Q. I suggest that scholars in the Muslim world should explain to people that it will be more rewarding for them and for the Muslim community at large that those who wish to do the pilgrimage or the Umrah, and those who want to offer the sacrifice at the time of the forthcoming Eid should instead give the money they allocate for such noble purposes to the nobler cause of helping the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. Please comment.
Asif Aca
A. There are three points to explain in this connection. The first is that it is the duty of Muslims throughout the world to help generously any community that suffers the effects of a major natural disaster, or finds itself in great distress. Whatever help could be given should be offered without hesitation. In a case like the earthquake in Pakistan, or the tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, individuals, communities and governments should join hands in an effort to bring immediate and long-term relief so as to reduce the effects of the disaster and to help their brethren bring their life back to normal. When they do that, God rewards them most generously. Moreover, should they themselves suffer from disaster in future, help will be forthcoming from all quarters.
The second point is whether the provision of such help could be placed in a position of higher priority than offering the pilgrimage, the Umrah or the sacrifice at the time of the Eid. To start with, it is wrong to put the question in this way. For many people, perhaps the majority, it is not a case of either one action or the other: Doing the pilgrimage or helping the relief effort. Most pilgrims can contribute to the relief of their brethren. The two purposes are not mutually exclusive. Besides. who can judge which action gives more reward? Certainly reward is given by God, and no one can speak for Him? Therefore, we cannot suggest that spending the price of the sacrificial animal on relief work will earn greater reward. What we can say is that God and His Messenger have strongly emphasized that help in such situations is richly rewarded by God, if He so pleases. We can also say that God has opened for us many roads leading to heaven, and helping those in distress ranks among the most important of these ways. Thirdly, The pilgrimage and the Umrah are individual duties, while helping people in distress is a collective duty. Striking the proper balance between the two can only come about as a result of a comprehensive study by Muslim governments and leading personalities in the Muslim community. This is not subject for any ordinary person to judge. Having said that, I appreciate your concern for your brethren in their hour of need. We all should do our best to help, so that those who have suffered the disaster can begin to bring their lives back to normal in the shortest possible time.
Differences in Prayer
Q.1. In my home country we are taught that men and women do certain aspects of prayers differently, such as men placing their hands over their navels, while women place them under their breasts. Is this correct?
Q.2. Is it obligatory to always follow the same school of thought? Sometimes this is very confusing, and one does not know which view belongs to which school, or which view is correct. Please advise.
A. Khurshid
A.1. There are no differences between men and women in prayer, except for the fact that a woman must cover all her body except her face and hands when she prays, even when she is alone at home. Moreover, a woman is advised to keep her body together in prayer, so as not to spread her hands wide apart or keep her legs apart, but to stand and sit comfortably. Otherwise, prayers are the same for men and women, boys and girls.
A.2. A school of thought, or a madhab, is only a scholarly method by which we learn what Islam requires so as to follow it. There are differences of methodology and application between schools of thought, leading to differences in matters of detail in worship and normal conduct. But there are no differences concerning basic beliefs or essential duties. Such differences of detail are immaterial, and they cause no division among Muslims.
It is not obligatory that a Muslim should follow a particular school of thought, or stick to one all the time, or indeed follow any of them. In practice no one follows the same school of thought except a scholar who has studied such a school in detail and chooses to follow it in all its aspects. Few scholars do this. People who are not well versed in Islamic scholarship follow what scholars tell them. A scholar is required to make things easy for other people. Therefore, he tells them what suits them in their particular cases, paying little attention to which school of thought they think they follow.
Conflict About the Eid
Q. In our Fiji community in the US many felt sad because some mosques declared the Eid on Nov. 3 while others celebrated it on the following day. Please comment.
M. Mohammad
A. This is certainly unfortunate, but it happens in practically every country where Muslims are a new community. This is the case throughout Europe, except perhaps where Muslims have lived for centuries, such as Albania and Bosnia. I do not think that publishing any article or fatwa on the subject would do much to resolve the issue. The only way to resolve it is the presence of a recognized authority, whether religious or political. If you refer the matter to a scholar who gives you a fatwa, you will be right to follow it. However, there will inevitably be someone referring to another scholar who will give a different fatwa. The argument will always center on points like: 1) Should we follow the moon sighting in a Muslim country, particularly Saudi Arabia? 2) Should all Muslims, throughout the world, celebrate the Eid on the same day? 3) Should we use the modern, precise scientific methods to determine the start of lunar months?
In the present condition of Muslim communities, the argument will carry on from one year to the next. Yet it is a simple question that should not be subject to much controversy. My view is that we should use scientific methods and this will end the confusion permanently. But then my voice will be heard only within a small area.