Your Questions Answered (volume 1)

Q94: Is It a Must That Every Muslim Must Go To Mecca, If So What of Those Who Don't Go There?

A. Not every Muslim. Only those whose health and wealth allows it and who fulfill all other necessary conditions.

Q95: Is there any limitation to age of going to Mecca? If so, what is the minimum? I am aged 23 years and I would like to go next year.

A. If a Muslim is adult and sane, has means to go to Mecca in the month of Hajj and his/her health is good enough to make the journey, he/she is obliged to go for Hajj.

A boy is deemed to be adult when :

(a) he is 15 years old, or (b) rough hair grows below his navel, or (c) if he discharges semen. A girl is deemed to be adult when :

(a) a)she is 9 years old, or (b) rough hair grows below her navel.

In your case, you are adult and sane and if other conditions of Hajj (concerning health and wealth) are fulfilled, Hajj is wajib (obligatory) upon you. When you go to Hajj, please remember me in your prayers. May Allah reward your Hajj with acceptance! Amen.'

Q96: What is the most liked house to God?

A. "Kaaba in Mecca is the most liked house of God in this world, but even more liked than that is the heart of the Mumin (faithful) which is said to be the 'choicest house of Allah". Q97: What is Jihad-e-Akbar and what steps would you take to fight Jihade- Akbar?

A. Jihad-e-Akbar: Fighting the enemies of Islam on command of Prophet or Imam is called Jihad-e-Asghar (small battle). Subduing your own desires and ambitions putting your whole self under the command of Allah is called Jihad-e-Akbar (Great Battle). It means that you should willingly sacrifice all that you have if obedience to Allah depends upon it. Neither family ties, society's relations, nor financial holdings should keep you away from right path if you happen to find it. If you succeed in this test, you have won in the Jihad-e-Akbar.

Q. 98: I understand that Jihad is a holy war. Is it true that if someone dies in the battle, he goes straight to Paradise? If so why is that?

A. Jihad: Please refer to the booklet "Islam" (P.24-26) for this subject. Remember that a martyr fighting in the cause of Allah (in its true sense) sacrifices his whole being for the Divine cause, and that Allah, in His infinite Grace and Mercy, has promised to give reward of a virtue at the ratio of at least 10 to 1. Therefore Allah rewards a martyr (who sacrificed his mortal life) with an immortal and ever-lasting life under His Mercy. That is why the martyrs are assured of Paradise.

By the way, if a martyr has some obligations towards other men which he had not fulfilled, Allah will arrange to repay those persons on the Day of judgement.

Q. 99: What is the purpose of marriage?

A. Purpose of Marriage : The institution of marriage has 3 aims, which taken together constitute the purpose of marriage :

(a) Satisfying the natural urge of physical love and sex. (b) Procreation which ensures the continuity of mankind. (c) Establishment of a family unit which ensures that the children born as a result of (a) and (b) above receive the love, protection and care which is essential to make them useful and normal human beings.

Sexual desire can be satisfied without marriage, but it lacks the other two (and especially the 3rd) benefits.

It should be observed in passing that those religions which try to curb this natural urge are trying to say (by deeds, not by words) that the Creator made a mistake in creating this natural desire. They fail to realize that if all human beings responded to their call of celibacy humanity will be extinct within a short period. Such teaching cannot take humanity forward because of the simple reason that they tend to be against the continuity of humanity.

Q100: The Islamic religion allows polygamy and not polyandry. Explain briefly why a man is allowed polygamy and a woman forbidden polyandry instead of both of them forbidden.

A. 'Light1 Vol. Ill, No. 6 will show the wisdom of permission of polygamy. As for polyandry, here is an episode which answers your question fully :-

Once some women came to Hadhrat Ali (A.S.) with the same question. Hadhrat Ali (A.S.) told them to bring water in cups. When they came back with the cups full of water, he ordered them to put the water in a basin.

Then he told them to take out their water, but each one should take out the same water which she had put in. They protested that it was impossible as the water had been mixed. Hadhrat Ali (A.S.) said that it was for the same reason that a woman was not allowed to marry more than one husband at a time, because there would be no way to know who her child belonged to, and who was to be responsible for that child's upbringing.

Q101: Can a Muslim man be a husband of many wives - and if so how many at least?

A. This question is on the subject of "Polygamy". A Muslim is allowed, with certain conditions, to marry upto 4 wives at a time. What those conditions are, you will find them in an article published in our magazine "LIGHT". (Now see "Why Polygamy Is Allowed In Islam" available from this Mission) Before Islam there was no limit to the number of wives a man could marry. In every country from India to Rome and from Russia to Africa a man could marry as many wives as he pleased. (Perhaps you may have heard of some living Chiefs in Kenya having more than 50 wives).

Islam restricted the number to four. It is the maximum; and it has been fixed keeping in view the average ability of a man to satisfy all necessary conditions conducive to a happy household; physical, emotional, financial, etc., all taken together. The 'essentiality' of polygamy in certain circumstances cannot be denied; and once you allow polygamy, you have to stop somewhere to prevent its misuse. Thus, a number had to be fixed and Islam, after keeping in view the above-mentioned requirements, has fixed it at four. Q102: Can a wife divorce her husband if he marries another woman and does not care about her?

A. She cannot divorce him at all. She may demand divorce if the husband neglects to maintain her. And marrying a second, third or fourth wife is no ground for demanding a divorce.

Q.103: Can a Muslim woman be married to a man who is not a Muslim or vice- versa?

A. No - Nor will it be allowed by Christianity.

Q.104: Is civil marriage unlawful in our religion? Why?

A. Civil marriage is performed when the parties belong to two different religions. A muslim girl cannot marry a non-Muslim boy; and a Muslim boy cannot marry a non-Muslim girl (except marrying a Christian or a Jewish girl in temporary marriage).

Thus you will see that majority of the civil marriages is unlawful because it is against this basic rule. The remaining cases for civil marriages become generally unlawful because they do not observe many of the conditions laid down by Islam.

Q.105: Does Islam religion agree with family planning?

A. Yes. But with certain conditions. Abortion is not allowed on any pretext.

Q106: The thing is that I have been brought up in a very bad environment.

Mummy and Daddy are always quaretling, not sparing any thought for children's feelings, and they never pray. I started praying because my aunty explained its importance to me. This has been going on since my childhood. I love my aunty more than anybody else. She also loves me. Now please tell me if I am a sinner because I love my aunty more than my mummy?

A. It is indeed very regrettable that your parents behave in the way described by you. They are ruining their own happiness in this life, are contriving to be deprived of the Grace of Allah in the life hereafter; and, what is even more tragic, they are ruining the lives of their children by putting such emotional strains upon them. Children brought up in such an atmosphere have to be extra alert to protect themselves from psychological effects of this negative influence. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) said : "May Allah curse the parents who (by their misconduct) instigate their children to disobey them."

This much about your parents. Now about your duty towards them. It is incumbent upon you to behave respectfully towards them, inspite of all their shortcomings. Islam has emphasized the cardinal virtue of the obedience towards parents even if the parents are 'Kafir'. It is ordained in the Quran :

"And We enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents. To Me is your return. And if they strive to make you join in worship with Me things of which you have no knowledge,obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with fairness and consideration." (31 : 14-15).

Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said : "There are three things about which one has no option, (one has to fulfil them without any condition attached) :

To return to the owner the thing entrusted to one's care, whether the owner be pious or debauchee; and to fulfil the promise whether it was (made) to a pious or a debauchee; and to do good to the parents whether they be pious or sinners".

So far as loving your aunt more than your parents is concerned, I think in the circumstances mentioned by you, it is understandable; and personally I see no harm in it, provided your dealing with your parents is based on respect and good manner. Q107: Is homosexuality of any kind Haram?

A. Yes. So far as Islam is concerned, it is not only a capital sin but crime also. Its punishment, according to Islamic Sheriat, is to kill him by sword, or to stone him to death, or to burn him, or to throw him from a high place, or to demolish a wall upon him. The people to whom Prophet Loot (A.S.) was sent, were indulging in this crime. And lastly they were destroyed because of it.

If two women indulge in this heinous crime, they would be punished by 100 strokes of whip. If they persist in it the punishment will remain the same upto the third conviction. Fourth time they would be killed.

The people of Rass were destroyed by Allah because this crime was prevalent among them. Q.108: Is masturbation allowed?

A. No - It is strictly prohibited and absolutely unlawful and Haram.

Q.109: Adultery is forbidden, would you mind to write me a verse from the Quran forbidding adultery?

A. "Adultery" and "fornication" are differently used in the English Language; but the Arabic word for both is the same,i.e.(Zina). Two of the Ayats of the Qur'an on this subject are :-

1. "Nor come near the unlawful sexual relation (Zina) for it is a shameful deed and evil, opening the road (to other evils)." (Qur'an, Sura 17,aya 32).

2. "The woman and man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with hundred strips; let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day :and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment." (24:2).

Q. 110: Is it unlawful to read a novel on sexual treatise such as the Famous PERFUMED GARDEN written by Sheikh Nafzaoun translated by Sir Richard Burton?

A. Such books are extremely harmful to a man's physical, psychological and moral health. Remember, your life is moulded according to your thoughts. If you indulge in such so called "books" you will go on thinking like that long after you have finished with that book. Thus, your outlook on life will be governed only by sexual desires; you will look at every passing girl with lustful eyes; and in the words of Nabi Issa (A. S.) "Whosoever looks on a woman with lust has committed adultery with her already in his heart." In this way, the foundation of your morality will be destroyed.

And such thinking creates great tension in your nerves and leads to many infirmities. In short, if you go on thinking like that, your power of manhood will suffer because of the tension; and, as a result, you will find yourself at a loss at the time of marriage.

Q.111:I have been employed a shop where I have to accept orders of delivering wines, write invoices, collect amount due for payment and do correspondence for wines in addition to other commodities for which the Company associates.

I would therefore beg for gratuitous information whether to continue the service with a firm dealing with alcoholic commodities as well. I mean to state that the Company deals with many other business commodities including wine (beer) business. Further can I do at least correspondence relating to wine in addition to other work?

A. About your employment: There is no harm in serving a non-Muslim firm. But it is another matter when that service includes transaction of Liquor. Our Holy Prophet has said, "Allah has cursed (Laanat) liquor, and the man who sows the seeds of grapes or grain for that purpose, and the man who stands guard to that farm; and the man who makes liquor, and the man who drinks it, and the man who serves it to others, and the man who sells it, and the man who buys it, and the man who transports it and the man to whom it is transported, and the man who eats from its price". I hope this Hadith answers your questions.

Q. 112: There are only a few of us Ithna-asheris in Mozambique. All of us are engaged in trade and commerce. Some of us have ration shops. But the difficulty here is that the population drinks liquor very much; and beer and wine is considered a part of grocery. As we, the Ithna-asheris, are not allowed by our religion to sell or keep liquor, we do not get as much business as we could if we kept the liquor. The Ismaitis keep liquor, in their shops, and as a result, their businesses prosper, while ours remain small.

Therefore, I request you to request our Mujtahid to allow us to keep and sell liquor in our shops, so that we may easily compete with other traders. Recently, I was informed of a very good example of farsightedness of our Mujtahids. I was informed that Agha Seyyid Mohsin al-Hakim had prohibited cow-slaughter in India, to save the lives of the Muslims in that country. Likewise, we know that giving or taking interest is Haram. But the owners of the Habib Bank spend hundreds of thousands rupees in charity and good deeds, and no Mujtahid has ever condemned that money.

Therefore, I am sure that if you put our case properly before our Mujtahid, he will grant our request about liquor business.

A. Your letter dated 19th July, 1971 addressed to the President of the Federation refers. It appears that you have some grave misunderstandings about the role of our Holy Mujtahids. Therefore, I would like to remove those misunderstandings before replying to your main questions.

First of all, the Sheriat of Islam is the most comprehensive sheriat of the world, and it has rules for every conceivable condition, whether we like it or not. Secondly, in Islamic Sheriat, protecting a Muslim's life is wajib; and, if, for any reason, his life is in danger because of some of the religious practices, the sheriat says that he MUST protect his life and SHOULD forget that religious practice so long as that danger remains. It is called "Taquaiyya" (Protection).

Thirdly, this Taquaiyya is allowed only to protect from danger, not to obtain something or increase the income.

Take for example, the sacrifice of cows in India which you have referred to. First of all, the sacrifice itself is not wajib, it is Sunnat-e-Muwakkada. Secondly, it is not necessary to sacrifice the cow. A goat or sheep can easily be sacrificed instead of cow. Thirdly, the Hindus revere and worship the cow and they are the rulers of the country.

It is generally known that, because of the sacrifice of the cow, Muslims' lives are always in danger in India. According to the rule of sheriat (not by new ruling or opinion of the Mujtahid) that sacrifice would have become Haram (even if it had been Wajib originally).

So, you see, Agha Mohsin Al-Hakeem did not turn a Halal into Haram. He simply explained what was already the rule of the sheriat.

Now, we come to your second example. Taking or giving interest from or to a Muslim is Haram. Here, I will not go into technical detail of what is "Riba" in Shia sheriat. But I should mention here only one thing. Banking is not just taking or giving the interest. There are many aspects of banking which are perfectly lawful. For example, if you obtain a Letter of Credit from your Bank to purchase a merchandise in Japan, your Bank will pay on your behalf the money in Japan and will get your consignment to Mozambique. Now suppose that the goods were of Shs. 10,000/- and the Bank charged you Shs. 10,500/-. That extra charge of Shs. 500/- is perfectly lawful according to the sheriat, because the Bank conveyed the money on your behalf to Japan and if they charge extra for this service it is alright. They may term it as 'interest' but in sheriat it will not be an interest; it will be a charge in lieu of service. Another thing to remember is that if a Muslim has two types of income, one lawful and another unlawful, nobody is required to ask whether the money which he has used in purchasing a shirt was from lawful income or the Haram one. It will be supposed to be from Halal income unless it is known to be from 'Haram' income.

A third thing : It is not the duty or function of a Mujtahid or Alim to go and see how a man is behaving or how he is earning his money. His function is to tell that taking 'interest' from Muslims is Haram. It is not his duty to investigate who is taking interest and who is not. I think now you will understand why the money spent by Habib family on religious matters is not denounced by the Mujtahids. It is because

1. Banking business is not 100% Haram,
2. The particular money spent on a religious purpose is not 'known ' to come from Haram income; and
3. last but not the least, it is not the duty or function of a Mujtahid to speak about individuals.

I think now you will understand why your question can never be replied in your favour. Drinking liquor, or selling it or purchasing it or transporting it or keeping its account, everything is absolutely haram.

Whatever you have said is not like the sacrifice of the cow in India. Taquiayya means seeking protection from a danger. It is not for the purpose of increasing the benefit. I hope this will remove all your doubts.