By Alveena Salim

As an East London girl, it wasn’t unusual to see crowds of Muslim guys standing outside libraries waiting to try it on with any girl that passed through the door. Nor was it unusual to see groups of Muslim guys standing on top of street corners making comments at girls that walked past.

It definitely wasn’t unusual to see a guy drive round the same block at least four times just to take another look at a girl. Guys chased the girls. The girls played hard to get. But a couple of years down the line, I don’t see that any more. Why? Coz guys don’t need to chase girls any more.

What is the best way to dispose of literature which contains Islamic terminology, Ahadith or verses of the Qur’an etc? Is it OK to shred them and then throw them away or should we stick them in the recycle pile or burn them?

Answer by Shaykh Salim Ghiza

In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent and Merciful.

All Muslims are unanimous that the Qur’an is no ordinary piece of writing and therefore a person needs to be in ritual purification i.e. ablution to touch the words of Allah. Therefore a process of respect has to be followed when one needs to dispose old pages of the Qur’an. Also, if the pages are not from the Qur’an but contain Islamic writings i.e. Hadith, Fiqh, supplications etc then again they must also be disposed of with respect and honour.

Can a person wear perfume/aftershave that contains alcohol? If so can they pray with that on?

Answer by Shaykh Salim Ghiza

In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent and Merciful.

Alcohol as a form of intoxicant is not only Haram to drink but is also impure (Najis). This means that when it contacts something pure then the pure item will absorb the impurity and all will become impure. However, the question remains as to whether the alcohol that is used in perfumes is the same alcohol that is used in liquor.

Select messages received by the Editor

Salaam

I would just like to congratulate you on the beautiful magazine you have put together. I have only recently come across it in east London, so therefore it would be good to distribute as much as we can. I am a secondary teacher in education and think it would be beneficial for many of our students, for literature as well as getting involved in any projects you run or planning to run in London. Please keep me posted.

Yassar Sadiq, London

By Sajid Iqbal

You're sat on the bus with your mates. You're having a wicked meal at a top restaurant with your work colleagues. You're walking down a busy road with your partner. You're attending a football match with your brothers. You're on the plane with your parents. Then a huge BANG! A massive explosion. Bodies are flying everywhere. Hundreds dead and injured. Soon it's reported it was a suicide bomb. Nobody knows why. Everyone questions what have the victims done to deserve this? Nothing makes sense. How can anyone do this? Hours later a Muslim organisation takes responsibility for the suicide attack.