Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(176): "Ruling on Murabaha Sale where the Purchaser is Authorized to Conclude the Contract, or to Collect the Commodity in Question"

Date Added : 29-10-2015

 

Resolution No.(176)(8/2012) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Murabaha Sale where the Purchaser is Authorized to Conclude the Contract, or to Collect the Commodity in Question"

Date: (8/8/1433 A.H) (28/6/2012 A.D).

 

All praise is due to Allah, peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon his family and companions.

The Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies reviewed, in its fourth session held on Monday (8/8/1433 A.H)-(28/6/2012 A.D), the following question:

What is the ruling on a financial institution, which deals in Murabaha, authorizing the purchaser to purchase the commodity and possess it?

After careful study and deliberation, the Board decided what follows:

Islamic banks are in the vanguard of financial procession due to their success at times of crises and economic challenges. They have proven that the Islamic Economy is the soundest and most productive means of development and stability, and that its foundations secure the equilibrium between the benefit of the individual and the interest of the community.

In its bid to set this procession straight, and cleanse it from doubtful matters (lawful or unlawful) and trickery, the Board has decided to ban authorizing the purchaser, or his deputy from purchasing in-kind commodities and collecting them on behalf of the institution dealing in Murabaha in order to prohibit usurious borrowing  and employing trickery to legalize it. This is also because the outcome of deputizing is a factor in resembling the usurious loans, thus the transaction takes the form of cash for cash, but with an extra amount added to the original one (Usury/interest). This particularly happens when the deputizing process becomes a regular pattern adopted by Islamic Murabaha Institutions, thus we fear that these would lose  the essence of true trading which differentiates them from the usurious  banks.

The Board advises the various Islamic financial institutions to direct their employees to purchase commodities and collect them on behalf of these institutions, and to abide by the Murabaha system ratified by the Fiqh Assemblies and Islamic bodies, so as to purify the transaction from flaws and doubtful matters as well as maintain the accomplishments of Islamic banking that have been achieved recently. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the General Iftaa` Board, His grace the Mufti General of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Sheikh Sa`ied Hijjawi/ Member

Prof. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi/ Member

Prof. Mohammad Al-Khwdah/Member

Prof. Abdul N`nassir Abu-Al-bas`sal/Member

Dr.Yahia Al-Boutoosh/Member

Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Az`zoubi/ Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it permissible for a menstruating woman to recite the Quran from the computer without actually touching the Quran?

It is not permissible for a woman in her menstrual period, or in postpartum to recite the Quran, even by heart, or without actually touching the Quran itself. Recitation itself is what is prohibited on her regardless of how it is done. However, it is permissible for her to surf through the Quran by her eyes, or to recall it in her head without uttering the words. There is no harm for her to look at the Quranic verses on the computer without touching it, or to utter the words as this is called looking not reciting or reading.

Is it a condition for the mosque where I‘tikaf is performed to hold Jumu‘ah prayers?

No, it is not a condition for the mosque where I‘tikaf is performed to have Jumu‘ah prayers. However, if a person vows to perform continuous I‘tikaf, and Jumu‘ah occurs within that period, then they must observe I‘tikaf in a mosque where Jumu‘ah is held so that they do not break their continuity by leaving for Friday prayer.

What should a person do if they suffer from an incurable illness that prevents them from fasting?

A person who has an illness that is not expected to be cured and prevents them from fasting must feed a needy person one mudd (600 grams) of food (such as wheat or rice) for each missed day instead of fasting.
Allah Almighty says {what means}: "and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person." [Al-Baqarah/184].