الأحكام
Rulings
01
Is music haram?
Music — meaning musical instruments — is haram. This is the position of Shaykh Ibn Baz, the Permanent Committee's…
5 sourcesRead
02
Is smoking haram?
Smoking is haram — forbidden. This is the ruling of Shaykh Ibn Baz, the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and…
6 sourcesRead
03
Is it haram to celebrate birthdays?
Celebrating birthdays is not permitted. Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, the Permanent…
6 sourcesRead
04
Is it haram to keep a dog?
Keeping a dog is not permitted by default — the scholars' rule is that acquiring a dog is forbidden unless it serves a…
6 sourcesRead
05
Are tattoos haram?
Tattooing is haram — and the scholars go further, counting it among the major sins, because the Prophet ﷺ cursed the…
10 sourcesRead
06
Is it haram to pluck the eyebrows?
Plucking the eyebrows is not permitted — it falls under namas (plucking the facial hair), which the Prophet ﷺ cursed…
4 sourcesRead
07
Is a mortgage with interest haram?
A mortgage that charges interest is riba, and therefore haram — this is the position of the scholars across the…
9 sourcesRead
08
Is dating haram in Islam?
Dating — a romantic relationship between a man and a woman who are not married to each other — is not permitted in…
7 sourcesRead
09
Is cryptocurrency halal?
The scholars have not settled the ruling on cryptocurrency — they have suspended judgement on it. IslamWeb states…
3 sourcesRead
10
Is shrimp halal?
Shrimp is halal. The great majority of scholars hold that everything taken from the sea is lawful food, and shrimp — a…
3 sourcesRead
11
Is gelatin halal?
Gelatin is halal if it comes from a lawful source — an animal that is lawful to eat and was slaughtered correctly, or a…
4 sourcesRead
12
Is it haram to shave the beard?
Shaving the beard is not permitted — it is haram (forbidden) according to the position of the Hanbali school and the…
3 sourcesRead
13
Can men wear gold?
Gold is forbidden to men — in rings, buttons, chains, watches or any other form — and this is the position of the four…
5 sourcesRead
14
Can I wear perfume that contains alcohol?
The scholars differ on this, and the difference turns on two questions: whether the alcohol in the perfume is khamr…
6 sourcesRead
15
Can Muslims eat meat slaughtered by Christians or Jews?
Yes — meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians is permitted for Muslims, and this is the position the scholars hold by…
4 sourcesRead
16
Is hijab obligatory?
Yes — hijab is obligatory for the Muslim woman. The scholars state this as a settled obligation, and the disagreement…
3 sourcesRead
17
Is taking photographs haram?
Photography of living beings is a matter on which the contemporary scholars differ sharply, and the difference is real…
4 sourcesRead
18
Is drawing people and animals haram?
Drawing a living being — a human or an animal — in complete form is not permitted; this is the position of the…
5 sourcesRead
19
Is vaping haram?
Vaping is haram. The electronic cigarette is treated by the scholars as a cigarette in all but form, and smoking is…
3 sourcesRead
20
Is cannabis (weed) haram?
Cannabis is haram — forbidden — and this is the position of the four schools. The scholars base it on the fact that it…
5 sourcesRead
21
Can I take medicine that contains alcohol?
The default is that medicine containing intoxicating alcohol is not permissible, and this is the position of the…
5 sourcesRead
22
Is meat from animals stunned before slaughter halal?
Meat from an animal that was stunned before slaughter is halal if the animal was still alive when it was slaughtered…
6 sourcesRead
23
Are crab and lobster halal?
Crab and lobster are halal. Both are sea creatures, and the scholars' ruling on the sea is that everything in it is…
6 sourcesRead
24
Can Muslims celebrate Christmas?
No — a Muslim may not celebrate Christmas or take part in it. This is the ruling of Shaykh Ibn Baz, the Permanent…
6 sourcesRead
25
Can a Muslim say "Merry Christmas"?
No — a Muslim should not say "Merry Christmas." The scholars are explicit that congratulating non-Muslims on their…
6 sourcesRead
26
Is celebrating the Prophet's birthday (mawlid) allowed?
Celebrating the Prophet's birthday ﷺ is not permitted — it is a religious innovation (bid'ah) that the scholars of the…
4 sourcesRead
27
Can Muslims celebrate Valentine's Day?
No — celebrating Valentine's Day is not permitted for a Muslim. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta…
4 sourcesRead
28
Can Muslims celebrate Halloween?
No. A Muslim may not celebrate Halloween, because it is one of the festivals of the polytheists, and the scholars cited…
6 sourcesRead
29
Is touching a dog haram?
Touching a dog is not itself haram — there is no sin in the contact itself. What the scholars discuss is ritual purity…
5 sourcesRead
30
Can men wear silk?
Men are not permitted to wear silk; it is forbidden for them, while it is permitted for women. This is the position of…
6 sourcesRead
31
Is it haram for men to wear trousers below the ankles?
Yes — for a man to let his trousers, or any garment, hang below the ankles is haram, and this is the position of Shaykh…
5 sourcesRead
32
Can women wear perfume outside the home?
No — a woman may not wear perfume when she goes out among men who can smell it. This is the position of the scholars…
6 sourcesRead
33
Is the niqab (face veil) obligatory?
The scholars differ on this, and the difference is real. The Hanbali position, and the view Shaykh Ibn Baz held and…
3 sourcesRead
34
Is dyeing hair black haram?
Dyeing hair pure black is not permitted — and this is the position of Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, and the…
4 sourcesRead
35
Are hair extensions and wigs haram?
Hair extensions and wigs are not permitted in the default case. Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen and the Hanbali…
6 sourcesRead
36
Can women cut their hair short?
Cutting a woman's hair is permitted when there is a need or benefit, provided it is not done in imitation of men or of…
5 sourcesRead
37
Is shaking hands with the opposite sex haram?
Shaking hands with a woman who is not your mahram is not permitted — this is the position of Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh…
5 sourcesRead
38
Can I swear by anything other than Allah?
No — swearing by anything other than Allah is not permitted. Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen and the Permanent…
4 sourcesRead
39
What is the expiation for breaking an oath?
The expiation for breaking an oath (kafarat yamin) is feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a slave …
6 sourcesRead
40
What if I made a vow (nadhr) and cannot fulfil it?
If you made a vow of obedience to Allah and genuinely cannot fulfil it, the vow falls away and you owe the expiation of…
6 sourcesRead
41
Is organ donation allowed in Islam?
Organ donation is a question on which the scholars of our time genuinely differ, and no single position can be…
3 sourcesRead
42
Are video games haram?
Video games are permissible in principle, and they become forbidden only when they carry a specific prohibition or push…
3 sourcesRead
43
Is playing chess haram?
The strongest position among the scholars is that playing chess is not permitted, and this is what the Hanbali school…
6 sourcesRead
44
Is watching movies and TV shows haram?
The default ruling on films and TV series is prohibition, because the great majority of them are not free of what Allah…
10 sourcesRead
45
Is eating with the left hand haram?
Eating with the left hand without a valid excuse is haram according to Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen and the Permanent…
6 sourcesRead
46
Is it haram to drink while standing?
Drinking while standing is not haram — it is makruh tanzihi (disliked but not sinful), and drinking while seated is…
3 sourcesRead
47
Are ear and nose piercings allowed?
Ear piercing for a girl or woman is permitted — this is the position of the four schools, and the Permanent Committee…
6 sourcesRead
48
Is circumcision obligatory for men?
Circumcision is obligatory for men in the view of the Hanbali school and several other scholars, while a large body of…
6 sourcesRead
49
Can I say salam to a non-Muslim?
You may not initiate the greeting, but you must return it if a non-Muslim greets you first. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen states…
3 sourcesRead
50
Can Muslims be friends with non-Muslims?
The short answer is that a Muslim may treat non-Muslims with kindness, justice and good neighbourliness, but may not…
3 sourcesRead