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

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on Zakat al-Fitr?

Zakat al-Fitr is obligatory upon every Muslim for themselves and for those they are financially responsible for, provided they possess wealth that is surplus to their and their family's needs on the night and day of Eid.
Ibn Umar reported: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory—one sa‘ (measure) of dates or one sa‘ of barley—upon every Muslim, whether slave or free, male or female, young or old." [Narrated by Al-Bukhari]
Its estimated amount is approximately 2,500 grams of wheat or rice, and the General Iftaa` Department issues an annual ruling specifying its monetary value.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on following the actions of the imam in prayer and how this following is achieved?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The follower (ma'mum) is required to follow his imam in the actions of the prayer. This "following" (mutaba'ah) means that the follower performs each action of the prayer after the imam has begun it but before he has finished it. For example, the follower bows (in ruku') after the imam has reached the position of bowing, then rises after the imam has risen. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The imam is only appointed to be followed, so when he says the takbir, say the takbir; and when he bows, then bow; and when he prostrates, then prostrate" (agreed upon, i.e., reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim).
It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (1/505): "Among the conditions of valid congregational prayer (iqtida') is following the imam in the actions of the prayer... meaning that following the imam is obligatory in the physical actions of the prayer, not in its verbal utterances... Complete following (kamal al-mutaba'ah) is achieved when the follower's beginning of an action comes after the imam's beginning of that same action, while the follower's beginning of the action precedes the imam's completion of it" — end of quote, with slight paraphrasing.
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

When does the time for the Fajr prayer begin?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The time for the Fajr prayer begins once the Mu’adhin starts the second Adhan (Al-Adhan al-Thani), and not after the first Adhan. And Allah the Exalted knows best.