Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Burhan,
 
Question 1: Would it be possible for you to set up a Bulletin Board with complete anonymity in which we can discuss issues more in realtime.  Your forum is great for detail Q and A's but for quick discussion it really does not fit the bill.  I am thinking more like 'news' group. Again it has to be anonymous otherwise it won't fly.

 
Question 2: You are really making big unsubstantiated claims as to how successful your forum is and convertered many Bohora's to Non Bohoras. Won't it be nice to give us some proof otherwise your are just another modern khotaar making worldly claims.

 
Question on Islam: Difference between a still born baby and a live baby but dies sometime (minutes) after birth.  How does Islam guide us to treat the janaza of these two situations.  Do we do fatiyah, janaza namaz etc.

Salaams...BTW all Bohoras do not curse you and your friends!

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Difference between a stillborn and a newborn burial

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Question 1:Would it be possible for you to set up a Bulletin Board with complete anonymity in which we can discuss issues more in realtime.  Your forum is great for detail Q and A's but for quick discussion it really does not fit the bill.  I am thinking more like 'news' group. Again it has to be anonymous otherwise it won't fly.

Jazak Allah Kheir and may Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this life and the hereafter for your suggestion. Indeed, it is possible to set up a realtime bulletin board which will enable a quick discussion, and we will Insha Allah, contemplate to add this feature to our website. The only thing is, brother, our scholars and writers are already so overwhelmed with the number of questions we receive on the forum, that unfortunately there is always a backlog of 50-100 un-answered questions which are in a queue at all times, in spite of their best efforts to reply each question as soon as possible! But we will definitely look into your suggestion, and if Allah Wills and Helps us, we will try to incorporate that into our website.

Your statement: You are really making big unsubstantiated claims as to how succesful to Non Bohoras. Won't it be nice to give us some proof otherwise your are just another modern khotaar making worldly claims.

My beloved brother, it is neither our mission to boast or make claims of how successful our humble forum has been, nor are we in the need or quest for recognition, name, thanks, or appreciation from any human being! Allah is our witness, we provide this humble service for no other reason than to win the Pleasure and Good Will of our Merciful Lord Alone. There are brothers and sisters, who work in their normal jobs all day, and dedicate a good portion of their nights and leisure time in helping to service this forum. Allah is our witness, each of them does not want, nor demand, nor gets, a penny for their efforts…. All of them look only towards Allah Subhanah for their reward, and humbly hope that Allah accept their humble and weak efforts in the propagation of His Deen, forgive them their short-comings, and save them from the torment of the Hell Fire. Their one and only objective is to be presented in the Court of Allah Subhanah in a state, where their Merciful Lord accepts their efforts, and is pleased with them on that Inevitable Day!

We humbly and sincerely apologize to you and any of our brethren who felt that we were making big claims or boasting of the forum’s acceptance; for Allah is our witness, that was never our intention. We feel honored that our Merciful Lord has allowed us to work in His Cause, and constantly pray in fear and in hope, that He will accept our humble and weak efforts, and save us all from the Destruction of that Unavoidable Day! If by our humble efforts, we are able to bring even one brother or sister closer to the Words of Allah and Islam, we will consider ourselves the most fortunate slaves of the Merciful Lord.

Question on Islam:Difference between a still born baby and a live baby but dies sometime (minutes) after birth.  How does Islam guide us to treat the janaza of these two situations.  Do we do fatiyah, janaza namaz etc.

If the newborn is born of full form and of full months, it does not matter if the child was stillborn or lived even for a few seconds… it is his right that the believers pray the full ‘janaaza prayer’ on him, and bury him honorably like any other believer.

But if the child is born before the soul has been bestowed on it from the Merciful Lord (that is, before the 4^th month), then no janaaza prayer will be prayed on it.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.546 Narrated by Abdullah bin Masud

The Messenger of Allah (saws), the true and truly inspired, narrated to us, "The creation of everyone of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period (40 days). Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things: his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter), and then the soul is breathed into him.

From the above narration of the Prophet (saws), it is unanimously accepted by the scholars and jurists in Islam, that the soul reaches the baby in the womb of its mother, after the 4^th month.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan