Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(273): "Ruling on Funds Donated to the Educational Endowment"

Date Added : 18-03-2019

Resolution No. (273)(6/2019), By The Board of Iftaa', Researches and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Funds Donated to the Educational Endowment"

Date: (30/ Jumādā al-Akhira/1440 AH), corresponding to (7/3/2019)

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

 

During its third session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter (No.2/3/2019 AH) sent to the Iftaa` Department from the counsellor of the Educational Endowment. In that letter, he pointed that the Endowment receives both in kind and cash donations, adding that some people stipulate that their donations be spent on maintaining schools while others on laboratories, desks, and other equipment. It is worth pointing that the main objective of the Endowment is building schools in favor of the Ministry of Education. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?

 

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following decision:

 

Funds donated without defining the channel they should be spent in favor of are, in principle, endowed funds, because, basically, what is donated to an officially registered endowment must be spent in favor of the purpose for which it was established in the first place. Therefore, it is permissible that you accept and spend these donations in accordance with the rules of the endowment. This is along with ensuring schools` adherence to these rules and keeping them (schools) under constant supervision.

 

As for the funds for which the donor specifies a certain channel, they are to be spent as he stipulated, be that for maintenance, furniture, tools and the like. This is because the Sharia rule, in this regard, states: "The conditions set by the endower (Waqif) are as binding as the provisions of Sharia."

As for the wages of maintenance workers and consumed materials, it isn`t permissible to spend the money of the endowment on these alone. Rather, the endowment can allocate a fund for public charities and donations where it informs donors, upon making the donations, about the purpose for which that fund is established. This is in order for them (donors) to understand the difference between endowment and charity in general. Upon achieving that, there is no harm in spending the funds of public charity in favor of the various forms of maintenance. And Allah the Almighty 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 {have a reservation on the fourth standard}.

Judge. Khaled Al-Worikat/ Member 

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

Dr. Rashaad Al-Kilani/Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on owned land?

Zakah is due on the land used as an article of merchandise and was originally bought for that end. Zakah is due on it at the end of every lunar year. Its value is estimated, and (2.5%) of the total value of all such lands owned by the questioner is given as Zakah. However, no Zakah is due on the land used for building a house, or an agricultural purpose.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law if the follower (maʾmūm) stands up for the third rakʿah out of forgetfulness while the imam has sat for the middle tashahhud?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If the imam sits for the tashahhud while the follower (maʾmūm), out of forgetfulness, stands up for the third rakʿah, he is obliged to return to his sitting position, since following the imam is obligatory. In this case, no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is required of him. If, however, he fails to return, his prayer is rendered invalid.
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "If the follower stands up alone out of forgetfulness, he is obliged to return, since following the imam is obligatory... If he does not return, his prayer is rendered invalid, due to his departure from what is obligatory." [Asnā al-Maṭālib,Vol.1/P.190] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for a woman to ride a taxi without a Mahram (unmarriageable kin) in order to attend a gathering of knowledge?

It is permissible for the woman to pursue the knowledge that she needs in order to perform the religious requirements due on her if there was nobody to teach her at home, provided that there is no temptation involved. Moreover, we don`t recommend that she rides a taxi without a Mahram although such an act isn`t from the forbidden Khulwah (seclusion).

Is the Saying "Whatever is Taken by the Sword of Shyness is Forbidden" an Authentic Ḥadīth?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The saying "Whatever is taken by the sword of shyness is forbidden" is not an authentic ḥadīth, though its underlying meaning is sound. The established sharʿī principle is that a Muslim's wealth is not lawful for anyone to take except with his wholehearted consent, as Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent." [Al-Nisā/ 29] And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Listen to me and you will live well: do not wrong others, do not wrong others, do not wrong others. Indeed, a man's wealth is not lawful except with his full, willing consent." (Reported by Aḥmad in his Musnad.) Whatever is taken through the pressure of shyness or social embarrassment runs directly counter to genuine, wholehearted consent.
The jurists have explicitly stated that whatever is taken by means of the "sword of shyness" carries the same ruling as that which is taken by coercion — it must be returned to its rightful owner.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā (Vol.3/P.30): "Do you not see the reported scholarly consensus that whoever has something taken from him purely out of shyness, without his genuine consent, does not pass ownership of it to the one who took it? They reasoned that this constitutes a form of coercion through the 'sword of shyness,' comparable to coercion at the point of an actual sword. Indeed, many people would rather submit to the literal sword and endure the pain of its wound than submit to this first kind of coercion, out of fear for their dignity and standing — which people of sound judgment hold dear and guard most fiercely." And Allah the Almighty knows best.