I am a man who sells cars on installment, and I used to agree and write a sale contract before the buyer saw the car, and I continued in this state.

The questioner : He says:The questioner : I am a man who sells cars on installment, and I used to agree and write the sale contract...

The Shaykh : What does he say? I am a man?

The questioner : I sell cars on installment, and I used to agree and write the sale contract before the buyer saw the car. I continued in this state for a period of time, and then I heard from one of the brothers who guided me that installment sales of cars and other goods should be as follows: ownership of the car remains with the seller, customs documents, the buyer inspects the car before the agreement, agreement with the buyer and writing the contract. If the agreement is reached, otherwise the car remains under the seller's ownership in the showroom. The question is as follows: What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding the first method of sale, and likewise the second method, knowing that the money has become mixed, the first with the second, and how can I purify that?

The Shaykh : First, it must be clear that installment sales are permissible and there is nothing wrong with them if they follow the Shari'ah rules. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: Installment sales are a loan for a specified term, because it is a debt that remains in the buyer's liability until a specified term. And because Pay attention, what is the meaning of salam? Salam is when a man comes to the owner of an orchard and says, "Sell me one hundred sa' of wheat for one hundred riyals cash, I will pay it to you." So the owner of the orchard and the buyer agree that he will sell him one hundred sa' for one hundred riyals, which is actually worth one hundred and fifty, but because the price is paid in advance and the goods are deferred, the price is reduced. This is permissible and was practiced in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger approved it. So what is the original ruling of installment sales? Permissibility. The Book and the Sunnah indicate its permissibility. But the danger is that a person installs a sale for a commodity and sells it while it is not in his ownership. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Hakim ibn Hizam: You will find him selling a commodity that is not with him, as some people do today. They agree with the buyer on a specific car, selling it to him, for example, for sixty thousand, while it is worth fifty. Then the seller goes to the showroom and buys the car and gives it to the first person. In reality, this sale is a loan with interest, but it is a loan disguised, covered with a cloth that looks healthy on the outside but is punishment from him on the inside. So if you agree with a person on a car and buy it from him via murabahah, meaning on installment with profit, and then he goes to buy it for you and sell it to you, the reality of the matter is that he lent you its price with interest. And actions are by what? By appearances or by intentions?
The student: By intentions.

The Shaykh : Actions are by intentions, so this is forbidden. But if a man comes to me and I sell him the car, and I say to him, "Take it for fifty cash or sixty on credit," and he says, "I will take it for sixty on credit," and he takes it for sixty on installment, then there is nothing wrong with it, and it is lawful. Yes.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : The danger is that he agrees with a person on a specific car, selling him that specific car. He says, "The car's specifications are such and such, I will sell it to you for sixty thousand, while it is worth fifty thousand." Then the seller goes to the showroom and buys the car and sells it to the other person. Here, the reality of the matter is that the seller of the car lent this man the price of the car, which is fifty thousand, with interest, which is ten thousand.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, the Shaykh, I spent seventeen days in the hospital and I was unable to move. I prayed without wudu' or tayammum, fearing an increase in the illness I suffered from due to the fire. The question is: Is my prayer valid? And if it is not valid, do I have to make it up?

The Shaykh : Okay, the question has a paragraph. This man says in the first question that he is the one who writes the installment transactions. So we say that everyone who writes something forbidden is a partner in the sin of the one who commits the forbidden act. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Bring the second question.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : As for the mixed money, we say to the brother So if you refrained from this work from the time you were told that it is forbidden, then what you earned before that is yours.