Valid & Invalid transactions

Q: Is Multi-level marketing (MLM)/Networking permissible? It is very popular with Muslim women who sell Tupperware, AMC Cookware, Avon
etc. from home.

Details of the system are as follows:

Q:

A) I sent to emails to an islamicbooks website email saying

i) "Id like to order the following books to ** ******** Street ******** *** *** (Postcode). How much will it be with postage?"

ii) "I would like to order the following (these were names of kitabs) 1 ***** ***** 2 ***** ***** 3 **** ******* to this address ** ****************, *****, *******, *** ***, Can you send me the price of each one with total items postage? Jazakallahu khairaa"

B) Unfortunately without telling the price the books were shipped to my house.

C) After receiving the kitabs I have written some stuff in one kitaab.

D) Then (after writing) the price of the kitaabs and postage was told and the money was payed. I am happy with the books and price. Is it wajib for this bay to be cancelled?

Q: Mohammed and Abdul Kader own a business property on a 50/50 basis. Mohammed offers to sell 50% of his portion of the property to Abdul Kader for R1 250 000.00 which was to be paid cash. Abdul Kader accepts the offer but doesn't pay a cent. Is the sale complete? If Abdul Kader didn't pay, is Mohammed entitled to the rentals? Can Abdul Kader say that he is paying terms when the term period was not fixed or arranged with Mohammed?

Q:

1. Say I place advertisements for commodities that I do not have possession of. The advert will not mention that I do not currently possess such items. Anyone seeing the advert the will be given the impression that I do possess such items, but no lie/deception will take place. Then when customers contact regarding these products I will take down their orders, but not take payment. Only once I purchase and physically possess these items from my supplier, I will then contact the customers regarding payment. Is this manner of advertising commodities that I do not have possession of permissible?

2. After paying the supplier for the product, the supplier sends it to me via a courier company. Whilst this product is still travelling to me across the country in the possession of the courier company, but nevertheless after I have paid for the product, can I sell such a product to a customer?

Q: Is the trading concept of 'Drop Shipping' permissible? If yes, please provide some tips/advice on the correct methods to use as a Muslim trader. There are a few issues that can occur. Examples:

-Seller does not have physical stock of the item.

-Seller does not see the condition of the item (as it goes directly to the customer).

-Seller may realize that the supplier is out of stock on an item after the customer makes a purchase.

Your assistance will greatly be appreciated.

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?