Articles

Statement regarding the Templeton Award
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 19-06-2023

Statement regarding the Templeton Award

 

Statement regarding His Majesty King Abdullah II`s Winning of the Templeton Award

 

The General Iftaa` Department extends its warmest congratulations to His Majesty King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein, the Jordanian people and the Arab and Islamic nation over His Majesty's winning of the Templeton World Award. This Award comes in recognition of His Majesty's efforts in bringing about inter-faith harmony, protecting Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and safeguarding religious freedoms.

 

This Award reflects the West’s appreciation and respect for His Majesty’s efforts in accomplishing harmony between Muslims themselves and between Islam and other religions, which reflects the royal intellectual vision that rests on love, peace and harmony amongst all people. His Majesty launched a number of initiatives enhancing the unity of the Muslims, which is a key purpose of Sharia. One of these was "The Amman Message", (9th of November, 2004). This Message paved the road for recognizing Islamic Schools of Thought, called for establishing dialogue and Muslim`s accepting each other and cooperating amongst themselves, rejecting the approach of tagging Muslims with disbelief (Takfir) and shunning them out. The aim is to achieve harmony between fellow Muslims and followers of Islam.

In addition, the initiative “A Common Word” was launched from Amman in 2007 under the patronage of The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. It called for peace and coexistence between Muslims and Christians as well as establishing a common platform that rests on love of God, love of neighbor. Under this initiative, periodical meetings are held to activate Muslim-Christian dialogue to achieve harmony between the members of society of different sects and beliefs. 

 

On October 20, 2010, the United Nations adopted the (Interfaith Harmony Week) initiative presented by His Majesty the King, may Allah protect him, so that the first week of February becomes the Interfaith Harmony Week. The aim of this initiative is to provide a focal point through which all individuals of good intentions realize that the common values that they believe in outweigh the points of disagreement, thus forming a strong source of peace and harmony among all people of different ideas and orientations.

His Majesty's winning this Award constitutes respect for the moderate path that Jordan adopts following in the footsteps of His Majesty the King. We call on everyone to follow this approach derived from the verse in which Allah says {what means}: "Invite to your Lord's Way with wisdom and good advice, and debate with them in the most dignified manner."

 

We ask Allah to protect Jordan and the rest of the Muslim countries and that peace and stability prevail all over the world.

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

Which hour coincides with the last third of the night?

This hour could be figured out by calculating the number of night hours which start at sunset, and end at dawn break, then the total is divided on three to get the result.

What is the ruling on the ablution of one who washes his arms from the wrist to the elbows?

In the school of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), washing the arms (hands) is achieved by washing the arms completely, from the fingertips to the elbows. Washing only the palms at the beginning is insufficient, as washing them at the beginning is a Sunnah, but after washing the face, it becomes obligatory (fard). The person performing ablution must wash his palms along with the arms after washing the face. If he does not wash his palms, his ablution is invalid and not correct. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

How is the meat of the 'aqīqah to be distributed?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
If the 'aqīqah is a recommended one (mandūbah), it is obligatory to give some portion of it in charity to the poor — even if the amount is small — with the minimum being approximately half a kilogram of meat.
The most preferable manner of distribution is to divide it into three equal portions, as with the uḍḥiyyah:
 
One third for the guardian and his household to eat from
One third to be given in charity to the poor
One third to be gifted to friends and neighbours, even if they are wealthy
 
It is furthermore more preferable to send the food to the poor already cooked, rather than inviting them to come and eat. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to give to the poor from among the People of the Book from the Udhiyah?

Praise be to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon our Master the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to give to the poor among the People of the Book from a voluntary sacrifice (uḍḥiyyat taṭawwuʿ), just as it is permissible to give charity (ṣadaqah) to them. This opinion is a view (wajh) within the Shāfiʿī school, which was favored by al-Muḥibb al-Ṭabarī and Imam al-Nawawī. [See: Ḥāshiyat Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī ʿalā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.9/P.365)]. And Allah Almighty knows best.