The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No. 1481- If a person purchases a commodity on credit, and after the transaction, pays its price from the money whose due khums has not been paid, the transaction will be in order and he is permitted to use it. However, since he has given the seller from the money on which khums is due, he will remain indebted to him for the amount of one fifth of that money. In case that amount is in the hand of the seller, the Mujtahid or his representative will get the same money, and if the same money is not available any more, the Mujtahid will demand its equivalent from either the seller or the buyer.

Issue No. 1647- If the one who has to pay zakāt is the creditor of a poor person, he can adjust the debt against zakāt; even if the poor person dies while he is in debt, the creditor can adjust his claim against zakāt. However, if the poor person has left a property which is equal to his debt, one cannot, as an obligatory precaution, adjust the debt against zakāt.

Issue No.1941- If a period is fixed for the repayment of the debt in its contract, the creditor cannot claim repayment of the debt before the expiry of that period. However, if no such period was fixed, the creditor can demand the repayment of his debt at any time.

Issue No. 1738- If a person is hired to serve another person or a caravan during ḥajj, and in this way, he performs ḥajj, it will be reckoned as his obligatory ḥajj. However, accepting such a job is not obligatory.

Issue No. 1720- In giving zakāt of fiṭrah, the criterion is not one’s personal food, rather, it is the food which is common in that area or town. Therefore, one who always has rice may give wheat as fiṭrah.

Issue No. 1537- If a person finds wealth in a number of containers buried in one place, and its total value reaches the taxable limit, he should pay khums on it. However, if he finds several treasures at different places, khums is due on those whose value reaches the taxable limit, and it is not necessary to add them up.

Issue No. 2187- If a person usurps a piece of land and cultivates or plants trees in it, the produce of farming and the trees and their fruits are his own property. However, he (the usurper) should pay rent to the owner of the land for the period that the crop and the trees remained on his land. However, if the owner does not permit the crops and the trees remaining on his land, the usurper of the land should pull them out immediately even if he may suffer consequent loss and should also make up for the damage done to the land [if any] by paying the difference in value. Moreover, he cannot compel the owner of the land to sell it or lease it out to him, and the owner of the land too cannot compel him to sell the trees or crops to him.

Issue No. 1603- If a crop is irrigated in the two ways explained above, and if one of them is so little that it is not taken into account (for example, it has mostly been irrigated with rain water, and to a lesser extent with well water), the zakāt should be paid in accordance with the way it was irrigated most. In case however, the crop has been irrigated with both rain and well water considerably, for example, the crop has been irrigated for half or one-third of the period with rain water and the rest with well water, in this case, 10%zakāt should be paid on half of the crop and 5% should be paid on the other half.

Issue No. 2432- It is permissible to have foreign currency exchange transactions, i.e. one can exchange English pounds for American dollars, or French franc for German mark, etc., and there is no harm if it is less or more. However, if a person lends some money to another person whether it is in dollars or other currencies, he can ask him for the repayment of the same, and if he asks for more than that amount, it will be usury and haraam. And if someone lends a person some foreign currency, for example, some 100.00 German marks, and if he is forced to receive the money, for example, in Canadian dollars, then it should be calculated at the common and usual rate of the market. However, if the creditor himself consents to receiving less than that, there would be no problem.

Issue No. 2314- If a person appoints a mutawallī (custodian) of the property endowed by him, the custodian should act according to the instructions given by him, but if he does not appoint a custodian, and if the endowment is a public one such as a mosque or a school, the appointment of a custodian rests with the Mujtahid or his representative, and if it is a waqf for particular persons, like the property which is endowed for his children, then to safeguard the interest of the waqf or the interest of the future generations, the obligatory precaution is that the present generation and the Mujtahid or his representative should come in agreement with each other about appointing a custodian, and if the endowment has to do with the interest of the present generation, then authority rests with them, and if they are not mature, the authority rests with their legal guardian.

Issue No. 2221- If a person cuts some of these vessels [1] and waits until the animal dies and then cuts the remaining vessels, it will not be sufficient. In fact, if he does not wait until the animal dies, but does not cut the arteries consecutively as it is usually cut, although the animal may still be alive, he should avoid it as an obligatory precaution.

Issue No. 2220- To slaughter an animal, it will be sufficient if the throat and the two main arteries (jugular artery and jugular vein) of the neck are completely cut. However, the recommended precaution is that, the jugular artery, the jugular vein, in addition to the throat and the gullet are cut from below the bump of the throat.