Q.1. Is a son allowed to claim and try to retrieve his father’s property, which had been stolen or illegally taken away from his father before the birth of the son?

Q.2. Is it appropriate for an unmarried person to pray to God to facilitate his or her marriage to someone whom he or she knows and loves without the knowledge of the other person and even prior to any sort of proposal?

(Name and address withheld)

A.1. Certainly. If one’s father’s property was stolen or forcibly taken away, the son may claim it by any legal means. If the father is still alive, it would be helping him to restore his right. If he has died, his children who would have inherited this property have a claim to it. They may pursue such a claim by any legal means. If they can take it away from its usurper, without causing more harm or damage, they may do so. Suppose the property is a piece of farmland, and the owner’s son or children can actually force its recovery, by evicting the usurper and physically occupying the land, they may do so. But if there is a dispute over it, with claims and counter claims on both sides, they should refer the matter to the law, so that a court will determine their respective rights.

A.2. If one’s intention is to have a marriage relationship, which is not preceded by something unlawful, one may pray to God to facilitate such a marriage. The point is that marriage is a legitimate bond, and there is no harm in requesting God to facilitate something that He has made legitimate. However, suppose you see a married woman and fancy her, you may not pray to God to facilitate your marriage to her, because you are actually praying for her to be divorced or become a widow so that you may marry her. That is not acceptable.

Two ways to complete the fast

Q.1. Two people traveled from Saudi Arabia to India three days before the end of Ramadan. Because Ramadan started a day later in India, the difference caused a problem. The first did not fast on his day of travel, completed the fast with the people of India and finished 30 days. The other fasted on the day of travel, and after completing 30 days, he did not fast anymore. This meant that the people of India where he was present fasted and he did not. Please comment.

Q.2. Some scholars in India object to your ruling that zakah is not due on a woman’s jewelry. Please comment.

Q.3. A person adds to his savings every month. Please comment on how he should calculate his zakah.

I. Parvez

A.1. Both are correct. The one who fasted on his day of travel should not fast after completing 30 days because the Prophet indicated that a lunar month could not be more than 30 days. The other person was fasting with the people in the country where he was, and could not refrain from fasting that day because he had not completed the month. He does not need to fast in lieu of the day of his travel.

A.2. I gave you the ruling I know to be supported by the weightier evidence. It is not my own ruling; it is the ruling of the majority of scholars. Those who objected to it follow a certain school of Fiqh and they do not look at evidence elsewhere to try to determine which view is more valid. You are free to take their view, if you are more comfortable with it. But it is wrong to keep asking about the same question, if you trust that the first scholar you ask is both learned and trustworthy. It is just as wrong as consulting several doctors about the same complaint.

A.3. Everyone should have a zakah date, which is the date when he first owned an amount equivalent to the threshold of zakah, determined at 85 grams of gold. Every year, on that date, you calculate what you have. If it is over this threshold, you pay your zakah on the entire amount, even though some of the money might have been with you for only a few days. Suppose that last year you had a saving of 10,000 riyals, and you paid your zakah for this amount. During the year you added to your savings different amounts, ranging from 50 to 300 riyals every month, and on your zakah date this year you have 12,000 riyals, you pay your zakah on this amount, even though you added your last savings only one month ago. Do not forget that by making this addition, you are a little richer and you have paid all your living expenses. You are in a much better position than many people. To express your gratitude to God for giving you this much, you pay your zakah to help those who are less fortunate than you.

Alcohol-based perfumes

Q. Is it permissible to use perfumes that contain alcohol, or are they prohibited?

K.U. Farooquddin

A. The confusion over this point arises from the fact that God describes intoxicating or alcoholic drinks as an impurity. But most scholars agree that this impurity is abstract, not physical. Alcohol is not treated in the same way as urine. By describing alcohol as impure, God has given us an added resolve to avoid anything to do with it. But this does not affect perfumes or alcohol that is used for other purposes, particularly in medicine. Hence, it is permissible to use perfumes that are alcohol-based, and to pray after one has used them.