Is a wife considered sinful if she asked for divorce because her husband married another woman?
A second marriage is lawful, and so it is impermissible for you to ask for divorce because of that. If you are certain that you won`t be able to deliver Allah`s rights and those of your husband`s , then it is permissible for you to ask for Khul`a (Divorce on the demand of the wife). However, you should exercise patience since after difficulties, there is easiness by the will of Allah.
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.
What is the Islamic ruling on adoption, and what is the legal window through which a person can be kind to an orphan girl, attend to her needs and raise her as his own?
Kindness to an orphan entails a great reward from Allah, but adoption is prohibited and invalid. Therefore, it is permissible for the aforementioned person (for example) to make his brother`s wife breastfeed that girl so that he becomes her uncle by suckling provided that he informs her that she isn`t his biological daughter.
Is it permissible for a woman to shake hands with her brother-in-law?
It is forbidden for the woman to shake hands with her brother-in-law because he isn`t a Mahram (unmarriageable) of hers.