Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(274): "Ruling on a Financial Donation Given to Orphans Fund Development Foundation"

Date Added : 01-05-2019

Resolution No.(274) (7/2019)By The Board of Iftaa', Researches anad Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on a Financial Donation Given to Orphans Fund Development Foundation"

Date: (19/Sha`ban/1440 AH), corresponding to (25/4/2019 AD).

 

Praise be 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.

During its fourth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter (MA/1/1/3250) of His Excellency Mr. Hamdan Al-Faw`eer, director of the Orphans Fund Development Foundation, which reads as follows: "Back in 1981, the Foundation`s board-through resolution No.(6/81) - approved of Mr. Ameen Saleh Mar`ee`s wish to donate 100.000 JDs to be invested by the Orphans Fund Development Foundation (OFDF). This is provided that the annual profits in addition to whatever sums are added to the original donation should be spent in favor of poor Muslim orphans, needy students, the poor and other charity channels. This should also be done under the supervision of the Foundation`s board and the direct participation of Mr. Maree (Donor) himself, and , in case he dies, his son shall take over, and so on. Could you kindly consider discussing this matter with the Board of Iftaa` to provide us with answers to the following questions: Is the above sum (100.000 JDs) a donation or an endowment? Does the donor or his heirs have the right to participate in distributing the annual profits, yielded from investing the above sum, amongst the aforementioned categories who don`t have any funds at the (OFDF)? Is it permissible to consider the above sum amongst the Foundation`s revenues and the earnings made from investing that sum part of the profits added annually to the orphans deposits by the Foundation? Do the heirs of the donor have the right to reclaim the original sum (100.000 JDs)?

After deliberating, the Board decided what follows:

The above sum (100.000 JDs) takes the rulings of an endowment although it was termed a donation. This wording indicates holding money in perpetuity and spending its profits in accordance with the conditions of the donor, as reflected in resolution No.(6/81) issued by the (OFDF). This is in addition to the Sharia maxim, which states that meaning/content prevails over form/structure.

In conclusion, the above sums should be transferred to a party in charge of regulating endowments affairs where it invests the sums in question and spends their profits as stipulated by the endower. In addition, it isn`t permissible for the heirs or any of them to reclaim these sums (100.000 and profits made out of investing it), because once a property is endowed, it becomes Allah`s, not the endower`s. 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

Dr. Muhammad Khair Al-Issa/ Member

Prof. Adam Nooh/ Member

Judge. Khaled Al-Worikat/ Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the Islamic punishment for the one who neglects prayer?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Neglecting the prayer (Salah) is among the major sins (Al-Kaba’ir). One who neglects it out of laziness is considered a transgresor (Fasiq), while one who neglects it while denying its obligation is a disbeliever (Kafir). And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling on someone who possesses cash reaching the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah), and then uses part of it to purchase gold before the ḥawl (lunar year) is complete — must he pay zakāh on all of it [combined], or only on the remaining cash, excluding the gold?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Gold acquired for hoarding and saving is subject to zakāh once it reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for Zakah) — when combined with any cash held — and once a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it. The starting point for calculating this ḥawl is the ḥawl of the paper currency [used to purchase it], which had already reached the niṣāb and was then used to purchase the gold.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.78): "As for someone who sells silver in exchange for gold, or vice versa, zakāh remains obligatory upon it, since he builds [the calculation of] its ḥawl upon [the ḥawl established at the time of] the original transaction [i.e., when the wealth was first acquired]."
This has already been explained in detail in Fatwa No. 2670 — please refer to it.
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on wiping the white area behind the ears instead of wiping the head?

The obligation in ablution is to wipe some of the head; it is not a condition to wipe all of it. Wiping the white area behind the ears suffices for that. And Allah the almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.