Saving money – does Islam permit it?

Question

What does Islam say about saving money? Should we save money for the future? I read that some of the prophet's Companions died with no wealth, not even a cloth to shroud their bodies for burial. I also read that Abu Bakr gave all his wealth to the Prophet for distribution in charity. So, where does the concept of saving come in?

Answer

For proof that it is permissible to save for the future, we need look no farther than the Zakâh on monetary wealth. We do not pay Zakâh on our income. We only pay Zakâh upon our savings and only if those savings have reached a certain level and have remained at or above that level for a full year. 

`Aishah said: the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No Zakâh will be levied on money until a year passes from the time of its possession.”[Sunan Ibn Mâjah (1792) with an authentic chain of transmission as stated by al-Zayla`î in Nasb al-Râyah (2/328), al-Nawawî in al-Khulâsah, and al-Albâni in Irwâ’ al-Ghalîl (3/254)] 

It was related by `Ali that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If you have 200 durhams and a year passes then you have to pay five dirhams. You do not have to pay anything for the gold you possess until it reaches twenty dinars. If you possess twenty dinars and a year passes a year then you have to pay half a dinar.” [Related by Abû Dâwûd and authenticated by al-Albânî in Sahîh al-Sunan] 

A person without savings will never pay Zakâh on monetary wealth. It is the Zakâh that purifies one's savings, by giving the poor ad needy their due from it. 

Inheritance is another proof of this. The inheritance laws in Islam are quite detailed and allot percentages of the entire estate to various relatives of the deceased. This pre-assumes that there is an estate which the deceased left behind, which in other words is wealth that he or she had accumulated. 

Indeed, due to the importance of leaving behind something to one's needy dependants to provide for them in the event of one's death, the Prophet (peace be upon him) restricted charitable bequests to no more than a third of one's estate. 

The following is related about the steemed Companion, Sa`d b. Abi Waqqas, who wanted to make out a will giving away in charity everything that he owned:

He went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! I have a lot of wealth and only my daughter to inherit it from me. Should I bequeath all of my wealth in charity?" 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told him that he should not do so. Then Sa`d suggested bequeathing two-thirds of his wealth to charity. When the prophet again refused, Sa`d then suggested half of his wealth. 

At this point the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "One-third, and that is still too much. It is better for you to leave your heirs wealthy, rather than leaving them dependent and begging from others.” 

[Sunan al-Tirmidhî (2042), Sunan Abî Dâwûd (2480), Sunan al-Nasâ'î (3567) and Sunan Ibn Mâjah (2699)]

Also, in the story of Joseph (peace be upon him), we see a good reference to saving. 

Allah tells us in the Qur'ân: “(Joseph) said: 'For seven years you should cultivate the land as usual, but leave the harvest that you reap in the ear except for a little that you eat. Then after that will come seven difficult years in which you will eat all that you have set aside except for a little of what you have stored. Then will come a year of abundance in which you will press wine and oil'." [Sûrah Yûsuf: 47-49] 

This is a clear recommendation to save for future need. 

And Allah knows best.

-islamtoday.net

Meaning of statement: Women are captives with men

Question

Assalaamualaikum, In a hadith, it is told that the wife is the captive/prisoner of the husband. Even ‘Umar  said, "Marriage is enslavement." These statements make me panic. And crying in panic is all that is left. This means that husband-wife relation is a owner-slave relation? Or is it an owner-servant relation? Or is it a boss-employee relation? And is the husband's house a prison for the wife? I need an authentic explanation so that it would be easy to understand.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad  is His slave and Messenger. 

Describing women as captives (in the marriage bond) is confirmed in an authentic hadeeth reported by At-Tirmithi within the speech of the Prophet  in the Farewell Pilgrimage, in which he said, “I enjoin you to treat women well, for they are like captives with you, and you may not treat them otherwise unless they commit flagrant immorality…”

As regards the statement, “Marriage is enslavement,” it was narrated both as a direct statement attributed to the Prophet  (a Marfoo' hadeeth) and as a statement attributed to ‘Umar, ‘Aa’ishah, and Asmaa’, may Allah be pleased with them all (a Mawqoof hadeeth). The Mawqoof hadeeth (the narration attributed to the three Companions) is the one judged as authentic, as was stated by Al-Iraaqi while quoting Al-Bayhaqi.

However, these statements and the like do not mean that women are degraded or that they are like female slaves and that their husbands are their masters; rather, they mean that by virtue of a valid marriage contract, the woman is joined to her husband with a bond that makes her obliged to obey him in what is permissible and prevents her from desiring a man other than him. So the wife is obliged to obey her husband in matters of their intimate relationship and she should fulfill his rights upon her, just as he is obliged to fulfill her rights upon him; Allah says (what means): {And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable.} [Quran 2:228]

The relationship between them is closer to the relationship that you mentioned between the employee with her superior at work. This is the meaning of Qiwaamah (guardianship/responsibility) that Allah entitled the husband to have over his wife, as Allah says (what means): {Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth..} [Quran 4:34]

It is a responsibility of management of affairs, and it is for this reason that the wise Sharia warned the husbands against exploiting this responsibility in being authoritative over the wives. This was mentioned in the continuation of the previous verse, as Allah says (what means): {But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.} [Quran 4:34]

Ibn Katheer  said, “The saying of Allah {Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand} is a warning to mean that if they transgress against women without justification, then Allah, The Exalted and Grand, is their (women's) Protector, and He will exert revenge on those who transgress against women and deal with them unjustly.”

The most important thing that should be known is that marriage is an integration between the husband and wife; each of them fulfills the role that the other may be unable to fulfill. Just as she may serve him by organizing the affairs of his home and taking care of his children, he serves her by going about in the land in order to earn a living.

‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet  said, “Women are but counterparts of men.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi].

In conclusion, hearing these ahaadeeth and the like should not be a reason for worry, and a Muslim must understand them within the full context of the principles of Islam which take care of women and give them their rights and order men to be kind to them and warn against harming them and so forth, because if these statements are taken out of this context, then they could be misunderstood to mean the opposite.

Allah knows best.

-islamweb.net

Saying to wife: I divorce you five times

Question

Shaykh, I am in so much distress and pain. I was slightly mad and I texted my wife that I wanted to end the relationship - just to scare her - and that I would call and tell her the words. I was hoping that she would not answer, but she did, which made me mad. I was like, "Fine, I divorce you 5 times." By Allah, I do not remember my intention, but I can take an oath on Allah's name that it was not of three or more. In my knowledge, which is very limited in this case, if you say 'I divorce you' three times, only then does it take place. By Allah, I added the words '5 times' into the sentence with the intention that that would make the sentence wrong so that it would not make sense and nullify or void the sentence, but later on, I discovered that it does come into effect. Shaykh, we both went through so much to be together; she converted to Islam after so much persuasion and left her family after being abused every day and she lives in social care because of me. We got married over the phone with an imam from my side who acted as her legal guardian and two witnesses, and now because of my one stupidity, one wrong sentence, regarding which I swear by Allah that I intended something else to make it void, our relationship comes to an end. We have not even met. Please, Shaykh, tell me what I should do? We both cry every day and night. I added '5 times' with the intention of making the statement wrong, by Allah. Please, tell us what to do.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad  is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we advise you to take it easy upon yourself. At times of distress, it is a Sunnah for the Muslim to mention Allah as much as possible and not torture himself with anxiety and grief. Abu Bakrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet  said, “The supplication of a person in distress is: Allahumma rahmataka arju fala takilni ila nafsi tarfata 'ayn, wa aslih li sha'ni kullahu, la ilaaha illa ant. (O Allah, it is Your Mercy that I hope for, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for the blink of an eye and rectify for me all of my affairs. None has the right to be worshiped except You.)” [Abu Daawood]

In general, there is tranquility and comfort for the heart in mentioning Allah; Allah says (what means): {Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.".} [Quran 13:28]

On the one hand, writing the words of divorce is one of the metaphors of divorce, and divorce does not take place by it except with the intention of the husband;

On the other hand, divorce in the present tense - by saying "I divorce you" - is not an explicit expression of divorce, so it also depends on the intention of the husband.

You mentioned that you did not intend divorce or that you doubt your intention, but it appears from your statement "I added the words 'five times' into the sentence with the intention that that would make the sentence wrong so that it would not make sense and nullify or void the sentence" that you did intend divorce. Saying three divorces in one sentence takes effect as three divorces. The same applies if you tell her, 'I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you'; unless you intended with the second and third divorces to confirm the first one; in which case divorce takes place only as one divorce.

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah  held that three utterances of divorce take place as one divorce in all cases. The view that we adopt here in Islamweb is the view of the majority of the scholars.

Since there is a difference of opinion among the scholars of Fiqh on the issue and the matter requires finding out details about your intention as well as what you really uttered, then in our view it is better to speak in person with one of the scholars of your country or to take the case to an Islamic court or whatever serves instead in the West, such as Islamic Centers.

We advise you and your wife to beware of what leads to marital disputes and not to open doors for the devil to ruin your marriage. You should always try to reach mutual understanding and respect and fulfill each other's rights. We advise you in particular to avoid anger because anger is from the devil, and it is a key to much evil.

Allah knows best.

-islamweb.net

Uncertainty regarding the number of divorces

Question

If a man is unsure wheher he has divorced his wife on two occasions or three, does he have the right to take his wife back and resume his marriage with her, or will his divorce be construed as irrevocable?

Answer

If a person doubts the number of times he has issued a divorce, he has to count only the number of times for which he is absolutely certain. This has been clearly stated by Ahmad b Hanbal, and it is also the opinion of Abû Hanîfah and al-Shâfi`î and of their respective schools of thought. 

The reason for this has to do with certainty and doubt. Any presumed divorce that exceeds the number that the man is certain to have issued is something doubtful. The marriage, on the other hand, is something affirmed, so it cannot be invalidated by something that is doubtful. Consequently, a doubtful situation regarding the pronouncement of a divorce will not be upheld as a valid divorce. 

On this basis, the ruling in this case will be the same as for the one who had divorced his wife less than three times. Thus, he is entitled to take his wife back and resume his marriage. 

In other words, whoever is certain to have issued one pronouncement of divorce and is in doubt regarding a second pronouncement, for him a single valid divorce will be legally recognized. Whoever is certain of two pronouncements of divorce and is in doubt about a third, for him two valid divorces will be legally recognized. 

And Allah knows best.

-islamtoday.net

The relatives with whom we must keep close ties

Question

Great emphasis has been laid on our maintaining close ties with our relatives. Can you please advise me on who is included in this? Is this just for people like our parents and our brothers and sisters? Does it include our uncles and aunts or our cousins? How far back does it go?

Answer

The relatives with whom we should establish close and continuous ties are all of our relatives, even our distant relations. However, our closer relations will have the greater priority commensurate with their nearness in kinship. 

As is the case with all obligations, keeping such ties is contingent on a person’s ability. Allah says: “Fear Allah as much as you can.” [Sûrah al-Taghâbun:16]. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Do as much as you can of what I have ordered you to do.” 

It is worth saying that prevailing customs have an important role to play in identifying and determining the nature of these ties. Whatever seems to be obligatory will be so. This will vary from one person to another according to how close his relationship with that other person is. This is so, because these matters have not been set forth in all their details by the Qur’ân and Sunnah. The textual evidence intentionally leaves the defining qualities of such relationships open-ended. 

However, it is known from the Sunnah that showing kindness to the friends of our parents’ after they have died is part of what it means to be kind to our parents. 

Some scholars have suggested that the relatives with whom we should establish close ties are all the people who are descended from any great-grand parent of one of our own grandparents.

In short, we should keep good ties with our relatives as much as possible. 

And Allah knows best.

-islamtoday.net

What a woman must cover while in prayer

Question

What is the evidence that a women must cover everything except her face and hands while she is praying?

Answer

The majority of the scholars hold the opinion that the whole body of the woman is `awrah in prayer. However, they all agree that she may uncover her face. Ibn `Abd al-Barr asserts that there is juristic consensus (ijmâ') on this issue. He writes: “They have agreed that the woman may expose her face in prayer.” 

Regarding the hands, there have been some scholars who have considered them to be part of the `awrah of the woman, ruling that they should be covered. However, the vast majority of the scholars hold the opinion that they are not `awrah. 

Likewise, a decent majority of scholars agree that the feet do not have to be covered. This is the opinion preferred by Ibn Taymiyah. I also support this opinion. Nevertheless, it is preferred for the woman to cover her feet in prayer. 

In case the woman prays where strangers can see her, then should cover her face in the same way that she does at other times when she is in public and not in prayer. 

The evidence that a woman must cover her `awrah in prayer is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah will not accept a prayer from a woman who (has reached the age where she) menstruates except with wearing her head covering.” [Related in the four Sunan compilations and Musnad Ahmad. It was classified as good hadîth by al-Tirmidhî and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah] 

The meaning of the phrase “a woman who menstruates” is an adult woman. In other words, the prayer from any women after attaining puberty will not be accepted without her wearing her head covering. The word used for “head covering” is khimâr, which is a cloth that covers the head and the neck. 

The following has been cited as evidence by some of those who support that the feet need to be covered from the top: It was related that Umm Salamah asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Could a woman pray in a gown and a head covering without a waistcloth?” 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Yes, if the gown is long and covers her feet from above.” [Sunan Abî Dâwûd]. 

However, Ibn Hajr, as quoted in Subul al-Salâm, says regarding this hadîth: “The scholars have concluded that these words are not attributable to the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself.” 

Therefore, it does not stand as evidence. 

And Allah knows best.

-islamtoday.net

Metaphor of divorce depends upon husband's intention

Question

Assalaamu alaykum. I am very distressed right now and look forward towards your help. A few months ago, my husband and I got into an argument until, out of anger, he said, "Go to your mother's place." We did not pay attention to it at that time, but a few days ago, I came across a lecture by a scholar on Facebook who said that divorce occurs when such words are said. Now, my husband says that his words were, "Go to your mom's place forever," while I clearly remember that he did not mention the word 'forever'. About his intention, he said that he was angry at the time. We were not aware of the phrases that can count as divorce. He thought that only the word divorce (Talaaq) was used for this purpose. We are both scared, as we have one son and I am presently pregnant with our second child. Secondly, a year ago, we had a fight; I was trying to make amends, and he was very unresponsive, so I asked, "Will you leave it like this?" and he abruptly answered, "I left." Does this count as a divorce as well? My father-in-law said that it did, so we renewed our vows in front of two men.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

What your husband said is not an explicit wording of divorce. Rather, it is a metaphor of divorce, through which divorce does not take effect except if the husband actually intended to issue a divorce while saying it. 

Hence, since your husband did not intend to issue a divorce by uttering those statements, divorce has not taken place. In any case, we advise you and your husband to be keen on treating each other with kindness and respect.

Allah knows best.

-islamweb.net