Our Dialogue By Adil Salahi

Q. I have recently moved to the UK to pursue my studies. Friday prayer is offered in the university, but I wonder whether the practice of giving the khutbah in English is acceptable. I find this strange. May I also ask whether it is permissible to offer Maghrib prayer only a short while before Isha, if one has missed it at the appropriate time because of a lecture or some urgent business.


A. Islam requires the Muslim community to hold the midday prayer on Friday in congregation, and that it should be preceded by a speech in which the imam discusses some issues that are important to the community, the general situation of the Muslims, and reminds his audience of their duties to God, and the Day of Judgement. For the congregation to benefit by the khutbah, or the sermon, it must be delivered in a language they understand. If the congregation, or a clear majority, is composed of people who do not speak Arabic, what benefit would they have if the imam gives his sermon in Arabic? The very purpose of the sermon will be defeated.


In universities and colleges, the sermon is given in English because it is the common language understood by those who attend. This is the proper way. Unfortunately, in most mosques in the UK, and other places as well, the sermon is given in Arabic when only a small percentage of the audience understands it. It is often the case that the imam himself does not understand Arabic. He reads the sermon from a book, and makes it very short. In most cases, it is given in less than four minutes. I myself attended in some of these mosques, and in one of them the sermon took less than two minutes for both parts together. Ninety percent of the audience could not understand a word. Even Arabic- speaking people might not understand because of the speed with which it is delivered. This is a poor reflection on the status of the Muslims today. Wherever the community does not speak Arabic, the sermon should be in its own language. Thus, it should be delivered in Turkish or Urdu or Malay, according to what is spoken locally.


Some schools of thought severely limit the time range of Maghrib prayer, allowing it only within a brief time range after it becomes due. Other schools of thought extend its time range to the moment when Isha becomes due. Each view has its evidence. It is always better to offer one’s prayer at the beginning of its time, but when one has some difficulty, it is better to resort to the easier view. God always wants what is easier for people, as He has stated in the Qur’an.

Q. Could you please explain the method of purifying oneself after a person has had sexual intercourse? What are the requirements? Should he recite any verses of the Qur’an, or say any supplication? Is the same method applicable to both man and wife? What about the situation when one has had a wet dream?


A. We can group together all situations that result from wet dream, sexual intercourse, any discharge of semen that results from arousal, a woman’s menstruation and postnatal discharge as a “state of ceremonial impurity” or janabah. To remove this state, one should have grand ablution. The procedure does not require reading any verses of the Qur’an, or any supplication. It only needs the formulation of the intention to purify oneself.


The best method is to start with washing one’s genital parts before performing a normal ablution, or wudhu, then one takes three handfuls of water and rubs his head with them, before pouring water over all parts of his body. The important thing is to wash one’s body with water. Nowadays with showers being available in most houses, it is good enough to perform a normal ablution, or wudhu, and to stand under the shower for a few minutes, ensuring that all one’s body is washed. On the other hand, a dip in a large body of water, such as a swimming pool, a river, a lake or the sea is sufficient, as long as the intention to perform the grand ablution precedes such action. The same method applies for both man and woman. If one does not start with the wudhu, or normal ablution, but washes all his body, standing under the shower, or having a dip in a large body of water, his grand ablution, or ghusl, is valid.

Q. You mentioned in the past that zakah is payable on agricultural produce at the rate of 10 percent of the produce if the land is irrigated by rain and 5 percent if it is irrigated by machines and efforts. We have a land which is irrigated by rain and flood water, but to use flood water we have to construct dams, excavate small channels, using bulldozers and earth-moving machinery, and to maintain these year after year. What rate will apply in this case?


A. It is not possible for me to give an opinion on a question put in such general terms, without looking at the case in more detail. What you actually need to do is to put the question to a local scholar who will assess how much effort is needed in the irrigation of your land year after year. For example, you speak of constructing dams and making channels. Once these are made, they are in place. Of course, they may need some maintenance work every year, but what does this actually involve in any particular year need to be considered. If it is a small task, then it should be discounted, and if it involves laborious and costly work, it must be taken into account.


Moreover, I suspect that such work is done by the farmers of a particular area joining efforts to provide rain and flood water to all their land. It is rarely the case that a particular farmer will have to undertake such a project on his own, unless he has extensive land. What I will give you here is the principles that apply in your case. You have to look at these further with the help of a local scholar whom you trust to have good knowledge.


We need to mention some of the Hadiths that provide the basis of what we have said. Mu’adh ibn Jabal quotes the Prophet (Pbuh) as saying: “One tenth is levied on what is irrigated by rain or floods, or does not need irrigation; but half of one-tenth is levied on what is irrigated by drawn water.” (Related by Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Hakim]. Abdullah ibn Umar quotes the Prophet as saying: “For what is irrigated with water from the skies and springs or does not need irrigation, zakah is payable at the rate of one-tenth, and what is irrigated with drawn water pays half of one-tenth.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and others).


If a land is irrigated one time with machines and one time naturally, then it pays three quarters of one-tenth, if the alternation is equal, but where one method is used more often, then that method provides the basis of calculation.


Whatever a farmer spends on his farm, including harvest, transport, storage, etc. cannot be paid with zakah money. It should be taken from the farmer’s own money. If he needs to borrow in order to procure such services, he pays his debt from what he receives from his produce and pays zakah on what is left.