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Giving the Road its Due
Author : Dr. Mufti Sa`eid Farhan
Date Added : 08-10-2024

 

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Afterwards:

Islamic law has meticulously organized the life of a Muslim, encompassing all aspects of their life. It has clarified the rights and duties, boundaries, and relationships between people.

One of the matters addressed is the rights related to the road. These rights were given significant attention due to their central role in people's lives. The road is a public utility, not owned by anyone nor monopolized by any individual. Because of this, Islamic law established rules and principles that organize the rulings of the road, which are evident through the following manifestations:

The First Manifestation: Preserving the cleanliness of the road, maintaining it, and repairing it:

This is evident through the following:

First: Maintaining the road is considered a branch of faith. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Faith has over seventy—or sixty—branches, the best of which is the declaration that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and the least of which is removing harm from the road, and modesty is a branch of faith." [Moslim]. Imam Al-Nawawi, in explaining the meaning of "removing harm" said: "It means clearing it away and removing it. Harm refers to anything harmful, such as stones, dirt, or thorns, or anything else." [Sharh Al-Nawawi Ala Moslim: Vol.2/P.6].

The Second manifestation: The Porhibition of violating road:

Islamic law has promised great reward for removing harm from the road. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "While a man was going along the path he found a thorny branch upon it. He pushed it to a side and Allah approved (this action) of his and (as a mark of appreciation) granted him pardon." [Al-Bukhari] He also said: "I have seen a man going about in paradise as a reward for cutting down a tree which was overhanging a road and annoying people." [Moslim]. The word "going about in Paradise" means taking pleasure. Thus, the outcome of removing harm from the path of Muslims was that Allah admitted him into Paradise. And what does a Muslim seek from their actions more than getting admitted into Paradise?

Abu Barzah Al-Aslami said: I asked: "O Prophet of Allah, teach me something that will benefit me." He said: "Remove harm from the path of Muslims." [Moslim].

These noble hadiths and others highlight the great virtue and immense reward for this branch of faith.

The Second Manifestation: Prohibition of harming the road:

This is illustrated by the following:

First: Prohibition of anything that harms the road. Scholars, when explaining the hadith "The Rights of the Road," emphasized that a Muslim must refrain from harming the road. Just as removing harm from the road is a charity for which a Muslim is rewarded, harming the road is a sin for which a person is accountable. Warning against harming others, Imam Muhammad Al-Khuli said: "Pouring water on the road until feet slip, placing obstacles in the path where pedestrians may stumble, or throwing garbage or thorns that could harm passersby, or narrowing the road with one's seating where neighbors are bothered, exposing their women, and restricting their freedom—all of this is harm that must be stopped, and efforts made to keep it away from pedestrians." [Al-Adab Al-Nabawi/Vol.1/P.71].

Scholars have derived from texts encouraging care for the road that anything harmful to the road is prohibited. In his explanation of the hadiths about the virtue of removing harm from the road, Imam Al-Ayni, said: "It indicates that placing thorns, stones, waste, or harmful water in the road, or anything that harms people, may lead to punishment in this world and the hereafter." [Umdat Al-Qari/Vol. 13/P. 23].

Second: The prohibition of encroaching on the road. Anything that constitutes an encroachment on the road is prohibited by Islamic law and considered among the evil acts. Imam Al-Ghazali listed some examples of road encroachments under the chapter "Evils of Streets" saying: "Among the common evils is placing columns or building raised platforms connected to private properties, planting trees, extending balconies, placing wood or grain loads on the roads. All of this is wrong if it leads to narrowing the road or harming pedestrians, even if it causes no harm at all." [Ihya Ulum Al-Din/Vol.2/P.339].

The Third Manifestation: Organizing road regulations in the books of Islamic jurisprudence:

The jurists have extensively organized road regulations, leaving nothing unaddressed. They provided detailed explanations to resolve disputes among people and prevent conflicts. Anyone who studies their detailed rulings and jurisprudential foundations—especially in the chapter of reconciliation—will notice the significant attention given to the subject by the jurists. The hadith scholars also categorized sections in their compilations related to the rights of the road, as Imam Muslim did in his "Sahih" where he titled a section: "Chapter on the Right of Sitting on the Road is to Return the Greeting."

One of the reasons for their emphasis was the warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said: "Beware of sitting on the roads." They said: "We have no choice, they are our gathering places where we talk." He said: "If you must sit there, then give the road its rights." They asked: "What are the rights of the road?" He said: "Lowering the gaze, refraining from harm, returning the greeting, enjoining good, and forbidding evil." [Agreed upon].

We ask Allah, The Almighty, The Lord of The Mighty Throne, to make us among those who listen to good words and follow the best of them.

And all praise is due to Allah The Lord of The Worlds.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on seeking forgiveness between the two Friday sermons?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to seek forgiveness (Istighfar) between the two Friday sermons (Khutbatayn), and it does not invalidate the Friday prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah). Furthermore, it is not disliked (Makruh) to speak before the sermon, after it, or between the two sermons. Likewise, it is not disliked for one who enters during the sermon to speak if there is a need for it, provided he has not yet taken a place and settled into it. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is fidyah required for someone who breaks their fast due to a valid excuse?

● If the excuse is permanent, such as a chronic illness with no hope of recovery or old age, then fidyah is required. This means feeding one needy person for each missed fasting day.
● However, if the excuse is temporary, such as menstruation, postnatal bleeding, or a temporary illness, then only making up the missed fasts (qada) is required, and fidyah does not apply.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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