Frequently Asked Questions


1. How to get a Fatwa via email?

This service is available via the Department`s Electronic Website.

2. What are the official working hours of the Department?

8:30am-3:30pm, Sunday-Thursday.

3. Is privacy protected?

Fatwas are delivered with absolute secrecy, but the Department`s Website has the right to publish questions and answers after deleting personal information.

4. Which Madhab is followed by the Department?

Click the link to view the adopted Fatwa approach.

5. How to make a complaint against a certain service?

Use complaints and suggestions service.

6. Are services paid for?

All Fatwas and services are free of charge.

Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for one to masturbate in order not to commit fornication?

This is called committing the milder of the two evils such as eating a carcass in fear of death, and this happens when committing fornication is very likely to occur.

What is the ruling on performing Umrah after the latest expansion of the Mas`aa (the passage between As-Safa and Al-Marwah), is it permissible, or not?

Yes, it is permissible to perform Umrah after the latest expansion of the Sa`y area since making Sa`y between As-Safa and Al- Marwah is already observed. And Allah Knows Best.

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.

What is the ruling on praying behind an undesirable Imam?

It is permissible to pray behind an Imam who is undesirable for committing religious violations, and it is disliked for such an Imam to lead the prayer. Still, If he was undesirable for a personal, or a worldly matter, then such argument doesn’t hold water. And Allah Knows Best.