(Part No. 22; Page No. 267)
Fatwa no.
2686
Praise be to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has read the question submitted by the Director of Grain Silos Organization in
Riyadh,
to His Eminence the General President, that was referred by the General Secretariat Number (2/1954), dated 11/10/1399 A.H. It states the following:Please be advised, Your Eminence, that the government has established the Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization for many purposes, among which is producing white flour for national consumption. The cost of a flour bag reaches eighty Riyals, but the Organization sells it for very cheap prices, ranging from eleven to thirteen Riyals, according to its quality. However, some people began to use this flour as fodder for their sheep, making use of its cheap price, although the main purpose behind selling flour for this cheap price is producing high-quality bread for people, to help the residents of Saudi Arabia. The government has also provided different types of fodder for cheap prices as well, that might reach thirteen Riyals a bag.Please, Your Eminence, we would like you to issue a legal Fatwa (Part No. 22; Page No. 268) concerning the impermissibility of
using the flour made for humans as fodder for sheep.
The Committee gave the following answer:
If the situation is as you have mentioned, that the government provides white flour for the people to use for their food for cheap prices, as a form of help for them, and that the fodder is available for cheap prices as well, it will be impermissible for the people to use the white flour as fodder for the sheep, as it entails reducing the amount of flour for the people where there is no necessity; the government has already provided suitable sheep fodder for cheap prices; and it also entails disobedience to the rulers in the system they put to achieve the best public interest regarding the food of the people and the sheep fodder.
May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.
Eating a child's lef...
