Fasting, - Doupht &clear, - The ‘iddah of a divorced woman who is pregnant

Share

A man had an argument with his wife and told her, “You are divorced.” She swore at him so he kicked her in the stomach and pushed her down the stairs. She was five months pregnant and she lost the baby. Then he regretted it and went to her family’s house to take her back. Her father asked me for advice and I asked him to wait until I consulted one of the ‘ulama’ (scholars) because maybe her ‘iddah ended when she miscarried. What is the ruling on that?
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars are agreed that the ‘iddah of a divorced woman who is pregnant ends when the pregnancy ends, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And for those who are pregnant (whether they are divorced or their husbands are dead), their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is until they lay down their burden”
[al-Talaaq 65:4]
They are also agreed that if a woman miscarries a foetus in which human features are apparent, her ‘iddah ends at that point. (al-Mughni11/229). The human features start to appear after eighty days, and are usually very clear by ninety days.
Based on this, if a woman miscarries in the fifth month of pregnancy, her ‘iddah ends at that point, according to all the scholars, and her husband has no right to take her back after her ‘iddah has ended.
But he may make a new marriage contract with her if he wants to, but that has to be with her approval and in the presence of her wali (guardian) and two witnesses, and with a dowry (mahr).
There are two things which this man who caused this miscarriage has to do.
1 – He has to expiate for killing by mistake, which is by freeing a believing slave; if he cannot do that then he must fast for two consecutive months, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and whosoever kills a believer by mistake, (it is ordained that) he must set free a believing slave and a compensation (blood money, i.e. Diya) be given to the deceased’s family unless they remit it…
And whoso finds this (the penance of freeing a slave) beyond his means, he must fast for two consecutive months in order to seek repentance from Allaah. And Allaah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise”
[al-Nisa’ 4:92]
2 – He must also pay the diyah (blood money) for the foetus, which is one-tenth of the diyah for the mother. The diyah for a Muslim woman is fifty camels, which is equivalent in modern terms to 60, 000 Saudi Riyals. So the father must pay 6,000 riyals or its equivalent in another currency to the heirs of the foetus, and it should be shared out among them as if the foetus had died and left that behind, but the father does not inherit anything, because the killer does not inherit from the one whom he killed. Ibn Qudaamah said: “If the person who caused the miscarriage was the father of the foetus or one of the other heirs, then he must give a slave and we have stated above that the equivalent is to pay 6,000 Saudi riyals or an equal amount in another currency and he does not inherit anything of that, and he should free a slave. This is the view of al-Zuhri, al-Shaafa’i and others.” (al-Mughni, 12/81).
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.

Share

Fasting, - Doupht &clear, - Fasting lasts until the sun sets and is not as some of the Shi’ah say

Share

I am asking about the topic of fasting and breaking the fast. I was speaking to my neighbours who follow the Shi’i madhhab, and they recited to me a verse of Qur'aan which says that fasting is from the time of the white thread until night, and it is not until sunset only. This is what they said to me. I hope that you can advise me, may Allah reward you with the best of rewards.
Praise be to Allaah.
The time of fasting on which the Muslims are unanimously agreed and which they have followed from the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his Companions until the present day is from the break of the true dawn until when the disk of the sun disappears completely beneath the horizon. This is indicated by the Qur'aan and Sunnah and definitive consensus of the Muslims.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall [al-layl]” [al-Baqarah 2:187].Al-layl[translated here as nightfall] in the language of the Arabs starts when the sun sets.
It says inal-Qamoos al-Muheet(1364):al-Layl: from the setting of the sun until the break of the true dawn or sunrise. End quote.
It says inLisaan al-‘Arab(11/607):al-Layl: comes straight after the end ofal-Nahaar(day), and starts when the sun sets. End quote.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on this verse:
The words of Allah “then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall” imply that breaking the fast at the moment of sunset is a shar’i rule. End quote.
Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem, 1/517
In fact some commentators have pointed out that the use of the prepositionila(till) in this verse also implies hastening, because that preposition indicates reaching the end and achieving the goal.
Al-‘Allaamah al-Taahir ibn ‘Ashoor (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ila al-layl (till the nightfall) means until one achieves that goal and reaches the night, and the preposition ila is chosen to indicate that one should hasten to break the fast when the sun sets, because the preposition ila means that the purpose is achieved then, unlike the preposition hatta (until). What is meant here is to indicate that the fast is completed when the night begins. End quote.
Al-Tahreer wa’l-Tanweer, 1/181
All of that is supported by what is narrated inal-Saheehaynfrom Ameer al-Mu'mineen ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When the night comes from here and the day departs from here, and the sun sets, then it is time for the fasting person to break his fast.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1954) and Muslim (1100).
In this hadeeth the coming of night from the east and the disappearance of the disk of the sun below the horizon are mentioned together, which is something that is well known, because darkness starts from the East as soon as the light of the sun disappears below the horizon. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The phrase “when night comes from here” means from the east, and what is meant is when darkness becomes discernible. In this hadeeth he mentioned three things, because even though they are interconnected in fact, they may appear not to be connected, and it may be thought that night is coming from the east when it has not yet come, because something is covering the light of the sun; the same is also true of the departure of day. Hence it is clarified by the words “and the sun sets”, as an indication that it is essential to confirm that night has come and day has gone, and that these events occur because of the setting of the sun and not for any other reason. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/196
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The scholars said: each of these three things implies the other two and is interconnected with them. Rather he mentioned them together because a person may be in a valley and the like in such a way that he cannot see the setting of the sun, so he relies on the coming of darkness and the disappearing of daylight. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 7/209
Al-Bukhaari (1955) and Muslim (1101) narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on a journey and he was fasting. When the sun set, he said to one of the people: O So and so, get up and make saweeq for us (mix it with water so that we can drink it). He said O Messenger of Allah, why not wait till the evening? He said: Dismount and make saweeq for us. He said: O Messenger of Allah, why not wait till the evening? He said: Dismount and make saweeq for us. He said: It is still day. He said: Dismount and make saweeq for us. So he dismounted and made saweeq for them, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) drank it, then he said: When you see that night has come from here, then let the fasting person break his fast.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth indicates that it is mustahabb to hasten to break the fast and that it is not permissible to refrain from eating and drinking for any part of the night at all; rather as soon as it is established that the sun has set, it is permissible to break the fast. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/197.
Moreover, the fact that there is consensus among the Muslims regarding breaking the fast and eating as soon as one hears the muezzin give the call to Maghrib prayer when the sun disappears is evidence that this is the truth and the one who goes against that is following something other than the way of the believers and has introduced something into the religion for which he has no proof or reports from the scholars.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Maghrib comes immediately after the sun has set, and this is something on which there is consensus. Something concerning this was narrated from the Shi’ah to which no attention should be paid and which has no basis. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 5/136
In fact, in many of the books of the Shi’ah it mentions that on which there is consensus among the Muslims concerning this matter. Some of them narrated from Ja’far al-Saadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: “When the sun sets, it becomes permissible to break the fast and it becomes obligatory to offer the prayer.” End quote.
Al-Baroojardi narrated from the author ofal-Da’aa’imthat he said: We narrated from Ahl al-Bayt -- may the blessings of Allah be upon them all -- that there was consensus concerning that which we learned from the reports from them, that the onset of night which makes it permissible for the fasting person to break the fast is the disappearance of the sun beneath the western horizon without any barrier which would prevent seeing it such as a mountain or wall and the like. When the disk disappears beneath the horizon, then the night has begun and it is permissible to break the fast. End quote.
Jaami’ Ahaadeeth al-Shi’ah, 9/165
To sum up: what are some of the Shi’ah do now, of delaying Maghrib prayer and the breaking of the fast until sometime after the sun has set is contrary to what is indicated by the Holy Qur'aan, the saheeh Sunnah of the Prophet and the consensus of the Muslims.
Moreover it is contrary to what they themselves narrated from their Imams!
And Allah knows best.

Share

For children, - Spiritual Stories for Children: Don't treat the Evildoer with EvilTit for Tat, Backfire

Share

There was a companion of the king who visited him all the time. He would sit beside him and say, 'Treat the good-doer with good and don't treat the evil-doer with evil for his evil will be sufficient for him.'
Another man envied his position with the king and his good speech. The envious man came to the king and related: 'Your companion that sits beside you claimed that you had a bad smell.'
The king inquired, 'But how can I verify this?'
The man replied, 'Call him to you. He will put his hand on his nose as he gets closer to you.'
The king said, 'Leave, and I will see!' This man left the king and invited the king's companion to a meal that he had placed much garlic in.
The companion of the king ate and then went to the king as usual and said, 'Treat the good-doer with good and don't treat the evil-doer with evil, for his evil will be sufficient for him.'
The king said to him, 'Get closer to me!' The man moved closer, and placed his hand over his mouth so that the king would not smell the odor of garlic.
The king thought to himself, 'That man was truthful.' The king then hand-wrote a letter and gave it to the companion. The king never wrote anything unless he wanted to give someone a prize or gift.
But this letter was written to one of his administrators and contained the following message: 'When the bearer of this letter comes to you, slaughter him and skin him. Then fill his skin with straw and send him back to me.'
Later, the envious man met the companion of the king on his way and asked, 'What is this letter?'
The companion of the king replied, 'The king has given me a gift.'
The envious man asked, 'Would you give it to me.'
The companion of the king said, 'It's yours.'
The envious man took it and went to the administrator. The administrator said to him, 'This letter is a command from the king to slaughter you and skin you.'
The envious man announced, 'This letter is not mine. I beseech you in the Name of Allah to check with the king before you do anything.'
The administrator informed him that there would be no changes to what the king had written. Then he slaughtered him, skinned him, filled his skin with straw, and sent him back to the king.
In the meantime, the companion of the king returned to the king as usual. The king was shocked and demanded, 'What happened to the letter?'
Companion of the king said, 'So-and-so met me and asked me for it, so I gave it to him.'
The king then challenged, 'Have you said that I have a bad smell?'
The companion of the king rebutted, 'No!'
So the king asked, 'Then why did you place your hand over your mouth?'
The companion of the king answered, 'So-and-so provided me with food that had much garlic in it and I hated that you might smell it.'
The king declared, 'You are truthful. The evil of the evildoer is sufficient for him.'
Noble Qur'an says: "Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is your Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His Servants." (41:46)

Share

Zakaath, - Dought & clear, - Is there any zakaah on my advertising business?

Share

I have a business that produces personal invitations and commercial advertisements. I have been working in this field for nearly 10 years. Please note that it belongs to me and I have no set income per day or per month or per year. In other words, I work in this business without being able to define the monthly income, because it is freelance work. Even the departments that specialise in collecting zakaah from neighbouring commercial businesses cannot work out the monthly and annual income.
My question is:
Do I have to pay a particular rate of zakaah on this business? Please note that my capital consists of a computer and a large printer for printing advertisements. The basis of the work is physical effort and no more. If I have to pay a particular rate of zakaah for one year, how much is it or how can I work it out?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no zakaah on tools, equipment and machines in the business so long as they are not meant for sale; rather zakaah is due on fees earned by means of them, if they reach the minimum threshold (nisaab) and one hijri year has passed since that was acquired.
Al-Bahooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said inKashshaaf al-Qinaa‘(2/244): There is no zakaah on the tools of a craftsman, display materials used by traders, or the glass bottles used by spice merchants, grocers, and sellers of olive oil or honey, unless he intends to sell the bottles with their contents, in which case zakaah must be paid on both because these are trade goods. End quote.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
Tools used for work such as machines and other equipment are not subject to zakaah. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 9/362
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Items that are prepared for use are not subject to zakaah, machines and so on. If they are prepared for use then there is no zakaah on them. The basic principle is that that which is prepared for sale is that which is subject to zakaah; that which is used as a tool in one’s work is not subject to zakaah. End quote fromFataawa Ibn Baaz, 14/184
Based on that:
You do not have to pay any zakaah for the equipment that you have, such as the computer, printer and other regular tools of your work. Rather zakaah is due on that which you sell, such as the paper on which the advertisements are printed and the ink used.
So at the end of the year you have to work out what you have of paper and ink, and add to that what you have of cash. If all of that reaches the minimum threshold (nisaab), which is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver, then you have to pay zakaah at a rate of 2.5%.
And Allah knows best.

Share