Q. We were reading in a book about the hardship that people will face during the testing times of the Impostor, i.e. the false Messiah. It says that a person who memorizes the first 10 verses of surah 18, Al-Kahf, will be safe from it. What if a new convert to Islam finds it very hard to memorize these verses in their Arabic form? Can such a person memorize them in English or in his mother tongue?
K. Gondal
A. When we speak of the Qur’an, we refer to its original Arabic text. This is the text God has revealed in His own words. Any translation is simply the expression by the translator of what he understood of the text.
A translator may make a mistake in his rendering of the meaning of the text, or he may be unaware of certain nuances that are of importance, or his ability in translation may not be that good, or he may be influenced by a particular approach to religion generally. The text he produces is his own text. It is not the Qur’an. Therefore, no translated text of the Qur’an can be considered as a proper substitute. It may be very useful in understanding the meaning, but it is not the Qur’an. Therefore, it cannot be used for any religious purpose, such as in prayer or in any form of worship. If you wish to memorize a short or long passage of the Qur’an, you have to do so in its original Arabic text. Having said that, I would like to comment on what you say of the benefit of memorizing those 10 verses as a means of protection against certain hard times. I do not know the Hadith you have mentioned. It could be authentic, but what really makes us immune to any change of heart with regard to our faith is being fully aware of it, to learn its principles and to understand its values, and then to lead our life observing these. If you are all the time seeking to do only what is permissible and to fulfill your Islamic duties and add what you can of what is recommended, or Sunnah, avoiding what is forbidden and steering away from what is discouraged, then you will be able to stand any hardship that tempts you away from your religion.
By contrast, if you are lax in your Islamic duties, and you indulge in what is forbidden, no amount of Qur’anic memorizations will protect you, because such memorization will be only words and sentences.
The message they give will not have taken hold of your thinking. Therefore, if you find such memorization hard, you need to strengthen your understanding of Islam and to implement Islamic principles in your life. This is the proper way to overcome any test or temptation.
Hands Position in Prayers
Q. What is the proper position of a person’s hands during prayer?
M. Alam
A. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did many aspects of prayer in different ways at different times, to indicate that there is no special preference, or that all these ways are acceptable. Thus he made it easy for us to offer our prayer, choosing the position we are more comfortable with. His companions reported these. Those who saw him in a particular position more often reported that it was his preferred one. Therefore, we have different reports by different companions. This is the original cause for the variations that we see today. Thus, you notice a person who follows the Shafie school of fiqh putting his hands close to his heart, while a Hanafi puts them over the middle of his abdomen and a Maliki leaving them to his two sides. All these positions are acceptable and rely on some evidence. You can do any of them and your prayer is correct, regardless of your school of thought.
Nicknames
Q. People call each other or their children by a shortened version of their names, which may have no meaning. Is this permissible?
A. Imam
A. People always call their friends and children by some endearing names that could be a short version of their full names. There is no harm in that, as long as the person concerned does not mind and the nickname does not carry any association that is contrary to Islamic values.