Persons with whom Nikâh is Harâm

1. Marriage with one's children, grand-children, great grand-children, etc. is not permissible. Nor is marriage with one's parents, grand-parents, maternal grand-parents, etc. permissible.

2. Marriage with one's brothers, uncles and nephews is not permissible. According to the Sharî‘ah, a brother is one whose mother and father is the same, or they have one father but two mothers, or one mother but two fathers. They are all brothers. But if the father is different, and the mother is also different; that person will not be a brother. Nikâh with him will be valid.

3. Marriage with one's son-in-law is not permissible. This is irrespective of whether the daughter is already living with him or not. In all cases, nikâh with him is harâm.

4. A girl's father passed away. Her mother married another person. However, before the mother could even live with her new husband, she passed away or he divorced her. In such a case, the girl can marry this step-father of hers. However, if the mother lived with him, it will not be permissible for this girl to marry him.

5. Nikâh with one's step-children is not valid. In other words, if a man has several wives, then one of the wives cannot marry the children of the co-wives. This is irrespective of whether she had lived with her husband or not. Nikâh with these children is prohibited under all circumstances.

6. It is not permissible for a woman to marry her father-in-law or even the father or grand-father of her father-in-law.

7. As long as a sister is married to her husband, it is not permissible for another sister to marry this brother-in-law of hers. However, if her sister passes away or he divorces her and she completes her iddah, it will be permissible for the other sister to marry her brother-in-law. In the case where the brother-in-law divorces the first sister, it is not permissible for the second sister to marry her brother-in-law until her sister completes her iddah.

8. If two sisters marry one person, the marriage of the sister whose nikâh was performed first will be valid while the marriage of the sister whose nikâh was performed later will not be valid.

9. A man married a woman. As long as he remains married to her, he cannot marry her maternal and paternal aunts and nieces.

10. If the relationship between two women is such that if we had to regard one of them as a man, their nikâh will not be valid, then such two women cannot marry a person at the same time. When one of them passes away or one of them is divorced and completes her iddah, only then will it be permissible for the person to marry the other woman.

11. If a woman and her step-daughter marry a person at the same time, the nikâh will be valid.

12. Adoption is not considered in the Sharî‘ah. By adopting a boy, he does not become one's son. It is therefore permissible to marry one's adopted son.

13. If a man is not one's real uncle but he becomes an uncle through some other distant relationship, marrying him is permissible. Similarly, if a man happens to be one's paternal uncle or nephew through some distant relationship, nikâh with him is permissible. Nikâh with one's cousins is also valid irrespective of whether they are paternal or maternal cousins.

14. Two women who are not blood sisters but are maternal or paternal cousins are permitted to marry one man at the same time. In the presence of such a cousin, another cousin can also marry the same man. The same rule applies to a very distant maternal or paternal aunt. That is, the niece and this distant maternal or paternal aunt can marry the same man at one time.

15. All the relations which become harâm on account of lineage also become harâm on account of breast-feeding. In other words, if a girl is breast-fed by a particular woman, then this girl cannot marry the latter's husband because he will now be regarded as her father. A girl who has been breast-fed by a particular woman cannot marry a boy who has been breast-fed by the same woman. Nor can this girl marry the children of this woman because she is also regarded as a child of this woman. All the maternal and paternal uncles and maternal and paternal nephews who become related due to this breast-feeding also become harâm on this girl.

16. If two girls have been breast-fed by one woman, they cannot marry the same man at one time. In other words, whatever has been explained previously, will also apply to relations based on breast-feeding.

17. A man committed adultery with a certain woman. Now it will not be permissible for her mother or her children to marry this man.

18. Due to the passions of youth, a woman touched a man with evil intentions. It will now not be permissible for her mother or her children to marry this man. Similarly, if a man touches a woman with evil intentions, her mother and her children will be harâm on him.

19. In the middle of the night, a man decided to awaken his wife. However, he mistakenly touched his daughter or his mother-in-law. Thinking them to be his wife, he touched them with the passions of youth. Now, this man will become harâm on his wife forever. There is no way in which she can become permissible for him. It will be necessary for him to divorce his wife.

20. If a boy touches his step-mother with an evil intention, she will become harâm on her husband. There is no way in which she can be halâl for him. If the step-mother touches her step-son with an evil intention, the same rule will apply.

21. A Muslim woman cannot marry a man who belongs to any other religion. She can only marry a Muslim man.

22. A woman's husband divorced her or he passed away. As long as she does not complete her iddah, she cannot marry anyone else.

23. Once a woman marries a man, she cannot marry another person unless and until she is divorced by this person and also completes her iddah.

24. If a woman is not married and she falls pregnant due to adultery, it will be permissible to marry her. However, it will not be permissible to have intercourse with her until she delivers the child. But if the woman marries the same person who had committed adultery with her, it will be permissible for the person to have intercourse with her.

25. If a person has four wives, he cannot marry a fifth woman. If he happens to divorce one of his four wives, another woman cannot marry him until the one who is divorced completes her iddah.

26. The marriage of a Sunnî girl with a Shî'ah man is not permissible according to the majority of the ‘ulamâ.

Beliefs concerning the Sahabah (Companions)

1. 1. Those Muslims who have seen our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and have died as Muslims, are known as Sahabah. Very great virtues have been mentioned with regard to them. We have to love and think good of all of them. If we hear of any dispute or conflict among them, we should regard it as a misunderstanding or a miscalculation. We should not speak any ill of them.

The greatest among them are four Companions: Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq radiallahu anhu. He took the place of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and supervised the matters of the Deen. He is therefore called the first Khalifah. He is the best person in the entire ummat. After him comes Hadrat Umar radiallahu anhu. He is the second Khalifah. After him is the third Khalifah, Hadrat Uthman radiallahu anhu. After him is the fourth Khalifah, Hadrat Ali radiallahu anhu.

2. The status of the Sahabah is so high that even the greatest of walis cannot reach a stage equal to the lowest Sahabi.

3. All the children and wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam are worthy of respect. Among his children, Hadrat Fatima radiallahu anha has the highest status. Among his wives, Hadrat Khadija and Hadrat Aisha radiallahu anhuma have the highest status.

Beliefs concerning heavenly books

Allâh Ta'âla has sent down many small and large books through the angel Jibra'eel alayhis salâm to the prophets so that they may teach the matters of Deen to their respective communities. Among these books, four are very famous: the Torah which was sent to Musa alayhis salâm, the Zabur which was sent to Daud alayhis salâm, the Injil which was sent to Isa alayhis salâm, and the Quran which was sent to our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The Quran is the last of the books. Now, no new book will be sent from the heavens. The instructions of the Quran will remain valid right until the day of qiyâmah. Misguided people changed a lot of things in the other books. But Allâh Ta'âla has promised the protection of the Quran. No one can change it in any way.

Beliefs concerning the auliya (friends of Allâh)

1. When a Muslim engages in an abundance of ibâdah, abstains from sins, does not become attached to the world, and follows the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in every way, he becomes the friend and beloved of Allâh Ta'âla. Such a person is called a wali. At times, a wali does certain acts which cannot be done by others. These acts are called karamât (miracles, or noble and excellent deeds).

2. No matter how high a stage a wali may reach, he will never be equal to a prophet.

3. No matter how beloved to Allâh a wali may become, as long as he is in his senses, it will be incumbent upon him to follow the Shariah. Salât, fasting, and any other act of worship is not forgiven. Acts which are sinful do not become permissible for him.

4. The person who acts contrary to the Shariah cannot be a friend of Allâh. If he does some miraculous act, then it is either magic or something enacted through the influence of the soul or satan. These things should not be believed in.

5. At times, a wali comes to know of certain mysterious things either in his sleep or while awake. This is known as kashf or ilhâm (manifestations or inspirations). If these things are in conformity with the Shariah, they are acceptable, if not, they have to be rejected.

6. Allâh and His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have shown all the matters pertaining to the Deen in the Quran and Hadith. To bring some new thing into the Deen is not permitted. Such new things are known as bid'ât (innovations). An innovation is a major sin.

Beliefs concerning angels and jinn

After creating certain creatures from light, Allâh Ta'âla concealed them from our sight. These creatures are called angels. A lot of work has been given to them. They never do anything contrary to the orders of Allâh Ta'âla. They continue doing whatever work they have been assigned to do. Among them, four angels are very famous. They are: Hadrat Jibra'eel alayhis salâm, Hadrat Mika'eel alayhis salâm, Hadrat Israfeel alayhis salâm, and Hadrat Izra'eel alayhis salâm.
Allâh Ta'âla created certain creatures from fire. We cannot see them as well. They are called jinn. There are all types of jinn; both good and bad. They also have children. The most famous among them is the accursed Iblis, i.e. Shaytân.

Beliefs concerning the Prophets

1. Allâh Ta'âla has sent down many prophets to guide mankind onto the right path. They are all free from sins. Their actual number is known to Allâh alone. In order to establish their truthfulness, Allâh caused new and difficult acts to happen through them which others cannot do. Such acts are called miracles (mu'jizât).

The first prophet is âdam alayhis salâm and the last is Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. All the others came in between these two. Some of them are famous, such as: Nuh alayhis salâm, Ibrahim alayhis salâm, Is'hâq alayhis salâm, Ismail alayhis salâm, Yaqub alayhis salâm, Yusuf alayhis salâm, Daud alayhis salâm, Sulayman alayhis salâm, Ayyub alayhis salâm, Musa alayhis salâm, Harun alayhis salâm, Zakariyyah alayhis salâm, Yahya alayhis salâm, Isa alayhis salâm, Ilyas alayhis salâm, al-Yasa' alayhis salâm, Yunus alayhis salâm, Lut alayhis salâm, Idris alayhis salâm, Zul Kifl alayhis salâm, Salih alayhis salâm, Hud alayhis salâm, and Shuayb alayhis salâm.

2. Allâh Ta'âla did not show the exact number of prophets to anyone. We should therefore have this belief that we have faith in all the prophets that Allâh sent down; those that we know of and those that we do not know of as well.

3. The status of some prophets is higher than that of others. The highest status is that of our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. No new prophet can come after him. He is the prophet of all mankind and jinn right until the day of Qiyamat.

4. Allâh Ta'âla took our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam physically while he was awake, from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis, and from there to the seven heavens, and from there to wherever Allâh wanted. He then sent him back to Makkah. This journey is known as the Mi'raj.

BELIEFS

Beliefs concerning Allâh Ta'âla

1. In the beginning, the entire universe was non-existent. Thro
ugh the creation of Allâh, it came into existence.

2. Allâh Ta'âla is One. He is not dependent on anyone. He has not given birth to anyone, nor was He begotten. He does not have any wife. There is no one equal to Him.

3. He has been since eternity and will remain till eternity.

4.There is nothing similar to Him. He is unique.

5. He is alive. He has power over everything. There is nothing that is beyond His knowledge. He sees and hears everything. He speaks, but His speech is not like ours. He does whatever He wishes and there is no one to s or reprimand Him. He alone is worthy of being worshipped. He has no partner. He is merciful to His servants. He is the lord. He is free of all blemishes. He is the one who saves His servants from all calamities. He is the possessor of honour and greatness. He is the creator of all things; nothing has created Him. He is the forgiver of sins. He is all-powerful. He gives in abundance. He is the one who gives sustenance. He decreases the sustenance of whoever He wishes and increases the sustenance of whoever He wishes. He humiliates whoever He wishes and elevates whoever He wishes. He gives honour to whoever He wishes and disgraces whoever He wishes. He is just. He is extremely tolerant and forbearing. He values and rewards service and worship rendered to Him. He accepts duas (supplications). He is all-encompassing. He is the ruler over everyone and no one is a ruler over Him. No work of His is devoid of wisdom. He fulfils the needs of everyone. He is the one who created everyone and He is the one who will bring all back to life on the day of qiyâmah. He is the one who gives life and He causes death. Everyone knows Him through signs and attributes. No one can know the essence of His being. He accepts the repentance of the sinners. He punishes those who deserve punishment. He is the one who gives guidance. Whatever happens in this universe occurs under His order. Without His order, even an atom cannot move. He does not sleep nor does He slumber. He does not get weary of protecting the entire universe. He is the one who is keeping everything in control. He has all good and beautiful qualities. There is no bad or defective quality in Him, nor is there any blemish in Him.

6. All His qualities are from eternity and will remain till eternity. No quality of His can ever disappear.

7. He is free from the qualities of the creation. Wherever such qualities have been mentioned in the Quran or Hadith, we leave the meanings of them to Allâh. He is the one who knows the reality of these things. We believe in these things without delving into them and have the  conviction that whatever their meanings may be, they are correct. And this is the best way of looking at these things. Alternatively, we could give them some appropriate meaning with which we could get an understanding of them.

8. Whatever good or evil that takes place in the world, Allâh Ta'âla knows of it from eternity; and according to His knowledge He brings it into existence. This is what is meant by taqdir (pre-destination). There is a lot of mysterious wisdom in creating even evil things. Everyone is not aware of this wisdom.

9. Allâh Ta'âla has given man an understanding and the power of choice with which he chooses between good and evil. However, man does not have the power to bring anything into existence of his own accord. Allâh Ta'âla is pleased with good deeds and displeased with evil deeds.

10. Allâh Ta'âla has not ordered man to do anything which is beyond his power.

11. Allâh Ta'âla is not bound by anything. Whatever mercy He shows is solely out of His kindness and virtue.