Q 1. Can a woman initiate divorce and if yes is it similar to a man?
A 1. There are three types of divorces according to the Shari’ah. Talaq is the divorce that is initiated by the husband. Only a husband can give Talaq to his wife. When a husband divorces his wife, he has to pay her full mahr if the marriage was consummated or half of the mahr if the marriage was not consummated. He also has to pay the ‘Iddah expenses and if there are children then he has to pay the child care expenses to the wife.
The second type is called Khula’. It is a request for divorce initiated by the wife. In case a wife is not happy to live with her husband, she may ask her husband to divorce her at her request. In this case she is not entitled to the mahr and the husband may ask her to return the Mahr that he gave her at the time of marriage. He may ask her some other compensation as well.
The third is the dissolution of marriage done by the Judge (Qadi) at an Islamic court. This is called Faskh al-Nikah. The husband or wife or both can approach the court and ask the judge to dissolve their marriage due to some irreconcilable differences or problems. In this case the judge makes the decision and he may grant some compensation to the wife or some relief to the husband according to his judgment.
Q 2. I am from southern Africa from Botswana and I have two questions. 1. A Muslim in our area sells Haram things from his shop/restaurant. People here think that it is Haram for them to eat or to buy food from his restaurant. My question is that in a restaurant where they sell Halal food and also sell alcohol for non-Muslim customers, is it Haram for a Muslim to eat there? 2. In South Africa there are many big stores. They sell almost every thing. Non-Muslims own them. Is it Haram for a Muslim to buy his groceries from there? (Akmal)
A 2. It is Haram for a Muslim to sell something that is Haram for him to eat or use. The Prophet -peace be upon him- said, “If Allah makes Haram the consumption of something, He also makes Haram its transaction.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith no. 2546) Islam is a consistent religion. When it says that something is bad and forbidden, then it wants Muslims to avoid it for themselves and for others. If a Muslim sells Haram things, he is not only inconsistent in his behavior; he is also ridiculing the law of Allah. He does not care what is right and what is wrong. It is right if other Muslims avoid business with this person. This will be a good reminder for this person to come back to the rules of Allah.
As far as non-Muslims are concerned, you cannot impose the rules of the Shari’ah on them. If you have to buy things from their stores and eat at their restaurant, you make sure that you buy Halal things and eat Halal food. Of course it is always good that Muslims patronize Halal businesses and try their best to do business with those merchants that observe the rules of Shari’ah.
Q 3. I wanted to know if you feel that while praying you forgot some words in reciting the Surah of the Qur’an, would Allah accept that prayer? (Arshi Shahzad)
A 3. If one remembers the mistake during the prayer, then one should correct it as soon as possible. If one forgets three ayat of the Surah or a long ayah then one should make two Sajdah of Sahw to compensate for the forgetfulness. If one forgets or makes mistake in reading the Surah of the Qur’an in such as way that the meaning is changed or corrupted then one should repeat the prayer.
Q 4. I know that in countries like India and Pakistan it usually happens that the Imam makes a congregational du’a after each Fard Salah, whereby he raises his hands and all those who prayed together with him, also raise their hands along with him. Is this Sunnah or Bid’ah? Is it Sunnah or Bid’ah, for a person who has prayed his Fard Salah alone to make a du’a thereafter whereby the person raises his or her hands and after completing his or her du’a wipes his or her face?
A 4. Making du’a after the Fard Salah is recommended (mustahabb). The Prophet -peace be upon him- was asked “Which prayer is more heard (by Allah)?” He said, “The prayer in the middle of the night and the prayer after the Fard Salah.” (al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3421). It was the custom of the Prophet -peace be upon him- to make du’a after the Fard Salah. There are many prayers of the Prophet at this occasion reported in the books of Hadith.
It was also his habit to raise his hands in prayers and then to wipe over his blessed face.
But the Prophet -peace be upon him- did not make congregational du’a after each Fard Salah except occasionally. It is not compulsory to make du’a after each Fard Salah. Those who want to make du’a they can make it and those who want to leave or pray the Sunnah immediately they can do so. It is not Bid’ah to make the du’a after the Fard Salah, but it is Bid’ah to consider it compulsory. Some people think that the Salah is not complete without the du’a after it. They look with criticism at those who stand up after the Salam as if they are leaving the prayer abruptly. There is no basis for this. Also there are some who criticize those who pray after the Fard Salah.
They also have no basis to prohibit the du’a after Salah. Shaikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah, a prominent scholar of Hadith who passed away recently, published three short works of some Hadith scholars on this subject. His edited book is entitled, “Thalath Rasa’il fi Istihbab al-Du’a wa Raf’ al-Yadain fihi ba’da al-Salawat al-Maktubah” (Three treatises on the recommendation of du’a after the Fard Salah and raising hands in it, published in Halab, Syria 1997) The scholars mentioned many Ahadith to prove that such du’a is recommended.
Q 5. What is the Shari’ah ruling on non-Muslim females entering the Masjid without Hijab and immodestly dressed?
A 5. It is good to invite non-Muslims to visit the Masjid and see the Islamic way of prayer, but they should be told beforehand about the Islamic rules of dress and modesty especially in our place of worship. If they are informed beforehand with courtesy and kindness, they will understand and appreciate the rules. It is seen that most of them observe these rules very carefully. However, if there are some visitors who are not properly dressed, you may give them something clean to cover themselves before they enter the Masjid or you may overlook this negligence in the broader and more important interest of giving the message of Islam to them.
In Islam there is something called Fiqh al-Awlawiyuyat, i.e. understanding the priorities. We should keep in our mind the rules of priorities. The commonsense rule is that when you are confronted with two evils, accept the lesser evil for a greater good. So in this case you are faced with a choice.
Either you turn away a non-Muslim from your place of worship and let that person not know about Islam and have a bad impression of Islam and Muslims, or you allow her to come even without proper dress and then learn about Islam and possibly become a Muslim. If this is the choice then it is better to accept the person without proper dress and treat her well. Hopefully she will learn some good things about Islam and Allah may guide her to the right path.