Monday, 06 September 2010
Hosted by Ustadh Abdus Shakur Brooks

Answers

According to the Maliki school, how are the prayer timings calculated in places like Sweden or Stockholm in the summertime when the sun does not set or the red sky does not disappear?

| Print |

Question

In (Stockholm) it does not set enough below the horizon for the twilight to completely disappear (although the solar disk does go below the horizon). By observing the horizon, the last line of redness never goes away but goes into sunrise directly.

In the summertime (as is the case in Northern Sweden) the sun does not set at  all.

How are the prayer times from each situation to be calculated according to the Maliki school?

Answer 1

Regarding the issue when the red sky does not disappear until Fajr so that the time for Isha actually never comes in (as is the case in Stockholm):  

Shaykh al-Dusuki (1230 A.H) mentions in his Hashiyyah al-Dusuki a marginal commentary of  Shaykh Dardir’s major commentary on Mukhtasar Khalil called Al-Sharh Al-Kabir, saying:

(note: that what is written in brackets are my clarifications)

"According to the Hanafis the obligation of Isha is dropped (that is because the time did not enter) and according to the Shafis, they calculate their timings according to the closest region(Aqrab al-bilad). There is no statement in our madhab (that is,the Maliki madhab) in this matter. But some of the scholars are of the view that we follow the Shafi mathab when there is no statement ( from the predecessors of the madhab).”

Here he mentions that some of the scholars insisted that we follow the Shafi madhab in matters where there is no statement from the predecessors  of the madhab (and some say we follow the Hanafi madhab).  With that in mind there is no need for you to create a new timetable separate from that of the Shafis as long as what they produce is accurate. So I would advise you to follow what they have already done rather than making a new one since there is no statement in the Maliki madhab in this matter and the question you are concerned about has been answered here by Dusuki who is more than reliable in his transmission.

Also, The apparent meaning of the “closet region” (Aqrab al-Bilad) means the closest region in which the prayer times are normal, regardless of which direction you go towards; what is important is that it is the closest.

Answer 2

As for the issue when the sun does not set at all for days or months, the Maliki's do have a position in this matter( as is the case in Northern Sweden):

Shaykh al-Dusuki also mentions in the same passage:

"As for what the author (here he is referring to Mukhtasar Khalil) mentioned about the Muhktar prayer time of Zuhr starting from the Zawal al-Shams is in regards  to the prayer timings before the presence of the Dajjal (because when he appears days and nights will appear for long periods of time). As for during the presence of the Dajjal, then the prayer time of Zuhr should be calculated according to the prayer timings before his presence. Furthermore, in some regions of the world  a complete year has only one daytime and one nighttime, in this case all prayer times should be calculated the same way as done during the presence of the Dajjal"

This shows that al-Dusuki was aware of the issue that some  European countries as well as others have times when there is complete daylight or complete night for days or months consecutively. In this case he mentions that one calculates the prayer timings just like it is done during the time of the Dajjal; which would be to use the calculated prayer timings that occur under normal circumstances to determine the prayer timings in abnormal circumstances like the ones you mentioned. Allah knows best.

Is one intention for all of Ramadan sufficient or must a person make intention each day?

| Print |

Answer:

In some basic books of Maliki fiqh they mention that it is sufficient for a person to make one intention for the whole Ramadan. However, the wider scope of the rule is that “one intention is sufficient for fasting that is obligatory to be performed consecutively”  without missing any days in between like Ramadan for example .

As a result, when a woman gets her menses in Ramadan and then her cycle discontinues, she must make a new intention for the following days of fasting. Likewise, a person making up previous days of fasting will need to make a new intention each day since make-up fasts do not require to be performed consecutively.

Conclusion:

The general rule is:

-One intention is sufficient for fasting that is obligatory to be performed consecutively

-One intention is not sufficient for fasting that is not obligatory to be performed consecutively

What is the technical definition of al-muwaswasah? how often does a person have to doubt in a day to be exempted for the obligation of making ablution ?

| Print |

Answer:

In more advanced books they use the word "al-Mustankih" instead of al-muwaswas although they indicate to the same thing. al-Mustankih is defined by Shaykh Dardir   in his al-Kabir as " doubt which occurs to a person a lot; like everyday even if only once". Shaykh Dusuki  mentioned in his margin-commentary on al-Kabir that  if it were to occur every other day then it nullifies ablution.

Thus, if a person doubt’s at least once a day then they are not obligated to make ablution because of doubt but if it were to occur every other day then ablution is obligatory. The question that remains is “ how do we determine what “every day ” is in practicality. Shaykh Ali al-Adawi mentioned in his margin-commentary on al-Khurashi saying:

"The strongest view is that when a person knows it [ that is, that doubt occurs to him everyday] is his customary then he relies upon that [as the determining factor]."

What he means here is that a person will determine whether or not he is considered a person who doubts everyday or not based on his customary. Thus, if his customary is that he doubts at least once a day, every day then he does not have to make ablution if doubt occurs to him.

So if a person questions himself at least once a day about whether or not he nullified his ablution, he is not obligated to make ablution again because of doubt. If he doubts every other day then he must make ablution.

A very important aspect that is not to be overlooked is that this whole matter only pertains to a person who is sure that he made ablution then doubted whether or not his ablution was nullified and not to a person who is not sure if he made ablution then doubted whether or not he made ablution or to a person who is simply just not sure which of the two states he is in. For this reason Khalil mentions his in Mukhtasar “ [ablution] is nullified by doubting the occurrence of al-hadath [ meaning, the occurrence of those things that nullify ablution] after being certain of purity except for al-mustankih”.

Notice that he says “after being certain of purity”. So the exception of the rule regarding al-mustankih only applies to a person who is certain that he made ablution previously but doubts whether or not he nullified it.

Also the reason why Shaykh Ali al-Adawi says that it is the “strong view” indicates that there are other opinions concerning this matter but what he mentions here is in accordance to what is mentioned in the commentaries of Khalil and other famous works which state that doubt is what occurs to a person everyday even if only once. Shaykh Al- Sibrakhiti claims that the rule follows the same application of a person who has incontinence of urine [al-salas]although it is it is not a relied upon opinion.

How does a mother bring up the topic of menses to her daughter?

| Print |

Complete Question:

 How does a mother bring up the topic of menses to her daughter? Does she prepare her for what is going to happen and introduce the fiqh, or does she wait till she has her menses and then indirectly teach them - ie the mother questioning each day and introducing the fiqh as time goes on ?

Answer:

Girls should generally be taught about menses before it occurs without introducing matters of fiqh. A mother can introduce the subject to her by informing her that a day will come when she will see something called “menses”. She should explain to her what it is and why it happens. It is a sign of her “growing up” and that when it occurs both angels on her right and left will now record her actions and Allah will have higher expectations of her; that she should pray, fast and wear hijab just like her mother.

The mother must also inform her that she will have to stay away from the boys and that Allah does not like her mixing with them. In general the mother needs to implant in her daughter’s mind and heart that seeing menses means a “great change in her life” that will make her a thousand times more important in regards to her relationship will Allah and her deen. This will cause her to think about the coming of that”important day”which she will see as an interesting step in her life.

The mother can also tell her a little bit about it before bed. This should be done randomly and not all at one time. A mother should also tell her that there are instructions (not rules) that she will need to learn and that she will teach her when the time comes. Once she sees menses for the first time she will most likely come running to her mother overwhelmed and excited. At that point the mother should buy her (or already have bought) a little “special” calendar book and tell her to write down every day she has her menses. This type of teaching allows the girl to have first hand responsibility for this new beginning she is experiencing.

The mother should tell her that when she is done bleeding that she should report to back to her .The point of giving her a calendar book and having her record her days of menses is to implant in her mind the importance of being responsible about this issue. When she tells her mother menses is done, the mother should teach her about the signs of the ceasing of menses and also teach her that her menses is now a fixed number of days based on the number of days she bled the first time.

The mother should not forget to tell her to keep recording her menses every month and also to report back to her in any case when her blood stops before her fixed number of days or if it passes her fixed number of days. When the girl informs her mother about any of these cases then she should teacher her daughter the rules that apply to each situation (which we covered in the Maliki fiqh text al-Akhdari).

The mother should tell her to record these notes in her little book and she should also help her to do so. Following this type of tarbiyyah will give the mother the ability to teacher her daughter how to apply and understand the general rules of menses without being “technical” until she gets a little older when she can learn from books. During this whole process the mother becomes like a practical guide/teacher for her. It is preferable that this be taught by the mother before the father although if the father is a single parent then there is no doubt that he will have to teach her himself. Allah knows best.

Does a woman's secretion nullify ablution and is it considered an impurity?

| Print |

Complete Question: 

The maliki fiqh texts always talk about “the two passages” (sabeelayn) but in a woman's case, she has three passages. Also, if a woman is healthy, she is never dry.  She constantly secretes vaginal fluid.  If she did not, she would actually be suffering from vaginal atrophy.  My question is this: Many scholars seem to say that such secretion would require her to make ablution again, but it seems maybe they are making an analogy with me because her situation is different because she secrets all the time.  Some women more, some less, but the point is, it's a constant state, like saliva is for the mouth.

Answer:

In Mukhtasar Khalil it mentions in the chapter of impurities that  wetness of the vagina (which is what comes from secretion) is an impurity. This could be found in the commentaries of Khalil namely that of Shaykh Dardir (h.1201) and al-Hattab (h.954) both of which are two highly relied upon works in the Maliki mathab.

Furthermore Al-Qadi Abd al-Wahab al-Baghdadi (h.422) mentions in his famous work al-Talqeen that everything that comes out of the vulva area is an impurity. Researching the matter, I find that the scholars although they mention it as an impurity they never mention that it nullifies ablution.

Furthermore, in the chapter concerning what nullifies ablution, wetness of the vulva is not one of those six things that come from a person’s  genital  section that nullify ablution, therefore it is not to be assumed that it nullifies ablution unless we find the scholars explicitly stating such.

Lastly there is another matter to consider, there are women who secret almost all the time as you mentioned which means that they will always be in need of washing the mid section before every prayer which is difficult. In the Maliki mathab there is a general rule concerning the removal of impurities and that is "impurities that are difficult to avoid are excusable". What that means is that a person is excused from having to remove it for the sake of prayer. This rule is mentioned in Mukhtasar Khalil briefly and its commentaries elaborate on the matter.

Abdus Shakur Brooks

More Articles...