Fiqh Lesson by Amirah / Umm Ahmad ( 26th February,2013)

In the name of Allah
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

 Issues Concerning the Holy Qur’an

Question 127: Is the Holy Qur’an the word of God or that of Mohammad (pbuh)?

Answer 127: The Holy Qur’an is the word of God, and it was revealed to Prophet Mohammad through the Angel Gabriel. God made the Holy Qur’an Prophet Mohammad’s miracle, and He challenged people to bring about anything similar, but they couldn’t meet the challenge, and the miracle and the challenge are still valid now, and they will be until the Day of Judgment. Allah says: “Or do they say ‘He forged it’? Say: ‘Bring then a sura like unto it, and call (to your aid) anyone you can, besides Allah, if it be ye speak the truth!” (Holy Qur’an: 10: 38). This challenge to bring just onesura, no matter how short it is, similar to the ones that are in the Holy Qur’an is a testimony that this holy book was not written by Man, for had Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) fabricated it, another human would have been able to bring something similar.
It is interesting and valuable to know, in this respect, the difference between the style of the Holy Qur’an and that of the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh). We have at our disposal thousands of books containing the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh), and anyone with any knowledge of Arabic stylistics can easily recognize the great difference between the two styles. The style of the Holy Qur’an is far superior to that of the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh), and beyond the ability of any human to imitate. The Arabs at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) knew him very well, and knew his linguistic abilities before the Qur’an was revealed to him, for they were eloquent and articulate people, and they used to hold public festivities for reciting poetry. Yet, given the clear stylistic differences between the language of the Holy Qur’an and that of the Prophet (pbuh), none of them could say with fairness that the Qur’an was invented by Mohammad (pbuh). Moreover, for all his life before the Revelation, he was never known to have any oratory or poetic abilities, and he never took part in any of the cultural activities they used to hold, because, as everybody knew, he was an illiterate person. A close investigative look at the Holy Qur’an shows many facets of its miraculous nature that further proves that it was revealed by almighty God to the Prophet:
1. The language and style of the Holy Qur’an. We have already mentioned that the prophet challenged the Arabs to bring something similar, but they failed to meet that challenge. The Holy Qur’an still poses the same challenge to people all over the world: “Say: ‘If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support’.”(Holy Qur’an: 17: 88)
2. The way it was composed. The Holy Quran was not revealed all at once. Rather, it was revealed throughout more than a twenty-year period, and every time new verse(s) was/were revealed to the Prophet, he asked his companions to place it/them at a certain place in the Qur’an to form a unique sequence. Nevertheless, the Holy Qur’an was completed in its present form as a homogeneous unit, so much so the reader would think that it was revealed all at once.
3. The knowledge it contains. The Holy Qur’an contains a lot of information and knowledge that guides people to the right path. The kind of information it contains is so deep and profound that it would have been impossible for an illiterate person like Mohammad (pbuh), or for any other human, to fabricate it.
4. Its fulfillment of human needs at all times. This makes the Holy Qur’an unique, because It reformed all beliefs, worships and ethics. It also reformed society through guiding people to be united and relinquish tribalism because they are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and that no human is better than another except through piety. The Qur’an teaches people that they are all equal before God. It also preaches justice, forbids usury, allows trade, and so on and so forth.
5. What the Holy Qur’an had revealed after a long wait. The Holy Qur’an contains many verses that dealt with great issues, yet they were only revealed after a long wait. This shows that the Holy Qur’an is the word of almighty God; had it been that of Mohammad (pbuh), there would have been no need for the long wait, as was the case in the verses commenting on the hadith of calumny, and the delay in Answering the Question of the infidels about the nature of the spirit.
6. Some suras (Chapters) of the Holy Qur’an start by the command “say”, and more than 332 verses contain the same command which was addressed to the prophet (pbuh). This clearly indicates that the Holy Qur’an was not the word of Mohammad (pbuh), but that of God.
7. The scientific evidence it contains. The Holy Qur’an contains many scientific facts that were not known at the time of revelation. To save time and space only few examples can be mentioned here; those who want a more detailed account can always refer to the many many books dealing with the Scientific Inimitability in the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an states:
“Man we did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the Best to create!” (Holy Qur’an: 23: 12-14).
These verses contain a detailed description of the developmental stages of the embryo, a description that has only been verified by contemporary scientists. So who could have told Mohammad (pbuh) about these stages of embryological development? It has been only possible for modern scientists to learn about these stages through the help of modern X-ray and other technological equipments. Therefore, some scientists converted to Islam as soon as they came across verses like these in the Holy Qur’an, because they knew that no human could have known these facts 1400 years ago. These verses could have only come from the Creator.
Another example is the description of the forming of clouds and rain, something that nobody knew anything about at the time. Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an says:
“Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? -then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountains masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases. The vivid flash of its lightening well-nigh blinds the sight” (Holy Qur’an: 24: 43).
Almighty God explains in this verse how small clouds get together in the sky, and when they form a big cloud rain falls. It is doubtful that anybody had known about this mechanism before modern times.
The Holy Qur’an also talks about the breathlessness caused by ascending to the sky. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
“Those whom Allah willeth to guide, -He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying, -He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah lay abomination on those who refuse to believe (Holy Qur’an: 6: 125).
This verse describes the condition of the aberrant as that of a person ascending towards the sky where there is a lack of oxygen: the higher he gets, the more breathless he feels. So who could have told Mohammad (pbuh) about that other than the Great Master of the universe?
There are so many other verses that testify to the fact that the Holy Qur’an is the Word of God through exposing scientific evidence relating to man, the earth, the sky, the sea, the stars, and the planets.

Question 128: How do you prove that the Qur’an Muslims read today is the same that was revealed upon Mohammad (pbuh), and that it has not been altered or that it does not contain fabrications?

Answer128: The Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) through Angel Gabriel. The prophet’s sole and initial concern was to memorize every single piece of it. However, God Himself has promised to preserve this holy book in the prophet’s memory and to enable him to read it. In the Qur’an God says:
“Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur’an) to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and to recite it, follow though its recital (as promulgated): Nay more, it is for Us to explain it (and make it clear)” (Holy Qur’an: 75: 16-19).
Every time the prophet received revelations, he would peruse that to his companions slowly so that they could learn it well and understand its secrets. Night after night the Prophet would spend teaching his companions the Qur’an. He also used to read it during prayers, and Angel Gabriel used to read it with him once a year, and in the last year of his life the Angel read it with him twice.
The Prophet’s companions made every single effort to make sure that they memorized the Qur’an from the very beginning, and they used to pride themselves on having memorized more of the Holy Qur’an. Thus, memorizers and/or reciters of the Qur’an were so many during the prophet’s life. Moreover, the prophet himself (pbuh) had writers of the Divine Revelation, and every time something new was revealed to him he used to say “place it after God’s saying so and so and before His saying so and so.” By the time the prophet (pbuh) passed away, the Holy Qur’an had been already written and memorized. Then it was collected in one book, and later on it was collected again and copied during the era of caliph Uthman (3rd caliph) and distributed these copies all over the Islamic State. Thus, the Holy Qur’an was passed from generation to generation through its memorization and written form, and this is a unique honor to the Islamic nation. Muslims have spread all over the world since, carrying with them copies of the Holy Qur’an; nevertheless, there is no difference whatsoever in the Qur’an that Muslims read in Africa, Asia, Europe, America or Australia, and we have never heard that they have disagreed ever about the precision of the Qur’an, for all of them have agreed that the Holy Qur’an that they have today is the same Qur’an that was revealed to prophet Mohammad (pbuh) by God. Moreover, God promised to preserve the Qur’an. He says: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; And We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Holy Qur’an: 15: 9).

Question 129: What are the similarities and differences between the Qur’an and the other earlier Holy Books?

Answer 129: Islam is Allah’s sole and true religion, all prophets preached Islam. Islam means full submission to God through unqualified obedience and relinquishing polytheism, because all religions preach monotheism. Almighty God says:“Not a messenger did we send before thee without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no God but I; therefore worship and serve Me” (Holy Qur’an: 21: 25)As far as basic beliefs and worship practices are concerned all religions are also similar. In the Qur’an God says:

“The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined On Noah-the which We have sent by inspiration to thee- and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should Remain steadfast in Religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. Allah chooses to Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to Him)” (Holy Qur’an: 42: 13).
Thus, all prophets preached monotheism, informed people about God and the hereafter, and advocated the basic belief in the same messages of divine Books.
The main differences, however, lie in the legislative and commandment laws, because the divine laws are based on looking after the interests of those required to worship. However, what might be feasible for one nation might not necessarily be the same for another. Therefore, the details kept changing without touching the basics, until human societies developed and matured. It was then that God sent His final and eternal religion, Islam. God points to the differences in religious legislations when He says: “To each among you have We prescribed a Law and an Open Way.” (Holy Qur’an: 5: 48).

Question 130: How has it been possible to preserve the Holy Qur’an until the present time? And what is the methodology that was followed to preserve it without change?

Answer 130: The Holy Qur’an has been preserved with great care, and no other book has ever received such attention. During the period of revelation, the prophet (pbuh) did his utmost best to memorize the Holy Qur’an, so much so that God promised His prophet to preserve it:
“Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur’an) to make haste therewith. It is for us to collect it and to recite it: But when we have recited it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated).” (Holy Qur’an: 75: 16-18).
Every time new verse(s) was/were revealed to him, the prophet (pbuh) used to memorize it/them himself, teach them to his companions and request some of his companions to write and arrange it/them in a special place before or after specific previously revealed verses. The companions of the prophet (pbuh), and the Arabs in general, were (and still) great memorizers. Ibn Masoud said: “I memorized from the mouth of the prophet seventy suras of the Holy Qur’an while Zaid ibn Thabit (another memorizer) was still a young boy playing with the kids.”

[1] Ibn Masoud also said: ”I know where and why every verse of the Holy Qur’an was revealed, and had I known someone who knew more about the Holy Qur’an than me I would have ridden my camel and gone to him”. The prophet’s companions were truly hard workers, and many of them memorized the entire Holy Qur’an such as Zaid ibn Thabet, Ibn Masoud, and Ubai ibn Ka’b, to name but a few.
The complete Holy Qur’an was written during the time of the prophet, but it was written on separate sheets of paper that were not unified in one volume. After the death of the prophet, the first caliph Abu Bakr (may God be pleased with him) decided to collect the Holy Qur’an in one volume. Therefore, he commissioned a group of the memorizers of the Holy Qur’an, headed by Zaid ibn Thabet, to do the Job. The chosen committee followed a great methodology in collecting the written sheets of the Holy Qur’an and comparing what was written with what was memorized. One of the main stipulations of that committee was the presence of at least two written copies of the same verses. They did not accept the written version unless it corresponded to the memorized one, and vice versa. Zaid and his colleagues did their utmost best to insure the authenticity of their work. It was related that Zaid asked to be exonerated from this task when he was first selected, but upon the insistence of both Omar and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them), he agreed reluctantly. He described his great sense of responsibility towards the great task by saying: “I swear by Allah that had they asked me to move a mountain from one place to another I’d would have felt more at ease.”
The Holy Qur’an was first written in one volume during the era of Abu Bakr, and it was kept in his safekeeping until he died. Then Omar took it into his safekeeping, and when Omar died, Hafsa (his daughter and the prophet’s widow) took over the task of taking care of the –till then- only complete volume of the Holy Qur’an.
When Uthman became caliph after Omar, he instructed another committee headed, again, by Zaid ibn Thabet, to write many copies of the Holy Qur’an in order to distribute them in all parts of the Islamic Empire that was growing bigger and bigger.
From what has been said so far, we may conclude the following:
1. Muslims took a great care in writing and memorizing the Holy Qur’an.
2. The Holy Qur’an was written at a very early stage during the life of the Prophet (pbuh). Shortly after his death (within two years), the Holy Qur’an was collected in one volume, and in the era of Uthman, copies of it were distributed in all parts of the Islamic Empire.
3. This great care continues until our modern time. Generations after generations of Muslims have memorized the Holy Qur’an and kept written records of it until now, and every effort has been directed towards keeping the Holy Qur’an safe from any deduction or addition in all parts of the Islamic world. Therefore, it can be said, with absolute accuracy, that the Holy Qur’an that Muslims read in the East and West, South and North is the same one that God revealed to His messenger hundreds of years ago.
It is worth mentioning that the style of the Holy Qur’an is so unique that if someone makes a mistake while reciting it, it is usually possible for the person listening to the recitation to recognize the mistake even if the listener does not memorize the Holy Qur’an.
Above all, God took upon Himself to keep His Book safe. He says: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Holy Qur’an: 15: 9). One of the indications of this divine preservation is materialistic means that God has facilitated in order to preserve this Qur’an, such as making its memorization easy. Hod says:“And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?” (Holy Qur’an: 54: 32).
Nowadays, the methods of preserving the Holy Qur’an have become more advanced, especially after employing modern audiovisual equipments to serve this purpose. Some excellent reciters have recorded the complete Qur’an, adding to the Islamic audio library hundreds of different beautiful voices reciting the Holy Qur’an, and many of these recitations have been recorded on audiovisual tapes, compact disks, and it has been made available for access on the Internet as well. Thus, almighty God has inspired Muslims to write the Holy Qur’an and take care of it since it was first revealed to the prophet (pbuh) until now, and this will continue to be true till the Day of Judgment.

Question 131: Is the convert’s reward for reading a translation of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an the same as that he/she can get for reading the actual Arabic text of the Holy Qur’an?

Answer 131: The actual Arabic text of the Holy Qur’an is the word of almighty God that He revealed to His prophet Mohammad (pbuh). Therefore, reading the actual text is not the same as reading the translation. Muslims are supposed to get one hasanah (merit) for each letter they read from the Qur’an, and each merit is doubled ten times. The translations of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an are the words of humans, and the reward for reading them is similar to that which we get for reading Islamic books and commentary interpretations of the Holy Qur’an.

Question 132: How can a non-Muslim learn about the Holy Qur’an if he/she is not allowed to touch it?

Answer 132: Non-Muslims can learn about the Holy Qur’an through listening to it or reading it over the Internet for example. He may also read books that talk about Islam and explain the meanings of the Qur’an. Otherwise, he could be taught about Islam and invited to be a Muslim, and if he/she reverts to Islam he/she will be able to handle the Holy Qur’an and read it.

Question 133: The Holy Qur’an includes precise and similar verses, as well as abrogating and abrogated verses. What is the wisdom behind such divisions?

Answer 133: The Holy Qur’an is precise and perfect book because God formed it in such a meticulous way that no stylistic or semantic corruption can ever affect it. It is also all-similar because the rules mentioned in it are similar and do not contribute to ambiguity in its verses and vocabulary. The wisdom of having precise verses is clear from its definition. As for the similar, Islamic scholars divided it into three types:
1. A type that cannot be known like the time of the Day of Judgment and so on.
2. Another type that man can know like foreign expressions and some rules.
3. A third type that has features of both types (1) and (2), and this type is only understood by well-educated scholars like Ibn Abbas for whom the prophet made the following du’aa, prayer: “May Allah make him well-versed in the religion (of Islam) and teach him interpretation (of the Holy Qur’an)”.
The wisdom of having similar verses can be summarized in the following:
1. God’s mercy upon the weak human being who cannot bear learning everything. If the mountain collapsed and Moses fell unconscious when God revealed Himself, what would it have been like if He had revealed Himself to ordinary humans? It is partly for this reason that God kept the time of the Day of Judgment as a secret.
2. Putting man to affliction and trial: would people believe in the unseen simply because the truthful Prophet told us about it or not? Those who are guided to the right path say we believe! And those who have doubts in their hearts deny it and follow the similar verses as a way of getting around religion.
3. To give an evidence of the weakness and ignorance of man regardless of how technologically advanced people become, and to show the superior powers of God the All-Knowing, so that man would obey and say what the angels said in the Holly Qur’an: “They said: “Glory to Thee: of knowledge we have none, save What Thou hast taught us: in truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom” (Holy Qur’an: 2: 32).
4. To accomplish the miraculous quality of the Holy Qur’an.
As for abrogation, we say that it occurred in Islamic law in the sense that God abrogated all previous religions by Islam, and abrogated some Islamic principles by other Islamic ones. The wisdom behind abrogating all other religions by Islam is due to the fact that the latter has the most perfect laws that satisfy the needs of human beings at all times. The teachings of different religions came to satisfy the specific needs of human beings at certain times of historical developments. Islam, however, came only when man was developed enough to receive this perfect religion as the last divine set of laws that combines the benefit of humans with the flexibility of rules, and the needs of both body and soul. It also compromised religion with science and regulated the relationship between God and humans on the one hand, and humans with the world around them until the Day of Judgment.
On the other hand, we can say that God’s wisdom behind abrogating some Islamic rules by other Islamic rules is due to the policy of the Islamic nation, where rules are stipulated step by step to make them easier to follow until they reach perfection. This was possible by guiding Muslims from easy rules to more difficult ones, until success was achieved. The wisdom of abrogating difficult rules by easier ones was to make things easier for Muslims and to show the bounty of God. The wisdom of abrogating a rule with an equally difficult or easy one was to put Muslims to the test so that hypocrites would be known and punished, and believers would be known and rewarded. The wisdom of abrogating easy rules by more difficult ones was to train Muslims and get them ready for what was to come, such as the attitude of Islam towards alcoholic drinks where Muslims were prepared step by step for the acceptance of its final prohibition. This principle of gradual prohibition is unique to Islam.

Question 134: How were the suras (Chapters) of the Holy Qur’an arranged? And who gave the suras their present names?

Answer 134: The majority of the Islamic scholars are of the opinion that the arrangement of the suras in the Holy Qur’an came about through revelation. There are some who believe that only part of the arrangement was done through revelation and that the other part was done through the jurisprudence of the prophet’s companions. However, ever since caliph Uthman compiled the Holy Qur’an and arranged it in its present form, the whole Islamic nation accepted it without any alteration or reservation. Therefore, it is a duty upon all Muslims to respect this arrangement and abide by it to preserve the sacredness of the Word of God. As for naming the suras of the Holy Qur’an, there are different opinions: some scholars, such as Al-Suyti, believe that the names were revealed to the prophet; others believe that it was the prophet’s companions who gave these names. However, the existence of more than one name for some surasis evidence that these names were given to suras by the companions. Dr. Subhi Al-Saleh argues that we do not have strong evidence that the names of suras were revealed.[2]
-------[1] Ibn Masoud and Zaid Bin Thabet are companions of the Prophet (pbuh).[2] Dr. Subhi Al-Saleh, Mabahith fi Ulum Al-Qur’an, p.97.

And Allah knows best

Conversational Arabic: At the Pharmacy ( 26th February,2013)

In the name of Allah
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
في الصَّيْدَلِيَّة
At the pharmacy
Fis saydaliya
Hello, I would like some medication for allergies.

– مرحباً , أودُّ دَواءً لِلْحَساسِيَّة .
Marhaban awadu dawa'an lelhasaseya

صُداعْ/وَجَعِ الرَّأْسْ
headache suda' waja'er ra's

الرَّبو
asthma arrabu

مَغْصْ
stomach ache maghs

تَقَيُّؤْ/اسْتِفْراغْ
vomiting takayyu'/ istifragh

انْفَلَوَنْزا
flu infalawanza

سُعالْ
cough su'al

السَّرطان
cancer assaratan

إِمْساكْ
dehydration imsak

إِسْهالْ
diarrhea ishal

عِيادَة
clinic/doctor's surgery iyada


Etiquette of Intimate Relations

In the name of Allah

Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

 

Islam teaches us all things and has brought all good teaching to mankind concerning their livelihood, religion, living and dying, because it is the religion of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.

Sexual relations are among the important matters of life which Islam came to explain and to prescribe proper conduct and rulings which elevate it from the level of mere bestial pleasure and physical desire. Islam connects it to a righteous intention, supplications (adhkaar) and proper conduct which lift it up to the level of worship for which the Muslim will be rewarded. The Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explains this. Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) says in his book Zaad al-Ma’aad:

“Concerning sexual relations, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought the most perfect guidance, whereby health may be preserved and people may find pleasure and enjoyment, and it may fulfil the purpose for which it was created, because sex was created for three basic purposes:

The preservation and propagation of the human race, until they reach the number of souls that Allaah has decreed should be created in this world.

Expulsion of the water (semen) which may cause harm to the body if it is retained.

Fulfilling physical desires and enjoying physical pleasure. This alone is the feature that will be present in Paradise, because there will be no producing of offspring there, and no retention which needs to be relieved by ejaculation.

The best doctors suggest that sex is one of the means of maintaining good health.

(al-Tibb al-Nabawi, p. 249).

And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Among its benefits is that it helps to lower the gaze, brings self-control, enables one to keep away from haraam things, and achieves all of these things for the woman too. It brings benefit to a man with regard to this world and the Hereafter, and benefits the woman too. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to enjoy regular intimate relations with his wives, and he said, “In your world, women and perfume have been made dear to me.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 3/128; al-Nasaa’i, 7/61; classed as saheeh by al-Haakim).

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, for it helps him to lower his gaze and protect his chastity. And whoever cannot do that, let him fast, for it will be a protection for him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 9/92; Muslim, 1400).

(al-Tibb al-Nabawi, 251).

Among the important matters which should be paid attention to when engaging in intimate relations:

Having the sincere intention of doing this thing only for the sake of Allaah. One should intend to do this to protect oneself and one's wife from doing haraam things, to increase the numbers of the Muslim ummah so as to raise its status, for there is honour and pride in large numbers. It should be known that one will be rewarded for this action, even if he finds immediate pleasure and enjoyment in it. It was reported from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “In the sexual intercourse of any one of you there is reward” (meaning, when he has intercourse with his wife). They said, O Mesenger of Allaah, when any one of us fulfils his desire, will he have a reward for that? He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you not see that if he were to do it in a haraam manner, he would be punished for that? So if he does it in a halaal manner, he will be rewarded.” (Narrated by Muslim, 720).

This is the great bounty of Allaah towards this Ummah; praise be to Allaah Who has made us among them.

Intercourse should be preceded by kind words, playfulness and kisses. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to play with his wives and kiss them.

When a man has intercourse with his wife, he should say: “Bismillaah, Allaahumma jannibnaa al-shaytaan wa jannib al-shaytaan maa razqtanaa (In the name of Allaah, O Allaah Keep us away from the Shaytaan and keep the Shaytaan away from what You bestow on us (our children)).” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: If Allaah decrees that they should have a child, the Shaytaan will never harm him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 9/187)

It is permissible for the husband to have intercourse with his wife in her vagina in whatever manner he wishes, from behind or from the front, on the condition that it is in her vagina, which is the place from which a child is born. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth (have sexual relations with your wives in any manner as long as it is in the vagina and not in the anus), when or how you will” [al-Baqarah 2:223]. Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Jews used to say that if a man had intercourse with his wife in her vagina from behind, the child would have a squint. Then this aayah was revealed: Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth (have sexual relations with your wives in any manner as long as it is in the vagina and not in the anus), when or how you will” [al-Baqarah 2:223]. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “From the front or from the back, so long as it is in the vagina.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 8/154; Muslim, 4/156).

It is not permissible for the husband under any circumstances whatsoever to have intercourse with his wife in her back passage. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth (have sexual relations with your wives in any manner as long as it is in the vagina and not in the anus), when or how you will” [al-Baqarah 2:223]. It is known that the place of tilth is the vagina, which is the place from which one hopes for a child. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “He is cursed who has intercourse with women in their back passages.” (Narrated by Ibn ‘Udayy, 1/211; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Adaab al-Zafaaf, p. 105). This is because it [anal intercourse] goes against the fitrah [natural inclinations of man] and is an action which is revolting to those of a sound human nature; it also causes the woman to miss out on her share of pleasure; and the back passage is a place of filth and dirt – and there are other reasons which confirm the fact that this deed is haraam. For more information see Question #1103.

If a man has intercourse with his wife and wants to come back to her a second time, he should do wudoo’, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you has intercourse with his wife then wants to repeat it, let him do wudoo’ between the two (actions), for it is more energizing for the second time.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1/171). This is mustahabb (recommended), not waajib (obligatory); if he is able to do ghusl between the two actions, this is better, because of the hadeeth of Abu Raafi’ who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went around his wives one day and did ghusl in this one’s house and in this one’s house. He (Abu Raafi’) said: I said to him, O Messenger of Allaah, why do you not do one ghusl? He said, “This is cleaner and better and purer.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i, 1/79)

One or both of the spouses have to do ghusl in the following situations:

when the “two circumcised parts” meet, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When the circumcised part meets the circumcised part (according to another report: when the circumcised part touches the circumcised part), ghusl becomes waajib (obligatory).” (Narrated by Ahmad and Muslim, no. 526). This ghusl is obligatory whether ejaculation takes place or not. The touching of the circumcised parts means that the glans or tip of the penis penetrates the vagina; it does not mean mere touching.

Emission of semen, even if the two circumcised parts do not touch, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Water is for water [i.e., the water of ghusl is necessary when the “water” of semen is ejaculated].” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 1/269).

Al-Baghawi said in Sharh al-Sunnah (2/9): “Ghusl for janaabah [impurity following sexual discharge] is waajib in either of two cases: when the tip of the penis enters the vagina, or when gushing water is emitted by either the man or the woman.” For more information on the details of ghusl as prescribed in sharee’ah, see Question #415. It is permissible for the husband and wife to do ghusl together in one place, even if he sees her and she sees him, because of the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and I used to do ghusl together from one vessel between me and him; we would take turns dipping our hands in the vessel and he would take more than me until I would say, ‘Leave some for me, leave some for me.’” She said, and they were both junub (in a state of janaabah). Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.

It is permissible for a person who has to make ghusl to sleep and delay the ghusl until before the time of prayer, but it is definitely mustahabb for him to do wudoo’ before sleeping, because of the hadeeth of ‘Umar, who said that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Can any one of us sleep when he is junub? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Yes, but let him do wudoo’ if he wishes.” (Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, 232).

It is forbidden to have intercourse with a woman when she is menstruating (having her period), because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an adhaa (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses and go not unto them till they have purified (from menses and have taken a bath). And when they have prufieied themselves, then go in unto them as Allaah has ordained for you (go in unto them in any manner as long as it is in their vagina). Truly, Allaah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers, etc.).” [al-Baqarah 2:222]. The person who has intercourse with his wife whilst she is menstruating has to give a dinar or half a dinar in charity, as it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) obliged a man to do when he came and asked him about that. This was reported by the authors of al-Sunan and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Adaab al-Zafaaf, p. 122. But it is permissible for the husband to enjoy his menstruating wife without having intercourse, because of the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would tell one of us, when she was menstruating, to wear a waist-wrapper, then her husband would lie with her.” (Agreed upon).

It is permissible for the husband to withdraw (‘azl) if he does not want to have a child; by the same token it is permissible for him to use condoms – if his wife gives her permission, because she has the right to pleasure and to children. The evidence for this is the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said, “We used to do ‘azl at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard about that, and he did not forbid us.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 9/250; Muslim, 4/160).

But it is better not to do any of that, for several reasons, including the fact that it deprives the woman of pleasure or reduces the pleasure for her; and that it cancels out one of the purposes of marriage, which is to increase the number of offspring, as mentioned above.

It is forbidden for both spouses to spread the secrets of what happens between them in their private marital life; indeed, this is one of the most evil things. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Among the most evil of people before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who comes to his wife and has intercourse with her, then he spreads her secrets.” (Narrated by Muslim, 4/157).

It was reported from Asmaa’ bint Yazeed that she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and men and women were sitting with him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Would any man say what he did with his wife? Would any woman tell others what she did with her husband?” The people kept quiet and did not answer. I [Asmaa’] said: “Yes, by Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, they (women) do that, and they (men) do that.” He said, “Do not do that. It is like a male devil meeting a female devil in the road and having intercourse with her whilst the people are watching.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, no. 1/339; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Adaab al-Zafaaf, p. 143).

This is what we were able to mention about the etiquette of sexual relations. Praise be to Allaah Who has guided us to this great religion with its sublime manners. Praise be to Allaah Who has shown us the best of this world and the next. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad. 

Fiqh Lesson: 19th February, 2013 by Umm Ahmad / Amirah

In the name of Allah

Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Islamic Society and Human Relationships

Question 117: Why do Muslim countries apply Islamic law upon non-Muslims when problems arise in Islamic society?

Answer 117: Islam does not enjoin the People of the Scripture to use or follow the divine creed of Islam. The method of Islam is as follows: if they resorted to Islamic methodology for arbitration, then the Islamic rule should be applied in this case, almighty God says:
“So if they come to you (O Muhammad), either judge between them, or turn away from them. If your turn away from them, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge with justice between them. Verily, God loves those who act justly” (Holy Qur’an: 5: 42)
In any other likely case, they could at any time follow their creeds, so long as these creeds have a heavenly origin. Also, God says: “But how do they come to you for decision while they have the Torah, in which is the (plain) Decision of God; yet even after that, they turn away. For they are not (really) believers” (Holy Qur’an: 5: 43). This has already been mentioned in the matters related to creeds and familial dealings and in case they are citizens in the Islamic countries.
As regards civil and financial cases, all people living in Muslim countries must commit themselves to observe the Islamic rules, as these rule serve the opinion of the majority of the citizens. This criteria, the rule of the majority, is applied everywhere in the world, especially in the west. In the various dealings of the common affairs (like traffic, health, education), Muslims themselves almost always refer to civil laws. This also includes many other matters, which have nothing to do with dogma, liberty of belief, familial relationships (like marriage and other things so that they cannot collide with the religion of the Islamic society). As it is decided, contract is the law of the contractors; and anybody coming into the Islamic country will beforehand sign his commitment to the divine laws and manners; consequently, accept the rules of Islam to be applied, if required. This is one form of proving sovereignty to the state, something which is applicable almost everywhere in the world. Constitutions of almost all world countries decree that in the likely case any crime takes place on the land or within the territorial boundaries of any country, then the law and rules of that particular countries are the ones to be applied, without discriminating between the nationalities of the people involved in the crime.

Question 118: Since it is claimed that Islam has undertaken the Question of liberating slaves and bondwomen, why do Muslims make of men slaves and women bondwomen when they go to wars? Does not that signify a contradiction in Islamic principles?

Answer 118: It is a fact that Islam has called for the liberation of slaves. There are many proofs to attest for this:
1. Liberating a slave is a kind of atonement for some sins, like indeliberate murder, and dhihar (divorce), oath breaking, corruption of one’s fast in Ramadhan by sexual intercourse and so on.
2. God promised a great reward for those who voluntary liberate any of their slaves.
3. The right of the slave to liberate himself by buying himself from his master;
4. A Muslim is encouraged to pay a portion of his zakat money to those slaves willing to purchase themselves from their masters;
5. The Islamic rule of what is called “arrangement,” which incurs the liberation of the slave upon the death of his master, especially if the master does not have the desire to liberate him during his lifetime. So the choice of freeing oneself is open after the death of the master. The master may say to his slave: “You are be free after my death,” whereupon the slave becomes free immediately after the death of the master.
6. The Islamic rule regarding the women slaves in case they become mother of children to their master upon a sexual intercourse they might have with them. If the bondwoman conceives in this case, she may neither be sold nor rented; soon after her master’s death, she becomes free.
When a war takes place between Muslims and others, and Muslims come out victorious, if an agreement takes place between the Muslims and their enemies regarding the captives, the Muslims are bound to keep their word according to what they have pledged. If there is no such agreement or reconciliation, then Muslims are free to opt for one of the following choices:
1. Ransoming their captives with captives from the enemies, or money is given instead.
2. Setting the captives free against nothing, out of kindness and charity.
3. Killing them to relieve mankind from their evil, and killing only the fighters from them.
4. Enslaving them as a kind of charity so that they could know Islam closely with the hope that they might become Muslims themselves. It is in the right of Islam to kill those who stood in the face of Islam as fighters, but in most cases they are kept alive and enslaved. This is some kind of showing the power of Islam and the humiliation of its enemies. The caliph is the only one who could command enslaving up, it is not left to individuals.

Question 119: Why, upon the birth of a baby, Muslims slaughter one sheep for the girl but two for the boy?

Answer 119: Following the tradition of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Muslims slaughter one sheep for the newly-born girl but two for the newly-born boy. The rationale behind the difference could be to stress the fact that there are differences between man and woman in terms of physical capability and the right of guardianship and responsibility. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The baby-boy is ransomed by his slaughtered animal.” Since man fights in the path of God and carries the burden of struggle and earning living, he is more exposed to dangers and accidents than woman. Therefore, he is more required to be ransomed with two slaughtered animals for the protection of his body and optimism for his safety.

Question 120: Is it lawful for a non-Muslim to enter the Holy Mosque in Mecca? If not, why?

Answer 120: It is not lawful for a non-Muslim to enter the Holy Mosque in Mecca in accordance with what almighty God has said: “Verily, the mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolatries, disbeliveers in the Oneness of God, and in the Message of Muhammad) are Najasun (impure). So let them not come near al-Masjidal-Haram (at Mecca) after this year” (Holy Qur’an: 9: 28). As to other mosques, the reason for a non-Muslim entering a mosque should be taken into account before admitting him/her to do so. If it is for the sake of learning about Islam or for any other reason which meets the needs of Muslims, then it is lawful for non-Muslims to enter the mosque. Entering mosques for touristic or sightseeing purposes is not lawful.

Question 121: According to the Qura’nic verse “So if you gain the mastery over them in war, punish them severely in order to disperse those who are behind them” (Holy Qur’an: 8: 57), we believe that Islam spread by the sword. What is your explanation regarding this?

Answer 121: Islam did not spread by sword, and had it spread by sword or by force, people would have apostatized at the first chance they had, but the situation is just the opposite. Once those people embraced Islam, they turned into proselytize Islam in terms of tongue, money and sword. Holy fight in Islam is meant for overcoming the barriers before the call for Islam to people. If it had been possible to call to Islam without facing barriers or objection by force, Muslims would not have used arms or force on the one hand. On the other hand, many countries, especially in South East Asia and the biggest part of Africa and those who embrace Islam in Europe today, the spread of Islam was in those countries by peaceful call, respectable Islamic dealing of Muslim traders, and Islamic missions in those countries. The west used its colonial influence, societies, preaching missions sometimes in the name of medical AIDS and, sometimes in the name of schools and education. It used those means to spread Christianity; hence, the intention was not completely pure or for purely humanitarian reasons. It was for the sake of exploiting those peoples and reverting them off their various creeds. Through its stooges, the west executed all of its terrorist and aggressive plans. The Christian west wanted to establish secular governments, which had nothing to do with religions, on the basis that those governments had nothing to do with Islam, which was considered by the west as archenemy without justifications.

Question 122: Tobacco did not exist at the time of prophet Muhammad, yet it is considered by many scholars today as unlawful. Why?

Answer 122: Some prohibits have been rendered unlawful by Qur’anc texts, things like wine, eating flesh of dead meat, and pig’s meat. Some other prohibits were declared as unlawful because they were included in a total divine rule, or a general principle rule, things like impurities, and all that is harmful to the body or in wasting money uselessly. All of these things have their right divine evidence. The prophet related: “No harm should be done to oneself or to others.” [1]This saying involves all kinds of harm one might cause to oneself, his money, or to others. It has been proved that smoking is harmful to the body. Islamic beliefs render everything good as lawful and everything bad as unlawful.
If we examine all prohibits, we find that they lead to harm to others because of what they cause. The creed produced general rules according to which things are considered throughout history and place. Analogical deduction In Islam is one of the sources of legislation after the Noble Qur’an, prophetic tradition, and consensus of the companions of the prophet, which is one of the forms of the recognized independent reasoning, and approved by Muslims scholars, which is itself the secret of the survival of Islam, as it meets the renewed needs of Islam and judges their new acts of conduct. To this end, the scholars rendered smoking as unlawful on the basis that it is harmful to the health of the smoker, and a waste for his/her money. Smoking is closer to the group of impurities than to that of purifies. Almighty God said:
“he commands them for al-ma`rouf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from al-munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful at-tayyibat (i.e. all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, person, foods), and prohibits them as unlawful al-khab`ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of God’s Covenant with the children of Israel), and from the fetters (bonding) that were upon them” (Holy Qur’an: 7: 157).

Question 123: Almost all banks do not observe the religious teachings and they deal with interest. But dealing with the bank has almost become a necessity. What harm is there if one deposit his/her money in a bank, with and without interests?

Answer 123: Putting money in interest banks is lawful because of necessity, and necessity is estimated according to its real situation. Accordingly, putting money in interest banks in a country which has monetary institutions, like Islamic banks and its subsidiaries, not dealing in interest is unlawful. Putting one’s money in a bank is originally unlawful if one is not worried about the safety of his money from theft or robbery. If one feels unsafe about the money, there is no objection to putting it in an interest bank, because of the jurisprudential rule which says: “Necessities render prohibits as lawful.”
Anyone who puts his money in an account because he is obliged to keep it safe, can take interest on it, which is better than leaving it to the banks dealing with interest, but he cannot spend the money in the way he wants, as he does with his lawful money. He can give it to the poor and needy people, as they are the only people who could use the money. Any kind of money whose owner is unknown has the reward of delivering it to the poor and needy, but does not have the reward of alms, as alms is given from his completely lawful money.
If the Muslim is obliged to put his money in an interest bank without taking the interest it is lawful too, and once he is able to do without dealing with that bank, he has to withdraw his money.

Question 124: In Islam there is a saying, which goes like this: “Wisdom is supposed to be the goal of every Muslim, he/she should seek it wherever it is.” Can a Muslim in this case follow and/or adopt good western principles a lifestyle?

Answer 124: Muslins are always encouraged to follow what is good and avoid what is bad.
However, when it comes to creed, worship, manners and many things, which have to do with personal dealings, Islam recommended everything good and prohibited everything evil. Almighty God said:
“Verily, God enjoins al-adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but God Alone–Islamic monotheism) and al-ihsan[i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to God, totally for God’s sake and in accordance with the sunah (legal ways) of the Prophet (pbuh) in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that God has ordered you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help, and forbids al-fahisha (i.e. all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right), and al-munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds), and al-baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppressions). He admonishes you, that you may take heed.” (Holy Qur’an: 16: 90)
Islam urges Muslims to learn useful sciences and advanced system especially in the domain of technology experimental sciences, and the like. Accordingly, there is no harm for a Muslim to benefit from what the west has used to advance itself, if what is used does not contradict the fixed and determined Islamic fundamentals, which are known as being good and useful to mankind.
There is, however, one thing that should be taken into consideration, i.e. some things might be useful temporarily and accidentally. Such things cannot be rendered as lawful though they might be useful temporarily from one point of view. They could be subject to the conventions, customs and tastes of some people. All of this cannot render something lawful, as everything of those principles; conventions and customs should go with the Islamic fundamentals, and people should not differ as to whether people believe it is useful or beneficial. Almighty God said:
“And no example or similitude do they bring (to oppose or to find fault in you or in this Qur’an), but We reveal to you the truth (against that similitude or example), and the better explanation thereof” (Holy Qur’an: 25: 33)

Question 125: What is the purpose of prohibiting usury when both partners (the usurer and the one paying interest) are completely satisfied with the transaction?

Answer 125: The satisfaction of both contractors does not render prohibited things lawful, as two adulterer and an adulteress accept to commit adultery, and the agreement of buyer and seller of drugs does not make such matters lawful.
Those who consider matters from a limited point of view want a quick or private benefit, regardless of what disasters of destruction and corruption of the Islamic nation such transactions may cause. Anyone, whether it is a person or a country, who resort to borrow money with interest must be in dire need for that money. What kind of humanity is this that exploits the need and adversity of that man or nation?
When the interest loan is intended for production, and the borrower loses, he shoulders the responsibility and is the only loser, which could be disastrous to him. Had he been able to support himself he would not have resorted to borrowing an interest loan. The two partners should agree from the beginning on both profit and loss. If they make a profit, the profit is mutual and the same applies to loss. The one working will have lost his efforts and time and the lender will lose his money. Almighty God announced war on the borrower and lender dealing with interest. Almighty God says:
“And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from God and His Messenger but if your repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums). And if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time till is easy for him to replay…” (Holy Qur’an: 2: 278-80)

Question126: Since the Prophet (pbuh) referred to the acceptability of entertaining oneself, are we allowed to play chess or cards for a mere passing of time?

Answer 126: There are certain Islamic rules and regulations that govern the use of different pleasure facilities and entertaining oneself. These rules and regulations conclude any form of entertainment that has been evidently forbidden may not be used for entertaining oneself. Some scholars say they have grounds to believe that chess was forbidden; therefore, Muslims should not play it.
Playing any other kind of game, which is good for health and/or mind, is permissible, provided that there is no evidence of its prohibition. However, playing lawful games should not distract us from fulfilling our duties or indulge us in sinful deeds.
Muslim scholars agree that playing chess is forbidden if it is played as a form of gambling, or if it causes one to neglect a duty like performing prayer. It is also disallowed if it implies lying or cause swearing and/or leads to any kind of harm. Yet, scholars have different opinions: some of them prohibit paying chess altogether, others say it is not recommended; others still, say it is allowed provided that players do not swear, that Muslims should not play with non-good Muslims in the streets, and that it should not be played very often because it may waste the time of Muslims and make them heedless of their religious obligations such as remembering God and worshipping. However, scholars recommend that Muslims are better off not playing such games because the prophet (pbuh) says: “Leave doubtful things, and do things that are certain (to be allowed).”[2]

 And Allah knows the best ![1] Cited in Ahmad, hadith No. 2719; Ibn Majah, hadith No. 1332.[2] Cited in Bukhari, and Al-Turmudhi.

Comparative Religions: Lesson 1 (13th of February,2013)

In the name of Allah
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Innal Hamda lillahi, nastaeenuhu wa nastaghfirhu, wa naoozu billahi min shorrori anfusina. Man yahdihi Allahu fala mudhilla lahu wa mayn yudhlil fa la hadia lah. Wa ash hadu al la ilaha il lal lah wa ash hadu an na Muhammadan abduhu wa rasooluhu.

All praises are for Allah. We seek Guidance and forgiveness from Him. We also seek refuge in Him from the evils of our own selves. Whoever Allah guides, noone can misguide him. Whoever He lets go astray noone can put him back on track. We testify that there is no god but Allah and we testify that Muhammad is Allah's servant and His messenger.

I have divided this talk of mine into two parts…

1 .We will discuss about the world major religion and analysis of population according to their followers…

2. Why we are here to learn this subject of comparative religions? What responsibility is this which we have to fulfill? What are the characters of a Daii?

As our subject is comparative religion so I would First like to start my talk with comparatives religions and there analysis because I want you to realize the important of dawah and its requirement in the world especially in this age of time when majority of the Muslims forget their duty …and then inshallah we will know the importance of dawah and what duties and obligations Allah SWT command us to fulfill…

“Comparative religions “

According to the oxford dictionary “Religion "menace believes in God, so we have the competition of the different religions and analysis of the Concept of God in it.

The world major religions can be broadly classifies in the Semitic religions and non-Semitic religion. The Semitic religions are those who are follows by the semis. Who are semis? The descendent of shimmies according to the bible he was the son of nova (AS)…so the Semitic religion is those which is followed by semis, the Jews the Arab. Those who speak the language, Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, etc. the major Among the Semitic religions are, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, although Islam is a sister religion of Christianity and Judaism, and we Also called them Abrahamic religions…

non Semitic religions can be divided it Aryan and non-Aryan, Aryan religions are those which is followed by the Aryans the powerful group of Indo-European groups originated from Iran and northern India and non-Aryans are mostly involved in atheism (those who don’t believe in the existence of God )they more classified in to more terms but as our aim is not to study the history so we go back to our point and as our talk concerned with those religions who believe in God .so they are semantic or Abrahamic religions Among them the oldest religions Judaism then Christianity and Islam in the world..

This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.)


1. Christianity: 2.1 billion

2. Islam: 1.5 billion

3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion

4. Hinduism: 900 million

5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million

6. Buddhism: 376 million

7. primal-indigenous: 300 million

8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million

9. Sikhism: 23 million

10. Juche: 19 million

11. Spiritism: 15 million

12. Judaism: 14 million

13. Baha'i: 7 million

14. Jainism: 4.2 million

15. Shinto: 4 million

16. Cao Dai: 4 million

17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million

18. Tenrikyo: 2 million

19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million

20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand

21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand

22. Scientology: 500 thousand

Semantic or Abrahamic religions..

1. Christianity.. 2.21 billion

2. Islam 1.61 billion

3. Judaism 18 Million

Non semantic or Non Abrahamic religions (Indian religions)

1. Hinduism 0.96 billion

2. Buddhism 500 million

3. Sikhism 12 million.

So we come to a conclusion that 21 % of the world population know Allah as only creator of the world and worship him and the rest of 79% did not worship there true creator, so Allah create this nation of prophet Mohammed pbuh with the mission of delivering this message to the rest of world as Allah SWT said in Quran…

Surah Al -E-Imran(3:104)

وَلۡتَكُن مِّنكُمۡ أُمَّةٌ۬ يَدۡعُونَ إِلَى ٱلۡخَيۡرِ وَيَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَيَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ‌ۚ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ .

 Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity. (104) Also in

Surah Al-E-Imran(3:110)

قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ تَعَالَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ ڪَلِمَةٍ۬ سَوَآءِۭ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمۡ أَلَّا نَعۡبُدَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَلَا نُشۡرِكَ بِهِۦ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُنَا بَعۡضًا أَرۡبَابً۬ا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوۡاْ فَقُولُواْ ٱشۡهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسۡلِمُونَ

Say: "O people of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not from among ourselves Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say: ye! "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's will)."

This verse according to me a master key for dawah whenever we speak different type of people, peoples of different religions. Qur'an teach us to invite them to the common terms this verse is specially for Jews and Christen but we can be used for any religion to invite them to Islam And commentaries …The good thing is that All the follows of the religions think that the god they worship is the same for themselves as well as for others…

For example the god Hindu worship they believe that the god they worship is the same as well as the god other worship like christens also…

If we start from Christianity first as it’s the first most followed Religion now as we see from our analysis then one should know that Infect there is no reality or basic foundation of Christianity but the foundation of Christianity is totally based on Judaism so we must have to look at Judaism first and what’s its history? I will just highlighting the basic history here which is important to know the background information so we can focus on our objective …

Jews (when prophet Ibrahim get the prophet hood then judisum exists on the world started in to canan, in 2000 bc (before chris)

We will never go in deep down detail and try to be connected with the main aim or objective which is dawah..

And then Abraham's son ishaq and then his son yaqoob as we all know and they were in the canan so from there we will start to know the little bit history to understand the situation which helps us in our aim inshallah we will start looking at the following points in our next class inshallah…

1. History of Jew (very short)

2. Sources of the Jew

• Torah and Old Testament

• Talmud

• Zion protocols

3. Stages of tourah writing

4. Talmud.

Second part of our Talk.

Why we are here to learn this subject of comparative religions? What responsibility is this which we have to fulfill? What are the characters of a Daii?



بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم

وَكَذَٲلِكَ جَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ أُمَّةً۬ وَسَطً۬ا لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ

Surah Al-Baqara(3:143)

Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced That ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Messenger a witness over yourselves;

Allah swt honored us by the following aya because now we are new nation a separate nation, (he said that is how we made u an ummah“wasat “ Balance A Balanced nation, sometime in Arabic it menace the middle of something you are the middle nation it begs the Question whats that menace? I will give u an example then u may know what that two path menace, essentially our deen it’s a combination of two things, 1. its knowledge Good sound Accurate knowledge, but just because you have knowledge it's not enough you must take that knowledge and change your life, these are two things you have to have knowledge and this knowledge should be transformed in to action. I will give you an example to make it clear ,just because you know fire burn, you know that it's not enough now you must act and not touch it…So there is two type of peoples one who know but not act according to it and the second what to act but don’t have enough knowledge. So come back to the point one nation Jews Allah give them knowledge they have knowledge of everything even they recognize Prophet Mohammed pbuh as his own sons as Allah swt said in the Qur'an but they did not believe ..and what happen to the other side Christen Allah talk about them Good things but when it comes to the knowledge the doors are close, they refuse to learn …WE were made the middle nation, the nation who finds the balance between two sids, that one of the many benefit that Allah Swt…so why where we made the middle nation? It's awesome.

But Allah swt never give us honor never give us respect except he put us responsibility…As in the verse Allah said and he made u middle nation then verse is not finished …as if u think that we are the chosen people that’s not enough that’s what Jew did…

Allah said I made you middle nation so you can be a witnesses against All people. You and I made as member of this ummah and our fundamental task as an ummah Is that we become witnesses against Humanity ,you know what its meaning we carry Islam when we open our mouth and we deal with business ,we cross the road all the matters in our life we are the witness ..We are witness on humanity that this what the Muslim is? And deliver Islam by our speech, action and life style. But if u and I our dedication to Allah did not go beyond our family or home then. You know what witness menace it’s so heave in our Islam...on the day of judgments they will the people around you and also the non-Muslim's they will ask Allah they have the book they have the Last and final revelation and they Did not deliver it to us they did not warn or infrom the punishment of hell fire.Even they know so they will say oh lord it's not my fault but the faults of its not my fault?they will have a case against us…and its not end Allah add another responsibility in the verse And the messenger pbuh will be a witnesss against you ??its very heave part of the ayah ,similar ayah ocurre in the Holy Quran.. there was a hadith related to that once prophet Mohammed pbuh ask one of his companions Hassan he had a great voice .prohed said hasan ,recite Quran to me .he shocked oh prophet of Allah I recite to you and its revealted to you he said yes but I like to listen..he recite surah nisah and prophet pbuh enjoing when he comes to that verse

فَكَيۡفَ إِذَا جِئۡنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةِۭ بِشَهِيدٍ۬ وَجِئۡنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ شَہِيدً۬ا (٤١

Surah An-Nisa

How then if We brought from each people a witness, and We brought thee as a witness against these people! (41)
“how will it be when we witness against every nation and we will bring you (meaning mohammed pbuh) witness as against them menings the muslims…and when Hassan looks up prophet pbuh was crying and said stop I can't be more because the weight of the ayah Prophet witness against us?…you know what's it menace beforein s life time he left this worldly life he toke witness from all of us (Companions)..that he said did I deliver the message? Then I do my job then we(Companions) all testified that yes you delivered it to us..then he said then the one is here deliver to the one is not here …and if we don’t do this job then imagine who is gone complaint against us on the Day of judgement Prophet mohammed pbuh .. he will say these people I left them a job ?and we said we love our prophet pbuh and if we did not fulfill our duty then he have to complete Allah swt against us …they what else way we have to save or self’s ??see what’s Gone today we have the book of Allah but it did not reflect on our behavior we open our mouth but don’t speak the truth we do All the matters of life but not according to Quran and sunned and about that Allah said in the Quran several Places like “the messenger will say on that day oh

my master this nation of mine( a wend )in the Quran. One should appreciate the weight of this ayah…subhanallah

قَدۡ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجۡهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ‌ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبۡلَةً۬ تَرۡضَٮٰهَا‌ۚ

…it’s so heavy on the heart of a believer. When the beloved creation of Allah Complaint Allah then what care we gone have ?what layer we gone get?...what it means that we become an ummah and share the same responsibility…it meance many things but I want to at least rewet with one item.

The messenger delivers this message to us and this message in summary is this book..he delivers this book his life mission to us..and he did his job and finish his duty ,now you and I is responsible for not only to deliver this book but also practice in our own life,so how can one deliver and practice if he don’t understand what’s in it .when he stand in front of Allah in the prayer he don’t understand the message I know it's not your fault ! If you know the majority of this ummah isnot Arab.so you don’t have easy argument that hay I am not Arab its not my fault, that’s why I don’t know the Quran just read translation..honestly ask this Question to your self who in the Whould is gone to write a translation which can competes with Allah's words ?who is Gone translate the beauty ,the perfection,the guidance the Strighth?the effect of Allahs words..there is no alternatives …so if you ask Allah I want to learn this language so when I talk with you in the prayer and I can understand what your talking to me and there is the conversation between us ..and when Quran is in our heart and we are understanding it then unity become easy. Because u are unified by the same message. It need to work on it …

I would like to give you some historical back ground on it I tell you the greatest contribution to the study of the Arabic language was made by non -Arab, you know the first completion of Arabic Grammar was made by a man sib away he compile grammar as we study today ,the greatest mufasaroon who talk about the languagues, beauty and perfection of the Quran where non arabs ,the west majority of this mumah population vise is non-arabs and the majority the scholarship of this ummah is also non Arab's some are great scholar of Islam sitting in places far away from Arab until this day it’s the beauty Allah toke the Arabic language and instead of making this language of people he made language of his own book…

Once prophet pbuh asked who is an arab ? you will think people from sham ,sirya ,yaeman etc

The Arabic is just a language (أنما العربو لسان)suhaber romme comes from rome,he was the roman. Salman farse comes from persa ,bilal alhabashi he was from habesinia ,but when they speack Arabic and understand the Quran by the prophets definition they are Arabs…

So All of you have to Arabic at least the level you can enjoy your Salah and understand the Quran in Arabic It’s the second Language of the whole ummah… do think that u tried many time you can do it ..ino matter how much time u try just ask ur self to try again and I will promise you if u bear in your mind two things then be sure you will learn it…just remember two promises .1 the promise of prophet and 2 is the promise of Allah…

First promise. The Prophet said, "Such a person as recites the Qur'an and masters it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven). And such a person exerts himself to learn the Qur'an by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.6 Bk.60 No.459).the messenger pbuh said “the experts in Quran is rankes among in highiest angels, the experts not you and me??The highest angels these are the angels that record revelation by the way highest top angels. and then he said and one who reads the Quran and he stubbles in it and he can't like when in tajweed we say Qaff and he say qaaf…like for six months his Qaaf is not work and on. He is stumbling and it's very hard on him…he is got twice subhanallah…the expert ranked among the top angel and he is who is struggling is twice that…subhanallah…that’s the prophet pbuh promises if u having hard time learning Arabic .congratulation…don’t just give it up.Seriously because you're getting reword.

Second promise this is from Allah he mentioned his promise three times. You know why Allah repeat the same verse more than one like then once when someone need to hear more than once then Allah repeat more than once …what Allah said

. وَلَقَدۡ يَسَّرۡنَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ لِلذِّكۡرِ فَهَلۡ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

۬ And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition? (40) also in (54:17),(54:22),(54:32)

We already made the Quran incredibly easy (see he did not said that he made which thing easy .tafseer of Quran,tajweed ,tafheem,what no restriction…who made this easy? Not me not you ?Allah made it easy…but he put condition on…its easy but have a condition if you have the intent of remembrance…if you really want to remember Allah. Then Allah's promise not any body else he will make it easy..its Allah's promise..

Also Allah said in the

Consequently, Allaah praises those who engage in this noble endeavor as being the best

وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ قَوۡلاً۬ مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحً۬ا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ

in speech.“Who is better in speech than one who calls to Allaah, does righteous deeds and says

indeed I am among the Muslims.” Soorah Fussilat, (41): 33

The best words that any human being can speak are words of guidance inviting people to the purpose of their creation; the worship of God …Prophet (r) addressed the great reward for this righteous pursuit saying,




“Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.”

1.He was also reported to have said,

“Whoever calls to guidance will receive the same reward as the one who follows him without any decrease in the reward of [his follower].”

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to 'Ali (RA):
"If Allah guides a person through you, it is better for you than all that is on the earth."
(Bukhari No. 2783 & Muslim No. 2406)

the Prophet(r) was also reported by Sahl ibn Sa‘d as saying: “For Allaah to guide someone by your hand is better for you than having red camels.”

Camels were considered the most valuable property in ancient Arabia and the red variety

was the most prized of all. This fact

Further reiterated in Chapter al-‘Asr where Allah declares humankind in a state of loss With the exception of “those who advise each other with truth.”5

Allaah also hinged the label of honor, “best of humankind,” granted to the

Muslim nation on the fulfillment of their da‘wah-duty of calling humankind to righteousness and prohibiting sin among them.

كُنتُمۡ خَيۡرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخۡرِجَتۡ لِلنَّاسِ تَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَتَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنڪَرِ وَتُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ‌ۗ

“You are the best nation raised up for humankind. You enjoin righteousness, forbid corruption and you believe in Allaah.” Soorah aal-Imraan, (3): 110

In the hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 4, p. 442, no. 667. of prophet mohammed pbuh”said“Convey from me, even if it be only a single verse.”9

whenever the Prophet (pbuh) addressed people, he used to say: “Let those present convey what they heard to those absent. For, perhaps he may inform

one better able to understand it than him. ”
Allaah’s Curse

In order to stress the gravity of da‘wah as a duty on Muslims, Allaah warned those who did not fulfill their responsibility in this regard of His curse and the curse of all His creatures.

إِإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَٱلۡهُدَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا بَيَّنَّـٰهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ‌ۙ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يَلۡعَنُہُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَلۡعَنُہُمُ ٱللَّـٰعِنُون

“Indeed those who hide the clear messages and guidance that I have revealed after I Have made it clear to people in the scripture; those are cursed by Allah and cursed by all who curse.” Soorah al-Baqarah, (2): 159

To have knowledge of Islaam but not convey it to others constitutes “hiding knowledge.”Hiding knowledge may be a deliberate act where in a person has the intention to keep the knowledge away from other people. This may occur in cases where people are asked about Islaam but refuse to reveal its teachings due to racial or tribal concerns…

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CALLER..

The individual who as accepted the duty of calling others to Allaah must possess certain characteristics to effectively convey the message. These attributes are mentioned in the Qur’aan and preserved in the record of the divinely guided lifestyle of the Prophet (r).

1.Knowledge. The foremost quality that the daa‘ee (caller) is One must have sound knowledge of what one is inviting others to. Allaah, Most Great and Glorious, instructed the Prophet (r) to inform others that his call to Islaam was based on knowledge

. قُلۡ هَـٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدۡعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ

“Say: This is my way and I invite to Allaah with certain knowledge ...”

(Soorah Yoosuf, 12: 108)

2. Kindness / Gentleness. It is essential that the daa‘ee be soft in conveying the message because harshness could Easily discourage people from listening to the truth. Allah addressed this issue with

regard to the Prophet himself saying:

وَلَوۡ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلۡقَلۡبِ لَٱنفَضُّواْ مِنۡ حَوۡلِكَ‌ۖ

“If you were harsh and hard hearted, they would have fled from around you.”

Soorah Aal ‘Imraan, (3): 159

The Prophet (r) also prayed saying:

“O Allaah, be hard on whoever acquires control over the affairs of my nation and is hard on them. And be kind to whoever gains control over the affairs of my nation and is kind to them. Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, p. 1016, no. 4494.

Gentleness in da‘wah affects the hearts of those being invited and makes them want to listen to the message.

3.Wisdom. To convey the message of Islaam, the daa‘ee must adjust himself or herself to each situation and use the most appropriate material.

ٱدۡعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِٱلۡحِكۡمَةِ وَٱلۡمَوۡعِظَةِ ٱلۡحَسَنَةِ‌ۖ وَجَـٰدِلۡهُم بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحۡسَن

ُ‌ۚ“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching. and reason with them in the better way. (Soorah an-Nahl, 16: 125)

Some scholars of tafseer explain that “wisdom” mentioned in this verse refers to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah due to the wisdom which they contain as well as the guidance to righteousness and happiness.(ibn kaseer)

4. Patience. Most people who come to Islaam do so after a faith-seeking journey. Consequently, only a very few begin their search and end it with the same person. When declarations of faith are given it is after many stops on the road. Someone may start the person off and many help on the way and someone else helps the person finally declare their faith. Therefore,the responsibility of the daa‘ee is to convey the message and not to put faith in peoples hearts. As Allaah informed His Messenger (r) and his followers:

فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡبَلَـٰغُ وَعَلَيۡنَا ٱلۡحِسَابُ

“Your responsibility is only to convey [the message] and the accounting is on Me.”

(Soorah ar-Ra‘d, 13: 40)

5. Morality. Great stress has been placed in Islaam on good moral character. Prophet Muhammad (r)summarized the essence of the Islamic message

“Indeed, I was only sent to complete the most noble of character traits.”And Allaah said in the Qur’aan, وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ۬

“Surely you (Muhammad) have a magnificent character.”

(Soorah al-Qalam, 68: 4)

The Prophet’s companion, Ibn ‘Abbaas explained that “character” here meant “religion”,

i.e., Islaam.7 By using the term “character” to refer to the religion of Islaam, Allaah stresses the importance of morality in relationship to the religion. It was also reported that when the Prophet’s wife ‘Aa’ishah was asked about the Prophet’s character, she replied,

“His character was that of the Qur’aan.”8 That is, his manners were according to Allaah’s instructions in the Qur’aan. Consequently, the development of good character depends on closely following the Qur’aan and the teachings of the Prophet (r). In this regard, Allaah also said in the Qur’aan:

لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ۬

“Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allaah a beautiful example (of

conduct)...”(Soorah al-Ahzaab, 33 :21)

Thus, the rites and rituals of Islaam cannot be separated from good manners. An-

Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan quoted the Prophet (r) as saying, “Righteousness is good character and sin is what itches in your heart and you dislike that

people would find out about it.( Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, pp. 1358-9, no. 6196.)

Aboo Hurayrah quoted the Prophet (r) as saying,

“The believer whose faith is most complete is he whose character is best. (Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee, vol. 1, p. 340, no. 928.)…
Before entering into our main topic, I would like to make three introductory remarks, the first of which is that we have to keep in mind that our primary objective in da‘wah is not to convert the individual whom we are inviting. Conversion is in the hands of Almighty Allaah. He said in the Qur’aan:

“Indeed you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills.”

(Soorah al-Qasas, 28: 56)

Our job is the same one that was given to all the prophets and messengers, and given to the Prophet Muhammad (r). It is to convey the message clearly, as Allaah said “The only obligation on the messenger is to give the clear message.” (Soorah an-Noor, 24: 54)

Therefore, we have to constantly remind ourselves whenever we are in a discussion with an individual or giving a lecture to a group, that we are not there to win the argument or the debate. Our goal is to make sure they properly understand the true message of Islaam in its pristine purity. It may be impossible to convince them in an hour or a day to change the course of their whole life, but at least they should understand the reality of what you are calling to, the Oneness of Allaah, the finality of Muhammad’s (r) prophethood, the certainty of the Day of Judgment, etc. Therefore, what is most important regarding those being called to Islaam is that the message should be crystal clear.

I think we can conclude her for today class and for our next class inshallah we will go on with many important aspects of our subject like .

1. METHODOLOGY OF DAWAH

2. INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

3. JESUS AND MARY IN ISLAM

4. TRINITY

5. DIVINITY OF JESUS

6. ORIGINAL SIN

7. MOHAMMED (PBUH) IN THE BIBLE

8. IS THE BIBLE WORD OF GOD?

9. CRUCIFIXION

10. WAY OF LIFE ACCEPTED BY GOD

And many more in our course inshallah but basically our whole cource will be on the bases of the subject that how to call peoples of religions like Christianity and Judisum to islam through proving them proves about islam from there own scripture and Quran as well inshallah …

,wa akiro dawana anil hamdulillahi rab il almeen..

And Allah knows the best 

Fiqh Lesson: 12th of February,2013

In the name of Allah
Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Family and Women Affairs

Question 94: Why did Islam limit the number of wives to four? And why does it confine man’s sexual pleasure to marriage commitments, home and tasks?
Answer 94: Islam limited the number of wives to four as the maximum number for a variety of reasons. On the one hand nature and reality have proved the righteousness of this rule, especially when we take into account the rising percentage of women compared to that of men. On the other hand men are more exposed than women to dangers and mortality like wars and perilous jobs. If man’s marriage is limited to one woman only, a number of women will be deprived from the bliss of marriage which is an instinctive demand in all human beings; which provides shelter, intimacy and marital life for every member of the family. When allowing man to marry more than one wife Islam does not make the case obligatory, but rather something lawful. As a matter of fact, Islam encourages marrying only one wife for those men who do not have the ability to be fair amongst their wives. It proscribes its male followers to marry more than one if they cannot fulfill marital duties equally well among the wives. Almighty God says: “…then marry (other women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one...” (Holy Qur’an: 3: 3). However, the percentage of those who marry more than one wife is limited, as most men limit themselves to one wife. The percentage is lesser among those who marry three or four women.
Islam prohibits intercourse between man and woman outside wedlock as this cause harm on to both the individual and on society. It causes many diseases, it leads to loss of lineage and it brings about the destruction of the family, which is the nucleus of any society.
It remains to say in this context that it is difficult to find a man or a woman in the western societies not having one or concubines. This is something that often happens at the expense of the family and its structure. It is strange how developed people would justify having concubines but not wives!

Question 95: Why does Islam allow polygamy for men but not polyandry for women? Where is justice here?
Answer 95: Only those who regard marriage as purely sexual relationship propagate this point of view. They ask: “Why cannot a woman have the same right as men, of marrying more than one man? The Answer can be as follows: if a woman marries more than one man, the lineage will be lost, as the woman is responsible for pregnancy. If land is not good for planting more than one kind of plant at the same time, how could a woman be good for planting more than one kind of semen at the same time? Science has proved that out of millions of sperms, only one is able to fertilize the egg. If the relationship of the woman is with one man within marriage, we know for sure that this fertilization has come from her single husband, not anybody else, even though the sperms are millions, but if the woman is married to more than one man, how could we know whose sperm it was that fertilized the egg of the woman; eventually, to whom should the child belong? And which of these husbands will be responsible for this family? Is it then justifiable that for the sake of equality with man in polygamy the lineage of children will be lost?
Naturally speaking, the majority of women reach the age of menopause early. The age of menopause ranges between 40 and 50. As to men, their potency continues until very late, on the one hand, and some women do not desire their husbands, which causes them sexual frigidity, which is much more common in women than in men. Women have their menstruation and confinement periods, and some of them have long menstruation periods. This prevents men from having sexual intercourse with them.

Question 96: Why is it not lawful for man to have sex with his wife when she is having her menstrual period?
Answer 96: What is forbidden during the menstrual period is the vaginal sexual intercourse only. All other forms of sexual pleasure are lawful, as almighty God said:
“They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore keep away from women during menses and go not unto them till they are purified (from menses and have taken a bath). And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as God has ordained for you (go in unto them in any manner as long as it is in their vagina). Truly God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves (by taking a bath and cleaning, and washing thoroughly their private parts, bodies, for their prayers) (Holy Qur’an: 1:222).
Almighty God commands men to keep away from women during their menstrual period, that is, not to have vaginal sexual intercourse in the vagina. intercourse in the vagina during menstruation has been proved medically harmful. In fact it comprises every kind of harm, as straight natures hate mixing with impurities. Judaism prohibited cohabiting with the woman during her menstruation, eating with her, and having sexual intercourse with her. Islam is a medial religion, it allows men and women to enjoy each others in any way except sexual intercourse.

Question 97: Does Islam encourage marriages arranged by the parents without prior consent from the son or the daughter?
Answer 97: Islam does not encourage arranged marriages without the consent of the son or the daughter, even though the guardian is the father, which is clear in what Prophet Muhammad said:
“A widow is not married until she gives her consent, and a virgin is not married until she gives her permission.’ They asked, “O, Messenger of God, how can she give her permission?” He said, “By keeping silent.” And in other words “A widow has more right than her guardian to give her consent, and a virgin is asked and her permission is her silence.”[1]
Khansa’ Bint Huzam related that her father married her off when she was a widow. She, therefore, came to the prophet (pbuh) to complain about it. The prophet annulled her marriage.[2] It was also related that the a virgin maid came to the messenger of God and told him that her father had married her off by force, and the prophet gave her the choice to stay with her husband or to leave him.”[3]
It was related too that a girl came to the messenger of God and told him: “My father married me off to his nephew for reputation;” whereupon the prophet gave her the choice to stay with her husband or to leave him. She said: “I have accepted what my father had done, but I wanted to tell the women that a father does not have the right to do so.”[4] These traditions and many others confirm that Islam does not allow a father or a guardian to marry his daughter or sister off except when she gives her full consent. And in the likely case she is forced to marry out of her consent, she can file a case to the court or to the authorities, which have the right to nullify the marriage.

Question 98: Why does not Islam allow a Muslim woman to marry a Jew or a Christian at the time it allows the Muslim man to marry a Jewess or a Christian woman? Also why does not Islam allow Muslim men to marry other women than Jews or Christians (People of the Scripture)?
Answer 98: Islam allows Muslim men to marry Jewish or Christian women. This is a clear indication of the extent to which it tolerates and honours the followers of these two heavenly religions. It deals with them in a special way which does not apply to the followers of other religions, in terms of eating from their food and marrying women from them. In all religions, the guardianship is in the hand of the man. In this case if a Jew or a Christian man marries a Muslim woman, he might deal arbitrarily with her and use his right to force her (and their children if any) to abandon Islam. But for this, Islam might have allowed equal treatment in marriage, like equal treatment in food. Almighty God says:
“Made lawful to you this day are at-tayyibat [all kinds of halal (lawful) food, which God had made lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables and fruits). The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you and yours is lawful to them. (Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) before your time when you have given their due mahr (bridal-money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), desiring chastity (i.e. taking them in legal wedlock) not committing illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girl-friends. And whosoever disbelieves in Faith [i.e. in the Oneness of God and in all the other Articles of Faith, i.e. His (God’s) Angles, His Holy Books, His Messengers, the Day of Resurrection and al-Qadar (Divine Preordainments)], then fruitless is his work; and in the hereafter he will be among the losers” (Holy Qur’an: 3:5)
Islam gives equal treatment to the chaste Christian or Jewish woman as one as the Muslim women in terms of wage (dowry), prohibition of unlawful sexual intercourse, or making them concubines: it allows them to keep their religion while they are wives to Muslim men. As to marriage of non-Muslim men to Muslim women, it is prohibited for particular reasons:
1. Man has the authority and guardianship on his wife, in which likely case he might affect her behavior, conduct, thought and beliefs.
2. In terms of equal treatment, Christianity and Judaism do not allow the marriage of Christian or Jewish woman to marry a Muslim man.
3. In order to prevent the authority of non-Muslims over Muslims, almighty God said: “And never will God grant to the disbeliveers a way (to triumph) over the believers” (Holy Qur’an: 4: 141).

Question 99: Why can a Muslim divorce his wife any time likes, while a woman is not allowed to do so except after long and inconvenient procedures?

Answer 99: Islam does not allow man to divorce his wife arbitrarily and unjustly. If he does so that means he has not maintained his responsibility efficiently. Islam legislated several measures which a man should adhere to before he can take the decision to divorce his wife. These include:
1. advising her,
2. desertion her in bed,
3. beating her harmlessly,
4. arbitration, i.e. asking (any of her and/or his relations) for intervention,
5. first divorce (revocable),
6. second divorce (revocable),
7. third (or final) divorce (irrevocable).
Almighty God said: “As to those women on whose part you see ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful)” (Holy Qur’an: 4: 34). After all of these stages, the irrevocable divorce can take place, and there are several stages that the husband has to follow, otherwise his divorce will be arbitrary and unfair to his wife. On the other hand, there are several things to do, like:
1. man is usually less hasty or excited and has more self-control of nerves and emotions than woman;
2. man has authority and guardianship at home which commands him to spend on the wife and family.
3. man is the one who pays the marriage portion, whereas the woman takes it.

Question 100: Why should a woman wait if her husband has been away from her for a very long time until a judge can give a verdict of her divorce?
Answer 100: It is not a matter of waiting as much as there should be confirmation and proof of the complete absence of news about the husband. Marriage is a real bondage and contract which implies intimacy, mercy, stability and tranquility. Almighty God says:
“And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect” (Holy Qur’an: 30: 21).
It is known that whenever the contract has grand effects, it is more difficult for the legislator to dissolve it and that depends on the contractors themselves. If the absence of the husband allowed the dissolution of the contract accordingly, there must be patience and confirmation, as mentioned before, in dissolving this contract, so that neither of the contractors would be done any harm because of haste. This happens depending on the cause of absence and its justifications. The judge should estimate such matters and try to avoid harm to anyone as much as possible.

Question 101: Why should there be a guardian and two righteous witnesses at the time of the marriage contract in Islam? Is it not possible for a woman to have her complete freedom in this respect, and not wait for someone to humiliate her in choosing and allow her to marry? Since men have the right to marry whenever they like, why, women are not granted the same status? And why her guardian’s consent is a prerequisite in this instance?
Answer 101: Part of the Answer has already been given in (Answer 97). Here is the rest of the Answer. At the time of marriage, there should a guardian (usually the father) and two righteous witnesses. Marriage is different from unlawful adultery, and a woman is not allowed to marry without the consent of her guardian; the guardian in turn is not allowed to marry her off without taking her consent. The responsibility here is mutual; it cannot be achieved except through the consent of the two sides, both the guardian and the girl. This signifies a respect for the woman and maintenance of her right. It takes care of her and does not cause her any harm or humiliation. If she happens to choose a suitable man and her guardian prevents her from marrying him, or in the likely case she has no guardian, the judge can be in charge of marrying her off in spite of the objection of her guardian. In Islamic jurisprudence the judge is the guardian of anyone who does not have a guardian, i.e. he can marry a woman off if she has no guardians.
If a woman wants to marry a man and there is another one who is better than him, the consent of the guardian and the witnesses will be superfluous, and her freedom will not be limited. But if the husband she has chosen is not an appropriate one (to the best of the guardian’s knowledge), her guardian can interfere. Preventing her from such a marriage is deemed to her interest. Not all kinds of freedom necessarily bring benefit to man, and every kind of limitation is harmful to hime/her. Almighty God says: “…and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. God knows but you do not know” (Holy Qur’an: 2: 216).

Question 102: Is it lawful for a woman to divorce her husband if he is infertile, ill or having a chronic disease? And is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife if she is barren or has a chronic disease?
Answer 102: As mentioned above, divorce is in the hand of man not woman because of reasons, most important of which is his right of guardianship. However, Islam has made it lawful for woman to dissolve the marriage contract (In Islamic jurisprudence–mukhaala’a), which happens when a woman asks the judicial authorities to dissolve the marriage contract, either because of the infertility of her husband or because of some harm caused by the husband to her, as is the case when the husband is chronically ill. This matter will be different if the woman knows about her husband’s situation before her marriage to him.

Question 103: Why is not lawful for girls in some Muslim countries to choose any man she wants to marry?
Answer 103: Islam should not be judged through the practices of some of its followers; people should be judged according to their implementation of Islam. Islam does respect the will of the girl, as mentioned above. However, the consent of the girl’s guardian should be achieved when she would like to marry and the marriage contract will not be valid without it.
A woman is free to choose any man she wants to marry; she is also free to reject any man she does not want to marry. This is alright as long as her choice is right. As to the choice based on socialization between man and woman or unlawful courtship, it is undoubtedly a failing one. In this case, the guiding guardian, who takes in his consideration the benefit of his daughter or ward, should interfere. Prophet Muhammad said: “Any woman married off by an angry guardian, her marriage is invalid.”
If the guardian is fair, he should interfere, as his consent is beneficial not only for the girl in this case, but also it goes beyond that to include his family and clan. Islam stresses familial and social relations. The fact that Islam is the religion of equality is true and right, because it holds similar things as equal, it draws distinctions between contradictions, antitheses and differences. If it regards different things as equal it would be unfair and unjust. Man and woman are the same in terms of humanity, in reward and in punishment, in rights and in responsibility, and in many duties. The same applies to the marital home, as almighty God said: “And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable…” (Holy Qur’an: 2: 228). As man is responsible for work and expenditure for his family, and is exposed to more struggling in life, he was given an extra degree: “but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them” (Holy Qur’an: 2: 228). Almighty God also said: “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” (Holy Qur’an: 4: 34).
Suspicion comes from adopting corrupt criteria; difference in jobs leads to differences in concepts. When a European woman wants to work, earn her living, and spending money, as man does, undoubtedly she will demand equality. Troubles emerge from asking a woman to do what is not her duty. For this, and besides other reasons, Islam does not regard man and woman as equal in a variety of respects, including testimonies, inheritance, guardianship, custody, confinement after divorce, and the areas of the private parts of the body which should be covered, and the duty of expenditure, divorce, etc. It is a well know fact that organic and functional build of woman is different from that of the man. The French scientist Alex Carrel stated:
The difference between man and woman does not come from the particular shape of their genitalia, or from the presence of womb in woman, or from the method of education, as the difference is of a more important nature than this. The differences come from formation of texture itself, and from the fertilization of the body with specific chemical materials which the ovary exudes. Ignoring those essential facts by feminists led them to believe that both sexes should receive the same kind of education, and that both sexes should be given the same authorities and similar responsibilities. In fact, woman differs considerably from man, as every cell of her body carries the nature of her sex.

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Question 104: Since Islam is the religion of equality, why it gives man double what it gives to woman in matters of inheritance?
Answer 104: Islam gave man double what it gave to woman in inheritance for several reasons:
1. Man’s need for money is more than that of woman, because he is charged of the financial burdens of life which are double the burdens of woman. When he becomes adult, he is required to spend on himself (marriage expenses for example), at the time girl continues to be spent on by her guardian until she gets married. When she accepts to marry a man, her future husband gives her the marriage portion. When she gets married, her husband becomes in charge of spending on her.
2. Money is the nerve of life and proper management of finance is both an individualistic and collective duty. Man is often better at handling inherited money and better at managing and investing it.
3. Islam observed the possibility that the inheritors may share the inherited money: men mostly participate in running the business of their fathers, whom they inherited while women do not.
4. Giving man double the amount of the inheritance to woman man is not always the case, as both man and woman may get the same amount in some cases, as in the case of the brother of a mother, and the sister of a mother, and the father and mother from their son, if the son has inheriting descendents, and so on.
5. Inheritance is one of the forms of support, and men are much more supportive to their dependants more than women.

Question 105: Why does not an infidel brother inherit his Muslim brother, and vice versa?

Answer 105: Inheritance is an expression of loyalty, connection and relation. If the inheritor is different from the testator in terms of religion, there will not be guardianship or relation between them, since the most important relation is that of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Neither an infidel inherits a Muslim nor a Muslim inherits an infidel.”

[6] Prevention of inheritance is a prevention of the forms of sympathy and relation, both of which might corrupt the Muslim’s faith. When Islam prevents inheritance between a Muslim and an infidel, it affirms the rule “profit against loss” and vice versa, which does not negate justice, but a kind of equal treatment.

Question 106: Why does Islam prohibit an heir from inheriting his testator in case this latter was killed by his inheritor? In this case what is the fault of the killer’s children if they did not take part in the murder?

Answer 106: Depriving the killer from inheriting his testator is a kind of prevention of a greater evil, as there could be more murders of testators. It is also a treatment of man according to the opposite intention of the killer and punishing him in a similar kind. The jurisprudential rule for this is: “Anyone who makes haste to get something before it is the right time is punished by depriving him from it.” Depriving the killer from inheriting does not prevent his children from inheritance, as long as they are not prevented by other heirs because of other reasons of prevention, than killing.

Question 107: Why cannot a woman travel on her own, while man can? Why should she always be escorted by a mahram (unmarriageable relative man) if she wants to travel? Also, why she can not travel without her guardian’s consent?
Answer 107: A woman may travel without a mahram but only for short distancees–less than a day and a night. In case she wanted to take more than this, she is required to be accompanied by a mahram or by a trusty group. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “A woman may not travel for more than one day and night on her own without a mahram.”

[7] Islam disallows a woman from traveling on her own for a long distance for the sake of her safety, protection, reputation and to preventing any evil which might befall her. Of course she can always travel for any distance with a good company or a group of people provided that her safety is maintained and confirmed. Unless accompanied and/ or escorted by amahram a woman may not even travel to perform her pilgrimage, which is one of the greatest Islamic forms of worship.

Question 108: Why would a woman wait for the consent of her husband or the companionship of one of her unmarriageable relatives if she wants to perform pilgrimage, although pilgrimage is an obligatory duty for women as well as for men who are allowed to travel without the consent of their wives?
Answer 108: This Question has already been Answered (Answer 107). However, we can also say that God Himself out of mercy and compassion with His people wanted to make life easier for them people. Some scholars mentioned that one of the conditions for women to perform pilgrimage is to be accompanied by a mahram. This is not a condition of duty as much as a condition of performance. It is not a condition for acceptance: if she performs pilgrimage withoutmahram the pilgrimage is deemed to right and she would have fulfilled this ritual. But God did not oblige her to do what she could not do and she is rendered sinful if she dies without performing pilgrimage if she does not find an accompanying mahram or a trustworthy company.
The consent of the husband for the wife to go with one of her unmarriageable relatives to perform pilgrimage remains a controversial matter among religious scholars.

Question 109: Could you comment on the prophetic tradition which says: “The people who give the leadership to a woman would never be successful.”

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Answer 109: This tradition has its own historical context. It was stated by the prophet as a response to the political change in the crumbling Persian Empire in the 6th century. In a failing attempt to save their empire, the Persian crowned Khosrau’s daughter, Buran, as their leader. When the prophet learned about this incident, he (pbuh) said: “The people who give the leadership to a woman would never be successful.”
Some scholars interpret this saying according to its historical context only, that is when the prophet foretold the downfall and the breaking-up of the Persian Empire—which is an historical fact. However, there are scholars who take the words in a more general sense. They say that the authority of the woman will always be lacking because she might be exposed to difficult situations over which she might have no control because of her nature and weaknesses.

Question 110: Why does not Islam allow women to take judicial positions, i.e. become judges?

Answer 110: Depending on the prophetic hadith in Question 109, most scholars believe that women cannot become judges, because of the discrepancy of their nature as dealing with legal problems requires more reason than passion. However, Abu Hanifah, the well known leader of an Islamic school, stated that women may become judges but only in affairs where her testimony is indispensable and/or crucial. Ibn Jareer at-Tabari and the Malikis have no objection to women’s judicial positions.

Question 111: What is meant by the prophetic statement regarding women that they have “Women have their own deficiencies in both minds and religion”?

Answer 111: It has been reported that the prophet (pbuh) once addressed women by saying: “O womenfolk, give alms. I have seen that the majority of the people in hell are women.” The women asked: “O, Messenger of God, why?” He said: “You keep swearing, and deny your husbands, I have not seen people with incomplete minds and religions who could affect the mind of the strict men like you. Then they asked: “What is our lack of mind and religion, O, Messenger of God?” He said: “Is not the testimony of woman half that of a man?” They said: “Yes.” He said: “That is the lack in her mind.” He added: “Does not she abstain from praying and fasting when she has her period?” They said: “yes.” He concluded: “That is their lack of religion.” It is obvious from the Answer of the prophet that the lack of woman’s mind is in the matter of testimony, which needs control and affirmation. Man is more affirmative and controlling in this respect than woman. Also, he could afford to witness a crime more than a woman could do, that is because of the nature of woman who could not endure to do as a man can. A woman needs another woman’s testimony to confirm hers, as women are often busy with their children, and home, which usually distracts her mind and thinking. The first part of the tradition alludes to the cunning of women in some respect, that they affect the strict man’s mind. This is the most rhetorical description of women, as the self-controlled man is sometimes led by their intrigues. As such, one who is not self-controlled is more likely to be led by others.
As to the lack in woman’s religion, the prophet referred to that in the sense that when she menstruates, she neither prays nor fasts, which makes her more exposed to the devil’s insinuations. If she strengthens herself with supplication and giving alms, she will be more protected from the devil, God willing.
It has medically been proved that when a woman is menstruating, or in confinement she usually goes through an uncomfortable psychological and physical situation. This is a part of the prophetic miracle, as it shows us that woman is exposed to such emergent lack, which is not a permanent lack in the nature of woman.

Question 112: Prophet Muhammad said: “Woman was created from a bending rib.” What does this mean and is it also applicable on men?
Answer 112: This tradition has been mentioned to take care of women and not to prejudice them, as some might think. The original saying stated by the prophet in this respect was: “I command you to take care of women, as they were created from a rib, and if a rib bends, it does at the top part of it. If you try to straighten it, it breaks, and if you leave it, it will continue to be bending. Therefore, take care of women.”[9] This can be taken to mean: accept my command of women and behave accordingly. Take care of women and be kind when dealing with them, because of their delicate nature.
Traditions say that Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs, i.e. she came out of it as a palm tree comes out from a nucleus—something that has been affirmed by other heavenly religions.
The meaning of “the most bending part of the rib is its top” could be a reference to the most bending part of woman, which is her tongue. The tradition connotes that the woman has a definite nature according to which she was created; it is difficult to change natures and men should cope with this fact. Anyone who tries to straighten a bending rib will break it, and breaking means divorce and/or separation.
It is a fact that almighty God created Adam from earth and water (clay) and created woman from his (Adam’s) rib, and created the jinn from fire.

Question 113: Is it lawful for woman to enter the domain of political and parliamentary life? Is she allowed to vote to choose a certain ruler?
Answer 113: Within the framework of the Islamic law, it is quite possible for women to involve in political and/or parliamentary lives. She is also free to vote for the political ruler of her choice. Abdurrahman ibn `Awf consulted with women in their rooms when he was charged of choosing `Uthman or Ali as the third caliphate the death of Omar.

Question 114: Why does Islam consider the testimony of a woman half that of a man? Are not men and women treated equally well in Islam?

Answer 114: The number of witnesses has nothing to do with respecting the witness or humiliating him. This is due to the kind of testimony and its requirements. In many legal cases, especially those exclusively related to women, men’s testimonies are invalid; only the testimonies of women are to be accepted. This of course does not degrade men. Also there are cases where the testimonies of both men and women are accepted, because they have the same thing witnessed, like the proof of seeing the moon of the month of Ramadhan. There are also cases where the testimonies of men and women are accepted, but because of the lack of interest of women in them, and the probability of women’s forgetfulness, the testimonies of two women are equaled to one testimony of man. The aim here is to maintain right. The Holy Qur’an says: “…so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her.” (Holy Qur’an: 1: 282). This applies to financial matters; as it is the concern of men to work in markets, attend the contracts of financial negotiations, contrary to women who are not usually concerned with financial contracts.

Question 115: Isn’t it a savagery of Islam to order for the stoning of the married adulterer and whip the unmarried one?

Answer 115: There is no savagery in stoning a married adulterer and whipping an unmarried one, as their acts themselves are ones of bestiality and savagery. Adultery is a transgression of God’s right and natural law. All heavenly religions and conventions have agreed that adultery is heinous crime. Therefore, secular laws are not fair, and Islam’s incurring of such punishments, of the adulterer and adulteress, is to curb man from committing such crime.
The stoning of an adulterer had existed in the creed of the Jews before that of Islam in the books of the Old Testament (the creed of the Jews and the Christians), but the followers of those two religions changed that creed and the scriptures remained until the time of prophet Muhammad (pbuh). When two Jewish adulterers were brought him, he told them that their rule existed in their Torah, but they concealed it from him. To this denial God revealed to His prophet the following Qur’anic verse: “But how do they come to you for decision while they have he Torah, in which is the (plain) Decision of God; yet even after that, they turn away. For they are not (really) believers” (Holy Qur’an: 5: 43). The punishment of the unmarried adulterer according to the Jewish faith was to soil his/her face with black color and to make him/her ride backwardly on an animal while it is led through streets of the village, town or city.
Inflicting a painful punishment on the adulterer and adulteress is not a savage matter, especially after discovering its destructive effects, which threaten societies with perdition. AIDS, syphilis, leukorrhea, to mention only few, are well know fatal diseases which are caused by illegal practices of sex.

Question 116: Why does Islam restrict woman with niqab (hijab)? Is not that a form of humiliating woman in every way in life? Is not faith in the heart? Is not it lawful for woman to enjoy the bliss of eyesight?

Answer 116: Islam commanded woman to use the veil in order to protect and maintain her from harm and aggression. She is like a jewel that is to be wrapped up with the finest pieces of cloth, and placed in the most protected location, far away from the hands of the corrupted people. This explanation is testified by almighty God’s words:
“O, Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And God is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Holy Qur’an: 33: 59).
This means the following:
1. Islam in its creed surrounds the woman with a halo of decency, which goes with her nature of instinctive shyness—something that exists in every heavenly religion. In Christianity, for example, a nun is made to be dressed decently, a way which is different from other women in her religion, whereas Islam made this rule apply to every woman, as religion is meant to be for all and not specific to a particular section, and this is the way in all of its rules.
2. It is true that faith lies in the heart, but man’s action and behaviour are supposed to testify to faith or belie. Commitment to God’s commands is a proof of the existence of faith, and violating almighty God’s commands is a proof of the absence of faith and its weakness.
3. Islam does not prevent woman from enjoying any bliss, provided that the bliss is lawful. Hence, Islam does not prohibit women from enjoying lawful eyesight. Unlawful eyesight mostly lead to unlawful things, and what might be deemed to be a joy becomes a killing arrow, and a sigh in the heart. Islamic philosophy is based on the injunction of preventing evil, for everything that leads to unlawful things is unlawful.

And Allah knows the Best