Various masaail of Business and Dealings

Q: My father runs a wine shop. He asked me to do some calculations in his account work. I am an unmarried girl. What should I do?

Q: I earn a living through selling items at auctions. Sometimes, I bid on my own goods on auction, or get someone else to bid on my goods, in order to raise the price of my items. Since the bidding commences at a low price, I fear that I may suffer a loss if I do not do so. Is this permissible in Islam?

Q: I am an oncologist (cancer specialist). I often have a situation where a patient comes to me in the advanced stages of cancer. According to my experience and knowledge, such a patient may have the life expectancy of only three months (for example).

Ethically, I am bound to inform the patient or their family of the situation. If I do not do so, I can be held liable for not informing them of the seriousness of the situation. However, I understand that this is against the Islamic teaching of giving hope to the patient and not causing them distress and anxiety. Furthermore, there have been certain cases, against the norm, where patients have ‘pulled through’ and surpassed the life expectancy period.

Nevertheless, I sometimes feel that it may be beneficial to indirectly indicate to the patient that their end may be near, as it will prompt them to set their affairs in order before passing away.

What is the correct understanding in this regard?

Q: I am 18 years old and will be completing my schooling this year. I am considering joining the army after I matriculate. Initially, after my training is complete, I will serve a certain amount of time in the army and may even be called upon to fight for the country (as is happening currently, where South Africa is fighting in certain other African countries).

My idea is that after some time, when I have sufficient training and experience, I will leave the army and become a mercenary (a soldier for hire). There is a great demand for mercenaries, especially in dangerous countries such as Iraq and other war-ridden countries like the African countries suffering from war lords, etc, and this profession is extremely lucrative.

Is this profession permissible in Islam?

Q: Many companies state at the bottom of their invoice "goods remain the property of the above company until fully paid for". What is the status of the goods and is such a condition permissible?

Q: I am a college teacher. My winter break started from 23 Dec 2018 to 18 Feb 2019. I delivered a baby girl on 26th Dec 2018, just three days after the start of the winter break. I am entitled to 6 months maternity leave.

Can I submit the said leave after my winter vacation is over so that I will get 6 months more with my baby? The leave rules in our state mention that maternity leave can be availed a little before delivery or after delivery. Is it wrong if I show my delivery date a month later in my documents?

Q: I own a gym and I am also a qualified fitness trainer. I have kept my facility segregated i.e. I have different timings for ladies and gents. However, people frequently ask me why I have kept it segregated. What should I tell them?

Also, I have a question regarding training my clients. Someone contacted me and requested me to provide training services in their home for their elderly parents as his parents are very sick and old and can't come to my gym. What is the ruling regarding training the opposite gender? Is there a separate ruling for women who are elderly? Is there a separate ruling if the husband of the old woman is present or not?  

Q: I'm going to my home country on vacation from Saudi Arabia and my company is giving me an air ticket of 2090 Saudi Riyals. I told them that I will buy it myself.

If I buy a cheap ticket in a less privileged airline and show them an invoice of a privileged airline, the same that the company was supposed to buy for me. Kindly tell me if it is okay or the surplus money will be haraam.

Q: I work in a government organization as an officer. We deal with a lot of tenders. Everyday lots of contractors visit us regarding projects. These days we are working on a new tender and a contractor (let’s call him X), who frequently visits us, informed me that his company’s country head is in town and wants to meet us. I asked him to come to our office and meet our team.

X came along with the country head and we discussed technical matters. At the end of our meeting, the country head gave us a gift bag and told us that this is a souvenir from his side for us. We were 3 team members but he brought souvenirs for only the two of the team members. He didn’t give anything to the third person.

Was this ‘souvenir’ a bribe to us? Because the meeting was regarding a tender, but we are not giving them any favours. We are going through the whole tender process as transparently as possible. I am worried whether this souvenir is a bribe or not, because I realised it later on, after he left, that it might be a bribe. We still won’t be giving them any favours on the tender project. If it is termed as a bribe, what should I do now because I have already accepted the gift.

Note: The country head gave us the products that his own company makes, hence called it a souvenir. 

Q: When Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) came to Madina, the people used to pay in advance the price of dates to be delivered within two or three years. He said (to them), ‘Whoever pays in advance the price of a thing to be delivered later should pay it for a specified measure at specified weight for a specified period’”(Bukhari no: 2239).

I read this quotation in a book. Can I know how it is done according to mazhab of Shaafee?