Articles

About the Mistake Made by Taking the Fatwa on Serving Food during the Day Time of Ramadan out of its Context
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 11-06-2023

About the Mistake Made by Taking the Fatwa on Serving Food during the Day Time of Ramadan out of its Context

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah`s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The General Iftaa` Department attracts the attention of all its followers to the need to take the context and subject of the Fatwa into consideration, not to remove it out of its circumstance, and not to generalize its intended meanings from near or far. This pertains, in particular, to the answers forwarded to the asker through his/her personal email since they aren`t characterized as absolute and general. Rather, they address a certain case and circumstance.

 

The General Iftaa Department had answered one of the questioners about a fasting person making “Breakfast, lunch or coffee for a non-fasting person… and he is forced to do so because his manager orders him to do that.” This is according to the text of the question.

 

The answer was that helping in such sin is forbidden because a Muslim wouldn`t help a Muslim in not observing fast during daytime of Ramadan unless that Muslim had a lawful excuse such as illness, travel and the like.

 

The answer given by the Department read as follows: "You aren`t allowed to serve coffee and tea during the day time of Ramadan to someone who disobeys Allah by violating the sanctity of this sacred month without a valid excuse. This is because what you are doing is helping in sin while Almighty Allah says {What means}: "Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah. for Allah is strict in punishment." {Al-Ma`idah, 2}.

 

However, some people misunderstood this Fatwa and said that the Department bans the excused and non-Muslims from eating during the daytime of Ramadan!

 

Accordingly, it was imperative that We clarify the fact of the matter, so We said that the banning pertains to the Muslims who broke fast without a valid excuse and didn`t impose any difficulty on people with excuses. This is in addition to not transgressing against the special nature of other faiths nor addressing non-Muslims.

 

The fact that Fatwa is a responsibility obliges everyone to observe honesty in delivering Fatwa, prudence, and accuracy of expression, and if there is a confusion or a problem, the Iftaa` Department is always ready to make things clear. Allah the Almighty 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}. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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Summarized Fatawaa

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 istibra' and how is it performed?

Istibra' (cleansing from urine) is recommended. It is for a person to ensure that nothing remains of urine in its passage before performing istinja'. Its method is: to clear the throat (or cough slightly), shake the penis (meaning to pass fingers along it to expel any remaining urine if needed), and walk a few steps to the extent that one thinks nothing of urine remains if walking is needed. Each person knows his own nature best. The preferred opinion is that this differs among people. The objective is for one to think that nothing remains in the urinary passage that he fears will exit later. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a fictitious marriage for the purpose of obtaining citizenship?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no such thing in our noble sharīʿah as a "nominal" or "fictitious" marriage or divorce. Marriage and divorce are among the sacred ordinances of Allah, and it is not permissible to manipulate them or use them as a stratagem to obtain worldly gains.
The foundational purpose of a marriage contract is the permanence and continuity of the relationship between the spouses — to establish a family, and to bring forth righteous offspring. So sacred is this bond that Allah the Almighty Himself described it as a solemn covenant (mīthāq ghalīẓ), saying {what means}: "And if you wish to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin? And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?" [Al-Nisāʾ/ 20–21]
Accordingly, it is not permissible to resort to manipulation and deception in contracts that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described as a "solemn covenant" — all for the sake of material and worldly benefit. Marriage is built upon permanence and does not admit of a fixed time limit. If a time limit is stipulated in the contract, the contract is rendered invalid by the consensus of the jurists. Similarly, marriage is impermissible when there exists a mutual, concealed intention to limit its duration — even if no time limit is explicitly mentioned in the contract — for this constitutes a form of unlawful circumvention of the sharīʿah. This is to say nothing of the lying and deception that such conduct involves, the prohibition of which needs no elaboration. Lying, deception, and fraud for the purpose of obtaining worldly gains are among the gravest of sins.
If, however, the marriage contract is first concluded in a valid sharʿī manner and then registered civilly, it is sound and fully valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

I hired a private tutor for my son through an academy that sends teachers [to families] and takes a percentage [of their pay]. At the start of the [new] school year, I arranged directly with that same teacher, without the academy's knowledge. What is the ruling on this?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The ruling on this matter depends on knowing the specific terms of the agreement and contract concluded with the academy. If the agreement stipulates that no arrangement may be made with any of the students except through the academy itself, then it is not permissible for you to breach the terms of this contract, based on the words of our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Muslims are bound by their conditions." (Related by al-Bukhārī)
However, if the agreement pertains only to teaching a specific subject, and the agreement concludes once that subject is finished, then there is no objection to arranging with the teacher to teach other subjects after the contract period has ended, outside of the academy.
Whatever the case maybe, the teacher must uphold the terms of his contract with the academy. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.