Religion

Question: My father shouts abuses at me. He threatens to kill me. I am afraid to ask him to buy me anything like clothes or normal use things like makeup. He insults me and makes fun of me. He beats me. He has never said anything nice to me. He beats me badly. He is very strong and powerful because he has been a body builder and he hits me badly. What should I Do? Answer: If your father is abusive and violent, you need to report him to the legal authorities – if that is the only way to stop him. You don’t have to tolerate abuse of anyone – whether parents or anyone else for that matter. You are allowed to resort to the law if he continues to abuse: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There shall be no toleration of inflicting harm.” Based on this, jurists have ruled that one is allowed to have recourse to law to remove harm if there is no other way. Question: I want to become a neurosurgeon and I would have to perform surgery on both males and females so would it be permissible? As the surgery would be on brain. If…

Question: What do you do with papers that have prayers written on them that come in the mail (i.e. Ramadhan schedule, etc.) after you are done with them? Do you throw them away, or do you burn them? Answer: Once we are done with papers or magazines with writings of Qur’anic verses or prayers or names of Allah, etc. we must not simply throw them or discard them as we would do with any other ordinary stuff; rather we must dispose them off in a respectable manner. The ideal way of disposing such materials off is by shredding them and then trashing them. If that is not possible, then the next best thing to do is to trash them after cutting and slicing them into tiny pieces. Burning is not recommended as it may be highly risky especially indoors. If, however, it is extremely safe to so, and, once done under strict supervision, there is no harm in burning them. Question: Is visiting the graveyard on Eid-ul-Fitr considered Bid’ah or Sunnah? Answer: Visiting graves is a great sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him; there is no fixed time limit for it, one is free to do so any…

Q: Is it ok if I memorize the Quran using a transliteration? A: It is not at all advisable or recommended to memorize the Qur’an by simply relying on transliteration; it may even be wrong to do so, since it may condition oneself to making major mistakes in reading/pronunciations and thus one may end up distorting the noble Qur’an. The Qur’an properly should be learned from the mouth of a qualified teacher. In the event of someone not being readily available, the next best thing to do is to buy a taped recitation of a well known Qaari (reciter) and follow his recitation for practice. In the modern world, since there are numerous teaching aids are available in the form of videos or cassettes or computer software, there is no excuse for people for relying on transliteration. Remember, once we condition ourselves in reading the wrong way, it would be very hard to unlearn it. Therefore, we might as well begin it right. Although a little hard in the beginning, practice, InshaAllah, will make it perfect. The Prophet, peace be upon him, assured us that when a person tries hard to learn the Qur’an, he receives great rewards. Allah says, “Verily,…

Q: My husband married a second wife. I do not know her or anything about her. She has been divorced. IF I want to resume sexual relations with my husband I am requesting testing done on he and this woman. I feel that I do not know of her history and feel it is not fair to me. I would agree to be tested as well although I have not had a new sexual partner only my husband. Is this a haram thing to ask for? A: Islam teaches us that we ought to protect ourselves and others and spare them from harm as best as we can. Since promiscuity is rampant in the society now, because of which HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are on the increse, everyone should take whatever reasonable means are necessary to preserve one’s health and the health of others he or she is interacting with. Therefore, it is your right to ask your husband and his second wife to undergo medical tests, if you have any reasonable cause to suspect. By doing so, you are not breaking any rule; rather you are simply asserting your right to protect yourself and your family as…

Q: Does my father know when I visit his grave; does his soul return to his grave when one goes to visit him? A: The answer to this question is yes; for as we can rightly conclude from the authentic sources of Islam, your father can know when you visit him; he will also be able to hear and return your greeting, besides benefiting from your du’as and good deeds on his behalf. To further clarify the issue: This question belongs to an area or realm which is beyond the confines of logic, reason or experimentation: It belongs exclusively to the area of revelation. As far as we can know from the revelation, it is clear that those who are buried in the grave not only know their visitors, if they had known them prior to their death, but also return their greetings. The Prophet, peace be upon him, has left us clear instructions to visit the graves of our relatives and friends, to greet them and to offer prayers for them. This is lest we forget them after their death; through frequent visits to their graves we renew our relationship with them, invoke Allah’s mercy upon them, besides reminding…

Q: When a person converts to Islam his bad deeds are forgiven by Allah. Does this mean that his debts to people are also forgiven? A: It is not true to say that by becoming a Muslim a person’s debts that he owes to others are forgiven. It is only applicable to sins involving the violations of the rights of Allah. Furthermore, the forgiveness of sins is only for those who became Muslims and have followed up bad deeds with good deeds in Islam. If a person simply converts to Islam, it does not automatically expiate his past sins–especially if does not remain true to the pledge he has made with Allah by embracing Islam. As for sins involving the rights of humans, they cannot be simply wiped out by Islam. Debts we owe others belong to this category; so it is imperative that he pays those he owes unless they have forgiven him. Q: Is visiting the graveyard on Eid-ul-Fitr considered Bid’ah or Sunnah? A: Visiting graves is a great sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him; there is no fixed time limit for it, one is free to do so anytime as long as it is done…

Q: Is it disrespectful to exercise on machines while listening to Qur’an instead of music? A: Although we should treat the Qur’an, the Mighty Revelation of Allah, with utmost respect by giving full attention to it while reciting or listening to it, there is nothing wrong for us in listening to it while doing chores that does not require full attention; for the rule of the Shari’ah is that if we cannot have something in its entirety by fulfilling all of its requirements, it does not mean that we should leave it altogether; so even though you are not able to pay full attention to the Qur’an, still you should not be depriving yourself of whatever benefits you can possibly obtain from reading or listening to it in your given circumstance or situation in life. Moreover, it is definitely far better than listening to music or other mundane activities. Nay, by consistently listening to the Quran in this way you certainly stand to gain tremendous spiritual and moral benefits. The same rule applies to listening to the Qur’an or while doing chores at work in the kitchen, etc. Insha Allah, as many people would vouch for it that such an…

Q: I understand that women are allowed to remove facial hair if it makes them look like a male in any way, but are they allowed to remove hair from their arms and legs? If they are allowed to remove hair form arms and legs are they allowed to use a blade?   A: Islam generally encourages Muslims to appear neat, tidy and well groomed; this applies equally to males and females. Greater emphasis in this matter, however, has been placed on married couples more than others; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set the perfect role model for all married couples when he said, “I prepare myself for my spouse, and she prepares herself for me!” The reason for this is not hard to comprehend, as such appearance may go a long away in contributing towards marital stability and fulfillment as the spouses are supposed to serve as garments of protection for one another. In keeping with the above spirit, we find the Islamic sources laying greater stress in recommending wives to appear attractive before their spouses. The only limitation applicable here is resorting to practices that may amount to direct altering and tampering with Allah’s creation, for…

Q: I have a question related to requirements for a prayer space. At some schools, they are not able to offer students a Musalla only for Muslims, but instead want to provide an interfaith prayer room, which means other religious groups could use it during the day. What requirements should we have for such an arrangement? A: Prayer requirements are very simple and precise. The place we pray in should be clean and should not be contaminated by Najasah or filth. It should be free of idols and statues. If we have a choice, we should ask for empty room which can be consecrated as a Musalla. If any of these conditions cannot be met, then the principle of jurisprudence “Al-Mash`qa Tajleb At-tayseer” or ‘whenever there is hardship the law is relaxed’ is applied.  If, therefore, the only room available for prayers is an inter-faith hall where idols and statues are found, we can pray there provided we cover them up.  This is the least we could do. Prayer is fine, and Allah will take us only to ask if we violate the laws intentionally. We are required only to fear Allah to the best of our ability.  In conclusion,…

A billion and a half Muslims around the world have ushered in the holy month of Ramadan during which they atone for their sins and, through fasting, grow closer to their god. Ramadan is the ninth month of the “Hiijri” or lunar, calendar, and it was during this month that the holy Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad (PBUH.) “Sawm”, or fasting, during  Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam along with the belief in Allah, daily prayers, alms giving (charity) and a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). As such, its observance is obligatory for all able Muslims. During this month they must refrain from food, drink, sex and smoking from dawn until dusk. They must fast not only from food but also mischief. It is a month in which they strive to grow closer to Allah by following his commands and distancing themselves from that which is prohibited. The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) assured that “whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” “Iftar” is the meal Muslims eat at sunset to break the day-long fast. It is awaited with great anticipation and…