Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(97): “Sharia Ruling on Bahai and Druze Sects“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(97) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

“Sharia Ruling on Bahai and Druze Sects“

Date: 1/2/1427AH, corresponding to 1/3/2006.

 

 

Question:

What is the ruling of Islamic Sharia on the Bahai and Druze sects and the reasons for not recognizing them as two religions?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

Islamic Sharia rests on values of tolerance, justice, and recognition of the other. It also promotes cooperation among different nations regardless of  creed, language, and faith. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.” {Al-Hujurat/13}. This is the approach which the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions have followed when dealing with non-Muslims.  

As a result, they were granted complete freedom of faith, freedom to perform their religious ceremonies, and their places of worship were protected. Many provisions derived from the Quran and the Sunnah make protecting the rights of non-Muslims in a Muslim community an obligation. The Prophet (PBUH) was reported to having said: “Whoever harms a Dhimmi (a non-Muslim living in a Muslim community), he has harmed me” This Hadith was never narrated by any Muslim scholar. Ibn Al-Qayim said in his book [Al-Manar Al-Moneef, pp.98]: “This Hadith is fabricated”, so the following Hadith suffices as an evidence supporting the above idea: Safwan reported from a number of Companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the authority of their fathers who were relatives of each other. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ”Beware, if anyone wrongs a contracting man, or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment.” {Sunan abi Dawood}.

 

Through Ijtihad {independent reasoning}, Muslim scholars have agreed that non-Muslims shall enjoy the same rights and duties of Muslims. However, since Islam is the seal of heavenly messages and Mohammad (PBUH) is the seal of all Messengers, and since the Bahai sect is based on the idea of believing in the prophecy of its founder (Al-Baha`), then recognizing it as a heavenly faith contradicts the creed of Islam and its rulings. 

As regards the Druze sect in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, they are treated on equal footing with Muslims based on the Ijtihad agreed upon by the Sharia courts which rule on basis of Islamic Sharia as stipulated in article (106) of the Jordanian Constitution. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board
Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Dr. Ahmad Hilayel
Dr. AbdulMajeed Al-Salaheen
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 is the waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away, and what is the ruling on her wearing gold?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away is four months and ten days for one who is not pregnant. As for a pregnant woman, her waiting period lasts until she gives birth. It is obligatory for her to remain in the marital home, only leaving for a necessity. During this time, it is prohibited (Haram) to display any form of adornment on the body or clothing; this includes wearing kohl, gold, all types of perfume, and dyeing the hair. Likewise, it is prohibited to receive a direct marriage proposal or to marry during this period.
 
It was narrated by Umm 'Atiyyah that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'We were forbidden to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for a husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days. During this time, we were not to use kohl, nor wear perfume, nor wear dyed clothing except for garments made of 'Asb (coarsely dyed yarn). We were, however, granted a concession at the time of purification—when one of us bathed following her menses—to use a small amount of Kust (costus) or Azfar (fragrant substances). We were also forbidden from following funeral processions.' (Narrated by Al-Bukhari). And Allah the Exalted knows best."

What is the ruling on performing istinja' before every ablution?

Istinja' is not from the conditions for the validity of ablution. It is only obligatory for prayer when there is impurity from urine or stool on the private part, or if there is fear of the impurity spreading to the body or clothing. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

My brother works in a conventional bank and gave me one of the gifts distributed to bank employees — what is the ruling on accepting it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to accepting such gifts, because the physical gift itself does not carry any inherent prohibition — unlike stolen property. Sin does not transfer or extend to the one who receives the gift, for Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." [Al-Anʿām/164]
The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ himself ate from the food of the Jews, conducted transactions with them, and purchased from them — and it is well known that their wealth was intermingled with ribā. Similarly, the wealth of conventional ribā-based banks is a mixture of the lawful and the unlawful.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is not forbidden to transact with one whose wealth is predominantly unlawful, nor to eat from it — as al-Nawawī affirmed in al-Majmūʿ." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 9/P.389] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

How should the udhiyah be distributed?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is obligatory to give the poor a portion of the meat from a voluntary sacrifice (Udhiyah al-Tatawwu’), which should not be less than approximately half a kilogram of raw meat. Other parts do not suffice for this obligation, such as the liver, tripe, or intestines.
It is Sunnah for the one offering the sacrifice to divide it into thirds: one-third for himself and his household to eat, one-third to be given as charity to the poor, and one-third to be given as a gift to friends and neighbors, even if they are wealthy. And Allah the Almighty knows best.