A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Should I be paying zakat if I pay government taxes in my country? ”   Yes.  Your taxes are your legal obligation to the state for the use of its facilities.  Your zakat is your religious obligation to those who qualify as one of the recipients of the tithe.  The former goes to the state, the latter goes to people.  The former is a secular transaction, the latter is a Divinely Mandated one.  Failing to pay your taxes, you have committed an offence.  Failing to pay the zakat , you have committed a sin.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why is debt not taken into account when calculating zakat ? ”   Zakat is calculated on your excess wealth, meaning funds and assets set aside, with no immediate use, not absolute net worth.  As such, it does not factor in debt in isolation.   When a person has wealth in excess of the nisab , it means that his debts are manageable.  Whatever he provisions to service debt is not “excess”, but an expenditure.  That amount is not factored in when calculating zakat .  If his debts are in excess of his assets, he is effectively insolvent, and does not need to pay zakat .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Who among Muslims are religiously exempt from fasting during Ramadhan? ”   Islamic jurisprudence is based on common sense.  The fast of Ramadhan is not meant to be a death sentence.  If fasting has a debilitating effect on your health, it is haram to fast.  If you are unable to fast due to health reasons, and these conditions are temporary, you have to make up the fast once you are able.  If the condition is chronic, then there is no requirement to make up the fast.  People who are required to be on medication are also exempt from fasting as long as that requirement persists.   Also, women who have are menstruating may not fast.  Women who are in the late stages of pregnancy are exempt from the fast, should they choose not to, or should it affect the health of the mother or child.  They have to make up the fast once able.   Travellers have the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is music with modern instruments, praising Allah ( s.w.t. ), allowed in Ramadhan? ”   If it is allowed outside of Ramadhan, why would it be forbidden during Ramadhan?  We fast from food, drink, and the desires of the body.  We do not fast from worship in Ramadhan.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Can a Muslim get zakat from non-Muslims? ”   Zakat , the tithe on excess wealth, is a religious obligation for Muslims.  You have to be a Muslim to give zakat , just as you have to be a Muslim to perform the other pillars of worship: the testification of faith, the pilgrimage, the ritual prayer, and fasting for Ramadhan as worship.  Otherwise, what you get is charity, which is not a bad thing.   This brings us to the next question: can a Muslim receive charity from a non-Muslim?  Yes.  Just as you can give to them.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If a company is owned by both Muslims and non-Muslims, how can one pay zakat on the company’s savings? ”   If this is a sole proprietorship, the Muslim pays zakat al-mal on his share.  This is calculated based, not on his income, since zakat is not a tithe on income, but on the excess wealth.  This is determined by the value of the business, and assets, less expenses, and trade obligations.  Zakat on business earnings are immediately liable if they exceed the nisab .   If this is a limited liability company, or trust, these are distinct legal entities from the owners.  They do not pay zakat al-mal on the business.  However, the Muslim owner pays zakat out of what he earns from the business.  As above, the zakat is immediately liable if it exceeds the nisab .  It should be noted that the position of businesses being legal persons distinct from t...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Can we give zakat to non-Muslims? ”   Some scholars state we cannot give zakat to non-Muslims, and some others state that we should prioritise the Muslims over the non-Muslims.   But strictly within the Qur’an, it does not state anything of that sort.   There is no prohibition on giving zakat to non-Muslims there.   These are the categories:   سُوۡرَةُ التّوبَة ۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتُ لِلۡفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱلۡعَـٰمِلِينَ عَلَيۡہَا وَٱلۡمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُہُمۡ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلۡغَـٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبۡنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ‌ۖ فَرِيضَةً۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَڪِيمٌ۬ (٦٠)   Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the Cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) Ordained by A...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why do Muslims break fast when the Sun sets, when Qur’an and ahadits in Swahih al-Bukhari contradict it? ”   The assumption here is that you are one of the few people who know the correct time to break the fast, and for a thousand four hundred years, the entire ummah , every school, and every sect, and all their scholars, got it wrong.   I heard this same nonsense from Neil Degrasse Tyson.   Every time he has spoken about something outside his field of study, he has come as across as opinionated, but ignorant.   The ayat of the Qur’an is this:   سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة … فَٱلۡـَٔـٰنَ بَـٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبۡتَغُواْ مَا ڪَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ‌ۚ وَكُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡخَيۡطُ ٱلۡأَبۡيَضُ مِنَ ٱلۡخَيۡطِ ٱلۡأَسۡوَدِ مِنَ ٱلۡفَجۡرِ‌ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيۡلِ‌ۚ … (١٨٧)   … so now associate with them, and seek what Allah has...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ How do I reply when someone greets me, ‘ Ramadhan Karim ’? ”   You have a few options here. “ Ramadhan Karim ” means “Ramadhan is Generous”.   A traditional reply used to be “ Allahu Akram ”, meaning “God is Most Generous”.   Alternatively, you can simply say, “ Ramadhan Mubarak ”, which means “Blessed Ramadhan”.   Or, if you are being brusque, or familiar, you could say, “ Wa ‘Alaykum ”, “The same to you all.”   You do not need to be Muslim to say any of this.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What should I say when someone says, ‘ Ramadhan Karim ’? ”   If you are Muslim, there are a multitude of responses, from saying, “ Ramadhan Mubarak ”, to even a polite, “The same to you as well.” And if you are not, then say thanks. “ Ramadhan Karim ” simply means “Ramadhan is generous”, and the formal response is “ Allahu Akram ”, meaning “Allah is Most Generous”.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When you trust someone, she is as you. A universe apart is a mere step away. When that trust dies, we are strangers two. A step apart, is a universe away.   All that was is burned and lost. And that has meaning is worthless. All that was cherished warmth is frost. All endearments dead, we are polite, mirthless.   This is how relationships die.   Alone. In the dark.   In silence of our thoughts. This is how love cools.   Ardour gone. Like winter.   In civil interactions tensions taut.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ He looked beyond the edge of a cliff, In the face of a wind, blowing strong and stiff. He looked at the stars, myriad diamonds above. And spoke from a heart, broken words of love.   “Were it so true to proclaim, perhaps I loved you. My soul intimate, such feelings did ensue. I have wondered have you ever loved as I did. I have pondered have you ever seen as I did.   The tides of Reality ever move us about arace. We are pulled and pushed, eager to reluctant embrace. Then torn from grasps to whirl in eddies, currents of strife. Dolphins dance and rainbow fishes perform their ballet of life.   All that I had are words, more mere words so cold. But these words are all shards of a shattered soul. Every shard a cosmos larger than a universe of love. Every cut of hope that rose and then dove.   Into an ocean of nothingness, emptiness. Into a desert of solitude, aloneness, bleakness. Past a rain of fo...