I am a young man in my twenties. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) left behind a sum of money as his fees, but my older brother registered the lands that we purchased in the names of the male siblings only.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : He says: I am a young man in my twenties. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) left behind a sum of money as his fees. It so happened that my older brother registered the lands that we purchased in the names of the male siblings only, and added a sum to it. I want my share in cash and do not want the land. Please give us a ruling on this, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, we give you the ruling to refer this to the legal judge there, because issues of dispute, or what may lead to a dispute, are not answered by the mufti. If the mufti answers, his opponent may have something he did not mention to the mufti. This is from one aspect. Also, the mufti’s opinion may differ from the judge’s opinion in disputed matters.
Therefore, we advise our brother muftis that if any problem between two people is presented to them, they should not issue a ruling on it, because this only leads to the escalation of the dispute. Perhaps the case will be raised to the judge, and the judge will rule differently from what this mufti ruled, and people will talk: the mufti said such and such, and the judge said such and such, even though evidence may be presented to the judge that was not mentioned to the mufti.
So my advice to my brother muftis, whether in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, is not to issue rulings on matters involving dispute. Yes, if it is assumed that the questioner asks about a matter where the right is against him, then here we may say: the mufti has a dispensation to issue a ruling on it in order to cut off the dispute between the questioner and his opponent and to shorten the path.
However, if the matter is likely to be for this one or for that one, or if it is for him against his opponent, then here we say: do not issue a ruling. Refer it to the judge, and your conscience will be clear.
The Shaykh : Yes, we give you the ruling to refer this to the legal judge there, because issues of dispute, or what may lead to a dispute, are not answered by the mufti. If the mufti answers, his opponent may have something he did not mention to the mufti. This is from one aspect. Also, the mufti’s opinion may differ from the judge’s opinion in disputed matters.
Therefore, we advise our brother muftis that if any problem between two people is presented to them, they should not issue a ruling on it, because this only leads to the escalation of the dispute. Perhaps the case will be raised to the judge, and the judge will rule differently from what this mufti ruled, and people will talk: the mufti said such and such, and the judge said such and such, even though evidence may be presented to the judge that was not mentioned to the mufti.
So my advice to my brother muftis, whether in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, is not to issue rulings on matters involving dispute. Yes, if it is assumed that the questioner asks about a matter where the right is against him, then here we may say: the mufti has a dispensation to issue a ruling on it in order to cut off the dispute between the questioner and his opponent and to shorten the path.
However, if the matter is likely to be for this one or for that one, or if it is for him against his opponent, then here we say: do not issue a ruling. Refer it to the judge, and your conscience will be clear.