The chiefs of the Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) who opposed his message included some who were
men of thought and intelligence. It is wrong to assume that
they were all narrow-minded people who only considered
their immediate interests. Like we see today, some people
with sharp intelligence refuse to believe in God. What we
need to realize is that faith requires a positive step
which a person takes after looking at the evidence and
considering all relevant issues. Such a positive action is
the practical manifestation of what a person feels deep in
his or her heart, motivating them to identify themselves as
believers. Once they respond to this feeling, they
establish a bond with God that becomes stronger as they
begin to look at the world around them in the light of
faith. It is always possible for a person to recognize the
truth of the Qur’an and the message delivered by Muhammad,
God’s final Messenger, without making such a conscious
effort or taking this practical step. This is normally the
result of an attitude that gives oneself a paramount
position, looking only at one’s personal interests or
preferences. This is what is termed in the Qur’an as
personal desire which people follow as it leads them away
from God’s guidance.

It is to counter such personal desire that we should
address people, putting before them the truth of the
Islamic message and inviting them to believe in God. The
Prophet gave us the lead and the example to follow. He
never tired of inviting people to believe in God, no matter
how hardened they were in their opposition to his message.
One of these was Al-Waleed ibn Al-Mugheerah, an elder chief
of the Quraysh who enjoyed a position of high
respectability. He was a wealthy person, and he had ten
sons who always attended him.

Al-Waleed once met the Prophet who took the opportunity to
explain his message to him and invite him to accept Islam.
As always on such occasion, the Prophet read to his
interlocutor some verses of the Qur’an. One report mentions
that on this occasion he read the passage that included the
following verse: “God enjoins justice, kindness (to all),
and generosity to one’s kindred; and He forbids all that is
shameful, reprehensible conduct and all transgression. He
admonishes you so that you may take heed.” (16: 90) A man
of intellect, Al-Waleed seemed touched by what he heard and
softened his attitude.

The man who carefully watched the situation in Makkah
trying always to prevent people from listening to the
Prophet or responding to him was Abu Jahl. He heard of
Al-Waleed’s encounter with the Prophet and how he softened
to the Qur’anic discourse. Knowing Al-Waleed’s mentality,
he sought to ensure that he would not accept Islam.
Therefore, he went to see him. As they talked, Abu Jahl
said to him: “Uncle, your people are thinking of raising
some money for you.” Surprised, Al-Waleed asked the reason
for such an idea. Abu Jahl said: “They want to give it to
you, because you met Muhammad to find out what he could
offer you.” Al-Waleed said: “The whole of the Quraysh know
that I am one of the richest people here.” Abu Jahl
suggested: “Then say something about him so that your
people would know that your stand is against him.”

Al-Waleed retorted: “What will I say? There is none among
you who has better knowledge of poetry than I. I know every
type of it, including the poetry attributed to the jinn.
Yet what Muhammad says is nothing like poetry. It is
certainly beautiful and smoothly flowing. It is like a date
tree with solid roots and rich fruit. It overpowers
everything, while nothing can stand up to it. It demolishes
anything that stands in opposition to it.”

Abu Jahl insisted that the rest of the Quraysh would not be
happy with Al-Waleed unless he said something abusive about
the Prophet and the Qur’an. The latter told him to give him
time to think. When he had deliberated what to say, he came
up with a mouthful. He said: “This is certainly sorcery
learnt from others.”

The Qur’an strongly rebukes Al-Waleed for his deliberately
false denunciation of the divine message. God says in the
Qur’an: “Leave Me alone to deal with him whom I have
created alone, and to whom I have granted vast resources,
and children attending him, and to whose life I gave so
wide a scope, and yet, he greedily desires that I give him
yet more! Indeed, it is against Our revelations that he
knowingly, stubbornly sets himself. I shall constrain him
to endure a painful uphill climb! Behold, he reflects and
meditates; and thus he destroys himself, the way he
meditates. Yes, indeed he destroys himself, the way he
meditates! Then he looks around, frowning and glaring, and
then he turns his back, glories in his arrogance, and says:
‘All this is mere spell-binding eloquence learnt (from
others). This is nothing but the word of mortal man.’” (74:
11-25)

We note here how Abu Jahl sought to arouse Al-Waleed’s
anger when he told him that his people were raising money
for him, when he was one of the richest people in the city.
Thus he brings pressure to bear on him, using the element
of pride and honor. Then knowing that Al-Waleed belonged to
what we call today the intellectual type, he wanted him to
think hard and come up with some denunciation of the
Qur’an. The result was that he described the Qur’an as
sorcery, or spell binding eloquence. This is the only way
he could explain the hold the Qur’an had on the Arabs,
including those of them who remained unbelievers.

We may find it exceedingly strange that Al-Waleed should
say this about the Qur’an after he had acknowledged that it
was totally unlike anything people say. He described the
Qur’an well, recognizing it superior excellence. Such a
person should have been the first to accept its message,
but he rejected it because he submitted to his own desire,
rather than to his logic.

Yet Al-Waleed was not alone among the Quraysh who opposed
Islam, knowing the truth of the Qur’anic message. Mu’awiyah
reports an incident that took place when he was young, and
it involved the Prophet’s address to his parents. He says:
“Abu Sufyan went out aiming to the desert, with Hind riding
behind him on his camel. I was with them riding a donkey.
We then heard God’s Messenger. My father told me:
‘Mu’awiyah! Dismount so that Muhammad could ride. I did so,
and he rode alongside us for a while. He then said to my
parents: ‘You, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, and Hind bint Utbah! By
God, you will die and then you will be resurrected. The
ones who do well in this life will be admitted into heaven,
while those who do evil will go to hell. I am telling you
the truth, and you have been the first to be warned.’ He
then recited a passage of 11 verses from the beginning of
Surah 41. When he stopped, Abu Sufyan said to him: ‘Have
you finished what you wanted to tell us.’ The Prophet said
that he did. He then dismounted and I rode the donkey. Then
Hind (my mother) said to Abu Sufyan: ‘You ordered my son to
dismount so that this sorcerer rides in his place!’ My
father said: ‘By God, he is neither a sorcerer, nor a
liar.’”

Abu Sufyan was the man who for many years led the Quraysh’s
determined campaign against Islam. Here we see him in the
early days of Islam, listening to the Prophet and
recognizing that he told the truth, but this did not stop
him from fighting him hard, hoping to suppress his message,
until eventually he succumbed to the truth of Islam and
accepted it.

Following the Four Imams.

Q. Muslims learn at a very young age that there are four
Imams whom we can follow in religious matters. However,
some people here say that we must not follow these four
imams, but we must follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Please
comment.

A. It is true that we must follow the Qur’an and the
Sunnah. The four Imams(Imam Malik,Imam Al-Shafi,Imam Abu
Hanifa,and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal),and all scholars for that
matter, agree that these two are the sources to be
followed. Indeed, in all their efforts, the four Imams, and
all scholars, have sought to make it easier for a Muslim to
follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah. They simply explained
what the Qur’an and the Sunnah say about all sorts of
problems, and gave guidance on how to implement them.

If you are troubled by someone who insists on this view,
you can ask him: if a person is not in a position to
understand the Qur’anic text or the Hadith statement
properly, how would he know what the Qur’an and the Sunnah
requires. He will say that he must refer to a scholar who
would explain it to him. This is what was done by the four
Imams and other scholars, up to the present day.

You can read more about this from the book:-"The Four Imams
by Muhammad Abu zahra" ISBN:1-870582-41-1,published by Dar
al Taqwa Ltd,7a Melcombe Street,Baker Street,  London nw1
6AE.Price £30.00.(www.daraltaqwa.com).

The Prayer of Greeting the Mosque.

Q.1. Should one offer the prayer of greeting the mosque
every time he enters a mosque, even though he offers all
his prayers there, or is once a day sufficient?

Q.2. In our local mosque, people gather after Asr prayer on
Thursdays for a session of congregational glorification of
God. This starts in very low voices, but become louder as
it progresses. Toward the end, the sound is so loud, it is
deafening. Afterward, people distribute fruit. Although it
appears rude, I refuse to take the fruit. Please comment.

Q.3. What is the position of nasheed in Islam? Why is it so
widespread in Muslim countries?

A.1. The prayer known as Tahiyyat Al-Masjid, or greeting to
the mosque, consists of two short rak’ahs one offers on
entry. This is a Sunnah the Prophet (peace be upon him)
did. When we say of anything that it is a Sunnah, it means
that it is recommended. By definition, what is recommended
is not obligatory. So there is no obligation here. One
offers this prayer if there is time and he feels he wants
to offer it.

Moreover, this prayer may be combined at the same time with
any obligatory or recommended prayer one wants to do as one
enters the mosque. So, if you get to the mosque after Zuhr
has been called and before the congregational prayer
begins, you want to offer the Zuhr Sunnah. You offer this
Sunnah intending it as greeting to the mosque at the same
time.

This means that you offer two rak’ahs but earn the reward
for four. The same applies if you find the congregation
about to start and you join it, intending the greeting to
the mosque Sunnah to be combined with the obligatory
prayer.

A.2. It was never known that the Prophet (peace be upon
him) asked his companions to engage in such sessions, nor
was it ever known that they organized them. We have no
Hadith recommending them. Therefore, such functions are not
part of Islamic worship. They constitute deviation from the
normal Islamic practice. As for the fruit, if people place
the fruit in front of the group or in the middle and
consider that it becomes blessed by the glorification, then
this is alien to Islamic practice and better not to be
taken. If, on the other hand, no such thought is
entertained, but the fruit is made as a gesture of
hospitality, it is better to accept a brother’s
hospitality.

A.3. Nasheed is a poem recited in accordance with a
particular tune. Sometimes it is accompanied by music. The
idea of singing on joyous occasions is acceptable. When the
Prophet arrived in Madinah with his companion Abu Bakr, the
Muslim community there received him warmly singing the
well-known poem, Tala’ Al-Badru Alayna. One day the Prophet
came home to find that his wives were out. On inquiring, he
was told that they were attending a wedding at some
quarters of the Ansar. He said: “Why have they not taken a
maid to sing?” He also suggested the lines to be sung.
Having said that, it is important to point out that the
wording is of great importance. Some poems made for singing
include strange ideas which may not be acceptable. Some
express ideas of pantheism, which runs against the basic
Islamic beliefs, while others exaggerate the Prophet’s
praises in a way that displeases God and the Prophet. Such
poems must never be used.

Sharing Rooms and Tolerance

Q. We seem to have problems in our place where we live in
shared accommodation. In order to be clear, may I ask
whether it is permissible to watch a film or television
serial while having a meal? Can one person read the Qur’an
or engage in God’s glorification, keeping his voice low,
while others are watching television in the same room? If a
person performs wudhu or ablution to get ready for prayer,
then watches television before praying, does he have to
renew his ablution for prayer?

A. It seems to me that these questions suggest a problem of
conflicting views among people sharing the same facilities.
When people share a flat or a house, they need to
accommodate one another, and try to understand that they
cannot live in a regimented way. Some of them will need
relaxation when others feel eager to do something more
serious. Unless they tolerate one another and accommodate
each other’s wishes, they will soon quarrel and life
together becomes a burden for all. Some will feel
aggrieved. But all this is unnecessary. The Prophet says:
“May God have mercy on a person who adopts an easy attitude
when he buys, sells and when he asks for what is due to
him.” This is meant to cover all life situations, because
the three situations mentioned by the Prophet are the ones
when people are most keen to get maximum benefit. The
Prophet showed the perfect example when he went as far as
buying a camel from Jabir, then gave Jabir the price and
the camel. Being easy with one’s brethren is most
important, because it helps to maintain social relations on
the best level.

It is permissible to watch television, including films and
drama serials, provided that these do not include what is
in direct conflict with Islamic principles and teachings.

If it is an ordinary program or film, watching at any time
is permissible, provided it does not stop a person from
attending to his religious duties. Thus, it is perfectly
permissible to watch a film while having a meal. We do not
need supporting evidence for saying so, because
permissibility does not need evidence, as everything is
permissible unless pronounced otherwise. It is prohibition
that needs supporting evidence.

Watching television does not invalidate ablution, or wudhu.
So, if you have just prayed Zuhr and sat down to watch a
program, and then it is time for Asr, you do not need to
have a fresh ablution only because you watched television.
If you have a sitting room for everyone, and one of you is
reading the Qur’an or doing some other form of recommended
worship, such as glorifying God, he should not impose his
activity on others.

Thus, he should read to himself, not raising his voice,
when other people are in the same room, reading a book or
watching television. If he cannot concentrate, he should
move somewhere else. On the other hand, they should allow
him a reasonable time for his activity.













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