I am engaged to my cousin, a moral and devout woman, but have become concerned about the likelihood of our children suffering from congenital disorders as the result of intermarriage. I at first thought that ‘inbreeding’ was simply the idle chatter of foreigners who think they know everything. But it is now even being discussed on the radio in Iran. Allah tells us in our Holy Qur’an that ‘nothing can touch us, unless Allah wills’. Please do advise me.

A friend who left his family and is now newly married still communicates with his wife via telephone and e-mail. These communications are of such an intimate, explicit and stimulating nature that both of them sometimes peak in a climax of sexual excitement.Is this a legitimate outcome of discussions about private matters?

I live in Hyderabad, India. There is a girl whom I like and want to marry. Although she is a Hindu, she is ready to convert to Islam. My parents are strictly against this. I do not want to hurt my parents. I love them more than anybody else and moreover they are the best people I have seen in the whole world. But I do not want to hurt this girl either. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Am I permitted to marry a convert to Islam? I am overcome by this enormous problem and only write to you because I want the very best advice. Once again, I like this girl very much and I don’t want to hurt her. I eagerly await your reply.

Scientists in the USA now claim that homosexual desires are determined by biological and genetic factors. If this is so, is marriage – nikkah – and fixed-term – mut’a – considered permissible – halal – between such individuals of the same gender.

Are we allowed to marry Jewish or Christian women? If we are, is any restriction or qualification stipulated for such ‘mixed’ marriages? Are any Islamic rulings specifically applicable to Shi’ah men and women?

As for the directing role – qawamah – that men have over women, mentioned in Qur’an 4:34, ‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women’, this does not apply nowadays when women already own houses, cars, and so on. The new converts have already directed their lives in such a manner as to be better off financially and educationally than many Muslim men whom they meet. How then, can a Muslim man come into this situation and begin to direct? Sorry if the question offends you, but it is quite important to many women here in the West.

A man, who has no religious affiliation, is happy for his wife and children to follow whatever religion they choose. His Roman Catholic wife is a potential convert to Islam, but has declined to commit herself because she knows that Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men. She is concerned that, if her husband does not also convert, she could not remain his wife. What is her position?

I have been told that according to Shi’ah jurisprudence, a Muslim man may not take a non-Muslim woman as a permanent wife. Is this correct, and if it is, why is this so?

I was told that, provided I tried not to hurt my parents, it would be in order for me to marry a muslimah who recently forsook Hinduism for Islam. To soften my parents’ hearts, would you please provide me with hadith which illustrates our beloved Prophet’s views on such matters.

My family chose a wife for me, but after three years she still doesn’t love me. She behaves as though she cannot bear the sight of me. We do not sleep together and only have sexual intercourse if I coerce her. In this way we were blessed with one daughter. We try to strictly adhere to religious rulings.What can I do about this situation? What do you advise? Should I try to find another wife?

A Shi’ah brother married a Sunni sister without anyone’s knowledge. If her Pakistani parents found out, they would kill her. Now, having ‘used her’, this brother wants to divorce and desert her. Her parents, who will soon force her to marry, will then discover that she is no longer a virgin. What should she do?

Although I was educated to degree level in England, my parents arranged for me to marry a girl from Pakistan who was only educated at primary school. I accepted because I knew that, had I not, this decent, respectable woman would lose the respect of her family. We have been married for 17 years and have six children. I am now 38 years old, and although I have affection, respect, and honour her loyalty and love, my wife regrettably leaves many of my needs unattended.I have recently received a proposal of marriage from a lady prepared to accept being my second wife. I desperately want to grasp this opportunity to protect myself from forbidden actions – haram – but my wife is anxious and distressed lest I do. Both she and my family urge me to control my permitted – halal – needs and desires. Words are not able to express my struggle to avoid hellfire but I do want to be just and fair to both women. While I believe that the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) is as applicable now as it was 1,400 years ago, should I suppress just and halal needs because of the distress I am causing, or should I marry and satisfy my just and halal needs?