Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



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

Does sacrificing one sheep avail for the entire household?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) is a communal Sunnah (Sunnah Kifayah) for members of the same household, provided that their financial maintenance is undertaken by a single provider. By "communal Sunnah," we mean that when one person performs it, the religious recommendation is fulfilled on behalf of the entire household, though the spiritual reward itself belongs uniquely to the one who offered it.
 
Therefore, if any member of the household performs the sacrifice—even if it is someone who is not legally responsible for the household's expenses, such as the wife or one of the children—the recommendation is fulfilled for everyone in that home. However, the reward does not automatically extend to the other members unless the person offering the sacrifice explicitly intends to share the reward with them—similar to how performing a funeral prayer (Janazah) fulfills the communal obligation for everyone, yet the specific reward is earned by those who actually prayed.
 
Additionally, a single sacrifice is sufficient for a man who is married to more than one wife. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

What is the ruling on a Friday sermon in which the khaṭīb did not explicitly exhort the congregation to be conscious of Allah (taqwā) in both sermons, but sufficed with commanding them to obey Allah and refrain from disobeying Him?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
For the Friday sermon (khuṭbat al-Jumʿah) to be valid, certain essential pillars (arkān) must be fulfilled. Among these is the exhortation to be conscious of Allah (waṣiyyah bi-taqwā Allāh), which must be present in both sermons. Alongside this pillar, the praising of Allah (ḥamdallah) and the sending of blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are equally required.
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "These three are pillars in each of the two sermons, because each sermon is independent and separate from the other." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj,Vol.4/P.447]
It is not a condition that the exhortation be expressed in any specific wording, nor is it required that the word "taqwā" itself be used — such as saying "I exhort you to be conscious of Allah." Rather, this pillar is fulfilled by any expression that contains a command to obey Allah the Almighty and to abstain from what He has prohibited.
Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "The third pillar is the exhortation to taqwā... The specific wording of this exhortation is not required, according to the most correct view, because the purpose is admonition and the urging of obedience to Allah the Almighty. Therefore, any expression that conveys admonition suffices — whether long or short — such as: 'Obey Allah and be ever mindful of Him.'" [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol.1/P.550]
Accordingly, what the khaṭīb has done — by commanding obedience to Allah and forbidding disobedience to Him in both sermons — is valid and sufficient. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

If someone fasts on the White Days with the intention of making up for missed fasts (qada), will they receive the reward for both voluntary and obligatory fasting?

Making up missed obligatory fasts (qada) is mandatory, and the intention for qada must be specified.
If a person makes up their missed Ramadan fasts on the White Days, they must intend qada, but they may also intend to fast the White Days, and Allah willing, they will receive the reward for both.
This is similar to entering a mosque and praying an obligatory prayer, where the person also earns the reward of Tahiyyat al-Masjid (greeting the mosque) if they intend both.
● If the person missed their fasts due to a valid excuse, they may wait and fast on the White Days.
● However, if they missed the fasts without a valid excuse, they must make up the fasts immediately and should not delay them until the White Days.

What is the ruling on preparing food for someone who is not fasting in Ramadan?

It is forbidden to prepare food for someone who is breaking their fast without a valid excuse in Ramadan.
Doing so would be assisting in sin, and assisting in sin is itself a sin.
Allah says {what means}: "but help ye not one another in sin and rancour" [Al-Mai`dah/2]