Fatwas: Part Thirty-Six

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

You Are Right

Published in May 1, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I always advise my relative who performs Hajj annually to stop it and to donate such money instead to the poor and the needy; am I right in such a piece of advice? … Thank you …     

Answer:            

  You are absolutely right.

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 Balderdash

Published in April 30, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … I am a new Quranist and I send my regards to you and all those who are behind your great website of enlighten using the Quran … I love your videos that I am watching currently, but why do you keep repeating the Egyptian colloquial word that means balderdash and nonsense?  Why you have to mock Sunnite creeds instead to trying to win them over to Quranism? …Thank you …  

Answer:

  Every true Quranist must ridicule the laughter-inducing tenets of the Muhammadans, as their notions contradict the Quran; we must shock readers/viewers to wake them up, right?!

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Trousers

Published in April 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK for women and men, within Quranism, to wear trousers … Thank you …      

Answer:

 Yes. Even if some men consider tight trousers not very good for women, this is not a sin in itself.    

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Search Engine Works

Published in April 26, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, …Why the search engine is not working at your Quranism website? … Could it be fixed? We need it badly to search through your archive … Thank you …     

Answer:

  It's working now, and we have tested it; you might need sometimes to refresh your page in case the search engine is slow. Thank you.

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Suicide Location

Published in April 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … God says in 31:34 that no one knows where one is gonna die, but what about those who commit suicide? I mean they choose when, where, and how to die, right? This applies to suicide bombers and ordinary persons, I mean, but does this  contradict 31:34? … Could you provide an answer to that? I never mean to undermine Quranic verses, as you know quite well … Thank you …    

Answer:

God says in the Quran: "With God rests the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, and He knows what the wombs contain. No soul knows what it will reap tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. God is All-Knowing, Well-Informed." (31:34).

  Those who commit suicide are never sure if their life will end or not; they enter into a coma that might end in their death or they might be saved; thus, there is no contradiction regarding their cases and 31:34. Thank you.

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By Your Life

Published in April 28, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … God says in the Quran: "By your life, they were blundering in their drunkenness." (15:72). Does this show sanctification for the Prophet by God when He swears by the life of Muhammad? this is what sunniest say; what do you think? … Thank you …    

Answer:

 When God swears by the life of Muhammad, this does NOT indicate any honor, sanctification, or deification to Muhammad; God swears by many creatures (plants, animals, celestial bodies, etc.) in the Quran such as we read in verses 100:1, 95:1, 93:2, 74:33, and 91:1. This does not mean that these things are holy or sanctified. God asserts in the Quran that Muhammad was a mortal prophet and a human being and that he will be judged like all other human beings on the Last Day. You should bear in mind that the Muhammadans distort meanings of Quranic verses to make them cope with their notions of polytheism and disbelief.

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Shady Talaat Is Needed!

Published in May 5, 2017

Question:  … Dear Sir, … Many citizens in Egypt are filing a case against the Egyptian government whose parliament considers selling the Egyptian nationality for investors who'd stay five years in Egypt, and this threatens the national security of Egypt; could the Quranist writer and lawyer Shadi Talaat help us in this case to stop this danger?! … Thank you …      

Answer:

  We are afraid that the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi may sell Egypt as ruins after Mubarak stole Egyptian wealth, and this is the 'achievements' of the military rule since 1952. Shadi Talaat, the brilliant lawyer, can choose for himself if he'd join you or not; we'd like him to write an article about it on our website. The problem does not lie in granting the Egyptian nationality to any investors; the USA do the same with its nationality, but there are huge difference between real investors and corrupt investors; transparency in the West enables clear laws and economy rules that never allows corrupt investors to infiltrate; in tyrannical countries, all investors are corrupt and bribe corrupt high-rank official who are helped by corrupt parliament. We still wonder how come Egypt still exist in the map despite 7 millennia of being robbed! We wonder at the patience of the Egyptian people; when would they revolt and fight corruption?!        

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A Question of Inheritance

Published in April 29, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … My paternal uncle died and he had no wife nor progeny and other uncles are dead before him; how should we divide the inheritance among those who deserve it: myself, my brother, and my sister, and a paternal uncle's son (not the son of the deceased)? … Thank you …   

Answer:

   If this paternal uncle's son is related directly to the deceased uncle, he has his share like the rest and not if he is a distant relative. As for the rest of inheritors' share, the male gets the double share of the female.

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Imitating Thinkers

Published in April 30, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … What do you think of those who imitate your views without producing new ideas of their own ponderings; for instance, I'm too old and not educated to a level that enables me to produce new ideas; besides, I read yours with difficulty; but what about my faith? Is it OK to follow your ideas blindly without my partial understanding of them? … Thank you …   

Answer:

  To believe and know that (There is no God but Allah) does NOT entail deep knowledge; the Quran is made easy for all readers to ponder and understand. For instance, anyone can understand the Quranic Chapter 112 easily. Thus, the simple human mind rejects deification and sanctification of items, things, relics, tombs, dead persons, clergy, etc. As for deeper ponderings and reflections of the Quranic verses, these are undertaken by those who have deep-rooted knowledge of the Quran and have studied it for years: this field is open for all people as per their intellectual faculties while being armed with piety and the fear of God. Those who wish to delve deeper into ponderings can read our entire archive to get trained and to read our writings with critical eye: we are a human being whose views can be wrong or true.

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We Have No Time for That

Published in May 7, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Why do you read articles of your fellow Quranists on your website while you never care to read articles of non-Quranists elsewhere who have their own ponderings on the Quranic verses that might contain different views from those of Quranists? …Thank you …      

Answer:

 We have no time for that.

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A Sinner

Published in May 7, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Is he/she a sinner that passes on purpose in front of me while I perform prayers? … Thank you …         

Answer:

 Of course, he/she is a sinner.

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To Stop Prayers

Published in May 6, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK that I stop prayers during performing it before I finish, for any reason? What do you think? … Thank you …

Answer:

 That's OK, provided that the performers of prayers are keen on perfecting prayers as much as they can, in piety and in the fear of the Lord God.

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Marrying One's Dead Father's Widow

Published in April 25, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK to marry one's dead father's widow? Does the Quranic verse 4:22 prohibit only to marry the woman/ex-wife whom one's father have divorced during his lifetime, while the father is still alive? If not, why one can marry one's wife's sister after his wife is dead, as per the Quranic verse 4:23? … Thank you …     

Answer:

  God says in the Quran: "Do not marry women whom your fathers married, except what is already past. That is improper, indecent, and a bad custom." (4:22). This means one can never marry one's father's widow or ex-wife at all, even when the father is dead and even if one's father had divorced her before consummating the marriage after signing the marriage contract. This verse 4:22 stands apart from the other verse of types of women one cannot marry specified in 4:23, and this means that it is a prohibited grave sin to marry one's father's widow or ex-wife; this is worse than fornication, if you notice the second part of 4:22. As for prohibiting of marrying one's wife's sister, it is  temporary prohibition, as one can marry her only after his wife dies. Besides, one can marry the sister of one's ex-wife; as what is prohibited is to marry both women (one's wife and her sister) at the same time.                  

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Verbal Abuse by Children

Published in May 7, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Is it OK or not as per Quranism to let or condone children to verbally abuse one another or verbally abuse adults? We never find sharia laws or man-made laws against this, right? … Thank you …   

Answer:

 Verbal abuse in general is forbidden to all people; children must be taught in their early age not to use bad  language at all; this is better than reforming them after they grow up as bad persons. The best reform is the one using Quranic moralistic aspect: we notice that God do not impose any punishments in the following verse: "O you who believe! No people shall ridicule other people, for they may be better than they. Nor shall any women ridicule other women, for they may be better than they. Nor shall you slander one another, nor shall you insult one another with names. Evil is the return to wickedness after having attained faith. Whoever does not repent-these are the wrongdoers. O you who believe! Avoid most suspicion-some suspicion is sinful. And do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it. So remain mindful of God. God is Most Relenting, Most Merciful. O people! We created you from a male and a female, and made you races and tribes, that you may know one another. The best among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. God is All-Knowing, Well-Experienced." (49:11-13).

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Recluse Who Renounces the World

Published in May 12, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … I'm a man in my late forties who lives in  Egypt, and I live as a recluse inside my house, never meeting anyone, since June 2016, after selling my business … I feel I've become a misanthropist: people are so bad and without morals and ethics: they betray one another and deal treacherously with one another, in the race for worship of money/Mammon and their bodies … Many people, including my relatives, betrayed my friendship for the sake of money, and I've decided never to have a social life … I'm normally an active person, but I ask you, Sir, if my decision to renounce the world of people and possessions is right or wrong? … I adamantly refuse to start a new business … I'm busy reading your archive and reading the Quran to be a real Quranist … Any advice about what to do more in my life as a recluse? … Thank you …     

Answer:

   People are indeed very bad: the era of ethics, chivalry, and morality has ended, and Arabs live now in the era of Al-Sisi and Ibn Salman! We advise you to be an Islamic thinker and writer who can write articles on our website, even using a pen name, after you read our archive and articles of others critically and to ponder on them deeply enough: you will learn gradually the research methodology of the  Quran and of history and you will learn critical thinking as you discover real Islam: Quranism. Since you do not have to work and you have economic independence, dedicate your time to intellectual jihad with us on our website for God's sake. This will fill your heart with happiness. God bless and reward you.   

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Returning It to the Rightful Owner

Published in May 11, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … A woman discovered that the sewing machine given to her as a gift by a man is indeed a stolen property, robbed from another woman she knows: what she is supposed to do now with this sewing machine?! … Thank you  …  

Answer:

 We think she must return it to its rightful owner, while offering apologies to her.

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Houthis and Quranists

Published in May 8, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Are Houthis in Yemen part of the trend of Quranists? … Thank you …

Answer:

 Not at all; they have their own separate religion that differ 100% from ours; they are Shiites seeking power, and we are against fighting for transient power, authority, rule, and worldly possessions, a sin committed by some Shiites, Sunnites, Catholics, and Protestants. We, Quranists, side with the idea that the name of God  and religion must never be used in any political struggles or conflicts.

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Not Prohibited

Published in May 15, 2017

Question: …  Dear Sir, … Is it OK or not to put pictures of mosques on merchandise? … Thank you …     

Answer:

 It is OK and not prohibited; prohibited items are mentioned clearly in the Quranic text and no one can add to their list. Allowed items are the ones never mentioned in the Quran as prohibited, apart from obligatory duties, of course.

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Spying with Video Cameras

Published in May 14, 2017

Question: … Dear Sir, … Is it OK to put video cameras to shoot and picture the neighbors without their knowledge? … Thank you …    

Answer:

  Of course not; spying is prohibited in the Quran: "O you who believe! Avoid most suspicion-some suspicion is sinful. And do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another..." (49:12).

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It Never Prevents Ablution

Published in May 14, 2017

Question: … Dear Dr. Mansour, … Does manicure prevents a Muslim woman from performing ablution? Sunnites thing so because nails are not washed with water that way; what do you think?… Thank you …   

Answer:

 Manicure never prevents ablution; you can perform ablution while keeping it on your nails and toes.