CHANGING THE DESTINY(QADAR)??

It is reported from Sahih Muslim, vol. 1, p. 139-40, number 416.

‘Aa’ishah reported that she said: “O Messenger of Allah, Ibn Jud‘aan established family ties and fed the poor. Would that be of any benefit to him?” He replied, “It would be of no avail to him as he never once said: O my Lord, pardon my sins on the Day of Resurrection.”

In another hadith from Sahih Muslim, Bk 35, Number 6542:

Khaula bint Hakim Sulamiyya reported: I heard Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “When any one of you stays at a place, he should say:” I seek refuge in the Perfect Word of Allah from the evil of that He created.” Nothing would then do him any harm until he moves from that place. Abu Huraira reported that a person came to Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said:” Allah’s Messenger, I was stung by a scorpion during the night. Thereupon he said: Had you recited these words in the evening:” I seek refuge in the Perfect Word of Allah from the evil of what He created,” it would not have done any harm to you.”

 

Further in ‘Commentary on Ibn Qudaamah’s RADIANCE OF FAITH by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips’, author states …

 Among the supplications of the Prophet (r) which he taught al-Hasan Ibn ‘Alee to pray with in qunoot of Witr was:

  “Wa qinee sharra maa qadayt” [Protect me from the evil which You have destined].”

 Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 1, pp. 373-4, no. 1420, and Sunan Ibn-i-Majah, vol. 2, pp. 199-200, no. 1178, and authenticated by Ahmad Shaakir in his footnotes on the Sunan at-Tirmithee and by al-Albaanee in Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood, vol. 1, p. 392, no. 1425 [new ed.]. The whole text is as follows:

Al-Hasan ibn ‘Alee said: Allaah’s Messenger (r) taught me some words which I say during Witr: O Allaah, guide me among those whom You guided, grant me security among those You grant security, take me into Your charge among those You have taken into Your charge, bless me in what You have given, guard me from the evil of what You have decreed, for You decree and nothing is decreed for You. Whoever You have befriended is not humbled. Our Lord, You are blessed and exalted.”

 

DU’AA CHANGES QADAR

 This phrase from the du‘aa Qunoot implies that Qadar can be changed by du‘aa and this is further strengthened by the Prophet’s statement:

 “Nothing increases age except righteousness and nothing repels predestination except du‘aa.” (Sunan Ibn-I-Majah, vol. 1, p. 53, no. 90, and authenticated in Saheeh Sunan Ibn-i-Maajah, no. 73)

  It is possible that a certain misfortune has been decreed for a person, yet, because of the sincerity and quality of his du‘aa, Allaah will repel that misfortune from him, and change this decree. Not only does du‘aa repel a future misfortune that might befall a person, it also changes and removes a current calamity and misfortune as indicated by the following hadeeth:

 Ibn ‘Umar quoted Allaah’s Messenger (r) as saying, “Whoever the door of du‘aa has been opened for, then all the doors of mercy have been opened for him. And nothing asked of Allaah is more pleasing to Him than that He be asked for good health. Du‘aa is of benefit to matters that have occurred and that are yet to occur. So I advise you, O servants of Allaah, to make du‘aa!” (Collected by at-Tirmithee and rated inauthentic in Da’eef at-Targheeb, no. 1013 & Da’eef al-Jaami‘, no. 5720)

 

 

On the same topic, Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that there are three possibilities with regards to du‘aa and Qadar: 

1. That the du‘aa is stronger than the Qadar and it repels it permanently.
2. That the Qadar is stronger and the du‘aa softens its impact.
3. That they are equal in strength so they cancel out each other. (ad-Daa wad-Dawaa, p. 42)

In the book, ‘THE DIVINE PRE-DECREE & ORDAINMENT OF ALLAH  by Imam Muhammad bin Saalih Al’ Uthaimeen, the author says,

 There are five Decrees on this level, all of which are related to Knowledge: 

• First: The writing fifty thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth, when Allaah created the Pen, this is the Eternal Decree.
• Second: The Life-time Decree, when He took the Covenant when He said to them, “Am I not your Lord?”
• Third: The Life-time Decree, when the mixed drop of male and female sexual discharge is given life inside the womb.
• Fourth: The Annual Decree, on the Night of Power (Laylatul-Qadr).
• Fifth: The Daily Decree, which is carrying out all of the above decrees at their proper times and places.

In the notes prepared on the teaching of Sheikh Waleed Basyouni, titled ‘RAYS OF FAITH – FUNDAMENTAL OF FAITHS NOTES’, It is given that decrees, i.e. Writing of al-Qadar, are in two different types of books:

 1. Al-Lawh Al-Mahfoodh: The Safe Tablet, a.k.a Umm Al-Kitab: Mother of All Books 

 a. “Allâh blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz)” [Quran - 13:39] 

b. Every single thing is written in this book. Nothing will be changed. 

c. Other than this book, the items in other books can be affirmed or erased.

  

2. The Tablets with the Angels. There are three different tablets:

  a. The Taqdeer ‘Umari: Covering the person’s life span. The persons livelihood, life term, deeds and his status in the Hereafter (wretched or blessed) are written while in the mothers womb at an early stage of his development.

  b. The Annual Taqdeer, which occurs in the night of decree (lailatul-qadar in the month of Ramadan). “Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainment.”[Quran - 44:4]. This tablet writes who is going for hajj, who is dying etc.

  c. Daily: Taqdeer Yawmi: Allah SWT says “Whosoever in the Heavens and the Earth asks of Him (for their needs). Everyday He has a matter to bring forth.” [Quran - 55:29]

The prophet explained the above ayat, “Everyday He has a matter to bring forth“ that He may forgive a sin for someone, lifts in honor some, relief the hardship of someone, lifts in honor some and lowers some. [Ibn Maajah and Abee Aasim in As Sunnah]

 

With regard to the effect of obedience and sin on changing the divine decree, that which is in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz can never be changed.

 

The Prophet (SAW) said: “The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.”  [Narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi, from the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas.]

 

 

Opinions about change in life span through upholding the ties of kinship and righteousness:

First Opinion:

As for the pages which are in the hands of the angels, Allaah SWT may command His angels to change it because of an act of worship that a Muslim does or because of a sin that he commits, but in the end it will not be anything other than that which was decreed from eternity in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz. This is indicated by the verse in which Allaah says:

 “Allaah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz)”[Quran - 13:39]

 Ibn ‘Abbas (RA) explained it this way. Scholars supporting this view point include Ibn  Maswood (RA), Ibn Umar (RA), Malik ibn Dinar, Hassan al-Basri, Ibnul Qayyim and others.

 

 Second opinion:

 This refers to an increase of blessing during one’s lifetime, being guided to do good deeds and to make use of one’s times in ways that will be of benefit in the Hereafter and to make the most of his time for the sake of Allah.

 

 Third Opinion:

 Extension of life means the person will be mentioned even after his death. His name will be alive. As we talk about Imam Bukhari as if he is still living. Like was even though Imam Nawawi died in his thirties (30’s) his contributions are still effecting people. Again, the changes only happen in the tablets that are with the angels. And all these changes have already been written in the Safe Tablet.

ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST.

QUNOOT in Witr Prayer – Obligatory or Sunnah??

Witr is one prayer where there are numerous opinions available in all madhabs. Be it the matters concerning the number of rakaats, or tashahhud, or Du’aa’ al-Qunoot. Imam of our local Masjid in Sharjah has shown flexibility in his prayer which was the way of the companions of our Prophet PBUH. Sometimes he prays 2 + 1 and sometimes all 3 without tashahhud in between. Last Tuesday, Imam while leading us in prayer of witr, prayed it 2 + 1 but he didn’t  do Du’aa’ al-Qunoot in the 3rd rakaat after rukoo, which made me look for opinion of some leading scholars concerning Qunoot in the Witr prayer, and i found the following rulings / opinions in this matter.

1. Sheikh Naasir-ud-Deen Albaani

In his book, ‘THE PROPHET’S PRAYER‘, Sheikh writes,

“He (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) used to perform qunoot in the (odd) rak’ah of the Witr prayer” sometimes, and “he would perform it before rukoo’.”

In his foot note, sheikh clarifies, “We have said, “… sometimes” because the Companions who narrated the Witr prayer did not mention the qunoot in it, whereas had the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) done so always, they would have all mentioned it. However, Ubayy ibn Ka`b alone narrated the qunoot in Witr, so this shows that he used to do it sometimes. Hence, this is evidence that qunoot in Witr is not obligatory (waajib), and this is the opinion of the majority of scholars. For this reason, the researching Hanafi scholar, Ibn al-Humaam, recognised in Fath al-Qadeer (1/306,359,360) that the view of it being obligatory is feeble and not substantiated by evidence. This shows his fairness and lack of party-spirit, for this view which he has supported is contrary to his madhhab !”

2. Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq

In the book , ‘FIQH US-SUNNAH’, authored by Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq, Sheikh writes,

“Ash-Shafi and others are of the opinion that the qunut in the witr prayer should be made during the latter half of the month of Ramadan. This is based on what Abu Dawud records that, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab convoked the people in prayer, under the leadership of Ubayy ibn Kab, and they prayed together for twenty nights, and did not make the qunut except the latter half of the month of Ramadan. It is moreover related that Muhammed ibn Nasr asked Said ibn Jubair about the qunut in the witr prayer. Said answered: “Umar sent an army that suffered serious setback, which caused Umar to be alarmed, so, when it was the latter half of Ramadan, he made the qunut to supplicate for them.“

3. Sheikh Abd al-‘Azeez Ibn Baaz

On the website, ‘islamqa.com‘, following is quoted from Sheikh Ibn Baaz’s ‘Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, 2/1062,  

“There is nothing wrong with that. The du’aa’ of Qunoot is Sunnah and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite Qunoot. He taught Qunoot and the words of Qunoot in Witr to al-Hasan, so it is Sunnah. If you recite it every night, there is nothing wrong with that, and if you omit it on some occasions so that the people will know that it is not obligatory, there is nothing wrong with that either. If the imam omits Qunoot on some occasions so that the people will know that is not obligatory, there is nothing wrong with that. When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught al-Hasan Qunoot, he did not tell him to omit it on some days. This indicates that if he does it persistently, there is nothing wrong with that. “ 

(http://islamqa.com/en/ref/128688/qunoot)

4. Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid

Following Fatwas have been published on his website,  ‘islamqa.com‘ addressing this issue,

• Fatwa no 9061 (http://islamqa.com/en/ref/9061/qunoot), “With regard to what the brother says about Qunoot being obligatory, this is not correct, because Qunoot is Sunnah. Based on this, if a worshipper omits Qunoot, his prayer is still valid.“
• Fatwa no. 14093 (http://islamqa.com/en/ref/14093/qunoot), “It is better not to recite qunoot in witr all the time, rather it should be done sometimes, because there is no evidence that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did it all the time.“
  

HENCE IT IS PROVEN FROM RULINGS / FATWAS OF VARIOUS SCHOLARS THAT RECITING QUNOOT IN WITR IS NOT OBLIGATORY BUT SUNNAH, AND OMITTING IT IN WITR DOES NOT INVALIDATE THE WITR PRAYER.

ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST.

KHILAFAT OF AL-HASAN IBN ALI (IMAM HASAN)

Assalam alaikum,

In my Islamic Studies in the University founded by Sheikh Dr. Bilal Philips, in our subject Aqeedah Part 2, the book referred for our studies is ‘Commentary on Ibn Qudaamah’s RADIANCE OF FAITH by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips’.

We were introduced to few authentic hadeeth by the author, which i believe many are not aware of and i assumed it is my responsibility to share this as a notes, so that it can benefit others in terms of hadeeth as well as research. Wish Allah show us the right path.

The author has provided the following in his book and the commentaries,

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, “The caliphate after me will be for thirty years…”

Narrated by Safeenah Aboo ‘Abdur-Rahmaan, freed slave of the Prophet (r) and collected in Sunan Abu Dawud, at-Tirmithee, and an-Nasaa’ee and authenticated in Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, no. 459.

The full text of the hadeeth is as follows:

Safeenah quoted Allaah’s Messenger (r) as saying: “The Prophetic Caliphate will be for thirty years. Then Allaah will give dominion to whomever He pleases.” Safeenah said to Sa‘eed [the sub-narrator], hold two years for Aboo Bakr, ten for ‘Umar, twelve for ‘Uthmaan and like that for ‘Alee.” Sa‘eed said: “I told Safeenah that those people claim that ‘Alee – peace be on him – was not a Caliph.” He replied: “… lie the tribe of az-Zarqaa – i.e., the tribe of Marwaan.”  (Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 3, p. 1303, no. 4629 and authenticated in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 3257.)

Safeenah quoted Allaah’s Messenger (r) as saying: “Caliphate will remain in my nation for thirty years then kingship after that.” Then Safeenah said to me: “Hold the caliphate of Aboo Bakr, that of ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and the caliphate of ‘Alee.” Sa‘eed said: “We found it to be thirty years! I said to him: The Umayyad tribe claim that there is caliphate among them.” He replied: “The Zarqaa tribe lie. They are kings from among the worst of kings.”(Sunan at-Tirmithee, vol. 3, no. 2326 and authenticated in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee, no. 1813)

The author, Ibn Qudaamah, either followed these general statements in which the caliphate of al- Hasan ibn ‘Alee is considered a part of his father’s caliphate, or he did not consider it a caliphate since he abdicated from it. However, careful addition of the duration of these caliphates indicates that the Prophet’s prophesy of thirty years of caliphate only comes true if the six months duration of al-Hasan ibn ‘Alee’s caliphate is included.

1. Khilafat of Aboo Bakr (RA) – 2years 3months 9days (13 Rabi-Awal 11AH to 22 Jumadaa Aakhirah 13AH)

2. Khilafat of Umar (RA) – 10years 6months 3days (23 Jumaadaa Aakhirah 13AH to 26 Thul Hijjah 23 AH)

3. Khilafat of Uthmaan (RA) – 12years 0months 12days (1 Muharram 24AH to 18 Thul Hijjah 35 AH)

4. Khilafat of Ali (RA) – 4years 9months 0days (19 Thul Hijjah 35 AH to 19 Ramadaan 40 AH)

Considering these 4 khilafat rule total khilafat period comes to 29years 6months 4days

Adding the khiliafat of Al-Hasan,

5. Al-Hasan – 0years 6months 0days (19 Ramadaan 40 AH to Rabee‘ al-Awwal 41 AH)

Al-Hasan’s caliphate completed the thirty years predicted by the Prophet (r) and his abdication fulfilled the other prophesy concerning al-Hasan ibn ‘Alee:

Aboo Bakrah said: I heard the Prophet (r) talking at the pulpit while al-Hasan was sitting beside him. He would look at the people one time and at al-Hasan one time, and he said: “This son of mine is a leader, and perhaps Allaah will bring about an agreement between two sects of Muslims through him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 5, p. 66, no. 89.)