ASK A MUSLIM SCHOLAR APRIL 2025
- Asalamualekum I have an important query after my menstruation cycle gets over what all is required to be washed? because one of my friends told me that whatever things you utilize within that period needs to be made clean ‘Spiritually’ . These things include hairbands clutch handbag towel slippers goggles etc. Also the clothes need to be washed under the running water ‘3 times’ otherwise merely washing them in a container will not make them clean. Is it necessary to clean them under running water that too 3 times? Please provide me a suitable answer for the same because I am really worried. Thanks and Regards
It is not correct; it has no basis in the authentic teachings of Islam; therefore we ought to dismiss it as hearsay and superstitious beliefs. If it had been necessary to go to extreme rituals as you have described above, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have told his wives and believing women to do so.
The prophet’s companions assert that he has explained to us everything we ought to practice in our religion. He also said, “Leave this religion as I have left it; nations before you perished because of their departure from the way of their prophets and falling into hair-splitting details in regards to religious rituals” (Reported by Bukhari).
We learn from Aishah, the Prophet’s beloved wife, that she used to do all of the daily chores for the Prophet while menstruating and yet she only performed the ritual bath and cleaned only the blood stains, if any, in her clothes.
When once the Prophet told her to handle something for him, she said I am menstruating; he told her: your menses is not in your hands!” In other words, a menstruating women’s hands or body do not contaminate or render anything she comes into contact as impure.
When someone asked the Prophet how far one can be intimate with one’s wife while she is menstruating, he said, “You may do everything except intercourse!”
Let us remind ourselves of Prophet’s dire warnings against rigidity in matters of religion: He said, “This religion is straightforward and easy to follow: Whoever makes it rigid will only hurt himself!” (Reported by Bukhari). And, “Woe to those who are rigid in matters of religion!”(Reported by Muslim).
In conclusion: A woman after her period need only perform ritual ghusl and needs only to wash the clothes with menstrual blood stains. There is nothing else obligatory on her regarding washing or cleaning.
We have purchased a church which we are converting to a mosque. The prayer hall is small. The only way we can accommodate more people is if we are allowed to make the Qiblah 28 degrees off according to the compass. Are we allowed to do that?
Facing towards the direction of Kaba is one of the essential conditions for the validity of Prayer. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Wherever you are ˹O, Prophet˺, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you ˹believers˺ are, face towards it.” (Qur’an: 2: 150).
Based on the above order from Allah, scholars agree that those who see the Kaaba in front of them ought to face it while praying. If they are away from the Ka’ba and unable to see it, they should turn toward it; it does not have to be exact, as minor variations can be tolerated.
Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr, the eminent scholar of hadith and jurist, says, “As for facing the Qiblah, one should consider two scenarios. The first concerns those who can see it, in which case, they must turn directly towards it. The second scenario is the ruling regarding those who are away from the Kaba and unable to see it. There are two views. However, the preferred view of the majority is that they are not required to face it exactly but toward the direction of it. That is the view of the scholars of the Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools, as well as many of the followers of the Shafi school. They say that when Allah says, ‘Turn your face towards the sacred mosque,’ we are facing the Qiblah regardless of whether we are directly facing it.
Another piece of evidence is the following Hadith narrated by Abu Hurayra: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Qiblah is between the East and the West.” He was speaking of the people of Madina, for whom Makka is located to the south.
Abd Allah b. Umar reported that the people were praying for Fajr Salah in Quba, someone came and informed them that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had received a revelation from Allah ordering him to turn towards the Kaba. On hearing the news, the Imam leading them in prayer immediately turned towards the Kaaba, although they had started the Prayer facing Jerusalem. That shows that they turned towards the direction of the Kaaba, as they couldn’t determine the actual position of the Kaba during prayer, which required precise calculations.
Therefore, when we are away from the Kaaba, we have fulfilled the requirement by facing towards the direction of Makkah.
That is the view of the companions Umar, Alia, Ibn Abbas, and others.
Therefore, based on the evidence above, our eminent scholars conclude that slight variations not exceeding 45 degrees to the right or left are tolerated.
Ibn Abbas said, “Those inside the Haram Mosque face the Kaaba, as for the inhabitants of the Haram, the Sacred Mosque is their Qiblah, and the Haram is the Qiblah for the people of the earth, regardless of whether they inhabit to the East or the West of the Haram.”
The Prophet’s companions agree regarding such consideration of latitude and flexibility in determining the direction of the Qibla for those who live away from the Haram.
When they arrived at the newly conquered territories, they fixed the direction of the Qiblah based on the criterion of facing toward the Haram. They never did so by precisely calculating the exact direction of the Kaaba. They unanimously acted upon such a criterion even though it did not conform to the precise determinations of degrees based on modern scientific devices.
Again, it shows that slight variations in the determination of Qiblah do not adversely affect the validity of Prayer.
Another point that reinforces the argument is considering the Prayer lines flowing from the Haram. For, if we observe carefully, we can see that all the longer lines in the back are not directly facing the Kaba except for the few front lines. It applies even to those praying inside the Mosque of Haram in all four directions.
We can now safely conclude that those living outside the boundaries of Haram are not bound to face the Kaaba exactly; instead, they are required only to face the direction of Makka even though they may incline slightly to the right or left away from the Kaaba.
In conclusion, based on the detailed evidence from eminent scholars, you should have no reason to worry that the Qiblah of your mosque is 28 degrees off the exact direction of the Kaaba.
Is there any sahih (authentic) hadith that states that you can beat your children to learn? Please comment on this.
There is no such hadith that is considered as authentic. Furthermore, teaching through corporeal punishment was never the method followed by the Prophet, peace be upon him. It is well known that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was recognized as the best of teachers by his companions: he taught men, women, young and old. He did so primarily through role modeling and practical examples. We learn from Aishah, his beloved wife, and the mother of the faithful, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, never struck anyone with his hands: neither a man, or a woman, or a servant, or anyone else for that matter…”
Prophet was known for his extreme gentleness, tolerance, and humor as a teacher; he never used threats or condemnation to correct anyone: Anas, who worked for the Prophet, peace be upon him, ten years to do errands for him, said, “I served Allah’s Messenger ten years; yet not even once he condemned me for anything I failed to do or a mistake I made…”
In conclusion: We should never use beating as a method of teaching our children; we should rather use the effective methods of teaching as demonstrated by the Prophet, peace be upon him, our perfect role model. I suggest you better get hold of the excellent work on the Prophetic manners by Imam Bukhari, which is available in English under the title: Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Morals and Manners translated by Yusuf Talal Delorenzo.