Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(133): “Ruling on Subscribing to Social Security”

Date Added : 27-10-2015

 

Resolution No.(133),(11/2009) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

“Ruling on Subscribing to Social Security”

Date: 1/8/1430 AH, corresponding to 23/7/2009 AD.

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

During its third session held on the above given date, the Board reviewed the ruling of Sharia as regards subscribing to voluntary social security.

After thorough studying and deliberating, the Board decided:
Ruling on subscribing to social security was referred to the Board upon the making of the law pertaining to social security. At that time, the Board considered it permissible based on the following:
1- The Social Security Fund is part of the public treasury and giving money to it is a sort of donation or contribution to enrich that treasury which is beneficial to all Muslims.
2- In Islamic Sharia it is obligatory that the public treasury provides for the poor old citizen who can`t provide for himself. The Board mentioned what Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said when he saw one of the people of the book begging. He said: “We haven’t been fair to you; we took Jizyah (a kind of tax) from you when you were young and didn`t provide for you when you got old”. Therefore, he ordered that he receives a maintenance from the public treasury.
3- Due to the fact that the public treasury can`t provide for every poor old person, the social security law was made. This means that the Social Security Fund is obligated to provide for every poor old person who subscribed to it when he was young. This subscription makes it lawful for  him (beneficiary) to receive a maintenance from that Fund.
4- When a citizen reaches the age of retirement and is given a salary from that Fund, if he is poor, then he is permitted to spend it on himself, but if he is rich, then he should give it to the needy.
5- The Board ascertains the content of its above resolution which was issued upon legislating the Social Security Law.

As a result, it is permissible to subscribe to voluntary social security within the aforementioned criteria. And Allah Knows Best.
    

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Grand Mufti of Jordan, Dr. Nooh al-Qhodat

Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, 

Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

Sheikh Abdulkareem al-Khasawneh/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair al-Eesa/ Member

Judge Sari al-Ass`ad/ Member

Dr. Abdurahamn Ibbdah/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Okla/ Member

Dr. Abdunnasir Abulbasal/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no such thing in our noble sharīʿah as a "nominal" or "fictitious" marriage or divorce. Marriage and divorce are among the sacred ordinances of Allah, and it is not permissible to manipulate them or use them as a stratagem to obtain worldly gains.
The foundational purpose of a marriage contract is the permanence and continuity of the relationship between the spouses — to establish a family, and to bring forth righteous offspring. So sacred is this bond that Allah the Almighty Himself described it as a solemn covenant (mīthāq ghalīẓ), saying {what means}: "And if you wish to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin? And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?" [Al-Nisāʾ/ 20–21]
Accordingly, it is not permissible to resort to manipulation and deception in contracts that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described as a "solemn covenant" — all for the sake of material and worldly benefit. Marriage is built upon permanence and does not admit of a fixed time limit. If a time limit is stipulated in the contract, the contract is rendered invalid by the consensus of the jurists. Similarly, marriage is impermissible when there exists a mutual, concealed intention to limit its duration — even if no time limit is explicitly mentioned in the contract — for this constitutes a form of unlawful circumvention of the sharīʿah. This is to say nothing of the lying and deception that such conduct involves, the prohibition of which needs no elaboration. Lying, deception, and fraud for the purpose of obtaining worldly gains are among the gravest of sins.
If, however, the marriage contract is first concluded in a valid sharʿī manner and then registered civilly, it is sound and fully valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

I bought an apartment, and I am saving money to pay the remaining balance of its price — is zakāh obligatory on this money?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on all saved/hoarded wealth. Once the total wealth reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah— equivalent to the value of 85 grams of pure 24-karat gold) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it, zakāh becomes obligatory at a rate of (2.5%) — even if the wealth is earmarked for basic future needs, and even if the wealth's owner is in debt. Debt does not prevent the obligation of zakāh, nor is it deducted when calculating the zakāh due, based on the general and unrestricted wording of all the Qur'anic verses commanding zakāh, which draw no distinction between someone in debt and anyone else.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone possesses exactly the niṣāb, and owes an equivalent amount in debt, zakāh remains obligatory on what is in his possession, and the debt does not prevent this obligation" — meaning, the obligation of zakāh on what is presently in his possession.
The ḥawl (annual cycle) recognized for zakāh, as well as for the other sharī‘ah obligations that Allah, the Exalted, has imposed upon Muslims, is the Hijrī (lunar) year. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is a wife considered divorced if her husband refused to go to bed with her (for sexual intercourse) for two months?

A wife doesn`t get divorced no matter for how long her husband refuses to have sex with her, and she had better go to court.

How should the udhiyah be distributed?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is obligatory to give the poor a portion of the meat from a voluntary sacrifice (Udhiyah al-Tatawwu’), which should not be less than approximately half a kilogram of raw meat. Other parts do not suffice for this obligation, such as the liver, tripe, or intestines.
It is Sunnah for the one offering the sacrifice to divide it into thirds: one-third for himself and his household to eat, one-third to be given as charity to the poor, and one-third to be given as a gift to friends and neighbors, even if they are wealthy. And Allah the Almighty knows best.