FATWA N0: (1)
All praise is due to Allah, and may the peace of Allah be upon the Apostle of Allah; his household; companions and all his followers.
Firstly, we thank the questionnaire on his passion for religion and for making enquiry about the proper in religious cases and issues. We pray Allah to increase him in passion for good and acquiring education of the religion.
Secondly, if the case is like you early mentioned that you do buy number of goods inclusive of pig meat, this is forbidden in Islamic law. Allah says:
“He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that over which any other name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful”. (Q2:173).
More than a jurist has reported the unanimity of Muslim scholars on the prohibition of pig meat, be it in eating, selling and buying.
The sincere advice for you is to immediately withdraw from this transaction and you should search for other jobs in your city or other areas. Any one that repents, Allah will forgive him. Allah says in respect to usury dealers, despite that usury is one of the worst transactions:
To whomsoever then the admonition has become from his Lord, then he desists, he shall have what has already passed, and his affair is in the hands of Allah; and whoever returns to it)—these are the inmates of the fire; they shall abide in it. (Q2:275)
It was reported in an authentic Hadith:
“Any one that forsook an act for the sake of Allah, will be compensated by Allah with better offer”
(Authenticated by ‘Albani in Hijaabu al-Mar’atul-Muslimah).
Thirdly, your statement which reads as follows:” I am striving in my current job to gather capital in a very fast time that will empower me to start off a private enterprise so that I would be able to stay away from forbidden transactions” runs contrary to Shari’ah for two reasons: Firstly, because it entails postponing repentance to Allah, and this is not proper because the life of human is possessed by Allah; and a servant does not know when his death will contact him if he will persist on sin. Allah says:
Repentance with Allah is only for those who do evil in ignorance, then turn (to Allah) soon, so these it is to whom Allah turns (mercifully), and Allah is ever knowing, Wise. (Q4:17).
Secondly, because such attitude is tantamount to striving in the cause of gathering money and wealth from a forbidden source; and any act built on the illegality is illegal. Hence, you are warned against continuing dealing in the forbidden transaction with the aim of dispensing with it in the near future.
We pray Allah for you with success and prosperity, and we beseech Him to spare you from the forbidden with the ordained.
- Muhammad Ahmad Luh (Senegal, Chairman)
- Hilan Khidr (Ethiopia, Member)
- Sheikh Abubakar Muri (Liberia, Member)
- Abubakar Bah (Senegal, Member)
- Hussayn Muhammad Bawa (Uganda, Member)
- Adam Fufata (Cotedoivere, Member)
FATWA NO: (2)
There is a trader that sponsors the needy on annual basis to Hajj, but he later desisted from doing so after he has been informed that Hajj is only compulsory for the capable ones, and that it is preferrable to divert the Hajj costs into empowering the needy on setting up their investment venture so that they will be able in future to sponsor themselves. Please is this view proper Islamically? Render us the Islamic verdicts based on evidence; may Allah reward you.
Your brother
Sha’ban Musa Tanzani
Verdict
All praise is due to Allah, and may the peace of Allah be upon the Apostle of Allah; his household; companions and all his followers.
This case neither belongs to the cases of good and bad; nor to what is proper and improper, rather the questionnaire only needs counseling, which falls in one of the responsibilities of this committee. Hence, – may Allah give us His luck- we are of the view that this successful trader – may Allah reward him and accept what he spends as act of worship – will be rewarded for any of the two deeds by the wish of Allah. This is because his sponsorship of Muslims to Hajj attracts a great reward and also his assistance for the destitute with business capital to recondition their lives is also rewardable. The estimation of the more preferable between the two good deeds is only what needs to be highlighted. We will advise him to dedicate the knowledge of this to the beneficiary. If embarking on Hajj falls within the prioritized needs of the beneficiary, he should assist him on realizing this and if he prioritizes getting access to capital, he should be assisted on realizing that. The vice versa has their benefit.
FATWA NO: (3)
His Excellency, The General Secretary – May Allah preserve him, As-Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi:
Firstly, the following question was forwarded to me from the United States of America:
We are facing a problem as regards to some demanded services in the Islamic insurance that we are proposing to start in the United States. This service is transportation of corpses to mother land like Senegal, putting in consideration that there are no Muslim cemeteries in some European cities and United States and in the places where there are cemeteries; they are non-affordable for the immigrants. This fact is responsible for the combustion of corpses in some cases after a specific time. Is it allowed Islamically with fulfilling the conditions thereof to exercise corpse transportation service in the Islamic corporative insurance? Benefit us with your knowledge, may Allah benefit you too.
Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and may the peace of Allah be upon the Apostle of Allah; his household; companions and all his followers.
If there is no infringement on its dignity, the corpse transportation before the burial is allowed in the Maliki School of Thought; detested in the Hambali School, if need does not arise, as it is also detested in the Hanafi School if the distance to which the corpse is transported exceeds two miles; and the Shaf’i School has two various views namely forbidding and detecting it, considering the delay in burial that will follow such transportation and which runs contrary to Islamic law.
The most preferred view is that transportation of corpse from one city to another has three instances namely: prohibited, obligatory and allowed.
- If such transportation leads to physical change in the corpse or infringement on its dignity, it will in this instance, be prohibited, considering the fact that physical change in the corpse, nowadays – has no bearing because of the sophisticated trunk with which the corpse are being transported.
- It is compulsory to transport the corpse if there arises necessity as in the case of one who died in war zone or in a place where the corpse can be exhumated or combusted or indignified.
- It is allowed if there is good purpose for the transportation; there is no infringement on its dignity; and it will not be subjected to physical change or unbearable inconvenience to the transporter.
The general condition for the aforementioned is that they should be devoid of un-necessary extravagance by lavishing huge amounts of money on the transportation, without any Islamically recognized necessity or need that can justify such, and other acts that are capable of infringing upon the legal rights of the heirs, most especially if they are destitute and needy.
In the light of the foregoing, it is allowed to transport the corpse if need or necessity arises. Based on this, it is feasible that the Islamic Corporative Insurances embraces Muslim corpse transportation if necessity arises. Allah knows best.
The Committee of Religious Verdicts and Guidance in the Union of African Scholars.
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