Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(320): "Entitlement to Financial Benefits of Solidarity Funds is Subject to Related Instructions"

Date Added : 17-01-2023

 

Resolution No.(320), By The Board of Iftaa', Researches and Islamic Studies:

"Entitlement to Financial Benefits of Solidarity Funds is Subject to Related Instructions"

Date: (21 Jumada al-Ula, 1444 AH), corresponding to (15/12/2022 AD).

 

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

In its fifteenth meeting held on the above date, the Board of Iftaa` reviewed the letter No.(11367/1444) sent from the Jordanian Constructions Contractors Association. It stated the following:

We would like to inform you that our late colleague Mr.X passed away on 4 June 2022. Under the Social Solidarity Fund System, testamentary heirs are entitled to financial benefits. However, when the beneficiaries went to collect these benefits from the SSF, they were told that there was a discrepancy between the inheritance deed and the will of the deceased in the application form of the SSF at the JCCA. In that form, the deceased stated that the financial benefits go to his wife and children while in the inheritance deed it is stated that he had a second wife and that the date of the will was earlier than the date of the second marriage. In light of this, what is the legal and Islamic ruling on the entitlement of the second wife to any financial benefits from the SSF at the JCCA?

After deliberations, the Board decided the following:

Islamic Solidarity Funds are based on contributions and cooperation amongst a group of people who agree on paying specific sums of money as a gift to the fund in return for agreed upon sums in case of affliction befalling any of them (subscribers) such as death, and such an act is recommended in Sharia. Almighty Allah Says  in the Holy Quran (What means): “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancor.“ {Al-Maida/2}. Here, the money of the SSF isn`t privately owned. Rather, it belongs to all the subscribers and the contract between them is not a contract of debt; rather, it is a commutative contract. This means that entitlement to the financial benefits depends on the system of the Fund itself and doesn`t undergo the rulings of Sharia on inheritance and bequests because these benefits aren`t part of the deceased`s estate, but a gift from the Fund to the beneficiaries. 

 

As understood from the contract of the SSF in light of the above question, the beneficiaries, in case of the subscriber`s death, are his wife and children. The general rule is that "Wife and children" apply to those who are wives and those who are children of the subscriber since the first wife may pass away during the lifetime of her husband (Subscriber) without having given birth to any children. Moreover, he may marry a second wife and she may give birth to children, and he may have both wives. Therefore, financial benefits go to the wives and the children, regardless of being a first or a second wife, because the criterion in (the construction of) contracts is intentions and meanings and not words and form. Rather, the word "Wife" in the application form of the SSF includes the second wife, so she is eligible to receive her share of the Fund`s payments. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

 

Grand Mufti of Jordan, Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/ Member

Prof. Mahmoud Al-Sartawi/ Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

Prof. Amjad Rasheed/ Member

Prof. Adam Nooh Al-Qhodah/ Member

Dr. Jameel Khatatbeh/ Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Younes al-Zou`bi/ Member

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on deliberately breaking the fast while being capable of fasting?

Whoever intentionally breaks their fast in Ramadan without a valid excuse has committed a major sin and bears great guilt. They must repent, seek forgiveness, refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day, and make up for that day after Ramadan.
They have lost an immense reward, which cannot be compensated even by fasting an entire lifetime as a voluntary act, because an obligatory fast cannot be equaled by voluntary fasting.
If the fast was broken through sexual intercourse, the person must:
● Make up for the missed fast (qada), and
● Perform kaffarah by fasting two consecutive months.
● If they are unable to do so, they must feed sixty needy people.

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.

Can someone who begins a voluntary fast break it?

It is preferable for someone who begins an act of worship not to break it.
Allah the Exalted has said {what means}: "and let not your [good] deeds come to nought!" [Muhammad/33].
However, if a person starts a voluntary fast (nafl) and needs to break it, they are going against what is preferable, but there is no sin upon them.

Is it permissible for a woman who has become pure before the end of forty days of confinement to perform different acts of worship? and is it lawful for her husband to have sex with her?

Once postpartum bleeding ceases and she is certain that it won`t happen again, she becomes pure, and so she should perform Ghusl (ritual bath), pray, and fast. She can also have sex with her husband even before the end of (40) days because the minimum of postpartum bleeding is a moment, and the maximum is (60) days. However, the postpartum bleeding for the majority of women is (40) days, but this does not apply to rest of them.