Frequently Asked Questions

Legal Punishments

Designed to protect society and deter crime. Implementation is conditional; victims have the right to forgive personal crimes. Private sins are between the individual and God.

Warfare and Captives

War is for defense and protecting the oppressed, not for terrorism. Non-combatants (elderly, women, children, clergy) must be spared. Prisoners must be treated well and not tortured.

Sin and Divine Forgiveness

Humans are fallible, but God's mercy is boundless. Sincere repentance is always available until death. Simple acts like shaking hands or patience through hardship can expiate sins.

Relations with Non-Muslims

Lawful financial dealings, visiting the sick, and maintaining kinship are encouraged. Muslims must protect non-Muslims who seek it. Insulting their faith is forbidden. Non-Muslim residents are entitled to state welfare in old age.

Status and Rights of Women

Women are afforded honor ("The best of you are the best to their wives"). They have independent financial rights (dowry, inheritance) and are not required to spend on the household. They have rights to child custody and religious exemptions during menstruation/post-natal periods.

Propagation (Da'wah)

Calling to Islam must be done with "wisdom and good instruction." New converts have previous sins forgiven.

Numerous allowances ensure worship is not an unbearable burden.

Purification

If water is scarce, "dry ablution" (Tayammum) is permitted. Wiping over socks is allowed. Most clean places on earth are suitable for prayer.

Prayer

Prayers can be shortened (from 4 to 2 units) and combined during travel, sickness, or rain. One can pray sitting or lying down if unable to stand.

Zakah

Obligatory only if wealth meets a threshold. Waived for the poor. Agricultural dues are halved if the farmer actively irrigates.

Fasting

Travelers, the sick, pregnant, or nursing women can break fast and make it up later. The elderly can feed the poor instead.

Hajj (Pilgrimage)

Obligatory only once in a lifetime for those physically and financially able. Proxies are allowed for those with means but no physical ability.


Core Beliefs

  • No Compulsion: Faith must stem from the heart by choice (Quran 2:256).
  • Judgment on Actions: Muslims judge based on observable actions, not inner intentions.
  • Universal Justice: Fairness is mandated for all, regardless of faith or status.
  • Freedom from Servitude: Worship is directed solely to God; no human is deified.

The Nature of Shari'ah

Divine law is unchanging and absolute. There is no priesthood; every individual has a direct link to God. Extremism is rejected in favor of a moderate path.

Mechanisms for Flexibility

  • Default Lawfulness: All things are lawful unless proven otherwise.
  • Removing Harm: "Desperate needs legalize the unlawful" (e.g., survival food).
  • Ijtihad: Scholars can derive rulings for new situations not explicitly mentioned in texts.

Ease and tolerance are the methodological underpinnings of Islam,  distinguishing it as a system that accommodates human nature.

Core Principle

"Making things easy is a general feature of all aspects of the Islamic faith." This is supported by the Quran: "He has laid no hardship on you in anything that pertains to religion." (22:78).

Prophetic Endorsement

  • "The most beloved matter to Allah is the tolerant faith that matches the natural disposition of man."
  • "Ease is not placed into something except that it would beautify it."
  • The Prophet Muhammad always chose the easier of two options unless it was sinful.

Scope of Tolerance

This methodology applies to political affairs (justice toward non-combatants), societal matters (nobility based on righteousness), behavior (forgiveness), economy (prohibition of usury), and education.

Important Distinction: Tolerance does not grant license to purposely break divine commandments under the "guise of leniency," except in cases of dire necessity.