Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No. (263): "Ruling on Installing Solar Energy at the Charity Medical Center from the Treatment's Earnings"

Date Added : 05-09-2018

Resolution No. (263) by the Board of Iftaa', Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Installing Solar Energy at the Charity Medical Center from theTreatment's Earnings"

Date: ( 18/Thu Al-Hija/1439 AD) ,corresponding to (30/8/2018 AH)

On its eleventh session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter sent from his Excellency, the General Manager of the Zakah Fund, and it read as follow: 

As Your Grace knows, Wihdat Zakah Committee answers to the Zakah's Fund. Since this committee runs its own medical center, it desires to replace the electrical energy with solar energy against an overall cost of around (15682 JD). Moreover, this sum was taken from the medical center`s earnings (Not from the Zakah fund) and allocated for the aforementioned purpose. In addition, the medical center offers its services to all citizens at minimum costs and serves the poor through field workshops supervised by the Zakah committee. Could you inform us of the Sharia ruling as regards financing the aforementioned project from the medical center`s earnings.
After prolonged deliberations, the Board decided the following:
In principle, there is no harm in using the earnings of the medical center to finance the above project; especially since they are generated by the center, itself and this will save many future expenses and will, hopefully,be reflected on the quality of the offered services. However, this project has to be executed according to the regulations and instructions of the committees supervised by the Zakah Fund. And Allah Knows Best. 

Chairperson of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi, Member       

Prof. Abdullah Al-Fawaaz/ Member

Dr. Muhammad Khair Al-Issa, Member

Dr. Majid Al-Darawsheh, Member

Prof. Adam Noah/ Member

Judge. Khaled Al-Wrikat

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat, Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on tasting food while fasting?

Tasting food while fasting is disliked (makruh). However, if any part of the food reaches the body cavity (jauf), the fast becomes invalid.

I broke my oath and am now obligated to pay the expiation for a broken oath (kaffārat al-yamīn). Would it be valid to fulfill this by inviting the poor and needy to a meal for them to eat from?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The expiation for a broken oath (kaffārat al-yamīn) is given to the poor (fuqarā') and needy (masākīn), and it must be given in the form of ownership (tamlīk) transferred to them of the required amount — namely, one mudd of the staple food of the locality, or its equivalent monetary value. It isn`t valid to invite the poor or needy to a meal prepared for them to eat from, as this does not constitute "ownership" (tamlīk) but merely "permission to partake" (ibāḥah).
Imam al-Shirbīnī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "What is intended is that ownership be transferred to them; therefore, providing them with lunch or dinner [as a meal to eat from] isn`t valid." [Summarized from Mughnī al-Muhtāj,Vol. 5/P.50]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Does using a wet miswak while fasting break the fast?

A fasting person should ensure that the miswak is dry when using it.
However, if the miswak is slightly moist but does not release any liquid when squeezed, then its use does not break the fast.

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.