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Live Fatwa (General Session)

Dr. Muhammad Salama
01 March, 2017

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.

Sunday, Mar. 05, 2017 | 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.  

Assalamu alaykum, I lost my wife (May Allah grant her jannah) almost a year ago and we have six kids. After her death, I have been receiving lectures from friends and family to remarry which I have resolved not to do. I have decided to take care of my kids till Allah takes my soul. Is it a sin if decide not to remarry and what advice can you give me regarding this? Jazaakumullah khayran.



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

May Allah grant you patience for your loss and help you in raising your kinds.

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It is a great responsibility to educate and raise this number of kids. Those who advise you to remarry keep in mind your needs as a man for a wife and your needs as a father for someone to share this responsibility with you. This, of course, because they suppose that you will find an understanding and helpful wife; but you might fear of not finding the right woman and thus bring more trouble to yourself and your children.

Marriage in Islam is not obligatory unless you find it difficult to control your sexual desire and commit related sins as a result. Still the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who can afford to marry should marry, because it will help him refrain from looking at other women, and save his private parts from committing illegal sexual relation; and he who cannot afford to marry is advised to fast, as fasting will diminish his sexual power.”

I would advise you to keep the door open for the possibility of remarrying. Perhaps one day you find a good woman who takes care of you and your children. Meanwhile, take care of your children and seek the help of Allah and pray istikharah before making any decision.

Almighty Allah knows best.

As-Salamu Alaykum,I was born in South Korea and adopted by couple in the U.S. According to the paperwork I have, it lists "No record of mother and/or father". I am not even sure if my date of birth is accurate and trying to find records from 1959-60 would be difficult. I became a Muslim in 2001 and my concern is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whosoever will claim the name of anyone other than his father will not even get the smell of Paradise.”(Ibn Majah) How does this impact me since I have the surname of my adoptive father? I hope this does mean I will have no chance in entering Jannah. I care about more about Jannah vs. this world and am trying to do what I can to work on this.I am not worrying over this, but would like to be aware if there are other things I need to be doing to offset this situation.



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

The hadith you cited is a threat to those who falsely attribute themselves to other than their real fathers. This is actually a grave practice that has evil repercussions. One can imagine the chaos that will take place, from the Islamic perspective, in terms of marriageability and inheritance issues, which goes in contrary to the objectives of the Shari`ah in this regard.

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The threat applies to the one who does this intentionally or it has been done to him and he is pleased with it.So, if you can take any measures to change your family name in official papers, you have to take them. However, if this is not possible, at least you have to observe the Islamic laws and limits in your relation with the members (particularly females) of this family, which is not really your family, and also to teach these laws and limits to your children.This way you save yourself from the threat mentioned in the hadith as you have done what you can do and showed that you are not pleased with this situation.

May Allah admit you into His Paradise.

Allah Almighty knows best.

I have something that I'm curious about. I was going to apply for driving license but I found out that the initial test is screwed. They don't let you pass even if you meet the requirements. They schedule the test each 6 months, which is rather long indeed. But then I found out that few people paying extra money to skip the hustle of initial and get their license. Does it fall in the category of "Rishwat"?



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who gives bribe and the one who accepts it. There is no disagreement among scholars regarding the prohibition of bribe as an enormous sin.

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However, with the spread of corruption in many institutions, one may find it difficult to get his right or finish official papers because the officer in charge asks for bribe. In this case, one has first to find out if there is any other solution, such as reporting this officer to his boss or raising an official complaint to those in authority. If this proves useless and there is no other way, then one may pay bribe to get his right, though it is still an enormous sin for that officer.

In your case, you did not point out if you are qualified for getting the license and meet the requirements or not.You did not also point out who gets this “extra money” and for doing what.

 

Allah Almighty knows best.

As salaam alaikum, I was wondering if the husband doesn't say anything about divorce is he allowed to live as if they are separated? And if so is there a time frame of living separated and then divorce needs to be done or does living separated automatically make you divorced?



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

From the Shari`ah perspective, for divorce to take place it has to be expressed in either oral or written form. The intention of divorce does not render it an actual divorce. Separation also does not mean divorce and could only be a chancefor reflection and reassessment of the marital relationship but it may not be forever. A husband may not leave also his wife, as it were, hanging. A wife has rights that the husband has to fulfill just as a wife has to fulfill her duties toward her husband.

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The Quranic guidance dictates, “Furthermore, if any woman fears disfavor or alienation from her husband, then there shall be no blame on the two of them if they reconcile a peaceful settlement between themselves. For reconciliation is [far] better [than kindling strife], though [beware that] avarice is ever-present in the [human] soul. But if you excel in doing good and are God-fearing- then ever is God all-aware of all that you do.” (An-Nisaa’ 4:128)

In another Quranic guidance regarding marital dispute we read, “Moreover, [as to spouses in dispute], if you [believers] fear a split between the two of them, then send for an arbitrator from his people and another arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, God will bring about harmony between the two of them. Indeed, God is ever-knowing, all-aware.” (An-Nisaa’ 4:35)

If arbitration and reconciliation do not work out, then a wife may raise the issue before courts asking for her rights or seeking divorce.

 

Allah Almighty knows best.

My question is that I am following the Hanafi madhhab at the moment. But I want to follow the Salafi manhaj. I've already adopted some of the teachings and I am starting to follow some of the fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah. Can I leave madhhab? Pleas clarify.



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

A Muslim has only to follow the tradition of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). No Muslim scholar has ever asked Muslims to follow all his opinions; simply because he is a human being and his opinion could be wrong, in spite of his sincerity and great endeavor to reach the truth. The opinions of scholars are just attempts to guide Muslims along the prophetic path.

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For learned persons, they are aware of the principles of each school of Fiqh and one of them may choose to follow the principles of a specific school, because its principles seem to be the best in his view.

Still, however, in his search for the true opinion, he may adopt a different opinion in some cases, if he is not fully convinced with the opinion of the school he belonged to.

For lay people, they do not have the ability to distinguish between the principles of Fiqh Schools in order to choose the best in their sight. Therefore, a lay person askes a scholar whom he believes to be most knowledgeable and most pious and follows his fatwa. If there is a dominant Fiqh school in any country, usually scholars of that country follow the opinion of that Fiqh school.

Allah Almighty knows best.

As-Salamu ‘Alaykum. I had been plucking my eyebrows for almost 7 years , not knowing the severity of the sin nor my family guided me. It's a common practice among the Muslim women and I have even seen some female Muslim scholars or the wives of some Muslim scholars with plucked eyebrows. Obviously, I was not shaping mine but just cleaning as I have thick and bushy eyebrows with hairs growing just above the eye (may be an excuse). Now that I have stopped doing this and it's been about 2 months, one of my eyebrows is over-growing while the other one is not. People keep on telling me that I look funny. My mother asks me to get them plucked to balance them which obviously I don't do. I am not looking for an excuse to get them plucked nor I have any regrets over my decision but I get stressed out at times. Please help!



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have cursed an-namisah, a woman who plucks other’s eyebrows, and al-mutanammisah, a woman who has her eyebrows plucked.

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According to the majority of scholars, it is not permissible to remove the hair of eyebrows whether by plucking or shaving. According to the Hanbalites, however, it is plucking only that is impermissible while shaving is not impermissible. This means that plucking is unanimously prohibited. Some scholars even included it among enormous sins. However, shaping eyebrows by shaving or any other means is controversial as mentioned above.

Accordingly, if the eyebrow has a normal shape that does not make her look ugly or cause her to feel embarrassed, then a woman has to avoid reshaping it. If the thickness of the eyebrow is so abnormal that it makes her look ugly or causes her to feel embarrassed, then she may remove the additional hair, according to the Hanbalite point of view.

 

Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

I am working on a place where 70% is female worker & those workers don't wear any hijab. What should I do at this moment?



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

 

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Islam aims at safeguarding the society from the evil consequences of nakedness and of unnecessary mingling between the two sexes. Allah (exalted is He) commanded the wives of the Messenger of Allah, who are the best and most virtuous women:

“And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification. (Al-Azhab 33:33)

The command extends a fortiori to other Muslim women.

Islam intends to build a community based on chastity, modesty and bashfulness. Therefore, Islamic teachings have laid restrictions on the interaction between marriageable men and women to block all ways to evil practices.

Islam takes prohibitive measures and does not wait for evil to take place. Both men and women have been commanded to lower their gazes and not to look at members of the opposite sex except for a legitimate reason.

Unnecessary mingling between marriageable men and women is not permissible and any contact has to be within the Islamic guidelines in this regard. All evil practices between men and women are results of neglecting such teachings.

In your case, brother, if the nature of your job is halal, then you may keep the job while abiding by the Islamic teachings with regard to your relation with these female colleagues. Meanwhile, you should also try to find a better job environment. You need to pray to Allah and seek His help to enable you overcome the trials of this world and grant you a way out of this situation.

 

Almighty Allah knows best.

Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh,I want to ask is tattoo allowed in Islam and what if the imam has tattoo, can he lead us in prayer?In our mosque our imam has tattoo at his right hand as some people have doubts whether to pray behind him or not, so please if you can clear this to us. Jazakallahukhair



Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

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

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

 

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed a woman who does tattoo and the woman who asks for it to be done for her. The same ruling applies to men, for women have been mentioned because they often tend to do it.

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This means that a person who has this tattoo has to repent to Allah the Almighty and to remove it. If it needs a surgical operation and one cannot afford it, then this could be an excuse for him until he can.

Now, if this person, who is qualified for being an imam, knows that tattoo is haram, and has repented to Allah but is not able to remove the tattoo, then he may lead you in Prayer and you should help him get rid of that tattoo. However, if he has not repented, he should not lead you.

Almighty Allah knows best.

I'm a non Muslim and I want to pray with all my heart for my Muslim friend that he quits smoking. I don't have the courage to say that him directly. But I believe in prayers. And I want to pray to the God he believes in. Would Allah accept my prayers?



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

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

 

These are good feelings from you and they reveal you kindhearted nature.

Allah is the name of the Creator of this universe and its real God. This marvelous universe must have a creator and originator. No one has ever claimed to be such Creator and Originator except Allah Almighty and He has provided the evidences for that. The Creator and Originator is also the All-Sustainer and the One who manages the affairs of the created beings. Thus, He must also be the real God who alone deserves worship and devotion. How then dare people worship other gods!

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Though there are people who do not believe in Allah, still, out of His Mercy and Grace, He provides for them and lets them enjoy this life. This, of course, does not mean that He is pleased with them. He is All-Knowing and All-Wise and manages the affairs of this world according to His Knowledge and His Wisdom, which are beyond human knowledge and wisdom.

In the Quran we read, “Yet whenever harm strikes you at sea, all that you [used to] call upon [in worship] vanishes [from your hearts]- except for Him [alone]. Then when He delivers you to [dry] land, you turn away [from worshipping Him alone]. For the human being is an [unbelieving] ingrate.” (Al-Israa’ 17:67)

In another place we read, “Say [to them]: Who is it that delivers you from the [veils of] darkness of land and sea? You call upon Him imploringly and inwardly: If He delivers us from this [peril], we shall most surely be of those who are ever-thankful! Say [to them]: God delivers you from this and from every anguish! Yet [still] you associate [gods with Him]. (Al-An`am 6:63-64)

These and other similar verses indicate that Allah the Almighty may answer the prayers of a non-Muslim in some cases and situations and for some reasons as mentioned in these verses.

In a prophetic statement, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Beware of the prayer of a wronged person, even if he be a disbeliever, for there is no barrier before it [to reach Allah the Almighty].”This is another reason to answer the prayer of a disbeliever.

However, once again, answering a prayer of a person does not necessarily mean that Allah loves this person or is pleased with him. Allah does not love those who are sinful or those who disbelieve in Him. Nevertheless, He may answer their prayers to gain some worldly interests or avoid worldly harms, out of His All-Encompassing Mercy and Justice. Allah gives worldly gains for both those whom He loves and those whom He does no love, but gives the reward of the Hereafter only for those whom He loves.

May Allah guide you to His religion.

Allah Almighty knows best.