Trade

Payment made in advance for goods that are not yet produced

Q: I have certain customers who pay via EFT and prefer to make monthly payments in advance. Since they are purchasing milk and eggs from me, often I have not yet received the milk and it has not even been produced yet.

1. What is the correct way for me to conduct the sale with these clients?

2. One of the customers mentioned that they don’t mind me using the money before they have purchased goods to the full value. Is it permissible for me to use it?

3. I have a customer that pays later. After purchasing the products, he sometimes has a complaint that it’s not as fresh as he is used to. If I wish to give him a discount, what would be the best way to do it?

Selling something that is non-existent at the time of the sale

Q: I sell eggs and I keep my stock at my parents’ shop. Once, a staff member from my parents’ shop had taken from my stock which is kept separately and sold it to the customer. It was brought to my attention a while later. As the products were more expensive, I had discounted them when sending the invoice although the goods had already been sold to the customer. Is this permissible?

Selling samples

Q: I am a Muslim and a doctor. In our country, Medical Representatives (all pharmaceutical companies) visit us with some physician samples daily and we receive it. Few of them we provide to some poor people, and most of them we sell it. By selling it we get some money. And we use this money for our personal use. As a Muslim is it halal or haram for us? 

Airtime Advance

Q: Vodacom has a service called airtime advance whereby a person can purchase R5 or R10 airtime on credit. After you purchase the airtime, then at a later time within a stipulated period, they will recoup the R5 or R10 plus an additional R1 which they term a service fee. Will this constitute riba?