Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(21): "Is the Killer (Inheritor) Entitled to Inherit the Person whom he had Killed (Inheritee)"

Date Added : 29-11-2015

Resolution No.(21) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:
"Is the Killer (Inheritor) Entitled to Inherit the Person whom he had Killed (Inheritee)"
Date: 30/7/1411 AH, corresponding to 14/2/1991.

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.

On the above date, the Board reviewed the verdict issued by the High Court of Justiciary whereby  (Mr. X) wasn`t found criminally responsible for his father`s death because of his mental and psychotic state, as confirmed by the reports of specialized doctors.

Article (183) of the Jordanian Civil Status Law obligates enforcing the preponderant opinion of the Hanafite School of Thought in both the judiciary and Sharia systems. This article reads as follows: "An inheritor who kills his inheritee while being in a state of insanity or suffering from a mental illness that makes him unaware of his actions, enjoys the right to inherit him."

Based on article (586), from the Jordanian Civil Status Law, which reads as follows: "If he has killed the inheritee out of Qisas (Retribution), as a (Had) prescribed penalty, in self-defense, was an indirect cause, or he (killer) hasn`t reached the age of puberty or was insane, then he is entitled to inherit him".

In conclusion, the Iftaa` Board rules that the above murderer is entitled to receive a share from the estate of the murdered (his father). And Allah Knows Best.

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice Mohammad Mohailan
The Grand Mufti of Jordan, Izzaldeen At-tamimi
Dr. Abdullahlim Ar-ramahi
Dr. Abdusallam Al-Abbadi
Dr. Ahmad Helayel
Dr. Yaseen Daradkeh
Dr. Abdulahaleem Al-Ramahi
Dr. Mohammad Al-Qhodat
Sheikh Ibrahim Khashan

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Summarized Fatawaa

My father placed shares worth twenty dinars in one of the banks, and their value doubled to become five thousand dinars. When my father passed away, one of the scholars told us that it is permissible for us to take the money. What is the ruling on this money, considering that it comes from a bank and involves interest (Riba)?

Allah The Almighty Said (What means): "And if you repent, then for you is the principal of your wealth. You do not wrong, nor are you wronged." [Al-Baqarah/279]. This is the precautionary ruling regarding what you are asking about. You are entitled to the principal amount, and you should give the excess as charity to the poor and needy. If you are poor, you may take from it. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

Does passing wind, from the anus without a smell, invalidate prayer?

If a person is certain of having passed wind even if it was with no smell, then both his/her ablution and prayer are invalidated, thus he/she should remake ablution and re-perform prayer.

What is the expiation for perjury?

One who commits perjury should repent, seek Allah`s forgiveness and offer an expiation which is: feeding ten indigent persons, or clothing them, or giving a slave his freedom, but if that is beyond his means then, he should fast for three days. Allah, The Almighty, Says in this regard (What means): "Allah will not call you to account for what is futile in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths ye have sworn. But keep to your oaths. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His signs, that ye may be grateful." [Al-Ma`idah/89].

A woman died at the age of ninety. Her living children are nine: two sons and two daughters. The youngest of her grandchildren, from her son who passed away one year before her, is aged thirty-two. Are these grandchildren entitled to the obligatory bequest although they are aged thirty-two and above?

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
A Muslim isn`t obligated to leave a bequest to his grandchildren whose father had passed away; rather, this act is recommended. Therefore, if he left a bequest whereby they get less than one third of the estate then Allah will reward him for that. However, if he left no bequest for them then they get nothing because their paternal uncles are alive and they are closer to the deceased and more entitled to inherit him. This is the position of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence. However, the Personal Status Law didn`t adopt this position; rather, it gave them the same amount to which their father is entitled when alive but his father or mother are dead; provided that it doesn`t exceed one third of the estate. Therefore, we advise them (Grandchildren) to relinquish this share of the inheritance. If not, then we advise their paternal uncles to overlook the amounts taken from their shares and given to their paternal nephews. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.