“Ma as-salam,” she said as she handed me my room key after completing the check in. She was efficient, well-dressed and polite.
“Is the meat halal?” I asked. “Yes,” she said, with a smile, “it is all halal.” I was relieved. This was my first visit to Kazakhstan and having experienced the destruction of even the most basic Islamic norms in Uzbekistan three years ago, I needed to be cautious. In Uzbekistan, I had seen pig farms all the way from Samarqand to Bukhara, both being the mysterious and romantic cities of my childhood, both being associated with personalities noble in my memory: Bukhara with Imam Bukhari and Samarqand with Abu al-Layth Samarqandi, the renowned exegete of the Qur’an.
Despite what the lady at the front desk said, the first time I walked into the hotel restaurant I found out that there was no distinction between beef and pork on the buffet table; everything was next to each other. There was a terrible smell in food; even cheese and vegetables had the same smell. When I asked the cook about how they separate halal from non-halal meat, the young man stared at me; he did not know what I was talking about. I had already asked him if he was a Muslim and he had very proudly said, yes. When I came downstairs without eating anything, there was the same lady at the counter. I asked her again about halal and non-halal, she repeated the same answer which she had given me yesterday; after a few more questions, I realised that what she meant that their hotel had halal pork!
After a few more minutes of conversation, I realised that she has no idea of halal and haram. This was, however, only the beginning of the shock. Within the next four days, I was to find out the true extent of destruction of Islam in this ninth largest country in the world – the world’s largest landlocked country with an area greater than entire Western Europe. This destruction happened during the Russians occupation which began in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire.
Most of the terrible crimes against Kazakh people were committed following the 1917 Russian Revolution and the entire religious infrastructure and educational institutes were destroyed between 1917 and 1991. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991, becoming the last Soviet republic to do so. But just like the other Republics of the former USSR, the communist-era leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, became the country’s new president and the euphoria of Islamic resurgence in Central Asia died out. Officially, more than half of 16.2 million people are Muslim, but there are only a few remains of Islam in reality.
This destruction is fundamental; that is, it was systematic, organised, and brutal. It plucked out hundreds of years of history of these people from their consciousness by removing the basic building blocks of an Islamic polity. Russians were thorough in their ruthlessness; they destroyed mosques, madrasas, slaughtered religious scholars, and killed everyone who publically professed Islam. Compared to the Russian colonisation of Central Asia, the British seem benign. In India, Egypt, and all other lands of Islam where British occupiers ruled during the 19th and 20th centuries, there remains a strong fundamental presence of Islam in the lives of people.
The difference in the benign nature of the colonisers notwithstanding, behind this fundamental reconfiguration of Muslim lands stands a one-man institution, that of the maulvi, which is ultimately responsible for the survival of the basic knowledge of Islam during the last three centuries which have been the most devastating for Muslims in their entire history. It is the maulvi who has kept the low flame of Islam flickering in the darkness of the colonial era and even now. He was degraded, devalued, kept in contempt, in a state of perpetual poverty, but nothing severed his ties to the religion he was hoping to keep alive in a polity going the other way; his was a lonely calling. Even in lands where one would not expect this destruction, it is the maulvi who has been instrumental in keeping this flame alive
A few years ago, I was in a small hillside town of Morocco, where the sound of adhan was an enchanting experience. But when I went to the mosque, I found that the maulvi and myself constituted the entire congregation. The maulvi had dutifully called out the adhan, but no one came. Then he called out the iqama and no one came; then he led the prayer and before we departed, he said, this is what he experiences every day, but that does not deter him from his calling.
The maulvis of the Indian subcontinent are far more than mere keepers of faith; they have also kept Islamic scholarship in a few places across the subcontinent alive. While it is true that most mosque-maulvi have little knowledge of religion, they are at least able to lead congregational prayers and perform the rites of birth, marriage, and death in a polity where most educated people have no idea what to do in these situations. Imagine the state of a society from where even these fundamental rites of one’s passage through life have disappeared! Can our educated men and women, who even call adhan in the ears of their newly born babies, show some more dignity and self-respect by respecting the maulvi of their masjid?
http://www.paperpk.org/columns/our-dear-maulvi-dr-muzaffar-iqbal/
'Alaykum Salam.
Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
There are two common misconceptions regarding blood donation and blood transfusions in the wider Muslim community. On the upcoming occasion of the World Blood Donor Day (14th June), I would like to set these misconceptions to rest.
The first is that blood donations and blood transfusions are not allowed in Islam.
The second is that blood donations and transfusions can spread infectious diseases.
Both these beliefs are erroneous as the article below will show.
Part I is related to showing that blood donation and transfusion in times of necessity is allowed in Islam. This part is primarily a shortened article on the issue by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al Kawthari al Hanafi on his website, daruliftaa.com. Part II is to show that blood donation and transfusions are safe today with guidelines in place to prevent the spread of contagious diseases like HIV and Viral Hepatitis. There are several links from wikipedia in part II for those who want to read further, Inshallah.
Part I: It is a well known principle of Islamic Law that all the organs and parts of a human body including blood are sacred and must not be tampered with. To take benefit from any part of a human without a need is unlawful.
There are two reasons for the impermissibility of taking benefit from another person’s blood. Firstly, it is sacred like all other parts of a human. Allah Most High says:
“And verily we have honored the children of Adam.” (Sura al-Isra, V.70)
Secondly, blood (when taken out) is impure and to derive benefit from something that is impure is unlawful. Allah Most High says:
“Say: “I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine, for it is impure.” (Sura al-An’am, 145)
Due to the above two reasons, under normal circumstances it will be impermissible to transfuse the blood of one person into the body of another. Sanctity of human parts demands this, as well as the impure element in the blood.
However, Islam is a religion of mercy and caters for all the problems faced by humanity. It acknowledges the needs of people and gives concessions and dispensations wherever needed. Allah Most High says:“On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.” (al-Baqarah, 286)
A famous principle of Islamic Law states:
“Necessity relaxes prohibition.” (Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir, P. 85)
Imam al-Haskafi says:
“The Scholars differed regarding the usage of haram medication. The apparent opinion in the (Hanafi) school is that it is haram. However it is said that it will be permissible when the medicine is known to be effective and there is no other alternative, just as there is a dispensation in drinking alcohol for a person dying of thirst, and the fatwa is given on this opinion.” (Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1/210)
Moreover, two reasons were mentioned for the impermissibility of using human blood, one the aspect of sanctity and the other its impurity.
As far as the first reason is concerned, it must be remarked that although blood is a component part of a human body yet the manner of its transfusion or donation does not require any surgical procedures in the body, rather it is drawn and transfused by means of injection, thus it is akin to human milk that is extracted without a surgical procedure or any kind of mutilation.
In appreciation of a child’s need, Islam regarded this milk a means of nourishment for it, and the mother is obliged to feed the baby this very milk. Hence, it can be said that blood transfusion is lawful as a necessity just as Islamic law has permitted women’s milk for infants out of necessity, despite it being part of a human body.
The second reason was the impurity of blood. This has been discussed earlier, in that impure and unlawful things become permissible in cases of need and necessity.
In light of the foregoing, it would be permitted to donate and transfuse blood under the following conditions:
a) The donor is mature and sane.
b) The donor willingly donates his blood. If he is compelled to do so, it will not be permissible.
c) There is no apparent risk to the life or health of the donor,
d) There is an absolute necessity in donating blood in that there is a definite risk to the life of a patient, and in the opinion of the medical expert, there is no other way of saving his/her life,
e) There is a need for it, that is, there is no risk to the life, but in the opinion of the experts, restoration of health may not be possible without it.
f) There is no alternative.
g) It is not for the sake of beautification or any other additional benefit.
h) Transfusion of blood must not be carried out by way of buying and selling, for trading in human parts is never permissible. However, if one is in need of blood desperately and the only means to obtain the blood is to purchase it, then only will it be permissible to pay for the blood.
Buying and selling blood: As mentioned in the last part of the conditions, that it is unlawful to buy and sell blood for the purpose of transfusion. Classical scholars have explicitly stipulated that to trade in any part of a human is unlawful, and especially blood for the impure element found therein.
However, in case of necessity, if one is unable to obtain blood except by purchasing it, then it will be permissible to purchase it, but the provider will still be sinful. (Durr al-Mukhtar, 4/113)
This ruling also serves as prevention to the evil of trading in blood found in many places, where for the sake of a small amount of money; poor and desperate people sell their blood. Some go the extent where they put themselves in danger, and as mentioned earlier, it will only be permissible to donate or give blood if the donor’s life or health is not affected.
Conclusion: From all of the foregoing, we learn that donating and transfusing blood will be permissible in cases of need and necessity (along with the other conditions stipulated above. It is also impermissible to buy and sell blood. Today we see the establishment of blood banks where the blood of different people is stored and used whenever needed. The advantage of these banks is that it gives them an opportunity to store the different types of blood and then match it with the blood of the one in need. From a Shari’ah perspective, it will not be permissible for one to sell his/her blood to the bank; rather it must be donated freely.
Part II: There is mandatory testing in place for blood donations in order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Blood and blood components are not released to stock unless they have been tested (in addition to blood group serology requirements) and found negative for mandatory microbiological tests (HBsAg, anti-HIV, anti-HCV, HCV NAT, anti-HTLV and syphilis antibodies). Donated blood is quarantined until it is tested and shown to be free of infectious agents.The donor is also examined and asked specific questions about their medical history to make sure that donating blood is not hazardous to their health. The donor's hematocrit or hemoglobin level is tested to make sure that the loss of blood will not make them anemic. Pulse, blood pressure, and body temperature are also evaluated. Elderly donors are sometimes also deferred on age alone because of health concerns.
Apheresis is a blood donation method where the blood is passed through an apparatus that separates out one particular constituent and returns the remainder to the donor. Usually the component returned is the red blood cells, the portion of the blood that takes the longest to replace. Using this method an individual can donate plasma or platelets much more frequently than they can safely donate whole blood. These can be combined, with a donor giving both plasma and platelets in the same donation.
With these safeguards in place, it is practically impossible for infectious diseases to spread from high quality blood banks. Wa salamu 'alaykum.
