The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No.1983- If a person was capable of paying the debt of the creditor at the time he stood as a surety, the creditor cannot cancel his guarantee and demand the payment from the first debtor. The same rule will apply if the guarantor at the time of guaranteeing was not capable of paying the debt, yet the creditor agreed to his becoming the guarantor. However, if the guarantor at the time of guaranteeing was not capable of paying the debt, and the creditor was not aware of it, and he comes to know about it afterwards, he can cancel his guarantee.

Issue No. 2145- It is necessary for a woman who has been divorced to observe ‘iddah (waiting period). However, if her husband has not had sexual intercourse with her at all, or if she is in menopause (i.e., she is 50 years old), ‘iddah is not necessary. In these two cases, a woman can get married immediately after divorce.

Issue No.245- The certainty of the people who suffer from waswās [1] and easily become certain about najāsah or are hardly satisfied regarding ṭahārah is not valid and they can act according to the certainty of ordinary people with regard to ṭahārah and najāsah.

Issue No. 1486- The beginning of the khums year for a person is the day of his first income. That is, if a person starts a trade, business, industry, farming, etc., the first time he makes earnings will be the beginning of his khums year. One cannot deliberately move it up or behind. However, in case he wishes to move the beginning of his khums year up, he should calculate and pay the khums of his property sooner than the designated time; as a result, from then on, that date will become the beginning of his khums year.

Issue No.1955- The debtor, the creditor and the person to whom collection is referred, should be mature and sane, and no one should have coerced them, and they should not be mentally incompetent, or be prevented from having discretion over their properties. However, there is no harm if a person who has been prevented from having discretion over his properties transfers the debt to a person to whom he is not indebted.

Issue No.1813- In a transaction of “Conditional sale”, for example a house worth £2000.00 is sold for £1000.00, and it is agreed that if the seller returns the money within a stipulated period he can cancel the transaction, the transaction is in order, provided that the buyer and the seller had genuine intention of purchase and sale, and if the seller does not return the money within the stipulated period, the commodity will be the buyer’s.

Issue No. 1587- Payment of zakāt becomes obligatory under the following conditions:I. The property should reach the prescribed taxable limit, which will be explained later.II. The owner should be sane and mature.III. The owner should be legally able to benefit from the property. IV. If a person remains the owner of cows, sheep, camels, gold and silver for 12 months, payment of zakāt becomes obligatory for him. However, the obligatory precaution is that payment of zakāt becomes obligatory from the first day of the twelfth month, and if some of the conditions cease to exist during the twelfth month, the zakāt should be paid.

Issue No. 1737- If a person who is indebted, possesses the expenses of ḥajj, but is unable to afford to go to ḥajj by repaying his debts, he is not mustaṭī‘, unless the creditor is not in a hurry, and he is also sure that he will be able to pay his debts later.

Issue No.1900- There are some conditions for musāqāt:1) The owner of the trees and the person who undertakes to look after them, should be mature and sane.2) No one should have compelled them into the transaction.3) They should not have been banned from having discretion over their own property.4) The period of musāqāt should be specified, and if the beginning of it is specified, and its end is fixed to be the time when fruits for that year become available, the contract is in order.5) It is necessary that the share of each one of them is fixed as half or one third, etc., of the crop, and if they stipulate, for example, that one ton of the fruits will belong to the owner of the orchard and the remaining quantity will go to the person who looks after the trees, the contract is void.6) It is necessary that the contract of musāqāt be concluded before the appearance of the crop. And if the contract is made after the appearance of the fruits but before they are ripe, the contract will be in order, provided that some work such as watering and spraying which are required for the growth and development of the fruits still remain to be done, otherwise, the contract is not valid as an obligatory precaution. In case however, the work required to be done is merely plucking the fruits and looking after them, the contract is in order but it is not considered to be musāqāt.

Issue No.1888- There are certain conditions in Sharecropping:1) Both the landowner and the farmer should be mature and sane, and should conclude the contract of Sharecropping out of intention and free will. They should not have been banned from discretion over their properties by the Islamic judge, and should not be mentally incompetent either.2) All the crop of the land should not be allocated to one of them.3) The owner and the farmer should both openly share the entire produce. For example, the landowner will receive ½ or 1/3 of the entire crop. Hence, if they lay down a condition that a kind of the crop is for one of them and another kind of the crop for the other one, or that the crop of a certain part of the land should belong to one of them and the crop of another part of the land for the other one, it is not in order. Similarly, if the landowner says to the farmer, “Cultivate the land and give me as much as you wish”, it will be void.4) The period for which the land is to remain in possession of the farmer should be specified, and it is necessary that the period should be long enough to make a harvest possible from the land.5) The land should be arable, and if it is barren but can be made fit for farming by some work being done on it, the contract will be in order.6) The type of the crop should be specified. However, if it does not make any difference to them and to the public, or when it is clear as to what sort of crop the land is suitable for, it is not necessary that they specify it.7) The land should be specified. Hence, if a person has got several pieces of land, and says that he gives one of them for Sharecropping, and if the lands are of different qualities, the Sharecropping will not be in order. However, if the lands are of the same quality, and he says, for example, that he hands over to him (the farmer) five acres of this land, there is no problem in it. It is also possible to describe the land to the farmer without him having seen it.8) The expenses of cultivation, seeds, etc., which each of them incur should be specified. However, if the expenses are known among the local people, it will be sufficient.

Issue No.1978- The guarantor and the creditor should both be mature and sane, and they should not be mentally incompetent nor coerced by anyone. A bankrupt creditor whom the Mujtahid has prevented from having discretion over his property because of bankruptcy, cannot have a guarantor. (That is, he cannot transfer his debt onto someone else.)

Issue No.1861- The benefits for which the property is given on lease carries four conditions:1) It should be halal. Hence, leasing out a shop or a car for the sale of alcoholic drinks or transportation of alcoholic drinks, respectively, is void.2) Paying money for such services should not be futile in the eyes of the public.3) If the item which is being leased out can be used in different ways, the use(s) for which the lessee is permitted should be specified. For example if an animal which can be used for riding or for carrying loads, is given on hire it should be specified whether the lessee may use it for riding or carrying loads, or for either uses.4) The period of lease or hire should also be specified.