"Say (to them): 'This is my way. I invite to (the deen of) Allah based on insight--I and whoever follows me . . .'" (Q. 12:108).
"There is no choice for a male or a female believer, when Allah or His Messenger have decided a matter, which differs from Their choice in the matter. Whoever disobeys Allah or His Messenger has clearly dal-la da-laa-lan (gone astray)" (Qur'an, 33:36).
"You certainly have in the Messenger of Allah a model example for whomever looks forward to meeting Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often" (Qur'an 33:21).
In Q. 42:38 Allah, the Exalted, has made shura an important aspect of being a Muslim. It reads, ". . . whose affairs are conducted with mutual consultation (amruhum shura baynahum)."
The wording of the verse is general and therefore indicates that all the important common affairs of the Muslims (amruhum) require mutual consultation. Its generalness extends to secular and religious affairs and the interpretation of the Qur'an and the sunnah. The sunnah of the Prophet.(S) and the caliphs (R) support this interpretation. Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn al-Arabi (d. 543/1148), a Maliki jurist, defines shura as "the gathering together on an affair so that each participant may seek the consul of his companion and extract his opinion" (Ibn al-Arabi [d. 543/1148], 1:297). If Muslims are to properly interpret and implement the command of Allah, the Exalted, to consult with each other, they must follow the sunnah of the Prophet (S) and the caliphs. Muslim leaders of a Muslim group must consult with trustworthy Muslims who are knowledgeable of the major matters about which they are trying to reach a decision. They must consult with those whose help will be required to carry out that decision or with their representatives. They must consult with them prior to reaching a decision.
The example of the Prophet (S) is to seek advice on important secular matters and on religious ones as well (Rawd al-Unuf 3:33 & 36; al-Bidayah wa n-Nihayah 3:262, 296; 4:95; Mukhtasr Sirah ar-Rasul 2:204, 206 217, 281; Fath al-Bari 13:339 & 341). After his death (S) the example of the caliphs (R) is to seek advice on the interpretation of the Qur'an and the sunnah (Ibn Hajar, 13:247, 250, 258, 339-342; Ibn al-Arabi 4:1667-1668; Tuhfah al-Ahwadi 4:720-721; Sahih Muslim 11:214-216).
It is recommended that the amir alone opens with the following du'a: "(All praise belongs to Allah. We seek His aid, we seek His forgiveness, and seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves. Whomever Allah guides, there is no one who can mislead him. Whomever Allah sends astray, there is no one who can guide him. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger)." This was recorded from the Prophet (S) by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi (Fiqh as-Sunnah 1:261).
I have found no report of the Prophet (S) or the early generations of Muslims ever opening a meeting with a group du'a--that is probably an innovation adopted from Christians. I have found no report of the Prophet (S) opening a meeting with a specific du'a. The scholars recommend that every occasion begin with the praise of Allah, the Exalted, glorification of Him, and greetings to the Prophet (S) because: (1) Muslim recorded that the Prophet (S) said: "Every important affair that does not begin with al-hamdu lillah has few blessings;" (2) Allah, the Exalted, states: "Certainly Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. Oh you who believe, send blessins on him and greetings often" (33:56) (al-Adhkar 103, 105).
1. The amir should make sure that all decisions reached are in accordance with the Qur'an and sunnah and request that relevant positions of the scholars of Qur'an and the sunnah be presented.
2. Every one attending the shura should have an opportunity to voice a position. Caliph Umar consulted with his companions (R) on a number of different occasions (Ibn Hajar, 10:179; 13:247, 250, 258, 339-342; Ibn al-Arabi,.4: 1667-1668; Tuhfah al-Ahwadi 4:720-721; Sahih Muslim 11:214-216).
3. If you come when the meeting has started, you should greet the group by saying: "as-Salaamu alaykum." You should do the same when leaving.
Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of Allah (S) said: 'When one of you ends up at a meeting, let him give salaams. When he intends to leave, let him give salaams. The first (greeting) is not any more of a duty than the final (greeting).'" It is a hadith hasan (see Awn al-Ma'bud, 4:520).
4. People should ask the amir's permission when they want to leave the meeting early for Allah, the Exalted, has said: "When they were with him in a collective matter, they did not leave until they sought his permission" (24:62) (al-Iklil 196).
It is recommended that each individual say the following to themselves:
Sub-ha-na kal-la-hum-ma wa bi ham-di-ka, ash-ha-du an la i-la-ha il-la an-ta, as-tagh-fi-ru-ka wa a-tu-bu i-layk
(Glory to You, oh Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except You. I seek Your forgiveness and I turn to You in repentence).
An-Nawawi mentioned from the book of at-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: "No one sits in a meeting in which there is a lot of sounds, then says (the above) before he leaves that meeting without being forgiven of what took place in that meeting" (al-Adhkar 265).
No one should wipe his face after any du'a because those hadith reporting that the Prophet (S) wiped his face are da'eef (weak)--except for the du'a for healing oneself (Mishkah al-Masabih 2:696; al-Adhkar 355-356).
"Oh Allah, give us a portion of the fear of You that allows us to refrain from disobeying You. Give us a portion of the obedience of You with which we may reach Your paradise. Give us a portion of certainty with which the misfortunes of this life are easy for us to bear. Oh Allah, provide us with hearing, sight, and strength which enlivens us. Make it our inheritor. Provide us with retaliation against whoever mistreats us. Grant us victory over whoever transgresses against us. Do not give us misfortunes in our deen. Do not make this life our biggest concern, nor the extent of our knowledge. Do not put in authority over us someone who will not show us mercy."
An-Nawawi recorded from the book of at-Tirmidhi from Ibn Umar that, "The Messenger of Allah (S) did not leave a meeting without uttering these da`awaat for his companions" (al-Adhkar, 264-266).
By Antar Ibn-Stanford, Ph.D.
Every act in life may be classified into three categories: haram (forbidden), makruh (disliked, reprehensible), mubah (optional, permissible), mustahabb preferred) or mandub(recommended), or fard (obligatory) or wajib (required). Al-ikhtilaat at best is makruh, although some regard it to be haram except for limited exceptional circumstances (see www.qss.org/questions and islam-qa.com).
"And We send down from (the meaning of) the Qur'an what is a healing (from misguidance) and a mercy to the believers" (Qur'an 17:82).
"And this is a Book which We have sent down as a blessing. So follow it and be on guard against evil. Hopefully, you will receive mercy" (Qur'an, 6:155).
"Do you believe in some of the Scripture and disbelieve in other parts of it (by not acting upon it)" (Qur'an, 2:85).
"You believe in the Scripture, all of it" (Qur'an, 3:119).
Concerning it Allah, the Exalted, has said:
1. "Whoever differs with the Messenger after he has explained to him the guidance and follows other than the way of the believers (concensus of the companions and generations after them), We appoint for him that unto which he himself has turned, and send him to hell--an evil destination" (Qur'an, 4:115). He or she who engages in al-ikhtilaat "differs with the Messenger" and "follows other than the way of the believers (concensus of the companions and generations after them)."
2. "Say (to them): 'This is my way. I invite to (the deen of) Allah based on insight--I and whoever follows me . . .'" (Q. 12:108). Not engaging in al-ikhtilaat is the way of the Prophet (S) and the way of those who followed him (his companions).
3. "You certainly have in the Messenger of Allah a model example for whomever looks forward to meeting Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often" (Qur'an 33:21). A part of the "model example" of the Messenger of Allah is to not engage in al-ikhtilaat.
4. "If a group from each division of them did not go out, they could gain an understanding of the religion and admonish their people when they returned to them . . ." (Qur'an, 9:122). Those groups of Muslims who engaged in studying the Qur'an and the sunnah and became scholars and teachers--starting with the generation of the Prophet (S), have taught that Muslims do not engage in al-ikhtilaat.
5. "Had they referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority (the scholars and government officials) among them, those among them capable of extracting information would have known it . . ." (Qur'an, 4:83). The scholars capable of extracting information about the Messenger have concluded that he did not engage in al-ikhtilaat.
6. The person who says that they have read the Qur'an and have not read anything about ikhtilaat in it, should take heed to what Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said concerning a similar statement about tattoos. Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "'Allah has cursed the women who give tattoos and those who get tattooed, those who pull out hair, and those who put gaps between their teeth for purposes of beautification, thus changing the creation of Allah.' A woman came to him and said: 'It has reached me that you cursed such and such.' He said: 'Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah (S) has cursed and those who are cursed in the Book of Allah.' She replied: 'I have certainly read what is between its covers and I have not found it in what you say.' He responded: 'If you had read it, you would have found it. Have you not read: 'Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. Whatever he prohibits, refrain from it' (Q. 59:7). She answered: 'Certainly.' He said: 'He certainly prohibited it.'" (See Mishkah, 2:1262; Fath al-Bari, 8:630).
1. Abu Dawud recorded that Ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: "Do not prevent your women from coming to the masjid. However, (performing the salah in) their houses is better for them." It is sahih. This was said in order to avoid fasad (moral corruption) (Awn al-Ma'bud 1:222).
2. Abu Dawud recorded that Umar bn Khattab (R) had a door in the masjid designated as the entrance for the women only to avoid al-ikhtilaat coming and going (Awn al-Ma'bud 1:175).
3. The major hadith recorders-except al-Bukhari-recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: "the best row for the men is the first one. The worse one is the last one. The best row for the women is the last one. The worse one is the first one." This was done to avoid ikhtilaat (Fiqh as-Sunnah 1:205).
4. According to the companions and al-Hafith Ibn Hajar al-Asqanlani, (773-852/1317-1448), one of the a'immah of knowledge and history, the Prophet (S) use to delay the departure of the men to allow the women to leave first in order to avoid al-ikhtilaat, which he found to be makruh (Fath al-Bari 2:336). Muhammad Ashraf (d. 1310/1892), a hadith scholar, concludes that it is mustahabb for the imam to delay the departure of the men in order to avoid al-ikhtilaat (Awn al-Ma'bud 1:402).
5. Al-Bukhari recorded that Umm Salamah said that "when the Prophet (S) ended the salah with the salaam, he use to remain in his place for a short time." Ibn Shihab (az-Zuhri, Muhammad bn Muslim [58-124/678-742], a tabi'i and one of the most prominent memorizers of hadith and jurists.) commented that : "We thought-and Allah knows best-that it was in order to facilitate the women who were leaving" (Fath al-Bari 2:334).
6. He also recorded that Umm Salamah, a wife of the Prophet (S), while among her female companions said: "he use to end the salah with the salaam, then the women would leave and enter their houses before the Prophet (S) left" (Fath al-Bari 2:334).
1. When the Muslims left for the Eed, the men and women left in separate groups. Al-Bukhari recorded that Umm Atiyah said: "We were ordered to go out on the Day of the Eed. We even brought the young girls who were inside their rooms and the women who were on their menses. We were behind the men. We recited 'Allahu Akbar' along with them, we made du'a along with them, and we hoped for the barakah (blessings) and purification of that day" (Fath al-Bari 2:461).
2. During and after the khutbah, men and women were in separate groups. Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn Abbas said: "I left with the Prophet (S) on the Day of Fitr or Adha. We performed the salah. Then he gave a khutbah. Then the women came and he spoke encouragingly to them, gave them reminders, and ordered them to give sadaqah"(Fath al-Bari 2:464). Ibn Hajar al-Asqanlani explains that this hadith indicates that "the women were apart from the men, not intermingled with them" (Fath al-Bari 2:466).
I have found no reports of the Prophet (S) ever engaging in al-ikhtilaat during group meals for special occasions, like a walimah (marriage celebration) or aqiqah (birth of a child celebration), or non-special occasions. During the khutbah of the wedding ceremony, the Prophet (S) did not engage in al-ikhtilaat, nor during any gatherings or meetings. This was also the practice of the first generations of Muslims.
Shawwal 1418/Feb. 1998
