2 Mar 2014

- The benefit of giving Zakah

Allah Ta'ala has stated that 'success is for those who give Zakah'. He has also stated 'Whatever you give, Allah will replace it with even more and Allah is the best at giving wealth'.

- Punishment and loss for not giving Zakah

Allah has also stated ' those who collect silver and gold and do not spend it in the path of Allah then they will be given severe punishment and give them the good news that when they are heated in the fire of Hell and with that their foreheads and sides and backs will be marked and they will be told that this is that gold and silver which you gained for your desire and so taste what you had gained'.

- Zakat For Gold, Silver And Business Goods

Nisaab for Gold and Silver
The Nisaab (threshold) for gold is seven and a half Tola (88 grammes) and for silver it is fifty two and a half Tola (620 grammes). The Zakah for gold and silver is determined by it's weight and not it's value. For example, jewellery or utensils of gold is made but it's making makes the value of the gold more than 200 Dirhams (which may be the price of 7.5 tolas of gold).

- Zakat On Saima (Animals)

Definition of Saima
Zakah is necessary on three types of animals that are Saima, i.e. camels, cows and goats. Saima is those animals who spend most of the year grazing and their purpose is to gain milk or their young or just to keep [Tanweer, Bahar].

- Who should be given preference when giving Zakah

It is better when giving Zakah, Sadaqa etc. that it should be given to your own brothers and sisters, then to their children, then to your paternal uncles and aunts and then to their children, then to your maternal uncles and aunts and then to their children and then to people living in your home village or town [Johra, Alamgiri etc.].

- Sadaqa And Fitra

The Holy Prophet Sallallaho Alaihi Wasallam has stated that ' a servant's fast remains stuck between the earth and sky until he gives Sadaqa-e-Fitra [Delami, Khateeb, Ibn-e-Asaakar].

- Who can beg or ask for financial help

That person who has food for today or has the strength to go out and earn then it is not allowed for him to beg and if someone gives him food or money without him asking for it then he is allowed to take it. If a person has food but does not have clothes to wear then he can beg for them.

- Begging is a degrading act

To beg is a very degrading act and should not be done unless it is absolute necessary. It is proven in Hadiths that to beg without necessity is Haram and the person begging is eating Haram food [Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Nisaa'ee etc.].

- Aqeeqa

Definition of Aqeeqa
Due to the happiness of when a child is born, the animal that is slaughtered is known as an Aqeeqa.

- Qurbani

Definition of Qurbani
Qurbani is a worship with goods and is Wajib upon every rich person. To sacrifice a specific animal on a specific day for the sake of Allah for the intention to gain reward is called a Qurbani. Qurbani is Wajib upon every Muslim who is not a traveller and is the owner of Nisaab and is a free person. 

- Obligation of Fasting

The rule for Fasting is similar to Namaz and is Farz-e-Ain and those who reject to believe it as obligatory (Farz) is a Kafir and those who miss it without genuine reason is a big sinner and will receive punishment in hell.

- Allocated time for the intention of Fasting

The fasts of Ramadan, fixed time promised fasts, voluntary, Sunnat, Mustahhab, and Makrooh fasts, the time for the Niyyat is from sunset upto midday and if an intention is made from any time between this allocated times then the Fast will count but it is better to make the intention from night-time.

- The meaning of the intention

1) Just as it was explained for other forms of worship, intention means to fix a firm thought in your heart, it is not necessary to say the intention, in the same way the intention for the fast is done the same way, however, it is better to say it with the tongue.

- Sehri And Iftaar (Opening And Closing the fast)

The virtue for performing Sehri
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has stated "eat for Sehri as there is a lot of blessings for this. The difference between our fasts and the fasts of the other book followers is the bite of sehri [Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Nisaa'i etc.]. Allah and His angels send blessings to those who eat at Sehri [Tibrani].

- Action that breaks the fast

1) By eating, drinking or having intercourse breaks the fast when you are aware that you are fasting and if you forget that you were fasting and eat or drank or had intercourse, then the fast will not break [Hidaya, Alamgiri, Qazi Khan etc.].

- Acts that make the fast Makrooh

1) To lie, backbite, tell-tale, to swear, talk shamelessly, to cause someone harm are all Haram acts anyway, but to do these acts whilst fasting are even more Haram and because of this the fast become Makrooh.

- Situations Where Missing The Fast Is Allowed

1) Travelling, pregnancy, breast-feeding, sickness, fear of being killed, any other difficulty recognised by Shariat or illness affecting sense are all reason where missing the fast is allowed and therefore no sin will be committed and when the cause is over then to keep Qaza of the missed fast is compulsory.

- Fasting on doubtful days

1) The rule for fasting on the thirtieth of Shabaan when you are not sure whether it is the thirtieth of Shabaan or the first of Ramadan, then to fast with the sole intention of Nafl is allowed but to fast with the intention that if it is the first of Ramadan then it is my first Ramadan Roza and if it is not the first of Ramadan then it is a Nafl Roza then this is Makrooh-e-Tahrimi. However, if the thirtieth falls on a day where you always fast on that day then it is better to fast on that day, for example, if you fasted every Thursday and the thirtieth of Shabaan was on a Thursday then it is better to fast that day as a Nafl fast [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar etc.].

- Virtues For Some Nafl Fasts

Ashura
Meaning fasting on the tenth of Mohharram and it is better to fast on the ninth of Mohharram. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kept the Ashura fast himself and instructed others to keep it and also stated that after Ramadan the best fast is of Ashura [Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmizi] and he has also stated that the Ashura fast erodes the past one year and the coming one year's sins [Muslim, Abu Da'ud]. 

- When Nafl fasts can be broken

1) You can break a Nafl fast due to the arrival of guests when you are sure that you will perform Qaza for it and it is only allowed to break the fast before midday not after. However, if your parents are unhappy then it is allowed to break the fast before Asr Namaz and not after [Alamgiri, Radd-ul-Mohtar].

2) If someone has invited you for a meal then you can break the Nafl fast before midday and it is necessary to keep it's Qaza.

3) A woman should not fast Nafl, promised or oath Rozas without her husband's permission and if she has then he can make her break them but to perform the Qaza will be Wajib and permission should be asked from the husband before keeping them. If however there is no problem from her husband then she can keep the Qaza without his permission and in fact if he refuses she can still keep the Qaza. As for Ramadan fasts or Ramadan Qaza fasts there is no need to gain permission from her husband and in fact if he stops her she must still keep these fasts [Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar].

4) If a fast is not kept due to any reason then when it is possible it the Qaza must be kept [Durr-e-Mukhtar etc.].

- The signting of the moon

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has stated that start fasting by seeing the moon and finish fasting ( celebrate Eid) by seeing the moon, and if there is cloud then finish Shabaan by completing thirty days [Bukhari, Muslim]. He has also reported that do not start fasting unless you see the moon and do not stop fasting until you see the moon and if there is cloud and you cannot see the moon then complete the thirty days [Bukhari, Muslim]. 

- Tayammum

If you have not performed ablution or in need of a bath but do not have access to water, the you must perform Tayammum. There are a few situations for not having access to water.