I have heard some people say there are no scholars in North America, but
I don’t quite understand what it means. Could you please shed some light on
this (if you’ve heard such statements). If this is your first time hearing
this, what is your opinion on it?

The definition of a scholar varies. To some, they set an extremely high standard which is likely to make the number of living Muslim scholars less than ten; to others they set a very loose standard which makes every imam of a masjid or preacher a scholar. The scholars differed over this in the past and present, yet I would say that Imam al-Ghazali’s definition of a scholar is a moderate one; he felt a scholar will need to know – among other things - the sciences called tools, such as the language, including grammar and rhetoric, fundamentals of jurisprudence…etc. And will need to know the verses and ahadeeth that pertain to rulings or at least can find them in their respective references.
According to that position, there are several scholars in North America. I certainly wouldn’t be able to give you numbers, and would prefer to not give names.
The fear from extremism on both sides is that if we say there are no scholars in the west, the people will loose respect for their leaders, and in this case, they will follow their own whims or follow scholars oversees, who will get their information through these particular individuals, thus their answers will be influenced by the data they received from them. Each person or group will then argue with one another based on what they heard from their own shaykhs, who may have been able to find a common ground had they met and discussed the matter/s collectively.
This is not to say that we should not benefit from the scholars oversees. Islam doesn’t differentiate between its followers based on national factors, and it will be to the loss and detriment of the Muslim community here to sever their ties with the Muslims in the mainland of Islam.
Yet, there should be a constant communication between the scholars in the west and their shaykhs and/or counterparts in the east. There should also be communication between the public and their counterparts and shaykhs as well. All of this is particularly easy now in the age of the internet.
On the other side of the pendulum, if the people overestimate their leaders’ knowledge, they may listen to and follow unqualified individuals (ignorant leaders, called by the Prophet: “ro’oos johhaal”) .

Allah, guide us all!

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, I have a question regarding purchasing repossessed and seized cars from online auctions. There are a number of websites on the internet which have auctions to sell cars and vehicles. These cars and vehicles are made available through seizures made by financial institutions and government agencies and are forfeitures for non-payment or illegal activities. These online auctions carry advertisements such as the following: “Every month, 1000s of cars become government & bank property through various seizure/surplus laws. Because of the constant influx of vehicles and the enormous expense to store them, the cars must be sold fast and cheap!” Is it permissible to purchase repossessed and seized cars from these auctions? Please let me know. Jazzakum Allahu khayran.

All praise be to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be on the last and best prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

There is no harm in purchasing such cars, as long as the contract between you and the current possessor of the car is lawful.
The unlawful items are of two types:
1- Unlawful because of their genuine impermissibility, such as pork.
2- Unlawful because of their wrongful acquisition, such as money obtained through usury.
The first type is unlawful to all people, whereas the second is unlawful only to the person who acquired it wrongfully, not others who may acquire it from him lawfully.

Allah knows best.

Our by-laws state that only men may be members of the Board of Directors. Our Board of directors are also the adminstration of the Islamic Center. What can we use as a daleel for preventing women from being members of the Board of Directors? What is your advice to the women who want to be members of the Masjid admininstration and participate in the decision making process?

All praise be to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be on the last and best prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

There is no evidence to bar the women from the board of directors in a masjid. This is not the general authority (welayah ‘ammah) that is not supposed to be given to women.
Most of the time however, the reason of not having them as members of the board is logistic, since the board may meet at times inconvenient for Muslim women, or even in places that are not appropriate for them to go to alone, such as the homes of some of the members who may also be single..etc.
I think, if the reason behind not having them on the board is logistics, the best solution to avoid inconveniencing them, yet allow their participation is to have a separate board for them that will decide the matters that pertain to them and their quarters and will be consulted regarding the matters that pertain to the whole center.

Allah knows best.

All praise be to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be on the last and best prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

May Allah reward you for wanting to ensure the wholesomeness of what you eat, which is a sign of Iman.

The things forbidden for us are:
• Pork and its products
• Animals that have canine teeth and birds with claws
• Animals killed not slaughtered
• Animals slaughtered by other than Muslim Jew or Christian
• Animals upon whose slaughter the name of other than Allah was mentioned (yet, you don’t need to verify what was mentioned)
• Blood and its byproducts
• Wine and all intoxicants

Thus, we can eat:
All vegetables and vegetarian foods
All sea food

As for meats of cattle goats and chicken,
There is a controversy regarding eating the regular grocery store meets. I choose for you to avoid it and eat only certified halal meet.

As for the ingredients, we should look for and avoid:
Lard
Porcine … (related to pork)
Animal shortening/fat
Liquor/Alcohol
Gelatin & Glycerin

If you want to be extra careful, you may refer to one of the websites that detail the acceptable and unacceptable ingredients, even though I think you will be safe if you just avoided the things mentioned here above.

Allah knows best.

All praise be to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be on the last and best prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

It is a horrible sin, yet not the zina that is punishable with hadd.
If you were involved in this, I urge you to repent promptly and seek help from Allah through fasting (if you can’t get married).
If you can get married, that would be the best solution, and remember that the less burdensome the marriage is, the more blessed it will be, as our beloved Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) taught us.
If you can’t get married and couldn’t suppress your lustful desire through fasting alone, it will be better for you to masturbate than to commit that sin.

May Allah help you on yourself and the shaytaan, purify your heart and guide us all and protect our Muslim sisters and daughters.