Usuli Institute First Ramadan 2020 Q&A Part 2, 16 May 2020

Part 2 of 2: Dr. Abou El Fadl answers the following questions: First Question: On Challenges for Muslim Women finding marriage over age 30; Interfaith Marriage, Sexual Desire, Masturbation, the Importance of a Blessed Marriage I would like Dr. Abou El Fadl's opinion about difficulties to get married for Muslim ladies who are aged 30 and over. Many Muslim men marry non-Muslim women and, as we know, Muslim women are only allowed to marry Muslim men. I remember Dr. Abou El Fadl saying that if someone doesn't pray as a couple, that half of the blessings (baraka) at home is lost. However it is very difficult to be single and over 30 because there are fewer opportunities and time is flying to have children. Also, this is often a taboo topic but women do have desire and it is a challenge to stay away from zina and other sins. What is the Dr.'s advice for this situation? Question 2: On Having Children (25:13) What is the point of having children? I feel so blessed by this endeavor, but what does my daughter get out of it? I don’t know if this is how life works, but I imagine that before birth her spirit lived in happiness with God. Then I facilitated her creation and I helped bring her to the pains, fears, and screams of life. What about her? Why did I help take her from the bliss she was in before she was born? What about her afterlife? I worry about her existence on this earth because she will die and she will face judgement and she may face punishment - why have I done this to her? What if she doesn’t make it back to Allah? Why do we have children? Question 3: On Perennialism (Muslim salvation versus the salvation of others and whether Islam is an exclusive method of salvation) and why Islam is presumptively the straight path to God (38:15). "I was wondering if it would be possible for the professor to give us his thoughts on the debate on perennialism. I know from the professor's material that salvation is a matter between the person and Allah, and that diversity is stated to be part of the divine plan, but I also often read orthodox Muslim positions that lean more on the "exclusivist" side, citing other Qur'anic passages that appear like harsher condemnations of "unbelievers". Are these positions irreconcilable or does the answer lie in an understanding of Islam as a "moral and divinely engaged method" of life, in which belief and unbelief are to be interpreted as "moral categories" rather than simple tribal affiliations?" Question 4: (1:11:00) On the issue of Halal meat and the various implications given the Quranic injunctions, animal cruelty and environmental considerations. Question 5: (1:26:38) On Muslim Identity. "In a society where muslims are a numerical minority and in a time of widespread nationalism, individualism, islamophobia and sectarianism, how does one construct a muslim identity that is both unifying and sensitive to ethnic, social, cultural and historical diversity among muslims? What is the difference between being a Muslim and proclaiming a Muslim identity? Or is there any difference at all? What is the role, function and purpose of the community/ummah in the age we are in?"