Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(231): "The Legitimacy of the Arab Agreement on Banning Human Cloning"

Date Added : 04-01-2017

Resolution No. (231) by the Board of Iftaa', Research and Islamic Studies:

"The Legitimacy of the Arab Agreement on Banning Human Cloning"

Date (22/Rabee' Al-Aoal /1438 AH) corresponding to (22/12/2016 AD)

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

On its twelfth session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the question of his Excellency the Minister of Islamic  Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places Dr. Wa`el Arabiat, and it reads as follows:

I have enclosed the memorandum of the General Secretariat of the Arab League No.(3/2984), (12/10/2016 AD), including the report and the recommendations issued by the concerned committee, during its sixth session held from the 28th to the 29th of Sept. 2016, as well as  representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Health, Interior and Official Religious Affairs in the Arab countries, in order to prepare the draft of the Arab agreement on banning human cloning. Could your Grace clarify the legal ruling on the articles of the aforementioned agreement? 

After prolonged deliberations, the Board decided what follows:

In light of scholar`s consensus that safeguarding human dignity from aggression or degradation is a legal obligation and the earlier resolutions issued by the Iftaa` Board and the Islamic Fiqh Academies, the articles of the aforementioned agreement don`t violate the rules of Islamic Law (Sharia). And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa Board,  Sheikh Abdulkareem  Al-Khasawneh

Vice–chairman Prof. Ahmad Hilayel                Prof. Abed Al-Naser Abu Al-Basal           

Sheik Sa`eed Hijjawee / Member          Sheik Ghalib Al-Rbaba'h / Member

Dr. Muhammad Khaar Al-Aisaa' / Member                Judge Khaled Woraikat /Member

Dr. Muhammad Al-Khalyla / Member           Dr. Muhammad Al-Zouby / Member               

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible to sleep before the time of the Fajr prayer begins, with the intention of waking up shortly afterward?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible for a Muslim to sleep before the time of the Fajr prayer begins, intending to wake up and perform the prayer, by setting an alarm or asking someone to wake him. What is to be avoided is that a person sleeps while he predominantly assumes that he will not wake up for the prayer.
If he does not wake up until the time of the prayer has ended, he must make it up. It is recommended that he hasten to make it up as soon as he wakes, and likewise recommended that he make up its sunnah along with it.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ by Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him): “Whoever was obliged to pray and did not pray until the time passed must make it up, because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.’ It is recommended that he make it up immediately, because of the ḥadīth we have mentioned. If he delays it, that is permissible, because it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the Fajr prayer and did not pray it until he had left the valley. Had it been required immediately, he would not have delayed it. Abū Is-ḥāq said: If he left it without a valid Sharia excuse, he must make it up immediately, because he was negligent in delaying it.”
It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to keep the prayer in its proper time, seeking help from Allah the Exalted and striving against the self to do so. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on compensating the patient in case of medical error on the part of the treating physician?

 
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The foundational principle is that every mistake issued by a physician that causes harm to another due to his negligence or lack of expertise obligates him to guarantee liability and compensate the harmed party. The Sharia maxim, in this regard, states: "The direct actor is liable."
 
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "As for if he was skilled but his hand committed an error—such as exceeding the proper limit of incision, cutting in an incorrect site, cutting with an instrument that inflicts excessive pain, or cutting at an unsuitable time—he is liable, because it is destruction (Itlaf) whose liability does not differ between intent and mistake, thus resembling the destruction of property; and because it is a prohibited act, so he guarantees liability for its secondary effects." [Al-Mughni].
 
However, if the physician performed what was necessary in the most complete manner and took all measures of care and caution, but complications occurred that could not be avoided according to specialists, then no liability rests upon him.
 
Shaykh al-Islam Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "The cupper and the circumciser bear no liability if they have not been negligent, and likewise the veterinarian if he bleeds an animal and it perishes." [Rawdat al-Talibin].
 
Al-Khattabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I know of no disagreement that if the practitioner transgresses and the patient perishes, he is liable. Anyone who undertakes knowledge or practice he does not know is a transgressor; so if perishing arises from his action, he is liable for the blood-money (Diyah) while capital retaliation (Qisas) is dropped from him, because he did not act independently without the patient's permission. And the physician’s offense in the view of the generality of jurists is borne by his agnates ('Aqilah*)."* [Ma'alim al-Sunan].
 
If negligence or transgression is established against the physician, it is necessary to compensate the patient or seek forgiveness from him. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on giving the expiation of an oath (Kaffarat al-Yamin) to a charity that feeds the poor?

 

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

It is allowed for a Muslim to appoint a proxy (agent) to distribute the expiation (Kaffarah) on their behalf. Our jurists have explicitly stated the permissibility of delegation (Tawkil) in the distribution of Zakat, Kaffarah, and vows (Nadr).

It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (Vol.3/P.237): 'One has the right to pay the Zakat of their wealth personally... and they also have the right to delegate it.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Should the Zakah (obligatory charity) giver tell the poor recipient that this is the Zakah of his money?

No, he shouldn`t. But, the Zakah giver should make an intention in his heart that it is the Zakah of his money when paying it to the poor. And Allah Knows Best.