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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 if hemorrhoid blood exits after completing ablution?

If this blood is exiting from outside the anus (due to the hemorrhoid protruding), it does not invalidate ablution, because blood exiting from the body from other than the two orifices does not invalidate ablution. If it exits from the anus (meaning from inside it), it invalidates ablution, and one must perform istinja' from it, wash the area of impurity, and repeat the ablution.
However, if this blood exits continuously such that no time remains sufficient for purification and prayer without it flowing, then it takes the ruling of urinary incontinence (sals al-bawl). One then cleanses from it after the time for each prayer enters, performs ablution immediately thereafter, and performs the obligatory prayer immediately. There is no liability upon him after that if something of it flows, and he may pray as many voluntary prayers as he wishes. If he wants to pray another obligatory prayer, he must cleanse himself and perform ablution. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

If someone starts the day sick or traveling while fasting, is it permissible for them to break their fast?

● A sick person who finds fasting difficult is allowed to break their fast, whether they began the day fasting or not.
● As for a traveler:
○ If they were still at home at dawn and then traveled after Fajr (dawn), they must continue fasting unless they experience extreme hardship, in which case they may break their fast.
○ However, if they were already traveling when dawn broke—meaning they had left their town before Fajr—then they are permitted to break their fast. This is what the Prophetﷺ did during the year of the conquest (of Makkah).

What is the ruling on making up missed prayers during prohibited times?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to make up (qada’) missed prayers at any time, even during the periods when prayer is generally prohibited. The prayers that are forbidden and considered invalid during these times are 'absolute voluntary prayers' (nafl mutlaq)—which have no specific cause—and voluntary prayers whose cause follows the prayer itself, such as the Sunnah of entering Ihram or the Sunnah of the Istikharah prayer. Furthermore, no prayer is considered disliked (makruh) during these prohibited times when performed within the Meccan Sanctuary (Makkah al-Mukarramah).
 
It is stated in Bushra al-Karim (Vol.1/P.181), one of the Shafi’i texts: 'It is not forbidden to perform prayers that have a cause that is not delayed (i.e., the cause is preceding), such as making up a missed prayer (fa’itah)—even if it was a voluntary one—and the funeral prayer (janazah); or a cause that is simultaneous, such as the prayer for rain (istisqa’) or the eclipse prayer (kusuf)... and the Sunnah of wudu, the greeting of the mosque (tahiyyat al-masjid), the Sunnah of circumambulation (tawaf), the Sunnah of arrival, and the prostrations of recitation (tilawah) or thankfulness (shukr). These mentioned prayers and their like are not forbidden provided that one does not specifically intend (ta'ammud) to perform them during the disliked time because it is a disliked time. If one does so intentionally, it becomes forbidden, even if it is a mandatory makeup prayer that is due immediately; because in that case, one is acting in defiance of the Sharia. This is in contrast to when one does not specifically seek out that time, even if the prayer happens to fall within it, or if one seeks it for another purpose—such as delaying a funeral prayer to that time so that a larger number of people may pray over the deceased; in such cases, it is permissible and valid... And it is forbidden to perform prayers with no cause at all, like absolute nafl, or those with a delayed cause, such as the Istikharah prayer, the prayer for Ihram, the prayer for a need (hajah), the prayer before leaving the house, or the prayer before execution; because their causes occur after the prayer itself.' And Allah the Exalted knows best."

What is the ruling on brown discharge before the menstrual period? Is it considered part of menstruation (Hayd)?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Dusky discharge (Kudrah), reddish discharge (Humrah), and yellowish discharge (Sufrah) are all considered menstruation (Hayd) if they occur during the time of the menstrual cycle. If their duration exceeds a day and a night, and the period persists from the first sight of the discharge until the cessation of the menstrual blood—provided the total duration does not exceed fifteen days—then all of it is menstruation. However, if the duration exceeds fifteen days, then the discharge is not considered menstruation, but rather chronic irregular bleeding (Istihadah). And Allah the Exalted knows best.

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