Is it permissible to take a khulu' fee for commercial establishments or the like?
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The questioner : There is a question regarding the topic of khulu' for commercial establishments or the like?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible to take a fee of...
The Shaykh : This khulu' is generally not permissible, though in some rare cases it is permissible. First, in the permissible case that will be explained, the one who takes the khulu' is the owner of the shop, not the tenant. Second, the owner of the shop is permitted to take the khulu' 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 a tenant or the lessor, saying, "I need this shop, so hand it over to me." The occupant naturally says, "My brother, I am dependent on it for my livelihood." The other says, "I know, so ask for what satisfies you." They agree, and he vacates the property for him. At that point, the name corresponds to the reality: "vacating". However, in this permissible case, I said that if he is a tenant, the owner of the house is the lessor or the tenant, but this tenant is not entitled to this vacating fee unless the lessor consents. Except in the case where there was a prior agreement between the lessor and the tenant that he has the right to vacate the place in...
...the previous place is closed, and this shop is announced as available for rent. Then the tenant comes and, before anything else, tells him, "My khulu' fee is such-and-such thousand." Today, the vacating fee in many cases in some countries is more than the value of the property. So he tells him, "The vacating 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 his vacating fee is such-and-such, it is empty talk. The shop is empty. When our fathers, grandfathers, and the early Muslims rented a place, that rental entitled them to benefit from the vacancy of that place. But now, it is an innovation in transactions that renting alone entitles a person to benefit from the tenant, the rented place, to the extent that the tenant hands over what they call the vacating fee. The vacating fee exists; it did not just appear. It arose because of the material life lived by the disbelievers who have no mercy, no such thing as a benevolent loan, no compassion, and no justice. We adopted it from them and began to deal with their methods. This type of vacating fee is undoubtedly a form of consuming the wealth of people unjustly, and this is prohibited in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible to take a fee of...
The Shaykh : This khulu' is generally not permissible, though in some rare cases it is permissible. First, in the permissible case that will be explained, the one who takes the khulu' is the owner of the shop, not the tenant. Second, the owner of the shop is permitted to take the khulu' 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 a tenant or the lessor, saying, "I need this shop, so hand it over to me." The occupant naturally says, "My brother, I am dependent on it for my livelihood." The other says, "I know, so ask for what satisfies you." They agree, and he vacates the property for him. At that point, the name corresponds to the reality: "vacating". However, in this permissible case, I said that if he is a tenant, the owner of the house is the lessor or the tenant, but this tenant is not entitled to this vacating fee unless the lessor consents. Except in the case where there was a prior agreement between the lessor and the tenant that he has the right to vacate the place in...
...the previous place is closed, and this shop is announced as available for rent. Then the tenant comes and, before anything else, tells him, "My khulu' fee is such-and-such thousand." Today, the vacating fee in many cases in some countries is more than the value of the property. So he tells him, "The vacating 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 his vacating fee is such-and-such, it is empty talk. The shop is empty. When our fathers, grandfathers, and the early Muslims rented a place, that rental entitled them to benefit from the vacancy of that place. But now, it is an innovation in transactions that renting alone entitles a person to benefit from the tenant, the rented place, to the extent that the tenant hands over what they call the vacating fee. The vacating fee exists; it did not just appear. It arose because of the material life lived by the disbelievers who have no mercy, no such thing as a benevolent loan, no compassion, and no justice. We adopted it from them and began to deal with their methods. This type of vacating fee is undoubtedly a form of consuming the wealth of people unjustly, and this is prohibited in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an.