Fathwa, - Responsibilities regarding womenfolk

Question:
As salaam alaikum,
Shaykh, my question isregarding sisters. If one's sister is not
married and, due to her fussy nature, seems unlikely to marry in the
near future, does the responsibility of her welfare lie upon the
father's shoulders? Taking into consideration the fact that she is in
her mid 30's and her father is in his mid 60's. She works and
socializes as she wishes, but she is punctual regarding Salaah etc.
And I know for certain she only socialises with fellow Muslimahs. The
fact that she has refused allproposals given, does this make my father
sinful and will the sin in-turn fall upon me her younger brother (but
the eldest of two brothers). Also, I intend to study abroad, would the
responsibility of my sister fall upon my head if my father was to pass
away, taking into consideration the independent nature of women (my
sister most definitely included) in the West. For example I am almost
certain she would not travel abroad with me, and I probably wouldn't
be able to afford it (myself being married).
Shaykh, sorry for the awkward way I have written my question, it's
more a query needing advice than a formal question. Anyhow, thanks for
taking the time to consider and hopefullyprovide a solution to my
situation.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Dear Brother,
1. Refusing marriage:
Your sister's refusal to get married is not a sin. Your father is also
not responsible if his daughter refuses to get married. You also do
not incur any sin if your sister keeps refusing marriage. That is her
prerogative.
2. According to a previous answer by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam
al-Kawthari, your father is generally required to support his grown
daughter, provided he is able and she is in need of support.However,
he may ask his daughter to assist in her maintenance, although he may
not ask her to work outside the home. Please visit Fiqh of
financially supporting one's parents and other relatives.
3. If your father passes away, you will be required to support
yoursister only if you are ableand she is poor and unmarried. Your
first priority is supporting your wife and children. After that, if
you are able, then you should provide for your sister if she is
unmarried. Once again, you may ask her to help out, but you cannot
demand that she work outside the home.
Last but not least, it's best to come to some sort of arrangement that
is beneficial to everyone.If your sister has no problem with working,
then it may be advisable for her to contribute to her upkeep,
especially if your father is getting along in years. In fact, if your
father is himself in need of support, then both you and your sister
must support him, regardless of her marital status.
I pray this helps.
And Allah knows best.

Fathwa, - Education and Family life

Question:
If a woman is married while she was studying in a professional college
and by the blessings ofAllah she becomes a mother, what is she
supposed to do regarding her education? Her family is pressuring her
to go back to college. However, her husband wants her to be a
housemaker and just relax at home and takecare of the household, baby
and him. She feels bad when people ask her about her degree; she has
to tell them that because of marriage and the new baby she had to
discontinue school. She doesn't even have a bachelors degree yet.How
does she deal with uncertainties about the future and the importance
of a Muslim woman supporting herself in case of divorce, death, or
husband's unemployment.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum,
I pray that you and your family are doing well.
A nice reminder to your family is in order here. It's fine for them to
offer advice; however, it's another thing entirely for them to
pressure you.You have a baby to care of, a husband to look after, and
a home to run.This, in itself, is a full-time job and then some. Your
family needs to learn to accept the fact that you are a wife and
mother. You have entered a different phase of your life. Consequently,
they need to be informed, in a nice way, that pressuring you to go
back to school is simply not what you need right now. What you do need
is for them to be supportive of where you are, right now.
Second, you need to put a stop to these corrosive thoughts which are
damaging your self-esteem.. The worth of a human being is not in her
college degree. I realize that finishing school would give you a sense
of achievement. However, you need to focus on what you have already
accomplished. Alhamdulillah, you are a mother, which is one of the
highest stations a woman can achieve in this world and the next. You
are a wife. Your husband sounds like a dependable, responsible man.
These are all things to be grateful for. So please spend more time
focusing on what you have, not what you lack.
Third, going back to school has many benefits. If you would like to
pursue your goal of school in the future, then by all means, start
planning for it. If you think you'd like to go back to school now,
that's fine as well. However, you need to include your husband in your
decision. He is entitled to ask you to stay home while the baby is
still a baby. However, it is also prudent to complete your education
so that you have the skills to take care of your family. I am firm
believer that a woman should be equipped to provide for herself and
her children. I would suggest drawingup a plan to see how youcan meet
these goals. Forexample, you and your husband might decide that you
will go back to school once your baby is weaned. Or you might decide
to wait until your child is ready for preschool. Again, this decision
has to be made by both you and your husband, taking into account the
baby's best interests. It is possible to finish school, even while
your children are young, provided that you have agood support system.
Don't forget to pray Salat al-Istikhara, no matter what you decide.
May Allah Ta'ala guide you to what is best.

Fathwa, - Desire to seek high level of Islamic Knowledge vs current Occupation

Question:
I am a convert to Islamas of 1995, alHamdulillah, and a doctor by
occupation. Iam specialising in obstetrics and gynecology, and have
insha'Allah 3 more years full time before I am fully qualified. I have
been married 3 years and we have twochildren together. My husband and
I have begun the path to self improvement and acquisition of our fard
'ain with classes, including those at Sunnipath in fiqh and (for me)
Arabic, since I am limited in my ability to travel with young children
and work etc. Over the last year or so, I have begun to become quite
disillusioned with my work, and began feeling more strongly than
before that I want to seek Islamic knowledge to a (high) level, and be
the best Muslim (wife, mother, person) I can be. Also, I have
increasingly had a desire to learn more so that I can teach my
children their fard 'ain etc. I know that I did not undertake my job
lightly, and that it is a fard kifayah, and I am also blessed with a
husband who is very supportive of this job, but I don't know what to
do. Due to our circumstances, we don't envisage being able to go to an
Arab country for at least a decade to live and study, and so at
present we are limitedto learning from teachers here, as well as
SunniPath. I just keep thinking, of the time I converted, whenI was
given the opportunity to go to al-Azhar to study fiqh and become a
faqih by the organisation I was involved with. I was also concurrently
offered medicine, and chose the latter because it had been my lifelong
dream. I know everything happens for a reason, but I suppose I need
encouragement to continue, if it is the right thing, versus even
stopping, and being a full time mum. Please advise. Jazak Allahu
khayr.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah
Blessings and salutations to our beloved Messenger
Dear Sister,
Assalamu alaikum,
I pray this reaches you ingood health and spirits.
Thank you for sharing this information; nonetheless, I can't makethis
decision for you. Whatever path you take, remember that Allah Most
High does not place upon us a burden greater than we can bear.
Try not to live with regret. You chose the decision that reflected
your lifelong dream. You should learn to accept that decision and see
thebenefit in it. We Muslim women have a definite need for observant,
practicing female Muslimdoctors. There's certainlya lot of good you
can do with your skills and training.
If your heart is simply not in medicine, however, then you have the
freedom to leave the field and stay home with your children. However,
don't live in the past. Instead, look to the future. To that end, you
should make Salat al-Istikhara, then draw up a plan for how you might
pursue your new dream of studying Sacred Knowledge.
With a husband and children to relocate overseas, you will have some
challenges on your hands. But given your training in medicine and the
academic rigor required, I'm sure you're prepared to meet any
challenges that lie ahead.
Again, I am not telling you to finish your medical degree. And I amnot
suggesting that you leave medicine. What I am suggesting is that you
ask Allah to give you contentment and the best of this world and the
hereafter in whatever choice you make.
And Allah knows best.

Satan Directs AtheisticFreemasonry

Ever since the time of the Prophet Adam (as), satan has tried to
mislead people always by the same deception. This deception, that
denies belief in Allah and suggests that all things came into being by
chance, is Darwinism. Atheistic freemasonry is a satanic organization
that has also been around since the time of the Prophet Adam (as). And
this system of the antichrist uses satan's worst snare to deceive
people. The system of the antichrist, atheistic freemasonry, that
takes nature and blind chance as its god, is a heretical religion that
actually serves satan alone.
Madame Petrovna Blavatsky, the founder ofthe New Age movement and a
32nddegree mason from the French Grand Orient Lodge, saysthis on the
subject:
... It is satan who is the god of our planet and the only
god...[Surely Allah is beyond that.]1
The Masonic writer Eliphas Levi openly statesthat their leader is
Baphomet, in other words, satan. One interesting passage fromEliphas
Levi reads:
… The intellectual Lucifer(satan)… is the Holy Spirit, while the
physicalLucifer is the great agent of universal magnetism.2
Albert Pike's book Moralsand Dogma is still recommended to members of
the Scottish Rite in the USA, and he is described as the Plato of
atheistic freemasonry byeminent atheist masons. Pike, a 33rd degree
Mason, says in Morals and Dogma:
LUCIFER (satan), the light-bearer!... The Spiritof Darkness...
Petrovna Blavatsky summarizes the concept thus:
Lucifer is divine and terrestrial light, the 'HolyGhost' and 'Satan'...3
David Spangler, a mason and leading philosopherof the New Age
movement, sets out his views on the subject as follows:
Lucifer (satan) comes to give us the final gift of wholeness. If we
accept it, then he is free and we are free. That is the Luciferic
initiation. It is one that many people now, and in the days ahead,
will be facing, for it is an initiation intothe New Age.4
Atheist masons clearly act under satan's controland obey his
commands.The most important symbol in this secretive cult, the
"all-seeing eye,"is depicted as the "eye ofLucifer."5This and all
other atheist masonic symbols are designed forthe same purpose. The
upside down star is known as Baphomet (satan in the form of a goat), a
symbol of satan. The inverted pentagram in witchcraft is employed for
one end alone, to call up the power of satan!6Therefore, all Masonic
symbols in fact symbolize the belief underlying atheistic freemasonry,
in other words, the worship of satan.
The writer John Daniels makes this comment about the intellectual
father of the Luciferian doctrinethat we have already described in
detail, the 33rd degree Mason Albert Pike, and his satanic doctrine:
Albert Pike taught his "Luciferian Doctrine" to many masons. However,
Bismarck and Mazzini were two of his most ardent students who
practiced the Luciferian Doctrine at the highest levels of
Freemasonry. The trio planned to use freemasonry to trigger two World
Wars, after which "the world would be ready to worship Lucifer as God.
(Surely Allah is beyond that.)7
One of the greatest examples of atheist masons' links with satan is
the British 33rd degree Mason Aleistair Crowley. A satanist, Crowley
was also grand master of the Ordo Templi Orentis (O.T.O.). Crowley's
mother said that her son was the manifestation of the Beast referred
to in the Revelation. Known as "the wickedest man alive," Crowley was
responsible for the barbaric deaths of many people who became involved
with him during the course of masonic rituals. It is alleged that
Crowley sacrificed 150 young men to satan.8
The following verses by the 33rd degree Mason Crowley clearly reveal
the satanic reality underlying freemasonry:
I bind my blood in satan's hands,
All this that lieth betwixt my hands
To thee, the Beast, and thy control,
I pledge me; body, mind,and soul.9
I swear to work my Work abhorred,
Careless of all but one reward,
The pleasure of the devilour lord.10
Atheistic freemasonry's efforts to produce a system of the antichrist
that eliminates belief in Allah and replaces it with satan's commands
was identified and described by Christians of the time. Pope Leo
XIII's famous 1884 encyclical Humanum Genus contained significant
analyses of atheistic freemasonry and its activities. The Pope wrote:
At this period, however, the partisans of evil seems to e combining
together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or
assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called
the freemasons. No longer making any secret of their purposes, they
are now rising up against God Himself… (Surely Allah is beyond this)
Their (masons) ultimate purpose forces itself intoview – namely the
utter overthrow of that wholereligious and political order of the
world which the Christian teaching has produced, and the substitution
of anew state of things in accordance with their ideas, of which the
foundations and laws shall be drawn from mere naturalism.11
This fact set out by the Pope has also often beenexpressed by senior
atheist masons: The "Rules of Assembly of theGrand Orient Lodge"
published in 1923 by Turkish atheist freemasons express this heretical
philosophy as follows:
We will no longer regard Allah as the purpose of life. We have created
a purpose. That purpose is mankind, not Allah.[Surely Allah is beyond
that.]
Albeit gradually, a singleand universal religion that can fully
satisfy consciousness is taking form...Parallel to this universal
religion, moral values will be founded in line with this world view...
Such a religion will unite human beings and the universe. This is
FREEMASONRY... We are unifying the religion that represents the
meaning of communion.12
As a requirement of the system of the antichrist, atheist masons never
make their presence felt.They never show their true faces and never
say that they take satan as their god and renounce belief in Allah.
Because ifthey did, they know thatall devout people would come out and
oppose them. For that reason, the antichrist described in the New
Testament and the hadith is a deception that will appear under a
religiousguise, despite denying Allah. The antichrist, the atheistic
freemasonry that currently representshis system, has appearedshowing
that same false appearance and seeks tohide the fact that it is a
religion that worships satan.
In order to achieve this aim, atheist masons are persisting with their
stratagems under various guises. For example, the World Council of
Churches and the National Council of Churches have masonic leaders.
Some of the former editors of Christian Science Monitor magazine are
masons.13There are also atheist masons among Muslim theologians. The
atheist masons who infiltrate such institutions seek ways ofachieving
their aims. Their aim is to turn people away from Allah, under a
religious guise, and to turn them into servants of satan, just like
themselves.
It is satan who gives them these tasks. Master atheist masons are
people in direct contact with satan. A Master Mason will receive
instructions directly from satan at assembles of 200 or 300 people
andwill then begin listing the things that satan commanded him.
Satan'scommands generally involve bloodshed. Satanmay even sometimes
show himself to them directly. That is why atheist masons are so
utterly terrified of satan.Atheist masons describe these rituals in
their books and always obey satan's commands and act in the light of
his directives.
___________________
1 Madame Blavatsky (i.e., the Mother of the New Age movement)The
Secret Doctrine (1888), Vol. II, pg. 234
2 Eliphas Levi, Freemason of the Grand Orient of France, The Mysteries
of Magic, pg. 428
3 The Secret Doctrine (1888), Vol.II, p. 513
4 David Spangler, Director of United Nations Planetary Initiative,
Reflections on the Christ (1978), p. 45
5 John Daniel, Two Faces of Freemasonry, Day Publishing, 2007, p. 7
6 John Daniel, Two Faces of Freemasonry, Day Publishing, 2007, p. 44
7 John Daniel, Two Faces of Freemasonry, Day Publishing, 2007, p. 94
8 John Daniel, Two Faces of Freemasonry, Day Publishing, 2007, p. 95
9 Aleister Crowley,