The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No.725- Animals should also be slaughtered towards the direction of the qiblah. And if a person wishes to slaughter an animal but is not certain about the direction of the qiblah, he should act according to what he presumes, and if it is not possible to acquire a presumption and he needs to slaughter the animal, he can slaughter it facing any direction. Also, the same procedure should be followed with respect to the burial of the dead body of a Muslim who should be laid facing the qiblah.

Issue No. 2242- If a person sends the dog and he himself reaches the animal with enough time needed to slaughter it, but he does not have a knife or it takes him some time to look for a knife, in case the prey dies during this time, the obligatory precaution is to avoid its meat.

Issue No. 1376- If a junub person during a night in the month of Ramadan knows that if he goes to sleep he will not wake up until fajr, he should not sleep and if he sleeps and does not wake up, his fast is void as an obligatory precaution, and he should, as an obligatory precaution, perform qaḍā and offer the kaffāra. However, if there is a probability that he will be awake before fajr, he may sleep. However, if he wakes up for the second time, he should not go to sleep until he performs ghusl as an obligatory precaution.

Issue No. 1362- It is necessary for all people to avoid smoking and consumption of tobacco products at all times. In addition, it will invalidate fast as an obligatory precaution. Also, as an obligatory precaution, one should not allow thick vapour reach one’s throat. However, there is no harm in taking a bath, although vapour may have filled the room.

Issue No.838- Some acts are disliked with regards to mosques, such as sleeping, talking about worldly matters, reciting poetry which does not contain advice or the like, to spit or throw phlegm or mucus inside the mosque, shouting, raising one's voice; generally, whatever is in contrast with the status of the mosque.

Issue No.836- It is mustaḥab to clean the mosque, to illuminate it, and to try to supply its needs, and it is also mustaḥab for a person going to the mosque to apply perfume and wear neat clothes and verify that the soles of his shoes do not contain any pollution, and entering the mosque putting the right foot in first, and leaving the mosque, putting the left foot out first. Similarly, it is mustaḥab that one enters the mosque earlier than others and exits after they have departed.

Issue No.608- There are a large number of mustaḥab ghusls in Islamic sharia. Some of them are listed below:1- Friday ghusl is one of the most important and most emphasized of all the mustaḥab ghusls. It is better not to miss it, as much as possible. Its prescribed time commences after fajr adhān to noon. If, however, a person does not perform it until noon, he can perform it until Friday afternoon, as an obligatory precaution, without the intention of neither adā (on time) nor qaḍā; rather with the intention of what is due [1] . If a person does not perform his ghusl on Friday, it is mustaḥab that he performs the missed ghusl on Saturday at any time between dawn and sunset as qaḍā. Howsever, if one knows that it will not be possible for him to obtain water on Friday for his ghusl or it is probable that he would not be able to perform it on Friday, he can perform the ghusl on Thursday with the intention of performing the ghusl beforehand.2- Ghusl of the nights of the holy month of Ramadan as follows: ghusl on the 1st night of the month and all the odd nights (e.g., the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc.) and from the night of the 21ston, every night to the final night of the month. The time of these ghusls is the entire night, and it is better to perform the ghusl at sunset. However, from the night of 21stto the end of the month of Ramadan, it is better to perform it between maghrib and ‘ishā’ prayers. The recommended precaution is to perform the ghusls of the holy month of Ramadan and the ghusls that will be mentioned in the coming issues with the intention of hope that it might be a desirable act for almighty Allah (rajā’).3- Ghusl on Eid al-Fitr (the first day of the month of Shawwal) and Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). The time of these ghusls is from fajr adhān up to sunset. However, it is better to perform it before the Eid prayer.4- Ghusl on the night of Eid al-Fitr: The time of this ghusl is from maghrib adhān to fajr adhānfajr adhān, and it is better to perform it in the earlier part of the night.5- Ghusl on the 8thand 9thof the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, which are respectively called the day of Tarwīyah and the day of ‘Arafah.6- Ghusl on the 1stday of the month of Rajab, mid Rajab, the 27th(The day of Mab’ath [2] ) and the last day of Rajab.7- Ghusl on the 18thof the month of Dhū al-Hijja (Eid al-Ghadir [3] ) 8- Ghusl on the 15thof the month of Sha'ban (birthday of the 12thImam, May Allah hasten his reappearance), and ghusl on the 17th of Rabiʿ al-Awwal (birthday of the holy Prophet(ṣ) and ghusl on the Persian New Year (21 March).9- Giving ghusl to a new-born child.10- Ghusl by a woman who has perfumed herself for someone other than her husband, and ghusl by one who slept in a state of intoxication.11- Ghusl by a person who saw a person hanged. However, if he unintentionally saw him, or if he had gone there for an urgent purpose, for example to testify, ghusl is not mustaḥab for him.12- Ghusl for repentance: that is when one commits a sin and repents, it is mustaḥab for him to do ghusl thereafter.

Issue No. 1323- It is not necessary to specify that one is going to observe the fast of the first or second day of the month and so on. Even if he specifies a day, for example, if he says “I am observing the fast of the second day of Ramadan” and understands later that it was the third day of the month, his fast is correct.

Issue No. 1322- It is necessary to specify when one wants to fast in other than the month of Ramadan. For example, he should specify it as a qaḍā fast or a fast to fulfil a vow (nadhr). But in the holy month of Ramadan it would be sufficient if he intends to fast the following day. Rather if he does not know that it is Ramadan or he knows but he has forgotten it and he makes the intention of another fast, it will be counted as the fast of the month of Ramadan. However, if he knows that it is the month of Ramadan, yet he intentionally makes the intention of fasting other than the fast of the month of Ramadan, his fast will not be considered as the fast of the month of Ramadan, nor will it be counted as the fast for which he had made intention.

Issue No. 1663- If a person, on whom it is obligatory to pay zakāt on various items, gives a part of zakāt and does not specify any of those items in his intention, in case the thing which has been given is of the kind of any one of those items it is reckoned to be zakāt on that very kind. If it is not of the same kind as any one of those items, the zakāt will be divided on all those things. For instance, if he gives one sheep as zakāt, it will be reckoned as zakāt of sheep. In case however, he gives some silver coins while he has to give zakāt of sheep and cows, it will be shared between the two.

Issue No. 2320- If a property is endowed for the maintenance of a mosque, and that mosque does not stand in need of repairs and it is also not likely that it will need repairs for quite some time, the income from that property can be used on a mosque which stands in need of repairs.

Issue No. 1644- A poor person may receive zakāt to purchase a necessary means of transport, a house which he needs, and to provide the necessary capital for his work and trade. In this respect, he should content himself with the amount by which he may meet his needs and maintain his honour.