Q. Verse 32 of Surah 24 orders that unmarried men and women should be married. However, verse 3 of Surah 4 allows a man to marry up to four wives. When an unmarried woman marries an already married man, does she contradict the verse in Surah 24, which specifies that marriage should be for those who are unmarried?

Aishah Reza, Kerala

A. No, there is no contradiction. When a man is permitted by a clear verse to marry up to four wives, he is bound to be married when he takes on a second or a third wife. Unless he marries all four on the same day, he cannot be unmarried should he want to have a second wife.

Verse 32 of Surah 24 gives an order to the Muslim community to look after those who are single in its ranks and to help them to get married.

This takes the form of making marriage easy by encouraging social norms that reduce the expenses of marriage. Moreover, the Muslim community should provide financial help to those who wish to be married but have only limited means. It does not impose an order on every single person to get married, because some people will remain unmarried in all societies.

On Qur’anic Translations

Q. As a newcomer to Islam, I have been trying to understand the Qur’an, using one translation in my mother tongue (Norwegian) and several English translations. I am surprised that different translations give different meanings to verses and statements. Could you help me.

T. Haland

A. This is a problem with translation generally and translating a text of superior literary merit in particular. The Qur’anic style is unique. One feature of its uniqueness is that a short statement may allow a very broad area of meaning.

When a translator tries to deal with such a text, he has no option but to highlight the meaning that is most readily apparent. Some people may understand the same text differently, and this could lead to different translations. On the other hand, a translator may refer to a particular commentary in order to grasp the meaning of a particular verse. Commentators may give different emphasis to a word or a sentence. If two translators use two commentaries which highlight different aspects of the same verse, the translators may give different renderings of the meaning.

Nothing of this is unusual, and translators should not be blamed for it. What is needed is a permanent academic institution to take charge of the translation of the Qur’an into other languages in order to produce works of the highest reliability. How and when will this happen, God only knows.

Zakah on Gifts

Q. If a person receives a gift from a charitable fund, say the Red Cross, is such gift liable to zakah, should the recipient hold it for a year? What if the recipients are children under the age of 10.

S. Rasool

A. The important point to remember about zakah liability is not that a sum of money should be in one’s possession for a year before it becomes liable to zakah. It is that the individual concerned should be in possession of the threshold of zakah for a year or more. This threshold is the equivalent of 85 grams of gold. This means that one does not need to hold the gift in question for a year. If he is a zakah payer in the first place, then the gift he receives is zakahable on his next zakah date, be it in 10 months time, next month or tomorrow.

Any money that becomes one’s own is liable to zakah when a person is a zakah payer, i.e. one who has more than the threshold of zakah. A gift is one lawful way of acquiring things. Since the charitable fund gives you a gift, then you should pay its zakah, if you are a zakah payer.

The same applies to children. Each child is treated on his or her own. They should each have the threshold of zakah before they become liable to paying zakah. A child’s guardian is required to pay out that child’s zakah on time. The Prophet says: “Whoever is in charge of a child’s property should take measures to cause it to grow so that it is not consumed by zakah.” Hence, the overwhelming majority of scholars agree that a guardian should make sure that a child’s zakah is paid out on time.

Arab News Islam 16 May 2003