Fathwa, - Status of women in Paradise

Question
I am married with a very smart lady who converted to Islam a year ago.
She has done her master's in computer science when she was 17. She
usually has many intelligent questions. Some of them I answer, the
other I cannot because of my lack of Islamic knowledge. Recently, She
has asked these questions below. Could you please answer them for us?
1( Is it true that man get 70 women when they go to heaven? If so what
is the source of this information? What do women get? 2( If a man
divorces several times and marries divorced women, which family would
he find in heaven third first, second wife? 3( Are man rewarded more
than women in heaven?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and
peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and
Companions. We do not know any evidence proving that a person may
marry seventy women in Paradise. This is reported only about the
martyrs who are killed in the way of Allah.
ImamsAhmadandal-Tabranireported that the Prophet )Sallallahu Alaihi wa
Sallam( said:A martyr gets seven blessings, among them he mentioned:
'he will marry seventy-two Houris. ]Ibn Hajargraded it Hasan[ As for
the women in Paradise, she will get one husband and she will not see
anyone better than him. She will be satisfied with him and will never
turn to anyone else. Allah Says )interpretation of meaning(: }Wherein
both will be those )maidens( restraining their glances upon their
husbands, whom no man or jinn yatmithhunna )has opened their hymens
with sexual intercourse( before them.{]55:56[. A person will not marry
the women he had divorced in his life in Paradise because they are no
longer his wives. But a person will marry his wife, who dies before
him, or he dies before her but did not marry again. The Prophet
)Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam( said:any woman whose husband dies
leaving her and she marries after him will be for her last husband.
]al-Tabrani,al-Albanigraded it sound in his book )al-Silsila
al-Sahiha([. If a person marries women who were divorced. If he does
not divorce them in his life, or they do not marry again after his
death, then they will be with him in Paradise. No doubt, a man will
get more than one wife in Paradise as mentioned in many texts, but at
the same time we should know that Allah will never be unjust. He will
grant other kinds of His Great blessings to women that they will never
feel any shortage or sorrow. Allah has emphasized this fact in many
verses. Allah Says )interpretation of meaning(: }Whoever works
righteousness, whether male or female, while he )or she( is a true
believer )of Islâmic Monotheism( verily, to him We will give a good
life )in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision(,
and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of
what they used to do )i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter(.{]16:97[. Allah
knows best.

Fathwa, - Mufti women in Islam

Question
Do women exist in Islamic history, who are educated as a Mufti and are
allowed to make a Fatwa?
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.
The women of the Salaf )rightly guided predecessors( used to give
Fataawa from what they knew and learnt from the revelation.
For example, it was confirmed that women sought Fataawa
from'Aa'ishahin matters of menses. ]Al-Bukhaari[
Besides,Abu Moosa Al-Ash'arisaid: "We, the companions of the
Prophetnever had some confusions about a Hadeeth and asked
'Aa'ishahabout it except that we found that she had knowledge about
it." ]Al-Albaani classified it as Saheeh ]authentic[
Moreover,Al-Bukhaarimentioned thatUm Ad-Dardaa'was a female jurist.Ibn
Katheerreported in his book entitled Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah that men
used to learn from her )Um Ad-Dardaa'( and seek jurisprudence
knowledge from her and that was in the north wall of Damascus mosque.
The Caliph'Abdul-Malikused to sit in her teaching circles during his
caliphate.
Allaah Knows best.

Biology by Muslims

The Muslim scientists made considerable progress in biology especially
in botany, and developed horticulture to a high degree of perfection.
They paid greater attention to botany in comparison to zoology. Botany
reached its zenith in Spain.
Zoology
In zoology the study of the horse was developed almost to the tank of
a science.Abu Ubaidah(728-825 A. D.) who wrote more than 100 books,
devoted more than fifty books to the study of the horse.
Al-Jahiz
Al-Jahiz, who flourished inBasrais reputed to be one of thegreatest
zoologiststhe Muslim world has produced. His influence in the subject
may be traced to 'the Persian'Al-Qazwini' and the Egyptian
'Al-Damiri'. His book 'Kitab al Haywan' (book ori animals) contains
gems of latertheories of evolution,adaptationandanimal psychology. He
was the first to note changes in bird life through migrations. He
described the method of obtaining 'ammonia from animal offal by dry
distilling.'
Al-Damiri
Al-Damiri, who died in 1405 in Cairo and who was influenced by
Al-Jahiz is the greatest Arab zoologist. His bookHayat Haywarz(Life of
animal) is the most important Muslim work in zoology. It is an
encyclopedia on animal life containing a mine of information on the
subject. It contains the history of animals and preceded Buffoon by
700 years.
Al Masudi
Al-Masudi, has given the rudiments of the theory of evolution in his
well known work Meadows of gold. Another of his worksKitab al-Tanbih
wal Ishraqadvances his views on evolution namely from mineral to
plant, from plant to animal and from animal to man.
Botany
In botany,Spanish Muslimsmade the greatest contribution, and some of
them are known as thegreatest botanistsof mediaeval times. They were
keen observers and discovered sexual difference between such plants as
palms and hemps. They roamed about on sea shores, on mountains and in
distant lands in quest of rare botanical herbs.
Theyclassified plantsinto those that grow from seeds, those that grow
from cuttings and those that grow of their own accord, i.e., wild
growth. The Spanish Muslims advanced in botany far beyond the state in
which "it had been left by Discords and augmented the herbology of the
Greeks by the addition of 2,000 plants" Regular botanical gardens
existed inCordova, Baghdad, Cairoand Fez for teaching and experimental
purposes. Some of these were the finest in the world.
The Cordovan physician,Al-Ghafiqi(D. 1165) was a renowned botanist,
who collected plants in Spain and Africa, and described them most
accurately. According to G. Sarton he was "the greatest expert of his
time on simples. His description of plants was the most precise ever
made in Islam; he gave the names of each in Arabic, Latin and Berber".
His outstanding workAl Adwiyah al Mufradahdealing with simples was
later appropriated by Ibn Baytar."
Abu Zakariya Yahya
Abu Zakariya Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn AlAwwan, who flourished at the end
of 12 century in Seville (Spain) was the author of the most important
Islamic treatise on agriculture during the mediaeval times
entitledKitab al Filahah. The book treats more than585plants and deals
with the cultivation of more than50fruit trees. It also discusses
numerousdiseases of plantsand suggests their remedies. The book
presents new observations onproperties of soiland different types of
manures.
Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Al-Baytar
Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Al-Baytar, was the greatest botanist and
pharmacist of Spain--in fact the greatest of mediaeval times. He
roamed about in search of plants and collected herbs on the
Mediterranean littoral, from Spain to Syria, described more than1,400
medical drugsand compared them with the records of more than 150
ancient and Arabian authors.
Thecollection of simple drugscomposed by him is the ilaost outstanding
botanical work in Arabic. "This book, in fact is the most important
for the whole period extending from Discords down to the 16th
century." It is an encyclopedic work on the subject. He later entered
into the service of the Ayyubid king, Al-Malik, as his chief herbalist
in Cairo. From there he traveled through Syria and Asia Minor, and
died in Damascus.
One of his worksAl-Mughani-fi al Adwiyah al Mufradahdeals with
medicine. The otherAl Jami Ji al Adwiyah al Mufradahis a very valuable
book containing simple remedies regarding animal, vegetable and
mineral matters which has been described above. It deals also with200
novel plantswhich were not known up to that time.
Other Notable Botanists
Abul Abbàs Al-Nabatialso wandered along the African Coast from Spain
to Arabia in search of herbs and plants. He discovered some rare
plants on the shore of Red Sea. Another botanistIbn Sauri, was
accompanied by an artist during his travels in Syria, who made
sketches of the plants which they found.Ibn Wahshiya, wrote his
celebrated work al-Filahah al-Nabatiyah containing valuable
information about :animals and plants.
Many Cosmographical encyclopedias have been written by Arabs and
Persians, which contain sections on animals, plants and stones, of
which the best known is that ofZakariya al-Kaiwini, who died in 1283
A. D.Al-Dinawari wrote an excellent 'book of plants' andal-Bakrihas
written a book describing in detail the 'Plants of Andalusia'
Ibn Maskwaih, a contemporary ofAl-Beruni, advanced a definite theory
about evolution. According to him plant life at its lowest stage of
evolution does not need any seed for its birth and growth. Nor does it
perpetuate its species by means of the seed.
The great advancement of botanical science in Spain led to the
development of agriculture and horticulture on a grand scale.
"Horticulture improvements" says G. Sarton, "constituted the finest
legacies of Islam, and the gardens of Spain proclaim to this clay one
of the noblest virtues of her Muslim conquerors- The development of
agriculture was one of theglories of Muslim Spain."

Islamic Calendar

In theHoly Quranwe read:
"They ask thee about the new moons. Say, These are means for measuring
time for people's affairs and for the Pilgrimage" (Holy Quran, Ch. 2
V. 190)
Islam has made use of both thelunar and solar systemof measuring
times. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day
the solar system of reckoning time is used as in thefive daily
Prayers(see Basics about Prayers) or for the beginning and breaking of
thefast, and where worship is to be completed within a particular
month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in the
determination of the month or part thereof, the lunar system is used,
as in the determination of the month of fasting or fixing the time
ofHajj(see Hajj Basics) or other festivals.
Tocalculate conversionsfrom one calendar year to the other the
following formula is used:
G = H - ( (3 * H) / 100 ) + 622
H = G + ( ( G - 622) / 32 ) - 622
Where G = Gregorian year (AD)
H = Hijra year (AH)
Thus 2000 AD is 1421 AH
Islamic calendar consists oftwelve lunar months. Each month may be
of29 or 30 daysdepending on the sighting of the new moon. An lunar
year has, on average,355days. This is 10 days less than the solar
year. Hence an Islamic year is moved ahead 10 days each year in solar
calendar year.
Following are the names of the Islamic months:
1.Muharram ul Haram
2.Safar
3.Rabi-ul-Awwal
4.Rab-ul-Akhir
5.Jamadi-ul-Awwal
6.Jamadi-ul-Akhir
7.Rajab
8.Sha'aban
9.Ramadhan
10.Shawwal
11.Dhul Qadah
12.Dhul Hijja
The Holy Quran states:
"The number of months with Allah has been twelve months by Allah's
ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these
four are known as sacred" (Holy Quran)
Muharram,Rajab,Dhul QadahandDhul Hijjaare considered to be sacred
months. Fighting during these sacred months is considered to be a sin.