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

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

57 Questions

Would Allah (SWT) still punish you eternally if you died without having full knowledge of Islam and, because of that lack of knowledge, got doubts during your lifetime in aspects of Islam that were obligatory to believe in sincerely?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Ignorance can be unavoidable and can be avoidable. Unavoidable ignorance is of those who have to access to knowledge like those who live and die in far away forests or remote areas with out any access to learning or asking knowledgeable persons. Unavoidable ignorance  is not entitled to punishment because it was imposed on the ignorant and he had no choice.
Avoidable ignorance is a result of laziness or not caring to gain knowledge. Such ignorance is not pardoned. The narration states that sinful person will told on the Day of Judgement : Why did you fail to do good? He replies: I did not know. He will told: Why did you fail to learn? Then he will be punished.

'This means that gaining compulsory knowledge is also compulsory and those who were able to gain it,byte they opt to ignore or don't care for gaining the compulsory knowledge are responsible about their ignorance, unlike those ignorant who had no access at all to knowledge.

Wassalam.
Though I am married according to my will now I am not happy with my husband. I want to know if this is some kind of divine punishment due to the fact that I was excessively picky to choose a boy when my parents facilitated suitors for my marriage?
Amina Inloes

It can be very difficult to judge whether something happens due to divine punishment, versus due to natural cause and effect. It is often better to look at the situation in front of you and see what you can do about it.

There are often surprises after marriage, and being picky does not guarantee that one will be happy. People (especially younger people) also often don't know what they want until they find out, through experience, what they don't want. 

Anyway, I agree that it would be good to identify why you are not happy, and see if there is anything you can do about it. 

All you can do is your best, keeping in mind that a marriage has two sides, and if the other person is unable or unwilling to try to improve things, you can't fix it alone.  

With du'as!
Though I am married according to my will now I am not happy with my husband. I want to know if this is some kind of divine punishment due to the fact that I was excessively picky to choose a boy when my parents facilitated suitors for my marriage?
Zaid Alsalami

Bismihi ta'ala

What you did previously in rejecting marriage proposals of suitors, even though they met all the requirements that a woman should need for marriage was wrong.

Making wrong decisions also tends to affect all of us when we grow up and become more mature. We regret our immaturity and realise how negatively influenced we were by our false ideas or unrealistic expectations. Islam points this out in many hadiths, stressing on what the criteria needs to be for spouse selection, and if one neglects these recommendations, they will face many problems. 

It's very sad how we have distanced ourselves away from the teachings of Islam. 

Allah ta'ala also reminds us every once in a while how we need to mould our lives around our religion, and not turn our backs against Him. If we turn away we become miserable. We start to become negative, and even though we are surrounded with blessings, we do not see any of them. 

That being said, you should not blame your current situation on the past. You have free-will, and you choose your direction in life. You create your own mental state, and with your reliance on God and adherence to religion, you are able to have the best level of mental tranquility.

Do not think about punishment, or this unhappiness you are experiencing being because your past decisions creeping up on you, or karma, etc... This kind of thinking is not going to remove your unhappiness. 

Try to focus on why you are not happy with your husband. Is it solvable. Are there things that you or him or both of you can do to keep the marriage. What are you able to do to make your relationship survive?

Maybe both of you should visit a marriage counsellor who can teach both of you skills to improve your marriage. Maybe you should see a therapist who can give you tips on how to become happy in your life and in marriage. 

In any case, although you might have made wrong decisions in the past, it should not define who you are now, and you should not think of what you go through only as punishment from Allah ta'ala. Take control of your life and do the right thing.

Turn your previous mistakes into something positive and beneficial for others. Try to guide those around you and share your experience by informing others about marriage and spouse selection. All this will not just be forms of mental atonement, but also give you comfort that you are contributing to something good that other people can benefit from. 

With prayers for your success. 
I don't offer Fajr prayer intentionally in the sense that even if I keep an alarm I just turn it off and go back to sleep. What is the punishment for this and is there any way to get rid of this practice?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

It is obligatory on every Muslim to perform every obligatory Salat within its designated time. Salat Al-Fajr (Morning Prayer) is being neglected by many persons now a days because of the timing of the office hours and Business hours which made many people don’t get up for morning prayers. This cannot be an excuse at all because the Fajr prayer is obligatory under every circumstance. The narration from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him and His Holy Progeny) that the person who sleeps and does not perform morning prayer will be called from the sky “O Looser”.
These are some steps which can help the person who wants to perform morning prayers in time:
1)      To avoid sleeping late and try to sleep early to have enough hours of rest than get up fresh for morning prayer
2)      Avoiding overeating specially before sleeping as overeating can make the person heavy and not able to get up for morning prayer
3)      A firm decision in the heart with string will power to get up for morning prayer. This decision will help the person to get up as the narration from Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (A.S.) said “No body is weak when the will power is Strong”
4)      Reciting Quranic verses which are the Last Verses in Surat Al-Kahf   ( QUL INNAMA ANA BASHARUN MITHLOKUM YOUHA ILAYYA ANNAMA ILAAHUKUMBILAAHUN WAAHIDI FAMAN KANA YARJOO LIQAA'A RABBIHI FALYA'MAL 'AMALAN SAALIHAN WALA YUSHRIK BI'BAADATI RABBIHI AHADA) . It is very useful to help the people who wants to get up.
5)      Avoiding the posh bed which makes you sleep more. Try to sleep on a bed which does not make you sleep more than what you need.
6)      Trying to get the help of your family members or friends to call you or knock on your door or awake you up for the morning prayer.
7)      Using the Alarm in every possible way and now a days you can even use the voice of Adhaan (Azan) that will be in your room which might help you to get up for morning prayer.
8)      Before going to bed, repeat “Astaghferullah Astaghferullah Astaghferullah” that will help in omitting the sins because one of the bad effects of the sinful act is to make the body lazy and away from worshipping Allah. Those who commit sins and don’t seek forgiveness will fell very heavy when the time of Salatul Laly comes or even the time of Salatul Fajr also comes.
9)      Remembering the great reward of Performing the Morning Prayer as the Hadeeth from The Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon Him and His Holy Progeny) says that the morning prayer is better than whole world “Rak'ata al-Fajr Khairun minad Duniya wa ma Fiha”

10) Remember that performing Salat al-Fajr increases your income and not performing it decreases the income and can cause poverty or financial hardships.

Wassalam.