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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.

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.

Dear brother Ammar,
1. The amount of zakatul Fitr (Fitra) is one Sa' of wheat or rice per person in the family. It is not the food of one person for a day. This is a mistake some Islamic centers in the West make by thinking that the Fitra is the same as the Kaffarah. You are required to give either approximately 2.55 KG of the food or its price (especially if giving the price is better for the poor). This is better be distributed in the area where you live (Germany) if there are poor Muslims there but if the poor Muslims are rare it is ok to send it to Indonesia. My personal suggestion is to send the price in Germany of the amount of the food you are distributing but I am sure if you make the distribution in kind in Indonesia then obviously the issue of price does not arise.

2. The amount of Kaffarah is the food of a person of two meals; here you will have to take the price in Germany not in Indonesia even if you make distribution in Indonesia.

3) Qurbani and `Aqiqah are in kind not in money and you can make it in Indonesia if you think there are more deserving needy there especially distant relatives.

4. Zakah on Maal is on the amount saved of the Salary not on the total. If your savings during the year reach Nisab (# Euro 1000) you are required to give the zakah of 2.5% to the poor and needy, you can send this to Indonesia.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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 Sabina, you can give the interest money to any Muslim charitable organization that you trust. Of course it must be involved only in charitable activities not any other. And you don't have to inform it that this is interest.

You can also read:

Should We Take Interest Money or Leave It for the Bank?

Donating Interest Money for Building a Mosque

Bank Interests in the Eyes of the Shari`ah

What to Do With Bank Interest

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear brother Hussain, NO, this is not your money, it is a Haram money not really earned according to Shari`ah. May Allah give you better money. Interest money has to be given away to Muslim charities.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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, the idea of trading stocks stems from the principle of owning them. Any thing that is not permissible to own for a Muslim is not permissible to trade. Owning a stock in a company amounts to become a partner in it and becoming a partner in a company whose main line of business is not permissible is not permissible because it means you are making these Haram activities and transactions that are made the management which is in fact only your agent.

You can also read:

Trading in Shares and Stocks

Investing in the Stock Market

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear brother, it is known in office work that the employee uses some time for personal matters and this is usually measured and accounted for in all businesses. Using assistants and helpers to do some of this business depends on the nature of the work relations. Some kinds of works always implicitly and sometimes explicitly assume the use of helper for some personal matters. In those kinds of businesses/ contract it is permissible to use the helper for personal matters within the usual and customary level. Otherwise it is not permissible to do it.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear brother Shadi, these are too many questions in one, let us sort them out:

1. Zakah is a yearly duty on all rich Muslims, male or female, old or minors. The rate is generally 2.5% every year (it is different on agricultural product and livestock).

2. Zakah is on all the money and similar asset that you own. A gift from any person is yours once you receive it.

3. Interest money you earn from a bank is not yours and therefore it is not subject to Zakah. But because it is not yours, you have to give it all away to Muslim charities or directly to Muslim poor and needy and you will Inshaa' Allah be rewarded for preserving your own money pure and clean from it.

4. Zakah is not on total salary or income. It is rather on the amount you save of it, provided it reaches Nisab. This means that taxes, expenses, personal and family, payment for the house or flat you live in or for your car and all similar payment are not included in calculating Zakah.

5. The definition of rich is a person who owns an amount of at least Nisab (# Euro 1000, or US$ 1000) for a year. If what you got as a gift plus your savings over a year period is more than 1000 you are required to pay Zakah on it. However, if you already contracted the purchase of a flat to live in (not only intend) the amount of the due payment is not included in the calculation of Zakah.

6. If you buy the flat to invest and make money from it (in contrast with living in it) the market value of the flat is included in Zakah calculation every year.

I hope I answered all your questions, if not please come back again.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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, please read the answer to Muslim on the same issue.
Also remember that the value judgment comes only in case when the main line of business is permissible. The main line of business of conventional banks is itself haram. And there is no disagreement among Muslims on the prohibition of interest (please discard the political Fatwa that came from some countries. They have no Shari'ah foundation).

Allah Almighty knows best.

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 Ahmad, I argue that Muslims all over the world should support the Palestinian government financially and politically and help her come out of its financial crisis. It is a crisis created by occupation and Muslims must resist occupation.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear brother Bashir, conventional banks' shares are not permissible to own and trade because it is forbidden for a Muslim to make interest-based transactions and the management does them as an agent of shareholders.
Working in a bank is permissible provided one does not involve oneself in any making, authorizing, signing or typing any interest-based transaction.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear brother `Abdul, this is a general question, not financial. I think better address it to another session.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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 Farhan, parking fines are penalty for violating the law. This is a part of living in a society that one has to abide by its laws. Such fines are permissible in Shari'ah.

On the other hand interest is money that you don't own because it came to you through a non-permissible contract. It is not your money and must be given to Muslim charity because we don't like to return it to the payer that is a practitioner of Riba. You can't use it to pay your own duties such as parking fines and taxes because it then amounts to using it for your own benefit.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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 Osama, when there is surplus funds of Zakah, this may be done according to a some view point in Shari'ah. But for God's sake there are overwhelming need by Muslims all over the world, save the Zakah for Muslims under calamity and if you want to give non-Muslim give them from other charity and donations.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear sister Mariam, of course not. You must stick to your values, they are the right ones. And you should not worry about other people views on your pattern of spending and keep advising and criticizing the wasteful pattern of others. It may even reach the level of pure haram under the circumstances of poverty of Muslims in the world today.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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.

Dear sister Fatna, Morocco is a Muslim country with Muslim majority. You should work to establish Islamic banks and Islamic branches of existing banks.

Until then you must create housing and credit associations to deal with these needs. Now you should refrain from taking loans on interest and instead create such cooperatives to help in this regards until you can establish banks.

Allah Almighty knows best.

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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