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. […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Is istighatha—seeking help through a Prophet or a righteous saint (wali)—shirk? May one ask a wali for a child, a cure, or protection, as long as one believes that Allah alone is the true Doer, and the wali is only a means? Answer In the Name of Allah, the […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question At home, there is constant fighting, scolding, and lost respect; opportunities feel destroyed; and a heavy depression and self-blame have settled in. What do I do? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate My dear brother, what you describe is a real test. The very fact […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Does the nasheed “Tajdar-e-Haram” contain shirk — especially the line “Irham lana” (have mercy on us), which seems addressed to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)? And must one who listened to it repent, setting aside the separate question of the instrumental music? Answer In the […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question A report in Musnad Ahmad states that two angels descend on either side of the sun at sunset and again at sunrise, calling out to people. If sunrise and sunset are one phenomenon, why a separate pair of angels for each? And does the report’s framing only work if […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question For many years, I have tried to lower my gaze strictly and literally. Now, at 41 and unmarried, I find normal eye contact difficult. I worry that I may have avoided a lawful means by which many Muslims meet. This troubles me. What is the right balance? Answer In […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Historically, was a free person executed for killing an enslaved person? Was the blood-money for an enslaved person the same as for a free person? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the Merciful. These rulings are from the classical law of an institution that Islam inherited. Islam […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I keep falling into the same sins; my mind wanders during prayer; I struggle to pray Fajr and Isha on time; I battle showing off; and I have little supportive company. I feel I have failed. What should I do? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I keep falling into the same sins; my mind wanders during prayer; I struggle to pray Fajr and Isha on time; I battle showing off; and I have little supportive company. I feel I have failed. What should I do? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question After al-Fatiha, I forgot to say “Ameen.” I said it once I had gone into bowing (ruku) when I remembered, and then performed the forgetfulness prostration (sujud al-sahw) after the closing salam out of caution, unsure whether it was owed. Did performing it when it was not owed invalidate […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Is following a minority opinion without necessity unlawful? I have seen claims online—that self-stimulation (istimna) is not unlawful, or that music without indecent lyrics is permitted—and I want to know whether following such opinions is sinful. Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. Not every […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question A classmate organized a group gift for a former teacher, and I am expected to pay my share. Most of it is lawful—toys for his children—but it also includes a bottle of alcohol I learned about only later. Is paying my share contributing to sin, given that the gift […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question As a future doctor working with unrelated men, may I routinely wear sleeves past the elbow but short of the wrist, with loose trousers and a tucked-in hijab, because I find loose, swaying fabric impractical? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah bless […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question Some who call themselves Salafis say that the Ash‘ari and Maturidi creed is an innovation (bid‘a), and that positions such as Allah being “in the heaven” are affirmed by hadith, while the method of the Ash‘aris and Maturidis is in error. What is the proof that the Ash‘ari-Maturidi creed […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question To what extent does the concept of “known in the religion by necessity” (al-malum min al-din bi’l-darura) apply? Does it refer solely to general matters, such as the obligation of prayer and fasting, or does it also include specific details, such as the number of units, bowing, and prostration? […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I am unsettled by Imam Juwayni’s statement that whoever dies, after enough time for rational inquiry (nazar) has passed, without having engaged in it, is a disbeliever. Does this mean reasoning is obligatory, and that the one who simply follows in his beliefs is blameworthy? Answer In the Name […]

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Question I was speaking to someone about a matter I knew a nearby person, who was praying, was interested in, and I was aware it might distract him, yet I spoke anyway. Am I sinful? Answer In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. Set your heart at ease; […]