Are school exams a valid excuse for breaking the fast in Ramadan?
School and university exams are not considered a valid excuse for breaking the fast, as most students take their exams while fasting without experiencing extreme hardship. Fasting does not conflict with exam preparation, and a Muslim seeks strength in obedience to Allah for both worldly and spiritual matters.
What is the ruling on one who doubts washing a limb before or after finishing ablution?
If a person performing ablution doubts leaving the washing of a limb from the limbs of ablution during his ablution, he must repeat washing that limb and wash what comes after it. If he doubts leaving the washing of a limb after finishing the ablution, there is nothing upon him. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Does the use of suppositories, enemas, or hemorrhoid creams affect the validity of fasting?
Enemas and suppositories inserted through either of the two private passages invalidate the fast. This ruling is based on the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "Breaking the fast occurs from what enters (the body), not from what exits." [Reported by Al-Bayhaqi in As-Sunan Al-Kubra]
His generalization regarding anything entering the body indicates that it invalidates fasting, whether it is nutritious or not, as even non-nutritious substances resemble food in form.
It is recommended to use them before Fajr or after Iftar. However, if a person must use them while fasting, they should continue refraining from food and drink for the rest of the day and make up for that day later.
What are the legal and religious consequences for a charitable organization in the event that a sacrificial animal is damaged or spoiled after slaughter?
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Charitable organizations entrusted with slaughtering sacrificial animals (uḍḥiyyah) and distributing their meat on behalf of their owners are obligated to safeguard the meat from spoilage, damage, theft, and any other harm. This is because such organizations act as agents (wukalā') on behalf of those offering the sacrifice, and an agent holds what is entrusted to them in trust (amānah) — whether they receive a wage for their work or act on a voluntary basis.
If the sacrificial animal is damaged after slaughter during the processes of packaging, transportation, or storage due to negligence or oversight — whether on the part of the organization's own staff overseeing the operation, or on the part of third parties contracted by the organization such as transport or shipping companies — then liability falls upon the negligent party, who is required to compensate for the value of the sacrifice. It is not permissible to cover such compensation from the organization's other donor funds.
However, if the damage to the sacrificial animal occurs without any negligence in its preservation and storage on the part of any party involved in the transportation, shipping, or storage process, and is instead attributable to force majeure circumstances beyond their control, then no financial liability is borne by any party in such a case. And Allah Almighty knows best.
