DUBAI: Charity is an important concept in countries where Islamic laws exist. In short, it can be said that charity is collected from the accused as a relief to the family of the deceased in the case of involuntary manslaughter. The laws of many countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are based on Islamic laws. These rules are derived from Quran, Hadith, Ijma and Qiyas. Quran is the holy book of Islam. A Hadith is a collection of the life, sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. Ijma is the unanimous decisions of religious scholars in specific contexts and circumstances. Qiyas is a ruling based on the verses and principles of the Qur’an, if the final decision is not reached after considering the hadith and the ijma. These four things are the source of Islamic laws.
Charity is mentioned in Surah of Hadith. In the case of the loss of someone’s life by another, the other has an obligation to protect the family of the person who lost his life. This surah talks about paying the expenses of that family and freeing the slave. In another hadith it is said that he gave a hundred camels. Dayadhana is derived from this. Shabeel Umar, a lawyer, said that when the Islamic states were formed, the practical aspects of all these matters were naturally included in their legal code.
∙ This is what UAE law says
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federal state established in 1971. Every word has an interpretation in the country’s legal code. For example, in Article 30 of Federal Law 31/2021, the word “Dia” is interpreted as “Misconduct”. Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment, a fine of more than Dh10,000 and a fine. Charity is awarded at the discretion of the court and can be up to a maximum of Dh200,000. The same law applies to everyone whether they are men, women, foreigners or natives. But the dowry law is still not uniform in Saudi Arabia. There is a difference between men and women when it comes to money. The Saudi Shura Council is trying to unify this.
Abdul Rahim
In some cases, court rulings are cited in many other cases rather than written laws. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, the basis for calculating a gratuity is usually the basic salary. But in a particular case, the court ruled that the gift should be based on the last salary drawn. The reason for this was that although the employer had increased the employee’s salary due to an increase in other expenses, the basic salary had not increased for 20 years. As a result, the judgment was issued after the court found that the employer had done an injustice to the employee.
Apart from written rules, the court has discretion to make fair decisions. In the UAE, numbers are used to identify cases. The intention of this step is to protect the privacy of individuals. In one case in 2014 (Case No. 42/2014), a child died after being hit by a vehicle. The family asked for charity for the child. But the driver claimed that the accident happened because the child ran into the road carelessly. Although it was argued that the negligence of the child and the father was responsible for the accident, the court ruled that the family should be compensated on the basis that the father had suffered a loss due to the death of the child.
In another case (Case No. 111/2020), the respondent claimed that no compensation was due since the insurance money had been paid to the complainant. But the court rejected the argument that the charity should not be paid since the insurance money had been paid. Advocate Shabeel Umar explains that the court observed that insurance money and dowry are two different things and ruled that dowry should be given to the plaintiff.
In a case held in Abu Dhabi in February 2023, a court ruled that a charity of Dh300,000 should be paid. However, the defendant argued that according to the law, the maximum charity is only Dh200,000. The plaintiff’s side argued that a higher amount can be paid as charity in certain circumstances. A decision on this matter is at the discretion of the court. Therefore, in this case, an award of Dh300,000 was accepted as charity by the court. Shabeel Umar explains through this incident that the court, in the United Arab Emirates, can use its discretion to award more charity than what is written in the law in circumstances that are not specified’ n clear in the law.
In a case in September 2022 in Abu Dhabi, two workers died of shock from a fish farming lake, and their employer had to pay ex-gratia. Although the employer claimed that he was not present when the incident occurred, the court ordered each employee to pay compensation to Dh200,000. In 2003, a Bangladeshi national died after being hit by a vehicle carrying a Pakistani national. In this case, the court ordered that Dh150,000 be paid. The court later reduced this amount to Dh100,000 after the Pakistani citizen appealed.
In the UAE, the reality is that a court can increase or decrease charity if it sees fit. It is different in other Gulf countries. In Saudi Arabia, the family of the deceased can ask for charity. In Qatar, the court has the power to decide how much the family of the deceased should receive. In Oman, the maximum charity is 15,000 Omani Rial (about 150,000 UAE Dirham). In short, Shabeel Umar explains that the purpose of asking for charity is to provide financial support to the family of the deceased.
∙ Charity, the decision belongs to the next of kin
It is up to the next of kin of the deceased to decide whether they want charity or not. Their decision must be communicated to the court. In the case of the death of an Indonesian man in Abu Dhabi, his family forgave the suspect and refused to pay the charity. The accused’s family was economically backward. The next of kin of the deceased have full freedom to decide whether they want charity or not. If the court decides to grant charity, if the relatives of the deceased are not in the UAE, various documents, including inheritance certificates from recognized organizations in their country of residence, must be submitted to the court and the relevant authorities. A ‘power of attorney’ can be given to someone to produce documents in the UAE on behalf of relatives. With this ‘power of attorney’, the authorized person can come to the UAE and complete the legal procedures from the appropriate ministries and submit them to the court.
The UAE is a federal state and the rulers of the emirates have full authority over administrative matters in their emirates. Therefore, managers can intervene directly if necessary even in charity matters. There has been an incident where the ruler of Sharjah has intervened in such a case and donated 200,000 dirhams to charity. Depending on the circumstances, changes are made in the law in the UAE with the approval of the authorities.
∙ Malayalees who had to give charity recently
In 2021, the leading businessman MA Yousafali intervened. Yousafali, who gave charity to the child’s relatives, helped the Malayali accused in the case escape from the case. In 2015, a native of Kadaikal accused of involuntary manslaughter in the UAE was acquitted through fundraising.
The charity of Abdul Rahim, who is in jail in Saudi Arabia, was discussed once again when the Malayalees of the world came together for a charity of 34 crore Indian rupees. The sources of laws in Islamic countries are based on the four things mentioned at the beginning, and the Shari’ah is the framework of those laws. If Abdul Rahim’s release is possible, such Sharia laws will surely lead to more discussions in the future.
(For information: Courtesy Advocate Shabeel Ummer, Head of Legal V.Group International)
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