zarishlodhi asked: Assalam-o-alaikum. :) I was wondering if you could kindly tell me if human organ transplantation is allowed in Islam. It is afterall a widely practiced way of saving lives or increasing the quality of life for those who need it. But it also contradicts with the Islamic idea that the dead body must not be mutilated in any way. Please help? I'd really like to know. Thank you! And jazakAllah khair.
Wa alykum as-salaam,
Organ donation and transplants are a medical necessity, and when it comes to issues of medical necessity, we are—automatically—not dealing with a normal issue.
If someone is bleeding to death from a vein that is in their thighs, and they are of the opposite gender, does that mean you prevent yourself from squeezing the wound to prevent bleeding because Muslims should not be touching people of the opposite gender in intimate places? Of course not, because their life is in danger, and that is more important.
Organ transplants, therefore, are very similar as the above example.
For a more detailed answers on this question please click this link, insha Allah.
I pray this reaches you and your families in the best of health and Iman, insha Allah.
Osama
honeybeekhairy asked: Salam. "Don judge others just bcos u sin diff than them", does that mean we dont have the right to advise/point out ppl their sins just because we sin too only differently? My fren used that against me once and im not whether i shud do it again?
Wa alykum as-salaam,
There is a difference between judging and advising, this is the central issue we must understand in order to make sense of the phrase you quoted.
As Muslims we must advise others towards what is the good, but there is a proper way to do this. While there are many amazing lectures on this issue, the general idea is that we should advise people in private, with kind words, and with understanding, but most importantly, we should have evidence as to why we are giving this advice.
Judging is a different process, judging is the idea that you are superior to another. Truly, only God knows who is superior, for we not only see other in a way that is limited by our perception, but we also look at ourselves in a way that pleases our Nafs (ego).
Why is this important?
I will justify my sins, in my head. “Oh, well, that person said something very offensive, so I can talk bad about them, I can backbite them.” Or, “this person isn’t honest with me, so I’m not going to be honest with them.”
This is how we allow our egos to justify sins, and when we judge others, we open ourselves to this place where we determine who deserves our respect and adab (manners) as Muslims, but, the irony is that by doing this, we have violated the command of God, where there are no exceptions as to who we extend our Islam.
Whether you are in the middle of a war or dealing with your best friend, your Islam requires that you act in a proper way, and to judge someone is to open up the doorway for you to violate the command of God.
When we judge another person, we judge them based upon what is easy for us and what is difficult for them; we get a skewed view, we don’t see their efforts, we don’t see if they repent, and so when we judge, we are judging based on our perception, on our view of things and we ignore our own faults, because if we acknowledged our sins, truly repented for them, we would be silent when another person is mentioned unless it is to say a good thing.
The Qur’an says:
“O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another] - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it! And be conscious of God. Verily, God is an acceptor of repentance, a dispenser of grace!” [49:12] Muhammad Asad
Thus, we must avoid thinking about another person’s sins in such a way that allows us to look at them as lower than us. We must recognize that our origin is lowly, for The Qur’an reminds us of where we come from:
“Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created—created man out of a germ-cell!” [96:1-2] Muhammad Asad
This origin of man, from a simple cell, is to underline that our egos are capable of forming a reality that is not true, that does not reflect the truth, and that when we get into the habit of judging others, we forget our humility, and we forget that those who sin may repent, and that the sins we notice in others should only bring about humility in ourselves, it should give us an opportunity to advise others (politely), and to remind ourselves that we do avoid sin for our benefit.
The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad the following:
“Teach and make things easy and not difficult. When one of you is angry, he should be silent.”
We should learn that when we give advice, we should ensure that people see the ease of Islam, and realize that any negative emotion, like anger (which is mentioned above) is a result of our ego (Nafs) growing. So, if we are angry, if we are very sad, if we are judging others, we have put our ego at the front, so, we should strive to remove our Nafs (ego) from the equation and when we do that, we can advise people properly.
Echoing what The Prophet had to say, Ali ibn Abu Talib is reported in Zamakhshari’s Rabi Al-Abraar the following:
“Fear the sins that you commit in secret, because the Witness of those sins is the Judge Himself.”
When we sin, and treating someone with excessive suspicion is a sin as we saw in The Qur’an [49:12], especially when we do so in secret, we open ourselves up to corruption of ourselves, but most importantly, we are now dealing directly with God, and when we forget that, we open up the doors for larger sins because we have forgotten that we are being watched, at all times, by Almighty God.
Thus, do not fear offering advise to anyone, but do not forget that they may repent, that they may be better than you, and offer advise in the proper way, which is in private, to prevent embarrassment, and to ensure your intentions are pure. The idea that we may make mistakes should not prevent you from offering advice, which Sheikh El Shaarawy explains here, but it should bring you modesty to your soul when you deal with other people.
I hope this helped, insha Allah.
I pray this reaches you and your families in the best of health and Iman, insha Allah.
Osama
mother-fricker asked: salam why did you reblog a bible quote
Salaaam,
I don’t see the issue. This blog is interested in gathering together people from all faiths — we do not discriminate among people of different faiths.
Hence, if there is a quote from the Bible we find that might display a love, affection, or deep reflection of God, we reblog it.
InshaAllah you are in the best of health and faith. — Dee.
alchemy-2 asked: I think hijabs are beautiful and so lovely and feminine. However, I'm white and pagan. Would it be socially acceptable for me to wear one? I'd hate to inadvertently offend someone.
Peace and many blessings,
The physical hijab is more than just a physical garment covering one’s hair; there are so many dimensions to the concept of hijab that people tend to mistake it for something that female Muslims simply do or wear (which is false).
Muslims from all over the world — males and/or females — view the concept of hijab as a sacred ritual or value. It doesn’t just represent some form of femininity, for men observe the physical hijab (naturally, in different forms than women) as well.
So to suggset that hijab is lovely because its feminine (or lovely and feminine) is inaccurate, because the physical hijab is directed at a much transcendental and spiritual practice, and not just a fashion statement that suggests that “yes, I am Muslim, look at me” type of thing.
With regard to your ethnic, religious, and cultural background, it is of little importance. Contrary to popular belief, Islam isn’t merely a Middle Eastern religion. From where I come from, a specific region in Eastern Europe, Muslim women wear the physical hijab as well. Meaning, Muslims come from different parts of the world, so no, the physical hijab isn’t just for brown people.
In terms of what the physical hijab represents (and I say physical because hijab isn’t just composed of a physical representation of modesty and God consciousness), it really depends on what particular reason you choose to wear the physical hijab.
If it’s because you find it to be lovely and pretty, I suggest you not where it (for that reason will offend Muslims). However, if you find some form of spiritual upliftment in wearing it, than by all means, please go ahead.
But again, you must realize the social context of this issue. If you decide to wear the physical hijab for the sake of practicing a form of God consciousness, than you must realize the struggles each and every single Muslim woman goes through when she decides to wear the physical hijab. With the head dress, you are accepting the responsibilities of wearing the head scarf. You are accepting the amount of discrimination and oppression Muslim women face when they wear the head scarf. You are accepting — with full grace and patience — the amount of judgment you will be receiving from people whom you have never met to people whom you have once understood as your friends.
I hope you come to recognize — whether you decide to wear it or not — how much comes with deciding to wear the physical hijab. It isn’t just a simple, easy choice that will make you feel beautiful, lovely, and accepted; rather, it will place you in very discomforting, hurtful, and mean places. But when you take that step for the sake of learning and discovering God, the light from above illuminates all the dark areas of the world.
God bless. — Dee.
shameatawheel asked: salam, i wonder if you could direct me to some academic articles/books dealing with the sources of the islamic feminism movement? i'm particularly into responses to western 'intervention' and the development of the non-western, ie local, understanding of the issue. i plan to analyse this for a human rights course i am taking, and finding relavent sources is a bit hard considering how many people like to comment on muslim women... many thanks!
Salam,
One author: Leila Ahmed. Read her.
- Dee.
queenskin asked: Assalamu'alaikum brothers/sisters! Could you recommend other reliable websites where I can learn about Islam?
Peace!
Click
ithinkiknowyou asked: Salaams, Could you please submit a step by step post on how to perform taubah (repentance)? Because I'm not too sure whether you do it as a normal prayer or it has different steps to it. And it'd be nice to include other advice and tips on taubah. It'd truly benefit your followers, insyaAllah.
Salaam!
Click
artificiallyme asked: I'm not sure if this is somewhere I can ask, but I'm in the middle of trying to convert to Islam from Christianity. And I can hold my ground in beliefs (mostly about Jesus being a prophet instead of God) but today I walked into an evangelist and just to get rid of him I said "yeah I'm Christian". I feel like I failed a test. It's almost hard to admit that I'm not Christian, mostly because I'm asian and most people I know are Christian. I feel like this is the last barrier I need to get over.
Peace and many blessings,
You know what both the Quran and Bible say about Jesus Christ? Both Holy Books say he was a peacemaker.
And you know what the Arabic term Muslim translates to? A peacemaker.
If someone asks you about how you religiously affiliate yourself, simply say, I am a peacemaker like my Christ and my Muhammad, and I am a lover of God.
— Dee.
one-only-islam asked: Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. First off, I'd like to say your blog is very inspiring and please keep it up insyaAllah. Second of all, I'd like to ask you about a topic that I seldom come across. Eating disorders (Anorexia/Bulimia) in Islam. What are the methods to avoid or how can we overcome this illness? Any duas to fight off the evil voices leading us to this evil path? Thank you. :))
Peace and many many blessings,
Personally, I think this is one of the most important questions that we have ever received. May Allah bless you immensely for this.
God bless you! — Dee.
shycar asked: Assalamualaikum :) Sometimes I overthink a lot over the smallest things and sometimes I have bad thoughts/words in my heads and sometimes in prayers too. Is there any way that can help me overcome this problem or reduce it? Does this make me a bad Muslim because of my thoughts? :( I try not to though, to keep my intentions sincere for Allah swt but idk why my thoughts tend to overcome and get the best of me sometimes. Thanks for answering. May Allah swt bless you always :)
Salaam,
people have this general misconception that questioning or “thinking too much” is dangerous; quite on the contrary, Qur’an demands that we become among those who reflect, perceive, question, and understand.
But with regards to concentration in salah, there are a number of ways one can reduce this cognitive anxiety and sort of try to pay close attention to what she/he reads during salah. For one, I listen to Qur’an before I begin my prayer so that my mind is already with the word of Allah before I enter my salah. Also, what I particularly appreciate about Taoism is that it trains one to focus by sitting with one’s self (yes, like meditation) and removing all these distractions.
So no, it doesn’t make you a bad Muslim; I would suggest it makes you a critical thinker (or perhaps, someone who worries more than he/she should). Nonetheless, we should always strive to maintain our focus and ability to think sharply.
God bless! — Dee.
say-alhamdoulillah-mylove asked: Salaam aleikom - I hope you'll reply fast. This classmate asked me why a women and a man cant be intimitate with eachother whiloe others are arround. Im beyond terrible at explaining. I hope you got the asnwer for me. Jazakallah ghair. Much love - souad
Peace and many blessings,
It truly depends on the context of intimacy. I don’t see an initial problem with Muslim couples holding hands, hugging each other, or other simple gestures so long as one is conscious of the way he or she behaves around a group of people in terms of physical contact (meaning like, being morally aware of what the social norm is in the setting in which one lives in).
I mean, if we study the life of Muhammad, the intimacy between him and Khadijah for example, is truly profound and sacred. They weren’t just soul mates on a spiritual, moral, and intellectual level, but on an intimate one as well. We definitely know this is true by the number of narrations regarding the relationship between Muhammad and Khadijah; we can’t ignore that.
But yeah, intimacy is most definitely relative and varies from one person to the other. But I think what makes Muslim couples different from other couples is that they observe modesty, piety, and taqwa (God consciousness) when illustrating (for a lack of a better term) our intimate feelings in public.
Thanks for the question! — Dee.
iamamuslim104 asked: Assalamualaikum ^_^ i like to joke around with my family and friends, but nowadays, when we joke we start talking abt others and insulting others, which is haraam, should i stop telling jokes or should i just be more careful when telling jokes? or do u have anything better that i should do? and also is sarcasm haraam? ... sorry for my weird and long questions :S
Peace and many blessings,
You definitely answered your own question here, and I think that’s an important step to becoming a great learner.
Islam teaches us to be on the middle way, or on the middle course, and so with everything that we do, we must be in the middle. What this suggests is that we need to be able to balance things out in our lives; to be balanced people.
And so with regards to your personal situation, I think that being able to distinguish when times are great for joking around and having fun and times that are not necessarily appropriate to make jokes is important. Also, we need to be able to distinguish the situations that are appropriate for joking around (you know, like poking fun and having a good time) and times that express hurtful tones, in which, in that case, it wouldn’t be appropriate anymore.
As long as your sarcasm, I would suggest, doesn’t offend nor hurt the person whom you are being sarcastic with, all is well.
There is no such thing as a weird question. God bless!
noureddine7 asked: Assalamualeikum, i have a question: Why do u say (as) after imam Ali ibn abi talib? He just was a companion of the prophet Mohammed salla allahu alayhi wa sallam. It should be (ra) radiallahoe a3nhoe
Peace and many blessings,
Only Allah knows the true status of a personality, but some Muslims find purpose in measuring the nobility of a personality related to the Prophet — presenting it a part of their theological belief — in order to recognize the persons who have sacrificed immensely for the sake of God.
While some Muslims might believe that Imam Ali ibn abi Talib was merely a companion of Muhammad, other Muslims believe that he was presented a very holy status in the religion of Islam by Allah; Muslims with both beliefs have their historical, theological, and narrative justifications for proving their point, but at the end of the day, whatever our opinion is, it is up to us to respect each other’s positions.
In terms of the Arabic definition of both (RA) and (AS), alayhi salam literally translates to: peace is with him. RadhiyaAllah anh translates as: may Ridha (content or pleasure) of Allah be upon him (who is spoken of). One seems to highlight the fact that peace is with the person spoken of while the other is like that of a supplication, or dua, for the personality. Personally, they are both lovely attributes.
Peace. — Dee.
imsomeanimakemedicinesick-deact asked: As-salamu alaykum! What do Muslims think about Jesus Christ? Thank you for your answer!
Peace and many blessings,
- Christ was a beloved and noble servant of God
- Christ was an extremely pious Prophet of God
- Christ was provided with numerous miracles (by God’s Grace), like healing the sick.
- Mary, the mother of Christ, was a pious and noble woman who is considered to be one of the greatest women of the world(s).
Find an ontology of Jesus Christ here.
hayaisbeauty asked: Salam! :) Okay, so my parents and everyone i know say that i have a bad attitude and a temper. And I'm starting to believe them. I get ticked off and pissed at the smallest things. I don't mean to, it's just a natural reaction to how i deal with things. I know this is bad and it even effects the way i talk to my parents, astaghfirallah. Is there anything i could do to control my anger and bad attitude?
Salaam!
Read Surah Luqman and pay specific attention to the way in which Luqman deals with his son, and the advice he gives him.
InshaAllah this helps.
