Q. A woman who had a daughter before her marriage gave the girl up to an adoption agency. The woman later had another daughter through her marriage. Over the past two years, the first daughter contacted her mother by phone, but she did not maintain proper contacts. The mother does not know the exact whereabouts of her first daughter, nor whether she is a Muslim or not. She wants to ask about how she should divide her inheritance, and what should she do for each of her daughters.
They all live in a Western country, where inheritance is made through a will. It will be greatly appreciated if you could indicate what provisions she should make. She has no other children, and both her parents are deceased, but she has three sisters. She has been divorced several years ago.
(Name and address withheld)
A. The first thing to state is that children do not bear the sins of their parents. If a child is born out of wedlock, that child has the same rights as a child born in wedlock. Why should the child suffer when it had no say in its parents’ deeds?
I understand that the mother has repented of her sin, and may God forgive her. To deal with the question we say that there are two possibilities:
If the first daughter is not a Muslim: She does not have any rights of inheritance from her Muslim mother. The rule is based on the Hadith that says: “The followers of two different religions do not inherit from each other.” All the major schools of thought apply this principle, making the difference in religion between parent and child a cause to block inheritance. They apply it regardless of whether the heir is a Muslim or not. However, some eminent scholars like Ibn Taimiyah and Ibn Hazm say that a Muslim son or daughter can inherit from their non-Muslim parents, and a Muslim parent can inherit from a non-Muslim child.
Their argument is based on a rule that says: “Being a Muslim is a situation that brings benefit and does not deprive from any benefit.” To deprive a Muslim from inheriting a non-Muslim relative is to cause that Muslim harm. Therefore, in the case we are looking at, we say that if the daughter is not a Muslim she has no right of inheritance.
This means that the woman’s Muslim daughter, i.e. the one with her, inherits one half of her mother’s property. The other half goes to the woman’s three sisters, to be divided equally between them.
The other possibility is that the first daughter is a Muslim: In this case, she inherits on equal basis with her sister. The two will have two thirds of their mother’s property to be divided equally between them. The other third goes to the woman’s three sisters.
If we assume that the woman’s three sisters predecease her, then she would have only her daughters as her heirs. In this case, if only one daughter inherits, i.e. in the case of the other being a non-Muslim, she takes one half as her ordained share and she takes the other half as a result of the absence of other heirs. If both daughters inherit, they take two thirds as their ordained share, and the other third because of the absence of other heirs.
Prayer Without Ablution
Q. Someone has a problem of very frequent discharge of wind, but he is keen to attend prayers in the mosque, knowing full well that he cannot maintain his ablution because of the discharge. Therefore, he attends the prayer, without doing the ablution, and then goes home, where he performs ablution and then performs the prayer again. Is he doing right?
(Name and address withheld)
A. It is not permissible to perform prayers without first performing the ablution. The prayer will not be valid. So, what this person does by going to the mosque and praying with the congregation without ablution is not valid. His later prayer at home, with ablution, is valid, God willing. Therefore, he does not need to do anything concerning the past.
It is clear that the man has a medical condition, for which there may be some sort of treatment and cure. He should consult a doctor about this. From the Islamic point of view, if someone has a problem of this sort, like incontinence, making it practically impossible for him to maintain his ablution, he can still attend the congregational prayer and his prayer will be valid.
What he needs to do is as follows: He should perform his ablution as close to the congregational prayer (jama’ah) as possible, either at home or at the mosque, but certainly after the adhan is called, not before it. He should also intend that this ablution is for the prayer he is about to offer, resolving within himself that he will keep his ablution intact until the prayer is finished. When he has done that, he proceeds to join the congregation. When the prayer is called he joins it, even if he feels that a wind discharge has taken place. The point is that this is an illness, not a normal situation. He should continue with the prayer until he has finished. If he needs to offer Sunnah afterward, he can do so. It is all valid, God willing. Every time he needs to go to the mosque for congregational prayer, he should to do the same, starting always with a fresh ablution, after the adhan has been called.
As I have said, the problem may have a medical solution, but he needs to attend to that. On the other hand, it may be partly due to some tension in his mind, which is always causing him to be tense, fearing that he may discharge wind and invalidate his prayer. If he follows the steps I have indicated, he will find that the situation will improve as a result of the decrease of his tension. In some cases, such tension develops into a case of obsession which gives the person a great deal of trouble, making him imagine that he has discharged wind or urine when he has not. The best answer to such obsession is to go directly against it, telling oneself that the obsession, whatever it is, is not true. If the obsession is with having released drops of urine, then no urine has dropped; if it is with wind, then no wind has been discharged. One should act on this basis, offering one’s prayer normally, dispelling any thought of the need to re-do it. Within a few days, the situation will improve, God willing, and the obsession will begin to wear out.
Q.1. When I want to do the Umrah, while I am living in Makkah, do I have to go to the mosque at Taneem to start my Umrah, or could I start from home?
Q.2. Can a woman drink Zamzam water during her period?
M.M.Hussein
A.1. If a person staying in Makkah wishes to do the Umrah, that person should go to the nearest point outside the Haram area, which is known as Taneem, and start the ihraam there. But this is done by people coming from outside the Hil area, for whom travel is a problem. They try to take the opportunity of their presence in Makkah to do the Umrah repeatedly. While this is acceptable, it is not particularly recommended. They should do like the people of Makkah, who do not go out of the Haram area to start the Umrah. In fact the people of Makkah do not do the Umrah except on their return from travel away from Makkah. What they can and should do is to offer the tawaf as frequently as possible.
This is the right way. If you analyze the Umrah, it consists of four duties, an intention, ihraam, tawaf and sa’ie. Thus, the last two are the basic ones in performing the Umrah. The sa’ie is never offered voluntarily. It is a duty of both the Umrah and the pilgrimage. Hence, residents in Makkah should not go out of it in order to start a voluntary Umrah. In the time it takes them to do it, they can perform at least three tawafs depending on how crowded the place is. Therefore, my advice to you is to do the tawaf voluntarily as often as possible, and not to do the Umrah, which is not recommended for the people of Makkah.
A.2. Yes, this is perfectly permissible. There is nothing that restricts the drinking of Zamzam to any group of people. All may drink of it, regardless of their condition or state.