Hadith #9: The Doors of Sadaqah

Abu Dhar al-Ghafari said: “The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: ‘Sadaqah is prescribed for every person every day the sun rises.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, from what do we give sadaqah if we do not possess property?’ He said: ‘The doors of sadaqah are takbir (Allahu Akbar), Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La-ilaha-ilAllah, Astaghfirullah, enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing thorns, bones and stones from the paths of people, guiding the blind, listening to the deaf and dumb until you understand them, guiding a person to his object of need if you know where it is, hurrying with the strength of your legs to one in sorrow who is appealing for help, and supporting the weak with the strength of your arms. These are all the doors of sadaqah.” [Ahmad]

In other words one does not need to have financial resources to earn the reward of sadaqah. There are many deeds that qualify as sadaqah with Allah. In addition to those listed above the following ordinary courtesies are also sadaqah if we do them with the intention of pleasing Allah with them.

1. To administer justice between two people is sadaqah. 
2. To assist a man upon his mount so that he may ride it is sadaqah. 
3. To place his luggage on the animal is sadaqah.  
4. A good word is sadaqah. 
5. Every step taken toward prayer is sadaqah. 
6. Your smile for your brother is sadaqah. 
7. Planting anything from which a person, an animal or anything eats is sadaqah. 

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hadith #8

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Narrated 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him), reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wassallam) said,

"The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration would be for what he emigrated for".

According to some Ahadith, the reason for this Hadith is that a person sent a proposal of marriage to a woman named Umm Qais, which she turned down saying that he should have to emigrate to Al-Madinah for it. Accordingly, he did it for this specific purpose, and the two were married there. On account of this event, the man came to be known among the Companions as Muhajir Umm Qais.

On the basis of this Hadith, 'Ulama' are of the unanimous opinion that the real basis of one's actions is NIYYAH (intention) and everyone will be requited according to his Niyyah. It is true that Niyyah is founded in one's heart, that is to say, one has first to make up one's mind for what he intends to do and he should not express it verbally.

The point which becomes evident from this Hadith is that IKHLAS (sincerity) is a must for every action. In other words, in every righteous deed, one should seek only the Pleasure of Allah;insya Allah, otherwise, it will not be accepted by Allah.

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Quranic verses #7

وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

                                                                                                                   

 So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, 
and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers. 
(al imran, 3:139)

IT IS UNLAWFUL, ACCORDING TO THE QUR’AN, TO BE SADDENED OR DOWNHEARTED, WHEN PEOPLE HAVE TRUE FAITH ALLAH WILL PLACE MUSLIMS IN THE HIGHEST POSITION 

DO NOT GIVE UP AND DO NOT BE DOWNHEARTED.

Allah explicitly states in the Qur’an that Muslims must never give up or be downhearted. This is Allah’s command. Any other state of mind is unlawful, since it violates this command of Allah’s. 

Allah tests people in the life of this world with many events that may appear to be evil. The responsibility of Muslims is to be aware that everything that befalls them is specially ordained by Allah in destiny, and to submit to Allah and display fortitude at all times. 

  

...YOU SHALL BE UPPERMOST IF YOU ARE BELIEVERS  

Because in the following part of the verse, Allah reveals that no matter what situation true believers may happen to find themselves in, they are superior in terms of faith, reason and conscience, and He will definitely raise them to the very highest positions, both spiritual and physical. 

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Hadith #6

(volume:4th January 2012)

A man came to the Prophet and said,

‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father.

(Bukhari, Muslim)

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Hadith #5

(volume:27th December 2011)

Cats in the Hadith

In the Islamic world, cats are recognized with respect and honor and are welcome in the home of Muslims. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said “A good deed done to a beast is as good as doing good to a human being; while an act of cruelty to a beast is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.” This applies to human relationships with all animals.

• Cats are permitted inside mosques.
• Abu Hurayrah means father of cats.
• Cat hair is considered pure according to Hanafi School.
• Prophet Muhammad condemned the selling of cats.
• Small amounts of cat hair on prayer clothes does not make prayers void.
• Cat in Arabic is Quttah / Qittu.

In the hadith, cats are said to be generally clean animals. An example of this can be seen in a story where a girl named Kabsha filled a container with water for her uncle to perform wadu from but found her uncle letting a cat drink from the same container. Kabsha continued, “He saw me looking at him and said, ‘Are you surprised, daughter of my brother?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He replied that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, cats are not impure. They intermingle with you.” (Al-Muwatta, hadith 2.3.13)

Companions and Friends

Even one of the companions of the Prophet was known to keep a kitten close by and was therefore nicknamed Abu Hurayrah, this translates to “father of the kitten.”
Did you know that prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was also very fond of cats? There is a story that is related about a day when a cat was asleep on prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) robe. When he was ready to leave, he looked at the cat asleep on his robe and instead of disturbing the cat’s sleep he cut off the sleeve upon which he lay.

Treatment

There is a story in the Hadith that tells us about a woman who was punished because of a cat. She had neither provided the cat with food nor drink, nor set it free so that it might eat the insects of the earth.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told his companions that a great sin had been committed because one of Allah’s creatures had been ill-treated. The woman who had treated her cat so cruelly was not forgiven for her sins: she was sent to Hell for her wrongdoing.(Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 40, Number 553)

So, remember to take good care of your pets and other creatures. Allah rewards kindness to animals but punishes those who are cruel.

resource from : http://www.mkjournal.org/features/more_features/cats-in-islam.shtml

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Hadith #4

(volume:27th December 2011)

'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: 

As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.

He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a way."

He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said: "Tell me about true faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."

"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."

He said: "Now tell me about the Hour." The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "The one who is asked about it does knows no more than the questioner."

He said: "Then tell me about its signs." The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace answered: "That a slave girl shall give birth to her mistress, and that you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds vying to build tall buildings."

Then the visitor left. I waited a long while, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to me, "Do you know, 'Umar, who was the questioner?" and I replied, "Allah and His messenger know best." He said, 

"It was Jibril, who came to you to teach you your religion" 

(Sahih Muslim). 

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Quranic verses #3

(volume:27th December 2011)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلۡوَٲلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَـٰنًا‌ۚ إِمَّا يَبۡلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلۡڪِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوۡ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ۬ وَلَا تَنۡہَرۡهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوۡلاً۬ ڪَرِيمً۬ا

(al-isra':23)

 Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and do good to parents. If anyone of them or both of them reach old age, do not say to them: aahh (a word or expression of anger or contempt) and do not scold them, and address them with respectful words.

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Hadith #2

(volume:12th December 2011)

A man asked the Prophet, “What Islamic traits are the best?” 

The Prophet replied, “Feed the people, and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not know.” 

[Bukhari]

Nowadays we see that salaam is not considered the right of every Muslim. People will only give salaam to the people that they only know. In fact, if you offer salaams to strangers today they might look at you funny and trying to figure out if they know you. Because of that, you are not willing to give salaam to strangers anymore. Nevertheless, let us make an effort to revive this sunnah for the love of the Prophet and as a practice of one of the best traits of Islam.

Follow the sunnah, then you will get the jannah..InshaAllah.

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Hadith #1

(volume:1st December 2011)


Sixth Hadith: Love of the World

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... Muhammad ibn Ya'qub (al-Kulayni) from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Mahbub, from `Abd Allah ibn Sinan and `Abd al-Aziz al-Abdi from `Abd Allah ibn Abi Ya`fur, who report Abu Abd Allah (al-Imam al-Sadiq) (A) to have said: "One who passes his evenings and mornings in such a way that the world be his biggest concern, God ordains poverty between his two eyes and causes his affairs to become disjointed and dissipated, while he does not attain anything except what has been apportioned for him. And as for one who passes his evenings and mornings while his biggest concern and goal be the Hereafter, God puts contentment to his heart and gives a wholeness and unity to his affairs. [1]Exposition of the Tradition:There are various interpretations of the terms `the world' and `the Hereafter' according to different views offered by mystics and scholars. Here, our objective is not to plunge into any involved discussion about hair-splitting definitions, an absorption which keeps the wayfarer from proceeding towards his goal. What is essential here is to understand the meaning of `the disapproved world' (i.e. `the world' in the sense in which it is necessary for the person seeking the Hereafter to shun it) and the factors that assist man and guide him on the path of salvation. These we shall discuss, God willing, in a few sections, and implore His help and guidance in this regard.

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