Q.) I am extremely perplexed and grieved concerning my present situation and shaytan is also attacking me with various iman endangering thoughts. Please can you answer my following question and put my mind at rest. I married a woman about 3 years ago. I went to see her and everything was done the Islamic way. i.e. I did Mashwera (consultation) and Istikhara (and I saw good dreams and my heart felt content.) But despite the istikhara, etc. Our marriage broke up after just a few weeks of living together, as it transpired that she was mentally unstable.

I married again this year, this time I was extra cautious and therefore did Istikhara over a long period and begged Allah to guide me, as a result of which I saw many good dreams. I also had the dreams interpreted by a scholar who gave me the go ahead. After that I did consultation with my superiors and they also gave me the go ahead. But, Again this marriage has broken down in a short span of time.

Why is it that both my marriages have failed (through no fault of mine, I tried my best both times) even though I did Istikhara and Mashwera both times and felt content at heart.

Please reply soon and put my mind at rest, I am losing hope and shaytan is playing with my mind and making me doubt the words of Allah and his Prophet. (naoozobillah) Please reply soon. Jazakallah. A distressed brother in need. [s.m.]

A.) Istikhara is a particular form of prayer and the masnoon way of doing is that a person offers 2 Rakats with the intention of Istikhara then recites the Dua for Istikhara which may be found in all the books of prayer. The other ways of Istikhara which are suggested by some persons are not masnoon. So far as the effect of Istikhara is concerned you must observe the following points:

A Nikah is meant to last a lifetime. However at times when the marriage has, despite all efforts to save it reached a point of no return, the Shariah has permitted the dissolution of the Nikah by means of Talaaq. Nevertheless, this is the very last resort. Rasulullah (Sallallaaahu Alayhi Wasallam) is reported to have said: "The most detested of all permissible things is Talaaq."

The most severe form of Talaaq is the issuing of three Talaaqs. This irrevocably severs the marriage, whether such Talaaq was issued over a period of time or whether in one sitting and in one breath. This is the clear ruling established from the Qur'an and Hadith.

Some 'scholars' consider the giving of three Talaaqs in one sitting as 'one Talaaq'. As a result of this ruling, some couples that have divorced are using this 'view' to re-unite and reconcile in marriage.

Oral sex between a husband and wife is considered as Makruh Tahrimi by the jurists, since there is strong possibility that by ejaculation, Mazi occurs and enters the mouth of the partner. There is consensus amongst the Fuqahaa that Mazi is Najis (impure)

ORAL SEX:

Man has been created as a bearer of high and noble attributes. In him he mirros the attributes of divinity (Sifaat-e-Ilaahiyya) such as life, knowledge, power, will, sight, hearing, speech, love, etc. In the authoritative Tafseer of the aforementioned Aayat, it is said that Insaan (man) has been adorned with the Noor of Aql (the light of intelligence). This celestial faculty of intelligence creates in Insaan the capacity for the manifestation of the lofty and divine attributes of Allah Taãla. By virtue of the Noor of Aql man becomes incandescent by being a mirror for these lofty attributes and manifestation (Tajalliyaat-e-Zilliyah and Sifaat-e-Zaatiyyah). As a direct consequence of this lofty pedestal which Insaan occupies in the Divine Scheme, the mantle of Khilaafah (vicegerency) has been conferred on him. Stating this fact, the Qurãn declares: 'Verily I shall be creating on earth a Khaleefah.' In the Tafseer of the Aayat mentioned at the beginning, it is also said that in relation to all the species of life, man has been endowned with the most beautiful form. All other animals have been created in a lowly form with their heads downwards. Their faces constantly pointing downwards to the earth indicate their low rank in relation to man. In contrast, man has been created upright and he eats his food by means of raising it with his hands unlike the lowly beasts with faces downwards.

Hazrat Thanwi R writes:

"Any relationship with a strange (ghair-mahram) woman or a handsome beardless youth (amrad); whether such a relationship entails looking at them, conversing with them to please the nafs (the carnal self), associating with them in privacy, adorning the self or voice to please them and to gain their admiration; all these are the result of a colossal and destructive spiritual malady with such tragic consequences, that are beyond description.

SODOMY & THE NATION OF LOOT:

"And Lut! When he said unto his folk: Will you commit an obscenity that none has ever committed before you? You fulfil your lust on men instead of women? Indeed, you are a wanton nation" - 7/80-81

In these verses, Allah emphatically denounces the unnatural, perverted manner of sexual gratification that was practiced by the nation of Loot (and become known thereafter as sodomy.)

Limited Liability

Introduction

The concept of 'limited liability' has now become an inseparable ingredient of the large scale enterprises of trade and industry throughout the modern world, including the Muslim countries. The present chapter aims to explain this concept and evaluate it from the Shari‘ah point of view in order to know whether or not this principle is acceptable in a pure Islamic economy. The limited liability' in the modern economic and legal terminology is a condition under which a partner or a shareholder of a business secures himself from bearing a loss greater than the amount he has invested in a company or partner-ship with limited liability. If the business incurs a loss, the maximum a shareholder can suffer, is that he may lose his entire original investment. But the loss cannot extend to his personal assets, and if the assets of the company are not sufficient to discharge all its liabilities, the creditors cannot claim the remaining part of their receivables from the personal assets of the shareholders.