Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(34): “Ruling on the Investments of the Social Security Fund for Education through Depositing Funds in Usurious Banks or Purchasing Stocks“

Date Added : 28-10-2015

 
Resolution No.(34): "Ruling on the Investments of the Social Security Fund for Education through Depositing Funds in Usurious Banks or Purchasing Stocks"

Date: 28/11/1413 AH corresponding to 20/5/1993 AD.

The Board has received the following question:

What is the ruling of Sharia on the investments of the Social Security Fund for education, where funds are deposited in the Housing Bank against an interest, stocks are purchased from Jordan-Gulf Bank and General Arabia Insurance Company, development bonds are purchased from Jordan`s Central Bank, debenture bonds of Water Authority are purchased from Jordan`s Central Bank, and stocks are purchased in the Arab International Hotels Company?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

The Board is of the view that purchasing stocks in a usurious institution is forbidden because it involves employing the invested money in forbidden activities, and this applies to purchasing funds in Jordan-Gulf Bank, development bonds issued by the Central Bank, and debenture bonds of the Water Authority from the Central Bank.

As regards depositing funds in a usurious bank against an interest, such an activity is forbidden as well, and this applies to depositing funds in the Housing Bank against an interest.

However, the permissibility of purchasing shares in companies in general depends on the nature of the activity of such companies, so if the activity is lawful, then purchasing the shares is lawful; if not ,then it isn`t. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice Dr.Nooh Al-Qodaat

Acting Mufti General, Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi

Mufti General of Jordanian Armed Forces: Mhamood Shwayat

             Dr. Abdassalam Al-Abbadi

Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

   Dr. Yousef Ghizaan

           Dr. Mahmood Al-Sartawi

             Dr. AbdulAziz Al-Khaiyaat

            Dr. Ibrahim Khash-shaan

       Sheikh Ratib Az-zahir

Decision Number [ Previous | Next ]


Summarized Fatawaa

What are the disliked (makruh) acts of fasting?

● Excessive rinsing of the mouth and nose (during ablution), as it may lead to swallowing water.
● Tasting food or doing anything that may risk breaking the fast.
● Engaging in idle talk, and it is even more emphasized to avoid lying, backbiting, and gossiping.

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.

Is it permissible to agree with a butcher to purchase the meat of an animal after it has been slaughtered — for instance, by buying the meat of a sheep at a price determined by the weight of its meat following slaughter, at a fixed rate per kilogram? And what is the ruling if the animal is being purchased with the intention of it being an uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to sell livestock in the manner of pricing each kilogram of meat after slaughter at a fixed rate, because the meat within the animal prior to slaughter is unseen and unknown. This leads to jahālah (ignorance of the subject matter) and gharar (contractual uncertainty), both of which are among the invalidating factors in sales transactions.
However, it is permissible for the buyer to issue a promise to purchase the meat of the animal after slaughter at a specified price per kilogram, with the actual sale being concluded at the time of weighing the meat — at which point both the quantity of the goods and the total price become known. There is no Sharī'ah objection to this arrangement.
The jurists have stipulated that for a sale to be valid, both countervalues must be present and observable. Al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states:
"It is valid to sell a heap of grain whose total measure is unknown to both contracting parties at a rate of one sā' per dirham. This sale is valid because the subject of sale is present and observable, and ignorance of the total price is not harmful since it is known in detail — and uncertainty is thereby lifted."— [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.355]
As for the uḍḥiyyah, the 'aqīqah, and vowed blood sacrifices (al-dam al-mandhūr) — full ownership of the animal must be established prior to slaughter. It is not valid for such animals to be slaughtered while still in the ownership of the butcher. Rather, the animal must be purchased alive and then slaughtered with the intention of uḍḥiyyah or the like. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of islamic law on statutory (legal) interest awarded by a court?
 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible for a person in whose favor a judge has awarded statutory (legal) interest to deduct the actual litigation costs incurred in filing and prosecuting the lawsuit from these interest funds.
 
Any remaining balance beyond those actual expenses must be returned to the party upon whom the payment was imposed, provided that party is a specific individual. If, however, the paying party is a public entity or state institution, the remaining amount should be spent on the general public interests of Muslims—such as schools, mosques, roads, and similar public utilities shared by the community—or given in charity (Sadaqah) to the poor and needy. And Allah Almighty knows best.