431. What is meant by under duress? 

These verses (2:173, 5:3, 6:119, 6:145, 16:115) of the Quran say there is no wrongdoing on the part of a person if he commits a crime under duress. 

Being subjected to undue pressure and being pushed to a situation of losing one’s life and suffering for a day’s meal is considered as under duress according to Prophet Muhammad.

The comrades of Prophet Muhammad asked him ‘Oh! Messenger of God, our area is reeling under drought now tell us up to what extent are the dead animals allowed to be consumed by us. To this the Prophet replied ‘If milk that is taken by you is not available in the mornings and evenings, you might as well consume the flesh of animals that had died on their own’.

Books : Ahmad 20893, 20896,

Daarami 1912 

This hadith conveys the message, if there is unavailability of food or milk, twice a day the prohibited can be consumed.

I approached Prophet Muhmmad and questioned him as to how a prohibited food can become a permitted one, and the prophet in turn questioned me as to what my food consisted of. I replied by saying a little milk in the mornings and in the evenings. On this the prophet made it permissible for us to eat the flesh of animals that died of their own accord.

Book: Abu Dawud 3321 

Not only those in the brink of death but also, those who are unable to manage two square meals a day can consume what has been prohibited by Islam. The Almighty sets two conditions for one to eat prohibited food, and we are required to adhere to these conditions.

The two conditions are ‘no voluntary opting and no transgression’.

No going in search of prohibited foods at such times and a desire to get the taste of prohibited foods at times of drought. People should not continue to remain in conditions in their life that allows them to consume prohibited foods and make efforts to come out of such situations. Not trying to come out of such circumstances constitutes transgression.

People who come under the ambit of ‘duress’ under these two conditions can consume prohibited food, it is not considered a crime.

Similarly, blood is prohibited for us, but the same is needed for some who have met with an accident etc. and transfusion takes place.

When there is permission to eat prohibited food in circumstances that may lead to death, in the same way, blood can be donated to save one from death. There can’t be anything more serious than this kind of duress.

430. To face the Kaaba from wherever. 

Verse 2:144 of the Quran says ‘Face the Kaaba from wherever you are’. 

‘From wherever you begin your journey, face the Kaaba’ says verse 2:149 of the Quran.

Verse 2:150 of the Quran says ‘From wherever you start your journey turn your face in the direction of ‘Masjid Ul Haram’, and wherever you are, face towards that direction.’

This should not be understood as this verse implying a journey should be undertaken only towards the Kaaba and not in any other direction and not only this, but it does not also mean, that wherever we are we should keep facing the direction of Kaaba always.

Though a superficial reading of this verse renders such a meaning, but in fact from the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad we come to understand these verses refer to the the worship of the Almighty.

This confirms the need for Prophet Muhammad’s explanation for the right understanding of the Quran. 

To know more about obeying the commandments of the Almighty and following the guidance of Prophet Muhammad please refer to points 18, 36, 39, 50, 55, 56, 57, 60, 67, 72, 105, 125, 127, 128, 132, 154, 164, 184, 244, 255, 256, 258, 286, 318, 350, 352, 358 of this compilation of explantions of Quranic verses.

429. There are waves in the deep sea. 

Verse 24:40 of the Quran, while talking about the sea, says there are waves and darkness in the deep sea. These two declarations of the Quran reflect two great scientific discoveries.

(This has been extensively explained in point no;303 of this compilation.)

There is scientific truth in the Quranic declaration that there are waves in the deep sea. Right from the time this verse of the Quran was revealed till the present century man was unaware of the fact waves existed in the deep sea.

When countries like Japan were affected by Tsunami, it was found out that the waves on the surface of the sea could traverse long distances but, cannot attain the height equal to that of a palm tree, and studies regarding the same were undertaken.

Unseen waves from above waves are generated under the sea that could travel at a speed of 500 miles/hour, destroying the entire surroundings on reaching the shores with huge force.

The Tsunami waves have the capacity to rise to a height 50 feet with a huge force to throw water along the coastal areas destroying everything on its way. The Tsunami waves that hit the shores of our country rose up to a height of 25 feet, say the people who witnessed the same.

Quakes under the sea close to the shore that create Tsunami waves capable of reaching the shores within a time of about 10 minutes. 

There are huge waves under the sea that rise out to the outer surface like an airplane from the bottom of the sea up to the height of a palm tree from the surface of the sea.

The Quran that revealed 1434 years ago that there are huge waves in the depths of sea proves itself to be the word of God. 

428. The abode of criminals. 

In verse (7:145) it is said ‘Will show you the abode of criminals’.

Some opine the abode of criminals refers to hell, this cannot be accepted.

In the hereafter the Almighty would display hell for everyone to witness, and the paradise dwellers also would pass by it.

Hence this is a meaningless interpretation.

Prophet Musa and his community feared Firon and relinquished all their belongings and fled away from him.

This phrase has been made use of in the sense, the people who fled Egypt would return, and be shown the abodes of the perpetrators, and resettle them there. This interpretation we find as appropriate.

Verses (7:137, 17:103,104, 44:23,28, 26:57-59) of the Quran that talk about the return of these people to Egypt to resettle confirms this interpretation.

427. Slaughtering only in the name of the Almighty! 

In verse (108:2) of the Quran, the Almighty commands only He should be worshipped and slaughtering of animals be done only in His name.

Since everyone is aware salah (the muslim way of worship) is for the Almighty alone, the carry ot the same for Him.

But some Muslims who are unaware of the fact that slaughtering of animals is a form of worship and it is not to be done in the name of other than Almighty God, do it in the name of others. There is an outright rebuttal in this verse for such people.

Prophet Muhammad said ‘Allah’s curse is on those whoever slaughters animals in the name of others than Allah’. 

Book Muslim: 4001, 4002, 4003 

I asked Prophet Muhammad whether I can fulfill my votive offering vow by slaughtering an animal at a spot named Bhuvana. He in turn asked me a question whether others perform such acts in the same spot. I replied in the negative. Again, he asked me whether it is a place where other religious gatherings or other gods are worshipped there, again I replied in the negative that he permitted me to carry out the slaughtering there.

Book: Abu Dawud 2882 

When there is prohibition to even slaughtering an animal in the place of people of other other faiths carrying out theirs, we need to speculate the acts of some people who fullfil their votive offering by slaughtering animals and birds in shrines.

To know the fallacies in arguments put forward by supporters of shrine worshipping please refer to points 17, 41, 49, 79, 83, 100, 121, 122, 140, 141, 193, 213, 215, 245, 269, 298, 327, 397, 471, of this explanations compilation

426. The birthplace of ‘lies’.

In verse (96:15) of the Quran it is being said the ‘forelock that committed a crime and lied’

This word usage is something rare and not common. We fail to understand the connection between lies and the forelock.

The frontal lobe of the brain is located directly behind the forehead, and studies show this is the place where human instincts like getting emotional, lies, anger, etc. originate. And it has been found to be the spot in the brain from where a lie or truth originates when a man speaks.

This fact has been conveyed in the Quran 1434 years ago. Hence the phrase in the Quran the ‘forehead that committed a crime and lied’, proving the Quran to be the word of God.

425. The layers of the earth. 

In this verse (65:12) of the Quran the Almighty says ‘He who created seven heavens and of the earth’ meaning the layers of the earth.

This should not be misconstrued as there are six more earths.

Rather it is the mention of the layers of the earth that are made up of. This verse guides us to interpret as such.

The verse talks about the heavens in seven layers one above the other, and refers the same also in case of the earth.

Though man lives on earth he did not gain much knowledge about the same as he has in the case of the skies. 

To gain knowledge about the skies, man launches several satellites into it, but is unable to undertake studies regarding the depths of earth, because of lack of facilities.

Man who believed the earth is one solid structure, has recently discovered it consists of layers one above the other.

Scientists say the four important layers of the earth are the inner core, the outer core, the mantle and the crust. Though they have confirmed the presence of some more layers they are yet to differentiate and name them. Hence the message in the Quran confirms the existence of layers in the heavens and earth.

424. The restriction on women not to step out of their dwellings during Iddah. 

Men are given three options to divorce their wives if they dislike them.

The wedlock between a woman and a man is not completely broken on the man declaring divorce and and cancelling his marriage. From the first declaration of divorce by the man, he has an opportunity for a reunion with the divorced wife within a time frame before she crosses her third menstrual cycle from the date of divorce, or if the wife is carrying at the time of divorce he can rejoin before she delivers the baby, says verse 65:4 of the Quran.

If the couple does not rejoin within this time frame, the wedlock between them is broken, and if they reconsider to live together, they can get married again, without any restrictions.         And in case there is discordance between them after the reunion and failed to carry on living together even after all kinds of reproachments as per Islamic ethics, they can go in for a divorce again.

As stated previously they can rejoin again if they desire within the time frame specified as earlier to live together and get married again. Thus even after rejoining twice in life, and the couple does not find it good enough to live a life together, the third divorce declared at this juncture is the last and final and the couple cannot live together and the door is shut for them to live together. 

But if the woman, on being divorced, enters into wedlock with a different man, and gets divorced even by that person, she is allowed to get married to her previous husband.

The period of three months after divorce the woman spends is known as Iddah. 

The divorced woman remains to live in the house of her husband, and the husband is not supposed to send her out nor should the woman leave the house.

With the wedlock yet to be broken completely, the right to remain in the house of the husband rests with the woman. This is found in the verse of the Quran that says ‘Do not send your wives out of their houses’. Since the wedlock is not completely broken between the two, the right to remain in the houses of their husbands rests with them, which is the reason Allah mentions as ‘their houses’.

The condition that she should not leave the house implies her husband who divorced her is responsible for her immediate expenses.

The Almighty explains in the Quran the reason the divorced woman needs to stay back in the house of the husband. The reason being He would create an amicable situation between them.

The chances of separation between them becomes stronger if the divorced wife leaves immediately for her mother’s house, and better opportunities are available to them when they live together to dissolve the divorce between them.

To offer the couple a chance to rejoin, does the Almighty say in the Quran not send out the divorced woman from the house immediately, and asks the women not to leave either.

If the reason for divorce happens to be an immoral act by the wife, does the Quran say she can be sent out of the house.

The Almighty says in the next verse, the couple can rejoin at the completion of the Iddah period, and if they cannot reconcile, they are free to opt for divorce. Hence this happens to be the final and permanent separation; the wife can no more afford to live in the house of the husband.

Misunderstanding this verse and the five verses that follow it some have decreed that providing the divorced woman with her requirements for a period of three months is sufficient.

They fail to realize the amount of money they have fixed as compensation is just the expenses she would incur while the other two chances to rejoin are still available to be exhausted.

Please refer to points 69, 360, 404 for more details about Iddah. 

And to know more details about divorce please refer to explanation points, 66, 69, 70, 74, 386, 402