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All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Brothers and sisters, the session has already started. You can submit your questions. Please, make your questions short and clear so as to help us answer all your questions.

Yours,

Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Taking contraceptive pills during the day will definitely break your fast. So you cannot take it while fasting. It cannot be considered a medical necessity exempting you from fasting. Therefore you need to work out other ways in consultation with your physician so that you won't end up breaking your fast.

Allah Almighty knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

I have a strong feeling that you are suffering this because of some sins you have been committing. You need to ask yourself what are the major sins you are guilty of and try earnestly and sincerely to repent and ask forgiveness of Allah.

Furthermore, you need to read some good works on Islamic spirituality: I can recommend that you read Imam Ghazali's work entitled ihyaa'; it has been translated in several parts: One of them is entitled "Breaking of Desires," and another is "Remembrance of Death". Please get hold of these and other parts of the work and read and ponder them and follow the tips presented.

Finally, pray consistently as follows:
Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbit qalbee `alaa deenika;
Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbit qalbee `alaa al-haqii;
Allaahumma yaa muqalliba al-quloobi thabbith qalbee `alaa taa'atika

(O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and steadfast on Your religion;

O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and steadfast on truth;

O Allah, You are the twister/turner of hearts, make my heart firm and steadfast on Your obedience).
Also,
Allaahumma innee a'oodhu bika mina al-kufri, wa al-shakki, wa al-nifaqi wa al-shiqaaqi
(O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief, doubts, hypocrisy and straying away from the straight path).

Last but not least, make use of the month of Ramadan to come closer to Allah by reading the Qur'an, constancy in dhikr and other good works.

I pray to Allah to grant you steadfastness in faith and bestow on your heart peace and tranquility-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

There is no basis in the authentic sources of Islam for such a view which is solely based on hearsay and misconception. If Allah has allowed anyone exemption from fasting, it is simply because of the fact that in His knowledge their bodies need to be nourished through food and drinks. Women in their periods or post-natal phase need extra nutrients in order to be able to cope with the hormone changes in their bodies. For these and other purposes known best to the Creator who is All-Wise and All-Knowing, they are exempt from fasting. So they should go ahead and make use of the divine concession given to them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Allah loves humankind to make use of the concessions He has allowed them even as He loves them to carry out His strict orders."

However, this does not mean that those who are exempt from fasting go around eating in public. That would amount to violating the sanctity of Ramadan. If that is what the Mawlavi says he is right; otherwise, he is definitely wrong. May Allah save us from rigidity and ignorance-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Let me answer your questions briefly:

1. You need not break your fast or stay away from Prayer until the bleeding of menses starts; if you have had the experience before, you already are able to distinguish the bleeding of menses. Once it stops you must bathe and start fasting and praying.

2. What we read will definitely mold our thoughts and view of the world; so we are not to encourage our children to read books that are unethical in content and style. We have to screen every book we give our children to read first and make sure that it is not obscene, filthy or unethical. We don't need to stop them from reading fiction as long as it does not contain such themes;

3. This is not a sound view; if that were the case, then the Prophet would not have died putting his head in the lap of his wife `A'ishah, the mother of the faithful; he would not have told her on one occasion, "If you were to die, I would bathe you, shroud you and pray over you!" We also know for a fact that it was `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who bathed his wife Fathimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); again, it was Asmaa' bint `Umays, the wife of Abu Bakr, who bathed the latter after his death. All of these were done by the knowledge of other companions. Are we saying we know better than them all?
May Allah show us truth as truth and help us to follow it; may He show us error as error and help us to shun it-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

This view would ultimately render the entire Shari'ah as totally inapplicable and redundant for our time and milieu. For it would imply that we must go back to our old ways and leave our cities in order to live in villages where people can benefit from grains. Imagine someone living in a city like Toronto being asked to offer grain for zakatul fitr: People would have to bring truck loads of wheat to the CNE where prayer is held, and those who receive the same would have to take sacks of grain home; which they would not be able to use for the day of `Eid. It is totally absurd. We read in the sources that the purpose of Zakatul fitr is to help the poor celebrate `Eid in a fitting manner. Therefore, such a view is utterly nonsensical as far as our modern milieu is concerned.

There is no need for such rigidity. Imam Abu Hanifah, and Ibn Taymiyah and others have rightly said: People can give what is most beneficial to the poor in each culture. So it is most appropriate in cities for people to give cash so that the poor can use it to purchase what they need to make their `Eid enjoyable.

Let us not make the laws of Shari'ah anachronistic; rather realize its inherent flexibility and dynamism to be applied to all times and circumstances.

May Allah help us follow what is right-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Even if you have prayed witr after Taraweeh you can still pray tahajjud; in that case, you need not repeat your witr, for you cannot pray two witr in the same night.

What is meant by the statement, witr is the last prayer of the night, is that it is the last major prayer; so even if you were to pray tahajjud later, it is still the major prayer of the night just as the maghrib is the last prayer of the day even though we pray sunnah afterwards.

Allah Almighty knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

There is no harm in doing so unless you fear you may engage in intimate relations leading to invalidating your fast. Everyone knows well how weak or strong he/she is; so follow your own conscience in this matter.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

According to the rules of jurisprudence, you are to follow the jama'ah you are part of, although he should have joined other Muslims in deciding to start the fast earlier.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Fast with people, break your fast with people, and sacrifice with people." So you ought to follow your own congregation.

Mistake your Mawlavi has made is excused. You need not make up for the day; but you must break the fast and celebrate `eid al-fitr as the decision of your jama'ah or congregation.

Allah Almighty knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Any substance that goes into our bellies or blood stream, according to jurists, is supposed to break our fast; any insertion of suppositories that do not have the same effect would not break the fast. Eye drops, use of kohl, or applications of creams or oils externally is not considered as breaking the fast.

If anyone needs to take medications of the first category, then he/she is exempt from fasting; they can make it up later if they can; if they are unable to make up the same because of health reasons, then they can offer fidyah as a compensation.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

You have expressed true Islamic zeal; it is surely one of the greatest ways to show your love for your beloved mother.
As for the precise forms of sadaqah jariyah, there are a number of ways:
1. Set up funds or scholarships for poor students to study;
2. Build or contribute towards building hospitals where there are no hospitals;
3. Dig wells or help dig them in places where people need water;
4. Publish and distribute essential da'wah materials;
5. Promote Islamic knowledge.

There are not limits to what can be done. Look around and see what is most needed in the community you live. If there is no need there, then think of other areas of the world where people live in subhuman living conditions, and help set up ongoing charitable projects in order to help them.

May Allah guide us all to the many ways of charity and compassion-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

To answer your questions briefly:

1. Your fast is still valid as long as you had the general intention to fast the month of Ramadan in the beginning; although ideally, it is still better for us to renew the niyyah on the eve of each day of fast in order to derive greater rewards. Yet many scholars say that waking up for suhur itself is counted as reinforcing the niyyah;

2. Zakat al-mal is obligatory on you only after you have deducted your outstanding debts. Zakat al-fitr however is due if you have more than enough to feed yourself and your family for the day and night of `Eid.

Allah Almighty knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

If the child is born on the eve of `Eid al-fitr or earlier, then zakat al-fitr is payable on behalf of the baby; if the baby is born later than the day of `Eid, then you need not pay the same on his/her behalf.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

You should make an educated guess and determine what you think may be reasonable number of days you have broken, and make them up accordingly, and ask Allah forgiveness for any unwilful omissions or slip-ups.

May Allah forgive us all of our outward and inward sins, open and secret and may He accept from all of us our fast, prayers and good works in this blessed month-ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Brothers and sisters, we are so sorry for not answering all your questions because the time is over. We apologize for any inconvenience. Do keep in touch. Join us in coming sessions.

Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.

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