Thursday, July 17, 2008

She had a tattoo done before she became Muslim. Is she cursed?

Q) Before I converted to Islam, I got tatooed. I have recently read about a tatooed women being a cursed woman.
Does this apply to me as well? If I become engaged, should I tell my husband about this before hand, in case he does not want to become engaged to a "cursed woman"?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

The Muslim must realize that Islam erases any sins that came before it, and indeed Allaah changes them into good deeds, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds; for those, Allaah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-Furqaan 25:70]

It was narrated that ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: When Allaah put Islam in my heart, I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “Give me your right hand so that I may give you my oath of allegiance.” So he held out his hand, but I held my hand back. He said, “What is the matter, O ‘Amr?” I said, “I want to make a condition.” He said, “What is your condition?” I said, “That I be forgiven.” He said, “Do you not know that Islam wipes out whatever came before it, and that hijrah (migration for the sake of Allaah) wipes out whatever came before it, and that Hajj wipes out whatever came before it?”

(Narrated by Muslim, 121).

This hadeeth indicates that whoever becomes Muslim is forgiven for all the bad deeds that he may have done before he became a Muslim.

Secondly:

It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that tattooing is haraam (forbidden).

It was narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who does tattoos, the one who has a tattoo done, the one who consumes riba (usury or interest) and the one who pays it, and he forbade the price of a dog and the earnings of a prostitute, and he cursed the image-makers.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5032).

Tattooing is a major sin, but if a person repents from it, Allaah will accept his repentance.

Thirdly:

Modern medicine is able to remove tattoos; the remedy exists so you can easily get rid of it, in sha Allah.

Fourthly:

The curse of the woman who does tattoos is not permanent; rather when a person repents from it, that curse is lifted. So it is a mistake for you to say that you are a cursed woman. Rather we ask Allaah to make you good and righteous.

Fifthly:

Undoubtedly the one who wants to marry you will understand this issue, especially that it was before you became Muslim. Even if it was after you became Muslim, so long as the Muslim has repented from it, he cannot be blamed or called to account for it, rather his bad deeds are changed into good deeds.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A

What is the meaning of Allaah’s name al-Muqeet?

Q) What is the meaning of Allaah’s name al-Muqeet (The Ever All-Able, All-Witness)?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

Ibn Jareer mentioned a number of opinions concerning the meaning of this name: al-Muqeet means al-Hafeez (the Protector), al-Shaheed (the Witness), al-Hasab (the Sufficient), the One Who is in control of all things. He thought that the last interpretation is the correct one.

Allaah is al-Muqeet, i.e., the Protector, the Witness, the One Who is Able to do all things.

Al-Muqeet is the Preserver, the Omnipotent, the Witness; He is the One Who sends down provision to His creatures and shares it out among them.

Al-Muqeet is the Sustainer; He is taking care of all living beings, for when He causes parts of them to die over time, He compensates for that. At every moment He gives them what they need to survive, until He wills to put an end to their life – then He withholds what keeps them alive, and so they die.

Some reports give the name al-Mugheeth instead of al-Muqeet. Al-Mugheeth is interpreted as meaning the Helper, for He helps His slaves at times of difficulty when they call upon Him; He answers them and saves them. It also has the meaning of the One Who responds and the One Who is called upon. Ighaathah [help] refers to actions and istijaabah [responding] refers to words, but they may be used interchangeably.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“He is the Helper of all His creatures, and He responds to those who are desperate.”



Sharh Asmaa’ Allaah ta’aala al-Husna by Dr. Hissah al-Sagheer, p. 246

Rulings on ijtihaad in Islam and the conditions to be met by the mujtahid

Q) What is the ruling on ijtihaad in Islam? What are the conditions to be met by the mujtahid?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

Ijtihaad in Islam means striving to understand the shar’i ruling on the basis of shar’i evidence. It is obligatory for the one who is able to do it, because Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So ask of those who know the Scripture, if you know not”

[al-Nahl 16:43, al-Anbiya’ 21:7].

The one who is able to engage in ijtihaad can find out the truth for himself, but he must have vast knowledge and study the shar’i texts, and understand the guidelines on deriving rulings and be aware of the views of the scholars, lest he fall into that which is contrary to Islam. Some people are seekers of knowledge (taalib al-‘ilm) who have only a little knowledge, but they set themselves up as mujtahids, so you see them acting on the basis of ahaadeeth which are general in meaning but have other reports which make them specific, or they act on the basis of abrogated ahaadeeth and do not know of the texts that abrogate them, or they act on the basis of ahaadeeth which the scholars are unanimously agreed are different from their apparent meanings, but they are unaware of this scholarly consensus.

Such a person is in grave danger. The Mujtahid must have knowledge of the shar’i evidence and knowledge of the basic principles (usool) and scholarly views which, if he knows them, he will be able to derive rulings based on that evidence without unwittingly going against scholarly consensus. If these conditions are met in his case, then he may engage in ijtihaad. Ijtihaad may be focused on a narrow area, so a person may research one issue of knowledge and examine it thoroughly, and become a mujtahid with regard to that issue, or he could focus on one aspect of knowledge, such as issues having to do with tahaarah (purification), which he researches and examines, and thus becomes a mujtahid in that area. End quote.

Fatwa of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, signed by him.



Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam (p. 508).

The funeral prayer is not valid without wudoo’ or tayammum

Q) Is the funeral prayer valid without wudoo’ or tayammum?

A) Praise be to Allaah.

In order for the funeral prayer to be valid, it is essential that one be in a state of purity and free from impurity, which is achieved by doing wudoo’ or by doing tayammum if water is not available or one is unable to use it, according to the majority of fuqaha’. Some scholars narrated that there was consensus on this point, because of the evidence which indicates that tahaarah (purity) is essential for salaah (prayer), and the funeral prayer is also salaah, so it is essential to be in a state of purity.

Some of the scholars are of the view that it is permissible to do tayammum if there is the fear that one may miss the funeral prayer by taking too long to do wudoo’.

As for the view that the funeral prayer may be offered without wduoo’ or tayammum, this is attributed to al-Shi’bi and Ibn Jareer al-Tabari, but it is an invalid view.

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo’ (5/181): We have stated that our view is that the funeral prayer is not valid unless one is in a state of purity. What this means is that if one is able to do wudoo’, the prayer is not valid without it, and if he is unable to do wudoo’ he should do tayammum. Tayammum is not valid when it is possible to use water, even if he fears that he will run out of time and miss the prayer. This is the view of Maalik, Abu Thawr and Ibn al-Mundhir.

Abu Haneefah said: It is permissible to do tayammum for it even when water is available, if he fears that he will miss it if he takes too long to do wudoo’. Ibn al-Mundhir narrated that from ‘Ata’, Saalim, al-Zuhri, ‘Ikrimah, al-Nakha’i, Sa’d ibn Ibraaheem, Yahya al-Ansaari, Rabee’ah, al-Layth, al-Thawri, al-Awzaa’i, Ishaaq and ashaab al-ra’y, and it is narrated in one report from Ahmad.

Al-Shi’bi, Muhammad ibn Jareer al-Tabari and the Shi’ah said that it is permissible to offer the funeral prayer without being in a state of purity, even if one is able to do wudoo’ or tayammum, because it is a du’aa’. The author of al-Haawi and others said: What al-Shi’bi said is a view that is contrary to consensus, so no attention should be paid to it.

Our evidence that purification is essential is the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “And never (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) pray (funeral prayer) [wa la tusalli] for any of them (hypocrites) who dies” [al-Tawbah 9:84]; so He called it salaah (prayer). In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Offer the (funeral) prayer for your companion (sallu ‘ala saahibikum).” And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever offer the funeral prayer (man salla ‘ala janaazah) …”, and in other ahaadeeth he called it salaah (prayer). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “When you intend to offer As-Salaah (the prayer) [idha qumtum ila al-salaah], wash your faces and your hands (forearms)” [al-Maa’idah 5:6]. In al-Saheeh, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah does not accept any prayer (salaah) without purification.” The fact that much of its purpose is supplication (for the deceased) does not cancel out the fact that it is a prayer (salaah). End quote.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A