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Disclaimer: Views expressed are not necessarily
shared by editorial committee.
Responses (positive or negative) up to 250 words are welcome.
Names will be withheld on request.
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MANY WHO EMBRACE ISLAM IN
U.S.
PRISONS write to
NEW TREND
New Trend receives a steady stream of mail
from America's prisons. It
comes from people who have embraced Islam, mostly
African-Americans, followed by
Hispanics, and even some Whites. Most of them ask
for New Trend,
the Qur'an,
Hadith
and a variety of Islamic literature. Some
of them ask interesting,
sometimes difficult, questions.
A recent letter from Oakdale, Louisiana,
from a long time
African-American correspondent told us that a
number of Guatemalan, Salvadoran and
Mexican prisoners have embraced Islam. As result
the Spanish translations of the
Qur'an we got from Br. Solano in Texas, have been
sent to Oakdale.
Recently, one of our advisors, Dr. Alauddin
Shabazz of
Chicago,
received a
letter from Damien Michael (Abdul-Haqq), an
inmate in the San Luis Obispo,
California area. The brother wrote that the Imam
of the prison community had
decided to hold the Juma' (Friday) prayer at
10.30 in the morning because that was
the time when all the 50 Muslims there could
attend. If Juma were held at the
regular Zuhr time, most inmates are at work and
would not be able to attend.
The Imam based his ruling on a Hadith in
Bukhari
which says: "Narrated
Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (pbuh) used to offer
the salat earlier if it was
cold, and if it was very hot, he used to delay
that salat, i.e. the Jumu'a
prayer. [2:29-O.B] He combined the Hadith with
Maslahah (the good of the community)
to hold the prayer at 10.30. The brother wanted
to know : "Is the Jumu'a
prayer that we are having in the morning
acceptable? If the answer is no, I would
like to know if it is permissible to participate
in the congregational two
rakats of what we refer to as Salat-ul-Jumua."
Dr. Shabazz asked
Br. Siddique
to answer.
Here is the answer:
Dear brother Abdul-Haqq, asalamu alaikum. The
"jumua prayer" you are
referring to is not Jumua prayer at all. It is a
Bid'a or innovation which is not
permitted in Islam.
The Imam who tried to use the Hadith you
have quoted, did not understand
the Hadith. In prayers, there are starting times
and ending times for each
prayer. That's the flexibility which can be used
in hot and cold weather.
However, the flexibility does not have scope for
going altogether outside the prayer
time schedules. The following Hadith indicates
the flexible timings which are
permitted:
"Abu Musa Ash'ari narrates from his father:
A person came to the
messenger of Allah, peace be on him, and asked
him about the timings of prayers. The
Prophet, pbuh, did not answer him but when it
became dawn, the Prophet led
the people in prayer. It was so dark that people
could not recognize each other.
During the day, after the sun declined from the
zenith, he led them in Zuhr
prayer. People were saying it is mid-day though
they knew better. When he led
them in ‘Asr prayer, the sun was still high. When
the sun set, he led them in
maghrib prayer. When the twilight after sunset
disappeared, he led them in
‘Isha prayer. The next day he led them in
fajr prayer so late that after
prayers, people said, the sun has risen or is
about to rise. Then he led them in
Zuhr prayers so that it was almost as late as the
start of Asr prayer the
previous day. Then he led ‘Asr prayer so late
that people said, the sun is covered
by the redness of sunset. Then he delayed Maghrib
so much that the light of
dusk had almost disappeared. Then he put off
‘Isha till one third of the night
had passed. The next morning he called the
questioner and said, the correct time
is between those two times. [Hadith in Muslim,
Abu Dawood, Nasai and Baihaqi.]
The 10.30 morning "juma" does not fit in
that picture. The Muslims in
San Luis Obispo should petition the authorities
to let them pray Jum'a at the
appropriate slot for Zuhr.
In the meantime, the 10.30 time can be used
for T'alim and study of the
Qur'an. Nafl prayers can be said, but not in
congregation.
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2003-07-26 Sat 19:07ct