Fatwa ID: 08096

Answered by: Moulana Ateiq-ur Rehman

Question:

Assalamu alaykum

My 5-year-old attends a private Muslim school where we submit monthly fees for his attendance. We took him for a 3-week holiday abroad due to a family wedding. We submitted the fees for this month before flying abroad. We informed the school of this holiday prior to leaving, but they did not authorize it and have charged a fine.

I would like to ask, is this charging of a fine permitted in Islam?

Jazkaumullah khayr

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

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

Answer:

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

First of all, it was commendable for you to pay the fees although you were going away. This payment is not only recommended but encouraged as it will secure your child’s place in the private school and also supports the school in managing its overheads.

Islamic schools face many challenges, finances being one of them, but also ensuring students who attend, make progress, and achieve their targets, goals, and aspirations. Which is why some institutes implement reprimand policies. The main reason for a reprimand policy is to deter someone from something negative, either breaking the law of the land or breaking the rules of an establishment. The question is whether Islamic schools are able to implement monetary fines for a breach of policy.

Mufti Taqi Uthmani حفظه الله ورعاه has mentioned in his book ‘Taqrir Tirmidhi’ in volume 2, page 119, that latter-day Hanafi scholars have given permissibility for financial fines based on the authority of Imam Yusuf رحمه الله; however, he also mentions that he was unable to find any strong evidence to support this claim.

The general consensus of earlier fuqaha (jurists) stated that monetary fines are not permissible as a form of ta’zir (disciplinary action). As an Islamic institute, it is my humble opinion that they should not use monetary fines and instead find alternative ways to tackle policy breaches.

Reference:

«متاخرین حنفیہ نے تغزیر بالمال کو جائز قرار دیا ہے، لیکن تعزیر بالمال کے عدم جواز پر بھی کوئی صریح دلیل مجھے نہیں ملی (تقریر ترمزی 2:119)»

“Later Hanafi scholars have deemed taghzeer bil maal (financial reprimand) permissible, but I have not found any explicit evidence for the impermissibility of taghzeer bil maal either.” (Taqrir Tirmidhi 2:119)

(قَوْلُهُ لَا بِأَخْذِ مَالٍ فِي الْمَذْهَبِ) قَالَ فِي الْفَتْحِ: وَعَنْ أَبِي يُوسُفَ يَجُوزُ التَّعْزِيرُ لِلسُّلْطَانِ بِأَخْذِ الْمَالِ. وَعِنْدَهُمَا وَبَاقِي الْأَئِمَّةِ لَا يَجُوزاهـ. وَمِثْلُهُ فِي الْمِعْرَاجِ، وَظَاهِرُهُ أَنَّ ذَلِكَ رِوَايَةٌ ضَعِيفَةٌ عَنْ أَبِي يُوسُفَ

Kitab Hashiyat Ibn Abidin = Radd al-Muhtar ta Halabi 4:61 (Al-Maktaba al-Shamila)

(His saying: ‘not by taking wealth according to the [Hanafi] school’) It is stated in Al-Fath: According to Abu Yusuf, it is permissible for the ruler to impose ta’zir by taking wealth. According to them [Abu Hanifa and Muhammad] and the rest of the Imams, it is not permissible. The same is in Al-Mi’raj, and its apparent meaning is that this is a weak narration from Abu Yusuf.

«فَتَعْزِيرُ أَشْرَافِ الْأَشْرَافِ بِالْإِعْلَامِ الْمُجَرَّدِ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ الْقَاضِي أَمِينَهُ إلَيْهِ فَيَقُولُ لَهُ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ تَفْعَلُ كَذَا وَكَذَا، وَتَعْزِيرُ الْأَشْرَافِ بِالْإِعْلَامِ وَالْجَرِّ إلَى بَابِ الْقَاضِي وَالْخِطَابِ بِالْمُوَاجَهَةِ، وَتَعْزِيرُ الْأَوْسَاطِ بِالْإِعْلَامِ وَالْجَرِّ وَالْحَبْسِ، وَتَعْزِيرُ السَّفَلَةِ بِالْإِعْلَامِ وَالْجَرِّ وَالضَّرْبِ وَالْحَبْسِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمَقْصُودَ مِنْ التَّعْزِيرِ هُوَ الزَّجْرُ»

Kitab Badai’ as-Sanai’ fi Tartib ash-Sharai’ 7:64 (Al-Maktaba al-Shamila)

“The ta’zir for the most noble of the noble is mere notification, which is that the judge sends his trustworthy person to him and says: ‘It has reached me that you are doing such and such.’ And the ta’zir for the noble is notification and being brought to the door of the judge and addressed face to face. And the ta’zir for the middle class is notification, being brought [to the judge], and imprisonment. And the ta’zir for the commoners is notification, being brought [to the judge], striking, and imprisonment; because the purpose of ta’zir is deterrence.”

Based on the prevalent view of the Hanafi school and the opinions of earlier scholars, charging monetary fines as a form of disciplinary action (ta’zir) is generally not permissible. While some later scholars have leaned towards its permissibility, the stronger and more established view is against it.

Therefore, it is advisable for the school to reconsider the policy of charging fines and explore alternative, Islamically permissible methods of addressing unauthorized absences, such as warnings, requiring extra work, or other non-monetary disciplinary actions that align with the principles of ta’zir which aim for rectification and deterrence without financial penalty.

Only Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) knows best.

Written by Maulana Ateiq-ur Rehman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham