Q: Is it halaal for someone to patent his idea, invention or design? Also, is it halaal for him to earn through his patents?

Q: I have got the scholarship for further studies abroad. I pray fives times a day.

1. The country I am going to, they eat pork and dog meat. This scholarship will be a life changing opportunity for me but I am worried that I need to interact with the local people on a daily basis, like professors and other classmates. Anything haraam I should avoid while interacting with them like hand shake or exchanging things?

2. I need to rent a room. They normally keep dogs as pets in their houses and fridges are also available in the rented houses in which they keep dog meat and pork. Should I use this fridge, stove and how to clean (purify) this place for living here if they kept dog meat in there?

3. I will offer prayer in that room. Explain briefly about the najasat of dogs and their saliva because dogs are everywhere in this country. They are in public places and sitting onbenches that are basically for humans to sit on. 

Q: My question is regarding sharing food with non-Muslims. We live in India where majority of the people are of different faiths and religions. We are extremely careful about consuming halaal food. However, since we have colleagues and friends who are non-Muslims, we invite them over sometimes for food and even share food at work places. I wanted to know if there is anything wrong with that. And if yes, what is the extent of it?

Q: Is it permissible to read Harry Potter books?

Q: I live in a rented apartment in the UK. Before renting an apartment in UK, we have to pay a deposit which is refundable when we leave the apartment. By mistake my landlord created 2 deposits and I got twice the money back when I left the apartment. I contacted my landlord and told them that this was a mistake on their part and they told me they will contact me soon about this issue. They haven’t contacted me yet. Since I have done my duty of informing them and if they don’t ask for it back or claim it, is it halaal for me to keep the money?

Q: We got a land as inheritance from my father: a portion of which he inherited from his mother and the rest of the land was purchased by my father from his heirs i.e my uncles. His mother also received the land as inheritance.

Zaid is living on this land and whatever vegetables, crops are grown there, I am responsible for providing the seeds and other expenses. Zaid looks after them, sells them in the market and then the profit is distributed as a 50 percent share. From the 50 percent that we receive, it is further divided into 8 parts, one part is received by 3 sisters and my mother each. While 2,2 parts belong to me and my brother.

Previously rainfall was the source of water for this land but almost 6 months ago we purchased a motor to draw water from the small natural water stream that passes through the land. The land is not plain, instead it has many small hills in it so the irrigated portion is quite less. Sometimes I get only a little portion of vegetables that cannot be sold so its used at home.

I want to inquire how to give ushar on the produce from this land?

Q: Can a man gesture to a woman in iddat of talaaq that he is interested in her after her iddat?

Q: Can a woman who is in iddat due to the passing away of her husband, move to the house of a family member if the house they were residing in was rented?

Also, is there a difference if he left anything behind as inheritance or not?

Q: Although it is permissible for the muazzin to stand anywhere in the masjid to give the azaan for the jumuah khutbah, is it sunnat for him to stand in front of the imaam no matter which staff he may be in?

Q: Is it permissible for a woman in the state of haidh or nifaas to make wudhu before engaging in zikr, before sleeping etc., or will this be regarded as wasting water?