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

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.

Can a person required to give kaffarah feed it to their own family members?

The kaffarah must be given to the poor and needy who are not financially dependent on the one giving the kaffarah.
If a person feeds it to their own family members, it does not count as kaffarah, and their obligation remains unfulfilled.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law if the follower (maʾmūm) stands up for the third rakʿah out of forgetfulness while the imam has sat for the middle tashahhud?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If the imam sits for the tashahhud while the follower (maʾmūm), out of forgetfulness, stands up for the third rakʿah, he is obliged to return to his sitting position, since following the imam is obligatory. In this case, no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is required of him. If, however, he fails to return, his prayer is rendered invalid.
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If the follower stands up alone out of forgetfulness, he is obliged to return, since following the imam is obligatory... If he does not return, his prayer is rendered invalid, due to his departure from what is obligatory." [Asnā al-Maṭālib,Vol.1/P.190] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Does undergoing surgery under anesthesia break the fast?

Anesthesia itself does not break the fast because anesthetic gases have no physical substance (jirm), and subcutaneous anesthesia injections do not reach the body cavity (jauf). However, this is on condition that the person is conscious at some point during the fasting hours:
● If they were awake at the beginning of the day, their fast remains valid.
● If they wake up even for a moment before sunset, their fast is also valid.
However, if the surgery involves the entry of foreign substances into the body cavity, their fast is invalidated, and they must make up for that day later.