My brother works in a conventional bank and gave me one of the gifts distributed to bank employees — what is the ruling on accepting it?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to accepting such gifts, because the physical gift itself does not carry any inherent prohibition — unlike stolen property. Sin does not transfer or extend to the one who receives the gift, for Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." [Al-Anʿām/164]
The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ himself ate from the food of the Jews, conducted transactions with them, and purchased from them — and it is well known that their wealth was intermingled with ribā. Similarly, the wealth of conventional ribā-based banks is a mixture of the lawful and the unlawful.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is not forbidden to transact with one whose wealth is predominantly unlawful, nor to eat from it — as al-Nawawī affirmed in al-Majmūʿ." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 9/P.389] And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Does post-natal bleeding (Nifas) stop before forty days after childbirth?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Yes, post-natal bleeding (Nifas) can cease before the completion of forty days. If the bleeding stops completely and its return is not expected, the woman has attained ritual purity (Taharah), even if forty days have not yet passed. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
In the Sharia-compliant viewing at a prospective bride (*al-naẓrah al-sharʿiyyah*), is it permissible for the man to see the woman without a veil (*ḥijāb*)?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is sunnah for the suitor to see the woman he is seeking to marry within the limits the Sharīʿah permits, namely looking at the face and the hands (palms and backs), based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Look at her, for it is more likely to bring about harmony between you.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī.
The suitor may also ask one of the women to look at the woman he is seeking to marry. In that case, she is permitted to see of her what she is normally permitted to see, which is not limited to the face and hands, and she then describes these matters to the suitor. It is narrated on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Umm Sulaym to look at a girl, and said: “Smell her breath, and look at her heels.” Narrated by Aḥmad in his Musnad.
It is stated in Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.7/p.192): “For one who cannot easily look, or does not wish to look himself, it is sunnah to send someone who is permitted to look at her, to observe her and describe her to him, even regarding what he himself is not permitted to look at. He thereby gains through the sending what he would not gain through looking. Because of the added need for this, it is excepted from the prohibition of a woman describing another woman to a man.”
The permissibility of looking is conditional upon his resolve to marry her once he is able to, his predominant assumption that his proposal will be accepted, and his assumption that the woman is free of marriage and of a waiting period (ʿiddah). Otherwise, looking is forbidden.
Accordingly, it is not permissible for the suitor to look at anything other than the face and hands. He may ask one of his maḥram women, such as his mother or sister, to see the woman unveiled, and the Sharia-compliant viewing (of a prospective bride) must take place in the presence of one of the woman’s maḥrams. And Allah Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on leaving the Sunnah prayer of Dhuhr due to fatigue?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the general rule, a Muslim should strive to maintain the Sunnah prayers before and after the obligatory prayers (al-sunan al-qabliyyah wa al-ba'diyyah). One is permitted to pray them sitting from the outset, but if one leaves them due to severe fatigue, there is no objection to doing so. It is recommended (mustahabb) to make up (qadā') a time-bound supererogatory prayer (nafl mu'aqqat) at any time if it was missed.
Al-Shirbīnī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "If a time-bound supererogatory prayer is missed, it is recommended to make it up according to the more authoritative view (al-azhar), based on the hadith recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: 'Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it should pray it when he remembers it.' This is also supported by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made up the two rak'ahs of Fajr when he and his companions overslept in the valley and missed the dawn prayer until the sun had risen [narrated by Abū Dāwūd with an authentic chain]." And Allah, the Most High, knows best.
