Your Questions Answered (volume 6)
Q. 30: Love Letters
Our children accept that boys and girls should not freely mingle; yet they assert that if keeping within the bounds of shari 'ah they wrote to each other and communicated their feelings, what is wrong with that??!! In other words love letters do not matter! Can you please look into the same and with your wealth of ahadith etc. can we give them some beneficial advice on this issue?
A. Before deciding whether there is anything wrong in love letters or not, let us ask them how these "feelings" began in the first place. Was it not because they had been looking at each other with lustful eyes? These youths must know that there is hijab of eyes as well as of the dress. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta 'ala says:
"Say unto the believer men that they cast down their gaze and guard their private parts; that is purer for them. Verily Allah is well-Aware of what you do. And say unto the believing women that they cast down their gaze and guard their private parts, and their display not their zinat…."(Qur'an, 24:30-31).
The believer men must cast down their gaze and believer women must cast down their gaze. None is allowed to look at the opposite sex, unless he or she is within the prohibited degree (mahram). As the man is required to struggle for earning the livelihood, he is not told to hide his body (except to a certain extent). Still he is obliged to cast down his gaze; and not to look at a Ghair Mahram woman.
Woman can easily keep herself covered and hidden because her sphere of activity is her home; therefore, she was told to cover her entire body, as well as cast down her gaze and not to look at a Ghair Mahram man.
There are many ahadith which say that:-
"Glance is a poisoned arrow from the arrows of Shaitan".
"Beware of glance because it sows lust in the heart of the glancer, and enough is it for a mischief."
Another hadith says that the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:
"Whoever fills his eyes looking at a women unlawfully, Allah will raise him on the day of resurrection with nails of fire driven in (his eyes), until judgement is given concerning the whole mankind; then he will be ordered to be driven into the Fire."
Numerous Ahadith declare that the glance after the 1st glance is an arrow of Shaitan; and is Haram. Our boys and girls should ponder on these verses and traditions, in order to realize that wearing hijab or scarf is not a licence to look freely at the opposite sex. So, before getting such feelings for each other, they have already crossed the limit of shari'ah. It is this phenomenon about which the mujtahidin have said that it is definitely wajib for a woman to cover her face and palms if there is a possibility of someone looking at her with lustful eyes. This is fatwa, (not Ihtyat) and all the mujtahidin are unanimous in this matter.
Now comes the second step, and that is "talking to each other" Verbally or in writing. A few authentic ahadith from the Ma'sumeen (A.S)
When women wanted to enter into the fold of Islam, the Prophet (S.A.W) Used to make it a condition of bay 'ah that "they should not talk with any man except their mahram." (Da'a'imu'l-Islam).
'Ali (A.S) said that the Prophet (S.A.W) had prohibited that a woman should talk to anyone (other than her husband or her mahram) more than Five words it becomes necessary. (Man La Yahduruhu 'l-Faqih; Da'a'imu'l-lslam)
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A.S) said: Talking with women is among the traps of the Shaitan. (Da 'a 'imu 'l-Islam).
'Ali (A.S) said: "Verily there are five things which follow (other) five things, and these five must throw (the culprit) into the Fire:.... and whoever indulges in joking with young girls and boys, will fall into fornication; and the fornicator is bound to enter the Fire.(Mustadrak).
Talking or joking aside, Islam seriously discourages men to do salaam to women. There are several ahadith in Al-Kafi, Man la yahduruhu 'l-faqih and other books which say that it is makruh for men to do salaam to women, more so if they are young.
Looking at this matter in the light of our present day social and family environment, this business of love-letters may create real problems, if the parents or guardians of the boy or the girl, when approached by them to agree to, and bless their marriage, refuse to do so. The scenarios that may follow this refusal are easy to imagine, but none of them is pleasant.
Q. 31: Non-alcoholic beer!!
The sale of non-alcoholic beer is in fashion here. And when one of my friends visited one such store, he was told he could get alcoholic one too but from the inside of the store! So the objection may not be for the sale of non-alcoholic but the step two of inducing the customer to taste the alcoholic as well!
A: It is the same hypocrisy about which I have written somewhere else and it has come from Mecca and Medina, so it has the sanction of the Wahhabi Islam!! May we ask those Khalids, Fahds and Ben Baz's, why was it necessary to use the name "beer" for a non- alcoholic drink? Was it not to make the name, beer, familiar to the Muslims? And once they have taken the first step, it should not take them long to go further ahead and take the second and then the third steps.
It is narrated by Ibn Majah (one of the Sihah Sittah) that the Prophet said: "There will be some groups of my Ummah who will drink liquor and call it by some other name."
Q. 32: Selling Liquor in obedience of parents:
Zayd's father has a grocery shop which also sells alcoholic drinks. Zayd feels guilty about this and knows pretty well that it is haram and the income is haram also. He has tried to convince his father but to no avail.
He then decided to pull out of the business, but then the father and mother said that they were not pleased with him, and the mother said that she would not waive her milk-right and that the very God they are disobeying by selling liquor has said that you must obey parents! I tried to reason with Zayd that obedience of parents is only in compliance of God's command and not to disobey Him; but he is either not convinced or cannot decide due to parental emotional pressure.
A: Obedience to parents is wajib to a certain extent, no doubt. But parents do not have this right independently by their own authority. It is bestowed on them by Allah. Quite obviously Allah's order super cedes all others' orders. As I have mentioned in my book, Family Life of Islam:
"The Almighty Allah is above all rulers and superiors: therefore, His commandments can never be superceded by any other rule, regulation or order. But the superiority of parents is derived from the superiority of Allah; their authority is based upon the command of Allah. Therefore, if ever they give any order which is against the Law of Allah, it must be ignored and disobeyed." Allah says in the Qur'an:
"And we enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents:…….And if they strive to make you join with Me things of which you have no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with fairness" (Surah Luqman, vs. 14-15)
The same order is repeated in verse 8 of Surah'Al-'Ankabut.
If one commits a sin or crime following an order of his superiors or elders, it does not absolve him from responsibility of that crime. Even the worldly powers do not accept the plea, "I committed this crime because my parents, or elders or superiors had ordered me to do so." The Nuremburg trials of the Nazis testify to this principle.
As for Islam, there is the laid down principle that, "A creature is not to be obeyed in disobedience of the Creator." (Nahjul -balagha) Numerous traditions to this effect are found in Shi'a and Sunni collections of Ahadith. Biharu 7 Anwar has a whole chapter in which so many traditions of this meaning have been collected.
A similar plea was offered by Shimr for murdering Imam Husain (A.S). He was praying to Allah for forgiveness. Someone said to him: "How can Allah forgive you when you had participated in murdering the son of the Messenger of Allah?" Shimr said: "Woe unto you! What could we do? These our ulul-amr ordered us to do a work and we obeyed them; had we disobeyed them we would have been in a worse position than this" Will Allah accept this excuse of Shimr?
Remember, on the Day of Judgement no relative, be he a father or a son, can take the burden of any sin of his relative on his own shoulders. In fact, the relatives will purposefully avoid each other. Allah says:
"The day on which a man shall fly from his brother and his mother and his spouse and his son; every man of them shall on that day have an affair of his own which will occupy him." (Surah 'Abas, verses 34-37)
Not only that. On seeing the chastisement of the hell, the juniors will curse the elders and the elders will refuse to accept any responsibility of their followers' sins and crime. But this reciprocal cursing will not be of any use to any group. See for example the following verses:
"And they shall say: O our Lord! Surely we obeyed our leaders and our elders, so they led us astray from the path; O our Lord! Give them a double punishment and curse them with a great curse." (Surah al-Ahzab, vs. 67-68)
"When those who were followed (e.g. the parents in your question) shall renounce those who followed (e.g. the son) and they see the chastisement and their ties are cut asunder.
And those who (had) followed shall say: O were therefore us a return (to the world), then we would renounce them as they have renounced us. Thus will Allah show them their deeds to be intense regret to them, and they shall not come fourth from the fire." (Surah al- Baqarah, vs. 166-167).
As for the mother's threat not to waive her milk-right, it is just a balderdash. A woman has a right to demand from her husband wages for breast-feeding his child, and the husband has a right to appoint some other woman for this purpose, if the mother's demand is higher than the prevalent rates.
Therefore, if the mother has any milk-right, it is on her husband, and not on the child. (You will find some such statements in poetries, but it is just poetic licence. It has no legal standing.)
I pray to Allah to guide the parents as well as the son to the right path, and make them Muslims in reality.
Q. 33: Marriage with Sister-in-law?
Zaid's sister-in-law (wife's sister) is divorced and staying with him and his wife. Islamic rule is that he cannot marry his wife's sister unless due to some reasons. His problem is that his wife's sister is in love with him and this was brought to his attention by his wife, who does not object even if laid wishes to marry her.
Zaid is getting more inclined towards her; but at the same time, he does not wish to commit any sin. Can he marry her or do mut 'ah marriage with her?
A: I was shocked to receive the above letter. Marrying two sisters at one time is absolutely haram (unlawful). There is no question of there being or not being a "reason". It is forbidden in the Qur'an and is not lawful in any circumstances in any sect of Islam.
Now one may appreciate why Islam forbids a woman to come with open face before her brother-in-law, and why a man is forbidden to look at his sister-in-law's open face. If people remain within the boundaries of Shari'ah, such fitnah and mischief will never occur.
I most sincerely advise Zaid to at once turn this woman out of his house, who is not averse to breaking the home of her own sister. For God's sake, terminate all contacts with her. May Allah give Zaid tawfeeq to follow Islam and not to be tempted by the Satan. It is Satan who is using his sister-in-law as a trap to ensnare him.
Q. 34: Music At Jama 'at's Musafirkhana
The caretaker in our Musafirkhana gets a nominal salary plus free accommodation including water and electricity. He has a video/TV of his own. However, he sometimes watches Indian film programmes in which there is music and other obscene scenes which are against our Shari 'ah. It has also come to our notice that guests go to his room to view such programmes.
Although this is a personal and private affair as claimed by him, but such un-Islamic activities are held wiihin the precincts of our Musafirkhana which is run according to Shari 'ah. Also electricity bill is paid from the revenue of our Musafirkhana. Please give your guidance on this issue.
A: Let us suppose somebody openly uses the Musafirkhana premises for drinking liquor and giving it to other Mu'mineen. What will be your reaction if, on being told not to do so, he replies that it was his "personal and private affair"?
In fact it is not a personal and private affair because the sin is committed openly. If someone openly neglects prayer, then it is not his personal and private affair, and it becomes wajib on everyone whose words would be effective to advise, exhort (and, if possible, compel) him to pray. To order good and forbid evil is wajib on every person.
It is regardless of the fact that the said sin is committed in Jama'at's premises. The Jama'at has a right and a duty to make sure that its properties are not used for anti-Islamic activities.
Add to this the fact that electricity is provided by the Jama'at. So in a way the Jama'at is helping in it.
And finally, when he turns his room into a cinema-hall, then it becomes "Fasad fil ard" (spreading fasad, evil, mischief, in the world), which is another major sin and also a capital crime in Sheri'ah. May Allah give him light to see the reality.
Q. 35: 'Aq of parents:
Can a child who has been disowned ('AQ) by his father during the latter's lifetime inherit from his deceased father's estate?
A: Certainly. There are only 3 situations in which an heir is debarred from inheritance:
If the said heir has killed the deceased;
If he is Kafir or
a slave.
Also a child of Li'an is excluded from the estate of his mother's ex-husband. There appears to be a widespread misconception in Indian society about this business of making 'Aq. 'Uquq means "to be disobedient, disrespectful, undutiful." If a child is disobedient, he will be written by the angels as a disobedient child, even if a parent does not say so even once; and if he is not disobedient, then in the eyes of God he is "not 'Aq" even if his parents declare so with drum beats.
In any case, this is a matter concerned with a child's felicity or otherwise in Akherah; it has no effect on his right of inheritance. Of course, if one makes a will debarring any heir from inheritance, and that heir gives his/her assent to it, it will be enforced because of the heir's voluntary assent and acceptance.
Q. 36: A CHILD OF MUT"AH MARRIAGE:
Is a child born from Mut'ah marriage entitled to inheritance from his father or mother upon his/ her death?
A: Certainly. A legitimate offspring inherits both parents, whether he is born in the so-called "permanent marriage", or in mut'ah marriage, or from a slave girl.
Q. 37: EXECUTOR OF WILL:
If a single trustee is appointed to execute the will by the deceased and he refuses to act, who is entitled to appoint a replacement?
A: The question is confusing. Probably you mean an executor of the will, and not a trustee of a waqf. In our shari'ah, wasiyyat is of two kinds: (1) Tamlikiyah, which involves property or money matters, and (2) 'Ahdiyah, which conlerns other matters, like where he should be buried and things like that.
The former requires acceptance by the executor, but not the latter. Of course, there is a lot of detail involved which cannot be given here. However, if the appointed executor refuses the appointment, the mujtahid has the authority to appoint someone in his place. If the executor does not reject, but is lethargic in discharging his duties, or feels difficulty in acting alone, the mujtahid may appoint someone to assist him or to supervise his work
Q38: VALIDITY OF A CERTAIN WILL:
A deceased has mentioned in his will that a certain person should not be allowed to attend his funeral. Is the will in order? What if the said will is made against the eldest son? Who should then be asked about arrangements of funeral etc.?
A: A person certainly has a right to do such a wasiyyat. So far as its implementation is concerned, it is easy in places where funeral arrangements are made and controlled by the family. But in societies like the Khoja Community, where every thing is done by the Jama'at, and the funeral time is announced publicly, one has to choose the lesser evil.
I mean, the heirs have to decide whether informing the person concerned would cause (or increase) fitnah and friction or not. Avoiding friction is always more preferable. As for the permission of the eldest son (in the situation mentioned in the question), the mu'mineen may ask him together with the other heirs. It will be more in conformity with Ihtiyat.
Q. 39: ABOUT SUSPICION AND ACCUSATION:
What does Holy Qur 'an and Hadith say on: (a) Accusation, (b) suspicion and (c) Tuhmat, i.e to accuse /suspect someone of doing wrong without any proof at all. A: Suspicion: "To suspect someone of doing wrong without any proof." It is "haram ". Allah Ta'ala says:
"O you who believe! avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin; and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and fear Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful". (Qur'an, 49:12)
The Ma'sumeen (A.S) have said that if you find your mu'min brother doing or saying something which can be interpreted in seventy ways, sixty nine of which are bad and only one is good, you should give it that one good meaning, and ignore the other bad interpretations.
Accusation: If it is untrue then it is called Tuhmat, which is even worse than ghibat (backbiting) which has been so severely condemned in the above-mentioned ayat In one particular case (i.e. slandering a married mu'minah lady of adultery without producing four witnesses) it is also a crime for which the slanderer is punished with eighty lashes If the accusation is true, then it is called ghibat, the gravity of which has been mentioned above. But in some cases it is allowed, as for example,
when giving evidence before a Qadi of Shari'ah, informing a guardian of misdeeds of his ward (when the intention is the reform of that ward) or giving advice to someone, if asked for some important matters: Let us say, when someone sends matrimonial message for a girl and the girl's guardian asks you about that person's suitability. Details may be seen in Minhaju's-Saliheen (Vol. 1) of Ayatullah al-Khoui.