Trade

Q: I would like to know if its permissible to sell computer based training (e.g. video training for microsoft word etc). It is not software, but videos that teach an individual how to work with that software. However it may have copyrights by an international company. It is not sold in south africa because it is very very expensive eg. R3000 and as you know education is expensive here. My main aim is to sell it to those who can't afford training and to help overcome south africas skills problem by educating people. The price I'll be selling will be close to nothing eg R80. The profit is for my time taken. I would like to know if this is permissible even if I do it without the companies permission. I obtained the material for free. All I'm doing is making copies and distributing it.

Q: Will it be correct to use a marketing "catch line" that is not applicable to that type of trade e.g. a person selling motor vehicles that he owns or a company selling foreign currency that it owns, markets the sale of these products as a "zero percent commission" sale when in fact commission is not applicable in this sale as there is no agency involved. This however creates the impression of an excellent deal psychologically.

Q: There is a Muslim publication that caters for people seeking jobs. Can this publication post an advert for an establishment seeking a bartender?

Q: A local supplier of sheep uses 1 of 2 methods in purchasing his sheep from a distant farmer:

1. The weight and description is given to him by the farmer telephonically.

2. He views digital images of the actual sheep as sent to him by the farmer.

Will the transaction of sale be correct in both situations considering he has not seen the actual animal?

Q: I was just wondering, is it true you can not sell cats or kittens?

Q:

1. I am planning to sell clothes and bags, some of which are original designs, but some are exact replicas of international brands. Since copying any branded item is forbidden by the law of all countries, and copying any such item means violating copyrights, is it haraam for me to sell such products? I will mention that these products are copies and not original.

2. If I sell a sleeveless dress or a dress that has net sleeves, will it be haraam if I know that the woman buying it will wear it in front of non-mahrams? Since I know that she does not cover herself, will I be helping her in sinning and will my earning be haraam?

Q: Is it permissible for a Muslim to advertise the sale of rats, mice, and the items used for their keeping (e.g. sawdust, breeding cages, specialized water-feeders, etc.)? It is possible that they could be purchased for feeding snakes, owls, hawks and genets, etc. by a zoo or veterinarian.

Q: In our country, many shopkeepers do business using third party cheques. The customer comes with a cheque on his name issued by his employer or any other company. He comes to the shopkeeper to cash the cheque. The shopkeeper agrees to cash the cheque on condition that he buys 20% of the value of the cheque worth of goods from his shop. For example, the customer brings a cheque worth R5000. The shopkeeper agrees to cash the cheque on condition that he buys R1000 worth of goods from his shop. In lieu of the R5000 cheque, the shopkeeper will give him R4000 cash and R1000 worth of goods. The benefit the shopkeeper gets from this transaction is the profit he makes in selling the R1000 worth of goods. Thereafter, the shopkeeper will recover the R5000 by cashing the cheque in his bank (he has a prior agreement with his bank to cash third party cheques).

1. Would such a transaction be permissible?

2. Some shopkeepers have resorted to cashing the cheques in the following manner: The customer brings a R5000 cheque. The shopkeeper sells him a pen for R1000 and gives him R4000 cash. So in lieu of the R5000 cheque, he gives him R4000 and a pen worth R5. Is this permissible?

3. Can the shopkeeper charge a fixed service charge for each cheque bearing in mind that he has to spend his time and effort to go to the bank and deposit the cheque?

4. Such a business is risky due to the possibility of the cheques bouncing and therefore, the shopkeeper normally puts a higher mark up on his goods than the prevailing retail price in the market. For zakaat purposes, what price will the shopkeeper base his calculations on; his selling price or the prevailing price in the market?

Q: I have a medical website hosted for free by a company called WordPress. Occasionally, they will place an advert on my website at their discretion. The content and image of the advertisement could be for anything, i.e: advertising insurance, a vehicle, a gambling website, a holiday cruise etc. Often an animate object is included. These adverts will often link to the respective website. I have no control over these adverts that appear occasionally nor its sometimes haraam content. - Is it necessary to change to another web-host company that does not do this, or pay a fee for the Wordpress 'No-Ads Upgrade'?

Q: Is it permissible to pay somebody for bringing in business? I work in sales and people (3rd party) bring me business. If I make a sale they ask me to give them money which is already decided it doesn't matter how much money I make on this sale, they want what ever is decided before. Now the question is if I pay somebody to bring me business then what about other guys who work with me in sales? Because if the (3rd party) doesn't bring it to me it will probably go to my coworkers please tell me what Islam says about it?