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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(58): “Which Party is Responsible for Settling the Usurious Interests In the Following Financial Dispute?“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(58): “Which Party is Responsible for Settling the Usurious Interests In the Following Financial Dispute?“

Date: 9/11/1422 AH corresponding to 23/1/2002 AD.

 

The Board received the following question:

A citizen had obtained a license for a taxicab agency, so he asked me to buy him a certain brand of cars from a neighboring country because I have an automobile agency. We have agreed upon paying me half of the price in advance, I pay the other half, I process the cars through customs, licensing Dept. and register them in the name of his taxicab agency i.e. his name, and then he pays me the other half afterwards.

After I have delivered my end of the deal and mortgaged the cars to the Jordan-Kuwait Bank, he backed down and didn`t pay the second half due on him, rather, he requested allocating that sum, so I was forced to withdraw my investment account at the Jordan-Islamic Bank, which led my accounts in other banks to be in the red. As a result, the Jordan-Kuwait Bank started charging interests and I was forced to make a new arrangement with the debtor whereby he shall pay the second half of the sum divided over twelve bills in addition to paying an increase over the commission agreed upon earlier. However, before paying the last three bills, I remitted the debtor from half of the agreed upon increase. My question is of three parts:

1- Who is to pay off the interests of the Jordan-Kuwait Bank?

2- Is it permissible for me to calculate the profits that were lost because of withdrawing my investment account at the Jordan-Islamic Bank?

3- What is the Sharia ruling on the increase, which we have agreed upon in return for allocating the second half of the sum due on the debtor?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

1- The increase agreed upon with the owner of the taxicab agency against (debtor) his delay in payment is unlawful and it is impermissible for the creditor to take it because it is a forbidden interest. Allah Says in this regard {what means}: “but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.” {Al-Baqarah/275}.

2- In case the owner of the automobile agency took the aforementioned interest, he should give it back to the owner of the taxicab agency. If that wasn`t possible, then he should give it as charity or spend it in charitable causes and in favor of Muslims` public interest because it is ill-gotten money.

3- The interests charged on the owner of the automobile agency due to the overdrawing of his account are to be settled by him because they are forbidden and resulted from his dealing with a non-Islamic bank. In addition, it is imperative that he avoids dealing in usurious interests, seeks forgiveness of Allah and makes genuine repentance to Him. Allah Says {what means}: “O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers. If ye do it not, Take notice of war from God and His Apostle: But if ye turn back, ye shall have your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.” {Al-Baqarah/278}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izz Al-Deen Al-Tamimi

               Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia     

                                                                    Dr. Ahmad Hilayil

                Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi       

               Sheikh Mahmoud Shwayyaat

    Dr. Yousef Gheezaan

Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri

   Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi

      Sheikh Naeim Mujahid

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law regarding one who purchases a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) and it then develops a defect before slaughter?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a defect that invalidates the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) arises after its purchase — for example, if one purchased a sound, defect-free animal, and it then developed a limp, blindness in one eye, or a similar defect before slaughter — it does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah, according to the Shāfi'ī school.
It is stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib (Vol.1/P.535): "Even if the limp develops [in the animal] while the knife is upon it, it still does not fulfill the requirement, because it is lame at the moment of slaughter — this is analogous to a case where a sheep's leg breaks and one hastens to slaughter it [in that condition]."
The Ḥanbalī school, however, held that if the one offering the sacrifice purchased the animal while it was sound and defect-free, and a defect then befell it afterward, the sacrifice remains valid and there is no obligation to replace it.
It is stated in Masā'il al-Imām Aḥmad, one of the Ḥanbalī reference works (Vol.8/P.4021): "I said: If a person purchases the sacrificial animal while it is sound, and it is then afflicted with illness, blindness in one eye, or a broken limb [before slaughter]? He [Imam Aḥmad] said: It is said that it still fulfills the requirement. Isḥāq said likewise, because he purchased it while sound, and the defect befell it only afterward, so it remains sufficient on his behalf." [End of quote]
Accordingly, a sheep afflicted with a defect that invalidates the sacrifice does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah — whether the defect arose after purchase or during the slaughter itself — according to the Shāfi'ī school. However, there is no objection to following the Ḥanbalī position on this matter [as a valid alternative]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on reciting aloud (*jahr*) in a silent (*sirriyyah*) prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Reciting aloud (jahr) in the Fajr prayer, in the first two rakʿahs of Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ, and reciting silently (isrār) in the Dhuhr and ʿAṣr prayers is a sunnah. If the worshipper recites aloud where silence is prescribed, or the reverse, his prayer is valid, although it is better to follow the sunnah, in imitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “In every prayer there is recitation. What the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) let us hear, we let you hear, and what he concealed from us, we conceal from you. If you add nothing to Umm al-Qurʾān (al-Fātiḥah), it suffices, and if you add to it, it is better.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī.
Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.3/389): “The sunnah is to recite aloud in the two rakʿahs of Ṣubḥ (Fajr), Maghrib, and ʿIshāʾ, and in the Friday prayer, and to recite silently in Dhuhr, ʿAṣr, the third rakʿah of Maghrib, and the third and fourth of ʿIshāʾ. All of this is by the consensus of the Muslims, together with the mutually reinforcing authentic ḥadīths on the matter. This is the ruling for the imam. As for the individual worshipper (munfarid), it is sunnah for him to recite aloud according to us and according to the majority… If he recites aloud where silence is prescribed, or the reverse, his prayer is not invalidated, nor is there a prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) for it, but he has committed something disliked (makrūh).” And Allah Almighty knows best.

How is the niṣāb (minimum threshold) of gold calculated when one owns gold of multiple different karats?

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.
If one owns gold of multiple different karats, the person paying zakāh should calculate the monetary value of all the gold he owns, combining these values together to determine whether the total reaches the niṣāb. He then pays zakāh on this combined monetary value, once the total reaches the niṣāb. 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. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on praying while wearing shoes?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

There is no sin for a Muslim to perform prayer while wearing their sandals or shoes, provided they are free from any impurities (najasa). It was narrated that Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: 'Did the Prophet ﷺ pray in his sandals?' He replied: 'Yes.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari).

It is stated in Fath al-Bari (Vol.1/P.494) by Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him): "Regarding the phrase 'praying in his sandals,' Ibn Battal said: 'This is understood to apply as long as there is no impurity on them; furthermore, this is considered one of the legal concessions (rukhas)." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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