The ruling on a transaction in which one of the parties is a gainer or a loser
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The ruling on a transaction in which one of the parties is a gainer or a loser
There is an advertisement in some commercial bookstores stating that whoever pays a specific amount of money each month will receive two things: The first thing: they will be supplied with new books in specialized subjects such as fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the like.
The second matter: They are given a discount card (10%) if they come to buy.
So what is the ruling on that?
This is a type of maysir (gambling) about which Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 90] And maysir is: every transaction based on chance; either one is a gainer or one is a loser. This is the legal principle regarding maysir. So this man who pays five hundred riyals each month—for example—might buy books where the discount is more than one thousand riyals, or he might not buy anything. If we assume he buys books where the discount is more than five hundred riyals, he becomes a gainer and the shop owner becomes a loser; because he loses. If he does not buy, the shop owner becomes a gainer and this man becomes a loser; because he paid five hundred riyals and did not receive anything in return for them. So this transaction is maysir and is not permissible.
And the truth is that such transactions have spread greatly now. So if we assume—for example—that we got rid of the riba (usury or interest) on which many of today's banks are based, in many of their transactions we would have fallen into maysir. Now these transactions and chances have increased. So if we assume that riba is reduced as it is now, some banks have turned to opening some Islamic branches that deal according to the requirements of the Shari'ah. These calamities come to us in transactions, and they are the calamities of maysir. So it is obligatory upon us to stop this, every transaction that involves chance, where either one is a gainer or one is a loser.
There is an advertisement in some commercial bookstores stating that whoever pays a specific amount of money each month will receive two things: The first thing: they will be supplied with new books in specialized subjects such as fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the like.
The second matter: They are given a discount card (10%) if they come to buy.
So what is the ruling on that?
This is a type of maysir (gambling) about which Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَAnd the truth is that such transactions have spread greatly now. So if we assume—for example—that we got rid of the riba (usury or interest) on which many of today's banks are based, in many of their transactions we would have fallen into maysir. Now these transactions and chances have increased. So if we assume that riba is reduced as it is now, some banks have turned to opening some Islamic branches that deal according to the requirements of the Shari'ah. These calamities come to us in transactions, and they are the calamities of maysir. So it is obligatory upon us to stop this, every transaction that involves chance, where either one is a gainer or one is a loser.