The Ruling on Using Prepaid Cards with a Limited Duration

Question:
I ask Allah to do you good, Honorable Shaykh. There are many questions in this inquiry regarding the prepaid card known as "Sawa." One person says: "I am a person who cannot afford to buy a regular or family phone, because I do not have the means to pay the monthly fees or the cost of calls. Therefore, I use this type of card because I buy it whenever I can and use it whenever I want. What is the ruling on my situation?"

Answer:
These cards appear to be not permissible, because they limit their use to a specific period. If the period passes and you have not used it, or if you have some usage remaining, it is wasted and your money is lost without right. So they are not permissible. It is obligatory that if you buy something, you use it until it is exhausted. As for saying that it is not valid to use it except on certain days or within a certain period, and if that period passes, it is lost and they do not return your money to you—if they returned your money, or if they returned what remained, there would be no harm. But if they consume it and take it, that is consuming wealth by falsehood. Because whoever buys something owns it permanently, not temporarily, and uses it until it is gone. This is the principle of buying and selling. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you