Miscellaneous Masa'il

A few important masa'il

1. It is not permissible to eat at a place wherein most of the things that are sold are haraam . However, if a person inquires with regard to a particular item that is being sold there and is given a reply that it is halaal , then he will have to check on the person who gave him the information. If the person is a pious and religious-minded person, one can act on his information without any hesitation. If the person is a sinful person, or one does not know whether he is a pious person or not, then one should check with one's heart. If the heart says that this person is honest, it will be permissible to act upon his information. But if the heart is not inclined towards believing him, it will not be permissible to act upon his information. For example, the selling of mangoes (or any other fruit) prior to the crop even appearing on the trees. You have read previously that this is haraam . If this practice is in vogue in a particular place and the mangoes sell at a lower price after maturity, then the above-mentioned mas'ala will apply. If you are given the information that certain mangoes were sold after maturity, it will be permissible for you to eat them. It will not be permissible to eat them if you do not know when they were sold (after maturity or before).

2. It is prohibited to speak ill or curse a sickness (that one is afflicted with).

3. If a kaafir woman (or man) comes willingly to you in order to accept Islam and there is no fear of any fight or civil strife in her accepting Islam, then make her a Muslim. The method of making a person into a Muslim is as follows: Make the person recite the kalimah

and explain its meaning as well, i.e. There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. She must also say: "I believe in all the prophets, all the books of Allah, the angels, life after death and predestination (taqdeer) . I have left my previous religion and accepted the religion of the Muslims. I will offer the five times salaat and keep the fasts of Ramadaan . If I have the stipulated amount of wealth, I will give zakaat . If I have sufficient funds, I will perform the hajj . I will follow all the orders of Allah and His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and abstain from all the things which they have prohibited. O Allah! Keep me firm on Deen and Imaan . Help me in fulfilling all pious and religious acts." Thereafter, all those who are present should make the following dua to Allah: "O Allah! Accept this person's Islam. Keep us firm on Imaan and make us die on Imaan as well."

4. Do not backbite.

5. Do not believe in rumours.

6. Some women are of the opinion that as long as impure clothes are not dried after having washed them, they are not pure and that salaat with such clothes is not permissible. This is incorrect. On account of not knowing this mas'ala , many women miss their salaats . Where will they ever make qadaa of these missed salaats ? You should not think in this manner. Salaat with wet clothes is definitely permissible.

7. Clothing that causes the arms, hair of the head, neck, etc. to be exposed invalidates salaat . (This is applicable to women)

8. If a poor person is strong enough to work but still goes around begging, it will not be permissible to give him anything.

9. If you are travelling by train (or any other mode of public transport) and there is no water to make wudu , make tayammum and offer your salaat . Do not miss the salaat .

10. Some women do not observe purdah with their workers and labourers. This is a major sin.

11. Do not use items that belong to others without the owner's permission. This is irrespective of how insignificant the item may be. After using the item, do not leave it lying around. Instead, return it to the owner or inform him that you have left the item at a particular place.

12. The different rules, regulations and stipulations that have been laid down by the different authorities with regard to the different modes of public transport (such as buses, trains, planes, etc.) have to be followed. It is not permissible to act contrary to those rules, to cheat on the authorities, or to conceal anything from them. For example, if a person is travelling with a third class ticket by train, he is permitted to carry a certain amount of luggage (30-40 kilos or whatever the case maybe). If he has any luggage that is in excess of the stipulated amount, he will have to pay for the excess luggage according to whatever is stipulated per kilo. If a person takes this excess luggage into the train without having it weighed, even if the authorities do not spot him, he will be committing a sin. If he bribes the authorities into permitting him to take the excess luggage (without any additional payment), he will be committing a double sin - one for taking the excess luggage and another for bribing the authorities.

Similarly, they have a rule that if a child is under three years old, he can travel free of charge. If he is between three and twelve years of age, he will have to pay half the normal rate. If he is above twelve years, he will have to pay the full adult rate. Based on this, if a person takes a child who is above three years without paying for his ticket, or informs the authorities that the child is under three years old (despite being over three years old), he will be sinning. In the same way, if a child is above twelve years and the person informs the authorities that he is under twelve years and therefore purchases a half-ticket, he will also be sinning.

In all these cases, the person will have to pay on the day of judgement - not with money but by giving away his good deeds and he will have to bear the evil deeds of the authorities (whom he had cheated).

13. These days, young Muslim men read a lot of English literature. Many things which are contrary to the Deen are found in such books and magazines. Most of these youngsters who read such books have no knowledge of the Deen . This results in many of them having no Imaan in their hearts. Furthermore, many of them utter certain things which cause them to lose their Imaan . If a Muslim girl has married one of these youngsters, their marriage is not considered to be valid in the Shariah . If the marriage is not valid, it would mean that their entire lives are spent in sinning. The consequences of this will have to be borne by the parents in this world and there is the fear of punishment in the hereafter as well. It is therefore extremely important and necessary that just as you inquire about the family background and financial position of the boy who proposes to your daughter, it is much more important for you to inquire and check whether he is religiously-minded or not. If you do not know anything about his religiosity, don't ever give your daughter to him. A religious-minded poor person is a thousand times better than a rich person who has no Deen in him. It has also been noticed that the person who does not have any Deen in him is unable to fulfil the rights of his wife and does not even have any feelings for her. At times he will not even give her a cent to spend (on herself). When there is no tranquillity in such cases, why do people then crave for affluent partners?

14. If you make any mistakes in the recitation of the Quran, correct these mistakes immediately or have them corrected by someone. Do not leave it for a later date because it is highly possible that you will forget to have such mistakes corrected. If you do not have these mistakes corrected, you will read the Quran incorrectly forever and will also remain a sinner (for not correcting these mistakes).

15. Do not answer anyone's question if you do not remember a particular mas'ala properly or if you are unsure of it.

16. Some people are in the habit of deluding others in accepting their counterfeit notes. If they are unable to delude anyone, they try to use them by purchasing something at night (when others are unable to decipher the actual nature of the notes). This is a major sin. You should return the notes to the person who had given them to you. You could return them to him by warning him that they are counterfeit notes or you could use any other strategy in returning them to him. However, this will only be permissible if you know for sure that he is the one who had given them to you. If you have the slightest doubt regarding him, you cannot return them to him.

17. At times a person lies down and closes his eyes as if he is sleeping. Two persons, sitting nearby and assuming him to be sleeping, begin speaking certain private matters. Had they known that this person is not sleeping, they would have not engaged in this private conversation. In such a situation, it is wajib on the person who is lying down to get up and show that he is not sleeping. He should not eavesdrop on their conversation. If not, he will be committing a sin.

18. It is not permissible to transact in currency notes at a price that is higher or lower than the face value of the note. (Note: This applies particularly in the Indo-Pak subcontinent where old/torn notes are exchanged for new notes at a slightly higher price.)

19. It is not permissible to read a letter that has been addressed to someone else without that person's permission.

20. Do not throw around the hair that remains in the comb after having combed your hair. At the same time, do not leave that hair lying around whereby a ghayr mahram may see it. A woman has to conceal such hair as well. You should rather dig a small hole in the ground and bury that hair.

21. Whatever is prohibited from being mentioned orally is also prohibited from being mentioned in writing. For example, gheebah , speaking high of yourself, etc.

22. There can be several doubts in a message conveyed by telex. News regarding the sighting of the moon through telex messages is therefore not considered.

23. When a place is afflicted by a plague, it is prohibited to leave that place with the intention of saving yourself from the plague. The person who remains in that place and exercises patience shall receive the reward of a martyr.

24. Do not address anyone as a bastard, bitch, pig, or any other type of word which would be considered to be a form of swearing the person's parents. What have those poor persons done to you? Furthermore, when rebuking or scolding a person for a shortcoming or mistake which he may have committed, do not scold him more than the actual extent of his mistake.

25. It is makruh to smoke cigarettes, pipes, etc. unnecessarily. If one is forced to do so, there is no harm. However, one should clean one's mouth thoroughly prior to offering salaat . The mouth could be cleaned with a miswaak , brush or any other cleaning agent. If the foul smell remains in one's mouth while offering salaat , this causes discomfort to the angels. It is for this reason that this is prohibited.

26. If opium or any other drug is given as a form of medication and the quantity is such that no intoxication whatsoever results in this, it will be permissible to consume. However, some women are in the habit of giving their children opium so that the children may remain sleeping. This is not permissible.

27. A mature girl should not be made to study the Quran (or anything else) under a young man.

28. Scraps of paper that have something written on them should also be respected. They should not be thrown around. Waste paper and (old newspaper) that is used to wrap items should not be thrown around. Such paper should either be kept safely (for later use) or burnt. In the same way, if you find scraps of paper on the road and something is written on them, then pick them up, keep them safely or burn them.

29. Bits and pieces of bread that are left on the dining-table should not be swept away to places where they would be trampled upon. Instead, they should be swept to a corner or some other place that does not fall in anyone's path.

30. If anyone is busy writing a letter, it is prohibited to sit next to the person and look at what he is writing.

31. A person has wounds or sores in the lower portion of the body and water will be harmful to these wounds or sores. If such a person is in need of a bath and is unable to prevent water from falling on the lower portion of his body, it will be permissible for him to make tayammum .

32. It is permissible to recite durood even if a person is not in a state of wudu , in need of ghusl , or a woman is in a state of haid or nifaas .

33. It is prohibited to pierce the ear or nose of a boy.

34. It is prohibited to keep evil names for one's children. Good names should be kept. The names of prophets should be kept. Alternatively, the word "Abd" should be added to any of the many names of Allah Ta'ala, e.g. Abdullah, Abdur Rahmaan, Abdul Baari, Abdul Quddus, Abdul Fattaah, etc. Alternatively, consult an aalim who would choose a name for your child.

35. It is the belief of ignorant women that once the salaat is offered, the musalla (prayer mat) should be folded, if not, shaytaan will sit on it. This is absolutely incorrect.

36. Ignorant persons believe that when a woman passes away while in labour (or giving birth) she becomes a ghost. This is absolutely wrong. In fact, it is mentioned in a Hadith that such a woman dies a martyr.

37. Ignorant persons believe that when a woman passes away, her husband cannot even touch the beams of the bier. This is incorrect. In fact, the husband can even look at the face of his deceased wife.

38. If a woman passes away while she is pregnant and it is known that the child is still alive, her womb should be opened and the child removed. In one place, a deceased woman was being given the ghusl . The women who were bathing her perceived signs of the child (that was in the deceased woman's womb) being born. The women got excited and completed the task of bathing quickly and hurriedly enshrouded her in the kafan . When the woman was placed in the grave, (the men who were burying her) perceived the birth of the child from within the kafan . It is extremely sad that no one opened the kafan to check. Instead, they immediately placed the wooden beams over the body and covered the grave with sand. It is a disgrace both to the women and the men. All this happened due to lack of knowledge of the Deen .

39. It is a major sin to cause events to be foretold or the names of a guilty person to be foretold irrespective of whether this is done through a jinn , a sandal, or through any other means.

40. Women are not in the habit of greeting each other with "As salaamu alaykum" and embracing each other. There is great merit in carrying out such acts. Women should be taught these things.

41. If you are a guest at someone's house, do not give anything to those who come begging.

42. The bladder of all animals is impure like the urine of those animals. The cud of an animal is impure like the excreta of that animal.

43. If a Quran or parts of the Quran has become so torn that one is unable to read in it, or there are so many printing mistakes in it that one is unable to correct the mistakes, then such a Quran should be wrapped in a clean cloth and buried at a place where no one walks. The Quran should be buried in such a way that no sand falls onto it. This could be done in two ways: (i) dig a hole similar to that of a grave which has a crevice or cleft on one side, (ii) dig a hole, place the Quran inside, place a piece of timber over it and then cover the entire hole with sand.