Question: It is said, "If one sees many things and utters 'Makhalaqallah', one becomes a disbeliever if one does not know the meaning of it." What is meant by this statement?
ANSWER
"If one sees many things" means "if one sees many things as a group," e.g., if one sees thousands of fish in the sea or thousands of quails in the sky. "Makhalaqallah" means "How many Allah has created!" An example of it is saying, upon seeing fish in the sea, "Makhalaqallah" in the meaning how many things Allah has created.

As for the statement "… if one does not know the meaning of it," the second meaning of "Makhalaqallah" is that "Allah did not create." When one sees fish, birds, etc. and utters "Makhalaqallah," it causes disbelief if one has said it in the meaning that Allah did not create them. It is Allah who creates everything. What is meant by this statement is that while one is saying something one should know what one is saying.

Denying a fard and wajib
Question: It is disbelief to deny a mass-transmitted (mutawatir) hadith, just as it is disbelief to deny a fard. Though a wajib is stronger than a sunnat, one who denies a wajib does not become a disbeliever. What is the reason for this?
ANSWER
Denying a mass-transmitted hadith is denying our Master the Prophet, which is disbelief. However, it does not cause disbelief to deny a fard or a wajib that was derived through ijtihad. Let me give examples to illustrate the subject:

Sacrificing an animal [in Eid al-Adha] is wajib, but it is sunnat according to the other three madhhabs. Can it be said to them that you are denying a wajib by saying it is sunnat? On the other hand, if a Hanafi denies a wajib, he becomes a person without a madhhab because he has disapproved of his madhhab.

In the Hanafi Madhhab, it is fard to wash inside the mouth in ghusl, but sunnat in the Maliki and Shafi'i Madhhabs. They are not considered to have rejected a fard. However, if a Hanafi rejects it, he has rejected the ruling of his madhhab. He who disapproves of the rulings of his madhhab becomes a person without a madhhab at the very least. He may go as far as to fall into kufr (disbelief).

Saying "It is a mu'jiza of Allah's"
Question: Is it permissible to say "It is Allah's mu'jiza"?
ANSWER
It is permissible, but every term should be used properly. Instead, one should use such expressions as "Allah's power" or "Allah's hikmah." It is Allahu ta'ala who creates wonders, such as sihr, istidraj, karamat, and mu'jiza. A prophet causes many wonders to take place by the power of Allah. It is Allahu ta'ala too who creates mu'jizas, which happen through the hands of prophets. As a matter of fact, Allahu ta'ala, after telling us the mu'jizas He gave to His prophets, states, "It is We who did them" (Al-Anbiya' 79).

In order to do favors, to bestow gifts upon His beloved slaves, and to deceive His unbridled enemies, Allahu ta'ala suspends His laws and creates for them things without causes, for example:

1. Wonders that happen from prophets are called mu'jiza.

2. Wonders that happen from the Awliya' are called karamat.

3. Wonders that happen from those Believers who are not Awliya' are called firasat.

4. If they happen from sinners, from those whose sins are many, they are called istidraj. They are disasters Allahu ta'ala deceptively gives by misrepresenting them as blessings. They cause their owners to go to Hell.

5. Those that happen from disbelievers are called sihr (magic).

Allah's mu'jiza
Question: Is it permissible to describe "the working of the heart" or "the faculty of seeing" as Allah's mu'jiza?
ANSWER
It is permissible, but it is better to describe it with such words as "Allah's power" or "Allah's hikmah." Mu'jiza is a wondrous, supernatural state peculiar to prophets. It cannot be called "Allah's karamat" either, for karamat is a wonder unique to the Awliya'. Nor can it be called "Allah's sihr" because sihr is a wonder displayed by disbelievers. Terms should be used properly.

Question: When one tells someone else, "Do such and such for the sake of Allah," does the latter have to do it?
ANSWER
Not to carry it out is not a sin, but when one adjures another to do something in this way, it is better for the latter to carry it out if it is something permissible. It is not permissible to ask someone for something mundane by saying "for Allah's sake." It is declared in a hadith-i sharif that such people are accursed. (Hadiqa)

Question: If someone is beautiful or has a lovely voice, is it permissible to call it an endowment from Allah?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible. Hadrat Bilal al-Habashi too had a very beautiful voice, which was an endowment from Allah. Our Master the Prophet used to command him to call the adhan, saying, "O Bilal, give us comfort with your beautiful voice." A person may recite the Qur'an al-karim, adhan, or nasheeds with his beautiful voice. In the same way, he may use it in sinful ways. Describing a woman who does not cover herself or her voice as beautiful or as a gift from Allah does not mean describing the sin she commits as beautiful.

Calling someone a good person
Question: If a disbeliever or a sinner is good-tempered or successful in his job, is it permissible to call him a good person?
ANSWER
A good person means a pious person. One who is a non-Muslim, who has a corrupt creed, or who commits sins flagrantly cannot be a pious person. If a disbeliever or a sinner is good-tempered or successful in his field, he may be commended for his character trait or his job. For example, it is allowable to say, "He is very generous" or "He is public spirited" or "He knows his job" or "He is a good lawyer" or "He is a good doctor." They mean he is good at his field. Otherwise, an evil person cannot be called a good person.

Making fun of sacred things
Question: While one is watching a movie that makes fun of Christianity or Judaism, is there anything wrong with laughing at them?
ANSWER
If it makes fun of Allahu ta'ala or prophets or angels, it is not permissible to laugh at them. If one laughs deliberately, it causes disbelief (kufr), but an involuntary laughing does not cause disbelief. If a superstition or a false belief fabricated by non-Muslims is ridiculed, it is not disbelief to laugh at it. In fact, when they embrace Islam, they themselves, too, laugh in astonishment at the superstitions they believed in the past.

Worldly Paradise
Question: Is it permissible to describe a lovely place as the worldly Paradise or as a place like Paradise?
ANSWER
It is permissible. However, because there will be undreamt-of, magnificent blessings in Paradise, it is funny to liken even the most precious and greatest worldly blessing to Paradise. It seems as if debasing Paradise.

Allah is benevolent
Question: A Muslim said, "I have only 10 days' coal left. After that, Allah is benevolent." Thereupon, I retorted, "Make repentance because you have become a disbeliever. Was Allah not benevolent before it?" Did my friend not become a disbeliever?
ANSWER
When such kinds of statements are heard from Muslims, they should be interpreted, and their utterers should not be labeled as disbelievers. That Muslim meant to say, "I have only 10 days' coal left. After I run out of it, Allah will provide a way out for me, for He is benevolent."

Question: When I said to a friend of mine, "May Allah be your helper," he replied, "A helper is a person who gives assistance to the real doer of work but who is not thoroughly knowledgeable about that work. For example, an assistant manager has less knowledge than a manager. For this reason, it may not be permissible to say, 'May Allah be your helper." Is it permissible to say, "May Allah be your helper"?
ANSWER
Islam is not based on conclusions inferred through reasoning. Secondly, it is wrong to consider only one meaning of a word. "May Allah be your helper" means "May Allah assist you and ease things for you," which is not objectionable at all. All Islamic scholars said it.

A couplet:

Fidelity is what becomes a man, even when wronged;
If a person is true, the helper of him is Hadrat Allah.

Joking about a sunnat act
Question: Because a friend of ours has a good appetite, we, saying that it is a sunnat act, always offer him to eat up bits of food left in pots and pans. At a meal we had recently, we said, "Ah, look! Here is the performer of the sunnat," and we all had a good laugh. Our intention was not to hold a sunnat in contempt, but afterwards we had serious doubts as to whether we had made a dangerous joke and therefore felt very disturbed. Do such kinds of jokes cause one to lose one's faith?
ANSWER
They do not cause one to lose one's faith because you did not mean to make fun of a sunnat. However, you should never tell funny stories about Islamic issues and never crack such sorts of unnecessary jokes.

Question: When a person comes to someone for an important task, the latter says out of contentment, "It is Allah who has sent you." Similarly, if one utters something important, the other person says, "It is Allah who has made you utter it." Is it disbelief to say so?
ANSWER
No, it is not. It is Allahu ta'ala who sends us, makes us walk, talk, live, die, that is, who creates all of our actions. What is disbelief is to deny this fact. A Qur'anic verse says:
(It is Allah who creates you and what you do.) [As-Saffat 96]

Question: Is it appropriate to say, "I owe a great deal to so-and-so"?
ANSWER
It is necessary to thank a person who has done good, be it spiritual or material. It is stated, "He who does not thank humans has not thanked Allah." There is no objection to saying, "I owe a great deal to so-and-so."

Question: What is the meaning of "Min mal-Allah ya muhsineen"?
ANSWER
It means, "O the benevolent, good-doers, the charitable! Donate of that which Allah has given you to those in need."

Question: It is written in a book, "If one says, 'I have come just now, Bismillah', it is afat." What is meant by the word afat?
ANSWER
It means "a dangerous action, a disaster." The statement quoted above means that it is not appropriate to be conceited and want others to come to you by saying Bismillah.

Question: Is it permissible to call Hadrat Fatimah "Mother Fatimah"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible to call Hadrat Fatimah and the wives of the Blessed companions "mother" for reverence. Similarly, in some cultures old women are called mother out of respect.

It is wrong to say, "If a woman is called mother, his husband is considered a prophet. Therefore, when Hadrat Fatimah is called mother, Hadrat Ali is considered a prophet." It is something fabricated.

More royalist than the king
Question: Because the word king is applied to disbelieving rulers, is it disbelief to use the idiom "more royalist than the king" for a Muslim?
ANSWER
It is permissible, not disbelief. It is an idiom, meaning, "[One telling the other] the owner of a thing or the person in position of authority is giving consent. Who are you not to consent to it?"

Question: Is it disbelief to say, "The bank makes good money"?
ANSWER
No, it is not. The phrase "good money" that appears in the statement "There is good money in this business" means "large in amount." Good is used herein in the meaning of "much."

The other world
Question: Is it permissible to call the Hereafter the other world?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Hallaj-i Mansur said, "Anal Haqq." Is it permissible to say that he meant by this statement, "I am not falsehood. I am the truth"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it permissible to say, "Allah gives wealth to whomever He wants. But He gives knowledge to whoever wants it"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

The Sirat Bridge
Question: Is it permissible to liken a thin bridge to the Sirat Bridge?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Bad weather
Question: Is it permissible to say "bad weather" or "adverse weather conditions"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible because both good and evil are from Allah. We always repeat this fact when reciting the (formula of faith called) Amantu. It is Allah who creates good weather, but is it others who create bad weather? The Qur'an al-karim says (what means):
(It is Allah who creates everything.) [Az-Zumar 62]

Question: Is it permissible to make a guess and say, for example, "The American team will suffer a defeat"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it appropriate to say, "Everyone has a plan of action, and so does Allah"?
ANSWER
It is permissible.

Question: Is it appropriate to say, "It is only Allah who does not have His ups and downs"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is appropriate.

Question: Is it disbelief to say in anger "Everything is haram upon me"?
ANSWER
It is not disbelief.

Question: Is it disbelief to say to a Muslim, "I will not have contact with you in the Hereafter"?
ANSWER
No, it is not.

Question: Is it permissible to recite the Qur'anic verse "Inna lillah …" when a disbeliever dies?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: While we are role-playing at our English course, participants uses such names as John and Gabriel. Does it cause disbelief?
ANSWER
No, it does not.

Question: Is it permissible to say, "Allah guards living beings with His Name Al-Hafiz [the Guarding One]"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it permissible to say "divine purpose"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is.

Question: Is it disbelief to say "Is it in Chinese?" to someone who writes Islamic letters scrawly?
ANSWER
No, it is not.

Question: In order to stop someone from doing something permissible, if we say, "Do not do it. It is a sin," are we considered to have rendered something permissible unlawful (haram)?
ANSWER
No, you are not.

Question: Does it cause disbelief to say, "If I were a mufti, I would issue a fatwa declaring that the tongues of backbiters be cut"?
ANSWER
No, it does not.

Question: Is it disbelief to say, "I want to drink wine"?
ANSWER
It is not disbelief. Even if one drinks it, it is not disbelief, but haram.

Question: It is written in the book Mızraklı İlmihal that it causes disbelief to say "Ya Yahya! Huz-il-kitaba" to someone named Yahya. Why does it cause disbelief?
ANSWER
The statement quoted above is a part of a Qur'anic verse. Using Qur'anic words in this manner causes disbelief because by saying so the Qur'an al-karim has been taken lightly and made a plaything.

Question: Is it disbelief to say, "From now on, our affair has been left to Allah"?
ANSWER
All deeds, whether good or evil, are from Allah. It causes disbelief if it is used in the meaning "Previously it was we who did deeds. Now we left those that we cannot do to Him." In reality, it is only He who does deeds. Humans and the other causes are only a means. Two Qur'anic verses say (what means):
(The Creator of everything is Allah.) [Az-Zumar 62]

(It is Allah who creates you and what you do.) [As-Saffat 96]

Question: Is it permissible to say "I wish you good business" when one goes to a place where alcoholic drinks are sold or people come to gamble?
ANSWER
No, it is not.

Question: Some Muslim rulers and sultans are depicted as very tyrannical figures. Did Muslim rulers behave despotically?
ANSWER
The heads of state of disbelievers are called kings, such as the king of France, the king of Britain, and the kings of Bulgaria in days of yore. If a Muslim ruler who is accepted as the Caliph and loved and respected by Muslims is called a king, it means to call him a disbeliever. Besides, as a king is the king of non-Muslim subjects, when a Muslim ruler is called a king, it means to call the citizens under his rule non-Muslims.

Generally speaking, it was kings who were tyrannical. While the tales of kings are translated into other languages, the figures in them are translated with such words as padishah or sultan. This gives rise to such misunderstandings. Yet another reason is that some people mistake the word shah for padishah. For example, Shah Ismail and Akbar Shah were not two of the Ottoman padishahs. It is not right to ascribe the tyrannies of kings and shahs to padishahs.

Question: Some Islamic words and expressions, such as Allah, masha-Allah, insha-Allah, or wallahi, are used in songs. Is it appropriate to use them in songs?
ANSWER
Using Allahu ta'ala's name in this manner is an act of disrespect and is a sin. It is like taking an unnecessary oath. Uttering an oath very often, even if you tell the truth, means not to value the name of Allahu ta'ala and oath. It is utterly loathsome to swear flippantly with such names. So is the case with swearing in songs, plays, and parties.

Question: Is it permissible to praise a good tailor by saying, "Allahu ta'ala created him so that he could do the work of tailoring"?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible. It means that Allah has bestowed a natural talent for this profession upon him.

Question: When I said, "Ugh! It is very hot today," a friend of mine opposed by saying, "It is Allah who has made the weather hot. You rebelled against Allah with your words." If one says, "It is very hot today" or "It is too cold to bear," is one considered to have rebelled against Allah?
ANSWER
None of them is considered a statement of rebellion. Similarly, there is nothing wrong with saying "adverse weather conditions." Nor is there anything wrong with saying, "My qadar is very bad." One does not blame Allahu ta'ala with such words. If we say, "Hell is extremely hot," are we blaming Allahu ta'ala for it? If we say, "Fasting during these hot days is difficult," we are not considered to have blamed Allahu ta'ala for it. In the same way, there is nothing wrong with saying, "Getting up for morning salat is difficult." It is Allahu ta'ala who sends illnesses. One is not considered to have rebelled against Allahu ta'ala if one says, "I have a splitting headache. I cannot bear it."