Information on Sunnah for New Muslim

Question:

A convert sister ask me for a book on the SUNNAH OF MOHAMMAD (s). Please let me know what to suggest thank you. ALLAH SWT bless you and your family.

Answer:

A Day with the Prophet – by Ahmad Von Denffer

Hajj Gibril

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Taqleed, Following a School of Thought

Question:

What is taqleed or ittiba`? Is it it wajib (compulsory) upon Muslims.

Answer:

Yet there are many Muslims in the present age who have hardly heard of the words taqleed or ittiba`. Others who may have heard about it, do not fully comprehend its meaning. This has led to people even rejecting taqleed – thereby rejecting a wajib, (a compulsory aspect of the religion). As a general rule, man is suspicious and afraid of that which he does not know. Therefore a proper understanding of the issue of taqleed or ittib`a would dispel the ignorance surrounding it, Insha-Allah.

Taqleed is a part of everyday life

Taqleed or ittib`a in essence, simply refers to the practice of an unqualified, lay person (in a specific field of specialization) submitting to and accepting the authority of an expert in that field, without demanding proof and justification for every view, opinion or verdict expressed by such an expert authority. This is a natural state of human existence, practiced by millions of people worldwide in every facet of life.

The simplest and most tangible example of taqleed or ittib`a is that of a child learning his basic alphabets at school. Every child learning his alphabet is unconsciously practicing taqleed. A learner driver taking instructions from a driving instructor is practicing taqleed. People going to a specialist doctor for medical treatment and following his instructions is another glaring example of taqleed or ittib`a. A lay person soliciting a legal opinion from an advocate or following the advice of a tax consultant is another common case of taqleed. A client at an engineering firm, asking for the engineer`s advice on complex engineering calculations is yet another instance of taqleed or ittib`a in action. The millions of ‘facts’ in the myriad of sciences such as astronomy, archaeology, etc. are all distinct examples of taqleed or ittib`a. Whoever questions the ‘fact’ or asks for proof that the sun is really 93 million miles away from the earth! It is taken for granted that this is the findings of the ‘experts’ in these fields and everyone simply accepts it as such. Schoolteachers teach these to their pupils as ‘gospel truth’ and children learn and memorize these ‘facts’ with the hope of succeeding in their exams. There are countless such examples of taqleed or ittib`a in everyday existence. It is quite clear from the above, that taqleed or ittib`a is a natural way of life, and is not specific to Islam or Islamic fiqh alone.

Taqleed is the easy option for ordinary people

In the context of Islamic fiqh or Law, taqleed or ittib`a simply refers to accepting and following the verdicts of expert scholars of Islamic fiqh in their exposition and interpretation of Islamic Law, without demanding from them an in-depth explanation of the intricate processes required in arriving at such a verdict, called ijtihad. It simply means that ordinary folk do not have to do ijtihad, i.e. the intricate and complicated procedures involved in deriving Islamic rulings that scholars exercise when issuing a fatwa (legal verdict). The duty of ordinary people is to trustingly accept the authority of the learned scholars in this matter and act upon their verdicts.

In this sense, taqleed is a great blessing for common people, for it is beyond their capacity to understand the extremely complex and complicated mechanics of ijtihad. The ability to do ijtihad requires many long years of study and erudition and a great deal of exertion (ijtihad means to exert oneself) in acquiring a mastery of various Islamic sciences, among other varying requirements.

Misunderstandings regarding taqleed

Recently, misunderstandings have arisen regarding the issue of taqleed. It has become a theme of major debate in many parts of the world among Muslims. This debate has naturally resulted in arguments being promulgated by both the protagonists and the antagonists of taqleed.

The best way of removing such misunderstanding is to view the original sources of Islam – the Quran and Hadith and the teachings of the learned elders of Islam (`ulama) on this subject. After a study of this subject, the correct interpretation and understanding of taqleed and ittib`a would emerge. This would lead to a better understanding and analysis of the arguments and counter-arguments of protagonists and antagonists.

Mufti Zubair Bayat
Council of Muslim Theologians, Bishopsgate, South Africa

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Women and Mosque Attendance

Dear Hajjah:

I have lived in the U.S. for several years now and attend my local mosque regularly, something I was prevented from doing in my homeland. I observe many women at the mosque are busy gossiping and talking loudly, and do not control their children. Would you please mention the adab (etiquette) of women attending the mosque?  – P.N.

Dear P.N.:

You have mentioned that in your homeland you were not allowed to attend the mosque. Unfortunately, this is true of many women from Muslim countries, a situation which has deprived generations of Muslims from becoming familiar with the adab of the mosque. Women attended the mosque in the time of our beloved Prophet (s) and the Mothers of the Faithful (ra) attended the mosque daily. Specific rules of conduct which apply to visiting the mosque were revealed in the Qur`an and were applied through the Sunnah of our Prophet (s). While in Islam the mosque is a focal point for group worship, it also serves as a safe meeting place for Muslims, where they may study their religion and maintain ties of familiarity with others. Through the many rights and privileges afforded Muslim women, Allah subhana wa ta`ala never intended that they become cut off from their community and locked in their homes. While they are exempt from attendance and are allowed to stay at home, there is no harm if women attend Jumma (Friday congregational prayer), Eid prayers, or even tarawih prayers (thirty nightly congregational prayers of Ramadan). However, the Four Righteous Imams (Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali and Shafi`i) each agreed that women should not attend the mosque during their monthly periods, except in cases of extreme need (i.e., if a woman is traveling with her mahram and he stops at a mosque to pray Jumu`ah, and she has nowhere to wait for him, she may enter the mosque but remain close to the door, not joining the congregation).

An obvious side-effect of women having been prevented from attending the mosque in their homelands is evident in how they behave in this country, as if the mosque is a community center and social outlet. Unfortunately, most of us have experienced the disarrayed prayer ranks in the women’s section of the mosque, the loud talking of women during worship and lectures, the disorderly children running and screaming as if on a playground.

Muslim women have the right to attend the mosque, with or without their families. However, women are not exempt from having good manners at the mosque, and it is the responsibility of both parents to teach and enforce appropriate conduct for children. Every individual is required to respect the mosque as a place of worship. From the time we enter until the time we leave, and even in front of the mosque, no one is allowed to talk loudly or to shout. We are commanded in the Qur`an not to run to prayer, but rather to walk with dignity. How then can we allow our children to run inside the mosque? From the time infants can sit, teach them to remain near you when you pray. Do not allow children to walk around at random during prayers and khutbahs. Take quiet toys and favorite books to the mosque to occupy your children if they become bored. Wear clean clothes and set the example for your children that visiting the mosque should be observed with respect.

Women should be assertive in forming regular women’s meetings at their local mosques to study Islam and to discuss Islamic solutions to women’s issues. Such meetings keep women informed, provide a healthy social outlet, strengthen ties of Muslim sisterhood, and thus, strengthens the community, and are a natural addition to teen groups and children’s classes, often held on weekends. Women should also be encouraged to add written comments to and make written announcements in mosque newsletters, and to have their group announcements included with main announcements after Friday prayers.

Hajjah Naziha Adil

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Requirements for Women Fasting Ramadan

Dear Hajjah,

Please provide some guidelines on the requirements of women fasting during Ramadan.

– S.K.

Dear S.K.:

Thank you for your thoughtful inquiry. This lengthy reply includes brief points of Islamic Law that apply to women.

It should be understood that Islam is intended to bring ease to all aspects of our daily life. Allah grants special mercy for women, and requirements of worship are less stringent for them than for men. Women and men are exempt from fasting during extended travel away from home (beyond fifty miles and a duration of more than one day), and during illness which is too severe to continue the fast, and if they are very old and/or weak. Women, however, are further exempt from the fast if they are pregnant or are breast-feeding, unless fasting does not interrupt feeding schedules nor creates a serious imbalance in the natural supply and quality of milk so as to disturb the baby. This exemption is again to the favor of women, as Allah intends the mother should not have to undergo undue hardship.

A nursing mother cannot fast without the permission of the infant’s father, as she may be emotionally moved to observe fast when doing so may impair her health, or that of the baby. As the protector of the mother and child, the father is expected to be objective when taking his decision, not overly strict and not overly soft.

Women are also exempt from the fast of Ramadan during their monthly periods, a time when they are also given leave from performing the five daily prayers. While some Muslims believe this state renders a woman unfit to pray or fast because she is “unclean”, the reality of the matter is that Allah subhana wa ta`ala in His Infinite Mercy has relieved women of their religious responsibilities during this period so that they may relax. During Ramadan and all other times throughout the year, part of the woman’s biological monthly cleansing process is that she not obstruct or collect the flow of unclean matter which issues from her womb, such as with the use of tampons, which is categorically haram (forbidden) and can cause severe toxic reactions in the body. A woman’s duty to fast in Ramadan resumes at the time when prayer becomes binding.

Women and men are each responsible for days of obligatory fasting which were not fulfilled. However, in the case of women who are aged and extremely weak or who suffer from long-term illness, Allah has allowed that their children may fast on their behalf to make up unfulfilled days of obligatory fasting. Under these circumstances the adult children make their intention to fast on behalf of the exempted parent, and each day of fasting must be observed independent from any other fasts.

For each day of obligatory fasting (in Ramadan) missed due to travel or temporary illness, both men and women must fast one day sometime before the next Ramadan. However, a pregnant woman or nursing mother who did not fast the entire month of Ramadan has been given the option to make up one day of fasting for one day missed (which is best), or she may feed two poor individuals for thirty days (sixty meals), or give sadaqah to the equivalent of sixty meals. Again, this option is intended to help women who are unable to make up an entire month of fasting, either due to illness, weakness, or because they are again pregnant or still nursing their baby, but who nevertheless need to make up missed days of fasting, which are a debt we are all held accountable for.

Women and men are not exempt from fasting simply because they work outside the home or because their jobs require long or irregular hours, or a long commute. As these days many Muslim women are working outside the home, some are finding it much easier to request flexible work hours during Ramadan, reporting to work earlier and leaving earlier in the day, to alleviate the burden of fasting and to allow them be at home with their families in time to prepare for and break fast at sunset.

Hajjah Naziha Adil

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Differences in Times of Imsak

Question:

My head is reeling having tried to navigate this thread:

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?60632-The-Imsak-issue

Actually, I wasn’t looking for this, I just wanted some background on the issue of why there seems to be so much disparity on the time for when suhur ends and fajr starts. This led me to read about imsak and fajr, subh al-kadhib vs subh al-sadiq. But even that doesn’t seem to be the core contention here. It cuts deeper, to how best to qualify the timings, and which measurement is valid. I can understand that we bicker over moonsighting (even though we shouldn’t), given the polarisation in the Ummah as a whole. But it stupefies me how, given not even that Ramadhan is an annual occurrence, but that salah is a five-times-a-day occurence, that “we” still seemed to have not obtained clarity on how best to establish the time for fajr (and by association, imsak)?!

That thread is very involved, and it made me wonder what the responsibility of the layman is here? The whole 15 degrees vs 18 degrees debate is not something I’ve looked into, and reading that thread, there are claims and counter-claims, questions around the integrity of the sightings done for research, controversey surrounding the methodology itself, and demands for rootedness in fiqh. After a while the words just become a blur…

I mean, the entire timetable for fajr salah is being questioned in some cases, because the time gap between one locality and another (in neighboring counties) is so far apart that laymen begin doubting themselves (in terms of whether what they’re following is actually right?). So you have some people finishing suhur 45 minutes before they believe fajr has kicked in. Which leads to hardships. Still, the simplest solution I see is to do just that, i.e. eat suhur early and do fajr late(r).

Is this a country-specific issue, or does it affect other countries, this 15 degrees vs 18 degrees (I know there are different figures others take, too, apparently) question?

Can somebody break it down in simple terms for a non-specialist like myself, please? What a miserable state to be in at the outset of Ramadhan, imposing unnecessary hardships on oneself and one’s family because those whom we’re supposed to look to as reference points, don’t seem to be able to agree on a basic criteria to move forward on. Where are the lights?

Subhan’Allah…

Answer:

`Alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah,

Perhaps it is not the difference in calculating methods, which has always been around, that creates hardship but rather excessive scrupulosity or unwarranted suspicion of the local method by comparing it to a neighboring country. Fiqh-wise even in the improbable case that one’s entire community is wrong in determining the times for fajr and imsak one would be excused in following the same error that was committed in good faith. Computer programs are not that far off but differ only up to 5-10 minutes, which never leads to up to 40 minutes pre-fajr imsak time but half that time at most.


was-Salam,

Hajj Gibril

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Parenting: Agreeing on How Children Should be Raised

Dear Hajjah Naziha:
Although I am an educated woman who previously enjoyed a good salary, when we began to have children I decided I would quit my job to stay home with them. We have two young children and I am again pregnant. My problem is that my husband and I do not agree on how to raise our children. When I teach them discipline, he comes home and basically tells them everything the opposite, making me look bad in front of them. When I try to discuss this issue with him he laughs and dismisses my concerns. I am very frustrated with his attitude and feel it shows he has little respect for me. Can you please advise me what to do? – F.A.

Dear F.A.:

The hadith says, “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.” Another hadith reminds us that the first to be honored is the mother, the mother, the mother and then the father. It is better that your husband not to put you down and laugh at you as it is like bringing shame on his mother or his sister. Most importantly, you are the mother of his children. If he laughs at you in front of them, they might lose respect for you. This will also give them the wrong message that you are not competent to care for them. If your husband sees something to disagree on, it is better the two of you discuss the issue away from the children. How would he feel if someone at his job laughed at him in front of the people he manages or supervises?

The mother is the one who spends the most time with the children and so she must be the main one to discipline them. As such, your husband and in fact all other family members, including in-laws, should respect your role and support you in this task.

Children may also get into the habit of running to their father or grandparents to complain that their mother did this or that. He should not welcome this behavior. In fact, it is his duty to reinforce that you are the authority in the home to whom they should listen. The two of you are partners, with your husband leaving the home and you staying in the home, each working to secure a better family life. How he responds to your role is a matter of respect and should not be taken lightly. Continuing disrespect has the potential to break the marriage. May Allah grant you and your husband both the wisdom and willingness to sit down and work out this problem.

Hajjah Naziha Adil

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Hadith about a Child’s Gender

Question:

i have a question regarding a hadith about the childs gender

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, “A group of Jews came to Allah’s Prophet and said, `Talk to us about some things we will ask you and which only a Prophet would know.’ He said, `Ask me about whatever you wish. However, give your pledge to Allah, similar to the pledge that Ya`qub took from his children, that if I tell you something and you recognize its truth, you will follow me in Islam.’ They said, `Agreed.’ The Prophet said, `Ask me about whatever you wish.’ They said, `Tell us about four matters: 1. What kinds of food did Isra’il prohibit for himself 2. What about the sexual discharge of the woman and the man, and what role does each play in producing male or female offspring 3. Tell us about the condition of the unlettered Prophet during sleep, 4. And who is his Wali (supporter) among the angels’ The Prophet took their covenant that they will follow him if he answers these questions, and they agreed. He said, `I ask you by He Who sent down the Tawrah to Musa, do you not know that Isra’il once became very ill When his illness was prolonged, he vowed to Allah that if He cures His illness, he would prohibit the best types of drink and food for himself. Was not the best food to him camel meat and the best drink camel milk’ They said, `Yes, by Allah.’ The Messenger said, `O Allah, be Witness against them.’ The Prophet then said, `I ask you by Allah, other than Whom there is no deity (worthy of worship), Who sent down the Tawrah to Musa, do you not know that man’s discharge is thick and white and woman’s is yellow and thin If any of these fluids becomes dominant, the offspring will take its sex and resemblance by Allah’s leave. Hence, if the man’s is more than the woman’s, the child will be male, by Allah’s leave. If the woman’s discharge is more than the man’s, then the child will be female, by Allah’s leave.’ They said, `Yes.’ He said, `O Allah, be Witness against them.’ He then said, `I ask you by He Who sent down the Tawrah to Musa, do you not know that the eyes of this unlettered Prophet sleep, but his heart does not sleep’ They said, `Yes, by Allah!’ He said, `O Allah, be Witness.’ They said, `Tell us now about your Wali among the angels, for this is when we either follow or shun you.’ He said, `My Wali (who brings down the revelation from Allah) is Jibril, and Allah never sent a Prophet, but Jibril is his Wali.’ They said, `We then shun you. Had you a Wali other than Jibril, we would have followed you.’ On that, Allah, the Exalted revealed,

This hadeeth appears to contradict science as according to science it is the male which carries the x and Y chromosone and only the male determines the sex of the child not the female.

There are also 2 narrations of the hadeeth the one mentioned above deals with gender determination whereas the other deals with the child’s resemblance to its parents

Can you please help me clear up my misunderstanding as there could be a problem with translation from Arabic into English or with the interpretation

Answer:

Alaykum as-Salam,

It can be interpreted to mean that the mother’s fluid somehow draws the X-carrying sperm into the egg cell and blocks the Y-carrying one. However, it is an observable fact that in the majority of cases a child mostly resembles the parent of the opposite sex. More than this, the hadith of our Mother `A’isha (Allah be well-pleased with her) on marital selection stated that “women give birth to [boys] the likes of their brothers and [girls] the likes of their sisters.” It is possible, therefore, to surmise two other explanations:

(i) The “male” and “female” fluids mentioned are not parent-differentiated but rather both refer to the father’s sperm in the sense that the male-chromosome-bearing part of the sperm is thick and white at the microscopic level while the female-chromosome-bearing part of the same sperm is thin and yellow.

(ii) The narrator(s) might have made a mistake in the wordings “their child is male” and “their child is female” which should only read, instead, “their child takes after the male line” and “their child takes after the female line” respectively. Allah knows best.

The latter alternative is the strongest in light of al-Bukhari’s variant version of Thawban’s hadith from Anas ibn Malik, identifying the rabbi as `Abd Allah ibn Salam (Allah be well-pleased with him):

News of the coming of the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) to Madina reached `Abd Allah ibn Salam. He went to see him and ask him questions: “I want to ask you of three things which none but Prophets know. What is the first of the conditions of the last Hour? What is the first meal the people of Paradise eat? Why does a child resemble his father or mother?” The Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) said: “Gibril told me all this just now…. The first of the conditions of the last Hour is a fire that will gather them from East to West. The first meal the people of Paradise eat is whales’ sweetbreads. As for the child, then if the man’s fluid precedes (sabaqa) that of the woman, he draws the child to him; if hers, she draws the child to her.” He said: “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah!”

I found better than all the above yet Ibn al-`Arabi al-Maliki’s explanation as quoted by Imam al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir for verse al-Shura:49. I do not recall it just now. And Allah knows best.

Was-Salam,

Hajj Gibril

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How Does Hadith Get Graded a Forgery?

Question:

I’m not very good when it comes to the details of the grades of traditions. Is it a forgery because one of its narrators is rejected? What you think are the reasons an author would include it in his book when the status of a hadith is highly doubtful?

Answer:

There are many reasons some internal some external. Among the internal reasons are poor Arabic, run-on narrative, contradiction of established texts, maybe clashing with the known style of the Prophetic hadiths and other aspects that trained eyes may pick up. Among the external reasons are the fact that there is no chain of transmission; al-Riqashi was not a trusted student of Sayyidina Anas and no one relates this other than him; also al-Samarqandi is more of a jurist and admonisher but was criticized when it came to hadith, as he did not discern between them.

His books were redflagged by early and late authors as unreliable for hadiths, so something that is only found in them is unconfirmable. All these are telltale signs of forgery. Not so long ago there was discussion of a narration found only in al-Daylami. This is by itself a telltale sign because a narration cannot just materialize out of the blue in some isolated weak and/or late source while everyone else under the sun has never heard of it, and then be considered authentic. This is an even weaker source and then there are all these other signs as well.

In his book al-Majruhin Ibn Hibban listed twenty types of unreliable narrators. Among them:

“The fifth type were overall pious worshippers who were unconcerned with memorization and discernment. Whenever they narrated something they would attribute to the Prophet œ what he did not say, or connect disconnected chains of transmission, reversing their order, and mistaking the sermons of al-Hasan, for example, for hadiths narrated from Anas, from the Prophet (s). Their narrations were no longer considered proofs. …

“The eighth type are those who lie unintentionally and unwittingly, simply because he is not a person of learning and he has no idea what learning is.”

These two types are one of the reasons why Imam Malik said his famous phrase “No one lies more than the pious.” See more in my Four Imams.

Hajj Gibril Haddad

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Kissing the Qur’an

Question:

Is it Bid’ah to kiss the Holy Qur’an when opening and closing it?

Answer:

No, it is not a Bid’ah.

Imam an-Nawawi reported that when `Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to see the Holy Qur’an, he used to put it on his head and kiss it and show a great deal of respect for it, saying “This is the book of Allah, this is the book of Allah.”

From this Imam as-Suyuti said it is good to kiss the Holy Qur’an, also drawing an analogy with the Black Stone in the Ka`bah. Both are to be seen as a gift from Allah.

Similarly, in the same way that we kiss our children to show affection and love, it is a sign of our devotion and love for Allah to kiss the Holy Qur’an.

Shaykh Metwalli Darsh

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Wife Initiating Divorce

Questions:

Can you please tell us –
1. the conditions under which a woman can initiate divorce?
2. how should she proceed to secure a divorce?

Answers.

1. If the husband is not spending the amount of money required of him to provide her and and her dependents food and shelter; if he has ceased cohabiting with her, whether deliberately or for a protracted period (i.e. one year or more), due to absence abroad, imprisonment, or sickness for example (but not due to study, trade, lawful employment, or military service) or even under one and the same roof for a period varying from six months to three years according to the jurists of the different schools; if she has discovered a physical or other blemish in him that makes the conditions of conjugal life impossible or intolerable, such as sexual impotence or insanity (in which cases the marriage may already be invalid to start with, since the absence of such defects is a precondition for its validity); if any of the explicit additional conditions agreed upon in the marriage contract (if any) is not met; if he mistreats her in a patently cruel and unbearable way (e.g. she bears the marks of beating on her face or body), if he is or becomes a non-Muslim or prevents her from praying then there is grounds for divorce.

2. She should first ask her husband to give her a divorce after duly ascertaining that one of the above conditions is present, as shown by the hadith: “Any woman that asks her husband for a divorce without actual harm [being committed against her], then forbidden to her is the scent of Paradise.” Thereafter, ask a knowledgeable and God-fearing qadi or imam to grant it. She should see the qadi or imam, preferably together with her husband. The spouses must be prepared to receive and apply matrimonial counsel and must show that all avenues of reconciliation have been exhausted. At any rate, the qadi or imam has to verify, after due course of investigation and cross-examination, that the wife is being mistreated in a harsh and intolerable manner before he can pronounce a divorce. The wife must also be prepared to spend her `idda (post-separation waiting-period of four months and ten days) under the conjugal roof during which time cohabitation is forbidden. And Allah knows best.


I also found the following material I had saved from previous discussions on the issue:

Woman’s Right to Divorce in Pakistani Law

Family Law in Pakistan is in adherance with the principles of the Hanafi madhhab.

The Dissolution of Marriages Act of 1939 in Pakistan provides the woman the facility of obtaining what is called “judicial divorce” by decree of a court. Section 2 of this Act paraphrased below stipulates the grounds whereby this dissolution of marriage can be sought by the woman:

1. husband’s whereabouts unknown for 2 years
2. husband’s full delinquency in providing maintenance for 2 years
2a. husband’s polygamy on an illegal basis
3. husband’s imprisonment for 7 or more years
4. husband’s delinquency in performing marital obligations for 3 years
5. husband’s impotence at time of marriage and up to application
6. husband’s insanity for 2 years, leprosy, or virulent venereal disease
7. wife having been given in marriage before 16 years of age and repudiating the marriage before 18, provided marriage was not consummated
8. husband’s cruelty such as:

a. habitual assault or even non-physical ill-treatment
b. associating with prostitutes or leading an infamous life
c. attempting to force her into prostitution
d. disposing of her property or preventing her rights over it
e. obstructing observance of her religious duties
f. not treating her equitably according to Qur’an if he has more than one wife

Source: Muhammad Sharif Chaudhry, “Women’s Rights in Islam” (Lahore: Ashraf, 1991), p. 60-61.

Additional material

And may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, his Family and all his Companions, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Hajj Gibril

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