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Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise is solely for Allah, Lord of all the worlds. With Him we seek assistance for all matters in the secular life and the religious affairs. May the peace and blessings of Allah descend upon our Master, Muhammad, the seal of prophets, and on his family and all of his companions. There is no strength or power except with Allah, the High, the Mighty.

 

1) The meaning of     , (al-basmalah)

  • The    is for the accompaniment of blessings.

  • The word    is derived from   which means "loftiness", "exaltedness".

  • The name indicates the Essence of He Whose existence is necessary.  

  •   means the bestower of general blessings. *

  •   means the bestower of precise blessings. *

*  Allah is ar-Rahmaan with all of His Creation, while He reserves the mercy that stems from His attribute of ar-Raheem for the believers.  By His attribute of ar-Rahmaan He gives sight, while it is through His attribute of ar-Raheem that He gives each individual their particular precision of sight.

The author, may Allah give us benefit through him, begins his work with the basmalah which gives the meaning, "I begin this work in Allah's name seeking blessings, and acknowledging that He is the Beneficent, the Merciful."

Rulings for the Basmalah

  1. Waajib:  in the Shaafi'i school, it is obligatory upon the praying person to recite the basmalah as part of al-Faatiha. 

  2. Mandub: it is recommended that the basmalah be recited at the beginning of any activity that bears some significance in the Shari'ah, such as writing a beneficial book about the deen.

  3. Mubah: it is permissible to say the basmalah before undertaking any activity that is permissible, such as moving an object from one place to another.

  4. Makruh: it is disliked that one should say the basmalah before undertaking an action that is disliked in the Shari'ah.

  5. Haram: it is forbidden that one recite the basmalah when doing something forbidden such as drinking alcohol.

 The Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said:

"Every significant matter that is not begun with the basmalah is cut off (i.e. deficient of blessings)." 

(Abu Dawud)

 

Conditions for beginning with the basmalah:

  1. That it not be used purely as a dhikr.

  2. That the shari'ah has not legislated a beginning other than it, such as in the khutbah of Jumu'ah.

 

2) The meaning of 

The word hamd (praise) linguistically means, "glorification by the tongue for something that is beautiful, and stems from choice."

Stemming from choice in this definition indicates something like generosity.  A person chooses to be generous, it is not something inherent in their nature that they have no control over.

The customary meaning of hamd is, "an act of glorifiying the One Who bestows blessings due to His inherent nature as One Who bestows blessings, whether upon the one doing the praising or another."

Anything outside of this is not called "hamd," but rather it is known as madh (   ).  That is, when something is "praised" for a quality that it has no control over such as the beauty of a pearl, it is called madh and not hamd..

The word    means, "the possessor" or "the owner."  It does, however, have other meanings.

  is humanity, jinn, and angels.  It is also said, "everything other than Allah."

 

Rulings for Hamd (Praise)

  1. Waajib: in the Shaafi'i school, the khutbah of Jumu'ah must begin with praising Allah.

  2. Mandub: it is recommended to give praise in whatever condition one is in, and in the wedding khutbah.

  3. Makruh: it is is disliked that one should say "al-hamdu liLLah" while in a place where all trash and waste is discarded, such as a landfill, or at the place of animal slaughtering.

  4. Haram: it is forbidden to say "al-hamdu liLLah" when one falls into transgression and sin, showing happiness for it.

 

3)  meaning of 

     Linguistically this word can mean obedience, worship, or recompense and repayment.

The shari'ah definition however is: that which Allah legislated upon the tongue of His prophet concerning laws.  Synonymous with this are the words Islam, and Shari'ah.

4)  Meaning of    (salat) on the Prophet (SAWS).

  • From Allah, it means MERCY.

  • From the Angels, it means (seeking forgiveness for someone).

  • From the human being, it means   (supplication)

It has been said that when we make the du'ah of salat on the Prophet(SAWS), Allah sends His Mercy down on us, and the angels ask Allah to forgive us.

Salat upon the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) is one du'ah that is NEVER rejected by Allah, and therefore we should put salat upon the Prophet(SAWS) at the beginning and end of our du'ah, and if it is a long du'ah we should include some salat upon him (SAWS) in the middle.

Sayyid (Master)

This term has several meanings:

  1. The one who attains a place of authority and leadership amongst his people.

  2. The one who commands a large army.

  3. The one to whom people flee in times of severe hardships.

  4. The forbearing one who is not easily moved to anger. 

Truly, all of these qualities are combined in our Prophet (SAWS).

The family of the Prophet (SAWS)

Some 'ulema say that the family designates the Bani Haashim.  The position of our imam, ash-Shaafi'i, is that it consists of Bani Haashim and Bani Mutallib.

This designation is in the maqaam uz-zakaat, or station of zakat - as it is forbidden that the family of the Prophet (SAWS) be recipients of zakat.

In the maqaam ud-du'ah, or station of supplication, it is said that the family is everyone who is upon the deen of the Prophet(SAWS), and who follows him.  This is mentioned in the al-Muhadhab of Imam ash-Shiraazi.

 

And his companions

Everyone who met with the Prophet(SAWS) after he attained prophethood, believed in him while he was alive, and died a believer.  

The best of the sahaba were the , or the ten who were given the glad tidings that they would enter Jannah.  They are:

  1. Abu Bakr

  2. 'Umar

  3. 'Uthman

  4. 'Ali

  5. Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas

  6. Sa'eed bin Zayd

  7. Talha bin UbayduLLah

  8. Zubayr bin al-Awaam

  9. Abu 'Ubaydah bin al-Jarah

  10. Abdur-Rahman bin 'Awf

The best of those ten were the Rightly Guided Khalifas, and their order in stature is the same as their order of assuming the khilafah. (i.e. the order they are listed in above, 1-4)

There is one prophet who is also a sahaba -->

al-Masih 'Isa ibn Maryam (AS) is a companion of the Prophet(SAWS) because he is not dead, he met the Prophet Muhammad(SAWS) on the night of 'Isra and Mi'raj, and when he returns he will die a Muslim.  al-Hamdu liLLah.

 

Meaning: To grant him(SAWS) safety from all harmful things.

 

"There is no strength or power except with Allah"

The meaning is, "No created thing has any inherent ability to do anything, except with the permission of Allah, the High, the Mighty."

Also:

"There is no strength to engage in transgression, or power to engage in acts of obedience, except by the success granted by Allah."

 

 

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