Dar-ul-Ifta Ahl-e-Sunnat
1. Shaving the Head in Ihram
Q: What do the scholars of Islam and the Muftis of the Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: In order to come out of the state of ihram, is it necessary for a man to shave his hair, or can he just trim it? If he is permitted to trim it instead, then which option is superior? Also, what is the minimum length that it must be trimmed?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
A: In order to exit the state of ihram, it is not necessary for a man to shave his head; rather, he may trim it if that is possible. However, it is Sunnah for a man to shave his head entirely, and this is superior. In order to exit ihram by trimming the hair, it is necessary to trim the hair of at least one quarter of the head by the length of one digit of a finger, i.e., by around one inch. Just as is the case for shaving, it is Sunnah when trimming the hair to trim from all of the hair; this is the ruling for both men and women when trimming the hair.
If a quarter of the hair is trimmed, one should cut slightly more than a quarter of the hair by approximately one digit of a finger, lest the trimming of a quarter of the hair is not fulfilled due to the varying lengths of the hair, (Al-Maslak Al-Mutaqassit, p. 324; Durr-e-Mukhtar wa Rad-ul-Muhtar, vol. 3, pp. 738-739, selected; Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol. 1, p. 1142, selected; 27 Wajibat Haj aur Tafseeli Ahkam, p. 118).
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
2. Is it necessary to respond to every azan?
Q: What do the scholars of Islam and the Muftis of the Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: In the building in which I live, the sound of multiple azans can be heard a few minutes apart. Is it necessary for us to reply to each one?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
A: If the sounds of various azans can be heard after short intervals, then it is only recommended (mustahabb) to reply to the first one verbally. However, it is better to reply to each one.
It is stated in Radd-ul-Muhtar: ‘و لو تکررای بان اذن واحد بعد واحد۔۔۔اجاب الاول’ ‘If azans are called out, one after the other, the listener should reply to the first one,’ (Radd-ul-Muhtar ma’ Durr-e-Mukhtar, vol. 2, p. 82).
Mufti Muhammad Amjad Ali A’zami رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes: ‘If he hears several azans, he should reply to the first one, but it is better to reply to all of them,’ (Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol. 1, p. 473).
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
3. An Issue related to the Prostration of Recitation
Q: What do the scholars of Islam and the Muftis of the Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: If one verse of prostration was recited in a gathering by five people, will prostration be performed once or five times? Also, if the listener himself recited the verse of prostration in that gathering, will he perform one prostration of recitation or one for each, i.e., one for reciting it and another for hearing it?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
A: In the aforementioned scenario, one prostration of recitation will be sufficient; it is not necessary to perform a separate one for each recitation.
Mufti Amjad Ali A’zami رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states: ‘If one verse of prostration was recited or heard several times in a single gathering, only one prostration will be necessary, even if several people heard it. If he recited a verse and he heard the same verse from someone else, only one prostration will be necessary, (Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol. 1, p. 735).
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
4. Wearing Kohl on the Day of Ashura?
Q: What do the scholars of Islam and the Muftis of the Shari’ah say regarding the following matter: What is the ruling on applying Kohl on the Day of Ashura (10 Muharram)?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
A: It is permissible to wear kohl on Ashura, and there is no harm in this. In fact, the one who applies antimony kohl (ithmid) to his eyes on Ashura, his eyes will never ache.
Imam Jalal al-Deen al-Suyuti al-Shaafi’i رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه records the following hadith: ‘من اکتحل بالاثمد یوم عاشوراء لم یرمد ابدا’ ‘The one who applies ithmid kohl to his eyes on Ashura, his eyes will never ache,’ (Al-Jami’-us-Sagheer, Juzz 2, p. 418, Hadith 8506).
Commenting on this report, Imam Abdur Rauf al-Munaawi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه explains: ‘ان فی الاکتحال به مرمة للعین وتقویة للبصر، واذاکان ذلک منه فی ذلک الیوم نال البرکة فعوفی من الرمد علی طول الامد’ ‘In the applying of Ismid Kohl lies the soundness of the eyes and the sharpening of the vision, and if it is applied on this day (of Ashura), one will attain blessings, and then the eyes will not ache for a long period,’ (Al-Tayseer Sharh Jami’-us-Sagheer, vol. 2, p. 404).
It is related from Qahastani in Durr-ul-Muntaqa: ‘ولاباس به للجمیع یوم عاشوراء علی المختار لقوله علیه الصلاۃ والسلام من اکتحل یوم عاشوراء لم ترمد عیناہ ابدا’ ‘According to the sound opinion, there is no harm in anybody (i.e. those who are fasting and those who are not) wearing kohl on the Day of Ashura because the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, ‘The one who applies kohl on the Day of Ashura, his eyes will never ache,’ (Al-Durr-ul-Muntaqa, vol. 1, p. 364).
Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Na’eemi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states: ‘There are many acts to perform on the Day of Ashura, like ghusl, wearing kohl, fasting, to name a few,’ (Mirat-ul-Manajih, vol. 3, p. 126).
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
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