Q. In a recent article, the writer referred to the plot of land owned by the Prophet in Fadak and that it was not divided among his heirs as per the Islamic law of inheritance. Since Islamic law applied to the Prophet (peace be upon him)in his personal capacity, should not this have taken place and the Prophet’s heirs should have shared the land?
S.S. Zaidi
A. Generally speaking, what you said about the applicability of Islamic law to the Prophet is correct. Throughout his lifetime, the Prophet attended to all duties required of all Muslims and refrained from all prohibitions. However, there are certain rules that applied to him only and in which no other Muslim shared. For example, he was not restricted as to the maximum number of wives he might marry. God gave him this concession because he needed to use such marriages for different purposes. Such exceptions are either stated clearly in the Qur’an, or confirmed in authentic Hadiths. Other rules which applied to him only included the fact that no Muslim could marry a widow of the Prophet after his death. This is clearly stated in Verse 53 of Surah 33.
While these exceptions applied to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), certain rules applied to him and to other prophets before him.
One of these rules was that when a prophet died, he was to be buried at the spot where his death occurred. Hence, the Prophet was buried in Aishah’s home.
With regard to his inheritance, a rule he had explained was brought into force. When his daughter, Fatimah, requested his inheritance, Abu Bakr told her that he heard the Prophet when he said: “We prophets are not to be inherited. Whatever property we may leave is left as sadaqah, (i.e. charity).” Fatimah accepted that and acted on it. May God be pleased with her. There was no disagreement between them.
Congregational and Friday Prayers
Q. It is clearly noticeable that mosques are overfull when it is time for Friday prayers, but only a few worshipers attend the congregation for the five daily obligatory prayers. Does this mean that Friday prayer is more important than the obligatory prayers? People say that they offer these prayers at home.
Is this permissible if they do not have a reason to be absent from the mosque? What is the punishment for missing an obligatory prayer without valid reason?
M. Gulam
A. The Friday prayer is different from other obligatory prayers in the fact that it must be offered in congregation. If a person offers it on his own, he violates the requirements, and his prayer is not valid. Hence, people realize that they must offer it in mosques. Hence mosques are full on Friday.
Although offering the obligatory prayer with the congregation is strongly recommended, if any of them is offered individually, it is valid and acceptable. Hence, to require all people to attend the mosques five times a day, is to go too far. The question that arises here: is praying individually valid or not? If anyone says that it is not, then he must put forward his evidence. If he cannot do so, then he is adding to our religion something at his own behest, which is unacceptable. There is no specified punishment for missing a particular prayer. The matter is left to God whether to punish the offender or not.
Thinning Eyebrows
Q. What does Islam say about the now very fashionable practice of thinning one’s eyebrows?
I. Mauthoor
A. You may be surprised to know that although this practice is fashionable, it was practised at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he spoke clearly against it. He has included it in one of a number of Hadiths in which he spoke about different practices that are done for the sake of appearing more beautiful. These include thinning teeth and tying hair, or what we know today as wearing wigs. These Hadiths state: “The Prophet has cursed the woman who thins another woman’s eyebrows and the one who requests such thinning.” (Related by Abu Dawood)
“The Prophet has cursed the woman who ties false hair and the one who asks for her hair to be added to.” “The Prophet has cursed the woman who makes a tattoo to another and the one who asks for a tattoo; and the woman who thins another’s teeth and the one who asks her to do so.” All these practices give false appearance and change God’s creation. Hence they are strictly forbidden.
When a Child Is Born
Q. There is a tradition about shaving a newborn’s hair after 7 or 40 days of birth, in addition to the aqeeqah, which means sacrificing a sheep for the newborn child if it is a boy. Please clarify if these customs are correct.
Shahbaz Khan, New York
A. What you term as tradition is indeed a sunnah. It involves shaving the child’s head and weighing its hair, and giving the equivalent of the weight in gold or silver to the poor. Needless to say, such charity is rewarding both to the family and the poor who receive the money. It is done on the seventh day of the birth, not the 40th. As for the aqeeqah, it is a sacrifice of one or two sheep, whether the child is a boy or a girl. The meat is served in a dinner organized for relatives, friends and neighbours, so that the community share in the happiness of one of its families.
Worship and the State of Impurity
Q. Could you please let me know whether it is permissible for a woman to touch or hold the Qur’an when she is in her period.
S. Shahid
A. According to most scholars, it is not permissible for a man or a woman to hold the Qur’an or read it in the book or from memory when they are in the state of ceremonial impurity, which includes women in their period. This is based on the hadith which quotes the Prophet as saying: “The Qur’an is not lawful for a man or a woman who is in the state of ceremonial impurity.” Scholars agree, however, that it is permissible to hold a book which includes one or more verses of the Qur’an, or to read in it, including reading the verses it contains. This applies, for example, to high school and university students who may be asked to read in class something that contains one or more verses of the Qur’an. They may do so, without hesitation.
Having said that, I would like to point out that this is by no means a unanimous view. Some scholars of Hadith, most notably Imam Al-Bukhari, explain that this prohibition is not mentioned in any Hadith that enjoys a good degree of authenticity. But then scholars of Hadith are not necessarily the best to rule on Fiqh questions. If this becomes confusing, the right approach is for a woman who is in the period, or indeed anyone who is in the state of ceremonial impurity, not to hold the Qur’an or read it even from memory until he or she has removed that state.
