Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(228): "Ruling on Distributing Donations that haven`t Reached their Destination"

Date Added : 28-11-2016

Resolution No.(228)(12/2016) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Distributing Donations that haven`t Reached their  Destination"

Date: (8/Thulghidah/1437 AH), corresponding to (11/8/2016 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 tenth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the question of the Secretary-General of the Vocational Syndicates Complex , and it reads as follows:

Out of solidarity with the people of Gaza in the aftermath of the latest Israeli aggression against them, the Vocational Syndicates have launched fundraising campaign in their favor. As a result, many  projects have been executed in cooperation with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) such as: caravan houses, clothes for children, stationery, medical supplies, and the like. The latest of these projects was purchasing winter clothes for the children with a sum of (100,000)JDs. from the donations dedicated to the strip. In fact, these were sent in lorries after coordinating with the (JHCO); however, the Israeli authorities allowed a third into the strip and returned the rest. This is what we have been told by the (JHCO) who also told us that resending this shipment is impossible because the Israeli occupation could ban delivering any type of aid in the future. Moreover, it is also hard to keep these items at the warehouse of the (JHCO) for long; therefore, could you tell us the ruling of Sharia on redistributing these items amongst the poor and needy in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan?

After deliberating, the Board decided the following:

There is no harm that the (JHCO) distributes these items amongst the poor and needy in Jordan since donations and charities should be spent in the channel for which they have been raised in the first place. If that wasn`t possible, then they should be spent in a similar channel, for Allah, The Almighty, Says (What means): "Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope." {Al-Baqarah/286} and " for God suffereth not the reward to be lost of those who do good;" {At-Tawbah/120}. In addition, the Prophet (PBUH) said: "You will be rewarded for what you intended" {Musnad Ahmad}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Sheikh Abdulkareem Khasawneh

Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Prof. Ahmad Helayel/Member

Prof. Abdulrazak Abulbasal/ Member

Prof. Abdullah Al-Fawaz/ Member

Dr. Yahia Al-Botoosh/ Member

Sheikh Sa`id Hijjawi/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa/ Member

Judge, Khalid Woraykat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on someone who possesses gold with the intention of saving/hoarding it, and owns nothing else — is he obligated to sell a portion of it in order to pay the zakāh due on it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh becomes immediately obligatory on cash, and likewise on gold — that which is not designated for a woman's personal adornment— once both reach the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has passed over them. It is not permissible to delay payment when it is genuinely possible to pay — meaning, when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both available. It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.129): "Zakāh is obligatory immediately once it becomes feasible to pay it, meaning when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both present."
The one paying zakāh must discharge the obligatory zakāh due on saved (hoarded) gold either from the gold itself, or from its equivalent monetary value, in the event that no other funds are available — since paying from the gold itself is the original default (al-aṣl). It becomes permissible to pay from other funds instead only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency, as stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib (Vol.1/p.366): "When a full ḥawl has elapsed on wealth other than trade goods... zakāh attaches to the actual asset itself (al-‘ayn), and the poor effectively become partners in it — even, for example, [becoming partners] in camels through the value of a sheep [owed as zakāh on them]... Paying from other wealth is permitted only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency."
Accordingly: the one paying zakāh must discharge it either from the actual saved gold itself, or by selling a portion of the gold equal to the amount of zakāh owed. He may also borrow money to pay the zakāh, or pay the zakāh in installments before the ḥawl is complete [as an advance payment]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

How does a praying person prostrate?

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                        It is from Sunnah that he/she sits with both knees on the ground in order to prostrate, then hands, nose and forehead are placed on the same place. In addition, the toes have to touch the ground, and be directed towards the Qiblah (direction of Ka`bah) during prostration. And Allah Knows Best.

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.

What is the ruling on praying seated due to severe obesity, given that I experience hardship in performing the prayer — especially when rising from the ground after sujūd to perform the next rak‘ah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Standing, when one is able to do so, is a pillar of the prayer. However, whoever would experience severe, intolerable hardship, or fears harm to himself or to a limb due to obesity, or finds that standing causes him to lose his khushū‘ (humble focus and concentration) in prayer, then there is no objection to his praying seated on a chair or on the ground, performing rukū‘ (bowing) and sujūd (prostration) through gesture — provided that the gesture for sujūd is made lower than that for rukū‘. Whoever is able, at any point, to properly perform any one of these pillars, is obligated to perform it in full; for omitting it is a concession that applies only in cases of genuine inability. The Prophet ﷺ said: "When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able." (Related by al-Bukhārī). As the scholars of fiqh have established: what remains possible is not waived on account of what is difficult.
The criterion for determining genuine inability, as chosen by Imam al-Ḥaramayn al-Juwaynī (raḥimahullāh), is that the worshipper experiences hardship that causes him to lose his khushū‘.
As for voluntary (nafl) prayer, there is no objection to performing it while seated, even if one is able to stand. However, rukū‘ and sujūd must still be performed [in their proper physical form] by anyone who is able to do so. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.