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About the Mistake Made by Taking the Fatwa on Serving Food during the Day Time of Ramadan out of its Context
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 11-06-2023

About the Mistake Made by Taking the Fatwa on Serving Food during the Day Time of Ramadan out of its Context

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah`s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The General Iftaa` Department attracts the attention of all its followers to the need to take the context and subject of the Fatwa into consideration, not to remove it out of its circumstance, and not to generalize its intended meanings from near or far. This pertains, in particular, to the answers forwarded to the asker through his/her personal email since they aren`t characterized as absolute and general. Rather, they address a certain case and circumstance.

 

The General Iftaa Department had answered one of the questioners about a fasting person making “Breakfast, lunch or coffee for a non-fasting person… and he is forced to do so because his manager orders him to do that.” This is according to the text of the question.

 

The answer was that helping in such sin is forbidden because a Muslim wouldn`t help a Muslim in not observing fast during daytime of Ramadan unless that Muslim had a lawful excuse such as illness, travel and the like.

 

The answer given by the Department read as follows: "You aren`t allowed to serve coffee and tea during the day time of Ramadan to someone who disobeys Allah by violating the sanctity of this sacred month without a valid excuse. This is because what you are doing is helping in sin while Almighty Allah says {What means}: "Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah. for Allah is strict in punishment." {Al-Ma`idah, 2}.

 

However, some people misunderstood this Fatwa and said that the Department bans the excused and non-Muslims from eating during the daytime of Ramadan!

 

Accordingly, it was imperative that We clarify the fact of the matter, so We said that the banning pertains to the Muslims who broke fast without a valid excuse and didn`t impose any difficulty on people with excuses. This is in addition to not transgressing against the special nature of other faiths nor addressing non-Muslims.

 

The fact that Fatwa is a responsibility obliges everyone to observe honesty in delivering Fatwa, prudence, and accuracy of expression, and if there is a confusion or a problem, the Iftaa` Department is always ready to make things clear. Allah the Almighty says {What means}: " And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." {Al-Isra`, 36}. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on eating or drinking forgetfully while observing the kaffarah fasting?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If someone eats or drinks out of forgetfulness while fasting, it is simply that Allah has fed them and given them drink. Their fast is not broken by this; rather, they should continue fasting. This ruling applies whether the fast is an obligatory one (like Ramadan), a make-up fast (Qada), an expiation (Kaffarah), or a voluntary (Nafal) fast. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

How does one with a continuous condition (like urinary incontinence or non-menstrual vaginal bleeding - mustahada) perform ablution?

A person with a continuous condition must do three things:
1. Not perform ablution except after the prayer time has entered.
2. Change the bag or diaper placed to reduce the flow of urine or blood after the prayer time enters, wash the private part from blood or urine, and perform ablution immediately.
3. Perform the actions of ablution in immediate succession, then pray immediately without delay, unless he intends to pray with the congregation.
It is not permissible for a person with a continuous condition to combine two obligatory prayers with one ablution, as he must perform ablution for each obligatory prayer, even if making it up (qada'). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

If a person enters a mosque and finds the congregation in the final tashahhud, which is more virtuous — joining them or waiting for a second congregation to catch the opening takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a worshipper finds a congregation that is about to finish its prayer, and he hopes to catch the entire prayer from the beginning with another congregation, it is more virtuous for him to pray with this first congregation and then repeat the prayer with the second one — provided he does not intend to confine himself to a single prayer. If, however, he intends to perform only one prayer, then it is more virtuous for him to wait for the second congregation rather than joining the first, so that he may attain the reward of congregational prayer for every single rakʿah.
Al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If members of a congregation enter the mosque while the imam is in the final tashahhud, al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn held that it is recommended for them to join him in prayer, and that they should not delay in order to form a second congregation. Al-Mutawallī, however, affirmed the opposite view, and al-Qāḍī's own statement elsewhere supports this latter position, which is the relied-upon view. In fact, it is more virtuous for a person who has missed part of the prayer with one congregation, and who hopes to catch another congregation with whom he can attain the entire prayer within its proper time, to delay so that he may catch it in full with them. This applies when he intends to confine himself to a single prayer; otherwise, it is more virtuous for him to pray with the first group and then repeat the prayer with the others." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol. 3/P.186] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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