Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(216): "Divorce Given in Anger and Bid'aa/Innovative Divorce: Effective or not"

Date Added : 21-12-2015

Resolution No.(216)(6/2015) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Divorce Given in Anger and Bedai`/Innovative Divorce: Effective or not"

Date: 28/ Shawal/ 1436 AH, corresponding to 13/8/2015 AD.

 

On the above given date, the Board reviewed the question asked by the Islamic Fatwa Council, Jerusalem, Palestine, about divorce given in a state of anger and Bedai`/innovative divorce in terms of their effectiveness?

After thorough deliberations, the Board decided the following:

Muslim Jurists have classified anger into three types:

First: Extreme Anger: The person gets furious and his anger is so high that he no longer has control over his mind and is no longer aware of his actions and words. Muslim Jurists have agreed that there is no doubt that the actions and words of such a person aren`t effective. This is based on the following Hadith: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "There is no divorce and no manumission at the time of coercion." [Abu Dawood and Ahmad].

Second: Minimum Anger: The person gets angry but not so extreme. He controls himself and perceives his words and actions; the divorce of such person is valid without any objection amongst the Muslim scholars.

Third: Medium Anger: The person whose condition is between these two conditions. He becomes extremely angry, but he doesn`t reach the degree of an insane person as mentioned in the first condition, not losing his mind totally. The Jordanian Personal Status Code calls such person "Madhoosh." 

Muslim scholars have differed concerning the ruling of such a person. Their majority said that his divorce takes place; whereas, Ibn Taymiah and Ibn Qayim Al-Jawzieh, Hanbalite scholars, and Ibn Abdeen - a Hanafite scholar, said that it doesn`t. Ibn Abdeen stated: "I believe that it isn`t obligatory that the Madhoosh and the angry don`t realize what they say, it suffices that they are delirious and their talk at that moment is a mix of joking and seriousness ." {Radd Al-Mohtaar}.

Accordingly, the Jordanian Civil Status Law No.(36)/2010, article(86) and the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies rule that divorce in a state of Medium Anger doesn`t take place, whether in the first, second or third pronouncement of divorce based on the principle of "intention" and the Sharia evidence that remove the hardship facing the mistaken, the insane and the coerced. The same ruling applies to persons whose minds are in a state of confusion and lack the capacity to choose.

As for Bedai /innovative divorce (When a person divorces his wife after he sleeps with her while she is in a state of ritual purity), it has several forms and there is disagreement whether some of them are considered Sunni or Beda`i. What counts here is that the Jordanian Board of Iftaa` rules that all forms of Bedai`/ innovative divorce take place, except that which is accompanied with a number of divorce pronouncements either by utterance or signal, and repeating the pronouncement of divorce in the same council, only one divorce takes place. Whereas, the divorce of the woman observing  iddah(waiting period) doesn`t take place at all based on a Fatwa of Ibn Taymiah so as to facilitate for the Muslims and hinder the devil from seducing them to destroy their families. Most of the contemporary scholars have adopted this opinion based on the following Hadith: Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported that the (pronouncement) of three divorces during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) and that of Abu Bakr and two years of the caliphate of Umar (Allah be pleased with him) (was treated) as one. But Umar b. Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) said: "Verily the people have begun to hasten in the matter in which they are required to observe respite. So if we had imposed this upon them, he imposed it upon them." {Muslim}.

This opinion has also been adopted in articles (81) and (89) of the Jordanian Personal Status Law, 36/2010. And Allah Knows Best.

 

The Grand Mufti of Jordan, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Dr. Abdulnnassir Abulbasal

Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi

Dr. Jameel Khatatbeh, Deputized Mufti of the Armed Forces

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa

Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri

Dr. Mohammad Al-Qhodat

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zo`bi

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on one who slept while firmly seated on the ground, regarding nullification of ablution?

The default ruling regarding sleep is that it nullifies ablution. An exception to this is one who slept while firmly seated on the ground; his ablution is not nullified by sleep if he wakes up while still firmly seated on the ground. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Can someone break a make up fast (qada) after beginning it?

Once a person begins a make up fast (qada), it is prohibited to break it.
If they break it without a valid excuse, they are sinful, and the missed Ramadan fast remains a debt upon them.

Is it valid to have Suhoor before sleeping, even if it is before midnight?

Suhoor refers to the pre-dawn meal eaten after midnight to help a Muslim endure fasting. The closer it is to Fajr, the better.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "My Ummah will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast and delay Suhoor." [Narrated by Ahmad]
This is because delaying Suhoor makes it more effective in providing strength for worship. However, if there is a risk of Fajr entering while eating, one should refrain from Suhoor out of caution. 
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt." [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi]

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.