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Q: Is it permissible for a pregnant woman during the
last term of her pregnancy to sit and perform Fardh Salaat as she is
burdened with a heavy weight and experiences much difficulty in making Ruku
and Sajdah?
A: If a pregnant woman experiences extreme difficulty in making Qiyaam
(standing) and/or Ruku and Sajdah, then she may sit and perform her Fardh
Salaat. She may also make Ruku and Sajdah with gestures, in which case her
indication in Sajdah must be more lower than in Ruku. (Shaami vol.2 pg.97;
HM Saeed)
Q: Is it permissible for parents to give cellular phones
to their children?
A: A cellular phone is a permissible entity, yielding great benefits.
However, it also has the potential to inflict serious harm. The trend of
giving cellular phones to children without any restrictions or control is
leading to untold evils. The Darul Ifta has dealt with many incidents of
boys and girls having illicit relationships secretly initiated and
maintained through cellphone communications even while sitting in the
comfort zone of their own home. In 90% of the cases, parents regretted
giving cellphones to their children after facing the ghastly consequences
of their children having cellphones. It must be pointed out that many
incidents handled by us were also from families having religious
backgrounds and trusted their children not to abuse the cellphone.
Allah Ta’ala states: “Save yourselves and your families
from the fire”(Surah 66: Aayat6). Nabi (Sallalahu alaihi wasallam) stated,
“Every one of you is a guardian and everyone will be questioned concerning
his flock!”(Sahih Bukhari Hadith no.893)
It is the Shar’ee responsibility of parents to nurture
their children with Islamic morals and save them in every way from anything
that is potentially immoral, for example, internet and cellphones. If
children commit sin through cellphones, parents will also be sinful due to
the neglect on their part. The Darul Ifta urges you to take heed to our
advice regarding children and cellphones.
Q: What should one recite in the standing posture of
Salaat?
A: If a person is performing two Rakats of Fardh, for example, Fajr
Salaat, or three rakaats for example, Maghrib Salaat, or four Rakaats, for
example, Dhuhr, Asr and Esha Salaat, then he is either following the Imaam
or performing Salaat individually.
If he is performing Salaat behind the Imaam, then in
principle, he cannot recite the Qur’aan in any Rakaat. (Hidaaya vol.1
pg.120; Ilmiyyah) If he is performing Salaat individually, then he has to
recite Surah Faatiha and a Surah (minimum three verses or 18 alphabets) in
the first two Rakaats. (Tahtaawi pg.200; Qadeemi) In four Rakaats Fardh
Salaat, it is virtuous to recite Surah Faatiha in the second two Rakaats.
If a person is performing Sunnat Salaat or Nafl Salaat, then he has to
recite Surah Faatiha and a Surah in the third and fourth Rakaats as well.
(Ibid pg.218)
Q: It is common nowadays that women wear casual clothes
with a scarf considering that to be Hijaab. Kindly comment.
A: According to Shariah the complete body including the form and shape
of a woman is considered as awrah (satar). It is therefore necessary for a
woman to conceal the form and shape of her body in front of Ghayr Mahrams.
(Tahtawi pg.194; Qadeemi)
It is not permissible for females to wear casual clothes in
front of Ghayr Mahrams as that reveals the form and shape of the woman. The
mere covering of the hair with a scarf is not sufficient for Hijaab.
Q: A woman was divorced on a particular date. She
discovered being divorced only after three menses. Is it still necessary
for her to sit in Iddat?
A: In principle, once the husband issued his wife divorce, the divorce
is effective even though the wife does not know of the divorce. (Hidaaya
vol.2 pg.360; Ilmiyah) The Iddat commences immediately after divorce.
(Shaami vol.3 pg.520; HM Saeed)
It is the husband’s responsibility to inform his wife of
the divorce so that she observes the laws of Iddat. If he did not inform
her of the divorce, and she discovered that after the period of Iddat, then
too the Iddat will be complete. The husband will be responsible for her
non-observance of the laws of Iddat.
Q: I am a mother of two; one is 1 and a-half and the
other 5 months, and I have a medical condition called Disc Degeneration
which is a disc that is wearing away in the spine causing severe pain in
the back. My doctor advised me to take a break due to my condition and
advised me to use an IUS Coil.
Is it permissible under the circumstances to employ such a method of birth
control.
A: In principle, if the IUS coil prevents fertilisation, it will be
permissible. If it expels the fertilised eggs, it will not be permissible.
You should get a clarity on the actual function of the coil
from your gynaecologist and follow the principle as explained by us. If
there is no suitable alternative, then one may use the IUS coil based on
the principle of ‘necessity relaxes prohibition’.
Q: When a person passes away, some heirs, for example,
children, forfeit their share in the house in favour of their mother. Is
this practice correct? Will the forfeited share now belong to the mother?
A: If an heir forfeits his/her share. It will be ideal for the heir to
gift his/her share to whosoever he/she wishes to. The Shar’ee laws of hibah
(gifting) would apply. Thus in order to gift a share in a property, it
would be necessary for the property to be first divided as gifting a joint
(mushaah) item is not valid in Shari’ah. An easier method would be for the
heir to sell his/her share in the property to the person for a nominal sum
(e.g.R2). The same ruling would be for all items which are divided. As for
things that cannot be divided, e.g. a car, then gifting of a share in such
items will be permissible without dividing them. (Ahsanul Fatawa Vol.9
Pg.279)
Q: What is the Shari’ah ruling of having a female
Secretary cum receptionist. Apart from her being a receptionist, she also
has to work with me in person. It must be noted that it is not financially
viable to have a male Secretary cum receptionist.
A: Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, ‘A male should never
be alone with a (Ghayr Mahram) woman. According to the Shari’ah, males and
females, must observe the laws of hijab in front of Ghayr Maharim (persons
with whom marriage is not prohibited due to blood relationship). In another
narration, Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, ‘When a Ghayr
Mahram male and female are together, the third is the Shaytaan.’ (Sahih
Bukhari Hadith5233) Every human being by nature is attracted to the
opposite gender, form, shape and colour. Every human being has his/her Nafs
and the Shaytaan flowing within one’s blood to lead a person astray. No
human being is chaste-proof in seclusion with the opposite gender.
In view of the above, it is Haraam to have a female
secretary cum receptionist as she will not be observing the laws of Hijaab
with you and the clients. It is also expected of a secretary to be polite
and sweet which in itself is an attraction to the opposite gender.
The excuse of having a male Secretary cum receptionist not being
financially viable is feeble. Did you compare the financial non-viability
with the negative consequences of having a female employee? She is a death
to your spirituality. She is a threat to your married life. It is no hidden
fact that many female secretaries have rocked many stable marriages. If you
go by the logic of non-viability, then the negative consequences of having
a female secretary supercedes the negative financial consequences. In fact,
at times, the financial loss by having a female secretary could be even
more as flirting and maintaining an illicit relationship is an extremely
expensive affair.
Q: Zayd is selling his property for R100,000. Umar has
one month option to purchase the property from Zayd and offers him R1000 as
security. The security amount belongs to Zayd irrespective of Umar’s
intention of exercising his option to purchase or declining his option. Is
the security contract of R1000 Shari’ah compliant?
A: The security contract is called a call option. Zayd offers Umar a
promise to sell the property to him for a specific amount within a specific
period. In return for this promise, Umar pays R1000.
The promise in itself is permissible and morally binding.
However, it cannot be made the subject matter of a sale. Therefore, Zayd
cannot charge Umar a fee for making such a promise. Furthermore, the
maximum period of option to purchase is only 3 days. (Contemporary Fatawa
of Mufti Taqi Uthmani Pg.99)
Q: Do we have to pay zakaat on platinum jewellery?
A: There is no zakaat on platinium jewellery. (Shaami vol.2 pg.273; HM
Saeed)
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