The hadith regarding the earnest money is weak, so what is the ruling on the practice of earnest money in buying and selling?
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The questioner : All right, regarding the hadith of the earnest money, O Shaykh, you mentioned its weakness. So, is the practice of earnest money not permissible?
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : Is the practice of earnest money not permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible in the final analysis. By that, I mean I went to the merchant, bought some goods, and said, "This is an earnest payment, and while I prepare the price, I will come to you tomorrow, if Allah wills." Then I decided not to take these goods and this need. So I went to the seller and apologized to him. It is not permissible for him to take the earnest money. Initially, it is permissible, in the sense that he, the seller, will hold the goods and not sell them to anyone else. But if the buyer comes back reneging and apologizing, and the goods are still as they were, it is not permissible for him to consider it lawful to take the earnest money, except in one case: the case where the seller has suffered some harm. This harm can be imagined by imagining the need. If the need, for example, is something that is exposed to spoilage as time passes, whether a little or a lot, and the need was preserved for the one who paid the earnest money, and when he came to apologize, it had spoiled completely or partially, then at that time, the harm must be removed from the seller. This scenario is clear.
The questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The Shaykh : All right, and the scenarios, as I said earlier, can be imagined in many forms. For example, the owner of a car: a person sold it to me and took an earnest payment from him. A buyer came while the one who paid the earnest money was absent and said, "Will you sell this car?" He said to him, "By Allah, this is sold. I will buy it from you and give you an extra amount. I cannot go against my word." Then the buyer came back, reneged, and apologized. At that time, in my opinion, which is my independent legal reasoning, I see that the seller may deduct the harm he suffered due to his adherence to his word to the buyer, and he may cut off from the earnest money what compensates for the harm. As for the entire earnest money, as some people do, no, that is consuming the wealth of people unjustly.
The questioner : And if the harm exceeds the value of the earnest money, is he entitled to only the earnest money?
The Shaykh : What if?
The questioner : And if the harm exceeds the amount of the earnest money, is he entitled to only the earnest money?
The Shaykh : Just.
The questioner : Yes, because he agreed.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : Is the practice of earnest money not permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible in the final analysis. By that, I mean I went to the merchant, bought some goods, and said, "This is an earnest payment, and while I prepare the price, I will come to you tomorrow, if Allah wills." Then I decided not to take these goods and this need. So I went to the seller and apologized to him. It is not permissible for him to take the earnest money. Initially, it is permissible, in the sense that he, the seller, will hold the goods and not sell them to anyone else. But if the buyer comes back reneging and apologizing, and the goods are still as they were, it is not permissible for him to consider it lawful to take the earnest money, except in one case: the case where the seller has suffered some harm. This harm can be imagined by imagining the need. If the need, for example, is something that is exposed to spoilage as time passes, whether a little or a lot, and the need was preserved for the one who paid the earnest money, and when he came to apologize, it had spoiled completely or partially, then at that time, the harm must be removed from the seller. This scenario is clear.
The questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The Shaykh : All right, and the scenarios, as I said earlier, can be imagined in many forms. For example, the owner of a car: a person sold it to me and took an earnest payment from him. A buyer came while the one who paid the earnest money was absent and said, "Will you sell this car?" He said to him, "By Allah, this is sold. I will buy it from you and give you an extra amount. I cannot go against my word." Then the buyer came back, reneged, and apologized. At that time, in my opinion, which is my independent legal reasoning, I see that the seller may deduct the harm he suffered due to his adherence to his word to the buyer, and he may cut off from the earnest money what compensates for the harm. As for the entire earnest money, as some people do, no, that is consuming the wealth of people unjustly.
The questioner : And if the harm exceeds the value of the earnest money, is he entitled to only the earnest money?
The Shaykh : What if?
The questioner : And if the harm exceeds the amount of the earnest money, is he entitled to only the earnest money?
The Shaykh : Just.
The questioner : Yes, because he agreed.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.