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Do we Need A New Understanding of Islam?
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 01-03-2015

Do We Need A New Understanding of Islam

 

 

Islam is Allah`s religion which He has approved to all mankind and through which he has sealed heavenly laws, completed virtuous behavior, and observed man`s nature and honor on this earth. It is so clear that it is understood by people from different backgrounds. Allah Says in the Noble Quran (What means): "Say thou: "This is my way: I do invite unto God,- on evidence clear as the seeing with one’s eyes,- I and whoever follows me. Glory to God! and never will I join gods with God!" [Yousef/108]. In light of the gruesome events befalling our nation at this critical time along with the acts committed in the name of Islam, some calls have emerged and these promote drawing a new map to Islam based on a new understanding of it. Unfortunately, these calls found a fertile soil for their growth due to the previously mentioned acts from which Muslims themselves have suffered before others. Therefore, are we really in need for a new understanding of Islam through drawing a new map to it and rephrasing texts of the Quran and Sunna (Prophetic tradition)?

Such calls contain a great deal of extremism that outweighs that which we are already facing. The repercussions will be so disastrous that the door will be wide open for more extremism and violence through providing different pretexts for extremists and everyone who has a tendency for extremism. These calls will appear as an invitation to waging war against Islam and a golden opportunity to attack it, and may be they are already as such whether their proponents had good intentions or not.

Undoubtedly, we are in a dire need to carry out serious reconsiderations of our understanding to Islam. If we are to define the nature and form of these reconsiderations, then we had better say that today we are in need for a sound understanding of our religion and its texts, and that we should start filtering it from impurities and ideas which are taken for granted by some scholars and  laymen. As a result, these have infected the Islamic mind with illnesses, which influenced our methodology of thinking and understanding. Thus, these acts and repercussions were a definite result for such illnesses.

Sound understanding of Islam must be built on sound bases: First, adherence to the Quran. Second, sound adherence to the Prophet`s Sunna. Third, sound understanding of their texts in light of the overall rules and intentions of Islamic Sharia in alienation from any deviations, distortions, or subjective interpretation of texts to support a certain thought or belief, or justify a certain act. This understanding must also be based on the rules and principles of Ijtihad (independent reasoning), and the suitable Ijtihad of earlier scholars, which are connected with the principles of Islamic Sharia and takes the wants and needs of this era into consideration, and agree with the overall  intentions and rules of Islamic Sharia.  By Filtering lots of opinions, acts of Ijtihad, and books of Jurisprudence in general, I don`t mean deleting them altogether, rather, intend to make their reader realize that they targeted a certain time or circumstance that doesn`t fit our era; or they came within the framework of an act of Ijtihad that had deviated from the methodology of sound understanding to the nature of our religion and its relation to life. This filtering doesn`t harm us or undermine our Islamic jurisprudence or belittle its status, God forbids, because Al-Imam Ahmad (May Allah have mercy on him) said that opinions of scholars are either adopted or dismissed except those of our Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, it isn`t permissible to shed blood, violate peoples` honor and usurp their properties based on some scholars` views which contradict the texts of the Quran and the Sunna as well as the overall intentions of Islamic Sharia. Such views are even regarded more sacred than the Quran and the Sunna through being adopted as a basis for reasoning instead of the Quranic texts, the sound Sunna and the methodology of Ijtihad which is based on sound understanding.

We must realize that since the death of our Prophet (PBUH) until today, our history has witnessed many scholars, Mujtahideen (Those who resort to independent reasoning), and thinkers, who did their best within the frame of their daily life, community and time. Thus, it isn`t acceptable for any group or sect during any stage of our history to impose the view of a particular scholar on others as the true religion which can`t be subjected to Ijtihad or interpretation and which should be imposed with the sword as a mercy to all creatures!! Nowadays, our Islamic world is actually witnessing a living example of this.

Yes, today we are in need for a sound understanding of Islam, but not a new one because sound understanding paves the road for our nation to overcome its illnesses and achieve its renaissance. And Allah Knows Best.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

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.

A pregnant woman has iron deficiency. When she showers, she becomes very tired and feels cold. What is the ruling on tayammum in this situation?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
One should not resort to tayammum (dry ablution) as a substitute for the obligatory ghusl (ritual bathing) so long as it remains possible to use water — for example, by heating the water, warming the place where the bathing takes place, or taking other similar precautions. However, if such measures prove ineffective, or are simply not possible to carry out, and performing ghusl [with cold water] would result in severe harm, then tayammum becomes permissible in that case, due to genuine inability to use water on account of the harm that would result, as described in the question. That said, she must make up (qaḍā') the prayers she performed using this tayammum.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm: "One should not perform tayammum on account of cold unless warming the limbs fails to remove the aforementioned harm, and no means are available to heat the water — such as a vessel, firewood, or fire — and one fears [that using cold water would result in] any of the harms mentioned earlier in the discussion on illness: danger to life, loss of function in a limb, the onset or worsening of an illness, delayed recovery, or the [visible bodily] blemish mentioned in that discussion on illness. In such a case, tayammum becomes permissible due to the harm involved, but the prayer must still be made up afterward (qaḍā'). If, however, warming the body proves effective, or the means to heat the water are available, or none of the aforementioned harms are feared — then tayammum is not permissible, even if using the water causes some degree of discomfort or pain, since mere discomfort alone does not permit resorting to tayammum." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

I can`t afford to get married, what should I do to curb my sexual drives?

You should offer a lot of voluntary fasting, keep busy with useful and permissible acts and make supplication to Allah, The Exalted.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no such thing in our noble sharīʿah as a "nominal" or "fictitious" marriage or divorce. Marriage and divorce are among the sacred ordinances of Allah, and it is not permissible to manipulate them or use them as a stratagem to obtain worldly gains.
The foundational purpose of a marriage contract is the permanence and continuity of the relationship between the spouses — to establish a family, and to bring forth righteous offspring. So sacred is this bond that Allah the Almighty Himself described it as a solemn covenant (mīthāq ghalīẓ), saying {what means}: "And if you wish to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin? And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?" [Al-Nisāʾ/ 20–21]
Accordingly, it is not permissible to resort to manipulation and deception in contracts that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described as a "solemn covenant" — all for the sake of material and worldly benefit. Marriage is built upon permanence and does not admit of a fixed time limit. If a time limit is stipulated in the contract, the contract is rendered invalid by the consensus of the jurists. Similarly, marriage is impermissible when there exists a mutual, concealed intention to limit its duration — even if no time limit is explicitly mentioned in the contract — for this constitutes a form of unlawful circumvention of the sharīʿah. This is to say nothing of the lying and deception that such conduct involves, the prohibition of which needs no elaboration. Lying, deception, and fraud for the purpose of obtaining worldly gains are among the gravest of sins.
If, however, the marriage contract is first concluded in a valid sharʿī manner and then registered civilly, it is sound and fully valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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