Dought & clear, - Ruling on avoiding paying penalties and fines for trafficinfractions

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Here in the UK we can get a penalty ticket from the council and a fine if we park our cars in some places in the street that are prohibited or at certain times of the day. Even if the street is empty and you are not causing harm or an obstruction to anyone you can still be given a ticket ordering you to pay up to £60 (almost $100 and sometimes more) which can be difficult to pay sometimes. Therefore if we ingore paying them without any harm coming from that is it permissible or is it a right of theirs to issue these fines?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The fines that are imposed on people for breaking the traffic rules are regarded as a kind of ta’zeer (disciplinary punishment) in the form of a financial penalty.
There is a difference of opinion among the scholars as to whether that is permissible.
What Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim suggested was that it is permissible because of a great deal of shar’i evidence to that effect.
See:Majmoo’ al-Fataawa(28/109);al-Turuq al-Hukamiyyah, p. 386.
This has been discussed previously in the answers to questions 21900and 69872.
Based on that, it is not permissible for anyone who has committed any kind of traffic infraction to evade paying the resulting penalty.
In one of the statements of the Islamic Fiqh Council it says: The public interest dictates that there should be some deterrent regulations, one of which is financial penalties for the one who commits an infraction against these traffic rules and regulations, so as to deter those who put people's safety at risk on the streets and in marketplaces, such as those who drive vehicles or any other means of transportations, on the basis of the hisbah rulings. End quote.
It is well known that the traffic regulations forbid parking cars in certain places so as to prevent accidents or crowding, or to serve other purposes, so it is essential to follow the system so as to protect the safety of all.
Determining whether or not harm is caused by parking in this place is not something to be decided by individuals; rather it is to be decided by the people in charge of these affairs.
The one who goes against those regulations and has a fine imposed on him is not permitted to try to evade it, because it is a punishment that is imposed on him rightfully.
And Allaah knows best.








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Dought & clear, - If a slanderer repents, can his testimony be accepted?

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If a slanderer repents from his slander and mends his ways, can his testimony be accepted or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has stipulated three punishments for slander. They are: the hadd punishment; rejection of testimony; and describing the slanderer as an evildoer (Faasiq).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes, and reject their testimony forever. They indeed are the Faasiqoon (liars, rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).
5. Except those who repent thereafter and do righteous deeds; (for such) verily, Allaah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Noor 24:4-5].
With regard to the hadd punishment, the fuqaha’ are unanimously agreed that the hadd punishment for slander is eighty lashes if the slanderer is a free person [i.e., not a slave], man or woman, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“flog them with eighty stripes”
[al-Noor 24:4].
As for his testimony not being accepted, the scholars are unanimously agreed that the testimony of the slanderer should not be accepted so long as he has not repented, because he has committed a major sin, namely slander, and has not repented from it, so he cannot be described as being of good character, and good character is a condition of testimony being accepted; and because he is a liar and an evildoer according to the text of the verse: “They indeed are the Faasiqoon (liars, rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).”
“Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses! Then with Allaah they are the liars”
[al-Noor 24:13].
The testimony of the evildoer and liar cannot be accepted, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“And take as witness two just persons from among you (Muslims)” [al-Talaaq 65:2]. So it is stipulated that the witness should be of good character, and the evildoer and liar are not of good character.
If he repents from slander and admits that he was lying, then the majority of scholars (Maalik, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad) are of the view that his testimony may be accepted. They said:
1. Because repentance erases the sins that came before it, so if he repents his sin and its effects are erased completely, and non-acceptance of testimony is one of the effects of that sin.
Imam al-Shaafa’i said inal-Umm(7/94):
If he admits that he lied, his testimony may then be accepted, but if he does not do that then his testimony cannot be accepted, until he does that, because the sin for which his testimony is rejected is slander, but if he admits that he was lying then he has repented. End quote.
2. Because the expression “forever” in the verse applies so long as he persists in evildoing. Hence after that the verse mentions after the ruling that he is an evildoer: “and reject their testimony forever. They indeed are the Faasiqoon (liars, rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).” If the description of evildoer ceases to apply to him, then the reason for rejecting his testimony also ceases to exist.
3. It was narrated from ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said to those who had slandered al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah, after he had carried out the hadd punishment of flogging on them: “Whoever repents, his testimony will be accepted.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu’allaq majzoom report.
His repentance means that he admits that he was lying about the slandered person whom he accused of zina. Hence the words of ‘Umar according to Ibn Jareer were, “Whoever admits that he was lying, his testimony will be accepted.”
If the slanderer repents and mends his ways, his testimony will be accepted, like any other Muslim of good character.
Al-Mughni(12/386);al-Majmoo’(22/98-101).
And Allaah knows best.







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For children, - Creative and Innovative Story: The Beggar's Well-Deserved Dinner

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Many years ago, there lived two woodcutters, Rahim and Rahman, in a village. They would go out every morning to the nearby Bandipur forest to cut firewood and sell it in the nearby town. They earned barely enough to survive. After they had cut wood, they would sit on the bank of the river and eat their lunch from their Tiffin boxes. Next they would sell the firewood till the end of the day in the marketplace before going home.
One sunny day, the woodcutters were eating their lunch. It was at that time, Rahim noticed a thin and exhausted beggar, coming out of the forest. His clothes were torn and his hair was dishevelled. The beggar hungrily eyed the packets of lunch. "I see that you are having an excellent day my friends," said the beggar, addressing them. I wonder if you can spare a few morsels of food for me." Rahim, who felt sorry for the beggar, quickly reached for his packet of lunch and was about to give a part of it to the beggar, but Rahman immediately grabbed his elbow and pulled him back "We have no food to spare," Rahman told the beggar. "We work hard throughout the morning and pack enough food for ourselves to see us through the day. At the end of the day, we buy food and other essentials for our families. So you see we cannot give you what we are eating. But if you wish, I can lend you my Axe and we both will teach you how to cut firewood and sell it. Insha Allah at the end of the day, you will have enough to eat and buy yourself a new Axe to cut more firewood tomorrow. This way, you can earn a livelihood with dignity."
The beggar joined Rahman and they both went inside the forest. Patiently, Rahman showed the poor man how to cut the firewood and make it into a neat pile. Thereafter they took him to the market and told him how to sell it.
At first, the beggar had no success. He began to mutter angrily: "It would have been so much simpler if these men had been generous, and shared their food with him". As he was thinking, a carriage pulled up before him. A person stepped out. He purchased the whole bundle from the beggar. While making an exit, he pulled out a bundle of currency notes from his pocket and pressed it into his hands. The beggar was delighted and grinning happily, he proudly took the money to Rahman to show them his earnings. Rahman took him to another shop and purchased him a brand new Axe with a part of his money. After thanking Rahman and Rahim for their help, he headed towards an inn to eat his dinner and catch up with some badly needed rest.
After he had gone, Rahman told Rahim, "Had you given the beggar some food, he would have eaten it quickly and would have been again hungry tonight. By teaching him how to start his own trade in firewood, we have both taught him a skill, which will last him a lifetime. Now he will never go hungry again. In doing this, we have followed the teachings and the example that has been set for us by the Holy Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him)."
As a very famous saying goes, "Don't give them fish but teach them how to catch the fish."
Lessons from Life: "We make a living by what we get; and we make a life by what we give."







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