Q.1. Can I perform one Umrah for my parents and my two sisters, all deceased, at the same time in case I do not have sufficient time to perform Umrah for each one of them?
Q.2. If one maintains a current account in a foreign bank, the interest goes directly to the bank. In this case, is it permissible to open a deposit account? How should one dispose of the interest that accrues? Can one use it for one’s own needs?
M.S. Khan, Jeddah
A.1. If you wish to do the Umrah on behalf of your parents and two sisters, you have to perform it four times, making each for one of them. It is not possible to do it for more than one person at a time. What you can do, however, is that after you have finished one Umrah you go to the nearest point of the Hil area, such as the mosque at Taneem, and enter into the state of consecration, or ihraam, anew.
Then you proceed to do the other duties of the Umrah. In this way you can do two or more Umrahs on the same day.
A.2. We do not advise people to put their money in interest-earning bank accounts. According to the majority of scholars, interest is usurious, although one or two scholars say that in certain cases it may be not.
Having clarified that, I wish to add that if a person is credited interest for his deposits in a bank, he should use that money for something of benefit to the Muslim community, or give it to the poor and needy. He should not add it to his own money. This is the ruling now stated by most scholars.
Adoption of Islam
Q. I have been working in Alkhobar for years, and now my stay is extended for another 2 years. In this period I have learned much about Islam through Arab News and other sources. Now I feel I want to belong to this faith. Could you please let me know where to go, and what shall I do. I would like to know how to go about it in a step by step manner.
S.M., Al-Hassa
A. The adoption of the religion of Islam is very simple. Nothing is required except a declaration by the person concerned that he believes in God as the only deity in the universe and in Muhammad as His messenger. What this declaration actually means is an acceptance that worship can be offered only to God and that the authority to legislate for human beings in all aspects of their life rests solely with God. Man’s position is to obey and implement God’s laws, whatever they are. Should the law of any authority, government, parliament, society, or tribal council clash with God’s laws, then the latter must be implemented without any question. The Prophet says what may be translated as follows: “No creature may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience of the Creator.”
Now how do we know God’s legislation? The second half of our declaration provides the answer to this question. Our acknowledgment of Prophet Muhammad as God’s messenger means that we accept him as the man through whom God has conveyed to us the code of legislation He wants us to implement in our lives for our own benefit. It is through Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) that the Qur’an has been sent down to us as the book containing the Divine constitution for human life. Prophet Muhammad’s own pronouncements serve as an explanatory memorandum for the Qur’an, providing the details of what the Qur’an may state in general terms, and giving us guidance on how to implement the Qur’an in our lives. Thus obedience to God necessitates obedience to His messenger. Indeed God commands us: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it.” (59: 7)
Thus the declaration means that God alone is the only one to be worshiped, that obedience to Him and submission to His law is an essential part of worshiping Him and that Muhammad, His messenger, is the one who has taught us how to worship God and conveyed to us His laws.
Anyone who makes this declaration, fully convinced of it, is a Muslim. The Arabic wording of the declaration is: Ashhadu an la ilah illallah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah. This translates as follows: “I testify that there is no deity except God and I also testify that Muhammad is His messenger.” Once the declaration is made by anyone, in full consciousness of its significance, then the person making it is a Muslim. Anyone who is embracing Islam is required, however, to have full ablutions, that is, a complete bath at the time when he makes the declaration. This is a gesture which symbolizes washing off all one’s past misdeeds. No Muslim is held accountable for any thing he or she did before adopting Islam.
When one becomes a Muslim, one is required to do all the things Muslims do and to refrain from all those which they are not allowed to do. Thus he is required to offer 5 prayers each day, fast in the month of Ramadan, pay zakah according to the rules governing its payment and do the pilgrimage at least once in one’s lifetime. There are other duties a Muslim should also do, and these one learns gradually. A Muslim must also refrain from all sinful acts such as murder, adultery, drinking, lying, stealing, gambling, perjury and all corruption generally. Islam is a religion of serious morality and strict discipline. So, a Muslim must always weigh up his actions before doing them and avoid all kinds of sin. Should he yield to temptation and commit a sin, he should repent and pray for God’s forgiveness.
According to Islam, all Muslims are equal and should be treated equally. The Prophet has emphasized this on many occasions and God lays down the only criterion of distinction among Muslims. He says in the Qur’an: “The noblest among you in God’s sight is the most God-fearing of you.” (49: 13) Yet people may not live up to this very important requirement. Family or tribal or national considerations may lead to different modes of discrimination. Islam shuns such practices. It is often the case, however, that people’s practices fall short of their ideals. We have, therefore, to distinguish between what Islam lays down and what Muslims do.
What I have outlined is the religious aspect of becoming a Muslim. However, people may require some documentation of the fact that a person has adopted Islam. For this one has to make this fact in court where he is questioned about his desire to become a Muslim and witnesses are present. He is given a certificate that he has adopted the religion of Islam. This may be useful in facilitating certain things, such as travel to offer the pilgrimage and marriage with a Muslim person. From the religious point of view, it is unnecessary.
Converts to Islam often change their names so as to adopt Islamic or Arabic names. This is unnecessary unless one’s name is directly associated with another faith, or has a meaning that is unacceptable to Islam. Otherwise, the Prophet did not change anyone’s name after becoming a Muslim except for one of these two reasons.
