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Shaban and Pre-Ramadan Fiqhi Issues (Fatwa Session)

Dr. Muhammad Salama
27 March, 2020

Dear Brothers/Sisters,

Thank you very much for joining us in this Live Fatwa session. We would like also to thank our guest, Dr. Muhammad Salama, PhD, Islamic Studies in English, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences al-Madinah International University (Mediu), for answering the questions directed to him. You will find the answers of your questions below.

Friday, Mar. 27, 2020 | 13:00 - 15:00 GMT

Session is over.



Q:

What is the Punishment for someone who leaves Islam after studying Philosophy and Science to become an atheist?

A:

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

An atheist cannot be Muslim. Atheism drives one out of fold of Islam and turns him to be an apostate. Allah says what means “And whoever among you should turn away from his religion, then die while he is a disbeliever- the (good) works of (the likes of) these are (rendered utterly) futile (with Allah)- in this world and in the Hereafter- and these are the Companions of the Fire (of Hell). They shall abide therein forever.” (Al0Baqarah 2:217)

According to Islamic Shariah, an apostate should be discussed by Muslim scholars to remove any possible misconception or misunderstanding about Islamic faith.

If he insists on apostasy, the Muslim authority has to apply the penalty prescribed for this crime as mentioned in the Prophetic statement “Whoever changes his religion kill him.” (Al-Bukhari) It is not for Muslim individuals to apply such penalties for fear of chaos and turbulence in the society.

Almighty Allah Knows best.



Q:

A friend of mine said blasphemous statements against the prophet God  forbid he wants if Allah will forgive him if he repents sincerely kindly clarify

A:

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

A Muslim has to be watchful over his tongue. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A man may utter a word that pleases Allah considering it of no much significance, for which Allah elevates his ranks (in the Paradise)). Still a man may speak a word that displeases Allah considering it of no much significance, for which he will sink down into Hell.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Uttering words of disbelief has no excuse except being under unavoidable coercion. In the Quran we read what means “(Doomed is) one who (openly) disbelieves in Allah, after (professing) his faith- except for one who has been compelled (to renounce his belief), while his heart remains at peace with faith. But whoever willingly opens his heart to unbelief- upon (such as these) there shall be great wrath from Allah. Thus for them, there is a great torment.” (An-Nahl 16:106)

Still out of His grace, Allah, the All-Merciful, has opened the gate of repentance wide for all those who repent sincerely and earnestly to Him no matter how grave their sins are. In the Quran we read, “Say, (O Prophet): O My servants! Those (of you) who have committed (sins in great) excess against their own souls, never despond of the mercy of Allah! For, indeed, Allah forgives sins, one and all. Indeed, it is He (alone) who is the All-Forgiving, the Mercy-Giving.” (39:53)

The Quran also promises acceptance of sincere repentance even from apostates, “How shall Allah guide a people who have disbelieved after (they have professed) their faith and borne witness that the Messenger is true, and (after) the clear proofs (of Allah) have come to them? For Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people (who are godless in heart). As for (the likes of) these, their recompense is that upon them is the curse of Allah, and (of) the angels and (of) humanity all together……. except for those (of them) who repent after this (breach of faith), and set things aright. For, indeed, Allah is all-forgiving, mercy-giving.” (Aal Imran 3:86-89)

 Therefore, this brother needs to turn in sincere repentance of Allah and to ask Him to forgive his sin. Sincere repentance wipes out sins renders one as sinless as he was when first born.

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Me and my lover, we are in a relationship (2 years).  First few months we hold hands. Then we knew that that was haram. Then we stopped doing it.

Still we try to avoid haram things. We just talk to each other.

 Now after 2 years we want to get married to be halal because it’s so hard now to stop doing haram things. That’s why we want to be halal by marriage. But if we tell our parents they Won’t listen. They will separate us from everything. We are sure of it because It’s in nature of our country’s people.

 What should we do? We want to be halal . 

Is there another way?

Is her brother’s approval can be okey in our marriage?

But he is not religious.

Help please  

Please give a solution. Tell us the right way to marriage. We want to be halal.

A:

Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

Dear brother, you need first to know that your current relationship is haram. So, the first thing you have to do is to sever your relation with her until things are settled in a legitimate way.

The only way to legitimize your relationship is to prepare yourself for marriage responsibilities and then propose to her family.

Although your parents’ approval is not a must for the validity of your marriage, still you need to seek their consent so as not to be disobedient and ungrateful to them.

Regarding the girl, the majority of scholars maintain that a Muslim bride has to have a wali (guardian) in order to conclude the marriage contract.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A woman who marries without her wali’ (guardian)’s permission her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

The Hanifite school’s position regarding this issue is remarkably weak as it stands in opposition to such an unambiguous prophetic verdict.

If her family refuses, you can do nothing else. Man proposes, but Allah disposes. If you really want to please Allah, you have to resist your passion, follow the legitimate ways, and believe that the outcomes are in His Hands alone. He knows best; and whatever he decrees for both of you will be much better than what you think of.

The Gracious Quran states, “It may be that you hate a thing, while it is good for you. And it may be that you love a thing, while it is evil for you. Yet Allah knows (what is most beneficial for you), and you do not know.” (Al-Baqarah 2:216)

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Asalamualykum

What if someone is praying in his home and his mother calls him. Did he continue his prayer or not?

A:

Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

If one is performing an obligatory Prayer, he may not cut it to answer his parent’s call. Obligatory Prayer may be cut only in cases of necessity, such as to save someone’s life.

However, if one is performing a voluntary Prayer and is called by one of his parents, then he needs to assess the situation. If he knows that his parent will get angry of him and will not consider his voluntary prayer as an excuse, then he has to cut it and answer his parent. Then he may redo it, if he wishes.

An evidence for this case can be sought in the story of Jurayj, the pious man. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) related that Jurayj was one who devoted himself to prayer in a temple. One day his mother came and called him, but she found him praying. So he said to himself, “O my Lord, my mother (is calling me) and (I am busy with) my prayer. Then he opted for prayer. His mother came back and the same scenario repeated two more times. At the third time his mother got angry and invoked Allah upon him saying, “O Allah, don’t let him die before seeing the prostitutes.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

But if he knows that his parent will regard his prayer as an excuse, then he should continue it, though he should also cut it shorter to answer his parent as soon as possible. 

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Narrated By Abu Huraira : The Prophet said, “But for the Israelis, meat would not decay and but for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands.”

Explain please

A:

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Were it not for the Children of Israel, meat would not decay; and were it not for Eve, no woman would ever betray her husband. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

As the hadith is reported by both Al-Bukhari and Muslims, it entertains the highest level of authenticity.

Scholars searched for the proper interpretation of this hadith to harmonize it into the general context of Shariah norms and principles. The first part of the hadith bears a warning against greed, insatiability, and disobedience of the children of Israel.

Out of their impatience and greed, they stored meat during their 40 years in the wilderness, although they were forbidden by their prophet to do so.

As a divine punishment for their disobedience, the meat decayed. According to one interpretation, the Children of Israel were the first to store meat, whereas, according to another interpretation, people had stored meat before but the disobedience of the Children of Israel caused meat to decay faster.  

This part thus shows the evil consequences of disobedience and how it may affect humanity in general. The Quran tells us how corruption and disobedience affect the whole globe “Corruption prevails in the land and the sea because of (all the evil) that the hands of humanity have earned- so that He may cause them to taste  something of that which they have done- so that they may return (in penitence to Allah).” (30:41)

When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked by his wife “Should we be destroyed in spite of the existence of righteous people among us?” He replied, “Yes, when evil prevail.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

The second part of the hadith warns against the wives’ negligence of giving advice to their husbands when they disobey Allah. Eve was an example of this attitude, when she did not advise her husband Adam and ate with him from the tree. The hadith draws attention to such tendency so that women should avoid and combat it as much as possible and that men should be aware of it and forgive their wives when they yield to it.  

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Assalaamu’alaikum Warahmatullah ya Syaikh

Can a healthy lifestyle extends one’s age? Can such thing be considered as ikhtiar?

A:

Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

Islam commends its followers to lead a healthy life and have strong bodies. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than a weak one; though both have goodness in them.” (Muslim)

Leading a healthy lifestyle is, of course, a reason and cause, like other reasons and causes, to protect our bodies against many diseases and even keeps up our spirits. Still death has unlimited causes.

Our ages have already been predetermined by Allah and so are the causes to keep us alive for that predetermined time and the causes that terminate our lives when that time comes.

As Muslims, we should follow the legitimate ways to keep a healthy body and healthy lifestyle, believing after all in the Quranic principle, “And no aged person is given long life, nor is anyone’s life shortened, (dying young), but that it is (registered) in a Book (preserved in Heaven). Indeed, that for Allah is (ever so) easy.” (Fatir 35:11)

The Quran explicitly declares, “It is Allah (alone) who takes the souls (of people) at the (predestined) time of their death. But as for those (souls) that have not yet died, (He takes them) during their sleep. Then He withholds the ones upon which He has decreed death, while He sends the others (back) to (reach) a stated term (of life).” (Az-Zumar 39:42)

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

In my childhood I was forced to do zena. That time I don’t even know what is zena or what I am doing. But when I understood what had done by me without my concent i am assembled and always feel afraid to be punished by Allah after death. I beg forgive all time. I read holy quran that for this women 100 slap by stick is prescribed. But that should be before four islamic people. I am married women. I wanted to know that can my husband give that punishment by his hand? And if four people cannot be collected what can I do?

A:

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

If this sexual experience happened without your consent, then you are not responsible for it at all; and you need not feel ashamed or guilty. But it seems that it happened without your “full” consent.

In other words, you did not agree, but also you did not fight back. Anyway, even if it happened with your full consent, this feeling of remorse and regret reveals your sincere repentance. Allah (exalted is He) says what means “Say, (O Prophet): O My servants! Those (of you) who have committed (sins in great) excess against their own souls, never despond of the mercy of Allah! For, indeed, Allah forgives sins, one and all. Indeed, it is He (alone) who is the All-Forgiving, the Mercy-Giving.” (Az-Zumar 39:53)

After listing a number of grave sins and the punishment that awaits those who commit them, Allah (exalted is He) said, “…except for whoever repents, and believes, and does righteous deeds. For (the likes of) them, then, Allah will substitute their misdeeds with good deeds. And ever is Allah all-forgiving, mercy-giving.” (Al-Furqan 25:70) Sincere repentance wipes out even grave sins.

You need not tell this story to your husband or to anybody else. It is better to conceal this affair. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “He who has been afflicted by any of these filthy sins let him maintain the concealment conferred by Allah upon him.” (Al-Hakim)

Let this memory be an incentive to lead a chaste and righteous life dedicated to the pleasure of Allah (exalted is He).

Almighty Allah knows best.

N



Q:

As Salam alaikum, I wanted to know is it allowed in Islam to wear bags that have a clasp which is inspired by an animal. For example there is a bag that has a tiger head clasp but it doesn’t look like a tiger head unless you look carefully. Would it be a sin to use this bag? Thank you very much, I have attached a link to the bag in the notes.

A:

Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

If the clasp portrays the whole body of a tiger, it may not be used as it falls under the unanimously prohibited category of images. If it portrays only a tiger head without the body, then, according to the majority of scholars, you may use it.   

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Assalaamu’alaikum Ya Syaikh

Is it true that naming our children/ourself with short name is sunnah? I heard from an ustadz that long name (ex. John Wittgenstein) is not the culture of Muslims. Is this claim is true? Is it better to name someone with a shorter name (example: Hussein bin Abu ‘Umar)?

A:

Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

Islam urges its followers to give their children good names; particularly those with religious, or at least lovely, meanings. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) changed names of a number of his Companions because they had reprehensible meanings or bore connotations that contradicted Islamic beliefs.

What matters thus is the meaning of the name not its length. This applies to both Arabic and non-Arabic names. A new convert may even retain his/her non-Arabic name as long as it does not bear a reprehensible meaning or a meaning that contradicts Islamic creed.

Almighty Allah knows best.



Q:

Sheikh when I do a sin I repent to God and out of shame and hatred of what I did i indirectly admit my sin to God by saying oh God if I ever did that sin I admit and I ask to forgive me does that qualify as an admission and secondly when it comes to regretting a sin i also struggle to feel an emotion of regret in my heart but I know in my mind what i did was wrong and not happy about it even if I feel no emotion in my heart will that nullify my tawbah kindly clarify pliz

A:

In the Nam of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad.

This compunction is a good sign. Never feel despaired of repentance. The door of repentance is always there, but you need to keep knocking sincerely until it is open.

Out of His grace, Allah, the All-Merciful, has opened the gate of repentance wide for all those who repent sincerely and earnestly to Him no matter how grave their sins are.

In the Quran we read, “Say, (O Prophet): O My servants! Those [of you] who have committed (sins in great) excess against their own souls, never despond of the mercy of God! For, indeed, God forgives sins, one and all. Indeed, it is He (alone) who is the All-Forgiving, the Mercy-Giving.” (Az-Zumar 39:53)

Turn honestly and humbly to Allah and ask Him to guide you to the truth and to enhance your faith. Read the Quran frequently and duly establish daily prayers. Look for religious friends (these are found mostly in mosques) to be with you and support you.

May Allah accept the repentance of all of us.

Almighty Allah knows best.