Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(219): "Ruling on Sabi committed by (I.S)

Date Added : 21-12-2015

Resolution No.(219)(9/2015) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Sabi committed by (I.S)

Date: 24/Zolhijjah/1436 AH, corresponding to 8/10/2015.

On the above given date, the Board reviewed the question sent by Dr. Abdullah Al-Kurdi, Chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars in Kurdistan-Iraq, and it reads as follows:

Your Grace is quite acquainted with the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (I.S) in the name of Islam, and one of these is Sabi (War prisoners, children and women only) where Christian and Yazidi girls and women are sold for a very low price, a handful of Dirhams, in public. This criminal act had negative repercussions on the Kurdish community.

As your Grace is a highly respected figure in the Muslim World, we deem necessary that you issue a Fatwa condemning Sabi and forbidding it so as for the Muslim World to become fully aware of the atrocities inflicted upon these victims in the name of Islam.

Islam hasn`t brought Sabi and slavery; rather, this social phenomenon was widespread in early nations for centuries. When Islam was manifested, it had to deal with a harsh reality, so it delivered rules and regulations to eradicate this phenomena on gradual basis, as is the wisdom of Islam in many of its legislations. Therefore, it provided useful and decisive solutions to end this problem from its very source.

As a result, Islamic Sharia has narrowed down the sources of slavery, forbade any act of aggression against free people, made freeing slaves one of the Zakah disbursement channels and among the righteous deeds by which  a Muslim pleases Allah and gets his sins erased from his record on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, The Exalted, Says (what means): "But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep. And what will explain to thee the path that is steep?- (It is:) freeing the bondman." {Al-Balad,11-13}. Islamic Sharia has also enabled slaves to free themselves through the system of "Mokatabah" i.e. concluding a contract of manumission. This is in addition to many other meticulous and wise legislations by which Islam was able to counter this phenomenon and bring it to a gradual end.

In conclusion, the criminal acts committed by this terrorist organization; namely, Sabi, enslavement and human trafficking, are impermissible and totally contradict the objectives and the provisions of Islamic Sharia; especially, since nations have agreed on abolishing this phenomenon and standing up to its various forms. Islam hasn`t brought slavery and Sabi; rather, it has brought manumission and freedom since absolute slavery is dedicated to Allah alone, as indicated by the famous saying of the Caliphate Umar Bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him): "Since when did you enslave the people though they were born free." And Allah Knows Best.

 

The Grand Mufti of Jordan / His Eminence Sheikh AbdulKareem al-Khasawneh
Prof. Abdulnasser Abulbasal / Member
Dr. Yahia al-Botoosh / Member
Sheikh Sae`id Hijjawi / Member
Dr. Wasif al-Bakhri / Member
Prof. Mohammad al-Qhodat / Member
Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh / Member
Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa / Member
Dr. Mohammad  al-Z`obi / Member

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is the Saying "Whatever is Taken by the Sword of Shyness is Forbidden" an Authentic Ḥadīth?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The saying "Whatever is taken by the sword of shyness is forbidden" is not an authentic ḥadīth, though its underlying meaning is sound. The established sharʿī principle is that a Muslim's wealth is not lawful for anyone to take except with his wholehearted consent, as Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent." [Al-Nisā/ 29] And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Listen to me and you will live well: do not wrong others, do not wrong others, do not wrong others. Indeed, a man's wealth is not lawful except with his full, willing consent." (Reported by Aḥmad in his Musnad.) Whatever is taken through the pressure of shyness or social embarrassment runs directly counter to genuine, wholehearted consent.
The jurists have explicitly stated that whatever is taken by means of the "sword of shyness" carries the same ruling as that which is taken by coercion — it must be returned to its rightful owner.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā (Vol.3/P.30): "Do you not see the reported scholarly consensus that whoever has something taken from him purely out of shyness, without his genuine consent, does not pass ownership of it to the one who took it? They reasoned that this constitutes a form of coercion through the 'sword of shyness,' comparable to coercion at the point of an actual sword. Indeed, many people would rather submit to the literal sword and endure the pain of its wound than submit to this first kind of coercion, out of fear for their dignity and standing — which people of sound judgment hold dear and guard most fiercely." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

My brother works in a conventional bank and gave me one of the gifts distributed to bank employees — what is the ruling on accepting it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to accepting such gifts, because the physical gift itself does not carry any inherent prohibition — unlike stolen property. Sin does not transfer or extend to the one who receives the gift, for Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." [Al-Anʿām/164]
The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ himself ate from the food of the Jews, conducted transactions with them, and purchased from them — and it is well known that their wealth was intermingled with ribā. Similarly, the wealth of conventional ribā-based banks is a mixture of the lawful and the unlawful.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is not forbidden to transact with one whose wealth is predominantly unlawful, nor to eat from it — as al-Nawawī affirmed in al-Majmūʿ." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 9/P.389] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing istinja' with perfumed tissues or a tissue moistened with water?

Performing istinja' with perfumed or moistened tissues is not sufficient if they are not dry, due to the moisture on them reaching the impurity, which increases its spread rather than reducing it. Then, to remove the impurity, one must use pure water. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Should a person feel pleased, or have a virtuous vision after offering Istikhara (guidance prayer) in order to do what he/she had offered it for?

The result of the Istikhaarah is not necessarily that a person sees something (in his dream), or feels pleased, but the most important result of the Istikhaarah is whether a person is enabled to do a given matter or not.