What is the ruling on commercial establishments that do not sell except on credit? If I tell them, “I will buy this merchandise from you and pay the price now,” they say the price is fixed.
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The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How are you, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : How is your health?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Ramadan has not yet come, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh: All right?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : What did you say about Ramadan?
The questioner : I say, if Allah wills, do you not have the intention to perform 'Umrah in Ramadan this year?
The Shaykh : Like that, one person says, “If Allah wills, do you not have the intention?” and another says, “If Allah wills, do you have the intention?”
The questioner : Do you have the intention? Excuse me, I mixed up the words. Excuse me.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is what I intended to remind you of. May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : And beware of that.
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, the intention is present, but the circumstances do not help.
The questioner : Perhaps it is better, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : How are your fasting and your night prayers?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, I am not satisfied with them, but praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah for more righteousness and piety for you and for us.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Do you allow us a question, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : There is a new financial system called the financing system.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : In such a way that, of course, because my specialization is in economics, my specialization in my studies is in economics.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I ask about this matter more than anyone else.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is this financing system? For example, there are places now that specialize in not selling except on credit.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : If I tell them, “I will buy this merchandise from you and pay the price now for what you have,” they say, “No, we do not sell... the price is fixed, whether on credit or if you pay us immediately.”
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Do you consider this permissible?
The Shaykh : It depends on their intention, because their not selling for an immediate price raises a question in the mind. The economic system, which I am ignorant of like you, knows as a matter of course that paying in cash is more beneficial economically than paying on credit, is it not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So then, why did they adopt this method? We have knowledge of some Kuwaiti merchants, some very large merchants, who used to sell at two prices: a cash price and an installment price. When it was reported to him that it is not permissible to sell at two prices, he unified the price, but based on the higher price, not the lower one.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : That is, if we assume his customers were divided into two groups: a rich person who pays in cash and a poor person who does not pay in cash. The rich person would take the merchandise for less than the poor person, for example, by ten or twenty percent, or less or more. The percentage does not concern us; it is the example. Meanwhile, the other half was paying an extra amount. So now, when he unified the price, he included the injustice for both groups. The cash price became the installment price, instead of the installment price becoming the cash price. As for these people you are talking about, if they are like this, then it is deception and playing with words. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not overlook anything. But if they truly set a unified price, which is their cash price, and they did not raise the price for installments, then this is lawful profit. And this is the rich person who will precede the poor in the availability of wages in his white record with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The questioner : The truth is that they did this because they refuse to sell for cash except at the same price. But the truth is that the one who wants to buy for cash does not go to them; he goes to the one who sells for cash, because he gets the same car and the same thing for ten or fifteen percent less.
The Shaykh : Yes, so my suspicion was correct. May Allah bless you.
The questioner : This is the reality, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes, my suspicion was correct that these people did what that Kuwaiti merchant did.
The questioner : So of course, you consider this not permissible, as it is a deception.
The Shaykh : This is my statement. May Allah bless you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How are you, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : How is your health?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Ramadan has not yet come, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh: All right?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : What did you say about Ramadan?
The questioner : I say, if Allah wills, do you not have the intention to perform 'Umrah in Ramadan this year?
The Shaykh : Like that, one person says, “If Allah wills, do you not have the intention?” and another says, “If Allah wills, do you have the intention?”
The questioner : Do you have the intention? Excuse me, I mixed up the words. Excuse me.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is what I intended to remind you of. May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : And beware of that.
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, the intention is present, but the circumstances do not help.
The questioner : Perhaps it is better, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : How are your fasting and your night prayers?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, I am not satisfied with them, but praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah for more righteousness and piety for you and for us.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.
The questioner : Do you allow us a question, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : There is a new financial system called the financing system.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : In such a way that, of course, because my specialization is in economics, my specialization in my studies is in economics.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I ask about this matter more than anyone else.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is this financing system? For example, there are places now that specialize in not selling except on credit.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : If I tell them, “I will buy this merchandise from you and pay the price now for what you have,” they say, “No, we do not sell... the price is fixed, whether on credit or if you pay us immediately.”
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Do you consider this permissible?
The Shaykh : It depends on their intention, because their not selling for an immediate price raises a question in the mind. The economic system, which I am ignorant of like you, knows as a matter of course that paying in cash is more beneficial economically than paying on credit, is it not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So then, why did they adopt this method? We have knowledge of some Kuwaiti merchants, some very large merchants, who used to sell at two prices: a cash price and an installment price. When it was reported to him that it is not permissible to sell at two prices, he unified the price, but based on the higher price, not the lower one.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : That is, if we assume his customers were divided into two groups: a rich person who pays in cash and a poor person who does not pay in cash. The rich person would take the merchandise for less than the poor person, for example, by ten or twenty percent, or less or more. The percentage does not concern us; it is the example. Meanwhile, the other half was paying an extra amount. So now, when he unified the price, he included the injustice for both groups. The cash price became the installment price, instead of the installment price becoming the cash price. As for these people you are talking about, if they are like this, then it is deception and playing with words. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not overlook anything. But if they truly set a unified price, which is their cash price, and they did not raise the price for installments, then this is lawful profit. And this is the rich person who will precede the poor in the availability of wages in his white record with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The questioner : The truth is that they did this because they refuse to sell for cash except at the same price. But the truth is that the one who wants to buy for cash does not go to them; he goes to the one who sells for cash, because he gets the same car and the same thing for ten or fifteen percent less.
The Shaykh : Yes, so my suspicion was correct. May Allah bless you.
The questioner : This is the reality, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes, my suspicion was correct that these people did what that Kuwaiti merchant did.
The questioner : So of course, you consider this not permissible, as it is a deception.
The Shaykh : This is my statement. May Allah bless you.
The questioner: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.