Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(271): "Ruling on Holding Shares in Companies whose Business is a Mixture of Lawful and Unlawful Transactions"

Date Added : 25-02-2020

Resolution No.(271)(2/2019), By The Board of Iftaa', Researches and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Holding Shares in Companies whose Business is a Mixture of Lawful and Unlawful Transactions"

Date: (25/ Jumādā al-Awwal/1440 AH), corresponding to (31/1/2019)

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

During its second session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter {No.611/55122/1352. Date: 22/11/2018} sent from His Excellency, Chairman of the Sharia Consultative Committee in charge of drawing up the Sharia and accounting standards for the classification of companies according to their compliance with the rules of Sharia. The letter was addressed to the Secretary General of the Iftaa` Dept. Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat, and it read as follows: 

I would like to bring to your kind attention the fact that the Amman Stock Exchange has formed a Sharia consultative committee to draw up the Sharia and accounting standards for the classification of companies according to their compliance with the rules of Sharia. This committee includes a number of experts in various fields of Islamic financing from both technical and Sharia perspectives. Having reviewed the resolutions of the Iftaa` Board, Fatwas of the Iftaa` Department, resolutions of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, AAOIFI Sharia Standard No.(21) about "Stock Exchange: Shares and bonds", resolutions of Sharia supervisory councils, Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, former international experiences, in addition to several research papers and studies in this filed, the committee has drawn up a draft of the above standards, subjected them to arbitration, commented on them, and set up Sharia and accounting regulations for them. 

In light of this, we would like to stress the significance of this project and its impact on strengthening and developing the Islamic economy. This is in addition to assisting investors who have the inclination to invest in companies whose businesses comply with the principles of the tolerant Islamic Sharia, and this, eventually, will lead to strengthening and supporting the national economy. We would like you to discuss the above draft with the Iftaa` Board to deliver the ruling of Sharia on it.

After deliberating the above issue, the Board decided adopting the following Sharia standards:

First: There is no harm in dealing with the shares of companies whose declared transactions and financial statements are free of the agreed upon unlawful practices.

Second: It is prohibited to trade in the shares of companies whose core business is definitely prohibited.

Third: Companies and their boards are prohibited to deal in usury, even if the latter was a small percentage.

Fourth: As for companies with mixed transactions (lawful & unlawful) the source of their business is lawful, but they accidentally dealt in some unlawful contracts or sold unlawful items, although these aren`t their basic activities nor stipulated in their registered articles of association. This mixed type must meet two conditions in order for trading in their shares to become permissible:

1- The borrowed or deposited amounts, involving usury, mustn't exceed 25% of the overall value of the company`s shares.

2- Revenues and expenditures resulting from that incidental unlawful transaction-as defined earlier  mustn't exceed 5% from the company`s overall revenues.

The evidence for these two conditions rests on the flexible rules of Islamic Jurisprudence. For example, "Pardoning the little", "Necessity must only be assessed and answered proportionately", and "A general need takes the ruling of a necessity." This is in addition to the rule, which states that the one who undertakes the prohibited action is the one liable for it while others are free from that liability. This particularly applies to modern companies shared by thousands of individuals. Therefore, it is hard for each shareholder to realize, in detail, the incidental transactions of that company.

It is the duty of every Muslim-despite the conditional permissibility of the above ruling-to get rid of the unlawful percentage of his profits, and to spend it on public interest. This is provided that no benefit is earned from the latter whatsoever. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

Chairperson of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Sheikh Abdulkareem AlKhasawneh/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi/ Member 

Prof. Abdullah Al-Fawaaz/ Member{Have a reservation on the word "Mixed"}.

Dr. Muhammad Khair Al-Issa/ Member

Dr. Majid Al-Darawsheh/ Member

Prof. Adam Noah/ Member{have a reservation on the fourth standard}.

Judge. Khaled Al-Worikat/ Member 

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on praying in congregation at the mosque?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Congregational prayer (Salat al-Jama‘ah) is a communal obligation (Fard Kifayah) for resident men regarding the performance of the prescribed (obligatory) prayers. For men, praying in congregation at the mosque is better than praying elsewhere, such as at home. On the authority of Abdullah bin Umar, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Prayer in congregation is twenty-seven degrees more excellent than the prayer of a person alone' (Reported by Bukhari & Muslim). Furthermore, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Shall I not tell you that by which Allah erases sins and raises ranks?' They said, 'Of course, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'Performing wudu thoroughly despite difficulties, taking many steps toward the mosques, and waiting for the next prayer after the prayer; that is your Ribat (steadfastness)' (Narrated by Muslim).
 
As for a woman, her praying in congregation at home is better for her than in the mosque, according to the saying of our Master the Prophet ﷺ: 'Do not prevent your women from attending the mosques, but their homes are better for them' (Narrated by Abu Dawood). Young boys should be encouraged to attend the mosques and congregational prayers so they may become accustomed to them. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What are the Sunnahs and etiquettes recommended for the person offering the Udhiyah?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
There are several Sunnahs and etiquettes that are recommended for the person offering the Udhiyah (sacrifice) to observe, including:
 
1-It is Sunnah for the one intending to sacrifice to refrain from removing any hair or nails once the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah begin. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When the ten days [of Dhul-Hijjah] begin and one of you intends to offer a sacrifice, let him not touch [remove] any of his hair or skin." [Narrated by Muslim]. If someone does remove any hair or nails, they have not committed a sin, and their sacrifice remains valid.
 
2-It is recommended for the person offering the sacrifice to slaughter the animal themselves. If they are unable to do so, they should witness the slaughter. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): "Stand and witness your sacrifice, for indeed, with its first drop of blood, your [previous sins] are forgiven." [Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Tabarani; it is classified as a weak (da'if) hadith].
 
3-The animal should be positioned to face the Qiblah at the time of slaughter, as the Qiblah is the most noble of directions.
 
4-The slaughterer should say: "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim" (In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful). Even if one forgets to say it, the sacrifice is still permissible to eat. Allah (Blessed and Exalted be He) says: "So eat of that [meat] upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned" [Al-An'am: 118]. It is also recommended to send blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and to say "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest) after the Tasmiyah.
 
5-The slaughterer should pray for the sacrifice to be accepted by saying: "O Allah, this is from You and for You, so please accept it from me." (Allahumma hadhihi minka wa ilayka, fataqabbal minni). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the colored discharges that appear one or two days before the menstrual cycle?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Colored discharges carry the same Islamic ruling as blood, whether they appear at the beginning or the end of the menstrual period. This remains true even if the discharge is intermittent—appearing for some days and stopping for others before returning—provided that the total duration does not exceed fifteen days nor fall short of a day and a night (24 hours). This is because the minimum duration of menstruation (Hayd) is one day and a night, while its maximum duration is fifteen days. Furthermore, the minimum period of purity (Tuhr) between two menstrual cycles is fifteen days, and there is no maximum limit for it. And Allah the Exalted knows best."

What is the ruling on forgetting an integral of the prayer?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Whoever forgets an integral (Rukn) of the prayer and remembers it before reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit (Rak'ah), must return to it (i.e., perform it) and complete his prayer, then perform the prostration of forgetfulness (Sujud al-Sahw) at the end of his prayer. However, if he remembers it after reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit, the Rak'ah in which the integral was forgotten is invalidated, and the current unit takes its place; he then completes a full Rak'ah to compensate and performs the prostration of forgetfulness.
 
It is stated in Nihayat al-Muhtaj ila Sharh al-Minhaj (Vol.1/P.543): 'If he becomes certain at the end of his prayer, or after the Salam—provided the interval is not long according to custom and he has not stepped on an impurity—that he omitted a prostration from the final Rak'ah, he must perform it and repeat the Tashahhud, as his previous Tashahhud occurred before its proper place. If the omission was from a Rak'ah other than the final one, he must perform a full Rak'ah, because the deficient unit was completed by a prostration from the subsequent one, rendering the rest of that subsequent unit void.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.