Our Dialogue

Q.1. Someone lends a friend a sum of money, but the debtor takes a long time to repay it. Every now and then the debtor assures the lender that he has not forgotten, but nevertheless he fails to repay his debt. What should the lender do to make sure that he gets his money back?

Q.2. A friend of mine works in fixing satellites. He, however, receives commission on dishes and other equipment he supplies. Is this permissible?

Q.3. In our working environment there is much rivalry, with people trying to get to the top on the back of colleagues. To do so, they sometimes resort to lies and fabrications. If one stays away from all that, he is bound to be thought of as unsociable and is likely to become isolated. He is unlikely to be appreciated. Please advise.

Q.4. People circulate prayers and other religious material by e-mail. They ask you to circulate these and say that this will bring you a reward, or other good things. Do we have to do as they say?


A.1. Giving a loan to a person in difficulty is a good action, which earns reward from God and benefits a fellow Muslim. However, people are often discouraged because of what they hear about borrowers taking years to settle a debt or even pay a portion of their loans. In one way this is due to the fact that we often neglect the rules God has made clear in the Qur’an for giving loans and settling them. We often allow social values to take precedence over religious considerations. For example, in social custom, a lender should not demand repayment directly, because this will inevitably embarrass him. Yet you may be in bad need of your money and may try to borrow some money from others because your debtor cares little for the effect his delay will have on you.


God has given us very detailed instructions on how to handle our loans. These are specified in the longest verse in the Qur’an, 2: 282. It tells us to specify the time of repayment and to have the loan agreement written down and witnessed by two men or one man and two women. The debtor should be the one who specifies the terms and conditions of the loan. If we do all this, then people will have much less chance of defaulting on their debts, or leaving them unpaid for a long time. It is important also to remember the Hadith, which says: “To delay repayment by a person in funds is an act of injustice.” Needless to say, all injustice is forbidden.


A.2. You have not given me enough details about what your friend does in order to receive commission. If his employers agree with a customer to install a satellite and provide the equipments necessary, with the money paid by the customer to the company, then to charge a commission is not permissible. On the other hand, if the employer does not provide the equipment and the agreement with the customer means that the customer will supply such equipment, and then your friend offers to get it for him and charges commission, then this is perfectly permissible. Yet if your friend’s employers require him to declare to them any such commissions, he must do that. Every thing in a Muslim’s dealings should be clear.


A.3. In some working environments, particularly where competition is keen, there may be many unsavory practices. People may resort to tricks in order to place their colleagues in bad light, or they may claim credit that belongs to someone else, or indulge in backbiting or similar matters. A good Muslim who finds himself in such an environment should refrain from doing anything, which Islam does not approve of. If he hears something bad said of a colleague, he should not repeat it to others. If he has not been involved in a particular action, he should not claim credit for it. If people use vulgar language, he should abstain from doing so. Yet he can remain friendly with all people around him. If others think of him as naïve, he should not mind that. He will soon be appreciated for his good standing. He should do his work to the best of his ability and accept what is good in people without letting their faults affect him. He must also trust in God that He will let him have a way out of any difficulty as long as he himself refrains from what God has forbidden.


A.4. You need not circulate anything of what you receive in your e-mail, even if the sender urges you to do so. No one can make such a demand from others. When you receive a message containing such a prayer, you look at it. If you feel that it contains an exaggeration or something that is not really sound, then abandon it. If you know that it is good and sound, it is entirely up to you whether to send it on to others or not. There is no harm in either way you choose.

Q. If a person is able to maintain justice between his wives, is it advisable that he marries a second wife?

I understand that the requirement of fair treatment does not extend to love and feelings. Perhaps it is right to compare it to the treatment of one’s children when a parent maintain fairness between his children but may love one of them more than others.


A. The real question is not whether it is advisable to have another wife if one feels that he can maintain justice between them. This is indeed putting the case in the wrong perspective. What Allah tells us in the Qur’an is that if we feel that we may not be able to maintain justice, we must not marry a second wife. This means that if one is not sure of himself, if he suspects that he may be unfair, then a second marriage is not allowed him. This puts a different complexion on the whole question. Fairness of treatment is taken for granted, in the sense that it is a basic essential, the absence of which makes the very idea of marrying more than one wife unacceptable. It is a case of either you are certain of your ability to maintain a fair treatment of your wives, and in this case a second marriage is permissible to you. If you are uncertain of this, then a second marriage is not allowed.


What you are asking is that in the case when you are certain of treating your wives fairly and equally, is it desirable that you marry again. This depends on your circumstances and whether you need to marry again or not. But if you are asking about a general rule, then the answer is that one wife is the normal situation which Islam encourages. Polygamy is allowed as a solution for social problems. It happens that problems may arise within a particular family, and sometimes they are no one’s fault. Certain problems may be eased if not solved, by the means of a second marriage. If the law does not allow for such a possibility, then the hardship on all concerned may be increased.

Q. I wish to study accountancy and reach the stage of chartered accountant. I have some worries about two aspects of this type of work. If I am doing the accounts of a company which deals in interest, such as the charge in a bank, what does Islam say to my involvement? Moreover, my studies will take me to a foreign country, such as Britain. What would be my position if I am looking after the accounts of, say, a supermarket or a hotel which sells or serves alcoholic beverages and other forbidden stuff?


A. The fact that you raise such a question speaks much for you. I salute your keenness to adhere to Islamic percepts in your profession.


When you are an accountant to other companies, you are not involved either in their policy making or the management of the company. It is true that the accounts you may present to the board of directors or to the proprietor of the company may influence a decision yourself. If you are working for a supermarket or a chain of supermarkets and the accounts you produce show that a certain line is not making the desired profit, a decision may be taken by the management to dispense with that line.


But this is not your decision, although it is your work which must have initiated it. You cannot either take the credit or bear the blame for the decision, because you are simply taking a part in a process of assessment of the performance of the company or the supermarket. After all, the decision is taken on the performance of a particular aspect of business in which you are not involved.


If you take the example of alcoholic beverages, you will see the hadith, in which the Prophet curses such beverages and all intoxicants names those who are involved in selling, serving or promoting such beverages. Your work as an accountant of the company is different from all that. You neither encourage nor discourage such sales. Moreover, in a supermarket, these beverages represent only a small portion of the business undertaken. However, if you are doing such accounts and you have a colleague who is helping you, may be you will consider sharing out the work and giving that colleague, if he is not a Muslim, the part which includes the accounts of the alcoholic beverages.


Nor can you be responsible for a decision by the company to borrow on interest-bearing deposit account. You are only dealing with figures showing the performance of the company. Neither of these two examples which you have given may be considered as sufficient grounds for not taking accountancy as a perfectly legitimate job.

Q. Is it possible to see the Prophet in our dreams?

A. We all see dreams during sleep. Some of us see many, and their dreams are vivid and colorful. When they wake up they are able to recount their dreams in full. Other people dream little and they are likely to forget their dreams the moment they wake up. There is no particular significance in either situation. It is all due to the make up of each person. However, when we see a dream concerning someone who is important to us, or when the dream is related to something we hold dearly, we are likely to retain that dream in our memory, even if we belong to the second type of people who normally forget their dreams on waking up.


It is pertinent to ask whether it is possible to see the Prophet in our dreams. The answer is that this is quite possible.


A dream involving seeing the Prophet is likely to have a profound effect on us. Even a person of the type who forgets their dreams on waking up will remember this dream because of the special position of the Prophet. A friend of mine once told me that he never remembers his dreams, even though he only occasionally sees a dream. Nevertheless, he saw the Prophet in a dream once, many years ago. Yet whenever he wants, he recalls this dream in all its vividness.


This is not surprising, because the Prophet is held so dearly by all Muslims. They love him and cherish him. Their ultimate wish is to be close to him on the Day of Judgement. So, when he appears to them in a dream, they feel such closeness to him to be real. The Prophet has made it clear that such dreams in which he appears are true. Anas quotes the Prophet as saying: “Whoever sees me in a dream has actually seen me. Satan cannot appear in my guise.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).


An authentic Hadith reported by Abu Qatadah quotes the Prophet as saying: “Whoever sees me in a dream actually sees me in truth.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.) A different Hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me when awake. Satan cannot put on my appearance.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).


The first point the Prophet makes in all these Hadiths is that a dream in which he is seen by anyone is a true dream. This applies whether he is seen in his real form, which has been described by a number of his companions, or in a different form. There will always be a clear indication in the dream to inform the dreaming person that he is seeing the Prophet. Therefore, it is not necessary that the Prophet would appear to that person in his own figure and form. Anyway, most people do not know how exactly the Prophet looked.


The Prophet’s statement, ‘whoever sees me in a dream will see me when awake,” may be interpreted in two ways. It either relates to his contemporaries telling them that if they see the Prophet in their dreams, then they would be sure to see him in reality. If any such person lived far away from Madinah, he would be sure to visit it or see the Prophet in some other place. Alternatively, it may mean that such a person will inevitably see the Prophet on the Day of Judgment. This signifies that he or she will have nothing to fear on that day. Both interpretations may be correct, with the first one applying during the Prophet’s lifetime and the second after he has passed away. Both add to the meaning that a dream in which the Prophet figures is a true dream and when any of us sees such a dream, he has truly seen the Prophet, even though the Prophet appears in that dream in a form and shape different from what he looked like in reality.


The second point is that Satan cannot put on a guise that makes him look like the Prophet, so that he could deceive people and divert them from the right path. In fact it is God who has willed that Satan cannot look like the Prophet, even in dreams. Otherwise, people would listen to Satan, thinking that they were taking orders from the Prophet. This, God will not allow. Therefore, He has willed to deprive Satan of this ability so that he would never look like the Prophet, not even in people’s dreams. Again this is a special blessing, because if we talk to the Prophet in a dream and he tells us something, whatever he tells us is correct. It does not constitute any new teachings, because the divine message he delivered is complete and nothing can be added to it. Yet the Prophet may give us some guidance, which will prove to be of real benefit to us.


Perhaps we should also explain that if one leads a life of piety and diligence following the Prophet’s guidance but does not see the Prophet throughout his life, this is no indication that he lacks anything. It is no reflection on his status as a good Muslim. Seeing the Prophet in dream is an act of God’s kindness, which He gives to whomever He wills, but does not add to the status of that person. Our status is determined by our actions and the intentions behind them.

Q. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is quoted as saying that no one attains to true faith unless he loves God and His Messenger more than anyone else, including himself and his children. Does this contradict the Qur’anic instruction to the Prophet to make clear that he asks no reward from people for delivering God’s message? Why would he insist on such a standard of love, which is difficult to attain?


A. The Hadith you have mentioned is authentic. In fact there are several Hadiths to this effect, making clear that to be a true believer one must love the Prophet more than one loves himself, his parents, children and all mankind. Umar said once to the Prophet that he loved him above all others except himself. The Prophet said: “No, this is not enough. I must be dearer to you than your own self.” Umar said: “You are certainly dearer to me than myself.” The Prophet said: “Now, you have it, Umar.”


This is indeed the mark of true faith, when one places his faith in God above all else. One would then be ready to sacrifice everything for the cause of Islam. Such love is a mark of appreciation of the work the Prophet undertook in delivering and explaining God’s message to mankind. Without it we would not have known God’s guidance and we would have remained in ignorance. Look at societies, which choose to conduct their affairs without reference to divine guidance. You will see how misguided they can be on many issues, particularly morality as well as personal and social behavior. It is the Prophet who has saved us, and humanity, from such ignorance. Hence we should recognize what he has done and express our gratitude by dedicating such love to him.


Can we say that this love is his reward for undertaking his task and fulfilling his responsibilities? What benefit to him is this love of ours? Neither materially nor mentally does it give him any reward. It only benefits us because it helps us to realize the high standard we attain by embracing the Prophet’s guidance and following his example. Such appreciation of the Prophet’s role is very important in our endeavor to attain faith. Consider the Hadith that also includes another mark of true faith. This mark is that one “would hate to go back to disbelief as much as one would hate to be thrown in the fire.” Such Hadiths define standards. When we attain these, we are true believers. As for the Prophet’s reward, it comes only from God and it is all given in the life to come. No one had ever given him anything in return for delivering God’s message, and no one could be said to have done the Prophet a favor that made the Prophet indebted to him. Yet the Prophet has done us all the greatest favor anyone could have, namely, guiding us to true faith.

Q. People often say that they would travel to visit the Prophet’s grave and greet him. They cite certain Hadiths to justify their action. To my knowledge, these Hadiths are unauthentic. Could you please explain this and what should a visit to Madinah involve?


A. The travel to Madinah must be aimed at visiting the Prophet’s mosque. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that “travel can be undertaken to visit only three mosques: the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, this mosque of mine, and the Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem).” This is an authentic Hadith. In another, the Prophet mentions that the reward of a prayer in the Aqsa Mosque is equal to that of 500 prayers elsewhere, except for the other two mosques. A prayer in the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah is equal to 1,000 prayers elsewhere, except for the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, where a prayer is equal to 100,000 prayers elsewhere. We visit these mosques because the Prophet told us that they have a special status. They were all built by prophets. The Sacred Mosque in Makkah was built by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael, and the Aqsa Mosque was built by the Prophet Jacob, while the mosque in Madinah was built by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all). To intend the travel to Madinah for any other purpose is wrong because it contradicts what the Prophet said. Of course we do not include here other types of travel, which do not have a religious purpose, such as travel for business, visiting family or friends, taking up a job, etc.