Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(74): “Cursing Allah The Exalted Turns a Person into a Disbeliever“

Date Added : 28-10-2015

 

Resolution No.(74): “Cursing Allah The Exalted Turns a Person into an Apostate“

Date: 1/3/1425 AH, corresponding to 21/4/2004 AD.

 

The Board received the following question:

What is the ruling on living with a husband who curses Allah on regular basis whenever he gets mad, but once he regains calm, he seeks the forgiveness of Allah. However, when he is told that what he had done turned him into a disbeliever, he rejects that and confirms his belief in Allah and that he never intended to get out of the fold of Islam?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

Cursing Allah The Exalted is a major sin that turns a person into a disbeliever, whether he was joking, serious or mocking, for Allah Says {what means}: “If thou dost question them, they declare (with emphasis): "We were only talking idly and in play." Say: "Was it at God, and His Signs, and His Apostle that ye were mocking?" {At-Tawbah/65}. And this opinion is unanimously agreed upon by the four Muslim jurists; therefore, this person must seek Allah`s forgiveness, make repentance, and return to the fold of Islam.

Moreover, Allah The Exalted Accepts the repentance of such persons for He Says {what means}: “Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them).” {Al-Anfaal/38}. Allah`s Apostle also says: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah." {Bukhari&Muslim}. And this is the opinion of the Hanafite and the Shafite jurists.

This person becomes separated from his wife once her Iddah (waiting period) ends before he makes repentance to Allah The exalted and returns to the fold of Islam. However, if he returns to his wife before the end of her Iddah, she becomes lawful to him, and this is in accordance with the Shafite School of Jurisprudence.

We advise this husband to fear Allah and remember Him constantly since He Says {what means}: "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction.” {Ar-Ra`d/28}. It is also imperative that he completely stops cursing Allah The Exalted, makes sincere repentance, and be honestly determined not to commit this sin again for fear that his heart may get stained with the ill that he had done and be sealed by Allah as such, for those whom Allah misguides, none can guide. Allah Says {what means}: “O ye who believe! Turn to God with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, - the Day that God will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things." {At-Tahreem/8}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board,

        Chief Justice, Izzaldeen At-Tamimi

Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

Dr. Yousef Ghyzaan    

Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi             

Dr. Wasif Abdulwahaab          

Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi     

Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia               

Sheikh Nai`em Mujahid           

                                                             Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh                              

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is the one offering the sacrifice liable if its meat spoils?

Praise be to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon our Master the Messenger of Allah.
 
If the meat (of the sacrifice) spoils due to the negligence of the one offering the sacrifice in preserving it, or due to improper storage, then he is liable to compensate for the portion due to the poor (which is estimated as half a kilogram of meat). If the sacrifice was a vowed (mandatory) one, then he is liable for all of it.
 
However, if he was not negligent, then there is no liability upon him, because its ruling is the ruling of a trust (like an item left in someone's care). And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

How is the Night Prayer (Qiyam al-Layl) performed?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Night Prayer (Qiyam al-Layl) refers to the voluntary (Nafl) prayers performed by a person after the Sunset prayer (Maghrib) and before the Dawn prayer (Fajr). As for Tahajjud, it is the voluntary prayer performed during the night specifically after waking up from sleep, as an act of devotion to Allah. Allah the Exalted says {what means}: "And from [part of] the night, pray with it [i.e., recitation] as additional worship for you." (Al-Isra/79). Thus, in terms of reward,Tahajjud is superior to voluntary prayers performed before sleeping. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling on offering a sheep as a sacrifice (Udhiyah) if its fat-tail is sound, except that when it was young, the tip of its fat-tail was cut so that it would grow larger? And what is the ruling in case of doubt regarding the amount that was cut?

 
In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Cutting a minor, insignificant portion from the tip of an animal's fat-tail (al-alyah) to encourage it to grow larger is not considered a defect, and it does not prevent the animal from being valid for sacrifice (Udhiyah).
 
It is stated in Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (Vol.9/P.352): "There is some scholarly deliberation regarding the common practice of cutting the tip of the fat-tail so that it grows larger. It could potentially be likened to a partial cut of the ear—supported by the jurists' general rule: 'even if it is a small amount.' On the other hand, if it is an exceptionally minor cut, it might have no effect on validity. This is explicitly clarified by the juristic exception to the general rule, which states that cutting a tiny piece from a large limb causes no harm. This latter view is more well-founded.
 
Furthermore, I found that some scholars investigated this matter and concluded: 'It should not affect validity if a custom-sanctioned portion of its fat-tail is removed during its youth to make it grow larger and look better, just as castrating a male animal causes no harm.' However, applying this unconditionally contradicts the established texts of the jurists, as understood from what I have laid out; thus, the restriction I specified is what must be relied upon."
 
Similarly, it is mentioned in Nihayat al-Muhtaj (8/135): "If a small piece is cut from the fat-tail to help it grow larger, the most well-founded view is that the sacrifice remains valid, as was given in a formal legal verdict (Fatwa) by my father [Shihab al-Din al-Ramli], may Allah be pleased with him. This is proven by the jurists' maxim: 'The loss of a tiny piece from a large limb causes no harm.'"
 
In cases where there is doubt as to whether the portion cut was large or small, the animal is still deemed valid for sacrifice. It is noted in Hashiyat al-Shubramallisi ‘ala Nihayat al-Muhtaj (Vol.8/P.135):
 
"This matter requires careful consideration, but the closer and more correct view is that it is valid. This is because soundness is the default state for the animal from which the piece was cut, and it aligns with what usually occurs—namely, that the part removed to help the fat-tail grow larger is naturally very small." And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.