All Praise be to Allaah.

Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad.

Allah, may He be exalted, in His wisdom has prescribed a variety of acts of worship for mankind in order to test them and show which among them are the best in deeds and most righteous. For people differ in their character and attitude. One of them may favour one type of worship because it suits him, but he may not favour another type because it does not suit him. So you will find that he does the former quickly and readily, but he does the latter slowly and reluctantly. The true believer is the one who submits to whatever will please his Lord, not what is in accordance with his whims and desires.

Among the varieties of worship are the various pillars of Islam. Some of them are purely physical, requiring effort and movement of the body, as in the case of prayer; some of them are physical but require refraining from things that are liked, as in the case of fasting; some of them are purely financial, as in the case of zakaah; and some of them are both physical and financial, as in the case of Hajj.

Hajj combines both physical and financial expenditure. Because it involves travel and more effort than other kinds of worship, Allah has only enjoined it once in a lifetime, and has stipulated that one must be able to do it. Being able to do it is a condition of an action being obligatory in this case and in others, but this condition of being able to do it is emphasized more in the case of Hajj more than in other cases. Hajj has great benefits, including the following:

1. It is undertaking one of the pillars of Islam without which it is not complete.

This is indicative of its importance and shows that Allah loves it.

2. It is a kind of jihad for the sake of Allah; hence Allah mentions it after the verses of jihad. And it is proven in al-Saheeh that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) when she asked him whether jihad is obligatory for women, “Yes, for them there is a jihad in which there is no fighting, Hajj and Umrah.

3. There is an immense reward for the one who does it in the prescribed manner. It is narrated in a saheeh report that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “An accepted pilgrimage brings no less a reward than Paradise.” And he said: “Whoever performs Hajj and does not commit any obscenity or commit any evil will go back (free of) sin as on the day his mother bore him”. And it was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (ra) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The pilgrims performing Hajj and ‘Umrah are the guests of Allah; if they call upon Him He will answer them, and if they ask Him for forgiveness He will forgive them.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah.

4. In Hajj, remembrance of Allah is established, He is venerated and some rituals are carried out, such as reciting the Talbiyah, circumambulating the Ka‘bah (tawaaf), going between al-Safa and al-Marwah (saa‘i), standing in Arafat, staying overnight in Muzdalifah and stoning the Jamrah, along with what accompanies that of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), takbeer (proclaiming His greatness) and venerating Him. In the hadeeth it is narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

“Circumambulation of the Ka‘bah, going between al-Safa and al-Marwah and stoning the Jimaar have only been prescribed to establish the remembrance of Allah.”

5. During Hajj, Muslims from all parts of the world come together and show their love for one another and get to know one another. That is also accompanied by exhortations, guiding towards truth and encouraging people to adhere to it.

6. The Muslims demonstrate unity in time, place, actions and appearance. All of them stand in the different locations of Hajj at the same time, doing the same actions, wearing the same clothes (the izaar and rida’), with humbleness before Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.

? 7. The season of Hajj brings a great deal of good in both spiritual and worldly terms, as the Muslims may benefit by coming together, learning from one another and doing business. Hence Allah, may He be exalted, said (interpretation of the meaning):
“That they may witness things that are of benefit to them” [al-Hajj 22:28] .

This includes both spiritual and worldly benefits.

8. It includes offering both obligatory and mustahabb sacrifices, which demonstrate respect for the rituals prescribed by Allah, and eating from the meat and giving some in charity to the poor.

The benefits and hidden wisdoms of Hajj are many.

Collective work
Ibn [email protected]

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

Peace and blessings of Allah (subhanahu wata’aala ) be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and his followers till the day of reckoning.

All praise is due to Allah !!!

Often when discussing religion, one hears the statement that none has the right to judge anyone else’s beliefs, or that religion is a person’s private matter and we can not say that it is wrong or right.

Throughout history, societies have based their laws and ethics upon “absolute truths” which they deem to be “right”, and this is either a result of an exterior text regarded as supreme, or of the trait found in the innate nature of humans that causes them to see certain things as good and others as evil. Humans, to a limited scale, can see certain things as good and evil.

For example, all humans, left to their natural state without perversion of the mind, will see feces and urine as filthy. Also, certain deeds, like stealing, killing and lying are also known to be evil, while truth, sincerity, and honor are seen to be lofty. This is a result of a trait that was created in all humans, but as mentioned above, this sense is limited.

If one says that they do not have the right to judge other’s beliefs or actions, they are, in fact, contradicting themselves. If you were to ask many of these people whether killing infants or suicide is correct and acceptable, they will naturally answer that it is not. But when we look into certain societies, such as some religions found in Central America, infanticide was seen to be a way to draw near to their gods.

Also today, in Hindu religion, it is praiseworthy for a wife to kill herself after the death of her husband. If they truly believe that religion is something left to the individual and that none have the right to interfere or judge them, then this would necessitate allowing that killing babies is something which is correct to those who believe it is praiseworthy, and that people have no right to judge them.

If we were to bring this issue to an individual level, we would see that each person has their individual perception of good and evil, whether this perception is based upon religion, law, culture, or individual contemplation. One might believe that it is perfectly acceptable to commit adultery while another might think it to be wrong. One might believe that it is permissible for them to indulge in narcotics since it is their own body, and others might believe it to be a crime. None would be able to say that anything is right or wrong, and all people would be left to their own devices to believe and practice what they perceive as “correct.”

If we were to implement this belief in society, we would have a community based upon anarchy, where no laws could be legislated nor executed, for law is based upon the principle that certain things are to be good and others are evil. If one were to say that there are certain truths agreed to by all humans which can be used to legislate laws, this statement is true to a certain limit, as we stated that all humans do naturally have a trait to know right from wrong in a limited sense. But as seen, this trait many times becomes perverted through environmental, psychological, or religious factors, in that certain acts which were at one time seen as evil and immoral are later seen as sound and acceptable, and some things which do not accord to human nature are seen to be the keys to salvation. This can be clearly observed in democratic societies which base their laws on the majority. We see that many things which were considered to be outright absurd or immoral are now socially acceptable, to the extent that if one holds a different opinion in regards to the issue, they are seen as outcasts.

For this reason, humans cannot be left to their own accords to legislate what is correct and incorrect. Even in societies of the same religion which have instituted the separation of religion and state, although they are in agreement to those things which they maintained from their religion, they differ greatly in regards to what is deemed correct and incorrect in their societies. What is considered as the legal age of consent to sex in France is considered rape in America. While abortion is legal in one country, it is a crime in another, and when homosexuality is seen as a valid way of life in one society, it is seen as a grave sin in another.

So if we now say that the truth is absolute and one and is not relative to each individual and society, then the next question is what are the morals which make truth manifest and who is to decide them? What are the laws which should be implemented in society? Should they be decided by lawyers and judges who have reached a level of “legal enlightenment”, politicians who usually make decisions for their own benefit or the benefit of their own countries, or philosophers which have come to know the universal truths through their own contemplation? As seen earlier, humans cannot be left to decide these issues, lest there be catastrophic results, as seen today in many societies ridden with numerous ills. The only One who has the right to legislate right and wrong is the One who created us and knows what is best for us, and that is God Almighty. It is God who created the world and it is God who set the scales of justice. It is God who is perfect and it is God who has no faults whatsoever.

Most of our discussion has dealt with the issues of belief which deal with morality and deeds, but what is even more important is those beliefs which deal with God, and those who believe that the truth is relative and that all beliefs are correct deem that it is not possible to say that a person’s beliefs are wrong, because religion to them is a purely individual belief.

The falsehood of this statement is quite apparent and we do not need to delve into great detail to prove it. If one religion believes that Jesus was a false prophet, another maintains he is God, and yet another that he was a human specially chosen to be a prophet, how can they all be true? Jesus, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, must inevitably be one of the three things mentioned above, and all three statements cannot be correct.

Therefore, as only one of these statements can be correct, whichever is established as true determines that the others must then be considered as false.

This does not, however, mean that a person does not have the right to believe as they wish, as this is a right that God has invested to all humans. But at the same time, it does not mean that one must take the other extreme and say that they are all correct, and that one does not have the right to form a judgment about them. Also, giving a person the right to believe what he wishes does not necessitate that they have right to openly practice or publicize these beliefs, for laws implemented in society always look at the effects of actions at the greater societal level and whether those actions are advantageous or harmful to the society at large.

From what we have discussed, we can unequivocally come to the conclusion that all the religions found today in the world are either all false, or that there exists one among them which is the comprehensive Truth; for although various religions do contain similarities, they also have fundamental differences.

If we were to say that no religion in the world today is correct, then this would entail believing that God is unjust because He left us to wander about on earth in sin and transgression without showing us the right way to do things, and this is impossible for a Just God. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that there is One True Religion, which contains guidance in all spheres of life, religious, moral, societal, and individual.

How do we know what this one true religion is? It is upon each and every human to investigate this matter. Humans were created to fulfill a great purpose, not just to eat, sleep and go about finding their daily sustenance and satiate their desires. In order to fulfill this purpose, one must try to find what their purpose is, and this can only be done by investigation. If one believes that there is a God, and that God must not have left humans to wander in misguidance, then they must search for the religion and way of life which God revealed.

Furthermore, this religion would not be hidden or hard for humans to find or understand, for that would defeat the purpose of guidance. Also, the religion must contain the same message throughout time, since we mentioned that everything returns to one absolute truth. Also, this religion cannot contain any falsities or contradictions, for falseness or contradiction in one matter of the religion proves the falsity of the religion as a whole, since we would then doubt the integrity of its texts.

There is no other religion which fulfills the conditions mentioned above except for religion of Islam, the religion which is accordance to human nature, the religion which has been preached by all prophets since the dawn of man. Other religions found today, such as Christianity and Judaism, are the remnants of the religion brought by the prophets in their time, which was Islam. However, over time, they have been altered and lost, and what is left today of these religions is a mix of truth and falsehood.

The only religion which has been preserved and preaches the same message brought by all prophets is the religion of Islam, the one true religion, which rules all sphere’s of humans’ lives, religious, political, societal, and individual, and it is upon all humans to investigate this religion, to ascertain its truth, and to follow it.

Ibn [email protected]

I seek refuge in God from Satan the rejected.
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

40 years age is a very imperative landmark in the life of every human beings, Having in cognizance that the middling lifecycle of sixty-seventy years as obtained in the Hadith narratedfrom Abu Hurairah (RA) that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, “The lifespan of my Ummah is from sixty to seventy (years).” (Hadith 2331, Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, Vol.

4), as a result we can substantially  conclude that the one who by Allah’s grace attains the ‘mature’ 40 years age has accomplished approximately ‘2/3’ of his typical lifetime; thus connoting that he cross the threshold to the ‘probably’ ‘last 3/3’ part of his life (if Alllah wills).

It is the apparent truth that “If someone hasn’t matured by the time they reach forty – 40 years of age, they never will”. And looking above the immense feat of completing this proportion of  years in life, a man expectedly spiritually energetic and mentally vigorous , he is projected to have reached to a high phase of his ‘prime of life’, and he is able to greatly comprehend the happenings of life and actively proffer solutions to the anticyclones and slumps of life in a realistic and astute manner. Having fully known that Allah began conveying revelations to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) when he reached ‘mature’ age of 40 – forty, 40 years of age has a point has has many special meanings that are exclusively known by Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala), and the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him Rasulullah (pbuh) said all or most prophets were given prophethood at the age of 40.

Ibn `Abbas (Rodiyyallahu Anhu) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) started receiving the Divine Inspiration at the age of forty. Then he stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, receiving the Divine Revelation. Then he was ordered to migrate and he lived as an Emigrant for ten years and then died at the age of sixty-three (years). (Sahih al-Bukhari). In other references from Quran and hadith, age 40 is the age of maturity. Rasulullah said in an hadith that a person’s characteristic is mostly formed and completed at the age of 40, very little change can happen to one’s characteristic after age 40. 

At the age of 40, while engaged in a reflective retreat in Ghar Hira (Cave of Hira), Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah through the Angel JUBRIL, When Angel Jibreel, appeared to him he said: “Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not. Holy Quran (Al Alaq 96: 1-5). The revelation continued for about twenty-three (23) years (i.e which brought about the Glorious Qur’an).

Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) has accentuated this period of anthropological  life very clearly in Qur’an, as follows:

 وَوَصَّيْنَا الإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَاناًحَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهاً وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهاًوَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَالُهُ ثَلاثُونَ شَهْراًحَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَسَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَنِعْمَتَكَ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَنِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىوَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحاً تَرْضَاهُوَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُإِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful & kind to his parents. His mother bears him with hardship. And she brings him forth with hardship, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till when he attains full strength and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please You, and make my off-spring good. Truly, I have turned to You in repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims.”
(Aayah No. 15, Surah Al-Ahqaf, Chapter No. 46, Holy Qur’an).

Qur’an 46 verse 15 clearly shows that that a man achieves filled forte at the age of 40. Moreover, this wonderful verse informs us about some of the tasks of a man when he reaches the 40 – forty age of development,at forty years he completes his journey through the world of nature and commences the journey towards the world of the Hereafter. And it is for this reason that it has been said: “One who reaches forty years and does not take up a staff has surely disobeyed” Also, the body achieves maturity at this age and so also does the standing of delight or woe, when a man reaches forty years without ever repenting, Satan strokes his face with his hand and says, “May my father be your ransom, it is the face of one who will not prosper!” Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 1, p. 504; in Ihya’al -Ulum, vol. 3, p. 25

Once a man arrives his 40 – forty year, it is said to him, “Now be careful, because (henceforth) you will not have any excuse.”. Saduq’s al-Khisal, p. 545.

40, NO REGRETS

“Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): “Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!” – “Did We not give you long enough life so that he that would should receive admonition? and (moreover) the warner came to you. So taste ye (the fruits of your deeds): for the wrong-doers there is no helper.”

Qur’an 35 Verse 37]

According to Ibn Abbas, Hasan al-Basri, al-Kalbi, Wahab bn Munabbih,

and Masruq –Radhiyallahu ajma’in-, what is meant by “longevity in the future enough to think” in the mention verse no other is when 40 year old.

According to Ibnu Kathir, this verse give hints that the man toward age of 40 should updated repentance and truly return to Allah.

When it applies toward the age 40 years, then Allah provided His promise in the next verse, which is Maturity.

Allah Said :

“Those are the ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did and overlook their misdeeds, their being among the companions of Paradise. That is the promise of truth which they had been promised”.[Al-‘Aĥqāf 16]

The 40 years age is not the age of regret but of increased goodness in all forte, worship in all sense of sincerity, brightened experiences & wisdom in all sagacity of direction for others, flinging the damaging youthful exuberance, eschewing ignorance with abundance knowledge accretion and buildup, it doesn’t come with much surprise that most strategic leadership positions come with the requirement of the ‘mature’ age 40.

*WEAK SAYING ATTRIBUTED TO AGE 40*

Below is a very common saying in our society now attributed to the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him): Narrated by Imaam Ahmad  on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik  that the Prophet , said: “Any man who reaches forty years in Islam, Allaah protects him from three [things]: madness, leprosy and vitiligo. When he reaches fifty, Allaah makes his reckoning easy. When he reaches sixty, Allaah grants him repentance to Him as pleases Him. When he reaches seventy, Allaah loves him and the inhabitants of heavens love him. When he reaches eighty, Allaah accepts his good deeds and forgives his sins. When he reaches ninety, Allaah forgives his past and future sins, he is called the prisoner of Allaah on earth and he is allowed to intercede (for forgiveness) on behalf of his family.”

This Hadeeth was not authentically narrated from the Prophet .

In “Al-Mawdhoo‘aat” (Fabricated Ahaadeeth), Ibn Al-Jawzi  said that this Hadeeth was not authentically narrated from the Prophet . Imaam Ash-Shawkaani  mentioned it in his book “Al-Fawaa’id Al-Majmoo‘ah min Al-Ahaadeeth Al-Mawdhoo‘ah” (The Collected Benefits of the Fabricated Ahaadeeth), and Shaykh Al-Albaani  classified it as Dha‘eef (weak) in “Dha‘eef Al-Jaami‘As-Sagheer”. Shu‘ayb Al-Arnaa’oot said, ‘The chain of narrators of this Hadeeth is very weak, and even the other narrations that support it are of no significance.’

*SOCIETAL RECOGNITION OF AGE 40.*

The society itself identify that the triumphs of a person is steady when that person is 40 years old; Soekarno became the President at the age 44 years, Soeharto became the President at the age 46 years, J.F. Kennedy 44 years, Bill Clinton 46 years, Paul Keating 47 years and Tony Blair 44 years.

Even the “Constitution Of The 
Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999, Chapter VI (The Executive), Part I provides inthe extant provision in Section 131; that the required age of the President is 40 years. Though, the Legislature recently amended the constitution. Also, the age of Nigerian Presidents from 1960 till dates was around/above 40 years of age (see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Nigeria), and this is obtainable in most countries of the world today

*AGE 40 & THEIR SIGNIFICANCES*

“At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty the wit; at forty the judgment.” – Benjamin Franklin

We can regard these 4 (four) intervallic period for classification of mankind from birth to death, which are: Childhood: Birth – puberty. Youth: Puberty – 40 years. Adult: 40 years  and above.

Age 40 is the period to be cautious, as well as other lower age (s) too as no one knows when death will come knocking but if someone at 40 hasn’t being seen as a model of goodness in the religion and the society, then, this is a bad premonition of the conclusion of his/her age on Earth. Just as stretch, people that are 40 years old may have entered the twilight, such person should make a re-valuation of his entire conduct, be grateful to Allah for His love, endless repentance, Isthigfar shouldn’t leave such person’s mouth and live his life in accordance to Qur’an and Sunnah in the sole attainment of Allah’s pleasure, and not for worldly praises and ephemeral gratification. Indeed, this is just like a renewed chance to start afresh and eased opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal of entering the Paradise.

Also, we should be conscious that no matter the life’s situation we find ourselves, we shouldn’t wish for death nor commit suicide, as greatly explained in this hadith:  Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Do not wish for death, for the terror of the place whence one looks down is severe. It is part of a man’s happiness that his life should be long and Allah Who is Great and Glorious, should supply him with repentance.”
Ahmad transmitted it.
Al-Tirmidhi – Hadith 1613

*CONCLUSION*

Ibn Mas’ud said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew lines making a square and then drew a line in the middle which extended beyond it. He drew some small lines up to this middle line from the side within the square and said, ‘This is man, and this is end of his lifespan which encircles him – or by which he is encircled – and this which goes beyond it is his hope and these small lines are things that happen. If this one misses him, that one gets him, and if that one misses him, this one gets him.’” [al-Bukhari]

Mnn… And here we are living in otiose anticipations; occupied totally with transient aspirations and we ignore our chief purpose in life (i.e to worship Allah). We disremember that all these worldly plans at the price of our obligations as a believer shall originate to an unexpected culmination when bereavement raids. This is better explained in this verse of the Qur’an as well:

Allah Almighty says, “Every self will taste death. You will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Rising. Anyone who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden, has triumphed. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of delusion,” (Qur’an 3:185)

After, we shall pass to an unending world – Al-Qiyamah, with our deeds of this world to resolve our abode: Jannah (Heaven) or Jahannam (Hell)! We ask Allah to grant us paradise and keep our face far from the blazing fire. Aameen.

Our action should always correspond with our prayer for effective result, those that are 40 or 40+ should see the opportunity as a means to get closer to Allah and create indelible impacts on the Ummah of Abu-l-Qasim and those that are 40- below shouldn’t be complacent and feel unworried as to their responsibilities to Allah, you don’t have to attain the 40 years age before you can be regarded as a ‘man of goodness’, remember, that millions of people have died before they attained ‘40’.

“So whoever desires to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.” (Holy Quran – 18:110).

And Allah is our source of Guidance.

May Allah rectify our affairs and grant us His endless favors. Aameen.

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون َ ; وَسَلامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ ; وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

Lawal AbdulAfeez Arishekola for www.knowislam.com.ng
4/8/2017