Good Character

Q: Is the following regarded as the person being dishonest?

Eg, person A asks person B about a certain event that had taken place during the weekend.. Now, person A knows that it had happened, and many other people know that that event took place and they also know that person B witnessed the event that took place, yet, when person B was asked if he was aware of knowing, his answer was ' I don't know, yes I was at that particular place at that time but I don't know if that event took place' ......the best part is that later on, person B admitted that he witnessed the event, yet, he argues that by him saying 'I don't know' doesn't mean that he was lying in the least bit... Mufti, was he lying when he was initially asked??

And also he comes up with a weird excuse that he knew person A was aware of the event etc, that's why he said he didn't know?? Yes, as childish as it seems, that's what he said.....

Q: Is it permissible to record a conversation where the person recording it wants to get information out to use against a third person? The person being recorded is unaware of the conversation being recorded.

Q: We find many people broadcasting jokes about Julius Malema, Jacob Zuma, Barrack Obama, Blonde Jokes, Indian Jokes, etc. What is the status of these jokes in Shariah? If an article has been prepared on this topic I will indeed forward it to all my contacts Insha Allah.

Q: I live in Holland. A friend of us is cheating the social security with his mariagal status. The point is that a married couple will get about 1200 euros from the social security, but this friend did divorce on paper so that his wife could get a seperate social security of about 1000 and he himself about 900 euros. We have advised him several times that he should stop with this and change the situation how it should be i.e. registered as married and thus in case of need only 1 social security income. The person has also 2 children from his brother in Ghana on his name and thus was also getting money for them from the law. My question is, is it aloud to report him due the cheatings he is doing, so that they will stop him. He will have to pay back the money he received unjustly.

Q: If a young girl is sexually abused and when she grows up, does she have to tell her husband when she gets married because marriages involves honesty. If she does not tell, she is keeping things from him. Is that allowed?

Q: I got mail delivered at home and on the envelope the stamps were unstamped. Is it allowed to use these stamps to send mail?

Q: I had another question that has been bothering me recently. I did my medical school in my native country. I am an old graduate of medical school and I have started PhD in public health in the US from this summer. It was possible to enrol into a PhD program because the university offered me a full scholarship for PhD. The only thing I regret is that for admission and scholarship to the university, I lied on my resume and personal statement that I was the best student in my class during medical school but the transcripts and recommendation letters submitted were completely authentic and the university also verified them by requesting a sealed official copy. So the lying was only on the resume and personal statement. But maybe it was overlooked by the university and they gave me admission and a full scholarship. After I enrolled myself in the PhD program, the Program Director has introduced me twice in various meetings that I was the best student from my country. Now I feel that my troubles are because I lied to get the admission and particularly the scholarship and that has now resulted in Allah giving me multiple problems in my career. I cannot inform the university about this or the Program Director who gave me admission and scholarship as I do not want to be labelled a liar but I want to know how do I repent for this sin to avoid any troubles because of this. The other issue is that I have circulated my CV to my advisor as well and other post-doctoral fellows with this lie and I would have to continue doing this for the next five years because I now cannot change it if they ask for my CV again. Kindly advise in light of Islamic teachings because my only intention was to get admission and a scholarship and was not to harm anyone by this. 

Q: The law of pension is that the individual must not have any means of income. Can a pensioner conceal the means of income and qualify for the pension? The pension form is filled and signed under oath. Can a person apply for it under these circumstances only in order to cover taxes?

Q: What exactly does it mean when we are advised not to concern ourselves with that which does not concern you? For eg. my husband is going somewhere and I ask him where he is going to?and why? etc. Am I wrong to be asking questions? How do I prevent myself from bothering over useless issues like these?