QaysArthur.net Blog

By Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah Now some people wrongfully allege, without properly grasping the texts nor giving them their due, that the Sunnah is to begin with whomever is to the immediate right of the host based on the hadiths that mention the  virtue of beginning on the right .  Yet that only pertains to when those present are peers with respect to their traits, virtues, or age. In that case the host begins with whomever is to his right. Otherwise, if one of the guests is distinguished from the others, by age for example, then one would begin with him by virtue of that noble trait. Imam Ibn Rushd (i.e. Muhammad bin Ahmad who died in 520 Hijri "the grandfather" of the famous philosopher, Allah have mercy on him) in his rich and magnificent work “ Al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil ” says: "When the guests are the same or similar in stature then beginning from the right is what would be most fitting by way of good character. That is because doing so entails not ...

  بسم الله The proverbially strange similitude of those who were charged to bear the Torah, yet incredibly bore it not, is like the strikingly strange likeness of a donkey laden with great tomes of enlightening wisdom: Vile a similitude indeed is that of a people who cry lies to the very verses of Allah Himself! And Allah guides not the people of the wrongdoers. (The Quran Beheld 62:5) I recently received a question from Pakistan that concerned responding to those who criticize the Sharia as it is implemented there. The questioner described two murder cases. In both cases the perpetrators were from a higher social stratum and the next of kin of the victims forgave the perpetrators who were set free as a result. Media outlets then publicized reports claiming that in both instances the next of kin were threatened by the perpetrators. As a result, secular-minded commentators are claiming that the Sharia provision which places the perpetrator’s fate in the hands of the next of...

By Qays Arthur Jarir bin 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him) said: "I asked the Messenger of God (ﷺ) about the inadvertent glance and he instructed me to avert my gaze." Commenting on this hadith, Imam Al-Nawawi (13th century C.E.) says in his explanation of Sahih Muslim : "The meaning of the 'inadvertent glance' is when a man's gaze falls upon on an unrelated woman, by accident. He does not sin immediately though it becomes necessary for him to immediately avert his gaze. Once that is done sin does not occur. But if he continues looking he thereby sins given what this hadith indicates. This is so because the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed Jarir to avert his gaze in accordance with the command of Allah, Most High, 'Say to the believing men to lower their gazes...' (Quran 24:30) Qadhi Iyadh (11th century C.E.) remarked that the scholars say: 'This is evidence that the woman is not obligated to conceal her face as she goes about her aff...

By Qays Arthur While we may look for advice in the form of directives, concerning what to "do" to "produce" good children, that old adage, "The apple never falls far from the tree." seems to be persistently true. Children are pure human beings, uncomplicated by those things that make adults less genuine and lucid. They are like mirrors and their conduct may tell us a great deal more about ourselves as adults than we may be comfortable with. A man may go to great lengths to assume the appearance of one who lives in comfort, but if he is poor you will know from his children. A woman may assume the manner of a gracious hostess but if she is in fact troubled it will be reflected in her child- in simple, uncomplicated ways. I've come to appreciate that this reflective-ness of the child is very much connected to the way the child learns and to the veracity of that old adage. The simple fact is that there is very little a parent can purposely  say...

By Qays Arthur “Say: Rise and come,  I shall plainly tell you what your Lord has made unlawful to you: That you worship nothing whatsoever with Him; And show parents all kindness; And slay not your children from even direst want, We shall provide for you and for them; Nor draw so much as near to foul deeds, be they open or secret; Nor take any life Allah has made inviolable, save in full justice: —All of that has He enjoined you with, that haply you may show reason.” (The Quran Beheld 6:151) Since last week’s massacre in Orlando the internet and public discourse in general have been awash in all sorts of arguments and discussions, of varying degrees of relevance, about counter terrorism, gun control, increased powers for security agencies, and “Mawzlems” who visit terror “hot spots” (i.e. countries of origin or of religious significance). Within the embattled and increasingly visible Muslim community some seemed more disturbed about the prospect of a “backlash” than any...