Is Wearing Niqab Fardh?

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

There is a golden rule in fiqh accepted by most scholars. In Ibadah (worship), anything that is taught by Prophet (PBUH) is Halal, and everything else is Haram. In other affairs, anything that is forbidden is Haram, and everyrthing else is halal. Fardh is something that is commanded by Allah or his Rasool.

Let’s look at Niqab or face coverings for women. Some Muslim women wear it, and some don’t.
There could be three cases here.

1- Niqab or face covering is fardh
2- Niqab or face covering is optional
3- Niqab or face covering is Haram

And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their adornment except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful
(Al Nur 31)

Ikhtilaf about Niqab being fardh stems from two interpretation of this ayah. There are two interpretations. One from Ibn Masood, and another from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, and other Sahaba.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas explained it by saying: “Except only that which is apparent means the face and hands”.

Abdullah Ibn Mas’aud said the meaning of “And not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent” is “the clothes”.

People who argue that Niqab is fardh say that these two ahadith are contradictory, and hadith about Ibn Abbas is weak.

However, there is no evidence that these are contradictory. They both chose different things from a long list of things that this ayah refers to. Following are some other items from the list.

The first: that it is the clothing. Abul-Ahwas narrated it from Ibn Mas'ud, and in another wording he said: it is the loose outer garment.
The second: that it is the hands, the rings and the face.
The third: kuhl (eyeshadow) and rings. Sa'id b. Jubayr narrated both from Ibn 'Abbas.
The fourth: the two types of bracelet, which are bracelets and rings, and kuhl. This was said by al-Miswar b. Makhramah.
The fifth: kuhl, rings and die. This was said by Mujahid.
The sixth: rings and bracelets. This was said by al-Hasan.
The seventh: the face and hands. This was said by al-Dahhak.

If someone pays attention to the words in Quran in question, they are providing exception to the rule to cover, and it doesn’t have to be one thing, and could be multiple things that are natural to be exposed after due diligence.

(O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known, so as not to be annoyed) [33:59]

They also point to above ayah as a proof that Niqab is fardh.

1. The interpretation of al-idnaa’ in the verse of the Jilbaab to mean “covering the face”.
This misinterpretation is contrary to the basic meaning of the word in Arabic which is “to come close”, as is mentioned in authoritative dictionaries like al-Mufradaat by the well-known scholar, ar-Raaghib al-Asbahaanee. However, there is sufficient evidence in the interpretation of the leading commentator on the Quran, Ibn ‘Abbaas, who explained the verse saying, “She should bring the jilbaab close to her face without covering it.” It should be noted that none of the narrations used as evidence to contradict this interpretation are authentic.

2. The interpretation of jilbaab as “a garment which covers the face.”
Like the previous misinterpretation, this interpretation has no basis linguistically. It is contrary to the interpretation of the leading scholars, past and present, who define the jilbaab as a garment which women drape over their head scarves (khimaar). Even Shaykh at-Tuwaijree himself narrated this interpretation from Ibn Mas‘ood and other Salafee scholars. Al-Baghawee mentioned it as the correct interpretation in his Tafseer (vol. 3, p. 518) saying, “It is the garment which a woman covers herself with worn above the dress (dir ‘) and the headscarf.” Ibn Hazm also said, “The jilbaab in the Arabic language in which the Messenger of Allaah ( ) spoke to us is what covers the whole body and not just a part of it.” (vol. 3, p. 217). Al-Qurtubee declared this correct in his Tafseer and Ibn Katheer said, “It is the cloak worn above the headscarf.” (vol. 3, p. 518)

3. The claim that the khimaar (headscarf) covers the head and the face.
In doing so “the face” has been arbitrarily added to its meaning in order to make the verse:
"Let them drape their headscarves over their busoms"
appear to be in their favor, when, in fact it is not. The word khimaar linguistically means only a head covering. Whenever it is mentioned in general terms, this is what is intended. For example in the hadeeths on wiping (mas-h) on the khimaar and the prophetic statement, “The salaah of a woman past puberty will not be accepted without a khimaar.” This hadeeth confirms the invalidity of their misinterpretation, because not even the extremists themselves – much less the scholars – use it as evidence that the covering of a woman’s face in salaah is a condition for its validity. They only use it as proof for covering the head.

Furthermore, their interpretation of the verse of the Qawaa
"to remove their clothing"
to mean “jilbaab” further confirms it. They hold that it is permissible for old women to appear before marriagealbe males in her headscarf with her face exposed. One of their noteable scholars openly stated that. As for Shaykh at-Tuwaijree, he implied it without actually saying it.
After checking the opinions of the early and later scholars in all the specializations, I found that they unanimously hold that the khimaar is a head covering. I have mentioned the names of more than twenty scholars, among them some of the great Imaams and hadeeth scholars. For example, Abul-Waleed al-Baajee (d. 474 AH) who further added in his explanation, “Nothing should be seen of her besides the circle of her face.”

Also, if Niqab was fardh, why would men were commanded to lower their gaze, as there would be nothing to see.

So, this proves that Niqab is NOT Fardh.

If the Niqab is not fardh, and if Niqab is not forbidden, then it falls into the category of optional. However, first we have to see if it is permissible.

Niqab during Salah is Haram:
It is widely agreed upon that Niqab is not allowed during Salah.
Darul Iftaa - A Comprehensive Guide to a Woman's Awra

In the section on Awra inside Salat, he says:

"...Therefore, a woman must cover herself properly when performing Salat. Everything besides the face, hands and feet must be covered. The face must be covered properly so that no hair is exposed. Also, care should be taken that no part from above the wrists and ankles is exposed.

It must be remembered that the Awra whilst performing Salat must be covered regardless of another person being present or otherwise, and regardless of whether one is performing Salat in dark or light. (Maraqi al-Falah, 210)"

Niqab during the Hajj:
Following hadith clearly states that Niqab is Haram during Hajj.

The Prophet (saaws) commanded: "A woman (pilgrim) does not cover her face with a Niqaab (i.e. does not tie or affix) nor should she wear gloves." [Al-Bukharee;Muslim; Sahih Abi Dawud #1600; authenticated by Al-Albaanee].

Durin Salah, man and women are required to cover their body more strictly than usual, as they are standing in front of Allah. If Niqab is Haram during that time, what makes it Halal in other activities?

What Did Prophet said about Niqab?:
"Ayesha (rad.i-Allahu `anha) reported that Asma’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (rad.i-Allahu `anhu) came to the Messenger of Allah while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asma’! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." [Abu Dawud]

Commands from Allah and his Rasool’s are decrees that cannot be explained away. In the above hadith he clearly commands women to hide everything except face and hand.

Now, if Rasool doesn’t see Niqab necessary for women, what inspired the Muslim scholars to decree that it is sunnah to wear niqab. Do they have more knowledge then our Prophet (PBUH) did? Are these women more pious then what our Prophet expects them to be.

If a woman wears Niqab for fashion, it is permissible, but it is not likely that women would do that.

If a woman wears Niqab for Allah, it becomes Ibadah, and any innovation in Ibadah is Haram. If we can prove that it was never taught.

However, there is some evidence that women in Medina wore Niqab, and Rasool (PBUH) did not forbid it explicitly. We will leave it at that Wallah-u-Alam (and Allah knows).

Conclusion is that if someone says that Niqab is Fardh or Wajib, that person is certainly mis-guided, because there is no evidence of that. Common sense should prevail in this.

We should not make it compulsory for our women to wear Niqab. Islam has been made easy for us, which includes women.

May Allah give us strength to follow Islam completely,
Adnan Jumani
A Muslim and nothing more.

References:
http://www.muhajabah.com/docstorage/zena.htm
http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=24&tid=35857
http://www.lakii.com/lakiibooks.php?doWhat=showarticle&topicid=5&articleid=86
http://www.islamicweb.com/beliefs/women/albani_niqab.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/ma/AdhaanulMuminaat/niqab.html
http://www.muhajabah.com/niqab-index.htm

Muslim bathroom etiquette

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

Muslim bathroom etiquette
(by Mohamad Shuhmy)

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

First of all, we must thank you for you concern about the feelings of Muslims and your efforts to find out what may offend them so that you may avoid it. We are happy to provide you with a detailed answer to your question and more, in the hope that it may open the way to great good for you.

Among the signs of the greatness of the blessed Islamic sharee’ah is the fact that there is no good thing, major or minor, that it has not commanded us to do or pointed the way to it, and there is no bad thing, major or minor, that it has not warned us against or forbidden. It is perfect and complete in all aspects, a fact which has often greatly astonished non-Muslims and earned their admiration. (At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)), one of the mushrikeen (polytheists) said to (the Prophet’s Companion) Salmaan al-Farsi (may Allaah be pleased with him): “Your Prophet has taught you everything, even how to defecate!” Salmaan said: “Yes, he forbade us to face the qiblah when urinating or defecating…”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 16; he said it is a saheeh hasan hadeeth; also reported in Saheeh Muslim and elsewhere).

Islamic sharee’ah includes a number of rules and manners to be followed when answering the call of nature, including the following:

1: Not to face the qiblah (direction of prayer, i.e. the Ka’bah which was built in Makkah by Ibrahim, upon whom be peace, as commanded by Allaah) when urinating or defecating. This is out of respect for the Qiblah and for the symbols and rituals of Allaah.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you sits down to answer the call of nature, he should not face the qiblah or turn his back towards it.”
(Reported by Muslim, 389).

2: He should not touch his penis with his right hand when urinating, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you urinates, he should not hold his penis in his right hand or clean it with his right hand; and (when drinking), he should not breathe into the vessel.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 150).

3: He should not remove najaasah (impurity) with his right hand; the left hand should be used for this purpose, because of the hadeeth quoted above, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you wipes himself, he should not use his right hand.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 5199).

The Prophet’s wife Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to use his right hand for eating, drinking, making wudoo’, getting dressed, and giving and taking things, and he used to use his left hand for other things.
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4912).

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you cleans himself, he should not use his right hand, he should use his left hand.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 308; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 322).

4: The Sunnah is to answer the call of nature sitting, making oneself close to the ground, because this is more concealing, and makes it less likely that spray from one's urine will come back on one’s body or clothes, making them dirty. If a person can be sure of avoiding this, then it is permissible to urinate standing up.
A person should be concealed from the sight of others when answering the call of nature. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to prefer to go behind a rise in the ground or a garden of date palms.
(Reported by Muslim, 517).

If a person is out in an open space and cannot find anything to conceal him when he needs to answer the call of nature, he should move far away from the other people around him, because al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said: “I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on a journey, when he felt the need to answer the call of nature, so he went far away.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 20; he said it is a saheeh hasan hadeeth).

Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Quraad said: “I went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to an open space, and when he needed to answer the call of nature, he moved away.”
(Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 16; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4651)

5: A person should not uncover his ‘awrah (private parts) until after he has squatted close to the ground, because this is more concealing, as Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported: “When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to answer the call of nature, he would not lift his garment until he had squatted close to the ground.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 14; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4652).

If a person is in a (modern) toilet, he should not lift his garment until he has closed the door and is out of sight of other people. With regard to this point and the one before, it is worth noting that the habit of many people in the West and elsewhere, of urinating in a standing position in front of other people in public toilets (using urinals) is something which goes against good manners, modesty and decency, and is repulsive to anyone who possesses sound common sense and wisdom. How can anybody uncover in front of other people the ‘awrah (private parts) which Allaah has placed between his legs to conceal it and commanded him to cover it? The idea that it should be covered is well established among all wise and decent people of all races. It is wrong in principle to build restrooms of this shameful type, where the users can see one another, thus making them worse than some kinds of animals whose habit is to conceal themselves from one another when urinating or defecating.

6: It is also good manners according to Sharee’ah to recite certain adhkaar (supplications) when entering or leaving the toilet, which are quite appropriate to the situation and place.

Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us that when entering the toilet, we should say: “Allaahumma innee a’oodhi bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from male and female devils).”

When leaving the toilet, he should say: “Ghufraanak (I seek Your forgiveness) .”

He should be careful to remove all impurity after answering the call of nature, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against being careless in cleaning oneself after urinating: “Most of the punishment of the grave will be because of urine.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 342; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1202).

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by two graves, and said: “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for any major sin. One of them used not to protect himself (i.e. keep himself clean from) his urine, and the other used to walk about spreading malicious gossip.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 5592).

7: Any impurity should be washed or wiped three times or an odd number of times greater than three, according to whatever is needed to cleanse it, because ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to wash his posterior three times.

Ibn ‘Umar said: “We did this too and found it to be healing and cleansing.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 350; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4993).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When anyone of you cleans himself (with stones or similar material) let him use an odd number.”
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad; classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 375).

8: He should NOT use bones or dung to clean himself or wipe away the impurity, rather, he should use tissue, stones, and the like.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that he used to carry a vessel for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to do wudoo’ and clean himself after answering the call of nature. Whilst he was following him, he (the Prophet) asked, “Who is that?” He said: “I am Abu Hurayrah.” He said: “Get me some stones I can use to clean myself, but do not bring me any bones or dung.” So I brought him some stones, carrying them in the hem of my garment, and placed them by his side, then I went away. When he had finished, I came back and asked him, “What is wrong with bones and dung?” He said: “They are the food of the jinn.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3571).

9: A person should not urinate into stagnant water, because Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade anyone to urinate into stagnant water
(reported by Muslim, 423),
and because this makes the water impure and harms those who use it.

10: A person should not urinate by the roadside or in places where people seek shade, because this is offensive to them.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fear the two things that bring curses.” They asked, “What are the two things that bring curses, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “When a person relieves himself in the road where people walk or in the place where they seek shade.”
(Reported by Abu Dawud, 23; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 110).

11: One should not greet a person who is answering the call of nature, or return a greeting whilst one is answering the call of nature, out of respect to Allaah by not mentioning His name in a dirty place. [Translator’s note: the Islamic greeting is “al-salaam ‘alaykum (peace be upon you)”; one of the names of Allaah is al-Salaam (the Peace)].

Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah reported that a man passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst he was urinating, and greeted him. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “If you see me in this state, do not greet me, because if you do, I will not respond.”
(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 346; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 575).

The majority of scholars say that it is makrooh (disliked) to speak in the restroom unnecessarily.

These are some of the rules and manners prescribed by the sharee’ah of Islam in this matter which is repeated many times a day by every person. If the sharee’ah has paid such minute attention to the details of such a mundane matter, what do you think it has to say about more important issues? Do you know of any other religion or system in the world that has brought laws like this? This is enough, by Allaah, to prove its perfection and beauty, and the necessity of following it.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
http://www.islam- qa.com/index. php?ref=2532&ln=eng


Ruling - Toilets Facing the Qiblah

Narrated Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "While defecating, neither face nor turn your back to the Qibla but face either east or west."

Abu Ayyub added. "When we arrived in Sham we came across some lavatories facing the Qibla; therefore we turned ourselves while using them and asked for Allah's forgiveness. "
[(Agreed Upon); Saheeh Bukhaari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 388; Saheeh Muslim, Book 002, Number 0507]

However scholars say this prohibition is when you are in the open (like in the desert). If you have a screen in front of you (or you are in a building), it is fine.

The proof is:

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade us to face the qiblah at the time of making water. Then I saw him facing it (qiblah) urinating or easing himself one year before his death.”
[Sunan Aboo Daawood, Book 1, Number 0013; Classed Hasan by Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaaq, as quoted in ‘Fiqh’ Volume 1, p. 132, Darussalam publishers]

Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “A Number of scholars believed that the first hadeeth – i.e. that of Abu Ayoob (may Allah be pleased with him) – was abrogated by the second – i.e. the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) – but this is not the case; on the contrary, the former concerns one who is in the desert, while the latter converns one who is indoors.” [See: ‘Ikhbar Ahl Ar-Rusookh Fil-Fiqh Wat-Tahdeeth Bi-Miqdar Al-Mansookh Minal-Hadith’ – authenticated by Muhammad Subhi bin Hasan Hallaaq, as quoted in ‘Fiqh’ Volume 1, p. 133, Darussalam publishers]

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “I went up to the roof of Hafsa's house for some job and I saw Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) answering the call of nature facing Sham ( Syria , Jordan , Palestine and Lebanon regarded as one country) with his back towards the Qibla.”
[(Agreed Upon); Saheeh Bukhaari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 150; Saheeh Muslim, Book 002, Number 0510]

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Marwan al-Asfar said: I saw Ibn Umar make his camel kneel down facing the qiblah, then he sat down urinating in its direction. So I said: AbuAbdurRahman, has this not been forbidden?
He replied: “Why not, that was forbidden only in open country; but when there is something between you and the qiblah that conceals you , then there is no harm.”
[Sunan Aboo Daawood, Book 1, Number 0011; Classed Hasan by Sheikh al-Albaanee in Saheeh Sunan Aboo Daawood (1/8)]

May Allah give us strength to follow Islam completely,
Adnan Jumani
A Muslim and nothing more.

References:
http://shuhmy.multiply.com/journal/item/374

Speech before Jum’aa Khutbah beneficial or harmful?‏

In the name of Allah, most merciful, most kind.
Speech before Jum’aa Khutbah beneficial or harmful?

There is a format of Jum’aa that has been followed for a very long time, and it is continued in USA for some Masajids. In this format, there is no adhan before khateeb (Imam) stands for a non-arabic khutbah (sermon), then there is a beautiful and emotional speech is delivered in english or urdu or other local tongues. Then, khateeb sits down, and adhan is called. Then, sunnah salat is performed. Then, there is another adhan. Then, khateeb stands up and delivers an arabic khutbah with a short pause in between, but the khutbah is the same every week. Then, Iqamah is called.

If one is from India or Pakistan, this is a very familiar format of Jum’aa.

Before we take this format apart and examine it, let’s look at from practical perspective.

Allah has asked Muslims to drop their business, and rush towards Masjid for Jum’aa. Our Prophet (PBUH) taught us that we have to enter Masjid before Imam has stood up, if we want the reward of Jum’aa, because angels close their book. Prophet’s khutbah’s are considered to be the best source of learning for Muslims. I would also add that emphasis on khutbah seems to be to refresh E’maan of Muslims on a weekly basis, at least.

If we pay close attention, or if we have been to Jum’aa regularly to the Masjid where this format is followed, it will be very visible that most people will try their best to reach the Masjid right before the arabic khutbah is about to start. Now, they will hear the Arabic khutbah, which will not make any sense to them because they don’t speak Arabic. Let’s suppose they do understand Arabic, same khutba every week doesn’t help. What would they have learned from that week’s Jum’aa? Probably nothing.

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar reports that the Peophet forbade buying and selling in the
mosque, reciting poetry in it, or announcing lost items, and he especially
prohibited making a circle [i.e., a meeting in a circle] before the Friday
prayer. This is related by the five, and at-Tirmizhi calls it sahih.

If the English talk is not part of khutbah, it is in violation to direct order from Prophet from the hadith above. If it is part of the khutbah, it is a bid’aa, since there is no evidence that Prophet made such talks or gave same Arabic khutbah every week making it an invention in ibadah. Either way it doesn’t fit the Shri’aa or Hanafi teachings.

Why would we not start with some praises to Allah in Arabic, then deliver a Khutbah in local language, then a short pause, then read a Quranic ayat in Arabic, and/or Hadith, then deliver second part of Khutbah? Interestingly, this will be the format closest to Sunnah of Rasool (PBUH), and will satisfy all requirements of Jum’aa.

It seems that it began by someone with a good intention of teaching the people before the Arabic Khutbah starts, which he was forced to say in Arabic.

Issue is that it creates a situation where people either have to sit through a very long Jum’aa which may discourage them from coming, or coming after the English talk, since “Angels are still writing” ( so has decided by some scholars who support this format), and miss any opportunity to learn about Islam.

I urge the Imams to reconsider this format, since it is harming more than benefiting, and the people coming late at their English talk is due to this format. If the english talk is integrated into Arabic khutbah, people will be urged to come, and it will not violate Prophet’s order to not gather before Jum’aa.

Following is the best argument on this topic, and I would like to share in the author’s words. Please read through it.

Recently, I was approached by a “Alim” who attended a Friday Khutbah I delivered. He wanted five minutes of my time to discuss my speech. He started talking about the importance of having the Khutbah in Arabic. Now, I knew where this was going. See, this is not the first time I have been approached by someone who wanted to convince me that the Khutbah is meant to be in Arabic. Usually, I thank the brother for the advice and I don’t enter into what I think is a vain argument. However, this time seemed to be different. The man was very humble in his approach and flexible in his argument. What you’re about to see is somewhat of a reenactment of our conversation, though not verbatim. Some of us may have seen some scholarly debates over certain Fiqhi issues. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the arguments and counter-arguments when they are narrated by a third person. So I thought I’d use an innovative approach of presenting this argument in a conversation style. In order to make it less personal however, I’m representing both sides of the conversations as Opinion1 (representing him) and Opinion2 (representing me). Here we go:

Opinion1: What do you think about having the Khutbah in Arabic?

Opinion2: I don’t think it’s feasible in the conditions we’re in.

Opinion1: But there is an agreement among schools that it should be in Arabic.

Opinion2: I’m not aware of that. What I have seen in this country is that some followers of the Hanafi School apply this ruling.

Opinion1: In fact, the Hanafis are the most lenient when it comes to this issue. The Malikis are the most strict. That is, if you can’t find someone to do the Khutbah in Arabic, then the Friday prayer is not even obligatory!

Opinion2: I’ll check on that. But what I know is that there is a difference of opinion on this matter. The reason for the difference is due to how the Khutbah is viewed. Is it viewed as analogous to prayer or is it viewed as an admonition?

Opinion1: I think it’s more like a prayer. This is because of a statement by Omar ibn al-Khattab, which explains that the other two rakah of Dhuhr were replaced by the Khutbah. [Later I checked this Athar by Omar and discovered that Sheikh M. N. D. al-Albani had weakened this Athar. See al-Irwaa, hadith #605].

Opinon2: Agreed but we can’t consider the Khutbah to be exactly like prayer. Scholars mention that the Imam can drink water during Khutbah, can give Khutbah without Wudu, can speak of unrelated subjects during the Khutbah, at least briefly; all of which is not allowed during prayer.

Opinion1: Can you please look into this matter and see what the Imams have said about this issue?

Opinion2: Of course I will. But let us also keep in mind the purpose of the Khutbah. The goal of the Khutbah is to remind and educate the people. We also have to understand the context of the statements by the Imams or their schools. They lived at a time where Arabic was the language of the day (just like English is today), where Islam was the superpower. This is totally different from today where even Arabic speaking Muslims cannot guarantee that their children will speak Arabic, and where learning the language is not readily accessible to many.

Later, I looked at the opinions of the four schools and here is what I found (courtesy of al-Fiqh alaa al-Madhaahib al-Arba’ah by al-Jazeeree):



Hanafi:

It’s permissible for the Khutbah to not be in Arabic, even if the Khateeb is capable of speaking Arabic, and whether the audience speaks Arabic or not.

Maliki:

It’s a condition for the Khutbah to be in Arabic, even if the audience does not understand Arabic. If they don’t have a Khateeb that is good in Arabic, then Friday prayer is not obligatory on them!!!

Shafi’i:

The pillars of the Khutbah (e.g. recitation of an Ayah or a Hadith) has to be in Arabic. Non-Arabic is not sufficient if the Imam is able to learn Arabic. If not, then he can use a different language. That is if the audience is Arabic-speaking. If not, then even the pillars of Khutbah don’t have to be in Arabic. Anything other than the pillars of the Khutbah can be delivered in any language but Arabic is recommended.

Hanbali:

The Khutbah is not acceptable in a language other than Arabic, if the Imam is able to speak it. If not, then he can use any language he masters. This is whether the audience is Arabic-speaking or not. However, the [recitation of an] Ayah that is a pillar of the Khutbah must be uttered in Arabic. If he cannot, then he utters any dhikr in Arabic. If he’s not able to even do that, then he stays silent for the duration of reciting such an Ayah!!

In order to get around all this, some Masjids in the U.S. have implemented what I call a workaround. They added a so-called “talk” in English before the Adhan to fulfill the admonition goal of the Khutbah. After the Adhan, they have the actual Khutbah in Arabic. Although this seems to solve all problems mentioned above, it does introduce another set of problems. This supposed workaround may go against a prohibition from the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) not to conduct any halaqa or lecture before the Friday Khutbah.

عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص أن النبي صلّى الله عليه وسلّم نهى عن التحلّق قبل الصلاة يوم الجمعة

صحيح أبي داود 991، صحيح الجامع 6885

From Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade making circles [for knowledge or remembrance] before prayer on Friday. (Saheeh Abu Dawud #991, Saheeh al-Jami’ #6885)

Imam ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597) briefly commented on this hadith in his celebrated work “Talbees Iblees”

He [the Prophet] disliked that people gather before the Friday prayer for the purpose of seeking knowledge and studying. Rather, he ordered us to busy ourselves with voluntary prayer and to listen to the Khutbah (The Chapter of the Play of Iblis with the People of Hadith)

In other words, the time before the Khutbah should be utilized in preparation for the Khutbah, not in something that will take the glory away from the Khutbah. In fact, there are authentic hadith that tell us to spend this important time in voluntary prayer. This is the one action that will make us ready to absorb the most from the Khutbah. The proposed pre-Khutbah “talk” on the other hand will deprive the actual Khutbah from its meaning, exhaust the attention of the worshippers, and disturb the whole structure of the Friday prayer.

By the way, the “Alim” above had for me another proposal that I had not heard before. He said, you can have the first Khutbah in Arabic and the second in English. But, I said this still doesn’t meet the requirements of the Imams/Schools who say that both Khutbah should be in Arabic. Moreover, what do you think will happen to the people who don’t speak Arabic who have to withstand for about 15 to 20 minutes a speech they don’t understand? Their minds will wander and their hearts will not benefit.

Finally, I don’t claim to have the final words on this issue. However, I don’t even see the famous followers of the schools (e.g. Hamza Yusuf, a follower of the strictist school on this subject, the Maliki School) deliver Arabic Khutbah in this country at this time. What I do know is that this is one issue where we have to look more at the Maqasid [goals] of Shariah and less at the words of a scholar or the opinion of a school, which may have been formulated for a different time or context. After all, this is not a case where one is violating a clear ruling of the Quran or the Sunnah!! Allah knows best!


May Allah give us strength to follow Islam completely,

Adnan Jumani

A Muslim and nothing more.