Nikaah & Marriage Issues

Combatting thoughts and feelings of homosexuality

Q: I'm a 27 year old homosexual guy. My parents want me to get married but I have zero interest in girls. All my life I've never been in any kind (homo/hetro) relationship, I've never been intimate with anyone. In the last few days, due to my curiosity, I've seen many gay people living their life happily and this gave me so much pain that I can never experience the joy of true love because I know homosexuality is haraam and prohibited. If I get married to a girl, won't that be wrong for that innocent girl?

I've been battling my thoughts for the last few years and it was not easy to be untouched for 27 years in today's time where teenagers are engaged in such activities and people see you as a loser because you haven't done it yet.

I thought about suicide multiple times but that's also a major sin and also I have responsibilities towards my family as I'm the elder child and my big brother is already a rebel and my parents still haven't got over him. I can't give them another shock by saying anything.

I'm getting mentally unstable and can't see my future self living my life for me. Its hard to control the needs/urges of the body now. Every time I think about all this I get this deep pain and sorrow in my heart and tears in my eyes. I have no one to talk to about it personally. I do not want to commit either of the sins, neither can I be normal nor can I end my life. For Allah's sake, please please help me to get out of this.

The rights of the husband and wife

Q: I have heard some saying including few scholars saying that a husband's rights over his wife are greater than her rights over him. Is that true and why/why not? I am finding this saying a bit strange because in the Quran it says that wives have similar rights over their husbands to what is reasonable. Islam teaches that both have equal rights, some of their rights are identical but some rights are different, and the husband's rights are not more important than the wife's rights, rather both the rights of the husband and wife are of equal importance. Can you please explain, is the saying mentioned above true and if it is true, then why is it true? Because it seems to contradict islamic teachings.

Marrying a Christian

Q: My question is regarding marriage. I wish to marry a devout Christian woman however, her father or any of her family do not approve of me because I am a Muslim. I wish to marry her very soon because of the fear that I may fall into zina. I have taken all precautions and I do not meet with her anymore because I know it is haraam but I am so scared that I will fall into zina. What should I do?

I know that a woman needs a wali and the wali has to be from her religion so I can’t take her to the Islamic centre so that the imam can be her wali can I? Or does she not need a wali since she is independent financially and has her own place and is 45 years old. This woman is very special to me but, I also do not want to fall into sin. If I don’t marry her soon I really think I will fall into zina. please help. (I am from the Hambali mazhab so can you please answer according to this mazhab).