aaa

Youth-Related Fiqhi Issues (Fatwa Session)

Dr. Muhammad Salama
25 March, 2019

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, for answering the questions directed to him. You will find the answers of your questions below.

Monday, Mar. 25, 2019 | 06:00 - 07:00 GMT

Session is over.

Assalamu alaikum shaikh, does Islam support sexism & patriarchy or not? Please kindly explain it.



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.” (An-Nahl 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.” Al-Hujurat 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 more detailed discussions on Islamic perspective to women, you can search this website. You may also refer to the below link for some relevant fatwas:

 

Women Inferior or Hadiths Misinterpreted? (Fatwa Session)

Almighty Allah knows best.

 

As-salamu alaykum I am financially stressed in my marriage, my husband doesn’t support me as I work and do things myself, he asks for large amounts of my money to pay for things like his bills and reckless overspending. I’m thinking of divorce.. My Mehr was never given to me , I want to ask for my Khul so how would that work? When someone asks for Khul they return their Mehr. I got nikah’d a about 9 months ago at the age of 17 currently still am, as is my spouse who is 20. There were plans made with my spouse on how I would have my Daff shortly after my nikah that didn’t happen and within a short while we would have our own place. It’s been 9 months with no progress... So I started also to work but it was very difficult too because he’d continuously ask me not too. As wants to “support” us and be the “Man”. He does work but there are barely any savings from him as he overspends badly. I saved quite some alhamdulilah but as he has things like incurance to pay and bills he asks from time to time to “borrow” large amounts and balance soon became close to zero. I truly do support myself , and there are many more problems we have but this one just glows above the rest. if I were to divorce and ask for my Khul how would it work since my Mehr was never also given to me I understand it’s suppose to go back if it was given to me.



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.

 

First, I would advise you first to approach your husband gently and try to settle your problems and arrange your family expenses; particularly if he is a good man.

 

You may seek the help of his parents or any good relative or friend to talk to him and warn him against his overspending. Both of you are still young and this may drive you to take hasty decisions that you may regret later.

 

Second, if you reach the conclusion that you cannot continue your marital life with him, then you may ask for khul`. According to the information you provided, your husband owes you the mahr (dowry) as well as the money he borrowed from you. In this case, the khul` agreement can be concluded in return for absolving him of this debt. In other words, you will remit the debt in return for khul`.

 

May Allah set you affairs aright and help you overcome your troubles.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Salaam, Is there any case in talaaq where a woman is entitled to keep the house even though she has never contributed one penny towards it? Where the husband has been the only person to make payments. Assuming that there has never been any prior mutual agreement regarding the house, if she decides to take the case through Western courts, would this be considered theft in Islam? Would it make a difference if the mortgage is taken in joint names, but the wife still hasn't contributed a penny? Would the ruling change if this occurred in a non-muslim country like the UK? I look forward to your answer. Many thanks



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.

 

A divorced woman should remain in the marital house during her `iddah (waiting period) in revocable divorce, but she has to leave after `iddah. In irrevocable divorce, she has no right to remain in the marital house. In case a divorced woman has young children under her care, the ex-husband has to provide housing for them, if she has no home shelter herself in.

 

But for the wife to keep the house or a share of it under the Western law, though she paid no penny and without the husband’s consent, is a kind of unlawful consumption of others’ wealth. Almighty Allah says what means “O you who believe! You shall not consume one another’s wealth by false means” (An-Nisaa 4:29) and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “One’s wealth shall not be lawful [for others to take] unless with his pleasant consent.” (Ahmad])

 

Being in a non-Muslim country is not a justification for not abiding by Shari`ah rules.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu alaikum shaikh,is it haram for Muslim women to get together with uncles, aunts, cousin sisters, cousin brothers & other relatives in one place or go outside with them even she wears hijab & maintains Islamic ethics of gender interaction, cause some of her relatives are non Mahram & her other female and male relatives don't maintain hijab & ethics of gender interaction?



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.

 

Visiting your relatives is a kind of keeping good ties with them, which Islam strongly enjoins and recommends. But a Muslim woman has to observe Islamic code of ethics when interacting with marriageable men, even if they are her relatives (including wearing hijab, not shaking hands with them, speaking and behaving in a non-seductive way, etc).

 

She should not be in a place where these Islamic ethics are violated; or else she will have to kindly admonish her relatives to observe these ethics. If they do not comply, she has to cut her visit short.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu aleikom wa rahmatullah dear scholars. I am a revert and married for 3 years now. My husband and i met before i decided to revert and he assisted me throughout my journey. We used to live together happily but shortly after our marriage i got pregnant. Because we didn’t have enough money, we decided to move in with my father. The situation was and is not easy for all of us even though he welcomed us with open arms. Shortly after our baby was born Allah took him from us. I also have to mention that before i met my husband, strange things started to happen in that flat. I saw figures (now i know that it was jinn), i got really affacted by that and that was the reason i started to search for answers which led me to islam alhamdulillah ! Anyways, i did not want to move back in with my father because of all these things that had happened here, but we did. We read Quran to clean that flat and put down pictures of humans and animals so that angels can come in and we drank water with Quran read over it. Alhamdulillah it helped for a while now and these things stopped. But now everythings is starting again, both, me and my husband have got the feeling that we are getting chocked, sometimes when we are sleeping so we wake up or any other time and we cant breath right. We fight a lot over small things. We have problems to concentrade or think clearly. We get dizzy. Because of that he decided to move in with a friend and he wants me to move in with my mother. The problem is, my mother is a non muslim to, but other than my father, she believes that these so called “souls” (jinns) exist and she tells me often that her dead father visited her again and talked to her.. astaghfir Allah. I asked her and she would welcome me, but she has got a much smaller flat with just one bedroom, she does not want me to sleep in the living room so i have to sleep with her in the same bed and she does not allow me to put on Quran throughout the night. So i dont want to move in with her, neither do i want to stay with my father. I dont want to live in a place where at least Quran is not played. I work fulltime now and get a really good money so i would be able to rent a flat for me and my husband but the problem is, he does not want me or us to get our own because he wants us to save money for my education and so on and he gets really angry everytime i start that topic. I want to obey my husband, but i really cant take it anymore and i feel that it is the right time and the right thing to do to get our own place again. Please advice. Jazak Allahu kheiran



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.

 

It is your right, sister, to have your own marital home and it is your husband’s responsibility to provide it. In support of this right scholars quote the Quranic verse that reads, “Give them residence where you reside- in accordance with your means.” (At-Tahrim 65:6)

 

I advise you to approach your husband gently and tell him how this situation affects your marital life negatively. Tell him that you appreciate his concern for your education, but your marital life is much more important. You may seek the help of a relative or a good friend to talk to him and try to persuade him, if he still does not want to listen to you.

 

Above all, pray to Allah to set your affairs aright and grant you a peaceful home.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assamualaikum, I know of a brother who's been wanting to perform Hajj since he was a kid. unfortunately, he's been diagnosed with a severe mental illness called PTSD and Intermittent explosive disorder. Even while taking medication under the care of his psychiatrist, he still reacts violently with imaginations of killing someone whenever he feels too nervous or has anxiety. In that case, is performing Hajj still mandatory if situations there will make him react deadly to people who provoke him?



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.

 

May Allah grant this brother quick recovery!

 

If this brother reacts as violently as mentioned in the question, he then should delay hajj until his mental health improves and he regains a better mood.

Hopefully this will take place soon, insha’Allah.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamualaikum, I've been conducting some research regarding the people of Thamud and was unsettled with the discovery that the ancient carved ruins in Al-Hijr or Mada'in Saleh are not attributed to them but to the Nabataean Arabs. Supposedly the structures were not built by the Thamud during the Prophethood of Salih AS and before the Prophethood of Ibrahim AS but by the Nabataeans. They were not built but during the first century BC and the first century CE and carbon dating, as per archeologists, confirms this. During this time the Nabataeans built structures out of rock throughout their kingdom. There are hadiths where the Prophet SAW and his companions ventured through the valley whilst on their way to Tabuk and they themselves believed that the ruins belonged to Thamud. He SAW even stated that the well where the she-camel of Allah SWT drank was also situated among the wells in the area. However, archeologists have stated that the Nabataeans were also experts in irrigation and agriculture and many wells in the region are attributed to them. Is it possible that the Nabataeans were the successors of the people of Thamud and that they took the land as an inheritance and accommodated their own culture and structures with preexisting ones? Can it be that they rebuilt the devastated homes of the Thamud? What can we say about the sahih hadiths which mention that the structures are attributed by both the Prophet SAW and his companions to the Thamud and not the Nabataeans? In those hadiths one companion which was Abdullah ibn Umar believed that the ruins belonged to the Thamud. Also how are we to interpret verses such as 27:52, 28:58-59, 29:37-38, 15:80, 22:45-46, 20:128 and 32:26? All of them mention the dwelling-places of ancient destroyed communities and nations existing during the time of the Prophet SAW. Verse 28:58 baffles me the most. Even if we were to accept that the land of Thamud was inherited by later nations, how come the verse spoke of it and other lands as not inhabited except passingly after the destruction of their former occupants? Past orientalists and Christian Missionaries have used this so-called discrepancy to put doubts on the Prophethood of Muhammad SAW. I really need help in this. Your brother in faith,



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.

 

As Muslims, we must have unshakable belief in our Book and our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). There can never be any real contradiction between the Quran and scientific facts. Any claimed contradiction refers either to misunderstanding the Quranic indication or to mistakes in the scientific findings; which means that they are not yet scientific facts.

 

In the case we have about the remnants and ruins of the people of Thamoud, the textual indications are clear and explicit. Mistake thus could be in the scientific findings. Archeological dating is not as accurate as you may think. C14 is one of many measurements used by archeologists. But if you search the internet for how accurate C14 dating is, you will find many factors that may render its results inaccurate. Many recent researchers have found flaws with this measurement to some extent. Perhaps more future archeological researches and findings will come up with different measurements and tell us different stories.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Assalamu Alaikum .I am a varsity student .I have a hindu friend and two other muslim friends as my roommate in the varsity hall. Recently My hindu friend has brought a picture of her God in the room. Since we don’t have any extra prayer room in our hall, we have to pray in the room but we don’t face towards the photo while praying. As my hindu friend has never complained about our prayer before ,now it becomes hard for us to hurt her by telling her anything about the photo of her God. Also She put that photo in such a place that we don’t have to see it .But we know that if we have this picture in the room the angles will not come to our room .In this circumstances we are unable to understand what to do. Is our prayer in this room accepted or not ?what should we do? It is almost impossible on our part to go to other’s room for salat every time or change the room now ,so we have to pray in our room. Please help us to find any solution.



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.

 

As long as the picture is in a place where you do not have to see and there is no other place to pray in, your prayer inside your room is valid. May Allah accept it from you.

 

But you should take this opportunity to invite your roommate to Islam. Gentle admonition and kind treatment may attract her heart to Islam.

 

Your Islamic manners and Islamic code of conduct constitute practical da`wah. Imagine how great will be your reward, if you manage to guide a non-Muslim to Islam.

 

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “By Allah! If a single person embraces Islam at your hands, that will be much better for you than red camels.” (Al-Bukhari)

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

I believe that there is one God and that is Allah. I also believe that God may take many forms. Allah says that we should not set up partners in his worship. i was born into a hindu family so i intend going to temples (along with mosques) after I convert too. Is that okay? Since I believe that Allah is the Arabic word for God and you can call him anything out of love and he will listen lovingly. There is one God some may call Him Allah and some may call him shiva. I hope you are understanding i am talking in terms of polytheist religion also. Will Allah forgive me for this? As I do not intend to completely forget Hinduism and may follow some festivals and rituals.



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

 

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

 

Islam is the religion of pure tawheed (pure monotheistic belief) in Allah. Allah is One and has no partners or equals. Almighty Allah says, “Say: He is Allah. One. Allah, the Everlasting Refuge. He does not beget. Nor is He begotten. And comparable to Him, there is none.” (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

 

A Muslim has to renounce all other gods and all forms of worship directed to other than Allah as in the Quranic injunction “Say, [O Prophet]: O you [inveterate] disbelievers! I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor shall I ever be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor shall you ever be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion. And for me is my religion.” (Al-Kafirun 109:1-6)

 

You need to keep good relation with your non-Muslim family in order to invite them to Islam, but this may not be at the expenses of your faith and belief.

 

Allah says in the Quran, “Neither your relatives nor your children will benefit you on the Day of Resurrection. He shall separate [the evil from the righteous] among you. For Allah is all-seeing of all that you do. There is truly an excellent model for you in [the firm stand of] Abraham and those with him when they said to their [idolatrous] people: We are free of [association with] you and [with] all that you worship, apart from Allah.  We have disbelieved in you. Thus [open] enmity and hostility have commenced between us and you forever, until you believe in Allah alone.” (Al-An`am 6:4)

 

Allah is the Name of the only Creator and Sovereign of this universe. He has many other sublime names, not including Shiva. Shiva is a Hindu deity, not Allah. In the holy Quran we read, “Yet to Allah belong the most excellent names. So call upon Him with them. And leave [alone] those who profane His names. They shall be [duly] recompensed for all that they have done” [7:180] and also we read “There is nothing that is anything like Him.” (Al-Shura 42:12)

 

Associating other gods in worship with Allah, serving other gods, and visiting their temples are unforgivable sins. Allah says, “Indeed, Allah will not forgive associating any god with Him. But He forgives anything less than this for whomever He so wills. For whoever associates gods with Allah has truly forged a great sin.” (An-Nisaa 4:48)

 

You need to read more about the concept of tawheed in Islam. The Quran is all about tawheed. The more you read and contemplate on its verses, the stronger will become your belief and clearer will be the Islamic concept of tawheed.

 

May Allah guide you to the true faith and sound belief.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.