Fiqh Council of North America 401K

Your Questions.

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Providing guidance to the Muslims of North America in all matters related to Shari'ah

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide guidance to the Muslims of North America in all matters related to Shari’ah by answering constituent questions, writing research policy papers, and holding conferences/seminars related to Islamic legal principles in North America. Also, FCNA provides essential information to the general public in North America on Islamic matters by using clear and concise legal statements from within a mainstream legal paradigm.

Resources We provide

Who We Are

The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) is a body of recognized and qualified Islamic Scholars from the United States and Canada who accept the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah as the primary sources of Islam. Furthermore, FCNA is guided by the judicial heritage of the Prophet’s companions and the legal rulings and methodology of established classical normative Muslim Scholarship.

Our Council's Executive Committee

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi

CHAIRMAN

Dr. Zainab Alwani

VICE CHAIRMAN

Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Take a look at our publications

Auto Insurance, AAA, and the Expanded Scope of Service Based Employment

In order to analyze modern forms of auto insurance and other automotive services, one must first look deeper into traditional understandings of employment and evaluate its scope for expansion to encompass modern day transactions.  Based on traditional works of the jurists, this resolution focuses on service-based employment and establishes permissibility for collateral and comprehensive auto insurance, as well as AAA membership.

Dry Cleaning: Establishing Purification via Alternate Washing Procedures

The crux of the objection to dry cleaning lies in the reusing of the same solvent through numerous wash loads, and that the latter loads come in contact with the solvent made impure through a prior load, assuming that load contained impure clothes, which renders clothes washed via dry cleaning impure.  This resolution delves into the Sharia’s objective in its recommended washing procedures and how the current dry cleaning procedures serve that objective.

Male, Female, or Other: Ruling of a Transgender Post Sex Change Procedures

This resolution states that transgender individuals who undergo Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) and/or hormone therapy do not transform into another sex and the rulings of the original sex continue to apply.  In order to determine sex transformation, one must understand the definition of sex, when the Sharia considers genuine transmutation, and the extent of the results of SRS and hormone therapy.  The resolution also demonstrates the difference between transgender and intersex individuals and the flaw in deriving rulings of the former based off the jurists’ guidance in determining the sex of the latter.

Gold Nisab for Fulfilling the Golden Rule in Zakat: Maximizing Benefit for the Poor

This resolution states that the nisab of money must be set against the nisab of gold, as opposed to silver, in order to accomplish the zakat principle of maximizing benefit for the poor.  Although the jurists instructed to use the lower of the two nisab based on their intent to maximize the benefit for the poor, the resolution argues that one does not find that benefit in the low nisab value of silver given its devaluation, along with increased living and udhiyyah costs.

Prepaid College Tuition Plans: Forward Service Contracts to Help Avoid the Student Debt Crisis

The interest-based student debt crisis exceeds $1.4 trillion and impacts 44 million people in the US, including Muslims.  A prepaid tuition plan lets an individual purchase units or credits, at current prices, for a beneficiary’s education in the future.  This resolution analyzes such plans, along with its Sharia compliance, concluding that these are permissible forward service (ijarah mudafah) contracts.

Test-Tube Turkey: Ruling on Meat Grown in Labs

Scientists have successfully grown meat in labs by using cells extracted from live animals.  It is possible to eat meat from an animal that is still alive, as well as meat that was never part of any animal.  This resolution analyzes lab-grown meat using muscle stem cells from animals and induced pluripotent stem cells from bird feathers, and it explains the impermissibility of the former and the permissibility of the latter.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP) offers employees a tax-advantaged investment option while securing increased motivation and loyalty in return. However, the plans combine a complex set of interactions and its structure raises a few objections. This resolution breaks down the ESPP into the relevant Sharia financial transactions and answers the potential objections raised against its permissibility.

Zakat on 401(k): Differentiating Between Trade and Investment Assets

Approximately 79% of Americans work for an employer that offers a 401(k), and more than 60 million participate in such a plan, including many Muslims. This resolution establishes principles of differentiating between trade and investment assets and applies them to determine the ruling on zakat on 401(k). It also addresses whether penalty and taxes are valid debts for subtraction in a 401(k) zakat calculation.