What is the ruling on a suitor (khāṭib) going out alone with his fiancée before the marriage contract is concluded?
It is unlawful for a suitor, prior to the marriage contract , to do anything that would be unlawful for any non-maḥram man — including touching his fiancée, being secluded with her (khalwah), or seeing her without her complete sharī‘ah-compliant covering — even after the recitation of al-Fātiḥah (This is a cultural custom to seek Allah's blessing (barakah) and mark mutual consent) and the family's approval [of the engagement]. This is because the engagement, without the formal marriage contract, does not render unlawful matters permissible. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.
Is it permissible to combine Zuhr and Asr prayers for being occupied with a wedding ceremony?
No, it isn`t permissible to combine Zuhr and Asr, or Maghrib and Isha because of being busy with a wedding since the exemption for combining prayers is based on lawful excuses, and this isn`t one of them. And Allah Knows Best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on participating in the prize draws (raffles) that commercial stores hold for their customers?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
There is no objection to participating in the prize draws (raffles) that commercial stores hold for their customers, provided that the buyer's intention in purchasing is not merely to enter the competition without any need for what is bought — rather, the purchase must be genuinely intended for the item itself, and one must not pay more than the item's fair market price. This is because paying an amount above the market price would effectively be paying a fee to enter the prize draw, which would render it a form of gambling (qimār).
These prizes are, in essence, gifts that businesses offer through a random drawing (qur'ah) to those who purchase from them, as a means of encouraging sales, without the customer bearing any additional monetary cost for participation. So long as the aforementioned conditions are met, there is no objection to benefiting from the prize offered by the store, as it is considered a lawful prize from the viewpoint of Islamic Law.
It is stated in the resolutions of the "Jordanian Iftaa' Board" (Resolution No. 47), in the context of outlining the conditions for permissible prizes: "The price of the ticket [or item purchased] for the sake of the prize must not exceed its original price, so that there is no payment of money in exchange for participation in the draw." And Allah, the Most High, knows best.
