A person lost his hair at a young age. This has caused him much embarrassment. As a result, he has been wearing a wig constantly for several years. Of late, someone has told him that it is forbidden to wear a wig and that his prayers are invalid. Is his prayer valid if he wears a wig after he has completed his ablution?
This question involves three separate points. The first is the one which concerns the validity of this man's prayers while wearing wig. The answer to this point is that his prayers are valid. It is not right to attach the validity of prayers to something which has no bearing on it. So, he should not worry about what has passed in this regard.
The second point concerns the wearing of a wig. This is something that Islam does not approve, for men or women. The Prophet has made it clear that wearing a wig is prohibited. He indeed cursed a woman who requests another to help her attach hair to her own hair, in order to give her a false appearance, and the one who gives such help. This area is an extension of the Islamic principle that falsehood is rejected. Wearing hair over one's own gives a false appearance and, therefore, is forbidden.
A woman asked the Prophet about her young daughter who lost much of her hair through an illness. She wished to know whether she was allowed to wear a wig. The Prophet made it clear to her that 'that' was not permissible.
If hair-transplant is felt by specialists to be successful, then we apply to it the same ruling which concerns organ transplant. This is permissible as long as it is beneficial to the recipient, without adversely affecting the donor.
• Will: A will that should not be implemented
Before his death, my husband wrote a will which makes me the whole beneficiary of the house he owned, whether I wish to occupy or let it, provided that I do not get married. If I am married again, the house should be sold, in which case I get 50 percent of the price and my husband's son and two daughters would share the other half equally. My late husband's children understand and accept his will. I am now considering selling the house, but a relative of mine has created some doubts in my mind about the legitimacy of my husband's will. I would be grateful for your advice. May I ask full guidance on how I should write my own will. I have no children of my own, but I have one sister and two brothers, only one of whom is a full brother. May I add that in my country the Islamic family law is not recognized.
One of the most important aspects of Islamic law is the way it deals with inheritance which is an area where it is easy to deny the rights of the weaker elements in the family and in society at large. For example, there are certain communities, some of whom profess to be Muslims, but nevertheless deny women all rights of inheritance. In other areas where the marriage of a daughter is an extremely expensive affair for her father, it is considered that if a father had married off his daughters, then he had done all his duty by them and whatever estate he leaves behind should be shared by his sons. I realize that none of this applies to the Muslim community in your country. However, because you are a small minority, many people tend to accept, knowingly or unknowingly, the prevailing traditions or laws thinking that Islam has no objection to them.
Your husband has made out his will thinking that it serves the best interests of his surviving relatives. It may be so, but he did not refer to the Islamic law of inheritance which is very detailed. What I would like you to know is that the Islamic law of inheritance has been laid down by Allah Himself who has stated its provisions in detail, apportioning shares of the estate to close relatives in all cases. Scholars have studied this system in depth and its provisions have been made clear for all situations. Hence, there can be no excuse for a Muslim man or woman to deal unjustly with any one of his or her heirs or to deny any of them his or her apportioned share, or indeed to give any of his heirs more than the share Allah has given him or her. What we have to remember is that no one may disinherit any heir, nor indeed can a person give any heir more than his or her apportioned share. The Prophet says very clearly: "No will may be made in favor of an heir."
You are one of your husband's heirs, according to the provisions of the Islamic law Allah Himself has enacted. Because your late husband had children, although they are by an earlier marriage, you are entitled to receive one eighth of everything that he had left behind, whether in real estate , cash, shares, furniture, etc. The remainder should be divided between his other relatives. You have not told me whether he left behind any other relatives, such as a parent, a grandparent, or other children. Assuming that he had none, then you are his only heir who has a specified share. When any debt he left outstanding had been paid out and when the provisions of his will to any person who is not an heir have been carried out, you receive one eighth of his estate. The other seven-eighths go to his children whom you have mentioned as one son and two daughters. The son receives half of all that and the two daughters share the other half equally.
This is the division which you should make sure to implement in order to comply with Allah's orders. You should speak to your late husband's children and explain the situation and carry out the division. You may end up receiving much less than what your late husband wanted you to receive, but his wishes cannot overrule divine orders. The thing to do with his will is to disregard it altogether so that he may not have to account for it on the day of judgment. Perhaps I should emphasize that what should be disregarded in his will is the provisions relating to you and his children. If the will includes other provisions, these should be carried out if they are in line with Islamic law.
If a Muslim does not leave any will, then all his estate should be divided among his heirs in accordance with the Islamic law. The will, from the Islamic point of view, is to cater for those relatives who are not among heirs, or to give away what a person wants to give to charity. Therefore, you need not make a will in favor of your brothers and sister because they will receive their shares automatically if they are among your heirs. You have not told me whether any of your parents is alive. I can tell you that if your father is alive, then your sisters and two brothers will receive nothing. Assuming that you have no surviving parents or grandparents, and knowing that you have no children, then your brothers and sister are your only heirs. Your property should be divided into five portions, with your sister receiving one portion [20%] and two portions [40%] going to each of your brothers. If you need to make a will in their favor in order to ensure that they receive their proper share, then these are the lines on which you should make your will. Otherwise, you are entitled to dispose of one-third of your property as you deem fit, in order to look after some poor relatives who are not heirs, such as an aunt, a poor cousin, etc. By the way, if you decide to marry again, then the situation will change, because your new husband will be one of your heirs, and if you remain childless, then he would be entitled to receive one half of what you leave behind. If you have a child, then your husband's share will be reduced to one quarter. Moreover, if you have a child, then your brothers and sister will cease to be among your heirs.
• Women: About women witnesses
One of your answers has raised a question in my mind. It tackled the issue of women witnesses, and the fact that Islam requires two men witnesses or one man and two women. You mentioned that this is relevant to business transactions. May I ask whether a radical change in society and circumstances could change rules, or do we have to adhere to the set rules no matter what changes in social conditions has occurred? If it is the latter, may I ask why? May I say in this connection that I work for a large business company, which runs operations in several countries? About half the managers are women, and we find that their performance in business is the same as that of men.
There is a rule in Islamic jurisprudence, which acknowledges the change of rulings that may apply to certain questions on the basis of changes of time and conditions. We have the fundamental example of Imam Al-Shaf’ie, the founder of one of the major schools of thought, changing his rulings on many questions after he moved to Egypt from Iraq. This has resulted in what is known as "Old Shaf’ie" and "New-Shaf’ie" schools of thought. This gives Islamic law the flexibility it needs to adjust to changing circumstances.
Another rule of Islamic law is that a verdict is attached to the causes, which have given rise to it. If such causes are no longer there, then the verdict is not applicable. But what is needed here is that the verdict could be linked to its causes very clearly and specifically. If we have a verdict mentioned in the Qur’an or the Hadith and it is not linked to any cause, then it applies in all situations. Thus, the lack of water allows the use of dry ablution. When there is plenty of water, the concession of dry ablution is not applicable. If the cause is not specified, we may, and should, try to understand it so that we know the purpose of doing things in a certain fashion. But our understanding remains our own. It is liable to be wrong or incomplete. Therefore, we do not treat our understanding of the case as final and complete so as to cancel or abrogate the relevant ruling when the cause is removed. Any ruling that is mentioned without a specific cause remains in force for all time.
The ruling on the number of witnesses is left in general terms. We derive the fact that it is applicable to business transactions from the fact that it occurs within the verses which regulate the purpose of borrowing and loans, and also from the fact that the Prophet, peace be upon him, acted on the statement of one man or one woman in different cases. Hence it is applicable at all times.
I realize that today’s women work in business in most countries of the world. Islam does not prevent women from doing such work. Should we change the ruling? The answer is that no one may change a rule that is stated clearly in the Qur’an, unless there is a clear mechanism for such a change mentioned in the Qur’an or the Sunnah. There is none in this case, so the ruling remains valid. However, when we examine the statement that mentions this rule in Verse 282 in Surah 2, we find that the reason given for it is:
"If one of them should make a mistake the other may remind her."
This is not a negative reflection on women’s integrity or intellectual ability. It is taking extra care to establish the facts, as women are more likely to make mistakes in such matters in which, as a rule, they are less familiar than men are. If we take most societies today, where the field of business welcomes women in the same degree as men, we find that women’s involvement in business is much less than men. Why should we not take extra care to establish the facts in cases of disputes?
May I also say that Islamic law is applicable to Islamic society. Can we detect a reason for this ruling in the type and nature of society Islam establishes where women need not go out to work in order to earn their living? I think the nature of Islamic society, and the fact that it prefers women to look after the young generation, and to work in professions in which their talents and abilities are more suited, has much to do with