Question: I have many times given my parents my savings. They are burdened with debt because of their poor financial decisions and spending habits, and it has taken me years to recover financially. I am now the only one working, barely getting by, and my parents struggle with debt again. I have been trying to […]

Question: I’m a married man. I admit to being fearful of falling into the trap of modern-day feminism where manhood and masculinity are criticized. In an attempt to uphold my status, authority, and/or power as a husband, it has come to my attention that I constantly use the “I am your husband” card on my […]

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad  Question I have a friend who follows a scholar who holds views that the scholars disapprove of. I thought that this friend would question me about the age of Sayyida Aisha, and I decided to respond by saying that Allah knows best. Then I feared that I thought of my […]

Question: I live in the US, and my uncle lives in the Middle East with his family. I avoid talking to them because they abuse my family by constantly asking us for money for every single thing. We are not rich, but alhamdulillah we get by. I feel that they guilt-trip my family into sending […]

Question: Is it required that women cover their chest area with the scarf they wear on their head? If so, to what extent? I am aware of the verse that says to cover the bosom with it, but can this be done with loose clothing? For example, a popular style nowadays would be a rectangle […]

Question: Is it permissible for a father to give his home to his only son and not divide it among his son and daughters? Is it permissible for a father to love his only son more than his other four daughters who are helping him more than his only son? Answer: Assalamu alaykum, Gifts to […]

Question: My 12-year-old daughter refuses to offer her Salat and recite Qur’an, despite her seeing us fulfill these obligations daily in our household. How can we change her attitude and bring her in line? Answer:Assalamu alaykum, Thank you for your question. I empathize with your challenge to make your daughter understand the importance of praying […]

Question: How should we treat our mother in the following situation? When I am talking to her, usually she spends most of the time complaining about her grandchildren on my sister-in-law or my brother or my father. I try to steer her to another topic, but she ends up going back to complaining or backbiting […]

Question: I’m a teenage girl, and I keep thinking about having a sexual relationship with a woman, and I know it’s haram but are the thoughts haram? I have a fear of men since I was little; every man in my life has given me a bad experience and taken advantage of me even though […]

Question: I’m lost. I’m a 15-year-old trying to practice the deen after being lax, but I’m not strong enough for it. I feel like I have to give up all my hobbies, interests, friends, passions; I have makeup fasts and prayers, my family isn’t supportive, my friends aren’t religious and sometimes make fun of me, […]

Question: I used to talk to a boy over text messages. We (unintentionally in fun) asked each other whether I accepted a nikah to him. This situation took place over text message, and we both agreed to do it as a joke. He asked me, “Do you accept me in nikah with the haq mehr […]

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad Question If my father commanded me to ask him concerning any questions I have about the deen, and my father is not a scholar but instead, a layman, am I obliged to follow his command considering it will cause a lot of problems, especially as some of my questions may […]

Question: I am somewhat of an introvert; being an only child I was very much accustomed to solitude and in recent years I have come to realize I also suffer from social anxiety. The thought of picking up the phone to speak to a relative is unpleasant and causes anxiety but my parents sometimes expect […]

Question: Why is it that women in Islam are never allowed to make decisions of their own? Before marriage, they obey their parents and, after, their husbands. Is this because Islam doesn’t see women as fit to make decisions for themselves? How do we draw the line for obeying creation? Does obeying creation mean giving […]

Question After having an obligatory bath for janaba (intercourse) and thoroughly cleaning myself, I always, at some point after a few hours, get a clear discharge with no smell. Sometimes it can appear a few times during the day. Is this classed as sexual fluid, and would I need to have a ghusl again? Answer […]

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad  Question How long is it permissible to date a person before nikah? Answer Thank you for your question. Dating According to the western definition, dating means one is actively going out alone with a person of the opposite gender and spending time with them regularly in hopes of finding a […]

Question: One parent has tried hard to raise us, but the other parent abandoned us and did unspeakable, sometimes criminal things. That parent comes to see us occasionally but then verbally abuses the present parent. The other day, I asked the visiting parent, “Why are you looking for us? You abandoned us…“. My present parent […]

How Should I Respond to a Young Christian Man Who Teaches in My Father’s School and Wants To Convert and Marry Me? Question: A young Christian teacher at Islamic Trust School of my father has feelings for me. He is ready to convert but fears if Allah will accept his act of converting, and he […]

Question: I’m strongly considering marrying someone, but I’m not sure if I have the right reasons. I know certainly that her wealth and lineage are not my reasons. What I’m not sure of is if her deen is my main reason for considering this marriage. I was initially drawn to her for her beauty, and […]

Question: My parents tell me that I am misguided because I follow a madhab and reject good innovation. They believe that one should see the opinions of the four imams and then follow the ruling given by a scholar who picks the one with the most evidence. They forbid me to seek knowledge anywhere besides […]

Question: My mother, Allah preserve her, is not supportive of me being practicing. She doesn’t like it when I go to the masjid too much, even though it’s not far away, and she generally discourages me from practicing. It’s because she’s had bad experiences with her brother when he went through an extremist “Salafi” phase […]

Question: My parents don’t approve at all of the man that I want to marry. I live with him, but I will keep my virtue until marriage.  We talked about getting married in secret until my parents approve in the future, but right now, I don’t know the Islamic rules when it comes to that. […]

Question: I am a 21-year-old Afghan woman currently in college in the United States. A week ago,, my mom and dad told me that I need to get married to my cousin whose family had asked them for my hand. I’ve been directly saying no to them,, but they were insistent that the family wants […]

Question: A while back, I was furious at my dad because he said that a man hit his wife for a good reason and justified hitting the wife. The next day a lady we know died because of her husband’s mistreatment. Our family was dysfunctional because of my dad, but he has changed now, and […]