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Riba
Halal and haram
Prohibitions and alternatives
Fasting is an obligation for all Muslim believers, as ordained by Allah in Surat al-Baqarah: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become righteous. (2:183) أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ…
The default position is to pray at the prescribed time. This is because Allah commanded us to pray at designated times. He did not say that we could pray all our salah for one day in one go. When there are exceptional circumstances, we are permitted to combine Dhur and Asr, or Maghrib and Isha…
We should perform our salah as we were taught to pray by the Prophet (peace be on him), who said, as reported by Malik ibn al-Huwayrith: Pray as you have seen me praying. (Bukhari and Muslim) Is it permissible to hold a mushaf (printed Quran) during salah? There is no ayah in the Quran that…
The words Qurbani and Udhiya Qubani means sacrifice, something which is offered to Allah, in order to come close to Him, from the word qurb (closeness). In the Middle East it is known as Udhiya which refers to the timing of the sacrifice, as it is conventionally performed after Fajr but before the Dhur, which…
If you genuinely eat, drink or have intercourse while you are fasting, out of forgetfulness, your fast is not broken. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: “Whoever forgets he is fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast for it is Allah…
Fasting is preceded by the intention (niyyah) to refrain from eating and drinking. It does not need to be verbalised, it is in the heart. How do I make intention to fast in Ramadan? As per the Maliki school of thought, it is possible to make your intention to fast for the whole month of…
Ramadan is a month of ibadah and increasing our closeness to Allah Almighty by increasing in our worship. Whether it is our recitation of the Quran or by doing additional salah. One of these is the tarawih prayer. The tarawih prayer is a sunnah prayer. Abu Huraira narrated: I heard Allah’s Messenger (peace be on…
Halloween is not a religious festival Halloween is not a religious festival, though it appears to have its origins in pagan and later Christian traditions. It is a secular celebration. Traditionally it is thought that the Celts believed that on the night of 31st October, the ghosts of the deceased returned to the world. Historically,…
Though Muslims definitely believe in the Prophet Eesa (peace be on him), we don’t know the exact day of his birth and we don’t celebrate his birth or Christmas anyway. Indeed we don’t celebrate the birthday of any prophet, including the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). Instead, we might deliver a talk about him…
Is it haram to celebrate birthdays? Birthday parties are not haram in themselves. There is nothing haram about celebrating the day someone was born, as long as that celebration does not involve doing anything prohibited, for instance serving alcohol or having inappropriately revealing clothes. Birthdays are not related to worship or belief It is a…
Ghusl requires washing the whole body Ghusl is required to come out of a state of janabah (ritual impurity) and ghusl involves washing the entire body including the hair. Aisha narrated: Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) took a bath after Janaba he started by washing his hands and then performed ablution like that…
Suicide is prohibited in the Quran. ۞ وَلَا تَقۡتُلُواْ ٱلنَّفۡسَ ٱلَّتِي حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ And do not kill the self that Allah has prohibited, except with the truth (i.e., by right, in the course of justice). [6:151] Allah Almighty sanctified our soul, so we are forbidden to kill it. The only time He sanctioned killing it is in the pursuit of justice….
Many people wonder if gelatine is halal. It is not only present in many sweets and deserts but also in medicines, including the nasal flu vaccine. The ‘no’ camp There is a difference of opinion among scholars. Imams Shafi’, Maliki and Hanbali held that once something is impure then it is always impure. The ‘yes’…
We have different opinions on this topic: The opinion that women should not recite the Quran There is a common perception that women may not recite the Quran during their period. This idea stems from the following hadith: Ibn ‘Umar May Allah be pleased with him reported that the messenger of Allah ( peace be…
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the Allah Almighty said: I am the adversary of three people on the Day of Judgement- and whoever is My adversary will be defeated: A man took people’s trust in My name and betrayed them A…