Muharram- Islamic New Year

The Islamic calendar was first introduced during the era of the Amir Al-Mu’mineen, or leader of the believers `Umar ibn Al-Khattaab , may Allaah be pleased with him, during the sixteenth or seventeenth year after the Hijrah, or migration of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, sought the peoples advice on when the Hijri calendar should start. Some held that it should have started from the birth of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, whilst others thought that it should have begun from the very first day that the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam began his mission. Another group believed that the calendar should have started from the emigration and the last group held that the calendar should have begun from the death of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

 ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, agreed with those who wished to start the Islamic Calendar with the Hijrah of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam due to the fact that this marked the point in history when Allaah differentiated between truth and falsehood by giving the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam real power and authority which was manifested in the form of the first Islamic State.

The companions were also consulted on which month should mark the beginning of the year; ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab and ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, may Allah be pleased with them both, chose Al-Muharram due to it being a sacred month and because it follows the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah, which is when the Muslims perform Hajj, or the pilgrimage, which was the last pillar of Islam that Allaah enjoined upon the Muslims. Al-Muharram also follows the month in which the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam pledged allegiance to the Ansar (His Madeenan supporters) to emigrate to Madeenah and this pledge of allegiance was one of the introductory acts of emigration. Due to all these reasons, Al-Muharram was deemed the most suitable month to begin the Islamic Calendar.

The Islamic Year begins with the auspicious month of Muharram, which is the month in which the Holy Prophet of Islam (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) migrated from Makkah to Madinah, an event better known as the "Hijrah". The Hijrah was a turning point in Islamic History from whence Islam progressively strengthened its power and support base.

Prior to the Hijrah, the Muslims were few in number, were weak and were therefore placed under physical, social and economics sanctions.

After arriving in Madinatul Munawwarah, Islam and the Muslims acquired economic and political strength within a short space of time, and eventually gathered the military might to conquer their oppressors of Makkah.

According to history, when Prophet Muhamad (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) arrived in Madina, Abdullah bin Salaam, the famous Jewish scholar was busy breaking dates in his garden. When news of Rasoolullah's (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) arrival reached him, he immediately set out to observe Rasoolullah's (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) activities. Before long he found himself in the midst of the Muslims of Madina where Rasoolullah's (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) was addressing the Muslims thus, "O people! Get into the habit of greeting one another at all times, and feed one another, and treat your relatives and friends with love and kindness. And when everyone is asleep at night, remember to pray to Almighty Allah at that time. If you keep up in practice with these things then you shall enter Jannah in peace."

This Prophetic advice bears glad tidings for Muslims throughout the ages. Alas! Had the Muslims of today only given heed to, and practised upon this advice, it would have produced the solutions to nearly all their problems. Hidden embodied in this advice is the secrets of the success of this world and the Hereafter. 

This advice had produced a deeply profound effect on Abdullah bin Salaam, so much so that he went to the house of Sayyiduna Abu Ayub Ansari (Radi Allahu Anhu) and addressed the Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallam) in the following manner, "I accept your claim of Prophethood and I sincerely believe that your religion (Islam) is a true religion." Having made this announcement, he accepted Islam. The Jews came to Allah's Apostle and 'Abdullah went inside the house. Allah's Apostle asked (the Jews), "What kind of man is 'Abdullah bin Salam amongst you?" They replied, "He is the most learned person amongst us, and the best amongst us, and the son of the best amongst us." Allah's Apostle said, "What do you think if he embraces Islam (will you do as he does)?" The Jews said, "May Allah save him from it." Then 'Abdullah bin Salam came out in front of them saying, "I testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah." Thereupon they said, "He is the evilest among us, and the son of the evilest amongst us," and continued talking badly of him.

Miraj

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allāh. We praise Him, we seek His Help and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allāh from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allāh guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allāh misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions.

O Slaves of Allāh! I first and foremost advise you to fear Allāh and to remain conscious of Him at all times, for indeed he ought to be feared and obeyed at all times.

To proceed, Allah mentions in the glorious quran, the following:

“Blessed is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Makka) to the farther Mosque (in Jerusalem) - whose surroundings We have blessed - that We might show him some of Our signs ¹. Indeed He alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing”. (Quran 17:1)

According to Hadith scholars the journey of Israh and Miraj took place just over a year before Prophet Muhammad  migrated to from Makka to Madina, on the 27th of Rajab.

Israh is referred to as the Journey from from the holy mosque, in mecca, to Jerusalem, and Meraj is referring to the ascension to heaven.

Before the Prophet took this night journey, the ceiling of the house in which he was staying was opened, and Jibril descended. He cut open the chest of Prophet Muhammad and washed that open area with Zamzam water. Then he emptied something from a container into the chest of the Prophet to increase his wisdom as well as the strength of his belief. This was done to prepare the Messenger of Allah for that which he had yet to see in the upper world from among the wonders of the creation of Allah.

After the Prophet performed the Evening Prayer (^Isha'), Jibril came to him with a white animal, slightly larger than a donkey yet smaller than a mule. This animal was the buraq,--one of the animals of Paradise. Jibril held the buraq by his ear and told the Prophet to mount it. When the buraq was mounted, the Prophet set forth.

The buraq carried  Messenger of Allahuntil to the city  of Jerusalem. There the Prophet went to Masjid al-Aqsa. The Prophet entered the masjid where Allah assembled for him all the Prophets--from Adam to ^Isa. Prophet Muhammad moved forward and led them all in prayer. This is an indication the Prophet is higher in status than all the rest of the prophets and messengers.

After the Prophet took this night journey from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, he ascended to the upper heavens. The Prophet ascended to the heaven on stairs, called al-mirqat, in which one step is made of gold and the next of silver, and so on. These stairs are veiled from us. The Prophet ascended these stairs until he reached the first heaven. When the Prophet and Jibril arrived at the first heaven, Jibril requested the gate to be opened. The angel assigned to that gate asked Jibril, "Who is with you?" Jibril answered, "It is Muhammad." The angel asked Jibril, "Was he dispatched? Is it time for him to ascend to the heaven?" Jibril said, "Yes." So, the gate was opened for him, and Prophet Muhammad entered the first heaven.  

There, Prophet Muhammad saw Prophet Adam. To Adam's right, the Prophet saw some bodies, and to Adam’s left, other bodies. If Adam would look to his right he would laugh, and if he would look to his left he would cry. Adam was seeing the souls of his descendants. Those on his right were his descendants who would die as believers and those on his left were his descendants who would die as non-believers. 

On the second heaven, he met Prophet Isah and Yayah, on the third heaven he met prophet Prophet Yusuf, the forth heaven, he met prophet Idris, on the fifth heaven he met prophet Harun, the brother of  Prophet Musa. On the sixth heaven he then met with Prophet Musa. Each of these Prophets received Prophet Muhammad with a warm welcome and made supplication (du^a')') for him for good things.

Then the Prophet ascended to the seventh heaven, and that is where our Messenger saw Prophet Ibrahim.

Then the Prophet ascended to what is beyond the seven skies; he entered Paradise. He saw examples of the inhabitants of Paradise and how their situation would be. He saw most of the inhabitants of Paradise are the poor people .

The Prophet saw other things on the night of his ascension. He saw Malik, the angel in charge of the Hellfire. Malik did not smile at the Prophet when he saw him, and the Prophet asked why. In answer to the Prophet's question, Jibril said, "Malik did not smile since the day Allah created him. Had he smiled for anyone, he would have smiled for you."

Then the Prophet ascended beyond Paradise. He reached a place where he heard the creaking of the pens used by the angels who are copying from the Preserved Tablet. It is at that location Prophet Muhammad heard the Kalam of Allah, which is an attribute of the Self of Allah.

The Prophet understood several things from hearing this Kalam of Allah. He understood the obligation of the five Obligatory Prayers. At first, Allah obligated fifty prayers. When Prophet Muhammad encountered Musa, Musa told him to make supplication (du^a') to his Lord to ease the obligation of fifty (50) prayers, because his nation could not handle that. Musa said, "I have experience with the people of Israel, and I know your nation cannot bear that." So the  Prophet asked his Lord to lessen these prayers for his people. Five prayers were eliminated. Once again, Musa told the Prophet to ask Allah to lessen the number of prayers. Allah did. Nine times the Prophet made supplication to Allah to lessen these prayers--until these prayers were lessened to five Obligatory Prayers. So Prophet Musa was a great benefit to us. Had we been obligated to pray fifty prayers a day, this would have been a difficult matter for us.  

From the Kalam of Allah, the Prophet also understood that a good deed would be written for the person who intends to do a good deed, even if he did not do it. Also, the good deed performed would be registered for he who performs it as at least ten good deeds--up to 700 good deeds. For some people, Allah would multiply the reward of their deeds more than that. Additionally, if one performs a bad deed, it is registered for him as one bad deed; yet for he who inclines towards committing a bad deed and then refrains from committing it, a good deed would be registered for him. Here one should note the difference between two matters. If a thought crossed a person's mind about doing something sinful, and this person wavered in this thinking, i.e., considered whether he should do it or not, then he refrained from doing this for the sake of Allah, this is written as a good deed.

Abû Hurairah (r.a.) narrated that the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, “Allah ordered (the appointed angels over you) that the good and the bad deeds be written. He then showed (the way) how (to write). If somebody intends to do a good deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write for him a full good deed (in his account with Him). If he intends to do a good deed and actually did it, then Allah will write for him (in his account) with Him (its reward equal) from ten to seven hundred times to many more times. If somebody intended to do a bad deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write a full good deed (in his account) with Him; and if he intended to do it (a bad deed) and actually did it, then Allah will write one bad deed (in his account).” - (Bukhâri 8/498 and 9/592)

Surah Mulk (Tafseer): Introduction

Benefits of reciting Surah Mulk

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Truly all praise is due to Allah, we praise him and seek his help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves; and our bad actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can turn him astray, and whomsoever Allah turns astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the only one without Any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and final messenger. 

In today’s kuthbah, we will be looking at the tafseer of surah mulk.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

said: “A soorah from the Qur’aan containing thirty verses will intercede for a man so that he will be forgiven. It is the soorah Tabaarak Alathi bi yadihi’l-mulk [i.e., Soorat al-Mulk].”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2891; Abu Dawood, 1400; Ibn Maajah, 3786.

What is meant is that a person should read it every night, act in accordance with the rulings contained in it, and believe in the information mentioned in it.

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: Whoever reads Tabaarak allaahi bi yadihi’l-mulk [i.e., Soorat al-Mulk] every night, Allaah will protect him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we used to call it al-maani’ah (that which protects). In the Book of Allaah it is a soorah which, whoever recites it every night has done very well.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah that Allah's Messenger said,

(Verily, there is a chapter in the Qur'an which contains thirty Ayat that will intercede on behalf of its reciter until he is forgiven. (It is): (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion.).

At-Tabarani and Al-Hafiz Ad-Diya' Al-Maqdisi both recorded from Anas that the Messenger of Allah said,

There is a chapter of the Qur'an that will argue on behalf of its reciter until it causes him to enter into Paradise. (It is): (Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion.)

The Surah (synopsis v.1-11)

In the first five verses man has been made to realize that the universe in which he lives is a most well organized and fortified Kingdom in which he cannot detect any fault, any weakness or flaw, however hard he may try to probe. This Kingdom has been brought from nothing into existence by Allah Almighty Himself and All the powers of controlling, administering and ruling it are also entirely in Allah's hand and His power is infinite. Besides, man has also been told that in this wise system he has not been created without a purpose, but he has been sent here for a test and in this test he can succeed only by his righteous deeds and conduct.

In vv. 6-11, dreadful consequences of disbelief which will appear in the Hereafter have been mentioned, and the people told that Allah, by sending His Prophets, has warned them of these consequences in this very world, as if to say "Now, if you do not believe in what the Prophets say and correct your attitude and behavior accordingly, in the Hereafter you will yourself have to admit that you really deserved the punishment that was being meted out to you."

Source: Tafseer Ibn Khateer, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an