Muharramat: Forbidden Matters Some People Take Lightly

Seerah and Biographies

This book is an obligation to every Muslim, both male and female, to attain the knowledge of Islam that is necessary for them in their daily lives. There are many books available on various aspects of Islam in English language, but most of them deal with aspects of general nature.

There are many rulings in Islam that are concerned with Muslim women only. It is the job of every Muslim woman to obtain adequate knowledge of what is addressed to her with respect to her religion.

All these specific issues relating to Muslim women, have been compiled in the book which is in-between your hands, in the form of questions and answers. Each of the questions presented in it, was addressed to world renowned scholars, both of our time and those who have passed away. In turn, the scholars answered them in simple language and concise manner, so that Muslims women may increase their knowledge of Islam and, eventually, become close to their Creator.

Mercy is clemency and forbearance; mercy is the disposition to forgive or show compassion; mercy means a favor or a blessing; mercy further denotes the qualities of kindness, sympathy, generosity, and beneficence. Suffice is to say that all of these qualities were present in abundance in the character of the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah have his peace and blessings on him).

He was a mercy not just to believers, but to disbelievers as well, for he would invite them to come out of darkness and into the light of true guidance. He is a favor and blessing for mankind, not just the Arabs, the people among whom he was sent, but for people of all races and colors. His staunchest enemies became his closest followers when the cloud of blind prejudice was removed from their sight and when they were able, for the very first time, to see with clarity the true nature of the Prophet’s character.

This book deals with many of the qualities that the Prophet possessed that made him the mercy to everyone. It starts with His perfect lineage, His noble upbringing, and his fully dedicated worship. This book then gives many of the qualities of the Prophet including his generosity, humbleness, bravery, patience, and leadership to name a few. Each chapter includes examples from the life of the Prophet on how he was the perfect living example of that quality. The book ends with the perfection of life of the Prophet with his farewell sermon and even his noble death where he demonstrated some of those qualities as well.

Buku ini merupakan kumpulan fatwa-fatwa pilihan yang berkaitan dengan masalah wanita, yang dihimpun dari fatwa-fatwa Syaikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, Syaikh Muhammad al-Utsaimin, Syaikh Abdullah al-Jabrain, dan fatwa-fatwa Lajnah Da’imah lil-Ifta’. Buku ini penting dimiliki setiap muslimah, karena di dalam buku ini terdapat jawaban-jawaban atas persoalan-persoalan yang dihadapi atau dialami oleh wanita muslimah dalam kehidupannya, di mana banyak dari persoalan-persoalan tersebut yang tidak didapatkan jawabannya dalam buku-buku klasik.

This is the Indonesian translation of Fatawa: Rulings for Muslim Woman. Acquiring knowledge of Islam is incumbent upon every Muslim – male and female – in order to live one’s life according to the commands and recommendations of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Naturally, women have some specific issues that concern them and that are different than those that concern all Muslims or only men. In this book, these rulings, or fatâwa, have been compiled from the religious verdicts of well-known and respected Islamic scholars, both past and present — Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Aziz ibn Baz, Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen, and the Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Issuing Fatwas (Saudi Arabia). The rulings are derived from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The rulings were compiled in this book by Muhammad al-Musnid and translated into Indonesian/Malay by Uril Bahruddin. This book is a compendium of such rulings in a question-and-answer format, catering to the special needs of the Muslim woman. It is a concise and readily accessible reference, and an invaluable addition to the Muslim woman’s personal library.

Until September 11, 2001 few Westerners had ever heard of “Wahhabism.” Now most of us recognize the word as describing an austere and puritanical type of Islam, mentioned frequently in connection with Osama bin Laden and Saudi Arabia and often named as the inspiration behind the 9/11 terror attacks. The word “Wahhabi” stems from the name of the founder of this system of thought, Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1702-1791), companion and religious adviser to Muhammad Ibn Saud, founder of the House of Saud. In this book Natana DeLong-Bas offers an in-depth study of the written works of al-Wahhab. She focuses on four areas: theology, legal theory, proselytizing through education and jihad, and law on women. Through a close reading of al-Wahhab’s texts she demonstrates that many aspects of 20th- and 21st-century Wahhabi extremism do not have their origins in his writings. Examples of this extremism include the emphasis on jihad, martyrdom and militancy, and misogyny. The strict division of the world into dar al-Islam and dar al-kufr, according to which only Wahhabi adherents are considered to be true Muslims and all others are non-Muslims who must be fought, is entirely absent from al-Wahhab’s work. Instead, argues DeLong-Bas, all of these themes were only added to Wahhabi teachings in the 19th century following armed engagement with the Ottoman Empire. DeLong-Bas’s study fills an enormous gap in the literature about Wahhabism by returning to the original writings of the founder of the movement. She debunks the common journalistic portrayal of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab as an illiterate, rural bumpkin with no scholarly formation. Her revisionist reading of al-Wahhab’s thought will be controversial but impossible to ignore. The book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Islam as well as for those interested in the background of this dangerous modern ideology.