Prawns sea food and witr prayer
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear Brother Burhan,
Thanks for all your update mails, may Allah bless you, me
and all brothers with his mercy.
I have two querries please send me an answer if possible.
1. Is eating of prawns is haraam
2. According to my knowledge Namaz of Witr said in Esha
Prayer is Wajib. Is it right or wrong.
Please explain in the light of Quran and Hadith.
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Answer:
Prawns sea food and
witr prayer
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Q-1: Is eating of prawns is haraam
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah
Nahl verse 14:
It is He (Allah) Who has subjected the sea to
your service so that you may get
fresh flesh from it to eat and bring out of it articles of
ornaments, which you wear.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 83 Narrated
by Abu Hurayrah
A man asked the Messenger of Allah (saws): ‘O Messenger of Allah
(saws), we travel on the sea and take a small quantity of water with us. If we
use this for ablution, we would suffer from thirst. Can we perform ablution
with sea water?’ The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: ‘Its water is
pure and (even) what dies in it is lawful food.’
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.648 Narrated
by Jabir
We set out in the army of Al-Khabt and Abu Ubaida was the
commander of the troops. We were struck with severe hunger and the sea
threw out a dead fish the like of which we had never seen, and it was
called Al-'Anbar. We ate of it for half
a month. Abu Ubaida took (and fixed) one of its bones and a rider passed
underneath it (without touching it). (Jabir added:) Abu 'Ubaida said (to us),
"Eat (of that fish)." When we
arrived at
In light of the above clear guidance of Allah and His
Messenger (saws), the absolute majority of the eminent scholars and jurists in
Islam are of the opinion that the flesh of every animal that predominantly
lives in the sea, without exception,
would be absolutely ‘halaal’ for the believers to consume.
Because the natural habitat of prawns is the sea, its
consumption would be considered absolutely lawful for the believers as
food.
Q-2: According to my knowledge Namaz of Witr said in Esha
Prayer is Wajib. Is it right or wrong.
Firstly, please allow
us to clarify the difference between Fard,
Sunnah and Nafl prayers.
Fard prayers: These are
the five obligatory prayers at their appointed times of the day. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward
from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there will be a severe
accounting and punishment.
Nafl prayers: These are
the voluntary or non-obligatory prayers.
If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and
if one does not pray them, there is no sin.
Sunnah prayers:
These are the Nafl or voluntary prayers which were prayed by the
Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus they become his (saw’s) Sunnah for us. If one prays them, he will earn a huge
reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one
does not pray them, there is no
sin. The most that can be said of one
who does not pray the Sunnah prayers is that he lost a great opportunity to
earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.
It is reported that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) said:
"The witr prayer is not required like your obligatory prayers, but the
Prophet (saws) would perform the witr prayer and say: 'O you people [followers]
of the Qur'an, perform the witr prayer,
for Allah is One and He loves the witr.'"
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.112 Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar
The Prophet (saws) said, "Make Witr as
your last prayer at night."
The ‘witr’ prayers are not ‘fard’ or obligatory, but an
extremely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and he (saws) time
and again exhorted the believers to offer the ‘witr’ prayers and make it the
absolute last prayer of the night.
As much as the Prophet (saws) exhorted and encouraged the
believers to offer the ‘witr’ prayer, they are not obligatory, but rather
considered an extremely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) or
‘mustahab’.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan