Zia Sheikh – Ask The Imam
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The month of Dhul-Qa'da and the month
of Dhul-Hijjah is coming up.
The month of Dhul-Hijjah, as the title
suggests, is the month in which the hajj
is performed and there are special blessings for
the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.
And those blessings have been highlighted in many
hadith.
The Prophet ﷺ used to place special emphasis
on the days of Dhul-Hijjah, increasing the
takbeer, the tahleel, the tasbeeh.
Tasbeeh meaning subhanallah, tahleel la ilaha illallah, takbeer
allahu akbar, tahmeed alhamdulillah, in these specific days
of Dhul-Hijjah.
The Prophet ﷺ, he mentioned about these days,
he said that no deed is better in
these days, no other deed is better than
those deeds which are done in these ten
days of Dhul-Hijjah.
The Sahaba asked them, وَلَلْجِهَادِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
Not even jihad fi sabirillah, not even striving
in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala.
They knew what the virtue of striving in
the path of Allah was and that was
huge.
The virtue of striving in the path of
Allah was huge.
The Prophet ﷺ said, not even jihad fi
sabirillah, except, except if a person goes out
in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala and he basically loses everything, he spends
everything, his life, his wealth, everything that he
ever had.
He spent it and he comes back with
nothing, that person may be, his deeds may
be better, but otherwise, the good deeds which
are done on these ten days of Dhul
-Hijjah, they are the most virtuous of deeds
and they are most rewarding of deeds.
So in these ten days, we should try
to fast during the daytime.
It will be of course Nafl fast and
at night we should try to make Qiyam
and get up for Tahajjud and make dua
as much as possible and especially the people
who are going for Hajj, it is obviously
a virtue for them, a special virtue that
they are getting.
They are going to be, these ten days,
they are going to be out in a
very special situation which is performing of an
obligation on one of the five pillars of
Islam.
So they need to take that opportunity to
make sure that they don't waste that opportunity
and make sure that they worship Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala as much as possible in
those days too.
Now specifically, on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah
is the day of Arafah and the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said about the day
of Arafah صوم يوم عرفة أحتى سوى الله
أن يكثر السنة التي قبلها والسنة التي بعدها
that I hope that the fasting on the
day of Arafah, which is the day before
Eid, I hope that fasting on the day
of Arafah, it will forgive the sins of
one year before and the sins of one
year afterwards.
So that is such a rewarding thing that
a person can do is to be fasting
on the day of Arafah and that is
basically very very simple to do, one day
of fasting and yet so much reward so
we should try to make a point of
doing that also.
And during the days of Tashreeq, which are
the days of Tashreeq, which are the day
of Eid itself and three days after that,
we need to increase the Takbeer as much
as possible, Takbeer of Tashreeq, which is Allahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillahi alhamd after all
the salawat and in general also, we need
to try to do that inshallah.
Looks like the community have many questions, so
let's try and tackle all of them inshallah.
What is the difference of reward for praying
in the proper Musalla or Masjid?
I'm not sure what the specific motivation is
behind this question, but the reward for praying
in Jama'at is more than praying by
yourself.
The Prophet ﷺ said that a person who
two people praying, it is better than four
praying individually.
Four people praying, it is better than eight
praying individually.
So the reward of praying in congregation, whether
you are praying in the Masjid or you're
praying at home, it is more rewarding than
praying alone.
So much so that if a person, for
example, he started his individual prayer, he started
to pray Fard prayer, and then he sees
that a Jama'at is starting.
He needs to break his prayer and he
needs to join the Jama'at.
When you go to the Masjid itself, then
that reward is multiplied 25 to 27 times
more.
So basically you can see that from two
perspectives the reward increases.
From the size of the Jama'at itself,
the reward increases, that the bigger the Jama
'at, the more rewarding it is.
So from that perspective the reward increases, and
secondly what happens is that the reward is
multiplied 25 to 27 times.
So the question is that how many of
you would, if you were told that you
have to drive five minutes more than your
current job, and you'll get paid 25 times
more than in your current place of work,
would we not drive five minutes more, or
ten minutes more, or 15 minutes more, or
30 minutes more, just to get that extra
25 times more earnings?
So the same thing applies to the Jama
'at.
We should never undermine it, we should never
underestimate the reward.
We should try to come and pray in
the Jama'at as much as possible.
And one side benefit of the Jama'at
is something that a lot of people do
not mention, and that is that when a
person prays with a Jama'at, when he
prays with a congregation, his mistakes that he
may make individually, they are covered up with
the Barak of the Jama'at.
So if he misses something in Salat, he's
not aware that he's making a mistake in
Salat.
But because he's praying in the congregation, because
of the Barak of that congregation, his reward
of the Salat will be complete, because the
mistakes are basically covered up because of him
praying behind an Imam whose Salat will be
basically complete, hopefully, Insha'Allah, and his mistakes
are basically brushed aside because of the fact
that he's praying in Jama'at.
So that is something also to keep in
mind.
Okay, what options do Muslims have for a
401k?
Is getting IRA like Iman Fund for purpose
of 401k benefits recommended?
Some scholars, it is allowed to invest in
companies that have less than 3 or 5
% interest income, if it is a halal
business.
Basically, what you should try to do, as
far as I know about 401ks, when you
are given the option of a 401k, what
happens is that they will give you certain
categories that you can invest in.
You can, for example, invest in health shares,
you can invest in technology shares, and so
on.
So, basically, you should try to pick those
batches of shares which are Islamically permissible.
And obviously, don't go for the banking sector,
don't go for financials, don't go for entertainment
industry.
In fact, there are even Christian organizations that
have mutual funds that are ethically and morally
acceptable religious wise, and they only invest in
them.
I'm not sure what the names of those
funds are, but they are available if you
look for them.
And Iman Funds, for example, if you go
with them, usually they vet out all the
companies and make sure that the companies that
are invested in are halal.
When away on travel, I'm clear on combining
Salat.
The question is after coming back.
Say, while on travel, Dhuhr and Asr time
passes.
When arriving home, can you combine Dhuhr and
Asr?
Yes, you can, because at the time of
the Dhuhr coming in, you were traveling.
And basically, there is a difference of opinion
about actually combining prayer or not in the
first place.
But in this day and age, I don't
think that, and specifically because of the difficulties
that Muslims have while traveling, it would be
permissible for a person to combine the prayer.
And in this case, when coming back, you
are actually a Musafir all the way until
you actually enter into the boundary of your
hometown.
So even if you are outside your hometown
and you wanted to pray in Qasr, you
are allowed to do that.
But as soon as you enter the boundary
of your hometown, then you would basically pray
the full prayer of the time of the
Salat.
Say, for example, it's still Asr time when
you get back in, into your hometown.
So you would have to pray your Asr
time, Asr full.
And Dhuhr, you can actually shorten it, because
while you were traveling, that Dhuhr was obligatory
upon you.
While you were traveling, it was obligatory upon
you then, so you can shorten it.
That is the way that you would pray
that.
Do you have any tips in terms of
establishing Khushu in Salat?
Obviously, this is something that we all should
try to strive for as much as possible.
Khushu means concentration, devotion.
And the best way really is to go
through the whole procedure of Salat.
Salat is not just that you come and
stand and pray.
There is actually a procedure for it.
And that is, take time out for Salat,
make Wudhu.
And while making Wudhu, think about the Hadith
which mentions that the sins of a person
when he is making Wudhu, they are being
extinguished.
And then come and pray, come and sit
in the Masjid, pray the two Rakaat, if
it is not Makruh time.
Sit and concentrate on Dhikr, reciting Quran, and
focusing on what you are about to do.
Just think about and compare yourself to what
you are doing if you have a job
interview.
You have a job interview and you are
sitting in the waiting room of that job
interview.
This job interview is a make or break
interview.
If you get this job, then basically you
are set for life.
If you don't get this job, then basically
you are going to be stuck in a
rut for the rest of your life, in
the same job that you don't like doing.
So when you are sitting in that waiting
room, how is your mindset?
You are going through all of the questions
that that person could be asking you.
All of the qualifications that you have done.
All of the things that could come up
in the interview.
You are basically going through them.
So when you are sitting for Salat, you
are going to be presenting yourself in front
of Allah SWT.
Think of maybe the sins that I have
been committing all day.
And the disobedience of Allah SWT that I
have been doing.
And how I should present myself to Allah
SWT.
How humble I should be in front of
Allah SWT that I am about to stand
in front of.
And finally, one of the best ways of
thinking about the Khushu in Salat, is to
actually think that this could be my last
Salat ever.
If a person thinks that this is going
to be my last Salat, and after this
the angel of death is going to take
my Ruh away, then obviously he is going
to have so much focus, so much concentration
and devotion, that he basically is, this is
his last opportunity to please Allah SWT.
So he is going to have that concentration.
So these things, we should try to keep
them in mind while praying the Salat.
Praying Salat at a Musalla versus in a
Masjid, what is the difference in reward?
Somebody asked me the same question.
Two people asked the same question.
But it is two different people.
So the congregational Masjid is more rewarding than
a Musalla.
But like I said, any place in which
a congregational prayer takes place, it is more
rewarding than praying at home.
And if the Musalla is closer to you
and is more convenient to you, and you
are more likely to get to it, then
go to the Musalla.
But if the Masjid is closer to you,
then obviously that is more rewarding, and you
should try to pray there inshallah.
Sometimes our neighbors invite us for Christmas parties,
dinners.
Is there any reason why we should accept
or reject the invitation?
What is your advice?
The issue is that Christmas is, you know,
it is a purely religious celebration.
And keeping that point in mind, we should
not be celebrating it, and nor should we
be participating in the celebration of Christmas per
se.
And if you really think about it, from
a Christian perspective, how many people actually think
about Christmas as a religious celebration anyway?
Rather, people take it as an opportunity to
have parties, to engage in illicit relationships, to
get drunk, to basically do all kinds of
unreligious things, which are not connected with any
type of religion whatsoever.
And of course, the whole issue of materialism.
Christmas is all about materialism.
Buying presents for each other, making sure that
you have gifts for everybody.
You know, why is Black Friday called Black
Friday?
Does anybody know?
Why is Black Friday called Black Friday?
Does anybody know?
Huh?
Huh?
Yes.
Because traditionally, all through the year what happens
is that all the companies, the Walmarts, the
Best Buys, whatever company you can take, they
are all operating at deficits.
They are not really making a profit.
They are all operating in the red.
On Black Friday, that is such a crazy
shopping day that everybody is trying to shop
for Christmas, that that is when basically the
balance shifts from red to black, and that's
when they start making the profit.
So Christmas time, starting from after Thanksgiving up
to Christmas time is when the retailers make
the profit.
So it's more materialism than anything else.
And then all the symbols related to Christmas,
they are all pagan symbols.
The Christmas tree, Father Christmas, the Yuletide log.
I mean, I don't think you have the
Yuletide.
It's more famous in Europe, the Yuletide and
things of that nature.
The holly, the holly and the ivy, the
mistletoe.
All these things, you look them up online,
you will find that they have pagan roots.
And on top of that, to add insult
to injury, Jesus was probably not even born
on December 25th.
December 25th was a celebration that the ancient
Romans used to have which celebrated the winter
solstice, which is related to the birth of
the sun god or something of that nature.
It's again a pagan festival which was December
25th.
Jesus was probably born around April, according to
all historians.
So it has no religious significance according to
them.
And we as Muslims should not be participating
in something that even hints at religious symbolism
and because of all the pagan things associated
with, we should not.
In fact, it's very easy to tell the
people that we very respectfully that we don't
celebrate Christmas because we are not Christians, but
we'd love to come at any other time
of the year.
If you invite us, we'd love to come.
So that's the way to get out of
it, inshallah.
From the Islamic point of view, is it
prohibited to donate to poor non-Muslims?
Actually, there are 8 categories of Zakat.
And one of those categories is called Muallafatul
Qulub.
Muallafatul Qulub means that those people that if
you were to donate to them, then they
would find an interest in Islam.
They would become attracted to Islam.
Now, whether that category is still applicable in
today's world or not, that is open to
question.
There is a difference of opinion.
Because in the time of Umar, they decided
that Muallafatul Qulub was no longer a category
that should be entertained because Islam was at
a peak at that time and Islam was
victorious.
That's why that became cancelled out.
My personal opinion is, in this day and
age, when Islam is being maligned on so
many different fronts and Islam is being blamed
on so many fronts, we should take every
opportunity to try to attract people to Islam
and tell them and teach them that this
is what Islam teaches, to help the poor,
to help the needy.
And in doing so, to give to the
non-Muslims, I think it would be perfectly
permissible.
Can we donate to a scholarship fund established
in the name of a non-Muslim person?
The scholarship benefits to all, regardless of race
or religion.
It depends really on who that person was.
Generally speaking, what happens is, whenever somebody starts
a scholarship fund, it is to elevate that
person's name and keep that person's name in
respect of what he did.
So, for example, there are even families who
just because they were rich, they made all
of these funds and they may not necessarily
have been the most ethical of people.
I don't want to name any names because
it wouldn't be appropriate.
So, my suggestion would be for Muslims to
start their own scholarship funds using the names
of Sahaba, for example.
Omar ibn al-Khattab fund, Abu Bakr al
-Siddiq fund, Ali ibn Abi Talib fund.
And some people have already actually started that.
So, we should try something like that.
Whether it's permissible to do that or not,
it's really, again, dependent upon who the scholarship's
name was under.
The fund's name was under.
During Sujood, I want to collapse my elbows
towards myself during prayer in Jama'at.
However, I want to know if my prayer
will be still valid.
This is because there is less room for
me to extend my wings in the Jama
'at.
The wings.
Actually, if you are alone during Sajdah, if
you are not in congregation, then the proper
procedure would be to have your elbows up
and off the floor and away from your
body.
That's the proper procedure.
Your elbows should not be close to you
when you're alone.
However, in Jama'at, what happens is because
you're squashed up, and sometimes you're in a
tight position, so if, because of that tightness,
your elbows are touching your body, that's perfectly
okay.
But if you're alone, then the elbows should
be up off the floor and away from
your body.
If my cell phone rings during the prayer,
am I allowed to turn off the phone?
My prayer will be still valid?
Yes, absolutely, you're allowed to turn off the
phone if it goes off in the Salat.
You should actually turn it off in the
first place.
The ruling behind this is something which is
known as Amal Kathir in Salat.
What is Amal Kathir?
Amal Kathir, there are two opinions as to
what Amal Kathir is.
One opinion is that if you do something
which is not part of the Salat, more
than three times in the Salat, then your
Salat is invalid.
So that is something that we need to
pay attention to.
Many times we're scratching ourselves, playing with our
clothes.
If you do that more than three times,
according to some scholars, your Salat is invalid.
So really you should be completely, perfectly still
and focusing only and only on the Salat.
Now your cell phone rings, basically you put
your hand in your pocket, turn it off,
that is just one action that you did
and it's finished.
So your Salat will still be valid.
But if it was one of a number
of actions that you've been doing all through
the Salat, then obviously your Salat will be
under question.
The second opinion about Amal Kathir is that
if somebody was to look at you and
think by the actions that you're doing, that
you're not praying Salat, your Salat would be
invalid.
And sometimes you do that, you sometimes see
somebody and, you know, messing around with the
clothes so much and looking everywhere, you cannot
really think that that person is in Salat.
And if that's the case, then the Salat
would be certainly at least questionable.
Can Muslims eat in idol worshippers' house or
restaurant where they have their idols displayed?
As long as the food has not been
blessed on the idols, it would be okay,
it would be permissible to do that.
Okay, there are a few text messages I
got.
Okay, if someone is not married, is he
going to have a wife in Jannah?
Inshallah, he should have a wife in Jannah,
unless he doesn't want it, unless he doesn't
want a wife in Jannah, why would he
not be married in this world anyway?
That's the question.
Another comment rather than a question.
Could you please kindly remind our brothers to
wash?
I think it says smile nice, but I
think it's smell nice before they come to
the Masjid.
Some brothers smell awful.
It says smile awful, but I think it's
smell awful.
So again, if you come to the Masjid,
I've mentioned that many times before, part of
our hygiene is to make sure that we
are not harming anybody.
That's why the Prophet ﷺ, he used to
tell people not to eat onion, garlic and
leek before coming to the Masjid.
Okay, all of these foods are strong smelling
foods and in our desi culture, Indian, Bangladeshi,
Pakistani, all that spicy food, it really, if
you do not brush your teeth, it's going
to make your breath smell.
So please, after eating that, go to the
washroom, use some mouthwash, brush your teeth, do
some flossing before coming to the Masjid, so
that you are not harming anybody by coming
to the Masjid in that situation.
Yes, same thing for cigarette smokers.
Okay, one question here is if you have
a home loan, if you have a home
mortgage loan, how do you consider the debt
for calculation of Zakat?
It's a good question and a very relevant
question which comes up from time to time
and this is also related to the issue
of Hajj.
Okay, probably most of us, we all have
loans, whether through Islamic financing or conventional financing
that we use to purchase homes with.
Okay, now, in a traditional sense, if a
person is in debt and that debt is
more than the money that he has, then
he would not have to pay Zakat on
that.
Or, and also, he would not have to
go for Hajj if his savings are less
than the debt that he owes.
But the problem is that in this country,
most of us, like I said, we are
in that debt.
So because of that particular situation, if we
were to use that traditional equation, then nobody
would pay Zakat and nobody would go for
Hajj.
And that's pretty straightforward.
Nobody would pay Zakat, nobody would go for
Hajj.
So in the case of these home mortgages,
we have to basically sideline them, not regard
them as debt, and the savings, we pay
Zakat on them and we perform Hajj with
those savings if they accumulate to a degree
that Hajj would be obligatory, which would be,
if you have enough money to go there
and come back and leave enough money for
your family, then that Hajj is obligatory upon
you.
So for both Hajj and Zakat, mortgage loans
should be put to the side.
And of course, if a person, he's got
this debt, and every paycheck, he's living paycheck
to paycheck, he basically takes all that money
and pays off the debt.
And by the end of the month, he
has nothing left.
So obviously, he's not going to have to
pay Zakat because he doesn't have any money
left and also, he's not going to have
to perform Hajj because he doesn't have enough
savings to take him for Hajj.
So that would be the situation.
What advice can you give if I am
going to buy a house?
Basically, how can I finance a house, Islamically,
in America?
These Islamic financing companies, they are the way
to go.
That's one way to do it.
Or you do what's called owner financing.
Sometimes what happens, an owner who's paid off
his house, he can give you, for example,
if he's selling his house for $100,000,
you can tell him, look, I'll pay you
over 15 years and I'll give you $120
,000 over these 15 years.
So, if he agrees to that, then that's
perfectly permissible for you to do.
That's owner financing.
Or, like I said, go through these Islamic
companies.
Many people have this question, well, ultimately, it
boils down to the same thing.
It boils down to the same thing.
What Lariba does, or what Guidance does, is
exactly what the conventional banks do.
That's not actually accurate.
They do, Lariba and Guidance, they do use
the bank rates as a benchmark to make
their calculations.
That's correct.
But the transaction is different.
And now, let me give you another example
to make you understand that.
That if, for example, you earn $100 by
selling something haram, you've got $100 in your
hand, and you sell something else, which is
halal, and you have $100 in your hand.
At the end of the day, you have
$100 here, $100 here, and you think, well,
it's the same thing.
I've got $100.
That's the calculation that some people have.
They say, well, ultimately, you're paying the same
amount of money to Lariba or Guidance that
you would in a conventional mortgage.
So that doesn't make it haram.
It's the transaction, the contract that you have
with the company that makes something halal or
haram.
So what happens in these cases of Lariba
and Guidance, you have a shared ownership program
where both of you become owners of the
property, and then you buy out your share
of the ownership by paying partly rent, and
you pay partly the principal or the money
that they loaned you in the first place.
They make their profit with the additional rent
that you pay.
So you should not think that just because
you are paying the same amount of money
that it becomes impermissible for you and it
works out the same.
Another question that people have, well, they use
the same forms.
Legally, they are obligated to do that.
There is no choice for them.
There are federal rules and guidelines that they
have to use specific forms, they have to
use specific terminology, they have to use specific
wording.
When you are filling out the form to
apply for the loan, and that's why you
have to use the same forms and they
use the same terminology.
That's because they are federally mandated to do
so and they have no other choice to
do that.
So if you go with them, that is
permissible.
That's a good question.
The question is, if you didn't hear him,
is that they get their money from Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac and then they basically
turn around and give you a loan.
That's not exactly how it works.
And I clarified this with these brothers, this
rumour, if you like, or this understanding that
people have that they get money from Fannie
Mae, Freddie Mac and then they turn around
and loan it at a higher, quote-unquote,
interest rate.
That's not exactly how it works.
This is how they do it.
Let's step aside from banks for a minute
and think about, say for example, there are
two or three brothers, they want to invest
in a business, and they don't have the
capital to invest in the business, but they
say, they talk to what's called venture capitalists
who can provide the capital for that money.
And that person looks at the business model
and he says, OK, I can see that
you are going to make 5% profit
every month from my investment, so I'm going
to invest in this business model of yours.
That is perfectly permissible, that a venture capitalist
takes the money and puts it into this
business of yours.
So what Laribar does, and specifically I asked
Laribar about this, what they say is that,
OK, this is a transaction that we're going
to have with such and such a person,
and with the money that we see that
we're going to make, we're going to make
approximately a 5% profit over the 15
years that we are doing this transaction.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, would you like to
invest in this as an investor?
So as investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
they come in, just like any other individual
could come in and invest in that transaction
and make an estimated 5% profit according
to their claims.
So it's not that they are getting the
money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and
then lending the money out that way.
It is basically they are presenting a scenario
where this situation of Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac is going to net you approximately 5
% profit.
Would you like to invest in it?
And they invest in it, and they are
basically investors in that transaction, not people that
are just giving money and that money is
then loaned out to other people.
Is that clear?
Okay, I think I've got some more questions.
Okay, we have a few questions which are
a little bit more deep and ironically they
are from converts to Islam.
I'm not going to discuss them, I'm just
going to read the questions to you.
What's the best way to counter attacks in
day-to-day interactions?
Meaning if somebody is attacking Islam, how do
you respond back to that?
Because let's face it, we cannot all recite
your book, they are referring to me.
And another convert sister is saying, our leaders
in the Masajid seem to be struggling.
Why?
So that's again something that we need to
reflect upon and work upon, why our leadership
is struggling.
May Allah make it easy for all of
us.
We'll stop there now.