FATAWA
to his/her stake in the company. Similarly,
he/she will also share the losses.
The potential risk for all parties
involved is a basic requirement for
any investment scheme to be Shari‘a
compliant. Thus, in reference to your
question, any investment scheme that
promises a guaranteed return will
be impermissible. This is because in
such schemes one is not becoming a
partner in the company, sharing in its
gains and losses. They are only providing
capital with a fixed rate of return,
which is nothing more than an interest
bearing loan.
Question: Is it permissible to perform
masah on winter socks?
Answer: For masah to be valid upon
any footwear, it must fulfill the following
four conditions:
1. The socks must be thick enough
to prevent water from seeping
through.
2. The socks must securely cover the
whole foot including the ankle.
3. The socks must be free of holes
equivalent to the size of three toes.
4. The socks must be strong enough
to withstand walking at least one
mile in them.
Generally, winter socks do not meet
these requirements. However, if they
do, masah on them would be valid.
Question: I am aware that it is normally
impermissible to cover the face
with a mask whilst in ihram. However,
one of the government conditions for
performing ‘umrah is that everyone
must have a face covering as a precautionary
measure to avoid the spread
of Covid-19. In light of these circumstances,
is it permissible to cover one’s
face in ihram? Would there be any
penalty for doing so?
Answer: In general, a person is not
permitted to cover his/her face in the
state of ihram due to its explicit prohibition
in the hadith. However, at
this time, a person has no option but
to cover the face due to the face-mask
mandates laid out by the government.
Therefore, one would be considered
excused in his violation of the rules of
ihram and would not be sinful, but still
must perform expiation of this violation
as follows:
If the face of a person in ihram was
covered for a total of twelve hours,
then the penalty would be to fulfill one
of the following:
1. Have a sheep or goat slaughtered
within the boundaries of the Haram
and distributed to the poor.
2. Fast for three days.
3. Give charity to six needy people in
a manner that each person receives
an amount equivalent to the value
of sadaqa al-fitr (i.e. 1.6 kg of wheat
or 3.2 kg of barley).
If the face was covered for a period less
than twelve hours, then one would be
required to give charity to one needy
individual equivalent to the amount of
sadaqa al-fitr.
Question: What colors can a person
dye his/her hair? Are there any colors
that are impermissible?
Answer: A person is permitted to dye
his/her hair any natural color with the
exception of black. Black hair dye has
explicitly been prohibited by the Messenger
of Allah s. As far as unnatural
colors such as green, blue, etc., they
must be avoided since dyeing hair
such colors is generally not understood
to be a Muslim practice.
Question: When going to Makkah for
‘umrah, a person who has traveled
from abroad is legally required to
quarantine for a few days upon arrival.
After the quarantine is over, a person
may then schedule his/her ‘umrah.
Due to this legal requirement of quarantine
and the subsequent requirement
for booking a specific day and
time for ‘umrah, it is possible a person
may be in ihram for a couple of days.
In light of this, would it be permissible
to enter Makkah without ihram and
only put on ihram when actually going
for ‘umrah?
Answer: In principle, a person coming
from abroad with firm intention
to enter Makkah is required to be in
the state of ihram when crossing the
miqat. Not doing so would be sinful
and require one to return to the miqat
and restart his/her ihram. If a person
is unable to do so or chooses not to
return to the miqat, he/she would be
liable to pay the penalty of damm (i.e.
slaughtering of a sheep or goat within
the boundaries of the Haram).
However, in the aforementioned scenario,
one should not have firm intention
of entering Makkah when
crossing the miqat and should instead
make intention of residing in Jeddah
and only make intention of entering
Makkah once he/she has been permitted
to do so. The reason for this
is due to the uncertainty regarding
whether one would be allowed to enter
Makkah based on the results of his/
her Covid-19 test and the constantly
changing regulations. Thus, if one
does not have firm intention of entering
Makkah when crossing the miqat,
he/she would be permitted to enter
without ihram. Thereafter, once he/
she is actually permitted to enter Makkah,
he/she may don his/her ihram
of ‘umrah from anywhere outside the
Haram boundary.
28 January – February 2021 | AL-MADINAH