عربي
Home


Articles

Articles

The Pandemic Absolves a Person from Friday's Congregational Prayer
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 15-03-2021

 

In the Name of God Almighty and All perfect praise be to Him, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

The General Iftaa Dept. assures what been mentioned in earlier articles and Fatwas that preserving the human soul of what might be lead to causing harm to it is one of the most important objectives of Sharia; thus, Allah, The Exalted forbade doing any act which might inflict damage upon person's life and enjoined to preserve it in all legal methods, as He said (What means): "Spend your wealth for the cause of Allah, and be not cast by your own hands to ruin; and do good. Lo! Allah loveth the beneficent." [Al-Baqarah/195] in addition, He Said (What means): "and kill not one another. Lo! Allah is ever Merciful unto you." [An-Nisa'/29].

 

Nowadays, our country suffers from the great spread of this pandemic by which many people were passed away while others have been hospitalized for a long period due to their pains, sufferings as well as losses. Therefore, our religious and faithful obligations entail us to abide by all health instructions and guidelines as well the organizational orders issued by parties in charge, in addition to maintain all necessary means to stop the spread and transmission of this disease in order to preserve the strength and stability of the society.

 

In principle, Islamic Sharia arrived to ease people's daily matters and considered this one of its principles, because the objective of the devotions' acts is to manage peoples' affairs and cast away any harm whether in this life or in the hereafter, as Allah, The Exalted Said (What means): "God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties." [Al-Baqarah/185].

Besides Muslim jurists are of the view that rain and mud are among the concessions by which a person is excused from offering Friday’s obligatory prayer based on the following narration in (Sahih Moslim): Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah Be Pleased with them) reported that he said to the Mu’adhdhin on a rainy day: When you have announced” I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” do not say: ”Come to the prayer,” but make this announcement:” Say prayer in your houses.” He (the narrator) said that the people disapproved of it. Ibn ‘Abbas said: Are you astonished at it? He (the Holy Prophet), who is better than I, did it. Jumu’a prayer is no doubt obligatory, but I do not like that I should (force you) to come out and walk in mud and slippery ground. Al-Imam Al-Shafiee stated: ”The aforementioned narration is an among the concessions that permits a person not to offer obligatory prayer due to rain and the like. “

 

These days, the medical parties recommend to avoid gatherings such as the ones intended to  perform Friday’s obligatory prayer, since abiding by it serves a noble goal and righteous intention which are: preserving people’s life where by them the religion is preserved, and by keeping them safe, religious rituals might be established on the basis of Sharia maxims by which the hardship is removed and ease is adopted; thus, the avoidance of performing Friday’s congregational prayer becomes a valid excuse in this case. In addition to the fact that our legal obligation entails us to abide by this objective as we suffer for the time being from the spread of this pandemic among people. 

 

In this regard, we call upon everyone to perform the Duhr prayer at their homes and to abide by precautionary procedures in order to stop the spread and transmission of infection to others, since the Prophet (PBUH) said: ”There is no injury nor return of injury. " [Ibn Majah]. Besides, abiding by these procedures is considered a revival of a human soul whereas preserving it from injury is an obligation. For instance, bringing personal praying-mat while performing congregational prayer in the Mosque, the recitation from a personal copy of the Holy-Quran, making ablution in home, keeping physical distancing and the avoidance of shaking hands, since by adhering to the previous procedures, the prevention of this pandemic takes place among praying people as well as their lives and health is to be preserved.

 

Finally, we pray to Allah, The Exalted to keep our country and all Muslim countries safe and sound and to protect us from sicknesses and diseases as He is Powerful to do so and the conclusion of our prayer will be Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

 

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

Is it obligatory to make up all missed prayers?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Making up missed prayers (qaḍāʾ) is a sharʿī obligation, established by the practice of the Prophet ﷺ himself — when the disbelievers preoccupied him on the Day of the Trench and he missed the ʿAṣr prayer, he made it up afterward. This is further affirmed by the ḥadīth: "Fulfil what you owe to Allah, for Allah is most deserving of being fulfilled." (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Accordingly, a person who has missed prayers should set aside his voluntary and Sunnah prayers and replace them with make-up prayers in their stead. There is no objection to making up one missed prayer alongside each obligatory prayer that is performed — praying the equivalent missed prayer together with each current obligatory prayer as a practical and manageable way of gradually clearing one's debt of missed prayers. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to offer an Udhiyah on behalf of the deceased?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial animal) on behalf of a deceased person is permissible. This is the official position of the Hanbali school (as stated in Kashshaf al-Qina’ by al-Bahuti,Vol.6/P.428) and was also upheld by the prominent Shafi'i scholar Al-’Abbadi (mentioned in Bidayat al-Muhtaj by Ibn Qadi Shuhbah,Vol. 4/P.358). It has likewise been narrated as a valid view among some Maliki and Hanafi scholars.
 
In fact, Imam Abu Dawud dedicated an entire chapter in his Sunan collection entitled, "Chapter on Sacrificing on Behalf of the Deceased." In it, he recorded a narration from Hanash, who said: "I saw 'Ali sacrificing two rams, so I asked him, 'What is this?' He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded me to offer a sacrifice on his behalf, so I am sacrificing on his behalf.'"
 
Imam Abu Dawud also narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, this is from You, for You, and on behalf of Muhammad and his Ummah (community). In the Name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest," and he then slaughtered the animal.
 
The textual evidence here lies in the fact that our Master, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), offered a sacrifice on behalf of his entire community—and it is well-established that his community includes those who have already passed away.
 
Furthermore, there is an abundance of sacred texts demonstrating that the rewards of righteous deeds reach the deceased. For instance, it is permissible to fast on behalf of a deceased person who passed away with missed obligatory fasts, and it is equally permissible to perform Hajj on their behalf, both of which are firmly established in authentic Hadiths. Therefore, if the reward of fasting (which is a purely physical act of worship) and Hajj (which is a joint physical and financial act of worship) can reach the deceased, then the reward of an Udhiyah reaches them with greater reason (by way of A Fortiori argument). This is because it is a purely financial act of worship, falling under the general category of charity (Sadaqah).
 
Additionally, scholars have reached a consensus (Ijma') that the rewards of charity reach the deceased, and since the Udhiyah is inherently an act of charity, it falls under the same ruling. Consequently, based on all the aforementioned evidence, we hold the view that offering a sacrifice on behalf of the deceased is entirely permissible. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

Is it acceptable to perform the Aqiqah for a male child by slaughtering and distributing the first sheep, and bringing the second one cooked from the restaurant?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.

It is permissible to slaughter the first sheep with the intention of Aqiqah (the newborn's sacrificial offering) and distribute it entirely [uncooked], and to slaughter the second sheep and have it cooked at a restaurant to bring home for the household. However, it must be noted that it is obligatory to give some portion of the Aqiqah in charity to the poor, even if it is a small amount, though it is preferable to send the food cooked to them.

Buying a pre-cooked, ready-made sheep from a restaurant does not suffice as an Aqiqah. However, if an agreement is made with the restaurant to explicitly slaughter a sheep with the intention of Aqiqah for the newborn, and then cook it afterward, this is permissible.

In conclusion, slaughtering the sheep and distributing it with the intention of Aqiqah is permissible, and through it, the foundational prophetic tradition (Sunnah) is fulfilled. As for simply buying a cooked sheep from a restaurant that was not specifically slaughtered with the intention of Aqiqah, it will not count as such. Conversely, if the restaurant owner is commissioned (Wakala) to handle both the slaughtering and the cooking as an Aqiqah, it is valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on eating or drinking during the circumambulation?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is disliked (makrūh) to eat or drink during the circumambulation (ṭawāf).
Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī states in al-Majmūʿ: "It is disliked to eat or drink during ṭawāf, and the dislikedness of drinking is lighter. Neither of them, nor both together, invalidates the ṭawāf. Al-Shāfiʿī said: 'There is no objection to drinking water during ṭawāf, and I do not consider it sinful; however, I prefer that it be avoided, as refraining from it is more befitting in terms of proper conduct.' Among those who explicitly stated the dislikedness of eating and drinking, and that drinking is the lesser of the two, is the author of al-Ḥāwī."
If, however, a person is in genuine need of drinking, then there is no dislikedness in doing so. In any case, the ṭawāf itself remains valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

See More