Obviously, there is a real need to have Muslim hijabi female doctors, as none of us likes male physicians to physically examine our wives, mothers, or sisters in childbirth or any other cases that require exposing their private parts. Actually, I can never feel easy about that. The problem is that most schools of medicine in Muslim countries are coed. Should we let our girls join such schools if there are no female-only alternatives? And what to do if we want female doctors for female patients as well as male doctors for male patients? Should we prevent girls from studying medicine if non-coed schools are not available or are distant from where they live?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Dear questioner! Always seek perfection or, at least, near perfection. Answer to this question depends on the person and environment. If university systems are well designed to ensure safety and solemnity and to prevent male-female privacy and immorality in both student-student and student-teacher relationships, then there is no impediment to sending girls to such educational institutions, in view of the pressing need to have female nurses, obstetricians, and gynecologists.

If, otherwise, corruption is prevalent, it is a totally different case. What really matters in Shari`ah is the mainstream. If only a few number of disorderly incidents or students is reported at a given university, this should not raise much concern. As jurists maintain, prevalence outweighs infrequency. And Allah knows best.

I am an Australian Muslim, and I live in Sidney with my elderly mother, who needs someone to take care of her. The problem is that she keeps calling me to return to Christianity. I am thinking of leaving her and moving out to another house in order not to be affected by her words. Is this the right decision?

Do not leave your mother, and keep on treating her well, but beware of falling prey to her temptations. Allah says, {Give thanks to Me and to your parents; unto Me is the final destination. But if they strive with you to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not, but behave with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him who turns to Me in repentance and obedience} (Luqman:14 and 15).

What is the ruling on women playing sports and teaching physical education classes at girl schools?

This is generally permissible, as long as there is no intermingling between the two sexes and the girls are alone at the school. Exercising is important to build the body, protect the mind, and enhance performance. It is something desirable, unless there is a Shar`i impediment, such as a man and a woman being in privacy or requiring a woman to take her clothes off.

I would like to advise Muslims against overstrict observance of the rule of blocking possible ways to evil. It is favorable to keep away from imposing unjustifiable constraints over people in something that may be involving no evil at all. If such rule is not applied for some interest, such interest must be significant and reasonable.

I am a Mauritanian studying in Germany. I have the honor to ask you about the permissibility of marrying a Western Kitabi woman who claims to be Christian but does not abide by the teachings of her religion.

And what is the ruling on marriage with the intention of divorce for the purpose of obtaining residency? Is this intention permissible?

First, it is permissible to marry that German, who is considered Christian even if she believes that Jesus is a god. Allah, Exalted be He, calls them People of the Scripture, though He says,{Verily, they have disbelieved who say, “Indeed, Allah is the third of three”}. He also says,{Verily, they have disbelieved who say, “Indeed, Allah Himself is the Messiah, Son of Mary”}. Nevertheless, they were left to their beliefs and remained People of the Scripture. Accordingly, it is permissible to marry her. This is not a problem.

Second, marriage with the intention of divorce is valid, according to majority of Muslim scholars, such as Ash-Shatibi and Ibn Al-`Arabi, and this is the correct opinion in the Maliki school of jurisprudence. It is permissible to get married while intending to divorce. There is no problem with this, provided that this is not stated expressly in the marriage document.

Third, there is no impediment to get married for the purpose of obtaining residency in Germany. A Prophetic hadith tells us that a woman is married for her wealth, her beauty, and her lineage. Here, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned other reasons than the basic reason for marriage, namely, to live together and have children. This is the concept of subsequent reasons or objectives, as Ash-Shatibi called them. In his Al-Muwafaqat,he said, “There is no impediment to get married for any of such subsequent reasons”. Obtaining residency is a subsequent reason, and although this subsequent reason has now become primary in importance, it remains permissible. Of course, there are resolutions by the European Council for Fatwa and Research disapproving this on the basis of weighing up the benefits and harms that may ensue. However, we say that the Shar`i ruling is that it is permissible to get married for the purpose of obtaining residency.
A final point to note: The only problem with this is that it may give a bad impression of Muslims among Westerners. The woman thinks that she will live permanently with her husband, while the latter does not actually have this intention. So, we recommend that, if there is no necessity requiring otherwise, the marriage should be with the intention of continuity — but not perpetuity, as marriage in Islam is not perpetual like Christian marriage, as Ibn Al-`Arabi said — especially if the wife wishes to stay with him. This practice would distort the image of Islam and Muslims in the eyes of others, which is impermissible.

To conclude, there is no Shar`i impediment to marriage with the intention of divorce or for the purpose of obtaining residency. Only the last negative consequence highlighted above must be avoided.

May Allah grant us all success.

In his answer to al-Sharq al-Awsat Newspaper’s question about the permissibility of criticizing a religious group in a comedic way as in Arabic drama, his eminence sheikh Abdullah ibn Bayyah, member of the Fiqh Academy in Mecca, said:

Basically, it is definitely prohibited to criticize, mock at, or deride of the right religion and whoever does this bears enormous sin. But if this is about irreligious or improper practices or about things attributed to the religion while they are not of it, this apparently seems permissible.

The sheikh added that criticizing the commissions that enjoin good and forbid evil, which are not infallible, is not permissible except in a respectable manner and after verifying the credibility of some issues to shun sinful accusations and defamation. He pointed out that criticism should be only for rectification not for spreading chaos in society. He considered resorting to sardonic comedy in criticizing practices attributed to the religion as something that Muslim communities are not familiar with. This thus could lead to evil when criticism turns to be impugnment.

Dr. Ibn Bayyah likened criticism in some cases to walking on thorns. It may also give the impression of being part of an international program that aims at distorting Islam and some of its institutions. This could stir and fuel troubles.