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:

Assalumailekum Brother Burhan,

I would also like to know the following things about Islam.

1.Can a converted to Islam person offer prayers to her/his dead family members? if yes, what are the prayers according to Quran & Would the prayers reach them?

2.In Islam, a lady should cover herself. Is it not enough for e.g. she wears a Salwar Kamiz which covers her whole body including her hands, legs and is not a body fitting style & is not transparent and no part of her body is obvious - does she still have to wear a burka?

3.According to Islam, Is a lady not allowed to trim her eyebrows? If yes, what if she didn`t know about the same and has been triming her eyebrows can she continue or does she have to stop -because if she wants to regrow it would look ugly?

i would like to thank you for your answers in advance.

(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:

Muslim pray for dead family

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: Can a converted to Islam person offer prayers to her/his dead family members? if yes, what are the prayers according to Quran & Would the prayers reach them?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 53 Surah Najm verses 38-39:

38 Namely that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;

39 That man can have nothing but what he strives for;

Abu Hurairah reported, "The Prophet (saws) said, 'When a person dies all his good deeds cease except for three:

1. a continuous act of charity (which the deceased did in his lifetime),
2. beneficial knowledge (which the deceased left behind),
3. and a righteous son (children) who prays for him'.''

Related by Muslim and Abu Dawood.

Abu Hurairah reported, "The Prophet (saws) said, 'The righteous works that continue to benefit a believer after his death include the knowledge that he taught and spread among others, a righteous son (children) whom he leaves behind, or a copy of the Qur'an that he bequeaths to his inheritors, or a mosque that he built (during his lifetime), or a rest house that he built for the wayfarers, or a canal of water that he dug for the benefit of others, or a charity that he gave out of his property during his life while he was sound of health. He will continue to receive rewards for all these even after his death.'

Related by Ibn Maajah.

In light of the above absolutely clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, it is absolutely evident that the guiding principle in Islam is that every person would receive the reward only for what he himself strives for and the Book of Records of the deceased ceases to record anything except three things:

1. a continuous act of charity which the deceased did in his lifetime from which people are being benefited even after his death.
2. beneficial knowledge which the deceased taught someone during his lifetime.
3. and the supplications of forgiveness and mercy which the deceased’s righteous off-spring and loved ones make for him.

Thus the only thing a righteous believing off-spring can and should do for their deceased believing parents is constantly supplicate the Lord to have mercy on them, forgive them their sins, and grant them an honorable status in the Hereafter.

But if the parents of one who has reverted to Islam are disbelievers, the believing off-spring can and should make constant supplications to the Lord to have mercy on them and guide them to the Truth as long as they are alive….but if their disbelieving parents were to die in a state of disbelief, it would not behove and befit a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to supplicate the Lord to have mercy upon the disbelievers after their death.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 113:

It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for pagans (after their death) even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire!

Q-2: In Islam, a lady should cover herself. Is it not enough for e.g. she wears a Salwar Kamiz which covers her whole body including her hands, legs and is not a body fitting style & is not transparent and no part of her body is obvious - does she still have to wear a burka?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 59:

O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons. It is expected that they will thus be recognized, and not molested. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Nur verse 31:

(O Prophet) enjoin the believing woman to restrain their gaze and guard their modesty, and not to display their adornment except that which is displayed of itself, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to display their adornments except before their husbands, their fathers, …….and also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed.

There are two opinions amongst the scholars in Islam as to what does the phrase ‘except that which is displayed of itself’ mean and include. One opinion is that it means the face and the hands may be left uncovered, and the other opinion is that the face also has to be covered, and only the hands may be left uncovered.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4092 Narrated by Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

Asma, daughter of AbuBakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah (saws) wearing thin clothes. The Messenger of Allah (saws) turned his attention from her and said: ‘O Asma', when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this’, and he pointed to her face and hands.

The most accepted opinion is that if the women covers everything except her face and her hands, she would be following the Command of Allah; and if she chooses to cover her face, then it would be considered purest and closest to the Command of Allah Subhanah.

Q-2A: does she still have to wear a burka?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 59:

O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons. It is expected that they will thus be recognized, and not molested. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

A loose fitting ‘salwar-kameez’ or tunic dress by itself would not be sufficient to fulfill the commandment of ‘jilbaab’ for the believing woman when in the presence of non-mehram members of the opposite sex. The clear command of the Lord is that the believing woman should cast an ‘outer garment’ or ‘jilbaab’ over their person, whereby nothing of her body or curves would be visible except her face and her hands.

One does not necessarily have to adorn the ‘burqa’ if one does not wish to; one could wear any type of outer garment they wish, provided the outer garment completely covers themselves, including their hair, their bosoms, etc. and nothing is visible except their face and their hands.

Q-3: According to Islam, Is a lady not allowed to trim her eyebrows? If yes, what if she didn`t know about the same and has been triming her eyebrows can she continue or does she have to stop -because if she wants to regrow it would look ugly?

Sahih Al-Bukhari 7.815 Narrated by Abdullah

Allah has cursed those women who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those who remove their eye-brow hairs, and those who create a space between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, and such women as change the features created by Allah. Why then should I not curse those whom the Prophet (saws) has cursed?

It is the prime duty of one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day ‘to listen’ and ‘to obey’ every single command of their Lord and His Messenger (saws). Thus if one has been doing an act in ignorance of the Shariah Law and one is made aware of the law, one should immediately turn back to their Lord and seek His forgiveness for what one did in the past in ignorance, and it would only be piety, righteousness, and a proof of their submission and unconditional obedience that from that day forward, they stop doing that deed, regardless of its consequences on one’s self. That would be akin to piety and righteousness in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

To intentionally indulge in anything which has clearly been prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (saws) is to indeed transgress the boundaries of obedience in Islam, and a heinous sin in the Sight of the Lord.

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