Chapter on the Profit from Money and Its Gain
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Fatwa No. ( 6469 )
Q: The Savings and Economy Company was established in the late 1940s among us, and we were a few people, with the agreement that each of us would pay one qirsh per day for each share. Two of us were appointed to buy and sell with the collected funds.
The company grew and grew, and it came to have a system and a board of directors. Many merchants joined it, and they made it into shares, with the value of one share being one hundred riyals. Now, after the liquidation of the company, the value of one share (liquidation) is more than six thousand riyals. It also has land plots, and their case has been referred to the Shari'ah courts. If they are confirmed to belong to the company, other amounts will be added to the share value. When I asked about the source of this profit, I learned that the company is a shareholder in the Bank of Riyadh, and that the profit comes from the value of the land it purchased, and that most of the profit came through the bank. A simple shareholder like me cannot distinguish between these sources. Is it permissible for me, according to the Shari'ah, to take the mentioned amount or part of it? Please give us a ruling, and may Allah reward you.
A: If the situation is as described, then take your capital and all its profits. You are entitled to the capital and the profits obtained through it, except for the riba interest. As for the riba interest, spend it on the poor and do not benefit from it in any way. You can determine the proportion of the profits that came from riba out of the company's total profits. If that is not possible, ask someone with experience in the company to estimate it approximately.
Q: The Savings and Economy Company was established in the late 1940s among us, and we were a few people, with the agreement that each of us would pay one qirsh per day for each share. Two of us were appointed to buy and sell with the collected funds.
The company grew and grew, and it came to have a system and a board of directors. Many merchants joined it, and they made it into shares, with the value of one share being one hundred riyals. Now, after the liquidation of the company, the value of one share (liquidation) is more than six thousand riyals. It also has land plots, and their case has been referred to the Shari'ah courts. If they are confirmed to belong to the company, other amounts will be added to the share value. When I asked about the source of this profit, I learned that the company is a shareholder in the Bank of Riyadh, and that the profit comes from the value of the land it purchased, and that most of the profit came through the bank. A simple shareholder like me cannot distinguish between these sources. Is it permissible for me, according to the Shari'ah, to take the mentioned amount or part of it? Please give us a ruling, and may Allah reward you.
A: If the situation is as described, then take your capital and all its profits. You are entitled to the capital and the profits obtained through it, except for the riba interest. As for the riba interest, spend it on the poor and do not benefit from it in any way. You can determine the proportion of the profits that came from riba out of the company's total profits. If that is not possible, ask someone with experience in the company to estimate it approximately.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.