A new plan is in the offing to ensure that fatwas are issued only by approved scholars, in accordance with the recent Royal Order, said Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Aal Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti and Chairman of the Board of Senior Ulema (Scholars). “We will exert every effort in implementing it and we hope Allah Almighty grants us success,” he said. On another subject, the Grand Mufti said that recognizing the Night of Al-Qadr is impossible, and people who claim to be able to do so are lying. He said the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not specify a certain day in Ramadan to be the Al-Qadr night. “How can we? It is something that was concealed from us,” he said. Meanwhile, the Grand Mufti rejected calls made on some satellite television channels for Sadqa Fitr to be given earlier, so that this money can be donated to the Pakistanis affected by floods. He said it is impermissible to distribute Sadqa Fitr other than the last day of Ramadan or on the morning of Eid Al-Fitr. If it is given now, but distributed at the allotted time, then it is permissible. The Grand Mufti said, however, it is better for people to give charity if they want to contribute now to the Pakistanis.
