Focus on Fiqah

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Focus on Fiqah
(Your questions answered)

Your questions answered: Questions may also be sent to:
Al-Farouq Iftaa Department, PO Box 4280, Korsten, 6014, South Africa

Q. I live in Canada with my 3 children and no husband. The government gives us $875, and our home cost's are around $1500. My question is how much Idaat money should I get from my ex-husband?
A. During your iddat you are entitled to the same expenses as you were receiving while you were married to your husband. So, if for example, while married you received $1,500.00 per month then that is what you are entitled to during the iddah or waiting period. Whatever you receive by way of state grant from the government is in no way related to what you must receive from your husband. That money is yours to keep and does not form part of the husbands contribution.
After the iddat is over, your husband does not need to support you, but must still provide for your three kids as long as they become independent.

Q. While making sunnat or nafil Salaah a person joins me thinking I am making faradh Salaah thus wanting to make jammat. What do I do in this situation? Is the faradh Salaah of this person accepted? Do I begin reading aloud or do I continue as normal?
A. Regarding the question you must remember that one who wants to read faradh salah cannot read behind one who is reading nafl or sunnat salah. So in the case you mentioned, you should not start reading aloud for you are making sunnat and the muqtadi who just joined is making faradh. His salah will not be valid. After the salah you must inform that person that you were making sunnat or nafl and that he should repeat his salah. If you were making faradh salah then you should start reading aloud the moment you become aware that someone has joined you. From that point onwards you also make a niyyat of imamat for the person/s who just joined. Such a jamaat will then be valid.

Q. We are now in the month of Safar. I am curious to know, is it ok to buy anything i.e. a house, car or get married during this month?
A. There was a superstition in vogue during the days of ignorance (pre-Islam) about Safar being a month of badluck and misfortune. Nabi Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam dispelled this notion in one of his statements when he said: "There is nothing (superstitious) about Safar." (Bukhari)
In latter generations people still maintained this belief. Let it be clearly stated, that there is no such a thing in Islam. No month or week or day harbours misfortune or ill-luck. Yes, the actions we do determine good or bad luck for ourselves.

Q. I would like you to enlighten me on this point. According to our belief, once the first Soor is blown by Hazrat ISRAFEAL AS, the entire world and skies will disintegrate and fall apart with great shock, fire and sound. How long will this process continue in time frame until the second Soor will be blown when all the dead will come out alive from the graves at the stage of judgement?
A. From what I have read in the books of Islam on this subject, no time is given on how long it will take for the entire world to be destroyed when the first trumpet (Soor) is blown. However, between this blowing of the trumpet and the second soor, there will be a period of forty years, as stated by Imam Qalyoobi, Suyooti and others.
And Allah knows Best.

Q. What is the meaning of sumum?
A. This means the scorching smoke and fumes of Hell-Fire but not the fire itself.

Q. Is ones beard allowed to join the hair at the temple?
A. Normally the beard does link up to the hair on the sides of the head or beneath the temple. There is nothing wrong with this. If there is any other meaning you intend, then better to show me when we meet one day.

Q. What is the Islamic length for a woman to grow her hair?
A. The length of woman's hair should be at least till the middle of her back. If it grows lower, that is allowed, but not shorter.

Q. If a woman wishes to fast because she has taken an oath for some reason, e.g. to get a better job, child to get better if sick etc. etc. Can this niyyat also serve to pay back fast she has missed during ramadaan? In other words could she make a double intention? I suppose this may be a silly question but I need to know.
A. A vow or Nazr being an independent compulsory act, cannot be incorporated into another act of worship. The Quran Shareef, in Surah Hajj, specifically commands the fulfilment of vows. This implies that a vow has its own form of fulfilment and cannot run concurrently with another act of worship. Hence, a vow of fasting must be fulfilled by observing an independent fast with a separate intention and cannot be fulfilled concurrently with a qadha fast. This ruling is mentioned specifically in almost all the Books of Fiqah, so it cannot be a "silly" question! For that matter, no question on Deen is silly. Jazakumullah for the query.

Q. I would like to know the importance of 3^rd, 7^th, 10^th, 20^th and 40^th day after a person who dies which holds importance in some sectors of Muslim community?
A. These days have no importance in Shariah. Instead it was the people of the past who invented these days to observe customs and rituals for the dead. Remember that if we wish to offer any ibadat, we must make sure that what we intend doing is found in the Quran, Hadith, or lives of the Sahaaba. If not then we must shun such practices. One does not find in the Quran and ruling, nor in the hadith any command to observe 3^rd or 7^th or 40^th day etc. Nor would you see this in the lives of the Sahaaba or great Ulema of the past, in spite of the fact that these people had greater zeal and enthusiasm for Deen and Ibadat than us.
When people invent their own practices and create the impression that such innovations are part of Islam, this is called Bid'ah.
The Holy Messenger of Allah said: Whoever introduces into this Deen of ours something which is not part of the Deen, is rejected. (Bukhari) So these are not Islamic practices and we humbly ask Muslims not to indulge in acts of this nature. You may recite for the dead or make dua for them on any day of the year. In fact, we should make iesaal-e-sawaab for them daily, not only after 3 or 7 or 10 or 40 days. I hope this answers your query.

Q. We are seeking valid explanation of the following question in the light of Quran and Sunnah. Many Muslims believe that when a person passes away, his/her chapter is closed. Nothing good, like recitation of Holy Quran, Dua-e-Maghfirat, distribution of food, clothes, other things for the poor and needy people, will be of any benefit for the departed soul. No good deed/act done by us for Allah Ta’ala in their name will benefit them. On the contrary we believe that Allah the Almighty will shower mercy on the departed soul and will raise his/her status to a higher plane. To which extent are we correct or incorrect? Please guide us so that we may follow the correct path.
A. Jazakumullah for your important query. Definitely any dua or good act performed for the dead will benefit them as long as the deceased is a Muslim. This is established from several ahadith of Rasoolullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). One may recite Quran, give sadqah, fast, etc. and convey the thawaab to the dead and that dead person will benefit there from. One can convey the reward of any act for which the doer gets rewarded by Allah. This is called iesaal-e-sawaab. So those who say that Allah will shower mercy on the dead soul because of the good acts done for him or her, are correct. They are also correct in saying that Allah will elevate that person's rank and status.

THE ABUSE AND DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE

¯ During 2001 45,449 abortions were performed in South Africa.

¯ 18,725 of these abortions were performed in Gauteng alone.

¯ The province with the abortion figure closest to this is the Western Cape with 5,920.

¯ Since the legalisation of abortion in South Africa, approximately 220,000 pregnancies has been terminated.

¯ Many abortions are performed after the foetus is 24 weeks old (the legal cut-off age).

¯ Abortion on demand is available to girls under 16 without parental consent.

¯ South Africa has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the world.

¯ In March 2002, at a women's clinic in Pretoria, a nurse was found guilty of aborting foetuses as old as 34 weeks. This nurse reported that foetuses sometimes lay in buckets, crying for up to half an hour before drowning. Other times they were placed in plastic bags, which were then placed in a fridge. The matter has now been referred to the SAPS for investigation.

¯ There are two ways in which abortions are done: the Medical Abortion, in which specific medication is administered to the woman to cause the uterus to contract, thereby expelling the foetus; and the Surgical Abortion, depending on the age of the foetus, which is done using one of two surgical procedures to terminate the pregnancy.

SAPA, Johannesburg : SA has a high demand for pregnancy termination services despite a high awareness of family planning, a research paper indicated. According to the paper, released by Marie Stopes SA (MSSA), 62% of sexually active women in the country were already using contraceptives. Despite this, Marie Stopes SA programme director Paul Cornellisson said there was a continued high demand for abortions in the country. "Despite the high prevalence of contraceptive use overall, this conceals the very low rate of usage in rural compared with urban areas where services are much harder to come by," he said. In the Eastern Cape, for example, about 80% of sexually active urban women used contraceptives, but its usage was as low as 22% among their rural counterparts.