Question
Dear Mufti,
I hope my message finds you well.
I have disagreement about the following with my husband, and therefore asking for help to clarify the following points.
1. As Fajr and sunrise can be very early in Scotland, one might not able to sleep enough. At least I have difficulties to sleep back and as far as I know one should not sleep after fajr/ sunrise and do not sleep before the last prayer/sunset. That means in the northern countries that one is not able to sleep more than a few hours for many months. Is there any solution for that?
May we UK one use Mecca time or other muslim country’ s time for Fajr?
I completed Ramadan twice in Scotland as it is written. More than 18 hours fasting. My husband was not able as he is underweight and had hard job. He made up most of the days in the winter. I did not feel so long fasting is good or healthy. I read some articles that it is actually not nessesarly and I might follow the nearest southern country’ s time under 45 degree? It would be Spain or Marocco. Is that correct?
My mother tongue in Hungarian, and I have Hungarian and a phonetic Quran with English translation. My English is great but those words are old English words and I need to check many things. Is that true that reading Quran in Hungarian is really worthless?
I have got ekczema since childhood. It was extremely bad when I started to pray and therefore I used the stone/tayyamun. Here water has high chlorine content as it was measured. My ekczema is better but I am afraid if I use the water regularly it might bring it back. Is it a sin using the Tayyamun?
Thank you in advance.
Answer
We have not come across any religious prohibition from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) in regards to sleeping after fajr prayer or before sunset. Therefore, sleeping at these times would be permissible as long as maghrib prayer is not missed by sleeping before sunset. There maybe benefits in staying awake after fajr, however, it is not necessary to stay awake, nor prohibited to sleep after fajr prayer.
As for sleeping before the ‘isha prayer, there is a narration which mentions that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) disliked for a person to sleep before the ‘isha prayer. The jurists have understood this to refer to when one may miss the ‘isha prayer entirely due to going sleep. If however, a person took necessary precautions to ensure that they wake up in time to perform the ‘isha prayer then it would not be disliked to sleep before the ‘isha prayer.
It would not be permissible to use the prayer time of another country when you have a valid prayer time in your location, even though the timing might be extremely early. You may want to consider getting a few hours of sleep after maghrib, after fajr and if possible take a short nap in the early afternoon (siesta). In this manner you will be able to get sufficient rest as well as ensure that your prayers are performed on time.
2. It would not be permissible to follow another countries timing for fasting. Even in England during the peak summer months we have had fasts extending till 18-19 hours. Many Muslims were able to carry out those fasts and did so by making adjustments to their daily schedule and dietary practices. Such as, eating those foods for the pre-dawn meal that give the most energy throughout the day, taking time off work, avoiding work which requires more exertion etc. We agree that it is not easy to fast for lengthy periods of time, but for the majority it is manageable.
If a person is unable to fast for lengthy periods of time due to illness then there are discretionary rulings available for them depending on their scenario, such as postponing the fasts until a time when the fasts are shorter. However, this would have to be ruled on a case by case basis.
Reading a translation of the Qur’an in any language is permissible and indeed very beneficial. It will help a person connect with the teachings of the Qur’an. One should also learn to recite the Qur’an in Arabic as the recitation in Arabic has it own reward.
We pray that Allah the Almighty makes these challenges easier for you. Before a person can opt for tayammum in place of wudu, certain conditions must be met. Below is a brief outline of how to perform wudu or tayammum when certain parts of the body cannot be washed.
1. If a person is able to perform wudu, they must do so.
2. If majority of the wudu limbs can be washed but some cannot due to illness, the patient will wash the limbs they are able to. As for the limbs that cannot be washed, the following would apply:
a) Wipe over the injured limb.
b) If wiping over the limb is not possible, wipe over a bandage wrapped over that limb.
c) If this is not possible, simply leave out wiping over that limb.
Example: If a person had both their feet wrapped in a bandage, they will wash their arms and face, wipe their hair as usual and then wipe over the bandage on their feet.
3. If on the other hand, majority of the wudu limbs cannot be washed then the person will perform tayammum.
Example: A person is unable to wash their arms and face and cannot wipe their hair then in this case they will perform tayammum even if they could have washed their feet.
In your case, if the ekczema is under control then you would not be permitted to perform tayammum. Bare in mind that in order for wudu to be done, one does not need to use large quantities of water. A small handful of water will suffice. The minimum requirement is for enough water to be used that the water drips off the body.
If there is a particular limb that the doctors have said you cannot wash, then you may follow the steps above.
صحيح البخاري (1/ 114)
فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبِي: كَيْفَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي المَكْتُوبَةَ؟ فَقَالَ: «كَانَ يُصَلِّي الهَجِيرَ، الَّتِي تَدْعُونَهَا الأُولَى، حِينَ تَدْحَضُ الشَّمْسُ، وَيُصَلِّي العَصْرَ، ثُمَّ يَرْجِعُ أَحَدُنَا إِلَى رَحْلِهِ فِي أَقْصَى المَدِينَةِ [ص:115]، وَالشَّمْسُ حَيَّةٌ – وَنَسِيتُ مَا قَالَ فِي المَغْرِبِ – وَكَانَ يَسْتَحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤَخِّرَ العِشَاءَ، الَّتِي تَدْعُونَهَا العَتَمَةَ، وَكَانَ يَكْرَهُ النَّوْمَ قَبْلَهَا، وَالحَدِيثَ بَعْدَهَا، وَكَانَ يَنْفَتِلُ مِنْ صَلاَةِ الغَدَاةِ حِينَ يَعْرِفُ الرَّجُلُ جَلِيسَهُ، وَيَقْرَأُ بِالسِّتِّينَ إِلَى المِائَةِ
صحيح مسلم (1/ 447)
قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَرْزَةَ الْأَسْلَمِيَّ، يَقُولُ: «كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُؤَخِّرُ الْعِشَاءَ إِلَى ثُلُثِ اللَّيْلِ، وَيَكْرَهُ النَّوْمَ قَبْلَهَا، وَالْحَدِيثَ بَعْدَهَا، وَكَانَ يَقْرَأُ فِي صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ مِنَ الْمِائَةِ إِلَى السِّتِّينَ، وَكَانَ يَنْصَرِفُ حِينَ يَعْرِفُ بَعْضُنَا وَجْهَ بَعْضٍ
الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (1/ 368)
وقال الطحاوي: إنما كره النوم قبلها لمن خشي عليه فوت وقتها أو فوت الجماعة فيها، وأما من وكل نفسه إلى من يوقظه فيباح له النوم. اهـ.
Answered by:
Maulana Hilal Patel
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel