Q.1. Considering that the Prophet’s father’s name was Abdullah, may I ask if God’s name, Allah, was known before Islam?
Q.2. Why is the tawaf movement anti-clock wise?
N. Bhatti
A.1. Yes, God’s name, Allah, was known for a long time in Arabia. We find it in Arabic poetry dating back many centuries prior to the advent of Islam. It is perhaps the name used by the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael. To the Arabs who lived shortly before Islam, it signified the overall God who controlled the universe. However, they thought their idols to be His partners who would listen to their appeals and bring them closer to God.
A.2. In matters of worship, we accept what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has taught us without question. There need not be an apparent reason for the form of any particular worship. Otherwise we would be questioning every thing and suggesting alternatives. People would ask: why do we do one rukoo’ and two prostrations, or sujood in prayer? Why do some prayers include two rak’ahs while others have four? We should remember that whatever God does or orders must have a purpose.
We accept that God’s purpose is always wise and beneficial. Hence, we do our worship as the Prophet has taught us. When he started his pilgrimage, he announced to the large number of his companions traveling with him: "Learn from me your rituals." It is a clear order that the pilgrimage and the Umrah should be done exactly in the manner he did or approved. When he did his tawaf he walked round the Kaaba in an anti-clock wise movement. This is why we do the same.
Ihraam from Jeddah
Q. I visit Jeddah often on business, and every time I try to do the Umrah, starting my ihraam from Jeddah. A friend told me that I should start in Riyadh, unless I am coming purely for business and the decision to do the Umrah is made after my arrival. But the fact is that when I travel the possibility of doing the Umrah is always in the back of my mind. Where do I start my ihraam?
Muhammad Nour, Jubail
A. As you are traveling on business, you do not have to start your ihraam until you actually embark on doing the Umrah, which means you start wherever you happen to be in Jeddah. As I understand your situation, your trip is essentially for business, and should your business take all your time in Jeddah, you would go back home without performing the Umrah or visiting Makkah. In this case, your trip is undoubtedly a business trip. When you feel you have the time to go to Makkah, you will go. This is a later development. It is true that it was in the back of your mind, but you made no decision at the time to change your trip into one for Umrah. You left it to subsequent development. Therefore, you take each step at a time, and you leave the matter until it is decided.
Having said that, I would like to add that if your visits are very frequent, such as every two weeks or so, then you do not have to do the Umrah each time. You can go to Makkah to pray and do the tawaf, wearing your normal clothes, but you do not need to do the Umrah on every occasion.
Using credit cards
Q. I have always felt that the use of credit cards is permissible if one makes sure not to pay interest on one’s transactions. However, I recently saw a published ruling forbidding the very use of credit cards because it involves agreement to pay interest in certain cases. Please explain.
(Name and address withheld)
A. Some scholars find it easy to pronounce rulings of prohibition on questions put to them, when they may not be able to produce sufficient evidence to support such a ruling. In this case the ruling is based on the conditions imposed by the company or the bank issuing the credit card, rather than on the person’s own intentions and actions. The company requires that interest is paid when payment of transactions recorded within a month is delayed beyond the specified date of payment, or when one withdraws money in cash, rather than pay bills. But when the client takes out a credit card, God holds him accountable for what he does with it, not what the issuing company requires.
The normal conditions specify that the card holder can pay his bills for purchases and services obtained, within a certain limit. Every month the issuing company sends him a bill showing the transactions made, and the total he owes, and stating a date of repayment. If he pays the total amount on or before that date, no interest is charged. If he pays less than the total amount, interest is incurred on the balance.
This means that the whole question of interest is up to the card holder, not the company. If he intends to pay on time the whole amount due each month, then the whole procedure is valid and permissible. It is not right to forbid the entire agreement on the basis of an eventuality that may never occur. It may be said that he may forget to pay by the due date, or he may not have ready money. If the delay of payment is due to forgetfulness, God has forgiven us whatever slips we make as a result of forgetfulness. If he is short of money due to unforeseen circumstances, then this may qualify as a case of emergency which should be looked at within the relevant circumstances.
Besides, my reader says that he has arranged to pay his credit card bills through direct debit, which means that the card company sends the bill to his bank for payment, and the bank pays it on the due date, ensuring that there is never any delay. This covers all eventualities and ensures that interest is never charged on his credit card transactions. In other words, it shows that the man has taken sufficient precautions and has no intention whatsoever to put himself in a situation when interest may be charged from him. How can this be forbidden in Islam? If we were to forbid it on the basis of a situation that may never arise, we may as well say that having a bank account is forbidden because of the possibility that one may at one time or another be in debit and the bank would then charge interest. This will place people in great difficulty, when Islam is a religion built on the basis of making things easy. God says in the Qur’an: "God desires that you have ease. He does not desire that you be afflicted with hardship." (2: 185)
As for the annual charge some card companies impose, this is also permissible, because it is a fee paid for the facility provided by using the credit card. You receive something in return for what you pay.
