Forcibly Collecting a Fixed Sum as a Sweet Offering for the Spiritual Guides

Question

The customary sweet offering which is given to the Sayyid spiritual guides as binding: for instance, someone has fixed for himself a sum of 8 or 4 [units of money] for every year; the respected guide does not take more or less. If the payer refuses, a monetary punishment (ta‘zir mali) is imposed on him — feeding a few huffaz, or the respected guide or the respected qadi takes the fine and puts it to his own use or spends it on something else.

Answer

This sweet offering and niyaz have no basis whatsoever in the Sacred Law. Giving it is also impermissible, because it is assisting in sin (i‘anat ‘ala al-ithm), as [stated] in the Great Qur’an: [ar]وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ[/ar] “And do not help one another in sin and transgression” (Surah al-Ma’ida, 5:2).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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