“And it's not allowed to give Fatwa with strange deviant opinions. It's not allowed to give Fatwa based on strange sayings. It's not allowed to get fat while with strange deviant opinions. And the one who is known to give fatwa based on strange opinions is not considered a real Mufti.”

—Al-Allamah Shaykh Muhammad Weld 'Adood Al-Maliki (r)

Q: Would you kindly recommend some useful books about worldly and Islamic knowledge?

A: There are many useful books, the most important of which is the Qur'an. It contains guidance, light, invites to all that is good, expresses high moral standards and the best of deeds. It informs us of Allah's Commands and what He has prepared for those who obey Him, and the unlawful matters and what He has prepared for those who disobey Him. The Qur'an is the noblest, greatest, and most useful Book.

Then comes the Books of the Sunnah such as:

• Al-Bukhari,

• Muslim, as well as other well-known books of Sunnah such as

• Abu Dawud,

• At-Tirmidhi,

• An-Nasa’i,

• Ibn Majah,

• Sunan Al-Darimy,

• Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal,

• and the Muwatta' of Malik (رحمهم الله تعالى).

The above books are very edifying.

However, we advise those who do not have religious knowledge to memorize the Qur'an, or read the compilations on ‘Aqidah (creed) and Hadith such as:

• "Kitab Al-Tawhid (Book of Tawhid)",

• "Thalathat Al-Usul (The Three Fundamentals),

• and "Kashf Al-Shubuhat (Removal of Doubts)" by Sheikh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab.

• "Al-’Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah" by Sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله تعالى),

• "Bulugh Al-Maram" by Al-Hafizh Ibn Hajar,

• "‘Umdat Al-Hadith" by Al-Hafizh ‘Abdul-Ghani Al-Maqdisi,

• "Al-Arba’in Al-Nawawiyyah (The Forty Nawawy Hadith)" and their completion by Al-Hafizh Ibn Rajab,

• and "Adab Al-Mashi ila Al-Salah" by Sheikh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab(رحمه الله تعالى).

It is also recommended to read the following books:

• "Fath Al-Majid",

• "Riyad Al-Salihin",

• "Zad Al-Ma’ad",

• "Jami’ Al-’Ulum wal Hikam" by Al-Hafizh Ibn Rajab, and the like brief useful books.

Q: Praise be to Allah that many people offer Salah (Prayer) regularly in the mosque during the month of Ramadan, but we miss those people after this blessed month comes to an end. What advice can you give to these people, may Allah bless you!

A: My advice to all Muslim males is that they should offer Salah regularly with the congregation in the mosque at all times, as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stated: "(Whoever hears the Adhan (the call to prayer) and does not come to it (the prayer), there is no prayer for him except with (a legally valid) excuse)."

Also, when Ibn ‘Abbas (رضی اللہ عنھما) was asked about the valid excuse, he said it is fear or illness. "There came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) a blind man and said, "O, Messenger of Allah! I have no one to guide me to the mosque". He, therefore, asked the Prophet's permission to perform the Salah at home. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked him, "Do you hear the call to prayer?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "Respond to it, then." Related by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (authentic) Book of Hadith.

This also based on the Prophet's (صلى الله عليه وسلم) also saying, "l was going to order that the Salah (prayer) be commenced, then order a man to lead the people in Salah, then I would go with some men carrying bundles of wood to a people not attending the Salah and burn down their houses over them." Besides, Ibn Mas'ud (رضی اللہ  عنه) said, "None of us would be absent from the congregational Salah, with the exception of hypocrites and the sick".

Thus, it is obligatory for every Muslim to fear Allah and offer Salah with the congregation in the mosque due to these Sahih (authentic) Hadiths. May Allah grant us success!

Shaikh Ibn Bāz, may Allāh have mercy on him, said1:

It is upon you to accept evidence, not [go looking for] allowances [from other scholars or schools of thought]. One of the Salaf [our righteous predecessors in Islām] said, “Whoever goes looking for allowances will end up becoming a zindīq [a hypocrite—someone pretending to be a Muslim while he’s actually a disbeliever].

Every school of [jurisprudential] thought has some mistakes; some mistakes [came about] from those who followed [that school of thought], or [some came] from the imām [himself] to whom [the school of thought] is ascribed, that he made a mistake concerning some narrations [or] that some narrations [from the Prophet ﷺ] had been unknown to him. So a student of [Islāmic] knowledge should not go hunting for allowances [among the opinions of scholars].

Then if the issue were one about which [scholars] differ—it is not an issue [where scholars] unanimously agree—there are treatises [to be found on the issue] from among the people of knowledge; a student of knowledge [will] search for evidence and look to see [which] of the two sayings is closer to or stronger in its evidence and then take [an opinion] based on what the evidence supports, not [based] on looking out for allowances.2