General hadeeths, Dought & Clear, - *Is it essential to inform the suitor about the presence of a spot of vitiligo on the woman’s body?

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Brief
Is a girl required to inform a man who proposes marriage to her that she has a small spot of vitiligo on her chest?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
Any physical characteristic in a woman or in a man that may ordinarily be off-putting to a spouse and have an impact on physical pleasure, and detract from love and compassion between husband and wife, is regarded as a defect.
This has been explained previously in the answers to questions no. 75405and 111980.
Whatever is deemed to be a defect must be disclosed at the time of the marriage contract, and should not be concealed, so that there will be no deceit and lack of sincerity.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade vendors to conceal defects in their products, and he forbade the one who was aware of the defect to conceal it from the purchaser, then how about defects with regard to marriage? The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to Faatimah ibn Qays, when she consulted him about marrying Mu‘aawiyah or Abu Jahm: “As for Mu‘aawiyah, he is poor and has no wealth; as for Abu Jahm, his stick his stick never leaves his shoulder (i.e., he travels a great deal).” Thus it is known that disclosing faults in the case of marriage is more appropriate and more obligatory.
End quote fromZaad al-Ma‘aad(5/168-169)
Secondly:
The scholars have stated that leprosy is a defect that must be disclosed and the other party must be given the option of annulling the marriage, if it has been concealed from him or her.
As for vitiligo, it is something other than leprosy.
Al-Maawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Leprosy is the appearance of whiteness on the skin in which the blood of the skin and the flesh beneath it disappears, and it is contagious and may be passed to one’s offspring and people with whom one mixes. People fear it and are put off by it, so it is not possible to have complete physical enjoyment in this case …
But in the case of vitiligo, it is a change in the colour of the skin, but it does not take away the blood and is not off-putting to people, so in this case there is no option (of annulling the marriage).
End quote fromal-Haawi al-Kabeer(9/342)
Al-‘Adawi said in hisHaashiyah(5/257), after confirming that there is the option (of annulling the marriage) in the case of leprosy: There is no option (of annulling the marriage) in the case of vitiligo. End quote.
An-Nawawi stated inRawdat at-Taalibeen(7/176) that vitiligo does not come under the same rulings as leprosy.
However the situation of people nowadays varies. In many societies vitiligo is regarded as a defect, and a man is usually put off by a woman who is affected by this condition; if a marriage goes ahead without the husband being aware of it, then after he finds out about it he feels that he has been cheated and deceived, in that case he may hurt his wife or shame her because of that, and he become obsessed with the issue and start to fear that this small spot may spread and affect the rest of the body, or that the disease may be transferred to the children. Undoubtedly this has a negative effect on love and compassion that are the purpose of marriage, and replaces them with aversion and prevents full physical enjoyment between them.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is a mild case of vitiligo regarded as one of the defects that affect marriage? In other words, if a man finds vitiligo in his wife, is it regarded as a defect?
He replied:
Yes, it is undoubtedly a defect, because people are usually put off by it and he may not be able to feel comfortable with his wife except if Allah wills. It is a defect whether it appears in the man or the woman; even if a man has vitiligo and a woman marries him and is unaware of it, it is a defect and she has the option of annulling the marriage because of it.
But in terms of sin, the man is sinning and the woman is sinning if they have this defect, or any other defect that would prevent complete physical enjoyment, and does not disclose it to the other. Undoubtedly concealing it is haraam and comes under the heading of deceit, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) disavowed those who practice deceit.
End quote fromLiqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh(39/10)
The most correct view with regard to this issue:
Is that reference should be made concerning it to what is customary and usual in each society, because societies vary in the way they regard this disease. Some of them regard it as a defect and off-putting, and others do not view it in this manner.
We put this question to our shaykh, ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) and he said:
If the vitiligo is regarded as a defect according to social custom, then it must be disclosed and it is prohibited to conceal it. But if customarily it is not regarded as a defect, then it does not have to be disclosed. End quote.
Conclusion:
If this extent of vitiligo is regarded as a defect according to your social custom, that people find off-putting, then you must disclose it and give the suitor the choice concerning the marriage. This is better for you and for the suitor. You have to be patient and put your trust in Allah, may He be exalted, and Allah will grant you ease after hardship.
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to make things easy for you and to relieve your distress.
And Allah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)

Quraanic Exegesis, Dought & clear, - * This aayah does not mean that it is not allowed to have one’s teeth straightened

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Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould)” [al-Teen 95:4], yet nowadays we find people going to orthodontists to have their teeth straightened. What is the ruling on that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is meant by the verse (interpretation of the meaning):“Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould)” [al-Teen 95:4]is that Allaah created man in the best form and shape, sound and good-looking, as Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer (4/680).
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “in the best stature (mould)” means: he is upright and sound in his youth, as most of the mufassireen said, and he is the best that he can be, because He created everything else looking face down, but He created him upright, with a tongue, and a hand and fingers with which to grasp things. Abu Bakr ibn Taahir said: Adorned with reason, able to follow commands, guided by means of discernment, standing upright, picking up his food with his hand. End quote fromTafseer al-Qurtubi(20/105).
This does not mean that a person should not have his teeth treated, or have them straightened if they are crooked, just as he is not prevented from treating any other sicknesses. What matters is that he should not do that merely for the purpose of beautification, because the general principle with regard to cosmetic procedures is that if they are done to remove a deformity or fault, there is nothing wrong with them, but if they are done merely for purposes of beautification, then they are not allowed. See:Majmoo’ Fataawaal-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 17, question no. 4.
He (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the ruling on having the teeth straightened?
He replied: Straightening the teeth falls into two categories.
1 – Where the purpose is to increase beauty. This is haraam and is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the women who filed teeth for the purpose of beauty and altered the creation of Allaah, even though women are required to look beautiful and they are the ones who grow up with adornments, so it is even more forbidden in the case of men.
2 – Where they are straightened because of a fault; there is nothing wrong with that. Some people may have teeth that stick out – either the incisors or other teeth – in a way that makes them appear ugly to others. In this case there is nothing wrong with straightening the teeth, because this is removing a fault and not increasing beauty. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told a man whose nose had been cut off to get a nose made of silver, then when that caused a foul smell he told him to get a nose made of gold. This was a case of removing a fault; the aim was not to increase beauty. End quote fromMajmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 17, question no. 6.
Conclusion: The verse does not mean that it is forbidden to have the teeth treated and straightened in order to remove a deformity or fault.
And Allaah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)

Quraanic Exegesis, Dought & clear, - * What is “the most trust worthy hand hold”?

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What is “the most trustworthy handhold”?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The most trustworthy handhold is mentioned in two places in the Holy Qur’aan:
In Soorat al-Baqarah, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taaghoot (false gods etc) and believes in Allaah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allaah is All-Hearer, All-Knower”
[al-Baqarah 2:256]
And in Soorat Luqmaan, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whosoever submits his face (himself) to Allaah, while he is a Muhsin (good‑doer, i.e. performs good deeds totally for Allaah’s sake without any show-off or to gain praise or fame and does them in accordance with the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold [Laa ilaaha illAllaah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah)]. And to Allaah return all matters for decision”
[Luqmaan 32:22]
The most trustworthy handhold is also mentioned in the Sunnah, in a hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (3813) and Muslim (2484) from Qays ibn ‘Abbaad who said: I was in Madeenah with some people, among whom were some companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when a man came on whose face were signs of the fear of Allaah. Some of the people said: This man is one of the people of Paradise, this man is one of the people of Paradise. He prayed two rak’ahs, making them short, then he went out. I followed him, and he entered his house, and I entered, and we spoke together. When he was at ease, I said to him: When you came in before, a man said such and such. He said: Subhaan Allaah! No one should say what he does not know. He said: Shall I tell you why that is? I saw a dream at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and I told him about it. I saw myself in a garden –and he mentioned its vastness and richness and lushness – and in the middle of the garden there was a pillar of iron. Its base was in the earth and its top was in the sky, and at the top of it there was a handhold. It was said to me: Climb it. I said: I cannot. Then a helper came to me and he pushed me up from behind. So I climbed until I was at the top of the pillar, and I took hold of the handhold. It was said to me: Hold it tightly.
I woke up and it was in my hand. I told the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about it, and he said: “That garden is Islam, and that pillar is the pillar of Islam, and that handhold is the most trustworthy handhold. You will remain a Muslim until you die.”
He said: And the man was ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Salaam.
The righteous salaf explained the meaning of the most trustworthy handhold in various ways, all of which indicate the same meaning. Ibn ‘Abbaas, Sa’eed ibn Jubayr and al-Dahhaak said: It meansLaa ilaaha ill-Allaah.
Anas ibn Maalik said: It is the Qur’aan.
Mujaahid said: It is faith.
Al-Saddi said: It is Islam.
It was narrated from Saalim ibn Abi’l-Ja’d: It is love for the sake of Allaah and hate for the sake of Allaah.
See:Tafseer Ibn Abi Haatim(2/496).
Ibn Katheer said inTafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem(1/684):
All these reports are saheeh and there is no contradiction between them. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked inFataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb(al-salaah/1218): What is the most trustworthy handhold?
He replied:
The most trustworthy handhold is Islam. It is called a most trustworthy handhold because it leads to Paradise. End quote.
You can see that the meaning given by the scholars to the most trustworthy handhold is that which leads the one who holds onto it to Paradise. That includes Islam, faith, the Qur’aan and the word of Tawheed (laa ilaaha ill-Allaah). Each of the scholars focused on one of these meanings, which are all close in meaning.
And Allaah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)