Q. There is much criticism, false allegations and negative propaganda targeted at Islam these days. Some of it is perpetrated by politicians. How should we react to such campaigns? Some scholars have issued rulings requiring Muslims to boycott American goods. Are these rulings based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah?
M. Anvardeen • Riyadh
A. There has always been false propaganda against Islam. It began on the day the Prophet declared his message in public, and has not stopped since then. When Muslims are strong and feared by others, such propaganda cowers down and resorts to rumors and secret communication. When Muslims are weak, as they happen to be in our present times, anti-Islamic hate campaigns shout loud. Some Western leaders have been involved in such campaigns of false allegations, while others participated in military attacks against some Muslim countries.
Muslims are supposed to defend their faith, because it is God’s final message to mankind. The best way they can defend it is to make it known to people, and the best way to achieve that is through proper implementation and practice of Islam. The other most important thing is for Muslim countries to add to their strength, so that any enemy will hesitate before embarking on an unlawful and unjustified attack against them. The two elements work hand in hand and strengthen each other’s effect.
As for the ruling against buying American goods and services, this is a valid ruling, based on the fact that America is engaged in an unlawful war against Islam and the Muslims. It also provides Israel with unwavering and unlimited support in its aggression against Islam and the Muslims of Palestine and other Muslim countries.
Charms, Bank Interest, etc.
Q.1. Wearing charms or talismans is considered a form of shirk, or associating partners with God. Does this also apply to hanging verses of the Qur’an on walls, or placing a very small copy of the Qur’an in one’s car?
Q.2. Can we give bank interest to orphans or use it to cover a poor child’s education expenses?
Q.3. If someone gives me some donation, and I do not know whether it is zakah or sadaqah, can I take it and give it to needy people in my home country?
(Name and address withheld)
A.1. You are right when you say that the wearing of a charm or a talisman is a form of associating partners with God. Hence, it is a very grave sin. This is due to the fact that the person who wears such an article believes that it has a power of its own and that it can benefit him. When people hang some beautifully written verses of the Qur’an on their walls, they do not entertain such a belief. They normally feel that the verse carries highly significant meaning which they want themselves and other people to remember.
Having said that, I should add that if a person places a copy of the Qur’an in his car, believing that it will protect him against accidents, he is treating the Qur’an as a charm, which is strictly forbidden in Islam.
A.2. Yes, such uses of bank interest are permissible. What is not permissible about bank interest is to take it for one’s own benefit, or destroy it, or leave it to the bank. Hence, the only way is to use it for a good purpose that benefits needy individuals or the community as a whole.
A.3. If you know the person who gives you such donation, it is infinitely better to tell him that you do not need the money yourself, but you will put it to good use which fits with the purposes for which zakah is paid. You give him the choice of either approving this or taking the money back.
If you do not know the person, you may still tell him, or take the money and give it to those whom you know to need it. In such a case, take the extra precaution of paying it to legitimate zakah beneficiaries, just in case the money was part of that person’s zakah.
Are They Equal Prohibitions?
Q. Could you please explain the Hadith that quotes the Prophet as saying: “There will be in my community people who will treat as lawful: fornication, the wearing of silk, wine and ma’azif, or musical instruments.” Does this mean that the use of musical instruments is equal to the other prohibitions mentioned in this Hadith?
Kiran S. Khan • Karachi
A. The first point to make about this Hadith is that we need to know the exact wording of a Hadith in order to understand it. We also need to know the meaning of the words in Arabic, and how they were used during the Prophet’s time.
We tend today to equate the Arabic word ma’azif with musical instruments, but when we look it up in a reliable Arabic dictionary, we find that it does not have this meaning. The whole entry of the root azafa, from which the word is derived, speaks of something else, which means “to turn away from something, abandon, become distracted, etc.” This was certainly the primary meaning for which the word was used at the time of the Prophet. Hence, ma’azif, as used in this Hadith, means “things that distract a person away from what is good or from his duties.”
A point that should be raised here is how the word has come to be associated with musical instruments. One very secondary meaning of the root that we find in large Arabic dictionaries is given as follows: “the azf of something is its sound.” In recent times, when radio became the main means of broadcasting, and music was one of the major items in radio programs, the word azf became associated with music and musical instruments.
Thus, radio programs may include: “solo azf of guitar, violin or piano,” while a tune that is not accompanied by singing is called ma’zoofah. At the beginning, such words were always accompanied by the adjective “musical”, which indicates that the Arabs did not automatically associate them with music. With frequent usage, however, the adjective was dropped as always happens in human language, where word economy is always an important consideration.
This shows that the Hadith has nothing to do with musical instruments, or music in general, unless we consider music to be part of the distractions to which the Prophet is referring.
The other point the reader raises is whether these four items are equal in their degree of prohibition. The answer is definitely not. No one has ever equated the wearing of a silk garment with such cardinal sins as fornication and wine drinking. Wearing silk is perfectly permissible to half of the Muslim community, namely women. In certain cases it is also permissible for men who have a reason for exemption. It is permissible to use a strip of silk to strengthen a garment at the point where it can easily be torn. How can we, then, put it on a par with wine drinking or fornication? The same applies to distractions. Each is considered on its own.
The final point is that this Hadith does not signify prohibition. The way it is phrased makes it informative. The Prophet is simply telling us that such people will exist who see nothing in such matters and consider them permissible. A prohibition must be phrased in a clear way, free from ambiguity. This is not the case here. The Hadith is clear in its import, which tells us about such people whose action of approving such things is certainly reprehensible, but it may not be taken as evidence of prohibition.
Arab News Islam 14 July 2003