Q&A Gender Dysphoria, Alcoholic hand sanitizer, Move where there is no Jumuah

Yasir Qadhi

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Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala Rasulillah who Allah Allah he will be here woman while Ahmedabad. Today is our Tuesday, open q&a And I have a number of questions that have come up from all over the world. And once again, the email address to ask questions is ask why Q at Epic messages dot orgy once again ask why Q at Epic mestu that is E P IC, m a s j ID one word dot orgy. And I get questions from all over the world. So please try to be succinct and also mentioned a name and also a location. And I'll try my best to choose the questions that are the most useful. Unfortunately, I cannot answer each and every question individually via

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Gmail. What I tried to do is take the questions that are the most useful for the broadest amount of people and then inshallah answer them live in this session. So today we begin our first question from Brother Ahmed in Malaysia, he emails and he says that he has gotten a job offer, but the place that he is going to, according to his Google research does not have any Masala or any masjid. And so he is asking Is he allowed to take up a job offer and travel to a location where potentially it looks like there might not be any Joomla? And then he asks a broader question that okay, if I travel for any location, even not for the sake of a job for any reason, and there is no Joomla app over

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there. Is that permissible or not? So the question is with regards to traveling to a location that there is no Joomla taking place. The response to this question Joomla is of course obligatory on every adult, sane Muslim male who doesn't have an excuse preventing him from attending the Joomla and Joomla is obligatory, if there is a Joomla that is being held in the place that you are at, if there is no Joomla and there are not enough Muslims to perform a Joomla then you are not obligated to have a Joomla by yourself, there is no Joomla by yourself, there must be the bare minimum. Now what is the bare minimum that depends on you know, both have to might have some say three, some

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small murdered minority even said to some said you have to have 40 So you have a different interpretations. That's not the question here. Suppose that there is no Joomla there is not enough Muslims and there are no Musa Lazar messages where Joomla is being undertaken. Should you go to such a location, the response is very straightforward Alhamdulillah Allah subhanho wa Taala has not obligated on us that which we cannot bear and the obligation of Joomla is binding only when there is a Jumeirah that is in your locality, the Sharia has not obligated you to not find sustenance unless there is a Juma being held over there. Allah's religion is easy. Why am I to Allah Allah confer

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Dinniman Harajuku there is no difficulty you did a lot of equal usara Allah was to make things easy for you. So do not put restrictions that the Sharia has not put. And there are no restrictions to moving to a locality where your sustenance is where you have a good job offer. I'm assuming that because you're writing from a Muslim majority country that the job offer is in some faraway location in another land for example, and you are not able to find online any masala there. And so, the assumption is that in this non Muslim land, there is no Joomla being performed. So, you are now wondering that because of the Joomla issue, should you travel or not. And the response as I said is

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that there is no hemorrhage there is no sin on you to travel for your job or even to travel for any permissible reason. Even if it is not a dire situation, you may travel for any permissible reason. And if during the travel Juma falls and you're still traveling or you're at a destination or a location where there is no Joomla, then you are not obligated, in fact many scholars and this is another controversy that what if your Musa failed, and there is a Joomla and you are in this state of suffer, are you obliged to attend or not? Even then there is a controversy and some folks say the Musa is not obliged to Joomla even though the position that I feel is more reasonable is that if the

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Mustafa temporarily has reached a spot where he is temporarily even if it's a day or two, that he is residing there, there then he and there is Juma being held in that city then he should attend tomorrow but anyway, my point is that the Juma is not obligatory when there is no Joomla being established and therefore do not make the absence of a Joomla a cause for you for you to to not take up this job offer

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and also realize that from the beginning of time, people have been traveling, the Muslim world has had travelers, and they traveled for reasons that sometimes, you know, were religious base, and sometimes were worldly based. And it is not recorded that they said, I have to plan a route such that every city I stop, and there must be a masala over there. No, we have had travelers that, that have even traveled, you know, to the lands of Europe, there was a famous traveler by the name of Ibn fadlan. And he traveled all the way into the lands of Europe. And he went, they say, even to Norway and other places where he met the Vikings. And then he came back. And he wrote about that, of

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course, he had been batata, as well as the famous traveler, he went all the way across the world, and he came back to his lands in Morocco. And so all of these from the time of the sahaba. In fact, it is even narrated that some of the Sahaba, they wanted to live away from society and civilizations such as Abu Dhabi, and refinery, or the Allahu taala. And that for whatever reason, he just felt that he was more at peace living alone. And so he literally built a hut, he built a small place, literally in the middle of nowhere, him and his family, him and his wife, actually, they settled over there, because he felt that he would rather be living away from society. And it is not reported

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that he established Joomla he travel for to get to Joomla, he would live where he is, and he was content over there. And he passed away in circumstances that are going to have discussed in my lectures about the sahaba. The point being that there is no obligation on you to find out or sorry, or to choose your job based upon whether there's Joomla or not, if there is Joomla Alhamdulillah. If not, then no, no problems, you may go to that location, and you will pray for her instead of Joomla. Now, this is in terms of obligation. Now, I have to also point out here, that if you are travelling to a land or a country where you know, it's a very different circumstance, where you're coming from

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Muslim majority to now you're going to become a minority that comes with other factors. And you have to decide whether you feel confident enough strong enough in your faith to be able to venture out there is no question psychologically speaking, not religiously, psychologically speaking, and they're not necessarily divorced from one another. But I'm just saying that psychologically it is good to be with society with Muslim communities, there is a barrier protection that comes when you're in a Muslim land, especially observant Muslim land, that might not happen when you travel other places and if you're not accustomed to the cultures and the and the accessibility of certain

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issues in other lands, you have to think long and hard and then make a choice based upon that. But that's a separate issue from what you asked me about in terms of Joomla you weigh the pros and cons and there is no question that if you have a very good job lined up and you feel confident that inshallah you can be a practicing Muslim, you're gonna observe the prayers, there is no question that the Shetty eye does not obligate upon you to find a locality where there is Juma. That having been said, I also want to add here that on a personal anecdote that in fact, my very first job when I was still doing my chemical engineering degree, when I was based in Houston, Texas, it was

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actually in a small town called Freeport, and it is still, you know, there, obviously, there's a Dell chemical plant over there. And when I accepted that job, this was back in the mid 90s, early 90s, I found out that there was no Joomla being established in Freeport, Texas. And I in fact, as I was a student at the time, I asked my teacher the exact same question you're asking me? And I said, I asked him that, you know, I got a very good job offer from Dell chemical, can I go and work there, but I'm worried that there is no Joomla. And of course, at that time, I was not studying Islam. So I had to, you know, ask somebody who was studying Islam, who is obviously my first teacher, and he

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told me the exact same thing I'm telling you, which is that the Sharia is not obligating you to find such a location. So I actually took up that job And subhanAllah This is my point, my point of telling you the story, that when I went to there, I realized that the reason why there was no Joomla was because nobody had really gathered the Muslims there and started one and so I literally found out you know, the five seven Muslims that were working in the plant and I contacted them and I said, Hey, let's do a Joomla together and then hamdulillah as a young you know, teenager I was still 19 At the time, I Alhamdulillah helped establish Joomla in that small community, and I heard that they

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continued after me and I think there's even a Masala or a masjid close by where they can now go and pray. So my point is that make it your Nia that okay, there is no Juma there inshallah I'm gonna go there and insha Allah for sure you will find five or 10 you know Muslim scattered around everywhere you just you know, find them Figure Figure out how you can come together the best time and place location on Joe on Friday afternoon, and then inshallah you'll be the one who starts Joomla and then starts Islamic activities, and Allah azza wa jal knows where that will lead, you know, years or decades from now. So hope that inshallah answers your question.

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The next question I have is from SR Najwa. She does not mention her location, she mentioned that she is from a land where typically, women do not teach at co educational schools where the schooling is gender segregated. However, she has now moved to another land, where CO education is the norm. Her profession is a schoolteacher, and now she is feeling, you know, shy that am I able to teach in such a situation there will be boys and girls over there. And she is not accustomed to teaching boys. She's only accustomed to teaching girls. So she asks, is there any Islamic prohibition, for her to teach young men, given that the culture that she's now in is CO educational, the response to this,

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the issue of intermixing of the genders, the intermixing of men and women is one that the Sharia has some guidelines, and then the Sharia allows the rest of it to be dictated by culture. This is a very important point. In some aspects, the Shediac takes complete control, and it will tell you do this and don't do that. In other aspects, the shady AI will be silent and culture will dictate. And in some, there's a little bit of shady and mixed with the rest of it will be culture and intermixing of the genders is one such area where the Shetty eye has some guidelines, and then the rest can be culture sensitive. In other words, if you fulfill the shadowy guidelines, the rest is going to be

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dependent on the culture of the land that you live in. And so we have, for example, from the Sharia, when it comes to intermixing. When it comes to men and women interacting together, we have some very simple guidelines, and of the most important guidelines, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Let no man enter upon a lady whose husband is absent meaning has gone on a journey, because remember, those days the man would go for many weeks or months on end, and so the lady will be left alone in the house. So the Profit System said, Let no man enter into the house of somebody who has gone traveling and his lady is his wife is there, you know, absent from her husband, except that he

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has another man with him. So nobody should enter the house of a lady. So for example, somebody has to deliver some food somebody has to deliver groceries, somebody has to service something of the house or something. So nobody should enter in alone, there should not be privacy, there should be somebody there that is also with the person so that everybody maintains a decorum and the proper characteristic. Also, we know that the shady app has forbidden halwa and halwa means that a man and a woman that are obviously not related to one another that they are alone in a place that nobody has access to. So a closed room or something of this nature. This is considered Hello, the Sharia also

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has guidelines. With regards to dress with regards to interactions, both genders have to be dressed appropriately. Both genders have to act in a dignified manner, avoid flirtatious talk, speak in a manner that, you know gives the sense of gravitas and decorum that is appropriate for our religion of Islam, because we all understand the reasons why these laws have come is that we protect the institution of marriage, we do not open up any doors of evil. Now, given all of these laws beyond this, how much can the two genders interact and mix together? For example, can you know families that come together, couples friends come together? And they're sitting together on the same dining

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table? You know, various friends and their you know, husbands and wives all come together? And they're sitting at the same dining table? Believe it or not, this is culture sensitive. And I know for some of my viewers, they've never heard of this that why is this question even being asked. And again, the more you travel, the more you live in different cultures, the more you understand that different societies have different norms. For example, in more conservative lands like Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, it is very, very rare, almost unheard of, for genders to be interacting together. And that in and of itself is neither Islamic nor and Islamic. That is the way that that

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culture is, frankly, the Sahaba if you look at if you read the seer Have you read the books of early Islam, the Sahaba had a level of interaction that was definitely more than the level of interaction that takes place in many of the Gulf countries in our times and public in the marketplace. In the bazaars in the massage it men and women knew each other by their first names, and they would address one another in public and ask a question that needed to be asked. There was no shame or harm in doing that, in our times in those societies, it is completely taboo. It is unheard of that a person is going to address somebody outside of his or her immediate family. And again, I'm not saying

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that's right. I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm simply telling you status quo that is the way that it is in those lines. And what I am saying the shady allows cultures to take charge and to you know, sometimes when the more segregation on site between genders and sometimes on the less segregation as long as it's barriers are met, and in fact this difference goes back to the very

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Beginning of Islam and it goes back to the cultures and societies in the early days of Islam. In the famous book The motto of Imam Malik, which is the earliest book of Hadith that has been written or one of the earliest books of Hadith. My mother died 179 Hijra in the motto of Imam Malik, a man asked Imam Malik that basically can a man and his wife sit with a guest and entertain them on the same dinner table basically, right. So basically somebody has come and you know, the wife and husband are sitting there and can they eat together partake of the meal together, and Imam Malik said there is no sin, there is no hemorrhage there is no problem in this as long as it is the custom

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of their people to do so. And in Medina at that time, it was the custom to do so it wasn't an issue that men and women, as long as they're dressed appropriately, they're sitting on the same if we're obviously didn't have a table tables came later on, but they're sitting on the same area and they're sitting together to eat. Now, Imam didn't humble heard or read this anecdote from Imam Malik Imam Muhammad was in Baghdad, this is 100 years, your little bit more than 100 years later. So Imam Muhammad read this anecdote, not quite 100. But you know, about 80 years after this. So you've

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heard of this anecdote, many decades later. And he read of this, and he was in Baghdad, and in Baghdad, because of the culture and because of the wealth. And by the way, another issue generally, it's not the rule of thumb, but generally speaking, the more wealth and the more privilege that came in those societies, the more segregation was possible. And you know, the more rudimentary type of lifestyle, you know, it didn't allow for that type of segregation. So but that is not the capital of the world, not just the Muslim world. It is the political and intellectual and economic capital of the world. It is the largest city, the wealthiest city by the time, Muhammad Muhammad. And so Mr.

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Muhammad heard or read of this, and he was the generation goes to Egypt, he was amazed he was astonished, like, wow, Imam Malik allowed this because in his time in his place, it was unheard of that, you know, men and women would sit at the same place that were not related to one another, and then partake of that meal. So Mr. Muhammad understood, that's a different culture and in our culture, and bothered that that is something that is not going to happen. So this is something that does vary from time to place to culture to civilization, and therefore, as long as the Islamic rulings are met, which is appropriate interactions, appropriate dressing, you know, everything is

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that the Sharia has asked no halwa. All of this is done. The rest, as we said, is culture sensitive. So this lady, the sister asks our sister Najwa, I'm assuming she's coming from a gulf country, because that's really generally where coeducation is completely segregated. And now she is living in a land where it is now not segregated. So she is asking, is there a shoulder a prohibition, and the response is that there is no shutter a prohibition per se, as long as she is dressed appropriately. And interactions are shallow, I'm assuming obviously, will all be done in a manner that is dictated by the Sharia, in and of itself, there is no hierarchy or problem with men and women interacting in

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public in a dignified manner. That having been said, and by the way, your mama no, we mentioned this, in his book allege more. I remember no, we mentioned that. And that is because a lot of men and women, the mixing of men and women is not haram in and of itself. As long as it is not done in Hello, as long as it is not one man, one woman mixing in the privacy of one's or you know, being alone in the privacy of a house or something, then this is not something that is haram, per se, this is your mama no, we writing this, that there's nothing wrong with many women being in public together and tracting together in public it that's not haram, per se. That having been said, I must

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also point out that in me having said this, I also have to add the caveat, which is that plenty of studies have shown that especially you know, in the adolescence phase, that it is in fact better for young men and young women to be separated during the educational process, it is in fact far more conducive for a better academic environment, it is more conducive to study to higher grades to concentrating. And that is understood that that is an age from especially from the age of let's say 13 to 18. And even beyond this, that that is an age where, you know, you're you're you're you're bringing together, you know, two opposites that are definitely going to attract, and it does have

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its share of dangers. Now, of course, this is not to address your particular questions. This isn't engineers, where because you are not in control of the society you're in. I'm merely pointing out to that, especially for my audience that finds this question, you know, strange or troubling and I do have members of audience that are also from all sides of the spectrum, where you know, sometimes the question itself is too liberal or too conservative, whatnot. And, again, I'm somebody who's trying to cater to many different audiences here.

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And my point is that I understand you problematize the question Oh my God, how can somebody asked about such a simple question, of course gender should be interacting together. And my response is that well, that's the society you and I have been born into this this society, where the concept of gender segregation is almost unheard of, dare I say, almost nobody of the next generation can even imagine a society where genders are pushed to not necessarily just be together where there should be a natural segregation, if not an actual segregation, which is enforced in some Gulf countries, the Sharia, without a doubt, would suggest some form of natural, healthy segregation when there's no

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need to be intermixing. The very notion of gender segregation, the very notion of having men and women not necessarily completely integrated with one another is alien to many people who are listening to this question because they've never imagined or seen or visualized a society where that is possible. As somebody who's lived in both types of societies where gender segregation was harshly enforced, and where there's complete intermixing let me tell you, honestly, there are definitely very major pros and cons. In both of these. There's no question about that. There's major pros and cons. It's not that simplistic. And the point is that, we also need to understand that there is a

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lot of good as well. And perhaps the perhaps the good is far more than the bad, where there is some type of of segregation that is there. And we see this in simple statistics of our society in our time in our place. It is estimated that according to some leader surveys that up to 60% of teenagers have high school we're talking about high school, up to 60% of them are engaging in premarital intercourse. This is an America that is a staggering statistic. You're talking about 17 year olds, 16 year olds, and more than half of them or engaging in premarital, what do you think is going to happen? What do you think that's going to cause? Is that something that is healthy or not? And by

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the way of that, you know, around 5% or so are actually, you know, in middle school also basically below the age of 13? They are beginning I mean, what is going to happen when you have daily interactions between the genders at this age and you know, the hormones are just coming in? Is that something that is really the wisest or not. So all of this having been said, the sister is asking a very specific question and I'm saying it is halal and permissible, I still point out that we should also understand the shady I does have a lot of wisdom. And even if some things might be permissible, it's permissible to interact in public with the opposite gender, still some amount of healthy

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segregation where we have without going overboard because again, we definitely have to take into account that a horse segregation does is counterproductive in a society where that segregation does not take place. And I've spoken about this in other areas and issues. But again, to be very clear that in lands where gender segregation is unheard of, to try to force, a very strict segregation within our communities, and within our misogyny is completely counterintuitive and counterproductive. Because if especially given the technology and whatnot, it's not going to achieve its goals, rather, what I'm suggesting is a healthy and organic segregation. And that's something

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that every community should come together and have a very frank discussion, a very open discussion between various gender, the two genders and various segment age segments as well. Very important you bring the young men and women you bring the elders, and you have a frank conversation that Okay, should we have a barrier or not? For example, should we have this in that, for example, at the time of the Prophet sallallahu, either he was setting them men and women will be entering from one door and honorable hubub Radi Allahu and suggested he said, O Messenger of Allah, why don't we assign that door to the women and that door to the men and the process and readily agreed? So here's that

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organic segregation where Why Should men or women be jostling and shoving through the same door if they're able to, they weren't able to or that I didn't, didn't come in the beginning, if they're able to, let's say, have two separate doors. We know that in the time of the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam, there was not a physical barrier, but the women were at the back and the men were at the front, that's a natural, healthy segregation is not something that is enforced by a wall. Rather, it's you know, and in fact, it is authentically narrated that the lady was having trouble hearing what the processor said. So she leaned forward and she said, you know, dear brother, may

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Allah have mercy on you. What did the Prophet system say? And the brother leaned back in an answer or he said, such as this an authentic hadith, in Muslim by Muhammad and others that they said, I couldn't hear what the President said. So I leaned forward as they may Allah have mercy on you. Can you tell me that shows that there's just a barrier? I mean, I'm not a barrier, a space between them, but there was interaction going on and there's nothing wrong with that. Why should there be something wrong with that? So my point being the sister is asking a question, the response is very straightforward that it isn't

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fact not problematic at all. That having been said it raises the broader question about gender interaction and if the last word is called an Arabic ft lot, and the response is that in and of itself as Imam No, we said an amount of intermixing is natural and a part of society in and of itself is not haram. Nonetheless, one should be aware that the Sharia does understand that just unbridled mixing, let's say does is not something that is healthy, it is not the default. We should try our best to be reasonable and disregard that, given the circumstances of society take into account the norms of our Sharia and have a middle ground in our communities and our massages and

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Allah subhanho wa Taala knows best.

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We have an email from Sister Zara from Leicester who says that she listens to the Quran as much as she can while driving and her in her house. But she came across a verse in the Quran which says that when the Quran was recited, one must stop everything and listen attentively. So she is asking whether it is permissible to have the Quran playing in the background when she's driving. Or when she's doing housework. She might not be actively listening, is she sinful for this or not?

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The response to this question the verse that our sisters are from Leicester, by the way, when I used to go to England, frequently in the beginning I would say my sister because that's how it's spelt and I made a big embarrassment or myself when I visited the city and I mispronounce the name because it's spelt like sister but it is pronounced Leicester. So in from the city of Leicester she emails and she asks about this verse in the Quran. The verse that she is referencing is certain are off verse 204. So to fill out offers for 204 Allah subhanaw taala says, What either Cody Al Quran or for STEMI Rula who were insanely to come to our honeymoon, when the Quran was recited, then pay

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attention to it and be quiet so that you may achieve Allah's mercy. So the Quran this verse here gives us the ideal situation the ideal scenario and that is that when the Quran is played, you should pay attention to it.

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We the Quran HuFa stemmy ruler who will answer to istemi means to pay full attention,

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excuse me, will answer to means that you be quiet and you are not you know doing something that's going to be against the fact that you're paying full attention so that you may achieve Allah's mercy. Now this first tells us the ideal and the ideal is that you listen to the Quran as an action of worship because realize when it comes to the Quran, there are two separate actions number one reciting number two listening it is authentically reported that our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked obey Ibn Kab to recite the Quran to Him and OBEY said O Messenger of Allah, do you want me to recite the Quran to you and it was revealed to you? And he said yes, because I love to listen

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to his recitation as well. So to recite the Quran is an act of worship, to listen to his recitation is an act of worship. Therefore, the ideal is that you listen to the Quran as an action of worship. Now, the question arises, are you allowed to listen to the Quran while you're not paying full attention? Let's divide this into two scenarios. The first scenario is that the Quran is being played and there is no intention to even listen to it. And that there is in fact, something disruptive going on that the ambience or the atmosphere that the Quran is being played in, is not conducive. It's not meant to be listened to at all. And there are examples of this as well, that

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Imam will also be, for example, says that when this verse came down, because when the Quraysh would hear the Quran, that they would raise their voices out of arrogance, and they would start blabbering away or saying anything, so that people would not listen to the Quran. So this verse came down, that telling the Muslims don't follow that action. What was that action to intentionally disrupt the recitation of the Quran to do something obnoxious and rude? This is only very dangerous could be a type of comfort even if you intentionally want to disrespect the Quran by doing something of this nature. But what if you're, again not intentionally doing something but still not wanting to pay

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attention? In this case it is mcru or maybe even haram. The famous humbly scholar al Bahati says in Krishna Falconer, he says that even artell mentions that it is not allowed It is haram, for the Quran to be recited in the market places. Meaning what does he mean? So again, pause here, we're not talking about somebody wanting to recite and he's reciting of his own accord. We're talking about somebody brings the audit and says, Hey, I want you to recite over here we're talking about an intentional setup where the Quran is being recited and people are just talking away and transacting and whatnot. In other words, Imam Hootie, one of the great

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humbly icons, he's basically saying, don't have the Quran as background in the SWAK. And you know, sometimes we visit supermarkets and places around the world. And me personally, I just say I don't like the fact that the Quran is being played in the entire marketplaces. I know sometimes it feels good. And I understand that but at the same time in the bazaars and the supermarkets I personally, I find this again, like, like, like emo booty said that people are going to be negotiating bargaining, they're arguing things happen in the marketplace that again, might not necessarily be the best. So

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that having been said, I can see, in some circumstances if you're in a land where there are people of different ethnicities and cultures and faiths and one shopkeeper has the Quran playing so that people know that this is let's say, you know, a shop that is owned by Muslim I can see a reason over there. But still Just to have the Quran playing for the sake of having the Quran playing in a massive supermarket or a bazaar or something of this nature, I find this to be, you know, not the best because it's not the place that the Quran should be recited, there is an element that you're you're you're just doing something that may be the majority of people are not interested in

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listening to that this is the first scenario. And I would say that it is definitely best as the default. I'm not saying in every scenario as the default to not intentionally play the Quran, in an area where people are not really interested in listening to it. Now, that having been said, again, there are so many exceptions, some of our scholars allowed the Quran to be played in a public area amongst non Muslims that have never listened to the Quran so that they can listen to something still, there are pros and cons. And again, each case situation should be decided on a case by case basis. That's the first scenario, I would still say the default is more on the side of caution to

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not play the second scenario, which is what you are saying there is not so so let's to give an example of the first scenario you have the Quran playing, and you have a movie playing out loud as well. In your own house, why would you have the Quran playing? And some things happening on the television that are not appropriate or music being played? And you are in control of both? You're the one who put the Quran and then you know somebody else or whatever, or maybe even yourself are watching there? Why would there be that you don't want that clash to happen? Do you it's not something that is appropriate. But your question is number two second scenario, and that is that you

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are wanting to listen to the Quran. That's why you're putting it on the background. But you're also multitasking, okay? That's the difference. Scenario One, there is no intention to listen to the Quran is just being played, you know, just for noise or background, it's not something that is intended to be listened to scenario two, you are not able to listen to the Quran 100%, but you want to listen to it, and you're putting it on, while you're multitasking. You're saying for example, you're cleaning the house, you're ironing the clothes, you're cooking, you know you're doing something, and the Quran is playing, and you are listening to it. But you are also multitasking,

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this scenario is separate from the first one. And this scenario. Yes, it is true. Some of our modern scholars have discouraged it, including our teachers are coming out with me and a lot humble. But there are many scholars that have allowed it. And I believe that given the circumstances that we live in, the allowance seems to be the better of the two options. Because your goal is to listen to it, even if it's 50% 40% you're wanting to listen to it. And especially if you're memorizing or listening to a sutra that you love, and you're just going over the meanings over and over again. The goal here is for the baraka it is for the recitation, and you're putting it on while you're

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multitasking. In shallow data, this does not contradict, there is no sin associated with it because the alternative is nothing. You see, here's the point. If you were to shut it off, what would you do stuff for the law some people would put on something, you know, that is no equivalent to the Quran as background, we don't want that either. So given the circumstances where people are turning away from the book of Allah anyway, for a mother to put this on, and the children you know, are, you know, toddlers, they're raising, they're being raised to listen to the Quran, what a beautiful, you know, environment and ambience to be to be raised up in this matter. And so in my humble opinion,

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and Allah subhanho wa Taala knows best that if it is the second scenario again, what is the first scenario that is being played and there's zero intention to listen to it in this case, no, do not play it do not play it because it is not appropriate to turn on the the you know, audio or the YouTube or the CD or the cassettes, whatever it is. Does anybody still use cassettes? I don't know. But anyway, I used to have hundreds of Quran cassettes grandpa had an entire section of my, you know, hundreds of all of the core values, but that was back in the days of the 80s. And then the days of the CDs came in and these days, nothing is just all online. Subhanallah so my point is that

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you're going to put on the Quran. And nobody wants to listen to it in the entire household, including you know, that's not appropriate. You put

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Quran on scenario two and you are multitasking one part of you is listening the other part of you is cleaning doing the chores in sha Allah to Allah that is permissible and it does not contradict the verse because there is a level of insult and a level of esteem going on. There is a level of you want to listen and a level of okay I want to put the Quran and because I want to listen to the meaning and the beauty of the Quran, so inshallah Allah that is permissible, and Allah subhanho wa Taala knows best.

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The next question is a very difficult one. And the brother has explicitly asked that he remained anonymous, no names being mentioned here, the brother writes that he has been self diagnosed, let's say with gender dysphoria since his childhood, he says that, even though he was born male, that he never felt masculine. And that he is being very clear that he does not want to do gender reassignment, nor does he want to dress like the other gender. And he does love Allah and the religion of Islam. But he is worried because of two things. Number one, because of the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in which he said that there is the learner on the Mohan

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nithiin, while mythology law says that those men who act like women and those women who act like men, and he is saying that he is a bit feminine by his appearance, and by his manner, manners and characteristics, even though he does not try to do so. And so he is worried that this hadith apply to him. And the second is that he has heard that it is haram for men and women to remain single to refrain from marriage. So now he is worried that if he does not wanting to get married, because he says he has no inclinations whatsoever, for that deed with women, he has zero desires. And so he is now asking, Is it permissible for me to remain single and not get married?

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This question is a very sensitive one. And reading this brother's email, it really made me feel his faith and his struggle. And I want to just reach out to you, dear brother in Islam, that your your letter and your email, I'm summarizing, obviously, in the for the audience, it was much longer than this, your email really moved me. And it made me genuinely feel your strength of faith that you explicitly said that I am struggling with these emotions. Even as I recognize, you know, Islam has a different understanding. And I'm not wanting to change or challenge the religion, but I'm wanting to ask about these emotions that I have. And so I really want to mention that I felt the sincerity in

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your email, and I really felt that you are in Charlotte and a strong believer I could sense that you're you're trying your best to be a good Muslim, and it really made me feel so happy to read your your email. So I want to tell you point blank, that never lose hope and do not feel guilty for things beyond your control. Never lose hope of Allah's mercy. Allah subhanaw taala is the Rahman and Rahim Allah is the hub for Allah azza wa jal loves the creation. And he has tested all of us in different ways. And the reasons for that test or for our for our own good one, we pass the test, the rewards will be immense, and the rewards are proportional to the struggles, the rewards are

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proportional to the struggles. And therefore it is very possible that in your struggle, you will achieve a much higher position in the eyes of Allah than the majority of mankind. Do not ever feel guilty for something beyond your control. There's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with the way that you desire or you feel. And here's the key point of our faith. It's so beautiful. Allah subhanho wa Taala does not criminalize feelings and emotions, there is nothing that is sinful in a desire. It's beyond your control. But what the Shetty eye does come is that it tells us certain desires should not be acted upon, certain desires should be controlled, and other desires may be

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acted upon who gets to decide, see, here's another key difference. And I don't go into a bit of a tangent here. But you see, we're living at a time and a place where there is another dominant ideology. I mean, you can call it humanism, you can call it liberalism, and of course, humanism and liberalism, they overlap, there's an element of it together, secularism, these are all various ideologies, humanism, really, it posits human beings as the center of the universe, and therefore everything is about me, myself and I, everything is about what I want, what are my desires, what are my passions? If I want to do something, I should be able to do it. That's the basic philosophy of

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humanism. And the modern Western cultures that we live in are basically manifestations of this philosophy, where the dominant

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methodology of deriving ethics and deriving what is right and wrong, really goes down to your own desires. And Allah says in the Quran, whatever tebal Hakoah Hula, hula first December what Robert Murphy him. If truth, were contingent upon the desires of people, then all that is in the heaven, earth would become corrupt desires do not dictate Ultimate Truths, I desire things, some of them are good for me, some of them are bad for me, every human being desires things and some of those desires are permissible and and some of them are permissible with conditions and some are completely impermissible. Who gets to decide some broader topic here. But obviously, as people of faith we

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believe our religion decides what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. And, if you believe hamdulillah and the truth of Islam, which Alhambra our questioner does, but if you believe in the truth of Islam, then of the fundamentals of our religion, without a shadow of a doubt, it is explicit in in the whole philosophy of the Sharia is that there are two default genders. And these two genders are not the same word ASA that could weaken. The man is not like the woman the woman is not like the man and Allah azza wa jal created us from a man and a woman and Allah subhanaw taala created everything in pairs when an inquisition katakana, XO, Janie, and Allah

00:41:20--> 00:42:02

created for each of us, the spouse, the gender that is the others that kala kala Coleman and fusuma, as virgin he created from us, for us spouses so that we can find tranquillity, there is a wisdom in the separate in the distinction of the two genders, the two genders are not the same. Obviously, we're now coming to a timeframe for the first time in human history, brothers and sisters, this is something unprecedented in any culture, any society, any era, any civilization, where the claim is being made, that genders themselves are imaginary constructs, that there is nothing different about the two genders. And of course, you know, that is utterly nonsensical, it goes against every single

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facet of biology, of Anatomy of every everything that makes him a woman, our chromosomes are different, everything about us is different in terms of our looks, our functionality, everything is different the claim that there is no such thing as genders, this is a claim that is not based on on lived realities, it is simply words that come out of somebody's mouth in our times. Now, the claim also that gender roles are social constructs, while gender roles are different than genders gender roles, perhaps some elements of it are social constructs. At the same time, in every single society from the beginning of time, there have been gender roles and all those gender roles are society

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specific, no doubt, no doubt about that. But no society has taken genders to be absolutely equivalent in every single responsibility that is handed down to people. So that's a more broader topic, but inshallah one day we might get there the point that your question is very specific, and you will answer your question obviously, because it is much more much more broad topic here. It this topic, by the way, is deserving, much longer treatment and inshallah one day I do plan to address this in a full lecture or maybe bits and pieces in various lectures, to answer your question. There are, of course, many different types of, you know, individuals, we are not in this question, dealing

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with a category that is called intersex and intersex individuals are individuals that are born with genders that are ambiguous, or both genders or the doctors are basically having to do a surgery. And that's a small percentage of mankind less than 1%, they say is intersex. We're not talking about those that are born at you know, from birth, they have permutations of their chromosomes that are not the typical XX and XY. That's a separate category. Your question is not related to that, that category, we will answer perhaps in another lecture or question, it is not the topic of your question, what you're asking about comes under a type of check transgender issue. And of course, the

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term transgender itself is an umbrella term, it also embodies or incorporates many different categories, you know, you have genders that are biologically born in one male or female, and they want to act or imitate the other or they want to dress like the other this is known as drag, let's say the drag dressing this takes place the cross dressing that takes place, you have those that are born in one gender, and they want to change over to the other gender, and they do so in our times by surgery or by hormones, so they undertake actual changes, where the man will take hormones to, you know, get, you know, the natural breasts if you like and also maybe even do the surgery to get rid

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of the male organ and implant a female organ in its place, or the female mind.

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to implant you know, for the male organ, and this is now possible from a medical perspective. So you have those that are undertaking this. And then you have those that they don't necessarily want to do the surgery operation but they want to take on the the appearance and the looks of the other. And by the way, there are also those that have undertaken the surgery and then rediscovered Islam or converted to Islam then I've had cases myself where a person embraced Islam, and they were born of one biological gender, they they did the surgeries, they became the other gender and then they embraced Islam and the fatwa was asked for me, whether this person should be treated in terms of

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filkin in terms of inheritance and in terms of where they they should pray, whether they should be treated as the birth gender or as the post surgery gender. So there are many questions Inshallah, bit by bit, you know, over the course of the next few weeks or months, we'll answer them bit by bit, your question was very specific, you are born biologically male, you have no biological issue in terms of your chromosomes, everything is normal, you are fully functional male, however, you are saying that you are inclined to want to be a female, and you feel like acting or dressing like one, but you say that you understand that it is not something that should be done. So you have curbed

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this emotion, and you are absolutely correct your brother that you are that the Sharia does not allow, it does not encourage In fact, there is an authentic hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that the curse is on land, the land is on the Mohan nithiin, and then Matera juillet that the Mohan Nithin are those amongst the men who imitate women who are acting like women dressing like women, and then Ouattara gelato? Are those women who act like men, or who dress like men or who try to appear like, men. So this is your specific question. We're not going to go to the other questions right now. And you are worried that you're saying some of the characteristics you have have been

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deemed to be effeminate, and you're worried does this apply to you or not? And I say to not at all, anything that is not in your control, Allah azza wa jal has lifted the pen that there are certain people that they naturally have a certain pitch, or a certain appearance, or a certain way of walking that they are not trying to do it just happens that they are doing that, or they have a high pitched voice, or they have very less facial hair or whatever it might be, obviously, there is no sin in that whatsoever. Mm hmm. No, he mentions when he mentioned this hadith, in Sahih, Muslim, it is also Muslim, he then comments on this hadith, he said, There are two types or there are two

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categories of Mohan, none of this type of you know, effeminacy, the first of them is that which is natural, and a person does not do anything extra. But rather these characteristics are effeminate, anyway, and this type of characteristic, there is no sin on it, and there is no harm on it. And in fact, there is nothing that is problematic if a person is naturally you know, maybe the appearance or maybe the voice or maybe the natural thing that they're born in a certain manner. This is Allah's creation, there's nothing that can be done about that some men's voices are much deeper than others and some men have a much higher pitched voice. Some men, you know, are much more, you know, hovered

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might be and others are. That's the whole spectrum there, as long as they're not going out of their way. They're not conditioning themselves, they're not forcing something and it is coming. And the same goes for women, some women might have a deeper voice than others, and some women might have an appearance that is different than others. All of this is beyond our control. There is nothing as Mr. Manoli Says law is similar I will ask them what are Kuba mentioned four things there is no problem whatsoever, and this person is forgiven and an excused even no issue whatsoever. The second category mama no, we says is menyatakan level, the one who tries and goes out of his way to try to be the

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opposite gender and to dress like the opposite gender and to act like the opposite gender and to have the demeanor of the opposite gender, that is the person who is castigated, who is chastised that is the person upon whom this hadith will apply. So this is something that in a moment, no, he himself said and therefore you ask that are you sinful for your natural, you know demeanor, and whatnot, that response is a resounding no. There is no sin on your whatsoever how your, you know, your, your natural way that you speak or you act or you talk that's beyond your control, you are forgiven for doing that. Nonetheless, you have to be careful that you stay within the dress codes

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and the cultural manifestations of gender of your time and your place what is considered to be dignified, which varies from culture to culture. Again, that's an another important point and facet that is beyond the scope of this brief question. But again, different societies have different you

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You know, manifestations and what is to be considered masculine, what is considered feminine and what is, you know, the proper, dignified manner for each of the two genders. This is something that does slightly vary, but overall there are certain characteristics that are indeed considered to be masculine and others that are feminine, you try your best to stick with the gender that you're you're born in as much as you can, what is beyond your control, you are forgiven for as for your second question about marriage, then you have misheard This is simply not the case. A person is not sinful for remaining single, perhaps you misunderstood that a person who remains single thinking

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that it is religious to do so IE he wants to get married, or she wants to get married. And they think that no, not getting married will get me rewards by Allah, that is sinful. That is a deviation. That is a bit. That's the heresy. We don't have monasticism in Islam. We do not have monasticism in Islam. And therefore, we do not intentionally avoid marriage for the sake of Allah. No. However, if you don't have the inclination to get married, and you want to live your life as single life, there is no question that that is completely permissible. Why would it be problematic to remain single for the rest of your life, you are saying you have no inclination to be married,

00:51:19--> 00:51:57

that is perfectly acceptable, and you may remain single for the rest of your life, and it's not going to be any sin upon you. In fact, in your case, it might even be preferred. And if you were to consider marriage, you would have to explain to your spouse, that, you know, you're not interested in an intimacy or whatever. And, you know, I have heard of cases where two people have found of a similar nature, meaning that maybe there are women as well, that are just wanting companionship, but not the intimacy part, for example, and you're just wanting to have a life partner. Because obviously, you're going to live the rest of your life, it's nice to have somebody you know, to share

00:51:57--> 00:52:33

that life with, even if you don't have children together. And I have actually heard of these cases where, you know, people that are not on the same, you know, persuasions as most of mankind, where they, they have agreed to just come together for a civil union. And then the guy has a marriage, like a man and a woman. Their inclinations are different. They're not like the, you know, the the normative inclination. And so they decide to just come together, and they're aware of it, there's no cheating going on. Because again, you have to be very careful that it has happened to in to me that people have come to me that a man was feeling in a particular manner, he's not attracted to women

00:52:33--> 00:53:08

and whatnot, but he got married. And now the woman is now you know, coming to me and saying, he has never touched me, or he's never approached me. And, you know, he has told me that he's desires and such and such, and they knew this before marriage, and this is wrong, completely wrong, you cannot get married, knowing that you're not going to fulfill the obligations of your spouse without even telling your spouse this. But my point to you is consider that there are people who do believe in the Shediac Hamdulillah, and they want to follow the Sharia, and they have inclinations that are not necessarily the normative inclinations. And if two such people of the opposite gender, were to find

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one another and get married just for the sake of companionship for the sake of whatever if they want to, again, there's no there's no obligation, but perhaps that might be an option for you. In the end of the day. I just wanted to say that really your your question, I found it very moving, and I was very touched by it and ask ALLAH SubhanA wa Jalla to make your affairs easy for you. And I want to say that in the struggle that you are undergoing that in sha Allah to Allah, this is your agenda, this is your salvation, that this is the way that you will get your rewards from Allah subhanho wa taala. And it is very possible, you know, you're feeling guilty for who you are. No, it is very

00:53:44--> 00:54:07

possible. You are better than all of us simply because you are struggling in a way that very few of us can relate to and understand and you are at hamdulillah looks like you're conquering and you're winning in that struggle. That's the sign of Eman. So keep up the good work, turn to Allah subhanho wa Taala constantly made lots of dua to Allah subhanho wa Taala remain steadfast and firm. And in that struggle and perseverance shall be your Jana.

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Our last question for today a very simple, very easy one brother Suleiman emails and asks that these days because of the COVID crisis, everybody is using alcohol based sanitizers. So what is the root ruling or verdict? Because it is alcohol based? Can we use alcohol based sanitizers? Or must we find sanitizers that are non alcoholic based? The response to this question is that the use of alcohol on the external body to cleanse one skin, you know, to to to cleansing the bacteria and to kill the you know, germs and whatnot, that this is completely permissible. And in fact, the position that I advocate and I have spoken about this in more detail than another q&a, please log on and do a

00:54:50--> 00:55:00

search. I don't remember the title of it, I think is alcohol nurse or something. But I've given a very long lecture about this controversy and the evidence is of both sides, but the position that

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I advocate and I'm very confident inshallah to Allah is that alcohol is not even just not just in the first place to be applied as a solvent on the skin or in the creams or in the lotions or in the perfumes, this is not the drinking alcohol at all and the chemical compound component of ethanol of ethanol is not Niger's. So, it is not something that you should be worried about. You may apply alcohol based sanitizers and it will not break your will do you will not have to wash yourself with water after use that before you you know you will you will apply it and you can pray with the alcohol based sanitizers is completely permissible to use and Allah subhanho wa Taala knows best.

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This brings us to the conclusion of today's q&a inshallah we'll see you all next week to Xochimilco Saramonic Muhammad's wild water casual

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feminine Jaffe any fella is gnarly he woman that I follow fella is now really hilly man Manny dunkel what Delco long hour. Oh, and Uncle Elaine, to show