Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Women giving a false excuse for not praying

Q) In some schools the girls are obliged to pray in jamaa’ah and they allow the girls who have their period to sit in a special place. Some of the girls – may Allaah guide them – tells lies to the supervisors and claim that they have their period, and so they do not pray for as long as a period would normally last, then when their period really does come they stand and pray with the others, fearing that they will be caught out. What is the ruling in their case? Please explain.

A) Praise be to Allaah.

What they are doing is not permissible, firstly because it is an obvious lie by which they are claiming to have an excuse. Secondly, they are failing to pray, whether they are not praying at all, or they are delaying the prayer until after the proper time, or failing to pray with the congregation of women. Thirdly, they are praying after that, at the time when they really do have their period. You have to advise them, remind them, exhort them, and explain to them the sin of lying and the punishment for delaying the prayer beyond the proper time, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So woe unto those performers of Salaah (prayers) (hypocrites),

Those who delay their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)”

[al-Maa’oon 107:5]

Any girl who is found out to have delayed her prayer and prayed when she was menstruating should be punished in a manner that will deter her and make her give up these actions which are denounced by Islam. And Allaah knows best.



Dictated by Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreem in Silsilat al-Fataawa al-Shar’iyyah, part 1, p. 99

Ruling on wearing a necklace with a picture of al-Masjid al-Aqsa or the Ka’bah

Q) Is it permissible for me to buy a necklace with a picture of al-Masjid al-Aqsa or the holy Ka’bah?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

There is nothing wrong with wearing a necklace on which is a picture of al-Masjid al-Aqsa or the holy Ka’bah, unless it has the name of Allaah or anything from the Qur’aan engraved on it, in which case it is not allowed to wear it because it is disrespectful, or the aim in wearing it is to seek blessing from the picture of these places that are venerated by Muslims. In that case it is not permissible to wear it.

See also question no. 91370.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A

Wearing gold on which Aayat al-Kursiy is engraved or which is in the shape of an eye or hand

Q) Many people give as a gift a piece of gold on which is engraved Aayat al-Kursiy or the name of Allaah or the phrase “Allaah jalla jalaaluhu”, or another type which is in the form of a hand, eye or heart, or which contains blue beads. My question is: which of these are haraam, and why? What should the Muslim do if he is given such items as a gift?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is not prescribed to write Aayat al-Kursiy or the name of Allaah on pieces of gold that are to be worn, because that is a kind of disrespect. It may also be an imitation of the Jews and Christians who hang up or wear things that they revere, such as the cross etc.

There is a concession allowing writing names on rings, even if the name includes the name of Allaah, such as Abd-Allaah or ‘Abd al-Rahmaan. Similarly there is nothing wrong with writing useful words on a ring even if they include the name of Allaah, such as al-hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allaah), tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah (I put my trust in Allaah) etc. Many such reports have been narrated from the Sahaabah and Taabi’een. Some examples have been mentioned in the answer to question no 68805

The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: We sell hearts in which the name of Allaah is written, which are bought by Arabs and non-Arabs of every kind. We may tell the Arabs that it is haraam to take them into the toilet. Please advise us on the ruling on selling them.

They replied: Selling jewellery on which the name of Allaah is written is not permissible, unless it is erased from it. A similar question was submitted to the Committee which they answered in Fatwa no. 2077, the text of which is as follows:

We attach with out letter some gold jewellery on which is written the name of Allaah. This jewellery is used by our Muslim women as an adornment only. A while ago our brothers in the Committee for the Enjoining of Virtue and Elimination of Vice (enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil) told us that using this jewellery is haraam, because the name of Allaah is written on it. We tell you that this jewellery is only used by Muslims as an adornment, unlike the women of the Jews and Christians, as the Christians wear jewellery on which there are pictures of the cross and images of idols, and the Jews wear jewellery on which there are pictures of the star of David. We hope that you can explain this issue.

They replied as follows: Since this jewellery has the name of Allaah written on it and is intended for Muslim women to wear around their necks, as Christian women wear a cross and Jewish women wear a star of David, and since things on which the name of Allaah is written may be worn to ward off harm or bring benefits, or for other purposes, and wearing it may expose it to disrespect such as if a person sleeps in it and rolls on top of it, or wears it in places where it is makrooh to take anything in which is written the words of Allaah or the name of Allaah, the committee thinks that it is not permissible to use this jewellery on which the name of Allaah is written, so as to avoid imitation of the Christians and Jews whom the Muslims are forbidden to imitate, and so as to block the means that may lead to evil, and so as to protect the name of Allaah from disrespect, and because of the general meaning of the prohibition on wearing amulets. End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (13/473)

Secondly:

There is nothing wrong with wearing gold in the shape of a heart, but if it is in the shape of a hand or eye, or it contains blue beads, then it should not be worn, because they wear these things or hang them up in the belief that they ward off the evil eye or bring good luck. Even if a Muslim does not wear them on the basis of such corrupt beliefs, he still should not wear them, because by doing so he is imitating those who wear them for these reasons, and that may lead people to think badly of him, as they will think that he is wearing it to ward off the evil eye. So it is not permissible to wear them in that case. This comes under the heading of wearing amulets, which is forbidden.

Ahmad (17458) narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever wears an amulet has associated something with Allaah (shirk).” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.

Ahmad also narrated (17440) that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah not fulfil his need, and whoever wears a sea-shell, may Allaah not give him peace.” Classed as hasan by Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad.

An amulet is something that is worn to ward off the evil eye and protect against disaster.

Al-Khattaabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: An amulet is a bead that they used to wear in the belief that it could ward off disaster.

Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Amulets are beads that the Arabs used to put on their children to protect them against the evil eye. This was declared false by sharee’ah. See: al-Ta’reefaat al-I’tiqaadiyyah, p. 121.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Sea-shells were taken from the sea and worn to ward off the evil eye. They say that if a person wears this shell he will not be affected by the evil eye or by the jinn.

With regard to the phrase “may Allaah not give him peace” it was said that it means, may Allaah not give him tranquility, and the opposite of tranquillity is anxiety and grief.

And it was said: May Allaah not let him achieve any good, thus he is given the opposite of what he was asking for..

The phrase “has associated something with Allaah (shirk)” refers to major shirk, if he believes that the amulet itself bring benefits or wards off harm without the command of Allaah. Otherwise it is minor shirk.

End quote from al-Qawl al-Mufeed Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed (1/189).

Whoever is given a gold item of this type should not wear it. He may sell it but he should erase some of its markings before selling it so that it cannot be worn, and has to be melted down and made into something new.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A

How should they deal with a relative of theirs who steals and consumes wealth unlawfully?

Q) I am asking about the ruling on a woman staying with her husband who borrows money from others and does not pay it back or even apologize. He uses this borrowed money in projects with others and uses it for his own matters. This problem developed even to the worst; he started stealing from others directly from their pockets or making a copy of someone’s keys and stealing their valuable things.
This man unfortunately deceives his wife and lies to her by saying that he repented while he still is doing the same evil actions. What should we, his relatives, do? We suffered a lot from his fraud and theft of our possessions. What should his wife, our sister, do? She refuses to leave him justifying this by saying that he is repenting and still is saying that there is no God but Allah.

A) Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Stealing, embezzling and consuming people’s wealth unlawfully are all haraam actions, as is well known. Stealing is a major sin because of the stern warning that is narrated concerning it. al-Bukhaari (6783) and Muslim (1687) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the thief, for he steals an egg and his hand is cut off, or he steals a rope and his hand is cut off.”

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And (as for) the male thief and the female thief, cut off (from the wrist joint) their (right) hands as a recompense for that which they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allaah. And Allaah is All‑Powerful, All‑Wise”

[al-Maa’idah 5:38]

What the one who commits such actions must do is repent to Allaah from that, and return the property to its owners; his repentance is not complete unless he does that, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever has done some wrong to his brother, let him seek his forgiveness today before there is no dinar or dirham, when if he has some righteous deeds (to his credit), some of his hasanaat (good deeds) will be taken in proportion to his wrongdoing, and if he has no hasanaat some of the sayi’aat (bad deeds) of the one whom he wronged will be taken and added to his burden.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6534).

Secondly:

The one who knows about this man’s situation must advise him and explain to him the abhorrence of his actions, and he should not despair of his repentance and being guided. He should also warn those who have been deceived by him and want to deal with him in business and the like. He should do that on the basis of sincerity and wanting to do good, not on the basis of condemning or putting him down.

With regard to his wife, in addition to the above, she must also beware of consuming the haraam wealth that her husband acquires, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every body that is nourished from haraam wealth, the Fire is more befitting for it.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani and Abu Na’eem from Abu Bakr; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’ no. 4519

If she knows that some of the wealth is stolen or plundered, it is not permissible for her to benefit from it.

We ask Allaah to set our affairs and those of the Muslims straight.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A