Sheikh Dr Mohamed Ali Elgari:
The recent ruling that organized Tawarruq should not be allowed is unfortunate because it gives the impression to people that where things are organized it would be haram, and this is not correct. The justification for this prohibition is that the intention is not to buy the commodity but to get the money. However, the name Tawarruq itself means to get warruq (silver coin). So the intention is to get money, be it organized or not organized. There have been discussions and the consensus of the people is that we should adopt a scientific procedure in issuing fatwa. Issues must be discussed fully and people must be allowed to enter into a dialogue and listen to the arguments.
Sheikh Dr Abdul Sattar Abdul Kareem Abu Ghuddah:
Whenever there is a decision by an international body, it is the duty of any institution to respect the views of all sides and take them into consideration.
However it is not compulsory for the institutions to abide by the decision. Every bank has its own board of Shariah advisors. If a particular board has allowed something which other bodies (for instance, Majma or Islamic Universal Association and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) has disallowed, the bank has to follow the Shariah board’s decision.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby:
We always say that Islam has the solution for everything, but when it comes to financing, is there no solution? The fuqaha have stated that in the desert when you want to take ablution and you don’t have water, even then you don’t have to borrow money to buy water; instead a solution is provided in the form of Tayamum or ablution with sand.
There is a need for financing, people want and need cash, and so Islamic banks must have a solution. If the reason for the prohibition is the organized element, then similarly all instruments which are organized, such as Murabahah and Musharakah, are in the end organized and used for financing. Does that make all these contracts haram?
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