Fatwas Part One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Four

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

About the Moment of Dying

Published in May 3, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,   Is dying peacefully (e.g., while smiling, in bed, or while praying or engaging in any acts of worship.........) means that a person has a good soul whose fate is in Paradise? Is dying in a bad moment (e.g., while watching porn, in a car accident, in  plane crash, while sinning, while fornicating, while masturbating......) means that a person has a bad soul whose fate is in Hell? I know that Allah forgives all sins except polytheism...........What do you think about signs showing on a dead person's face and/or body? Do they indicate the dead person's fate or not? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 One's fate in the Hereafter does not depend on when or how one dies; this also has nothing to do with how the corpse looks like immediately after death; the angels of death inform the dying soul of its fate, in Hell or in Paradise, as per the soul's faith and deeds and the living people never hear such speech nor see the angels of death when they take the soul of a dying person: "So when it has reached the throat. As you are looking on. We are nearer to it than you are, but you do not see." (56:83-85). For more details, we refer you to our books in English, about death and Barsakh, respectively, found on these two links:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=120

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=138

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

This Is Certainly Forbidden!

Published in May 3, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I am a married 60-year-old man, and I have children and a settled married live filled with respect and affection; I've been married for 30 years and I live in an Arab country. Recently, for the last two months, I've been chatting online with a 51-year-old married woman (who has children) as she was the woman to whom I proposed when I was a university student, but she refused my proposal because she lived in a very distant city and not where I lived at the time with my parents. Nostalgia is controlling me now. This woman says that if she were able to travel back in time, she would have accepted to marry me instead of her husband who is 15 years her senior in age and he is very ill now; he stopped having sex with her years ago and he sleeps in a separate room. I and she exchange words of love within online chat and emails, and she desires that we meet, since we are both respectable and religious people with a high moralistic level who can never have illicit sex or cheat on our respective spouses! ..... I feel guilty! I've never spoken with any other women since my marriage except with my wife! I feel that if I meet with this married woman, this might ruin her marriage and reputation (and mine, of course!). I naturally refused to meet with her ...... Is our frequent online chatting sinful or not?! Am I cheating on my wife that way?! Is this married woman cuckolding her husband or not?! What piece(s) of advice would you give me? I trust your views and fatwas very much because you are endowed with deep knowledge of the Quran and you are a great Quranist thinker ....... May the Lord God bless you  … Thank you …

Answer:

 Of course, fornication is a grave sin, whereas things/acts/thoughts getting people nearer to fornication (or adultery) are forbidden small sins or mistakes/mishaps. It is a mistake/mishap or a small sin when a man and a woman would talk about love/sex. There is nothing called 'platonic' love between men and women. Feelings of love between any man and any woman leads eventually to sexual desire and having sex. That you feel nostalgia indicates that in your age, you desire to re-live or to revive the past and this means that tedium controls your married life and you seek to re-ignite the spark of anything interesting; that's all. This is why we assure you that you are not in love with that married woman; you must stop chatting with her at once, but in a respectable manner. You should channel your emotions and affection only to your wife. You feel guilty because you fear being scandalized at your age; this means that you know you are in the wrong. At your age, it is high time to repent and increase good deeds within piety (if you have not already done that) as death draws nearer and it may occur anytime.   

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

Zamzam Water-Well, Again!

Published in May 5, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … What is the true story behind the Zamzam water-well in Mecca? Any ideas? … Thank you …

Answer:

 Away from narratives and false hadiths, we understand from the Quran that the Lord God has caused the Zamzam water-well to spring in a mountainous area with no crops, etc. near the Kaaba since its first being built as the location of pilgrimage to all human beings. This led to making the place habitable and secure; pilgrims of all eras have found water to drink and they bring fruits and meat/animals with them for consumption and for trade. Thus, the location of the Kaaba; i.e., the city of Mecca, is ready all the time to house pilgrims as well as the dwellers of the city.

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

Our Answer for the Last Time

Published in May 5, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I admire your YouTube videos very much and I reject all hadiths and fiqh now like you..........yet, doubts about the Quran itself are tormenting my mind! I've read many articles and books of atheists who assume that there are linguistic, historical, and scientific errors in the Quran! I'm no longer sure that the Quran is God's Word! Would you please refute such claims by atheists and prove to me that the Quran is God's Word?! … Thank you …    

Answer:

  We have answered this question so many times in our fatwas section; this will be the last time we answer this question. The sources of such doubts and such a question are as follows: (1) you have not read our entire archive of writings, and (2) you insist on 'pondering' the Quran only through terminology of Sunnite books of the Middle-Ages. We have asserted many times that one must understand the Quran and research it objectively through its own terminology. We've explained our Quranist methodology in our book, in English, titled "How to Understand the Holy Quran" (found on this link:    http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=121), and in French, titled "Comment Comprendre le Saint Coran" (found on this link:    http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=153). We have written about scientific miracles of the Quran (see our book, in English, titled "The West and the Miraculous Scientific Indications in the Holy Quran", found on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=151), which prove that Muhammad, as well as any of the mortals, is NOT the author of the Quran; the Lord Allah is the Author of the Quran. Your doubts passed through our mind in the 1970s; we told ourselves that we are more knowledgeable than Muhammad of the Qorayish tribe of Mecca in the 7^th century A.D.; after our rejecting books of Sunnite traditions, we studied the Quranic text meticulously, neutrally, and objectively, and we saw no contradictions or mistakes at all. In contrast, books of hadiths and fiqh are filled with countless contradictions, discrepancies, and errors likely to exist within all human writings. As per the result of our research (as proved in many of our online writings), we assert that the Quranic text is beyond the capacity of any human author. The Quran is the Lord God's Word; you will find proofs within our archive of articles and books tackling various topics within Quranism. Please read our archive while keeping a critical mind without any prejudice or prior notions you desire to prove. Later on, you have the absolute freedom to (dis)believe in the Quran. May the Lord God guide you and our person to His Straight Path.

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

Consuming Food Cooked with Wine

Published in May 6, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Are flambé food items or any meals cooked with wine deemed as prohibited food in Islam? Any ideas? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 One cannot add to the list of prohibited food items mentioned in the Quranic text. The criterion here if such meals cause drunkenness or not. As far as we know, wine adds taste and flavor to some food items or meals and its nature changes; i.e., wine in that case does not cause drunkenness and its taste is not like wine consumed as a drink. Therefore, it is OK to consume food items or meals cooked with wine.

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

Traveling to the KSA

Published in May 6, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … The unjust Saudi regime oppresses opposition figures within unprecedented brutality and they get killed; the Saudi family is worse than Hitler and the Nazis.......... Is it part of injustice to travel to the KSA (as a pilgrim or anything else) or to set foot on such a land of injustice and to spend my money there?! What do you think? … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Let us talk about the tyranny and injustices spread in the Middle-East countries in general, not the KSA in particular. Traveling to such countries is not sinful in itself and is never part of supporting the ruling tyrants. What is to be deemed as sinful or good is one's behavior during such travels to these countries or to anywhere else. Your going there may help the destitute, the poor, and the needy, wronged ones. 

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

Zakat and Garbage!

Published in May 6, 2019

Question:  … Dear Sir, …  Is it OK to donate or to give away extra food items and clothes to the poor and the needy as part of Zakat? … Thank you …        

Answer:

 What if the poor and the needy who deserve Zakat refuse what you are going to donate?! There are the hungry ones who search for food in garbage bins and wear rags or tattered clothes; would it be pleasing to the Lord God to give them extra food items and tattered clothes you routinely throw into the garbage?! The poor and the needy are human beings and they should not be treated as animals! This is not Zakat! The pious believers who pay Zakat offer their best things they love (clothes, food, etc.): "Righteousness...Who gives money, though dear, to near relatives, and orphans, and the needy, and the homeless, and the beggars..." (2:177); "And they feed, for the love of Him, the poor, and the orphan, and the captive." (76:8); "You will not attain virtuous conduct until you give of what you cherish. Whatever you give away, God is aware of it." (3:92). Of course, you can give surplus or extra food and clothes away to the needy, the poor, and the hungry but this is NOT part of Zakat due from your own wealth/income.

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

About the Quranic Verse 1:1

Published in May 7, 2019

Question:  … Dear Sir, … I've noticed that in your videos, you mostly repeat the phrase "In the name of God, the Dominant, the Merciful", which is the entire Quranic verse 1:1, before quoting any other Quranic verses; I never do that in my daily prayers since one reads the entire Quranic Chapter One (which includes 1:1, of course) in every Raqa. Is this OK or not? By the way, why does not the Quranic Chapter Nine begin with the phrase "In the name of God, the Dominant, the Merciful"? Any ideas?  … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Of course, it is better, but not obligatory, to read 1:1 before uttering any other Quranic verses; this does not apply to reading the first verses of the Quranic Chapter 9, which contain a threat and a warning to aggressors who have committed the sin of religious persecution through violence. Of course, Muslims utter 1:1 before doing any work or performing any tasks, before writing letters, etc. this is exemplified in the Quranic story of Noah when he embarked on the Ark and the Quranic story of Solomon as he sent a letter to the Queen of Sheba.

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

No Change to God's Words

Published in May 7, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … The Lord God says the following in the Holy Quran: "...There can be no change to God's words..." (6:34). Does this apply to the Quran only? Does this apply to the Torah and the Gospel? Why have their texts been distorted, then?! … Thank you …   

Answer:

 Of course, 6:34 applies only to the Quran: no one can change its verses as its text is preserved by the Lord God Himself. The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "Falsehood cannot approach it, from before it or behind it. It is a revelation from One Wise and Praiseworthy." (41:42); ""Shall I seek a judge other than God, when He is the One who revealed to you the Book, explained in detail?" Those to whom We gave the Book know that it is the Truth revealed from your Lord. So do not be of those who doubt. The Word of your Lord has been completed, in truth and justice. There is no changing to His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower." (6:114-115); "And recite what was revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. There is no changing His words, and you will find no refuge except in Him." (18:27). The disbelieving Arabs during Muhammad's lifetime demanded tangible miracles and the Lord God has refused to grant them any; the Quran is the only miracle of Islam; Muhammad felt saddened because of the stubbornness of his contemporary disbelievers; this verse comes in the context of other verses addressed to Muhammad about this issue: "Other messengers before you were rejected, but they endured rejection and persecution until Our help came to them. There can be no change to God's words. News of the messengers has already reached you." (6:34).

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

Not to Fast during Ramadan due to Fatigue

Published in May 8, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … The schedule of my university exams this year is during Ramadan; am I allowed not to fast because of cramming and fatigue?! Or is it sinful to reject fasting for any reason?!  … Thank you …     

Answer:

 If you are easily fatigued, you can avoid fasting but you have to give away food or money to a poor/needy or hungry person for each fasting-day you miss. If you will donate food it must be from the average meals you have at home (i.e., not too cheap and not too expensive), and you have to attain to piety as much as possible during the whole month of Ramadan as if you were fasting.

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

Pending Hopes on Someone?

Published in May 8, 2019

Question: …  Dear Sir, …  Is the meaning of the expression (to pend hopes on someone), in the Egyptian dialect of the Arabic tongue, found in the Quran or not? Any ideas? …  Thank you …        

Answer:

 The meaning of this expression can be found in the Quranic story of the prophet Saleh: "They said, "O Saleh, we had hopes in you before this. Are you trying to prevent us from worshiping what our parents worship? We are in serious doubt regarding what you are calling us to."" (11:62).    

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

Social Drinkers of Wine

Published in May 8, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … Can I drink a sip of wine every now and then on social occasions? I can add a lot of water to the glass; would this be OK? Is wine in any quantities prohibited in Islam even if one does not get drunk? … Thank you …

Answer:

 True Muslims must avoid drinking wine (and all alcoholic beverages) in any small or large quantities with or without water/soda, etc., even if they do not make them drunk.

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

Brothers and Sons

Published in May 9, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … One normally loves one's son more than one's brother; yet, why a brother is mentioned BEFORE a son in this Quranic context about the Day of the Resurrection: "The Day when a person will flee from his brother...And his consort and his children." (80:34-36) …  Thank you …

Answer:

 The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "But when the Deafening Noise comes to pass. The Day when a person will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his consort and his children. Every one of them, on that Day, will have enough to preoccupy him." (80:33-37). The brother is mentioned before the son in this context because one lives in the same house with one's brother for a longer duration in comparison to living in the same house with one's parents, spouse(s), and children.

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

Financial Dues

Published in May 9, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … I am a university instructor and so is my husband; I have obtained my MA degree but I have not obtained my PhD degree yet; I received my salaries for six month (automatically within my bank account) during which I was pursuing my studies to obtain my PhD degree and I did not deliver any lectures at the university during these 6 months; the administration of the university owes me money of my scholarship and they decided to deprive me of this money because I postponed the viva (or discussion) of PhD thesis which is yet to be finished; they say that scholarships are for those who finish their PhD within two years only! This is unfair and unjust as I was not notified of this stipulation beforehand! I relied on the prospect of getting that scholarship money............... Am I to return the money of salaries of six months (my salary is stopped now until further notice!) since I did not teach any sessions/lectures to students or not?! Would this be ill-gotten money?! What about the money I was promised in the scholarship? They owe me this money (a sum larger than the salaries of 6 months) as part of my financial dues (I'm part of the staff!), and I had to spend a lot of money to buy books/references and to get photocopied papers...etc. and to cover other expenses for my PhD thesis! Any advice?!  … Thank you …     

Answer:

 You do not have to return the salaries of 6 months since the university owes you financial dues more than such a sum.

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

Breakfast and the Pre-Dawn Meal during Ramadan

Published in May 9, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir,  … Hadiths are so many and contradictory about the exact timing of the Ramadan breakfast (i.e., at sunset before prayers or after performing the sunset prayers) and about the Baraka/benediction of (an obligatory?) pre-dawn meals during Ramadan for the Umma of Prophet Muhammad ................ I'm in a muddle; any advice? … Thank you … 

Answer:

 You must not believe in any hadiths/lies. Quranism is about rejecting all hadiths and fiqh; Muhammad never uttered even a single hadith. You should have read our book on fasting (and indeed our entire archive of writings). It pertains to polytheism to believe in hadiths/myths authored and written in the Abbasid Era; it is impossible that Muhammad died before delivering the entire message of Islam; it is as if Islam were 'incomplete' until Abbasid authors 'completed' it. The entire texts and Isnad (i.e., series of narrators) of hadiths are mere falsehoods which undermine and insult God and Muhammad and aim to cast doubt on Islam. All deeds, stances, and words (esp. within fiqh) of 'Muslims' of any eras (whom we call as the polytheistic Muhammadans) pertain to themselves and not to Islam. One can eat anytime in Ramadan directly after sunset until dawn. There is nothing called pre-dawn meals in Islam. There is nothing in Islam known as Umma/nation of Muhammad or of Jesus...etc., as such expressions deify messengers/prophets of the Lord God.     

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

Search Engine on our Quranism Website

Published in May 10, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I cannot find your article about proving that Prophet Muhammad was literate and he wrote the entire Quranic text himself................. …  Thank you …    

Answer:

 You can use the search engine on our Quranism website to find any fatwas, articles, etc. about any topic. Here is the link of the article (in English) you have been looking for:

 http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16981

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

The Night of Decree in Ramadan

Published in May 10, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … I need an explanation for the Night of Decree mentioned in the Quranic Chapter 97............ What about Sunnite traditions linked to this day? What proofs have we that the Night of Decree is linked to the lunar month of Ramadan? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 You will find answers to your questions in this book of ours, in English, titled "The Night-Journey Is The Night of Decree", found on this link:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=112

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

About the Quranic Verse 36:43

Published in May 10, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Allah says the following in the Quran: "If We will, We can drown them - with no screaming to be heard from them, nor will they be saved." (36:43); yet, any drowning persons normally and involuntarily scream for help ......... Any ideas?! … Thank you …  

Answer:

 The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "If We will, We can drown them - with no screaming to be heard from them, nor will they be saved. Except by a mercy from Us, and enjoyment for a while." (36:43-44). This means that when drowned persons are submerged into water, they swallow it and cannot scream or breathe, as they fall into the depth; only those who are able to float on the surface of water can breathe and yell for help and they might be saved.

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

It Never Spoils Ramadan Fasting

Published in May 11, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … Does wearing a perfume (for men and women) spoil the fasting during Ramadan?  … Thank you …  

Answer:

 Not at all. Fasting is spoiled only if one consumes food items and water/beverages, masturbates, or has sex with one's spouse. Of course, only fasting within piety is accepted by the Merciful Lord God. Wearing a perfume has nothing to do with spoiling one's fasting; your question shows that Salafist/Wahabi/Sunnite bad ideas are still controlling your mind. Misogynist Wahabis hate that women would wear perfumes anytime, not only during Ramadan. Those who hate perfumes (for men or women) are nasty, dirty Sunnite Wahabis with their corrupt, rotten minds and polytheistic ideas. 

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

While Prostrating

Published in May 11, 2019

Question: … Dear Sir, … The Lord God says the following in the Quran: "...those who pray regularly, and pay Zakat, while prostrating." (5:55); what does Zakat have to do with prostration during prayers?! One cannot pay charity/alms or Zakat while prostrating at the same time, of course! Any ideas? … Thank you …        

Answer:

 You misunderstand the Quranic verse 5:55; prostration here refers (within metonymy as part of the eloquent style of the Arabic tongue) to prayers in general; this means that features of all monotheistic, pious people include their performing prayers and their paying Zakat; by the way, Zakat also means to purify oneself by performing acts of worship within piety to gratify the Lord God. This metonymy of mentioning prostration to denote prayers in general is repeated in other Quranic verses: "And We made the House a focal point for the people, and a sanctuary...And We commissioned Abraham and Ishmael, "Sanctify My House for those who circle around it...and those who kneel and prostrate."" (2:125); "We showed Abraham the location of the House...and purify My House for those...and those who kneel and prostrate."" (22:26) "And perform prayers, and pay Zakat, and kneel with those who kneel." (2:43); "Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who journey, those who kneel, those who bow down, those who advocate righteousness and forbid evil, and those who keep God's limits-give good news to the believers." (9:112); ""O Mary, be devoted to your Lord, and bow down, and kneel with those who kneel."" (3:43).