Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(32): “Ruling on Writing the Quran in a Style other than the Ottoman“

Date Added : 28-10-2015

Resolution No.(32): “Ruling on Writing the Quran in a Style other than the Ottoman“

Date: 7/11/1413 corresponding to 29/4/1993 AD.

The Board has received the following question:

What is the Sharia ruling on the following: writing the Noble Quran in a style other than the Ottoman? Adhering to one narration as regards the number of Quranic verses? Writing “ الله-محمد ” in a raised manner at the beginning of the Mus-haf or on its cover? Writing “ صدق الله العظيم “ at the end of the last verse of the Mus-haf and the end of a verse in an illustrative picture?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

The Board deems the following:

1- Writing the Mus-haf in a style other than the Ottoman is impermissible, except in educational books.

2- Adherence to one narration as regards the number of Quranic verses for there are specialized people in this field, who have acknowledged writing the Mus-haf and have also provided numbers at the end of verses in accordance with their preponderant opinion in that regard. Nonetheless, there is no harm in circulating a Mus-haf where the numbers of verses differ from that which is mentioned above, based on other narrations so long as the text is identical with the rest of the Mus-haf.

3- As regards writing " الله-محمد " : The Board doesn`t recommend doing so; however, it doesn`t have any objection as regards circulating Mus-hafs that already have them.

4- As regards writing “ صدق الله العظيم “ at the end of the last verse of the Mus-haf: The Board doesn`t recommend such a thing; however, it doesn`t object to circulating a Mus-haf in which this phrase is written after the chapter “ An-Naass “ , and in a pattern different from that used in the Mus-haf. As regards writing “ صدق الله العظيم “ at the end of illustrative pictures made by calligraphists to be hanged inside houses, there is no harm in that, provided that this phrase doesn`t give the impression that it is a part of the Quranic verse itself. And Allah Knows Best.

Iftaa` Board
Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Dr. Nooh Al-Qodaat
Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi
Dr. Ahmad Hilayel
Dr. Mahmood Al-Sartawi
Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi
Sheikh Mahmood Shwayaat
Sheikh Ratib Az-zahir

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Summarized Fatawaa

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.

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on leased property, and how is it calculated?

Zakah isn`t due on the leased property itself, but on the saved income from that property if it reached Nissab (minimum amount liable for Zakah), and a whole lunar year had lapsed over saving it.

Is it permissible for the guardian to give Sadaqa (voluntary charity) from the money of the orphans?

It is impermissible for the guardian to donate from the money of the orphans because he is entrusted with the safekeeping of that money, and is prohibited from donating it.

Is a person who forgot to make up missed fasts until the next Ramadan began required to pay expiatory compensation (Fidyah) alongside the makeup fast (Qada')?

 
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Whoever forgets to make up missed fasts of Ramadan (Qada') until the following Ramadan begins incurs no sin, pursuant to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, Allah has pardoned for my nation their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and that which they are coerced into doing." [Narrated by Ibn Majah, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra]
 
Furthermore, such an individual is not obligated to pay a expiatory compensation (Fidyah). It is stated in Bushra Al-Karim (p. 580)—one of the authoritative Shafi'i jurisprudential texts: "As for delaying it [the makeup fasts] due to a valid excuse—such as travel, breastfeeding, forgetfulness, or ignorance of the prohibition of delay (even for one living among scholars)—no Fidyah is required. This is because delaying performance during the actual month is permissible due to these excuses; hence, delaying makeup fasts is even more permissible, even if it continues for years."
And Allah Almighty knows best.