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Statement on the Circulated Fatwa Forbidding Abstaining from Paying the Water Bill
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 20-06-2023

Statement on the Circulated Fatwa Forbidding Abstaining from Paying the Water Bill 

 

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate

 

Allah the Almighty says {What means}: "The General Iftaa` Department confirms that it hasn`t recently issued a Fatwa forbidding abstaining from paying the water bill and the news circulated social media concerns an old Fatwa included in the book entitled (The Guide on Water from an Islamic Perspective) addressing Imams and preachers.

 

The Department calls on journalists to be objective and choose the right time in publishing its Fatwa since unsuitable time and place takes the Fatwa out of context with the intention of abuse and distortion.

We ask Almighty Allah to protect our country from seditions and afflictions, be they revealed or concealed.

 

 

The General Iftaa` Department 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on public street water if it gets on a person's clothes or body?

The default ruling is that public street water is pure (tahir). If one is certain of its impurity (najasa), then a small amount that gets on the lower part of a person's clothes or body is overlooked (excused). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What are the pillars of fasting?

The pillars of fasting are intention and abstaining from all nullifiers of fasting from dawn to sunset.

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.

Should the Zakah (obligatory charity) giver tell the poor recipient that this is the Zakah of his money?

No, he shouldn`t. But, the Zakah giver should make an intention in his heart that it is the Zakah of his money when paying it to the poor. And Allah Knows Best.