Installment payments for charging cards

The questioner:
Abu Abdullah from Riyadh, please go ahead, Abu Abdullah. Hello, peace be upon you. And upon you, peace.

The Shaykh:
Peace be upon you.

The questioner:
May Allah give you a good evening. Welcome, please go ahead, Abu Abdullah.

The Shaykh:
May Allah keep you safe.

The questioner:
I have a question for you, my long-lived one, O Shaykh. I would like to ask about the installment payment of cards, whether it is a type of financing or tawarruq (a commodity sale used to obtain cash), I do not know. What is Shaykh Salih’s opinion on it?

The Shaykh:
These cards are not of that type.

The questioner:
These are charging cards, O Shaykh. They are used to charge mobile phones. People benefit from them; they have a cash value, but they sell them on deferred payment in monthly installments that are more than the cash value.

The Shaykh:
Yes, but these cards are used for a period and then they end.

The questioner:
They benefit from their value, meaning they are used for making calls.

The Shaykh:
Yes, but are they used permanently and do not end, and others come to replace them?

The questioner:
I did not understand you, O Shaykh. I mean, they have a value that is used to charge mobile phones. If they have a cash value and they benefit from selling them on deferred payment, meaning the one who wants it for a certain amount.

The Shaykh:
It does not contradict the ruling as long as they are used and have a value; there is no objection. These are like other goods, and it is permissible to sell them.

The presenter:
Thank you.