Q. You have mentioned more than once that a woman does not have to pay zakah for her jewelry. I have recently come across a Hadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) asks a woman wearing two gold bangles whether she paid their zakah. When she answered in the negative, he told her that she runs the risk of having to wear two bangles of fire on the Day of Judgment. Please comment.
I.A. Khan
A. People are often confused when they see a Hadith that runs contrary to a fatwa, or to a ruling they know to be widely common. They should not be so confused if they are certain of the knowledge of the scholar giving the ruling. There may be several factors for the discrepancy. The Hadith in question may not be highly authentic, or it might have been abrogated by a later Hadith, or there may be other Hadiths that outweigh it, or the Prophet might have elaborated on some aspects of it. More than one of these factors apply in this case. There are other Hadiths that make clear that women’s jewelry is exempt from zakah. The general ruling is that the jewelry should be intended for personal use and that it should be within what is reasonable for women who are similarly placed socially. Another Hadith explains that the zakah of jewelry may take the form of a woman lending her jewelry to another woman when the latter requests it to attend a wedding or a similar occasion.
Sometimes you find opposite rulings on the same point given by different schools of Islamic law, or Fiqh. Indeed, the case of jewelry is one such case, with one particular school requiring zakah to be paid for it. However, when we look at the supporting evidence for these opposite rulings, we find that the view is that says that jewelry is not liable to zakah is far weightier. This is perfectly in line with Islamic purposes. It is often the case that a woman owns very little apart from her jewelry. She would have no means to pay its zakah, had it been zakahable, unless she sells some of it. Islam does not require us to do such a thing with other personal items. Why would it do it in this case?
Having made an in-depth study of this question, I have no hesitation in reiterating my earlier ruling that a woman does not pay zakah for her jewelry, provided it meets the two conditions mentioned earlier: It is for her personal use, and it remains within what is reasonable for women in her social status.
Missing Prayer Time Unknowingly
Q. May I cite the case of a person in a desert on a cloudy day who has no means of knowing the time. Zuhr as he thinks that it is already due. Later on, the sun comes out and he discovers that the time for this prayer is not due yet. Does he have to repeat his prayer?
Abd Al-Haiy
A. Since he has determined that his prayer was done before time and he is now within the time range of Zuhr prayer, he repeats it. If its time is over, and he is now at Asr time, but he is pretty sure that he prayed Zuhr before time, he does not have to repeat it. It is a genuine mistake which God overlooks.
Q. In Al-Bukhari’s chapter on the Prophet, a long Hadith mentions how Abraham left his wife and son, Hagar and Ishmael, in Makkah. Later on a visit, he is told by Ishmael’s wife that they live on meat and water. He prays God to bless these. The Prophet comments that anyone who relies on these two in any place other than Makkah will suffer adverse health effects. But we see today that people in Makkah who take a meat-rich diet suffer different diseases. Please explain.
A. What the Prophet’s comment says is: “If anyone takes only these two, i.e. meat and water, in any place other than Makkah, they will not be suited for his health.” In a different version, the Prophet is quoted as saying that a person whose diet consists of only these two will have a stomach complaint. This is perfectly right, because we need a balanced diet in which the four components of healthy eating should be present. If one eats only meat and water, it will not be good for his constitution and he will have health problems.
The special case of Makkah may be due to the presence of some minerals in the soil of the area which enriches the meat of the animals that graze there. Alternatively, the underground water that the people drink may be rich in minerals that ensure the balance required.
The diseases suffered today by the people of Makkah are due to many aspects of lifestyle as well as other reasons. People often lead a very unhealthy lifestyle that is far removed from eating only meat and drinking water only. You need only to think how people divide their day and night, the long hours they spend inactive, watching television, while eating a variety of foods that are rich in carbohydrates. There is also the pollution that has spread in our cities. In addition, disease agents are imported from all over the world with people who come to visit the holy city.