Draft question review [trial run]

Question

What to do...

Post drafts of questions as answers to this post before submitting them to the main site. Please include the proposed:

1. Title. See: Advice for writing question titles on Islam.SE

2. Question body.

   I find this format works well:

   1. Motivation (why are you asking this question).
   2. Question (one question, highlighted).
   3. What I think the answer would be, but why I'm uncertain.

3. Tags. (E.g. write [tag:women] for women.)

Why?

The eventual goal is to improve question quality and reduce comment noise. To this end, this thread enables users to give feedback before the post is live. It's a kind of question peer review.

Will this achieve anything?

I don't know. I'll do this as a trial run for now, to see how/if it works. And we can adapt it as we go along.

If it works, great. If it doesn't, we can try something else instead.

I'll start with draft question below.

---

Details:

This is an attempt at implementing the question sandbox suggested here by Zaid; see also How would a "question sandbox" work and how would it help the site?. I don't think a chat room would be useful for this site would be helpful, so I'll use a meta thread, like at Code Golf.

Answer 1

What exactly is Taqwa?

So many verses in the Qur'an call on the believers to have Taqwa, which is usually translated as "piety" or consciousness of Allah.

But what does observing piety entail? What does having consciousness of Allah imply?

There are also some Qur'anic verses that order people to have Taqwa of other things, such as the Hell-fire and the Day of Judgment. How can a person observe Taqwa with respect to these things?

Answer 2

What are the similarities/differences between a wife and a female slave owned by a man?

Married women have several similarities with slave women: (a) obedience, (b) sex is permissible, (c) she may ransom herself (kuhl' vs. mukataba), (d) "excellent treatment" (amjaonline.org vs. islam.ru), (e) clothing and food (Sahih al-Bukhari 2545).

I'm not sure about housing.

I believe there's also some differences: (a) property ownership, (b) inheritance, (c) rights over children, (d) co-ownership, (e) slaves can be sold, (f) legal rights to qisas.

Question: What are the similarities/differences between a wife and a female slave owned by a man?

Basically, I have some ideas (listed above), but I'm not sure if this is complete, and if these are reliable.

slavery wife

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Question offcuts (ignore this; it's so I can copy/paste later, if needed)

• A Muslim wife must obey her husband in everything unless he commands her to do an act of disobedience (IslamWeb). I presume it's the same for a female slave.

• The husband/owner can have sex with his wife/slave; see Are Muslim men allowed to take "sex slaves?".

• A wife can "ransom herself" (Qur'an 2:229) to get a divorce (khul') with her husband's permission, as can a slave (mukataba; Qur'an 24:33).

• Islam espouses "excellent treatment of slaves" (amjaonline.org) and similarly for wives (islam.ru).

• Like a husband for his wife, the slave owner is responsible for feeding and clothing their slave (Sahih al-Bukhari 2545). Presumably, slaves are also housed in some way.

However, I feel like there should be some significant reason these two roles are distinct. I'm just not sure what it is.

Answer 3

How can a man who has no hands or feet steal? (Is this hadith weak?)

The following hadith is classed as "Hasan (Al-Albani)" on sunnah.com:

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:

A thief was brought to the Prophet. He said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Messenger of Allah! Then he said: Cut off his hand. So his (right) hand was cut off.

He was brought a second time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Messenger of Allah! Then he said: Cut off his foot. So his (left) foot was cut off.

He was brought a third time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Messenger of Allah! So he said: Cut off his hand. So his (left) hand was cut off.

He was brought a fourth time and he said: Kill him. The people said: He has committed theft, Messenger of Allah! So he said: Cut off his foot. So his (right) foot was cut off.

He was brought a fifth time and he said: Kill him. So we took him away and killed him. We then dragged him and cast him into a well and threw stones over him.
_{Sunan Abi Dawud 4410}

I don't understand how this could be classed as "hasan": it seems to violate common sense. It seems implausible that someone with no hands or feet could steal (and steal a shield's worth of goods; Sahih al-Bukhari 6794).

Question: Do scholars consider this hadith weak?

hadith authentication theft hadd punishment

Answer 4

Should a wife keep her past nikah mut'ah marriage(s) secret?

In the case of a previously divorced wife, it seems impractical and inappropriate to keep a past marriage secret (there may be some exceptions, e.g., the husband might request this). In the case of a past nikah mut'ah, it's possible different.

Question: Should a wife keep her past nikah mut'ah marriage(s) secret?

If she revealed her past nikah mut'ah marriage(s), her husband may infer her sexual history. If she doesn't, it might be construed as deceptive.

nikah-al-mutah husband-wife shiism

Answer 5

Does "drawing a drawing of an animate being" include an instance of "drawing an animate being"?

A painting (and drawings, etc.) is not animate; a painting does not have a soul. For example, the following is a drawing of a famous painting:

Thus one might argue:

1. This is a drawing of an inanimate painting, and thus is permissible to draw.
2. This is a drawing of an animate woman, and thus its permissibility falls under the rulings of drawing an animate being.

I'm not sure which is correct.

Question: Does "drawing a drawing of an animate being" include an instance of "drawing an animate being"?

This logic is said to be used for depictions of representations of Muhammad in Iran:

Ce portrait d'un portrait dans les nombreuses variantes iraniennes, par son attribution, non seulement disculpe les musulmans du sacrilège que représenterait la figuration du Prophète, mais affirme également une reconnaissance, par les chrétiens, de la vocation prophétique de Mahomet.
_{Une étrange rencontre (warning: contains depictions of a depiction of Muhammad)}

This translates to:

(Google Translate) This portrait of a portrait in the numerous Iranian variants, by its attribution, not only exonerates Muslims from the sacrilege represented by the Prophet's representation, but also affirms a recognition by Christians of the prophetic vocation of Muhammad.

drawing image halal-haram

Answer 6

How to take some seemingly exaggerated statement about famous scholars or pious people?

In many Friday sermons and lessons scholars often just quote statements about the piety of some people of the golden ages of Islam.
For example Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib is said to have been prayed more than 40 years every fard prayers in congregation (Maybe even in a mosque) this statement is often used to show the importance of praying in a mosque or in congregation. This statement might sound exaggerated but it is of a kind one may take as plausible.

Another statement which seems to be wrong is that abu Hanifa was always wishing to perform hajj and made an oath to pray two long rak'as at the haram once he might be able to do it (reciting the whole Qur'an) and when he made it it was a rainy night. As far as I know there was nothing hindering abu Hanifa to do hajj and he even met and discussed with scholars from al-Hijaz in there.

But on the other hand there are statements and narrations that don't seem plausible or feasible at all for example the statement that imam a-Shafi'i used to complete the Qur'an recitation on each day of Ramadan and all that while praying. If we toke the shortest and fastest recitation of the Qur'an we may never be able to complete a Qur'an recitation twice on one day it is even hardly feasible to complete it once (even in qira'at ibn Kathir which apparently imam a-Shafi'i was taught) even if we neglect the tajweed rulings! This may lead to the conclusion either this statement is a lie or it shouldn't be taken literally or there's some kind of misunderstanding or error in transmission.

So how should we take these exaggerations, just as a encouragement to more piety or do we need to check their truth and maybe reject them?

authenticityislamic-scholarhistoryuloom-al-hadith

Answer 7

Are there rulings on how to pay zakat if one delayed paying it?

I'd be glad for some input as I don't want this to become too broad:

Muslims are asked to pay zakat and we are warned not to delay it as this is considered as sinful act especially it is antisocial. Let's assume a Muslim has delayed paying zakat and wants to pay it -lets say not after a Lunar year, but after 16 months in Gregorian Calendar or five years later.

Is there any ruling on this should he for example pay more?
Or what will he need to do to pay his due and get relief from the burden of his sin of delaying to pay it?

Assuming there is a deviation from the amount he would have needed to pay after a lunar year, what reasons may create an exception from the rule. For example are the any excuses which allow him to delay, for example a dead line for a debt he was afraid not to pay, but could pay finally or the money is in another country and he can't reach it at the moment etc.

zakatfiqh

Answer 8

Which surah of the Qur'an covers the most topics?

Note: I'm afraid that this might be declared as either too broad or unclear, therefore comments are welcome.

If we look at different surahs of the Qur'an we may find them addressing many topics: For example surat al-Ikhlas has as a main topic the 'aqeedah or more especially the topic of unity of Allah While in surat al-Kahf we have the stories of the people of the cave, the story of dhul- Qarnain, the story of Musa and al-Khidr etc.

To make a clear cut between topics I'll try to ask this in separate questions as indicated in my comment on @III-AK-III's comment:

First Variation posted as a question Which surah(s) of the Qur'an covers the most stories (Prophets/real person)?

The second Variation is: "Which surah(s) of the Qur'an cover the most rulings of shari'a (fiqh)?"
Details:
For example I'd count 'idah as part of talaq process, and khul' or faskh as a synonym of talaq, mainly I'd say that anything which is part of the same fiqh topic should be considered as one topic. Worship for example would be divided only into: Taharah, Prayer, Fasting, Zakat and Hajj.

quranuloom-al-qurantafseerfiqh ...

Answer 9

How could we know which qira'a was used in the original manuscript of a tafsir book?

During my investigation for Why is the Hafs reading of the Qur'an so prevalent? I couldn't stop thinking about the statement of the author of my major source (the scholar ibn Amin) about tafsir books which were originally written as footnotes of a moshaf in a special qira'a (mostly of abi 'Amr).

My assumption is that we need an old or original manuscript, and still then it could be uneasy do distinguish some qira'at without tashkil (I'm not sure to what extent other sygns and symbols in a moshaf or rasm al-moshaf could be helpful)

Therefore my question is how could we know which qira'a was used in the original manuscript of a tafsir book?

historytafseerauthenticity

Answer 10

Titles of scholarship and their meaning?

Often when certain scholars are quoted you hear or read "al-Hafidh X", "sheikh al-Islam Y", "hojjat al-Islam Z" I'm not aware of other titles that are more known. However there's also the "title": "The leader of the believers" when it comes to hadith scholars -at least this is the only link I have to this title when it comes to scholars.

I'd like to know if these titles have a foundation, or did the meaning change with time, is it a different meaning based on the study topic a scholar exceled or is there a relevance to the madhhab of scholar for example scholar x is called sheikh al-Islam only by the followers of his madhhab.

---

This is only a draft and might need some input. I'm not even sure whether it is on-topic

islamic-scholartitleterminologydefinitions

Answer 11

I'm having a few questions about poetry and Islam in mind that I'd like to ask. I'd like just to share a few thoughts to have a first feedback on them. So this -so far- is not a real question but an extract of thoughts of at least two distinct questions.

What parts of al-Busiri's Burdah are rejected by salafis and why?

I'm planing to write questions on both al-Burdah and al-Hamziyah (the two well known poems of the Muslim Sufi poet al-Busiri البوصيري) which he wrote to praise the Prophet () and their acceptance by some Muslim sects especially the salafi sect for whom sufis seem to be the second big enemy after shi'a.

In many countries these two poems are well known at least the burdah is well known or in worst case a few verses of it which are popular (see for example these youtube videos: Mesut Kurtis or an-Naqshabandi). Some especially recite it/them during the Mawlid an-Nabawi.

My first question would be what rhymes/words/parts do salafis reject or consider as blasphemic, words of kufr etc.

The first question was asked What parts of al-Busiri's Burdah are rejected by salafis and why?

The second question would be how to solve this issue and whether there are attempts to do so?

poemsufismsalafis

Answer 12

The cooking recipe of the prophet () and his favourite dishes

Remark: Maybe some would consider this off-topic.

In some ahadith we find a few indications or even descriptions of dishes the prophet () used to eat or liked to eat. Like:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The superiority of `Aisha to other ladies is like the superiority of Tharid to other kinds of food." (Sahih al-Bukhari)

It would be great if the recipes of these dishes could also be introduced as well as known dishes the prophet () or his companions used to eat and what are the main ingredients of these dishes.

hadithsunnahfood (hadith-interpretation?)

Answer 13

Did the Prophet Muhammad drink tea?

It's hard to go a day in many Muslim-majority countries without being swamped by tea. It's everywhere. I'm wondering if the Prophet Muhammad was reported as drinking tea.

Question: Did the Prophet Muhammad drink tea?

sunnah tea prophet-muhammad

Answer 14

What are the effects of tawiz beyond simply the words on the page?

Wikipedia describes "tawiz" as follows:

The tawiz is an amulet or locket usually containing verses from the Quran or other "islamic" prayers and symbols. The Tawiz is worn by some Muslims, to protect them from evil. As such it is intended to be an amulet. The word ta'wiz is also used to refer to other types of amulets. It may be a pendant, carvings on metal or even framed duas.

There's been three questions on this site about tawiz: 1. What is the meaning of this Arabic tawiz?, 2. What is the meaning of this taweez (tawiz) writtings?, and 3. How to understand an Amulet / Taveez / Talisman containing devil names? each of these refer to a kind of note, and I ask this question in this context.

Tawiz seems to have more significance than if I were to print out Qur'an verses from my computer and carry that around with me, say. The notion also seems at odds with Islam's attitude towards superstitious beliefs (see e.g.: What is the view of islam about luck?).

Question: What are the effects of tawiz beyond simply the words on the page?

tawiz

Answer 15

When do we know the answer to: "Will XYZ get into heaven?"?

We get a lot of questions asking: "Will XYZ get into heaven?"

• Do non-Muslims have a chance to go to Paradise? [if they reject Islam, no; otherwise up to Allah]
• Is this true that all Mumins will eventually go to Paradise? [yes]
• What will happen to those who are mentally ill in the afterlife? [don't know]
• Do I still have a chance to enter Jannah, after purposely and knowingly committing shirk? [don't know]
• Will we enter Jannah with only a faith in Allah and all the basic duties of Islam? [yes and no]
• If you are homosexual would you enter heaven? [up to Allah]
• Will Jews go to Jannah? [up to Allah]

This question is aimed at being a generalization of these.

Question: When do we know the answer to: "Will XYZ get into heaven?"?

I'm seeking a reference table for when the answer is (a) "yes", (b) "no", or (c) "don't know"/"up to Allah".

jannah

Answer 16

If no-one ever prays in a mosque, is it still a mosque?

[incomplete; needs fleshing out]

Answer 17

After the sun rises in the West, is it still important to pray, and if so, how would prayer times be determined?

[incomplete; needs fleshing out]

Answer 18

Is there a relationship between cutting off hands and feet on opposite sides by Allah (Qur'an 5:33) and Pharaoh (Qur'an 7:124, 20:71, 26:49)?

In the Qur'an, Allah states (interpretation of the meaning):

Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment,
_{Qur'an 5:33}

Likewise, Pharaoh also states:

Said Pharaoh, "You believed in him before I gave you permission. Indeed, this is a conspiracy which you conspired in the city to expel therefrom its people. But you are going to know. I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides; then I will surely crucify you all."
_{Qur'an 7:123-124}

This is repeated in Qur'an 20:71 and Qur'an 26:49.

A random webpage (which is probably a Qur'an-only and apologetic position) asserts this is because Allah is using the disbelievers' own punishment against them (those that fight against Islam). I give it about as much credit as a guess.

Question: Is there a relationship between cutting off hands and feet on opposite sides by Allah and Pharaoh?

quran tafseer

Answer 19

Does Islam forbid mandatory military service (conscription) for women?

Several Muslim-majority countries have military service: Wikipedia lists Egypt (men ages 18 to 30), Iran (men 18+), Tunisia (all citizens 20+, although TunisPro.net says its "voluntary" for women), and Turkey (men 20 to 40). I don't think a Muslim-majority country conscripts women (although I'm not 100% sure about Tunisia).

I'm wondering, therefore, if it's considered a woman's right to opt of out military service.

Question: Does Islam forbid mandatory military service (conscription) for women?

women

Answer 20

Does Qur'an 7:25 preclude the possibility of someone dying permanently off-planet?

The Qur'an says:

[ Allah ] said, "Descend, being to one another enemies. And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time." [7:24] He said, "Therein you will live, and therein you will die, and from it you will be brought forth." [7:25]

However, it's scientifically possible that someone could die off-planet, e.g. on the Moon, and space agencies take many precautions. To date, there's been some deaths in space (see space.com), but they're still relatively close to Earth, and could be covered under "therein you will die".

Question: Does Qur'an 7:25 preclude the possibility of someone dying permanently off-planet?

It's possible that Allah is exclusively referring to Adam and Eve, in which case these verses would not apply to all of mankind. However, I'm uncertain about this because saying "being to one another enemies" seems mismatched with the relationship between Adam and Eve (at least, it seems odd that a Prophet would be an enemy of his wife). Moreover:

When God said: “Get you down, all of you” He used the word for plural indicating that he was not speaking to Adam and Eve alone but that He was referring to Adam, his wife and his descendants – mankind.
_{IslamReligion.com}

This implies Qur'an 7:24 applies to all of mankind (although not necessarily Qur'an 7:25).

quran tafseer surat-al-araf science

Answer 21

Would translating the Qur'an to Klingon be disrespecting the Qur'an, and hence kufr?

A satirical news (i.e., it's fake) article describes translating the Qur'an into Klingon: Muslim Nerds Translate Quran to Klingon, Islamica News, 2014. I'm wondering what the Islamic consequences would be if this were true.

Question: Would translating the Qur'an to Klingon be disrespecting the Qur'an, and hence kufr?

It seems plausible that this is a form of disrespecting the Qur'an:

All the Muslim scholars are agreed that contesting, deriding, or minimizing the Qur'an is Kufr, taking the person out of the Muslim community.
_IslamWeb

However, perhaps the origin of the Klingon language does not enter into this.

quran kufr

Answer 22

What are the contents of the fatwa against marital rape in the KUPI2017 conference?

In the 2017 conference Indonesian Women’s Ulama Congress (Kongres Ulama Perempuan Indonesia, KUPI2017), there are reports of seven women scholars producing a fatwa against marital sexual violence. From the KUPI2017 website:

The first fatwa issued focused on sexual violence. It emphasises that such violence including within marriage (marital rape) is forbidden under Islamic law (haram). It also distinguishes zina (adultery and fornication) from rape. It emphasises that victims must receive psychological, physical and social support – not punishment.
_{A fatwa against sexual violence: the story of a historic congress of female Islamic scholars, December, 2017}

(An earlier news article on the topic is dated April 2017.)

I didn't manage to find the fatwa online, likely because it's in Indonesian. I'm particularly interested in how these scholars came to their conclusions (i.e., what evidence they use). Other fatawa I've seen (e.g. Dar Al-Ifta) only arrive at marital rape being haram indirectly, because violence is haram. It's possible this fatwa is likewise derived.

Question: What are the contents of the fatwa against marital rape in the KUPI2017 conference?

I'm asking for a translation of this fatwa into English, or, if it's particularly long, the main ideas and evidence used in the fatwa.

This is related to: Definition of rape - is marital rape a criminal offense in sharia

women rape nikah source-identification fatwa

Answer 23

If I were to reject a hadith in Sahih Muslim or Sahih al-Bukhari, who would consider me a disbeliever (if anyone)?

Let's pick a hadith at random from Sahih Muslim or Sahih al-Bukhari: say Sahih Muslim 1234 a. Hypothetically, suppose I were to reject this hadith, in the sense that I don't accept it's authenticity for some reason (it may still give good advice, etc.).

Question: If I were to reject a hadith in Sahih Muslim, who would consider me a disbeliever?

I'm interested in who would consider this and act of disbelief: I don't mean "who" as in "which individuals", but which schools (including Sunni, Shia, and beyond).

My guess would be maybe some (possibly all?) Sunni schools might consider this an act of disbelief, but Shia schools probably would not. Quranism would probably give me a pat on the back for being a good Muslim. Beyond that, I don't know.

It might, however, be more determined by the content of the particular hadith (which is why I picked a particular hadith above). Rejecting this particular hadith does not seem to violate the major beliefs in Islam, however. So maybe no-one would consider me a disbeliever in these circumstances.

hadith madhhab sunni shiism

Answer 24

How, whom and where did Muslims register marriages, birth etc. before modern times civil registration, if they did?

I have question in mind based on what I've learned and know about the Christian societies and whether there's or was something similar in the Muslim societies.

Muslims from the beginning of the revelation gave birth to children, have been married or divorced their wives, some women have breastfed children of other women etc.

I remember having read somewhere that in the 5th century or so it was common that a woman got married and divorced several times and men also (in a biography of a scholar in wikipedia)!

As far as I know in Christian societies (like in the middle age and until the inauguration of institutions like civil registry office) people and the relationship between families like marital status were registered in the church.

So I'd like to know how Muslims would avoid marrying let's say a mahram by fault, have they had institutions which used to register such things?

historynikahpractical-islam

Answer 25

Kufr vs Shirk

Please define what is kufr and what is shirk?
What is the difference between both?

kufr shirkterminolgy or definitions