Our Dialogue

Q: The Qur’an contains detailed descriptions of Heaven and its enjoyments. Many of these are given in terms of the perfect enjoyment of our world. I do not wish to question these descriptions, I am, however, not clear on the following points and I would appreciate clarification:


1. What do the believers do in paradise?

2. Do they have any occupation or do they simply rest placidly day after day, enjoying those marvelous and superb luxuries they find at their disposal?

3. Does their situation in Heaven lead to another situation in a distant future?

4. Do they at some point in time return to fill again the emptied earth through procreation, or do they remain in the “eternal garden” forever?


A: The Qur’anic descriptions of Heaven and Hell are certainly made in terms of this world. The luxuries and enjoyments of Heaven are given descriptions which we understand, what is certain is that the comforts, luxuries, enjoyments of Heaven are far greater that we can imagine. If they were described as they actually are, we would not have understood those descriptions, because we have not seen anything similar to them. Thus, if we are told in the Qur’an that the people admitted into Heaven recline on couches set up for them, it does not follow that the couches are similar to what we have in our houses. Nor is it necessarily accurate to say that they are set up in the same way as we set up our couches in our homes. What is certain, however, is that there are couches of some sort in Heaven which are suitable for reclining. It is certain also that they are set up and prepared for the believers to use them. The precise manner in which they are used is not given. It may be in the same way as we use our couches. Nowdays, but it is equally true that this may be in some other form. We would accept the Qur’anic descript-ions of Heaven and Hell as we underst-and them, and need not try to define them in elaborate detail.


As for your question of what do the believers do in Heaven, you should know that Heaven is not a place of work, but a place of reward. Work or action produces results. Heaven is that stage of the result. So, the preliminary stage, i.e., action, has finished by the end of every person’s term on this earth. The people in Heaven only enjoy the luxuries Allah provides them, which is their reward, i.e., the result of their actions, and express their gratitude to Allah by praising and glorifying Him.


Your other questions presuppose a time factor. You forget that time is a result of the particular position of the earth in relation to the sun. As the earth moves around itself, once every 24 hours, it marks one full day of our time. That day and time are then peculiar to the speed of the earth movement around itself and its position in relation to the sun. Other planets in our solar system have days of different durations. There are other galaxies and solar systems which may have a totally different arrangement, which means that time does not apply to them at all. Hence, the people in Heaven do not necessarily mark time. As such, the notion of a future may not be relevant-at all. Indeed, it will not be relevant. We do not know the exact location of Heaven. Nor do we know whether time is or is not applicable to it. We should, therefore, try to imagine Heaven in isolation from our understanding of time as days, weeks, months and years. We are told in the Qur’an that the people who earn the pleasure of Allah will abide in Heaven forever. This means that they will not themselves be put to another test on earth or anywhere else. They have had their test and they have passed. The result is to enjoy what is provided for them in Heaven forever.

Q. As a teacher I have been asked by students about certain practices in poultry farms. The birds are caged and not allowed to move freely in order to maximize the production of eggs. Is this permissible in Islam? Moreover, the male birds are removed and destroyed after a day or two of being hatched, because it is uneconomical to feed them. What does Islam say to this?

A. You need to look carefully at the conditions and practices in such farms. What is clear in Islamic principles is that it is prohibited to cause suffering to animals of any kind, except where there is danger to man, which should be removed. Here if we are speaking only about chicken being caged, we should consider their living conditions. Are they kept permanently in cages? If so, this is wrong because they will not be able to function properly. Larger birds, such as ducks and geese, are force-fed in order to quickly grow in size and provide more meat. I saw a documentary on this aspect and I have no doubt that it is a cruelty to animals, which Islam does not allow. When you see the food being forced into the body of the bird, you will be exceedingly disgusted. Killing male birds after one or two days of hatching is not permissible either. It is killing a life in order to save a trifling amount. This is wrong. The male birds could be left in a place where they can look after themselves. If they cannot, then looking after them should be considered part of the business costs. Unfortunately too many practices are driven by hard economic factors. Islam does not accept such a rigidly materialistic approach. There must be a clear element of humanity in all our actions. If we deprive ourselves of this element, we are bound to suffer adverse consequ-ences.

Q: What is the position of a man of letters who comes from a Muslim family, but believes in communism? Indeed, he works actively to establish communism in his country. Do we call him an infidel?


A: Islam teaches us that people are personally accountable for their deeds. No one can have any privilege on the basis of the family, tribal or social association. It is the beliefs of a person that brings him within the fold of Islam or take him out of its altogether. Thus, if a person believes in Islam but belongs to a non-Muslim family, he is a Muslim. Alternatively, one can’t be considered a Muslim only because he descends from a Muslim family. He must choose and declare himself to be a Muslim.


Abu Lahab was the Prophet’s uncle. That fact, however, does not prevent us from looking at Abu Lahab as an infidel. Indeed, the Qur’an condemns him as someone who will remain in hell forever in punishment for his hostile attitude toward Islam. His kinship with the Prophet does not benefit him in any way. On the other hand people who were not related to the Prophet at all were actually given the happy news of being admitted into heaven on the basis of their dedicated service to the cause of Islam.


Communism stands in total contradiction with Islam. It is based on an atheistic and materialistic view of life and as such anyone who believes in communism cannot be a believer in Islam. Those who work for the establishment of a Communist system in a Muslim country are, without the slightest doubt, unbelievers. You may call them infidels or you may describe them in any way you like. They remain unbelievers and enemies of the religion of Islam.

Q: Could you please explain what is permissible with regard to the fulfillment of the sexual desire in a marital relationship?

A: Allah has created man and given him the sexual desire combining its fulfillment with a sense of pleasure to ensure the continuity of human life. Procreation is thus coupled with pleasure in order to ensure that man does not condemn himself to nonexistence. It is, therefore, right to derive pleasure from the fulfillment of this natural desire, provided that it is practiced in the way which is natural for procreation. This is what is meant by the Qur’anic description of women as “tilth,” “Your wives are your tilth.” The analogy is very apt since in both a seed is planted in order to produce more of the same species.


Hence, what is permissible in the fulfillment of this natural desire is everything which is not in conflict with this notion of planting a seed and perpetuating human life. Practices which are not in line with this, such as anal intercourse, are absolutely forbidden. On the other hand, sexual intercourse is not allowed during menstruation or in the day of fasting, as this is expressly prohibited in the Qur’an.

Q: Is It necessary to remove pubic hair and armpit hair every 40 days? Does this apply to women also? If so, is the use of modern hair removers permissible? Could you also please explain whether It Is necessary to cover certain parts of the body when one takes a bath? If one fakes a bath naked, is it necessary for him to have ablution afterward In order to get ready for prayer?


A: There are certain practices which have been recommended to us by the Prophet within the context of cleanliness. They are termed practices of healthy human nature. One of these is the removal of pubic hair and armpit hair. Intervals of 40 days are also recommended as the proper frequency for this practice. It applies to both men and women. There is no specific instruction about the method of removing this hair. It is perfectly proper to use any method as long as it is safe. That the removal of such hair is advantageous is perfectly clear, since it tends to give a bad smell when it is left for long periods.


If you are taking a bath in the privacy of your own home, where no one can see • you, it is permissible not to have anything on. What is unacceptable in Islam is that people appear in the nude in front of other people of either sex. Modern homes have their own bathrooms where privacy is assured. There is no need in such a bathroom for covering any part of your body when taking a bath. If you .ire taking a ceremonial bath. i.e. one intended to remove the state of janabah, then your bath is sufficient for both normal and grand ablutions, i.e. for wudhu and ghusl. You do not need to have wudhu afterward in order to offer your prayers. If your bath is merely for the sake of cleanliness, it does not incorporate wudhu.(WUZU)

Q: Is Ablution not valid It a woman .polishes her nails? please explain?

A: For ablution to be proper, water must reach every small spot of the parts we have to wash. The same applies to full ablution (i.e. a bath). For a full ablution to be proper, water must reach every part of one’s body, and every hair in one’s head.


It is well known that the types of nail polish women use these days spread a layer on the nails which prevents water from reaching the nail. Hence, your ablution will not be valid if you use such nail polish.


This is not to say that the use of nail polish is forbidden, it is not. It is only in convenient if you wish to be a good Muslim and offer your daily prayers on time, because you have to remove it every time you need to have a fresh ablution. Similarly, full ablution (i.e. bath) is not valid if the water does not reach your nails because you have polished them. This is the case even when we give a bath to a dead woman, as we are required to do. The person who is giving her a bath should make sure to remove her nail polish so that the bath becomes proper.


If the nail polish gives only a colour, without spreading a layer on the nails preventing the water from reaching them, it would be proper to use and it would not affect ablution. Women in some parts of the Muslim world use henna to give their hands a red colour. This is perfectly acceptable, because the henna does not leave anything tangible on the hands of the person using it, apart from coloring her hands. Similarly, hair dye does not invalidate ablution. Because the dye only gives the hair a color.

Q: When one is in a state of ceremonial impurity, i.e. janabah, is he allowed to eat, drink or hold the Quran in his hand, or recite verses from it?


A: A person who is in a state of janabah, or ceremonial impurity, is not allowed to pray or to handle the Qur’an or recite any passage of it. An exception is made in the case of those versos of the Qur’an which we repeat when we pray Allah at certain occasions. For example, when we are about to travel by any means of transport we glorify Allah who has made it possible for us to use such means of transport. That prayer is a verse taken from the Qur’an. When one is in a state or janabah, he may articulate the words of this Qur’anic verse provided he does not say it audibly. Otherwise, he may only think of other Qur’anic verses. He must not articulate them with his tongue. Other things which he must not do are, tawaf, that is to walk round the Kaaba in worship, and to stay in any mosque for any length of time. Apart from these matters, he is allowed to do anything which he needs to do. He may eat, drink, read, write, buy, sell, etc. Having said that, it is always better to have full ablution as soon as possible. A Muslim should always be keen on maintaining his ceremonial purity.

Q. Is it permissible to offer prayers and have our shoes on? If so, does the permission apply only in times of necessity?


A. There is nothing wrong with having one’s shoes on at the time when one prays. This applies to everyone. Your suggestion that it is absolutely forbidden is not correct. You cannot support it by any evidence from Hadith or the Qur’an. Indeed, the evidence is against your view, because companions of the Prophet used to offer prayers wearing their shoes.


Obviously when you go into a mosque furnished with carpets, you do not want to carry dirt from your shoes on to the carpet. Moreover, people may have stepped on wet grounds, and their shoes have become wet. If they were to wear them in the mosque, soon the smell would be very bad inside the mosque. It is, therefore, much more preferable for everyone to take his shoes off when he enters a mosque.

Q: What is the background of the Kaaba? Why was it built in the shape of a square? What is inside the building? Elderly people say that it is the house of God is this true?


A: Allah tells us in the Qur’an that the Kaaba was the first House ever built for mankind to be a temple for universal human worship. It was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael, who were both Prophets. Allah indicated to Abraham the place where to build this House and he built it in this shape because it is simpler and makes it easy to distinguish one corner from another. When Abraham completed the building, Allah commanded him t6 declare to people that Allah has made it an obligation to them to visit this House of worship. This does not mean that there were no temples, or places of worship, built before the Kaaba, what it means is that the Kaaba is the first place built for all mankind to worship at.


At first, there was nothing inside the kaaba. When idol worship spread in. Arabia at a later date, the polytheists put inside it certain pictures, including one of Abraham himself drawing lots. When the Muslims conquered Makkah at the time of Prophet Muhammad, he ordered these pictures to be removed. Since then, there has been nothing inside the Kaaba except its supporting posts. There is no secret inside to be hidden. Its door is not open in order that people do not scramble over it and hurt each other while trying to enter it.


The Kaaba is a house built for worship. “It is Allah’s House in that sense, i.e., that we worship Him at it. When we say (hat it is the House of Allah, we only mean that. He himself is not limited by time or space. We cannot say of Allah that He is present in a certain place, meaning that He is absent in another. He encompasses the whole universe and we cannot imagine a place in the whole universe where Allah does not have full and absolute command.


When we turn toward the Kaaba in our prayer we feel our unity as one nation I grouping all Muslims, regardless of their geographical area, color or race. When we do the tawaf around it, we glorify Allah. We do not worship the place itself. This is why we walk around it praising Allah and glorifying Him. We know that the Kaaba itself can cause us neither harm nor good. The same applies to the Black Stone which is a mark for the beginning of tawaf. We kiss it because the Prophet kissed it. Our attitudes toward it is simply one of doing what the Prophet did. This is best explained by Umar who said, addressing the Black Stone! “I certainly know that you are a mere stone which can neither bring any benefit nor cause any harm. Had It not been for the fact that I have seen Allah’s messenger kissing you I would not have kissed you myself.”


The fact that we turn toward the Kaaba in our prayer enhances our feeling of unity and brotherhood. When you consider that the followers of other religions face a certain direction in their prayer, you will find that they actually face opposite directions. This is because what lies to my east when I am at a certain place is to the west of someone else at another place. We Muslims, face a focal point wherever we are.

Q. When a person dies young, people in our country say that Allah calls good people to Himself early. Is this correct?

A. This view cannot be supported by any evidence. If it was true, then people who Jive long cannot be considered good. The longer a person lives, the worse off he is. This is contrary to the teachings of Islam, which require us to respect the elderly and be kind to them. Furthermore, the Prophet says that-Allah will be reluctant to punish any Muslim who has attained old age. This is said by way of encouraging people who have attained old age to mend their ways and repent for what they may have done in their youth.