Once when he was seated near a grave, the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Every grave proclaims in the most horrific voice, ‘O progeny of Adam! Have you forgotten me? I am the house of loneliness. I am a strange land of wilderness! I am a hole of mites and worms. I am a place of hardship and trial, save those fortunate ones for whom Allah makes me commodious and wide. I am for all other human beings a tortuous place.’” In addition, the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The grave is either one of the pits of Hell or a small flower garden out of the gardens of Paradise.” [Tabarani]

Given that a less rewarded person’s property in Jannah will be much more than all of the land on earth, a small flower garden might be as big as a small country such as Switzerland. This could be your grave. Alternatively, it could be one of the trenches from Hell filled with scorpions, snakes and fire. May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) save us all from a bad end.

Take heed from the sight of the grave and concentrate your thoughts and imaginative powers on meditating life after death.

Zeynep Fadillioglu has quietly pulled off a coup: She’s the first woman in Turkey to design a mosque. An interior designer known for jet setting ways, she nonetheless won a commission to redesign the religious structure in Istanbul. She even recruited women to help in the construction. Begun last year, the project was just recently completed. It’s a fairly impressive building, subtly blending modern techniques and materials into what might be the world’s most conservative design vernacular. Check it out:

The quibla wall, which faces Mecca. The archway you see is the mihrab–an essential feature of a mosque’s quibla wall. To the right is the minbar–the pulpit for the Imam:

The view from the balcony. Women and men are separated in mosques; men worship on the main floor. The spaces occupied by women are frequently cramped, but Fadillioglu made a point of giving women a space equal to the main floor, in size and beauty:  

Verily a devil meets another devil so he says to him, “Why is it that I see you looking sickly? (Meaning the change is weight)” The (other) devil replies, verily I am with a man that if he eats he remembers the name of Allah so I can not eat with him. And if he drinks he remembers the name of Allah so I can not drink with him. And if he enters into his home he remembers the name of Allaah so I am rejected outside of the house.

The other devil says, but as for me then I am with a man if he eats he does not remember Allah so he and I eat together, and if he drinks he does not remember Allah so I drink with him, and when he enters his home he does not remember Allah so I enter with him.

[Shaikh al-Albaani reported it in As-Saheehah, no. 2586.]

Allah has full knowledge of the truths beyond the reach of perception both in the heavens and the earth;
and the coming of the Hour will take no more than the twinkling of an eye; it may take even less.
Indeed Allah has power over everything.[16:77]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “The dua said between the Adhaan and the Iqama is not refused, therefore offer your dua’s (at this time).” [Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi]

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“Let not your tongue mention the shame of another for you yourself are covered in shame and all men have tongues.”

— Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee

“This is the Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe; and let him who will, disbelieve. We have prepared a Fire for the wrong-doers whose billowing folds encompass them. If they ask for water, they will be served with a drink like dregs of oil that will scald their faces. How dreadful a drink, and how evil an abode! [18:29]

Say, (O Prophet): “Verily, my Lord grants provision abundantly to whomsoever He pleases and straitens it for whomsoever He pleases. Whatever you spend, He will replace it. He is the Best of all providers.” (34:39)

• Saudi authorities warn they will stop any disruptive protests at annual pilgrimage in Mecca over the conflict in Syria
• Grand Mosque teeming with joyful pilgrims at dawn yesterday, wearing simple white folds of cloth prescribed for haj
• Authorities say there have so far been 1.7million arrivals from abroad and about 200,000 from inside Saudi Arabia
• Last year nearly 3million pilgrims performed the haj, with roughly a third from inside the conservative kingdom

By Daily Mail Reporter

These breathtaking pictures show how millions of pilgrims are arriving in Mecca for Islam’s annual haj pilgrimage which starts tomorrow, as Saudi authorities warned they will stop any disruptive protests over the conflict in Syria.
The Grand Mosque, the focal point of the Islamic faith, was already teeming with joyful pilgrims at dawn yesterday, wearing the simple white folds of cloth prescribed for haj, many of them having slept on the white marble paving outside.
‘I feel proud to be here because it’s a visual message that Muslims are united. People speaking in all kind of languages pray to the one God,’ said Fahmi Mohammed al-Nemr, 52, from Egypt.

Big event: Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba as they pray inside and outside the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The annual pilgrimage draws three million visitors each year

Pigrimage: The Grand Mosque, the focal point of the Islamic faith, was already teeming with joyful pilgrims at dawn on Monday, wearing the simple white folds of cloth prescribed for hajHaj must be performed at least once in their lifetime by all Muslims capable of making the expensive, difficult journey, a duty that applies equally to Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims at a time of tension between Islam’s main sects.
Saudi leaders have emphasised it is a strictly religious occasion and they are prepared to deal with any troublemaking.

‘If anything happens it will be brought under control,’ Interior Minister Prince Ahmed said on Saturday after attending a Mecca march-past where troops paraded water cannon, teargas launchers and even truck-mounted machine guns.
Authorities are keenly aware of past episodes of violence at haj, such as in 1979, when attackers seized the Grand Mosque, beginning a two-week siege that left hundreds dead.
Despite Saudi Arabia, which is mostly Sunni, locking horns with regional rival Iran, which is mostly Shi’ite, over the conflict in Syria and other disputes, the minister played down the risks of politically motivated disruption.

Extraordinary scenes: Muslim pilgrims leave the Grand Mosque (left) after performing the evening prayers (right), in the holy city of Mecca on Monday

Observance: Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca on Monday

Father and daughter: A Muslim pilgrim leaves the Grand Mosque with his child after performing the evening prayers, in the holy city of Mecca on Monday

All ages: Muslim pilgrims attend to perform their evening prayers in the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on Monday
‘I don’t think there will be any repercussion on the security of the pilgrimage as a result of what is unfortunately happening in Syria and elsewhere,’ Prince Ahmed said.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has backed rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran, at a time of already tense relations between Riyadh and Tehran.
Assad and Iranian leaders have both accused Turkey and Gulf Arab countries of arming the rebels, while Riyadh has accused Tehran of stirring unrest in Bahrain and instigating protests among Shi’ite Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
Iran has denied those charges and both sides have said they are keen to avoid trouble during haj, mindful of 1987 clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces that led to hundreds of deaths.
In the years since, Saudi authorities have tolerated small protests by Iranians in their part of the massive camp where most pilgrims stay. Prince Ahmed said Tehran had assured Riyadh that Iranian pilgrims would cause no disruption this year.

Afterwards: Muslim pilgrims leave the Grand Mosque after performing their evening prayers in the holy city of Mecca on Monday

All together: Haj must be performed at least once in their lifetime by all Muslims capable of making the expensive, difficult journey

Maintaining safety: Saudi leaders have emphasized it is a strictly religious occasion and they are prepared to deal with any trouble making

Beginning: Wednesday is the first official day of the pilgrimage, with Muslims following a set form of rites laid out by the Prophet, and it culminates on Friday
However, Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi last week called on Muslims to ostracise Iran and Russia during haj over their backing of Assad, stoking an already tense atmosphere.
In his Friday sermon the imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Saleh bin Abdullah Hamid, also railed against the violence in Syria, calling on God to ‘be against the forces of oppressors’ there.
Pilgrims said they were praying for an end to the fighting.
‘I pray for the Syrian Muslims to be saved from the oppression they are being subjected to,’ said Abdullah Abdulrahman Mohammed, 69, from Iraqi Kurdistan, a father of 12 who had just performed Friday prayers.
Last year nearly 3million pilgrims performed the haj, with roughly a third from inside the conservative kingdom. The Saudi authorities said there have so far been 1.7million arrivals from abroad and about 200,000 from inside Saudi Arabia.
Mecca’s merchants, famed across the Arab world, are already doing a thriving trade as pilgrims stock up on souvenirs such as prayer beads and mats, Korans, dates, gold and zamzam water, pumped from a holy well.

Amazing numbers: The Saudi authorities said there have so far been 1.7 million arrivals from abroad and about 200,000 from inside Saudi Arabia

Participant: Muslim pilgrims leave the Grand Mosque after the noon prayer in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Monday

Avoidance of trouble: Authorities are keenly aware of past episodes of violence at haj, such as in 1979, when attackers seized the Grand Mosque

Together as one: The extraordinary gathering was said by some of the faith to be a visual message that Muslims are united
‘The first time I saw the Kaaba I cried with joy. I prayed for myself and all Muslims,’ said Nafisa Rangrez, 36, from Gujarat in India, who had waited five years for a haj visa.
All Muslims must face towards the Kaaba, the huge black cube at the centre of the Grand Mosque, five times a day for prayer, making a visit to the sanctuary a powerful experience. Pilgrims must circle it seven times when they arrive in Mecca.
Tomorrow is the first official day of the pilgrimage, with Muslims following a set form of rites laid out by the Prophet and culminating on Friday with the Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, a holiday across the Islamic world.
‘I would love to live here for the rest of my life. There’s no such place in the entire world. This is a blessed country,’ said Ziad Adam, 23, a theology student from Kenya.
Saudi Arabia’s king is formally titled Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the ruling family has long based its claims to reign on its guardianship of Islam’s birthplace.
Over the past decade it has spent billions of dollars expanding the Grand Mosque and building new infrastructure to avert the stampedes and tent fires that marred past pilgrimages with hundreds of deaths. The last deadly stampede was in 2006, when 360 people were crushed to death.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah.
He said, “It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.”  [Narrated by Muslim]
 

By ‘Allamah Ibn Rushd al-Qurtubi
Translated by Shaykh Hamzah Wald Maqbul

A Translation From the Bidayat al-Mujtahid of Ibn Rushd al-Hafid al-Qurtubi, An Authoritative Manual on the Fiqh of the Four Madhhabs and the People of the Sunnah.

[The people of knowledge] have differed about [what to do] when the ʿid and the Friday fall on the same day: would the ʿid [prayer] suffice [one who prayed it] in place of the Friday prayer? A group [of the people of knowledge] said: “The ʿid [prayer] suffices [one who prayed it] in place of the Friday [prayer], and such a person is not obligated to pray [after the ʿid prayer, anything] except ʿAsr.” This is the opinion of ʿAta’, and it has been attributed to Ibn Zubayr and ʿAli [may Allah be well pleased with them].

[Another] group said, “This is a dispensation meant for Bedouin nomads who come especially to a metropolis only for ʿidand the Friday prayer.” This is in accord with what has been attributed to Sayyiduna ʿUthman, [may Allah be well pleased with him,] that he gave the khutbah of ʿid on a Friday, then said, “Whoever of the people of ʿAliyah (1) wishes to await the Friday prayer, let him wait; whoever wishes to return, let him return.”

[This] was narrated by Malik in the Muwatta’, and similar has been attributed to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, and Shafiʿi has chosen it [as his fatwa, may Allah have mercy upon them all] (2)

Malik and Abu Hanifah said, when ʿid and Friday coincide, a legally responsible person is expected to perform both: ʿidbecause it is a sunnah (3) ), and the Friday prayer, because it is obligatory. [They maintain that] neither one takes the place of the other; this is the default assumption that is to be taken, unless there is some [explicit] legislation to the contrary which [is so strong that one] is obliged to change [one’s opinion] to it. (4)

Those who take the opinion of [Sayyiduna] ʿUthman [do so] because it is a matter that one cannot deduce by mere opinion; rather [according to them], it can be nothing other than [a fatwa] in accordance [to the Sunnah]. [Also] it is not totally outside the bounds of the default state [of the Shariʿah, as it still has most people obliged to pray the Friday prayer].

As for dropping the obligatory Zuhr and Friday prayers, which would be dropped in the place of the ʿid prayer, this would be very much against the default state [of the rulings of the Shariʿah and has no weight] unless there is some explicit legislation to the contrary, which [is so strong that one] is obliged to follow it. (5) [The scholars of this opinion further] differed about one who missed the ʿid prayer with the Imam. A group said that he should pray four [rakaʿat]. This is the opinion of [Imams] Ahmad and [Sufyan] al-Thawri. It is also attributed to [ʿAbdullah] ibn Masʿud, [may Allah be pleased with them all].

A group of them said that [such a person] should make up [the ʿid prayer], praying it like the ʿid prayer is prayed: tworakaʿat in which one makes the takbirs just as one would do so in the ʿid prayer, and one recites out loud just as one would do so in it. This is the opinion of Shafiʿi, [may Allah have mercy on him], and Abu Thawr.

[Another] group of them said that he should just pray two [normal] rakaʿat, in which he neither recites out loud, nor makes any of the [extra] takbirs of the ʿid prayer.

[Yet another] group of them said that if the Imam has prayed in the same place [that the one who missed the prayer is praying], then he should pray two rakaʿat; if he is praying in a place other than the musallah [of the Imam], then he makes up four rakaʿat.

[And yet another] group of them said that he is basically neither obliged to [nor is he able to] make up [the ʿid] prayer. This is the fatwa of Malik and his companions. [The great third century mujtahid] Ibn al-Mundhir [also] relates [from Malik] an opinion similar to that of Shafiʿi [may Allah have mercy on them all].

As for those who said that [he must make up] four [rakaʿat], he has made it [i.e. the ʿid prayer] the equivalent to the Friday prayer. This is a weak comparison.

Those who said that [he must make up] two rakaʿat in the way that the Imam prayed them go towards the position that the default state is that a make-up prayer should be performed in the manner of the prayer missed.

Those who said that [the ʿid prayer] cannot be made up, [say so] because it is a prayer [whose validity] is conditioned on [the presence of] the congregation and the Imam, similar to the Friday prayer. For this reason one is not obliged to make it up through two or four rakaʿat, as [even if he prayed them] they wouldn’t mean anything [as a true replacement to theʿid prayer]. These two rulings are the ones in which there is a [valid] difference of opinion, by which I mean the opinions of Malik (6) and Shafiʿi.

As for the rest of the rulings [mentioned] on this issue, they are weak, and meaningless, because the Friday prayer replaces, [however is different from] Zuhr, and these [i.e. the set of four rakaʿat] don’t seem to stand in the place of anything, [in that they are prayed before the time that Zuhr comes in, so they cannot validly be considered Zuhr, and since they are four, they don’t even resemble ʿid or the Friday prayer. This being so,] how can one construct the analogy of one to the other for the purposes of making the prayer up?

In reality even one who misses the Friday prayer and then prays Zuhr, isn’t making up the Friday prayer, as one cannot stand [equally] in the place of the other. Rather he is [only] praying [his normal] Zuhr as an [inferior] replacement for it, [i.e. the Friday prayer] which he missed, and which was obligatory upon him.(7)

And Allah is the One who gives the ability to find that which is correct.(8)

_____________________________

ʿAliyah here is a reference to ʿAwali, an area outside of the city of Madinah which extends from the border of the city, to about three miles out. The people of ʿAwali were expected to come to the city for the Friday prayer, except that Sayyiduna ʿUthman exempted them from having to do so, if they prayed ʿid on a Friday in Madinah (al-Baji, al-Muntaqa). [↩]
Note that Shafiʿi’s opinion is that missing the Friday prayer after having prayed ʿid is a dispensation for Bedouins like the people of ʿAwali only, and not those who actually live in the city. [↩]
It is a sunnah mu’akkadah according to the most correct fatwa of Malik (Khalil, al-Mukhtasar), and wajib according to Abu Hanifah (Quduri, al-Mukhtasar [↩]
Note that the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafiʿis are unanimous that residents of the city are obliged to pray both the ʿid and Friday prayers. This is the preponderant majority opinion of the People of the Sunnah. [↩]
Please see footnote no.8 [↩]
Abu Hanifah and Malik both have the same opinion. [↩]
Note that by this tract further Ibn Rushd emphatically restates his opinion that the ʿid prayer logically cannot replace the Friday prayer. [↩]
Ibn Rushd was considered to be a master of the rational sciences. It is for this reason that he digests the fiqh of the four madhhabs and the People of the Sunnah from a mostly rationalist perspective. It is from this perspective that he dismisses as baseless the opinion that the ʿid prayer can obviate the obligation of, or substitute for the Friday prayer.As for one who would say that there are hadiths that indicate that the messenger of Allah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, allowed the people to(a) skip the Friday prayer, after having prayed the ʿid prayer, or that his blessed hadiths indicate that(b) the Friday prayer can be validly prayed in the time between after sunrise and noon, thus making the ʿid prayer, which consists of two rakaʿat and a khutbah, effectively into a valid Friday prayer; the response is as follows.

The obligation of praying the Friday prayer, as well as the valid discharge of the obligation of praying the Friday prayer in the time of Zuhr is established by tawatur, meaning that it comes through so many narrations and other channels that there is no denying or questioning their validity. One who does so is deemed to be outside of the pale of Islam. This is a point on which all of the People of the Sunnah agree.

If one wishes to modify either these two points they must either bring some kind of rational proof, which would be admissible as long as no hadith is explicitly contrary to it; or they must bring a hadith or narration that is at least as strong as those hadiths or narrations about the default rulings regarding the Friday prayer and its timings that they break (a) or modify (b).

Ibn Rushd is methodical in showing that a rational proof is not forthcoming. He also maintains, as do the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafiʿis that there is no hadith which is strong enough to prove the validity of breaking or changing the default rulings regarding the Friday prayers and its timings. This is what he means when he says “… unless there is some explicit legislation to the contrary, which [is so strong that one] is obliged to follow it.”

The Hanbalis don’t claim any rational backing for (a) or (b), rather they bring some hadiths and narrations which they feel fulfill the conditions necessary to either break or modify the default rulings about the Friday prayer and its timings. It is for this reason that the People of the Sunnah hold that the views of the Hanbalis regarding this issue are a valid difference of opinion, despite the majority of Sunni scholarship not accepting them as correct.

My reason for preparing this tract was not to categorically claim that the Hanbali opinion is totally baseless; rather I notice that the average Muslim in my area seems to be under the false impression that the Hanbali opinion is the only one, and that all others are incorrect. This is not only untrue, but it also ignores the fact that the obligation of praying both the ʿid and Friday prayers is established by the rulings of the overwhelming majority of the scholars of Islam throughout the ages.

For further reading on the Hanbali basis for the validity of not praying the Friday prayer after praying the ʿid prayer, please see al-Mughni of Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi.

READ FULL ARTICLE ON ILM GATE

Makkah: A 47-year-old Bosnian Muslim man reached Saudi Arabia this week to perform the annual pilgrimage after travelling nearly 3,600 miles (5,900 km) on foot from his Bosnian village, Saudi newspapers said on Monday.

“I wanted to perform Hajj but I had no money,” Emirates 24/7 quoted Senad Hadzic as saying.

“I decided to walk to Saudi Arabia, having only 200 euros.”

Aspiring to perform hajj, Hadzic first hit the road for his lengthy trip from Banovici, his hometown in northern Bosnia, on December 2011.

During the journey, he walked for nearly 3,600 miles (5,900 km) on foot from his Bosnian village to the Muslims’ holy city of Makkah.

Covering between 12 to 20 miles a day, Hadzic managed to cross six countries, including Turkey, Jordan and Syria before entering Saudi Arabia this week.

In his back bag, he carried his copy of the holy Qur’an wrapped in plastic to protect it from weather elements.

Newspapers quoted him as saying in a You-Tube film that he walked all that distance because he had no money.

“I slept at mosques, schools and other places, including houses offered to me by good people,” Hadzic was quoted as saying in a You-Tube video.

“Some people asked me whether I was scared when passing through wild places and I told them ‘why should I…God is with me.”

Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, that start on the eighth day of the lunar month of Dhul Hijjah, which falls this year on October 24.

The mountain, known in Arabic as Jabal-al-noor or the Mountain of Light is the site of Hira Cave which is where Muslims believe Mohammed received his first revelations from God through the angel Gabriel.

Millions of pilgrims are set to descend on Mecca this week to perform the haj, the world’s largest annual gathering of any kind which authorities in Saudi Arabia insist will not be affected by instability shaking the region.

Scroll down for video

Inside the Grand Mosque, scores of pilgrims continually circumambulate the cube-shaped Kaaba — in which direction Muslims worldwide pray — with many pushing their way through the crowds to kiss the walls of the structure that was first built by Abraham, according to the Islamic faith.

Others pray or recite verses of the holy book Koran, while many sleep in corners.

‘Right now, I’ve got all the good feelings you can think of,’ said an Iranian pilgrim, her voice quivering and tears welling up in her eyes.

Authorities said more than 1.6 million foreign pilgrims have already arrived and the numbers are set to grow by Wednesday. Around 750,000 domestic pilgrims are also expected to take part in the rituals.

Despite several checkpoints on the roads leading to Mecca to prevent illegal pilgrims, huge numbers of unauthorised devotees also join the hajj every year.

A bulk of pilgrims are from Asia, mostly from Indonesia which has the highest hajj quota.

It was unclear how many Syrians, whose country is being rocked by a civil war that began with a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime 19 months ago, will make the journey.

Damascus claimed in September that Saudi authorities have barred Syrians from travelling to this year’s haj after the two sides failed ‘to reach consensus.’

But on Saturday Saudi Interior Minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz insisted that pilgrims from Syria are not being barred, except those who sent in their applications too late.

The Saudi envoy to Lebanon said last week that the kingdom will also grant visas to Syrians in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, where thousands of refugees who have fled the violence are being accommodated.

Prince Ahmad also warned that Riyadh will not allow the haj to be ‘politicised’ and told reporters the kingdom was not worried that trouble in Syria and other Arab countries could affect the hajj or that pilgrims from its regional arch-foe Iran would cause any disturbance.

‘I don’t expect pilgrims or the pilgrimage to be affected by what is taking place elsewhere, whether Syria or any other place,’ he said.

‘We don’t expect any’ unrest to be caused by Iranians, he added.

Iranian pilgrims annually stage a ‘repudiation of polytheists’ rally — a ritual promoted by the late Islamic republic’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to denounce the West and Israel.

In 1987, police attempts to stifle the anti-US and anti-Israeli demonstration sparked clashes in which 402 people died, including 275 Iranians.

Iranian pilgrims have since held their rallies in tents without provoking clashes with security forces in the Sunni-dominated kingdom.

Trek: A devout Muslim pilgrim makes his way along the rocky path close to the top of Noor Mountain in Saudi Arabia

‘The Iranians have assured us that they are as concerned about the comfort of pilgrims as we are,” Prince Ahmad told a news conference that followed a military parade by security forces and civil defence.

Despite marred by deadly incidents in the past such as floodings, stampedes, and fires, hajj has become nearly incident-free over the past few years — thanks to the multi-billion projects being implemented every year.

This year alone, the kingdom spent more than 1.1 billion riyals ($293.3 million) on development projects in the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, all outside Mecca.

Saudi authorities have also taken measures to deal with any epidemics that may break out during the hajj, and have downplayed fears over the spread of a mystery illness from the same family as the deadly SARS virus.