My brother is settling a debt on my behalf and in return he takes 30% interest as an additional amount of the whole sum. Is this lawful or not?
This additional amount is considered prohibited interest (Riba) according to Islamic law, and it is not permissible to take it. And Allah Knows Best.
I took a housing loan from the bank for a 20-year period. Four years have passed, and I recently learned that this loan is usurious. I wish to perform Umrah. Am I permitted to perform it? If not, what should I do?
You are permitted to perform Umrah. Strive to repay the debt in hopes of reducing the amount of usurious interest. Allah Says (What means): "And there are others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [At-Tawbah/102]. And Allah Knows Best.
What is the ruling on reciting the Chapter after Al-Faatihah , and what should a worshiper who forgets it do?
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. Any other part of Qur'an that a worshiper reads after Al-Faatihah during the first and the second Rak`ahs is a Sunnah, and forgetting to do so doesn`t nullify prayer, and doesn`t require performing Sujood As-Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). And Allah Knows Best.
I have concluded my marriage contract at a Sharia court; however, one day I was talking to my fiancée over the phone and she got on my nerves leading me to utter one divorce. This is knowing that I can`t tell my her father because he is very strict and will not accept that at all. What is the best course of action that I should pursue in this situation?
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
When divorce takes place before the consummation of marriage it is called Ba`in divorce* (Minor irrevocable divoce), so your wife is considered unlawful to you until you conduct a new marriage contract and pay Mahr* , and you should visit the Iftaa` Department in order to know the correct Fatwa. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
* Minor irrevocable divorce Talaq Al-Ba'in Binona Soghra: It is a divorce where the husband cannot take his ex-wife back unless with her consent, conducting a new marriage contract and paying new bridal wealth Mahr.
* In Islam, a Mahr is the obligation, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, to the bride at the time of Islamic marriage. While the Mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such as jewelry, home goods, furniture, a dwelling or some land.
