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How to return Wealth that you have Taken without right – Shaykh ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Abdullaah Al-Jaabiree

How to return Wealth that you have Taken without right
Shaykh ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Abdullaah Al-Jaabiree

Questioner:

May Allaah treat you well. A man has taken the wealth of another without right, how does he return his right to him? If the one who was taken from dies, then to whom is his right given? 

Shaykh ‘Ubayd:

The question of the writer has two perspectives. Firstly, that of taking something without right. It is obligatory that the debt be returned; i.e. he returns the money any way possible. This person who is owed the right, perhaps he is from those who possess pardon, forgiveness, and is soft natured; such that he is able to be up front with him. There is no harm in him being up front with him, saying to him: “So and so, I have taken such and such from you; I have erred as it relates to your right, and this is your right.”

If he fears trouble then he may employ (alternative) means. So he says: “I borrowed some money from you; I owe a debt to you.” Better yet, he shouldn’t say that he borrowed, he should say: “I owe a debt to you, O so and son from many years ago. I was not able to repay and you forgot about it. So here is your money.” Or he may return his money while he is unaware.

If the person who is due the right has died then he is to return it to his heirs in the same manner. If this is difficult for him and he does not know anyone (related to him) and he has no way of doing so after searching, then he is to give charity with it with this being his intention, and Allaah knows best.

Source: http://ar.miraath.net/fatwah/5545

Translated by: Raha ibn Donald Batts
http://mtws.posterous.com/how-to-return-wealth-you-have-taken-without-r

 

Receiving Monthly Pension after Retirement from Public Sector

November 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Q 3: What is the islamic ruling on someone who works in the public sector, although we all know that most of the money of the government is the produce of usurious dealings and alcohol selling. Is it lawful to have a government job? Civil workers seek to benefit their family from the pension they receive after he dies as no pension is provided for freelance working. We live in a country where there is no Bayt-ul-Mal (Muslim treasury).

A: There is nothing wrong in working in a non-Muslim country as long as the kind of work done does not involve disobeying or helping to disobey Allah. There is nothing wrong with you receiving your salary from the mixed treasury of the state. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’
Member Member Deputy Chairman Chairman
`Abdullah ibn Qa`ud `Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan `Abdul-Razzaq `Afify `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz

Fatwas of the Permanent Committee>Group 1>Volume 14: Transactions 2>Chapter on lease contracts>A Muslim serving a Kafir
(Part No. 14; Page No. 479)
The third question of Fatwa no. 5488

Regarding the asl of pention

Q 1: I was enrolled in the Egyptian Armed Forces as a volunteer from September 1967 A.D. till January of 1981 A.D., and served in the Army for approximately thirteen years. They used to deduct part of my monthly salary to cover insurance and pensions. This was obligatory. After Allah guided me to understand Islam, I resigned, and thanks to Allah, my resignation was accepted. However, they started paying me 56.54 pounds as a monthly pension. A brother told me that the money of this pension is Riba (usury) and that I must refuse it. Is this correct? What is the correct ruling concerning this pension?

A: If the reality is as you mentioned, it is permissible for you to take the retirement pension as it is a reward for the period you served in the government.

May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’
Member Member Deputy Chairman Chairman
`Abdullah ibn Qa`ud `Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan `Abdul-Razzaq `Afify `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz

Fatwas of the Permanent Committee>Group 1>Volume 23: Oaths>Vows>Imamate>Rulership and Al-Siyasah Al-Shar`iyyah>Retirement pension
The first question of Fatwa no. 7121

The Encouragement in Islaam to Utilize the Land and to Till the Land (Must Read)

June 14, 2012 1 comment

The Encouragement in Islaam to Utilize the Land  & to Till the Land
Taken from ‘Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah’
By the Muhaddith, Shaykh, Allamaa’ Muhammad Nasir uddeen al-Albaani
Translated by Abbas Abu Yahya

‘There are many Ahadeeth regarding this, I will mention a few of them:

7 – From Anas the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:

‘There is no Muslim who plants a plant or a tree, or sows a seed and no bird, or human or animal eats from that except that it is a charity for that person.’

[Collected by Bukhari, Muslim & Ahmad]

8 – From Jabir from the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam:

‘There is no Muslim who plants a plant or a tree, except that whatever is eaten from it is a charity for him.  Whatever is stolen from that is a charity for him.  Whatever is eaten from it by an animal is a charity for him.  Whatever a bird eats is a charity for him, no one suffers a loss except that it will be a charity for him till the Day of Judgement.’

[Collected by Muslim]

No. 9 – From Anas -Radi Allaahu anhu- from the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:

‘If the final hour comes and one of you has a small date-palm plant in his hand, and if you can plant it before you stand then plant it.’

‘Imam Bukhari brought a chapter heading in the previous book (al-Adab al-Mufrad) for this Hadeeth, where he said: ‘Chapter: The Production of Wealth’ then he narrated from al-Harith bin Laqeett who said:

‘There used to be a man from amongst us who would get his horse to reproduce, and then slaughter it. And he would say: ‘Why should I live so that I ride this thing? [i.e. The Day of Judgement is very close].’

Then a letter came to us from Umar:

‘You should cultivate and prosper with that which Allaah has provided you, since indeed in this regard there is enough time.’

Its chain is authentic.

Bukhari also narrated from Dawood with an authentic chain, who said: Abdullaah bin Sallam said to me:

‘If you hear that the Dajjal has exited and you are about to plant a small tree, then do not delay tending to cultivating it, because the people will have a sustenance from that later.’

And Ibn Jareer narrated from ‘Amaarah bin Khuzaimah bin Thaabit who said:

‘I heard Umar bin al-Khattab say to my father: ‘What prevents you from tilling your land?’

My father replied to him: ‘I am an old man and I may die tomorrow.’

So Umar said to him:

‘I swear that; indeed you must plant on your land.’

Indeed I saw Umar bin al-Khattab plant a plant or tree with his own hands along with my father.’

[From ‘al-Jamia’ al-Kabeer’ by Suyootee]

This is why some of the Companions used to regard a man who works on his land as a worker from the workers of Allaah – Azza wa Jal.

Bukhari narrated in ‘al-Adab al-Mufrad’ from Nafi’ bin ‘Aasim that he heard Abdullaah bin ‘Amr say to his nephew, when he was coming out of his [al-Waha] farm: ‘Are your workers doing their jobs?’

He replied: ‘I do not know.’

Abdullaah said: ‘As for me, if I was skilled and trained I would learn the job your workers do.’

Then he turned towards us and said: ‘Indeed if a person works along his workers in his home [and the narrator once mentioned: ‘with his wealth’]; then that person would be a worker from the workers of Allaah – Azza wa Jal.’

Its chain is ‘Hasan’ InshAllaah.

al-Waha’ in the Arabic  language means: a garden, and it was a very large piece of land which was owned by ‘Amr bin ‘al-Aaas in Taif about three miles from Wajja, and it seems he left it for his children.

Ibn ‘Aasakir collected in his book ‘Tareekh’ with an authentic chain from ‘Amr bin Dinar who said:

‘Amr bin al-Aaas entered a farm which he owned in Taif which was called al-Waha, it had a million stakes of wood [which were used to prop up the grapes], he had bought every stake of wood for a Dirham.’

These are some of the general benefits from those Ahadeeth from the Salaf as-Salih -Radi Allaahu anhum.

Bukhari wrote a chapter heading in his ‘Saheeh’ for the first two Ahadeeth by saying:

‘Chapter: The excellence of growing plants if they are eaten from’

[Taken from ‘Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah’ vol. 1 hadeeth no 7-9 p.37-40]

All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his  guidance

http://followingthesunnah.wordpress.com

Sulaiman Al-Rajhi’s life a rags to riches story (Must Read !!)

Sulaiman Al-Rajhi’s life a rags to riches story

ref: http://arabnews.com/sulaiman-al-rajhi%E2%80%99s-life-rags-riches-story

Saudi Arabia’s rags-to-riches billionaire Sulaiman Al-Rajhi is also a world-renowned philanthropist. He is the founder of Al-Rajhi Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the world, and one of the largest companies in Saudi Arabia. As of 2011, his wealth was estimated by Forbes to be $7.7 billion, making him the 120th richest person in the world. His flagship SAAR Foundation is a leading charity organization in the Kingdom. The Al-Rajhi family is considered as one of the Kingdom’s wealthiest non-royals, and among the world’s leading philanthropists.

Al-Rajhi is a billionaire who chose last year to become a poor man at his own will without having any cash or real estates or stocks that he owned earlier. He became penniless after transferring all his assets among his children and set aside the rest for endowments. In recognition of his outstanding work to serve Islam, including his role in establishing the world’s largest Islamic bank and his regular contribution toward humanitarian efforts to fight poverty, Al-Rajhi was chosen for this year’s prestigious King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.

In an interview with Muhammad Al-Harbi of Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, Al-Rajhi speaks about how he was able to succeed in convincing chiefs of the leading central banks in the world, including that of the Bank of England, nearly 30 years ago that interest is forbidden in both Islam and Christianity, and that the Islamic banking is the most effective solution to activate Islamic financing in the world and make it a real boost to the global economy.

The story of Al-Rajhi is that of a man who made his fortunes from scratch, relying on grit and determination. Al-Rajhi threw away his huge wealth through two windows — distributed a major part of his inheritance among his children and transferred another portion to endowments, which are regarded as the largest endowment in the history of the Islamic world. He had to fight poverty and suffering during his childhood before becoming a billionaire through hard work and relentless efforts, and then leaving all his fortunes to become penniless again.

Al-Rajhi is still very active and hardworking even in his 80s with youthful spirits. He begins his work daily after morning prayers and is active until Isha prayers before going to bed early. He is now fully concentrated on running the endowment project under his SAAR Foundation, and traveling various regions of the Kingdom managing activities related with it. He always carries a pocket diary containing his daily programs and activities and he is accustomed to stick on to the schedule he had prepared well in advance.

Al-Rajhi scored excellent performance results in almost all businesses in which he carved out a niche for himself. In addition to establishing the world’s largest Islamic bank, he founded the largest poultry farm in the Middle East. The credit of activating the organic farming experiment in the Kingdom mainly goes to him through launching a number of farming projects, including Al-Laith shrimp farming. He also established real estate and other investment projects.

Excerpts:

Sheikh Suleiman, have you become a poor man again? Read more…

Hasten to do good deeds; (there will be) fitnah like a portion of a dark night .. (Must Read)

The benefits derived from the hadith “Hasten to do (good) deeds. (There will be) Fitnah like a portion of a dark night (in which there is no moonlight)….”

Author: Sheikh Abdul Qaadir Bin Muhammad Al Junaid
Translated By: Abu Afnaan Muhammad Abdullah

All praise is due to Allah the All Powerful and All Mighty. Peace and blessings be upon the Master of all of mankind (Muhammad), his family, his companions and the tabi’een .

To proceed:

Abu Huraira -May Allah be pleased with him- has related that the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) said,

Hasten to do good deeds; (there will be) fitnah like a portion of a dark night, wherein an individual wakes up as a believer and begins the night as a disbeliever or he begins the night as a believer and wakes up as a disbeliever. He sells his religion for a portion of the dunya (this worldly life).”

This hadith will be explained in light of the different issues related to this hadith:

1. The analysis of this hadith and its authenticity.

Imam Muslim narrated this hadith (n.118) and the abovementioned phrasing is from his narration. Also, Imam Ahmad related this hadith (n. 10,772) and (n. 8,030), At Tirmidhi also related it (n. 2,195), along with Ibn Hibban (n. 6,704) and other narrators of hadith have narrated this hadith as well.

Those (scholars of hadith) who deemed this hadith authentic (sahih) were: Muslim, At Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban, Abu ‘Awaana, Al Baghawi, Al Albani and other scholars of hadith.

2. The subject matter of the hadith:

The topic of this hadith is to warn from the threat of fitnah and an explanation of the dangers and harms it presents to mankind.

3. The third issue of the hadith: The explanation of the hadith.

This hadith is related to fitnah, which is of two types:

The first type is the fitnah of As Shubuhaat (doubts). What is meant by this type of fitnah is that fitnah which is connected to the religion/deen. This type of fitnah is more severe than the fitnah of As shahawaat (base desires) because it (may) expel an individual from the purity of At Tawheed and cause him to enter into the filth of As Shirk (polytheism), Al Kufr (disbelief), Al Ilhaad (atheism or misguidance with regards to Allah’s names and attributes), or Az Zandaqa(hypocrisy) and cause him to exit from the light of the Sunnah and cause him to enter into the darkness of bid’ah and misguidance.

This type of fitnah appears from time to time. Read more…

Being a Slave to Wealth

April 22, 2012 3 comments

Being a Slave to Wealth
The Great Enslavement by Shaykh Sulaymân as-Sulaymî
Source: Al-Istiqaamah, Issue No.7

Someone may ask: What is the proof that some people become slaves to money, or other similar things, and worship it? The proof is in the saying of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam where he said: “Woe be to the ‘abd (slave and worshipper) of the dirham, woe be to the ‘abd of the deenaar (dirham ond deenaar: equivilant to the Pound and the pence) …“[3] Someone may ask: How does this enslavement to money manifest itself, and what is its nature! It is when the heart becomes so in love with money, that it covers up, or suppresses the love for Allaah, This love can reach such an extent that a person desires to attain this wealth by any means possible – neither caring whether the wealth comes to him through halaal (lawful) means; in obedience to Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, or means that are haraam (unlawful and forbidden) in the Religion.

So understand by reflection, that every single heart in all created things has feelings, desires and inclinations. It has the desire to love, to gain good and beneficial things for itself, it can feel fear and terror, and it can also surrender and become submissive. Thus, when its feelings, desires and inclinations are all directed to and for Allaah, then it is a heart that truly worships, submits and surrenders to Allaah alone. Therefore, it has khawf (fear) of only Allaah; it has rajaa (hope) in Allaah’s Mercy; it has mahabbah (love) for Allaah and whatever Allaah loves; and it has istislaam (submits and surrenders) to only Allaah. However, when these feelings, desires and inclinations are directed to other than Allaah, then it is a heart that is enslaved and worships that object which has captured and enslaved it.

The forbiddance of the heart submitting to other than Allaah should not be misunderstood to mean that Muslims must forsake the world and dealing with it. Rather, the true position of a Muslim is that which was with the Sahaabah (Companions) radiallaahu ‘anhum. They held the wealth in their hands, yet none of it was in their hearts. [About this, Shaykhul-lslaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728H) - rahimahullaah - said: "The position of wealth should be regarded like that of the toilet, in that there is need for it, but it has no place in the heart, and it is resorted to when needed."[4] The point being made is that we are not trying to call the people to the opinion of some of the Soofees, who believe that it is forbidden for a Muslim to possess wealth and take part in worldly transactions. Rather, it is obligatory for the Muslims to be the richest of people so that they may use this wealth as a means to worship Allaah – the One free from all imperfections – and to help people.

Another form of submitting and being enslaved to other than Allaah is when people submit and enslave their hearts to power and leadership. They are prepared for humiliation to take hold of them, and to abandon their scruples, in order to gain votes during elections; or other such similar situations. They are prepared to submit themselves to people – doing whatever is necessary for them to do – in order to win other people’s favour, and thus gain that vote or position. Thus, this is another form of submitting and enslaving one’s heart to other than Allaah.

Footnotes:

3. Related by al-Bukhaaree (no.6435), from Abu Hurayrah radiallaahu ‘anhu.
4. Wasiyyatus-Sughraa (p.55) of Ibn Taymiyyah.

Categories: Islam, Wealth Tags: , , , , ,

Even if the son of Aadam were to flee from his sustenance ..

What has been written for you of the sustenance will surely come to you before your death, even if you tried to flee from it and lock yourselves in a fortress:

Jaabir bin `Abdullaah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

[al-Hilyah (7/90) and graded as “Hasan” by Shaikh al-Albaanee in al-Saheehah (952)]

Related Links:

Increase of Provision through Forgiveness

January 25, 2012 1 comment

Increase of Provision through Forgiveness

Compiled & Translated by Umm Yahya

A) Hasan al Basri -Rahimullaah- mentioned:

‘That a man complained to him concerning drought so it was said seek forgiveness from Allaah, another complained about another matter so it was said seek forgiveness from Allaah, another complained about lack of rain for his land so it was said seek forgiveness from Allaah another complained of no offspring so it was said seek forgiveness from Allaah, then he (Hasan al Basri) recited.

ٱسۡتَغۡفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارٗا ١٠ يُرۡسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيۡكُم مِّدۡرَارٗا ١١ وَيُمۡدِدۡكُم بِأَمۡوَٰلٖ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجۡعَل
لَّكُمۡ جَنَّٰتٖ وَيَجۡعَل لَّكُمۡ أَنۡهَٰرٗا ١٢

<<Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers
And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers. >> [Nuh: 10-12]

[Taken from: ‘Fath al-Bari’ Chapter: the Best Method of Seeking forgiveness]

B) al-Hafidh Emaad ad-Deen Isma’eel Ibn Katheer (d. 774 A.H.) -Rahimullaah- said in his Tafseer about the previous Ayaat:

‘If you repented to Allaah and sought forgiveness from Him and showed obedience to Him your Rizq (provision) would increase and rain would fall from the blessings of the skies, and the blessings of the earth would spring forth, crops would grow for you. You will be given abundant livestock. You will be aided with wealth and offspring; meaning that offspring and wealth would be given to you. And you will be given gardens that have numerous types of fruits and through out there will be rivers that flow in these gardens. This is the way of giving Dawa’ by encouragement.’

[Taken from: ‘Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-Atheem’ 4/p.536]

C) It is narrated from Abi Saeed Al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:

‘Whoever performs Wudu and then says:
‘ Subhanaka Allahuma wabihamdika la ilaha ila anta astaghfiruka wa atooboo ilaika’
(‘Far are You O Allaah from imperfection, and You have all praise, there is none worthy of worship in truth except You, I seek forgiveness from You and I repent to You),
then this reward is written in a parchment and it is stamped with a seal and no falsehood can break it until the day of Judgment.’

[Taken from ‘Silsilah as-Saheehah’ No. 2333 declared Hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani]

Source : http://followingthesunnah.wordpress.com – Brother Abbaas Abu Yahya and Umm Yahya’s blog

Related articles :

The evil effects of Unlawful Earnings

December 10, 2011 2 comments

In the name of Allaah, the Beneficient, Most Merciful. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions and all those who follow them in goodness until the day of Return. As for what follows;

Question:

The religion of Islaam has encouraged us to aqquire lawful earnings. However I wish that you could mention to us the effects that unlawful earnings have on an individual and the community as a whole?

Sheikh Saalih al-Fouzaan, may Allaah protect him, answers:

Unlawful earnings, and Allaah’s refuge is sought, nourishes the body in a corrupt manner and rears a person upon evil.

The Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him, stated in the narration of the one who travels a far distance: “… dishoveled and dusty, who stretches his two hands out to the sky saying, “My Lord! My Lord!”, while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful and he has been nourished from unlawful sources, so how can he possibly be answered?” [Muslim]

Therefore using and dealing in the haraam (unlawful) matters prevents (one’s) supplication from being answered and shuts the door of response between him and his Lord, the Most High. Indulging in the unlawful is very risky and it has many unhealthy traces upon a persons livelihood and his interactions with the people. He beecomes hated in the muslim community and the people flee away from him along with many other things that are connected with indulging in the unlawful affairs. And if there wasn’t anything except the fact that it prevents the supplication from being answered and one’s actions from being accepted it would be sufficient. And there is no might nor power except with Allaah.

It is upon the Muslim to suffice himself with the lawful and be content with what Allaah permitted for him because in that is good and blessings. And to leave off what He has forbade becuase there is no good in that rather it will harm him and will be a great burden on his back the day of Judgement.

Source: http://alfawzan.af.org.sa/node/13575
Translated by: Abu Fouzaan Qaasim
American student studying in the Islaamic University of Medinah from Chester,PA.

Categories: Dua, Islam, Wealth

“Do not accustom yourself to comfort and luxury”

October 24, 2011 2 comments

With regards to the student of knowledge not chasing after the luxuries and comforts of this world, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah comments:

(The author’s advice), “do not accustom yourself to comfort and luxury”.

This is advice to be said to the student of knowledge and (also) to other than the student of knowledge – because accustoming oneself to that is contrary to the guidance of the Prophet sall Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. For indeed he used to forbid from an abundance of luxuriousness and he would command with walking barefoot sometimes.

And a person who has become accustomed to a luxurious life will find it difficult when he encounters (certain) matters – because sometimes there will come to him matters in a form where he is not able to have the luxury (he is used to) along with him.

And let us strike an example, with the example which we have mentioned in the hadeeth: he would command with walking barefoot sometimes. Some people do not walk barefoot – always there is a sock upon him, and upon it a leather sock, and upon it a shoe. You will not find him walking, this man, if a temporary impediment were to occur to him and he were to be told to walk 500 metres without any protection for the foot; you would find that extremely difficult upon him. And sometimes his foot would bleed from the contact with the ground.

However if he were to accustom himself to a roughness and to leaving off always having comfort, then he would attain much good.

So if the (person’s) body is not accustomed to the like of these matters (of forsaking luxury), then he will have no manaa’ah (strength and toughness). You will find him feeling pain from anything from that (affair which is difficult).

However if he has manaa’ah then he will not be bothered by it.

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p43 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah)

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