Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam-o-Alaikum!
Brother i hope you are in a good condition with the help of Allah Subhana Watallah. I have a question that is it ok to listen to Naats, poetry praising Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Also, is it ok to do Bait on a somebody`s hand if he is a good person and completely follows shariah. I hope you understand my questions. I am looking forward to get the answers as soon as possible.

Assalam-o-Alaikum...

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Answer:

Naat and Bayt

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: I have a question that is it ok to listen to Naats, poetry praising Prophet Muhammad

There is absolutely no harm in listening or saying good ‘naats’ or phrases that are said in the praise of the Noble Prophet of Allah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws).

But one must be careful to remain within the limits of Islam and not say or listen to phrases or ‘naats’ which have raised the status of the Prophet (saws) to that of Allah Subhanah, or raise the attributes of the Prophet (saws) to the exclusive Attributes of Allah Subhanah.

Most ‘naats’ are indeed good and within the limits, but some ignorant people at times say and manufacture things about the Prophet (saws), which raise him to the Attributes which belong to Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds, Alone. Such ‘naats’ should be strictly avoided by the believers.

Q-2: Also, is it ok to do Bait on a somebody`s hand if he is a good person and completely follows shariah.

A ‘bayt’ or ‘pledge of allegiance’ is generally associated in Islam when given to:

A Prophet of Allah Subhanah

the Khalifah or Ameer or leader of the believers

to a leader of the believers for some particular mission. Example, when the Messenger of Allah (saws) took the allegiance from the believers which became famous as the ‘Bayt-e-Ridhwaan’ on the occasion of Hudaibiyah.

There is absolutely no need for a believer to take allegiance on someone’s hand, just because he is a good or pious person, neither is there a need to take allegiance on someone’s hand if one wishes to become a student of a pious teacher.

In some sects of Islam, it so happens that the unscrupulous leaders of these sects demand that all their followers take a ‘bayt’ or swear unconditional allegiance to them; and the connotation behind these ‘bayts’ is that these followers will never ever question or challenge the leader, whether he is right or wrong, or whether he follows the Quran and Sunnah or not! There is absolutely no concept of such ‘bayts’ or allegiances in Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan