Islamic Laws

Islam and Polygamy

By: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini Islam allows polygamy and permits men, under specific circumstances, to have at most four wives at any given time. Polygamy was customary before Islam and was not abrogated with the coming of Islam; instead, Islam has…

Women’s Inheritance in Islam

By: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini In Islam, men and women have equivalent rights, including but not limited to working, acquiring wealth, possession of property, and the concept of inheritance. The Quran declares: “For men there is a share from what their…

Nafaqah (Financial Support) and its Philosophy

By: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini According to Islam providing for the expenses of the family, including the expenses of his spouse, is a husband’s duty. A man must finance all his partner’s expenses, even if she is wealthier than he. The…

The Mahr of Women and its Philosophy

By: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini When the marriage vows are recited, the husband gives his wife a gift that is called Mihr or Sadaq. The word Mihr does not appear in the Holy Quran, however, the word Sadaq has been employed.…

Wiping Over Slippers and Socks

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen The Muslim jurisprudents disagreed upon wiping over slippers and socks so widely that we couldn’t discuss all the details in this short chapter. Generally the research concerned its permissibility or impermissibility, specifying its position,…

Reciting the Holy Quran in the Prayer

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen The jurisprudents disagreed upon reciting Quranic suras in the prayer. Abu Bakr al-Assamm, Isma’eel bin Olya, Sufyan bin Oyayna and al-Hasan bin Salih thought that reciting Quran in the prayer was not wajib but…

Wiping the Feet or Washing Them in Wudu’

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen The Muslim scholars disagreed upon the kind of ablution of the feet from among the parts included in wudu’. The Sunni jurisprudents, including the four imams,1 determined that washing the feet in wudu’ was…

Temporary Marriage

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen 1. The way of this marriage The way of this marriage is that a free1 adult Muslim or kitabi2 woman accepts to marry herself to a Muslim man on condition that there is no…

Traveler’s Taqseer and Fast Breaking

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen Legislating taqseer1 The four rak’a-prayers are shortened into two rak’as in travel whether it is in the case of fright or safety. All the umma agree upon this unanimously. Allah says: (And when you…

Is Takbeeratul Ihram a necessary pillar of every wajib and mustahab prayer?

By: Allamah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen The Shia agreed, according to their pure imams, unanimously upon that takbeeratul ihram1 was a necessary pillar of every wajib and mustahab prayer. Without takbeeratul ihram the prayer would be invalid. The only form…