480. Is reciting the Dua-E-Qunoot with the intention of invoking the wrath of God on someone allowed?

There are two reasons cited in the hadiths, for the revelation of this verse (3:128) of the Quran.

Prophet Muhammad was injured in the Uhad battle. This verse was revealed at a time when Prophet Muhammad cursed the people of the enemy side, by calling out ‘How can anyone, who smeared blood on the face of the messenger of God, win a battle’

(Book: Muslim 3667) 

This is the account given for the revelation of this verse in the hadith book Muslim. But in the hadith book Bukhari, t is mentioned as follows: 

When Prophet Muhammad in the the last rakat of his Fajar worship that particular day, after rising from benefaction (Ruku) invoked the wrath of the Almighty by uttering the words ‘Oh God! get rid of these two people from your blessings, to this the Almighty the ever Great, and the most dignified replied ‘Oh! Muhammad you do not have any say in awarding punishments to anyone, the Almighty may punish or forgive any one, because they are those who committed in justice.

(Book: Bukhari 7346) 

Thus there are two different opinions expressed regarding the revelation of this verse. 

Some are of the opinion this verse was revealed on both occasions. This cannot be accepted because If the verse had been revealed at both the occasions, it would find mention in the Quran in two places, because there are many verses in the Quran that convey the same message many times, but this verse is found only once in the Quran.

Hence there can be only one of the two reasons quoted,

There is a possibility this verse could have been revealed at the time when Prophet Muhammad was reciting the Dua-E-Qunoot invoking the wrath of the Almighty, on those who murdered his comrades. 

Or,

This verse would have been revealed at the time when the Prophet was injured in the battle of Uhad when he invoked the wrath of God on those who injured him.

When analyzing the occasion on which this verse would have been revealed, we can come to a conclusion for sure it could not have been the time when he recited the Dua-E-Qunoot.

Prophet Muhammad invoked the wrath of Allah against those who injured him. There is nothing much serious of a violation of Allah’s commandments here. But invoking the wrath of God to punish the perpetrators of injustice is something sanctioned by the Almighty. There is numerous evidence in the Quran.

Prophet Nooh made an invocation saying ‘ My Lord decimate all those who live in this world, who disbelieve in you. (Verse 71:26)

In this verse Prophet Nooh prayed against the perpetrators of injustice. From this we can understand that prophets praying against injustice is not uncommon.

Fear the invocation of victims of injustices, said Prophet Muhammad, there is no barrier between the victim’s prayer and the Almighty.(Bukhari 1496.) 

Hence it comes to be known there is no bar on people praying against injustice, and the only option left to the weak is to resort to the Almighty.

 Those days when there were very little people who had memorized the Quran the wholesome inhuman murder of 70 of his comrades by the Hypocrites shook Prophet Muhammad to a great extent and affected him badly. And it was this situation in which the prophet invoked the wrath of Allah on those who committed the heinous murder of 70 comrades. This was something sanctioned by the Almighty, and it is unacceptable that Allah could reveal a verse condemning the act of praying against injustices

And Allah tells Prophet Muhammad ‘You have no share in the power of punishing people.’ Here we do not see any interference in the powers of Allah, when he prayed for the destruction of those injured.         The question of interference in the power of the Almighty does not arise here. In fact praying to him is an act of confirming His supremacy over us. Hence this verse of the Quran could not have been revealed when the Prophet recited the Dua-E-Qunoot invoking the wrath of the Almighty on the perpetrators of the gruesome murder

On the contrary there are justifiable reasons to believe it could have been revealed at the time of Battle of Uhad. When Prophet Muhmmad was injured in this battle, the pain he suffered was grueling, at that time he uttered the words ‘How can a group that injured a messenger of God could win. He did not utter these words as a question to the Almighty in a prayer, but as an injured person who decided for himself that persons who injured a messenger of Allah could never win.

These words uttered by the prophet could lead to speculations, as to whether he possesses a power to destroy or punish people. Hence the words ‘How can those who smeared blood on me taste victory’ uttered by the prophet in a state of anguish and pain was reprimanded by Allah.

The tone of this verse seems to say ‘I can forgive those who injured you, and give them victory in this battle, it is my prerogative and I hold the power, you do not have a share in it’ is what the Almighty’s words seem to imply.

Moreover the verses of the Quran preceding this pertains to the ‘Battle of Uhad’ that add strength to the opinion the verses could have been revealed during the war. 

 Hence we declare the recording in the hadith book ‘Bukhari’ as unacceptable, and the one in the hadith book ‘Muslim’ as acceptable. 

479. Not to perform missed salah after the time limit is over, at a later time.

Verse (4:103) declares worship times are fixed (for the day with their limitations). . 

The five times worship of the Almighty has to be performed within the fixed timings set as per the movement of the sun, and not delay or postpone them. Some take for granted the timings of the five times worship, with lethargy postpone the performance of their worship as per their will, and name the worship as (Kalah) ‘missed salah’. This verse can be seen to point out this kind of performance of muslim worship (missing a particular time worship and fulfilling it at a later time) is wrong. 

When it is stipulated the timings of salah are fixed, it needs to be followed strictly. 

Though there is a stipulation that fasting needs to be observed in the month of Ramadan, there is an exception for the sick, and those in journey. But there is no exception in the case of ‘salah,’ and people who are not in position to offer their worship (salah) at that particular time cannot perform the same at a later time.

When a person is unable to stand up and offer worship, Islam does not require him to perform the same, only when he is able to stand up and, it requires him to carry out the salah in the fixed time in the manner allowed.

Islam commands people to perform ‘Dayammam’ in case one cannot perform ablution due to non-availability or scarcity of water and, it does not order people to stop the offering of salah till the availability of water. All these points point to the task of fulfilling salah at the appropriate timings.

Prophet Muhammad has said to make up the missed fasting days due to menstrual period, and not to compensate the missed salah.

There is permission to compensate the missed fasting days after the month of Ramadan is over, but it is not the case with missed salah, once the time limits for salah has lapsed there is no permission to carry out the missed worship. But the fasting days that are missed by a person while she is in her menstrual period can be compensated in her normal days, the salah that has been missed during these days due to the prohibition on them, cannot be compensated by carrying out the same in her normal days. Hence we come to understand, timing in salah is more important between it and fasting.

Prophet Muhammad has clearly indicated the beginning and end timings of each of the five times salah, hence we need to complete the salah within their stipulated timings.

If a person forgetfully skips salah he needs to offer the same as soon as he realizes it, or perform the salah immediately on waking up when he has overslept.

Prophet Muhammad said: Whoever has forgetfully skipped salah, let him offer it as soon as he realizes. And there is no remedy other than it.

Book : Bukhari 597. 

Prophet Muhammad said, whoever missed a salah let him offer the same immediately as soon as he realizes it.

Book: Muslim 1216

There are no reasons other than forgetfulness and sleep for one to excuse oneself from offering salah. 

At times of travel pairing of Luhar and Asar and Maghrib with Isha, can be offered on the basis of Jamvu provision in the Islamic law, with a tolerance of time limits. An exception is allowed here. 

Though not in a journey as a rare gesture an exception is allowed to offer the Luhar and Asar salah at a fixed time and Maghrib and Isha at a fixed time for those at home. (Bukhari 545) 

Other than this no salah is to be offered out of turn in case a certain time salah is missed, it is not to be offered as a compensatory one. To seek forgiveness from the Almighty is the only way out for having missed salah.

But there came after them successors who neglected worship and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil - 

Except those who repent, believe and do righteousness; for those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged at all. 

The Quran 19:59,60 

The Almighty talks about in this verse of the Quran about some people who are yet to come into this world, saying they will keep away from worshipping the Almighty. And says if their prayer for forgiveness is to be fruitful, they must repent and seek forgiveness from the Lord, here we see the Almighty does not ask them for the offering of the left out salah by those people.

Hence, except in the case of forgetfulness, sleep, and travel, those missing the obligatory worshipping should sincerely seek forgiveness from the Lord and make attempts to worship all the five times a day.

478. Breastfeeding is an obligatory duty.

In verse (2:233) of the Quran we see it stressing the importance of breastfeeding the newborn. Since there are a number of benefits for both the mother and the child, the Quran commands the child be breastfed for a minimum of two years of age of the baby. 

Scientists have confirmed this claim. 

Dr.Theresa Norad of the Imperial College at London undertook a study regarding this subject and found out, breastfeeding mothers had less chances of breast cancer and death due to breathing problems and blood circulation.

The religious commandment stressing the need for mothers to breast feed their new born, could be seen only in Islam. And there seems to be no other religious texts that make a mention of this.

But in this modern-day world babies are grown with feeding bottles, a bad precedent, because of the fear of the mothers losing their figure.

But a study conducted on breast feeding mothers declares, babies bottle fed are prone to illnesses because of loss of immunity, and the mothers who do not breast feed are subject to breast cancers and heart attacks. Hence to avoid breast cancers and heart attacks in women this study proves breastfeeding is a must as stressed in the Quran.

Researchers from England, after having conducted studies on 380000 women in nine countries of the European Union came to a conclusion that breastfeeding protects women from breast cancer and suggests at least six months of breastfeeding where 10% of deaths can be prevented and 17% of deaths due to stroke can be avoided.

In verse (2:233) of the Quran we see it stressing the importance of breastfeeding the newborn. Since there are a number of benefits for both the mother and the child, the Quran commands the child be breastfed for a minimum of two years of age of the baby. 

Scientists have confirmed this claim. 

Dr.Theresa Norad of the Imperial College at London undertook a study regarding this subject and found out, breastfeeding mothers had less chances of breast cancer and death due to breathing problems and blood circulation.

The religious commandment stressing the need for mothers to breast feed their new born, could be seen only in Islam. And there seems to be no other religious texts that make a mention of this.

But in this modern-day world babies are grown with feeding bottles, a bad precedent, because of the fear of the mothers losing their figure.

But a study conducted on breast feeding mothers declares, babies bottle fed are prone to illnesses because of loss of immunity, and the mothers who do not breast feed are subject to breast cancers and heart attacks. Hence to avoid breast cancers and heart attacks in women this study proves breastfeeding is a must as stressed in the Quran.

Researchers from England, after having conducted studies on 380000 women in nine countries of the European Union came to a conclusion that breastfeeding protects women from breast cancer and suggests at least six months of breastfeeding where 10% of deaths can be prevented and 17% of deaths due to stroke can be avoided.

In verse (2:233) of the Quran we see it stressing the importance of breastfeeding the newborn. Since there are a number of benefits for both the mother and the child, the Quran commands the child be breastfed for a minimum of two years of age of the baby. 

Scientists have confirmed this claim. 

Dr.Theresa Norad of the Imperial College at London undertook a study regarding this subject and found out, breastfeeding mothers had less chances of breast cancer and death due to breathing problems and blood circulation.

The religious commandment stressing the need for mothers to breast feed their new born, could be seen only in Islam. And there seems to be no other religious texts that make a mention of this.

But in this modern-day world babies are grown with feeding bottles, a bad precedent, because of the fear of the mothers losing their figure.

But a study conducted on breast feeding mothers declares, babies bottle fed are prone to illnesses because of loss of immunity, and the mothers who do not breast feed are subject to breast cancers and heart attacks. Hence to avoid breast cancers and heart attacks in women this study proves breastfeeding is a must as stressed in the Quran.

Researchers from England, after having conducted studies on 380000 women in nine countries of the European Union came to a conclusion that breastfeeding protects women from breast cancer and suggests at least six months of breastfeeding where 10% of deaths can be prevented and 17% of deaths due to stroke can be avoided.

477. A great solution for depression.

Verse (13:28) of the Quran says, minds become peaceful with the remembrance of the Almighty. An American research declares people with belief in God experience less of depression than those bereft of it.

This study was conducted by a psychiatrist Davil Rosmarin of the McLean Hospital on one hundred and fifty people, regarding belief in God, expectation of being cured and undergoing a simple treatment. It was found out, people with belief in God were less prone to depression than disbelievers.

People who did not have an iota of belief in God did not experience any change in the intensity of their depression.

Rosmarin declared, those who believed in God had a hope they would be relieved of their depression some way or the other with the help of God. This is the most significant part of the findings, and he hoped this finding would be of much help to the world of medicine in the coming days.

Today mental depression stands to be the most suffered phenomena in the world with 75% of the population affected by it as per the statistics provided. And more than 90% of the suicides committed in this world are due to depression underwent by them shows a study.

If a person believes in God the way he should, there is absolutely no necessity to resort to suicide. This research confirms the faith of Islam being instrumental in avoiding suicide.

476. How far can a man be trusted?

In verse (2:282) of the Quran Allah says to get in writing when money is given as loan to others.

Most of the people get cheated by others because of their enormous faith in others. But Islam never says to repose faith 100% on anyone.

We can repose faith in a person after observing his out manifestations to an extent, but trusting someone on financial transactions needs to be done with more care. This is the guidance of Islam in matters of financial transactions. 

It tells us to have trust in someone inwardly, and behave outwardly like the other person cannot be trusted.

Quran’s command to get in writing, when lending money to others needs to be viewed on these lines of thinking.

There are those who question the lender if he does not trust them. The Quran gives guidance regarding the reply that may be given, without hurting their feelings, by saying the requirement in writing is the commandment of the Almighty and not due to the distrust of the borrower.

When writing own a document is not possible due to various circumstances an object can be obtained from the borrower in lien.

Prophet Muhammad has given a number of guidances taking an object in lien of the money that is being given as loan. If the requirement of obtaining a lien was there is no question of trusting anyone 100% in financial transactions.

When Prophet Muhammad borrowed, from a jew he deposited his safety helmet in lien of what he borrowed and did not question the lender whether he distrusted him.

Prophet Muhammad has preached when a person argues about the ownership of a particular property as belonging to him should submit evidence regarding, the same. From this we understand that in order not to be cheated by any one we need to prepare proofs for things we own. 

Islam guides us to write down the agreements entered into between two or more parties and not be carried away by verbal promises only to be cheated later. 

Similarly, Islam says to create witnesses for various transactions that takes place between people. If the stance of Islam was to repose total belief in persons completely, there is no need for creating witnesses when transactions of different types take place. Islam also says for the same reason to enquire completely about people. 

If the world follows the advises in Islam, there will be no incidences of people being cheated around.

I trusted him because he was a regular worshiper, I trusted him because he was wearing a long beard, I trusted him because he was a committed monotheist, I trusted him because he was the owner of a lot of properties but still, he has cheated me. The reason for the list of cheated people growing bigger and bigger is because the advice of the Quran has been thrown to the winds. And people need to be vigilant in dealing with all kinds of transactions as per the guidance in the Quran.

475. Fasting is good.

We are aware fasting is an obligatory duty of every Muslim. Verse (2:184) of the Quran says “Fasting is better for you” 

Fasting is not only an obligatory duty spiritually, but also a better exercise, says the world of medicine. The world of medicine confirms the phrase ‘you can realize it is good for you’.

To eat only when hungry is considered to be a good practice, that keeps one healthy. Most people consider staying hungry weakens the body. 

Though this belief is common and considered normal, it does not fit the rules when fasting is considered. This has been discovered by the scientists. 

Let’s get down to the details;

 When we eat food, the body takes the required energy from what we consume. The body stores the glucose thus consumed in the liver and the tissues of the body. The nutrients thus stored are utilized by the body when energy is required by the body till the next meal is taken in. A single meal taken by a person lasts for eight hours at a stretch to keep him healthy and strong. 

And if a person continues to remain without taking in any food even after the eight-hour period, the food stored in the form of fats breaks down into carbohydrates that are much simpler nutrients to be absorbed by the body. This is more beneficial to the body. 

And if the person continues not to take food even after the stored fats in the body is utilized, the proteins stored by the body is utilized, this leads to a dangerous situation where the person becomes tired and starts losing weight and becomes lean.The fasting stipulated for Muslims does not lead people to such a situation.

The fasting in Muslims is confined only to the second stage mentioned above (where utilization of stored glucose takes place), within a period of a whole day but lasting more than eight hours.

When bad cholesterol is broken down and reduced to carbohydrates and utilized by the body it results in the reduction of body weight, as well the tissues of the body being protected, with blood pressure and sugar level in blood being controlled, and when the fats are broken down the harmful wastes in the body are got rid of in the process. It has been discovered by scientists from the Oxford University in the US,

Within a few days after the start of the Ramadan fasting, the level of Endorphin in the blood level is seen to increase. Endorphin is a feel-good chemical from the nervous system to cope up with pain or stress.

(A study carried out by scientists in the USA found that the mental focus achieved during Ramadan increases the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which causes the body to produce more brain cells, thus improving brain function.) 

(Likewise, a distinct reduction in the amount of the hormone cortisol, produced by the adrenal gland means that stress levels are greatly reduced both during and after Ramadan ) 

(A team of cardiologists in the UAE found that people observing Ramadan enjoy a positive effect on their lipid profile, which means there is a reduction of cholesterol in the blood) 

Not only does the bad cholesterol level decreases during fasting, there is an increase in the level of good cholesterol due to spiritual thinking, and the working of the heart is regularized and smooth due to which heart diseases are reduced, the blood flow becomes normal regular, reducing the occurrence of strokes, heart diseases, and paralytic attacks. If the diet plan is followed even after Ramadan the chances of maintaining normal cholesterol level is more is what the scientists declared.

The research team at The National Institute on Ageing, has found out fasting for one or two days in a week can lead to longer life days, and can prevent old-age ailments like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson’s disease etc.

And it is also declared by this team, that by reduction of calories in-take, the chemical messengers in the brain are rejuvenated and activated.

The Daily Telegraph says:

Maintaining a lifestyle with strict control over calories in-take can increase the lifetime of humans has been declared after lab trials on rats. Though this remained a speculation in the scientific world in humans, it has now been confirmed after having conducted trials in humans.

A neurosciences research team head Professor Mark Matson.

 Mark P. Mattson is a Professor of Neuroscience atJohns Hopkins University. He is the former Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program of theNational Institute on Aging.

Mattson has done research onintermittent fasting.The National Institute of Health considers him "one of the world’s top experts on the potential cognitive and physical health benefits of intermittent fasting".He is author of the book "The Intermittent Fasting Revolution: The Science of Optimizing Health and Enhancing Performance".

says: One can help his brain by reduction in his in-take of calories and can prevent many diseases to the brain. But continuous fasting leaves a person bereft of these benefits.

And by intermittent fasting one can derive all these benefits he says.

These research findings confirm the fasting undertaken by the Muslims alone.

The aspects brought to light by this research cannot be found in fasting undertaken by people of other faiths. Fasting by people of other faiths is not for a longer duration of the day and the people keep away only from solid food. Only solid food is kept away, and liquid food is consumed during their fast, fufilling their required calories. There are certain types of fasts carried on by people of some faiths where only cooked food is restricted while they are allowed to take uncooked fruits and vegetables. Due to these restrictions the benefits found in this research of Mark Matson cannot be derived in the case of the above cited type of fasts undertaken by people of other faiths. There are other types of fasts where only non-vegetarian foods are restricted thus denying themselves the benefits that are to be derived from the findings of this research.

In fasts undertaken by Muslims no kind of food is taken in by people whether it be vegetarian or non –vegetarian or liquid or solid, and moreover it lasts for a period of not less than 14 hours a day is the reason the benefits mentioned in this research are derived.

Making the act of fasting a religious duty, and the saying in the Quran ‘it is good for you, you will realize’ point out the Quran is the word of God. 

474. The intelligence in honeybees in finding their way back.

Verse (16:68) of the Quran says, the Almighty created an intuition within the honey bee to traverse their path with ease.

Scientists recently have discovered the honey bees excel in their knowledge of their routes they fly about.

The following is the report of the study about bees under taken by the biology scientists at the Holloway University in Britain:

The bees travel long distances looking out for home, they make use of a lot of shortcuts in their flight paths. We observed the bees with the help of artificial flowers in a computer study and found them using shortcuts to fly to different flowers in search of nectar. 

These shortcuts used by the bees looking out for nectar were far better than the computerized charts spilled out for sales representatives. Thus proving the intelligence of bees being far higher than that of the computers, is declared by the scientists.

The fact the bees have an intelligence to find their way in a maze of plants, as declared by the Quran, proves it is the word of God.

Finding out shortcuts need not necessarily mean an easy way being discovered, but it has to be the correct one.

If the bee can sense the exact availability of nectar among the flowers and fruits can their flight be considered as less arduous, and not going about sensing each and every flower only to return disappointed when they do not find the required nectar in some, rendering the flight useless.

And scientists have discovered lately the sensing power of the bees to be very precise.

Professor Nikolov Keceik of the Department of Agriculture of the Zagreb University undertook a study to make use of the sensing power of the bees to pinpoint the location of landmines left over as a legacy of the war between Croatia and Serbia.

He initially discovered the bees had the power to sense the presence of nectar in flowers and fruits at long distances. 

The bees were at first made to be accustomed to the smell of TNT (used in the land mines) laced with nectar. Later the bees, thus accustomed to the smell of TNT were trained in such a way they considered TNT is part of nectar.

After having trained the bees in such a manner. A set of nectar laced with TNT and another set without it was placed close to the hive. The bees chose to land on the set laced with TNT.

And then a set of nectar fully covered with the TNT only in its center and not on its outer sides was placed, the bees again chose to land on the set with TNT on its center.

Normally bees do not not go in search of the smell of explosives, but when trained on these kinds of material, get used to it.

And the bees thus trained could be used to identify the mines under the surface when they land on the locations, the mines buried can be deftly removed as the result of the research.

Professor Nikolov while talking about this research said ‘We believe this research will help us to a great extent in identifying landmines buried under the surface of the earth by making use of the bees and the infrared rays to monitor their activities. If this research becomes scientifically proven it can be used to remove dangerous landmines with the help of bees and monitoring them with the help of infrared rays. 

Though the feasibility of identifying land mines with the help of dogs and rats exists, the weight of these animals risks an explosion at the site, the bees do not pose such a risk, and he says the research involving bees to identify landmines has been carried out in the United States. 

Today there are various researches being carried out, regarding this subject, but fourteen centuries ago the Quran revealing the special characteristics of the honey bees only known to the Almighty proves it is the word of God.

473. Was the act of breaking idols justified?

The verses (21:57, 21:58, 37:93) of the Quran reveal the idols that were considered gods were broken by Prophet Ibrahim. Is the breaking of the idols justified? Does it allow the thinking to break idols ourselves? A doubt arises in us.

We should first know the place of idols and places of worship of others in Islam.

We find verse 6:108 of the Quan saying not to be abusive about what others worship. Please refer to point No; 170 of this compilation. 

Similarly, verse 22:40 of the Quran says that no one should not damage the place of worship of others. This has been clearly explained in point no;433 of this compilation. The reason for this is also given in this verse. The reason is if idols considered as gods of other people are abused, they counter abuse Whom we worship, and if a place of worship is damaged others will react in the same way, and damage our places of worship.

If we damage the places of worship of others the consequences will be as stated above. 

Now the question is could Prophet Ibrahim damage the idols that were placed inside the Kaaba?

We need to understand without any doubt, the act committed by Prophet Ibrahim is not against this verse. 

When there is only one community living in a city or state, and when they keep following a particular religion, one among them is dissatisfied with the way of worship being carried on, it is natural he expresses his anger by damaging the community place of worship. When all these incidents take place within a community there is no chance for an intercommunity clash taking place. Because there was no other community place of worship involved in this case, and there is no case of another community involved and neither was the act done on behalf of another community. People accepted the act of Prophet Ibrahim merely by construing he let himself free of the faith of those idols.

This was the position of Prophet Ibrahim.

Prophet Ibrahim was born to an idol worshipper by the name of Azar. There was no other religion at that period of time nor was the act of damaging the idols carried out on behalf of any other religion. He expressed his anger about his dislike for his family’s worship of deities and damaged them, and he was prepared for the consequences arising out of it.

We need to consider this like, when a whole locality converts over to another religion, the place of worship of the previous religion gets broken down. 

There is a difference between a group of people from elsewhere coming to demolish a place of worship, and an individual from the same locality breaking it down. 

To know more about this subject please refer to explanation points 170, 143, 464 of this compilation.