QUESTIONS &
EXCERPTS FROM RADIO FIQHU FID-DEEN, EPISODE 159.
VENUE: PARROT FM 101.1, TIME: 11:00 – 11:45AM, DATE: 15/07/2022.
TRANSLATED AND TRANSCRIBED BY ABU FAWZAAN ABDULBARR IBN ISMAIL ADEDOKUN.
Anchor: Firstly, we're currently in summer here in Europe and it has persisted for long. Maghreb commences at 9:30pm, Ishaa at 11:30pm while Fajr emerges at 2:30am. We often observe Ishaa immediately after Maghreb in the masjid while we delay Subh until 4:00am knowing it emerges at 2:30am. Is this in accordance with the Islamic injunctions?
Secondly, if one forgot that they were in a state of impurity due to ejaculation since night time and they observed all the prayers until Maghreb, what is the ruling of such prayers?
Thirdly, is it obligatory to face the Qiblah while sleeping perhaps at night or other times?
Shaykh: All praise is due to Allah, may commendation and Protection be upon the messenger of Allah, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, and upon his family, his companions and those who associate with him. To proceed; As-salaam alaykum warahmotuLloohi wabarokaatuH!
Anchor: Wa&alaykumu-salaam warahmotuLloohi wabarokaatuH!
Shaykh: The delay in sunset in the region where you&re domiciled, specifically Europe, such that sunset and Maghreb is at 9:30pmmust not propel you to observe Maghreb prior to its time. We must establish that the sun has set before observing Maghreb. This doesn&t also permit you to observe Ishaa&immediately afterwards on account of the prolonged daytime. It&s impermissible according to the injunctions of Allah and doing such implies that only the salah observed at its prescribed time would be valid while the Ishaa&observed prior to its time would only amount to a waste of effort. Allah commands that we worship him in a manner that validates our worship not in a way that renders it invalid. Observing salah outside its prescribed time is tantamount to its nonobservance unless a specific circumstance arises that warrants combining Maghreb and Ishaa&thus setting Ishaa outside its prescribed time. Hence, if it rains or other Islamically permissible occurrence happens that could inhibit the congregation from attending the mosque e.g. snow, then it becomes permissible to combine Maghreb and Ishaa. As for combining the Maghreb and Ishaa due to the prolonged daytime and shortened nighttime, all of these are not acceptable excuses. Allah says, &Indeed prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times (An-Nisaa: 103).We must not observe salah prior to its time except on a journey or due to some circumstances that occurred while at home permitting its performance before its time. Otherwise, such salah would only amount to a wase of effort.
You added that Fajr emerges at 2:30am and you delay observing Subh until 4:00am to allow people enough time to sleep. This is permissible as long as the sun has not risen at that time. Delaying Subh until the sun rises amounts to deliberately delaying the prayer until it&s time is over and whoever does that has not performed the prayer according to the Islamic injunctions. Whoever leaves off salah until its time passes due to a genuine excuse must observe it when the difficulty is lifted. An hadith collected by Imam Muslim reports that the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) said, &Whoever forgets to observe a prayer or oversleeps it should observe it when he remembers because nothing would expatiate for his sins except its observance&unlike intentionally leaving off the salah. Therefore, if the sun has not risen at 4am then there is nothing wrong with this.
Concerning the second question about someone who unknowingly performed prayers in a state of impurity. He should perform ghusl then repeat all the prayers. That is what is mandatory upon him.
Concerning facing the Qiblah while sleeping. First and foremost, it is not mandatory. However, the sunnah of the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) is to face the Qiblah while sleeping. It is reported in a hadith collected by Imam Abu Dawud that the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) mentioned the signs of the hour amongst which is the combustion of ka'bah by some people where he referred to the Ka'bah as your Qiblah while alive or dead.The scholars have interpreted the statement 'your Qiblah while dead' to mean 'facing the Qiblah while sleeping and while burying the dead'.
Anchor: JazaakumuLloohu khoyron shaykh!
First caller: When the Imam leads the prayer, is it compulsory for him to say 'Aameen' out loud after the completion of Suratu-Fatihah?
Shaykh: The Imam should say 'Aameen' out loud upon completing suratu-Fatihah in the prayers that are recited out loud. This is the most correct of the scholarly opinions due to a hadith collected by Imam Muslim et al where the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) said, 'When the Imam says' Aameen' then say 'Aameen'. 'This does not conflict the narrations that say' 'when the Imam says' 'waladhaaleen' then say 'Aameen'.
Second caller: Is it permissible to share one's zakat amongst one's wives.
Shaykh: First and foremost, the injunction of Allah does not permit you to pay your wives zakat nor your children or your parents. The recipients of zakat are those who have no obligatory share of your wealth. We are aware that it&s obligatory to spend on our parents, children and wives. Although it&s not obligatory upon the wife to spend on her poor husband, it's still impermissible in the shariah to give him zakat. She could give him sodaqah instead.
Third caller: I found a lady whom I intend to marry and she invited me over to her place and prepared me a meal. Is it permissible for me to eat such meal given that it wasn&t my instruction?
Shaykh: It is better not to eat it because the lady only invited you so you could express your intention to her father. Why would she prepare a meal when she doesn&t know if this would lead to marriage or not. If you eventually marry her, the family won&t be bothered by the burden of that expenses. However, if you eventually fail to marry her, they would take revenge of those expenses on you. It&s undoubted that matters like this are resolved with curse in the Yorubaland.
Anchor: Concerning a questioner who called in from the United Kingdom about two weeks ago. He expatiated that a transgender individual who has transformed their natural form to fit their desire. This individual however invited some Islamic clerics to supplicate at their new house. Concerning these trans persons, how would they observe their salah and would it be accepted?
Shaykh: All praise is due to Allah. First and foremost, it isn&t in accordance with the injunctions of Allah to supplicate at a new house and there&s no supplication prescribed to be recited in a new house. However, some Islamic clerics engage in this because they earn money from it. Most people are not concerned about the Islamic injunctions but their own earnings. They boast about how much money they accumulate from such gatherings and ridicule the people of sunnah who warn them against it. They intend to deride the injunctions of Allah and are oblivious of the magnitude of their actions due to their nescience, they are ignorant of the gravity of flouting Allah's instructions. That' s it!
The acts of worship are prescribed for every living human being, either male or female. There&s no difference between the acts of worship observed by a man and that of a woman. The prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) said, 'Women and men are similar in acts of worship'.The obstacles that inhibit women in their acts of worship include menstruation, postpartum bleed etc. We must ask such transwoman if they also menstruate or give birth. It&s not certain they experience any of these. They must keep on worshipping Allah, if they've sincerely transformed into a woman let them inform us when they menstruate. They must keep worshipping Allah upon their innate nature as a man. Having transformed himself into a woman, the Islamic jurisprudence rules that they must not stand in the women's rows because they were originally a man and they mustn't stand in the men&s rows because they currently have a female sex organ. Hence, they would stand at an intermediate position between men and women. Such is their ruling.
Anchor: May Allah grant you longevity Shaykh. In addendum, there's a hadith that prohibits standing alone behind the congregation.
Shaykh:(…cuts in) Is this a normal human being? Is this the kind of person the prophet was addressing?! That hadith is for men, this individual is neither a man nor woman. They must stand alone to avoid trouble. If it was a woman, she could stand alone because the place of the women is at the back. Anas bn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a lady, young man and I prayed behind the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection). I stood directly behind the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection), the young man stood to my right while the lady stood behind all of us.
The hadith collected by Imam Ahmad that states that the prophet (may Allah grant him commendation and protection) says, 'there's no prayer for he who stands alone behind the congregation&refers to men rather than women, not even those who transform their nature into a different one, they are neither a man nor a woman. Therefore, they'd cause chaos to the congregation. It&s similar to 'Al-Khunthaa Al-Mushkil' i.e. (hermaphrodites) those who are naturally created with both male and female sex organs. In the shariah, when they attend the mosque and both of their sex organs are still intact, they won't be permitted to stand with either men nor women because they could be either. When such individuals pee, the urine is observed from both tracts. Although the scholars opine that the tracts must be examined for where more urine flows from before undergoing the procedures to confirm such organ as their true nature. Prior to that, they won't be allowed to stand in either of the rows instead they must stand at an intermediate position let alone someone who willingly underwent sex reassignment surgery to transform their innate nature.
Click here for part two of the questions and answers segment.
