Letters to the Editor

Q. Before leaving for USA I was able to offer salah five times in jamaah, but after I arrived in USA I am not able to offer salah in jamaah.  Further, after much difficulty I got a job in a gas station where there is lottery system. Now, I don’t know whether my earning is halal or haram. Can you please throw some light on this?  And, if it is a sin, but we are not able to leave the job because of the difficult situation, then will istighfaar be enough?

Mubeen,
On Email

YMD

If there is no mosque nearby, nor another Muslim with whom you could make a congregation, or if there are Muslims but not ready to join you, then you might pray alone without any sin on you, insha Allah. But, you might have the difficulty of even doing your Prayers on time because the system there does not permit a man’s absence even for a minute. In the American system, the customer is God, since, in their belief, he feeds the organization, and so, he cannot be displeased. At best you might make an arrangement with your colleagues to allow you to Pray while they look after your work.

As regards the lottery system, that is something you might not be able to avoid anywhere in the USA. Gambling and lottery are part and parcel of American economic system. Doctors in hospitals also gamble. So we do not see how you can work in any place where there are no gambling or lottery machines. At best you must try and work in such places where gambling is not the main business.

That’s the best you can do in USA. With time you will gain experience and find better jobs to save something and then move on to a Muslim area in the USA where you might practice Islam, at least marginally.

On the other hand, if you are technically well qualified, we suggest you either move to a Muslim country or back to your own country, for, in life, it is Imaan that matters most.

Q. Please clarify the following. Some people say that Prophet Muhammad had the knowledge of the unseen (ilm al-ghaib). Is that true? 

YMD

No it is not. Our Prophet, nor any other Prophet or Messenger of the past had the knowledge of the Unseen. The Qur’an commanded our Prophet to inform his followers that he did not have the knowledge of the Unseen. He was told (H.Q. 6: 50), “Say: I do not say I possess Allah’s treasures, nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I say that I am an angel. I follow not but what is revealed to me.” 

In another revelation, Allah commanded him to announce his ignorance of the Unseen, as well as state as evidence that if he knew the Unseen, he would have suffered no inconvenience in life. Allah said (H.Q 7: 188), “Say, I do not own benefit or harm to myself, except for what Allah will. And, had I known the Unseen, I would have gathered together of the good (things) and no evil would have touched me. I am not but a warner and a proclaimer of glad tiding unto a people who will believe.”

In fact, Allah denied the knowledge of the Unseen to anyone in the heavens and the earth by saying (27: 65), “Say, none in the heavens and the earth know the Unseen except Allah. And they do not know when they will be raised up.”

Actually, we did not need the revelation to tell us that no one knows the Unseen except Allah. The use of common sense makes it apparent that no one but Allah can know the Unseen. This world is immensely large. No one knows it boundaries. In fact, modern science tells us that we will never be able to know how large our universe is. There are billions and billions of galaxies within the known universe. No one knows, nor anyone can ever know, what is there in these galaxies. How do you expect any single individual to know all that there is in an unknown and unknowable universe?

Further, the universe is in a flux. Every new second it is different from what it was the previous second. What it will be like the next second is for only him to predict who knows all its elements, and who controls all the forces of nature. More. He should have control over the will of all the living beings anywhere in the universe, to know how they will choose to act or react the next moment. If he doesn’t, he cannot control the universe, which will run into a chaos if it is left to itself just for a micro-second. That someone is Allah, the All-knowing.

This is something so overwhelming that many unbelievers deny that even God can know it. They therefore reject Qada’ and Qadr or pre-determination. They think that no one has either such immense knowledge, or such control over the universe that he could either predict, or guide the universe to a goal. But Allah is capable of what they deny. He has power over everything. So, if someone believes that our Prophet knew the Unseen (the ghayb) then, without realizing he is giving him the knowledge and power that are only Allah’s.

We also have thousands of instances from the life of the Prophet that tell us that he did not know what was to happen the next day, or even next moment. At Badr for instance, he did not know whether the news that were reaching him were about the caravan of Abu Sufyan or the Makkan army advancing on him. He had to send scouts to ascertain the facts. After the defeat of Uhud, the Prophet did not know whether the triumphant Quraysh army was going back to Makkah or would attack Madinah. He had to send ‘Ali to follow them secretly and inform him of their intention. When he started for ‘Umrah in the 6th year after Hijrah, he did not know that the Quraysh will be stopping him at Hudaybiyyah alone, and will not allow him to enter into Makkah. Ultimately, he had to make peace and return without performing an ‘Umrah. Even in personal matters he did not know the Unseen. For example, when ‘A’isha (ra) was slandered, he did not know the truth and had to, despite all the embarrassment such things cause, consult ‘Ali and others. A maid had to tell the Prophet for his comfort that the allegation was complete nonsense. Instances can be multiplied.

Q. It is also said that the Prophet was made of noor (light). Is that true? Please don’t mention my name and id.

M. W. K.,
On Email

YMD

We do not know in what sense it is said that he was made of noor. For, if you can photograph a human being with special cameras, you will discover that he is surrounded by a hallow of light, although dim. It is not clear what this hallow is. If the reference is to this, then, yes, the Prophet too would have possessed this hallow. But, if it is some other noor that is meant, then that noor will have to be defined.

Another possibility is that since the Prophetic body was made of the same elements as any human being, those elements can ultimately be reduced to energy (following the famous equation e=mc2).

At the extreme, if it is meant that he was not physical at all, but made of light, then, of course that is wrong. He possessed a fully physical body, felt pain and pleasure, was injured and healed just like any other body. He used to emphasize his human-ness quite often.

Q. My mother died in 2000. After that for the sake of his welfare and for someone to look after him for the rest of his life, and, after obtaining the consent of three sons and one daughter, my father married another woman. But within two month of marriage problems started. The woman is a nominal Muslim, or, put in realistic terms, she is a non-Muslim. She has looted everything we had and has now filed a case in the court after she had to be divorced. I would like to know how far we can fight to prove in the court that her case is false and that she cannot claim a single pie.

Rauf Saif,
On Email

YMD

We can understand the trauma that your family could be facing, but there is little we can suggest except that it would be better to consult the elders of the woman’s family and settle the disputes outside court.

Q. Please clarify: we got married in the court. Should we have to go through the Nikah ceremony? 

YMD

If the court marriage was not conducted according to the Nikah requirements then, Islamically you and the woman are not husband and wife. 

Q. Can we ask any imam for our Nikah in the absence of our parents by informing him that we are already married through Register. 

YMD

How can you ask someone to marry you off, when, as you think, you are already married? In any case, an Imam or a religious person is not necessary to conduct Nikah. Just anybody apart from you two can do it. You need two witnesses, and the girl’s father or guardian’s consent, (or his representative) and agreement over an amount of mahr. 

Q. Is it necessary for the parents to be present at the time of Nikah? They are not agreeable to this marriage. Please do not show my name below.

A. S.,
On Email

YMD

The presence of your parents – if you are a male – is not an essential requirement of Nikah. It will be valid without them – only treacherous.

But the girl’s custodian (normally the father) has to be present, or send his consent through a representative.

Q. This is regarding an article published in your Magazine in the month of August 2000. The article was about a cult called Deendar-e-Anjuman by Mr. Muneer Ahmed of Tumkur (Karnataka). I would like to know about it completely as one of its members is my close relative and he is a very smart and intelligent person, he challenges anybody to prove that they are wrong. I request you to provide the information with strong proof. 

Abdul Hai,
On Email

YMD

Before we attempt to prove that anyone is wrong, we should know what is it that we want to prove as wrong. It would be better therefore if you asked him to state to you his beliefs and what you think as powerful evidences – preferably the whole thing in writing – and then forward them to us for our comments from the Islamic perspective.

Q. With reference to the Q/A June 2003 regarding S.A.M’s (Belgaum) views about Tableeg Jamat, I would like to know why these Deobandis always tell us that they want their deeds to be like it is stated in the Faza’il A`maal? They tell us that this book has Hadiths, but the thing is this book holds teachings of Moulana Ilyas. 

Waseem Ahmed,
On Email

YMD

It seems you are unclear about the Tableeghi Jamat, their work, and the book they use. You need to get closer to them to get a better idea. E.g., you equate Tableeghis with Deobandis whereas there are many Deobandees who do not work for the Tableegh, while there are Tableeghis who do not subscribe to the Deobandi views. In fact, all sorts of people participate in Tableeghi work, including some of the Ahl al-Hadith and occasionally, a Shi‘ah or Bohri. Again, the Fazaa’il-e-A‘maal does not hold the teachings of Maulana Ilays, may he rest in peace.

So, we advise that you spend some time with the movement, maybe forty days. That will give you an inner view of what goes on there, and place you in a better position to judge them and the movement.

Q. Please let me know whether a man should go ahead to marry someone he loves, despite the father’s threat that if he did so, the father will divorce his wife, that is, the son’s mother. Will the curse of divorce be on the son and his wife?

Afifa, 
On Email

YMD

There is no such thing as “curse of divorce” to descend upon the new pair, who marry despite their parent’s disapproval. Curse can only descend from Allah which happens when someone commits a major sin and is unrepentant.

However, if your father actually divorces your mother, because of your marriage (perhaps he thinks your mother is a participant), then you two will bear part of the responsibility and will be questioned for the suffering that your mother will undergo after divorce.

In your case, it is not only the divorce of your mother that you have to fear, but also the ill effects of a marriage which leaves the rest of the family in an imbroglio. Any couple who ignore their parents, are, to say the least, very unprincipled in life. And unprincipled people will never be happy. They are bound to be at odds with all those they deal with. Those who betrayed their parents are not going to be faithful to others, or even to each other. That is a thing of common sense.

Parents have their legitimate rights. They have age on their side, experience and knowledge about the two which the two may not have. If a father is stubbornly opposed to a marriage, there has to be something seriously wrong with the choice. Only in one situation can the parents be ignored: they oppose a religious spouse. Otherwise, ignoring them spells disaster, even if the father does not divorce your mother.

Life is not lived between a husband and a wife. The family is extremely important. It is the family which not only adds to the joy, but, removes grief when misunderstandings set in between husband and wife: a phenomenon as common as unescapable. If you study divorce cases you will discover that in most cases it is the absence of parents on either or both sides, or their refusal to interfere, or the couple’s refusal to seek their help, that leads to an easy breakup.

One husband is as good or as bad as another husband. Similarly, a wife is as good or bad as another wife. But, there is no replacement for parents. So, everything must be done to obtain their approval. Unless they are opposed to a religious person, there is barakah in following their advice.

Q. Is it possible to run an Islamic banking system in our age? Can you inform us about one? 

YMD

Islamic systems are meant for all ages, ancient or modern. It is non-Islamic systems that cannot be followed in all ages. For example, the Western system was not fit for the ancient times, or the Middle Ages, nor can it be enforced in any part of the world, without causing social disaster.

We do not know of any Islamic bank in India. You may ask why? It is because everyone wants service but no one wants to serve. To set up an Islamic bank is not the job of the ‘Ulama. It is the job of the elites, the intellectual and the educated class. But this class of Muslims does not believe in service. It wants to be served.

Q. Can we observe Rajab?

Naveed Fida Shahapuri,
On Email

YMD

We do not know what you mean by Rajab, and we are not aware of any practices in Islam meant for the month of Rajab.

Q. You claim that yours is an authentic Islamic magazine. But is your answer to Salatul Witr, supported by any authentic hadith?

Habeeb Ahmed Jamalulail,
On Email

YMD

What we mean when we say that ours is an authentic Islamic magazine, is that it presents authentic statements from the Qur’an, hadith, Fiqh and practices of the Salaf and renowned scholars of the past. That is, whatever is presented is from trustworthy sources, hence reliable, and not from unscholarly works, disputable writings or opinions of scholars whom the Ummah as a whole did not accept as one whose opinions mattered.

We do not, and cannot claim to present the backing of a hadith to every sentence that we write, nor to every fiqh rule that we state. The fiqh rules for example, that we state can be found in such books as are considered authentic reference works by the followers of the Maslak in question. We do not claim to back up fiqh rules with ahadith. Perhaps you are not aware of how fiqh rules are formulated. They do not have Hadith alone as their source or evidence.

Q. I would like to know whether the money earned from the following business is lawful: I allow international calls at lower rates to my customers. But what they will pay me will not be paid to the respective phone connection company.

Akram Khan,
On Email

YMD

We cannot understand how you can manage this, unless what you mean is that you will allow your customers to call through internet on your computer for which you do not have to pay to anyone, except for the internet connection charges. If this is so, it should be allowable.

But, if there is some other way, we must know it in detail before we can offer our opinion.