Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(243): "Ruling on Renting a Piece of Land to Build a Masjid on it"

Date Added : 09-06-2020

Resolution No.(243)(12/2017) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Renting a Piece of Land to Build a Masjid on it"

Date: 15/Moharam/1439 AH, corresponding to 5/10/2017 AD.

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

During its eleventh session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter sent from His Excellency Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Dr. Wa`elArabiat, and it read as follows:

Residents of Al-Zira` neighborhood (Hai Nazal area) submitted a request for building a Masjid on a piece of land owned by Amman`s Municipality. The Ministry asked the Municipality to facilitate that end, but the latter stipulated receiving  one hundred Dinars as an annual rent, over a period of twenty years. See enclosed contract. Could your Grace clarify the ruling of Sharia on that?

Answer:

After deliberating, the Board decided that renting the above land from Amman`s Municipality to build a Masjid on it is permissible. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chair  of Iftaa` Board

Grand Mufti of Jordan, Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Vice chair of Iftaa` Board, Sheikh AbdulKareem al-Khasawneh

                                   Prof. AbdulnaserabulBasal, Member                     

         Prof. Abdullah al-Fawaz/ Member

Dr. Wa`elArabiat, Member   

                Dr. Mohammad Khair al-Esa, Member

    Dr. Majid Darawsheh, Member

    Sheikh Sa`eidHijjawi, Member

      Dr. Ahmad al-Hasanat, Member

        Dr. Mohammad al-Zo`bi, Memebr

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on forgiving a tenant next month's rent, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh al-māl?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It does not fulfill the obligation to count the rent owed on a house, or a portion of it, in lieu of zakāh. Rather, it is necessary to first transfer ownership of the zakāh amount to the poor person directly; only afterward may he be asked to pay the rent [from that money].
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 112): "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]."
We would also remind [the reader] of the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ: "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he does not wrong him, nor does he abandon him [to harm]. Whoever attends to the needs of his brother, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will attend to his needs. Whoever relieves a Muslim of a hardship, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will relieve him of one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal him on the Day of Resurrection." (Agreed upon). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

When does the time for Udhiyah begin?

 
In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The permissible timeframe for Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) begins on the day of Eid al-Adha—the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah—once the sun has risen and a period of time sufficient to perform two brief prayer units (Rak'ahs) and two short sermons (Khutbahs) has passed. This window remains open until the sun sets on the final day of Tashreeq, which is the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah.
 
Our Master, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: "Every valley of Mina is a place of sacrifice, and slaughtering may be done throughout all the days of Tashreeq." (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban)
 
The days of Tashreeq refer to the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah.
 
The most virtuous time to perform the sacrifice is immediately after concluding the Eid prayer, based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The first thing we do on this day of ours is to pray, then we return and offer our sacrifice. Whoever does that has acted in accordance with our Sunnah (tradition), and whoever slaughters before that, it is merely meat he has provided for his family; it has nothing to do with the ritual sacrifice." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
 
What is meant here is an estimation of time rather than the actual performance of the prayer itself, as our Master, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), used to offer the Eid al-Adha prayer immediately after sunrise.
 
The sacrifice is valid if performed at any time during these designated days, whether by day or by night, though slaughtering at night is considered disliked (Makruh). And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

Does Laylat al-Qadr move between the nights of Ramadan?

Laylat al-Qadr is definitely in Ramadan, and it is most likely in the last ten nights, especially on the odd-numbered nights.
For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ commanded observing worship in the last ten nights, and he himself used to dedicate those nights to worship. Many people put special effort into the 27th night of Ramadan, and they are rewarded in any case, whether they actually coincide with Laylat al-Qadr or not, because worshiping on any night of Ramadan carries great rewards.
 

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on the money saved for marriage?

Zakah is due on the money saved for marriage if it reached the Nissab (minimum amount liable for Zakah), and a whole lunar year had lapsed over possessing it.