Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(75): “Ruling on the System Applied by the Housing Fund of Jordan Phosphate Mines Company“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(75): “System Applied by the Housing Fund of Jordan Phosphate Mines Company“

Date: 22/3/1425, corresponding to 12/5/2004 AD.

 

The Board received the following question:

What is the ruling of Islamic Sharia on the system applied by the housing fund of JPMC?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

The Board is of the following view:

1- Loans granted by the above fund entail usurious interests as indicated in articles (9, 15, 16, 17, and 18) and this violates the rules of Sharia pertaining to the prohibition of usurious loans, for Allah Says in this regard: “but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.” {Al-Baqarah/2}.

2- Deducting (500fils) from the salary of every subscribing employee as a contribution for social solidarity is permissible according to Islamic Sharia, because it is based on cooperation which is promoted by Islam. Allah The Exalted Says in this regard {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-Mai`dah/2}.

3- Deducting (0, 0015) annually from the value of the loan (as an allowance for services provided by the fund and for social solidarity) isn`t permissible in Islamic Sharia because there lies the reason behind the prohibition of usury. However, it is permissible to deduct a specific, reasonable and fixed sum in return for administrative services of each loan, regardless of its amount and repayment span since the effort involved is the same. Nonetheless, there should be no mixing between the sum charged in return for administrative services and that charged for social solidarity.

4- Housing and life insurance of subscribers isn`t permissible in Sharia because it involves usury and gambling, which are classified as contracts of uncertainty and compulsion. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izzaldeen At-Tamimi
Dr. Ahmad Hilayel
Dr. Yousef Ghyzaan
Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi
Dr. Wasif Abdulwahaab
Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi
Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia
Sheikh Nai`em Mujahid
Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh

 

 

 

 

 

Decision Number [ Previous | Next ]


Summarized Fatawaa

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) due on owned land?

Zakah is due on the land used as an article of merchandise and was originally bought for that end. Zakah is due on it at the end of every lunar year. Its value is estimated, and (2.5%) of the total value of all such lands owned by the questioner is given as Zakah. However, no Zakah is due on the land used for building a house, or an agricultural purpose.

Is it permissible to agree with a butcher to purchase the meat of an animal after it has been slaughtered — for instance, by buying the meat of a sheep at a price determined by the weight of its meat following slaughter, at a fixed rate per kilogram? And what is the ruling if the animal is being purchased with the intention of it being an uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to sell livestock in the manner of pricing each kilogram of meat after slaughter at a fixed rate, because the meat within the animal prior to slaughter is unseen and unknown. This leads to jahālah (ignorance of the subject matter) and gharar (contractual uncertainty), both of which are among the invalidating factors in sales transactions.
However, it is permissible for the buyer to issue a promise to purchase the meat of the animal after slaughter at a specified price per kilogram, with the actual sale being concluded at the time of weighing the meat — at which point both the quantity of the goods and the total price become known. There is no Sharī'ah objection to this arrangement.
The jurists have stipulated that for a sale to be valid, both countervalues must be present and observable. Al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states:
"It is valid to sell a heap of grain whose total measure is unknown to both contracting parties at a rate of one sā' per dirham. This sale is valid because the subject of sale is present and observable, and ignorance of the total price is not harmful since it is known in detail — and uncertainty is thereby lifted."— [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.355]
As for the uḍḥiyyah, the 'aqīqah, and vowed blood sacrifices (al-dam al-mandhūr) — full ownership of the animal must be established prior to slaughter. It is not valid for such animals to be slaughtered while still in the ownership of the butcher. Rather, the animal must be purchased alive and then slaughtered with the intention of uḍḥiyyah or the like. And Allah Almighty 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]

What is the ruling if a postpartum woman becomes pure before forty days; are acts of worship obligatory upon her, and is she permissible for her husband?

If the postpartum woman becomes definitely pure before forty days, she must perform the ritual bath and perform acts of worship as a pure woman does. What was prohibited for her also becomes permissible, so she becomes permissible for her husband after her bath. The minimum duration for postpartum bleeding is a moment (an instant), and its usual maximum is forty days. Reaching forty days is not a condition; rather, it is sufficient for the blood to stop or to see the white discharge (qassa bayda'). And Allah the Almighty knows best.