Question and answer details

Subject (not all answers are published):Making Dhikr in a Group: Bid`ah?

Reply date:2003-02-16

Question:Dear sheikh, As-Salamu `alaykum. Is making dhikr (Allah’sRemembrance) in a group bid`ah (innovation in religion) or did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) do so?

consultant:European Council for Fatwa and Research

Answer

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your question which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to get themselves well-acquainted with the teachings of Islam as well as all aspects of life.

First of all, it should be clear that after reading the Glorious Qur’an, there is no act of worship better than dhikr and du`a’. The merits of dhikr are highlighted in the following Qur’anic verses:

“Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith.”(Al-Baqarah: 152)

“… and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.” (Al-Ahzab: 35)

Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Surely, Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, says, ‘I will be with My servant as long as he makes mention of Me and moves his lips in making mention of Me.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

“No people assemble to remember Allah but angels surround them, mercy covers them,sakinah (calmness) descends upon them, and Allah mentions them in His assembly.”(Reported by Muslim)

As for the question of making dhikr in a group, following is the Fatwa of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, headed by the prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi:

“Making dhikr in a group is allowed as long as the following conditions are met:

1- The dhikr is free from munkar or acts that violate the decorum of a Muslim, such as shouting and the singing of love songs.

2- The dhikr must not be done except with the known words mentioned in Shari`ah, and not unintelligible words or sounds.”

May Allah guide us to the straight path and direct us to that which pleases Him, Amen.

Dear scholars, As-salamu `alaykum. Could I please get some clarification on the practice of khatm, which involves gathering people together to read the entire Qur’an and make du`a’ (supplication) in the presence of a religious or pious person such as a hafiz (one who has memorized the Qur’an) with the belief that his presence might bring greater barakah (spiritual grace) to the gathering or believing that the du`a’ thus made will be more likely be carried by the angels and accepted by Allah. To my understanding, there is nothing wrong in a gathering where the Qur’an is recited; this is a good thing which, I understand, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended and encouraged. However, the idea that having a pious person who has great Islamic knowledge present to bring greater barakah—is it bid`ah (innovation) and maybe a form of shirk, as it suggests that this person’s presence might bring us closer to Allah or may bring greater blessings from Him? Also, could I get clarification about the practice of gathering for khatm, where after having read the Qur’an and offering a du`a’ for the deceased, they offer food and people eat the same while believing that such food has been blessed. Jazakum Allah khayran.

consultant:Ahmad Kutty

Answer

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

The Qur’an is the source of guidance, mercy, illumination, and healing for the faithful at all times. There is nothing wrong as far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned in gathering to read the Qur’an, as this is a richly rewarded act of devotion.

In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

Gathering people to read the Qur’an in the presence of a person who is pious and knowledgeable cannot be considered an innovation so long as it is not done with the intention of taking him as an intermediary in the worship of Allah, the One and only God. In order to form a better perspective on this issue, the following must be kept in mind:

1. Reading the Qur’an, unless someone has made a fixed ritual, is considered highly rewarded: Qur’an is the source of guidance, mercy, illumination and healing for the faithful at all times, and as such, gathering for the Qur’an is a richly rewarded act of devotion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When people gather on the Qur’an to read and study it, the angels will descend upon them, and Allah’s mercy will engulf them.” He also said, “Read the Qur’an so long as your hearts are united on understanding it. … When you start dissenting, rise up and disperse.”

2. We are also ordered and encouraged to befriend and accompany people who are pious and knowledgeable. This is because we stand to gain spiritually by being with those who are pious and knowledgeable. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A person follows the way of his friend or the company he keeps; therefore let everyone know who he is keeping as a friend or companion.” Based on this and similar traditions, scholars have said that it is important to keep company of the pious and knowledgeable as much as possible. If, therefore, people gather in the presence of a pious or knowledgeable person in order to benefit from his/her piety and knowledge, then it is indeed a spiritually rewarding act. Imam Al-Ghazzali explains this point by pointing out that a person’s character is deeply influenced by those he/she keeps as friends and companions.

3. As for the issue of offering du`a’ for the deceased, we are exhorted in the Qur’an and the Sunnah to pray for those who have passed away: (And those who came after them say: “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who were before us in the faith, and do not place in our hearts any rancor toward those who believe. Our Lord! You are Kind, Compassionate) (Al-Hashr 59:10). We also read in the Hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that one of the duties we owe towards our parents after their death is, “to praying for them and invoke Allah’s mercy on them.”

4. Coming to the precedent of reading the Qur’an and making a du`a’ afterwards, there are precedents for it in the practice of the righteous predecessors, as we know some of them used to gather their family members in reading the Qur’an after which they used to offer collective supplications. The Qur’an being the word of Allah, it is perfectly all right to invoke Allah’s mercy after reading the same. Therefore, it cannot be considered as an innovation.

5. In light of the above, if they are calling a pious or knowledgeable person in order to be inspired, spiritually and morally, then that is indeed a highly desirable thing to do; there cannot be anything un-Islamic about it; rather it is perfectly Islamic and edifying to do. If, on the other hand, people have the wrong belief that this person is an intermediary before Allah and that they approach him through him then that is akin to shirk (associating other partners with Allah); it must therefore be shunned and opposed. But I don’t think that that is the case with people calling a scholar or a hafiz to preside over their functions. We must not rush to call each and every thing as shirk or bid`ah. In this way, we will be choking our religious life, and Islam thus will be reduced to a set of traffic symbols of “stop” and “go.”

6. Finally, when people gather there is nothing wrong with their eating together, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged us to eat together as there is greater barakah in doing so. Therefore, I see no reason to condemn it unless it involves the practice of offering food to the deceased or saints, etc. which can undoubtedly be described as practices tainted with shirk.

In conclusion: Collective reading of the Qur’an and offering du`a’ following the same is a noble act; to invite knowledgeable people to preside over such functions is also a noble act so long one does not make a permanent ritual out of it, thus considering it as an integral practice of religion that must be enforced. Since we stand to benefit spiritually and morally from accompanying and gathering around those who are pious and knowledgeable, it cannot be considered to be tainted with shirk as long as one does not have the intention of taking them as intermediaries before Allah. When pronouncing judgment on such matters, it is always important to keep in mind the Prophetic dictum, “Actions are reckoned by intentions; everyone is rewarded according to his intentions.”

Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.islam.ca

As-Salamu `Alaykum. I would like to ask if it is permissible to use misbahah (beads) in doing tasbih (glorification of Allah), and is it true that Ibn Masood, may Allah be pleased with him, prevented people from using small stones in tasbih? Jazakum Allahu Khayran.

consultant:Group of Muftis

Answer

Wa`alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, we would like to thank you for your eagerness to learn the teachings of Islam, and we appreciate the great confidence you have in us. We hope our efforts meet your expectations.

“First of all, the incident that mentions that Ibn Mas`ood, may Allah be please with him, ejected a group of people from the masjid because they were using stones in making tasbih was reported by Ad-Darimi in his Sunan. It could be interpreted in many ways. As the late great scholar, Sa`eed Hawwa, may Allah bless his soul, stated, it could mean that those people did so from their ownminds without having any evidence and Ibn Mas`ood forbade them; it could also mean that they went to the extreme in worship, so he prohibited them from doing so; it could also mean that they were gathering to make dhikr (remembering Allah) in a group, which Ibn Mas`ood thought wasbid`ah (innovation), as it was not practiced by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Anyway, if making dhikr in a group was an innovation in the view of Ibn Mas`ood, which is the most correct view, it could be justified nowadays, especially if we take into consideration the benefits of making dhikr in a group, such as the spiritual elevation resulting from it, forgiveness of sins, and moving peoples' hearts towards faith.”

Thus, it has nothing to do with the means they used for making dhikr, nor is it taken as evidence to forbid using misbahah (beads) in making dhikr of Almighty Allah.

Using misbahah is a new means of making mention of Allah Most High. It didn't exist at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) but it is not condemned. However, using one's fingertips is preferable as it is closer to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, states:

“At the advent of Islam, people were commanded to frequently remember Allah the Almighty in the same way they were ordered to observe all other rituals and acts of worship. Remembering Allah (dhikr) is mentioned in many places in the Glorious Qur’an, such as the verse that reads: “Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! Thou createdst not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire.” (Al `Imran: 191)

And the other verse that states: “O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify Him early and late.” (Al-Ahzab: 41- 42)

Many Hadiths have defined the number and the time of remembering Almighty Allah. This is the case with saying “Subhan Allah” (Glory to Allah) 33 times, “Al-Hamdulillah” (Praise to Allah) 33 times, “Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Greatest) 33 times, and saying “La illaha illa Allah” (There is no god but Allah), which completes the hundred words of Allah’s remembrance. This is the act a Muslim is urged to do right after prayer.

As we know, in the course of this act of remembering Allah, a person may need something to help him count the number of utterances he has made.

It is well known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to count the utterances on his fingertips. This is reported by Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Al-Hakim on the authority of Busrah, who was one of the female Muhajiroon (migrants). She narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “You are to stick to praising Allah, glorifying and exalting Him. Never relapse into heedlessness, lest you deviate from the true creed of monotheism. Use your fingertips (to count the utterances of remembering Allah) for they well be witness for you (on the Day of Resurrection).”

The Prophet’s Companions also directed us to use the fingertips for counting the number of utterances.

However, this command does not make it the only way for counting. It is a fact that using the fingertips gives the sense of following the Prophet’s example. Using any other way is not, however, condemned; rather, it was approved by the Prophet himself in a number of Hadith.

1. At-Tirmidhi, Al-Hakim and At-Tabarani reported that Saffiyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entered my room while I was makingtasbih (glorifying Allah) using four thousand small stones. He asked: “What is this, daughter of Huyayy?” “I use them for remembering Almighty Allah,” I replied. He commented: “Since I have entered your room, I have made tasbih greater than this.” I said: “Teach me, Messenger of Allah!” He said: “Say, ‘Subhan Allahi `adada ma ghalaqa min kuli shai' (Glory be to Allah equal to the number of every thing He created).”

2. In his book Al-Musnad, “Kitab Az-Zuhd” (chapter on asceticism), Imam Ahmad (may Allah bless his soul) reported that Abu Ad-Dardaa’ had a number of date stones in a sack. After performing Morning Prayer, he would take them out to use them for making tasbih.

Therefore, since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Use your fingertips (to count the utterances of remembering Allah) for they will be witness for you (on the Day of Resurrection)”, and normally a person uses his fingertips to move the stones used for makingtasbih in this way, the fingertips witness the deed and will act as such on the Day of Resurrection.

In conclusion, I would like to say that it is not permissible at all to brand any act as bid`ah(innovation) just because it did not exist during the Prophet’s lifetime. Disagreement over misbahah(beads) should not also be a cause of conflict among us. What is more important is to have sincerity while remembering Allah the Almighty, regardless of the means, as Allah Almighty will only look at what is inside our hearts.”

Sheikh Hamed Al-Ali, instructor of Islamic Heritage at the Faculty of Education, Kuwait and Imam of Dahiat As-Sabahiyya Mosque, adds:

“Using beads for making dhikr of Allah is a new method that helps in counting the number of tasbihor supplications a Muslim is saying. We should not think it is a Sunnah because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never used anything but his fingertips in counting the tasbih, and he said about the hands: “They will be witnesses for one who makes tasbih on the Day of Judgment.”

However, if someone needs to use it to be able to count the tasbih, there is nothing wrong with this, because it is a helping means of doing something good and there is no restriction to doing it. It is similar to learning the Qur’an from the computer instead of the book, going for Hajj by plane instead of walking, giving da`wah by distributing tapes and videos and the like. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in using beads for making dhikr, but using one’s fingertips is better."

As-Salaam `Alaykum. Is there any evidence from the sayings of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he used to say collective Du`a or supplications after each obligatory prayer. In our community we have different opinions regarding the issue. Basically, our Arab brothers are saying that Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not say the Du`a collectively, therefore, we should not do it, while others say that he has done it. I would really appreciate if you could clarify this matter.

consultant:Muzammil Siddiqi

Answer

Wa`alaykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In his response to the question, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), states the following:

“There is a great reward in making Du`a after the obligatory prayers. It is reported in a Hadith that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked "Which Du`a is more heard (by Allah)?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says, "The Du`a during the last part of the night and after the obligatory prayers.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)

Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim have mentioned many Adhkar and supplications of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he used to make after the obligatory prayers. This means that the Prophet used to make these supplications audibly or (bil-jahr).

It stands to reason that many of the Prophet’s Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, have mentioned such Adhkar and supplications that they heard from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. I am sure the Companions used to sit and listen to those Adhkar and supplications from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. It is a good habit to make Dhikr and Du`a after the obligatory prayers.

It is, however, not mentioned that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to have a collective Dhikr or Du`a after each prayer. He never asked his Companions to sit with him after the prayer to make Du`a with him.

Thus, we can say that it is permissible for the Imam to make Du`a audibly or quietly after the obligatory Salah. However, it is up to the people to stay or not to stay. Those who want can stay and make the Du`a with the Imam or by themselves and those who want to leave without making Du`a or to begin their Sunnah prayers, then can do so. Muslims should not make it an issue of division or dissension among them.

It is not right to insist on all people to stay until the Du`a is finished and it is also not right to criticize those who make Du`a with their Imam after the Salah.

For the sake of those who want to perform Sunnah (supererogatory prayers) immediately after the prayer, it is better that the Imam make a short or quiet Du`a after Zuhr, Maghrib and `Isha prayers, but he may make an audible and longer Du`a after Fajr and 'Asr prayers. And if the Imam sometimes leaves without making Du`a that is also permissible.”

May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.