Laws of trade
Working as a freelancer through a website
Question 1: What do the noble scholars state regarding this issue: Through a website for freelancers, clients are able to hire us for projects. The remuneration and deadline are mutually agreed by us and the clients. The freelancing website deducts a fixed commission and then remunerates us. Is this permissible?
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: According to what is known in our custom, human beings are indeed present behind a digital platform. It is these people who undertake the effort to technically introduce the client to you. As long as the work is of a halal nature, the platform or website owners are permitted to charge a commission for this service.
Whether you are employed by a company to work on projects, or you take on projects independently, or you work through your own company, in all of these scenarios, you are permitted to charge a fee for your services as long as:
1. The project is of a halal nature;
2. It does not directly assist someone in committing an unlawful act.
Nevertheless, you must always operationalise the terms and specifics of the work being undertaken. This is a fundamental principle of any employment and includes specifying the type of contract and the pricing structure (per project, daily based, hourly based, etc.) such that there is no ambiguity.
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
Profit entitlement for someone purchasing goods on behalf of a trader
Question 2: What do the noble scholars state regarding this issue: In the situation where someone requests a contact to acquire certain goods for him, is the contact entitled to add a profit for himself to the original purchase price of the items?
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: If the contact is a tradesperson and so it is understood from business norms that s/he will add a profit to the good’s purchase price before selling it to the tradesperson who initially requested them. This type of dealing is effectively a promise in which the goods will be acquired, then a price will be agreed by the contact and the requester, and a sale will take place. As this dealing begins as a promise, the requester is not under obligation to buy the goods once they have been acquired by the contact. All of the regular rules of buying and selling will apply to such a transaction.
However, this is not always the case. It is common for people to request an acquaintance to bring some items or goods from an area which the latter is planning to visit. In this context, the acquaintance has effectively become the representative of the person and therefore is not permitted to add his own profit to the original purchase price of the goods.
Special caution must be taken in the second scenario that was mentioned; an additional amount (of money) cannot be kept in this case.
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
Customers failing to collect orders
Question 3: What do the noble scholars state regarding this issue: Despite placing an order for bespoke furniture from our outlet and leaving a security deposit, customers occasionally do not return to collect the finished goods. We are then forced to store them in containers at the cost of space and rental charges. By this time, we have usually spent more money than the security deposit. Are we permitted to sell these goods to a different customer?
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: Services related to products of this nature are typically of two types:
1. The item is owned by the customer but he hands it in for repairs. For example, a customer may bring in a faulty fridge for repairs but does not return to collect it. Similarly, a customer may hand in a computer for repairs but fails to collect it once repairs are complete. In these cases, the item continues to belong to the customer and cannot be sold to someone else. However, your particular situation is unlike this and comes under the second type, as described hereunder.
2. The item is manufactured by the seller on order of the customer. In Islamic Finance, this is termed Istisna’. Sales of this kind are governed by special rules that differ from conventional rules of buying and selling. In a conventional sale, the goods must be in the possession of the seller at the point of sale. However, a manufacturing agreement is exceptional to this rule and the seller is able to sell goods that do not technically exist yet. As a seller, you may accept the order and, if needed, a security deposit. Although you are now responsible for manufacturing the item and handing it over to the customer, s/he will not legally own it until the product is finalised and given to them. Hence, if you sell it before that, there is no harm in this. Yet, if the customer does return, you will have to prepare their order and give it to them because this is their right upon you. It is stated in Bahar-e-Shari’at: ‘The item which is manufactured on order is not exclusive to the customer ordering it. If the customer accepts it, it becomes his and if the manufacturer decides to sell it to a third party, before presenting it to the original customer, the sale will be valid, (Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol. 2, p. 808).
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم
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