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

Is "Bismillāhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm" a verse (āyah) of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The basmalah ("Bismillāhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm") is, without question, a verse (āyah) of the Noble Qur'an, and according to the Shāfi‘ī school, it constitutes a verse of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah itself. Al-Fātiḥah is a pillar of the prayer, and it consists of seven verses, of which the basmalah is one. The prayer is not valid without reciting it, nor if any of the Fātiḥah's verses, letters, or shaddahs (consonant doublings) are omitted or altered.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm (Vol.1/p.202), from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "The basmalah is a complete verse of it [i.e., of al-Fātiḥah] in practice — and it suffices, for this to be established, that there be strong probability (ẓann), especially given that this has come very close to certainty (yaqīn), due to the consensus (ijmā‘) of the Companions on its inclusion in the muṣ-ḥaf [the written text of the Qur'an] in its script, despite their extreme diligence in excluding from it anything that did not genuinely belong to it — to the point that they even [carefully regulated] its diacritical dots and vowel markings." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is the one who gives up on marriage because he can`t afford it considered sinful?

Marriage is desirable, but one who can`t afford it isn`t considered sinful. However, he should supplicate to Allah, and seek His forgiveness.

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.

What is the waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away, and what is the ruling on her wearing gold?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The waiting period ('Iddah) for a woman whose husband has passed away is four months and ten days for one who is not pregnant. As for a pregnant woman, her waiting period lasts until she gives birth. It is obligatory for her to remain in the marital home, only leaving for a necessity. During this time, it is prohibited (Haram) to display any form of adornment on the body or clothing; this includes wearing kohl, gold, all types of perfume, and dyeing the hair. Likewise, it is prohibited to receive a direct marriage proposal or to marry during this period.
 
It was narrated by Umm 'Atiyyah that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'We were forbidden to mourn for a deceased person for more than three days, except for a husband, for whom the mourning period is four months and ten days. During this time, we were not to use kohl, nor wear perfume, nor wear dyed clothing except for garments made of 'Asb (coarsely dyed yarn). We were, however, granted a concession at the time of purification—when one of us bathed following her menses—to use a small amount of Kust (costus) or Azfar (fragrant substances). We were also forbidden from following funeral processions.' (Narrated by Al-Bukhari). And Allah the Exalted knows best."