In our country, where power is held by a secular majority that adopts Western ideologies, we live in a state of severe alienation and restriction. We cannot even answer the call to Prayer. Are we sinners? In fact, if we perform Friday Prayer, we are at a high risk of being imprisoned or punished. What should we do in such circumstances?

All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It is too sorrowful a tragedy to find an Islamic country where Muslims are prevented from performing Prayers at mosques. I advise the questioner and other Muslims living in that country to try to talk to the government to allow the performance of congregational Prayers. If it is a fact that the West itself calls for freedom of religion and freedom of thought, then Muslims should never remain in such a restrictive situation.
If the questioner could not convince them peacefully, then he should try to move to another country where congregational Prayer is established. And if he could neither move nor negotiate with them, then Allah never lays on one a burden that he cannot bear. When the due time of Prayer commences, he may pray at home in congregation with his family or friends, and he is to perform Friday Prayer as four rak`ahs (units of Prayer) at home too, as long as this is the most he can do. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If I order you to do something, then do as much as you can of it” [Al-Bukhari, 7288; Muslim 1337].

I have a sister who works in Islamic Da`wah, in particular teaching Qur’anic intonation and recitation. She lives in an Arab country where people appreciate teachers, and she is respected much there because she teaches something related to religion. Once, a ceremony was held as a tribute to her, and she was offered a gift, but she strongly refused to accept it. Was she right in her refusal?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and prayer be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It seems that this Muslim sister is too pious. Accepting a gift offered by a certain body, not a person, is acceptable in Islamic Shari`ah, based on the authentic hadith in which the Prophet says, “The worthiest thing to receive a wage for is (teaching) the Book of Allah” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 5737]. This hadith is cited by the three imams, Malik, Ash-Shafi`i, and Ahmad, to prove the permissibility of accepting payments for teaching the Qur’an. There is a widely known hadith that emphatically prohibits accepting any recompense in return for teaching the Qur’an.
The clearest evidence on prohibition is the hadith reported by Ubay Ibn Ka`b (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, “I taught a man (some of) the Qur’an, and subsequently, he gave me a bow. When I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah, he said to me, ‘If you take it, you will be taking a bow of fire’. So, I returned it” [Ibn Majah, 2158]. Al-Bayhaqi and Ibn `Abdul-Barr deemed it “disconnected”, while some Qur’anic scholars disagreed with them. After all, this hadith remains controversial, and scholars retorted that it is either abrogated or has a special interpretation, on the grounds that the man had no other teacher, and thus, this (the obligation to teach him Qur’an was) was an individual, not collective, obligation.
This is proved by the hadith in which the Prophet gave `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) money and said to him, “Whatever Allah gives you from it without begging or pursuit, then take it” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 1473; Sahih Muslim, 1045; Sunan An-Nasa’i, 2605]. There is another hadith that reads, “Exchange gifts with one another so that love increases among you” [Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (Unique Literature), 594]; Abu Ya`la, 6013; and Al-Bayhaqi in Ash-Shu`ab (the Branches), 8693]. This indicates that exchanging presents promotes cordiality.
So, we think it would be better for her to accept the gift, and if she is still uncertain, she can then give it away in charity. Also, she should be courteous with her colleagues, as Islam urges kindness and good manners and criticizes harshness. May Allah reward her well for her piousness and fear of falling into doubtful matters. But still, she should be more insightful with respect to her religion. And Allah knows best.

A married woman rarely goes out to visit her neighbors because she is busy with taking care of her children. In addition, her husband returns home from work in the afternoon, which is the most proper time for visiting people in her country. She hates to go out and leave him alone. Is she a sinner because she does not visit or call her neighbors? May Allah reward you all the good!

If this is the case, she is not a sinner. However, she has to keep in touch with her neighbors and know how they are doing, even by phone. If she is having a banquet, she can send them food, and if she slaughters an animal, she can give them a share. This is their right on her. Almighty Allah knows best.

I am a young man who is in the habit of checking his garment to make sure they are pure. When I find stains, I am not sure whether they are drops of urine or other stains. At one point I decided to see a physician, however, after making Istikharah, I did not go, but I am still worried. Is it permissible for me to make Istikharah if I doubt my purity? Please answer me, may Allah reward you with good!

Praying Istikharah is always a good thing. Yet, Istikharah is offered regarding permissible matters and not obligatory, desirable, prohibited or undesirable matters. Obligatory and desirable matters are done without offering Istikharah, just as undesirable and prohibited matters are avoided without offering Istikharah.
As for the inquirer, he seems to be always in doubt and he needs to ignore these ideas. He may follow the opinion of Imam Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) who says that sprinkling the garment with water eliminates the effect of any stains of urine. All you have to do is to sprinkle your garment with water. This view is adopted by Imam Ahmad as well. The basic ruling of objects is that they are pure. Thus, the garment is pure unless you are certain it is not.

Is it permissible to sell or buy after the Adhan is pronounced for any prayer other than the Jumu`ah prayer? What is the ruling on the contract concluded in this case? Does the ruling differ if one of the parties or both of them are non-Muslims? Give us your Fatwa, may Allah reward you!

The prohibition to conduct sales after the Adhan is restricted to the Jumu`ah prayer, for Allah says: “O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salat (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu’ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allah [Jumu’ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salat (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing)…” (Al-Jumu`ah, 62:9) This order to leave off business is particular to Jumu`ah prayer, while it is permissible to conduct business after the Adhan of any other prayer. On the other hand, if this business distracts a Muslim from prayer, any distraction is not permissible. In any case, the contract is valid and it does not matter if one of the parties or both are non-Muslims.