1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

34 Questions

My wife asked for my opinion on courts that don't follow Sharia law. I don't believe in man-made courts, but we live in a country without Sharia. She called me a Kafir and accused me of Shirk before leaving. What should I do in this situation?
Zaid Alsalami

Bismihi ta'āla

Whatever your view may be about man-made laws and courts, it has nothing to do with shirk and kufr. It seems the issue your wife has with you is not about courts. What you should is try to mend the relationship, if you can, and avoid having these kind of arguments.

And Allah knows best
Is studying astrology for future predictions considered Shirk, and if so, why did Allah create this knowledge? Did our Imams (a) have an understanding of astrology?
Amina Inloes

The are a number of narrations indicating that the Imams (A) had comprehensive knowledge of astrology, and you can find them in books such as volume 55 of Bihar al-Anwar. (Whether one accepts them is a personal decision, but there are no narrations to the contrary.) One narration (the "Myrobalan Fruit") implies that astrology exists as a way to prove the existence of God and the prophets' knowledge from God. 

Whether or not astrology is considered shirk has tended to depend on worldview. If someone is an atheist and believes that there is no God but that the stars and planets control their destiny, then this is shirk. If someone believes that their fate is wholly fixed by astrology, and that God cannot change it, this is also theologically inappropriate.

If someone believes that God is in command of the entire universe, and astrology is part of the divine plan, and that our ultimate fate is in the hands of God, this is not shirk.

Some Muslims today are too eager to throw around the word "shirk" without thinking about what they are actually saying.  
Can you elaborate on why rape is not considered as sinful as Shirk in Islam? This question often arises from non-Muslims in India, and a detailed explanation would be helpful.
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Major sins are the most dangerous sins which lead to hellfire. We have many authentic narrations listing these major sins. Wasa’il al-Shia, volume 15, pages 313 to 331.

Rape is one of the major sins as it is a crime on innocent person which is more dangerous than destruction the Ka’ba (according to authentic Hadeeth), beside it includes another major sin of fornication. Rape is a complex major sin, that is why its punishment is very severe in Islam which is killing him.

Shirk is also one of the major sins as Allah (SWT) Says in Quran (Verily, Shirk is a very big injustice)(Sura Luqman; verse 13).

Wassalam.
If a person reprograms their brain to achieve beauty and high exam scores through the law of attraction and low-frequency messages, could this be considered Shirk?
Amina Inloes

Insofar as Allah has granted us an imaginative faculty and the creative faculty, it is not shirk to imagine a future that we would like, or to change our thinking (as long as it is not causing harm or something haraam).

Of course, you will still need to study for your exams!