What are the conditions governing the portion that must be distributed to the poor from a voluntary uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The following conditions apply to the portion distributed to the poor from the sacrificial animal:
First: It must be meat — it isn`t valid to give the poor organs or offal such as the liver.
Second: It must be given raw — cooked meat does not fulfil the requirement.
Third: It must amount to no less than half a kilogram. And Allah 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.
Is the prayer of someone who didn`t face Quibla (Ka`ba direction) valid?
All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds. Facing the Quibla is a condition for the validity of prayer, and the prayer of the person who hadn`t faced the direction of the Quibla is invalid, and he is obliged to repeat it. And Allah Knows Best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on opening an account in a commercial bank in order to deposit a sum and use it for personal purposes, such as transfers and electronic payments?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is forbidden for a Muslim, if he has a choice, to open an account in an interest-based (ribawī) bank, even if the account earns no interest, because doing so assists in ribā, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted (which means): “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” [al-Māʾidah/2]
This is because such banks invest deposited funds in forbidden ribā-based transactions, and depositing with them is therefore a form of assisting them in what is unlawful. Assisting in what is unlawful is prohibited by the Sharīʿah. However, if there is a pressing need to open an account in an interest-based bank and it is not possible to open one in an Islamic bank, there is no objection to doing so.
The ruling on bank interest and the prizes distributed by interest-based banks was previously explained in Fatwa no. (
471). And Allah Almighty knows best.
