Hello everyone.

[dataipul]

I will happily answer your questions. Am I white: Yes I am about as white as white gets :lol: Was it difficult becoming a Muslim if my family are all Christians: I actually have a niece who is devout Seventh Day Adventist if you know anything about that religion you will know they are very fanatic (may Allah forgive me) so she and I have debates about religion quite often. I have yet to convince her but the world is not over yet so we'll see :wink: As for the rest of my family none of them are practicing so they really didnt have much concern. Some of them thought (and maybe STILL think) its just a phase Im going through and will someday grow out of it (Not happenin) but for the most part they are at least respectful of it for my sake Alhamdulillah.

I can tell you one thing........you say you dont even know how you got this feeling to know more about Islam? Well that is Allah. This is the way Allah calls to his religion. It starts with an itch to know more which slowly becomes stronger and stronger until you absolutely MUST scratch it or go crazy! That is ALLAH! Believe me when I tell you that itch wont go away unless Allah wants it to Alhamdulillah.

That Uncle of your friend was right and I totally agree with him. Be sure that Islam is right and that you are ready before taking your Shahada. Islam is not just a religion where you go to church one day a week then the rest of the time you can do whatever you want as long as you remember your confession on Saturday so that you can partake in the communion on Sunday (Ok I gave away that I used to be Catholic :lol NO!!!!! Islam is not a religion like that! Islam is an entire way of life!!!! You dont go to masjid (mosque) one day a week you go FIVE times a day! You dont do whatever you want the rest of the week because there is no confession on Saturday to wash away all those sins that you accumulated! No..you are praying in submission to Allah FIVE times per DAY and asking his forgiveness! Also you are fully aware that Allah sees EVERYTHING that you do so to please him you will do you best to behave with good manners throughout your life!

Dating is Islam is forbidden. Islam is very strict about such things and there are many reasons but the number one reason is simple: When there are two people of the opposite sex alone in a room you can bet your life on it that shaitan (the devil) is the third. It is fitnah (temptation of worldly desires) there with you all the time. Islam promotes marriage as soon as possible if you are financially able which keeps you from the desire to date.

In Islam men must cover their awra which is the same thing that is required of a woman to do however a mans awra is from his navel to his knee. So the dress for man is much more simple than for a woman. Its probably also a matter of respect that you of course would not walk around in public with your shirt off although you are able to swim or bathe without a shirt. That is my understanding of the male dress code and anyone here who finds what I said wrong please feel free to correct my mistake.

I havent heard anything about wearing perfume in public and right now I am living in an Islamic country so unless all the Muslims here are going against the ruling I think its ok to wear perfume!

Hope my answers were of help to you. May Allah forgive me if I said anything wrong.

wa salam

Like ur voice this... that's great i hear... glad to see many people convert to islam.. may Allah Always keep u in right way... Ameen.

 

[English]

I will happily answer your questions. Am I white: Yes I am about as white as white gets :lol: Was it difficult becoming a Muslim if my family are all Christians: I actually have a niece who is devout Seventh Day Adventist if you know anything about that religion you will know they are very fanatic (may Allah forgive me) so she and I have debates about religion quite often. I have yet to convince her but the world is not over yet so we'll see :wink: As for the rest of my family none of them are practicing so they really didnt have much concern. Some of them thought (and maybe STILL think) its just a phase Im going through and will someday grow out of it (Not happenin) but for the most part they are at least respectful of it for my sake Alhamdulillah.

I can tell you one thing........you say you dont even know how you got this feeling to know more about Islam? Well that is Allah. This is the way Allah calls to his religion. It starts with an itch to know more which slowly becomes stronger and stronger until you absolutely MUST scratch it or go crazy! That is ALLAH! Believe me when I tell you that itch wont go away unless Allah wants it to Alhamdulillah.

That Uncle of your friend was right and I totally agree with him. Be sure that Islam is right and that you are ready before taking your Shahada. Islam is not just a religion where you go to church one day a week then the rest of the time you can do whatever you want as long as you remember your confession on Saturday so that you can partake in the communion on Sunday (Ok I gave away that I used to be Catholic :lol NO!!!!! Islam is not a religion like that! Islam is an entire way of life!!!! You dont go to masjid (mosque) one day a week you go FIVE times a day! You dont do whatever you want the rest of the week because there is no confession on Saturday to wash away all those sins that you accumulated! No..you are praying in submission to Allah FIVE times per DAY and asking his forgiveness! Also you are fully aware that Allah sees EVERYTHING that you do so in order to please him you will do your best to behave with good manners throughout your life!

Dating in Islam is forbidden. Islam is very strict about such things and there are many reasons but the number one reason is simple: When there are two people of the opposite sex alone in a room you can bet your life on it that shaitan (the devil) is the third. It is fitnah (temptation of worldly desires) there with you all the time. Islam promotes marriage as soon as possible if you are financially able which keeps you from the desire to date.

In Islam men must cover their awra which is the same thing that is required of a woman to do however a mans awra is from his navel to his knee. So the dress for man is much more simple than for a woman. Its probably also a matter of respect that you of course would not walk around in public with your shirt off although you are able to swim or bathe without a shirt. That is my understanding of the male dress code and anyone here who finds what I said wrong please feel free to correct my mistake.

I havent heard anything about wearing perfume in public and right now I am living in an Islamic country so unless all the Muslims here are going against the ruling I think its ok to wear perfume!

Hope my answers were of help to you. May Allah forgive me if I said anything wrong.

wa salam

The idea of not being allowed any sort of affection from a woman until after marriage is very scary, obviously in my culture we are not used to that. It is a big shock, I can see there are benefits to it though, too.

I know the first thing I must do is read the Quran, I will be posting more on here to try and find out more.

How can you go to mosque five times a day though? Is that possible? What if you have a 9-5 job? It doesn't seem possible.

Thank you for your post Isra, it was very helpful.

 

[kashif_nazeer]

I am a white English man and I have joined the forum to learn more about Islam, my Arabic is terrible but Salam wa aleikum, I think.

I have many questions and a lot to learn here, inshAllah I will learn everything I need to.

I'm excited to read threads and start posting, I am not a Muslim, I'm not sure what I would describe myself as, I was thinking about becoming Muslim a little while back, but I didn't because I didn't think I knew enough about Islam.

If there are any questions anyone has to ask me, that is fine, I look forward to them.

Please forgive me if my Arabic greeting isn't correct.

Thank you.

Hi,
welcome to the website.I hope you will benefit from it inshaAllah.Feel free to ask your questions.
May Allah guide you and help you.Ameen.

 

[Isra]

The idea of not being allowed any sort of affection from a woman until after marriage is very scary, obviously in my culture we are not used to that. It is a big shock, I can see there are benefits to it though, too.

I know the first thing I must do is read the Quran, I will be posting more on here to try and find out more.

How can you go to mosque five times a day though? Is that possible? What if you have a 9-5 job? It doesn't seem possible.

Thank you for your post Isra, it was very helpful.

I mean Im from the United States and lived there when I heard about Islam so I get what youre saying. Fitnah everywhere you look!!!! But if youre heart is committed to pleasing Allah and once you realize that this world is mere entertainment and very very temporary doesnt the sound of ETERNAL peace in a place where there are gardens with rivers flowing beneath them and every kind of food you could possible want to eat all there for the mere taking of it sound good to you? Just think you are worried about finding the affection of a mortal woman here on this temporary earth right? One who could possibly cheat on you or talk badly about you behind your back or do any number of things to bring pain and suffering to you on this earth? Well imagine a woman who is pure and never touched by another man except you who is her spouse given to you by Allah in Jannah (paradise). She will be your eternal wife and will have beautiful big eyes and full breasts and she will only gaze upon YOU. Which one do you prefer? Think about that if you will.

Allah promises paradise to his servants that are pious and do good deeds. We submit to our creator and he repays us for our submission with Jannah. I really dont think this world can even be compared. Please think about that. This life on earth is but a moment in time. Allah says in Quran that when we are brought before him and he asks us how long we lived we will say a day or part of a day!!!!! That is the concept of time according to Quran! I think many people cant even grasp that to be honest! But Allah promises and he keeps his promises. I trust in that.........will you?

wa salam

 

[esperanza]

road to Islam

I am a white English man and I have joined the forum to learn more about Islam, my Arabic is terrible but Salam wa aleikum, I think.

I have many questions and a lot to learn here, inshAllah I will learn everything I need to.

I'm excited to read threads and start posting, I am not a Muslim, I'm not sure what I would describe myself as, I was thinking about becoming Muslim a little while back, but I didn't because I didn't think I knew enough about Islam.

If there are any questions anyone has to ask me, that is fine, I look forward to them.

Please forgive me if my Arabic greeting isn't correct.

Thank you.

brother,
this is of course a very big thing you are considering,and its not easy,,,,but you need to be sure,,the best way is to read as much as you possibly can and talk to muslimns around you,,,you will know if and when it is the right time,you need to be totally sure in yourself...

igrew up in england,church of england,went to sunday school,just went along wiht everything,,,but at 16 i realiesed that something was not right or not right for me
when iwent to university imet muslims for the first time in my life,and ibegan to think and to question and to read as much as possible,,
i questioned and argued,it was the only way because ihad to be convinced deep inside....
until ireached a point where ijust knew this was the right path for me
no one pushed me or persuaded me,but from those around me thier answers and what ifound out by myself,,i found the answers..thanks to allah,,,

i did not continue living in britain ,i live in an islamic country,but iregularly return for visits,but those around me and close to me ,who knew me all my life,they just accept me as i am now

 

[uddim004]

:salam2:welcome to TTI, i live in west london but have family in birmingham, quite a bit muslim population there. hope you find the answers that you are looking for.

 

[English]

I mean Im from the United States and lived there when I heard about Islam so I get what youre saying. Fitnah everywhere you look!!!! But if youre heart is committed to pleasing Allah and once you realize that this world is mere entertainment and very very temporary doesnt the sound of ETERNAL peace in a place where there are gardens with rivers flowing beneath them and every kind of food you could possible want to eat all there for the mere taking of it sound good to you? Just think you are worried about finding the affection of a mortal woman here on this temporary earth right? One who could possibly cheat on you or talk badly about you behind your back or do any number of things to bring pain and suffering to you on this earth? Well imagine a woman who is pure and never touched by another man except you who is her spouse given to you by Allah in Jannah (paradise). She will be your eternal wife and will have beautiful big eyes and full breasts and she will only gaze upon YOU. Which one do you prefer? Think about that if you will.

Allah promises paradise to his servants that are pious and do good deeds. We submit to our creator and he repays us for our submission with Jannah. I really dont think this world can even be compared. Please think about that. This life on earth is but a moment in time. Allah says in Quran that when we are brought before him and he asks us how long we lived we will say a day or part of a day!!!!! That is the concept of time according to Quran! I think many people cant even grasp that to be honest! But Allah promises and he keeps his promises. I trust in that.........will you?

wa salam

This is very true. Thank you.

Did you believe in a God before you converted?

brother,
this is of course a very big thing you are considering,and its not easy,,,,but you need to be sure,,the best way is to read as much as you possibly can and talk to muslimns around you,,,you will know if and when it is the right time,you need to be totally sure in yourself...

igrew up in england,church of england,went to sunday school,just went along wiht everything,,,but at 16 i realiesed that something was not right or not right for me
when iwent to university imet muslims for the first time in my life,and ibegan to think and to question and to read as much as possible,,
i questioned and argued,it was the only way because ihad to be convinced deep inside....
until ireached a point where ijust knew this was the right path for me
no one pushed me or persuaded me,but from those around me thier answers and what ifound out by myself,,i found the answers..thanks to allah,,,

i did not continue living in britain ,i live in an islamic country,but iregularly return for visits,but those around me and close to me ,who knew me all my life,they just accept me as i am now

Thank you, I found a site to read the Quran on last night, but it's not really good, because you can't bookmark the bit you're on. So I will need to buy an English Quran.

:salam2:welcome to TTI, i live in west london but have family in birmingham, quite a bit muslim population there. hope you find the answers that you are looking for.

Thank you.

 

[islamirama]

Thank you, I found a site to read the Quran on last night, but it's not really good, because you can't bookmark the bit you're on. So I will need to buy an English Quran.


Thank you.

Here's a good site, http://quran.com

You can't really bookmark it but if you save it as bookmark, it'll save from whatever page you are on.

You can also go to your local masjid and tell them you are interested in Islam and if they have Qurans that they give out. Most masjids do

 

[aisha16]

Hope to answer your questions in full length...

First, A Muslim doesn't date actually. As Muslims we don't partake in having any relationships with the opposite sex outside of marriage. That means no boyfriends, girlfriends, ladyfreinds, guy-friends, etc. The only permissible and halal (lawful) thing is marriage. If you are interested in a girl you marry her, you don't engage in any relationship outside of marriage. And you don't touch a woman that is not lawful for you, that is not your wife. (no hugging, kissing, shaking hands) Just liked to add since you mentioned the dating thing is big thing for you and sex before marriage is okay for you..that's not in accordance in what Muslims believe and should do. There's no sex before marriage at all. Like at all.

Second, A Muslim man does have a dress code as does a Muslim woman. The Muslim man must cover from the naval to the knee. It's also advised and sunnah to grow a beard, as this was something the Prophet Muhammad (saw) did. Also, you cannot wear trousers that reach longer than your ankles. Apart from that you can wear the kufi or thobe (long white tunic for Muslim men). It's not a requirement but lots of Muslim men like to wear these types of clothing because it distinguishes them as Muslims and gives them a sense of pride in their Islam. So that's all you. If you feel inclined to wear these types of clothing and if not, wear normal clothes, shirts, trousers, shorts, as long as it's in accordance with the male dress code. (naval to knee, nothing longer than ankles, etc.)

Lastly, you can wear perfumes, cologne outdoors. No harm in it. It's actually a sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and something he enjoyed wearing. Especially when going out to the Mosque for the five daily prayers, etc. Yet for a Muslim woman she cannot go outdoors wearing perfume, this if for men alone. (as to not draw attention from strange men)


Hope that helped, peace.......

 

[Wannabemuslim]

Assalam alykum brother

"a Arab has no superiority over a non Arab, nor does a non Arab have any superiority over a Arab, nor white over black or black over white, pr anyone over anybody. we are all equal except through piety and good deeds"- Muhammad (peace be upon him"

"If Allah would have willed he could have made you one community, but he devided you into nations and tribes as test, so vie together in virtue, for Allah is your homecoming" - Holy Quran

Just telling you this verses and hadith, though you may have seen them before
Seeing how you specified with your name your race, it seems that alot of people in your region dont know how inclusive islam is. Dont feel shy to say salam any time to any of the members.

 

[esperanza]

Thank you Isra!

Did you convert to Islam two and a half years ago or did you just decide to research?

I'm aware of people putting bad information out there, I will try my best to avoid it.

yesthe best thing is to get an english quran,,,and therearesome very good islamic bookshops in uk..dont know what part of uk you are in,,,but im sure you will findone,,,just findout as much information as you can,thats your firststep......

 

[islamguide]

Dating and sex outside of marriage is prohibited

wa alaikum salaam,

First of all, i welcome you to this forum.

Regarding to your question about Dating.

1. Dating and Sex outside of marriage is prohibited in Islam.

Hadith - Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi 3118, Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab , Tirmidhi transmitted it.

The Prophet said, "Whenever a man is alone with a woman the Devil makes a third."

The prophet is talking about the woman who is non Mahram.

Non-mahram is someone who you can marry, someone who should cover them self in front of - whereas if you are Mahram to someone, you cannot marry them.

For a female, the brother, father, uncle, father in law, nephew etc are the Mahrams

For a Male, the sister, mother, aunty, mother in law, niece etc are the Mahrams.




Hadith - Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 48, Number 817, Narrated Zaid bin Khalid

Allah's Apostle ordered that an unmarried man who committed illegal sexual intercourse be scourged one hundred lashes and sent into exile for one year.


Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi 3119, Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah

The Prophet said, "Do not visit women whose husbands are away from home, for the Devil circulates in you like your blood." He was asked if this applied to him also and said, "To me also, but Allah has helped me against him so that I may be safe." [Tirmidhi transmitted it.]


There are so many clear verses in quran.


The Noble Qur'an - Al-Ma'idah 5:5

...(Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before your time, when you have given their due Mahr (bridal-money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), desiring chastity (i.e. taking them in legal wedlock) not committing illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girlfriends. ...




The Noble Qur'an 24:30

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.

Qur'an, 24:31

And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers, that you may succeed.


If any non Muslim reads this, he or she may say, OH! if this is not allowed in Islam, then i don't want to be a Muslim.

Ok. So the question is, Do you love Allah, and want to please Allah who has created you or please the girlfriend?

Quraan and hadiths will not adjust to fit to our circumstances, but we have to adjust ourselves to fit into this.


I pray to Allah to guide us to the right path.

Our brothers and sisters who are highly knowledgeable in Islam will definitely answer to your question posted on this forum in detail with reference to the Quran and hadiths.


Regards.

I am a white English man and I have joined the forum to learn more about Islam, my Arabic is terrible but Salam wa aleikum, I think.

I have many questions and a lot to learn here, inshAllah I will learn everything I need to.

I'm excited to read threads and start posting, I am not a Muslim, I'm not sure what I would describe myself as, I was thinking about becoming Muslim a little while back, but I didn't because I didn't think I knew enough about Islam.

If there are any questions anyone has to ask me, that is fine, I look forward to them.

Please forgive me if my Arabic greeting isn't correct.

Thank you.

 

[kashif_nazeer]

The idea of not being allowed any sort of affection from a woman until after marriage is very scary, obviously in my culture we are not used to that. It is a big shock, I can see there are benefits to it though, too.

We are not even allowed to go to anything that might lead to adultery as it states clearly in the Qur'an,"la taqrabuzzina" or "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way." Surah Al Isra(17:32)
So,we are not even allowed to go anywhere near it,leave alone committing it.Hence we are advised with many other things which might help in preventing this immoral and vile ack of zina(adultery):
Like Lowering of gaze and Hijaab

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.

And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers, that you may succeed.(24:30-31)

Also as brother islamguide has stated there many other ways zina can be prevented by following these lines.
If you ask me personally,I would say,I think my wife is my amanah(trust),I would never share my love with anyone except her.Hence I would never even think about dating someone before marrying her.I would keep my eyes,my heart and my feelings solely for one who is going to be my wife and none other.It's being forbidden is even much more helpful.

How can you go to mosque five times a day though? Is that possible? What if you have a 9-5 job? It doesn't seem possible.

If you cant find a mosque,pray at the office or at any place nearby where you can pay,praying is necessary,one has to do it.If the masjid is not near and you are busy,you can pray where you are or where you feel you can pray nearby.The bottom line is one has to pray,if not at mosque then anywhere else which is clean.

 

[English]

Hope to answer your questions in full length...

First, A Muslim doesn't date actually. As Muslims we don't partake in having any relationships with the opposite sex outside of marriage. That means no boyfriends, girlfriends, ladyfreinds, guy-friends, etc. The only permissible and halal (lawful) thing is marriage. If you are interested in a girl you marry her, you don't engage in any relationship outside of marriage. And you don't touch a woman that is not lawful for you, that is not your wife. (no hugging, kissing, shaking hands) Just liked to add since you mentioned the dating thing is big thing for you and sex before marriage is okay for you..that's not in accordance in what Muslims believe and should do. There's no sex before marriage at all. Like at all.

Second, A Muslim man does have a dress code as does a Muslim woman. The Muslim man must cover from the naval to the knee. It's also advised and sunnah to grow a beard, as this was something the Prophet Muhammad (saw) did. Also, you cannot wear trousers that reach longer than your ankles. Apart from that you can wear the kufi or thobe (long white tunic for Muslim men). It's not a requirement but lots of Muslim men like to wear these types of clothing because it distinguishes them as Muslims and gives them a sense of pride in their Islam. So that's all you. If you feel inclined to wear these types of clothing and if not, wear normal clothes, shirts, trousers, shorts, as long as it's in accordance with the male dress code. (naval to knee, nothing longer than ankles, etc.)

Lastly, you can wear perfumes, cologne outdoors. No harm in it. It's actually a sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and something he enjoyed wearing. Especially when going out to the Mosque for the five daily prayers, etc. Yet for a Muslim woman she cannot go outdoors wearing perfume, this if for men alone. (as to not draw attention from strange men)


Hope that helped, peace.......

I should apologise, what I meant to type was, I believe in not having sex before marriage, but I couldn't edit my post, I didn't think anyone would notice. :shymuslima1: It's not a problem.

Thanks for this reply. Can you explain why you can't wear anything lower than your ankles? I don't understand why. I hope this is OK.

 

[kashif_nazeer]

Thanks for this reply. Can you explain why you can't wear anything lower than your ankles? I don't understand why. I hope this is OK.

I found the following two opinions with regards to your question,I hope it helps inshaAllah:

His parents are insisting that he makes his clothes long (isbaal)


I have heard and read a lot of hadeeth on wearing pants above the ankle. i do stick to this sunnah but what if your parents do not want you to do that.they get very angry at me and since that is also a very big sin (making parents angry) i get confused.Please tell me what decision should i take and keep in mind that later on when i inshallah do a job this dress up could affect my job oppurtunities as well.Also tell me when i should be listening to parents or following a sunnah because i find myself in similiar circumstances all the time.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Isbaal means letting the clothes hang down below the ankles, which is haraam, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whatever of the izaar (lower garment) hangs down below the ankles is in the Fire.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5787)

If someone were to say, “I do not let my garment (or pants) hang down below the ankle out of pride, but because of habit or custom,”

Our response is:

That isbaal (letting the clothes hang down below the ankle) in and of itself is subject to the punishment of Fire. If pride and showing off are added to that isbaal, then the punishment is worse and more severe. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Isbaal may apply to the lower garment, shirt or turban. Whoever lets any part of them hang down in order to show off, Allaah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4085, and al-Nasaa’i, 5334, with a saheeh isnaad).

Secondly:

If you know the ruling on isbaal and that it is haraam, then you and every Muslim must keep away from haraam things, especially major sins. It is not permissible to do something haraam in order to please people, not even one of your parents, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no obedience in disobeying Allaah; obedience is only with regard to what is right and proper.” (Narrated by al-Nasaa’i and Abu Dawood, and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nasaa’i, no. 3921; al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 181). Remember what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever seeks to please Allaah by angering people, Allaah will suffice to protect him from people, but whoever seeks to please people by angering Allaah, Allaah will abandon him to the people.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi in Kitaab al-Zuhd, no. 2338).

With regard to your fear that you may lose your job, know that provision is in the hand of Allaah and no soul will die until it has received all its allotted provision.

Remember the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).

And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allaah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allaah has set a measure for all things”

[al-Talaaq 65:2-3]

This fear does not allow you to commit a sin.

If someone were to ask, if I am forced to do something that is haraam, am I allowed to do it?

The answer is:

You have to make sure that one really is being forced. If the matter reaches the level of compulsion, and a person is compelled to do something, then it is permitted for him to do whatever he is forced to do out of necessity.

For example, if a father tells his son that if he makes his clothes come above the ankle, he will kick him out of the house, and the son cannot find anywhere else to live, and he is certain or thinks it most likely that his father will carry out his threat, then he is permitted to make his clothes longer until Allaah gives him a way out.

Thirdly:

With regard to your saying, “I do stick to this sunnah”, you should note that making the clothes above the ankle is obligatory, it is not only Sunnah. The Sunnah is to make the izaar (lower garment) come to mid-calf, and this Sunnah is optional. If a person wishes, he may do it, and if he wishes, he may not do it. Sunnah, according to the definition of the scholars, is “That for which the one who does it will be rewarded and the one who does not do it will not be punished.”

Note that what is to be worn at mid-calf length is the izaar (lower garment). The thobe (galabiyah) is not to be worn in this manner; rather the Sunnah in the case of the thobe is to wear it below mid-calf and above the ankles. The same applies to pants, which should be worn above the ankle because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The ankles have no right to the izaar.” (Narrated by al-Nasaa’i in Kitaab al-Zeenah, no. 3529; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nasaa’i, no. 4922)

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/10534/wearing pants above toe

Also ...

Issue of Isbal
It comes from the Arabic verb sabala which means to 'proceed down'. It is a path or tunnel. The technical definition is to allow your garments to hang below your ankle.

At the time of the Prophet, isbal was a sign of arrogance and extravagance, something which Islam forbids. The Arabs in general were poor and owned one piece of cloth. To not get them dirty, they use to wear them up. The very rich lowered their garments to show they do not care about it as they have many at home. As a result, it became a sign of extravagance and luxuriousness and a way to show off their wealth. Due to its practice doing against the basic Islamic teachings, the Prophet forbade it in numerous hadiths.

Was isbal forbidden because it was associated with pride and arrogance? Or was it forbidden because of the act itself regardless of the intention?

If a man practices isbal out of pride: major sin by unanimous consensus.
- If a man practices isbal out of habit/custom and not pride: two opinions
1. Haram [Ibn Hajr, Ibn al-Arabi, minority in other madhhabs]
2. Makruh [Ibn Taymiyya, al-Nawawi, standard position of all 4 madhhabs]. It is better to avoid but will not incur sin if done.

Evidence of the MINORITY POSITION
Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever trails his garment out of pride, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Judgement." Abu Bakr said, "One of the garments drags below [the other] unless I protect myself against that." The Pophet (PBUH) said: "You dont do that out of arrogance." (Bukhaari)

They say that Abu Bakr did it untentionally and they say that who among you would
even come close to comparing onself to Abu Bakr. Therefore this hadith cannot be used
to allow it.

Abu Hurayra narrated thet the Pophet said, "Whatever is below the ankles of the Izar is in the Fire [Bukhari]
Izar is the lower garment. Ibn Hajar says that this hadith says if you do it out of pride, Allah will not look at you in the Day of Judgment (1st sin) and if you do it out of habit, then you go to Fire of Hell (2nd sin).

According to the minority position, isbal is prohibited unconditionally regardless of the niyyah.
For some reason this minority position has become the majority position in our
modern world.

Evidence of the MAJORITY POSITION
1. Considering the unconditional hadith [mutlaq] as being conditional [muqayyad] to 'arrogance'

Their response is that the hadith are complementary and not contradictory. In one hadith the condition is mentioned (i.e. pride) and in the other it is not mentioned. Therefore you do not link it. The prohibition is for the pride and not for the garment.

Response to the famous hadith of Abu Bakr where he said: O Messenger of Allah,
sometimes my garment trails behind unless I guard myself. The prophet said "You are not those who do it out of arrogance. "

They say that we are not comparing ourselves to Abu Bakr. Also the Prophet did not
say 'its okay...you did it unintentionally' but he gave Abu Bakr a general rule - do not do it out of arrogance. Therefore whoever does it without arrogance, they are not sinful.

In our time, no one wears long pants to show off their wealth. That was customs of
the Arabs back then.
Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Prophet said, "Whoever trails his garment, and he only intends with that pride, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Judgement" [Muslim]

Some of the salaf understood that if it was done for a valid reason, it would be
permissible. The garment is not the problem but the pride is.

Cultural significance of isbal. There are many reports from the early scholars that they would lower their garments.

Once Iman Abu Hanifa was wearing a long garment and his student asked "aren't we not allowed to do that? " He said that we are not among those who do it out of pride.

Ibn Masud is one of the narrators of the hadith of lowering the garment out of pride and yet he himself would wear garments that went below his ankles. He did this due to a deformity in his legs which caused some sahabahs to say unkind things to him.
When they did this, the Prophet said, "Do you laugh at his legs? Wa'llahi they are heavier in the eyes of Allah than the mountain of Uhud!"

Imam Shafi said, "it is not permissible to let the garment hang below the ankles in prayer or outside of prayer in order to show off. As for wearing the garment below the ankles for other than this, it is not a big deal."

Imam al-Nawawi said the same.

The student of Ibn Taymiyyah said that it is not haram to lower the garments out of
culture.

The vast majority of scholars consider this prohibition to be something a cultural nature. They understood the prohibition to be because of the arrogance with the isbal which disappeared by second generation. By the time of Abu Hanifah, it was clear they wore garments like we do.

(From Fiqh of Food and Clothing by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi)

 

[Muslimah:-)]

Welcome to the site

I am a white English man and I have joined the forum to learn more about Islam, my Arabic is terrible but Salam wa aleikum, I think.

I have many questions and a lot to learn here, inshAllah I will learn everything I need to.

I'm excited to read threads and start posting, I am not a Muslim, I'm not sure what I would describe myself as, I was thinking about becoming Muslim a little while back, but I didn't because I didn't think I knew enough about Islam.

If there are any questions anyone has to ask me, that is fine, I look forward to them.

Please forgive me if my Arabic greeting isn't correct.

Thank you.

 

[Hard Rock Moslem]

I'm not actually sure of what I believe in terms of the afterlife and that sort of thing, so I kinda thought becoming a Muslim would be disrespectful if I myself couldn't believe there is a God.

Firstly welcome to the forum.

I took 29 years before finally decided to revert to Islam. Everyone born as Muslims, including me. It is my parents made me hindu and by my own choice at later age I decided to be buddhist. Finally Allah guided me to the right path.

First and foremost, you must know who is God? Make comparison the concept of God in different religions if you need to. You will find, only Islam has consistently maintain that God the Creator is One God. Everything must have a creator. The car you drive was it suddenly appear in front of you without someone made it. How about the moon, the sun, the planets, sky, you and me etc must be Someone created them right?

I'm also worried about not being able to do certain things if I did become a Muslim.

I was in your situation too before. As mentioned above, know your God first. Forget about the rest. Forget about whether you can pray 5 times a day, whether you will be able to fast or perform haj. Have least worries about it. The most important is to know your Creator.

 

[a_stranger]

You are most welcome , to the world of Islam :The bright world of sincere faith, pure hearts, peace, forgiveness, brotherhood , equality...........all that is noble and pure.

 

[Munawar]

This is very true. Thank you.

Did you believe in a God before you converted?

Thank you, I found a site to read the Quran on last night, but it's not really good, because you can't bookmark the bit you're on. So I will need to buy an English Quran.

Thank you.

:salam2:
Assalam-o-alikum (peace and blessings be upon you) brother English,

Welcome to TTI, and I am really glad that you are here.

I am glad to know that you are reading Quran. Quran is actually in Arabic, the rest are translations. Each translation depends on who translated it and so it has its own flavor. Most translations are good.

It is my experience the explanation of verses greatly help in understanding of Quran. This website has translation as well as explanation of verses and chapters.

http://www.tafheem.net/tafheem.html

You will find the explanation right there under each verse, and you can also press Intro button for explanation of that chapter (aka Surah)

I suppose this website also do not have any bookmark, but what we used to do is create a Notebook text file and in it we would enter the last chapter and last verse we have finished reading, and update it as we progress.

There is an another website which contain the same material but here they have placed all the explanations at the bottom and you can click to go there and press Back to come back. Try both and see which one works better for you.

http://www.quran.net/quran/tafseer/m...osiEnglish.asp

I like the first website (http://www.tafheem.net/tafheem.html) even though it has some typos due to scanning but you can spot them easily, and my children also like this website.

Hope this information will help you.
Wassalam.

 

[English]

Thank you to everyone who has replied in this thread, I've even received help to my inbox.

You've all shown me a willingness to help and that is very good, I appreciate it.

I will be taking all of the information I have received and will try to find out as much as I can. It is a lot to get through in one go.

Unfortunately, I prefer to have the Quran in book form as reading on computers for long periods of time is hard for me to concentrate, and it hurts my eyes. I am grateful for the links to the Quran though. I will be buying an English translation of it as soon as I get the money.

Thank you all once again.