I have read the many pages of your web site that instructs a non-believer. I believe that there is only Allah (one God). Ibelieve that Muhammed is the seal of the prophets. History bears this out. My question is: How do I declare this (shahadah) if I do not speak arabic?  How do I perform the five daily prayers (salah) without understanding arabic? Finally would I have to change my name?

A brother of ours has recently become Muslim. During his days of Jaahiliyyah (ignorance – i.e., before he became Muslim), he earned a lot of money by dealing in drugs. He brought this money with him and opened a big bookstore and got married using this money. Recently he has been told that it is not permissible for him to give this money in charity, because Allaah is Good and only accepts that which is good, Our question is, what should he do with this money, and how sound is what he has been told?.

I am usually out at school most of the day and I have to use the bathroom, I can't just go home to make Istinjah. Should I make Wudu and pray or should I miss the prayer and make it up later?.

Respected scholars, As-Salamu `Alaykum. I have asked this question of many scholars but no one has been able to give me a satisfactory answer. I hope you can clarify it for me. I know that man has to go through a lot of problems and afflictions throughout his life. Now these sufferings could be a punishment from God or it could be that God wants to test his faith and raise his ranks in the Hereafter. But how can we tell the difference between punishment from God or tests and trials by God? Jazakum Allahu Khayran.

It has become common, of late, for people to recite the Qur'ân in a style that comprises a lot of affected weeping. Their recitation loses its sweetness as a consequence. It is closer to wailing than to a recitation. What do Islamic teachings say about this approach to reciting the Qur'ân?

What should a husband do if he discovers on the wedding night that his wife is not a virgin because she did not bleed?

In our country we have been affected by war and we were expelled from our land 23 years ago. Praise be to Allah, my father and I are settled now and we have a business. We borrowed money in order to settle and start a business, the value of which was 1 million. When we worked out the value of zakaah that we owe on the property and trade goods that we have in our possession, it was estimated to be 7 million, and the trade goods on which zakaah is due are worth 5 or 6 million. 
My questions are: 
1. Are we required to pay zakaah, as we have not paid it all these years because we were not able to pay off the debt of 1 million? Was it correct for us not to pay zakaah?
2. We do not have any cash now, if we are required to pay zakaah. We helped a brother of ours to pay off a debt he owed, so that he could pay off the borrowed amount without paying the interest that had been agreed upon. Is it possible for us to waive this debt and thus pay off the zakaah that we owe?
3. We own some property in the country where the war was, that we took possession of after the war ended, and we are planning to sell this property in order to pay off debts and so that we can buy a house in the place where we live now. Is this property subject to zakaah?.

I wasnt aware that ramadan fasts missed due to menstruation had to be made up before nafl ones and I started keeping some nafl ones so is it possible for me to change the intention of the previous nafl ones I have kept or to change the intention of fast during the day? Because the one I kept today for example I started off with the intention of keeping a nafl fast but can I now change this to the intention of making up the ones I missed in ramadan?

There is a saying that treating people equally unfairly is justice; some people attribute this to the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and some regard it as if it is a basic principle that cannot be changed. What is the Islamic ruling or how sound is this saying?.

I am a Muslim Arab university student in the United States. I am married and am working temporarily in the distribution centre of a local daily newspaper until I graduate and return to my country, because my family and I need the money urgently and there are few opportunities for halaal work in this country. Is it permissible to work in newspaper distribution?.