Voices of Islam (131 page)

The well-known Islamic prohibition against wine extends to all fermented alcoholic beverages that might be made from dates or grains (such as beer and distilled spirits). Addressing the Prophet Muhammad and the questions raised by his followers, the Qur’an states, ‘‘They ask you concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is great sin and some profi for men; but the sin is greater than the profi They ask you how much they are to spend. Say: ‘What is beyond your needs.’ Thus does Allah make clear to you His Signs in order that ye may consider’’ (Qur’an 2:219). Another verse states, ‘‘Satan seeks only to cast among you enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and games of chance and to turn you from the remembrance of Allah and from worship. Will you then not abstain?’’ (Qur’an 5:91) Both verses justify the prohibition against drinking and gambling by describing the harm involved in them, even while acknowledging that they contain a certain benefi Muslim scholars have interpreted the prohibition against wine as extending to any intoxicating substance, including drugs that cloud the mind and inhibit self-control.

The question of tobacco and smoking is more complex. No matter how widespread the addiction to tobacco and smoking may be among Muslims, few claim that it is beneficial, and multiple arguments exist for its prohibition or avoidance. It is costly and falls into the category of wasting money, since it has no nutritional or medicinal benefit. Its health risks are certain, with the risk of lung cancer, heart attack, and emphysema among smokers, including the known risk of secondhand smoke that endangers others. In general, Muslims have a responsibility to care for their own health, making it forbidden to harm the body in any way. This forms a strong argument against tobacco, in addition to the loss of self-control that accompanies any addiction.

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Voices of Life: Family, Home, and Society

Fasting

During the ninth lunar month of Ramadan, all adult Muslims of sound mind and body are obliged to fast for a period of 29 or 30 days. During Ramadan, the day begins with a predawn meal known as
suhur.
This might consist of a few dates and some water or it might even be a complete meal. After performing the dawn prayer, many Muslims conduct their day as usual; however, for some, daily life shifts toward the evening during Ramadan. The
iftar
meal that breaks the fast at sunset might be simple or elaborate, the former being the Prophetic example, whereas the latter is a widespread cultural practice.

The Qur’an describes fasting as an act of worship, a physical and spiritual self-discipline that was enjoined on all Prophets and pious people from time immemorial. To fast means to abstain from food and drink, sexual contact, confl arguments, and unkind language or acts. A traveler may break the fast and make up days later, as do menstruating women. People who are ill or whose condition would make fasting a health risk, including women who are pregnant or nursing, may compensate by preparing food for others or donating money (obligatory on Muslims who cannot fast). Children often participate in the fast but are not required to fast until reaching puberty. The Prophet Muhammad taught that while he himself fasted for long periods outside of Ramadan, other Muslims should not fast more than every other day during other months of the year. The Prophet preferred Mondays and Thursdays for voluntary fasting, and forbade fasting on Friday, the day of the communal
Jumu‘a
prayer.

Ramadan is a time of increased fellowship among family members, neigh- bors, and friends, who share meals on many nights, attend prayer services in the evening, and increase charitable giving. Hosts compete for the merit of giving the
iftar
meal to their guests. At sunset, the Prophet Muhammad’s example was to break the fast by eating a few dates and water. The sunset (
maghrib
) prayer follows the breaking of the fast, and a substantial meal is served afterward. The streets of Muslim cities come to life after
iftar,
as people visit each other in homes and mosques. Increased concentration on worship accompanies the physical rigor of fasting. Over the course of the month of Ramadan, the entire Qur’an is recited during lengthy prayers called
Tarawih.

DAILY ACTIVITIES AT HOME AND IN PUBLIC

Every Muslim is responsible for how she spends her time. The Qur’an describes time as both a gift and a test but also as a mystery. The Prophet Muhammad related that God said, ‘‘The sons of Adam inveigh against Time, but I am Time. In My hand are the night and the day.’’
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How each

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person puts her time on earth to use is part of the test of life. Time is for fulfi basic needs but not to excess. Time for worship should be observed precisely, but one who worships excessively and neglects other responsibilities has misspent her time. The amount of resolve required to maintain a purposeful life in Islam is supported and eased by the concept of intention. Intention provides the criteria for short- and long-term decisions about allocating time. Islamic teachings encourage believers to avoid idleness and to not be deceived by the trappings of this life. Islamic teachings also encourage the believers to shun extreme asceticism and practice moderation in all things. Every Muslim is supposed to support her basic needs, carry out the duties owed to God, and care for those to whom she is responsible. Time is well spent in the pursuit of justice, according to individual talents. Prioritizing one’s time helps a person escape the noise of things clamoring for attention and helps one make conscious choices not to give in to illegitimate demands, such as imitating what ‘‘everyone’’ is doing. Islam, like Christianity, demands a ‘‘purpose- driven life.’’

A Prayer for Daily Life

Muslims invoke blessings and greetings upon one another during the day and acknowledge God in framing each intention to do something, whether upon taking care of bodily functions, preparing for prayer, or asking for guid- ance. The purpose of these supplications is to purify the intention to act, to establish an appropriate frame of mind, and to attain God-consciousness.

The Prophet Muhammad taught many supplications (singular,
du‘a
) during his lifetime, and his followers transmitted them to succeeding genera- tions. These prayers may be compared to a set of keys, each designed to unlock a certain door. A good example of such a prayer is a supplication that is often made before deciding on a matter, a prayer that is called
istikhara.
The
istikhara
prayer is made after one of the formal daily prayers. After making her prayer, the worshipper performs two additional cycles of prayer (
raka‘at
) and says: ‘‘Oh, Allah, I seek your favor through your knowledge and seek ability from you through your power and beg you for your infinite bounty. For you have power and I have none, you have knowledge but I know not, and you are the Knower of the Unseen. Oh Allah, if you know that this matter is good for me in my religion, for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then ordain it for me. But if you know that this matter is evil for me in my religion, for my livelihood, and for the conse- quences of my affairs, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and choose what is good for me wherever it may be and make me pleased with it.’’ After making this prayer, the worshipper states the difficulty or the need that she wants to be fulfilled.
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Voices of Life: Family, Home, and Society

The words of this prayer fi acknowledge the limitations of human knowledge and one’s ability to influence the future, and then acknowledge the all-knowing and all-powerful nature of God. Second, the individual restates the criteria for any sound decision: in other words, that the matter be benefi al to preserving faith and life and that the matter may enhance the person’s future situation. This part of the supplication gives a person a certain mental distance on the matter, so that she may avoid becoming obsessed with a desire or a course of action. Finally, the supplicant prays for God’s guidance and submits to it in spirit. It might be sufficient if one was to simply consign any decision to fate, but this supplication goes further. It recognizes the need not only to resign oneself to possible rejection but also to be at peace with God’s decision, and not to resent it. Thus, the supplicant asks God to ‘‘turn it away from me and turn me away from it... choose what is good for me, and make me pleased with it.’’ It is often as important psychologically to be able to move on with life after a difficult decision as it may have been to make the decision itself. Many Muslims have expressed gratitude for the wisdom contained in this supplication, which has stood them in good stead throughout life. It provides a good example of the suppli- cations that the Prophet Muhammad taught as part of his message to the believers.

Life at Home

In the matrix of human relations, family members form the first threads of the web surrounding the individual, and families are the nodes that, when joined together, make up the community. Islam raised human relations above the level of clan, tribe, ethnicity, and race, giving priority to piety and belief. Family relations, both of blood and of marriage, remain each person’s responsibility.

Responsibility toward parents is most often mentioned in Islamic teach- ings. To honor parents—especially the mother—is a lasting duty that the Qur’an cites as a bedrock principle. Muslims are to speak kindly and respect- fully to parents and care for them in need or old age. Obedience to parents ends when it conflicts with belief in God and the duties it entails, but beyond these specifi instances, Muslims are enjoined to keep good relations with parents, whether they are Muslim or not.

Kin are an extension of the parents, who share the same lineage, and deserve kindness and aid before others. Responsibility toward siblings is defined by the shared womb and is second in importance only to responsibil- ity toward one’s parents in importance. Blood relatives claim priority over unrelated persons, according to the degree of closeness. This aspect of human relations provides a set of expectations and responsibilities toward immediate and extended families that includes every individual. Orphans are

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mentioned in the Qur’an as persons particularly deserving of care by both individuals and the community. This emphasizes the importance of the family bond as a functional network that includes everyone in a welfare safety net and that is explicitly extended to those unfortunate persons without kin. Islam does not recognize an adoption process that obliterates family identity or conceals true genealogy, but it does extend the benefi of adoption in terms of material and spiritual well-being, including welcoming such individuals into the household.

Marital Relations

Islamic marriage is the conclusion of an agreement between the man and the woman. Family members play an important supporting role in the selection of spouses, particularly because premarital relations among prospective mates are very limited in traditional Muslim societies. The legitimacy of the marriage contract requires the full, though sometimes silent, consent of the bride and gives the couple the right to cohabit and produce legitimate offspring. The groom provides a bride-gift, which is the property of the bride for her to save, spend, or invest as she chooses. Rights and responsibilities concerning material and spiritual support, authority and obedience, love and compassion, enmity and reconciliation are suffi iently complex as to belie any pat, unconditional explanations. Beyond the normative statements about marriage in the Qur’an, its stories of historical men and women and descriptions of events in the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime add dimension to the portrait of marital relations and gender issues.

Debates over the precise meanings of terms in the Qur’an have been used to support a view of the husband as the dominant or instrumental marriage partner, by virtue of his financial support or inherent qualities, or his ability to wield the fi l word or any other instrument over his wife. Scholars dis- agree about these points, however, and debates swirl endlessly on the subject. In the Qur’an, husbands and wives are both described as sources of compas- sion and mercy, as garments to one another, and as two beings of like nature. The Qur’an also warns that spouses may become enemies of each other’s ulti- mate success, or helpers in attaining it. When married couples contemplate separation, the Qur’an demands that they seek an amicable decision to either continue the marriage or terminate the bond. Tyranny in marriage is destruc- tive; thus, the rights of the husband bring forth similar rights for the woman, rights being reciprocal responsibilities. When discussing the roles of men and women in Islam, it is not enough to focus upon one verse or the other as the definitive position of the Qur’an. Instead, the verses of the Qur’an must be taken as a whole and within the overall context of individual relations with God, with the self, in the family, and in marriage.

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With regard to the woman’s social position in terms of work and her responsibilities to care for the home and children, the Qur’an prescribes no set role. Spouses can agree on obtaining help in nursing babies where both agree. Legal rulings by Muslim scholars do not lay down a quid pro quo in which a man’s responsibility to provide food, shelter, and clothing for his wife is exchanged for the wife’s responsibility to clean house, cook, and raise the children. The Qur’an grants women the right to their earnings, which implies the right to carry out economic activities that would result in such earnings. Similarly, any wealth the wife possesses may be contributed to the household or held for herself or her children. As the Qur’an says, ‘‘And in no wise covet those things in which Allah has bestowed his gifts more freely on some of you than on others: to men is allotted what they earn and to women what they earn: but ask Allah of His bounty: for Allah has full knowl- edge of all things’’ (Qur’an 4:32).