man divorcing his wife for no reason....

Question to : Sheikh Zayd ibn Muhammad al-Madkhalee
Does a man sin for divorcing his wife for no reason?

Bismillaah,

Question: Does the husband incur sin if he divorces his wife for no reason?

Sheikh Zayd ibn Muhammad al-Madkhalee, may Allaah preserve him, says: The reason behind him divorcing her must be looked into. If he has a valid excuse for why he divorced her, then there is no problem (in him doing so).

However, if he mistreated her and divorced her for no reason whatsoever, she doesn't have any (outstanding) flaws in her manners or physical makeup or any offense transpired on her behalf, then there is no doubt that he sins.

Because he treated her wrongly and probably she has no family hence becoming a victim of poverty and destitution. So it is upon the men to fear Allaah.

The marital life of the believing men and women is connected (i.e. between them in this worldly life and the next). The wife of a slave in this world will be his wife in Paradise in the highest degree of beauty and perfection, more superior than the hoor al- 'eeyn due to her prayers, fasting and belief in Allaah.

So it is upon the Muslim to be very diligent (upon holding onto his wife) if Allaah facilitates for him a woman from amongst the people of Tawheed, prayer and fasting.

And if certain things occur from her of crookedness or mistakes, then he corrects them to the best of his ability. (And know!) That there isn't any person except that they have faults and are prone to make mistakes. However sticking to and applying patience is (from) the mannerisms of the Mu'mineen..... Na’m.

The reader of the question states: He's (also) asking about the statement of The Most High: But if you intend to replace a wife with another.... 4:20?

The Sheikh says: Na'm if he wants to however because of a reason. It isn't intended for the man to change (i.e. divorce) his wife who he has taken care of and lived with for sometime except because of a reason that forces him to divorce (her). (If that is the case) then there isn't anything wrong with it.

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Source: http://z-salafi.com/v2/action?s_menu=23&idFatwa=2785


Translator: Abu Fouzaan Qaasim

from a revert to islaam

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim


Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah


I am a revert to Islam. Over the years, people have asked me hundreds of times why I converted to Islam. Did I covert to please a husband? No. Did I convert after hearing a particularly moving sermon? No. I converted out of conviction after studying Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Perhaps it's the German in me, but I appreciate the logical consistency of Islam. Since the creation of the first man, Adam, peace be upon him, Islam has always taught the same simple unequivocal message of tauheed, belief in the Oneness of God. It's a simple message, but profound.

But Christians believe in one God also, don't they? Christianity and Judaism are considered to be monotheistic religions, right? Well, they may be called that, but Christians fell into idol worship when they decided to treat Jesus, peace be upon him, as a deity rather than what he was, a prophet of God.

Here's what I think when I consider the mental gymnastics required for a Christian to believe, at the same time, that God is One and that God is Three - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I would have less trouble understanding that people believe this if they had believed it from the very beginning. If God had created Adam and Eve and had said "I AM THREE" in a booming metaphysical voice, if He had revealed that to Noah and Abraham and Lot and Moses and the rest, then I would say, okay, I don't believe that, but at least it's consistent.

When God created mankind, He communicated clearly the teaching that He was the only God. No one else shared the Godhood with Him. He was "a jealous God". "Thou shalt have no other God before Me" is one of the Ten Commandments. The declaration of faith of the Jews, the Schma, declares "Hear O Israel, the Lord Thy God, the Lord is One". It is a simple lesson reinforced throughout the entire Torah and other books of what became the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament. No person who reads it can make any mistake; God is One.

Ages of mankind have taught this message, tauheed, until someone came and spoke a different message. Did Jesus, peace be upon him, bring a new math to mankind? No. Indeed, he never wavered from reinforcing the message of tauheed. There are too many verses to quote here, but I defy anyone to find one where Jesus said he was God. Nor did anyone who witnessed his prophethood call him a god - they referred to him as a prophet or a Rabbi, but at no time did the Jews of Palestine try to elevate him to the position of deity. This process was started later by Paul (formerly Saul) of Tarsus, a Roman Jew steeped in the mythology of his pagan surroundings. The concept of Trinity was introduced and became entrenched among some over time, though not until the Council of Nicea almost four hundred years later did belief in Jesus' divinity become a tenet of the faith.

The details of all this are online and in dusty libraries for those who wish to search. Having considered this information, here's what strikes me. Bear with me because this is kind of stream-of-consciousness so I may ramble a bit.

Okay, God is God, right? As such, He created and sustains the universe. One of His creations is time. Time? Yes, time. Time is a created thing. Hard to grasp, but true. Some wag once said time is the universe's way of making sure everything doesn't happen at once. Funny, but there's an element of truth in that only for us humans. God, on the other hand, being the Creator of time and Master of it, is not bound by time. What does that mean? That means that it is meaningless to use the terms past, present, and future when you are talking of things happening from God's point of view. For God, the beginning of creation is as immediate as today, and as immediate as Judgment Day. He is separate from His creation and is not bound by the rules he put in motion to control our universe and whatever lies beyond it. Yes I know it's kind of a brain twister, but if God were a slave of time, then He wouldn't be God, would He?

Now that we have determined this, it makes it completely impossible to understand why He would allow an inconsistent message to be taught by His prophets over time. From God's point of view, if I may be so bold as to put myself in His realm, Adam and Moses and Abraham and Jesus and Muhammad are all contemporaneous. We see this on a practical level in Islam when God sent Muhammad to the heavens on the night of the Israa and Miraaj. He took Muhammad to a place out of time as we normally understand it, where he met the prophets of previous ages. Think of them, all at the same "place and time" in the heavens. Especially consider Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, for instance. Moses was taught "God is One", Muhammad was taught "God is One". So does Jesus stand there in the presence of his fellow prophets and say, "Uh, yeah, about that. There's been a bit of a mixup, you see. God USED to be one, but then I came along and now He's three. Why not two? Well, uh, there's this other entity, the Holy Ghost. I don't know much about him, but apparently he's God, too." Now, I don't mean to put words in the mouths of prophets of God and mean no disrespect, but can you see the logical fallacy of this situation? Even if you don't believe in the Israa and Miraaj, if you believe in the Day of Judgment you do comprehend a time when every human who has ever lived will be brought back to life and will stand together.

Imagine Judgment Day. Some poor shmoe who was born in, say 1200 CE is standing there, and he is finding out that he's going to hell because he did not believe Jesus Christ was God. "But, but, that guy", he stammers, pointing at Abraham, or Moses, or Adam, or Noah, "that guy believes there is only One God." "Ah, but he was born before Jesus' time" he is informed, and thus falls under the Old Testament guidelines. So this poor man is doomed to the hellfire for believing the exact same thing as all the prophets of old, only for believing it at the wrong time. How much sense does this make?

So you see, time undoes this argument for believing Jesus is God. It's not the only evidence, to be sure. There actually is no evidence that I see to believe Jesus is God, but this particular paradox strikes me, perhaps because I've watched a lot of programs on the Discovery Channel, or because I like to read books on quantum physics (yes, I'm a nerd), or just because it offends my logical German sensibilities. A truth must be a truth, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, else we cannot rely on it. The consistent truth of the matter is that God is One. That is the message revealed by God from Adam to Muhammad, peace and blessings be on all the prophets and messengers of God. If you don't believe it, go back and study. Study with an open skeptical mind without preconceived ideas and memories of what some preacher told you was in the Bible. Read all the Bibles out there and marvel at what verses are being expunged nowadays by Christian scholars as being interpolations. Then go read the Qur'an, and talk to Muslims about what you read, because it requires context. But don't just sit there in your pews and mindlessly mouth "God is Three" without understanding and think to yourself that his is just a mystery of your faith. The fundamentals of your faith shouldn't be a mystery; they should be clear. As clear as 1 = 1.

Fi Aman Allah,

Nancy

Sheikh Saleem Al Hilalee Speaks Concerning The Affairs of the Dawah as-Salafiyyah and the Contemporary False Claimants to Knowledge and their Meddling

Bismillaahi walhamdulillaah wassalaatu wassalaamu 'alaa rasool Allaah. Wa ba'd

This is transcribed word-for-word from a tape of one of Shaykh Saleem al-Hilaalee's hadeeth classes during last year's Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah Seminar in Brooklyn, NY.

Shaykh Saleem hafidhahullaah said, "Another matter which must be paid attention to is that we have some youth, some young men who we don't doubt their sincerity but we doubt their way, or we have a problem with their way or their method. And there are these individuals who gather the mistakes of a student of knowledge or a caller to this da'wah. (They) gather every mistake that he will make or that they find him making, and then call the mashaa'ikh and tell them of these mistakes."

The Shaykh hafidhahullaah says, "This is an evil way," and that, "those individuals," like he said once again, he "doesn't doubt their sincerity but this method that they're using is incorrect and it is harming the brotherhood and is turning the hearts against one another amongst those who have knowledge and amongst the general masses. And it's an evil way," he said. "It is an evil way," and that, "they should fear Allaah tabaaraka wata'aalaa."
"No sooner than they see a mistake," then he said, "they pick up the phone and the call Shaykh Rabee' or they call Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Jaabiree or they call someone else like this after they have collected them- these mistakes."

He said, "They should fear Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa and know that Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa is aware of them and know that Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa sees them and that this is an incorrect matter, an incorrect issue to do," that "this is a wrong way of going about the issues."

He says, "And there are those amongst them who would describe everything that someone does as hizbiyyah. A group or brothers gather in a room and discuss a matter- that's hizbiyyah. A group or brothers are involved in something that they agree upon- that's hizbiyyah. Everything's hizbiyyah." He said, "This is, this is an incorrect way of understanding the issue. This is an incorrect way of understanding the issue. Some of them want us to gather around one scholar and every viewpoint that that scholar has- we have. And that every position that he takes- we take."

He said, "You should know that salafiyyah is larger than that. Salafiyyah is greater than that. Salafiyyah cannot be contained by one school or one society or one group. And this should be understood," he said. "This should be clearly understood that this is a serious matter that must be understood because it is creating so much confusion in the minds and separating the hearts and creating horrible matters."

"Another issue that they do is take these… these matters after they have collected these faults and relay situations outside of their circumstances. Getting a fatwaa from a shaykh because the shaykh will only answer according to what he understood. And so he will answer them in a manner that they intend it to be answered. For, they are looking for a particular fatwaa that they are trying to find. They are looking for a particular fatwaa that they are trying to find. There are some issues," he said, "there are many issues, you cannot give a proper fatwaa unless you understand the detailed circumstances surrounding the issue and this is something that they don't convey. This is something that they don't convey."

He also said about the... this issue is that, "A student of knowledge may make some mistakes or may have some doubt or something of this nature." He said, "This is something that we are to give time for or give consideration for. For, we are supposed to show concern for our brothers. And we are sure to consider our brothers like... if we lose one of our brothers like we have lost a part of our body. Like a part of our body has been cut off if we lose one of our brothers. So we are... we are supposed to be concerned about our brothers and we don't want our brothers to go astray and we don't want our brothers to leave this da'wah. So we have to show concern about them."

He says, "This is an important matter that must be understood. It must be a matter of taqwaa. These individuals who are doing these types of matters must understand that Allaah sees them. Must understand that Allaahu tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa is aware of what they're doing. Must understand that the Prophet sallaalllaahu 'alayhi wasallaam said, 'He who follows the faults of the people and exposes them, that Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa will follow his faults and expose him even in the middle of his house. Even in the middle of his house.' So he should await the exposing of Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa. One cannot run from the punishment of Allaah. Do we not know Allaah tabaaraka wata'alaa sees what we do? Do we not know that there's no word that we will say except that it's written? That Allaah tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa says 'He does not say a word except that it is written'?"

"Also it should be understood that this da'wah or salafiyyah is based upon evidences. And that if there's a student of knowledge who does not agree with the position of a particular scholar because the evidences are not solid enough for him or have not convinced him, then this is something permissible- to make tarjeeh. To listen to this one and listen to that one and say, 'well, this one has evidences and I take that.' Not that he blind-follows an individual and agrees with an individual on every statement an individual says about every man on earth or every group on earth." He said, "This is something that we should understand."

He said, "And this matter of another thing that should be avoided is the matter of listening to everyone who calls... the Imaam of the science of hadeeth, the reviver of the science of hadeeth, the Imaam of Jarh and Ta'deel of this time, Shaikh Naasir ud-Deen al-Albaanee, rahimahullaah, if someone would call him asking about a person he would say, 'I can't answer you. If I knew you, I would answer you - If I knew you, I would answer you.' So his position was a matter of not talking to individuals unless he knew them. It's not that he would hear from all around the world someone talking about something and doesn't even know who this individual is. And this individual is making remarks about an individual who has supported the da'wah and has called to salafiyyah and called to that which is correct for many years and that we would listen to their words or accept it. This was not the way of the Imaam of Jarh wat-Ta'deel. This is not the way of the one who we sat at his feet and learned the Deen, the one who we were raised within his circle."

So he went on to say, "The hizbees know now that they have been exposed. The hizbees know now that they are being shown. So now they enter amongst us and want us to busy ourselves with one another - want us to busy ourselves with one another. Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah, those upon the Salafee way must put their hands together - must put their hands together."

And he said, "Rather than be busy with one another we should be calling and responding to the Hizbees, responding to the Soofees, responding to the Ashaa'irah, responding to all of these people of Ahl ul-Bid'ah. But rather instead we have a tendancy to find fault with one another - to find fault with one another."

He said, "It's not enough to say the truth, but you must also be just. If you say the 'truth' in an area where the 'truth' does not belong, then this is injustice. It is a matter that Allaah has revealed that which is sidq, truthfulness, and 'adl, that which is just. So both must be observed here."

He said, "You'd find some of them talking about Salafees and then being silent about the worst of Ahl ul-Bid'ah, the worst of those who are upon falsehood, the worst of those upon the wrong way." So this is something he says, he "just simply does not accept. That it is the new circumstances, the new matter that is used by the hizbees to separate between the hearts of the Salafees and to separate between the scholars and the students of knowledge and this is something that we must be aware of. That the individual must have calmness and he must be upright."

He says that when he speaks about the Shaikh, the Scholar, the Muhaddith who revived this all of this matter, "When he's asked about an individual who he knows to be upon salafiyyah but somebody takes his words out of context, or presents some words about him that is other than what he has been on, he says, 'I cannot answer this question - if I knew you I would answer.'" He said, "He did not say this out of cowardice or fear. But it is a manhaj, methodology." He said and this is the way he is, and this is the way he has been raised. That the "stances that you take are the stances for Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, and according to what the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, loves and what Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, loves. This is the stance that must be taken."

For he says, he has separated himself from individuals that he knows who were the students of Shaikh Naasir - who were forty years with the Shaikh! Yet he separated himself from them - took a stance against them when he saw clearly that that was the stance he should take in accordance with pleasing Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, and in accordance with the way of Messenger, sallallaahu 'alaihi wa salaam.

"So we are in need of hilm, forbearance. And this hilm needs 'ilm, knowledge. And we need gentleness, and to slow down, and to take our time. And we need to take the opinion that we are mirrors for our brothers, that if our brother in fact has a defect and has a problem, then the first thing we should do is pull him aside and give him advice. The first thing we should do is talk to him directly - to his face and advise him." So he hopes that "Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, gathers us upon that which is correct and save us from this evil way that has appeared amongst us. Walhamdulillaah."

Shaikh Saleem, hafidhahullaah, says, "I will give you an example of injustice and this method that I'm speaking about of the people gathering faults and lying and coming in between the scholars." He says - and we are right here in New York, which we know is next door to New Jersey - he says, "All of you know - is there any of you who are ignorant of the position of the mashaa'ikh regarding Aboo Muslimah?" He said he "believes everyone in this room knows the position of Shaikh Usaamah al-Qoosee, Shaikh Muhammad Moosaa Nasr and himself and the mashaa'ikh regarding Aboo Muslimah - and that is the warn against him, and that they declare him to be a hizbee, and that they tell the people to stay away from him, and that they knocked down this thing that he was trying to build," that the Shaikh called, "this khabeeth organisation, this nasty and evil organisation which he was trying to build of having an ameer over a particular group of Salafees and so on and so forth." He said, "Everyone knows their position that they warn against him and their mawqif, their position and stance is clear regarding him. Yet some people have went overseas and lied and have went to Shaikh Rabee' and said that they help Aboo Muslimah, that they support Aboo Muslimah, that they try to cover up for Aboo Muslimah, and that they consider him a Salafee. And this same individual says about QSS - the Qur'an and Sunnah Society - which is," he says, "the first Salafee organisation," he said, "the only and first Salafee organisation in North America, he says about them - this individual told Shaikh Rabee', that QSS is Surooree - ran by Suroorees. And he says this about QSS and QSS was Salafee before this man even became Muslim." He said, "But all they need is to wait and Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, will expose them - that Allaah will expose them."

He gave an example of another man in Indonesia named Ja'far 'Umar Taalib, in which he said he was the head of an army there trying to - as he claims - to make jihaad or whatever. And he was able to trickery or deceit or whatever to get some recommendations from Shaikh Rabee' and Shaikh Muqbil, may Allaah preserve them and protect them from the evils of these sorts of people." He says, "They went to Indonesia and those who they went to go see, they were Salafees. This individual called back and said they were visiting the Suroorees." He said, "But Allaah, tabaaraka wa ta'aalaa, exposed him as a Takfeeree, as someone who declares Muslims as Kaafir - And that is upon one of the islands of Indonesia, one of his followers fell into adultery. And he stoned him - he established the hudood upon him and stoned him." He says, "By Allaah, is there anyone from amongst the scholars who allows for a Muslim living in a Muslim land to do this - to take upon himself to establish the hudood?! Do you know any scholar on tape or in a lecture that has allowed that?!" So he said they stoned him and the government arrested him or whatever.

He said, "Be aware of this issue - these types of individuals, because they are amongst us. They are trying to create corruption, they are trying to disconnect the hearts, they are trying to create hatred between the hearts of the scholars and between the hearts of the students of knowledge and between the general Muslims who are upon the way of the Salaf." He said, "This is what Allaah said about Shaitaan - that Shaitaan has given up trying to be worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula, but he seeks to cause confusion and chaos and problems between you." So he said, "This is what they seek to do. Subhaanaka wa bihamdik. Ash-hadu an laa illaa anta, wastaghfiruka wa atoobu ilaik."

Important Message from Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Jabiree in regards to our brother Shadeed Muhammad

as salaamu alaykum..

This is copied from the website rawdah.org
(there is also the audio portion on rawdah.org, from Shaykh 'Ubady al-Jabiree himself that I was not able to include in this post)

Important Message from Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Jabiree

In the Name of Allah, and All praise is for Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions. To proceed…

In addition to what was previously issued by me regarding warning against the brother Shadeed [Muhammad]; that his lectures and lessons should not be listened to, we deem it to be of benefit that: Firstly, we ask him to refrain from giving lectures and classes [at this time];

Secondly, we ask those who narrated our warning against him to cease warning against him, as this situation is with me now and I will deal with it and issue a clarification of the truth [at a later date] insha'Allah.

And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and
companions.

Dictated by Ubayd b. Abdullah b. Sulayman al-Jabiree, former instructor at the Islamic University of Madinah, on Laylatul Ahad, 20th of Sha’baan 1431 corresponding to [Sunday] 1st of August, 2010.

And with Allah lies [all] success.

The role of women in islam