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Queries
Homosexual Gratification in Paradise!
Question: I have heard that there is a certain Egyptian scholar who says that believers are promised not only virgins in Paradise but also boys. What he is implying is that one will be able to satisfy one’s sexual urge as one wishes: both genders will be made available to him. He has quoted the following verse of the Qur’an:
They will be attended by boys graced with eternal youth. When you see them, you will think that they are pearls scattered about. (76:19)
Now what does this mean?
Answer: The verse, if interpreted in the right context, means that there will be waiters in the form of young boys in Heaven who will attend to the needs of the inhabitants. These waiters will serve them pure wine and will be young and energetic so that they instantly provide what is asked for. The words ‘eternal youth’ signify that their alertness and vivacity will never leave them. They will forever serve the dwellers of Paradise with vigour and enthusiasm. It must be kept in mind that experience is an essential ingredient of any good service; however, it comes with old age when a person looses most of his eagerness. But in Paradise the experience of old age and the vigour of youth will find themselves blended together.
One can only wonder how a person can derive the conception of homosexual gratification from these verses.
Why is Worship Obligatory?
Question: If God does not need our worship and it is we who need it, then why have certain rituals of worship been made obligatory on us? He could have specified the form and left its amount and quantity to us.
Answer: The sentiments of thanksgiving and gratitude for the Creator are present within every person. It is these sentiments which give rise to worship. In other words, the urge to worship the Almighty is naturally found in every person. The nature of this urge is such that if it is not disciplined, it might cause great imbalance: Man is prone to extremes. In the absence of any stipulated amount of worship, he would have either ended up doing too little or would have gone to such extremes as monasticism. To both these, history bears ample witness.
Who is aKafir?
Question: Who is a Kafir? How can a Christian be a Kafir and still be from among the People of the book?
Answer: A person becomes a Kafir when he denies the truth in spite of being convinced that it is the truth. Since it is humanly impossible for a person to determine whether some person is denying the truth or not, it is only on the basis of information provided by the Almighty that a person can be called a Kafir. In the times of His Rusul, He chose to impart this information to his Rusul through Wahi; however, after the departure of the last Rasul Muhammad (sws), people who have knowingly denied the truth cannot be pinpointed since the institution of Wahi has been terminated. No Muslim preacher is in a position to reveal the truth in a manner a Rasul is able to, nor can he ascertain who among his addressees is guilty of knowingly denying the truth. After the Prophet (sws), only on the Day of Judgement will it now be known whether a particular person is a Kafir or not.
It is evident from this explanation that the Christians and Jews and followers of other religions in times after the Prophet (sws) are not Kafirs; the right name for them is non-Muslims. As far as Christians are concerned, it is to be noted that they are basically followers of monotheism. They never admit to polytheism, though they are involved in it. A person becomes a polytheist when he openly admits that he is a polytheist, even though he may be practising polytheism in some form; the reason is that a person might be doing something wrong without realizing what he is doing; Christians, whether of today or from the period of Jesus (sws), have never admitted to polytheism. Trinity to them is in accordance with monotheism. Of course, we do not agree with them, but unless they realize it, we can only say that in spite of claiming to be monotheists they are involved in polytheism. Their case is the case of a Muslim who goes to the grave of a saint to ask him to grant a wish; we shall not call such a Muslim a polytheist; we shall tell him that what he is doing is something against monotheism to which he himself strongly claims adherence. Similarly, we shall not call Christians polytheists, but we will keep telling them that what they are doing is not in accordance with monotheism.
It is precisely for this reason that the Qur’an never referred to the People of the Book as polytheists though they subscribed to certain blatant forms of polytheism. The Qur’an only called the Ismaelites as polytheists because they admittedly subscribed and testified to the creed of polytheism. They strongly advocated that polytheism was the very religion the Almighty had revealed and claimed that they were the strong adherents to this religion.
Who is the Messiah?
Question: What exactly is a Messiah? Do Muslims believe that Jesus (sws) is the Messiah?
Answer: Messiah in Christian theology refers to a person who is to come and save this world. In other words it means ‘saviour’.
As far as Muslims are concerned, it is their belief that each prophet is a saviour of his people in the sense that if they profess faith in their respective prophet and practice righteous deeds, these people would be saved in the Hereafter. However, after the termination of the institution of Prophethood with Muhammad (sws), the last Prophet, people living in his or later times will only be saved if they profess faith in him. Of course, if due to some reason Muhammad’s message reached a person in a distorted form or if someone misinterpreted it even though he was sincere in his quest for truth, then of course such people will be held accountable on the basis of the basic truths revealed in their intuition.
Dowry
Question: The custom of dowry has become a great impediment to marriage in our society. The worst to suffer is the lower middle class. What does Islam have to say about it? Also, should parents give nothing to their daughter whom they intend to marry off?
Answer: Making marriage conditional upon dowry is no doubt a great social evil. As such, it is condemnable. It is really shameful if the bridegroom or his family demand dowry from the bride. This has indeed become a great hindrance to marriage. We see several girls going past their marriageable age because their families cannot meet this demand.
However, if the bride’s parents want to gift something to her on their own without any pressure from the other side, then this cannot be objected to. The only thing is that this should not become a show of wealth or pomposity whereby a wrong trend is set in the society, which, of course, would be detrimental for the deprived classes. An effective way to avoid making a display of such gifts is to give them much earlier or perhaps much later than the ceremony.
Are Ladies allowed to do Make-up?
Question: Is it religiously correct to do make-up and wear Bindyah, which is a kind of an ornamental mark worn between the two eye brows.
Answer: In principle, Islam has not forbidden women to satisfy their natural desire of beautifying themselves. It is the Almighty Himself who has placed this urge in them. At the same time, Islam is the religion of inner purification. It wants a person to always remain mindful of this. Therefore, make-up should neither exceed the limits nor become a means of showing off. In the light of this principle, you can judge for yourself about adorning one’s self with Bindiyah.
Severing Ties with Relatives who Disobey God
Question: I was at a study circle where someone asked a question. She said she had a brother who was living with a non-Muslim woman he was not married to. She refuses to meet him and has cut ties with him even though her family encourages her to ignore his sins and accept him as a brother. Is this the right attitude?
Answer: Severing ties with one’s blood relation even if he is leading a life of sin is not the correct attitude. If a person has fallen into evil, he, more than any one else, deserves compassion, especially if he is such a close relation. We should remember that a Muslim’s job is to keep on trying to reform a lost soul. We must be persistent in our efforts and never give up for this is all what we have been asked to do; it is upon Allah to give guidance and upon us to keep striving. The only thing is that one should be very wise in tackling deviant people. One should first of all develop a very deep friendship with such people. Every person has a heart and if you have the right approach the heart can be melted.
Who are theBanu Isma’il?
Question: I have read the words Bani Isma’ilso many times in the Qur’an but I don’t know who or what the Bani Isma’il are.
Answer: The word ‘Bani’or ‘Banu’means ‘children’. So the expression implies the children of the Prophet Isma’il(sws). Historically, we know that they were the major inhabitants of Arabia during and before the time of the Prophet (sws). They had become involved in polytheism (shirk) and openly said that this was the religion Allah had revealed; precisely because of this belief, they were also called ‘Mushrikin’(pagans; idolaters). The Old Testament uses the word ‘Ismaelites’for them, just as it uses the word ‘Israelites’(Bani Isra’il) for the children of the Prophet Isaac (sws), who we know was a brother of the Prophet Isma’il(sws).
Did Khadijah (rta) propose to Muhammad (sws)?
Question: Is it true that Khadijah proposed to the Prophet Muhammad (sws)?
Answer: Yes, this seems to be true. History tells us that Muhammad (sws) had gone to sell some merchandise in a caravan owned by Khadijah, at that time a rich and successful business lady. She was much impressed by tales of Muhammad’s honesty (which was hard to come by in those days), which she heard from other members of the caravan. She then expressed her wish to marry Muahammad (sws), to which he showed his consent.
It needs to be appreciated that a marriage proposal can be initiated by either side. Islam has not given any directive in this regard and left the matter to the customs and traditions of a society.
Serving Prohibited Items
Question: I am a Muslim living in Ireland. I wish to open a nursing home for elderly people. Will it be okay to serve pork and alcohol to the residents of this nursing home since all the residents here would be Christians? The pork will not be cooked by us; it will be cooked by a Christian and we would not be eating in the nursing home.
Answer: Buying and selling of prohibited items even for non-Muslims is not allowed. The reason is that the prohibition of such items has a moral basis and morality is not selective. According to Islam, what is immoral for Muslims is immoral for non-Muslims also. Therefore, it is not advisable to indulge in such a business, unless of course you are facing compelling circumstances.
Reading the Milad
Question: Can we organize a ‘Milad Mahfil’at any time and at any place (mosque/home)? If not, then why not? Please give response in the light of authentic Hadith.
Answer: There is nothing wrong in the absolute sense with organizing Milad gatherings. It all depends on what is read in the Milad and what the intention is while reading it. If what is read does not go into the realms of polytheism (as it does on most occasions) and the intention is just to offer Du’a for the Prophet (sws), then this cannot be objected to. It is commendable to read about the life of the Prophet (sws) and remind one another of his character, for his life is a role model for all of us.
The other thing is that Milad was non existent in the early times; so you will not find any Hadith dealing with this subject.
Praying behind a ‘Bad’ Imam
Question: Somebody told me that it is prohibited to say the prayer behind any person who commits shirk (polytheism). But, as you know, saying prayer in the mosque is recommended. Now the imam of our mosque is a person who goes to the graves of saints and invokes them for help, which, of course, is shirk. But my problem is that there is no other mosque near my house. What should I do in this situation?
Answer: Subscribing to polytheism, which means willfully adopting it, is one thing and succumbing to a form of polytheism while at the same time thinking that it is not polytheism is entirely another. While the former makes a person a grave sinner in the eyes of the Almighty, the latter may afford him some excuse if he has fallen into it in spite of sincerely trying to avoid it. No doubt, people who invoke the help of saints are committing a form of polytheism, but if you have a discussion with them on this, they will tell you that what they do is certainly not polytheism and falls within the ambit of monotheism.
Praying behind ‘such’ imams cannot be regarded as prohibited. Of course, if you had a choice you could have gone to some other mosque. Since you do not, praying in congregation behind an imam who has some wrong views is better than praying individually at home.
Religious Freedom and Abraham’s Idol-Bashing ?
Question: If the religion of Islam allows religious freedom, why did Abraham (sws) smash the idols of the idolaters?
Answer: The motive of Abraham (sws) in bashing the idols is the real barometer to judge whether Islam tolerates other religions or not. If his motive were that during his preaching phase he would forcibly stop his people from idol worship come what may -- then this would amount to intolerance. If this was not the motive, then of course it would be otherwise.
So, the bashing of the idols by Abraham (sws) must be understood in the correct Qur’anic perspective. If we reflect on the various Qur’anic verses that mention this episode, it becomes clear that the bashing was no bashing in the real sense. It was only meant to convince his people that the idols they were worshipping could not even defend themselves, and therefore could not save those who were worshipping them. So effective was this scheme that we come to know from the Qur’an (21:64-5) that the people even realized their folly. However, as the later verses show they did not pay heed to this realization and decided to punish Abraham (sws) by throwing him into fire.
Using Interest Money received to pay Interest
Question: Accounts that I have at the bank all pay varying rates of interest. I usually donate the interest amounts to charity. Now, if I undertake a loan in which I pay an interest rate and only pay the interest amount due with the interest that I receive from my accounts (but pay the principle amount with my own earnings). Am I, in your opinion, in error?
Answer: I think that there is no harm in this dealing. The interest you are getting is not your right Islamically, while the interest you are paying is an injustice you are encountering. So, it is merely a situation of paying something that was not your right in order pay to off something that should not have been demanded from you in the first place.
A Justification for Interest
Question: I want to ask you a question about interest. Actually I have an Indian friend, who gave me a simple example to justify interest: Suppose Ahmad borrows some money from Ali and promises that he will refund it within a month, but fails to do that. Because of Ahmad’s failure to return t on time, Ali charges 10% as interest! Would this be unfair? If it is unfair to Ahmad that interest be charged, then wouldn’t it be unfair to Ali also that interest not be charged because he waited more than their decided time period. So, we can say that this 10% is a reward for Ali’s patience, and if he were able to obtain his money from Ahmad on time, he could have completed many of his urgent tasks by his money. Now, I am unable to refute this justification. Can you help me in the points raised by my friend?
Answer: I am afraid the example given by your friend is not analogous with interest-based transactions. Interest deals do not work the way this example describes.
In the example, the borrower is in default by virtue of his non-payment at the appointed time. Therefore, a penalty cannot be objected to if it is agreed upon by boththe parties beforehand. However, in all interest deals, the borower is liable to the penalty (ie the interest amount) even if he returns his money on the appointed time. For example, if I borrow Rs 5000 from you and return it to you within the stipulated period, I will still be required to pay an extra amount to you. So, you see, this is different from the example your friend has given.