Prophets buried in Mecca?

It is not known with certainty the burial place of any Prophet (peace be upon them), except the grave of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah.

Hence, the location of Prophet Isma’il’s (Ishmael) (peace be upon him) grave is not known.

Shaikh Al-Albani (may Allah have Mercy on him) said, “No words can be authentically ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that indicate that Isma’il (peace be upon him) or any other noble Prophet was buried in the Grand Mosque (at Makkah), and nothing of this sort is mentioned in any of the trustworthy books of hadith.”

[Akhbar Makkah]

______________________________________________________________

Translated for IslamQA

Some Names for Newborns

Translated for IslamQA:

____________________________

Imam Muslim (may Allah have Mercy on him) narrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) wanted to forbid (his followers) to name persons as Ya’la (Elevated), Baraka (Blessing), Aflah (Successful), Yasar and Nafi’, but I saw that he kept silent after that and he did not say anything until Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) died. And he did not forbid (his followers to do this), then ‘Umar decided to prohibit (people) from giving these names, but later on gave up the idea. [Sahih Muslim 3986]

Dead Sea Salts

Translated for islamqa.com

__________________________________________________________

The ruling on using salts, minerals and therapeutic (medical) mud etc. obtained from the Dead Sea, depends on the difference of opinion among the historians about whether this is the same area where the nation of Prophet Loot (peace be upon him) used to live.

Placing a woman in her grave

Tanslated for IslamQA.

_____________________________________________________________

The basic principle is that a woman should be lowered down in the grave by her Mahram relatives (those whom she could not marry due to close kinship) if they are available. If the Mahrams are available but something prevents them from doing so, then it is permissible for a non-Mahram to place her in the grave, since Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “We were (in the funeral procession) of one of the daughters of the Prophet and he was sitting by the side of the grave. I saw his eyes shedding tears. He said, “Is there anyone among you who did not have sexual relations with his wife last night?” Abu Talha replied in the affirmative. And so the Prophet told him to get down in the grave. And so he got down in her grave.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1285].

Shaykh Ibn Al-‘Uthaimeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “None of the scholars – as far as I know – said that it is prohibited for a man who had sexual intercourse that night to put a woman in her grave. However, they did say that the one who had intercourse a long time ago is preferred for this…some people think that a woman can only be put in her grave by one of her Mahram relatives, but this is not correct. She should be placed in the grave by the one who knows best about the burial procedure, whether he is a Mahram to her or not.”

[Liqaa’ Al-Bab Al-Maftooh, no. 77]

Allah knows best.

Fasting On ‘Ashura

Translated for www.islamqa.com

__________________________________________________________________________________

All Praise is for Allah.

It is narrated in Musnad Ahmad (2155) from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Fast on the day of ‘Ashura (10^th Muharram), and oppose the Jews in it. Fast a day before it, or a day after it.” The scholars differed about the authenticity of this hadith.

Story of the two monkey who committed adultery and was stoned by other monkeys

This story was narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari (Hadith no. 3849) from ‘Amr Bin Maimun: “During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey surrounded by a number of monkey. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them.”

Imam Al-Bukhari on Surah Al-Maidah 5:96

Allah said: “Lawful to you is (the pursuit of) watergame and its use for food – for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel.” [Surah Al-Maidah 5:96]

Reading the Qur’an Aloud or Softly

Imam Al-Nawawi in his book ‘Al-Tibyan fi Adaab Hamalat Al-Qur’an’ (1/58)

Seperating Obligatory and Voluntary Prayers

All Praise is for Allah.

It is recommended that you separate your fardh (obligatory) and voluntary (naafil) prayers either by speech or shifting to another place.

The best way to separate them is to go to one’s home to pray the naafil (voluntary prayers), since for the best prayer of a person is what is performed at his home except the compulsory congregational (fardh) prayer, as is mentioned in the authentic hadith reported by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih. The proof of it is the hadith narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih from Mu’awiya (may Allah be pleased with him):

‘Umar b. ‘Ata’ b. Abu Khuwar said that Nafi’ b. Jubair sent him to al- Sa’ib the son of Namir’s sister with a view to asking him about what he had seen in the prayer of Mu’awiya. He said: Yes, I observed the Jumu’a prayer along with him in Maqsura and when the Imam pronounced salutation I stood up at my place and observed (Sunan rak’ahs). As he entered (the apartment) he sent for me and said: Do not repeat what you have done. Whenever you have observed the Jumu’a prayer, do not observe (Sunan prayer) till you have talked or got out, for the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had ordered us to do this and not to combine two (types of) prayers without talking of going out.

Imam Nawawi said in his explanation of Sahih Muslim, “This hadith is proof for the opinion of our scholars (i.e. jurists (fuqaha) of the Shafa’ii school) that for voluntary (naafil) prayers, whether recommended (raatib) or otherwise, it is better to shift from the place where one prayed the fardh (obligatory) prayes to another place. It is better still to go to one’s home. If he does not go home, then he can pray at some other place in the masjid or somewhere else, so that the places where he has prostrated become numerous. Also by doing so we will be able to differentiate between the way of praying the obligatory (fardh) and voluntary (naafil) prayers. Mu’awiya’s saying that “till you have talked” is proof that the two prayers can be separated by speech as well. However it is better to separate them by transferring to another location, as we mentioned. Allah knows best.”

And Allah knows best.

_________________

Part of a fatwa translated for Islam-QA

The Reality of Seeing the Prophet in A Dream

I will just write what Imam Ibn Hajr (a Shafa’ii scholar) said concerning the issue from the perspective of the madhabs, fuqaha and muhadithin. What we wish to dispute is the common and innovated (u will see why, as ibn hajr noted) notion that seeing the Prophet ‘alahi salam in a dream means you saw him *actually*, whereas that is not the case. It is an image from Allah in a dream. If the Prophet (‘alahi salam) tells us of something in a dream which is about to happen, it does not mean he knows the unseesn actually. It means that the dream will be true and its contents would come to pass. I will just present the translation which I rendered: [Ibn Hajar's explanation is briefly mentioned here , here and here, but we will expand it with  further excerpts]

Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (Al-Shafa’ii) said (commenting on hadith no 6748 in fath al-bari):

Imam Al-Qurtubi (aMaliki scholar, author of the famous Tafsir Al-Qurtubi) said: “There are different opinions about the explanation of this hadith ( “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me when he is awake; the Shaytaan cannot take my shape”). Some people said they would take the literal meaning, that whoever sees him in a dream sees him actually, and hence seeing him in a dream is the same as seeing him while awake. But this is an opinion which is so baseless (fasid) that even basic intellect is enough to know it is wrong. This opinion necessiates that anyone who sees him (in a dream) will see him in the form he died in and also that two persons should not be able to see him at two different places if they dream at the same time. This opinion also means that he (sallallaho’alaihiwasallam) is alive, leaves his grave, walks about in the markets, speaks to people and they speak to him. It also entails that his grave does not contain his body, and hence his grave is empty and those visiting are just going to just (an empty) grave and say salam (greetings) to someone who is not there, since (according to this claim) he can really be seen at anytime of the day (in a dream) in places other than his grave. Anyone who has the least grip on his senses will not hold on to such ignorance.”

Ibn Battal (author of an earlier explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari) said: “The hadith ‘ will see me when he is awake’ means that the dream is true and will come to pass. It does not mean that he will see him on the Day of Judgment, since there everyone would be able to see him, whether they saw him in a dream or not. “

Al-Maziri said, “it may mean that it is specific to the people of his time, that if they see him in a dream, they will see him while awake after they meet him by doing hijra (emigration). This was sign which he was told by Wahi (revelation)”

Al-Qadhi (Al-’Iyadh) said: “It means that he will soon find the dream to be true and it will come to pass when he is awake.”

About some reports that some Salihoon (pious people) saw him in dreams and then saw him (sallallaho’alaihiwasallam) while awake too and asked him of various things, I (Ibn Hajar) say: “This is very problematic (muskil jiddan). If it were really like that, then these people would have been Companions (sahabah), and it would be possible that there would be Companions (Sahabah) right uptil the Day of Judgment! What unsettles this claim is that numerous people saw him in dream, but never reported seeing him when awake, but the news given by the truthful (i.e. the Prophet ‘alaihi salam) does not remain unfulfilled. As we mentioned earier, Al-Qurtubi was very severely against the notion that seeing him in a dream means seeing him really (haqeeqatahu).”

END OF QUOTES from Fath Al-Bari of Ibn Hajar.