Part 48

* Recorded by Ahmad and the four scholars of the Sunan, and it was authenticated by al-Albani.

A Muslim, in general, should preserve his/her private parts from all that is prohibited, because an excess of sins allows Satan to overpower man.

The twentieth shield: Preserving one’s hand

1. Preventing one’s hand from following the insinuations of the devil

Abu Hurayrah #4 reported that the Prophet 3 said: “None of you should point at his Muslim brother with a weapon; for he does not know, Satan may tempt him to hit him (with it) and thus he would fall into a pit of fire (Hell).”"

He # also said: “He who points a weapon at his Muslim brother, the angels would curse, even if he is his real brother (from same father and mother), as long as he does not stop it.”

2. Preserving one’s hand from killing a Muslim

Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays 4 reported that the Prophet % said: “If two Muslims meet each other with their swords, then both the killer and the killed are in the Hellfire.” I asked: “O Messenger of Allah, It is alright for the killer, but what about the one killed?” He # replied: “The killed one was (also) eager to kill his opponent.”?

Ibn Mas‘ud 2 reported that the Prophet said: “Abusing a Muslim is fusug (an evil-doing) but killing him is kufr (disbelief).”*

3. Preventing one’s hand from killing oneself

Abu Hurayrah # reported that the Prophet 3% said: “Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in the Hellfire, falling down into it and abiding therein, perpetually; and

' Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. * Recorded by Muslim.

> Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. * Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the Hellfire, wherein he will abide, eternally; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon, will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the Hellfire, wherein he will abide, eternally.”

4. Preserving one’s hand from shaking the hand of a nonmahram* woman

You should know, O Muslim brother, that it is prohibited to shake hands with a woman, foreign to you, and this includes a woman who is temporarily forbidden for you to marry. The majority of the scholars from the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence have agreed about this prohibition.

The Hanafi School: one scholar has said: “It is illegal to touch a (foreign) woman’s face and hands, even if it does not arouse one’s desires.”

The Maliki School: Shaikh Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad alDardir has said: “It is prohibited to shake hands with a (foreign) woman even if she were an old lady.”

The Shafi‘i School: Abu Zar‘ah has said: “It is unlawful to touch a (foreign) woman.” This is also the opinion of both Imam al-Nawawi and al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani.

The Hanbali Schoo]: Muhammad ibn Mahran has said: “Imam Abu ‘Abdillah (Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) was asked about the permissibility of a man shaking hands with a foreign woman, to which he replied: “No,” and he was very firm in this matter. I asked him: “What about shaking hands using his garment?” He answered: “No.”

Shaikh Muhammad Sultan Ma‘susi said: “It is unlawful to shake hands with (foreign) women, whether there is any base desire (passion) or not, and whether she is a young or an old woman.”

' Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and this narration is that of al-Bukhari. * A woman who is foreign to a man, with whom he can legally marry.

These are the formal legal opinions of the scholars of the most prominent schools of figh, and this is the truth on this matter, so whoever does otherwise, has been misled away from the Guidance of Allah.

Some suspicious aspects concerning this matter:

There are some people who would say: “If I shake hands with a “foreign” woman with good interitions and no passion, is it unlawful?”

The answer: Yes, it is unlawful, because the Prophet #, the infallible one, who had the purest heart, had never shook hands with a foreign woman, as ‘Aishah 4 said: “The hand of the Messenger of Allah never touched any woman’s hand, except the hand of that woman his right hand possessed (i.e. his captives or lady slaves)”!; and the meaning of “possession” in the Hadith is that he possessed the right to have intercourse with her.

Another person. could say: “I am aware of the fact that it is unlawful to shake the hand of a “foreign” woman, but I feel too embarrassed to refuse shaking the hand of a woman who is a relative of mine, when she stretches her hand out to me — this is an obligation.”

The answer: This cannot be considered as a legal obligation in Islam; for during the pledge of allegiance, women stretched their hands to shake the hand of the Prophet 3, yet he refused, saying: “I do not shake hands with women.”

Another person would say: “It was quoted that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab 2. used to shake hands with women for a pledge of allegiance.”

The answer: This tradition was narrated by al-Tabarani with a very weak chain of narrations, which therefore cannot be used as proof.

In short, it is unlawful for a Muslim to shake hands with a woman who is “foreign” to him, or with any woman he could legally marry.

' Recorded by al-Bukhari. ? Recorded by al-Tirmidhi who categorised it as hasan sahih; and by al-Nasa’i and Malik.

5. Aman should prevent his hands from wearing gold

Ibn ‘Abbas # reported that the Prophet saw a man wearing a gold signet ring on his hand. He # pulled it off and threw it away, saying: “One of you is wishing that a live coal from Hell should be put on his hand.” It was said to the man after the Messenger of Allah % had left: “Take your gold signet ring and derive some benefit from it.” Whereupon he replied: “No, by Allah, I would never take it (again) since the Messenger of Allah has thrown it away.”’

6. Preventing oneself from playing chess and backgammon Buraydah ibn al-Hasib - reported that the Prophet # said: “He who plays chess is like one who has dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine.”

Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari 2 reported that the Prophet 4 said: “He who plays backgammon disobeys Allah and His Messenger.”

A Muslim should preserve all his limbs from all types of sins, big and small, but if Satan should lure him into any offence, he should quickly tepent and seek forgiveness for it.

The twenty first shield: shielding one’s house

1. Remembering Allah when entering one’s house

Abu Malik al-Ash‘ari 2 reported that the Prophet 3¢ said: “When a man enters into his house, he should say: ‘O Allah, I ask You for good both when entering and leaving; in the name of Allah we have entered, and in the name of Allah we have left, and in Allah we do trust.’ Then he should greet his family.’*

' Recorded by Muslim.

? Recorded by Muslim.

> Recorded by Malik, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.

* Recorded by Abu Dawud. al-Albani said: Its chain of narrations is authentic.

2. Greeting the wife and children

Al-Nawawi said: “It is recommended that one says: “bismilah (in the name of Allah), and make dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and say the Islamic greeting (assalamu alaykum) whether there was any human in the house or not, for Allah 4% said: (And when you enter houses greet one another with a greeting from Allah, blessed and good)’.

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet % said: “When you go into your family, my son, give a salutation. It will be a blessing both for you and for the inmates of your house.””

Abu Umamah al-Bahili reported that the Prophet 3% said: “There are three people who are under the Guarantee of Allah 3: a man who set out as a mujahid for the Sake of Allah; he is under the Guarantee of Allah until he makes him die and so he enters Paradise, or until he returns with what he gets as a reward and bounty. And a man who goes out to the mosque; he is under the Guarantee of Allah 3 until he makes him die and so he enters Paradise, or he returns with a reward and bounty. And a man who enters his house with a salutation (salam); he has the Guarantee of Allah 3&.”?

Al-Nawawi said: “Under the Guarantee of Allah” means having the Guarantee of Allah 8% and being under the Care of Allah.”

3. Remembering Allah when eating and drinking

Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah 2 reported that he heard the Prophet 3 say: “When a person enters his house and mentions the Name of Allah, at the time of entering it and while eating the food, Satan says (addressing himself): “You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal’; but when he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers): ‘You have found a place to spend the night’, and when he also does not mention the Name of Allah while eating food, he (Satan) says: ‘You have found a place to spend the night and evening meal,””

1 Surat al-Nar, verse 61.

? Recorded by al-Tirmidhi who categorised it as hasan, sahih, gharib. 3 Recorded by Abu Dawud, with a good chain of narrations.

* Recorded by Muslim.

4. Regular recitation of the Qur’an in one’s house

This is necessary because the Qur’an purifies the house, turning it into a pleasant and delightful place, as drives away devils. Abu Musa alAsh‘ari 2 reported that the Prophet 48 said: “The example of a believer who recites the Qur’an is like that of citron which tastes and smells good. But he (a believer) who does not.recite the Qur’an is like a date which is good in taste yet has no smell. And the example of the dissolute wicked person who recites the Qur’an is like rayhana (sweet basil) which smells good yet tastes bitter. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth which tastes bitter and has no smell.”!

The humble recitation of the Qur’an in one’s house draws angels ever closer to it. Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri 2 reported that one one night when Usayd ibn Hudayr 4s started reciting the Qur’an, his horse, which was tied up next to him, suddenly became startled and troubled, but when he stopped reciting, the horse became quiet. When he started reciting again, his horse became troubled again. He did the same three times, and then he stopped for fear that his horse might trample over his son. The next day, he informed the Prophet % who explained: “Recite, O Ibn Hudayr! Recite, O Ibn Hudayr!” Ibn Hudayr replied: “O Messenger of Allah, Yahya was near the horse and I was afraid that it might trample over him, so I looked towards the sky, and went to him. When I looked at the sky, I saw something like a cloud containing what looked like lamps, so I went out in order not to see it.” The Prophet 4 said: “Do you know what that was?” Ibn Hudair replied: “No”. The Prophet % said: “Those were angels who came near to you for your voice, and if you had kept on reciting till dawn, it would have remained there till morning when people would have seen it as, it would not have disappeared”.