If a person buys gold from a shop, is it permissible for him to return it?
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The questioner : ... This is permissible, and otherwise it is not permissible. The question is clear: he borrows from the shop, right? The owner of the shop?
The Shaykh : I think not. The question is understood, but I want to say: the other party is more entitled to it than he is. What does he do after he takes it back? What does he do?
The questioner : He returns it to the display case, right?
The Shaykh : What does he do with this?
The questioner : He sells it.
The Shaykh : For how much?
The questioner : At the market price, the current price in the market.
The Shaykh : Meaning, the price of new gold?
The questioner : At the current market price, yes.
The Shaykh : At the current market price. As I understand it, and I am of course not an expert in trade, used goods have a price and unused goods have a price, correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, by your testimony, I judge myself to be understanding on this point.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Since that is the case, the previous question returns: at what price does he sell it?
The questioner : At the new price, the current price. But there is a point. We deal with people, and I want to clarify to you how we deal with people when they buy gold.
The Shaykh : No problem, the answer may come to you in the way they say: automatically.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : Since this has been used, it is supposed to be sold as used. That is one thing. And another: is it sold by its weight as gold, or with a markup?
The questioner : It is sold by its weight, with the labor fee added to it.
The Shaykh : And is this permissible according to the Shari'ah?
The questioner : By Allah, in what I asked you previously, I learned that it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : So this question was more important than that one.
The questioner : Before it becomes permissible, we deal with customers who buy from us. If they want to return a piece of gold, and it is not damaged, meaning not broken and not scratched, we take it back at the same price. We do not lose them anything. This is our dealing with people; we do not lose them anything at all. If it is taken and put back in the display case, right, not broken and not damaged, at the price we took it, we deal with people this way. For example, if someone takes a bracelet, and after a week brings it back and wants his money, and the bracelet is new, meaning look at it, it is new, and this is a known thing, it is evident whether it is damaged or not. If it is not damaged, and this has happened before me many times, he returns it to the display case, meaning we do not lose on it, neither the fee nor the price.
The Shaykh : You set a limit of one week.
The questioner : I say approximately.
The Shaykh : Wait, no problem, we will define it, because the word "approximately" is a political, elastic word, it stretches and bounces.
The questioner : If he stays for two months and does not return it, the price may have gone up or down.
The Shaykh : And therefore, and you know, you said when I said one week.
The questioner : No, I say within the limits of what we use for ourselves. We take the piece, we borrow it for one or two days, only three days, meaning at most. Meaning it will not be a month before we return it.
The Shaykh : The matter has now become a thing of the past. We may return to it, or we may not. Researching the more important may suffice us from researching the less important. You said: one week, then you corrected yourself and said approximately, then this correction did not benefit you anything, because you said: after a month or two months, of course not. So we take the example that clarifies the matter. So, after a month or two months, this piece of jewelry is returned to you. Do you buy it at the price you sold it for? No. So at less, okay. So what do we do in that case, whether in selling or buying, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Not in selling, we sold gold for gold, nor in buying, we bought gold for gold. So riba does its work going and coming.
The questioner : Explain this point, O our Shaykh, if you please.
The Shaykh : I mean, a gold piece, a ring, a bracelet. If we put it on the scale, it equals, for example, two gold pounds, Ottoman or English or Saudi, the important thing is, two gold pounds. So, is it not permissible for the selling jeweler to take more than its weight in gold? This is the meaning of gold for gold, for example, like for like. The way to escape falling into this type of riba transaction is that the person in need comes wanting a specific piece of a specific weight. How much is the price of this piece of gold before it is crafted into jewelry? We say, for example: its price is two gold pounds. Okay, how much do you want for the fee of this piece? For example, two paper dinars. This is permissible. As soon as this piece is sold, the merchant or jeweler can no longer profit from it when he buys it back, because he has to buy it by its weight in gold. While these merchants, like a saw, profit going up and going down.
The questioner : Like the current way, if someone comes and buys this thing, a piece of gold, he says to him: this is its price, five dinars, and the fee for its craftsmanship is two dinars.
The Shaykh : When he wants to make it for him, he says to him: the fee for its craftsmanship is two dinars. But if it is a ready-made piece, it is not permissible.
The questioner : He weighs it.
The Shaykh : I understand, he weighs it, he has to take its price.
The questioner : And he adds the fee to it.
The Shaykh : When he wants to make it, he adds the fee to it.
The questioner : He also paid a fee. The shop owner, my Shaykh, bought ready-made and sells ready-made.
The Shaykh : We are not concerned with this reality; we are concerned with addressing the reality.
The questioner : So, does the jeweler not make it?
The Shaykh : He does not make it. He makes models for display. What do you want? You want this. We make it for you according to the weight, according to the weight you want.
The questioner : There are catalogs.
The Shaykh : Weight of two, three, five dinars, whether it is a bracelet or not a bracelet.
The Shaykh : I think not. The question is understood, but I want to say: the other party is more entitled to it than he is. What does he do after he takes it back? What does he do?
The questioner : He returns it to the display case, right?
The Shaykh : What does he do with this?
The questioner : He sells it.
The Shaykh : For how much?
The questioner : At the market price, the current price in the market.
The Shaykh : Meaning, the price of new gold?
The questioner : At the current market price, yes.
The Shaykh : At the current market price. As I understand it, and I am of course not an expert in trade, used goods have a price and unused goods have a price, correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, by your testimony, I judge myself to be understanding on this point.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Since that is the case, the previous question returns: at what price does he sell it?
The questioner : At the new price, the current price. But there is a point. We deal with people, and I want to clarify to you how we deal with people when they buy gold.
The Shaykh : No problem, the answer may come to you in the way they say: automatically.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : Since this has been used, it is supposed to be sold as used. That is one thing. And another: is it sold by its weight as gold, or with a markup?
The questioner : It is sold by its weight, with the labor fee added to it.
The Shaykh : And is this permissible according to the Shari'ah?
The questioner : By Allah, in what I asked you previously, I learned that it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : So this question was more important than that one.
The questioner : Before it becomes permissible, we deal with customers who buy from us. If they want to return a piece of gold, and it is not damaged, meaning not broken and not scratched, we take it back at the same price. We do not lose them anything. This is our dealing with people; we do not lose them anything at all. If it is taken and put back in the display case, right, not broken and not damaged, at the price we took it, we deal with people this way. For example, if someone takes a bracelet, and after a week brings it back and wants his money, and the bracelet is new, meaning look at it, it is new, and this is a known thing, it is evident whether it is damaged or not. If it is not damaged, and this has happened before me many times, he returns it to the display case, meaning we do not lose on it, neither the fee nor the price.
The Shaykh : You set a limit of one week.
The questioner : I say approximately.
The Shaykh : Wait, no problem, we will define it, because the word "approximately" is a political, elastic word, it stretches and bounces.
The questioner : If he stays for two months and does not return it, the price may have gone up or down.
The Shaykh : And therefore, and you know, you said when I said one week.
The questioner : No, I say within the limits of what we use for ourselves. We take the piece, we borrow it for one or two days, only three days, meaning at most. Meaning it will not be a month before we return it.
The Shaykh : The matter has now become a thing of the past. We may return to it, or we may not. Researching the more important may suffice us from researching the less important. You said: one week, then you corrected yourself and said approximately, then this correction did not benefit you anything, because you said: after a month or two months, of course not. So we take the example that clarifies the matter. So, after a month or two months, this piece of jewelry is returned to you. Do you buy it at the price you sold it for? No. So at less, okay. So what do we do in that case, whether in selling or buying, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Gold for gold, like for like, hand to hand, or he said: this for that.
الذهب بالذهب مثلًا بمثل يدًا بيد أو قال : هاء بهاءThe questioner : Explain this point, O our Shaykh, if you please.
The Shaykh : I mean, a gold piece, a ring, a bracelet. If we put it on the scale, it equals, for example, two gold pounds, Ottoman or English or Saudi, the important thing is, two gold pounds. So, is it not permissible for the selling jeweler to take more than its weight in gold? This is the meaning of gold for gold, for example, like for like. The way to escape falling into this type of riba transaction is that the person in need comes wanting a specific piece of a specific weight. How much is the price of this piece of gold before it is crafted into jewelry? We say, for example: its price is two gold pounds. Okay, how much do you want for the fee of this piece? For example, two paper dinars. This is permissible. As soon as this piece is sold, the merchant or jeweler can no longer profit from it when he buys it back, because he has to buy it by its weight in gold. While these merchants, like a saw, profit going up and going down.
The questioner : Like the current way, if someone comes and buys this thing, a piece of gold, he says to him: this is its price, five dinars, and the fee for its craftsmanship is two dinars.
The Shaykh : When he wants to make it for him, he says to him: the fee for its craftsmanship is two dinars. But if it is a ready-made piece, it is not permissible.
The questioner : He weighs it.
The Shaykh : I understand, he weighs it, he has to take its price.
The questioner : And he adds the fee to it.
The Shaykh : When he wants to make it, he adds the fee to it.
The questioner : He also paid a fee. The shop owner, my Shaykh, bought ready-made and sells ready-made.
The Shaykh : We are not concerned with this reality; we are concerned with addressing the reality.
The questioner : So, does the jeweler not make it?
The Shaykh : He does not make it. He makes models for display. What do you want? You want this. We make it for you according to the weight, according to the weight you want.
The questioner : There are catalogs.
The Shaykh : Weight of two, three, five dinars, whether it is a bracelet or not a bracelet.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.