Q: We have read that we are rewarded for good thoughts, but not sinful for bad thoughts as long as we don’t act on them. But we have also heard that we are responsible for our thoughts and therefore sinful for thinking wrong. So what is true? Because we do think of sins, for example, sometimes our mind just keeps going to some bad thought even though we try to remove that thought from our mind, but it keeps coming. We even pray for that thought to go away, but it doesn’t. So are we sinful for bad thoughts like this?

Q: I don’t pray five times a day but whenever I pray then I get into worse situations. What should I do? This is not once but it happened a lot to me.

Q: I love someone who is a pious and faithful man, but my father rejected his proposal based on his family status and caste. My father fixed my marriage with someone else. I am an educated girl and a doctor by profession. I resist a lot but no one can understand it. I have no feelings for the other person. What should I do? My parents dont't listen when I tell them that I don't like this person.

Is it permissible to make nikaah against my parents will as my age is 25?

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?