Q: Recently, I bought something from a charity shop.  At the counter, the lady asked if I would like to be entered into a prize draw, for which the prize would be £4000. But to be entered for this one would have to give them £1. I agreed, as she told me that the £1 would go towards their charity. It was due to a nerve-racking morning that I was slow in realizing I had engaged in a kind of gambling, but the transaction had been completed and it was too late! What do I need to do now that this has been done? What should I do with the money if I win? (I doubt it, but just in case). Should I refuse to accept it and tell them I don't want it? Or if it is forced on me and I have to take it, should I give it away to an Islamic charity? With regards to the initial giving of £1 to enter the prize draw, I keep thinking that any salary I receive from work will remain unlawful until I take the same amount from my salary and donate this to (Islamic) charity to address any unevenness. Is this correct?

Q: Insha Allah, my son will be born towards mid to 22 September 2014 which quite close to Eid dul Adha on the 5th of October 2014. My question is: Can we slaughter a cow on Eid dul Adha with the niyah for compulsory qurbani and aqiqah for him?

Q: Is there any guidance from our ulama /books etc on how to give dawat to non Muslims eg. Domestic workers working in our homes. What books could be given to them?

Q: I have a doubt regarding who should talk/how should one speak to the girl's parents when seeking for girl for marriage. My parents were approached by one of my relatives to make nikaah of their daughter to me. So they came to our house (I was not present at that time) and then they called us to their home and asked me to come to their home as well. We haven't seen the girl even in photo and during our visit also girl was not available. That is not a big deal. We went over there by evening 5pm and their welcome was pleasing. After the tea, everyone sat around (around 10 members from their side and from my side just my parents and my brother). Then I started to speak after the introduction which is as follows. Start of my speech:

Right now I am working in BEML Limited, Palakkad Complex which is a PSU. Earlier I worked for Bosch limited, Chennai. (I am doing my ME (PT) in PSG more than 2 years left for completion). Masha Allah it is good. I should be thankful to Allah as I only asked for it. But being a PSU I don’t like the work culture and slowly I am accustomed to it.

Insha allah I will leave this job. For that reason only I am not yet married. Here I have a bond of 2 lakhs to pay which I can’t break so I am working over here. Waiting for completion of ME (part time) and bond period. Once it gets over I will try to come back to Chennai and look out for some teaching profession.

I am a shy guy, I don’t like to go and roam here and there, I expect the same from my spouse.

I am a simple personality by character, I don’t like spending on unnecessary things, expect the same from my spouse. I don’t go out even to buy dresses for eid. My brother/parents buy it for me.

Normally our family we don’t go to cinemas. Even with friends I haven’t been to one cinema in the whole of my college life, I remember one instance when my school friends dragged me to Chennai - 600028. Hence I can’t take your girl outside for cinemas.

Watching haram in TV’s is not allowed. I accept that once I was a person very much close to music, cricket from my school days till my college days, participating in many college cultural shows and winning prizes (but didn’t think that it is haraam). But now I have given it up. Expect the same from my spouse except watching news/learning new things and what it is allowed in shariah.

See the age of the girl is very less (18 yrs). Today’s generation it is growing thick and fast and already I am outdated as we didn’t have phones even in our college days but today a small child has it. She should not feel that I am too old for her.

Please ask 100% acceptance from her side. If she doesn’t like me even a little bit, please abandon the whole talk. Don’t proceed with this further.

See I don’t want to see your girl if she is beautiful or not, for the beauty lies in the heart rather than in the outer skin. If I am to look at your daughter alone then she will the beautiful women to me in the whole of the world if I can lower my gaze. I accepted for this proposal for my parents told because they told that the girl is good in deen, character and conduct.

I wouldn’t tolerate a small bit of bidaah, expect the same from spouse

I just know how to read quran but I can’t understand Arabic except a few words here and there. Now I am working on it a bit to improve. I want my spouse to be well educated in Arabic so that my children would learn Arabic insha allah easily and naturally quran as well.

I wanted my marriage to take place in masjid, with a good ulama’s bayan followed by walima (Most preferably after magrib).

Tell me the mahr amount that you expect from my side. I wish to pay my mahr from my earnings itself. If you'll tell it then I will plan accordingly.

I don’t want you to spend even a single penny for my marriage.

No shows offs is expected in my marriage, I will be very upset if it happens so I am making it crystal clear at the very beginning.

Don’t put anything for the girl. I am afraid for the wealth. I had enough experience with these things while building the house which we stay right now. Lots of pain and fights occurred. I told my parents earlier not to build anything but they didn’t listen to my words.

I want the girl to respect my parents and my brother. I don’t want them to be disgraced by the girl under any circumstance.

See to that if my level of deen, character and outward appearance is acceptable for you and your daughter. If not please abandon the talk.

Tell what I have told today to your daughter.

End of my speech.

Later the girl's parent replied after one week stating the following. The girl's parents denied my proposal stating that the boy is talking too much before marriage and how dare he was to talk directly to the girl's father stating his conditions. (Let the girl get a better boy than myself Insha allah). Hazrat please let me know if I had spoke wrong so that I would correct myself.

Q: Many people read fictional novels as a pastime. What is the ruling regarding this? Please explain in detail.

Q: I would like to ask if a person uses charity money for their personal use that also includes sadaqa money with the intention to pay back /reimburse. Are they liable to a kufara and what would it be? Is it sin to use the money even though the intention was to pay back?

Q: If wearing the cap purdah in ihraam is difficult, should a woman wear the normal purdah or not wear any? Some are of the opinion of wearing the normal purdah and removing before 12 hours, is this also a correct view?

Q: What should a woman who is experiencing her haidh do if she needs to perform her tawaaf e ziyaarat in haj or the coming out of ihraam in umrah when the return flights are booked? Must she make the tawaaf and give dam or what should she do?

Q: Does one have to keep a fast when breaking a qasam? On normal circumstances people will but does one have to fast three days for breaking a qasam if this person is in a habit of taking qasams e.g. Kasam you are going to do this and that person doesn't do what the person who takes the qasam has said. Now that the person hasn't done what the person taking the qasam said does the one who took the oath fast for three days?

Q: A Muslim answered the questions put to him by a non-Muslim as follows:

1. Do you stand for gay people's rights?

"Of course."

2. Do you stand for gay marriage?

"If the 2 individuals who are of the same sex want to be married and they go for a civil partnership or marriage or whatever it is, if it is provided
within the constitution and within the legal systems of our country, then they are entitled to."

Would this render the person answering a murtad?