The earnest money paid by the buyer to the seller, then the sale is invalidated due to the buyer's rejection of the goods: is the earnest money the right of the seller?

The questioner : O Shaykh, the earnest money paid by the buyer to the seller, then the sale is invalidated due to the buyer's rejection of the goods: is the earnest money the right of the seller?

The Shaykh : Yes. The earnest money is when the seller fears that the buyer will cancel the sale, so he asks him for an earnest money. For example, if he sold him a piece of land for ten thousand riyals and said: "I want an earnest money of one thousand riyals from you," and he gave it to him, then if the sale is completed, the earnest money is part of the price and he delivers nine thousand. And if it is not completed, the earnest money belongs to the seller, because that is how it was agreed between them. And this condition does not make lawful what is forbidden, nor does it make forbidden what is lawful, and it is in the interest of both parties. As for the buyer, his interest is that he gets rid of the goods for which he gave the earnest money, and it is known that he would not bear the loss of the earnest money except to avoid a greater loss than it. And as for the seller, his interest in the earnest money is that he takes this earnest money in compensation for the people's view of the sold item that the buyer cancelled. So the important thing is that the sale with earnest money is valid. If the sale is completed, the earnest money is the first part of the price, and if the sale is not completed, the earnest money belongs to the seller. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, this questioner says.