A Hand Through the Door for My New Sister

253 Pages·5.066 MB·English

by  Yasmine bint Ismail

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A Hand Through The Door
For My New Sister
In Accordance with the Qur'lin and authentic
Sunnah ofthe Prophet Muhammad [~l
by
Yasmine bint Ismail
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 7
"
;(F(}pd for Thought 10
'. Chapter 1
.The Pillars ofIslam 11
\;fheiShahiidah [Declaration 11
,H ,T" lTn
The\S.aliih [Prayer] 13
-' ~acts pertaining t~.h~r S.qliih 14
Times for the Salah''';ir,;;c,: .' 27
The fiveIard [Obiigat0o/]-~aliih 28
-,The;Za!<"iih [Obligatory Ch~tlty], 30
"' Otherfacts she should know-aboutZdkiib 31
;;'Hajj,the Pilgrimage /:,?,~,~'-',. 34
:t
Other facts she should KnoW 34
\ £awni'[Fasting] , '.....,- , <, 37
Otherfacts she should ~n~w.aboutfasting 38
~>\_:':'_' ;:;"-";:~:~~::.':;
}(it,:~~;~\~-;'~'·--';·';F:; I
Ch.~pter
2
i:,'
i':The'Pillars oflman 44
; Beller-inAllah 45
Beliefin His Angels _' ~ 46
/':",-"-: \S\ ome th.ingsshe shouldtk. n;"o,~.w,,'" ;a;.bout,~them 46
BelJ~fin His Messengers :~{'- " ' ;. 51
Belief in His BOOKS 54
the',~ur:an
.§ome merits of from !l.adfth 55
.).~~llefin the Last Day 56
C
Belief in Qadar [Fate] 60
Some things to Knowon Qadar 61
Chapter 3
Taw!!fd [Beliefin the Oneness ofAllah, Monotheism] 65
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Tawh.fd is the Beliefin Three Things 70
Chapter 4
Shirk[Polytheism] 72
There are two types of Shirk 76
Other thirigs to Know 77
Clarification ofIntercession 87
[As it is to be understood by all the children of Adam ~\]
Chapter 5
The Dress of a Believing Lady 91
Tabarruj 94
Requirements for the Believing Lady'sb..ijiib 98,'
Other Things the Sister should watch for related to herdress 103
The use of Gold '110'
Silk 110
Chapter 6
The Ignorance We Bring in with us 111
Obedience 111
Racism 115
ConstaritClose Association and Love for the Disbelievers 117
Our Cultures 120
Traditional-dress 121
Mahr [Dowry] 121
Speech 122
Special occasions 124
Music 130
Changing Allah's Creation [our bodies] 133
Chapter 7
Our Menses in Islam 135
(ialiih 135
I
Fasting 137
Clothing 137
Her Spouse 137
Reading the Quran and Hadttl: 139
Hajj and 'Umrah 140
Divorce 140
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Entering the praying area ofthe masjid 141
Nifiis [Bleeding after birth] 141
Isti!J.iif!.ah 143
The Sign ofPurification 144
The Purification 145
Upon Completion 147
Chapter 8
The Believing Lady Completing Missed Fasts 148
Hayf!. [Menses] and Nifiis [Bleeding after birth] 149
Pregnancy and Nursing 149
Chapter 9
The BelievingLady and Her Family 153
Parents 153
Your Husband 156
Children 156
OtherFacts She should know related to Children 159
The rest of her family 162
Chapter 10
Nikii!l [Marriage] 165
The age to do so 166
Those whom it is not permissible to marry 168
Mahr [Dowry] 169
The Marriage Contract 172
Other Facts She Should Know 173
The Rights of the Spouses 181
Chapter 11
Ialiiq [Divorce] 192
The Sunnah of Divorce 193
Other facts she should know 195
Chapter 12
The Food for the Believers 205
Other facts She Should Know 206
Drink 215
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Chapter 13
Tawbali [Repentance] 218
Chapter 14
Death and the Grave 225
Death 225
Other Facts to Know 226
The Grave 233
Some of the events inthe grave and
reasons for punishment in the grave 235
Chapter 15 .
The Descriptions of the Paradise and Hell 239
]all11alz [Paradise] 239
Niir[Hell] 246
Glossary 252
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INTRODUCTION
All Praise is for Allah; we praise Him and seek His help and
forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah, the Most High, from the evils of
our own selves and from our wicked deeds. Whomsoever Allah has guided,
none can misguide him. And whomsoever Allah has misguided, none can
guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god worthy of being
worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner or associate. I further bear
witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah, the
Exalted, bestow His peace and blessings on the Final prophet Muhammad,
upon his good and pure family, and upon all of his noble companions.
My dear sisters, I find it of paramount importance to write this book
for the sea ofnew sisters whom Allah, the Most Compassionate, is guiding
to the only true path. All praise is for Allah as much as His Glory and
Sublime Majesty rightly deserve as He facilitated this effort. May He reward
all those who aided me in any way, especially my loving husband for all his
support and help.
This is only a compilation ofevidence in accordance with the Quran
and authentic Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad [~]. I must however
stress, this is in no way intended to dampen the sisters obligation to seek for
herself the knowledge given to us in the Quran and authentic Sunnah,
according to the understanding of the Salaf and the abundance of scholarly
works that help to give us a better understanding of the two fundamental
sources. There are many treasured collections of books written by the Salaf
which should be read for one's self.
This is intended to be a quick reference for the new sisters who do
not yet have libraries and rely on word of mouth from others with little or no
knowledge. I do this as I remember myselfand other sisters who reverted to
Islam, with a wave ofquestions and a lot ofconflicting answers. This is also
for the sisters born in Islam but who were not practicing at all, or not
practicing Islam in accordance with the Quran and the authentic Sunnah
and are in need of areference.
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I have used proofs and evidences from the Quran and tried to use
authentic !1adfth and wherever needed I have also used opinions or
explanations from the scholars of the Salaf Most iiyiit and !1adfths have
been taken from available translations with very few edited as needed and a
few !1adfths needed translation. May Allah, the Almighty, have mercy on us
and protect all that read this from any flaw herein.
May Allah, the Almighty, the Exalted, forgive us our sins and
shortcomings, and facilitate good for us and grant us the desired end. May
He accept this humble effort for His sake Alone and make it a benefit to all
who read it, AmIn. >"
Yasmine bintIsmail
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Transliteration table
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
1. WHY WERE WE CREATED? Allah the Exalted,the Mighty,said:
~/ \~~y)J~J ? '" ;::;;;~... ~~",,\,,...)...~\.,GoJ JJ b.,..-....L."')... ~
(AndI [Alltih]creatednotthe Jinn andHumans exceptthattheyshould
worship Me [AloneJ.)[51:56J
2. WHY ISLAM? Allah, the AIl- Knowing,said:
~ ~~\~ ~~~\ ~~j ~ J~~}l jJ ~~ ~~\~ t-~~l';j ,
I;illn~ver ~/ccepted
( A /;d whoeverseeksa religion othertitan Isltim, it be of
him, andin the Hereafterhe will be one ojthe losers.)[3:85J
3. WHAT IF 0NE DOUBTS ALL OR PART OF THE LAST REVELATION,..
THE HOLY QUR'AN? Allah, the AIl- Encompassing said:
.t .f~: :,.}...I.:~ ~J~ ~:. ~~.J:\:: .,<~JJ-,J:::-,..w.,,l,,(1':.~J. ,.,;L"~. .":j .,...;~::u ~.
't{-...-~:;v 0~ .. u ...-~· - ... -". -~ .... ..w 1..>... '/
;,S
( Titen leave Me Alone with such belie this Quriin. Wesitallpunish them
graduallyfrom directions they perceive not.)[68: 44J '.
4. WHY OBEY THE MESSENGER [.~] ALONG WITH ALLAH, WHY
NOT FOLLOW THE QUR'AN ONLY? Allah,theMostHigh,said:
~;~~}~U.:.J"~\ j~~" A...~\l"I\:..). ~:A:.::\;l"\I~\~J;;\i,).l..;I*, ...u,J"' J~'''' ~J ..... L...).. O,).Ib;:·.....j}Jy,:',,,), 011~,' I... ~_L...).. )-
( And whatsoeverthe Messenger[Mullammad t!J.Jgivesyou, take it,and
whatsoeverheforbidsyou,abstain [from it],amifear Alliih. Verily,Alliih is
severe in punishment.s[59:7J .
5. WHAT IS THELAST DAY? Allah,the Almighty,said:
J
£" '.~·:i .......::>L; ' I') ;;...~j ..... >~... w l'n.3';; 1,\J ...I'J~ ;:::' ~
..... I..-~~J-..-. J",./ U ... ~~...I~~ ~ \-' '' ''
f '" ...
( The Day when all the secrets[deeds,prayers,fasting etc.]willbe examined [as
to theirtruth]. Then will{man] have /10power, norany helper) [86:9-10],
6. WILL MEN AND WOMEN BE EQUAL IN REWARD [ACCORDING
TO THEIR GOOD DEEDS]? Allah,the Most Merciful, said:
;~ :b~) \~_.0<~~~~,~if tS~,- ';;~..:..S~') ~~,~,~) )-
"'... .". ..... ... "" ... .f' "'... "...
~~,j jJ,;'~,~~f.&,J ::'~j)~~,-~J
.. .,I '" "" "" , f" ...
(Alllililiaspromisedthe believers- menand women gardens underwhich rivers
flow to dwell thereinforever, andbeautifulmansions illgardens of'Adn [Eden]
Paradise]. Butthe greatestbliss is the goodPleasure ofAlliih thatisthesupreme
success.)[9:72J
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CHAPTERl
THE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Allah the Exalted the Mighty,said:
~~Jl.J.' '" ~'o\J ~;;io\J"~, J~o\J"D, ~ ~
'" '"
( Truly the religion with Alliih is Isllim.)
And what is Islam?
The Messenger ofAllah [tiJsaid:
"Is'ta;n is based on thefollowingfivepillars:
1) To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and
Muhammad is Allah's Messenger.
2) To offer the [five compulsory congregational] prayers dutifully and
perfectly.
3) Topay Zakdh [i.e., Obligatory charity]
4) To perform Hajj [Pilgrimage to Makkah] to the house [Ka'bah]. It is a
ditty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses [for
ones conveyance, provision and residence].
5)·.To observefast during the month of Ramadan.J"
IJ -THE SHAHADAH[TESTIFleATION OFFAITHJ:
To testify: "Ashhadu an fa iliiha illa Allah wa ashhadu anna
Muhammadan rasiilulliih", "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah
and Muhammad is the Messenger ofAllah." This statement is necessary for
I S,.ahl!lAl-Bukhiiri, [Eng.Trans. vol. 1 #7].
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