When one is afflicted by sickness or any
kind of calamity, repent, recite Istighfaar in abundance and make dua
constantly. Allah Ta’ala is The only One Who cures. Have yaqeen in dua, but at
the same time reform yourself morally and spiritually. Recite Surah Falaq, Surah
Naas, Aayatul Kursi and the last ruku’ of Surah Baqarah daily. Continue with
this spiritual prescription. If Allah Ta’ala wishes, He shall cure. But, those
who generally resort to the incompetent aamils of today become hooked onto
imagination. They then imagine that they are afflicted with sihr when this is
not the case.
Q. Is it true that when a person is sickly due to sihr,
his/her palms face upwards?
A. This may be the case, but not always. A qualified aamil will know better.
We are not aamils.
Q. Why do aamils use different methods to cure a person
affected by sihr?
A. For the same reason that doctors and hakeems use different medicines and
remedies to cure patients.
Q. How does an aamil use a jinn to help him?
A. It is not permissible for a Muslim to gain control of a jinn. By mean of
some amal (practice) it is possible to gain control of a jinn and make him
subservient. But this is haraam because jinn is free just as man. Just as it is
haraam to enslave a free human being, so too is it haraam to enslave a jinn.
Generally those who enslave jinns are evil aamils. They employ shaitaani methods
for this person. They even resort to kufr.
Q. How can a good aamil be distinguished from a bad aamil?
A. If the aamil is a strict follower of the Shariah, he will be a good aamil
otherwise not. If he employs un-Islamic methods, he is operating with shaitaani
influence and aid.
Q. Can Taqdeer be corrected or altered by the stars?
A. It is kufr to subscribe to such a belief. The stars have no power of
interfering with the Taqdeer of Allah Ta’ala.
Q. It is confirmed that a lady in our family dabbles in
witchcraft. We have proof that she is learning sihr and practises it. She is an
elderly person. Do we have the right to debar her from our home and refuse to
eat the food she sends us?
A. Yes, you have this right. In fact, you should be on your guard against
her. Confront her with the evidence and admonish her. Make it known to her that
she has lost her Imaan and that she should repent and renew her Imaan.
Q. There is special thawaab for performing 40 Salaats with
Jamaat in Musjid-e-Nabawee. If women are not allowed to go to the Musjid, will
they be deprived of this tremendous bounty?
A. No, they will not be deprived. The order of 40 days in this context
applies to only males. Nevertheless, women will receive the same thawaab by
performing Salaat in the rooms where they are living.
Q. My wife wants to become bay’t to a shaikh, but I do not
want her to do so. I have my reasons. Is it permissible for her to take a shaikh
without my consent?
A. It is haraam for her to become bay’t to a shaikh without your
permission.
Q. My husband wants me to end my bay’t with my shaikh and
become bay’t to his murshid. Can he compel me to do this?
A. He has the right to order you to terminate your bay’t. However, if he
does so for no valid Shar’i reason, then he is committing a sin. Nevertheless,
you as his wife, should obey him. He should not compel you to become bay’t to
a shaikh if you have no spiritual munaasabat with him. But to please your
husband, obey him. You will be rewarded much by Allah Ta’ala for your
obedience to him.
Q. My husband is a lewd man. He flirts with women. He has no
care for purdah. He will leave me to attend to all the affairs even if I have to
deal with males. Is it permissible for me to travel with him?
A. Your husband is not a proper Shar’i mahram for the journey. It is not
permissible to go on a journey with him. His fisq and fujoor disqualify him from
being your mahram on a journey.
Q. My mother-in-law has hatred for me. She always complains
about me to her son (my husband). Is this gheebat? What should I do?
A. Her complaints if baseless, are slander and gheebat. You should be
patient. Ignore her slanders. Make dua for her and behave as if you are deaf.
Never react to what she says. Respect her like a mother even if it seems like
drinking poison. Allah will reward you.
Q. A Maulana says that if an Aalim has 99 faults and one good
point, we should not look at his faults, but at his good point. Please comment.
A. We should not look at the faults of anyone. Nevertheless, everyone has
the right to offer naseehat and to admonish a Muslim even if he happens to be an
Aalim.
Q. I did not pay Zakaat on my gold for 20 years, from 1971 to
1991. How should I calculate my Zakaat for all these past years?
A. Let us assume you had 400 grams of gold. Zakaat for 1971 will be 10
grams. Deduct this from the 400 grams. Zakaat for 1972 will be on 390 grams. THe
Zakat on 390 grams will be 9, 75 grams. Deduct this from 390 grams. Zakaat for
1973 will be on 380, 25 grams, Continue calculating in this way. Zakaat is
always one foutieth or 2 and a half percent of the amount. Then add all the
grams of gold which had to be given in Zakaat for the past 20 years. Either give
the total amount of grams in gold as Zakaat or its current price.
Q. Is it permissible to perform qadha Salaat before sunrise
and after Asr Salaat?
A. It is permissible. Only after Asr when the sun’s rays have become very
cool or yellowish, say about 15 minutes before sunset, then it is not
permissible to perform any Salaat except the Asr Fardh of that particular day if
it has not yet been performed. But it is a grave sin to delay the Asr Salaat
until this time.
Q. If a person dies without having discharged all his qadha
Salaat and Saum, can his heirs perform the Salaat and fast on his behalf?
A. It is not valid to fast and perform Salaat on behalf of the mayyit or on
behalf of anyone. Only Fidyah will absolve the mayyit (deceased) of his
obligation. If the mayyit had made a wasiyyat (bequest) for the Fidyah (monetary
compensation) of his Salaat and Saum to be paid, then it will devolve as an
obligation on the heirs to pay the Fidyah from one third the value of all of his
assets.
Q. A daughter worked in her father’s shop for several
years. She was not paid wages nor was a wage agreed for her. She was, however,
allowed to take from the shop whatever she required. After the father’s death
she claims that he owed her wages for all the years she had worked, hence the
estate of her deceased father is indebted to her. Is her claim valid in the
Shariah?
A. She has no claim according to the Shariah. She is not entitled to any
wages since there was no work and wage contract with her father. She cannot
demand any payment from the estate of her father.
Q. My wife annoyed me and I swore at her. I used an abusive
term. She says that it is talaaq.
A. It is not talaaq. The abusive term is a sin. It is not permissible to
abuse and use vulgar language.
Q. Is it permissible for a person to give his own Zakaat to
his brother who cannot make ends meet? He is in heavy debt.
A. It is permissible.
Q. Is it permissible for an aamil to inform a victim of sihr
of the identity of the one who is suspected of having made the sihr?
A. The information which an aamil gains by means of his acts (amals) is not
necessarily correct. It is for this reason that the Shariah does not regard the
effects of such amals as evidence. It is possible for the shaitaan to interfere
in the amals of an aamil. The aamil too can misinterpret the results of his
amals. It is not permissible for an aamil to reveal any identities on the basis
of what he has gleaned from his amals.
Q. When are the hands lowered during Janaazah Salaat
according to the Hanafi Math-hab? Some lower their hands the moment the Imaam
begins with the Salaam.
A. After the fourth Takbeer, just prior to the Salaam, the hands should be
lowered. Generally the hands are lowered after the Salaam. However, according to
Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thaanvi (rahmatullah alayh), the hands should be
lowered after the fourth Takbeer, i.e.before the Salaam.
Q. The Imaam by mistake recites Takbeer the fifth time in
Janaazah Salaat. What should the muqtadis do?
A. The muqtadis should not recite the fifth Takbeer. They should wait
silently for the Imaam to make Salaam. When he makes Salaam, they should follow
him. The Salaat is valid.
Q. Who should pay the Zakaat of the wife?
A. She has to pay her own Zakaat. If her husband wishes to pay her Zakaat,
he may do so with her knowledge and consent.
Q. Who has to pay for the Qur’baani for the wife?
A. She has to pay for her own Qur’baani. Her husband may pay it for her
with her consent.
Q. There is a group of people who celebrate Eidul Adha on the
9th Zil-Hajj. They say that they follow Makkah. When it is the 10th in Makkah,
they celebrate Eid here as well. Are they acting according to the Shariah?
A. This group is deviant. Eidul dha is on 10th Zil Hajj, not on the 9th. We
have to celebrate Eidul Adha when it is the 10th here, not when it is the 10th
elsewhere, whether it be Makkah.
Q. We are told that haraam food may not be given to even
non-Muslims. What should one do if he has some haraam food?
A. If by haraam you mean the food itself is haraam, e.g. haraam meat or food
in which haraam ingredients have been added, then such food should be left
somewhere. An animal passing by will eat it. However, one should not make a
niyyat of feeding it to an animal. It should simply be discarded in some place.
If by haraam you mean that the food itself is halaal but was purchased with
haraam money, then it should be given to the poor.
Q. Does the Shariah impose any controls or restrictions on a
man if he wishes to take a second and a third wife? Some argue that if a man is
not wealthy, it is not permissible for him to marry a second wife. Is this
correct?
A. Marrying a second, third and fourth wife is just like marrying a first
wife. Assuming that a man who is not wealthy or who is poor is not allowed to
marry a second wife, then by the same token he should not be permitted to marry
a first wife. To be wealthy is not a condition for the validity or for even the
permissibility of marriage, whether it be to a first, second, third or fourth
wife. The husband is required to mete out equality...
