The true faith )Eemaan(

The word, Eemaan literally means, "to know," "to believe," to put
one's trust in something or someone." In Islamic Sharee'ah
)legislation(, Eemaan means putting one's entire trust in, and having
complete faith in Allaah, His Prophetand His message.
Therefore, one who puts his entire trust in Allaah should not only
testify to his faith by word of mouth, but must also accept it with
all his heart and soul and then staunchly adheres to it physically.
Furthermore, he is obliged to do good works in keeping with the
fundamentals of the faith, as coinciding faith with right action is
absolutely vital.
Acceptance of Allaah as your Lord is like making a promise to place
Him at the center of your life, so that He may become the pivot of
your thoughts and emotions. It means entrusting yourself to Him
entirely, and focusing all your hopes and aspirations, fears and
entreaties upon Him. Then, instead of living for worldly things, you
should live for the service of your Sustainer. He, Al-Mighty, will
thus become all in all in your life.
A Muslim declares his faith by saying: "Ash-hadu Allaa Ilaaha
Illallaah, Wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadun Rasoolullaah" )testify that
there no god )worthy of worship( except Allaah and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allaah( Its recital is called the Shahaadah.
For Muslims there are certain requirements, which have to be observed
regarding the Shahaadah. They are as follows:
• It has to be uttered aloud, at least once in a lifetime.
• It's meaning has to be fully understood.
• It should be believed in "with the heart."
• It should be physically implemented.
• It should be professed until death.
The six basic beliefs
There are six things that are essential for a Muslim to believe in.
These essential beliefs are pillars without which ones faith is not
accepted. They are called the articles )or pillars( of faith.
1.Allaah:To believe in Allaah, to believe that He exists, that He is
One, and that He Alone is the Creator, and Lord over everything, and
that He Alone is Worthy of worship. Additionally, one must believe in
all the beautiful Names and Attributes with which Allaah described
Himself or His messenger described Him with.
2.The Angels:To believe in the angels who always obey Him and are His
creation of Allaah, and that Allaah created them from light.
3.The Revealed Books:Allaah revealed Books to His Prophets for the
guidance of mankind. We must believe that all these Books mentioned in
the Quran were revelations from Allaah.
4.The Messengers of Allaah:To believe in Allaah's prophets. We must
believe in all the prophets and give them due respect.
5.The Last Day:To believe in the Day of Judgment and to believe that
life in this world will come to an end one day and that everything in
this world will perish. Then Allaah will bring all beings back to life
and will judge them according to all that they did while they lived on
earth.
6.The Predestination and Divine Decree:To believe that everything
comes from Allaah. This means that Allaah knows everything that is
going to happen, whether good or bad, Has predestined for it to happen
and decreed it.
Man too often lives for worldly objectives which come to dominate his
thoughts and emotions and thus resulting in him leading a heedless
life. The life that is truly worth striving for is that which is lived
for the sake of attaining the pleasure of one's Lord.
Man should live in remembrance of Allaah. His name should be on his
lips as he wakens and as he sleeps. As he halts or proceeds on his
way, he should live in trust of Allaah, and when he speaks or remains
silent, it should be for the pleasure of his Lord.

Fathwa, - Don't judge Islam by yourhusband's injustice

Question
salamalaykoum...I am confused ..i am a revert to islam but honestly i
feel i have done a terrible mistake . There are so many issues wrong
w/ my marriage and my husband says its Shariah and Allah will punish
me , if i say different. We are married 6yrs now we have 2 children
together i live in usa he lives in uk..we have not seen eachother in
almost 3yrs. he does not maintain me or our kids. He works in uk and
says he makes only enough for him and says hadiths says Allah doesnt
give a person more than they can handle.Im tired , i do everything for
our kids , they have seen their father one time and dont know him. he
says we are married but yet i dont have a document showing we are ,
then i read on your site other questions about how if a husband
divorces his wife , she is not entitiled to any maintance from him nor
shelter ..thats absurd...how can you say in islam that as women if we
divorce we no longer have rights ..after having children w/ our
husbands we are left to either 2 things , either leave our kids w/ our
exhusbands or we take our kids w/ us and we suffer cuz we can not work
nor maintain them , becuz our so called exhusbands dont have to
maintain us or give us any maintance , then we should go out and work
like men ...i think the maintaince in western society takes care of
the women and gives her more rights than in islam ..im sorry to say
and may Allah forgive me but in isalm this is wrong ...how can a woman
survive after divorcing if she has nothing or nobody to help her ,
that means if she has kids she must leave them w/someone while she
works to maintain and take care of her kids ....i think islam is wrong
in this , how can a women are not protected in islam , they are
neglected ...protected as long as they are married but if husband is
abusive and she divorces him then she gets nothing ,but children to
raise on her own , cuz of course we wont give up our kids to be raised
by a man who is abusive...so wrong & sad..christianity gives the woman
rights
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
Muhammadis His slave and Messenger.
Islam is the religion that came to ensure happiness for people in this
world and in the Hereafter with its comprehensive and balanced
legislations. Allaah Says )what means(: }This day I have perfected for
you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved
for you Islam as religion.{]Quran 5:3[ Hence, every person who
embraces Islam and understands it very well should be happy with this
bounty and not feel sorry about it.
The )wrong( conclusions that you made are due to the following two matters:
1- Being wronged by your husband who falsely attributes his injustice to Islam.
2- Your wrong understanding to some religious rulings.
However, before talking about these two matters, we would like to draw
your attention to the fact that in Islam the marriage contract has
conditions that must be fulfilled so that the marriage will be valid;
you may read these conditions in Fatwa 83629. The most important of
these conditions are the consent )and presence( of the woman's
guardian and the presence of two witnesses: this is so, so that the
marriage will be authenticated and the rights of the wife and children
will be protected.
It should also be mentioned that the husband is obliged to have good
marital relationship with his wife and it is not permissible for him
to be absent from her more than six months except with her consent;
this has already been discussed in Fataawa 85711and 88304.
As regards the conduct of your husband, he is wrong in many aspects.
For instance, a husband is obliged to spend on his wife and children
according to reasonable grounds and we have already clarified this in
Fatwa 85012, and we also clarified in it that a wife is not required
to spend on herself )and children( even if she is working and that if
she spends without the intention of doing that as an act of charity,
she is permitted to ask her husband to reimburse her for whatever she
had spent.
With regard to the statement that a divorcee is not entitled to
expenditures and accommodation, then this is not completely true. For
example, a husband is obliged to spend on a divorced wife who is
divorced a revocable divorce as long as she is in her waiting period,
and he is also obliged to spend on a divorced wife who is divorced an
irrevocable divorce if she is pregnant until her waiting period is
over ]i.e. until she gives birth[. Afterwards, it is her guardian who
is obliged to spend on her if she has no money as is the case before
she gets married; for more benefit in this regard, please refer to
Fatwa 88233. Also, you may refer to Fatwa 83934for the rights of a
divorced woman on her husband.
However, if we presume that a woman has no one to spend on her, then
in this case it is the Muslim community who is obliged to spend on
her. If the Islamic ruling is applied in a Muslim country, then it is
the treasury that will spend on such woman. As regards the children,
it is their father who is obliged to spend on them in any case as long
as they are young and needy and not able to earn their living.
Concerning what you attributed to some non-Muslim societies that they
give the woman more right than in Islam and that Islam neglects the
woman, then this is very wrong and it is an injustice to Islam. Is it
not enough an injustice in Christianity that a woman is not permitted
to separate from her husband and be divorced from him unless she
commits adultery? For more benefit on the status of woman in Islam
and how Islam preserved her rights, please refer to Fataawa 81237and
81205.
It seems, dear sister, that you want to judge Islam by some wrong
behaviors of Muslims or by some misconceptions that are presented to
you, and there is no doubt that this is not permissible. Therefore, we
advise you to be steadfast on you belief and supplicate Allaah to make
a way out for you to get out of hardship and enable you to take your
right from your husband who wronged you and who wronged Islam to which
he affiliates himself.
Finally, it should be noted that you have the right to take your
husband to the court so that you get your rights from him and the
rights of your children. So, we advise you to take the matter to the
authorities who are responsible for the issues of Muslims so that they
would repel the injustice of your husband from you.
Furthermore, you are obliged to repent to Allaah from such grave
statements by saying that you were wrong by embracing Islam because
such a statement may lead to apostasy and whoever apostates from Islam
he only harms himself and he loses his religion and his worldly life.
Allaah Says )what means(: }And whoever of you reverts from his
religion ]to disbelief[ and dies while he is a disbeliever - for
those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the
hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire, they will abide
therein eternally.{]Quran 2:217].
Allaah Knows best.

Fathwa, - Marrying a young girl does not mean permissibility of having intercourse with her

Question
Al Salam alekum, I was in debate in Islam and there was question
regarding the answer to the following translation of the Quran from
Al_Tabari Al-Tabari )may Allaah have mercy on him( said: The
interpretation of the verse "And those of your women as have passed
the age of monthly courses, for them the 'Iddah )prescribed period(,
if you have doubt )about their periods(, is three months; and for
those who have no courses ])i.e. they are still immature( their 'Iddah
)prescribed period( is three months likewise". He said: The same
applies to the 'idaah for girls who do not menstruate because they are
too young, if their husbands divorce them after consummating the
marriage with them. that the last comment )He said: The same applies
to the 'idaah for girls who do not menstruate because they are too
young, if their husbands divorce them after consummating the marriage
with them. "( they conclude the meaning in having `Iddah after having
intercourse with minor girl who did not reach the age of puberty. by
highlighting the words )consummating the marriage( can you explain it
please. thanks.
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.
Giving a young girl in marriage is something permitted in Islam. We
have previously pointed that out in Fataawa 88199and 116746. Praise be
to Allaah, there is no ambiguity in the opinion that
ImaamAt-Tabarimentioned. That is because if the young girl is not able
for intercourse, then it is not permissible for her guardian to give
her to her husband until she becomes able for it. If her husband
divorces her before consummating marriage with her, then there is no
'Iddah )i.e. waiting period( and thus she is not included in that
verse; rather, she is included in the saying of Allaah The Almighty
)which means(: }O You who have believed, when you marry believing
women and then divorce them before you have touched them, then there
is not for you any waiting period to count concerning them. So provide
for them and give them a gracious release.{]Quran 33:49[
However, if she is able for intercourse and her husband asks for her,
and she was given to him, and he had intercourse with her and then
divorced her, then 'Iddah will be obligatory upon her.
Allaah Knows best.

Fathwa, - Islam did not command detaining a sinful wife in a separate room

Question
Salam alaikum, I have read following hadith: Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 969 -
Requires that a married woman be "put in a separate room and beaten
lightly" if she "act in a sexual manner toward others." According to
the Hadith, this can be for an offense as petty as merely being alone
with a man to whom she is not related. Kash-shaf of al-Zamkhshari
)Vol. 1, p. 525( - ]Muhammad said[ "Hang up your scourge where your
wife can see it" Are those hadith sahih?
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.
The wording of the first Hadeeth that we have read inSeerat Ibn
Hishaamdoes not include detaining the woman in the house and its
wording is as follows: "...and they should not commit a clear
immorality. But if they do that, then Allaah has given you permission
to forsake them in bed and to hit them but not severely..." This
Hadeeth was originally reported in Saheeh Muslim on the authority
ofJaabirin the Farewell Khutbah )Sermon( and it is a sound Hadeeth.
Forsaking means turning one's back to his wife in bed while hitting
refers to light beating. That is not meant to inflict physical pain on
her )the recalcitrant wife(, but rather to discipline her in a
psychological manner. Islam actually calls for treating women kindly,
prohibits oppressing them or causing harm and assaulting them. Also,
if you go back to that Hadeeth, you will find that before the words
you have stated the Prophet, said: "Fear Allaah concerning women" and
after that he said, "Thus, treat women kindly."
There is absolutely no doubt that no religion has given women the
great status that Islam has given them. We have pointed that out in
the Fatwa 81237, so please refer to it.
As for the second Hadeeth which is the saying of the Prophet: "Hang
your whip where the members of your household can see it."
]At-Tabaraani in Al-Mu'jam[, some scholars deemed it weak while some
others deemed it Hasan ]good[. It means that this will motivate them
)members of the household( to behave properly. Therefore, another
narration of this Hadeeth reads: "Hang your whip where the members of
your household can see it, for that will discipline them."
It was stated in Faydh Al-Qadeer: "It means that this will motivate
them to act properly and be good-mannered, and thus refrain from
indulging in vice...Ibn Al-Anbaarisaid: "There is nothing to suggest
that it should be used for beating, because he, did not command anyone
to do that. What he, meant was: do not stop disciplining them."
Allaah Knows best.