All the praises is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds and peace and blessings be upon His Chosen Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and his companions all of them.
By the Student of Knowledge, Shaykh Abdurrahman Murad هداه الله
‘Tis the Season…Winter Special #1: The scholars have spoken extensively about the winter season; the rulings they have mentioned vary from Aqeedah to Fiqh…and also include general etiquette and manners that a Muslim should uphold.
This winter special relates to the Hadeeth that talk about the merit of this season:
a. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
ألا أدلكم على الغنيمة الباردة ، قالوا : بلى، فيقول : الصيام في الشتاء
Meaning: Shall I not guide you to the ‘cold spoil’? The Companions said, ‘Of Course!’ and the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “To fast during the winter months.”(Authentic)
b. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
الشتاء غنيمة العابدين
Meaning: Winter is the spoil of the worshippers.c. Ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
مرحباً بالشتاء تتنزل فيه البركة ويطول فيه الليل للقيام، ويقصر فيه النهار للصيام
Meaning: Welcome O winter! A month in which blessings of Allah descend and the nights are long – sufficient for a long Qiyaam and the days are short such that you can fast easily.d. Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
نعم زمان المؤمن الشتاء ليله طويل يقومه، ونهاره قصير يصومه
Meaning: The best time for a believer is winter…the nights are long, allowing a believer to pray Qiyam therein, and the days are short allowing him to fast (easily) therein.
Truly…’Tis the season…
May Allah bless us all. Ameen!
‘Tis the Season…Winter Special #2: Brothers and sisters, with the temperature dipping in some regions in Canada to 20 below zero (if not more)…an important issue arises for many of us…”TAYAMMUM”.
As we may all be aware…many of our brothers and sisters work outside in this intense cold (It’s cold enough for boiling hot water to freeze over in a matter of mere minutes)…so what should they do?
If they perform wudhu in that cold, there is a chance they will quickly contract frostbite or other medical complications.
In this case, Tayammum is completely lawful and an excellent alternative! The proof for this is in the story of Amr’ bin al-Aas, may Allah be pleased with him; he experienced an extremely cold environment and with the presence of water, he made tayammum instead, using Allah’s words as proof:
ولا تلقوا بأيديكم إلى التهلكة
Meaning: do not cast yourselves into destruction by your own hands.
‘Tis the Season…Winter Special #3: Brothers and sisters one of the biggest issues we face in the West, during the winter, is the closeness of each prayer time to the next. At times, a person will end up missing a few prayers and offering them out of their scheduled times. What should a brother/sister do when they live so far up north?
a. Know that each prayer has a beginning and ending time.
b. One may perform Jam’ Soori (which is a form of combining prayers, while each is done in its set time). This form of ‘combining’ is achieved when one, for example, delays the Dhuhr prayer till its last time and then performs the Asr in its first time. Although, it seems he has combined the prayers, he actually has performed each in its set time.
c. Many a time, brothers/sisters who work out in the field…may have already travelled a distance that would allow them to shorten and combine prayers…just take note of how long a distance you travel…this distance varies as there are a number of views and opinions. Those of you who want my personal opinion can PM me, and I’ll give it to you.
d. There is a narration, in which the Prophet, may Allah praise him,
عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال: جمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بين الظهر والعصر والمغرب والعشاء بالمدينة في غير خوف ولا مطر في حديث وكيع. قال: قلت لابن عباس: لم فعل ذلك؟ قال: كي لا يحرج أمته، وفي حديث أبي معاوية قيل لابن عباس: ما أراد إلى ذلك؟ قال: أراد أن لا يحرج أمته.
Meaning: Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Prophet, may Allah praise him, combined between Dhuhr and Asr and then between Maghrib and Isha in Madinah while there was no fear nor rain.”
In the Hadeeth of Wakee’, he asked Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: “Why did the Prophet, may Allah praise him, combine between these prayers?” He answered: “He did this so that his Ummah would not be inconvenienced or put into difficulty.”
From this narration, some scholars have indicated that it is lawful for a person to combine between prayers (not shorten) when a person is experiencing difficulty…scholars have mentioned sickness and dire necessities (in general) as a need through which prayers can be combined.
To put this into a conceivable frame…if a brother is driving a taxi or a bus, and finds it very difficult to stop and pray (schedules are hectic…especially in this economy) and fears that he may endanger the lives of people, if he tries to sit and pray (which you should NOT do while driving), then he may take by this Rukhsah (permit) and perform the prayers combined (dhuhr and asr / maghrib and Isha)…although I must add…a person must NOT make this a habit…if required, they should severely restrict and limit the use of this permit to just when it is needed…as the Prophet, may Allah praise him, did this just once.
May Allah bless us all. Ameen
‘Tis the Season…Winter Special #4: Brothers and sisters, intentions play an important role in the course of our lives…and in specific in terms of our actions that relate to Allah’s rights. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:
إنما الأعمال بالنيات
Meaning: Indeed all actions are rewarded on account of one’s intention.
Now to shed light on this ‘winter special’…let’s assume you have a specific Ibadah routine…but due to weather conditions, you are unable to practice it…you will still get the reward! The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:
مَن مرض أو سافر كُتِبَ له ما كان يعملُ صحيحًا مقيمًا.
Meaning: Whoso falls ill or travels will have all their rewards given to them (for acts of worship they normally would perform) equal to times when they are healthy and not travelling.
The proofs for this concept are many…may Allah bless us with a good routine. Amen
Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki 
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