Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(212): "Ruling on Satellite Channels that Pretend Curing People with Ruqia"

Date Added : 05-10-2015

Resolution No.(212) (2/2015 A.D) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

“Ruling on Satellite Channels that Pretend Curing People with Ruqia“

Date: 21/Jumada Al-Olah/1436 A.H, correspomding to 12/3/2015 A.D

 

All perfect 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.

The Board has reviewed, in its third session held on the above date, the question sent by His Excellency, the Director General of Media Commission, Dr. Amjad Al-Qadhi, and reads as follows:

Some satellite channels broadcast programs and ads. that pretend treating diseases by the Quran and Al-Ruqia Al-Shariyah {Quranic verses and Prophetic supplications}. Could you inform me of your opinion as regards such method of treatment, and is it permissible for these channels to broadcast such programs for profit?

After careful study and deliberation, the Board decided what follows:

Nowadays, treatment with “Al-Ruqia Al-Shariyah” has become a means of deceiving people and employing religion for achieving private worldly benefits. This has become the job of some channels which seek to make people believe in superstitions in the name of the Quran although they know deep down that Allah has sent it down as a means of guidance, light, and belief, and not to be used for eating up people`s money, achieving fame or misleading them from the  true Sunnah of treatment which the Prophet (PBUH) commanded Muslims to follow as reflected in His hadith: “Seek treatment for there is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment, to the exclusion of one disease and that is  geriatric old age.” {Abu Dawood}. Every Muslim is capable of making Ruqia, governed by the conditions stipulated in Sharia, to himself and to his family, and not to adopt it as a profession for obtaining a profit and eating up people`s money unjustly.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon the officials in charge of media and religious affairs to stop all channels that pretend to cure diseases by the Quran and al-Ruqia al-Shariyah as a means of making a profit as well as programs that promote such a thing, since protecting the religion of Allah against such acts and maintaining its purpose of guiding people is an obligation. And Allah Knows Best.

Head of the Iftaa` Board, The Grand Mufti of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, His Grace Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Vice Head of the Iftaa` Board, Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

Dr. Yahia Al-Botoosh/ Member

Dr. Hayil Abdulhafeez/ Member

Sheikh Sa`ied Hijjawi/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Essa/ Member

Dr. Moh. Al-Qodah/ Member

Dr. Wasif  Al-Bakri/ Member

Dr. Abduln`nassir Abu Al Bass`al/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member

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Summarized Fatawaa

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Which is more excellent for a woman: to pray in the mosque or in her house?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Our Master the Prophet ﷺ said: 'It is more excellent for a woman to pray in her house than in her courtyard, and more excellent for her to pray in her private chamber than in her house.' Therefore, a woman’s adherence to her home and her refraining from going to the mosques—in obedience to the command of Allah the Exalted—attains a great reward and abundant recompense. Furthermore, women praying in congregation within their homes is better than their attendance at the mosques, based on the aforementioned Hadith. And Allah the Exalted 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).

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.