Fiqh
The Truth about the Number of Rak‘ahs in Tarawih
In recent times there has been a growth in the number of lay people who, influenced by a certain ideology, claim that the tarawih consists of only eight rak’ahs rather than the established twenty rak’ahs. There is, therefore, a need to discuss the tarawih prayer, which is a special type of salah (ritual prayer) only… »
The Concept of Bid’ah in the Shari’ah
The upshot is that legal bid’ah is an invented matter which does not have substantiation from the four sources of the religion, while believing it to be from the religion, and something in which one expects to be rewarded from Allah and gain good deeds. According to this, whatever the Lawgiver commanded as an obligation… »
The Hijab of Women and its Boundaries
Writings on the topic of the veiling and unveiling of women have proliferated in our time. The best that I have seen on this subject is a treatise by my late father Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi’ (Allah have mercy on him) which he called Tafsil al-Khitab fi Tafsir Ayat al-Hijab, which is a section from… »
Mawlid, Deoband and Hanafi fiqh
There are three types of mawlid gatherings and the ruling for each is different.
The first type of gathering is that which does not contain any of the prevalent and customary restrictions (quyud). Neither [does it contain] mubah (permissible) restrictions nor makruh (prohibitively disliked) ones, i.e., it is free from all [sorts of] restrictions. For… »
Inner Dimensions of the Zakat
You should know that when a need presents itself to the poor person, and he entreats God about it either verbally or through hit condition, his entreaty knocks at the door of the Divine Generosity. Sometimes the best interest will be fulfilled by inspiring the heart of a pure person to furnish the remedy for… »
Joining Shoulders and Feet in Prayer Rows
There has been a growing tendency in recent times within some quarters of the Muslim Ummah to attempt to understand the hadiths of the beloved Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) without the proper prerequisite knowledge of fiqh and its principles. Movements have emerged, a fundamental part of whose methodology… »
The Practice of Calling Adhan Over Graves
First of all, it is not established from any authentic hadith that Satan comes in the grave. But, if we do [hypothetically] accept that he does come in the grave, then his coming poses no possibility of harm (or threat), because the ability of misleading others is particular to this world [and not to the… »
The Condition of Pride in Isbal
In regards to wearing trousers below the ankles (isbal) it is mentioned in a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said that [on the day of judgment] Allah Most High will not look with mercy towards the person who lowers his izar… »
The Niqab and its obligation in the Hanafi madhhab
It is with great sadness that we note confusion in the minds of many students and even some scholars concerning the obligation of the niqab (veil) in the Hanafi madhhab, which expressly classifies covering the face as binding on women and forbids the exposure of the face in the presence of ghayr mahrams (strangers). While… »
Folding One’s Clothes for Salah
In regards to folding one’s clothes while praying and the issue of isbal (wearing one’s garment below the ankles), Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in Lami’ al-Darari (vol. 1, pg. 327-28): “Qadi ‘Iyad considers the tying back of the hair and folding of the clothes undesirable for… »
