Q.1. What reply could be given to someone who says that only the Qur’an should be implemented since it is God’s word that is immune to change?
Q.2. What should be one’s attitude to friends who may pray and fast, but engage in different types of sin?
Q.3. Is there a Hadith that the Prophet put his fingers in his ears when he heard music? Could this mean that music is forbidden?
Nadeem Rizvi
A.1. The reply is simple. Numerous are the Qur’anic verses that require us to obey God’s messenger. If one abandons what the Prophet says, one is definitely going against this order, repeatedly stated in the Qur’an. Hence, his claim to follow the Qur’an is false. As for authenticity, the Prophet’s Sunnah has been verified and its authenticity has been established beyond doubt. This means that no one could ignore the Sunnah if he or she wants to fulfill God’s orders.
A.2. The attitude is one of care and love. One should encourage such people to continue their worship, but also one should remind them that they should not waste the reward they earn for their good deeds by committing bad ones. One should give such reminders when one is sure that they will be well received. You do not tell a person that drinking intoxicants is forbidden when he is sitting with a group and they are all drinking. He would not respond well to such a reminder. You may give him such an advice when he is sober, ready to discuss matters on their merit. But care and sound advice should always be our standard approach. Outright condemnation is wrong and counterproductive.
A.3. Yes there is a Hadith which says that. The Prophet was walking with his companion, Abdullah ibn Umar, when he heard some singing. He placed his fingers in his ears. A short while later, he asked his companion if he could still hear the singing, and Abdullah confirmed that he did. They walked on with the Prophet still putting his fingers in his ears. Again he asked his companion if he could still hear, and the answer was the same. They walked on before the Prophet asked the same question the third time. Abdullah said that he could not hear. The Prophet took his fingers out of his ears.
Some people cite this Hadith as indicating a prohibition of singing or music, but it does not signify that. Had it been so, the Prophet would have told his companion to follow his example. The Prophet could not delay explaining a ruling at all. The fact that he let his companion continue to hear indicates that what he heard was not forbidden. It is only a case of hearing what he disliked.
Restrictions During Ramadan
Q.1. Is it permissible for a man to have sexual intercourse with his wife during Ramadan?
Q.2. When a woman is in her period, can she fast in Ramadan?
Mirza Sallu
A.1. Yes, this is permissible during the night, when fasting is over. However, during the day of fasting, sexual intercourse is strictly forbidden between man and wife. Should it happen, a very heavy atonement will be required in the form of fasting 60 consecutive days, unless one is too ill to fast, when the atonement takes the form of feeding 60 poor people two meals each.
A.2. When a woman is in her period, she does not fast in Ramadan. If she fasts nevertheless, her fasting is invalid and she is deemed not to have fasted throughout her period. A woman is required to make up the shortfall by fasting the same number of days of her period at a later time during the following 11 months. This compensation is required if a woman fasts during her period, because the fast is invalid.
Verses Requiring Prostration
Q. I have two lists of verses which require a reciter to perform a prostration when reading them. One of the lists was given to me by a scholar who is well versed in the Qur’an, and the other I downloaded from the Internet. The discrepancy between the two lists left me confused. Please clarify.
R.I. Chaudhuri
A. There is not much discrepancy between the two lists. Let me say first of all that prostration when reading these verses is recommended, not obligatory. When the second list specifies four of them as obligatory, this is not a very reliable view. Otherwise, there are 13 verses where prostration is agreed to be recommended by most scholars. More are added by one school of Fiqh or another, to make the number 14. The verses are as follows, with the first number indicating the surah and the second indicating the verse: 7: 206; 13: 15; 16: 49; 17: 107; 19: 58; 22: 18; 25: 60; 25: 60; 27: 25; 32: 15; 41: 37; 53: 62; 84: 21; 96: 19. The other two are 22: 77; and 38: 24. On your lists the number of verses vary in certain surahs. This is because the first list gives the verse where the mention of prostration occurs, while the second gives the number of the verse at the end of which the prostration takes place. Thus, the first list gives verse 49 in surah 16, 107 in 17 and 25 in 27, while the second list gives the numbers as 50, 109 and 26 in these respective surahs. These are the same positions, but you prostrate at the end of the verses mentioned in the second list.
Mortgage and Islamic Finance
Q. I refer to your reply in which you mention the European Islamic Council’s fatwa permitting the mortgage arrangement for house purchase. I have been trying to arrange for house purchase through an Islamic finance scheme, which is far more costly than a normal mortgage. However, I feel that we should support such schemes because they provide alternatives. Since they are still in their initial period of operation, they are bound to be more expensive. However, they need support. Should a Muslim prefer their schemes on the basis of this consideration?
(Name and address withheld)
A. As I mentioned earlier, the European Council based its fatwa on the principle of necessity, or pressing need. I personally feel that this is unnecessary. There is much more to a mortgage arrangement than meeting a necessity, which makes it permissible on its own merits. Be that as it may, the question of which option to take may be addressed on two counts: the interests of the individual and those of the community.
There is no doubt that strengthening Islamic banks and financial institutions serves the interests of the Muslim community. Hence, we should try our best to strengthen them. However, these institutions are also duty bound to try hard to make themselves competitive. If an ordinary bank gives a mortgage requesting a 5 percent down payment, then an Islamic bank requiring 20 percent puts itself out of the market. There will inevitably be less takers and the smaller the number of customers, the less the opportunity for the scheme to be more competitive.
Some leading banks in England have now started a similar scheme of what they call Islamic mortgage. They cut the down payment to 10 percent, which means that the Islamic banks will find themselves in difficulty unless they improve their products. They have a responsibility to do so anyway.
What does Islam require from an individual? Each one looks at his or her own situation. A person who is able to take an Islamic mortgage, without putting himself to much trouble, is advised to do so. However, if he will end up paying much more for his house than under a normal mortgage, then no such requirement applies. It is the responsibility of the Islamic financial institutions to lower their prices. On the other hand, a person who finds it difficult to meet the requirements of the financial institutions operating what they call an Islamic scheme need may take an ordinary mortgage, since it has been declared acceptable from the Islamic point of view.
Arab News Islam 9 May 2003