Business and Dealings

Q: I borrowed 40000 US dollars from a friend of mine in America in 2008, which was equal to Rs 2500000 at that time. Our verbal agreement was to return the money in dollars. I could return $33000 through money changer, then there was a ban to transfer of dollars to another country. My friend passed away in America. I informed his family about the remaining amount and requested to collect that through someone travelling to Pakistan. After that there was no answer. I sent a registered letter on the given address but that letter returned to me as there was nobody to receive it. There had been correspondence on that address. I tried to trace them by other means but could not find them. Three years have passed. The Dollar rate has increased more than double. Please advise me in this regard.

Q: Some airlines, while making reservations, offer the option of paying additional charges to make a non-refundable and non-changeable ticket become a refundable and changeable ticket. Is this extra payment permissible?

Q: I am currently unemployed in Australia as I recently migrated and now I have got a job offer in media advertising agency as a Data Statistic Analyst which involves working on Microsoft office and other data tools.

My query is, as the company deals with video advertising and media work so will my rizq be halal? Islamically am I authorised to work in such organisation? 

Q: I work as a freelance web designer and programmer. Recently, a client asked me to create a website with an online store system to sell PSD files. PSD file stands for PhotoShop document. They can be simple graphic designs or images that people use (for example, book printing companies always purchase book cover PSDs).

I programmed and designed the online store. Once I reached the final steps of my work, I found out that this client will use the website I built to sell some weird images. These images are not pornographic, but they are very weird 3D models of people (mainly half-naked girls), for some game companies. Apparently, the game companies buy this person’s designs to use in their games. These images are not classed as pornographic, but they have so much weird sexual underflow.

I get paid a one-time payment for creating the “online selling platform”. I do not “host” this website for the client. My job was just to make a selling system for digital files and it stops there. Similarly, I will not be uploading the pictures to the site. Will the money that I earn through creating this site be halaal? Keep in mind that I did not know what the purpose of this site was.

Q: I want to ask about academic writing, is this halal income? I do assignments and projects for students abroad, those students are unknown, I am registered on a portal through which I get orders, and I provide references at the end from which i used content to complete assignments.

Q: I have been curious for a while now about, "what is considered the same جنس when it comes to fish"... more specifically, can I trade 1 tuna for 2 salmons, would it be riba? Is the جنس the entire species of fish (which would entail riba) or is it in each respective sub-species, e.g. tune, salmon, yellowtail etc.?

Q: Is it permissible to sell the sperm of animals in a straw to people who will use it to artificially inseminate their animals?

Q: Someone has committed fraud against me and stolen my money. I also have an account that accumalates interest which I dispose as charity. Based on what has happend, can I take the interest money an replace with the money I lost?

Q: This incident happened 10 years back.

I worked for an American company in UAE. While travelling in UAE, I billed the company for my travel expenses (as per the company policy) the bill was for 20,000 Dirhams but they transferred USD 20,000 in my account. I contacted the finance person and asked him to send the correct amount and withdraw the wrong amount. He did that, however, few days later, another USD 20,000 was deposited in my account. I contacted the bank this time but they told me it’s the correct amount as per the transfer. So I didn't do anything for 5 years. Few years back (feeling uneasy) I contacted the company again to see if they wanted their money back but I didn’t get a response. What should I do since I have already used this money? I have been giving out sadaqah with the intention of paying back this amount. Is this correct?