The seller disclosing a defect to the buyer
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Fatwa number ( 19996 )
Q: I read the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:29] 29 al-Nisa , and I used to work as a manager at a car dealership. This dealership, with the knowledge of some of its managers, purchases some spare parts from salvage yards (used parts shops) and installs them in customers' cars instead of new spare parts, even though new parts are available at the dealership. We charge the customers as if the parts were replaced with new ones from the dealership. These parts may be essential to the car, such as a front bumper, which can lead to accidents and casualties due to their rapid deterioration, causing the customer to return to have other parts installed and pay for the repair again. The dealership may also bring the parts back from the salvage yard, all of this for the sake of financial gain.
The manufacturing company also provides every buyer with a warranty for a certain period of time or a number of kilometers, as is customary among dealerships, covering any manufacturing defects in new cars. What happens at the dealership is an agreement with the customer to replace parts under the warranty. For example, if the engine has a minor defect that can be repaired, the managers of the dealership's workshop agree with the customer to replace his defective engine with a new one, on the condition that he pays half the price of the new engine. A new engine is installed in his car, and its full value and the installation fee are charged to the warranty provided by the manufacturing company to the customer. Then they also sell the used engine to others without the knowledge of the manufacturing company or the customer, so the loss falls on the manufacturing company. The question is: Is my work with this dealership during that past period forbidden? What is the ruling on my returning to work there? Do these actions, whether regarding spare parts or the warranty department, fall under the wording of the noble verse? Is my silence about it participation in their wrongdoing, or is it obligatory for me to report these actions to the responsible state authorities? These actions are still ongoing, and I advised them, but they became hostile toward me. Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you with good.
A: These actions are deception and betrayal, lying and fraud, and all these matters are forbidden by the explicit text of the Book and the Sunnah. When the work is of this nature,
it is not permissible for you to work with them; because it is a form of cooperation in sin and aggression. Based on this, it is not permissible for you to return to this work, and you must report this forbidden transaction to the responsible authorities, documenting it with evidence.
Q: I read the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لاَ تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلا أَنْ تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُمْ وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًاThe manufacturing company also provides every buyer with a warranty for a certain period of time or a number of kilometers, as is customary among dealerships, covering any manufacturing defects in new cars. What happens at the dealership is an agreement with the customer to replace parts under the warranty. For example, if the engine has a minor defect that can be repaired, the managers of the dealership's workshop agree with the customer to replace his defective engine with a new one, on the condition that he pays half the price of the new engine. A new engine is installed in his car, and its full value and the installation fee are charged to the warranty provided by the manufacturing company to the customer. Then they also sell the used engine to others without the knowledge of the manufacturing company or the customer, so the loss falls on the manufacturing company. The question is: Is my work with this dealership during that past period forbidden? What is the ruling on my returning to work there? Do these actions, whether regarding spare parts or the warranty department, fall under the wording of the noble verse? Is my silence about it participation in their wrongdoing, or is it obligatory for me to report these actions to the responsible state authorities? These actions are still ongoing, and I advised them, but they became hostile toward me. Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you with good.
A: These actions are deception and betrayal, lying and fraud, and all these matters are forbidden by the explicit text of the Book and the Sunnah. When the work is of this nature,
it is not permissible for you to work with them; because it is a form of cooperation in sin and aggression. Based on this, it is not permissible for you to return to this work, and you must report this forbidden transaction to the responsible authorities, documenting it with evidence.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.