Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaams. May Allah Bless you much for the great work you are doing in helping bohras and non bohras about the true deen of Islam. It is your site that originally gave me the courage to put into action belifs I always had but was afraid or too lazy to practice . I still have a long way to go but inshaallh allah will guide me to do what is right rather that be afraid of people and society. I have various questions for which I hope I can get answers for soon, inshaallah.

1. My husband is a shareholder of and works for his family company which owns a holiday home out of the limits of the city. Would we have to pray qasar when visiting these places.

2. We have a house abroad which at present is owned by my father in law...... when we stay here would we have to pray quasar. Also because we are travelling could we combine the prayers?

3. If we are there for just over a month then naturally we would pray full namaz, but could we still combine the prayers.

4. When a woman has her perods, although she cannot offer the formal prayes, does she still have to do some sort of prayers at the specific prayer times? For example would she have to wake up for fajr prayers and do dua ot tasbih or can she do this at any time.

5. Also does she need to do wuzu when she does dua when reading from arabic texts.

6. I have bought a boof of dua called "Al hizbul Azam" by Ali Bin Sultan M. Quari which there are duas with the meaning to read for every day of the week. There are verses from the quran in this book, so could I still read this during menstruation?

7. I apply moisturiser after a bath and in the day. I noticed that all creams and moisturises contain some form of alcohol. Does this nullify Wuzu or the prayer. Can you apply it after wuzu and before prayer?

8. We learnt the dua "Allahumma Inna Nahmuduka" to be prayyed before going down to ruku in the second rakaat of fajr prayer. Is this correct or is it an addition only by the Bohras? Should it be prayed or not?

9. This year I stopped following the bohra callender for ramzan and the eids, and instead performed it with the general Muslims in my country...but I am doing this is secret without the knowledge of my family. I performed the eid prayers alone in my room to the best of my knowledge by reading some books. Is this ok to do and can the Eid prayers be performed this way.

Please do not put this on the public forum or allow my name to be seen because there may be people reading it who would know it is sent by me. ......thank you. Please reply me as soon as possible

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Bohra revert issues

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Q-1: My husband is a shareholder of and works for his family company which owns a holiday home out of the limits of the city. Would we have to pray qasar when visiting these places.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 101:

When you go on a journey, there is no harm, if you shorten your salaat, (especially) when you fear that the disbelievers might harass you, for the disbelievers are openly bent upon enmity against you.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, to make the observance of the deen easy, the Lord Most Merciful has permitted the believers to shorten their prayers when they are on travel as stated in the above Verse of Surah Nisaa.

According to the most accepted opinion, if your stay in the holiday home, which is outside the city limits where you normally reside, is less than 15 days then there is absolutely no harm in offering shortened prayers. But if you intend to stay longer than 15 days, then it is best to offer full prayers.

Q-2: We have a house abroad which at present is owned by my father in law...... when we stay here would we have to pray quasar. Also because we are travelling could we combine the prayers?

Beloved Sister, again if your intended stay in any location away from your city where you normally reside is less than 15 days, regardless of who owns the property, it would be better to accept the Mercy of Allah and shorten your prayers; but if you intend to stay in the place more than 15 days, then it would be best to offer your prayers in full.

There is evidence in the authentic and established traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that he would at times combine his shortened Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and his Magrib and shortened Isha prayers; and at times he would offer them shortened but separate. Thus one who is traveling has the option of combining his shortened prayers, or praying them shortened but separate…..whichever of the two-ways one chooses, they would be in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Q-3: If we are there for just over a month then naturally we would pray full namaz, but could we still combine the prayers.

The only evidence where the Messenger of Allah (saws) would combine his full prayers was when it was raining heavily, or in one instance where he (saws) allowed someone who was very ill. But in all other conditions, whenever the Messenger of Allah (saws) offered his prayers in full, he (saws) would offer them at their separate appointed times of the day or night.

Beloved Sister in Islam, if your intended stay at a place is more than 15 days, then it is best to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and offer your five obligatory prayers in full and at their five separate appointed times.

Thus unless it is raining heavily or one is seriously ill, it would be obligatory for the person to offer their full prayers at the five appointed times of the day or night.

Q-4: When a woman has her perods, although she cannot offer the formal prayes, does she still have to do some sort of prayers at the specific prayer times? For example would she have to wake up for fajr prayers and do dua ot tasbih or can she do this at any time.

There is absolutely no obligation on the menstruating sister to make supplication or tasbih during the times of prayer; neither does she have to make up the missed prayers. The Lord Most High, in His Supreme Mercy and Grace towards the believing women, has excused her from offering her prayers during her period of menstruation.

But if a sister who is menstruating, of her own will, wishes to make supplications or tasbih at any time, she may do so.

Q-5: Also does she need to do wuzu when she does dua when reading from arabic texts.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 5 Surah Maidah verse 6:

6 O ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer wash your faces and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity bathe your whole body.

Allah Subhanah has made the rite of wudu or ablution a pre-condition for one who wishes to offer their prayers; but being in the state of wudu is neither an obligation nor is it a condition for making duas or supplication to the Lord Most Gracious. One may call upon their Lord Most High in supplication in whatever state, whenever one pleases, and wherever one may be.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 186:

And if My servants ask you, O Prophet, concerning Me, tell them that I am quite near to them. I hear and answer the prayer of the suppliant, when he calls on Me. So let them respond to My call and believe in Me. (Convey this to them), perhaps they may be guided aright!

Q-6: I have bought a boof of dua called "Al hizbul Azam" by Ali Bin Sultan M. Quari which there are duas with the meaning to read for every day of the week. There are verses from the quran in this book, so could I still read this during menstruation?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 56 Surah Waqiah verse 77-79:

That this is a Glorious Quran, inscribed in a well-guarded Book, which none can touch, except the purified.

Although the above aayah is meant to state how the Quran is honored by the noble angels in the heavens; the scholars have opined that just as the Quran is honored in the heavens by the Angels, so should it be honored on the earth…. And thus, one should touch it only when one is pure and clean.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 222:

They ask about the monthly periods (of the women). Say (O Prophet), “It is a state of impurity; so keep apart from the women during their monthly periods and do not go near them (sexual intercourse) until they are clean.”

According to most scholars, one who is physically unclean (because of sex or menstruation) should not touch the Qur'an. This is based on a hadith from Hadrat Ali (r.a.), in which he stated that nothing kept the Messenger of Allah (saws) from touching the Qur'an save being sexually impure.

To the best of our knowledge, we have not come across any authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws) where he explicitly forbade the menstruating women to touch the Holy Quran. But it is a consensus of the scholars, who have given their opinion in light of the above aayahs of the Holy Quran and the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that a person who is impure, should not touch the Quran.

All the scholars and major schools of thought in Islam are absolutely unanimous in their opinion that there is absolutely no harm for a woman, who is experiencing her menstrual period, to recite the Quran from memory, or make supplications, or praise and glorify her Lord Most High, Most Exalted.

Q-6A: I have bought a boof of dua called "Al hizbul Azam" by Ali Bin Sultan M. Quari which there are duas with the meaning to read for every day of the week. There are verses from the quran in this book, so could I still read this during menstruation?

Beloved sister, the truth is that we have not come across this book, therefore we cannot comment on it; but I can tell you with absolute conviction that there is absolutely nothing in the authentic and established Sunnah or the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he (saws) himself made a special supplication for every day of the week, nor did he (saws) guide or teach the believers to do so.

But if the book contains verses from the Holy Quran, it would be best if the sister who is menstruating not to touch it during her periods.

Q-7: I apply moisturiser after a bath and in the day. I noticed that all creams and moisturises contain some form of alcohol. Does this nullify Wuzu or the prayer. Can you apply it after wuzu and before prayer?

Allah Subhanah has forbidden the consumption of all types of intoxicants for the believers, men and women.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 90:

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), gambling, (ungodly) shrines, and divining devices are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore, refrain from these so that you may attain true success!

The thing that invalidates prayer is the presence of impurities on one’s body or clothes. But not all haraam things in Islam are impure… for example: gold and silk are declared haraam for the believing men, but gold and silk in their essence are not impure substances. Similarly, most of the scholars of Islam are of the opinion that although the consumption of alcohol is haraam and absolutely forbidden for the believers to consume, alcohol by itself is not an impure substance. Thus there is no harm if one applies perfume, creams, or a moisturizer and the alcohol used in making the product touches the clothes or some parts of the body; as long as it is not consumed and entered into the body. The prayer of such a person, if Allah Wills and Pleases, would be acceptable to Him.

The applying of a cream or moisturizer by itself does not invalidate the wudu or ablution of the person; thus one who wishes may apply it whenever one wills and pleases.

Q-8: We learnt the dua "Allahumma Inna Nahmuduka" to be prayyed before going down to ruku in the second rakaat of fajr prayer. Is this correct or is it an addition only by the Bohras? Should it be prayed or not?

There is evidence in the authentic and established traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that at times of severe afflictions, he (saws) would offer the ‘qunut’ supplications in the last rakah of all five, and sometimes a few of his obligatory prayers. Thus if one wills to make a supplication of ‘qunut’ in the last rakah of the fajr (or any prayer) it would be deemed in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Q-9: This year I stopped following the bohra callender for ramzan and the eids, and instead performed it with the general Muslims in my country...but I am doing this is secret without the knowledge of my family. I performed the eid prayers alone in my room to the best of my knowledge by reading some books. Is this ok to do and can the Eid prayers be performed this way.

Firstly, the Eid prayers are not ‘fard-ayn’ (absolutely obligatory upon each and every believer) like the normal obligatory prayers; but the Eid prayers are what is known in Islamic Fiqh or Jurisprudence as ‘fard-kifayah’ (obligatory in the sense that if a section of the believers perform the rite, it would suffice for the whole community).

Although the Eid prayers are best offered in congregation along with the believing community, if for some genuine reason one could not attend the congregation and prayed the Eid prayer at home alone, there is absolutely no harm; it is expected that their Lord will bestow their full and due reward upon them.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan