The Press Release on the Terrorist Attacks against the Shia in Egypt

The Press Release on the Terrorist Attacks against the Shia in Egypt
2013/06/25

We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks that lead to the martyrdom and wounding of tens of innocent lovers of the Ahlul-Bait (peace be upon them) in Egypt and the dragging of deceased bodies along the ground that took place afterwards.

As we ask the Almighty Allah to send His mercy on the souls of the martyrs and to grant the wounded fast recovery, we call the government and the judiciary of Egypt to take the responsibility in bringing the perpetrators and those who motivated them with incitement verdicts to justice. In addition, we call the Egyptian government to take the necessary steps in preventing the recurrence of similar events.

We pray to the Almighty Lord to bless the efforts of Al-Azhar in promoting a culture of moderation and rejecting extremism and hatred, which distort the image of Muslims and rupture the unity of the peaceful Egyptian nation.

"There is no power save from Allah, the All-high, the All-Great"

The Office of the Religious Authority, Sayyid Mohammed Saeed Al-Hakeem

Day Questions

For the father to make his daughter in charge of her own marriage, must he explicitly mentioned this to her? Or does it suffice that he allows her to be in sexual relationships with whomever she wills, basically to seek her own partner, and that when asked if she would be able to marry whoever she wills without the consent of her father she replies in the affirmative?

The consent of the guardian does not have to be direct and explicit in order for the girl to be considered in charge of her marriage. It suffices that she has absolute freedom in choosing her husband, in the manner described, in such a way that she is not recognized by the social standard to be bypassing the right of the guardian when she chooses a husband without referring to him.

If I doubt whether I washed the face in wudhu or not while washing my arms, do I have to restart the wudhu?

If this was an excessive doubt, arising out of waswasa, then one should ignore it. If this was a regular doubt, one should go back to wash the face and continue from there.

What if one does not have enough money or means to pay Diyah?

If the offender cannot pay it, it stays as a debt on him.

How does a student of Islamic studies reach the level of ijtihad?

Ijtihad is a talent gained after reaching a level of knowledge through which a student of religion is able to know the religious ruling from its rightful sources, i.e. the Holy Quran and the narrations of the Prophet and the Imams (peace be upon them). It is natural for this to require a long period of time and dedication, in addition to piety and God-fearing in such a way that one becomes sincere in his research for the truth, as it is prohibited to give an edict without knowledge, as the religious teachings emphasize.