Ettiquetts of reciting Qur'an

Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi says in
al-Jami' li ahkam al-Qur'an
[Taken from Reliance of the Traveller]
It is the inviolability of the Qur'an:

1. not to touch the Qur'an except in the state of ritual purity in wudu, and to recite it when in a state of ritual purity;

2. to brush one's teeth with a toothstick (siwak), remove food particles from between the them, and to freshen one's mouth before reciting, since it is the way through which the Qur'an passes;

3. to sit up straight if not in prayer, and not lean back;

4. to dress for reciting as if intending to visit a prince, for the reciter is engaged in an intimate discourse;

5. to face the direction of prayer (qiblah) to recite;

6. to rinse the mouth out with water if one coughs up mucus or phlegm;

7. to stop reciting when one yawns, for when reciting , one is addressing one's Lord in intimate conversation, while yawning is from the Devil;

8. when begining to recite, to take refuge from in Allah from the accursed Devil and say the Basmala, whether one has begun at the first surah or some other part one has reached;

9. once one has begun, not to interrupt one's recital from moment to moment with human words, unless absolutely necessary;

10. to be alone when reciting it, so that no one interrupts one, forcing one to mix the words of the Qur'an with replying, for this nullifies the effectivness of having taken refuge in Allah from the Devil at the beginning;

11. to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly pronouncing each letter;

12. to use one's mind and understanding in order to comprehend what is being said to one;

13. to pause at verses that promise Allah's favour, to long for Allah Most High and ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to ask Him to save one from it;

14. to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and individuals to heed and benefit from their example;

15. to find out the meanings of the Qur'an's unusual lexical usages;

16. to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fuLly pronounce every word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds;

17. whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity of ones's Lord, and that His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has delivered his message, and to testify to this, saying: "Our Lord, You have spoken the truth, Your messengers have delivered their tidings, and bear witness to this. O Allah, make us of those who bear witness to the truth and who act with justice": after which one supplicates Allah with prayers.

18. not to select certain verses from each surah to recite, but rather the recite the whole surah;

19. if one puts down the Qur'an, not to leave it open;

20. not to place other books upon the Qur'an, which should always be higher than all other books, whether they are books of Sacred Knowledge or something else;

21. to place the Qur'an on one's lap when reading; or on something in front of one, not on the floor;

22. not to wipe it from a slate with spittle, but rather wash it off with water; and if one washes it off with water, to avoid putting the water where there are unclean substances (najasa) or where people walk. Such water has its own inviolability, and there were those of the early Muslims before us who used water that washed away Qur'an to effect cures.

23. not to use sheets upon which it has been written as bookcovers, which is extremely rude, but rather to erase the Qur'an from them with water;

24. not to let a day go by without looking at least once at the pages of the Qur'an;

25. to give one's eyes their share of looking at it, for the eyes lead to the soul (nafs), whereas there is a veil between the breast and the soul, and the Qur'an is in the breast.

26. not to trivially quote the Qur'an at the occurrence of everyday events, as by saying, for example, when someone comes, "You have come hither according to a decree, O Moses" [Qur'an 69:24],

or, "Eat and drink heartily for what you have done aforetimes, in days gone by" [Qur'an 69:24], when food is brought out, and so forth;

27. not to recite it to songs tunes like those of the corrupt, or with the tremulous tones of Christians or the plaintiveness of monkery, all of which is misguidance;

28. when writing the Qur'an to do so in a clear, elegant hand;

29. not to recite it out aloud over another's reciting of it, so as to spoil it for him or make him resent what he hears, making it as if it were some kind of competition;

30. not to recite it in marketplaces, places of clamour and frivolity, or where fools gather;

31. not to use the Qur'an as pillow, or lean upon it;

32. not to toss it when one wants to hand it to another;

33. not to miniaturize the Qur'an, mix into it what is not of it, or mingle this worldly adornment with it by embellishing or writing it with gold;

34. not to write it on the ground or on walls, as is done in some new mosques;

35. not to write an amulet with it and enter the lavatory, unless it is encased in leather, silver, or other, for then it is as if kept in the heart;

36. if one writes it and then drinks it (for cure or other purpose), one should say the Basmala at every breath and make a noble and worthy intention, for Allah only gives to one according to one's intention;

37. and if one finishes reciting the entire Qur'an, to begin it anew, that it may not resemble something that has been abandoned.

Qur'an cures cancer

It is scientifically proven; listening to Quran reduces the prevalence of cancerous cells in the human body and even destroys them.

The prolongation of prostration strengthens memory, and prevents stroke.

Prostration removes positive charges in the body - in a world where EVERYTHING uses electricity and affects us negatively, learn the importance of this.

MUSLIMS OF BRITAIN ARE UNDER MICROSCOPE

By Shaykh Shams Adduha Muhammad.

Once again, Muslims of Britain are under the microscope. This time it is the niqab, the face covering worn by many Muslim women. Calls to ban it, have a national debate about it etc are being made by non-Muslims and so called ‘progressive Muslims’ like Yasmin Alibhai Brown (1). Neither of these two groups of people have any idea why a Muslim woman wears a niqab and proceed with their tirade based on their own assumptions; preaching to Muslims about their own faith. What positive outcome they think they will get out of this; quite how this will promote community cohesion and understanding is beyond anyone. What irony! They offend Muslims, propose to limit their freedom, and yet still talk about social cohesion and freedom in the same breath.

In a country where women have won the right to bar ealmost everything, we have a proposal to ban people from covering almost everything. People’s freedoms are being limited in the name of emancipating them. The newspaper that has Page 3, is campaigning for the niqab ban on page one. Male MPs want to tell women what they can’t wear; ‘progressive Muslims’ i.e. non-practising Muslims are the new Muslim theologians; and practising Muslims are the extremists.It’s a tired and familiar old story. With hugely important events occurring around the world to report on, the media jumps on every little scrap that either makes Islam and Muslims look bad or puts pressure on them by making their way of life look more and more incompatible. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy; make your own demons and then fight to banish them. Muslims will respond by fighting the oppression and repelling the false liberators. As things stand, the Muslims are fighting for the heart of Britain, for freedom and human rights. Should they along with the sane voices in British society fail and the extreme voices in British society prevail, it will simply add to the ever increasing proof of the British establishment’s hypocrisy as, on the one hand, it seems to be taking lessons in suppression from its despotic and autocratic allies in whose lands Muslims indeed struggle for basic freedoms; and yet on the other hand it marauds around the world, hand in hand with the US in the name of freedom and democracy.

Now it is simply bringing all that ugly mess home. Muslims of Britain simply need to stick to their value-rich faith. Good people will respect us for our principles, and the haters and hypocrites will continue to expose themselves plain for all to see.Yet while we will continue to fight for a woman’s right to wear the niqab, there is growing confusion about whether Muslim women are fighting for a cultural practice or a religious one. Although this distinction should make little difference in a democratic country, it is a pertinent question for us as Muslims to understand. Every time this issue makes the headlines, some Muslims who are vocal in the media make a point of stating that it is a cultural practice that has nothing to do with Islam.

It is time to clear this up, and it is very simple.In Surah al-Noor

(2), Allah (SWT) commands believing men and women to lower their gazes and guard their chastity. Then He tells women to not expose their beauty except that which is normally apparent. There are two interpretations for the ‘normally apparent’. Ibn ‘Abbas (RA) says it means the face and hands. However, Ibn Mas’ud (RA) interprets it as whatever is apparent after the face is covered.

(3)In Surah al-Ahzab (4), the Prophet (SAW) is commanded to tell his wives, daughters and the women of the believers to ‘bring their outer garments close to them’ so that they can be recognised as noble women and not be harmed. In response to the verse, the women of Madina were reported to have come out with their faces covered in different ways.

(5)In light of the above, Muslims scholars have differed on whether or not covering the face is obligatory for women. This is true also of the four famous and currently practised schools of thought. The Hanafi and Maliki schools do not consider covering the face to be obligatory. The Shaf’i and Hanbali schools declare it obligatory. Later Hanafi jurists preferred the obligatory ruling due to an increase in immorality resulting in the need for women to be more prudent and protective over themselves.

(6)The above difference of opinion based on varying interpretations is not unique to this issue, thousands of issues are differed upon in exactly the same way. Muslims accept both positions as acceptable interpretations. Preference is either based on an academic leaning or based on precaution and prudence. The fact that there is disagreement does not take any matter outside of the pale of the Islamic tradition. In the case of men, the same is true of the beard, the cap, wearing trousers above the ankles. All of these are issues that have differing views, yet all of these issues are part and parcel of Islam and all are issues wherein the current practice of Muslims is diverse.

To suggest that any such issue is cultural and not religious demonstrates an overwhelming ignorance of Islamic teachings. In some instances it also indicates crass-pragmatism and an inferiority complex owing to an inability to cope with issues presented by modernity.

There will be those ‘progressive Muslims’ who give little importance to the hadith literature and claim to only be following the Qur’an, interpreting it in whichever fanciful way suits their preference. The contradiction they have to overcome is that the Qur’an itself was preserved by the memories of the Prophet’s companions and their oral tradition. Thus if one accepts the Qur’an as being preserved through the memories of these most trustworthy of human beings then how can one choose to ignore the weight of their testimony in other matters relating to the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).On any Islamic issue where there is a difference of opinion, the individual chooses what to do. There is no force or coercion. In the matter of the niqab, many women find it more conducive to Islamic teachings around modesty, chastity, and neutralisation of sexual attraction, and so wear the niqab as a mark of their commitment to these ideals and their piety. It doesn’t even have to mean they consider it obligatory; nor does it mean that those who do not wear the niqab are less chaste or modest. It is about one’s personal feelings about themselves and how they manage their own spirituality. Many of my students know that I do not consider it obligatory. I see them join my classes without the niqab, soon after, they start wearing the niqab. I don’t even know why they did it. Ultimately, it’s their choice and none of my business. But it is a religious choice and not a cultural one, which means a woman makes the choice to adopt an Islamic teaching in the hope of being rewarded by Allah (SWT). This is the essence of any religious practice.The idea that women are being forced to wear the niqab islaughable. I’m sure some wear it because their husbands or fathers want them to. But choosing to respect their wishes does not mean they are forced. Maybe the would-be heroes who seek to emancipate niqab-wearing Muslim women should actually talk to niqabi women to find out how they feel rather than excluding them. An act that is so undemocratic, one wonders what kind of government these MPs think they represent?In my fifteen years as an active imam and teacher with thousands of students, I have rarely come across a woman who complained that she was being forced to wear theniqab. Given that I do not hold it to be obligatory; I would be an obvious imam to consult for such women. Ironically, the complete opposite is true: women regularly complain that they choose to wear the niqab but their husbands or fathers pressurise them to take it off. They ask whether they have the freedom in Islam to hold their ground. If the niqabgets banned, these MPs would have succeeded in taking away their freedoms and would have played in to the hands of patriarchy, something that would never have occurred to them.

At the root of it is ignorance and arrogance. Ignorance of what the niqab really is about, and arrogance that leads to imposing one’s own views, preferences and anxieties upon the freedoms of others. Whatever happens, Muslims will adapt and we’ll move on. We’ve seen and been through worse.

Britain as a whole needs to think carefully about what it stands to lose if it goes down this path. As far as I am concerned, democracy, human rights and liberal values are now being interpreted in a very dubious way. Muslims just have to stick to their principles. We were around before modernity and many other aspects of new-age conventional thinking, we will not be dictated to by it, we have not given in to it like Christianity and other faiths, and indeed we have no need to do so.

Furthermore we will be around the day they have moved-on and become unrecognisable to westerners whose ancestors fought for them. It seems they are already moving on, albeit a move backwards.

Who is a Salafi?

By: Shaikh Luthfur Rahman
The original translation of SALAF is Predecessors Scholars and the meaning of SALAFI is a follower of those Predecessors.  In that sense, whoever follows a group of predecessors scholars in their religious matters is considered as Salafi. It also proves that, the followers of early stage Mazhabs  like Hanafi, Maaliki, Shaafie, Hanbali are the actual and better Salafi than anybody else. Further more,  each of this Mazhab never belonged  to an individual Faqeeh (Jurist) only as some might assume rather it belonged a number of extra ordinary  learned predecessors Fuqahaa (jurists).
What about the Salafi Dawah Movement of this time and a person who is claiming to be Salafi? Salafi Dawah Movement is a contemporary school of thought which is highly committed to invite the Muslims to follow the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding of their contemporary scholars and some selected predecessors. It must be clarified that, anybody claims to be Salafi at this time is nothing but a follower of the contemporary Salafi Dawah Movement in his religious matters.

Olive Online, an excellent new Islamic online company

An entrepreneur has established an excellent new Islamic company which is serving the British Muslims, specially the Muslims in London.  

There are about 1.8 million Muslims in the UK which is 3% of the total British population. From this, 1 million Muslims are situated in London alone. Although not all Muslims look like or practice Islam properly but there are an increasing number of people practicing Islam in Britain. Women wear Jilbabs and Abayas to cover their body modestly and Hijabs and Niqabs to cover their heads and faces respectfully as it is a praiseworthy and necessary aspect of a Muslim’s faith. Men keep beards as it is regarded as Wajib according to the Ulama of the Hanafi school of thought. Other schools render it important too. Muslim men wear Islamic clothes such as Hats, Thoubs, Jubbas, Qamees and etc. This is seen in the month of Ramadhan more often than other times of the year.

In the British Muslim community, there is a growing demand growing for Muslim businesses where services and Islamic items and necessary things can be found. Some entrepreneurs have seen this gap and took this opportunity to make available the things that a Muslim needs to live a normal Islamic life with comfort in Britain. Such is the case with Olive. Olive has managed to establish itself to provide Madrasah uniform to a number of full time and evening Islamic schools in London.

It saw that Muslims need to go to Islamic stores in person to buy clothes that they need or want which can be hard often due to being far from the shop. Hence Olive has opened its online shop which can be accessed on www.oliveonline.co.uk. 

To its website more accessible, it has created a marketing campaign on Facebook (www.facebook.com/oliveonline.islamicstore) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/shop_olive). On Olive’s website, traditional and classical Abayas, Jilbabs, overcoats, Hijabs, Niqabs, Burqas for women and Jubbas, Thoubs, Hats for men can be found. There are often offers that are available on the site and specially for its customers from Facebook. Dua to the success, Olive now has some clothes in its own brand. Olive’s managing director said that his intention from beginning was “to make Islamic goods and clothes available to the Muslim community so that Muslims can present themselves as Muslims and practice Islam comfortably affordably”.

Reference:

http://www.mcb.org.uk/library/statistics.php

www.oliveonline.co.uk

www.facebook.com/oliveonline.islamicstore

www.twitter.com/shop_olive