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Values of Civilization in Islam (Pioneers of Values)
Author : Dr. Fadi Rabab`ah
Date Added : 11-08-2022

Values of Civilization in Islam (Pioneers of Values)

 

When addressing values, it is imperative to refer to the pioneers who have called for these values and implemented them in their daily practices. A fair researcher of the history of civilizations, sociology, and education would arrive at the conclusion that these pioneers are the Prophets (PBUT) since all of them have called for and had the same values. In fact, values are common denominators where there is no contradiction between a value called for by a Prophet and another. Therefore, you wouldn`t have a Prophet calling for truthfulness and another calling for the opposite.

 

We could divide values into the following: Values pertaining to the intellect, reason, and belief, such as rejecting myths, abandoning the worship of idols and creatures. Values pertaining to the purification of the self, cleansing of the hearts, the senses and dealing with others, the universe, life, and all that exists.

In addition to calling for the greatest value, which is The Oneness of Allah and moving from worshipping the created to worshipping the creator, the pioneers, the Prophets, have called for comprehensive values and were characterized by them, even before they were sent with the Divine Message.

 

They are both a mercy and a blessing from Almighty Allah Who sent them to address people in their own language and guide them to the right thing in religious and worldly matters.

 

An example of these values is showing mercy to people, feeling sympathy for them, and dealing with them humbly, in addition to serving them, admonishing them, guiding them, and enjoining kindness and forbidding iniquity in a general sense that encompasses all values of kindness.

 

Moreover, Prophets did this for no wealth or reward in return. Almighty Allah Says (What means): "And O my people! I ask you for no wealth in return: my reward is from none but God: But I will not drive away (in contempt) those who believe: for verily they are to meet their Lord, and ye I see are the ignorant ones!" [Hud/29].

 

For example, Prophet Noah (PBUH) spent fifty years, day and night, calling his people to worship Allah. He, The Almighty Says (What means): "We (once) sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them a thousand years less fifty: but the Deluge overwhelmed them while they (persisted in) sin." [Al-Ankabut/14]. Moreover, Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) called his people to abandon the worship of idols, planets, and stars. Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "We bestowed aforetime on Abraham his rectitude of conduct, and well were We acquainted with him. Behold! he said to his father and his people: "What are these images, to which ye are (so assiduously) devoted?" They said: "We found our fathers worshipping them." He said: "Indeed ye have been in manifest error - ye and your fathers." [Al-Anbiyaa`/ 51-54].

 

Furthermore, Prophet Yousef (PBUH) curbed his desires and didn`t fall for the temptation of the wife of the King of Egypt, because the latter had put his trust in him. Allah Says (What means): "But she in whose house he was, sought to seduce him from his (true) self: she fastened the doors, and said: "Now come, thou (dear one)!" He said: "God forbid! truly (thy husband) is my lord! he made my sojourn agreeable! truly to no good come those who do wrong!" And (with passion) did she desire him, and he would have desired her, but that he saw the evidence of his Lord: thus (did We order) that We might turn away from him (all) evil and shameful deeds: for he was one of Our servants, sincere and purified. So they both raced each other to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back: they both found her lord near the door. She said: "What is the (fitting) punishment for one who formed an evil design against thy wife, but prison or a grievous chastisement?" He said: "It was she that sought to seduce me - from my (true) self." And one of her household saw (this) and bore witness, (thus):- "If it be that his shirt is rent from the front, then is her tale true, and he is a liar." [Al-Qasas/23-26].

 

This is the situation of all the Prophets (PBUT) for they have called people to get out of the darkness of ignorance and vice to the light of knowledge and righteousness. Later on, Prophet Mohammad came as the Seal of all Messengers. He was known among his people, before being sent with the Message of Islam,  as the truthful and the trusted and of noble human values; some of which are reflected by the words of `Khadija (May Allah Be Pleased with her): "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones." [Al-Bukhari].

 

Prophets (PBUT) are the pioneers of values and the role model that should be followed. Almighty Allah Says (What means): "Those were the (prophets) who received God’s guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations." [Al`Ana`am/90]. He also Says (What means): "Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of God." [Al-Ahzab/21].

 

These values, embodied in the life and manners of the Prophets, suffice to raise the status of nations and be a measuring stick for the progress of human civilization. Indeed, nations prevail as long as they preserve their morals. If their morals are gone, they perish.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

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.

What is the ruling on forgiving a tenant next month's rent, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh al-māl?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It does not fulfill the obligation to count the rent owed on a house, or a portion of it, in lieu of zakāh. Rather, it is necessary to first transfer ownership of the zakāh amount to the poor person directly; only afterward may he be asked to pay the rent [from that money].
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 112): "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]."
We would also remind [the reader] of the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ: "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he does not wrong him, nor does he abandon him [to harm]. Whoever attends to the needs of his brother, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will attend to his needs. Whoever relieves a Muslim of a hardship, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will relieve him of one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal him on the Day of Resurrection." (Agreed upon). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

How is the beginning of Ramadan determined?

1. Completing 30 days of Sha‘ban, or
2. Sighting the crescent moon after sunset on the 29th day of Sha‘ban.
It is Sunnah to search for the moon, and it is obligatory to follow the official authorities responsible for announcing it.

What is the ruling on performing the Duha (forenoon) prayer before its time has begun, because I go to school early in the morning?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The Duha (forenoon) prayer is not valid if performed before its time has begun. Its time starts when the sun has risen to a noticeable height, that is, approximately fifteen minutes after sunrise, and it ends when the sun reaches its zenith (zawāl), shortly before the Dhuhr (noon) prayer. It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (Vol.1/p.455): “Its time is from the rising of the sun [to a spear’s height] until the zenith.”
Accordingly, the Duha prayer is not valid if offered before the sun has risen, and its time remains open until just before Dhuhr. It may be performed at any time at school, during the break between classes or during recess. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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