I have a question that may seem queer but it haunts me often. Islam is the religion of the Lord of all the worlds. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger for all the worlds. But has Islam reached all the people of the earth in a perfect and proper way? Islam has not reached many of the people of in the world in a proper way. They do not know it or they know it in a distorted way that may drive them away from even reading or searching about it; besides, there is no honest translation about Islam in any language. How will Allah hold them accountable for something they knew nothing about? Also, do the people of the Scripture know that they are wrong and that Islam is the religion of Allah?
I see many of them believing that they are right. Some persons say to me that they have to search for the truth. But I wonder, if any of us hears about a new religion propagated by someone, would we go and examine it? Or would we avoid conducting any research because we believe that we are right? Similarly, they believe that they are right; so why should they conduct such a research? Is this a trial that Almighty Allah put the people of the Scripture to and relieved it from those who have been born as Muslims in Muslim families without any hardship?

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessing be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and his companions. It seems that the question can be reduced to: Has Islam reached all the people? The answer is that Islam has not reached all the people, but it may reach all of them in time because in one hadith we read, “The Hour of doom will not come until there is no house – be it a tent or a building – but this religion will enter it with might or with humility.” [Reported by Ahmad (16957) al-Bayhaqy in his Sunan (9:181), al-Tabarany in al-Kabeer (1280)] Hence, the religion will spread. Media channels and globalization that has turned the earth into one village have provided tools to allow Islam to enter every house. Muslims have to make committed efforts to convey Islam to others.
As for whether this has taken place or not, it may have not taken place yet. Those who are punishable by fire are those whom the religion has reached but they did not believe in it. Almighty Allah said, “Say: ‘This Quran has been revealed to me [as a means] with which to forewarn you and whomever it reaches.’ ” [6:19]; that is, to forewarn you and all those whom it reaches, even if they have not seen me or talked to me. Thus, whoever the Quran has reached has been forewarned by it. Hence, we have to convey it to all the people. When the Quran reaches them, the proof against them becomes established. On the other hand, the proof is not established against those whom the Quran has not reached. Their case is rather like the case of the people who lived in the interval between the prophets, such as those who lived before the prophetic mission. Almighty Allah said, “Never do We torment [any nation] until We send forth a messenger [with heavenly guidance],” [17:15] and also said, “Whenever any throng [of non-muslims] is cast into it [the fire], its keepers say to them: Did there not come to you a forewarner? They will say: Oh yes! There did, indeed, come to us a forewarner.” [67:8-9] Almighty Allah has sent the messengers so that people would have no proof against Allah. The proof becomes established, complete and overwhelming – “Say: Yet to Allah belongs the all-conclusive proof,” [6:149] – when the message reaches a person and he does not believe in it out of bigotry, turning away from it, hating it, or disbelieving and denying it. Almighty Allah said, “Thus, even though, within their souls, they were certain of them (the signs), they disavowed them, wrongfully and haughtily.” [27:14] They do not want to see the truth, “They enfold [unbelief within] their breast.” [11:5]
Many of the non-Muslims these days may be in this situation. Perhaps some of them have seen the truth and the facts have become clear for him, but they stick to their habits and love the power they have, or their hatred towards Muslims drives them to be fanatic and turns them blind, and thus they turn away from reflecting on the Book of Allah. Such turning away from reflection, in spite of it being possible, and turning away from the message, in spite of the ability to know it, make the person punishable, “Indeed, the [true] religion with Allah is Islam” [3:19] “And so, anyone who seeks a religion other than Islam, never shall it be accepted from him.” [3:85] In this world we live together and, “none should be forced to embrace any religion ……..” [2:256] This is our position and this show we call people in other countries to Islam. This does not mean that the truth is many. The truth is one. It is this religion which is the last religion and the one that has dominance over all other religions. This, in short, is the answer of this question.

What is the ruling of a Muslim working in the department of secret investigations for non-Muslims who track Muslims? Such a person claims to have the goal of helping Islam. I hope to provide him with the evidence for this ruling based on the opinions of the early and contemporary scholars. What should we do with this person to guide him to the straight path?

This job cannot be permitted. In fact, if a person works in these investigations, he will naturally cause harm to his brothers, because he works for a salary and thus he has to cause harm to his brothers or he will be considered as being disloyal by the others. In both cases he faces dangers, either in this world or in the Hereafter. Thus, we advice everybody not to take these types of jobs. We call upon every Muslim to be honest and never to be dishonest with those who trust him, be he a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Nevertheless, none should expose himself to such work that causes harm, either to himself or to others. Therefore, he should keep himself away from such things, as one poet said:
To be safe from Salma and her neighbor, never pass by a valley that is next to her valley
Accordingly, to be safe and in order to have good relations with both Muslims and non-Muslims, one should keep himself away from such work, and he should not take a job that causes harm to people or to himself. This job involves great danger. We can never give a fatwa for the permissibility of this job as its prohibition is apparent. However, we will not deem him as a non-Muslim if he does this job. We rather say that he thus commits an enormous, evil misdeed. Allah knows best.

For what reason has the West surpassed Muslims in all fields, while we have the gracious Quran with its innumerable treasures? Is it us who fall short of understanding the Quran? Why do we suffice ourselves with only eloquent words? We can analyze, use evidence and make refutations. But can we pace with the West and its progress in different fields?

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Almighty Allah has set laws for this universe. He says, “Whoever desires this [life of] haste, We shall hasten for him therein whatever We so will for whomever We intend.” [17:18] and says, “Whoever desires the tillage of the Hereafter, We shall increase for him his [reward for this] tillage. But whoever desires the tillage of this world, We shall give him of thereof.” [42:20] Western countries have observed these universal laws – the laws of hard and constant work, and rational means. They used these laws of advancement which are based on cultivating the land, as Almighty Allah said, “They cultivated the land and built it up [far] more proficiently than these [non-muslims] have built it up.” [30:9]
Cultivating the earth is achieved through building on it, through inspecting it, searching for minerals and water, and through digging out its treasures. Whoever makes use of these laws will find results. The issue is not that we have the Quran and we do not understand it. It is our falling short of acting upon the injunctions of the Quran. The Quran commands us to work, “Say: Work.” [9:105] It commands us to give up laziness and to be ready with power, “So prepare for them all that you can marshal of power…” [8:60] We fall short of complying with and applying Quranic injunctions.
Thus, the issue is clear; he who did not plant seeds cannot wait for a harvest. We cannot wait for the result without taking the introductory steps. These are the laws of Almighty Allah and expecting different results than these laws dictate is impossible. There are the injunctions of the Creator and the laws of creation. It is true that the West has been negligent and unmindful with regard to the laws of conduct; namely, with regard to answering the call of Almighty Allah with regards to their transactions and their relation with their Lord, but they have followed the laws of creation.
A guided Caliphate is based on two aspects: the aspect of the universal laws of advancement, which is based on cultivating the earth, and the ethical aspect, which is based on, “And their messengers came to them with clear proofs” [30:9] as indicated in the verse that reads, “They cultivated the land and built it up [far] more proficiently than these [non-Muslims] had done. And their messengers came to them with clear proofs.” [30:9] They did not believe in what the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) came with, but they cultivated the land and built it up. The reason is so clear. There must be diligence, order, system and hard work. There must be an innovative, not heretical, movement to deal with this universe. Without this we cannot build up the land in a perfect and guided way. Allah knows best.

I have a Muslim friend who is not convinced with the religion. Whenever I have a discussion with him he says, “How do you know that Islam is the true religion? I need a realistic proof other than the old stories.” He is not convinced with my words. I want an answer from your eminence so that he might return to guidance.
May you always be under the care of Allah!

And upon you be peace, together with the mercy and blessings of Allah. This person is not a believer. He is rather one of those concerning whom Allah said, “And whose hearts have a doubt. Thus they waver in their doubt.” [9:45] We seek refuge with Allah from such a condition.
As for convincing him, he should be directed to consider the miracles of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and to ponder on the open book of the universe, which includes all the creatures of this universe, and on the written Book, which is the readable revelation, and the miracles and clear verses it includes. Through this consideration and reflection he will, eventually, reach faith and will know that he was not created by no-one. Almighty Allah said, “Or were they created out of nothing? Or were they the creators [of themselves]? Or is it that they are the ones who created the heavens and the earth? Rather, they have no certainty.” [52:35-35] It is He who created man, “And [they (the signs) are all] within yourselves as well. Can you not see?” [51:21] and created the surrounding environment, including celestial bodies, heavens, the sun, the moon, the earth on which we live, the air we breathe and all the benefits of the earth. Of course, this Great Creator is not part of this universe.
One who considers the miracles of the prophets that Allah gave them, including the miracles of the Seal of the prophets (peace and blessings be upon him), knows for sure that they are from Almighty Allah. The most important thing for this person is to consider the scientific miracles of the Quran and the Sunnah. Had the Quran been from other than Allah, it would not have included, for example, the phases of the embryo. Almighty Allah said, “Verily, We created man out of an extraction of mud. Then We made him a sperm-drop set in a well-established place. Then We created the sperm-drop into a clinging clot. Then We created the clinging clot into a morsel-like lump. Then We created, from the morsel-like lump, bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Thus do We bring him forth as an entirely different creation. So blessed be Allah the best of creators.” [23:12-14] How could the Quran have talked so clearly and explicitly about these four phases that scholars came to know about only in contemporary time had it not been from other than Almighty Allah?
Moreover, many of the verses of the Quran are related to the scientific miracles, such as the verse of sending down iron, “And We sent down iron in which there is a mighty force, and [in which there are] many benefits for all people.” [57:25] Scientifically, it has been proven that iron was not made in the earth but rather in another place. Also add to this the description of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found in the old Scriptures and how he managed to amend souls and hearts, and to guide a misguided and lost nation.
All these are miracles that he has to revise and consider. He needs to read the Quran and reflect on it, to attend scholars’ sessions, and to ponder on the past and the future of his life and on his destiny. We mention all this in brief; and if we wanted to explain all the miracles and verses, this would take a long time. This amount is enough. We advise this person to seek guidance from Almighty Allah, “Whomever Allah guides, then he is truly guided. But whomever He leaves to stray, then never shall you find for him any rightly guiding patron” [18:17] “Indeed, you cannot guide all those whom you love [to Islam]. Rather, it is Allah who guides whomever He so wills.” [28:56] Let him ponder on the verses of Almighty Allah and sit with scholars to ask them about the doubts of his heart. He should also review Dala’il al-Nubuwwah by al-Bayhaqy which is a book that contains many of the miracles of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). About the origin of iron, he should consult the results of the scientific miracles of the Quran published by the Society of the Miracles of the Quran. Such results are many and leave no doubt that the Quran is not from a human being but rather from Almighty Allah. This is all we can say now. As I said, he should go and sit with scholars, pray to Almighty Allah, and ask His guidance.

Peace be upon you. My husband divorced me weeks ago and then he took me back. Now I want to ask for khul` but he has told me that he will not make the same mistakes (namely, not spending on me or providing a house, as I used to pay for everything). However, I do not want to keep living with him. I want to know if it was his right not to give me khul`.

The husband has to spend on his wife. If she asks for khul` after this, he has the right to accept or reject. This is the position of the majority of scholars. The husband does not have to accept the wife’s request for khul`, but it is recommended that he should accept it and not keep her while she is reluctant to stay. But if she insists, the judge should interfere to examine the reason for such schism, whether it is the husband or the wife, and send two arbitrators. Almighty Allah says, “Then, send an arbitrator from his people and another arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will bring about harmony between the two of them.” [4:35] Sending the two arbitrators is very important in the Shari`ah. If it becomes apparent that the husband is responsible for the problem, they can enforce the divorce. If the problem is on the wife’s side, they should ask her to observe the etiquettes of the matrimonial relationship. If no reconciliation takes place, the judge should ask the husband to accept her request for khul`.
Thus the position of the majority of jurists is that the husband does not have to accept khul`. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Thabit ibn Qays to part from his wife who asked for khul`, and he said to her, “Will you give back his garden to him?” She said, “Yes.” [Sahih al-Bukhary (5273)] This was a recommendation, but not an obligation.