Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(58): “Which Party is Responsible for Settling the Usurious Interests In the Following Financial Dispute?“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(58): “Which Party is Responsible for Settling the Usurious Interests In the Following Financial Dispute?“

Date: 9/11/1422 AH corresponding to 23/1/2002 AD.

 

The Board received the following question:

A citizen had obtained a license for a taxicab agency, so he asked me to buy him a certain brand of cars from a neighboring country because I have an automobile agency. We have agreed upon paying me half of the price in advance, I pay the other half, I process the cars through customs, licensing Dept. and register them in the name of his taxicab agency i.e. his name, and then he pays me the other half afterwards.

After I have delivered my end of the deal and mortgaged the cars to the Jordan-Kuwait Bank, he backed down and didn`t pay the second half due on him, rather, he requested allocating that sum, so I was forced to withdraw my investment account at the Jordan-Islamic Bank, which led my accounts in other banks to be in the red. As a result, the Jordan-Kuwait Bank started charging interests and I was forced to make a new arrangement with the debtor whereby he shall pay the second half of the sum divided over twelve bills in addition to paying an increase over the commission agreed upon earlier. However, before paying the last three bills, I remitted the debtor from half of the agreed upon increase. My question is of three parts:

1- Who is to pay off the interests of the Jordan-Kuwait Bank?

2- Is it permissible for me to calculate the profits that were lost because of withdrawing my investment account at the Jordan-Islamic Bank?

3- What is the Sharia ruling on the increase, which we have agreed upon in return for allocating the second half of the sum due on the debtor?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

1- The increase agreed upon with the owner of the taxicab agency against (debtor) his delay in payment is unlawful and it is impermissible for the creditor to take it because it is a forbidden interest. Allah Says in this regard {what means}: “but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.” {Al-Baqarah/275}.

2- In case the owner of the automobile agency took the aforementioned interest, he should give it back to the owner of the taxicab agency. If that wasn`t possible, then he should give it as charity or spend it in charitable causes and in favor of Muslims` public interest because it is ill-gotten money.

3- The interests charged on the owner of the automobile agency due to the overdrawing of his account are to be settled by him because they are forbidden and resulted from his dealing with a non-Islamic bank. In addition, it is imperative that he avoids dealing in usurious interests, seeks forgiveness of Allah and makes genuine repentance to Him. Allah Says {what means}: “O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers. If ye do it not, Take notice of war from God and His Apostle: But if ye turn back, ye shall have your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.” {Al-Baqarah/278}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izz Al-Deen Al-Tamimi

               Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia     

                                                                    Dr. Ahmad Hilayil

                Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi       

               Sheikh Mahmoud Shwayyaat

    Dr. Yousef Gheezaan

Dr. Wasif Al-Bakhri

   Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi

      Sheikh Naeim Mujahid

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Summarized Fatawaa

Who is required to give fidyah for fasting?

Fidyah—feeding one needy person for each missed fasting day—is required for:
1. Those who are permanently unable to fast, such as:
○ Elderly men and women who are too weak to fast.
○ People with chronic illnesses that have no hope of recovery.
2. Pregnant or breastfeeding women who break their fast out of fear for their child (fetus or infant).
3. A person who delays making up Ramadan fasts (qada) until the next Ramadan begins, without a valid excuse.
4. The estate of a deceased person who had missed obligatory fasts and had the ability to make them up but did not do so.

Where should a woman following her husband or another man in prayer stand?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If a single woman prays with a man—whether she is his wife or a non-mahram (Ajnabiyyah)—the Sunnah is for her to stand behind the Imam and be shielded by him. If the Imam is leading both a man and a woman, the man should stand to the Imam's right, and the woman should stand behind the male follower (Muqtadi). In this way, she is shielded from the Imam by the male follower and remains at a distance from the follower and his line of sight. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is the wisdom behind the legislation of fasting?

Fasting is a divine school from which the believer learns much and trains in virtues that may be needed in life. Among these virtues is patience, as it is the month of patience. Fasting also teaches honesty and consciousness of Allah in both private and public, for there is no observer over the fasting person in abstaining from lawful pleasures except Allah alone.
Fasting strengthens willpower, sharpens determination, and nurtures mercy and compassion among the servants of Allah. It is a struggle against the self, a restraint of desires, a purification of the soul, and a cultivation of goodness.
The Prophetﷺ said: "Allah, the Almighty, said: ‘Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting; it is for Me, and I shall reward for it. Fasting is a shield. So when one of you is fasting on a day, let him not engage in obscene speech or raise his voice in anger. If someone insults him or fights him, let him say: I am a fasting person. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the fasting person is more pleasant to Allah than the fragrance of musk.’" [Bukhari and Muslim]

Is it permissible to divide one mudd of fidyah between two people?

No, it is not permissible to divide one mudd between two people, because it would not count as a full meal for either of them.