Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

1.your response seems to indicate the main purpose of iddah is to  ensure if teh woman is pregnant and take precautions

 in case of old women who have passed their childbearing age, would this iddah be required??

2. also in many cases u mention that a particular act can be called bida b'coz the Prophet (saws) did not follow it....however in some cases like ashura, imam hussain was matryed after the Prophet's death so how could the Prophet (saws) be expected to act in any particular way...so how can one judge if what is being today is wrong?

3. also do women have to pay zakat from their earnings like men?  does one have to give the zakat to community leaders and leave the decision to them on how it is to be spent...does a muslim's duty end by giving the zakat irrespective of how the leaders use it? for eg in islamic countries shld zakat be given to the islamic state? and in case of bohras living in india..since the religious authority is the Syedna, shld the zakat be given to him? do muslims have the freedom to give it to anybody or does it have to be to a credible religious authority?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Clarification of Iddah, Bida and Zakat

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: your response seems to indicate the main purpose of iddah is to  ensure if teh woman is pregnant and take precautions in case of old women who have passed their childbearing age, would this iddah be required??

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 234:If those of you, who die, leave wives behind; they should abstain (from marriage) for four months and ten days. Then, when their waiting term expires, they are free to do whatever they choose for themselves, provided that it is decent. You shall not be answerable for this. Allah is fully aware of what all of you do.

Thus the prime reason a believing woman, who truly believes in Allah and the Last Day, must sit in ‘iddat’ for the prescribed period is because it is the command of Allah Subhanah. And we as believers must believe that each and every command of Allah is based on His Perfect Knowledge and Wisdom.

We are also allowed to search and understand the wisdom, so that we may be able to obey every command of our Lord and Creator wholeheartedly. The main reasons for the iddah or waiting period are:

When the woman performs the waiting period of four months and ten days as commanded by Allah, it will become absolutely clear if the woman is indeed pregnant or not. This pregnancy will effect the inheritance as well as the legal basis of the baby.

During this period, the woman is advised to abstain from any sort of display of happiness and celebration, and to mourn the death of her life-partner.

This period decreed by Allah will also allow the woman to cope emotionally with the huge loss that she has suffered.

It will be also be a means of huge reward and ‘ajr’ from Allah Subhanah when the widow obeys this command from Allah in honor of her dead husband.

Allah Subhanah has commanded the believing woman to sit the ‘iddah’ at the death of her husband, regardless of her age, in mourning the death of her life long companion.

Q-2: also in many cases u mention that a particular act can be called bida b'coz the Prophet (saws) did not follow it....however in some cases like ashura, imam hussain was matryed after the Prophet's death so how could the Prophet (saws) be expected to act in any particular way...so how can one judge if what is being today is wrong?

Indeed, Hadrat Hussain ibn Ali (r.a.) was brutally murdered many years after the death of his Noble Grandfather and the Prophet of Allah (saws); but the guidance and teachings of the Prophet (saws) which he taught to the believers were embedded in the hearts of the true believers. It was not like Hadrat Hussain ibn Ali (r.a.) was the first martyr in Islam; many believers were martyred in the lifetime of the Prophet (saws), but never did he start the rituals of wailing, beating oneself with blades and knives or hands, or organizing gatherings every year on the martyrs death-day, etc. The Messenger of Allah (saws) specifically prohibited any wailing over the dead!

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in an authentic narration “He is not a believer, who beats his face, or tears his clothes, or wails, when afflicted by a misfortune.”

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ameer ul Mumineen Hadrat Ali ibn AbuTalib (r.a.)

Hadrat Ali (r.a.) heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) curse those who took usury, those who paid it, those who recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah. And he used to prohibit wailing.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2033 Narrated by AbuMalik al-Ash'ari

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Among my people there are four characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period which they do not abandon: 1. boasting of high rank, 2. reviling other peoples' genealogies, 3. seeking rain by stars, and 4. wailing. And he (further) said: If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3122 Narrated by AbuSa'id al-Khudri

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) cursed the wailing woman and the woman who listens to her.

Umm 'Atiyyah reports: "The Messenger of Allah made us pledge that we will not wail over (the dead)" (Bukhari and Muslim).

Al-Bazzar has transmitted, at the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Two sounds are accursed in this world and in the hereafter: the sound of wind instruments (to celebrate) good fortune, and of moaning aloud when afflicted with a misfortune."

There is not a muslim in this world who is not grieved and saddened at the torturous and agonizing ‘shahaadah’ of Imam Hussain ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and his ‘ahle-bayt’. Whenever a muslim reads about that painful day, his heart feels pain and his eyes shed tears. Indeed, what happened to Imam Hussain (r.a.) and his family, and the way they were brutally murdered in hunger and thirst, is one of the darkest recorded pages in the annuls of Islamic history. May Allah honor the martyrs of Karbala and grant them the highest level in Paradise, and take full retribution from the people who murdered them. Ameen.

But whatever happened on that tumultuous day in Karbala, it does not allow people today to gather and wail, sing sad poetry in congregation, and beat themselves with their hands and blades! However sad and depressed we might be, we cannot do anything against the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws). This act and type of wailing was absolutely prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (saws), nor did he ever do anything of this sort when his beloved uncle Hadrat Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib (r.a.) was brutally murdered and his body cut open in the Battle of Uhud. After Hadrat Hamza (r.a.) was killed by the spear of Habashi, the enemies of Allah, dismembered and cut away his ears and his nose. Then, Hind ibn Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan, ordered that the body of Hadrat Hamza (r.a.) be torn open, and she, in her revenge and anger, tried to take a bite from the actual flesh of Hadrat Hamza’s (r.a.) heart!

We cannot imagine the pain and grief of the Messenger of Allah (saws), when he heard about this, but he did not organize a ‘matam’ for Hadrat Hamza! Nor did he (saws) ever gather all his family and friends in the mosque every year on the anniversary of the death of Hadrat Hamza (r.a.), and start wailing, and singing ‘marseeyas’, and start beating himself on his chest! Nor did he ever gather all his companions in the mosque every year, and repeat the story and legend of the martyrdom of Hadrat Hamza (r.a.) and 70 of his companions on the anniversary of the Day of Uhud!

Yes, all muslims are sad and their hearts feel pain at the martyrdom of Hadrat Hamza (r.a.), at the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (r.a.) and every other martyr who gave his life in the cause of Allah. But we do, what our beloved Prophet (saws) commanded us to do! We pray for them, and beg Allah to grant them an honorable place in Paradise. We implore Allah, that he make our ‘imaan’ strong, and supplicate Allah to choose us among his martyrs.

The ‘majaalees of matam’ that we see today was started many years after the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (r.a.). Some unscrupulous people used the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (r.a.) and his family in Karbala to give fiery speeches to make mere political and monetary gains! Today in the name of Imam Hussain (r.a.) they organize a huge business, gather people, organize food, pay the ‘speakers’ to give fiery and glowing speeches, pay the singers of ‘maraseeyahs’: all in the name of ‘ibaadah’ and Islam!!

At best these ‘majaalees’ or gatherings are bidahs and innovations, and in their worst manifestations, some people even commit the heinous and unforgivable sin of ‘shirk’ through these gatherings when they call upon Imam Hussain (r.a.) and the other noble martyrs of Karbala, and ask them to get their sins forgiven, or ask them to intercede for them in the Court of Allah Subhanah, or invoke them in the first person as if these noble souls can hear and see and answer their invocations for them from their graves!

Q-3A: also do women have to pay zakat from their earnings like men? 

If the excess wealth of the woman exceeds the ‘nisaab’, which is the worth equivalent of 85 grams of gold or approximately $1,000.00, which they have in their possession for one full calendar year; then the woman must pay the zakat on her wealth. Zakat is calculated on the net worth of the person, whether male or female; and not on the earnings of the person.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1558 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and she was accompanied by her daughter who wore two heavy gold bangles in her hands. He (saws) said to her: ‘Do you pay zakat on them?’ She said: ‘No.’ He (saws) then said: ‘Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of fire on your hands?’ Thereupon she took them off and placed them before the Prophet (saws) saying: ‘They are for Allah and His Messenger(saws).’

Q-3B: does one have to give the zakat to community leaders and leave the decision to them on how it is to be spent...does a muslim's duty end by giving the zakat irrespective of how the leaders use it? for eg in islamic countries shld zakat be given to the islamic state?

Allah Subhanah has made it an obligatory duty unto every believer to share a portion of his excess wealth with the poor and needy of the society. In an established Islamic State, the Islamic government will collect the zakat from the rich, and distribute it to the poor and needy. But in this day and age, where there is no established Islamic State, it becomes the responsibility of each individual to pay this zakaat himself and purify his wealth according to commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

If one is unable to distribute his zakaah dues personally, there is no harm if one pays his zakaah dues to an organization that he trusts to do the distribution for him. But if one doubts that the organization is not spending the zakat dues as they should be spent, he has every right to ask where the money is being spent and on whom; and if he is not given a satisfactory answer, he has every right to distribute his zakat personally or to give it to a better and more God-Fearing organization.

In the times of the Prophet (saws) and the Ameer ul Mumineen, the collection and distribution of zakaah was absolutely transparent and any common person would come and ask them where and how the zakat was being collected and spent. No one was more trustworthy than the Messenger of Allah (saws), his noble ‘ahle-bayt’ and his noble companions in the annuls of Islam… and when it was possible that a common person could ask them in public about the collection and distribution of zakat, there is absolutely no reason why, today, one cannot ask the organization to produce a proper account of where and how the zakat is being spent!

Q-3C: and in case of bohras living in india..since the religious authority is the Syedna, shld the zakat be given to him?

We are aware that the ‘kothaar’ collects the zakaah dues (and many other illegal dues like wajebaat, khums, sabeel, niyaaz, nazrul-maqaam, this fund, that fund, etc.), but never ever give an account of how much is collected and how they spend it! Leave alone ask about the total collection and/or distribution, one is not even allowed to ask where his own zakat is being spent without being ostracized by the leadership! No one is above the law of Allah and His Messenger (saws) in Islam, and every believer has a right to demand and know where and how the public funds are being spent.

The ‘kothaar’ never publish their accounts of zakaat, nor is the system of zakaat collection and distribution transparent! Allah Alone knows where and how they spend the millions of dollars they demand and collect as zakaah money from their followers. If they were indeed spending the zakaah funds where they are supposed to spend as per the commandments of Allah, they would have nothing to hide and would have made them transparent.

We originate from a small village in India, where there are hundreds of extremely poor elderly, widows and orphans; most of whom cannot even afford two square meals a day and do not have a half-decent roof to live under! Since all the years that we can remember, never has a single penny ever been received by these poor and indigent people from the zakaat funds (or any other funds) from the kothaar! On the contrary, every year the aamil demands that even these poor, needy and indigent people pay a part of their paltry income as zakaah to the ‘kothaar’! It is indeed a sorry state of affairs, and every year these poor people beg for mercy and leniency to the aamil, but are forced to pay if they want to belong to the community! The aamil’s incentive is that he gets a 10%-15% cut from the collections he does from his community from the kothaar, and he makes sure he collects the maximum to maximize his own income!

We have received several letters from our Bohra brothers on the forum regarding this extortion issue and would like to share one of those with you:

A Dawoodi Bohra brother recently wrote to us: ‘There is another aspect for the male members--to pay the annual contributions for the establishment, vajibat(zakat etc), then payment under 13 or 14 heads, masjid fund, hajj fund, ramazan niaz, muharram niaz, doat niaz and what not, the last being sila and fitra. The total for our family is near about Rs xxxxx. All the contributions are collected under duress. The very poor who deserve to receive the benifit of zakat are asked to borrow and beg to pay because payment of zakt is a must for every muslim.’

May Allah guide these leaders and instill the fear of the accountability of an Inevitable Day when they will have to stand in the Court of Allah and give a full accounting of the atrocities they committed in the name of Islam! Had they known the punishment of the ones who misappropriate funds from the public treasury from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger (saws); they would have feared Allah and the accounting of a Very Severe Day!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35 :O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan