Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(38): "Ruling on a Gambling Game called "The Rocket Dollar"

Date Added : 18-12-2017

 

Resolution No.(38): "Ruling on a Gambling Game called "The Rocket Dollar"

Date: 6/5/1417 AH, corresponding to 19/9/1996

 

We have received the following question:

What is the ruling of Sharia concerning the gambling game called "The Rocket Dollar"?

Answer:

The Board reviewed the above game which has spread amongst a large number of people and after realizing its true nature and different dimensions, it decided the following:

It is a means of illegal gain and one form of gambling because it rests on risk and uncertainty. This is in addition to the fact that it leads to cutting down the flow of cash in society and driving it abroad; consequently, causing damage to the national economy. Allah, The Almighty, Has definitely Prohibited gambling. He Says (what means): "O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan’s handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper." {Al-Mai`dah/90}. And Allah Knows Best.

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Deputized Grand Mufti of Jordan, Mufti of Jordan Armed Forces, Izuldeen At-Tamimi
Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi 
Sheikh Mahmoud Shewayat            
Dr. Fat-hi Al-Duraini
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Bakheet        
Dr. Omar Al-Ashkar
Dr. Mahmoud Assartawi       

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on fasting only on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

In voluntary fasting (nafl), it is disliked (makruh) to fast only on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
However:
● If one fasts a day before or after Friday, then that is permissible.
● The same applies to Saturday and Sunday—fasting them along with another day removes the dislike.
● Fasting all three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) together is not disliked.
If any of these days coincide with a recommended fasting day, such as Arafah or Ashura, then fasting it alone is not disliked.

Is my husband entitled to take my salary?

Your salary is yours, and you may give some of it to him as a kind of free-will contribution.

Is it permissible for a husband to sell his wife`s jewelry if he was in a hard up?

A woman`s jewelry and dowry are her own property, and it is forbidden for the husband to take either without obtaining her approval. However, it is desirable for the wife to support her husband through considering her jewelry a sort of documented debt on him.