Q. What does Islam say regarding praying for the forgiveness of a person who has committed something wrong?
Z. Salman
A. If you pray for a brother of yours whom you know to have committed some sinful action, God will accept your prayer, if He so wills, and will reward you for your prayer on his behalf. The Prophet is quoted to have said that a prayer for a brother in his absence will never be turned down. This is due to the fact that a prayer for someone else in his absence is bound to be sincere.
Besides, every one of us needs to be forgiven by God, because we all commit mistakes and hope to be forgiven. If we do not obtain God’s forgiveness, we are bound to suffer much on the Day of Judgment. Therefore, we should always be seeking God’s forgiveness for ourselves and for those whom we love.
When a woman wants divorce
Q. My sister is in distress in her marriage and she wants to have her marriage terminated. Her husband, however, does not want to give her divorce. What course of action is available to her?
Guffran
A. There are two possibilities for a woman to have her marriage terminated. She may either seek a divorce on grounds of being harmed by her husband. In this case, she has to prove the harm caused. The judge should be satisfied that it is of the type that makes it very difficult or impossible to continue in marital relation. Here the case is one for termination if it is proved that the husband intolerably abuses his wife verbally, physically or mentally, or compels her to say or do something that is clearly forbidden.
If the wife provides a satisfactory proof, or the husband admits the offense, and the judge finds it impossible to achieve reconciliation between them, he may dissolve the marriage.
The alternative open to a woman is to seek khula’, which is a termination of marriage at the wife’s request. In such a case, there need not be a reason other than that she finds it difficult to continue with the marriage. A woman who seeks termination of her marriage through khula’ is required to refund her husband whatever dowry he gave her at the time of their marriage. She may give him more, if she agrees, but he should not ask for more than what he has paid her. Some men try to exact a price for agreeing to khula’, but a judge may enforce it in return for only what the man paid.
The evidence in support of khula’ is found in verse 229 of Surah 2, and also in a number of Hadiths. One of these mentions that a woman married to Thabit ibn Qais came to the Prophet seeking the termination of her marriage. She said to the Prophet: “I have nothing to say against him with regard to his personal conduct or his strong faith. However, I am weary that I could be guilty of falling (short of my duty) when I am a Muslim.” The Prophet asked her whether she would be willing to give him back the garden he gave her in dowry. When she confirmed that, the Prophet told her husband to accept the garden and divorce her.
This Hadith is related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Nassaie as well as other Hadith scholars in different versions, some of which provide greater details. However, the message is clear. The woman disliked her husband only because of his physical appearance. Otherwise, she had no complaint regarding the way he treated her, or his strong faith.
The Prophet spoke to the man and told him of the fact that she was unwilling to continue with their marriage. The man said nothing other than to point out that he had given her a very handsome dowry, a garden. When she was willing to return that, the Prophet ordered the termination of the marriage. A case of khula’ does not require the husband’s agreement. The judge may order the termination of the marriage.
Invoking saints and others
Q. People in my home country assign a special position to Sheikh Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jailani, to the extent that they consider him to be present everywhere and that he can grant people’s wishes, whatever they are. I understand that this is a common concept also in many African countries. What is the reason for such beliefs? Nowadays some people also call on another person whom they consider to be even mightier than A-Jailani. His name is Imam Raza Khan. Have you heard of him?
Abdulaziz
A. Sheikh Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jailani was a scholar renowned for his piety and devotion. He was influential in the areas where he lived, and people loved him for the simple life he led and his lack of interest in worldly matters. He never gave himself airs, nor did he aspire to any position other than that of one who called on people to be dedicated to their faith. However, in the periods of ignorance which covered much of the Muslim world for several centuries, people associated his name with some practices which he never sanctioned. They attributed working miracles to him. They claimed that he could fly, and that he often flew over the people sitting in his circle in the mosque.
All such claims are false. The man never worked any miracle, nor claimed to be able to work any. If he could not do a miracle in his life, he is certainly less likely to do one after his death, when, like all human beings, he would be unable to take any action.
I have just said that this is the legacy of the period of ignorance that prevailed in the Muslim world. That it survives even today means that people are still in the grip of such ignorance.
If they entertain such beliefs about the man, they are raising his status to that of a partner of God. Needless to say, God has no partners, and Al-Jailani never made such a claim. Indeed, to believe that any person has such powers is to be guilty of associating partners with God. This is a form of shirk, which no Muslim may entertain.
As for the other person you mentioned, I have never heard of him. If people consider him mightier than Al-Jailani, when they attribute to the latter such powers, then they have a scale of power like the idolaters used to have ranks for their idols. The only difference is that the idols of old used to be of stone and wood, while these latter day idols are corpses of dead people. How absurd.