The first thing which occurs to me is that what this woman is asking him to do something which represents a contravention of Islamic teachings. In other words, she is pressuring him to get involved with her in something which constitutes disobedience to Allah. If he yields to her temptation or to her threats, then he is obeying her and disobeying Allah. Islam lays down a basic rule which states: "No creature may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience to Allah." This principle negates any authority she may have over him, which means that if she is his superior at work, he may act on her instructions with regard to the execution of his job but not in establishing a relationship beyond their official duties. Therefore, the choice that your friend faces is one between following his faith and following this woman. If he weighs up the consequences, then he will be able to resist her advances.

This man should reflect on what the Prophet tells us about the great reward Allah has in store for a person who resists such temptation. The Prophet mentions seven types of people who he says will enjoy the shelter of Allah on the day of judgment when there is no shelter to be sought other than that of Allah. These include "a man tempted by a woman of influence and wealth but he answers, I fear Allah."

There is, therefore, a powerful answer which should strengthen your friend in his resolve not to respond to this woman. He should remember that yielding to her temptation will incur Allah's displeasure while resisting her will ensure a great reward.

Your friend may be worried about what this woman may do to him, using her power and influence, if he proves that he is a tough nut to crack. He may worry that he may lose his job or he may be transferred to a remote area, etc. These are genuine worries which may be very significant. Perhaps a good way to calm his worries is to study the surah entitled "Yousuf". He will find that a young man destined to become a prophet faced the same temptation by his master's wife and his resistance meant that he was imprisoned for several years. When he was threatened with imprisonment, he was very certain of his answer: "He said, My Lord, imprisonment is more pleasant to me than that to which they are inviting me." He appealed to Allah for assistance and Allah answered his prayers. Therefore, your friend should rely on Allah to help him get through this difficulty. He must trust that Allah's help is sure to come, but he may be tested and the test may be severe. If he proves to be firm in his faith, determined to please Allah, giving any sacrifice that he may be called upon to give in order to earn His pleasure, he will eventually be rewarded for his determination both in this life and in the life to come. The imprisonment of Prophet Yousuf was an example of what such a test may involve. In prison, Yousuf continued to call on his fellow prisoners to believe in Allah and to disown all false beliefs. He submitted to Allah's will and did not grumble or complain at being imprisoned. Hence, when he proved his dedication to his faith, Allah rewarded him and he was taken out of prison to be given a high position in government.

Your friend may lose his job as a result of resisting this woman. He may be even put to a severer test. But if he proves his strength of faith, then he will find that such an adversity is tolerable when he realizes that it is combined with earning Allah's pleasure.

Your friend will do well to reflect very coolly on his position and what options are open to him and what are the likely consequences of each option. Let him consider that no one can deprive another of something that Allah has determined to give him. The provisions of every single person are sure to reach him, if he works for them. No one can stop what Allah wishes to bring us. Consider this authentic Hadith related by Al-Tirmithi and reported by the Prophet's learned cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas: "One day I was riding behind the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he said to me: Young man, I shall teach you some words of advice. Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek the help of Allah. Know that if the whole nation were to gather to benefit you with anything, they would benefit you only with something that Allah has already assigned to you and that if they gather to harm you with anything, they will harm you only with something Allah had already determined for you."

Another version of this Hadith states: "Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you and that which has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction and ease with hardship."

You are absolutely right. There is no meeting point between Islam and terrorism as practiced by terrorist groups in different parts of the world. Terrorism involves the indiscriminate use of force to achieve certain objectives. In Islam, the use of force is allowed only in special situations, particularly when the Muslim community is threatened by hostile forces. Then again, the use of force in a campaign of jihad is determined by the leader of the Muslim community in a very orderly way. The enemy will be well identified, and the use of force is only a last resort. However, what is happening in some parts of the Muslim world today involving same groups which are often described as "fundamentalists", is not always accurately reported or portrayed. Now let us be clear about principles.

Islam does not allow the use of force against peaceful civilians. Moreover, using military tactics against an established government and causing in the process the loss of life among civilians is a very serious matter. There will be some people who will try to justify it on the basis of Islamic principles. What we have learned from trusted authorities on Islam is that such use of force is not acceptable at all. We must remember that God did not allow the Prophet and his companions to use force against the non-believers in Makkah, despite the fact that the believers were subjected to a campaign of persecution that caused the death of several people and subjected many to enormous torture.

Moreover, God stopped the Muslims from fighting the non-believers in Makkah at the time of Hudaibiyah stating in the Qur'an that had a fight taken place, the Muslims would have been victorious and the non-believers would have run away. Yet He ordered the Prophet to accept the peace agreement which seemed to be unjust to Muslims. The Prophet declared to his companions that he would accept any conditions which would prevent bloodshed.

Therefore, resorting to terrorist campaign in order to change a government is not acceptable although the government may be a bad one and follows un-Islamic policies.

Much is being said about the techniques now available as a result of what is termed the "revolution" in genetic engineering. There is the sperm bank which is used to fertilize eggs of women who have remained childless after a number of years of marriage. There is also the method known as "surrogate" motherhood where one woman is employed to bear the child for a married couple who cannot have a child of their own. The surrogate mother is paid a fee for her troubles. There are other techniques and methods which are being tried on animals to determine whether they can safely be applied to human beings.

There is a ruling which has been agreed by many scholars and which applies to all these techniques and methods. That ruling states that whatever is used strictly between a married couple to help them have a child of their own is permissible, provided that no third party is involved in any way. If, for example, the egg of a woman is taken out of her body and fertilized in the laboratory out of her own husband's sperm, which means that the conception takes place outside her body, and then the fertilized egg is replanted in her body, and she carries the fetus for the rest of the pregnancy term before giving birth to it, this is acceptable. When any process involves a third party, either in the shape of a surrogate mother or fertilizing the egg of one woman with the sperm of someone other than her husband, then all this is forbidden. In the latter case, the sperm may come from a bank and the man who gave it is not known to the woman.

The prohibition is based on the principle that Islam is keen to maintain proper family relationships. The children must be aware of who their parents are. When a mess like the one happening in the West is allowed to take place, all sorts of problems arise. What is more, the inevitable result will be total confusion of parenthood and of the child-parent relationship. This is something which Islam does not allow.