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Beirut Declaration for a Clear Religious Information
Author : Dar El-Fatwa in Lebanon
Date Added : 28-12-2015

Beirut Declaration for a Clear Religious Information

 

On Dec. 21st, 2015, the Muftis of the Sunni community in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon signed a joint declaration. It is entitled the "Beirut Declaration for a Clear Religious Information", and it reads as follows:

In light of the aggravating phenomenon of extremism in the Arab and Muslim countries, its employment of social media to instigate killing, exemplary punishment and labeling others with disbelief (Takfir), which belittles religions, manners, principles of communal living, private and public freedoms, the tendencies of the youth, the image of Islam and the Arabs before the world and taking into consideration that the religious invitation is a plain statement to communities and the whole world, the above Muftis, out of their religious and brotherly ties, address the Arab, Muslim and international audience with the following statement which includes five points:

 

First: Renewed commitment to the development of a moderate and reforming religious discourse including the propagation of the values of tolerance and moderation, the strengthening of peace in the society, the re-establishment of trust between generations, support for traditions of communal living and arriving at mutual terms with the world.

 

Second: Renewed commitment to the development of a clear religious information that includes the values of acceptance of others at a religious, national or global level, as well as the peaceful resolution of differences in a space of equal and mutual trust.

 

Third: Cooperation between the departments empowered to issue religious decrees (fatwa) in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, at the level of exchange of information and experiences, mutual visits, to combat religious extremism and all other extremists who threaten the security of Arab societies, their unity and their stability.

 

Fourth: Cooperation between Muslim and Christian religious leaders in the setting up of an observatory of coexistence, which will be based in Beirut.

 

Fifth: The exhortation addressed to the Arab media, private and public, to responsibly report religious information, leaving aside anything that may exacerbate religious sensitivities in a context of discrimination and misinformation. It should also be noted that the first and second points of the declaration deal respectively with sermons in mosques as well as current and widespread religious information in the media.

 

Lebanon has always been a country of religious freedoms, equal and responsible coexistence as well as clear and advanced information. At an era of revolutionized media and means of communication, we hope that Beirut will play a pioneering and clear role in promoting values of political moderation and social stability from the perspective of religious values as well as help the world to create an open image about the Arabs and Muslims.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the wisdom behind the legislation of fasting?

Fasting is a divine school from which the believer learns much and trains in virtues that may be needed in life. Among these virtues is patience, as it is the month of patience. Fasting also teaches honesty and consciousness of Allah in both private and public, for there is no observer over the fasting person in abstaining from lawful pleasures except Allah alone.
Fasting strengthens willpower, sharpens determination, and nurtures mercy and compassion among the servants of Allah. It is a struggle against the self, a restraint of desires, a purification of the soul, and a cultivation of goodness.
The Prophetﷺ said: "Allah, the Almighty, said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting; it is for Me, and I shall reward for it. Fasting is a shield. So when one of you is fasting on a day, let him not engage in obscene speech or raise his voice in anger. If someone insults him or fights him, let him say: I am a fasting person. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the fasting person is more pleasant to Allah than the fragrance of musk.’" [Bukhari and Muslim]
 

Is a woman's prayer performed while following an Imam whose prayer is being broadcasted via the television valid, and does she receive the reward of congregational prayer?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Among the conditions for the validity of following an Imam (Iqtida’) is that the Imam and the follower must be in the same location. Therefore, the prayer of one who follows an Imam whose prayer is being broadcasted via television from a distant location is not valid. However, if the follower is with the Imam in the same mosque, the prayer is valid. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling on someone who intends to travel to Jeddah for two days — must he enter iḥrām from his place of residence [i.e., before passing the mīqāt]?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Whoever is firmly resolved in his intention to perform ‘Umrah before setting out on his journey, it is unlawful for him to pass beyond his country's mīqāt (the designated boundary point for entering the state of iḥrām) without entering iḥrām. If he does so, he must return to the mīqāt to enter iḥrām from there, provided he has not yet begun performing the rites of the pilgrimage — in which case nothing further is required of him. However, if he does not return, he must offer a sacrifice (sheep/goat), to be distributed among the poor of the Ḥaram.
It is stated in at-Tanbīh fī al-Fiqh ash-Shāfi‘ī (p. 71): "Whoever, intending to perform the rites [of ‘Umrah or Ḥajj], passes beyond the mīqāt and enters iḥrām only after it, must offer a sacrifice. However, if he returns to the mīqāt before beginning any of the rites, the sacrifice is waived from him."
Accordingly: whoever is firmly resolved in his intention to perform ‘Umrah before setting out on his journey must enter iḥrām at the mīqāt of his country through which he passes. Whoever fails to do so, passing beyond the mīqāt without entering iḥrām, and does not return, has sinned, and must repent to Allah, the Exalted; and he must offer a sacrifice, to be distributed among the poor of the Ḥaram. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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.

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