asalamualikum...
* Ramadaan 1427 = 2006 *
by *Shaykh Muhammad al-Maaliki حفظه الله *
on Saturday, October 14th, 2006
http://albaseerah.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4377
3. *Question:* We have a masjid to which many people come, especially during
the month of Ramadaan. However, there are two major problems which occur:
First, the issue of the food – what is your advice to those who do not clean
the masjid after eating even though they are asked constantly by the
Administration to cleanup after the food because this can lead to the *
Musalleen* (those performing salaah) having to pray on dirty carpet with
food everywhere?
Secondly, once the food is over, most of the sisters do not pray Taraaweeh,
but instead sit in the back of the Musallah or in the hallway and talk with
laughter and loudness, destroying our khushoo’. And they also allow the
children to disturb us as well. All this is with the fact that we constantly
try to advise and plead with the Muslims to have mercy on their brothers and
sisters and respect Allaah's House, but to no avail.
Is it permissible to ask them not to come to the masjid if they are not
going to pray or listen to the tilaawatul Qur’aan (recitation of Qur’aan) or
to prevent them from bringing their small children? Please advice. Baarak
Allaahu feekum.
*Answer:* Na’am jazahallaahu khairan. The sister is asking about two points.
The first point is cleaning the mosque. First of all let us emphasize the
reward of cleaning the mosque even in regular times. We all know that *There
was in the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم a black woman who the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم missed one day and he asked the sahaabah about
her and they told him that she died when he was having qailulah (sleeping at
the Dhuhr time after praying Dhuhr). So he asked them what they did with
her. They said they had her washed, then shrouded and did the prayer of
janaazah and buried her. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم got very angry and
said “why didn’t you awake me, lead me to her grave.” So he went to the
grave and did the janaazah prayer there and said that this woman is a woman
of Jannah and he mentioned that she used to lift the small dirt from the
mosque just the small dirt that could not be seen and she used to clean the
mosque. *[13] And he said: * that cleaning the mosque or picking up dirt
from the mosque is the mahr – the dowry of the Hoor al-‘Een.*[14]
And perhaps the sisters will say we won’t clean because the Hoor al-‘Een are
female and we are female, and there is no *mahr* from a female to another
female. We say that the Muslim women from the children of Aadam and Hawwaa
are going to be the queens for the Hoor al-‘Een. If the one Hoor al-‘Een is
so beautiful to the extent that if she just exposes her face in the dunya
there will be no night, or if she spits into the sea it will all become
sweet – if this is for *one* Hoor al-‘Een then what about many Hoor al-‘Een,
and what about the queens of the Hoor al-‘Een? The queen of the Hoor al-‘Een
is going to be given more beauty than the Hoor al-‘Een. So by cleaning the
mosque you are pleasing Allaah and you are also at the same time gaining the
highest rank in Jannah.
The second point is that by dirtying the masjid you are dirtying the House
of Allaah and disrespecting the House of Allaah. This is showing disrespect
to Allaah. Allaah تعالى says in the Qur’aan:
وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ
*{….and whosoever honors the Symbols of Allaah, then it is truly from the
piety of the hearts.} * [Al-Hajj 22:32]
And *Sha’aair* includes the acts of worship and the places of worship.
Observe when Abrahah came to disrespect the House of Allaah and he wanted to
demolish it, Allaah destroyed him and his army.
My advice to the sisters and the brothers, because we also see this from the
brothers – that they don’t cleanup when they eat in the masjid. First of
all, they are not allowed to bring food that has smell – especially the ones
which are cooked with garlic or onions as well. Also, if they eat food in
the masjid that has no bad smell they have to clean and they have to perfume
(the masjid). We know that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم encouraged
cleaning and perfuming the masaajid with incense and other things. So we
have to take care of the masaajid. If when we have guests in our house we
don’t tolerate that our house is dirty then how is it that we keep the house
of Allaah dirty whilst we see that guests are coming? The people who come to
pray are the guests of Allaah. They come to pray in the mosque so we should
not cause this type of disrespect to the mosque. Rather, we need to clean
and show respect to the mosque which is the House of Allaah.
The second thing, those who stay in the mosque after ‘Eesha whether from the
brothers or the sisters, whether in your mosque or even what we see in
Masjid Al-Haram and Masjid an-Nabawi after ‘Eesha where they (some of the
people) say “we want to be on the Sunnah, we pray only eleven (11)
raka’aat”. So they stay, talking to others, disturbing the people who are in
prayer, and perhaps they joke and laugh and that is bad from two angles.
Firstly they did not adhere the Sunnah as they say they wanted to because
the sunnah is what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: *“One who prays with
the Imaam until he leaves it is written for him that he prayed the whole
night.”*[15] You are not the Imaam – you are the one who comes to pray
behind the Imaam, so if you stay behind the Imaam until he leaves – and here
it doesn’t mean the Imaam is Mr. So and So; for example in Makkah it doesn’t
mean Shuraim or Sudais – no it means the (whichever Imaam leads until the)
whole prayer (is finished). Even if Shuraim prays 10 raka’aat and leaves you
cannot leave and say I’ll get the reward of whole night because the prayer
is still continuing with Sudais. It is the same as when you are praying fard
and the Imaam breaks the wudū’ and leaves, one from the rows will step
forward and lead the jama’ah. So when one say that he made *tasleem* (gives
salaams) because my Imaam finished – No, that is not acceptable. You are
supposed to do the Salaah as it is.
The saying of ‘Aishah that: *“The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not pray
more than eleven rak’ah in Ramadaan and other than Ramadaan.”*[16] This is
for the Imaam. We encourage the Imaam to pray eleven raka’aat but if he
wants to pray more than that we can’t say that this is a bid’ah, to say this
is haraam because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was asked and he said:
صلاة الليل مثنى مثنى, فإذا خشي أحدكم الصبح صلّى ركعة واحدة, توتر له ما قد
صلى
*The night prayer is two rakah two rakah and if one fears the fajr he should
pray one and that will make the witr for him for the whole night. *[17]
The guidance for the *ma’moomeen* (the one who pray behind the Imaam) is
clearly stated by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself, and not by ‘Aishah
where he صلى الله عليه وسلم guided the *ma’moomeen* – the people who pray
behind the Imaam to wait until the whole prayer is finished so they get the
reward.
The second thing, if they insist (on praying eleven) and they say “No, no,
no, we are with the opinion which says only eleven raka’aat”. We say that
those ‘Ulamaa who say eleven raka’aat also say it is *forbidden for you to
disturb the people who are praying*. It is forbidden for you to stay and
disrespect those in the masjid by talking a lot and joking and laughing,
that is not allowed. You are not even allowed to disturb others by sitting
aside, holding the Qur’aan and reading loudly; if it is not allowed for you
to pray loudly in your house when your family is asleep so that you don’t
disturb them, then how it is allowed to disturb the people who are praying
(in the masjid)? That’s why we need to have *fiqh* of this Sharee’ah.
Regarding this Sharee’ah, many people are unfortunately dealing with the *
nusoos* (texts) as letters and text and that’s it. They don’t deal with the
*fiqh* (understanding) of them (the texts). That is why there are people who
have information and people who have knowledge. There is a difference
between *information* and *knowledge*. Even Shaytaan has information, but he
doesn’t have Knowledge. The kuffar have information on Islaam but don’t have
knowledge and that is why they are the not guided. So we need to have the
knowledge – the knowledge of fiqh. That is why when the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم supplicated for Ibn Abbas, he asked Allaah for two things for Ibn
Abbas – ‘Ilm and Fiqh.[18]
علمه التأويل وفقهه في الدين
So we have to differentiate between these two things and we need to have
fiqh of this religion. والله أعلم
4. *Question:* Are there any supporting hadith for breaking the fast with
dates or water? If not, then a person who breaks their fast with dates will
not receive a greater reward than the one who uses other than dates.
Afeeduna barakAllaahu feekum.
*Answer:* The hadith that is mentioned about breaking the fast with dates or
water is the hadith of ‘Aishah. She said that*the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
used to break fast with rutab – fresh dates and if he didn’t find rutabaat
then he broke his fast on tamaraat which is ripe dates and if he didn’t find
rutab or tamr then he took some water and then went for prayer.*[19] And
there is a hadith where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned about dates
that *“it is the best food that a person eats”*[20] and he صلى الله عليه
وسلم said about *Suhoor* (morning meal before fasting):
نعم سحور المؤمن التمر
*“The best sahoor for the believer is date”.*[21] And he also mentioned
dates in another hadith where he said:
بيت ليس فيها تمر أهله جياع
*“The house which does not have dates, the people who are living in it are
hungry”*[22] This is even if they have food. Why? Because date is rich, it
is the richest food Allaah تعالى gave to mankind. That is why Allaah تعالى
guided Maryam عليها السلام when she delivered ‘Eesa to shake the palm tree
although she could not shake it, but Allaah تعالى wanted her to give a means
by which the dates would fall down, Allaah made the dates come down for her.
And Allaah تعالى said to her:
فَكُلِي وَاشْرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيْنًا
*{So eat (from the dates) and drink (from the water) and be glad…}* [Maryam
19:26]
Also when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم *did tahneek – tahneek is to take
some dates, chew it, and then take it (the chewed bits) and put it in the
mouth of the newborn baby – when he صلى الله عليه وسلم put it in the mouth
of one of the children of the Ansaar the boy immediately sucked it and he
صلى الله عليه وسلم said the children of al-Ansaar love dates, because
Madinah is the land of dates. *[23]
So there ahaadeeth concerning dates. But what is the reward? *To my
knowledge* – I don’t say there are *no ahaadeeth* because if there are (such
ahaadeeth) I will be lying, I say *to my knowledge*, there are no ahaadeeth
which mention the reward of breaking fasting with dates or water. However,
this is the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and medically, I was
going through research from Muslim doctors and they said that the best thing
for the liver is fresh dates, if not then ripe dates and if not then water.
This is (after breaking fast) so you give the liver some time to absorb the
sugar (from the dates) which is the best sugar ever found, and then it (the
liver) starts functioning normally. This time is the time that you go pray
and come back. This is the Sunnah of Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, but if one
wants to break the fast with chocolate or a piece of cake or fruit or
whatever food it’s up to him, it is not a sin, but he would have lost the
benefit in this life of this blessed food – the date fruit, the tamr; and he
would have lost the reward of following the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم. والله أعلم
--
Masjid Ahlul-Quraan wa As-Sunnah of New york
http://www.seekknowledge.org
http://www.albaseerah.org
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