Questions regarding some of the rulings on donations, specifically when television employees gather and collect donations via telephone for certain hospitals?
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'Ayd: My Shaykh, I would like to... regarding these matters. After the Friday prayer, our brother Abu Malik mentioned, as you heard, about donating to the Al-Amal Cancer Hospital. And yesterday I was at my father's house and saw them doing the same thing, collecting in a way, subhan Allah, my Shaykh, it is a strange method, I mean, a very strange policy. In fact, it has become a competition among people, and everyone wants to pay and donate to this hospital.
The Shaykh : Yes, I do not know who I heard this from.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : She said something, exaggerated, meaning it is very excessive.
'Ayd: It is the highest, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Okay, what is the method?
'Ayd: Yes, so that you have the picture, they are bringing, of course, a live broadcast. A group of television employees sit at tables holding telephones. A citizen calls them directly, and it comes out, "Hello, from the donor?" "I am the donor, what is your name?" "I am the owner of such-and-such company, and I donated one thousand dinars." They record his name at such-and-such time, they put down the phone, they say, "Thank you," and so on, meaning praise and eulogy. After a while, another person calls... so-and-so with five thousand dinars. Then after a while, he comes and says, for example, they become... some with others. "Oh so-and-so, they are bringing actors. Oh so-and-so, okay, what is still missing?" "By Allah, what is still missing is this resuscitation room. What does it cost?" "It costs fifteen thousand dinars." After a while, one person is on the line, "My brother, I am donating a resuscitation room for fifteen thousand dinars." After a while, likewise, "I am donating this." Until one of them donated a quarter of a million, two hundred and fifty thousand dinars. And in this manner, in perhaps a few hours, one person called and said, "I want to see how much you have collected," and the number reached four million Jordanian dinars. So, is this style, my Shaykh, and this method... of course, later they bring a second picture to the studio, here in the association, or I do not know what they call it, they bring a picture... with children. A child is holding a paper, and they say to him, "Please, uncle, yes, look at this honest, innocent child bringing five dinars!" Yes, another one, look, one is bringing his piggy bank with perhaps one or two dinars. One is bringing... this is the method.
So indeed, they attracted the hearts of people to the extent that... what? They give these huge amounts. If there is an observation, my Shaykh, or something about this, so that the person is...?
The Shaykh : An observation. There is something. First, I am inclined to think that there are theatrical matters that are not true.
'Ayd: From which aspect, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, they have agreed with some of their individuals that he called us and said, "I want to donate a quarter of a million, and these five thousand, and so on."
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is ink on paper only, to stir up the people and move them and excite them.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not rule out this.
'Ayd: Ah, this.
The Shaykh : This is from one side. From another side, stirring up souls in this way leads them to showing off, so showing off and lack of sincerity in the charity or in the donation to Allah the Exalted.
We say these are the ones who donate, and their intentions.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : But we do not support this style.
'Ayd: Later, my Shaykh, they are clever, they know... they brought Dr. Ahmad al-Awaisheh and did an interview with him in front of the children and in front of the people. They said, "Dr. Ahmad, please, we would like a word from you." Of course, the truth is, he spoke words of truth, about charity and encouraging charity, and so on. And then he said at the end, "And I am donating an amount of such-and-such," a donation, meaning a specific amount. So even to point to people that, even from the Sharia perspective, this Shaykh is encouraging you to donate.
The Shaykh : Yes.
'Ayd: And charity is multiplied tenfold. So, but this observation is that, meaning, the prescribed thing, my Shaykh, and supporting them, do you see this?
The Shaykh : Yes, I mean, up to the point that, that day, I think yesterday, Umm Muhammad, this al-'Abdiniyyah, you may know her, the Minister of Communications, called me.
'Ayd: The Minister of Communications, yes, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : She has agreed with her husband to stop a cemetery in the Salafi manner for burying the dead.
'Ayd: Masha Allah.
The Shaykh : So they were talking to me for about a year regarding this matter, and I gave them the prescribed idea for taking the cemetery.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, we said to them, buy land, let it be, for example, one hundred meters by one hundred meters. The more, the better. The important thing is the execution.
The Shaykh : Yes, I do not know who I heard this from.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : She said something, exaggerated, meaning it is very excessive.
'Ayd: It is the highest, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Okay, what is the method?
'Ayd: Yes, so that you have the picture, they are bringing, of course, a live broadcast. A group of television employees sit at tables holding telephones. A citizen calls them directly, and it comes out, "Hello, from the donor?" "I am the donor, what is your name?" "I am the owner of such-and-such company, and I donated one thousand dinars." They record his name at such-and-such time, they put down the phone, they say, "Thank you," and so on, meaning praise and eulogy. After a while, another person calls... so-and-so with five thousand dinars. Then after a while, he comes and says, for example, they become... some with others. "Oh so-and-so, they are bringing actors. Oh so-and-so, okay, what is still missing?" "By Allah, what is still missing is this resuscitation room. What does it cost?" "It costs fifteen thousand dinars." After a while, one person is on the line, "My brother, I am donating a resuscitation room for fifteen thousand dinars." After a while, likewise, "I am donating this." Until one of them donated a quarter of a million, two hundred and fifty thousand dinars. And in this manner, in perhaps a few hours, one person called and said, "I want to see how much you have collected," and the number reached four million Jordanian dinars. So, is this style, my Shaykh, and this method... of course, later they bring a second picture to the studio, here in the association, or I do not know what they call it, they bring a picture... with children. A child is holding a paper, and they say to him, "Please, uncle, yes, look at this honest, innocent child bringing five dinars!" Yes, another one, look, one is bringing his piggy bank with perhaps one or two dinars. One is bringing... this is the method.
So indeed, they attracted the hearts of people to the extent that... what? They give these huge amounts. If there is an observation, my Shaykh, or something about this, so that the person is...?
The Shaykh : An observation. There is something. First, I am inclined to think that there are theatrical matters that are not true.
'Ayd: From which aspect, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, they have agreed with some of their individuals that he called us and said, "I want to donate a quarter of a million, and these five thousand, and so on."
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is ink on paper only, to stir up the people and move them and excite them.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not rule out this.
'Ayd: Ah, this.
The Shaykh : This is from one side. From another side, stirring up souls in this way leads them to showing off, so showing off and lack of sincerity in the charity or in the donation to Allah the Exalted.
We say these are the ones who donate, and their intentions.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : But we do not support this style.
'Ayd: Later, my Shaykh, they are clever, they know... they brought Dr. Ahmad al-Awaisheh and did an interview with him in front of the children and in front of the people. They said, "Dr. Ahmad, please, we would like a word from you." Of course, the truth is, he spoke words of truth, about charity and encouraging charity, and so on. And then he said at the end, "And I am donating an amount of such-and-such," a donation, meaning a specific amount. So even to point to people that, even from the Sharia perspective, this Shaykh is encouraging you to donate.
The Shaykh : Yes.
'Ayd: And charity is multiplied tenfold. So, but this observation is that, meaning, the prescribed thing, my Shaykh, and supporting them, do you see this?
The Shaykh : Yes, I mean, up to the point that, that day, I think yesterday, Umm Muhammad, this al-'Abdiniyyah, you may know her, the Minister of Communications, called me.
'Ayd: The Minister of Communications, yes, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : She has agreed with her husband to stop a cemetery in the Salafi manner for burying the dead.
'Ayd: Masha Allah.
The Shaykh : So they were talking to me for about a year regarding this matter, and I gave them the prescribed idea for taking the cemetery.
'Ayd: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, we said to them, buy land, let it be, for example, one hundred meters by one hundred meters. The more, the better. The important thing is the execution.