Trade

Opening a sewage business

Q: I have recently been thinking about investing in the sewage business. My plan was to purchase two sewage tankers (vehicles) and signing contract with companies that need removal of sewage. The work that I want to do would be completely legal and professional. However someone told me that sewage business is haram in Islam which is why I want to first ask before making any step as I don't want to earn from a Haram source.

Selling products online

Q: My Question is as follows. I want to start selling items on a website called etsy.com. It is a website were people can sell handmade items. The way it will work is that the website charges you a small fixed fee to list the item and then they take 3.5percent of the sale price once the item is sold. Also people can pay through paypal and they can pay with a credit card which means it they will be buying on account which will then be an interest transaction for them. Alot of people sell other items, some of which is haraam and alot of other stuff has to with other religions. It is permissible to sell through this website and would it be a wholesome way to earn a living or will it be better to find other avenues to sell goods?

Making extra profit from orders

Q: I'd like to buy and sell items which will be imported. I won't be importing bulk but rather will advertise an item and buy it once I have an order for that particular item. I will be charged about R285 to import. So if I buy an item that costs e.g. R300 my total will be R300+R285=R585. And i'll add a profit to it. e.g.R50 which will make the item R635. I'd like to know if this is permissible Islamically? And if I have 2 orders, each will pay R635 but since the order will go in at the same time I'll end up with more than R50 profit.

Adding water to milk

Q: I am a farmer and supply milk to shops. Almost all the other farmers sell their milk at a low price because they add water to the milk. The customers are aware of this as well. If I sell my milk without water, nobody will buy it because it will be more expensive than the milk with the water. If I inform my customers and mutually agree with them to add water to the milk, will it be permissible?

Adjusting the expiry date on a product

Q: I have purchased tomato sauce for resale; however, the tomato sauce is past the manufacturer’s best before date. I am in the food industry for the past 20 years and I know that the tomato sauce will not go bad by the date reflected by the manufacturer. In fact, the item is still good for another one year after the best before date. I wish to get the item tested by an independent food technologist and then adjust the date on the packaging to the date the independent food technologist recommends. Will it be permissible for me to adjust the date or will this fall under deception?

Being unable to locate the seller to return the defective item

Q: I've bought an item on eBay and after receiving the item, I requested a refund for the money because it was not as stated. The money was returned and according to eBay policy, the seller is to pay the shipping fee for the return. I've been trying to get in touch with the seller for almost two months now but they have not responded. I would like to know what I am to do with the item I had previously bought?

Binary option trading

Q: Many people are going binary option nowadays to make money. Is it halaal to trade online through investment in binary options in the stock exchange. It basically is speculation whether or not a commodity will go up or down in the stock exchange. Nowadays the software purchased by yourself will do the speculation for you. Please advise whether this sort of earnings in halaal.