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The Road to Love
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 07-12-2021

 

 

All praise is for Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. May His Blessings and Peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad, his household and companions.

Servitude is the relationship between a servant and His Lord; it is based on hearing and obeying, following commands and avoiding prohibitions, as a servant can`t afford to disobey His Master.

A servant should improve his relationship with Allah The Almighty, so after believing in Him, His existence, His being the One and only God worthy of worship, and following His commands and avoiding His prohibitions, a servant is elevated to the rank of love; the love of Allah as well as the love for the sake of Allah. 

Through love, a servant attains perfect faith. Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him) said, "No one of you becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. The meaning of this Hadith is that none of you attains perfect faith, so if one desires good for others as he/she desires it for him/herself, he/she is elevated to the rank of perfect faith. This is for the servant to be pure of heart and soul towards others and be a force of good that illuminates the society and inspires its members to be good and loving.

Likewise, the fruit of loving Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is arriving at perfect faith. Anas reported God’s Messenger as saying: "None of you believes till I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all mankind." [Agreed upon]. This is because the Prophet (PBUH) is our door to Allah the Almighty. Consequently, there is no faith without believing in him (Prophet Mohammad) nor perfection of faith without loving Him (Blessings and peace be upon him), as he (PBUH) is the criterion of the existence of faith and its perfection.

Through love, a servant gets to taste the sweetness of faith. Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (PBUH) said: "There are three qualities whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of Iman: To love Allah and His Messenger (Blessings and peace be upon him) more than anyone else; to love a slave (of Allah) only for (the sake of) Allah; and to abhor returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would abhor to be thrown into the fire (of Hell)." [Agreed upon]. Through love, a believer harvests the sweetness of faith to transcend from the realm of intellectual proofs to the realm of the heart and feelings becoming an emotional state in which a person feels joy and never wants to exit.

The question, here, is how to get to the love of Allah The Almighty?

 

The love of Allah can be reached via reflecting, remembrance, following our master and teacher Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), offering voluntary acts of worship, quitting some qualities and embracing some. This can be summarized in the following:

 

First: Reflecting upon the blessings of Allah shows that He is Generous and, by natural inclination, man`s soul loves the generous. More reflecting would lead to realizing Allah`s greatness in His Creation and souls love the great. Equally, behind each attribute or name of Allah, there is a reason for loving Him.

 

Second: Remembrance of Allah. If you love something, you remember it constantly and Allah remembers those who remember Him. Abu Huraira reported God's Messenger as stating that God says, "I am with my servant when he remembers me and his lips move making mention of me." [Al-Bukhari]. Abu Huraira (May Allah Be Pleased with him): Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said: "Allah Said in the Qudsi Narration (What means): "I am to my slave as he thinks of Me, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him)." [Agreed upon].

 

Third: Following our master Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) for he is the door to Allah the Almighty. Allah Says (What means): "Say: "If ye do love God, Follow me: God will love you and forgive you your sins: For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Al-Imran/31]. Thus, following Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is amongst the key indications of loving Allah and attaining that.

 

Fourth: Performing as much Nawafil (Prayers or doing voluntary acts besides what is obligatory) as possible. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) said: "Allah The Exalted Says (What means): "I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (prayer or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) from Me, I give him, and if he asks My Protection (refuge), I protect him". [Al-Bukhari]. Thus, performing more Nawafil is a means to attain the love of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.

 

Fifth: Abandoning some qualities that Allah dislikes or dislikes those who have them: Transgression. He The Almighty Says (What means): "for God loveth not transgressors." [Al-Baqarah/190]. On Mischief, He The Almighty Says (What means): "But God loveth not mischief." [Al-Baqarah/205]. As well as, on Disbelief, He The Almighty Says (What means): "God loveth not those who reject Faith." [Al-Imran/32]. On Doing wrong, He, The Almighty Says (What means): "but God loveth not those who do wrong." [Al-Imran/57]. He The Almighty Says in transgression (What means): "surely God loves not one who is treacherous and sinful." [An-Nisa`/107]. Besides, He Says on Excessiveness (What means): "He truly does not love those who are excessive." [Al-`Araf/31].  And on Arrogance, He The Almighty, Says (What means): "Indeed He does not love the arrogant." [An-Nahil/23].

 

Sixth: Enjoying some qualities that bring a servant closer to the love of Allah. For example, Repentance. He The Most Exalted Says in this regard (What means): "Truly, God loves those who repent." [Al-Baqarah/222]. As regards God-fearing. He The Almighty Says (What means): "Nay, but whoever fulfils his covenant, and has fear, for truly God loves the God-fearing." [Al-Imran/76]. On Virtuousness, He The Almighty Says (What means): "And spend in the way of God; and cast not your own hands into destruction; but be virtuous; God loves the virtuous." {Al-Baqarah, 195}. On Cleanliness, physically and morally, He The Almighty Says (What means):  "and He loves those who cleanse themselves." [Al-Baqarah/222].  And on Fighting for Allah`s cause in ranks, He The Almighty Says (What means): "Indeed God loves those who fight for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure." [Al-Saff/4]. 

 

In conclusion, drawing closer to Allah can be achieved through following His straight path prescribed in the Quran and the Sunnah. This is in addition to gaining benefits of Godly love and moving from the level of obedience to loving obedience. Consequently, worship becomes his/her delight, desire and destination and, then, we will understand the words of the Prophet: "Declare that the time for prayer has come, Bilal, and give us rest by it." [Abu Dawood].

 

 

 

 

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on public street water if it gets on a person's clothes or body?

The default ruling is that public street water is pure (tahir). If one is certain of its impurity (najasa), then a small amount that gets on the lower part of a person's clothes or body is overlooked (excused). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on making up missed prayers during prohibited times?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to make up (qada’) missed prayers at any time, even during the periods when prayer is generally prohibited. The prayers that are forbidden and considered invalid during these times are 'absolute voluntary prayers' (nafl mutlaq)—which have no specific cause—and voluntary prayers whose cause follows the prayer itself, such as the Sunnah of entering Ihram or the Sunnah of the Istikharah prayer. Furthermore, no prayer is considered disliked (makruh) during these prohibited times when performed within the Meccan Sanctuary (Makkah al-Mukarramah).
 
It is stated in Bushra al-Karim (Vol.1/P.181), one of the Shafi’i texts: 'It is not forbidden to perform prayers that have a cause that is not delayed (i.e., the cause is preceding), such as making up a missed prayer (fa’itah)—even if it was a voluntary one—and the funeral prayer (janazah); or a cause that is simultaneous, such as the prayer for rain (istisqa’) or the eclipse prayer (kusuf)... and the Sunnah of wudu, the greeting of the mosque (tahiyyat al-masjid), the Sunnah of circumambulation (tawaf), the Sunnah of arrival, and the prostrations of recitation (tilawah) or thankfulness (shukr). These mentioned prayers and their like are not forbidden provided that one does not specifically intend (ta'ammud) to perform them during the disliked time because it is a disliked time. If one does so intentionally, it becomes forbidden, even if it is a mandatory makeup prayer that is due immediately; because in that case, one is acting in defiance of the Sharia. This is in contrast to when one does not specifically seek out that time, even if the prayer happens to fall within it, or if one seeks it for another purpose—such as delaying a funeral prayer to that time so that a larger number of people may pray over the deceased; in such cases, it is permissible and valid... And it is forbidden to perform prayers with no cause at all, like absolute nafl, or those with a delayed cause, such as the Istikharah prayer, the prayer for Ihram, the prayer for a need (hajah), the prayer before leaving the house, or the prayer before execution; because their causes occur after the prayer itself.' And Allah the Exalted knows best."

If a person enters a mosque and finds the congregation in the final tashahhud, which is more virtuous — joining them or waiting for a second congregation to catch the opening takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a worshipper finds a congregation that is about to finish its prayer, and he hopes to catch the entire prayer from the beginning with another congregation, it is more virtuous for him to pray with this first congregation and then repeat the prayer with the second one — provided he does not intend to confine himself to a single prayer. If, however, he intends to perform only one prayer, then it is more virtuous for him to wait for the second congregation rather than joining the first, so that he may attain the reward of congregational prayer for every single rakʿah.
Al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If members of a congregation enter the mosque while the imam is in the final tashahhud, al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn held that it is recommended for them to join him in prayer, and that they should not delay in order to form a second congregation. Al-Mutawallī, however, affirmed the opposite view, and al-Qāḍī's own statement elsewhere supports this latter position, which is the relied-upon view. In fact, it is more virtuous for a person who has missed part of the prayer with one congregation, and who hopes to catch another congregation with whom he can attain the entire prayer within its proper time, to delay so that he may catch it in full with them. This applies when he intends to confine himself to a single prayer; otherwise, it is more virtuous for him to pray with the first group and then repeat the prayer with the others." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol. 3/P.186] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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