What is the ruling on acting according to the customs and traditions of the tribes?
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Question:
A questioner says: Your Eminence, it was mentioned in a fatwa of yours regarding judging by Arab rights and equivalents that it is not permissible. But what is the solution for such cases, which the tribes have become accustomed to and consider a settlement, especially since they deter encroachment on others?
We ask you, may Allah prolong your life, to clarify this issue? And it would be desirable if there were a gathering of the tribal sheikhs to clarify such a process. Peace be upon you.
Answer:
This question is vague. The fatwa we issued and the letters we wrote to the tribes—which are read to the heads of the tribes—urge them to adhere to the ruling of Allah and to beware of the laws, customs, and old practices they follow that contradict the Shari'ah. So, any settlement that conforms to the Shari'ah is permissible, and any that contradicts the Shari'ah is what is subject to guidance and warning, so that they do not do what contradicts the pure Shari'ah of Allah.
So these laws that fathers and ancestors have become accustomed to, and the customs that some people rely on, must be examined and presented to the Book and the Sunnah. Whatever conforms to the Book and the Sunnah is accepted from them, and whatever does not conform to that is rejected by its people, and they are advised against it. If the custom between them does not contradict the Shari'ah—for example, if they go to the one who was encroached upon and ask him to agree to forgiveness and a settlement between him and his brother with money offered by his brother, or by the tribe, so that no fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) occurs between them, because he encroached upon him—such as hitting him, or killing his son, or killing his brother, or the like—if they go to him with a settlement, and offer him money that pleases him, or gather for him from the tribe money that pleases him, or prepare food and invite the tribe while he is with them to appease him and seek his forgiveness; then there is nothing wrong with these matters. What is feared is only what contradicts the pure Shari'ah.
So if the custom or the settlement is in a form that the Shari'ah does not approve of and does not sanction, then this is what is prohibited from the customs of the tribes and the old practices of the sheikhs.
A questioner says: Your Eminence, it was mentioned in a fatwa of yours regarding judging by Arab rights and equivalents that it is not permissible. But what is the solution for such cases, which the tribes have become accustomed to and consider a settlement, especially since they deter encroachment on others?
We ask you, may Allah prolong your life, to clarify this issue? And it would be desirable if there were a gathering of the tribal sheikhs to clarify such a process. Peace be upon you.
Answer:
This question is vague. The fatwa we issued and the letters we wrote to the tribes—which are read to the heads of the tribes—urge them to adhere to the ruling of Allah and to beware of the laws, customs, and old practices they follow that contradict the Shari'ah. So, any settlement that conforms to the Shari'ah is permissible, and any that contradicts the Shari'ah is what is subject to guidance and warning, so that they do not do what contradicts the pure Shari'ah of Allah.
So these laws that fathers and ancestors have become accustomed to, and the customs that some people rely on, must be examined and presented to the Book and the Sunnah. Whatever conforms to the Book and the Sunnah is accepted from them, and whatever does not conform to that is rejected by its people, and they are advised against it. If the custom between them does not contradict the Shari'ah—for example, if they go to the one who was encroached upon and ask him to agree to forgiveness and a settlement between him and his brother with money offered by his brother, or by the tribe, so that no fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) occurs between them, because he encroached upon him—such as hitting him, or killing his son, or killing his brother, or the like—if they go to him with a settlement, and offer him money that pleases him, or gather for him from the tribe money that pleases him, or prepare food and invite the tribe while he is with them to appease him and seek his forgiveness; then there is nothing wrong with these matters. What is feared is only what contradicts the pure Shari'ah.
So if the custom or the settlement is in a form that the Shari'ah does not approve of and does not sanction, then this is what is prohibited from the customs of the tribes and the old practices of the sheikhs.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.