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.
Is it permissible to give my zakat to my grandson who is studying at university, while I am living abroad and my money is in my home country? Also, is it permissible to assign my father the responsibility of distributing the zakat to the people in my home country?
It is permissible to give zakat to a son whom his father is supporting if he is an adult and in good health, because his father is not obligated to support him, making him one of the poor among the Muslims. However, the student who may receive zakat is one who is diligent in seeking beneficial knowledge for the Muslims and is religious. Zakat should be paid in the country where the money is located, and appointing your father to distribute the zakat in the country where the money is is the correct approach. 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.
Is the patient who is on dialysis twice a week obliged to observe fasting? Is his fasting on the days he is on dialysis considered valid or not?
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
Dialysis invalidates fasting because of the nutritional fluid used in that procedure, as pointed by specialized doctors, in addition to causing bodies to enter the stomach. Therefore, it is recommended that the patient who had undergone dialysis to observe fasting for the rest of that day, if he is able to, and make up for it after Ramadan. However, if the doctor told him that fasting, at any time, would damage his health, then he must break his fast and pay a ransom against every missed day. We pray that Allah blesses this person with recovery. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
