Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(56): “Ruling on Reducing the Profits Due on the Purchaser (In Islamic Murabaha) Against His Settling of Payments Ahead of their Due Time, or Vice Versa“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(56): “Ruling on Reducing the Profits Due on the Purchaser (In Islamic Murabaha) Against His Settling of Payments Ahead of their Due Time, or Vice Versa“

Date: 22/9/1422 AH corresponding to 7/11/2001 AD.

 

The Board recieved the following question:

What is the ruling of Islamic Sharia on reducing the profits due on the purchaser for the Orphans` Fund Development Foundation against paying them ahead of time, or increasing them in case of delay?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

Reducing the profits due on the purchaser (in case he settled all the payments due on him before the due time of the last one) isn`t permissible because the transaction/sale had been settled and the price of the commodity became due on him; therefore, it is impermissible to reduce any percentage of the profit in return for settling all the payments before the due date of the last one.

Similarly, the Board is of the view that it is impermissible to add any percentage to the profits due on purchasers (in Murabaha) against their procrastination in settling payments as this is considered a usurious interest.

The Foundation may-in case of extreme insolvency- defer the payments due on these purchasers as it deems suitable, and without adding any percentage to the profit due on them for Allah Says in the Noble Quran {what means}: “If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time Till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew. “ {Al-Baqarah/280}. And Allah Knows Best.

Iftaa` Board
Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izz Al-Deen Al-Tamimi
                   Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia       
                    Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi         
    Dr. Yousef Gheezaan
Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri
   Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi
        Sheikh Na`eim Mojahid

 

1) For further details in this regard, kindly refer to RES No. (61)

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible to agree with a butcher to purchase the meat of an animal after it has been slaughtered — for instance, by buying the meat of a sheep at a price determined by the weight of its meat following slaughter, at a fixed rate per kilogram? And what is the ruling if the animal is being purchased with the intention of it being an uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to sell livestock in the manner of pricing each kilogram of meat after slaughter at a fixed rate, because the meat within the animal prior to slaughter is unseen and unknown. This leads to jahālah (ignorance of the subject matter) and gharar (contractual uncertainty), both of which are among the invalidating factors in sales transactions.
However, it is permissible for the buyer to issue a promise to purchase the meat of the animal after slaughter at a specified price per kilogram, with the actual sale being concluded at the time of weighing the meat — at which point both the quantity of the goods and the total price become known. There is no Sharī'ah objection to this arrangement.
The jurists have stipulated that for a sale to be valid, both countervalues must be present and observable. Al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states:
"It is valid to sell a heap of grain whose total measure is unknown to both contracting parties at a rate of one sā' per dirham. This sale is valid because the subject of sale is present and observable, and ignorance of the total price is not harmful since it is known in detail — and uncertainty is thereby lifted."— [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.355]
As for the uḍḥiyyah, the 'aqīqah, and vowed blood sacrifices (al-dam al-mandhūr) — full ownership of the animal must be established prior to slaughter. It is not valid for such animals to be slaughtered while still in the ownership of the butcher. Rather, the animal must be purchased alive and then slaughtered with the intention of uḍḥiyyah or the like. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to purchase the Udhiyah on installments?

It is permissible to purchase the sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyyah) on installments or by borrowing its price. However, it is not recommended for the poor to do so, because they are not required to offer a sacrifice, and Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. If doing so would lead to negligence in providing for one's dependents (nafaqah wājibah), then giving precedence to obligatory maintenance over borrowing to buy the sacrifice is appropriate. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "It is sufficient sin for a person to withhold food from those whom he is responsible to support."
 
Furthermore, the sacrifice is valid from one who has a debt, but it is preferable (awlā) to repay the debt first, especially if the debt is due immediately (ḥāll). And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to offer mandatory prayer while sitting?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Standing up is a pillar in the mandatory prayer and the prayer is not valid without it unless one cannot do it. As for Nafila (supererogatory prayer), one can perform it in the state of sitting even if he/she can stand, but his/her reward is half the reward of the person who prays while standing if he/sh has no legal excuse for such an act. And Allah Knows Best.

Is it permissible to slaughter a sheep on Eid al-Adha with the intention of charity (sadaqah) on behalf of a sick person, and with the intention of udhiyah (sacrificial animal) at the same time?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The udhiyah (sacrificial animal) is an act of worship intended for its own sake; therefore, it must be slaughtered with the intention (niyyah) of udhiyah.
 
Whoever intends to draw closer to Allah through this act of obedience with the intention of udhiyah, and also intends to gift the reward to another person, there is no Islamic objection to that. And Allah Almighty knows best.