Nutmeg, the Well Known Spice, is an Intoxicant (Khamr)

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Compassionate, the All- Merciful…

Nutmeg ( جوزة الطيب ) is widely known to have intoxicating properties.

 …Nutmeg’s intoxicating properties have long been known in Europe… it has been a substitute for other substances that for one reason or another were unavailable or unaffordable. Thus prisoners, soldiers, seamen and struggling musicians were among its users… In 1946, before his conversion to Islam, Malcolm X used nutmeg whilst in jail when his supplies of marijuana ran out. In his autobiography he wrote: ‘I first got high in Charlestown [prison] on nutmeg. My cellmate was among at least a hundred nutmeg men who, for money or cigarettes, bought from kitchen worker inmates penny matchboxes full of stolen nutmeg. I grabbed a box as though it were a pound of heavy drugs. Stirred into a glass of cold water, a penny matchbox full of nutmeg had the kick of three or four reefers.’ When the authorities became aware of such uses of nutmeg it was removed from many prison kitchens.

Source: http://www.moodfoods.com/nutmeg/index.html (Accessed Dec. 25, 2008)

Ahmad ibn Hajr al-Haytamee (d.974), the soofee ash’aree, however an authority on the Fiqh (legal rulings) of ash-Shaafi’ee according to his later followers, seems to have the most detailed information on the topic. Thus, his words and research on the matter are important, and our scholars have Continue reading

Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh on Asking the Dead to Intercede

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful…

This is an answer given by Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh to the issue of requesting the supplication of the deceased. The shaykh was asked (during his explanation of al-‘Aqeedah at-Tahaawiyyah, in the printed version: 2/1029, Dar al-Mawaddah, Egypt):

من سأل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يدعو له وأن يطلب له المغفرة من الله بعد موته، هل هذا شرك؟

The one who asks the Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) to supplicate for him and to ask for his forgiveness from Allaah after his (the Prophet’s) death, is this shirk (an act of polytheism)?

The shaykh’s answer:

نعم، هو شرك أكبر لأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يُدعى بعد موته، فطلب الدعاء من الميت، وطلب الدعاء بالإغاثة أو الاستسقاء؛ يعني أن يدعو الله أن يغيث، أو أن يدعو الله أن يغفر، أن يدعو الله أن يعطي ونحو ذلك، هذا كله داخل في لفظ الدعاء والله – عز وجل – قال {وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا} [الجن:18].

Yes, it is major shirk because the Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) is not to be called upon after his death. Requesting supplication from the dead  (for them to) request rescue and sending of rain, meaning, that he (the deceased) supplicates to Allaah that He grants relief or he supplicates to Allaah to forgive (the person making the request), that he supplicates to Allaah to give (to that person) and what is like this, all of it is included in the meaning of the word “du’aa” (supplication), and Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic said, “And the mosques are for Allaah, so do not invoke anyone alongside Allaah” [72:18].

 والذي يقول إنّ هذه الصورة وهي طلب الدعاء تخرج عن الطلب الذي به يكون الشرك شركًا فإنه ينقض أصل التوحيد كله في هذا الباب، فكل أنواع الطلب؛ طلب الدعاء يعني طلب الدعاء من الميت، طلب المغفرة من الميت، أو طلب الدعاء من الميت أن يدعو الله أن يغفر، أو طلب الإغاثة من الميت أو طلب الإعانة أو نحو ذلك كلها باب واحد هي طلب، والطلب دعاء فداخلة في قوله تعالى {وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ} [المؤمنون:117] ، وفي قوله {وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا} ، وفي قوله {وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ} [فاطر:13] ، ونحو ذلك من الآيات.

And the one who says that this form, which is to Continue reading