The Ruling on a Lease Ending in Ownership

Question:
May Allah reward you. This is the last question. The questioner asks: What is the ruling on purchasing cars through the contract known as a lease ending in ownership?

Answer:
This is an invalid contract, and a decision was issued long ago by the Council of Senior Scholars declaring it invalid, because a sale cannot be contingent on the future. A sale must be immediate, but this is a sale contingent on the future, ending in ownership, with the sale occurring later. This is not permissible. The condition for the validity of a sale is that it be immediate.
In the council, one does not say, "When such-and-such month ends, or such-and-such time comes, or so-and-so arrives, then I have sold this to you." This is not permissible because it is a contingent sale. This is from one aspect. The other aspect is that the outcome of the car is unknown; it is not known how it will end. It may deteriorate, its value may decrease, or something of it may be damaged. This is a sale of an unknown item, and it is not permissible. Yes.