The verbal sales contract

A sale in Islam is defined as exchanging something desired for something desired. This happens by verbal contract when the affirmation of the option to buy or sell (or bid) is followed by the counterpart's acceptance while the option remains. The two statements could be in past or present tense. Examples are:

1. Both bid and acceptance are in past tense, e.g.: Bid to buy: "I have bought this car for USD 1000." Acceptance: "I have accepted."

2. Both bid and acceptance are in present tense (provided that the intention is to affirm and accept, not haggling,) e.g.: Bid to buy: "I buy this car for USD 1000." Acceptance: "I accept."

3. The bid or the acceptance is in one tense and the other in another tense, e.g.: Bid: "I buy this car for USD 1000." Acceptance: "I have accepted." Bid: "I have bought this car for USD 1000." Acceptance: "I accept."

Imperatives (orders) and questions are not considered valid as affirmations, such as, "Sell me this car for USD 1000!", "Do you sell me this car for USD 1000?", and "Buy this car for 1000!" These statements are part of the bargaining process, and are not contractually binding. In marriage contracts, unlike in buying and selling, orders are considered affirmations, such as if someone said "Marry me for a dowry of USD 5000!" and the other answered, "I hereby accept your marriage." This is because haggling is not normally part of the marriage process.

If one of the parties makes an affirmation (bid) to buy or sell, then the counterpart has the option to accept during the contract session, as long as the bidder does not withdraw his affirmation (bid). This is based on the hadith of Tirmithiy that "the buyer and seller have the option as long as they did not depart from each other."

The contract session lasts as long as the two parties remain in their place and they do not engage in unrelated conversation. If they are walking together, then there must be no moment of silence between affirmation (bid) and acceptance.

If affirmation (bid) is followed by acceptance in the contract session, then there is no option to withdraw the bid or acceptance, even in the same session. This is because in the Quran (5, 1) we are ordered to remain faithful to our contracts:

"يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَوْفُواْ بِالْعُقُود"

Introduction to buying and selling transactions

One of the greatest ways to worship Allah is to make sure that one's trading transactions are islamically sound. This is because it requires struggling hard against one's natural desires, and because it is mentioned in hadith that the honest tradesperson dies a martyr. It has been said that the meaning of renouncement of this world, is to ensure that all one's income is permitted.

On the on other hand, one of the fastest ways to drown in sin, is to engage in transactions without having studied what Islam says about them. A saying has been narrated from Umar which means that "noone trades in our markets, unless he is understands how to do transactions soundly. Otherwise he will commit ribaa." From this we know that sound business dealings is something that must be learned, especially because the linguistic meaning of "riba" in Arabic is "addition", and there is not doubt that some types of addition in transactions are allowed, such as profit.

Definition of the sales transaction

A sale in Islam is defined as exchanging something desired for something desired. A sales transaction has happened if this definition is met. The exchange can be either physical or by a verbal contract. The latter happens when the affirmation of the option to buy or sell is followed by the counterpart's acceptance while the option remains.

Kinds of Sales Transactions

There are several kinds of sales transactions and they can be divided according to several criteria.

Kinds according to their Islamic judgement:

1. Correct. This one meets all conditions for the transaction to be without any sin.
2. Contingent. This transaction is valid, but contigent upon som later event to take effect, such as someone's approval.
3. Corrupt. This transaction is a sale in that it meets its definition, but an islamically forbidden element is related to the contract.
4. Invalid. This transaction is not a sale at all because its definition was not met.

Kinds according to what is bought and sold:

1. Object for object, or barter.
2. Object for debt. This means selling an object for a price. The price can be absolute, i.e. gold, silver or going currency. The price could also be relative; sold by weight or volume, or by unit count and is of consistent quality.
3. Debt for object, or "salam" in Arabic. In this, the buyer pays for something that the seller does not yet possess.
4. Debt for debt, or "sarf" in Arabic. This is the trade of currencies, gold and silver.

Kinds according to the purchase and sales price:

The most common is the haggler's price. This is the price that the two parties agree upon without regard to the purchase price of the seller.

However, sometimes there is an agreed relation between the two prices. These kinds of relationships are 4:

1. Al-Wadhii^ah: The price is set lower than the original price by a certain amount.
2. Al-Tawliah: The price is set equal.
3. Al-Ishtiraak: The price is set equal for part of the goods.
4. Al-MuraabaHah: The price is set higher by a certain amount.

Ribaa ("usury")

Linguistic Definition of the Arabic word "ribaa":

"an increase"

Islamic Definition:

Something extra taken without anything in its exchange (according to Islamic legal standards) as a condition for one of the parties in a transaction of property for property.

Its judgment:

Prohibited, and one of the large sins.

The warning against ribaa

Allah threatened those who take ribaa with war and those who deny its prohibition with eternal torment. The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank) cursed those who give it, receive it, record it, or bear witness to it.

The wisdom in its prohibition:

1. It leads to taking the property of Muslims, which has sanctity, without something in exchange.
2. Riba lets a person make money without producing anything, which reduces efforts in the production of goods and services.
3. Prohibiting ribaa makes it easy for people to give loans out of charity.
4. Ribaa often traps the debtor in a vicious circle of higher loans and interest.

… and Allah knows best.

Ribaa can be said to be of at least 4 kinds:

1. Obvious ribaa:
1. Taking a loan with interest in exchange for a delayed return of the loan. This is the ribaa of the jaahiliyyah mentioned in the Quran. The interest taken is for the time of the loan, and time cannot be sold in Islam; it is an extra without anything in its exchange.
• A similar type of ribaa is taking a loan on the condition of any benefit to the lender.


2. Ribaa of something extra in sales:
1. Selling things that are sold by weight or volume and of the same kind with a difference in weight or volume or a delay in delivery (or specification). E.g. salt for salt, or cow's milk for cow's milk.
2. Selling gold for gold, silver for silver, or currency for the same kind of currency with a difference in amount or without physically exchanging the goods before leaving the place of transaction. It has been related from Umar "if the other party jumps before exchanging, jump with him."
3. Note that things sold by piece or area are not of the type of property that cannot be sold with uneven amounts. It is allowed to sell 2 cloths for 1 cloth or 2 eggs for 1 egg.


3. Ribaa of credit in sales:
1. Selling things that are of the same kind with a delay in delivery (or specification). E.g. one may sell a cow for 2 cows; a cloth for 2 cloths; an egg for 2 eggs, but without delaying delivery or specification.
2. Selling something that is sold by weight for something of another kind that is also sold by weight with a delay in delivery (or specification). E.g. If selling sugar for salt, one may have a difference in weight between the two, but no delay in delivery or specification.
3. Selling something that is sold by volume for something of another kind that is also sold by volume with a delay in delivery (or specification). E.g. cow's milk for goat's milk.


4. Ribaa of corrupt or invalid sales-transactions: This is a large chapter of Islamic jurisprudence that needs separate treatment under buying and selling.

Useful Extra Information for Pilgrimage

Some important issues before leaving

• To ask permission from one's debitors who's debt is due is a duty.
• To be generous in providing for one's dependents before leaving.
• To reduce unnecessary talk to the minimum.
• To avoid getting najis filth on one's body and clothes as much as one can.
• To remain in the state of ritual purity (having wudu' and ghusl.)
• To pray two subsets in one's regular masjid before leaving.
• To give some charity to the poor before leaving.
• To ask those muslims whom one has wronged for forgiveness.
• To say goodbye to people one knows, and ask for peoples supplication.

Before showering for Ihram it is good to:

• Cut one's nails.
• Trim one's mustage.
• Removing pubic hair and armpit hair.
• Have intimacy with one's partner if possible.

Take to avoid the following common sins:

• Arguing with others (however, one must still order people to do their obligations, if they are slacking, and to avoid sins)
• Talking about sex or flirting with the opposite sex, even one's wife.
• Take care to avoid backbiting, which is to say something about an absent muslim that he wouldn't like to be said.
• To avoid namiimah, which is to spread rumours among muslims that result in hatred between them, even if it is true.

Important matters of the heart

• One should keep constantly in mind that everything happens by the Will of Allah, and avoid both despair and overconfidence. One should ask Allah for help in everything, even if it is just in the heart.
• One should take particular care to not spend a moment on anything but worship in Mount Arafah.
• One should cry over one's sins and sincerely repent as much as one can. If one can't cry, or is not aware of any sins, then one should cry over that, as this is among the greates of calamities.
• One should fill one's heart with love and thankfulness to Allah by remembering all the good things one has experienced.
• One should fill one's heart with fear of Allah and His awesome punishment, without complete despair of being forgiven. One should should remember one's own inevitable death and accountability to invoke these feelings.
• One should fill one's heart with love to the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank), as we have been ordered, for he is the means by which we can hope for salvation through his teachings and intercession: "... they shall ask help from Adam, then from Musa, then from Muhammad - who will intercede..." (Al-Bukhaariyy).
• One should fill one's heart with true monotheism. Monotheism is to believe that Allah is the only Creator, and that everything else is dependent upon Him, therefore only He deserves to be worshipped. He is eternal without a beginning and so are all His attributes, including His attributes of action - such as creating and shaping things. He does not resemble anything. He is the Creator of time, place, light and darkness and thus cannot be imagined.

Obligations and Common Sins One Should Know

Sins of human beings are invariably committed through forbidden acts or leaving obligatory acts. Acts can only be done by the body or mind. Therefore, for the purpose of convenience, one may split the topic of sins according to the parts of the body.

Obligations of the heart

• It is an obligation to believe in Allah
• It is an obligation to believe that Allah is one. That is, he doesn't have a partner, he doesn't have part (such as a limb or a son), and noone resembles Him.
• One must also believe that Allah is NOT limited, bounded, flawed, incomplete or weak in any way.
• It is an obligation to believe in what Allah has revealed to his Prophet Muhammad
• It is an obligation to believe in Allah's Messenger
• It is an obligation to believe in what was taught by the Messenger Muhammad
• It is an obligation to do good deeds only in obedience to Allah and not for the praise of any creation
• It is an obligation to be sorry for having committed sins
• It is an obligation to rely on Allah. Since Allah is the only Creator, only Allah creates benefits and harm. Therefore, we need to rely on Allah
• It is an obligation to stay away from sins, because we fear Allah
• It is an obligation not to object to what Allah has willed to happen. Allah is not judged, because He does not have a creator, but He will judge us. Remember that even our sense of justice and injustice are mere creations of Allah in us.
• It is an obligation to be respectful of the rules and practices of the Islamic religion and respected objects, such as the Quran or a mosque
• It is blasphemy to respect other religions than Islam, since these religions are blasphemous inventions of mankind (such as Christianity and Judaism today - not the true teachings of Jesus and Moses, because they were muslims) and all their accountable followers are going to Hell forever.
• It is an obligation to refrain from the use of what Allah has provided one with in disobedience to Him
• It is an obligation to be patient in doing what Allah ordereds us to do
• It is an obligation to be patient in avoiding what Allah forbids us to do
• It is an obligation to be patient with the difficulties Allah gives us in our lives
• It is an obligation to detest Shaytan
• It is an obligation to detest all sins
• It is an obligation to love Allah. It is blasphemy if someone hates Allah
• It is an obligation to love and respect the original revealed books of the prophet, the true bible and the Quran
• It is an obligation to love and respect the Prophet Muhammad , the Sahabah (those who met the Prophet Muhammad , became Muslim and died Muslim), and the Salihin (those who did all they were required to do and refrained from what they were forbidden to do).

Sins of the heart

• Insincerity in worship (riyaa’) is sinful to commit, which is to do something good for the praise of another creation, or in order to get credit for good deeds AND be praised by another creation.
• It is sinful to be proud of oneself and the good deeds one does, forgetting that Allah enabled him to do these good deeds.
• It is sinful and blasphemous (kufr) to have doubt in Allah or His attributes.
• It is sinful to continue to commit sins feeling confident of God's forgiveness.
• It is sinful to believe that no matter what, Allah will punish you for the sins you have committed because they were so numerous.
• It is sinful to reject the truth and look down on Muslims, because of one's social status or material possessions.
• It is sinful to hide hostility towards a Muslim that pushes you into action. It is sinful not to hate this hostility.
• It is sinful to be jealous or envious of something nice belonging to another Muslim, to the extent that you hope they will lose it and you get it. You must hate and reject this feeling in your heart.
• It is sinful to persistently commit small sins without any intent of leaving them.
• It is sinful to think that Allah will definitely punish you and will not give you mercy.
• It is sinful to think badly of a Muslim without a sound reason.
• It is sinful and kufr not to believe in predestination.
• It is sinful to be happy or pleased with a sin, whether yours or someone else's.
• It is sinful to covertly cause harm to a Muslim.
• It is sinful to hate those who deserve to be loved.
• It is sinful to be stingy with what Allah ordered Muslims to give: Zakat.
• It is sinful to love this life and be tied to this life to the extent that you work with things that are sinful in order to gain the possessions of this life.
• It is kufr to be disrespectful of those things Allah ordered us to respect.
• It is kufr to be pleased with kufr.
• It is kufr to believe it is acceptable to follow another religion than Islam
• It is blasphemy to hate all the companions of the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank)
• It is sinful not to believe there is wisdom in everything in the Islamic religion, whether we know the wisdom or not. We are required to follow Shari^ah (rules of the Islamic Religion), even if we do not know the wisdom.

Sins of the stomach and greed

• It is sinful to eat something bought using Ar-riba. Ar-riba is generally known as interest on loans, but it is a very detailed subject which will be covered in business dealings.
• It is sinful to impose taxes. The Khaliifah, however, may request money from the very rich in order to pay for something that is obligatory for the muslim community to have.
• It is sinful to use a Muslim's property if unjustly taken by force. It is also sinful to unjustly use the property of non-muslims who are paying Jizyah and obeying the rules imposed upon them.
• It is sinful to sell something with a defect that is known (to the seller) without pointing out the defect. This is sinful even if the person you are selling to was a kaafir who was a Muslim and left Islam (Murtadd/ apostate).
• It is sinful to steal. There is a more detailed discussion of stealing in 'Sins of the hand.'
• It is sinful to take anything in an Islamically incorrect way or benefit from such a thing.
• It is sinful to drink alcohol, or to eat anything that gives the effect of drunkenness.
• It is sinful to eat any Najis filth as defined in Islam (see articles on purification).
• It is sinful to eat from an orphan's inheritance. An orphan is someone who has not reached puberty and his father is dead.
• It is sinful to misuse a place donated (waqf) for a certain purpose. Misuse is to use it for a purpose other than the one it was donated for.
• It is sinful to embarrass someone into giving you something.

Sins of the eyes

• It is sinful for a man to look at a woman who is not his Mahram anywhere other than her face and hands. A Mahram is a person of the opposite sex you can never marry.
• It is sinful for a woman to look at any man in the area between the navel and the knees, except her husband.
• It is sinful for a man to look at the area between the navel and the knees of another man.
• It is sinful for a woman to look at the area between the navel and the knees of another woman.
• It is sinful to look at a Mahram with desire.
• It is sinful for a man to look at a woman's face, other than his wife's, with desire.
• It is sinful for a woman to look at a man, other than her husband, with desire.
• It is sinful to remain completely naked in a room without a sound reason.
• It is sinful to uncover the sexual organs without a sound reason.
• It is sinful to look down on Muslims out of pride.
• It is sinful to look into another Muslim's house without the owner's permission.
• It is sinful to look at something a Muslim is hiding without permission.

Sins of the tongue

There is a Hadith which means that most of the people who go to Hell go there because of the sins they committed with their tongues (they are suffering because of what they said).

• It is sinful to hurt a Muslim by telling him he should be grateful to you because you did something for him. It is worse to do this in front of people.
• Backbiting: In the absence of a Muslim it is sinful to say something about him that he hates to have said about him, even if it is true. It is worse if it is a lie.
• It is sinful to commit backbiting with a lie. In other words, to say something about a Muslim in his absence that he hates to be said and what is said is not true. This is called buhtaan.
• It is sinful to transmit sayings between Muslims for the purpose of causing problems between them. This is known as Namiimah.
• It is sinful to encourage fighting between Muslims or to encourage fighting between animals.
• It is sinful to lie.
• To tell a joke which contains a lie is sinful.
• It is sinful to swear by God to a lie.
• It is sinful to accuse someone of adultery, whether directly or indirectly.
• It is blasphemy to curse all of the companions (those who met our beloved prophet Muhammad, became Muslim and died Muslim)
• It is sinful to curse any single one of the companions of the Prophet (may allah raise his rank).
• It is sinful for a person to beg (ask for free money or goods), unless he does not have enough food for the day, and is unable to earn the money needed for it.
• It is sinful for a person to insist that another person gives him money or embarrass him into giving him money
• It is sinful to vow (make it an obligation on himself -- nadhr) in front of witnesses in order to give something to someone and prevent relatives from inheriting something from him.
• It is sinful for someone who owes money to another person to not tell anyone else about it. Also if someone left something with you, it is sinful for you to not tell anyone else about it
• It is sinful to ask to become engaged to a girl who is already engaged and her engagement is accepted by the one responsible for her.
• It is sinful to try and convince someone who has already agreed to buy something from someone else, but still has the right to call off the deal, to break this agreement and buy something similar from you instead.
• It is sinful to give false witness, if asked to testify by an Islamic judge, whether the reason for lying was for money or friendship.
• It is sinful to not pay back a debt one is able to pay, if the debt becomes due.
• It is sinful to curse or insult a Muslim. It is also sinful to insult a Muslim's mother, even if she was not Muslim, if that insult hurts the Muslim.
• It is sinful to make fun of a Muslim in satire. It is sinful to say anything that hurts a Muslim.
• It is sinful to tell a lie about God or His Messenger, even if that lie was intended to encourage someone to do something good.
• It is sinful to intentionally say a single letter of the Quran incorrectly while reading it out loud.
• It is sinful to claim someone owes you something when he does not owe you anything.
• It is sinful for a man to divorce his wife during the time when she has her period or post-partum bleeding.
• It is sinful for a man to divorce his wife during a the time between a woman's periods in which he has had sexual intercourse with her.
• It is sinful for a man to tell his wife, "You are forbidden to me like my sister or mother." This is a translation of a statement sometimes made in Arabic.
• It is sinful to divorce one’s wife 3 times in one saying, but the divorce is valid.
• It is sinful to divorce one’s wife three separate times between two periods of her’s.
• It is sinful to claim that one is the son of a man who is not his father.
• It is sinful for a person who was previously a slave to claim that someone other than his owner freed him.
• It is sinful to give an Islamic judgment without knowledge. The Angels in the sky curse the one who does this.
• It is sinful to teach something that is harmful without an Islamic reason.
• It is sinful to give a non-Islamic judgment or ruling.
• It is sinful to praise a dead person, as if he were still alive, by shouting.
• It is sinful to mourn excessively loud. It is sinful to mourn by pulling one's hair.
• It is sinful to laugh at a Muslim for something he did.
• It is sinful not to answer the salaam of another Muslim that is directed to you.
• It is sinful to refuse to testify to something you witnessed when asked to do so by someone who has the Islamic right to ask for a witness.
• It is sinful for the one who is performed Al-Ihram for Hajj or ^Umrah or was fasting a day it is an obligation to fast, to kiss anyone with desire, including their spouse.
• It is sinful to not teach necessary Islamic knowledge when someone is asking for it and you have learned it.
• To tell someone to do something which is sinful is sinful.
• To abstain from ordering someone to do an obligation when he must be ordered is sinful.
• Every statement that encourages someone to commit a sin and every statement that discourages someone from doing what is an obligation is sinful.
• Every statement that criticizes or insults the Quran, prescribed Islamic practices or Islamic traditions or a Prophet is blasphemy.
• Divorce, marriage, vows and oaths are valid by uttering the required statements, regardless of one’s intention. Unless one knows this, one can end up committing serious sins.
• If someone utters a statement that implies disbelief in, disdain of, or making fun of Allah, Islam, a prophet, a revealed book, an angel, hell, paradise, or prescibed Islamic beliefs, practices, rules or laws then he has committed blasphemy, unless he explicitly relates this saying to someone else. This is regardless of ones intention. One relates this to someone else by saying “it might be said”, “someone said”, “the Christians say” etc.

Obligations and duties of the tongue

• All accountable people (those that are sane, have reached puberty and have heard the meaning of the creedal statement of Islam: “there is no god but God and Muhammad is His messenger”) must immediately become Muslims by uttering the creedal statement loud enough to hear themselves under normal circumstances.
• If one thinks, but has some doubt, that one has committed blasphemy after becoming Muslim, then one must utter the creedal statement as a precaution. It is good to utter the creedal statement as a precaution at night before sleeping (unless one is absolutely sure that nothing blasphemous might have happened.)
• It is a duty to say “Salla-Allahu-3alayhi-wa-sallam” at least once in a session or sitting where the Prophet’s name was mentioned.
• It is an obligation to answer "wa^alaykum-us-salaam" when a muslim addresses one saying "as-salaamu ^alaykum".

Sins of the ears

• It is sinful to listen to people speaking secretly if they do not want you to hear.
• It is sinful to listen to wind and string instruments.
• It is sinful to listen to backbiting. Backbiting is any saying about an absent Muslim that he hates to have said about him, even if it is true.
• It is sinful to listen to Namiimah. Namiimah is any statement that is transmitted to cause problems between Muslims.
• As with any sin, if someone can do something to stop it, it is an obligation for him to do something to stop it. If he cannot do something to stop it, it is an obligation for him to say something to stop it. If he cannot say something to stop it, it is an obligation for him to hate it in his heart and leave the place where it is happening. To hate it in the heart is the least thing he is required to do.

Sins of the hands

• It is sinful for a seller to cheat the buyer by giving him less than the mentioned length, weight or volume of what he is selling.
• It is sinful to steal the belongings of other Muslims or of Christians and Jews who obey the rules of Jizyah.
• It is sinful to take taxes (see sins of the stomack for details).
• It is sinful to commit Al-ghulul. When the Muslims fight the kuffaar, the money and goods that are captured (ghaniimah) need to be divided and given out according to the rules of the Islamic religion. To take anything before this division has been made is called Al-ghulul, except for those cases described in the books of Fiqh.
• It is sinful to kill someone Allah has forbidden us to kill. It is sinful to kill a Muslim without a right (this includes suicide) or someone from a group of people the Khaliifah has a treaty with and the treaty contains a truce. It is also sinful to kill a Christian or Jew who abides by the rules of Jizyah, or one who is under the protection of a Muslim.
• It is sinful to enter a non-muslim country as a guest, such as by visas or entry stamps, and then harm them or their property. Even if they throw verbal insults, one is not allowed to answer by physical force. One cannot use physical force unless they started - i.e. for self-defense.
• It is sinful to hit a Muslim without the right to do so.
• It is sinful to accept or give a bribe.
• It is sinful to kill an animal by burning, unless it is causing problems (such as biting or killing) and burning is the only way of getting rid of it.
• It is sinful to torture animals.
• It is sinful to shoot a horse, even if its leg is broken.
• It is sinful to play backgammon or any game played using a dice.
• It is sinful to play with anything that relies on chance more than skill.
• It is sinful to play any string or wind instrument, whether in solo or in a group. Excempted here is a trumpet in war.
• It is sinful to intentionally touch, flesh to flesh, someone of the opposite sex that you are allowed to marry, excluding your marital partner. Even if it is without desire. This includes handshakes.
• It is sinful to touch with desire someone of the same sex, or someone of the opposite sex, excluding your marital partner. Even if it is over the clothes.
• It is sinful to draw a picture of something that has a spirit, even if it does not have a shadow.
• It is sinful to prevent oneself or another from paying all or part of Zakat if it is an obligation to pay Zakat, what needs to be paid is present, and to whom Zakat may be paid is present.
• It is sinful to withhold the pay of someone you have hired to do something after he has completed his service.
• It is sinful not to save a Muslim who is going to die because of starvation, drowning, exposure, burning or the collapse of a building, if you are able.
• It is sinful to write something that is sinful to say.
• It is sinful to cheat or betray; the opposite of being trustworthy.

Sins of the sexual organs (genitals)

• It is sinful to fornicate, practice adultery or homosexuality.
• Adultery and sodomy are the greatest sins of the sexual organs.
• It is sinful to put the head of the penis into the sexual organ of any animal. There is no specifically prescribed punishment for this (hadd).
• It is sinful to drink urine. There is no specifically prescribed punishment for this (hadd).
• It is sinful to have sex with a dead woman. There is no specifically prescribed punishment for this (hadd).
• It is sinful to masturbate.
• It is sinful to have sexual intercourse with a woman who is having menstrual or post-partum bleeding (see article "Prohibitions for the one who is ritually impure").
• It is sinful to reveal the parts of your body that it is forbidden to reveal when there are someone present that can see.
• It is sinful for a man to reveal the area between the navel and the knees in the presence of another man or woman other than his wife or unmarried female slave.
• It is sinful to uncover one's genitals and anus for no reason, even if no one else is present.
• It is sinful to face the Ka^bah or turn your backside toward it while urinating or defecating.
• It is sinful to defecate orurinate on the grave of a Muslim.
• It is sinful to urinate in a mosque, or in another respected place.
• It is sinful not to circumcise one who has reached puberty, if they have not already been circumcised.

Sins of the Feet

Sins of the feet increase step by step. One may start walking and if he is going to commit a sin, each step he takes is a sin.

• It is sinful to walk to commit a sin.
• It is sinful for a wife to leave the house without her husband's permission or agreement. She may leave without his permission or agreement to do something that she is required to do, such as learn something that is an obligation for her to learn, provided that he does not teach her.
• It is sinful to run away from those one is obligated by Allah to support. This includes not paying for one's wife, children and parents what one is required to provide for them.
• It is sinful for a slave to run away from his owner.
• It is sinful to enter a room or a house where someone of the opposite sex is alone, if this person is not a mahram. This sin is called khalwah. There must be a third person in the room that one would feel embarrased from. A mahram is someone that one could never marry – i.e. NOT brothers- and sisters- in law, because one could marry them if there was a divorce.
• It is sinful to run away from one's creditor, if one is obligated to pay the loan immediately.
• It is sinful to intentionally and purposely walk with a stature that is proud and boastful and shows vanity.
• It is sinful to step over people causing them difficulty and discomfort.
• It is sinful to walk between a person who is praying and the place he puts his head in prostration (sujuud).
• It is sinful to put one's feet towards the Quran if the Quran is not higher than one's feet.
• It is sinful to NOT go to do something that is an obligation. For example, not to go to the required Friday prayer or not to go to learn what one is required by Allah to know.

Common Sins of the Body in General are:

• It is sinful to hurt one's parents in a way that if it had been done to another Muslim, it would have been a small sin. Hurting ones parents in this way is called ^uquuq and is a large sin.
• It is sinful to cause great difficulties for one's parent. For example, if a mother asks her son or daughter for something and they reply in a manner that breaks her heart, it is from the large sins.
• It is sinful to not visit one's Muslim relatives without a sound reason. Relatives include one's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins from both sides of the family. That is, all your parent's relatives.
• It is sinful for men to wear women's clothes and it is sinful for women to wear men's clothes. Unisex clothes are permitted.
• It is sinful for men to imitate women and vice versa.
• It is sinful to wear long clothes that extend below the ankle out of pride or to show off.
• It is sinful for a man to dye his hands or feet with henna unless there is a need to do so.
• It is sinful to interrupt doing something that is an obligation without an acceptable excuse.
• It is sinful to imitate the behavior of a Muslim in order to make fun of him.
• It is sinful to force a free Muslim to work without his agreement.
• To be an enemy of a Muslim Saint (Waliyy), whether his karaamah is seen or not, is from the biggest sins of the body. This is like someone who was an enemy of a good Caliph.
• It is sinful to help someone commit a sin. Examples are selling grapes to someone who wants to make wine from them, or selling weapons for a robbery.
• It is sinful to spread something that is counterfeit by saying that it is real.
• It is sinful to use containers or instruments made of gold or silver.
• It is sinful to make tattoos.
• It is sinful for two muslims to let more than three days pass, in which they met, without saying, "As-salaamu ^alaykum" to one another because of anger between them, unless there is an Islamic reason.
• It is sinful to spend time with someone who is committing sins just to entertain them.
• It is sinful for a male who has reached puberty as defined in Islam to wear something made of gold or silver or something made of more than 50% silk, with the exception of a silver ring. It is allowed for a man to wear a ring made of silver. It is better to wear it on the little finger with the crest turned toward the palm.
• It is sinful for two members of the opposite sex who are not Mahram (someone that one could never marry – i.e. NOT brothers- and sisters- in law) for each other to stay in a room or house alone together. It is not sinful if there is another man or woman present. This sin is called khalwah.
• It is sinful for a woman to travel alone without a Mahram.
• It is sinful to do something that causes an obligation to become invalidly performed.
• It is sinful to kill game by using something that kills by its weight.
• It is sinful to kill animals for mere sport or target practice.
• It is sinful to put something najis in a mosque, or to make a mosque dirty by spitting.
• It is sinful to sit looking at sins if one does not have an acceptable excuse for remaining.
• It is sinful for a woman whose husband has died, or has been irrevocably divorced, to leave the house during her ^iddah, without an acceptable excuse. Irrevocably divorced means that the husband does not have the option to take her back during her ^iddah.
• It is sinful for someone who is required to perform Hajj and has the resources to perform Hajj not to intend to do Hajj. If he dies without making the intent to perform Hajj he has a sin.
• It is sinful to borrow money from someone without an apparent way to pay him back except if the lender knows he does not have a way to pay him back.
• It is sinful to pay money to do something sinful.
• It is sinful and blasphemous not to completely respect the Quran or any other Islamic religious books or papers. It is also sinful not to treat with respect the written name of God even if it were written in books that contain blasphemy, such as the perverted bible.
• It is sinful to change a boundary that distinguishes between yours and someone else's property or a public street.
• It is sinful to close a public street without the right to do so.
• It is sinful to use something you borrowed for something other than what you have been given permission to use it for.
• It is sinful to use something for longer than you have permission to use it. It is also sinful to loan it to someone else.
• It is sinful to prevent others from using public land and use it only for yourself. Examples are a public pasture used for feeding sheep, or a public forest used for collecting firewood, or public lands used for mining. It is sinful to prevent other Muslims from using these public lands.
• It is sinful to use something lost and found without first being sure that the owner is no longer looking for it, or that it will be ruined if more time passes. Only poor people are allowed to use it or take it after that.
• It is sinful to go to a party or dinner without the host’s permission, or to enter because one embarrassed the host to invite.
• It is sinful to make people pay protection money. In other words, coerce someone to give you something in exchange for which you will not harm them.
• It is sinful for a man not to spend equal time and money among his wives if he has more than one.
• It is sinful for a woman to put on perfume and pass by men with the intent to attract them to commit a sin (such as looking with desire).
• It is sinful to learn something that is harmful without an Islamically acceptable reason (e.g. magic).
• It is sinful to discharge an unjust Khaliifah and it is sinful not to obey him in those things that are not sinful.
• It is sinful to take the responsibility for something like other people's money, the guardianship of an orphan, the management of a mosque, or being a judge if you know you will not be able to do this correctly.
• It is sinful to defend someone who has done something unjust from those who want to take what they have a right to from him.
• It is sinful to frighten a Muslim.
• It is sinful to block off a road in order to steal (highway robbery).
• It is sinful not to do a Nadhr (vow) you made. A vow is to make something an obligation upon oneself.
• It is sinful to fast two consecutive days without breaking your fast at all.
• It is sinful to interrupt an optional Hajj or ^Umrah once you have started.
• It is sinful for a man not to pray Al-Jumu^ah if it is an obligation for him, even if he prays Al-Thuhr.
• It is sinful to postpone the obligated prayers past their proper time without an acceptable excuse.
• It is sinful to leave the group prayer for the 5 obligatory prayers in a village, if not enough men are praying together.

Funerals

When death is expected

• If a person is dying, he is put on his right side facing the Qiblah as a sunnah, or flat on his back to make the exit of the soul easier.
• Someone will repeat for him the creedal statement, but he is not ordered to say it (because of the tension he might refuse).
• If he dies, then his mouth is closed by tying a cloth over the head and under the chin and his eyes are closed as well.

Washing the dead

• The obligation is to wash the dead person at least once, but there are optional things that should be observed listed below.
• Ablution is made for him as a sunnah, without rinsing the mouth or nose.
• He is put on a bed so that the water will flow off.
• A cloth is put to cover his private parts alone, and his clothes are removed.
• His bed is perfumed with incense an odd number of times (3, 5 or 7).
• Water is boiled with sidr or ushnaan (plants boiled with water to give it greater cleansing effect.) If they are not found, then pure water is used.
• His head and beard is washed with khatmi (another plant) if available.
• He is put on his left side and washed with sidr water until it is seen that water has reached under him on the bed.
• He is put on his right side and washed with sidr water until it is seen that water has reached under him on the bed.
• He is sat up leaning against the one washing, who lightly squeezes his stomach. This is so that the funeral clothes won't later become filthy.
• If something comes out, it is washed away, but neither the full wash (ghusl) nor the ablution is repeated.
• After this he is put on the right side and washed a 3rd time.
• After this he is dried by a cloth and perfumed before shrouding.
• Some perfume is put on the dead's head and beard - but not what is exclusive for women if the dead is a man.
• Neither his hair nor his beard is combed
• His nails and hair are not cut.

Shrouding the dead

• The sunnah is to put the man in 3 shrouds: one to the neck (shirt), one from the top of the head to the end of the toes (izaar), one beyond the head and feet (wrap). In that order.
• It is allowed to shroud a man in only 2 shrouds; izaar and wrap; Abu Bakr ordered to be shrouded in this way.
• For the man it is disliked to use only one shroud, except in necessity.
• If there is fear that the shroud might fall off, then it is tied with a cloth to prevent that.
• The woman is shrouded in 5 as a sunnah: shirt, headcover, izaar, wrap and chest-cover (in that order).
• It is allowed to use only three for her; izaar, wrap and headcover, but less than that is disliked.
• The woman is first put in her shirt, and then her hair is braided into two braids and placed over her shirt on her chest. After that her head-cover is put on.
• All the shrouds (for men and women) are perfumed by incense an odd number of times (3 times) before use.
• After this the prayer is performed.

The Prayer for the dead

• This prayer is an obligation for the community (fard kifaayah) and its pillars (conditions for valid performance) are: supplication, standing and proscription.
• Its prerequisites are that the dead is a Muslim, has been washed and is placed in front of those praying.
• The sultan is the preferred leader, then the judge, then the local imam, then the guardian is preferred (but unlike in a woman's marriage the father is first), then the sons according to age. If there is no guardian, then the husband (in the case of a woman) leads, and if there is none, the neighbor.
• If someone lower in priority than the guardian leads, then the guardian repeats the prayer later if he wishes.
• If the guardian prayed, or those higher than him in priority, then the funeral prayer may not be repeated.
• If the dead one was buried without having been prayed for, then the prayer is performed by the grave, if it is before the body starts to disintegrate (according to what one thinks is most likely the case.)
• The prayer consists of: proscription with raising the hands, the thanaa' (or praising Allah saying "al-hamdu lillaah" and the like), a takbiirah (without lifting the hands) followed by praising the Prophet (saying sallallaahu 3alayhi wa sallam and the like, but it is best to do it like in prayer after tashahhud), another takbiirah followed by supplication for the after life of oneself, the dead, ones muslim parents and the muslims in general. It is better to say supplications mentioned in hadit. After this one makes the fourth takbiirah and then the salaam.
• If the leader makes a fifth takbiirah, then the follower does not follow him in this.
• The supplication for the dead (after the third takbiirah) consists of asking for forgiveness for the dead one.
• One does not ask forgiveness for a child (since the child is not accountable). Instead one says:

اللّهمّ اجْعَلْه لَنا فَرَطاً ، واجْعَلْه لَنا أَجْراً وَذُخْراً ، واجْعَلْه لَنا شافِعاً مُشفَّعاً

"Allahumma-j3alhu lanaa faraTan, wa-j3alhu lanaa Ajran wa dhukhran, wa-j3alhu lanaa shaafi3an mushaffa3an"

• If one is late, then one does not make a takbiirah until the leader makes one after one is present.
• If the leader has made 4 takbiirahs before the follower's presence, then he does not enter the prayer, even if the leader didn't make the salaam yet.
• If someone was present and did not make the takbiirah immediately with the leader, then he does not wait for him to make another takbiirah.
• The one who is praying for a dead man or woman faces the body's chest, since this is the place of the heart where the light the belief of Islam is.
• One must stand for the funeral prayer - unless there is an excuse.
• It is allowed for the guardian to permit others to lead the prayer.
• It is allowed to announce the prayer, i.e. to send the word around to get people to attend the funeral prayer.
• The funeral prayer should not be performed inside the masjid.

Funeral for Children

• If there are lifesigns (sound or movement) from a newborn before its death (but after most of him/her has come out of the mother), then it is named, washed and prayed for.
• If the newborn gave no lifesigns (after most of him had come out and he had some visible bodyparts), then he is washed and wrapped in a cloth and buried in respect of his humanity, but he is neither prayed for nor named. He does not inherit, unlike the case where he is named.
• If a child was captured from the non-muslims together with its parents and then died, then it is not prayed for since he is attached to them. This is unless he declares his Islam when old enough to believe the basics of the belief.
• If one of the child's parents became a Muslim, then he is also prayed for, because he follows the best of them in terms of religion.
• If the child was captured alone, then he is prayed for, because he is now attached to the abode of Islam (Islamic land), just like in the case of an abandoned child found in a Muslim country.
• If a non-Muslim died and he has a Muslim guardian, then he is washed, shrouded and buried, but without any observation of the sunnahs.

Carrying the dead

• When they carry the dead on his platform/ open chest, they hold it in its four corners.
• They walk with him quickly without jogging (so that the dead will not be thrown around in the box).
• When they reach the grave, it is disliked to sit before he has been put down from the necks of those carrying. This is because help may be needed and standing makes one ready to do so.
• The manner of carrying is to put the casket on your right shoulder first in front (which is also the right side of the dead by his head since he is on his back), then go behind and put him on the right shoulder, then go up front to the right of the casket (the left of the dead by his head) and place him on your left shoulder and finally go behind to the right and put him on the left shoulder. This way is to give preference to the right hand side of the dead and the carriers, (and to keep behind the casket). (Each person makes ten steps on each corner for a total of 40.) This is all in the case of many available carriers.
• Those who are not carrying follow behind, not in front or to the sides, and recite or make remembrance silently.

The burial

• The grave is dug and side-slotted (in the side of the grave towards the Qiblah (the prayer direction)). In soft earth one makes a wide cleft straight down, and then a narrower one to place the dead in the middle.
• The dead one is placed on the side of the Qiblah of the grave (so that the one taking him down will be facing the Qiblah).
• The undertaker says while putting him in the slide slot: "bismillaah wa 3alaa millati-rasuulillaahi" and he is put on his right side facing the Qiblah.
• The grave of the woman is covered until the bricks have been placed on the slot, but this is not done for men.
• The knots are then untied since one is now safe from it falling off, and (unburned) clay-bricks are placed to close the side-slot.
• It is disliked to use building bricks or wood, because these are for solidifying buildings, and the grave is a place of tribulations.
• After that the grave is filled and given a slightly elevated top from earth. Those who have seen the Prophet's grave (may Allah raise his rank) bore witness that his grave is shaped in this way.

The Case of the Martyr

The martyr (i.e. the complete martyr that has special funeral treatment) is the muslim that was killed by non-muslims, or was found on the battlefield with a sign of having been killed, or was killed injustly by muslims in a way that does not obligate payment of diyah (i.e. it was on purpose, not by mistake or by something that does not cut). This martyr is shrouded and prayed for, but not washed, because he died in the manner of the martyrs of Uhud. The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank) said about them that they were to be wrapped with their injuries and blood.

• Any muslim that was killed by iron injustly and he is ritually pure (Taahir), has reached puberty, and there is no financial damages to be paid for his loss, is a martyr like those of Uhud.
• The meaning of sign of having been killed is external or internal injury, because this is the indication of having been killed. Internal injuries are detected by blood exiting from an irregular place, such as the eye or ear.
• Al-Shaafi3iy disagrees with us with regard to the prayer, and says that the sword removes all sins, so the martyr does not need intercession. The answer is that the prayer is to show the dignity of the dead, and the martyr has first priority in this. Moreover, the person free of sins, is still in need of supplication, like a prophet or a child.
• The one that was killed by any instrument (even what does not cut) by the non-muslims, or rebels (against the khaliifah), or highway robbers is not washed, because not all the martyrs of Uhud were willed by swords.
• If someone who is in need of greater ritual purity (ghusl) died as a martyr, then washing is required. Accordingly, the woman in menstruation or post-partum bleeding, or after it has stopped before washing, is washed.
• The martyred child is also washed according to Abu Hanifah. He says that the sword removed the need for washing adults since it removes sins, and a child has no sins, so he does not fall under the meaning of the martyrs of Uhud.
• Blood is not washed off the martyr, and his clothes are not removed. However, what does not have the meaning of shrouding is removed, such as padding, fur, hats, weapons, socks or shoes. (However, pants are kept on. In addition, he is not stripped naked, and padding and fur is kept on if nothing else is available.)
• Shrouding is added or removed as needed in order to do the sunnah number of shrouds.

The Deadly Wounded in Battle

The one who was deadly wounded in battle and does not die immediately (hereby refered to as deadly wounded) is washed, because his attribute of martyrdom had someting following it, namely some lifespan after it. This way the trace of injustice was weakened, so he does not take the meaining of the martyrs of Uhud. The one considered to have been deadly wounded so that this trace was weakened is the one who ate, drank, slept, took medicine or was tranported from the battlefield alive, because he engaged in the matters and benefits of this life. On the other hand, the martyrs of Uhud died thirsty while the water was offered them, and they did not accept in fear of losing martyrdom.

• If the wounded was removed from the place he fell so that he wouldn't be trampled, and died after that, then he is a martyr, because he did not get any rest or pleasure out of that. However, if he was put in a tent or the like, then he is considered deadly wounded, not a plain martyr in the meaning of Uhud.
• If the wounded remained alive the entire time of a prayer, while conscious and rational, then he is a deadly wounded person (and is washed). This is because this prayer became a debt that must be made up, and this is a judgement for the living.
• If the wounded made a testament regarding things of the afterlife, then he is also a deadly wounded person according to Abu Yusuf, because this is a business of this life. However, Muhammad said this is not so, because such a testament is a matter of the dead, and he is therefore a martyr.

Murder victims and those punished by death

• The person found dead in a town is washed, because oaths and diyah (bloodmoney) is due, so the trace of injustice is lessened. The exception is if is known that he was killed by something sharp injustly (so there is no diyah), because the duty here is capital punishment for the killer or punishment in the hereafter.
• The one who was killed in prescribed physical punishment is washed and prayed for. This is because he expended himself to settle the right of others upon him, whereas the martyrs of Uhud expended themselves for the sake of Allah only.
• Highway robbers or rebels against the Khaliifah that were killed are not prayed for. This is because Ali did not pray for the dead among the rebels against him.

Prayer by, in or on top of the Kaabah

Prayer in the Kaabah

• To pray inside the Kaabah is allowed both for obligatory and optional prayers.
• If the leader prayed inside it with a group, unless the follower put his back to the front of the leader, because he is in front of the leader.

Prayer on the roof of the Kaabah

• The one who prays on the roof of the Kaabah has a valid prayer, because the Kaabah is actually the place itself and the air above it up to the sky, not the building
• However, it is disliked to pray on the roof of the Kaabah, because it is not respectful to it.

Prayer around the Kaabah

If the leader prayed in the masjid of Mekkah (the Masjid-ul-Haraam), and the people stood around the Kaabah and joined him in prayer, then their prayers are correct if they are closer to the Kaabah than he is, unless they are on his side of the building. This is because being in front or back is only realized from the same side.

Prayer in Fear

• If people are facing the enemy in battle (or wild beasts or the danger of drowning or fire,) then the leader makes two groups for the prayer: one facing the enemy and one behind that group.
• He first prays one subset with the group behind.
• The moment he lifts his head from the second prostration, the first group goes to face the enemy while the second come to pray.
• The leader leads the second group in his second subset, and sits for tashahhud and says the salaam. At that point the second group does not make salaam, but goes to face the enemy again and the other comes back.
• The first group comes back again and they pray their second subset. They pray as singles without reciting -- because they were with the leader from the beginning. They sit for tashahhud and the salaam to end their prayer.
• The first group goes back again to face the enemy, while the second comes back to pray their second subset with reciting - because they were preceded by a subset. They sit for tashahhud and the salaam to end their prayer.
• If the leader is a resident, then he prays a pair of subsets with the first group and a pair with the second. If it is Maghrib he prays a pair with the first and a single subset with the second group.
• If the fear and danger is very strong, then everyone prays single, hinting at bows and prostrations in any direction they are able.
• In the middle of fighting activity one does not pray, but postpones the prayer.

Prayer of Asking For Water (istisqaa’)

• Asking of rain (istisqaa') consists of supplication (du3aa') and asking for forgiveness.
• There is no sunnah group prayer when asking for rain, but one may pray in group or single if one wishes.
• If one wishes to pray, then it is done as in Eid, outside the masjid with loud reciting and a speech at the end.
• The leader faces the Qiblah while supplicating, and turns his coat if he wishes.
• The non-muslims that live in muslim countries do not join the muslims in asking for water, because the purpose is to ask for the descent of mercy, and they attract the descent of damnation.

The Eclipse Prayers

The Prayer of the Solar Eclipse

If the sun eclipses, then the leader prays with the group two subsets in optional prayer fashion (there is no call to prayer or speech, and there is only one bow in each subset. (Al-Shaafi3iy said: there are 2 bows)

• The leader of the prayer should be the leader of their Friday Prayers, and if he doesn't show up, then people should pray single to avoid problems.
• The leader recites lengthily and with silence according to Abu Hanifah.
• Reciting lengthily in the prayer is a preference, but he may shorten it if he wants to do so. The sunnah is to occupy the entire time with prayer and supplication, so if one of the two is short in time, then the other is lengthened.
• One supplicates after this prayer until the sun appears since this is what the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank) advised.
• There is no speech with any of the eclipse prayers.

The Prayer of the Lunar Eclipse

There is no group prayer if a lunar eclipse occurs. Instead, everybody plays single (as a sunnah).