Q. A young man who is around 20 years of age was to lead the Taraweeh prayers as he knew the Qur’an by heart, but some people objected to this on account of the fact that he had a very short beard. Please comment.
A. Khatree, Brisbane, Australia
A. The Prophet (peace be upon him) defined the criteria for choosing the person to lead a congregational prayer, whether it is obligatory like Isha and Fajr, or recommended like Taraweeh. The determining factor is that the Imam should be the one who can read the Qur’an best among the congregation. When we have two of equal ability, then we choose the one who has better knowledge of Islam. Only when we have two people of equal standing on both counts we choose the elder of the two.
You see that the criteria for preference make no mention of the beard or its length. To suggest that it has any effect betrays lack of knowledge of Islamic principles and values. Islam cares little for appearances while it stresses genuine areas of excellence. Reading the Qur’an is an important part of prayer. Hence, excellent reading is the most important factor in choosing the Imam. Wearing a beard is, at best, a Sunnah. Hence, it has no value in such choice.
Missing Prayer for a Doubt
Q. I sat on a chair in hospital where I work, not realizing that the chair was wet. As a result, the wetness penetrated through my clothes and I felt it in my body. As I was on call, I could not leave the hospital before the end of my shift the next morning. I could not change my clothes in hospital. Therefore, I delayed my Asr, Maghrib, Isha and Fajr prayers until I reached home. Was I right?
G. Nabi
A. What is important to know is that doubt does not change a status based on certainty. Your clothes were free from impurity until you sat on that wet chair. This is the certainty that can only be changed by another certainty. When you sat on that chair you could not tell whether the wetness was by clean water or urine. It could have been either, but you did not know. Therefore, you must not assume that the purity of your clothes has been changed. You could have continued to pray, using your clothes, and your prayers would have been perfectly acceptable. You could change your clothes at your convenience in order to remove any lingering doubt. Besides, you should have tried to make sure there and then, as urine or other impurities have distinct smells. If there was no smell to indicate an impurity, that would have been an extra element of reassurance.
It is important to realize that Islam does not allow doubt to interfere with our worship. Thus, if you are praying Zuhr, for example, and you doubt whether you have completed two or three rak’ahs, you continue your prayer on the basis that two only have been completed, because these are certain while the third is doubtful. Similarly, whatever is done through a genuine mistake is overlooked.
This is all part of God’s grace for which we should always be thankful to Him.
Wearing a Beard and Fasting
Q. I have been told that if a person fasting in Ramadan shaves his beard after Zuhr prayer, his fast is invalidated. Is this true? May I also ask whether it is permissible to take a bath or a shower for cleanliness while one is fasting?
S.M.J.
A. Neither shaving one’s beard nor taking a bath or shower has any effect on the validity of fasting, regardless of the time when they are done. As I have explained in these columns, wearing a beard is a recommended practice, or a Sunnah. By definition a Sunnah is not obligatory. Therefore, abstaining from something that has a recommended status leaves no effect on the validity of one’s actions, particularly acts of worship. Similarly, one takes a bath or a shower for a religious duty, or for cleanliness or to keep cool on a hot day. Again, such actions do not affect fasting.
