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8 vs 20?
8 rakah vs 20 rakahs. This is a common debate that bombards from masajid across the globe, all the way from Alaska to Makkah and down to Sydney. Come Ramadan time and it is not farfetched to find even family members disputing about the correct number of rakahs to offer for Taraweeh prayers, the superogatory prayers after Isha during the month of Ramadan. It looks like almost everyone has a different opinion on this matter, ranging from top scholars in Saudi Arabia, where the imams in the grand masajid of the holy cities, Makkah and Madinah, offer 20 units, while most imams in most of the other masajid in Saudi offer 8 units; to different Islamic centers in USA and Europe. This conflict of opinion has also promulgated hatred and division of communities and religious organizations in some areas. Is this issue really worth dividing homes and communities over? How would the sahabas deal with conflicting opinions? What is the prophetic proof on this matter? What is the significance of unity of the ummah?
During the life of Prophet Muhammad, there were hardly any differences as the foundation of the religion was being laid via revelation by Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Whenever differences would arise, it was typically resolved by The Prophet. The reasoning or ijtihad utilized to resolve issues was used as training for the sahabas to deal with future issues.[1] During the time of the righteous caliphs, although the sahabah differed and debated various issues, it hardly led to discord as the caliphs utilized shura or consultations to reach a ruling. The proximity of the sahabas also played a key factor in facilitating the ease of reaching an ijma or consensus. Furthermore, the sahaba were reluctant to issue legal rulings for fear of error and redirected to better qualified sahabees.[2] Although different opinions arose, it did not lead to factionalism and once a decision was reached, it was generally accepted despite differences.
After the time of the last of the righteous caliphs (Ali bin Abi Talib RA), the ease of reaching consensus or ijma on issues eroded with the geographic dispersion of the sahabas and knowledgeable scholars of the ummah. It became virtually impossible to reach an ijma, so different centers of knowledge yielded religious scholars who issued verdicts, more or less independently from knowledgeable scholars in other areas. The slight variation in methodologies and differences in availability of authentic hadith led to the increase of different rulings on issues. Despite the stern warnings by the four major imams to not follow their rulings blindly, but overrule their position on an issue, if there is conflicting evidence from authentic revelation (Quran & Sunnah); later generations started following the madhabs blindly (taqleed).[3] This blind following coupled with focus on arguing and debating against focusing on the overarching goals of unity and cohesion mandated by Allah Azzawajal is the reason of the fierce arguments and global fault lines on issues like the number of units to offer for Taraweeh salah.
The differences should be looked in the light of Quran and authentic Sunnah, as they are the ultimate sources for deriving rulings and not only positions of a certain scholar. The root cause of the different number of rakahs for Taraweeh arises as there is no authentic narration in which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) specified the number of rakahs for Tarawih salah nor is the number specified in the few tarawih salahs that he led, before refraining from leading the salah due to fear of it becoming an obligation.[4] The following evidence, with similar narrations from other narrators, is cited to support the 20 rakahs opinion:
“It was narrated that Saa’ib ibn Yazeed said: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) gathered the people together in Ramadaan to be led by Ubayy ibn Ka’b and Tameem al-Daari in praying twenty-one rak’ahs, and they used to recite hundreds of verses, and they dispersed before dawn broke.”[5]
However, many renowned scholars such as Albany, who favor the 8 rakahs opinion cite the following evidence: the hadeeth of Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, who asked ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), “How did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) pray during Ramadaan?” She said: “He did not pray more than eleven rak’ahs in Ramadaan or at other times. He would pray four, and do not ask how beautiful and long they were, then he would pray four, and do not ask how beautiful and long they were, then he would pray three. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, will you sleep before you pray Witr?’ He said, ‘O ‘Aa’ishah, my eyes sleep but my heart does not.’”[6] This view is that prophet Muhammad is clearly noted to have prayed only a maximum of 11 or 13 rakahs of Taraweeh / Tajajjut prayer on any given night and he has instructed us to “pray as you see me pray.” Furthermore, the hadith supporting the 20 rakahs opinion is criticized as unauthentic upon careful analysis such as by Al-Suyooti and Albany.
There are many scholars who favor the opinion that it is sunnah to pray 8 rakahs, while holding that the hadith of Aa’ishah (RA) does not place an upper limit on the number of Rakaahs and it is ok to pray 20. At the end of the day, the worse the person might be doing is not getting the reward for following a sunnah, so it should not sow the seeds of discord in the blessed month of Muslim unity, peace and tranquility: Ramadan. I will end with a quotation from Shaik Uthaimeen on this issue: “It grieves us deeply that we find in the Muslim ummah a group which differs concerning matters in which differences of opinion are acceptable, and they take these differences as a means to cause division. Differences within the ummah existed at the time of the Sahaabah, yet they remained united. The youth in particular and to all those who are committed to Islam must remain united, because they have enemies who are laying in wait.”[7]
[1] Dr. Bilal Philips, The Evolution of Fiqh, pg. 52
[2] Dr. Bilal Philips, The Evolution of Fiqh, pg. 58-59
[3] Dr. Bilal Philips, The Evolution of Fiqh, pg. 138
[4] Muslim (1780) [3/283] and Al-Bukhari (1129) [3/14]
[6] al-Bukhaari, 1909; Muslim, 738
We Don’t Go to Bars, Why Do We Go to Banks? By Douglas Kelly
An excellent article that every Muslim should know about:
We Don’t Go to Bars, Why Do We Go to Banks?
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/summer-nights/we-don%E2%80%99t-go-to-bars-why-do-we-go-to-banks/
We Don’t Go to Bars, Why Do We Go to Banks? (Part II)
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/islam-studies/we-don%E2%80%99t-go-to-bars-why-do-we-go-to-banks-part-ii/
When I recently consolidated a student loan I had taken out many years ago, I noticed that the amount I owed was more than double what I had originally borrowed. I’m still in school, so I don’t have double the education from when I first took out the loan. I definitely don’t have double the income. Even before I knew anything about Islam and how it forbids usury, I knew something was wrong with that picture. And that there was a bigger picture involving a whole world in debt crisis.
I had a “eureka” moment when I first read the warnings in the Qur’an and Sunnah about usury. The logical connection I made between those warnings and the global economic crisis can only be described in terms as simple as a children’s adventure story—lest they go right over all our heads like so many complex derivatives transactions and we as an Ummah fail to make the one simple transaction that might finally begin to change our condition in the world.
Like “putting two and two together,” it’s as if I had been walking around my entire life with the broken half of a ring inscribed with a secret message that couldn’t be read without the other half. The first half of the message of that ring was my experience on Wall Street. The missing half, the key to the secret, I finally found a generation later in the Word of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala – exalted is He) as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
I am neither a scholar nor an Imam. I only embraced Islam, and read the English translation of the meaning of the Qur’an for the first time four years ago. I can only recite 13 surahs (chapters) from memory, and I am still both a student of the Islamic financial system and a student of the Deen of Allah (swt). But 20 years ago I was an NASD-registered stockbroker with an investment banking firm known for its IPOs (Initial Public Offerings). I have sold life insurance and annuities and bought investment properties. And I had a front-row seat for an economic crisis that wiped out the value of a portfolio of prime real estate I took a decade to build, which in January 2006 appraised at 1.2 million US dollars. I know first-hand how banks operate. And it’s nothing like what the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that Allah (swt) prescribed for mankind.
The prohibition of interest and the laws of halal trade and lending that Allah (swt) revealed in the Hadith, as well as in the Qur’an itself, appear to me to describe a system of shared profit and loss between lenders and borrowers. A system that looks a lot like what we know today as Investment Banking of common shares of stock.
The foundation of Wall Street, and every financial market on the planet, is the principle of risk is proportionate with reward. Just like, “In God We Trust,” the very words “risk is proportionate with reward” imply a leap of faith. The entire world does business according to this un-provable, unscientific law of sowing and reaping. You cast thy bread upon the waters of commerce with the understanding that thy bread may never return; or that it may come back multiplied many times over—like a handful of loaves and fishes that end up feeding the multitudes. The greater the chance of loss, the greater the potential profit. The more you can afford to lose, the more you stand to gain. Just like in life, nothing is guaranteed but death.
(Continue reading this excellent article by Douglas here: http://www.suhaibwebb.com/summer-nights/we-don%E2%80%99t-go-to-bars-why-do-we-go-to-banks/)
Woman Imam: Progress or Digress?
March 18th 2005. A controversy stirred through the Muslim world as the unthinkable had happened: A woman, the infamous Amina Wudud, lead a mixed –sex Friday Jumah prayer, which stirred international media attention. It was attended by around 60 women and 40 men.[1] What led to such a state in the Ummah, where practices established by Prophet Muhammad PBUH, and confirmed by Muslim jurist through the ages were challenged in the name of reinterpreting the Quran and going back to sources? Is it ok to abandon completely the rigorous Islamic scholarship in the field of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), spanning more than a 1000 years? Where does one draw the line between blind following of the classical scholars and completely abandoning them? In a modest attempt to answer some of these questions, I will dig deeper into the “Amina Wudud” controversy and draw some lessons from this incident.
While the Amina Wudud incident was not the first woman imam to have led men in prayer, she was the one that attracted so much international attention to this issue. There are many instances in Canada, as well as established sermons, with the push of Progressive Muslim organizations such as Muslim Canadian Congress. A woman, disguised as man, had sneaked in and started delivering the Friday Khutba in Bahrain. Her ploy was exposed and the police arrested her, while she tried to flee the mosque.[2]
The female imam incident can be traced back to a few movements that were gaining steam in Northern America: The influence of ideologies of feminism to certain so called Islamic reformers and the establishment of Progressive Muslim groups, with overt goals of reinterpreting the Quran to blend in with the North American secular, capitalistic society. The influence of feminism into minds of certain Muslims can be traced back to a 19th Century Egyptian scholar, Qasim Amin, the author of book Women’s Liberation (Tahrir al-Mar’a).[3] He criticized established Islamic practices, with roots in Quran and Sunnah and upon which Islamic scholars have agreed upon, such as polygyny, the veil, hijab, gender segregation in Islam and actually condemned them to be not Islamic. With the Muslim populace significantly increasing in America, and being the birthplace of feminism, there was a ready audience to inculcate such a deviant interpretation without having a solid understanding of principles of Fiqh.
The common textual reason given by these feminist-oriented scholars is that there is no verse in the Quran overtly forbidding a woman leading men in prayer. This ultra-modernistic view can be traced back to abandoning the ground work that had been established as the principles of deducing rulings in the study of Islamic Jurisprudence – Fiqh. The sources of Islamic law that most major classical schools of thought utilized with some variations: Firstly, going to the Quran, then to the Sunnah, Opinions of Sahabas, Qiyaas (Deductions) and Istihsan (Legal preference).[4] While the four schools of thought should not be blindly followed (taqleed), the other extreme of completely rejecting the scholarship is also highly discouraged. This is because this extreme leads to interpreting the Quran however we want, without having a ground in the religion. While the Quran is the word of Allah, the Sunnah (traditions of prophet Muhammad SAW) helps us decipher the implementation of Quran in our lives. Allah has commanded us in the Quran to obey Him and His messenger, implying that obedience to the messenger of Allah is obedience to Allah.
With these principles in mind, let us look at some of the established Hadith that refute the notion of “Woman Imam” in the sunnah: Ibn Majah (Kitab iqamat is-salat was-sunnati fiha) #1134, narrated through Jabir ibn Abdullah: “A woman may not lead a man in Prayer, nor may a Bedouin lead a believer of the Muhajirun or a corrupt person lead a committed Muslim in Prayer.”
Abu Huraira said: “The best rows for men are the first rows, and the worst ones the last ones, and the best rows for women are the last ones and the worst ones for them are the first ones.”[5]
Additionally, there are no reports of woman leading a prayer during the life-time of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Nor is there any report of such an incident during the lives of the companions of prophet. All the major schools of Islamic thought unequivocally reject this based on the rigorous methodology of Islamic legal analysis outlined earlier. This is one of the areas where there is “Ijma” or consensus among the companions of the prophet and among major scholars around the world in the past and present. In other words, it is as good as set in stone. [6]
The root cause of this issue is the lack of Islamic Scholarly knowledge of those attempting to go back to the sources and reinterpret legal rulings. One can interpret the Quranic versus to suit their opinion, if taken out of context or without utilizing the guidelines and training given by Prophet Muhammad SAW to his companions. Furthermore, Prophet Muhammad SAW had referred to his companions as the best of generations. The Quran was revealed in their period and dealt with the issues facing the early development of Islam; the companions were inarguably the best in interpreting the intended meanings, especially pertaining to moral, legal, spiritual and intellectual matters.[7] The classical Islamic scholarship, with slight variations, took extensive concern to extract correct rulings based on authentic texts and reasoned analysis while direct instruction was absent.
Allah has mentioned in the Quran:
“Allah has favored some of you over others with sustenance…” (Quran 16:71)
“Remember, O’ Israel, the blessings which I bestowed on you by favoring you over all mankind” (Quran 2:47) [By sending abundance of divine guidance via prophets]
“Men are guardians of women by that which Allah favored some of them over others…” (Quran 4:34)
By these verses, Allah has favored some of his creation over others and with this favor comes a responsibility and a test, to which one will be held responsible on the Day of Resurrection. Additionally, Allah has commanded his slaves to: “not wish for that with which We have favored some of you over others…” (Quran 2:253) So following the roles and responsibilities that the Lord of the universe has assigned to Humans, will maintain the balance reflected in the different systems around us: Water cycle, food cycle, reproduction system, respiratory system, planetary motion, etc.
Inorder to avoid deviant rulings such as promoting woman imams to lead men in prayer, in the name of reinterpreting the Quran and Sunnah to fit the “modern times”, we should rather look to the years of classical scholarship in the field of Islamic Jurisprudence with an open mind; and also promote capable scholars to deduce new rulings (when needed) utilizing a similar framework. On the other extreme, where we have new evidence that contradicts views held by early scholars or school of thought (madhab), we should not blindly hold on to the opinion of a certain Madhab. Maintaining this balance will aid the Ummah in keeping the field of Fiqh alive to tackle modern day problems without compromising authentic implementation of Divine guidance.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_as_imams
[2] “Woman ‘Imam’ Held in Bahrain Mosque” Arab News. 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2008-06-09
[3] Leila Ahmed. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992. pp.159,161.
[4] Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. Te Evolution of Fiqh. Pp. 82-83
[5] Hadith #881 of Sahih Muslim
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_as_imams
[7] Speech on Quranic Tafseer. Syed Iqbal Zaheer
Is Islam an Easy religion?
Islam was revealed to make things easy for man. Allah has reinforced this in the Quranic revelation “.. Allah wishes you ease and He does not wish difficulty for you.. “ [Quran 2:185][1]There are many instances where Allah has eased the burden on Muslims such as shortening prayer while travelling, performing thayammum while water is not available, instead of ablution, even to the extent of allowing prohibited food items such as pork and alcohol in order to survive, in the absence of food.
Even when comparing with other religions, this principle becomes apparent. Pre-Islamic polytheistic Arabian religion had all kinds of restrictions. One of them was complicated and unfair rulings with regards to distribution of slaughtered meat. If the cattle were pregnant at the time of slaughtering, the offspring in the womb would be exclusively for men and their spouses were not allowed share. However, if the offspring was dead, then it would be equal share. [2]
Furthermore, cattle and crops were only allowed by whom the men willed. Backs of cattle were also forbidden for public. Islam removed all these baseless restrictions and allowed all meat that was slaughtered the right way, invoking the name of Allah and specifically forbidding certain meat such as pork and allowing everything else.
Female infanticide was also a common practice among pre-Islamic Arabia as well as in India and other regions of the World. The new born being a female was reason enough for the parents to kill the baby either immediately or whenever a chance would arise. This was done mainly because the female offspring was seen as a liability and shame. Whereas a male offspring was a source of strength and pride. Religious institution in pagan Arabia and other countries turned the other cheek towards this treacherous practice. One of the societal impacts of this practice is that “It is estimated that by 2020 there could be more than 35 million young “surplus males” in China and 25 million in India”[3] Islam abolished such inhumane and unfair practices against women. Allah states in the Quran: “Certainly, are lost those who killed their children in foolishness without knowledge and forbid what Allah has provided them, inventing(lies) against Allah.” [6:140] Allah condemns evil practitioners of female infanticide in this verse of the Holy Quran.
An instance of hardship in Catholicism, is the requirement of priests and bishops to refrain from sexual relationships with their wives and all other women. This was codified in the council of Nicaea in 325AD. In the West, by the 11th century, the law became universally accepted that a priest could not marry and was not allowed any sexual relationships. [4] This unnatural restriction led to evils such as sexual abuse of young children by the bishops and priests. “In 2004, the John Jay report tabulated a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the U.S. against whom allegations of sexual abuse have been made.” “Around 81% of the victims were male; 51% between the ages of 11 and 14, and 27% between the ages to 15 to 17 years.” [5] These statistics are in the United States alone and this is a problem that has been well known throughout the history of the Catholic Church since the law of celibacy was enacted.
Islam promotes healthy sexual relationships between man and woman, regulated through the institution of marriage as this is a natural desire placed in human beings and an essential factor for procreation and the continuation of human race. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said “Marriage is my Sunnah, whoever disregards my (sunnah) path is not from among us.”[6] Allah commands in the Quran: “Marry those among you who are single and (marry) your slaves, male and female that are righteous”[7] Islam promotes all Muslims who are able to marry, to marry. There are no restrictions on Islamic Imams or religious or political leaders to abstain from marriage.
These examples cite that Islam is essentially a religion that is easy to practice and implement. It greatly reduces the burdens on previous religions and also eliminates practices that are unnatural. It does not eliminate previous civilizations, but rather builds up by keeping what is good and replacing what is bad, while adding new restrictions when needed to provide an entire system of life or deen that guides man to maximize his benefit and balance in this world and the next.
[1] Evolution of Fiqh, Pg30
[2] Quran [6:139]
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-selective_abortion_and_female_infanticide
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_priest#Clerical_celibacy
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases
[6] http://www.soundvision.com/Info/Islam/marriage.purpose.asp, (ibn Majah)
[7] (Quran 24:32)
ILM RUSH 
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