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:

Will you please answer to my following questions:

Is it true that Rasullulah (s.a.v) was also taking Nazarana and Najwah from his visitors. If this is right, what is wrong if our Diaul Mutlak and other Bhaisahebs also follow the same sunnat. Is it also true that Rasullullah (s.a.v.) was very much interested in hunting jungly animals for pleasure, similar to our DIAULLAH, who killed elephant last year and several deers And other animals at the age of 90 years. Is it right to charge fee or sell seats in Markaz and Masjids to the highest bidders. Is it right to pray salaat only in those masjids, which have been blessed and wakaf by the Diaullah

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Answer:

Did the Prophet (saws) take Najwa?

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.

Your Comment: Is it true that Rasullulah (s.a.v) was also taking Nazarana and Najwah from his visitors. If this is right, what is wrong if our Diaul Mutlak and other Bhaisahebs also follow the same sunnat.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 58 Surah Mujadilah verse 12: O you who have believed, when you consult the Messenger in private, you should give something in charity (sadaqa) before your private consultation (najwa). This is better for you and purer. However, if you do not have the means to give charity, Allah is indeed All Forgiving, All Merciful.

The Arabic word ‘najwa’ means to hold a private consultation with someone. In light of the above aayah the believers were advised to practice charity before they requested a private consultation with the Prophet (saws). And since ‘sadaqa’ was haraam for the Prophet (saws) and his family of Banu Hashim, he would not accept the ‘sadaqa’, but rather the believers were advised to give charity to the poor.

It is wrong to take this aayah and relate it to the current sect leaders, simply because they are not the Prophets of Allah!!! The above aayah was specifically for the Messenger of Allah (saws) and not for anybody else! Besides this command of Allah exhorting the believers of giving ‘sadaqa’ for a ‘najwa’ (private consultation with the Prophet) was cancelled in the very next aayah of the same Surah.

The current practice is that the sect leaders demand the amount of ‘najwa’ which most people believe means a gift or present, but ‘najwa’ actually means a private consultation. This is just another way to take out money from their followers!

Your Comment: Is it also true that Rasullullah (s.a.v.) was very much interested in hunting jungly animals for pleasure, similar to our DIAULLAH, who killed elephant last year and several deers And other animals at the age of 90 years.

Hunting of halaal animals for their meat is allowed in Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saws) did not hunt for pleasure, nor did he have the time to do so; as his mission was to spread the word of Allah to the world. The meat of elephant is forbidden to the believers as food, thus I cannot see the logic and pleasure behind killing an elephant, except for a photo opportunity! The Prophet of Allah (saws) never ever killed an elephant, for pleasure or otherwise; and if someone has killed an elephant or other animals which are forbidden as food, they have done so to follow their own lusts and desires and nothing to do with following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Your Comment: Is it right to charge fee or sell seats in Markaz and Masjids to the highest bidders.

Every mosque is considered the House of Allah, where all His creation are deemed equal. There should absolutely be no discrimination in race, color, wealth, lineage, or hierarchy. It is absolutely forbidden to charge a fee or sell seats in any House of Allah in Islam. The one who arrives first and takes a place must be able to pray at will. The Messenger of Allah (saws) never charged any money from anyone to occupy a seat in the mosques, nor was there ever a bidding held to occupy any seats in the mosque. This is an innovation and a means of gathering money; it has nothing to do with Islam. Nowhere in the world is there a bidding, or a fee charged to pray in any of the millions of mosques around the world, except in the Bohra mosques!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35:O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

Your Comment: Is it right to pray salaat only in those masjids, which have been blessed and wakaf by the Diaullah

Mosques are built for the pleasure of Allah, and a muslim can pray in any mosque he visits. And if it is time for prayer and a mosque cannot be found, the believers are allowed to pray in congregation wherever they are; because the Messenger of Allah (saws) said the Merciful has made the whole earth as a mosque for the believers.

To get a mosque blessed or ‘wakaf’ by a personality is an absolute innovation, and against the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

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 and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan