In this article I have written about Hadith Regarding Prohibition of cutting nails and hair in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah for a person who wants to Sacrifice an Animal on Eid Al-Adha, Hadith Regarding equal punishment for individuals belonging to higher and lower status for breaking the law, Sahih Hadith Regarding types of Animals disliked by Prophet Muhammad SAW for sacrifice, Sahih Hadith Regarding Performing Hajj and Umrah one after the other, Hadith Regarding Virtues of First 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, Hadith Regarding Fasting on the Days of Arafah and Ashura, Sahih Hadith Regarding Gold and Silk, Sahih Hadith Regarding Praying Salah of Zuhur at a Cooler time. I have also written about the current situation of the Ummah and have also written about Hajj and Sacrifice of Animals as sources of unity and uplifting of the Ummah.
Hadith Regarding Prohibition of cutting nails and hair in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah for a person who wants to Sacrifice an Animal on Eid Al-Adha
Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to have said:
He who has a sacrificial animal with him whom (he intends) to offer as sacrifice, and he enters the month of Dhu'I-Hijja, he should not get his hair cut or nails trimmed until he has sacrificed the animal. [Sahih Muslim 1997g]
Hadith Regarding equal punishment for individuals belonging to higher and lower status for breaking the law
Narrated Aisha:
The Quraish people became very worried about the Makhzumiya lady who had committed theft. They said, "Nobody can speak (in favor of the lady) to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and nobody dares do that except Usama who is the favorite of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). " When Usama spoke to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about that matter, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Do you intercede (with me) to violate one of the legal punishment of Allah?" Then he got up and addressed the people, saying, "O people! The nations before you went astray because if a noble person committed theft, they used to leave him, but if a weak person among them committed theft, they used to inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad committed theft, Muhammad will cut off her hand.!" [Sahih al-Bukhari 6788]
Sahih Hadith Regarding types of Animals disliked by Prophet Muhammad SAW for sacrifice
Ubayd ibn Fayruz reported: I asked al-Bara' ibn 'Azib what (types of animals) the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, disliked for sacrifice. He said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: 'Four are not permissible for sacrifice: the one-eyed animal whose defect is obvious, the lame animal whose limp is obvious, the sick animal whose sickness is obvious, and the broken one that cannot walk properly.'" [Sahih Ibn Hibban 5922]
Sahih Hadith Regarding Performing Hajj and Umrah one after the other
It was narrated from ‘Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Perform Hajj and ‘Umrah, one after the other, for performing them one after the other removes poverty and sin as the bellows removes impurity from iron.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 2887]
Hadith Regarding Virtues of First 10 days of Dhul Hijjah
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these (first ten days of Dhul Hijjah)." Then some companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Not even Jihad?" He replied, "Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger (for Allah's sake) and does not return with any of those things." [Sahih al-Bukhari 969]
Hadith Regarding Fasting on the Days of Arafah and Ashura
Abu Qatada reported that a person came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said:
How do you fast? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) felt annoyed. When 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) noticed his annoyance, he said: We are well pleased with Allah as our Lord, with Islam as our code of life, and with Muhammad as our Prophet. We seek refuge with Allah from the anger of Allah and that of His Messenger. 'Umar kept on repeating these words till his (the Prophet's) anger calmed down. Then Umar said: Messenger of Allah, what is the position of one who fasts perpetually? He (ﷺ) said: He neither fasted nor broke it, or he said: He did not fast and he did not break it. 'Umar said: What about him who fasts for two days and does not fast one day? He (ﷺ) said: Is anyone capable of doing that? He ('Umar) said: What is the position of him who fasts for a day and doesn't fast on the other day? Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: That is the fast of David (peace be upon him). He ('Umar) said: What about him who fasts one day and doesn't fast for two days. Thereupon he (the Messenger of Allah) said: I wish I were given the strength to do that. Thereafter he (ﷺ) said: Fasting three days every month and that of Ramadan every year is a perpetual fasting. I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of 'Arafa(9th if Dhul Hijjah) may atone for the sins of the preceding and the coming years, and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura(10th of Muharram) may atone for the sins of the preceding year. [Sahih Muslim 1162a]
Sahih Hadith Regarding Gold and Silk
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari:
That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Wearing silk and gold has made unlawful for the males of my Ummah and lawful for its females.
[Abu 'Eisa said:] There are narrations on this topic from 'Umar, 'Ali, 'Uqbah bin 'Amir, Anas, Umm Hani, Hudhaifah, 'Abdullah bin 'Amr, 'Imran bin Husain, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Jabir, Abu Raihanah, Ibn 'Umar, Al-Bara', and Wathilah bin Al-Asqa', and this Hadith is Hasan Sahih. [Jami Al-Tirmidhi 1720]
Sahih Hadith Regarding Praying Salah of Zuhur at a Cooler time
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'If it is very hot, wait until it cools down before you pray, for intense heat is a breeze from Hell.'" [Sunan An-Nasai 500]
Current Situation of the Ummah
The situation of the Ummah is quite devastating. The Ummah is divided into sects and 57 countries which pursue their own national interest most of the time and care very little about the sufferings of Muslims around the world. Most of the leaders of the Ummah are not competent enough to lead the Ummah or are just greedy of power and wealth. They only care about pursuing their own worldly desires so they are devoid of any sort of desire for the upbringing of the Ummah. Many Muslim countries are so poor that they can't even give jobs or feed their people and many are too weak to even defend themselves militarily. All this is because all Muslim states do not think as an Ummah but as separate countries. At times the interests of some Muslim countries can even coincide or go against the interests of other Muslim countries.
The Ummah is in a very dire situation not only politically but economically, militarily, intellectually and ethically as well. It is due to these and many other problems that the Ummah is facing due to which our brothers in Palestine, Kashmir, East Turkistan, Myanmar, India, Yemen, Africa and elsewhere are suffering from oppression, poverty, illiteracy and genocide etc. It would not be justified to blame entirely the leaders of the Ummah or the Muslim governments for this dire situation as we ordinary Muslims can also be blamed to a certain extent for this pathetic situation of the Ummah. However more blame would still be on the leaders of Muslim countries because they are at the position of authority and have got the power to change the current situation of the Ummah but as I said earlier either they are incapable to do so or do not want to take any sort of concrete action for the betterment of the Ummah. Most of the leaders of the Muslim countries are either held hostage by their own worldly desires or fear the enemies of Allah more than they fear Allah. In this situation when all the Muslims around the world are suffering it is up to us 1.8 billion Muslims around the world to do something. Now many of you must be thinking that what can we do? You must also be wondering that if our rulers are not willing to do something and if our enemies are powerful than what can we do to stop them? Yes I admit that the enemies of Islam who spread injustice around the world are powerful but are they even more powerful that Allah the Almighty? We must trust Allah and try our best to change this current situation. The enemies of Islam who are oppressing our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world are powerful indeed but that doesn't mean that we should allow our Muslim brothers and sisters to be oppressed. Think of it this way would you allow all this to happen to your own brothers, sisters, parents or children? Would you leave them at the hands of tyrants and oppressors saying that they are powerful and your power is unmatched in front of them? No you wouldn't infact you would try your best for their freedom. Similarly you should also help your Muslim brothers and sisters because according to the Prophet Muhammad SAW Muslims are brothers to one an other and that a Muslim should help his brother if he is being oppressed. Another thing which I would like to mention is that their are about 1.8 billion Muslims around the globe so if we combine our efforts we can achieve this task of uplifting the Ummah.
Hajj and Sacrifice of Animals as sources of unity and uplifting of the Ummah
The month of Dhul Hijjah is about to arrive. The first 10 days of this month are quite precious so we must worship and pray to Allah as much as we can about the forgiveness and the betterment of the Ummah. It is the month where Muslims who are capable enough act upon the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim A.S and sacrifice animals according to their own financial capabilities. Prophet Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice his most precious thing which was his son Ismael in the cause of Allah Almighty so that he can please Allah. Allah was so pleased with his effort that he put a ram in place of Prophet Ismael as a reward for his effort. Now I call upon all the Muslims around the world and the leaders of the Muslim countries in particular to sacrifice their worldly desires while acting upon the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim A.S so that we can stand up to the injustice happening around the world in a much better way because as long as we are held hostage to our own Nafs or our worldly desires we would remain cowards and would never be able to stand against injustice and tyranny.
The month of Dhul Hijjah is also the month in which Muslims from all around the world go to Makkah to perform Hajj for the sake of Allah. I will not go in the details of the method of performing Hajj because I am not a scholar and I do not have expertise in these matters. Anyhow as Muslims we all know that Hajj is a very special type of worship in Islam. Infact Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Hajj is also a great opportunity where about 2 million Hajj pilgrims from various backgrounds, ethnicities and races join in Makkah to worship Allah Almighty. Think of it this way about 2 million Hajj pilgrims arriving in Makkah in order to worship Allah. If our Allah who we worship is one if our Deen which is Islam is one if our Kaaba which is also our Qibla is one then how can we be so divided into sects, races and nationalities? Muslims who have got so much in common should be the most united nation in this world but unfortunately that is not true. So all Muslims who are going to perform Hajj should realize this and work in their own respective capacities to unite the Ummah. The Khutbah which is one of the most important part of Hajj can be a great way to educate Hajj pilgrims regarding the Problems of the entire world and the possible solutions to these problems according to Quran and the Sunnah because Quran and the Sunnah are the only source of guidance for mankind. Unfortunately this doesn't happen because the Saudi government only allows a scripted Khutbah to be spoken by the Imam of the Kaaba which significantly limits the impact the Khutbah can have on the Hajj pilgrims. This opportunity should also be used by Muslims to pressure the Muslim leaders to take concrete steps for the betterment of the Ummah. It should serve as an opportunity for Muslims to signal the enemies of Islam that Muslims are not weak, coward or disunited and that Islam has not been defeated. They should know that despite the obstacles Muslims are united and will not bow down infront of injustice and tyranny. The global world order which has been led by America is collapsing and a vacuum of power is emerging. In this power vacuum new powers such as Russia and China etc are rising. In this situation it is very important for the Muslim Ummah to carve out a space of their own so that they can also emerge as the new centres of power. The Ummah has got the manpower, resources, geography and opportunity etc. to revive past glory and lead the world just like they have led in the past. What can we do to achieve this? For this we need to strengthen our ties with each other both on state level as well as on individual level. Hajj can serve as a very good opportunity for this for ordinary Muslims to form and strengthen brotherly bonds with each other. Whilst this world order is collapsing Muslims instead of allying themselves with China, Russia or America must ally with themselves and with Allah Almighty. Of course temporary alliances can be created with these world powers but that should not be at the cost of damaging the collective interest of the Ummah and neither should it be at the cost of our brothers who are being oppressed by these world powers. Allah says in the Quran;
Your only guardians are Allah, His Messenger, and fellow believers—who establish prayer and pay alms-tax with humility. [Surah Al-Maidah Verse no.55]
Whoever allies themselves with Allah, His Messenger, and fellow believers, then it is certainly Allah’s party that will prevail. [Surah Al-Maidah Verse no.56]
As for the disbelievers, they are guardians of one another. And unless you ˹believers˺ act likewise, there will be great oppression and corruption in the land. [Surah Al-Anfal Verse no.73]
These verses are quite clear that Muslims must ally themselves with each other to establish justice and to end corruption and oppression in the land. If all of us 1.8 billion Muslims are united on individual level then this could push the leaders of the Ummah as well to unite. If all of us are united then we could stand up to the injustice and tyranny that is taking place around the globe not just with Muslims but with Non Muslims as well. We have to be united for the sake of our oppressed brothers and sisters, to establish justice, for the upbringing of the Ummah and especially to please Allah Almighty because Allah has forbidden Muslims in the Quran from dividing themselves into sects. Allah says in the Quran;
And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be ˹rightly˺ guided. [Surah Al Imran Verse no.103]
Indeed, you ˹O Prophet˺ are not responsible whatsoever for those who have divided their faith and split into sects. Their judgment rests only with Allah. And He will inform them of what they used to do. [Surah Al Anam Verse no.159]
One major obstacle in the unity and strength of the Ummah are our own leaders. The reason why I once again like to call out the leaders of the Ummah is that I also mentioned earlier that they are at the position of authority and can work together to stand against injustice and for the unity of the Ummah but they choose not to do so. They have got the power to change the fortune of the Ummah and of the rest of the world. Not all but most of the leaders of the Ummah are slaves to their own worldly desires, their own greed and they are so slaves of the major world powers who spread injustice, tyranny and oppression around the globe. Yes I admit that at many instances Muslim leaders do some good things for which they should be applauded but at many instances they make decisions that are not beneficial to the Ummah. Apart from this there are many Muslim governments and leaders who oppress their own people. We must unite and stand against these sort of Muslim governments as well who instead of fighting against the enemies of Islam fight and oppress their own people. This could be one of many reasons why leaders of the Ummah do not stand against injustice committed by the major world powers and another reason could be that most of the time they fear the enemies of Allah more than they fear Allah. I call upon the leaders of the Ummah to sacrifice their worldly desires and your wealth just like how Prophet Ibrahim A.S willingly sacrificed his own son Prophet Ismael A.S. Similarly I call upon the Muslim rulers who oppress their own people to stop oppressing your own people and fear Allah. Do not forget that Pharaoh was also a tyrant but he faced Allah's wrath due to his wrongdoings.
When we ordinary Muslims from different ethnic, racial and cultural background unite and stand against the enemies of Islam then this would be a strong message to them that despite the odds and despite their oppression, tyranny, corruption and injustice Muslims are united and strong and would never bow infront of them. We should also give a strong message to the Muslim rulers who serve their own individual interests instead of the interests of the Ummah and ally themselves with the enemies of Islam that if they do not do something to end this oppression and injustice then they should hand over their power to those who fear only Allah and are worthy to lead the Ummah. To achieve all this Muslims need to be united and throughout this article I have iterated that there is no better occasion to be united than Hajj and also Umrah. This is because these are the occasions where Muslims from all races, ethnicities, sects and background unite to please one Allah infront of the same Qibla which is the Kaaba underneath one sky. At last I would like to congratulate those who are performing Hajj and sacrificing their animals this year. May Allah accept their Hajj and their worship. May Allah give those people the opportunity to perform Hajj who couldn't do so this year. Those Muslims who will be sacrificing Animals this year May Allah accept their sacrifice. May Allah Almighty give all Muslims and the Muslim leaders the opportunity to sacrifice our Nafs and our desires with the same valour with which we will sacrifice animals on this Eid al-Adha. At last I want to congratulate Eid al-Adha in advance to the entire Ummah.
O Allah guide the rulers of the Ummah and if their is no guidance in their fate then replace them with those who are worthy to rule the Ummah. O Allah grant Muslims courage to stand up to their rulers if they do something unlawful. O Allah unite the Ummah and eradicate the differences that are present between different Muslim countries. O Allah grant patience, strength and steadfastness to our Muslim brothers fighting oppression in Palestine, Kashmir, East Turkistan, Yemen, Myanmar, Iran, Sudan and elsewhere. O Allah give the Muslim Ummah the strength, courage and faith to help those who are being oppressed around the world.
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