Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(240): "Providing Individuals Born out of Wedlock with Information about their Mothers"

Date Added : 30-08-2017

 

Resolution No.(240)(9/2017) by the Board of Iftaa` Research and Islamic Studies:

"Providing Individuals Born out of Wedlock with Information about their Mothers"

Date: (17/Dhul Qedah/1438);(10/8/2017)

 

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.

On its ninth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter of His Eminence the Supreme Judge concerning the question sent from the Minister of Social Development Eng. Wajeeh Azaizeh, and reads as follows:

I would like to bring to Your Grace`s attention the fact that the Ministry supports and protects children born out of wedlock as well as orphans. The former are received from early age and given names in cooperation with the Department of Civil Status and Passports as stipulated by the law.

At the age of eighteen, some of them send petitions to the Ministry requesting information that leads to their parents. The danger lies in the category where the mother is known since she could have settled down and made a family of her own. We can add that if any of them managed to reach their mother, she is most likely to experience trouble on the social level. Therefore, could You clarify the ruling of Sharia on the permissibility of giving such information to the above individuals?

Answer: After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following conclusion:

Individuals born out of wedlock are members of society and enjoy all the rights determined by Sharia. This emanates from the fact that Allah has honored the sons of Adam where He, The Almighty, Said (What means): "We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation."{Al-Isra`/70}.

One of these rights is to know the people to whom a person traces to, whether from the mother`s or the father`s side; especially since this constitutes the basis upon which many Sharia rulings rest, such as inheritance and women prohibited in marriage, as well as many social, psychological and daily life interests.

The Board is of the view that the right call in this regard is to approve of the above individuals` petitions since that is an essential right of theirs. However, each case should be examined in isolation and by a specialized committee, but on basis of giving precedence to that right. Nevertheless, if harm is likely to occur, in some cases, then the petition should be delayed and further solutions should be sought. As regards the social harms that usually result from this matter, the mother should try her best to absorb and face them in order to reduce the suffering of her child. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairperson of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Vice Chairman, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat, Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa, Member

Dr. Majed Darawsheh, Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi, Member

Judge Khalid Woraikat, Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zo`bi, Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the expiation for perjury?

Perjury is forbidden and one of the major sins that require turning to Allah in repentance, seeking His forgiveness, giving back rights to whom they belong, or seeking their forgiveness, and expiating for that oath.

What is the ruling on someone who curses the religion or commits an act of disbelief during the day in Ramadan?

Whoever apostatizes (leaves Islam) while fasting, their fast is invalid. Cursing the religion is an act of apostasy (may Allah protect us from it). Such a person must return to Islam by pronouncing the Shahadah (testimony of faith), seek Allah’s forgiveness, refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day, and make up for that day’s fast later.

What is the ruling on sacrificing a hornless sheep?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is valid to sacrifice a hornless sheep (al-Jamma’ or al-Jalha’). Similarly, a sheep with a broken horn is also acceptable; it does not affect the validity of the sacrifice even if the break causes bleeding, unless the injury is so severe that it leads to the spoilage of the meat. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.