Dought & clear, - Is it valid to pray behind one who makes grammatical mistakes whenhe recites Qur’aan?

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1- The imam of the mosque where I pray makes mistakes in reciting al-Faatihah, switching the vowels which leads to changing the meaning of the verses. Is it valid to pray behind him?
2- In the mosque there are reprehensible bid’ahs such as repeating Ya Lateef one hundred times in unison.
Praise be to Allaah.
If a person who is leading the prayer or praying behind an imam makes mistakes in the recitation of al-Faatihah in such a way that he changes the meaning of the verses, then his prayer is invalid, because al-Faatihah is one of the pillars or essential parts of the prayer, so he must recite it correctly and learn to recite al-Faatihah properly, unless he is unable to do so, after trying hard, for Allaah does not burden any person beyond his scope. But if he is an imam, no one should pray behind him except those who are like him or less able than him to recite al-Faatihah properly.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is makrooh for one who makes grammatical mistakes when reciting the Qur’aan to lead the prayer, but it is subject to further discussion. If he makes mistakes that do not change the meaning, such as using incorrect vowels in the phrase al-hamdu Lillaah, then his prayer is valid as is the prayer of those who follow him. But if it does change the meaning, such as saying an’amtu (first person) instead of an’amta (second person) ‘alayhim, then his prayer is invalid. If he is able to learn how to pronounce it properly, then he must do so, but if he is unable to do so and there is not enough time, he should pray and make it up later on, but it is not permissible to follow him (in prayer).
But if he is not able to learn or he has not had enough time to learn, if that is in al-Faatihah then the prayer of others like him that is offered behind him is valid, but if people who can pronounce it properly pray behind him, it is like the prayer of a literate person offered behind an illiterate person (i.e., the prayer is not valid). If it is in something other than al-Faatihah then his prayer is valid, as is the prayer of those who pray behind him. End quote fromRawdat al-Taalibeen(1/350).
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “If an illiterate man leads another illiterate man and a literate man in prayer, the literate man has to repeat his prayer” – the illiterate man is one who cannot recite al-Faatihah or part of it properly, or he mispronounces one letter of it, even if he recites the rest of it well. It is not permissible for one who can recite it well to be led by him in prayer, but it is permissible for others like him to be led by him.
Then he said: Whoever omits one of the letters of al-Faatihah because he is unable to pronounce it, or he substitutes another letter for it, such as the person with a speech defect who substitutes ghayn for ra’, or who contracts one letter into another, or who recites with grammatical mistakes that alter the meaning, like the one who uses the wrong vowel in the wordiyaakaand saysiyyaakiinstead, or saysan’amtuinstead ofan’amta, and cannot correct it – such a one is like an illiterate person, and it is not permissible for a literate person to be led by him in prayer, but it is permissible for any of them to lead another like him in prayer, because they are both illiterate, so it is permissible for one of them to be led by the other, like two who do not do a thing well. But if he is able to correct any of that but he does not do so, then his prayer is not valid and neither is the prayer of one who is led by him.
He also said: It is makrooh for one who makes grammatical mistakes when reciting but does not alter the meaning to lead the prayer. This was stated by Ahmad, but it is valid for him to lead one who does not make mistakes when reciting, because he has fulfilled the obligation of reciting. If he alters the meaning in something other than al-Faatihah that does not mean that his prayer is not valid and that he should not lead others in prayer, unless he does it deliberately, in which case the prayer of both is invalidated.
If his mistakes do not change the meaning of the verses, then it is permissible to pray behind him, but it is obligatory to teach him how to recite properly. If his mistake is in something other than al-Faatihah, it detracts from his prayer but does not invalidate it, but it is undoubtedly better to pray behind one who recites properly, and it is not permissible for those in authority to appoint such ignorant people to lead the people in prayer otherwise they will have a share of the sin with them. See:al-Mughni(3/29-32)
The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
… But if he makes mistakes, if his error is grammatical but does not alter the meaning, then it is better to pray behind someone who does not make grammatical mistakes if that is possible. But if his grammatical mistakes in recitation al-Faatihah alter the meaning, then prayer offered behind him is invalid. That is because of his mistakes, such as sayingiyaaki na’buduinstead ofiyaaka na’buduor sayingan’amtu ‘alayhiminstead ofan’amta ‘alayhimetc. If he makes mistakes because he has not memorized it properly, then someone else who has memorized it better is more entitled to lead the prayer than him.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta’(2/527)
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
There is an imam who makes grammatical mistakes when he recites the Qur’aan, and sometimes he adds to or takes away letters in the Qur’aanic verses. What is the ruling on praying behind him?
He replied:
If his mistakes do not alter the meaning, there is nothing wrong with praying behind him, such as if he saysRabbaorRabbuinstead ofRabbiin the phraseal-hamdu Lillaahi Rabbi l-‘aalameen; or if he saysal-Rahmaanuinstead ofal-Rahmaanietc. But if he his mistakes changes the meaning, then people should not pray behind him if he does not benefit from prompting, such as if he says iyaaki na’buduinstead ofiyaaka na’buduor sayingan’amtu ‘alayhiminstead ofan’amta ‘alayhim. But if he accepts being taught and corrects his recitation when corrected, then it is valid to pray behind him. What is prescribed in all cases is for the Muslim to teach his brother both in prayer and otherwise, because the Muslim is the brother of his fellow-Muslim and he guides him if he makes a mistake and teaches him if he is ignorant and corrects him if he makes a mistake when reciting the Qur’aan.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz(12/98,99)
Secondly:
With regard to repeating Ya Lateef one hundred times, undoubtedly this is a bid’ah (innovation) if a Muslim says it by itself, because it is a phrase that makes no sense – it is a call to Allaah but what comes after it? Is he asking his Lord for anything? Does he want to praise Him after that? That is not so. And if it is recited in unison that is another bid’ah.
And Allaah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - Eating ‘Ashoora’ food and spending extra because of someone’s birthday

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Is eating ‘ashoura at the day of ‘ashoura (tenth of Muharram) considered bid’a? Is it permissible to eat this sweet a day before or after the tenth of Muharram?
What is the ruling on spending extra during my birthday, by buying fruits and sweets, with no celebration held for this occasion?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If this food is some of the Shi’ah food that they make on ‘Ashoora’ along with the cheek-slapping and hitting themselves that they do, then it is a reprehensible innovation that the Muslim must keep away from and not participate in it. We have quoted the fatwa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) in the answer to question no. 102885. But if this food is not accompanied by those things and the aim is just to treat oneself and one’s family, then there is nothing wrong with that and it is not described as a bid’ah (innovation).
Many scholars have stated that one should treat oneself and one’s family on the day of ‘Ashoora’, and several ahaadeeth have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning that, but they are all da’eef (weak) and are not saheeh (sound).
Secondly:
Celebrating birthdays is a reprehensible innovation.
Eating food treats on that day and bringing sweets and fruits is a kind of celebration and veneration of that day, and should not be done.

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Dought & clear, - He fell in love with a girland has a relationship with her and wants to celebrate it

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I have a romantic relationship with a girl who I love very much and I hope to marry her soon, if Allah wills. My question is: On a certain day, which is the 15th of the blessed month of Ramadan every year, we call this day the day of joy and love. Can we celebrate this day as a happy occasion and regard it as a blessed day? Can we ask those whom we invite to the party to pray to Allah to bring us together in goodness and happiness?.
Praise be to Allaah.
You are asking about the ruling on your celebrating this occasion; why did you not ask about the ruling on your “romantic” relationship with a girl who is a non-mahram to you?!
This is what is basically wrong in your situation, this haraam relationship with a girl who is a non-mahram to you. Your relationship with her will remain haraam unless she becomes your wife. So it is not permissible for you to be alone with her, or to spend time with her, or to look at her, or to enjoy talking to her, because she is a non-mahram to you. Fear Allah with regard to yourself and your religious commitment; do not betray yourself on the basis of illusions of joy and blessing!
What joy, what blessings can there be when you and this girl are disobeying Allah?!
See the answer to questions number 47405and 59907, as well as the section on relationships between the sexes on this website, in which you will find a lot of answers about that.
Once you know that this romantic relationship with a girl who is a non-mahram is a relationship which is haraam from the outset, then everything that is based on falsehood is also falsehood.
We would go further and say: If the love relationship that you are speaking about was with a permissible wife, then celebrating this day that you are asking about would be reprehensible innovation. We have no Eids except Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and our weekly ‘Eid, which is Jumu‘ah.
Keep yourself busy, instead of celebrating love, by hastening to get married, if you are in love with her and she is suitable to be a Muslim wife to you who will adhere to the commands of Allah with you.
We ask Allah to keep us and you safe from temptation, both apparent and hidden.
And Allah knows best.

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For children, - 10-90 Rule or Attitude

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How much do you see of an Iceberg?
Only 10% of any Iceberg is visible. The remaining 90% is below the sea level.
The Iceberg phenomenon is also applicable to we human beings ...
Do you know how?
Only 10% is what happens around us and 90% is how we react or respond to what happens and that's our Attitude.
Similarly, only 10% is our knowledge and skills. And remaining 90% is our Attitude.
In other words, our Attitude (values, standards, judgments, motives, ethics and beliefs) impact our Behavior. Hence, our life is a reflection of our attitudes.
Let each letter of the alphabetic has a value equals to it sequence of the alphabetical order:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
0102030405060708091011121314151617181920212223242526
SKILLSTotal
191109121219=82%
KNOWLEDGETotal
111415231205040705=96%
HARDWORKTotal
0801180423151811=98%
But:
ATTITUDETotal
0120200920210405=100%
Then, look how far the love of God will take you?
LOVEOFGODTotal
1215220515060715O4=101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Skills, Knowledge and Hard Work will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, It's the Love of Godthat will put you over the top!
Note:A positive attitude is like a magnet for positive results. Positive attitudes create a chain reaction of positive thoughts. It's your attitude and not your aptitude that determines your altitude.
Holy month of Ramadhan is best to practice and follow the above laws, because the Holy month of Ramadhan is a month of becoming Abdullah [an obedient servant of Allah (SWT)]. It is a month of adopting the etiquette of Allah (SWT) in the language of tradition or adopting the divine color in the language of the Noble Qur'an: "(We take our) color from Allah, and who is better than Allah at coloring. We are His worshippers". (Noble Qur'an 2:138) And the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is reported to have said: "Adopt the etiquette of Allah (SWT)."

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Fathwa, - Overwhelmed by family problems

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Question
My father & my mother in-law are brother & sister. My mother died in 1981. My father married my mother stepsister who is 1/3 of my father age. My mother in-law & father is living very near. My father has two sons from second marriage. His elder son is 15, the other is 12. I have 5 brothers in-law. My husband is eldest son of his family. My father in-law died when my husband was only 15. There is a very big land in front of my father's house. Two and ½ portions are my in-law's land, ½ is a other person's and 1 portion is for my father. This land is used in dry reason for harvesting paddy; in rainy reason it used as fishing pond. My father agreed with my in-laws that they can use it in rainy days for fisheries. They are getting a good amount by selling fishes which my father cannot tolerate; as a result he insist that I tell my in-laws to vacate that land, or sell that land to my father. If I sell that land it will make a good quarrel between them. I did not do so as a result my father )please Allah forgive me( tells lies that my husband with his brother tryed to kick him off that land and many other lies which make my life totally miserable. For last one year I am suffering from these problems )blame and frustration(. All my brothers and sisters have cut their relationship; my father is very unhappy and doesn't talk to me. I am very afraid! Did my father curse me, my children, my husband? Is Allah unhappy because I am not helping my father? These question are making my mind confused; as a result sometime I cannot concentrate on prayers )Talawatay Qu'ran Pak.( Whenever I get time I offer lots of du'aa' recite, Qur'an Sharif but still feel upset, helpless, and guilty.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
You are asked to help your father and your husband in the permissible limits of the Sahri'ah. If one of them is a transgressor then you should exhort him and try to keep him away from injustice as the Prophet taught us; he said: "Help your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed person. A companion asked; Messenger of Allah )it is true( I will help him if he is an oppressed person, but please tell me how I am to help him if he happens to be an oppressor. The Prophet said: "Check him from doing injustice. Because preventing him from committing aggression is a help to him". ]Bukhari[.
Try your best to be a good mediator between them because both of them have their rights on you. You are not obliged to force any of them to give up his rights. Moreover, it may be out of your ability. You should be patient and tolerate the disturbance you are facing from your father. Try your best to be in good terms with your father and to please him. Do not cut off your relations with him or with your family members. Put a trustworthy mediator to solve this problem if possible. If you do so, you will fulfill what is, in fact, your responsibility. Allah does not impose a burden greater than one can bear.
Believe that all the good Islamic acts you are performing such as prayers, supplications, recitation of the Qur'an and invocations etc. are good deeds. We appreciate you for this and advise you to keep on doing them.
Do not be concerned about these problems, believe that all matters are in the Hand of Allah. He alone can drive them away and, no doubt, soon He will relieve you from those problems.
Allah knows best.

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Fathwa, - Wife's visitation rights to her parents

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Question
What is the ruling on the girl's visitation rights to her parent's house after marriage? Husband does not like her to visit her parents because of past family problems. Should the girl ignore her husband's wishes and go against him in this matter. The girl fears that parents are not happy because she has not visited them in a year. And they )parents( don't want to have any contact with the girl because of this situation. Who should the girl be more obligated to listen: her husband or her parents )her husband is not against having other forms of contact like telephone, letters …(.
I know in Islam one should not make one's parents unhappy by their actions. I don't understand what I did wrong, when I am going by my husband's wishes. Similar issues have happened in the past and the girl respected and followed her parents wishes, but this created a lot of tension between the two families. I know I am supposed to act as a diplomat between the two families but it seems like this will never work. For every time someone or the other is not happy, and the girl seems to blame herself for it happening. This situation is stressful for the girl. She wants to keep both sides of the family happy, but she does not know how. Please help, by giving me the correct advice..
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
This girl should be very careful and tactful in dealing with her problem. She should be patient and wise and try to settle the problem between her family and her husband. She should seek the Help of Allah in reconciling their hearts on the truth. She should also try to remind them of the kinship that exists between and warn them of breaking off these ties. She could seek the help of one of her pious relatives.
Remind the husband of the rights of the parents. In fact, the child must obey his parents. Allah has linked their obedience to His Worship, their rights to His. So, it is a great matter. Allah Says )interpretation of meaning(: }Worship Allâh and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents,{ ]4:36[. Allah also Says )interpretation of meaning(: }And We have enjoined on man )to be dutiful and good( to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.{]31:14[.
Allah forbids disobeying one's parents. Indeed, breaking ties with them is among the worst disobediences one can do to them.
On the other hand, the scholars state that the husband has no right to prevent his wife from visiting her parents as long as there is no fear for her religion or her behaviour or her honour.
We hope that if this girl does what we have described to her she would solve her problem, mend what has been dismantled and live a peaceful life, Insha Allah.
But if her husband insists on preventing her from visiting her parents, then she should not go without his permission, as doing so might lead to greater harms for her and her home.
If this husband does not have any sound legal reason to prevent his wife from visiting her parents, then he would commit a sin, as he will be the cause for her disobeying her parents.
But if there is a reason acceptable by the Sharia, like her parents are dissolute and he fears for his wife to go astray, then his preventing her from visiting them is the right thing to do and she must abide by his orders.
Allah knows best.

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Fathwa, - Family relations broken by sister's fabricated story

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Question
What does Islam say about a sister who damaged the relationship between the son who is 36 years old and his entire family by fabricating a story about the lady he is marrying and hence the son's mother disowned him?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Having good relations with relatives in general and with blood relatives in particular is a great obligation on every Muslim. This fact is established in many texts of Shariah. No doubt, whoever tries to sever kin relations through talebearing even though they are true commits a great sin since he/she combines two great sins, i.e. talebearing and severing kinship. If accusing people and fabricating stories against them is added to the above two sins, then the matter becomes greater and the sin becomes very awful and repulsive. Therefore, every Muslim should fear Allah regarding others. Allah Says )interpretation of meaning(: }Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship?{]47:22[. He also Says: }And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear on themselves the crime of slander and plain sin.{]33:58[. The Prophet said: "A talebearer does not enter in the Paradise". ]Reported by Imam Muslim[.
No doubt what your sister did is evil. Despite that we advise you to treat her in good manners and compensate her for her bad deeds with forgiveness, showing affection to her. Allah Says )interpretation of meaning(: }…Repel )the evil( with one which is better )i.e. Allâh ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly(, then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, )will become( as though he was a close friend. But none is granted it )the above quality( except those who are patient, and none is granted it except the owner of the great portion )of the happiness in the Hereafter i.e. Paradise and in this world of a high moral character({ ]41:34-35[. It is narrated in a Hadith that a person came to the Prophet and said: "I have relatives with whom I try to keep the ties of relationship but they sever relations with me; and whom I treat kindly but they treat me badly, I am gentle with them but they are rough to me.'' He )Blessing and peace be upon him( replied, "If you are as you say, it is as if you are feeding them hot ashes, and you will be with a supporter against them from Allah as long as you continue to do so"]Muslim[.
Allah knows best.

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