1. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
In the name of God the all merciful
The international conference of scholars concerning a ban on abuse of the female body was held on 1st and 2nd Du al-Qi’dah 1427 of the Hijri, corresponding to the 22nd and 23rd November 2006, in the conference facilities at Al-Azhar University. An array of research work was presented. Once scientists, Islamic scholars, experts and activists from civil rights organisations in Egypt, Europe and Africa had been heard, the following recommendations were issued:
Professor Ali Gom’a Grand Mufti of Egypt 24/11/2006
The international conference of scholars concerning a ban on abuse of the female body was held on 1st and 2nd Du al-Qi’dah 1427 of the Hijri, corresponding to the 22nd and 23rd November 2006, in the conference facilities at Al-Azhar University. An array of research work was presented. Once scientists, Islamic scholars, experts and activists from civil rights organisations in Egypt, Europe and Africa had been heard, the following recommendations were issued:
- God gave people dignity. In the Qur’an God says: “We have dignified the sons of Adam”. Therefore, God forbids any harm coming to man, irrespective of social status and gender.
- Genital circumcision is a deplorable, inherited custom, which is practiced in some societies and is copied by some Muslims in several countries. There are no written grounds for this custom in the Qur’an with regard to an authentic tradition of the Prophet.
- The female genital circumcision practiced today harms women psychologically and physically. Therefore, the practice must be stopped in support of one of the highest values of Islam, namely to do no harm to another – in accordance with the commandment of the Prophet Mohammed “Accept no harm and do no harm to another”. Moreover, this is seen as punishable aggression against humankind.
- The conference calls on Muslims to end this deplorable custom in accordance with the teachings of Islam, which forbid injuring another in any form.
- The participants of the conference also called on international and religious institutions and establishments to concentrate their efforts on educating and instructing the population. This concerns particularly the basic rules of hygienic and medicine, which must be maintained for women so that this deplorable custom is no longer practiced.
- The conference reminds the educational establishments and the media that they have an implicit duty to educate about the harm this custom brings and its devastating consequences for society. This will contribute to stopping the custom of mutilating the female body.
- The conference calls on the legislative organs to pass a law, which bans the practice of this gruesome custom and declares it a crime, irrespective of whether this concerns the perpetrator or the initiator.
- Furthermore, the conference calls on international institutions and organisations to provide help in all regions where this gruesome custom is practiced, which will contribute to its elimination.
Professor Ali Gom’a Grand Mufti of Egypt 24/11/2006
2. Test-Tube Babies
Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on test-tube babies and artificial insemination i.e. to take a sample of the husband’s sperm and place it in a tube stored in a special lab by the direction of physicians?
Answer:
Artificial insemination i.e. inserting the sperm of the husband inside the womb of his wife; not by means of sexual intercourse, rather, by way of injection or tubes with the aim of impregnation is legally permissible with the condition that the male’s fluid not be mixed with the fluid of another during the process of insemination. If it is mixed with another’s, even minutely, the insemination becomes unlawful. It is also compulsory to discard this fluid, because preserving it leads to the meshing of lineages; a revolting crime that Islamic law prohibits and threatens the one guilty of it with a grievous penalty. It is also a duty of those who are seeking to procreate via artificial insemination to ascertain fully that the sperm sample is indeed the sample taken from the husband, and that they are inserted into the wife without being mixed with any other specimens, be they from a relative or non-relative. This type of artificial insemination must also be carried out by a trustworthy and religious physician and under his personal supervision.
What is the Islamic ruling on test-tube babies and artificial insemination i.e. to take a sample of the husband’s sperm and place it in a tube stored in a special lab by the direction of physicians?
Answer:
Artificial insemination i.e. inserting the sperm of the husband inside the womb of his wife; not by means of sexual intercourse, rather, by way of injection or tubes with the aim of impregnation is legally permissible with the condition that the male’s fluid not be mixed with the fluid of another during the process of insemination. If it is mixed with another’s, even minutely, the insemination becomes unlawful. It is also compulsory to discard this fluid, because preserving it leads to the meshing of lineages; a revolting crime that Islamic law prohibits and threatens the one guilty of it with a grievous penalty. It is also a duty of those who are seeking to procreate via artificial insemination to ascertain fully that the sperm sample is indeed the sample taken from the husband, and that they are inserted into the wife without being mixed with any other specimens, be they from a relative or non-relative. This type of artificial insemination must also be carried out by a trustworthy and religious physician and under his personal supervision.
3. Euthanasia
Question:
Does Islamic law permit euthanasia for a person who is no longer hoped to be cured from an illness?
Answer:
Islamic law does permit the removal of the medical equipment utilized to keep a person alive when it is no longer hoped that such a person will be cured and no progress is being made in the attempt to restore their health—due to being “clinically dead”— only when physicians advise to do so. If, however, the equipment has another purpose, like the removal of fluid to improve respiratory health, it is not permissible to deactivate them. This is different, though, from what is called “euthanasia” wherein the sick person requests from the physician to end their life or when the physician decides that unilaterally due to some handicap that will afflict the sick or because of severe pain. Such decisions are unequivocally unlawful because the sick is still living and their life is not dependent upon the life preserving equipment. Rather, the only concern is that the sick or the physician desires to put an end to life due to the excessive pain experienced by the sick. To end life in such an instance will be considered homicide and a murder of a soul that God has declared sacred.
Does Islamic law permit euthanasia for a person who is no longer hoped to be cured from an illness?
Answer:
Islamic law does permit the removal of the medical equipment utilized to keep a person alive when it is no longer hoped that such a person will be cured and no progress is being made in the attempt to restore their health—due to being “clinically dead”— only when physicians advise to do so. If, however, the equipment has another purpose, like the removal of fluid to improve respiratory health, it is not permissible to deactivate them. This is different, though, from what is called “euthanasia” wherein the sick person requests from the physician to end their life or when the physician decides that unilaterally due to some handicap that will afflict the sick or because of severe pain. Such decisions are unequivocally unlawful because the sick is still living and their life is not dependent upon the life preserving equipment. Rather, the only concern is that the sick or the physician desires to put an end to life due to the excessive pain experienced by the sick. To end life in such an instance will be considered homicide and a murder of a soul that God has declared sacred.
4. A Child’s Right to Life
Question:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not kill a child, a woman, nor an elderly person.” In spite of this, we witness children being killed often in our time. What right to life do children really have in light of this prophetic injunction?
Answer:
All children, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, have a right to the protection of life. The same applies to women and elderly persons who do not participate in battle nor aid financially or strategically against Muslims. These are the teachings of Islam and our noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the massacre, vagrancy, and other things that happen to Muslim children, no heavenly religion or humanistic moral teaching condones such a thing. All of this is the consequence of the desertion of the oppressed Muslims of Palestine and elsewhere by other Muslims. We ask that God completely restore the faith of the Muslims, and that He graces their governors to work for the well-being of Islam and the glory of the Muslims. Amen.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not kill a child, a woman, nor an elderly person.” In spite of this, we witness children being killed often in our time. What right to life do children really have in light of this prophetic injunction?
Answer:
All children, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, have a right to the protection of life. The same applies to women and elderly persons who do not participate in battle nor aid financially or strategically against Muslims. These are the teachings of Islam and our noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the massacre, vagrancy, and other things that happen to Muslim children, no heavenly religion or humanistic moral teaching condones such a thing. All of this is the consequence of the desertion of the oppressed Muslims of Palestine and elsewhere by other Muslims. We ask that God completely restore the faith of the Muslims, and that He graces their governors to work for the well-being of Islam and the glory of the Muslims. Amen.
5. Marriage to a Non-Muslim Woman
Question:
I am Muslim man who married a non-Muslim woman ten years ago who is twenty years my senior. She has accepted Islam through God’s guidance, and she prays, fasts, and fulfills all of her Islamic duties. The only problem in our relationship is that she is infertile, and I am afraid that if I leave her to marry another woman, it will negatively affect her faith since we live in the US. How does Islam rule in such a situation?
Answer:
It is not a favorable situation for the health of a woman’s faith to be connected with the conduct of her husband. What would happen to her faith were he to divorce her, die, or a similar misfortune? This is something about which we should be concerned. I do, however, advise such a man not to marry a second wife. There is no harm in her not being blessed by God with children nor is he obliged to increase the number of his progeny. On the contrary, it is a sign of true faith for him to prefer loyalty to his wife who cannot procreate over marrying a second wife.
Sheikh al-Sha‘rani says, “It is a sign of good companionship and good faith to observe this consideration i.e. the consideration of loyalty to the first wife over the consideration of the taking (sexual) gratification from the second wife or with the aim of procreation. The jurists expressly state this. So this consideration is the more worthy one.”
So I offer this unbinding advice. Cling to ethical and Islamic standards and to loyalty. For it is better than seeking children from a second wife. And God knows best.
I am Muslim man who married a non-Muslim woman ten years ago who is twenty years my senior. She has accepted Islam through God’s guidance, and she prays, fasts, and fulfills all of her Islamic duties. The only problem in our relationship is that she is infertile, and I am afraid that if I leave her to marry another woman, it will negatively affect her faith since we live in the US. How does Islam rule in such a situation?
Answer:
It is not a favorable situation for the health of a woman’s faith to be connected with the conduct of her husband. What would happen to her faith were he to divorce her, die, or a similar misfortune? This is something about which we should be concerned. I do, however, advise such a man not to marry a second wife. There is no harm in her not being blessed by God with children nor is he obliged to increase the number of his progeny. On the contrary, it is a sign of true faith for him to prefer loyalty to his wife who cannot procreate over marrying a second wife.
Sheikh al-Sha‘rani says, “It is a sign of good companionship and good faith to observe this consideration i.e. the consideration of loyalty to the first wife over the consideration of the taking (sexual) gratification from the second wife or with the aim of procreation. The jurists expressly state this. So this consideration is the more worthy one.”
So I offer this unbinding advice. Cling to ethical and Islamic standards and to loyalty. For it is better than seeking children from a second wife. And God knows best.
6. Fatwa Issued By Dar al-Ifta 7/9/09 Honoring those
who defame the Prophet of Islam
Question:
What is the ruling of giving monetary prizes and respected awards to people who have defamed the Prophet of Islam in their published writings, described Islam as a false religion, has said that prophethood was invented by Abu Talib in order to remove the hegemony of the Umayyids from Quraysh and Mecca, and that ‘Abd al-Mutalib sought the aid of the Jews in spreading the fable of prophethood – in his words –.
Is it permissible for a council to give somebody like this honorific awards that elevate his status and promote his thought as well as prizes from the money of Muslims, even though they know what is written in his books of what is mentioned above, which are published and readily available? If this is not permissible, then who is accountable for the value of this prize, which was awarded from public funds?
Answer:
Something that is necessarily known in the religion is that aggrandizing the Shari’ah, the religion, and the status of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) is one of the greatest pillars of the Shari’ah and one of the most important and grand duties. God says in the Qur’an, And whoever venerates the signs of God, that is the piety of hearts [22:32]; Surely We have sent you as a witness, good tidings to bear, and warning, that you may believe in God and His Messenger and succor Him, and reverence Him, and that you may give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening [48:8-9]; Those who malign God and His messenger, God has cursed them in the world and the Hereafter, and has prepared for them the doom of the disdained [33:57]; and Make not the calling of the Messenger among you as your calling one of another. God knows those of you who steal away, hiding themselves. And let those who conspire to evade orders beware lest grief or painful punishment befall them [24:63].
Muslims have formed a consensus that whoever curses the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) or slanders the religion of Islam has departed from Islam and the Muslims and deserves to be held accountable in this world and to be punished in the Afterlife. As has been stated in article 98 of the (Egyptian) penal code, which criminalizes anyone who depreciates or insults one of the heavenly sent religions, one of their sects, or causes harm to the unity of the nation or the peace of the society.
As for what was particularly mentioned in the question: These statements that have been reproduced in the question (regardless of who said them) are statements of disbelief that take one who makes them out of Islam, if they are Muslim, and is considered a crime that has been criminalized in the article of the penal code mentioned above. If it is established that these kind of base, false, and rejected statements were made by somebody, that person would deserve to be called a criminal, not to be honored, and all means of legal action should be taken against them in order to protect society from their evil and to make an example of them for others for whom the devil has seduced to their actions and has made their falsehoods appear beautiful to them. God says in the Qur’an, Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works? Those whose effort go astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon that they do good work [18:103-104].
As for the committee that chose this person to be awarded this prize, if it was aware of the statements in his published works, then they are accountable for the value of the prize that was taken from the funds of Muslims.
And God Most High knows best.
What is the ruling of giving monetary prizes and respected awards to people who have defamed the Prophet of Islam in their published writings, described Islam as a false religion, has said that prophethood was invented by Abu Talib in order to remove the hegemony of the Umayyids from Quraysh and Mecca, and that ‘Abd al-Mutalib sought the aid of the Jews in spreading the fable of prophethood – in his words –.
Is it permissible for a council to give somebody like this honorific awards that elevate his status and promote his thought as well as prizes from the money of Muslims, even though they know what is written in his books of what is mentioned above, which are published and readily available? If this is not permissible, then who is accountable for the value of this prize, which was awarded from public funds?
Answer:
Something that is necessarily known in the religion is that aggrandizing the Shari’ah, the religion, and the status of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) is one of the greatest pillars of the Shari’ah and one of the most important and grand duties. God says in the Qur’an, And whoever venerates the signs of God, that is the piety of hearts [22:32]; Surely We have sent you as a witness, good tidings to bear, and warning, that you may believe in God and His Messenger and succor Him, and reverence Him, and that you may give Him glory at the dawn and in the evening [48:8-9]; Those who malign God and His messenger, God has cursed them in the world and the Hereafter, and has prepared for them the doom of the disdained [33:57]; and Make not the calling of the Messenger among you as your calling one of another. God knows those of you who steal away, hiding themselves. And let those who conspire to evade orders beware lest grief or painful punishment befall them [24:63].
Muslims have formed a consensus that whoever curses the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) or slanders the religion of Islam has departed from Islam and the Muslims and deserves to be held accountable in this world and to be punished in the Afterlife. As has been stated in article 98 of the (Egyptian) penal code, which criminalizes anyone who depreciates or insults one of the heavenly sent religions, one of their sects, or causes harm to the unity of the nation or the peace of the society.
As for what was particularly mentioned in the question: These statements that have been reproduced in the question (regardless of who said them) are statements of disbelief that take one who makes them out of Islam, if they are Muslim, and is considered a crime that has been criminalized in the article of the penal code mentioned above. If it is established that these kind of base, false, and rejected statements were made by somebody, that person would deserve to be called a criminal, not to be honored, and all means of legal action should be taken against them in order to protect society from their evil and to make an example of them for others for whom the devil has seduced to their actions and has made their falsehoods appear beautiful to them. God says in the Qur’an, Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works? Those whose effort go astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon that they do good work [18:103-104].
As for the committee that chose this person to be awarded this prize, if it was aware of the statements in his published works, then they are accountable for the value of the prize that was taken from the funds of Muslims.
And God Most High knows best.