Q. 1. It is said that excessive profit is forbidden in Islam. What percentage of profit is considered excessive? How much profit can one make without violating Islamic rules?

Q. 2. It is said that combining two prayers when one is resident and not traveling is permissible. May I ask whether this is true? Is it applicable to a newly wed couple who may need to take a shower more than once if they are to attend to their five obligatory prayers at their regular times?

Razia

A.1. Profiteering is certainly forbidden in Islam. But profiteering is defined as making excessive profits out of people’s needs, especially in times of scarcity. This defines for us what is permitted and what is not. If a trader holds on to his goods to create an air of scarcity that compels people to try to secure their needs, even at a higher price, then the extra profit he makes as a result is not lawful, or at least highly reprehensible. He may say that he does not force anyone to come and buy at this high price, but then it is his action that created the element of uncertainty and generated extra demand, causing the price to go up. Monopoly is another way that pushes prices up, and it is forbidden. The important thing to remember is that exploitation of other people’s needs is unacceptable from the Islamic point of view.

Having said that, I should add that there is no standard formula to define rates of profits, because reasonable rates of profit vary a great deal according to how frequently different goods are sold. For example, rates of profit on fruits and vegetables are very small, but they may exceed 100 percent on large furniture items. If the rates on consumable food is to be applied to furniture, then there will be no one to make furniture and furniture shops will have to close down. Similarly, if a greengrocer applies to his fruits and vegetables the same rates of profit as furniture, his goods will perish before anyone buys anything from him. Hence Islam allows business people to determine their reasonable rate of profit, provided they abide by the Islamic principles that forbid exploitation, monopoly and cheating.

A.2. The Prophet once combined two prayers when he was neither ill nor traveling. His companions explained his aim was to make things easier for his followers. Scholars explain that this is a concession which is permissible to use when needed, provided that it does not become a habit. Today, we find that this concession is extremely useful for people who live in northern areas when the day is very short and the time range for each prayer is too short. If you are living in a non-Muslim country, where there are only a few mosques, and you need to go out for some business, you may be unable to attend to all your prayers on time. Using this concession becomes very useful. But you must be careful that you do not develop a habit of combining prayers. The prayers which may be thus combined are Dhuhr and Asr, or Maghrib and Isha. You can combine each two at the time of either one of them.

As for the situation you have mentioned, I think if the couple are reasonable in their approach, they will not need this concession. They only need to manage their time properly.

Bad omen

Q. I recently read in Arab News an article about bad omen and that it should be shunned and paid no attention. It mentions that in pre-Islamic days, the Arabs used to let a bird fly in order to determine their course of action. If the bird flies to the right, they considered it a good omen, but if it flies to the left, that signaled a bad omen and they would not go ahead with whatever they wanted to do.

But I also read about a person who wanted to travel. When he went to the travel agent, he found him closed at a time when he should not be. He took it as an indication and did not travel. Yet the first action is criticized while the second is praised. Are they not the same? Please explain.

Reeaz

A. The two actions are greatly different and could not be treated at the same level. Those Arabs in their ignorant days held the bird and then allowed it to fly believing that the direction would give them an indication whether their action will be profitable or not. Thus, they allowed the bird, or the direction it would fly, to determine their action. They also did this habitually believing that it was an infallible method of determining the result of their action. This is determining an omen and attributing to the bird knowledge of the future. Hence, it is totally unacceptable.

The second case is known to me personally. The man was embarking on a very serious change of his life course, and he felt that he must do the istikharah in order to seek God’s help in choosing whether to travel or not. The Prophet has taught us to do the istikharah before any decision of importance. When you do the istikharah you make your choice with God’s help. How do you know which course to follow? It is by letting things go their way, and finding out what is easy and does not require much effort on your part. When this man did the istikharah, he wanted to see which course was facilitated for him. Had he managed to book a suitable flight easily, and get a good fair, he would have traveled. On the other hand, if he found that getting a flight booked within the time range he needed was too difficult, that would have indicated something for him. The difficulty suggests that it is better not to travel. Hence, when he found the travel agent closed at a time when he is not normally closed, and this meant that he would miss the next flight, he felt that this was an indication in answer to his istikharah. Hence, he did not travel. His is the right attitude because he made his decision with God’s help.

Praying with one’s husband

Q. I would like to know whether it is appropriate to offer night prayer in congregation with my husband? If not, is congregational prayer limited to obligatory prayers and taraweeh?

Khuloos

A. It is perfectly appropriate to offer any obligatory prayer, taraweeh or night worship in congregation with your husband, or with your children, or with any member of your family, such as your father, brother, nephew, etc. When you do that, both of you will earn the full reward of a congregational prayer, which is 27 times the reward of the same prayer offered individually.

Answer to Mr. Hassan Kutty

The tabulation you have sent me showing the division of a Muslim’s property after his or her death is good and useful. However, there is a mistake in No. 8, where you have made a father’s share of the inheritance of a woman without children only one-sixth, when his share is one-third. Also, it is wrong to describe the persons in No.1 and No. 8 as single man and single woman respectively. They may be married but without children. So, the correct way to describe them is that they are ‘without children’. You also have to say that these cases you have cited are the most common, but there are other situations where other relatives may have shares. This needs to be explained with regard to the shares of siblings, because you need to distinguish a full brother or sister from ones who are only half brother and half sister as well as their relation to the deceased. May God reward you for your efforts.

Arab News Islam 13 January 2003