Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(129): “Re-evaluation of the Amount of Diyah”

Date Added : 27-10-2015

 

Resolution No.(129),(7/2009): “Re-evaluation of the Amount of Diya”

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 date, the Board of Iftaa reviewed the amount of Diya in light of the change in the value of camels in Jordanian currency, because twenty-one years passed over the last evaluation, which took place on 9/11/1408 AH, corresponding to 23/6/1988 AD.

 

After thorough studying and deliberating, the Board decided what follows:

 

First: In principle, the Diya is a hundred camels whose ages vary in accordance with the type of killing: premeditated murder, quasi-intentional murder, or accidental killing. In accidental killing, the Diya is a hundred camels: Thirty Bint Makkah, thirty Bint Labun, thirty Hiqqah and ten Bin Labun. This Diya is softened from three aspects: it is due on the killer`s Aqila (Male relatives of the killer from his father`s side), it is divided over three years, and the ages of the camels. In premeditated murder and quasi-intentional murder, the amount of the Diya is a hundred camels: thirty Hiqqah, thirty Bint Labun, and Khilfah. On the other hand, the Diya in quasi-intentional murder is softened from two aspects: it is due on the killer`s Aqila and divided over three years; whereas, it is more dense from one aspect, and that is the ages of the camels.

The Diya in premeditated murder is more dense from three aspects: due immediately, due from the killer`s wealth, and the ages of the camels.

The evaluation of Diya in a form other than camels relied on the value of camels. It was narrated from 'Amr bin Shu'aib, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever is killed by mistake, his ransom is one hundred camels: Thirty Bint Makkah, thirty Bint Labun, thirty Hiqqah and ten Bin Labun. "[1] The Messenger of Allah used to fix the value (of the Diya for accidental killing) among town-dwellers at four hundred Dinars or the equivalent value in silver. When he calculated the price in terms of people with camels (for Bedouin), it would vary from one time to another. When prices rose, the value in Dinars would rise, and when prices fell the value in Dinars would fall. At the time of the Messenger of Allah, the value was between four hundred and eight hundred Dinars, or the equivalent value in silver, eight thousand Dirhams. And the Messenger of Allah ruled that if a person's blood money was paid in cattle, among those who kept cattle, the amount was two hundred cows; and if a person's blood money was paid in sheep, among this who kept sheep, the value was two thousand sheep. The Messenger of Allah ruled that the blood money is part of the estate, to be divided among the heirs of the victim according to their allotted shares, and whatever is left over is for the 'Asabah. And the Messenger of Allah ruled that if a woman commits murder then he 'Asahah, whoever they may be, must pay the blood money, but they do not inherit anything except that which is left over from her heirs; if a woman is killed then her blood money is to be shared among her heirs, and they may kill her killer.” [Sunn Abu Dawood], [Sunn Al-Nisa'ee].

Second: As camels aren`t the common property of the people of Jordan, the Board believes that their prices should be estimated in Jordanian currency in order to facilitate for the people to pay the Diyah. The prices of camels can be obtained from the neighboring Islamic countries where camels are common.

Third: The Grand Mufti of Jordan has sent a message to the Chairman of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Sudan inquiring about the prices of camels there. The latter has formed a committee to that end and informed the Grand Mufti about their prices. It was made clear to us that a hundred camels in addition to the transport fair equal twenty thousand Jordanian Dinars as regards the Diya in accidental killing, and twenty five thousand Jordanian Dinars for that in premeditated and Quasi-intentional killings. Therefore, the Board holds the view that the Diya of whoever is killed by mistake is twenty thousand Jordanian Dinars and twenty five thousand for whoever is killed intentionally or Quasi-intentionally.

Fourth: The Board stresses that the Diya in accidental and quasi-intentional killings is due on the killer`s Aqila; whereas, in premeditated murder it is due from the killer`s wealth.

Fifth: The Board stresses that it is impermissible for the family of the killed to demand both Qisas (Retaliation) and Diya. If Qisas was executed in case of premeditated murder, then no Diya is due on the killer.

Sixth: Recipients of the Diyah may waive their right to take it since Almighty Allah Has Urged Muslims to be forgiving. Whereas, He Says (What means): “And the remission (of the man’s half) is the nearest to righteousness.“ {Al-Baqara/237}. However, none may waive the right of minors in the Diya and such an act isn`t considered lawful.

Seventh: The Diya becomes part of the killed person`s estate and so it should be divided in accordance with the rulings of Sharia on inheritance. And Allah Knows Best.

 

The Grand Mufti of Jordan

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

                      Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board,Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

                                   Sheikh Abdulkareem al-Khasawneh/ Member

         Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

                        Dr. Muhammad Khair Al-'Eisa/Member

Judge Sari Attia/Member

              Dr. Abdul-Rahman Ibdah/Member

                           Dr. Muhammad Aiqla Al-Ibrahim/Member

                     Dr. Abdul Naser Abu Al-Basal/Member

                                               Executive Secretary of the Iftaa' Board Dr. Muhammad Al-Khalyla 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible to trim the eyebrows if they become excessively long?

Trimming eyebrows is permissible if they become excessively long, yet; it is reprehensible. And Allah Knows Best.

What should one do if they see a fasting person eating or drinking forgetfully during Ramadan?

If someone sees a fasting person in Ramadan eating or drinking forgetfully, they should gently remind them to stop. Although the forgetful person is neither sinful nor has their fast broken, their action outwardly appears as something impermissible. Therefore, we should kindly remind them to refrain.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

Can a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer recite aloud?

Yes, a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer is allowed to recite aloud, as long as no non-mahram (other than unmarriageable kin) men can hear her.