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General Fatwa Session

Dear Brothers/Sisters,

Thank you very much for joining us in this Live Fatwa session. We would like also to thank our guest, Dr. Wael Shehab, for answering all the questions directed to him. You will find the answers of your questions below.

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016 | 20:00 - 22:00 GMT

Session is over.
DISCLAIMER
Views expressed by hosts/guests on this program (live dialogue, Facebook sessions, etc.) are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.  

Is it allowed to abort a fetus resulting from rape?



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question.

As far Islamic law is concerned, abortion after 120 days of conception is not allowed except if it causes a serious threat to the life of the mother. Scholars have different opinions regarding abortion in early stages of pregnancy.

Dar Al-Ifta’ Al-Missriyyah (Egyptian House of Fatwa) issued the following fatwa in this regard:

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“Scholars have unanimously agreed that it is impermissible and completely prohibited to conduct an abortion if the age of the fetus has reached 120 days. This is because it is considered killing a soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. Allah says in the holy Qur`an:

“And do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them.” [6: 151] and,

“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right.” [17: 33].

Otherwise, scholars have disagreed on the permissibility of abortion if the fetus has not completed 120 days inside its mother’s womb. Some of them deemed abortion prohibited and this is the relied upon opinion of the Malikis, Zahiris and some of the Shafi’is. Other scholars maintained that abortion is absolutely disliked and this is the opinion of some Malikis and others maintained that it is permissible when there is an excuse and this is the opinion of the Hanafis and Shafi’is. According to Hanafis, pregnancy out of wedlock [zina] is a valid excuse for conducting an abortion.

According to the preponderant opinion implemented for fatwa, abortion is absolutely prohibited whether before or after the fetus ensoulment except if there is a necessity permitted in the shari’ah. This necessity is when a trustworthy physician decides that the continuation of pregnancy imposes risk to the mother’s life or health. Thereupon, it is permissible to conduct an abortion to preserve the mother’s life and keeping the stability of her health since the mother’s life takes precedence over the fetus unstable life.

The Islamic Fiqh Assembly of the Muslim World League based in Mecca has decided the following: “If the fetus has reached 120, it is impermissible to conduct an abortion even if it is medically diagnosed with congenital defects. However, if a committee of specialized physicians decided that the continuation of pregnancy imposes risk to the mother’s life. In this case, it is permissible to conduct an abortion whether or not the fetus was deformed to undertake the lesser of two harms”.”

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.


Can a Muslim abandon good deeds to avoid showing off?



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question.

In fact, Satan (shaytan) tries to make a Muslim either to show off with his good deeds or to leave doing good under any pretext including fear of showing off (riya’).

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So, abandoning doing good deeds for fear of showing off is one of the traps of Satan. A Muslim should not fall into such a trap. A Muslim should maintain sincerity and seek Allah’s face with his good deeds; he should pay no attention to Satan’s whisperings.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) educated us to seek Allah’s protection against riya’ and shirk by saying: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I associate anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I know not.” (Ahmad, Musnad)

It’s reported that Al-Fudayl ibn `Iyad used to criticize those who abandon performing good works because of the people, saying: “Abandoning deeds because of the people is showing off. Performing deeds for their sake is polytheism. Sincerity is where Allah protects you from both.”

Given the above, a Muslim should never stop doing good deeds for fear of showing off. Rather, he has to maintain sincerity in all his actions. If people praise him, it would not harm him, in shaa’ Allah. Such praise will then be as the Prophet (peace be upon him) described it: “… glad tidings being presented to the believer early.” (Muslim, Sahih)

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.


Is there a waiting period for Christian woman married to a Muslim man?



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question.

As far as Islamic law is concerned, a Christian woman who married to a Muslim man is to observe `iddah (waiting period), just like the Muslim woman, in case of divorce or the death of the husband as this is among the husband’s rights.

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It’s stated in al-Mawsu`ah al-fiqhiyyah (Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence, 29:336): “The Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi`is  and Hanbalis, as well as ath-Thawri and Abu `Ubayd, are of the view that the Christian or Jewish woman is required to observe `iddah in case of divorce, annulment of the marriage or death of the husband, just like the Muslim woman, because of the general meaning of the evidence that the ‘iddah is required, and no differentiation is made between them on condition that the husband is a Muslim.  This is because ‘iddah is required and is a duty towards Allah and towards the husband…

`Iddah is the husband’ right, and the rights of humans are also due from the Christian or Jewish wife.”

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.


If a husband says to his wife, you are free, is it divorce?



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question.

In principle, words that affect divorce are of two types:

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a) Clear and plain words (sarih)

b) Allusive words (kinayyah)

Sarih (clear) means expressly pronouncing the word “divorce” or words derived from it, such as: “I divorce you” or “you are divorced”, etc…Kinayyah (allusive) means using words that are not exclusively prescribed for issuing divorce, but alludes and hints to it.

Clear and plain words affect divorce whether one intends divorce by them or not, while allusive words do not affect it unless one intends divorce by them or it is determined by the circumstance one is in.

Given the above, if  a husband says to his wife “you are free”, it falls under the category of “kinayyah” words that need intention to affect divorce. That means this statement will affect divorce if the husband intends it; otherwise it will not effect it.

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.


Q. 1: Salam. Is it haram to celebrate birthdays and blow candles on birthdays?



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your good question.

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In fact, birthdays celebrations fall under the category of customs that are permissible in principle provided that there is nothing haram(unlawful) is associated with it. Therefore, it is OK for people to celebrate their or  their kids’ birthdays through permissible means.

Birthdays are not called “`Eids”; no prayers or rituals are connected to them. So, there is no conflict between celebrating birthdays in permissible ways and the hadith: “When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, he found people celebrating two specific days in which they used to entertain themselves with recreation and merriment. He asked them about the nature of these festivities at which they replied that these days were occasions of fun and recreation. At this, the Prophet remarked that the Almighty has fixed two days [of festivity] instead of these for you which are better than these: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.” (Abu Dawud and An-Nasa’i).

The above view is supported by some Fatwa councils and contemporary scholars including the Egyptian House of Fatwa and late Sh. Faysal Mawalwi.

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.