Q.1. As it is valid for seven people to share in one sacrifice of a camel or a cow, it is customary in our part of the world for six people to join and do the sacrifice, making the Prophet their seventh partner. Please comment.
Q.2. Why do we say one salam at the end of janazah prayer?
Q.3. Can a person perform Umrah if he has to wear a belt wrapped around his belly, for medical reasons?
Q.4. Is it permissible that an old woman whose son is living here in the Kingdom travels for pilgrimage with her elderly neighbor?
Q.5. Is it permissible to call the athan and read the Qur’an without performing ablutions?
Q.6. How is the property to be divided if the deceased leaves behind the following relatives: a) parents, wife, 2 sons and 3 daughters; and b) two wives, one childless and the other having one son and one daughter?
Q.7. A borrower gives a piece of agricultural land to the creditor as a guarantee. The creditor takes all the products of the land. Is this usury?
Q.8. If a person is so ill that he cannot control his discharge of urine and stools, how can he offer his prayers?
S. Akhtar, Jeddah
A.1. There is no need to include the Prophet in one’s sacrifice. We have no instructions by the Prophet that doing so is recommended. As such, it is something that people have invented and it is not part of Islam.
A.2. Some schools of Fiqh say that one salam is sufficient to finish the prayer for the deceased, or janazah prayer. Others require the normal salam, turning to both right and left.
A.3. Wearing a belt during ihraam, or consecration, whether merely to hold one’s garment in position or to keep one’s money and effects, or for medical reasons is acceptable.
A.4. A woman may travel without being accompanied with a close relative or mahram, if she is traveling with what may be described as "safe company". If a woman is traveling by plane, train or bus, this provides such company, particularly if she is with some people she knows, including women. Since this lady will meet her son on arrival, this is perfectly acceptable.
A.5. Yes, both are permissible.
A.6. All the relatives mentioned are in the direct line of inheritance. They have their shares at the same time, with no preference. In the first case, the property is divided as follows: one-sixth to each of the parents, one-eighth to the wife, and the remainder is divided between the children. This remainder is divided into seven shares, two each to the two sons and one to each of the three daughters. In the second case, the two wives share equally the portion of one-eighth, i.e. each has a share of one-sixteenth, and the remainder is divided into three portions: one portion to the daughter and two to the son.
A.7. If the creditor attends to all the needs of the agricultural land, such as irrigation, fertilizers, harvesting, and incurs all the expenses involved, then the produce he receives is in lieu of this expense. If he gets these without putting up the necessary expenditure, the loan arrangement is usurious.
A.8. If the person is aware of the situation and can attend to his needs, he should clean himself for prayer, and he can combine zuhr and asr together, and maghreb and isha together, to ease his difficulty. However, the illness you have mentioned could be managed if proper medical attention is given.
In a different situation, where no improvement is likely and the elderly person has lost most of his normal senses, to the extent that he is largely unaware of what goes on around him, prayer may not be required of him. However, the case should be considered on its own.