I blog and tweet a lot about Israel and every now and again the odd Zionist supporter pops by and says hello.
Zionist guy, Brett Borders:
The Koran doesn’t mention the word Jerusalem once. No where. The life of Prophet Muhammad
is incredibly well documented, as far as ancient religious leaders go, and there is no record of him ever having traveled outside the Arabian peninsula. (Dreams, interpretations, insinuations, wishful thinking and political powerball non-withstanding.) If you want to blasphemize your sacred texts for political purposes – go ahead. But even a non-Muslim knows that Mecca and Medina are the cities with authentic, unquestionable historical connections to Islam – Jerusalem is the ancient holy epicenter of the the Jews (it’s the Jewish ‘mecca’ if you will) – and there has been no urgent Arab interest or significant spiritual connection to Jerusalem until Israel reclaimed it from Jordan in 1967. This is evidenced by the fact that Arabs haven’t built anything meaningful there in the past 1,000 years, Arab leaders rarely visited it when in Jordanian hands, etc. “The fartherst mosque” has been conveniently interpreted to mean the holy areas in Jerusalem that Arabs have political interest conquering and barring non-Muslims from visiting.
My reply:
To the uneducated and to the blind the Qur’an makes no reference to the Jerusalem or the Holy Land but as Allah 
the Almighty and Wise says:
“Proofs have now come to you from your Lord. If any is capable of seeing (and recognizing them) it will be for (the good of) his own soul. And if any is blind (to them) it will be to his own harm. And I am not here to watch over you.” (Qur’an, al-An’am 6:104)
In the words of Shaykh Imran Hosein in his book “Jerusalem in the Qur’an“
It is strange, mysterious, and enigmatic … that the name of the city ‘Jerusalem’ (Arabic ‘Quds’ or ‘Bait al-Maqdis’) does not appear in the Qur’an! Yet so many of the Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an had links with that Holy City, and in it is located that only other House of Allah
It is fact, not fiction that Arabs have lived in Jerusalem for centuries and it is fact, not fiction that the Godless, Apartheid State of Un-Holy Israel was created by theft, by oppression, by murder, by injustice, and that Israel has continued to behave in such an immoral and wicked way ever since.
Only a blind man could fail see that the blatant and shameful oppressive regime of Israel is an imposter and a fraud and far from the state that will herald the return of the True Messiah. The characteristics displayed by the State of Israel are the characteristics of the Anti Christ, the Dajjal or the Imposter Christ and are not the characteristics that meet with divine approval.
The Jews believed that they killed Jesus, Son of Mary but they were punished themselves by their evil deeds and Jesus, Son of Mary (pbuh) shall return and rule the world from the Holy Land – but only after the Imposter Christ fulfils and completes his mission to impersonate him and tests the whole world.
This Immoral and corrupt state that you are supporting is fooling you into believing that this is the state of the Golden Age that the Jews were promised when they were in Babylon. Open your eyes and see what the rest of the world is seeing and do not be blinded by any false personal association that you think you have with it. It is only a facade and an illusion, the Golden Age will return, so be joyful…and be patient because Jesus, son of Mary (pbuh) the True Messiah shall return and rule the world, as was the promise of Allah .
Our first job is to go through the trials and tests of the Anti Christ and those people that are paving the way for his appearance. You’re on the wrong boat my friend, open your internal spiritual eye and you will see what we all see.
May Allah give success to the sincere
ps, if you want to watch a talk about the Anti christ and Israel from and Islamic perspective, look no further: The Dajjal
Islamic Relef UK has already launched its Ramadhan campign and have produced this advert
Go to their website and please donate, we can make a big difference inshallah http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk
Islamic Relef Worldwide have created a great little website for children called Hilal’s Ramadhan Calender. There are lots of things to do on the site including listening to nasheeds, playing games and they can read and learn about Ramadhan and Islam.
It’s part of Hilal’s World and it’s great for kids mashallah
It is that time of year again when all the Muslims in the UK are split down the middle about when Ramadhan starts. This is the most frustrating time of the year for me as my wife’s family (brothers etc) usually start on a different day to me and therefore Eid is celebrated on a different day.
I don’t recall any dispute of the 15th Shabban or at any other time, everybody seemed to be in agreement for most of the year but when Ramadhan start suddenly there is all kinds of trouble and I just wish we could just sort it out!
This I am sure is common problem throught the UK but what annoys me is the Ullema know what the correct day is yet they follow Saudi because (and I have spoken to a few and they do admit it) they say that the people in the Mosques refuse to accept the change.
Khayr, take a peek at this famous Fatwa; it shows that each nation has its own sky therefore there is no need to follow Saudi if you live in the UK. Very interesting
The 4th Meeting of the Council From 7th of Rabi Al-Thani-l?”1 of Rabi Al-Thani 1401 Hijri 11th of Feb-21st of Feb 1981
All Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and salutations be on the one whom after there is no Nabi (Prophet), there after (Amma Baa’d):
The Islamic Jurisprudence Council has studied the issue of Difference in Horizons (local sighting) and establishing sighting criteria on it. The Council concluded Islam is basically an easy and accommodating religion; this is what individuals with sound nature, appropriate intellect follow since it yields benefits. In the matter of Moon sighting Islam established its visual sighting over calculation as proven by the clear evidences from the Shariah. Also, it adopted differences in horizons (local sighting) since it is easier for the ordinary Muslims to follow, although that is the implication upon detailed examination of the proofs. As for the promoters of unification of the beginning of the fasting month and its end is concerned they are in opposition of what is established by Shariah and sound intellect.
As far as the opposition to Shariah, the Scholars of hadith have narrated the hadith of Kuraib which is (Book 006, Number 2391added by translator)
Kuraib reported that Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, L e. her son) to Mu’awiya in Syria. I (Fadl) arrived in Syria, and did the needful for her. It was there in Syria that the month of Ramadan commenced. I saw the new moon (of Ramadan) on Friday. I then came back to Medina at the end of the month. Abdullah b. ‘Abbas (Allah
He said: (Did) you see it yourself? -I said: Yes, and the people also saw it and theyobserved fast and Mu’awiya also observed fast, whereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we would continue to observe fast till we complete thirty (lasts) or we see it (the new moon ofShawwal). I said: Is the sightidg of the moon by Mu’awiya not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah
Imam Nawawi Classified this hadith in his commentary on Sahih Muslim under the heading “chapter for every country there is its own sighting, if the moon is sighted in a country that sighting is not acceptable for far away countries” and none of the authors of the six books of hadith who narrated the same hadith deviated from this methodology in their classification for this hadith like Tirmidhi, Abu Daud and Al-Nasa’i.
And Islam established the moon sighting by vision over all other means, because ofwhat was narrated by Ibn Omar in his hadith in Bukhari and Muslim. (Book 006, Number 2363 added by the translator)
Ibn Umar (Allah
This hadith established the reason for the obligation as sighting, so it (the Moon) may be sighted in Makkah and Madina while it may not be sighted in any other country, the time in other countries may be day instead of night, so how then we obligate the other people with Fasting or Iftaar? All the scholars from all Madhahib have concluded that “the difference of horizons (local Sighting)” is the answer, near a great majority of them, so much so that Ibn Abd Al-Bar (great Maliki Jurist) narrated an Ijmaa (Judicial Consensus) that moon sighting between far places like Khurasaan (Asia now) and Andalus (Spain now) is not considered and every country has its own specific sighting.
A majority of the Books of Most Schools of Jurists (madhahib) are full of opinions in favor of “the difference of Horizons” because of the vast evidence in shariah in that regard, if one were to look at the books of Fiqh they will conclude the same and they will heal any contempt for this issue in their hearts. Common sense dictates, local moon sighting is something that the scholars do not differ on, because it is obvious, and hence the intellect concludes the same. This is the same for the Common Sense and the Shariah’s convergence on the times of prayer as well. So if one was to be an observer of the Natural order and reality of the differences in times he will conclude the same. Hence the Council concludes in light of the above:
1-There is no need to peruse unification of Moon sighting and Festivals in the Islamic world. Because this pursuit will not guarantee the ummah’s unification as the promoters of unification of Moon sighting and Festivals imagine.
2- That the matter of moon sighting be left to the Muslim countries and their Judicial and Juristic Councils, because that has priority as well as will yield the most benefit.
3-The only guarantee which will benefit the Muslims in unifying the ummah in its matters and issues is that they agree to abide by the Quran and Sunnah in all of their matters.
And Allah only guarantees success. And Peace and Salutations be on our Nabi and his Family and his companions.
Signatures of the Scholars on this Fatwa are:
Shiekh Abd al Aziz bin Abdallah bin Baaz
Abo Bakr Mahmood Jumee
Shiekh Saleh Al Othaymeen
Sheikh Mustafa Ahmad Zarqa
Abu Al Hassan Al Nadawi
Sheikh Mohammed Salih Adood
Abdallah Ali Al Harkaan
Abdallah bin Mohammed al Homaid
Mohammed Mahmood Al-Sawwaf
Mohammed bin Abdallah al Subayil
Mabrook al Awadi
Mohammed al Shdhali Nefier
Hassanian Mohammed Makhloof
Dr.Mohammed Rashidi
Mahmmod Shhet Khattab
Mabrook al Awadi
Mohammed Rashid Qabbani
Following on from brother Alum’s comment in my previous post I felt it right to layout the position of a couple of very respected Ullema
Taken from the Central Mosque websiteЛаптоп Магазин лаптоп
By Mufti Taqi Usmani
Q. I have read the Shabaan issue of your magazine Al-BALAGH certain questions are bothering me with regard to fasting on the 15th of Shabaan. I would like to explain the reason for this question. Several months ago a friend explained to me that there is no special significance of the fast of the 15th of Shabaan. However, he says this Hadith is absolutely weak to such an extent that one of its narrators was a person who was regarded by some scholars of Hadith as a fabricator of Hadith and a liar. Hence, he says that, until another reliable Hadith can be found the fast of the 15th of Shabaan has no special virtue. He also explained to me the following points :
(1) He has not come across any of the Fuqaha having even mentioned fasting specifically on the 15th of Shabaan; where as they have mentioned the fasts of Aashura and the six fasts of Shawwal etc.
(2) While it has been narrated in many authentic Ahadith that Rasulullah (S.A.W.) fasted for most of the month of Shabaan, this cannot be used to prove any special significance for the specific fast of the 15th of Shabaan. He told me that those Ahadith must be explained as they are i.e. for the entire month of Shabaan – not the 15th of the month.
(3) The Hadith regarding visiting the graveyard on the 15th of Shabaan is much more authentic and reliable compared to the Hadith regarding fasting on the 15th of Shabaan. However, despite this the Ulema have prohibited the people from making it a habit. Therefore, since a very great number of people observe only the fast of the 15th of Shabaan and regard it as a Sunnah, whereas the Hadith in this regard is absolutely and totally weak, the Ulema should stop the people from this also.
(4) When I suggested that what Harm, can here be if people observed this fast even if in reality it is not Sunnah or even Nafl, he stated: This is the way many Bidat have started (though this practice is not a Bid’ah). Furthermore this is a matter of “Aqeedah” and to regard something as Sunnah which in reality is not Sunnah is a very dangerous and grave matter. Hence it is necessary that either the act be proved Sunnah or else the people should be stopped from this since, if they practice, it they would do so regarding it as a Sunnah.
Hence I now wish to pose my questions.
(1) He has stated that this Hadith is “totally and absolutely weak” whereas Mufti Sahib has stated that “the Scholars of Hadith have some doubts regarding the authenticity of this Hadith.” Has he exaggerated in this claim of “totally and
absolutely weak”?
(2) is it true that one of the narrators was regarded as a fabricator and liar?
(3) Are his arguments in (1),(2),(3) and (4) above correct?
(4) On page 14 Mufti Sahib has written; “Although the scholars of Hadith have some doubts about the authenticity of this report, yet it is mentioned earlier that the fasts of the first half of Shabaan have special merits….” I have not found any narration in the article which explains the special merits of fasting in the first half of Shabaan. All the narrations deal with the fasts of the FIRST HALF of Shabaan, please quote this for me.
(5) Mufti Sahib also stated the practice of the Salaf (elders). Who is meant by “elders”?
(6) If it is accepted that one of the narrators was accused of being a fabricator and a liar did the “Salaf” regard this Hadith as authentic “as is” i.e. despite the condition of this narrator?
(7) Mufti Sahib has stated; “therefore, it is advisable to fast on the 15th of Shabaan as an optional (nafl) fast” Most people regard this fast as “Sunnah” and not nafl. Is in incorrect to regard this fast as Sunnah?
(8) Is this Nafl fast equal to keeping a nafl fast on any other day for example, the 1st of January; whichever Islamic date that may fall on? (excepting Ramadan, the 10th of Muharram, etc)?
I hope Mufti Sahib will quickly answer these questions and remove my doubts and the doubts of many others here in this regard.
(Yousuf Desai, South Africa)
Answer
A. I am grateful to you for your question which provided me with an opportunity to revise my article and to study the subject in more detail. In fact, the fast of the 15th of Shabaan is based on a tradition reported by Sayiddna Ali. Its text runs as follows :
When the Middle Night of Shabaan arrives, you should stand (Praying) in the night and should fast in the day following it.This Hadith is recorded by Ibn Majah in his Sunan, one of the famous six books of Hadith, and also by Baihaqi in his famous book Shu’ab-al-’iman’. Both of them have reported it without any comment about its authenticity. But after a critical analysis of its chain of narrators it is found that this tradition is mainly based on the report of Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Saburah whose narrations cannot be relied upon. That is why the scholars of Hadith have declared it as a weak (da’if) tradition. However, the allegation that the narrator of this Hadith i.e. Abu Bakr ibn Abi Saburah, is a fabricator who used to coin forged traditions does not seem correct. In fact, he was mufti of Madinah, a well-known jurist and he was appointed as a qadi (Judge) of Iraq in the days of Mansur and was succeeded in this office by Imam Abu Yousuf. He was a colleague of Imam Malik.
Once Mansur, the Abbasi Caliph, asked Imam Malik referred to three names, and one of them was that of Ibn Abi Saburah. Had he been a fabricator, Imam Malik would have never referred to his name in this context. But despite his high position among the jurists, his memory was not of the standard required for the uthenticity of a tradition. That is why most of the critics of Hadith like Imam Bukhari etc. Have held him as weak, but did not declare him a fabricator. Only Imam Ahmed is reported to have remarked about him that he fabricates Hadith. But this remark alone is not sufficient to hold him as a fabricator, for two reasons: Firstly Imam Ahmed was born long after him, and his contemporary scholars never held him as such, secondly the Arabic words used by Imam Ahmed are some times used for confusing one tradition with another, and not for deliberate fabrication.
This is the reason why the majority of the scholars of Hadith have held Abu Bakr ibn Abi Saburah as a weak reporter of Hadith, but they did not declare him as a forger or fabricator. Now, coming to his tradition about the fast of the 15th Ramadan it is held by the scholars to be weak but i have not come across an authentic scholar who has treated it as a fabricated (Mawdu) Hadith. There are a number of books indicating the fabricated Ahadith, but this tradition is not included in these books as fabricated.
It is well-known that Ibn Majah consists of about twenty Ahadith held to be fabricated. The list of these fabricated AHadith is available, but the tradition in question is not included therein.
Therefore, the correct position is that this Hadith is not fabricated. However, being reported by a weak narrator, it cannot be relied upon in the matter of the injunctions of Shariah. Thus, the fast of the 15th of Shabaan cannot be termed as Sunnah or Mustahab in the strict sense of the term. Nevertheless, it may be advisable to fast in the 15th of Shabaan without taking it as Sunnah for several reasons:
Firstly it is fully established through a large number of Ahadith that the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) has emphasized on the merits of fasting in Shabaan, and particularly in the first half of the month. The 15th day of Shabaan, being the last day of the first half, is included in the preferable days for fasting.
Secondly, the merits of the 15th night of Shabaan is established by more than a dozen Ahadith. It means that this night should be spent in prayers and other forms of worship. On the other hand, all the blessed nights which the Muslims are advised to spend in worship are generally followed by fasting on the coming day like in the Laylatul-Qadr, where fasting on the following day is obligatory, or like the first night Zilhijjah where fasting on the following days is optional, rather advisable. on this analogy, too, the 15th night of Shabaan may be followed by an optional fasting on the following day.
Thirdly, the tradition relating to the merits of fasting on 15th of Shabaan is, no doubt, a weak tradition, not competent to prove this practice to be a Sunnah or a formal Mustahabb, but it can be acted upon as a measure of precaution, provided that the practice is not taken as Sunnah or a formal Mustahabb. It is for these reasons that some Ulama and elders have been fasting on the 15th of Shabaan and have been taking it an advisable practice. It is in this context that I had mentioned this fast as advisable in my previous article. But when I revised the article after receiving your question, I now feel that the relevant paragraph may create misunderstanding and it needs clarification. I now armend it in accordance with what is stated above in this article.
Again, I am thankful to you for your letter which enabled me to revise and correct my previous article. May Allah give you the best reward for it.
Thanks to brother Alum for pointing out the issues with the Hadiths quoted in earlier post
The fast of the 15th Sha’ban, on the day immediately following the Night of Bara’ah, the 15th of Sha’ban, (tonight) it is mustahabb (advisable) to keep fast.
Tonight is a big night too inshallah, Abu Huraira (ra) reported the Prophet Muhammad as saying: Gabriel (as) came to me on the night of mid-Sha’ban and said to me: “O Muhammad, raise your head heavenwards!” I asked him: “What night is this?” and he replied: ” This is the night when Allah opens three hundred of the gates of mercy, forgiving all who do not make anything His partner . The only exceptions are those who practice sorcery or divination, are addicted to wine, or persist in usury and illicit sex; these He does not forgive until they repent.”
At a quarter of the night, Gabriel (as) came down and said: “0 Muhammad, raise your head!” So I looked up, to behold the gates of Paradise wide open. At the first gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who bow in worship this night!” At the second gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who prostrate themselves in worship this night!” At the third gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who offer supplication this night!” At the fourth gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who make remembrance this night!” At the fifth gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who weep this night from fear of Allah !” At the sixth gate an angel was calling: “Good news for those who submit this night!” At the seventh gate an angel was calling: “Will anyone ask, that his request may be granted?” At the eighth gate an angel was calling: “Will anyone seek forgiveness, that he may be forgiven?”
I said: ” O Gabriel, how long will these gates remain open?” He replied: “From the beginning of the night until the break of dawn.” Then he said: “0 Muhammad, tonight Allah has as many slaves emancipated from the Fire as the number of woolly hairs on the flocks and herds of Kalb.”
May Allah allow us to gain the full reward for the night and day of the 15th Shabaan, amin
Monday mornings are often quiet times at work but I thought I would quickly share you a pronouncement from the Vatican in the hope you will become a little more jovial. Those characters over at the Vatican and now stated that Islam has now overtaken Catholicism the world’s largest single religious denomination.
This pronouncement came on March 31st in The Times but I have just heard about it so I’m sure I’m not the only one who didn’t know
“For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us.” He said that figures for 2006 showed that Catholics accounted for 17.4 per cent of the world population while Muslims accounted for 19.2 per cent.
“While Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer”. He said the figure for the Muslim global population was derived from data submitted to the United Nations by Muslim countries.
However Christians as a whole, including Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and Anglicans make up 33 per cent of the world population. Mosnignor Formenti said Latin America remained “the stronghold” of Catholicism, and the American continent as a whole had nearly half the world’s total. He noted the decline in numbers of Catholic priests, and said the number of nuns was also suffering a “drastic reduction”.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad would be very happy to hear this news too as he said Allah ’s religion will spread around the world. Thauban (ra) reported that he said:
“Allah
May Allah bless this Ummah with strong Iman and yaqeen and make us of those who have good character. amin
Intensive Weekend Course taught entirely by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq entitled ‘Ramadhaan: From Dawn till Dawn’ at Azhar Academy, London on 8th & 9th August 2009.
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