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Queries regarding Zakah
Question: I have some questions regarding payment of Zakah. Please clarify them for me.
1. Last year I saved $ 40,000 and paid my Zakah according to the law of the land. I have not used this amount still and have saved another $10,000. Do I need to pay Zakah on the accumulated amount (i.e. $50,000) or only on the new saving (i.e. $10,000)?
2. I have a provident fund scheme in which my employer contributes 15% and I contribute 5% from my monthly salary towards this fund. The purpose of this scheme is to accumulate money that will be given to me upon retirement or upon termination of my contract with the company. I have limited access to this fund i.e. it is under the control of employer but I am given a chance of borrowing 75% of this fund if I intend to construct a house. Do I really need to pay Zakah on the amount of this fund from my pocket? If so, do I need to pay the Zakah annually?
3. According to my country’s rules, I can only buy a piece of land if I can pledge some money in the bank that will be released when I have finished laying the foundation of the house. Thus, I have blockedsome money in the bank and for many reasons the house could not be built and the bank still has the money. Do I really need to pay Zakah from my pocket on the money pledged with the bank? If so, do I need to pay on the same fund annually?
Answer: My response1 to your questions follows:
1. Zakah is calculated on all assets at the date fixed for the yearly determination and payment of Zakah both on the opening balance and the additions made thereto during the year. Thus, Zakah is also paid for the wealth on which already a similar payment in the previous year had been made.
2. The money is accumulated in the account kept with the company and practically you cannot freely use it. Therefore it cannot be considered your wealth at the moment and therefore is exempted from the Zakah until it is transferred to you. As long as we do not acquire the right to use money, we are not obligated to pay Zakahon it. This is different from the money we keep with a bank from where we can draw an amount and redeposit it as and when desired.
3. We understand that the case is analogous with the lent amount where we are not obliged to pay Zakah. Therefore, it does not seem necessary to pay Zakah on the money that you have pledged against the land unless the money is released or you become potentially able to withdraw it on your discretion.
Regarding ‘Iddah1
Question: Could you please give some direction as to the Islamic ritual for a woman whose husband has just died, for example, the mourning period and the dress code etc.
Answer: The widows have to observe the following directives of the Shari’ah during the ‘Iddah (i.e. waiting period).
Generally the ‘Iddah for divorced women are three menstrual cycles. However, in case of widows the period is extended and stipulated as four months and ten days (Al-Baqarah 2: 234). If a woman is pregnant, whether she is a widow or is divorced, the waiting period is prescribed to be till the birth of the child (Al-Talaq 65: 6). The ‘Iddah is generally believed to have been prescribed so that the couple can get together again (Ruju‘) or, in case of husband’s death, women can mourn the death of their husbands. However, we believe that the basic purpose of the ‘Iddah is to make sure that the lady is not pregnant. This is corroborated by the fact that there is no ‘Iddah for the woman who is divorced by her husband before the consummation of the marriage. In normal circumstances, a believer is supposed to divorce his wife keeping in view her menstrual cycle and thus the status of the womb becomes ultimately clear after three menstrual cycles – the period beginning after divorce which is given in a period of purity without having sex.
Hence the requirement to observe ‘Iddah is to determine pregnancy. As an obvious corollary, ‘Iddah period would not be observed where it can be evidently determined after the demise of the husband that the wife is not pregnant2.
The extended period of ‘Iddah in the case of a widow denotes extra care taken because death can strike anyone anytime. While in usual cases of divorce, the divorce is ordained to be given in the period of purity, the separation caused by death can be anytime. Since a couple could possibly have had a conjugal contact – where divorce is not planned rather separation is caused by death – Allah has increased the period of ‘Iddah so that pregnancy can be determined.
There is no specific directive of the Shari‘ah regarding dress code or jewelry for the widow. She may express her feelings of grief in an appropriate manner. She should also respect the feelings of the parents whose son has been lost or of the sisters whose brother has passed away.
Does the Prophet (sws) respond to us?
Question: Is it correct that the Prophet (sws) answers those who send blessings on him in the grave. I have been told that the Prophet (sws) himself has said that whenever someone invokes Allah’s blessings for him, Allah returns the soul to his body until he replies to his salutation. Is the Hadith authentic?
Answer: The text of the Hadith follows:
AbuHurayrah narrated that the Prophet (sws) said: Whenever someone sends blessings upon me the Almighty return me my soul so that I respond to it. ( Abu Da’ud, No: 2041)
First of all, it should be remembered that it is a Gharib report. The author of Mu‘jam Al-Awsat has also recorded this tradition and observed:
None has narrated this Hadith from Yazid but Abu Sakhar and none narrates from Abu Sakhar but Haywah, and ‘Abdullah Ibn Yazid is the only person who has narrated this tradition. (Mu‘jam Al-Awsat, No: 3092)
The narrator, Abu Sakhar, has been declared weak by some authorities of the science of Hadith:
Ishaq Ibn Mansur has reported that Yahya Ibn Mu‘in said: ‘Abu Sakhar Hamid Ibn Zayad is Da‘if’. And Ahmad Ibn Sa‘ad Ibn Abi Maryam also reported that Yahya Ibn Mu‘in said that Abu Sakhar Hamid Bin Zayyad Al-Kharrat is Dhaif-ul-Hadith. Nisa’i also declared the same. (Yusuf Mizzi, Tihdhib Al-Kamal, 4th ed., vol. 7, (Beirut: Al Mu’assasah Al-Risalah, 1994), p. 368)
Regarding Hamid Ibn Sakhar, I heard Ibn al-Hammad say that Hamid Ibn Sakhar, the one from whom Hatim Ibn Isma‘il narrates is D‘if. (Yusuf Mizzi, Tihdhib Al-Kamal, 4th ed., vol. 7, (Beirut: Al Mu’assasah Al-Risalah, 1994), p. 370)
The text of the Hadith also contradicts some basic Qur’anic concepts. According to this Hadith the Prophet (sws) though dead, is given life to respond and this process goes on. Whereas the Qur’an tells us that after we die, we will only be resurrected on the Day of Judgment.
Due to these reasons the scholars have tried to interpret the words of the Hadith to fit it in the Qur’anic stance on the issue and other reliable narratives. Some hold that returning of the soul is metaphorical for the returning of his power to speak etc. After mentioning all the possible interpretations and comments, the author of ‘Aawnu’l-Ma‘bud has concluded the discussion with the following words:
To sum up, this narrative is not without ambiguity. [Muhammad Shams Al-Haqq Al-‘Azim, ‘Awn Al-Ma‘bud, 3rd ed., vol. 6, (Beirut: Dar Al-Fikr, 1979), p. 29]
We understand that until and unless an acceptable interpretation of the text is offered and the reliability of the chain of narrator is established we should not consider this Hadith as an authentic saying of the Prophet (sws).
Concocted Stories for Inculcating Piety
Question: Some preachers use some baseless stories in the mosques and elsewhere specially to motivate Muslims to perform the religious duties of Islam. People are usually easily motivated by such stories. There are unbelievable stories about Pirs (religious leaders) who are thought to have done miracles during their life time and also after their demise. What should a sincere Islamic preacher do in such a situation especially when, if we directly oppose those fairy tales like stories, then our integrity as sincere believers will be questioned. We can be regarded as persons creating dissension in the Ummah.
Answer: This is indeed very unfortunate that some people try to persuade others to do good acts and avoid evil through narrating such concocted stories. The listeners also do not bother to think that they are being fooled by accepting things which they wouldn’t believe in if only they were to deliberate.
The best approach to preaching is found in the example of the Prophet (sws) who used to recite the Qur’an before his addressees. The best discourse and the ultimate source of guidance is the Qur’an. We should try to present its message in a clear and cogent manner. We should try to inculcate all the good qualities in people through teaching them the Qur’an.
We understand that a believer is always supposed to uphold the truth and should try to replace the wrong with the right. Of course he must do it with wisdom and should not create disorder. While we can have a dialogue with such people and convince them about their folly, we can adopt a positive approach in this regard. Since the Qur’an is the book which is revered by all Muslims, we should, instead of telling such people that they are wrong, explain to them that we should read out to people a translation of the Qur’anic text. In this manner, we can achieve our objective without being labeled as insincere.