Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(243): "Ruling on Renting a Piece of Land to Build a Masjid on it"

Date Added : 09-06-2020

Resolution No.(243)(12/2017) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Renting a Piece of Land to Build a Masjid on it"

Date: 15/Moharam/1439 AH, corresponding to 5/10/2017 AD.

 

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 eleventh session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter sent from His Excellency Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Dr. Wa`elArabiat, and it read as follows:

Residents of Al-Zira` neighborhood (Hai Nazal area) submitted a request for building a Masjid on a piece of land owned by Amman`s Municipality. The Ministry asked the Municipality to facilitate that end, but the latter stipulated receiving  one hundred Dinars as an annual rent, over a period of twenty years. See enclosed contract. Could your Grace clarify the ruling of Sharia on that?

Answer:

After deliberating, the Board decided that renting the above land from Amman`s Municipality to build a Masjid on it is permissible. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chair  of Iftaa` Board

Grand Mufti of Jordan, Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Vice chair of Iftaa` Board, Sheikh AbdulKareem al-Khasawneh

                                   Prof. AbdulnaserabulBasal, Member                     

         Prof. Abdullah al-Fawaz/ Member

Dr. Wa`elArabiat, Member   

                Dr. Mohammad Khair al-Esa, Member

    Dr. Majid Darawsheh, Member

    Sheikh Sa`eidHijjawi, Member

      Dr. Ahmad al-Hasanat, Member

        Dr. Mohammad al-Zo`bi, Memebr

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

How is the beginning of Ramadan determined?

1. Completing 30 days of Sha‘ban, or
2. Sighting the crescent moon after sunset on the 29th day of Sha‘ban.
It is Sunnah to search for the moon, and it is obligatory to follow the official authorities responsible for announcing it.

What is the meaning of the Prophetic statement that a boy is held in pledge (murtahan) for his 'aqīqah?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The first interpretation: That if the boy dies in infancy without an 'aqīqah having been performed on his behalf, he will not intercede for his parents on the Day of Resurrection. This is the position of Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Imam al-Khaṭṭābī concurred with him, stating: "The finest of what has been said regarding this matter is the position adopted by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal." — [Fatḥ al-Bārī by Ibn Ḥajar,{Vol.9/P.594]
The second interpretation: That the child is likened to a pledged object (marhūn) — one from which full benefit and enjoyment cannot be derived until it is redeemed. A blessing is only made complete upon the one blessed when they fulfil the obligation of gratitude (shukr), and the prescribed expression of gratitude for this particular blessing is what the Prophet ﷺ established as Sunnah — namely, the slaughtering of the 'aqīqah on behalf of the newborn as an act of thankfulness to Allah the Almighty and as a supplication for the wellbeing and safety of the child. This is the position of Mullā 'Alī al-Qārī. See: [Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Vol.7/P.2688]
And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is the Saying "Whatever is Taken by the Sword of Shyness is Forbidden" an Authentic Ḥadīth?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The saying "Whatever is taken by the sword of shyness is forbidden" is not an authentic ḥadīth, though its underlying meaning is sound. The established sharʿī principle is that a Muslim's wealth is not lawful for anyone to take except with his wholehearted consent, as Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent." [Al-Nisā/ 29] And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Listen to me and you will live well: do not wrong others, do not wrong others, do not wrong others. Indeed, a man's wealth is not lawful except with his full, willing consent." (Reported by Aḥmad in his Musnad.) Whatever is taken through the pressure of shyness or social embarrassment runs directly counter to genuine, wholehearted consent.
The jurists have explicitly stated that whatever is taken by means of the "sword of shyness" carries the same ruling as that which is taken by coercion — it must be returned to its rightful owner.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā (Vol.3/P.30): "Do you not see the reported scholarly consensus that whoever has something taken from him purely out of shyness, without his genuine consent, does not pass ownership of it to the one who took it? They reasoned that this constitutes a form of coercion through the 'sword of shyness,' comparable to coercion at the point of an actual sword. Indeed, many people would rather submit to the literal sword and endure the pain of its wound than submit to this first kind of coercion, out of fear for their dignity and standing — which people of sound judgment hold dear and guard most fiercely." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on purchasing sacrificial animals and authorizing their slaughter via telephone?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is preferable for the one offering a sacrifice (udhiyah) to slaughter the animal himself, in adherence to the Sunnah, or to be present at the slaughter if possible.
 
It is valid to authorize a butcher to purchase a sacrificial animal on his behalf and slaughter it, regardless of whether the animal is owned by the butcher or the butcher is acting as an agent in its sale—according to the Hanbali school—provided that the butcher specifically designates and purchases the animal for the person offering the sacrifice before slaughtering it. And Allah Almighty knows best.