Dear Brothers/Sisters,

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.

Q:

My father was emotionally and psychologically abusive to me until I moved out at age 18 and cut contact with him. It caused me significant mental harm that resulted in multiple severe mental illnesses, but Alhamdulillah for the past 6 years I’ve healed a lot through therapy and also became Muslim (I am a convert). A few years ago I reconnected with my father and felt he had changed for the better. I was very careful though and set healthy boundaries to protect myself. I felt it was going well, until a few weeks ago out of nowhere he sent me a message telling me to ‘f*** off and never contact him again’ because I forgot that it was his birthday. It took me off guard but this was why I kept strict boundaries to protect my mental well-being incase he reverted back to how he used to be.

Growing up I felt fear more than any other emotion. If the smallest thing was wrong he would get so angry. I would try to be perfect to avoid his anger but it did not work, something would always trigger him. The worst was when he would get angry at me for things I couldn’t control like my ability to speak (I would and still do go mute from fear, I can’t and couldn’t control it. The fear of how angry he would be at me for not speaking would make the mutism worse. It has caused me a lot of trauma).

*this next part contains detailed descriptions*

Aside from anger, he also had sexual fetishes that he did not hide from us when we were children. There would be detailed photographs of women’s genitals hung on his bedroom walls. There were paintings and photographs and statues of women’s genitals and bodies in the stairs hallway. There were paintings of women doing sexual acts. There were books about erotica in the living room. I once found a key ring with a picture of a naked lady with what Looked like a cut of her pubic hair in the key ring. It felt like Every draw you looked in would have some sexual photo. I grew up around this (my mum divorced him when I was 5 but she did not know he was treating us so badly till a few years ago but she she still doesn’t know how badly or that he was abusive). As a child I knew about very erotic sexual acts before I even knew about what normal sex was. I haven’t spoken about this part of the abuse in therapy.

He also listened to music that was explicit about sex around us, I remember singing and dancing as a child with my brother to this music and then growing up and learning what those verses meant and it disturbed me a lot.

As an adult he has also sent me very explicit sexual jokes by text, I have never known how to reply to these messages, they make me feel very disgusting, so I would normally just not reply to those texts.

I am no longer feeling mentally well enough to keep contact with him since his angry outburst over forgetting it was his birthday. It has brought up a lot of memories.

It is having a significant impact on my mental well-being and also my normally healthy marriage. I can’t sleep and it is making recovery from my anorexia harder than it already it. I feel violated by my dad even though he has never touched me. I feel so dirty at the thought of having to keep in contact with him anymore. All of these memories from my childhood have opened up, and it’s also affecting my sexual life with my husband. I feel disgusted that my mind associates sex with my father because of all I saw in my childhood.

So my question is; is it a sin for me to distant myself from my dad, not talk to him till I feel more stable, even if that means never talking to him again? I don’t want to displease Allah, I don’t want to go against Allah, but it is causing me so much emotional harm, and I feel it is harming my marriage being in contact with my father right now. The thought of texting my dad makes me want to cut my skin or bang my head against the wall or starve myself to get rid of this dirty feeling.

I’m sorry this is so detailed and I hope that I don’t cause whoever reads this harm with how detailed it is. May Allah forgive me and forgive my father.

Please keep my name and email anonymous for safety reasons. Jazkallah Khyren. Also I’m 24 years old and female.

A:

I empathize with your situation and pray to Allah to bless you with relief and comfort. You definitely need to turn to Allah for His help through patience and prayer. You can do so by being diligent in your daily prayers and dhikr.

You should also continue your therapy and counseling to avoid falling into depression and overcome your emotional and mental challenges.

As for your duties towards your father, you are justified in keeping away from him. He forfeited his duties as a father towards you; instead, he abused you. Emotional abuse is worse than physical abuse. So, you have the right to protect yourself from him. Keeping a close relationship with him as if nothing happened will only aggravate the situation.

So, he not only failed in his duties towards you as a father but also abused you causing you unbearable trauma and emotional challenges.

Therefore, you don’t owe him anything other than occasional messages of good will, while keeping a reasonable distance from him.

I pray to Allah to grant you relief and strength to overcome your challenges and bless you with peace of mind and sound health.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I have found ,in my own eyes, a suitable wife. I talked about her to my mother and she was excited. I showed her a picture of the woman and immediately said no because of her skin colour.

I’ve just graduated university and I’ve found someone and am talking to them with the intention of marriage. I’ve found someone and introduced her to my mum, or atleast told my mum about her. My mother hasn’t asked me about her deen or her qualities, but she said “she’s from a different country, you will not mix our blood”.

I have the upmost respect for my parents but I have no idea how to handle this situation. I’m contemplating leaving home becuase I don’t want to end up committing zina becuase I’ve been turned down due to her skin.

A:

You have the choice of marrying the person you want as long as she is compatible. The primary criteria for marriage are stated by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the following tradition:

“If someone with acceptable faith and character approaches for marriage, marry him; otherwise you are paving the way for corruption in the land.” (At-Tirmidhi)

In another tradition, he said, “A woman is married for her wealth, family status, beauty or her religion; so, prefer the criterion of religion. (If you do so, you gain the blessings of both worlds.)” (Al-Bukhari)

Therefore, once you have a girl to marry and you are satisfied with her faith and character, there is no harm in considering the other factors such as beauty and family.

Marriage is a partnership between a man and a woman; as such, everyone has the right to choose their marriage partners.

Parents have no right to coerce their sons or daughters to marry someone they dislike. As Imam Ibn Taymiyyah points out: “Even as you are free to choose the food of your choice (as long as it is halal), likewise you are free to choose your marriage partner.”

Therefore, your mother is wrong in refusing your  permission to marry the person you have chosen. Her reason for rejecting her is not Islamic. Islam does not allow us to discriminate based on skin colour or ethnicity or language, etc.

Islam teaches us that all of people are descended from Adam and Adam is created from the dust; as such, no one can claim superiority over another person based on race, colour or ethnicity.

In conclusion, you may choose to marry the girl of your choice as long as you are satisfied with her faith and character.

I would urge you to do your best to convince your mother to accept your choice; perhaps you may seek the help of the imam or an elder in the community to speak with her.

However, if you go ahead with it against your mother’s wish, you still ought to establish good relations with her and fulfill your duties as a faithful son.

I pray to Allah to help you navigate the issue wisely.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I have got engaged to a girl by my parents’ agreement 1 year ago but not fixed any date of marriage yet. But recently i got to know that the girl i used to like some years ago got married 1yr ago and divorced within a year recently. how can i approach my parents to ask the girl i liked the most for my marriage???

A:

If you are already engaged to someone you are not allowed to break it on the pretext that you found another girl you used to love.

Your engagement was a promise you made with the man to marry him. 

So, it would be best if you kept your promise as best as you can.

As Muslims, we are to be faithful to our promises. Allah describes the faithful: “They are the ones who are committed to their trust and pledges.”  (Al-Mu’minun 23: 8)

However, if you have valid reasons to think that you cannot bring yourself to like her as she is not what you thought she was, then you may reconsider. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If a person of sound faith and good character proposes, marry him; otherwise, you may paving the road for the spread of corruption.” (At-Tirmidhi)

In the hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, pointed out sound faith and character as the most important criteria for accepting a marriage proposal. So, if you found her to be lacking in character, then you are allowed to break up the engagement.

Marriage is a long term partnership; it is intended to be a relationship based on mutual affection, and love; only then one could reap the fruits of a successful marriage, which according to the Qur’an is nothing short of peace and tranquility. Allah says, “Among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves for you to relate with them in peace and He has implanted in your hearts love, and affection; verily, in these are signs for those who reflect.”  (Ar-Rum 30: 21)

In conclusion, you are allowed to break the engagement only if you do not like the girl for valid reasons such as an serious character flaw or breach of trust, etc.

If you have no reason other than the fact that you liked her in the past, that is not a valid reason for breaking a contract or word you have given.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There are three signs for a hypocrite: If he speaks, he lies; if he promises, he breaks; if he is trusted, he cheats.”

Therefore, I would urge you to consider whether you are justified in breaking the engagement or not.

Almighty Allah knows best

Q:

I’m a young sister and I’m wondering why Christians are saying now there getting prophetic warnings about blackouts and great famines and false Christian prophets and there getting more visions and getting out of sleep cause they was told to get up cause they are feeling something I’m wondering cause most of them are saying the same things and also science says there will be blackouts cause of the solar flares and also signs like there will be more natural disasters and more earthquakes and wars that are going but hasn’t ended yet.

I’m scared because People are having more visions and stuff telling somethings coming and also having dreams I know I’m still very young and hoping you can answer this cause I wanna really keep my faith.

A:

The question of when the Hour will arrive belongs to the matter of ghayb (unseen realities), which is the exclusive realm of Allah. As such, not even angel Jibreel or any of the chosen messengers of God have access to it.

This is what we learn from the following tradition known as Hadith Jibreel. It narrates the story of angel Jibreel appearing before the Prophet asking him some critical questions about Islam. It was meant to be a teaching moment for the companions and later for all of us.

One of the last questions Jibreel asks the Prophet is, “when is the Hour?’, the Prophet replied, “The one who is questioned does not know about it any better than the questioner himself’, Jibreel agrees with his answer and then asks the Prophet to  mention some of the signs of the Hour, to which the replied, “You will see a mother giving birth to her master and you will see people who were shepherds…(suddenly becoming rich and) vying with one another building taller and taller mansions)’

As for the first point, it refers to the declining moral standards of people going to the extend of children bossing their parents. As for the second sign he mentioned, it refers to what is unfolding before our eyes in the Middle East as we see people whose grandparents were shepherds tending camels and sheep, suddenly becoming super rich and vying with building taller and taller mansions.

In other traditions, the Prophet mentions some other signs such as the following:

Bloodshed, floods, raging fires, quakes and tremors, promiscuous behavior becoming rampant; consequently, God sending down diseases humankind never knew before: eg., aids, monkey-pox, etc.

As for the bloodshed becoming rampant, the Prophet also explained it saying: Neither the person who kills nor the killed knows why he killed. All of these are already happening now.

Therefore, as a Muslim you should rest reassured that the Prophet has already told us some of the signs. Therefore, you don’t need to seek evidence in other religions for this phenomenon.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Please help. I’ve always known that the primary argument that Muslims have given that the Quran is unchanging and is the Truth is the fact that the other scriptures have been corrupted. The proof of this is that Arabic is a perfect geometrical language which is difficult to change. But the problem is, Jews claim this also about Hebrew and the Torah. To say one language is more perfect than the other is almost a subject opinion on linguists’ part. And that it was promised to them that they had the last prophet, so they take it as “why would God change His mind?”how to disprove this and how to prove The Prophet is real? I don’t want the same excuses of “it’s the last message and Muhammed pbuh is the last messenger because they say the exact same thing? It’s not enough if the Quran says it. They say anyone can say that and that’s “what they all say”. Their argument is very convincing. Also, we know Christians manipulated the message to gain followers and for colonial conquest. They also changed it to make it easier on their lives by abandoning many rules and laws of God. But what do the Jews have to benefit from changing the words of God? Their rules are stricter and harsher than Islam so how does it make sense that they would corrupt the Torrah to make their lives HARDER and more elitist when human nature is to be pragmatic and find the easy way out? Why would they add nitty gritty rules like ‘no mixing milk and meat (e.g pizza with meat toppings) when for convenience’s sake it would just be easier to live as a Muslim? I just want to settle this once and for all. Thank you very very very much. Looking forward to your reply.

A:

It is not true to say that the Jewish scriptures had never been tampered with.

Historical facts confirm the fact that these scriptures had been burned down so many times; they were simply retrieved from memories of some individuals. Mind you unlike the Quran, the Jews are not in the habit of memorizing the entire scripture.

That is why we see so many discrepancies and contradictions as well as mistakes as researchers have pointed out.

Take for example the Books of Moses which is ascribed to Moses (peace be upon him) we find the account of his death and burial!

 An interesting story is also reported that a Jewish Rabbi converted to Islam when he approached Jewish scholars with versions of the scripture after making changes to them; they accepted them all as authentic.

When the same was done to the Qur’an, it was rejected outrightly by Muslim scholars. The fact is that even if all of the copies of the Qur’an were to disappear from the earth, the Quran would still be retrieved verbatim without a loss of any single letter as millions of people have memorized it in entirety.

Therefore, no one can compare the Qur’an with the Bible or any other scriptures in the world.

Allah says, “It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” (Al-Hijr 15:9)

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

What is your advice if a family member wishes downfall on you and plots against you numerous of times but because of the family i am finding it difficult to distance myself from them as much as i want to protect myself.

A:

First of all, I advise not to worry about them. They can never harm you if you empower yourself by seeking the help of Allah.

Now coming to the issue you have raised, let me state:

If your blood relations are trying to harm you, you have the right to protect yourself by using all the lawful methods.

However, you should not cut off relations with them totally. You should limit your contacts with them to the bare minimum to protect yourself while not completely stopping all contacts with them.

In other words, you should greet them and wish them good on important occasions, while keeping a distance from them.

I would urge you to protect yourself from their machinations by turning to Allah.

I would like to remind you that a true believer must believe firmly that Allah alone is the one who can give us benefit or harm in an absolute sense; everything that befalls us from humans or other creatures are only secondary and are achieved only through the power derived from Allah; so the best remedy and cure is to continuously seek protection and refuge in Allah. Satan and all of his tricks and weapons could be defeated and rendered utterly ineffective if Allah.

I give below a number of selections of verses of the Qur’an and dua’s which you can recite on a regular basis:

1) Al-Fatihah

2) Last three chapters of the Qur’an (i.e. Q. 112, 113, 114)

3) Ayat al-kursi (i.e. Q.2: 255)

Besides the above, repeat the following Du’as on a regular basis both in the morning and evening three times or more:

1) bismillaahi alladhee laa yadhurru ma’ ismihi sha’un fi al-ardhi wa laa fi al-ssamaa’i wa huwa al-ssamee’u al-a’aleem

(In the name of Allah; with His name, nothing whatsoever on earth or heaven can inflict any harm; He is all-Hearing and all-Knowing).

2) hasbiya Allaahu laa ilaaha illaa huwa alayhi tawakkaltu wahuwa rabbu al-‘arshi al-azeem

(Allah suffices me; there is no god but He; in Him I place my sole trust; He is the Lord of the mighty Throne.)

3) Allaahumma inee a’duhu bika min hamazaati al-shayaateen wa a’oodhu bika rabbi an yahduroon

(O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the whisperings of Satan; my Lord, I seek refuge in You from their presence around me.).

4) A’oodhu bi ‘izzati Allaahi wa qudratihi mimma ajidu wa uhaadhiru

(I seek refuge in Allah’s glory and power from the affliction and pain I experience and suffer from).

It is important to remember that Du’a and Dhikr will only benefit when it comes from a heart that firmly believes in Allah, and thus cherishes firm conviction in Allah’s power and sovereignty.

With Allah on our side, you don’t need to worry about those who want to harm you.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Is it permissible to read and listen to the Qur’an at the same time?

A:

Allah says:

“When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and be silent, so you may be shown mercy.” (Al-A`raf 7: 204)

The verse was revealed specifically about reading behind the imam in prayer.  It is reported that some of the Prophet’s companions were in the habit of reading with the Prophet, and some of them did so when he was reading it in khutbah; so the above verse was revealed ordering them to listen attentively to the reading of the Prophet and do stop reading along with him; instead, they ought to listen attentively pondering what is  being recited and thus receive the message and blessings that come with it.

So, there is no doubt we are not to read along with the imam in prayer or khutbah.

What about someone reading in other times: many scholars are of the view it applies to all occasions. While others say it does not apply to each and every situation when someone is reading the Quran. How can we say so when we may come across number of people reciting the Quran in the mosque or other public places. We are not obligated to listen on such occasions unless we choose to.

As for listening and reading along in a class room setting one cannot object to it. However, the ideal way to do it by reading after the reciter by following a muallim who is reciting the Quran. We have for example Minshawi mu’allim where he teaches the Qur’an; he recites one verse, and the children read after him. I would urge you to read along with him. Here is the link to Minshawi mu’allim which you can follow:

In this way, you will be learning to recite the Quran properly.

Otherwise, it is best that for you to listen to the recitation and ponder the meanings and lessons seeking the blessings.

When the Quran is melodiously recited, it occasions the descent of Sakinah (the spiritual tranquility); so one should seize the opportunity to receive the spiritual grace that entails. May Allah honor us to receive the graces that Allah dispenses.

The Prophet said, “Allah chooses to send down graces on special occasions; so be receptive to them.”

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I wanted to ask if male nursing is halal in Islam. I wants to do nursing in Germany because its free and paying while studying. So im looking to specialise in pediatric nursing because i don’t have to treat adult opposite sex. But in training I have to do all the nursing job. After training i will be treating children. I wanted ask is it okay?

A:

Nursing is an extremely valuable profession. It is not different from practicing medicine. Since we cannot say that medicine is a field reserved for men, likewise we cannot say that nursing is reserved for females only.

Just as we need male as well as female physicians we also need male and female nurses.

Ideally, male nurses should be taking care of male patients and female nurses should be taking care of female patients. However, if need arises, it is also permissible for them to take care of both genders as long as they observe the specific guidelines in regards to male and female interactions.

In case of unavoidable circumstances, there is no ban on females nursing males or males nursing females provided they observe the strict guidelines. The Prophet hired a female nurse to nurse Sa’d ibn Mu’adh when he was being cared for in a tent attached to the mosque; likewise, the Prophet allowed a male to perform blood cupping on a female.

In light of these, I see no reason for you not to pursue nursing as a career as long as you abide by the Islamic guidelines.

As for your question that during the training you will have no choice but to nurse all genders, there is no harm in doing so. I understand such interactions will be guided by professional ethics of interaction between males and females.

Therefore, it is not at all different from a physician receiving training by dealing with all genders.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I’m currently in summer vacation and I’m searching for a summer job. It’s been forty days and the only job that can take me is a beauty supply store. The store contains hair and face creams, nail polish, razors, accessories, caps and such but it also sells extensions and wigs of both human and animal hair. I’m not sure if I should work there.

A:

If you have no other job offer, then you can take this job; the items sold in beauty supply store are not all haram, they are mostly halal. Even if some of the items sold there may be dubious or could be used for other than desirable purposes, you don’t incur any sin for you are not accountable for it, for such products can be used for legitimate purposes as well as non-legitimate purposes. According to the rules of jurisprudence, “we are not responsible for what lies outside our control or sight.”

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

My parents dont let me pray and hate islam alot,and they threatened me that if i pray they will kick me out of the house.I know that islam makes it easier for us so i wanted to ask:Am i allowed to take precautions? For example im not sure if praying right now could be dangerous so i pray sitting just in case to make sure nothing happens at all(since i can get kicked out its so dangerous).Its problematic to hide it since my apartment is really small and only one person in my entire family supports me and he lives far away. Also what should i do when one of my parents sleeps with me? Sometimes my father sleeps with me and i cant wake up since i cannot put my alarm on at all since he will hear it and will know that i am praying(Normally i have it on vibrate but in this case i have to turn it off).Fajr is at 3 and staying awake till then is extremely burdensome and i have tried like 20 times but only managed to stay awake 3 times. Am i allowed to sleep and not pray fajr in this instance?

A:

You should try to keep awake as best as you can; if after having tried your best to keep awake, you were to fall asleep you are excused.  If that happens, you should pray when you wake up.

However, I cannot say you are allowed to skip Fajr altogether to pray later.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I have read many of this site’s Q and A and I feel very sad and depressed the way you people give advice to people who committed some grave major sins. You people don’t make them realize the seriousness of these sins and say that if you repent everything is normal. But dear brothers and sisters, repentance has to be very sincere and the person should never repeat the sin. And on top of that I find that most of the advice given by scholars or counselors are biased against men for some reason. You people consider that a man who sins is worse than a woman who sins. How is this fair? From most of your Q and A that is what I am understanding. Please help me understand this better. May Allah forgive all of us for our sins. Ameen

A:

I don’t know which fatwas you are referring to. I can only speak on behalf of myself. I have never offered lenient ruling discriminating males against females or vice versa.

In Islam, males as well as females are accountable for their own deeds.

Allah says,

“So their Lord answered them, “I shall not let the work of any worker among you, male or female, be in vain; each of you is like the other.” (Aal Imran 3: 195)

However, having said this, there are certain relaxations the Shariah has provided for females because of their specific nature and challenges. For instance, Shariah has excused them from praying while menstruating or going through postnatal period of bleeding. They are also exempt from fasting during those times, although they are to make up the fasts they missed, while they don’t have to make up the prayers.

Finally, as for the details on repentance, you may read the following answer: The door of repentance of is wide open: here is the link:

The Door of Repentance Is Wide Open

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

I was born into a Muslim Family, but while I was at a very young age they stopped practicing . Due to ignorance and my parents not teaching me obligatory things, I was not a practicing Muslim growing up. I am sure I have engaged in shirk activities as well, not knowing it wasn’t allowed. I have repented from this of course. I only knew of our book, our god, and our prophet. After a while in my teen years I educated myself and started practicing. I know I say the shahada every Salah . But do I have to retake my shahada with witnesses since I was not always practicing ? I am questioning this because I am not sure if I was considered Muslim while I was not practicing. And to my knowledge you can only be Muslim if you have said the shahada with witnesses. My mother has told me she said the shahada for me when I was born .

A:

The fact that you did not practice Islam for sometime does not take you out of the fold of Islam. According to the Islamic Creed, a person goes out of the fold of Islam by denouncing Islam or denying any of its fundamental articles or principles. I don’t think you fall in that category; therefore, there is no need for you to retake the shahadah.

However, you should renew your faith by reading the testimonies of faith; it is a good practice for all of us.

The Prophet said, “The best prayer I or any prophets before me has said is the following:

“There is no god but Allah; He is One and has no partner; all power and praise belong to Him; He has power over all things.’

On top of this, you should also read the prayers on the Prophet, peace be upon him, and do your best to practice dhikr.

Furthermore, I would also advise you to expiate for the past sins by offering charities, engaging in good works and making lots of istighfaar.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Sorry for how long this is but I’m really struggling. I really want to be an actor, as someone who’s been suicidal and depressed since I was a little child, this is the ONLY thing that’s motivated me to get up in the morning and not kill myself, that and the fact you will go to hell if you commit suicide. I know that being an actor would come with many sins, and as long as I’m not committing shirk, I’m willing to do this bc my depression is so bad this is the only thing that makes me happy. My familys very abusive to the point where I do not love them anymore, and I don’t really have any close friends. Only person who makes me happy is my baby sister. Acting has always helped me escape this life and imagine myself as another person. But I’m scared because despite the chance of missing prayers in the beginning of my career due to the busy schedule, and the sins that come with acting, I still really want to pursue it. Does this mean I love my career more than Allah and am committing shirk? The glam life is a bonus but I don’t care about it, I just wanna act. And as for the money I make, I always wished to be rich to help other people to make them and Allah happy. But I’m not sure if Allah would even be happy and consider it a good deed if I gained that money through sinning. On top of that I’ve also told Allah that if he gives me an alternative life, I get a well paid job somewhere else, find a good husband who loves me unconditionally, children, a nice house, a forever best friend, I’ll be happy and willing to give up my dreams of being an actor. I’ll be sad but I’m willing to do this. I always ask Allah to guide me through the right path and make acting the right path. but if they can’t that’s fine bc what I aspire more is happiness. But I really want to be an actor and I will keep working towards it because if I don’t I won’t even have the energy to leave my bed. Please help me am I committing shirk? I do not think I love my career more than Allah but what if I do but I just don’t know? Because I’m clearly willing to commit these sins just to be happy even though I know I’m disobeying Allah. I’m not a very religious person but I don’t want to commit shirk and I wanna at least die praying and being a muslim even if it’s the bare minimum.

A:

I would urge you to go for counseling as you need a professional to help you out.

Perhaps the editor of this site can guide you to be in contact with someone as a few counselors do appear on this site from time to time.

As for choosing acting as a career, you can only do so if you can protect yourself from sins; either while acting or while associated with those you are required to work with.

Acting is only allowed in Islam if the message and medium are both clean and free of all taints of obscene, nude, or unethical contents.

Otherwise, you may end up risking your salvation. Mind you, as a Muslimah, when left to choose between the comforts of this world or the salvation in the next world, you ought to choose the latter.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Please I need help there is going to be a debate in my madrasah and I happen to be one of the participant the question goes this; who is the most influential creature to Allah female or male and am to support the female please I need some points and references

A:

I don’t quite understand your question.

If you mean to ask who is the most beloved of the servants of Allah to Him, the answer is given by the Prophet in the following tradition:

As reported  by Usamah b. Shurayk, “we were sitting in the company of the Prophet…when someone came and asked him, “who are the servants of Allah that are dearest to him?’, the Prophet replied, “Those with the best morals and character.” (Reported by Ibn Maja and Ahmad).

I cannot provide you any further help; as a student you ought to work on your own to research and find the answers; otherwise, it would be akin to cheating. As a conscientious Muslim one should never try to get grades through such methods.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

My husband first suffered mental health breakdown during the pandemic and he kicked me out to my parents. Then I found I was pregnant but we both lived separately so he could get better. Alhamdulillah he did then we started living as a family in January this year. However, after Ramadan his mental health started to decline he has yet kicked me and our 1 year old son out. He kept accusing me of horrendous things which I have never committed. His family and I have been trying to get in contact with him and he’s not responding and he’s not responding to the mental health crisis team. The last time I spoke to him, he started he doesn’t count our nikkah as a marriage. My question is do I move on or do I keep trying to help him?

 A:

Your husband is suffering from mental health challenges, you ought to get him professional help.

Until he is cured of this condition, his actions should not be taken seriously. You should forgive him.

The Prophet said, “Divorce is not valid when pronounced in a state of mental blockage.”

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Some scholars have said that the prophet muhammad saw said theres no one single in jannah. My question is : I desire to be single in jannah ? Will allah grant me this wish?

A:

You are looking at the next world from the perspective of this lowly existence. it is not different from a baby in the womb comparing his life in the womb with the life outside the womb.

Jannah belongs to the highest stage of our existence; it is beyond all other phases preceding us; our existence in the womb, our life in this world, and our life in the grave.

That is why Ibn Abbas said, ‘There is nothing in Jannah of the things of this world except names.”

And Allah says, “No soul can ever conceive or know of the limitless bliss that is kept as a treasure for them as a reward for their actions.’

And the Prophet said, “In the jannah there is such bliss the like of which no eyes have ever seen or ears have heard about or  mind could ever conceive.”

In other words, since that final phase is incomparable to anything we know of.

So, your question comes form your experience in this world.

The jannah is free from all imperfection and limitations; there awaits us, if we get there, such bless we can ever think of. So there is no need for you worry about your

Almighty Allah knows best.

Q:

Peace be upon you. My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimers and needs full-time care. I stay with her with my dad and brother. We are all working and financially stable Alhamdulilah. My question is, in islam, is it okay to hire a stay home caregiver for her to care for her when i am at work, or is it better for me to quit and care for her myself since i can still be supported by family financially if i do so? Which is advised in Islam?

Thank you

A:

There is no harm if you hire a full time care giver to look after your mother as long you make sure to supervise her and keep monitoring her condition and her needs. By doing so, you are not forfeiting your duties towards your mother.

If, however, you have any reasons to doubt whether your mother will not like the arrangement or you have doubts about the quality of the care thus provided, then you should quit your job if you can afford to do so.

If you choose to do so out of your love for your mother Allah will reckon it as a jihad. You can derive inspiration from the following tradition; A man came to the Prophet asking him permission to participate in Jihad: ‘The Prophet asked him, ‘Do you have parents?”, he said, ‘yes.’, then go and serve them: that is  your jihad.” (Reported by Bukhari).

Therefore, if you choose to opt for the latter option, you may still want to hire a part time help so that you don’t suffer from care fatigue.

In conclusion, you need not feel guilty as long as you make sure to do the best you can. Allah says, “  “Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.” (Qur’an: 2: 286).

Almighty Allah knows best.