Hadith Library

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made Zakat al-Fiṭr, which is due at the end of Ramadan, a duty on all Muslims. Needless to say, a duty stated by the Prophet is the same as if it is stated by God, as He says: ‘Whoever obeys God’s Messenger obeys God’. (4: 80) It is a personal duty on all Muslims, according to the consensus of the majority of scholars. [1] The Prophet made it a reparative measure for any omission, forgetfulness or error that might have occurred during the fasting month of Ramadan. Its other purpose is the provision of plentiful food for the poor and needy, so that they do not have to beg on the Day of Eid. They will thus be able to participate fully in the happy occasion of Eid. Ibn ‘Abbās said: ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) established the duty of Zakat al-Fiṭr as purification from idle talk and unbecoming behaviour on the part of the fasting person and as food for the needy’. [2]

2. The amount of Zakat al-Fiṭr is one ṣā‘ of dates, barley, rice, or some other type of staple food, as Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudrī explains: ‘We used to pay Zakat al-Fiṭr one ṣā‘ of food, or barley, or dates, or dried milk, or raisins.’ [3] The ṣā‘ was a volume measure equal to the fill of the two cupped hands of an average man four times. It is estimated in weight at around 2.17 kilograms. 

This and other hadiths indicate that the duty of Zakat al-Fiṭr requires paying it in kind not value. This was the practice of the Prophet and his companions. However, it is acceptable to give it in money which is used to buy food.

3. It is a binding duty on all Muslims: male and female, young and old. During the time of slavery, it was a duty on slaves as well, but the master paid it.

It is binding on everyone who owns what is in excess of his own and his family’s food for the day and night of Eid. Thus, a man must pay it for himself, his wife, family, children and slaves.

It becomes a duty at sunset on the last day of the month of Ramadan. Thus, if a child is born before sunset on that day, his father must include that child in his Zakat al-Fiṭr. The same applies to one who goes through his marriage contract before sunset. He pays it for his wife. If either event takes place after sunset, then no Zakat al-Fiṭr is required for either child or wife. This is the same as the case of one who dies after his annual zakat becomes due. It must be taken out of his estate and paid to its beneficiaries. 

The hadith makes clear that Zakat al-Fiṭr is not applicable to a non-Muslim, because its purpose is spiritual purification for Muslims. 

4. The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded that Zakat al-Fiṭr should be taken out before people left home to join the Eid Prayer. He then added the concession that it could be paid out one or two days before the end of Ramadan. [4] If it is delayed beyond that time, it becomes unacceptable, and the person who delays it is accountable for his misdeed. This is based on Ibn ‘Abbās’s hadith: ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) established the duty of Zakat al-Fiṭr as purification from idle talk and unbecoming behaviour on the part of the fasting person and as food for the needy. Whoever pays it before the [Eid] Prayer, it is counted as acceptable zakat. If it is paid after the Eid Prayer, it is a mere act of charity’. [5]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) limited the beneficiaries of Zakat al-Fiṭr to the poor and needy. It may not be paid to any of the other beneficiaries of zakat.

Implementation

1. God has established Zakat al-Fiṭr to compensate for any short fall that occurs during the fasting month of Ramadan, such as idle talk or minor sins. Thus, paying it makes the fasting perfect and a Muslim earns his reward in full. Therefore, whoever wants to have the full reward of his fasting the month of Ramadan must pay his Zakat al-Fiṭr. 

2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made Zakat al-Fiṭr the means to make the poor self-sufficient on the Day of Eid, so that the festive occasion of the Eid is shared by all Muslims. Therefore, every Muslim should be keen to pay it, to earn his reward and to ensure that those around him are also happy. 

3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made Zakat al-Fiṭr an act expressing gratitude to God, the Exalted, for enabling us to fast and attend to our worship during Ramadan. Therefore, every Muslim should hasten to thank God for His blessings and favours, as also for enabling him to attend to acts of worship many people fail to do. 

4. Zakat al-Fiṭr is a small amount that does not burden a Muslim. No one should ignore or begrudge it. 

5. Although the various types of zakat and ṣadaqah are small in amount, but they are offered directly to God. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whenever a person gives a ṣadaqah [i.e. charity] from good earnings – and God accepts nothing except what is good – God, the Lord of Grace will take it in His right hand. Even if it is as little as one date, it will grow in the Lord of Grace’s palm until it becomes larger than a mountain, just like any of you rears his weaned cow or weaned camel’. [6]

6. Zakat al-Fiṭr is a duty binding on every Muslim who is alive during Ramadan until sunset on the last day of the month. Every Muslim must pay it for himself and his dependants.

7. It is not right for a Muslim to delay paying Zakat al-Fiṭr until people have left home to attend the Eid Prayer. It is far better to pay it early, before he is distracted by other duties and liable to miss its time. It is invalid when its time is gone.

1. Al-Nawawī, al-Majmū‘ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, Vol. 6, p. 104.

2. Related by Abu Dāwūd, 1609; Ibn Mājah, 1827.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 1506; Muslim, 985. 

4. Ibn‘Umar said: ‘They used to pay Zakat al-Fiṭr one or two days before Eid’. Related by al-Bukhari, 1511.

5. Related by Abu Dāwūd, 1609; Ibn Mājah, 1827.

6. Related by al-Bukhari, 1410; Muslim, 1014.

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that God, Mighty and Exalted, said: ‘All man’s actions are his except fasting: it is Mine and I reward it’. The fact is that all acts of worship belong to God, but in this hadith God gives special mention to fasting as belonging to Him. This is to enhance the status of fasting giving it specific honour. It is the same as calling the Grand Mosque in Makkah ‘God’s House’, or calling the she-camel which was the miracle given to Prophet Ṣāliḥ

Fasting is given this special status because it is the one act of worship that is totally free of hypocrisy. It is the one act of worship that is possible to be totally hidden from angels and humans. Moreover, it involves physical hardship, humility and endurance of hunger and thirst. It also combines all types of perseverance not only in terms of accomplishing this worship, but also in resisting temptation and sin as fasting stops man from indulging in all manner of sin.

Hence, God has kept the reward for fasting a secret known only to Himself. He has informed the recording angels of the details of reward for prayer and zakat. However, He has not informed them of the reward for fasting, so that He will administer it Himself on the Day of Judgement.

2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then tells us that fasting is a protective shield. It keeps a person away from the Fire on the Day of Judgement. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whenever a servant of God fasts a day when he is on God’s cause, God will, in return for that day set his face seventy autumns away from the Fire’. [1]

Fasting is also a shield keeping a Muslim away from sin and disobedience of God, as it serves as a restraint, weakening temptation and sexual desire. Hence the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: ‘Young people, whoever of you can meet marriage requirements, should get married. For marriage helps to lower one’s gaze and maintain chastity. Whoever cannot, may resort to fasting, and it will be of help’. [2]

3. Given fasting protects a person from Hell and keeps him away from sin that takes him closer to it, the Prophet points out what a fasting person must avoid, such as intercourse and foreplay, vulgar speech and quarrels, etc. If someone abuses him verbally or seeks to quarrel with him, he should only say: ‘I am a fasting person’. He first says this to himself so that he will not attempt what is not permissible for a fasting person. He also says it clearly to his opponent so that the other knows that he is refraining from returning his abuse because he is fasting. Otherwise, he would be more than a match for him. This may be enough to restrain an opponent, as he will realize that the man’s silence is not a sign of weakness. Moreover, the other person may also be fasting, and this remark reminds him of his fasting and what is not permissible during this time.

4. The Prophet, who always said the truth and never deviated from it, swears by God, that the mouth smell of a fasting person is in God’s sight better than the smell of musk. Fasting causes a change to a person’s mouth smell, making it unpleasant. However, it is acceptable to God and draws the fasting person closer to Him. He rewards His servant giving him on the Day of Judgement a fine smell which is better than the best we have in our world. This is the same as God rewarding a martyr by giving his blood the smell of musk. In our present life, God rewards a person for applying musk or perfume when attending Friday, congregational or Eid prayers. However, a fasting person is compensated for his changing mouth smell by a reward greater than that given to the one applying musk when attending congregational prayers. 

5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then tells us that a fasting person has two occasions to rejoice. The first is when he breaks his fast at the end of the day. He is delighted with having good food and drink after a day of hunger and thirst. It is a natural and permissible feeling. Moreover, he rejoices at being able to complete his fast, and that God has helped him to ensure that his fast is correct.

The other occasion for rejoicing is when the fasting person meets God Almighty and sees what He has prepared for him of reward that has been kept unknown to any of His creation.

Implementation

1. God has given fasting a special kind of merit as He kept it for Himself, with its exceptionally rich reward unknown to anyone else. Hence, every Muslim should make the best use of this and fast voluntarily as often as he can. 

2. It is a great merit that God has given to fasting, making it His own. A Muslim cannot do much better than making the most of this honour by increasing his voluntary fasting in addition to obligatory fasting.  

3. Fasting provides a protective shield from Satan and his temptations. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) highlights this aspect for young people who cannot afford to get married. He tells them that fasting helps in resisting temptation.

4. Fasting protects the worshipper from the Fire which is fuelled by humans and stones. God states that

5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) states that a fasting person must not get involved in verbal abuse or quarrels. Such matters are not permissible to anyone, but the Prophet’s order emphasizes the status of a fasting person, making it clear that he must not degrade himself by being involved in such matters.

6. It is permissible for a person to speak about some aspects of his worship, if this is intended to achieve something good or to repel what is bad or foul, involving no element of pretence and hypocrisy. Therefore, it is permissible for a fasting person who finds himself at the receiving end of verbal abuse to say to the other party that he is fasting. 

7. The Prophet, who always says the truth, confirmed his statement adding an oath by God. Sometimes it is suitable for an advocate of Islam or an educator to do the same, but not frequently. 

8. If a fasting person is inconvenienced by the change of his mouth smell, he should remember that such a foul smell is considered good by God, and that he himself gains a reward for it.

9. The hadith does not imply any discouragement of using a toothstick during fasting. The changed smell emanates from the stomach, not the mouth. Moreover, the hadith does not order a fasting person to leave that smell without trying to change it. It only reassures the fasting person.

10. The hadith implies that rejoicing at the end of the fasting day, and that one is now able to eat and drink, is neither reprehensible nor forbidden. It is a natural and permissible feeling, because it is an aspect of human nature to be delighted with food and drink. 

11. Rejoicing at having food and drink after a fasting day is permissible. However, man’s rejoicing at having received God’s help to complete his fast is an act of thanking God for His blessings and favours. This, in itself, is an act of worship that earns a reward. 

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 2840; Muslim, 1153

2.  Related by al-Bukhari, 5065; Muslim, 1400.

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that a believer fasts the month of Ramadan believing that God, Mighty and Exalted, has made such fasting a duty binding on him, holding as true what God has promised those who fast for His sake, looking for his reward from God only, looking for reward from no-one else. He only seeks to please God, neither seeking reputation nor indulging in hypocrisy, and he starts the month with a delightful mood, using his time to draw closer to God. Such a person shall have the reward of having all his past sins erased and forgiven.

Fasting means abstention from eating, drinking and sex with the intention of fulfilling an act of worship. Such abstention lasts from the beginning of Fajr Prayer, or dawn, up to the time when the Maghrib Prayer falls due. This is in implementation of the Qur’anic statement:

In a qudsī hadith, God says of a fasting person: ‘He abandons his desire and food for My sake’. [1]

2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then states that whoever spends the Night of Power in worship, including prayer, supplication, glorification of God, reciting the Qur’an, etc. and doing all this out of faith and in dedication and devotion, shall have all his past sins erased. It is not a condition that a person spends the entire night in worship; a portion of it is sufficient, even though it may be a short portion. This is in line with the general meaning of tahajjud, i.e. night worship, or joining the imam leading a prayer of night worship.

The Night of Power is given this name because God has given it an exceptionally great status. It was on this night that the Qur’an was sent down to the House of Might in the nearest heaven,

On this night, the fortunes of people that will take place in the coming year are copied from the Imperishable Tablet, and assigned their timings. God has favoured His servants with a multiplication of their good deeds on that night.

The Night of Power is kept uncertain, but it is during the last ten days of Ramadan. Whoever offers night worship on all the ten nights will definitely have done his worship on this night. The Mother of Believers,

3. In the second hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that whoever offers night worship on all nights of Ramadan, out of faith and in dedication and devotion, shall have all his past sins forgiven. There is no contradiction between having one’s sins forgiven for doing night worship throughout the month of Ramadan and their forgiveness for doing so on the Night of Power. Each of these two practices is good enough for the forgiveness of past sins, but each of them has something special which does not apply to the other. Offering night worship on every night of the month is certainly hard, but whoever does it shall inevitably have witnessed the Night of Power. He is forgiven his past sins for having done each one of the two. To offer worship on the Night of Power is not as hard as doing this throughout the month, but it requires looking hard for it, and one may ultimately witness it or miss it. Therefore, it is better to offer night worship on each night of the month, because it earns very rich reward as also certainty that the Night of Power has been included.  

Implementation

1. One aspect of the grace God bestows on us is that He gives certain times and places special and exclusive merits. Hence, the Day of Arafat is the best day of the year, and Friday is the best day of the week. The Ka‘bah is the best place on earth, the month of Ramadan the best month in the year, and the Night of Power is the best of all nights. God has associated these times and places with a great prospect for splendid success, to motivate man to be diligent and keen to make the best use of these occasions. 

2. Good deeds must be offered out of faith and in true dedication and devotion. Good deeds are unacceptable from an unbeliever. A person who does not do it as an act of dedication, or one who does it to earn some reputation or to give a false impression of himself will earn no reward for his good deed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Actions are but by intention’. Therefore, a Muslim should have clear intention in everything he does and dedicate all his deeds to seeking God’s pleasure.

3. Faith and dedication must be the basis of every good action. Both are combined in the definition of God-fearing stated by Ṭalq ibn Ḥabīb: ‘That you act in obedience of God, clear by God’s light, seeking God’s reward, and that you abandon disobedience of God, clear by God’s light, fearing God’s punishment’. Every action must have faith as its starting point and God’s reward and pleasure as its ultimate objective. 

4. God kept the Night of Power undefined so that His servants would increase their efforts in obeying Him at all times, rather than concentrating their efforts on one night only. Likewise, He kept the time of answering prayers on Fridays undefined so that His servants prayed to Him throughout the day. 

5. Disobedience of God is one of the most important reasons that prevent a person from making use of the best times for worship. The Prophet came out of his home to tell people the time of the Night of Power, but he saw two men quarrelling in the mosque. This was the direct cause for his forgetting its exact time. Hence, a Muslim should steer away from all sin, so that God gives him light in his heart and enables him to make the best of good times and deeds. 

6. Everyone has two ways to earn God’s forgiveness: one is hard but the hardship is coupled with the pleasure of obedience of God and being close to Him. This way is doing night worship on every night of Ramadan. The other way is easier, limiting one’s worship to the Night of Power only. The first way gives complete certainty, while the second relies on probability. Needless to say, the certain way is much better.

7. Ibn Rajab said: ‘The ones in love find the nights numerous. They count them awaiting the ten nights of every year. When they have these, their wait is over and they can serve the One they love’.

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 1894; Muslim, 1151.

2. Related by al-Bukhari, 2024; Muslim, 1174.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 2017; Muslim, 1169.

4. Ibn Rajab, Laṭāʼif al-Ma‘ārif, p. 204.

In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) makes clear that the ultimate objective of fasting is to be God-fearing and to safeguard one’s tongue and body organs against what is sinful. This is stated in the verse that establishes the duty of fasting. God says:

When fasting, a person abstains from food and drink, but he is also required to abstain from all verbal falsehood which includes lying, backbiting and the like. He is further required to be in control of what he says, using no foul language and refusing to be drawn into a slanging match or exchange of verbal abuse. All such language is unacceptable, particularly when coupled with any loud noise. All this is disapproved of by the Prophet (peace be upon him) who says: “If any of you is fasting, he must neither say what is obscene nor shout. If someone abuses him verbally or quarrels with him, he should say: ‘I am a fasting person’” [1]. The one who commits such actions during fasting makes his fasting unacceptable and it will not be credited.  

The Prophet uses the expression,

God, Mighty and Exalted, has forbidden all verbal falsehood.

He praises His servants who do not witness falsehood, neither say nor practise it. They do not even join a group that may say it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) says that one of the worst major sins is giving false testimony. ‘We were sitting with God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) when he said: “Shall I tell you which the gravest sins are?” (He repeated this three times): “The association of partners with God, undutifulness to parents, and perjury (or stating falsehood)”. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was reclining, but he sat up and continued to repeat it until we thought: we wish he would stop’. [2]

The purpose of making fasting obligatory is not to train a toleration of hunger and thirst. Rather, it is what follows of restraining desire, controlling anger and keeping one’s soul at peace. If nothing of this occurs as a result of fasting, and the person is not so affected, then all he achieves through fasting is being hungry and thirsty. This is what is expressed by the Prophet: ‘Some fasting person gets nothing out of his fasting other than hunger and thirst, and some night worshipper gets nothing out of his night worship other than tired wakefulness’. In such cases, God does not care about such person’s fasting and does not accept it, because the action itself is fruitless. 

Implementation

1. As mentioned earlier, God has kept the reward He grants for fasting secret, saying: ‘All man’s actions are his except fasting: it is Mine and I reward it’. He thus makes clear that fasting is treated at a higher level and its reward is indeed rich. Yet a person may say a word that incurs God’s wrath and it destroys all this reward. This tells us of the seriousness of falsehood, verbal and practical. It is something ruinous, leading to total loss in both this present life and the life to come. It behoves every Muslim to beware of it and steer away from it so that he does not ruin his good deeds. 

2. God, Mighty and Exalted, wants His servants to fear and obey Him, and to refrain from what He has forbidden them. He does not want to restrict their lives by abstaining from food, drink and sex. He simply wants them to do what He bids them and refrain from what He forbids them, so that fasting becomes a training course in which they learn abandoning what is forbidden and doing their duties. 

3. The objective of fasting is self-discipline and steering away from what is forbidden. It is not meant only for abstention from food and drink, which are lawful. 

4. While food, drink and sex with one’s spouse are permissible except during the day of fasting, abstention from them during fasting is the way to draw closer to God. However this cannot be done until one has taken the first step of abandoning what God forbids, such as lying, wrongdoing, injustice and all types of aggression against other people.

5. God has forbidden saying what is false and also acting on it. This includes backbiting, sewing discord between people, urging what is evil and forbidding what is good, as well as all other forms of falsehood.

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 1904; Muslim, 1151. (This is in Hadith 76 in this work.)

2. Related by al-Bukhari, 2654; Muslim, 87.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 5927; Muslim, 1151.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) points out one of the best ways to erase one’s past sins, namely a perfect hajj, or pilgrimage to the Ka‘bah. He tells us that whoever performs the hajj well, will have his sins erased. He returns home as pure as he was on the day he was born. A perfect hajj is one during which the pilgrim does not violate any of the restrictions that apply during the hajj, such as sexual intercourse and foreplay with one’s spouse, or any transgression that involves committing a sin. 

The hadith applies to both the hajj and the ‘umrah, or mini-pilgrimage, as Muslim’s version of the hadith speaks of ‘whoever comes to this House’. Moreover, the Prophet says: ‘One ‘umrah to another wipes away [the sins] committed in between them. And a perfect hajj earns no lesser reward than [admittance into] Heaven’. [1]

The forgiveness mentioned in these hadiths applies to what is due to God, Mighty and Exalted, as He wipes such sins away. As for the rights of human beings, these cannot be erased except through satisfying one’s opponents or returning whatever one owes to their rightful owners.

Implementation

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) uses the simile of being free from sin ‘as on the day of one’s birth’ to emphasize the meaning of forgiveness and the wiping away of sins. Using such an expressive style to explain one’s meaning. is recommended 

2. The Prophet points out a splendid way of ensuring forgiveness of past sins, namely, a perfect pilgrimage. Needless to say, every one of us needs a way to erase our sins and faults. 

3. The hadith emphasizes the importance of good manners, which can be a cause of the acceptance or rejection of one’s good deeds. 

4. Beware of being unjust to other people or taking their rights unfairly. Sins related to people’s rights cannot be erased except through returning their rights and obtaining their pardon. As for offences related to God’s rights, all these, apart from associating partners with Him, are subject to God’s will. He may forgive them or punish the one who commits them. 

5. One of the objectives of the hajj is to remind people of the life to come. A pilgrim abandons his fine attire and puts on instead garments that look like the wrappings of a deceased body. The pilgrim also keeps away from the pleasures of life. He attends at Arafat as one of millions of pilgrims, in a gathering similar to that of the Day of Judgement. All are equal, with no distinction between young and old, king and subject. When a pilgrim appreciates all this, he returns home caring little for the present life, eager to ensure a good prospect in the life to come.

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 1773; Muslim, 1349.

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) delivered a speech and told his companions that God, Mighty and Exalted, commands them to perform the pilgrimage to His sacred house, the Ka‘bah, in Makkah, thus confirming the Qur’anic verse:

Thus, they must obey and fulfil their obligation.

Hajj means taking the journey to the Ka‘bah at certain times, to perform certain rituals with the intention of obeying God and doing His bidding.

2. One of his companions, al-Aqra‘ ibn Ḥābis, asked the Prophet whether the hajj should be done every year. He did not understand whether God’s order to perform the pilgrimage meant once only or that it must be repeated time after time. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not answer the man when he put his question twice implying that such a question should not be asked. The Prophet was sent to deliver God’s message complete and to explain it fully. He would not withhold any information the Muslim community may need. Had the hajj been a duty to be performed several times, he would have made that clear. To put such a question to the Prophet is rather presumptive, and God orders Muslims not to behave presumptuously when speaking to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

3. When the man continued to ask his question after the Prophet remained silent twice, the Prophet told him that his silence reflected his compassion for the believers. Had the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him that the hajj was to be performed every year, it would have become a duty for all Muslims, one that would have been much too difficult for them. 

4. The Prophet then told his companions that it is not permissible for them to persist with their questions about what is given to them in general or restricted terms. When they receive an order, they should do what that order signifies. Thus, an order to give charity or to perform hajj, etc. should be taken at face value. Whatever meets the meaning of that order is sufficient. Thus, a small amount given in charity fulfils the order to give ṣadaqah, and performing the hajj once is sufficient because this is what the wording of the command signifies. Indeed, the wording also admits the meaning of repeated performance, but this is to be ignored.

This explains that the original status of all matters is permissibility. No ruling may be given except as God’s law states. Whatever is not referred to in God’s law retains its original status. 

5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explains this stating that earlier communities were ruined because of asking their prophets too many questions about what was not given to them in detail. Asking many questions indicates lack of conviction. All prophets were commanded to explain to people what benefits them in their present life and in the life to come. They may not remain silent when there is need for explanation. Hence, it is not right for people to precipitate things and ask questions. Good behaviour requires them to listen and to benefit by what is not mentioned.

Moreover, when earlier communities persisted with their questioning, God made things harder for them. Because their duties became hard, they stopped doing them and, thus, they deserved God’s punishment. Therefore, God ordered Muslims not to ask such questions and warned against their outcome.

One such example is that some of the Children of Israel requested their prophet to appoint them a leader so that they would fight for God’s cause under his command. When such fighting became a duty for them, they turned away, unwilling to comply. It is concerning those people that God says: ‘Are you not aware of those elders of the Children of Israel, after the time of Moses, when they said to one of their prophets, ‘Appoint for us a king, and we shall fight for the cause of God’. He said, ‘Would you, perchance, refuse to fight if fighting is ordained for you?’ They said, ‘Why should we not fight for the cause of God when we have been driven out of our homes and our families?’ [1] Yet, when fighting was ordained for them, they turned back, save for a few of them. God is fully aware of the wrongdoers’. (2: 246)

Another case was that when Prophet Moses ordered the Children of Israel to slaughter a cow. They kept asking about its description, and with every question, God added to the restrictions. Had they initially slaughtered any cow, it would have been sufficient. 

Therefore, the Prophet told his companions not to ask unnecessary questions. Anas ibn Mālik reports: ‘We were warned against asking God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) about anything. We, therefore, loved that a sagacious person from the desert people should come and ask him while we listened’. [2] This concession given to the desert people was due to the fact that they were not aware of many things, because Islamic orders were not transmitted to them regularly. Their situation was different from the Prophet’s companions who were with him in Madinah. 

6. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then points out what a Muslim should do. When a Muslim receives an order, he should do it as well as he can. Every Muslim is commanded to offer his prayers, in the form, conditions, essentials and recommended aspects which are well known. If a person is physically unable to perform his prayer as it should be, he does it as he can manage. If he cannot pray standing up, he prays seated, or reclining. If he cannot do his ablution fully, he does of it what he can. This is in line with the Qur’anic order:

When Muslims receive an order of prohibition, they refrain from what is prohibited altogether. It is not possible to implement a prohibition if one does some aspects of what is prohibited. For example, an order prohibiting intoxicating drinks cannot be partially implemented, with people stopping drinking some intoxicants but not others. They must refrain from every drink that intoxicates. Hence, God says:

Implementation

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) uses the simplest style in explaining Islamic rulings.

A mufti or a scholar should be very clear in putting the Islamic ruling in the clearest form so that what he says is fully and clearly understood.

2.  The hadith makes clear that hajj is one of the duties God has made obligatory for His servants. Every Muslim should try to perform it early before he is prevented from doing so by unforeseen impediments.

3. It is permissible for a scholar or an advocate of Islam to remain silent when asked a particular question, if his silence is meant as an indication that the question should not be asked. 

4. If the questioner does not understand the scholar’s silence as meaning that the question is improper, the scholar should explain the Islamic ruling and tell him not to ask such questions. 

5. Muslims should reflect on the Prophet’s compassion for his community and how he was keen for their welfare. For example, he did not answer certain questions so that they were not encumbered with heavy duties. He did not come out for night worship during Ramadan, fearing that it might become obligatory. For the same reason, he told his companions not to ask about what is not mentioned in a text. When they reflected on his attitude, they were bound to love him more and appreciate his compassion.

6. One must not try to discuss what is not addressed, so as to find a religious ruling for it. Whatever is not addressed by a text and has no case of analogy is considered permissible according to the original ruling of all things.

7. During the Prophet’s lifetime, Muslims were ordered not to ask about things so that these may not become forbidden as a result, which would cause them some hardship. As for us now, it is not permissible to do something without enquiring whether it is permissible or not. We must learn matters of religion and get to know what is permissible and what is forbidden so that we do the former and refrain from the latter.

8. Questions that are not acceptable now are those that bring no benefit, or those which lead to negative results or confusion, such as questions about the form and shape of God’s attributes and actions, and speaking without knowledge about His names and attributes.

9. It is preferable that an advocate of Islam should explain the reasons for Islamic commandments and prohibitions, if it is easy for him to do so. Such explanation makes it easier for his addressees to implement such orders. 

10. The hadith shows that God’s servants should fulfil what they are ordered according to their ability. A poor person is not required to give charity, or ṣadaqah. A sick person or a traveller need not fast, but may fast later in compensation. A person who does not meet the condition of ability is not required to perform the hajj. What applies to all Muslims is to do what they can in regard to all obligations and duties. 

11. Abandoning sinful action takes priority over the fulfilment of duties. We should remember that orders are subject to ability, while prohibitions must be refrained from. Indeed, we must steer away from prohibitions and everything that leads to them.

12. Refraining from sinful actions is not complete unless a Muslim refrains from all aspects of that sin. The prohibition of associating partners with God, i.e. shirk, means by implication the prohibition of its means that may not be considered as clear cases of shirk, such as swearing by something other than God without considering it superior, or saying ‘whatever God and so-and-so will’. All such preliminaries of shirk are also prohibited.

1. Literally: ‘when we have been driven out of homes and our sons’, but it is not unusual in Arabic to refer to one’s family as one’s children.

2. Related by Muslim, 12.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 7289; Muslim, 2358.

This hadith states a very important Islamic rule, namely, that what the Prophet did serves as evidence, and that, like his statements, they provide the lead to be followed. 

1. Jābir reports that he saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) performing the ritual of stoning on the Day of Eid al-Aḍḥā and that he was riding his she-camel at the time. The Prophet wanted his companions to see how he performed the hajj rituals and to show them, at this instance, how he did the stoning, and what he said as he threw each stone. He also wanted them to know that the stoning could be performed on foot or whilst riding. 

2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then ordered us that we should learn the rituals of hajj from him. We should do as he did, ignore what he ignored, and put forward or delay as he did.

The Prophet’s actions that are meant as explanatory of religious duties stated in general terms, such as prayer, zakat and hajj, are obligatory to emulate. Hence, he said: ‘Pray as you have seen me pray’ [1]. Exceptions are only made on the basis of clear evidence.

The Prophet says in this hadith: ‘Learn your rituals’. He uses the imperative form, thus he means that whatever he used of words, actions and conditions are parts of the hajj, and that these are the believers’ rituals. Learn them from him, practise them and teach them to other people. This hadith is a fundamental principle of the hajj, akin to his order concerning prayer: ‘Pray as you have seen me pray’. [2]

3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained his order to follow his example saying that he thought that most probably, or perhaps certainly, this would be his only hajj.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was given signs indicating that he was approaching the end of his life. One of these was that on the Day of Arafat, during his hajj, he received Qur’anic revelations saying: ‘This day I have perfected your religion for you and have bestowed on you the full measure of My blessings and have chosen Islam as a religion for you’. (5: 3) Another indication was reported by his daughter Fāṭimah when she said that during his last illness: ‘He told me that Gabriel used to recite the Qur’an with him once every year, but this year, he did so twice, and I feel that my end is close’. Perhaps he said this on the basis of such information, or he might have been informed by God, Sublime and Exalted, that this would be his only hajj. 

Indeed this was the only time the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the hajj after he migrated from Makkah and after the establishment of the hajj as an Islamic duty. Hence, it is named the Farewell Pilgrimage, because when he said that he might not perform the hajj again, he was bidding farewell to his companions.

Implementation

1. Advocates of Islam and educators should perform some acts of worship openly, in front of people, so that they learn from them.

2. Scholars and advocates of Islam must be at the forefront during public occasions, so that people may put their questions to them and learn Islamic rulings.

3. Doing something practically and telling people to do it in the same way may be a better substitute to explaining it verbally.

4. Advocates of Islam should give more attention to immediate practical issues. They may delay what people do not need at present. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not mention the details of the hajj rituals until he led the people in performing hajj.

5. Every Muslim should always endeavour to follow what the Prophet said and did. His is the best guidance.

6. Advocates of Islam and educators should encourage their students and audience to learn from them whatever they are teaching them. If they delay doing so, they may have other preoccupations or something different may happen to distract them.

7. It is permissible to predict something that may happen in the future, if such prediction is based on certain preliminaries. However, one must not state this as a certainty, or as someone who knows what will be coming. He should make clear that he is only making an informed suggestion on the basis of interrelated signs, but ultimately, all matters are in God’s hand.

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 6008.

2. Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 9, p. 45. English edition, Kube Publishing & ICMG, Leicestershire, 2022, Vol. 7, pp. 410-411.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) states that God’s bounty is limitless. All of us are enjoying favours bestowed by God, but we do not appreciate their importance and we are not properly thankful for them. In this hadith, the Prophet mentions three such favours: security, health and available provisions. 

Take the case mentioned in this hadith: a person starts the day feeling in full security personally, at home and in his country. He is reassured, fearing neither enemy, nor illness, nor injustice. He feels robust and in good health, suffering no personal problem that impedes his movement and how he does his work. Furthermore, he has enough food for the day, which means that he has no worry in that area. The Prophet said that he is like a person who has the world at his disposal. What could he desire other than these blessings?

God reminds people of these favours which He has bestowed on them.

God rebukes the unbelievers who deny these favours and He punishes them by withdrawing His favours.

Implementation

1. Every Muslim should think well of God. He must not forget that his provisions and all his affairs are subject to God’s will. 

2. When a person enjoys security, he should be very grateful to God for it. When a person is chased, or in fear for his life, or taken captive, his dearest wish is to have a feeling of security. 

3. The importance of security as a blessing is reflected in the fact that God promises the believers that He will grant it to them.

4. Good health is a great favour for which a person should be thankful to God. It is He who has given man the best constitution and granted him health that enables him to do what he needs. 

5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) included in his supplication: ‘My Lord, keep me healthy in my body; my Lord, keep me healthy in my hearing; my Lord, keep me healthy in my sight. There is no God other than You’. Every Muslim should use this supplication.

6. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Health and spare time are two blessings which many people do not appreciate’. It does not behove a Muslim to think lightly of God’s blessings. 

7. Every Muslim should thank God for his provisions and be content with what God has given him. Others go hungry and have nothing to eat.

8. Everyone should appreciate God’s blessings and favours and should know that he is accountable for how he uses them. Therefore, every Muslim should manifest his gratitude for God’s blessings by doing what earns God’s pleasure. On the Day of Judgement, God will question everyone about how they used His favours. Those who use them in ways that please God will be safe. Others will be the losers.

9. No one appreciates God’s favour of making water available until one is very thirsty. The same applies to all God’s favours. We appreciate them when they become unavailable. It behoves every Muslim to always be thankful for God’s favours.

1. Reliance on God is an aspect of mental worship that requires placing our trust in God and depending on Him along with taking the necessary measures for whatever we intend to do. The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us that if we do so, God will give us our provisions as he gives theirs to the birds.

2. Birds start hungry in the morning, with their bellies empty, but finish the day with full stomachs. To be in the same position as birds, we need to be true in placing our trust in God and relying on him fully. However, most of us resort to cheating, lying or deception in our transactions, or are complacent, taking no measures, or simply rely on our efforts, thinking that by doing so, we will inevitably get what we need.

True reliance on God requires that man takes the necessary measures and does what should be done, placing his trust in God and knowing that all matters are accomplished by His will and everything is in His hand. It is not right for a person not to take measures to earn his living and instead wait for his sustenance to reach him. This is not the required reliance on God; rather, it is utter laziness and ineptitude. When he went to war, the Prophet (peace be upon him) put on his body armour. When the confederate tribes marched to attack Madinah, he dug a moat to stop their advance. When he migrated, he left his home under the cover of darkness, stayed in hiding in a cave and hired a guide to take him along unfamiliar routes. For every battle, he devised a strategic plan. Yet he was exemplary in his trust in God. It is God’s order that reliance on God should be coupled with resolve and taking the necessary measures.

Implementation

1. A Muslim who is worried about his provisions only needs to place his trust in God and be satisfied with what God gives him. He should be absolutely certain that God, his Lord, takes care of him. He must then take the necessary measures.

2. Many are those who frequently say: ‘In God I trust’, but they are not really relying on God. Such reliance is not a mere word uttered; it rather constitutes true submission to God, acceptance of His will and true belief in Him. 

3. A person who truly relies on God is one who is successful in what he intends, protected against Satan’s whisperings and temptations. God says: ‘Whenever you read the Qur'an, seek refuge with God from Satan, the accursed. (98) He certainly has no power over those who believe and place their trust in their Lord’. (16: 98-99) Whoever hopes that God will protect him from Satan and keep Satan away from him must place his trust fully in God.

4. Whoever likes that God will protect him in all his affairs, and look after him in all matters of this present life and the life to come, should turn to God and hand over his affairs to Him. God says: ‘God will be sufficient for everyone who puts his trust in Him’. (65: 3) The Prophet said: ‘Whoever says when leaving home, “In the name of God. In God I trust. No power ever operates except by God’s will”, shall receive the response, “You are spared and protected”, and Satan will be removed from his way’. [1]

5. To truly place one’s trust in God means that one is happy with whatever God does, and that one fully trusts in God and submits one’s affairs to Him. Bishr al-Ḥāfī said that a person may say, ‘In God I trust’, but he is lying to God. Had he really placed his trust in God, he would have been happy with what God does with him. Yaḥyā ibn Mu‘ādh was asked: ‘When is a person truly relying on God?’ He said: ‘When he is satisfied that God is his guardian’. [2]

6. When God wanted to give Mary something to eat as she was giving birth, He commanded her to shake the trunk of a date tree. Can we imagine that a woman going through the pains of childbirth has the strength to shake the trunk of a date tree so that she can obtain some dates to eat? Even if a strong young man were to shake a date tree, he could not hope to receive one date. Mighty and Exalted, God loves that His servant takes the necessary measures and leaves the result to Him.

7. ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb met a group of Yemeni people who did not take any measures to achieve their purpose. He asked them who they were. They said: ‘We are the ones relying on God’. He said: ‘Not really! You are only waiting for things to happen. A person who truly relies on God will plant his seeds and place his trust in God’. [3]

8. Advocates of Islam and educators should always use figures of speech and comparisons that illustrate meanings and drive one’s point home.

9. ‘Abdullāh ibn Sallām and Salmān, who were companions of the Prophet, once met and one of them said to the other: ‘If you die before me, come and tell me what God has done to you. If I die before you, I will come and tell you the same’. The other said: ‘Do dead people meet with the living?’ He said: ‘Yes. Their souls are free to roam wherever they wish in Heaven’. When the first of them died, he met the other in his dream and told him: ‘Place your trust in God and rejoice. I have seen nothing like placing trust in God. Place your trust in God and rejoice. I have seen nothing like placing trust in God’.

10. Luqmān said to his son: ‘Son, the life of this world is a sea in which countless numbers have drowned. If you can make your boat in it your faith in God, its oars your obedience of God, and its sails your trust in God, I hope you will be safe’.

1. Related by al-Tirmidhī, 3426.

2. Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn, Vol. 2, p. 114.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 1523.

1. God and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have forbidden wine and all intoxicant drinks because they influence one’s mind which is the recipient of God’s address and the duties given to man. It encourages a person to disobey God and do what is wrong.

 Since wine is forbidden to drink, its price when sold is also forbidden. Anas said: ‘With regard to wine, God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) cursed ten types of people: its brewer and the one who requests its brewing; drinker; carrier and the one to whom it is carried; server; seller; the one who takes its price; buyer and the one for whom it is bought’.  [1] Abu Ṭalḥah asked the Prophet about orphan children who inherited some wine. The Prophet told him: ‘Spill it off’. Abu Ṭalḥah asked: ‘May I make it vinegar?’ The Prophet said: ‘No’.  [2]

2. The Prophet also prohibited the selling of animals that die naturally, because carrion is forbidden to eat or use, as God says:

The only exception is the use of the hide of animals that are, when alive, pure and permissible to eat, such as sheep, cows, etc. The hide of such animals is usable after it is tanned. Ibn ‘Abbās narrated: ‘A slave woman belonging to Maymūnah was given a lamb as a ṣadaqah [i.e. a charitable gift], but the lamb died. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) passed by and said: “Why do you not take its hide, tan it and make use of it?” They said: “It is carrion”. He said: “It is only forbidden to eat”’.

Another exception is the eating of fish and locusts which die naturally. The Prophet said: ‘Two types of dead animals and two types of blood are made lawful to you: the dead ones are fish and locusts; and the two bloods are the liver and spleen’. [3]

3. It is also forbidden to sell pork, because God has forbidden eating it, and ruled that the pig is impure.

4. Similarly forbidden is the manufacture and sale of idols, whether they are meant for worship or not, because they are considered a means to associating partners with God, i.e. shirk. The start of shirk and such association in the human world began with the making of idols, although they were not initially made for worship. Moreover, the Prophet said: ‘The Last Hour is not due until Daws’s women’s buttocks sway around Dhul-Khalaṣah’ [4] Dhul-Khalaṣah was an idol worshipped by the Daws tribe in pre-Islamic days.

5. When the Prophet mentioned the prohibition of the sale of carrion or its use, his companions asked him whether its fat may be used for purposes other than food. Could it be used as sealer for boats and hide, or used as lighting oil? The Prophet told them that even such usage is forbidden.

6. They asked him about such usage of dead animals’ fat and selling it because they thought that they were like donkeys. The Prophet forbade eating their meat but they were permissible to sell, ride and be used in other ways. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that the case of carrion was different, because it is impure. Hence, it is forbidden to eat or benefit by. Therefore, its sale is forbidden.

6. The Prophet then curses the Jews for the tricks they employed to circumvent God’s law. They were forbidden to eat, use or sell animal fat, as

Implementation

1. It is forbidden for a Muslim to sell wine and all types of intoxicating drinks, whether he sells it to a Muslim or to an unbeliever. Its price is forbidden for Muslims to take.

2, Islam attaches great importance to man’s mind, as it requires people to think and contemplate on God’s creation. Islam also requires people to seek knowledge and forbids them what influences the mind and negatively affects its function, such as alcoholic drinks. 

3. The prohibition of selling dead animals includes an embalmed animal carcas, which it is forbidden to buy or sell.

4. Eating pork and all types of pig meat is forbidden. Likewise, it is forbidden to sell it, whether the buyer is a Muslim or an unbeliever, because such a transaction is a collaboration in sin. 

5. It is forbidden to own or manufacture idols, as this is a major sin. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Indeed, those who are the most severely punished on the Day of Judgement are the image makers’ [5] . 

6. The hadith shows that it is necessary to guard against the preliminaries of shirk, which means the association of partners with God. During the Prophet’s lifetime, a man pledged to sacrifice some camels at Buwānah, which is in the southern part of Makkah. He went to the Prophet and told him that he pledged to give this sacrifice at Buwānah. The Prophet asked: ‘Was there a worshipped idol in pre-Islamic days in that area?’ People answered in the negative. He asked again: ‘Did people celebrate any feast there?’ People said that there was not. The Prophet said to the man: ‘Then fulfil your pledge. [I asked because] a pledge that involves an element of disobedience of God may not be fulfilled. The same applies to a pledge that the pledger does not have’. 

7. The Prophet’s companions were not too shy to ask about using dead animal fat in useful ways that do not relate to human consumption. They thought that such animals were merely forbidden to eat. There question was neither unwarranted nor one of objection. They merely asked to learn. Hence, shyness should not prevent one from asking legitimate questions. 

8. Using ways and means to circumvent God’s legislation is not a characteristic of believers. God describes the believers in the following terms: ‘The response of believers, whenever they are summoned to God and His Messenger in order that he may judge between them, is none other than, “We have heard, and we obey”. It is they that shall be successful’. (24: 51) Such evasive characteristics belonged to those Jews who incurred God’s wrath. We should beware of doing the same.

9. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned against emulating what the Jews did of using tricks to circumvent God’s law. He said: ‘Do not do what the Jews did, so as to legalize what God has forbidden by resorting to stupid tricks’. [6]

10. Those who resorted to tricks in order to do what God has forbidden were severely punished. They profaned the Sabbath when fishing was forbidden. They placed their fishing nets in the sea on Friday and left them on the Sabbath, so as to collect them up on Sunday. God transformed them into apes. Anyone who thinks of using a trick to break God’s law should beware of God’s punishment.

1. Related by al-Tirmidhī, 1295; Ibn Mājah, 3381.

2. Related by Abu Dāwūd, 3675.

3. Related by Ibn Mājah, 3314.

4. Related by al-Bukhari, 7116; Muslim, 2906.

5.  Related by al-Bukhari, 5950; Muslim, 2109.

6. Related by Ibn Baṭṭah al-‘Ukburī in Ibṭāl al-Ḥiyal, p. 47.

1. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) went about into the market, inspecting people’s conditions and looking at how they conducted their business, he noticed one shopkeeper selling some articles of food. He made a heap which looked attractive and beautiful. The Prophet placed his hand into the heap and noted that underneath the surface, the food was wet, which meant that the quality of the food was suspect. The seller had covered it up so that buyers would not notice.

2. The Prophet asked the shopkeeper with clear disapproval why he had placed the wet portions underneath those that were dry, leading people to think that the whole quantity was dry. The man told the Prophet that it was rain that had made it wet. 

3. The Prophet told the man that he should place the wet portion clearly visible, so that people could see it. Honesty in business is an essential requirement. The Prophet says: ‘On the Day of Judgement, business people are resurrected as clear sinners, except those who are God-fearing, righteous and truthful’ [1].

4. The Prophet then states a general rule, saying that a cheating person abandons the Prophet’s Sunnah. Scheming, deception and cheating are characteristics of liars and hypocrites. The Prophet and his followers do not adopt such characteristics. 

The Prophet’s statement does not mean that a cheating person is not a Muslim. The hadith means that his behaviour is contrary to Islam and that his sin incurs God’s wrath and punishment, because he takes the money of his brother by deception, giving him an ill-feeling of dismay. This leads to the weakening of bonds within the community. 

This general rule is not limited to trade but applies to all transactions. It includes a ruler’s cheating of his people, caring little for their interests and using his position to serve his own personal ambitions. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: ‘If God places a servant of His in charge of some people and he cheats his subjects to the day of his death, God shall forbid him entry to Heaven’ [2] . It also includes cheating in religion, which is the worst and most serious type of cheating. This refers to scholars suppressing what God commands them to make known and explain, or to their twisting meanings in order to gain posts or wealth. This is referred to in the Qur’an,

1. Advocates of Islam and young scholars should visit the marketplaces and look for unlawful practices, giving advice to people and reminding them of the need to always be God-fearing. 

2. In the early generations of Islam, it was the tradition of the Prophet, his companions and the tābi‘īn that a market controller was appointed. He would go on a round of inspection so as to ensure that everything was done properly. It is useful that governments should revive this tradition in order to organize trade and protect people’s rights. 

3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) first asked the shopkeeper about the wetness of his goods, without accusing him of any wrongdoing. He considered that the shopkeeper might not have been aware of it. It is important to ascertain what is going on, rather than judge things by appearances. 

4. Vendors must inspect their goods periodically so as to make sure that they remain of good quality.

5. A Muslim must be truthful in buying, selling and all other transactions. He must ensure that his earnings are legitimate. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whatever flesh grows through wrongful earnings is only suited for the Fire’ [3]

6. Every Muslim must beware of cheating in business, because it leads to loss. Whatever earning are made through it will be devoid of blessing. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘The two parties to a sale deal have the option to cancel until they have parted. If they are truthful and explain things, their deal is blessed, but if they lie and suppress information, the blessing of their deal is obliterated’.

7. Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh used to sell goods. He would tell the buyer of any defect in the article he was buying and give him the choice to buy or not. Some people said to him that if he continued to do so, he would sell nothing. He said: We have pledged to the Prophet (peace be upon him) that we will give sincere advice to every Muslim [4]

8. Every Muslim should make sure that whatever he eats or drinks is lawful. Good deeds are unacceptable if they are coupled with devouring what is unlawful. Wahb ibn al-Ward said: ‘Were you to stand in the mosque as long as this pillar, nothing will benefit you unless you check whether what goes into your belly is lawful or unlawful’ [5]

9. Whoever cheats and devours what is forbidden should realize that the fate of every person shall not be determined on the Day of Judgement until he has been asked about four things. One of these is how he earned his money. 

10. How will a cheating person who takes people’s money unlawfully hope that his supplication be answered? The Prophet (peace be upon him) ‘mentioned the case of a man who goes on a long travel, uncouth with dust on his body. He raises his hands to the sky and says, ‘My Lord! My Lord!’ Yet, his food is unlawfully earned; his drink is unlawfully earned; his clothes are unlawfully earned; and he was fed, when young, with what was unlawfully earned. How can such supplication be answered?’ [6]

11. It may be better to state the hadiths that mention ‘does not belong to me’, or ‘does not belong to us’ without adding any explanation. They are more effective as a deterrent for people. 

12. Ibn ‘Abbās said: ‘A person will continue to have the right view as long as he is sincere in his advice to others. Once he starts to cheat in his advice, God will deprive him of sound judgement’ [7]

1.  Related by al-Tirmidhī, 1210; Ibn Mājah, 2146.

2. Related by al-Bukhari, 7150; Muslim, 227.

3.  Related by al-Tirmidhī, 612.

4. Related by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr, 2510. Quoted by Ibn Sa‘d in al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, Mutammim al-Ṣaḥābah, p. 803.

5. Ibn Rajab, Jāmiر al-‘Ulūm wal-Ḥikam, Vol. 1, p. 263.

6. Related by Muslim, 1015.

7. Al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī, al-Dharī‘ah ilā Makārim al-Sharī‘ah, p. 211.

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) states in this hadith that God, Mighty and Exalted, expels a number of people who take part in the same offence, denying them His mercy.

 2. In this hadith, the Prophet begins by stating that the curse, which means expulsion from God’s mercy, applies to the one who devours usury. This refers to a person who takes people’s money in usurious transactions, regardless of how he spends the usurious gain.

 Usury refers to the excess one party takes according to a contract for an exchange of money, with nothing in return for such increase. For example, one party, whether an individual or an institution, lends the other a sum of money on condition that the borrower will repay the same amount and an agreed sum in excess. Alternatively, they may stipulate that delaying repayment beyond a particular date incurs a fine. A similar case is to have a bond that matures on a certain date, giving the holder, say, 1,200, while he paid only 1,000 for it. Usurious transactions take several other forms, and these may use different names for the excess being paid by one party, such as interest, late payment fine, etc.

 3. The curse also applies to the party who gives the usurious increase. This is the party who undertakes to pay the excess in return for the later repayment. This party is cursed for helping the other party receive such a gain. In most cases, the transaction is not absolutely necessary for people. It is mostly for improvement or comfort.

 Usury may be in the form of paying extra money, or giving something different, such as giving the lender a gift and repaying the exact amount of the loan.

 4. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also mentions that the curse similarly applies to the person who writes or contributes to the usurious contract, whether manually or using a keyboard, or designs the relevant documents, or enters the date, etc.

 5. Further, the two witnesses to the usurious contract are also cursed.

 6. The Prophet then mentions that all of them are the same in deserving God’s curse, because they cooperate in promoting evil, when God has prohibited such cooperation.

 Implementation

 1. Every one of us is in need of God’s mercy, and every one prays to God to bestow mercy on him and his family. Therefore, when we learn that God curses something or the one who does it, we should steer away from it, because such curse means expulsion from God’s mercy.

 2. Some people may be dissatisfied with what God has given them. A person may feel unhappy when his supplication remains unanswered. He wonders why God’s mercy has been slow coming. He should look within himself, because he may have done something, deliberately or unwittingly, which incurs God’s curse.

 3. A person may take things lightly and become involved in usury when it is a grave sin that has grave financial consequences, in addition to ruining a person’s present and future life. It is important for every Muslim to turn a deaf ear to anyone who tempts him to share in a usurious transaction, whether such temptation comes from a friend who is a businessman, or a financial report, or a colourful advertisement. God removes all blessings from the usurer’s assets.

 4. Usury is clearly forbidden and whoever takes part in it is cursed. It is not permissible to take part in any usurious contract, even if the borrower says that he is certain of repaying the loan on time, without incurring any usurious increase. The very writing of the usurious contract is forbidden and the curse applies to the parties and the writer. 

 5. Lawful earnings are the ones a Muslim seeks, knowing that taking unlawful gains will deprive him of having his prayers answered. The Prophet ‘mentioned the case of a man who goes on a long journey, uncouth with dust on his body. He raises his hands to the sky and says, “My Lord! My Lord!” Yet, his food is unlawfully earned; his drink is unlawfully earned; his clothes are unlawfully earned; and he was fed, when young, with what was unlawfully earned. How can such supplication be answered?’ [1]

6. Early Muslims were eager to ensure that their food was legitimately earned. They warned people against feeding on unlawful earnings. Wahb ibn al-Ward said: ‘Were a person to spend all his time worshipping in the mosque, like one of its pillars, nothing will benefit him unless he looks at what goes into his belly and whether it is lawfully earned’.[2] Imam Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal was asked: ‘What softens people’s hearts?’ He thought for a short while then lifted his head and said: ‘Making sure that their earnings are lawful’.[3]

7. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘I saw in my dream last night two men who came to me and took me to a blessed land. We went through it until we reached a river of blood in which there was a man standing. At the middle of the river there was another man with a heap of stones in front of him. The man in the river came across trying to get out, but the other man threw a stone at his mouth and caused him to go back to where he was. Every time the man in the river tried to get out, the other threw a stone at his mouth and he went back to where he was. I asked what the matter was. I was told that the man in the river was the one who devoured usury’.[4]

8. When God forbids something, He also forbids taking its price, helping in it, as well as witnessing it without objecting to it. Every Muslim should make sure not to help in anything forbidden, particularly taking people’s money unlawfully.

9. A person who deals usuriously and wants to repent and stop should return the usurious gains to the people who paid them. He should only take what he legitimately claims. To return unlawful gains is a condition for accepting one’s repentance.

  10. A Muslim who knows someone who deals usuriously should advise him that he must desist and repent. He then should stop dealing with him, even though his own transactions involve no usury. However, if that person is the only one who sells certain items, it is permissible to buy from him as long as one ensures that the deal itself is in line with Islamic teachings. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had some commercial deals with Jews, although they were confirmed usurers.

1. Related by Muslim, 1015.

2. Ibn Rajab, Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wal-Ḥikam, Vol. 1, p. 263.

3. Ibn al-Jawzī, Manāqib al-Imām Ahmad, p. 269.

4. Related by al-Bukhari, 2085.

Buying and selling are essential to human life. In fact, life cannot prosper without such transactions. Therefore, Islam states certain rules to organize this activity. The starting point is that sales are permissible, but they become unlawful when they are wrongly done, such as sales that lack clarity or those that involve usury.

  1. One such prohibited sale is that involving the use of a stone, which used to be practised in pre-Islamic days. It took different forms, one of which was such that the seller said to the buyer: ‘I sell you a portion of this land, extending from here to where this stone will fall’. He then cast the stone. Another form was that whereby the seller gave the buyer the choice to go ahead or withdraw, up to the moment when the stone fell from the buyer’s hand. Yet another type was to throw a small stone at a flock of sheep, and the buyer must buy the one the stone hit. A different form was that the seller would take a handful of pebbles and say to the buyer: for each pebble I charge you one dirham. There were other forms of such sales, but all of them relied on ignorance. As such, they constituted unlawful earnings, and were forbidden.

2. Islam also forbids sales that are unclear. This includes every type of sale that involves what is unknown, or cannot be delivered to the buyer, such as selling fish before it is caught, or selling an unborn animal, or selling milk which is still in the animal’s udder. All such sales lack clarity and, as such, are forbidden. It is not possible to estimate the number or the weight of the fish to be caught, or whether any will be caught. Likewise, the unborn animal may be stillborn or deformed, and the volume of the milk in the udder is unknown, and it may be of low quality. Sales involving the casting of a stone come under lack of clarity, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) specified it because it was commonly used in pre-Islamic days. 

Implementation

1. A Muslim who sells goods must learn which sales are permissible and which are not, so that he does not commit a sin or take people’s money unlawfully.

2. Under the stone casting sale we may nowadays include some unlawful games, such as those involving casting a coin or a ring on a particular object. If the object is hit, the person wins it, if not he loses whatever he has paid for the coin or the ring.

3. If you are a trader, make sure that your transactions, whether purchase or sale, are consistent with Islamic rules. The merchandise and the price must be known, and if it is a term sale, the term must be specified.

4. Selling is permissible, but it becomes unlawful if any one of three elements is involved: 1) the merchandise is unlawful to sell, such as pork, wine, carrion, etc. 2) unclarity of either the merchandise, or the price, or the inability to give possession of it; or 3) it is a usurious transaction. Make sure that what you buy or sell has none of these three elements attached.

5. One form of sales lacking clarity that have become common nowadays is the purchase of something without seeing or examining it to make sure of its quality.

6. Another form of unclear sales is to buy what is unknown, such as buying an unspecified article of clothing. It happens when one sees a number of such articles and buys one without selecting it. He is required to take whatever is assigned to him in a random selection.

7. A very common type of unclear sales at the present time is the purchase of unknown gift boxes. The buyer gives a specified price for a gift box without knowing what it contains.

8. Children are tempted to buy what is called lucky dip which are said to give them gifts. They get a bag without knowing what it contains. It may not contain anything. This is again a forbidden sale as it lacks clarity.

9. One of the clearest and most common forms of sale that lacks clarity is that a farmer sells the yield of his farm for an agreed number of years to come.

10. Some people habitually deal unfairly with their customers. They do not hesitate to take money unlawfully, offering unsound justification. They overlook the fact that God is fully aware of what they do and that everyone will ultimately be given what they deserve.

 1. In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) addresses young men and recommends that they get married early, because they are the ones who feel the sexual urge most. The recommendation goes initially to those who are able to afford the costs and can meet the duties attendant on marriage. Marriage helps a young man to lower his gaze so that he does not look at forbidden temptation and forget what benefits him in this life and the life to come. Moreover, it helps him to maintain his chastity and steer away from illegitimate sex.

 2. Young men who do not have the means and cannot afford to get married should still maintain their chastity and guard against falling into sin until God gives them what they need. This is in line with what God says: ‘As for those who are unable to marry, let them live in continence until God grants them sufficiency out of His bounty’. (24: 33) Perhaps the most helpful way in this regard is fasting, because it suppresses the sexual urge and helps a young man to turn away from what excites it.

 Scholars say that ‘people may be classified into four groups: 1) Those who have the desire to get married and are able to afford it. These are encouraged to marry; 2) Those who neither find the desire nor are able to afford marriage. For these, marriage is discouraged; 3) Those who have the desire but cannot afford it.

Marriage is discouraged for these, and they are recommended to fast in order to keep their desire in check, and 4) Those who can afford marriage but do not have the urge to get married. The view of the ShāfiꜤī School is that for such people it is preferable not to marry, but rather to give more time to worship. We may not say that for them marriage is makrūh, i.e., reprehensible, but we say non-marriage is preferable’. [1]

The Prophet makes his address to young people because they are the main group concerned. The urge to get married is more likely to be stronger among them than older groups. However, the advice applies to older people as well if they feel the same urge.

Implementation

 1. Advocates of Islam and educators must give clear attention to the problems and concerns of young people, and guide them to what is best for them.

 2. Helping young people to have the means to get married is one of the more important ways to earn God’s pleasure. God orders the Muslim community to attend to this need as He says: ‘Marry the single from among you as well as such of your male and female slaves as are virtuous. If they are poor, God will grant them sufficiency out of His bounty. God is munificent, all-knowing’. (24: 32)

 3. Maintaining one’s chastity and lowering one’s gaze are among the important duties of every Muslim. It is not permissible for a Muslim to go on the loose with looks and action.

 4. One of the best motives to accept religious rulings is that a scholar should explain the reason for that ruling and the benefits it gives. The hadith shows that when the Prophet encouraged young people to get married, he explained that marriage helps them to lower their gaze and maintain their chastity. Therefore, advocates, scholars and muftis should mention the basis of Islamic rulings and their purposes.

 5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) attached a condition for taking the step to get married, which is the ability to meet its requirements. These include the physical ability to have sexual intercourse with one’s spouse and the financial ability to establish a family and look after it. A person who does not meet these requirements must not try to get married.

 6. All five rulings may apply to marriage. It may be a duty if one meets the conditions of ability and fears that he may resort to what is sinful if he does not get married. Marriage may be recommended if a person is able to meet the requirements but is able to maintain his chastity. It is certainly discouraged for a person who is in no need of it, such as an elderly person or one who is ill and does not experience the sexual urge.

7. A person who cannot get married because of poverty must train himself and live in continence, as God says: ‘As for those who are unable to marry, let them live in continence until God grants them sufficiency out of His bounty’. (24: 33) God has promised every Muslim to meet the marriage costs. The Prophet says: ‘It is an undertaking to which God has committed Himself to help three types of people: a slave who has entered into a contract to buy his own freedom; the one who seeks to get married so as to maintain his chastity and the one who joins jihad for God’s cause’. [2]

1. Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 9, p. 174. English edition, Vol. 8. Book of Marriage, Chapter 1.

2. Related by al-Tirmidhī, 1655; al-Nasāʼī, 3120; Ibn Mājah, 2518.

 The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that in the majority of cases men choose their wives for one of four reasons. Some choose a rich woman so that he and his children will have a comfortable life. Moreover, a rich woman does not burden her husband with her expenses. Some look for a woman with a good family descent, hoping to raise his own social status through connection with her close relatives. There are men who look for beauty as the main consideration in their choice of wives. Such a person wants a woman whom he will feel pleased to look at. And there are people who prefer a religious woman who will look after him and their family. The Prophet then gives his sound advice telling us that the religious woman is the best to choose. In the case of one who does not take his advice, the Prophet uses an old Arabic expression which literally means: ‘If you do not, your hands will stick to dust’. This is not understood literally, but the Prophet’s advice means that the one who does not choose the religious woman exposes himself to failure and disappointment.

 This does not mean that a Muslim must choose a religious woman who is poor, or ugly or of low family status. What it means is that the first consideration in his choice should be the woman’s faith. If one manages to find a religious, pretty woman who belongs to a distinguished family, he will have the best of women. However, a religious poor woman is better than a rich woman who is not religious; a religious woman belonging to a family of low social status is better than a daughter of a high class family but irreligious; and a religious woman who is deprived of beauty is better than a very pretty woman without faith.

Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) encourages Muslims to marry good religious women. He said: ‘The life of this world is a brief enjoyment, and the best comfort in this world is a goodly wife’.[1] The Prophet was asked: Which is the best of women? He said: ‘The one who pleases her husband when he looks at her, obeys his order, and does not do with herself and her property what he dislikes’. [2]

A goodly wife pleases her husband and fears God in how she treats him. She protects his honour and takes good care of their children. She is considerate and God-fearing in her dealings with his family and property, and helps him to do what pleases God.

Implementation

1. A Muslim should choose a wife who is religious, because she is obedient, easy to deal with and she helps him to earn God’s pleasure. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Four things contribute to happiness: a goodly wife, a spacious home of residence, a good neighbour and a comfortable means of transport. Four things contribute to unhappiness: a bad neighbour, a bad woman, a small home and uncomfortable transport’. [3]

 2. Every woman should endeavour to be a good wife, fearing God in how she treats her husband and his family. The Prophet said: ‘If a woman attends to her five obligatory prayers, fasts her month [of Ramadan], maintains her chastity and obeys her husband, she is told: Enter Heaven through any of its gates you choose’.[4]

 3. The hadith urges that we seek to associate with religious people in whatever we do, because their association will benefit us as we learn from their manner, morality and good ways, benefit by their blessing, and fear no evil from their side.

  4. The Prophet (peace be upon him) points out the advantage of choosing a goodly wife. He also advises Muslim families to facilitate the marriage of a goodly man, even though he may be poor and belong to a family with low social

1. Related by Muslim, 1467.

2. Related by al-Nasāʼī, 3131.

3. Related by Ibn Ḥibbān in his Ṣaḥīḥ anthology, 1232.

4. Related by Ahmad, 1664.

5. Related by al-Tirmidhī, 1084; Ibn Mājah, 1967.

 2. When ‘Āʼishah heard this, she mentioned her own uncle through breastfeeding and asked the Prophet whether, had he been alive he could visit her when she was alone? In other words, would he be treated like her real paternal uncle? The Prophet told her that breastfeeding has the same effect as birth, with regard to blocking marriages.

 ‘Āʼishah narrates another hadith on this subject: ‘Aflaḥ, Abu al-Qu‘ays’ brother, sought permission to enter my home, after the decree of screening was revealed. [Abu al-Quرays was‘Āʾishah’s father through breastfeeding.] ‘Āʾishah said: ‘I thought that I must not admit Aflaḥ until I had obtained God’s Messenger’s permission. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘What stopped you permitting his entry? He is your paternal uncle’. I said: ‘Messenger of God, it was not Abu al-Qu‘ays who breastfed me, but his wife did’. The Prophet said: ‘Admit him; he is your paternal uncle’. [1]

 It is unanimously agreed upon by scholars that breastfeeding blocks marriages in the same way as blood relations. Ḥamzah was the Prophet’s uncle. His daughter was suggested to the Prophet to marry. He said: ‘She is unlawful to me. Breastfeeding blocks marriages in the same way as family relations. She is the daughter of my suckling brother’.[2]

However, it is a condition that the breastfeeding should be done during the normal time of child breastfeeding, which is a maximum of two years. If a woman breastfeeds a child when her own child has reached two years, has been weaned and stopped feeding on the breast, this has no effect on marriage. (Note: this requires further clarification as at first sight it appears contradictory.) ‘Āʼishah narrated: ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) entered my home when I had a man sitting. He said: “‘Āʼishah, who is this one?” I said: “He is my suckling brother”. He said: “Be careful whom you consider your suckling brothers. Breastfeeding is what satisfies hunger”’. [3]

If a child takes a drop or two, this does not count. The child must have five full feeds, taking the woman’s breast each time and sucks its fill, then leaves it at will. Such is the feed, even though it may be short.

 1. It is not permissible for a wife to admit anyone into her home without her husband’s permission. This is why ‘Āʼishah informed the Prophet that a man was seeking admittance into Ḥafṣah’s home.

 2. The Prophet’s companions were the best of people apart from prophets. Yet it was forbidden for them to enter someone’s home and be alone with a woman. This applies even more strictly to other people.

 3. It is not permissible for a person to be too strict in religious matters, unless there is need. A man may not prevent his wife’s maḥram, [i.e. a man who is unlawful to her to marry], to enter her home, shake hands with her, travel with her, etc. unless that person is suspect in regard to his faith and morality. The Prophet did not stop the man entering Ḥafṣah’s, nor did he express any displeasure.

 4. It is not permissible for a man to enter the room of a woman who is a close relative without permission, even if she is his sister or mother.

 5. The Prophet’s statements are primarily taken as addressed to all and intended for legislation, except such statements as are evidently applicable to him only or the addressee. When ‘Āʼishah heard his permission for Ḥafṣah’s uncle to visit her, she thought that it might be especially given to Ḥafṣah. Therefore, she asked him about her own paternal uncle through breastfeeding. The Prophet told her that had he been alive, he would not have prevented him visiting her.

 6. A man should take care of his family and ensure that they learn what they need of the rulings of their faith.

 7. It is not permissible to take a complacent attitude in matters of breastfeeding, visits, privacy and companionship in travel, etc. Every Muslim must make sure and confirm the status. Not every breastfeeding blocks marriages. It must be within the normal period of child breastfeeding and that it consists of at least five feeds, giving the child some satisfaction. Hence, the Prophet said to ‘Āʼishah: ‘Be careful whom you consider your suckling brothers’.

1. Related by al-Bukhari, 4796; Muslim, 1445.

2. Related by al-Bukhari, 2645, Muslim, 1447.

3. Related by al-Bukhari, 2647; Muslim, 1455.

 1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentions that Iblīs erects his throne on water, then despatches his troops and assistants to tempt people and lead them astray. He tells them that the one who gains the highest status with him will be the one who works the most evil among humans. When they have accomplished their tasks, they return and tell him what they did. They will mention how they managed to persuade humans to indulge in different sinful actions, such as drinking alcohol, adultery, withholding zakat, negligence of prayer, stealing, etc. None of these is of particular interest to him. He belittles their work and says that it is not particularly significant.

 2. Then comes one who will say that he continued to work on a certain person until he caused a serious schism between him and his wife. Iblīs will be particularly pleased with this one, and draw the perpetrator to himself and say: ‘You are splendid’, meaning ‘a great devil’. He will praise this one’s work and consider it deserving of high position.

 Such praise signifies the great evil that the spoiling of marital relations indicates. It leads to friction and enmity between man and wife and between their two families. It may also lead to problems for their children and negligence of their upbringing. It may further cause an increase in unlawful sexual practices, with its very serious social repercussions.

 1. The accursed Satan, Iblīs, is the most hostile enemy of mankind. He declared his enmity to Adam from the moment God commanded him to prostrate himself before Adam, but he refused.

He declared his intention to mislead all human beings:

Everyone should be on their guard, lest they fall prey to his temptation.  For, if they do, they soon will discover that they have gone far astray.

 2. Satan uses various tactics to lead people astray, including whisperings, stirring up trouble and hostility between people, giving sin an attractive hue, and promoting anger, prejudice, hastiness, laziness, etc. Therefore every Muslim should always be on the alert, watching his tricks, and seeking God’s refuge from him. God tells us in the Qur’an that seeking refuge with Himself will protect against Satan’s whisperings and temptation.

 3. The proper refuge from Satan’s promptings is obeying God’s commandments and seeking His secure refuge. Qatādah said: ‘Son of Adam, Satan is attacking you from all sides, but he cannot attack you from above. He cannot prevent you from receiving God’s mercy’.

 4. Beware, for Iblīs and his troops are out to destroy Muslim homes.

  5. Causing a split between man and wife leads to great evils, including rancour and enmity between the families of both spouses, an increase in adultery which is the worst and most shameful of major sins. It also causes material and mental harm to children, and may lead to their bad upbringing. Hence, Iblīs is overjoyed when such instances are reported to him.

 1. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar was a young man during the Prophet’s lifetime. He got married, then he divorced his wife once during her menstruation period.

 2. ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb went to see the Prophet and told him that his son, ‘Abdullāh, divorced his wife when she was menstruating. He wanted to know the Islamic ruling in this case.

 3. The Prophet was angry because Ibn ‘Umar’s action was contrary to the proper Islamic way.

 4. He told رUmar to say to his son that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered him to take back his wife. When she had finished her period, he was to keep her through one more cycle of cleanliness and menstruation.

 5. When she had finished this cycle, she would be in a period of cleanliness during which no sexual intercourse had taken place. As such, he may either divorce her before having sexual intercourse with her, or he may retain her.

 6. This is what God has legislated for people who need to go through a divorce.

 7. Another version of the hadith makes it absolutely clear that the permissible way of divorce requires that it takes place during a period of cleanliness from menses which is free of sexual intercourse between the couple, or during pregnancy. That it may take place during pregnancy, even with an intervening intercourse, is evidenced by other hadiths. The waiting period for a pregnant divorcee lasts until the wife has given birth.

 The purpose of delaying a divorce until a time of cleanliness and before intercourse is to ascertain that the woman is not pregnant. Once her husband learns of her pregnancy, he may reconsider whether he really wants to divorce. Moreover, this delay gives the husband time to think and reflect.

1. If a person entertains some doubt, mild as the doubt may be, about something he has done, that person should consult scholars about it. Such consultation is required whether the matter in question concerns an act of worship or some transaction involving other people.

2. It is permissible that a person sends someone else to ask for a fatwa, or a ruling, provided that this emissary is able to put the case clearly and understand the ruling when given. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar sent his father to ask the Prophet.

3. It is right that a scholar, educator or advocate of Islam feels angry because of something done by a person asking about its acceptability, if the deed is serious and its ruling should have been ascertained before it was done.

4. Since divorce during the wife’s menstruation or after sexual intercourse during cleanliness is improper, and the reason behind this verdict is the need to reflect and think twice before taking the decision to divorce, it is unwise for anyone to resort to divorce without proper reflection and consideration.

5. The very fact that a woman is pregnant, or the couple have children, may be a reason that stops people from resorting to divorce. This is one reason for forbidding divorce after a sexual intercourse has taken place between man and wife and before she goes through her next menstrual cycle.

6. It is important to refer to scholars of good standing for rulings applicable to divorce. A scholar who is also a judge, or one who has experience in arbitration, is even more preferable. It is often the case that people differ in their presentations of the scenario of a particular divorce case. Moreover, scholars may differ in their rulings concerning certain details. Therefore, reference to expert scholars is more reassuring.

 1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) rules that it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to stop wearing her normal clothes, finery or perfume, in mourning for a close relative such as a parent, son, daughter, brother or sister, or anyone else for more than three days. The only exception is for her husband, when she should stop wearing fineries, perfume or applying kohl for four months and ten days.

Thus, for a close relative, the period of mourning is three days, which is enough to express one’s grief for the death. A woman’s husband is excepted because he has a greater right. Hence, Islam applies the rules of the waiting period and mourning equally for all married women, whether the marriage has been consummated or not [1]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) then gives some detailed rulings concerning the period of mourning, stating that a woman in mourning may not wear coloured clothing except a yarn dress, which was a Yemeni type of dress where the threads are dyed before its cloth is made. It was not considered very attractive. Hence, it was allowed. Other restrictions include that a widow in mourning does not apply kohl or eyeliner, use perfume, except to remove the smell of menses when she has finished her period. The Prophet mentions two types of plant that impart a good scent when used like incense. This means that what should be used is not a perfume, but a cleansing ointment that removes the smell of menses.  

This is applicable in the case of the husband’s death, but not in the case of divorce. Fine attire may encourage a proposal of marriage. As a divorcing husband is alive, he can stop his divorced wife from marrying during her waiting period, if she tries to do so, while this is not possible in the case of the husband’s death. Therefore, the manifestation of mourning lasts for four months and ten days. Four months is the period required for a pregnancy to be confirmed, and the ten days are added to make this absolutely certain [2]

This applies to a woman who is not pregnant. The waiting and mourning period of a pregnant wife ends at the end of her pregnancy, whether it is short or long. This is based on the Qur’anic verse that says: 

 2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then gives some detailed rulings concerning the period of mourning, stating that a woman in mourning may not wear coloured clothing except a yarn dress, which was a Yemeni type of dress where the threads are dyed before its cloth is made. It was not considered very attractive. Hence, it was allowed. Other restrictions include that a widow in mourning does not apply kohl or eyeliner, use perfume, except to remove the smell of menses when she has finished her period. The Prophet mentions two types of plant that impart a good scent when used like incense. This means that what should be used is not a perfume, but a cleansing ointment that removes the smell of menses.   

The prohibition of using kohl or eyeliner applies if there is no special need for it. If a woman has a particular need for such treatment, she uses it at night and wipes it off during the day. Umm Salamah, the Prophet’s wife, reports: ‘When Abu Salamah passed away, God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) visited me and noticed that I had applied aloe vera to my eyes. He said: ‘What is this, Umm Salamah?’ I said: ‘It is aloe vera and has no smell of perfume’. He said: ‘It smartens the face. Therefore, use it at night and remove it during the day’ [3]

The woman in mourning should also refrain from using henna, wearing gold and silver jewellery. The Prophet says: ‘A woman in mourning for her husband does not wear clothes dyed with safflower or dyed red, or jewellery, and does not use henna or kohl [4]

 1. Islam permits a woman to be in mourning, expressing her grief for the loss of a relative or a friend, provided that she entertains no feeling of objection to God’s will and that her mourning does not involve any action that incurs God’s displeasure, such as face slapping or garment tearing or loud lamentation.

 2. It is a woman’s duty to observe a period of mourning, if her husband dies, whether the marriage has been consummated or not. If she is pregnant, her waiting period lasts until delivery; otherwise, it lasts four months and ten days.

 3. If a woman needs to use kohl for an eye complaint, and she has no alternative treatment for her complaint, its use becomes permissible.

 4. A woman in mourning for her husband is forbidden all aspects of adornment. It is not permissible for her to wear jewellery, use henna or eyeliners, wear perfume or the sort of clothing a woman wears to please her husband.

 5. The hadith indicates that a woman in mourning may use ointments that have no fine scent. She may oil her hair to comb it, but not for its smell.

 6. It is permissible for a woman in mourning to take a bath, go out for her needs and to speak to men when needed, without voice affectation.

  7. She may eat whatever she likes. Mourning does not imply any restriction on food or drink.

1. In his book on unanimity, al-Ijmā‘ (p. 90), Ibn al-Mundhir says that scholars are unanimous that the waiting period of a Muslim woman who is not pregnant and whose husband dies is four months and ten days, whether the marriage is consummated or not, and whether she is young, having not attained puberty, or old.

Ibn al-Qaṭṭān says in al-Iqnā‘ fī Masāʼil al-Ijmā‘, Vol. 2, p. 54, that all scholars agree that mourning is a duty for a widow, except al-Ḥasan who is reported to think that mourning is not required. Every Muslim wife, who is a sane adult, must observe mourning for her husband for four months and ten days.

2.  Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 10, p. 113. English edition, Vol. 8. Book of Divorce, Chapter 9.

3. Related by Abu Dāwūd, 2305; al-Nasāʼī, 3537.

4. Related by Abu Dāwūd, 2304; al-Nasāʼī, 3535.

God Himself undertook the division of inheritance, outlining in detail the shares each heir is entitled to have. The Prophet clarified the Qur’anic rulings so that people receive their fair shares, and no one takes something to which they have no claim.

 In this hadith, the Prophet commands whoever is in charge of the division of the deceased’s estate to start with the heirs who are given specified shares. When they have taken their shares, the remainder goes to those known as the deceased’s ‘aṣabah, which means the deceased’s heirs who are not given specified shares. If these are of the same degree of relation to the deceased, they take the entire estate when they are the only heirs, but if the deceased is survived also by one or more of those heirs entitled to a specified portion, these take their shares first and the remainder goes to the ‘aṣabah heirs, such as the deceased’s children, full brother, half-brother, paternal uncle and cousin.

 The specified shares are six, and they are well-known: one-half, one-quarter, one-eighth, one-third, one-sixth and two-thirds.

 One-half is inherited by five different heirs when any of them happens to be the only heir. These are the deceased’s daughter, the deceased’s son’s daughter, the deceased’s full sister or paternal half-sister, and the deceased woman’s husband.

 One-quarter is inherited by the deceased woman’s husband if there is a block on his share. It is also inherited by the deceased’s wife, or wives, when there is no block. The deceased wife’s share is reduced to one-eighth if there is a block.

 A share of two-thirds is specified for four types of heirs: two or more of the deceased’s own daughters, or his son’s daughters, or two or more of full sisters or paternal half-sisters, provided that they are the only heirs with none to block their inheritance.

 The share of one-third applies to two types: 1) the deceased’s mother if the deceased leaves behind neither children nor grandchildren, nor two or more siblings. 2) two or more of the deceased’s mother’s children. This share is one-third of the whole estate. However, in the case of the deceased being survived by both parents and a spouse, the mother takes one-third of what is left after the others take their specified shares.

 A share of one-sixth applies in seven cases: each of the deceased’s parents, or grandfather when the deceased also leaves behind a child or grandchild, the deceased’s grandmother(s), a son’s daughters when the deceased is also survived by a daughter, paternal half-sisters alongside a full sister, a single male or female child of the deceased’s mother.

 All these specified shares are mentioned in the Qur’an, except the share of grandmothers, which is taken from the Sunnah. These relatives are the ones the Prophet ordered to be given their shares when he said: ‘Give the specified shares to their owners’.

 The ‘aṣabah heirs have different grades. The deceased’s own children and offspring are in the top grade, but the deceased’s son stands ahead of his son’s son, and the latter ahead of his grandson’s son, and so on. The deceased’s father is in the second grade, followed by siblings born to both parents, then those born to his father. Next come nephews who are born to the deceased’s full siblings, then his nephews whose fathers are the deceased’s parental brothers. Next come full uncles, followed by the deceased’s uncles on the father’s side; then the children of full paternal uncles, then the children of uncles on the father’s side, and so on.

  ‘aṣabah blocks the one next in line. The deceased’s father does not inherit as ‘aṣabah if the deceased is survived by his own son. He takes only his specified share. Likewise, the deceased’s grandson is blocked when the deceased is survived by a son. The deceased’s father blocks all the ‘aṣabah including the deceased’s brothers and uncles. A full brother blocks a half-brother, nephews, etc. A paternal half-brother blocks nephews and uncles. Nephews born to a full-brother of the deceased block his nephews born to his paternal half-brother, uncles, etc. The latter nephews block the deceased’s uncles and their children, etc. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s expression: ‘the nearest male relative’. It does not mean that when two or more of the deceased’s relatives are of the same grade, the one with distinguished position or achievement should be given priority. There is no possibility, for example, to place the eldest son ahead of his brothers and sisters, or to give more to the one of the deceased’s children who achieves distinction at work or in his studies [1]

 1. The division of inheritance is a specialized discipline of Islamic law which is needed by all Muslims and should be given due importance by students of Islamic scholarship.

 2. Only a scholar who understands the discipline of inheritance and is excellent in arithmetic should attempt to divide a deceased person’s inheritance.

 3. What God has legislated regarding inheritance should be fully and completely accepted by all, because it is based on divine wisdom.

  4. The division of inheritance is legislated by God, Mighty and Exalted. No Muslim may object to it or feel displeased with it, or try to distribute the inheritance as he prefers.

1. This system is both simple and logical. However, it may sound very complex for two reasons: 1) the endless different cases that occur in practical life and the nature of relatives a deceased person leaves behind; and 2) its translation from Arabic may sound confusing because of the different ways of referencing relatives in different languages. For example, the English word ‘cousin’ refers to a great number of the offspring of a person’s uncles and aunts, close and removed. Therefore, it is important when dividing the inheritance to resort to specialist scholars and explain each case in detail. – Editor’s note.