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Life After Ramadan (Fatwa Session)

Dr. Muhammad Salama
17 June, 2019

If you have a question related to this issue, feel free to submit it. Our guest, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, will answer all your questions. The answers will be published soon on this page at the time of the session.

You can also send you questions in advance at [email protected]

Monday, Jun. 17, 2019 | 14:00 - 16:00 GMT

Session is over.

How should Muslims keep the spirit of Ramadan?



In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

 

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

 

Ramadan for a Muslim is an opportunity to get closer to Allah. It is a period of devotion during which a Muslim should invest time and effort in various acts of worship that ultimately aim at attaining a high level of spirituality, soul-purification and fear of Allah.

 

Many Muslims feel the spirituality of Ramadan through observing devotional practices. But soon after the lapse of the blessed month, a number of these Muslims lose the momentum and even suffer setbacks.

 

Still others have managed to make maximum use of Ramadan and have become well-trained to go through the worldly challenges.

 

The difference between the two groups is a matter of attitude. To keep the spirit of Ramadan we need to change our attitude toward Ramadan.

 

A Muslim has to realize that the Lord of Ramadan is the Lord of the entire year. Ramadan is a training course that enables us to see our positive side, potentials, and strong will to overcome our bodily hindrances.

 

The thrust gained in Ramadan should be maintained as far as possible by:

1- Having the good intention of showing gratitude to Allah for the blessings of Ramadan.

 

2- Imploring Allah to give help and support.

 

3- Fearing to lose the high credit of rewards gained in Ramadan.

 

4- Knowing that good deeds are only accepted from those who are God-fearing.

 

5- Knowing that the sign of Allah’s acceptance of good deeds is to enable the worshipper to do more good deeds.

 

6- Avoiding evil deeds, for they weaken one’s heart.

 

7- If it is difficult to maintain the same level of worship reached during Ramadan, one should not also cut off all kinds of worship he was doing. Still one should observe voluntary fasting and prayers, read parts of the Quran every day, keep daily kinds of dhikr (remembrance of Allah), etc.

 

These will keep up religious spirit.

 

May Allah help all of us to keep the spirit of Ramadan.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I'm not sure if I have any ramadan make up fasts to do from when I was younger. If i fast any nafl fasts, would they count towards any ramadan fasts that I may have missed and don't remember or do make up fasts require the specific intention?



In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

 

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

 

If one has a legitimate excuse for missing fasts during Ramadan, then such a person has to make up the missed days after Ramadan.

 

The Quran clearly declares “Yet if one among you is sick or is on a journey  [such a person shall then fast] the same number of other days.” [2:185]

 

Unlike supererogatory fasting, making up obligatory fasting needs a specific intention. So, if you think you missed some days of Ramadan for some excuse when you were younger but you are not sure how many they were, then you need to fast, as a makeup, a number of days that most likely cannot be less than the days you missed.

 

For example, if you think that the total days you might have missed could be around 15 days or a few more, but they can never be more than 20 days, then you need to fast 20 days.

 

However, if one does not have a legitimate reason for missing these fasts, then such a person has committed a grave sin which requires sincere repentance to Allah. According to the majority of scholars, still this person has to make up the days he missed as detailed in the preceding case.

 

There is, however, another juristic opinion adopted by a number of scholars that observing much voluntary fasts compensates for missed days of Ramadan, because these missed fasts can never be made up due to the lapse of their time limits.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

 

I have a query. Suppose that I want to perform Hajj. But at the same time I have a close relative who deserves to be helped which I can do easily with my income. Alhamdulillah. Someone told me that, at such a point, I should try to lift up the condition of the near one and then perform Hajj. Let me know what Islam says. JazakAllah Khairun.



Wa alaykum assalamu warahmatullah wabarakatuh

 

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

 

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

 

If your close relative is in a dire need for help and you think you can, after helping him, save money for hajj-pilgrimage next year, then it will be better to help your relative first and thereafter save from your income for hajj next year.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalam alaikum WRB, I have a question about divorce. One of my friends had divorced her husband through the court. So she is not sure if her religious marriage has also ended or it’s still valid, because her husband did not say talaq to her. She is engaged to another person and soon will do nikha with him. Could you please reply me with adequate answer. JazakhAllah Khair



Wa alaykum assalamu warahmatullah wabarakatuh

 

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

 

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

 

If the divorce decision was issued by a Muslim judge, then the divorce is valid and your friend may marry another man after the lapse of her `iddah (waiting period).

 

If it was issued by a non-Muslim judge, then, from the Shari`ah point of view, such a judge does not have authority to dissolve her marriage without her husband’s consent. So, if her husband has not actually divorced her, she is still married to him.

 

In this case, she needs to go to an Islamic center and tell them her story. They will contact the husband and take necessary action.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum sir, we are very eager to teach men they should marry women & procreate children but do we think about women? We are not interested to recognize how marriage has become trap for women. We are not worried about how marriage harms them. I think many people have got vibes that, in Islam husband is boss of wife & has exclusive right to play god over wife. And many people assume Islam as misogynistic religion. It has become emergency to know the truth before further damage. I'm requesting you to reply & clarify all questions I've written here so that we have no confusion about this matter. And I also feel it's urgent for scholars who really care about true image of Islam should discuss this issue in khutbah & fatwa.Thanks " Do men have right to control his wife's every moves with every do's & don'ts? Husband is lord, & master, wife is slave, that's the actual thing? Can husband stop wife from pursuing her dreams & goals? Does husband have right to feel envious towards wife & compete with her because she is more talented & better than him in every aspect? Can husband stop his wife's growth as potential human being in every possible ways? Can he restrict her life by stopping her from doing any halal things? Can husband cut her basic human right of freedom? Can husband snatch his wife's joy by stopping her from doing any halal hobby/projects/ works/creative things she likes? Can husband stop his wife from using her personal devices & things even those things are her own? Can he stop her source of entertaimment & relaxation even it is halal? Can husband isolate her by cutting all people from her life including parents,siblings,relatives,neighbours,friends & restrict her movement outside home? Is wife bound to be submissive to husband? Is the wife only one who must compromise & suffer silently?And my final question is wife bound to comply with her husband's whims, fancies & male ego by destroying her uniqueness as a human being otherwise she is doomed in hell forever?"



Wa alaykum assalam warahmatullah

 

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving

 

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

 

In principle, men and women are equal as human beings. They are responsible before their Creator and will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment. Each one will be rewarded or punished according to his/her deeds.

 

We read in the Quran “Whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, and is a believer, We shall, most surely, cause him to live a good life. Moreover, We shall, most surely, recompense [all of] them with their reward, [in accordance] with the very best they ever did.” [16:97]

 

The best in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Gender makes no difference in this regard.

 

The Quran declares “O humankind! Indeed, We have created [all of] you from a [single] male and female. Moreover, We have made you  peoples and tribes, so that you may [come to] know one another. And, indeed, the noblest of you, in the sight of God, is the most God-fearing of you.” [49:13]

However, Islam is the religion of justice and equity. It has prescribed rights and duties of men and women in accordance with justice. But justice does not necessitate absolute equality.

 

When there are significant differences between two persons, or even two things, and you treat them equally, you simply do injustice. Differences between men and women are indisputable.

 

The All-Wise Creator fashioned men and women with such physical and psychological differences that enable each gender to perform the prescribed role in this world in the best way.

 

If we understand this Islamic philosophy, it will become easy for us to understand the Islamic unique perspective to gender issues.

For detailed answers about your questions and even more, you may refer to a fatwa session dedicated to women issues in the link below:

 

http://aboutislam.net/live-session/women-inferior-or-hadith-misinterpreted?fbclid=IwAR3RerEK-FsNCaEeYtQKeYsMRqz7HRXVSUEeIbuc77tzeGQw01n9P5im7lY

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I want to ask when a person has unstable personality disorder,does his divorces count? A person who has this has very unstable life and cannot live a stable normal life. He has symptoms like carelesness, yelling and saying divorces at the time of arguments and after fights, which he obviously regrets when he is in more stable mood and sees and understands the consicuences. Problem with spending money and can not stay in the same job for more than few months or even a month. Has children in diffrent places & has had many marriages because his inability to keep a marriage. he has moved to different locations, different homes and different cities many times in last few years because he is so unstable. he has decided to go to psychiatrist now and get proper medication and help this time,so that he could finally keep this family. but he doesnt know if he can stay anymore because he has said words of divorce and is confused. what does islam say about people who have personality disorders that effect marriages and jobs and so on, do the same rulingsof divorce apply to them also or do they need a witness when they really want to get divorced?



In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving

 

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

 

Persons with mental and psychological problems have to consult specialists to determine how serious the case is and to help them overcome such disorders. In some cases, the patient is fully responsible of what he says or does, whereas in some other cases their deeds and sayings might be excused and pardoned.

 

For the divorce to take effect, from the shari`ah perspective, the husband has to have control over his mind insomuch that he is fully aware of and intends whatever words he utters. For example, divorce uttered by a man while he was so angry that he lost control over his mind and tongue is void.

 

Regarding the case in question, this man should consult a local scholar and honestly explain his case to him. He should tell him exactly what happened, what he said, what he meant, and how his mental state was when he pronounced divorce.

 

May Allah grant him quick recovery.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I am a Muslim guy 31 years old, can I be an uncircumcised guy by my choice? Because I prefer it, is having such preference is a sin? Even though I keep myself strictly clean and hygiene. Is being uncircumcised is a gunah-e-kabeera? I think the main concern with circumcision is hygiene and if I keep myself properly and thoroughly clean then? There are five fitrah including circumcision why people are more concerned with circumcision only while less care about other 4 and take it as normal. I know everything regarding medical benefits and all about circumcision, but I still want to be uncircumcised if it's not a sin, and I can take care of my health and hygiene completely. Jazak'Allah Please answer all the aspects clearly and also try to help if something can be done for this.



In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving

 

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

 

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Five practices are of the characteristics of al-fitrah (natural disposition): circumcision, shaving the pubic region, clipping the nails, plucking the underarm hair, and trimming the moustache.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

The majority of Muslim scholars hold the opinion that it is obligatory on Muslim males to get circumcised. Imam Abu Hanifah maintains that it is only recommendable.

 

The opinion of the majority is more preponderant. A Quranic injunction dictates, “We have revealed to you, [O Prophet,] that you shall follow the sacred way of Abraham, the [purely] upright.” [16:123]

 

When circumcision was prescribed for Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), he circumcised himself, though he was 80 years old [Al-Bukhari].

 

Accordingly, a Muslim male who is able to get circumcised but neglects it commits a sin by neglecting such an obligation. The circumcision surgery has become very simple and many adult Muslim converts have gone through it for the sake of fulfilling this obligation.

 

Observing personal hygiene does not relieve one of the obligation, as it is not a matter of personal preference. The very essence of Islam is to submit oneself to the religion’s injunctions and teachings.

 

Almighty Allah says what means “Thus it is not ever [befitting] for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have for themselves a [contrary] choice in their affairs. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has truly strayed into clear misguidance.” [33:36]

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I converted to Islam recently. I had the habit of watching pornography in the past and I deeply fear sins of imagination. Please answer this question in short terms: Is it kufr? Is it a major or minor sin? If someone were to intentionally imagine the prophet nude, is it a sin? With the word intentional I don't mean the intention of making fun of him, or disrespecting him, or sexual pleasure or pleasure of any sort but intentional in the sense that it is his free choice that he imagines a nude human being but he imagines it without feeling anything about it. How big is the sin? The same question regarding imagining nude a sahabah, tabiine, a great religious scholar like Ebu hanife, wives of sahabah and your close family circle like parents, brother, sister. Because I sent a question to asssim al hakeem that works on huda tv about the level of sin of imagining a nude foreign woman and he replied: Minor sin.



In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-giving

 

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

 

First, congratulations, brother, for Allah’s grace upon you by guiding your heart to His true path.

 

Second, intentional imagination of nude persons is a sin that one needs to give up and repent sincerely to Allah from its commission. It is basically a minor sin, but insisting on the commission of a minor sin without repentance renders it a major one.

 

However, to imagine a person nude, one needs to have a mental image of this person. Since the questioner has ever seen the Prophet’s Companions, let alone the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, how can he imagine them nude?! Most likely, these are mere whisperings from the Satan.

 

So, the questioner is advised to seek refuge with Allah from such whisperings. He is also advised to implore earnestly to Allah to help him get rid of such imaginations and grant him sincere repentance.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I recently came across a Hadith: ‘Allah has decreed for every son of Adam his share of zina, which he will inevitably commit. The zina of the eyes is looking, the zina of the tongue is speaking, one may wish and desire, and the private parts confirm that or deny it.’ [al Bukhari, Muslim] Does this mean to say I have been decreed by God to commit zina (of any one of those above) and to repent for it? This does not make sense. I am being tested/punished for something already decreed? And to add to that, I have been destined to be unmarried at age 36. What is going on? I'm depressed I'm not married, I'm also depressed of this other problem. And I continuously pray my daily prayers.



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

 

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

 

To understand this hadith, one has to understand the Islamic concept of qadar (divine preordainment). One of the essential tents of Islamic belief is to believe in qadar.

 

A Muslim has to believe that Allah knew everything about His created beings (all that happened and all that will happen) before their creation and that He wrote this down in a Heavenly Preserved Writ.

 

Everything thus comes to pass as already written. This does not mean at all that human action is caused by what is written in the Heavenly Writ. Allah is in no need to force anyone to do good or evil by interfering with his/her will. Human actions are done by human will and thus man will be held accountable for whatever he/she has actually said or done.

 

No one may take Allah’s prior knowledge of human actions as an excuse to justify evil and sinful acts. Anyone who thinks this way should be asked: Will you accept this as an excuse from someone who has beaten you, usurped your property, or killed your child?

 

If this is a valid argument, why should we punish criminals who committed crimes already written in the Heavenly Writ? Of course, no sound-minded person will ever accept this argument.

 

The questioner is advised to read more about the Islamic belief of Qadar from authentic sources. He is also advised to take all possible means to get married. He should know that he is in a test and, to pass it, he needs to trust Allah, pray earnestly to him, show full submission to his commands and believe that “Indeed, with hardship comes ease.” [94:5].

Besides, Almighty Allah said what means, “Allah does not change a people’s condition until they change what is in their souls.” [13:11]

 

Almighty Allah knows best.