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The Issuance of Fatwas: Chaos and Cure
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 23-11-2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Arab-Muslim World is witnessing chaos on the political, economic, and religious levels. The symptoms of this disease are embodied in the enormous chaos of Fatwas on the religious arena. This is to the degree that non-specialists have used and abused media outlets, via modern means of communication, to deliver Fatwas that spread like wildfire. 

Unfortunately, the people of knowledge and piety as well as Fatwa institutions have been denied the right to deliver Fatwas leaving this door open to all and sundry.

Fatwa is an extremely serious matter as it is tantamount to signing on behalf of Almighty Allah, and every person will be held to account for what they have said or done. Allah Says (What means): "And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." [Al-Isra`/36].

This verse clearly states that Allah prohibits His servants from pursuing that which they have no knowledge of and thus pass judgment without knowledge. [Tafseer At-Tabari. V.10/pp.257]. When a Muslim is asked about a certain matter that he doesn`t have an answer for or wasn`t acquainted with the opinions of the scholars in that regard, he/she should say: "I don`t know." This is because it is prohibited for a Muslim to pass judgment on behalf of Allah for doing so and is considered lying against Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). Allah Says (What means): "But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth,- "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so as to ascribe false things to God. For those who ascribe false things to God, will never prosper." [An-Nahil/116]. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately let him take his place in Hell." [Agreed upon].

Unfortunately, in some situations, Fatwas issued by the unqualified led to the death of many people, the destruction of a lot of property, and the loss of the moral compass of many. 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars stays alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray." [Agreed upon].

 

The above implications of Fatwa aren`t new for they have been dangerous since they existed. Jabir said: We set out on a journey. One of our people was hurt by a stone, which injured his head. He then had a sexual dream. He asked his fellow travelers: Do you find a concession for me to perform tayammum? They said: We do not find any concession for you while you can use water. He took a bath and died. When we came to the Prophet (PBUH), the incident was reported to him. He said: They killed him, may Allah kill them! Could they not ask when they did not know? The cure for ignorance is inquiry. It was enough for him to perform tayammum and to pour some drops of water or bind a bandage over the wound (the narrator Musa was doubtful); then he should have wiped over it and washed the rest of his body. {Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawood}. As reflected in this Hadith, great evil has resulted from that Fatwa.

Therefore, we should put an end to the evil resulting from the issuance of Fatwas without knowledge, as doing so is vital for the preservation of religion, lives, and wealth. In other words, disciplined Fatwa preserves the higher objectives of Sharia.

 

Some proposed methods for combatting the Fatwa issued without knowledge are as follows:

First: Spreading religious knowledge via different media outlets through allocating weekly radio and television programs where the Muftis of the Iftaa `Department provide answers for different religious questions. This is to fortify the community against the chaos in Fatwas offered by non-specialized individuals.

 

 

 

Second: Employing lessons, Friday Sermons, seminars, and lectures delivered in different venues to raise awareness on the danger of issuing Fatwas without knowledge.

 

Third: Facilitating access to Fatwa through using modern means of communication and employing Muftis in all parts of the kingdom to answer religious questions of the people to prevent their resorting to the ignorant and those who claim religious knowledge.

 

Fourth: Holding the unqualified individuals who take charge of issuing Fatwa into account as well as punishing those who dare to pass Fatwa without knowledge.

 

Fifth: Regulating Fatwa affairs by identifying the institutions and individuals entitled to deliver Fatwas.

 

 

All Muslims-Individuals and gov. or nongovernment institutions-should work on finding "specialists" from amongst the people of knowledge and piety and establish scientific institutions in charge of delivering Fatwas in a reliable scholarly manner. This is to spread Islam and clarify the Sharia rulings that are based on reliable evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah. By doing this, people will not seek Fatwas from the ignorant or those who claim to possess religious knowledge and whose Fatwas merely cause trouble and provide no solutions.

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on discharging one's zakāh obligation through the provision of a specific benefit (manfa‘ah) — such as performing a surgical operation for a patient, or providing housing to a tenant, and counting the value of this service as zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is obligatory to pay zakāh from the actual asset (‘ayn al-māl) upon which zakāh is due, except in the case of zakāh on trade goods ('urūḍ at-tijārah), which is paid based on their monetary value. In all cases, zakāh must be given in the form of tamlīk (a full transfer of ownership), based on the words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic (which mean): "Zakāh expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy, and for those employed to collect [zakāh], and for bringing hearts together [for Islam], and for freeing captives [or slaves], and for those in debt, and for the cause of Allah, and for the [stranded] traveler — an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise" [at-Tawbah/60]. The letter "lām" (لِ) in this verse — as in "lil-fuqarā'" ("for the poor") — indicates possession/ownership (lām al-milk).
It is not permissible to fulfill one's zakāh obligation by providing a benefit or service (manfa‘ah) — such as housing, education, or medical treatment — in place of the zakāh itself. This is because zakāh must be paid as wealth (māl) that is transferred into the ownership of the poor recipient, whereas such services are intangible benefits that are not, in themselves, capable of being formally transferred in ownership (ghayr qābilah lit-tamlīk). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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.

What is the ruling on performing the Witr prayer as a single rak`ah?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to perform the Witr prayer as a single unit (rak‘ah). It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that a man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the night prayer, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: 'The night prayer is offered two by two (mathna mathna). If one of you fears the approach of dawn, let him pray a single rak‘ah to make what he has prayed odd-numbered (Witr) for him.' (Related by al-Bukhari & Muslim)). However, limiting the prayer to only one rak‘ah is considered 'contrary to the preferred way' (Khilaf al-Awla).
 
It is stated in Al-Minhaj al-Qawim Sharh al-Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah (p. 137): 'The minimum of Witr is one rak‘ah, but limiting it to that is contrary to what is best.'
 
The most complete form of Witr is eleven units, while the minimum level of 'perfection' is three units. It is stated in ‘Umdat al-Salik (p. 60): 'The minimum of Witr is one rak‘ah, and its maximum is eleven, performing the taslim (salutation) after every two units. The lowest level of perfection is three units with two separate taslims (meaning 2+1).' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the ruling on purchasing sacrificial animals and authorizing their slaughter via telephone?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is preferable for the one offering a sacrifice (udhiyah) to slaughter the animal himself, in adherence to the Sunnah, or to be present at the slaughter if possible.
 
It is valid to authorize a butcher to purchase a sacrificial animal on his behalf and slaughter it, regardless of whether the animal is owned by the butcher or the butcher is acting as an agent in its sale—according to the Hanbali school—provided that the butcher specifically designates and purchases the animal for the person offering the sacrifice before slaughtering it. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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