Q.1. What is a horoscope? Do Muslims believe in stars and their roles in human life?

Q.2. When photography is unwelcome in Islam, why do we see advertisements in newspapers with photos of men and women, and most of the latter without the hijab?

Q.3. On what conditions are women allowed to work outside their homes, considering that a woman needs to be accompanied by a mahram when she steps outside her residence?

P.H.C. Rayyan

A.1. The Oxford dictionary defines a horoscope as follows: “An observation of the sky and the configuration of the planets at a particular moment, esp. at a person’s birth; a diagram showing such a configuration of the planets; a prediction of a person’s future based on this.” As such, a horoscope is an attempt to divine the future through the means of stars. From the Islamic point of view, all this is strictly forbidden. Muslims may not resort to this type of practice for any reason. It is all fabrication. Indeed, scientific studies undertaken in Britain have proved that it has absolutely no sound basis. The Prophet says: “Whoever seeks the help of an astrologer or fortune-teller denies what has been revealed to Muhammad.” There can be no stricter form of prohibition. Unfortunately most magazines, papers and other publications make a horoscope a regular feature in their publications. This is all wrong and unacceptable.

A.2. There are two points about this: adverts and photography. The two are unrelated, because you could have adverts with or without photos. Advertising is needed by producers, manufacturer, traders, etc., to market their merchandise, and it is needed by the media as it constitutes an important part of their income.

Photography is thought by many people to be included in the Hadith that condemns tasweer, or the production of a likeness. This is due to the fact that we use the same Arabic word for photography. But the Prophet spoke about it long before the invention of photography. Hence, it is important to refer to the original meaning of the word during the Prophet’s lifetime in order to determine whether it applies to photography. When we do, and when we study the usage of the word in the Qur’an, we are bound to conclude that the word was used to refer to something totally different. Its meaning in the Qur’an is “to create something or to shape, mould or fashion it.” When such effort aims at producing something very much like God’s creation, it is certainly forbidden. As for photography, it is the printing of a reflection of an image through a lens. As such, it is not much different from looking into the mirror, which is certainly permissible.

A.3. There is no such a thing as requiring women to stay at home all the time, or that they must be accompanied by a male relative when they step outside. This is required only when a woman travels so as to have protection against any unforeseen mishap and assistance in any case of emergency.

Women always worked inside or outside the home, and there is nothing to prevent a woman from working as long as she abides by Islamic rules in the same way as a man is required to do. Some women among the Prophet’s companions had their business or other types of work. Some were farmers, and others worked in trade. Rufaydah was a nurse and she looked after some of the Prophet’s companions who were injured in battle. Umar appointed women to public office, such as Al-Shifa’ who was the market inspector in Madinah.

Is My Tawaf Valid?

Q. When we went from Mina to Makkah to perform the tawaf of ifaadah during our pilgrimage, I was not feeling well, running temperature. The bus journey took a very long time, and I might have dozed off for a while. When we arrived in Makkah I was feeling better and went in to do my tawaf. Later I had some doubts about the state of my ablution, although at no time did I feel that I consciously invalidated it. We sacrificed a sheep in compensation, but some scholars back home say that this was not enough. This is causing me much worry. Please advise.

Mrs. Farooki • Pakistan

A. The tawaf of ifaadah is one of the essential duties of the pilgrimage. These essential duties are of a special type, which puts them in a special category of their own. If one misses one of these, one’s pilgrimage is not valid. These essential duties include entering into the state of consecration, or ihraam, at the point of meeqat, attendance at Arafat on Dhul-Hijjah 9, and the tawaf of ifaadah. No compensation can be offered for missing any of these. It is, therefore, important to look at the case of this reader to determine whether she did her duty or not.

It is very likely that you were asleep for sometime during the bus journey, considering your state of health, the medication you had and the very boring nature of the very slow-moving journey. However, if you were sitting comfortably in your seat when you dozed off, then your ablution is not invalidated by mere sleep. Unless the person sitting next to you advises you that you need to have a fresh ablution, you do not need to do so if you are sleeping in the seated position.

What invalidates ablution is a discharge through one’s private parts, not the actual sleep. Since you have never been aware of invalidating your ablution, it remained valid. As such, your tawaf of ifaadah is also valid, God willing and you do not need to make any compensation.

Arab News Islam 11 July 2003