Dought & clear, - She likes a religiously committed man, and there is correspondence between them, such ascongratulations (for Ramadaan) and religious reminders. What should she do?

I am a young woman who graduated from university four years ago. Praise be to Allah, I wear hijab and memorise Qur’an, and I love Islam a great deal. I want to know all the details of my religion. I grew up in a conservative family, and during all stages of my life I did not mix with boys, even at work, and I never put any boy’s number in my mobile phone. I always pray to Allah to bless me with a righteous husband who will help me to learn Islam and Qur’an, and help me to be religiously committed. I have refused all the young man who proposed to me, because they were not as religiously committed as I hoped for. My problem started when I opened an engineering office, and I began to work in it in order to help my family. I got to know a young man who started coming to my office for some of his work. He is studying for his Masters degree in ‘ilm al-hadeeth (hadeeth sciences), and he is top of the class in his specialised studies. I asked him if I could ask him about some matters having to do with Islam, and he asked me for my phone number so that he could tell me the answers. I gave him my number because I trusted myself and him, because he is a man who has knowledge of sharee‘ah, and it is obvious that I am impressed with his Islamic character, because in our society you rarely see a young man who follows the example of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and lets his beard grow. After that he contacted me and gave me the answer, and he said: You can get in touch any time you need something. After that, I sent him a text message to thank him and congratulate him on the occasion of the month of Ramadan, and he replied to my message. After that, he began to send me messages from time to time that contain advice, du‘aa’s or hadeeth of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and I began to reply in like manner. But I was always very happy to receive his messages, and they made me feel that he remembers me and was thinking of me, and I prayed to Allah to make him my husband, and I said to myself that maybe he will graduate and propose to me. I do not know why I am so fond of him. Every time a young man proposes to me, I reject him and compare him to this man, especially with regard to religious commitment. But sometimes I think that exchanging messages with him is haraam, so I would stop doing that, but he was sending me a message every week, and I used to reply and I thought that if it was haraam, and he is one of the people of knowledge, then how can he approve of that? I do not know if he is married or not, but I think that if he was married, he would not send messages to me; I know the society in which I live. Now I do not know what I should do, or how I can find out whether he is married or not, or if he wants to marry me or not, or if corresponding with him is haraam. Should I wait for him? I do not have anyone trustworthy who could help me. I know that in material terms he is not well off, but I used to wonder if this is the reason, because I have a share of beauty that makes many people propose marriage to me. Please advise me. Praise be to Allah. The Shaytaan uses various means and methods to ensnare people, including the exact phrases that you mentioned every time: “I trust myself”, ” I trust him”, “for the sake of beneficial knowledge”, “congratulations on the occasion of Ramadan and Eid.” After that comes emotional attachment, then words of admiration, then love, and the matter may continue until it develops into things that are worse than that and more haraam. You made a mistake when you gave your mobile number to a man who is not your mahram, and you made a mistake when you sent him a message thanking him, then a message congratulating him (on the occasion of Ramadan), and you made a mistake when you let him carry on sending messages to you. We have discussed the ruling on correspondence and conversations between the sexes in several fatwas. Please see the answers to questions no. 78375, 26890and 82702 You have two ways of ending this problem and putting an end to continuing in sin. They are: Propose marriage to him yourself, but in a manner that will preserve your dignity and modesty. We have discussed the way of doing that in the answer to question no. 99737 Or you can send him a message saying that you made a mistake when you allowed him to continue corresponding with you, and that you are not happy about it, and that you have decided to put an end to this correspondence. In that case, he will either tell you frankly that he is interested in marrying you, or he will agree to put an end to the correspondence. Whatever the case, you will have achieved your purpose. We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to help you to do all that is good. And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Who takes the souls of animals and what is their fate?

When animate beings other than humans, namely animals and birds, die, where do their souls go? Does the Angel of death take them, or what exactly happens to them? Praise be to Allah. Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that the Angel of death takes the souls of the sons of Adam, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):“Say: "The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought back to your Lord."” [as-Sajdah 32:11]. With regard to the souls of animals and birds, there is no text that speaks about them in the Qur’an or saheeh Sunnah, as far as we know. Rather what has been narrated concerning that is a hadeeth that is not sound (saheeh). This is a report that was narrated by al-‘Aqeeli inad-Du‘afa’: “The lifespan of all animals, lice, fleas, locusts, horses and mules, all of them, cattle and so on, their lifespans are all connected to their tasbeeh. When their tasbeeh comes to an end, Allah takes their souls, and the Angel of death has nothing to do with that.” Al-Albaani said inas-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah(4/188): It is mawdoo‘ (fabricated). Hence some of the scholars said that the Angel of death is the one who takes the souls of all creatures, whilst others said that Allah takes their souls Himself and causes their life to cease. See:at-Tadhkirahby al-Qurtubi, p. 75;al-Fawaakih ad-Dawaani, 1/100 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) is of the view that asking about that is unnecessary. He (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is the Angel of death appointed to take the souls of animals? He replied: What would you think if I said that the Angel of death is or is not appointed to take the souls of animals; what benefit is there in knowing this? Did the Sahaabah ask the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about that, when they were more eager than others to seek knowledge, and the Messenger was more able than others to answer, yet despite that they did not ask? Rather Allah, may He be glorified and exalted) says (interpretation of the meaning):“Say: ‘The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought back to your Lord.’” [as-Sajdah 32:11]. He (the Angel of death) is appointed to take the souls of the sons of Adam; with regard to the souls of creatures other than the sons of Adam, nothing is proven. And Allah knows best. But the most important thing to say in response to this question is that man should not go to extremes (inasking questions). The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed.” So do not ask about things in which there is no benefit. By Allah, if there were any benefit in our knowing whether the Angel of death takes the souls of other creatures, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, would have told us about it, either in the Qur’an or Sunnah, or Allah would have caused someone to ask the Messenger about that. Hence the Sahaabah would rejoice when a Bedouin came from the desert to ask about something that they might feel too shy to ask the Messenger about. The point is, for you and anyone else who is listening, that delving deeply into such matters is wrong, because the Messenger said: ““Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed.” And on one occasion he said: “Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed, those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed, those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed”, three times. With regard to such matters of the unseen, you should take what has been proven and leave that which has not been mentioned… With regard to matters of the unseen, we should take that which has been proven to us, and as for the rest, we should keep quiet about it; if it was important for us, or if there were any interest to be served by knowing it, Allah would have explained it. Allah, may He be exalted, said to the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad SAW) the reminder and the advice (the Quran), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them” [an-Nahl 16:44]. The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not leave anything that we need but he explained it to us. End quote fromLiqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh, 11/146 Secondly: With regard to the fate of the souls of these animals, it was narrated by ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq in hisMusannaf, by Ibn Jubayr, and by al-Bayhaqi inal-Ba‘thfrom Abu Hurayrah, that he said concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning),“There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered” [al-An‘aam 6:38]: All creatures will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection, animals, beasts, birds and everything. Then Allah’s justice on that day will reach such an extent that Allah will settle the score for the hornless animal with the horned one. Then He will say, ‘Be dust,’ at which point the disbeliever will say:‘Would that I were dust!’ [an-Naba’ 78:40]. See:Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/255 Al-Albaani said inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah(4/466): This was narrated by as-Suyooti inad-Durr al-Manthoor(6/310), but he did not say anything about its isnaad as he usually does. According to Ibn Jareer (30/17) it is qawiy. End quote. And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - Who takes the souls of animals and what is their fate?

When animate beings other than humans, namely animals and birds, die, where do their souls go? Does the Angel of death take them, or what exactly happens to them? Praise be to Allah. Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that the Angel of death takes the souls of the sons of Adam, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):“Say: "The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought back to your Lord."” [as-Sajdah 32:11]. With regard to the souls of animals and birds, there is no text that speaks about them in the Qur’an or saheeh Sunnah, as far as we know. Rather what has been narrated concerning that is a hadeeth that is not sound (saheeh). This is a report that was narrated by al-‘Aqeeli inad-Du‘afa’: “The lifespan of all animals, lice, fleas, locusts, horses and mules, all of them, cattle and so on, their lifespans are all connected to their tasbeeh. When their tasbeeh comes to an end, Allah takes their souls, and the Angel of death has nothing to do with that.” Al-Albaani said inas-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah(4/188): It is mawdoo‘ (fabricated). Hence some of the scholars said that the Angel of death is the one who takes the souls of all creatures, whilst others said that Allah takes their souls Himself and causes their life to cease. See:at-Tadhkirahby al-Qurtubi, p. 75;al-Fawaakih ad-Dawaani, 1/100 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) is of the view that asking about that is unnecessary. He (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is the Angel of death appointed to take the souls of animals? He replied: What would you think if I said that the Angel of death is or is not appointed to take the souls of animals; what benefit is there in knowing this? Did the Sahaabah ask the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about that, when they were more eager than others to seek knowledge, and the Messenger was more able than others to answer, yet despite that they did not ask? Rather Allah, may He be glorified and exalted) says (interpretation of the meaning):“Say: ‘The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought back to your Lord.’” [as-Sajdah 32:11]. He (the Angel of death) is appointed to take the souls of the sons of Adam; with regard to the souls of creatures other than the sons of Adam, nothing is proven. And Allah knows best. But the most important thing to say in response to this question is that man should not go to extremes (inasking questions). The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed.” So do not ask about things in which there is no benefit. By Allah, if there were any benefit in our knowing whether the Angel of death takes the souls of other creatures, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, would have told us about it, either in the Qur’an or Sunnah, or Allah would have caused someone to ask the Messenger about that. Hence the Sahaabah would rejoice when a Bedouin came from the desert to ask about something that they might feel too shy to ask the Messenger about. The point is, for you and anyone else who is listening, that delving deeply into such matters is wrong, because the Messenger said: ““Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed.” And on one occasion he said: “Those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed, those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed, those who go to extremes (in their words and deeds) are doomed”, three times. With regard to such matters of the unseen, you should take what has been proven and leave that which has not been mentioned… With regard to matters of the unseen, we should take that which has been proven to us, and as for the rest, we should keep quiet about it; if it was important for us, or if there were any interest to be served by knowing it, Allah would have explained it. Allah, may He be exalted, said to the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad SAW) the reminder and the advice (the Quran), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them” [an-Nahl 16:44]. The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not leave anything that we need but he explained it to us. End quote fromLiqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh, 11/146 Secondly: With regard to the fate of the souls of these animals, it was narrated by ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq in hisMusannaf, by Ibn Jubayr, and by al-Bayhaqi inal-Ba‘thfrom Abu Hurayrah, that he said concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning),“There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered” [al-An‘aam 6:38]: All creatures will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection, animals, beasts, birds and everything. Then Allah’s justice on that day will reach such an extent that Allah will settle the score for the hornless animal with the horned one. Then He will say, ‘Be dust,’ at which point the disbeliever will say:‘Would that I were dust!’ [an-Naba’ 78:40]. See:Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/255 Al-Albaani said inas-Silsilah as-Saheehah(4/466): This was narrated by as-Suyooti inad-Durr al-Manthoor(6/310), but he did not say anything about its isnaad as he usually does. According to Ibn Jareer (30/17) it is qawiy. End quote. And Allah knows best.

Dought & clear, - The difference between muraabahah and riba-based loans

There is a man who is looking for financing. He has a company that has ten million in its account, and I found a second man who says, “I will give him financing ten times the amount in the company’s account, and he can pay it back over ten years, with an annual profit of 4%,” and he describes it as muraabahah. I am an intermediary or agent. I put the first man in touch with the other, and I took my commission. Is this work of mine permissible? Praise be to Allah. Permissible muraabahah is where the financer (the one who has the money) buys something for one hundred million – as in the question – then when he has acquired it and taken possession of it, he sells it to your friend for payment in instalments over ten years, with a profit of 4%, for example; then your friend can keep the product or sell it in the marketplace for cash at a lower price, in order to obtain the cash. This is muraabahah which is valid according to Islam. For more information, please see the answer to question no. 36408. But if the financer gives this money (one hundred million) to your friend on the basis that he will take it back from him in instalments, with an increase of 4%, then this is a riba-based loan, which is haraam, whether it is called financing or muraabahah. In fact calling it by this name is a kind of confusing and misleading trickery, which is also haraam. The scholars are unanimously agreed that riba-based loans are haraam. Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Any loan in which it is stipulated that more (than the original amount) be paid back is haraam, and there is no difference of scholarly opinion concerning that. Ibn al-Mundhir said: They are unanimously agreed that if the lender stipulates that the borrower must pay back more or give a gift, and he gives the loan on that basis, if he takes anything additional to that, it is riba. It was narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Ibn ‘Abbaas and Ibn Mas‘ood that they forbade loans that bring benefits. End quote fromal-Mughni, 6/436 What appears to be the case from your question is that this transaction is not of the first type. You did not mention any product that the financer bought then sold to your friend. If the transaction is a riba-based loan, then your involvement in it is haraam, and what you must do is two things: 1. repent to Allah, may He be exalted, and do not do that again; and do not go ahead with any transaction before you find out the Islamic ruling on it 2. get rid of the money that you still have, because it came from haraam work; as for that which you spent before you found out that it is haraam, you do not have to do anything about it. And Allah knows best.