Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(1): "Sharia Ruling on Lease Premium“

Date Added : 25-01-2018

Resolution No.(1) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:   

  "Sharia Ruling on Lease Premium"

 

Question: What is the ruling of Sharia on lease premium and the money paid against that, and is it permissible according to the rulings of Islamic Sharia?

Answer: All perfect praise is due to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His Blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

 

Ijarah (hiring) is permissible in Islamic Sharia since the Prophet (PBUH) was sent to humanity while people were leasing and taking on lease, so he permitted that. It is well known that Ijarah is a contract whereby two parties agree upon a certain benefit in return for a compensation, that is money.

Ijarah is actually purchasing a benefit, and it is permissible to conclude an Ijarah contract upon lawful benefits, so the benefit of the leased estate is the right of the lessee, and so he enjoys the right of staying in the estate upon which the leasing contract has been concluded. Islamic Sharia has given a lessee the right of staying and residing in the leased estate, so none has the right to drive him/her out of it, and this right has a financial value according to Islamic Sharia as well as custom.

If a lessee was driven out of the estate without being paid the value of that right (lease premium), he/she may not be able to find a similar one without paying substantial amounts of money.

A lease premium is an integral part of the rent that has been agreed upon by both parties (lessor and lessee); therefore, it is permissible that the lessee pays it to the owner as a part of the rent i.e. the value of the benefit. The lessee is also permitted to sell his right in this benefit and take the lease premium from whoever wishes to purchase it for a price higher, or  lower  than that which he had paid to the owner in the first place.

On the other hand, Muslim jurists  permitted employing such a method on the estates pertaining to Islamic Awqaf (endowments) during the tenth, ninth, and eighth  centuries (H). They passed a legal ruling which  states that the Awqaf administrator has no authority to drive a lessee out of an estate so long as the latter is willing to pay the rent agreed upon in the contract. This way, Muslim jurists have given the lessee of an Awqaf estate the right to remain in it and permitted him to receive a lease premium in case he wished to vacate the estate. By analogy, it is permissible for a lessee, in ordinary types of estates, to demand a lease premium so long as the law grants him the right to stay in the estate even after the expiry of the contact. The law permitted this as a regulative measure  meant to prevent injustice, and after consulting people of sound opinion and expertise; it is parallel to putting price tags on commodities to prevent traders from rigging prices.

 

It is a purely commercial transaction that  involves buying and selling beyond suspicions of Riba (usury), or unlawfulness; therefore, contracting parties aren`t considered sinful so long as the contract has been concluded with their mutual consent. It is also impermissible for any party to revoke the contract except with the consent of the other party. And Allah Knows Best.

 

The Board of Iftaa'

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on storing the meat of sacrificial animals and distributing it throughout the year?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is disliked (makruh) to store or preserve the meat of sacrificial animals (udhiyah), whether for a short or long period, provided that the sacrifice is slaughtered within its prescribed lawful time, while also taking care to prevent the meat from spoiling. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing dry ablution (tayammum) on a wall or stone?

One of the conditions for tayammum is that it be with pure, clean dust (soil). It is not valid to perform tayammum by striking stones, a wall, sand that has no dust (i.e., that does not produce dust), pebbles alone, or clay, as these are not from the earth or its same category. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

 
What is the ruling on someone who eats or drinks while uncertain about the arrival of dawn, then later finds out that dawn had not yet broken?

If a person does this, their fast remains valid, as it is confirmed that they ate during the night. Similarly, if someone eats while uncertain and remains unsure whether they ate before or after dawn, their fast is still valid. This is based on the maxim of Sharia Law, which states: "Certainty is not removed by doubt." Certainty, here, is the presence of night, and the doubt concerns the arrival of dawn. Therefore, one relies on certainty and disregards doubt.

Which is more excellent for a woman: to pray in the mosque or in her house?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Our Master the Prophet ﷺ said: 'It is more excellent for a woman to pray in her house than in her courtyard, and more excellent for her to pray in her private chamber than in her house.' Therefore, a woman’s adherence to her home and her refraining from going to the mosques—in obedience to the command of Allah the Exalted—attains a great reward and abundant recompense. Furthermore, women praying in congregation within their homes is better than their attendance at the mosques, based on the aforementioned Hadith. And Allah the Exalted knows best.