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:

Assalamoalikoum.W.W

Most kind and respectful brother Burhan,

I would like to express my utmost delight upon receiving and reading the emails about Q&A and it throws light into individuals knowledge about Islam.  Jazakallah to you and all your team of Scholars who have taken up the duty of teaching and correcting every Muslim and lead life as true Muslims should do and according to the Prophet S.A.W's teachings.  May Allah tala reward You all in Both worlds.AmeenS.Ameen.

I have a couple of Questions to ask but the first one is very urgent ,so I would appreciate it if you could KINDLY reply to it first as you will see why.

1.  I have become the very honoured and proud grandmother as my daughter in law has given birth to her first child, a son,and they have both decided to name the child RIZWAN. But now e have been told that the true spelling of the nmae should be RIDHWAN as Rizwan was someone who was against Our Holy ProphetS.A.W,   So please clarify and let us know if that was the case and should we change the Spelling of the name and was there somebody like that in the time of our Beloved Prophet S.A.W???   I'll anxiously await for your reply so that we can proceed with the declaration and registration of the child.

2.  How should we celebrate Shabe mehraj and Shabe Baraat?? I know these are already over but I.m confused about things that should be done and things that should not been done.  What does the hadiths anand the scholars tell us about these special nights???

Jazakallaho fiddaren khairahfor all your kind attention and for all the wonderful job You and the scholars are doing and May Allah tala reward you all for the good work. Ameen.S.Ameen.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Meaning name Ridhwan

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Your Question: I have become the very honoured and proud grandmother as my daughter in law has given birth to her first child, a son,and they have both decided to name the child RIZWAN. But now e have been told that the true spelling of the nmae should be RIDHWAN as Rizwan was someone who was against Our Holy ProphetS.A.W, 

The Arabic alphabets which constitute the term ‘Ridhwaan’ would be ‘Ra-Duad-Waw-alif-Noon’; thus although ‘Rizwaan’ would be acceptable, the more accurate spelling in the English language according to its pronunciation would be ‘Ridhwaan’….and it is a perfectly acceptable name to be assigned for a believer.

To the best of our limited knowledge, there was no famous enemy of the Prophet (saws) by the specific name of ‘Rizwan’…..but even if there was one with such a name, the name itself does not become impermissible or unlawful for a believer to assign to their off-springs.

Amongst the most famous enemies of Allah and His Messenger (saws) was a hypocrite by the name of ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy’….but that does not mean it is prohibited for a believer to assign or keep the name ‘Abdullah’!!!

‘Rizwaan’ or ‘Ridhwaan’ is a perfectly good and acceptable name to be assigned to a believer.

Your Question: How should we celebrate Shabe mehraj and Shabe Baraat?? I know these are already over but I.m confused about things that should be done and things that should not been done.  What does the hadiths anand the scholars tell us about these special nights???

There is absolutely no evidence in the authentic Sunnah whereby the Messenger of Allah (saws) or his noble companions or his family ever celebrated or commemorated the night of ‘Shabe-Baraat’, nor did he (saws) ever offer any special prayers on this night, nor did he (saws) ever command the believers to do anything special on this night!

It is the absolute unanimous opinion of all the good jurists and scholars in Islam that there is to be no special commemoration or celebration of the so-called ‘Shabe-Baraat’ night; and if anyone offers or ordains any special prayer or rite of worship especially for the commemoration of this night, it would be against the guidance and Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws); and they would be guilty of following a ‘bida’ or innovation in the perfect deen of Islam.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: “The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib

That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If anyone introduces an innovation (bida in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation (bida) or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (bida), he is cursed by Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people!”

The absolutely biggest evidence of the non-importance and non-existence of the ‘Shabb-e-Baraat’ in Islam is the term itself! The very term ‘shabb’ is not an Arabic word but rather a ‘farsi’ or Iranian term which means ‘night’; and ‘baraat’ in Arabic means ‘to boycott’ or ‘destiny’. The fact that the term itself is half-Farsi half-Arabic signifies that this term was not used by the Messenger of Allah (saws) or his early companions, but rather was invented and innovated long after their deaths in the Indo-Pak region where ‘Farsi’ was the court or official language of the rulers for a long period of time!

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan