Q.1 A Hadith mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him) always prayed the Sunnah of Fajr, and two rakahs after Asr; but it is well known that there is no Sunnah to be offered after Asr.
Q.2 There are several contradictory reports about glorifying God aloud.
Q.3 It is well known that the sermon is given after the Eid prayer. Yet it is mentioned in Al-Bukhari’s Sahih that Marwan, the governor of Madinah, did it before the prayer explaining this as necessary because people left without listening to the sermon. Can we do the same?
(Name and address withheld)
A.1 The Prophet (peace be upon him) had certain aspects of worship, which were allowed to him only, even though he made it clear to his followers that they must not do them.
The clearest example is fasting two days in succession without breaking his fast. He made clear that this must not be done by us. Yet it was allowed to him, and he explained that God gave him sustenance during such periods.
The voluntary prayer he did after Asr is another such example. It was permissible for him, but he made clear that we should not do it. The reason for this is that people would often delay their prayers and it becomes close to sunset. Since other communities worshipped the sun, we must try hard to show that our worship is unlike others who worshipped deities other than God.
A.2 Glorifying God is recommended in all situations, whether in private, vocally, or aloud, provided that one does not raise his voice so loud that it disturbs others. However, the best and most rewarding method is to glorify and praise God privately, vocalizing the words.
The reason is that since no one knows what we do, our action is more sincere and stems from pure feelings of love of God and being in awe of Him. What is objectionable is for a group of people to hold special sessions where they engage in a chorus-like glorifications.
This is a deviation from the Sunnah, since it was not done by the Prophet or his companions, nor is there any statement by the Prophet recommending it.
A.3 Marwan was the governor of Madinah when he did this. Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, the reporter of this Hadith, was a learned companion of the Prophet. He objected to the action at first, telling Marwan, who was also a scholar, that he has changed the Prophet’s practice. Nevertheless, he stayed and offered the prayer with Marwan. This means that there is no clear ruling by the Prophet making the khutbah or sermon a requirement after the prayer. It is certainly preferable that it should be so, because it would then be following the Prophet’s practice. However, Marwan used his discretion, opting for what is less preferable in order to serve what, to him, was a more important purpose, which was to ensure that people stayed to listen.
Dowry or Mehr?
Q. In a recent article written by Adil Salahi, he refers to dowry in Islamic marriage, while he should have used the word mehr. The concept of dowry is not Islamic. It is taken from other societies. Please make the necessary correction.
Amna Latif
A. The word mehr is a corruption of the Arabic mahr, which refers to the money or property a prospective husband should give to his wife as a condition of the marriage contract. The English word ‘dowry’ means ‘marriage portion or settlement’. According to English dictionaries, it may be paid by either spouse. Hence, to use it to refer to what is paid by the husband in an Islamic marriage is correct.
The confusion arises from the fact that in certain parts of Pakistan and India, Muslims have adopted the Hindu practice of the wife paying a dowry to her husband. This practice is alien to Islam. Yet it is a local tradition in some Muslim communities. Hence, in those communities, the Arabic word is adopted to refer to what is required by Islam, and the word ‘dowry’ refers to what the woman pays. Unfortunately, in these communities, the un-Islamic practice of paying a dowry acquires more importance. This is wrong.