662. What If A Person Sneezes In The Bathroom?

By Asma Bint Shameem

When a person sneezes while using the bathroom, he cannot say ‘Alhamdulillaah’ aloud because it’s not allowed to use the Name of Allaah In the bathroom. 

So we should. ‘say’ ‘Alhamdulillaah’ in the HEART, WITHOUT moving the lips and tongue.  

Imaam Ahmad said: 

“If a man sneezes (in the bathroom) he should praise Allaah in his *heart*.”

This shows that saying something in the *heart* does not count as actually ‘saying’ the words and thus it’s allowed to say Alhamdulillaah in the bathroom without moving the lips and tongue. 

And Allaah knows best

661. What Happens If A Sister Voluntarily Gives Her Shares?

By Asma Bint Shameem

1. If the sisters *voluntarily* give up their share without any pressures, especially if the brother is not well off, then  that would be an act of charity on the part of the sisters and they will be rewarded for their generosity. 

And in that case, the brother does not have to do anything regarding the property. 

2. If the sisters want their share, which is their right, they can  sell the house and divide the inheritance according to the Sharee’ah, with the male getting twice that of the female. 

3. If they can’t agree on anything they should take it to a judge and work something out. 

Someone asked the scholars of the Standing Committee:

“How should inherited houses and movable possessions such as cars, tools and so on be divided, when there is mutual consent and when there is no mutual consent among the heirs?”

The scholars replied: 

“It should be divided among them according to the shares of inheritance prescribed in Islaam, with the help of experts in evaluation of the estate. 

If they agree amongst themselves to this division and they are mature adults, there is nothing wrong with that. 

But if they disagree, then the dispute should be referred to the *sharee‘ah court.* “

(Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 16/459)

And the scholars said:

“The partners all want to divide the shared wealth, or some of them want to do that and the others have agreed to the division and the manner of implementing it, so they do not have any need to go to the judge. 

In that case the division is called “division by mutual consent”.

One or more may want to do that but others may refuse. 

If the one who wants to do it refers the matter to the court, and the judge takes charge of dividing the wealth in accordance with Islamic principles, in this case the division is called “compulsory division”.

Division by mutual consent is that which is done with the approval of all partners. 

Compulsory division is that which is done through the court because there is no agreement among the partners.”

(al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah 33/215)

And Allaah knows best

660. How to deal with sinful relatives?

By Asma bint Shameem 

We must do our best to call our family members and loved ones to the Deen of Allaah. 

Allaah says:

“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) …”

[al-Tahreem 66:6]. 

It is part of our duty as a Muslim to advise each other, enjoin good and forbid evil. 

Allaah says:

“The believers, men and women, are Awliya (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they *enjoin* (on the people) Al-Maroof (i.e. Islaamic Monotheism and all that Islaam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islaam has forbidden)”

[at-Tawbah 9:71]

And the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said: 

"Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart [by at least hating it and believing that it is wrong], and that is the weakest of faith." (Muslim)

The ultimate goal is to bring them to Allaah. 

*How* to do that is the challenge. 

But the scholars say that we must do that with a mixture of patience, encouragement and warning depending on who the person is, his relationship to you and his level of transgression.

Do your best to remind them of Allaah, His rewards for those who obey Him and His punishment and wrath  for those who disobey Him.  

Be a good example to them and show them what a true Muslim really is with your good manners and practice of the Deen. 

Be on the lookout and if they ever need help in ANY way, be the first one to help them out. 

Give them sincere advice if they ask you. 

But at the same time, you don’t want to ‘encourage’ their bad behavior by “not saying anything” or “ignoring” it as if it’s nothing wrong. 

So admonish them but be very “wise” and “tactful” when forbidding their evil actions and exercise a lot of patience with them. 

Try to win over their heart “gradually” and tactfully, giving them time for the sake of calling them to Allaah. 

Someone asked Shaikh Ibn Baaz:

“What should a believing woman do when she sees one of her relatives committing evil acts?”

The Shaikh said:

“She should forbid the wrong gently in an amiable way using kind words. Perhaps, the wrongdoer is ignorant, or savage and he may increase his evil when he is harshly forbidden. 

Thus, a Muslim should forbid the evil in a good manner and kindly while showing the wrongdoer the clear evidence from the Qur’aan and Sunnah along with supplicating to Allaah for his guidance. 

In doing so, the wrongdoer will not turn in aversion. 

The Muslim who enjoins right and forbids wrong should have knowledge, insight, gentleness and endurance that force the wrongdoer to accept instruction without aversion or stubbornness. 

Let the Muslim who enjoins right and forbids wrong try his best to use kind words whereby the truth is more probable to be accepted.” 

[Majmoo ’al-Fataawa Ibn Baaz, Vol.: 4; pg. 233]

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen advised someone similarly and said: 

“One who’s involved in the prohibition of evils is like a doctor. Were a doctor to come before a wound and cut it open immediately to remove what’s in it, likely a greater harm would come about. But if he were to cut it bit by bit and had patience with whatever he smelled from it of rotten smells, the goal would be achieved.

So you [and those you were with] didn’t sit with people of evil doings wanting what they’re upon of evil doings; you only sat with them in order to call them to Allaah. And, in my thinking, any person of discerning intelligence, when a person upon goodness sits next to him, he leaves off the sin that he was upon.

In some cases, he [might] refuse to, or be stubborn about it and keep [doing the sin] or increase upon it, as you’ve said. 

But be patient. Then if you realize that there’s no hope in him [benefiting from you], then at that point, don’t sit with him [any more], and it becomes required [upon you] to separate from him.”

(Liqāʾ Al-Bāb Al-Maftūḥ, 17)

So you have to use *wisdom* and *knowledge* to find the best and most effective way of bringing them to Islaam. 

Try different means of approach to them, depending on each person’s situation. 

Maybe have some other family member or cousin or friend or even a shaikh intervene and talk to them. 

Usually love and kindness work better than anger. 

But sometimes you might have to take a more severe approach if that’s what it would take to  “shake them up” by staying away from them if they don’t listen to you. 

Maybe your staying away from them will have an effect on them and make them rethink their bad choices and disobediences. 

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said:

“The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days, unless he fears that speaking to him and upholding ties with him may undermine his religious commitment or lead to some harm affecting his religious or worldly affairs. If that is the case, then he is allowed to avoid him and keep away from him, and perhaps cutting off ties and shunning him in a good manner is better than mixing with him if that will result in harm.

As the poet said:

If mixing with others will only mean baring your teeth at one another, then keeping a distance in a peaceful manner is best for both parties.”

(al-Tamheed 6/127).

However, unfortunately sometimes NOTHING works. 

And if they don’t listen then the blame is on them. 

Allaah says:

“and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another”

[al-An’aam 6:164]

So when we see people committing major sins, we should do our best to stop that. 

But if it’s not possible to do that, the least we can do is to hate it in our hearts. 

And we will not be sinful *as long as we tried whatever was within our means to guide them or stop them from their evil.*

There’s really nothing more we can do in these situations because the person himself has chosen this evil path. 

Allaah says:

“Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. 

And whoever errs only errs against it. 

And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another”

[al-Israa’ 17:15]

And He said:

“And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And if a heavily laden soul calls [another] to [carry some of] its load, nothing of it will be carried, even if he should be a close relative”

[Faatir 35:18]

So do your best with wisdom, knowledge and patience. 

And make a lot of duaa for them. But if they don’t listen then limit your interaction with them and avoid too much intermingling so that they don’t influence you in a negative way. 

Someone asked Shaykh Salih al-Fawzaan about visiting relatives who are not practicing Muslims.

He replied:

“If by your going to them there is a hope that you may influence them or exhort them to give up evil, and you can fulfil your duty to denounce evil, then you have to go to them for two reasons:

1. Upholding ties of kinship

2. Denouncing evil when you are there.

But if you do not denounce evil, or denouncing it will be to no avail, and they are persisting in their evil despite your telling them not to, then you should not go to them, because if you go to them, you will be sitting in a gathering in which evil is being committed but you will not be changing it or you will not be able to change it. 

So in that case you have to stay away from them, and hope that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala 

will guide them.”

(Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Shaykh al-Fawzaan, 2/245)

May Allaah guide all of us and our families and protect us all from the Shaytaan Ameen.

If you had contributed in building the house as a loan, then you would have the right to some of the money. 

But if you didn’t put it any money towards building the house or you have money as a “gift” to your parents then you have no right to claim the money. 

And even if you did contribute to the construction of the house, it would be noble of you and a form of sadaqah and a way of honoring your parents if you let go of the money and surrender your rights to the money especially if you are financially well off and can afford to do so. 

You should not cut off ties of kinship especially if it comes to your parents. 

And Allaah knows best

659. Can I Take Advantage Of The New Year Sales And Discounts During Festivals?

By Asma bint Shameem 

Yes it is permissible to buy stuff and take advantage of the discounts that are offered on the festivals of the non Muslims. 

That’s because our *intention* is not to celebrate these days or venerate them in any way. 

And Allaah is well aware of our intentions. 

Someone asked Shaykh Sulaymaan Al-Ruhaylee:

“Regarding the discounts that are offered now by some big stores [what is the ruling on that]?”

The shaikh said:

“There is no harm for a Muslim to benefit from these discounts at the beginning of the new year. This is because he does not celebrate and this is not a festival. However, it is a benefit given at this time. 

So he is allowed to benefit from it, especially since we know from an economic perspective that these discounts are not based on celebrating the New Year’s. Rather it is built upon eliminating the inventory and [balancing] the budget at the end of the year. 

So the company gets rid of what is still present [in the inventory]. In most cases, what remains is only profit. The companies lower the cost to get rid of the present [inventory]. The discounts begin one month and half before the end of the year because the companies base their budgets on the fiscal year. 

So from an economic perspective, it has no relation to celebrating Christmas. If they did this for Christmas, then it would not harm a Muslim who does not celebrate with them because this is not from the signs of the festival. It is only an action performed on the day of the festival. There is a difference between what is done for a “festival” and what is done on the “DAY of the festival”.

Also from that is what is given to the Muslim employees in the non-Muslim lands in terms of discount cards, which are used on Christmas or the New Year’s. 

Their companies give them gifts, which are discount cards from the company. 

It is allowed for a Muslim to use it on that day because that day is not from the signs of the festival. 

Rather it is something done on the festival. 

So there is no harm for a Muslim to benefit from this”.

And Allaah knows best