Ikram Hawramani's Blog, page 47

On controlling the impulse to masturbate

I cannot control my impulse for masturbating can I?

It will get easier to control your impulses as you get older. So do not get disheartened but always do your best to make up for it by doing other good deeds. Please see this previous answer for more details: On how to stop masturbating

Best wishes.

Should Muslims just stay away from manga and anime?

Everyone should just stay away from manga and anime. So much, if not absolutely most of it is immoral filth. Juvenile stories told with immoral themes and aimed at teenagers. Fantranslations make the stories impossible to regulate and many children are subjected to stories they should never have seen, let alone anyone of any age should see. They are not only ugly in appearance and telling, but ugly in their morals and intent. I pray that the whole phenomenon dies away insha'Allah.

I have no interest in them myself but I think that if Muslims get invovled with the genre and contribute wholesome alternatives to it, then it can be reformed. For example I grew up watching Arabic-dubbed anime on the popular SpaceToon channel and there was nothing in that except good moral teachings, besides the entertainment and fantasy.

If just leave the genre alone then that would just increase the chances of our teenagers going to the unwholesome versions of it. So I believe the first step toward a solution would be an English-language alternative to SpaceToon that only presents the wholesome animes.

Islam and vegan extremists

Assalamu'alaykum. Brother, what are your thoughts on vegans who condemn and look down on people who consume meat? I find few vegan persons who seem to justify their belief in only consume greens and fruits and view that other people who are not vegan as a low-life. Thank you.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

You can just ignore such people, they are similar to religious extremists who dehumanize those who disagree with them. If you are interested, you can check out Roger Scruton’s book Animal Rights and Wrongs. I have not actually read it (but I have it and plan to), but I trust his opinions on most things. Maybe his book will clarify the matter to you.

Are virtual credit cards halal?

Salaam. I was planning to create a PayPal account, but I'm unemployed, have no credit card, and thought of creating a VCC or Virtual Credit Card to get a full access to PayPal and to make overseas online payment or transfer. Unfortunately, the VCC service asks their users to take up 1,9% to 4,5% from users' account balance. Does this count as usury? If so, I will undo this.

Since it is called a credit card and since a percentage is mentioned, it seems likely that it involves usury. Try to find services that offer debit cards rather than credit cards. Debit cards do not involve usury. You can go to a bank that offers VISA or MasterCard payment cards and open a checking (rather than savings, which involves usury) bank account with them, and first make sure their cards will work online.

Another way to pay with PayPal without having a bank account is to use prepaid gift cards (here is the PayPal page about it). You can buy a prepaid gift card at most Western supermarkets. Make sure they have a MasterCard, VISA, American Express or Discover logo on them. You can them use the prepaid gift card during checkout in PayPal. But I do not know if you can use them to transfer money to others.

If you ever have an urgent need for money in your PayPal account, let me know and I will try to help you.

Growing out of a person

What do you do when you grow out of a person? I no longer have that love for someone I loved so much.

I would say that is a natural part of life. We change and other change, and these changes sometimes lead to having different opinions about the person, or no longer enjoying their company, or no longer liking them.

I don’t know if there is anything you should do about it. Just continue being polite toward them, and if they expect love and kindness from you, try to show it to them even if you do not feel it. As discussed in this previous answer, being compassionate when you do not feel like it is actually greater in virtue than being compassionate when you feel like it.

Some personal questions for Ikram Hawramani

Did you have any mentors growing up? Also, who do you look up to?

I had an uncle who introduced me to Said Nursī and who encouraged me to learn English. I took up English-learning from 7th grade and possibly my main mentors in life were Victorian novels.

Do you have any siblings?

I have a brother and two sisters.

Are you a hafiz?

No I am not.

Can you come back to Islam if you left the religion?

Can you come back to Islam if you left the religion?

A person can come back to Islam in an instant if they wish. All it takes is for them to pronounce the shahada while believing in it in their heart, and they will be Muslim again.

What is shirk (idolatry) in Islam?

What is shirk and how do you know that you have committed shirk?

Shirk is the sin of associating partners with God. It is often translated as paganism or polytheism, but the meaning is actually much wider. The Quran says:

And do not eat from that over which the Name of God was not pronounced, for it is abomination. The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be committers of shirk.

The Quran, verse 6:121.

According to this verse, whenever someone prefers Satan’s inspirations and opinions to God’s, that is shirk.

Shirk is any instance of the rejection of God’s authority in favor of another authority. If God tells you to do something and you refuse, preferring your own opinions and desires (which may have been inspired by Satan), then that is shirk.

All sins can be considered shirk because when committing sins we reject God’s authority. But there is minor shirk and major shirk. Minor shirk is the committing of any sin. We have all committed this whenever we have sinned, but God’s repentance and forgiveness are always open to us, so whenever we repent and God accepts our repentance, then our guilt for our shirk is erased.

Major shirk is to believe in an authority other than God and act according to it when you know that this is in contradiction to God’s authority. For example it is major shirk to believe that there are other deities beside God, or to believe that God is powerless over Satan, or that any of God’s attributes are false. For example if a person believes that God is powerless to help them, then that is major shirk, because they are preferring their own opinion (or Satan’s inspiration) over God’s clear statements.

The door of repentance is also open to majir shirk, so a person who has committed it is always welcome to repent and seek to submit to God again.

What is the one right way to pray (perform salah)?

Asalam Walikum, I was still wondering what would be the right way to pray? Ik different scholars have different opinions but in a ONE answer, what would be the right way to pray?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

It is sufficient to learn to pray from a source you like and respect, which is how most Muslims learn to pray. After that as your knowledge increases, you may choose to make small changes.

You may want to check out Being Muslim: A Practical Guide. It teaches how to pray in the Maliki way. The Maliki pratice of Islam is often the easiest for beginners, and since the Maliki school relies on three sources (the Quran, hadith and Medinan amal), it is often more reliable than the other schools which often only rely on the Quran and hadith.

I am not actually a Maliki so please do not consider this propaganda for that school. For my views on the different schools please see: On deciding which madhhab to follow and the multi-madhhab approach

Is it permitted for a Muslim to translate mangas?

Assalamu'alaikum, I wanted to ask is it wrong to translate Mangas? It's theme is reincarnation. Also I have put ads on my site where I post it, so the money that comes from it, is it halal or not?

I am the Anon from before, I am reading a manga where the girl goes back in time and meets Pharaoh Remisis ii, it’s a love story. Is it bad if I like those characters? I am so confused. Thanks.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

The short answer is that many scholars would consider all of that permissible if the contents do not contain anything obscene. Please see the following pages on our site (especially the one on erotica) which should answer your question:

The Islamic view of watching anime and reading manga

Is reading erotica permitted in Islam?

Drawings, paintings and statues in Islam