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A Statement on: Calling for the Preservation of Brotherly Ties and the Rejection of Conflict and Disagreement
Author : The General Iftaa' Department
Date Added : 03-04-2014

A Statement on: Calling for the preservation of Brotherly Ties and Rejection of Conflict and Disagreement 

 

All praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions and all those who have followed in his footsteps until the Day of Resurrection:

 

Dear fellow believers!

 

Allah has warned us in the Glorious Quran against disagreement and conflict leading to failure, He Said (What means): "And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with one another, lest you falter and your strength fade; and be patient. Surely God is with the patient." [Al-Anfal/46].

 

Reprehensible disagreement and conflict lead to exchanging accusations, arousing sectarianism and widening disunity within the Muslim nation. This results in failures and weaknesses, and hinders society from progress and prosperity for all of these negative aspects are tantamount to corruption that is denied by any reasonable person.

 

Allah has urged the Muslim community to hold together and to cooperate just like one body; when one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever. Therefore, He warned against disagreements that end with quarrel and division, and commanded holding fast to His solid bond for He , The Most Exalted, Said (What means): "And hold fast to God's bond, together, and do not scatter; remember God's grace upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together so that by His grace you became brothers..." [Al-Imran/103].

 

When Muslims complied with this heavenly guidance, their hearts were brought together against all enemies, and whenever the enemies tried to scatter them, they remembered the Prophet`s saying: "Do not (become infidels) revert to disbelief after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another (killing each other)." [Agreed upon]. Therefore, all of us have to resort to constructive dialogue and advice to achieve the desired reform.                                                                                                                                            .

Dear fellow believers!

 

Abide by the above Hadith (prophetic saying) and the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) and those of the Holy Quran for the Prophet (PBUH) says: "A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue or his hands." [Agreed upon]. He further says: "And anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet. (I.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk)." [Agreed upon].

 

It is incumbent upon us as Muslims to refrain from acts that cause conflict and division so as not to undermine the unity of our homeland. Instead, we should join forces to achieve all that is good to our religion, country, community, and nation. Allah Says in the Holy Quran (What means): "Help one another to righteousness and piety; do not help one another to sin and enmity. And fear God; surely God is severe in retribution." [Al-Ma`idah/2].     

  

Dear brothers!

 

We should be a cause for all that is good and a hindrance to all that is evil for the Prophet (PBUH) said in this regard: "Some people are a cause for all that is good and some are a cause for all that is evil; the former are blessed but the latter are disgraced." [Ibn Majah].

 

The General Iftaa` Department calls on all citizens to observe the teachings of Islam, discard all aspects of division, conflict and disagreement as well as all factors that incite to enmity and hatred among the people of the community, and to follow the advice of the Prophet: "I have left in you  that which will not lead you astray if you abide by it: The Holy Quran and the Prophetic tradition." [At-Tirmithi/ Graded it as a sound & strange Hadith (a strange one due to few narrators of the above Hadith].

 

We ask Allah, The Almighty, to safeguard our beloved country along with the rest of the Islamic countries, and praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

 

And peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you all.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on eating or drinking during the circumambulation?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is disliked (makrūh) to eat or drink during the circumambulation (ṭawāf).
Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī states in al-Majmūʿ: "It is disliked to eat or drink during ṭawāf, and the dislikedness of drinking is lighter. Neither of them, nor both together, invalidates the ṭawāf. Al-Shāfiʿī said: 'There is no objection to drinking water during ṭawāf, and I do not consider it sinful; however, I prefer that it be avoided, as refraining from it is more befitting in terms of proper conduct.' Among those who explicitly stated the dislikedness of eating and drinking, and that drinking is the lesser of the two, is the author of al-Ḥāwī."
If, however, a person is in genuine need of drinking, then there is no dislikedness in doing so. In any case, the ṭawāf itself remains valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on giving Zakat al-Fitr in cash?

The default ruling is that Zakat al-Fitr should be given as the staple food of the land. In Jordan, for example, the staple food is wheat or rice, and the amount of Zakat al-Fitr is 2,500 grams per person. It is easy to give this amount of rice to the poor and needy, and this is the correct ruling according to all Islamic schools of thought.
However, Hanafi scholars have permitted giving Zakat al-Fitr as monetary value, considering it more beneficial for the poor and easier for the giver.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on compensating the patient in case of medical error on the part of the treating physician?

 
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The foundational principle is that every mistake issued by a physician that causes harm to another due to his negligence or lack of expertise obligates him to guarantee liability and compensate the harmed party. The Sharia maxim, in this regard, states: "The direct actor is liable."
 
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "As for if he was skilled but his hand committed an error—such as exceeding the proper limit of incision, cutting in an incorrect site, cutting with an instrument that inflicts excessive pain, or cutting at an unsuitable time—he is liable, because it is destruction (Itlaf) whose liability does not differ between intent and mistake, thus resembling the destruction of property; and because it is a prohibited act, so he guarantees liability for its secondary effects." [Al-Mughni].
 
However, if the physician performed what was necessary in the most complete manner and took all measures of care and caution, but complications occurred that could not be avoided according to specialists, then no liability rests upon him.
 
Shaykh al-Islam Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "The cupper and the circumciser bear no liability if they have not been negligent, and likewise the veterinarian if he bleeds an animal and it perishes." [Rawdat al-Talibin].
 
Al-Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I know of no disagreement that if the practitioner transgresses and the patient perishes, he is liable. Anyone who undertakes knowledge or practice he does not know is a transgressor; so if perishing arises from his action, he is liable for the blood-money (Diyah) while capital retaliation (Qisas) is dropped from him, because he did not act independently without the patient's permission. And the physician’s offense in the view of the generality of jurists is borne by his agnates ('Aqilah*)."* [Ma'alim al-Sunan].
 
If negligence or transgression is established against the physician, it is necessary to compensate the patient or seek forgiveness from him. And Allah Almighty knows best.