Miscellaneous

Using a continuous glucose monitor

Q: I am, as per blood results and my doctor, on the brink of Type 2 diabetes. One of the options to try and reverse this is to use a continuous glucose monitor. What is the position with this in terms of ghusl? 

The patch is kept on for 14 days at a time and then changed. Please advise what is the position in terms of ghusl as if we are required to remove this in ghusl then it cannot work as each patch costs almost R1500 per 2 weeks.

Avoiding the sin of gheebat

Q: If ones family member backbites another to express their frustrations with their behaviour, and does it constantly, what should they do? 

Telling them to stop breaks the ties of trust and closeness, and listening to it incurs sin. What should I do? 

If one makes tawbah, will they still lose their deeds on Qiyamah?

Calling a woman wearing the niqaab a "ninja"

Q: If someone (Muslim) calls a niqabi a "ninja" (not in a derogatory way or to mock niqab, nor to make fun of the person for wearing niqab), will it be kufr? 

What if the niqabi didn't think much of it and just passed it over as a joke, because she believes that the person was just joking and not trying to degrade her or something. 

Basically, a ninja can be considered good or bad, but it depends on what the ninja does (apparently).

Keeping a dog for security reasons

Q: I’d like the ruling on keeping a dog. I know that it is impermissible to keep them as pets and that it is allowed to keep them for security purposes. But between keeping them as pets and keeping them for security, I am unsure which category I fall into. 

I’ve never liked dogs in my life due to the cleanliness aspect of them. After moving into a house, we get the odd yard break in and theft from our yard. We therefore have chosen to keep a dog to deter criminals from entering. At the moment, our main purpose is for security reasons but we find ourselves enjoying the dog. When we go out they run to us and we pet their heads and due to their excitement, they lick our hands and clothing. We utterly detest this and feel disgusted by it and we make sure to wash our hands and clothing immediately afterwards. 

My question is, even though we have them for security purposes, would giving them attention and petting them fall into the category of keeping them as pets also? We have also taken a fond liking to them as they are very playful and they need attention. But we do not want to risk our good deeds being destroyed and risk the angels not coming to our home. Please advise based in my situation.