Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence-Part 2 (Preface)

Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence-Part 2 (Preface)

The Aim of Translating This Book

﴾Praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this, and in no way we could have been guided, unless Allah had guided us﴿           

Chapter of the Heights. Verse NO 43

I’d like to indicate that I have translated this book “Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence- Part 2” for the sake of God, hoping that it helps to clarify and simplify Islamic Sunnah practices “Sunan” and optional acts of worship “Nawaafil” for non-Arabic speakers.

In The Name of Beneficent, Merciful God

Preface

Praise be to Allah alone. He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent, the Exalted and the Pardoner, the One and the Subduer, and the Guardian over His sovereignty night and day.

He is the One and the Only, the Unique and the Eternal Refuge, Who is neither begets nor is born, and nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Exalted are You. We have neither worshipped You truly, nor remembered You properly. We have not thanked You adequately. Your mercy is more comprehensive for us than Your torment, and Your forgiveness is nearer than Your punishment.

Blessings and peace be upon the truthful, the honest, Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah. He is Allah’s Prophet and the one chosen by Him. He is the first of Allah’s worshippers, the leader of strivers, and the seal of the Prophets and Messengers.

He is our intercessor when the contents of the graves are scattered, that within the breasts is obtained, and the hidden and obscure becomes visible on the Day of Resurrection.

From where can a fluent person speak throughout the course of his mission in three ways of expression?!

Every way of them has its own properties:

The Holy Qurᶦan, the Sacred Tradition, and the Prophetic Tradition.

How can anyone of the skilled poets in any age speak in these ways without confusion between them?!

It is a clear evidence that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah and Allah protects him.

God says ﴾And Allah has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and has taught you that which you did not know. And ever has the favor of Allah upon you been great﴿ Chapter of Women. Verse NO 113

I have previously produced the first part of “Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence” which includes obligations and pillars of Islam.

The Prophet has conveyed their rules according to inspiration from Allah.

This is the second part of “Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence” which includes Sunnah practices “Sunan” and optional acts of worship “Nawaafil”.

They are transmitted from the Prophet throughout the course of his biography which has extended for twenty three years. These years are the period of his mission.

We will notice their diversity. The Prophet has cared about this diversity in order to make a Muslim able to choose from them the most suitable to his nature and life. Most of them are optional; that is for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude.

I have ended this part with some of Islamic manners of daily life concerning eating, drinking, clothing, and sleeping.

All of them are related to this world, but a Muslim can transform them to a great source of merits if he does them for the sake of God

God says ﴾Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds﴿ Chapter of the Cattle. Verse NO 162

And if we, every minute, are used to saying ﴾Praise to Allah, Who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us﴿ (Chapter of the Heights), we also say: “May Allah bless you and grant you peace, Messenger of Allah, as you and also the Mothers of believers have presented a detailed map of male and female Muslims’ lives from the beginning of their discretion at the age puberty till they meet God.

The Holy Qurᶦan recommended us follow the Prophet, his family, and his companions in all they have done.

God says ﴾There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often﴿

Chapter of the Confederates. Verse NO 21

I have done this according to the instructions of the Prophet who has said, “Convey from me even a verse (an Ayah) of the Qurᶦan.”

And said, “May Allah brighten a man who hears a tradition from me, gets it by heart, and passes it on to others.” [Zayd ibn Thabit]. 

●It was narrated from AL-Miqdaam ibn Maᶦdikarib that the Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) said: “Soon a tradition from me will be conveyed to a man, while he is reclining on his couch, and he says: ‘Between us and you is Allah’s Book. So whatever we find in it that is lawful, we consider it lawful, and whatever we find in it that is unlawful, we consider it unlawful.’ 

Indeed whatever the Messenger of Allah made unlawful, it is the same as what Allah made unlawful.”

Reference: Jamiᶦ AL-Tirmidhi- Chapters on Knowledge. Book 41, Hadith 20

●ᶦIrbaad ibn Sariyah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah said: “Verily he among you who lives long will see great discord, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Rightly- Guided Caliphs (AL-Khulafaa Ar-Rashideen), those who guide to the right way. 

Hold fast to it [literally: cling to it with your molar teeth]. Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every innovation (Bidᶦah) is a misguidance.” 

Reference: 40 Hadith Nawawi 28

God says about those who discriminate between the Holy Qurᶦan and the Sunnah ﴾Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, “We believe in some and disbelieve in others.”, and wish to adopt a way in between (150) Those are the disbelievers, truly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment ﴿(151) Chapter of Women.

So, every male and female Muslim must pay attention to all thoughts told to him/her and compare these thoughts with the Holy Qurᶦan and the Sunnah. They must note that there is no excuse for neglecting this.

God says ﴾Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness (14) Even if he presents his excuses ﴿(15) 

Chapter of Resurrection (Surat AL-Qiyamah).

But a Muslim who spends his life without knowing anything about his religion and says what other people say, indeed he wastes his religion and world.

Haven’t I conveyed it? O Allah! Bear witness to this.

I ask Almighty God, Generous Lord of the Throne, to make this book devoted to His Honored Face, to accept it well, and to remove the veil that is over the eyes of those who have gone astray. Excellent is the Protector, and Excellent is the Helper.

     .                       EL-Sayed Muhammad AL-Jameel Sarseeq                                                             

  

 

Obligatory Charity (Zakah)

(OBLIGATORY CHARITY (Zakah

Obligatory charity in Islamic Jurisprudence and law:

It is a proportion of the wealth (2.5%) of every Muslim to be paid, when this wealth reaches the minimum value (Nisaab) and one full lunar year passes.

Its legitimacy: 

It has been made obligatory in the second Islamic Year after the obligation of fast-breaking charity, i.e., after the month of Ramadan.

Note that:

It may be said literally (AL-Zakah), God says ﴾And establish prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]﴿ Chapter of the Heifer (Surat AL-Baqarah). 
And also says﴾And woe to those who associate others with Allah۞Those who do not give Zakah﴿ Chapter of Detailed (Surat Fussilat).

*And it may be expressed as (AL-Sadaqah). God says ﴾Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealths  a charity (Sadaqah) by which you purify them and cause them increase﴿
And also says ﴾AL-Sadaqat expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy﴿The two previous verses are in Chapter of Repentance.

*Also, it can be expressed as “an expenditure”. God says ﴾And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah ‐ give them tidings of a painful punishment﴿
And God says ﴾And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger﴿The two previous verses are in Chapter of Repentance.

Evidence of its legitimacy:

God says ﴾Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealths a charity (Sadaqah) by which you purify them and cause them increase﴿ And says ﴾And they who are observant of Zakah﴿ Chapter of the Believers. ﴾And those within their wealth a known right(24)For the [needy] petitioner and the deprived(25)﴿Chapter of the Ways of Ascent.

﴾O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth﴿Chapter of the Heifer.

●Ibn ᶦAbbas reported: The Prophet appointed Muᶦadh as governor of Yemen and said to him, “Invite people to testify that there is no true god except Allah and I am Allah’s Apostle, if they obey you  to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the charity from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.” [The Two Scholars].

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□Paying charity is obligatory in all types of property, like money, crops, or cattle.

1) Crops and fruit charity:

a) If crops and fruits are produced without using machines, and irrigated with rain water, their charity will be one tenth.

b) If they are irrigated using machines, and there is an effort exerted to produce them, their charity will be one half of one tenth after deduction of expenses. It is given on the harvest day.

God says ﴾Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [charity] on the day of its harvest﴿Chapter of the Cattle.

●It was narrated from Sulayman ibn Yasar and from Busr ibn Saᶦid that the Messenger of Allah said, “For whatever is watered by the sky and springs, one‐tenth. For whatever is irrigated (artificially), one half of one‐tenth.” [AL-Bukhari].

2) Money charity

If the minimum value is reached, which equals the price of 85 grams of 21- caliber gold, you must give its charity, which equals 2.5%, after one full lunar year from that date. Its value is connected with the changing gold price.

Assume that the price of one gram of gold equals 100 pounds.

                                                                100 x 85 = 8500 pounds.

If your sum of money equals this number or exceeds it, then you must pay the charity.

For example, if it equals 10000, then 

                                                 2.5/100 x 10000 = 250 pounds.

                                 Thus, the charity will be 250 pounds, and so on.

                    OR

You can divide your sum by 40

10000/40 = 250

In conclusion, at the end of each lunar year, a Muslim must count his savings. If they exceeded the price of 85 grams of gold, he would pay its charity (which equals 2.5%).

Note that:

1) NO charity is paid upon the house in which you live, the car which you use, household appliances which you use in your home, or the jewellery which your wife and daughters use.

2) Charity must be paid upon all savings.

For example: jewellery which is not used, the land which is not used, and money saved for any purpose. Charity of any of them is paid if one full lunar year has passed.

3) Charity must be paid upon inherited money, after one full lunar year passes from the date of inheritance.

4) If you have lent someone for several years, and you took your money back, pay charity upon it immediately for one year only.

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Warnings of manipulation of charity

*Some of the rich use the opportunity provided by a religious occasion such as the month of Ramadan, the Festival of Sacrifice, etc. They distribute meat or clothes and consider that as a substitute for paying charity. This is a serious sophistry to escape giving charity. The Fire torment will be for those manipulators on the Day of Judgment.

*A Muslim must be sincere and honest with God to bless his property and does not consider the great value of 2.5%, but he should consider the good money remaining (97.5%). 
He should learn a lesson from what God did to the Companions of the Garden, who intended to deprive the poor from their garden charity, and then in the morning they found out that Allah had destroyed their garden. In addition, they will be punished on the Day of Judgment.

God says ﴾Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the Companions of the Garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning (17) Without making exception (18) So there came upon the Garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep (19) And it became as though reaped (20) And they called one another at morning (21) [Saying], “Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit.”(22) So they set out, while lowering their voices (23) [Saying], “There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person (24) And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able (25) But when they saw it, they said, “Indeed, we are lost; (26) Rather,we have been deprived (27) The most moderate of them said, “Did I not say to you, ‘Why do you not exalt [Allah]?’”(28) They said, “Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers (29) Then they approached one another, blaming each other (30) They said, “O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors (31) Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we toward our Lord desirous (32) Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater,  they only knew (33)﴿Chapter of the Pen.

…………………………………………………

There is a threat of a painful punishment, in the Holy Qurᶦan and Prophetic traditions, for those who ignore paying charity. God says ﴾And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah‐ give them tidings of a painful punishment (34) The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], “This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard ﴿(35) Chapter of Repentance.

And says ﴾Woe to every scorner and mocker (1) Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it (2) He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal (3) No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher (4)﴿ Chapter of the Scandal-Monger.

He also says ﴾[And asking them], “What put you into Saqar?”(42) They will say “We were not of those who prayed (43) Nor did we used to feed the poor (44)﴿ Chapter of the One Wrapped up.

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Prophet said,“Any person who possesses gold or silver and does not pay what is due on it (i.e. charity), on the Day of Judgment, sheets of silver and gold will be heated for him in the fire of Hell and with them his flank, forehead, and back will be cauterized. When they cool down,they will be heated again and the same process will be repeated during a day the extent of which will be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.” [The Two Scholars].

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Prophet said, “Anyone whom Allah has given wealth but he does not pay its charity, then, on the Day of Judgment, his wealth will be presented to him in the shape of a bald-headed poisonous male snake with two spots. It will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say: ‘I am your wealth. I am your hoarded treasure.’” [AL-Bukhari].

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Fast-Breaking Charity

Its provision:It is obligatory.

Its time: It is paid in the interval of the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, prior to fast-breaking festival prayer. It prohibited to delay its paying after the festival day without an excuse.

The aim of it is to compensate for underperformance or poor performance of the fast of Ramadan. Also, it aims to make poor Muslims feel the joy of fast-breaking festival.

Its value: It varies from one country to another according to the price of its mean food. The Islamic Centre or Dar AL-Iftaa (Fatwa Council) in each country is responsible for defining the charity value.

Who is obliged to pay it?

A Muslim pays it for himself and for whom he spends on, like his wife, his children, his father, his mother, the servant who is resident with him, even his infant.

●Ibn ᶦUmar reported: The Messenger of Allah prescribed fast-breaking charity one Saᶦ (a standard measure that equals 2.6 or 3 KG) of dates or barley for every slave or freeman, male or female, young or old among the Muslims, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the festival prayer. [AL-Bukhari].

To whom charity and fast-breaking charity are given?

*They are given to the poor and the needy, the indebted, the strangers, and necessitous persons. They are also paid for every work in the way of Allah.

*If the sum of money is large, it is not permissible to give it to less than three persons.

*It is not permissible to pay charity to anyone of those: the rich, the infidel, and whom you spend on as your father, your mother, your wife, and your children. It is also not permissible to pay it to places of entertainment and disobedience.

God says ﴾Charity expenditures are only for the poor, for the needy, for those employed to collect [charity], for bringing hearts together [for Islam], for freeing captives [or slaves], for those in debt, for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarers− an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise﴿Chapter of Repentance. Verse NO 60

What is the difference between obligatory charity and alms (voluntary charity)?

Charity is an Islamic pillar and an obligation. Its value in money, crops, and fruits is defined.

Alms (voluntary charity) is a Sunnah and a means of nearness to Allah. Its value is not defined.

Charity is paid after the passage of one full lunar year, but alms is paid at any time.

◊ A true Muslim is the one who pays charity according to Islamic Legislation, then if he is generous, he gives alms in additional situations according to his tolerance, following the example of the Prophet and his companions, as in the case of performing obligatory prayers and adding performance of Sunnah prayers to them.

Note that:

- You have no right in what is not necessary in your life, but you are to give it to the poor. Innovation in welfare and luxury topples you from the Prophet and his companions and makes your account, on the Day of Judgment, long (not easy). The more you exaggerate in luxury, the less your bliss in the Hereafter.

●It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Those who eat to their fill in  this world, will be starved tomorrow in the Hereafter.” [AL-Tabarani].

- ᶦUmar ibn Abd-ALaziz was informed that one of his children had a ring with a stone that cost one thousand dirhams, so he wrote to him and said, “Sell it and use the money to make one thousand hungry persons fulfill their need of food.

●Abu-Hurairah reported: The Prophet went out (of his house) one day due to severe hunger, and there he met Abu-Bakr and ᶦUmar (May Allah be pleased with them) who went out for the same reason. One of the Supporters (AL-Ansaar) hosted them and fed them with date fruit and a sheep. After that, the Prophet said to his companions:“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you will certainly be questioned about bliss on the Day of Judgment.” [Muslim].

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah and Muᶦadh that the Prophet said: “The feet of the servant of Allah will not move, on the Day of Judgment, until he is asked about four things: about his life and what he did with it, about his body and for what he wore it out, about his knowledge and what he did with it, and about his wealth and how he earned it and where he spent it on.” [AL-Tirmidhi].

●It was narrated from Abi-Saᶦid AL-Khudri that Allah’s Apostle (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Whoever has an extra mount should offer it to him who is without it, and whoever has surplus money should give it to him who has nothing.” He named various kinds of properties until we thought that none of us had any right in surplus property. [Muslim].

●It was narrated from Abi-Saᶦid AL-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah said, “What I am afraid of in regard to you after my death is that the pleasures and the adornment of this world will be available to you. No doubt this wealth is a sweet vegetation (fresh). Blessed is a Muslim who gives out of it to the needy, the orphan, and the wayfarer.” [AL-Bukhari].     

    

Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence - Preface

The Aim of Translating This Book

﴾Praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this, and in no way we could have been guided, unless Allah had guided us﴿            Chapter of the Heights. Verse NO 43

I’d like to indicate that I have translated this book “Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence” for the sake of God, hoping that it helps to clarify and 

simplify Islamic obligations and pillars for non-Arabic speakers

Nashwa EL Sayed Sarseeq

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In The Name of Beneficent, Merciful God

Preface

Praise be to Allah alone, Almighty. He is one not due to fewness, the First without beginning, and the Last without ending. When He is mentioned, the faithful feel tranquil. When we see Him, we are content. With His help, the believers rejoice. And His command is between the letters “B” and “e” (Be).

Birds praise Him in their nests, and monsters glorify Him in their desert. He is aware of His servant’s action: privately and publicly.

 And of His signs is that the heaven and the earth remain by His command. He has encompassed all things in knowledge, and has forgiven the sins of the guilty because of His generosity and clemency. 
                                                                                                

Blessings and peace be upon the Seal of Prophets and Messengers, the Leader of white (bright)-faced and white (bright)-legged people, Prophet Muhammad. He has been the best to convey the message, fulfill trust, advise the nation, and uncover obscure. May God reward him the best for us, and please us with his companionship in the Abode of Eternity.

Having said that:                                                                                                                                   

God says ﴾And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that might be cautious﴿ Chapter of Repentance. Verse NO 122.  And the Prophet says: “If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the religion.” [Narrated by AL-Bukhari and Muslim].
                                  -------------------------------------------------

This book “Selections from Islamic Jurisprudence” deals with the main obligations and pillars in Islam and deals with the most important issues that Muslims face in their daily life.

 In our age, simplification of jurisprudence issues, away from footnotes labyrinth and impenetrable texts, is an urgent need. You should not use boring abundance or the brief which undermines true meaning.

 A lot of people do not bother themselves to search for information in jurisprudence books, instead, they are content with what spreads around them in the audio-visual media.

These “Selections” have been extracted from “Imam Shafii School” with reference to the other schools’ opinions in some rites, so that a Muslim does not think that there are any troubles in acts of worship.

 The issue of schools is not important in Islam, as they all have been established from the biography of the Prophet and the Book of Allah, and because the diversity between them is in branches, not in principles and pillars. It is just that some of the jurisprudents are tightened in order to take the prudent opinion.

◊ An Example for That: In obligations of ablution, God says ﴾And wipe over your heads (imsahoo biruoosikum)﴿ ﴿وامسحوا برؤوسكم﴾ Imam Shafii has been content with wiping some of the head.  While Imam Abu Hanifah has insisted on wiping all of the head. Both of them are true, as the word “over” (i.e. the letter “b” in the word “biruoosikum”) (أي حرف الباء في كلمة "برؤوسكم")  in Arabic language has five meanings. One of them, which Imam Shafii has taken, is “the dividing”. And another one, that Abu Hanifah has taken, is “the sticking” which means wiping all of the head.

Thus, Islamic Jurisprudence has men who have been gifted with patience, persistence, and sacrifice. They were not waiting for a dirham or a dinar from anybody, but their researches were for God’s sake. Islamic Jurisprudence is about daily human movement, which he will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment. Jurisprudence provisions are between the following terms:

Obligation: Its doer is praised and its leaver is vilified. Examples: prayer, fasting, and obligatory charity (zakah).

                                                                                                              

The Sunnah: Its doer is praised and its leaver is not punished. Examples: forenoon prayer and voluntary charity.

.Permissible Act: If you do it or leave it, you will not be praised or vilified. Examples: eating or drinking.

Disliked Act: Its leaver is praised and its doer is not vilified. Examples: the amusement that is not prohibited.

                                                                                                                                      

Prohibited Act: Its doer is vilified and its leaver is praised. Examples: lying, theft, and usury.

Note that:
 ❶ Duty = Obligation = Pillar. They all have the same meaning, except in pilgrimage.

 ❷ The Sunnah = Advisable Act = Recommended Act = Volunteering = Optional worship. All have the same meaning.

 ❸ Disliked act may turn into prohibited act: Listening to music for a long time is disliked, and    if this leads to neglecting duty or forgetting a prayer, it will be prohibited, i.e. leads to going to hell.
 Another Example: What is the provision of marriage?
 The Answer: It is a Sunnah. Leaving it, for the one who needs it, is disliked. Marriage to one woman is allowed, marriage to two or three women is permissible, but marriage to more than four women at the same time is prohibited.

◊That is the mission of jurisprudents in religion. There are many jurisprudence disciplines and basics that are inherited from the first Muslim Generation, and the professional is the only one who is aware of them.

● Abu ᶦUbaydah ibn AL Jarrah, the governor of Damascus (AL-Sham), sent a message to the Caliph ᶦUmar ibn AL Khattab to tell him that a group of Muslims had drunk wine and they had said, “The verse said﴾Will you not desist?﴿ and did not settle it.” Then, ᶦUmar counselled Imam Ali. Imam Ali said, “Order Abu-ᶦUbaydah to get them in public, and ask them one question: Is wine legal or prohibited? If they say: ‘Prohibited’, flog them. And if they say: ‘Legal’, order to cut their throats.”
Thus, as the Prophet said, which is legal is clear and which is prohibited is clear.

I ask Almighty God, Generous Lord of the Throne, to satisfy the thirst of Muslim Men and Women to the true religious knowledge, in order that He accepts our deeds well, lets us land at a blessed landing place and gathers us with the ones, upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. Excellent is the Protector, and excellent is the Helper.

                      EL Sayed Muhammad AL-Jameel Sarseek                                                                                                                                                         .                                                                                                                 .