Fatwas: Part Forty-Two

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

Awra

Published in June 12, 2014

Question: …  Dear Sir, … … What is the notion of Awra in the Quran, as per your Quranist view? … Thank you …     

Answer:            

We refer you to our article on (awra) in English on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16335

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Credit Card

Published in February 16, 2011

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I live in our motherland Egypt now, after living in the USA for years; I had received credit card loans while I was in the USA, and I intend to repay such loans, but suddenly, the contract was changed so that interests rates are increased from 4% to 30% without prior notice! This is unjust of course! I am about to lose a great part of my financial assets and a great deal of liquid money as a result, and I feel pains of being fooled by bloodsucking capitalists and worshippers of Mammon! … I feel I'm losing faith in everyone and everything! God has punished me, right?! Taking large interests rate is against Islam, right? … Any soothing words or piece of advice? I feel terrible! … Thank you for your time …  

Answer:

 We refer you to our article in English titled "The Usury Battle", found on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=6251

 We briefly tell you here that banks interests are OK provided that both parties (banks + customers) agree within all conditions of contracts and without compound interests. Sins are pertaining to those who lend with compound interests, not to those needy ones who have to borrow; yet, you have signed papers/contracts agreeing to all conditions of the bank of the credit cards, including their right to raise interest rates. Try to reach a settlement or a compromise with the bank, if you can; do not lose faith; please keep in touch with our Quranism website.  

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Political Asylum

Published in April 15, 2013

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm a Quranist widow and mother of three kids, with a degree in sociology from the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University, Egypt … It seems now a fatal mistake that I preached and proselytized Quranism among my relatives, friends, neighbors, and work colleagues; after streets of my city turned into chaos after the 2011 revolt, Salafist men and women of the neighborhood begin to threaten me (and my kids) because I do not wear the veil/hijab and they know I'm a Quranist  … a Salafist female neighbor tried to impose on me to wear a niqab, while threatening to disfigure my face with sulfuric acid! I began to receive death threats in letters at my doorstep! My sister is studying in the USA and I've just come to visit her; my mother-in-law informed me on the phone that an armed group of Salafists broke into my house in my absence to murder me! She notified the police; do I have the right to seek political asylum while I am here in the USA with my kids?  … Thank you …      

Answer:

 You have this right to do so, provided you have evidence/documents to prove you are being persecuted and threatened. The real Islamic country, like the USA with its higher values and principles nearer to the Quranic ones, opens its chances of immigration for those who are religiously persecuted. The Salafist men and women who threatened you are polytheists and disbelievers who must be avoided and one is never to mingle with them or marry any of them because they are aggressors and terrorists.     

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No Inheritance Can Be Left during Your Lifetime

Published in May 17, 2015

Question: … Dear Sir, …  Before I die (because I'm suffering  terminal illness), I desire to distribute my wealth among my wife, my son, and my three daughters as per Islamic sharia; any advice? Is it OK to present gifts of money to anyone as well? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  You cannot leave inheritance before you die; by definition, inheritance is one when dies and leaves money to inheritors. You are still alive and owns your money; you have the right to distribute your money anyway you like during your lifetime. Be aware that God will judge your deeds on the Last Day. It is OK to write a will and testament and to notify your folks about executing it after your death. Of course, you are to settle your debts first, if any debts exist. After allotting certain money gifts to certain persons, you are to write distribution shares as follows. The wife has 1/8 of the money; the son has double share of one daughter. Let us give an example: if they would inherit LE 1000, you can give a gift of LE 200, and the rest of the sum is LE 800; the 1/8 of the wife is LE 100, the son LE 280, and each of the three daughters will receive LE 140. Wish you all the best of health and may God bless you. 

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Asking for Money

Published in June 26, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … What do you think about asking money from others? … Thank you …        

Answer:

  It is OK within trade to borrow and lend money; and it is OK to refuse to lend and borrow money. Debts are to be written down within the presence and signature of witnesses. as for money of charity/alms, God commands us to pay them to attain piety: "Righteousness does not consist of turning your faces towards the East and the West. But righteous is he who believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets. Who gives money, though dear, to near relatives, and orphans, and the needy, and the homeless, and the beggars, and for the freeing of slaves; those who perform the prayers, and pay the obligatory charity, and fulfill their promise when they promise, and patiently persevere in the face of persecution, hardship, and in the time of conflict. These are the sincere; these are the pious." (2:177); "And in their wealth, there was a share for the beggar and the deprived." (51:19); "And those in whose wealth is a rightful share. For the beggar and the deprived." (70:24-25).

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Answered Before!

Published in June 26, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … How come you can decide which are the definitive verses and which are the similar ones within a Quranic topic, as per 3:7? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 You would better read our entire archive before posing repeated questions. We refer you to our article (in English) titled "Definitive and Similar Quranic Verses in a Practical Study", found on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16303

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A Silly Invocation

Published in June 25, 2017

Question:  … Dear Sir, … Is it OK or not to invoke and implore God to grant longer life to someone? … Thank you …         

Answer:

  This is silly; it is linked to Egyptian/Arab traditions of flattery; no one is granted longer life than the lifetime ordained for one; besides, all souls will taste death, as per the Quran, and no human being on earth is immortal.

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The Effect of Invocation

Published in June 25, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … If one implores and invokes God to bring harm or goodness to others, does this have an immediate or even a postponed effect? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 The influence is linked to the fact if God would answer one's prayers or not as per the Divine Will and if one is faithful, devout, and true enough. God knows what is best for us and if to answer our prayers or not. God supports the wronged party when they invoke Him against the unjust party. Answering the prayers might be in this world or the next, or in both. Mortals cannot control this aspect, of course.

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The Knowledgeable Experts

Published in June 24, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Does the verse 4:83 refer to knowledgeable  persons who understand the Quran better than others? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 The answer is no, of course. "When some news of security or alarm comes their way, they broadcast it. But had they referred it to the Messenger, and to those in authority among them, those who can draw conclusions from it would have comprehended it. Were it not for God's blessing and mercy upon you, you would have followed the Devil, except for a few." (4:83). This verse refers to those experts in security in the Yathreb city-state that received immigrants flocking to it. Knowledgeable experts are those who specialize in any certain field; as for the Quran, anyone can delve deeper into reflection and contemplation, and their views are theirs (not representing Islam) and might be endorsed, corrected, or rejected. The Quran ism ade easy for those who seek to be guided.   

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The Azan

Published in May 24, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … What is the Quranist phrasing for Azan (i.e., call to prayers), since you refuse and reject the Sunnite one used in mosques today? … Thank you …      

Answer:

  We refer you to our article about the Azan and how its phrasing changed within the passage of time within many eras. The Quranist phrasing of the Azan in the five daily prayers is one (without having to repeat it or to add any words to it), and it is as follows: (God is the Greatest! God is the Greatest! I testify that there is no God but Allah! Gather for prayers! Gather for goodness! God is the Greatest! God is the Greatest! I testify that there is no God but Allah!)

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Absolutely Prohibited

Published in June 25, 2015

Question: …  Dear Sir, … As per this verse: "Call them after their fathers; that is more equitable with God..." (33:5), God prohibits us to give our names to adoptive sons/daughters, but my Muslim American husband desires to give his surname to my 10-year-old son, whose biological father (i.e., my Egyptian ex-husband) never cared to ask about him or to get to know him since we moved to the USA … Is it OK? My son considers his step-father as though his real father who is attentive to him and his needs; my son actually never knew any father but my American husband, who loves my son so much as though he were his own son, because my husband is sterile  … Thank you …         

Answer:

 Your son must retain his biological father's name and he must never take the name of your current husband. Yet, he may call him (Papa or Dad). Thus, your son cannot inherit his step-father. Your son has the right to despise his biological father who deserted him all his life. But he must go on carrying the name of his biological father however disgraced he might feel about it. your son's loyalty must be to his step-father who cares for him emotionally and financially; he is to care for this step-father in his old age (later on), as a reward for his life-long kindness. May God bless and protect your family. 

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A Baby for my Wife

Published in June 21, 2016

Question: … Dear Sir, … Because I received chemotherapy as a child, my semen contains no living sperms; all treatment of my sterility failed, and my young wife is depressed as she desires very much to become a mother … Is it OK within Quranism to use sperm banks to impregnate my wife and letting the baby she would deliver have my name as a father and hers as a mother? … Thank you …

Answer:

 This is our own view and we hope it is correct; this is not fornication at all (esp. that the husbands knows and so is the sperm donor), and so it is permissible; yet, the baby must NEVER carry your name; it should carry the name of the sperm donor, if possible. It is Ok if both of you adopt an orphaned child, without giving him/her your names.

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Friday Congregational Prayers

Published in September 29, 2013

Question: … Dear Sir, … Why God ordained Friday for congregational prayers for Muslims instead of the 'holy' Sabbath of the people of the book? … Why Friday and Saturday are the days mentioned in the Quran, while the rest of the week days are not mentioned? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  Of course, we refer you to our book on prayers in the Quran. As for mentioning Saturday and Friday in the Quran, they are linked to certain religious commands within Quranic stories of the Israelites (when punished for violating the Sabbath as per 7:163-167) and Quranic sharia laws in the Quranic Chapter 62 regarding congregational prayers. Both Arabic and Hebrew languages stem from one linguistic root and both Arabs (i.e., Ishmaelites) and Israelites are inheritors of the religion of Abraham, which has been distorted in later eras, until the Quran came to correct, clarify, and rectify many things.

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Zeid

Published in March 28, 2015

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Why the name of Zeid (who used to be the adoptive son of Prophet Muhammad) is mentioned in the Quran? other companions' names are never mentioned, right? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 Of course, no other names of Muhammad's contemporaries is mentioned; Zeid is mentioned in 33:37 about the issue to abolish the habit of giving one's name to an adoptive son, as Muhammad has been commanded by God to marry the divorced wife of Zeid. This proper name, Zeid, has become a common name used in phrases exemplifying Arab grammatical rules. The meaning of Zeid (and other names like Ziyad and Yazeed) is increase (n.). In most of the other Quranic stories, the names of locations, persons, and eras are not mentioned, as stories aim to make readers draw moral lessons.

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Medical Hadiths?!

Published in August 5, 2011

Question: … Dear Sir, … Are the hadiths of medical content (about medicinal herbs, etc.) true and uttered by Prophet Muhammad? Some people assert that some of the prescribed herbs helped them to heal … Another question is that I'd like you to expose other Sunnite deities, apart from Al-Bokhary, in your YouTube show "Exposing Salafism" … Thank you …      

Answer:

 We thank you for watching the episodes of our show, and we will tackle in other episodes many other issues. Please remember that part of being a Quranist is to deny and reject all (not part) of the so-called hadiths/narratives ascribed to Muhammad after his death. Thus, hadiths of medicinal content are never uttered by him and have nothing to do with Islam; maybe herbal healers authored them to propagate their trade (whether their herbs were effective or not); such hadiths reflect the culture of certain eras centuries after the advent of the Quranic revelation. The only words and story of Muhammad are found exclusively in the Quran. it is a crime to attribute any other words and narratives to Muhammad and make them part of Islam. Islam is only the Quran.

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A Baffling Question

Published in June 1, 2013

Question: … Dear Sir, … This question baffles me; the Quran was previously written with Arabic letters without dots, and some ex-Muslims argue that some mistakes were committed in copying its verses by scribes; it that true? How could you prove otherwise? … Thank you  …  

Answer:

 The decisive issue here that proves that the Quran is God's Word is the numerical miracles of its letters discovered by one of our fellow Quranists whose articles on our website deserve to be read by you to ponder on them. God has preserved the Quranic text till the end of days to be available for all generations as the final word by God. let us remember that the Muhammadans have rejected, discarded, and abandoned the Quran so that they would adhere to myths of their earthly, man-made religions; they merely make Quranic verses as talismans and on walls for decorative reasons; shame on them! Anyone can seek guidance in the Quran and believe in the Only One God and in the Last Day and to live in piety to enter into Paradise, even if this person does not know the Arabic tongue and read the Quran in translations.   

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To Remain Silent or Not

Published in December 16, 2013

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I work as an accountant within a contractors' company, and I naturally notice money embezzlements and dishonest dealings; I know for sure the company has earned ill-gotten money; my pangs of conscience  are killing me! Should I remain silent and stick to my job (as my wife tells me, for the sake of our children) as corruption is prevalent in Egypt? Or should I inform the police and lose my job and income as a result and get broke?! … Thank you …

Answer:

 Do not remain silent; otherwise, you will surely be one day the victim of corruption. Corruption must be faced boldly to be eradicated by courageous people who believe in the Only One God Who will grant you other sources of income. Even if you leave this corrupt company, you will find another job easily, we think. Do not remain silent regarding injustice and corruption; inform and notify the police so that corruption is combated; corruption increases when cowards remain silent about it. 

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God the Omniscient

Published in June 27, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … As for the verse 3:140, surely God is Omniscient; He does not wait to get to know true, pious ones and the wicked ones, right? … Thank you …     

Answer:

God says in the Quran: "If a wound afflicts you, a similar wound has afflicted the others. Such days We alternate between the people, that God may know those who believe, and take martyrs from among you. God does not love the evildoers." (3:140). God addresses us in the Quran in a simple way to make our limited human minds grasp the meanings of Quranic verses within our level of understanding. Of course, God is Omniscient as He knows all about the physical and the metaphysical realms of the universe He created. Human beings cannot get to know the metaphysical realm; they are to bear patiently with many things in the test of life and be obedient to God: "Have the people supposed that they will be left alone to say, "We believe," without being put to the test? We have tested those before them. God will surely know the truthful, and He will surely know the liars." (29:2-3); "We sent Our messengers with the clear proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, that humanity may uphold justice. And We sent down iron, in which is violent force, and benefits for humanity. That God may know who supports Him and His messengers without seeing Him. God is Strong and Powerful." (57:25). 

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Congregational Prayers

Published in June 27, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I think it is wrong when an imam within congregational prayers recite the Quranic Chapter One in the microphone and never leaves time for the congregation to read it, as he would recite other verses soon enough … What do you think? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 You are absolutely right; an imam must leave a brief period of time so that the congregation behind him/her recite the Quranic Chapter One after listening to it from the imam.

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A Quranist Mosque

Published in June 27, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Would one day we'll be able to perform prayers in a Quranist mosque before we die?! … Thank you …   

Answer:

 We hope that one day, a Quranist mosque will be established in each major city God inside this mosque. Such mosques will be open to every non-Quranists who desire to worship only our Lord God, and we implore the Almighty God to accept our prayers performed at our homes and the ones that will be performed one day inside Quranist mosques.