Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(192): "Ruling on Eating from a Vowed Sacrifice"

Date Added : 22-11-2015

Resolution No.(192)(12/2013) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Eating from a Vowed Sacrifice"

Date: 2/ Moharam/1435 AH, corresponding to 6/11/2013 AD.

All perfect praise is due 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:

On its tenth session held on the above mentioned date, the Board reviewed a question emailed by one of the citizens, and it reads as follows: "I have vowed to sacrifice a calf for the Sake of Allah. Is it permissible for me and  my family to eat from it?"

After researching and deliberating, the Board arrived at the following decision:

Eating from the vowed sacrifice is one of the controversial issues among the Muslim Jurists, because some of them say that it takes the same rules of the sacrifice (Udhiyah), where the person, offering it, and his family are permitted to eat a third of its meat; whereas, some say that it takes the rules of the vow in terms of being donated for the sake of Allah, where the vow-taker and his family aren`t permitted to eat from its meat.

On their part, the Hanafite and the Shafite Jurists have forbidden the vow-taker to eat from the meat of the vowed sacrifice. Kindly refer to the book [Asna al-Mataleb, vol./pp.545].

Whereas, the Malikite and Hanbalite Jurists have permitted the vow-taker to eat from his vowed sacrifice. Al-Dosoukhi said: "If the vow-taker didn`t specify a certain animal and didn`t specify that it is vowed as a charity for the poor and needy, then he is permitted to eat from its meat." {Al-Hasheyah}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Taking the above question* into consideration, the Iftaa` Board is of the view that it is permissible for the questioner to eat from his vowed sacrifice giving preponderance to the rules that apply to the Udhiyah.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board

The General Mufti of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Abd Al-Kareem Al-Khasawneh .

Prof.Haiel Abd Al-Hafeed /member       Prof.Abd Al-Naasir Abu Al-Basal

His Eminence, Sheikh Sa`id Al-Hijawi/member           Dr.Yahia Al-Botosh

Prof.Mohammad Al-Gdah/ member              Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-E`sa

Dr.Wasif Al-Bakri / member           Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/member

Dr.Mohammad Al-Zo`bi/member      

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is the marriage, which lacks a valid legal contract, a guardian, and a court registration, valid?

It is incumbent that a valid marriage contract be concluded in the presence of a guardian and two trustful witnesses, and it should be registered in the court to protect the rights of the wife. Actually, a valid marriage contract is what differentiates between sound marriage and fornication.

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.

How should I deal with the whispers of the devil with regard to ablution and purity?

Whispers in ablution are from the devil, and so you should take refuge in Allah from the devil`s evil suggestions that aim to distort the religion. Thus, once an organ is completely pure, don`t question its purity since having whispers doesn`t mean that the purity is invalid as it has already been established.

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.