Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(273): "Ruling on Funds Donated to the Educational Endowment"

Date Added : 18-03-2019

Resolution No. (273)(6/2019), By The Board of Iftaa', Researches and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Funds Donated to the Educational Endowment"

Date: (30/ Jumādā al-Akhira/1440 AH), corresponding to (7/3/2019)

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

 

During its third session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter (No.2/3/2019 AH) sent to the Iftaa` Department from the counsellor of the Educational Endowment. In that letter, he pointed that the Endowment receives both in kind and cash donations, adding that some people stipulate that their donations be spent on maintaining schools while others on laboratories, desks, and other equipment. It is worth pointing that the main objective of the Endowment is building schools in favor of the Ministry of Education. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?

 

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following decision:

 

Funds donated without defining the channel they should be spent in favor of are, in principle, endowed funds, because, basically, what is donated to an officially registered endowment must be spent in favor of the purpose for which it was established in the first place. Therefore, it is permissible that you accept and spend these donations in accordance with the rules of the endowment. This is along with ensuring schools` adherence to these rules and keeping them (schools) under constant supervision.

 

As for the funds for which the donor specifies a certain channel, they are to be spent as he stipulated, be that for maintenance, furniture, tools and the like. This is because the Sharia rule, in this regard, states: "The conditions set by the endower (Waqif) are as binding as the provisions of Sharia."

As for the wages of maintenance workers and consumed materials, it isn`t permissible to spend the money of the endowment on these alone. Rather, the endowment can allocate a fund for public charities and donations where it informs donors, upon making the donations, about the purpose for which that fund is established. This is in order for them (donors) to understand the difference between endowment and charity in general. Upon achieving that, there is no harm in spending the funds of public charity in favor of the various forms of maintenance. 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.

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

Dr. Rashaad Al-Kilani/Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

The Prophet ﷺ said: "There will emerge from my nation people who will drink the Qurʾān as they drink milk" — is this ḥadīth authentic, and what does it mean?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "There will emerge from my nation people who will drink the Qurʾān as they drink milk." (Reported by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, and cited by al-Haythamī in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, who stated: "Its narrators are trustworthy.")
The meaning of this ḥadīth is that there will emerge from this blessed nation people who recite the Holy Qurʾān without reflecting upon its meanings or pondering its rulings — the noble verses passing over their tongues just as milk passes over them when it is drunk, leaving no trace of thought, understanding, or contemplation behind. [See: al-Taysīr bi-Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr,Vol.2/P.63] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it a condition that one should offer two sacrifices for a male newborn?

It is desirable to offer two sheep for a male newborn, and one for a female newborn. Offering one sheep for the male newborn is also permissible as it observes the Prophet`s Sunnah in this regard.

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the virtue of performing ‘Umrah in Ramadan?

Ibn ‘Abbas narrated: "When the Prophet ﷺ returned from his Hajj, he said to Umm Sinan Al-Ansariyyah: ‘What prevented you from performing Hajj?’ She replied: ‘Abu So-and-so (referring to her husband) had two camels—he performed Hajj on one of them, and the other was used to irrigate our land.’ The Prophet ﷺ then said: ‘Performing ‘Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to Hajj with me.’" [Narrated by Al-Bukhari]
The Prophet ﷺ also said: "An ‘Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to a Hajj." [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]
For those who miss the opportunity to perform ‘Umrah in Ramadan, there are many other ways to earn great rewards. One of them is praying Fajr in congregation, then remaining in the mosque remembering Allah until sunrise, and praying two rak‘ahs.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, and then prays two rak‘ahs, will receive the reward of a complete Hajj and ‘Umrah—complete, complete, complete." [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]