Are Christian and Jewish lay people the same as their clergy and religious scholars? Are they also unbelievers, even though they are People of the Book and do not have the knowledge that their religious leaders have? Are they condemned to Hell for their not believing in Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

Al-Salâm `Alaykum. Can a Muslim keep a cat as a pet?
 

We are a group of employees of Saudi Aramco, working in the Italian city of Milan on a work mission that will take approximately one year. We offer some of the prayers in a room in the workplace that has been set up as a prayer-room for us. Some of the group decided to gather in this room for Friday prayer (Jumu’ah) where one of them will deliver the khutbah.

Their basis for doing this is that praying Jumu’ah in this room saves time instead of going to the mosques in and around Milan, and holding Jumu’ah prayers in this mosque will encourage some of us who are too lazy to go and pray Jumu’ah in the mosques of Milan. Some of us decided not to pray Jumu’ah in this prayer-room, because we are not sure whether doing so is permissible, as one of the mosques is only ten minutes away by car and another mosque is twenty minutes away, and a third mosque is half an hour away by car.

We are divided, some of us pray Jumu’ah in this prayer-room and some of us pray in the mosques in and around Milan. We hope that you can advise us of the ruling on praying in the office prayer-room.

One of the women is saying that if a pregnant woman reads Soorat az-Zalzalah, the foetus will be miscarried because of reading this soorah. She also says that if she goes for ruqyah as prescribed in Islam, she had to tell the raaqi that she is pregnant so that he can avoid reciting Soorat az-Zalzalah over her, so that the foetus will not be miscarried. Is this true? May Allah reward you with the best of rewards and benefit the ummah by means of you.

What is the ruling on buying and selling shares? Please note that some scholars regard shares from all companies as haraam. We hope that you can explain.

In our community in India, little girls are given kunyahs such as Umm Haani’ and Umm Salamah. Is this acceptable?

Is it permissible to sell computer programs although I am afraid that they will use them for sinful purposes and that I may incur a burden of sin as a result of that, or am I not responsible for what the purchaser does after he has bought it from me?

What is al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah? What is it about?

Do we get rewarded by Allah in this world not only the next.. Meaning Allah will reward us in life for doing good deeds and also get more reward in the hereafter.

What is zuhd (asceticism)? Does it mean wearing scruffy clothing, fasting constantly, and keeping away from society, or something else?

What should one who is informed about the correct direction of the qiblah during a prayer?