“the Louvre Abu Dhabi”

Year 43rd - Dec. 2017 -Issue 516

)Monthly Islamic & Cultural Magazine(Issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The UAE Vice-President, the Abu Dhabi Crown

Prince and French President open

“the Louvre Abu Dhabi”

You could not be happier when the home you have dreaming of is even-tually built

You could not be happier when you come to live in the new house and feel secure and taste bliss

When you count the blessings of stability and see your children, before your eyes, grow up in a new home, you start recalling the good old days and say quietly and profoundly: We thank You, Allah.

When you see the young people of this nation start to climb mountains of glory and contribute to the development of the country, you will un-doubtedly utter what Allah the Almighty says: “Say, "In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice.”

This reminds us of the start of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah rest his soul in peace, and his Brothers and succeeding sons to plan, establish and build this nation in a manner that resembles the way of creating countries, institutions and civilisations.

This month, we celebrate the UAE 46th National Day of the establish-ment of the United Arab Emirates, a country that cherishes happiness and looks up to the future through the lenses of hope.

The desert and the Arab Gulf golden shores are no longer legends of the sand times, they instead have become modern legends. In fact, UAE has turned into a meeting point of cultures and civilisations between the east and west, north and south. Under the dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi, routes of life are met to speak of history, innovation, nations and human ambitions striving to catch the galaxies of light and comets of innovation across the continents.

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah have all become emirates of the union looking up to the fu-ture while sticking with the principles of tolerance and co-existence that the Emirati society breathes its pleasant fragrance every single day. This fra-grance revives everyone and makes them feel happy and appreciated.

This is due to the favour that Allah the Sublime confers upon us and to our leaders who are sincere in making people joyful. So, let’s rejoice the blessings of this country and say to our wise leadership: the hand of Allah is over your hands, so proceed.

The bridge of the ship ploughs through the tides of life in the name of Al-lah is its course and its anchorage and be blessed who takes faith and work from the blessings of Allah the Exalted.

Let’s rejoice

Edito

rial

Dr. Ahmed Al-Mousa

Manar Al-Islam Issue 516 5

Dec. 20176

Monthly Islamic & Cultural Magazine

Established in 1394 AH (1974 AD) and

Issued on 1st day of every lunar month by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs

& EndowmentsThe United Arab Emirates

General Manager :Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi

Deputy General Manager :Omar Al Derei

Editors-in-Chief :Abdul-Rahman Al ShamsiDr Ahmed Mousa Al Mousa

Managing Editor :Khalifa AlDhaheri

Editorial Board :Juma Al Hosani

Shammah AlDahriSara AlHosani

Mona AlAhbabiMoza AlSuwaidi

Editor :Maisara Al Hibr

Graphic Design: Graphics sectionin the Magazine

Contents

The UAE Vice-President , the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and French President open the Louvre Abu Dhabi........................................................................................................................

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid names pedestrian bridge in Dubai “Tolerance” Bridge.......................................................................................................................

Saif bin Zayed attends the signing of MoU between ‘Aqdar’ and Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Forum........................................................................................................................

46000 khatamas to honour memory of Sheikh Zayed and Founding Leaders........................................................................................................................

The Islamic Affairs celebrates the UAE’s 46th National Day........................................................................................................................

The Islamic Affairs commemorates the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH........................................................................................................................

Awqaf honours the outstanding employees.......................................................................................................................

The Islamic Affairs honours Haj operators........................................................................................................................

Shaykh Al-Azhar discuses with Pope Francis and PM of Italy means to endorse the world peace.......................................................................................................................

Fatwas

06

10

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14

16

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Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and

do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and the publisher.

Dear Reader: This magazine contains verses from the Holy

Quran and the Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH).

It is therefore necessary you treat it with utmost respect.

All correspondence to be addressed to Managing Editor

P.O.Box 2922 - Ab u Dhabi. U.A.E- Tel. +971 2 6143 666

Fax: +971 2 6212484 - E-mail : [email protected]

The UAE Vice-President ,the Abu Dhabi Crown Princeand French President open

the Louvre Abu Dhabi

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minis-ter and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Emmanuel Macron, President of France, opened on Nov. 8, 2017 Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum in Abu Dhabi.

Dec. 20178

The following is a speech deliv-ered by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum:

Your Majesties, Highnesses, Ex-cellencies , and distinguished guests, peace be upon you. We welcome you and greet you from UAE, and from its capital Abu Dhabi, the cap-ital of culture, art, architecture and human innovation. We welcome you and the entire world to the Lou-vre Abu Dhabi, a unique showpiece that Abu Dhabi adds to the heritage of humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen: 4,000 years BC, our region saw the rise of the one of the oldest civilisations in the world, the Sumerian civilisation in the Mesopotamia. The Sumerian believed that the sky above us was a large dome, while the earth was a flat disc, surrounded by a rim of mountains.

Then came the Babylonian civil-isation .. likewise, they believed the sky was a large dome dotted with moving stars and comets and was carried by two mountains from the East and the West.

Today, we gather here under a new dome that tells the world we can meet, talk and come closer.

Welcome to the dome of the Lou-vre Abu Dhabi .. the dome of enlight-enment .. in a region where the peo-ple of dark thoughts are attempting to bring us back to the ages of igno-rance and backwardness.

Ladies and gentlemen: Louvre Abu Dhabi is an architectural mas-terpiece .. a cultural icon and an ar-tistic platform that combines East with the West.

It symbolises our ability to build bridges of communication, in a

world that they want it to be a scene for clash of civilisations. It also re-flects our ability to fight darkness with light .. ignorance with arts .. apathy with creativity .. extremism with artistic beauty, created by hu-man minds thousands years ago.

Ladies and gentlemen; History is a continuous journey of cultural inter-action among the nations. Our Arab and Islamic civiliastion was founded on previous civilisations. The Euro-pean renaissance could only take off after interacting with the our Islamic civilization.

Today, we share a global civiliza-tion, represented by the Louvre Abu Dhabi .. a melting point for intellect and humanity .. a place for tolerance and interaction.

This landmark was made possible thanks to the deep-rooted relations between the UAE and France. It will be a turning point in the cultural scene in the region. There is a lot more to be done .. but we embark

on our openness and on the French vast cultural experience, to achieve more. From this platform, we call, not only for a cultural dialogue, but a cultural alliance that safeguards ci-vilisations from their foes.

The UAE can never find a better ally and a friend than the Republic of France, to share that noble goal, and who is better than President Macron, who is participating with us today in opening the Louvre Abu Dhabi, to carry France’s message to the world. The message of a country that embraces the values of peace, tolerance, fraternity and cultural openness.

Ladies and gentlemen: The mes-sage of Louvre Abu Dhabi is that we draw our strength as humans from our interaction.. our strength is in our cultural exchange and in learn-ing from each other’s' experiences. Our strength is in thinking alike .. in amity among peoples and in the alli-ance of civilisations.


Emmanuel Macron, President of France

At the end, I thank the Republic of France, represented by its President Emmanuel Macron, in its support to this great cultural achievement.

On behalf of myself, the people of the UAE, and in the name of those who advocate peace in the region and the whole world, I would like to thank the man behind the achieve-ment .. thank you my brother Mo-hamed bin Zayed.

Your achievement is drawn from the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed. A legacy that you carry in your heart .. the legacy of love for the humanity and for interaction among different cultures and nations.

From here, we say that the Lou-vre Abu Dhabi will bring the best in the East and the West and a will be a meeting place for those who ad-mire arts, beauty and culture from all over the world.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first museum in the Arab world as it of-fers a new perspective on the art his-tory and consists of best collections

spanning over pre-historic epochs till the present one.

The museum is a result of coop-eration between UAE and France; it reflects the spirit of openness and dialogue among cultures as it showcases a selected collections of artworks that are characterised of their historical significance and cul-tural and artful value in different historical periods and human civili-sations. The museum is also the first in the Arab world that comprises of unique historical and civilisational collections and outstanding archi-tecture.

The museum connects our Arab region with its ancient civilisation-al roots that go deep down in the history of Western art and culture and inspires the whole world with an innovative vision that combines principles of tolerance and love in the best sense through a civilisation-al perspective that is grounded on cooperation and dialogue.

It is noteworthy that the muse-

um is designed by the famous ar-chitect, Jean Nouvel, Pritzker Ar-chitecture Prize Laureate, who got inspired by the Arab architecture traditions. The museum sits on a surface amounting to roughly 97, 000 square meters.

Louvre Abu Dhabi consists, in ad-dition to showrooms, of a museum for children, café, store and centre for research, and showrooms have 17 glass ceilings made up of 18 types of glass panes. The total number of glasses amounts up to 25,000, and the interior surface of the museum is around 8600 sq. meters and show-room surface is 6400 sq. meters cov-ered with the exterior square dome. The latter keeps the sun heat away and provides comfort for visitors and curbs the consumption of en-ergy.

In his speech, Emmanuel Ma-cron, French President expressed his pride with the ties of friendship that connects him with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, describing him as a close friend that he thanks him for his invitation to attend the opening ceremony of Louvre Abu Dhabi. He said that the birth of a global cultural showpiece in Abu Dhabi is a response to those who seek to destroy humanity be-cause it represents a bridge of beau-ty and art that connects the world continents and human generations with one another.

The French President hailed the wisdom of UAE policy and its stanc-es in a heated region that concerns the entire world, expressing his ad-miration of UAE capability of offer-ing the best example of co-existence with people from various religions and races.

Dec. 201710

A portrait of a Muslim Emir reading a book

He also said that the UAE offers us today a success story in a whole range of fields including the climate change. He spoke of artifacts that date back to the Arab and Muslim times from many countries, such as UAE, China, France, Morocco, among others.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a distinctive landmark in the march of strong relationships between UAE and France, particularly at the cultural level, highlighting the two countries’ appreciation to the shared human cultural heritage and their focus on cementing its role in achieving the rapprochement and understanding among peoples.

High Highness Sheikh Moham-med welcomed the guests to UAE, a country whose civilisational and cul-tural heritage go down deep in his-tory, affirming that UAE under the leadership of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, places a tremendous importance on culture as part of its development vision and its foreign relationships, thus helping it to become a centre of culture in the region and a role model in promoting inter-faith dia-logue and openness to cultures and a place for numerous world’s scien-tific and cultural landmarks.

HH said: “our message for the world is that culture was and always will be a bridge of communication and dialogue among peoples and civilisations, and is not a source of clash or conflict as the extremists may want to fuel.” He explained that opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi

sends a positive message from UAE to the entire world that we can cre-ate hope for the people of the region irrespective of wars and conflicts that deplete the regions’ sources and pools of bood being shed over the past years.

HH added: “this day represents a significant watershed in the history of our relationship and human histo-ry as it represents the strong, deep re-lationship between UAE and France and connects the human civilisations with one single showpiece and what culture can offer for peace, coopera-tion and co-existence in the world.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pointed out that

we would continue to bolster the high values and enhance the UAE role for being a leading role model worldwide. “For this to happen, we need to use the language of dialogue and peaceful co-existence to com-municate with the other, highlight-ing that UAE seeks to spread the values of goodness in every corner of the globe,” HH added.

Concluding his speech, HH Sheikh Mohammed said: “We want to have communities that love peace, and generations that live in tolerance and harmony. We want the values of love, affinity and peace, and we look up to a better life for all humanity that is grounded on harmony and


His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said that tolerance and UAE are two sides of the same coin and that tolerance is a fundamental value for our people and a guarantee for the future of development in our country.

On this occasion of the International Day for Tolerance on Nov. 16, 2017, His Highness tweeted: “today is the In-ternational Day for Tolerance, a value deeply cherished in the UAE-our people are among the happiest and most ac-cepting.”

HH also tweeted: “We have given our directives to name Dubai footbridge over water canal as Tolerance Bridge… our bridges connect people, cultures and hearts.”

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Mak-toum delivered a speech on this occasion under the ban-ner “Tolerance” in which he said: “all people are equal as Allah created them; no one is superior to other save for the knowledge and morals he or she possesses, or their com-pliance with our laws and constitution and respect for our country.”

HH also said: “We are all the "children of Zayed", and his children of Zayed don't carry his name and love to the na-tion, but they hold the values of his morals and indulgence and his love to all the people.”

The following is the script of the speech HH Sheikh Mo-hammed bin Rashid:

Dear brother and sisters, peace be upon you!Today, the whole world celebrates the International Day

for Tolerance. On this momentous occasion, I would like to say a few words from my heart to citizens and residents, particularity the young people.

I still remember the majlis of my late father, Sheikh Rashid, may Allah rest his soul in peace that took place more than four decades ago... I recall the nature the maj-lis and its visitors. The majlis included citizens, young and old; the villagers as well as urban community; and people from different tribes, faiths, origins and races. For Sheikh Rashid, all of them were citizens; they were given same re-spect, rights and duties, and even in-kind gifts. The closest to Sheikh Rashid was the one who served people the most and the most effective ones in their fields.

The people who attended his gatherings were not less than citizens, even though they were from different nation-alities and cultures. Sheikh Rashid treated them as his sons, and gatherings integrated them in Dubai. They welcomed his kind treatment with love and gratitude and loyalty.

After the establishment of the Union, I came to know Sheikh Zayed closely, may Allah rest his soul in peace, a fa-ther-son bond developed between him and me. I found in

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid names pedestrian bridge in Dubai “Tolerance” Bridge

Tolerance Bridge – Dubai

Dec. 201712

him a father and a teacher. I came to know about his majlis, how he respected people and his morals. His gathering was a school ... his talks were a school, and his interaction with people was also a school.

He helped everyone, taught everyone, loved everyone and they loved him back, and they all prayed for him. When he went forever, they bequeathed their love for Sheikh Zayed to their children and grandchildren.

This is the legacy of Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid, two greatest souls who left behind their principles and morals for us.

We should be proud of being a nation where different nationalities are living in peace and harmony. With true love and tolerance, all live and work together to build their children's future without fear of intolerance and hatred or racial discrimination or distinctions based on colour, reli-gion, race or ethnicity.

We see the people equally, as Allah created them; no one is superior to others except in knowledge, or adher-ence to the laws and constitution, and by respecting our nation.

We are all the "children of Zayed", and his children don't hold his name and love to the nation alone, but they hold the values of his morals and indulgence and his love to all the people.

We ask Allah the Exalted to guide me and my broth-ers and sisters to do everything that is good for this great country.

Nahyan bin Mubarak: UAE is a leading role model in spread the values of tolerance in the world

For his part, HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, said that the high position of UAE in the field of tolerance worldwide enables it to play a key role in spreading the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence across the country, thus helping UAE to be-come a role model in peace and stability all over the world.

His Excellency pointed out that the Emirati successful example in tolerance is attributed to the wise vision of the founder of UAE, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah rest his soul in peace, and is presently espoused by the wise leadership, ensuring that the nation’s lead-ers always emphasise that tolerance, understanding and co-existence are the key to a successful society and more peaceful, prosperous and stable world.

HE also said: “We are proud in UAE that tolerance and peaceful co-existence is an integral part of the nation’s march and that our role is the field of tolerance is mani-fested in our successive accomplishments by creating hope

and optimism in the relationships among civilisations and cultures. The opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a great example that our role in enhancing tolerance is expanding to pass laws and legislation so as to curb the crimes of ex-tremism and hatred and combat all forms of division and discrimination.”

“For this to happen, we also focus on efforts on de-veloping education and ensuring the role of media since our role is to shed light on the tolerant teachings of Is-lam and its contributions to tolerance and co-existence in UAE accompanied with a positive and sincere dialogue for the sake of defeating ignorance and refuting the false thoughts”, added Minister of Tolerance.

“We, citizens and residents, enjoy respect and a decent life, in addition to our global role in fostering tolerance by taking part in the international conferences inside and outside UAE and boosting ties of communication with in-dividuals and institutions worldwide,” HE explained, add-ing that “tolerance in UAE is a significant part of our for-eign relations as it represents a positive power to establish successful international relationships and is also a major pillar of the soft power that contributes to placing UAE a leading position in the world.”

HE Minister of Tolerance outlined that the mission of the ministry of tolerance domestically is to promote the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and positive understanding among all sections of society irrespective of their cultures or beliefs. “We firmly believe that achieving tolerance requires collective work from all people, citizens and residents, in endorsing the ministry’s mission for the sake of tolerance,” added Minister of Tolerance.

“Internationally, the ministry will establish ties of coop-eration with all organisations keenly interested in spread-ing tolerance in the world and cement the role of residents in the country in creating partnerships,” said HE Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

His Excellency mentioned that the education system in the country is fully aware of its responsibility in this field, hailing the leading initiative by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to include the “moral education” into the school curriculum as it intends to promote the human values that are based on tolerance and co-existence instead of tribalism and bigotry. "For in-stance, the international institute for tolerance aims to disseminate the spirit of tolerance and harmony in society and denounce all forms of discrimination, violence and ha-tred," HE concluded.


Saif bin Zayed attends the signing of MoU between ‘Aqdar’ and Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Forum

Comprehensive maintenance plan for the capital’s MosquesThe Awqaf began implementation of its annual plan for maintenance and renovation of all mosques in the capital Abu Dhabi. Commenting on the move, HE Dr Mohammed Matar al Kaabi, Awqaf’s Chairman, said, “Inspired by the initiative of HH the UAE President, may Allah protect him, announcing 2017 as the Year of Giving, Awqaf has started the execution of an ambitious plan that is aimed at transforming the Capi-tal’s mosques to a condition and image that are consistent with the civilised urban level of Abu Dhabi.” This includes comprehensive maintenance, cleanliness, and renovation as well as rejuvenation of a number of mosques, Dr al Kaabi concluded.

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, attended on Tues. 21 Nov 2017, the signing of a memorandum of understand-ing between Khalifa Student Empowerment Program ‘Aq-dar’ and Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Forum on the sidelines of World Aqdar Summit.

The MoU was signed by HE Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi, Awqaf Chairman and Colonel Dr Ibrahim Al Dabel, General Coordinator of Khalifa Student Empowerment

Program ‘Aqdar’ in the presence of Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Chairman of Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies Forum.

The memo aims to cement the cooperation between the two institutions in the fields of education, public awareness, and development of their purposeful programs. It also seeks to foster the exchange of expertise and knowledge in mat-ters of mutual interest.

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In preparation for the UAE’s 46th National Day celebrations, Awqaf launched on Sunday, November 12, 2017 an initiative to dedicate 46 thousand Quran Khatmahs (reciting the full length of the holy Quran) in honour to the memory of the founders of the UAE. The initiative further comes to show loyalty to the nation’s wise leadership and cap the Year of Reading and Year of Giving. The said Khatmahs will be com-pleted in the first day of celebrating the anniversary of UAE’s foundation and union.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr Mohammed Matar al Kaabi, Awqaf’s Chairman, said, “This initiative represents our deep belief in the role that Awqaf plays in cementing the val-ues of patriotic belonging in the minds and hearts of the stu-dents of the Quran memorisation centres. It also honours the founders of the UAE union who were credited with the es-tablishment of the Holy Quran memorisation centres which have now become a model to be emulated by the countries of the world and oases of faith and culture for the members of the UAE community, both Emirati and residents.”

Dr al Kaabi prayed to Allah the Almighty to continue blessing HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, and grant success to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin

46000 khatamas to honour memory of Sheikh Zayed and Founding Leaders

Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Dep-uty Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Their Highnesses the Members of the Supreme Council. He asked Allah to help them achieve their aspirations in real-ising pioneering, prosperity and stability for the UAE and keep it protected by means of the arms of its men and the blessings of the care they attribute to the Book of Allah the Most Exalted.

Concerning the idea of the initiative, Dr al Kaabi under-lined that it involves the male and female students as well as staff of the Quranic centres and mosque sessions who will complete 46 thousand Khatmahs, being a thousand Khat-mahs for each of the Union’s 46 anniversaries. The Khatmahs will be dedicated to the founders of the union and the UAE rulers in loyalty and gratitude to them, Dr al Kaabi added, noting that students and staff from both genders will partake in the initiative. The aim is to promote the value of affiliation to the homeland and leave the footprint of the students in the record of loyalty and belonging to our beloved country and its astute leadership, he explained.

Dr Al Kaabi launching the initiative


The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments held joyous celebrations all across its branches on the oc-casion of the UAE 46TH National Day. In celebration of this momentous national occasion, litanies of chants were sung, and folk songs were sung too, whereas employees were waving flags and holding the Union emblem.

On this auspicious occasion, HE Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi, Awqaf Chairman, said: “at the beginning of the national event, we observe a moment of silence in which we recite the opening chapter of the Quran in memory of the nation’s martyrs who were true to what they had promised Allah.”

In the second beginning, the Holy Quran memorisation centres dedicated 46 thousand Quran Khatmahs (reciting the full length of the Holy Quran) in honour to the memo-

ry of the Founding Leader, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, along with the founding fathers, may Allah rest their souls in peace, and in celebration of the UAE’s 46th National Day.

In the third beginning and on behalf of Awqaf person-nel, Awqaf extends its sincere congratulations to HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Their High-nesses, the Rulers of the Emirates and the UAE people who decorated the squares and streets and parks with joy in re-flection of their faithfulness and loyalty to the nation and the prudent leadership.

The Islamic Affairs celebrates the UAE’s 46th National Day

Dec. 201716

Dr Al Kaabi also said: “UAE is indeed a land of happiness, hope and prosperity whose strong foundations were laid by the founder of the union with the support of the Exalted Allah and with the success of the wise leadership. The Emiratis continue the march of the nation-al accomplishments with their innovations that have astonished the whole world, thus helping UAE become a destination for young peo-ple seeking to achieve their ambitions and projects placing their trust in a prosperous present and a promising future.”

Awqaf Chairman also said: “This Union is a national necessity em-phasised by the international status quo and the challenges we are facing, thus requiring all of us, leadership, government and people, to shoulder the responsibility.” He prayed to Allah the Almighty to shower mercy on the historic leader, Sheikh Zayed, and late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who stood by late Sheikh Zayed with wisdom and experience to raise the flag of the Union high.

Dr Al Kaabi quoted the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed famous speech: “We met on this historic day on December 1971 to achieve

what our deter-mination and that of the Emirati people had to reveal…history annals record for our nation as a nation of the building.” “Today, we have the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa that re-flects the Emirati identity and belonging, pride and loyalty”, added Dr Al Kaabi.

On a related note, Awqaf Chairman explained that cities and geography of UAE have turned into modern cities including the most renowned harbours and airports, and the largest invest-ments and services, while opening its doors to welcome civilisations of the east and west, and the south and north; for example the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

“The Adhan of mosques across the country calls for prayer and maintains the belonging to the tolerant teachings of Islam with the explora-tion of Probe of Hope that draws for Arabs and Muslims worldwide the ambitions of this young country able to achieve the most significant na-tional, regional and global accomplishments,” he further ensured.

Dr Al Kaabi pointed out that we are build-ing a country of happiness, tolerance, giving, excellence, innovation, knowledge, reading and culture, adding that Abu Dhabi has become the capital of clean energy; for example ‘the City of Masdar and Arina’, and Dubai at the forefront of smart cities worldwide, and Sharjah will be the World Book Capital of book 2019. “The remain-ing Emirates of giving will be encouraged to as-tonish the world with the pioneering initiatives,” he added.

Addressing Awqaf personnel, Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi urged them to work harder be-cause, he said, ambitions are enormous, and the outcomes we are anticipating are incredibly high as per the expectations, reading of the future and the government performance indicators.

We supplicate to Allah the Almighty to contin-ue blessing this country with security, prosperity and stability and make us bear this historic re-sponsibility in the arena of global competitiveness.

Concluding his speech, Dr Al Kaabi wished every success and progress for our country, lead-ership and people.


The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments commemorated the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mu-hammad PBUH at the National Archives Theatre in the presence of HE Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi, Awqaf Chairman, the executive and department directors at Awqaf, alongside a host of scholars, imams and khateebs, and bunch of Christian clerics in an obvious reflection of tolerance and spirituality that characterise the religious celebrations in UAE.

Awqaf extended its sincere congratulations to HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-Presi-dent, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mo-hammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Their Highnesses, Members of the Supreme Council, the Rulers of the Emirates, the UAE people, and Arab and Mus-lim people and the entire world, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

The ceremony began with singing the national anthem and followed by a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran. Invited to the stage, Mr AbdulRahman Al-Shamsi, Preach-

ing Department Director, said: “the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad is not a birth of a great man only, but it is a birth of an ever-lasting constitution, too. In its pages, there is a litany of universal laws and legislation that a vari-ety of creatures and cultures lived side by side in a world of constant changes and significant watersheds without de-stabilising their system and balance. “This wise constitution on which all people with sound minds and reasoning have agreed even though they belong to different races and be-lieve in different religions and beliefs,” he added.

Al-Shamsi also said: “this great Prophetic constitution is by unanimity a moral one combining between the light of following and light of guidance, internally and externally, from cover to cover, in times of peace and war, even in all of its articles and legislation.”

Concluding his speech, Al-Shamsi supplicated to the Al-mighty Allah to shower mercy on the nation’s righteous martyrs and dwell them in the best of abode, and raise their status high along with the Prophets, the steadfast, martyrs and the righteous, and to confer on families the best of reward.

The Islamic Affairs commemorates the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH

Dec. 201718

Mosques are to be furnished with finest furniture

Mosques attain the highest levels of the community’s satisfaction thanks to Awqaf’s unwavering strive to provide the most elite services in mosques across the UAE. To this end, Awqaf always ensures to furnish mosques with state of the art carpets that cor-responds to the standard of living in the country. As such, Awqaf imports around 150 to 160 thousand sq metres of carpets every year to furnish mosques. These numbers increase on yearly basis due to the construction of new mosques.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr Mohammed Matar al Kaabi, Awqaf’s Chairman, said, “In the Year of Giving, and through the continuous support by the UAE wise leadership to the Awqaf’s mission and role in the community, Awqaf always seeks to deliv-er the best of services that are conducive to bring happiness to the mosque goers, both spiritually and physically.”

“In a new move, Awqaf imported this year 6500 luxurious car-pets that were specially manufacture for mosque Imams. The new carpets in the Imam’s mehrab (niche) feature anti-slip bot-tom, elegance, fixed colours and appropriate size that fits in the mehrab, being 130cm long and 100 cm wide,” concluded Dr al Kaabi.

Mr Khalifa Al Dhaheri, the executive director at the Promoting Peace in Mus-lim Societies Forum, delivered a speech on this auspicious occasion in which he spoke of tolerance and peace in the life of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH with a variety of society members in a way that fosters the status of nation and the na-tional identity in the Islamic legislation in reference to the Medina Charter, the first constitution in the world that ensures the citizenship rights without discrimination on grounds of religions and sects.

“It is no wonder that human being is inextricably intertwined with the na-tional identity in a clear-cut reflection of belonging to the nation”, he explained, adding that “the name of Medina speaks of a national society characterised by fra-ternity, love and harmony among all of its segments and that everyone’s life is meaningless without having a feeling of the identity.”

He also said that every section of the Medina Charter tends to show mercy to the creatures, impart wisdom and ensure justice in the best interest of humanity, highlighting that due to the Charter the Prophet Muhammad PBUH managed to unite all sections of society and helped them to feel belonging to the nation irre-spective of any considerations whatsoever.

He also said that the Prophet Muham-mad PBUH had even managed to turn the scope of co-existence and safety to be way more substantial than the range of religion and creed, and that fraternity in the nation is broader than that in faith be-cause he said, identity encompasses com-munication, tolerance and understanding aimed at ensuring the world security and peace for people and spreading the spir-it of love, tolerance and construction in-stead of fueling fighting, conflict and de-struction,” he explained.

At the conclusion of the ceremo-ny, Preacher Fatima Al-Dahmani, gave a speech in which she spoke of some of prospects of mercy in the personality of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his blessed tradition.


As part of its strategy to encourage excellence, Awqaf hon-oured the distinguished employees all across its branches and departments and offered them certificates of appreciation and presents. This came in the “Distinguished Employee An-nual Gathering” that was held on Sunday 19, Nov. 2017 at Fairmont Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

In his speech, HE Dr Mohammed Matar Al Kaabi, Awqaf Chairman, expressed his tremendous loyalty to the prudent leadership that has turned UAE into a nation of happiness, tolerance, civilisational competitiveness and human dignity of which we are proud. He also implored Allah the Exalted to bless HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Pres-ident, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mo-hammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dha-bi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Their Highness the Rulers of the Emirates, with abundant health and wellbeing.

Awqaf Chairman also asked Allah to have mercy on the Founding Fathers who created the Union of the United Arab Emirates, and on the nation’s martyrs who sacrificed their lives in defence of our dignity, people, pride and glory.

In his speech, Dr Al Kaabi said that thanks to Allah the Al-

mighty, and support of our wise leadership and the efforts of the employees, Awqaf continues to achieve its vision to become a global Islamic reference and a sustainable Waqf development powerhouse, highlighting that development and progress that Awqaf is witnessing in a whole range of domains have definitely made it occupy a leading position among ministries and authorities in the country.

He further said that Awqaf had made tremendous ac-complishments on the ground that have pushed some of the friendly countries to follow suit and apply them in their religious institutions. He explained that mosques had be-come beacons of civilisation and safety whose sacredness is respected and safeguarded as they tend to deliver their mis-sion through delivering lessons and lectures with the aim of raising public awareness of their religion that is based on moderation and tolerance.

Dr Al Kaabi pointed out that Friday speech tends to cope with society issues and interact with the national, religious and world’s events and are seen in more than 230 coun-tries across the world so that they can be delivered in their mosques. “The official Fatwa Centre has become a civilisa-tional landmark, first of its kind in the world and a mecca for the official delegations from inside and outside UAE who

Awqaf honours the outstanding employees

Dec. 201720

have expressed their astonishment and admiration of Fatwa in terms of verification and management”, said Dr Al Kaabi, adding that the Centre possesses around 3 million Fatwas that everyone can obtain at the click of a button via Awqaf official website.

During the speech, Dr Al Kaabi spoke of the holy Quran memorisation centres which he considers places of graduat-ing generations who memorise the Quran and adopt the mor-als of the Quran. In them, students who are around 47,000 students in number, are granted licensing with a sound chain of authorities up to our Master Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

Awqaf Chairman affirmed that Awqaf is keenly interested in keeping pace with the development that is taking place worldwide by adopting the modern systems in its manage-ment and by benefiting from the technology, saying that Awqaf has begun to offer smart services that use less time and energy and reach out to all sections of society. “This has enabled Awqaf to win numerous awards for excellence and innovation in the service of society locally and regionally,” added Dr Al Kaabi.

On a related note, Dr Al Kaabi thanked the distinguished employees for their efforts and role in promoting Awqaf’s mission, saying that t today is to appreciate every one of you who has excelled in their work, and we honour the employees to encourage them to do their best and come up with sug-gestions that help develop Awqaf in light of UAE centennial

that the astute leadership aspires to accomplish.Dr Al Kaabi called on the employees to work collectively

and to spread the spirit of love and cooperation and create a positive environment, stressing the necessity of adhering to occupational morals and showing honesty, sincerity, per-fection and transparency, and preserving the public money. He also urged the employees to excel and come up with new innovative ideas in their work, highlighting Awqaf keen inter-est in caring for the ideas and developing them so that they become attainable.

On behalf of the employees, Mrs Dhabia Al Mazrouei gave thanks to the wise leadership for its keen interest in devel-oping the country and citizens and achieving happiness for all people who love in this blessed country, pledging Allah to do the best so that UAE always remains in the forefront of developed countries.

She also thanked HE Awqaf Chairman and officials at Awqaf for their dedication to development at Awqaf and providing all means of comfort for employees so that they accomplish their work and contribute to the promotion of Awqaf’s mission and vision in society, calling on the employ-ees to shape the future and grasp challenges while bearing in mind the necessity of accomplishing their goals.

At the end of the ceremony, HE Dr Al Kaabi honoured the outstanding employees with certificates of appreciation and in-kind presents.


In a move that represents the utmost care given to delight-ing its partners, Awqaf honoured all of the Hajj campaign operators that participated in the Hajj season of 1438 AH – 2017 AD. The honouring came in recognition of their commitment to the highest standard of services that were conducive to make the Hajj season a success. The honour-ing ceremony was held in Shangri-La hotel in Abu Dhabi in presence of HE Dr Mohammed Matar al Kaabi, Awqaf’s Chairman, and Awqaf’s executive directors.

The ceremony opened with the national anthem fol-lowed by a recitation of a number of verses from the holy Quran. This was followed by a speech for Hajj operators delivered on their behalf by Advisor Ali Sultan al Kindi, owner of al Sultan campaign. In his speech, al Kindi hailed the support by the UAE wise leaders and their efforts in touching the hearts of Emiratis with happiness. He further praised Awqaf’s efforts in this arena.

“Thanks are also extended to the heads of Hajj cam-paigns who strived to offer the possible best services to the UAE pilgrims. This contributed to making this year’s Hajj season a success,” al Kindi concluded.

“Sustaining such level of excellence is a challenge in it-self. Yet delivering a more innovative and unique services requires us to surmount every challenge in the way,” Dr al Kaabi added, highlighting the Hajj e-Registration system that was launched this year.

“The electronic registration system with all its positive aspects can be further effective with your suggestions and innovative initiatives, for we are all partners in mak-ing the Hajj season a success and increase its excellence until we reach to the highest possible levels in the ser-vices we offer to the citizens in our beloved UAE,” Dr al Kaabi underlined.

Dr al Kaabi further stressed that the success achieved over the past years constituted a qualitative leap that con-tributed to bolstering happiness for campaign operators and pilgrims too.

Dr al Kaabi called upon the Hajj contractors to exercise wisdom in terms of the profits they make from Hajj pack-ages. “Although the market is open for competition, how-ever the best approach is show compassion and consider the conditions of pilgrims. This is because Hujjaj are our brothers and part of our community, thus we are advised to strive for their happiness and satisfaction. Awqaf’s team will always support you in all the positive services that you offer to Hujjaj in order to make it easy for them to perform their Hajj rites in a manner that pleases Allah the Almighty and satisfies the UAE prudent leadership and people,” Dr al Kaabi concluded.

After that, Awqaf’s chairman honoured the Head of the UAE Hajj Mission as well as the Hajj operators that partic-ipated in this year’s season.

The Islamic Affairs honours Haj operators

Dr Al Kaabi thanking the UAE prudent leadership and Haj operators

Dec. 201722

His Eminence Shaykh Al Azhar, Dr Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Chair-man of Muslim Council of Elders, held a meeting with the Pope Francis of at the Papal Headquarters in Vatican. In a statement on November 7th, 2017 the meeting discussed the joint efforts to bolster the global peace, particularly after “World Peace Conference” that had been held jointly by Al Azhar and the Muslim Council of Elders in Cairo last April with the participation of Pope Francis.

On November 8, Dr Ahmed Al-Tayeb had met with the Prime Minister of Italy, Paolo Gentiloni at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Headquarters to discuss ways to establish the efforts between Italy and Azhar aiming to spread the culture of co-existence and peace and combat violence, hatred and extremism.

The Grand Imam of Al Azhar expressed his thanks to Pope Francis and Prime Minister of Italy for their warm hospitality, underscoring at the same time the urgent need for coordinating the efforts to uproot terrorism and to ex-terminate extremism, bigotry and Islam phobia.

He clarified that Egypt sacrifices its army personnel for the sake of fighting terrorism and extremism, reaffirming that Al Azhar shows a steely determination to decimate the ideologies of terrorism and extremism and uproot them.

He spoke of a long-standing cooperation between Al Azhar and Italy that chiefly aims to combat extremism and terrorism, adding that we are keen on achieving peace for all people through the joint work with Pope Francis as we find a great common cooperation and compatibility in views for the sake of the weak and poor and we also have agreed on a joint work plan.

Dr Ahmed Al-Tayeb declared Al-Azhar readiness to

support Italy’s efforts in combatting terrorism and ex-tremism as it performs a crucial role in the east and west in line with its universal message. He also said that Al-Azhar has a universal survey for defeating the extremist ideology and hateful ideologies and responding to the false thoughts in ten languages. He explained that Al-Azhar had brought forward a draft law to fight hatred and violence in the name of religion so as to preserve the social fabric and protect the national unity.

At the outset of the meeting, Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of Italy welcomed the visit of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar to Rome, expressing his appreciation for the prominent role the Grand Imam is playing in combatting extremism and terrorism and disseminating the culture of inter-faith dialogue for the sake of cementing peace.

The Prime Minister of Italy clarified that Al-Azhar and the Muslim Council of Elders are making tremendous efforts in engaging the east and west in a constructive dialogue. He hailed the strong relation and joint coop-eration between the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Pope Francis, especially with regards to coordination of efforts in spreading the culture of co-existence and focusing on issues of the weak, poor and needy, affirming that Egypt is a role model to follow suit in inter-faith co-existence.

Earlier, Shaykh Al-Azhar delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the third conference of east and west in which he affirmed that the divine religions could never be a source of hardship for humanity; rather they are only revealed to guide people. He made clear that the Muslim Council of Elders is fully ready to offer help to disseminate the global peace and joint co-existence.

Shaykh Al-Azhar discuses with Pope

Francis and PM of Italy means to endorse the

world peace


FatwasAnswered by: THE UAE OFFICIAL FATWA CENTRE

Messenger of Allah PBUH had to choose between

two things, he would opt for the least difficult pro-

vided that it is counted as a sin. In this regard, Aisha,

may Allah be pleased with her, said: “whenever the

Messenger of Allah was given a choice between two

matters, he would (always) choose the easier as long

as it was not sinful to do so; but if it was sinful he

was most strict in avoiding it.”

As for lessons and exams, the teacher should

stick with the curriculum for the best interest of

students. So, the choice for making things easy lies

in the hard work a teacher has to put in by giving

lessons as per most excellent educational method-

ology. The exams should be set compatible with

the lessons taken by students so that curricula and

Ease: Relative

-Can you tell me what the re ؟ligious ruling is for someone who cares much and seeks to make things easier and someone else who cares less and tends to make things more difficult such as the case with les-sons and exams?

- Please bear in mind that making things easy in

matters, in general, is a religious necessity. Annas bin

Malik reported that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH

said: “Make things easy and do not make them diffi-

cult, cheer the people up by conveying glad tidings

to them and do not repulse (them).” Whenever the

Dec. 201724

exams achieve their goals for which they are made.

And Allah knows best.

In summary: Making things easy in matters, in

general, is a religious necessity. The lesson should

be given as per the best educational methodology

and the exams should be set compatible with the

lessons taken by students so that curricula and

exams achieve their goals for which they are made.

ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

Sponsoring an orphan with the intention of easing worldly affairs

Is it permissible to sponsor orphans with ؟

the intention of obtaining sustenance or find-ing a new job, and the like? Or is sponsorship supposed to be for Allah’s sake? And if a person sponsors orphans but cannot afford the spon-sorship, does this mean that sponsorship is not accepted by Allah? and are there reasons for not accepting the sponsorship?

- There is no wrongdoing in proceeding the good

deeds over asking for needs from Allah the Al-

mighty. In this regard, the scholar Al Manawi said:

“giving in charity is an authenticated Sunna rather

than asking one’s need from Allah.”

It is crucial that sponsorship of an orphan and

other pious deeds should be solely for Allah’s sake

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even though the intention behind sponsoring an orphan is to

make worldly matters easy.

It is known that alleviating distress for orphans and others

is a cause of obtaining a great reward in life and hereafter.

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah PBUH said:

“Whoever is easy with (a debtor) who is in difficulty, Allah will

be easy with him in this world and in the Hereafter.”

The example of a Muslim benefitting from the good deeds

in this world is displayed in a Hadith reported by Annas bin

Malik as he had heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “He who

is desirous that his means of sustenance should be expanded

for him or his age may be lengthened, should join the ties of

relationship.”

If, nevertheless, the reward for sponsoring an orphan is not

reaped in this life, this does not mean that the reward is de-

nied since the real reward would be obtained in the hereafter,

as Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, those who have believed

and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be

lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.” [Al Kahf: 30].

Allah the Almighty also says: “Allah does not allow to be lost

the reward of the doers of good.” [Al Tauba: 120].

In interpretation of the verse mentioned above, the scholar

Al Khazin said: “Allah the Most High does never allow to be

lost the reward of a doer of good or worship He the Exalted

has ordered or prohibited.” And Allah knows best.

In summary: There is no wrongdoing in proceeding the good

deeds over asking for needs from Allah the Almighty. Most

importantly, sponsoring an orphan and other pious deeds

should be solely for Allah’s sake. If, nevertheless, the reward

for sponsoring an orphan is not reaped in this life, this does

not mean that the reward is denied since the real reward

would be obtained in the hereafter.


Oath is an excuse to fringe on people’s rights

I took an oath that I would not give my brother ؟something, but my mother gave him that something and

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Dec. 201726

told me she would compensate it for me later. Is there any expiation that I have to offer for breaking the oath?

- As for the question, you are not re-

quired to offer the expiation for violating

the oath you took since your mother took

that something from you and gave it to

your brother. It is much better to provide

the expiation for breaking the oath since

violating the oath is better to sever the

ties of kinship. In this regard, Abu Hurai-

ra reported that the Messenger of Allah

PBUH said: “When anyone amongst you

takes an oath, but he finds (something)

better than that he should expiate (the

breaking of the oath), and do that which

is better.”

It is known that expiating for the bro-

ken oath is to feed or provide clothes

for ten poor people. If one fails to afford

food and clothes, he or she is obliged to

observe the fast for three days. And Allah

knows best.

In summary: You are not required

to offer the expiation for violating the

oath you took since your mother took

that something from you and gave it to

your brother. It is much better that you

provide the expiation for breaking the

oath since violating the oath is better

than to sever the ties of kinship.


Reasons for obtaining reward and easing worldly affairs

-My husband and I suffered dis ؟

tress and grief for not being able to go to Umra due to financial difficulties we went through. So, is there a deed that we can do that equalises the reward of Umra and be a reason for making things easy for us?

- In the Prophetic Sunna that whoever sits to remember Al-

lah the Almighty after Al-Fajr Prayer until the sunrise, he or

she will be given the reward equal to that of Haj or Umra. In

this regard, Annas bin Malik reported that the Prophet Mu-

hammad, may Allah bless and grant him peace, said: “Whoever

prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until

the sun has risen, then he prays two units of prayer, then for

him is the reward like that of a Hajj and Umrah." He said: "The

Messenger of Allah said: 'Complete, complete, complete.”

Some of the main reasons for an alleviation of griefs and

distresses is to send in abundance Allah’s blessings upon the

Prophet Muhammad as Ibn Kaab said: “I said: "O Messenger

of Allah, I frequently invoke Allah to elevate your rank. How

much of my supplications should I devote to you?" He said,

“You may devote as much as you wish.” When I suggested a

quarter, he said, "Do whatever you wish, but it will be better

for you if you increase it.” I suggested half, and he said, "Do

whatever you wish, but it will be better for you if you increase.”

I suggested two- thirds, and he said, “Do whatever you wish,

but it will be better for you if you increase it." I said, “Shall I de-

vote all my supplications invoking Allah to elevate your rank?”

He said, “Then you will be freed from your worries, and your

sins will be forgiven.”

Your devotion to the worship of Allah and supplications

are the key for making things easier for you, as the Most High

says: “For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease, For indeed, with

hardship [will be] ease.” [Al Sharh: 5-6].

In his interpretation of the verse mentioned above, Al Has-

san said: “when this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Al-

lah PBUH said: “here comes glad tidings! a hardship will never

overcome two eases.” And Allah knows best.

In summary: In the Prophetic Sunna that whoever sits to

remember Allah the Almighty after Al-Fajr Prayer until the


sunrise, he or she will be given the reward equal to that of Haj

or Umra. Some of the principal reasons for an alleviation of

griefs and distresses is to send in abundance Allah’s blessings

upon the Prophet Muhammad. ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

On ethics of dealing with customers and workmates

Could you tell me how to deal with customers and ؟workmates during and outside the working hours?

- Dealing with customers must be set as per methods that are

widely recognised in the realm of administration, most important

of which are as follows:

1- Listening to customers with attention and respect

2- Choosing the appropriate words when answering customers’

questions and showing smile and optimism to them

3- Beware of being snobbish and arrogant while serving custom-

ers

4- Considering the customer’s circumstances and answering

their queries in a proper way

While dealing with workmates in the workplace, two rules must

be considered as follows:

First: The communication during the working hours should be

regulated so that the outcome of work is ultimately achieved. A

woman who happens to work with men should adhere to religious

regulations; for example, the dress and be cautious of staying alone

with a man and be taken with speech that may tease her.

Second: The commitment of what friendship and good neigh-

bouring may bring about during and outside the working hours,

including the following:

1- Committing the self to benefiting friends and neighbours, as

Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah

bless and grant him peace, said: “The best of companions with Al-

lah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neigh-

bours to Allah is the one who is the best of them to his neighbour.”

In this regard, the scholar Al Manawi said: “

2- Following in the footsteps of our Master Muhammad PBUH

in his dealing with his companions as he would praise their virtues

and forgive those who do misdeeds. When

the Prophet Muhammad PBUH knew of the

malice of the hypocrite, some people want-

ed to judge their hypocrisy, but he PBUH

showed tolerance and kindness to them.

3- Adhering to wisdom, and good preach-

ing when giving advice and presenting gifts

to friends on occasions, helping those in

need and showing patience if one of your

friends or neighbours misbehaves.

4 - Uttering the right words and being

aware of gossip and backbiting and shun-

ning the unwanted fun. And Allah knows

best.

In summary: Dealing with customers and

workmates must be regulated according

to a set of moral principles including the

keen interest of establishing proper ties

of communication with customers and

adhering to work ethics and rights of

friendship and good neighbouring.


Warning against extremism in re-ligion

Can you tell me to what extent ؟the Hadith “Indeed, this religion is easy, and no one will ever overbur-den himself in religion, except that it will overcome him” is authentic? And what is the meaning of the Hadith?

- The Hadith you are asking for is

mentioned in Sahih Al Bukhari that the

Prophet Muhammad PBUH said: “indeed,

this religion is easy, and no one will ever

overburden himself in religion, except

Dec. 201728

that it will overcome him. So seek what is appropriate, and

come as close as you can, and receive the glad tidings (that

you will be rewarded), and take it easy; and gain strength by

worshipping in the mornings, afternoons, and during the last

hours of the nights.”

The overall meaning of the Hadith is that the Prophet PBUH

ensures that Islam is characterised with ease and is in harmo-

ny with the human nature, and the Muslim has to do acts of

worships according to one’s capacity and in proper times so

that he or she does not feel bored and instead always stays

motivated in performing worships.

In this respect, the scholar Ibn Rajab said: “the Hadith en-

courages the prohibition against extremism in religion that

one overburdens himself and herself beyond that which they

can bear.” And Allah knows best.

In summary: The Hadith is authentic and ensures the ease. the

Muslim has to do acts of worships according to one’s capacity

and in proper times so that he or she does not feel bored and

instead always stays motivated in performing worships for the

best interest of himself or herself, family and society at large.


On praying at the sides of roads

What is the ruling of pulling over vehicles on the ؟highways to perform prayer in a way that may put the worshippers' lives at risk? Several road accidents take place and claim lives of worshippers due to their existing on sides of roads to pray when cars swerve away from the road and hit the worshippers. Despite the fact that police draw drivers’ attention, but some insist on pulling over their cars on the sides of the roads to pray.

- First: Islam has come to preserve people’s lives and not

to allow them to hurt themselves. If one stops his or her car at

the side of the road to perform prayer and might put people’s

worshippers at stake, he or she are prohibited from pulling over,

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Fatwa toll freephone number:


whether or not they are driving on highways. Since protecting

people’s lives and avoiding them to be hurt is a religious obliga-

tion, as Allah the Most High says: “and do not throw [yourselves]

with your [own] hands into destruction.” [Al Baqara: 195]. He

the Exalted also says: “And do not kill yourselves [or one anoth-

er]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.” [Al Nisae: 29].

For this to happen, the Muslim scholars have decided to in-

clude the preservation of human life as one of the major objec-

tives of Islamic Sharia, and that worshippers are bound to pay

attention to warnings of police and adhere to their instruc-

tions by not pulling over their cars to pray at the side of roads

and in places in which pulling over is banned. The reason for

this is to protect people’s lives and shun any potential harm

may befall people.

In fact, there are places available to perform prayers such

as mosques on highways and in petrol stations, and also are

there places on highways for parking as per the best standards

of safety. Moreover, performing prayers in places designated

for prayer helps brings about submission and health since they

ensure hygiene. The permissibility of praying in any part on

earth does not mean that people stand in any place that may

afflict harm upon themselves, property or others.

Second: The schools of thoughts of Malikia and Hanfia are

of the view that it is detestable to pray on the side of the road.

Their opinion is endorsed by a Hadith reported by Omar that

the Prophet Muhammad PBUH prohibited to offer the prayer

in seven places namely: landfill site (dumping ground), slaugh-

terhouse, cemetery, on the side of the road, restroom, resting

places of camels, and at the top of the House of Allah.

Third: The commitment to sticking with the traffic regu-

lations is a religious obligation as it helps achieve the public

interest and push the harm away from individuals and the so-

ciety as a whole. Since these regulations are compatible with

the Sharia rulings and goals as they seek to preserve people’s

lives, and properties and to obey the Ruler’s commands as laid

down in traffic law. Recklessness leads to disasters and may

claim lives of many people, knowing that enacting laws to

cope with catastrophes must be accompanied with religious

awareness showing for the worshippers the permits Islam has

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Dec. 201730

to offer with regards to Salat (prayer) be-

cause the Muslim is keenly interested in

performing the prayers on time.

The religious awareness should be done

through delivering lessons and lectures in

mosques and in workplaces such as com-

panies that consist of a massive number

of workers that may not know about per-

mits of Salat as well as through leaflets

in many languages or on display screens

in petrol stations, buses or on social net-

working sites. This helps the Muslim to be

knowledgeable of offering Salat and sup-

ports policemen efforts.

Fourth: The Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence)

in second pillar of Islam i.e. Salat is a vast

and large Fiqh as it helps alleviate hard-

ship in Salat that when the worshipper is

on a journey, he or she is allowed

to combine and shorten, pre-

cede or delay. This aims to

ease hardship, as Annas

reported that when the

Messenger of Allah set

out on a journey before

the sun declined (from

the meridian), he delayed

the noon prayer till the after-

noon prayer, and then dismount-

ed (his ride) and combined them (noon

and afternoon prayers), but if the sun had

declined before his setting out on a jour-

ney, he observed the noon prayer and

then mounted (the ride).”

The residing worshipper is excused to

combine the prayers in case of rainfall

that soaks his or her clothes and is allowed

to pray in the mosque with the Imam

and never come back to the mosque lest

his clothes get soaked. In this regard, Nafi’a ibn Omar report-

ed that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whenever there was a

cold or a rainy day night, the Messenger of Allah PBUH com-

manded the announcer (to announce). He announced to offer

prayer in the dwellings.”

These permits are granted in consideration of circumstances

and are characteristics of ease in our religion that Allah has

conferred upon Muslims, as He the Sublime says: “Allah in-

tends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.” [Al

Baqara: 185], “And Allah wants to lighten for you [your diffi-

culties]; and mankind was created weak”. [Al Nisae: 28], “Allah

does not intend to make difficulty for you.” [Al Ma’eda: 6].

The permits granted for Salat show that performing Salat is

easy for everyone wants to pray, and he or she is not excused

for leaving it provided they are mentally sound. They, howev-

er, can be forgiven to perform Salat on bus chair when they

cannot get off the bus, and they can perform Tayammum (dry

ablution) when no water is available. They can later repeat

the prayer solely for the sake of revering the prayer time.

Some of the scholars are of the view they do not

need to repeat the Salat.

At last, we implore Allah the Exalted to have

mercy upon the worshippers who met their

Lord while praying. We need to draw a valu-

able lesson from their dedication to perform-

ing Salat and not leaving or neglecting it. It

would be better to perform prayer in places that

are safe and clean for the sake of protecting peo-

ple’s lives and thus shows the necessity of learning the

Fiqh of permits with regards to Salat. And Allah knows best.

In summary: It is not permissible to stop to perform Salat in places that

may put worshippers’ lives at stake. Adherence to the traffic

rules is a religious obligation since they are put in place to

protect people and bring about interest for all. There are

places suitable for performing Salat such mosques, and prayer

rooms in roadside stations.



Documents

“the Louvre Abu Dhabi”