Articles

Statement on Criminalizing the Father Killing his Child
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 08-06-2023

Statement on Criminalizing the Father Killing his Child

 

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.

 

According to the general rule in Sharia, the relationship between the father and his children should be based on love, respect, guidance and advice, and through these foundations the father undertakes the task of upbringing them in a sound manner. Since children are not infallible, parents should direct them with sound educational methods and avoid violence as discipline does not only mean punishment, but the educator should always take into account the best interest of the child.

 

Sharia forbids the father to discipline his child to the point of harming him/her, and this act is considered a major sin if it led to the death of the child. This is because discipline is of no avail when the child has turned into a dead body and the father into a murderous criminal?

 

Islam has forbidden taking life unjustly and made this one of the major sins. Allah says {What means}: "If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of God are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him." {An-Nisa`, 93}. Ibn 'Umar (May Allah bepleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "A believer continues to guard his Faith (and thus hopes for Allah's Mercy) so long as he does not shed blood unjustly"[Al-Bukhari].

 

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered us to avoid the seven destructive sins and mentioned taking life, which Allah made sacred, except for a just cause as one of them. According to Islam, human life has sanctity and preserving it is one of the five necessities. Allah says {What means}: " if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people." {Al-Ma`dah, 32}.

 

Therefore, we call on all parents to apply the peaceful educational methods of education and discipline, using the modern means that are consistent with our purified Sharia in order to have a conscious generation that assumes its responsibilities in building the country and the nation, and Allah the Almighty knows best.

The General Iftaa` Department.

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

How many Rak`ahs (unit of prayer) are offered in Witr prayer?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                  Witr (an odd number prayer performed between Isha`a and Fajr) is offered with a minimum of one Rak`ah, and a maximum of eleven, but offering three Rak`ahs is the minimum of its complete form. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling on reciting aloud (*jahr*) in a silent (*sirriyyah*) prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Reciting aloud (jahr) in the Fajr prayer, in the first two rakʿahs of Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, and reciting silently (isrār) in the Dhuhr and ʿAṣr prayers is a sunnah. If the worshipper recites aloud where silence is prescribed, or the reverse, his prayer is valid, although it is better to follow the sunnah, in imitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “In every prayer there is recitation. What the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) let us hear, we let you hear, and what he concealed from us, we conceal from you. If you add nothing to Umm al-Qurʾān (al-Fātiḥah), it suffices, and if you add to it, it is better.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī.
Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.3/389): “The sunnah is to recite aloud in the two rakʿahs of Ṣubḥ (Fajr), Maghrib, and ʿIshāʾ, and in the Friday prayer, and to recite silently in Dhuhr, ʿAṣr, the third rakʿah of Maghrib, and the third and fourth of ʿIshāʾ. All of this is by the consensus of the Muslims, together with the mutually reinforcing authentic ḥadīths on the matter. This is the ruling for the imam. As for the individual worshipper (munfarid), it is sunnah for him to recite aloud according to us and according to the majority… If he recites aloud where silence is prescribed, or the reverse, his prayer is not invalidated, nor is there a prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) for it, but he has committed something disliked (makrūh).” And Allah Almighty knows best.

Does the 'aqīqah count as valid if it is slaughtered before the seventh day from the birth?

 

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time during which it becomes permissible to slaughter the 'aqīqah begins from the moment the newborn is fully delivered from its mother's womb.
If the animal is slaughtered prior to the birth, it does not count as an 'aqīqah — it is simply considered an ordinary sheep slaughtered for its meat.
And Allah Almighty knows best.

When does the time for the 'aqīqah lapse and pass?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
If the guardian was financially capable (mūsir) during the majority of the postnatal period (nifās) — which is sixty days — then the obligation of the 'aqīqah remains upon him until the child reaches the age of maturity (bulūgh). Once the child reaches maturity, the demand falls away from the father and those like him. At that point, it becomes Sunnah for the child himself to perform the 'aqīqah on his own behalf.
However, if the guardian was financially incapable (mu'sir) during the postnatal period, and then became financially capable after its expiry — that is, after sixty days — the 'aqīqah is no longer required of him. And Allah Almighty knows best.