Rules and Restrictions

Ever since i started to tutor my cousins for Arabic, Islamic studies and whatever they learn in "Sunday School", im faced with some sticky situations, when i don;t know what to tell them.

1. Fatihah when Masbuq

Their book says that if a follower follows the Imam in prayer from the start, he/she has to finish his/her Fatihah in each rakaat, but that if he joins in mid prayer, it is OK to not be able to finish the Fatihah.

However, I share the same opinion as Ustaz Abdurrahman. He said that an Imam is the Leader. He LEADS the prayer and he complements or completes our Fatihah or any other dua throughout the Solat. Besides, Allah will listen to what the Leader says and will accept the dua as a Whole with all the followers.

Just like in a basket of durian, 1 is taken out for sample. Of course the seller will pick the BEST one. and with that, the buyer will buy the WHOLE LOT if he's happy with the sample. hai na?

2. NIYYAH or intention

In every chapter of their book of solah, there will be a niyah accompanying it.

Children were trained from decades ago that they hafta memorise and READ these specific Niyahs in ARABIC, no less.

Niyah is about what is in the heart. For eg: you go to the toilet, you open the tap, in your mind you said i wanna take ablution. that's the niyah already. or when you wake up for sahri/sahur, that's niyah for your fast already.

I appreciate that these arabic phrases were GUIDES as to how a niyah could be. But i feel that it should be stressed that it certainly doesnt hafta be in ARABIC bcos Allah The All-KNower understand ALL Language and Knows whatever is in your heart.

There are also certain preachers who stressed that for solat/prayer, the niyah should be read in between the Takbiratul Ihram.

In the rukun/pillars of Solah, Niyah is always first, and u hafta follow the sequence of the pillars!!

3. Dying Hair

I've never thought anything about Dying hair in different colours. It's just like painting henna on ur hands and nails or putting on make up. I dont know why Zubair is so against it and why my cousins asked me that question. Am i missing something here?

But then agian, i totally DON"T GET the Halal logo stamped on boxes of hair colours. Halal to me, is for CONSUMPTION (read: food/drink) not application. Let's say there's alcohol it in, it doesn't make us drunk, does it?

Same goes to perfumes. Even if there's alcohol, you're not actually drinking it. Having said that, i'm NOT in favour of wearing perfumes myself but not because of the alcohol status. But because the smell attracts people esp the opposite gender. My tkae: You can only wear it at home for your husband. However, body lotion, deodorant are OK as they eliminate/prevent/conceal odor while not being too strong smelling.