Q: I am contacting you to seek help.

A friend of mine is losing her imaan, she has been through a lot of hardship in her life and is losing hope. There are some questions she has that I am unqualified to answer so I thought you could answer them for me.

The questions she has are "Why has Allah allowed suffering to the innocent?" "Why did Allah not put us in Jannah in the first place instead of sending us to the Dunya?" "Allah says He loves us more that 70 mothers could, but He allows us to suffer even though we call on Him for help and relief, what can explain that?" "It is said that no one will enter Jannah without imaan, then what about the people who have never heard of Islam?"

Please assist me in bringing her back on the right path. I will be ever grateful. 

Q: I'm feeling very confused because of not asking questions. The main question is about the fact that Allah (SubhaanaHu Wa Ta'alaa) has full control over everything, even good deeds and bad deeds, so how do we enter Jannah and Jahannam since He has control already and decides who is guided and who isn't and we make duaa to Him not to misguide us.

We thank Him for guiding us and protecting us from sins so it means that He has full control. When Abu Talib was about to pass away, Allah (SubhaanaHu Wa Ta'alaa) said that He guides whom He wills.

I have seen how He changes hearts. If I commit a sin, my parents and other family members become harsh or emotionally hurt me and if I say Tawbah, they become changed. In a Hadith, we are told that our Lord's anger and pleasure are shown in parents. Is this possible that He is punishing me through my parents or rewarding me for reaching a higher part of Jannah? What opinion should I have of Him?

Please answer both of these doubts. 

Q: What is the ruling on using balloons at jalsas and eid day, etc?

Q: What is the status of Muslim schools and madrasahs for kids celebrating Spring Day (the 1st day of spring) by making kids bring flowers or planting flowers, eating ice cream, etc. Thereafter giving it an Islamic theme like seeing the greatness of Allah in spring, etc. However doing it on this same day i.e. first day of spring. Is this allowed in or is it tashabbuh bil kuffar? 

Q: Is it permissible to use products containing collagen?

Q: Kuffain made of leather are stitched. Water can seep in and out from the seams where they are stitched. Is it permissible to wear such socks?

Q: It has become a trend amongst our Muslim people where they go on days on end to far away destinations for fishing trips etc. A so-called boys trip, where all types of things happen, from ganja, hukka, etc. to who knows what. Leaving their families all alone at home. What is more, even the so-called ‘Deen Daar, Tableeghi Jamaat brothers, and the like, actually join these people. Saying we need to go out and DE STRESS.

Another fitna is that they have a place where they go (Club House) or one friends house generally after Esha till the late hours of the night to play cards, tunnee, games, etc. with friends. Leaving their families alone at night.

This happens from the old grandfathers going down to the grandchildren. They all have their own clicks and spots to hang out or go on boys trips.

A lot of times these guys can’t make it to the masjid for Fajar Salaah. Is the behavior, to put it mildly, not well beyond INSANITY?

How can a true Muslim sleep in peace in the place where he will be satanically wasting so much funds whilst surrounded by masses of suffering Muslims? Never can one be a Muslim with such a cruel, hard-hearted attitude. Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “The Muslimoon are like one man. When the eye pains, the whole body is affected. When he has a headache, the whole body is affected.”

Q: Please clarify this matter for us:

1. In the case where a lady gets very sick during pregnancy, and is vomiting and unable to eat properly etc. for months, and hence needs a gap between pregnancies to recover physically and mentally, will it be permissible to utilise the loop as a contraceptive?

2. For normal spacing out of children, i.e. a lady doesn't get very sick or anything but just to space the children out, will using the loop be permissible?

Q: I have a few questions regarding a musafir.

1. If a musafir joins the jamaat in the masjid, does he have to perform the full salaah? For example does he have to read the full 10 rakaats of Zohr or just the 4 Fardh that was read in jamaat?

2. Is it better to read the salaah in jamaat in the musjid or on my own, if I don't know any other musaafirs to make jamaat with?

3. Is it better to read qasr salaah or the full salaah when traveling, if I am reading alone?

Q: An old school friend that does not practice deen (I don‘t exactly know his belief) and his girlfriend (I think she might be Christian since we are in Germany and she’s German) went to another country for holidays.

Now they want me to pick them up from the airport and bring them to their home where they live together. Since I don‘t want to be sinful I would like to know if it was haram for me to transport these people.

I read that transporting people to certain places as a taxi driver is makruh tanzihi in the Hanafi madhab since one is only indirectly assisting in sin. However, I am not a taxi driver and I don‘t want to make assumptions.

Am I sinful for transporting non married couples to their home?