Fatawa
by Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani
Question: If I bought a stock when it
was Shari‘a-compliant, but the most
recent financial report of the company
shows that it no longer is compliant,
am I required to sell the stock right
away? Or would it be permissible to
hold my shares?
Answer: In such a scenario, one may
hold onto such shares until the next
quarterly financial reports are released.
If the stock is still non-compliant at
that time, it should be sold right away.
Question: If I bought a non-compliant
stock due to not being aware of Shari‘a
compliance issues, is it required for me
to give away the money earned from
such a stock in charity? If so, would
it be required to donate just the dividends
or also the capital gains?
Answer: In regards to selling non-compliant
stocks, it should be noted that
there are a few different scenarios:
a) The stock was non-complaint due
to the main business of the company
being haram (e.g. winery). In
this scenario, one must sell the stock
and donate the percentage of haram
revenue in charity. This percentage
would be deducted from the dividends
as well as the capital gains.
b) The stock was non-compliant due
to the haram revenue exceeding 5%
of the gross revenue of the company.
This scenario would be similar
to the one above, one must sell the
stock and donate the percentage of
haram revenue in charity. This percentage
would be deducted from the
dividends as well as the capital gains.
c) The stock was non-compliant due to
the interest-bearing debt/total assets
ratio exceeding 33%. In this scenario,
one must sell the stock but any capital
gains or dividends earned during
this non-compliance would be halal.
d) The stock was non-compliant due
to the illiquid assets to liquid assets
ratio falling below 20%. This scenario
should be similar to the one above. The
shareholder should sell their share but
any dividends or capital gains earned
would be halal.
One may assess their situation according
to the aforementioned scenarios
and act accordingly.
Question: If I earned haram income
(from stocks or elsewhere) and I have
to give the money in charity, where am
I allowed to donate such money? Can I
donate it to a masjid or gift it to a family
member?
Answer: Such money should be donated
to the poor (i.e. zakah eligible recipients)
without any intention of reward. It
would not be permissible to give such
money to a masjid or family member
as a gift (unless they are eligible for
zakat).
Question: Is it permissible for me to listen to
audio while following with it from the
Quran? Can I complete a Quran khatam
like this? Or should I read along with
the audio for it to be considered valid?
Answer: It is permissible to listen to a
recording of the Quran while following
along looking into the mus-haf. One
should take great care to listen to the
recording with the same devotion they
would show to the recitation of a live
reciter. Through this one will receive
the reward of listening to the entire
Quran. However, in order to gain the
reward of reciting the entire Quran,
one must recite with their tongue and
lips. It should also be noted that sajdah
of tilawa will only be necessary when
one verbally recites the verse or hears
it recited live.
Question: Does vaginal discharge break
one’s wudu? And is such discharge pure
or impure? There are many women
who experience such discharge on a
regular basis, although not enough
to qualify as a ma’zoor (one who is excused).
In such cases, it becomes extremely
difficult to constantly repeat
wudu and change one’s undergarments
or liner to ensure there is no discharge.
Is there any leniency in such scenarios?
Answer: In reference to your question,
there is a difference of opinion in regards
to the purity/impurity of such
discharge along with whether it would
nullify the wudu or not. The mainstream
view is that such discharge is
impure and would break the wudu.
However, for women who regular-
26 May – June 2021 | AL-MADINAH