Assalamu Alaikum, Peace be upon you all! The topic of fasting for pregnant and lactating mothers has become an interesting one for me. I have compiled some information that I hope Inshallah would be informative to mother-to-be and new mums about fasting in this holy month of Sha’baan. Once again I plead all my readers to immediately correct any mistakes therein, by leaving a comment.

Fasting : An Obligation

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, an obligation binding upon all those who identify themselves as Muslims. Allah (swt) says in Quran (Al- Baqarah: 183):

“O believers, Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)” In a famous hadith, Angel Jibril came to the Prophet in the shape of a man with white clothes and asked him to inform him about Islam. In response, the Prophet said:

“Islam is to bear witness that no one is God except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayer, paying Zakat, performing Pilgrimage if you are able, and Fasting the month of Ramadan”

Fasting: The Sick and the Traveller are exemptions

Allah says in the Qur’an (Al-Baqarah: 183):

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home), he must observe sawm (fasting) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe sawm (fasting) must be made up) from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.”

With regard to the pregnant woman: it is permissible for her not to fast if she fears some harm which she thinks will most likely affect her and/or her baby, in which case she would qualify under the category of “whoever is ill”. Breaking the fast becomes obligatory if she fears that she may die or be severely harmed if she fasts. In that case she has to make up the fast later on but she does not have to pay the fidyah. This is according to the consensus of the fuqaha’, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):

“And do not kill yourselves” [al-Nisa’ 4:29]

“and do not throw yourselves into destruction” [al-Baqarah 2:195] The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has relieved the traveller of the obligation of fasting and half of the prayer, and He has relieved the pregnant woman and nursing mother of the obligation of fasting.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 715; Ibn Maajah, 1667; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 575.

If the woman fears for her baby only (and not for herself), then some of the scholars are of the view that it is permissible for her to break her fast, but they say that she must make up the fast later on and pay the fidyah (which means feeding one poor person for each day not fasted), because of the report narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g. an old man), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskeen (poor person) (for every day)” [al-Baqarah 2:184]

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: This is a concession allowed to old men and women, who can only fast with difficulty; they are allowed to break the fast and to feed one poor person for each day of fasting missed. This also applies to pregnant and nursing women, if they are afraid.” Abu Dawood said: “i.e., if they are afraid for their children, they may break the fast.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1947; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’, 4/18, 25). (See al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 16/272)

Hence it is clear that if fasting will cause great harm to a woman or to her baby, she is obliged to break the fast, on condition that the doctor who states that fasting will cause harm is a doctor who can be trusted. But if she does not fear that she or her baby may be harmed by fasting, then she has to fast, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month” [al-Baqarah 2:185]

Making up Missed Fasts

With regard to the fasts that she has missed: “Everyone who owes fasts from Ramadaan has to make them up before the next Ramadaan. He may delay that until Sha’baan. But if the next Ramadaan comes and he has not made them up and had no excuse for that, then he is guilty of sin and he has to make them up as well as feeding one poor person for each day, as was stated by a number of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The amount to be given is half a saa’ of the local staple food for each day, which may be given to a number of poor persons or to one. But if a person had an excuse for delaying making up the fasts, because he was sick or was travelling, then all he has to do is to make up the missed fasts, and he does not have to feed the poor, because of the general meaning of the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

‘but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days’ [al-Baqarah 2:184].

And Allaah is the Source of strength.” (Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 15/340)

 

Medical Opinion on Fasting During Pregnancy

Shahid Athar , MD,FACP, FACE , is Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine ( Endocrinology ) at Indiana University School of Medicine gives his medical opinion as follows from website Islam-USA (refer to Reference for whole article):

“Pregnant Women (Normal Pregnancy): This is not an easy situation. Pregnancy is not a medical illness, therefore, the same exemption does not apply. There is no mention of such exemption in Quran. However, the Prophet said the pregnant and nursing women do not fast. This is in line with God not wanting anyone, even a small fetus, to suffer. There is no way of knowing, the damage to the unborn child until the delivery, and that might be too late. In my humble opinion, during the first and third trimester (three months) women should not fast. If however, Ramadan happens to come during the second trimester (4th-6th months) of pregnancy, women may elect to fast provided that (1) her own health is good, and (2) it is done with the permission of her obstetrician and under close supervision. The possible damage to the fetus may not be from malnutrition provided the Iftar and Sahoor are adequate, but from dehydration, from prolonged (10-14 hours) abstinence from water. Therefore it is recommended that Muslim patients if they do fast, do so under medical supervision.”

I also came across an article by non-Muslim Doctor/ Researcher (refer to Reference for full article) “RAMADAN FASTING AMONG PREGNANT MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES.” Although I was not interested in their mental research which concluded that “The results of this study support the belief that Ramadan fasting is important to Muslim patients, including pregnant women” (My comment: Gee, I could have told you that!), they have an informative Table which advises prenatal care givers on how to approach Muslim women who are pregnant and fasting as follows:

 

References

Al-Magrib Forum: http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=17539

IslamQA: http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=21589&dgn=4

Islam-USA: http://www.islam-usa.com/Fasting.htm

“RAMADAN FASTING AMONG PREGNANT MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES.” From the Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Detroit, Michigan. Trinka Robinson, MS, CNM; Jeanne Raisler, DrPH, CNM (Journal Ethnicity & Disease, Volume 15, Winter 2005): http://www.ishib.org/journal/ethn-15-01s-0099.pdf

West is giving a whole lot of attention to any woman who is a Muslim and a feminist. There has been a lot of media attention on how much such personalities are helping the oppressed women in the muslim countries. One thing that I don’t get is when they teach the women that they don’t have to put themselves in position where they are oppressed by men, they don’t have to forcefully wear the hijab and they basically don’t have to do anything they don’t want to do, why aren’t they telling them at the same time, that of the things they are so called being forced to do, some of them (clothing, mixing, traveling) are commandments of God, and done for God’s sake as part of being a muslim, and not for any man’s sake. Hence, changing the intention of such activities from obeying a man to obeying the God. Others have no Islamic origin or value whatsoever and must be dis-associated with Islam at once (e.g. forced women’s genital mutalation, “virgin test” after morning of consuming the marriage, cutting off education and living needs for woman such as education, health & welfare).

Most of these muslim feminists, whom themselves do not practice the obligations of being a muslim themselves, intentionally/ unintentionally omit the religious education, which is the most vital and the only solution to these oppressed women. Every muslim woman must know her rights and her obligations in her different roles (mother/ daughter/ sister/ friend/ neighbour etc, the list goes on).

So when the muslim man tells his wife that she must observe the hijab, she understands that it is a commandment from her Creator (swallows her pride just a little) and does her best to do so for God’s pleasure. If she doesn’t feel like it, she should go back to square one and review her belief and her faith and educate herself about Islam and choose weather to stay muslim or not, it is after all her choice. When he tells her to pay the bills, she can either do it and it is a rewardable charity or if she doesn’t want to, spell out to her husband that Allah (swt) made it his responsibility to financially support the family and he is not entitled to her wealth without her permission and he cannot force her. If he hits her without the proper reasons and without following the limitations and steps of conflict resolution set out in the Quran (Surah 4: Verse 34), he has committed an offence which is punishable under the Islamic Law by the Islamic state. But of course there is no muslim country in the world today which implements full Shari’ah Law and Islamic state structure and are secular nationalistic countries infiltrated with corruption. Hence, again Islam is not the problem; the blame is on those who do not implement Islam, the ignorant men and women.

Ironically enough, it is the women and children that suffer the most without Islam, so it is really in their best interest to be educated on Islam.

Cartoons, I like cartoons! I found a site which shows the cartoon of the legend of the Boy and the King, which was described in the Quran, surah Al-Buruj. I think one can purchase the DVD as well on that site.
Check it out!

Note on 5th Sept: Apologies, the site is not working anymore!

I was blog surfing as usual when I came across a Muslim’s dialogue with a Non muslim playing on the “more reverts to Islam” since 9/11. The Non Muslim obviously quoted some stats and denied that such increase is merely significant and mentioned the propping up of sects which are not in line with the traditional Islam. I realised that we as muslims sometimes have a false idea that popularity (i.e. more reverts to Islam) validates our choice of Ideology.

This sort of mind frame originates from non-Islamic origins, much due to the influence of Western democracy of majority rules. Allow me to give my reasoning! The concept of majority rules/ strength in numbers / one match stick is weaker than 10 in a bundle may appeal to logic but contradicts the very evidence of history which shows otherwise.

Consider the spread of Islam, which started from a few Believers who were constantly scrutinized and terrorised by the non believing Arabs, Jews and other sects in that area. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) was also the most popular person in Makkah before he started his preaching (his nickname “Al Amin”, the truthful, his solution to the dispute when Quraish were re-building the Kabah), however after his preaching started, he was boycotted, banished from his town, and attempts of killing him were many. His (pbuh) handful of companions took part with him and witnessed their victory in battle over outnumbered armies, where logic would plead failure. It was only after the State of Islam was established, many would revert to Islam, some areas would even volunteer to give themselves over to the Islamic state from witnessing the benefits their citizens enjoyed.

Consider the life of prophet Isa / Jesus (peace be upon him). His disciples were a handful too. Since the spread of Christianity, during the Spanish Inquisition, Roman Tyrant Constantine put hundreds of thousands of believers to death by torture due to their rejection of his official dogma of pagan Christianity and because they held firm to the monotheistic Christianity. As muslims, we see the obvious corruption in this popular version now and know that majority choice does not validate the choice, neither does popularity.

Similarly, increase in conversion to Islam should not be a source of comfort or strength for muslims. As muslims, we know that Islam is the correct Ideology, and Quran is the word of Allah (swt) and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final messenger. Both Bible and Torah foretold the coming of the Prophet (pbuh) from the lineage of Ismael (peace upon him). Quran could not be refuted by the elite poets of the Prophet’s time (Pbuh) neither could they produce a thing parallel to it. Did I mention the Prophet (pbuh) was illiterate? Also due to the Arabic language and style, they way it sequences and rhymes, explaining a lot in minimum words, all rule out non-arabic sources. In the 20th century, people are finding Quran to contain scientific facts which would have been impossible for our Prophet (pbuh), or anyone at that time to know. Allah (swt) invites mankind to think, study and contemplate, through these intellectual proofs. Once we realise the Quran to be from Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet and messenger of Allah (swt), we have no reason not to be Muslim and we submit. We have to clear the misconception that being a muslim is based on emotions, in fact it is dangerous to use emotions to form the basis of belief, as emotions are fleeting, changing and easily manipulated. Once we realise Allah (swt) created us, we know He (swt) is the best source of guidance on how we, as human beings and a Trustee to his other creations on earth, should conduct and manage ourselves.

Hence, our belief must not waver when we see a decline in reverts or conversion from Islam to other Idealogy, since we have established that we believe in Allah (swt) and we have submitted to Allah (swt) hence it is important that one must believe with certainty. Each person decides and will be asked about his decision in the Grave and on the Day of Judgement. Allah (swt) says:

Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent enclosed them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burnt the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place! (Quran 18: 29)

However the trend of conversion to non muslim should raise an alarm that the remaining muslims are not trying to give Dawah to Islam in its true form to those who came to Islam with little knowledge about it, or those born in a Muslim family but was not given proper education on Islam.

I have been told, but today I came across the actual hadith! I have stopped plucking my eye brows since I was told just to stay on the safe side. However I should have definitely been more proactive and looked for the hadith ASAP. As follows:

Narrated Alqamah: Abdullah (bin Masud) said ” Allah curses those ladies who practise tatooing and those who get themselves tatooed, and those ladies who get their hair removed from their eyebrows and faces except the beard and moustache, and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah’s creation”. His saying reached a lady from Banu Asad, called Umm Ya’qub, who came to Abdullah and said: “I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such ladies?” He replied, “Why should I not curse these whom Allah;s Messenger (pbuh) has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah’s book!” Umm Yaqub said ” I have read the whole Quran, but I did not find in it what you say “. He said “Verily, if you have read it, you have found it. Didn’t you read : “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammand (pbuh)) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it). (Quran V 59: 7). She said, “Yes, I did”, He said, “Verily Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) forbade such things” She said, “But I see your wife doing these things?” He said “Go and watch her”. She went and watched her but could not see anything in support to her statement. On that he said, “If my wife was as you thought, I wouldnt not keep her in my company ” (i.e I would divorce her).

Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol. 6 Hadith # 408

I have also pasted a link from Sunnipath which goes into details, the ruling on this.

Basically facial hair that makes a woman look like a man (beard area, moustache) is permitted to be removed (beautification is encouraged actually when done for one’s husband to see). The fiqh @ Sunni path also say it is allowed to remove facial hair which looks defective, such as mono brow or extremely bushy eyebrows which creates abhorrence to one’s husband. For bushy eyebrows, just clipping the edges, but with caution so as not to change the shape of the eyebrow, as I understand.

Although I thought my original eyebrows may qualify for a little trim, I had to be honest with myself regarding this ruling hence sought opinion from Hubby !

I came across the article on The Age newspaper (Australian) “West will fail says ex-CIA operative” . Sarah Smiles and Brendan Nicholson, July 11, 2007

Michael Scheuer, brings up some interesting points, such as misunderstanding the grievances of insurgents. That is “Al-Qaeda was motivated by anger towards US foreign policy in the Middle East rather than by hatred for Western culture. That included the US military presence in the region, its backing of tyrannical Arab regimes and “unqualified” support for Israel.”

As the “War on Terror” progresses, I am finding that, more than people’s misconception about “their (insurgents, etc) hatred for Western culture”, it seems that the West’s hatred for Islamic culture seems to be the driving force behind the atrocities. I am not quite sure what sort of reaction the article is meant to achieve, it seems to have a strong flavor of sending more troops to the middle east. I wonder, how many more troops, most with naively good intentions (I am an optimist) will die in ignorance, not realizing the purely materialistic agenda and deliberate attempts to mis-inform the masses of population. After all, how would a mother put a price on her son/ daughter in units of barrels of oil? I feel sorry for those who died, never knowing the true teachings of Islam and their followers, and being mislead by the real terrorist which is the media. I would and wouldnt like to witness the day when the whole truth would be revealed by Allah (swt) and the masses of population turn against their own leaders, in anger, agony, frustration and regret. That day of Judgment is inevitable.

May Allah (swt) forgive the muslims, including me, and guide us. Dawah becomes so important now, and here and every where. For every one person who is guided and brought into the shelter and protection of Allah (swt) through Islam, there will be one less on that inevitable day who would regret for being ignorant. Hell fire is not a pretty place, and only Allah knows if ignorance can be a ground for forgiveness. I came across this hadith as follows:

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (ra), Allah’s Messenger ( peace be upon him) said “By him (Allah) in Whose Hand Muhammad’s soul is, there is none from amongst the Jews and the Christians (of these present nations) who hears about me and dies without believing in the Message which I have been sent (Islam), but he will be from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire” (Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Chapter 240

I am not sure if it is the Jews or Christians who were alive during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or all of the sects of Jews and Christian religions which was present then up to now and in the future. Being highly Scholarly would have helped right about now, but I am not! Allah (swt) knows best!

In a hadith-e-Qudsi: On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
relates that Allah said:

“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it
forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.

O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so
seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you,

O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so
seek food of Me and I shall feed you.

O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so
seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you.

O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so
seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.

O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will
not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of
you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any
one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of
you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any
one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything.

O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of
you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of
Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not
decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put
into it.

O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then
recompense you for, so let him who finds good, praise Allah and let him
who finds other than that blame no one but himself.”
( related by Muslim,Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah )

Not so long ago in my life I used to ponder how Allah (One God Almighty) (swt) created time amongst His creations. No sooner did I open the Quran one day to find a Al Bukhari hadith on a Quranic ayat which explains this with perfect sense.

Surah Al-Jathiyah, ayat # 24: “And they say (the disbelievers) : “There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (time)” And they have no knowledge of it: they only conjecture”

The hadith referred to is narrated by Abu Hurairah (radi allahu anhu): Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah said, “The son of Adam annoys Me for he abuses Ad-Dahr (Time) though I am Ad-Dahr (Time); in My Hands are all things, and I cause the revolution of day and night (Sahih Al Bukhari, Vol. 6 Hadith # 351).

A commentary was made explaining the part of the hadith “I am Ad-Dahr (Time)” as meaning that ‘Allah (swt) is the Creator of Time, and He manages the affairs of all creation including Time. Hence one should not attribute anything cheerful or disastrous to Time, for everything is in the Hands of Allah and only He is the Disposer of everything.’

I found this excellent article about Islamic conceptual Framework relating to Man’s utilization of the environment. The article was written by Dr S Parvez Manzoor, Swedish based Muslim writer. The article focuses on man’s treatment of the environment and the fact that Islam even has laws which regulate man’s utilization of the environment in its all encompassing framework based on Tawheed. The following except from the article about Tawheed is an excellent one, as follows:

“Every discussion of ethics in Islam must, of necessity, proceed from Tawheed, as it is the sine qua non (prerequisite) of Islamic faith. In Islam, ethics is inseparable from religion and is built entirely upon it. Islam is, above everything, assertion of the certitude of Tawheed: the oneness of Allaah. Tawheed is thus the metaphysical and theological principle par excellence which gives the religion of Islam its unique profile and its distinctive morphology. The principle of oneness, the main anchor of the creed of Tawheed, is also construed in Islam as a teleological axiom: Allaah, who has created this universe, is also its final end. The final end is actually one for the whole universe, including all beings and creatures. That end is Allaah.

As an ethical rule, Tawheed dictates the acceptance of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala as the only source of all values: not to do so would lead one to shirk, the negation of Tawheed – the cardinal sin in Islam. Thus, Tawheed inculcates a psychological and behavioral attitude that demands a relationship with the Only One that excludes a similar relationship with anyone else. The Muslim is motivated by this quest, in whatever he does, thinks or feels. The identity of personal piety and ritual devotion, of theology and law, of politics and religion, of faith and deeds in Islam are all manifestations of the same all-pervasive principle of Tawheed.

The principle of Tawheed, or the oneness of Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta`aala, the recognition of Him as one, absolute and transcendent, is also at the center of the Muslim’s curiosity regarding nature. In other words, the same attitude that determines Muslim’s theology, philosophy or art also pervades his epistemology. The doctrine of Tawheed is forever inspiring Muslim thinkers to discover new facets of reality. Whether the subject be art, economics, sociology or plain political dynamism, Tawheed directs the Muslim’s vision to the perception of new vistas.”

The Islamic conceptual framework covers this and every aspect of the human being’s life, interaction with Allah, between individuals, between the sexes, within societies, between societies to running of the state, agriculture, warfare, social security etc. all to be exclusively governed by Allah’s commands, so that man kind may achieve excellence which pleases his Creator / Lord and by doing so, achieves equilibrium. An equilibrium which will never be achieved by man made laws pertaining to man’s own ideals and desires.

The man made delusion that with the ever advancement of knowledge and technology and time, man is making the world a better place is scorned by the witnesses of reality. The environment, the leadership of nations, the social welfare, the unfair acquiring and witholding of resources and especially the moral code or ethics, to name a few, are degrading in a world governed by man’s legislations and desires. In man’s never-ending toil and the frustration which results therefrom, there are many amongst mankind who are waking up to the fact that the only way to avoid self-destruction and misery is by following the commandments of Allah, God almighty in every aspect of their life and dealings.

Article can be found by following the link below:

http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2002/05/Article23.shtml

I was referred to the following interesting article about single -sex schools performing better in VCE than co-educational schools in Victoria.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/06/18/1182019032679.html

Myself, having attended an all girls school, bear witness to that! Some benefits I noticed were as follows:

1) No boys! Sorry to be blatantly obvious! We are talking about education being the top priority and how to maximize the learning for the young adults. In many cases, except for the extremely focused individual, opposite sex can cause distraction. In the presence of each other, some become attention seekers and some become attention givers and it causes disturbances to others.

2) I dont know about guys, but this is something I noticed in girls. When I was at school, in all of my classes, there was a sense of general c0-operation and group help when learning. Many a times, I have seen girls starting to get competitive with one another in a negative way and usually in non-educational aspects and loose that unity, in the presence of guys.

3) Interacting with the Teacher and asking questions becomes less encouraging for the fear of being laughed at or sounding too enthusiastic about learning. That is, if your not already distracted from points number 1 & 2.

Finally for those who argue that single-sex schools make an individual more reactive to opposite sex, it is foolish to deny that opposite sex attract for majority of the population of human beings. I believe that the reason for such reactions are due to lack of moral conduct or lack of knowledge on how to deal with the opposite sex added to the immaturity at that age bracket in high school. Islam (more correctly God) sets out the regulations for such opposite sex interactions. Its as simple as : Do you like each other? Thats great, GET MARRIED, take the responsibility for your desires and any outcome of your desires (i.e. children, financial support for the wife)

Just chatting? Just want to get to know, just want to be friends? Why not find a friend of the same sex instead of actively looking for friends in the opposite sex? Opposite sex interactions between marriageable individuals are on strictly on need basis only (By God’s commands actually). No nonsense means one is steered clear of: unwanted attention, wanted but “feed self-pride” attention, irresponsible actions which can and often does lead to corrupted morals, disrespect for the opposite sex and detrimental effect to the family unit. Society is better off!