Q: I have been living with depression, stress and especially with social anxiety for a long time. I am starting to lose hope and don't know what to do. It has affected my life in such a negative way. My classmates graduated 3 years ago and I am struggling with this mental illness. My grades are affected. I start to shake whenever I am sitting with a group of people. I get anxious when I get an email from school. I can't taste the sweetness of Dunya. Always living in a dark place. I got a treatment from a psychiatrist for months and finished it but it still existed. I have been making dua's and try to pray on time at work or university. But nothing helps.

P.S. It started since I moved to Europe from Africa. I cant go back to my country because of a war. And Islam is not well practiced in the country I am living right now. No righteous friends except people who pull you to haraam things. I am surviving alone. It would be much appreciated if you give some advice or remedy?

Q: I sell branded sneakers, bags, wallets, etc. I recently found out that Nike is haraam to wear. I did research on Versace as well and I found that it is also named after a Greek God. How do I determine which branded items are fine to sell and which are haraam? 

Q: My wife is a housewife and does not earn an income. I provide her with an allowance as well as contribute into a savings/investment account for her.

Questions:

1. Is she liable for zakaat on the money in her investment account (which I contribute towards) or am I?

2. If we have a joint savings account (in both our names), who is responsible for the zakaat in this account?

3. Since we are married in-community-of-property, would she be responsible to pay zakaat on any investments that are in my name?

Q: What is more important: segregation between men and women or keeping family ties?

I am asking because in my native place and family, people have almost completely left the rules of segregation between men and women. So, I'm afraid to visit my family members. I have been concerned about the rules of segregation that I stopped visiting my relatives for a long time. But because of this my relations with family members became really bad, which is another bad thing in Deen.

Also, in my current situation I can't survive alone. I need help from my family to survive. I cannot stop visiting them.

Also, many of them are not able to understand my stance on this issue. Many of them are getting a bad image of Islam when I give less importance to family relations. They seem to be going further away from Deen and Imaan because of me.

So, how should I balance?

I am a weak hearted person. I may not be able to boldly oppose the malpractices when I visit my family. Also, I can't bear to see their hearts broken because of me. I am also not able to convince them of our rules.

Now, I am feeling that I should give more importance to maintaing family ties. I am feeling that I should visit them even if I may unintentionally do some sin in the process. Is this the right way to proceed?

Q:

1. What is khatm-e-khwaajgaan?

2. What are the different methods of doing it?

3. Is khatam of Aayat-e-Kareema also khatme khwaajgaan or a different wazifa?

4. Is it recommended to do this khatam regularly?

Q: My wife has jewellery that makes zakaat compulsory upon her. Instead of her selling her jewellery to pay zakaat, can I pay zakaat on her behalf?

Q: Generally, in certain property or livestock investments, they have a reserve which they keep for expenses and unexpected circumstances. In other words, they don’t distribute this money to the shareholders as dividends. Is this permissible?

Q: If I am in the first row for Salaah, and there is an aalim in the second row, can I offer him my place in the first row?

Q: Is it permissible to make it a condition in a mudhaarabah that the mudhaarib (working partner) will also be liable for losses?

Q: After completing my first umrah, I removed all my hair using a zero trimmer. After 2-3 days, I performed a second umrah and again removed my hair using the same zero trimmer (though the hair was very little). I was in doubt in regard to whether I did the correct thing or not by using a zero trimmer. Is my second umrah valid as I used a zero trimmer?