On the topic of the *khalw* (vacancy fee) for commercial establishments or what is similar to that.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Regarding the question about the topic of the *khalw* (vacancy fee) for commercial establishments or what is similar to that?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible to take the *khalw* (vacancy fee) amount?
The Shaykh : This *khalw* (vacancy fee) is generally not permissible, but in some rare cases it is permissible. First, the one who takes the *khalw* in the permissible case, which will be explained, is the owner of the shop, not the tenant. Second, the owner of the shop is permitted to take the *khalw* if the house, shop, or property is occupied by him or if he is the tenant of the property. A person comes and offers to the occupant of this property, whether he is the tenant or the landlord, saying to the occupant: "I need this shop, so hand it over to me." The occupant naturally says, "My brother, I have invested in it and I earn my livelihood from it." The other says, "I know, but I am giving you what will satisfy you." They agree together, and indeed he vacates the property for him. At that point, the name "vacancy" (*faragh*) becomes a name for the thing named. But in this permissible case, I said that if the tenant is the one taking it, if the owner of the house is the landlord or the tenant, but this tenant does not deserve this vacancy fee except with the approval of the landlord. Except in the case where there was a prior agreement between the landlord and the tenant that he has the right to vacate the place when... he closes the previous place and announces that this shop is available for rent. Then the tenant comes and says, "My vacancy fee is such-and-such thousand." And the vacancy fee has become, in many cases in some countries, more than the value of the property. So he says, "My vacancy fee is such-and-such thousand," and the annual rent is two, three, or five thousand... This is undoubtedly a type of consuming the wealth of people unjustly; because when he says "my vacancy fee is such-and-such," it is empty talk. The shop is empty. When our fathers, our grandfathers, and the early Muslims rented a place, this renting justified their benefiting from the vacancy of this place. But now, it is an innovation in transactions that renting alone justifies a person benefiting from the rented place, the rented space, to the extent that the landlord hands over what they call the "vacancy fee." The vacancy fee is present and existing? No. This came about because of the material life lived by the disbelievers who have no mercy, and no such thing as a benevolent loan, no compassion, and no justice. So we adopted it from them and began to deal with their transactions. This type of vacancy fee is undoubtedly from the category of consuming the wealth of people unjustly, and this is prohibited in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an.
Other than that?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible to take the *khalw* (vacancy fee) amount?
The Shaykh : This *khalw* (vacancy fee) is generally not permissible, but in some rare cases it is permissible. First, the one who takes the *khalw* in the permissible case, which will be explained, is the owner of the shop, not the tenant. Second, the owner of the shop is permitted to take the *khalw* if the house, shop, or property is occupied by him or if he is the tenant of the property. A person comes and offers to the occupant of this property, whether he is the tenant or the landlord, saying to the occupant: "I need this shop, so hand it over to me." The occupant naturally says, "My brother, I have invested in it and I earn my livelihood from it." The other says, "I know, but I am giving you what will satisfy you." They agree together, and indeed he vacates the property for him. At that point, the name "vacancy" (*faragh*) becomes a name for the thing named. But in this permissible case, I said that if the tenant is the one taking it, if the owner of the house is the landlord or the tenant, but this tenant does not deserve this vacancy fee except with the approval of the landlord. Except in the case where there was a prior agreement between the landlord and the tenant that he has the right to vacate the place when... he closes the previous place and announces that this shop is available for rent. Then the tenant comes and says, "My vacancy fee is such-and-such thousand." And the vacancy fee has become, in many cases in some countries, more than the value of the property. So he says, "My vacancy fee is such-and-such thousand," and the annual rent is two, three, or five thousand... This is undoubtedly a type of consuming the wealth of people unjustly; because when he says "my vacancy fee is such-and-such," it is empty talk. The shop is empty. When our fathers, our grandfathers, and the early Muslims rented a place, this renting justified their benefiting from the vacancy of this place. But now, it is an innovation in transactions that renting alone justifies a person benefiting from the rented place, the rented space, to the extent that the landlord hands over what they call the "vacancy fee." The vacancy fee is present and existing? No. This came about because of the material life lived by the disbelievers who have no mercy, and no such thing as a benevolent loan, no compassion, and no justice. So we adopted it from them and began to deal with their transactions. This type of vacancy fee is undoubtedly from the category of consuming the wealth of people unjustly, and this is prohibited in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an.
Other than that?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.