Teaching Faith and Prayer
365 questions
How can the Hadith "Were it not that I would overburden my Ummah, I would have ordered them to perform ablution for every prayer" be reconciled with the Hadith "No one maintains his ablution except a believer"?
What must someone who is a heavy sleeper and does not wake up to an alarm for the Dhuhr prayer do so that he is not negligent in missing the prayer?
How can a person truly rely on Allah Almighty from within, despite the presence of intrusive thoughts and images that become an internal belief difficult to get rid of?
Is it permissible for a father to take his children and travel with them to an Arab country for fear of their being influenced by their irreligious mother who is teaching them an incorrect doctrine?
1. Does publishing video clips of course activities and children's recitations on YouTube with the intention of pleasing parents and friends negate the reward and constitute showing off (riya')? 2. Is it permissible to hold separate circles for males and females in the same small mosque with the mingling of children below the age of discernment, and is hearing women's recitations while they are teaching children considered unlawful (haram)? 3. Is participating in Mawlid and Ashura celebrations in Turkish mosques that include innovations (bid'ahs) considered a sin, and is it permissible to eat the food distributed therein? 4. Must the questioner leave the course due to the insistence of some supervisors on teaching children songs accompanied by music, and clapping for outstanding students, despite their need for Quranic education? 5. Is it permissible for menstruating women to sit in the prayer area (musalla) to teach the Quran due to the shortage of supervisors, and do all areas designated for the mosque (such as the main prayer area, the mosque courtyard, and the women's section) take on the ruling of a mosque for menstruating women?
How sound is the attribution of the saying: "Let none of you say: 'I will not supplicate until my faith is complete.' For he is between two matters: either he dies and his faith is not yet complete, or a day comes and he says: 'My faith is complete,' then let him know that he has gone astray" to Ibn Taymiyyah?
What are the causes and solutions for losing the blessing of Fajr prayer in congregation?
Is the questioner sinful for shunning an old friend who used to abandon prayer, then grew more averse to religion, to the point of mocking God's rituals, knowing that the friend thinks the shunning is due to a worldly dispute, while the questioner fears the warning mentioned in the Hadith: "The gates of Paradise are opened on Monday and Thursday, and forgiveness is granted to every servant who does not associate anything with Allah, except for a man who has a dispute with his brother. It is said: 'Wait for these two until they reconcile'"?
Is it permissible to sit in gatherings of backbiting while being preoccupied from them, and to go out to the mixed market with men without need?
What is your comment on the preacher's statement that one of the reasons for criticizing committed Muslims is their eagerness to grow a beard before disciplining themselves, and is it permissible for someone who wishes to become religiously committed to delay growing his beard until he strives against his ego in other matters?
What are the practical ways to achieve the contemplation (tadabbur) about which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "An hour of contemplation is better than a year of worship"?
What is the ruling on a woman who fasts, prays, and performs night vigil, but harms people with her tongue and ruins her children's homes?
Are intrusive thoughts of doubt about the existence of God and thinking of abandoning prayer, despite trying to repel them and seeking refuge from them, considered apostasy?
What is the ruling on using a church as a hall for Muslim children's activities if it is free of crosses and statues, and there are only images of faces on the ceiling?
Is it permissible to perform Salatul-Istikhara in the middle of university studies for a major that was not previously prayed for through Istikhara?
Are the aforementioned sayings—such as obtaining Al-Hoorein (maidens of Paradise) by removing harm, that whistling summons the devil, and that not wearing the Islamic head covering brings the devil to sit on one's head—correct?
How can a Muslim reach the highest Paradise (Firdaws al-A'la) and attain the status of Prophets and Companions, especially with the absence of jihad and the fear of not being able to achieve their deeds, and will the blessings of the people of Firdaws be equal?
What is the advice offered to the semi-committed who outwardly commit for the purpose of achieving worldly gains, and stop committing or apostatize if these gains are not realized, or abandon prayer if they achieve what they desire from this world?
What is the response to those who say we pray Fajr whenever we wake up, citing the hadith "The pen is lifted from three," and the saying of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: "Indeed, our souls are in the hand of Allah; if He wills, He awakens us," and the hadith of Safwan, and the hadith "Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it"?
How should we deal with the spread of reprehensible acts that people consider normal, such as shaving the beard and letting one's garment hang below the ankles (isbal)? And is it obligatory to denounce everyone who commits these acts in public places?
What should you do if you discover flaws in your fiancé that make him unsuitable for you and not helpful in your obedience to Allah, and with every attempt to break off the engagement and seek Allah's guidance through Istikhara, difficulties arise? And if you break off the engagement, would you be disobedient to Allah for choosing something other than what He chose for you? And is it necessary to abandon reason to obey Allah?
What is your opinion of someone who says that the verse: "And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment" does not apply to all of the Companions, citing as proof the verse that follows it: "And among those around you of the bedouins are hypocrites, and among the people of Madinah are some who have become accustomed to hypocrisy. You, [O Muhammad], do not know them, [but] We know them. We will punish them twice, and then they will be returned to a great punishment"? And how can this claim be refuted?
What is the fate of the children of believers and polytheists who died young?
Is it obligatory to denounce every sin with the tongue, hand, or heart to avoid falling into the sin of being content with sin, or is there some flexibility in the matter such that the sin is not incurred directly, especially if the one committing the sin is excused?