It is stated as
follows in the Persian commentary to the book entitled Nikâya:
Nafaqa means something
that is necessary for a person to live. That this thing consists of food,
clothes and a domicile is written in the book entitle Hadîqa as well as in the
chapter entitled ‘Nafaqa’ and in the initial part of the chapter allotted to
‘Hajj’ of the book Ibni ’Âbidîn. In other words, it involves expenses pertaining to kitchen,
expenses pertaining to clothing, and those pertaining to rent and household
goods. These needs are modified in accordance with the city being lived in,
with market values, and with one’s kith and kin. They vary with time and
situations. And every country has its own standards.
[Scholars of (the
Islamic science termed) Fiqh have divided the nafaqa that is farz to provide
into three sets. The first set comprises physical and spiritual nutrients and
medicines protecting against illnesses. ’Ilm (knowledge) is both a nutrient and
a medicine for the soul and the heart. There are two main divisions of Islamic
knowledge: Religious division and scientific division. Knowledge in the
religious division is aquired from the books written by the scholars of Ahl
as-Sunnat. Of this knowledge, the knowledge of Îmân, (i.e. teachings pertaining
to true and correct tenets of belief,) and the Fiqh, (i.e. teachings pertaining
to Islamic practices, transactional and behavioral sciences,) are available in
every country. The clandestine enemies of Islam, and particularly British
spies, whose purpose is to demolish Islam from within, have been writing
fictitious books in the name of Islam and sending these harmful publications to
places worldover. It is of vital importance that young people should avoid
reading these sequinned publications with credulity, taking them for granted,
and falling victim to the traps set. Al-hamd-u-lillâh, Hakîkat Kitâbevi, (a
bookstore at Fâtih, istanbul,) has been reproducing plenty of books written by
the scholars of Ahl-as-Sunnat and sending them out to the entire world. These
books, nutrients for hearts and souls, have been spreading the Islamic
teachings in their pristine correctitude over all countries. Muslim children
should prefer books written by Muslim scientists when they need to learn
science as well, and by not reading books of science written by freemasons and
heretics who try to misrepresent Islam as something hostile to science, they
should protect themselves against misguidance.]
There are five reasons
for (each of) which it becomes farz to
give nafaqa or its
monetary equivalent:
1- It is farz for a
man to pay his wife her nafaqa even if she is rich. It is farz even if his wife
is a disbeliever. Nafaqa becomes farz immediately after the performance of
nikâh. If the husband and the wife are poor people, the husband pays nafaqa
prescribed for a poor person. If they are rich, he will have to pay nafaqa
prescribed for a rich person. Nafaqa prescribed for a rich person enforces that
the wife be provided (by the husband) with a (female) servant hired to do
housework. If either one of them is rich and the other one is poor, the husband
will pay moderate nafaqa.
Ibni ’Âbidîn
‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’ states: “In Islam, nafaqa consists of ta’âm
(food), kisva (clothing), and suknâ (habitation). It has been a customary policy
followed by most books to use the term ‘nafaqa’ when they only mean ta’âm. A
husband who is poor has to pay nafaqa whose amount is customary among families
with moderate income to his wife, if she is rich. He may (as well ) give nafaqa
prescribed for a poor person and pay the difference when he becomes rich. If
the wife files a complaint against her husband for not paying her nafaqa
although he is capable of doing so, the judge of law court will determine an
amount of nafaqa and order him to pay it. If the dereliction continues despite
the order, then the judge will send the husband to prison, have his property
sold out, and have the money earned spent for the nafaqa of the wife. In case
his property cannot be found, he will be kept in prison until it is found out
that he is (too) poor. At this stage the judge will not grant a divorce. In
case of failure to pay at least the lowest of the three kinds of nafaqa on
account of poverty or absence on the part of the husband, the judge will not
separate the pair or imprison the husband. In the Shâfi’î Madhhab, the judge
will dissolve the wife from her poor husband if she chooses that solution. To
make it possible to dissolve the marriage, a judge in the Hanafî appoints
another judge, who is in the Shâfi’î Madhhab, as his deputy. He gives him the
application written by the woman who wants a divorce. The husband and wife are
brought to the law court. The wife, by producing two witnesses, proves that she
is not being paid nafaqa and, if the husband fails to prove that he is capable
of paying nafaqa, the judge separates them. In case the husband is absent (and
cannot be found), the judge will not separate them since it will be impossible
to determine that he is (too) poor (to pay nafaqa). In the Hanbalî Madhhab, the
judge has the authority to
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grant a divorce to a woman whose husband cannot be found,
provided she will prove that she is not being paid her nafaqa.
A judge in the Hanafî
Madhhab will not separate a poor husband who does not pay nafaqa; instead he
will determine a certain amount of money as the wife’s monthly or yearly nafaqa
and, if the wife is rich, he will order her to use her own property to meet her
own expenses or, if the wife is poor, he will order the husband’s or wife’s
mahram relatives, for whom it would be farz to pay nafaqa to the wife and to
her small children if her husband were dead, now to give her a loan or to sell
her goods on credit. He will imprison the ones who decline to lend her or to
sell her goods on credit. Thereby, when the husband becomes rich enough, the
wife’s mother and/or father and/or paternal uncle(s) and/or brother(s) and her
children’s paternal uncle(s) and/or brother(s) or she herself will get from him
the expenses they have made. [If she does not have a relative rich enough to
lend her or to sell her something on credit, the Beyt-ul-mâl, i.e. the State
will lend her. If this last alternative is not possible, either, she will find
a job for women and work without mixing with men. For instance, she will work
in a hospital, looking after female patients only and washing the corpses of
women only, or work as a wet nurse or a midwife or a teacher for girls.] These
earnings of hers will be added to the expenses that the judge will get the
husband to defray (when he becomes rich). The post-divorce space of time termed
’iddat (and during which the woman divorced cannot marry another man) will not
absolve the husband from the obligation to pay nafaqa. Once the woman’s period
of ’iddat is over, the husband will no longer have to pay nafaqa.”
[To dissolve one’s
marriage without any good reason, to break up one’s home, to deprive oneself of
peace and happiness, and to pay the money called mahr to the woman one has
divorced; these things are not easy for a man. The woman provides a comfortable
and happy life for her husband by cooking for him, washing his clothes, mending
his torn clothes, and teaching Islam and morals to the children. She amuses her
husband with her sweet words. A man who divorces his wife will be deprived of
these blessings. For, no one will give their daughter in marriage to someone
who is known to be a habitual divorcer. When a woman gets divorced, it will be
farz for her father, or for her rich relatives if she does not have a father,
to support her. If she does not have rich relatives, either, it will be
necessary for the Beyt-ul-mâl, i.e. for the State, to pay her a salary
regularly if she adheres to Islam. If this Islamic
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commandment is not performed, the woman will have to work for a
living. As is seen, in the Islamic religion, it is the man, not the woman, who
is in a pitiable state. A father has to support her poor daughter, regardless
of whether she is a virgin or a widow. He will be sent to prison if he does
not. If she does not have a father, or if he is poor, too, her rich relatives
will have to support her. If she does not have any rich relatives, either, the
State will have to assign an allowance for her. A Muslim woman does not have to
work for a living. The Islamic religion has loaded them with all the needs of
the woman. Versus this heavy burden on the man’s back, Allâhu ta’âlâ has commanded that the
woman be given a share half that of his brother from the inheritance that their
dead parents left, which in turn is another piece of kindness He has blessed
her with, since it would have been quite fair if He had rewarded the
overburdened man with the entire legacy. Please see the final part of the
twenty-second (22) chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss! The husband cannot
force his wife to work inside or outside of the house. It is permissible for
the wife to work outdoors if she wants to do so, provided she should cover
herself in a way prescribed by Islam, men (nâ mahram to the women working
there) should not be allowed into the place, and she should have been permitted
by her husband to work outdoors. In that case, however, her earnings will be
her own personal property. No one has the right to exact her earnings or her
share from the legacy from her. Nor can she be forced to spend them buying her
own needs or the needs of her children or any other requirements of her house
or family. It is farz for her husband to buy all these needs, bring them home,
and place them at the disposal of his wife and children. In communist countries
today, both women and men together are being made to do hardest types of work
for food only like animals. On the other hand, in the so-called free Christian
countries and in the pseudo-Islamic Arab countries, women are being made to
work like men in industry, in agronomy, and in business under the slogan, ‘Life
is common’. Newspaper columns teem with reports informing that quite a number
of women rue the day they got married and courts of law are clogged with
divorce files. If women knew about the value that the Islamic religion has
attached to them and about the comfort, peace, latitude, and the right of
divorce they would be enjoying in a true Islamic family, all the world’s women
would immediately embrace Islam and endeavour to the best of their abilities so
that Islam be known in countries worldover. What a shame, however, that they
cannot
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realize these plain facts. May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless the entire humanity with the lot of
learning correctly the lightsome path guided by the Islamic religion!]
It is stated as
follows in the book entitled Bahr-ur-râiq[1]: “It is farz for the husband to give his wife actual possession
of her nafaqa. Once the wife has taken possession of her nafaqa, it becomes her
personal property. She may sell it or give it as a present or as alms. If a
husband who is rich does not pay nafaqa (to his wife), the judge will have his
property sold and pay the nafaqa. If his property is a house, the judge will
not have it sold. The kisva (clothing) consists of two (dir’)s and two
(khimâr)s and two (milhafa)s yearly. Milhafa is a piece of clothing that a
woman wears as she goes out. [Today people call it ferâja, saya, and manto.]
One of them is for winter and the other one is for summer months. As of today
underpants, a jubba [thick coat], a bed, and a blanket must be added to these
clothings. In winter months the dir’ is made of wool, and the manto and the
khimâr are made of silk. [Khimâr means head kerchief (head wrap, muffler).]
Shoes and mests have not been included in the nafaqa because they have been
intended for outdoor wear. However, they should be added to the list, depending
on the customs of the time and the country. The dir’ is a long shirt with an
openable collar. The qamîs (chemise) is a long robe [antâri] openable on the
shoulder. Depending on the customs of the country being lived in, all the food
and clothes and household goods that will be needed by a woman are included in
the nafaqa. The husband has to bring these things to his home. If he does not
bring them or has recourse to treachery when they are needed, the wife will
(have the right to) buy them with her husband’s money and bring them home. Or
she will hire a deputy, who will buy them for her. If the woman is in
possession of the things needed, this state will not cause them to be
subtracted from her nafaqa. The woman cannot be forced to use her own property.
If she uses her own property, the husband will (have to) pay his wife for the
expenses. Everything must be brought home by the man. It is harâm for him to
force his wife to work for her living. Nafaqa is not paid to a ‘nâshiza’ wife,
i.e. one
---------------------------------
[1] It was written by Zeyn-al’âbidîn bin Ibrâhîm ibni Nujeym Misrî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (926 - 970 [1562 A.D.], Egypt,) as a commentary to the book entitled Kenz-ud-deqâiq, which in turn had been written by Abul-barakât Hâfiz-ud-dîn Abdullah ’Ahmad Nesefî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (d. 710 [1310 A.D.], Baghdâd.)
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who has deserted her husband. Her nafaqa
will restart when she is back. If a wife who is more than three days’ way[1] far away cannot go
near her husband because she does have a mahrâm relative with her, or if her
husband wants to take her along to a place that distance from their place and
she refuses, she will not be a nâshiza wife. The house that the husband offers
his wife to dwell in should be his own property or one that he has rented or
borrowed as an ’âriyat. He has to make sure that she will live among sâlih
neighbours. A house without sâlih neighbours is not a mesken shar’î, (i.e.
Islam does not accept it as ‘suknâ’ = habitation.)”
[It is stated in Fatâwâ-i-Hindiyya: “If the house is the
wife’s property and she does not allow her husband into her house, she will not
be paid her nafaqa. If she asks him to take her to his home and yet the husband
does not do so, he cannot cut off her nafaqa on the grounds that he has not
taken her to his home. If a woman does not want to live in a certain house
because her husband has obtained it by way of extortion, her nafaqa cannot be
cut off. A woman should not divorce her husband on the grounds that he does not
perform his daily prayers of namâz. In our time the husband cannot take his
wife to another country. Supposing the husband lives in a place that is farther
away than three days’ distance and he invites his wife, sending her the money
necessary for the voyage, and yet his wife cannot go there because she does not
have a mahram relative to accompany her; her nafaqa cannot be cut of; nor could
it be if she became ill in her husband’s home. A marriage established by way of
a nikâh without witnesses entails nafaqa. The wife cannot demand a payment for
cooking. She cannot bo forced to cook, either; yet in that case her husband
will bring her things like cheese and olives. It is wâjib for a woman to be
cleanly and ornamented when she is with her husband.”
It is stated in Bezzâziyya: “If a woman’s father
is bed-ridden and there is no one to look after him, she may go and serve her
father without her husband’s permission. This rule applies also if her father
is a dhimmî. A rich son does not have to support his rich father.” It is sunnat
for them to give presents to each other. It is harâm to disobey one’s parents,
to talk harshly with them, or to hurt their hearts. The Muslim woman has always
worn a milhafa to cover herself. ‘Milhafa’ means ‘ample (and long) coat’. The
two-piece charshaf appeared later. Today, a woman should wear a
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the fifteenth chapter of the
fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss for what is meant by ‘three days’ way’.
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charshaf in places where wearing a charshaf is customary, and an
ample coat where it is customary to wear an ample coat. It arouses a fitne not
to observe a custom that involves an act of mubâh. And it is harâm to arouse a
fitna.]
When a woman staying
in her father’s home with her husband’s permission becomes ill, her nafaqa
cannot be cut off. If she does not give herself up in her husband’s home, her
nafaqa cannot be cut off. A woman who has been put into prison on account of
her debt(s) or who becomes ill before the wedding or who goes on hajj with
someone else will not be paid nafaqa. A woman who goes on hajj with her husband
will be given the same nafaqa as she would be given if she stayed at home. She
will not be given the nafaqa for the safar (long distance journey), and it is
not wâjib to pay the money for her voyage. Funeral expenses are a part of
nafaqa. When a woman dies her funeral expenses will be paid by her husband.
They will not be paid by people who inherit property from her.
If the husband does
not pay nafaqa or if he does not give nafaqa because he is poor or in prison or
has run away, the judge will not grant a divorce. Instead, he will order the
husband’s and the wife’s rich relatives to assist her by lending her money or
selling something on credit on behalf of her husband. He will imprison the ones
who neglect this duty. (Please scan the thirty-seventh chapter of the fifth
fascicle, and also read the fortieth chapter of the same fascicle, of Endless Bliss, to acquire some
notion about formality sales.) The one(s) who provide the money or property
necessary for her needs will charge her husband afterwards. The husband will be
sent to prison if he refuses to pay. If the wife does the borrowing or the
buying on crdit on her own without the law court decision, she will not (have
the right to) demand it from her husband. Imâm Shâfi’î ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih’ said that the judge will grant a divorce to the wife. If a woman who is
in the Hanafî Madhhab and who cannot receive nafaqa from her husband wants a
divorce, she should apply to a judge who is in the Shâfi’î Madhhab.
The husband cannot be
charged for the nafaqa of the past time. However, if the couple have made an
agreement on that there will be a payment monthly, or if the judge has
commanded a monthly payment, the wife may demand the unpaid past monthly
payments until she dies. If the husband pays in advance the amounts of nafaqa
that would normally be due after a few months or years to follow and the wife
dies within the space of time in between, he
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cannot take the amounts back. According
to the ijtihâd of Imâm Shâfi’î ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, on the other hand,
the husband will recalculate the nafaqa he has paid in advance and collect back
the amount that he paid for the time after his wife’s death.
It is the wife’s right
not to want any of her husband’s relatives in the house. Should the wife give
her consent, the husband may have his mahram relatives in his home. As the nafaqa
for a poor person, a door with a lock, a kitchen, and a restroom will suffice.
The husband may decline to admit even the parents and siblings of his wife into
his home. Yet he cannot prevent her from seeing them or talking with them. It
will be good if he is not opposed to weekly visits paid by the sâlih ones of
these people. As for her other kinsfolk, he had better not prevent them from
coming once a year and sitting for a while. [He himself will invite the sâlih
one’s of her relatives, and welcome them cordially, standing in person at the
entrance. He will kiss the hands of her parents. He will offer them food and
drink, chat with them, and serve them with amr-i-ma’rűf and nahy-i-munker. If
they are coming from other cities, he will offer them to spend the night in his
home. He will try to win their heart(s) and cause them to invoke blessings on
him. Should there be fâsiq [wicked, evil] people among his or his wife’s
relatives, he will not admit them into his home or visit them in their homes,
since people of that sort will mostly try to spoil the religious and moral
conduct of his wife. He will not see them or let his wife see them. Yet he will
not behave harshly towards them or towards any other people. In fact, he will
not argue with anyone. He will not arouse fitna. He will avoid things that will
harm their faith and/or worldly life. He should be friendly with everyone.
It is stated in ’Uqűd-ud-durriyya: “When a woman’s
husband wants to leave for a safar (long-distance journey), she may apply to the
judge of law court to appoint a surety to guarantee her one month’s nafaqa, if
she fears that her husband may not pay her nafaqa. A woman whose husband is not
leaving for a safar may demand for a surety only on the condition that the
amount of nafaqa should have been determined either by the judge or with an
agreement between them.” It is stated in Behjet-ul-fatâwâ: “Supposing Zeyd (or
Zayd) espoused his daughter to ’Amr and yet ’Amr’s (new) wife did not go to his
home because he did not summon her. He would pay her nafaqa as long as she
stayed in her father’s home.” It is stated in Fatâwâ-i-feyziyya: “A woman with a rich
husband cannot demand nafaqa from her son. If a person has become poor because
he has been trying to learn knowledge that
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is farz to learn, his rich father will
have to support him even if he is over the age of puberty.” It is stated in Bahr-ul-fatâwâ: “If a woman’s
husband has gone away to another country without having left nafaqa for her,
she cannot force the bailee to whom her husband delivered his property to pay
her nafaqa from that property. That she would be able to receive her nafaqa if
she applied to the court of law, is written in Fatâwâ-i-Hindiyya. According to (the
ijtihâd of) Imâm Abű Yűsuf, it is legal to force a person to provide nafaqa for
his (domestic) animal, (i.e. to feed it.)” [Please see the ninth chapter!]
If a woman is divorced
by way of a kind of divorce called ‘ba’în’ or ‘rij’î’, it will be farz for her
ex-husband to pay her nafaqa throughout the period of time termed ’iddet.
However, it is not farz to pay nafaqa to a woman who is waiting for the
expiration of ’iddet (or ’iddat) after a divorce that have taken place
inexorably as a result of a guilt on her part such as becoming a murtadd or
kissing her stepson with lust, or after her husband’s death. If a woman who has
been divorced with three talâqs (divorces) becomes a murtadd within the period
of ’iddet, she will not be paid nafaqa. (Please see the fifteenth chapter!)
[Recently we have been
hearing of people who say that (making a) living is (a) common
(responsibility). They are right to say so. What is wrong, however, is what
they understand from that statement. That is, it does not mean that the woman
also should go out and earn money. It means: “The man should go out, work,
earn, buy the things necessary, and bring them home, as the woman does her
housework and other indoor duties instead of going out and spending her days
out with unnecessary occupations. Qutdoor work is the man’s duty, whereas doing
the work indoors devolves on the woman.]
2- A poor child’s
nafaqa is to be paid by its father only. If its father is poor, then its rich
mother will pay it, on the understanding that she charge its father, (i.e. he
will have to repay it to the child’s mother when he becomes rich enough.) If
its mother also is poor, its rich grandfather will pay it. If the child itself
is rich, it will live on its own means. If an orphan with no property has a
mother, a maternal uncle, and sons of its paternal uncle, its mother will pay
its nafaqa. If a child’s father is missing and its mother is poor and its
paternal uncle is rich, its paternal uncle will pay its nafaqa. When its closer
’asaba are missing or poor, its less close ’asaba will pay its nafaqa. (Please
scan the twenty-second chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for the term ’asaba.)
None of these people,
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with the exception of the child’s mother,
can charge its father for the nafaqa they have paid the child. The child’s
mother cannot be forced to breastfeed it. If another woman cannot be found so
that the child should be breastfed in return for money, it will not be wâjib
for the mother to breastfeed the child. The mother will not be paid (for
breastfeeding the child). If a child’s mother has been divorced by its father,
it will be permissible to hire her as a wet-nurse after the period of ’iddet.
If the mother wants to breastfeed the child in return for money and another
woman volunteers to breadfeed it free of charge, the child should be had breastfed
by that other woman.
A son will be paid
nafaqa until he reaches puberty. Daughters will be supported until they get
married, and a pubescent but invalid son until he recovers, by their father. If
these people are rich (enough), they will live on their own means. A man will
not have to pay nafaqa for his (illegitimate child called) veled-i-zinâ.
Laqît (foundling) means a
‘baby which has been abandoned (by its parents) on account of financial straits
or for fear of disgrace, (and thereafter been found by others.)’ While it is
sinful to abandon a baby like that; to save it from death by taking it upon
seeing it is an act that is sunnat if it is found within the urban area, and
farz if it is found at an uninhabited place. So is the case with saving a blind
person who is about to fall into a well. A baby found in the Dâr-ul-islâm will
be accepted as a free Muslim. Its nafaqa and the money for its mahr when the
Sultân (President of the State) sees to its marriage (when it grows up) will be
collected from the child’s own means or from its relatives. (Please scan the
twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for ‘mahr’!) In the
absence of these sources, the expenses will be compensated by the Beyt-ul-mâl.
Someone else cannot use force to take the baby away from him. If a man claims
that it is his own child, his claim will be admitted. If a woman claims that
she is the child’s mother, she will be demanded to produce two witnesses. It,
(i.e. the foundling,) will be taught knowledge. Then it will be seen that it is
educated and trained in a certain craft. It cannot be circumcised and its
property cannot be sold out without a permission granted by the civil
administration of the place being lived in. Expenses gone into without a
permission will be accepted as charitable gifts to the child.
3- It is farz for rich
people to pay nafaqa to their poor parents. Daughters and sons will pay in
equal amounts. To support parents is an act of farz that is incumbent not on
those who would inherit
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more of their property in the event of their death, but on those
who are closer to them and who are a part from them. Parents who have grandsons
and granddaughters from their son will be supported by their (own) daughter(s).
However, their inheritance would be divided in half between their daughter(s)
and grandchild(ren). If a person has grandchildren from his or her daughter and
brother(s), he or she will be supported by their children, whereas all their
property would be inherited by their brother(s), and nothing would be left for
their daughter(s)’s children. The author of the book Hazânat-ur-riwâyât, (Qâdî Hindî
‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’,) states: “When a person gets stuck in the horns
of a dilemma wherein pleasing one of the parents would displease the other, the
father should be the one respected and obeyed as the mother is being served and
supported. It is permissible for the father to become angry with his son and to
shout at him. If a father senses that his son will fail to obey an order he is
to give his son, he should avoid imperatives and prefer counselling moods as he
talks with his son to protect him against the sin of disobeying his father.”
The author ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’ of Fatâwâ-i-Khayriyya states: “If a poor
person earns only a bare pittance, it will not be farz for him to pay nafaqa to
his poor father. He might opt to admit his poor parents into his home, so that
they will live together. It is harâm for a man to beat his wife, to oppress
her, to dock from her nafaqa, or move to another city and settle there without
taking her along. It is a grave sin. On the Day of Judgement, a man guilty of
such behaviour will be subjected to a harsh and difficult judgment and
extremely bitter torment. He must be punished with ta’zîr by the court of law.
If he does not pay one of the three kinds of nafaqa though he is capable of
doing so, he will be sent to prison.”
4- If a boy that has
not reached ages of discretion and puberty yet or an unmarried or widowed girl,
regardless of her age, or an invalid or blind man is poor and does not have a
father, paying their nafaqa in proportion to the property that would be
inherited devolves on their rich (next of kin termed) zî rahm-i-mahram,
(defined in the twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss, under the heading WOMEN WITH WHOM NIKÂH IS
NOT PERMISSIBLE. Please see the last paragraph of the hundred and fifty-seventh
(157) page of the tenth [2007] edition of the fifth fascicle. In other words,
it becomes farz for them to pay their nafaqa.) However, it is written in Fatâwâ-i-Khayriyya that for its becoming
farz a suit must have been brought to the court of law.
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Each relative (within the definition of
‘zî rahm-i-mahram’) will pay the amount of nafaqa in direct proportion to the
amount of property they would inherit as of that day. There are seven of these
people, who are consanguineous relatives and who therefore are eternally mahram
to the person to be paid nafaqa. The rich ones of these people have to support
their poor zî rahm-i-mahram relatives, contributing equally to the support. If
a (poor) person has a maternal uncle and a son of their paternal uncle, their
nafaqa will be paid by his maternal uncle. For, supposing this person is
female, her maternal uncle is her mahram relative, while the son of their
paternal uncle is nâ mahram to her. It is not farz for a nâ mahram relative to
pay nafaqa. Mahram relatives pay the nafaqa even when they do not inherit
property. If a poor small child’s mother, sister, and paternal uncle are all
rich people, one-third of her nafaqa will be paid by its mother, half of it by
its sister, and the remaining one-sixth by its paternal uncle. If a poor person
has a sister, a sister from the same father, and a sister uterine, all three of
them being rich, this person will be supported by the three sisters
collectively. Three-fifths of the nafaqa will be paid by the sister, one-fifth
of it by the sister from the same father, and the remaining one-fifth by the
sister uterine. For, if this person were dead the inheritance would be shared
at the same ratio by the three sisters. It is stated in Behjet-ul-fatâwâ: “If a small child
has a mother, two sisters, and a paternal uncle, all of them rich people, its
mother and paternal uncle will pay two-sixths of the nafaqa, one-sixth each,
and the remaining four-sixths will be paid by its sisters, two-sixths each.”
It is not farz to pay
nafaqa to a non-Muslim zî rahm-i-mahram relative. Yet it is farz to pay nafaqa
to one’s parents, children and wife, dhimmîs as they may be. With the exception
of a husband and a father who has poor children, it is not farz for any poor
person to pay nafaqa. And with the exception of one’s wife, it is not farz to
pay nafaqa to any rich person. A person whose property is the amount of nisâb
for the performance of qurbân, (i.e. a person who has so much property as it
has become wâjib for him to perform the act of worship termed ‘qurbân’,) is a
rich person[1]. A person who does not possess that nisâb is called a poor
person. A father may sell property belonging to his son if he needs to do
---------------------------------
[1] Please
see the first and the fourth chapters of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss
for the nisâb of ‘zakât’ and that of ‘qurbân’, respectively.
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so to meet his own nafaqa. Yet he cannot do so if the property
is a real estate such as a house or a piece of land. A mother cannot sell her
son’s property in order to make it nafaqa for herself. Please see the final
part of the twenty-eighth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss!
[If a woman or girl
does not have parents or any mahram relatives or if they are poor although they
exist, and if she is not supported or aided by the Beyt-ul-mâl, i.e. the State,
or by anyone else or by any charity association, either, this woman or girl will
have to work for her living and/or for the living of her children or her
parents who are too old to work. She will work at places where women are
employed and men are not allowed to mix with them. If she cannot find a job
without any male employees and she has to work at least for a subsistence level
of nafaqa so that she may protect her health, her faith, her chastity, and her
honour and dignity as a Muslim, then it will be permissible for her to work at
a job where men also are employed, provided she will cover herself in a manner
prescribed by Islam as she works among those men who are nâmahram to her. Any
attempt to prevent her from earning that indispensable nafaqa will fit into the
category termed ‘ikrâh’, (which means ‘constraining’, ‘intimidation’, and which
is one of the acts that Islam prohibits and inflicts a punishment for.)[1] It will not be
permissible for her to stay there any longer than she needs to. If she lives in
the Dâr-ul-harb and the people she is working for oppress and persecute her by
saying, for instance, “You cannot work here like that. Either work with your
head and arms bare, or leave this place and find yourself another job,” and she
cannot find a job where she can work covered as she is; according to the qawl
of Abű Yűsuf, it will be permissible for her to work with her arms bare. It is
written in Ibni ’Âbidîn and in Fatâwâ-i-Hindiyya that there have been Islamic scholars stating that it is not
farz for a woman to cover the part of her hair hanging from her ears. It is
permissible to avail oneself of the convenience offered by way of this
qawl-i-dâ’îf in the event of a (quandary termed) haraj. (Please scan the fourth
chapter of the fourth fascicle, and also the twentieth chapter of the second
fascicle, of Endless Bliss for the term ‘haraj’.) Although it has been stated unanimously
by Islamic scholars that it is farz for a woman to cover the hair on her head,
it will be permissible to uncover it under ikrâh.[1] A woman under ikrâh
of this sort must always be looking
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the fourteenth and fifteenth
chapters.
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for a job where she can work without having to mix with men or
by covering herself properly. And as soon as she finds one she must change over
to that new job. As she walks or commutes to and from work, she must always
cover her head and arms. When she marries a Muslim man, her husband will have
to provide her nafaqa. Although she will not have to pay nafaqa to her parents
and children since she is not rich, she ought to support them by working with
her husband’s permission. Learning the teachings that are farz to learn is like
earning one’s nafaqa.]
5- It is farz for an
owner of slaves and jâriyas to pay their nafaqa. If the owner does not pay the
slave’s nafaqa, the slave will work and use his earnings as nafaqa for himself.
If a slave or a jâriya is too frail to work the judge of law court will order
their owner to sell them.
Ibni ’Âbidîn states as
follows in the two hundred and twenty-third (223) page of the fifth volume:
“It is farz to dress
oneself (at least) as well and properly as to cover one’s awrat parts and to
protect oneself against cold and heat. (Please see the eighth chapter of the
fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss for ‘awrat parts’.) Textiles made from cotton, linen, and wool are good. It is sunnat for men to wear a qamîs, i.e. a chemise, a kind of long
shirt, and an overcoat long enough to cover half of their legs and with sleeves long enough to extend to the fingertips. The sleeve openings should be a span
wide. We should be dressed moderately and avoid things that cause fame. It is an act of mustahab, (i.e. something that brings thawâb and causes one to be
rewarded in the Hereafter,) to wear good and valuable clothes to exhibit the blessings of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is an act of mubâh, (i.e. an act that is neither commanded nor forbidden; something permitted by
Allâhu ta’âlâ,) to wear lovely, ornamented clothes on special days such as ’Iyd days. It is not something good, however, to always do so. It is an act of
makrűh[1] to dress oneself up
for ostentation and for boasting of oneself. It is an act of mustahab to wear
black and white. Rasűlullah’s coat, shirt, and pants were of white cotton
cloth. [It is written in the four
---------------------------------
[1] An act,
behaviour, or thought that our blessed Prophet
disliked, avoided, and dissuaded from is called ‘makrűh’. When an act of makrűh
verges on an act of harâm it is termed ‘makrűh tahrîmî’. When it is closer to
an act of mubâh, it is termed ‘makrűh tanzîhî (or tenzîhî)’. When we see only
the term ‘makrűh, we should construe it as ‘makrűh tahrîmî’.
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hundred and eighty-first (481) page of the fifth volume of Ibni
’Âbidîn and in the book entitled Mejmâ ’ul-anhur that his blessed headgear and overcoat were black on the day
when he conquered Mekka.] It is an act of sunnat to wear green clothes. With
the exception of swine, hides of all fierce animals will be clean when they are
tanned. Hides and skins of animals killed (in a manner prescribed by Islam and)
after saying the Basmala, (i.e. by saying, “Bismillâh-ir-Rahmân-ir-Rahîm,”) are
clean. Namâz can be performed on their (tanned) hides. It is permissible for
men to wear clothes, fur coats, fur-collared coats, and headgears made from
their hides. It is not permissible for women to dress themselves like men or to
do kinds of work to be done by men. It is makrűh for men to wear pants and
trousers as long as to cover their feet. It is makrűh to wear najs clothes when
not performing namâz. (It goes without saying that namâz performed with najs
clothes on oneself will not be sahîh.)” [It is written in the fourteen hundred
and sixth (1406) edition of the periodical that is entitled Al-Mu’allim published by Indian
scholars that when human organs such as hands, feet, fingers, toes, noses,
teeth, eyes, hearts, and others are missing or no longer function properly it
is permissible to replace them with metal or plastic prostheses or to
transplant organs from other people, dead or living. For, it is as
indispensably necessary to save a human organ as it is to save a person’s life.
It is not permissible to eat an organ or flesh of a living person. Blood
transfusion is permissible. It is harâm for both sexes to imitate each other in
styles such as haircut, make-up, and attirement. It is written in the five
hundred and fifty-eighth (558) page of Hadîqa that it is harâm for men to liken themselves to women by growing
their hair in a manner that it will hang over their cheeks. It is written in
the two hundred and thirty-eighth (238) page of the fifth volume of Ibni
’Âbidîn and in the five hundred and seventy-ninth (579) page of the second
volume of Hadîqa
and
in the hundred and seventy-fourth (174) page of Fatâwâ-i-kubrâ, (by Husâm-ad-dîn
’Umar bin ‘Abd-ul-’Azîz ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’, 483-536 [1142], Samarkand,) that
it is not harâm for a woman to fasten human hair with a piece of thread or
cloth ribbon to her hair instead of plaiting it in a mixed braid with her own
hair or to add animal hairs. It is concluded that it is permissible to use
false hair that is called a wig and eye-lashes made from human and animal hair or from threads
of flexible artificial material such as nylon; however, necessity should not be
confused with ornamentation. If something is permissible on account of a
necessity, it is not permissible to use it
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for ornamentation. When it becomes inevitable for a woman to
expose her hair among men, it will be permissible and necessary for her to
cover her head and her own hair by wearing a wig. When there is a darűrat, one
must cover one’s parts of awrat with anything available. The sin will lie with
the person who has given away her hair and with those (men) who look at the
woman who wears the wig. It is harâm for one to sell one’s hair or any other
organ. It is not permissible (for a woman) to go out with a wig on her head if
there is not a darűrat to do so. For, it is harâm for women to wear ornaments
among men who are nâ mahram to them. What ‘darűrat’ means has been provided in
the explanation of the twenty-second and forty-second articles of Majalla.] (Please read the
four hundred and forty-ninth [449] and the four hundred and sixty-sixth [466]
pages of the 2007 - tenth edition of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss.)
It stated in the
hundred and nineteenth (119) page of the book entitled ’Uyűn-ul-besâir, (written by ’Ahmad
bin Muhammad Mekkî Hamawî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, d. 1098 [1686 A.D.],
Egypt, as a commentary to the book entitled Eshbâh, which in turn had bin written by Ibni
Nujaym Zeynel’âbidîn bin ibni Nujaym-i-Misrî, 926 - 970 [1562 A.D.], Egypt:)
“There are five different situations in which a person uses things. They are:
1. Darűrat; 2. Ihtiyâj; 3. Menfe’at; 4. Zînet (or zînat); 5. Fudűl. A situation
in which a person will perish if he or she does not do or use or utilize a
certain thing, is called a ‘darűrat’. If not doing or using something will cost
a person hardship and inconvenience, this situation is termed an ‘ihtijâj
(need)’. [Something used for ostentation without any need for using it, is
termed a ‘zînet (ornamentation)’.] When there is an ihtiyâj, it is permissible
to break one’s fast (within time). [It is stated in Bahr-ur-râiq: “Once you have
started performing a certain act of worship, it will be harâm to discontinue it
(before having completed it), unless there is an ’udhr, (i.e. a good reason
prescribed by Islam,) to do so. There are eight such reasons (’udhrs) for
breaking a fast (before the end of its prescribed period):[1] Illness; setting out
for a safar, (i.e. a long distance journey, which is explained in detail in the
fifteenth chapter of the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss;) ikrâh, i.e.
constraining inflicted by
---------------------------------
[1]
Please see the second chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for
the period prescribed for fasting. Also, you would find satisfactory information
concerning the timing of your daily acts of worship if you visited
the sites: www.namazvakti.com and www.turktakvim.com.
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an oppressor; pregnancy of a woman; suckling a baby; hunger;
thirst; and old age.” The word ‘ihtiyâj’ as used in the aforesaid book, (i.e.
in ’Uyűn-ul-besâir,) subsumes each and
every one of these eight reasons (’udhrs).] An example for ‘menfe’at’, (the
third situation stated in the same book,) is consumption of choice food such as
wheat bread, mutton, fat. Consumption of sweets would be an example for
‘zînet’, (the fourth one), and excess in the enjoyment of mubâhs would be that
of ‘fudűl’. In case of a darűrat it will not be permissible to lie under oath.
The difficulty should be equivocated by way of a ‘ta’rîdh’, which means to take
an oath by saying something with double meanings. An example for a darűrat is
for a person about to die of hunger to survive by eating lesh, (i.e. meat whose
consumption has been prohibited by Islam.) Other examples for a darűrat are:
being splashed by tiny drops of water during the performance of an ablution and
one’s clothes’ being splashed by urine drops as the animal one is riding
urinates. It is not permissible for an insane person to marry more than one
women, since it is not something he needs.”
[Doing or using something harâm (on account of a darűrat) will be permissible only as long as the
person experiencing the darűrat contents himself (or herself) with the measure that has been dictated (by Islam) to be within the darűrat. It is a darűrat, and
it is farz, too, to utilize the (permissions called) mubâhs as much and as long as they help you perform the acts of worship that are farz. It is sunnat to
utilize them in order to meet one’s needs (ihtiyâj). If something benefits when it is used more than needed, then it will be permissible to use it for one’s
benefits (menfe’at). If it is neither beneficial nor harmful to use it (more than needed), then it will be zînet (ornamentation, adornment) to use it that wise.
That it is mustahab to use ornamental articles for the purpose of inspiring such altruistic feelings as dignity, respectability, and amity or as an expression
of profound gratitude (for the blessings of Allâhu ta’âlâ), is written in various books, e.g. in the final parts of the last volumes of Ibni ’Âbidîn and Bahr-ur-râiq, and in Hadîqa-t-un-nediyya, (which was written
by Muhammad Baghdâdî.) It is stated as follows in the five hundred and
eighty-second (582) page of the second volume of Hadîqa: “It causes fame not
to follow the customs of one’s hometown. And that, in its turn, is makrűh
tahrîmî. An example of this is to dye one’s hair or beard.” Another example is
to use articles of zînet. In the Dâr-ul-harb, i.e. in a country where
disbelievers live, e.g. France, it is wâjib to protect the dignity and honour
of Islam and to avoid fame and fitna.
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Something harmful is called ‘fudűl’ or ’abes or mâ-lâ-ya’nî
(futility, nonsense). It is makrűh tahrîmî to use it, and it will be harâm,
which is a grave sin, if it prevents one from doing something that is farz.
Please see the final part of the fourth chapter of the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss!
As the things that
will not break one’s fast are being discussed in Bahr-ur-râiq, the following
statements are being made: “It is permissible for a man to apply kohl on his
eyes for hygienic purposes. It is not permissible, though, to do so for
adornment (zînet). The terms Jemâl and zînet should not be mistaken for each other. ‘Jemâl’ means to
eliminate an ugly appearance, to be dignified, to pay gratitude, and to exhibit
the blessings that one has been endowed with. It will not be ‘jemâl’ to exhibit
the blessings for ostentation and self-complacency; it will be conceit. It will
show that one’s nafs in unhecked and on the rampage. Jemâl, by contrast, shows
that the nafs has been tamed and matured. A hadîth-i-sherîf, which reads, ‘Allâhu is jemîl,[1] and He loves owners of
jemâl,’
commends having jemâl. If something essentially done for ‘jemâl’ causes ‘zînet’
also, there is nothing wrong with it. It is mubâh to wear cleanly and lovely
clothes for ‘jemâl’. Yet it is harâm to do so out of self-conceit. If a change
appears in one’s conduct and in the way one treats others when one wears such
things, one should construe the change as self-conceit.” As is seen, it is
‘jemâl’ to avoid doing things that will incur others’ disgust and insult, and
to rid oneself of such maladjustments. And it is zînet to do things that will
cause others to envy you, which will cause you to feel superiority over others
and to boast about yourself. For ‘jemâl’, you should use the best of the things
that are customary in your environment, provided that they are not things that
are harâm.]
That it is harâm for
men to wear silk is explained towards the end of the second chapter. It is
permissible that there be a silk or gold band as wide as four fingers on (a
man’s) clothes or headgear. Such bands may be long and several.
Permissible as it is
for men to wear any colour, there is a scholarly statement informing that it is
makrűh tanzîhî (or tenzîhî) for them to wear red and/or yellow clothes. It has
been stated unanimously by Islamic scholars that red and green colours are not
makrűh when they are on a man’s headgear or head-cover. It is
---------------------------------
[1] ‘Jemîl’ is the adjectival form of ‘jemâl’.
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written in the (book entitled Mefâtih-ul-jinân and written by Ya’qűb
bin Sayyid ’Alî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, d. 931 [1925 A.D.], as a)
commentary to Shir’at-ul-islâm, (which had been written by Imâm-zâda Rukn-ul-islâm Muhammad
bin Abî Bakr ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, d. 573 [1178 A.D.],) that the shoes
worn by Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ were black.
It is stated as
follows in the final part of the last volume of the book Durr-ul-mukhtâr, and also in the same
parts of the (two) books written by Tahtâwî and Ibni ’Âbidîn as annotations to that celebrated book: “To do
tejemmul (or tajammul), which means to wear beautiful clothes, is an act of
mustahab. It is mubâh to adorn oneself, (i.e. to use articles of zînet,) with
things that are halâl. Imâm A’zam Abű Hanîfa would wear a jubba (robe) that was
worth four hundred gold coins. He would command his disciples to wear beautiful
clothes. Imâm Muhammad would wear exquisite clothes. Imâm A’zam stated that
Imâm ’Umar’s ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ wearing a patched cloak had been because he
had been the Emîr-ul-mu’minîn. If he had worn beautiful clothes, so would his
officials have done, and thereby the poor ones would have exacted from the
people by oppressing them. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ would
wear a jubba that was worth a thousand dirhams of silver.”
If a person has his
child do something that is harâm for adults to do, he will have committed an
act that is harâm. Please see the hundred and sixty-fifth chapter of the first
fascicle of Endless Bliss!
It is stated as
follows in Hadîqa, as the fifteenth of the sins committed with the entire body is
being explained: It is a sin to starve one’s child or one’s relative who it is
necessary for one to support, or to waste them by depriving them of an Islamic
family education. Relatives other than parents, grandparents, children, and
grandchildren are called aqrabâ. It is wâjib for a rich person to pay nafaqa to their poor
relatives who are unable to work. Nafaqa is not paid to an adult male relative
who can work although he is poor. Nafaqa of poor orphan children and that of
widow women, healthy enough (to work) as they may be, are wâjib upon their rich
relative(s). Supposing small children have their mother and paternal uncle(s);
or mother and elder brother(s), and they are rich people, they will pay the
children’s nafaqa collectively, each one contributing in proportion with the
inheritance they would receive. It is farz for a father to teach his child(ren)
knowledge, adab, and a craft. The first thing that must be taught is how to
read the Qur’ân
al-kerîm.
Next, fundamentals of îmân and Islam must
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be taught. [Once a child is sent to school without having
learned how to read the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the other Islamic teachings, it will no longer have time to
learn these things. It will fall into traps set by enemies of Islam and believe
their lies and slanders. It will grow up in an irreligious environment and in
deprivation of Islamic moral values. It will drift about, finally ending up in
disasters in this world and in the Hereafter. It will be harmful to his
environment and to the entire nation. The harms that it gives to itself and to
others will be written as sins in its parents’ deed-books. The great harms of
sending one’s child(ren) to disbelievers’ and Christians’ schools before having
taught them religious knowledge is written in detail in the book entitled Irshâd-ul-khiyâra
fî-tahdhîr-il-muslimîn min medârisin-Nasârâ, (written by Yűsuf bin Ismâ’îl bin Yűsuf
Nebhânî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ‘alaih’, (1265 [1849 A.D.], Ejzim, Haifa, in
Israel as of today – 1350 [1932], Beirut, Lebanon.) This book and the second
chapter of Ahmad Zeynî Dahlân’s book entitled Khulâsa-t-ul-kelâm were printed as a
single book by Hakîkat Kitâbevi (of Istanbul, Turkey).]
Parents should apply
force, (when necessary,) in the education and training of their children. If a
woman does not attach any importance to the education and to the protection of
the morals of her child and deprives it of the good breeding it needs, her
husband’s saying, “I don’t give my parental consent the good breeding it needs,
her husband’s saying, “I don’t give my parental consent to your being
indifferent like that. You’ll be sinful for your negligence,” will not absolve
him from responsibility. He has to prevent the incorrect breeding. If the woman
is an obstinate one, lest a fitna should arise, and if she secretly carries on
with her vices, then the man will not be responsible for the sin. We could not
say that a wife like that should be divorced.
Parents must be obeyed
and treated kindly. Their orders must be done as long as they are agreeable
with piety, or if they at least involve acts that are mubâh and not sinful at
all. Likewise, a woman must obey the orders of her husband, unless they entail
sinful acts. The same rule applies in civil service, concerning matters between
superiors and inferiors. No superior should be disobeyed or revolted against
because of their sinful orders. It is permissible, although not wâjib, to do
their orders involving acts that are mubâh. If their orders involve tâ’ats,
(i.e. acts that are themselves pious already,) it will be wâjib to do them. If
they order things that are not permissible to do, one should not put up a stiff
opposition and should avert them skilfully with a mild and
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appeasing apology. Even if one’s parents [or commanders or
superiors] order something that involves the worst of sins, be it an act of
unbelief, and even if they themselves are disbelievers, it will still not be
permissible to defy them. Disabled or poor parents, even if they are
(disbelievers called) dhimmîs, must be supported by their children, since their
nafaqa is wâjib upon their children. Grandparents are like parents. Nafaqa will
not be paid to them if they are (disbelievers called) harbîs. The same rule
applies in matters concerning a dhimmî and a harbî’s inheriting property from
each other. Even if one’s parents are dhimmîs, it is wâjib for one to respect
them and to be kind to them. If they try to insinuate disbelief into one’s
brain, (or try to persuade one to become a disbeliever,) one should avoid
visiting them.
It is wâjib to visit
one’s parents and zî-rahm-i-mahram relatives. One should discharge oneself from
these sins by at least sending them your salâm and best wishes, by writing them
pleasant letters, by telephoning them. There is not a certain time, a certain
frequency, or a certain amount of the salâm or the letter to be sent or the
verbal or monetary support to be offered. They are to be done as much as
necessary and as well as possible. It is not wâjib to do these things for
relatives that are not zî-rahm-i-mahram. Order of priority among the relatives
to be shown these kindnesses is: mother; father; offspring; paternal and
maternal grandfathers; paternal and maternal grandmothers; brothers and
sisters; paternal uncles; paternal aunts; maternal uncles; and maternal aunts.
After these people, the following order of priority should be observed:
paternal male first cousin(s); paternal female first cousin(s); children of
paternal aunt(s); those of maternal uncle(s) and those of maternal aut(s);
relatives by way of nikâh; and neighbour; all of those people are relatives who
are not zî-rahm-i-mahram, and any help or kindness done do them will yield
plenty of thawâb. (Please scan the twelfth chapter of the fifth fascicle of Endless Bliss for ‘nikâh’!) Here we
end our translation from Hadîqa.
As the menâhî (prohibitions,
forbidden things) are being dealt with in the book entitled Fatâwâ-i-Bezzâziyya, the following
information is being provided: “It is harâm to listen to any sort of musical
instrument being played. It is makrűh to listen to poetry whose subject if fisq
(sinning floutingly, such as indecency and fornication). It is not sinful to
desire to commit sins. If a person decides to commit a sin, he or she will be
recorded sinful only for the decision. It will not be recorded that the sin has
been
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committed. Not so is the case with denial of tenets of belief or
things that cause such denial. Once a person decides one of these things, (e.g.
deciding to become a disbeliever,) they will outright be a disbeliever. Parents
who are disbelievers should be served, paid nafaqa, and visited. They should
not be visited, however, if it is feared that they will cause acts of disbelief
to be committed. It is permissible to eat and drink with disbelievers once or
twice. It is makrűh to always do so. It is makrűh to press grapes for making
wine in return for a payment. It is not makrűh to work in the repairs to a
church. For, the work itself is not something sinful.” As is seen, if one’s
parents call it hidebound behaviour to obey Islam, i.e. if they are disdainful
towards performing acts of worship and avoiding the harâms, one had better not
visit them. It is not permissible to visit relatives of that sort. However, the
situation should be manoeuvred out of by making up excuses rather than rigidly telling
them the real reason for not visiting them and thereby hurting them and causing
fitna. Arguments with others should always be avoided, for it will destroy
friendships and increase the number of one’s adversaries. We should not arouse
fitna; we should talk suavely with everyone, friend and foe alike, and treat
everyone with a gentle smile. Detailed information in this respect is available
from the fifty-fifth letter of the third volume of Muhammad Ma’thűm’s book
entitled Maktűbât. The letter exists in
the final part of our book, Documents of the Right Word. Since it is not permissible to behave
with sweet words and a smiling face towards holders of bid’at, such people
should be shunned as much as possible, and inevitable contacts and
conversations with them should not be longer than necessary.
It is not permissible
to set out for a jihâd or to follow a dangerous route for any long distance
journey, even if it is intended for hajj, without parents’ permission. It is
permissible to leave for education without their permission. This
permissibility does not apply to learning things that are not based on
experimentation and calculation or which, even if they are so, have no worldly
or next-worldly use. It applies to learning sciences that will be useful to Islam.
As for going to schools owned or organized by enemies of Islam or by holders of
bid’at or by people without a certain Madhhab for the purpose of acquiring
religious knowledge; it is not permissible by any means. Parental consent is
unnecessary for journeys that are not dangerous, such as journeys for trade or
for hajj or for ’umra, unless parents are in need. However, it is necessary to
take their consent for air or sea
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journeys or for risky journeys by land or for jihâd. If the
route to be taken throughout the journey intended for acquiring knowledge and
the place to be gone to are secure and the parents will not be exposed to
danger of perishing should they be left alone, it will be permissible to leave
despite their refusal to give their consent, (in case they do so.) In warfare,
when the enemy attacks and routs the Muslim army, it is permissible for a child
to join the army against the enemy even if he has not reached the age of
puberty and even if his parents have not given their consent. However, it is
never permissible to talk harshly with parents or with government officials.
Should a person go somewhere that is permissible for him to go without his
parents’ consent, he must placate them by frequently writing to them, sending
them his salâm and presents, (and calling them or sending them e mails.)
RIGHTS of NEIGHBOURS — The following
information has been translated from the book (entitled Mefâtih-ul-jinân and) written by Ya’qűb
bin Sayyid ’Alî ‘rahmatullahi ta’âlâ ’alaih’ as a commentary to Shir’at-ul islâm, (which had been
written by Muhammad bin Abű Bakr ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’:) “Every Muslim
should look for a house among sâlih neighbours [good people]. It is stated in a
hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘Before you buy a house, inquire after the neighbours! Before you
set out for a journey, select your companions!’ Another
hadîth-i-sherîf reads: ‘Neighbours should be treated with the same respect as one would
treat one’s parents.’ To treat one’s neighbours with repect means to get along well
with them, and not to go to bed with a satiated stomach if you know that one of
them is hungry. You should offer them a part of the rizq that Allâhu ta’âlâ has bestowed on you.
You should avoid saying or doing something that may hurt any one of them. It is
stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘If a person’s neighbour does
not feel sure that he will never do any evil that will harm him, that person has not had îmân in
Allâhu ta’âlâ.’ You should give presents to your
neighbour as frequently as possible, even if he is a dhimmî. It is stated in
hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘A dhimmî neighbour has one
right, a Muslim neighbour has two rights, and a neighbour who is one of
the kinsfolk (at the same time) has three rights.’ You should not look at your neighbour’s house or windows. [How
many houses around yours are to be accounted your neighbours? The number of the
houses vary, depending on circumstances and your financial capacity to help.
One or two houses in each direction are your neighbours,] forty houses being
the maximum in sharing the rights of neighbourhood. You should
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patiently tolerate the ill treatment and irrational behaviour
coming from your neighbour and should not respond to them in kind. [You should
tell them with a soft smile and a sweet language that it is harâm to drink
alcoholic beverages and for women and girls to go out with a bare head and bare
arms. On the Judgment Day neighbours will complain to Allâhu ta’âlâ about their neighbours
who did not admonish them although they saw them commit sins] and who did not talk
with them and who did not help them [to protect themselves against Hell,] and
they will demand their [material and spiritual] rights. You should fondle your
neighbours’ children with your hand and advise them with a sweet language that
they should not commit sins. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘Give your neighbours
their due from the food cooked in your home!’ When your neighbour asks for something
as a loan or as an ’âriyat you should give it outright. When your neighbour
becomes ill, you should visit them. When your neighbour is in trouble you
should go to their rescue. It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘If a person goes to the
rescue of his neighbour in trouble and solves their problem, Allâhu ta’âlâ will clothe him with
valuable garments on the Rising Day.’ When a bereavement befalls your neighbour, you should pay the ta’ziya; that is, you should
advise them to be patient, and you should join the funeral services. When your
neighbour leaves for a long distance journey or is sent to a distant place, you
should protect their family and children against the wickednesses and harms of
thieves and immoral people. In the absence of your neighbour, you should very
studiously avoid any behaviour that may connote perfidy towards their family
left at home. You should not add storeys to your house so as to deprive your
neighbour of fresh air and sunlight; in case it should be inevitable to do so,
you should do so only after explaining the situation to them and taking their
consent. When you buy such things as fruits and sweets that you will not be
able to offer to your neighbours, you should carry them home secretly from your
neighbours. When you need to sell or rent out your house, you should consult
with your neighbour(s) and prefer buyers and tenants that your neighbours
approve of. Rights of neighbours pertaining to property and estate are written
in Majalla, from page 1192 on.
The most valuable thing in the world is a neighbour who is a sâlih Muslim and
who knows and observes the rights of their neighbours. It is stated in
hadîth-i-sherîf: ‘For the sake of a sâlih Muslim,
Allâhu ta’âlâ will ward off thousands of misfortunes and catastrophes from his
neighbours.’ It is stated in another hadîth-i-
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sherîf: ‘If a person wants to know if he himself is a good person or a bad
one, let him find out how his sâlih and khâlis neighbours have been talking
about him! If they are saying that he is a good person, let him know that he is
a good one in the ’ind-i-ilâhî, (i.e. in the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ!)’ ”
If a harm that is
harâm to do to any person is done to one’s neighbour, the sin committed thereby
will be much worse. A favour that will cause thawâb when it is done to anybody
will yield much more thawâb when it is done to one’s neighbour.
Zâhidâ! Open your eyes, look at the
wilderness, and take an object lesson!
Look at the heaven, a bulbous dome
without columns, and take an object lesson!
If you
want to see the infinite power of Jenâb-i-kibriyâ,
At the time of dawn every morning, look at the world, and take an object
learning!
Even if you were a Pâdishâh, they would say,
“Make your intention for a man!”
Go,
and look at the corpse lying on the musalla, and take an object learning!
A
shroud is the finality of possession, the rich and the poor alike;
A person who
takes pride in his riches: What is he, if not a lunatic-like?
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