Valid & Invalid transactions

Q: Can I buy an item and pay for it when the seller does not have possession of it yet? Only after payment is made, the seller orders the product from his own supplier.

Q: What is the ruling on buying products online where one only sees the picture of the product? Also will it be permissible to sell one's products online through a website or Gumtree and OLX classifieds and what conditions will one have to adhere to to make the sale permissible?

Q: My wife bought a painting from someone which was still to be painted. She was given a description of what the painting would look like but she didn’t see it. She also didn’t know what the size of the painting would be. Also, when my wife enquired regarding the price, she was told, ‘‘Don’t worry. You don’t need to pay me.’’ After a few days, my wife asked the lady if she had started with the painting. She said, ‘‘No’’. So my wife told her that she no longer wanted the painting.

Two weeks later, the lady brought the painting and asked her to pay for it. My wife paid her because she didn’t want to cause problems. Besides not liking the painting, it was also too expensive. My questions are:

1. What is the condition of this transaction?

2. If the transaction is not correct, what is the way out?

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: 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: 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?

Q: The other day, I ordered a pizza online, and paid with my mother's visa debit card. My mother allowed me to use it. I didn't have enough money in my own visa debt card to pay for it online, so I asked her for hers, but gave her the money back in cash on the same day. The day after I was on the pizza company's website, and I learnt that when one orders online, they have to have the owner of the payment card present when the pizza is delivered. They then must show their own payment card as proof as the below term states (taken from their website): "The owner of the card used for payment must present this card on receiving the order. Card payments are secure". I didn't know I had to do this until it was too late, and the transaction was complete. When the pizza arrived, all the delivery driver said was "you ordered online" for which I replied, "yes".  I thanked him, and that was that.  He didn't ask me for proof of payment. So I paid for the pizza, and it came to the right address, and I confirmed that I ordered online when I was asked by the driver. The only thing I didn't know, was that one must show payment card upon delivery of the item. Our beloved Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) taught us to honour conditions, so that is why I am concerned here. In this situation, what is required of me? Was this transaction still valid?

Q: A approached B to finance the purchase of a house which he did not see for 1.25 million rands and A agreed to buy the house from him at a higher price. He also borrowed 150 000 for transfer costs and renovations and this amount was included in the repayment of the house. The repayment price was worked out according to bank interest rates of 12% per annum with a total amount agreed upon. It was also agreed that should the payment be made before the 7 year agreed period then the total repayment will be less than the agreed amount, it will work out pro rata.

1.What is the shar'i status of this transaction.

2.What should be done to correct it.

3. Payment have already been received for 1 and half years, how should that be rectified.

Q: I intend to purchase a car that has a warranty. The dealer offered to extend the warranty by 5 years for an additional amount of R3000. The warranty covers towing and fixing if the car breaks down and replacement of parts. I notice that the policy is with an insurance company. Is this acceptable?

Q: I am purchasing a cellphone and have been offered the following option for extending the warranty:

Pay $10 a month and if you lose or break your phone, you can get a new one. Plus, every six months, you can trade in your old phone, pay the difference and get a new one.