The Ruling on Leasing a Restaurant and Taking a Fixed Amount from the Workers

The questioner:
A man owns a restaurant that is fully equipped, and he wants to lease this restaurant for a fixed monthly amount. The question is: why is this form called a partnership in the hypothetical scenario? And is it permissible?

The Shaykh:
This is permissible and is called a lease, or what is called a lease partnership. You have a restaurant that you lease to a company or a person; this is considered a lease. You lease the buildings and equipment to this person on the condition that he cooks the food and serves it to people. He pays you a monthly or annual rent. This is a lease. Yes, just as you lease a shop or a house, or lease a car. Yes.

The questioner:
Allah is the Greatest.

The Shaykh:
What we said is not permissible; this is not permissible. You hired them as workers with salaries, so let them work for their salaries only. Yes. As for a fixed amount that they pay you, first, it is contrary to the regulations, and second, it involves injustice to the workers, because they may not receive this amount, and you have obligated them to bring this amount. Perhaps they will steal.
Perhaps they will steal from people in order to pay you this amount because they did not receive it. What do they do? And you want to send them away if they do not give it to you. They are forced to obtain the amount, even through haram (forbidden) means. In fact, some of them, may Allah protect us from that, mentioned that he allows his honor to be violated; he allows his honor to be violated in order to obtain what he pays to the sponsor. This has happened. Yes. All of this is the result of people manipulating matters. Yes. Some of them steal, and some of them kill or rob houses. For what? To obtain this amount that he was obligated to pay. It is difficult. Yes.