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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board


Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No. (268): "Ruling on Giving Males and Females Equal Portions of Inheritance"

Date Added : 31-12-2018

Resolution No.(268) (22/2018) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Giving Males and Females Equal Portions of Inheritance"

Date: (05/Rabi` Rabīʿ al-Thaani/1440 AH), corresponding to (13/12/2018).

 

 

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 fourteenth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the questionnaire about the permissibility of giving equal portions of inheritance to males and females on absolute basis. Some say that the verse" Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females…"{An-Nisa`, 11} isn`t a clear revelation, Quranic texts are amenable to Ijtihad (Independent reasoning or the thorough exertion of a jurist`s mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question) and the Quran suits every time and place. Does the ruler have the authority to pass a law whereby males and females take equal shares of inheritance?

 

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following:

 

Inheritance is clearly prescribed in the Noble Quran where Allah, The Almighty, Has Taken charge of dividing it rightfully and justly so that the people deal with each other justly. He, the Exalted, Hasn`t Left this matter to the will of a ruler nor the Ijtihad of a researcher. He, The Almighty, Said (What means): "It is an injunction from Allah. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise." {An-Nisa`, 11}. Since an injunction is an obligation, then there is no room, here, for Ijtihad. This is not because this divine division contradicts justice; rather, it achieves justice. Therefore, upon the death of a father or a mother who has male and female children, the inheritance is divided on basis of the aforementioned verse: "to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females." This is a text of definitive authenticity and implication, so there is no room, here, for construing or distorting.

Scholars have pointed out that the financial burden shouldered by the inheritors is one of the key standards deemed considerable by the Lawgiver with regard to laws of inheritance. In light of the just Islamic system, the civil status regulations along with the familial code have imposed on the male, be he a husband, a son or a brother, huge financial burdens towards his dependents, and this aims to honor and protect women, in particular, against poverty and need. Another example on those burdens is that the man is obliged to give Mahr (Bridal gift) to the woman, even if she is rich; whereas, she doesn`t have to provide for him since she is financially independent. To face all these burdens, the portion of the male is equivalent to the portion of two females, as indicated in the above scenario. At the same time, in other scenarios, the portion of a female is higher than that of a male because there are two other standards correlating with the above standard (Financial burden), and they are degree of kinship and generation. None is allowed to interfere in this meticulous division and none can understand its details nor the wisdom behind it.

In conclusion, the Board confirms the definitiveness of the divine injunction (to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females) mentioned above and calls on all Muslims to pursue real reform and work on uplifting the Muslim Nation socially, economically, politically and scientifically. And Allah Knows Best.

 

 

Chairperson of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Sheikh Abdulkareem AlKhasawneh/ Member

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-Worikat/ Member 

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

Dr. Rashaad Al-Khilaani

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on making up the regular *rawātib* (sunnah) prayers together with a missed obligatory prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is obligatory to make up (qaḍāʾ) a missed obligatory prayer (farḍ). As for the timed supererogatory prayers (al-sunan al-muʾaqqatah) or the regular rawātib prayers, it is recommended (mandūb) to make them up, even if a long time has passed. Ibn Ḥajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Fatāwā: "It is established in our school that it is sunnah to make up the timed voluntary prayers, by night or by day, even if congregation is not prescribed for them, whether much time has passed or little."
Accordingly, it is recommended to make up the sunan together with the obligatory prayer. And Allah Almighty knows best.
________________________________________
Note on terminology: Al-nawāfil al-muʾaqqatah (timed voluntary prayers) refers to supererogatory prayers tied to a specific time or cause, such as the rawātib (regular prayers before and after the obligatory ones), Duha, and the like. The ruling given here reflects the Shāfiʿī position.

I bought an apartment, and I am saving money to pay the remaining balance of its price — is zakāh obligatory on this money?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on all saved/hoarded wealth. Once the total wealth reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah— equivalent to the value of 85 grams of pure 24-karat gold) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it, zakāh becomes obligatory at a rate of (2.5%) — even if the wealth is earmarked for basic future needs, and even if the wealth's owner is in debt. Debt does not prevent the obligation of zakāh, nor is it deducted when calculating the zakāh due, based on the general and unrestricted wording of all the Qur'anic verses commanding zakāh, which draw no distinction between someone in debt and anyone else.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone possesses exactly the niṣāb, and owes an equivalent amount in debt, zakāh remains obligatory on what is in his possession, and the debt does not prevent this obligation" — meaning, the obligation of zakāh on what is presently in his possession.
The ḥawl (annual cycle) recognized for zakāh, as well as for the other sharī‘ah obligations that Allah, the Exalted, has imposed upon Muslims, is the Hijrī (lunar) year. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

If a person enters a mosque and finds the congregation in the final tashahhud, which is more virtuous — joining them or waiting for a second congregation to catch the opening takbīr (takbīrat al-iḥrām)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a worshipper finds a congregation that is about to finish its prayer, and he hopes to catch the entire prayer from the beginning with another congregation, it is more virtuous for him to pray with this first congregation and then repeat the prayer with the second one — provided he does not intend to confine himself to a single prayer. If, however, he intends to perform only one prayer, then it is more virtuous for him to wait for the second congregation rather than joining the first, so that he may attain the reward of congregational prayer for every single rakʿah.
Al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If members of a congregation enter the mosque while the imam is in the final tashahhud, al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn held that it is recommended for them to join him in prayer, and that they should not delay in order to form a second congregation. Al-Mutawallī, however, affirmed the opposite view, and al-Qāḍī's own statement elsewhere supports this latter position, which is the relied-upon view. In fact, it is more virtuous for a person who has missed part of the prayer with one congregation, and who hopes to catch another congregation with whom he can attain the entire prayer within its proper time, to delay so that he may catch it in full with them. This applies when he intends to confine himself to a single prayer; otherwise, it is more virtuous for him to pray with the first group and then repeat the prayer with the others." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol. 3/P.186] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on insulin injections?

Insulin injections do not break the fast because they are administered under the skin and do not reach the body cavity (jauf).

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