Laws of Trade
Mufti Abu Muhammad Ali Asghar Attari Madani
1. If a buyer returns an item without a valid reason, it is not necessary to take it back
Question: What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: I have an electronics store. Customers purchase various electronic items from us and sometimes return them, although we have neither deceived them nor does any defect exist in the product. What is the ruling on accepting such returns? Will we be sinful for not accepting returns? If we accept the return of these items, the effort we put in and the profit gained will be lost, which is why we rarely accept them.
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: The termination of a sales contract between two parties is called iqāla. It has several conditions, one of which is that both parties must agree to termination. If one party disagrees, iqāla cannot take place. If a customer chooses to buy a product, you have neither lied nor deceived them, and there is no valid Islamic reason to annul the contract, then you are not obliged to accept its return. You have the right of refusing to accept the return and you will not be sinful for it. Yet, it is mustaḥabb (recommended) and rewarding to accept the return from the buyer out of kindness.
Muftī Amjad ꜤAlī al-AꜤẓamī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه writes, “The cancellation of a contract between two parties is called iqāla. If one party desires to terminate the contract, it is mustaḥabb for the other to accept. The latter will earn reward.”[1]
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
2. Taking payment for cupping
Question: What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: Nowadays, some institutes perform cupping free of charge whilst others charge a fixed rate. How is it to charge and receive payment for cupping?
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: Cupping is a type of treatment encouraged in hadith. Having cupping done with the advice of a qualified doctor is a very good practise. Yet, doing this in a masjid or its courtyard is impermissible according to Islamic law as it involves the extraction of flowing blood, and this is impure. The masjid and its courtyard must be kept free from impurities.
It is permissible to charge and pay a fee for cupping. The practise of the Merciful Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and clear statements in books of jurisprudence establish the permissibility of charging for cupping. Yet, adopting cupping as a profession is not desirable as per Islamic law.
In Sharḥ MaꜤānī al-Āthār:
عن عبد اللہ بن العباس انه قال: احتجم رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم واعطى الحجام اجره فی ذلك
ꜤAbdullāh b. ꜤAbbās رضی اللہُ تعالیٰ عنہما narrates how the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم underwent cupping and gave the practitioner a wage for his work.[2]
Muftī Amjad ꜤAlī al-AꜤẓamī رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْه said:
Cupping is permissible. Giving or taking payment for it is also lawful. The fee received by the one who performs cupping is lawful, even though he has to draw blood and may sometimes get stained with it. Since the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم underwent cupping and paid the practitioner, it is evident there is no impurity in the payment.[3]
Regarding impurity in the masjid’s courtyard, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه said: “In some matters, the boundary wall of the masjid falls into the same ruling as the masjid itself. A person performing iꜤtikāf may go there without necessity, and it is not permissible to spit, blow the nose, or dispose of impurities there.”[4]
In Bahār-i-Sharīʿat: “It is impermissible to enter the masjid while carrying an impurity, even if the impurity does not defile the masjid. It is also impermissible for a person who has impurity on their body to enter the masjid.”[5]
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
3. The ruling of using entrusted money for business
Question: What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: If someone has given me money for safekeeping and has not given me permission to use it, can I purchase prize bonds or invest in a business with it?
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: In this scenario, using the entrusted money to purchase prize bonds or invest in any business is forbidden. If you do so, you are liable to compensate for that amount.
The money given for safekeeping is called wadīꜤa in Islamic legal terminology. WadīꜤa is obligatory for the mūdiꜤ (with whom the item is entrusted/custodian) to safeguard. If the custodian destroys or misuses the trust due to negligence or deliberate misconduct, he is considered a ghāṣib (usurper) as per Islamic law.
In such a case, the entrusted item is treated as seized property, and it becomes obligatory upon the ghāṣib to compensate for it. In the mentioned case, if you use the entrusted money to purchase prize bonds or invest in a business, you will be deemed a ghāṣib and the money will be considered usurped. Consequently, you will be liable to compensate for that amount.
Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه writes in his response to a similar question:
Hinda gave her money to him, so this was not a loan but a wadīꜤa. As long as Zayd continued giving her something from his own side, it was neither a profit on a loan nor an excess in any transactional agreement, so it could not be considered interest. It was a voluntary act of kindness and generosity from Zayd. Yet, now that Zayd has invested that money without Hinda’s permission, he has become a ghāṣib and it is obligatory for him to compensate for it.[6]
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
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