Allaah's Greatest Name

Some people believe that Allaah’s greatest name is a specific name is unknown except to those whom Allaah has specified with a Karaamah that is out of the ordinary. This is incorrect, for indeed Allaah the Elevated encouraged us to know His names and attributes and praised those who know them, understand them and supplicate to Allaah with them, whether it is a supplication of worship or a supplication of request. There is no doubt that Allaah’s greatest name is amongst them, rendered by Allaah for this reason. For Indeed He, the Lofty, is most generous without restriction, there is no limit to His generosity and graciousness, and He loves to be generous to His servants. Amongst His greatest generosity, is that he made Himself known to His servants with His beautiful names and lofty attributes.

It is correct that all His names are beautiful, and all of them are great, but His greatest name is:

-Every solitary name

-or every name that is combined with another

if they allude to all His Dhaatee attributes, Fi’lee attributes, or all the attributes.

For example; Allaah [solitary name], for it combines all the meanings of Uluheeyyah and all the attributes of perfection.

Al Hameed al Majeed [combined name], for al Hameed combines all the meanings of praiseworthiness and perfection for Allaah the Elevated. And al Majeed alludes to all the attributes of grandeur and majesty. Similar to it is; Al Jaleel al Hameed and al Ghanee al Kareem.

Likewise is; al Hayy al Qayoom, indeed al Hayy is one who has the perfect, grandest life which combines all the meaning of the Self. Al Qayoom is one who is self sufficient, not in need of all the creation, created all that is in existence, it is the name that combines all the attributes of action. Likewise is; al ‘Adheem al Kabeer, one who posses all the meanings of grandeur and loftiness, in His Self and names and attributes. He posses all the meanings of grandeur specified to him.

Similarly is your statement; yaa Dhal Jalaal wal Ikraam. For indeed al Jalaal are the attributes of magnificence, grandeur and perfection. And al Ikraam is His deveservance of love, humility and so on from His servants. So it is known by this that Allaah’s greatest name is a group noun [for lack of better translation: Ism Jins].

This is what the texts of the legislation and derivation signify, as is narrated in as Sunnan, that the Messenger of Allaah heard a man saying:

“O Alllah, I ask by that I bear witness that there is no deity worth of worship in truth other than You, al Ahad, as Samad, You beget not, nor were you begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable to you…”
So the Messenger - صلى الله عليه وسلم - said:

“By the One whom my soul is in His hands, you have asked Allaah with His greatest name, the name in which is He is supplicated with, He responds, and if it is requested of Him, He gives.” [At Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and others]

There is another Hadeeth where a man supplicated saying:

“O Allaah I ask you, with that all praise if for You, there is no deity worthy of worship in truth other than you, al Mannaan, Badee’ as Samaawaat wal Ard, Dhul Jalaal wal Ikraam, Yaa Hayy, Yaa Qayoom…”
So the Messenger - صلى الله عليه وسلم - said:

“By the One whom my soul is in His hands, you have asked Allaah with His greatest name.” [At Tirmidhee, an Nasaa-ee and others]

The Coldness of Zamhareer

Ibnul Qayyim stated:

Allaah’s statement:

Nothing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink. Except boiling water, and Ghasaaqaa” [Al Naba: 24-25]
It is Zamhareer, it burns them with its extreme cold just as it burns them with its heat. It was also stated by Mujaahid and Muqaatil that it is the peak of coldness.
[Badaa’i al Fawaa-id: 2/244]



Al Haafidh stated:

Allaah the Elevated rendered what is in this world, in terms of heat and cold, related to the heat and cold of the Hell fire, and an evidence for it, and this is why it is recommend to seek refuge from the Hell fire when one experiences this [i.e. the heat and cold].

As was narrated by ‘Uthmaan ad Daarimee and others, the Hadeeth of Daraaj, on the authority of Abu Haytham…that Abu Hurayrah narrated to him that the Prophet- صلى الله عليه وسلم - said:

If a man says on a hot day; ‘There is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allaah, how hot it is today! O Allaah! Save me from the heat of Jahannam [the Hell fire].’
Allaah would say to Jahannam; “Indeed a servant of Mine has asked Me for salvation from your heat, indeed I hold you as a witness that I have granted him salvation.”

And if a servant says on an extremely cold day; ‘There is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allaah, how cold it is today! O Allaah! Save me from the Zamhareer of Jahannam.’

Allaah would say to Jahannam; “Indeed a servant of Mine has sought refuge with me from your Zamhareer, indeed I hold you as a witness that I have granted him refuge.”

The companions asked: “What is the Zamhareer of Jahannam?

He replied: “It is an abode where the disbeliever is thrown, he would be torn apart by its extreme cold.”

[Fat-h al Baaree: 3/71]



Al ‘Aynee stated:

There is nothing to prevent Zamhareer from emitting from the same Hell fire, because what is meant by ‘the Hell fire’ is its place, which is Jahannam, and there is a level of Zamhareer in it.

It was said that there is no contradiction here in combing between heat and cold in the Hell fire, because the Hell fire is Jahannam, and it has been narrated that parts of it are fire and other parts are Zamhareer, and they are not in the same place, it is impossible that they are combined in one place.

I say [Al ‘Aynee]: The One who created the dominion including ice and fire, is able to combine two opposites in one place. In addition, the Hell fire is from the affairs of the unseen, and the affairs of the unseen are not to be compared to the affairs of this world.

[‘Umdat al Qaaree: 7350]

Tips on burial procedures for Muslims in non-Muslim land

Compiled by Moosaa ibn John Richardson


"Breaking the bone of a deceased person is like breaking it while he is alive."






In the Name of

Allaah, the Most Merciful...
May His complete

Salaat and perfect Salaam be upon the Prophet Muhammad, and upon His companions and followers...


These are a few points of helpful advice that came to my mind as I was discussing the issue of trying to conform to the proper manners of

Islaamic burials while having to comply to local laws in non-Muslim lands.


In my area, we were required by law to place the deceased into a coffin, and that a simple burial of a shrouded body directly into the ground (which is the

Sunnah) was not allowed.


While not pleased in any way with this law, the Muslims in charge of the burial should take the following advice in this case:



Look for a Legal Loophole



1) Ask a lawyer if there are any exceptions allowed and try to find a legal way around it, so that the deceased can be buried properly, in a shroud, directly into the ground. Your area may have slightly different local laws that govern this issue, and it couldn't hurt to ask.



Buy Only the Cheapest Coffin



2) If there is no legal way around it and it must be done, then the cheapest and easiest thing that fulfills the law should be used. Using a "crate" or other cheap kind of box is sufficient. It should be explained to anyone who may not understand the reason that this is because death is the way that

Allaah lowers people and reminds them of how helpless and fragile they will become after death. We are not like the non-Muslims who try to deny the reality of death, hosting parties, giving eulogies, even stitching fake smiles onto the deceased's face! We take the reminder, seek forgiveness, lower the deceased into the hole in the ground, and throw the dirt on our lost loved one!


Spending money on expensive caskets or unnecessary burial rituals is taking the wealth of the deceased with no right, and thus taking the wealth of the inheritors with no right, and thus: oppression. Even if someone volunteered to buy an expensive coffin, it would still be a waste of money, since it is of no benefit to the deceased in any way and it is just discarded in the ground.



Fill the Coffin with Dirt Before Finishing the Burial



3) This is extremely important since it is something that many people would not think to do! So long as the law allows (and it should) for an open casket up until the burial is completed, then after placing the deceased into the hole, open the casket and place dirt directly onto the deceased, filling the casket entirely, before closing it and completing the burial.



Why is this important? Because if the casket is not filled up, it will cave in as the weight of the dirt above increases and very likely harm the deceased. We must be very gentle when transporting and burying our dead, so as not to cause them any pain.

The Prophet (may

Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) said:
"Breaking the bone of a deceased person is like breaking it while he is alive." [1]


This point (#3) was really why I wanted to write this. I pray that it is a reminder to the believers that is pleasing to

Allaah. He alone is the One who grants success.


Please help in passing this on to

imaams, community leaders, and those who help often in burials - with my salaams - and Allaah knows best.

Sheikh Muhammad al Banna-

-19th Muharam 1428 7thFEB 2007

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting our sheikh Muhammad Abdulwahhab al-Banna in Makkah, about 10 minutes before Asr prayer, the sheikh arrived through gate 94 in his electric wheelchair. The sheikh was born in 1916, 1333h a year or two after sheikh alAlbaani and sheikh Bin Baz rahimahumallaah. Now 91years (gregorian calender) but 94 in the hijri calender. The sheikh said that every 30 years (gregorian calender) add 1 year for the hijri calender to your life.

He faced the qiblah and prayed his tahyatul masjid, then took out his Qur'an and began to read. The sheikh completes the Qur'an twice in 1 week mashaallaah up and till today mashaallaah. I approached him and gave my salam and kissed his forehead, with so much enthusiasm he stressed that i must have dinner with him along with my family. Later other brothers were also invited. At maghrib time the sheikh again came early to the masjid and broke his fast as he fasts most of the month Muharram. He stayed in the masjid till the Isha prayer. Five times a day in the Haram mashaallaah. I asked him whether he goes to Jeddah twice a week as he used to. But he said that he will miss the haram. Then he calculated and said that 1 full day in the haram in salat is better that over 250 years of prayer!! Mashallaah. I asked whether he will visit us in Madinah and he said how can i give up 100 000 prayers for 1000!!

At dinner time he served us before eating making sure we were all happy mashaallaah.

Before Fajr the sheikh arrived less than an hour to go and he prayed his night prayers. His wife said that he prays the night prayer every night mashaallaah.

From the advice he gave was that we give a good impression of Islam to the non Muslims, then he mentioned his own story when he was giving da'wah to a preist in Birmingham, UK, who later agreed that Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam must really be a Prophet. He requested that sallam be given to Sheikh 'Ubayd al-Jaabiree and other mashayakh in Madinah and made much du'a. Inshaallaah the full details will be included in his biography which is very beneficial indeed.

May Allaah bless the sheikh and protect him and the Muslims from all evil. Indeed he is one of the best examples of being a worshipper. Busying himself with that which concerns him, being good to his family and neighbours and guests seeking the pleasure of Allaah. Humble... The Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said "Whoever humbles himself to Allaah, Allaah raises him"

Likewise the opposite is true...

How many have fallen because of arrogance, looking down at others with pride and haughtiness under hidden names slandering, not wishing for your brothers what one wishes for himself... guidance, to be forgiven, paradise.

Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "Just as you treat others you will be treated."

May Allaah forgive us for our short comings and guide us to the truth.Ameen
Abdulilah Lahmami

wiping over ankle socks:

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful...

An honored guest reminded me today that our brothers need to be clear on the issue of ankle socks and the ruling on wiping over them for wudhoo', since it is an issue that many people may not know about.

Ankle socks: very short socks usually worn with low top sports shoes, they usually do not cover the ankle.

Ankle socks that do not cover the ankle bone entirely do not fit the criteria of a "khuff", and thus it is not permissible to wipe over them for wudhoo'. Thus, wiping over ankle socks (that do not cover the ankle) is INVALID, and the wudhoo' is incomplete and thus invalid as well.

Our shaykh, Dr. Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said:

quote:
"...And it is a condition (for the validity of wiping over the footwear) that the footwear cover the foot. He may not wipe over footwear that is not sufficiently covering what he is required to wash (i.e. the entire foot, top and bottom, including the ankles), like footwear that is below the ankle, or footwear that is big enough, but does not properly cover the foot because it is too thin, like a thin nylon sock. None of these things may be wiped over since they do not adequately cover (the foot)..."


Source: al-Mulakh-khas al-Fiqhee (1/42)