7 tips for improving your relationship with the Quran

My Dear Brothers & Sisters.

Are you one of those people who rarely touches the Quran? Or do you read daily, but don't find it is having the impact on you that it should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can help you connect with the Quran.


1. Before you touch it, check your heart:-The key to really benefiting from the Quran is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allah's
book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it.Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was described by his wife as a "walking Quran": in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Quran, he
lived it.

2. Do your Wudu (ablution):-Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you you're not reading just another book. You are about to interact with God, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.

3. Read only 5 minutes everyday:-Too often, we think we should read Quran for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading
regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Inshallah (God willing), you will notice that those five
minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!

4. Make sure you understand what you've read:-Five minutes of reading the Quran in Arabic is good,but you need to understand what you're reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Quran in the language you understand best. Always try to read the translation of what you've read that day .

5. Remember, the Quran is more interactive than a CD:-In an age of "interactive" CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Quran is not like that. Remember that when you read Quran, you are interacting with Allah. He is talking to you, so pay attention.

6. Don't just read, listen too:-There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Quran, a number of them with translations as well.This is great to put on your walkman or your car's CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in addition to your daily Quran reading, not as a
replacement for it.

7. Make Dua (supplication):-Ask Allah to guide you when you read the Quran. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to Allah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.

It's my request to everyone just prey for every muslim that ALLAH will give us tofique to implements these tips in our life.

ALLAH HAFIZ
Ur Brother

How Do You Benefit From the Qur'aan?

Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said in al-Fawaa’id:

Allaah the Exalted said:

Verily, therein is indeed a reminder for him who has a heart or gives ear while he is heedful. (Qaaf 50:37)

When you desire benefit from the Qur’an, then bring your heart together during its recitation, listen heedfully and have the presence of the one who is being addressed and spoken to, since it is a speech from Him, the Sublime, to you, upon the tongue of His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam).

This is because the best and most complete effectis suspended between the following:

1. that which produces the required effect,

2. a place which receives this effect,

3. the condition which is necessary to receive such an effect and

4. the absence of that which prevents this effect from being obtained.

This verse has included all of the above with the most concise and clear of wording, which is most direct in expounding the intended meaning.

His speech: (Verily, therein is indeed a reminder...) is an indication of what has preceded from the beginning of Surah Qaaf to the present and this constitutes that which produces the desired effect.

And His speech: (...for him who has a heart...) this is the place which receives the effect and what is desired by it is: a living heart which understands from Allaah, just as the Exalted has said:

It is but a Reminder and a Manifest, Clear Qur’an, that he (Muhammad) may give warning to him who is alive (i.e. the healthy and live heart of the believer.) (Yaa Seen 36:69-70)

And His speech: (...or who gives ear...) the one who directs his listening and the perceptive faculty of his hearing to what is being said to him, and this is the condition of benefitting and receiving the desired effect from the words (that one hears).

And His speech: (...while he is heedful) meaning his heart is present and witnessing, not absent and unmindful.

Ibn Qutaibah said: "Listen to the Book of Allaah, while your heart and understanding are present, not while you are unmindful and forgetful."

And this is an indication of that which prevents the desired effect [from the Book of Allaah] from being obtained and that is the forgetfulness and absence of the heart from understanding what is being said to it, looking at it with care and pondering slowly and carefully over it.

So when that which produces the effect and that is the Book of Allaah; a place which receives the effect and that is the heart; the necessary condition, which is paying attention; the absence of that which prevents the effect and that is the hearts occupation and distraction away from the meaning of the speech and its turning way to something else are all present, then the effect will be obtained and realised and that is benefiting from the Qur’an and its remembrance.

Read Quran

Who Wrote the Holy Quran

Quran, in Arabic, could only have been written by ONE of 3 possible sources:

1. the Arabs

2. Mohammad (peace be upon him)

3. God (Allah)

Besides the above mentioned sources, Learn Quran couldn't possibly have been written by ANYONE else.

No other source is possible, because Quran is written in pure, rich, and poetic Arabic, which was not known to anyone other than the above mentioned sources, at that time. The Arabic language was at its peak in expression, richness, vocabulary, artistic, and poetic value during the time the Quran was being revealed. Anyone speaking the classical Arabic ( the Arabic of Quran at the time it was revealed) would argue that a non-Arab entity couldn't possibly have written such an extensive and brilliant piece of literature in the Arabic language. Quran could only have been written by an Arabic speaking entity. An entity, who's knowledge, style, vocabulary, grammar, and way of expression was so powerful that it impacted the entire Arabian peninsula, the east, the west, and continues to impact people all over the globe today!

At no other time, in the history of Arabic language, had it ever achieved its peak in expression, literature, and development, than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. At no other time in the history of Arabic language had the language ever achieved its highest potential than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. The language reached its peak in richness, artistic value, and poetry, during that time. With the Arabic language at its peak, and the best of Arabic writers, poets present in Arabia, it is impossible that a non-Arabic speaking entity would write a book like Quran and have such a dynamite impact on the Arabs!

So only an Arabic speaking entity could have write Quran. With that in mind, we're left with three choies:

1 - the Arabs wrote it

2 - Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it

3 - Allah (swt) wrote it


Lets examine the three choices one by one.

(1) Arabs Wrote it?

What Quran teaches goes DIRECTLY against the pagan Arab culture, religion, and gods, that existed before the Quran was revealed. Quran condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol gods, and worshipped them regularly. Quran raised the status of women; the Arabs treated women next to animals. The Arabs would never write something that goes against their most important belief of idol worshipping. Quran goes against most of the social habits (such as backbiting, slandering, name calling, etc) which the Arabs were heavily indulged into. For example, the Arabs would call insulting nicknames such as Abu Jahal (the father of ignorance). Quran condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely levied heavy interest rates in loans and businesses. Quran condemns and prohibits Alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcohol freely. The Quran condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas, the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers. The Arabs would never write something so comprehensively against just about all of their customs and culture and religious beliefs, as the Quran is.

During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social habits that the Quran condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire society's norms and ideologies?

Did a group of Arabs or an individual Arab write Quran? Perhaps a rebel Arab Bedouin, or a society's misfit, or someone with different ideals and norms decided one day to write Quran? The answer to those questions are also 'no'. Because, if we read Quran, we notice that there is no author! No individual has his/her name written on the cover of Quran! Anytime an individual writes a book, he/she writes his/her name on the cover. The author's name always appears on his/her book, and there is always an author who is credited for writing that book. No one in the history of the world has EVER claimed to have written the Quran, nor anyone's name ever appeared in front of the Quran as been the 'author'. This is the only book in the world without an author. No one in the world has ever been accused of writing the Holy Quran, except the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), by non-muslims.

Quran has no author, and no group or individual in Arabia ever claimed to have written it, nor any group or an individual recited, taught, and explained Quran except the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) was the only Arabian who first practiced, explained, and preached Quran, and ended up making a lot of Arab tribes enemies. Any historian, Muslim or non-Muslim would argue that the only possible source of Quran can be the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the man responsible to recite it, teach it, and explain it to the people of Arabia. In fact, many historians today still think that only Mohammad (pbuh) could possibly have written it.

This leads one to conclude that the Prophet (pbuh) must have written it!


(2) Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it?

First, he was illiterate !! How can an illiterate person come up with such a rich, poetic, intellectual, and inspiring text that it rocked the entire Arabia?

Mohammad (pbuh) never went to school! No one taught him. He had no teacher of any kind in any subjects. How can he have the knowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography, etc that is contained in the Quran? (For example, the mention of ocean currents, stars, earth, moon, sun and their fixed paths in Soorah Rahman; and many other scientific statements that are found in Quran, that I cannot state in this short article)

When Quran was revealed, the Arabic language was at its peak in richness, poetic value, literature, etc. Quran came and challenged the best literature in Arabic, the best poetry in Arabic of the time. Mohammad (pbuh) being illiterate couldn't possibly have come up with something so immaculate that it even exceeded the best of poetry, and literature in Arabic at the time of the language's PEAK development. Arabic language had never been so rich in expression, poetic value, vocabulary, and variety in literature, as it was in the time of Quran. At a time like this, Quran came and exceeded the best of Arabic in all aspects of the language: poetry, literature, expression, etc. Any classical Arabic speaker would appreciate the unbeaten, unchallenged, and unmatched beauty of the language of Quran.

An illiterate man is simply not capable of writing such a book.

Mohammad (pbuh) had no reason to come up with something like Quran, and cause the entire society of Arabia to become his enemy. Why would he do something like that? Why would he write something going against almost all of the norms of the society, and lose his family, relatives, friends, and other loved ones, and not to mention all the wealth he lost

Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran, for over 23 years?

Also, what the prophet Mohammad (saaw) used to say is recorded in what we call his Hadith (Sunnah). If we look at the Arabic style of the Hadith, and compare it with the style of Quran, we can clearly see that they are clearly DIFFERENT, and DISTINGUISHABLE Arabic styles. The prophet (saaw) spoke in public. It does not make sense that a man has two UNIQUE, Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in public. Yet another reason why Mohammad (saaw) couldn't possibly have written Quran.

Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years ! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran over 23 years?

SARAH AND HAGAR

The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Bible, where they are told their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bondwoman", and that as such, the Arabs are inferior breed.

Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammed (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such honour? The answer is simple - HE HAD NO CHOICE - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM." (Qur'an, 53:4).


Prof. Marshal Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

He says: "The Quran describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages -- the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science.... If I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I know today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described. I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Mohammed had to be developing this information from some place, so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that Divine Intervention was involved..."

That leaves us to our third option: ALLAH wrote it!

May Allah Guide Us All to Straight Path. Ameen.

Quran the Miracle

What is a miracle?

I think it is necessary that we have a clear picture of what we mean by a miracle. Here are some definitions:
"An event that appears so inexplicable by the laws of nature, that it is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God."
"A person, thing or event that excites admiring awe."
"An act beyond human power, an impossibility."

It is logical that greater the impossibility, greater the miracle. For example, should a person expire before our very eyes and is certified dead by a qualified medical man, yet later on a mystic or a saint commands the corpse to 'arise!', and to everybody's astonishment the person gets up and walks away , we would label that as a miracle. But if the resurrection of the dead took place after the corpse had been in the mortuary for three days, then we would acclaim this as a greater miracle. And if the dead was made to arise from the grave, decades or centuries after the body had decomposed and rotted away, then in that case we would label it the greatest miracle of them all!

A Common Trait

It has been a common trait of mankind since time immemorial that whenever a guide from God appeared to redirect their steps into the will and plan of God; they demanded supernatural proofs from these men of God, instead of accepting message on its merit.

For example, when Jesus Christ (pbuh) began to preach to his people - "the children of Israel" - to mend their ways and to refrain from mere legalistic formalism and imbibe the true spirit of the laws and commandments of god, his 'people' demanded miracles from him to prove his bona fides (his authenticity , his genuineness), as recorded in the Christian scriptures:

Quirk Continues

Some six hundred years after the birth of Jesus (pbuh), Muhammad (pbuh) the messenger of God was born in Makkah in Arabia. When he proclaimed his mission at the age of forty, his fellow countrymen, the mushriks of makkah made an identical request for miracles, as had the Jews, from their promised Messiah. Text book style, it was as if the Arabs had taken a leaf from the Christian records. History has a habit of repeating itself!

And they say: why are not signs sent down to him from his lord? [Quran 29:50]

SIGNS! WHAT SIGNS!!

"Miracles ? Cries he, what miracles would you have? Are not you yourselves there? God made you 'shaped you out of a little clay.' Ye were small once; a few years ago ye were not at all. Ye have beauty, strength, thoughts, 'ye have compassion on one another.' Old age comes-on you, and grey hairs; your strength fades into feebleness: ye sink down, and again are not. 'Ye have compassion on one another': This struck me much: Allah might have made you having no compassion on one another, how had it been then! this is a great direct though, a glance at first-hand into the very fact of things...." "(On heroes hero-worship and the heroic in history"), by Thomas Carlyle.

"This Struck Me Much"

This, that "ye have compassion on one another", impressed thomas carlyle most from his perusal of an English translation. I presume, there verse that motivated this sentiment is:

1. And among his signs is this, that he created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them. and he has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (emphasis added) Translation by A Yusuf ALi [Qur'an 30:21]

2. And one of his signs it is, that he hath created wives for you of your own species that ye may dwell with them, and hath put love and tenderness between you. herein truly are signs for those who reflect (emphasis added) Translation by Rev. J.M. Rodwell(M.A.)

3. By another sign he gave you wives from among yourselves, that ye might live in joy with them, and planted love and kindness into your hearts. surely there are signs in this for thinking men (emphasis added) Translation by N.J. Dawood.

Taint is in the Motive

Carlyle is very charitable to his fellow countryman. The motives of George sale, who pioneered an English translation of the Holy Quran, were suspect. He makes no secret of his antagonism to the holy book of Islam. In his preface to his translation in 1734 he made it known that it was his avowed intention to expose the man Mohammad and his forgery. He records: "who can apprehend any danger from so manifest a forgery?... The protestants alone are able to attack the Koran with success; and for them, I trust, providence has reserved the glory of its overthrow." George Sale, And he set to work with his prejudiced translation. You will be able to judge how 'fair' and scholarly George sale was from the very verse which 'struck' (carlyle) 'much!' Compare it with the three example already given by a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew: And of his signs another is, that he had created you , out of yourselves, wives that ye may cohabit with them, and hath put love and compassion between you.

Every word of the Quranic text is meticulously chosen, chiseled and placed by the All-Wise himself. They carry God's 'fingerprint', and are signs of God. And yet, the spiritually jaundiced...

Ask For A Sign

What signs?? They mean some special kinds of signs or miracles such as their own foolish minds dictate. Everything is possible for God, but God is not going to humor the follies of men or listen to their false demands. He has sent his messenger to explain his signs clearly, and to warn them of the consequences of rejection. Is that not enough? The trend of their demand is generally as follows:

In specific terms they asked that he - Muhammad (pbuh) - 'Put a ladder up to heaven an bring down a book from God in their very sight' - "Then we would believe," they said. Or "ye see the mountain yonder, turn it into gold' - "then we would believe." or 'make streams to gush out in the desert' - "then we would believe."

Now listen to the soft, sweet reasoning of Muhammad (pbuh) against the unreasonable and sceptical demands of the mushriks - "Do I say to you, verily I am an angel? Do I say to you, verily in my hands are the treasures of God? Only, what is revealed to me do I follow." Listen further to the most dignified reply he is commanded by his Lord to give the unbelievers.

Two Proofs

As a proof of the divine authorship and the miraculous nature of the Quran, two arguments are advanced by the almighty Himself:

1. 'that we' (God Almighty) have revealed to you (O Muhammad!) 'the book to you' who art absolutely an unlearned person. An 'ummi' prophet. One who cannot read or write. One who cannot sign his own name. Let Thomas Carlyle testify regarding the educational qualifications of Muhammad -

2. one other circumstance we must not forget: that he had no school learning; of the thing we call school-learning none at all.' Moreover the divine author (God Almighty) himself testifies to the veracity of Muhammad's (pbuh) claim that he could never have composed the contents of the holy Quran; he could not have been its author:

"And thou (O Muhammad) was not (able) to recite a book before this (book came), nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: In that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted." [Qur'an 29:48].

Consistency

It is inconceivable that any human author would remain consistent in this teachings and his preaching for a period of over two decades. From the age of forty, when Muhammad (pbuh) received his first call from heaven to the age sixty-three when he breathed his last, for twenty-three years the holy prophet practiced and preached Islam. In those twenty-three years, he passed through the most conflicting vicissitudes of life. Any man, during the course of such a mission, would be forced by circumstances to make 'honorable' compromises, and cannot help contradicting himself. No man can ever write the same always, as the message of the holy Quran is: consistent with itself, throughout! Or is it that the unbelievers objections are merely argument, refractory, against their own better light and judgment.? Furthermore, the holy Quran contains or mentions many matters relating to the nature of the universe which were unknown to man before but which subsequently through evolution and discoveries of Science have fully confirmed - a field where an untutored mind would have most certainly lost in wild and contradictory speculations!

Self-Evident Proof

Again and again when miracles are demanded from the prophet of God by the cynical and frivolous few, he is made to point to the Quran - message from high - as 'the miracle.' The miracle or miracles! And men of wisdom, people with literary and spiritual insight, who were honest enough to themselves, recognised and accepted al-quran as an a genuine miracle.

Says the holy Quran:

"Nay here are signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge:
And none but the unjust reject our signs."
[Quran 29:49]

Zakaat on jewelry and bank deposits.

Question : I have some gold ornaments that are less then nisab, and I have some money deposited in a bank, it is also less then nisab, but in value, together they exceeds nisab. Do I have to pay zakah?

Answer: Yes, when you have the nisaab amount one day, and then still have a nisaab amount one year later, regardless of fluctuations between those two dates, then you must pay 2.5%. 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2006

Reading hadith books 2

Question: i want to purchase the hadith so that i can gothrough it and understand it (inshallah) and want to know what exactly our prophet followed.presently i am in US so which hadith i should i follow. So please reply me a specific name of the book of hadith so that i can buy and read it.

Answer: The study of hadith differs from the study of fiqh. Hadith study focuses mainly on simply narrating what has been narrated, and judging the quality of the chain of narration (weak, hasan, sahiih, etc.) It tells you lnothing about how to understand these hadiths, because for this one needs a comprehensive view of all relevant information from other hadiths, Quran, scholarly sayings, Arabic linguistics, etc. To read hadith books with the purpose of knowing haram and halal by oneself is a gateway to Hell.

Fiqh on the other hand, focuses on the bottom line of what is fard, sunnah, mubaah, haram, etc. based on Hadith, Quran, Ijmaa^ and Qiyaas all at the same time, and in context. One does not learn fiqh by reading hadith books, nor is only likely to know much about proofs simply from reading hadith books; it is a large and intricate subject unlike some people apparently think.

If you simply want to read hadith, then Bukhaariy, Muslim etc. will do. I don't think, however, there are translations out there that are reliable. If you want to know the hadith proofs of the Hanafi school, that is a hadith book with a fiqh perspective, then I don''t know any books except in Arabic. An exception is I have seen a book in English that claims to show the hadith proofs of the Hanafi school with regards to prayer only. Do an internet search and you might find it.

All in all, I am not at all enthusiastic about reading books by oneself, certainly not books of hadith, for it contains much that can be very seriously misunderstood by a lay person. Sometimes the apparent meaning of a hadith with an authentic chain may have an apparent meanin that is impossible, and blasphemy to believe, which means that it is either discarded or given a figurative interpretation, as Al-Khatiib Al-Baghdaadiy and Al-^Uqayliy both stated. These two are imams in hadith knowledge.

One must learn from a qualified teacher that can protect one from such slips. Moreover, I am even less enthusiastic about using translations for such learning. There is very little out there that is any good, and most of it has very serious problems. I have yet to find a so called translation of the Quran that does not have plain blasphemy in it of the anthropomorphist kind. It is also different from the Sunni tradition of learning Arabic to learn the religion beyond the basics. I therefore strongly advice you instead to use your reading time for learning Arabic instead of reading translated books on religion.

Re: masah over socks

Question: Is it according to Abu Hanifa and his 2 students Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad permissible and valid to wipe over socks (whether they are leather or other material) if they are such that they dont absorb the water? ("absorb" here refers to "immediate absorption") I this is the case: If i have cotton socks and when i do masah over them the water doesnt reach my feetskin immidiatly then is it valid?

Answer: Not only waterproof. They must stand by themselves without support, up to the level above the ancle, if left on the floor like shoes. I.e. "socks" here means shoes made from cloth more or less. Like the shoes that are made from felted whool.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2006

Re: 60 days fasting

Question: What is the proof from Quran or Hadeeth that one must fast 60 days kaffarah if one breaks his fasting? I heard a Imam on TV say that there is no proof from Quran or Hadeeth to support this.

Answer: The atonement is due if the breech of the fast was complete without any mitigating circumstances. In support of this, Al-Bukhaariy related what means that a man came to Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have been destroyed!" upon which the Prophet –may Allah raise his rank- asked what was the matter and the man said, "I made intercourse with my wife while fasting". The Prophet asked whether he could find a slave to free, but he answered, "No," upon which the Prophet asked, "then are you able to fast two consecutive months?" but again the man, said, "No." The Messenger of Allah then asked what means, "Can you find what feeds sixty poor people?" but the man answered, "No," once again. Upon that the Prophet –may Allah raise his rank-  remained silent for a moment, and in the meantime someone brought him a large vessel with dates. He said, "Where is the one asking?" The man answered, "I <am here>!" The Prophet said, "Take these and give them as alms <sadaqah>!" etc.  

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2006

Posision of Hands in Qnut

Question: In the takbir for qunut in witr it is said one should raise his hands in the
manner as raising for dua (thus not like when starting prayer) and reading in this position the qunut.(keeping the hands raised) Is this correct?

Answer: In the Hanafi school one puts one's hands during qunut as one does when reading faatihah: Righ over left below the navel.

Re: the rakaat of nafila

Question: According to Abu Hanifa how many rakat nafila can you pray with one taslim?

Answer: It is makruuh to pray more than 4 rak^ahs with one tasliim.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2006

Re: Bravenet Form Processor Fiqh Q&A

Question:  Do you have to make wudu over if you have alot of mucus(Snot) in your noise and you blow it out?
 

Answer: No.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006

Re: Bravenet Form Processor Fiqh Q&A

Question: If one's saliva becomes thick while fasting, does it break fast to swallow it?  What if you cough up phlegm and swallow it?  What if you have chronic mucous in your throat, does swallowing it break fast?  Lastly, if mucous flows down the back of your throat persistently, do you have to constantly intercept it and spit it out, or can you swallow it?

Answer: It does not break the fast to swallow spit or phlegm as long as it was not from outside the mouth. As long as it remained in the mouth and was swallowed, it does not harm the fast. If someone had spit outside the mouth, then brought it into the mouth and swallowed it, however, it would break the fast, like any other substance from outside the mouth.

Re: masah over socks

Question: What is the proof that socks allowed for wiping must be solid enough stand by themselves without support, up to the level above the ancle, if left on the floor like shoes?

Answer : What is the proof that they don't? This is the real question. The original order of the Quran is that the feet must be washed. Then it was established that wiping the khuff is allowed by narrations from some 70 companions. Socks are only mentioned in some hadiths describing actions, and are not sayings. There is no hadith saying "wipe on your socks!" that can be generalized. This means that one must take care to ensure that the same circumstances are met, because actions cannot be generalized. At that time (1) they did not have thin socks (2) and their socks were used for travel. Moreover, there is no hardship in removing thin socks. Thin socks are therefore different from several angles, and there is no proof that wiping a this sock is a subsitute for the Quranic order of washing the feet, which must be met.

Interpretation of words refering to Allah's attributes

Question: According to the translator of Fiqh al Akbar, Imam Abu Hanifa writes this passage (Abu Adam: beware that the translation below is weak and dangerously misleading. It is not allowed to translate literally the words refering to Allah's attributes in Arabic that are not obvious in meaning, such as translating "yad" as "hand", etc. This is because the apparent meaning of "hand" is a limb, and it is blasphemy to believe that Allah has limbs. See the answer below for more detail ):

"It cannot be said that His Hand represents His power or His bestowal of bounty, because such an interpretation would require a negation of an attribute."

The question is: Imam Abu Hanifa clearly here states that it cannot be said that His hand represents His power or His bestowal of bounty. So why the Maturidiyyah still say that ''hand'' means ''power''? This goes against the statement of Abu Hanifa, i.e. this is a big contradiction. Can you exlain this contradiction?

Answer: First of all this kind of translation is the work of an irresponsible deviant. How can he translate the arabic "yad" as "hand" in this context, when Abu Hanifa does not accept providing an interpretation? In fact, a couple of pages later he explicitly states that it is not allowed to translate "yad" into Persian, even if if you state immediately after it: "without a modality."

Moreover, the translator's saying "of unknowable modality," is not what it says in Arabic. It says: "without a modality." This is very different. Modality, as stated in Princeton University's Wordnet means: "how something is done or how it happens". According to this definition it is kufr to say about an attribute of Allah that it is of "unknowable modality", because this implies that it does have one, it is just that we do not know it.

The expression translated is "bilaa kayf". Literally it means: "without a how". It does not mean that the how is unknown. It means thatthere is no how. That is, Allah attributes are not something that has spatial, physical or temporal aspects, ie. shape, form, mode and the like. This is because such aspects are aspects of created attributes. Such attributes need specification, because they have many possible modes, such as: what kind of shape? How tall?  How wide?, How fast? How far? In what direction? At what time? etc. This means that these attributes need a creator to specify them, and cannot be eternal.

Back to your question.... Note that the reason why Abu Hanifa says what he says about "yad" is that saying it means "power" or "bestowal of bounty" does not fit the context it is mentioned in all places. Many of the later followers of Abu Hanifa were compelled to specify interpretations for words that are used to refer to attributes, but do not have an obvious and befitting meaning. One of them is "yad". This compulsion came from the appearance of much deviation and confusion caused by hypocrates, deviants and other enemies of the religion. This meant it was no longer sufficient to say "without modality". It had to be made more clear that these words do not have any sense of their apparent meaning in order to remove doubts and concerns among the general public. So although it is preferred not to specify a meaning, having people falling in kufr is much worse than going ahead with providing acceptable interpretations.

For this reason one finds many scholars doing this. Even Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the most conservative of the four imams did this. He said that "Jaa' Rabbuka", which is translated by blasphemers as. "Allah came", means that Allah's orders came. This saying of his was narrated with a sound chain by Al-Bayhaqiy.

The need for providing acceptable interpretations is especially pressing today, because people are very ignorant and there is big propaganda for the blasphemous beliefs of anthropomorphism. Almost all the money for religious propagation is in the hands of anthropomorphists or those that try to please them.

 

As a sidenote you should know that when it comes to translating words that refer to Allah's attributes, such as ridaa, ghadab, yad, etc. which's literal meaning do not befit the Creator, there is consensus that this cannot be done if the translation is misleading. Almost all authors today commit a big mistake in this area. In Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar itself you will find that Abu Hanifa does not allow that translation of the Arabic "yad", translated by the careless translator as "hand", at all to Persian. He did allow translating some other words, provided that one stated "without a how" with it. At his time, and in Persian, he felt that this was enough to avoid misunderstandings, except in the case of "yad".

Know that the following are the conditions that must be made for translation of Allah's attributes to another language than Arabic:

1.It must be equivalent to an Arabic expression that is permitted to use.
 

For example we do not say that Allah has a "mind" or use the words "intelligent" or "rational" as attributes for Him, because there are no revealed text to indicate the permission.

2.It must have the same meaning as the Arabic expression in the context that it is being used.
 

For example, we should not use the word "anger" as a translation of the word "ghadab" in Arabic, because "anger" is an emotional reaction in English, and is not used otherwise. Emotions are changing states of being, and it is impossible that Allah should change, just as it is impossible that he should react, because reacting is a sign of need. Rather one should translate the meaning of "ghadab" when referring to Allah, which is that the one that has Allah's "ghadab" against him is someone that Allah has willed punishment for.
 

Likewise one must not use the intransitive verb "pleased" for Allah as a translation for "radiya" in Arabic, because the expression "to be pleased" is an emotional reaction. Instead one should use the word reward, which is what the verb radiya means when referring to Allah in Arabic.

3.It must not be confusing or misleading so that a listener or reader may think it means something that is not befitting of the Creator.

For example, a word like "wrath" is closer to "ghadab" in Arabic when referring to Allah, than "anger". This is because wrath can mean "punishment." Accordingly, the expression "God's Wrath", could mean: "God's Punishment." There is still, however, the fear of it being misunderstood to mean an emotional state. For that reason, it is safer to use the word "punishment" for the Arabic "ghadab", than wrath.
 

Note that while there are expressions in Quran and Ĥadith that can be easily misunderstood, we are not allowed to come up with misleading expressions of our own.

4.It must not give a sense of being improper or impolite.
 

For example, we do not use an expression like "the Creator of ugliness" in an absolutely way. This is despite the fact that its permission is included in the permission to say "the Creator of All Things". The reason is that it shows poor etiquette when uttered in an absolute way.

5.It must carry a sense of awe and glorification. For example we do not use the word "planter", even though the verb "to plant" is used in Arabic, because the former lacks the sense of awe and glorification.
 

The origin of the above rules is that one cannot say anything about Allah for which there is no permission. The permission is achieved by having a revealed text. The words that refer to attributes in Arabic that some people understand wrongly have permission, but translated words do not. One cannot translate these in a way that does not comply to the above 5 rules, because without these being met, one is saying something about Allah according to what one likes or thinks only, this is either haraam or kufr, not less.