A Shift

Assalamu ‘alaykum,

Recently, a new website has been launched http://www.peopleofsunnah.com aiming at spreading orthodox Islam and has a goal of providing people with an extensive library from where books in many different languages can be downloaded. Any new articles from me will be posted there. Everyone is requested to bookmark the website and share the link. This blog will remain dormant for the time being. Any questions on Islam can still be sent to the email address in the “Ask Questions” section.

Ma’ Salama

Fatwa on Pakistan sending troops to Iraq to assist U.S. army

By Mufti Taqi Uthmani (db)
Translated by Ebrahim Saifuddin

Question:

After request by the United States of America, Pakistan is thinking of sending its troops to Iraq to assist the U.S. army. Is it permissible for the Government of Pakistan to send its troops to Iraq to assist the U.S. army?

Is It Permissible to say ‘Non-Muslims are better than Muslims’?

By Mufti Abdul Raheem Lajpuri رحمۃ اللہ علیہ

Question:

Some Muslims sometimes say, “Non-Muslims are better than Muslims.” Is there anything wrong in saying this?

Islamic Ruling Regarding Videogames

By Mufti Muhammad Yusuf Ludhyanwi رحمۃ اللہ علیہ
Translated by Ebrahim Saifuddin

Q: What is the ruling regarding videogames, which are now prevalent in our society, if no betting or rewards for winning a game are involved in it and they normally consist of various things including sharpshooting etc.

Marriage without Wali

Marriage without Wali – The Hanafi Perspective

By Ebrahim Saifuddin

Introduction

Women require a wali (guardian) who ensures and secures their rights. The question over here is whether the woman needs permission from her wali to marry or whether she has the right to marry anyone whom she likes without permission. The Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali schools say that nikah entered into by a woman herself, without the permission of her wali, is invalid and void. The Hanafi ruling on this matter is that a woman can enter into a marital contract by herself without permission from her wali. The definition of such a “woman” will come later on and it does not incorporate every woman.

The position of all the four schools in Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama’a is that the rulings of all four schools of thought are valid. However, the ghair muqallid accuse the Ahnaf of following an opinion contrary to hadith. This allegation of theirs is quite baseless and it is only due to their superficial knowledge of hadith as well as of the ruling of the Hanafi school that they raise such allegations.