What is the ruling on trading in visas?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : O Shaykh, what is your opinion regarding what is called in our region, the Gulf, "visa traders"?
The Shaykh : Visa traders.
The Shaykh : I did not understand.
The questioner : Let me clarify for you, O Shaykh. Every Gulf citizen has the right to obtain a commercial register, and by virtue of it, he obtains visas to bring in laborers to the Gulf to work in some trade. Some people fall into two categories: some bring in this labor force to perform a specific job or engage in a specific trade, while others bring in this labor force to leave them free to work in any job, in exchange for taking a fixed monthly amount from the worker. Some bring in these laborers, lose money in their trade, and then reach an agreement with these laborers to leave them as in the first case. What is your opinion?The Shaykh : Knowing, O Shaykh, that in the second case, or in both cases, the person who owns the commercial register and brings in the laborers carries out all the official government procedures required by the government to satisfy them. What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : First, is this transaction, which you divided into two parts, recognized by the state?
The questioner : I do not think so. I believe the first one is recognized, in that it comes...
The Shaykh : Do not say that your speech is recognized by the state.
The questioner : The first case, part of it is recognized, and the second part is not recognized.
The Shaykh : How many parts is it? Two or three?
The questioner : No, I do not think it is recognized; it is not recognized.
The Shaykh : It is not recognized. Now, in our place, there is a Syrian expression they call "unemployment." What is meant? The operation is not legitimate from its origin and root. Then, it is very clear that the issue, even if the state recognized it, involves discrimination of one people over another. So the transaction is not Islamic in its origin. And praise be to Allah that, from the perspective of the state and the government, it is not recognized. Even if there are other recognitions that contradict the Shari'ah, "O my soul, some evil is less than some."
The Shaykh : Visa traders.
The Shaykh : I did not understand.
The questioner : Let me clarify for you, O Shaykh. Every Gulf citizen has the right to obtain a commercial register, and by virtue of it, he obtains visas to bring in laborers to the Gulf to work in some trade. Some people fall into two categories: some bring in this labor force to perform a specific job or engage in a specific trade, while others bring in this labor force to leave them free to work in any job, in exchange for taking a fixed monthly amount from the worker. Some bring in these laborers, lose money in their trade, and then reach an agreement with these laborers to leave them as in the first case. What is your opinion?The Shaykh : Knowing, O Shaykh, that in the second case, or in both cases, the person who owns the commercial register and brings in the laborers carries out all the official government procedures required by the government to satisfy them. What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : First, is this transaction, which you divided into two parts, recognized by the state?
The questioner : I do not think so. I believe the first one is recognized, in that it comes...
The Shaykh : Do not say that your speech is recognized by the state.
The questioner : The first case, part of it is recognized, and the second part is not recognized.
The Shaykh : How many parts is it? Two or three?
The questioner : No, I do not think it is recognized; it is not recognized.
The Shaykh : It is not recognized. Now, in our place, there is a Syrian expression they call "unemployment." What is meant? The operation is not legitimate from its origin and root. Then, it is very clear that the issue, even if the state recognized it, involves discrimination of one people over another. So the transaction is not Islamic in its origin. And praise be to Allah that, from the perspective of the state and the government, it is not recognized. Even if there are other recognitions that contradict the Shari'ah, "O my soul, some evil is less than some."
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.