Islamic Collections

“Haqq” in Arabic language is a two lettered small word. It is very easy to speak and its meaning also seems to be simple. General meaning of Haqq is ‘truth’ or ‘right’ . Haqq is an Arabic word used at numerous places by Allaah Ta’aala in the Qur’an which has different interpretations. Haqq has also been extensively used by Ambeyaa (as), Awseyaa (as), A’immat-e-Taahereen (as) and Du’aat-e-Akrameen (aq) in the past. English language has several other meanings of the word ‘Haqq’ – truth, correctness, rightness, rightful possession, one’s due, proper manner, authentic, real, right, fair and reasonable. The best of the word Haqq is the fact that it is one of the 99 Glorious Names of Allaah (Asmaa ul-Husnaa). This proves that Allaah is Haqq and He says in the Qur’an that, “Lahoo da’watul haqq” wh...

Arabic Text

During the namaaz of witr, after rising from the bowing (ruku'), you should recite the following du'a silently standing in the posture as that of taking the niyyat and then proceed to prostration saying ‘ same'allaaho leman hamedahu ' and complete the witr prayer. The du'a is as follows: “O Allah, send Your blessings and bounty upon Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) and his progeny. O Allah, You can perceive (see) all of us but no one can see You. Because Your sight (perspective) is higher than the vision of man; and all are going to come towards You; and all the eyes (vision) are going to lift (raise) at You; and all the feet are walking to You (arriving to You); and all the necks stretch at You and all the hands expanse at You. O Allah, to whom the hands are spread and the hearts of believers inspire; and the eyes look down with submission and the necks bow down. And we complain to You that our Prophet has expired so the believers have become less in number and the enemie...

A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West Introduction Migration to Non-Muslim Countries Taqlid: Following a Jurist Taharat & Najasat: Ritual Purity & Impurity Salat: The Ritual Prayer Sawm: Fasting

Sawm: Fasting Introduction The noble Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) gave an impressive sermon welcoming the month of Ramadhãn. He said: “O people! The month of Allãh with its blessings, mercy and forgiveness has come upon you. It is the most preferred of all the months with Allãh; its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, and its hours are the best of hours. It is a month in which you have been invited as guests of Allãh and have been placed among those honoured by Allãh. Your breathing in it is [like] an act of praising [Allãh], your sleep an act of worship; your good deeds are accepted, and your prayers answered. Therefore, ask Allãh with sincere intentions and pure hearts to help you in fasting and recitating His Book during this [month]. Indeed damned is he who is deprived of Allãh’s forgiveness during this august month. “O people! The gates of Paradise are wide open during this month; therefore, ask your Lord not to close them in your face and the gates...

Salat: The Ritual Prayer Introduction The salat has been described in some ahadith as “the pillar of religion.” Imam 'Ali (a.s.), after receiving the fatal injury by Ibn Muljim (may Allah curse him), in a part of his advice to his sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (a.s.) said, ”[Fear] Farewell Allah, and keep Allah in view with regardst salat, for it is the pillar of your religion. [Fear] Allah, and keep Allah in the matter of the house of your Lord (i.e., mosque): do not leave it empty as long as you live.” [29] As-Sukuni narrates from Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.), “The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said, 'Satan is frightened from a believer as long as he keeps up salat on time; but when he starts neglecting them, Satan becomes emboldened and tempts him to commit major (sins).'” [30] Yazid bin Khalifa said that he heard Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) say, “When a person stands for salat, mercy descends upon him from the heaven to the earth and the angels engulf him, and an angel calls out: ...

Taharat & Najasat: Ritual Purity & Impurity Introduction A Muslim tries to maintain the ritual purity of his body, clothes and everyday commodities by avoiding contact with impure things because such contacts would render the other items impure and would, therefore necessitate the process of purification. Residing in a non-Muslim country makes the process of maintaining purity difficult for some Muslims as they deal with its non-Muslim citizens in various situations of their day-to-day life: in restaurants, cafes, barber's shops, laundrettes, and, in public baths and utilities, etc. Therefore, it is appropriate for me to clarify for the respected readers the religious rules concerning taharat (ritual purity) and najasat (ritual impurity). General Rules 1. A well known religious law says: “Everything is ritually pure for you unless you come to know that it is ritually impure.” This law declares everything to be pure unless one becomes sure a particular item has...

Taqlid: Following a Jurist Introduction Taqlid means acting according to the opinion of the jurist (mujtahid) who has all the necessary qualification to be emulated. So you do what the mujtahid's expert opinion says you should do, and refrain from what his expert opinion says you should refrain from without any research [in Islamic sources] on your part. It is as though you have placed the responsibility of your deeds squarely on his shoulders. Among the conditions which must be found in a jurist (mujtahid) who can be followed is that he must be the most learned (al-a'lam) jurist of his time and the most capable in deriving the religious laws from the appropriate sources. General Rules Now it is appropriate to clarify the following issues: 1. A person who does not have the ability to extract and derive the religious laws must take up taqlid of the most learned mujtahid. The deeds of such a person without taqlid or ihtiyat are null and void. 2. The most lea...

Migration to Non-Muslim Countries Introduction A Muslim who is born and raised in a Muslim country where he consciously and subconsciously absorbs the laws, values and teachings of Islam, grows up into a young person who is aware of the customs of his religion, following its path and is led by its guidance. On the other hand, a Muslim who is born, and brought up in a non-Muslim country demonstrates the influence of that environment very clearly in his thoughts, ideas, behaviour, values, and etiquette unless his Lord helps him. This un-Islamic influence is seen more in the second generation of those who have migrated to non-Muslim countries. This was the reason for Islam's view on at-ta'arrub ba'd al-hijra as reflected in many ahadith. At-ta'arrub ba'd al-hijra literally means “becoming shorn of one's percepts of faith after migrating [to city],” and technically, it means leaving an environment where you could follow Islam and moving to a place where you ma...