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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!

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ) reciting the Islamic ruqyah (Qur'anic/spiritual healing)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible for a person in a state of janābah (major ritual impurity), or a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ), or a woman in postpartum bleeding (nufasā'), to recite for the purpose of ruqyah (spiritual/Qur'anic healing), even if this includes some verses of the Noble Qur'an — whether recited from memory or by looking at the Muṣ-ḥaf (the physical copy of the Qur'an) without touching or carrying it — provided that the intention behind the recitation is ruqyah, protection (taḥṣīn), and remembrance (dhikr), not the intention of tilāwah (Qur'anic recitation as an act of worship in itself). This remains permissible even if what is recited is an entire sūrah, such as Sūrat al-Mulk.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is lawful for a person in janābah to utter its [the Qur'an's] remembrances and other content — such as its admonitions, its narratives, and its rulings — so long as it is not with the intention of [reciting] Qur'an. [This is] like his saying upon mounting [a vehicle]: 'Glory be to Him Who has subjected this to us, and we could never have accomplished this [by ourselves]' [Sūrat az-Zukhruf: 13] — meaning, [could never have] been capable of it — or upon a calamity: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return'... In fact, my teacher, ash-Shihāb ar-Ramlī, issued a fatwā that even if he recited the entire Qur'an without the intention of [reciting] Qur'an, it would be permissible." [Summarized from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 1/P.217] And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

I work overtime after regular working hours and may become occupied with my phone or the work computer for personal matters — what is the ruling on this?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is obligatory upon an employee to abide by the instructions and regulations governing overtime hours, and equally obligatory to uphold honesty and avoid all forms of deception and dishonesty. Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, be mindful of Allah and be with the truthful." [Al-Tawbah/ 119]
Whoever is assigned to work overtime must be present at his workplace — even if he has no specific tasks to carry out at that time. In such a case, he should strive as best he can to spend that time in a manner that benefits the institution he works for. If there is genuinely no work for him to do, there is no objection to occupying his time with something beneficial — such as reciting the Holy Qurʾān, reading, or listening to educational lessons — provided he has already completed all the responsibilities assigned to him.
If, however, he does have work to complete, he must spend that time fulfilling it. He may attend to phone calls or other personal matters to the extent that is customarily acceptable, as long as this does not result in delaying or postponing his work. If he delays his work on account of personal preoccupations, the wages he received for that wasted time are not lawfully his to keep, and he is obliged to return the equivalent amount to the institution by whatever means available to him. 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.

Can a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer recite aloud?

Yes, a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer is allowed to recite aloud, as long as no non-mahram (other than unmarriageable kin) men can hear her.

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