Fathwa, - Can you speak to girls who are not related to you e.g. in college?

Question:
Can you speak to girls who are not related to you e.g. in college?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, �I
have not left behind a trial more challenging for men than women.�
[Bukhari and Muslim]
One may speak to someone of the opposite sex when there is a need, to
the extent of the need, in an upright and restrained manner. This is
the guidance of the Beloved of Allah (Allah bless him and give him
peace).
Beyond this, it would be blameworthy and sometimes even sinful.

Fathwa, - Is it permissible for a man to marry his wife's stepmother?

Question:
Is it permissible for a man to marry his wife's stepmother? Man A is
married to Woman B, whose father has four wives, one of whom (Woman C)
is 3 years older than Woman B. Woman B's father (i.e. Woman C's
husband) dies, and Man A marries Woman B's stepmother, i.e. Woman C.
Is this permissible?
Answer:
The nature of Shariah is such that it intends to eradicate anything
that may lead to the breaking of ties and disputes. In many
injunctions of Shariah, we see that the main cause behind the
prohibition of a certain act is the possibility of disputes and
arguments arising. Many laws of commerce and trade are based on this
very principle.
Due to this, it was prohibited for a man to combine two or more women
in his marriage (i.e. at the same time) who are closely related to
each other. Co-wives normally and naturally become jealous of each
other and not everything is hunky-dory between them, thus the idea
behind the prevention of combining two relatives in marriage is to
prevent the breaking of ties between relatives and closely related
people.
The great Hanafi jurist (faqih), Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on
him) explains:
"...Combining them (closely related women) in marriage is unlawful
(haram) due to the reason that it will normally lead to the breaking
of ties between the co-wives who are related. And the evidence for
this is the Hadith recorded by al-Tabrani that the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "If you do that (m: i.e.
combine two related women in marriage), you will be breaking ties" and
more details is mentioned in Fath al-Qadir." (Radd al-Muhtar, 3/36)
Thus, the Qur'an prohibited the combining of two sisters in marriage.
Allah Most High states:
"Prohibited to you (for marriage) are......two sisters in wedlock at
one and the same time." (Surah al-Nisa, 23)
Similarly, Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrates
that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:
"A woman and her paternal aunt must not be combined in marriage,
neither a woman and her maternal aunt." (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4820)
Based on the above, the Hanafi jurists (fuqaha) have laid down a
principle with regards to the prohibition of combining two women in
marriage which is that, it is not permissible to combine two women who
are such that, if one of them were a man, it would not be permissible
for her to marry the other.
It is stated in al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya:
"The principle (asl) is that it will not be permissible to combine two
women (in marriage) who are such that if one of them was presumed to
be a man, from any side, then it would not be permissible for them to
marry each other." (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, 1/277)
Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
"It is unlawful to combine two women (in marriage) who are such that
if one of them was presumed to be a man, it would not be permissible
for him (her) to marry the other." (See: Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr,
3/38)
The meaning of the above two texts is that, Allah Most High has
mentioned the list of people whom it is unlawful for one to marry,
such as one's sister, mother, daughter, aunt, niece, mother in-law,
wife's daughter, etc. Thus, if one intends to combine two women in
marriage, one must look at whether, if one of them was assumed to be a
man, it would be permissible for her (him) to marry the other? If not,
then it would be unlawful to combine them in marriage. This assumption
must be from both sides, as mentioned in the text of al-Fatawa
al-Hindiyya, where it stated "from any side".
For example, there are two sisters, and a person wants to combine them
in marriage. Now, if we presume any one of them to be a man, marriage
would be unlawful between them. The reason being is that if any one of
them was presumed to be a man, he will be the brother of the other,
and marriage with one's sister is unlawful. This will be the case
regardless of whom we presume to be a man, i.e. from both sides.
Having understood the above, we come to the question of marrying one's
stepmother in-law. To combine a woman and her real mother (i.e. real
mother in-law) in marriage is without doubt unlawful, for if any one
of them were to be a man, marriage would not be lawful between them.
Let's say the mother was a man. In this situation it will be unlawful
for a father to marry his own daughter. Suppose we considered the
daughter to be a man, even in this case, it is unlawful for a son to
marry his mother. Thus, to have a daughter and her (real mother) in
marriage at the same time is unlawful.
However, the case with combing a woman and her step-mother is not the
same, in that this is permissible. The reason here is that, if we
presumed the daughter to be a man, then indeed it will not be
permissible for a man to marry his step-mother. However, in the vice
versa situation, meaning if we presumed the mother to be a man, it
will be allowed for him to marry the girl. The women will not be
considered to be a step father marrying his daughter, rather a strange
(ajnabi) man marrying a girl, for we presumed her to be man, thus she
cannot be the wife of her husband (I hope this is understandable!).
Thus, the Hanafi Fuqaha have permitted the marriage to a woman and her
stepdaughter at the same time. It is stated in al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya:
"It will be permissible to combine (in marriage) a woman and her
husband's daughter (m: from another wife), because if the women (m:
mother) was presumed to be a man, it would be permissible for him to
marry the girl. However, in the vice versa situation, it would not be
allowed." (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, 1/277)
Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
"It is permissible to combine (in marriage) a woman and her husband's
daughter (m: i.e. a girl and her stepmother)."
Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) explains the above by stating:
"...Because if the woman (mother) was presumed to be a man, he will be
marrying the husband's daughter, and she (the daughter) will be
considered to be a daughter of a strange man (m: meaning, she cannot
be classed as a man and also have a husband at the same time, thus one
will have to say that her relationship with the girl is that of a
stranger." (Radd al-Muhtar, 3/39)
In conclusion, it is permitted for a man to combine a woman and her
stepmother in marriage at the same time, or in other words, a woman
and her stepdaughter. Thus, marriage with a stepmother in-Law is
perfectly permissible whether separately or with keeping her
stepdaughter in the marriage.
And Allah knows best.

Kindness to Daughters

Even now daughters are considered an unwanted burden in some societies
and instead ofrejoicing, anatmosphere of grief and disappointmentis
produced in the family at their birth. This is the position, today,
but in the pre-Islamic times the daughters were positively considered
a shame and disgrace among the Arabs, so much so that even the right
to live was denied to them. Many a hard-hearted parent used to
strangle his daughter to death, with his own hands, when she was born,
or bury her alive.
The Qur'an says:
"When news is brought to one of them, of thebirth of a female, his
facedarkensand he is filled with inward grief. He hides himself with
shame, from the people, because of the bad news he has had. (Asking
himself): shall he keep it in contempt or bury in the dust.Ah: What an
evil choice they decide."
Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) reports that the Prophet (saw) said
"Whoever becomes the father of a girl, he shouldneither hurt her nor
treat her with contemptnor show preference over her to his
sonsinkindnessandaffection. (Both boys and girls should be treated
alike.) Allah willgrant him Paradisein return forkind treatment
towards the daughter."
It is narrated that a very poor woman, with two daughters, came to
Ayesha's (ra) place to beg. By chance, Aisha (ra) had only one date
with her, at that time, which she gave to the woman. The woman broke
the date into two parts and gave one part each to the girls. She did
not eat anything of it herself. When after some time, the Prophet
(saw) came, Aisha (ra) related the incident to him, upon which he
remarked:
"The believing man or woman upon whom there is the responsibility of
daughters and he or she discharges it well andtreats them with
affection, the daughters will become a means offreedom, for him or
her, in thehereafter."
It is related by Anas (ra) that the Prophet (PBUH) said
"The believer who bears the responsibility of two daughters and
supports them till they attain puberty,he and Iwill beclose to one
anotherlike this on the Day of Judgment."
Anas (ra), adds that the Prophet (saw) showed, by joining the fingers
of his hand, that as the fingers were close to one another, in the
same way will the believer be close to him on the Day of Judgment.
Abu Saeed Khudri (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said "Whoever
bears the responsibility of three daughters or sisters or even of two
daughters or sisters, and bears it well, and looks after their
training and welfare properly, and then, gets them married, Allah will
reward him with Paradise."
In these Ahadith, the Prophet (saw) has not only stated thatkind
treatment was the natural rightorclaim of the daughters, but, also
that thebelievers who fulfilledthe obligation towards them in a good
and proper manner would berewarded with Paradisein the hereafter. He,
further, gives the joyful tidings that such a man will be close to
him, on the Day of Judgment, as the fingers of a hand are, when joined
together.

For Whom Fasting is Mandatory?

Mandatory
The obligation of fasting is mandatory on a person who has fulfilled
these requirements: He or she must be aMuslim,sane, must have
reachedpuberty, must behealthy, and not in astate of travel; and for
women, they must be in a state of purity (clean from menstruation and
post childbirth bleeding). If a person fulfills the above
prerequisites, fasting becomes valid and mandatory.
Inferring from this definition, if one of these conditions is missing,
the fast will be invalid. Indeed, it may be better to analyze each
category of the definition.
Not Mandatory
Non-Muslim (Kafir)
Fasting isnot obligatory on a non-Muslimbecause he is not commanded to
fast and even if he decides to fast and follows all the regulations,
it will not be accepted by Allah (SWT). If he or she wants to fast the
Islamic fast, he has to declare the Kalimahfirst, and only then will
the fast be accepted. Similarly, the non-Muslim (Kafir) is not
obligated to perform any Islamic duties. If he converts to Islam
during the month of Ramadan, for instance, in the middle of the month,
it becomes incumbent upon him to fast the remaining days. There will
be no making up the days he missed before becoming Muslim.Allah (SWT)
states:
"Say to the unbelievers, if they desist from unbelief, their past
would be forgiven of them..."( Al-Qur'an 8:38)
If one converts to Islam during the daytime in Ramadan, say 10:00 a.m.
in the morning, he or she should observe the rest of the day in
fasting. That is, from 10:00 a.m. until sunset, he should not break
his fast.
Insane (Majnun)
Theinsane or retarded person is not obligatedto keep his fast because
he is deprived of sanity, a key component on which religious duties
depend. In a hadith related by Ali Bin Abi Talib (raa), the Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) said:
"The Pen that records the deeds has been lifted from three people; the
insane person, until he recovers; the sleeping person, until he wakes
up; and the minor, until he dreams (i.e., has wet dreams.)" (Ahmed)
This hadith indicates the fast of the insane person, for instance, is
not valid because he cannot comprehend the worship, and he
cannotmeaningfully declare intention (niyyah), without which the acts
are invalid. If he has mental relapses whereby he is healthy, and then
on occasion is sick, the fast is mandatory upon him during the days
and times he is healthy but not when he is unhealthy.
If he intends to fast in the morning, and he falls ill during this
time, his fast is good as if he fainted as a result of illness,
because he knows that he may experience an attack at certain times. If
he gets well during the daytime in Ramadan, he should observe the fast
the rest of the day because he is obligated to fast. However, he does
not have to make up the day because his case is like that of
unbeliever who becomes Muslim time or a minor he reached puberty
during the day.
Minor (Sabiyy)
Similarly, theminor person is not obligated to observefast (Sawm),
because of the previous hadith related by Ali bin Abi Talib, "... And
the minor until he dreams." However, it is imperative that the parents
or the guardians of the juveniles or adolescents encourage and urge
them to fast so they will get used to it. It will be vital training
for them in their worship, because they will not have any chance for
training as soon as they reach puberty.
In a hadith reported by Rubayyiah Bint Mau'awwidh (raa), the Prophet
(saas) sent a messenger to the village of Ansar on the morning of
Ashura to inform them:
"Whoever wakes in fasting should continue his fasting, whoever wakes
up without fasting should complete his day in fasting. So we used to
fast, let our young children fast, and go to the Masjid with them.
When one of the children cried for food, we would make toys from wool
and give them to the children until it was time to break the fast."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
This hadith indicates thattraining minor boys and girls is highly
recommendedearly in life, from about seven years of age for the
spiritual, educational, and cultural upbringing of Muslim youth. It is
the most powerful symbol of our religion.
Puberty - Boys
Puberty is known in Islamic law asal-bulugh, orTamyeez, (coming of age
as a man and woman). There are three signs of puberty (bulugh):
1.Discharging semen as a result of wet dreams, known
asinzaalul-manyyi. Allah (SWT) states: "But when the children among
you come of age, let them also ask for permission, as do those senior
to them in age..."(Al-Qur'an, 24-59)
In a hadith, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "Friday bath
(ghuslul-Jum'ah) is mandatory upon anyone who has experienced a wet
dream." (Bukhari/Muslim) The point in this hadith is that Islamic
obligations are not incumbent on anyone until they reach the age
ofbulugh.
2.Appearance of hair around the pubic area is another sign of puberty.
If a person sees that even without wet dreams, he or she has attained
puberty. This may happen at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and
parents should inform girls and boys about these signs.
3.Reaching 15 years of age: When the person reaches 15, he or she is a
man or a woman, and anything that is obligatory on a man or woman is
obligatory on him or her from that time on.
In a hadith reported by Abdullah Bin Umar (raa), he said:
"My parents brought me to the Messenger of Allah on the eve of
theUhudCampaign and I was fourteen years old, so the Prophet (saas)
did not enlist me in fighting." But a year later in the Campaign of
Al-Khandaqq, I was fifteen, so this time the Prophet (saas) enlisted
me in combat." (Muslim)
This hadith indicates theage of 15 is the legal age for a Muslim boy
or girlto be responsible for his or her religion as well as worldly
responsibilities. Some of us who reside in the western world, seem to
think adulthood depends on State laws. In some states it is 18, while
in others it is 19, or 21, and so on. This is a very serious mistake,
as the juvenile will reach puberty (bulugh) and adulthood, but go on
without observing his or her Islamic duties, such as Salat, fasting,
or being restrained from that which is prohibited.
Puberty - Girls
Girls reach puberty and adulthood when they experience the above three
signs. However, they have a fourth sign, that is, menstruation (hayd).
Whenever a girl experiences it, she is a woman even if she is 12 years
old. At that time, theQalam, the pen of responsibilities, begins to
flow and to record the deeds of the servant, good or bad. It is
interesting that in the western world the case is the reverse. You
see, when ajuvenile reaches the age of puberty in Al-Islam he or she
should be careful about anything he or she does or says. On the
contrary, in the West when the person comes of age, he or she is
allowed to do things which are detrimental to his or her well being.
Indeed, if puberty is attained during the days of Ramadan, say at
midday, and the young person is fasting, he or she should continue his
or her fasting and there will be no obligation on him or her to make
up the fast. If he was not fasting, it is incumbent upon him to
observe the rest of the day in fasting, because he has become an adult
upon whom Islamic rites are obligatory. Girls in menstruation can't
observe half day, nor should they make that half day up.