Our Dialogue

Q. Many people in Muslim countries often have superstitious beliefs, such as not allowing nail clipping at night. They have taken these from their parents, and although some people realize that these are superstitions and have no basis, they still abide by them, mainly in respect to their parents, from whom they learned them. It is noticeable that many elders do not like to be corrected. If we tell them that such beliefs have no basis, they find it hard to accept. Yet there were among the Prophet’s companions some who were older than him and they learned from him and did what he told them. Please comment.


A. Let me first of all correct a misconception. It is true that elders find it hard to be corrected by their sons and grandsons, yet we cannot slam a general rule that they do not listen to anyone who is younger than them. They will at least respect a different opinion coming from a person much younger than them if they consider that person is a real scholar, or that he has been recognised as an authority in his field, or if he presents his views in a proper way that does not confront them with a clear implication of: “You are wrong and I know better; so listen to what I say.” The approach in such a situation is of great importance.


All people find it hard to go against the traditions that have been long established in their community. The Qur’an tells us that all prophets and God’s messengers were met with rejection, on the basis that what they preached contradicted the traditions they learned from their fathers: “And thus it is: whenever, before your time, We sent a messenger to any community, the wealthy among them said: ‘We found our forefathers following this tradition and we are only following in their footsteps.’” (43: 23) This shows that tradition has a stronger hold on man’s mind than even rational conviction. People often do things because they have been well established in society, despite the fact that they are convinced that logical reasoning proves them wrong or even harmful.


In such situations, a careful, relaxed and well-planned approach is needed. The approach should start by trying to establish the proper and reliable sources of knowing what is acceptable in Islam and what is not. When we get our audience to realise that everything pertaining to religion must have a basis either in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah, one begins to question such superstitions by showing the elders that a serious search proves that they have no Islamic basis. Even when we have shown that, we should not expect an immediate change of heart. It is enough that we create some doubt in the recipient’s mind, because this doubt will lead him to further questioning and eventual conviction of the truth. When such a person arrives at the truth in a particular aspect, realising that contrary tradition in that particular aspect is baseless, he will acknowledge that other traditional beliefs and practices have no basis. The important thing in all this is to know the addressees and their way of thinking, and to tailor our approach to the best way that suits them.

Q. Can a father-in-law be considered a mahram for his daughter-in-law for Umrah and Haj purposes? Can a daughter-in-law render services to her father-in-law as she does to her own father? If not, then what sort of relation exists between the two?


A. The relation between a man and his daughter-in-law prohibits marriage between them for life, regardless of whether her marriage to his son continues or ends by divorce or by her husband’s death. Therefore, he can serve as a mahram for her during any travel, including that for performing the pilgrimage or the Umrah.


I am not quite sure what the lady reader means by ‘rendering services’. If this means looking after her father-in-law, particularly when he is ill, then surely she can and should. The same is the case if it means doing what he needs at home to be comfortable. While this is not a duty of hers, it is an act of kind treatment, which every daughter-in-law should be encouraged to do.


Having said that, I should add that the Prophet warned against relations between in-laws getting too familiar to the extent that all types of inhibition are shed. This means that Islamic standards of propriety should always be maintained between in-laws, in order not to allow temptation to sway us into doing what is forbidden.

Q. I have money invested in a long-term deposit, with a fixed interest rate. As I know the amount of interest in advance, I begin to distribute this to needy people before it is credited to my account. Is this proper?


A. This is perfectly appropriate. It is also appropriate to wait until the interest is paid to you before you begin to distribute it.


On the other hand, some scholars suggest that if the interest is equal to or below the rate of inflation in your country, it is permissible to keep for yourself, as you will be keeping the value of your principal amount.

Q. I have been told that if one reads surah 18, The Cave, on Fridays, God will forgive that person’s sins committed between the two Fridays. Is this correct?


A. Reading this surah on Friday, before the Friday prayer is due, is recommended. We have a couple of Hadiths that encourage this reading. Abu Saeed Al-Khudri quotes the Prophet (Pbuh) as saying: “For anyone who reads surah The Cave on Friday a light will be lit for him between the two Fridays.” (Related by Al-Nassaie and Al-Bayhaqi.) Abdullah ibn Umar quotes the Prophet as saying: “Anyone who reads surah The Cave on Friday shall have a light coming from under his feet and reaching up to the sky to give him light on the Day of Judgment. He will also be forgiven his sins committed between the two Fridays.” (Related by Ibn Mardaweih.)


These two Hadiths certainly recommend reading this surah on Fridays, but the second is not an authentic Hadith. It is not related in any of the major anthologies. Besides, this should not be taken as a way to encourage committing sin.


A person may think: “If I commit this offence, I can always read Surah 18 on Friday, which takes me only 15 minutes, and I will sure be forgiven.” This is not an appropriate way of thinking for any Muslim.


A Muslim should always be careful not to commit any sin, then he should do the things that the Prophet specified to be ways of ensuring God’s forgiveness, because however we try to avoid sin, we will always be tempted to commit at least minor offences.


Having said that, I must clarify that reading this surah should always be in the proper manner of reciting God’s words.


If a professional reciter sits in the mosque, reading it aloud, in a way that begs admiration, and distracting those who are praying, then that is forbidden according to Imam Muhammad Abdou, who issued a fatwa to this effect.

Q. People have different views on the permissibility of eating the meat of some sea creatures, particularly the ones that also survive on land, such as crabs. Please comment.


A. There is no doubt as to the permissibility to eat the meat of such creatures. God says in the Qur’an: “Say: ‘In all that has been revealed to me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wishes to eat thereof, unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine -for all that is unclean -or a sinful offering over which any name other than God’s has been invoked.” (6: 145) Referring to the sea, the Prophet says: “Its water is pure, and its dead animals are permissible to eat.” Guided by these and other texts we say that crabs and similar animals, as also fish and mammals of the sea are all permissible to eat, even though they die naturally or merely by staying out of water.

Q. My wife and I performed the pilgrimage this year with a tour group. We started our preparations long before the pilgrimage, taking notes and determining our procedure. We were eager to perform every step in the right way, and to endeavor to do every Sunnah. However, we could not do things according to our plan, due to our being with this group. For example, instead of spending 8th of Dul Hijjah in Mina, our group left Jeddah late on that day, arriving in Makkah about 10 p.m. We did the tawaf and proceeded directly to Arafat. Again we were late in leaving Arafat, arriving in Muzdalifah shortly before dawn. Our subsequent stay in Mina was in fact beyond its limits. So my wife wants us to repeat the pilgrimage next year. I wonder if we need to pay any penalty. Please advice.


A. The Prophet (Pbuh) performed his pilgrimage in a particular way, which remains the best and most appropriate way to perform this great act of worship. However, he made clear during his pilgrimage that this act of worship is very strongly linked to making things easy, not difficult. Therefore, wherever there is a difficulty, it should be removed and things should be made easier. There are four duties of pilgrimage that become due on 10th of Dul Hijjah. The Prophet performed them in a certain order. Many of his companions came to him saying that they did not follow the same order, but they did this or that duty before another. Every conceivable permutation was put to him. In all these cases, he said to the questioner: “There is no harm in what you did.” Had he required them to do their duties in a particular order, he would have told them so. On the contrary, he accepted every variation.


Nowadays, with the number of pilgrims getting close to 3 million, we appreciate better the spirit with which the Prophet ensured that ease will continue to be exercised during the pilgrimage. Unless it is so, there will be no way that all the pilgrims would be able to perform their duty at the appropriate time.


On the basis of what you told me I can say that your pilgrimage is correct and valid. No penalty or compensation is due from either you or your wife. You might have omitted one Sunnah or another, or you might have arrived in Arafat early and arrived late in Muzdalifah, but it is all within the right time. If you decide to do the pilgrimage again, you should be aware that the new one is voluntary as the one you have just finished is your obligatory pilgrimage. May God reward you well for it.

Q. I am told that a person who wears leather shoes and socks after having performed ablution does not need to wash his feet again in a fresh ablution during the day.
If this is correct, it helps a great deal. Please explain.


A. If you perform a complete ablution in the morning, for Fajr prayer or before going out to work, and wear your socks before invalidating it, you can for the rest of the day and the following night wipe over your socks whenever you perform a fresh ablution. The wiping may be done with wet fingers over any part of the top of your feet, once only.


This is a symbolic action, but some people do it to exaggeration, wiping both the top and the bottom of their feet three times, with all their palms. Such exaggeration is not appropriate.


Wiping with just one finger over the top of the foot is enough, but with three fingers is better. Al-Mugheerah ibn Shubah reports: “I was with the Prophet (Pbuh) one night on a journey. I poured water for him to perform the ablution.


He washed his face and arms and wiped his head. I went down to take off his shoes, but he said to me: ‘Leave them, for I had washed my feet when I wore them.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and Muslim). As clearly indicated, this Hadith is highly authentic, and scholars have explained that whatever is worn on feet, such as socks, is adequate to follow the Prophet’s example.


Some scholars state certain requirements for what is worn to justify using this concession, but these requirements are not supported by any clear or authentic evidence. Therefore, they need not be considered.


The reader mentions wearing leather shoes. This is the result of confusion by some people as they report the ruling. In the past people wore light leather shoes, with thin soles, either over or in place of socks, and wore ordinary shoes over these. Such light shoes are known as khuff. People who wore these wiped over them and went into the mosque wearing them.


Wearing such shoes, or khuff, is not a condition for using this concession. Anything worn over the feet, covering them, is good enough to exercise the concession in the way I explained. Once the socks are taken off, or the time allowed has expired, a complete fresh ablution is needed.

Q. I went to my home country, India, shortly before the pilgrimage, where the Eid was celebrated one day after it was celebrated in Saudi Arabia. I wondered whether the recommended fasting should be the 9th of Dul Hijjah as it was marked at Arafat or as it occurred in India. Please explain.


A. The day that the Prophet (Pbuh) recommended to fast is the day of attendance at Arafat. As such, people who are not attending at Arafat and want to mark the occasion by fasting, as recommended, should mark the occasion, not the date.


It is true that the ten nights and nine days preceding the Eid are strongly recommended for voluntary worship, and that whatever one does during that time of adding voluntary prayers with the obligatory ones, donating to charity, fasting or night worship will earn rich reward. Therefore, if one fasts on the 9th of Dul Hijjah as marked in his own country - which is India in your case - one will be earning good reward, God willing. However, if you wish to mark the Arafat day in particular by fasting, then you should fast when the pilgrims are actually attending at Arafat, i.e. the day as marked in Saudi Arabia. This does not prevent you from adding another day of fasting, if you wish, to match the date in your own country, as this is also recommended.