Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(250): "Performing Obligatory Prayers According to their Current Timings (In Jordan) Avails a Person"

Date Added : 04-02-2018

Resolution No.(250) (1/2018) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Performing Obligatory Prayers According to their Current Timings(In Jordan) Avails a Person"

Date 11/Jumada Al-Aoal/1439 AH, corresponding to 28/1/2018 AD

 

On its 2nd session held on the above date, the Board reviewed the questions raised recently regarding the validity of prayers and fasting on basis of the current prayer timings effective in our beloved country, Jordan.

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following resolution:

Allah, The Almighty, Enjoined prayers on Muslims at stated times where He Said {What means}: "For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times." {An-Nisa`,103}. This means that each prayer has its own particular time at which it must be performed. The Prophet (PBUH) has clarified when the time for each prayer starts and when its ends. On this basis, Muslims have worked hard, throughout the ages, to specify the timings of prayers, so they relied on Azan (Call to prayer) in performing prayers.

The same method was observed in Jordan until recent decades. A detailed annual calendar of prayer times for different parts of the Kingdom is issued by the Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places. Mou`azins adhere to it and it observes evidence from Sharia and astronomical signs. Moreover, this calendar, which is supervised by a special department of the Ministry, is based on detailed studies and forecasts carried out by several committees in the past. These studies were included in a detailed, independent and printed book that could be checked at any time.

Therefore, the Iftaa` Board confirms that following this calendar avails a person in terms of the validity of their acts of worship, God willing, and whoever adheres to it is on the safe side as far as fulfilling the conditions validating prayer and fasting are concerned. Accordingly, it is impermissible to circulate rumors via social media to make people doubt the validity of their acts of worship and the pillars of their faith. 

On this occasion, the Board highly commends the tremendous efforts exerted by the Ministry of Awqf in this regard. It prays that Allah, The Almighty, Accepts acts of worship from all Muslims, and that He, The Exalted, Teaches us the wisdom behind worship as well as the higher objectives of Sharia (Maqasid Al-Sharia). And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh, Member

Prof. Abdulnaser Abulbasal,  Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat, Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa, Member

Dr. Majid Darawsheh, Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi, Member

 

  

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible to combine and shorten prayers at home before traveling?

It is impermissible to combine and shorten prayers at home before traveling because a person is called a traveler once he/she departs the borders of his/her country, and offering prayer that way was originally intended to exempt a traveler. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling on someone who dies while having missed fasts?

● If a person dies before having the opportunity to make up the missed fasts—such as someone whose excuse (e.g., illness) persisted until their death—then no makeup fast (qada), fidyah, or sin applies to them.
● However, if they had the ability to make up the fasts but did not do so before passing away, the missed fasts must be compensated by giving a mudd of food for each missed day from their estate.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever dies while having a month’s fast due, one needy person should be fed per day on their behalf." [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi]
Additionally, a guardian (wali) may fast on their behalf, as the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever dies while having missed fasts, their guardian should fast on their behalf." [Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
In another narration: "If they wish." This indicates that both feeding the needy and fasting on behalf of the deceased are permissible options.

A man led the people in prayer as imam, and at the end of the prayer he performed a prostration of forgetfulness (*sujūd al-sahw*) because he had omitted a short *sūrah* after al-Fātiḥah. What is the ruling on his prayer and that of those praying behind him?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to the Shāfiʿī school, it is sunnah to recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah in the prayer. One who omits it has a valid prayer, and no prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) is prescribed for omitting it. If someone performs sujūd al-sahw for its omission while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. But one who is ignorant of the ruling, or who did so out of forgetfulness, his prayer is not invalidated, because this is among the matters that are obscure to people, and ignorance of it is not restricted to those who recently entered Islam.
Shaykh al-Islām al-Shams al-Ramlī said in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Vol.2/p.70): “The remaining sunnahs are not compensated for by prostration, such as the remembrances (adhkār) of bowing and prostration, that is, the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-iftitāḥ) and the sūrah, in accordance with the base rule, because they are not of the same nature as what has been reported [as compensable]. If one prostrates for any of them deliberately, his prayer is invalidated, unless he is excused due to ignorance. As for the objection raised that the ignorant person does not know that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed, and whoever knows it knows its place, this is refuted by denying such a necessary connection, for the ignorant person may hear only that sujūd al-sahw is prescribed before the salām, and so assume that it applies to every sunnah and is not restricted to its prescribed place.”
This is among the matters that are obscure, in which the mukallaf is excused for ignorance, as stated by al-Shabrāmallisī in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.70).
However, if the imam prostrates, and the follower (maʾmūm) presumes that his imam’s prostration is for a reason for which one does not prostrate, it is not permissible to follow him in it, so long as the follower knows the ruling.
Accordingly, the prayer of one who did not recite a sūrah after al-Fātiḥah is valid, and sujūd al-sahw is not prescribed for it. Whoever prostrates out of ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer is valid, because this is among the issues hidden from the general public. But whoever prostrates while knowing the ruling and remembering it, his prayer is invalidated. And Allah Almighty knows best.

 
What is the ruling on someone who eats or drinks while uncertain about the arrival of dawn, then later finds out that dawn had not yet broken?

If a person does this, their fast remains valid, as it is confirmed that they ate during the night. Similarly, if someone eats while uncertain and remains unsure whether they ate before or after dawn, their fast is still valid. This is based on the maxim of Sharia Law, which states: "Certainty is not removed by doubt." Certainty, here, is the presence of night, and the doubt concerns the arrival of dawn. Therefore, one relies on certainty and disregards doubt.