12 | ISLAMIC LAW
Q5: Some people throw newspapers, magazines and some respected books in the garbage, although they contain some verses of the Quran or names of Allah (s.w.t.). A: This is not permissible and it is obligatory to take them out of such places and to purify them if they have come into contact with some ritual impurity. (FM, p. 419) Q22: Food or serum in a plastic bag containing water, sugar and some medication is administered to a patient by injection directly into the blood due to sickness or some other reasons such as to provide nourishment. Is the fasting person obliged to avoid it? A: It is not obligatory, although it is more appropriate (for him) to do so. (FM, p. 403) Q27: A man is wearing a watch whose strap is made of natural leather imported from a non-Muslim country and he does not know whether the leather is from the skin of an animal slaughtered in the Islamic manner or not. The belt on his pants is made from the same kind of leather. Does he have to remove them when he intends to offer prayer? A: His prayer is valid with them as long as there is a strong probability that the strap or the belt is from the skin of an animal whose fl esh is edible and that was slaughtered in the sharëi manner. (FM, pp. 397-98) Q62: What is the ruling on depositing money in banks sponsored by Muslim and non-Muslim governments, with the stipulated condition of receiving interest? A: Depositing in banks of non- Muslim countries is permissible in every case, even if it is under the stipulated condition of obtaining interest. As for depositing in government banks of Muslim countries under the stipulated condition of obtaining interest, then it is prohibited. But, if it is without this condition, then the issue is free of interest (riba) but it is not permissible to spend the acquired money without referring to al-hakim al-sharëi or his representative. (FM, p. 405) Q70: What about buying and selling the shares of incorporated companies or others? A: It is permissible to buy and sell shares of any kind of corporation on the condition that the transactions of this company do not engage in prohibited activities such as dealing in intoxicants or interest (riba). (FM, p. 408) Q71: What about insurance policies for people on their life or for other unforeseen events or for properties such as airplanes, cars, ships, or for fi re or drowning, etc? A: All of them are valid and there is obligation on both parties. (FM, p. 409) As to the law itself, my copy of the al-Khoei text runs to 346 pages divided into 38 chapters and containing 2,921 articles of law.
FEATURE
www.opp-connect.com | FEBRUARY 2013
Living by the law | Islamic law is a detailed set of rules, telling followers how to live their lives in a holy way
Most deal with personal rules – an essential part of the law for a Muslim but of little relevance to your average OPP reader interested in doing business in an Islamic country. For example, Chapter 1 (83 articles) deals with different types of water, what they may be used for and the process of excreting and washing. Chapters 2 to 14 (about 650 articles) deal with things that are ‘unclean’, purifying them, washing, bathing and dealing with dead bodies. Chapters 15 to 22 (over 1,000 articles) deal with prayer and fasting. Chapter 23 deals with Khums – Islamic tax. This interesting and fairly
“Senior religious scholars are
one of the uses as ordered.” The level of detail surrounding the rules – which is common to most aspects of Islamic law – is fascinating and revealing. For example: 1866. Payment of Zakat on wheat and barley becomes obligatory when they are called wheat and barley. And Zakat on raisins becomes obligatory when it is grapes. And Zakat on palm- dates becomes obligatory when Arabs call it Tamar. However, the time for payment of Zakat on wheat and barley is that when they are threshed and grains are separated from chaff and the time for payment of Zakat on raisins and palm-dates is that when they become dry.
authorised to apply Sharia law to new circumstances”
detailed tax code (101 articles) deals with a Muslim’s obligations to pay tax. Basically, the obligation is to pay 20% of your net income and gains in so far as they exceed modest household expenses for you and your family. Chapter 24 (about 170 articles) deals with Zakat – compulsory charitable donations. Basically, the obligation is to give away each year to charitable causes a percentage of your designated assets over various prescribed limits: “1861. It is obligatory to pay Zakat on the following nine things: (i) Wheat (ii) Barley (iii) Palm dates (iv) Raisins (v) Gold (Vi) silver (vii) Camel (viii) Cow (ix) Sheep (including goat). And if a person is the owner of these nine things he should, in accordance with the conditions, which will be mentioned later, put their prescribed quantity to
1869. If the owner of cow; sheep, camel, gold and silver remains intoxicated or unconscious during a part of the year, he is not excused from payment of Zakat, and the position is the same if at the time of Zakat on wheat, barley, palm-dates and raisins becoming obligatory, he is intoxicated or unconscious.
The rules as to the limits above which Zakat is payable are also extremely detailed. For example: 1904. There are two taxable limits
of gold: The fi rst limit is 20 mithqals, one mithqals being equal to 18 barley grains. Hence when the quantity of gold reaches 20 mithqal and other requisite conditions are also fulfi lled, one should pay 1/40th part of it (which equals 9 barley grains) as Zakat. In case, however, the quantity of gold does not reach this limit, it is not obligatory to pay Zakat on it. The second taxable limit of gold is an enhanced 4 mithqals viz. if an addition of 4 mithqals takes place to 24 mithqals, one should pay Zakat on the total quantity (24 mithqals) at the rate of 2 1/2%. In case, however,
the addition is less than 4 current Zakat, payable on 20 mithqals only; and it will not be obligatory to pay it on the additional quantity. The same rule applies as and when further additions take place in the quantity of gold i.e. if a further increase of 4 mithqals takes place Zakat should be paid on the entire quantity, and if the increase is less than that no Zakat is payable on it. 1918. Camel has 12 taxable limits: (i) 5 camels and the Zakat on them is one sheep. So long as the number of camels does not come up to this, no Zakat is payable on them.
(ii) 10 camels and the Zakat on them is 2 sheep.
(iii) 15 camels: and the Zakat on them is 3 sheep.
(iv) 20 camels: and the Zakat on them is 4 sheep.
(v) 25 camels: and the Zakat on them is 5 sheep.
The Zakat money can only be used for certain purposes: in the main, it must be given to or for the benefi t of the poor. But it may also be spent to purchase slaves to set them free or it may be spent in the cause of Allah - for things which are done to seek Divine pleasure (for example to construct a masjid, or a school for religious education, or to keep the city clean, or to widen roads) or it may be given to a penniless traveller.
Chapter 25 deals with pilgrimage. This leaves chapters 26 to 38 to set out what, to Western eyes, we would think of as the law. We will look at chapter 26 – which deals with business and property transactions – next month and the remaining chapters the month after that. All this is well worth a fuller read. I have put a link to copies of the law on OPP Connect.
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