Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(309): "Transferring the Status of Masjid from one Floor to another"

Date Added : 03-04-2022

Resolution No.(309)(4/2022):

"Transferring the Status of Masjid from one Floor to another"

Date: (24/ Sha`ban/1443 AH), corresponding to (27/3/2022 AD).

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all His family and companions.

At its 3rd meeting held on the above date, the Board reviewed the letter No.(2363/1/1/9) of His Excellency Minister of Awqaf And Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh. In this letter, the Director of the1st Awqaf Directorate and Amman requested dividing the ground floor of Masjid Hasan Abu Sha`iera (Marka) into a residence for the Imam and Mo`azin since they were officially appointed to this Masjid. It is worth pointing that the ground floor was a Masjid before the Masjid`s Committee built a first floor that was used into a Masjid. Currently, the ground floor is furnished with carpets and was used as a prayer place for women. Is it permissible to turn the ground floor, which was used as Masjid, into a residence for the Imam and the Mo`azin?

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following decision:

It is permissible for the Administrator of the Public Waqf-The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affair-to transfer the status of Masjid to the first floor and establish prayers there. It is also permissible to turn the ground floor into a residence for the Imam and the Mo`azin. However, this is provided that a special section is allocated as prayer place for the women, and this way the best interest of this Waqf is achieved and from different perspectives. Al-Mawardi, a Hanbali scholar, stated in {Al-Ensaaf}: "It is permissible to add a new floor as a Masjid if most of the praying people wanted that and to turn the lower floor into a place for providing drinking water and shops. This was stated by Imam Ahmad and adopted by Al-Khadhi." And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

 

 Chairperson of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Abdulkareem al-Khasawneh

Dr. Mohammad al-Khalayleh/ Member

Dr. Mahmoud al-Sartawi/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi/ Member

Prof. Adam Nooh Al-Qhodat/ Member

Prof. Amjad Rasheed/Member

Dr. Jamil Khatatbeh/ Member

Dr. Ahmad al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Younis Al-Zou`bi/ Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

Who is required to give fidyah for fasting?

Fidyah—feeding one needy person for each missed fasting day—is required for:
1. Those who are permanently unable to fast, such as:
○ Elderly men and women who are too weak to fast.
○ People with chronic illnesses that have no hope of recovery.
2. Pregnant or breastfeeding women who break their fast out of fear for their child (fetus or infant).
3. A person who delays making up Ramadan fasts (qada) until the next Ramadan begins, without a valid excuse.
4. The estate of a deceased person who had missed obligatory fasts and had the ability to make them up but did not do so.

What is the ruling on giving Zakat al-Fitr in cash?

The default ruling is that Zakat al-Fitr should be given as the staple food of the land. In Jordan, for example, the staple food is wheat or rice, and the amount of Zakat al-Fitr is 2,500 grams per person. It is easy to give this amount of rice to the poor and needy, and this is the correct ruling according to all Islamic schools of thought.
However, Hanafi scholars have permitted giving Zakat al-Fitr as monetary value, considering it more beneficial for the poor and easier for the giver.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj,  Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on kissing while fasting?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is prohibitively disliked (makrūh taḥrīman) for a husband to engage in foreplay with or kiss his wife during the daylight hours of Ramaḍān if doing so stirs his desire. If pre-seminal fluid (madhī) is released as a result, the fast is not invalidated; however, if seminal fluid (manī) is released, the fast is broken.
Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated: "It is prohibitively disliked to kiss — whether on the mouth or elsewhere — for one whose desire is stirred, whether man or woman, to the extent that he fears it may lead to intercourse or ejaculation. Embracing, touching, and similar acts without a barrier carry the same ruling as kissing in this regard, because such acts expose the act of worship to being corrupted — and as the two Ṣaḥīḥs record: 'Whoever circles around a protected boundary is liable to fall into it.'"
He further added: "It is preferable for one whose desire is not stirred — even if he is a young man — to refrain from such acts as well, so as to close the door entirely. For he may believe his desire has not been aroused when in fact it has. Moreover, it is Sunnah for the fasting person to abstain from all desires without exception." — Summarised with minor adaptation from [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.