Fatwas: Part Twenty-Six

 Issued by: Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour, translated by: Ahmed Fathy

A Village in Senegal

Published in May 28, 2012

Question: … Dear Sir, … Could you please, Dr. Mansour, head of IQC, help us regarding our school in the village of…in Senegal, where we teach the Quran and Islam? We could not find any aid from any foreign country to help us go on … Thank you …  

Answer:

   May God come to your aid, but we personally do not have any money to help you, and we cannot fundraise you, as we never did this even to our IQC.

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About Copts

Published in February 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I live in Baghdad, and I'm currently working on my MA thesis on rights of Egyptian Copts in both Islam and secularism … Could you help me by telling me about books to read? … Thank you very much in advance …      

Answer:

 You are welcome to our website, dear daughter, and you will find within our archive of writings lots of articles and books regarding Copts, secularism, and freedom of thought as well as religious freedom in Islam. Instead of requesting anything from anyone, read a lot in our archive and website and look for answers yourself about any questions you pose.

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Ibn Khaldoun

Published in February 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm currently working on my PhD thesis on the development strategy in the seminal book of Ibn Khaldoun, titled "The Introduction", and I'd like you to recommend to me any eBooks and PDFs on that topic to help me … Thank you …     

Answer:

  You must look for yourself to be an excellent researcher. As for our archive of books, you can read our book published on our website titled "The Introduction of Ibn Khaldoun: An Analytical Study".

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Duties of Wives

Published in February 26, 2017

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … Are any wife's chores inside her home like cooking, cleaning, serving her husband, etc. deemed a strictly religious duty or just a moral obligation? … Thank you for taking time to answer me …      

Answer:

  As for customs, norms, and traditions, a wife is expected to perform and/or oversee chores of the household while the husband is to spend on the household and on her needs. Regarding religion, it is not a religious duty that wives would do this; all household members (including husbands) can share chores. Besides, a wife can impose her conditions in the marriage contract if she chooses to dedicate her time to work/study and obliging her husband to bring servants to do the chores, and when her husband agrees on any conditions written in the marriage contract he signed, it is obligatory for him to fulfill them.

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It Is OK

Published in February 26, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK to read any other Quranic verses that contain supplication and praise to Allah instead of the testimony in 3:18? Would this make my prayers acceptable to God … Thank you …    

Answer:

  It is OK; what matters is to adhere to piety and the fear of God while performing prayers.

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Part Two of "The Book of Prayers"

Published in February 25, 2017

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … When are you gonna publish online the second part of your book titled "The Book of Prayers" … I'm waiting eagerly for it … Thank you …      

Answer:

  We are currently working on this book, and we hope we can finish it very soon to publish it after the serialized book we are publishing now. We assure you that this second part traces the history of how prayers were performed in many eras, from the era of the pre-Umayyad caliphs to the Abbasid Era. May God help all of us in our endeavors.  

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Ibn Rushd Media

Published in February 25, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm waiting eagerly (since 8 months) for more short movies from your company Ibn Rushd Media about Muslim women marrying peaceful non-Muslim men, and I admire your appearance in the documentary about it posted online … Thank you …   

Answer:

https://www.facebook.com/IbnRushdMediaLLC/

http://ibnrushdmedia.com/

  we have established our company Ibn Rushd Media to produce short movies and documentary movies, and it is registered formally as per the American laws, but we lack financial means to produce any movies now; the short movie in which we appear (about Muslim women marrying peaceful non-Muslim men) was produced by our voluntary efforts with the help of some other volunteers, and as usual, we could not produce but this one movie because we are very poor. May God come to the aid of us all.  

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Laughter-Inducing Fiqh Balderdash

Published in February 23, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Some Sunnite fiqh books assert that men should men's' clothes should never touch the ground as this is a sign of pride, and that their clothes must be shortened. But I think pride is linked to hearts and minds, not clothes. What of you think? … Thank you …    

Answer:

  We think that Sunnite fiqh books contain nothing but laughter-inducing balderdash and nonsense. 

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Engagement Parties

Published in February 23, 2017

Question: …  Dear Dr. Mansour, … I tend to think that attending or indeed arranging engagement parties for couples is a social obligation or duty and not a religious one at all. What do you think? … Thank you …     

Answer:

 Engagement parties to announce proposals of marriage are OK to be done and attended, and they are not against Islam; attending them is indeed a social obligation as per customs and traditions of all societies.

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Please Read More on Our Website

Published in February 24, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I'm a Kurdish man from Iraq who came across you website by accident weeks ago … Would you please explain to me in a nutshell the main features of Quranist Islam? … What are the pillars of Islam in your opinion? Thank you …        

Answer:

  Please read more articles and books in our archive (in Arabic and in English) before posing repeated questions to save us our time and effort. We have refuted the false hadith about the assumed pillars of Islam in the article (in English) titled "This Cursed Hadith of the So-Called Five Pillars of Islam" found on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=14259

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Read On To Know More

Published in February 24, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Are all angels never disobeying God? I've inferred this from this verse about angels: "…They never disobey God in anything He commands them, and they carry out whatever they are commanded." (66:6) … What do you think? … Thank you …       

Answer:

 If you have read on more of our archive, you would have known that we have said that the verse you quote refers to angels that will be created in Hell, when Hell is created on the Day of Judgment, to oversee Hell and its dwellers. "O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families from Hell-Fire, whose fuel is people and stones. Over it are angels, fierce and powerful. They never disobey God in anything He commands them, and they carry out whatever they are commanded." (66:6). As for the rest of angels, they will be judged on the Last Day, as we infer from the following verses: "There is none in the heavens and the earth but will come to the Most Merciful as a servant. He has enumerated them, and counted them one by one. And each one of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone." (19:93-95); "On the Day when the Spirit and the angels stand in row. They will not speak, unless it be one permitted by the Most Merciful, and he will say what is right. That is the Day of Reality. So whoever wills, let him take a way back to his Lord." (78:38-39).

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The Kurds and Ourselves

Published in March 2, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … As a fair historian with vast knowledge, you should author a lengthy study about Kurds and their history and their plight … Thank you …     

Answer:

  Indeed, we have no time for authoring such a study, but we have written a lot to defend their rights. What you request is the duty of Kurdish researchers who can do it better that we would. We are not Kurdish, but we like the Kurds. We have once written an article about an important Kurdish ruler during the Second Abbasid Era.

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About Fetuses and Mountains in the Quran

Published in March 2, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … First of all, I'd like to thank you very much about your reformist writings that have changed me for the better and made me embrace Quranism … But I tend to think that science contradict the Quran in relation to mountains and stages of fetuses, and I refuse to admit that the Quranic verses contain scientific facts … What do you think? … I'd like to have an account on your website to write articles, if you please … Thank you …   

Answer:

  You are welcome to our website; send us your personal data and you will be registered on our website to be able to comment on writings of others first, and later on, after your read a lot in our archive, you may be promoted as a writer. Please read our articles about scientific indications in Quranic verses and the articles of other fellow Quranists about digital miracles in the Quran.  

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Remembrance of God Alone

Published in March 2, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, …  Regarding this Quranic verse: "In houses which God has permitted to be raised, and His name is remembered therein. He is glorified therein, morning and evening." (24:36), does this mean that real mosques are ''raised'' in the sense of being grand in size and decorated or in the sense that they are filled with God's remembrance with loud voices? … What do you think? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  The verse 24:36 refers to celebrating and remembering God's name along without any mortals beside Him (prophets or non-prophets; Muhammad, Ali, Al-Hussein, etc.), and not in loud voices as Sufi polytheists assume and actually do (and invoking their saints beside God!). Besides, a mosque does not need to be richly furnished or decorated, and any simple places/rooms suffice to perform prayers. What really matters is that a mosque is to be dedicated only to glorify, sanctify, deify, thank, and worship God, without invoking any creatures or mortals beside Him, especially deified and sanctified mortals that some people make them equal to God. By the way, it is absolutely prohibited to name a mosque after names of people (dead or alive), as this indicates that the mosque would be dedicated to worship of mortals and revering their names. One can name schools, hospitals, or cities after names of people.  

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The Many Descriptions of the Quran

Published in February 24, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I wonder why there are many other names and descriptions of the Quran repeated many times in the Quranic text … What do you think? … Thank you very much for your time …  

Answer:

 Indeed, there are many names and descriptions of the Quranic in the Quranic text to show its greatness and explain its proper usage, and repetitions with more details of any idea in the Quranic text is part of the fact that Quranic verses explain and interpret one another. These descriptions of the Quran in the Quranic text itself include the following: the Wisdom, the Book, the Glorious Quran, the Remembrance, the Invincible Book, the Noble Quran, the Knowledge, and the Guidance.     

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Names and Traits of Angels

Published in February 25, 2017

Question: …  Dear Dr. Mansour, … Does this Quranic verse "Not a word does he utter, but there is a watcher by him, ready." (50:18) refer to names or traits of angels as ''watcher'' and ''ready''?  … Thank you …    

Answer:

  For every single human being during their lifetime until death, there are two angels registering and recording all his deeds and words as per 50:18, and on the Day of Resurrection, two angels will be carrying the soul to be judged, as per this verse: "And every soul will come forward, accompanied by a driver and a witness." (50:21). We personally do not know if ''watcher'' & ''ready'' and ''driver'' & ''witness'' are names of angels or describing traits of these angels.  

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My Adolescent Son

Published in February 28, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I seek your advice; one of my sons is a stubborn adolescent who is very nervous and gets mad or infuriated very easily … He does not listen to my pieces of advice, and he refuses to perform prayers … My punishing him severely and dealing with him firmly and strictly produced no results … What am I supposed to do? Any advice? Thank you for your precious time …    

Answer:

  Raising an adolescent is very filled with hardships, and all fathers passed through this stage with their offspring, and problems exacerbate when the adolescent is brought up within well-off family members that indulge and spoil the adolescents. We advise you to be a role-model for your son and to deal gently with him; try to be his real best friend to encourage him to make you his confidant. Later on, try gently to explain to him the meaning of real manhood as bearing responsibility of oneself and trying to earn his self-respect and to gain the respect of others by his deeds and attitudes. This way, he would stop making troubles or mischief like childish adolescents. You must encourage him to have a great aim for his life and career (what field to study, what hobby to pursue, etc.), and make him move away from corrupt friends who have no morals and ethics. Do not sue physical violence with him; but use passive punishments by not giving him his allowance and so on, and if he does something positive, show your appreciation by deeds and words. Remember that during adolescence, a son would want to draw the attention of everybody around him. Later on, after you get closer to your son, tell him gently about the importance of performing daily prayers without pressurizing him at all, and tell him some Quranist ideas of ours about prayers, and remind him of the Last Day. Lastly, remember that no one is responsible for guiding any one (as far as religious guidance is concerned), and that life is a test for everyone, with results and reward given on the Day of Resurrection. May God help and guide all of us.      

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Severing Relations with One's Parents

Published in January 1, 2014

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Since I converted to Quranism, my extremist Salafist father is now showing hatred and contempt toward me and he humiliates me with unkind words and comments before others … He is trying to turn my life into veritable hell, as if this way, I'd re-convert to Sunnite Wahabism again … Of course, what he hopes for is quite impossible … I cannot leave his home because I'm still studying at the university and I cannot work while I study … Can I severe all relations with him later on? I'm bearing patiently with him until now and never talk to him so as to avoid further troubles … once I graduate with a degree in my hands, I'll leave Cairo and live and work in another governorate with one of my relatives … When I do this, am I supposed to talk to him through the phone and so on? Indeed, I wanna avoid him for the rest of my life, for he is so ignorant and so fanatic; any quiet conversation with him is quite impossible indeed … But I wanna make sure that this is not prohibited in Islam … What do you think? … Thank you  …   

Answer:

  We read in the Quran after God's commands to death kindly with one's parents that one can avoid them if they want to force one to follow their religion, but to remain on speaking terms with them and talk kindly to them from a distance: "But if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from your Lord which you hope for, then say to them words of comfort." (17:28). "But if they strive to have you associate with Me something of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them. But keep them company in this life, in kindness…" (31:15).

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A Bad Father

Published in November 28, 2013

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … After divorcing his pregnant wife and never giving her any money to spend on his daughter she delivered, the daughter grew up and got married without ever seeing him, and she died while giving birth to a child … Now, this father insists on getting his share of inheritance money, but I feel he does not deserve it because he never spent a penny on his late daughter all her lifetime (even for education and marriage) and he never get acquainted with her … What do you think? …Thank you …    

Answer:

  Regardless of his being a bad person who lacks pity and mercy toward this late daughter, inheritance shares in the Quran do not stipulate conditions (regarding piety or lack of it) for those deserving those shares. Hence, you cannot legally prevent him from having his inheritance share from his late daughter.  

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Marrying My Daughter to An Italian Married Man!

Published in February 27, 2017

Question: … The 40-year-old Sufi married son of my sister, who lives in Italy and is an Italian citizen now, proposed to my 22-year-old daughter … I'm a Quranist and so are my all my daughters, and I insisted on her completing her university education first … But indeed, I object to that proposal of marriage, though my daughter is happy with it … I feel the groom is too old for her, and he is a polytheistic Sufi, and his wife (in Egypt) sees him only one month per year … I feel too embarrassed to refuse because he is my relative … My daughter wants to immigrate to Italy with him! She is waiting eagerly to get her degree to marry him! Am I to force her to reject this marriage proposal? Is it my duty as a father to prevent such a marriage that will surely bring nothing but trouble for her and for me?! … Any advice? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  In terms of Quranism (real Islam), a young woman is the one to choose not her parents. As long as this married fiancé is peaceful and will not prevent her from being a Quranist by coerce her to follow his religion, this marriage is legal and OK. Beyond all this, you have the right to advise you daughter and talk to her at length about pros and cons of that marriage. Indeed, marriage norms differ from one country to the other; polygamy and age differences between the wives and their husbands are refused in Egypt by most citizens, but this is not the case in some other Arab countries. But it is utterly immoral in our opinion to marry poor people's daughters off to rich old men to gain money. Hence, if we were in your shoes and had a daughter that would listen to us, we would refuse to marry her off to this married man.