Name

Q.   What is Al-lah innate name?

  His innate name is Al-lah. This is known as ISMUZ-ZAT.

Q.   What do we call the other names of Al-lah, such as Khaliq and Raz-zaq, etc.?

  His names other than Al-lah are known as Attributive Names ‘Asma’us-sifat’.

Q.   What does the term Attributive Name mean?

  There are various Attributes of Al-lah. For example,

His being Eternal (Qadim) i.e. being there from eternity to eternity;

His being Omniscient or knower of all things (‘Alim);

His being Omnipotent i.e. all-powerful (Qadir);

His being Eternally alive (Hai).

Such names, because they indicate the Attributes, are known as Attributive Names. 
For example, there is a person whose name is Jamil. This is his proper and personal name for all people to recognize him by. There is no reference in it to any one of his qualities. But he has also acquired knowledge. He knows how to write and has also acquired knowledge. He knows how to write and has also learnt the Holy Qur-an by heart. Because of these qualities he is also known as ‘Alim (scholar), Munshi (expert in writing) and Hafidh (one who has learnt the Holy Qur-an by heart). These names refer to his quality of knowledge; skill in writing and of memorizing the Holy Qur-an. Similarly, Al-lah is the proper name of God, while Qadir (Omnipotent), ‘Alim (Omniscient), Malik (Lord), etc., are His attributive names.

 Q.   The proper name of God is one, i.e. Al-lah. How many attributive names has He?

  Al-lah has observed in the Holy Qur-an:

WA-LIL-LAHIL-ASMA’UL-HUSNA FAD’UHU BIHA

(Al-lah has many good names, call Him by them.)

The Hadith says:

IN NA LIL-LAHI T’ALA TIS’ATU(N)W-WA TIS’INA ISMAM-MI’ATAN IL-LA WAHIDAN

(Verily, Al-lah has ninety-nine i.e. one short of a hundred names.)

Eid ul-Adha

Eid ul-Adha عيد الأضحى‎  is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of ʾIbrāhīm (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismā'īl (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead.

 

FASTING – AS A COMMANDED ACT

FASTING – AS A COMMANDED ACT

Q.   What is fasting?

  Fasting means willing abstention from eating, drinking and satisfaction of certain demands of the flesh from predawn to sunset. Arabic equivalents for fasting are Saum and Siyam. The breaking of the fast is known as Iftar.

Q.   Fasting is of how many types?

  It could be of the following eight types:

             i.     Fard Mu’ay-yan (command with stipulation of time);

           ii.     Fard Ghair Mu’ay-yan (command without stipulation of time);

         iii.     Wajib Mu’ay-yan (ordained with stipulation of time);

          iv.     Wajib Ghair Mu’ay-yan (ordained without stipulation of time);

            v.     Masnun (the Prophet’s precept);

          vi.     Nafl (supererogatory);

        vii.     Makruh (undesirable);

      viii.     Haram (forbidden).

Q.   Which fasts fall under the category of commanded with stipulation of time?

  One month’s fasting in a year during Ramadhan is command with stipulation of time.

Q.   Which fasts are commanded without the stipulation of time?

  If a person has missed fasrs in Ramadhan for some valid excuse or otherwise, keeping these fasts at some later date is a command without the stipulation of time.

Q.   Which fasts are ordained with the stipulation of time?

  Taking a vow to fast on some appointed day or date makes fasting on that particular day or date ordained with the stipulation of time. One such case could be of a person who has taken a vow to fast to please Al-lah, say on the first of Rajab should he get through the examination for which he is to appear.

Q.   Which fasts are ordained without the stipulation of time?

  Fasts for expiation and those to keep a vow without the stipulation of any day or date are fasts without the stipulation of time. An example of it could be of a person who has taken a vow to be on fast for three days should he stand first in the examination.

Q.   Which fasts are the Prophet‘s (peace be on him) precept?

  There are no emphasized precepts of the Prophet (peace be on him) for fasts. But the fasts that have been kept by the Prophet (peace be on him) or we have been exhorted to by him to keep them are known as Masnun fasts. These are:

             i.     Fasts on the 9^th and 10^th of the month of Muhar-ram. These are also known as ‘Ashurah fasts, because ‘Ashurah is the name given to the 10^th  of     Muhar-ram;

           ii.     A fast on ‘Arfah (the 9^th of Zul-Hij-jah) and

         iii.     Fasts on Ay-yam-ul-Abyad (brighter days i.e., the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th of every month from the lunar Hijrah calendar).

Q.   Which fasts are supererogatory (Nafl)?

  All fasts other than those falling under the category of commanded or ordained and the fasts that are the Prophet’s (peace be on him) precept are classed as supererogatory. Some of these hold the promise of bountiful reward. They are:

             i.     Fasts on six days of Shaw-wal;

           ii.     Fast on 15^th of Shaban;

         iii.     Fasts on Fridays;

          iv.     Fasts on Mondays;

            v.     Fasts on Thursdays.

Q.   Which fasts are undesirable?

  The following fasts are undesirable:

             i.     Fasts on Saturday only;

           ii.     Fasts on ‘Ashurahs (the 10^th of Muhar-ram) only;

         iii.     Fasts on the Nauroz (a festival of Persians);

          iv.     Nafl fasts by a housewife without the permission of her husband.

Q.   Which fasts are forbidden?

  Fasting is forbidden on the following five days of the year:

             i.     The two ‘Id days, namely ‘Id-ul-Fitr and ‘Id –ul-Adha;

           ii.     The three days of Tashriq, namely the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th of Zul-Hij-jah.