Q: I am a woman who studied engineering and am now working from home for a network security company. For my work, I have to correspond with non-mahrams to give them updates. These chats are fully official and I try my best to keep them short and if possible, avoid them totally. I have to give an update to my boss everyday which requires, on average 5-7 texts every day, and sometimes, I need help from other co-workers so I communicate with them via chats without any video. Is my job permissible?

Q: My husband, three children and I live in a town where there are no proper mosques. I have been trying to convince him to move to a place where my children can regularly go to mosque and learn the Quraan. I have been trying for the past fifteen years but he refuses to move. I am very worried for my children as they are surrounded by non-muslim friends. My husband plans to take the children back home to visit every 2/3 years and says that they can pick up the culture from there. What does Islam say about this?

Q: Is it fine for women to wear turbans because I heard that we are not allowed because of the way Sikh men wear it.

Q: I am jobless. My father wants to get me a job in a govt. institution by giving a bribe to someone and getting me in without any eligibily test. Is it halal for me to accept it? I am strongly against it as I think it will be haraam.

Q:

1. What is the method of women pledging bay'at at the hands of a Shaikh? Should it be done in the way males place their hands in the hands of the Shaikh, or should it be verbal? Can it be over the phone or via email?

2. What is the Shar'ee method of a female mureed communicating with her Shaikh? Should she phone and give her halaat or email the Shaikh directly without the medium of her husband or father, mahram, etc.?

3. Many a times, a woman needs to communicate with the Shaikh and seek guidance in regard to marital issues which she does not want her husband to know about as it may relate to some of his weaknesses. In this case, can she email the Shaikh, informing him of her marital condition and problems without the medium of her husband?

4. Many female mureeds become casual with the Shaikh, thereby leading to lustful feelings and wrong thoughts being created in the hearts. Should there be a degree of purdah observed between the female mureeds and the Shaikh?

5. Often, female mureeds travel by car on their own to attend the majaalis of their Shaikh. Is this correct?

6. Apart from the above, can Hazrat give some naseehat in regard to the above maslah of females bay'at.

Q: I am a non-Muslim who wants to return to Islam. There are many books that I have gotten as gifts when I was younger, bought for me by my parents, or stolen from schools that I attended. I suspect that many of these books may have content that may be forbidden in Islam (American fiction books, picture books of people and animals, and other suspect content), and I want to get rid of them. My family does not want me to get rid of them (they relocated most of them to my aunts house) and I think it would be difficult to get rid of them, how should I get rid of them?

Q: A person pays a driver a monthly salary for a fixed pick-and-drop route. One day, he requests the driver to take a detour and make an additional stop (without discussing extra payment). The driver agrees and does so, and does not ask for extra money. Does the employer owe the driver money for the extra work?

Q: When we eat in a Muslim restaurant, we are sure that non-veg food that is serves is halal, but in the case of a non-Muslim restaurant, non-veg is bought from non-veg shops. Is it halal? Can we eat non-veg from a non-Muslim restaurant?

Q: There's a website that says that these people (Arpachshad, Aram, Shem, Japheth) are Prophets in Islam. Is it true?

Also, if we read about some Prophets mentioned in the other 3 Books, what should be our stance towards the belief?

Q: Is it permissible to offer prayer while wearing a bag?