I'm a practising Muslim, ask me anything...

[tt9]

For context, I am late 30s female practising Muslim medical professional and have been practising for most of my adult life (to varying degrees).

Feel like a lot of people have questions that they don't ask as they fear causing offence. also there are some commonly held beliefs regarding muslims/Islam that are urban myths... so ask away. no question too offensive

sorry have no idea what you mean? I have been lucky enough to buy property twice and have many friends who have purchased properties including several friends in the real estate business/solicitors specialising in property. I can tell you that myself and every other Muslim person I know have paid stamp duty... pain that it is. please may I ask where you got your info from?

HM Land Registry

I got the information from the government web site.

this just directs to the homepage? please would you mind sending me the specific link?

I have no clue how to pm. Lol

Whatever reason you think I am asking a question should not have anything to do with your answers though should it? Whatever reason you think I might be asking about slavery your at answer should be independent of that I would have thought. You put yourself up to answer questions and do not seem to like some.

There are, I think, nearly two billion Muslims, several schools of thought and varying interpretations on some things. How can you give an answer representative of all that? Muslims have different opinions on things, just like non Muslims and while there are a few universal basics within the religion the idea that you can give an idea of what Muslims think is strange. Some of your answers are also portraying things in the best light possible and many might disagree. No disrespect intended.

I am interested in what people believe, how and why. So was asking how you see some things.

@WhatWhereWho not here to pick a fight with anyone, nor have I claimed to represent all muslims. you are fully entitled to your opinions. I don't feel I am in a position to assist you further with your questions. I wish you all the best.

I am curious about Sharia Bank Accounts.

I understand that these are only available to Muslims and they can get interest- free loans and and no Bank Charges.

Or have a I got that wrong?

Hiya, thanks for the question :-)

as we all know there is no such thing as free money. these bank accounts charge a fixed fee instead for loans and end up being a lot more expensive than standard interest linked loans. because the whole economy is interest based and no bank can be free from interest. so essentially these bank accounts are just a scam/gimmick. the client is still paying interest + another fee and the bank is just calling it something else.

and there are definitely bank charges.

that's why, these options are not very popular and everyone I know has standard accounts/loans. including myself. currently paying an eye watering interest rate on my mortgage

@Oypoy any luck with that link?

OK

that's why, these options are not very popular and everyone I know has standard accounts/loans. including myself. currently paying an eye watering interest rate on my mortgage

As I understand it, In Islam, it is forbidden for Muslims to both receive and pay interest (Riba). This means Muslims cannot charge interest on debts or money owed. Bank accounts typically accumulate interest over time which means many Muslims inadvertently acquire interest without actively seeking to.

So how do Muslims navigate that hurdle?

you are absolutely right that it is forbidden. unfortunately there is no way in the modern economy to avoid it. the whole world runs on interest. some Muslims get together among friends and family and save money together and buy houses with cash (taking it in turns). personally, I operate within the standard banking system (as with everyone else I know) because I feel I have no other choice. but definitely recognise that it's not ideal and not in line with how I would like to practise my beliefs.

Thank you for that answer which is most interesting.

As a Christian I also find it very difficult sometimes to practice my faith in a modern, secular world.

However, it seems to me that Christians are held to a higher standard than any other faith or non-faith, (certainly on these boards anyway).

It seems to me (perhaps wrongly so) that Muslims are except from criticism while Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Ba'hai seem to be on the receiving end of much prejudice, hate, ridicule and censure.

Do you have an opinion on this?

If you choose not to respond then I will accept that, as it is a controversial issue.

@BenandGerrys yes certainly practising any faith in the modern world has its challenges. not sure I would agree that Muslims are not criticised on mumsnet or otherwise. have seen plenty of islamophobic views/comments every where over the years and experience islamophobic comments/attitudes/prejudice on a regular basis. i have also been physically attacked. I wear a hijab so obviously Muslim and hence more of a target to some.

perhaps you may have seen less of it because of the selection of threads that you may have seen may have been more specific to your own interests/faith?

Are there specialist private hairdressers for Muslim women or do hijab wearing women not cut or colour their hair?

I am sorry to hear that you have been subject to physical attack because of your attire. That is totally unacceptable behaviour and I hope it was dealt with appropriately.

Thank you for your attention.

Muslim women do cut/colour their hair. not all Muslim women wear hijab, and they go to standard hair dressers. those that wear hijab, go to women's only salons or places which have the option of privacy. I go to a hairdresser where I can book a separate private room and I ask for a female hair dresser. there are no restrictions on how Muslim women style their hairs/bodies but tattoos or any harmful modifications are forbidden for all Muslims: men and women.

Gone from thinking am starting from a place of anger, to not liking the intention behind some questions, to not answering some to calling it a day. As well as the disingenuous answers in places to others. Have fun.

You asked for questions here again. Ok as a Muslim how do you reconcile yourself with the Quran sanctioning slavery? Do you think it's acceptable? If yes -why? If no -why?

Since there are hadith that are considered reliable and unreliable how can any be trusted?

@tt9 are you coming back here? Question here as requested rather than on your other thread :)

apologies, didn't see this until now. for some reason my notifications don't always refresh!

when Islam came, it did not abolish slavery - instead, it made it increasingly difficult to have slaves so people essentially freed slaves because it became too expensive to keep them. the Qur'an does not sanction slavery - it provides guidance on how they should be treated - i.e. Well- given the same food as the 'owners', provided with good accommodation, never abused in any way. and freeing slaves is a way of absolving pretty much all sins - missed a fast - free a slave, made a mistake in the pilgrimage - free a slave, the list goes on.

a large proportion of early Muslims were slaves and the early Muslims who were wealthy made it a point to buy and free slaves on a large scale. and these individuals went on to play key roles in Muslim society. eg. Hazrat Bilal (RA) who was the first muezzin (person who calls the adhaan) and many others.

@WhatWhereWho sorry missed the second question in your post. brain is frazzled today

so the compilation of hadiths was done within two generations of the Prophet (pbuh). the Arabs at the time had a oral tradition, where individuals memorised events and very few things were written down. when it came down to the compilation, the various sources of each narration were validated against each other (so narrations are considered sound if there are three or more corroborations of the same narration). for example if three different people confirmed that Prophet (pbuh) looked after his unwell elderly neighbour who used to throw rubbish on him every morning as he walked to the mosque (this in fact happened) then we know that's an accurate narration. if any of the narrators were known to have been unreliable, their narrations are classified as 'weak'.

the compiling scholars also matched up narrations to historical events and Qur'anic revelations and wrote expositions based on the context. hope that explains it.

yes, am here! sorry my notifications are playing up...I will make sure to keep checking back on this thread now to make sure I don't miss any more posts!

@WhatWhereWho by the way, I really appreciate that you asked your question on this thread! my attempts to keep the other one only for pm's has not been going well! I also realised only now as i read through this thread again that that you had asked me that question about slavery before as well and I completely missed it. sorry about that.

Thank you for the answer, no problem for missing it.

That's the thing believers -in any faith or ideology can justify anything to themselves. Otherwise decent people justify all manner of cruelty. I know the standard answers that are given. Given that because slavery is sanctioned in the Quran should it still be allowed, there are some hardline figures who have argued that. How come Allah thought it was important enough to ban pork but not slavery? For example do you think the giving and acceptance of women as sex slaves is acceptable?

Owning slaves is morally wrong you would agree - right?

You are welcome. With regards to the hadiths -there are different schools of thought though. If some agree on certain hadiths and another does not who should you follow?

Why is interpretation of the faith vague enough that multiple hadiths could exist and still be disputed? Does not seem very clear from Allah does it?