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:

Dear brother assalamu alaikum

Brother i know u are very busy but i depend on ur answers, which i am not getting these days.    i am a young sister who has no knowledge.  in the past i used to get the answers what i had asked.  pls. find time to help me out with my queries.  as my parents and in laws are very modern i want to follow as per sunnah and do the right things and inform my people about it.

1)  Can we cut / trim nails after maqrib?   

2) Unknowingly we do small sin like back answering to elders and realises so to ask forgiveness from Allah do we have to say astagfirullah by pointing the shahada finger.  (ofcourse we will say sorry to the elders too )

3) Can we have a big wedding in the month of muharram?

4) What should i do when i dreamt about my deceased grandmother?  i mean what should i recite.  she is passed many years back.

brother pls. answer my previous mails too.  i will really appreciate.   thanks and jazakallah.

a sister

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Answer:

Can one trim nails after magrib

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1:  can we cut / trim nails after maqrib?   

Except when one is in the actual state of ‘ehraam’ for pilgrimage where it is forbidden for the ‘muhrim’ to cut their hair or clip their nails, the believers are at absolute liberty to cut their hair or their nails whichever time of the day or night they will and please or is convenient for them.

There is absolutely no restriction whatsoever in Shariah if one wishes to cut/trim their nails after ‘magrib’ or at any time of the day or night.

Q-2: unknowingly we do small sin like back answering to elders and realises so to ask forgiveness from Allah do we have to say astagfirullah by pointing the shahada finger.  (ofcourse we will say sorry to the elders too )

To the best of our knowledge, the Messenger of Allah (saws) would only raise his index finger when declaring the ‘shahaadah’ during the ‘tashahud’ in prayer.

There is no evidence in the authentic and established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to suggest that one is required or obliged to raise their index finger when seeking forgiveness from their Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

Q-3: can we have a big wedding in the month of muharram?

One is at absolute liberty in Islam to marry during any day or month of the year! There is absolutely no day or month in the calendar whereby it is forbidden for the believers to contract their marriage!

Q-4: what should i do when i dreamt about my deceased grandmother?  i mean what should i recite.  she is passed many years back.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.144 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "When the Day of Resurrection approaches, the dreams of a true believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of forty-six parts of Prophetism, and whatever belongs to Prothetism can never be false." Muhammad bin Sirin said, "But I say this." He said, "It used to be said, 'There are three types of dreams:

1. The reflection of one's thoughts and experiences one has during wakefulness,
2. what is suggested by the Shaytaan to frighten the dreamer,
3. or glad tidings from Allah.

So, if someone has a dream which he dislikes, he should not tell it to others, but get up and offer a prayer.'"

In light of the above hadith, if one has a good dream then it is always from Allah Subhanah in the form of good tidings. Whenever one experiences good dreams and good tidings, one must be grateful to Allah Subhanah and redouble their efforts in doing good righteous deeds to make themselves deserving of the honor which their Lord Most Merciful has bestowed upon them.

If one has an evil or frightening dream, without an iota of a doubt, it is from the accursed Shaytaan. One should immediately take refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytaan by declaring ‘Aoodibillahi minas Shaitaan ar-rajeem’, disregard the dream nor give it any importance or significance, and abstain from mentioning the dream to anyone; for it will never be able to harm them.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.168 Narrated by Abu Salama

I used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard Abu Qatada saying, "I too, used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he saw a dream which he disliked, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of the Shaytaan, and spit three times (on his left) and should not tell it to anybody, for it will not harm him."

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan