There are many common actions many of us Muslims do everyday which are not part of the Sunnah i.e. there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) ever doing. We’ll go through a few of them here.
Just remember this is not a discussion on whether these things are haram/not haram or innovations, we are simply going to distinguish between what the Prophet (pbuh) did and did not do. He is the perfect role model and following his exact teachings is the only way to come closer to Allah.
Lifting hands to make dua after salah
So this is an extremely common action done on a daily basis amongst the Muslim community and many of us will be surprised to know that the Prophet (pbuh) never did this. There is no hadith mentioning that he ever brought his hands up to make dua after completing a prayer whether for himself or dua as a group.
In fact there are a few other times during and around the prayer that the Prophet (pbuh) made dua, here are 3:
Between Athan and Iqamah: Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Du’a is not rejected between the adhan and iqamah, so engage in du’a (supplication).” [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 212; Abu Dawud, 437; Ahmad, 12174. Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawud, 489]
In sujood: Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration, so increase your dua therein.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 482]
After tashahud before making salam: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “When any one of you recites the tashahud, let him seek refuge with Allah from four things – from the punishment of Hell, the punishment of the grave, the trials of life and death, and the evils of the Dajjal, then let him pray for himself for whatever he wants.” [Narrated by al-Nasai, 1293].
Let us follow these times to make dua instead of making them after the prayer has concluded.
Wiping the face or kissing the hands after concluding a dua
Sheikh ibn Uthaymeen explains:
Wiping the face with the hands after making du’aa’ is more likely to be not prescribed in Islam, because the ahaadeeth that have been narrated concerning that are da’eef (weak). Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: They cannot be used as evidence. If we are not certain or we think it most likely that this is not prescribed, then it is better not to do it, because Islamic rulings cannot be proven on the basis of mere conjecture, unless we believe it to be mostly likely to be the case.
What I think about wiping the face with the hands after du’aa’ is that it is not Sunnah. As is well known, the Prophet (pbuh) prayed for rain during his Friday khutbah and raised his hands, but it is not narrated that he wiped his face with them. Similarly in a number of ahaadeeth it says that the Prophet raised his hands, but there is no proof that he wiped his face.
Saying “sadaqa allah hadeem” after concluding recitation of qur’an
This is another extremely common practice many Muslims do every day. It will be another surprise to realise that this is also not part of the Sunnah – there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) ever saying these words after concluding a recitation nor was it a practice of his companions.
Raising finger only when saying Shahada in tashahud
So this is another very common action performed most likely out of attempting to analyse prayer actions using common sense i.e. it makes sense to raise the finger when saying the Shahada.
However, there is no mention of the Prophet (pbuh) raising his finger only for Shahada. In fact, he would keep his finger pointed throughout the entire tashahud.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr said: “When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sat during the prayer, he would place his left foot between his thigh and calf, and tuck his right foot underneath him, and place his left hand on his left knee, and place his right hand on his right thigh, and point with his finger.” [Sahih Muslim, 579].
There are differences of opinions amongst the schools of thought and scholars as to the details on whether the finger should be moving etc. However, there is no evidence mentioning that it should be raised only for the Shahada part of the Tashahud then retracted.
Leaving gaps between feet and shoulders when praying in the masjid or group
Many imams mention this to people praying in the mosques; that they should close the gaps between the feet and shoulders when lining up for Salat but many of us seem to ignore it. The importance of this is highlighted in the following ahadith:
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Make your rows straight, stand shoulder to shoulder and close the gaps, and do not resist your brothers’ hands. Do not leave any gaps for the Shaytaan. Whoever complete a row, Allah will reward him, and whoever breaks a row, Allah will forsake him.” Abu Dawood said: What is meant by “Do not resist your brothers’ hands” is that a man should be easy-going if his brother moves him forwards or backwards to make the row straight. (‘Awn al-Ma’bood). [Narrated by Abu Dawood, 666; al-Nasaa’i, 819. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 620].
It was narrated that al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer said: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned to face the people and said, ‘Straighten your rows,’ three times, ‘for by Allah either you straighten your rows or Allah will create division among your hearts.’ And I saw men standing shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, ankle to ankle.” [Narrated by Abu Dawood, 662; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 616].
“Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.” [28:56]
We all know people that are close to us who we wish we can guide. We try everything we can and nothing works. This issue effected our beloved prophet (ﷺ) even more than it will effect any of us. Muhammad (ﷺ) is Allah’s best creation and yet even he (ﷺ) did not have the power to change people’s hearts, as mentioned in another ayah:
“You, [O Muhammad], are not but a warner.” [35:23]
He (ﷺ) watched his uncle – the man who raised him – die as a disbeliever. He was the best prophet (ﷺ), teacher and reminder to mankind, yet many people around him (ﷺ) passed away as disbelievers. This is to remind us that we are not in charge of people’s hearts. We do not decide who is to be guided and who isn’t, nothing can be forced. Our role as parents, siblings, family members and friends is to remind each other and ourselves, and make dua that Allah guides us all as we call to Allah everyday in every salah in Surat Al Fatiha.
Most importantly, never give up on people, no matter how far astray we may see they have gone. Allah is the turner of hearts and he turns the hearts of whomever He wills and all is with justice, as He says:
..”Indeed, Allah leaves astray whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him]” [13:27]
Let us remind ourselves that nobody is left astray unjustly, Allah knows what is in the hearts of the people that we do not see. May Allah turn all our hearts towards His guidance and His light.
Looking back at history, Islam was always a religion that offended people in one way or another. Our prophet (ﷺ) was always known to be great in character even before he became a prophet. He was known as “a-Sadiq al-Ameen” – the truthful and honest one but after he began delivering the message of Islam, the people started calling him a liar and a troublemaker, along with other insults. The fact is his character never changed, he was still extremely kind and soft with every soul, but it was the message that people were insulted by and thus they hated him for it.
This is Allah’s way – that when we stand with the Qur’an and His deen, there will be people that get offended and sadly this can be within the Muslims community itself. There are some aspects of Islam that many people get offended by, either because their subjective, post-modern opinions take over or they feel as if their values are being attacked.
Let us all remember something that Allah mentions at the beginning of Surat Al-Kahf:
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance.
[He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward
[18:1-2]
We can look back a mere 100 years ago in Western society – how people dressed back then for example was very different to how they dress now. What was appropriate beach wear back then was not at all as it is now. Society redefines what is right and wrong based on subjective moral values at the specific time – this is even more obvious in media. Let’s take movies and TV shows for example: what is considered fine on TV now would not have even been imagined back in the 70s or 80s – it’s a completely different world.
Allah tells us that His teachings have no deviancy whatsoever, no bend, that it’s straight path. Society, technology, the whole world around us can change but that values in His book will always remain sturdy. It does not matter what age we live in – what was considered wrong 1400 years ago in Islam has always been wrong and will always be wrong, and whatever was right will always be right no matter who may be offended by it. Allah tells us:
And say, “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.”
[18:29]
We as Muslims must speak the truth; whoever wishes can accept it and whoever wishes can reject it. The sad reality we live in now is that the further along the timeline we go, Muslims have moved further and further away from Allah’s book and the Sunnah to the point where now we have people hesitating to speak the truth about Islam in fear that it may offend others or that it makes them stick out. The reality is, true Muslims will always stick out, they will never seem normal.
Our prophet (ﷺ) said: “Indeed Islam began as something strange and it will return to being strange as it began. So congratulations to the strange ones.”[Tirmidhi]
The problem with us today is that we try to fit in with modern society no matters the cost. We want to be like the rest of the world, we don’t want to be seen as weird or out of place. By definition we are the religion of Ibrahim – his whole nation thought he was strange including his own family, he got kicked out his home and the people tried to burn him alive. Why was this? He had no power or wealth, the only thing he had was Islam and he did not want to bend it.
The only fear we should have as Muslims is the fear of Allah, not the fear of being rejected by people.
This is not to say we become harsh towards others in an attempt to show the truth – the prophet (ﷺ) taught us to always be soft with Islam. Allah says:
So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].
[3:159]
Let us be gentle with others and speak the truth for Allah’s deen is a perfectly straight path without deviancy.
May Allah make us of those who enjoin upon the true Islam and hold on to it through the pressure that modern society has placed upon it.
This word has been corrupted by the media and the “Muslim” extremists. Nowadays anytime the word “Sharia Law” is mentioned it causes fear or discomfort in many people, even Muslims. Let us look at what Allah has to say in the Qur’an in an Ayah which talks about the origin of our deen:
“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him].” [42:13]
At the start of the ayah Allah uses the word “shara’a” which the verb form of the noun “sharia”. In modern Arabic a street is called “sha’ri'” which is where the noun is derived from. The translation “ordained” does not do this justice as the religion was carved out just as a road is carved to form a path.
In old Arabic they used to say “shara’a al ibl” which means someone took a camel all the way to water. What’s interesting about this expression is that the word “shara’a” means that the camel drank on its own and was notforced. So it takes all the effort to find water for a camel in the desert but when the camel gets there it can’t be forced to drink – from this we get Sharia.
This means that we as Muslims put in the effort to call people to the Deen and spread what we can of the knowledge Allah has given us, but at the end of the day it is up to the listener to make the choice of whether to take on the calling or not, just as the camel makes the choice to drink or not.
Then Allah ends by saying that He will guide those who turn back to Him, who open their hearts to Him, therefore it is not in our hands to impose the religion on people or take over a country forcing the public to follow Islam as the media portrays. Our duty is merely to spread knowledge about Islam, the real Islam, the deen that Allah ordained upon our prophets.
The Qur’an and narrations of the prophet (ﷺ) give us an idea of the events that will occur on the day of resurrection. However, scholars have only attempted to put these events in specific order of occurrence, but we will go through them nevertheless.
After the first blowing of the horn by the angel Israfil, every single thing through the heavens and the earth will cease to exist, except that of which Allah wills.
“The horn is then blown a second time and every soul is brought back to life in a new creation.And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.” 39:68
Let us note that there will be no more passing away; after the resurrection there will be no more death.
“That is their recompense because they disbelieved in Our verses and said, ‘When we are bones and crumbled particles, will we [truly] be resurrected [in] a new creation?'” 17:98
“Does man think that We will not assemble his bones?
Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.” 75:3-4
The day of judgement itself is going to be 50,000 years of reckoning.
“The angels and the souls will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.” 70:4
A day that will be made easy for the believer; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “For the believers, the (length of) the Day of Resurrection will be like the time between Zuhr and ‘Asr.” [authenticated by al-Albaani]
And will be made extremely difficult for the disbeliever:
“True sovereignty, that Day, is for the Most Merciful. And it will be upon the disbelievers a difficult Day.” 25:26
That day there will be no water except for the pools provided with each of the prophets, the biggest of which will be Muhammad’s (ﷺ). This fountain requires an invitation of which is only for the believers who will be recognised by their glowing hands, foreheads and limbs from the effects of Wudu’. Once someone drinks from this pool, they will never be thirsty again.
On that day there will be one shade and that is the shade under the throne of Allah. The sun will be placed above the heads of the people; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the sun will draw near the servants until it is a mile or two away from them. Then the sun will burn them, and they will be submersed in sweat based upon the amount of their deeds.
From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their two heels. From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their two knees. From among them there will be those whose sweat will come up to their groins. From among them there will be those who will be bridled in sweat.” [Muslim]
This shade is for whoever Allah wishes, but there is a hadith for those who have their reserved place. The hadith mentions 7 of whom Allah will shade on that day which we will mention in a future post if Allah wills.
The following narration paints a picture of what happens after some time passes:
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: ‘Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord?’ So they will come to Adam and will say: ‘You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His hand He made His angels bow down to you and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with you Lord so that He may give us relief form this place where we are.’
And he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.’
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge, and he will feel ashamed and will say: ‘Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham)’.
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah’. So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]..’ – and he will mention the talking of a life other that for a life, and he will fell ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: ‘Go to Jesus, Allah’s servant and messenger, Allah’s word and spirit.’
So they will come to him and he will say: ‘I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (ﷺ), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future.’
So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself.
He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: ‘Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted.'” [Bukhari]
The judgement will then commence. Allah will bring the scales which will weigh one’s good and bad deeds which will decide one’s fate.
“And the weighing [of deeds] that Day will be the truth. So those whose scales [of good deeds] are heavy – it is they who will be the successful.
And those whose scales are light – they are the ones who will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses.” 7:8-9
This is the ultimate judgement by Allah, all will be done with absolute justice. Everything little thing we have done will be accounted for.
“Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom’s weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” 4:40
“That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds.
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.” 99:6-8
There will be types of people when it comes to the scale:
The people who will enter paradise without measure: these are the elite Muslims. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “From among my followers, a group of 70,000 will enter Paradise without being asked for their accounts, Their faces will be shining like the moon.” [Bukhari] In another he (ﷺ) mentions: “My Lord has promised me that seventy thousand of my Ummah will enter Paradise without being brought to account or punished. With every thousand there will be (another) seventy thousand, and three handfuls of my Lord.” [Tirmidhi]
The people who will have an easy reckoning. Aa’ishah said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the easy reckoning. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the easy reckoning?’ He said: ‘A man’s sins will be shown to him, then he will be pardoned for them…’ [authenticated by al-Albaani] What this means is that Allah will not question every small thing one did; it will be more like a general check. It is for the righteous Muslims who stayed away from major sins and spent their lives in obedience to Allah.
The people who will be examined thoroughly. Every small thing will be questioned; it is for those with weak Imane. This hisab will be a punishment in itself. There will be some Muslims that go through this tormenting check of their actions and Allah will forgive them – they would have paid their dues through this rigorous questioning by Allah, while for others it’ll be the beginning of further punishment.
When the Hisab is over, Allah will destroy all sources of light forming intense darkness and give each person their own noor (light). Some people will have this light – the brightness of which will be determined by their good actions – that will guide them as they walk to Jannah. Others will not see anything as each person will only be guided by their own light.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], “Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.” That is what is the great attainment.” 57:12
This light will guide these people towards the “Sirat” – the bridge to cross before getting to Jannah. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Somebody will then announce, ‘Let every nation follow what they used to worship.’ So the companions of the cross will go with their cross, and the idolators (will go) with their idols, and the companions of every god (false deities) (will go) with their god, till there remain those who used to worship Allah, both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, and some of the people of the Scripture. Then Hell will be presented to them as if it were a mirage.
Then it will be said to the Jews, What did you use to worship?’ They will reply, ‘We used to worship Ezra, the son of Allah.’ It will be said to them, ‘You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?’ They will reply, ‘We want You to provide us with water.’ Then it will be said to them ‘Drink,’ and they will fall down in Hell (instead).
Then it will be said to the Christians, ‘What did you use to worship?’ They will reply, ‘We used to worship Messiah, the son of Allah.’ It will be said, ‘You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What: do you want (now)?’ They will say, ‘We want You to provide us with water.’ It will be said to them, ‘Drink,’ and they will fall down in Hell (instead). When there remain only those who used to worship Allah (Alone), both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones…” [Bukhari]
As the Muslims left approach the area in which the Sirat will be placed, Allah will come to them. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, ‘I am your Lord,’ and they will say, ‘You are not our Lord.’
And none will speak: to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, ‘Do you know any sign by which you can recognise Him?’ They will say. ‘The Shin,’ and so Allah will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation.
These people will try to prostrate but their backs will be rigid like one piece of a wood (and they will not be able to prostrate).” [Bukhari]
The Sirat will then be placed over Hellfire through which every single Muslim will have to cross. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Then the bridge will be laid across Hell. We, the companions of the Prophet said, O Allah’s Apostle! What is the bridge?’ He said, It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (Hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends.
Such a thorny seed is found in Najd and is called As-Sa’dan. Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into Hell (Fire). The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge).” [Bukhari]
As with the Noor given in accordance to the deeds and imane one had in the world, the speed at which the sirat is crossed is in accordance with the same. If one makes it across there will be all the prophets of Allah waiting for their people.
However, before the gates of jannah there is one last stage; the prophet (ﷺ) said: “when the believers cross the Hellfire, they will be stopped at a small arched bridge (Qantarah) before entering paradise and will be given retribution for injustices between them until they become purified.
(Then) they will be permitted to enter Jannah. So, by the One in Whose Hands is my soul, they will know their way to their homes in Jannah, better than they know their ways to their homes in dunya.” [Bukhari]
This is for those who have transgressed between each other. Sins such as backbiting, slander, stealing etc. Here the people will have to forgive each other or choose to take from the other’s deeds. This is where we find who the prophet (ﷺ) mentioned as “bankrupt”.
He (ﷺ) said: “Do you know who is the bankrupt?” They said: “The bankrupt among us is one who has neither money with him nor any property”. He said, “The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum (fasting) and Sadaqah (charity), (but he will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds) because he reviled others, brought calumny against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hand).
If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire”. [Muslim]
The above is the worse case scenario; most of the people at this stage will be merely a readjustment of their level of Jannah because of such sins – let us take heed of this. The transgresser will be de-ranked while the transgressed against will be elevated.
Once these people are accounted for, the gates of Paradise will be presented. The people will be greeted by the Angels and the keepers of Paradise. Allah said:
“But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, “Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein,” [they will enter].” 39:73
This is an overall image of what will happen on Yawm Ul Qiyamah. Some extra details will be mentioned in future posts if Allah wills – they will be linked to other topics.
