Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(62): "Making Repentance after having Purchased Stocks of a non-Islamic Bank"

Date Added : 25-02-2020

 

Resolution No.(62): "Making Repentance after having Purchased Stocks of a non-Islamic Bank"

Date: 5/3/1424 AH, corresponding to 7/3/2003

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

We have received the following question:

In 1977, I bought two hundred stocks of a non-Islamic bank and I want to atone this sin. What is the view of Sharia regarding these stocks? Should I keep them or give them to charity, but keep my principal sum? Am I allowed to give their value to one of my sons whom I`m not obliged to support, to pay for his tuition, marriage and the like. How should I calculate the difference in the value of the currency between that time and now?

The Board is of the view that she should sell all the stocks that she herself had purchased from the bank and from her husband, and then she should take only her principal sum as prescribed in the following verse: "Yet if you repent, you shall have your principal sums, not being unjust, and no injustice being done to you." {Al-Baqarah/279}. Moreover, She should distribute the remaining sum amongst the poor and needy, and she isn`t allowed to take any of it for herself unless she was poor. In this case, she may take what covers her need as a poor person. Moreover, she is allowed to spend on one of her sons whom she isn`t obliged to support as much as needed to cover the expenses of his study or marriage if he was poor.

As far as the calculation of the difference in the values of a currency between the times of purchasing the stocks and now, both values should be estimated and the total should be divided by two. And Allah Knows Best.

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izz Aldeen Attamimi
Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri
Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia
Dr. Yousef Ghizaan
Sheikhb Sa`id Hijjawi
Sheikh Na`iem Mujahid
Sheikh Mahmood Shwayat

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the best manner in distributing the meat of the Aqeeqah?

It is better to divide all of it as cooked meat amongst the poor and the needy. Dividing it into three portions is a Sunnah, but it is permissible to keep all of it provided that a portion, even a small one, is given to the poor and needy (one kilo for example).

What is the ruling on fasting the six days of Shawwal?

Fasting the six days of Shawwal is Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if they have fasted for a lifetime." [Narrated by Muslim]
This is because fasting one month of Ramadan is rewarded as fasting for ten months, and the six days are equivalent to sixty days, completing a full year of fasting.

My brother works in a conventional bank and gave me one of the gifts distributed to bank employees — what is the ruling on accepting it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to accepting such gifts, because the physical gift itself does not carry any inherent prohibition — unlike stolen property. Sin does not transfer or extend to the one who receives the gift, for Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." [Al-Anʿām/164]
The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ himself ate from the food of the Jews, conducted transactions with them, and purchased from them — and it is well known that their wealth was intermingled with ribā. Similarly, the wealth of conventional ribā-based banks is a mixture of the lawful and the unlawful.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is not forbidden to transact with one whose wealth is predominantly unlawful, nor to eat from it — as al-Nawawī affirmed in al-Majmūʿ." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 9/P.389] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it obligatory for someone traveling by plane in the afternoon during Ramadan to fast?

Anyone who intends to travel after dawn must begin the day fasting and continue with the intention of completing their fast, as fasting was obligatory upon them before traveling.
However, if they experience unbearable hardship after starting their journey, they are permitted to break their fast due to that hardship, not merely because of travel. In such a case, they must make up for the missed fast later.