Guidance regarding basic Islamic issues that Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, has given on various occasions in his written correspondence and during MTA programmes is being published officially below for everyone’s benefit.
What does Islam teach about the good treatment of wives?
Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, stating that they had heard somewhere that it is permissible to lightly chastise a disobedient woman. Is this correct, or does the verse have another meaning?
In his letter dated 7 May 2023, Huzoor-e-Anwaraa provided the following guidance on this question:
“Islam has articulated the rights and duties of both women and men in great detail and has confined both within their own spheres in accordance with these rights and duties. It has taught that every individual is a guardian within their own domain and that every guardian will be held to account concerning those under their care, as to whether they fulfilled their rights or fell short in doing so. In this responsibility, just as Islam has appointed the man as the guardian of the household and made him responsible for fulfilling the rights of his family, so too has it designated the woman as the custodian of her husband’s home. Thus, the Holy Prophetsa stated:
“‘Each of you is a guardian and will be questioned about those under your care. Thus, the person who is a leader of people will be questioned about them (as to whether he fulfilled his responsibilities in overseeing them and securing their rights completely). A man is a guardian of his household and will be questioned about it. And a woman is a custodian of her husband’s house and his children, and she will be questioned about them.’ (Sahih al Bukhari, Kitab al ‘itq, Bab karahiyati t-tatawuli ‘ala r-raqiq)
“Therefore, if both men and women fulfil their respective duties in an excellent manner, the question of even scolding one another, let alone chastising, does not arise.
“Describing the beauty of Islamic teachings concerning the rights of women, the Promised Messiahas states:
“‘No other religion has safeguarded the rights of women as Islam has. In concise words, it has stated:
وَلَھُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِی عَلَیْھِنَّ
“That is, just as men have rights over women, so too do women have rights over men. (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.229) One hears of the condition of some people that they consider these poor women to be like the shoe on one’s foot and take the most degrading services from them. They verbally abuse them. They look upon them with contempt. And they apply the commandment of the veil in such an improper manner that they virtually bury them alive. The relationship of a husband with his wife should be like that of two true and sincere friends. The first witnesses to a man’s excellent morals and his connection with God are these very women. If his relations with them are not good, then how is it possible for him to be at peace with God? Allah’s Messengersa has said:
خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِه
“‘‘The best among you is he who is best to his family.’’ (Malfuzat, Vol. V, 2016, p. 121)
“After this most supreme and beautiful teaching, if a woman attempts to step outside the legitimate bounds of obedience to her husband while also exhibiting treacherous behaviour [i.e., nushuz], then, to guide such women back to the righteous path, Islam has commanded the man to adopt certain reformative measures. The first measure is to admonish her and reason with her. If admonishment also has no effect on her, it is stated that the husband, for the sake of his wife’s reformation, should suspend his conjugal relations with her for a time (a measure through which the husband often has to endure more difficulty than the wife). Furthermore, in this commandment, the man is instructed to separate his bed from his wife; it does not say to expel the wife from the bed. If this reformative measure also has no effect on the wife and she does not desist from her disobedience and rebellious treachery [nushuz], then the administration of limited chastisement is permitted by the Holy Quran. (Surah an-Nisa’, Ch.4: V.35) However, specific conditions for such chastisement were stipulated by the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, with instructions, for example, that her face should not be touched (Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab an-nikah, Bab haqqi l-mar’ati ‘ala z-zawj) and that she should not be chastised in a manner causing any physical injury or bruising. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab an-nikah, Bab ma yukrahu min darbi n-nisa’).
“Therefore, for the reformation of someone and to bring them to the right path, neither has any other religion given a more beautiful and balanced teaching, nor can any country in the world lay claim to it.
“Nevertheless, Islam also mandates its followers to comply with the laws of their countries, provided these do not conflict with their fundamental religious tenets [such as the freedom to believe in God]. Therefore, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are also directed to abstain from any form of chastisement in regions where it is legally prohibited, even under the conditions and circumstances previously mentioned.”
[The above response elucidates theological interpretations without offering legal advice. It focuses on understanding religious texts and should not be viewed as encouragement to act against civil or criminal laws. Moreover, in situations that could escalate to severe measures, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has established systems for counselling and arbitration. These systems allow members in all parts of the world to seek guidance, present evidence and witnesses, and resolve conflicts peacefully. These measures are in place to prevent any spontaneous or unjustified actions and serve as preventative mechanisms against violence, especially domestic violence, which is also the true intent of the Quranic verse under discussion. —Editor, Al Hakam]
What is the meaning of the prophecy about Imam Mahdi’s 313 Companions?
A lady from Pakistan asked Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa: “According to the Shia, when the Imam Mahdi was to appear, he was to be accompanied by 313 soldiers. What is meant by this?”
In his letter dated 7 May 2023, Huzoor-e-Anwaraa provided the following answer:
“This hadith is narrated in various books of the Shia. The meaning of this hadith is that just as in the blessed era of the Holy Prophetsa, the Companions of Badr, who numbered 313, supported the Holy Prophetsa in the difficult and delicate circumstances of Islam and had the honour of assisting him for the sake of the faith of Islam, similarly, in the era of the Renaissance of Islam, when the advent of the most ardent devotee of the Holy Prophetsa and his spiritual son, the Promised Messiah and Mahdias, was to take place for the revival of Islam, then at that time too, initially, 313 of his Companions were to have the extraordinary honour of supporting and aiding him. Accordingly, the Promised Messiahas, declaring this hadith to be authentic, mentioned it in some of his writings. In the supplement to the treatise Anjam-e-Atham [Zamimah-e-Risalah Anjam-e-Atham], he presents this hadith as a proof of his truth, writing:
“‘It has appeared in an authentic hadith that the Promised Mahdi will have with him a printed book in which the names of his three hundred and thirteen Companions will be recorded. It is therefore necessary to state that this prophecy has been fulfilled today. It is evident that no such person has ever appeared before in this blessed ummah who was a claimant to Mahdihood and in whose time there was also a printing press, and who also possessed a book in which three hundred and thirteen names were written. And it is obvious that if this had been within human power, many impostors could have made themselves its object of fulfilment before this. But the fact is that in God’s prophecies, there are such inimitable conditions that no liar can benefit from them, and he is not granted the means and resources that are granted to the truthful one.
“‘Sheikh Ali Hamza bin Ali Malik al-Tusi, in his book Jawahir al-Asrar, which was compiled in 840 AH, writes the following passage concerning the Promised Mahdi:
”’در اربعین آمده است که خروج مهدی از قریه کَـدعـه باشد. قال النّبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: يخرج المهدي من قرية يقال لها كدعه ويصدّقه الله تعالى ويجمع أصحابه من أقصى البلاد على عدة أهل بدر بثلاث مائة وثلاثة عشر رجلا ومعه صحيفة مختومة (أي مطبوعة) فيها عدد أصحابه بأسمائهم وبلادهم وخلالهم.‘
“‘That is, the Mahdi will emerge from a village whose name is Kad‘ah. (This name is in fact an Arabised form of the name Qadian.) And then it is stated that God will attest to the truth of that Mahdi and will gather his friends from distant lands, whose number will be equal to the number of the Companions of Badr, that is, three hundred and thirteen. And their names, along with their place of residence and disposition, will be recorded in a printed book.
“‘Now, it is evident that no person before has had the fortune of claiming to be the Promised Mahdi and possessing a printed book containing the names of his friends. But I have already recorded three hundred and thirteen names before this in Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, and now, for the second time, for the conclusive communication of proofs, I record three hundred and thirteen names below, so that every just person may understand that this prophecy, too, has been fulfilled in my favour. And in accordance with the intention of the hadith, it is necessary to state beforehand that all these Companions possess a disposition of sincerity and purity and, according to their ranks, which Allah the Exalted knows best, some have surpassed others in love, complete devotion to Allah, and religious zeal.
“‘May Allah the Exalted keep them all firm on the paths of His pleasure. And they are as follows.’ (Zamimah-e-Risalah Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 11, pp. 324-325)
“After this, the Promised Messiahas recorded the names of these 313 Companions of his, who were granted the opportunity to take the oath of allegiance at his hand and had the honour of assisting the pure Messiahas in the works of the faith of Islam with their extraordinary faith and sincerity.”
Is it permissible to take a bank loan or mortgage to buy a house?
Someone from Bangladesh wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa: “A new Ahmadi has asked whether it is permissible to take a loan from a bank to build a house or start a business. It is commonly held that it is not permissible because the bank gives the loan on the condition that a certain percentage of interest will have to be paid to the bank. What is the ruling on this? Also, Huzooraa has forbidden Bitcoin, but the stock market also seems similar to Bitcoin. What is the guidance on this?”
In his letter dated 16 May 2023, Huzoor-e-Anwaraa provided the following guidance:
“Islam has strictly forbidden any loan upon which interest is taken or given. As it is stated:
یَااَیُّھَا الَّذِیْنَ آمَنُوْا اتَّقُوا اللّٰہَ وَذَرُوْامَابَقِیَ مِنَ الرِّبَا اِنْ کُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِیْنَ فَاِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوْا فَأْذَنُوْا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللّٰہِ وَ رَسُوْلِہِ
“‘O Ye who believe, be mindful of your duty to Allah and relinquish your claim to what remains of interest, if you are truly believers. But if you do it not, then beware of war from the side of Allah and His Messenger.’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.279-280)
“Therefore, any sale, purchase, or financial transaction that is mixed with interest is, in any event, forbidden [haram]. However, if a loan is available without interest, there is no harm in buying a house or conducting business with such a loan.
“If you are asking about buying a house through the mortgage system prevalent in the Western world, then in this method, a loan is generally obtained from a bank or a financial institution. And until this loan is repaid, such a house remains the property of the lending bank or financial institution. The bank or financial institution also charges a certain extra amount on this loan, the reason for which they state is the devaluation of money.
“Since in these countries, not every person can easily buy a house even for their own residence, they either have to live in a rented house for their entire life, from which they derive no benefit from the rent paid throughout their life other than living in the house, because despite paying such a large amount in rent, this house never becomes their property. Or, in these circumstances of necessity, they take advantage of the mortgage facility to buy a home for their residence. For this, they have to pay a mortgage instalment that is approximately the same as the rent they would be paying for a house. However, the benefit they receive from a mortgage is that after the payment of these instalments, the house becomes their property.
“Therefore, buying a house through a mortgage is a state of necessity and compulsion [iztirar], from which one may benefit only to the extent of buying one house for one’s own residence. However, using this mortgage method to continuously buy house after house as a business is by no means correct, and the Jamaat does not encourage this matter at all; rather, it forbids it.
“As for the matter of simply buying the shares of various companies, there is no harm in that, because this too is a form of business with a partnership in profit and loss, although a great deal of caution is required in it, as there is a high possibility of deceit in this business.
“However, if the situation is that one is buying shares one moment and selling them the next, and one’s gaze is fixed on the stock market’s index board from morning till evening, then this would be a situation resembling a lottery, the prohibition of which no one denies.”
If Islam allows for mortgages out of necessity, why are there no exceptions for working with pork or alcohol?
Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa: “In Islam, the taking and giving of interest is prohibited, but as an exception, a loan on interest for a house or property for personal and business purposes has been permitted. So, why have those individuals who, out of necessity, work in places involving pork and alcohol not been given a general permission as an exception? The second question is that just as the use of prohibited or forbidden items mentioned in the Holy Quran is permitted in exceptional situations, can being married to two sisters at the same time also be permissible in a situation of necessity?”
In his letter dated 16 May 2023, Huzoor-e-Anwaraa provided the following guidance on these questions:
“From where have you deduced that, as an exception, taking a loan on interest for personal and business purposes is permitted? Islam has forbidden the taking and giving of interest under all circumstances. As it is stated:
یَااَیُّھَا الَّذِیْنَ آمَنُوْا اتَّقُوا اللّٰہَ وَذَرُوْامَابَقِیَ مِنَ الرِّبَا اِنْ کُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِیْنَ فَاِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوْا فَأْذَنُوْا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللّٰہِ وَ رَسُوْلِہِ
“‘O Ye who believe, be mindful of your duty to Allah and relinquish your claim to what remains of interest, if you are truly believers. But if you do it not, then beware of war from the side of Allah and His Messenger.’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.279-280)
“The Just Arbiter [Hakam ‘Adl] of this age, the Promised Messiahas, went so far as to say that the Holy Quran has permitted the eating of pork in a state of extreme necessity [iztirar], but regarding interest, it did not say that it is permissible in a state of extreme necessity. (Badr, No. 5, Vol. 7, 6 February 1908, p. 6)
“Therefore, this notion that the taking and giving of interest is permitted in a state of extreme necessity is by no means a correct view. If, however, by this you are referring to the method of mortgages prevalent in the Western world, then the first point is that to declare it an interest-based loan is not entirely correct. This is because, in this method, for the loan obtained from a bank or financial institution to buy a house, the house remains, to an extent, the property of the lending bank or financial institution until the loan is repaid. This becomes a form of a collateral or pledge contract [rahn], a method that is permissible in Islam. And the extra amount that the bank or financial institution charges on this loan, although they state its reason to be the devaluation of money, can also be considered the rent for that house, which would fall under the category of benefiting from a rahn. Or, it could also be considered the management and administrative charges of the bank or financial institution for maintaining the accounts of this loan and for their efforts in its collection.
“The second point is that since in these Western countries, not every person can easily buy a house even for their own residence, they either have to live in a rented house for their entire life, from which they derive no benefit from the rent paid throughout their life other than living in the house, because despite paying such a large amount in rent, this house never becomes their property. Or, they take advantage of the mortgage facility to buy a home for their residence. For this, they have to pay a mortgage instalment that is approximately the same as the rent they would be paying for a house. However, the benefit they receive from a mortgage is that after the payment of these instalments, the house becomes their property.
“Therefore, buying a house by means of a mortgage is a state of necessity and compulsion that can be classified among the mushabbahat or matters that are susceptible to different interpretations in varying circumstances, as is mentioned in the following guidance of the Holy Prophetsa:
’”الْحَلَالُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنْ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ اتَّقَى الْمُشَبَّهَاتِ اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ وَمَنْ وَقَعَ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ كَرَاعٍ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ‘
“‘The lawful is clear and the unlawful is (also) clear, and between the two are some mushabbahat which many people do not know. Thus, he who avoids these mushabbahat has saved his religion and his honour, and he who gets involved in these mushabbahat is like a shepherd who grazes his animals very close to the royal pasture, concerning which there is a fear that one day the animals will enter into that pasture.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-iman, Bab fadli mun istabra’a li dinih)
“In any case, one may benefit from it only to the extent of buying one house for one’s own residence. However, using this mortgage method to continuously buy house after house as a business is by no means correct, and the Jamaat does not encourage this matter at all; rather, it forbids it. Therefore, if a person has the financial capacity to buy a house without a mortgage, they should also abstain from this doubtful method of a mortgage. Because this state of necessity and compulsion is just like the incident mentioned in Tazkirat-ul-Auliya concerning the acceptance of Hajj, in which it was temporarily permissible for a family suffering from starvation for many days to eat the meat of a dead donkey to save their lives, but for their neighbour, who had the financial capacity and had also saved money to go for Hajj, this meat was not permissible. (Tadhkirat-ul-Auliya, Al-Farooq Book Foundation, May 1997, p. 123)
“Therefore, for you to create a justification for the work of selling pork and alcohol by speculating on a baseless notion in your own false assumption is by no means correct. Moreover, if a person, considering their state to be one of necessity and compulsion [iztirar], engages in the work of selling pork and alcohol, the Jamaat is under no compulsion to then necessarily accept financial contributions, etc., from such a person.
“Similarly, on the basis of this baseless notion, the point you have made about the permissibility of marrying two sisters at the same time, against a clear injunction of Islam, is also an entirely wrong and vain notion.”
(Compiled by Zaheer Ahmad Khan, Head of Records Department, Private Secretariat, London and translated by Al Hakam)