Ijaarah

Q: I work in an organisation which is an entrepreneurship development institute. The organisation trains entrepreneurs, offers business development services and provides them finance for starting their business by linking them to banks where they are charged interest and give loans directly also. I am working there as a coordinator responsible for the preparation of entrepreneur’s project reports which cover all the aspects including financials of the business. In simple words, entrepreneurs are given loans for business and I prepare their project reports without which they can’t get a loan facility as it is considered to be an essential document for securing finance. I want to know whether my job is halaal or haraam, and in case it’s haraam, can I continue working here till I get another job or should I quit immediately?

Q: I am a beautician and I have read that it is haraam to shape the eyebrows. Does this only apply to me shaping my own eyebrows or does it apply to me shaping other people’s eyebrows for them as well? Secondly, will the ruling apply to non-Muslims as well?

Q: Can I work in a non-Muslim restaurant where I will have to serve haraam food?

Q: 

1. A Muslim employee works for an engineering company, and the company is employed to do the engineering (beams, slabs, columns, foundations, etc.) for a temple. The Muslim employee is tasked with designing the structure by his boss. Is it permissible for him to do this?

2. Similarly, if a Muslim owns the engineering company and someone approaches him for this job, can he accept it?

3. What is the ruling if they are not involved in the actual temple, but are working on another building on the same land that has rooms, dormitories, toilets, etc. for the use of occupants of the temple?

Q: In certain fast food establishments, the staff are not paid wages. The staff survive on tips of the customers. Is this permissible in Islam?

Q: A person does sewing as a business.

1. Can they ask permission from their customers to throw away the very tiny scraps of their fabric. eg. from overlocking and trimming seams etc?

2. Is it okay if she notifies them afterwards that some of the scraps might have been thrown away or should she tell them from the beginning that its possible that some of their fabric/cotton(scraps and shards of fabric eg.from fraying/ cotton from unpicking when altering etc.) could possibly be thrown away or does she have to notify them at all as sewing usually does entail all these? (usually she tries to return everything but sometimes very tiny pieces remain so notify afterwards)

3. Does she have to decide for each customer, whether she will sew for them or not, from what they are wearing at that point or from what they seem to be from what they speak (if she doesnt know them personally) or if she knows them to be parda concious or not and then let them know whether she will sew for them or not, or will a clear notice that all outfits(i.e. which she sews atleast) should be worn in accordance to shariah, suffice? Please give any other advise which might also be important to take note of when doing business.

Q: I have often heard that celebrating birthdays is strictly prohibited and haraam in Islam. What is the ruling regarding the owners of hotels and restaurants which earn money for arranging these birthday parties?

Q: I am starting a business providing tuition to students. Can I charge them per month to be paid at the beginning of the month at a fixed fee, say R100 per lesson for 8 lessons, so R800 for the month. My concern is that they might not attend all the lessons but they have already paid, is this permissible?

Q: What is the position of a phone contract in Islam? Is it regarded as a sale or ijaarah (hire) as one is buying a phone and also paying for minutes, data, and SMS?

Sometimes, if the person doesn’t use all the minutes, he will lose the remainder and it will not carry over to the next month. Are such contracts permissible?

Q: I have a contract with a teacher. She said that she will teach me 5 days a week (20 days in a month) for 1 hour on video call and I have to give her 160 riyals. But she taught me only 7 days in the month and less than half hour, not video call just sending voice recording on WhatsApp.

Can I give her less money, only 100 riyal for 7 days. She is asking 160 riyal claiming that the days I did not teach you, you can revise what I thaught you before.