Thank you very much for joining us in this Fatwa session. We would also like to thank our guest, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, for answering the questions directed to him. You will find the answers to your questions below.

Question 1:

Can u have sex with a Christian guy or marry a Christian guy as a Muslim girl

Pls tell me

Answer 1:

Islam does not allow extramarital sex. Therefore, you cannot have sex with anyone, whether a Christian or a Muslim, except through lawful marriage relations.

As for the issue of marriage between a Muslim and a Christian, you may consult the following answer:

Question 2:

Am I allowed to pray with clothes that have a picture on it?

Answer 2:

Prayer is an act of worship, standing before Allah for intimate communion. Therefore, we should wear proper attire. Allah says, “Arrive at the mosque for worship while wearing decent attire.”  (Qur’an: 7: 31)

Furthermore, since Prayer has a form and spirit and the heart of Prayer calls for concentration, we should do our best to keep our minds focused on worship. Wearing clothes with pictures is not conducive to concentration; therefore, one should shun such garments. We are told that once the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up for Prayer wearing a robe with designs, but soon after, he took it off, saying that it distracted his attention in Prayer.” (Al-Bukhari)

Therefore, one should not wear clothes with pictures while performing prayer.

As for clothes with pictures of living beings, it is considered haram.

Question 3:

If two fardh prayer are at the same time, what should I do?

Because I am a new revert and still confused about the time of the prayers. Is it after the adhan or is it before the adhan I pray? Recently Isha prayer and Fajr prayer is both at 1:17.What should I do?

Answer 3:

I am sorry to say that I cannot discern the intent of your question; how can Fajr and Isha time coincide?

Fajr time starts with the break of dawn, while Isha is when the darkness of night sets in after sunset. Therefore, if you live in a time zone where days are extraordinarily long and night is short, you may observe the prayers by following the prayer times of standard time zones such as Makkah or Madina or a city close to you in your country.

If, however, your question is that you missed Isha and woke up when the time of Fajr has already arrived, then if you are praying in the mosque in the congregation, you should pray Fajr with them first and pray Isha later. If, however, you are praying at home, you should pray Isha first and then Fajr if you are sure that the time of Fajr does not expire.

Question 4:

How do I know if I have sincere intention

Sometimes, I feel like I’m committing minor shirk. Whenever someone’s around me and I do acts of worship, I tell myself I’m doing it only for Allah, but I still feel like I’m doing it for people. What to do?

Answer 4:

That is a challenge for everyone. Since no one, except the Prophets and those with high spiritual status, can feel safe from the temptations and whispering of Shaytan, we ought to be vigilant and exercise caution.

With sincere intention and diligence in spiritual practices and seeking the aid of Allah, however, we can hope to succeed.

Here are some tips we can follow in this regard:

• Think of imminent death and standing up for reckoning before Allah and keep alive this thought by visiting graves or attending funerals, etc.
• Practice dhikr in solitude and keep the devil away by occupying your mind and tongue with dhikr.
• While standing up for prayer, visualize it as if it could be the last prayer you would perform, as there is no guarantee that you will be alive to perform another prayer.

If, despite all these, such insincere thought assails your mind, seek refuge in Allah and beg for His mercy: Allah says, “Those who are mindful of Allah, when a prompting of Satan strikes them, they remember (Allah), then lo they begin to see things clearly.” (Qur’an: 7: 201)

So, all of us should struggle to overcome such temptations and work to purify our intentions and thus remain steadfast in our practices. This struggle should continue until our last breath.

There is another tip we can follow to develop sincerity, namely, to create the habit of setting aside some good deeds and doing them privately, away from the attention of people, as a secret between Allah and us: Such practices can include:

• a few rak`ahs of prayer during the late hours of the night when everyone is asleep;
• giving some amount of money as charity regularly;
• sponsoring an orphan privately.

Such activities are not limited; you can choose anyone or a few of them. However, we can never exaggerate the importance of making dhikr a second nature and shedding tears while doing so in secret. All such deeds merit great rewards and are bound to help us purify our intentions.

I pray to Allah to help us to purify our intentions and develop sincerity.

Question 5:

I am sending you this mail to ask you a question about investing in the stock market.

As you know that the majority of Companies fund their projects using interest-based loans from the bank or they deal with a direct or indirect way with the non-Islamic banks that deals with Riba (interest Rate).

Based on that I want to ask you two questions related to the topic “ investing in the stock market” to know if its haram or no. My questions are the following:

1- Is it halal or haram to invest in a company that fund its projects using interest-based loans?

2- After reading a lot of overviews about the halal investing, I found that several overviews/islamic websites are specifying that a company would be acceptable for Sharia-compliant investments if it meets the following criteria:

 a. Interest-bearing securities and assets must be less than 30% of trailing 36-month average market capitalization

 b. bearing debt must be less than 30% of trailing 36-month average market capitalization

 c. If it exceeds the percentage allowed, the company or investment will be considered Shariah non-compliant.

 Is that right or wrong ? Based on which surah/hadith they specified the number of 30% for the interest-bearing. As for the website contains all of the aforementioned information please find it below.

 Could you please answer my questions to make sure that I am 100% far from the Riba within the shariah and to know if I invest in those companies that have Interest-bearing debt less than 33% is also halal or no.

 Thank you so much for your help.

 Answer 5:

I do not consider myself an expert in Islamic finance. So, I urge you to contact Dr. Monzer Kahf. You can get in touch with him here:  www.monzer.kahf.com.

Question 6:

Me and husband want to go hajj this year, i only managed to pay half of my zakat and plan to pay rest after performing hajj, my question is do i have to pay zakat in full before going for hajj ?

Answer 6:

You are not allowed to postpone the payment of your Zakah. Hajj is obligatory only when you have enough to pay for Hajj after paying your obligations; paying Zakah on time is a priority. You must fulfill the obligation immediately as soon as it is due.

Hajj is different; you may postpone it until you have sufficient funds free from such debts.

Question 7:

Is listening to songs of Islamophobic artists kufr or shirk? As I’m not sure how YouTube works but I think watching someone’s YouTube video is basically supporting them and gives them money so I’m confused if listening to songs of Islamophobic artists which don’t have islamaphobic lyrics in them but the person is Islamophobic kufr or shirk or not.

Answer 7:

Allah warns us in the Qur’an not to fall victim to the plots and machinations of the enemies of Islam:

“They (i.e., your enemies) will not stop fighting against you until they turn you away from your faith—if they can. And whoever among you renounces their own faith and dies a disbeliever, their deeds will become void in this life and in the Hereafter. It is they who will be the residents of the Fire. They will be there forever.” (Qur’an 2: 271)

“O you who believe! Do not befriend those who take your religion in mockery and as a sport, be they from among those who were given the Scripture before you or the disbelievers. And obey God if you are believers.” (Qur’an 5: 57)

Therefore, you ought to stay away from the Islamophobes. If you listen to them or follow their posts or episodes, whether music or other fiction or non-fiction, you are supporting them; you will inadvertently promote their works. Undoubtedly, you will end up incurring g the wrath of Allah and losing your faith.

So, I urge you to seek repentance and redeem yourself by promoting the works of those who work for the cause of Islam, such as thedeenshow.com.

Question 8:

I got my nikkah done with my cousin when i was 14 years old at that time my dad was blackmailing saying my grandfather will die if I don’t get this done and he was also threatening my mom that he will leave her and coz of this fear i agreed with him to get this nikkah done . Our parents decided that both of us will live together when i will be 18 years old .After that i came in uk with my parents in 2018 I started talking to my cousin over phone and i tried that i may become happy with him or may start liking him coz i wanted it to work just for the sake of my parents happiness. When i was talking to him for 2-3 years he use to ignore me most of the time like he will not reply to my texts for days and months but sometimes when he gave me attention i use to say i like him now idk if i really did. After 2-3 years now I don’t even care if he texts me or call me i feel like i dont even want to see his face and im not happy with this nikkah I don’t want to get married to him and commit intimacy with him i think my heart was filled with him and I don’t feel anything abt him any more. I like someone else now .After all this staff few days before i saw video on tiktok in which whe sheikh was saying that this kind of nikkah is invalid and that its not done reference was hadees 5138 shahih bukhari . Can you please tell me if this nikkah is done or not like its invalid so it means its not done?

Answer 8:

You could seek a legal divorce if your parents coerced you to marry your cousin. Once you get a divorce, you can go ahead and marry the person of your choice. However, you are not allowed to be in love with anyone as long as you are married to another person. In this case, you are still married to someone else. So, you should decide and follow the proper procedure to get a divorce; once you have finalized the divorce, you can choose to marry another person.

However, suppose you wish to establish a successful marriage. In that case, you may do well to follow the advice of the Prophet, “look for the factor of sound faith,” and in he also added the character; so if the person you want to marry after your divorce is a man of good faith and a pleasant character, then you will be blessed; otherwise, you may end up in another mess and broken relationship.

For the best tips for a successful marriage, you may study the book, Blissful Marriage: A Practical Islamic Guide by Ekram Beshir (Author), Mohamed Rida Beshir (Author)

I pray to Allah to inspire you to act rightly.

Question 9:

I am enrolled in a program that has chosen me to participate through lottery. Since I got into this job through a lottery, is the income haram?

It is a program that pays you for things like child care or some other types of activities, the job itself may not be haram but I am wondering if the money is haram because of the way I had the opportunity to enroll which was through lottery.

Answer 9:

If you paid to enroll in this program, it falls into the category of Maysir or gambling, which is undoubtedly haram and forbidden.

However, if it did not involve any payment, it was simply a draw to promote the sales, then the job you got through it is halal. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to draw lots to pick up one of his wives to take with him when he embarked on a journey. Based on this, the Sharia allows us to draw lots as long as it does not involve payment.

Question 10:

I got married to my husband in a civil marriage in the state of New York for the purpose of sponsorship, his brother was present as one witness and second witness was the clerk who got us married, is our marriage considered correct in the eyes of Islam, or even valid, as we cannot have our nikkah done as my parents are against this marriage and they put a condition due to which I had to get a civil marriage so I can sponser him so my parents condition can be fulfilled, can we be intimate when we meet like physically or would it be haram, as I don’t want to commit further haram?

please its urgent

Answer 10:

If your parents have agreed to the civil marriage, then the marriage is valid, and you are allowed to establish intimacy.

For details about the conditions of a valid Islamic marriage, you can consult the answer linked here:

What Are the Conditions of Marriage in Islam? | About Islam | About Islam

Question 11:

The reason that i’m writing this message, is because i have a question that bothers me all the time. I always wanted to become a manga artist. But when i found out it’s haram to draw faces. I decided that i needed to give up on my dream. But later i found out that i can be a manga writer, because the only things i need to make the script and story. I can just find someone to work with who can draw. But i don’t know if its halal to this. Because I’m sort of helping him and he is helping me. I already made a story, but before i continue with my dream. I need to know if this is permissible. Thank you for thanking your time to read this.

Answer 11:

As far as I know, this is a form of art; as is the case with any work of art, it can be halal or haram based on the intended message to the reader. If it is a good message moving society towards good and making a difference in the world, it is halal; if its message or theme is unethical and promotes vice and corruption, then it is haram ad forbidden.

As Muslims, we believe that we are accountable for our actions. One of the famous authors died, and he appeared to a righteous man in a dream; the latter asked him what advice he would give to a writer based on his experience after death. The former replied, ‘Do not write anything with your hands unless you can be certain of it being in your register of Allah when you stand before Him for judgment.”

If the message is good and the purpose of the work satisfies the above criteria, then you may go for it – never mind the drawing. Drawing for educational purposes or conveying a good message is not forbidden; it can be lawful as long as the scenes are free from nudity and vulgarities.

Question 12:

I bought a gecko and I heard it is Haram and I been trying to find a way to get rid of it but not sure if I can give it to someone else or put it in the wild.

Answer 12:

It would be best to release it to the wild after consulting with a veterinarian or give it away to a place where they keep such animals.

Question 13:

If someone did me wrong in the workplace and did me injustice and I have avenged back and did injustice to them back how can I repent?

Answer 13:

If someone has done wrong to us, we are not allowed to take the laws in our hands and meet injustice with injustice; instead, we have one of two options: to seek justice through the course of law or forgive the wrong.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) states ‘there shall be no initiation of injustice or reciprocating it with injustice.” So, we are not allowed to counter injustice with injustice.

Therefore, I urge you to seek repentance, beg Allah’s forgiveness, and resolve never to repeat the same mistake.

Question 16:

My son who is 17 year steal money from our earning and enjoying with friends and he has influenced with his friends so we tried to take his mobile but he’s threaten to jump from window etc.

According to me he doesn’t do bad things but I think his friends are encouraging him to steal and my son gives money to them and enjoy in playing and buying for him protein powder etc.i don’t know what to do Nd don’t respect us ( parents ) he pushes us .

Answer 16:

I feel sorry to hear of your challenges in mentoring your son and helping to keep him away from the wrong company.

Since the issue is a matter of grave concern, you should try to handle it professionally, as I fear if you do not go about it carefully, you may end up losing your son. So, you should consult a professional Muslim counselor; perhaps you should contact the editor of this site, who may be able to refer you to a qualified professional. If they cannot help you, ask your family physician to refer you to an expert.

You can help yourself by reading an excellent book on Islamic parenting; here is one of them: Meeting the Challenge of Parenting in the West: An Islamic Perspective by Ekram Beshir, M.D. and Mohamed Rida Beshir.

Question 17:

Is it permissible in Islam for a Shia to marry a Sunni?

Answer 17:

You are allowed to get married to a Muslim following the Ja’fari Madhhab. However, marriage is a long-term commitment and partnership. Since there are differences between certain beliefs and practices of Ahl Al-Sunnah and the Shi`ah, you should only be willing to tie the knot after you have figured out how to deal with the differences in an amicable way. Therefore, it is unrealistic to say that we would sort it out later.

So, I urge you to have all the points at stake and work out a balanced and amicable way of dealing with the differences. You should stipulate that both of you should be able to follow your respective madhhabs without sacrificing the marriage relationship.

Once you have agreed upon the salient points, you should sign a contract. There is a saying, sometimes attributed to Prophet (peace be upon him) “There is no intelligence greater than planning.”

Question 18:

I’m a high school junior in VA, and I wanted to find a temporary job over the summer that I could do.

I found a listing for an Aquatic Assistant at a waterpark and I applied and got accepted, but it was only after that that I started to realize/question whether the job was halal or not.

According to the job description, I would be doing things such as directing guests to places, keeping written records, cleaning the park, controlling/operating the waterslides, and basic tasks like that.

I wanted to know if working at a waterpark in the USA such as this one is halal for me before the training starts on May 10th. Of course, I’m highly motivated and want to work at some kind of job, but I want to make sure my earnings are 100% Halal.

 I have no intentions of “chatting up” the opposite gender as many kids in my school have or anything haram along those lines, but rather I’m simply seeking temporary employment, and given my demographic (under 18, in school, etc) this among some of the only jobs I’m eligible to do.

 If it’s not Halal for me, do you have any other suggestions of possible jobs that I could do in the Greater Washington DC area?

 Thank you so much.

Answer 18:

You should try your best to find another job where you don’t expose yourself to the temptations of close contact with the members of the opposite sex.

I would urge you to approach the imam of the mosque or the Islamic center in your area if he can help you find another job. But unfortunately, since I don’t live in the States, I cannot help you.

If Allah forbids you cannot find anything else, then you may take up the job while taking all the necessary precautions, arming yourself with dhikr, and imploring the help of Allah.

I urge you to offer the following supplications when you venture out in the morning:

Bismillaahi tawakkalthu ala Allaahi laa hawla wa laa quwwatha illaa billaahi

(In the name of Allah, I place my trust in Allah; there is no power (to do good) or strength (to resist evil) except by the will of Allah)

Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bika an adilla aw udalla aw azilla aw uzalla aw ajhala aw yujhala alayya

(O Allah, I see Your protection against going astray or being led astray by others or slipping up or being led by others to slip up, or acting foolishly or foolishly towards me).

I pray to Allah to bless your efforts.

Question 19:

Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Hadith Number 211. Many non-muslim slander the prophet using this & related Hadith by Jabir Ibn Abdullah… Can someone give more clarification of this…

Answer 19:

I do not understand why this hadith should be a concern for you. However, a person who reads it objectively with a pure heart can see how the Prophet (peace be upon him) interacted with his companions with mercy and kindness.

First of all, he prayed for the camel that was acting wired and then offered to buy the camel from him, and yet at the end, he paid him the price as well as the camel itself and took nothing in return! That shows the generosity of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

As for the marriage, he knew Jabir was a young man and would be better off marrying a young wife; however, when he told the Prophet why he married a mature woman, he approved of it and gave him his blessings.

Jabir b Abdullah was a great companion of the Prophet who became one of the greatest imams and teachers of Islam after him; his love for the Prophet was such that he was keen to learn everything he could learn from the senior companions of the Prophet as he was much younger. Thanks to his great zeal, he traveled for a month to Syria to narrate a single tradition of the Prophet from another companion, namely Abd Allah b. Unays.

I urge you not to pay attention to the enemies of Islam who are simply picking traditions out of context to create doubts. Allah in the Quran orders us to distance ourselves from them:

“They (i.e., your enemies) will not stop fighting against you until they turn you away from your faith—if they can. And whoever among you renounces their own faith and dies a disbeliever, their deeds will become void in this life and in the Hereafter. It is they who will be the residents of the Fire. They will be there forever.” (Qur’an: 2: 271)

“O you who believe! Do not befriend those who take your religion in mockery and as a sport, be they from among those who were given the Scripture before you or the disbelievers. And obey God if you are believers.” (Qur’an: 5: 57)

If you continue to read their posts, you inadvertently promote their work. In addition, they may create doubts in your mind, and ultimately, you may lose your faith.

Our scholars have advised us to seek knowledge of Islam only from those who are trustworthy and qualified to teach it.

Trusting them to teach you Islam is like keeping a fox to take care of the chicken!

Question 20:

How should one reconcile forgiveness in a manipulative/abusive relationship in the eyes of Islam? Will cutting ties with my abusive family make me sinful?

Answer 20:

You have raised a very important question.

In answering your question, I cannot do any better than citing here one of my previous answers:

“Fostering ties of kinship is one of the fundamental duties prescribed by Allah in the Qur’an: Allah says:

“O mankind! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women. And remain conscious of Allah, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily,  Allah is ever watchful over you!” (Qur’an: 4: 36)

“And worship Allah [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him. And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger, and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess. Verily, Allah does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner.” (Qur’an: 4:36)

“And Lo! We accepted this solemn pledge from [you,] ‘ the children of Israel: “You shall worship none but God; and you shall do good unto your parents and kinsfolk, and the orphans, and the poor; and you shall speak unto all people in a kindly way; and you shall be constant in prayer; and you shall spend in charity.”And yet, save for a few of you, you turned away: for you are obstinate folk!”  (Qur’an: 2:83)

While commanding us to foster the ties of kinship, it warns against cutting or severing the ties of kinship:

[Ask them:] “Would you, perchance, after having turned away [from Allah’s commandment, prefer to revert to your old ways, and] spread corruption on earth, and [once again] cut asunder your ties of kinship?” It is such as these whom Allah rejects, and whom He makes deaf [to the voice of truth], and whose eyes He blinds [to its sight]!” (Qur’an: 77:22-23)

“But as for those who break their bond with Allah after it has been established [in their nature], and cut asunder what Allah has bidden to be joined, and spread corruption on earth -their due is rejection [by Allah], [48] and theirs is a most evil fate [in the life to come].” (Qur’an: 13: 25)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) has further explained the above verses: We read in an authentic hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Aishah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “ The womb clings to the throne of Allah saying “whoever joins relations with me joins relations with Allah, and whoever severs ties with me severs ties with Allah.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also warned us against severing the ties of kinship: “One who severs the ties of kinship cannot enter paradise.” (Reported by Muslim on the authority of Jubayr b. Mut’im)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) further said, ‘Whoever believes in Allah and the Last day, let him foster his ties of kinship” (Reported by Bukhari).

Based on the above decisive and categorical imperatives, the scholars have unanimously reckoned severing the ties of kinship as one of the most grievous of all sins; as such, no Muslim can ever can consider this issue lightly. 

According to the scholars, ties of kinship include relations from both maternal and paternal sides: Thus, it includes parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles (both maternal and paternal) and aunts (maternal and paternal).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) further said that fostering ties of kinship does not mean reciprocation of kindness with kindness:  “The fosterer of the ties of kinship is not the one who simply reciprocates kindness with kindness; rather it is he who fosters relations even with those who sever them” (Reported by Bukhari).

Thus, when one of his companions asked, ‘I have blood relations who continue to break the ties no matter how devoted I am in joining relations with them, should I, therefore, discontinue it, the Prophet replied, ‘certainly not; you should continue to foster ties with them; as long as you do so, you will have the protection of Allah.”

As for the specific duties that we owe towards our kith and kin, we can list them briefly as follows: rendering benefit to them and removing harm form them; visiting them and enquiring about their whereabouts; helping them, morally and financially, according to one’s means; sharing their joys and sorrows and cherishing love for them; visiting them when they are sick, attending their funerals; reconciling their differences, and seeking to restore peace among them;  and last but not least, praying for them, and counseling them.

I pray to Allah to inspire us all to be faithful in rendering our duties to Allah and to our parents and to our kith and kin, and thus can hope to receive the mercy of Allah.

Question 21:

Is it permissible for a virgin Muslim woman to marry a non-virgin Muslim man in Islam?

He grew up with an interfaith family. A muslim father and has two mom (first mom,a Muslim divorced but the family still stay in touch) and his mother, an American who is christian. He is also unsure of where he stands in his faith but still follows the basic principles of Islam, like prayers with his father, participation in Ramadan, does not drink, smoke, etc..but says he is still in a process on his faith. He also had intercourse when he was youngster before he had met me.

Answer 21:

Marrying a person with a bad past is allowed as long as they have repented of their past sins and have changed their lives around.

So, the issue of virginity should not be taken as a factor to refuse the hand of a marriage suitor.

The basic criteria to choose a marriage partner should be sound faith and character. So, you should ask yourself whether the man is a good Muslim with sound character. If however he is not sure whether he is a Muslim that should be a matter of concern. 

Marrying a person with a sinful past is allowed as long as they have repented and changed their lives.

So, the issue of virginity should not be a primary factor in refusing the hand of a marriage suitor.

The essential criteria for choosing a marriage partner should be good faith and character. So, you should ask yourself whether the man is a good Muslim with sound character. However, if he is unsure whether he is a Muslim, that should be a matter of concern and you should think twice before deciding to marry him.

Question 22:

I wanted to know if ONE-TIME shaving my head is permissible or not?

i just want my hair to grow back more healthy (although i don’t have a disease) , i dont want to keep a bald head.

Answer 22:

Shaving the head is allowed in Islam, as ruled by the majority of scholars belonging to Hanafi, Shafi, and Hanbali schools of Fiqh. However, the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade shaving a part of the head and leaving another side unshaven. Once he saw a child, he saw that they had shaved one side of his head while leaving another; he told his parents to shave all of the head or keep it unshaven. Furthermore, Ibn Umar said the Prophet forbade the practice of Qaza; when asked what Qaza means, he said it was shaving one side of the head while leaving another unshaven.

In light of these, you are allowed to shave your head, especially to help the healthy growth of your hair. I pray to Allah to bless your effort with success.

Question 23:

 I’ve questions regarding the issue of “Denying the indisputably established rulings (or something that’s very known in the religion) of Islam”. What things are considered as such? If I believe that a thing that’s very known in the religion as haram as halal since I personally don’t fully understand the ruling (because I lazily learn the deed so my waswas don’t relapse), will I be granted the excuse of ignorance?

 As I suffer from waswas, I often got whispers like “Is what am I doing halal or not?”. I’m so afraid to do ijtihad to decide whether it’s halal or not since I don’t want to fall into the action of istihlaal or vice versa. Is it ok for me to reduce the intensity of(or even stopped) asking questions about halal-haram?

 I’ve heard that excuse of ignorance only applies to those who studied the deen maximally. Ironically one of the cures for my waswas (that I’ve applied successfully for the past few years) is by increasing the number of dhikr and namaz, but at the same time learning the deen very, very slowly (even borderline—if not actually—lazy). Since I heard that fatwa, my waswas recurred (I got whisper on whether I’ve studied the deen maximally or not to get the remission).

 Jazaakumullaah khayran

Answer 23:

If someone denies Islam’s absolute essential tenets or practices, including the categorial commandments and prohibitions, they will go out of the fold of Islam.

Here is a listing of such bare essentials:

1. The Oneness and sovereignty of Allah and His incomparable essence, and attributes.
2. Belief in angels as God’s obedient servants, always ready to do His bidding;
3. Belief in scriptures and laws revealed by God to His prophets and messengers
4. Belief in the prophets and messengers whom Allah has sent to guide humankind to the straight path upon whom Allah has bestowed revelations.
5. Belief in the Day of Judgment and standing before Him for the final reckoning for our actions in this life.
6. Belief in God’s ultimate and supreme will and that nothing happens in the universe without His will.

These are essential beliefs

Next comes the five pillars of Islam:

Witnessing the Oneness of Allah; establishing Prayer, zakat, fasting, and hajj.

Next comes other commandments, including honoring our parents, fostering the ties of kinship, etc., and the grave sins such as associating partners with Allah, murder, adultery, promiscuity, bearing false witness, black magic, oppression, violating the rights of others and committing injustice, etc., all of the above fall into the category of the absolute essentials of faith; by denying them, one goes out of the fold of Islam.

However, if someone is guilty of committing the forbidden or failing to fulfill the obligatory duties without denying their mandatory nature, they are still considered believers, albeit sinful.  

Question 24:

 I am asking because it effects a hormone, DHT in the body, and also has side effects, such as lower fertility. But the side effects are very low according to many studies.

Answer 24:

If prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner and deemed effective and reasonably safe, you may use it.

There is hardly any medication that can be completely free from side effects.