Shafaqna English- Questions on Muslims issues in the West and answers from the Grand Ayatollah Sistani based on the text of the book: “A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West” by ‘Abdul Hadi As-Seyyed Muhammad Taqi Al-Hakim.
Question & Answer
Question 1: Is it permissible for a woman to wear rings, bangles, or necklace for the sake of beautification?
Answer: It is permissible and it should be concealed from non-Mahram men except for the rings and bangles, provided that there is no danger of committing that which is Haram, or that exposing them should not be with the intention of drawing forbidden attention.
Question 2: In the West it is possible to wear coloured contact lenses. Is it permissible for a Muslim woman to wear them for the sake of beautification and then appear in front of non-Mahram men?
Answer: If that is considered as an item of cosmetics, it is not allowed.
Question 3: Is it permissible to sell ova of a woman? Is it permissible to buy them?
Answer: It is permissible.
Question 4: In some cases, women start losing their hair. Is it permissible for them to expose their hair to a doctor for the sake of treatment, irrespective of whether loss of hair entails difficulty for them, in that it is just for the sake of embellishment?
Answer: It is permissible in the case of difficulty that is normally unbearable; and not without it.
Question 5: Is it permissible for a Muslim woman to join a co-education college in the West in spite of the moral breakdown, and the laisser-faire attitude of some male and female students?
Answer: If she is confident that she can preserve her faith, fulfill her religious duties, including Hijab, refrain from haram looking and touching, and be immune to immoral and adverse atmosphere, there is no problem in it; otherwise, it is not allowed.
Question 6: In some Western countries, artists sit on the kerb of public footpaths and paint pictures of those who wish to get their portraits drawn for a fee. They do so by asking their customers to pose for them, and then carefully observe their faces in order to paint their portraits. Is it permissible for a woman with hijab to ask the artist to draw her picture?
Answer: She should not do so.
Question 7: Is wrestling in its various forms permissible for women? And are women allowed to look at the semi-naked bodies of the wrestlers live or on television without lustful thoughts?
Answer: Wrestling is not allowed, if it involves hurting oneself or the opponent when it crosses the boundary of Haram. It is a obligatory on a woman not to look at the body of a man, innocently, even on television, with the exception of the head, hands and feet, and other parts that are not normally concealed.
Question 8: Is it permissible for women to look at the bodies of men who take off their clothes [i.e., shirts] during the mourning ceremony [when they do the Matam]?
Answer: Based on obligatory precaution, they should refrain from it.
Question 9: A man voluntarily takes the responsibility of raising a girl, then she grows up into a woman. Is it obligatory on her to observe hijab in his presence? Is it obligatory on him not to look at her hair and not to touch her at all?
Answer: Yes, all that is obligatory; and her relations with him should be like that of a non-Mahram.
Question 10: If pregnancy causes great difficulty for a daughter and a disgrace for her family, is she allowed to abort the foetus?
Answer: It is permissible before the soul enters the foetus, if the difficulty reaches a level that is usually unbearable and there is no way out for her except abortion.
Question 11: Is a woman allowed to wear trousers and take to the streets and markets?
Answer: It is not allowed, if it reveals the contours of her body or would normally arouse temptation.
Question 12: Is it permissible to wear a wig with the purpose of drawing attention and embellishing oneself in gatherings that are exclusively for women? Is this counted as “concealing the shortcomings”?
Answer: There is no problem in it, if it is done only for beautification, and not for deceiving and concealing physical drawback, in the case of would-be marriage.
Question 13: Is it permissible for a woman in menses to recite more than seven verses from the Holy Qur’an (other than the Verses that require obligatory prostration)? If it is permissible, is it disliked (Makrûh)? And does that mean that she will be rewarded for reciting, albeit less [than normal]?
Answer: She is allowed to recite other than the verses that require obligatory prostration; and when it is said, “it is disliked to recite more than seven Verses,” this means that the reward of such recitation will be less.
- Religious questions in Graph
- The Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s Fatwas
- Religious questions and answers
- Shia answers
- Read more: Shafaqna Directory
Source: sistani.org