Fatwa ID: 08486

 

 

Answered by Muftiyah Shireen Mangera-Badat

 

Question:

 

I represent an organisation called HISBA, which is trying to change Muslim online behaviour by offering a fact-checking service to clear up rumours or slander against Muslim individuals and educate Muslims on Shariah, adaab and akhlaaq on how to conduct themselves, whether it is on the public stage or in holding other Muslims to account in the correct ways.

 

I have several Fiqh questions that arose from a case I am investigating. I would like your knowledge of these questions to help educate Muslims on the general situations they refer to. To be clear, I am not asking for a fatwa on the case at hand but simply a fatwa on hypothetical scenarios inspired by aspects of what I am investigating. I believe many Muslims want clarification on these issues.

 

Can a Muslim public figure, who is known for doing dawah and has an online platform with hundreds of thousands of subscribers:

1. Can he use his online platform to ask for donations from the public for his debts?
2. Is it a prohibited type of begging for him to ask for donations to help pay his debts?
3. If he has a business but it is heavily in debt, can he still ask for donations?
4. If he also owns a separate business, but that business is in financial debt to suppliers and cannot buy new stock from them to sell, make a profit and pay them back, can he ask for donations so that he can buy new stock that he can then sell to help his business pay off debts?
5. Need to tell the public how he came into debt?
6. Does anyone who donated to him have a Shariah right to receive proof of what the public figure did with the money?
7. Are donations to the public figure “public money” after the donation? (i.e., do the public have a right over them after each individual donation?)
8. Ask for donations to pay off debts that include riba-based debts?
9. Ask for Zakah money to pay off his business debts?
10. Could he use the donation money to help with his business debts, or does he use the money on unnecessary expenses, like a business class travel ticket to meet a supplier?

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

In answer to your questions from 1 and 2, can he use his online platform to help pay his debt, and would it fall under begging? No, he can’t ask the public to help alleviate his debt. If the debt is his own personal debt, then no, he cannot use his platform to be taking advantage of the goodness of his subscribers and followers to complete his own debt; this would be classed as a breach of trust. In a hadith it is mentioned:

He reported the Prophet as saying, “Place trust in him who trusts you, but do not cheat him who cheats you.” (Mishkat 2934)[1]

 

The difference, though, is if his debt is soul crushing, life threatening and it’s impacting his survival, this then would be classed as a daroorah.[2] Only then would it be permissible.

If this person can have his debt resolved in other ways without the help of his online subscribers and followers, he should be encouraged to use that path instead.

 

This would also answer the third and fourth questions: If he has a business but it is heavily in debt, can he still ask for donations? If he also owns a separate business, but that business is in financial debt to suppliers and cannot buy new stock from them to sell, make a profit and pay them back, can he ask for donations so that he can buy new stock that he can then sell to help his business pay off debts?

With a business, he will have investors that he can ask for an extension from. He may be able to come to a compromise with a time limit that will allow him to be free of his debt. In the Quran, Surah Baqarah 280, it states, If it is difficult for someone to repay a debt, postpone it until a time of ease. And if you waive it as an act of charity, it will be better for you, if only you knew.[3]

 

In answer to questions 5 and 6: Does he need to tell the public how he came into debt? No, he does not need to tell the public how he came into debt.[4]

 

Does anyone who donated to him have a Shariah right to receive proof of what the public figure did with the money? If the donations were given as a gift, then no proof would be required to give to the public. It has now become the property of the ‘malik’ to the one it was given to.[5]

 

This will also answer Question 7: will it become public money? If it was given as a gift, then no, it does not become public money – the public figure becomes the sole owner of those donations.

As for Question 8, no person would be allowed to aid and abet him in transactions related to riba. The Quranic stance is very clear on this matter.

“…. Trade is no different than interest.” But Allah has permitted trading and forbidden interest….” (Surah Baqarah:275)[6]

 

In answer to questions 9 and 10, is using zakat to pay off the debts whether it’s business-related or not? In short, the answer is no if he ‘nisabul malik – he has the point of permissibility in his wealth. If he does not have it and his life is in danger, then he would be eligible for zakat – under those circumstances he would be able to use the zakat donation.[7]

 

In answer to your final question: Could he use the donation money to help with his business debts, but he uses the money on unnecessary expenses, like a business class travel ticket to meet a supplier? If he has shown transparency with his intended use of the donations, then there is no problem with the manner he uses this money. If he hasn’t, again it would fall under the breach of trust.

 

It is mentioned in Bukhari 33, Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three:

1. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
2. Whenever he makes a promise, he always breaks it (his promise).
3. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest. (If you keep something as a trust with him, he will not return it.)”[8]

 

Therefore, for this individual, it would be advisable that he be totally transparent.

 

 

Reference:

 

[1] وَعَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «أَدِّ الْأَمَانَةَ إِلَى مَنِ ائْتَمَنَكَ وَلَا تَخُنْ مَنْ خَانَكَ» . رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَأَبُو دَاوُدَ وَالدَّارِمِيُّ

[2] أ – أن الضرورة تبيح المحظور سواء الإضطرار للفرد أو للجماعة والحاجة لا تبيح المحظور إلا للجماعة…..

قواعد فقهية ص ٤٦

[3] وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍۢ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍۢ ۚ وَأَن تَصَدَّقُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

 

[4] وَالْمَرَضِ لِأَنَّ الْأُولَى حَالَةُ إِطْلَاقٍ وَهَذِهِ حَالَةُ عَجْزٍ فَافْتَرَقَا، وَإِنَّمَا تُقَدَّمُ الدُّيُونُ الْمَعْرُوفَةُ الْأَسْبَابِ لِأَنَّهُ لَا تُهْمَةَ فِي ثُبُوتِهَا إِذِ الْمُعَايَنُ لَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ، وَذَلِكَ مِثْلُ بَدَل مَالٍ مَلَكَهُ أَوِ اسْتَهْلَكَهُ وَعُلِمَ وُجُوبُهُ بِغَيْرِ إِقْرَارِهِ أَوْ تَزَوَّجَ امْرَأَةً بِمَهْرِ مِثْلِهَا، وَهَذَا الدَّيْنُ مِثْلُ دَيْنِ الصَّحَّةِ لَا يُقَدَّمُ أَحَدُهُمَا عَلَى الْآخَرِ لِمَا بَيَّنَّا،

ص 384 – كتاب العناية شرح الهداية بهامش فتح القدير ط الحلبي – باب إقرار المريض

 

[5] (1) الهبة لغة: العطية الخالية عن الأعواض والأغراض فإذا كثرت سمي صاحبها وهاباً انظر : لسان العرب ٦ ٩٢٩ ام الاماً منيا الألف ليا 112 قوا الكائعة و أنا التملك بلا عرض……

رد المختار ٨/٤٨٨

 

[6] وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ ۚ…….

 

رد المختار ٣/٢٣٧[7]

 

[8] حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا نَافِعُ بْنُ مَالِكِ بْنِ أَبِي عَامِرٍ أَبُو سُهَيْلٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلاَثٌ إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ ‏”‏‏.‏

 

 

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Muftiyah Shireen Mangera-Badat

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah.

Darul Ifta Birmingham