A brother asked me to buy a car for him so that he could purchase it from me on installment, and he specified the type and model, and we went looking for the car and
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A brother asked me to buy a car for him so that he could purchase it from me on installment. He specified the type and model, and I and he went looking for the car and found it. He purchased it, and I paid the price of this car, which was twenty-eight thousand riyals. I sold it to him immediately for a sum of thirty-seven thousand and four hundred riyals, on the condition that he pay me this amount in installments of one thousand five hundred riyals per month. Is what I did, and what was agreed between me and the buyer, valid in terms of the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh : It is not valid; rather, it is deception, stratagem, and a trick. The reality of this transaction is that you lent him twenty-eight thousand for thirty-seven thousand and four hundred, and your purchase of this item is merely formal and not intended. Had he not come to you and asked you to buy this car, you would not have bought it. So this is a trick. Do not be deceived, O Muslim, by its frequent use among people, for it is said: “When touch becomes frequent, sensation diminishes.” How many customs do people practice that are forbidden, and sometimes even involve shirk (associating partners with Allah), without them knowing about it? As for this, it is an obvious, exposed trick. The merchant did not buy the item except for you, and he did not buy it and sell it to you for the sake of your eyes, but for the sake of the riba (usury or interest) he takes. Is there any difference in meaning between saying, “Take twenty-eight thousand in cash, and it is due from you in installments for thirty-seven thousand over a year,” and saying, “Buy the car you want, or I will buy it and then sell it to you in installments”? There is no difference. The criterion is the meanings of things, not their forms.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This questioner, Ahmad from Cairo, says: “Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.”
The Shaykh : It is not valid; rather, it is deception, stratagem, and a trick. The reality of this transaction is that you lent him twenty-eight thousand for thirty-seven thousand and four hundred, and your purchase of this item is merely formal and not intended. Had he not come to you and asked you to buy this car, you would not have bought it. So this is a trick. Do not be deceived, O Muslim, by its frequent use among people, for it is said: “When touch becomes frequent, sensation diminishes.” How many customs do people practice that are forbidden, and sometimes even involve shirk (associating partners with Allah), without them knowing about it? As for this, it is an obvious, exposed trick. The merchant did not buy the item except for you, and he did not buy it and sell it to you for the sake of your eyes, but for the sake of the riba (usury or interest) he takes. Is there any difference in meaning between saying, “Take twenty-eight thousand in cash, and it is due from you in installments for thirty-seven thousand over a year,” and saying, “Buy the car you want, or I will buy it and then sell it to you in installments”? There is no difference. The criterion is the meanings of things, not their forms.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This questioner, Ahmad from Cairo, says: “Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.”