The IMMEDIATE Knowledge (^ILMUL-HAAL) a Muslim is Obligated to Learn
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Transcript of The IMMEDIATE Knowledge (^ILMUL-HAAL) a Muslim is Obligated to Learn
اإلقبال على علمالحال
APPROACHINGTHE IMMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE
(^ILMUL-HAL)
THE IMMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE (^ILMUL-HAL)
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INTRODUCTION 4
SESSION ONE: BASIC CREED 5
THE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH 6Important pointers about some of the
attributes 9
THE PROPHETS OF ALLAH 11PURIFICATION 12
Ghusl 12
Wudu’ 13
Cleaning after Urination and Defecation
(Istinja’) 14
Removing Filth 15
BASIC PRAYER 16Important cases 18
SECOND SESSION 21
JUDGMENT 22BASICS OF BLASPHEMY (KUFR) 24
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THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE HEART AND SOME OF THE SINS OF THE VARIOUS
ORGANS 26LAST ISSUES 27
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INTRODUCTION
Part of the obligatory knowledge is what is
called the “immediate knowledge (^ilmul-
hal)”. It is more specific than the all of the
necessary religious knowledge contained in the
Summary that we will be taking after
completing this brief document, God willing.
This is the knowledge one needs for the
immediate obedience to Allah, as in the case of
a person who just embraced Islam within the
hour, for instance. Such a person must
immediately learn certain matters of belief,
and learn about matters of purification and
prayer, so to pray before the exiting of the
prayer time. They must also learn about some
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of the sins because it is obligatory to refrain
from them immediately.
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SESSION ONE: BASIC CREED
The most important knowledge is that of
the Creed. One must immediately know
about Allah and His Messenger.
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THE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH
It is obligatory to know 13 attributes among the
countless attributes of Allah. They are
1) Existence : Allah is a self attributed with
attributes. His self is His reality and not a
body. The selves of the creations are their
bodies. Allah’s existence is uncreated and
hence is not physical. He exists without
place, space, directions or time. The
existence of the world is proof for the
existence of its creator, for every doing
must have a doer.
2) Eternity : Allah exists without a
beginning, because had He been created,
He would need a creator, and hence
godhood would be invalid for Him. But
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since the creations’ occurrence is
confirmed by senses and natural
disposition (badihah), the Creator’s
existence, and more specifically, His
beginningless existence, is confirmed.
3) Everlastingness : Allah exists without a
beginning, and hence must exist without
end, for whatever comes to an end must
have a beginning. Whatever has a
beginning or end is bound by time, and
whatever is bound by time is an
occurrence; a creation.
4) Independence : Allah is free of need, for
whoever is in need is not god.
5) Oneness : One God is sufficient for the
management of the creation, thus
another creator is not needed, and
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whoever is needless and useless is not
God.
6) Dissimilarity : Allah does not resemble
the creation. He does not resemble the
dense, tangible entities like the rocks,
trees, people, etc., nor does He resemble
the subtle, intangible entities like light,
darkness, etc. He does not have the
characteristics of created things, like
motion, stillness, contact or separation.
7) Life : Allah must be alive, as proven by
the existence of the creation, for the one
who creates must have power, will and
knowledge, and whoever has power, will
and knowledge must be alive. However,
Allah is alive without a body or soul, and
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Allah does not die, so His life is absolutely
different.
8) Power : Allah makes things come into
existence and go out of existence. He is
exclusively the one who can make entities
exist. He can make something from
nothing; without tools or effort, and make
those things vanish.
9) Will : Allah specifies His creations with His
will; He gives them some traits that they
could have instead of other traits that
they could have. Also, Allah is not forced.
He creates by His choice, which is His will.
10) Knowledge : Allah knows what exists
and what does not exist; He knows what
was, is, and shall be, and what shall not
be, and every detail of how it would be
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had it been. He knows His own reality and
the reality of His attributes. No one knows
that but Him.
11) Hearing : Allah hears everything that
exists, but without ears, because He is not
an entity. Deafness is deficiency, and
deficiency is impossible to be an attribute
of the Creator.
12) Sight : Allah sees everything that exists,
but without eyes because He is not an
entity. Blindness is deficiency, and
deficiency is impossible to be an attribute
of the Creator.
13) Speech : Allah speaks without letters,
sounds or language, because He is not an
entity. He orders, forbids, promises,
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threatens, informs and questions by this
attribute.
Important pointers about some of the
attributes
1) All of His attributes have no beginning or
end.
2) In reference to His dissimilarity to the
creation, one must be warned about the
“Likeners” (the Mushabbihah), and
informed briefly about the ambiguous
(mutashabih) verses, out of fear of him
meeting a Wahhabiyy or reading a
mistranslation. It must also be clarified
that Allah exists without a place or
direction.
3) In reference to His hearing and sight, it
must be clarified that they are not eyes
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or ears. Allah does not have a body or
any bodily attributes.
4) In reference to His will and power, it must
be clarified that Allah is the creator of
everything, including the evil and the
deeds of the slaves.
5) In reference to His speech, several points
need to be clarified:
a. Among them is that His speech is not
letters, sounds or languages.
b. Our reason for quoting Arabic verses
after saying, “Allah said”, should be
clarified.
c. Lastly, it must also be clarified that He
orders, forbids, promises and
threatens (questions and informs).
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THE PROPHETS OF ALLAH
Throughout history, Allah sent prophets; men
who receive revelation from Him. They are the
greatest creation of Allah. The first of them was
Adam. The last and greatest was Muhammad.
They all have certain necessary qualities so
that they could successfully fulfill their mission.
Among those qualities is that they are
beautiful, courageous, intelligent, truthful and
trustworthy. They are impeccable; protected
from ever committing blasphemy, major and
small abject sins, they never worshipped
anyone other than Allah. They perform
miracles, which are extraordinary, supernatural
matters created by Allah and performed by he
who claims to be a prophet. They prove his
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truthfulness, comply with his claim, and they
cannot be outdone. Some of the Prophets were
Messengers; they came with a new law. We
follow the laws revealed to Prophet
Muhammad, and believe in what was revealed
to all of the Prophets.
PURIFICATION
The accountable Muslim must pray all prayers
on time, and thus must immediately learn not
only the prayer, but also some of its conditions,
namely four matters of purification:
Ghusl
The first is the full “shower (ghusl)”. It is
defined as making the water run over the
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entire body with an intention (of worship).
There are five reasons for being obligated to
perform this shower before praying. The first
two are for men and women: sexual
intercourse and ejaculation. The last three are
only for women: childbirth and the termination
of both menstrual and postpartum bleeding. It
is performed by making an intention when the
water touches the body, and then washing the
entire body with mere water.
NOTE: It is not an obligation that the ghusl be
in the form of what is commonly known as a
shower. It is only a condition that the entire
body be washed with flowing water, and not
wiped with something wet.
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Wudu’
The second is the ablution (wudu’). It is defined
as the washing of certain organs with an
intention (of worship). There are four things
that break the wudu’:
1) Anything that exits the private parts,
except for ejaculated fluid of men and
women1
2) Touching the skin of a marriageable
woman who reached an age at which
she is normally desired,
1 Sometimes the ejaculation may invalidate the wudu’. Specifying that has details: If that happens without physical contact, such as by mere thought or glance, or seeing a wet dream while firmly seated on the buttocks, the wudu’ is preserved. If it takes place by contact, it is broken.
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3) Touching the penis, anus or vagina of
a human with the inner part of the
bare hand,
4) Losing consciousness, except if one
slept with his buttocks firmly planted.
One performs wudu’ by doing six things:
1) Making the proper intention when the
water touches the face,
2) Washing the face,
3) Washing the hands, forearms and
elbows,
4) Wiping the hair,
5) Washing the feet and the ankles,
6) And keeping the order.
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Cleaning after Urination and Defecation
(Istinja’)
The third matter is istinja’, which is the
obligatory cleaning after anything wet comes
from the private parts, except ejaculated fluid,
for all wet material that exits those organs is
filthy, except for ejaculated fluid; it is pure. It
can be performed in two ways:
1) The first is by water. It is recommended
to pour the water with the right hand,
and to wipe with the left hand until there
is no trace of filth left.
2) The second is by wiping three times with
something pure, dry, uprooting, and
unrespectable. Each wipe must be with a
different side of whatever is used for
wiping.
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Removing Filth
The fourth matter of purification needed for the
validity of Prayer is the removal of other types
of unexcused filth from the body, clothing and
place of prayer. One must use water to remove
filth. If it is undetectable, it is enough to pour
water over it once. If it is detectable, it is
enough to remove the bulk and then pour
water over it until its traces are removed. If the
water were plenty, one could then place the
filth in the water without contaminating the
water, unless it changes.
BASIC PRAYER
If the new Muslim were accountable, he needs
to pray the due prayer before its time goes out.
It is common that the prayer time would soon
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go out after explaining the immediate matters
of belief and purification as swiftly and
concisely as possible. Furthermore, one may
want to consider that the new Muslim is
sometimes weak, not yet having the strength
to be patient with performing certain acts of
worship or avoiding some sins. Our most
important goal is to help this Muslim perform a
valid prayer after having learned the belief and
some of the conditions of prayer. For the
immediate obedience to Allah, we first teach
him the obligatory matters, and delay the
optional matters that take time away from
explaining the obligatory conditions and
integrals. So, while praying the obligatory
prayer, one must:
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1) Cover the unlawful nakedness, face the
Qiblah, stand if able and,
2) Say Allahu Akbar in Arabic if able, while
simultaneously intending to perform the
obligatory prayer,
3) Recite the Fatihah properly, which can
only be done in Arabic, or recite a
replacement (properly).
4) Bow with tranquility2 (being still long
enough to say Subhanallah),
5) Stand upright with tranquility,
6) Prostrate twice, each with tranquility
7) Sit with tranquility between the two
prostrations,
8) From there, a person would do one of
two things:
2 This is called in Arabic “tuma’ninah”
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A. Stand up after that to complete the
rest of his prayer, which would be by
repeating everything already
mentioned, except saying Allahu
Akbar with an intention,
B. Or if one has completed all the cycles
of his prayer, he must sit to end the
prayer,
9) Recite the Tashahhud while sitting to end
the prayer,
10) After that, make Salah on the
Prophet while sitting to end the prayer,
11) Then say, “As Salamu ^alaykum”
to end the prayer.
12) One must observe the order of the
Prayer’s integrals.
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Important cases
1) Whoever does not know the Fatihah by
heart- which is obligatory-, must learn it
before the prayer time exits. If he
cannot, he may read it from a page while
praying, or he may repeat after someone
who prompts him while he is praying. It is
not permissible to abandon these issues;
i.e., saying the Fatihah, unless he has an
excuse. If one is unable, either because
the time will exit before being able to
learn, or because his intellect is slow, he
may replace it with seven other properly
recited verses of the Qur’an, whether
they were in order or not. One absolutely
must not translate the Fatihah for the
prayer in any case, nor would he replace
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it with other than Qur’an when able to
recite the Qur’an. If unable, he may
replace it with words of remembrance,
like saying “Allahu Akbar” 20 times.
Twenty times is sufficient because the
condition of whatever one uses to
replace the Fatihah is that it would not
have fewer letters than the Fatihah itself.
This replacement is valid only for a time
that one needs to be able to learn how to
recite. After that time passes, the
replacement is no longer valid, because
the person fell short of his obligation. If
one is unable to do any of the
aforementioned, then he stands for the
duration of the Fatihah without saying
anything.
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2) Whoever is able to say the Tashahhud
and the Salah on the Prophet in Arabic is
not permitted to translate them. If he is
unable, he may translate them, as
Shaykh Taqiyyud-Din Al-Husniyy said in
his explanation of Abu Shuja^:
ة على النFبEي صلى Iال FالصIد و Nه IشFمن عرف الت
بEيFةE الI يجوز لIهZ أIن يعدل IرIعcالEسلم بIو EهcيIلIالله ع
إEن عجز Iام ف Iر cحE cى ترجمتها كتكبيرة اإلIلEإ
ترجمها
“It is not permitted for whoever knows the
Tashahhud and the Salah on the Prophet in
Arabic to resort to their translations, like the
formula ‘Allahu Akbar’ that initiates the prayer.
If unable, he translates them.”
3) It is important to help the New Muslim
recite the letters properly. If he is an
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English speaker, pay special attention to
his pronunciation of the (ح [ha’]), the (
the ,([dad]ض) the ,([sin]س ) the ,([ayn^]ع
.([sad] ص) and especially the ,([ghayn] غ)
There is another recitation of the Fatihah
in which the ( ص[sad]) is replaced by the
That recitation may be easier .([sin]س )
for him.
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SECOND SESSION
After learning the correct belief and
praying on time, one can inform the new
Muslim about other immediate
information, such as the Islamic belief
about the Afterlife, and the reality of
blasphemy.
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JUDGMENT
All Muslims believe that this life is a trial and
time for working towards the Afterlife. There is
no doubt that the accountable person has his
deeds of this present life recorded by two
angels, that he will die, and except for those
whom Allah spared, will be questioned in his
grave by the angels of questioning. If his body
were among those that decayed, he will be
recreated on Judgment Day and judged for the
deeds of his life. If it is not of that type, his soul
and body will be rejoined without his body
being reconstructed, and he will be judged. If
there were no Afterlife in which the people
would be judged for their deeds, then this life
would be meaningless, and all who did crimes
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and fulfilled their desires would have been the
winners, while those who refrained from
allowing their pleasures to control them would
be the losers. The Qur’an confirms that the
believer will be rewarded/punished for the
good and bad deeds-although Allah may
forgive him despite his deserving torture-, and
that the blasphemer would not have any good
deeds on that day. He will only be punished for
his bad deeds. The good deeds he did in this
life will not be in his favor on that Day, for Allah
will endow upon him in this life for his good
deeds. Whoever doubts about or denies the
Day of Judgment is refuted by his own
existence and created being, for the one who
created him in the first place would definitely
have the power to create him again. One’s
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book of deeds will be presented to him, and he
shall remember all of what he had forgotten of
his deeds. His deeds will be weighed in a scale,
and he will enter Paradise or Hell. The one who
dies as a Muslim is guaranteed to enter
Paradise, and he will never leave it, even if he
enters Hell first, and the blasphemer will never
exit Hell. Paradise, Hell, and the Afterlife are all
real and physical, not just spiritual nor
allegorical. Paradise is everlasting, as well as
Hell, and there is no death or sleep in the
Afterlife.
BASICS OF BLASPHEMY (KUFR)
The new Muslim needs to know that blasphemy
could take place by beliefs, sayings, or doings,
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and it does not require intent. Some examples
of blasphemous beliefs are
Likening Allah to the creation,
Denying His attributes,
Ascribing to the Prophets what does not
befit them,
Doubting about Judgment Day, Paradise,
Hell, or other basic creedal matters after
knowing that they are confirmed in the
Religion,
Believing that a Religion other than
Islam is valid,
Knowing that Muslims deem something
unlawful while believing that it is lawful,
and vice versa,
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Knowing that Muslims deem something
obligatory while believing that it is not
obligatory, and vice versa,
Doubting about whether Islam is valid or
not.
and other matters that one will learn
when acquiring the Personal Obligatory
Knowledge with detail.
Some examples of blasphemous sayings are
Uttering any of the aforementioned
issues,
Literally calling a Muslim a blasphemer
without any confusion or fallacy,
Anything that belittles the religious
matters, like to say, “Paradise is for the
babies”, or “the prescribed prayer is a
waste of time”.
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Some examples of blasphemous doings are
Prostrating to a creation other than a
human with or without the intention of
worship. As for prostrating to a human
with the intent of honor and not as
worship, it is not blasphemy, but still a
sin,
Knowingly throwing respectable religious
material in the trash,
Standing, sitting or spitting on
religiously, respectable material while
realizing what one is doing.
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THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE HEART
AND SOME OF THE SINS OF THE
VARIOUS ORGANS
It is obligatory on the Muslim to believe in Allah
and in what He revealed, and to believe in the
Messenger of Allah and what he conveyed. He
must also do his good deeds sincerely, regret
disobeying His Lord, and fear Him to the extent
that it stops him from sinning. He must refrain
from objecting to Allah with his heart or
tongue, use his endowments in obedience only,
practice the obligatory patience, hate the devil,
and hate the sins. He must not practice the
forbidden envy, not think highly of himself
because of his good deeds, not be arrogant,
nor be happy with sins. He must avoid the
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forbidden food and drink, the forbidden look,
the forbidden touch, gossip, lying and stealing.
He must not abandon the obligations, interrupt
them after initiating them and before
completing them, nor is he permitted to do
them incorrectly. He must bid the good and
forbid the evil whenever able, and all other sins
that will be learned from the summary of
obligatory knowledge.
Repentance from the sin is by ceasing the
sinful act, intending to never return to
something like it, and regretting that one
disobeyed Allah. Repenting from the sin is an
immediate obligation.
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LAST ISSUES
It is beneficial to review the issues of likening
Allah to the creation, and in a wise way, to
warn from reading translations, as the new
Muslim may be eager to read translations of
the Qur’an and hadith. The new Muslim must
be informed of the correct way of acquiring the
knowledge. He must also be taught the Fatihah
immediately. One needs to be clever when
teaching the new Muslim the obligations and
sins, because if his heart is still weak in Islam,
it is possible that telling him about certain
matters would repel him from the Religion. For
example, one should not rush to tell the new
Muslim that wind and string instruments are
forbidden, nor stop him from eating some
forbidden meat if that will break him and make
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him deaf towards hearing more important and
vital things. This is why Imam ^Aliyy said:
، IبFذIكZي cنIأ IونNب EحZتI ا يIعcرEفZونI أ IمEب ، IاسFوا النZثyد Iح
ZهZول Zس IرIو ZهFالل
“Address the people with what is familiar
to them. Do you like for Allah and His
Messenger to be contradicted?”
One can then inform the new Muslim of the
obligatory knowledge and order him to be
diligent in acquiring it,
AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST
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