Is the marriage, which lacks a valid legal contract, a guardian, and a court registration, valid?
It is incumbent that a valid marriage contract be concluded in the presence of a guardian and two trustful witnesses, and it should be registered in the court to protect the rights of the wife. Actually, a valid marriage contract is what differentiates between sound marriage and fornication.
Is it permissible for a Muslim physician to specialize in gynecology obstetrics, and what is the ruling on working as such?
Some fields of knowledge are an individual duty while others are a collective one, and specializing in gynecology obstetrics is a collective duty. However, if there were female physicians to treat women, then there is no need for a male gynecology obstetrics specialist to look at women`s Awrahs (private parts) except in necessary situations since the jurisprudential maxim says:” Necessity must only be assessed and answered proportionately.” And Allah Knows Best.
If a woman makes a vow to slaughter a sheep, and her husband is the one who buys it for her from his own money, and he says: "It is for you until you fulfill your vow with it," Is this permissible, or must she buy it herself from her own money?
If her husband gave her the sheep as a donation for the puprose of fulfilling the oath she made and was slaughtered by the wife or the husband on her behalf then the vow she made is fulfilled. And Allah Knows Best.
My mother is 70 years old and wishes to perform Hajj and Umrah, as she has never done so before. However, she also takes care of my ill father and is afraid of falling ill herself. What should she do?
If this is the obligatory Hajj – meaning she has not previously performed Hajj or Umrah – then it is permissible for her to go even without her husband's approval. However, she must travel with a Mahram (a male guardian) or a trustworthy group of women, and she should leave someone to care for her husband and attend to his needs. And Allah Knows Best.