Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(82): “Commentary on the Recording Attributed to Sheikh AbdulMajeed Al-Zandani as Regards the life of Barzakh“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(82) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

“Commentary on the Recording Attributed to Sheikh AbdulMajeed Al-Zandani as Regards the life of Barzakh“

Date: 11/2/1426 AH, corresponding to 22/3/2005 AD.

 

 

Question:

What is the ruling on what was mentioned on the recording attributed to Sheikh AbdulMajeed Al-Zandani as Regards the life of Barzakh (Barzakh: a partition, a bar or barrier; the place or state in which people will be after death and before Judgment. Cf. xxv. 53 and Iv. 20. Behind them is the barrier of death, and in front of them is the Barzakh, partition, a quiescent state until the judgment comes.)?

The Board has listened to the above recording attributed to Al-Zandani, claiming that the “Barzakh” mentioned in the verse: “In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected." - "By no means! It is but a word he says."- Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up.”{Al-Mu`minun/100} exists in the deep layers of earth at 2000 degree Fahrenheit equal to a third of the Sun`s heat, and that the disbelievers are tortured in this Barzakh based on the following verses: “Day! Surely the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin.” {Al-Mutaffifin/7}, “Do ye feel secure that He Who is in heaven will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?{Al-Mulk/16}, and “Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found- in lieu of God- none to help them.” {Nuh/25}.

He founded his  claim on the fact that a Russian team has reached a deep underground layer engulfed with flames, and that they sent down a device parallel to the vibrations of the human ear, and that it recorded sounds of human beings being tortured. He also claimed that Sijjin is the core of the earth engulfed with fire,  the Earth`s violent commotion is the movement of its underground layers,  the fire in which the disbelievers fell is the Barzakh, and that the sounds of torture recorded by the Russian team belong to the disbelievers.

After the Board has listened to the above recording, it deemed the following:

1- From the view of language, Barzakh is the barrier between two things and its meaning in the verse: “Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up. “ {Al-Mu`minun/100}, according to exegesis, is: “a partition, a bar or barrier; the place or state in which people will be after death and before Judgment. Cf. xxv. 53 and Iv. 20. Behind them is the barrier of death, and in front of them is the Barzakh, partition, a quiescent state until the judgment comes.” And it is amongst the unseen matters, only known to Allah, and proofs of it are audio, so we believe in them as they were transferred to us from the Quran and the Sunnah.

2- The interpretation of Barzakh mentioned in the recording deviates completely from the principles observed in Quranic interpretation, and so it isn`t acceptable.

3- The above interpretation is invalid and the evidences given don`t support what that person has claimed, because he has interpreted unseen matters which are only known to Allah: Barzakh life, torture in the grave, Hell, Heaven and Resurrection, and we are commanded to believe in them  as they are prescribed in Islamic Sharia since they aren`t tangible and their evidences are based on correct transfer.

Therefore, it is strange for Al-Zandani to interpret (Sijjin) mentioned in the verse: “! Surely the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin“ {Al-Mutaffifin/7} as the underground layers engulfed with flame, for it is a record in which the deeds of the disbelievers are preserved, and it is clearly written.

It is also strange that he interpreted the verse: “Do ye feel secure that He Who is in heaven will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?”{Al-Mulk/16}, as the movement of the underground layers, for it shows the greatness of Allah`s Powers in causing the earth to swallow up the disbelievers when it shakes, and whenever He wants to inflict torture upon them. The same applies to his interpretation of the verse: “Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found - in lieu of God- none to help them.” {Nuh/25} as the underground fire, for the punishment of disbelievers mentioned in this verse is due on The Day of Resurrection.

As regards basing his opinion upon the work of the above mentioned Russian team, it requires an independent scientific verification, and when proven, it requires scientific explanation and analysis, so it is impermissible to be adopted as an evidence to project weird concepts on the Book of Allah The Almighty,  pertaining to unseen matters that rest upon correct transfer from Divine Revelation. And Allah, The Almighty Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board
Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izzaldeen Al-Tamimi
Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi
Dr. Yousef Ghyzaan
Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri
Dr. Abdukareem Al-Khasawneh
Sheikh Sae`id Hijjawi
Sheikh Nae`im Mujahid

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Summarized Fatawaa

What should one who doubts the validity of his ablution and performs it frequently do?

Whoever doubts the validity of his ablution after finishing it, his ablution is valid. This is because the default is the validity of the ablution, and because doubt after finishing an act of worship doesn`t affect its validity. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

How should a person who is afflicted with continued major ritual impurity (incontinence of urine, bleeding outside the monthly period) perform ablution?

Such a person should make ablution for every prayer after its due time and after removing impurities from their body and outfit, and should place a fresh diaper whenever needed so as for the impurity not to spread out. They should also perform prayer immediately even if incontinence of urine continued, and should repeat the aforementioned for every obligatory prayer, then perform optional prayer as much as they want.

What is the ruling on forgetting an integral of the prayer?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Whoever forgets an integral (Rukn) of the prayer and remembers it before reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit (Rak'ah), must return to it (i.e., perform it) and complete his prayer, then perform the prostration of forgetfulness (Sujud al-Sahw) at the end of his prayer. However, if he remembers it after reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit, the Rak'ah in which the integral was forgotten is invalidated, and the current unit takes its place; he then completes a full Rak'ah to compensate and performs the prostration of forgetfulness.
 
It is stated in Nihayat al-Muhtaj ila Sharh al-Minhaj (Vol.1/P.543): 'If he becomes certain at the end of his prayer, or after the Salam—provided the interval is not long according to custom and he has not stepped on an impurity—that he omitted a prostration from the final Rak'ah, he must perform it and repeat the Tashahhud, as his previous Tashahhud occurred before its proper place. If the omission was from a Rak'ah other than the final one, he must perform a full Rak'ah, because the deficient unit was completed by a prostration from the subsequent one, rendering the rest of that subsequent unit void.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj,  Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.