What is the ruling of Sharia on unregistered marriage?
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
In order for a marriage contract to be considered valid, there has to be a Wali (Guardian) of the bride, two honorable witnesses and the contract has to be documented at an Islamic court. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
Is it incumbent on a father to cover the marriage costs of his son if the latter couldn`t afford them?
The son should seek the help of his relatives in order to convince his father to do the aforesaid, and the father should make sure that his son doesn`t commit fornication through helping him to get married, and Allah will reward him for doing so.
Is washing the private part after urinating (Istinjaa`) a condition, and is it done with water and soap, or with water only?
Istinjaa` is obligatory for removing impurity, and it can be done with toilet paper, or a stone, or water. It is preferable to do Istinjaa` first with paper, or stone, or the like, then to wash the private part with water until making sure that the impurity has been removed. Using soap is not a condition, but there is no harm in doing so provided that it is washed off with water. It is also permissible to use either water, or paper if impurity is removed by any.
A man has raped a woman and she gave birth to a baby boy. To whom should that baby be attributed?
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
First of all, the adulterer must be punished according to the rules of Sharia and the baby isn`t attributed to him. Rather, it is attributed to the mother. This adulterer has committed a grave sin and incurred the wrath of Allah. We advise him to make sincere repentance to Allah and pray that Allah forgives him. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.