Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(152): "Ruling on Tubal Ligation and Aborting some Embryos to Save others"

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(152) (17/2010)  by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Tubal Ligation and Aborting some Embryos to Save others"

Date: 2/9/1431 AH, corresponding to 12/8/2010 AD.

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may his peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

During its ninth session held on the above given date, the Board reviewed the following medical questions:

Question No.(1): A thirty-two-year old female patient, who has two kids, underwent endometrial resection due to recurrent bleeding. Although it is a contraceptive procedure, there is a possibility that a part of the endometrium could remain untouched. Therefore, if an ovum gets stuck in that part, it will lead to many complications, such as the placenta accrete. Thus, is it permissible to carry out tubal ligation for this patient as a contraceptive measure and to prevent the aforementioned complications?

Answer: The Sharia principle established by the evidences from the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah is that it is forbidden to use any permanent contraceptives that lead to ending one`s offspring. It has been reported by Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (PBUH) forbade self castration; therefore, the same rule applies to every means that stops giving birth completely or removes desire, even under the pretext of poverty or unwillingness to have children.

Urgent cases are exempted from the aforementioned rule (forbiddance); therefore, once it has been established by doctors that the pregnancy of a certain woman will jeopardize her life or inflict great damage to her health-only then-there is no harm in conducting tubal ligation.

Accordingly, conducting tubal ligation in the above mentioned case is permissible in order to rescue that woman from an imminent danger in case she became pregnant, as determined by trustworthy doctors.

Question (2): A forty-two-year old female patient who has three boys and two girls, and is thirty three weeks pregnant. She, along with her husband, is willing to undergo tubal ligation while giving birth in case the fetus remained in breech position and can be delivered only through a caesarean. It is worth mentioning that the fetus is inflicted with a congenital condition, which is the smallness of the left ventricle. It is a kind of deformation that usually leads to the death of the fetus after its delivery. She also suffers from general fatigue and high blood pressure. 

Answer: In this case, tubal ligation is impermissible because the pregnancy doesn`t jeopardize  the mother`s life and there are other methods of birth control which are easier, more available and don`t have complications that could lead to ending birth giving, according to the opinion of specialized doctors.

Question (3): A woman got pregnant by undergoing (IVF), or (test-tube-baby). After three months, it turned out that she was pregnant with seven embryos. Is it permissible to abort some of them by a lethal injection so as for others to be saved and delivered naturally?

Answer: If this large number of embryos causes serious complications to the mother or endangers her life or-mostly- aborts all the embryos, then there is no harm in aborting some of them to ward off these dangers. And Allah Knows Best.

 

 

Head of the Iftaa` Board, The Grand Mufti of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, His Grace Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Vice Head of the Iftaa` Board, Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

Dr. Yahia Al-Botoosh/ Member

His Eminence, Sheikh Sa`ied Hijjawi/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Essa

Judge Sarrie Attieh

Dr. Abdulrahman Ibbdah/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Oklah/ Member

Dr. Abduln`nassir Abu Al Bass`al/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Gharaibeh/ Member

Executive Secretary of the Iftaa` board, Dr. Ahmad Al-Has`sanat

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on combining (jam‘) and shortening (qaṣr) prayers when travel is repeated on a daily basis?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
A traveler is permitted to avail himself of the concessions of shortening and combining prayers once the distance of his journey reaches (81 km) or more. This is on condition that his journey is a permissible one, and that he begins shortening and combining only after setting out and passing beyond the built-up limits of the city in which he resides, or beyond the administrative boundaries of the area where he lives.
Accordingly, if the distance between one's workplace and one's place of residence reaches the distance upon which the concession of combining and shortening depends, then combining and shortening are permissible once he leaves the built-up area, even if this travel is repeated on a daily basis.
Ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is permissible to combine Ẓuhr and ‘Aṣr, either as an early combination (taqdīm) in the time of the first, or as a delayed combination (ta'khīr) in the time of the second; and likewise Maghrib and ‘Ishā' — either early, in the time of the first, or delayed, in the time of the second — during a long, permissible journey, in following [the Prophet's practice]. As for the delayed combination, it is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from the ḥadīth of Anas and Ibn ‘Umar (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhum). As for the early combination, Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Bayhaqī graded it ṣaḥīḥ from the ḥadīth of Mu‘ādh, and at-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan." [Quoted with slight abridgment from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/p.529]
The conditions for combining and shortening have already been explained in Fatwa No. 14 and Fatwa No. 842. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What are the legal and religious consequences for a charitable organization in the event that a sacrificial animal is damaged or spoiled after slaughter?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Charitable organizations entrusted with slaughtering sacrificial animals (uḍḥiyyah) and distributing their meat on behalf of their owners are obligated to safeguard the meat from spoilage, damage, theft, and any other harm. This is because such organizations act as agents (wukalā') on behalf of those offering the sacrifice, and an agent holds what is entrusted to them in trust (amānah) — whether they receive a wage for their work or act on a voluntary basis.
If the sacrificial animal is damaged after slaughter during the processes of packaging, transportation, or storage due to negligence or oversight — whether on the part of the organization's own staff overseeing the operation, or on the part of third parties contracted by the organization such as transport or shipping companies — then liability falls upon the negligent party, who is required to compensate for the value of the sacrifice. It is not permissible to cover such compensation from the organization's other donor funds.
However, if the damage to the sacrificial animal occurs without any negligence in its preservation and storage on the part of any party involved in the transportation, shipping, or storage process, and is instead attributable to force majeure circumstances beyond their control, then no financial liability is borne by any party in such a case. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What does (Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeking reward) mean?

This phrase is part of a hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeks his reward from Allah, their past sins will be forgiven." [Agreed upon]
The meaning is:
● They fast Ramadan with firm belief that Allah has made it obligatory.
● They fast out of obedience to Allah, knowing they will meet Him.
● They hope for reward from Allah and fast purely out of their faith while seeking His reward.

What is the ruling on someone who fasts but does not pray?

A Muslim must be diligent in fulfilling all obligations, and after the Shahadah, prayer is the most important duty.
● If someone abandons prayer out of disregard, they are considered a disbeliever, and their fasting is not accepted.
● If they abandon prayer out of laziness, they are still a Muslim, and their fasting remains valid, but they have committed a grave sin by neglecting prayer.