Liver of Fish the first food of the people of Paradise.

Q. Why is liver of fish considered as the first food in heaven? it is said to purify our stomach in heaven this is done, is this true?.

A. Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that the first food offered to welcome the people of Paradise when they enter it will be “the caudate lobe of whale liver”. That is mentioned in the hadeeth of Thawbaan, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), according to which one of the Jewish rabbis came to ask the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about some matters to test him.

In the hadeeth it says:

The Jewish man said: What will be presented to them first when they enter Paradise?
He said: “Caudate lobe of whale liver.”
He said: What food will be given to them after that?
He said: “The bull of Paradise, which used to graze along its edges, will be slaughtered for them.”
He said: What will their drink be?
He said: “From a spring there that is called Salsabeel.” …
Narrated by Muslim, 315

Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The words “What will be presented to them” refer to that with which a man is welcomed.
Ibraaheem al-Halabi said: It is usually good quality fruits.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 3/227

He also said:
This refers to a whale, according to scholarly consensus… As for the caudate lobe of the liver, this is a separate piece that is attached to the liver and it is the best part of it.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 17/135-136

That is also proven in other saheeh hadeeths in as-Saheehayn and as-Sunan. We quoted this particular hadeeth because of what it contains of differentiating between the first food presented to the people of Paradise, which is the caudate lobe of fish liver, and the food that they will eat after that, which is the meat of the “bull of Paradise”.

Secondly:

We could not find anything to indicate the wisdom behind the caudate lobe of whale liver being the first food presented to the people of Paradise, but we believe that Allah’s wisdom is great and that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the All-Knowing, Most Wise, and that He said of Himself (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they (in any matter). Glorified be Allah, and exalted above all that they associate as partners (with Him)”
[al-Qasas 28:68].

That should not prevent some of the scholars from trying to see the wisdom behind the choice of the caudate lobe of whale liver in particular. Some of them said that this is an indication of the end of this world, which is a transient abode, and moving to Paradise, which is an eternal abode, because the fish or whale is an aquatic animal which is indicative of the essence of life on earth, and the bull is a land animal which is indicative of tilling the soil and earning a living, so the people of Paradise are given these two things to eat to signal the end of this world and the beginning of the Hereafter.
 See: Rooh al-Ma‘aani by al-Aloosi, 7/94

Thirdly:

With regard to the benefits of the caudate lobe of fish liver, they are many, as has been discussed by doctors and nutrition specialists. Among these benefits are: lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood, reducing fat in the body, and lessening joint pain. It is also rich in vitamin D which has many benefits.

For more information on that, refer to specialist references in that field.

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/cat/226/ref/islamqa/169491

Ruling on amulets and hanging them up

Q. Do amulets ward off the evil eye and hasad (envy)? ... i found in al-muwatta that theres hadiths allowing some sorts of talisans, and even kitabu tawheed mentioned some salafs allowed it. The hadiths can be found in al-muwatta, volume 50, hadiths 4, 11 and 14.

A.Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly, we could not find the ahaadeeth whose soundness the questioner asked about, because we do not know the text of those ahaadeeth. He said that they were in volume 50 of al-Muwatta’, but al-Muwatta’ is only one volume.

Hence we will quote what we are able to of the ahaadeeth that have been narrated on this topic, and we will explain – in sha Allaah – the rulings of the scholars on them. Hopefully some of this will be what the questioner is looking for.

1.                 It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 

“The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) disliked ten things: Yellow colouring, meaning khalooq (a perfume made from saffron), dyeing grey hair, trailing the lower garment, wearing a gold ring, throwing dice, a woman adorning herself before people who are not her mahrams, using spells (ruqyah) except with the Mu'awwidhatan, wearing amulets, coitus interruptus, and having intercourse with a woman who is breastfeeding a child; but he did not declare them to be prohibited.” 

(Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 50880; Abu Dawood, 4222) 

“having intercourse with a woman who is breastfeeding a child” means, if she becomes pregnant this will harm the child who is breastfeeding. 

This hadeeth was classed as da’eef (weak) by al-Albaani in Da’eef al-Nasaa’i, 3075) 

2.                 It was narrated from Zaynab the wife of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood from ‘Abd-Allaah that he said: 

“I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Spells (ruqyah), amulets and love-charms are shirk.” I said, “Why do you say this? By Allaah, my eye was weeping with a discharge and I kept going to So and so, the Jew, who did a spell for me. When he did the spell, it calmed down.” ‘Abd-Allaah said: “That was just the work of the Shaytaan who was picking it with his hand, and when (the Jew) uttered the spell, he stopped. All you needed to do was to say as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: ‘Adhhib il-ba’s Rabb al-naas ishfi anta al-Shaafi laa shifaa’a illa shifaa’uka shifaa’an laa yughaadiru saqaman (Remove the harm, O Lord of mankind, and heal, You are the Healer. There is no healing but Your healing, a healing which leaves no disease behind.’” 

(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3883; Ibn Maajah, 3530) 

This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 331 and 2972. 

3.                 It was narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah not fulfil his need, and whoever wears a sea-shell, may Allaah not give him peace.” 

(Narrated by Ahmad, 16951) 

This hadeeth was classed as da’eef by Shaykh al-Albaani in Da’eef al-Jaami’, 5703. 

4.                 It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani that a group came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [to swear their allegiance (bay’ah) to him]. He accepted the bay’ah of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you accepted the bay’ah of nine but not of this one.” He said, “He is wearing an amulet.” The man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) accepted his bay’ah. He said, ‘Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk.” 

(Narrated by Ahmad, 16969)  

This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 492.  

Secondly: Amulets (tameemah, pl. tamaa’im) are things made from pearls or bones that are worn on the necks of children or adults, or are hung up in houses or cars, in order to ward off evil – especially the evil eye – or to bring some benefits.  

These are the comments of the scholars on the various kinds of amulets and the rulings on each kind. These comments contain important and useful points. 

1.   Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab said: 

“Know that the scholars among the Sahaabah and Taabi’een and those who came after them differed as to whether it is permissible to hang up amulets which only contain words from the Qur’aan or names and attributes of Allaah. 

One group said that this is permissible. This was the view of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas and others. This is the apparent meaning of the report narrated from ‘Aa’ishah and it was the view of Abu Ja’far al-Baaqir and Ahmad, according to one report. They interpreted the hadeeth as referring to amulets which involve shirk; with regard to those which contain words from the Qur’aan or the names and attributes of Allaah, then they are like ruqyah which uses the same words. 

I say, this appears to be the view of Ibn al-Qayyim. 

Another group said that this is not permissible. This was the view of Ibn Mas’ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas, and is the apparent meaning of the view of Hudhayfah, ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir and Ibn ‘Akeem (may Allaah be pleased with him). This was also the view of a group of the Taabi’een, including the companions of Ibn Mas’ood and Ahmad, according to one report which was chosen by most of his companions. It was also the view of the later scholars, who quoted this and similar ahaadeeth as evidence. The apparent meaning is that it is general in application and does not differentiate between amulets which contain Qur’aan and amulets which contain other things, unlike ruqyah where there is a differentiation. This is supported by the fact that the Sahaabah who narrated the hadeeth understood it to be general in meaning, as was quoted above from Ibn Mas’ood. 

Abu Dawood narrated that ‘Eesa ibn Hamzah said: “I entered upon ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Akeem and his face was red due to high fever. I said, ‘Why don’t you hang up an amulet?’ He said, ‘We seek refuge with Allaah from that. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever hangs up anything will be entrusted to its care…”’” 

This scholarly difference was concerning hanging up amulets which contain Qur’aan or names and attributes of Allaah, so what do you think about the things which were innovated later on, doing spells (ruqyah) using the names of shayaateen (devils) and others and hanging them up, and even being attached to those shayaateen, seeking refuge in them, slaughtering animals for them, asking them to ward off harm and bring benefits – actions which are pure shirk? This is prevalent among many of the people, except for those whom Allaah keeps safe and sound. Think about what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said and what was the practice of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, and what the scholars after them mentioned on this topic and others. Then look at what happened in the later generations. It will become clear to you what the religion of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is, and how it has now become alienated in all ways. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek. 

(Tayseer al-‘Azeez al-Hameed, p. 136-138) 

2.   Shaykh Haafiz Hukami said: 

If they – i.e., amulets – contain clearly-written Qur’aanic verses or saheeh ahaadeeth, there was some dispute among the salaf – the Sahaabah, the Taabi’een and those who followed them – as to whether they are permissible. 

Some of them – i.e., some of the Salaf – said that this was permissible. This was narrated from ‘Aaishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, and others among the salaf. 

Some of them said that this was not allowed; they regarded it is makrooh and not permitted. They include ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Akeem, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood and his companions such as al-Aswad and ‘Alqamah, and those who came after them such as Ibraaheem al-Nakha’i and others – may Allaah have mercy on them. 

Undoubtedly not allowing that is a safer precaution to prevent means that lead to wrong beliefs, especially in our own times. If most of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een regarded it as makrooh in those noble times when the faith in their hearts was greater than a mountain, then regarding it as makrooh in these times of trials and tribulations is more appropriate and is more on the safe side. So how about when this concession has led people to things which are purely haraam and they have made it a means to those things? For example, they make amulets for seeking refuge, on which they write an aayah or soorah or the phrase “Bismillaah ir-Rahmaan ir-Raheem (In the name of Allaah, the most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then underneath it they put some devilish mumbo-jumbo, the meaning of which no one knows exceptpt one who has read their books. Or they divert the hearts of the common folk from putting their trust in Allaah and make them dependent on the things that they have written, and most of them frighten the people, before anything even happens to them. One of them will come to the person whom he wants to trick out of his money, knowing that the person is relying on him and trusts him, and he says: “Such and such is going to happen to your family or your wealth or to you,” Or he says, “You have a qareen (constant companion) from among the jinn,” or the like, and he describes things to him and and tells him things about himself that the Shaytaan whispers to him, to make him think that he has true insight and that he cares about him and wants to bring him some benefit. 

When the heart of the ignorant fool is filled with fear of what has been described to him, he turns away from his Lord and turns to this charlatan with all his heart and soul; he puts his trust in him and relies on him instead of Allaah, and says to him, “What is the way out from the things that you have described? What is the means of warding them off?” It is as if he (the charlatan) has control over benefit and harm, at which point his hopes are raised and he becomes more greedy, wondering how much he will be able to take. So he tells him, “If you give me such and such, I will write an amulet for that which will be this long and this wide” – he describes it and speaks to him in a nice manner. Then he hangs up this amulet to protect him from such and such diseases. 

Do you think, after all that we have mentioned, that this belief is a form of minor shirk? No way; it means that one is taking as one’s god someone other than Allaah, putting one's trust in someone other than Him, turning to someone other than Him, relying on the deeds of created beings and trying to divert people from their religion. Can the Shaytaan do any of these tricks except with the help of his devilish brethren among mankind? 

“Say: ‘Who can guard and protect you in the night or in the day from the (punishment of the) Most Gracious (Allaah)?’ Nay, but they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord”

[al-Anbiyaa’ 21:42 – interpretation of the meaning] 

Then along with the devilish mumbo-jumbo, he writes on the amulet something from the Qur’aan, and hangs it up when he is not taahir (in a state of purity), when he is in a state of minor or major impurity, and he never shows any respect towards it or keeps it away from other things. By Allaah, none of the enemies of Allaah have treated His Book with as much contempt as these heretics who claim to be Muslims. By Allaah, the Qur’aan was revealed to be recited and followed, for its commandments to be obeyed and its prohibitions heeded, for its information to be believed and its limits to be adhered to, for its parables and stories to serve as lessons, and for it to be believed in.

“… the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord…”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:7 – interpretation of the meaning] 

But these people have ignored all of that and cast it behind their backs; they have merely memorized a few words in order to earn their living from them, like any other means of earning a living that enables them to do haraam things, not things which are permitted. If a king or a governor wrote a letter to his subordinate, telling him to so such and such and not to do such and such, commanding the people in your city to do such and such and forbidding them to do such and such, etc., and he took that letter and did not read it or think about its instructions, and he did not convey that to those to whom he was commanded to convey it, but instead he took it and hung it around his neck or his arm, and did not pay any attention at all to what was in it, the king would punish him severely for that. So how about that which was revealed from the Compeller of the heavens and the earth, Who has the highest description in the heavens and on earth, to Whom is all praise in the beginning and at the end, to Whom all things return, so worship Him and put your trust in Him, He is sufficient for me, there is no god but He, in Him I put my trust and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne. And if they (amulets) contain anything but the two revelations (i.e., Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah) then this is shirk without a doubt, and is more akin to the azlaam (arrows used during the jaahiliyyah for seeking luck or help in decision making) in being far-removed from the characteristics of Islam. 

If they (amulets) contain anything other than the two revelations and instead contain mumbo-jumbo from the Jews or worshippers of the temple, stars or angels, or those who use the services of the jinn, etc., or they are made of pearls, strings, iron rings, etc., then this is shirk, i.e., hanging them up or wearing them is shirk, beyond a doubt, because they are not among the permissible means or known forms of treating disease. It is simply a belief that they will ward off such and such a problem or pain because of their so-called special features. This is like the belief of idol-worshippers concerning their idols, and they are like the azlaam (arrows) which the people of the jaahiliyyah used to take everywhere with them and consult whenever they had to make a decision. These were three arrows, on the first of which was written ‘Do’, on the second ‘Do not do’ and on the third ‘Try again.’ If the person picked out the one which said ‘Do’, he would go ahead and do that thing; if it said, ‘Do not do’, he would not do it, and if it said, ‘Try again,’ he would consult them again. Instead of this, Allaah – to Whom be praise – has given us something better, which is the prayer of Istikhaarah. 

In conclusion, these amulets which do not contain Qur’aan or Sunnah are just like the azlaam in that they involve corrupt beliefs and go against the sharee’ah and are far-removed from the characteristics of Islam. Those who believe in pure Tawheed keep as far away as possible from such things. The faith in their hearts is too great to permit anything of this sort to enter their hearts. Their status is too high and their certainty of faith is too strong for them to put their trust in anyone other than Allaah or to seek the protection of anyone other than Him. And Allaah is the Source of strength. 

(Ma’aarij al-Qubool, 2/510-512) 

The view that amulets are not allowed even if they contain words from the Qur’aan is the view of our shaykhs: 

3.    The scholars of the Standing Committee said: 

The scholars are agreed that it is haraam to wear amulets if they contain anything other than Qur’aan, but they differed concerning those which do contain Qur’aan. Some of them said that wearing these is permitted, and others said that it is not permitted. The view that it is not permitted is more likely to be correct because of the general meaning of the ahaadeeth, and in order to prevent means of shirk. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood. 

(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/212) 

4.   Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

This misguidance is still widespread among the Bedouin, fellahin (peasants) and some of the city-dwellers. Examples include the pearls which some drivers put in theirmisguidance is still widespread among the Bedouin, fellahin (peasants) and some of the city-dwellers. Examples include the pearls which some drivers put in their cars, hanging them from the rear-view mirror. Some of them hang an old shoe on the front or back of the car; some hang a horse-shoe on the front of their house or shop. All of that is to ward off the evil eye, or so they claim. And there are other things which are widespread because of ignorance of Tawheed and the things which nullify it such as actions of shirk and idolatry which the Messengers were only sent and the Books were only revealed to put an end to. It is to Allaah that we complain of the ignorance of Muslims nowadays, and their being far away from their religion. 

(Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Saheehah, 1/890, 492) 

And Allaah knows best

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/10543

ar - en - es - fr - ja - id - tr - hi

Concise commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari

Q. I am asking about commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari. I want to find the easiest book of commentary on al-Saheeh, concise and easy for one who is not a seeker of knowledge (Taalib ‘ilm).

A. Praise be to Allaah.

The commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari are many and varied. For the most part they are written for specialists and are difficult to understand for those who are not specialized in the study of shar’i sciences. The reason for that it is that it is difficult to understand the way in which al-Bukhaari compiled his Saheeh, because he often paid attention to the number of isnaads and he repeated hadeeths and included many chapter headings, which may confuse both the ordinary reader and the scholar.  

Hence the great scholar Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Lateef al-Zubaydi (893 AH) summarized Saheeh al-Bukhaari, omitting repeated isnaads and reports, and he called his summary al-Tajreed al-Sareeh li Ahaadeeth al-Jaami’ al-Saheeh. This has been printed in an edition edited by Ibraaheem Barakah, with a brief commentary on these ahaadeeth. 

If a non-specialist wants to read Saheeh al-Bukhaari, he should read al-Zubaydi’s abridgement of it, and then try to understand the ahaadeeth in it by means of various commentaries, among the easiest of which are the following: 

1. I’laam al-Sunan by al-‘Allaamah al-Khattaabi (388 AH), which is a brief commentary on the Saheeh. 
2. Haashiyat al-‘Allaamah al-Sindi ‘ala Saheeh al-Bukhaari, which is a very brief but beneficial commentary.
3. ‘Awn al-Baari Sharh Tajreed al-Sareeh by Siddeeq Hasan Khan (1307 AH), which is a commentary on al-Zubaydi’s abridgement, which he based on Fath al-Baari, so it is like a summary thereof. 

These commentaries are amongst the shortest and easiest commentaries on al-Saheeh. They deal with the meanings of the words and expressions used, and the meanings of the hadeeth, and they do not deal with the isnaads and problematic issues and subtleties. They are not difficult to read for most people, although they sometimes indulge in discussing some linguistic details and so on. The reader should overlook whatever he finds difficult to understand. 

But it is the best of these commentaries for the non-specialist, and he can also make use of some verbal commentaries on these books, such as that by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) on al-Saheeh, and the commentary of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr (may Allaah preserve him) on the abridgment by al-Zubaydi. 

We ask Allaah to make the book easy for the ordinary Muslim who reads it, and to benefit more people by means of it. 

For more information on Saheeh al-Imam al-Bukhaari and its author, please see questions no. 20153 and 21523. 

And Allaah knows best.

 

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/105655

Reward for memorizing Qur’aan

Q. What is the reward for becoming a Haafiz?

A. Praise be to Allaah.  

Whoever memorizes Qur’aan and acts upon it, Allaah will reward him and honour him greatly for that, so that he will rise in status in Paradise to a level commensurate with what he memorized of the Book of Allaah.

Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 5/218, no. 2240, after which he said:
Note that what is meant by the “companion of the Qur’aan” is the one who memorizes it by heart, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The one who knows more Qur’aan should lead the people in prayer,” meaning the one who has memorized the most.  The differentiation in status in Paradise will depend on how much was memorized in this world, not how much one will recite on that day as some people imagine. This clearly points to the virtue of the hafiz who has memorized the Qur’aan, but that is subject to the condition that he memorizes it for the sake of Allaah, not for worldly purposes or financial gain. Otherwise the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Most of the hypocrites of my ummah are among those who have memorized Qur’aan.”

Concerning the virtue of the hafiz who memorizes the Qur’aan, al-Bukhaari (4937) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of the one who reads Qur’aan and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have two rewards.”
For the hafiz who has memorized the Qur’aan, praying qiyaam al-layl is easy. And the Qur’aan will intercede for him on the Day of Resurrection, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fasting and the Qur’aan will intercede for a person on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say, ‘O Lord, I deprived him of food and desires during the day, so let me intercede for him.’ The Qur’aan will say, ‘O Lord I deprived him of his sleep at night, so let me intercede for him.’ Then they will both intercede for him.” Narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabaraani and al-Haakim; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 3882
And Allaah knows best.

It should be noted here that there is a weak (da’eef) hadeeth that is quoted concerning the virtue of memorizing Qur’aan. This hadeeth says, “The bearer of the Qur’aan, if he regards what it permits as halaal and what it forbids as haraam, he will intercede for ten of his family members on the Day of Resurrection, all of whom deserved to enter Hell.” This was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Eemaan (The Branches of Faith) from Jaabir; it was classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in Da’eef al-Jaami’.

Islam Q&A
Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/20803