Ikram Hawramani's Blog, page 16

Can you make dua in ruku position?

Ruling on making dua in the position of ruku while praying

Making dua in ruku and sujood is permitted. You can use any words you want.

References:

Fatwa from the Qatari Fatwa Authority (Arabic PDF)

Building social skills

What would you recommend to someone who lacks social skills? How can they improve themself? Any suggestions?

As far as I know the best way is to place yourself in a lot of situation situations, such as getting a job where you have to deal with people a lot, such as a store cashier.

Islam and the fate of isolated tribes and civilizations

Something that has bugging me for a while is the fact that there were millions of people throughout history that have lived and died without ever hearing about Islam much less converting to it (wether they be some isolated artic tribe or entire civilisations like the Inca ) which got me thinking on how Allah would judge someone who for whatever reason hasn’t heard of Islam at all , do they get an exemption or are they just unceremoniously tossed into hell ? On that note what would be the case about someone who did hear about Islam but only a distorted version that plays up negative stereotypes and preconceptions?

Please see this previous answer: There are billions of non-Muslims, so how can Islam be the one true path?

Is it permissible to use a credit card to build credit?

Salam, I'm a 19 year old canadian and a few days ago I was kind of pressured into getting a credit card. He said I'll have to start building my credit for my life ahead, mentioning not being able to rent or get housing without a credit score among other things. Since he mentioned that, I'm in a dilemma as to of I should start building credit for my future needs and emergencies or cancel it. Do you have any advise on what I should do about this?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

You can use the credit card to build credit. As long as you make sure to pay off the balance before the next statement date, you will not be charged interest, therefore no usury will be involved. Due to the way the banking system works, whether you use a credit or debit card, you are always involved in some sort of usurious transaction. For example, depositing money in a bank allows the bank to lend it at interest to another customer.

You may also use it for emergencies when you are truly desperate.

Reference on the permissibility of using interest-bearing debt for emergencies:

Fatwa from the Qatari Fatwa Authority (Arabic PDF)

Why does Islam permit cousin marriage?

Salam! Why is permissible in islam to marry one’s cousin/why isn’t it considered incest? Considering the high health risks that could affect the baby?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

Islam permits things when prohibiting them would do more harm than good. Sometimes (in an isolated village, for example) the only suitable person for marriage is a cousin. Allowing the marriage despite the risks would be better than requiring the couple to remain celibate. Cousin marriage used to be quite common in Europe until the 20th century. Charles Darwin married his first cousin. Cousin marriage is also far less risky than the Jewish practice of uncle-niece marriages (cousins on average share 12.5% of our genes, while the sharing is 25% between uncles and nieces, and 50% between siblings). 

While cousin marriage can be a burden to the couple due to having children with genetic abnormalities, it can be beneficial to the population as a whole in the long-term. From a scientific article on cousin marriage:

In ‘Consanguinity in Context,’ author and medical geneticist Alan H. Bittles of Murdoch University in Australia examines common misconceptions about cousin marriage from legal, cultural, religious and medical perspectives.

…

But the risks apply primarily to couples who are carriers of disorders that are normally very, very rare, Bittles explained. “For over 90% of cousin marriages, their risk [of having a child with a genetic abnormality] is the same as it is for the general population,” he said.

…

One surprising and oft-neglected advantage of marriage between close biological relatives is a phenomenon called purging, in which disease genes are exposed and removed from the gene pool. Thanks to purging, marriage between close relatives in early human populations would have kept the prevalence of genetic disorders low, Bittles explained.

…

But in the long-term, shrinking family sizes and increased mobility in many parts of the world means that cousin marriage is likely to decline. In the absence of purging, harmful genetic variants could accumulate over time.

“We may be creating a problem for ourselves in future generations,” Bittles said.

And here is a detailed article that shows the risks of cousin marriage are not so clear-cut as is usually thought.

Cousin marriage also has the benefit of creating families that have far more “kin affection” than other families. The children will share more genes with each other. Twins are famous for being especially loving toward their twin siblings. Children born to cousin marriages will be somewhat like that. They will also have far more loving aunts, uncles and grandparents because rather than sharing 25% of their genes with them, they will share something like 35%-40%, so the aunts and uncles and grandparents will treat them almost like their own children. I have seen this in the Middle East where the children of cousin marriages have a very special place in the hearts of their aunts, uncles and grandparents.

So while cousin marriages may not be something to recommend, the risks are not great enough to require prohibiting it if you also consider the benefits.

Does the Quran advocate reading?

Does the word iqra in the quran really mean the quran is advocating people to read and what does God won't not change people unless they change themselves?

iqraʾ is a command that means “read” and “recite”. In many contexts it is used when to mean “read”, for example in Surat al-Alaq (Sura 96) it mentions pens soon after using iqraʾ, and in verse 17:14 it says:

“Read your book; today there will be none but yourself to call you to account.”

But it is not clear if the Quran advocating general reading.

The Quran says God will not change the condition of a people unless they change the condition of their souls. This means that if a people want blessings, peace and ease, then the way to get this is through becoming better people themselves.

Can Muslim women be air force pilots?

Is it okay for a Muslim woman to work as an Air Force pilot?

Yes. Please see these two previous answers:

It is permitted for Muslim women to work in the police force and the armyCan Muslim women be airline pilots?

Can Muslim women be airline pilots?

Can a woman be a pilot who travels around? She is travelling but for work and is with other staff (flight attendants, cabin crew, other pilots)?

If her faith and dignity are preserved then there is no issue with it, since we do not have any clear statements from the Quran and hadith on such issues and scholars generally use their own reasoning. Whether that work is acceptable or not depends on the specific circumstances of her job. If the staff is full of flirty males then that is different from the staff being polite and reserved. So at the end of the day it is for her to decide whether the job allows her to preserve her faith and dignity or not. Her own personality also matters, some women are more dominant than others and can defend themselves easily, while others are not. It might be perfectly acceptable for a particular woman to work at a job that is not acceptable for a different kind of woman.

If homosexuality is against nature, why do animals engage in it?

If homosexuality is against the rules of nature, why do 1500+ animal species (these are only the ones that have been observed for this purpose yet) exhibit homosexual behaviour?

Homosexuality, adultery, infanticide and murder are normal parts of nature for animals. They are unnatural for creatures that have agency / free will. For humans a desire may be perfectly natural while being immoral if acted upon.

Islam and reincarnation

Salaam. Does Islam recognize reincarnation?

No, there is no reincarnation in Islam.