Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(98): "Ruling on the Statute of Al-Ballorah Assakhina Employees` Association"

Date Added : 08-12-2015

 

Resolution No.(98) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Ruling on the Statute of Al-Ballorah Assakhina Employees` Association"

 

 

We have received the following question:

What is the ruling of Islamic Sharia on the statute of Al-Ballorah Assakhina Association?

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

Having reviewed the statute of the above association, the Board is of the view that article four of the annexed statute must be amended. It originally stated:

"A member of the association shall be responsible for paying the price of the commodity after examining it and agreeing with the seller on the price, and he shall not hand the money to the beneficiary whatever the case may be."

The Board believes that this article must be rewritten as follows: "The association shall deputize one of its members to purchase the commodity required by the beneficiary after examining it and paying its price to the seller. Once the association takes possession of the commodity, it shall resell it to the beneficiary."

The Board have demanded this amendment because it isn`t permissible for the association to sell the commodity to the beneficiary except after purchasing and taking possession of it so as to avoid the suspicion of Riba (usury/interest), as indicated in the following Hadith narrated by Hakim Bin Hizam: "I bought some food and made food and made a profit on it (by selling it) before I took possession of it. I came to the Messenger of Allah and told him about that and he said: "Do not sell it until you take possession of it." {Narrated by Ahmad in his Mussnad, vol.3/pp.402}. And Allah Knows Best.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is Zakah (obligatory charity) obligatory on indebted merchant?

Debt doesn`t abrogate the dueness of Zakah, thus a debtor who has money, articles of merchandise, or other Zakah funds at his disposal should pay their Zakah.

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 meaning of the Prophetic statement that a boy is held in pledge (murtahan) for his 'aqīqah?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The first interpretation: That if the boy dies in infancy without an 'aqīqah having been performed on his behalf, he will not intercede for his parents on the Day of Resurrection. This is the position of Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Imam al-Khaṭṭābī concurred with him, stating: "The finest of what has been said regarding this matter is the position adopted by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal." — [Fatḥ al-Bārī by Ibn Ḥajar,{Vol.9/P.594]
The second interpretation: That the child is likened to a pledged object (marhūn) — one from which full benefit and enjoyment cannot be derived until it is redeemed. A blessing is only made complete upon the one blessed when they fulfil the obligation of gratitude (shukr), and the prescribed expression of gratitude for this particular blessing is what the Prophet ﷺ established as Sunnah — namely, the slaughtering of the 'aqīqah on behalf of the newborn as an act of thankfulness to Allah the Almighty and as a supplication for the wellbeing and safety of the child. This is the position of Mullā 'Alī al-Qārī. See: [Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Vol.7/P.2688]
And Allah Almighty knows best.

Does excessive sleep during Ramadan invalidate fasting?

Sleeping a lot in Ramadan does not invalidate the fast, but a Muslim may miss out on great rewards from prayer, Quran recitation, and acts of worship due to excessive sleep.