Engagment, - Dought& clear, - * She is refusing those who propose marriage – could it be sihr (witchcraft)?

I am a 28 years old girl. Religious and cultured, everyone respects
and loves me, Alhamdulillah. I am not married, and the reason is that
whenever anyone proposes to me I try to find any mistakes in him; to
refuse his proposal, and then I regret. I have a friend who I trust a
lot. She loves me and loves to see every good happening to me. Few
days ago she said to me: "the reason why you refuse everyone is a
spell on you by a person who does not want you to marry", I want to
know the Islamic ruling on my matter. Can it really be sihr? I mean:
can someone put a spell on me to make me refuse marriage even if I was
persuaded by the person who wants to marry me? If this is right then
what is the solution? She told me also that there are people who can
break this spell. Please help me as I frankly do not believe this.
-
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
One of two scenarios must apply with regard to the suitor whom you are
rejecting:
1 – He actually does have bad characteristics.
2 – That is an illusion on your part, and is not actually the case.
If the former is true, then you have done well to reject him and not
accept him as a husband. No husband is fit for a woman except one who
is religiously committed and of good character; he is the one who can
guide her to do good and help her to obey her Lord, and raise her
children in the best manner.
But we must draw attention to something that is very important, which
is that it is not up to people to judge what is inside people's
hearts, and no one is enjoined to do that. Even the Messenger of
Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "I have
not been commanded to check people's hearts or split open their
bellies (meaning checking what is in their hidden thoughts)."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4351) and Muslim (1064).
As we are not enjoined to do that, how people appear outwardly to be
is sufficient for us. If someone appears to us to be good, we trust
him, and we judge him as he appears to be, and his case is up to
Allaah.
It was narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Utbah said: I heard 'Umar ibn
al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) say: "People used to be
judged by the wahy (revelation) at the time of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but now the wahy has
ceased. Now we will judge you according to what we see of your outward
deeds. Whoever appears good to us, we will trust him and draw close to
him, and what is in his heart has nothing to do with us. Allaah will
call him to account for what is in his heart. And whoever appears bad
to us, we will not trust him and we will not believe him, even if he
says that inwardly he is good." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2641.
Soon, if you examine people and try to find out how they are inside,
no one will be good enough for you. Look at yourself first: are you
free of the things that you look for in others?
It was narrated that Mu'aawiyah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
I heard the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) say: "If you seek out people's faults you will soon corrupt
them or almost corrupt them."
Abu'l-Darda' said: A word that Mu'aawiyah heard from the Messenger of
Allaah by which Allaah benefited him.
Narrated by Abu Dawood (4888) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
Al-Manaawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Because people indulge
in gossip and may accuse others of something that has no basis.
Seeking out suspected faults may lead to the very faults that he wants
to remove.
To sum up: The Lawgiver seeks to conceal wherever possible.
Fayd al-Qadeer(1/559).
So our advice to you, and to all our sisters who are looking for a
suitable husband, is that the woman should not be so strict in the
conditions that should be met by the husband with regard to character
and religious commitment, for two reasons:
1 – She may not herself have the level of religious commitment and
beauty that would make men who are of good character and religious
commitment seek her out and propose to her. In that case there is no
justification for her refusal, because it may be impossible or very
difficult for the one who she imagines to come and seek her as a wife.
She should pay attention to this matter because it is important.
2 – People vary in their character and level of religious commitment.
If there comes to her one who is of good character and religiously
committed, she should realize that there are some who are better then
him and others to whom he is superior. Hence she should accept one who
is god enough to be her husband and help her to keep chaste and direct
her to that which is good.
If the latter is the case, then it is more likely that it is caused by
destructive envy (hasad) or witchcraft. This kind of witchcraft is
called sihr al-ta'teel. You can find out if this is the case if the
one who proposed marriage is of good character and religiously
committed, and has no faults, and you accept him and he accepts you,
but then nothing happens, or you reject him for no apparent reason.
Shaykh 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jibreen (may Allaah preserve
him) said:
As for witchcraft that prevents marriage: women often complain of sihr
al-ta'teel, as marriage does not happen even though the conditions are
met and there are no impediments. Suitors may come and be accepted,
but then they go away without anything being achieved. Undoubtedly
this is due to a reason caused by some enviers to prevent the marriage
from being completed, to the extent that some girls remain without
marriage and if the marriage does go ahead in some cases, there
happens something to prevent the couple from getting along and having
a happy life.
Al-Sawaa'iq al-Mursalah fi Tasaddi li'l-Musha'widheena wa'l-Sahrah(p. 175).
Secondly:
The solution in both cases is easy, in sha Allaah. If it is the matter
of you being too strict about the qualities that you want in a
husband, then you should realize that the solution to this problem is
to accept a husband who has the qualities of manliness, love of good
and religious commitment that prevent him from doing haraam things.
People vary in this, so accept the one who is commended to you by a
sincere and trustworthy advisor who is a good and religiously
committed person, and knows your situation and that of the suitor.
Perhaps Allaah will cause him to be good for you.
If you have been afflicted with the evil eye or a spell has been
worked against you, the solution lies in dealing with it in the ways
prescribed in sharee'ah, which we have explained in the answers to
question no. 13792, 11290and 12918.
There is no need to look for people to undo the spell; reciting
Qur'aan and ruqyahs is something that you can do by yourself. If you
are not able to do that, then look for a sister whose religious
commitment you trust to do that for you, and try to keep away from
men.
We ask Allaah to help you to do all that is good, and we ask Him to
make you steadfast in adhering to His religion, and to bless you with
a righteous husband.
And Allaah knows best.

Engagment, - Dought& clear, - * He loves a girl and her father agrees to them marrying but her mother refuses

I love a girl who is related to me but her mother does not agree to
giving her to me in marriage, but her father agrees to everything.
What is your answer? I am still keeping her picture.
-
Praise be to Allaah.
What counts in order for a marriage to be valid is the consent of the
woman's wali (guardian), which is her father in this case. As for the
mother, it is not essential that she give her permission or consent,
but it is recommended for the father to consult her as a sign of
respect towards her.
Based on this, if the father of the girl agrees, then he can arrange
the marriage contract with you, but is it right to go ahead with this
marriage? That depends. If the girl is religiously committed and of
good character, and the mother's refusal is based on minor reasons or
something that can be rectified in the future, then there is nothing
wrong with going ahead with this marriage. But if her refusal is based
on something that cannot be rectified soon, then it is better not to
go ahead with this marriage, because the mother's attitude may affect
your married life.
Determining what is best in this case needs an examination of the
details of the matter. But in general terms we may say that it needs
you to weigh up the pros and cons, and to look at the nature of the
girl and how much she is influenced by her mother's attitude, if she
will put pressure on her or tell her to go against you. As for your
saying that you are still keeping her picture, if what you mean is
that you have a photo of her, this is not permissible for two reasons:
1 – She is a stranger (non-mahram) to you, so it is not permissible
for you to look at her. This looking is one of the doors that lead to
fitnah. Hence Islam enjoins lowering the gaze, as it says in the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden
things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts).
That is purer for them. Verily, Allaah is All‑Aware of what they do"
[al-Noor 24:30]
2 – It is not permissible to keep photos for memories, even if they
are pictures of one's sons and daughters or mahrams, because of the
general meaning of the evidence which indicates that making images is
haraam, and the stern tone of that evidence. It is not permissible to
take pictures of animate beings except in cases of necessity and
urgent need, such as ID photos and pictures of criminals and so on.
Based on this, you have to get rid of this picture and understand that
Allaah is watching you and can see you, so fear Allaah and fear His
punishment, and conceal the 'awrah of believing women, and wish for
them what you would wish for your own family of concealment and well
being.
Do not marry until you ask Allaah for guidance (istikhaarah).
We ask Allaah to guide you.
And Allaah knows best.