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The General Iftaa` Department`s Statement: The Religion is Naseehah (Sincere Advice)
Author : The General Iftaa' Department
Date Added : 07-10-2024

 

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Afterwards:

Allah has made advice a fundamental principle of religion, and indeed, the Prophet, peace be upon him, stated that it is the very essence of religion. This is because its benefits extend to all people, beginning with the one who gives advice, who purifies his own religion and seeks the highest of matters, and ending with the one who receives the advice and benefits from it by being protected from harm. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Religion is advice." We asked: "To whom?" He replied: "To Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims, and to the common people of the Muslims." [Agreed upon].

Advice means guidance towards that which is beneficial. It is to guide someone towards the right path and to encourage them to do good deeds that will bring them happiness and success. It is also to enlighten someone about the dangers so that they may avoid them. Advice is one of the duties of prophets and a characteristic that distinguishes them. Allah Says (What means): "And I said: 'O my people, I have indeed conveyed to you the message of my Lord and have given you sincere advice." [Al-A'raf/79].

Allah has commanded us to emulate the character of these prophets, peace be upon them, and to follow their example in giving advice and guidance. This is the way of Allah with His righteous servants. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "There have always been people for Allah who give sincere advice to Allah concerning His servants, and give sincere advice to the servants of Allah concerning the rights of Allah upon them, and work for Him on earth with sincerity. These are the successors of Allah on earth." [Lata'if al-Ma'arif by Ibn Rajab].

Advice is one of the most important matters that Allah has obligated upon Muslims so that their lives may be upright and none of them may deviate. Jarir Ibn Abdullah reported: "I pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to establish prayer, pay Zakat, and give sincere advice to every Muslim." [Agreed upon]

And because "a Muslim is the mirror of his brother" - as the Prophet, peace be upon him, informed us (as narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah) - it is the right of one Muslim upon another to be sincere towards him in all matters of his life and to desire good for him in his religion, his worldly life, and his livelihood. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The rights of a Muslim over another Muslim are six." It was said: "What are they, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "If you meet him, greet him, and if he invites you, accept his invitation, and if he seeks your advice, advise him, and if he sneezes and praises Allah, then greet him, and if he falls ill, visit him, and if he dies, attend his funeral." [Moslim]. In addition, among the supplications of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was: "O Allah, set right for me my religion that is the safeguard of my affairs, and set right for me my world wherein my living is, and set right for me my Hereafter wherein my return is, and make life an increase for me in every good, and make death a relief for me from every evil."

Therefore, a Muslim who gives sincere advice to his brothers and desires good for them, and is safe from their tongues and hands, has fulfilled his duty. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "The Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe." [Agreed upon]. Safe from his tongue means that he does not backbite them, mock them, or impose upon them that which causes them embarrassment or hardship.

It is also incumbent upon a person to begin giving advice to himself, out of commitment and application, so that he may not be among those about whom Allah Says (What means): "Do you order people to be righteous while you forget yourselves, even though you recite the Book? Then will you not understand?" [Al-Baqarah/44]. Abu Bakr Al-Ajurri said: "No one can be sincere to Allah, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common people of the Muslims except the one who begins with giving sincere advice to himself and strives in knowledge and understanding, so that he may know what is obligatory upon him, and know the enmity of Satan towards him and how to be wary of him, and know the ugliness of that to which the soul inclines so that he may oppose it with knowledge."

Sincere advice should be purely for the sake of Allah so that the Muslim may obtain its reward and recompense. It should be given with gentle words that are accepted, and in a manner that is befitting of a reformer who is concerned for his brothers. It should also be given in private and according to the situation, so that it does not become a public humiliation that causes the one who receives the advice to become stubborn and increase in his error and sin. Imam Al-Shafi'i said: "Advise me privately, and spare me from giving advice in public, For advising people in public is a kind of rebuke that I do not enjoy hearing."

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for one who sacrifices on behalf of another, with the latter's permission, to eat from the sacrifice?

It is permissible for someone who sacrificed on behalf of another with their permission to eat from it with their permission, and they stand in their place (act as their representative) in distributing it.
 
It is stated in Nihayat al-Muhtaj ila Sharh al-Minhaj (Vol.8/P.141): "And he—meaning the one sacrificing on his own behalf, provided he has not apostatized—has the right to eat from a voluntary sacrifice and his sacrificial gift; rather, it is recommended. As for an obligatory sacrifice, it is forbidden for him to eat from it, whether it was designated as such initially or as a liability in his dhimmah. And excluded by what has preceded is if he sacrifices on behalf of another, or if he apostatized, then it is not permissible for him to eat from it, just as it is absolutely impermissible to feed a disbeliever from it."(The text I found indicates the impermissibility of eating) ???
 
And it is stated in Hashiyat al-Jamal ‘ala Sharh al-Manhaj (Vol.5/P.262): "If a person offers a sacrifice on behalf of a living person with their permission, does he act as their representative in distributing it—on the grounds that permission to sacrifice is permission to distribute it—or does it depend on their explicit permission? This requires consideration, but the first view is not far-fetched." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the recommended supplication (Du'a) upon breaking the fast, and is it recited before or after breaking it?

 
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is recommended (Mustahabb) for a fasting person to recite upon breaking the fast—that is, immediately after eating or drinking—the supplication: "Allahumma laka sumtu wa 'ala rizqika aftartu" (O Allah, for You I have fasted, and with Your provision I have broken my fast).
 
This is because our master, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), used to say this. The narration was recorded by Abu Dawud with a good (Hasan) chain of transmission, albeit in a Mursal form (a narration where a Successor reports directly from the Prophet). Shaykh al-Islam Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated: "Its Mursal status is inconsequential, as it pertains to virtuous deeds (Fada'il); furthermore, it was connected (Mawsul) through another chain of transmission." [Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, Vol.3/P.425]
 
It is also recommended to recite: "Dhahaba al-dhama'u wa ibtallat al-'uruqu wa thabata al-ajru in sha' Allah" (The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills).
 
This was recorded by Abu Dawud with a good (Hasan) chain. Our leading jurists (Imams) have explicitly stated that it is recommended for the fasting person to combine both supplications.
 
Imam al-Bajuri (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated:
 
 
"And his saying following his breaking of the fast—that is, it is recommended to say: 'O Allah, for You I have fasted, upon Your provision I have broken my fast, in You I have believed, to You I have submitted, and upon You I have relied. The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills. O You of vast bounty, forgive me. Praise be to Allah Who aided me so that I fasted, and provided for me so that I broke my fast. O Allah, grant us success in fasting, enable us to stand in night prayer during it, and aid us in it while people sleep, and admit us to Paradise in peace.'" [Hashiyat al-Bajuri, Vol.1/P.562]
 
Furthermore, the fasting person may supplicate with whatever good he or she wishes, for the supplication of a fasting person is answered. Al-Bayhaqi recorded on the authority of Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Three supplications are not rejected: the supplication of a parent for his child, the supplication of a fasting person, and the supplication of a traveler." And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on one who vows to fast a specific or non-specific year? Are the two Eids, the days of Tashreeq, Ramadan, and the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding included in them? And do these days break the consecutiveness if it was intended?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If someone makes a vow (Nadr) to fast a specific, designated year, this vow does not include the days of Eid, the days of Tashreeq (the three days following Eid al-Adha), Ramadan, or the days of menstruation (Hayd) and postnatal bleeding (Nifas). Furthermore, there is no requirement to make up (Qada) these specific days.
 
However, if someone vows to fast a year that is not specifically designated (i.e., any twelve-month period) and stipulates that the fasting must be consecutive, they are bound by that condition. They must not fast on the days of Eid, during Ramadan, or during menstruation, but they are required to make up these days afterward—with the exception of the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, which do not need to be made up.
 
It is stated in Hashiyat al-Bajuri ‘ala Sharh Ibn Qasim ({Vol.2/P.606): 'If one vows to fast a specific year, the Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, and days of menstruation or postnatal bleeding are not included. This is because Ramadan does not accept any fast other than its own, and the others do not accept fasting at all. Therefore, they do not enter into the vow, and no makeup is required for them because they are legally excluded—contrary to Al-Rafi’i regarding menstruation and postnatal bleeding.
 
If one vows to fast a non-designated year: if they stipulated consecutiveness (Tatuabu’) in their vow, they must fulfill it; otherwise, they are not bound to it. Consecutiveness is not broken by the days that do not enter into the specific year vow (Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, menstruation, and postnatal bleeding). However, one must make up the days missed—excluding the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding—immediately following the end of the year. As for the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, it is not made up, contrary to Ibn al-Rif’ah, who argued that it must be made up just like Ramadan.' And Allah the Exalted 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.

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