Islamic Rulings relating to Women
Mufti Muhammad Hashim Khan Attari Madani
For a woman experiencing abnormal bleeding (istiḥāḍah) to pray salah whilst seated
Q:
What do the noble scholars say about the following: a sister is experienced abnormal bleeding. She bleeds when she offers salah standing, goes into the bowing position (rukūꜤ) and prostrates (performs sajdah). However, if she offers salah seated using gestures, she does not bleed. What is the ruling for her in this situation?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
A:
It is necessary (wājib) for a person who is excused (maꜤdhūr) according to Islamic law to do whatever results in their excuse being removed or diminished. Therefore, in the given situation, it is necessary for her to sit and offer salah using gestures. By doing so, the ruling of an excused person will not apply to her. The jurisprudential reasoning behind this is that just as salah is impermissible if standing (qiyām), bowing or prostration are left without a valid Islamic reason, so too is salah impermissible without wudu in the absence of a valid Islamic reason.
However, in some circumstances, Islamic law makes concession in forgoing prostration and standing despite having the ability to carry them out. For example, permission has been given for a person to offer voluntary (nafl) salah whilst seated or using gestures whilst on a conveyance. On the other hand, Islamic law has not permitted the performance of salah without wudu in any scenario if one has the ability to perform wudu. This reveals how leaving out standing and prostrating is of lesser magnitude than offering salah without ablution. The principle of Islamic jurisprudence is that when a person is facing two difficulties, the lesser of them should be pursued.
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
Wearing ivory jewellery
Q:
What do the noble scholars state about the following: what is the ruling on women wearing ivory jewellery?
A:
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
It is permissible for women to wear ivory jewellery. The use of an ivory comb by the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is proven from hadith. It is also established from many books of hadith that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم ordered his freed slave Sayyidunā Thawbān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ to purchase an ivory bracelet for his daughter Sayyidah Fāṭimah al-Zahrāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا.
To understand the jurisprudential reasoning for this, know that Islamic law has declared carrion to be unlawful and impure. Carrion refers to that which had life in it at first. As those parts of animals in which blood does not flow (e.g. teeth, bones, tusks) did not contain life, they cannot be termed carrion. Furthermore, Islamic law declared carrion to be impure on the basis of the flowing blood and impure fluids therein, and not in and of itself. Something like teeth and bones do not contain these substances, so they do not come under the ruling of carrion.
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
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