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:

As Salamualikum Mr. Burhan i would like to ask few questions. Q1) can we say "kalu in-na lillahe va in-na ilehe rajaun" when a non-muslim (hindu,christian or any other ) dies since they dont belive in "ALLAH" but still we know they are going to return there only ? Q2) Can we help a person who hate muslims because of religion / or many are terrorist is it allowed or prohibited ? Q3) Can one person pray / wish better for non belivers (hindu,christian) though they does not believe in ALLAH Subhanao ? Q4) One of my friend told me that they know how to call spirit of dead person and i really laughed at them as i know ALLAH say once a person has died he will be alive on the "DAY OF JUDGEMENT" and cannot return to this world but since i dont know entire QURAN i would like to know whether any such things has been mentioned in QURAN / HADITH as i have come to know that TWO angels has spread some magic in this world and one of your answer also told that no body has came back to told what had happened with them after death? Q5) Hindus believe in Vastu shastra (home arrangments) does as a muslim we have like this as i have heard from bohras (i my self is bohra) that such things are there and even some sunnis also accept of putting tawiz in house though i know that when your are in toilet / latrine you should not face / or back "MECCA (QABBA)" but since i dont know entire ISLAM i would like to know more on this topic ? Q6) I have came to know that PROPHET (SAW) use to apply surma is it true as i have seen lot of people applying? Q7) As i know lot of people go and open FAAL is is right practice as in it people open "QURAN" and read it ? Q8) What should be a punishment if a muslim get converted to other faith? Q9) I have a practice of cutting "QURAN" published in papers and magazine and then put it in water , should we follow the same practice for "BIBLE" as it is also a book of ALLAH (though now it is not in original status) and should we respect it pages by putting it in water ? Q10)Is it compulsory to face "MECCA (QABBA)" while we do DAU (not namaz) or it can be any direction ? Q11)Can we wish a non beliver for their festival like divali i.e. happy divali? Q12)Can we attend a funeral of non belivers (hindu,christian etc.)? Q13)Can one learn any musical instrument ? Q14)Can one hear songs sung by lady as it prohibited for a lady to speak loudly so one can hear her voice (non mehramdar)? Q15) Is wearing of TAVIZ ("QURAN" iyaat or any other dau) as i have heard one HADITH (Once PROPHET(SAW) put a bottle of honey on his stomach by tieing it and as people asked PROPHET (SAW) why HE (SAW) has done so HE(SAW) told as it cannot benifit me as I(SAW) have pain in stomach by putting it on stomach so is it with "QURAN" . I dont know the narrator of this HADITH as i have heard it some where ? Q16) meaning of "allah - Aie - Wssalam" and "Alihe Salam" if any question is wrong may ALLAH Subhanoa forgive me

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Answer:

Various questions

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 question: can we say "kalu in-na lillahe va in-na ilehe rajaun" when a non-muslim (hindu,christian or any other ) dies since they dont belive in "ALLAH" but still we know they are going to return there only ?

To say ‘Inna lillahe wa inna ilayhe rajeoon’ (To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return) is not a dua, but a declaration of the fact that to Allah belongs all things and to Him is the ultimate return. This declaration aught to be said by the believers when they are faced with a calamity, but if one says it at the death of a non-muslim with the intention that all belong to Allah and to Him is their return, there is no harm.

Your question: Can we help a person who hate muslims because of religion / or many are terrorist is it allowed or prohibited ?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 60 Surah Mumtahina verse 1: O ye who believe! Take not My enemies and yours as friends (or protectors) offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes) (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 60 Surah Mumtahina verse 8-9:

8 Allah forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith, nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.

9 Allah only forbids you with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances) that do wrong.

Allah has strictly forbidden the believers to help or make friends with the people who hate the muslims because of their Faith, oppress them or help others oppress them. But if a person, even if he is a non-muslim, does not hate the believers because of their Faith, nor oppresses them, then there is no harm in helping them, or dealing with them with kindness and justice.

Your question: Can one person pray / wish better for non belivers (hindu,christian) though they does not believe in ALLAH Subhanao ?

If the non-muslim person is alive, there is absolutely no harm if a believer prays to Allah Subhanah to have Mercy and Grace on him and guide him to the Straight Path, for indeed every believer is a sincere well-wisher to his brethren in humanity.

But if a non-muslim person dies without believing, then it does not behove a believer to pray to Allah Subhanah to have Mercy on the disbeliever or ask Allah to forgive his sins.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 113: It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for pagans (after their death) even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire!

Your question: One of my friend told me that they know how to call spirit of dead person and i really laughed at them as i know ALLAH say once a person has died he will be alive on the "DAY OF JUDGEMENT" and cannot return to this world but since i dont know entire QURAN i would like to know whether any such things has been mentioned in QURAN / HADITH as i have come to know that TWO angels has spread some magic in this world and one of your answer also told that no body has came back to told what had happened with them after death?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 99-100:

99 (In Falsehood will they be) until when death comes to one of them he says: "O my Lord! Send me back (to earth).

100 In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." By no means! It is but a word he says, before them is ‘Barzakh’ (a Partition) till the Day they are raised up.

In light of the above Aayah, and various other Aayahs, and narrations of the Prophet (saws), it is absolutely clear that no soul that has departed can come back to earth, or respond, or correspond with those who are alive. The people who claim to be able to call or correspond with spirits of dead people are nothing but manifest liars! After the life of this world, the souls of the departed are kept in ‘Barzakh’, and they will given life again only on the Day of Judgement!

The two Angels Harut and Marut were sent by Allah Subhanah only as a trail to mankind, and had nothing to do with calling spirits of the dead!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 102: They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon; the blasphemers were not Solomon, but the evil ones teaching men magic and such things as came down at Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut. But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying: "We are only for trial, so do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's permission. And they learned what harmed them, not what profited them. And they knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls, if they but knew!

Your question: Hindus believe in Vastu shastra (home arrangments) does as a muslim we have like this as i have heard from bohras (i my self is bohra) that such things are there and even some sunnis also accept of putting tawiz in house though i know that when your are in toilet / latrine you should not face / or back "MECCA (QABBA)" but since i dont know entire ISLAM i would like to know more on this topic ?

To believe that putting anything somewhere might bring good luck or good fortune; or putting anything somewhere might repel some evil, or not putting something somewhere might bring some bad luck or misfortune, are against the teachings and principles of the Quran and Sunnah.

No stone, no taaweedh (amulet), no string, no lemon, no black cat, no nothing can bring any good or bad luck to anyone! Everything, absolutely everything, that happens and does not happen, is in the Sole Control and Power of Allah Subhanah; thus the believers are guided to put their trust in their Merciful Creator Alone!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 160: If Allah helps you none can overcome you: if He forsakes you who is there after that that can help you? In Allah then let believers put their trust.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 3:And put your trust in Allah Alone; and enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 51: Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has Decreed for us: He is our Protector"; and on Allah let the believers put their trust.

Uqbah ibn 'Amir narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If anyone wears a ‘taaweedh’(amulet), may Allah not help him in fulfilling his wish. If anyone wears a sea-shell around his neck, may Allah give him no peace."

(Narrated by Ahmad and Al-Hakim).

It does not matter if some Sunnis practice the use of ‘taaweedh’, or the Bohras practice it, or even if the whole world practices it! Allah and His Messenger (saws) have forbidden the believers to practice such things, and the true believers must abstain from it!

Your question: I have came to know that PROPHET (SAW) use to apply surma is it true as i have seen lot of people applying?

The Messenger of Allah (saws) indeed use to apply ‘surma’ or kohl in his eyes; thus it is a Sunnah for the believers to apply ‘surma’ or kohl to their eyes.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4472 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas

The Prophet (saws) said, "Apply kohl, for it clears the sight, and makes the hair grow." And he asserted that the Prophet (saws) applied kohl every night three times in each eye.

Your question: As i know lot of people go and open FAAL is is right practice as in it people open "QURAN" and read it ?

Allah has revealed His Guidance and bestowed the faculty of Intelligence and Power of Reasoning to man, and he should use this faculty and make his decisions accordingly.

To open ‘faal’ and try to figure out the solution to ones problem from that one page is to mis-use the Quran; for the Quran was not sent to open ‘faals’, but revealed by the All-Merciful as a Guidance and Mercy to all mankind!

Never did the Messenger of Allah (saws), nor his noble companions, nor his noble ‘ahle-bayt’ ever practice the use of ‘faal’; and the believers, who sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day, should follow their example and abstain from such innovations!

The ‘faal’ is nothing but a false practice invented by some unscrupulous mullahs and priests to extort money from their unsuspecting and ignorant followers!

Your question: What should be a punishment if a muslim get converted to other faith?

If one is living in a non-Islamic State and becomes an apostate after being a muslim; there is no punishment prescribed for him in the life of this world; Allah will extract severe punishment from such a person in the Hereafter.

But if one is living in an Islamic State and openly declares his apostasy after being a muslim and does not repent susequently, the punishment prescribed in Shariah for such a person is death in the life of this world; and he will deserve a severe punishment in the Hereafter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 137: Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again), and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief; Allah will not forgive them, nor guide them on the Way.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.17 Narrated by Abdullah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and that I am His Messenger cannot be shed, except in three cases: In Qisas (retaliation) for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."

Your question: I have a practice of cutting "QURAN" published in papers and magazine and then put it in water , should we follow the same practice for "BIBLE" as it is also a book of ALLAH (though now it is not in original status) and should we respect it pages by putting it in water ?

Firstly, it is best to either honorably bury or even burn the torn pages of the Quran, or torn pages of the newspapers or magazines where the Revelations of Allah Subhanah are mentioned. There is no harm if one disperses such pages in the sea, but there is always a chance that the papers will float back onto land and might be dishonored or stepped upon unknowingly by people.

The Bible, although not all of it might be accurate, might indeed have some Words of Allah Subhanah; thus it would be best to respect the torn pages of the Bible in a similar way as we show respect to the Quran.

Your question: Is it compulsory to face "MECCA (QABBA)" while we do DAU (not namaz) or it can be any direction ?

To face the direction of Makkah is only a condition and an obligatory act when one offers his ‘salaat’. It is not compulsory to face Makkah when making a dua or supplication to Allah Subhanah; thus one may face any direction he is in, or face Makkah if he so wishes.

Your question: Can we wish a non beliver for their festival like divali i.e. happy divali?

If the festival of the non-muslim is pagan or polytheist (shirk) in its nature, then it would not be permissible for one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to celebrate these non-muslim festivals with them, and/or wish them, or give them gifts. For example, a believer should not celebrate Christmas (because the Christians have made Jesus (a.s.) the son of Allah and worship him), or Diwali (because the Hindus celebrate the victory of Ram over Ravana), etc. These are pagan and polytheist festivals and it does not behove a believer in Allah and the Last Day to celebrate them.

But if the occasion is of a personal nature like some non-muslim got married, or had a child, or passed an exam, etc., then there is no harm in wishing and congratulating them, and giving them gifts, etc.

Your question: Can we attend a funeral of non belivers (hindu,christian etc.)?

There is no harm if a believer wishes to attend the funeral of a non-muslim; but it is not permissible for the believers to make dua or supplication to Allah Subhanah to forgive them after their death.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 113:It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for pagans (after their death) even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire!

Your question: Can one learn any musical instrument ?

There is no harm if one learns to play, or plays the ‘daff’ (an Arabic ‘tabla’ like instrument) in Shariah. But to learn, or play, or intentionally listen to any kind of string music is not permissible.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.494B Narrated by Abu Amir or Abu Malik Al Ashari

that he heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks, and the use of musical instruments, as lawful. And there will be some people who will stay near the side of a mountain and in the evening their shepherd will come to them with their sheep and ask them for something, but they will say to him, 'Return to us tomorrow.' Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, and He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Resurrection."

Your question: Can one hear songs sung by lady as it prohibited for a lady to speak loudly so one can hear her voice (non mehramdar)?

The believing woman may sing ‘legal’ songs in front of her mehram relatives and other woman, if she so wishes. But it would not be permissible for the believing woman to sing in the company of non-mehram men, nor would it be permissible for believing men to listen to songs sung by non-mehram women.

Legal songs would be those songs which do not have any string music; and the lyrics or words of the song do not contain anything indecent, vulgar, or words of shirk.

Your question: Is wearing of TAVIZ ("QURAN" iyaat or any other dau) as i have heard one HADITH (Once PROPHET(SAW) put a bottle of honey on his stomach by tieing it and as people asked PROPHET (SAW) why HE (SAW) has done so HE(SAW) told as it cannot benifit me as I(SAW) have pain in stomach by putting it on stomach so is it with "QURAN" . I dont know the narrator of this HADITH as i have heard it some where ?

The truth is that I have not come across the above hadith in any of the authentic books of hadiths; therefore I cannot comment on it! But the wearing of ‘taaweedh’ or any kind of charms is not permissible to the believers.

Regarding honey, Allah Subhanah has declares in the Glorious Quran that there is ‘shifaa’ (healing) in this for mankind. But tieing a bottle of honey for stomach pain is something that goes beyond logic and common-sense; for it is the honey which is a cure from Allah Subhanah, not the bottle or container which carries the honey!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verses 68-69:

68 And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations;

69 Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colors wherein is healing for men: Verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.588 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri

A man came to the Prophet and said, "My brother has some abdominal trouble." The Prophet (saws) said to him "Let him drink honey." The man came for the second time and the Prophet (saws) said to him, - “Let him drink honey." He came for the third time and the Prophet (saws) said, "Let him drink honey." He returned again and said, "I have done that (but to no avail)." The Prophet (saws) then said, "Allah has said the truth, but your brother's abdomen has told a lie. Let him drink honey." So he made him drink honey, and he was cured.

Your question: meaning of "allah - Aie - Wssalam" and "Alihe Salam"

There is no such term as ‘Allah Aie Wssalam’ as used in Arabic or Shariah! One cannot supplicate ‘Salaam’ or Peace upon Allah Subhanah, for He is indeed The Source of Peace Himself, as one of His Noble Names and Attributes is ‘As-Salaam’!

The term ‘Alayhis-Salaam’ means ‘upon (him) be Peace’, and is generally used for the Prophets and Messengers of Allah Subhanah.

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