Q. Although much of the Arab world has accepted Islamic finance and banking as perfectly acceptable under Islamic law, millions in the Indian subcontinent are still opposed to it, thinking it unlawful. This is due to some scholars and muftis who are still returning a ruling of forbidden on such transactions. Could you please shed some light on this subject? Is there any council or board which can issue rulings on different aspects in this area?
(Name and address withheld)
A. God has revealed the religion of Islam complete. In some areas, like worship, which do not change with time and social circumstances, he gave us detailed guidance that is not subject to change.
We pray in the same way as all Muslims prayed throughout the fourteen centuries of Islamic history. In other areas, which are subject to change with the development of human society, God gave us guidelines and a framework. He left us free to choose the details of our actions and practices as long as we observe the guidelines and remain within the framework. Economic matters, including finance and banking, are of this latter type.
A main concept within Islamic teachings in this area is the prohibition of usury, because it involves exploiting the needs of the poor in order to make the rich richer. Another principle is that money is generated by work and action, not by lending it to one who needs it. Thus, a loan does not earn the lender anything other than reward from God.
In our modern world, banks offer services that are needed in society, particularly because international trade has flourished beyond anything known in the past. Banks, however, emerged in non-Muslim countries where usury is allowed, within certain limits. Muslim scholars have always looked carefully at transactions offered by such banks and pointed out which of them do not fit with Islamic law.
It was the need of Muslim societies that led to the emergence of Islamic banks, which always have Islamic scholars as advisers to consult on the types of services they offer so that they are certain that such services are acceptable from the Islamic point of view. To reject these without solid support from the Qur’an and the Sunnah is to adopt an arbitrary and rigid approach, which is contrary to proper scholarship. Indeed, these banks have proven to be sound, so that now a number of international banks are offering services that are compatible with Islamic law. They call these “Shariah-compliant services.”
The problem you mention about people not accepting these banks can only be solved by education, which should include the scholars who issue these rulings and the general public.
A Widow’s Zakah
Q. I want to know whether a widow is liable to pay zakah, whether she has an income or not? What about the jewelry she wears?
Salman
A. Women are required to pay zakah in the same way as men. There is no difference between people on the basis of sex or status. Islamic duties apply to all. Whether this woman is a widow, single or married makes no difference. If she qualifies as zakah payer, she must pay her zakah. If not, she has no zakah to pay.
In order for anyone to be a zakah payer, he or she should own the threshold of zakah, which is equivalent to the value of 85 grams of gold, and to hold this for a year. When a person owns this amount in excess of what he needs for his living, he becomes a zakah payer. He should mark the day when he first owns this amount, which becomes his or her zakah date. Every year, on the same date, he calculates what he has. If it is in excess of the threshold of zakah, then he pays zakah for the whole amount, not only the threshold, at the normal rate of 2.5 percent. Certain types of property have different rates.
I have explained the question of zakah on women’s jewelry so many times stating that jewelry kept for personal use is exempt from zakah. There is nothing to add on this point.
Meat in Christian Countries
Q. You have repeatedly mentioned that meat bought in supermarkets in European countries is permissible to eat. The question is whether Europeans today are Christian in the Qur’anic sense. Perhaps most of them do not consider themselves Christians. They definitely do not mention the name of God when they slaughter their animals. Can we apply the same rule to meat bought in Hindu or Buddhist countries?
S. Siddiqui
A. The first point is often raised. People wonder who are the people referred to in the Qur’an as “People of the Book.” Are they the true Christians and Jews who follow the original teachings of their prophets, or the ones we see today who follow beliefs that have been distorted over the passage of time. We should remember that in the Qur’an God denounces as unbelievers those who claim Jesus to be the son of God, or claim that God is one of a trinity. Yet He called them in the Qur’an ‘people of the Book’. This means that when He allowed us to marry their women and eat their slaughtered meat, He included them all.
What we need to remember is that we can kill animals to eat because God has permitted us to do so. We mention God’s name at the time of slaughter in order to emphasize the fact. Otherwise, we could not take the life of an animal. This is the reason why we are not permitted to eat the meat slaughtered by idolaters, because they have no similar beliefs.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked by some of his companions about meat that was given to them and they did not know whether God’s name was mentioned at the time of slaughter. He told them: “Mention God’s name and eat of it.” This applies to us today. When we buy meat from a supermarket and we do not know the identity of the slaughterer or his beliefs, we mention God’s name and eat of it.