Marital Life, - Secret Marriage and Its Dangerous Impact

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Secret marriage is a new and dangerous phenomenon that is currently emerging in some Muslim communities. The danger of this phenomenon lies mainly in its secret occurrence. Hence, most people are unaware of it. Consequently, it takes them by surprise, harming the most valuable thing they have because it preys upon their preserved honor and chastity. What is even more dangerous is that this phenomenon entails cunning and deception and attempts to legalize what is unlawful.
This phenomenon is the result of ignorance about the rulings of Islam and the transgression of its limits. Running after a false cause, a temporary desire and a tendency to escape from social responsibilities, falsehood is made to look like the truth to violate the prohibitions of Allaah The Exalted in the name of the law that was set by Him and His Messenger,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Sharee‘ah-Approved Marriage or Prostitution?
This dangerous act is done by many young men out of their ignorance or disrespect of their religion. Young ladies are convinced of secret marriage because of the intermixing between the sexes that is common in the places of education, work and entertainment.
Many of the devils from mankind seek to deceive girls and seduce them. A young man lies in wait for a young woman just like a beast of prey waits for its victim. He deceives her into believing that he loves her and wants to marry her, but what prevents him from proposing to her immediately is his financial inability. As a result of repeated dates, the young man succeeds in affecting the emotions of the girl whose bad luck threw her in his way. He uses all kinds of temptations to arouse her desire, which is very easy as whenever a man is alone with a woman the devil is their third companion. Then, he tells her that it is possible to marry her secretly or to conclude an unregistered marriage contract )as it is known in some Arab countries(.
In this way, the marriage contract is concluded without informing the family of either the young man or the girl. The marriage takes place without being announced and probably without specifying a dowry or holding a wedding or a banquet, and without a house for the two spouses and without any furniture.
Girls are easily deceived because those young men convince them that this marriage is, undoubtedly, aSharee‘ah-approved marriage and that they will remain like this until they can afford an official marriage after which they will then go to their families and propose to them officially without telling their families about their previous marriage.
This type of marriage contract enables the young man to have sexual intercourse with the girl as if she is his wife. They meet in certain places and at certain times, taking all the necessary precautions to prevent pregnancy so as to keep their marriage unknown to their families.
However, this is not everything, as some young men truly believe that their marriage in this way is approved by theSharee‘ah; hence, they continue deceiving other girls and could marry two, three or four with every one of them completely unaware of the others. Moreover, if one of these young men, who disrespects the religion of Allaah The Exalted, finds a new girl, he would divorce one of these girls and dump her in order to marry another one. Furthermore, some of these arrogant young men may marry more than four girls at the same time because this costs them almost nothing.
What Happens Later?
Most of these young men do not fulfill their promise and the day when the young man is supposed to go to the girl’s family to propose to her never comes. This makes the girl a hostage to this sinful relationship.
If the young woman realizes that the young man has deceived her and has ruined her life, she finds herself pushed into what is worse. This may cause other girls to get the same infection. Such people will continue to deteriorate until they get used to contracting secret marriages every year, month or even every week, thinking it to be insignificant while it is, in the sight of Allaah The Exalted, awful.
Secret marriage has left the door wide open for some young girls at an incredible age )sometimes less than 16(, to marry secretly several times in search of money or to satisfy her sexual desires. If one of her boyfriends leaves her, she would search for another to marry secretly as if she has never heard of the Islamic concept of‘Iddah)waiting period(, and how could she hear of an ‘Iddahwhen her marriage was invalid in the first place? This happens while the families of those girls are heedless of what is happening and are unaware of the fact that their daughters are disgracing themselves and their families and getting accustomed to this adulterous marriage.
This necessitates enacting a law that sets a punishment for this crime that our societies have not known previously.
Some people have fallen prey to secret marriage with good intentions, and it is just as likely that others might slip into it with good intentions also. Hence, we have to do our best to clarify why this secret marriage is not approved by theSharee‘ah.
Marriage is a Social Institution
Marriage, in its essence, is a social institution that raises man above the state of animalism and material desires to place him within the boundaries of a spiritual relationship. Marriage takes man away from the isolation of loneliness to a world of happiness and sociability. Marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman that is approved bySharee‘ahand blessed by Allaah The Almighty. It must not turn into something trivial: a risk, an adventure, or playing with the religion and theSharee‘ah.
On the contrary, marriage should lead to a stable life, good company, making a family that is built on affection and mercy and establishing a new Muslim home that assumes the responsibility of raising Muslim offspring who worship Allaah The Almighty, observe His commandments and support His religion.
However, we find nothing of this in secret marriages. There is no intimacy between two families and no permission of the woman’s guardian. Additionally, there is no dowry, financial support for the wife, no house, no family, no children, no common life, no right for the husband to be in charge, no obedience on the woman’s part, no announcement to others regarding the marriage and no inheritance between the two lovers.
Hence, we confirm that the secret marriage is neither 'conventional', as they allege, nor aSharee‘ah-approved marriage, as Allaah The Almighty wants.
Allaah The Almighty commands that marriage should be distinguished from prostitution and illicit relations, Saying )what means(:
}So marry them with the permission of their people and give them their due compensation according to what is acceptable. ]They should be[ chaste, neither ]of[ those who commit unlawful intercourse randomly nor those who take ]secret[ lovers.{]Quran 4:25[
}And chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking ]secret[ lovers.{]Quran 5:5[
Thus, Allaah The Almighty commands us to observe the following conditions in marriage:
-Permission of the woman’s guardian
-Presence of witnesses
-Dowry
-Contract
-Announcement and playing the duff )a small drum-like instrument(, which was made permissible as well as holding a banquet to guarantee that it is announced.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Dought & clear, - Does a person who died of cancer as a result of smoking attain the statusof a martyr?.

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Does a person who died of cancer as a result of smoking attain the status of a martyr?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that there are various kinds of martyrs who will attain the status of martyrdom in the Hereafter; this is by the grace and mercy of Allah.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The martyrs are five: the one who dies of the plague, the one who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is crushed beneath a falling wall, and the martyr who is killed for the sake of Allaah.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn al-Teen said: All of these are deaths which involve hardship. Allah has bestowed His grace upon the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by making them means of erasing their sins and increasing their rewards, and enabling them to attain the status of martyrdom.
Fath al-Baari, 6/44
If a person dies of cancer, some of the scholars are of the view that he is included among the types of martyr mentioned in the hadeeth, on the basis that the word mabtoon (the one who dies of a disease in the abdomen) is general and includes everyone who dies of a disease in his abdomen and that this does not apply to any one specific disease.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word mabtoon means the one with a disease in the abdomen, which is diarrhoea. Al-Qaadi said: And it was said that he is the one who suffers from dropsy or oedema and swelling of the abdomen. And it was said that it refers to the one who suffers some disease in his abdomen. And it was said that it refers to anyone who dies from a disease in the abdomen in general. End quote fromSharh Muslimby al-Nawawi.
But it should be noted that this suggestion is connected to two conditions:
(i) that the site of the cancer be in the abdomen so that he may truly be said to be mabtoon.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-‘Abbaad (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
Does a person who dies of cancer come under the heading of mabtoon?
He replied:
No, because cancer is not always in the stomach; it may be somewhere other than the stomach.
Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood(tape no. 230)
As the site of your friend’s cancer was in the throat, he is not included among any of the groups who are regarded as martyrs.
(ii) that the disease should not have been caused by smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol, or other haraam things, unless he has repented sincerely from that and has given up consuming those haraam things.
This condition is general and applies to all those mentioned in the hadeeth. If a woman is pregnant as the result of zina and dies in labour, she is not regarded as one of the martyrs. If a person who drowned had boarded the boat or ship in order to commit sin or some immoral activity, and dies as a result of drowning, he is not one of the martyrs. A person who is killed by a falling wall when he is committing zina or drinking alcohol is not one of the martyrs. In the answer to question no. 45669, we have quoted the Standing Committee as saying that a person who dies as the result of a car accident when he was inside the car comes under the same heading as one who was killed by a falling wall, so he is a martyr, by Allah’s leave. But this cannot be applied to those foolish young men to whom this happens when they are racing in their cars, or to those who compete in difficult circumstances in the mountains or in the snow (“extreme sports”).
In the answer to question no. 22140, we quoted Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah as saying that if a person drowns after boarding a ship for sinful purposes, he is not a martyr.
And elsewhere he said:
Whoever wants to follow a path where the possibilities of being safe or being killed are equal has to refrain from following it; if he does not refrain, then he is aiding in his own destruction so he is not a martyr.
Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/381
Al-Suyooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Qurtubi said: This and the previous one -- i.e., those who are killed by a falling wall or drowning -- if they did not take risks and did not fail to take precautions, (then they are martyrs). But if they did not take precautions and died as a result of that, then they are sinners.
Al-Deebaaj ‘ala Muslim(4/508)
Inal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah(26/273, 274) it says:
An exception is made in the case of one who travels for the purpose of sin and dies away from home. Another exception is made in the case of one who drowns but was sinning by boarding the ship when he knew that it was most likely not to be safe for him to do so, or he boarded it for the purpose of committing sin. Another exception is made in the case of a woman who is pregnant as a result of zina and dies in childbirth. End quote.
If the person who is slain in battle was fighting for the sake of tribalism or to show off, he does not attain the virtue or status of martyrdom, and it is more likely that such people will not attain that great reward.
Summary:
Cancer in and of itself does not mean that the person who dies of it is one of the types of martyrs, unless the disease was in his abdomen. That is not what is stated in the hadeeth; rather it is the ijtihaad (opinion) of some scholars with regard to the meaning of mabtoon. If a person’s disease was caused by smoking and the like, and he dies of it before repenting, then he is not a martyr, even if the disease was in his abdomen. But if the disease in his abdomen was not the result of a haraam action, we hope that he will attain the status of the martyrs in the Hereafter, in sha Allah.
And Allaah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Dought & clear, - Permissibility of haraam things in the case of necessity and the conditions governing that.

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I know that haraam things may be permissible if it becomes necessary to do them. Are there conditions governing this ruling so that it may be applied correctly?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Among the basic principles of Islamic sharee’ah, on which the scholars are agreed, is that cases of necessity make forbidden things permissible.
There is a great deal of evidence to support this principle in the Holy Qur'aan and the Prophet's Sunnah, for example, the verses in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al‑Maitah (the dead animals — cattle — beast not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allaah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allaah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns — and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal — unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) ‑ and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An‑Nusub (stone‑altars). (Forbidden) also is to use arrows seeking luck or decision; (all) that is Fisqun (disobedience of Allaah and sin). This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above mentioned meats), then surely, Allaah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Maa’idah 5:3]
“And why should you not eat of that (meat) on which Allaah’s Name has been pronounced (at the time of slaughtering the animal), while He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity?”
[al-An’am 6:119]
Examples of this principle include the following:
1. Eating dead meat for one who cannot find anything else and fears that he will die of hunger.
2. Speaking words of kufr when subjected to torture and force.
3. Warding off an aggressor even if that leads to killing him.
See:al-Ashya’ wa’l-Nazaa’irby Ibn Nujaym, p. 85
Necessity means cases in which a person will be harmed if he does not take the haraam option, in which the harm will effect the five essentials which are: religion, life, honour, reason and wealth.
With regard to the conditions of a haraam thing becoming permissible in the case of necessity, Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned two conditions for that and he explained them in abundant detail with examples, as well as mentioning some objections and the response to them. Hence we will limit ourselves to quoting his words. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This principle is one of the basic fiqhi principles which are indicated by sharee’ah: Everything that is forbidden becomes permissible in the case of necessity.
So what is forbidden becomes permissible in the case of necessity, but there are two conditions.
The first condition:
We should be compelled to do this specific haraam thing, meaning that we cannot find anything with which to meet that necessity except this haraam thing. If we can find something else, then it does not become permissible, even though it could meet our necessity.
The second condition:
The necessity should be met by that haraam thing; if that is not the case, then it remains haraam. If we are not certain whether it will meet the necessity or not, then it also remains haraam. That is because doing something haraam is definitely wrong and meeting necessity by means of it is something concerning which there is doubt, so we should not transgress by doing that which is definitely haraam for the sake of something concerning which there is doubt.
Hence the ruling varies concerning a starving man who cannot find anything but dead meat. In this case we say, Eat the dead meat. If he says that this is committing a haraam action, we say that it has become permissible because of necessity, because you have nothing else to eat apart from this and because if you eat it you will meet that necessity.
It was said to a man: If you drink alcohol, you will be cured of sickness. In this case we say: It is not permissible for you to drink alcohol even if you are told that it will heal you from sickness. Why is that?
Firstly, because there is no certainty that he will be healed by it; he may drink it and not be healed of sickness. We see many sick people taking beneficial medicines that they do not benefit from.
Secondly, the sick person may recover without any treatment, by putting his trust in Allah and praying to Him, and by means of people’s prayer (du’aa’) for him and so on. This is from the point of view of reason.
From the point of view of evidence, it is narrated in a hadeeth from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Allaah does not put your healing in that which He has forbidden to you.” The rationale behind this hadeeth is clear, because Allah only forbade it to us because it is harmful to us, so how can that which is haraam be a healing and a remedy?
Hence it is haraam to use haraam things as treatment, as the scholars have stated, and it cannot be said that this is a case of necessity, as some people think.
If someone were to say that a person is choking and he has nothing except a cup of wine, so is it permissible for him to drink this cup to stop him choking?
The answer is yes, because the two conditions are met in this case. He is compelled to use this exact thing and we are certain that the necessity will be met by it, so we would say: Drink the wine. But once the choking has stopped, he should stop drinking.
If someone were to say that a man found some meat that had been slaughtered in the halaal manner and some meat from an animal that had died a natural death, can he eat the dead meat because he is forced to do so by necessity?
The answer is that he cannot do that, because the necessity can be met by something else, so it is not permissible because the first condition is not met.
If a person were to say, I am thirsty and I have nothing but a cup of wine; can I drink it?
The answer is no, as the scholars said, because this is not a case of necessity; rather it will only make him more thirsty, so there is no benefit in transgressing and doing something haraam, because necessity will not be warded off by it and the second condition is not fulfilled.
If a person were to say: If a sick person has no choice but to drink blood as a remedy, is it permissible for him to do that? The answer is that it is not permissible for him to do that, because the two conditions are not met.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M