Her mother told her that a fortune-teller said that her marriage will be miserable!

 

my mother recently went to a fortune
teller (which she is definetly not supposed to because it's haraam) and she was telling me
that the fortune teller said that i will have a bad life if i marry my soon-to-be husband
and that we will not stay together for more than 2 years.... i know that only Allah knows
the future but i've been really worried by what she said....and what can i do to
potentially "reverse"this from happening.... really i'm so confused i don't know
what to think.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: may Allaah reward you for your belief that
Allaah alone knows the unseen – this is what we hope for you and for every sincere
Muslim woman – and this is one of the essentials of faith in Allaah Alone.

But we wonder how, after saying this, you can be afraid of one who
knows nothing of the unseen?

You have to be assured and put your trust completely in Allaah, for
nothing will happen to you except that which has been decreed by Allaah.

Secondly:

The ruling on fortune-telling, i.e., soothsaying, and claiming to know
the unseen, is that these are actions which condemn a person to Hell and put him beyond
the pale of Islam.

Thirdly:

Fortune-tellers cooperate with the jinn; they are liars who cooperate
with the shayaateen (devils), who do not help them except after they have changed their
religion, and whoever changes his religion [leaves Islam] is to be executed. The ruling
concerning those who go to them and believe them is that they are guilty of kufr; if they
do not believe them, their prayers will still not be accepted from them for forty days.

The evidence (daleel) for the former is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah,
according to which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and believes what he says, has disbelieved in what
was revealed to Muhammad.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 135; Abu Dawood, 3904;
Ibn Maajah, 639; Ahmad, 9252. The hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim (1/49), and
al-Dhahabi agreed with him. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, it has two corroborating reports
narrated by al-Bazzaar with good isnaads. See al-Fath, 10/217)

The evidence (daleel) for the latter is the report from
one of the wives of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said:
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for
forty days.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2230).

Fourthly:

How the fortune-teller gets his “information” was explained
in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat
their wings in submission to His words, making a sound like a chain striking a rock. When
the fear is banished from their hearts, they say, What is it that your Lord has said? They
say: The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. Then the one who is listening out
hears that, and those who are listening out are standing one above the other” –
Sufyaan [one of the narrators] demonstrated with his hand, holding it vertically with the
fingers outspread. – “So he hears what is said and passes it on to the one below
him, and that one passes it to the one who is below him, and so on until it reaches the
lips of the soothsayer or fortune-teller. Maybe the meteor will hit him before he can pass
anything on, or maybe he will pass it on before he is hit. He tells a hundred lies
alongside it, but it will be said, Did he not tell us that on such and such a day, such
and such would happen? So they believe him because of the one thing which was heard from
heaven.” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4424).

Fifthly:

When the Shaytaan listens out to hear what the angels say to one
another about the decree of Allaah, this is part of the knowledge of the seen, it does not
not mean that the shayaateen have knowledge of the unseen. Then they add a hundred lies to
that word, such as when a fortune-teller says that So and so will give birth to a boy, and
the people see that he was right about that so they believe in him, but he adds lies about
the child, saying that he will get married in such and such a year and will die in such
and such a year and other such details. So he gains a high stature in people’s hearts
and they seek to get close to him by bringing him gifts and money, and he makes a
profession out of these lies when the people believe in him, and so he makes a living by
haraam means.

Sixthly:

Not every fortune-teller is a kaahin (soothsayer). He may be a
geomancer or reader of coffee-cups, because the kaahin, unlike the others, is one
who receives information from the jinn. The others are just liars, but the same ruling
applies to them, because they claim to have knowledge of the unseen, although the kaahin
who cooperates with the shayaateen is more of a kaafir because the kufr of
fortune-telling is compounded by the kufr of his interacting with the shayaateen,
who do not give him what he wants until after he directed some acts of worship towards
them in a manner which takes him out of Islam.

Seventhly:

You have to advise your mother not to go anywhere near these liars,
lest she falls into sin or her good deeds are wiped out. Do not give up the idea of
marriage, because marriage brings many benefits. It is an important matter which is part
of the fitrah (natural inclinations of man) and of the religion. Your life will not be
miserable, in sha Allaah; be optimistic and hope for a good and happy life. We ask Allaah
to join you with a husband who is knowledgeable and righteous.

If something bad happens, and you marry someone with whom you are
miserable, this is because of the decree of Allaah (qadaa’ and qadar), not because of
what the accursed fortune-teller said or because he knows the unseen. This may happen as a
test or trial. In any case, going ahead with the marriage – in addition to its own
great benefits – will be a way of snubbing these liars and fortune-tellers, and those
who believe in them. May Allaah help us and you to do all that is good. May Allaah bless
our Prophet Muhammad.

Seeking healing from mineral waters and slaughtering lambs at that spot

 

In the south of Jordan there are mineral waters at a place called the Well of Sulaymaan ibn Dawood. People go there to bathe and for healing, and they bring with them animals to slaughter when they get there. What is the ruling on slaughtering animals like this?

Praise be to Allaah. 

If the waters have been tried and tested, and they are
beneficial in the case of some diseases, then there is nothing wrong
with that, because Allaah has created some benefits for some sicknesses
in some waters. If it is known from experience that these waters ate
beneficial for those who are suffering from certain diseases, such as
rheumatism, etc., there is nothing wrong with that.

 With regard to slaughtering animals, this comes under
various categories: 

If the animals are slaughtered to meet the people’s need
for food, etc., or to feed any guests that come to them, there is nothing
wrong with that. If they are slaughtered for any other purpose, such
as to draw closer to the water or the jinn or the Prophets, or on the
basis of some false belief, then that is not permissible, because Allaah
says, addressing His Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say
(O Muhammad): ‘Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living,
and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn
and all that exists).

He has no partner. And of this
I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims’” [al-An’aam
6:162-163]

 “Verily,
We have granted you (O Muhammad) al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise);

Therefor turn in prayer to your
Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”

[al-Kawthar :1-2]

 So
animals should be slaughtered only for Allaah and sacrifices should
be offered only to Allaah. The same applies to all other acts of worship
– they should be dedicated only to Allaah alone. It is not permissible
to do any of these things for anything other than Allaah, because Allaah
says (interpretation of the meanings):

 “And they were
commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none
but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)…” [al-Bayyinah
:5]

 “So
worship Allaah (Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allaah’s
sake only.

Surely, the religion (i.e. the
worship and the obedience) is for Allaah only” [al-Zumar
39:2-3]

and because of the aayaat
quoted above and other similar verses. And the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has cursed
those who offer sacrifices to anyone other than Allaah” (narrated by
Muslim in his Saheeh,
from the hadeeth of ‘Ali, may Allaah be pleased with him).

 So no one is allowed to offer sacrifices to the jinn
or to a certain star or planet, or to certain waters, or to a certain
Prophet, or to any person, or to idols. Worship is only for Allaah,
and we should seek to draw closer to Him alone through sacrifices and
prayers, and all other kinds of worship, because Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):  

“You
(Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)”
[al-Faatihah
1:5]

 and because of the verses quoted above (interpretation
of the meanings);  

“And they were
commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none
but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)…” al-Bayyinah
:5]

 “So
worship Allaah (Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allaah’s
sake only.

Surely, the religion (i.e. the
worship and the obedience) is for Allaah only” [al-Zumar
39:2-3]

and other aayaat.

Sacrifice is one of the most important and one of the best
acts of worship, so it must be done sincerely for Allaah Alone, because
of the aayaat that we have mentioned, and because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, as we quoted above,
“Allaah has cursed those who offer sacrifices to anyone other than Allaah.”

Prohibition of images and erecting statues, and the effect this has on ‘aqeedah

 

I am having difficulties explaining to a muslim that erecting a non-muslim statute is haram. His response was this woman was a heroine and fought the muslims to defend her land, and she is my ancester before islamization..

Can a muslim idolize a statute, or erect one in memory of a hero?, even if the hero and/or heroine was not a muslim?

Praise be to Allaah. 

Firstly,
it may be understood from your question that what is to be denounced is
the fact that the statue is of a kaafir, and that if it was a statue of a
Muslim it would be permissible to erect it. This is a mistake, because all
statues of animate beings are equally haraam, regardless of whether they
are made in the images of a Muslim or a kaafir. Indeed, making a statue of
a kaafir is worse, because it combines two evils, that of making the
statue and that of glorifying this kaafir. 

There
follow details of the prohibition on the making of images and statues.

I.   
The prohibition on statues is not just the matter of fiqh; it goes
beyond that to the matter of ‘aqeedah, because Allaah is the Only One
Who has the power of giving shape to His creation and creating them in the
best image. Making images implies that one is trying to match the creation
of Allaah. The matter also has to do with ‘aqeedah when these images are
taken as idols which are worshipped instead of Allaah.

Among
the daleel (evidence) that image-making is the exclusive preserve of
Allaah are the following:

 1.    
Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“He
it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wills” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:6]

“And
surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the
noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels, ‘Prostrate
yourselves to Adam’” [al-A’raaf 7:11]

“He
is Allaah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms.
To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth
glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”
[al-Hashr 59:24] 

“O
man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous? Who
created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion. In
whatever form He willed, He put you together.”

[al-Infitaar
82:6-8]

 These
aayaat clearly state the belief that creating and giving form to creation
is the preserve of their Lord, Creator and Fashioner, so it is not
permissible  for anyone to
encroach on that and to try to match the creation of Allaah.

 2. 
It was reported from
‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen that Umm Habeebah and Umm Salamah
mentioned a church which they had seen in Ethiopia, in which there were
images. They  told the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about it, and he said:
“Those people, if there was a righteous man among them and he died, they
would build a place of worship over his grave and put images in it. These
will be the most evil of creation before Allaah on the Day of
Resurrection.” (narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 417; Muslim, 528)

 Al-Haafiz
Ibn Hajar said:

 This
hadeeth indicates that making images is haraam. (Fath
al-Baari, 1/525).

 Al-Nawawi
said: 

Our 
companions and other scholars said: making images of animate beings
is extremely haraam and is a major sin, because severe warnings have been
issued against it in the ahaadeeth. Whether the image is made to be used
in a disrespectful fashion or for other purposes, it is haraam to make it
in all cases, because it implies that one is trying to match the creation
of Allaah, whether the image is to appear on a garment, carpet, coin,
vessel, wall or whatever. With regard to pictures of trees, camel saddles,
and other pictures in which no animate beings appear, these are not
haraam. This is the ruling on making images. (Sharh
Muslim, 14/81).

 3. 
Sa’eed ibn
Abi’l-Hasan said: I was with Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) when a man came to him and said, O Abu ‘Abbaas, I am a man who
lives by what his hands make, and I make these images. Ibn ‘Abbaas said:
I will only tell you what I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) say. I heard him say: “Whoever makes an
image, Allaah will punish him until he breathes life into it, and he will
never be able to do that.” The man became very upset and his face turned
pale, so [Ibn ‘Abbaas] said to him, Woe to you! If you insist on making
images, then make images of these trees and everything that does not have
a soul. (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 2112; Muslim, 2110).

 4. 
‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) say: The people who will be the most severely
punished before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection will be the image
makers. (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5606; Muslim, 2109).

 5. 
It was reported from
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
Those who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection.
It will be said to them, Give life to that which you have created! (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 5607; Muslim, 2108).

 6. 
It was reported that
Abu Hurayrah entered a house in Madeenah and saw somebody making images in
it. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say: [Allaah says:] Who does greater wrong than one
who goes and creates something like My creation? Let them create a seed or
a small ant! (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5609; Muslim, 2111).

 Al-Nawawi
said:

 Concerning
the words of Allaah. “Let them create a small ant or a seed or a grain
of barley!” means, let them create a small ant which has a soul and
moves by itself, like this small ant which was created by Allaah. Or let
them create  a grain of wheat
or barley, i.e., let them create a grain which is eaten as food or which
can be planted so it will grow and which has the characteristics of a
grain of wheat or barley or other seeds which were created by Allaah. This
is impossible, as stated above. (Sharh
Muslim, 14/90).
None can bring forth living vegetation out of nothing except Allaah, may
He be glorified.

 7.   
Abu Juhayfah said:
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the
price of a dog and the price of blood, and he forbade tattooing and asking
to be tattooed, and the consumption or paying of ribaa, and he cursed
those who make images. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1980).

  II.    
Islam prescribes that
idols should be destroyed and smashed, not made and repaired. Among the
evidence for this is the following:

  1.  
‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: when the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered Makkah [at the
Conquest], there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’bah.
He started hitting them with his stick and saying, “Truth has come
and Baatil (falsehood) has vanished. Surely, Baatil is ever bound to
vanish” [al-Israa’ 17:81 – interpretation of the meaning]. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 2346; Muslim, 1781).

 2.  
Abu’l-Hiyaaj al-Asadi said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said to
me: Shall I not send you on the same basis as the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any
statue without destroying it, and do not leave any built-up grave without
razing it to the ground. (According to one report: and do not leave any
picture without erasing it). (narrated
by Muslim, 969).

 Ibn
al-Qayyim said:

 Tamaatheel
is the plural of Timthaal
(statue), which refers to a representative image.

 Shaykh
al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said:

 The
command is to destroy two types of images: images which represent the
deceased person, and images which are placed on top of graves – because
Shirk may come about from both types. (Majmoo’
al-Fataawaa, 17/462).

 (al-Fawaa’id,
p. 196).

  III.     
The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against bringing images
into the house, and said that this is a sin and deprives a person of good.
Among the evidence for that is the following:

 1.     
Abu Talhah said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah
(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: The angels do not enter a house
in which there is a dog or statues.” (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 3053; Muslim, 2106).

 2.     
‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen (may Allaah be pleased with
her) said that she bought a pillow on which there were images. When the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw
it, he stood at the door and did not enter. She saw on his face that he
was upset, and said: O Messenger of Allaah, I repent to Allaah and His
Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). What is my
sin? The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: What is this pillow? She said, I bought it for you so that you
could sit on it and recline on it. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection, the
makers of these images will be punished and it will be said to them, Give
life to that which you have created. And he said: The angels do not enter
a house in which there are images. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1999; Muslim, 2107).

  IV.    
Making images is a way of falling into Shirk, because Shirk starts
with the veneration of those who are depicted in the images, especially
when people have little or no knowledge. The evidence for this is:

 Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The idols of the people of
Nooh were known among the Arabs later on. Wadd belonged to (the tribe of)
Kalb in Dawmat al-Jandal. Suwaa’ belonged to Hudhayl. Yaghooth belonged
to Muraad, then to Bani Ghutayf in al-Jawf, near Sabaa’. Ya’ooq
belonged to Hamadaan. Nasar belonged to Humayr of Aal Dhi’l-Kalaa’.
These were names of righteous men from the people of Nooh. When they died,
the Shaytaan inspired their people to set up idols in the places where
they had used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. They did
that but they did not worship them, but after those people died and
knowledge had been forgotten, then they started to worship them. (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 4636).

 Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:

 The reason why al-Laat was worshipped was the
veneration of the grave of a righteous man which was there. (Iqtidaa’
al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 2/333).

 And he said:

 This problem – i.e., veneration – which is
why Islam forbids (images), is the reason why so many of nations have
fallen into committing Shirk to a greater or lesser degree. (al-Iqtidaa’,
2/334).

 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said, describing how the Shaytaan plays with the Christians:

 He plays with them with regard to the images
which they have in their churches and which they worship. You cannot find
any church which is free of these images of Maryam (Mary), the Messiah,
George, Peter and others of their saints and martyrs. Most of them bow to
these images and pray to them instead of to Allaah. The Patriarch of
Alexandria even wrote a letter to the ruler of Rome supporting the idea of
bowing to these images: (he said) Allaah commanded Moosa to make images of
cherubim in the Tabernacle; and when Sulayman the son of Dawood built the
Temple, he made images of cherubim and put them inside the Temple. Then he
said in his letter: this is like when a king sends a letter to one of his
governors and the governor takes the letter and kisses it then touches it
to his forehead [a sign of respect], and stands up to receive it. He does
not do this to venerate the paper and ink, but to venerate the king. In
the same way, when one bows to an image, it is to venerate the person
represented by the image, not to venerate the paints and colours.

 This is exactly the same as the example given to
justify idol worship. (Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan, 2/292).

 And he said:

 In most cases, the reason why nations fall into
Shirk is because of images and graves.” (Zaad
al-Ma’aad, 3/458).

 V. 
The aayaat and ahaadeeth quoted above indicate that the prohibition
of images is for two reasons:

The first is: because it implies that one is trying to
match the creation of Allaah.

The second is: because it is an imitation of the
kuffaar.

The third is: because it is a means of veneration and
falling into Shirk.

From the above it is clear that it is forbidden to make
statues, whether the statue is of a Muslim or a kaafir. Whoever does that
is trying to match the creation of Allaah and thus deserves to be cursed.
We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound, and to guide us. May Allaah bless
our Prophet Muhammad.

Why is it not permissible to stand to salute the flag?

 

why dont muslims stand for the flag salute?

Praise be to Allaah.

Veneration is something that is due only to the Lord,
may He be glorified and exalted, and the created being should not humble himself before
anyone except the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted. And Allaah knows best.

Complaining to created beings (i.e., other people)

 

What is the Islamic ruling on a person
who complains to someone other than Allaah after he has complained to Allaah, may He be
glorified and exalted? When a person is undergoing some trial it is difficult for him, so
is it permissible for one who finds some consolation in other people by “getting
things off his chest” to do so and to ask for advice and guidance, or does this imply
that he does not have faith that Allaah will respond to him?

Praise be to Allaah.

Telling another person about the situation, whether to
ask for help and advice, or to find a way to relieve the problem, does not mean that you
do not have patience, such as a sick person telling a doctor about his complaint, or a
person who is being oppressed or mistreated telling someone who could help him, or a
person who is suffering some trial telling someone who he hopes could relieve him of it.
When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to visit the sick, he
would ask, “How are you feeling?” (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah
and others. Al-Nawawi said: its isnaad is jayyid). The Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asking for information about how they were. (See
‘Uddat al-Saabireen by Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim, 323). And Allaah
knows best.