Bible & Quran Compared Ooops!

Bible & Quran Compared Ooops!

Four Qur'anic passage to read after Salaat.

 According to a Hadith of Imam Ja‘far al-Sādiq (a), when the following four passages were being revealed they complained to Almighty Allah. Clinging to the throne they said: Where are You sending us, O Our Lord, to those that do wrong and commit sins? The Almighty replied: I swear by my Might and my Honor, whenever any Muslim reads after every Salaat, I will look at him with mercy seventy times every day, at each look I will fulfill seventy of his wishes, and I will fulfill his wishes even if he is disobedient to me. (Mafātīh al-Jinān). We pray to Allah to give us tawfīq to recite the four passages after each and every prayer or after every other prayer or to recite them at least after one of the daily five prayers. May Allah grant us the rewards of their recitation!

1. Surah Al-Fatiha:

2. Ayatul Kursi:

3. Āyat al-Shahadah and   4. Āyat al-Mulk:

Rules Related to the Times of Salaat

1.      In summer, one should not hasten towards reading zuhr salaat. It is mustahab to offer zuhr salaatafter the intense heat rays elapse. In winter, it is preferable to offer zuhr salaat at the beginning of Zuhr time.

2.      Asr salaat should be delayed till such a time that if after the entry of asr time one wishes to offer any nafl salaat, he can do so, because it is not permissible to offer any nafl salaat after having offereasr salaat irrespective of whether it is in summer or in winter. However, one should not delay to such an extent that the sun turns yellow and its rays change in colour. It is mustahab to hasten towards offering maghrib salaat and to offer it immediately after sunset

3.      The person who is in the habit of waking up for tahajjud salaat in the latte r par t of the night and has full confidence of definitely waking up; then it is better for him to offer his witr salaat after having offered his tahajjud salaat. But if he is not confident of waking up and fears that he will remain asleep; then he should offer his witr salaat after his esha salaat before going to sleep

4.      It is preferable to delay the fajr, zuhr and maghrib salaats on a cloudy day, while it is mustahab to offer asr salaat a bit early.

5.      No salaat is valid at the times of sunrise, mid-day and sunset. However, if asr salaat has not been offered as yet, then it could be offered even at the time of sunset. In these three times, even sajdah-e-tilaawat is makruh and not permissible.

6.      It is makruh to offer any nafl salaat after offering fajr salaat until sunrise. However, the offering of any qada salaat and sajdah-e-tilaawat before the sun rises is permissible. But once the sun rises, then as long as some light does not appear, even qada salaat will not be permissible. Similarly, it is not permissible to offer any nafl salaat after the asr salaat. However, qada salaat and sajdah-e-tilaawat is permissible. But once the rays of the sun become weak or faint, then even this is not permissible.

7.      At fajr time, a person only offered his fard salaat out of fear that the sun will rise very soon. So as long as the sun does not rise considerably and does not get quite bright, the sunnah salaat should not be offered. Once some light appears, sunnah salaat and any other salaat may be offered.

8.      Once dawn breaks and fajr time enters, then apart from the two rakaats sunnah and two rakaats fard of fajr salaat, it is makruh to offer any other nafl salaat. However, it is permissible to offer any qada salaat and to make sajdah-e-tilaawat.

9.      If the sun rises while one is offering one's fajr salaat then this salaat will not be valid. When the sun becomes a bit bright, one should make qada. But if the sun sets while one is offering asr salaat, then this salaat will be valid and there will be no need to make qada of it.

10.  It is makruh to sleep before offering esha salaat. One should offer ones salaat and then sleep. However, if due to some sickness or travelling, one is very tired and tells someone to wake him up at the time of salaat and that person promises to wake him up; then in this case it will be permissible to sleep.

11.  It is mustahab for men to offer fajr salaat at a time when the light spreads considerably and there is so much of time left that in the salaat itself about forty to fifty verses could be read properly; and after offering the salaat, if for some reason one has to repeat the salaat, then in the same way he could read forty to fifty verses again. It is mustahab for women to offer fajr salaat throughout the year when it is dark. And it is mustahab for men and women who are performing hajj to offer fajr salaat when it is dark when they are in Muzdalifah.

12.  The time for jumu'ah salaat is the same as the time for zuhr salaat. The only difference is that it is mustahab to delay zuhr salaat in summer irrespective of whether it is hot or not. And it is mustahab to offer zuhr salaat early in winter, while it is sunnah to offer jumu'ah salaat early throughout the year. This is the opinion of all the ulama.

13.  The time for the eid salaats commences when the sun rises considerably and remains until just before mid-day. The sun rising considerably means that the yellowness of the sun disappears and its light is so bright that one cannot look at it. In establishing this, the jurists have said that it must rise to the extent of one spear. It is mustahab to offer the eid salaats early. However, the salaat of Eid ul-Fitr should be delayed slightly after the time commences.

Zuhr Prayer

14.  When the imam gets up from his place to perform the khutbah of jumu'ah, the eid salaats or for hajj, etc. then it is makruh to offer any salaat in these times. It is also makruh to offer any salaat at the time of the khutbah of nikah or at the time of the completion of the Quran.

15.  It is also makruh to offer any salaat when the iqaamah for a fard salaat is being called out. However, if one has not offered the sunnah of fajr salaat and one is sure or convinced that one will get one rakaat with the congregation, then it will not be makruh to offer the sunnah of fajr salaat. And the one who has already commenced with any sunnah-e-mu'akkadah, should complete it first.

16.  It is makruh to offer any nafl salaat prior to the salaats of eid irrespective of whether one offers it at home or at the eid-gah. As for offering it after the eid salaats, it will only be makruh to offer it at the eid-gah.

Age of "Consent"?

Age of "Consent"?

Difference in Salat between Men and Women

There are a few differences with regards to the postures adopted by men and women when offering salaat. They are as follows:

1. If a man is covered with a sheet or shawl, then at the time of sayingkbeer-e-tahreemah he has to take out his hands from under the shawl and raise them upto his ears if there is no need to keep them inside. For example, when it is cold, he still has to take them out. As for women, under all conditions they have to keep their hands inside and raise them upto their shoulders.

2. After saying the takbeer-e-tahreemah, men have to clasp their hands below the navel while women have to clasp them on their chests.

3. When clasping the hands, men have to place the right hand over the left hand in such a way that the thumb and little finger encircles the left wrist with the remaining three fingers extended along the left arm. A woman has to place her right palm over the back of her left hand and she should not form a circle with the right hand, nor should she clasp her left hand.

4. In ruku men have to bow down quite low, to the extent that their heads, hips, and backs are in line. Women should not go so low down. Instead, they should only bow down to the extent that their hands touch their knees.

5. In ruku, men should spread out their fingers and place them on their knees while women should not do this. Instead, they should keep their fingers together when placing them on their knees.

6. In ruku, men should keep their elbows away from their sides while women should keep them close to their sides.

7. In sajdah, men should keep their stomachs away from their thighs and their arms away from their sides while women have to keep all these parts close together.

8. In sajdah, men should raise their elbows above the ground while women should place them on the ground.

9. In sajdah, men should keep the toes upright while women should not do this.

10. In the sitting posture, men should sit on their left leg and the fingers of the right leg should be upright. Women have to sit on their left buttock and both their legs should point towards the right hand side in such a way that the right thigh comes over the left thigh and the right calf over the left calf.

11. Women do not have the choice of offering their salaat aloud under any circumstances. They should always offer all their salaats in a soft voice.

Stunning the animal

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Stunning the animal before it is actually slaughtered is a common practice in many western countries. It is claimed to be more comforting and causing less pain to the animal. Pre-slaughter stunning was originally introduced to protect abattoir personnel, rather than the animals themselves. The idea was to immobilize the animal to facilitate killing procedures. However, the principle of stunning has now evolved to encompass the idea that animals should be rendered unconscious before they are slaughtered. There are many methods used for stunning animals, just to mention a few:

The Captive Bolt Pistol

This stunning method is widely used for all farmed animals. There are two types of captive bolt pistol: penetrative and non-penetrative. Penetrative stunners drive a bolt into the skull and cause unconsciousness both through physical brain damage and the concussive blow to the skull. The bolt on a non-penetrative stunner is 'mushroom-headed' and impacts on the brain without entering the skull. Unconsciousness is caused by the concussive blow. After the animal is unconscious, it is slaughtered.

The bolt is described as 'captive' because it flies out of the barrel but remains attached to the pistol. The pistol is placed on the centre of the animal’s forehead and is either trigger-fired or fires automatically on contact with the animal’s head.

Pitching

Pitching is carried out in the majority of cattle slaughterhouses. The practice involves inserting a wire or rod through the hole in the head made by the captive bolt. The rod is slid up and down to destroy the lower part of the brain and the spinal cord.

Electric head-only stunning (electric shock or current)

Electric head-only stunning with tongs is used to stun cattle, calves, sheep, goats, rabbits and ostriches. The operator places a pair of electric tongs on either side of the animal’s head and passes an electric current through the brain - supposedly causing a temporary loss of consciousness.

Waterbath stunning

The electric waterbath is widely used to stun chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. Birds are shackled upside down on a moving conveyor which carries them to an electrified waterbath into which their heads are supposed to be immersed. The shackles contact a bar which is connected to earth. The strength of the electrical current has risen in recent years - with the aim of ensuring that birds suffer a cardiac arrest and die when they enter the waterbath.

Gas stunning

An animal is stunned by exposing them to a mixture of carbon dioxide and air. This gas causes the animal to loose its consciousness, after which it is slaughtered.

From an Islamic perspective, two main Questions arise here:

1) Is using the method of stunning permissible?

2) Will the animal be considered lawful (halal) if it was slaughtered according to the rulings of Shariah after being stunned?

As far as the answer to the first Questionis concerned, this depends on whether stunning the animal reduces the pain or causes more unnecessary pain.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:

“Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill (an animal), kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters” (Sahih Muslim).

Some of the methods used to stun animals are indeed very painful and as a result have been banned in many countries, like the method of pitching, for example. Therefore, such methods will indeed be impermissible according to Shariah.

As far as the other methods of stunning are concerned, although experts claim that they minimize the suffering of the animal, but this can not be said for certain. An electric current or a bolt pistol does cause pain to the animal, whereas gas stunning may cause severe breathing difficulties.

However, if it is ascertained that the claim of the experts is correct in that stunning does minimize the suffering of the animal, and also the animal does not die prior to the actual slaughtering, then it would be permissible to use the method of stunning, otherwise impermissible.

The second Questionis: what is the ruling regarding an animal that was stunned prior to being slaughtered? The answer to this depends on whether stunning causes the animal to die. Animal experts claim that it does not cause the animal to die; rather it only causes it to lose its consciousness, thus not feel the pain of the slaughter.

This, however, can not be said for certain, as many a time the animal does perish as a direct result of the stun. Especially with chicken, it is very likely that the animal dies as a result of the electric shock. Some experts are of the view that the stunned animal remains alive only for a few minutes, after which it dies.

As a result, no such ruling can be giver for certain. However, there is no doubt in the fact that if the animal was to die prior to the actual Islamic slaughter taking place or there is a fear of it dying, then it would be unlawful (haram) to consume its meat.

As the act of stunning renders the animal doubtful, one must avoid consuming the meat of animals that are stunned. It is known that the Jews abstain from consuming stunned animals, thus a Muslim should be more precautious in what he eats. However, if it is determined in a particular animal that it did not die prior to being slaughtered, then it would be Halal. This of course, is very difficult to determine whilst buying from meat shops, thus one should avoid it totally.

And Allah knows best

Source : Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, UK, Sunnipath, Online Islamic Academy.