What is the form of installment sale?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : O Shaykh.
Another questioner: We are listening.
The Shaykh : Just one question.
The questioner : I am only asking about installment sales.
The Shaykh : Without a cycle or a turn.
The questioner : I do not sell them, praise be to Allah...
The Shaykh : No, no, I am not blaming you. Keep it in mind. What did you mean? For example, you were selling a type of machine.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, five dinars cash.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you were selling it on installments for six hundred, for example. These numbers do not represent reality; they are just an illustration and an approximation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So you reversed the matter. For example, you made the sale only on installments, but if you were selling it for five hundred cash, you started selling it for six hundred cash and on installments. You used to... your customers who bought from you on installments, you took an extra hundred from them. Now you are wronging all the customers, whether they buy from you cash or on installments.
The questioner: All right, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I am not talking about you.
The questioner: No, no.
The Shaykh : Be patient.
The questioner : At the same price.
The Shaykh : Be patient. What am I saying? I told you, without a cycle or a turn!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But I have not finished my speech, and what I am telling you is a reality that happened in Kuwait. A big merchant who sells cars stopped selling cash because he understood that selling cash at one price and installments at another price is not permissible. So he made the price one, but the installment price for cash and for installments. Do you understand? As for you, if you wanted to fear Allah the Mighty and Sublime, in our first example, you were selling for five hundred cash and six hundred on installments.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : You started selling for five hundred cash and on installments. This is the lawful sale, and this is what is permissible by the Shari'ah. This is an opportunity. I am saying that our brothers the merchants, however righteous they are and however pious they are to the Lord of the Worlds, because of their preoccupation with their trade, in reality, they are considered among those who are heedless of the remembrance of Allah!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is that right or not?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : And very few of them, when they hear the adhan, go to the mosque to pray.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : They see their situation; their customers are chasing them.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : This is the important point. In this form that I mentioned to you, you sell the item that you were selling cash for five hundred and on installments for six hundred, you sell it for five hundred cash and on installments. This means you have outpaced the worshippers who are devoted to the worship of Allah. Why? First, when you sold for less than your neighbors who sell on installments, you feared Allah. You remembered Allah, and those are heedless of the remembrance of Allah. This is a form of sale, besides other aspects. This is one thing. A second thing, and this is very important: if they knew, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said meaning if you lend a man two hundred dinars, it is as if you gave charity of one hundred. They came out of your pocket. Imagine the merchant now, as I say in the Syrian language, like a saw going up and down. He is earning fees without feeling any loss at all, except he reins in his greedy self. People are selling against the installment increase of fifteen percent, like the banks. You are helping this poor person, you are helping the needy, and you are selling to him on installments at the cash price. And if you do this from morning to evening, you have earned thousands upon thousands of good deeds, and you do not feel it.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is nothing preventing it.
The questioner : There is nothing preventing it.
The Shaykh : And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.
Another questioner: We are listening.
The Shaykh : Just one question.
The questioner : I am only asking about installment sales.
The Shaykh : Without a cycle or a turn.
The questioner : I do not sell them, praise be to Allah...
The Shaykh : No, no, I am not blaming you. Keep it in mind. What did you mean? For example, you were selling a type of machine.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, five dinars cash.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you were selling it on installments for six hundred, for example. These numbers do not represent reality; they are just an illustration and an approximation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So you reversed the matter. For example, you made the sale only on installments, but if you were selling it for five hundred cash, you started selling it for six hundred cash and on installments. You used to... your customers who bought from you on installments, you took an extra hundred from them. Now you are wronging all the customers, whether they buy from you cash or on installments.
The questioner: All right, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I am not talking about you.
The questioner: No, no.
The Shaykh : Be patient.
The questioner : At the same price.
The Shaykh : Be patient. What am I saying? I told you, without a cycle or a turn!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But I have not finished my speech, and what I am telling you is a reality that happened in Kuwait. A big merchant who sells cars stopped selling cash because he understood that selling cash at one price and installments at another price is not permissible. So he made the price one, but the installment price for cash and for installments. Do you understand? As for you, if you wanted to fear Allah the Mighty and Sublime, in our first example, you were selling for five hundred cash and six hundred on installments.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : You started selling for five hundred cash and on installments. This is the lawful sale, and this is what is permissible by the Shari'ah. This is an opportunity. I am saying that our brothers the merchants, however righteous they are and however pious they are to the Lord of the Worlds, because of their preoccupation with their trade, in reality, they are considered among those who are heedless of the remembrance of Allah!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is that right or not?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : And very few of them, when they hear the adhan, go to the mosque to pray.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : They see their situation; their customers are chasing them.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : This is the important point. In this form that I mentioned to you, you sell the item that you were selling cash for five hundred and on installments for six hundred, you sell it for five hundred cash and on installments. This means you have outpaced the worshippers who are devoted to the worship of Allah. Why? First, when you sold for less than your neighbors who sell on installments, you feared Allah. You remembered Allah, and those are heedless of the remembrance of Allah. This is a form of sale, besides other aspects. This is one thing. A second thing, and this is very important: if they knew, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said
Two loans equal one charity; a loan of two dirhams is a charity of one dirham.
قرضين يساوي صدقة قرض درهمين صدقة درهمThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is nothing preventing it.
The questioner : There is nothing preventing it.
The Shaykh : And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.