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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 using the *subḥah* (prayer beads) to count during *tasbīḥ* and *dhikr*?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is recommended to use the ordinary or electronic subḥah (prayer beads or counter) to count tasbīḥ, dhikr, and istighfār, because it helps one to remember Allah. Many reports have been transmitted from the Companions and the Followers (tābiʿūn) showing that they continued to use strings of date pits as an aid to dhikr and tasbīḥ.
It is one of the lawful means of worship. Indeed, what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), namely that he counted tasbīḥ on his right hand, shows that it is permissible to count tasbīḥ with whatever helps a Muslim keep track of the number. There is therefore no basis for calling it an innovation (bidʿah), and we know of no jurist who said so.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a dedicated treatise on the subject titled al-Minḥah fī al-Subḥah, printed within al-Ḥāwī li’l-Fatāwī (vol. 4–6).
Shaykh al-Islām Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Does the subḥah have a basis in the Sunnah? He replied: “Yes, and al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī wrote on this. Among the evidence is what is authentically reported from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both): ‘I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) counting tasbīḥ on his hand.’ Ibn Abī Shaybah, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī also narrated: ‘Hold fast to tasbīḥ, tahlīl, and taqdīs, and do not be heedless, lest you forget the affirmation of Allah’s oneness (tawḥīd). Count them on the fingertips, for they will be questioned and made to speak.’ Counting tasbīḥ with pebbles, date pits, and a knotted string has also been reported from a group of the Companions and those after them. Some scholars held that counting on the fingertips is better than the subḥah, based on the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar. Others distinguished, saying: if the one reciting is safe from miscounting, counting on the fingertips is better; otherwise the subḥah is better.” [al-Fatāwā al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubrā, Vol.1/p.152]. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a wife to give her money to her family as a charity, or a gift without asking her husband, or seeking his consent?

The wife has the right to give her money as a charity, or a gift to her family, or to other people after consulting her husband out of respect, and this is the meaning of treating on footing of kindness and equity. Therefore, if he wanted to stop her from helping her family, then there is no harm in not telling him.

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.

Is it permissible for a woman who has become pure before the end of forty days of confinement to perform different acts of worship? and is it lawful for her husband to have sex with her?

Once postpartum bleeding ceases and she is certain that it won`t happen again, she becomes pure, and so she should perform Ghusl (ritual bath), pray, and fast. She can also have sex with her husband even before the end of (40) days because the minimum of postpartum bleeding is a moment, and the maximum is (60) days. However, the postpartum bleeding for the majority of women is (40) days, but this does not apply to rest of them.

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