What is the ruling on having brotherly ties between a strange man and a strange woman, and is the former considered a Mahram (unmarriageable) to the latter?
Such a relation between a strange man and a strange woman is forbidden in Islam because it involves forbidding what Allah has allowed by marriage, and allowing what Allah has forbidden such as looking and the like. Such a relation doesn`t render any act lawful between them, thus they are forbidden to look at each other, have a Khulwah (seclusion), and travel together.
Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on articles of merchandise even if they were stacked in the merchant`s stores for years?
Yes, Zakah is due on goods even if they were stacked in merchant`s stores for years, in this manner Islam struggle against monopoly.
I am a doctor, and sometimes I refer patients to the hospital for surgical interventions, and they give me a commission from the fees of the surgeries, even though I do not perform these surgeries. What is the ruling?
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.
If this commission is charged to the patient as part of the operation costs, then it is not permissible. Additionally, a doctor should only recommend surgery if there is a genuine medical need, and the hospital should only perform an operation when necessary. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
Is it permissible for the young woman to turn the suitor down if she had no feelings for him?
Yes, it is permissible for her to do so.
