Valid & Invalid transactions

Taking percentage based commission

Q: I urgently need to know something before I fall into haraam dealings. Please tell me if my method of charging commission is permissible:

I have an online store where people can advertise their things on my website and I charge them on each successful transaction, so if something was sold for R100.00 I would charge R1.00 (1%)

According to the Hanafi mazhab we are allowed to take percentage based commissions from customers, I have collected numerous fataawaa on this Alhamdulillah. What I need to know is whether I can tell my customers this:

We charge 3% for any sales under R1 000, 2% for sales under R5 000 and %1 for sales under R10 000

Although no ambiguity remains and both I and the client knows how much will be charged at the end of the sale, I just need confirmation if is this permissible. See the case scenario below:

Sometimes the client will have something like "negotiable price" on his advert, so he would either sell it for R900 or R1 000 for example. Since I charge him 3% for sales under R1 000 and 2% for sales between R1 000 - R5 000, is this considered as ambiguity or is it permissible?

Another scenario:

Someone advertises an auction on my website. The price of the auction could be won at anything from R1 to R2 000 or more. Can I charge a fixed 3% on all auction listings so that no ambiguity remains as to what the seller will pay me? So that if the sale goes for R1 then I will get R0.03 and if it goes for R2 000 I will get R60

I am very cautious of falling into haraam activity and this is my income so I need it to be clean.

Using an ATM card

Q: Allied bank is giving an ATM card in which we can deposit money from any city and can get money from anywhere with using this card from the branch of that bank and there is no charges of depositing and transactions. There is no need for any account of this. We only have to create an ATM card once from an Allied bank.

My question is that, is this permissible in shariah (deen) or not to use this ATM card? There is no extra money required for depositing and transacting.

Earning money through deceiving people

Q: My husband works for a private company. They give fuel tanks for rent to foreigners. When the fuel in the foreigner's tanks gets dirty and it is of no use to them, the driver takes that fuel and sells it outside the bazaar. This driver is introduced to customers by my husband and my husband does a deal with him to split the profits. Is this money halal for us or not? 

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?