Q. The organizer of our group during the pilgrimage advised us not to do the sacrifice through the bank, but to pay him the money and he would arrange the sacrifice through the slaughter house. He welcomed anyone who wished to be a witness. Although I expressed my desire to be a witness, and we agreed to go for stoning and then proceed directly to the slaughter house, we lost each other at the stoning. When I finished, I went straight to the camp and to my surprise he was there, and he stated that he had already done the sacrifice for all of us, 65 sheep in total. I could not believe this, but he insisted that he had done it all. No one was with him at the time, but he still maintained that he did. I cannot dispel my doubts. Suppose he has cheated us, how is our pilgrimage affected?
S. Asgar, Riyadh
A. This is a case in which a man unnecessarily puts himself under suspicion. On the basis of the information you have written, there is a strong case for suspecting that he was not telling the truth. However, it may all be true and that he actually did the sacrifice or assigned the task to a deputy or an agent. He could have dispelled your doubts by explaining how he discharged his responsibility.
May I say that since you did not want a share of the meat, you were wrong not to do the sacrifice through the bank. All the sacrificial meat done through the bank is used properly, for the relief of poverty and famine-stricken populations in different areas of the Muslim world. What better use can there be of this great ritual? Besides, it appears that neither you nor anyone of the 65 persons who chose to do the sacrifice through your organizer wanted to take a share of the meat. In this case, what is the advantage of doing it through the organizer in the slaughter house? If the point is to give it to the poor in the Haram area, the bank does that also. It only sends outside the country the meat that is left after giving the poor in the Haram area all the meat they want.
The man himself might have decided to do it all through the bank and rather than going to the slaughter house himself, he went to the bank and bought the vouchers. If he did, then you have nothing against him, except for the roundabout way he chose to follow.
If the man appeared to be religious, it is better to try to dispel your doubts by assuming that he did what he had to do. You should tell yourself that he would not have chosen to be unfaithful to his trust at such a time and place. Then leave the matter to God. As for your sacrifice, you have discharged your duty, even though the man might have not done it. If you still have doubts, you can arrange for a further sacrifice in the Haram area, either now or next year, if you can afford it. In this case, the additional sacrifice would be credited to you as voluntary, or sadaqah. You will, God willing, earn further reward for it.
Losses and Zakah
Q.1. I entered into a business partnership with a friend in which both of us were working, but the capital provided was unequal. We agreed to share the profits and losses in relation to our capital. We incurred heavy losses and the business is closed. I feel morally responsible. Is it permissible for me to give some of my zakah to my friend without telling him the source of the money in order to help him?
Q.2. Is it permissible to offer obligatory prayer in a moving car, if one fears to miss an obligatory prayer?
S. Omari
A.1. You may help your friend with zakah funds if he qualifies as a beneficiary of zakah. Suppose that the losses your joint business incurred meant bankruptcy for him, while you have other assets which were not part of your joint business. In this case you can help him with your zakah, because he would qualify as a poor person, or a person in debt. On the other hand, if he has other means providing him with decent living, then you cannot give your zakah to him, because he would not qualify. You may help him by other means, but you cannot put him in the same position as one who is unable to find what is enough for his own living. If you feel that the losses you incurred, or some of them, were due to your own fault or mismanagement, then you tell your friend that you must bear a higher share of the loss, and refund him something of what he lost, but this should not come from zakah.
Another point is that of the way you shared proceeds of the business. You should have allocated an equal share for labor and a proportionate share for capital. If you revise your accounts on such basis, you may find out that he should bear a smaller portion of the losses.
A.2. No, it is not right to offer obligatory prayer in a moving vehicle, and there is no need to do so. If one is in town, one can certainly get off and offer one’s prayer. If one is traveling, then one may benefit from the concession that allows traveler to shorten and combine their prayers. Thus, Zuhr and Asr may be offered together, and Maghrib and Isha may also be joined. That gives you a long time range for these prayers. No car or bus could travel for several hours without the passengers needing to rest and the vehicle needing petrol. At such a stop one may offer any prayers due. The case is different for air travel where in a long-haul flight one may miss prayers. In this case, it is permissible to offer obligatory prayers on board.
Arab News Islam 28 March 2003
