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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No. (317): "Ruling on Deducting the Expenses of Receiving Mourners from the Estate of the Deceased"

Date Added : 04-01-2023

Resolution No. (317): "Ruling on Deducting the Expenses of Receiving Mourners from the Estate of the Deceased"

Date: (21 Jumada al-Ula, 1444 AH), corresponding to (15/12/2022 AD).

 

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.

In its fifteenth meeting held on the above date, the Board of Iftaa` reviewed question No.(224170) sent to the electronic website of the Iftaa` Department. It reads as follows:

Are the expenses of hospitality for receiving mourners, such as dates, water, chairs, and the like, to be taken from the estate of the deceased?

After deliberating, the Board decided what follows:

Expenses for preparing the deceased for burial should be paid from the estate whether he/she left wealth or not. As of the debts, they should be paid off from the deceased`s estate if he/she left any. If he/she didn`t , then it is recommended for the heirs to pay off the debts to clear the deceased from liability before Allah.

Other hospitality expenses-rented chairs, dates, water, food-shouldn`t be deducted from the estate of the deceased save with the approval of the adult discerning heirs since the approval of the minor heirs isn`t considerable. Otherwise, such expenses are to be covered by those receiving mourners and treating them with hospitality. In fact, honoring mourners isn`t among the rights to be collected from the estate of the deceased. However, it is part of good character and the strongest form of dutifulness to the deceased. The evidence on this is that the Abdullah b. Umar reported Allah's Apostle (PBUH) as saying: "The finest act of goodness is that a person should treat kindly the loved ones of his father." {Transmitted by Muslim}.

In any case, we recommend economizing expenses of receiving mourners so as not to make things difficult for the family of the deceased and deprive them from gifting the reward of good deeds to the deceased. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

 

Grand Mufti of Jordan, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Prof. Mahmoud Al-Sartawi/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

Prof. Amjad Rasheed/ Member

Prof. Adam Nooh Al-Qhodah/ Member

Dr. Jameel Khatatbeh/ Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Younes al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for one to give the Zakah (obligatory charity) to his indebted brother?

It is permissible for one to give the Zakah to his brother if he was indebted, or poor.

What is the ruling on someone who possesses gold with the intention of saving/hoarding it, and owns nothing else — is he obligated to sell a portion of it in order to pay the zakāh due on it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh becomes immediately obligatory on cash, and likewise on gold — that which is not designated for a woman's personal adornment— once both reach the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has passed over them. It is not permissible to delay payment when it is genuinely possible to pay — meaning, when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both available. It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.129): "Zakāh is obligatory immediately once it becomes feasible to pay it, meaning when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both present."
The one paying zakāh must discharge the obligatory zakāh due on saved (hoarded) gold either from the gold itself, or from its equivalent monetary value, in the event that no other funds are available — since paying from the gold itself is the original default (al-aṣl). It becomes permissible to pay from other funds instead only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency, as stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib (Vol.1/p.366): "When a full ḥawl has elapsed on wealth other than trade goods... zakāh attaches to the actual asset itself (al-‘ayn), and the poor effectively become partners in it — even, for example, [becoming partners] in camels through the value of a sheep [owed as zakāh on them]... Paying from other wealth is permitted only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency."
Accordingly: the one paying zakāh must discharge it either from the actual saved gold itself, or by selling a portion of the gold equal to the amount of zakāh owed. He may also borrow money to pay the zakāh, or pay the zakāh in installments before the ḥawl is complete [as an advance payment]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it obligatory to have the intention for each day of fasting, or is one intention sufficient for the whole month?

The intention is obligatory for each day of Ramadan because each day is an independent act of worship separate from the others.
The intention must be made at night before the break of dawn, as the Prophetﷺ said: "Whoever does not intend fasting at night, there is no fast for him." [An-Nasa’i] 
And he also said: "Whoever does not firmly resolve to fast before dawn, there is no fast for him." [At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, and An-Nasa’i]
Whoever wakes up and eats Suhoor while mindful of fasting has made the intention. Likewise, one who firmly intends at any moment during the night to fast the next day has also fulfilled the intention.

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on articles of merchandise even if they were stacked in the merchant`s stores for years?

Yes, Zakah is due on goods even if they were stacked in merchant`s stores for years, in this manner Islam struggle against monopoly.

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