A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslims” and Hope from Allah the Exalted That It Will Help Light Your Path to the Everlasting Garden of the Hereafter
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Copyright is reserved Second Edition 1436/2015 Department of Fatwa www.islam.gov.kw/eftaa إدارة اﻹﻓﺘﺎء @eftaa_kw eftakw Correspondence : State of Kuwait - The Ministry of Endowments & Islamic Affairs P. O. Box : 13 - Safat 13011 Fax : +965 - 22 418 723 - e-mail :[email protected] Correspondence on behalf of the Director of Administration www.islamic-invitation.com A Message from the Management In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful A Message from the Management All praise be to Allah, The Lord of all Worlds who has sent down the Wise Book and we bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone free from all partners who stated in the Noble Quran: SRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA{ zWVUT “Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from his Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)? So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah! They are in plain error!” [39:22] And may salutations and peace be upon the Truthful Guide who stated: “I have been sent with a forgiving Islamic monotheism.”(1) This implies that the religion of Islam is established on the Oneness of Allah, mercy and ease. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Islam wipes out that which is before it.”(2) This means that all sins before Islam are wiped out and forgiven. And as to what follows: It brings great pleasure to the Department of Fatwa in the State of Kuwait to congratulate those that have joined the radiant gardens of Islam that without a doubt will have a wonderful effect on their selves by improving their understanding and removing the many contradictions of creed from their minds as well as providing them with genuine relief in their lives. Despite the fact that this relief does not mean they will not face any challenges or problems in their life as Allah tests his slaves by refining them as the Almighty has said: (1) Transmitted by Ahmad. (2) Transmitted by Muslim. c A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslim ¦ ¥ ¤£ ¢ ¡ ~ }|{ z y x w v u t s { z«ª©¨§ “Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe’ and will not be tested. And we indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test). ” [29:2-3] However, we are completely certain that you have made the right decision and are the real winner, if Allah so wills. It is for this reason that we present to you as a gift this book entitled “A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslims” and hope from Allah the Exalted that it will help light your path to the Everlasting Garden of the Hereafter. You will find it to be a comprehensive book that contains many rulings that a Muslim cannot afford to be ignorant of in order to practice their religion correctly. We ask Allah the Exalted to accept this work from us. Manager of the Department of Fatwa d Prologue In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful Prologue All praise be to Allah, The Lord of all Worlds and we bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, free from all partners and Protector of the Pious. We bear witness that Mohammed is His slave and messenger; may salutations and peace be upon him and his family and companions. And as to what follows: Indeed the blessings of Allah upon his creation are many and great; they cannot be counted or calculated as Allah has said: z gfedcba`_^]\{ “And if You would count the graces of Allah, never could You be Able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [16:18] The most important and greatest of all the blessings of Allah, is for one to be guided upon the Straight Path, the path of truth which He has commanded all his slaves to follow in His obedience, as Allah has said: zutsrqponmlk{ “This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [5:3] Indeed, it is the greatest of blessings and gifts that Allah has bestowed on His slaves as only through it can one achieve happiness and respite in this world and an immense success in the Hereafter, as Allah has said: zÂÁÀ¿¾½¼»º¹¸¶µ´³²±°{ “Verily! those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, shall have the Gardens of Al-Firdaus (the Paradise) for their entertainment. Wherein they shall dwell (forever). no desire will they have to be removed there from. ” [18:107-108] e A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslim Islam is the religion of Allah and there is no other path to truth except through it. It is the religion of natural disposition on which Allah has created all humankind upon. It is the religion of all prophets and apostles, founded upon the Oneness of Allah the Exalted; His sole worship and total submission and following of His sacred laws. Allah will not accept the actions of people in the Hereafter unless they are in accordance with these laws as he has stated in the Quran: zlkjihgfedcba`_{ “And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and In the Hereafter He will be one of the losers.” [3:85] Islam is the only path for happiness and success in this world and the next. The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was extremely active in inviting all of humankind to Islam, guiding them to the Oneness of the Lord of the Earth and Heavens. He never left any system or method in inviting and guiding them to Islam except that he would try his utmost to use it concerned all the while about the happiness and success of humankind until Allah the Exalted told him: zNMLKJIH{ “It may be that you (O Mohammed) are going to kill yourself with grief, that they do not become believers.” [26:3] Meaning: It may be that you will kill yourself through the constant worry and concern that you have for humankind to believe and be guided. In the same way, the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was extremely active in ensuring that people were guided to Islam, he was extremely happy for those that embraced Islam as he was the most knowledgeable regarding the immense and supreme blessing of guidance and the happiness and success it entailed for those who were guided, as Allah the Exalted described him: § ¦ ¥ ¤ £¢ ¡ ~ } | { z«ª©¨ f Prologue “Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Mohammed) from amongst yourselves it grieves Him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Mohammed) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, In order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (He is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.” [9:128] As you dear new Muslim, have been blessed by Allah with the immense blessing of guidance, you are in great need of learning the rulings and principles of your religion. You must learn the correct creed; correct performance of obligatory actions; the foundation of dealings with those around you, especially those who are still non-Muslims. It is for this reason, that in this book we have compiled for you the most important rulings that you must be aware of and have entitled it: (A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslim) We hope for the sake of Allah the Exalted that we have been successful in the choice of topics and our explanation of them. At this juncture, we would also like to mention that the religion of Islam is a divine methodology free from all incorrections and imperfections. As for humans, we all strive in our pursuit of knowledge and understanding, there are those of us who are correct, and those who are incorrect and we will remain in this state until the Last Day. This work is our effort, therefore whatever it contains of goodness and truth is from Allah the Exalted; whatever it contains of badness and error is from the Satan and us, and Allah and His Apostle are free from such. The Methodology used in compiling this book This book has been written using the following method: 1) We have made every effort to use simple words and modern standard language so that new Muslims will find it easy to understand and implement. 2) We have focused on only the most important creedal aspects and rulings that every new Muslim must be aware of. In the same way, we have only covered the obligatory acts of worship that cannot be left unpracticed. 3) We have depended on the majority of scholarly opinion in the ‘Schools of Thought’ when discussing general issues of jurisprudence, as well as the positions reached by the Fatwa Committee at the Kuwait Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. We have supported these by verses of the Holy Quran and authentic prophetic narrations, without going into too much detail in order to keep things short and simple for new Muslims. g A Beneficial Summary of Rulings for New Muslim 4) The book has been divided into four chapters: The first chapter gives a comprehensive description of Islam.