Fatwas: Part Thirty-Eight

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

Birthdates of Companions

Published in May 30, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Can we believe ages and birth dates of historical figures that lived during Muhammad's lifetime, or the so-called companions? … This is part of history, right? Or are you casting doubt on that topic which is much talked of by clergy?  … Thank you …     

Answer:            

  All ages and birthdates of that era are invariably wrong; historians wrote such items after more than 200 years of the death of such historical figures. Besides, no Arabs in Arabia before Islam ever cared to register birthdates of anyone at all. The history of the so-called companions was first written in the Abbasid Era, within the book titled "Al-Tabakat Al-Kobra" by the historian M. Ibn Saad who died in 230 A.H., who recorded information from oral narratives from his tutor/teacher Al-Waqidi, who in his turn collected doubted oral narratives from so many people. Thus, no birthdates at the time are to be taken as absolute truth.   

-----------------------------------------------------          

Not Prohibited

Published in May 22, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Is it OK to draw Quranic verses on interior or exterior walls of houses and mosques? … Thank you …  

Answer:

 It is not prohibited.

-----------------------------------------------------           

Not At All Prohibited

Published in May 22, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK in trade to sell and buy items within policies of refunding or returning sold merchandise? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 It is not prohibited at all as long as mutual consent is there between buyers and sellers.

--------------------------------------------------------                     

Lustful Looks

Published in May 22, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Are lustful looks considered as grave sins or small sins as far as Quranism is concerned? … Thank you …     

Answer:

 The lustful looks at other persons of both sexes and to pornographic material (videos and photos) are prohibited in the Quran, but doing this is a minor mistake or lapse, not a grave sin. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Verbal Abuse

Published in May 21, 2017

Question: … May God curse you, Ahmad Mansour! … How dare such a traitor like you ascribe lies and falsehoods to God and the Holy Prophet Muhammad to misguide people?!  … May you rot in Hell with Satan! …    

Answer:

 Let me persuade you to calm down and think clearly; who is ascribing falsehoods and lies to Muhammad? Quranists or the Sunnite Muhammadans? If you read our archive carefully, you will see that Quranists defend Islam and Muhammad against lies and fabrications attributed to them for centuries. Quranists are the ones who use the Quran as the criterion to reform all Muhammadans and their tenets. Those Muhammadans believe in hadiths and narratives that are ascribed to Muhammad more than 200 years after his death, using a laughable series of narrators, authored by those who have ascribed lies and myths to God's religion. Satan and devils make the gullible ones think that they are in the right by adhering to such myths, while assuming they are the guided ones, and on the Last Day,there will appear to them from God what they never anticipated.    

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Returning of Stolen Goods

Published in May 19, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … A thief has repented and desired to return stolen goods to their rightful owners, but what is he supposed to do if the robbed persons died or not found anywhere? … Thank you …    

Answer:

  We think he must return the items to their rightful owners or their inheritors; or else, to the police or any governmental bodies specializing in such cases. If the stolen item(s) are lost or corrupted, its worth of money is to be paid. Thus, the repentance is deemed acceptable to God.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Conditions of Writing on our Website

Published in May 17, 2017

Question:  … Dear Dr. Mansour, … I used to write comments years ago on your website articles, but I found out later that my account is deactivated; could you create me a new one? By the way, I've noticed that some writers do not adhere to writings conditions to the letter and they must be expelled from your website … Thank you …      

Answer:

 To expel someone from our website is very hard to do; we beseech all writers to adhere to conditions of writing on our website.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Sufism and Asceticism

Published in June 8, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'd like to know the difference between Sufism and asceticism as they seem to be overlapping … Thank you …   

Answer:

  We refer you to our book titled "Sufism and Religious Life in the Mameluke Era in Egypt", within the encyclopedia of Sufism published on our website; please read our entire archive before posing repeated questions.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Visiting One's Relatives

Published in June 8, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Could you please show me the difference between signing marriage contract and consummation of the marriage in terms of Islamic legislations? … If one is sinful if one does not visit one's relatives (e.g., one's sisters and aunts, etc.)? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 Weeks ago, we have shown in an article the difference between betrothal/engagement, signing the marriage contract, and consummation of marriage and within another article the different Quranic terminology indicating (dis)obeying God's commands. One must visit one's relatives as part of goodness, kindness, generosity, and charity. We have tackled these topics a lot; please read our entire archive before posing repeated questions.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Funerals and Rites

Published in June 8, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Typically in the Arab society in which I live, people blame others who do not attend funerals and all rites linked to them; such rites and customs are not part of Islam, right? … What do you think? … Thank you …      

Answer:

  These are social norms and customs that are within the permissible since one does not commit any sins or prohibited deeds; it is wrong to assume that such traditions are part of Islamic sharia legislations. Thus, it is NOT an obligation or a religious duty to attend funerals. We have published before an article on that topic, showing prohibited things in funerals and how their rites are never part of Islam. Please read more from our archive before posing repeated queries to save our time.

-----------------------------------------------------

Acceptable Pilgrimage

Published in May 29, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I am a medical doctor … In 1987, I have treated a Saudi prince from a mysterious illness which non-Arab doctors failed to treat, and I refused to take any fees from this prince … Months ago, this prince contacted me and insisted to pay for a pilgrimage journey as a gift from him, and I accepted; this was the second time for me to perform the Hajj pilgrimage … But will God accept this pilgrimage since I paid nothing for it? … I feel confused. What do you think? … Thank you …         

Answer:

 Yes; your Hajj pilgrimage is acceptable in that case; especially that you have performed pilgrimage before at your own expense years ago as you have told us, and we hope you have adhered to piety during Ihram (especially by avoiding the Yathreb mausoleum and other pagan rites we have explained in our book titled "Pilgrimage between Islam and the Muhammadans"). God says in the Quran: "... Pilgrimage to the House is a duty to God for all who can make the journey..." (3:97). This applies to your case; you could make the journey thanks to this invitation you have received. May God bless you. 

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Fasting and Abstaining

Published in May 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is there a difference between fasting and abstaining? … Thank you …

Answer:

  Not at all; as per 2:183-185 and 19:26, we understand that both terms are synonymous; fasting means to abstain from certain items (food, drinking, and sex) as per of the Abraham's religion, and in 19:26, we see that legislations are not to be derived from Quranic stories, as Mary has said in this verse that her fasting included abstaining from talking to others.  

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Longer Lifetime

Published in May 16, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK to wish others a longer life, especially when in funerals as a way of offering condolences as we say in Egypt? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  It is silly to wish anyone a longer life, whether in funerals or not; each person lives until the predetermined age for him/her ends, and this is decided by God before one is born. When one dies, nothing is left from the deceased one's lifetime to be 'granted' to other relatives and family; this is just silly notions that date back of Pharaonic traditions.              

------------------------------------------------------    

Written Will and Testament and Inheritance

Published in May 15, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … If a dying person would be inherited anyway by relatives as per shares stipulated in the Quran, why should this person have a written will and testament? … What do you think? … Thank you …   

Answer:

True pious believers must have a written will and testament - the sooner the better - before they die. Before any inheritance shares are distributed, the will must be executed and all debts be settled first. In case of now wills to be found, inheritance shares (as per the Quran) are distributed after settling any debts. The authority in a given country must execute wills, and wills are to be written within justice, kindness, and goodness.  

--------------------------------------------------------                    

Hardly Able

Published in May 14, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm from Indonesia and my Arabic is not that good; some scholars assume that there are missing words in the Quran to be understood and inferred within contexts as per Arabic grammatical rules; is that true? The example I focus on is 2:184 about fasting; could you explain this to me? … Thank you …     

Answer:

God says in the Quran: "...For a specified number of days. But whoever among you is sick, or on a journey, then a number of other days. For those who are hardly able to fast: a ransom of feeding a needy person. But whoever volunteers goodness, it is better for him..." (2:184). There are no deleted or omitted words in the Quran at all as Sunnites claim in their incessant endeavors to distort and twist meanings of Quranic verses. We infer from 2:184 that those who can fast but with dire consequences harmful to their health must not fast at all and to donate food or money instead if they cannot fast other days away from Ramadan. Grammatical Arabic words and styles have different meanings as per contexts in ordinary texts and in the Quranic text.   

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Singing Is Not Prohibited

Published in May 10, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I came from a Shiite background in Iraq, but I'm now a Quranist … Some Shiite clergy assert that secular singing and music are prohibited as idle talk to be avoided; is that true? Some extremists who control Baghdad streets now impose on people never to allow loud music or singing in public … Thank you  …  

Answer:

 Singing and music are never prohibited in the Quran; even songs with sexual innuendos are deemed as small sins or lapses. What is really prohibited is religious singing and setting the Quranic verses to music by reciting them as if they were sing lyrics. Read more within our archive; we have dedicated some lengthy articles to this topic.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Corrupt Divorce

Published in May 9, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I said to a relative of mine that I have verbally divorced my wife, in a fit of fury, but I did not actually … Does verbal divorce, without witnesses, considered lawful? … Thank you …

Answer:

 No; legal divorces must be registered in papers/documents of a marriage registrar in the presence of at least two witnesses. There is nothing in Islam called verbal divorce; this is a Sunnite myth. Please try to control your fits of anger; stifling one's anger is a trait of really pious persons. Please read our article (in English) about this topic "Contradictions in Divorce Legislations between The Quran and The Sunnite Jurisprudence" found on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=15977

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Marriage in Mosques

Published in May 8, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I am a woman who is currently a Syrian refugee in Germany (with my 77-year-old mother) since a year and a half; I wonder if you have a Quranist fatwa to help me solve my problem … I'm learning the German language in a center that will help me get a job to spend on myself and my mother; I'm her only daughter … I have met a Swedish-Palestinian man who desires to marry me; I cannot move to Sweden with him along with my mother  … But the problem is that if I get married, I'll lose my chance as a single women in this center to get a job, esp. if I register this marriage in Germany or Sweden … the solution is to get married inside a mosque, without official papers (for a while) … Would that be OK within Quranism? … Of course, I desire to please God and never to fall into sinning … What do you think? … Thank you …     

Answer:

 You can marry within a mosque within the presence of at least two witnesses and a dowry must be paid to you by your husband, and a paper asserting this marriage must be written to be kept by you (the wife), and you must record the event using a video camera, so that your rights are maintained in the future when you can register this marriage officially. God bless you.

-----------------------------------------------------                              

Singers of Kings and Tyrants

Published in May 19, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … In case one hears a song by a singer who praises a tyrant (a president or a king), should one stops hearing this singer and inwardly rejects and denounces this shameful deed of hypocrisy or not? … Thank you …    

Answer:

Those supporting tyrants that way share their injustices, whether they are artists, media figures, clergy, retinue members, ministers, etc. as all of them are hypocrites who encourage tyrants. Real believers must avoid such deeds like listening to songs praising tyrants, and you do not necessarily have to stop listening to that singer within his other ordinary songs.

-----------------------------------------------------                    

Allowed Dancing School!

Published in May 23, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I am about to open my dancing school, but people think this is a shameful act; because of sexual frustrations and sex-starved people in the Arab world, dancing is stigmatized as if a sin, but it is never mentioned in the Quran as a sin, right? … I think dancing is one of the many good components of our culture, as long as one does not wear revealing clothes or arousing sexual desires, right? … What do you think? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 We think that prohibited types of dancing are the ones when dancers wear revealing clothes and arouse sexual desires by including movements with sexual innuendos; e.g., belly-dancing movements. Yet, such dancing is a small sin or a minor lapse, not a full-blown grave sin like fornication. As for other dancing forms of elevated arts (e.g., Ballet), they are not prohibited at all. As for your project, it can be legal/permissible within Islam or can be prohibited as per one criterion: would such activities lead to fornication or not. Those who love to spread fornication are punished in this world and the next in case they do not repent: "Those who love to see immorality spread among the believers-for them is a painful punishment, in this life and in the Hereafter. God knows, and you do not know." (24:19).