Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(231): "The Legitimacy of the Arab Agreement on Banning Human Cloning"

Date Added : 04-01-2017

Resolution No. (231) by the Board of Iftaa', Research and Islamic Studies:

"The Legitimacy of the Arab Agreement on Banning Human Cloning"

Date (22/Rabee' Al-Aoal /1438 AH) corresponding to (22/12/2016 AD)

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

On its twelfth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the question of his Excellency the Minister of Islamic  Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places Dr. Wa`el Arabiat, and it reads as follows:

I have enclosed the memorandum of the General Secretariat of the Arab League No.(3/2984), (12/10/2016 AD), including the report and the recommendations issued by the concerned committee, during its sixth session held from the 28th to the 29th of Sept. 2016, as well as  representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Health, Interior and Official Religious Affairs in the Arab countries, in order to prepare the draft of the Arab agreement on banning human cloning. Could your Grace clarify the legal ruling on the articles of the aforementioned agreement? 

After prolonged deliberations, the Board decided what follows:

In light of scholar`s consensus that safeguarding human dignity from aggression or degradation is a legal obligation and the earlier resolutions issued by the Iftaa` Board and the Islamic Fiqh Academies, the articles of the aforementioned agreement don`t violate the rules of Islamic Law (Sharia). And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa Board,  Sheikh Abdulkareem  Al-Khasawneh

Vice–chairman Prof. Ahmad Hilayel                Prof. Abed Al-Naser Abu Al-Basal           

Sheik Sa`eed Hijjawee / Member          Sheik Ghalib Al-Rbaba'h / Member

Dr. Muhammad Khaar Al-Aisaa' / Member                Judge Khaled Woraikat /Member

Dr. Muhammad Al-Khalyla / Member           Dr. Muhammad Al-Zouby / 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.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no such thing in our noble sharīʿah as a "nominal" or "fictitious" marriage or divorce. Marriage and divorce are among the sacred ordinances of Allah, and it is not permissible to manipulate them or use them as a stratagem to obtain worldly gains.
The foundational purpose of a marriage contract is the permanence and continuity of the relationship between the spouses — to establish a family, and to bring forth righteous offspring. So sacred is this bond that Allah the Almighty Himself described it as a solemn covenant (mīthāq ghalīẓ), saying {what means}: "And if you wish to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin? And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?" [Al-Nisāʾ/ 20–21]
Accordingly, it is not permissible to resort to manipulation and deception in contracts that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described as a "solemn covenant" — all for the sake of material and worldly benefit. Marriage is built upon permanence and does not admit of a fixed time limit. If a time limit is stipulated in the contract, the contract is rendered invalid by the consensus of the jurists. Similarly, marriage is impermissible when there exists a mutual, concealed intention to limit its duration — even if no time limit is explicitly mentioned in the contract — for this constitutes a form of unlawful circumvention of the sharīʿah. This is to say nothing of the lying and deception that such conduct involves, the prohibition of which needs no elaboration. Lying, deception, and fraud for the purpose of obtaining worldly gains are among the gravest of sins.
If, however, the marriage contract is first concluded in a valid sharʿī manner and then registered civilly, it is sound and fully valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on someone who doesn`t perform prayer?

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                    Not performing prayer is a major sin, and one who doesn`t pray out of laziness is considered an oft-sinner ;whereas, the one who denies that it is mandatory is considered a disbeliever. And Allah Knows Best.

Someone wiped over his shoes after wearing them in a state of purity, then took them off and prayed without them?

Ablution is not invalidated by taking off leather socks or shoes after wiping over them. However, whoever takes them off after wiping must wash his feet only. If he prayed without washing his feet, he must wash his feet and repeat the prayer. And Allah the Almighty knows best.