Q

:  I like sweets, tarts, chocolates and ice-cream very much and because of eating too much of such things, I have certain problems regarding my health and yet I can’t make myself stop eating these things. Am I sinning in this regard?   (Somayyah, England)

 Dear Somayya, in the Holy Qur’an, Allah the Gracious has commanded us to avoid excessive eating and drinking. Likewise, according to the teachings of our religious leaders, it is Haram(forbidden by Allah) to eat or drink what you know is harmful for your body.  We advise you to eat lettuce, apple, orange, yogurt and milk which are very useful for your body as a young girl instead of the things which might harm your body. 

Q: Is there any logical basis for some parents’ rejoicing over having a male child? (Naseem, India) 

Not at all. No matter what the child’s sex is, there should be no discrimination in the reception of the newly born. The Holy Qur’an chastised those Arabs who celebrated the birth of the male children but expressed sadness and dissatisfaction when females were born. The Almighty Allah deplores such attitudes in the following Qur’anic verses: “When one of them is brought the news of a female(newborn), his face becomes darkened and he chokes with suppressed agony. He hides from the people out of distress the news he has been brought: shall he retain it in humiliation, or bury it in the ground!Look! Evil is the judgment that they make.” [The Holy Qur’an, Surah al-Nahl, 58-59].If we observe the general principles underpinning any international convention or declaration on human rights, we find them perfectly compatible in their broad framework with some principles stated by Islamic Sharia with regard to child protection.

The one difference between both is that Islamic Sharia provides guarantees for simultaneous application of its own set of principles. Universal principles may have called for all children to enjoy their rights without any discrimination. The Islamic Sha’riah affirmed these rights in its own way in terms of Qur’anic and Prophetic directives. The Almighty Allah said: “O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-wary among you.” [The Holy Qur’an, surah al-Hujurat, verse 13].He also said: “The faithful are indeed brothers. Therefore make peace between your brothers and be wary of Allah, so that you may receive [His] mercy.

” [The Holy Qur’an, surah al-Hujurat, Verse 10]