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First Master`s Dissertation in Management about the Iftaa` Department
Author : Presenter Wafa` Al-Arrori
Date Added : 02-01-2023

First Master`s Dissertation in Management about the Iftaa` Department

 

Any master`s student or researcher has the right to excel with regards to conducting research and scoring colorful marks. I have put careful thought when choosing a title for this dissertation and I was lucky to choose the General Iftaa` Department of Jordan, which was from a list of institutions, to conduct my study. I found that it represents a unique case since the management of this renowned religious institution accepts objective suggestions and strives to upgrade its performance on the individual and collective levels, in addition to working hard for developing its electronic systems to keep pace with the times. Those in charge of this institution are trustworthy and demonstrate the highest degrees of reliability, honesty, response, and secrecy-by virtue of their nature and heavy responsibility they shoulder-therefore, their electronic requirements will identify with their innate characteristics. This enables the researcher to look for weaknesses, if any, and develop suitable proposals to overcome them.

In compliance with this verse whereas Allah The Most Exalted, Said (What means): {Now hath come unto you a clear (Sign) from your Lord! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.}[Al-A'raf/85].  As well as it is a confirmation of what Prophet (PBUH) in a sound narration that states: "He who does not thank people does not thank God.}, it is my duty to thank the General Iftaa` Department represented by the venerable Grand Mufti of Jordan Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh who has been very supportive of me and provided whatever I needed to complete the study in a manner that depicts reality without embellishing."

I also extend my thanks to the muftis and the members of the administrative staff for their kind treatment, intellectual and moral maturity, which made me happy for having chosen this Department for my studies in the first place. In fact, this study is entitled "The Effect of the Quality of the Electronic Services on Perceived Expectations in the General Iftaa` Department of Jordan."

The General Iftaa` Department, which is characterized by the quality of its electronic services and the ease of dealing with its electronic windows, has become the focus of attention for whoever seeks fatwa from within and outside the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Taking the browsing times into consideration, a great number of people have visited the Department`s website which also attracts researchers and seekers of realistic fatwas. In fact, it is one of the top websites at the level of the Muslim states.

Most of the Department`s members are satisfied with the electronic applications they deal with; whether about management of finances or following up fatwa requests.

On the personal level, I was overwhelmed with joy while conducting the study and extracting the findings. This study is dissimilar to many former studies in the sense that it highlights the positive side of the services provided by the Department and making it a standard case to be taken as a model.

Another aspect that increased my sense of happiness and confidence is that this study is the first of its kind to address a topic in the field of "Business Management" in the General Iftaa` Department of Jordan and haven`t explored the core of the Department`s function.

I`m confident that the Department will adopt my study`s recommendations following the words of Umar ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) who said: "May Allah have mercy on the one who shows me my faults."

Again, I extend my deepest thanks to the Grand Mufti and the staff members of the Iftaa` Department.

 

 

 

 

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on a Friday sermon in which the khaṭīb did not explicitly exhort the congregation to be conscious of Allah (taqwā) in both sermons, but sufficed with commanding them to obey Allah and refrain from disobeying Him?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
For the Friday sermon (khuṭbat al-Jumʿah) to be valid, certain essential pillars (arkān) must be fulfilled. Among these is the exhortation to be conscious of Allah (waṣiyyah bi-taqwā Allāh), which must be present in both sermons. Alongside this pillar, the praising of Allah (ḥamdallah) and the sending of blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are equally required.
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "These three are pillars in each of the two sermons, because each sermon is independent and separate from the other." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj,Vol.4/P.447]
It is not a condition that the exhortation be expressed in any specific wording, nor is it required that the word "taqwā" itself be used — such as saying "I exhort you to be conscious of Allah." Rather, this pillar is fulfilled by any expression that contains a command to obey Allah the Almighty and to abstain from what He has prohibited.
Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "The third pillar is the exhortation to taqwā... The specific wording of this exhortation is not required, according to the most correct view, because the purpose is admonition and the urging of obedience to Allah the Almighty. Therefore, any expression that conveys admonition suffices — whether long or short — such as: 'Obey Allah and be ever mindful of Him.'" [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj,Vol.1/P.550]
Accordingly, what the khaṭīb has done — by commanding obedience to Allah and forbidding disobedience to Him in both sermons — is valid and sufficient. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on offering the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) using the wealth of a minor or a legally incompetent person (safīh)?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible for the guardian (walī) of an orphan or a legally incompetent person (safīh) to offer the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) on behalf of the minor or the safīh using their wealth, because the guardian is charged with exercising caution over their wealth and is prohibited from giving any of it away voluntarily, and the udḥiyah is a voluntary act of charity (tabarru'). The guardian may, however, offer the sacrifice using his own personal wealth. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

Is it permissible for someone who is unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, due to his own poverty?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is not permissible, nor does it fulfill the obligation, for a sick person who is currently and permanently unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, since it is a financial obligation owed by him, established as a standing debt upon him — much like any other debt he owes. If he were to pay it to himself, it would not thereby be discharged. So if he cannot find [anyone eligible to] pay it to, it remains a standing obligation upon him, and is not thereby waived. If Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, later grants him wealth, it becomes obligatory upon him to pay it out to the poor and needy.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "There is no difference in the obligation of the fidyah between the wealthy and the poor person; its benefit lies in its remaining established as a standing debt upon the poor person [until he is able to pay it] — and this is the more correct position (al-aṣaḥḥ), as indicated by the wording of ar-Rawḍah and its source text." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.174]
Accordingly: it is not permissible for a Muslim to pay the fidyah to himself while he remains poor. If the sick person is poor, he is not obligated to pay the fidyah immediately, and it remains a standing debt upon him until a time when he has sufficient means and wealth. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

I vowed to give a specific charity if a certain matter came to pass — what is the ruling on giving that charity before the matter is realised?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Fulfilling a vow (nadhr) is obligatory, in accordance with the word of Allah the Almighty: "And let them fulfil their vows." [Al-Ḥajj/ 29] And the saying of our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Him, let him not disobey Him." (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
The Shāfiʿī scholars distinguished between a financial vow (nadhr mālī) and a bodily vow (nadhr badanī). They permitted the fulfilment of a financial vow to be brought forward — before the stipulated condition is met — but did not permit the same for a bodily vow, which may only be fulfilled after the condition has actually been realised.
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is permissible to bring forward the fulfilment of a financial vow before the condition stipulated in it is met — such as saying: 'If I am healed, I vow to free a slave' or 'to give such-and-such in charity' — just as it is permissible to pay zakāh in advance. This is unlike a bodily vow, such as fasting." [Asnā al-Maṭālib, vol. 4/P.246]
Imām al-Bājūrī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Like expiation other than fasting, a financial vow — such as saying: 'If Allah heals my sick one, I vow to free a slave for the sake of Allah,' or 'If Allah heals my sick one, I vow to free a slave on the Friday following the recovery' — it is permissible to bring it forward before the recovery in the first case, and before the Friday following the recovery in the second case." [Ḥāshiyat al-Bājūrī ʿalā Sharḥ Ibn Qāsim, Vol.2/P.596] And Allah the Almighty knows best.