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Queries
Is the Earth Flat according to the Qur’an?
Question: Can you explain the following verse:
He [Dhu’l-Qarnayn] followed, until he reached the setting of the sun. He found it set in a spring of murky water. (18:85-6)
Does it not imply that the earth is flat and be considered a scientific mistake?
Answer: The problem seems to have arisen due to an erroneous translation of the said verses. A correct translation is:
He [Dhu’l-Qarnayn] made ready his resources, until he reached the place where the sun sets. He found it as if it was setting in a spring of murky water. (18:85-6)
The setting of the sun in murky waters is a figurative portrayal. When one is standing on the shores where the sun sets, the scene is very much like what the verse says. It seems as if the sun is setting in murky waters. The style adopted by the Qur’an indicates that Dhu’l-Qarnayn had conquered all the known parts of the West at that time. He had reached the end of the known land territory and now only the expanse of water remained beyond it. It must be appreciated that the language of the Qur’an is highly literary and it often employs figurative styles and constructions to convey its meanings. If one does not have a literary taste, he fails to grasp the delicacy and elegance of such styles.
Can a Husband force his Wife to wear the Hijab?
Question: My wife is a practicing Muslim but she insists that wearing the Hijab is no requirement of Islam.Is it obligatory for me as the husband to ensure that she wears the Hijab? Will I be held responsible if my wife does not wear the Hijab?
Answer: A husband has not been given the right to compel his wife to wear the Hijab (garment that covers the head and chest). If your wife is intellectually convinced that the Hijab is not required by Islam, the only thing you can and should do is to have a good exchange of views with her regarding her arguments. You should try to state the stance of Islam in a very polite and humble manner and leave her to ponder over it. Also, keep thinking about your own arguments. At times, one tends to be more dogmatic than rational. Keep thinking on how you can improve your presentation.
In principle, you must try to convince and educate your wife in following any directive of Islam. You have not been authorized to use force in such matters. Also, you will not be held responsible for any deed of your wife if you tried your best to stop her from something that was wrong according to your own perception.
Elderly People and the Hijab
Question: Do elderly women have to wear the Hijab? And does a lady have to wear theHijab in front of elderly men?
Answer: According to the Qur’an, elderly women have been exempted from wearing the garment that covers their heads and chests. This is obviously because an old woman has lost any attraction for the opposite gender. However, if they still wear it, it is better for them as the Qur’an points out:
There is no blame on elderly women if they do not wear the garment that covers them provided they make not a wanton display of their adornments. However, if they decide to be modest [by not taking off the garment] it is best for them. And God is one who sees and knows all things. (24:60 )
The answer to the second question is also very similar. The spirit and underlying reason in the Hijab directives do not require that the Hijab should be worn before elderly men. However, if women do so, it is better.
The Essentials of ‘Umrah
Question: What are the basic rituals of ‘Umrah? Also what is their significance?
Answer: Following are the essential rituals of the ‘Umrah:
1. Ihram
2. Tawaf
3. Sa‘i
4. Tahliq/Taqsir
These are explained below in their order of observance:
1. Ihram: Two un-sown sheets of cloth are worn from the Miqat (certain places that signify the beginning of the limits of the Ka‘bah).
This apparel signifies one’s detachment from this world as they resemble the coffin cloth in which one will ultimately be buried.
2. Tawaf: A person then circumambulates the house of the Almighty seven times. At the beginning of each round, one raises the hands towards the Hijr Aswad. This is called Istilam.
In ancient Arabia, covenants and agreements were strengthened by raising hands and by moving around in circles. The significance of Tawaf and Istilam is that one actually revives the covenant of pleasing the Almighty through them.
3. Sa‘i: After completing the seven rounds of Tawaf, a person is required to walk seven times between the two hillocks of Safa and Marwah.
This ritual symbolizes one’s struggle and endeavour for Islam which one should do in one’s normal life.
4. Tahliq/Taqsir. After that, one is required to either have a complete hair shave (Tahliq) or to have a hair cut (Taqsir). Women are required to remove a few strands of their hair only.
This symbolizes servitude to Allah. In ancient times, a shaved head signified a slave person. Kings had the hairs of their slaves shaven off to show that they were their slaves.
‘Umrahbecomes very meaningful if this symbolism is known to a person.
Foreknowledge and the Angels
Question: I have read in the Qur’an that before Allah created man, He informed the angels of His plan. They objected to this scheme by saying that man would create disorder and be responsible for bloodshed. My question is: How did the Angels know this beforehand?
Answer: The Angels knew that man would create bloodshed because the word the Almighty used for man was ‘Khalifah’. In Arabic, this means a person who has the authority to exercise his free will. Since this authority can be misused and it would be, the Angels rightly thought that man would create bloodshed through this misuse.
Female Circumcision
Question: In Islam, do women also get circumcised? What does the following Hadith mean:
‘Umarand ‘Uthman and A%’ishah, the wife of the Prophet, used to say: ‘When the circumcised part touches the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory’. (Mu’tta, Kitabu’l-Taharah)
Answer: No Islam does not direct women to get circumcized. Actually, the Hadith you have referred to has been translated literally, and thereby given rise to the question of female circumcision. If linguistic principles are given due considerations, the Arabic word Khitan used in the Hadith and translated as ‘the circumcised part’ actually implies the copulative male and female organs.
In the Arabic language, there is a style called Mujanasah which means using similar words such that the second used word does not do the job of conveying its original meaning but rather being of the same genre as the previous one. We have examples of such usage in the Qur’an also. For example a verse says:
The recompense of evil is similar evil. (42:40)
Here the word evil used second is merely for Mujanasah ie it does not do convey its original meaning; it is only of the same genre. Of course, the reward of evil is not a similar evil for the reward is a just act which the perpetrator of evil deserves; this act of justice cannot be called evil in the literal sense.
Selection of Prophets
Question: How did the Almighty chose His Prophets. What was the criteria of His selection?
Answer: The Almighty selects a Rasul on the basis of His all embracing wisdom and sagacity. The basic criterion is that people who have a very exceptional moral character are chosen for this great task. They are the ones who lead unblemished lives before they are called to serve Allah. The Almighty selects them as messengers only after they exhibit a high moral character. The Qur’an refers to this aspect of their lives as ‘Bayyinah’(a clear sign):
Can those who are on a clear sign from their Lord, and then a witness also comes to them from Him and before this, the Book of Moses is already present as a guide and a mercy and those who are without any insight be equal? (11:17)
The above quoted verse is about Muhammad (sws). About Noah (sws), the Qur’an says:
He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and moreover He also specially blessed me with His mercy, but that the Mercy has been obscured from your sight? Shall we compel you to accept it when you are averse to it? (11:28)
About Salih (sws), the Qur’an says:
He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and, moreover, He also blessed me with His mercy – who then can help me against Allah if I were to disobey Him? (11:63)
About Shu‘ayb (sws), the Qur’an says:
He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and moreover He also specially blessed me with His sustenance [pure and] good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. (11:88)
In these verses, a mention of ‘Bayyinah’(clear sign) precedes the mention of Wahi (revelation) for which the words ‘witness’, ‘mercy’ and ‘pure sustenance’ are used. This shows that it is only after those chosen to become Messengers have polished and refined their inner-self that they become the recipients of divine revelation.
Protection of the Divine Message
Question: How do we know that the Prophets of Allah do not falter in delivering the Message of the Almighty?
Answer: The Messengers of Allah are protected and guarded by Allah from faltering in delivering the divine message. In their capacities as divine appointees, they present to their addressees the very message of Allah without any adulteration and alteration. It is the Almighty Himself who takes care of this:
As for those whom He chooses as His messenger [they can say nothing of their own] because He guards them from behind and from the front that He may know if they have delivered the messages of their Lord; and He surrounds whatever is around them and keeps count of all things. (72:16-28)
The Almighty also protects His Rusul from being harmed by their people when they are delivering the truth to them:
Before them the People of Noah denied and the confederates after them; and every people tried to seize their Rasul and disputed by means of vanities, therewith to condemn the Truth: but it was I Who seized them! And how terrible was My requital! (40:5)
Why were the Jews called the ‘Chosen People’?
Question: Why were the Jews made the favoured nation. Why was God preoccupied with this nation so immensely that He called it His favourite?
Answer: The Bible says:
You are the children of the Lord your God … for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy, 14:1-4)
The Lord said to Moses: speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I your God am holy’. (Leviticus 19:1-2)
It is from such Biblical verses that the concept of ‘chosen people’ has arisen. If studied in the light of the Qur’an, this term means that the Israelites for almost two and a half thousand years from Isaac (sws) to Jesus (sws) were given the responsibility of Shahadah ‘ala al-Nas by the Almighty. This means that it was their religious obligation to deliver the truth revealed to them by the Almighty to other nations of the world. This is the very responsibility which today the Muslims carry. Unfortunately, this status made them proud and haughty and gave birth to the concept of being superior and chosen, quite to similar to what many Muslims think today. Instead of fulfilling this obligation, the Jews were of guilty of severe disobedience.
The Qur’an, while removing this superiority of the Jews, says:
And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the children of God and His loved ones. Tell them: [If you are His loved ones, then] why does He punish you for your sins. You are but men, part of His creation. He forgives whom He wills [according to His laws] and punishes whom He wills [according to His laws]. (5:18)
The later part of the verse clarifies that had they been God’s chosen people in the absolute sense, they would never have been punished.
Difference between Hadith and Sunnah
Question: You often make a distinction between Hadith and Sunnah. What exactly is the difference between these two?
Answer: The word Hadith is often understood to be a synonym for the word Sunnah. This is not correct. There is a great difference between the two not only regarding the extent of their authenticity, but also their content. I’ll try to briefly explain the meaning of these terms.
A narrative of the words, deeds or tacit approvals of the Prophet (sws) is called Hadith. It does not add anything to the content of Islam stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the two original sources of Islam. Ahadith (plural of Hadith) only explain and elucidate what is contained in these two sources and also describe the exemplary way in which the Prophet (sws) followed Islam. The scholars of Hadith employ the term, Khabar for Hadith. A Khabar bears the possibility of being either right or wrong. In other words, the scholars of Hadith believe that a Khabar may be true or it may be false. For this very reason, the A%hadith are also called Zanni (presumptive or indefinite).
On the other hand, the word ‘Sunnah’ literally means ‘busy path’, ‘trodden path’, ‘beaten path’. As a term, it means the practices of the Prophet Abraham (sws) to which the Prophet Muhammad (sws) gave religious sanction among his followers after reviving and reforming them and after making certain additions to them. The Qur’an has directed the Prophet (sws) to obey these Abrahamic practices in the following words:
Then We revealed to you to follow the ways of Abraham, who was true in faith and was not among the polytheists. (16:123)
The following three aspects further bring out the difference between Hadith and Sunnah.
Firstly, while Ahadith can be inauthentic or spurious, the Sunnah cannot be so. The Sunnah is in fact as authentic as the Qur’an. This is because the difference in the nature of transmission. Ahadith have been transmitted by a few individuals and therefore become dependent on their character, memory and intellect –all of which can falter even if the person in question is very pious. On the other hand, the Sunnah has been transmitted by whole generations to the next. Such is the vast number of people who have adhered to certain practices that there is no possibility of any error. The memory, intellect and character of a few persons can falter but when thousands of people deliver the same thing, any faulty transmission is ruled out. Furthermore, not only have a large number of people transmitted these practices, but also there is a consensus in the Ummah regarding the authenticity of these practices. In other words, people not adhering to these practices also vouch for their veracity.
Secondly, Sunnah is purely related to the practical aspects of Islam such as the prayer, Hajj, Nikah Wudu Tayammum. Issues that pertain to belief, history, occasion of revelation and explanation of Qur’anic verses lie outside its domain. On the other hand, Ahadith are not confined to a certain sphere of Islam. Its contents range from the practical issues of religion to intellectual ones and from historical episodes to explanation of the Qur’an and of the Sunnah itself.
Thirdly, the Sunnah is not based on Ahadith. For instance, we have not adopted the prayers, pilgrimage, etc in all their details because a few narrators explained them to us, but we have adopted them because every person in our surrounding is either adhering to it or vouching for its veracity. In other words, Sunnah is an entirely independent source of Islam. However some Ahadith may contain a record of the Sunnah just as they may contain the record and explanation of certain verses of the Qur’an. But just as having a record of the Qur’an does not make Ahadith thesame as theQur’an, having a record of theSunnah does not make Ahadith equivalent to theSunnah.