• Sculpture: One that should not be ...
A newspaper story mentions that the US Supreme Court has rejected a Muslim group’s request for removing a 66-year-old depiction of the Prophet, peace be upon him, sculpted in marble from its courtroom. The chief justice, who presided over the case, deciding against altering the frieze, agreed to change the court’s literature that described it. The argument given by the judge is that the depiction is intended only to recognize the Prophet, peace be upon him, as one of the great law-givers in history, and that it is part of an architectural and aesthetic unit that has been in place for over 60 years. To remove the depiction of the Prophet, peace be upon him, would impair the artistic integrity of the whole, he says. May I ask whether the Prophet, peace be upon him, has allowed himself to be depicted in a painting of a statue form, or in any other way? If not, could Muslims accept that this depiction of him in a place like the US Supreme Court should remain there? What should be done by Muslims to remove this depiction?
The group who put the case to the Supreme Court itself, requesting that the image of the Prophet, peace be upon him, be removed, has done the right thing, although the result of their appeal was less than satisfactory. The Prophet, peace be upon him, certainly did not allow his likeness to be depicted in any form. Had he done that, there would probably have been many ways of idolizing him while he was always keen to stress his human status, and that he was only God’s servant and messenger. Therefore, it is not lawful to make any likeness of the Prophet, peace be upon him, real or imaginary, in any way or form. If anyone makes such a likeness, that likeness should be removed and destroyed.
Having said that, we must realize that we have no power over what others may do. If non-Muslims do something, we should seek the best means to rectify the situation, but we must always weigh the consequences of any action we may take. We must not allow a bad situation to develop into something worse. It is not right, for example, to organize a violent demonstration to protest against the depiction and demand its removal, particularly if we know that such a demonstration is likely to lead to heated tempers, violence and arrests. That could easily lead some people to start thinking that the removal of the picture of the statue is an article of faith, and they would be risking anything in order to ensure that it is removed.
What should be done is that veryt many groups of Muslims in America should begin a concerted effort of peaceful protest, writing to their representative in Congress and appealing to the government to respect the feelings of Muslims both in the US and all over the world. Muslim governments should also bring pressure to bear on the American government to take action in order not to offend the Muslim population throughout the world. If we do this, then we would not only have discharged our duty, but we may be able to achieve the result we desire, without causing trouble or breaking any law. In such matters, it is always better to let wise counsel and good reasoning, rather than passion and heated tempers, dictate our course of action.
• Secrets from the past and revealing them
I am happily married and my husband showers on me his love and kindness. I consider my marriage to him an answer to all my past prayers. Still I am burdened with a secret from my past when I had a relationship with my cousin which was intended to end up with marriage. I often feel that I should tell my husband about this past relationship, particularly because I cannot avoid meeting my cousin. I will be grateful for your advice.
Your present attitude is certainly commendable. You recognize that Allah has given you a great deal. It is true with all of us that Allah gives us much more than we deserve. Some of us, however, may not realize that. Some of those who go through periods of suffering may feel that the hardship they have to endure is undeserved. Even they will inevitably acknowledge Allah's grace if they were only to reflect on what they have been given and what could be their lot if Allah were to deprive them of His mercy. Hence, it behooves everyone of us to remember that he can earn nothing of Allah's grace by his actions, no matter how dedicated to Allah's service he is. Yet Allah does not require anything from us other than to show our gratitude to Him by discharging the duties He has imposed on us and by praising Him for what He has given us. It is needless to say that those duties are meant for our own benefit. Allah does not gain anything by our worship. It is we who get the better for the fulfillment of our duties.
You, madam, seem to be a good believer. You recognize the grace Allah has given you in letting you marry a kindly, loving husband. One of the famous scholars of early periods of Islam suggests that one of the most important aspects of grace Allah may bestow on anyone of us is to give him a goodly spouse. Saeed ibn Al-Moussayyib, a renowned scholar of the generations which succeeded the companions of the Prophet, was asked by his daughter, herself a scholar, about the supplication included in a Qur'anic verse which we often repeat: "Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the life to come, and keep us safe from suffering through the fire." (2;201). She particularly asked what is meant by good in this world. He answered: it is something which is fit to be compared with the goodness of the hereafter. To my mind, this can only be a good and kindly spouse. The Prophet says: "The best comfort in this world is a good wife." It goes without saying, that the Prophet's definition is also meant for women, whose best comfort is a good husband.
It is in recognition of your husband's worth that you are contemplating making a full confession of your past to him. Your feeling and your attitude are both good, because you want your relationship with your husband to have no blemish whatsoever. But you have to reflect whether it is wise or necessary.
Have you thought what the effect of such a confession will have on your husband? Will your confession change his view of you? Will it create in his mind a suspicion that he should reduce his trust in you? Will he begin to think that since you have had such an affair in your youth, you may have something similar in future, should the chance present itself? Or will he appreciate that your move is only to have your relationship with him entirely without blemish? Kindly as your husband may be, his reaction to your confession cannot be measured by his kindness. Your confession may touch other strings of his character.
However, if there are some tangible gains to be made by your confession, you may go ahead with it. But are there? What you are after is to have a pure relationship with your husband. But your relationship with him is pure, if you have truly repented of your past, prayed for Allah's forgiveness and dedicated your love and your thoughts to your husband and your family. Your relationship with your husband is established at the time when he proposes to you and you accept his proposal. Everyone of us may have done something wrong in the past. By so doing, we injure ourselves first and foremost, since we expose ourselves to Allah's punishment. If we repent and refrain from repeating such a wrong, then we stand to earn Allah's forgiveness and we are born anew. Remember what the Prophet says: "He who repents of a sin is like one who has not sinned." Why then, let sins of the past overburden our present and our future?
What I would like to tell you is that there is no obligation, religious or social, on you to confess to your husband about errors and mistakes you have done before you were married to him, since there was no element of deception in your marriage. What is far more important is to steer away from sin and error now that you are married to him. Therefore, you should repent your past, resolve not to allow yourself to make the same mistake again and maintain a faithful relationship with your husband. If you add to that a determined effort to do what Allah requires Muslims to do; and attend regularly to your religious duties, you will, Allah willing, earn Allah's pleasure and have your past sins forgiven. One important thing in all that is to avoid contact as far as possible with your cousin. That may be difficult at times, but if you expect to meet him, then you should try to make that meeting in the presence of your husband or at least some other relatives. This is to ensure that your cousin does not try to make any reference, implicit or otherwise, to your past relationship. May Allah keep you happy and make your happiness everlasting.
If you happen to own articles which are not permissible or desirable for Muslims to use, such as gold watches, silk clothes, valuable sculptures, video films, paintings, cameras, etc., is it permissible to sell them to non-Muslims? Should the price of such articles be given to charity? Furthermore, what should we do with cinema houses, night clubs and similar buildings if we happen to own them? A friend of mine sold his cigarette plant to another Muslim investor. How is his action viewed?
Let me start by quoting you this authentic Hadith related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others. Abdullah ibn Umar reports that his father, Umar ibn Al-Khattab once saw a striped suit being sold. He said to the Prophet: "Messenger of Allah, you may wish to buy this suit to wear on Fridays or to receive delegations." The Prophet answered: "Such a suit is only worn by a person who has no share in the hereafter." Later the Prophet was sent a number of suits of the same type, and he sent one of them to Umar. He went to the Prophet and asked him: "How could I wear this when you have said about it what you did?" The Prophet said: "I have not given it to you to wear, but to sell it or to give as a gift." Umar sent it to a relative of his in Makkah before the latter adopted Islam.
Perhaps, it should be explained that the suit in question was made of silk or, at least there was a substantial portion of silk in it. That was the reason for the description by the Prophet of those who wear such a suit. It is well known that Muslim men are not allowed to wear silk. The Hadith serves to explain that it is perfectly permissible to sell silk, although it is forbidden for Muslim men to use. The point is that whatever is permissible to use is permissible to sell. Muslim women may wear garments made of silk, and make other uses of silk material. The Prophet told Umar that although he may not wear that suit, he is free to sell it or to give it as a gift to a non-Muslim.
There are certain articles which are forbidden to sell, such as pigs, the flesh of an animal which died by natural causes, blood (other than for transfusion), wines and intoxicants. It is also not permissible to sell articles when we know that the buyer wants to use them for something forbidden.
Having explained that, may I look at your list of articles. What applies to silk, as in the Hadith quoted above, is equally applicable to gold watches and jewelry. Sculpture is forbidden in Islam, because it is associated with pagan idolatry. It is perfectly permissible to sell a camera and decent paintings or films.
If someone happens to own a night club or a cinema or a similar place and he wants to lead a more acceptable type of life, he can convert them into a more legitimate use. If he has a night club which is the scene of forbidden activities, it is not lawful to sell it to someone who will continue to use it for the same sort of activities, even if he is not a Muslim. If one does not have the necessary capital to convert it to, say, offices or residential apartments, he may be able to sell it to someone who will do such a conversion. He may persuade the municipal council to convert it to a public library or a school [or a community hall] or a place of any other permissible activity.
As for the case of your friend who sold the cigarette plant, I am afraid that his action cannot be sanctioned by Islam. What he should have done is to convert the plant to producing something legitimate. As you are probably aware, an ever increasing number of scholars are pronouncing a verdict of total prohibition on cigarettes and all types of tobacco smoking or chewing, now that it has become established beyond any shadow of doubt that tobacco causes considerable damage to the health of the smoker and those around him. Those machines in the plant which could have no other use may have been dismantled so as to use any useful parts which could have a legitimate usage. It is unacceptable from the Islamic point of view to sell a cigarette factory to someone who will continue to produce cigarettes. Health authorities in almost all countries are running campaigns to increase people's awareness of the harmful effects of smoking. How could it be permissible, then, for a Muslim to continue to produce such a harmful product? On the other hand, if a Muslim owns a tobacco plantation or a field which he uses for growing tobacco, he should immediately stop this activity and use the land for growing a wholesome product.
It is sad to see fertile lands in poor countries used for growing tobacco when they can very easily be used to grow crops or fruits. In the first case, the land is used to damage health while in the latter the land can be used to reduce poverty and hunger.