Ruling on subscribing to a telephone company for a fixed amount
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Your Eminence! Regarding the commercial offers from mobile phone companies—cellular phones—originally, the companies require the subscriber to pay an annual subscription fee in addition to the monthly call costs based on the minutes spoken. In some of the current offers—Shaykh—The company says: we waive the annual subscription fee on the condition that you pay ten dinars per month, and these ten dinars include the calls. If you talk for an amount of ten dinars, you are neither a creditor nor a debtor. If your calls exceed ten dinars, they take from you the excess at a specific price per minute. As for if a subscriber comes and talks—for example—Six dinars and the month ends, the company says: the remaining four dinars do not return to you, and they do not carry over to the next month. What is the ruling on this transaction?The Shaykh: So the issue now is: is it in the company that requires commitment for a period of one year, or is the issue that if he calls, whatever exceeds ten dinars is upon him, and whatever is less is upon him?The questioner: The issue is in the second one.
The Shaykh: There is no issue with this, because if the upper limit is defined, it ends and no problem remains.
If you are told: A call within the limit of ten dinars has no issue, because if he talks for five dinars, meaning the amount of five dinars, he knows that the excess has gone from him originally.
The questioner: The excess goes from him.
The Shaykh: It goes from him by his choice.
The Shaykh: There is no issue with this, because if the upper limit is defined, it ends and no problem remains.
If you are told: A call within the limit of ten dinars has no issue, because if he talks for five dinars, meaning the amount of five dinars, he knows that the excess has gone from him originally.
The questioner: The excess goes from him.
The Shaykh: It goes from him by his choice.