Monday, November 30, 2009

Authentic Narrations About Talbina and Talbina Recipe

Authentic Narrations About Talbina

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to recommend talbina for the sick and for the one grieving over a dead person. She (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say, "I heard the Messenger (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) saying, ' The talbina gives rest to the heart of the patient and makes it active and relieves some of his sorrow and grief.' " [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5325)].

Aisha (may Allaah be pleased with her) said that whenever one of her relatives died, the women assembled and then dispersed (returned to their houses) except her relatives and close friends. She (may Allah be pleased with her) would order that a pot of talbina be cooked. Then Tharid (a dish prepared from meat and bread) would be prepared and the talbina would be poured over it. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would say (to the women),"Eat from it, for I heard the Messenger (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) saying 'The talbina soothes the heart of the patient and relieves him from some of his sadness.' " [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5058)].

Hisham's father (may Allah be pleased with them) said, "Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to recommend talbina and used to say, 'It is disliked (by the patient) although it is beneficial.'" [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5326)].

The Messenger (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) said, "I encourage you to use that which is disliked but beneficial (talbina) for by the One whose hand Muhammad's soul is in, it cleans the stomach of one of you just as dirt is cleaned from the face with water." [Mustadrak of Haakim (7455), Saheeh as Dhahabi mentioned in 'Talkhees' taken from Maktaba Shaamilah, See also Mustadrak (8245) whose chain is upon the condition of Bukhaaree as Dhahabi mentioned].

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated, "If any of the Messenger's (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) family became ill, the Messenger (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) would say, 'It soothes the grieving heart and cleanses the ailing heart just as one of you cleans dirt off his face with water.' " [Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah (3445), hadeeth hasan].

Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger (Sallallaahu alayhi Wasallam) said, "You should eat the beneficial thing that is unpleasant to eat (talbina), meaning broth." If any member of the Messenger of Allaah's family was sick, the cooking pot would remain on the fire until one of two things happened, either the person recovered or died." [Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah (3446) hadeeth hasan].

Recipe
Talbina is made by adding 1-2 tablespoons of barley flour (must be 100% wholegrain barley flour) to one and a half cups of water. Place on low heat for 10-15 minutes (optional: add milk or yoghurt and sweeten with honey). This may also be used as a food thickener for gravy, soups, lasagnes dishes etc. Alternatively you may add 1-2 tablespoons of barley flour (must be 100% wholegrain barley flour) to one and a half cups of milk. Place on low heat for 10-15 minutes (optional: add water or yoghurt and sweeten with honey).

The consistency may be changed according to preference by increasing or decreasing the amount of flour used. More flour may be added to make a porridge like talbina. Alternatively less flour may be added to make a drink like talbina.

The talbina mixture may then be put in the blender with fresh or frozen fruits and/or ground flax seeds. etc It may be blended together to make a tasty talbina 'smoothie'.

Drink at least one cup daily.

Source: Health Means Wealth

Friday, November 27, 2009

Shaykh 'Ubayd al-Jaabiree Warns Against Anwar al-Awlaki

In the aftermath of the heinous shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, the shooter's and other Khaarijee renegades' connection to Anwar al-Awlaki has come to light, especially in the western media. Awlaki is the common denominator in many of the recent terrorist acts and attempts that have recently occurred.

Awlaki is not one to carry out such attacks himself, rather he incites and inspires young ignorant Muslims to commit such crimes in the name of Islam. So the noble Scholar of Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Shaykh 'Ubayd Ibn 'Abdullaah al-Jaabiree has delivered this warning against al-Awlaki. The Shaykh is presented with three of al-Awlaki's statements that impy mass takfeer of the Muslims and the Shaykh goes onto reply to these falsehoods.

The Shaykh also hits the nail on the head when he says that al-Awlaki has become polluted with the ideas of Sayyid Qutb - who is undoubtedly the catalyst for the modern day acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam.

Play Audio


Source: Sunnah Audio

Friday, November 20, 2009

Not Leaving Off Hajj for More than Five Years

No. 1662 – The Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

‘Indeed Allaah says: Verily I have made a slave’s body healthy and given him adequate livelihood yet five years have passed and he has not come to Me and redeemed himself, as a pilgrim.’

Silsilah-Saheehah


Shaykh Albaani said:

‘Benefit: al-Mundhiri said in ‘al-Targheeb’ (2/134): Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his ‘Saheeh’ and by al-Bayhaqi who said: ‘Alee bin al-Mundhir said: Some of our companions narrated to me saying: Hasan bin Hayyin used to be amazed by this hadeeth and used to implement it. He would love a healthy, prosperous person not to leave off Hajj for five years.’


No. 1264 – On the authority of Jaabir in a narration ascribed to the Prophet: (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam):

‘The goodness of Hajj is feeding people and good speech.’


No. 1820 – On the authority of Jaabir who said: the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

‘Pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah are the delegates of Allaah. He called them and they responded, they asked of Him and He gave them.’


Taken from Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah & Silsilah Ahadeeth Ad-Daeefah of 
the Muhaddith, Shaykh ’
Muhammad Nasiruddeen al-Albaani (Rahimahullaahu)

Translated by Abbas Abu Yahya



Thursday, November 19, 2009

A History of Hajj - Part 3 of 3

As for the deplorable practice of spattering blood of the sacrificed animals on the walls of the Ka'ba and hanging their flesh on alters, then Allaah clearly informed them that:


"It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allaah, but it is Taqwaa (piety) from you that reaches Him." (Surah al-Hajj 22:37)

The Prophet (SAWS) also put a stop to the practice of circling the Ka'ba in a state of nudity and the argument that the pagans put forward to justify this ritual was sharply rebutted in Allaah's question:


"Say: Who has forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Allaah which He has produced for His Slaves?" (Surah al-A'raaf 7:32)


Another custom which was prohibited through the Qur'aan was that of setting off for Hajj without taking any provisions for the journey. In the pre-Islamic period, some people who claimed to be mutawakkiloon (those having complete trust in Allaah) would travel to perform Hajj begging food the whole journey. They considered this form of behaviour a sign of piety and an indication of how much faith they had in Allaah. However Allaah told mankind that to have sufficient provisions for the journey was one of the preconditions for making Hajj. He said:


"And take a provision [with you] for the journey, but the best provision is at-Taqwaa (piety)." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:197)


In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices, which were based in ignorance, were abolished and Hajj was once more made a model of piety, fear of Allaah, purity, simplicity and austerity. Now, when the pilgrims reached the Ka'ba, they no longer found the carnivals and the frolic and frivolity that had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims there before. Now, there was the remembrance of Allaah at every step and every action and every sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. It was this kind of Hajj that was worthy of the reward of paradise, as the Prophet (SAWS) said: "The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than paradise." [10]


May Allaah grant us all the ability to visit His House and perform the Hajj in the manner of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Aameen.

Footnotes

1 Surah al-Hajj 22:26
2 Labbaik Allaahumma labbaik... (Here I am present, O' Allaah, I am present...) This is the chant which the pilgrims say when they are going around the Ka'ba.
3 Surah al-Baqarah 2:129
4 Surah al-Baqarah 2:197
5 Surah al-Baqarah 2:200
6 Surah al-Hajj 22:36
7 Surah al-Hajj 22:37
8 Surah al-A'raaf 7:32
9 Surah al-Baqarah 2:197
10 Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (Eng. trans. Vol. 3 p. 1 no 1)
11 This article has been taken from: "The Call To Allaah magazine", (Vol. 1 Issue 4)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A History of Hajj - Part 2 of 3

Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah (SAWS) was born in the very city that Ibraaheem (AS) had made this supplication centuries earlier. For twenty-three years, the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) spread the message of Tawheed [true monotheism -SA] - the same message that Ibraaheem and alI the other Prophets came with - and established the law of Allaah upon the land. He expended every effort into making the word of Allaah supreme and his victory over falsehood culminated in the smashing of the idols inside the Ka'ba which once again became the universal centre for the worshippers of the one True God.

Not only did the Prophet rid the Ka'ba of all its impurities, but he also reinstated all the rites of Hajj which were established by Allaah's Permission, in the time of Ibraaheem (AS). Specific injunctions in the Qur'aan were revealed in order to eliminate all the false rites which had become rampant in the pre-Islamic period. All indecent and shameful acts were strictly banned in Allaah's statement:


"There is to be no lewdness nor wrangles during Hajj." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:197)


Competitions among poets in the exaltations of their forefathers and their tribesmen's' achievements were all stopped. Instead, Allaah told them:

"And when you have completed your rites [of Hajj] then remember Allaah as you remember your forefathers; nay with a more vigorous remembrance." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:200)


Competitions in generosity were also prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor pilgrims was still encouraged as this was done in the time of Ibraaheem (AS) but Allaah commanded that the slaughtering of the animals which was done for this purpose should be done seeking the pleasure of Allaah rather than fame and the praise of the people. He said:


"So mention the name of Allaah over these animals when they are drawn up in lines. Then, when they are drawn on their sides [after the slaughter], eat thereof and feed the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who asks." (Surah al-Hajj 22:36)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Announcement of first of Dull-Hijjah & Eid al-Adhaa 2009

It has been announced by the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia that 1st of Dull-Hijjah is tomorrow insha'Allah (Wed 18th of Nov) and Eid al-Adhaa will be on Friday 27th Nov 2009.

More to follow...

Source: High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia

A History of Hajj - Part 1 of 3

An excellent da’wah tool demonstrating the significance of the Hajj within Islaam.

Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allaah in the time of the Prophet lbraaheem [Abraham] (AS) and he was the one who was entrusted by Allaah to build the Ka'ba - the House of Allaah - along with his son Ismaa'eel [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allaah described the Ka'ba and its building as follows:
 

"And remember when We showed Ibraaheem the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worship] with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.]." (Surah al-Hajj 22:26)
 

After building the Ka'ba, Ibraaheem (AS) would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Ka'ba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Ka'ba.

During the Hajj period itself, the atmosphere around the sacred precincts of the Ka'ba was like a circus. Men and women would go round the Ka'ba naked, arguing that they should present themselves before Allaah in the same condition they were born. Their prayer became devoid of all sincere remembrance of Allaah and was instead reduced to a series of hand clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns. Even the talbeeyah [2] was distorted by them with the following additions: 'No one is Your partner except one who is permitted by you. You are his Master and the Master of what he possesses'.

Sacrifices were also made in the name of God. However, the blood of the sacrificed animals was poured onto the walls of the Ka'ba and the flesh was hung from pillars around the Ka'ba, in the belief that Allaah demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.

Singing, drinking, adultery and other acts of immorality was rife amongst the pilgrims and the poetry competitions, which were held, were a major part of the whole Hajj event. In these competitions, poets would praise the bravery and splendour of their own tribesmen and tell exaggerated tales of the cowardice and miserliness of other tribes. Competitions in generosity were also staged where the chief of each tribe would set up huge cauldrons and feed the pilgrims, only so that they could become well-known for their extreme generosity.

Thus the people had totally abandoned the teachings of their forefather and leader Ibraaheem (AS). The House that he had made pure for the worship of Allaah alone, had been totally desecrated by the pagans and the rites which he had established were completely distorted by them. This sad state of affairs continued for nearly two and a half thousand years. But then after this long period, the time came for the supplication of Ibraaheem to be answered:
 

"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them your aayaat (verses) and instruct them in the book and the Wisdom and sanctify them. Verily you are the 'Azeezul-Hakeem [the All-Mighty, the All-Wise]." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:129)


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Hajj & 'Umrah

The rites of Hajj and Umrah according to the authentic Sunnah.

Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajar said: From Abee Hurayrah (radiyallaahu 'anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:

An Umrah to an Umrah is an expiation for what is between the two. And a blessed Hajj does not have a reward for it except paradise. [Agreed Upon. Bulooghul Maraam (no. 693)] 

Shaykh Safee'ur Rahmaan Al Mubaarakfooree says:

Hajj: In the language, it is an endeavor.

Al Khaleel said:

Most endeavors are to glorification. In Islaamic law: The endeavor to the Sacred House with specified actions. It is a pillar from the five pillars of Islaam by agreement. It was first obligated in the sixth year according to the majority, and it has been said that it may have been in the seventh or tenth year. And Ibnul Qayyim has chosen that in Al Hudaa. [It'haaful Karaam (p. 198)]

Source: Troid

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Connection of the Soul to the Body

A short essay on the souls connection to the body, in this life and in the Hereafter.

The soul (ar-rooh) is connected to the body in five different ways, to which different rules apply.

  1. Its connection to the body as a fetus in his mother’s womb. 
  2. Its connection to the body after a person is born. 
  3. Its connection to the body when a person is asleep, when the soul is connected in one way and  separated from it in another way. 
  4. Its connection to the body in al-Barzakh (the period between a person’s death and the Day of Resurrection), when it has departed from the body and separated from it, but is not separated completely in such a way that there is no connection at all. We have mentioned at the beginning of this reply that there are ahaadeeth and reports which indicate that the soul is returned to the body when somebody sends the greeting of salaam to a deceased person. This returning is of a special nature which does not mean that the life is restored to the body before the Day of Resurrection. 
  5. Its connection to the body on the Day when bodies will be resurrected. This is the most perfect type of connection to the body, and has no comparison to the previous types, because after that the body will never die, sleep or have anything wrong with it. When a person is asleep, his soul is in his body and he is alive, although his being alive is not the same as that of a person who is awake, for sleep is comparable to death. Similarly, when a dead person’s soul is returned to his body (when the greeting is sent upon him), he is in a state between one who is alive and one who is dead, whose soul is not restored to his body. This is like the case of a sleeping person who is in a state between life and death. We hope that this will dispel a lot of your confusion.

Footnotes:

[1] Taken from Kitaabur-Rooh (p. 44) By Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d.751H)

Source: Troid


Monday, November 2, 2009

The Perfection of the Shariah and an Exposition of the Reprehensible Innovations That Have Crept Into Islam

Linguistically bid'ah (innovation) means 'a newly invented matter'. The Sharee'ah definition of bid'ah is: "A newly invented way [beliefs or action] in the religion, in imitation of the Sharee'ah (prescribed Law), by which nearness to Allaah is sought, [but] not being supported by any authentic proof - neither in its foundations, nor in the manner in which it is performed." Al-I'tisaam of ash-Shaatibee (1/37).

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said:

"Every innovation is misguidance and going astray"

Reported by Abu Daawood (no. 4607), at-Tirmidhee (no. 2676) and it is saheeh. Ibn Hajr authenticated it Takhreej Ahaadeeth Ibn ul-Haajib (1/137).

And he (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) also said:

"…and every innovation is misguidance and all misguidance is in the Hellfire."

Reported by an-Nasaa'ee (1/224) from Jaabir bin Abdullaah and it is saheeh as declared by Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah in Majmoo' ul-Fataawaa (3/58).

The Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) also warned against the People of Innovation, from befriending, supporting or taking from them saying:

"Whoever innovates or accommodates an innovator then upon him is the curse of Allaah, His Angels and the whole of mankind."

Reported by Bukhaaree (12/41) and Muslim (9/140)

And in his footsteps, we find the Noble Companions and the Taabi'een after them warning from the danger of innovations upon the Ummah, its people and their unity, since it is innovations which have divided the Ummah and split it asunder.

Ibn Abbaas (d. 68H) said: "Indeed the most detestable of things to Allaah are the innovations." Reported by al-Bayhaqee in as-Sunan al-Kubraa (4/316)

Ibn Umar (d. 84H) said: "Every innovation is misguidance, even if the people see it as something good." Reported by Abu Shaamah (no. 39)

Source: Salafi Publications