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 for women to attend Tarawih prayer in the mosque?

Yes, it is permissible for women to attend Tarawih prayer in the mosque, provided they observe modesty, proper covering, and avoid mixing with men.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from the mosques of Allah." [Bukhari and Muslim]

Is it permissible to divide a single Sa‘ of Zakat al-Fitr—or its equivalent value in cash—among more than one poor person?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Zakat al-Fitr is estimated at one Sa‘ per person, but the number of people to whom this Sa‘ can be given has not been specified. For this reason, it is permissible to distribute a single Sa‘ among more than one poor person. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is the niṣāb calculated based on the price of 21-karat gold, or 24-karat gold?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on cash and on gold designated for saving or for trade, provided the total reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah), and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it. The niṣāb is (85) grams of 24-karat gold; for 21-karat gold, the niṣāb equals (97) grams; and for 18-karat gold, it equals (113) grams.
The relied-upon position is to calculate the zakāh based on the buying price [i.e., the price the gold merchant would pay the owner to purchase the gold from him] on the day the zakāh obligation is due.
The one paying zakāh may assess/calculate the niṣāb using any of the aforementioned gold karats [i.e., he may choose whichever karat standard he wishes for the purpose of the calculation]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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.