Manners and High Moral Standards.

Many of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and members of his household have described his manners and
moral standards which he applied in all situations. These
descriptions give us a clear idea of what sort of person
the Prophet was in his life and how he dealt with different
situations. Needless to say, the people who knew him most
intimately were aware of his reactions to a wide variety of
events and small incidents. They are the ones who could
describe for us the Prophet’s behavior and personality.

None of these was more intimately associated with him than
his wives.Among these Khadeejah and Aishah were the best
source of information about him. The first was his only
wife for 25 years, sharing with him all his concerns as a
husband and a father, long before he started to receive
God’s message. Aishah was the one he loved most among his
later wives. Moreover, she was endowed with profound
knowledge and deep insight. What do they have to tell us
about Muhammad’s character?

When the Prophet met the angel Gabriel for the first time
and he was informed that he was the one chosen to bear
God’s message, the encounter weighed heavily on him, and he
went speedily home. He related the encounter to his wife
and told her that he feared for himself. He did not specify
what sort of fear he felt, but it is clear from the general
conversation that he feared that some evil creature might
have touched him, to trouble his soul. What would any woman
have to say in such a situation? Khadeejah, always wise and
firm in her perception, reflected on her husband’s
personality and concluded that this could not be the case.
How could she tell? Her words show that she was sure of her
grounds: “You have nothing to fear; be calm and relax. God
will not let you suffer humiliation, because you are kind
to your relatives, you speak the truth, you assist anyone
in need, you are hospitable to your guest and you help in
every just cause.” As reassurance is repeatedly needed when
a person is clearly shaken, Khadeejah was not slow with her
comforting and reassuring words. She also told him: “By
God, you are truthful to your trust, kind to your kinsfolk
and you always tell the truth.”

These words describe his habitual behavior before he began
to receive any revelations. He was keen to maintain a high
standard of traditional virtue. Hence, he never told a lie
and was kind and faithful, ready to help anyone in need.
Such a personal high standard of morality and fine behavior
earned him great respect among his community, even though
his people were idolaters. They called him Al-Ameen, a
title which means “honest, worthy of trust”. Hence, they
always believed what he said, knowing him to never tell a
lie.

It is not surprising, therefore, that when the Prophet
wanted to carry out God’s instructions and outline in
public what his message meant, calling on his people to
believe in God’s oneness and abandon idolatry, he sought to
re-establish this position of trust with them. He stood on
top of the small hill at the center of Makkah, known as
Al-Safa, and called on them to gather for he had an
important announcement to make. When they had gathered, he
asked them whether they would believe him if he were to
tell them that a force of armed men were riding toward
their city, aiming to launch a surprise attack on them,
would they believe him? Their reply was prompt, clear,
expressing full confidence: “You are a man of trust and we
have never known you to tell lies.”

The story is well known, and when Muhammad went on to tell
his people of his message and that he received revelations
from God, they immediately rejected his call and started to
level all sorts of accusation against him. But what
concerns us here is the fact that they acknowledged his
honesty and that he was never known to tell a lie to
anyone. Needless to say, a man who never tell lies about
other people knowing that they may never find out, would
never tell a lie about God knowing that He never accepts
anything but the truth, and that the truth is always known
to God.

Muhammad was certainly helped by God to maintain such a
standard of basic morality in pre-Islamic days. This did
not only establish his firm reputation as a man of trust
and perfect honesty; it also made such qualities and moral
virtue come naturally to him. This would be of great help
to him when he would encounter stiff opposition that sought
to suppress his message and annihilate his followers.

God’s help in all this was implicit. The Prophet was not
aware of it. He did not have to go through any
extraordinary experience at any time, other than a
mysterious event which is akin to a heart operation,
performed by an angel, at the age of five. But God has
chosen him for the task, and given him the character, moral
inclination, and personal manners to facilitate his task.
As for his choice, the Prophet is quoted as saying: “I have
been given my message in the best human generation, with
one generation succeeding another until I lived in my own
generation.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

Another authentic Hadith quotes him as saying: “God has
chosen the Quraysh from among Ishmael’s descendants; and He
has chosen the Hashimite clan from among the Quraysh; and
has chosen me from among the Hashimites.” (Related by
Muslim).

What we need to know here is that such choice is not based
on any consideration to which different communities attach
importance in their world. It is not based on lineage,
family position, influence, race or power. It is based on
personal virtue only. God chose Muhammad, knowing him to be
worthy of bearing the divine message. He helped him to
acquire the best moral standard that is universally
appreciated. He then complemented this with the high
standard Islam advocates. We need to remember here the
Qur’anic verse that says: “God knows best to whom to
entrust His message.” (6: 124)

Buying a House With a Mortgage.
Q.Could you please tell me whether buying a house with a
mortgage is permissible,considering that this is the only
way I can buy a house for my family’s living.

A. The European Council for Islamic Rulings, presided by
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a leading authority, has recently
published a ruling that it is permissible for Muslims
living in Western countries to use the facility provided by
banks and building societies to buy a house with a
mortgage. The two provisos the council makes are that the
house is for one’s family’s living and that there is no
comparable way for buying a house that meets Islamic
requirements. The council bases its ruling on the fact that
owning a house is a necessity for living, and the
alternative of renting a house does not provide a
satisfactory solution.

There is no doubt that the council’s ruling is right, and
it answers a felt need of Muslims not only in the West but
also in many other parts of the world. However, I feel that
an added reason for considering the mortgage facility
permissible to use is that the borrower gets more than the
amount of the loan which he pays back in a higher amount.
He gets the full ownership of the house he buys, although,
apart from the mortgage loan, he puts in the price of only
a share of it. He also uses the house for the duration of
the loan. Both these are quantifiable benefits, which are
always greater than the increase in the amount he pays back
on his loan.

Leaving an Unacceptable Job

Q.1. A person is working in an entertainment company which
provides all types of channels. He wants to leave his job
as he considers it unacceptable from the Islamic point of
view, but the company would not release him to a different
employer. He is the only wage earner in his family, and if
he leaves, both his parents and his own family would
suffer. What is he to do?

Q.2. After the death of a relative, people organize some
functions after 3 days and after 40 days, inviting
relatives, neighbors and friends, and distributing food. Is
this according to Sunnah or not?

A.1. As this person is the only wage earner in his family,
he must not leave his job until he has secured an
alternative. However, he must try his best to secure a
different job which gives him satisfaction and a reasonable
salary. He may try to speak to his employer and explain why
he wants to leave, or he may get a prospective employer to
take up his case with his present employer. If all routes
are closed and he must remain with this company, then he
should try to move to a job that does not involve anything
forbidden. He should continue to try to move into something
better and more acceptable from the Islamic point of view,
praying to God to help him to find a more suitable job.

A.2. All these customs and traditions are cultural, not
Islamic. This is why you do not find them practised in the
same way in all Muslim countries. In Islam, death is
considered a beginning of a new phase, not the end of all
life. Therefore, our attitude should be one of total
acceptance, as this is part of God’s will. We pray for the
deceased, but the customs done by people on particular days
and anniversaries are un-Islamic. A deceased person is no
less in need of our prayers on the fourth, 12th or 50th day
of his death than the third, 10th or 40th day. Nor do
anniversaries signify anything from the Islamic point of
view.

Certain Aspects of Worship Allowed to Prophet Only.

Q. A Hadith mentions that the Prophet always prayed the
Sunnah of Fajr, and two rak’ahs after Asr; but it is well
known that there is no Sunnah to be offered after Asr.

A. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had certain aspects of
worship which were allowed for him only, even though he
made it clear to his followers that they must not do them.
The clearest example is fasting two days in succession
without breaking his fast. He made clear that this must not
be done by us. Yet it was allowed to him, and he explained
that God gave him sustenance during such periods.

The voluntary prayer he did after Asr is another such
example. It was permissible for him, but he made clear that
we should not do it. The reason for this is that people
would often delay their prayers and it becomes close to
sunset. Since other communities worshipped the sun, we must
try hard to show that our worship is unlike others who
worshipped deities other than God.

Q. There are several contradictory reports about glorifying
God aloud.

A. Glorifying God is recommended in all situations, whether
in private, vocally, or aloud, provided that one does not
raise his voice so loud that it disturbs others. However,
the best and most rewarding method is to glorify and praise
God privately, vocalizing the words. The reason is that
since no one knows what we do, our action is more sincere
and stems from pure feelings of love of God and being in
awe of Him. What is objectionable is for a group of people
to hold special sessions where they engage in a chorus-like
glorifications. This is a deviation from the Sunnah, since
it was not done by the Prophet or his companions, nor is
there any statement by the Prophet recommending it.

Q. According to a Hadith in Al-Bukhari, when Abu Bakr
rebuked his daughter Aishah for the singing and music he
heard, the Prophet stopped him saying that it was the Eid.
Yet we often hear that musical instruments are forbidden in
Islam.

A. The Hadith you refer to is reported by Aishah who says:
“The Prophet entered my home when I had two maidens singing
some of Bu’ath songs. He reclined on the bed and turned his
face away. Abu Bakr came in and rebuked me, saying: ‘What!
Satan’s horn at the Prophet’s!’ The Prophet turned to him
and told him to leave them alone. When he slept I signalled
them to leave.”

The Hadith does not speak of musical instruments, but of
the two maids singing. Abu Bakr used the word ‘horn’, which
in Arabic refers to a wooden instrument like the oboe, but
this may be figurative. Anyway,the Hadith is cited by
scholars as evidence for the permissibility of singing,and
some scholars cite it also in argument that musical
instruments are allowed in Islam, except where the music is
used for a purpose contrary to Islamic values and
principles.

There is certainly no clear-cut, definitive statement by
the Prophet that musical instruments are forbidden. Hence,
the issue is controversial,with many scholars arguing for
and against prohibition. I personally feel that the
evidence of permissibility is stronger.But I value the
opposite view supported by a number of highly respectable
scholars.

Q. It is well known that the sermon is given after the Eid
prayer.Yet it is mentioned in Al-Bukhari’s Sahih that
Marwan, the governor of Madinah, did it before the prayer
explaining this as necessary because people left without
listening to the sermon.Can we do the same?

A. Marwan was the governor of Madinah when he did this. Abu
Saeed Al-Khudri, the reporter of this Hadith, was a learned
companion of the Prophet. He objected to the action at
first,telling Marwan, who was also a scholar, that he has
changed the Prophet’s practice. Nevertheless, he stayed and
offered the prayer with Marwan.

This means that there is no clear ruling by the Prophet
making the khutbah or sermon a requirement after the
prayer. It is certainly preferable that it should be so,
because it would then be following the Prophet’s practice.
However, Marwan used his discretion, opting for what is
less preferable in order to serve what, to him, was a more
important purpose, which was to ensure that people stayed
to listen. This is up to the Imam to do.

Q. If someone lends another a large sum of money which the
borrower does not repay for sometime, who is required to
pay zakah for this amount. There are 4 different views in
books of Islamic Fiqh. Can we apply any of these views?

A. If the loan is a short term one, and it is repaid on
time, zakah is due on the amount of the loan normally, paid
by the creditor who owns the money on his normal zakah
date. If it is given for a long period, such as a couple of
years or longer, and the borrower is of sound financial
position and able to repay it on demand, at any time, then
it is treated as if the amount is in the creditor’s
keeping. In other words, he pays its zakah every year, in
the normal way. If it is given for a long period, or it is
originally for a short period but remained unpaid for
sometime, and the owner is unsure that it will be paid in
the near future, then zakah is paid for the amount when it
is repaid, once only, even though the loan remained with
the borrower for several years. In this last case, the
creditor actually lost control and was unsure whether the
money would be repaid, or when it will be repaid. He is not
required to pay zakah for what he does not have under his
control.










____________________________________________________________
Too much spam in your inbox? Yahoo! Mail gives you the best
spam protection for FREE! http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~