(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to the Questions of His Facebook Followers)
To Sham of Honor
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
May Allah bless you and guide your steps on the path of truth.
1- Is it permissible to talk about a vision (dream) on my personal page, or is this considered showing off (riya)... keeping in mind it is a special and very important vision.
2- I work as a pharmacist, and a Social Solidarity law has been imposed on us. It is mandatory; no work license is granted without paying the fees. They take an amount from us that is invested in a bank—this is what is written in the clause. Upon the death of a fellow pharmacist, the Social Solidarity Fund provides the pharmacist's family with 25,000 Jordanian Dinars. The question is: Is this permissible?
What should I advise my family regarding this money? Is it correct for them to recover what I paid and donate the rest to charity, or should it be returned to the syndicate, or what should they do with it? May Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
1- Regarding talking about a vision, Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say:
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يَقُولُ: «إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمُ الرُّؤْيَا يُحِبُّهَا، فَإِنَّهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ، فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ عَلَيْهَا وَلْيُحَدِّثْ بِهَا، وَإِذَا رَأَى غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا يَكْرَهُ، فَإِنَّما هِيَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَلْيَسْتَعِذْ مِنْ شَرِّهَا، وَلاَ يَذْكُرْهَا لِأَحَدٍ، فَإِنَّهَا لَنْ تَضُرَّهُ»
"If any of you sees a vision that he likes, it is from Allah, so let him praise Allah for it and speak about it. But if he sees something else that he dislikes, it is from Shaytan, so let him seek refuge from its evil and not mention it to anyone, for it will not harm him." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
As for whether talking about a specific vision is showing off (riya) or not, you are the one who decides that based on your intention. May Allah (swt) grant you success and aid you in all that is good.
2- Regarding the Social Solidarity law, its meanings vary. If it resembles the retirement law in syndicates—meaning the Pharmacists' Syndicate obligates you to subscribe to the retirement law and pay certain fees, and you are not allowed to work as a pharmacist without subscribing, i.e., you do not receive a pharmacist’s work license without subscribing to it and paying the fees... then after a certain age, they give you a pension and/or a specific amount upon death... If this is the case, and this subscription is mandatory, otherwise you are not allowed to work as a pharmacist, then it is permissible to subscribe to it because this is equivalent to obtaining a license for a permissible profession, which is allowed. However, at the moment the subscription and payment of fees become optional and do not affect the work license, it is not permissible to subscribe to it.
As for the investment of the syndicate’s funds in usury (riba), if this is dependent on your approval—meaning if you agree to invest the fees you pay in riba, it happens, and if you do not agree, it does not—then in that case, it is not permissible for you to agree to the riba-based investment. However, if the investment is done without your approval, meaning it is not your choice, then there is no sin upon you as long as your subscription and payment of fees do not exceed what is required to obtain the work license.
Regarding what the fund gives to your family upon death in this situation—i.e., in the case where your subscription is limited only to what is necessary to obtain the work license—it is permissible for them to take it, and the heirs are entitled to it. I would like for you to recommend that a portion of it be given to the poor and needy; this is better and purer. May Allah extend your life in performing good deeds.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
Link to the answer from the Ameer's page on Facebook
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