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

What is the ruling on Jumu‘ah (Friday) prayer for a traveler, and what are the conditions for it to be waived from him?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Jumu‘ah (Friday) prayer is not obligatory upon a traveler, whether on a long or short journey, provided that — according to the Shāfi‘ī school — he departs from his place of residence before the time for Fajr prayer begins, and that he does not intend to stay in the place he travels to for four days or more, excluding the day of arrival and the day of departure. If he intends to stay longer than that, he may not make use of the travel concession simply by arriving in that town. If he begins his journey after the adhān for Fajr has already been called, then Jumu‘ah prayer remains obligatory upon him, whether in his own town or in any town where Jumu‘ah is being held.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm (Vol.1/p.383), from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "Jumu‘ah [prayer] is not obligatory upon a traveler on a permissible journey, whether long or short, if he departs from his place of residence before Fajr."
A "short journey" refers to travel covering a distance shorter than that of a long journey — that is, less than (81 km). The traveler begins to be entitled to travel concessions once he passes beyond the built-up limits of his town. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

"I told my family at night: 'I will fast tomorrow as qaḍā' (a make-up fast),' but I forgot to make the intention before sleeping. Is my fast valid?"

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
 
The intention is obligatory in acts of worship. For obligatory fasting, the required intention is to resolve to fast during the night [before dawn]. Its proper locus is the heart, while verbalizing the intention out loud in acts of worship is a sunnah — so that the tongue may align with the heart. If the intent behind the statement in question was the intention to fast, then it is valid; but if the intent was merely to inform someone, or reflected hesitation or doubt, then it is not valid.
 
It is stated in *Bushrā al-Karīm* (Vol.1/P.216): "It is a sunnah to verbalize the intention — that is, whatever has already been intended in the heart, whether an obligatory or a voluntary act — such as specifying the number of rak‘ahs, just before the opening takbīr — so that the tongue may assist the heart, and because this is further removed from whispered doubts (waswasah), and in order to accommodate the view of those who held it obligatory in every act of worship that requires an intention (even though this is a minority position), by analogy with Ḥajj."
 
Accordingly: if the intention to fast arose in your heart before the second adhān [i.e., before Fajr], then your fast is valid.
 
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Should a prayer performer who forgets to offer the middle Tashahod (saying ash-hadu anala ilaha ila-alah) offer Sujood As-Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness)?

He/she should offer two prostrations of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the correct point at which to raise the hands when standing up for the third rak‘ah (after the middle tashahhud)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Raising the hands while saying the takbīr [when rising for the third rak‘ah] is a recommended sunnah, and omitting it does not affect the validity of the prayer. The proper time for this is after rising from the middle tashahhud, once one has fully stood up.
It is stated in I‘ānat aṭ-Ṭālibīn (Vol.1/P.158): "His statement, 'and rising from the first tashahhud' — meaning, this manner [of raising the hands] is also a sunnah when he rises from the first tashahhud, that is, when he stands upright from it.
Consider [the question]: when precisely does the raising of the hands begin? Is it at the very start of rising from the first tashahhud, or after he has reached the minimum position of rukū‘ [i.e., once fully upright]? The apparent, [correct] view is the latter — even though the outward wording [of the text] might suggest the former — because at the very start of his rising, he is still relying on both hands [to push himself up, and therefore cannot yet raise them]."
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 53): "If his prayer extends beyond two rak‘ahs, he sits after them in the iftirāsh position, recites the tashahhud, and sends blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ alone, without [mentioning] his family [at this point]. He then stands while saying the takbīr, supporting himself with his hands; and once he has stood upright, he raises them level with his shoulders." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.