Question: Is it permissible for virgins to have a pap test or undergo cervical screening? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. As long as a religious Muslim gynecologist says there is a medical need to do a pap test or undergo cervical screening, then it […]

Question: Which phrases count as explicit or equivocal terms of divorce? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. Words of divorce in the Shafi’i school are either explicit, equivocal, or neither-nor. Explicit expressions of divorce In English, the only explicit word would be to use ‘divorce’. […]

Question: There is a hadith to the effect that the reward for losing one’s son is Paradise? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. This hadith is narrated by Abd ibn Hamid and Ahmad in their Musnads, and Ibn Manda and Abu Nuaym, and is weak […]

Question: Is it considered “making something like Allah’s creation” to use normal digital enhancers on pictures that improve the brightness etc.? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. No, basic changes like brightness and saturation are not considered “making something like Allah’s creation.” Adding ears, funny […]

Question: If my wife wants to eat non dhabiha meat based on a certain fatwa that she follows, can I buy it for her? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. It is not permissible to buy such meat because it is a misapplication of a […]

Question: It is acceptable for Muslim women to sing or recite Qur’an in public? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. It is generally discouraged (makruh) for women to sing or recite Qur’an in the presence of men. If the singing was attractive or seductive it […]

Question: If I wake up in the morning and touch something before washing my hands, does it become filthy? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. No, nothing will be become filthy by doing that. It is merely offensive to put one’s hands in a small […]

Question: Is it possible that Socrates or Buddha, or any wise men of the past, were prophets? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. Bygone prophets Allah Most High has said, ‘And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We […]

Question: What is a wife’s right to intimacy? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. The husband must try his best to fulfill his wife’s emotional and physical needs within reason. This is her right. Ibn Taymiyya says, “The husband must render his wife her conjugal […]

Question: What is the ruling on buying and selling card games and board games that have non-Islamic religious symbols on them? Answer: Dear questioner, Thank you for your valued question. I pray that Allah increases you in knowledge and light. It is not permissible to buy or sell items that have non-Islamic religious symbols on them. […]

Question: How does one understand the spiritual realities of Fiqh and Aqidah when studying traditional books on these topics? Answer:  Dear questioner, JazakumAllahu khayran for your question. Spirituality is about grasping the fuller picture of everything around and within us. This deeper understanding only comes from Allah, and He only gives it to those who […]

Answered by Shaykh Farid Dingle Question I’ve fallen for a girl that I’ve known for a long time. How should I proceed Islamically given that I am not currently in a position to get married? Answer Falling in love is perfectly normal and halal. Before contacting her directly, you should have someone else run the […]

Question: Should I marry a Muslim man who does not pray, but is otherwise religious? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, May Allah grant you a blessed and fruitful marriage that gives you the best of This Life and the Next. It is much better to marry someone who establishes the prayer […]

Question: What are the best names to name a child? Answer: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace said), ‘Indeed, the most beloved names to Allah are Abdullah and Abdurrahman’ (Muslim). He also said, ‘Name [children] after the prophets. The most beloved names to Allah are Abdullah [the Slave of Allah] and Abdurrahman [the […]

Question: When leading a large group prayer in a house, it is valid to have people praying upstairs or downstairs? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. In the Shafi’i school, when praying in a house (not a mosque), those following the imam must be able […]

Question: Praying standing up is likely to make me sick. Can I pray sitting down? Can I skip the Friday prayer if being around people stresses me out and makes me sick? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. The genuine and reasonable fear of becoming […]

Question: If someone took someone else’s life and was then pardoned by the family, does it matter if the family didn’t know all the details of why and what happened? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. As long as the family has pardoned the man, […]

Question: Given that everything is already preordained, and whether or not Allah forgives us is already set in stone, why do we seek forgiveness? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. While it is true that everything is preordained, our prayers and seeking forgiveness is also […]

Question: In the Qur’an, it mentions that the followers of Jesus (upon whom be peace) were made “above the disbelievers” (3: 55) and made “dominant” (61: 14) Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. The verses in question are as follows: ‘[Mention] when Allah said, ‘O […]

Question: If one thinks that one had a wet dream some days ago and is not sure, what should one do? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. If one is not 100% sure whether or not one had a wet dream, one simply assumes that […]

Question: Is learning moral lessons from history obligatory?  Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. No, it is not a personal obligation to go and study Islamic history or any other history in order to learn moral lessons. However, studying history in general, and studying Islamic […]

Question: Is it true that there is a hadith that says that if one commits sins in private all of one’s good deeds will be in vain? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. Short Answer: The only thing that makes all good deeds of a […]

Question: If one loves someone more than Allah, fears someone more than Allah, or hopes in someone more than Allah, is one still a believer? Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. Love of Allah, fear of Him, hope in Him are all personal obligatory states […]

Answered by Shaykh Farid Dingle  Question When are we excused for sins we commit out of ignorance? Answer Dear questioner, Thank you for your important question. Allah does not ask us to do things that we cannot do. Therefore, Allah has not taken us to task for things we do out of pure ignorance. [Subki, […]