FATAWA

Mufti Husain Ahmad Badri

Ihave recently been doing a paint job and have constantly found paint on my skin after cleansing myself and praying salah. My question is, is my salah still valid, or will I have to make up for all the salah I have prayed in this state? The condition for validation of wudu is that the water reaches the skin of the limbs that must be washed in wudu. The wudu will not be valid if paint, glue, or any other adhesive or substance prevents water from reaching the limbs. Accordingly, if you find such paint pre- venting water from reaching the skin after praying your salah, the wudu and salah will be invalid. The paint must be removed, the part previously covered in paint rewashed, and the salah must be repeated as mentioned in the following hadith:

‘Umar Ibn Khattab g narrates that a person performed wudu and left a small part equal to the space of a nail (unwashed). The Messenger of Allah s saw that and said, “Return and complete the wudu” (Muslim).

I have heard that if a person fasts six days of nafl fasts after Ramadan in Shawwal, it is as if he has fasted the whole year. Is the above true, and if so, should these six fasts be consecutive, or is it okay if I spread them out throughout the month?

Fasting six days in the month of Shawwal is a great virtue that abounds in rewards. The Prophet a said, “Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year” (Muslim). It is not required to fast for six consecutive days. One can fast any six days of the month.

I have yet to receive a share of the inheritance from a family member who recently passed away. I am not sure when I will receive it, but I do know that I will receive a share sooner or later. If I am calculating my zakah now, do I have to pay zakat for it from now?

In principle, the inheritance that has not yet come under one’s possession is considered a ‘weak debt’ (dayn da’eef). The ruling for weak debts is that zakah will only be due once the amount has been received, and one is not required to pay zakah on it for the period that one did not have possession of it. Accordingly, zakah on the inheritance owed to you will only be due once it has come into your possession.

As golden rings are not permissible for men in Islam, what is the permissible amount /karat of silver or platinum for a man to wear Islamically?

A man may only wear a silver ring that weighs less than one mithqal (4.374 grams) of silver. It is not permissible for a man to wear a ring of any other precious metal, including platinum.

Can I perform sajdah tilawa (prostration after ayat of sajda) after praying Asr?

In principle, one may perform sajda tilawa at any time besides the three times where it is explicitly prohibited to pray any salat. They are: sunrise, sunset, and exact noon. Accordingly, it would be permissible to perform sajda tilawa after Asr provided it is before sunset.

What makes hajj compulsory?

Performing hajj is fard upon every sane, mature Muslim with the physical and financial capability to travel to and return from Makkah safely. It is necessary that one has sufficient wealth to make the journey for hajj and to support his family in his absence. However, if one is physically incapacitated, they should perform hajj af-

If a person has enough money for hajj to be compulsory on him but cannot perform hajj due to an illness, what should he do?

In the scenario above, if one believes that they will recover from their illness and they will be able to perform hajj in the future, then they may delay their hajj until they regain their health. They should write a will for hajj to be performed on their behalf in case they pass away before getting the opportunity to do so.

If the illness is chronic and there is no hope of them regaining enough health to perform hajj, then they should appoint a proxy to perform hajj on their behalf.

I’ve always intended to perform hajj but, unfortunately, have never had the financial means to do so. An elderly uncle recently asked me if I could perform hajj on his behalf at his expense. Will this be permissible

In principle, only one who has previously hajj. However, it would be permissible to perform a hajj even perform hajj provided hajj is not presently obligatory on them. Conversely, it would be impermissible for a person upon whom hajj is obligatory to perform a proxy hajj before

I was reciting Quran, and I came across continued from p. 22 which is usually the case for pilgrims who arrive in the hajj days or immediately before, they will perform hajj only. This type of hajj is called IFRAD.

A misconception about ihram

Many pilgrims think that once you wear the upper and lower shawl, you are now bound by the rules of ihram. This is not true.

Wearing ihram does not mean what it says. When you read this term ‘wearing ihram’ in the books or hear it in a hajj program, what they actually mean is the three components that make the rules of ihram binding on a pilgrim. They are:

What is Talbiya?

Talbiya is to utter :

LABBAYK ALLôHUMMA LABBAYK LA

SHARöKA LAKA LABBAYK INNAL ûAMDA

WAN NI‘MATA LAKA WAL MULK Lô

SHARöKA LAK

1. wearing ihram

2. saying the TALBIYA

3. making the intention.

Once the pilgrim completes all three components, they are now bound by the rules of ihram. So, if a pilgrim wore the ihram and, for example, got lost in conversation with someone and forgot to say the talbiya, he is not yet bound by the rules of ihram. Or, he wears the ihram but falls unconscious before he can make an intention for hajj/umrah, then too he is not legally bound by the rules of ihram.

So, make sure you understand that from here on, wearing/donning ihram means these three components which bind the pilgrim to the rules of ihram.

When can I wear ihram?

A pilgrim can even wear the ihram from home, but its not advised since they will be restricted by the rules of ihram until their hajj is complete. Those rules and restrictions are as follow:

1. Cannot wear stitched clothing until umrah is complete (this rule applies to men only)

2. Cannot apply perfume, ittar, or cologne. This includes scented soaps, shampoos, lotions, moisturizers, makeup or any other such item that contains a strong fragrant smell.

3. Cannot cover the face or head. This includes a baseball cap, qalansuwa (topi; skullcap), imamah (turban), and shawl etc. Umbrellas are permissible since they are not directly on the head (the women will cover the head, but like men cannot cover the face).

4. Cannot remove, cut hair or nails. This seems easy to follow except that whenever you comb, hair inadvertently gets pulled out. So, even though combing itself is not prohibited, it is unadvisable until the ihram is off.

5. Cannot hunt animals. Not a big deal in our time. Most of us purchase our meat from the local Muslim shop anyways.

6. Cannot cover the medial bone on the foot. The medial bone is the slight protrusion that you feel when wiping your hand over the top of the foot. This means the pilgrim cannot wear sneakers or any type of shoes. The only type of footwear that is permissible is flip-flops.

7. Love-making with wife. No explanation required. You either get it or, you will find out after marriage.

Where to wear ihram

You have now wisely decided that it’s not a good idea to wear ihram from home. But then, where does the pilgrim wear it from? The answer is that as long as they wear it before entering the Miqat.

The MIQAT is a set of locations at various distances from Makka that were designated by the Prophet a as the boundaries for pilgrims arriving from the north, south, and east. Contiguous lines between these locations can help pilgrims determine when they must wear their ihram for umra/hajj so that even if they are not coming through any of the designated locations, they can approximate when to wear the ihram.

Since the Red Sea is to the west, the Prophet

LOGISTIC TIP a did not designate any location for pilgrims coming in from that direction. This is why there is no designated Miqat for pilgrims from the west.

Pack your flip-flops and ihram in your carry-on. That way, if your checkedin luggage is misplaced, you can still enter the Miqat in the state of ihram. Remember, if the pilgrim does not enter the Miqat in the state of ihram, he/ she will have to pay damm (expiation).

How is our Miqat set?

Our Miqat is based not on the hadith but the contiguous lines between the designated locations stated in the hadith. Muslim Airlines [e.g., Saudi Airlines®, Air Jordanian® etc.] flying to Jeddah from the west will generally announce when they will be passing the Miqat. This Miqat is an approximate area and should not be confused to mean any one of the designated Miqat cited in the hadith.

But if you are landing in transit to, for example, Istanbul (Turkey) or Amman (Jordan) for your flight to Jeddah, you can wear your ihram at these transit stops if you feel uncomfortable changing into ihram on the flight.

Six Components of umra

Components here means all the main components that constitute an umra. It is encouraged for every pilgrim to memorize these six components and then repeat them to someone to assure that they got them under their belt:

1. Wearing ihram (remember the three things that define ‘wearing ihram’)- compulsory

2. First three circuits of tawaf- compulsory

3. All seven circuits of tawaf- wajib

4. Sa‘ee or walking from Safa to Marwa and back 7 seven times. A pilgrim will start at Safa and end complete his/her sa‘ee at Marwa- wajib

5. Shaving the hair-wajib

Ruling

6. Doing 4,5,6 in exact same order as mentioned above-wajib

What is the difference between compulsory and wajib?

Simple. If a pilgrim misses a compulsory, the umra is invalid. For example, the pilgrim completed five components but did not wear his ihram. This is an invalid umra. But if the pilgrim misses a wajib, he/she can repair it by paying expiation [as long as the pilgrim did not skip it intentionally].

Ten components of Hajj

1. Wearing ihram- compulsory

2. Staying in Arafat at any time between noon of 9th to Fajr of 10th- compulsory [see timeline on p.]

Fact

The three pillars are now housed in a huge multitiered bridge with numerous entry and exit ramps to accommodate the huge influx of pilgrims in hajj season.

3. Tawaf of hajj (also known tawaf ifada or tawaf ziyarat)- compulsory

4. Tawaf qudum- pilgrim will perform this tawaf upon arrival

5. To stay in Muzdalifa on 10th and to not depart before dawn-wajib

6. Rami of only the big Jamara after sunrise on 10th and all three Jamarat on the 11th and 12th in Mina-wajib

7. Slaughtering animal-wajib

8. Shaving hair- wajib

9. To complete 6,7,8 in exact order as stated above-wajib

10. Sa‘ee-wajib- this sa‘ee will be performed after the compulsory tawaf ifada.

Every pilgrim is highly encouraged to memorize these ten components of hajj. It will help them map out their own hajj route as they move through each step of the hajj rites.

What is Rami, Jamarat, Mina, Muzdali-

fa, and Arafat?

RAMI means to throw or shoot. In hajj

Fact

Keep in mind that a new day according to the Islamic calendar starts after Maghrib. In that case, Maghrib and ‘Isha are being combined in Muzdalifa on the 10th of Dhul Hijja though it still qualifies as the same day in which the pilgrim stayed in Arafat, which was on the 9th, according to the solar calendar.

Since the hajj days are based on the lunar Islamic calendar, we have elaborated the hajj process accordingly.

terminology, rami is throwing 7 pebbles at the biggest pillar known as JAMRAT AL-‘AQABA on the 10th of Dhul Hijja after sunrise. On the 11th, 12th the pilgrim will do rami again but now the time for rami is after midday and the pilgrim will do rami seven times each of the smallest, middle and biggest Jamrat.

JAMRAT means pebble but in hajj terminology it is the three pillars where huge mounds of pebbles pile up after three consecutive days of rami by over a million pilgrims. Thus the name Jamrat (singular) and Jamarat (plural).

There are three pillars altogether. The largest one is called Jamrat al-‘Aqaba; the middle one, JAMRAT AL-WUSTA; and the smallest, JAMRAT AL-ULA. On the 10th, the pilgrim will only perform rami of the Jamrat al-‘Aqaba after sunrise while on the 11th and 12th rami will be done of all three Jamarat starting with the smallest [Jamrat al-Ula] and ending with the largest after midday. The three jamarat are located in Mina.

These pillars historically represent the three places where Shaytan blocked the path of Ibrahim e and tried to prevent him from obeying the divine order to slaughter his son Ismael e. Jibril e ordered Ibrahim e to throw seven pebbles at Iblis. who then disappeared 1 Four thousand years later, Jibril e showed the Prophet a the same three locations and ordered him to integrate the Sunna of Ibrahim e into the hajj rites.2 MINA, MUZDALIFA and ARAFAT. These are three major hajj stations located east of Makka. The first station after departing from Makka is Mina, followed by Muzdalifa and then Arafat.

Fact

You will pay a fee in advance

MINA is where the three jamarat are located and where the sacrificial animal will be slaughtered.

The pilgrims spend their first hajj day [8th] in Mina and then return on the 10th and stay in Mina on the 11th, 12th, and 13th (optionally).

MUZDALIFA is the main station between Mina and Arafat. The pilgrim will pass through here on the 9th from Mina to Arafat. Immediately after Maghrib time starts, pilgrims will return westward to Muzdalifa and pray their Maghrib and ‘Isha together with one adhan and two iqama and stay the night in Muzdalifa. After praying Fajr in Muzdalifa, they will depart after dawn for Mina to perform their rami of the Jamrat al-‘Aqaba.

ARAFAT is the last of three stations located roughly 9 miles east of Makka. The pilgrims will arrive here on the 9th by noon. They will pray their Zuhr and Asr with one adhan and one iqama in Zuhr time, but only if they pray at Masjid Namrah behind the main imam of the masjid. Otherwise, the pilgrims will pray Zuhr and Asr in their respective times.

This is the day of du‘a. After combining Zuhr and Asr after noon, the Prophet a devoted the day to invocations and prayers near the famous Mount Arafat until Maghrib.

After Maghrib, pilgrims depart for Muzdalifa and will pray their Maghrib and ‘Isha combined, as mentioned earlier, in Muzdalifa on the 10th.

Spiritual Aspect

Many pilgrims are relaxed in this matter even though the spiritual aspect of this journey is the soul and spirit of the hajj.

Without the soul, there is no life in the body. if the tawaf and sa‘ee and all the other hajj rites are devoid of a soul, then what is achieved by all the sacrifices the pilgrim makes in the name of Allah; the huge investment of money, separating from family, leaving comfort of the home, taking time off from work, the language barrier, mishaps, incompetence and mismanagement of hajj workers, exhaustion, and dirt and dust. We shouldn’t want to make all these sacrifices only to present something that is not worthy of acceptance.

Intention first!

The first thing we must do before planning our journey is to look into our heart and ponder over our real INTENTION. The real intention determines the outcome of our hajj and whether it is accepted or not. The Prophet a said a time will come when the rich will perform hajj for leisure, the middle-class for business, and the poor to beg.

This is a warning about bad and corrupted intentions.

If the intention is wrong from the get-go, then all the money and time invested into the epic journey is wasted and the pilgrim returns empty-handed.

Here and now every pilgrim should make the intention that they are on a mission to do whatever it takes to please Him. They will show servitude because that is the purpose of hajj; He wants us to face the struggles and hurdles that He puts up for us during the hajj process with patience and determination for His sake.

Shaving hair

He wants us to shave our hair though we have the option to trim it short because we need to prove to Him that we care more about achieving His pleasure and not our self-image; and the one who does so, receives the du‘a of the Prophet a who invoked three times, “O Allah have mercy on the shavers.”3

The shaving of the hair seems trivial. Shaytan downplays its importance whispering that it is only Sunna to discourage the pilgrim. He knows

3. Muwatta, al-hallaq

that when the pilgrim shaves, it is more than his hair that goes. His self-worth, self-love and self-image are also shaved off. Vanity is purged from the heart and replaced with love for Allah.

Staying in Mina

On the 10th, 11th and 12th we can return to the comfort of our hotel beds in Makka, but Allah wants us to camp in the Mina tents. This was the Sunna of our Prophet a. Shaytan will downplay this again with his ‘it is only Sunna’ game, but we must fight the urge to go to

Makka. The 13th in Mina

Then, we can return to Makka on the 12th, but if we stay on to the 13th in Mina, we have proven that we are, indeed, His true servants. On this last day, the pilgrim is at the end of his tether. He is exhausted and just wants to head back home.

Not yet.

The Prophet a stayed on the 13th in Mina and headed back to Makka only after rami on that day.

The pilgrim must push himself to the limit to please Allah.

Pilgrim or tourist?

A pilgrim comes to the Holy Land as a servant, not as a tourist. He/she comes with reverence and awe for the sanctity of the Haram. Their first sight on the Ka‘ba takes their heart away and they cry and pray to Allah and soak tears into the ihram. Mesmerized by the simple and yet imposing cuboid-shaped structure draped in black, the pilgrim thinks, “I prayed toward this qibla my whole life. And here I am now.” SubhanAllah! These are the emotions of a true servant of Allah. Then another comes.

Armed with a cellphone in hand, he is scanning around for the perfect shots. He takes wideangle, low angle, high-angle and close-ups. He poses and postures himself to get a few more. Now, he must get that last epic one with the Ka‘ba in the backdrop. After tawaf, he plops down and scrolls through the images, selects the best of them and uploads them to his online accounts. Sound like a pilgrim or a selfabsorbed tourist?

Pilgrims who come for Allah do not broadcast their lives to the world over social media and use the Haram as a way to promote their own lives. They use the physical proximity to the House of Allah to achieve spiritual proximity to Allah Himself.

If the pilgrim is coming for Allah, they will search the SUNNA and integrate them into their hajj and umra experience. Read the books that highlight the Sunna of each component of hajj/ umra. It is the easiest route to achieving the pleasure of Allah.

Allah loved no way more than the Prophet’s a way.

The Cellphone

Avoid using the cellphone. You came for hajj, not for a photoshoot or a social media event. Use it strictly for communication with group or family members. Avoid loitering in the bazaars and malls and the various other attractions surrounding the Haram. Shaytan will try to draw you away from the Haram. Constantly think of how the Prophet a would have performed hajj and try to imitate him as much as possible. He said, “The worst places in the eyes of Allah are the bazaars.”4

Speak from your heart

Learn and memorize the du‘a you like now so that you are not carrying a du‘a book around while you are performing tawaf. This is the