Purdah

Making salaam or saying Alhamdulillah to a sneeze when a portion of the satr area is exposed

Q: If a man is wearing shorts and his knee and a portion above his knee is exposed. Can such a person greet? As they are saying the name of Allah while their 'awrah is exposed? 

And what is the ruling regarding saying alhamdulillāh after sneezing when one is dressed in a similar manner? Is it makruh or more serious?

Women going around to give bayaans

Q: A very concerning matter facing us here in the UK and I believe in many countries. The matter is that some ladies have opened a door of going around place to place to give bayaans. They become speakers and attend as well as put together conferences where they attract audiences based on their skills in language and the ability to deliver an entertaining talk. 

Some of them podcast on social media for everyone to listen to. Men have full access to listen to them live or to the saved video recordings. Some of them do so in niqaab and some without. 

This oratory by these women has become very appealing to young girls who see this as a goal to achieve in their spiritual growth. 

These women openly encourage other ladies to do the same and as a result there are teams of such ladies going around almost like shaikh and mureeds. They attract big followings and people are being misled to believe that the sahabiyaat use to also lecture and advise men in the matters of deen. 

They lure young girls with the snare of online quran classes and then lead them to the same desire to be lecturers and hold their own conferences. This has also become a business in the name of deeni efforts. This looks very attractive to modern muslim families that their wives and daughters are getting some kind of exposure to deeni knowledge and it is also very convenient in keeping them busy and as it is said rather keep them off the streets. 

Women and girls are also attracted through emotional activities of social and welfare work. In most cases the harms are not immediately apparent. 

Should innocent families be warned about this? To what extent should women be allowed to have these kind of lecture conferences? How should people be made aware ? Will appreciate your guidance on this matter

Aayat of the Quraan Shareef commanding the Azwaaj-e-Mutaharaat to stay at home

Q: My wife recently had some interaction with female members of her family. Alhamdulillah, as we practice strict purdah and she remains at home, she was giving her female cousins Targheeb along these lines. 

One of her cousins is an Aalimah and then quoted the Ayat of Quran Shareef commanding the Azwaaj-e-Mutaharaat to stay at home, and then explained that this Ayat referred only to them and was not applicable to the women of today. 

My wife explained that the fitnah is far worse today and our piety cannot even be compared to their chastity and purity, but the “Aalimah” persisted saying that this is Quran and you cannot infer restriction on everyone when it is referring only to a select group. 

Please can Mufti saheb provide guidance with some proof, more for our itminaan than anything else.

Talking to women in meetings

Q: As there are women in all working environments in today’s time, if we at work are sitting in the same board room around the same table as women and we sometimes have to talk to women in meetings etc. are we sinful for this as there is no purdah in the boardroom as well as we are talking to na mahram women?

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).

Arm wrestling with non mahrams

Q: About 7–8 years ago, when I was newly married (around 1 year of marriage), my husband suggested we do arm-wrestling for fun. With his permission, I also did arm-wrestling with his four brothers. At that time, I did not feel any lust or desire from my side at all. 

I noticed that the brothers looked a bit excited, which could have been because they had never held a woman’s hand before but now I am worried. What if they might have felt lust at that time, 1 of them asked for a re match even though I lost from all of them but I said no 1 time is enough now I cannot ask them directly as it would be very embarrassing and it was almost a decade ago. Now I do proper hijab and cover my face too. 

My question is: Does this cause hurmat-e-musaharat, and is my nikah still valid? 

I also suffer from waswas (intrusive doubts) in religious matters, so I want clarity and peace of mind.