ASK A SCHOLAR JULY 2024
What conditions must be met to exit the state of Ihram on the 10th of Dhu AL Hijjah? 2. Can you shower with scented soap or shampoo and use body lotion and deodorant before entering the state of Ihram? 3.Can you wash your Ihram with scented detergent before wearing it? 4. I read that you should perform Dhuhr and Asr combined and shortened on the day of Arafat. Our Guide told us we must pray Dhuhr and Asr at their respective times (not shortened) unless these prayers are performed in the Mosque. Please clarify.
Here are my responses to the issues you have raised in their respective order:
- What conditions must be met to exit the state of Ihram on the 10th of Dhu AL Hijjah?
Answer
To free oneself from Ihram on the 10th day of Dhul Hijja, one should perform any two of the three rituals: pelting the stone pillar, sacrifice, shaving or clipping the hair, and Tawaf al-Ifada. If you do the pelting and sacrifice or shaving or clipping the hair, you can change into regular clothes. Once you have done so, most of the prohibitions of Ihram are lifted, except sexual intimacy.
The last restriction is only lifted after we have completed tawaf al-Ifadah.
Tawaf al-Ifadah can be done on the tenth or any day later.
- Can you shower with scented soap or shampoo and use body lotion and deodorant before entering the state of Ihram?
Answer
Restrictions of Ihram begin only after Ihram. Therefore, there is no ban on using scented soap, shampoo, or other permissible actions before assuming Ihram.
The Prophet’s beloved wife, Aishah, tells us that she applied perfume on the Prophet before his Ihram, and since he never wore it before Ihram, one could still see the traces of it on him.
If the restrictions on the use of scent, perfume, etc., were to be applied before Ihram, the Prophet certainly would never have done so; we know that the Prophet would be the first to abide by the restrictions he imposed on others. He feared Allah more than any one of us.
- Can you wash your Ihram with scented detergent before wearing it?
Answer
You can do so without any inhibition since the restrictions of Ihram apply only after Ihram. No one can impose restrictions based on whims or opinions without divine sanction. There is nothing worse in Islam than prohibiting that which Allah has permitted. As Imam Ibn al-Qaayyim says, it is akin to shirk or associating partners with Allah.
Allah faults the Christian priests for declaring as lawful what Allah has declared as unlawful and as unlawful what Allah has declared as lawful. That is shirk, which is an unforgivable sin in Islam.
- I read that you should perform Dhuhr and Asr combined and shortened on the day of Arafat. Our Guide told us we must pray Dhuhr and Asr at their respective times (not shortened) unless these prayers are performed in the Mosque. Please clarify.
Answer
On the Day of Arafa, every haji should combine and shorten Dhuhr and Asr in Arafa and Maghrib and Isha in Muzdalifa.
This rule applies to everyone, including the residents of Makka, although they are not considered travelers. Yet, even the residents of Makkah should do so as the Prophet never told anyone gathered for the hajj in Arafa and Muzdalifa to pray in the standard way (i.e., without combining and shortening).
So, anyone who says that prayers in Arafa and Muzdalifa must not be combined or shortened contradicts the well-established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the consensus of scholars.
As for the prayers in Mina, all pilgrims coming from outside Makka should pray each of the five prayers shortened (i.e., Qasr) at the standard times; they should not pray full. That is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). We learn from the authentic reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed Qasr (shortened all of his prayers except Maghrib and Fajr) from the start of his journey from Medina until he completed the rituals of Hajj and arrived back in Madina.
So, no one with even the basic knowledge of the Sunna should tell people otherwise as he is ignorant of the Prophet’s rituals of hajj. Before he set out on the journey, the Prophet had told his companions in no uncertain terms that they should learn the rites and practices of hajj from him.
So, we should emulate the hajj practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as transmitted and documented in the authentic traditions.
- Is Sufism/Tasawwuf Islamic?
Not everything that goes under the name of Sufism is considered Islamic, just as not everything that goes under the name of Fiqh can be considered as authentic or proper Fiqh.
In order to judge something as Islamic, it must be judged and weighed by the well established criteria and standards of Shari’ah as enshrined in the Book and the Sunnah.
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Thus if a certain Sufi practice or custom is opposed to the prescribed criteria of the Shari’ah as enshrined in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, it shall be judged as un-Islamic; if, however, it agrees with these criteria it shall be judged as perfectly Islamic.
Authentic scholars have divided Sufism into two broad categories in order to determine its compatibility or non-compatibility with the Shari’ah.
Firstly, genuine and authentic Tasawwuf, which is undoubtedly in perfect agreement with the Book, the Sunnah and the practices of Salaf al-ssalih (pious forbears). Tasawwuf of Sufi masters such as Junyad al-Baghdadi, Abu Sulayman al-Darani, etc. belong to this category of authentic and genuine Tasawwuf.
Secondly, pseudo-Sufism which includes those who uphold and advocate cultic practices or customs that are contrary to the Sunnah, as well as those who have mixed Sufism with speculative Mysticism/Neo-Platonism, and thus dabble in metaphysical theories about cosmos, emanations, etc. Both these groups are charlatans and impostors. While the former invent new forms of Ibaadah that are not sanctioned by the Law-giver, the latter mix philosophy with religion and blur the essential distinction between the Creator and creation which is the basis of Prophetic religion. There is no doubt that indulgence in such forms of Sufism takes humans away from their true purpose and mission in life which is to do God’s will on earth. These pseudo-Sufis turn the goal of human life into contemplation of mysteries of the universe; it is contrary to the Qur’anic definition of the purpose of human existence.
It is because of the real dangers inherent in such aberrations, and deviations that the early Sufi masters tirelessly preached the importance of weighing everything by the firm yardstick of the Shari’ah: Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd, one of the genuine masters of authentic Tasawwuf, said, “The essence of Tawhid is to distinguish the eternal from the temporal.”; he also said, “Whoever does not retain the Qur’an, nor studies the Hadith cannot be trusted in this matter (Tasawwuf) since our knowledge is bound solely by the teachings of the Book and the Sunnah.”
Abu Sulayman al-Darani said, “Often one of the insights of the Sufi folk occurs to me and yet I do not accept it until I examine it by the testimony of the two of the most reliable witnesses: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
According to an eminent scholar, “Authentic Tasawwuf is at once a cognitive and practical discipline of souls, curing of diseases of hearts, implanting of virtues, and purging souls off their vices and carnal desires, and training in patience, contentment and obedience to Allah; it is struggle against the carnal soul, and combating its base inclinations and meticulous scrutiny of actions and non-actions, and guarding souls against the invasions and influx of heedlessness and vain thoughts, and severing off all hindrances and obstacles that hinder and hamper one’s journey to Allah; it is asceticism in everything that distracts a person from celebrating remembrance of Allah and make one’s hearts focused on it. It is knowledge of Allah and conviction in Him, affirming His Oneness and glorifying Him, and turning wholly unto Him, and turning away from everything else; it is to be solely focused entirely on worshipping and obeying Allah, and compliance with His limits, and acting according to His Shari’ah, and exposing oneself to the graces and gifts that Allah vouchsafes to His chosen servants as a sheer sign of His grace and mercy.”
Another scholar said, “Tasawwuf is to adorn oneself with every noble traits of character and to shun every base one.” Or, stated differently, “It is to examine one’s states and cling to noble manners.”
When defined in this way Tasawwuf is not only an authentic Islamic discipline but the quintessence of Islam as an experiential reality.
Can husband and wife use bad sexual language talking to each other only?
While married couples are free to indulge in all lawful expressions of love, through words or actions, in order to make their sexual union as pleasing and recreational as possible, nevertheless, they are at all times governed by the bounds/limits of what is considered haram and halaal. To call each other bad names or use foul or obscene language while addressing or communicating with one another, even while making love, is considered definitely abominable. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “A believer cannot be a curser of people or accuser, or user of foul/obscene words or phrases.” When we learn that our words are part of our actions, and that we will be questioned about our speech even as we will be questioned about our actions, we must at all times stay away from evil speech. May Allah help us all to keep our tongues, hearts and minds pure-aameen.