Introduction

The Shaykh حفظه الله is a professor at the Islaamic University in Madeenah and a teacher at Masjid an-Nabawee (Prophet’s Masjid). He is a well-known scholar from Madeenah and studied under the aimmah of our time. From amongst his teachers are Shaykh Abdul Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen and Shaykh Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee رحمهم الله.

The Shaykh began with the greeting of Salaam and then mentioned khutbatul-haajah, praised Allaah سبحانه و تعالى and sent the salaat and salaam upon our Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, his family and all his Companions.

The Shaykh حفظه الله then proceeded by saying: “Dear brothers I will give a talk for 3 minutes then I will leave the floor open for questions inshaa Allaah.”


Having Taqwah of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى

My first advice to you all is the advice of fearing Allaah سبحانه و تعالى i.e. having taqwa of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى both in secret and in the open, in times of hardship and ease, and in all your conditions.

Taqwa of Allaah, in summary means that one does whatever he is commanded to do, and he stays away from everything which he is prohibited from, in the areas of one’s belief (Aqeedah) and the area of one’s worship to Allaah سبحانه و تعالى (Eebaadah) and in his methodology and his approach to practically manifesting and establishing Islaam (Ahkaam, Aadaab, Aqlaaq and Manhaj). In all of this he must have taqwa of Allaah. Taqwah of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is the reason for every success in this life and the Hereafter as Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says:


And also Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says:

And:

Many of the people complain about hardships that they experience but they do not take the path that would make it easy for them to solve their problems – and that is having taqwa of Allaah both in secret and in the open.

It is not possible to attain taqwa of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى without seeking to have knowledge and Fiqh (understanding) in the Deen of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى. Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says in the Qur’aan:


Likewise He سبحانه و تعالى said:

Therefore, the way to achieve taqwa of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى is to have knowledge of this Deen. It is obligatory upon you to know what you have been prevented from i.e. what has been made prohibited for you, so that you may stay away from it and also, to know that which Allaah سبحانه و تعالى loves and is pleased with so that you do it, and that which angers Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, so that you stay away from it. There is no way that this can be manifested except by having knowledge.

In order for the Muslim to achieve the beneficial knowledge and righteous actions then it is upon him to ask those people who have knowledge. They are the ‘Ulema ar-Rabbaaniyeen – those scholars who are known for their ability to cultivate and nurture and who are known for their great knowledge. They are the ones who do not deviate from the straight path. They are the Major Scholars – the ones that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has commanded us to return to in His statement:


Likewise those are the ones that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم has commanded us to return our affairs to, as he صلى الله عليه و سلم said in a hadeeth: “Verily knowledge (‘ilm) is not attained except by seeking it, just as having forbearance (hilm) is not achieved except by seeking it.” [1]


Conclusion

I want to conclude my statement by drawing your attention to something that is very important. That is to emphasize the importance of returning back to the Scholars especially regarding fataawa (religious verdicts). We should not be fooled by those people who put themselves forth on the satellite channels etc. and they give fataawa without any knowledge. They give fataawa making permissible (halaal) that which Allaah سبحانه و تعالى made prohibited (haraam) etc. Even though we find that the Sahabaah رضى الله عنهم didn’t like to issue fataawa – rather when someone came to ask them a question they would refer the questioner to another one of the Sahabaah even if they had a difference of opinion concerning some of the Fiqh issues in the Religion. So, what about those people who have no right to be issuing fataawa, and yet they go ahead and make permissible that which Allaah سبحانه و تعالى made prohibited.

Likewise, I would like to draw your attention to another point – to stay away from the differing that you may find amongst some of the people and the differing that you may find amongst some of the Students of Knowledge and even amongst some of the people who are above that level, who have been given knowledge, but they have put some things upon others that are not necessary or appropriate and likewise the other one has done that to the other one. It is not appropriate for us to involve ourselves in this type of differing, rather we should consider this to be fitnah and stay far away from it, and we ask only those questions that concern us and our Religion and we stay away from these types of fitnah. And hopefully Allaah سبحانه و تعالى will reconcile that which has happened between some of the People of Knowledge.


The Shaykh said that with that inshaa Allaah we ask Allaah سبحانه و تعالى for us and for you all, for everyone, beneficial knowledge and righteous actions, and inshaa Allaah we can move on to the questions. The questions should be those that have a purpose behind them and they should be knowledge-based.

The Shaykh said to excuse him for exceeding 3 minutes as the translation was longer than 3 minutes.





1. Question: In the US, we have a student loan in which the government pays the interest while the student is in school, and after the student finishes school, he will have to pay the principal plus interest. But if the student pays the loan back while in school, he will not have to pay the interest. Is it permissible to sign a contract for this type of loan if the student anticipates that he will pay off the entire amount before he graduates?

Answer: Regarding this issue we want to look at it from a couple angles. The first angle is that we want to distinguish between the one who has accepted Islaam and this is his condition and the one who was already a Muslim when involving himself in this transaction.

As it relates to the one who has accepted Islaam, he is not accountable for these types of transactions in the Sight of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى as the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم accepted money from the people which they had prior to accepting Islaam. So the money that a person acquired before Islaam then it stays in his possession as he had no knowledge of the Islaamic rulings before he accepted Islaam, and likewise, Islaam erases/demolishes anything that came before it from sins.[2]

Some of the Sahaaba accepted Islaam and they (previously) used to trade in alcohol products, gambling and these types of things and it has not been reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم told them to give back any of that money or to leave it off. This is except for interest i.e. if he is one that someone owes interest to then he has to give up the right to interest because at this point he has become a Muslim and he cannot accept interest from anyone. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم as is mentioned, extinguished the interest of al-Abbas i.e. he could not accept any of the interest owed to him after he accepted Islaam, but it didn’t have anything to do with the interest that was given to him before Islaam.

As for the Muslim, it is not permissible for him to involve himself in the type of transaction mentioned in the question, and that is because in Islaam the end does not justify the means. All transactions that involve interest are not permissible in Islaam. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم cursed the one who takes Riba (Interest) and the one who gives Riba and the one who is a witness to Riba…[3] to the end of the hadith. Even if this individual does not have the ability to study because he cannot afford it if he does not get involved in this type of transaction, then this does not make it permissible and he still cannot utilize this type of transaction as the end does not justify the means.

2. Question: I am a sister that is not able to conceive unless by artificial insemination i.e. by taking my egg and my husband’s sperm and fertilizing it outside my womb and then placing it in my womb. What is the correct ruling on this? Baarak Allaahu feekum.

Answer: This is what is called artificial insemination. There is some slight differing amongst the scholars but, the fiqh councils say that it is permissible with the condition that it is absolutely certain that the semen that will be mixed with the egg of the woman is the semen of the husband, and that there is no mix-up. So, if there is safety from any mix-up occurring then yes, it is permissible. There should be in this situation a doctor who is completely trustworthy and reliable and another doctor who should supervise that doctor, and it is preferable that the supervising doctor or both doctors be Muslims. However, if the doctor is known for his truthfulness, trustworthiness and reliability then it is not a condition that he is a Muslim, even though that would be better. To summarize, if the situation is safe from there being a mix-up then it is permissible as most of the scholars have said that it is permissible although there is some slight differing on the matter.

3. Question: How does one know that he is afflicted by (black) magic and what is the correct Islaamic cure for it?

Answer: There is no difference between black, red, white or green magic. Any type of magic done to harm someone else is impermissible. Even to learn it is impermissible although one is not acting with it. What is apparent from the texts and the statements of the Muslim scholar is that to learn magic in itself is disbelief. That is because it is not possible for one to learn it without disbelieving in the Book of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى. Why is it that the one that learns magic is considered a disbeliever?

Allaah سبحانه و تعالى says:

وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَـكِنَّ الشَّيْاطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ

{… Sulaimân did not disbelieve, but the Shayâtîn (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic …} [al-Baqarah 2:102]

And also in the same ayah:

وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّى يَقُولاَ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلاَ تَكْفُرْ

{… but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, "We are for trial, so disbelieve not
(by learning this magic from us)."…} [al-Baqarah 2:102]

And later in the ayah:

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُواْ لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاَقٍ

{… And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter…} [al-Baqarah 2:102]

The magician/sorcerer does not have the ability to have an effect of his magic (to practice it) except by worshipping the Shaytaan, or he doesn’t exactly worship him but by making ihaanah (إهانة) i.e. looking down (insulting) or disgracing the Book of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى or anything else that may have in it the remembrance of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, or for example making sajdah (prostration) to the Shaytaan or anything other than Allaah سبحانه و تعالى in order that these devils allow him or gives him the ability for his magic to have some sort of effect on the people that he wants it to affect.

It is impermissible to learn or to practice magic/sorcery, even if the goal or objective is correct e.g. if one wants to remove magic from someone by using magic – this is incorrect because the end does not justify the means. A disease is not cured with another disease, so it is impermissible to learn or teach magic no matter what the situation may be.

4. Question: Through the observations of some of the Students of Knowledge here in America of the Internet forums, certain concerns have come up. We present our concerns to the scholars to direct us, and we seek a solution to our concerns and problems.

• Many of the forums are managed by unknown personalities, thus the information is managed by a majhool person. This also makes it impossible to contact them in order to correct what is wrong and advise (them) when needed.
• Many of the visitors who post are unknown/majhool characters as well. On top of this, the information they author in most cases is not related back to any of the scholars, but is merely a concatenation of their own opinion and/or imagination.
• These authors have taken it as a pastime of theirs to stress the khilaaf (difference) between the scholars, thus causing further splitting of the Muslims. To add water to the mud, the issues these characters stress, are issues many of us are in absolutely no need to have knowledge of, for they are above our level as well as theirs.
• On these forums the blind are leading the blind. That is every teacher (poster) finds students (observers) and every student finds a teacher.
• The people – both poster and observers – spend their time in these forums bypassing the online activities the scholars are holding, such as this one (alBaseerah).
• The good is little while the harm is great. Both the observer is being misguided and the author/poster is misguiding others.

These are some of the observations in short. These observations reflect the state of affairs of these internet forums.
Please give us the verdict on these forums concerning:

1. The permissibility of attending the forums?
2. Who should be allowed to post based on the Shari`ah of Islam, and not their so called: “freedom of speech”?
3. Also many of those seeking good and to advise try to reply with posts of their own, only to be overwhelmed and attacked by the replies received back. So what is the correct manner in fighting this war against the misguidance and ignorance being spread, and the further dividing of the Muslims, all leading to further weakening of Islam and its people?

Answer: The Shaykh said that first of all everything mentioned in the question and the examples given in the question requires us to turn away completely from these types of open forums where anyone can say what they want to say and where many of the people, whether they be supervisors or writers are unknown. That which I advise you with is to make I’raad (إعراض) i.e. to turn totally away from these types of open forums – jumlatun and tafseelan i.e. completely, turn away from it – all the way!

We should suffice ourselves with the sites of the ‘Ulemaa – People of Knowledge. Those are known for not being hasty in giving their fataawa and who are known for their strength and firmness in knowledge – the likes of: the Mufti Shaykh Abdul Azeez aal-Shaykh, and the likes of our Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, and Shaykh Abdullah al-Ghudayaan and Shaykh Saalih al-Luhaydaan and likewise our beloved Minister of Da’wah Shaykh Saalih ibn Abdul Azeez aal-Shaykh and Shaykh Abdul Muhsin al-Abbaad al-Badr and Shaykh Rabee ibn Hadee al-Madkhali and Shaykh Abdul Muhsin al-Ubaykaan and Shaykh Saalih as-Sadlan حفظهم الله and other than them as I did not intend to mention all of them, but rather to give an example of the ones that I was referring to.

We should also return to the sites of our elder scholars, the ones who have past رحمهم الله – the likes of our Shaykh Abdul Azeez ibn Baaz the scholar of his time, and the unique one of his time as it relates to his manners, his moral integrity and his knowledge. Likewise, the scholar of his time - Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen who gave all of his life to knowledge and to the students of knowledge. And also to our Shaykh Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee – the one who gave light to the Sunnah in this time period.

We should not be fooled by those who say that there is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars as it related to Shaykh al-Albaanee. This is a bunch of nonsense. Shaykh al-Albaanee رحمه الله was the one who gave light to the Sunnah in this time period and he is respected by all of the scholars, even if there are differences of opinions amongst them as it relates to issues. All of their manhaj was one and it is the manhaj of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah. As for the ones that I did not mention from amongst the scholars then I hope that they would excuse me as my intention was to mention the example and not to mention all of them. Likewise, the ones who follow the manhaj of the ‘Ulemaa i.e. they start with Aqeedah in their call to Allaah سبحانه و تعالى and that which the a’immah of the Da’wah were upon. It is the manhaj of the Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم before all of them.

So we should stick to what has been reported on the websites of the Kibaar ‘Ulemaa (Major Scholars) of this time. We should strive to do that which brings us closer to Allaah سبحانه و تعالى by listening to their tapes and reading their books. Do not pay any attention to the people who are not following this manhaj or those who may speak about some of those Scholars. That is because speaking against the people of Sunnah is a sign of people of Bid’ah. Likewise, most of these open forums have people that use fake names or give each other such great titles that even the Sahaabah would have been embarrassed to have for themselves.

The Shaykh then mentioned some poetry about Andalus – the Muslims of Spain at that time. The meaning of the poetry is that after Andalus had been conquered by the French, or even before when it had been split up, every little place in Spain had someone who called himself ‘king’ although he only ruled a very small portion of it. Then the French conquered them. The point that the Shaykh was trying to highlight by the poem was that even though someone calls himself a ‘king’ or a ‘prince’ it does not make him that.

The people on these sites use false names and they praise one another and praise those that do not deserve to be praised, and this leads to differing amongst the Muslims. So the Shaykh advised on boycotting all these websites. He said: “By Allaah, you will be asked about the time you spent on these types of websites.” We should listen to the tapes – the beneficial lectures of the ‘Ulemaa. We should not be fooled by websites who act like they are with the scholars but they have a hidden agenda and it is nothing but a lie. They are disgracing the scholars, speaking badly about them and defaming them.

We should look for the ones who are in fact following the ways of the ‘Ulemaa in actions, Aqeedah, Methodology, application of Fiqh and other than that. Stick to the ‘Ulemaa and don’t be fooled by the people who (especially in Saudi Arabia) ride around in cars and skid around in the streets and do things to be seen and heard amongst the people. Our Shaykh Ali Naasir al-Faqhee … (the Shaykh mentioned something that the translator did not get). Our Manhaj is very clear – it is the way of the Salaf as-Saalih, the Sahaabah, Imaam Ahmad, Shaykh ul-Islaam ibn Taimiyyah, ibn Qayyim, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and all those who follow the path of the Sahaabah.

In summarizing the Shaykh advised staying away from these websites that have a lot of talk and that we stick to the websites of the ‘Ulemaa. The best thing to do is sit with ‘Ulema if you are able to, if you do not have the ability to do so, then benefit from their tapes and books. If whilst benefiting from their tapes or books you have a question about what was said/mentioned then call the ‘Ulemaa themselves and ask about the issue you didn’t understand from the tape or book. Their phone numbers are well known – they are even advertised in the newspapers. Do not be fooled by numbers that you may see on websites that say to call this place or that place, rather return to ‘Ulema ar-Rabbaaniyeen – those who are well known for their ability to nurture and cultivate, and those known for seeking out the evidences and giving fataawa based upon evidences.

5. Question: Is it permissible for Muslim man to marry an unchaste Christian woman?

Answer: The Shaykh said that he would give a summarized answer. Even if it was a Muslim woman who was not chaste it is not permissible for you marry her. So what about one who is a Christian and not chaste! Allaah سبحانه و تعالى said:

وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ

{… and the adulteress-fornicatress, none marries her except an adulterer-fornicator or a Mushrik …}[An-Noor 24:3]

In this case it is not permissible to marry a Muslim woman who is unchaste, so what about one who is from the People of the Book and unchaste! It is permissible for the Muslim man to marry a woman from the People of the Book with the condition that she is one who is sticking to her belief in that book with the condition that she is chaste and has moral integrity.

The Shaykh then asked that he be excused regarding the time as he would have liked to put forth some more time, and he asked Allaah سبحانه و تعالى to bless us with beneficial knowledge and righteous actions.


References and Notes

[1] Shaikh Al-Albaanee rahimahullaah said Hasan in As-Silsilah As-Saheehah 1/670 (#342), in As-Saheeh Al-Jaami’ (#2328)

[2] Saheeh Muslim – Kitaab al-Eemaan (#122)

[3] Reported by Ab Dawûd 3/244, Shaikh Al-Albaanee rahimahullaah said Saheeh in Sunan Abî Dawûd (#3333) in Saheeh Al-Jaami’ (#5089)