Wednesday, December 9, 2009

How to pray for the prophet?

How to pray for the prophet?
هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
He it is who prays for you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers.
Al-Ahzab, Chapter #33, Verse #43)
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
God and His angels pray for the Prophet: O ye that believe! Pray for him, and salute him with all respect
May God pray and salute and bless Prophet Mohamed and his followers to the truth. O Muslims I see that you have argued among yourselves about the meaning of praying to your dead, because you do not know what is it for people to pray for people. It is not the same prayer to God that you do but it is asking God to forgive them and to forgive their sins all of them the living and the dead (Duaa). Then how does God pray to the people? It is by answering their prayers (Duaa).
هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
He it is who prays for you (answers), as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers.
Al-Ahzab, Chapter #33, Verse #43)
So look at how the angels pray for the people:
سُوۡرَةُ الشّوریٰ
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
حمٓ (١) عٓسٓقٓ (٢) كَذَٲلِكَ يُوحِىٓ إِلَيۡكَ وَإِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٣) لَهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِىُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ (٤) تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتُ يَتَفَطَّرۡنَ مِن فَوۡقِهِنَّ‌ۚ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّ?ِمۡ وَيَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَ لِمَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ (٥) وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ٱللَّهُ حَفِيظٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (٦)
Ash-Shura
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Ha. Mim. (1) A'in. Sin. Qaf. (2) Thus God/Allah the Mighty, the Knower inspireth thee (Muhammad) as (He inspired) those before thee. (3) Unto Him belongeth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and He is the Sublime, the Tremendous. (4) Almost might the heavens above be rent asunder while the angels hymn the praise of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on the earth. Lo! God/Allah is the Forgiver, the Merciful. (5) And as for those who choose protecting friends beside Him, Allah is Warden over them, and thou art in no wise a guardian over them. (6)
Then look how the angels pray for the people and ask God to forgive them and how God prays in return by answering their prayers:
سُوۡرَةُ المؤمن / غَافر
ٱلَّذِينَ يَحۡمِلُونَ ٱلۡعَرۡشَ وَمَنۡ حَوۡلَهُ ۥ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّهمۡ وَيُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَيَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ رَبَّنَا وَسِعۡتَ ڪُلَّ شَىۡءٍ۬ رَّحۡمَةً۬ وَعِلۡمً۬ا فَٱغۡفِرۡ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُواْ وَٱتَّبَعُواْ سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمۡ عَذَابَ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ (٧) رَبَّنَا وَأَدۡخِلۡهُمۡ جَنَّـٰتِ عَدۡنٍ ٱلَّتِى وَعَدتَّهُمۡ وَمَن صَلَحَ مِنۡ ءَابَآٮِٕهِمۡ وَأَزۡوَٲجِهِمۡ وَذُرِّيَّـٰتِهِمۡۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٨) وَقِهِمُ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِۚ وَمَن تَقِ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ۬ فَقَدۡ رَحِمۡتَهُ ۥۚ وَذَٲلِكَ هُوَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ (٩)
Ghafir
Those who bear the Throne, and all who are round about it, hymn the praises of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who believe (saying): Our Lord! Thou comprehendest all things in mercy and knowledge, therefor forgive those who repent and follow Thy way. Ward off from them the punishment of hell. (7) Our Lord! And make them enter the Gardens of Eden which thou hast promised them, with such of their fathers and their wives and their descendants as do right. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, the Wise. (8) And ward off from them ill-deeds; and he from whom Thou wardest off ill-deeds that day, him verily hast Thou taken into mercy. That is the supreme triumph. (9)
Therefore our prayers for the dead is to stand humbly for God and ask him to forgive them for their sins just as the angels ask forgiveness for those who believe and so you say: May God forgive them and have mercy on them and on all the believers and Muslims who passed away and forgive us and have mercy on us O most merciful most benevolent. And do not hold your hands and arms together as when you pray to God but instead raise your hands up in the sky and ask him to forgive and have mercy for your deceased ones and yourself and so he answers your prayers and forgives all those who you pray for including yourself. and remember that the takbeer (Allah Akbar/God is Great) is 7 times after the imam while the istighfaar (asking forgiveness) is 70 times by repeating istaghfar – after each Takbeer (Allah Akbar) we do 10 times istighfaar and since the total number of takbeer (Allah Akbar) is 10 times so the total number of Istighfaar is 70, in line with the ayah:
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ ۚ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ
Whether thou ask for their forgiveness, or not, (their sin is unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger. and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.
At-Taubah, Chapter #9, Verse #80
And so we learn that asking forgiveness for our dead is 70 times and God will forgive their sins and have mercy on them, unless they are hypocrites and have rejected God and his messenger. God has forbidden us to pray for them in line with the ayah:
وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَىٰ قَبْرِهِ
Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave;
At-Taubah, Chapter #9, Verse #84
And this is because God will never forgive the hypocrites who show faith but hide disbelief unless they truly repent to God before their death in line with the ayah:
وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَىٰ قَبْرِهِ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ
Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave; for they rejected Allah and His Messenger, and died in a state of corruption/perverse rebellion.
At-Taubah, Chapter #9, Verse #84
And God will not forgive their sins even if prophet Mohamed (pbuh) prayed for them during their life or after their death 70 times.
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ ۚ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ
Whether thou ask for their forgiveness, or not, (their sin is unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger. and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.
At-Taubah, Chapter #9, Verse #80
And people, those 70 times forgiveness are guaranteed that God will fill your hearts with humbleness and your eyes with tears so Allah will be pleased with you and with the one who died and so he forgives you and answers your prayers and this is a great victory. The Imam says Allah Akbar followed by the Fatiha then comes the duaa/prayer for the dead. How great is the reward of those who pray for the dead – if someone looks to them from outside he will think the person who died must be their brother or mother or father because he sees how humble they pray and how they have tears in their eyes when those tears are for Allah as the servant prays and asks him to forgive the dead and to forgive his sins and to forgive all believers alive and dead and so they can be saved from the hell fire. God is all hearing and all forgiving, most merciful.
The believers can now in this life ask God to forgive the ones who died and ask his mercy, but they will not be able to do this on the day of judgment in line with the ayah:
هَا أَنتُمْ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ جَادَلْتُمْ عَنْهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَمَن يُجَادِلُ اللَّهَ عَنْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَم مَّن يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلًا وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Ah! These are the sort of men on whose behalf ye may contend in this world; but who will contend with Allah on their behalf on the Day of Judgment, or who will carry their affairs through? (109) If any one does evil or wrongs his own soul but afterwards seeks Allah.s forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.(110)
An-Nisa, Chapter #4, Verse #109-110
Imam Nasser Mohamed El Yemeni