Q. I have heard and read myself about the different signs of the Day of Judgment, one of which is the appearance of the one-eyed Dajjal. My understanding of Dajjal is that he will be a person, may be a leader. But some people told me that in their view Dajjal won’t be a person but an entity, like a country or an army that will create havoc in the world. I am really confused, because if he is a person, every believer would be able to recognize him easily. On the other hand, if it is an entity, then only a true believer would recognize it, or at least believers would have to think hard, try to make sense out of certain things, use their knowledge to the fullest extent in order to judge better. Am I right? Could you please shed some light on this matter.
Z. Anybrainy
A. The title Dajjal means “deceiver”, or rather one who is given to deception that it is his main characteristic. He is out to deceive people, knowing that he is presenting falsehood as true. There are several Hadiths describing him and his behavior. One of these mentions that he will govern for forty days, and that some of these days will be very long, to the extent that one is like a week, and one like a month while another day is like a year. Different Hadiths make it clear that it will not be difficult for a true believer to recognize the truth of this Dajjal, who would claim to be Jesus Christ on his second mission. We are further told that a believer would see the fact that he is an unbeliever written on his forehead.
All this suggests that he is a person, but some scholars say that it could be an entity, or even a way of life. Some people have even suggested that the present Western civilization could be this Impostor. More recently, some people are suggesting that the US represents this Impostor. Much of the description we have for the Impostor applies to this materialistic civilization, with its great lure attracting people from every corner of the world. It has certainly caused millions to move away from faith.
Whether it is a person or an entity, the Impostor would be known for its reality by believers. Moreover, there is always a lure trying to seduce people and turn them away from God. There is also a one-sided view of things, always giving support to evil and falsehood. Therefore, we should always be on our guard and make sure to maintain the path of true faith. Besides, the case of the Impostor, or the Dajjal, belongs to an area where our knowledge is limited. We cannot ascertain whether it is a person or a situation until it comes. Therefore, the best way is to be diligent, maintain a good grasp of our faith, and follow its teachings, praying God to strengthen our faith so that we are immune to any false lure.
A second pilgrimage
Q. My husband and I went on pilgrimage 10 years ago, taking with us our very young daughter. At the time, I knew very little about religion, and I had to take care of the child while performing the duties of pilgrimage. I feel I want to do the pilgrimage again, particularly since I have learnt much about Islam. My husband, however, refused to let me go with my sister and her husband, saying that the pilgrimage is a duty once in a lifetime. Yet we are spending much on holidays, food, clothes, etc. We have had several difficulties lately: could this be a punishment from God for my husband’s refusal to let me do the pilgrimage? My husband gives me an allowance for my own expenses. If I save some of this and use it for pilgrimage, is that acceptable?
(Name and address withheld)
A. The first point to clarify is that your difficulties are not a punishment from God for your husband’s attitude. God may punish people in this life for their sins, and your husband’s refusal to go on pilgrimage or to support your pilgrimage is no sin, because it is a voluntary pilgrimage, or Sunnah. The duty of pilgrimage is once in a lifetime, and both of you have done that. So, where is the sin in not going again? Everyone may have difficulties, because our life on earth is a test which we have to pass. This test may involve difficulties and hardship or affluence and blessings.
What you need to do is to make your husband understand that pilgrimage could be offered as voluntary, or Sunnah, in the same way as the Sunnah prayers which we may offer every day. It is a method to get our past sins wiped out. Every one needs that, regardless how good they are. Your husband appears through your letter to be a good person, devoted to his family and kind to his relatives. He may earn great reward from God for that, but doing the pilgrimage every few years is also a great act of submission to God, for which you stand to earn great reward.
If you save from your allowance and pay for the expenses of your and his pilgrimage, this will be a great act for which he may be indebted to you.
Ablution for tawaf
Q. You have stated that ablution is obligatory for doing the tawaf around the Kaabah. I have recently come across a ruling issued by the Deobandi school in India, stating that ablution is highly recommended for tawaf, but not obligatory. Please clarify.
M. Arif, Karachi
A. The overwhelming majority of scholars consider ablution, or wudhu, an essential condition for tawaf, not merely obligatory. When we speak of a condition we mean that the action itself will not be valid if the condition is not met. There are several Hadiths supporting this. In one of them, Ibn Abbas quotes the Prophet as saying: “Tawaf is a prayer. However, God has allowed speaking during tawaf. Whoever speaks while doing it should only say something good.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Hakim, Ibn Khuzaimah, Al-Daraqutni and others). Another highly authentic Hadith quotes Aishah as saying: “The first thing the Prophet did on arriving in Makkah was to do the ablution and perform tawaf.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
If a person doing the tawaf experiences doubt as to whether he has performed the ablution before he started, his tawaf is not valid. He must leave and perform the ablution and come back for his tawaf. If he has done the tawaf of the Umrah and then realized, after completing it, that he had not done the ablution first, he remains in ihraam until he has done a new tawaf after doing the ablution.
However, the Hanafi school of Fiqh does not consider the ablution a condition for the validity of tawaf, but makes it a duty. This means that if a person doing the Umrah or the pilgrimage performs the tawaf without having done the ablution, his tawaf is valid but he must compensate for omitting the duty of purification by slaughtering a sheep and giving the sacrifice to the poor in the Haram area. If a pilgrim does the tawaf when he is in the state of ceremonial impurity, i.e. janabah, or when a woman is in her period, the tawaf is valid but the compensation is a sacrifice of a cow or a camel, and they must repeat the tawaf while they are in Makkah.
As you see, the matter is serious indeed. I cannot find a basis for the ruling by the Deobandi school, which I certainly respect.