Day Questions

Why is the dog najis in Islam?

Islam is a divine religion that Almighty Allah revealed to guard the welfare of people. Almighty Allah knows the reality of things and what benefits His slaves, so He set laws accordingly for them to observe. Since Islam is the seal of religions, these laws are for until the end of this world. Because of corruption, badness and evilness in certain things or acts, He commanded us to refrain from them and made them prohibited. Similarly, because of benefits and goodness in certain other things, He ordered us to perform them and made them obligatory on us. Some of these laws are general and apply to all people, all the time, and anywhere.The ability of the human being is limited, so is unable to find out and understand the reasons behind the Sharia of Almighty Allah. Sometimes Allah Almighty has taught us through the Holy Prophet and the Imams (peace be upon them), the wisdom behind certain few rulings. We must obey His laws by refraining from the prohibited acts and undertaking the obligatory acts, even if we do not know the reason behind each and every one of them.The najasah of the dog is one of the rulings about which we do not know the wisdom behind.

A man’s mother died from illness that resulted from female genital mutilation in his youth. Then he made a covenant (ahd) with Allah Almighty to become a professional gynecologist, and treat women with similar problems. Is this covenant valid and obligatory to observe? Is it allowed for a Muslim man to work as a gynecologist or obstetrician?

The said covenant (ahd) is correct and one should act upon it if the profession is required to prevent harm from reaching Muslim women. It is not obligatory to act on it if there are enough Muslim female physicians. It is permissible to take up such a profession, and it is permissible to deliver babies when necessary.

I travel often to another city which is around 180km away. Driving there and back makes me drowsy and tired, and fasting can make it more difficult to drive this distance. Can I skip the fasts during this journey and make up for it later?

If in the normal course of your life or the nature of your work requires you to travel frequently to this distance, then you should fast in your travels. You could hire a driver or use a form of transportation that doesn’t require you to drive. If you are not a frequent traveller, then your fast is invalidated by such travel while you are travelling, and you should make up for the missed fast later.