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Allah Intends every Facility for you
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 21-02-2024

Allah Intends every Facility for you

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

Allah the Almighty has made fasting during the days of Ramadan, the month of goodness and blessings, an obligation and standing in prayer during its nights a voluntary act. It is a great month reflecting the essence of Islam, faith, forgiveness and redemption from Hellfire. In this month, morals ascend, and souls purify, rising above desires and trivial matters. The believing fasting person transcends worldly life with all its temptations and deceits.

 

Fasting is not just abstaining from food, drink, and desires, nor is it a burden of excessive hardship. Islam came to achieve human happiness and not to make things difficult for people beyond their capacity. Allah says in the Quran: "Ta, Ha. We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed." (Ta-Ha, 1-2). Fasting is a relationship with Allah filled with Ihsan (kindness), patience, and refinement. Allah says in the Quran regarding fasting: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship." (Al-Baqarah, 185).

 

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw one of his noble companions fasting excessively while traveling and not taking the concession to break the fast, he asked: "What is this?" They said, "He is fasting." So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "It is not righteousness to fast while traveling." (Sahih Muslim). Additionally, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that Hamzah ibn Amr al-Aslami asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying, "O Messenger of Allah, I am a man who fasts continually. Should I fast while traveling?" He (the Prophet) said: "Fast if you wish, and break your fast if you wish." (Sahih Muslim).

 

Narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would sometimes fast while traveling, and sometimes he would break his fast. So, those who broke their fast worked energetically, while those who fasted were weaker in their work. Upon seeing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The ones who have broken their fast today have gained the reward." (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim).

 

Indeed, the manifestations of ease in fasting are numerous, and its avenues are diverse. Allah, the Most High, said about fasting: "A limited number of days." (Al-Baqarah, 184). These limited days pass by quickly, but their rewards remain significant. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, except fasting. It is for Me, and I shall reward for it." (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim).

 

Indeed, among the manifestations of facilitation in fasting is that Allah, the Most High, obligated it upon those who are capable of fasting, while granting permission for the sick and travelers to break their fast during the days of Ramadan, with the requirement to make up for the missed days afterward. Allah says {What means}: "But if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days." (Al-Baqarah, 184). For those who are unable to make up for these days, Allah, the Most High, says {What means}: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (Al-Baqarah, 286). A Muslim should give expiation for each day missed, as stated by Allah: "But if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a poor person (for every day)." (Al-Baqarah, 184).

 

Among the manifestations of facilitation in fasting is that Allah, the Most High, overlooks the mistake of anyone who eats or drinks unintentionally while fasting, and He considers their fasting to be valid and accepted. It is a mercy from Allah and a form of sustenance provided by Him. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever eats or drinks forgetfully while fasting, let him complete his fast, for it was Allah who fed him and gave him drink." (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim). 

 

Additionally, the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) instructed Muslims to delay the pre-dawn meal (suhoor) and hasten the breaking of the fast (iftar), in compliance with the command of Allah, out of mercy for the Muslims, and to make it easier for them. The Prophet also discouraged continuous fasting without a break (wisaal) as it burdens the body and weakens one's strength. The purpose of fasting is to elevate the individual, purify their soul, and train them to obey Allah, not to exhaust or harm oneself. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "Partake in suhoor, for in suhoor, there is blessing." (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim). He also said: "People will remain in goodness as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast." (Transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim).

 

In conclusion, Islam is a realistic religion that considers facilitation and alleviation of hardship in its obligations and legislations. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for a woman in her menstrual period to recite from the Mus-haf (copy of the Quran ), or to recite by heart?

A menstruating woman is permitted neither to recite nor to touch the Quran according to what Ali Bin Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) reported about the Prophet (PBUH) who was only held from reciting the Holy Quran by Janabah (Major impurity) [Al-Tirmizi in a sound Hadith]. Although Janabah and menstruation are major impurities, a menstruating woman is permitted to supplicate Allah (Duaa`) and make Zikr (Tasbihat ), even if these involved saying words from the Holy Quran, provided that she does not mean the words for themselves but as a supplication, or Zikr. Moreover, she is rewarded for not reciting the Quran during her menstrual period because she abided by the injunctions of Allah.

What is the ruling on combining (jam‘) and shortening (qaṣr) prayers when travel is repeated on a daily basis?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
A traveler is permitted to avail himself of the concessions of shortening and combining prayers once the distance of his journey reaches (81 km) or more. This is on condition that his journey is a permissible one, and that he begins shortening and combining only after setting out and passing beyond the built-up limits of the city in which he resides, or beyond the administrative boundaries of the area where he lives.
Accordingly, if the distance between one's workplace and one's place of residence reaches the distance upon which the concession of combining and shortening depends, then combining and shortening are permissible once he leaves the built-up area, even if this travel is repeated on a daily basis.
Ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is permissible to combine Ẓuhr and ‘Aṣr, either as an early combination (taqdīm) in the time of the first, or as a delayed combination (ta'khīr) in the time of the second; and likewise Maghrib and ‘Ishā' — either early, in the time of the first, or delayed, in the time of the second — during a long, permissible journey, in following [the Prophet's practice]. As for the delayed combination, it is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from the ḥadīth of Anas and Ibn ‘Umar (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhum). As for the early combination, Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Bayhaqī graded it ṣaḥīḥ from the ḥadīth of Mu‘ādh, and at-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan." [Quoted with slight abridgment from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/p.529]
The conditions for combining and shortening have already been explained in Fatwa No. 14 and Fatwa No. 842. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on making up the regular *rawātib* (sunnah) prayers together with a missed obligatory prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is obligatory to make up (qaḍāʾ) a missed obligatory prayer (farḍ). As for the timed supererogatory prayers (al-sunan al-muʾaqqatah) or the regular rawātib prayers, it is recommended (mandūb) to make them up, even if a long time has passed. Ibn Ḥajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Fatāwā: "It is established in our school that it is sunnah to make up the timed voluntary prayers, by night or by day, even if congregation is not prescribed for them, whether much time has passed or little."
Accordingly, it is recommended to make up the sunan together with the obligatory prayer. And Allah Almighty knows best.
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Note on terminology: Al-nawāfil al-muʾaqqatah (timed voluntary prayers) refers to supererogatory prayers tied to a specific time or cause, such as the rawātib (regular prayers before and after the obligatory ones), Duha, and the like. The ruling given here reflects the Shāfiʿī position.

What is the validity of the formula for sending blessings upon our master Muḥammad ﷺ: *"Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ‘alā sayyidinā Muḥammad wa ‘alā ālihi, ‘adada kamāli-Llāhi wa kamā yalīqu bikamālihi"* ("O Allah, send blessings, peace, and grace upon our master Muḥammad and his family, by the number of Allah's perfection, and as befits His perfection")?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible to send blessings upon our master, the Prophet ﷺ, using the formula mentioned in the question, since sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ is an act of devotion legislated in its basic essence, without a specific prescribed wording required outside of the formal prayer itself. It is therefore valid to perform it outside of prayer using any formula. This particular formula involves multiplying the blessings sent upon the Chosen Prophet ﷺ to the number of the perfections of Allah, the Exalted — which are limitless — so that, by Allah's permission, its reward and benefit never cease.
The meaning of "the number of Allah's perfection" is that it is without limit, making the blessings sent boundless, corresponding to His perfection, Glorified is He, which cannot be enumerated or counted. This formula is analogous to the words of our Greatest Prophet ﷺ, as related in the authentic ḥadīth narrated by Imam Muslim: the Prophet ﷺ said to Sayyidah Juwayriyyah (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā): "Indeed, I said four phrases after you [left], three times, which, if weighed against everything you have said since this morning, would outweigh them: Subḥān Allāhi wa biḥamdihi, ‘adada khalqihi, wa riḍā nafsihi, wa zinata ‘arshihi, wa midāda kalimātihi" (Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him, by the number of His creation, by His pleasure, by the weight of His Throne, and by the extent of His words). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.