ABOUT OUR INSTRUCTORS

Sh. Abdullah Ashraf

Sh Abdullah graduated with his Bachelors and Masters from the

Islamic University of Madinah in Shariah and Comparative Fiqh. He currently

serves as a Co-Imam at Masjid El Farouq. He holds multiple Ijazaat in books of Hadith, Fiqh, Recitation of the Quran, Tafseer and more.


Ustadha Farhat Shamsi

Ustadha Farhat Ahmed Shamsi is the founder of Quran and Soul, and her journey began with the Qur’an after she first began feeling a sense of frustration at not being able to understand the Speech of Allah. By the Grace of Allah she was guided to a course of knowledge which centered on the language and understanding of every single ayah and surah in the Divine Revelation. Her journey became a passion and source of fulfillment; she had never imagined teaching anyone else what she was learning, except perhaps sharing it with her family. Her adult study circles grew as she also brought in Islamic educational reforms in her local community and introduced Qur’an Tafseer classes for high school and college students.


Ustadha Safiya Ravat

Ustadha Safiya Ravat was born in Canada and raised in South Africa and the US, with British and Indian origins. She grew up in Houston, and is the co-founder of Suhbah Institute. She attained her degree in Journalism with a minor in Religious Studies at the University of Houston and went on to write for the Houston Chronicle. Ustadha Safiya studied under Shaykh Isam Rajab for two years at the Arees University, she then attained her Bachelor’s in Fiqh and Usul al Fiqh (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence) from the International Islamic University of Malaysia, and then a Masters in Pastoral Counseling in Marriage and Family Therapy and also serves as a chaplain for the Muslim Students Association at the University of Houston


Ustadh Mahad Qamar

Ustadh Mahad Qamar is native Houstonian and the co-founder of Suhbah Institute. He graduated with a Bachelors in Fiqh and Usul al Fiqh (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence) from the International Islamic University of Malaysia, and then a Masters in Pastoral Counseling in Marriage and Family Therapy. He also serves as a chaplain for the Muslim Students Association at both the University of Houston and Texas A&M University.

 


Sh. Joe Bradford

Shaykh Joe Bradford holds a Master of Islamic Law from the University of Medina, and is currently a PhD candidate at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) where he is researching comparative legal theories focused on financial injustice. He works as an Ethical Finance Advisor to private funds, family offices, and individuals. He teaches with IOK, Suhbah Institute, and is the Resident scholar at the Islamic Dawah Center.

Shaykh Dr. Ali Ahmed

Shaykh Dr. Ali Ahmed has been active in the American Muslim community, from California to New York, since 2000. After receiving his B.Sc. in Biochemistry and working in the Biotech field for several years, he started travelling to various parts of the world to further his Islamic knowledge to better serve and help the Muslims in the West. After studying for more than 12 years, Shaykh Ali obtained a Bachelors in Sharī’ah, Master’s in Fiqh & Uṣūl al-Fiqh with Summa Cum Laude, and a PhD in Islamic Judiciary (Qaḍā), with a special focus on Arbitration and Mediation in Muslim Family Law. He has authored books and several academic papers relating to Fatwa, Muslim Family Law, Islamic Judiciary system and its effects on the Muslims living in the West as minorities. Currently, Shaykh Ali is a Resident Scholar & Advisor and part of several Islamic organizations in the US, UK and Malaysia.

Ustadh Fahad Tasleem

Ustadh Fahad Tasleem is a research fellow and instructor at The Sapience Institute.  He is the author of the book, "No Doubt: Finding Certainty in an Age of Uncertainty". Fahad's research areas at Sapience focus on Islamic Theo-Philosophy & Spirituality. 

He holds a BA in Economics from Michigan State University, an MSc in Business from the University of Southern California and Graduate Studies in Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Islamic Theology from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing his Phd in Islamic Thought from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Questions

CAN A WOMAN STAY IN THE MASJID DURING MENSES?

CLICK HERE for video response.

The scholars’ 2 OPINIONS:
1) NO SHE CANNOT STAY IN THE MASJID UNLESS PASSING BY FOR A NEED (MAJORITY)

Evidences:
-The junub (sexually impure person after intercourse) is told explicitly in the Quran (Nisa: 43) not to stay in the masjid. And the junub, by analogy, is similar to the menstruating women because they both have an impurity that requires ghusl.
– Rasulullah (S) said to tell all women (menstruating and not) to come to the Eid prayer, but he said “let the menstruating women avoid the prayer place.”
-Rasulullah (S) in said, “The mosque is not permitted for menstruating women or anyone who is in a state of janabah (sexual impurity).”

2) YES SHE CAN STAY IN THE MASJID
(minority opinion held by Ibn Hazm, Al-Muzani a scholar of the Shafi’I madhab, Dawud Ad Dhaahiri, and modern day scholars such as Shaykh Yusuf al Qardawi and others)

Evidences:
-The hadeeth mentioned above (“The mosque is not permitted for menstruating women or anyone who is in a state of janabah (sexual impurity).”) was classed as da’eef (weak) by Shaykh al-Albaani as well as other scholars, so it is not permissible to make a ruling of fiqh based on a weak hadth.
– The ayah talking about the junub cannot be applied to the menstruating women because they are not analogous.
When Aisha is on her period during Hajj, Rasulullah (S) told her “do everything but don’t do tawaf of the kabah” which indicates she could stay at the Kabah and do worship, dua, etc.
-A slave woman who was freed set up a tent and lived in the masjid. And Umm Mihjaan (the caretaker of the masjid) would regularly take care of the masjid, and was not told to avoid it during menses.
-Therefore, these scholars are of the opinion that if it were really impermissible for a woman to not stay in the masjid, there would be an authentic direct hadith or ayah about it, as women around the messenger regularly had their period. The evidences brought by the majority are not strong enough to make it haram upon her to stay in the masjid.

CAN A WOMAN TRAVEL BY HERSELF?

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Did you know that the wives of the Prophet (S) traveled together WITHOUT a Mahram from Madinah to Makkah to make Hajj?

In short – there are two opinions on the matter. 1) No, she has to have a Mahram. 2) Yes, she can, as long as her safety can be ensured, and that she uses safe public transportation where others are around.

CAN I DO 6 SHAWAL BEFORE MAKE UP FASTS?

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Rasulullah (S) said “Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal will be (rewarded) as if he had fasted the entire year.” [Muslim]

So CAN I DO 6 SHAWAL BEFORE MY RAMADAN MAKE UP FASTS?

2 Opinions of the scholars:

1) NO, FINISH RAMADAN FASTS FIRST: Some scholars, amongst them the Hanbalis, say that one must finish the obligatory fasts of Ramadan first before you do any other voluntary fast, as obligations are more important than voluntary fasts and because the Hadith says “Whoever FASTS Ramadan and follows it up with 6 of shawal…” indicating one must finish all 29/30 of Ramadan first and foremost. Some of this group say, if one cannot do all of Ramadan make up fasts in Shawal, then they can complete their 6 Shawal in the next month (Dhul Qa’dah).

2) YES, YOU CAN DO 6 SHAWAL BEFORE RAMADAN MAKE UPS:
The other opinion of scholars (amongst them the Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki madhhab) is that the obligation of finishing off Ramadan is an obligation that is given an extended amount of time to fulfill. So since it is given a wide time of 11 months to finish the Ramadan fasts, it should NOT be limited to finishing them off in the very next month (shawal). Shawal is a limited amount of time, and Ramadan is given a long time, and therefore it would be permissible to fast 6 shawal first as long as the Ramadan fasts are accomplished throughout the next 11 months. This is from the mercy of Allah in giving us a long time to make up all the Ramadan fasts.

The precedence that we have in the seerah, is that of Aisha (R) who said that she regularly made up her Ramadan fasts in the month of Shaban, which is the month right before Ramadan. But it is also known that she did many voluntary fasts throughout the year. Scholars conclude that she thererfore saw it acceptable to do voluntary fasts, EVEN though the Ramadan make up fasts had not been completed yet.

It is also very difficult for women to make up Ramadan fasts (maybe 7-8 days) & finish shawal (another 6 days) within one month – because obviously her menses will come (maybe 7-8 days). That almost requires her to fast another WHOLE month minus her period just to accomplish Shawal. And that is definitely a great difficulty.

**Majority of scholars say you cannot combine Shawal and Ramadan make up fasts with one intention. They should be separate intentions and separate days.

NOTE: Know yourself! If you find it difficult to make up your fasts, PRIORITIZE Ramadan fasts over Shawal fasts, because an obligation is like a debt!

May Allah allow us all to fast the 6 of Shawal to get the reward of an entire year! Ameen

CAN WOMEN READ/TOUCH THE QURAN DURING MENSES?

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RECITING QURAN – there are 2 opinions:
1) She CANNOT read/recite the Quran.
Most scholars prohibit women from touching the Quran based on the hadith “The menstruating woman and the one who is in a state of sexual impurity (janaabah) should not recite anything of the Qur’aan.”

2) She CAN read/recite the Quran.
This is the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah, ibn Qayyim, Imam Malik, Bukhari, and one opinion of Imam Ash Shafii as well as many other scholars. Their argument is that the hadith mentioned above is Daeef (weak). In fact, the hadith is considered weak by almost all scholars of Hadith and therefore cannot be used in order to make a fiqh ruling. So women may recite or read the Quran, either from memory or from the Quran mushaf (book) itself.

TOUCHING THE QURAN

Scholars of fiqh agree that someone who is not purified CANNOT touch the Quran because Allah says in the Quran “None shall touch it except the purified” (Waqiah: 79). This includes the junub (sexually impure), the menstruating woman, as well as someone without wudhu.

So how can she read the Quran?
1) Use a barrier (glove, towel, pen) so that her hand doesn’t directly touch the Quran
2) Read it off of a tablet or phone as these are not considered the Quran, but rather devices that have the Quran in them.
3)Read a book which has Tafseer/translation in it – as that is not considered the Quran mushaf (book) either. Even if it contains the Arabic, if half is tafseer/translation, it is permissible for an impure person to hold.

WOMEN’S FASTING FAQ

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Q:If you fast all day, and your period starts a few minutes before Maghrib, do you have to make that day up?
A: Yes.

Q: If I didn’t make up all my fasts before next Ramadan, what do I do?
A: If you had no excuse, you have to pay the penalty, Fidya as well as make them up later. (Fidya: feeding a poor person a full day’s meal per day that you missed).

Q: Do pregnant and breastfeeding women have to fast?
A: They are exempt if they fear for themselves or the baby. However, if they feel well enough, they can fast, after consulting a doctor.

Q: How do pregnant/nursing moms make up those fasting days if they have years of make ups?
A: There are multiple opinions of scholars:
1- make them all up over the years (majority opinion)
2- pay the fidya only (opinion of Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar (R))
3- pay the fidya AND make them up over the years

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