Q: A person wishes to purchase a stove on credit from Makro (for example). The cash price of the stove is R5000. However, Makro says that if you wish to purchase it on credit, there will be a certain percentage interest rate. Hence purchasing it on credit will cost R5800 over 20 months at R290 per month. Makro says that the installment will NOT fluctuate during the months. Every month it will certainly remain at R290 till it's fully paid. When he purchased it, he ignored completely what they had to say about the 'interest rate', and his intention was that they are merely changing the price of the stove and just making more profit on him since he's buying it on credit. Is he guilty of ribaa in the above mentioned case?

Q: We have been told that if a person somehow gets ribaa money in his possession, he may get rid of it by giving it out in charity without the intention of receiving any reward. My question is: When giving this haraam money out in charity, is it permitted for him to hope for reward due to the fact that he is cleansing his wealth from haraam ribaa money, and not due to the fact that he's giving charity?

Q: Because of the Musjid being overcrowded and the mimbar being an obstruction in the first saff of the Musjid, a muqtadi happened to stand in the first saff directly in front of the mimbar, and when he (muqtadi) went into sajdah, his head touched the first step of the mimbar (he basically made the sajdahs with his head touching the first step of the mimbar). In the above mentioned case, was his (muqtadi's) salaah valid since he carried out his sajdahs in this manner?

Q: Please issue a ruling on the following:

(1) Females travelling to a foreign country for the purpose of observing Nafl I’tikaaf in a hall.

(2) Females travelling to a foreign country for the purpose of observing Nafl I’tikaaf in someone’s house.

(3) Females observing Nafl I’tikaaf in a hall owned and operated by the local Hindu Association.

(4) Females eating the leftover food of their (ghair-mahram) Shaykh for the purpose of Tabarruk.

(5) Females being giving the clothing items of their living (ghair-mahram) Shaykh for the purpose of Tabarruk.

(6) Females having casual, non-Islaahi, conversations from behind a screen with their (ghair-mahram) Shaykh in the presence of others.

(7) A female travelling to Western secular Universities for giving bayaans to the female students of the Western secular University.

(8) A Shaykh of Tasawwuf buying a packet of sweets and sending it, as a gift, for a female mureed when she qualifies as a Hafizah. The gift is sent with a male mahram of the female mureed.

Q: I have given zakaat money six times the nisaab amount to my sister. Can I give her another amount of zakaat after three months similar to the first amount?

Q: I want to pursue general insurance course and work in Muslim countries like Saudi Arab, Dubai, Oman, Kuwait. Is it Halal to pursue and work in insurance co, in Muslims countries? I don't pursue Life insurance because I know it is haraam. I want to know about general insurance because there is many insurance companies in Arab countries owned and operating by Arab Muslims. If it is haraam then how is it allowed in Arab countries?

Q: Is it permissible to masterbate if one's spouse is unable to fulfil the others needs. My wife and I have been married for 10 years now, and in the beginning we would fill each others desire till we were exhausted. Now she won't even try for weeks to satisfy me. We have no children yet, but my sex drive is still very high.

Q:

1. Kindly advise me if the following Hadith is authentic and if possible, the source of the hadith: Narrated by Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet said, "Healing is in three things: cupping, a gulp of honey or cauterization, (branding with fire) but I forbid my followers to use cauterization (branding with fire)."

2. What is the ruling regarding the use of branding as a form of treatment?

Q: I want to know that if a person is not returning my money. Can I adjust the amount as zakat for some years in advance?

Q: Until recently I thought I did not have to give zakat because I was under the assumption there was only one nisab, the nisab for gold, and I have never owned more than the nisab for gold. However now I am aware that there is a nisab for silver, and that this should be used when calculating zakat. Since I haven't paid zakat until now, I would like to start calculating my zakat for the previous years as well as for this year however I have some questions as I haven't calculated zakat before:

1) Do I estimate how much zakatable assets I have at the END of each zakat year and then pay 2.5% of that in zakat?

2) The nisab value constantly changes, for example at the moment the nisab for is around £294, but previous years it was different. So when determining if I own above the nisab in previous years and am therefore eligible for paying zakat, since I don't know what the nisab was in those years should I use the current nisab when calculating for previous years?

3) Since I did not know I had to pay zakat, I also have not taken part in qurbani (udhiya). How should I go about calculating how much I owe for this?

4) Can I pay my zakat through an islamic charitable organisation, such as MuslimAid, IslamicRelief, etc?

Forgive me for the long question, but I want to make sure i'm paying zakat correctly, especially as I had been ignorant of it for many years. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for us to fulfil our religious obligations.