Opinion Editorials, November 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
The Authority to Make Things Lawful or Forbidden
Adil Salahi
Arab News, 11/17/03
Q. You have mentioned that the authority to prohibit anything or make it lawful belongs to God Almighty alone. At the same time you say that smoking cigarettes and coloring one’s hair is forbidden, when there is no Qur’anic statement or a Hadith to prohibit them. Could you please clarify the apparent contradiction? Also, in a recent discussion with friends, it was suggested that it is possible to pronounce something as lawful or forbidden through ijtihad. Could you please explain this and how it is done?
M. Sirajuddin
A. The authority to make things lawful or forbidden belongs to God alone. He has specified what he wants us to refrain from in the Qur’an, or through instructions given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) on God’s authority. When the Prophet expressed his dislike of the smell of garlic and onion, people said that he would soon prohibit them. The Prophet said to them: “I am only a messenger of God. I do not prohibit anything. It is only something I disliked and I told you about.” These two remain permissible to eat, although when we have eaten them, we should not attend the mosque until the smell is gone.
Nevertheless, what is specified in the Qur’an and the Hadith as haram includes only what was known and practiced during the Prophet’s time. It was not possible that the Qur’an would mention something that was not known, like tobacco, and give it a ruling of prohibition when no one on earth knew what tobacco was like. Hence, Islam establishes certain principles that apply at all times. One of these prohibits everything that is harmful. When we consider tobacco smoking, competent doctors tell us that it causes no less than 25 killer diseases, and that it is responsible for 30-40 percent of all cancer cases, and no less than 90 percent of lung cancer cases, we can only give it a verdict of prohibition on the basis of the principle established in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. God tells us in the Qur’an: “Do not kill yourselves; for God is merciful to you.” Tobacco smoking is a killer. In many Western countries, such as Canada and Britain, the health warning given in very large letters on each cigarette packet is “Smoking Kills”. Hence, anyone who smokes exposes himself to the risk of killing himself, albeit by a slow process. Still, it is covered by the order I have just quoted.
What I have just explained about applying the rule of prohibiting harm to the particular case of tobacco smoking gives an outline of the process of ijtihad. It is the process of scholarly discretion that enables a competent scholar to analyze a situation and apply the rules and principles to it in order to deduce a verdict for it. This is what competent scholars did throughout Islamic history. There were numerous of these, but the best known of them all are the founders of the four schools of fiqh: Abu Haneefah, Malik, Al-Shafie and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
To be able to exercise ijtihad, a scholar has to meet a number of conditions. Imam Al-Shafie outlined eight such conditions, which include thorough knowledge of Arabic, the Qur’an, the Hadith, etc. Today, competent scholars who may agree or differ with one another on different issues exercise ijtihad. Each gives his verdict on the basis of the information given to him, and guided by the Qur’an and the Hadith, as well as the rich heritage of Islamic law, or fiqh.
Incidentally, I never suggested that hair dye is prohibited, except where the intention is to deceive people. Suppose that a man who has grown gray dyes his hair to appear younger, and then proposes to a family to marry their daughter, giving them the impression that he is a few years younger than his actual age. His action is forbidden because of the intent to deceive. It is an act of cheating, and all cheating is forbidden.
Mistake in Prayer
Q. As the imam was supposed to stand up for his fourth rak’ah in Zuhr prayer, he sat instead for a very brief period, thinking that he has finished four rak’ahs and should sit down to conclude the prayer. The congregation reminded him and he stood up for the fourth rak’ah. Should he and the congregation do two prostrations at the end to compensate for this mistake?
S.M. Siddiq
A. The two prostrations at the end of prayer known as sahw are meant to rectify any mistake or forgetfulness in prayer. If it is a congregational prayer, only the imam’s mistake counts. If he has made a mistake, then he makes up for it by two prostrations, or sajdahs, at the end, and the entire congregation follows suit. In the case the reader asks about, the imam has done a mistake, because he sat for tashahhud when he still needed to do another rak’ah. He would have continued and probably finished the prayer, had the congregation not reminded him. Therefore, two prostrations for sahw were in order.
I should add that these prostrations are recommended, not obligatory. This means that if a person makes a mistake and rectifies it during prayer, but forgets or omits to do the two prostrations, his prayer is valid.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |
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