Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question If Surat al-Baqara is recited in portions over three days rather than in one sitting, does one still attain its reported virtues? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. Be at ease. Yes, you attain the virtue. There is no loss in reciting Surat al-Baqara […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Does iqrar (acknowledgment) occur by a person saying that his money is “for so-and-so”? (Hanafi) Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. Simply saying, “My money is for so-and-so,” does not, on its own, transfer ownership. What matters is what the person intended by these […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question A man repeats some crude song lyrics heedlessly, purely for entertainment, without attending to their meaning, then feels guilty. Is this disbelief (kufr)? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. No, this is not disbelief. Words uttered heedlessly, such as singing along for amusement without […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Years ago, while unmarried, I had an unlawful relationship with a married woman. Her husband discovered it, leading to serious marital problems and separation. I have had no contact with her for many years, sincerely repented to Allah, and am committed never to repeat the sin. Am I required […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Please explain Sunan Abi Dawud 2459 — is it authentic? And if a husband may restrict his wife’s voluntary worship, is he not in the wrong, since he cannot bar her from sunna or supererogatory prayer or dictate what she recites in her prayer? Answer In the Name of […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question If a person owns shares in a company engaged in shirk or kufr activities and sincerely takes the Shahada, is his faith valid at once, or only after he divests himself of the shares? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah bless you […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Can a husband and wife agree together that the wife is the head of the household, rather than the husband? If not, would such an agreement be sinful, invalid, or simply a practical arrangement? Answer A husband and wife are free to agree on how to divide roles, chores, […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Throughout my childhood and teens, I longed for outgoing friendships but could not pursue them because of a social developmental delay and a confusing upbringing; others saw me as “normal” until I was about twenty-three. How do I make sense of the gap between what I longed for, what […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question A person says her prayer “will not be accepted” unless she first removes oil through which magic may have been worked, then prays without removing it. Is this a binding vow, and is the prayer valid? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. Be at ease […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Someone has claimed that the funeral prayer could even be obligatory for non-Muslims, using Quran 9:84 as evidence, and arguing that only Allah knows who died upon disbelief. Is this understanding correct? And is the person excused for this misreading? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question In my past, I committed a serious wrong that was never brought to light or punished. I have since repented. Does this wrong disqualify me, in the eyes of the Sharia, from marrying and raising a family of my own? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) openly named A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) as the most beloved to him, and people sent gifts on her day, which caused some bitterness. How does this accord with the justice between wives that Islam requires, and with Islam’s […]

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel Question I’m a single woman abroad, dealing with anxiety and loneliness, taking antidepressants. I want a protective dog, but avoiding saliva contact in my apartment is hard. How does the Hanafi school view this? Can I consider another Sunni opinion, like Maliki, if needed? I plan to keep the dog […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question May a Muslim work as a Crown prosecutor in Canada, given limited freedom to choose cases, the prosecution of some offenses with no explicit basis in the Shariah, and evidentiary standards that differ from Islamic ones? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the Merciful. May Allah’s blessings […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question After a religious trauma, I left Islam, briefly took up another faith, and prayed to other deities — how do I repent and return, and is sincere repentance enough, or must I formally recite the testimony of faith again? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Two young women write with the same trial: their parents compel them to wear an amulet (taweez) and to use water over which something has been written or recited. They do not believe in these objects; they fear the practice borders on associating partners with Allah (shirk), and they […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I obey Allah out of fear of Hell, not out of love. Sometimes, I find some rulings difficult, even though I follow them. I read that whoever hates what the Messenger brought is a disbeliever. Am I still a Muslim? Answer Let your heart be at rest. You are […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Is my prayer valid if my eyes were fixed forward instead of on the place of prostration? And is it valid if images of women came to my mind, and to clear them, I blinked hard or squeezed my eyebrows? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Is it permissible to turn to ChatGPT for guidance on Islamic matters? I often ask it, but I have doubts about whether it is telling me the right thing, and I have a lot of anxiety around religious questions. Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. […]

A letter from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani As a new Hijri year begins, it is worth asking ourselves: What will we carry with us from these blessed days? The days of Muharram pass quickly, but the habits we begin in them can remain with us for the rest of the year. The Prophet (Allah bless him […]

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel Question I want to ask if living with parents in one’s late 20s is unmanly for a Muslim. I recently graduated from medical school and am waiting to start working. I can’t afford to live alone and feel anxious about my situation. Am I sinning by ‘leeching’ off my family? […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question What is meant by the statement that Allah is “All-Free,” indicating that He is free of all need and bears no resemblance to creation? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. To state that Allah is “All-Free” (al-Ghani) affirms that He is entirely independent of His […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I play Roblox games — Arsenal, a team shooting game, and Piggy, where you escape a map. The servers are mixed, but I do not chat with the non-mahrams there. Is this free-mixing? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. Thank you for your question. May […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I have read that in istikhara one should set aside one’s own inclination. Yet in supplication (du’a) and the night prayer (tahajjud), we ask for something specific. Can I do both at once, or does that nullify the istikhara? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the Merciful. […]