Question : My mother is a Sayeda, but my father is a non-Sayyid. Do I qualify to be a Sayyid?
Answer : This does not make you a Sayyid.
Question : If someone sends me a message via text message or online that says "Salam Alaykum" is it obligatory on me to message them back saying "Wa Alaykum Salam"?
Answer : It is not obligatory to reply to the said greeting, although it is better to do so.
Question : Assuming that I have general permission to do something such as using a washroom, if I do something that goes against its conventional usage or is at least very uncommon, but the owner did not explicitly forbid me from doing so – for example, I ate in the washroom which is not generally done – have I commit a sin if I do not ask for permission to do this? Or does it suffice that I have general permission and he did not explicitly tell me not to do said action?
Answer : It is sufficient in the permissibility of using the property of others having knowledge that the owner would not mind if knows of such usage.
Question : If the names of Allah that are written in English become Najis, is it obligatory to purify them?
Answer : Yes, it is obligatory.
Question : What is the ruling on the punishment of apostasy and blasphemy?
Answer : Applying the Sharia-defined punishments is the duty of the infallible Imam (peace be upon him).
Question : There was a turbah in my pocket and my pants got wet. Some turbah turned to mud and some residue basically became stuck to my pants. What am I expected to do in this situation? Is it alright if I were to wash it off, wipe it off and such? Or must I leave it?
Answer : Try to dispose of the mud in running water or place it in the garden or the like.
Question : A person makes a phone call to someone and records the phone call without telling him, later he publishes the recoding on the internet. Is this permissible?
Answer : It is not permissible to do so if the call was based on the assumption of privacy or if the content of the recording harms a believer and violates his sanctity.
Question : Is it a sin to lie down or sleep with the feet facing qibla?
Answer : This in permissible.
Question : At times I am plagued by doubts and uncertainty, and wonder if it would be possible for you to advise me of a duaa from the Imams (peace be upon them) to remove doubts that I have?
Answer : The best way to avoid doubts is to ignore them. It has been narrated that a person will not be held accountable because of excessive doubts. A believer should not pay attention to doubts as doing so is considered as a decrease in one's faith.
Question : What is the ruling in taking poetry as a profession?
Answer : It is permissible, but one should refrain from writing poetry that includes falsehood or urges misguidance and similar sinful things.
Question : Is the child of a Non-Sayyid man and a Sayyid woman considered as Sayyid?
Answer : The linage is transferred by the father only.
Question : Is it permissible to have sculptures of people in the home for decoration?
Answer : It is permissible to own such sculptures, but it is disliked. It is also disliked to offer the prayer in a place where sculptures are placed.
Question : A man is trying to save money to secure his future and get married and he contributes to his family, but his family is making it hard on him to save. He will always take care of his family, but recently a friend of his informs him that he has seen his father gambling and now the man is worried about his income; is it permissible in this case to lie about the exact amount of money he owns when his family ask him?
Answer : You can overcome the problem by giving him excuses like being in debt or in need of the money, etc. without actually lying.
Question : Are Muslims allowed to go to the cinema?
Answer : It is permissible to watch movies in the cinema unless it involves committing a prohibition like arousing unlawful desires or other prohibitions.
Question : If papers have the names of Allah's, the Holy Prophet or Holy Imams written on them, what should I do with them if I don't need them? Should I bury them? And what if it is not possible to bury them, is there any other way to dispose of them without sinning?
Answer : You can get dispose of them by throwing them in running waters or shred them or similar ways.
Question : What is the ruling of showing respect (like bowing our head slightly) to a deceased non-Muslim? For instance, we do that to his tomb or memorial stone?
Answer : It is not permissible to do so.
Question : Some people say that the "Blue Eye" saves us from the evil eye of some people. Is that correct?
Answer : This issue is widely believed in some societies, but we are not aware of religious texts that support it.
Question : When I was young and non-baligh, I broke my a company laptop which my late father entrusted to my elder brother. I have since then apologized to my brother, but my father never knew about it. I am not sure whether the laptop was owned by my father or he was borrowing it from the company, nor am I sure of its vale. What is my duty in respect to the loss I caused?
Answer : If your father was aware of the incident and he was accepting with what happened, then you are not liable for this loss.
Question : Is it wrong to desire to have a prostration mark? Or is it seen as Riya?
Answer : Simply desire to have it is not considered as insincerity, Riya, since Riya is when the action is with the intention of showing others. Having the prostration mark may or may not happen, so our advice is to ignore this issue and not focus on it.
Question : Is it permissible to read erotic stories?
Answer : It is not permissible to read erotic stories if such reading involves sexual lust.