Ruling on meat slaughted by a Kitaabi if at the time of slaughter he says “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”

Ive read your fetwa on the subject mentioned but according to our country’s context, its a little bit different which forced me to ask further explanation. You mentioned that a meat slaughtered by ahlel kitab can be eaten provided that it is slaughtered in the name of Allah. In another fetwa in your site, it is also mentioned that we don’t need to ask whether that specific meat is slaughtered in the name of Allah, as long as it is slaughtered by a Muslim or a kitabiy. In our country (Ethiopia), we already know that Christians most of the time slaughter after saying: ” In the name of the father (referring to God), the Son, and the holy spirit”. So, can we consider their being ahlel kitab and eat their meat with out asking about what has been mentioned during slaughtering, or do we have to take all their meat as unlawful?.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is permissible to eat meat slaughtered by a Kitaabi (a Jew or a Christian) subject to two conditions:

1.     That the meat is slaughtered as the Muslims slaughter it, by cutting the trachea and oesophagus and draining the blood. If he kills it by strangulation, electric shock or drowning in water, then the meat he has slaughtered is not halaal. The same applies if the Muslim does that; the meat he has slaughtered is not halaal.

2.     That no name other than the name of Allah, such as the name of the Messiah or any other name, is mentioned over it, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal)” [al-An‘aam 6:121]. And He says concerning haraam foods: “He has forbidden you only the Maytatah (dead animals), and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering)” [al-Baqarah 2:173].

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What is meant here is that on which a name other than the name of Allah was mentioned at the time of slaughter, such as saying “In the name of the Messiah” or “in the name of Muhammad” or “in the name of Jibreel” or “in the name of al-Laat” and the like.

End quote from Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah.

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Is it permissible for them to register what the father owns in one of the sons’ names because their father’s wife wants to do that for herself?

My father is elderly and can no longer tell what’s right and what’s wrong. He has a wife who does not care about him, and Allah is witness to what I say. She is trying to get him to register in her name all that he owns and give her authority to buy and sell (on his behalf).
Can we change the ownership to the name of one of my brothers without planning to deprive her of the inheritance if he dies before us?.

Praise be to Allaah.

There is no guarantee for the rights of your father’s wife if you register his property in the name of one of your brothers; in fact there is no guarantee for the rights of the other siblings if the property is registered in the name of only one, as you want to do in this case. It is possible that this brother may take over the entire estate on the basis of this registration that you are asking for. In fact there have been many cases like this. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Just as you have rights with regard to your father’s property that you fear for, the wife also has rights with regard to her husband’s property that she fears for. Just as you fear that she may take over your father’s property, she fears the same thing from you.

The reality is that this solution offers no guarantees to anyone and it cannot be allowed.

But if you really fear the possibility of undue influence for your father and his condition does not let him distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, then the Islamically prescribed way of dealing with that is to get a court injunction that will prevent the carrying out of any of his instructions given during the period when he was incapacitated and there was the possibility of tampering or undue influence.

However we are aware that there are far-reaching social difficulties that may stand in the way of this solution, and there may also be legal difficulties in your country, so you can convince your father to divide his property now among all his heirs who are still alive and transfer ownership to them at the time when it is divided.

In this manner each party will be protected against tampering from the others.

And Allah knows best.

If the father insisted before he died that his son should not marry a girl from a particular family, should that be regarded as a will that must be followed?

My problem in brief is that there is a family whose daughter I wanted to marry, and the families met but did not come to any agreement. The point is that I was determined to marry her. The following year, my father became very ill and he knew that I wanted to marry her, but he did not agree because of miscommunication between the two families. He said to my mother: I know that after I die, you are going to go to them and propose marriage to please your son. And she swore that she would never enter their house.
My father has passed away; is that regarded as a will or not? What is the solution, may Allah bless you? Please note that I want to marry her.

Praise be to Allaah.

If the girl is acceptable in terms of religious commitment and character, and you want to marry her, then what you must do now is seek your mother’s approval, because your father has died and there is no way to seek his approval now. If your mother approves, there is nothing wrong with you marrying this girl. And there is nothing wrong with your mother coming with you and entering the house, and she can offer expiation for her oath.

What your father said is not a will according to sharee‘ah, and it does not have to be carried out, because the father does not have the right to force his son to marry or not to marry a particular woman, so his instructions to that effect are not valid.

A will is not valid except in the case of some clear instructions, so that it will be clear to the executor of the will what has been bequeathed, and thus he will be able to take care of it and dispose of it as directed, such as paying off debts, distributing bequests and taking care of anyone who is not able to take care of his own affairs, such as a child, insane person or foolish person. That is because the executor only carries out these instructions with permission, therefore it is not permissible for him to act except with regard to something that is well defined and known, and owned by the one who left these instructions.

It is valid to give instructions for arranging the marriage of a girl under his care, such as his daughter.

If his father tells him to bring a table for the television

If my father told me to do something that I do not think is halaal or haraam, what should I do? For example, if he tells me to help him to bring a table for the television when the television may be used for both halaal and haraam?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Television, as you say, may be used for both halaal and haraam purposes. If your father only uses it to watch permissible things, there is nothing wrong with helping him to carry it or to carry something to put it on; rather that is helping him in doing something good and you have to obey him if he tells you to do that.

But if he is using it to watch things that are haraam, then it is not permissible for you to help him in any way, not by turning the TV on, or by carrying it or carrying something to put it on, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2] 

Their father left them some farmland and houses; how should they pay zakaah on them?

My father died one and a half years ago, and he left behind a family comprised of my mother and two sons and two daughters, all of whom are married. My father, may Allah have mercy on him, left behind an estate in the form of various houses and farmland that yields produce. My question is: how should this produce be divided and does zakaah have to be paid on this estate; if so, how should it be given and to whom?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

As soon as a person dies, his wealth is transferred to his heirs. Thus financial obligations are transferred from the original owner of the wealth (the father who left it behind) to the new owners (the heirs). After having been the property of one person, it is now divided among the heirs according to their shares of inheritance. The mother gets one-eighth of the estate and the rest of it is divided among the children, with each male getting the share of two females. 

He is complaining that his father is harassing his wife and his brother’s

We are two brothers, both married. Our mother died 4 years back. Currently both our wives live with our father. We, due to our job live in different cities. Both our wives reported physical sexual harassment by our father on different occasions. We love our father and respect him. He is 60 years of age. Kindly guide us for a solution of what to be done in light of Islamic rulings. We desperately need advice as this thing can divide our family.

Praise be to Allaah.

What you have mentioned about your father harassing your wife and your brother’s wife is a terrible evil and abhorrent action, especially since your father has reached this age. What you have to do is the following:

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Take precautions to prevent this evil, by encouraging your wives to wear covering garments, because many cases of harassment between mahrams occur because of carelessness in uncovering ‘awrahs in front of them. So you may find a woman wearing tight clothes, uncovering her calves and forearms and more than that, on the grounds that she is sitting with her mahrams. But she does not know that the Shaytaan may encourage one to do everything that is haraam, and that a mahram may be tempted by what he sees of the charms of his mahram. 

Muslim woman accepting support and gifts from a non-Muslim father

Is it permissible for an adult Muslim daughter to accept financial support from her Christian father?
Is it advisable for her to arrange for her health insurance, given that her father intends to withdraw his financial support, if she does not do that, and given that health insurance is compulsory in the country in which she lives?
The daughter is a student.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is permissible for a Muslim woman to accept support and gifts from her non-Muslim father, so long as that will not result in her giving up anything of her religious commitment. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted gifts from al-Muqawqas and the Negus (an-Najaashi), who were both Christians. 

She has recently become Muslim and is concealing her Islam from her domineering kaafir father

I embraced Islam four months ago and my father does not know yet. I live with my father and my brother only, and my relationship with my father is not good. He says bad words to me and sometimes hits me. I cannot tell him that I am a Muslim, firstly because we do not speak or communicate with one another and secondly because he would go crazy and the situation at home would become even worse. Last week I found out that he booked a stupid holiday for us at the beginning of August, for two weeks during Ramadan, and I cannot tell my father that I do not want to go because he has paid for it and will never let me not go, because he has actually booked it. I do not know what to do and I feel that this test I am facing is very difficult and I cannot do anything about it, and it is making my faith decrease. I hope that you can help me.

Praise be to Allaah.

We ask Allah to make things easy for you and grant you relief from this distress. We congratulate you on embracing Islam, the religion of the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them), apart from which Allah does not accept any other religion from anyone. It is a great gift and immense blessing from Him. What you are suffering of trials and tribulations, you will come to know that it is not equivalent to even a moment in which you taste the sweetness of faith and the comfort of certainty and trusting Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. With regard to the reward in the Hereafter, what Allah has prepared for the one who is patient and steadfast, and puts up with hardships for the sake of His religion, and gives precedence to loving and pleasing Him, is something that cannot be described. Our Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do”

[as-Sajdah 32:17].

His father is unable to give his wife the dowry (mahr); can the son give it on behalf of his father?

My father couldnt give dowry(mahr) to my mother because of some reason, and my father is do not work as he retired from the company, can a son give the amount to his father. And offer my mother as dowry (Mahr)?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

The dowry is the wife’s right over her husband. If the husband names a dowry for his wife, then he is not able to pay it, then it is a debt he owes like any other debt, unless the woman waives it willingly, in which case the husband is no longer liable for it, because it is the woman’s right and she has waived it. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And give to the women (whom you marry) their Mahr (obligatory bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart, but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allah has made it lawful)” [an-Nisa’ 4:4]. 

Should he help his father to fill out a form to reduce interest payments?

5 years ago my parents decided to buy an apartment by taking a riba based loan. I have tried very hard to tell them that this is haram and it can have grave consequences. I have tried more than once, but they decided not to listen to me so they bought an apartment witha riba based loan. Now my fathers finacial situation became bad, and he cannot afford to pay the full payment, so the bank gave him an option, to apply for “Loan modification” which is supposedly supposed to help him lower the payment. Since they don’t speak english that well they have asked me to fill this application out, which is not a loan contract, because they already have that, this is supposed to lower their payment, by putting basic infortmation, such as how much he makes, does he live in this apartment or is he renting , etc. So can I Help them fill this out (translate for them) so that their riba baased loan will be reduced?.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is haraam to take out a riba-based loan to buy a house or anything else. You did well to refuse to do that and advise your parents accordingly.

The one who takes out a riba-based loan should pay back the original money, but he is not obliged to pay the interest unless he is compelled to do so. It is permitted for him to use trickery to avoid it.