Traditional Practices and Islam Q. Could you please explain whether the following traditions are legitimate from the Islamic point of view: 1) Tying a black thread around the arm of a baby or a young child, and reading the Qur’anic verse known as Ayat Al-Kursi and the opening surah of the Qur’an, to protect the child from harm; 2) Visiting the graves of relatives and placing a wreath of flowers on the grave. May I also ask if it is correct to maintain a practice simply because local traditions claim that it is Islamic? A. The first practice is similar to wearing a charm, talisman or amulet. All this is forbidden in Islam and ensures that the desired result is not achieved. The Prophet (peace be upon him) cursed people who wear such articles and prayed that God would not grant them their purpose.The same applies to what you describe. It is far better to read the surah and the verse to the child and pray to God to protect that child. This is the proper way. Wearing something and thinking that it would ensure protection or bring good luck is not the right way. It is false indeed. The second practice is acceptable. In fact, visiting graveyards is recommended as a means to remind ourselves of death and the Day of Judgment. Placing some tree branches or flowers on a grave is also correct, as the Prophet did it. When we do something of a religious nature that has become a tradition we need to inquire about its origin, the way it is done and its compatibility with Islamic teachings. God has condemned those who defend their practices by stating that they only inherited such practices. This is not acceptable, even if the intention is correct. Missed Prayer and Advance Zakah. Q.1. When we offer Sunnah prayers,do they compensate for our missed obligatory prayers? If not,do we have to pray our missed prayers alongside our regular prayers? Q.2. A man who had a stroke could not buy his medicine because of his poverty. His brother bought the medication for him and set it off against the zakah that is bound to be due from him next Ramadan. Is this acceptable? A.1. No, offering voluntary or Sunnah, prayers does not compensate for obligatory ones that one had missed earlier. The two are unrelated. However, voluntary prayers are rewarded handsomely by God. If a person had missed prayers in the past, he/she should repent of this sin, making a clear resolve that he/she would not neglect their prayers in the future. If their repentance is genuine and their resolve is confirmed, then God may, if He so wills, forgive them their earlier negligence. A.2. Since a man is not duty bound to support his poor brother,then he may give him his zakah when it is due. In this case, he should give him the money so that he could arrange for the medicine to be bought. If the sick brother is not in a position to act for himself,then it could be done on his behalf. Having said that,I should explain that the well-off brother could earn greater reward from God,if he bought his brother’s medicine,and then paid his zakah to his brother, when it became due,or in advance. Kindness to anyone is rewarded by God,and kindness to a close relative earns double or even greater reward. Can Zakah Be Paid to Non-Muslims? Q. Could you please explain whether zakah can be paid to non-Muslims,and in what circumstances? A. Zakah is an Islamic act of worship aimed at reducing and eradicating poverty within the Muslim community. The Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed Mu’adh ibn Jabal, whom he had appointed as Governor of Yemen, to call on people to believe in God’s oneness and in Muhammad’s message,and to offer the five daily prayers. He then said to him: “When they have accepted this, tell them that God has imposed on them the duty of zakah, which is taken from the rich among them and paid to their poor.” You note how the Prophet’s wording indicates that zakah should be paid to the poor in the Muslim community. This is how it was implemented in the early period of Islam,which indicates the proper model that should be followed in all Muslim communities. At the turn of the first century of the Muslim calendar, the Muslim state was very rich and everyone benefited. The governor of the Libyan and Tunisian province wrote to the caliph, Umar ibn Abd Al-Azeez, that he could not find poor people to whom he should pay the zakah already collected. The caliph instructed him to pay it to any poor people among the Christian and Jewish citizens.The governor wrote back that none could be found.In fact,zakah money was carried into the market place and placed in public with an invitation to anyone who needs it to come forward and take what he needed.But none did.Umar then instructed his governor to use it in buying slaves and setting them free, as the freeing of slaves is one of the legitimate purposes of zakah. This should give you a clear answer.Zakah could be paid to non-Muslim citizens only when Muslims’ needs have been satisfied.However,non-Muslims could be helped to alleviate their poverty from other sources of the Muslim state.This is due to the fact that zakah is an Islamic worship and must be spent only in the ways the Qur’an has specified(See Surah 9:At-Taubah Verse 60 for categories of people entitle to Zakat). Treating Black Magic Q. Could you please explain the treatment of black magic and how to ensure its effectiveness? A. Magic is mentioned in the Qur’an, which confirms its existence.Yet the Qur’an makes clear that magic has no substance of reality.The sorcerers who challenged Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) were very skilful,and their magic is described in the Qur’an as “great”,but the Qur’an also says that what those sorcerers produced was nothing but deception that had no reality. The only treatment I know of is the Qur’an. If you read the Qur’an with reflection on its meaning and trust in its truth,and pray God for protection and help,you will be able to overcome the effects of black magic.It is recommended to read the last two surahs of the Holy Quran(113 &114), reflecting on their meaning and trusting in God for help. Having said that,I should add that much of what people think to be black magic and its effects is nothing but a mental disease,which could be treatable and curable. You need to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist for this. ____________________________________________________________ Does your mail provider give you a free online calendar? Yahoo! does. Get Yahoo! Mail 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~