Issues and Questions


Are Marriages Made in Heaven? Nawafil Prayers
By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

Q 1. Is it proper to come in the mosque in the middle of Jumu’ah khutbah and start praying Sunnah prayers. My understanding is that listening to the khutbah is as important as praying two Fard during regular Zuhr prayers. I think praying Sunnah during Jumu’ah khutbah was not recommended by our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him). Please shed some light on this subject and oblige.
A 1. Muslims should come to Jumu’ah prayer as early as possible. Thus they can perform the Tahiyat al-Masjid, do the Zikr and recite the Qur’an. There is a great blessing and reward in coming to Masjid early on Fridays. If it is not possible to come to Masjid early, then one should do his best to come before the Imam begins to deliver the Khutbah. Thus one will be able to perform the Tahiyat al-Masjid and Sunnah prayers in time.
The jurists are unanimous that during the khutbah there should be no talks or prayers. However, there is a difference of opinion on performing two rak’ah Tahiyat al-Masjid. According to Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Malik, it is not allowed to do any prayer after the Imam goes on the Minbar for khutbah including the Tahiyat al-Masjid. Imam Shafi’i and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal have allowed only two rak’ah Tahiyat al-Masjid, but they should be done quickly and then one should sit down to listen to the khutbah. This difference is based on their interoperations of two different Ahadith, one emphasizing the Tahiyat al-Masjid and the other emphasizing the listening to the khutbah.
There is no need to indulge in any controversy on this issue. We have in our communities in America Muslims of different Madhahib and we should try to accommodate all of them as much as possible. The issues on which our respected Imams and scholars themselves have differed show that there is flexibility in those matters and we should be tolerant of each other in those matters. If some Muslims come late and wish to pray quietly their Tahiyat al-Masjid during the khutbah, there should be no objection. However, these Muslims should be reminded that they should not make a habit of coming late to Masjid on Fridays.

Q 2. Is the decision of marrying somebody totally a person’s decision or is it influenced by Allah’s will? Why do some people say that marriages are made in heaven? If so then how come we are responsible for the marriages made here plus why then some people are so lucky to have the compatible spouse and others not. I personally believe that the decision is entirely ours until we seek “mashwara” from Allah in the form of “istakhara”. But then the enigma of marriages made in heaven remains unresolved.
A 2. Imam Ghazali said it very nicely, “There does not come about in the world, seen or unseen, little or much, small or great, good or evil, advantage or disadvantage, faith or unbelief, knowledge or ignorance, success or loss, increase or diminution, obedience or rebellion, except by His will. What He wills is, and what He wills not is not. Not a glance of one who looks, or a slip of one who thinks is outside His will. He is the Creator, the Bringer back, the Doer of that which He wills.”
But this does not mean that we have no freedom to plan, choose and select. We do all these things and we are responsible for our actions. Maulana Mawdudi explained this point in his book Qada and Qadar that human freedom and divine power are not mutually contradictory. He says, “If a thing is attributed to several causes then the charge of contradiction is only applicable if it cannot have more than one cause; but if it has several causes then one can refer sometime to one cause and sometimes to another. There is no contradiction in this case.” He explains this point by an example. Suppose it is said that water made the paper wet. Then it is said that ‘Fire made the paper wet’, then it is said, ‘Dirt made the paper wet’. This will be a contradiction, because only one of these things can make the paper wet. But if we say that the country was conquered by the king, and then it is said that it was conquered by the commander of the army, and at another occasion it is said that it was conquered by the army and yet at another time one mentions the names of individual soldiers and attributes victory to them, there will be no contradiction in this case. The conquest of a country can be attributed collectively to the head of state or the commander of the army and separately it can be attributed to the army and the soldiers.
“So it is correct that the marriages happen by the will of Allah and by His decisions in the heaven, because He has created us and He has given us all the power to think, plan and decide. He controls every thing; and He knows all things even before they happen. But it is also our decision and our plan because we choose by the freedom that He has given us and we are responsible for our choices and our freedom. Allah makes decision according to His freedom, which is infinite and unlimited. We make decision according to our freedom, which is finite and limited, but it does exist. “He will not be questioned as to that which He does, but they will be questioned.” (al-Anbiya’ 21:23)
Finally, let me remind you that Istikharah is not a “mashwarah” (consultation) with Allah. The word “istikharah” means “seeking the good”. Istikharah is a kind of du’a (prayer) in which a person requests Allah to help him/her to reach to a good decision.

Q 3. If I want to offer Nawafil Prayers, can I offer Nawafil as four Rak’ahs instead of twos?
A 3. It is not forbidden to perform the Nawafil in a group of four Rak’ahs, but it is better to perform them in groups of two. There are many Ahadith that indicate that the Nawafil prayers should be performed in twos. This is the Sunnah of the Prophet - peace be upon him.
Q 4. I would like to know how important it is to sit and drink water. Is it against the religion not to sit and drink? Another question I have is that is it permissible to eat food with the left hand occasionally or is it completely haram?
A4. It is better to eat and drink in a sitting position. But it is not haram to eat or drink in the standing position also. It is reported that the Prophet - peace be upon him - sometime drank water while he was standing. It is reported that once Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - came at a place and drank water in the standing position. Then he said, “Some people do not like drinking in the standing position, but I have seen the Prophet - peace be upon him - doing what you have seen me doing.” (Al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 5184)
It is not right to eat with the left hand, unless a person is not able because of some genuine excuse. It is reported that the Prophet -peace be upon him - saw a young boy eating and he said to him, “O young boy, say Bismillah, eat by your right hand and eat from you side.” (Al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 4957) “Eat from your side” means that if you are eating with other people in the same plate, then do not wander with your hand all over the plate. Islam teaches us good manners and we should always remind our young children to observe Islamic manners.
-DrSiddiqi@aol.com

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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