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Halal Meat
Question: Recently, a friend of mine attended a lecture by a learned scholar. In response to a question about the meat being sold at the American grocery stores being Halal or not, he replied that there were two things in the Qur’an. First, is the following verse:
Eat not on which Allah’s name has not been pronounced. (6:121)
Then, there is this verse:
The food of the People of the Book is lawful to you and yours is lawful to them. (5:5)
So according to this scholar, the meat at the American grocery stores is not prohibited and he said we would not be sinning if we had that meat but it was better to avoid it. Therefore, my question to you is that can we eat the meat slaughtered by the Americans, considering that they are People of the Book?
Answer: A deliberation on the contexts of 6:121 and 5:5 reveals that the condition imposed by 6:121 (that is Allah’s name should be positively taken on slaughtering an animal) is a universal principle and the food of the People of the Book can only be eaten if, besides other conditions, it also fulfils this condition. These other conditions are stated at various places in the Qur’an. To quote Surah Baqarah:
Believers! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is Him you worship. He has only forbidden you dead meat and blood and the flesh of swine and that on which any name other than Allah has been invoked. (2:172-3)
In other words, just as swine, dead meat, blood, meat on which some other name has been taken cannot be eaten from the tables of the People of the Book, similarly meat on which Allah’s name has not been positively taken cannot be eaten from them.
It needs to be appreciated that 5:5 has a specific background which makes it a verse that cannot be taken independently. Until this verse was revealed, the food of the People of the Book was forbidden for the Muslims. The reason for this was that many lawful edibles had been made unlawful for them by Allah as a means to punish them for their stubbornness*. Similarly, they themselves had made unlawful for themselves edibles which were originally lawful for them like the camel**. Consequently, after the list of lawful and the unlawful edibles was set right by the Prophet (sws), then only were the Muslims allowed to eat from their tables.
Benefiting from Interest Money
Question: I have a bank account. It is a ‘low interest-paying current account’. I normally get only about £30/year as interest. But the bank charges for day to day transactions are quite high (which is unfair). Hence by the end of the year they might charge me £40 +/- for their services. (e.g: bank draft costs £3, withdrawing your own money costs £0.20 per cheque etc). Under these circumstances, can I use the £30 (interest) in paying them for their services, that is to say ‘giving them back their own money’?
Answer: Islam forbids interest since it is morally not justified. Therefore, a person should not in any way use the interest money even if his bank account is ‘forcibly’ credited with it.
The bank charges you have referredto are an absolutely legitimate remuneration of the various services a bank provides you. If their rates are high, it certainly does not mean that you can use money obtained from forbidden means to pay for them. Instead of using the interest money for your own self or for such purposes, it seems befitting that you give it away to the poor or in some welfare projects. This money actually belongs to the society and should accordingly be spent on its needs.
VisitingChurches, Temples and Mosques
Question: Can Muslims go to churches and temples, for the sake of learning about other religions? Also can non-Muslims visit the Holy Ka‘bah and other mosques for such purposes?
Answer: Muslims can certainly go to the places of worship of other religions to learn about them. When they do visit such places, they should be very respectful and observe the proper etiquette. Of course, if necessary, prior permission should be sought from the concerned authorities.
The answer to the second part of your question is that only people who have adopted polytheism as their religion (as some Hindu sects) are not allowed to visit the Holy Ka‘bah. It was about the pagan Arabs who had adopted polytheism as their religion that the Qur’an declared:
Believers, verily these idolaters are unclean [of faith]. So let them not after this year of theirs approach the Sacred Mosque. (9:28)
It is evident from this verse that the real reason of this prohibition is polytheism which has been called impure and unclean. Consequently, this prohibition stands analogously extended to people who have adopted polytheism as their religion. It cannot be extended to the adherents of such monotheistic religions as Judaism and Christianity. Though the followers of Christianity are involved in idolatrous practices yet they never condone to idolatry as the real religion. It must be appreciated that there is a world of difference between getting involved in idolatrous practices while considering them to be non-idolatrous and becoming followers of idolatry itself.
Moreover, as is evident from the verse quoted above, this prohibition for the polytheists is just for the HolyKa‘bah which is the ultimate centre of monotheism. They can visit other mosques if they like.
Who Takes The Souls After Death?
Question: While going through the Qur’an, I have come across verses which say that there are Angels who take the souls at the time of death and at another place it is written that it is in fact Allah who takes the souls. The relevant verses are listed below:
But how will it be when the Angels take their souls at death, and smite their faces and their backs?(47:27)
It is Allah that takes the souls of men at death; and those that die not He takes during their sleep... (39:42)
I was wondering about this ‘inconsistency’ if it is okay to call it by this name. Could you clarify this for me?
Answer: In answering your query, I would like to draw your attention to the everyday styles and patterns a language employs.
When it is said that the massoleum Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, it means that he was the person who was responsible for constructing it. He of course did not construct it with his hands. Similarly, when it is said that Allah gives death to people, this is merely a delineation of the fact that He is the first cause of this. As is evident from the Qur’an, He has actually entrusted this task to His angels.
Consequently, the verse quoted second tells us that it is Allah who is responsible for giving death, while the first verse tells us how He does it.
Why have a Bath after having Sex?
Question: Why is a Muslim husband required to have a bath after having sex with his wife? Why is merely washing the relevant areas not enough? Is such an intimate relationship a dirty thing to do?
Answer: The real message of Islam is purification. Islam wants a person to remain physically as well as spiritually clean. However, the extent of cleanliness required when we become physically impure in certain situations cannot be discovered or ascertained by human intellect. In such situations, it is the Shari‘ah of the Almighty which guides us and prescribes a way. For example, it tells us that the extent of cleanliness required to become ceremonially pure after urinating or passing a wind is to do Wudu. Similarly, it tells us how to become ceremonially pure after having an intimate relationship with one’s wife. Whether the husband and wife after having such a relationship should just wash the relevant parts, do Wudu or have the ceremonial bath are matters in which we ourselves cannot reach a decisive conclusion.
This is similar to the fact that we have been asked to pray five times or asked to fast for a month. In these cases also, we cannot ascertain ourselves the most appropriate number. Thus if the Almighty has said that the basic objective of the prayer is to remind a person of keeping Allah in his remembrance (See 20:14), it is only He the Creator of human nature who knows that five prayers (and not any another number) is the required number to produce the optimum result. Likewise, it is only the Almighty who can tell us that fasting a month (and not for some other period) is the required period to nurture piety in a person which is the basic objective of fasting (See 2:183).
As far as the last part of your question is concerned, it is to be noted that an expression of the animal instincts found in a person makes him unclean to a certain extent. He washes or cleans his hands after having food. Similarly, ejaculation calls for cleanliness in a prescribed way. However, this does not at all mean that eating or drinking or having an intimate relationship with one’s wife are intrinsically dirty acts. They are the needs of a human body. However, they make a person physically unclean and therefore, require purification.
Modelling
Question: Can female Muslims opt for modelling ?
Answer: Muslim ladies can be of two categories: those who are sensitive to right and wrong and others who are indifferent in this regard. While ladies of the latter category, of course, neither ask such questions nor want to be guided in such matters, those of the former category can easily get the answer. No external authority is required. I think that such a Muslim lady should ask this question to herself. Her conscience is enough to answer this question. The norms of decency and modesty are ingrained in human nature and only need to be given heed to in this regard.
The Objective of Islam
Question: What is the objective of Islam? There are numerous revolutionary parties in our society which are working for the enforcement of Islam. Are we required by our religion to join such a party? What are our duties if our state is not following the directives of Islam?
Answer: The objective of Islam is Tadkiyah-i-Nafs (purification of the soul). Today the world is becoming more and more sensitive to environmental pollution. Islam wants us to become sensitive to moral pollution as well. Just as the filth around us pollutes our environment, the evil found in our soul stains it. Eyes may not see it, yet it cannot be concealed from the mind’s vision.
Both our religious concepts and the deeds we do need purification. Also, this purification is required both in the individual as well as the collective spheres of our lives. An individual must purify his concepts and deeds and a collectivity (like a state) must purify its concepts and deeds. The directives for the purification of the individual and those of the collectivity are explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an. Consequently, as an individual, one needs to conform oneself according to these directives. It is one’s duty to do the needful and it is the duty of the state to do what is required from it.
If a Muslim state is not doing what is required of it, then it is being disobedient to the Almighty. In this case, it is the religious obligation of the religious scholars of the country to warn them of the grave consequences of this disobedience.
Joining a revolutionary or any other party is not a religious obligation at all. The responsibility of the common man is to exhort people in his immediate surroundings towards good. Neither is he in a position to reform the state nor is he required to do so by Islam. Of course, this does not mean that he cannot join a party or create a pressure group for communication of his demands regarding the enforcement of Islam.
Explanation of some Qur’anic Verses
Question: I want an explanation of some verses of the Qur’an.
(i) 81:2 describes a particular event which will take place on the Day of Judgement. It is generally translated as ‘when the stars will fall’. It is confusing to imagine the direction in which they will fall since the earth is round. Also, since the stars are larger than the earth, they cannot obviously fall on the earth, though it seems at first sight that this is what is being referred to. Please clarify.
(ii) 86:6-7 mentions that a human being is created from a gushing fluid that springs from between the ribs and the loins. It seems that this is a reference to the blood. Kindly, explain how humans are created from blood.
(iii) 21:33 states that the sun and the moon are moving in an orbit. It has been scientifically proved that the moon is in orbit. However, I do not know what science says about the sun. Please let me know if there is any scientific discovery about whether the sun is also in orbit.
(iv) Who is Luqmanwhom the Qur’an refers to and what is the context of the following verses:
Turn not your cheek in scorn toward folk, nor walk with pertness on the land. Verily, Allah loves not each braggart boaster. Be modest in your bearing and subdue your voice. Indeed, the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass. (31:18-19)
Answers: (i) A more precise translation will perhaps remove your confusion. Read: ‘When the stars fall out’, instead of ‘When the stars fall’. This of course does not mean that the stars will fall down on the earth. It means that they will be dispersed from their positions, and will no longer follow their systematic routine and schedule.
(ii) The reference is not to blood; it is to a man’s seminal fluid about which it is now medically known that the neuron system which controls its release is spread between the ribs and the loins.
(iii) According to modern astronomical advancements and discoveries, the sun together with its solar system is moving in an orbit at the speed of 20 km/sec. Its movement seems outwardly linear to us, but in all probability is following a closed circuit path.
(iv) These verses present a part of the advice given by Luqman to his son as recorded by the Qur’an. Luqman was a wise man who lived many centuries before the Prophet (sws) (some say in the time of the Prophet David (sws)) in the south of Arab in Yemen. His people are the descendants of the nation of ‘Aad. Ancient Arab literature mentions him as a sage and a man of wisdom. He is well-known to the Arabs in this capacity. He seems to have been the ruler of his tribe and his advice and counselling mentioned in the Qur’an show that they were directed to his son and were given at the time when his son was taking over as the tribe ruler after him. The idolaters of Makkah are the addressees of the surah in which these verses occur and the context and background of these verses is that the words of wisdom the Qur’an is presenting before the idolaters of Makkah are nothing new. These words of wisdom of the Almighty are the same as what they know from one of their own sages: Luqman. It is their misfortune caused by their own wrong attitude that they are denying the very facts which are upheld in their own intellectual tradition.
Who is Khidr ?
Question: I am somewhat confused about the story of Moses (sws) in the Qur’an. We are told in Surah Kahaf about a servant of Allah who does certain things which are illegal according to Islamic law. Through Ahadith we find out that he was called ‘Khidr’. I would like answers to the following questions: Was Khidra human, a prophet or an angel? What are the reasons? If he was a human, how is it possible for a human to do illegal things and say that he did them because Allah told him to do so? What is the purpose of this story? Does this story tell us that there are people in this world who are above Islamic laws and have been given a right by Allah to do things which are prohibited in Islam?
Answers: In my opinion, Khidr (as) was an angel sent to instruct and educate the Prophet Moses (sws). Angels we know are entrusted by the Almighty to enforce His directives in accordance with His scheme and will. According to this scheme, He creates and destroys life, blesses some people with favours and deprives some people from these favours to make this world a place of trial and test. The incidents mentioned in this anecdote are of similar nature. A child was killed and a ship made defective at the behest of the Almighty. A human being has no authority to do such deeds even if he is a Prophet. No person is above the laws of the Shari‘ah.
The purpose of mentioning this story is:
(i) All that happens in this world happens with the permission and will of the Almighty. Nothing can happen unless He allows it.
(ii) All of Almighty’s works and actions are based on profound wisdom. If He sometimes allows evil to prosper, it is not that He likes evil; it is at times to give a chance to the evil doers to do more and more evil so that they can be given a grave punishment later on. If He tries and tests pious people by putting them through difficulties and hardships it is not that He dislikes them but that He wants to bless them with a greater reward on showing patience.
(iii) The profundity of Allah’s knowledge cannot be grasped by us in totality. The overall philosophy and wisdom about many of His actions will be revealed to us in the Hereafter. Therefore, we should adopt an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving to Him in circumstances when we are not able to comprehend His will and actions, and we should resign and submit ourselves to Him.
Keeping in view these aspects of the story, it is pretty obvious that the inference that there are people in this world who are above Islamic laws and have been given a right by Allah (swt) to do things which are prohibited in Islam has no basis. It is reiterated that the whole episode delineates the enforcement of the Almighty’s will through his trusted angels for specific purposes and has nothing to do with human proceedings.