Fathwa - Breaking one's fast at home after intending to travel

Question
I am a Moroccan citizen and I live in Spain. This year, praise be to
Allaah The Almighty, we spent eleven days of Ramadhaan in our homeland
and then we intended to travel to our place of residence in Spain. Out
of my desire toact upon the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, mentioned
that Allaah The Almighty Likes that His concessions are used, until
the end of the Hadeeth where he mentioned that it is uponus to use His
concessions that He Permitted for us, we ate on the day of our travel
while we were still at home. We did so after Iconsulted the book,
Tayseer Fiqh As-Siyaam, by the prominent scholar Yoosuf Al-Qaradhaawi.
When we were on board the ship, some people began to break their fast
from among those who were fasting at the time of Iftaar )i.e. Athaan
of Al-Maghrib(. Thus, we feltas if we had abandoned the fasting of a
day in Ramadhaan. Do we only have to make up for this day?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His slave and messenger.
If your journey to Spain is permissible like for studying or
performing permissible work and thelike, then you may break your fast
in Ramadan andshorten the four Rak'ah prayers while travelling. Eating
at your home before leaving the houses of the village where you live
is allowedby some scholars. However, many of them said that one may
not break his fast until he began his journey by overstepping the last
houses of his village.
Ibn Qudaamahsaid in Al-Mughni: "Whoever intends to travel should not
shorten his prayers unless he leaves the last houses of his village
and makes sure that they are behind him. This is the opinion
ofMaalik,Ash-Shaafi'i,Al-Awzaa'i,Is-haaq,Abu Thawrand itwas narrated
to have been adopted by a groupof theTaabi'oon. It was reported that
'Ataa' andSolymaan Ibn Moosa, may Allaah haver mercy upon them, held
it permissible to shorten prayers at home for whoever intended to
travel.Al-Haarith Ibn Abi Rabee'ahintended totravel so he led some
people in his home in a two Rak'ah prayer. These people
includedAl-AswadIbn Yazeedand more than one of the companions
of'Abdullaah.'Ubayd Ibn Jabrsaid: 'I was withAbu Basrah Al-Ghafaariin
a ship in the month of Ramadan. The ship beganto move and his meal was
prepared. He did notoverstep the houses when he ordered his meal and
said: 'Come on.' I replied: 'Do you not see the houses?'Abu
Basrahsaid: 'Do you refrain from abiding by the Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allaah?' So, he ate. This was narrated byAbu Daawood.
Moreover, Allaah The Almighty Says)what means(: }And when you travel
throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the
prayer.{ ]Quran 4:101[ This means that one should have started his
journey in order to shorten the prayers. It was narrated that the
Prophet, usedto start shortening prayers when he left
Al-Madeenah.Anassaid: "I offered four Rak'ahs of Thuhr prayer withthe
Prophet, at Al-Madeenah and two Rak'ahs at Thul-Hulayfah)i.e.
shortened the Asr prayer(." ]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[Abu Basrahdid not
eat until the ship moved and the fact that 'he did not overstep the
houses' means that they were not yet so far from them as'Ubaydtold
him: 'Do you not see the houses?' If that is known, then it is
permissible for him to shorten prayers even if he is near the houses."
Therefore, if you have eaten at your home after intending to travel
out offollowing those who say that this is permissible from among the
people of knowledge, then you are not sinful, Allaah Willing. However,
it is preferable to act upon the opinion of the majority because it is
safer. In any case, you should make up for the day in which you broke
your fast during your journey.
Allaah Knows best.

Fathwa - Fasting a day to complete)the fasting of( Ramadhaan if people differ concerning fasting it

Question
What is the ruling on fasting a day to completeRamadhaan if people
differ concerning fasting it? When should fasting be observed if this
is valid?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His slave and messenger.
Whoever misses a day of Ramadhaan should make up for it. Making it up
should not be on a specific day but he should make up for it before
the following Ramadhaan. The questioner said: "If people differ
concerning fasting it". This means that people are differing with
regards to the beginning or end of the month. If the country does not
depend, in determining the beginning or end of the month, upon
astronomical calculationsbut rather on an actual sighting and they saw
the moon and fasted twenty nine days, then they have done what they
were ordered to do. Their fasting is correct and the doubt does not
matter.
However, if they depend upon astronomical calculations and their
fasting was less than what it should be according to the moon sighting
or completing Sha'baan, then they should fast the missed days whether
one or twodays.
Allaah Knows best.

Protecting children from sexual abuse - II

What every Muslim parent needs to know about sexual abuse
Sexual abuse is a scary word. When most people hear the phrase, they
immediately cut off emotionally and stop listening. Why? People are
afraid because they don't know much about the topic and do not want to
feel powerless. We hope and pray that this will never happen to
ourchildren, but Allaah has given us a brain and we are supposed to
use it. Like the well-stated Prophetic narrationnarrated by Ibn
Hibbaanthat a man asked the Prophetwhether he should fetter his camel
or would dependence on Allaah suffice in retaining the beast.
TheProphetanswered:"Fetter it and depend )on Allaah(."This direct
command given by the Prophetleaves no doubt as tothe necessity of
working the cause while adopting dependence on Allaah.
It is our responsibility to educate ourselves on this topic so that
wecan check Qadar )Islamic view of Divine preordainment( with Qadar.
Take a look at the following statement regarding Qadar and our
responsibility to act.
It had been narrated that 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaabwent back with the
people and did not enter Syria when the plague spread there. Abu
'Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraahsaid to 'Umar: "O Ameerul- Mu'mineen )the
Commander of the Believers(, are you running away from the Decree of
Allaah?" 'Umarsaid:"If only someone other than you had said this, O
Abu 'Ubaydah! Yes, we are running away from the Decree of Allaah
towards the Decree of Allaah. Do you not see that if you had a camel
and you came to a valley where there were two patches of land, one
green and fertile, and the other dry and barren, if you let it graze
in the green land, you do so by the decree of Allaah, and if you let
it graze in the dry land, you doso by the decree of
Allaah"]Al-Bukhaari[
Closing our eyes and hiding away from the topic is really like giving
up. Obviously, Allaah has granted us with the capacity to use our
brain, so we must act. Child sexual abuse is when the child is used at
an object for some kind of sexual satisfaction by an adult or older
child )by five years old(. The abuser uses manipulation, threats,
exploitation and even physical force.
Let's look at the different ways inwhich the predator takes advantage
of his victims.
1.Manipulation:"I will take you to the zoo if you take off your
clothes and play with me"
2.Exploitation:"I love you very much and I want to show you how much I
love you."
3.Blackmail:"I will tell your father that you were naughty if you
don't let me play this game with you, of course they are going to
believe me because you are always telling lies."
The sexual abuser is seriously sickand will continue abusing children
sexually until he is caught. His senses are heightened because he is
following his perverted desires without caring about who he hurts to
satisfy himself sexually. He is swimming in a sea of sin and
oppression where an evil thing is the most attractive way of
fulfilling his insecure desires. His perverted desires have taken him
to levels that are hard to ever imagine. And the children that he
touches are scared forever unless they let their parents or trust
family members know what is happening.
The child must be empowered; this is his right to stand up for his
Allaah-given rights not to be abused. They have a right to be
educated.
Trust and honor are very sacred in Islam. Because these are powerful
tools, this is one of the main tools of the offender. They will start
to develop friendship with the child trying to be someone special in
the child's life. He is skating on thin ice, but his perverted
satisfaction is like a hungry lion looking for food, never satisfied
completely until he has manipulated this trust in order to fulfill his
or her sexual gratification.
It is important not to stereotype these offenders. They are from every
kind of background. They encompass all races and socio-economic
groups. Though the rate of sexual abuse is lower in Muslim countries,
it does not mean that it doesn't happen. So whether you live in a
non-Muslim country or a Muslim country you need to know this
information.
The Prophetsaid:"Each of youis a shepherd and each of you is
responsible for his flock. The leader is a shepherd and is responsible
for his flock; a man isthe shepherd of his family and is responsible
for his flock; a woman is the shepherd in the house of her husband and
is responsible for her flock…"]Al-Bukhaari, Muslim and others[
It is imperative that parents never ever believe the lies that
children secretly want to be abused. This is one of the most violating
acts that a child could ever feel in his or her life. Generally
speaking, most sexual abusers are older and understandwhat they are
doing. It is imperative that you never ever blame a child for the
offense. A parent's reaction can have everlasting effects on the child
either way. They could either lower the rope to help the child out of
the deep dark hole, or theycould be the one who lets him rot forever
in shame and guilt that affects the child possibly for the rest of his
or her life.
A Muslim poet once wrote,
"Our children are our hearts, walking among us on the face of the
earth. If even a little breeze touches them, we cannot sleep for
worrying about them."
In addition, children do not lie about being sexually abused. Children
do not make up stories that are scary and ugly. It is far from
anything they could imagine.
Generally speaking, the offender is very secretive about these abuses.
In order to protect the child he needs to coherce through the above
methods so there will not be any evidence of a fight. If there were
bruises or marks, this would incriminate the abuser.
It is impetrative that children are empowered by knowing that their
body is theirs, staying in tune with what kind of touch is ok, having
the right to stand up to the offender, and letting him or her know
there are no secrets and he or she is going to tell. It isour
responsibility to let our children know that they can tell us about
what has happened to them.
Part three will deal with the typical characteristics of the sexual abuser.

Preparing for puberty

Learn why it is so important to talk to your child about sexuality
from an Islamic perspective, and how you can help take the lows out of
growing-up.
Talking to teenager about sexuality
Your child has just turned 11 years old; over time you begin to notice
subtle changes in the way that she looks, acts, and talks. Her body
begins to show signs of maturation, she is rather moody, and
conversations with her seem to be more adult-like. Your child, or
rather 'young lady', is just nowentering the first stages of puberty
and experiencing the wonderful changes that it brings.As a parent, it
is important to prepare your child for this phase of life, and it is
also crucial from the Islamic perspective. Once she has reached
puberty, she will no longer be considered a child free of
responsibility. Instead, she willbe an adult with all of the
obligations of Islam placed upon her. Spiritually, her relationship
with Allaah will grow and develop, and she will be accountable for all
of her choices,actions, and intentions.
Although we are able to train ouryouth for the religious and spiritual
aspects of this phase, we often neglect to teach them about another
important element – sexuality. Our neglect may be due to shyness,
discomfort, fear, or worry, but it is something that must be done for
the sake of our youth. Young adult Muslims have actually related that
they wished someone )i.e., a parent, relative, Imaam( would have
spoken to them about the Islamic perspective on sexuality and dealing
with the opposite gender. They have so many questions about this new
passage in their life, but are oftenafraid to ask. It is imperative
thatMuslim parents discuss with and educate their youth on this
issue;otherwise their child may turn to other sources that are likely
to beun-Islamic. It is actually the responsibility of parents to
undertake this task, as it is part of the overall education, or
training of a child. We must also consider how much our involvement
will benefit our youth, because adequate preparation for the changes
they are about to experience will lessen their worry, anxiety, and
fear.
What should you say?
The following are some key points to consider when imparting
information about sexuality to youth, and are also good points to draw
on when discussing it with them.
1. Sexuality is a beautiful gift from Allaah
Sexuality is a blessing given to us from Allaah, Almighty. It is
obviously for the purpose of procreation, but it is a mercy from
Allaah, Almighty, that there is also enjoyment and satisfaction that
comes with it. The relationship between man and woman in all spheres
highlights Allaah's Graciousness. Allaah, Almighty, Says )what
means(:"And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves
mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you
affection andmercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give
thought."]Quran 30: 21[
Thus, sexuality is one componentin a loving and affectionate
relationship between husband and wife. It is not something shameful or
disgraceful, but is rather part of Allaah's wondrous, universal plan.
2. Sexuality is a test and also a responsibility
Although sexuality is a gift from Allaah, along with many other things
in life, it is also a test and it entails responsibility. Allaah,
Almighty, determines, at the age of puberty, that an individual is
ready for this test. The test determines whether or not a person will
submit to Allaah and His laws in this sphere of life. To pass this
test, the satisfaction of one's sexual urge must be fulfilled in pure
and legitimate ways )within the bond of marriage(; to fail the test is
to engage in illegitimate sexual relations and those actions and
thoughts leading up to it. There are strict guidelines in the
Sharee'ah )Islamic Law( for our sexual life, even in relation to other
issues such as Hijaab, privacy and our social behavior. Many of these
are a means of prevention, which is the most effective mechanism. This
matter is a very serious one, and should be treated as such, for the
consequences are quite severe if it is neglected.
3. Sexuality and marriage are inseparable
To assist in successful completionof the test, Allaah, Almighty,
through His Mercy, has provided legitimate means to satisfy sexual
desire. Marriage is stronglyemphasized in Islam for this reason )as
well as many others( as indicated in the following Prophetic
narrations. The Prophetsaid: "Whoever marries has completed half of
his faith; so let him have fear of Allaah in the remaining
half."]At-Tabaraani[ Healso said:"He who can afford to marry should
marry, because itwill help him to lower his gaze)from looking at
forbidden things and other women( and save his private parts )from
committing illegal sexual acts( and he who cannot afford to marry is
advised to observe fasting, as fasting will diminish his sexual
power."]Al-Bukhaari[
Islam encourages marriage as a legal sexual outlet and as a shieldand
protection from immorality. Marriage should not be postponed, as is
common practice in this time, particularly if the youth has strong
sexual desire. The fulfillment and satisfaction of this desire is one
of the main purposes of marriage, and it should not be postponed or
suppressed for the sake of further education or reaching a certain
age, especially if the temptation for illicit relations is present.