Q. My mother wants to offer the pilgrimage this year and she wants to take my husband with her as her mahram. She will be paying his expenses, as he has no funds of his own to pay for his pilgrimage. However, we have three children and I am pregnant and in poor health. By the time of the pilgrimage I will be either close to my delivery date or will have just given birth. I have been telling them to postpone the pilgrimage till next year, but my mother is so keen not to delay, and my husband feels that this is his chance to do the pilgrimage. Please advise.
Yasmin
A. There are several points at conflict here. The first is that your mother is right to try to do her pilgrimage this year, rather than postpone it, because it is far more preferable to do the pilgrimage when you can, as you would not know if you will be able to do it in future. Anything could happen to prevent you. Yet she should realize that if she is unable to find a male companion from among her close relatives, i.e. mahram, or a proper group to travel with, then pilgrimage does not apply to her as a duty. She should wait until such a male companion is available and can travel with her without putting undue pressure on him.
Your husband is also right to want to do the pilgrimage, but his case is very different from that of your mother. To start with, because he cannot afford to pay for his pilgrimage, then the pilgrimage is not binding on him. In other words, he is exempt. Since he is being invited to do it and he will not need to pay, he can accept the invitation. However, he does not have to accept it. There need not be any reason for such refusal. If he refuses the invitation, this is his prerogative. No blame attaches to him. He certainly has a very valid reason for refusing to go this year, and this reason is presented by his family’s needs.
Your husband must take his other duties into consideration. He certainly needs to take care of his family, i.e. his wife and children, as they are his responsibility. He cannot abscond on such responsibility. What is required of him is to ensure that you and your children are well looked after during his absence. Since you will be close to your delivery at the time, he must see to it that proper arrangements are in place to ensure that you have the necessary help when needed. This is not merely to arrange for your delivery, but also to arrange that your other children will be well looked after. Who will provide such care depends on your family’s circumstances. You may have relatives who will be ready to provide such help, particularly if an emergency occurs. If he cannot arrange all this, then he should stay with you and look after you and your children during this difficult period. If he does not, then he is negligent of his duty, which takes precedence over his pilgrimage. Suppose that he can afford the pilgrimage and he does not need to go with your mother, the same ruling applies. He can only go if he can arrange for you and your children to be properly looked after.
Multilevel Marketing
Q. I would like to know whether Islam permits the sort of business which is called multilevel or network marketing. Could you please explain the Islamic view.
(Name and address withheld)
A. I visited the website you have mentioned in your message, and I read what you have written about the working of the plan. I cannot understand the intricacies of the plan. The website seems to encourage people to join, promising much income, yet it does not tell how the money is to be generated. There are many enterprises that seem to encourage different plans and ways of marketing products. I am wary of giving an opinion on any of these without understanding it fully. This one I cannot understand. It seems to promise very high prospects, without telling you anything about pitfalls, or how you could make a loss. Therefore, if I were you, I would steer away from it.