Issues and
Questions
Hajj Akbar,
Qurbani, Taharah and Zakat
Q 1. Many people have
mentioned that Hajj on Friday is considered Hajj
Akbar and it is worth seven Hajj at another time.
Is this true? What do you say about Hajj Akbar?
A 1. Among the masses of Muslims
it has become famous that if the Day of 'Arafah
occurs on Friday, then it is Hajj Akbar (Great Hajj)
and it has more blessings. There is no verse in
the Qur'an or Hadith of the Prophet - peace upon
him - to support this claim. In the Qur'an, Allah
called the day of Hajj, every Hajj, Yam al-Hajj
al-Akbar (al-Tawbah 9:3). Of course Friday is a
great day of blessings and the Day of Hajj is even
a greater day, but it is not right to say that the
reward of Hajj is seven times more if it occurs
on Friday. Only Allah and His Messenger know the
amount of reward and blessings in our worship and
good deeds, we have no right to speculate and make
our own claims in these matters.
Q 2. When does Qurbani
become Fard (obligatory) on a person (both male
and female) and if it's not Fard on someone and
that someone still wants to have it done in his
name then does it become Sadaqa or is it treated
as Qurbani in Allah's eye? (Ayesha)
A 2. The Qurbani (sacrifice) of animals
during the day of Eidul Adha is obligatory (wajib)
upon every Muslim male or female who owns the Nisab
of Zakat (i.e., about 3 ounces of gold or its equivalent
in cash value). It becomes obligatory when a person
owns the Nisab. So if a person has in his/her possession
about 1200 US dollars beyond his/her personal needs,
then he/she should make a sacrifice. The jurists
are unanimous on its obligation on the adults. Allah
says in the Qur'an, "So pray unto your Lord
and sacrifice," (al-Kawthar 108:2). It is reported
in al-Bukhari (Hadith no. 912) that the Prophet
- peace be upon him - said in his Eid Khutbah, "The
first thing that we do today is that we pray and
then we make sacrifice. So whosoever makes sacrifice
after the prayer he followed our Sunnah…"
There are many other Ayat and Ahadith on this subject.
The jurists differ on the obligation of Zakat on
the minors. Some say that like Zakat it is also
obligatory on the minors, if they possess the Nisab,
but their guardians should perform it. The sacrifice
should be done any time after the Eid prayer until
before sunset on the 12th of Dhul Hijjah. Those
who do not own the Nisab can also perform sacrifice,
if they wish.
Q 3. My question is
regarding Taharah. Usually I come with Taharah and
Wudu from my home, and avoid using the bathroom
till Friday Prayer, but sometimes I cannot resist,
and I have to use the bathroom, and clean myself
with paper instead of water, as there is generally
no water available in the toilets in America. Personally,
I think no matter how hard you try, you cannot be
as clean without using water as you can be with
using water. I miss my Friday prayer thinking that
I am not with Taharah. Do you think I will be able
to attend the prayers after Wudu or I have to take
a complete shower and change clothes?
A 3. Cleaning oneself after the
natural urges is called Istinja in the terminology
of Fiqh. The use of water is highly emphasized for
Istinja, but it is not compulsory. If one can clean
oneself with other absorbents, it also permissible.
Thus the use of toilet paper as well as dry clods
of earth (Jimar or what we call in Urdu Dhelas),
stones, rags or other clean absorbents is permissible.
You can use toilet paper or you can wet some toilet
paper and use it to cleanse yourself and then use
dry paper. You should not miss your Friday prayer
or any prayer for this reason. Prayers on times
are obligatory and they should not be missed for
any excuse. There is also no need for taking a shower
or to change clothes after the use of toilet. We
should observe cleanliness, but exaggeration (ifrat
and ghuluww) in any matter is not in the nature
of Islamic teachings.
Q 4. We are involved
in projects in the fields of education, health and
poverty alleviation. Instead of giving money to
people we are interested in long-term solutions
like establishing hospitals, schools and training
institutions in an integrated manner in rural areas.
Can we use Zakat money for establishing such institutions?
Majority of Muslim jurists of the past were of the
opinion that Zakat money should be given to the
poor and needy. They should be made owners of this
money (tamlik al-Zakat) and it should not be used
in public and social welfare projects. Thus you
will find in the books of Fiqh statements emphasizing
that the money should not be used to build schools,
hospitals, hostels, mosques, etc., because this
money belong to poor and it should be given to them.
There are some jurists who still hold the same opinion
in a very strict manner.
However, there were some earlier jurists and there
are a number of modern jurists, such as Muhammad
'Abduh, Rashid Rida, Maulana Mawdudi, Amin Ahsan
Islahi, Yusuf al-Qaradawi and some Fatwa organizations
in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt, who are of the
opinion that Zakat money can be used to finance
the public welfare programs in poor areas. They
argue that in the past Muslim governments used to
finance such projects from 'Ushr, Ghanimah, Khiraj,
etc. Now these sources are not available and also
many governments are negligent in this matter. Many
Muslims are living in areas where there are no Muslim
governments. Furthermore the financial needs of
the people have become so enormous and diverse that
earlier rules and restrictions cannot be applied
and may not be very useful.
This issue is controversial but I am inclined to
accept the position of modern scholars in this matter.
It seems to me that the best way to alleviate poverty
among the Muslims is to develop financial institutions.
There will be always some need for cash disbursement
of Zakat, but some Zakat should be used for the
social welfare of Muslims.
It is important to keep in mind that Zakat is only
for those categories of people who are specified
in Surah al-Tawbah, verse 60. One must be very careful
that this money is not misused and it should not
become a mean to enrich the rich and to neglect
the poor. The schools and hospitals that are built
from this money should be primarily for the poor
and in poor areas. The rich people, if they use
them, should be charged the reasonable fee and it
should go back to such charitable institutions.
Q 5. Since we are administering
Zakat donations from donors to recipients, how much
can we keep for our expenses? Can we keep a fixed
amount (like 5% or 10 %) or has it to be determined
each time based on total expenses?
According to the Qur'an (al-Tawbah 9:60) one of
the eight categories of people who can take Zakat
are "those who are employed to collect it"
(al-'amilin 'alayha). Those who collect the Zakat
are allowed to take their reasonable expenses from
the Zakat charity. These expenses may include office
expenses, employees' salaries, travel expenses,
postage and bank expenses, etc. However, the expenses
have to be actual expenses, you are not allowed
to take more than what you spend.
However, to make a long-term plan to establish a
Zakat agency you may need a sure amount of funds
for your annual budget. You have to keep some money
for office rent, for the salary of employees and
other related expenses. Thus it will be permissible
to withdraw from Zakat funds a fixed amount such
as 5% or 10% or more for this purpose, but you are
only entitled to keep the actual expenses. At the
end of a year whatever is left after meeting the
expenses should be returned to the Zakat fund and
should be disbursed among the recipients of Zakat.
