:55 6:09 8:29 10:�82� �:09 5:19 12:5� �:55 6:09 8:29 10:�82� �:10 5:19 12:5� �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�825 �:10 5:20 12:5� �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�826 �:11 5:20 12:5� �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�827 �:11 5:20 12:55 �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�828 �:12 5:21 12:55 �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�829 �:12 5:21 12:55 �:56 6:10 8:29 10:�7�0 �:1� 5:22 12:55 �:57 6:10 8:29 10:�7

July1 �:1� 5:22 12:55 �:57 6:10 8:29 10:�72 �:15 5:2� 12:56 �:57 6:10 8:29 10:�6� �:16 5:2� 12:56 �:57 6:10 8:28 10:�6� �:16 5:2� 12:56 �:57 6:10 8:28 10:�55 �:17 5:2� 12:56 �:57 6:10 8:28 10:��6 �:18 5:25 12:56 �:57 6:10 8:28 10:��7 �:19 5:25 12:57 �:57 6:10 8:27 10:��8 �:20 5:26 12:57 �:57 6:10 8:27 10:�29 �:22 5:27 12:57 �:57 6:10 8:27 10:�110 �:2� 5:27 12:57 �:57 6:10 8:26 10:�011 �:2� 5:28 12:57 �:57 6:09 8:26 10:2912 �:25 5:29 12:57 �:57 6:09 8:25 10:281� �:26 5:�0 12:57 �:57 6:09 8:25 10:271� �:28 5:�0 12:57 �:57 6:09 8:2� 10:2615 �:29 5:�1 12:58 �:57 6:09 8:2� 10:2516 �:�0 5:�2 12:58 �:57 6:08 8:2� 10:2�17 �:�2 5:�� 12:58 �:57 6:08 8:22 10:2�18 �:�� 5:�� 12:58 �:57 6:08 8:21 10:2219 �:�� 5:�5 12:58 �:57 6:07 8:21 10:2020 �:�6 5:�5 12:58 �:57 6:07 8:20 10:1921 �:�7 5:�6 12:58 �:56 6:06 8:19 10:1822 �:�9 5:�7 12:58 �:56 6:06 8:18 10:162� �:�0 5:�8 12:58 �:56 6:06 8:18 10:152� �:�2 5:�9 12:58 �:56 6:05 8:17 10:1�25 �:�� 5:�0 12:58 �:56 6:05 8:16 10:1226 �:�5 5:�1 12:58 �:55 6:0� 8:15 10:1027 �:�6 5:�2 12:58 �:55 6:0� 8:1� 10:0928 �:�8 5:�� 12:58 �:55 6:0� 8:1� 10:0729 �:�9 5:�� 12:58 �:5� 6:02 8:12 10:06�0 �:51 5:�5 12:58 �:5� 6:02 8:11 10:0��1 �:52 5:�6 12:58 �:5� 6:01 8:10 10:02

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reGUlar masJId acTIVITIes and JUm’a Prayer TImes

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IslamIc socIeTy oF WesTernconnecTIcUT, danBUry

�88 Main St, Danbury, CT 06810. (20�) 7��-1�28Juma’ prayer time 1:00 Pmcontact: Br. Asif Akhtar (20�)7�6-75�0

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17-212, Hamden, CT 0651� (20�) 562-2757Juma’ prayer time 1:00 PmFriday dars 8:00 - 11:00 Pmmadrasah: every sunday 9:55am - 1:30 Pm mon-Thurs afternoons, 5:00 - 7:00 Pmcommunity dinner 1st sunday of each month. contact: Dr. Abdul Hamid (20�) 562-2757

IcFc masJId (JamIa Karam)57 Pepper St, Monroe. CT06�68 (20�)261-6222Juma’ prayer time 1:15 Pmcontact: Br. Ahmed Reza (20�) 7�6-068�

masJId al-Islam62� George St. New Haven, CT (20�)777-�008Juma’ prayer time 1:15 Pmcontact: Br. Siraj Muhammad (20�) 777-�008IslamIc cenTer oF neW london16 Fort St, Groton, CT 06��0, (860) �05-8006Juma’ prayer time 1:00 Pmcontact: Br. Imran Ahmed (860) 691-8015

al-madany IslamIc cenTer oF norWalK

� Elton Court, Norwalk, CT 06851 (20�)852-08�7Juma’ prayer time 1:00 Pmcontact: Syed Hussain Qadri. (20�) 852-08�7.

sTamFord IslamIc cenTer10 Outlook St. stamford, CT 06902 (20�)975-26�2

Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Hafiz Haqqani Mian Qadri (203) 975-2642

IslamIc socIeTy oF sTamFord82 Harbor Dr, Stamford, CT 06902

Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Hafiz AbdulSalam Sumra (203) 255-4327

UnITed mUslIm masJId (masJId rahman)

1�2 Prospect Ct. Waterbury, CT. 0670� (20�)756-6�65 Juma’ prayer time 1:00 PmContact Br. Majeed Sharif. (20�) 879-72�0.

WesT haVen masJId2 Pruden St., West haven, CT 06516, (20�) 9��-5799Juma’ prayer time 1:00 Pmcontact: Br. Mohammad Taroua (20�) 287-7561.

madIna masJId1 Madina Drive, Windsor, CT 06095, (860) 2�9-0112Juma’ prayer time 1:30 Pmcontact: Muhamed M. Haidara 860-655-90�2Madina Academy:Full time School (860)52�-9700IslamIc socIeTy oF WesTern

massachUseTTs337 Amostown Rd. W. Springfield, MA01105

(�1�)788-75�6 Juma’ prayer time 1:15 Pmcontact: Dr. Mohammad Ali Hazratji(860)7�9-8859.

Visit the Connecticut Council of Masajid website:

http://ccminc.faithweb.com

But warn them of the Day of Distress when the matter will be determined: for (behold) they are negligent and

they do not believe! Surah Maryam 19:39

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THE CHILDREN’S CORNERa’Ishah

Aishah was among the first children to be born into Islam. She was the second daughter of one of the Prophet’s oldest friends, Abu Bakr

. Her mother was Umm Rumaan , who had entered Islam soon after

her husband had done so. Shortly af-terwards Aishah had been born. Aishah was thus raised in a Mus-lim household from the day she was born and was accustomed to almost daily visits by the Prophet to her home. To Aishah the Prophet had always been a near and dear family friend, and she had seen the great love and reverence with which her parents treated him. She had been told why he was special, that he was a Messenger of Allah, and she was aware of the aura of joy and goodness which surrounded him. After the death of Khadijah , the Prophet had asked Khaulah for suggestions on whom he should marry. One name mentioned was that of Saudah , with whom arrange-ments were immediately made. The other name was that of Aishah , who was only a child of about six years at the time, but who had already been promised in marriage to the son of an-other man. Abu Bakr therefore had to ask the other man for permission to break their agreement before any fur-ther steps could be taken. The other man, Mu’tim, was more than willing to cancel the agreement to have Aishah

marry his son. Mu’tim was not a Muslim, and he was not very keen on the idea of having a Muslim marry into

his family. Several months after the Prophet’s

marriage with Saudah , Aishah became officially promised in

marriage to the Prophet . There was little impact on her daily life. She con-tinued to live in her parents’ home. The only difference was that, whereas pre-viously she had gone out into the streets near her home to play with her friends, she now remained within the enclosing walls of her family’s courtyard, and her friends came to her house to play. Aishah and her older sister Asma

were present when the Prophet entered Abu Bakr’s house with the news that it was time for the Prophet

to emigrate to Madinah. When Abu Bakr learned that he would be accom-panying the Prophet , tears of joy ran down his face. Aishah relates that that was the first time that she learned that one could weep tears of joy. Aishah stayed in Makkah with her mother and sister until after the masjid had been completed in Madi-nah. The Prophet then sent for Sau-dah and his daughters while Abu Bakr sent for his family to join them in Madinah. The Prophet had had two small apartments built along the wall of the new masjid. One of these was for Saudah and the other was for Aishah . Several years later Aishah’s wedding took place. The wedding was not an elaborate af-fair. Aishah , in fact, had been out in the courtyard playing with a friend when she was taken into the house and dressed in a red wedding dress which

continued on page 11

- 11 -continued on page 1�

Shamaa-il TirmidhiImam Muhammad bin ‘Eesaa at-TirmidhiCommentary, Khasaa-il-e-Nabawi, by Shaykhul-Ha-

dith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya KandhelviTranslation by Muhammad bin Abdurrahmaan Ebrahim

was four Dirhams. Rasulullah was recit-ing this du’aa: ‘O Allah, keep this haj free from show and fame”.commentary: This hadith has been mentioned in ha-dith number five in this chapter.

(324) Hadith number 12: Anas reports that a tailor invited Ra-sulullah . Thareed was served, in which dubbaa (dodhi -gourd) was added. As Ra-sulullah loved dubbaa (dodhi-gourd) he began eating it. Anas says: “After that no food was prepared for me, wherein if gourd could be added, it was added”.commentary: Thareed is a type of food wherein bread is mixed with gravy. This has already been mentioned in the eleventh hadith on the chapter of the curry of Sayyidina Rasu-lullah . There instead of thareed, bread and gravy is mentioned. It is possible that both things were served, gravy and bread and thareed also. It is possible that thareed figuratively, or the ingredients of thareed were mentioned separately, as bread and gravy when mixed together become thar-eed.

(325) Hadith number 13: ‘Amrah reports that someone asked ‘Aayeshah . “What was the usual practice of Rasulullah at home?” She re-plied: “He was a human from among other humans. He himself removed the lice from his clothing, milked his goats, and did all his work himself”.commentary: ‘He was a human from among other hu-mans’ means as the common people, he mostly did his household chores himself. He did not have pride or feel ashamed to do the household work or fulfil his needs. In a hadith it is stated that the work that was done by the common people in their homes, was also done by Sayyidina Rasu-lullah . In some ahaadith, examples of the chores are also given as in the hadith

continued from page 10had been prepared for her with cloth from Bahrain. Then she was taken to the new house where the Prophet was waiting. Her hair was combed, she was adorned with jewelry, and the marriage ceremony took place. There was no wedding feast at Aishah’s wedding. A bowl of milk was brought to the Prophet . He drank from it, then gave it to Aishah to drink from. Although she was shy and reluctant at first, he persuaded her to sip some. She then passed the bowl to her sister Asma

who took a sip and passed it to the other guests. After that the wedding was over and the guests left. Aishah was about nine years old when she was married, but she was already a beautiful young woman. Her intelligence as well as her wit and beauty endeared her to the Prophet . Many of the Hadith have come down to us as a result of Aishah’s rec-ollections of her years spent with the Prophet .

Bonnie l. hamid

chapter on That Which has Been narrated on The humble-ness of sayyidina rasulullah

(323) Hadith number 11: Anas reports: “Rasulullah per-formed Hajj on a saddled camel on which was a cloth, the value of which we think

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not raise her hands to her ears but only to her shoulders or close to her bosom.22

• In qiyâm, women are to place their hands on their bosoms. They can fasten them in any one of the different ways ‘akdh’ (grasping) or ‘wadh’ (placing) described in part two, or they can simply rest the right palm on the left one.

• Unlike men, in ruku’, women should tuck their arms into the body and not spread them outward. They should also merely place their hands over their knees with closed fingers, and not grasp them with the fingers spread wide open.2� In fact, women should try to keep their fingers close together in all the postures of salâh.

• During prostration men should allow for some space and distance between their stomachs and thighs, and arms and the side of the body, whilst women should press these limbs together.

• Again in prostration, men should raise their arms off the ground and allow for some distance but women should let them cling to the ground.

• During the sitting of tashahhud, men are to rest on their legs and raise their right foot with the toes facing qiblah, whereas women are to take out both their legs to-wards the right hand side of the body and rest on the posterior without raising their right foot.

Biographies

Ibrahim al nakhai rahmatullahi alaih. (�6-96 AH)

The ‘faqeeh of Iraq’ Ibrahim bin Yazid bin

22 Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal also says that she should raise them slightly and, according to one narration, she should not raise them at all.23 In some books of Hanafi fiqh it has been suggested that in ruku’ they should also bend their backs and knees slightly. The Hanbali scholar Imam Khirqi also says as part of a longer statement, ‘The woman should gather herself in ruku’ and sujûd.’ (al Mughni 1/1��)

continued from page � Qais Abu Imran al Nakhai. One of the most prominent Tâbi’ûn in terms of piety, learn-ing, fiqh, and the memorization and nar-ration of hadeeth. He studied under many distinguished figures including Alqamah, Masrooq, and Aswad. He has among his students Hammad bin Abi Sulaiman (one of the teachers of Imam Abu Hanifah), A’amash and others. He died in 96 AH whilst in hiding from the tyrant governor Hajjaj. When news of his death reached Sha’bi he said, ‘By Allâh, he has not left anyone behind like him.’ May Allâh have mercy on him.

muslim bin yasaar rahmatullahi alaih. (?-100 AH)

Abu Abdullah Muslim bin Yasaar al Basri al Umawi. A tabi’ee who was known for his worship and ascetism. He was also rec-ognized as being one of the leading jurists of Basrah. He met a number of Sahabah

and narrated hadeeth from them including Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar . He died in 100 AH. May Allah have mercy on him.

sha’bi rahmatullahi alaih. (19-10� AH)Amir bin Sharaheel al Sh’abi al Humairi. A famous tabi’ee who himself claimed to have met more than five hundred Sahâbah

, a great many from whom he narrated ahadeeth. He had a prodigious memory and was also widely credited as being one of the greatest jurists of his time. He lived and died in Kufah and was one of Imam Abu Hanifah’s greatest teachers. May Allâh have mercy on him.abu mijlaz rahmatullahi alaih. (?-109 AH)

Lahiq bin Humaid bin Saeed Sadoosi. A tabi’ee who met and narrated hadeeth from a number of Sahabah including Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas , Sayyiduna Anas

, and Sayyiduna Abu Musa al Ash’aree as well as many others. He passed away

in Kufah in 109 AH. May Allah shower his mercy on him.

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edITor’s maIl In this section we acknowledge the mail that we have received. If you sent us a self addressed stamped envelope then you al-ready have or will as soon as possible re-ceive a response. However, if your request was beyond our present capabilities, we seek your indulgence and prayers that may Allâh give us the taufeeq in future to ad-dress your request or need adequately. We thank the following Muslims for writing to us and supporting .

continued on page 1�

messaGe To The InmaTesWe have received so many requests for the kufi caps that we are presently not able to process them in a timely manner. To help us satisfy the demands we from now on will only send kufi caps if you meet the follow-ing requirements. 1. We receive a letter of permission from a prison official. 2. You send us a self addressed stamped #10 en-velope with two stamps. �. The return ad-dress is that of a prison official so that we do not get the cap back for some ambiguous reason.

continued from page 1�Imam abu hanifah rahmatullahi alaih.

(80-150 AH) N’uman bin Thabit Abu Hanifah. The great mujtahid, faqeeh and Imam. He was born in Kufah in 80 AH.2� There were a number of Sahâbah still alive at that time, including Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa , who lived in Kufah, and Sayyid-una Anas bin Malik whom he actually met. Imam Abu Hanifah is thus considered a Tabi’ee, a rank unique not only amongst the four Imams of fiqh, but also amongst his leading contemporaries. Imam Abu Hanifah had numerous fa-mous teachers including Amir bin Shara-heel al Sh’abi and Hammad bin Abi Su-laiman. He heard hadeeth from a number of leading authorities including Ataa bin Abi Rabah, Abdul Rahman bin Hurmuz, Ikrimah, Nafi’, Adiyy bin Thabit as well as many others from amongst the Tabi’ûn. He himself had thousands of students in-cluding Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Zufar bin Hudhail, Imam Hasan bin Ziyad and Imam Muhammad bin Hasan Shaibani. Countless leading figures heard and narrated hadeeth from him such as Sufyan al Thawri, Sha-reek, Zaidah, Hasan bin Salih, Abu Bakr bin Ayyash, Abdullah bin Mubarak, Wa-kee’, Abdul Razzaq bin Hammam as well as many others. Mansoor, the Abbasid ruler of the time, tried to appoint Imam Abu Hanifah as the chief judge. He refused, whereupon Man-soor resorted to imprisonment and torture to make him meet his demand. Imam Abu Hanifah did not relent and finally died a martyr having been poisoned in prison in the year 150 AH. May Allâh shower his mercy on him.Imam abu yusuf rahmatullahi alaih. (11�-

182 AH)Abu Yusuf Ya’qub bin Ibrahim. The famous 2� This is according to one narration. Other reports suggest earlier dates of 70 AH, or even 61 AH.

Abdur Rahim Matin, CTAndrew Smalls. GAAndy Sylvian, FLBasil Malik Al-Shabazz, VABenyam B Kidane, CACharles Carson, NCClaude E. Smith, FLCorey T. Green, CTDarvin W. Allen SCDell Roberts, NVDemetrias Salley, MADennieth Smith, CTDexter Owens, FLDion X. Lacy, WIDonovan Williams, CTEdward Usher, CAEnoch A. Jackson, GAFrank James, WAGarfield Marriott, NYGlenn Owens, WVGregroy M. Ray. NCGregory Thomas, CTJimmy R. Clark, NCJohn Larace, MAJose Reyes, PAKopelynn Gildon, FL

Korie Burns, SCLuis A. Rivera, Jr. CTM. Uloho, LAMark A. M. Hannon Sr. GAMichael Green, NYNasim E. Hakeem, NCQamar Shaikh, MORahim RAshad, MARany D. Pruitt, FLRobert Hilton, NYScott Merrill, UTTarik Bennekaa, NYTheodore Boglin, PAValdo C. Orozco, CAYaqub Bilaal, FLYarsie Edwards, NCYusufu A. Hakim, FL

- 1� -

Shamaa-il, continued from page 11under discussion. In the ahaadith it is also stated that he sewed his clothing himself, he repaired his shoes, mended his clothing etc. In the above hadith it is mentioned that he removed lice from his clothing. The re-search of the ‘ulama is that lice was not found in the body and clothing of Sayy-idina Rasulullah . It is evident that lice appears from the dirt of the body and mul-tiplies with the perspiration. The whole body of Sayyidina Rasulullah was nur. There can be no questions of dirt, in the same manner his perspiration was like rose, that is used as a scent . How can it be pos-sible for lice to live in the esssence of rose. Therefore here it will mean that he looked for lice suspecting it from another person to have crept onto his clothing. The ‘ulama say that this was done to teach the ummah, that when others see him doing this they will practise it more diligently.

Qadhi and Imam. He was born in Kufah in 11� AH. He is undoubtedly the most famous student of Imam Abu Hanifah. He also heard hadeeth from Hisham bin Urwah, Yahya bin Saeed, A’amash and others. Many authorities heard and narrated hadeeth from him including Bishr bin Waleed, Yahya bin Maeen, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ahmad bin Manee’, and Imam Muhammad bin Hasan. He served as a judge in the capital Baghdad under many rulers including Haroon Rashid. He was the first person ever to be given the title ‘Qa-dhi al Qudhat’, i.e., chief judge or ‘judge of the judges’. He died in 182 AH. May Allâh have mercy on him.Imam muhammad shaibani rahmatullahi

alaih. (1�2-189 AH)Muhammad bin Hasan Shaibani. The great faqeeh and Imam. He was born in Wasit in 1�2 AH. Apart from his two most famous teachers, Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Abu Yusuf, he also heard and narrated hadeeth

from Sufyan al Thawri, Qais bin Rabee’, Awzaee, Imam Malik and others. His own students include Imam Shafi’ee, Abu Ubaid al Qasim bin Sallam, Yahya bin Maeen, Muhammad bin Samaah as well as many others. He died in Rayy in 189 AH. May Allâh have mercy on him.Hafidh Ibn al Turkumani rahmatullahi

alaih. (?-7�9 AH)Ali bin Uthman bin Ibrahim Ala al Deen Ibn al Turkumani al Mardini. A teacher of Hafidh Jamal al Deen al Zailaee, Hafidh Zain al Deen al Iraqi, Jamal al Deen al Malti and Hafidh Nur al Deen al Haithami. He authored the famous al Jawhar al Naqi fi al Radd ‘ala al Baihaqi. He also compiled a takhreej of al Hidayah’s ahadeeth, and a condensed version of Ibn al Salah’s Uloom al Hadeeth. He died in 7�9 AH. May Allâh have mercy on him.Hafidh Zailaee rahmatullahi alaih. (720-762)Jamal al Deen Abdullah bin Yusuf al Zal-laee. He studied fiqh with Imam Fakhr al Deen Uthman bin Ali al Zailaee, Imam Shams al Deen Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Adlan and others. Amongst his teach-ers in hadeeth were Hafidh Abu al Hajjaj al Mizzi, Hafidh Shams al Deen al Dhahabi and Hafidh Ala al Deen al Mardini Ibn al Turkumani. He produced three highly acclaimed works in his short life. They are al Isaaf bi Ahadeeth al Kashaaf (a takhreej of Zamakh-shari’s Tafseer al Kashaaf), Mukhtasar Ma’ani al Aathaar (a condensed and edited version of Imam Tahawi’s Sharh Ma’ani al Aathaar), and Nasb al Rayah fi Takhreej Ahadeeth al Hidayah (a takhreef of Imam Marghinani’s al Hidayah). Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri wrote of him, ‘In my opin-ion, Hafidh Zailaee rahmatullahi alaih was a greater hafidh than even Hafidh Ibn Hajar rahmatullahi alaih. He passed away in Cairo in the year 762 AH. May Allâh have mercy on him.

Salâh of a Believer, continued from page 1�

To Be continued

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continued from page �furious and intensify their beating. They would ask about al-Laat and al-Uzza and he would reply firmly: “Two idols, deaf and dumb, that cannot cause harm or bring any benefit...” This enraged them even more and they would take a big hot stone and place it on his back. Khabbab’s pain and anguish would be excruciating but he did not recant. The inhumanity of Umm Anmaar to-wards Khabbab was not less than that of her brother. Once she saw the Prophet speaking to Khabbab at his workshop and she flew into a blind rage. Every day after that, for several days, she went to Khabbab’s workshop and punished him by placing a red hot iron from the furnace on his head. The agony was unbearable and he often fainted. Khabbab suffered long and his only recourse was to prayer. He prayed for the punishment of Umm An-maar and her brother. His release from pain and suffering only came when the Prophet

gave permission to his companions to emigrate to Madinah. Umm Anmaar by then could not prevent him from going. She herself became afflicted with a terrible illness which no one had heard of before. She behaved as if she had suffered a rabid attack. The headaches she had were espe-cially nerve-racking. Her children sought everywhere for medical help until finally they were told that the only cure was to cau-terize her head. This was done. The treat-ment, with a red hot iron, was more terrible than all the headaches she suffered. At Madinah, among the generous and hospitable Ansar, Khabbab experienced a state of ease and restfulness which he had not known for a long time. He was delight-ed to be near the Prophet (peace be upon him) with no one to molest him or disturb his happiness. He fought alongside the noble Prophet at the battle of Badr. He participated in the battle of Uhud where he had the satisfac-

tion of seeing Sibaa ibn Abd al-Uzza meet his end at the hands of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib , the uncle of the Prophet . Khabbab lived long enough to witness the great expansion of Islam under the four Khulafaa-ar-Rashidun -- Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali . He once visited Umar

during his caliphate. Umar stood up -- he was in a meeting -- and greeted Khab-bab with the words: “No one is more deserving than you to be in this assembly other than Bilal.” He asked Khabbab about the torture and the persecution he had received at the hands of the mushrikeen. Khabbab described this in some detail since it was still very viv-id in his mind. He then exposed his back and even Umar was aghast at what he saw.” We see this patience in the boycott and confinement of Muslims in Shi’b Abi Talib. “The 10th year of the Prophethood was a year of extreme persecution and distress in the Holy Prophet’s life. The Quraish and the other tribes had continued their boycott of the Bani Hashim and the Muslims for three years and the Holy Prophet and the people of his family and the Compan-ions lay besieged in Shi’b Abi Talib. The Quraish had blocked up this locality from every side so that no supplies of any kind could reach the besieged people. Only dur-ing the Hajj season they were allowed to come out and buy some articles of neces-sity. But even at that time whenever Abu Lahab noticed any of them approaching the market place or a trading caravan he would call out to the merchants exhorting them to announce forbidding rates of their articles for them, and would pledge that he him-self would buy those articles so that they did not suffer any loss. This boycott which continued uninterrupted for three years had broken the back of the Muslims and the Bani Hashim; so much so that at times they were even forced to eat grass and the leaves of trees. At last, when the siege was

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Important Islamic daysashUra’ (Fast on 9th and 10th, or 10th and 11th of Muharram.)maUlUd-Un-naBI Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Rabiul Awwal) - death of the Prophet (12 Rabiul Awwal).Isra and mIraJ (The anniversary of the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad to Jerusalem & his Ascension then to Heaven)(27 Rajab).nesFU shaBaan (Shub-e-Barat)(middle of the month of Shabaan)(night between 1� &15).BeGInnInG oF The monTh oF ramadan.laIla TUl Qader (NIGHT OF VALUE) A night during the last 10 days of Ramadan. eId Ul-FITr (1st. Shawwal) WaQFaTU-araFaT (Pilgrims assemble on Arafat Plain, Makkah)(9 Zul-Hijj).eId Ul-adha (Feast of sacrifice)(10 Zul-Hijj).

is issued on the 3rd Friday of each month. Issn # 1062-2756

Allâhu Akbar!

Allâh is the Greatest!

continued from page 15lifted that year, Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet’s uncle, who had been shielding him for ten long years, died, and hardly a month later his wife, Hadrat Khadijah , who had been a source of peace and conso-lation for him ever since the begin-ning of the call, also passed away. Because of these tragic incidents, which closely followed each other, the Holy Prophet used to refer to this year as the year of sorrow and grief.” During this endurance the Mes-senger of Allâh taught us a num-ber of lessons: to establish a strong and functionally united Muslim ja-maat, not to become isolated from Muslims, not to become assimilated in the non-Muslim culture, not be-come isolationists and totally avoid interaction with non-Muslims. If we were to follow these practical ex-amples our success would be no less than Bilal and Khabbab ibn al-Aratt

for we shall, like the Prophet and his companions be fulfilling the command of Allâh, “O ye who be-lieve! Endure, outdo all others in en-durance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allâh, in order that ye may succeed.”