|
Common Misconceptions
& Myths In Islam
Myth: Two witnesses who are
women are equivalent to only one witness who is a man.
For instance, suppose a person wants to undergo
an operation for a particular ailment. To confirm the treatment, he would prefer
taking references from two qualified surgeons. In case he is unable to find two
surgeons, his second option would be one surgeon and two general practitioners
who are plain MBBS doctors. Similarly in financial transactions, two men are
preferred. Islam expects men to be the breadwinners of their families.
Since financial responsibility is shouldered by
men, they are expected to be well versed in financial transactions as compared
to women. As a second option, the witness can be one man and two women, so that
if one of the women errs the other can remind her. The Arabic word used in the
Qur’an is ‘Tazil’ which means ‘confused’ or ‘to err’. Many have
wrongly translated this word as ‘to forget’. Thus financial transactions
constitute the only case in which two female witnesses are equal to one male
witness.
However, some scholars are of the opinion that
the feminine attitude can also have an effect on the witness in a murder case.
In such circumstances a woman is more terrified as compared to a man. Due to her
emotional condition she can get confused. Therefore, according to some jurists,
even in cases of murder, two female witnesses are equivalent to one male
witness.
In all other cases, one female witness is
equivalent to one male witness. There are about five verses in the Qur’an
which speak about witnesses without specifying man or woman. While making a will
of inheritance, two just persons are required as witnesses.
In Surah Maidah chapter 5 verse 106, the
Glorious Qur’an says: “Oh you who believe! When death approaches any of you,
(take) witnesses among yourself when making bequests.” [Al-Qur’an 5:106] two
just persons of your own (brotherhood) or other from outside if you are
journeying through the earth and the chance of death befalls you.” [Al-Qur’an
65:2] Two persons endued with justice in case of talaq. “Four witnesses are
required in case of charge against chaste women, [Al-Qur’an 24:4]
There are some scholars who are of the opinion
that the rule of two female witnesses equal to one male witness should be
applied to all the cases. This cannot be agreed upon because one particular
verse of the Qur’an from Surah Noor chapter 24, verse 6 clearly equates one
female witness and one male witness: “And those who launch a charge against
their spouses, and have (in support) no evidence but their own - their solitary
evidence can be received.” [Al-Qur’an 24:6]
Hazrat Ayesha (RA) hadith narrated of one
witness Many jurists agree that even one witness of a woman is sufficient for
the sighting of the crescent of the moon. Imagine one woman witness is
sufficient for one of the pillars of Islam, i.e. fasting and the whole Muslim
community of men and women agree and accept her witness! Some jurists say that
one witness is required at the beginning of Ramadaan and two witnesses at the
end of Ramadaan.
It makes no difference whether the witnesses
are men or women. Some incidents require only female witness and that of a male
cannot be accepted. For instance, in dealing with the problems of women, while
giving the burial bath i.e. ‘ghusl’ to a woman, the witness has to be a
woman.
The seeming inequality of male and female
witnesses in financial transactions is not due to any inequality of the sexes in
Islam. It is only due to the different natures and roles of men and women in
society as envisaged by Islam.
TOP^
Myth: Different
schools (madhab) cannot be mixed. You must follow one completely and
exclusively.
Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi—may Allah bless
his soul—mentioned in his Futuhat al-Makkiyah (The Meccan Revelations):
“God has made the divergence in legal
questions a mercy for His servants and a broadening (ittisa’) of what He has
prescribed they should do to testify to their adoration. But in the case of
those who follow the jurists of our time, these jurists have prohibited and
restricted what the sacred Law had broadened in their favour. They say to the
person who belongs to their school, if for example he is a Hanafite: ‘Don’t
go looking for a rukhsa (an alleviation or exemption) from Shafi’i regarding
this problem you are faced with’; and so on with all of them. This is one of
the greatest calamities and heaviest constraints in the matter of religion. God
Himself has said, ‘In religion he has not imposed anything difficult on you’
(Qur’an 22:78). The Law has affirmed the validity of the status of anyone who
makes a personal effort at interpretation for himself and for those who follow
him. But in our days the jurists have condemned this effort, claiming it
encourages people to make a mockery of religion. For them to say this is the
height of ignorance.”
TOP^
Myth:
Pictures are
prohibited for Muslims.
Pictures
of anything, whether living or non-living things are not prohibited per
se. Although there are a number of narratives ascribed to the Prophet
(pbuh) in which, apparently it
seems that prohibition of pictures, in general, has been referred to but if all
the narratives regarding the issue are gathered and analyzed, it becomes
apparent that the Prophet (pbuh) has actually prohibited pictures, which were
used for worship in the society.
In
the Arab society, during the times of the Prophet (pbuh),
pictures and paintings were primarily used for the purpose of polytheistic
worship. Therefore it could be said that these were the pictures, which have
actually been referred to in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) in
this regard.
Besides
all the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh),
the following narrative in which Saalim ibn
Abd Allah is reported to have explained the nature of the prohibition
mentioned in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh). This narrative is
reported by Ahmad
ibn Hanbal:
Laith
reports that once I visited Saalim
Ibn Abd Allah. As I entered, I saw him resting on a pillow on which
there were pictures of birds and wild animals. I asked him, "aren't these
[pictures] disliked [in Islam]". He said, "No. Only those [pictures]
are disliked which are put up for worship".
It
should be clear from the explanation given above, therefore pictures are not
prohibited per
se. It is only when a picture entails polytheistic veneration that it
becomes prohibited. If a picture of a living thing, like the picture of a
person's father etc. does not entail a polytheistic belief, it would not be
prohibited. On the other hand, if a picture of a non-living thing [non-living
does not imply "non-living" in the scientific sense] entails a
polytheistic belief, like for instance, the picture of a particular tree or a
stone, such picture shall stand prohibited.
The
reason for this prohibition is, obviously, to save people from the fatal sin of Shirk
[polytheism].
TOP^
| 
