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Session Details
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| Guest Name |
Dr. Monzer Kahf
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| Profession |
Scholar in Islamic Economics & Financial Expert
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| Subject |
Financial and Economic Issues
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| Date |
Sunday,Oct 12 ,2003
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Time |
Makkah
From...
16:30...To...
18:00
GMT
From... 13:30...To...15:00
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Host
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| Question |
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, the session has already started. You can submit your questions. Please, make your questions short and clear so as to help us answer all your questions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.
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| Name |
Mirza Farooq Imran
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| Question |
I started earning and I did not give Zakah before. Could you please let me know how to give Zakah and to whom should it be given?
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Zakah is due on the amount you save out of your income provided the total of such saving reached the amount of nisab over a full lunar year (354 days). The day your accumulated savings reach the amount of nisab is the due date for Zakah payment. This day will establish your Zakah year. This means that on that day you are required to pay Zakah upon the passage of 354 days regularly.
If you already have zakatable items (money+jewelry that are stored+ stocks+ inventory for sale, etc) you add the savings from salaries to that nisab and pay the Zakah on the balance at the end of your already established Zakah year.
Zakah on saving is at the rate of 2.5 percent and the amount of nisab is # US $ 1000.
Zakah should be paid essentially to the poor and needy; if you have relatives who deserve Zakah, you may pay your Zakah to them provided that you are not to support them according to the Shari'ah (such as parents, un-married adult sister, and minor brothers and sisters). You may opt to pay your Zakah to an Islamic organization that distributes Zakah on its proper deserving categories as mentioned in the Qur'an (9: 60).
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Sabir
- Pakistan
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| Question |
Is taking fixed profit from bank or any company monthly or annually riba? If yes, then what can a person do to his money if he has no experience and skill whatsoever, and he is scared of losing his life time-saving. Is he transgressing the Islamic Shari`ah or he is exempted due to his inexperience or unskilled life? A lot of people say that nowadays it is not riba because government has given no alternative to people like what is mentioned above.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear Brother Sabir,
Payment given by conventional bank to depositors is riba. It’s direct end explicitly falls under the definition of riba as established in the Shari'ah, which is an increment on the amount of loan.
Deposits in conventional banks are defined by law as loans, because the bank guarantees the principle (it also guarantees the increment that is riba). Giving any other name, such as profit, to this increment does not change its reality as a riba and it is forbidden regardless whether the government provides alternatives or not.
In Pakistan, there are several Islamic banks that accept deposits on the basis of mudarabah rather than loan. Mudarabah is a partnership between the owner of money and the bank. These Islamic banks use the funds available to them in providing financing to businesses and consumers according to contracts that are compatible with the Islamic Shari'ah, unlike the conventional banks that use funds to provide riba-based loans. There is no excuse acceptable in Shari'ah for depositing funds and earning income on the basis of loans/riba.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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Ahlam
- Morocco
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I would like to ask about bank interest. Here in Morocco, we don't have an Islamic bank, so we are obliged to put our money in banks that deal in interest. Al-hamdulillah, I know the exact amount of money I have without including the interest. I heard one of the scholars who said that we could take the interest and give it to the poor, but of course we won't have a reward from Allah for that because it's not our money. Could I give that interest to a poor member of my family?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear sister Ahlam,
What you said is exactly correct; you should not leave interest on deposits to the bank because that increases its ability to make more transactions based on the evil of interest.
You should rather take the interest and give it to the poor and the needy. You will be in sha' Allah rewarded for keeping your own money clean of the evil of riba although what you pay is not considered sadaqah because it is not your money.
Such interest may be paid to a poor relative who is not so close to you that you are required to support such as parents, orphan children, etc.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Abu abdallah
- United Kingdom
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| Profession |
Financial Engineering & Strategic Trader
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| Question |
The Muslim world is far behind the benefits of the financial and economical theories and systems that the west has developed over the last century. What the Muslim world needs right now is an elite of Muslims who understand the western economical and financial system before they are able to build (invent) a new system based on Islamic Shari`ah that is as successful (and may be more efficient) as the existing (interest-based) system. But to achieve that we need to setup research groups and also be very careful in issuing a simple halal/haram fatwas blocking the way to any possible gain of expertise and knowledge acquisition of what already exists before starting to invent new theories.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Thank you for your advice. You are right in your comment and this process you suggested has been underway for the last half a century although at a small scale not adopted by a government or groups of governments in the Muslim world.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
muslim
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| Question |
Do you have any information regarding islamically legal investment for RRSP in Canada?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
The Islamic Housing Cooperative in Canada is authorized to receive RRSP funds. You may invest in this Cooperative. Its past experience in the over more than 20 years indicates a reasonable and sustainable rate of return. I don't know of any other Islamic organizations that are authorized to receive RRSP.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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muslim
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What to do when two scholars are saying two different opinion regarding the same matter. For example on this web one is saying fasting on 15 Sha’ban is an innovation while others say that it is a recommended act. Similarly about mortgage, there are different opinions. What shall an ordinary person do? Please answer this confusing situation.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
This is an area where every ordinary (non-scholarly specialized) Muslim is required to make ijtihad. Every Muslim is needed to exert her/his effort to select the trustworthy mufti from whom he/she accept opinion.
You can also read:
Dealing with Conflicting Fatwas!
Allah Almighty knows best.
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muslim
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| Question |
If someone is not taking (eating interest) but giving interest (on a loan that is not for business), is this the same grade of sin?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Both taking and giving interest are equally prohibited. Certainly, there maybe some necessities that relax the prohibition of giving interest whereas the rule of necessity does not apply to taking it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The wrath of Allah is on the taker of riba, its giver, its writer, and two witnesses." (Reported by Muslim) And in a version of this hadith, the Prophet said that they are all alike, meaning in sin. I suppose because involving in riba in any manner implies that one considers it permissible and that contradicts the Qur'an.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Musleem
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| Profession |
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| Question |
Can a Muslim study law? I’m asking this question because if I study and I work as a lawyer in a kafir country maybe I do haram. Thank you, dear Scholar.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Yes, you can study law even if the law is not based on Shari'ah. You can also work as a lawyer in either Muslim or non-Muslim countries because lawyers essentially defend what is right.
However, if a case comes to you that contradicts justice or the Islamic law (such as interest) you must not defend what is wrong.
You can also read:
Want to be a Lawyer: Are There Any Restrictions?
Lawyer Defending Guilty Thief: Are Fees Haram?
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
hafeez
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| Question |
With interest-free society not possible for any Islamic country today in the whole world, does this mean interest rules need to be re-written according to the needs of society today? Is this a true statement?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
No, this statement is not correct, because the Qur'an is sent with rules that apply to all societies in all times. It is the last revelation from God for the happiness of humanity. The prohibition of interest or riba is clear and undisputable in this final Divine revelation.
Societies must live up to the ruling of the Qur'an, and it is possible to do so even when other societies are interest-ridden. The actual examples exist today in more than one Muslim society, and the success and expansion of Islamic banks over the last 3 decades confirms this fact.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Carlos
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| Question |
I’m a lawyer and I work in Spain. My client is looking for a money that he can’t has because it’s not of his own and I have to defend my client. What can I do, because I know it’s haram.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
You certainly must not argue for obtaining money that you know it does not belong to your clients. Doing so is sharing the prohibited or the haram money with him or her.
Editor’s note:
You are advised to make use of the above links in the answer of brother Musleem in this session.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Osamah
- United States
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| Profession |
Physician
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| Question |
My wife was pregnant last Ramadan and she did not fast for at least 20 days because of severe morning sickness. We would like to know how much in US dollars should we give out for each day she didn't fast.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
You can submit your question to the upcoming Live Fatwa session. You can also submit it to ‘Ask the Scholar’ page. Anyway, feeding a person in US dollars for one day is about 10 dollars (two meals.)
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Norah
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| Question |
As-salamu `alaykum. I read in one of the fatwas that the Qur’an never condones the killing of innocents. But I read in another one that in Palestine a martyr can “kill” innocent people because Jews do. Can you explain my doubt? Thanks.
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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
You can submit your question to the upcoming Live Fatwa Sessions. You can also submit it to ‘Ask the Scholar’ page.
As a quick answer to your question, the Qur'an clearly condemns killing any innocent person regardless of religion, ethnicity, geographical location, whether such innocent person is a relative of a criminal or an enemy or a person who justifies killing other people including Muslims.
The struggle in Palestine is a struggle of people who are under occupation and fight for their own liberation from the occupants.
You can also read:
Attacking Civilians in Martyr Operations
Martyr Operations or Terrorism
Does Islam Call for Killing Innocents?
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
hatim
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| Question |
Am I allowed to buy a house on mortgage if I am able to pay the rent?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
The fatwa on mortgage is the Western countries is based on the several considerations of need that make difference in regard to family residents, neighborhood security and convenience, schooling, security and safety factors, building equity, saving on taxes, and similar financial factors, etc.
You should be the judge of yourself in applying it. Affording rent payment is not really a factor because there will be a mortgage payment that is a similar to it.
You can also read:
Purchasing Houses with Usurious Loan for Muslims Living in Non-Muslim Countries
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
vahid
- Canada
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| Profession |
college student
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| Question |
As-salamu `alaykum brother. Are one supposed to pay the Zakah for the money based on the interest-free student loans that one receives? May Allah bless your works!
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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
If you receive a student interest-free loan and that is not sufficient for your expenses while you have no other resources or potential (such as par-time work) you may be eligible to receive the Zakah even with receiving the loan.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Suhaib
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| Question |
My brother-in-law recently passed away. Who is responsible to bear the financial burden of his children? The children have paternal uncles and aunts, paternal grandmother, maternal aunts and maternal both parents alive.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
If the deceased didn't leave any estate that would be sufficient (in terms of both assets and returns together) to support the orphans until they start they qualify to start earning on their own, the parental uncle would be the first required financial supporter for the orphans in this case, collectively together or whoever is financially able among them.
Next would be their mother if she is financially able to support them, next would be their parental grandmother. Maternal relatives are not required as long as they are parental relative.
The general rule is whoever may inherit from the needy person is required to support him/her.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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Abdul Azeez
- Sri Lanka
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| Profession |
Teacher
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| Question |
An Indian 'Alim (scholar) argues that Zakah is only once in life time; not every year. Example, if we give Zakah for the 100 000 this year and our next year profit is 190 000 we have pay Zakah the following year only for the 90 000. Is there any authentic Hadith that we must pay Zakah annually ?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
This way of calculating Zakah is incorrect. Zakah is due on the total amount one has on the day that completes a lunar year after having nisab (of after the due date of the past year). Zakah is repeated every lunar year even if the zakatable item is not invested or increasing. This is unanimously agreed upon among all Muslim scholars. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) suggested that the guardians of orphans must invest the orphans' wealth so that Zakah will not exhaust it. Once in a lifetime of Zakah does not obviously exhaust the wealth, it is only the repeated payment year after year may wipe out the wealth if it is growing through investments.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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Editor
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, we are so sorry for not answering all your questions because the time is over. We apologize for any inconvenience. Do keep in touch. Join us in coming sessions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.
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| All Fatwas published on this website (Islamonline.net) represent the juristic views and opinions of eminent scholars and Muftis. They do not necessarily form a juristic approach upheld by this website. Click here to read Full Disclaimer. |
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