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Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 858 Answers
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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi,
Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 4499 Answers
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Rebecca Masterton,
Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been teaching for seventeen years through different media, and has also worked in media for ten years, producing and presenting programs for several TV channels. 116 Answers
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Zoheir Ali Esmail,
Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 374 Answers
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Mateen Charbonneau,
Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi Howza since 2017. He has compiled and published several books, has filmed several documentaries on Islamic subjects and has also promoted Islamic propagation in US jails. 64 Answers
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Amina Inloes,
Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 730 Answers
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Abbas Di Palma,
Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK. 208 Answers
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Berak Hussain,
Berak Hussain is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) in Canada. She has a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Educational Counseling from the University of Ottawa. She speaks on a variety of Islamic and psychological issues bridging the connection and misconceptions around Islam and mental health and Islam and women. She has worked locally and internationally on a variety of mental health initiatives working tirelessly to break the stigma around the topic within the community. 1 Answer
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Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University. He obtained his Master's degree in Applied Ethics and now is a PhD candidate in Islamic Ethics besides doing his Bahse Kharej in Qom Hawza. 101 Answers
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Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla,
Zakira Shyrose Jaffer Dhalla is a graduate of York University in Canada from where she obtained a BA in Psychology and Sociology and a Masters in the field of Education. She lectures on Islam at mosques, universities, churches and interfaith gatherings and also recites majalises in Urdu, English and Gujarati. A published freelance writer, playwright, motivational speaker and Anti-Racist Educational Counsellor by profession, she conducts workshops on Race and Cultural sensitivity and often appears on TV program panels and radio talk shows to speak on Race Relations. 4 Answers
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Sayed Mohammad Saleh Qazwini,
Sayed Mohammad Saleh Qazwini has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MA from Wayne State University. He is a graduate of the Islamic Seminary of Qom, Iran. 3 Answers
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Nasim Walji Pirmohamed,
Nasim Walji Pirmohamed is a religious lecturer and a teacher in Islamic Religious Education, Holy Qur'an and Arabic language. She has translated works from Persian to English, and has been very active in working for the improvement of women’s condition and their mental health across many countries. 1 Answer
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Seyed Ali Shobayri,
Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the Islamic College of London. He also studied at the Hawza Ilmiyya of England and continues Hawza and Islamic studies with private teachers. 164 Answers
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Bismihi ta'ala
This engagement period, between the nikah and the wedding (or rukhsati) is a limbo time, where you are not single anymore, but should not consummate the marriage.
It is a time best used for getting to know each other. You will come to understand whether this is right decision, or not, and if any red flags, or something serious can be seen, calling things off before intimacy is by far better than after.
A very important point is the value of the zafaf night. The excitement of the wedding night, or zafaf night, is that the newlyweds become intimate for their first time, after waiting during their engagement, for this special night.
They observe all the mustahab things to do, on this night, reciting the prayer and the duas, and the husband washing the feet of the bride, and everything else.
It will be a memorable time for the husband and wife.
Loyalty to parents is a very serious moral requirement both sides need to have. You do not want to violate this trust by doing that, knowing the parents from both sides expect you both to wait for that special night. Therefore, morally you both have an obligation to be patient and wait for the wedding night, to consummate the marriage.
The strength of your commitment to each other is showing your high Akhlaqi standards to each other, and to your parents and parents-in-laws.
Although you might consider it as "societal traditions", but it is a very good thing. Of course, couples should avoid long periods of waiting from nikah to rukhsati. It is not good at all to have long engagements.
Let it be known that if one was to have sex during this time, it would technically be halal, and not considered as zina, but they have committed something morally wrong, unless their families both allow it, or in their specific culture, there is no zafaf/rukhsati, or such ceremonies.
And Allah knows best