Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No. (316): "Proposed Amendments to the Rights of the Child Law"

Date Added : 03-01-2023

 

Resolution No.(316): "Proposed Amendments to the Rights of the Child Law"

 

Date: (10 Safar, 1444 AH), corresponding to (6/9/2022 AD).

 

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.

In its thirteenth meeting held on the above date, the Board of Iftaa` reviewed the Child Draft Law (2022) presented to the Board by some in official quarters.

After deliberating for three successive meetings (11, 12, and 13/2013), the Board has recorded the following notes on the articles of this Law:

First: Adding the following provision to the draft law:

"A-The family is the basis of society and its mainstays are religion, morals, and patriotism, and the child has the right to live in its family.

B- Parents shall bear the responsibility for the upbringing, guidance, care, and growth of their child, and the competent authorities shall take the necessary measures to enable the family maintain its role and perform the functions and duties entrusted to it."

Second: "We recommend a provision, to be stated in the law, which takes the various age levels of the child into consideration."

Third: Article (4): "The child shall have the right to enjoy all the rights set forth in this law with paying special attention to religious values and general ethics or rights and reputation of others, or securing national security, public order, or public health."

Fourth: Article (9): "In accordance with the related legislations."

Proposed amendment: "In accordance with personal status legislations." These are rulings of Sharia stated in personal status legislations exclusively.

Fifth: Article (12): "Enabling the family to perform its essential role in child upbringing, education, and providing it with the needed care to guarantee its normal growth to the fullest."

Proposed amendment: "This phrase is to be deleted since it was stated in the proposed new article "First" mentioned above."

Sixth: Article (13): "Replacing the phrase "Extended Family" with "Nuclear Family" and adding a phrase at the end of the article to make it read as follows: "In accordance with the relevant legislations taking the best interest of the child into consideration in line with what courts competent in matters of personal status see fit."

Seventh: Article (15)/B: "The child`s parents shall adhere to…"

Proposed amendment: "The child`s Wali (Guardian) shall adhere to…"

Eighth: Article (16)/C: "And its sexual health."

Proposed amendment: "Health", and deleting the word "Sexual."

Ninth: Article (17)/A/ (1): "Enabling the child and its parents."

Proposed amendment: "Enabling the child and its Wali (Guardian)."

Tenth: Article (18)/A: "The child has the right to participate….etcetera"

Proposed amendment: "Taking into account the rights and responsibilities of the Wali (Guardian) or the person entrusted with looking after the child, the child has the right to….etcetera."

Eleventh: Article (18)/B: "Child`s participation in determining and implementing the recreational, cultural, artistic, and scientific programs."

Proposed amendment: "Providing and implementing the recreational, cultural, artistic, and scientific programs."

Twelfth: Article (20)/C: "Despite what is stated in any legislation, having the capacity as parents or person entrusted with looking after the child isn`t an excuse to commit any of the acts included in this Article."

Proposed amendment: "Paragraph C is to be deleted from this Article."

Thirteenth: Article (21)/C: "In a way that guarantees, where possible, keeping the child in its extended family`s environment."

Proposed amendment: "In a way that guarantees, where possible, keeping the child in its nuclear family`s environment."

Fourteenth: Article (24)/C.

Proposed amendment: "Paragraph C is to be deleted because it is contrary to paragraph (A), which restricted assistance to current legislations which could include formal and objective rules and restrictions.

Fifteenth: Article (30): "The National Council for Family Affairs shall prepare periodic reports on child`s rights stated therein, and to that end, shall form the competent committees and national teams, and be assisted by any party. The reports are to be submitted to the Council of Ministers."

Proposed amendment: "The National Council for Family Affairs shall prepare periodic reports on child`s rights stated therein provided that it doesn`t dwell on the legal processes, and to that end, shall form the competent committees and national teams, and be assisted by any party. The reports are to be submitted to the Council of Ministers."

Sixteenth: Adding a new separate article that states: "It is prohibited to publish, offer, distribute, reproduce or possess any printed matter or audio-visual material that panders to children's basest instincts, projects a positive image of behavior that offends against society's values or traditions, or encourages children to engage in delinquency."

 

Grand Mufti of Jordan, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Prof. Mahmoud Al-Sartawi/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

Prof. Amjad Rasheed/ Member

Prof. Adam Nooh Al-Qhodah/ Member

Dr.Hasan Makhatreh/ Member

Dr. Jameel Khatatbeh/ Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Younes al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Should the Zakah (obligatory charity) giver tell the poor recipient that this is the Zakah of his money?

No, he shouldn`t. But, the Zakah giver should make an intention in his heart that it is the Zakah of his money when paying it to the poor. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling on mentioning Allah`s name upon slaughtering an animal?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is a Sunnah (prophetic tradition) for the person slaughtering to say: "Bismillah" (In the Name of Allah), though the most complete and perfect phrasing is to say: "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim" (In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). This is in accordance with the words of Allah Almighty: "So eat of that [meat] upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned." (Al-An'am/118)
 
However, pronouncing it is not an obligatory requirement (Wajib). If someone omits it—whether deliberately or out of forgetfulness—the meat remains entirely lawful (Halal) to eat, though purposely omitting it is considered disliked (Makruh). And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

Can a person required to give kaffarah feed it to their own family members?

The kaffarah must be given to the poor and needy who are not financially dependent on the one giving the kaffarah.
If a person feeds it to their own family members, it does not count as kaffarah, and their obligation remains unfulfilled.

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.