Q. May I ask whether ostrich meat is permissible to eat or not. I am doing a research on ostrich meat and I would like to confirm its permissibility for human consumption.
S.M. Ahmad, Jeddah
A. Several verses in the Qur’an mention the types of meat that are forbidden to eat in Islam. These are limited to four only. For example, verse 173 of Surah 2 states: “He has only forbidden you carrion, blood, the flesh of swine and whatever a name other than God’s has been invoked at its slaughter.” This is a limiting statement specifying forbidden meat. The first type is carrion, which includes the meat of any animal or bird that dies by natural causes, including an illness, a fall, a fight with other animals, a hit by any instrument and the meat of any animal killed by a wild beast.
The only way to make meat permissible to eat is to slaughter the animal in the Islamic way, cutting its main arteries at its neck with a sharp knife, or hunting.
However, fish and locusts are exempt and permissible to eat even though they are not slaughtered. Blood mentioned in the verse refers to spilled blood which is normally in liquid form. This means that solid blood, like the liver and spleen, is permissible. Moreover, when any name other than that of God is invoked at the slaughter of any type of animal, then that animal is forbidden to eat.
Verse 145 of Surah 6 also mentions these four types in an even more limiting fashion. Its statement goes as follows: “Say: I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything that is forbidden for a person to eat, unless it be carrion, spilled blood, or the flesh of swine, for all that is impure; or a sinful offering at the slaughter of which a name other than that of God has been invoked.”
These limiting statements are re-enforced in the Qur’an. However, the Prophet has indicated some other types as forbidden types. Many scholars take his statements as indicating reprehensibility or discouragement, i.e. makrooh, rather than full prohibition. They cite the wording of the Qur’anic statements, which are clearly limiting, as evidence. Anyway, nothing in the Hadiths that mention other types refers to ostrich meat. The ostrich is a plant eating bird, and birds that have been mentioned as reprehensible to eat are all birds of prey, such as vultures, falcons, eagles and kites. But even then, these are not mentioned in the Qur’anic verse, and as such, they are, at most, only reprehensible or makrooh to eat. Hence, ostrich meat is permissible to eat in Islam.
A worker’s faith and his visa
Q. Is a man’s religion the basis of issuing a visa to his wife to visit him at his place of work in Saudi Arabia? Does a person who embraced Islam several years ago need to pronounce the shahadha again to prove that he is a Muslim? My wife was refused a visa to come over and visit me, because my stay permit shows that I am a Christian, when I have been a Muslim since 1984. The reason for this discrepancy is that the agent who arranged my stay permit supplied the wrong information, without checking its accuracy with me. The consulate has been very demanding, and insisted that the religion of Islam should be shown on my stay permit, paying no heed to the fact that my passport shows that I am a Muslim. Please comment.
S.R.B.U, Jeddah
A. Of course religion does not come into the issuance of a visa to Saudi Arabia, except for pilgrimage and Umrah. This is the type of visa Muslims obtain to visit Makkah and Madinah for their worship. Such visas are normally more restricted than visas issued for a visit or business. But you must appreciate that employees responsible for such duties like everything to be very clear right at the outset. If you are a Muslim and you have your documents showing another religion, they get suspicious. When they are suspicious, they resort to delaying or demanding tactics, until they are 100 percent satisfied that the case in question is very clear. This does not apply to Saudi officials only, but to visa officials generally.
Once I was traveling to London, when shortly before departure a man requested me to help his daughter who was traveling alone. In London, the immigration official asked the young woman a couple of questions, and he got suspicious about her future intentions, and whether she might be intending to seek employment or to study at a college when the visa issued to her is that of a tourist. He decided to refuse her entry, but I argued with him for long, and he consulted his bosses before agreeing to give her the minimum stay.
I imagine that the visa official, having learnt that your wife was a Muslim, got very suspicious when he saw that your stay permit showing that you were a Christian. To him, such a marriage is not possible. Hence, he wanted to be absolutely certain. This is the only reason that can explain his repeated demands. You should have corrected your stay permit the moment you saw that it gave wrong information.
That would have spared you a great deal of trouble. I am not shifting the blame to you, but I am only asking you to appreciate the problem an employee faces when he finds that the different pieces of information supplied to him do not tally. I realize that your wife has had a lot of trouble, but now the situation is clear, thanks to God.
As for the Hadith you have mentioned, it is not accurate. What happened was that one of the Prophet’s companions was chasing a non-Muslim soldier during a battle, and as he got to him, the man pronounced the shahadah, stating that he believed that there was no deity other than God. Nevertheless the Prophet’s companion killed him, believing that he only pronounced the shahadah to spare his life, not as an indication of faith. When this was reported to the Prophet, he was very angry. He kept asking his companion: “What will you say to a man declaring belief in God’s oneness?” He protested that it was all a sham. The Prophet said: “Have you opened his heart to know whether his statement was true or false?”
Sacrifice in pilgrimage and elsewhere
Q. I know that the sacrifice is obligatory to pilgrims who choose the tamattu’ or the qiran methods for fulfilling their duties. Is it also obligatory for Muslims who are not doing the pilgrimage? In our home country, people take this very seriously and ensure that every family does the sacrifice on the day of Eid. Please comment.
J.U. Ahmad, Yanbu
A. The sacrifice is obligatory only for pilgrims who choose one of the two methods you have mentioned. This sacrifice is a token of gratitude to God for enabling them to perform the pilgrimage and the Umrah in the same season. For other pilgrims, i.e. those who choose the ifraad method, the sacrifice is a Sunnah, or a recommended practice. If they offer it, they get extra reward; if they do not, they have that choice.
For other Muslims who are not doing the pilgrimage, the sacrifice is also recommended, or a Sunnah. It is sufficient for the fulfillment of that recommendation to offer the sacrifice on behalf of oneself and one’s family once in a lifetime. However, if one offers it every year, or most years, that ensures greater reward.
Divorce, etc.
Q.1. What is the proper procedure of divorce? If one pronounces divorce three times on the same occasion, does it count as one or three divorces?
Q.2. Is it a recommended practice to visit some pious people, even if they are dead, to request them to pray for our benefit?
Q.3. How can I maintain reading Islam in Perspective when I finally go back home?
S. Golam, Tabala
A.1. If one wants to divorce his wife, he should make sure of the appropriate time, which is after she has finished her menstruation period and before having any sexual intercourse with her. If she is in the period or in a cleanliness during which an intercourse has taken place, he should wait until the appropriate time. Then he pronounces divorce, such as saying, “I am divorcing my wife —-”. He says this once only. If he says it three times, he commits a sin but it is counted as one only. He informs his wife of the fact so that she starts her waiting period, which extends until she has completed either three menstruation periods or three cleanliness periods. During this time, she stays with him in their family home, but they use separate bedrooms. He is responsible for her upkeep, and he has the advantage of re-instating the marriage if they both agree, without having to have a new marriage contract. If the waiting period lapses and no reunion takes place, the divorce procedure is complete and she re-joins her family. After the waiting period is over, they may still be reunited in marriage, but this will require a new contract and a new dowry, provided that this is their first or second divorce.
A.2. To visit the graves of dead people and pray for their forgiveness is recommended because it reminds us of the hereafter. To visit graves in order to request dead people to pray God for us is strictly forbidden. The dead can do nothing either for themselves or for other people, no matter how pious or God-fearing they were in life.
A.3. Short of making your own subscription, the way to receive the Islam in Perspective page is to request a friend to collect it here and send it to you by post.
