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…
To go or not to go It is the right of a Muslim that his invitation should be accepted. This means that if he invites you to his son’s walima, you have to accept his invitation. Accepting wedding invitations is compulsory, while accepting other invitations is advisable but not obligatory. This is based on the hadith…
The Islamic etiquettes of sneezing Cover your mouth The prophetic way is to cover your mouth with your arm or a handkerchief when you sneeze. The Prophet (peace be on him) used to do this and he taught his companions to do the same. It is the right of the Muslim to have dua made…
Is it permissible to consume a small quantity as it is not intoxicating? It is not allowed to consume alcohol even in small quantities, including confectionery, or in meals that are cooked with alcohol, as the alcohol does not all evaporate, including in dishes which are flambé, as the alcohol remains after it has been…
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…
There are different opinions and evidences in the four schools of thought. 1. Hanafi: Do not recite the Fatiha in any congregational prayer According to the Hanafi school of thought, you do not recite the Fatiha behind the imam, whether it is a silent prayer (Dhur and Asr) or a vocalised prayer (Fajr, Maghrib, Isha)….
The Prophet (peace be on him) said: The woman’s entire body must be covered. (Sunan Tirmidhi) This means that a woman in the presence of a non-mahram (i.e her brother or husband and anyone she cannot marry), is required to to be covered modestly, excluding her face, hands and feet, in the Hanafi school. There…
If you have to dispose of papers or Islamic books such as madrasah text books or class notes including Tajweed notes, that have Allah’s name on them, or Quranic verses, you may burn them, or shred them, as long as the shredding is fine and the name of Allah is not left in tact. You…
How do we honour the Prophet (peace be on him)? Everyone is talking about this topic during this painful time and I also want to share my thoughts on this with you. This Islamophobic attack is not about freedom of speech. If it was about freedom of speech it would apply to everyone equally. However,…
The art of ignoring the ignorant It’s so easy to bring the Muslim ummah to their knees. It only takes a bunch of people – ignorant or planted to rile the ummah. The easily-baited Ummah Ever since the virulent reaction of Muslims to Salman Rushdie’s derogatory writing in his book, the response of the Muslim…
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’…
Is gelatine halal? Many people are asking if they can let their children have the nasal flu vaccine as it contains porcine gelatine? The nasal vaccine Each year, the influenza virus, the flu, causes illness, time off work, hospital admissions and deaths. This year, with the Coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important to ensure…
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…