Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(192): "Ruling on Eating from a Vowed Sacrifice"

Date Added : 22-11-2015

Resolution No.(192)(12/2013) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on Eating from a Vowed Sacrifice"

Date: 2/ Moharam/1435 AH, corresponding to 6/11/2013 AD.

All perfect praise is due to Allah , The Lord of The Worlds; and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions:

On its tenth session held on the above mentioned date, the Board reviewed a question emailed by one of the citizens, and it reads as follows: "I have vowed to sacrifice a calf for the Sake of Allah. Is it permissible for me and  my family to eat from it?"

After researching and deliberating, the Board arrived at the following decision:

Eating from the vowed sacrifice is one of the controversial issues among the Muslim Jurists, because some of them say that it takes the same rules of the sacrifice (Udhiyah), where the person, offering it, and his family are permitted to eat a third of its meat; whereas, some say that it takes the rules of the vow in terms of being donated for the sake of Allah, where the vow-taker and his family aren`t permitted to eat from its meat.

On their part, the Hanafite and the Shafite Jurists have forbidden the vow-taker to eat from the meat of the vowed sacrifice. Kindly refer to the book [Asna al-Mataleb, vol./pp.545].

Whereas, the Malikite and Hanbalite Jurists have permitted the vow-taker to eat from his vowed sacrifice. Al-Dosoukhi said: "If the vow-taker didn`t specify a certain animal and didn`t specify that it is vowed as a charity for the poor and needy, then he is permitted to eat from its meat." {Al-Hasheyah}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Taking the above question* into consideration, the Iftaa` Board is of the view that it is permissible for the questioner to eat from his vowed sacrifice giving preponderance to the rules that apply to the Udhiyah.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board

The General Mufti of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Abd Al-Kareem Al-Khasawneh .

Prof.Haiel Abd Al-Hafeed /member       Prof.Abd Al-Naasir Abu Al-Basal

His Eminence, Sheikh Sa`id Al-Hijawi/member           Dr.Yahia Al-Botosh

Prof.Mohammad Al-Gdah/ member              Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-E`sa

Dr.Wasif Al-Bakri / member           Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh/member

Dr.Mohammad Al-Zo`bi/member      

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on supplicating with other than the transmitted (Ma'thur) supplications in prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible to supplicate (make du'a) during the prayer for anything from the affairs of religion or worldly life, and the prayer is not invalidated by doing so.
Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Our madhhab [i.e., the Shafi'i madhhab] holds that it is permissible for a person to supplicate during it [the prayer] with anything that is permissible to supplicate with outside the prayer, from the affairs of religion or worldly life. He may say: 'O Allah, grant me wholesome sustenance, offspring, a house, and a beautiful young wife' — describing her; or: 'O Allah, free so-and-so from prison,' or 'destroy so-and-so,' and other such things — and none of this invalidates his prayer according to us. And this is also the view of Malik, ath-Thawri, Abu Thawr, and Ishaq." [Al-Majmu', Vol.3/P.454]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the Witr prayer as a single rak`ah?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to perform the Witr prayer as a single unit (rak‘ah). It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that a man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the night prayer, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: 'The night prayer is offered two by two (mathna mathna). If one of you fears the approach of dawn, let him pray a single rak‘ah to make what he has prayed odd-numbered (Witr) for him.' (Related by al-Bukhari & Muslim)). However, limiting the prayer to only one rak‘ah is considered 'contrary to the preferred way' (Khilaf al-Awla).
 
It is stated in Al-Minhaj al-Qawim Sharh al-Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah (p. 137): 'The minimum of Witr is one rak‘ah, but limiting it to that is contrary to what is best.'
 
The most complete form of Witr is eleven units, while the minimum level of 'perfection' is three units. It is stated in ‘Umdat al-Salik (p. 60): 'The minimum of Witr is one rak‘ah, and its maximum is eleven, performing the taslim (salutation) after every two units. The lowest level of perfection is three units with two separate taslims (meaning 2+1).' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is it a condition for the mosque where I‘tikaf is performed to hold Jumu‘ah prayers?

No, it is not a condition for the mosque where I‘tikaf is performed to have Jumu‘ah prayers. However, if a person vows to perform continuous I‘tikaf, and Jumu‘ah occurs within that period, then they must observe I‘tikaf in a mosque where Jumu‘ah is held so that they do not break their continuity by leaving for Friday prayer.

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.