“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [ordinarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their head covers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.” [24:31]
This ayah tells the believing women of the world to not expose their beauty except to the mentioned mahrams. Scholars have interpreted “not expose beauty and ornaments except which ordinarily appears”, in terms of ordinary adornment and extra adornment. Ordinary adornments like kohl, henna, or a ring are permissible to wear in public.
Extra adornment, like perfume, lipstick, dazzling eye colours, and the like are not permissible to wear in public in the view of non-mahrams. In short, any type of adornment which makes a woman look “made-up” and attracts amorous attention is not permissible, as this would defeat the whole purpose of hijab.
Our noble Muslim sisters, try to resist the peer pressure to conform with social standards. Allah is the one who grants true beauty, appeal and respect amongst people for the right reasons.
Let us first distinguish between arranged marriages and forced marriages as there is quite a big difference. Arranged involves both sides either using the help of family and friends to find a suitable spouse with both parties accepting the final decision. Forced however, does not offer a choice and it is usually the women who are victimised.
Arranged marriages are widespread amongst the Muslims communities around the world. It offers a way for the people wishing to find a spouse through the recommendations of people within their circle. This is not however, merely the choice of the parents; they cannot simply attempt to marry off the couple for their own social or personal reasons. The needs of the couple are what is used as the basis for the search – they cannot be pushed into any arrangement that they do not want.
Recommendations are usually given to the man as it is his responsibility to take the first step alongside the father. When a suitable partner is chosen, the couple must look at 4 things as mentioned in a previous post. The prophet (ﷺ) said “A woman may be married for four things: Her wealth, her lineage, her beauty or for her religion. Choose the religious, may your hands be rubbed with dust (i.e. may you prosper).” [Tirmidhi]
While the hadith may be talking about choosing a woman, it refers to both sexes. The most important aspect to look for is the deen. However, this does not mean that one is to ignore their preferences regarding physical beauty as attraction is part of marriage. It is simply much more important to prioritise the religion and without religion, one cannot get married in Islam. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men [to your women] until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness by His permission. And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember.” 2:221
Forced marriages are prohibited in our religion. Islam regards marriage as a right of the individual and therefore others cannot make the decision for them. If a woman/man is forced in marriage then the marriage would not be valid in front of Allah. If this happens then those who forced the marriage and those who allowed it are both guilty and have committed a major sin.
Khansa bint Khidam Al-Ansariya narrated: that her father gave her in marriage when she was a matron and she disliked that marriage. So she went to Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) and he declared that marriage invalid. [Bukhari]
Most Muslims understand that consuming any alcoholic substance is forbidden. However, we find today that there are also many who say that drugs such as Marijuana are acceptable and the use of alcohol is not directly forbidden in the Qur’an. These Muslims make various claims to try and make these illicit substances permissible.
There is a misconception in our religion that “the Qur’an does not mention anything about drugs, it only mentions alcohol and it does not directly say it is haram”. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah ], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?” 5:90-91
Allah clearly tells us that intoxicants are the work of the Shaytan. The word used is “khamr” which is derived from the word “khimar” which means “to cover”. Intoxicants “cover” the mind, taking the user out of their normal mental state. This in turn pushes the mind away from remembering Allah which means one will be capable of performing all other sins without even realising it – it is known as the key to all evils. Allah mentions the prayer as well specifically to highlight the severity of this sin; it pushes away the prayer and in turn user’s belief will go with it.
Now the questions is, what covers the mind in such a manner? Almost all drugs including alcohol and what the West deems to be “soft drugs” intoxicate the mind. This does not only include illegal drugs but also legal substances such as morphine; if it used outside of the prescription of a registered doctor it will be classed as impermissible in Islam. Only out of necessity for one’s health may these be administered by professionals. Many over the counter pills are in the same category.
Allah also says in the Qur’an:
“They ask you about wine [intoxicants] and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.’ And they ask you what they should spend. Say, ‘The excess [beyond needs].’ Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought.” 2:219
The fact is that we all know what an intoxicant is and if we are taking them in the haram manner, and we all understand the physical harms alongside the spiritual issues. Allah does not prohibit something without there being benefit for us. He is the creator, He knows His creation better than we know ourselves.
This is a very common question in our day and age especially amongst the youth. It is a question atheists usually pose or even people in our Ummah struggle with imane because of it.
Let us first explain the Qadar (the fact that everything is decreed) of Allah. The belief in Qadar is broken up into 4 things:
Allah knows all things – what we deem to be the past, present and future – from eternity to eternity whether this is with His own actions or the action of His slaves.
Allah has written that decree in al-Lawh al-Mahfoth (the Book of Decrees). Allah says in the Qu’ran:
“Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and earth? Indeed, that is in a Record [al-Lawh al-Mahfoth]. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy.” 22:70
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah ordained the measures (of quality) of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water.” [Muslim]
He (ﷺ) also said: “The first thing that Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it, ‘Write!’ It said, ‘O Lord, what should I write?’ He said: ‘Write down the decrees of all things until the Hour begins.” [Abi Dawood authenticated by al-Albaani]
Whatever happens only happens by the will of Allah – whether that has to do with His actions or the actions of His creations. Allah says in the Qur’an
“And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice. Exalted is Allah and high above what they associate with Him.” 28:68
“He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wills” 3:6
All things that happen are created by Allah in their essence, their attributes and their movements. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.” 39:62
“He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and who has not taken a son and has not had a partner in dominion and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination.” 25:2
Now if we take these attributes, we can ask how can this be reconciled with free will?
In order to answers this question we must first ask what is it that Allah will not do? The things that will stop Him from being Allah – this means that if He were to stop carrying out any of the attributes He associated within His own essence (the creator, all-knowing, all-wise – all the names of Allah) then He will no longer be God. Therefore, the things that cannot change are the things that define His essential attributes.
We can now ask can Allah create a scenario whereby His creation (human beings, jinn etc.) has its free will and Allah is doing it at the same time?
The answer is yes, He can.
“And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is over all things capable.” 3:189
Allah can have His decree in the book while we have our free will. How He does this, the metaphysics of how it can happen is beyond our limited thinking. It is similar to asking how can one have anything we want in jannah such as flying – the physics outside of our world (al-ghayb) is not the same. Time and space does not function the same. Allah limited this within our universe in regards to our life form; the outside has been covered from our senses (“saytara” – which means cover).
We as human beings cannot even fathom our own physical world. With all the technology we have, we barely even scratched the surface of what is going on around us, things we can see. So how is it that we expect to understand how Allah functions the unseen?
The good that comes from not knowing all of this is the optimism of the believer. The prophet said: “Wondrous is the affair of the believer for there is good for him in every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the believer. If he is happy, then he is thankful and thus there is good for him, and if he is harmed, then he shows patience and he is thankful, thus there is good for him.” [Islam]
We as human beings cannot control all the variables of life. The fact is that we die, people pass away around us, the worst of the worst things can happen to anyone. However, this concept of Qadar in Islam – the fact that everything is decreed, written by the creator – gives us incredible freedom and liberation. It allows us to go into the world which is swaying us around with variables out of our control and saying: whatever happens is good for us.
This is something a disbeliever can never even dream to obtain psychologically. If something bad happens they simply claim it is just jumbled atoms, we simply exist; there is no spiritual value at all. This is why there will always be a void in our hearts without belief in Allah. The only way to to release the chains of emptiness is to embrace Islam. Nothing will fill the heart with satisfaction except for the remembrance of Allah.
“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” 13:28
Gender equality has become a common topic in modern times so let us explore what Islam has to say on this matter.
Firstly, equality cannot be defined as the contemporary idea of being equal because it just keeps changing based on subjective views made by western society. We must look at it in comparison with other religions – the entire history of men and women.
Islam recognises equality of men and women but at the same time it is strongly emphasised in the deen that roles and responsibilities are different. If these roles are reversed societal problems occur – look at the rise of feminism today and the issues that have come with it.
There is no physical or chemical equality between men and women. Allah gave us different physical attributes along with huge differences in bodily chemicals such as hormones. These define how we are in our daily lives and thus it does not make sense at all for us to have the same responsibilities.
However, when it comes to spirituality in Islam there is no separation. Women can attain all the spiritual heights that a man can in the worship of Allah; there is no advantage one way or the other. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” 33:35
“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.” 16:97
“And their Lord responded to them, ‘Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are equal to one another…” 3:195
Many times throughout the Qur’an Allah addresses both men and women although the Arabic grammar used may seem masculine, it still applies to both genders. In other places such as the ayahs above, Allah specifically mentions men and women together to highlight further the importance of what is He is saying to us.
The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Verily, women are the twin halves of men.” [Tirmidhi]
To say however, that men and women have the same rights in Islam is incorrect. We all have our duties set upon us by Allah, some of which are similar and others are different. This is the manner in which Allah created mankind; men and women will excel in contrasting aspects in life. We fill each other’s flaws and that is the beauty of Allah’s creation.
Let us not take the Western view of equality as the correct path. It seems to change generation by generation and has no basis except for subjective morality. We must stick with the perfect guidance set by Allah the creator, through His messenger (ﷺ). Take heed of what Allah warned us in the Qur’an:
“Be not deceived by the [uninhibited] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land.” 3:196
Being a hypocrite (munafiq) in Islam is not like the meaning of the word in English; there is a much deeper meaning. It is one of the worst forms of status one can obtain and holds the worst punishment coming in the hereafter, worse than the disbeliever. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire – and never will you find for them a helper.” 4:145
So what is a hypocrite?
The first attribute associated with hypocrisy is lying. Allah says:
“When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muhammad], they say, ‘We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah .’ And Allah knows that you are His Messenger, and Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars.” 63:1
The grammar used for lying in this ayah translates to continuous liars – no lie is too small. With these lies comes treachery and breaking promises. The prophet (ﷺ) said: “The signs of a hypocrite are three, even if he fasts and prays and claims to be a Muslim: when he speaks he lies, when he gives a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he is treacherous.” [Muslim]
The hypocrites mock the messenger (ﷺ) when they are told to believe in the way that he (ﷺ) and his companions believed:
“And when it is said to them, ‘Believe as the people have believed,’ they say, ‘Should we believe as the foolish have believed?’ Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.” 2:13
Let us not assume this applies merely for the people at the time of the prophet. This act can be carried out in our time as people mock and reject the sunnah of the prophet (ﷺ). They will call the true Muslims who follow the prophet ‘extreme’ in their deen.
You ever heard the people that say “I am a Muslim, but…” and fill the gap in with things like “I’m not that into it” or “I don’t believe in most of what it teaches” – these are signs of a hypocrite.
Allah continues with the attributes of a munafiq:
“And when it is said to them, “Come, the Messenger of Allah will ask forgiveness for you,” they turn their heads aside and you see them evading while they are arrogant.” 63:5
When you tell them let us seek forgiveness, let us make tawba – fix ourselves up; you will see them turn their heads. “Tut, stop preaching I don’t wanna’ hear this”. Sound familiar?
They think less of those who are true Muslims – they look down on the ummah.
What leads to hypocrisy?
Allah describes the steps one takes before becoming a hypocrite in the Qur’an. These ayahs paint the scene of judgement day when the people are walking in pitch black darkness towards our eternal place.
“On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], ‘Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.’ That is what is the great attainment.
On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, ‘Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light.’ It will be said, ‘Go back behind you and seek light.’ And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment.” 57:12-13
The Muslims will be very distinct in how they look on that day with light shining in front on them. Good deeds and actions that were performed in the dunya is transformed into light on that day in order to see where one is walking as that day will be completely dark.
The hypocrites will try to use the light from the true believers when Allah will place a huge wall between them with Allah’s torment on the outside for the hypocrites while the believers will be in Allah’s mercy.
Allah explains how they lost their imane and became hypocrites:
“The hypocrites will call to the believers, ‘Were we not with you?’ They will say, ‘Yes, but you afflicted yourselves and procrastinated [delayed repentance] and fell into doubt, and false hopes deluded you until the decision of Allah came. And the Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah.” 57:14
They put themselves in situations in which there was fitnah (trial) that will test their faith thinking it will not affect them. They kept putting themselves around people who do bad things, the places they go to, the haram they exposed themselves to. Opened themselves up to situations that made sinning easy.
When one puts oneself in a bad environment one may feel it first, the heart will feel uncomfortable – similar to walking into a room that has a bad smell, you will be affected at first. However, stay there long enough, keep going into that room and that smell becomes normal – the same way that environment, the bad company and places will become the norm after some time.
“Procrastinated” ( وَتَرَبَّصْتُمْ )
The second step they took is that they procrastinated – meaning they realised what they are doing is bad for them and also realised in their own conscience that they should change but they told themselves they’ll change soon or there’s still time.
“I have these messed up friends right now and I can’t really make them upset so I’ll just give it more time, I will change”.
“Just a little longer, I’m still young, I have time. Just this one more party. Just this one more date. Just this one more outing with these people”.
“You know, ramadan is coming soon, once that comes you watch, I’m going to be a different person; until then.. you know, make dua’ for me”.
How many people do we know like this? Are we like this ourselves?
Assumption 1: It will not effect me.
Assumption 2: I can stop whenever I want, I haven’t lost myself, I’m not addicted. I can walk away whenever I feel like.
As a matter of fact the longer one stays in such a state the harder it’ll be to get out of it, reaching a point where one feels it is impossible to stop. One will not know anything outside of that environment, it’ll feel as if it is too late to change.
Once it reaches that point, a guilt sets in. “I am such a bad person, I have been doing these bad sins all the time etc.”. Nobody likes to feel guilty, and that point shaytan will come and whisper “why do you feel guilty? You don’t have to feel that way. The only thing making you feel guilty is this Islam thing. It says that this and this is haram, and restricts your life. How true is all of it anyway?”.
“Fell into doubt” (وَارْتَبْتُمْ)
One will then question their faith and religion. Many people in the Ummah live this ayah. Their doubts have no logic, they merely started in a bad environment in which they put themselves in and ended up questioning Islam and its teachings.
Doubt in a way will sooth such a person’s conscience. They will end up sinning and not feeling that guilt anymore. “It’s probably not true anyway so I shouldn’t feel bad for not following it”.
Once they stay in this state of putting themselves in fitnah, procrastinating and doubts about the deen, two things are taken away:
The desire for jannah is taken away – the desire for making Allah happy is taken away.
The fear of the hellfire is gone.
The afterlife will mean absolutely nothing.
What is left after this? The dunya. Everything in one’s life becomes about this world and nothing more. Money, fame, haram leisure, it’s the only thing that becomes interesting. If someone even brings up paradise and hellfire it becomes a joke.
“False hopes deceived you until the decision of Allah came” (وَغَرَّتْكُمُ الْأَمَانِيُّ حَتَّىٰ جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ)
One will be convinced that some sort of worldly gain will bring happiness and will continue to chase. This thing after another as there is no materialistic gain in this dunya that will satisfy one’s soul.
One will keep looking for that fulfilment and never achieve it because the one thing that will grant fulfilment – the pleasure of Allah – is no longer there, the desire does not exist anymore. Until the decision of Allah came (death).
“The Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah” (وَغَرَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ)
The ultimate deceiver is shaytan – he was successful in deceiving you and now the only place for these people is the lowest, darkest pit in hellfire.
Let us take a step back and review our own selves.
Have we started falling into this downward spiral of hypocrisy? Are we already in this spiral? Have we reached the state already?
How do we fix hypocrisy?
Nothing of this world will be of value before Allah. No materialistic gain, no money, no fame nothing – it means nothing for us on judgement day.
The light that Allah mentioned with the true believers is the only thing that matters and the only way to get that light is with a sound heart.
“The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children
But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” 26:88-89
